YJC Chapter 13

If someone had asked Nightshade a few years ago if this was really her ancestral estate, she would have furiously denied it. She was used to the estate being in shambles, a collection of ruins and debris that she never found any meaning in restoring. Why would she? Until relatively recently, she was the only person who even existed in this dimension, and it wasn't like she used this place as a permanent residence.

So often she would just travel through in bursts, using the dimension as a conduit for travel on Earth. Actually going to the dimension and staying there? That was an exceptionally rare occurrence and was usually for the purpose of looking through the remains of the old library. But Raven had convinced her to begin a restoration project, arguing that the realm would prove useful for practicing spells far away from Earth.

They started with the main courtyard at first, but it was now apparent Raven had been pursuing her own goals on the side, with lines of stone figures being situated in the remains of a garden. She recognized a few of them, their missing limbs and chipped edges marking them as statues from the rubble. She imagined that they were used to decorate the massive hallways of the castle, with several of them being carved with imitations of marble shields or solid balls of mystic energy. All while they wore impressive sets of armor.

The others, however, seemed new, and were clearly made in a different style. Looking like robed figures, they towered over her form as she walked past, sneering at her in an alternative set of smirks and frowns. Some had their hands clasped together in prayer while others had their arms raised above their hands, the sharp edges of their claws extended as though they were about to grab someone.

There was clearly an element of duality to it, even if it was all laced with terror imagery. She found Raven toward the end, the young girl using her magic to finish forming the hood of the last statue.

"Raven."

The sound of her voice caught her attention, with Raven giving her a nod of acknowledgment.

"What are you doing?"

"Making guard statues." The magic she used was of a peculiar sort, drawing on the creativity of the dreaming to give shape to the construct while using her own powers to give it an uncanny solidity. If Nightshade had tried to create a statue, it would only look solid momentarily before giving way to something else. Usually something that looked like smoke or smearing paint, right at home in this dimension filled with shifting landscapes and nauseating colors.

But despite the style differences, she'd give Raven this: Her statues matched the stagnancy of the estate itself, something she hadn't quite gotten the hang of.

'Though I suppose that makes sense…', She thought, pursing her lips. She gave Raven an inquisitive look. "Guard statues? Are you trying to fill up the space in the entry hall?"

Raven's brow furrowed in concentration, and it was only now that Nightshade realized that she was doing more than constructing the shape. "That... and provide security. These golems had their forms made from my internal energies and any sympathetic magic I could call upon. But I made their response constructs with Arion's theory of abyssal cognizance in mind rather than relying on standard merlinian* techniques that deal with umbral energy."

Nightshade grimaced at the explanation. It was a… unique approach as far as creating foot soldiers was concerned. Especially since Raven's skill in creating familiars through pure spellcraft was lackluster at best, with more than one failed creation trying to attack anyone who wasn't their creator on sight. "That's… great, Raven."

Raven continued her work, her hands hovering over the face of the statue, seemingly oblivious to how Nightshade was rubbing the back of her neck. "So, one of your teachers called. They said you declined to attend the pep rally they had today."

Raven gave a frown that almost looked like a sneer. "I'm not interested in going to a packed gymnasium. Too much noise."

Nightshade nodded. "And that's fine. But you also declined to join any extracurricular activities or clubs. While your grades are fine, your social skills have been noted to be…" She mulled over her words. "Less than stellar. It has given them a cause for concern."

Raven looked unconcerned at the mention, only making eye contact with Nightshade to confirm that she was being heard.

The near-total lack of a response had Nightshade internally fidgeting, her mouth turning into a small grimace as she gave the issue some contemplation. How could she put this delicately? "I think you need to at least attempt to get along with your schoolmates. Put yourself out there a bit."

Raven stared at her, a question about to form on her lips.

"If you are about to ask why you should bother, then think of it as training. You are going to need at least some social skills, regardless of what the future may bring."

Raven's face didn't change much, but there was a moment when her jaw looked ready to open again only to clench itself back down. Her eyes also darted to the corner for a moment, the minute look of nervous apprehension an extreme rarity in the tiny cambion.

