[20th January 2011]
[Mount Justice, Happy Harbour, Rhode Island, United States of America]
...Artemis blinked, falling into nothingness, sinking into the depths of an inky black ocean, emitting a relaxed yet confused sigh at the voices, the sensations, flowing through her body...more than her body. She gasped, flailing, as the whispers engulfed her, held her, drowned her...images, flashes of instinct and desires not hers...
...yet also hers flowed into her, the dam breaking and the walls came tumbling down...
...she wanted...what did she want?...a jumble of thoughts, images flickering around in the darkness like mirages and the feel of powerful arms around her...
...lips touched, locked...awkward, and arms were around her, strong, unyielding, yet unsure...the taste of lingering soda on saliva...her White Rabbit wasn't exactly she'd planned...confusion...pressure at the back of her mind, needed to know more...the mirage to...
...the music of the Halloween party thumped in her ears, lights flickering many colours as the reflected off the mirror ball glittering off the ceiling above. Superboy held her, this was awkward[imaginary bindings held her]...every detail becoming clearer, lingering[need to know more!]...the words of the song, the smell of the room...her...their...own body scent[humans smell different]...his, and those muscles, oh those muscles[can't feel his mind? awwww, and the feel of the kiss[ohhhhhhh]...
"Nope, Nope, Nope!" suddenly startled them...them as they gasped loudly as the mirage broke apart, their phantom Superboy evaporating into fog and shadows as a hand gripped the back of their neck...Artemis blinked, feeling suddenly disoriented as she stumbled forward as M'gann was pulled backwards by Jo...Sk...
Artemis 'shook' her head, feeling wobbly, yet managing to keep her balance before turning around as she stood in a plain empty white plain as something like a loud bang of metal on metal echoed out around her in the distance. Skulls stood, dressed in casual 'civilian' clothes holding a confused looking Megan by the back of the neck as his cheeks had a faint blush alongside his faint glare...embarrassment she feel fill her, a blush spreading up her face...
"Well, this went badly off the bat..." John muttered softly, Artemis grunting, shivering, in an identical motion to Megan, as if having a bucket of ice cold water thrown over her...
...blinking, looking down at herself as she realised her clothes, her original uniform, was dripping wet, and she hugged herself shivering...
"Artemis, you're in a dream, you're not cold or out in the rain. Warm, and dry, and you are a human girl" John told her, pressure from somewhere...strengthening her will, her mind clearing just as her clothes dried off...
'Her' mind clearer, and shoving the sensations and whispery touches down with training, Artemis forced herself to take a breath as she 'felt' the embarrassment radiating off of Megan, and to a lesser degree off Skulls as she folded her arms across her chest "Okay...what...just happened?"
"I'm sorry...I didn't think..." Megan started, waving her arms about as she suddenly shifted from her 'normal' appearance to the giant white humanoid that was evidently her natural form. Skulls cut her off, patting her on the lower back owing to the size difference suddenly present between them with one hand, and motioning at Artemis with his right.
"My fault sorry...and now I know what kissing Connor feels like thanks to both you lovely ladies as punishment seems...didn't think, she didn't think..." he muttered, then sighed "...right, look, we're in an artificial mental link, sense sharing, dream sharing, and well...M'gann used to me and I've the mental barriers of a fortress, and yours are well..."
He gave her an apologetic look, and she could feel his embarrassment somehow "Wet cardboard when we're willingly linked up like this. You jumped in feet first, M'gann did the same...and bulldozed through because she figured you'd be like my mind...ugh, and well, yeah..." John paused, sighing "...gonna, need work on that actually"
Artemis nodded firmly, hammering down on embarrassment that she just shared...oh god, she just...in front of...and...
"Control, I am in control, and this is dream and I am perfectly calm" she told herself, forcing, feeling herself calm down as Megan seemed to do the same as the three of them stood in middle of this vast empty white expanse all around them "...totally calm, and in control, yes. Ooff...now, okay...this is weird"
"I can end it if you want?" Skulls asked seriously, but Artemis found herself shaking her head in the negative to that suggestion. This wasn't the nightmare of the simulation, and she wasn't going to runaway just because a weakness had been shown; she'd figure it out, and work through it. Megan, still a big giant Martian, grinned as best Artemis could tell and the 'expanse' around them...shimmered...shifted...and suddenly they were standing on sandy ground. Skulls shrugged.
