Chapter 8
A/N: hey welcome back y'all! Hope y'all're enjoying the story so far, despite my fumble with the last chapter. I know it wasn't my best work, and I probably should've skipped over it. Anyways, I hope I can continue to meet your expectations for it.
Remember, I just own the story, nothing else is mine.
/comms/
Telepathy/Flashbacks
Gotham, August 19, 10:30EDT
Mike stood on the edge of a red lake, watching the blood-colored water lap against the black shores. "You cannot stay here, Little Soul," a deep voice rumbled behind him. "Not when you are too important to lose."
Distantly, he could hear enraged screams. "I'm not important. Just a remnant of what used to be. I don't deserve a second chance."
Behind him, the being shifted, "In that we beg to differ."
Mike thought the being said something else, but he couldn't make out what before he was shoved into the cold red water. The last thing he heard before his lungs filled with water was a thunderous roar of rage.
Sweat drenched his brow as Mike shot up. Leaning forwards, he caught his head in his hands, trying to get his breathing back under control. What…what the hell was that? He hadn't had such a…strange nightmare in some time.
At least most of the time they made sense, reminding him of the monster he really was. His normal dreams made sure to slap a dose of reality into him. No matter how much he played hero, he was always going to be his father's son.
A knock rapped on his door. "Mikey?" Uncle Henry spoke. "Everything all right in there?"
"Y-Yeah."
He must've not sounded convincing as the man opened the door, concern written clearly across his face as he entered. "You sure?" Walking over, the strawberry blonde sat on the edge of his bed, "You sounded pretty freaked out. Do you want to talk about it?"
"It's nothing," he reassured, "just a bad dream."
Henry sighed, "You've been having a lot of those lately." He reached out, trying to pat his leg, though he ended up comforting a pillow. "You sure you don't want to talk about it?"
"I'm fine."
"Mikey, I'm worried about you," his uncle confessed. "I know you wanted to do this…hero thing, but if it's affecting your health—"
"It's not that!"
"Then what is it? I want to help you kiddo, but I can't do that if you keep shutting me out."
The teen sighed, flopping back into his mattress, ignoring the squeak of the old Fredbear plush as he landed on it. "It's just…"
"Just what?"
"I dunno. Everything? It's not like I don't like doing the team thing—I do, don't get me wrong. It's more fun than I've had in a while, and I'm making friends—I think. But, Batman hasn't said anything about finding Fath—William," he corrected. "He said I could help and there hasn't been any new updates!"
"That was because I told him to leave you out of it."
Mike sat up, looking to his guardian, "What?"
Henry gave him a pointed look, "Michael, I told you, I didn't want you going anywhere near that man. And that was one condition of mine when I let you do this."
"What?! Your only condition was don't be stupid!"
"And we've seen how well that request has gone so far."
"To be fair, we were left unsupervised."
"Either way, I don't want you going after William."
"But—"
"No buts, Michael. That is the one rule I have about you doing this hero thing. William is a monster, leave him for the League to handle."
-.-
Mt. Justice, 19:39EDT
Mike leaned against the wall, crossing his arms as he watched Superboy and Kaldur circled each other in the ring. His teeth ground together as he ran the pad of his thumb over his knuckles; he really needed a spar. Especially after today.
Despite hours of pestering that would've made William beat him black and blue, Henry refused to budge on his stance. The man hadn't even raised his voice during any point of their fight in comparison to Michael's shouting. He had only yielded after the man had threatened to ground him from today's team hangout.
At first, the suggestion had surprised him, especially compared to his father's punishments. William would've taken a meal or two, his hanging out privileges, and would've confined him to his room for an unspecified amount of time after kicking the shit outta him. As strange and relieving as he found his guardian's incredibly mild form of punishment, he was not about to push further.
He would like to have a week or two without large bruises blooming across his torso.
However, that meant he had to, as Canary would say, channel his anger and frustration in a healthy way. And, for him, that meant either tinkering in the shop to calm himself down by focusing on something productive or venting through training. Today, he was going with training. Henry probably needed time to cool off anyways.
"Initiate: Combat Training."
