Mount Justice;
August 19th;
19:29 EDT
My knee was healing nicely, considering the condition it had been in ten days ago. Not the stab wound, unfortunately. It seemed the left over magic residue from when I healed it last time was making my potions less effective. Luckily enough for me, Red Tornado was going to take out the stitches today.
Oh, and I didn't turn green. The procedure had been successful and I was still half fey, half human, and not at all martian.
My leg, however, wasn't at the top of my worry list right now. Mr. Nelson was. I hadn't heard from him since he left for New Orleans, and although it wasn't entirely abnormal for him to be gone for so long, a trip to New Orleans to speak to a medium shouldn't have taken 23 days.
"Arctica, are you prepared to take out the stitches located in your upper leg?"
I would have jumped when Red Tornado appeared out of nowhere had it not been for my injured leg. Seriously, how do superheroes do that? And why? I feel like I would have known if he entered my room, but he was standing there, and it was super creepy.
"Yes, yes, just let me get up." I was sitting on my bed, resting my knee. I got off crutches a few days ago, but now it hurts to walk around at all. I only ever came out for meals or whenever Batman wanted to talk to me about the details of attending Gotham Academy. I sorta felt bad about avoiding everyone, but I reminded myself that it was for their protection. Don't get close to them and the Snow Queen wouldn't hurt them.
I gently slid off my bed and carefully put weight on my knee. Ever so often, it would just give out when I put too much weight on it, so I decided to take it as easy as possible.
Red Tornado waited until I had both feet on the ground and looked relatively steady before leaving the room and leading the way to the med bay, where I had been treated right after the mission a week or so before. I limped after him, picking up the front of my white silk and lace nightgown so I wouldn't trip over it.
Was the gown a bit fancy for sleeping in? Most definitely; it was more of a 1920s wedding gown, really. Not that I cared. It was my favorite nightgown, and I may or may not have another one just like it in light blue. I might be a little extravagant when it comes to my clothes.
Red Tornado opened the med bay doors without a sound and moved out of the way so I could enter first. I hobbled into the room and seated myself on one of the white beds. My nightgown fit in quite nicely in here, only it was a bit too elegant for the plain walls, beds, and floors.
I hiked up the skirt of my dress to reveal my knee cast, the stitches on my thigh, and the shorts I had thoughtfully worn underneath my gown for just the occasion.
I tried my best to keep still while Red Tornado pulled up the knot on one stitch and cut it with a small pair of scissors. The sight of it was deeply unsettling to me, even if Tornado had incredibly stable hands, so I turned my head away and stared up at the ceiling.
Since Cheshire had done me the pleasure of wiggling her knife a bit before tearing it out of my thigh, I had to get six stitches for a simple stab wound. I've been through worse; I had to get twenty stitches once when an ice griffen raked its claws across my stomach. Not fun.
"All stitches have been removed," Tornado announced fifteen minutes later.
I let out a breath of relief and let my skirt down, grateful to be over and done with that experience. More than likely, I would have to go through it again, but I was off the hook for now.
"Thank you, Tornado. I feel much better with those stitches out of my leg." I carefully got to my feet, testing my newly stitch free leg. It didn't feel all that different, but it was a little less stiff.
"It is simply my responsibility as your den mother," Tornado said in his robotic monotone. He turned to leave, his robot parts moving without a sound. Maybe that's how he snuck into my room.
"Uh, Tornado?"
"Yes?"
"Part of your job as our den mother is… taking care of us, is it not?"
"It is."
"Then you wouldn't be entirely opposed to helping me, would you?"
"That is one of my responsibilities."
I let out a breath I hadn't realized I was holding. It was not often that I found an adult willing to help me, but it seemed that superheroes were the exception.
"Mr. Nelson, my mentor, left for New Orleans last month, 23 days ago, but he has not yet returned, nor have I heard from him. I am worried something may have happened to him." I wrung my hands in the lace of my nightgown nervously, worry twisting my stomach just as much as my hands.
