Disclaimer:
Hawk & Dove sing with air guitars: "Hank's World! Hank's World! Party time! EXCELLENT!"
Dove: "Welcome back to 'Hank's World!'"
Hawk: "This week's discussion:" Hank pulls out a picture of Wonder Woman's cleavage with a shrunken Atom stuck between her boobs.
"Atom: Luckiest Dude or Luckiest Dude EVER ! Schwing!!"
Hank stands up for a second then sits down.
Don covers a hand over his face.
Dove: "Do you really find it necessary to add a sound effect to your boner?"
Hawk: "Don, come on! You're so lame! You said you'd play along this time!"
Don rolls his eyes.
Dove: "Fine. I have to agree, Atom had it pretty sweet, but the Luckiest Dude has to be Batman. I mean she is his girlfriend, right?"
Hank snorts at this.
Hawk: "Yeah right, I bet Atom's gotten further with her than Batman has. I can't understand why Wonder Woman would want to go with a downer like him! I mean, I could see the appeal, all dark and broody. But in the end, girls want high flying action and parties…you know with someone that can take them all the way."
Hank winks at the camera, while Don looks at him skeptically.
Dove: "And she could have that with you? Please."
Hawk stares fumingly at his brother.
Dove: "Women like the thrill of a Jock. But in the end, the ladies go for the intelligent, sophisticated male that actually thinks of them as more than boobs with legs."
Hawk rolls up his sleeves and dives at Don.
Don's girly scream is cut off by the Hank's World song as the eye catcher of Hawk and Dove's heads appear on screen.
Mists: "Um…we seem to be experiencing some technical difficulties. Anyway, as always I don't own anything. And warning…the end of the chapter is a little violent and contains some blood. Don't worry, the funny stuff will be coming soon to offset the rest. Now on with the fic!"
-An Unwanted Discovery-
-Batman's POV-
"What do you mean there was no trace of her?" growled Bruce at Dr. Fate and Zatanna.
"As we have told you five previous times," stated Fate calmly, but it seemed that his infinite source of patience had come to an end. "There was no evidence of a child fitting your description at the scene.
Batman had been the first of the original seven to wake. He immediately got up, put on his costume and set out to find Zatanna and Fate, much to the frustration of the Metro Tower's medical staff.
"That girl was no mere child," said Batman coldly.
Zatanna and Fate shared a skeptical look.
"Batman," said Zatanna as she cleared her throat, "Are you sure there was a child present?"
Batman's eyes narrowed into glaring slits.
Fate then sighed, "Batman…one of the photographers fleeing the scene took a picture…"
"And?" asked the Dark Knight with frightening calm.
Zatanna gulped and handed Bruce the photograph.
A shiver went up Batman's spine went he saw himself crouched on the ground…with no child in his arms.
Batman looked back up at Fate, "What about before? The girl said she was with the Kindergarten class, I was talking to her on a hill."
Fate shook his head at this. "We questioned the teacher…all her students are accounted for."
"Then that must have just been her cover story…" said Batman as he stared intently at the picture.
Zatanna shifted uncomfortably and gently grasped Bruce's shoulder. "I don't think you understand what we're trying to tell you…"
Bruce growled, "Don't you dare patronize me. I know what I saw."
As Batman shifted out of Zatanna's grasp, Dr. Fate said coldly, "The teacher said that Bruce Wayne was off sitting alone before the chaos started."
"We tested the area for magical signatures, Batman," said Zatanna frankly. "The only definite one was Morgan's."
"But there were others, correct?" asked Bruce through gritted teeth.
Fate and Zatanna shared another look.
"Yes…and no," answered Fate as he crossed his arms. "As you well know, science and magic are the main powers that dictate order of the universe."
Batman gave him a curt nod.
"The other kind of energy we found there…was neither. It had an…unstable resonance to it…One that I have only ever sensed in one other being…"
The Dark Knight frowned hearing this. "Flash," he stated without emotion.
