MoP
Harry Potter and the Myriad of Possibilities: Prologue
Chapter 8: Rebellion, Part 4.
Disclaimer: This is solely a not-for-profit fan activity and does not intend to infringe on copyrights held by Time Warner, DC Comics, Bloomsbury et al, and JK Rowling. Any characters that are original to this work remain the property of the author.
A/N: The Myriad of Possibilities Series primarily uses the background from the Harry Potter books but some elements and scenes have been borrowed from other sources – including the movies, Pottermore and my own headcanon – that will be covered where they fit into the narrative. The timeline of the DC Comics elements borrows heavily from Young Justice (2011) and may adapt elements and characters from the comics and several additional other media instalments – including but not limited to Smallville (2001) and Superman and Lois (2021) – and relocates events of Young Justice to the Eighties and early Nineties rather than the New Tens as screened and includes several 'legacy' and original characters as a result. Any other recognisable characters belong to their copyright holders.
A/N: Thanks to Scorpion97 aka the IamtheLastDragonLord, 6f5e4d and the members of the Caer Azkaban group for their help on this chapter.
Salem.
August 21, 16:07 EDT.
"Kent Nelson did not require a magic helmet to be a hero…" said Red Tornado. "Kent dedicated his life – gave his life – to safeguard this world from evil. May he finally find rest with his beloved Inza."
The group stood in silence for a moment, and then they separated.
Dinah's gaze briefly followed Bruce and Oliver as they approached Arrowette, but then her attention was drawn to Jay Garrick as the retired speedster moved to stand beside her. "Hi, Uncle Jay."
"Can we talk?"
"Of course," Dinah agreed, promptly.
"Ted's going to make sure everything quiet at his gym and meet us at the brownstone."
Dinah nodded.
JSA Brownstone,
New York.
16:16 EDT.
"I guess that you want to know how he died?" Dinah asked her uncles once they were settled at the old building's massive circular meeting table.
"We do," agreed Jay.
"If you're okay with that, kid?" added Ted.
Dinah sighed for a moment. "Well, there are a couple of points that we're still not quite sure on, but…" she trailed off. "Uncle Kent had been struggling a little recently… apparently he's been visiting mediums… He'd just finished a consultation a fraudulent medium called Madam Xanadu in New Orleans – who apparently does have some potential – he was kidnapped by Abra Kadabra and Nabu's nemesis, Klarion…" She paused. "Unfortunately, due to his tendency to go on… walkabouts… he wasn't missed for over a fortnight, and he was tortured by them for the entire time."
Both men groaned, then shared a glance and nodded. "We have a regular dinner on Monday night, and he missed it," Jay told her. "That's not like Kent, so I checked all of his usual haunts, but I struck out, so I contacted Red Tornado and asked him to help."
"Originally, he was going to investigate himself," Dinah continued. "But most of the Team – apart from Robin who was working with Bruce down in Florida – was available, so he sent them to the Tower of Fate to check on the Helmet…" Dinah continued. "They were able to gain access to the Tower using the key that Uncle Kent had left with Tornado… unfortunately that meant that Klarion was able to enter the Tower behind them. The Team managed to link up with Uncle Kent and tried their best to help him, but even with Kid Flash briefly putting on the Helmet and becoming Doctor Fate, the strain on him from trying to shield against Klarion was too much for him and he didn't survive. I'm sorry."
"It's okay, kid," Ted assured her, getting up out of his chair and crossing to her side to put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "He went down fighting the good fight, protecting the world… that's the best end any of us can hope for."
"What happened to the Helmet?" Jay asked after a moment.
"Kid Flash is keeping it at Mount Justice until he can find a new host for Nabu."
Jay looked conflicted. "Is that wise? How safe is it there?"
Dinah thought about it, "Well, Miss Martian and Superboy live there, and Aqualad and Red Tornado are there most of the time…. Given that Klarion's breached the Tower once already, I think it's safer with them than at the tower."
Jay nodded. "Aqualad has some magical training?"
"A little," Dinah agreed. "But he didn't complete his training and he's largely limited to elemental manipulation. He might be an option for a mission, but I doubt he'd work any better long-term than Kid Flash… who apparently belongs to 'the world of science, not sorcery'…"
Jay nodded. "I'd agree with that."
