Paths to Power and Secrets of the Omniverse (Part 4)

"I wouldn't worry too much about it. Once you can use your Ki, I'll teach you how to mask it. With meditation, you can clear your mind of any distractions, but I doubt you need any assistance there," Vegeta explained. Damian was truly silent and moved like a shadow, his glaring weakness being his Ki signature that he couldn't suppress.

If Vegeta struggled to sense Damian with his five senses, then his only option was to sense where the kid existed.

'He reminds me of Hit...' Vegeta mused silently, perhaps somehow in the future he could meet the Assassin.

Damian only grinned at the praise. "But whether or not you will be able to apply what I teach you is for you to work on," Vegeta explained. "And you're still far too weak to be grinning like that! I know humans that can destroy stars and move faster than light simply by training."

"So what? If they could do it, then so can I," Damian said with a cocky expression as Vegeta's expression became more grim. He transformed into a Super Saiyan God before materializing in front of him with a Ki blast aimed at his head.

Damian was frozen as a blast narrowly missed his head and destroyed a planet in the sky. "Once you can destroy stars, only then will I acknowledge you have even half the talent they do!" Vegeta said into Damian's ear, making him stumble back.

"Now, have a seat. I will show you how to tap into your Ki reserves," Vegeta said as he powered down and looked at Donna, who was finally able to breathe properly again.

"Screw you, old man! I'll show you I can outdo anyone when it comes to skills and talent!" Damian exclaimed as he took a seat, sweat still trickling down his chin. He almost lost his head because of his arrogance. Ra's al Ghul always kept a cool head. 'Besides, with this, I can defeat grandfather and free mother from the League.

'I'll crush the League!' He thought. He now had a tangible goal set. Maybe then he could have a real fami- 'No, I don't have time for such things, not when power is so close,' Damian mused. For now, he would sit quietly and train.

Vegeta smirked at the serious yet calm expression on Damian's face. He didn't know how to feel about the "old man" comment, but he'd let it slide just this once. He glanced over at Donna, who was somewhat surprised at the serious turn the training took.

"I don't remember telling you to sit and watch with a stupid look on your face," Vegeta reprimanded her. Quickly gathering her bearings, she closed her eyes and meditated.

"Listen carefully because I am only going to explain this once," Vegeta started as he took a seat.

"Clear your mind. I don't want to sense any ripples in your Ki. You know what happens when you drop a stone in a still body of water? I need your mind to be clear with no thoughts rippling. They make it very hard to sense your deeper well of strength. If you can accomplish this, then we can move onto the next stage," Vegeta explained.

"It's a well of energy that exists just below your solar plexus. In your case, it will be drops of energy. Sense it and channel it into your hands. If you force it, it won't listen to you. This will be your example," Vegeta held his hands forward, and a dim light flickered into existence.

Damian and Donna gave it one final look before closing their eyes, shutting themselves off from outside influence. Their own training helped them tremendously.

Hal slowed his descent as he entered Oa. He didn't see many other Lanterns. Was he the only one?

Upon landing, he made his way towards the Guardians on Central Battery Mountain. "You've arrived, Hal Jordan," one of the Guardians started.

Strix didn't bother with walls as she plowed through the castle, flying straight towards the bottom. She could sense a lone weak Ki signature flickering at the bottom of the castle.

At the bottom, a malnourished boy who looked a lot like Strix was chewing on a piece of stale yeast.

"What is that!?" Many voices echoed as the castle shook.

Cassius looked up with wide eyes as his older sister burst through the roof. "S-strix?" he asked. Her glowing green eyes finally found him, and she quickly hugged him and held him tightly as tears flowed.

"I'm sorry... I didn't know, I couldn't remember you," she explained as he finally stopped chewing on the yeast. Feeling tears well up, he just hugged her back.

"You finally made it," he said as he passed out in her arms. His Ki flickered dangerously low, as if it was holding out just to see her one last time.

"Cassius!" Strix called out as she shook him gently. She didn't have anything on her, and she wasn't fast enough to fly across the universe like Lord Gohan and Master Vermont.

"Who goes there!? This is the former royal capi—" The man didn't get to finish as he noticed Strix.

"You shouldn't be here..." He backed up in fear. Wasn't Commander Strix with that destroyer god now? He was sure she didn't care about her brother; she left him here in a fallen empire!

Not used to having her emotions yet, Strix glared at the man and his guards, who were all scared. She used to be their commander.

"Commander Strix... what a pleas—" He didn't finish his sentence as his head exploded.

"Anyone else have anything else to say?" she asked. Judging by that man's clothes, he was definitely the new king of Dionysis, but she didn't care. Velius was the last true royal, so that man was playing pretend.

She made her way towards the guards. "If you had any involvement in my brother's imprisonment, you'd better speak now, or I'll kill you the moment I find out," Strix warned angrily.

They dropped their weapons and bowed. "Forgive us, we were only followi—" Their heads exploded next.

"So, yes, you were involved," she finished for them before glancing down at her brother. She needed a ship; she couldn't transit through the universe alone yet.