"Yes…I'm afraid so," answered Fate in thought. "Though, I do find it odd that Flash's power alone could disrupt Morgan's spell…Do you remember any of Le Fey's exact words?"
Batman closed his eyes and thought back. "Something…something that sounded like… Confector de Inlustris?"
Both Fate and Zatanna gasped and looked at him in horror.
"What?" Bruce asked with a foreboding feeling.
"That spell is one of the darkest in the history of magic. You and the others shouldn't even be alive right now!" exclaimed the magician as she and Fate magically scanned Batman over again.
Fate's eyes narrowed suddenly. "The energy around you has shifted from the last time we checked you… Zatanna, go check on the others again please."
Zatanna immediately ran off to the hospital wing.
"Shifted how?"
"I am not certain…At first…you and the others appeared normal…as if Morgan had simply knocked all of you out. …I apologize Batman for not believing you earlier. Only a being of immense power and control could have done all you said without leaving a trace."
Batman said nothing and continued to let Fate scan him.
When the doctor was done, he quickly said, "I think it would be best for you to rest until Zatanna and I know for sure what is going on."
With that he started to glow. "Please send Zatanna along to my citadel once she has checked on the others. We will get to the bottom of this Batman, you have my word," stated Fate as he disappeared.
Batman stared at the spot Fate had just vacated.
"Just who in the hell are we dealing with here," thought Bruce as he whipped around and took off toward the computer terminals. "And more importantly...is this child friend or foe?"
-Two Hours Later-
-Wally's POV-
"Gahh! Itchy! Itchy back!" Wally exclaimed as he reached his right arm around to scratch the middle of his back.
John, lying in the hospital bed next to him, cringed at the sight of Wally contorting into odd shapes as he tried to scratch the itch.
"Ewww! Man, I totally don't need to see that," John loudly protested. "I didn't even know a grown man could bend that way."
Wally stuck his tongue out at him. "What can I say, I'm just naturally limber."
John cringed as Wally popped the joints in his arm.
"Ahhh…yeah that's the stuff."
GL just rolled his eyes in annoyance and shifted his gaze towards the still form of Shayera Hal tucked into the bed next to him.
"Guess he's worried because Shayera hasn't woken up yet," thought Wally as he looked around the room. Superman, Wonder Woman, and J'onn had yet to awaken as well.
Flash shook away these sad thoughts and decided to help GL get his mind off of it.
"So, has Vixen come by yet with her usual pint of Get Better Berry Boo Ice cream?" Wally teased with a wiggle of his eyebrows.
"Don't you ever think of anything but food?" grumbled John.
"Nope!" chirped Wally happily. "What's a matter? 'Fraid I'd eat it all?"
"Actually…now that I think of it, I haven't been hungry…weird."
But when Wally saw the ashamed look on John's face, that thought went right out the window.
GL was hiding something from him. Flash sent Green Lantern a glare and John averted his eyes.
"Uh…actually, no. And she won't be by either…"
The gravity of that statement froze Wally in mid scratch. The solemn look on John's face gave away the rest.
"She did it first, didn't she?" sighed Wally sadly.
The quick nod of John's head was his reply.
The speeder then groaned, "Damn it, John! I warned y-"
"Yeah…I know," he interrupted. "But really, it was for the best that she was the one to do it…"
John then sighed and stared blankly at the ceiling, "I just couldn't see the truth that Mari could…."
GL then turned back to Wally and looked him in the eye. "But I can now."
Flash gulped as he saw John shift his forlorn gaze over to Shayera.
"So what are you-"
"I don't know. All I know is that I have to try…"
"So much for me trying to lighten up the mood," thought Wally as he took another look around the medical ward.
"Huh, where's Bats…" he wondered aloud.
GL snorted at this. "Where else? He's probably up and brooding somewhere already…"
Wally joined in on the laugh as John suddenly sat up in his bed.
"What the-" he whispered as Flash shifted around to see what had caught Lantern's attention.
"Uh? What's wrong?" asked Wally as he started to scratch the back of his shoulder blades again.