"I'm not really good at that stuff.", she quietly said. "I don't really know how to go about things when there isn't a strategy or methodology involved. And people are…" She huffed. "Complicated."

Nightshade inclined her head at the explanation, a hand coming up to rest on her chin. "I suppose from your perspective they are. I lived my life observing social cues and following the latest magazine trends, but the most you had to deal with was the religious ceremony here or there."

"Magazine?"

Nightshade was almost taken aback by the question. "It's a little paper book with pictures and articles of famous people. Usually the ones that are super pretty, super smart, super rich, or all three. It's all constructed so everyone looks at their best. But most of that sort of content has been transferred online, so reading the physical copies has started falling out of style for younger people."

"I see…" Her mood seemed to brighten a touch. "Well, if it's a book, I think I'd like to read them."

"They're not really —", Nightshade started.

"What sort of titles do they go by?", Raven asked, a trace of interest lining her tone.

"It depends on the issue and publisher. Newstime and Vue are the most popular though."

"Some of the other girls read those.", Raven noted, her voice now lined with a hint of cautious hope. "Can you get me some?"

"Yes." Nightshade latched onto the opportunity, the event of Raven showing an interest in anything that wasn't academic or magical being an exceptionally rare occurrence. "I'll get you several of them."

"I still want the Art of War though.", Raven said seriously, her eyes making it apparent that she viewed that book as more important.

"I'll get you that too.", she promised, a shimmer of normalcy beginning to seep into her person. "But only if you promise to read all of the stuff I buy for you."

| The HUB

| 2019 March 9, 17:11 EST

Things were slow for the time being, and the atmosphere in the common area proved it. Kid Flash was playing air hockey by himself, Cyborg was playing video games with Beast Boy, and El Dorado was absently surfing the web from a holoscreen. But there was a noticeable gaggle of heroes clustered around the kitchen island, ignoring Forager as he made a sandwich not two feet away. Their previous conversation regarding school work had fallen to the wayside, transforming into a highly anticipated topic.

It was a topic Wonder Girl was eager to bring up. "So, Raven… what do you guys think?"

Terra shrugged in a way that seemed dismissive, but her tone gave away her curiosity. "I have not been able to interact with her much. But she seems to have made quite the impression. Is she really that ah, peculiar?"

"I mean, she seems cool enough.", Static said, a hand reaching up to the back of his head. "She's definitely more standoffish, but it's not like she's being mean or pushing her weight around."

"Did anyone ask Arsenal how long she's been doing this?", Terra asked. "Or which hero she trained under? That's how things are usually done, right?"

"I mean, usually, yeah. But there are exceptions." He saw Terra shift at the mention, the action causing him to talk quickly. "But according to Arsenal, Raven has always operated solo. She's has been operating for a few years by the time Arsenal found her."

Wonder Girl edged closer to him. "And those two met how, exactly?"

"Don't know.", Static admitted, his shoulders shrugging in resignation. "He was very vague when I brought it up. All he said is that she helped him one day and the two have been seeing each other periodically ever since."

Wonder Girl raised her eyebrows. "Periodically meaning…?"

"Basically, whenever one sought out the other." His brows furrowed, looking like he had digested something odd. "Apparently it wasn't uncommon for them to go several months without encountering each other. I don't know how that would work without the two exchanging cell phone numbers but…"

"They didn't have phone numbers?" Wonder Girl looked confused at the thought. "What, did they do email or something?"

"I don't think so. Word is Raven is big on privacy. Like really big. I honestly wouldn't be surprised if they communicated via dead drop or something." He shook his head. "It's an odd friendship they have goin' on, that's for sure. But if it works for them, who am I to judge?"

Terra's head tilted. "I do not know this Arsenal very well. But he seems…" She paused as she thought of the right word. "Not the most sociable. Is 'prickly' the word?"

Wonder Girl gave a small chuckle. "Ha! That word actually describes him pretty nicely."

Static kept his laugh in, but there was still a rush of air through his nose. "He's a decent enough guy once you get to know him. But yeah, he can be bit prickly."

"But back to Raven." Wonder Girl placed her hands flat on the countertop. "I heard she got punched by Artemis when they left the training area."

