10 Soul Bound
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He went silent and I could see his eyebrows drawn together in silent contemplation.
Magical heritage was a serious thing in the magical world and the idea of magical theft was abhorred in the magical community. It was clear that he was feeling some sort of conflict between his Magi nature and his responsibility as a league member.
I knew for a fact Giovanni guarded his own magical knowledge with fierceness. His own ancestral home ShadowCrest housed an extensive magical library along with several magical artifacts.
I could only imagine how many over the years had tried to threaten, or even steal from him.
It seemed he finally came to a decision, "I will do this only because I think you will be in more danger without them. You already have a target on your back and I have no doubt you will need every advantage in the future."
I gave him a grateful smile and thanked him for his willingness to help me.
I suspected if it wasn't for the fact that I saved Bruce's life and that I have been saving people and keeping myself mostly out of trouble for the last few months, he would have given me a different answer.
I thought about which of the talismans I should try and absorb and it seemed that my best bet was something that would allow me to fight as well as offer some measure of protection.
My mind immediately went towards my favorite talisman which was the Horse talisman.
On one hand, it was a good option, but it only allowed me to heal myself or others which although useful, it didn't give me a method to defend myself.
The other ones like the monkey talisman were also a good option, but combat in an animal form was complex and required a lot of specialized training.
The others were also either too specialized or needed specific situations to be useful like the Sheep and Rat talismans.
On the other hand, The Ox talisman offered superstrength and durability. This strength wasn't restricted to striking power, so other things like running, jumping and such other physical activities were enhanced by the body's increased strength and durability.
My mind made up I waited for him to start the spell.
" mih ot nihtiw rewop eht refsnarT" He said.
(Transfer the power within to him.)
Light shone from within the talisman and rose from it and quickly sunk into me. It was similar to how I felt when I normally used the talisman, but It felt much more intense.
I reckoned it was the difference between being merely famaliar with using it and actually being born with it. I felt full in a sense, like there was a well of power stored within me and all I had to do was draw on it.
The talisman fell dead to the table, clattering until I grabbed it and put it back to its place on the belt. I didn't see the need to inform my enemies I still had powers without the talismans. It was a good way too fool anyone who thought of catching me off guard.
Slightly breathless, " This feels a lot different to when I usually use the talismans. " I said.
" Intresting. I already had a counter spell ready incase anything went wrong, but it seems I was worried for nothing. I hardly had to put any effort in before your body took the power and immediately starting binding itself to it. I don't think even I can take it out of you without harming you in the process." He slightly mused.
He whispered a few other spells, and continued to examine me." Your soul and body have resonated even more with the power contained inside the talisman, but it seems that for lack of a better term both your soul and body are at full capacity. You will not be able to handle another one for at least a few months that is if you plan on absorbing more." He continued. " The good news is you won't need my help in the future, from now on all you have to do is hold onto to the talisman you wish to absorb and the power within will naturally seek to bind to you. The talismans seem to work based on intent and are highly attuned to you. Which leads credence that they originally belong to your bloodline.
" Then am I the only one who can use them? " I asked.
" Most likely. I didn't notice it at first because of the seals. But, there seems to be a very sophisticated ownership enchantment weaved into the magic inside the talismans. I suspect the talismans are only meant to be a method for your body to get used to the magic contained inside them, before you absorb them. " He said.
' Cool. So, ROB didn't screw me over like I initially thought. It's almost like I have the discounted Chinese version of Mjolnir. This also means that Catwoman wouldn't have been able to use them if she had succeeded in stealing them. ' I thought to myself very satisfied with this new information.
"Thank you Mr. Zatara. You have no idea how much this means to me." I said, with sincerity.
" I'm glad I could help." He smiled.
" Nonetheless, I owe you." I said.
He gave me a nod and seemed pleased I acknowledged my debt. In the magical community debts and favors weren't given out freely to anyone and should be repayed. It was the nature of magic. Nothing was free in this world and those who to tried to tell you any different were either lying or naive.
" I should be on my way. It was nice meeting you Mr. Blackwood." He said, obviously preparing to leave.
" Please call me Jason. " I said.
" Alright then Jason, see you around." He said, before he cast a spell and dissappeared.
The next day I had a training session with Dinah. I saw her walk in into the training area wearing extremely tight fitting clothes that didn't leave much for the imagination.
