Denial
- - - August 20th - - -
"You knew Doctor Fate?"
Mary stared at the golden helmet of her saviour, sitting idly at Wally's souvenir shelf. Than she turned back towards Red Tornado.
"Nobody told me he was still alive! All this time, I could have thanked him… Why did nobody tell me this before he died?"
Wally and Megan winced at her words. With a pang of guilt, Mary remembered who she was talking to.
"I am sorry, that was terribly rude. Forgive me." The entire team had followed her and the android to the trophy room. She met their eyes, one after the other. "My condolences for your loss, to all of you. I know how hard it is to loose somebody in the line of duty."
They all looked rattled today. Wally's fair skin was outright pale, dark marks under his eyes from a sleepless night. Megan hadn't spoken a single word since Mary's arrival. Artemis, the new archer, stood at her side, her jaw a grim line. Kaldur hovered behind them protectively, his body tense, his eyes betraying his exhaustion. Even Superboy's brow was furrowed more deeply than usual.
Robin looked just as drained as his companions, though for different reasons. After a devastating week-long mission, he and Batman had captured the toxin-wielding psychopath Scarecrow earlier today and finally escorted him back to Arkham Asylum. While Alfred had been busy covering up Master Bruce's absence from Wayne Manor by handling his business negotiations, Mary had spent most of the past week in Gotham as well, helping Scarecrow's victims recover from their chemically induced terrors at one of Batman's safehouses.
Hence she and Robin had both missed the team's latest mission.
At least Aqualad had asked Robin yesterday whether they should wait for his return before embarking on their mission, attempting to find the missing magician Kent Nelson, alias Doctor Fate. At that point, however, Scarecrow's defeat had still been uncertain, and Robin had chosen to let his comrades proceed without him.
Mary had not even been informed.
"Nelson Kent died at the hands of the Lord of Chaos Klarion yesterday", Red Tornado clarified, his voice even hollower than usual. "Yet the entity whom you know as Doctor Fate, the Lord of Order Nabu, is only dormant within this helmet."
The golden artefact gleamed brightly even in the cave's artificial light. Mary reached for it tentatively.
"So if I wanted to talk to him, I would only have to put it on?"
"No!", Wally cried out. The speedster appeared between herself and the shelf to bar her way. In the same instance, the helmet itself rose into the air out of her reach, and two heavy hands grabbed her left arm and her right shoulder to restrain her.
"Okay, okay." She gingerly stepped away from the trophy display. Superboy and Aqualad quickly released her, while Megan lowered the artefact back onto the shelf. Wally remained standing in front of it protectively.
Robin regarded his team mates with a bemused expression. "Seems like you were not kidding when you said that thing was dangerous."
Wally nodded firmly. "He almost didn't let me go. You are completely under his control when you wear that helmet. Trapped inside your own mind, only able to watch while he moves your body…" He shuddered. "I don't know how Mr Kent was able to bear it."
"Nelson Kent wore the Helmet of Fate almost daily for five years, in the 1940s", Red Tornado elaborated. "He told me he saw it as his duty, but he also took pride in Nabu's accomplishments, and strove to learn from the Lord of Order's guidance. As Doctor Fate, he was a founding member of the Justice Society of America. As his own skills and powers grew, Kent Nelson began to engage in smaller missions independently, wearing a costume resembling Nabu's appearance. He renounced the true helmet in 1945."
"Because the war had ended?", Mary guessed.
"The Justice Society of America was indeed involved in the war, and Nabu had battled many magical threats conjured by the axis powers. He had also uncovered certain artefacts over the course of these years, with highly destructive capacities." The android turned slightly to address all of the team. "Are you familiar with the attacks on Japan in August 1945?"
Mary was not surprised that even the Martian nodded. The detonation of nuclear bombs to level civilian cities was certainly an event significant enough to be mentioned in all school curriculums throughout the solar system. She had read about it in horror in one of Robin's history books.
"The destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki convinced Nabu that humankind could not be entrusted with weapons as powerful as the ones he had amassed. He set out to destroy his most powerful relicts, among them the Gorgon's Staff.
Kent Nelson later described their destruction as far more dangerous than obtaining the relicts had been in the first place. Within one month, Nabu came close to draining all of his host's life force on three different occasions. When the mission was accomplished, Kent Nelson took off the Helmet of Fate, and his wife convinced him not to wear it again thereafter. He has guarded the helmet and its secrets faithfully, until now."
