It was amazing how things could really work out for you, if you didn't panic. A little gamble here, a little risk there, done all with a calm, knowing demeanour and fate practically came running to you with good fortune in their hands.
Arthur, or rather, the Magician, stood outside the skyscraper he'd seen the Dragons in, at the foot of the building. He calmly shuffled a deck of cards in his hands, each shuffle fancier than the last.
The Dream Team had turned up for their little meet-up. A rather big gamble on the Magician's part, but one that had paid off very well. Sadly, the party was not made of as many Supers as he would have liked.
He'd seen Germanium and Red Blitz... Veloce had, unsurprisingly, not come. After all, the Italian was more of a super hero in the sense that he rescued kittens from trees and...
... and that was pretty much it. Not that Veloce hadn't shown amazing courage in his super hero life. But sadly, the Italian's nerves didn't hold out very well when faced with danger and super speed only encouraged the Italian to run away from any problem very, very fast, rather than to speedily slam into the cause of his fears.
Another Super to not show his face was a certain Frog that had gotten himself kicked out of the Dream Team a week or so ago. To Arthur, it'd been more of a relief, as the Brit only had so much time to get himself to the skyscraper. Had Allure been there, the Frenchman would have teleported the team to the Dragons within seconds.
America and Shiro Ninja had been there, of course, but strangely, not Inviso... At least, Arthur hadn't seen him.
What really bothered the Magician was that Brillo hadn't shown up.
Why hadn't Brillo come? Last he knew, the Spaniard had been doing fine. None of his rogue gallery had been causing him much trouble as of late. This was, in fact, a period of peace for Brillo, or rather, the calm before the storm (since prolonged times of peace in the life of a super hero often meant something very, very bad was coming their way very, very soon).
So why hadn't the Spaniard come?
Sighing, the Magician patiently waited for the Dragons to exit the building. Now was not the time to be thinking about missing frien- enemies.
Germanium and Red Blitz had been the first to crash the party, having been able to travel the fastest (power-lines were so very useful), with Shiro and America joining a considerable time later.
He fanned the cards out and started arranging them into a pattern.
Arthur had seen photos of the Great Dragon and knew that he'd have to exit the skyscraper, as there was no room to transform inside it. And since the Great Dragon had to leave, if he was smart, he'd go through a door, but not the front door exit.
After all, the Dragons were suddenly under attack, so they needed to get an overview of the situation. And going through the front door was risky, as somebody might be guarding it. A window could be too visible.
As expected, the door the Magician was waiting next to was thrown open.
The Magician pulled out his gun, using the other free hand to neaten the cards and put them into one of his pockets.
He cocked it just as the Great Dragon ran out.
"What's the hurry, my good sir?" the Magician asked. The Great Dragon froze and slowly turned to him, shock slowly making room for anger as his eyes narrowed.
"You," he said.
"Me," the Magician replied, smiling. "Get in the car. Make a wrong move and you're dead," the Magician continued, almost snarling, waving at the car.
He'd stolen it earlier that evening, to make it to the Bank on time, and just recently used it to get to the skyscraper. And now he was using it to make sure the Great Dragon couldn't transform.
The two got into the car. Once inside it, Arthur locked it.
"I thought the two of us could have a quick, private chat, while your minions are occupied," the Magician explained. Unlike in his usual confrontations, he wasn't smiling. His face was serious and unreadable. Tonight, the Magician wasn't playing.
"Really? This feels like a kidnapping."
"No one's in the driver's seat. This car is just insurance, to make sure no one interrupts."
"And that I can't transform."
"Hm. I didn't know that. Nice coincidence though."
"You're safe in here. Why don't you lower the gun?"
"Yes. So that you can overpower me and possibly kill me. Great idea."
"I was hoping you weren't as smart as they said."
"This has nothing to do with intelligence. It's called common sense."
"Then yours is more acute than that of others."
"I am one of a kind," the Magician admitted, shrugging. "Listen Dragon, I don't appreciate attempts on my life."
"What?"
"I know you called me out tonight only to kill me. Did you think I wouldn't know?"
"I didn't call you out to kill you. That would have just been a nice bonus."
