Failed Walking in shadows chapter starts
AN: Sometimes it takes half a dozen tries before I get something workable for a new chapter. Take a look at how many tries it took for Walking in Shadows.
Walking in the shadows 31 take 1
"How can we tell if they're magical?" Cyborg asked. "I mean, we've run across a lot of beings who have powers for any number of reasons, but I wouldn't call them magical."
"I'll be able to tell," Raven assured him.
"Actually, any creature with the… ability to give Raven a real challenge might work," Xander said thoughtfully. "Since I'm making something specifically for you that you'll be putting your energy into defeating…"
"I'll be providing the magical component," Raven realized.
"Exactly," Xander agreed, "or at least in theory. I'd suggest we test the idea and see if it pans out."
"If it does it would really open up what we have to work with," Cyborg said.
"Most of the time we're fighting criminals," Raven pointed out, "not animals."
"It doesn't have to be an animal," Xander said, "we just need a sample to test the theory."
"Killing people is frowned upon," Raven pointed out dryly.
"Defeat, not kill," Xander corrected her.
"But would not the skinning of criminals also be a criminal act?" Starfire asked.
"Since we are just testing a theory, nearly any bit of them would do. I was thinking a lock of hair," Xander explained.
"You may want to explain details like that up front," Cyborg suggested.
"Just because something is obvious to you doesn't mean we'll know," Raven added.
"Got ya," Xander said. "We can use the lock of hair for something simple and compare that to one made without magical materials, to compare how effective the idea is."
"The passion of battle is a strong force," Starfire assured Raven.
TN: would be interesting to see this tried
Walking in the Shadows outline
Leaving DC -comments and annotations blaming each other skinned Trigon
Sirius- You broke a prophecy with your penis
Xander- You skinned her father's corpse
S- You mounted his antlers on a plaque
X- You grabbed Ivy's greenhouse with her and Harley inside
S- You broke half a dozen villains out of jail and hid them in the back of the car promising them I would fix them.
X- you cast fertility spells on half the Justice League and their enemies
S- following your advice
X- that was more Aphrodite and Hera's idea I just passed them along
S- and the Amazons?
X- I got Athena's permission first, but really they needed some new blood and a number of male heroes need a little R and R.
S- I say we avoid this world in the future
X- agreed
AN: another funny idea that just didn't fit.
TN: this seriously (or maybe siriously) needs to be the ending for when they leave this version of DC
Walking in the Shadows 31 take 2
"I can already tell this is so far beyond me that it'd take years of dedicated study for me to even begin to understand what you're doing," Xander said as he watched Cyborg demonstrate how he made his armor.
"I should be modest, but it's difficult when you're as awesome at this as I am," Cyborg said with a grin.
"At least your ego is well deserved in this case," Xander said as Cyborg lowered a replacement chest piece into an acid bath to prepare it for a surface treatment.
AN: Realized I'd sent him off at the end of the last chapter and I wanted it to be more about Xander and Raven interacting so I scrapped it.
TN: could be good in a future chapter when some of the more advanced tools and machines are being used instead of the basic forging process
Walking in the Shadows 31 take 3
"Can you shed your skin?" Xander asked Beastboy.
"I've never been a snake long enough to need to," Beastboy replied with a shrug.
"Why do you want Beastboy's skin?" Raven asked suspiciously.
"Magical leathers are one of the easiest materials to work with," Xander explained. "So if he could shed skin at will, I could use it to show Cyborg some of my basic rune work."
"But I'm not magical," Beastboy said. "I draw on the morphic field of the planet."
"Which is an aspect of magic," Xander explained.
"Wizards tap into it for our animagus ability," Sirius said, turning into Padfoot and back again.
"Magic isn't… magic," Xander said, causing everyone to turn to him.
"Huh?" Beastboy asked.
"Magic is more art than science, but it's still science," Xander explained. "Magic can be described as defining the unobserved portions of the universe on a quantum level and locking them down."
"I can't tell if that's really wise or you're talking out your ass," Sirius said after a minute of complete science.
Xander shrugged. "A bit of both. Reality is altered by the very act of witnessing it."
"Schrodinger's cat, the future isn't defined until someone opens the box, observes the cat and collapses the waveform," Cyborg agreed.