Terra's tone took on a higher pitch, surprised Artemis would act in such a way. "Really?"

"She's exaggerating." Static sighed. "The League of Shadows were around when the Team came in to train. Smoke erupted all over the place, punches were thrown, and everyone was forced to evacuate. Tigress just ended up shoving Raven when she didn't go in the boom tube as quickly as possible."

"From what Halo told me, it was not much of a shove so long as it was a violent push." Wonder Girl quipped. "I bet Raven didn't see it coming."

Terra's brows furrowed, a hint of worry coming through her voice. "But what were the Shadows doing there?"

Static placed a hand on her shoulder. "It's being investigated as we speak.", he said. "But our best guess is that they were searching the area for something. With how much Halo boom tubes in there, the Shadows probably wanted to see what they could dig up in the area."

"Dig up?", the earth-manipulator parroted, her thick accent becoming more pronounced. "They were digging?"

"Uh, it's just a saying." He turned to look at Wonder Girl. "And how did you already hear from Halo about that? I only just recently got the lowdown from Nightwing."

The blonde shrugged. "The guys always leave out important details. Can't the girls gossip?"

"Right… gossip. That's what you guys do.", Static drawled, looking a bit put-off.

"Oh come on, don't act like you guys don't do it either."

Recognized: Raven A-46, Miss Martian B-05.

The computerized voice had them separating, the lot of them making their way back to the common area to see Raven walking in with her usual unemotive face, followed quickly by Miss Martian. The older female had her brows furrowed, the look usually being reserved for those rare moments when she was frustrated or had no idea how to approach things.

She looked like she wanted to say something to Raven, but the young girl was already heading to the upper banister, her form bypassing the stairs entirely as she flew towards her room. It left the martian with one hand half-raised, her attempt to give a friendly wave goodbye leaving her with nothing but a small sigh.

Wonder Girl looked to where Raven disappeared, a hint of a smirk appearing on her face. "So, I take it the mission went badly?"

Miss Martian made her way toward the couch, bringing up a holo-screen. "No, the mission was a resounding success. But we've discovered certain things that we need to work on."

"Like…?"

There was a momentary pause as she pondered whether to divulge this information, but decided that it would be detrimental to hold it a secret. "She can't form a mental link."

The sound from the gaming screen came to a halt when Beast Boy pressed the pause button, looking towards his 'sister' with an incredulous look. "She can't link?" He looked like the idea was unthinkable, the connection being so effortlessly implemented by M'gann that it almost seemed impossible for another friendly to just bypass the connection. "Isn't that supposed to be effortless for you psychic types?"

"It usually is. But she has developed certain barriers that make it difficult." Her fingers slid over the screen, bringing up some criminal files. It looked like she was investigating Onslaught.

"Have you started working with her on that?"

The martian pursed her lips, the alien suddenly looking a bit more tired than usual as she parsed her words. "We've started by having an early session at the Watchtower. But progress can't be forced immediately, Garfield, you know that."

This caused Beast Boy to frown, suddenly taking in the small details of her posture like her lowered shoulders and stern jaw. She looked like she was either disheartened or at a loss. He tried to broadcast his confidence. "Well, I'm sure you'll figure out something. You always do." He gave her a small smile.

She returned the gesture, returning her attention to the power analytics file she just brought up. "So, where's Arsenal? I half expected him to greet Raven as soon as we came in."

"He went out. Said he has some sort of job to do."

"Probably some security gig set up by Will." Cyborg said, deliberately waving a controller in front of the green man's face. "Now are you finally going to beat me or are you content with being 2nd place?"

Beast Boy snatched the controller, looking toward the large holo-screen with great enthusiasm. "Oh, you're on!"

-X-

Raven felt like she had a migraine. When Miss Martian brought her in for a session, she was expecting mental probing. Some sort of exercise with her powers where the martian would try to gently coax her into lowering her shields or demonstrating the benefits of a link by bringing in a volunteer. She was fully prepared for that sort of display, confident that her shields — both mental and metaphorical — would be enough to hold her position as an implacable wall of discipline.