"You are not well enough to investigate yourself," Tornado observed, to which I nodded. "I will take you to the Tower of Fate, and then to New Orleans to investigate Kent Nelson's disappearance."
"Thank you, monsieur." I tried my best to bow to Tornado in gratitude, but it was wobbly and a bit painful with the current state of my knee.
"I will wait in the Mission Room for you if you wish to get changed."
I nodded my head and limped the fastest I could towards my room. Just because I might be going on a rescue mission with a broken kneecap doesn't mean I don't need to look my best. It was the earliest thing engraved in me; at least, of what I could remember. Memory of my youth could be a bit botchy sometimes.
I slipped on a mint green tank top since it was still eighty degrees outside and then struggled to tug jean shorts over my cast. A skirt would have been easier, but more restricting if I needed to run or fight, which hopefully wouldn't happen.
I got to the Mission Room just in time to see Kaldur get owned by Superboy. Ouch, that's got to hurt.
"Black Canary taught me that," Superboy said with a grin on his face that everyone rarely saw. As the Kryptonian helped Kaldur up, a hole appeared in the ceiling and Red Tornado came out of it on a, well, tornado.
Tornado glanced at them for only a second, before making his way towards me. I was impatiently waiting by the Zeta Tubes, eager to go.
"Do you have a mission for us?" Wally zipped in front of Tornado, slowing him down and irritating me more than he had all week.
"Mission assignments are the Batman's responsibility," Tornado said simply. Hasn't he already said that last time they asked him for a mission?
"Yeah. Well, the Batman's with the Robin doing the Dynamic Duo thing in Gotham, but you're heading somewhere, right? Hot date or a misión?"
Oh, so that's why I hadn't seen Robin today. He always dogged me at meal times, asking if my knee was okay, or if my stab wound hurt, etc. I don't know why he cared so much.
"If we can be of help," Kaldur added.
Red Tornado looked at me, leading the rest of the team to do so as well. "It is not my own mission, but Arctica's."
Great. Thanks for putting me on the spot, Red.
Sighing, I nodded and limped over to him. Tornado turned around and started typing on a holographic keyboard, pulling up a picture of Mr. Nelson and his stats. I found it oddly creepy that they knew he slept with a teddy bear until he married Inza.
Kaldur's eyes lit up as he recognized the old man dressed in a pristine suit. "That is Mr. Nelson, Arctica's mentor, right?"
I nodded in confirmation. "He's been missing for 23 days. Normally, I wouldn't worry too much, he is a sorcerer, but he's also old. 106."
"Guy doesn't look a day over ninety," I heard Wally mutter to Artemis. I shot him a glare from where I stood.
"Kent was a charter member of the Justice Society, the precursor to your mentor's Justice League," Tornado explained.
"Of course. Nelson was Earth's Sorcerer Supreme. He was Doctor Fate," Kaldur said with awe.
"As far as I'm concerned, he still is Doctor Fate," I started, "Mr. Nelson spent so much time in that helmet, he might as well be Doctor Fate, even when he is not wearing it. Nabu and Kent Nelson know each other as well as they know themselves. They've certainly adapted the same cranky attitude."
Wally said something quietly to Artemis, and even if I couldn't hear it this time, I still glared at him.
"Kent may simply be on one of his… walkabouts," Tornado said, bringing us back to the conversation at hand, "But he is caretaker to the Helmet of Fate, the source of the doctor's mystic might, and it is unwise to leave such power unguarded."
Ah, yes, I knew quite a few sorcerers that would love to get their hands on that helmet.
"He's like the great sorcerer priests and priestesses of Mars. And he is Arctica's mentor. I would be honored to help find him," M'gann said reverently, looking eager to find my mentor.
"Me too!" Wally volunteered, his hand in the air. I scoffed and rolled my eyes; this was getting ridiculous. "So honored, I can barely stand it. Magic rocks."
I didn't have time to deal with Wally's obvious lie to impress M'gann and finding Mr. Nelson right now. They would just have to deal with it the hard way. The Tower wouldn't hurt them. Maybe.
