Chapter 39: The Eternal Spring

Gold Siren, Nightwing, Aqualad, and Superman all landed hard in the middle of a forest. To Aqualad, it seemed a bit strange. As they were going after a trident. Why were they on land to go after an artifact of the sea?

''Uh, where are we,'' Superman asked, instantly.

''If i'm not mistaken, and I rarely am, we're somewhere on the outskirts of San Francisco,'' White said.

''How can you be sure,'' Kaldur asks.

''I have some witch friends that live here, so just sensing their magic tells me where we are,'' White explained. ''That, and I also know which part of the world each of the weapons are. The vampire's breath in Transylvania. The scepter in Spain. The bows on Delos, near Greece. And Camelot is somewhere near Rome.''

''Seems a little strange, though,'' Dick says. ''We're here to look for a trident, yet we're in a forest. On dry land. I was expecting to go to Atlantis or Poseidonis.''

''Well, this artifact needed more protection,'' White said. ''It is not just a trident. It's thee trident. Poseidon's trident. The most powerful of all the Weapons of the Ancients.''

''How is the trident the strongest of the weapons,'' Superman asked.

''Each of the artifacts are strong in their own way,'' White explains. ''The vampire's breath can cause eternal night and a vampire apocalypse. The Scepter of Light bends light and can bring all secrets to the light. The bows harness the power of the sun and the moon. Excalibur's a weapon beyond most approach. But the trident is so much more. Water, in any shape or form, is dangerous. The trident can harness its power. Command the ocean, control weather, even stop the blood flow in a human body. Not to mention all the disasters water can bring. Rainstorms, hurricanes... even tidal waves.''

''And that alone gives us the incentive to get to it first,'' Dick said.

''I suspect that it's well hidden,'' Kaldur guesses.

''In plain sight,'' White smirked.

''I don't get it,'' Superman admitted.

''It's magic, you only have to go with it, no need to 'get it,'' White chuckled.

He began to walk through the forest, the other three heroes following. As they went through the woods, Superman floated up and landed close to Siren.

''I see you around the cave more, trying to get to know Conner,'' White said to him. ''Good for you. He may not show it, but he's ecstatic about finally having a bond with you.''

''We only have you to thank,'' Superman says. ''You talked some sense into me and I definitely want to thank you.''

''The love was always there, it just needed a little help to come out,'' White told him. ''Me and Phantom were experimented on by our own parents, and I didn't want Conner to have to deal with that kind of heartbreak.''

''And it did help that your brother had a clone of himself so you could relate it to us,'' Superman chuckled.

''Use what you know,'' White smiled.

While those two were talking, Nightwing and Aqualad were having their own conversation.

''Siren and Jaime, are you sure,'' Dick asked his friend.

''You seriously never notice the way those two look at each other,'' Kaldur raised an eyebrow. ''The way they both disappear then reappear together.''

''I noticed after Siren woke up from his coma,'' Dick says. ''After he left to get cleaned up, Jaime completely vanished, pulling a Houdini. Then the two showed up together.''

''They've been doing this since Siren literally blew up Christmas,'' Kaldur pointed out. ''Maybe they're afraid of being judged.''

''Because they're gay? I just got him back so I'd never let anything separate us again,'' Dick says. ''I don't mind that he is. In fact, i'm proud that he has a boyfriend.''

Both conversations were interrupted by rustling in the bushes. Siren, Nightwing, Superman, and Aqualad all got into battle stances. A figure jumped from the bushes. There was a sound of a gorilla roaring and the group was scattered in different directions. When Siren looked up, he got a good look at the figure.

She is tan-skinned, and at a medium height, with hazel eyes. She has reddish-brown wavy hair that goes slightly past her shoulders, with the tips of her hair having a lighter shade of copper-red. She wore a black bodysuit/costume with the shirt having a golden vest-like piece of clothing. She also wore gold high heel boots with the boots reaching her knees.

(Just change the hair color and the boots.)

''You really can never make an ordinary entrance, can you, Alya,'' White asked her.

''You know me, Siren,'' the girl, now known as Alya, smiled at the siren. ''An extraordinary girl deserves an extraordinary entrance. At least I didn't use a rhino, like last time we met.''

''You were just lucky that I am able to fly and was able to dodge that time,'' White said. ''You, plus rhino, equals yicks.''

''I'm not that bad,'' Alya protested.

''You're right,'' White agreed. ''You're worse.''

''You are one interesting siren,'' Alya said.

''So I've been told,'' White chuckled.

''Siren, who is your little friend,'' Superman asked.

''More importantly, who are you,'' Alya asked, crossing her arms.

The two started glaring at each other.

''Okay, not the time for a hero-hero brawl,'' White intervened. ''Alya, this is Superman, Aqualad, and my brother Nightwing. They're heroes from the Justice League and Young Justice. Guys, this is Alya. She's known as Dryas, hero of the animal kingdom and guardian of the trident.''

''You remind me of Vixen, this hero in Detroit,'' Dick said.

''Makes sense,'' Alya says. ''It was my magic that created her totem. My siblings created the other four. We were all born from the energy of each element. Animal, water, air, earth, and fire.''

''Those totems were created almost a thousand years ago,'' Superman raised an eyebrow. ''How could you have created them.''

''I was born sometime around 5000 years ago, give or take a century,'' Alya giggled. ''I'm immortal, like a lot of magical beings.''

''Alya, the trident's in danger,'' White informed. ''Could you open up the Eternal Spring for us?''

''Anything to protect the trident,'' Alya says. ''You know the way.''

She leads them further into the forest. They stopped in a small circle of trees, a pedestal of stone at the center. There was a trident etched on the two of it.

''This is how we get to the spring,'' Alya told them.

''A rock,'' Superman doubted.

''A rock can bring you down,'' White smirked and chuckled.

''Oh snap,'' Alya burst into laughter.

''Just open the spring,'' White told her.

Alya went over to the stone. She held her hands over the top of the pedestal. A misty white light flowed down the stone and the whole forest started to swirl around them. The forest was literally just a blur of green, brown, and blue. Swooshes of light also swirled around them. When it settled, with none of them being dizzy, surprisingly, the entire area had changed.

There was still the pedestal, but the entire area was so enchanted. They walked through a door with an arched top. The rest of the wall entrance had a golden color with silver columns. Other columns were around, with stained glass connecting the tops of them. A staircase of gold and vines went down into the garden. There were many different kinds of plants. The first tree was one right near the end of the staircase. Its willow-like branches had shimmering pink leaves. Around it were tons of bushes, in a rainbow of colors.

The garden was beautiful. There were flowers from all over the world. Rare ones like ghost orchids and corpse flowers. To even more common ones like roses and sunflowers. There were also many different types of trees. A giant waterfall was pouring near the edge of the garden. It fell into a small stream that turned into a spring, flowing down into a pond.

''It's so beautiful,'' Kaldur gasped.

''The Eternal Spring, a place where all nature works in perfect harmony with enchantments,'' Alya says.

''Uh huh,'' Superman said.

''The trident was trusted to here because of the naturally magical waters that flow from the waterfall,'' White explained.

''Yup,'' Dick says.

White and Alya looked at each other. They both knew that the beauty of the spring was a little bit distracting. So why not mess with them.

''And it's also home to Big Foot and the Loch Ness Monster that were dropped off here on a spaceship,'' Alya joked.

''Okay,'' Dick says.

The two magic users burst out laughing, snapping the heroes out of it.

''Very funny you two,'' Superman crossed his arms.

''We thought so,'' White and Alya said.