She smirked when she caught me staring." Careful there you are starting to drool." She teased.
I sighed as if resigned to my fate, " I envy the man who catches your eyes Dinah."
Her eyebrow rose, " Sorry kid but you're a little too young for me."
I shrugged, " I'm sure that won't be a problem in a few years but suit yourself."
She gave me a strange look, " You're awfully confident today. It seems I went too easy on you yesterday, but oh well we could always make up for it today. " She ended as I saw her starting to warm up.
I didn't say anything back and merely prepared.
" So, tell me how did the meeting with Giovanni go? " She asked.
I gave her a smile," I think you'll find out in a second. "
Deciding to give myself a little boost I drew on the power within me and launched myself at her, intent on catching her by surprise and ending this quickly.
I saw her eyes widen in surprise, but it didn't last long. I tried to grab her and flip her over just like she taught me, but I was quickly met with two quick strikes to my head and neck which made me slightly disoriented.
I swung my leg in an effort to sweep her off her feet. She simply jumped and vaulted over me and used my shoulders as launching pads to flip over me and get behind me.
Before I could turn around she twisted my hand behind my back and locked my legs by applying pressure to the back of my knee joints. I started using my superior strength to brute force my way out, but in response she applied more and more pressure not giving me any leverage to use my strength until I cried out in pain. Seeing no way out of it I tapped out, letting her know she won.
I got up whilst rubbing my wrists feeling a bit sore. " Damn, you were holding out on me weren't you?"
She gave me an unimpressed look" It's not my first time fighting people with superstrength, and didn't we agree on not using the talismans while we were training."
" I convinced Mr. Zatara to transfer one of the talisman's powers to my body. " I said.
" I didn't know he could do that." She said in surprise.
" Neither did I but we gave it a shot and it worked out. I chose superstrength for my first power." I said.
" Good choice, but why only one?" She asked.
" Well from what I understood if I tried absorbing more than one with my run of the mill human body. I'd explode. As you can see I wasn't too keen on that option. " I dryly said.
" And Giovanni agreed to that? Are you guys insane!? " She asked, alarmed.
" I practically had to beg the guy. Plus he knows what's he's doing. Sure there was some risks but our lifestyle isn't exactly safe. "
" Still it was an unnecessary risk and very reckless. You could have died, Jason. "She insisted.
I sighed." It's not like he didn't examine me and the talismans first. He said, that my body was gradually adapting to the magic of the talismans and I'll even be able to absorb another after my body acclimates. "
" Fine but how are we supposed to train now? Martial arts with human strength and superstrength are two entirely different things. " She said.
" It's okay. I can turn it on and off so to speak. It's like a well of power I need to tug on and coax out so I can use. "
" What about your control? We wouldn't want for you to try knocking someone out using superstrength and accidentally cracking their skull in the process. " She asked.
I shrugged, " It's a bit effiy. I started training by trying to hold some eggs to train my control last night. I ended up breaking them half the time, but it's better than when I started. "
She nodded," Keep it up. There are some other excercises too, but I think one of the other leaguers can help you with that. "
" Other leaguers? Wow, you guys know how to make a guy feel special. " I joked.
She shrugged," We're definitely considering you joining us in some capacity. We have plans of putting together another team, but it's still a bit too early to tell. "
This meant Canon hadn't started yet, and since my memories about the series were a bit vague on the details all I could remember about the first episode was that the team got put together after they rescued Superboy from some kind of facility, right after some wizard tried to blot out the sun.
It's been a while since I've watched the TV show and unfortunately I didn't have a talisman for photographic memory.
All I could really do was prepare as much as I could and make sure I didn't screw everything up.
I wondered if I should warn them about the light. But, then I'll have to explain how I came by this information. Worst case scenario I'd get accused of being a mole, best case I make them suspicious of me and possibly tip off the light. Speaking of which I faintly remembered something about a mole, but for the life of me I couldn't remember who.
" Anyways we should get back to training. It's bad enough that I have superstrength and still got my ass beat by you." I said.
She gave me a slight smirk and I could see the promsie of pain she was about to deliver me in her eyes. I guess she was still a bit peeved about my earlier stunt. I just knew this was going to hurt.
(Chapter End)
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For 10+ advanced chapters of Zodiac (DC)
Check out my pat-reon/AnubisCreationz