"Magic is the act of collapsing the wave into what you want," Xander said. "Magic is completely undefined portions of existence that we define to get the results we desire, it's the chaos from which order springs!"
"My head hurts," Beastboy complained.
"Let's change the subject before Beastboy's head explodes," Raven suggested.
"And mine," Sirius added.
"Can we use regular leather?" Cyborg asked. "Just to demonstrate?"
"Sure, it'll only be partially effective, but it'll do for demonstration purposes," Xander agreed.
"Cool, I've got rolls of the stuff," Cyborg said cheerfully.
"Why would you have rolls of leather?" Raven asked.
"I made the seats in the T-mobile out of genuine cowhide!" Cyborg said proudly. He turned to Beastboy. "Sorry, but faux leather just won't do."
The green teen shrugged. "Better than skinning me."
The group descended on Cyborg's lab and he spent the first ten minutes slapping hands away from dangerous equipment and delicate tools while Xander got things ready for his demonstrations.
"Let's start with something for Star," Cyborg suggested as he used her measurements to cut and shape some basic leather armor with machine like speed and precision before passing it over to Xander.
Sirius and Beastboy wandered off to play video games, already bored at the lack of lights and explosions.
AN: Amusing but a bit too out there so I scrapped it.
Walking in the Shadows 31 take 4
Raven watched fascinated as Xander carved a set of runes into a leather chest piece.
"Since this is going to be designed for stealth, we need to take that into consideration when we power the runes," Xander explained.
"How do you mean?" Raven asked.
"Most chanting while enchanting is to focus the mind on what you want to accomplish, but the medium and source of power also plays a part."
"So the sacrifice of a chameleon would enhance the armor more than a goat?" she asked.
"Exactly, that's why most dedicated enchanters raise their own sacrifices, or at least learn as much about them as possible. Enchanting a pair of boots to be as sure footed as the sacrificed creature doesn't help when it's even clumsier than you are," he replied.
"Must be hard to sacrifice something you raised," Raven said.
"It's called a sacrifice for a reason. It's also why I prefer magical animals," Xander replied, "magical talents pretty much guarantee certain traits without raising it yourself."
AN: Didn't fit, so I junk it, though the idea of why you would raise the animal yourself was interesting.
TN: I agree, not sure it would really fit unless there was a future scene where Xander was explaining things to more people, but the logic on raising animals yourself is interesting.
Walking in the Shadows 31 take 5
"Lava snakes?" Sirius asked, as Cyborg took notes on the battle that raged on screen.
"Guardian to a temple of Hephaestus," Cyborg replied. "They attack anyone who enter the volcano and since they're big enough to swallow a small car, we don't need to worry about running out of material."
"You do realize she has to defeat it herself, right?" Sirius asked, just to be sure.
Cyborg grinned. "Just because she has to defeat it doesn't mean it has to be in perfect shape, all it means is she has to get in the last blow."
Sirius considered that for a moment as he watched Wonder Woman and Hawk Woman battle a group of the serpents on screen. "As long as it's the decisive blow I think you're right."
Cyborg turned off the monitor and stood up.
AN: Decided that having everyone off hunting down creatures was a bit much.
Walking in the Shadows 31 take 6
"How are we defining magical?" Cyborg asked as he flipped on a monitor and brought up clips from dozens of fights with strange and unusual creatures.
"Strictly speaking it doesn't have to be magical," Xander admitted. "Any being of strength and power will work. There are a few tribes that use perfectly mundane animals to good effect, usually by requiring the hunter to limit themselves to traditional weapons. I prefer magical animals because the tougher the battle and more powerful the foe, the stronger the armor will be, and the more options I have in crafting."
"It has to be something that will challenge me," Raven said thoughtfully.
"The more energy you put in, the more you get out," Xander agreed. "A lot of magical creatures require very specific actions, like using your own blood, only during a blue moon, or at the highest point of a mountain range, but the more power you have available the less of those you have to deal with."
"Attuning materials is like tuning a radio," Cyborg realized, "the more power you have the less precision you need."
"Exactly or close enough," Xander agreed.
AN: Meh, didn't feel right.
Final AN: sometimes it's best just to skip ahead a little rather than struggle with a scene that just won't fit or will derail things.