"As long as your sure...welcome to Mars I think...sorry I'm not as open as you or M'gann with my memories but...well secrets are part of the job sadly. But we have some time, a good bit honestly, while we sleep, so let's lay down some ground rules before I get more images burned into my brain I'd rather not..."
--
[20th January 2011]
[Mount Justice, Happy Harbour, Rhode Island, United States of America]
"Hmmm..." Artemis hummed out with a yawn as the 'dream' ended and she found herself returning to waking world rather than the various imaginary dream worlds she'd been in till now. Strong arms encircled her, though sadly they were Alien Form M'gann, but she was still content with that as reached over, shimming over the now waking Martian in the dark early morning gloom of Skull's room, and poking still half asleep John. He yawned, giving her an annoyed looked to which she couldn't help but grin back at as Mgann's voice thrummed softly in her mind.
Oh, it is early morning*
Yeah, and we were learning lots too if I'm being honest* Artemis responded rolling off M'gann to sprawl between her and Skulls even as the Martian girl returned to her 'normal' green-skinned human form. It had been a strange experience, mortifying really for the first while at the memory sharing...and damn but she was going to get John to help do whatever the hell magic mind block thing he'd got going. That was unfair really; she found herself an open book to M'gann's telepathy and John only had to give over what memories and feelings that he wanted too. Still...she could startle him as she grinned, now inches away from his face *Hey there stud, two girls in the bed eh?*
He groaned softly "You've been waiting all night to say that I bet...and" he sighed *And we all slept apart, on the floor, and I'd rather not arrows being shot at me by your Mom, or Green Arrow, for saying that*
Artemis smirked, giving him a playful punch and ignoring M'gann's confused protests behind her as she shoved herself back into a sitting, then standing position *Best be nice to me then Skulls, gotta impress...but first we got to head back to our own rooms*
In truth it had been a good night's sleep...weird mental dream-simulation-thing...and it had firmed up a few things in her head. M'gann for instance...poor M'gann needed friends and support for one, and secondly her own opinion of M'gann's people had taken a bit of a hit. She'd seen...felt...M'gann's memories, sure they were select ones, but it wasn't pleasant to feel that, and Artemis had grown up with Sportsmaster as a parent, in Gotham of all places. If she could help M'gann tell the others her secret...then maybe she too could broach the subject of her parentage, and sister, with the others beyond John and M'gann. Oh, and working on getting some damned mental barriers, or just magic to protect her mind, because My God had that, and other hints to Skulls later about other thoughts, had been mortifying...
--
[20th January 2011]
[St Bricin's Military Hospital, Dublin, Republic of Ireland]
It had certainly been an interesting night, and now day, I found as I went through the checklist one last time before Roy Harper (original) would start the process of getting his lost arm rejuvenated. Preparation was the key to victory for a wizard, even when victory in this case counted as a healing session; though honestly, this was 'impress the Justice League' too in the minds of my bosses within SHIELD and within the Government. Not that I had a problem with that as it'd been my idea to heal the original Speedy's arm...well I'd accepted the idea from Team Arrow and friends, which was close enough...and right now the others could do with it. Too much insecurity, fear, and angst doing the rounds thanks to the evil dickery of Cadmus Labs and their 'Clone Multiple Roy Harpers' Plan.
'Honestly, all I can hope is they didn't use Speedy's DNA as a base for Superboy...you'd think the Green Lanterns could check such things' I mused ensuring the potions were in the correct order, and dosage, as the 'observers' from Atlantis in the shape of an Atlantean mage who seemed skilled, but had personal issues or something with Aqualad and his two friends. Thankfully his questions were professional, and not prone to small talk, as I went about my work; nor did he interfere or comment upon the consultant from the Health Service in attendance with a nurse to check the boy's health before and after the surgery.
Documenting these sessions, as proof of magical abilities in part but more importantly as a means to work towards improving my method, and teaching my apprentices when their abilities reached that level. Green Arrow and Black Canary were here, outside in the 'guest area' thankfully, along with the other two Roys and most of the Team. So no pressure I reminded myself, turning around to face Roy Harper as Red Arrow Roy Harper wheeled him in. One lucky benefit of them being clones of Roy Harper, both Red Arrow and Guardian, was that having them donate blood was essentially already the flesh of Roy Harper at a genetic level. Carefully I brought the blood bags into position as Roy sat up on the before me and I got about the task at hand; potion number one getting handed to Mr. Harper after a quick confirmation he was good to go as well.