"I-" said John with the shake of his head, "Huh…it's just that I could have sworn that Diana was lying in the other bed just a moment ago.
GL pointed to the beds where J'onn and Diana were resting.
"You sure? Maybe the medical staff switched the beds around when they took them out for tests…" he answered, still vigorously itching at his back.
"Yeah…maybe," mumbled John as he sat back in the bed.
"But…now that you mention it…" said Wally as he got up and walked over to the bedsides of Diana and J'onn.
"Does J'onn look…thinner to you some how?"
When the Martian was knocked unconscious, he had returned to his alien state. Lantern and Wally really hadn't seen J'onn much in his natural form…but for some reason…he looked different from what they remembered.
"I- his waist seems slimmer, doesn't it?" asked John with concern apparent in his voice.
"Well…Zatanna did say the curse Morgan hit us with may have a delayed effect…" whispered Wally as he began to pale.
John just grunted at this. Then he grabbed Wally's mask and tossed it at him.
"Go see if you can find Batman, I'm going to see if I can find Fate or Zatanna," John said sternly.
Flash nodded and quickly put on his mask. It looked like he was just about to dart down the hall when John's voice stopped him.
"Remember what Zatanna said, kid. No using our powers until we're in the clear, okay?"
Wally just rolled his eyes at John and walked grumbling out the room.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah…I know." And with that his 'Bat Hunt' began….slowly.
-Morgan's POV-
Morgan screamed in rage as she crumpled the piece of parchment she found in her fist. She then ignited the page aflame and hurled the fireball at the wall. It burst on impact into a shower of smoldering ashes.
The entire thing had been a ruse. She had tried every spell she knew. The paper had proven not to be from the book. The Grimorum must have been moved ages ago.
"Curses, now I have to start all over again," thought Morgan ruefully.
As her anger subsided, she felt her knees go weak. She quickly caught the edge of the table as she was about to tip over.
"I used up far too much energy during the last battle. It will be a while before I'm at full strength again," thought the sorceress as she collected herself.
Mordred's labored wheeze from his seat next to the fireplace then drew her attention.
"Mommy is all right, dear," she said sweetly as she walked to his side.
She picked up a discarded piece of cloth and gently wiped away his drool.
"I will find it soon. Though there is no way to reinstate a spell once it is broken…the book may have a way for me to circumvent that law."
The Grimorum Arcanorum, the greatest collection of spells in all of magic. The answer had to be in there. She was sure of it.
Mordred gurgled in reply.
"I know dear…Mommy won't fail," whispered Morgan as she lovingly caressed his face.
Then she laughed, "I have already gotten revenge on the man who tricked you. With Batman and the rest of the leaders of the League dead, their organization will be in chaos. I doubt even the knight or my suitor will be much of a problem without the others helping them anymore."
Morgan then rested for a moment and sighed, "But for now…I am quite tired." And with that, she forced her ancient body up and slowly moved towards her room.
-Batman's POV-
Bruce typed rapidly on the computer keys. He had been reluctant to inform Jason Blood about Morgan's recent activities, but he simply couldn't afford not to. His main concern was the conflict that might arise between Sir Justin and Jason.
Sir Justin, a knight of Arthur's court that was banished to the future by Le Fey, and Jason Blood, Morgan's eternally damned suitor that caused the fall of Camelot. Needless to say, there were certainly some deeply rooted issues there. But the one thing they could agree on was their will to defeat their mutual enemy…Morgan Le Fey.
Batman sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose. This was definitely not going to be an easy case.
And to make matters worse, Bruce had to admit…he was beginning to feel a bit tired. Fate and Zatanna had said something was happening and it worried him.
So instead of taking a break, he took a deep breath and started to search the internet for information on Latin translations. He was pretty sure that the spell Morgan used was Latin in origin. Maybe if he translated it, he would have a better idea of what they were dealing with. Zatanna seemed to imply that it meant instant death….