"Here, take this." I fished a golden key out of my pocket, the key to the Tower of Fate. "It is the key to the Tower of Fate. Red Tornado and I will be going to New Orleans to see if we can find him there."
Kaldur went to take the key from my hand, but I pulled it out of reach at the last second. "Remember, do not lie to the Tower. Do not enter any doors on the right hand side. And do not go into my room. Understood?"
Kaldur nodded and I finally gave him the golden key.
"What are the chances we both so admire the mystic arts?" Wally asked M'gann.
I groaned and rolled my eyes. "Just go already."
New Orleans;
August 19th;
20:06 CDT
I limped down the darkening, busy streets of New
Orleans, regretting that I hadn't made Mr. Nelson tell me exactly where he was going. I had already been to five different medium shops, searching for him, but none of the so-called "mediums" had seen him.
They were all a bunch of fakes. Well, actually, I did believe them that they hadn't seen Mr. Nelson, but none of them were actual mediums. Smoke machines, car jacks, projectors; what a load of garbage. People wasted their money on them, when there were perfectly real mediums out there. Like my friend, Monika. Oh, wait, I think she's dead now. She was pretty old. But there was still a whole witch clan that were mediums.
"Arctica," Tornado said through the comms we were using, "There is one more medium shop on this street."
Since seeing a life-sized red robot might freak the locals out a little bit, Red Tornado was watching me from the sky. If I was attacked for whatever reason, he could easily swoop down and deliver a whalloping punch while I stumbled away.
He was also serving as a medium shop finder, using the internet and such. I could have done it myself, since Google was the only technology thing I understood, but Tornado had volunteered.
"I see it." It was rather obviously a medium shop, with the gold oval on the front window with a creepy eye and the advertising underneath. "Madame Xanadu. Sounds like something Mr. Nelson would go to."
A bell chimed as I opened up the door of the empty shop. It looked just as a medium shop should; beaded curtains, round table with a tablecloth and "crystal ball", quite a few candles, even a skull with a candle on it.
A woman appeared from the dark behind the beaded curtain and entered the room to greet me. She had long, curly black hair and green eyes that went brilliantly with her tanned skin. She wore a lot of jewelry, and even had three blue stones on her forehead that were probably glued on or something.
"Bonsoir, mademoiselle. How can Madame Xanadu be of service to you?"
"I am looking for my grandfather, madam. I was hoping you could help."
Madame Xanadu's eyes lit up when she heard the accent I shared with her, either that, or because she thought I was going to pay her soon enough.
"I will be pleased to assist, mademoiselle. Please, sit." Xanadu gestured to the table with the crystal ball, but I shook my head.
"Actually, I am hoping that my grandfather is still alive." I showed her the famed photograph of Mr. Nelson that I had shown the other mediums. It was the most recent photo I had of him and I usually kept it in my room at the Cave. "This is him. He told me he was coming to New Orleans to have a chance to speak to my late grandmother. Have you seen him?"
Madame Xanadu's eyes widened at the sight of Mr. Nelson. "Oui, oui, he was here a month ago."
"Where did he go after that?" I asked excitedly. Finally, I was so close to finding Mr. Nelson.
Madame Xanadu hesitated at this and glanced around her shop, as if expecting someone else to be listening. She leaned in close to my shorter frame and whispered to me, "A man came out of nowhere and took your grandfather. They disappeared just as swiftly. I do not know where they went. Before that, your grandfather was talking as if magic was real. What that other man did, it was as if he teleported. Magic is real, is it not?"
"It depends on who took my grandfather. What did he look like." Madame Xanadu hesitated more, as if scared of something. "Please, I must now. He has been missing ever since he left for New Orleans. I am worried for him."
"The man was wearing a white shirt and a gold chain. His hair was in a low ponytail and he wore a beard. I watched the security footage of my shop once he had left, and he had appeared out of nowhere. He is a dangerous man, no?" Xanadu asked worriedly. "Too dangerous for a little girl like you to go after."
