The Next Generation

Neal returned the nod, feeling a bit grateful that the League was willing to help him through something like this. He still had no idea how they found him or why they wanted to help him so badly. In truth though, Neal didn't care much about that. These people could make him stronger, even after just an hour and a half of training with Shiva he could already tell that he was missing so much from his knowledge of fighting. These people had the knowledge and experience that would help him, and that was all Neal cared about right now. "Thank you Shiva, rest well yourself," Neal said before closing the door. He debated doing some meditation, but truly didn't feel like it with how sore his body was. Instead he merely laid down on the soft silk sheets of his bed and closed his eyes before passing into sleep.

---

It has now been a week since Neal had been with the League of Assassins. Neal's training was still not complete, but everyone would be able to see that he was improving. In his fights with Shiva he was learning more tactics and techniques than he had in the past two years. It felt like that at least. She worked him hard, and every day Neal could feel it paying off. He went to bed dead tired, but he felt like he could already visibly see his muscles growing on his body. Everything was going just right.

Neal and Shiva were training again, and he was applying everything that he knew against her now. He blocked two of her attacks before raising up his knee to deliver a blow to her chest. He hoped that she would at least block it using one arm, because if she did he quickly struck out both of his fists quickly in the hopes of making contact against her. He had still yet to hit her since their training began after all.

Over the course of the past week, Neal had continually defied her expectations. When he was first brought to her, Shiva had doubted just how strong his learning ability would be, but it was proving to be quite amazing. He never made the same mistake twice when they fought, which meant that ever so gradually he was removing any and all mistakes. All his openings that he left for himself were ever to steadily disappearing, making it harder and harder to hit him. His offense, too, was improving. His strikes were sharper, quicker, more precise, and he was beginning to adopt Shiva's own style, mixing it with his own and creating something very new that only he could perform. He was impressing her more than she would have thought possible, pushing her to actually try against him now.

When his knee came up, she pushed down with one hand, knocking the strike away. But it was a decoy, as suddenly she found herself defending against a double strike, two fists and only one hand of her own in the appropriate vicinity. She could block only one of the strikes, she knew, so she blocked the lower one, aimed near her kidneys. Taking that hit would have been more debilitating than the one aimed at her face, which she could take in stride. When Neal's knuckles crashed into her jaw, she stumbled backwards but remained standing, holding a hand up to her now bleeding lip.

"Very good," she said, looking over the blood on her hand that she wiped from her lip. "Your ability to learn and adapt is... remarkable."

Neal couldn't describe how his ability work, even if he wanted to. All he knew was that when he was told and taught something, it stuck in his head so long as he wanted to learn it. When he truly put his mind to it, his fighting skill was something that could be absorbed from any source. With a tough opponent like Shiva, he was beginning to become quite the fighter. He was able to take what he had learned previously and apply it to what he was learning from her now. When she pointed something out he was able to remember it, never leaving the same opening twice. The League was making Neal far stronger than even he anticipated.

Everything seemed to go in slow motion as Neal launched his next attack. As his knee shot up his eye trailed down for only a second to make sure that Shiva was blocking it as expected. Once she began to move her arm to block Neal shot out his other arms, one to the kidney, and the other to her face. The plan had worked, as she used her remaining arm to block the more powerful attack but still took the blow to the face with some serious force.

As she got hit it seemed like she was just talking to him and praising him for his ability. Neal didn't lower his guard though, that was the second lesson that Shiva had taught him after all. He returned the nod, but his eyes stayed on her the entire time. "Thank you, but it would be nothing without a teacher with your ability to show me. So for that I thank you," he added. He still wasn't sure if they were ending the fight here or if they were going to continue, so he kept his fighting stance up.

"You remembered your lesson," Shiva said, in regards to him not dropping his guard. It pleased her that he remembered. "That's good. But we are done for now. I think we've beaten each other enough for one day. In fact, it's been a rather long week for you hasn't it?" Wiping the last of the blood from her lips, she motioned for him to follow her. It had been a long time since she'd bled... she'd almost forgot what it felt like. "Come with me, I have something that will help your body recover."

Once Shiva said that they were done, Neal had no problem lowering his guard. Shiva was a fair fighter, she wasn't going to lie to him in order to deal a blow back. She was fair like that, something that he had grown to respect about her. "Yeah, it has been a long week but one of the best ones I've had in a long time," Neal admitted. They were training so hard that he had almost completely forgotten about the incident a week ago. He hadn't heard anything from the news, so he had no idea what was going on back with the Titans, or if they had even bothered looking for him. "What exactly do you have in mind for recovery?" Neal asked curiously as he walked with Shiva.

Shiva brought him into a secluded room near the back of the dwelling. it appeared to be some sot of bath area, fit with towels, oils, soaps, scented candles, and all sorts of various bath materials. But at the center of the room, it was not a typical bath, rather it appeared to be a natural spring, around which the room was built. "This is a special restorative spring," Shiva explained, walking over to it and running her fingers through the already steaming water. "It is constantly heated by underground magma chambers, and the various minerals that are secreted into the water works wonders for healing small injuries and relaxing muscles. I use it whenever I need to unwind."

