Talia Story part 2. The Fight against her own Master. Kame Hame HA!

Dear readers. At this point Gorel and I would like to inform you that the next chapters will not deal directly with Bruce or Dracula. We have decided to give our side characters their own story that they will live out. Each of them is a powerful character within the DC world and deserves a little attention. We have decided to dedicate the next 30 days inside the Storytimeline to these forgotten heroes and villains. The side characters we have chosen are.

Zatanna

Talia

Harley

Talia couldn't believe it. 5 minutes had passed and her Master stood there without a scratch. And she was bleeding from your dozen smaller, harmless cuts. Although she had reduced all her powers to her mortal level, she felt weaker than ever before. Her old master seemed like an insurmountable wall she couldn't climb. Angrily she hissed and grabbed the 2 small daggers with her blades pointing down. Her master just nodded and went into a defensive position.

"Stop fucking with me! If you want to kill me then do it! But if you don't take me seriously I will take back my promise of an honourable fight! UNDERSTOOD?!" growled Talia and ran in a wide arc towards him. The old man just smiled and bent his back.

Despite his age, he had the reflexes of a young man and also the agility. Talia missed his throat by a mere inch and immediately caught a kick in her stomach as he ran his knee up. Snarling, she punched helplessly a few times in the air just to be able to walk at a distance. Only when she saw that her master was not imitating her did she allow herself the luxury to breathe deeply. Angrily she threw the daggers to the ground and walked screaming up and down. Even now her old master did not take advantage of the situation. He just waited and watched Talia's outburst of rage.

"You've always been a hothead. Talented, but hot-headed. I told you you had to work on that." He said calmly and prudently.

She whispered "Shut up!" and even though she knew he was right, it didn't make it any better. And suddenly it clicked. A moment of realization. Her emotions were in her way. Her fear, her respect and her own beliefs were in her way. She would never be able to defeat him if she clung to these things. She stopped and breathed deeply and then turned her head to her old master.

"It was about time." He nodded and clenched his fists around afterwards into an offensive posture.

"It is time to go master." She said calmly and attacked again. The two led a dance on which even many meta beings never reached. In speed and strength the two were no longer human beings despite their humanity. Talia, who was at the height of her physical abilities against a man whose body had trained since his birth only. His incredible experience against their youthful zeal. One feint chased the next. One counter after the other ran into the void and for 2 minutes neither of them had scored a single hit. Talia could see that her Master not only enjoyed this fight but also took it seriously. However, this presented her with a new problem.

Because she felt clearly that he was getting better and better and that he had still kept some tricks for himself. And already she was punished for these thoughts. Her teacher dived away under a right grapple and put his hand on her stomach. It was not a blow or an attack like she knew it. She was about to shift her weight when she felt pressure. Within a heartbeat a small light pressure had become an insurmountable force.

Like a bomb she hit the wall behind her and the impact caused parts of the wall to crumble. She could feel the pain paralyzing her body. Whatever he had just done to her, it hurt like hell. It was as if Bane had smashed her. She struggled to get up and shook her head dizzy. She could barely stand on her feet and had difficulty controlling her perception.

"What the hell" she asked confused as she looked at him and held her belly.

He just smiled and took a fighting position she didn't know yet. She was extremely open and from his posture she could not imagine a direct attack.

"I would try to avoid Talia. And stop holding back." He said as she saw a strange blue ball between his hands that looked pure fire.

"A meta being?! YOU are a meta being" she asked stunned. However, she felt a rapidly growing danger. As fast as she could she unlocked the seals that had locked her powers. Just in the last moment she jumped to the side. Whatever he had manifested was extremely destructive. It was a kind of energy beam that tore the wall behind her to pieces. But that wasn't the craziest thing about this energy attack.

It burned on her skin. She was sure she hadn't been hit. She crouched behind a pillar and looked around it.

"What's that? That is not fire and certainly not energy! What kind of trick is the master? You swore to me by your honour that you were human! Without powers" Talia hissed angrily and saw her master doing an expansive kata and calming his breathing.

"I did not lie to you. I am a normal person". He said calmly.

"Normal people don't shoot energy rays from their hands." They growled.

"I told you already several times Talia. You still have a lot to learn. What you have seen is my life force."

Talia hastily considered what he could mean by that. Her master had often talked about something like that. That every living being in this world had a limited amount of energy. And that it was the highest mastery to master this life force. She had never really understood this nonsense. Or believed. But an energy weapon that could burn undead flesh would best fit into the category of life force. If this attack consisted of his bundled life force, it would be extremely damaging to Talia's body.

"So it wasn't just nonsense. You are able to transform your own life force into attacks? Respect Master!

"Thank you. And now we end it. I know that I have no chance against you if you fight with full force. Do you remember my greatest wish?

"Of course master." She said and stepped forward behind the column. Her last throwing dagger flashed in her wrist.

Her master nodded calmly and completely relaxed. When he opened his eyes again both were ready for battle. And a second later it was all over. Talia stood behind her master and had rammed her dagger into his neck. Death was immediate. A bloody tear ran down her cheek as her master's body slipped to the floor. She kneeled down to him and laid her hands on his chest and closed his eyes. Thanks to her abilities he had had no chance.

"I kept my word Master. You have found your end in the fight." She said sadly. With his death the brotherhood had lost one of its best. This loss would last for an eternity to find a worthy replacement for this man.

Wiping away the tear she went on. She had overcome the first protective circle. The next circle was much lighter. It was a labyrinth with a few dozen traps. This test was almost an affliction for her. Even without her newly acquired powers, this test would not have been as challenging as she feared. When she had arrived at the gate to the third circle, it took only a little while until she had cracked it. Behind it she saw a new enemy waiting for her.

"Oh man..." Talia kidnapped it as her enemy turned to her.

The undead cold eyes of Solomon Grundy looked down at her.

"NOOOTTTT PASSSS HERREEEEEEEEEEE."