The Magician paused, looking him over with the Sight.
"... This wasn't about me. This was to test the Black Ninja. Wasn't it."
"Now, how does the infamous Magician know that. You didn't seem to know moments ago."
"This isn't a Q&A session, Drags. You answer my questions and mine only."
"You didn't ask a question."
"Well, I am now. Why were you using me to test your loyal, little pet?"
"I had some suspicions that I had to test. Lucky for him, I was wrong."
"Hm."
"What exactly do you want from me?" the Great Dragon asked.
The Magician glared at him, unknown to the Great Dragon, with the Sight. Arthur was assessing him, trying to figure out how the Great Dragon ticked.
"You formed gangs in New Pond and are heading towards a gang war," the Magician stated. "And I really don't like that."
"And why does this concern you?"
"If you know what's good for you, you'll know to leave New Pond. This is my city and I don't like how it's changed during my unfortunate absence."
"Are you threatening me?"
"No. A threat implies a bluff. And I can assure you, I am not bluffing."
The Great Dragon smiled.
"Unfortunately for you, New Pond is under my control. I don't believe you have any say or choice in the matter."
"What you believe is irrelevant. I'm the most terrifying thing in New Pond. My word is practically law."
"Your word is what? Do you seriously still believe that!?" the Great Dragon laughed. "You haven't even been so much as a D-list villain in three entire years! Nobody fears you."
"Oh really? Then why do your men cower when they see me?"
"Because they fear the consequences. They know that you will cause them to fail and they know that I do not take failure very well," the Great Dragon replied calmly, his smile snakelike.
"You didn't seem to mind so much when you fled China and Japan," the Magician muttered.
The Great Dragon's smile faded.
"... What."
Now it was the Magician's turn to smile.
"You don't like people dredging up the past, huh?"
"What do you know about my past? Why do you know anything at all?"
"I'm the Magician. It's my business to know."
The Great Dragon frowned, but the Magician kindly reminded the villain that he had a gun, by placing his free hand on it too.
"I've said all I've wanted to. You've told me what I needed to know. Go."
"Really? All that fuss for just a few minutes?" the Great Dragon asked, intrigued.
"I've said what I wanted to. And I got my point across."
"... If you say so, Magic boy," the Great Dragon replied, his smile returning. The Magician instantly regretted his order, as he watched the Great Dragon open the door and get out. Arthur had realised too late that he should have left the car first. He'd given the other villain an opportunity to transform.
But he couldn't change his mind. The Magician had to always appear certain. Confident. He couldn't afford to admit to mistakes. So almost helplessly, he watched as the Great Dragon placed a hand on the door to close it, his gaze level with that of the Magician.
"Magician, you cast a large shadow. But it is just a shadow. The man behind the mask, I am sure, is nothing more than a boy," he said.
"Walk away, before I do something you'll regret," the Magician threatened. The Great Dragon shut the door, then held his hands up, as he moved away from the car.
Immediately, the Magician jumped out of the car, leaving it just in time for the Great Dragon to fail setting the entire car, with him in it, on fire. The car exploded, the heat of the fire setting the petrol tank ablaze.
The Brit was thrown further than he'd expected, having not managed to leave the car in time to avoid the blast. He smashed into the ground several feet away. He was lucky that his forearm and shins had soaked up most of the impact. If he was lucky, he hadn't damaged anything too bad.
However, everything still hurt. Once he'd come to his senses, he swallowed the pain and tried to get to his feet, to run. He wasn't safe yet. Sadly, he didn't give his aching body enough time to recover and his legs gave way. He fell to the ground again.
He'd made another mistake. That was bad.
He'd also bitten off more than he could chew.
That was worse.
He had no way of dealing with the Great Dragon. At least not right now. The Great Dragon was physically superior and seemed to be at least as smart as the Magician.
Arthur held himself up on his arms, in an attempt to get up again.
He then heard a loud thud on either side of him and Arthur rolled onto his back, coming face to face with the Dragon of New Pond.
"Let me make this clear Magic boy. You do not threaten me. But don't worry. I won't ever pull a stunt like this again. I want to deal with you personally next time we cross each other. No assassins, no cars, nothing. Just you and me in a... fair match."
