I panicked as I ran around the apartment, looking around and under everything.
"You lose something?" Leo asked, walking into the living room from the kitchen with a bowl of cereal. It was fairly early for a weekend, and the team was meeting at the cave in ten, so Leo and I were the only ones awake.
"My copy of 'Catcheronthe Rye', I can't findit." I said, still looking around.
"You mean this?" Leo asked and I spun around to see him holding my book in one hand. I sighed in relief as I walked over and took it, pulling a hand through my hair.
"ThanksLeo, this is my signed copy and I think I would have cried if I had lost it..." I muttered, holding the book to my chest.
"Only you would cry over a book. You heading out?" Leo asked.
"Soon, yes. Will you be alright by yourself until Papa and Calvin wake up?" I asked my slightly younger brother.
"I'll be fine. I'll just stay in my room and play games." He said and I smiled, ruffling his hair.
"Okay, call me if you needme." I said, heading for the door.
"Oh ya, that reminds me." Leo suddenly said, cutting me off. "A guy came the other day while you were out, he was looking for you. Quinton... Marlin?"
I was surprised as I furrowed my brow. "Quinton Martin. We go to school together and he works at the dance studio."
"Ya, well he told me to give youthis." Leo said, handing me a slip of paper with a phone number on it. My eyes widened. "Are you two dating or something?"
"No, we barely know each other." I said, sliding the paper into my book nonetheless. "But it's fine. See you later, love you."
I kissed Leo on the head before running out of the apartment.
***
The team's meet-up quickly turned into a sparring match when Robin had to leave to go on a mission with Batman.
Superboy and Kaldur were fighting (which was actually quite amusing to watch) as Wally stood off to one side and Megan, Artemis and I stood off to the other. My book was open in my hands, but my eyes didn't stay on it very long before taking long intervals to admire the match between the two most physically strong members of the team.
But Artemis quickly redirected my attention.
"Kaldur's...nice, don't you think?" Artemis asked Megan. "Handsome, commanding...You should totally ask him out."
"He's like a big brother to me, not to mention I still think there's still something between him and Lina." Megan said, and lowered my book and sent her a look. "But do you know who would make the cutest couple?"
Both Artemis and I watched Megan, waiting for her to answer her own question.
"You and Wally." We all looked over to see Wally who was feasting on a borrito and making some less-than-attractive noises. Both Artemis and I cringed. "You're so full of passion and he's so full of..."
Megan hesitated, coming up blank.
"It?" Artemis guessed and we all burst into laughter.
"Why the analysis of the guys?" I asked the two younger girls. "Just wondering, I don't mean to intrude." They in turn paused and looked at each other before answering.
"Superboy."
Oh...
I looked at the teenage clone and did a quick mental analysis.
He's not bad-looking, and he's certainly gotten a hold of his temper since training with Dinah started...But he's still impulsive, rash, and crude at times. Not much presence off-field, and not to be mean: but he's really angsty.
"I don't see it. But I'm sure there's a great reason you two are so invested in him." I shrugged, and went to turn back to my book.
"That because you only have eyes for Kaldur!" Megan said cheerfully, and I felt my eye twitch.
What's the point? They're is obviously no stopping them!
Suddenly, a thud directed our attention to the circle where we saw that Superboy had triumphed over Kaldur.
"Black Canary taught me that." Superboy said, giving a confident pose before helping Kaldur up. I started a round of applause, but when nobody joined in I slowly stopped, and my face heated up in embarrassment.
All of a sudden, the opening to Red's loft opened and my mentor flew down before going to walk over.
"Red!" I exclaimed, flying over at top speed to catch up with him before stopping in front of him. I land on the balls of my feet and look up at him. "Hi."
Red places a hand on my head and I grin at the minor sign of affection.
"Do you have a mission for us?" Wally asks, zooming over to us.
"Missions are the Batman's responsibility." Red says, removing his hand from my head and turning to the team.
"Ya, but the Batman is with the Robin doing the 'dynamic duo thing' in Gotham." Wally explained. "But you're headed somewhere right? A hot date, or a mission?"
The last word was in a terrible French accent, and the whole last statement made me cringe.
"Please never try that accent again, or give me the idea of my mentor on a date." I gagged.
"If we can be of help..." Kaldur said hopefully to Red, making the robot turn and form a holo-computer.
He pulled up a picture of an older man, who seemed vaguely familiar.
"This is Kent Nelson: a friend. He is 106 years old." My eyes widened slightly.
