Tales of Chaos: The God of Luck
Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans, Magic: the Gathering or even mayor Tilton (he's from ' The Mask', which I don't own either, in case you're wondering)
The idea of chance mages is not mine either, that's based on anexisting philosphy. The name of the tv-show Gone Gamin' is just something that popped in my head. It's probably been used already, so it's not mine to claim.
WARNING: If you don't like Magic: the Gathering you're really gonna hate this. You have been warned!
Chapter 1: Politics
(Set after the episode 'Can I keep him?')
Welcome to a place called Jump City, a great metropolis under the leadership of one mayor Tilton, who resigned and moved from his former town on the count of some troubles with a green-faced superhero/lunatic. It is also the home of a team of superheroes called the Teen Titans. But more importantly, it is the home of a very powerful chance mage. This is his story.
It was just another day at the T-tower; Beast Boy was getting his head handed to him on the Gamestation, Raven was meditating on the rooftop, Starfire was trying to feed Silky some leftover curtains and Robin was about to go training when the videophone rang. Mayor Tilton did not look too pleasant.
Fact of Improbability: the videophone is a completely useless invention: it makes lying over the phone far too complicated, ruins the surprise when someone has good (or bad) news and makes it a lot more difficult to seem interested when contacted by gossips and in-laws. It therefore remains a mystery why every single civilisation insists on jumping this particular technological hurdle before dealing with problems such as famine and poverty.
Needless to say, the videophone is the second most common cause of war in the multiverse. For the record, the first is a creature called the Babel Fish. But I digress.
"Ah, mayor", Robin said, quickly putting on a friendly smile, "what seems to be the problem?"
"Right now I have two problems, dear Robin", Tilton replied a tad menacingly," the first being your new pet" this last word was accompanied with a bit of a spit, just to menace a bit more.
"Why did you not report this?" Tilton demanded. "You know all additions to your numbers need to be reported to me and to the chief of police ASAP."
"Well, for one thing, two of our members kept it pretty well hidden for quite a long time, so I didn't really have any say in it" Robin replied, in a defensive tone.
"You know the rules, Robin."
"Yes, yes, I know, all changes in numbers need to be reported to the proper authorities, all weapons inventories must be in order at all times and all of our purchased equipment is either relevant in crime fighting or coming out of our own pockets. In return, we are not required to go to school as our backgrounds prove we are properly educated or simply unfit to go to school in the first place. Beyond that, we are subject to all rights and duties of minors."
Yes, Robin had studied that particular text quite well, which had allowed him and his friends to fight crime without being hindered by petty things like homework. He deliberately neglected to mention the fact that the document in question also made Jump City a place that fell outside of the jurisdiction of the Justice League. Tilton still thought Robin had never read that small print.
"In any event," Tilton continued," your new pet worm is not my main problem. This is." He said as he sent some photos and newspaper articles to the Tower. "You may want to see this on your large screen."
After kindly asking Cyborg and Beast Boy to cease their game, the articles appeared on the main screen. Robin, Cyborg, Beast Boy and Starfire did not know what to make of it all right away. The articles were arranged in chronological order, the oldest ones first. The whole thing was quite unclear.
"New star rising in gaming circles?" Starfire enquired.
"Unprecedented lucky streak in Limited?" Beast Boy asked.
"Local champ accused of cheating?" Cyborg followed suit.
"Droid cleanup on 58th Street?" Robin said, surprised at the fact that this article was written a short time after their last fight with Slade, the one were they lost Terra. He was even more surprised at the last article, which said the following:
"Shooting at St-John's catholic school.
Although sources confirm that there have been gunshots at St-John's, the police will not divulge any data as to the cause of the shooting, or even who was involved. There are no reports of casualties or even wounded, yet the whole of the media is being kept ignorant. All the pupils have been told to remain silent while the matter is being further investigated. "
"And what does this have to do with us?" Robin asked, dreading the answer. If the mayor wanted him to investigate the matter personally, he'd have to infiltrate the school himself, as no other Titan was capable of blending in unnoticed.
Going back to school was not something he looked forward to.
You can imagine Robin's relief, of course, when Tilton simply said: "Meet William Thead. He's the main cause of the shooting. He's also the reason it took a week to clean up the pile of thrashed androids at 58th Street." With this, he sent them a photo of the person in question. He looked quite normal.
If the articles had caused some confusion among the Titans, this completely befuddled them.
"He has certain powers," Tilton explained, "Powers that make him stand out. Powers that hinder him in his schoolwork. Powers that allowed him to annihilate approximately one hundred androids sent by Slade while you were out of commission. These powers also gave him a sort of lucky streak in trading card games, which naturally made a lot of people jealous. And now his powers have brought guns into a very respectable school." Tilton regarded the Titans present very carefully. Right at that moment Raven walked in, kind of spoiling the moment.
"You know what I'm going to ask, don't you?" the mayor stated rather than asked.
"What's happening?" Raven asked.
"Our friend mayor Tilton is asking us to take in a new member. In exchange he won't send a bunch of lab men after Silky to dissect him. Is that about right, mayor?"
"You can tell your mentor was a detective, Robin, you hit it right on the mark. I'll send you the specifics about what we know of his powers so far. I'll also have to ask you to come see me next week. There'll be a trial regarding the shooting, but you don't have to be present then, just after the official business, for some paperwork. Once all that's done, we should be able to set a date for when you can pick him up and make him an official member. Any questions?"