"Aren't you going to, I dunno, knock me out or something?"
I shook my head in response to Roy's question as I had him place the stump of his arm upon the rune and sigil engrave metal magical mini-operating table "No...I could, but it's easier if your conscious and the potion, and the spell I'm about to cast in a moment, will remove any pain and tendency to get panicked or freaked out by the limb rejuvenating"
"You intend to make use of the body's natural healing abilities" Ronnel queried, Atlantean spy that he was, as Roy drank the calming draft and I cast the preparatory spell. Oh, there were faster ways to do this, but one really didn't want to give away too much to our friends and allies when they were so secretive about their own abilities...so one took the more methodical approach utilising necromancy and the arcane rather than my clerical magic. So I nodded without turning around to face him after a quick glance at the monitors beeping away indicating Roy's steady heartbeat, and the armless teenagers almost bored looking expression.
"Too a degree, in strictest terms I'm causing the body to heal itself and using the blood as material rather than a catalyst or anything like that. Now one must admit in strictest terms this can be considered necromancy as much as biomancy as it makes use of blood, and technically speaking dead flesh in the skin shavings, as I warned in my briefings..."
In a funny way it was why I'd chosen this method; it was largely illegal in Atlantis from the details that Kaldur and his two friends Tula and Garth had provided me over the last two days. Sure it didn't put me in a great light, but I was putting forward a non-soul selling, non-sacrifice, non-demon-pact related, method that worked using Order magic and necromantic ritual-work. It would certainly be easier to explain, because it was duplicable by a skilled mage with time, training, and effort, than my divinely empowered healing; and such 'one off' personal healing would only undermine my long term goal of creating a set of magical healers amongst trained doctors here in Ireland and the United Kingdom through SHIELD...
--
Roinn an Taoisigh
Department of the Taoiseach
Top Secret – Not for Public Release or Recording
Closed Meeting of the Cabinet – 1614-D/4
Date: 20th January 2011
Departmental Report:-
Supernatural Hazards Investigation, Enforcement and Legislative Division (S.H.I.E.L.D)
This working paper is Cabinet and selected Department Head distribution only and is not for public disclosure. Any release of this document, or recording, without the relevant authorisation will be considered a Criminal Act and tried under the auspices of the Special Criminal Court*
Subheading;-
Project: Library of Arcane Knowledge
Having studied the proposal put forward by S.H.I.E.L.D [National Forces sub-section] the Cabinet has deemed release of funds for the further research and collating of accessible sources of 'arcane' and 'supernatural' writings currently available. Currently data-collection of any accessible online sources [Ref Doc: T/224] has been highly successful, with storage in locally based servers allowing data-mining of these documents and videos by cross-referencing confirmed authentic documentation, however fragmentary, for further study.
Furthermore access has been granted by the United States State Department to multiple document archives [Ref Doc: G/4567/Y] for scanning and cross-referencing. While much of this documentation has proven fragmentary, inaccurate, or a combination of both, availability of further experts to the State after eighteen months of development has allowed greater likelihood of yielding research breakthroughs. Furthermore a comparative study of Atlantean Arcano-technology and its potential economic impact based on, still admittedly limited, information that Nation State indicates a significant benefit to the State should the State manage to achieve a first mover advantage in this field.
This could translate into an economic benefit should the State manage to establish itself as leading Research and Educational provider in the field amongst the nations currently member states of the United Nations [Atlantis and Themscirya currently not being member-states of the organisation, and also possessing existent and believed advanced systems of arcane research and education]. Owing to this potential further release of funds, with the intention of expanding infrastructure and hiring qualified staff, has now been authorised along with secondment of staff qualified in secondary skill-sets from the National Museum and National Library has also been approved. Commercial links are also to be developed once vetting has been completed on a number of [Doc: 254/7/G] potential engineering and pharmaceutical providers listed.
Subheading;-
Project: Authorization of Specialised [non-medically trained] Health Providers under the Health Service Executive
Further to [Ref Doc: T/127 Medical/A] authorisation has been granted for...
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