Same disclaimers as before.
Chapter 9: Testing
"Alright guys, listen up!" Ariel gulped and shivered as she stood in line with three others. Beside her was another girl who looked around twenty and on her other side were two men who appeared to be in high school. All of them were in extravagant outfits and colorful uniforms. In front of them, a blonde woman with a hard face and a black, leather outfit with fishnet stockings marched back and forth. Ariel and the other girl looked straight ahead while the eyes of the two males followed the blonde woman's substantial rear and chest. "This training exercise is designed to test your abilities and how you react in a high stakes scenario," she stopped marching and turned sharply to face each of the new heroes in turn, her steely gaze piercing like a dagger into their souls, "For the sake of teamwork, share your codenames and powers. You." She pointed at the teen on the far side of the group.
"Um, I'm Natural," he said nervously, trying desperately not to look the woman in the eyes but also not glance at her cleavage, "I can control plants and nature and stuff, like Poison Ivy."
"Snapcaster, ma'am," said the second male confidently, cocking an eyebrow to the woman, "Super speed and sorcery."
"Oh!" gasped Ariel, realizing that it was her turn, "I'm, um, Charmer I guess. I have telepathy and telekinesis."
"I'm Snowstorm!" said the older girl brightly, "I control ice and I can fly!"
The blonde woman nodded. "I'm Black Canary," she said, stating the obvious, "I have a supersonic scream and I'm a trained martial artist. I'll be both your monitor and your leader for this exercise. Now that we're all introduced, are we ready?" Ariel really wanted to shake her head, but her neck was frozen stiff with fear. You're being ridiculous, she told herself, you've taken on the Parasite and these are just holograms! But you didn't have to prove yourself to others when you took on Parasite, pipped up another part of her brain, this time you're being tested. Shut up, said the first voice in her head.
Let's do this!
God this woman is smoking.
Ariel quickly shook her head and concentrated on blocking out the thoughts of her teammates. Black Canary looked over her team and nodded when she got no response. "I'll take that as a yes. Red!" she called up to a monitor booth above them, "Start the simulation! Level five!" Immediately, the grey walls of the hologram room fell away, covered by the streets of Metropolis. Before anyone could react, a nearby building burst open, revealing a massive behemoth of a man holding money bags. His ugly face darted around until it fell on the heroes. He growled and glared at them, dropping his bags.
"Alright," shouted Canary to her team, "You're in the middle of a major city with a heavy population, you're up against a Blockbuster, a super-villain with no self control, and, on top of that," she suddenly tossed herself at Blockbuster. He caught her and wrapped her in a tight bear hug. "Your leader has been captured. What do you do?"
Ariel gapped at Black Canary and stared up at the massive Blockbuster. He must have been ten feet tall and his muscles expanded and retracted with every breath. Next to her, Snapcaster stepped forward. "Curse!" he shouted as he raised his hand. Blue and red auras appeared around his fingers and a circle of light closed around Blockbuster. The beast roared in anger and shook the light off of him.
Black Canary blinked as the light faded. "Perhaps I should have mentioned," She said dryly, "Try not to hit me." Snapcaster backed away nervously as Blockbuster took a step forward. Snowstorm grabbed Natural and ran backwards as Ariel stood rooted in place. From behind her, icy shards shot forward and stabbed into Blockbuster's chest. The monster roared and brushed away the icy shards he picked up his pace and dashed forwards towards Ariel.
Something broke inside of her. She ducked under Blockbuster's initial blow and she laid her hands on the pavement. Immediately, she drew the street onto her hands, forming stone boxing gloves. She stood back up, slamming her fist into Blockbuster's chin. For a moment, the beast looked dazed as he stared at this tiny girl that had hurt him. Before he could recover, Ariel flew up and grabbed Blockbuster by the temples. With a grunt of effort, she tried to enter his mind.
Flashes of light blew past her as her vision tunneled. There was something wrong. Blockbuster barely had a mind to control. Her powers were overwhelming him and he was channeling the excess psychic energy back into her. She grunted and released him, using his broad chest as a launch pad to flip back to join her teammates.
"What just happened?" Cried Natural as he vines swirled out of his sleeves.
"His mind is too messed up for me to take control," muttered Ariel, "My powers are useless against him."
Snowstorm bit her lip as she watched Blockbuster shake his head, trying to clear it from the confusion Charmer had caused. "Natural, can you make, like, poison plants or something?"
Natural's eyes lit up and he grinned sheepishly. He raised his hand and a purple flower grew out of his palm. "Monkshood, best plant to poison a dinner guest with." The other three heroes stared at him. "I-I read a lot of internet articles," he said quietly.