And dad says he's old...He's not even 50
"And he has been missing for 23 days. Kent was a charter member of the Justice Society, the precursor to your mentor's Justice League." Red continued as the picture of Kent turned into a picture of a tall male-figure in dark robes lined with gold and a heavy-footed gold helmet.
"Hold on, I read about him!" I said. "Kent Nelson was Doctor Fate: Earth's sorcerer supreme."
Wally snorts. "More like Doctor Fake. Guy knows a little advanced science and Dumbledore-s it up to scare the bad guys and impress the babes."
Wally's odd and false explanation makes me scrunch up my face in confusion.
"He may just be on one of his...Walkabouts..." Red continued, ignoring Wally. "But he is caretaker to the Helmet of Fate: the source of the Doctor's mystic might, and it is unwise to leave such power unguarded."
"He is like the great sorcerer priest and priestess of Mars." Megan swoons. "I would be honored if I could help find him."
Wally shoots his hand up, possibly using his super speed.
"Me too! So honored, I can barely stand it! Magic...Rocks!" Wally says, and Artemis and I share a look.
"Take this." Red says handing an odd-looking key to Kaldur, who takes it. "It is the key to the tower of Fate."
***
"So Wally..." Artemis began as we flew over New Orleans, where the coordinates Red gave us were. "When did you realize your honestaffinity for sorcery?"
"Well I don't mean to brag..." Wally started, leaning back confidently. "But before I became Kid Flash, I seriously considered becoming a wizard myself."
We all rolled our eyes.
"We've reached Tornado's coordinates." Megan says as we lower closer to the ground. "But..."
"Nothing's there." Superboy finished.
"Take us down." Kaldur commanded.
We unloaded off of the bioship and Wally ran to do quick check of the clearing that the coordinates lead to.
"Nothing, this isn't simple camoflage." The ginger said as he skidded to a stop.
"So what? Adaptive micro-electronics mixed with phase-shifting?" Artemis asked.
"Absolutely-" Megan walked closer "NOT! Clearly mystic powers are at work here."
I almost face-palmed.
"A test of faith..." Kaldur muttered and I looked back to see him gazing at the key, before he pushed his way to the front of the team. "Stand behind me."
He slid the key forward, as if inserting it into a lock only he could see. As he twisted the key, a massively tall, brick tower appeared out of thin air and I felt my jaw slacken.
"Can I have a house like this? Please?" I muttered.
We all walked in as the door opened, and we were lead to a large square room made of the same brick as outside, and was completely empty.
"Um...Where'd the door go?" Superboy asked, and we all turned to see that in fact, the door we had just entered through had vanished.
And as if things couldn't get any weirder, a yellowish holographic image of Kent Nelson appeared OUT OF NOWHERE!
"Greetings." The image said. "You have entered with a key but the tower doesn't recognize you. Please state your purpose and intent."
For a moment, everyone was too stunned to reply but then Wally stepped forward.
"We are true believers! Here to see Doctor Fate!" Wally said dramatically, and the image's face dropped, and with it my stomache.
Suddenly, the floor crumbled and we began to drop INTO A PIT OF BOILING LAVA?!
Hey, we're on a magic mission! Anything's possible!
I instantly summoned winds to carry me and with me, I caught Superboy as he was closest to me. I saw Megan grab Wally and Artemis use her grappling hook to swing herself and Kaldur to safety.
However, I instantly noticed the lava was eating away at the oxygen in the pit and my winds were weakened, making Superboy and I slowly desend and I groaned to try to maintain control. Superboy looked at me, concerned.
"The lava's...taking all the air: having trouble...maintaining alltitude." I saw Megan wasn't doing much better, and remembered Martians were weakened by fire. "M'gaan, you okay?"
"I'm...So hot." Megan panted.
"You certainly are." Wally flirted.
"Wally!" Artemis exclaimed.
"Hey! Inches above sizzling death: I'm allowed to speak my mind!" Wally yelled.
"My physiology, and M'gaan's are susceptible to extreme heat." Kaldur explained, and I whirled around to see he was faring as poorly as Megan. "We must climb out quickly!"
"Hello Megan!" Megan exclaimed. "We never trulyanswered the question!"
She called out loudly. "Red Tornado sent us, to see if Mr. Nelson-and the helmet-were safe."
A rumbling sound appeared and suddenly, a metal platform formed over the lava. Megan dropped suddenly, and I lowered Superboy and myself to the ground, followed by Artemis with Kaldur.
