MARVELOUS
Chapter 10
It wasn't long before the Bio Ship (cloaked of course) landed in Ebenezer Batson's backyard. It was a perfect landing: the vessel made no noise as it touched down and it caused only a very slight breeze, the treetops just barely swaying. Miss Martian had thought ahead and made sure that the entrance was on the side not facing the house. The team was quiet as they disembarked, Kid Flash and Superboy had been lectured throughout the flight on the importance of staying quiet and were trying their best as neither of them really wanted to be subjected to yet another lecture from Batman.
"Any activity?" Aqualad asked in a hushed voice after locating his teammates.
Kid Marvel shook his head. "Not yet but it's only been dark for a little over an hour so they might not show up for awhile. Or they could show up right now," he added as a brilliant Flash of light lit up the bottom floor of the house.
"Move in," Aqualad ordered.
Kid Marvel closed his eyes and focused. He could feel two distinct magical signatures-Klarion and Felix Faust. His eyes opened and he let out a heavy sigh as he ignored his teammates who were trying to get inside and quickly bit on his finger, drawing blood. He used the blood to draw a magic circle in the air, muttering an incantation as he did so.
For a moment everything was white then Kid Marvel found himself standing in a room filled to the brim with priceless artifacts in fancy display cases. Neither Klarion nor Felix Faust looked surprised to see him although Ebenezer Batson certainly did judging by the way he stumbled backwards. Ebenezer was a short, spindly old man. His white hair was stringy and thinning and the glasses sitting on his thin nose did nothing to hide the greedy look in his watery blue eyes.
"What's going on here?" the old man screeched.
A wave of dizziness hit Kid Marvel and he almost hit the ground but caught himself on a nearby coffee table, feeling sharp pain run through him and he almost groaned when he realized that by using such an advanced spell the magic had been forced to draw from his life force, causing the ulna in his left arm to splinter. "I won't let you steal that scroll," his voice, fortunately, managed to sound slightly menacing even as the backdoor opened and his teammates entered.
"It's only stealing if I don't give them permission to take it," Ebenezer scowled at the heroes. "We were in the middle of discussing that when you broke in. I did not agree to let you on my property or in my house!" He turned back to the villains both of whom looked bored. "Now then I would like to know how much you're willing to offer for this valuable scroll."
"I don't like him," Superboy declared. "Can we beat him up?"
"Seriously," Kid Flash chimed in. "If he wants to help the villains I say we take him in too."
"Pay?" Klarion scoffed. "Why on Earth would I give you money for that when I can just do this?" he snapped his fingers and Ebenezer's feet caught on fire. He screamed and dropped the scroll which Kid Flash caught just before it hit the ground.
"I've got it!" he yelled jubilantly right before he slipped on a patch of ice Felix Faust had conjured up and hit the wall, dropping the scroll as he passed out.
"Kid Flash!" Miss Martian yelled in worry as she flew over to her injured teammate, paying no attention to the fights breaking out around her.
"Don't worry, you're safe now," Aqualad put out the fire and attempted to reassure the crotchety old man.
"Get your hands off of me you freak!" Ebenezer took a swing at Aqualad who easily dodged it. "You and your friends are destroying my property!"
"We're trying to save it," an annoyed Robin called as he threw birdarang after birdarang at Felix Faust who merely countered with powerful spells.
Superboy was covering Miss Martian and Kid Flash as both Klarion and Felix Faust directed the occasional spell or physical object their way although most of Klarion's attention was focused on Kid Marvel.
Unfortunately, Kid Marvel had used up a good deal of his magical energy by teleporting and was having trouble blocking Klarion's attacks with a broken arm. His teammates were occupied with Felix Faust who was more powerful than Klarion and besides, after the fuss he had made last time he didn't have much of a choice but to do this by himself. Although if Mr. Batson didn't stop screaming about his precious stuff being destroyed Kid Marvel was going to deck him. It looked like Aqualad was thinking the same thing even as he tried to reason with the old man and protect him at the same time.
"Pay attention please," Klarion cackled before throwing yet another fireball.
Kid Marvel just barely dodged it, having to grab a display case for support when his legs threatened to give out. "Watch your aim," he tried to sound playful as he conjured a small ball of lightning and tossed it. Kid Marvel blushed when it fizzled out mere inches from Klarion who sniggered.
"Looks like someone needs a nap," he jeered.
As everyone was otherwise occupied no one noticed Teekl as he made his way to where the scroll lay, only a few feet from the unconscious Kid Flash. Carefully skirting around Miss Martian and Superboy as they tried to help Robin take on Felix Faust he arrived at his destination, grabbing the scroll with his teeth before he returned to his Master's side.
"Good work, Teekl," Klarion praised, rewarding his familiar with a scratch behind the ears. "Farewell, heroes," he and Felix Faust disappeared in a Flash of light.
I failed, Kid Marvel thought distantly as the room went black and he fell to the ground, the screams of his teammates echoing in his ears.