"And he never found another volunteer?", Mary asked.
Red Tornado's eyes seemed even darker than usual."I know of only one, several years earlier. In 1941, before my own activation, a close ally of the Justice Society had offered to don the helmet, to share the burden of being Doctor Fate's host. Unfortunately, he was… incompatible."
"How incompatible?", Wally questioned. "Did he have any superpowers that interfered?"
"He had the ability to control water, yet the reason why he could not become Doctor Fate's host was never made public. He chose a different career soon after, he was not affiliated with the Justice Society any more by the time I joined it."
"Maybe his spirit was too chaotic for a Lord of Order?", Megan guessed.
"That I cannot answer", Red Tornado replied.
Mary frowned. "And afterwards? Are you telling me that Mr Nelson found not a single suitable replacement in sixty-five years?"
This time, Wally answered in the android's stead. "I don't believe he really tried to find one, Mary. I don't think he wanted to condemn anybody else to that… Fate."
Mary closed her eyes. Why would it have to be just one person? Why not a group of volunteers, sharing the burden? How could they just leave a person sitting on a shelf?
When she looked up again, Robin was standing in front of her, softly placing his hand on her shoulder.
"You are reminded of your own..."
She nodded. Of course she was.
"Your own what?", Artemis asked.
"My own time on a shelf." Mary smiled wistfully at the blonde archer. The newest team member did not know her tale yet.
"I am a bit older than you think, Artemis. I was born in England between the wars, in 1924. In 1942, I was accompanying a group of students on an excursion to our local library when we were caught in an alien attack, a Dr'uk invasion." She closed her eyes briefly, using one of the techniques Megan had taught her to distance herself from the painful memory. "The Dr'uk ate the librarian. They were just about to kill one of the students, as well as myself, when Doctor Fate appeared to save us. He rescued the boy, protected me with a petrification spell, then contained the attackers until they destroyed each other. From what the Green Lanterns tell me, Doctor Fate saved all of Britain that day, and potentially the entire world. The Dr'uk might have consumed every organic substance on the surface of this planet, including every living being, if they had not been stopped in the very first phase of their invasion."
The archer's eyes had grown wide behind her mask. Next to her, Kaldur also looked startled. It occurred to Mary that the Atlantean had never heard her full story either.
She sighed. "I spent the following decades as a statue, until the Justice League woke me up again about eight months ago. The magic word that turns me back alive is 'Alivio', by the way. Waking up in the twenty-first century was a rather life-changing experience for me, but didn't really impact anybody else. I never was a hero."
She gestured at the golden helmet. "He is."
For a long moment, everyone regarded the mystic artefact silently.
It was Red Tornado who spoke first, his metallic voice softer than before. "Nabu chose to become a Lord of Order", he stated. "He did live a human life before, in Ancient Babylonia. When his body was slain in combat, he was given the choice to serve Order in a different form, by allowing his spirit to be forged into this helmet. He has been a hero for over two millennia, fighting many historical battles. He has also spent centuries dormant in between."
Mary blinked, surprised. Somehow, that did put things into perspective. Nevertheless…
The android was still holding her gaze.
"I, too, have experienced an inactive period before", he continued. "I have been deactivated for many years after the Justice Society of America disbanded. It is my preference, as well as yours, to restore Nabu to his own agency. I have already informed the League of the latest developments. We shall be looking for a solution that does not require a personal sacrifice of the type Kid Flash has encountered."
Wally cast his eyes to the floor.
"Meanwhile, we shall be holding Kent Nelson's funeral tomorrow."
It finally hit Mary how tactless she had been.
She swallowed hard. "I am so sorry, Red Tornado. Please forgive me for being so obtrusive at a time like this. I should be offering my condolences to you too, for the loss of your old friend."
He accepted her commiseration with a courteous nod. "Please forgive me, in turn, for not mentioning my close acquaintance with Doctor Fate earlier. I should have anticipated your interest." His voice faded slightly. "We have indeed known each other for a long time."
On a sudden impulse, Mary hugged the android's metallic torso.
Red Tornado remained motionless. "I have never been embraced before", he mused.
"It's a sign of sympathy", she explained with a soft smile. He nodded once more when she released him.