Arthur just stared up at him, not realising how he looked. The Great Dragon's smile was worse in dragon form and the creature smirked widely. He lowered his head, close to Arthur's face and sniffed.
"Your fear is so delicious."
Arthur's eyes narrowed. He glared at the Great Dragon, before forcing himself to smile.
"I see you're addicted to the taste of fear."
The Great Dragon smile dropped.
"Until next time Magician," he hissed. "I have some heroes to tend to."
Arthur unwillingly curled up, as the Dragon pushed himself off the ground to be airborne.
It was instinctive. It wasn't because he was afraid.
He cautiously looked through his fingers, only to see the Great Dragon smiling mockingly at him, having seen the Magician seem to cower and flew to the skyscraper.
The Magician let out a rather unsteady breath and after a while, uncurled. He lay there, on the concrete, before forcing himself to his feet. His legs still felt weak, but he had to move. If he hung around too long, someone would find him and a weak Magician was very bad press. Even though he more or less had his reputation back, an incident like this could easily shatter it again.
He wasn't about to waste more weeks on building it. He'd rather give up on the whole fiasco and return to simple crimes, away from the spotlight.
Everything hurt.
Did he even have the energy to get home?
First, he needed a place to hide, somewhere where he could tend his injuries... No, first he needed to get to his satchel, which he'd hid... By the Bank.
He groaned tiredly.
The bank was very far away, but home was further. Once he'd crawled somewhere out of sight, he tried to get his thoughts together. He inspected his injuries. There were naturally a few scrapes and a bit of blood. Fire resistant clothing couldn't protect you from being thrown onto concrete. He was pretty sure his forearms and shins were at least a little swollen.
Perhaps he'd have a few bruises...
He should have worn more protective gear. What had he been thinking?
At least he hadn't injured his head. Ironically, that was always the most unprotected part of his body. Most people didn't go for the head though, so the fact that it was usually unprotected was of little concern to him. He took off his gloves and looked at his hands. They were a bit red from the initial impact and felt sore, but then again, everything felt like that. He sighed and rested his head against the wall.
Where would he go? What would he do?
Even if he got to his satchel, home was too far away. He didn't want to stay at a hotel. He didn't have any money, nor had he the energy to steal some. The Karpusi mansion was too far away and staying at any of his friends would be idiotic.
He sighed deeply and tried to think. There had to be a way for him to get home without having to use too much energy...?
This was stupid, but sadly also the best option.
He tapped at the window, hoping he wouldn't scare them. The last few times he'd visited them, he'd noted that the older sister was a lightsleeper. She was easily woken up. So she should hear him tapping on the window.
As expected, she did stir.
What a relief.
Of course, being the Magician, he could easily just unlock the window himself and climb in, but he preferred being let in. He wasn't, after all, an ignorant idiot that would simply invite himself in, on a whim without taking Arthur's feelings into consideration or even asking for permission. Stupid bloody gits...
Arthur smiled and waved when Esther, the elder of two siblings whose parents frequently abandoned them overnight, saw him and sat up. But to his confusion she was... scared...?
His smile fell and he tapped on the glass again, but she seemed to cower in response. Feeling confused, he tried to show her that he meant no harm. She didn't move for a moment, but then she slowly crept over to the window.
He looked at her with the Sight, wanting to know why she was scared. He frowned, when he finally understood.
She was afraid of him because of the Magician.
He hadn't visited them since he stole the Rose of Britain. He hadn't needed to. With everything having been so hectic in his life, he'd completely forgotten them and for children, time took far longer to pass...
And they must have seen him on TV or something and put two and two together. Realised that Capt'n Brows wasn't who he claimed he was.
Even though the night had truly been beneficial to him, this night felt like mistake after mistake after mistake.
She grabbed her notebook and crudely wrote "Yor a bad guy". Arthur shook his head. He indicated to her that he wanted her to open the window.
She shook her head and tapped on the book again. In response, he took out a pack of cards and hastily prepared a trick. Esther watched in curiosity.
He showed her the deck of cards, neatly fanned out. He indicated for her to choose one. So she did. He took out the selected card and showed it to her. The ace of hearts. He then placed it back in the deck and shuffled it multiple times, before showing the top card to her.