"So, Mike," Wally said between bites of a burrito, "who do you think will win?"
"Well, considering SB spends more time sparring with me and Canary, I'm going with him."
"Kaldur does have more experience."
Mike shrugged, "True. But doesn't Kaldur typically use weapons?"
The speedster paused midbite, "Touché."
"Fail: Aqualad."
"Told you," he smirked, elbowing the redhead.
"At least we didn't bet money on it."
"Yeah, cause you'd be paying me."
"Shut up."
"Nah."
Wally tossed him a half-hearted glare while taking another bite of his snack. However, if he was going to say something else, it was cut off by a hiss from above. Looking up, they saw a metal door in the ceiling slide open, allowing Red Tornado to descend.
"Does he just like…live up there?"
"Yeah, he's the Team's den mother," KF shrugged. "Mostly because unlike everyone else he doesn't have a social life." Before Mike could comment, the speedster shot forwards meeting the hero as he landed, "Do you have a mission for us?!"
"Mission assignments are the Batman's responsibility."
"Yeah, well the Batman is with the Robin doing the dynamic duo thing in Gotham," the speedster retorted. "But you're clearly heading somewhere; a hot date? A mission?"
"If we could be of help," Kaldur offered putting a hand on Wally's shoulder to keep him from harassing the hero.
Without so much as a nod, Tornado turned and pulled up the monitor an image flashing across the screen, an old man. "This is Kent Nelson, a friend," Tornado stated. "He is one-hundred-six years old."
"Damn."
"Yeah, guy doesn't look a day over ninety."
"And he has been missing for twenty-three days. Kent was a member of the Justice Society," a black and white image popped up, "the precursor to the Justice League."
"Of course," Kaldur realized, "Nelson was Earth's sorcerer supreme; he was Dr. Fate."
Oh yeah, Mike kinda forgot about that. It was hard to remember sometimes that there had been heroes before the ones everyone knew today. And magic was real; actually after everything he'd been through the past few weeks, he wasn't surprised. This was just his life now.
Kid Flash scoffed under his breath, drawing him out of his thoughts, "More like Dr. Fake. Guy Dumbledores it up to scare the bad guys and impress the babes."
"Kent may be on one of his walkabouts," Tornado continued. "But, he is the caretaker of the Helmet of Fate, the source of the Doctor's mystic might. Such power should not be left unguarded."
"He's like the great sorcerer priests and priestesses of Mars!" M'gann's face lit up. "I would be honored to help find him."
"Me too!" Wally exclaimed, his hand shooting into the air instantaneously. "So honored! I can barely stand it! Magic rocks!"
Red Tornado held out a key, "Take this, it's the key to the Tower of Fate."
"M'gann, what are the odds we both admire magic so much?" the speedster smirked snatching the key.
"Oh, yeah, I'd like to know the odds of that too," Mike snickered.
-.-
Salem 20:22EDT
"So Wally," Artemis drawled leaning back in her seat, "When did you realize you're honest affinity for magic?"
"Well," he put his arms back behind his head, "I don't wanna brag or nothing, but, back before I was Kid Flash, I seriously considered becoming a wizard myself."
"Really?" Mike smirked, "Care to show us any magic tricks? I'd love to see some."
At his request, M'gann seemed to perk up in her seat, "Wally, you can do magic?"
"Uhh…well, I don't have anything on me right now, sorry."
"Oh," she seemed to deflate, "That's too bad, I would've loved to see it. But, on the bright side, we're arriving at the coordinates."
They all pressed against the windows wanting to see the hold of Dr. Fate. Instead, they saw an empty field. "It's an empty field," Superboy deadpanned.
"Maybe it's underground?" Mike suggested as the Bioship landed. "After all, I don't think Tornado would've sent us here for nothing."
"Eh…you haven't really met him," the speedster grimaced.
Well, there was a story there. But, it would have to wait for later. Striding down the ramp, the grass crunched underfoot as they stepped out, looking around for something to indicate a lair to a secret entrance. Tornado said it should be easy to find. Though, maybe he had a different definition of easy; he had been there Lord knew how many times before.