Robin gestured towards the helmet. "Couldn't we just build Nabu a body? An android body, I mean."
Red Tornado shook his head gravely. "His hosts must be both organic and humanoid."
Wally slapped Superboy's shoulder playfully. "Couldn't we ask Cadmus to grow him one?"
Superboy's only response was a feral growl.
Aqualad also shook his head firmly. "That would be little better than to force any of us to wear the helmet, as we would rob the new clone of an opportunity to develop his own personality."
"What is Cadmus?", Artemis asked.
"The shady cloning facility from which we freed Superboy", Robin replied.
The blonde archer raised an eyebrow, mustered the young clone appreciatively, then glanced over at Megan. "He doesn't happen to have any brothers, does he?"
Everyone turned towards Superboy.
"Dubbilex called me his brother", the Kryptonian replied defiantly. "He said all genomorphs are family."
"Who is Dubbilex?", Wally enquired.
"The administration assistant and head of genomorph resource management. A G-goblin."
Wally still stared at him blankly.
"G-goblin?", Robin asked, apparently remembering something. "Kind of slender, bluish skin, two large horns, pointy ears? Weird cords handing down from his cheekbones?"
Superboy nodded.
Artemis chuckled, nudging Megan's shoulder. "Sounds like that guy looks far more alien than you do."
Megan's eyes widened. "And you think of him as family?"
Superboy just shrugged.
"Anyway, we did not encounter any other Kryptonian clones when we were in the facility", Aqualad returned to Artemis' original question. "The League has kept a close eye on Cadmus ever since."
"And I'm sure Supes is not planning to go back there anytime soon", Wally added with a grin.
Superboy just shrugged once more.
Robin yawned. "Sorry guys, but it's been a pretty long week. How about getting back to the couches before you debrief me on the rest of yesterday's mission? Was there anything else we can use if we run into Klarion the Witch Boy again, except 'go for the cat'?"
One by one, the young heroes filed out of the trophy room. Wally lingered until his team mates had left, than turned back towards Red Tornado. He ran his fingers through his unruly red hair nervously.
"So, what time is that funeral tomorrow?"
When the young speedster had left, Red Tornado remained behind in the repurposed storage chamber that the team had named their trophy room.
He still liked statistics.
Applied mathematics. Clean, purposeful functions. His life was founded upon them. Where he lacked data, he assigned Bayesian likelihoods – an android's form of belief.
Yet statistics rarely met reality.
He had performed a simple Bayesian calculation before sending out the team.
The probability that his inability to contact Kent Nelson's meant that his old acquaintance was in actual danger had appeared small.
The probability that sending the kids to the Tower of Fate would endanger them or Nelson in any way had appeared even lower.
It had been likely that Kent Nelson had just wandered off into some mythical adventure beyond the reach of radio transmitters.
It had been highly probable that the team's arrival at the Tower would draw him back, and that the young heroes would benefit from an educational encounter with the 'wise old wizard' of the Justice League.
If Nelson had been in danger, the most probable scenario had been that he had overestimated his physical prowess once more. In that case, it would have been likely that the team could have helped him out, like Red Tornado himself had done often. The chance that Nelson had truly been overpowered by a magical adversary had seemed negligible. If Nelson had been trapped in a truly dangerous dimension in the magical realm, it would have been highly improbable that the team could have reached him at all, they would have returned from the Tower of Fate empty-handed.
The possibility had never occurred to him that by sending the kids to the Tower, Red Tornado would lead a Lord of Chaos into Nelson's sanctuary.
Statistics could be very unsatisfactory when they met with real life.
Red Tornado gazed at his old companion's helmet on the storage shelf.
Nelson had been 106 years old. His age had already lain outside the Bell's curve of any human's statistical life expectancy, especially among those with heroic occupations.
However, that type of statistics offered no comfort either.
Comfort. A strange concept for an android to ponder.
A warm hug offered no physical comfort to him, yet the gesture had moved him.
He gently laid his metallic hand on the golden relic.
Kid Flash had claimed that Nelson's soul was still keeping Nabu company in there.
Red Tornado was not entirely fond of the concept of souls, since it seemed unlikely that an android possessed one.
Yet if he had been able to wear the mythical helmet, he would have donned it now, grasping for even the most improbable chance to talk to his two old friends once more.
However, he knew that his positronic brain was incompatible with the relict's magic.
