CHAPTER 114

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[David Lance POV]

As I got ready for the day inside my room on the base, I couldn't shake the feeling that something was about to go terribly wrong. Since my meeting with Deathstroke, this was a thought that had been gnawing at me, a sense of foreboding that I couldn't quite explain because, somehow, I knew it wasn't related to Deathstroke himself.

At first, I had tried to ignore it, to push it away, but it only seemed to grow stronger.

Pushing those thoughts aside, for now, I opened the door of my room, and started to make my way down the hallway to the training area, my footsteps echoing dully in the emptiness. It was still early for today's training session, but I knew the others would be there. They were always there, saying that if the leader was training, that meant so should them.

Even Wally seemed to agree with that sentiment. But that could have something to do with Raven and M'gann.

Finally reaching the door leading to the training area, I pushed the doors open and saw the team already waiting for me inside, as I had already guessed they would be. But there was something off about their demeanor today. They all seemed almost...eager. For Superboy, Aqualad, and M'gann, that was normal, sure, but for Raven, Kid Flash, and Robin, that wasn't the case.

~You guys seem excited,~ I signed, a smile under my mask as I walked toward them.

Kid Flash was the first to respond. "Well, you know, training and all. Gotta stay in shape."

Kid Flash is being nice, well, that's... unexpected.

Artemis smirked, putting a hand on her hips. "The team told me you usually wake up pretty early, but it is eight am in the morning. That barely counts as early Bolty."

I shrugged, not really minding her teasing. It was always in good fun with her. ~Should I be worried that even you seem... eager, Raven?~

Raven shot me a look, and for a moment, I could have sworn I saw a hint of mischief in her eyes. "Not at all. I just finally started to love how the cold floor of the training room feels against my face when we spar, so don't worry, there's nothing to worry about."

I narrowed my eyes on her.

They were planning something.

But what...

"So, should we start with our training?"

I turned to see M'gann looking at me with a beaming smile. ~Yeah, let's.~

I had no idea what they had in store for me, but I had a feeling I wouldn't like it. Maybe they wanted to prank me, or perhaps they had a surprise for me. Either way, I really didn't like not knowing.

But, without the slightest of clues, there was nothing I could do to try and deduce their maybe evil machinations, especially if Raven was on their corner for this one. So, I had no other choice but to wait and see.

But seeing Kid Flash was somehow in it, it couldn't be something I would like. Then again, knowing him as I did, I knew very well he would go against everything if it meant impressing one of the girls. In short, there was a big chance his simping side would overpower the side that didn't like me.

Back to square one with this one.

"Can I spar against you first?" Superboy asked, already walking towards the training circle with a determined look in his eyes.

Pushing my thoughts aside for a moment, I nodded. ~Sure.~

I had barely entered the training circle and nodded to Superboy to begin when he instantly charged at me. Taking a quick step out of the way, I parried his first blow, punching him in the face, before blocking his next two blows, before attempting to counter his advances with an uppercut, which failed when Superboy jumped back.

Not bad.

Bracing in another defensive stance, I took a step forward, challenging him to come at me with a simple look. Grinning at this, Superboy charged at me, delivering a horizontal kick that I had to parry with my right hand, deviating the power flow of his attack to the opposite side, effectively throwing him off balance.

Taking this opportunity, I pushed my advance, raining on him with a barrage of powerful fists and kicks, each set even stronger than the last. Having trouble recovering his ground, I noticed Superboy quickly becoming overwhelmed by the onslaught of incoming blows that, even under his attacks, never seemed to stop.

"Enough!" Superboy roared in rage, but something was off about this.

Deciding it was best to retreat until I determined what he was planning, I kicked Superboy back, jumping a few feet away from him.

Superboy grinned, pulling a few smoke pellets out of his pocket. "Round two." With that said, he threw the pellets into the ground, the smoke slowly covering him completely until there was nothing to be seen around but smoke.

I smiled.

I see now. He pretended to be enraged earlier in order to confuse me, and then when that had succeeded; he used some smoke pellets to give himself the environmental advantage thanks to his infrared vision, which allows him to see my heat signal without a problem through the thick curtain of smoke.

Before, I was happy with his performance. Now, I'm fucking proud. He might even win this spar, but let's not inflate his ego just yet.

Now, I have to keep a defensive stance and wait for him to make a mistake. Without being able to see him, I'll have to rely on my other senses to-. Without being able to complete that thought, I found myself ducking under a shiver, as immediately after, something flew where my head used to be.

What the hell was that?

Before I could question that strange feeling further, another shiver forced me to jump back, and like before; Superboy struck where I had been standing, shaking the ground of the training area ever so slightly.

What was happening here?

For the next few seconds, I continued moving around the smoke, dodging Superboy as the shivers continued to come one after the other. I had no idea what was happening, but I was somehow innately evading his attacks. The most shocking fact about this was that I felt like I wasn't the one doing it, at least not completely, it was more like my body was automatically moving out of the way to avoid Superboy's attack.

"Ok, that's fucking it!" Superboy roared. "Someone clear this smoke out!"

"On it," M'gann replied quickly, pushing the smoke away, revealing an angry and confused Superboy standing a few feet away from me.

"Did you lie to me?" Superboy asked as he glared at me.

~Never,~ I replied. I already knew where this conversation was going to take us, and like him, I had no fucking clue why or how my body did what it did.

"What's going on?" Aqualad asked, giving Superboy and then me a look.

"He kept dodging me," Superboy replied, crossing his arms. "I made sure not to make a sound while approaching him, just like he taught me, so unless he has infrared vision and failed to communicate that, I don't see how he managed to dodge every attack I threw his way."

~I'll be completely honest with you-~ Once again, I felt another shiver, followed immediately by me jumping to the side, avoiding a magical blast coming from no other than Raven.

Ok, I have to admit this is creepy. It feels like someone is yanking me out of the way, like a string puppet.

"Well, that's new," Raven commented calmly.

~Why did you attack me?~ I asked with a frown.

"I saw you dodging, and I wanted to test it out," Raven replied calmly.

~As I was saying, before Raven tried to kill me,~ I sighed as Raven muttered in the back that that attack she threw my way would have, at best, thrown me to the ground. ~I am as clueless as the rest of you.~

I mean, I don't remember the original Black Bolt having Ultra Instinct or the Spider-sense.