But what she received instead was mentally taxing in a different way…

The counseling session was held in a tranquil room with a small waterfall and comfortable chairs, the martian using only words and an even tone as she tried to get answers to questions that she believed would benefit her.

Black Canary apparently wasn't the only one with degrees and certification in human psychology. As such, the session started with the usual promises. Nothing said in this room will leave this room, this is a safe space to voice opinions, you don't have to answer if you don't want to, and so on.

She declined to answer at first, of course. Most of the session was filled with her refusing to answer any question, with Raven initiating an impromptu staring contest the moment the martian's intent became obvious. She'd even say she was 'winning' in a sense, since she often left the martian puzzled as she internally tried to decipher Raven's placid face. She felt swirls of contemplation from her professionalism, practiced calmness from experience, and even a sense of academic curiosity at one point. But it was when she felt the beginnings of frustration emerging from her that she felt the need to change course.

Sure, the martian might claim her responses (or lack thereof) would not affect how she was treated on the team, but how real was that statement in practice? Even if it was only subconsciously, she was sure her continued silence would not bode well for her in the future.

So, she defaulted to giving minimal answers about her powers and the methods she used to control them. The martian gained a thoughtful gleam in her eye the moment she brought up her meditative practices, and while she still refused some of her more thoughtful questions regarding her life, Raven was pretty sure she came off more as a guarded girl rather than one with a bunch of dangerous secrets.

As Sun Tzu said, "Engage people with what they expect; it is what they are able to discern and confirms their projections."*

If things went right, Miss Martian would come to the conclusion that she developed a guarded personality in response to having an atypical personality and not finding a lot of friends. With both of the aforementioned issues only becoming worse due to the nature of her emotion-based powers.

She received a look of sympathy when she mentioned that her powers were based on emotion, a look of realization flooding through the martian as Raven's personality was recontextualized. She asked more questions in response to it, the eagerness of her person shining through when she thought she was on to something important. But Raven made sure to reinstate her staring contest as she refused to answer.

She wasn't going to deflect with a remark or avoid eye contact. She was just refusing to back down as she calmly stated she wasn't going to answer a question. It had her counselor dimming in her demeanor, despite her professional maintenance of a neutral face. Whatever progress she made by chipping into Raven's outward facade was quickly snuffed out.

It still left her feeling tired when all was said and done. The releasing of small bits of information left her feeling vulnerable, and internally running through her responses before she spoke them aloud was like mental gymnastics in and of itself.

It was like Nightshade's early talks all over again but worse.

Giving a small groan as she laid down on her assigned bed, Raven found herself staring at the ceiling. Under normal circumstances, she'd fall asleep and take a well-deserved nap, but she wasn't particularly fond of the idea of visiting the Dreaming this early…

Miss Martian said she had no more duties for the day, the early return to the HUB clearly an open signal to mingle with the others and make use of the location's amenities. But instead of any of those things, she found her legs crossing as she put herself into a familiar pose, her back straightening as she prepared to mutter her mantra.

"Azarath." She took in a breath. "Metrion." She held it in for a few seconds. "Zinthos." She readied her body for a small series of rituals, the majority of which would require a complete sense of calmness. An aural cleansing was first on her list, then a realignment of her internal energies, and then a session of spatial attunement. If this room was really going to be her second dwelling, she might as well get used to it.

A small series of knocks was heard on her door, the quick rasping of knuckles sounding unusually fast and rushed. Extending a hand toward the door, its edges were quicky encased in a purple aura as she pushed it open, a blur of yellow and red skiing towards her faster than she could follow.

A smile was all she saw for a second, its owner all but leaning into her personal space as he exuded a sense of eagerness. "Heya", Kid Flash greeted.

A purple shield was all he got in response, Raven's eyes practically on fire as she thrust it outward. Kid Flash's smile vanished as his shoes squeaked on the ground, his backward motion not stopping until he was back on the other side of the door.

Raven couldn't help the dark tone of warning that entered her voice. "I did not give you permission to enter this room."

Kid Flash looked a bit put off by the statement. "Oh, right… sorry." There was a pause as Kid Flash waited for her to speak, perhaps waiting for her to say it was 'alright' or something to that effect, but he had received nothing but a stare by the time he decided to open his mouth again. "So, I was thinking… do you want to hang out with me and Ed for a bit? The HUB's got all kind of games for people to enjoy. Ski ball, Tetris, Jenga, and even Pong if you're into the classics."

