Disclaimer- I do not own anything of Young Justice.
From Author- Thank you to those who reviewed! I'm glad to see even after months, there are still some loyal fans that would, not only read, but also review so thank you! And I hope to hear more from people.
Now, because I'm leaving for school in two weeks, and have quite a bit of time on my hands, I will do my best to update ASAP. So, you guys might be seeing updates either every day or every other day. I don't know if I'll actually finish the story by the time I leave but, I will do my best to get as many chapters out as I can!
And, also, sorry there wasn't much Roy in the previous chapter but, I'll try to bring him in, even slightly. But, like I said in the previous chapter, this one starts the plot with Tempest and everything. You'll understand what I mean once you read. So, enjoy!
After that text message that Roy sent me the other night when I got back from the mission, he hasn't responded to me. He never responded to my text message and he hasn't contacted me at all since then…and that was almost two weeks ago.
I think I might give him a call later.
But, at the moment, the rest of us, excluding Robin who was with Batman, were watching Superboy and Kaldur spar in combat practice. Superboy had his shirt off and I swear, I saw both M'gann and Artemis staring at him mainly instead of actually watching the fight.
Once the practice was done, with Superboy as the winner, Red Tornado appeared via zeta tube. Wally asked if he had a mission for us but, he claimed that he didn't. Still, we pressed.
"But, you must've come here for a reason, right, Tornado?" I asked, stepping up alongside Wally to try and get the android to tell us anything. The robot stayed silent for a moment then turned and activated the holographic computer and a second later, a picture of an elderly man holding a cane popped up.
"This is Kent Nelson but you all might know him as Doctor Fate. He was a member of the Justice Society, the previous group before the Justice League was born. But Kent has been missing for nearly three weeks now and he holds the helmet of Fate. I would like you all to head to the Tower of Fate in Salem and make sure both the helmet and Kent are safe." Red Tornado explained to us and then, handed a key to Kaldur, explaining that was the key to the tower. I heard Wally trying to impress M'gann again with the whole "believing in mystic arts" thing but it sounded so fake to me.
As we piled into the bioship, Artemis began asking Wally just how well he knew about the mystic arts. Wally claimed he wanted to be a magician before becoming the infamous speedster he is today but I rolled my eyes, knowing it was probably another tactic to impress M'gann.
Anyway, when we finally got to Salem, following Red Tornado's directions, we found that where he said the tower would be was actually a big, empty field. We all got out of the bioship and began investigating. Wally ran around the area but came back with nothing. I knelt down and put my hand on the ground, closing my eyes for a moment.
One of my other powers is able to detect body heat from a certain distance away. If there was a tower here, hopefully, I'd be able to sense if there was someone inside that tower. But, as I focused my energy around me, the only body heats I detected were myself and my teammates, nothing else. I stood back up with a sigh.
"Nothing. I can't detect anybody else around here." I said, dusting the grass and dirt off my hands.
"It could possibly be adaptive micro optoelectronics combined with bey-shifting that's going on here." Wally said, using that science protégé know-how to work. I blinked. He lost me at "adaptive." Then, when M'gann walked over to us, Wally quickly changed his mind.
"Or! It could be that mystical arts are the cause of this." He said and I rolled my eyes yet again. I didn't say anything to him, though, since I learned long ago that no matter how many times you say something to that boy, he still doesn't listen. I sighed and turned to Aqualad.
"Why don't you try that key Tornado gave you?" I suggested. Aqualad took it out of his pocket and stepped forward a few feet from us. Then, he held the key up and as if to put it through an actual keyhole to unlock a door, the key clicked and a door as well as the rest of the tower appeared. I had to crane my neck slightly to look up and see just how high it went. It was huge!
We walked inside, after the shock disappeared from us and the door closed on its own behind us and then disappeared altogether. Okay, that's not creepy at all. Inside, we were surrounded by bronze colored brick walls. A moment later, however, a hologram of Kent Nelson appeared.
"Hello. You have entered the Tower of Fate but I'm afraid it can't identify you. Who are you and what reason do you have for being here?" The hologram asked, gazing at all of us. Wally stepped up immediately.
"We are believers in the world of magic and wish to find Doctor Fate to learn more!" He said excitedly with a big grin on his face. The hologram frowned at him and then disappeared.
"I have a bad feeling about this…" Superboy muttered as we all stood still for a moment, our guards up.