"I'm gonna check around," KF announced, pulling out his goggles and darting off, racing around the field.
"Think he'll find anything?" Artemis asked.
Mike shrugged, "Not unless he spontaneously believes in magic."
"So you believe in magic?"
"Honestly? My life's been so goddamn strange already, might as well add magic to the mix."
"Fair enough," she shrugged watching the speedster return, "Find anything?"
"No."
"So, what do you think's hiding it? "Adaptive micro-optics combined with phase-shifting?"
"Absolutely…not!" the speedster corrected himself as M'gann stepped over. "Clear this is the work of mystic powers!"
Artemis rolled her eyes, putting her hands on her hips. "Idiot."
"Why do I have the feeling this is going to blow up in our faces spectacularly?"
"Probably because it will."
Fair enough. Crossing his arms, he tuned out Wally's rambling, looking around the field. The base was here. Why else would a field this big in the middle of a city be empty without it being a park or game field or something? Despite what the others said, Mike doubted that Tornado didn't send them on a wild goose chase. Not when it involved whom he suspected was a friend. The old guard had to be at least somewhat close to the new after all.
Suddenly, the hairs on the back of his neck rose without warning. Much like they had when he'd was being watched back at…his old job. Slowly turning, he spotted something on the edge of the clearing. However, it was proven to be a false alarm as a cat ran across the alley. Yet, he still couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong.
"You ok?" Artemis asked.
"Y-yeah, fine."
The others didn't appear to notice Mike's shift in demeanor as Aqualad pulled out the key Red Tornado had given them. "A test of faith," he repeated looking out into the empty field, "stand behind me." Stepping forwards, he pushed the key into the air, watching as the front half disappeared. Turning the key, they all heard sound of something unlocking.
And suddenly there was a brick wall and door right in front of them. Looking up, they all stared as they saw the massive tower that absolutely had not been there before.
Pushing the door open, they all strode inside, stepping into a large empty foyer. Actually, it seemed more like a cell, no stairs, no doors save for the one they'd just come through, no way to lead them into the rest of the tower.
"Uh…where'd the door go?" Superboy spoke up.
Correction, there was no doors at all.
Ok, it was just like outside. There was something they were missing. Striding towards one of the walls, Mike tapped at the bricks. One of them had to be a button or something.
"Uh, dude, what are you doing?"
Opening his mouth to respond, he turned only to stop as the shimmery gold figure of an old man appeared in the room. "Greetings, you have entered with a key, but the tower does not recognize you. State your purpose and intent."
"It's alright guys, let me handle this," Wally smirked. "We are true believers! Here to find Dr. Fate!"
"I'm gonna kill him," Mike muttered as the shade vanished is a disappointed look.
The ground shook under them and before any of his teammates could react, the ground gave out underneath them.
"Shit!" Sprinting over to the edge, his eyes widened as he watched bricks rebuilding themselves over the hole. "Guys?!" Through the reforming ground, he could make out the others clinging to the walls of the chasm, hovering above a pool of magma. Cursing more, Mike started to pull at the rocks, tossing them aside as he tried to make the hole bigger so he could pull them out. "Hold on!"
"Having trouble…maintaining altitude," Miss M huffed. "I'm so hot."
"You sure are," the speedster was quick to reply.
"WALLY!" several of his comrades screamed.
"Hey! Inches above sizzling death, I'm allowed to speak my mind!"
"IN THAT CASE I'M GOING TO KILL YOU FOR GETTING US IN THIS FUCKING SITUATION!" Artemis screamed. "If that imbecile didn't lie to whatever the hell that was, this wouldn't have happened!"
"Wally…you don't…believe in magic?" the Martian whispered.
"Magic isn't real!" he snapped.
"Save your argument for later dumbass!" Mike snapped instantly shutting the speedster up as he tossed a brick that had replaced the one he'd just removed aside. "We're still in a life or death situation. And because you were too busy trying to lie your way to impressing M'gann, you failed to answer the question."