"I assure you, Madame Xanadu, that the man is not as dangerous as it appears. He does not even use real magic."
I was still worried for Mr. Nelson and what the man known as Abra Kadabra would do to him, but at least I knew he was not in the hands of one of my own enemies. I would never forgive myself if an ogre, troll, or one of my mother's sorcerers captured him.
"Then what is real magic?" Madame Xanadu asked.
She had been so helpful in my search, I decided to give her some sort of satisfaction. I held out my hand and twirled my other hand above it. A rose made of pure, everlasting ice formed in my hand, glowing ever-so-slightly in the dim light. I had excluded the thorns because I figured nobody would want an ice rose with them.
"This is real magic, madame. It will never melt and will always be cold to the touch."
Madame Xanadu took the ice rose reverently from me, her eyes bright and full of wonder. She was enchanted and I hadn't even used a spell.
"Thank you for your help, Madame Xanadu, but I must be going now." I gave her a short bow at the waist and made to leave the shop.
"Wait!" Xanadu called, grabbing my wrist so I couldn't leave, "Your grandfather told me I had the aura for this job, but I do not know any magic. Can you teach it to me?"
"Teach you…?" I gaped at her, unable to believe my ears, "I do not think I would make a very good teacher, and I am still learning myself."
"Who is your teacher then? I wish to learn about magic. I have been emulating it for years, and now I know it is real. I want to learn," Xanadu begged me.
I could practically feel her want, or maybe even need, to learn magic radiating off of her. Her wish was so strong, it bound itself to her aura. I could feel it. I could feel the magic in the wish, and if the wish was not fulfilled, it may eat her up inside like termites in a log cabin.
"I will find someone to teach you, after I save my grandfather. I can feel your need for magic, and I will help you, as you have helped me."
"Thank you," Madame Xanadu said with tears in her eyes. I patted her hand on my wrist awkwardly until she let go of me.
"I will come back when I find a teacher. Will I find you here?"
Madame Xanadu composed herself enough to say, "Of course."
"Then I will see you then." I gave her one last awkward smile, then slipped out of the shop.
I checked down both sides of the street and when I made sure no one was watching me, I radioed Red Tornado.
"Madame Xanadu said Mr. Nelson was taken by Abra Cadabra." I was so worried about Mr. Nelson and the promise I just made Xanadu, my hands were trembling and my stomach was knotted and I felt like puking. "She doesn't know where they went, and neither do I."
"Perhaps the others have found something in the Tower of Fate," Tornado suggested.
"Oui, maybe. We should-"
I froze as a ghostly apparition of Mr. Nelson himself appeared in front of me. I reached out to grab him, but my hand went right through him. He wasn't really here, and it wasn't him at all. It was only a spell he put on the Tower, a protection spell.
"Arctica, Kent is in need of help," the apparition said calmly.
"Where is he?" I asked urgently.
"The Tower of Fate. On top." The apparition faded in and out, as if it was glitching. "He needs you."
The apparition of Kent Nelson faded completely and I was filled with more worry than a kelpie out of water.
"Arctica," Red Tornado's voice broke me out of my frozen state.
"Where's the closest Zeta Tubes?"
"Point six five eight miles. North from here."
I took off running before he could even ask me why. I had to get to the Tower of Fate. I need to be there now. Just hold on, Mr. Nelson. I'm coming.
I didn't even wait for the glow to die down in the Zeta Tube before tearing the door to the old telephone booth open and sprinting outside. The Tower was a mile from the Zeta Tube entrance, and let me tell you, I have never ran so fast in my entire life.
When I got to the Tower in record time, the door was already open and a set of stairs that probably went up to the roof awaited me. The Tower wanted me to save Mr. Nelson just as much as I did, and I prayed that I wasn't too late.
I took the steps two at a time, pushing my leg to its limit. It hurt like the Dickens, but I didn't care about the searing pain that was spreading in my leg. I needed to get to Mr. Nelson.
"S'il vous plaît ne soyez pas trop tard, s'il vous plaît ne soyez pas trop tard."