Just then, the floor gave away underneath us and we all began plummeting into the ground where there was a pit of boiling hot lava at the bottom. Artemis pulled out a crossbow and, after grabbing a hold of Kaldur, shot a zip-line string onto the rock wall around us to stop them from falling. M'gann grabbed onto Wally and stayed levitated above the lava. Superboy latched onto the wall and began sliding down, but he couldn't stop his feet from getting into the pit. He screamed and pulled his feet up, his boots gone. I made a fire hook in my hands and latched the hook onto the rock wall just above Superboy but I knew it wouldn't hold for long.
"We have to think of a way out of here, quick!" Superboy cried from below me.
"Yes…since M'gann and I cannot stand this heat for long…" Kaldur said, wiping sweat off his forehead. I slipped a little but regained my footing.
"And I don't know how long my fire hook will last." I added. M'gann began to slowly fall down towards the lava, sweating profusely.
"Of course! We have to give a better answer to that question." She said and then looked up towards the ceiling where we fell through.
"We came as a favor to Red Tornado to see if Kent Nelson and the helmet of Fate were both safe." She called out. A moment later, a metal door closed off above the boiling pit and we were able to jump down safely. Strangely enough, however, the metal door was cool and not blazing hot like it should be if a lava pit was right underneath it.
"Someone hold me back because I'm about to ring that speedster's neck!" Artemis said, stomping over to Wally and shoving him back with her hand. Wally stumbled slightly but kept his footing.
"What's your problem?" He asked, glaring at the blonde.
"Gee, let's see. For one, you're trying to impress M'gann no matter what the cost and two, because of that you nearly killed us and three, you lied about believing in magic!" The archer shouted at the speedster. I crossed my arms over my chest, looking at him sternly.
"You really did make a bonehead move, Wally, especially for someone who's supposed to be extremely smart with the whole science protégé thing." I commented, backing up Artemis. Wally glared at the both of us.
"So what if I lied? Magic is bogus!" He exclaimed, crossing his arms over his chest. Kaldur continued to examine the platform we landed on.
"Bogus? Wally, I studied magic in Atlantis for almost a year and it helps me control my abilities." He pointed out.
"And magic is what saved us right now, along with M'gann's quick thinking." I added, which made the redhead glare more at me.
"Okay for one, Kaldur, that's bioelectricity. And two, it wasn't magic that saved us. There was obviously some key phrase that needed to be said in order to activate some mechanism that would close up this platform here." Wally explained with a stubborn tone. I made an exasperated sound and left it there. Like I said, there was no use talking to this guy. He was too close minded.
"Oh really?" Kaldur said and then, gripped a level on the platform and opened it up. At first, Wally protested, saying the lava would burn us if the Atlantean did that but instead, when the door opened up, snow whipped at our faces. We jumped through the hole to a land like literally looked like Siberia.
"Convinced?" Artemis asked Wally once we began walking again. Don't try it, Artemis, you'll only get more frustrated at him.
"This can be explained. String theory? This is a pocket dimension." Wally said and Artemis made an exasperated sound similar to the one I made. See, like I said, more frustration from the wonderful redheaded speedster.
As we walked a little further, we noticed a cane, the same cane that was in the picture with Kent Nelson, floating a few feet from us. I walked over to examine it but then, both Artemis and Wally grabbed onto it.
"Wait guys, we don't know if…!" I said, grabbing both their arms to try and pry them off but, they couldn't let go of the cane and I couldn't let go of their arms! Then, we were levitated up into the air and zapped away from the Siberian tundra.
When we could see again, we were in some sort of labyrinth filled with staircase after staircase and door after door. It was making my eyes hurt just looking at it.
"Abra Kadabra!" Wally exclaimed, breaking my thoughts and I looked down to see three men standing on a staircase below us. One was Kent Nelson, bound with ropes. The other was a man with black hair tied into a ponytail, a goatee, dressed in a nice white shirt and black pants and carrying some black stick which was most likely his "wand." The other was a guy who looked like he could be a teenager around our age. He wore a suit and had black spiky hair and chilling red eyes. He was carrying a cat in his arms.
Then, the cane glowed and Kent Nelson was able to fly over to us, break the bonds around his hands, and release our grips from the cane. He opened up a door and ushered us inside before Kadabra and the other guy could get to us. Kent had made an elevator so we were heading up the tower, it looked like.
"Ah yes, sorry, forgot my manners. I'm Kent Nelson." Kent said, introducing himself with a smile.