"This platform..." Kaldur muttered lowering himself to the metal. "It should be red-hot, but it is cool to the touch."
"Enough!" Artemis suddenly exclaimed as she charged at Wally, shoving him roughly away from Megan. "You're little 'impress Megan at all costs' game nearly got us all barbequed!"
"When did this become myfault?" Wally asked.
"When you lied to that...Whatever it was, and called yourself a 'true believer'!" Artemis exclaimed.
"Wally...You don't...Believe?" Megan asked, sounding saddened.
Wally sighed. "Fine, fine! I lied about believing in magic! But magic is the real lie: a major load!"
"Wally, I studied for a year at the conservatory of sorcery." Kaldur explained calmly, still crouching to the platform. "The mystic arts created the skin icons that power my water bearers."
"Dude, ever hear of bio-electicity?" Wally exclaimed. "Hey, in primitive cultures fire was considered magic too! Now it's just a bunch of cheap tricks."
"You're pretty closed minded for a guy who can break the sound-barrier in his sneakers." Artemis deadpanned.
"That's science!" Wally explained. "I recreated The Flash's lab experiment and: here I am! Everything can be explained by science."
"Let us test that theory." Kaldur said and he began to open a door on the platform.
"Don't! The backstage from the lava will roast us alive!" Wally called.
But he was proven wrong as a cool breeze and white flurries entered the pit. I put out my hands and felt the new weather.
"Snow!" I say excitedly before nose-diving into the new climate with a laugh.
What? I like winter okay?
The team followed me into the new area as I started flying around, enjoying the cool breezes.
"Ever hear of string theory? We're in a pocket dimension!" Wally explained, and I rolled my eyes before landing, purposefully falling and rolling on the ground.
"What's that?" Megan suddenly asked, and we all turned to see a dark wood cane with a gold handle, levitating in the air.
"Maybe it's Nelson's magicwand." Wally said, voice dripping with sarcasm.
Artemis went to grab it, but Wally zoomed and did the same. They both grasped it simultaneously.
"I got it." They both said stubbornly before a look of panic flooded their features. "I can't let go!"
Suddenly, the two teammates and the cane went rocketing up before vanishing in an explosion of gold light.
Superboy, Kaldur, Megan and I looked at the place they had vanished.
"Well that happened..." I muttered.
***
Having nothing else to do, the remaining four of us began walking through the 'pocket dimension' for a way out and to our friends. I flew around, enjoying the indoor winter as the other three walked.
"I don't understand Wally." Megan said. "It's almost like he needs to believe the impossible can't happen."
"The universe is a huge enigma, and we as human beings are incapable of comprehending everything, nor do we have a way to seek the information. So everyone puts their trust in things that help them understand the mysteries of the universe." I explained. "For some, it's religion: the belief in some Gods or Goddesses. To the majority of heroes, it's magic; as we have friends, allies, and enemies who use the mystic arts to power their strength. Wally, and many other however, believe in science."
"Wally uses his understanding of science to explain and control what he cannot comprehend." Kaldur explains. "Acknowledging the existence of magic would be to relinquish to last vestige of that control."
Suddenly a creaking sound caught our attention and we turned to see a door had appeared out of nowhere.
We entered through the door, only to find that it lead to a drop. Kaldur and Superboy hit the nearest platform (what looked like a wood landing) while Megan and I flew down gracefully.
We were met by Artemis, Wally and Kent Nelson.
"Mr. Nelson!" I exclaimed as Artemis ran over to us.
Suddenly, two new people appeared: a tanned-skin man with long hair, possibly in his mid-late thirties; and a scrawny boy with black hair, a cat and devilish features. The latter couldn't be older than Roy.
Suddenly, the older man shot blue lightning at us and we all narrowly dodged the attack, but I was too slow and the lightning hit me and suddenly formed a small dome that forced me to the ground as it shocked me, causing me to let out a loud scream in pain.
Guess we know who the bad guys are.
I heard a loud ringing, and then the man proceeded to zap the rest of my teammates.
This continued for at least ten minutes (all though with the pain in felt like an hour) before suddenly, the pain stopped. I looked up to see the man standing there in his underwear.
"Show's over." Superboy said, before giving the man a mold punch, which was enough to render him unconscious
(Ending sucks, but in my defense: this episode didn't give me a lot to work with. I actually considered skipping it but, meh, might as well. Next chapter will be better, promise)