The steps leading upwards ended and the trap door to the top of the Tower flipped open on it's own accord. I bolted up the last few steps and came out onto the roof, just in time to see Klarion the Witch Boy shoot a bolt of red magic.
Right at Mr. Nelson.
"NO!"
I was too late. I didn't make it. I can't- he's gone. He's gone. It's my fault. He's gone. My- I- he- we-
Tears streamed down my face. I could hear a voice wailing in the wind. It might have been mine or a Banshees. Time seemed to stop. Mr. Nelson, Kent, was still in the air, a scream on his lips. Klarion stood with his hand extended towards the Helmet of Fate, which floated above the roof. Wally was there too, moving to catch Mr. Nelson in time.
Wally. What was he-? Oh, yes, with the others.
In the Tower.
Where Klarion was currently close to recovering the Helmet of Fate.
He would turn the world into his playground, and I couldn't let that happen.
I couldn't let him hurt anyone else I cared about.
The thought spurred me into action and I sprinted across the roof. I stopped right in front of Mr. Nelson, who was still frozen in the air, and held up my hands.
"Sheilte vagus!"
A light blue force field covered the Helmet of Fate, Wally, Mr. Nelson, and myself.
"No!" Klarion screeched, then began an onslaught of magic spells. My barrier held, however, so I turned my attention to Mr. Nelson.
Wally had caught Mr. Nelson as he fell and was now supporting him as he spent his last moments.
"Oh, no no no no no no," I muttered, the tears forming in my eyes again as I kneeled down next to him.
"Not bad, kid," Kent choked out.
"Please, hold on. I can fix this. I can fix you. Just hold on, please," I begged him, clutching his wrinkly hands in mine.
"You know it's my time, Arctica. There isn't anything you can do."
"I- I can save you, I know I can. There must be a spell or something, or potion, or- or- or-"
"Magic can't fix everything, kid. I already told you that."
"But I don't want you to go. Please, stay…"
"I… can't…" Mr. Nelson wheezed, whatever spell Klarion used on him spreading its poison. "Inza's waiting… for… me."
I pushed down the pain and tears and tried to smile for his benefit. I didn't want the last thing he saw a mess.
"O-okay. Say hi to Inza for me. Tell her- tell her I miss her, and I'm going to miss you."
"I'll miss you too." Mr. Nelson's eyes began to close. "But remember what I said about eternity…"
"It's eternal."
Mr. Nelson managed one last, weak smile.
Then he went limp.
And he was gone.
And I lost another friend.
I let loose a sob that shook my whole body as I wrapped my arms around myself and lowered my head. He was gone. He was gone. He was gone.
"Arctica…" I looked up at Wally, whose face showed shock and remorse and perhaps even pity for me. "I'm sorry…"
"I want that Helmet, and I want it now!" Klarion screamed from outside the barrier, where he threw spell after fireball after spell at my force field.
I could mourn Kent later. Right now, I had to deal with Klarion.
"Wally, put the Helmet on," I commanded as I stood up and wiped away my tears. My tank top and shorts were replaced by my uniform, snowflake cape and all. I picked up Mr. Nelson's cane that laid on the ground. As soon as I touched, it morphed into something else entirely.
A staff just as tall as I was, but thinner than my usual ice staff. On the top of the staff was a hollow circle, a snowflake floating in the middle of it.
I was surprised that it changed at all. Mr. Nelson's cane was the staff of Earth's Sorcerer Supreme. It changed whenever it received a new owner, and since it did so for me…
I was the Sorcerer Supreme of Earth now. It must have passed down teacher from student since Mr. Nelson hadn't declared an heir after his death.
My stomach knotted at the new responsibility, but I could deal with that later. Klarion needed to be taken care of.
"What? I can't put on the Helmet!" Wally protested.
"Nabu is a Lord of Order and the only being capable of stopping a Lord of Chaos like Klarion. Put on the Helmet!"
Klarion saw my desperation, and he smirked at it. A red circle of ruins formed at his feet and he performed a spell that created two, red, clawed hands that were huge. The claws of the hands dug into my force field, sucking away the energy of it.