"Nice to meet you, Mr. Nelson. I'm Amber and this is Artemis and Wally." I introduced the rest of us. Kent's smile widened.
"Well, you three, let me give it to you straight. Abra Kadabra may be a hoax when it comes to magician but Klarion the Witch Boy, the other kid with that annoying cat, is a Lord of Chaos." Kent explained. I raised an eyebrow.
"Lord of Chaos?" I asked. Kent nodded.
"Yes, they are the archrivals of Lords of Order, which is what Doctor Fate is. They're after the helmet and if they get it, Klarion can turn the Earth into nothing but a demonic wasteland." Kent said. Well, he didn't skip on the dramatics. Wally scoffed at this idea but Artemis elbowed him, causing the redhead to glower at her. Then, the elevator dinged and we walked out to a room where there were more staircases and doors but the only difference was a giant golden bell sitting in the middle of it all. Then, another door opened up and Superboy, M'gann and Kaldur fell through. Artemis and I walked over to make sure they were alright but then, suddenly, we were under attack by Klarion and Kadabra.
I stood up and threw fireballs at Kadabra but he moved out of the way and used that annoying wand of his to send shock waves at us. He may be a fake but he was still tough. Then I saw Kent activate the bell and he and Wally stepped through it. I also saw Klarion try going after them but I leapt after him to stop him. I knocked into him, and the force of the push sent us both flying through one of the doors that was there. It opened up to another room filled with staircases and doorways. This place was starting to drive me insane. Klarion smiled at me and put the cat down.
"Playing the hero today, eh?" He asked sarcastically. I glared at him and began throwing fireballs at him. But, he dodged injury by making a fire dome around himself to protect himself and his cat from my attacks. His flames were a darker, crimson red…almost like Hellfire. He threw a few fireballs my way and I rolled out of the way, pressing my hand to the ground and sending a line of fire his way. The fire exploded out of the ground around him like geysers but again, he escaped injury.
Then, he conjured demonic claws and wrapped them around me, grinning widely at me. I struggled in its grip but, eventually, pressed my hands to the claws and began burning it. Klarion yelped slightly and pulled back the claws while I shot a straight line of fire at him. He moved out of the way but the fire still singed his coat slightly. He looked at it, brushed off what was on his arm and then turned back to me. He was holding back, I knew he was, but why?
Not daring to ask that question, I instead charged him with my fists covered in flames and began punching at his face. He dodged them and blocked some of them, and then he twisted my arm and flipped me, sending me flying across the room and hitting a corner of one of the staircases. I growled under my breath. That freaking hurt.
Rubbing my injured arm, I stood up straight and saw Klarion merely smiling at me. Something about it was off…I couldn't quite place it but it was like Klarion knew something but he wasn't saying anything. But, this guy was going down.
Klarion opened up his palms and conjured fire in his hands and began throwing it at me. He continued relentlessly to the point where it was becoming hard to dodge it. Then, he blew fire out of his mouth, like a freaking dragon, and this time, it hit. But, I was at least able to prepare a firewall to shield myself somewhat from the attack.
I felt my arms burning after that defensive move, though.
"Your skills have improved but, they're not quite at their peak, are they, Tempest? Or, should I say…" Next thing I knew, Klarion had his hand around my neck, squeezing tightly and making me cough and gasp for breath.
"…Amber Parkinson?" He finished, smirking at me. My eyes widened.
"How….how do you know who I am?" I gasped. Klarion threw his head back and laughed, squeezing a little bit more, causing me to gag.
"Oh, I know a lot more than that, my pretty." He said and then dropped me harshly to the floor, where I sucked in a deep breath, my lungs relieved that they finally are getting proper air passage. I glared up at him as he opened up a portal, ready to walk through with his cat. He turned to me with a smile.
"But, we'll talk some other time. Ta-ta!" He said, waving sarcastically as his cat hissed at me before the both of them jumped through the portal before I had a chance to do anything.
I stood up after a moment once I gained my breath. I could've fought him. I could've kicked him in the ribs, making him release me and then fried his ass but in his grasp I felt…helpless. I couldn't do anything. Why? What happened?
Amber, we need your help! M'gann suddenly called to me mentally. I shook the whole Klarion thing aside and went through the door I fell through before. I found Abra Kadabra standing over my friends, who were incapacitated. I leapt over and was ready to send a big fireball his way but he saw me coming and used that wand of his to shock me and sending me down to the ground. It felt like little needles and bee stings were hitting me all over my body, making me unable to move.