Just like his brother's had been.
Kaldur watched his companions silently while Wally answered Robin's question about his transformation into Nabu's host.
They had lost a man on this mission.
Megan had been shaken badly yesterday, yet she seemed to be recovering surprisingly fast. She sat close to Artemis, their newest member. The archer seemed strong and resilient, she would be able to comfort her telepathic friend, if the need arose. On the other side of the couch, Superboy looked composed, almost impassive.
Wally had been affected most strongly by witnessing Nelson's death so closely. It might have been the first time ever that he saw a man die.
Kaldur had known Superman's reputation as the man who caught every bullet. He had not known that the Flash was that good as well – good enough at saving lives that his sidekick had never seen a single causality on any of their missions.
Impressive.
Aquaman had fought wars under the surface. Kaldur had been in real battles before.
Which didn't make it much easier to loose Kent Nelson, though, especially since it had been their mission to save him...
He tried to reign in his grief, his sense of failure.
Rationally, he knew that Nelson had been tortured for days before their arrival. If they had not interfered, the old magician might have succumbed under the pressure. Even if he had taken his secrets to his grave, Klarion the Witch Boy might have been able to locate and tear down the Tower of Fate as soon as Nelson's protection had faded away with his life force.
At least the team had secured the helmet. For now.
A stale victory. Tomorrow, they had a funeral to attend.
Kaldur bit down a frown. His training forbade him to show his own discomfort in front of the team. He had to seem strong and composed. That was his responsibility as their leader.
Yet he wished someone would comfort him as well.
He wished Tula was here with him.
He barely noticed Mary sitting down on the couch next to him.
- - - August 23 - - -
Another Monday. Only two more weeks till her first day of High School. Megan had finished her weekly cleansing ritual early, hoping for another chance to go swimming with Superboy.
'Don't get too distracted by your gorgeous team mate' was still high on her agenda, but she really wasn't making any progress on that front…
She also had to hope that their shared crush on Superboy would not stain her budding friendship with Artemis. Megan was still delighted to have another girl on the team, despite the potential rivalry. Even more so, Artemis was quickly becoming her new idol. She was tough, a skilled fighter, and she excelled at hiding her uncertainties behind snarky replies – the boys probably didn't even notice how much their new archer really struggled, how strongly she craved to fit in with the team. Megan could sense it, and could relate just too well.
Today, however, she and Superboy were alone at the cave with Mary. She found both of them in the common area, folding laundry.
"Hello Megan", Mary greeted her. "I just taught Superboy how to use the laundry machine and the tumble drier this morning."
She nodded. Was she really feeling a pang of regret about missing laundry day with Superboy? Really, this was getting ridiculous.
"If you want to wash your beach towels later, just ask Superboy to show you how to do it, okay?"
"Sure", she replied, fighting down a blush. Stupid Martian hormones. Laundry was not romantic!
She joined her crush on his couch, careful not to sit too close, to give him space. Mary and Superboy were just about finished with folding their clothes, there was nothing left for her to do.
Mary's basket was filled with neatly folded dresses, skirts and blouses. Superboy's contained a number of black t-shirts and two pairs of jeans.
Mary placed the last shirt into her basket, then leaned back on her couch.
"Superboy, may I ask you a personal question?"
To Megan's delight, her handsome team mate nodded.
"Last Friday, you said that this Cadmus clone - Dubbilex? - that he considered you part of his family. I was wondering if you could tell us more about the other genomorphs?"
Megan's breath caught.
Robin's description of the G-goblin had been monstrous. Weird flaps of skin on his face, large horns on his head – did Superboy truly consider that creature as part of his family?
She had barely been able to concentrate at all on the mission debriefing after that revelation.
"What do you want to know?", Superboy asked.
"So far, I've heard of G-gnomes and G-goblins. Are there any other kinds?"
He counted them off on his fingers. "G-trolls, G-elves, G-dwarves and G-sprites."
Megan smiled. "Someone at Cadmus must really like their fairy tales."
"Would you describe them to us?", Mary asked softly.
Superboy nodded. "G-trolls are the strongest", he began. "Their adult battle weight is about four tons. Got some genes from African mountain gorillas. Heavy hitters, but can't run very fast. G-elves are much faster. Only weigh up to 120 kilograms. Sharp claws, good for melees, mainly fighting in packs."