Snowstorm shrugged. "Whatever works. Gimme." Natural handed her the flower and Snowstorm's eyes screwed shut in concentration. She waved her hand and ice trailed from it, forming a curved bow with a frost string. An arrow of ice appeared in her hand and she drove it through the flower. She notched the arrow and aimed it as Blockbuster shook off his confusion and glowered at the heroes.
"Here, babe," said Snapcaster, wrapping his arms over Snowstorm's, "Let me help you with that." Snowstorm wrenched herself away and loosed the arrow. It shot wide over Blockbuster's head. She turned and glared at the sorcerer. "Whoops," he said, not looking very apologetic. Ariel groaned and glanced around frantically.
She glanced up and sighed. Blockbuster roared and charged, his massive feet making the street shake. Ariel snarled and rushed forward, throwing a telekinetic force field in front of her. They collided with a crash and Ariel cried out in pain. Blockbuster pounded on her force field, each blow like a thunderbolt through her brain. "Do something!" she cried out, "Now please!"
"Hang on, Charmer!" called Snowstorm. Ariel glanced behind her and saw her forming another ice arrow and Natural wrapping another flower around it. She groaned in effort and pain and fell to one knee. She felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to see Snowstorm kneeling behind her. "When I give the signal, lower the force field!" she whispered, "Ready?" Ariel whimpered in response. "Now!" shouted Snowstorm. Ariel dropped her shield and collapsed on the ground. Right away, Snowstorm raised her hand and formed a protective dome of ice over the two of them. Blockbuster brought his fist down on the dome and it began to crack under the force. Before he could raise his fist again, Snapcaster shot forward at super speed and jabbed the ice arrow into his neck. Blockbuster stumbled back and began to gurgle, gripping at his neck as his throat began to close. He dropped Black Canary to grab at his neck with both hands. As soon as she hit the ground, the experienced hero spun and screamed into Blockbuster's ear. The shockwave from her scream sent the monster flying into a building. He slumped down to the ground, defeated. The scene flashed and suddenly they were all back in the hologram room.
"Aaaaaannnnnnd Snapcaster does it again," said the mage, checking his nails, "Feel free to thank me at your own convenience."
"Simulation completed," said a voice over an intercom, "I will send the results in for analysis."
"Very good, Tornado!" called Canary, brushing herself off. She turned to the team behind her. "Overall, not bad. Minimal collateral damage, no casualties. Good teamwork. Your cooperation, on the other hand," she glared pointedly at Snapcaster who just shrugged, "Could use some work. I'll fill out the paperwork, you guys hit the showers."
Snowstorm helped Ariel to her shaky feet. "You okay, Charmer?"
Ariel clutched her pounding skull. "I guess I don't really have full control of my powers yet," she murmured.
"Good job in there," Snowstorm said as she led them out of the training room, "You gave us the time we needed to get it together."
Ariel just shrugged and pulled her hood further over her face. "It-it just felt like the right thing to do."
"Good," said Snowstorm, "You've got instinct. Hey, I hear they're installing a food court in the Hall of justice, wanna check it out?"
"I-I need to lie down. Maybe some other time." Said Ariel. She walked away, waving back to Snowstorm politely.
"Hey Charmer, wait up!" She turned back and saw Natural running towards her.
"Natural," she greeted.
"Hey," he panted as he rested with his hands on his knees, "Really got to work on my stamina. I, ah, was just wondering if you were alright?"
Ariel blinked and stared at Natural. His face was red and sweating and the plants that grew around his arms were twisting like living rope. "Um, just a headache, thanks. Are you okay?"
"What? Me? I'm fine." They stood in awkward silence for a several minutes as they waited fro the other to speak. Finally, Natural gave a small wave. "Well, um, see ya." He quickly turned and ran away down a hallway, leaving Ariel to wonder what had just happened.
"I think he likes you." She spun to see a familiar, masked face.
"Hey Josh. He's just being nice."
"If you say so, and it's Arsonist now," he said proudly, puffing out his chest.
Ariel raised an eyebrow. "Arsonist? Isn't that a criminal title?"
Josh shrugged. "Platinum likes it."
Ariel decided not to ask about whoever Platinum was, it was really none of her business. "Are going to the simulation test?"
"Yeah, Flash is going to be my instructor. Who did you get?"
"Black Canary."
"Cool." Ariel snorted, wondering if she should let Josh know just how scary the test was. No, he would find out for himself. "I better get going. See you!"
"Later, Josh," she waved as he dashed off faster than she could blink. She walked back to her barracks in the Magic Wing and fell onto her bunk. "God," she muttered into her pillow, "What a day." She groaned as she realized it wasn't over yet. Her mother had demanded that Ariel call her before dinner.
. . .