Neal took a good look around the room as Shiva showed him the natural hot spring area. It was quite a sight, Neal couldn't help but wonder how long the League had been in existence. It seemed like they had everything that a group could have wanted. They were unified, they had facilities, and they lived in secret so that groups like Clint Dickson couldn't just kick them out like he was planning for the Titans. "This place continues to impress me," Neal admitted as he took a small walk around the room. "It seems like there isn't anything you don't have" he said as he turned towards Shiva. "It sounds like the perfect way to unwind after a day of training"

"It certainly is," she replied, lifting her hand from the water and standing back up again. "I invite you to use it any time you wish, you're always welcome. Now especially, if you choose. Your body must hurt in many places... at least I can say that you handle pain rather well." She nodded to him, then turned around so her back was facing him and reached up to the zipper on the front of her red leather catsuit, pulling it down. She apparently didn't care that Neal was there, as she planned on using the bath as well, regardless.

"Thank you, with the beating that you've given me lately I'm sure that I will be able to put it to good use," Neal said before hearing what Shiva said next which caused him to smile. "Well, I just push through my pain. I'm more motivated than I have been my entire life to get stronger, your strength is pushing me to new levels in several areas. I thank you for that" he said with a small bow of his head towards his teacher. As he brought his head up he saw that Shiva apparently was just going to take her clothes off. That was unexpected, but perhaps that was just how the League worked, with everyone being fully comfortable with one another. He decided that it would be rude to leave after she insisted he used it. So he followed suit and began to remove the clothing that he had.

Shiva pulled down the catsuit to her ankles and stepped out of it, then neatly picked it up and folded it, placing it on a shelf near the back wall. She soon added her undergarments, the only other articles of clothing she had on. Then, turning around, she walked towards the spring and tested the temperature again with her foot, making sure that she was adjusted first before getting in. She certainly was not ashamed of her body by any means, more than comfortable with it. Her body was nothing less than physical perfection, after all. With as much training as she'd been through in her life, she had always been in peak physical condition. Zero excess fat, sleek, toned muscle, and modest features that were fitting of a female martial artist, but still impressive nonetheless. Though in her forties, she looked no older than thirty, having aged beyond well with her lifetime regimen.

Much like Shiva, Neal made sure to show respect to the League uniform that he was wearing. He didn't have one as unique as Shiva's, instead only having the basic student one that other members of the League had. It was adequate, and Neal had to admit that it actually looked quite good on him. After Shiva got in Neal stepped in after her, easing himself in to be on the opposite side of the spring of Shiva. He closed his eyes and just took a few moments to adjust to the water. Neal wasn't ashamed of his body, in fact it had never been in better condition. The only thing wrong with it was a few bruises that Shiva herself had given him a few days previously. "Once my training with you in hand to hand combat is complete, what will the League have me learn next?" he asked curiously as he looked over to her, trying to keep his eyes focused on her eyes rather than anything else she had.

If Neal's eyes did wander, though, Shiva wouldn't know it. Her eyes remained closed, with her head leaned back against the edge of the spring, simply enjoying the relaxing sensation as the heat and minerals soaked into her body. She didn't answer his question at first, instead taking a deep breath and slowly letting it out. Eventually, though, she did respond. "When I have taught you all that I can," she explained, eyes still closed and relaxed, "you will learn from Talia, our second in command. She specializes in weapon combat, as well as stealth. When it comes to hiding in the shadows and not being seen, there is none better than her."

Neal listened closely before raising an eyebrow as he heard about who would be training him next and what in. He had to admit that learning how to use a weapon was exciting for him. Nightwing had given him those batons, but they didn't really do that much for him in regards of how well he used it. Fade used it more like a club rather than how it was meant to be used. "Talia? Wasn't that Ra's daughter though? Even though he's gone she's still here?" he questioned as he looked over to Shiva.

Shiva chuckled. "Still here? She was the one who pushed for his removal as leader. From what I understand, she had grown tired with his failure, as well as his... questionable parenting, you might say. She thought it time for a new regime, and took over with our current leader, who was actually originally chosen by Ra's himself to help return the League to its former glory. In that regard, he succeeded... just not quite in the way Ra's planned. In the end, it was for the better. Talia was right; Ra's had failed too many times. We were a shell of our former selves for a long time...but not anymore. Now, we are better off."

Neal listened as he learned that Talia was the one that had removed her father from power in the first place. It sounded cold, but from the way that Shiva talked about him it didn't sound like they had the best relationship on earth. It probably wasn't that hard for her if he really was a failure as a leader for the League. "I see, well I'm glad that things worked out than. It seems like things are going really well for the League now," he commented as he rested his head back against the edge of the spring that they were still sitting in.

"Yes, things are," Shiva responded, with a small nod. "We are advancing our goals now faster than we ever have before, and this time our plans actually seem to be working. It helps that he haven't had any interference this time around to mess things up." Finally opening her eyes, she looked behind her and reached back to grab one of the bottles of bath oils. Squirting out a small amount onto her hand, she then handed the bottle over to Neal. "Oil? It's raspberry scented."