Megan stared at Superboy in fascination. She had rarely heard him string that many words together before.
Maybe she should stop only asking him yes-or-no questions.
"No offence, but that sounds like Cadmus really was breeding an army", Mary commented.
Superboy nodded. "They fed me a lot of knowledge about G-troll and G-elf battle statistics. Top speed and size, joint attack patterns, strength and skills… If we had been an army, I might have been one of its commanders.
I know less about the others. G-dwarfs are workers. Smaller but heavier than G-elves. Very nimble with their tentacle arms, good mechanics. G-sprites are bioluminescent and fly. Those aren't sapient, barely got brains. When they are linked up with the G-gnomes, however, they are their eyes in the facility."
Megan's eyes lit up. "You mean they share a mental link?"
"Yes. All genomorphs are linked by the G-gnomes – or were, when I was there. They relayed orders from Cadmus management." He frowned. "Mainly from Doctor Desmond."
"The guy who drank the blockbuster serum?", Megan recalled from reading the mission report.
He nodded.
She really shouldn't keep asking him binary questions.
"What happened at Cadmus after you beat him?", she tried again.
"Guardian took over, the chief of security", he replied. "Said they'd work on legal projects only."
Mary scoffed. "They still didn't announce to the public that there is a cloned army working in a secret underground base in Washington, DC. I'm not sure how legal that can be."
Superboy tilted his head non-committally.
"What kind of projects would they work on now?", Megan asked. Another open question. She was getting the hang of this.
Superboy shrugged. "Biological research, I guess."
Mary didn't seem convinced. "What are the trolls doing, in that case? Can the elves assist with research?"
"G-trolls never worked much. They like making up stories. Or dreaming. Hard to describe. G-elves like all kinds of contact sports. They have teams and tournaments and all."
He wrinkled his brow. "My knowledge on that is very vague, though. I wasn't taught that, it just seeped through the mind links somehow."
For a moment, he stared into space, sorting his thoughts. "I think the G-gnomes that fed me information also linked up with many of the other genomorphs", he finally continued. "Sharing the knowledge. The others liked learning about the sun, too."
Megan couldn't help but move closer, gently placing a hand on Superboys shoulder. He tensed for a second, but didn't shrug it off.
He had such muscular shoulders...
"Do you ever consider visiting them?", she asked softly.
For a long time, he didn't reply. He just sat there, his hands clenched into fists.
Megan waited, still touching his arm.
"Cadmus grew me to be a weapon", he finally responded, anger colouring his voice. "They never let me think a thought of my own. They forced their will on all of us, telepathically. Even when there are no G-gnomes around, all genomorphs could be controlled with certain triggers, certain commands. It's not conditioning, it's … worse. I don't want to go back. And yet..."
He locked eyes with Megan suddenly, his piercing blue eyes capturing hers. "They might know why I can't fly. They might know what's wrong with my powers."
She shook her head decisively. "There is nothing wrong with you, Superboy! And nobody should ever be compelled to obey orders through telepathy."
She shuddered. Mind-control was considered a criminal offence on Mars, yet that had never stopped her step-brothers from tearing down her telepathic defences and forcing her to change shape and colour before school, revealing her abhorrent white form…
Mary interrupted her dark memories with an equally concerning question. "Superboy, do you think there might be such commands programmed into your mind as well?"
"How would I know?", he grumbled.
Megan swallowed hard. How she would love to look into his mind… But no, he had already opened up so much today, this was not the time to try and push further.
"We could ask my Uncle J'onn to check for any mental triggers the next time that he visits", she proposed instead. "He could probably remove them, if there are any."
Superboy shook his head. "Not an option."
Her momentary disappointment vanished as a sudden flash of inspiration hit her. She smiled at him excitedly. "In the meantime, why don't we give that flying idea another chance?"
He raised an eyebrow questioningly.
Megan bounced off the sofa and reached for his hand. "Come outside, I have an idea!"
He didn't like telepathy, but maybe a bit of telekinesis would cheer him up?
"Let's get you up in the air, Superboy!"
Author's note:
I apologize that this chapter careens all over the place. Maybe I shouldn't have chosen to anchor three major plot lines in a single scene... However, what's done is done, and you'll be reading more about Doctor Fate, the android siblings and the genomorphs soon!
Reviews are highly appreciated!