"Hello Megan!" M'gann exclaimed, smacking her forehead, "We failed to answer the question! We're here because Red Tornado sent us to check on Mr. Nelson to make sure he and the helmet are ok and safe!"
This seemed to work, as the lava receded to reveal a metal floor. Which was good, because despite his best efforts, Mike was not making this hole big enough for someone to get through. The tower had stopped trying to kill them, so it would have to provide a way out. "I'll find you guys later!" he called, hoping he could be heard as the last brick sealing the hole in the ground. Sitting back on his heels, Mike ran a hand through his hair. "This sucks."
Pushing himself to his feet, he turned, looking around the room. However, this time, there was a door that hadn't been there before. Hopefully it would lead him to wherever the others had ended up. The old wood creaked as he stepped through the threshold, a large spiral staircase rising up into the tower.
"There couldn't be a magical elevator?" he muttered. Sighing, he started up the stairs. This was going to take a while.
-.-
As he predicted, it had indeed taken some time to reach the top of the stairs. However, it did not lead him to wherever his team had gone. Instead, it lead him into some sort of living room or study. It was old-fashioned, covered in expensive-looking paintings and artifacts, thick red rugs that reminded him of his Uncle's study back home, some sort of couch with a coffee table in front of a massive fireplace, a desk, and an entire wall full of books.
"Where am I?"
"You're in the study."
Jumping in surprise, Mike turned around, coming face-to-face with the projection from earlier. "Jesus Christ," he panted. "You almost gave me a heart attack." At least the thing had the decency to look a little apologetic. "Where's everyone else?"
"Your friends are fine, little soul," the specter replied.
The teen bit back a grimace. He wasn't sure he would call them friends. Sure, they were nice, probably the closest thing he's had to real friends in a few years. But they probably wouldn't be so friendly when they figured out who he really was, what he had done. It was best to keep his distance.
However, it was at least relieving to know they hadn't died in his absence. "How do I find them?"
"Go through there, follow the stairs," the apparition spoke as the wall behind him rumbled. Turning, Mike watched as the bricks slid back to reveal a maze of stairs. "Head for the giant bell. Good luck."
Stepping through the opening, Mike ran a hand through his hair. How the fuck was he supposed to find his way in this D&D nightmare?
"By the way," the projection spoke as the doorway began to close behind him, "the Old Man says hi."
"Who?" he asked. Though he didn't get an answer save for the apparition merely smiling before disappearing into mist. "Ok, that was different." Going to the edge of the landing, he looked down brows shooting up as the maze seemed to descend as far as it went up, which was forever. "Am I still in the same building? You know what, it's magic. Why am I even asking? It's not supposed to make sense."
Taking a deep breath, he pinched the bridge of his nose. Now was not the time to lose his cool. Ok, so first thing's first: he needed to find a bell. How a bell was going to lead him to his teammates he wasn't sure, but still, it was all he had to go on at the moment. He could figure out what next after that.
Which meant, going up was probably his best option. At least, he hoped it was. All he could recall was that giant bells were typically associated with high places in towers or cathedrals. So, if he was in a tower, that probably meant going up.
Pulling the grapple off his belt, he jogged up the closest set of stairs, trying to reach a clear space to fire the line. It would be faster than trying to navigate the labyrinth of walkways. With his luck, he would've gotten himself lost trying that.
-.-
Mike was lost.
After landing on so many platforms trying to reach his destination, he had, at some point, gotten turned around. For all he knew, he could've been standing like Spider-Man on what should have been a wall or ceiling. It had even crossed his mind to jump off one of the platforms to try to get gravity to reorient him, but with his lack of luck he'd have swan dived right into another brick structure.
"Follow the stairs," he muttered crossing his arms as he glared at the maze around him, "There's nothing here but stairs!" Sighing, he ran his hand through his hair. "I'm gonna be lost here forever."
Almost as if the universe was trying to prove him wrong, he heard a distant blast from the direction he was currently assuming was down. Peering over the edge, he didn't see anything, but he did hear what sounded like childish screaming.
Guess that explained where everyone else went.
Though before he could try to find a way down to them, he barely avoided getting run over by a floating elevator that stopped right in front of him. With a soft ding, the doors slid open, revealing Artemis, Wally, and the man they were sent to find: Kent Nelson.