It was once again the ace of hearts, but this time it had a message written on it.
Sorry.
She hesitantly opened the window.
"Magician...?" she half-asked. Arthur smiled nervously.
"No, Capt'n Brows!"
She frowned.
"No, you're the Magician!"
The smile faltered for a moment. "I did say sorry..."
"I'm confused about who you are."
"It's... complicated, I admit. Can I come in?"
"I don't know..."
"Well, are your parents home?"
"... No..."
"Then you should let me in. Children, no matter what age, should not be left without adult supervision."
"Grown-ups have super vision?!"
"That's... That's not what I... Look, you need a babysitter. Wouldn't you like someone to keep the monsters at bay while you sleep?"
She continued frowning, as she tried to figure out whether or not she trusted him.
"I'm no stranger," he added.
"But you're the Magician! A bad guy!"
"Well... yes... but... I already told you, it's not simple. But you trust me don't you?"
She twiddled with her thumbs, clearly not certain anymore.
"Look, I won't stay long. I just need some coffee and a little first aid and I'll be on my way again. I'll be gone within an hour, promise."
"... But you're a bad guy..." she whispered. "... That's what everyone says..." she added.
"And you believe them?" he asked. She shook her head.
"No..." she quietly muttered. "You're nice."
"... So can I come in?"
"... I... Well... I guess. But you can't stay!"
"Gone within an hour," Arthur promised. He climbed in through the window.
"Why do you need first aid?" she asked.
"I was fighting a baddie."
"A baddie... So a bad guy? Or like a good guy who you think is a bad guy, but is actually a good guy?"
"Bad guy bad guy."
"So you're a good guy?"
"... Sure."
"But why is the Magician a bad guy?"
"Uh... Because... reasons...?"
"That's a dumb answer."
"Yes, well, it's all you're getting."
"You're the Magician, meaning you're a bad guy, but you're a good guy, how does that make sense?"
"I... I'll explain when you're older. I think..."
He got to his feet and began walking to the bathroom. He assumed that that was where the family kept their medical things. Esther trailed after him.
"Aren't you scared being here all alone?" he asked her. She pondered this for a moment.
"No. I have Timothy."
"And what does Timothy think?"
"He has me."
"Aha. Well... Good... It's good to have someone," he replied, scanning the bathroom, finding that the Hilton medical equipment indeed was in their bathroom. However, it wasn't very well kept and lacked many things... Perhaps they were a very healthy family...? Either way, he was left with very little to work with. He took some disinfectant and cotton wool out of the cabinet and began tending the few scrapes he had sustained.
"Does it ever bother you? Being here alone?" he asked.
"Well... Yes. It's scary sometimes."
"Are you scared right now?"
"No. You're here."
"Right," Arthur muttered, feeling guilty. He had earnt their trust so easily as the Magician. No one trusted him as the Magician. Not even the Whisperer or Angélique. And he just... used them. He focused on tending himself agian.
"Why did you stop visiting us?" Esther asked. Arthur continued cleaning the injuries, so Esther asked again. He let out a deep sigh and looked up, as if some heavenly voice would tell him what to say.
"... There's no good excuse I'm afraid. I sadly am easily distracted," he began to explain, putting the disinfectant away.
"What does distracted mean?" she asked. She got some plasters out and without asking, put them on some of the scrapes that had gotten deep enough to bleed a little. Arthur had wanted to stop her, but still feeling overly tired, couldn't be bothered. He'd have little plasters with dinosaurs and rockets on his elbows and knees. So what? No one would see them. He hoped.
"It... It means that... Look, the reason I failed to visit is that... I have a lot of problems to deal with and they tend to catch my attention and I forget the important things."
"Oh... Are your problems caused by being the Magician?"
Arthur chose not to answer that question.
"I'm sorry I haven't visited," he said, unrolling his sleeves and trousers, now that the external injuries were more or less dealt with.
"It's OK... Timothy and me were confused, because you're the Magician and we didn't know what to think and..."
"Hey, hey, you can trust me."
"... How?"