"Why can't you put on the Helmet?"
I sighed at Wally's question. Honestly, we were facing a Lord of Chaos, a being that was in my area of expertise, and he still refused to listen to me.
"Because Nabu won't let me. Now put on the stupid Helmet before we die!"
My yelling at him seemed to knock some sort of sense into that dense skull of his. Wally grabbed the helmet from where it floated.
"Hey, dumb kid, you put on that helmet you may never get it off!" Klarion warned. The clawed hands dug even deeper into my barrier, then pulled the whole thing apart.
"Oh, shut it, Klarion." I pointed my new staff at the Witch Boy and a stream of untainted magic shot out of it and hit the shield Klarion created just in time.
It gave Wally just enough time to place the Helmet on his head, turning him into Doctor Fate.
A bright golden glow later, and Wally was dressed in the attire of Doctor fate, golden cape and all.
"Wise of you not to put on the Helmet yourself, Arctica." The voice coming from Doctor Fate was strange, like Nabu, in his deep voice, and Wally, in his teenage boy voice, spoke at the same time.
"I know where I am not wanted. Klarion, on the other hand, does not."
Doctor Fate put up a shield in front of both of us in time to block an attack from Klarion. It was shaped like his symbol, a lowercase T with a loop on top instead of a line.
"Give it up Nabu!" Klarion screeched, "Order went out of style in the 20th century."
"I thought I told you to shush." Another blast of magic shot out of my staff at Klarion, this one landing it's mark.
"This battle is pointless," Doctor Fate said in that same strange voice, "You sought to take the Helmet before it gained a host, but you are too late."
"Shut it, you old fart!" Klarion recovered from my attack and made two columns of the Tower's stone erupt from the floor and move to smash Doctor Fate between them.
I created an ice shield around him and stone pillars shattered as it came into contact with it.
Doctor Fate recited an old spell and shot his own beam of magic at Klarion. It was far more powerful than my own and dissolved Klarion into shadow.
But I could recognize a teleportation spell when I saw one.
I turned just in time to see Klarion reappear and shoot Doctor Fate while his back was turned. Oooh, that was going to make Wally sore tomorrow.
Doctor Fate slowly lowered to the ground and I stepped in front of him so he could recover. The snowflake in my staff began to spin violently, making it look like a blur. A beam of frost, more powerful than the magic I had been using earlier, hit Klarion right in the chest and almost froze him solid. Too bad he formed a dragon head of fire to melt the ice.
Both Doctor Fate and me rolled out of the way. As soon as he stood up, Fate put up another shield between us and the dragon head as it came back towards us.
I was lucky enough to dodge out of the way before Klarion shot another fireball at us. Doctor Fate, not so much. He tumbled away painfully while I climbed to my feet again and shot Klarion with a beam of ice. He simply put up a fire shield that melted all my ice at once.
Grinning, Klarion made finger guns at Nabu. He mimed shooting Nabu, and he actually did with the red magic bullets he had created. Nabu put up a round shield, but it's integrity wasn't all that great. Looks like it was time for some good, old-fashioned fighting.
I pounced on Klarion's back and knocked him over. Pinning him down with my knee on his back, I used my staff to cover him in ice.
That stupid cat of his came out of nowhere and jumped onto my face, digging its claws into my skin. I was knocked off Klarion and forced to defend myself against a tiny cat.
Klarion returned to his assault on Nabu while I fought off his dumb pussycat. Who knew cat claws could be so sharp? It had already torn through my uniform in several different places. Eventually, I managed to kick the cat back at its owner, then run over to Nabu, who had recently been knocked out of the sky.
"You're out of practice, Nabu," Klarion taunted, "And that pathetic host body? Zero affinity for the mystic arts."
Klarion raised his hands above him and a storm began in the sky. I raised my own staff to fight off the storm, but Klarion was far more powerful than me, being a Lord of Chaos and all.