It was rather unnerving really.
Bruce tapped his finger impatiently as he waited for the site to load.
He glared at the screen as it continued to lag. The page slowly started to be called up after a good two minutes.
"Good lord, does anything ever work in this place?" thought Bruce as the page finally came up.
He typed the phrase into the translator and hit enter. Five minutes later, the site came back with a translation…
"Destroyer of Light?" whispered Batman as he felt an icy hand clench over his heart.
He tried to call up another window when the computer started lagging again. Bruce was about to give the machine a good smack when a sing-songy voice from above said…
"You'd better slow down, Bats."
Batman's head snapped up immediately, ready to chastise Wally for needless interrupting him…
"Flash, I-" he said, freezing mid-sentence. Because the person standing over him wasn't Wally…but the floating form of the little girl he had met in the park.
The child hovered cross-legged over the screen of the computer as she lazily examined her nails.
The Dark Knight's eyes narrowed into his coldest glare.
"You," he growled as he sat up from his chair. Batman leaned right into the girl's face, "You tricked me."
The child merely raised an un-amused eyebrow at him and buffed her nails on the front of her dark cloak.
"So? Is that suppose to intimidate me laddie?" she asked cockily as a Cheshire cat like smile spread across her face.
"Who are you? Tell me!" Batman demanded coldly as she suddenly popped away in a little burst of smoke and flame.
He jumped, startled at her sudden disappearance. Bruce then quickly glanced around the room…and noticed that everyone around him seemed to be frozen in place.
"This…is bad."
An ethereal voice then laughed, "We warned you, boyo. Tis not our fault if you die now."
"We?" thought Bruce with a frown.
The words, "You and Wally must both understand the extent of his powers…for the sake of existence itself," suddenly flashed through his mind.
Batman suddenly remembered the dark cloak the child was wearing. "You're part of the group that attacked us a few months ago…the one that left the phoenix symbol…"
"Got it in one, Bats," the little girl said sweetly as she appeared floating on her back over the computer to his right.
"You were on the right track you know…translating the spell. You should really be thanking me, boyo," she cackled jovially.
Bruce was not amused. "What exactly did you do?"
"Well…to put it simply… 'Confector de Inlustris' literally means 'Destroyer of Light,' correct?"
Batman nodded.
"Tis quite the powerful curse that one. Instant death really…for any being in a 30 meter radius."
Bruce's frown darkened.
"There are only three ways to stop a curse," she said as she counted off with her fingers. "Use the counter spell, alter it before it takes affect, or break it."
The dark haired girl then floated up and looked Batman right in the eye. "There is no counter spell for 'Confector de Inlustris' and to break a curse of that magnitude would simply be impossible…even for one such as I," she giggled merrily.
Batman merely grunted and she continued.
"The only way for me to prevent you and your friends' untimely demise was to change the nature of the spell."
"Explain," stated Bruce grimly.
"Well it's kind of like in the fairy tale 'Sleeping Beauty,'" said the child as she put her hand to her chin in thought, "The third fairy was able to change the curse that the wicked one had cast. So instead of the princess dying when she pricked her finger, she only fell asleep."
"But-half of us aren't asleep," replied Bruce as the child narrowed her dark eyes at him.
She then started to knock her little fist against his head. "Hello in there! You're not listening!" she hissed angrily.
Batman just growled at her. He hated being demeaned.
"Just because I changed the curse doesn't mean it'll have the same affect as in the story, laddie," she painfully sighed.
The Dark Knight just glared at her and girl took it as a sign to continue, "I was able to change the main confines of the spell…from 'Confector' to 'Traductor' and from 'Inlustris' to 'Divinitas.' The power of the spell was so great that I had to defuse it between the seven of you or the magical backlash would have killed all of you." She finished with a shrug.
"So… what does that me-" said Bruce as he suddenly gasped in pain.
"That," laughed the entity, "you will find out soon enough."
Batman tightly wrapped his arms around his stomach as it started to make loud noises.