"Not interested."

The plain response had the speedster placing a hand at the back of his head. He couldn't tell if she was intentionally being rude or not. He shuffled backward a bit, noticing that the door had already been gripped by the mental sheen of her powers again. "So… maybe later then?"

"Not likely." She looked at his crestfallen face. "I have a lot of stuff to do, and I don't think it's a good idea to continue stalling on it."

His face brightened slightly, a sense of familiarity overcoming his features. "Like homework and stuff? Yeah, that's always a bummer. I usually wait until Sunday to finish it all up." He waved her off quickly afterward, looking entirely like he couldn't sit still for too long. "I'll try to catch up with you tomorrow, yeah?"

Silence returned to her room after that when her door slid shut, the metal making enough of a sound to signify just how much she wanted to be alone for the time being. The brief encounter had her taking a deep breath as she calmed herself, her eyes briefly scanning over what she was sure was going to become her weekend quarters.

It was a large room compared to the one in Kansas, more than enough to hold all of her belongings and still have empty space for her to wander. She usually preferred more minimalist spaces, but even she couldn't help but appreciate the view. The far window spanned most of the wall, giving her a pristine view of Hollywood's lights.

Aside from that, though, the room had a more modern look, with everything from her bed to her drawers looking pristine and glossed over. Almost as if it was brand new. Just how old was this place? A pile of paper caught her eye as she looked over the table closest to the door, the folded edges of an open magazine definitely being a new addition to the room from the last time she was here.

With her empathy kicking into gear as she walked over, she couldn't find anything out of the ordinary. The unknown flurry of eagerness was definitely Kid Flash's, and Arsenal's presence was unsurprising since she invited him in earlier, but she couldn't detect anyone else. But given its location by the door, maybe someone just peeked in and dropped it off?

Her eyes recognized the logo of the Gotham Herald, a shameless gossip publication that had her internally sneering at the idea that anyone would consider this within her interests. Did someone expect her to like baseless rumors?

That frown deepened even further though, when she looked at the page's entirety. "A Drunk Grayson Sighted Downtown?!", it read, with a likely photoshop of Dick Grayson having been slapped as its opening picture. His shirt was ruffled and almost ripped open, a finagle of shabbily dressed girls cheering him on as he shimmied himself on a bar table. With a champaign bottle in his hand, the man looked completely wasted, a glaze of worry being evident in his eyes as he tried to get away from the attention. Raven spotted a rundown chalkboard and worn wood in the background, the scenery being hint enough that this picture was taken in one of the city's less affluent districts. With his status you'd think he'd go to some place nicer, but maybe he was trying to avoid attention? It wasn't her place to judge, at any rate.

Arsenal's handwriting littered the bottom of the page: "Thought you'd like this!"

With a feeling of indignance, Raven crumpled the tabloid in her hands as heat went to her ears. She had told Arsenal the details of her celebrity crush once and he had never forgotten it. He brought it up on occasion, usually in a jesting manner. And she? She always thought it was one of their internal jokes, one where they made light fun of her little phase. The one where she was new to social media and was entranced with 1K Wordsworth*, and celebrities, and pop idols. It was all so new to her and she was ignorant in the ways of rumors, showboating, and embellishment.

That little phase was brief, her opinion of the entire industry soured to the point of no return. But that didn't stop her from internally cringing when she thought of those early social media posts, when she was bereft of electronic literacy and tried too hard to fit in. It was a misguided attempt to express past her emotionally bereft persona.

Things were so much easier to say when you were behind a screen… too bad she just sucked at being normal. Attempts to use local lingo and curtailing her formal speech ended up inviting only ridicule when her peers managed to connect a tangible face to the account name.

It was an embarrassing part of her life that was a mistake, and her little crush Dick Grayson was a remnant of that. Was Arsenal just sitting on that information for years so he could use it later?! Sure, she could look back on it and acknowledge that it was a mistake but…

She glared at the paper in her hands, a part of her wishing that it would just erupt in flames under her gaze. It only took an internal reminder about how stupid the whole thing was before she settled for throwing the wad of paper in the trash.