Josh looked back and forth amongst his teammates as they waited for Flash to arrive. There were two women who appeared to be in their early thirties gossiping and chain smoking together while a man who couldn't have been younger than eighty snoring in his walker. "Um," he muttered to himself, "What's going on here?"
The door slid open and the Flash skidded to a halt next to him. "Alright people, let's line up!" Josh quickly stood at alert and stared forwards while his teammates shuffled slowly into position. "Okay, you guys probably know what's going on here, but I've been told that I have to reiterate it anyway. So, you're here to be evaluated for record purposes or something. We're just going to run a quick simulation and see how you work our powers, how you work as a team, and how you work on containing the situation. Um, what else?" he rubbed his chin in thought before snapping his fingers. "Right. You need to introduce yourselves and your powers for, you know, teamwork and strategy and stuff. So let's start with you." He pointed to the old man.
The senior citizen snapped out of his slumber. "Ehh?"
Flash rolled his eyes. "What's your name and power?"
"Oh, eh, Sediment and, eh, I can't remember."
"Sediment, huh?" rasped one of the smoking women, "Sounds like earth powers to me."
The old man looked at her in confusion. "What?"
"I said it sounds like you have earth powers."
"Hang on," Sediment reached into his ear and yanked out a clear earpiece, "Damn communicators keep messing with my hearing aids."
The woman rolled her eyes and took a drag. "I'm Ms. Watt. I got lightning and I can stick to walls."
"I'm Gadgeta, I can use this stuff I got." She pulled out various knives and tools and twirled them between her fingers before shoving them back into their pockets, "Oh, and I can fly."
"I'm Arsonist," Said Josh apprehensively, "I have super speed and fire powers."
"Arsonist?" said Ms. Watt, "And I thought my name was lame."
"At least ours aren't illegal," said Gadgeta with a smirk.
"What he say?" asked Sediment.
Flash nodded with a smile. "Okay, now that we all know each other, let's get started. Yo, Red, start us off with level, um, three!" In a booth above them, the red robot pressed a few buttons and holograms were raised over the walls.
Josh had never been to Gotham City before, but he knew immediately that was where they were. Rain poured down on them as the dark buildings made him feel small and vulnerable. The streets were dirty and every wall he could see was covered in black graffiti. He felt a rumbling under his feet and gasped as a vine shot from the pavement and punched him in the face. He stumbled back and composed himself as he saw plants erupting from the ground all around his team. Flash crossed his arms. "Okay guys, Batman needs you to protect the city while he takes down Poison Ivy. What do you do?" A vine crept around his waist and he smiled. "Oh and did I mention you have to do it without my help?" The vine lifted him up into the air as the group slowly backed into each other.
"Well, this sucks," rasped Ms. Watt as she backed into Josh, "Gadgeta, got any weed killer?"
Gadgeta grunted and pulled out some shuriken. "No, but I have sharp things. That should cut these things down to size." Her eyes darted over the plants, calculating where the most effective shots needed to go. With a flick of her wrist, multiple throwing stars sliced through the vines, cutting them down. The Flash started to fall towards the earth, but he was caught by another vine. The cut vines began to spout more plants that writhed around, knotting into thicker vines.
"It was a good try," offered Jash. Gadgeta grunted in response and drew a pair of knives from her belt. Ms. Watt snapped her fingers experimentally. A line of crackling lightning shot from her hand and enveloped the nearest vine. It seemed completely unaffected.
"Well, I got nothing," she said with a shrug. Josh clenched his fists and they erupted into flame. The plants suddenly stopped moving and retracted from him quickly.
"I don't think they like fire," he said, looking at his hands.
"I don't think they like your fire, son," said Sediment.
"I just said that."
"What?" Josh sighed and raised his hands. With a pushing motion, he sent twin fireballs at the plants. The vines parted to let the flames pass through holes in their ranks. Josh frowned and quickly measured the approximate size of the holes before they closed back up. The plants dove, wrapping themselves around Gadgeta. She snarled like a feral cat and sliced at the vines, but a Venus Flytrap grew out of one of them and bit her on the nose. For a second, she stared at the plant before she let out a piercing scream and tried to unhinge the plant's firm jaws.
Ms. Watt guffawed at her friend's plight before a second vine wrapped itself around her from behind, causing her to drop her cigarette. "Hey!"
Josh tapped Sediment on the shoulder. "I have an idea."
"Well, don't just say so, whatcha thinkin' son?"
"Can you make a boulder that's three feet wide?"
"Three feet?" Sediment slowly raised his old foot and brought it down on the pavement. It crumpled and a large rock seemed to burp forth from the ground. It floated before Sediment and he grinned proudly. "What do ya know? I do have powers." Josh smiled. He placed his hand on the rock and it ignited, covering itself with his flame.