"Slow down, Bats," the child declared with a sly smile as her form started to fade away.
"Wait-" groaned Bruce in pain, "Y-you still haven't told me your name!"
The little girl then solidified again as she cocked her head to the side in thought.
"Huh…I didn't, did I. Hmm…let's see," she said sweetly, almost sounding like a five year old again, "You may call me…Guide."
A harsh spike of pain then shot up through Bruce as he suddenly felt someone grasp his arm.
Batman looked up at the child one last time and with a wink she disappeared in a flash of flame and ash.
The frantic cry of "Bats!" snapped Bruce out of whatever trance Guide had placed him in.
It was like the world had suddenly jumped started again.
"B-Bats," asked Flash's clearly shaken voice as he stared uncertainly at the Dark Knight.
"You okay?"
"Yeah…" he grumbled as the pain started to ebb away. Bruce looked up at Flash's worried face.
"You sure? Want me to check?" asked Wally as he held out his right hand to Batman's stomach.
But before the speedster could power up, they heard several screams coming the medical room where the others were staying.
Bruce didn't even think twice about it, he just got up and ran….not even noticing he left Wally in his dust.
-Flash's POV-
This day just got weirder and weirder. First, he found Bats frozen at his computer terminal staring out into space. Then, the Bat hunched over in pain and started to shake. No, shake wasn't the right word… it was more like… But anyway, then Wally tried call on his powers as both he and Bats had heard the screams.
Flash felt himself call upon his powers and was just about to run when…Bats sped past him… and almost created a whirlwind in his wake.
Wally's eyes went wide as his jaw fell open in shock.
"Holy… crap…" thought Flash as he ran at normal human speed to the medical room.
The speedster froze the second he stepped in the doorway. Supes appeared to be trying to calm down a frantic J'onn, who for some reason had a higher pitched voice than usual.
Shayera sat up in her bed with her blanket wrapped tightly around her, the wings on her back…gone. She stared at her hand in shock as it glowed with green energy. John shielded his eyes away from the scene. For some reason a shattered glass and a lightly smoking sheet with two holes in it lay at his feet. Diana had her eyes closed and seemed to be tying to concentrate on something. And Bruce was zipping from bed to bed checking on everyone almost like…
The realization hit Wally like a ton of bricks.
"Oh for the love of crud…"
Clark's sharp whistle caught everyone's attention.
"Enough!" he yelled and they all immediately froze, even the vibrating Batman.
Wally caught his arm the second he stopped and plopped Bruce into a chair. He then grabbed a Lightspeed bar off of someone's food tray and shoved it into his hands.
"Eat," he said as Batman gave him an odd look. Flash just rolled his eyes and turned his attention back to Supes.
"Okay…first things first…I think we all need to calm down," said Clark taking control.
"Calm down?" exclaimed J'onn in a high pitched voice. "I'm not me anymore! And you want me to calm down?!"
"J'onn's" eyes glowed for a second as an emotional maelstrom hit everyone in the room.
The others grabbed at their heads as Superman bellowed, "DIANA!"
"J'onn" gasped, "Sorry…" and the pressure ceased.
Clark shook his head and sighed, "Okay, I think it's apparent that the curse did have an effect on us of some kind."
Shayera snorted at this. "Talk about an under statement," she muttered, "My wings disappearing is no little effect."
The second Wally heard that the breath caught in his throat.
"Wings…" he thought as a chill ran down his spine. Flash then slowly reached his arm around and touched the back of his shoulders. His whole body became tense as he felt the presence of two lumps that had formed. He gulped as sweat began to pour down his face.
"S-Shy…" said Wally trying to control the fear in his voice.
"Huh?" she said as she turned her attention to him.
"H-How do Thanagarians get their wings?" he asked with a crack to his voice.
"It's a rather painful rite of passage called Rankcar. When a child reaches the age of thirteen, large bumps form on their backs and their wings tear forth from the inner muscular tissue…why?" she asked with a blink.
"Shit!!"