Why couldn't Arsenal default to his usual gifts? Books, boxes of sweets, scented candles, and even the occasional video game were all better gifts.

Giving the discarded paper one last look of derision, she headed back towards her bed, a coming out to rummage in her nightstand for a lighter. The incense was one of the few decorations that she brought over, the simple item being one of the few luxuries she always preferred to have regardless of her location.

She returned to the lotus position, intent on completing her meditation and aural cleanse before the day was out.

| Tampa, Florida

| 2019 March 9, 17:56 EST

The mission was simple enough on paper. Observe the illegal auction and, if the authenticity was confirmed, retrieve the magical artifact known as the Ebontome*. The powerful artifact was allegedly uncovered and had been causing a stir in the mystic community… or so they had been told. Robin personally wasn't sure how he felt that their mystic intel primarily came from two individuals. Admittedly connected and knowledgeable individuals, sure, but Zatanna and Fate were only two people at the end of the day — and Fate in particular barely bothered himself with the mystic community at large unless it majorly disturbed the flow of magic (whatever that meant).

The smuggling operation was run by Simon Culp, who usually dealt with importing exotic animals and plants. But he'd been expanding into the artifact market as of late, with his most recent escapade allegedly gaining imports from what used to be Qurac. From what Zatanna told him, it wasn't unheard of for mystic menaces to use "mundane" methods to transport their goods under the radar. So, while the chance Culp selling the genuine item was slim, it was still high enough to warrant the Team's presence.

With Zatanna and Fate raiding their own locations for other items of interest, the Team was left with Traci as their primary magic evaluator.

"I don't sense any dark magic in the area." Traci said, her voice crackling over the mic. "Or any magic, for that matter. Either all of the magical artifacts are dormant or they're all fake."

"Sensing magic from afar is good but evaluating the item up close would be better.", Tigress stated, her eyes scanning over an array of items that were currently organized on a table. They were all tagged and identified, prepped for a round of bidding that would start in roughly an hour. Culp's high-end clientele had a different bidding process from all the rest. They got a closed room event away from everyone else and only dealt with the more expensive products. "Has anyone located the target? What's going on at Halo's end?"

Halo remained motionless, arms raised as she kept a hologram over herself. Her eyes scanned over the auction participants before refocusing on the auctioneer, who was currently holding a pair of rings with enthusiasm. She made sure to keep her voice as a whisper. "I haven't seen anything."

"I haven't found anything either. But I found Simon Culp.", Arrowette noted, her placement outside the warehouse providing her ample view of the incoming trucks. Her eyes honed in the organizer himself, with the old man sporting nothing but a black suit and his own wrinkles as he approached one of the incoming vehicles. He gripped his cane with a firm sense of eagerness, his hand wringing itself around the grip as he waited for something. "I'm willing to bet its coming in. The book may be one of his premier items."

"Yeah, but he's not the only one making that claim. There's an auction going on in New Orleans making the same claim.", Robin noted, taking a look at Traci as he handed her another dusty-looking book. "I just handed Taci a copy of the Grimorium Verum* and she says the thing is just a magicless copy. It doesn't have magic, but it does have the physical etchings of its contents."

Arrowette wrinkled her nose. "That sounds like it still has value."

"It does, but not nearly as much as the original copy.", Traci commented, a hand running over the pages of the book. "The main appeal of these sort of tomes is the latent magic power hidden within. I mean sure, a book with all the knowledge copied into a regular book has value, but unless the person reading it has their own immense magical reserves and a very specific set of training to make use of it, what good is it?" The book slammed shut in her hands with a thump, the sound earning a mildly irritated glare from Robin. "When people buy these tomes, they want a shortcut. A cheat where the stored energy within the item will do all of the work after they speak a few words or follow the instructions for a ritual. It sometimes backfires due to the magic having a mind of its own, but..."

She deposited the book back to Robin, looking casually at the small collection of wooden rods not two feet away from her. "Aside from the gravitox wands, which are a dime a dozen, nothing here seems especially magical. I think this guy is just a hack."