"So would I," Dinah agreed. "At least to a point… I'm not sure that his insistence on ignoring evidence of magic when it's right in front of him is particularly helpful in a scientist."
"You're probably right," said Jay. "Though I have some sympathy for him in this case."
"How are the kids taking it?" asked Ted.
"I haven't had a chance to do any in-depth one-on-ones with most of them yet, just Miss Martian and Superboy," Dinah replied. "I suspect Kid Flash took it the hardest, but he bluffs and jokes so much he's even harder to pin down than Superboy…"
"Well, if there's anything I can do to help, all you need to do is ask," Ted told her, then dropped his arm and turned to go. "Are you coming to the gym for back-to-school day next week?"
"Of course," Dinah told him. "I thought I might bring Superboy along if that's okay?"
"The more the merrier," the old boxer assured her, then left the room.
"That goes for me as well," said Jay.
"Thanks, Uncle Jay," said Dinah, then paused. "Actually, can you look in on Kid Flash? He might talk to you in a way that he won't with me."
"Will do," agreed the elderly speedster, and then zipped away.
Dinah sat back down again, taking in the room for a moment, then her concentration was broken by her phone vibrating inside her jacket. She slipped her hand in an withdrew the instrument. "Dinah Lance."
"Dinah, it's Lucas Carr."
"What can I do for you?"
"It's about the two kids that you asked me to get into Happy Harbor High," Lucas replied. "I was able to get Midge to agree to waive the interview and placement tests, but she insists that they still need to be registered before term starts."
"That makes sense," Dinah agreed. "What's the problem?"
"Well, she needs to know who to register them as," Lucas pointed out.
"Good point," Dinah conceded. "While I suppose 'Miss Martian' might do at a pinch…"
"I'd suggest something different…"
"… Superboy isn't an option."
"Exactly."
Says the guy who answered to 'Snapper' as a teenager, Dinah thought. "Tornado was supposed to talk to them about it and forward their choices to you, but I guess they've been too busy. I'll have a talk with them and get the names to you by Monday."
"Thanks," replied Lucas, and hung up.
Dinah returned her phone to her jacket pocket and then took a last slug of her – now lukewarm – coffee. After a moment, she rose and returned the cup to the kitchen, then left, turning out the lights on her way out.
Mount Justice.
16:32 EDT.
"Recognised, Black Canary One-Three," declared the computer as she appeared in the Cave's hanger. She cast her glaze around briefly but quickly spotted Superboy, who was bent over one of the motorcycles working on it. She strode over but stayed out of reach until he realised that she was there and looked up.
"Good afternoon, Superboy."
"Afternoon," he echoed. "Did you need something?"
"Do you remember Wildcat?"
The clone paused for a moment. "Ted Grant, former heavyweight boxing champion and a member of the Justice Society. He attended the funeral yesterday."
"That's him," Dinah confirmed. "He runs a boxing gym in Gotham. Every year around this time he runs a 'back to school' event there were he gives out 'care packages' of stationery and basic books to the students. I wondered if you'd like to join me and help him?"
"When would that be?"
"Saturday and Sunday next week," Dinah replied.
He paused, then nodded.
Dinah moved to leave, then paused. "Oh, and Superboy?"
"Yes?"
"Can you pick a name and let me know what it is by Monday?"
"A name?"
"Yeah, Superboy's fine for 'work', but you need another name for school," Dinah replied. "I'm sure M'gann or Tornado will have some ideas if you need them."
Superboy nodded but made no further comment.
After waiting for a moment, Dinah re-entered the Zeta Tube and teleported away.
Mount Justice.
August 26, 21:07 EDT.
"Does anyone know where Rob and Artemis are?" asked Kid Flash.
Conner didn't know, so didn't reply, but he turned to Aqualad with a questioning glance.
But before the Atlantean could reply, a holoscreen pointed into view. "Attention, Team," said a mud-splattered Batman, who sat at the controls of a vehicle of some sort with an equally muddy Robin at his side. "Take a Zeta-Tube to Gotham City immediately… and rendezvous with Robin at these coordinates."
"What is the mission?" asked Aqualad.