Thunder and lighting crashed above us, and one such bolt of lightning struck the staff I was holding. I cried out and dropped the thing, losing control over the storm. Another bolt of lightning struck out at us, but Nabu placed a dome of rainbow above us.
"Ooh, rainbow power," Klarion grinned. His dumb cat meowed, catching his attention, "I am paying attention, you stupid cat. In case you hadn't noticed, I'm winning."
The glowing circle on Nabu's chest grew brighter and I had to shield my eyes to avoid being blinded. When I opened them again, Nabu and I were standing in a circle of yellow fire that didn't give off any heat. My staff had returned to my hands, now electricity free.
"It is difficult for a Lord of Order or Chaos to maintain a presence on the physical plane," Nabu stated simply.
Klarion grew angry at this and I watched as his age appeared on his face and he started to throw fireballs at us, which I did not appreciate.
I put up a shield shaped like a snowflake to cover myself while Doctor Fate took to the air to dodge the fireballs.
"I am bound to the Helmet and use a human host." Nabu shot a magic beam at Klarion, who responded by raising the stone of the Tower to protect himself. "But that is not your way."
Doctor Fate glanced at me right before Klarion's shield lowered. Ooooohhhhh, I see what he's getting at. I really should have remembered that earlier.
"You're babbling, Nabu," Klarion growled.
"Am I?" Doctor Fate asked innocently, then shot another beam of magic while I shot one myself. Nabu's hit Klarion's shield, but mine hit that stupid cat head on.
"Teekl!" Klarion shouted, the age of his face disappearing. He turned to glare at me. "I can't believe you would assault a defenseless pussy cat!"
"Oh, please, that cat is anything but defenseless." I gestured to my now ruined uniform for emphasis.
"That creature is no cat, Witch Boy," Nabu said calmly, "And without your familiar, you have no anchor in this reality."
Klarion's form began to blink in and out, and I knew the battle was won.
"Bully! Killjoy!" Klarion screeched, making me roll my eyes, "Geezer!"
Annoyed, Nabu shot a golden beam of magic at the horrible boy.
"Holy carp." Klarion retreated into a portal, came out of another one near Teekl, and picked the cat up. "We're outta here!" The Witch boy turned into a shadow rimmed with red and disappeared.
I sighed with relief, massaging my aching knee. A battle really wasn't the best thing I could have done for it, but oh well.
I turned to Nabu, to thank him for helping and ask if he would release Wally, but he was just standing there, looking into the distance.
"Nabu?" I asked, waving my hand in front of his face. He didn't even flinch. He was probably talking to Wally right now. Merlin knows that boy will need someone else to negotiate his release from the Helmet.
I glanced down at the Sorcerer Supreme staff in my hand. Supposedly, it allowed its owner to look into the mind of another, which is something I desperately needed right now. Now I wished I had turned into a Martian.
Taking a deep breath, I slowly raised my staff to the Helmet. When I tapped it lightly, that's when things got weird, even for me.
I squeezed my eyes shut as my body began to move on its own. I think I was spinning one way, and then the other way, then thrown around a bit, before I finally stopped moving.
Slowly, I peeked my eye open and discovered I was somewhere… blue. Everything was blue. The only thing that wasn't blue was Wally, who was here for some reason, and someone else who looked oddly like… Mr. Nelson!
I sprinted across the blue landscape before I even registered that I moved. Mr. Nelson spotted me and looked surprised to see me at all. Forgetting he was an old man and therefore fragile, I jumped onto him and wrapped my arms around his wrinkly old torso.
"Arctica?" Mr. Nelson hesitantly asked.
"Oui," I said happily, looking up at his shocked face.
"What are you doing here? How are you in here?"
Wally butted in, something I did not appreciate.
"Your cane, Mr. Nelson, it changed when I touched it. I used it to enter Doctor Fate's Helmet," I explained with a shrug, "I did not think it would work. But what are you doing here?"
"Soul got sucked back in when the kid put on the Helmet," Mr. Nelson answered.
"So, it's over?" Wally asked.
