Cygnus (Young Justice Fanfiction)

Trainer

//S

I was in my training uniform, and Penguin said he was going to introduce me to my new hand-to-hand combat instructor. I was thinking of all the people Penguin trusted that could train me in hand to hand combat, but my mind was drawing to a blank. Just then I heard a horrible noise above me. It was quiet, but if you listened hard it sounded faintly like... nails on a chalkboard?

I looked up to see a dark figure falling in through a circle cut out from the skylight.

"Meet your knew trainer. I knew the guards were getting old and you needed something new." Penguin announced. He looked pleased with himself as my jaw dropped.

"Ca- Catwoman?" I was shocked and stepped back a few paces.

"The one and only." she replied with an interested look on her face.

"So your the one I've heard so much about." she almost said to herself. She gave me a big smile. I couldn't tell if it was supposed to be kind or evil.

"You know Catwoman?" I asked Penguin completely confused.

"What I know is that Catwoman is good at hand-to-hand combat and will do almost anything if the price is right." Penguin explained.

"You keep your end of the deal, I keep mine." Catwoman glared at Penguin.

"Of course, of course. I will leave you two to train. I have some errands to run I'll be back tonight to check up on your progress." Penguin said, brushing off the glare.

He waved good by and bowed as he left the hallway. Once the gentleman of crime left I turned my focus back onto Catwoman. I studied her trying to find any emotion on her face. She wore a leather zip-up suit and carried a whip on her hip. She was wearing gloves with sharp points at the end of each finger. She had a pair of magenta tainted goggles resting on top of her head right next to the ears attached to her suit. She took off the gloves and goggles and placed her whip on the bench.

"What's your name, kid?" she asked while nodding in my direction.

"Kayo." I responded bluntly.

Without warning she swiped her leg under my feet as I jumped into the air alarmed. She then threw a few punches at my face and stomach. I quickly blocked each one out of habit. I threw a few punches myself landing one at her stomach. Then she did the unexpected. She jumped into the air and did a flip over me and landed behind me on her feet. She swiped her leg causing me to topple to the ground. I tried to get up, but struggled as she pinned me to the mat. Then she smiled at me and released her grip. 

"Ok, you have quick reflexes. You punches are perfect and your blocks were good. But, you apparently don't know gymnastics and have trouble getting up quickly after being knocked down. Those are the two main thing we need to focus on." she announced. Now it was my turn to do the unexpected and return the favor.

"Attack me again." I said. 

She looked at me curious, but attacked anyways. She swiped her leg under my feet, but I quickly stepped back. She threw a few punches again, but this time a I dodged them rather then blocking them. She did a flip over me just like last time, but this time I was ready. I turned around swiftly and stepped back before she could swipe me off my feet again.

"You can stop now." she dropped her fists as I continued, "Ok, you have good balance and are light on your feet. Your punches were good and you obviously know gymnastics. You were very aggressive, but you your blocks were weak. I'm guessing you more of an offensive opponent meaning I can defeat you by letting you fight yourself." I said to myself out loud.

"I guess I can add 'excellent people reader' and 'cocky kid' to your list." she smiled.  

She kneeled down before me so that she was at my level. She placed her right hand on my shoulder and looked me in the eye.

"Now in all seriousness, I know what Penguin does to you, and the way he locks you in a cage." I saw pity in her brown eyes, "Feel free to visit me anytime, but only at night and tell Penguin we're training." she whispered and put a piece of paper in my palm.

For the rest of the week she worked on teaching me gymnastics. I have never really been flexible, but by the end of the week I could at least get up quickly, do a cartwheel, and an awkward flip (that needed a lot of practice). She taught me to get into a 'bridge position' (at least that's what she called it) and kick my legs over my head and land on my feet. She said this was the quickest way to get back up after being knocked down. I was a quick learner and caught on to most of the moves she taught me, but still had a lot of trouble.

"The best way to defeat an opponent is by attacking them from the inside." Catwoman said. 

She had her fists up because we were in one of our training matches. I looked at her confused. What does she mean by 'from the inside'? She saw my confused face and explained herself.

"You need to find an emotional weak spot in your opponent." Catwoman explained.

"Like what?" I added still confused.

"Emotions are your biggest weapon in battle. Love. Using something they love or care about against them. Remember anything can be a weapon, including your words." Catwoman continued.

Something they love and care about? The words stuck with me as we continued to train for the rest of the day. Once training was over I sat down on the bench exhausted. 

"You're getting better, but we have a lot to work on before summer is over." Catwoman complimented.

Later that day, I thought hard about what she told me on my mattress that night. Emotions are your biggest weapon. I repeated to myself as I drifted of to sleep.

//

Catwoman! BAM!

~KO

//