"Well, this 'hack' just met up with Shade.", Arrowette stated, grabbing her bow as she observed the old man talking with the masked individual. Simon had a genial smile on his face as though he was meeting an old friend, the two bumping the heads of their canes together in lieu of a standard handshake. "Think they're just fashion buddies?"

"Not likely. Shade only shows up in uniform when he's on a job.", Tigress muttered, moving back up to the rafters as she homed in on the archer's feed. "Looks like he's holding something."

It was small and bundled in a black cloth, the shape looking so rectangular that it could only be either a box… or a thick book. "Think it's the item we're looking for?"

"Possibly. I can't imagine what else Culp would want to be delivered." Tigress made her way to one of the rafters. "Keep an eye on it. Everyone else is to converge on your location for backup while I remain here. I might be able to grab it when he brings it in for evaluation."

"You might want to change that plan, because it looks like he's not going anywhere near you." Arrowette found herself moving as Shade and Culp made an unexpected turn, heading toward what looked like a small supply shack. "He's heading into a different building entirely. Looks rather small though…it might be his office. Want me to head in?"

"Not when both of them are inside."

"If they leave the object behind to attend the main auction, me and Traci can sneak inside no problem." Robin stated. "Knowing this guy, he's probably hiding the item in a safe or something else I can break into."

"But what if Shade isn't just here for delivery? What if he's also guarding the item until it can be sold?", Traci whispered, crouching just behind Robin as they made their way back outside.

"Then we'll have to confront him.", Robin stated matter-of-factly. "We just have to get him somewhere isolated…"

"And what if he's hiding the book in one of his shadows? Shade needs to willingly let the book come back out if he hid it with his powers." Traci looked perplexed at the thought, the shadow-user now looking completely ideal for storing and transporting items.

"Actually, we don't need him to be willing.", Tigress hummed, looking thoughtful. "Halo's white light can harm Shade and force him to regurgitate whatever his shadows consume… but the move will undoubtedly attract attention. But everyone needs to calm down. We still don't know if what Shade has in his possession is the Ebontome."

"Even if it isn't, it probably isn't anything good. If we get the chance, I say we take it anyway.", Arrowette said, looking eager at the prospect of stealing something important.

"That isn't our mission!", Robin hissed.

"The mission is what the mission becomes, right?", She retorted.

"Only Tigress can make that call. And we don't have any reason to—"

"Uh, friends?", Halo's voice greeted them from their earpieces, having recently made her way to a rooftop with minimal issue. "Check your sound scanners. It's awfully quiet in there."

Robin almost felt like chastising himself for arguing, his eyes focusing in on the small building as he ran through his darkwear scanners. "She's right, I don't see any signs of them talking or moving stuff. I don't see all that much in terms of thermal residue either."

"Well, they are behind a set of walls.", the archer replied, "Unless you have x-ray vision, it's hard to get a complete picture of what's going on down there from this distance."

"But that doesn't explain the lack of sounds. These guys should be talking, getting a glass to drink out of or… something! We should at least be able to hear their movement." Robin found himself propelling to the ground before he could help himself, trying his best to stay cloaked in the darkness.

Tigress groaned. "With Shade in the mix it is entirely possible they teleported somewhere else."

"With the shack only acting as a pit stop.", Robin finished, his head barely popping up from the side to peer into an open window. "I don't see anyone... and no one has noticed me yet." He took a few steps inside, head swiveling to take a look at the small office space set inside. Other than a closet, it didn't appear as though anyone was around. "Tigress is right. They're gone."

There was a pause as everyone took in the information, with Traci and Halo giving each other looks as they shuffled in place.

"So…do we search through the buildings again?", Halo inquired, disappointed that they lost a possible lead.

"That's what it looks like." Tigress sighed. "Everyone is to search the area again. If you see any sign of them, tell us." With that, she came down from the rafters, deciding to head for one of the storage areas where some of the staff were discussing organization. "I'll take the center. Robin and Traci, take the east side. Halo, head back to the main auction. Arrowette can maintain her position to the north."