Bats' sharp intake of breath next to him was a clear sign that he had also figured out what was going on.
"I-I…think I'd better lay down now," said Wally as he started to feel the lumps on his back throb in pain.
His breathing became erratic as he made his way over to his bed. He grabbed off his mask and threw it away as the sweat now rolled freely down his face. Wally then ripped off his gloves and pulled down the top of his suit so his chest was exposed.
"Yom Shigureth," swore Shayera as she saw his back. She immediately leapt out of bed and ran to Wally's side.
"What's happening?" called GL who still had a hand over his eyes. "The last time I opened my eyes lasers came out. So will someone please tell me what's going on?!"
Wally was about to answer him when an excruciating deep pain ripped through the muscles in his back. It felt like someone was running a cheese grater under skin, shredding away with no remorse. He screamed in agony as Shayera franticly tried to hold him down so that he was lying on his stomach.
The bumps on his back grew in size as Wally's hands tightly clenched the sheets of his bed.
"Wally! Wally, can you hear me?!" Shayera cried as he withered in excruciating pain.
She then quickly grabbed a nearby cloth and shoved it into Wally's mouth. "Wally, bite down on this… concentrate on that. It'll be over soon."
Flash some how found the strength to nod. And bit down with all his might.
"Should we give him some pain killers or something?" asked Clark clearly desperate.
"No," Shayera yelled hoarsely, "It's too late for that. All we can do is wait it out."
Wally's mind was a sea of torture as he fought to stay conscious. Then suddenly…he felt something tear loose and violently burst forth from his back. Blood splattered across the walls as the cloth fell from his mouth and he screeched at the top of his lungs.
He clawed at the sheets like a wild animal as the other wing shortly followed. He twisted agony as Shayera placed a gently hand to his forehead trying to calm him. Every pain receptor on his back was on fire, it was just too much. He heaved one last great breath and passed into merciful unconsciousness.
-Batman's POV-
Batman stood there numbly watching as a red wing, the same color as Wally's hair, violently burst forth from his back. Blood splattered across the wall as the kid arched his back and let loose a tormented scream.
Bruce had been helpless…he could do nothing but watch.
The wing spasmed for a moment as the other one broke forth from Wally's shredded back. Shayera openly wept as he heaved in one last breath and then passed out from the pain.
As the others flocked to his bed side, the words; "You and Wally must both understand the extent of his powers" went through his head again.
Bruce's fist tightened around the half eaten Lightspeed bar in his hand.
Traductor de Divinitas….
He knew what it meant now.
Transferor of Power.
TO BE CONTINUED…..
Author's Notes:
0_0
Uh…yeah.
Mists hides under rock.
Anyway, I would like to congratulate the great Kyer for being the only one to guess correctly where I was going with the spell! XD BWHAHAHA!
Also I'd like to thank my anonymous reviewers SnowTiger, lilbit4, and Katherine for their great reviews! Now SnowTiger brought up something that I wanted to remind you all of. I'm going to be playing around with the legend of Arthur. Meaning that everything you know about Morgan and Merlin may not be the truth in my story. There have been so many variations of the legend by various authors over the years that the truth of who Arthur was simply no longer exists. So in short, I'm using my author's license to change around whatever I see fit and give you a new twist on something old.
Also, "Rankcar" the Thanagarian rite of passage was created by me. I found no record of how they got their wings discussed in the comic verse. And birthing people with wings would be quite hard, so I made it a puberty thing. My theory is based off of Rex, Shayera and John's son. My guess is his wings didn't work after they came out so they decided to cut them off.
The Grimorum Arcanorum is the spell book from Disney's "Gargolyles." Since that was part of what inspired me to write this story, I thought it was a fun add in.
Oh and Guide is MINE!! Hehehe! I love her. She's so great.
And now next time!
Ramifications: Plans are made, Justin and Jason have words, people deal, Guide screws with Bats' head, and Morgan gets very pissed.
Oh yeah, it'll be good.
Please Read and Review!!