"Mike?"
"Friend of yours?" Mr. Nelson asked looking to the pair.
"Yeah," Artemis said.
"Hi." Stepping inside, he looked around, expecting to see the others. "Where's everyone else?"
"We got separated."
"Ah."
"We can exchange pleasantries later," Nelson stated closing the elevator doors, "Right now, we must focus, we're going up against an opponent with tremendous mystic power."
"You mean Abra?" Wally scoffed. "Flash proved he uses futuristic tech to simulate magic. He's all show, no biz."
"Correct," the old man spoke, "but he isn't the problem. Klarion Witch Boy on the other hand—the soulless brat with the cat—he's the issue."
"I'm guessing he's the one I heard screaming?" Mike inquired.
"Yes. He's a Lord of Chaos, the ultimate enemy for a Lord of Order like Dr. Fate."
"Right," Wally drawled, "you're a Lord of Order."
Nelson gave a short laugh, "Oh no, not me. I'm just an old coat Fate would toss on from time to time, until my wife Inza convinced me there was more to life," he sighed looking down at his pocket watch sadly. "Ah, she was a real pistol, my Inza." Shaking his head, he stuck the object back into his pocket, "Anyways, Klarion's after the Helmet of Fate, the source of Dr. Fate's power. If he gets his sticky little mitts on it, he'll turn this world into his own personal playground of pandemonium. We can't let that happen."
"Sounds fun," Artemis grumbled.
The old hero chuckled, "Yes, young lady, it will be difficult." The elevator came to a stop, the doors sliding open revealing more crazy stairs as well as a platform with a giant bell.
Mike groaned, he'd spent who knew how long trying to find the damn thing, and an elevator found it in less than a minute. Where had this been when he'd gotten lost earlier?
A creak from above stopped his musing. Looking up they watched as a door opened, allowing their friends to tumble out followed by a gust of cold snowy air.
"Hey guys," Wally greeted as they collected themselves.
"DUCK!"
Instinctively following the order, everyone ducked down as a blast flew over their heads, scorching one of the pillars by the bell. Looking in the direction it came from, they all saw a man dressed like a pompous pirate and a teen in a suit with horn-like hair with a cat perched on one of the other platforms.
Rolling out of the way of another blast, Mike got back to his feet as both Wally and Mr. Nelson vanished in a flash, the witch wannabe flying after them. Leaving the rest of them alone with the badly dressed stripper.
Superboy was the first to charge forwards, jumping from their platform at the magician. Only he didn't get far as the man waved his wand, electricity flying off the end and hitting his teammate in the chest, coating him in electricity. "That's not good," Mike muttered.
On some silent signal, they all fanned out, coming at Abra from different angles. The magician spun, firing random shots in each of their directions. His first lucky shot hit Artemis as she attempted to leap at him while his back was turned. Ducking under her kick, Abra shot a bolt from his wand, hitting the blonde with a blast of electricity.
That wand was their biggest problem.
Grabbing his wrench, the teen hoped his aim had improved as he hurled the improvised weapon. Abra was turned away, moving to attack Kaldur, so he didn't notice the projectile till it hit his hand with a sickeningly familiar crack.
With a scream, the villain dropped the weapon, cradling his undoubtedly broken hand to his chest.
As the others took the chance to handle the now incapacitated magician and stop his attack on their friends, Mike stepped forwards, picking up the wrench. He…he hadn't meant to break the man's hand. All he wanted to do was disarm him. Not shatter his wrist.
Taking a breath to calm himself, Mike looked at the man. This was a person who'd had no problem holding an old man hostage for several days. Who had no qualms about electrocuting teens. He did not deserve his sympathy.
"Hey, you ok?"
Turning, Mike met Artemis's gaze, her brows furrowed as she looked at him. "Y-yeah. Never better."
The girl raised a brow, glancing at Abra before rolling her eyes. "Dude, chill, he deserved it," she scoffed, punching his arm. "Now come on, we need to find Baywatch before he does something stupid."