And, for the record, feeling helpless twice in the same day, let alone in ten minutes, is not fun!
I don't know how long this torture went on for but then, somehow, it just stopped. Kadabra's powers were taken from him, as well as most of his clothes, and Superboy knocked him out with one punch. I wasn't too sure what happened but I had a feeling Doctor Fate had something to do with it.
After we tied up Kadabra, Wally informed us that Kent was gone. Sadness hit each of us and we all took a moment to mourn for his passing. But, we knew once the League found out that they would want to give him a proper burial.
After we handed Kadabra over to the police and informed the Justice League about Kent's fate, we headed back to the Cave. Wally kept the helmet but still refused to show any sign of believing in magic. Like I said, close minded.
As for me, well, I couldn't get what Klarion said out of my head. But, I tried to push it aside. It could be nothing but then again, it couldn't. Sighing, I grabbed my phone, trying to ignore the whole Klarion business and called Roy. Maybe I could catch him while he wasn't out doing the hero thing. The phone rang about three times before he picked up.
"Hello?"
"Roy, it's me." I answered.
"Oh, hey, Amber. What's going on?" He asked. I told him what happened on our mission today, including Kent Nelson's death but I left out the part about Klarion. He was silent for a moment.
"I'm sorry." He finally whispered. I sighed.
"I know. We'll probably have his funeral soon. You should come." I suggested.
"Yeah, I might. Just let me know when it is, okay?" He said. I told him I would and then there was a bit of silence.
"How are you doing? The whole solo thing?" I asked. I could almost hear him shrug.
"It's pretty good. I'm doing fine on my own here. Right now, I'm just sitting on my couch relaxing because I just got back from patrolling."
"I'm glad to hear you're okay." I said and I blushed from embarrassment. I didn't mean to make it sound so….relieved. Almost like when a wife would be talking to her husband in the Military who's overseas and knowing he's still alive. There was silence again which was killing me.
"Is everything alright, Amber? You're pretty quiet tonight." Roy finally said on the other line. I blinked.
"What's wrong with being a little quiet?" I asked.
"Nothing but that's usually not you. Usually you're….loud and excited." Roy said and I knew he was smiling. My eyebrow twitched.
"I am not!" I said….loudly.
"I rest my case." Roy laughed.
"Oh, shut up, arrow boy." I retorted.
"You'd be one to talk, fire mouth." Roy shot back and I, again, could tell he was smirking.
"Don't be jealous." I grinned. I could practically hear him rolling his eyes.
"Yeah, jealous, that's me." He said and a second later, the both of us began laughing. It felt good, talking and laughing with Roy. It felt like old times. I missed him, badly.
"Roy…" I whispered but closed my mouth. I was so close to telling him how much I missed him but I shut myself up in time.
"Hmm?" I had to think of something else to say to cover up that but, the only thing that came out was the second thing I was trying to avoid saying to Roy:
"Klarion knows who I am." I gasped and covered my mouth when I said that. Dammit. Roy was right, I had a big mouth.
"What?" Roy asked from the other line. I sighed and repeated what I said. Silence fell from Roy's side of the line.
"You should tell someone." He finally responded.
"I just did."
"Not me! I mean, someone like your mother…Andromeda." I bit my bottom lip.
"Okay, I think I will."
"You think?" I rolled my eyes.
"Alright, alright, I will. Happy?"
"Very much." He replied and I couldn't help but smile. Somehow, telling him just made me feel better. He always knew what to say, even though sometimes it was a harsh truth.
"It's late. You should get some rest. Sounds like you've had a long day." Roy said after a few minutes of silence.
"You should too." I replied.
"Yes, mom." Roy joked and I smiled.
"Don't make me send you to your room, mister!" I giggled and Roy chuckled.
"Too late, I'm already in my room. Goodnight, Amber." He said.
"Goodnight, Roy." I replied before hanging up, gazing at my phone where it showed the screen for Roy's number and profile. I stared at it for a while, just thinking about his handsome face before sighing.
"I love you." I whispered before shutting off my phone and pulling the covers over me and falling asleep.
From Author- Alright so we got some plot twists here! How does Klarion know her? What's he planning? And I also gave you guys some RoyxAmber time as well. Sure, it might've been a phone call but it was a cute one, no?
Thank you for reading and please review!