"Shouldn't we wait for Artemis?" asked Kid Flash.
"Don't wait," demanded Batman. "There's a creature loose in my city."
Isn't that your problem? Conner thought. "If it's your city, why are we hunting it?"
"You are not to hunt it or engage,"growled Batman. "Track it… until I return with the solution."
"Understood," confirmed Aqualad, checking the co-ordinates on his datapad. "We will rendezvous with Robin at the designated location in nine minutes."
Gotham City.
August 27, 04:49 EDT.
They had tracked the monster – according to Robin, a former criminal Matt Hagen – to the sewers and were picking their way along a ledge when he attacked, enveloping the entire group in his stickly, cloying grip.
Conner pounded on the creature, while the others attacked him in their own ways, and after a moment they were free.
"That was an unpleasant," said Miss Martian, as she floated near the ceiling. "Like tangling with a rabid ma'alefa'ak on Mars."
"Unpleasant, sure…" said Kid Flash. "But kinda easy. That thing was a pushover. What the heck was Batman worried about?"
"What's a Malafak?" Conner asked, but before anyone could answer him, Clayface struck again, knocked them all off their feet and then walked away laughing.
That's why… Conner thought as he tried to stagger to his feet and pursue.
He had just made it onto his hands and knees when Batman came in over the commlinks. "Batman to Team. Report status. Have you encountered the creature?"
"Yes, Batman," replied Aqualad after a moment. "Though the encounter was far from successful."
"Tell me everything that occurred," said Batman, the tension in his voice clear to Conner despite his experience with emotional cues. "I want details."
05:38
"Man, I need a shower…" grumbled Kid Flash as he slipped his mask back in place. "I mean what's the point of putting on a clean costume if I'm not… fresh?"
"Oh Wally," said Miss Martian. "You're always fresh."
"At least you have a clean costume," muttered Conner, irritated that he was the only Team member stuck in their muddy outfit.
"Yeah, an old back-up!" retorted the speedster. "No stealth mode! It stinks!"
"Actually, I think the stink is you, Freshness," quipped Robin, as he slipped his holo-gloves on. "But what about the creature? Batman wanted us to track it."
"Why settle for that?" asked Kid Flash, his typical bravado returning. "Okay, sure, it got the drop on us. But now we know its tricks!"
"Yeah!" agreed Robin, pumping a fist in mid-air. "We split up… then whoever finds old 'Clayface' radios the rest of the Team…"
"And we converge and kick some clay-butt!" declared Conner, balling his hands into fists.
"What do you think, Aqualad?" asked Miss Martian.
"What?" asked Aqualad, confused.
Conner suspected that he hadn't been listening.
"Oh, yes…" continued the Atlantean. "It seems we have a plan…"
05:59 EDT.
Conner had been able to follow his trail to a warehouse owned by Bichel Co, but when he turned the corner, it was one of his team-mates standing at the end of the mud-trail, not his quarry. "Miss Martian?" he called. She didn't respond, so he continued towards her until he was close enough to put a hand on her shoulder. "M'gann? What's wrong?"
The hand on 'her' shoulder sank into it as if into mud…
"Sucker!" declared the creature as it shed its disguise and reached out, drawing him inside.
06:16 EDT.
The next thing he knew was he was falling onto his back on the floor to the sounds of the creature's growling.
But before he could even think about taking advantage of his freedom, there was the sound of glass breaking and his senses could pick up a man-sized object dropping through the broken skylight, followed by the puff and crackle of a taser which turned Clayface's growls into howls of pain, which only subsided when he was a pool of mud on the floor.
Mount Justice,
August 28, 07:16 EST.
"Recognised, Black Canary One-Three," declared the computer as Dinah stepped out into the Cave's garage.
Conner was already there, working on one of the Team's motorbikes. He looked up and nodded to her.
"Ready to go, Conner?" Dinah asked.
He quickly packed away his tools and then nodded.
Gotham,
07:32 EST.
"Morning, Uncle Ted!" Dinah said as she and Conner entered the gym and approached the tables set up in a corner of the lobby.
"Morning, kid," said the old boxer warmly, then turned to Conner. "You must be the 'help' she offered… I'm Ted Grant, I own this place."