"Okay," he said, "On my mark, throw it into the hole. Ready?" Sediment nodded and steadied himself with his walker. Josh raised his hand, forming another fireball. "Now!" the fireball shot towards the mass of vines that surrounded them. As before, they formed a hole and his fire simply slipped through them. The flaming boulder did not. It slammed into the plants and immediately they began to burn. It took almost a minute for them to burn completely. The vines dropped Flash, Ms. Watt, and Gadgeta as it disintegrated.
"Huh," said Flash, "Not how I would have handled it, but it worked." The holograms flickered out of existence.
"Simulation completed, I will send the results in for analysis." Said a metallic voice over the intercom.
"You heard the man, er, robot. We're done here." Ms. Watt and Gadgeta lit fresh cigarettes and marched themselves out.
Sediment pushed his walker over to Josh and held out his hand. "Nice work in there, son. I'm no expert, but I'd say you've got a future in this business."
"Oh, thanks Sediment," Josh said as he shook the old man's hand gently.
Sediment blinked. "Who's Sediment?"
Flash dashed over. "You're Sediment, Bob, remember? And don't forget, you are an expert."
"Oh, right." A phone rang and Sediment sighed, "Excuse me." He said as he pushed his walked his walker before him out the door.
Josh stared. "Is he okay?"
Flash sighed and gazed wistfully after the old man. "Bob used to be the curator for the Justice Society of America back in the forties. He's been working with them since he was a teenager."
"Wow," Josh said as they walked out of the hologram room, "So is it Alzheimer's?"
"No, thank goodness," said Flash, "Just old age and bad short-term memory. He has his good days and bad days though." He wrapped his arm around Josh's shoulder. "So, what's new with you?"
"Oh, well, um, I met a girl?" he offered nervously.
Flash grinned. "Oh? Anyone I would know?"
"Her name's Platinum."
Flash's grin froze. "Platinum? Of the Metal Men?"
"Yeah, you know her?"
Flash stared at Josh for a second before replying. "Yeah, yeah I know her. Um, how much do you know about her?"
"Not much. I haven't actually asked her out yet, but I'm working up to it." He rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment, "I'm not really very good at this stuff so I'm taking it slow."
Flash rubbed his wrists nervously. "Um, listen man, maybe you shouldn't get too attached to her."
Josh cocked his head to the side in confusion. "Why? She's nice, funny, gorgeous," he ticked off her virtues on his fingers, "I can't really find any fault with her."
"And that doesn't strike you as a little odd?"
"No, why should it?"
"She doesn't seem a little too perfect?"
"Where are you going with this, Flash?" Josh stopped walking and stared in wonder at his friend. Flash had never been anything less than supportive of him and this sudden apprehension was a shock to him.
Flash sighed. "Look, it's not really my place, just forget I said anything, alright?"
Josh hesitated but nodded. "How 'bout them Yankees?"
Flash groaned in exasperation. "I swear if the Salamanders don't beat them to the conference this year, they never will." Josh smiled as they walked down the halls of the Watchtower, discussing the pros and cons of various baseball teams.
. . .
Lex Luthor glowered through the glass window of his subject's hospital room. "I said you could borrow him!" he barked into his phone, "I don't recall saying you could break him!"
"Sorry, Lex," he could almost hear the Joker's nonchalant shrug, "Is the antidote working?" Lex glanced down at Devon's hospital bed. The poor boy's mouth had gone from a face-splitting grin to a contented smile.
"Slowly, but yes."
"Good, I'll start mass producing it."
Lex's shoulders slumped. "You didn't know if it was safe…I don't know why I'm surprised. This is exactly something you'd do."
"Honestly, Lex, you should be less trusting," chided Joker, "You never know when someone will stab you in the back!" he cackled madly and Lex hung up, completely done dealing with the clown.
"Luthor!"
He turned and gave a small smile. "Ah, Circe! Finally someone sane to deal with." The scantily clad goddess of magic marched up to him and slapped him across the face. Lex blinked in surprise and sighed deeply. "What did I do, Circe?" he asked with resignation heavy in his voice.
"Why didn't you tell me Dr. Fate was in Metropolis?" she demanded.
"I knew the Sentinels of Magic had a foothold in Chinatown," Lex said, rubbing his cheek, "I didn't know the good doctor was there."
"If we wait to long to act, he'll retreat back to his tower," said Circe, "We need to act now!"
Lex raised an eyebrow. "We? Why should I help you?"
Circe smirked. "Because if you do, I'll give you some magical artifacts."
"And why would I need or want magical paraphernalia?"
"Because Superman is weak against magic."
"What did you need from me, exactly?"
. . .
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