"... Well... You know how all those cartoons always say 'trust your heart' and similar things?"
"Yeah?"
"Well, what is your heart telling you about me?"
"That you're nice?"
"So trust your heart."
"... Oh. OK. So even though everyone thinks you're bad, you're actually good, cause my heart says so."
Arthur felt a little bad for manipulating her for a second time that night. But not quite as much as he should.
"Exactly. But only in my case. Any other super villains are not to be trusted, even if your heart tells you so. At all. Ever. In fact, avoid Supers altogether."
"I'm confused."
"... Just avoid Supers. They bring far more trouble than good into your life."
"But you seem to be good."
"... Good for what?"
"Well, you're nice to Timothy and me. And you stop baddies!"
"... I stop what now? What makes you say that?"
"You said you got hurt while fighting a bad guy!"
"... Uh... I... Yes. I did... I suppose I do fight bad guys..."
Arthur took some painkillers, then proceeded to get some coffee from the kitchen. Noticing her still following him, he asked "Shouldn't you be in bed?" The girl had to be tired...
"I can't sleep," she replied. He smirked.
"That's because you're not in bed."
"No!" Esther whined, having not expected that response. He simply laughed and continued making coffee. Esther rubbed her eyes, finding this task to be particularly boring.
"... So you're going to leave now?" she asked when the coffee was finished.
"Not quite yet. I have to drink it first," Arthur replied. He had made himself the equivalent of two espressos. Revolting as the stuff was, he needed to stay awake just a little bit longer.
"And now?" she asked, once he'd finished drinking.
"Yup. Leaving as promised."
"Do you have to go now?" she asked, emphasising the now. Arthur stopped in his tracks.
"I thought you didn't want me to hang around."
"Well, now that I know you're still a good guy... Mommy sometimes reads me a bedtime story at night and I can't sleep..."
Arthur looked at the clock in the kitchen.
"It's two in the morning."
"Please?" she begged.
"This isn't something I do..."
"Please?" she repeated, looking at him with big eyes. He knew she was manipulating him. He could see it, even without the Sight. But since he'd already manipulated her several times that night...
"... Fine..." he replied in surrender, sighing deeply. She smiled brightly and quickly ran to her room to get the book. Arthur walked after her, unsure how to feel about what was happening.
"Look Capt'n Magician! This is my favourite!" she began to explain, as they got comfortable in the lit hallway. Arthur smiled, realising the book was King Arthur and the Knights of the round table.
"Well, let's see, which story shall I read to you...?" he began, opening the book. Esther grinned widely and listened intently.
At about six in the morning, Arthur finally crawled into his own bed to get some sleep. He'd somehow been roped into reading several stories to Esther, not to mention that Timothy woke up and demanded he read more stories to them... How in the world had those two children stayed awake? He certainly never remembered being awake that early in the morning for so long when he was their age...
Once he'd gotten the children to go to sleep, he'd left to go to the Bank and picked up his satchel. He got dressed into his civilian clothing and gone home... Sadly, upon getting home, he had to update his information on the Great Dragon, noting the villain's weaknesses and strengths and ways to potentially overpower the Dragon of New Pond, as well as properly tend his injuries and take a very hot shower to relax the muscles, before going to bed.
But now, finally, at long last, he was done with everything he had to do before he let himself relax and was finally able to get some sweet, sweet sleep...
He lay in his bed, face down and eventually began to snore quietly.
Ah yes. This is a beautiful example of a chapter that refuses to be written. I don't know why, but this chapter hated me, going so far as to make everything come out wrong. I'm dissatisfied.
On a fun note, I was wondering what kind of injuries can be caused by heavy impact. A few days ago, I crashed while skiing and injured my right shoulder, which still aches now. No other injuries sustained, since I my shoulder absorbed all the shock. I remember thinking I'd dislocated it at first! Couldn't move my arm at all for the first few minutes. Haha... ha... Oh, what these mad writers do for the sake of accuracy...
In addition - Inviso was there, Arthur just didn't see him. Because nobody sees Canada. It's not a funny joke, I apologise.
Thank you for reading. I appreciate it and wow did that last chapter get a lot of reviews. Thank you reviewers of last chapter. :)