"Yeah, thank you" Neal said before taking the oil and squeezing a tiny amount into his hand. He was staring at his own hands rather than over towards Shiva, debating about whether or not he should tell her about Batgirl. She spoke like she would be able to find the League, but it had been like two weeks with no success, so was it worth it to mention it? He was wrestling with it for a moment before deciding not to say anything. They had learned who Fade's real identity was, surely they would know that Batgirl was in New York City.

The two remained there in the spring for a while longer, allowing their bodies to rejuvenate and heal. When finally Shiva felt relaxed enough to get up out of the spring, it was near dinner. They would have just enough time to get dressed and make their way to the main dining hall, where most of the League members went to eat at the designated meal times each day. Crawling up out of the bath, she walked over to the towel rack and began to dry herself, stepping forward with one leg and starting down by her ankle, then working her way up. Once she was dry enough, she dressed herself back in her uniform, finally zipping up the front all the way to her neck. "Dinner will be ready soon. We should join the others."

Neal nearly dozed off as the healing property of the spring seemed to make him feel like a new man again, all his aches and pains were gone within minutes. As Shiva exited the spring Neal realized what time it was and quickly forced himself out of the spring as well, moving so that he could head over and dry himself before adding his ninja-like uniform on. Dinner would need to be served soon, and after the fight he and Shiva had, Neal really needed it. As he finished putting on the last of his uniform he moved back towards the entrance and opened it for Lady Shiva. "As we should, dinner sounds very nice right now" he said as they started to head to the dining hall where they usually ate.

"I have a curiosity question Lady Shiva" Neal said as he looked over towards her. "About how many more days of training do you think it will take for me to move on t Talia's training?" he asked curiously. "Forgive me if I sound rude, I'm just curious about my level of progression"

Shiva glanced back at Neal as he asked his question. She thought for a moment and then continued walking with him. "How much longer... perhaps a few days. You are already able to hit him, so it won't be too much longer until you can nearly match me... yes, I would say a few days until you won't... need my teachings anymore."

Neal gave a nod as he heard Shiva's answer. "It will be a shame to not train with you anymore, you always pushed me to my best and beyond. I can't believe how weak and foolish in battle I used to be compared to now" he admitted as they kept moving. "Thank you for that, thank you for not going easy on me even on day one"

"I will still be here," Shiva reminded casually, "if you wish to come see me from time to time. Or if you would enjoy a friendly... match." She was referring to a practice fight every now and then, to keep his skills sharp. Even though he would be training with Talia soon, there was no reason that he couldn't continue to practice with her every now and then. But that was another matter for later, and right now they were to be going to dinner. They still had several days left of training together anyhow. "There is much we can still learn from one another, after all, nod not just combat skills."

"I will make sure to take you up on that offer, I wouldn't want my memory to forget what it's like to fight a stronger opponent," Neal said in the hopes of complimenting Shiva. It was strange, that only over a week ago he was after this woman for the murder of the mayor. But it was for the greater good right? And she had helped him to become so much stronger than he was, how could he hold it against her when she had done so much for him? He couldn't, and he felt a bond forming like he had with the other Titans.

"I look forward to what else you have to teach me, but for the moment I'm more looking forward to some dinner" Neal said jokingly as they made their way to the dining hall.

And so Neal's training continued as it had the previous week. Shiva trained him endlessly, allowing for rest only once he was too exhausted to continue. Normally she wouldn't have pushed him so hard, but she wanted him to learn as much as possible in their last few days together. She joined him in the rejuvenation bath after each session, though, to help with his recovery so he would be good to go the next day. The rigorous regimen was paying off, however. By now, Neal's actions were so fluid and instinctive that she felt as though she were fighting a mirror image of herself.

While at first she had been the teacher and he the student, now they were near equals. He still had yet to beat her, but he more than worked her to her fullest, and he was getting in quite a few and significant strikes now. At the end of their most recent session, he'd left her with a split lip, a bruised rib, a sprained wrist, and a limp in her left leg. She had been certain not to hold back, though, of course, and he was in quite a similar condition as she.

"I'd say... my teachings with you are complete," she said, holding all her weight on her uninjured leg.

Neal continued to put his whole heart in all of his training, making sure that his mind was absorbing everything about Shiva's actions. Every day his fighting style was becoming more and more like hers, using his own strength that he had built up to fight against her. When at first he had never even been able to hit her, now they were going to become close equals. He believed that she was still the better, but he was no longer the weak novice that he used to be.

At their next training session he and Shiva went in with full force, each one aiming to make the other give it their all. By now he was able to land several significant blows, although she was of course still able to do the same to him. Although he had greatly injured her he was in the same situation. He had a cut on his forehead where she had hit him extremely hard, one of his knees felt like it was about to bust, and two of his fingers on his left hand were broken.

And than, she said the words that he thought he was not going to hear for quite some time. She said that their training was complete. He stared at her for a moment, as if still surprised that it had finally happened. A smile finally came upon his face. "Thank you master, you were a great teacher", he said before giving a nod of respect. He didn't bend his head far enough to lose track of her though, if she made any sudden movements he'd still be able to defend himself in time.