-X-

The pool of shadows that erupted on the ground was unnatural, the phenomena hidden by the dimness of the local park. When Culp came out, he stumbled, the move in stark contrast to Shade's straight-backed demeanor as he rose from the ground. He offered the old man a sympathetic look, though it went unnoticed under his mask. "We're here."

Culp straightened himself as he dusted dirt off his sleeve, his face turned into a prominent frown. "Well, it doesn't look like it. When I was told that a ritual would be performed for me, I expected the area to be…", he looked around, seeing nothing out of the ordinary. "Prepped."

Shade made a gesture with his arm, another portal opening up some distance away, "All we need are the materials and the participants, and you did well in collecting them all." With some amount of effort, Culp saw a cage coming into view, a distressed lion baring its teeth as it paced its cage in a fit of distress.

"Hmph." Culp sneered. "Well, this better be worth it. Lions with black manes go for a high price, you know!"

A newer, high pitched, voice called out to them in a mix of frustration and eagerness. "Well, performing a ritual to get powers isn't exactly easy!"

Culp found himself looking toward a nearby tree, his eyes quickly picking up on the cat that continued to leer at him from a tree branch. He raised an eyebrow at the sight, looking at what looked like a young boy balancing on a tree branch as though he was some sort of wood sprite.

Klarion looked at the man with an undignified sniff. "Well, it looks like we got the lion, the book, and…where's the gem?"

Culp almost looked offended. "I was told a powerful magic user would be performing the ritual. Are you seriously telling me that —"

Shade was quick to intervene, having only heard rumors of the Witch-boy's temper. "Do not let his appearance fool you, that being over there wields undeniable power. You should thank him for going through the trouble of performing this ritual himself. Follow his lead, and you will have the magical power you so desire."

Klarion smiled as though he knew a secret "And in exchange you will work with my partners. You have been doing so good transporting our material that we thought it was time to reward you. To tell you the truth, this ritual was originally supposed to be used on Abra Kadabra years ago buuuuut… plans change." He chuckled, "He would have been a disappointment anyway."

Klarion gave him a pointed look as he raised an eyebrow, with Culp taking a second to figure out what exactly he wanted. "Oh! Yes."

He rummaged in one of his coat pockets, a hand coming out to reveal a ruby of considerable size, "The Ruby of Ragnor, as requested."

"Excellent!", Klarion squealed, looking at the object as though it was some sort of toy. With red magic crackling in his hands, the gem was lifted towards him at great speed until it reached his hand. "This is the main focus we need to make the changes permanent. Otherwise, you'd be little better than a temporary puppet to the forces you want to command." A small grimace overtook his features, the witch boy suddenly looking like he was very eager to see that exact outcome.

But the look quickly vanished as he turned to look at Shade. "Alright minion, hand the Ebontome to our friend here and we can go ahead and get started."

The Lord of Chaos walked over towards the caged lion towards Shade, his hands alight with mystic energy. "Don't worry about a thing, gentlemen. With an expert like me at the helm, we'll knock this lengthy ritual out in a few hours. Just be grateful that I am willing to spend that much time on a whelp like you!"

Author's Notes:

Arion and Merlin are both notable historic magic figures in DC comics and are widely regarded as the best mages of their age. Merlin is the Arthurian court wizard from English lore and Arion (or Ahri'ahn) was dubbed as one of the greatest Atlantean mages of all time.

A quote from The Art of War. But the actual quote is incomplete. The full quote is: "Engage people with what they expect; it is what they are able to discern and confirms their projections. It settles them into predictable patterns of response, occupying their minds while you wait for the extraordinary moment — that which they cannot anticipate."

Gotham has had quite a few newspaper publications attached to it over the years. Gotham Gazette, Gotham Times, Gotham Herald, and Gotham Globe are but a few examples.

1K Wordsworth is a popular social media app in Young Justice, featuring prominently in the background of Season 3. Think of it as their version of Instagram.

A lot of namedropped artifacts here, most of them being unimportant. The Grimorium Verum is the name of the tome used by a young John Constantine in an attempt to save Astra. Gravitox wands are simple tools that channel energy based on the user's emotion, and the Ebontome was last used by Dr. Seine to summon demons.