"I am the- Conner Kent," replied the clone a little hesitantly. "I'm here to help."
"Conner Kent, huh. Well, you can call me Ted."
Conner nodded but remained silent.
"You look pretty strong," observed Ted after looking him up and down for a moment. "Why don't you take over bringing out fresh boxes from the storeroom and Dinah and I will take care of handing them out."
"I can do that," Conner agreed.
"Head down this corridor," Ted told him, pointing in the right direction. "Go through the main hall and then it's the second door on the right."
"Understood," confirmed Conner and turned to go.
"Chatty guy," observed Ted dryly a moment later.
"Technically he's only a few months old, and he's only been out in the world for a few weeks," Dinah reminded him. "So far most of his time has either been spent at the Cave or on missions."
"Is he into sports?"
Dinah shrugged. "I don't think he's ever seen any."
"The coach of the Blades owes me a favour," Ted mentioned. "I could probably get some rink side tickets off him if I asked?"
"Ice hockey…" mused Dinah. "I think he'd like that."
"Consider it done."
12:16 EDT.
"Pizza's on the way," Ted declared as he left his office and joined them again.
"Did you get me…?"
The old boxer shuddered, "Of course. I don't know you can eat that… spinach maybe, but egg…?"
Dinah rolled her eyes. "It's not that weird… you eat fried eggs on toast don't you…?"
"But, but…" said Ted. "That's different?!"
"How?"
Ted turned to Conner. "Back me up here, kid?"
The clone gave him a look but didn't reply and continued to focus on something outside.
"Is something wrong, Conner?" Dinah asked after a moment.
He nodded, heading towards the door and then opening it. "It was clear outside a minute ago, now there's a dense fog…"
Ted shrugged. "That's not that unusual…"
Conner opened the door and sniffed. "Maybe not," he admitted. "But it's usually damp."
The two adults shared a look and moved join him and they moved as a group in the parking lot outside.
"I can barely see anything," groused Ted, peering around.
Conner shifted his vision into infrared and looked around. "There were definitely at least two people out there… but I can't lock them down…"
"Direction?"
The clone concentrated. "One of them standing…" he began but was cut off as the concreate surface in front was ripped into a trench in front of them. "Look out!" He and Dinah were fast enough to get clear before the front of the gym was demolished by the impromptu fissure.
"Ah, cra…" exclaimed Ted as he fell over.
Conner turned in mid-air and began to fall towards where he thought that the crack had started to engage the threat, but a blistering beam of electricity arced towards him from the opposite roofline and hit him straight on, incinerating the front of his shirt and knocking him through the plate glass frontage of the upper floor of a local hardware store.
By the time he'd recovered himself and made his way back to the window, both of the attackers have moved out of sight, but he could hear a slight crackle of blasters coming from the building opposite and just barely make out a heavy-breathing, feminine silhouette on the edge of the roof.
Glancing around the storeroom, he quickly found a small rubber-handed screwdriver and threw it towards the woman. A second or two later, the woman – possibly a teenage girl – screamed and dropped out of sight, causing the fog to clear.
Conner ducked out of the way from a retaliatory electric blast – from a man in an insect-themed armour – that thankfully avoided anything in the room until it scorched the internal door. The clone quickly returned to the window and jumped out, dropping quickly towards the street in a hail of electrical blasts.
Landing, he glanced around and spotted Dinah checking on the old boxer near the ruined front of Wildcat Boxing Gym, so he ran towards them.
A grumbling, tearing sound caught his attention and a quick glance showed a second man in red and black across the street. He evaded the first attack, then sprang into the air to avoid the second, nailing the earthquake maker with a solid dropkick to the chest. His triumph was brief however, as his first attacker took advantage of his distraction and nailed him from behind, bringing him to his knees with a cry of pain.
Fortunately, this attracted Dinah's attention and a powerful sonic blast knocked out the armoured man, sending him crashing to the ground.
"Are you okay?" Dinah asked when she joined him a moment later.
"A little sore," Conner admitted, then looked down and observed unnecessarily. "And I've lost another shirt."
"I'm sure that Ted has some shirts that you can have," Dinah told him, offering him a hand-up.