I nodded. "Klarion has returned to his home, off this realm of existence."
"So why isn't Nabu taking off the Helmet?"
"Because the Earth needs Doctor Fate." A golden helmet shaped like the Helmet of fate appeared next to the three of us, making me jump. Geez, who taught Nabu to sneak up on people like superheroes do? "I will not release this body."
"He can't do that!" Wally protested, before looking over at me, "Can he do that?"
"Can," I told him apologetically.
"But shouldn't," Mr. Nelson added. "Nabu, this is not the right candidate. The kid's soul belongs to the world of science, not sorcery."
"Yeah, and his head is as dense as titanium. He isn't going to believe in magic any time soon," I commented.
"Hey!" Wally shouted. I only shrugged with a small smile.
"True, but I do not appreciate being permanently hidden away, useless, and isolated for decades at a time. Chaos must not be allowed to reign!" Nabu roared.
"I won't allow that to happen, Nabu, and neither will Wally," I reasoned.
"The boy'll take the Helmet and make sure you're put to good use," Mr. Nelson added.
"Yeah, I swear!" The way Wally said it didn't make it sound too convincing, but I couldn't do anything about it, except maybe smack him in the back of the head later.
"In the meantime, I'll stick around, keep you company," Mr. Nelson offered.
"What?" I turned to Mr. Nelson. "You cannot stay in here. Your soul must return to your body so you can live!"
"My soul can no longer return to my body, Arctica, you know that," Mr. Nelson said sternly. I looked down remorsefully, knowing he was right.
"But what happened to you ascending? Seeing Inza?" Wally asked.
"So you believe now, eh?" Mr. Nelson chuckled, "Don't sweat it, kid. I'll spend a few millennia here, then see Inza. That's the great thing about eternity."
"It's eternal," I finished in a small whisper.
"The bargain is acceptable," Nabu announced.
"Wait, don't take off the Helmet yet!" I shouted.
"Wait, why?" Wally complained. I didn't blame him for wanting to be out of the Helmet, but I had to do something first.
I wrapped my arms around Mr. Nelson again, who was a whole head taller than me. "You were like a grandfather to me, Mr. Nelson. Thank you for all that you did. I am a hero because of you."
"No kid, you're a hero because of you. You will make a wonderful Sorcerer Supreme." Mr. Nelson wrapped his own arms around me and bent down to plant a kiss on the top of my head. "Sorry I can't stay, but it's-"
"All part of the job, I know." I squeezed him one last time then stepped away, trying my best to smile.
"Some free advice before you go," Mr. Nelson said to Wally, who he was watching us awkwardly, "Find your own little spitfire. One who won't let you get away with nothin'." The blue landscape started to fade into white, and I knew Nabu was taking the Helmet off Wally. Mr. Nelson himself faded away, and I was alone again. "For example, that-"
The landscape of the Helmet of Fate was gone completely, and I found myself lying on the roof of the Tower of Fate with my staff still clutched in my hand. I forced myself to sit up, groaning from the pain in my knee. Fighting was not a good idea, but at least my knee hadn't hindered me in the fight. It was probably going to hurt a lot more later.
Wally, with the Helmet tucked under his arm, offered his hand to me. I took, then he pulled me up and helped me limp over to Mr. Nelson's body. I kneeled next to it again, noticing that the pocket watch he kept Inza's picture in was lying a little ways off. I picked it up and put it in his hand, curling his fist around it.
That was it. He was really and truly gone now. No visits in to the Helmet of Fate to see him. No visiting the Tower after an especially tiring day to talk to him.
Wally crouched next to me and put his arm around my shoulder as tears started to fall down my face. He didn't even make any Wally-isque comments as I sobbed. He left me alone and I was grateful for that.
A few minutes later, Kaldur, M'gann, Superboy, and Artemis climbed to the top of the tower. Soon enough, I felt their arms around me too.
Mr. Nelson was gone.
But I wasn't alone.
And although it wasn't a bad thought and it did make me feel a little better, the pain was still there.
And it would never go away.