"A few. Is it even legal what you're doing now? Does this kid fall under the same regulations as us? Regarding his education, I mean, is he smart enough to drop out of school? And what do his parents think of this?" Robin knew when he was on to something, like any detective. He wasn't about to get stuck with some spoilt superbrat who couldn't tell a TV remote from a nuclear detonator.
"Glad you asked, Robin, take a look at these. They're a few examples of his schoolwork and some of the things he does in his spare time. I think these will answer most of your questions. And as for his parents, they didn't even know he had any kind of powers. Now they'd rather see him out of the house. I think that should about cover it. Tilton out." And with that, he hung up.
A few seconds later, the Titans' fax machine started coughing up documents regarding Will's powers, schoolwork and hobbies.
The Titans, it has to be said, were impressed. Some of the things that got sent through had titles such as 'Shortcuts to Genius', 'Theories on Power', 'The Mechanics behind Thought Processes' and indeed 'One Hundred Reasons why I could be a Teen Titan', the latter probably being recommended by the mayor. So the Titans had some reading material to keep them busy. The opinions surrounding their future new member were somewhat divided.
"This guy's nuts" was Cyborg's general opinion, after reading a few of the Shortcuts. "Brilliant, I'm sure, but nuts."
Beast Boy, on the other hand, was reading the 100 Reasons and he had cause to be overjoyed when he read number 22:
'I am an experienced gamer and thus quite capable of drubbing Cyborg at any Gamestation activity.'
"He must have seen your interview with Gone Gamin' on TV, Cy," he said with glee.
"We'll just see about that," was all Cyborg had to say, though he did like the prospect of facing a different game freak on the big screen.
Robin and Raven, on the other hand, were more concerned with what this new kid would be capable of.
"The ability to alter chance events by ritualistic means. Knows how to contact the spirit world and how to defeat immaterial spirits." Raven read aloud.
"What's that mean, Rae?" The green shapeshifter asked.
"It means he can summon spirits and get rid of poltergeists," came the reply.
"Doesn't sound like he'll be doing a lot of fighting, then, " the mostly metal young man supposed. "What are we going to do with someone who doesn't have any combat abilities?"
"Actually, I've got those right here," Robin answered," listen to this: a highly developed body and life energy allow him to raise the pressure tolerance of his body, lower his weight and increase his strength, giving the impression of superspeed, superstrength and near flight. He is also capable of manipulating this energy field to increase his perceptions, effectively giving him full knowledge of all his surroundings. When manipulated further, this field gives him the gifts of telekinesis and mind manipulation. He can also absorb heat energy." Even as he said it, he knew exactly what remark was going to come now, word for word.
"Cool," Beast Boy said," so it'll kinda be like having a twelfth-level space samurai on our side. I like this guy already."
He started to like him even more when Starfire went over what she was reading, in her usual social disposition: his interests and hobbies.
"Science fiction, he's memorised all the episodes of Clash of the Planets," at which point she saw a certain green face turn tickled pink, not a pretty sight," a rather fanatic card gamer…Robin, what's magic?" the green-eyed alien wondered
"You know what magic is, Star, it's doing things normal people can't explain, like using spells and stuff like that," the Boy Wonder replied.
"But how then, is it a gathering?"
"What do you mean?"
"It says so, right here. See for yourself."
Robin read it. He read it again, to make sure he had read it right. And again. After that his mind just started filling up with fond memories. The others could see it in his face.
"What is it? Are you ill, Robin?"
"No, Star, it's just that… It's this game I used to play. It's called Magic: the Gathering. It doesn't really have anything to do with real magic, but I guess he must have used it to practise chance altering or somethin'." Robin's face was showing a weird smile again."
"You used to play Magic? That thing they're always going on about in Gone Gamin'?" Beast Boy couldn't believe what he was hearing.
"Yeah, it's a funny story really. You see, the guy who wore the Robin costume before me, the guy who's now known as Nightwing, used to play chess with his mentor. I had the same mentor, but I couldn't play chess if my life depended on it. Now my mentor insisted I learn how to play, but it just didn't seem like fun at the time, or fair, for that matter. So we came to a compromise: I'd learn how to play chess and I'd get to pick a single game for myself that I knew I could play right away and he'd learn it as well. Duel Monsters hadn't come out at the time, so I chose Magic. It was really funny to see him going to the store to get some preconstructed packs and a few boosters, you had to have been there. In any event, I learned how to play chess, got pretty good at it, but more importantly, my mentor learned how to play Magic so there was at least one game where we were both on more or less equal footing. You can catch up on card games, but chess requires sheer experience, so the card game was a relief. Man, the memories of those games…we even did a few multiplayer free-for-alls with some friends."
"And now we're going to have another player in the tower." Raven concluded.
"And judging from what it says here, he's got quite a collection, too," said Cyborg after glancing at the paper himself.
"Yeah, well, we've still got a week or so. I could teach you guys how to play if you want. I've still got a few of my old decks in my room."
They all agreed, even Raven, though only after Robin revealed the presence of black magic in the game.
"Well, we're sure to make him feel welcome. It just wouldn't do to make people think we're elitists." Robin said. Then, for reasons beyond all comprehension, Beast Boy belched.
"Nope. Wouldn't do at all."
Well, What do you think? Good? Bad? Can't tell yet? Please review.