He took it and nodded and walked with her back towards the gym as civilians began to reappear.
"The Major Crime Unit's on its way," Ted told them when they joined him. "You'd better head inside. There are boxes of gear in the office if you want a new shirt."
"Will you be okay?" Dinah asked.
"I'll be fine. I've got more lives than a cat."
Bialya.
September 4, 19:16 EEST.
As the pain and mindless rage that had overwhelmed him began to clear, Conner drifted back into consciousness. He looked around for moment, confused, but he quickly understood the reason for the various floating items around him, so he shifted his vision into infrared, revealing Miss Martian. He followed her line of sight as best he could and saw three forms, which collapsed to one as his vision returned to normal… Psimon.
He growled at the sight, his heart rate rising.
The sphere beside him began to whir, causing the surprised scientists to instinctively jump back, and watch helplessly as it broke out of the clamps imprisoning it and rolled across the tent until it crashed into the main control panel, disabling Conner's restraints.
As soon as he was loose, Conner jumped free of the frame he had been bound to and lunged at Psimon, hitting a red-and-black barrier just short of his target. The backlash sent him sliding across the ground until he was within arm's length of the concealed Miss Martian. Instinctively, he reached for her hand and grasped it…
In an instant, he was floating beside Miss Martian in her mental landscape. She looked at him stunned but relieved. "You're here!"
Psimon laughs at her. "You sound so relieved… Is that mindless creature supposed to save your mind?"
She grabbed Conner's head, which prompted a look of confusion from him, and brought her forehead to his. "No, I save his," she declared and joined their minds, causing a furious parade of images to flit across his mind. She looked into his eyes as she released her hold on him.
He stood strong on his own for a moment and then smiled at her. "Kick his butt."
As Conner's awareness returned, he turned face a squad of Bialyan soldiers entering the tent.
Behind him, the sphere followed his head motions. When the first two soldiers enter the tent, the sphere hits them to the side, beeping to Conner.
Conner raises an eyebrow. "Uhh, thanks," he mutters, clearly confused and unsure.
Another soldier charged in, shooting at the sphere. With the entrance clear, another four joined him.
Conner glanced back at Miss Martian's hidden form and then charged at them with a yell and made quick work of the entire squad. Seconds later, a baby tornado broke out in the middle of the tent, sweeping up soldiers, scientists, the sphere, and the tent itself, drawing his attention back to the two battling telepaths. Jumping through the winds, he landed in the eye of the storm. Seeing that the two still haven't moved he reached for Miss Martian's hand. "M'gann!"
M'gann looked at him, shocked to see him in her mind once more. "He's too strong," she groaned as she strained to hold her fore bubble against Psimon's psionic blast.
"You're strong, and I'm stubborn… together!" Conner told her, lifting their clasped hands to prove his point.
"Together," she agreed,
They turn their attention back to Psimon, as everything around them goes white.
Psimon looks stunned.
"Get... out... of my head!" M'gann shouted, her and Conner's combined power allowing her to shoot a blast of her own straight through his laser and take him out.
Something inside the man shatters as he screams out in agony.
M'gann's eyes lose their green glow before she fell limply into Conner's arms.
At the same time, he was looking around, watching the tornado as it dissipated, allowing everything that had been floating to fall back down. He looked down at her, watching as she slowly came to.
She returns the smile and they both slowly lean in, but they break apart as they heard a machine whirring, then beeping.
Conner glances at the sphere, then looks down at M'gann, smiling. "Can I keep it?"
September 5, 02:32 EEST
(Hey everybody, I've got Superboy,) M'gann's voice called out over the link, as she and the Kryptonian flew low over the desert. (He's back to normal, we're on our way.)
Aqualad jolted up, panting, looking at Artemis with wide eyes. (Who are you?) he queried, clearly confused. (And how did you get inside my head?)
(Hello, Megan!) exclaimed M'gann, palming her forehead. (Aqualad's memories… I knew I forgot something!)
(Aw man, me too,) Wally grumbles. (I didn't get a souvenir for the mission!)
(Don't worry, got the souvenir thing covered,) Miss Martian assured him, glancing down at the mechanical sphere that was rolling along the sand in their wake.