Kid Loki , Part 2 : On Thieving and Hospitals .
Loki gasped, opening his eyes, to find he was in one of the mortal's healing Chambers. He quickly checked to make sure his limbs were still attached and sighed with relief.
He wasn't even handcuffed to the bed, not like such a thing could hold him. Still it was rather foolish to not have some kind of security...
Oh hell. Loki groaned seeing the runes on the walls. No spell work could be cast in here with those things up.
Loki's eyes turned fearful, as the door opened. Without his magic he was completely defenseless!!! He jumped out of the bed, to try and find some place to hide, but all he managed to do was fall on his face. His body still too sore from all the spells he cast. He couldn't move easily.
"Woh kid, calm down," The Flash yelped as other heroes stepped in.
Loki only came to about the waist of the shortest of them. Midgardian children... were short. They grow in height very slowly. They usually stop growing around 20 Cycles, but don't often have traditional growth spurts. Maybe one when they turn 16, continued through 19, but they only grow a couple feet during that time. Usually it's only a few inches each Cycle, until they brake 7 feet.
Batman was amongst them, and Loki was rather surprised by his aura to see he really was a Vampire, as the Television suggested.
Not because the idea was bizarre, but because it was daytime. Batman must be rather closely related to the devils that bred the first generation of vampire. Otherwise the sun would burn him. Vampires became weaker for every following Generation, as the blood becomes more and more diluted with human.
The one who turned him must have been old, given Batman himself seemed so very young, only a hundred years since he was turned would be Loki's guess.
Ignoring him for a moment, a greater issue had to be the Martian Manhunter, who accompanied them. The green skinned alien no doubt here to see into the "Boy's" mind, but Loki could trick such a lower creature easily.
Loki saw them, and their 'Justice League', frequently on the news. Although they tried to keep their distance from SHIELD, they had been reported to cooperate with them. This was not a safe place to be.
"Easy now," Flash spoke soothingly as if Loki was some feral animal... perhaps he could use that too his advantage? They obviously didn't know just who they had managed to capture. Or this "Flash" wouldn't be treating him so gently.
"W-where am I?" Loki stammered, acting the frightened boy.
"You're safe," Flash assured.
"You collapsed from magical exhaustion." Another man stepped in, obviously a magic user of some kind. He must have been the one to place the runes.
He felt like a Lord of Order... those couldn't interact with the mortal plane, without some kind of host. Regardless of the merits of possession, that guy could be hard to Persuade. He could no doubt taste the chaos in Loki, and if the demigod tried to hide it now, it would just cause greater issue.
Still the Lord of Order spoke gently, clearly believing Loki was just a child dabbling in things he didn't understand. "You almost killed yourself with those spells. They are far too advanced for someone so young."
"I still pulled them off didn't I!" Loki snapped, accidentally letting his true feelings be exposed. He might be the master of lies, but he never could handle criticism.
"Yes you did," The mage nodded "Very impressive, though I'm curious... where did you learn such magics?"
"M-my parents," Loki stammered again. His face intentionally morphing into an expression of mourning. "S-sorta... t-they only taught me basic stuff but... after the... well I had their books so I read them."
"Where are they now?" The mage asked.
Loki pretended to be angered by the question. "What you wanna steal them! They're all I have left! I won't let you!"
Loki tried to conjure a blasting hex, pretending he didn't notice the runes. A few sparks flew out (which even that was impressive under the runes) but nothing actually happened.
Loki made his eyes widened, in shock, and tried to cast the spell again. He then preceeded to visibly freak out, running around the room, screaming his head off. All the while trying to get away from the heroes.
Flash easily caught him, but the boy struggled as hard as he could well shrieking, "Let Go! Let Go! LET GO!!!"
"It's okay," Flash insisted. "No one is going to steal your books, even though you didn't seem to mind stealing from other people."
"How else am I supposed to eat!?" Loki snapped, incorporating the two character traits for this persona, running both hot and cold.
"You seem to have misunderstood" said the mage. "I was asking after your parents, not the books."
"O-oh..." Loki forced himself to blush "I-I... they're waiting for me back home." He made it very obvious that he was lying this time.
"Really?" the mage raised an eyebrow.
"Y-yeah s-so you better let me go before they call the police on you for kidnapping. Heroes or not, you can't go abducting kids! Or is that how you get your 'sidekicks'?"
They ignored that comment, "So why didn't you ask your parents for money, instead of-"
"T-they're busy!"
"In that case could you please give me their number, so we can call them, and tell them what's going on."
Loki cleverly made his eyes water, before shaking his head.
"Why not?"
Loki sniffed and muttered "Please don't send me to an orphanage."
The heroes shared a look, and the mage encouraged. "We need you to be honest with us now. Where are your parents?"
"T-they..." Loki forced a few tears to trickle down his face "They died... at New York. I-I got to Central City using our RV but it broke down and..."
"It's okay," Flash hugged him and he did his best not to pull back in disgust. "Do you have relatives in Central City?"
Loki shook his head. "W-we always went everywhere together. We only came into the cities to resupply. W-we traveled a lot."
"In a caravan?" The mage asked and Loki nodded. "I take it then you've never been to a school."
"M-my parents h-homeschooled me a-and da others," Loki sniffed.
"What's your name?"
"Jivin," Loki lied... he didn't know why he blurted out that name... he hadn't thought about him in millenniums. Regardless, the damage was done. He would just have to deal with that being his alias.
The mage nodded, "You should get some rest." he signalled to the others, obviously believing he got what he needed.
"W-what's y-your name?" Loki stammered.
"Many have come to call me, Doctor Fate."
"So?" Flash asked, as they stepped out into the hospital's hallway.
Martian Manhunter shook his head, "I sensed no deception from him. Apart from when he told us, his parents were waiting for him, but I doubt you needed a telepath to know that was a lie."
"His background is consistent for why there are no records of him," Said Doctor Fate. "It sounds like he was part of a gypsy caravan. It isn't uncommon for magic users to be amongst them, and it also explains why his skin and muscles are so dense. Gypsy Sorcerers often cast spells on their children to give them an advantage over others, and his physical abilities do seem to be rooted in magic.
"He has a great deal of potential to become an extremely powerful magic user, but right now his body can't hold the strain of spell casting. A common problem with children, that he will be able to overcome with practice. We need to keep an eye on him, to insure he does not become a threat."
"A threat?" Flash sneered. "He's a little kid!"
"Who, by your own admission, is already showing signs of becoming a super villain," Fate insisted.
"A 'Super Villain'?" Flash glared. "Why? Because he wanted to get breakfast?"
"Food was not the only thing I found in that box," Doctor Fate informed. "Just because he is starting small, doesn't mean it won't become an issue when he's older. He is already in the habit of simply taking things that he wants."
"So what do you suggest we do with him?" Flash glared, "Lock the kid up!?"
"It would be dangerous for you if the Rogues got a hold of him." Fate thought he provided an irrefutable argument.
"Okay first off," Flash held up his hand. "The Rogues are Outlaws, not Super Villains, and second, the kid is just trying to survive on his own. You try to lock him up, that's a guaranteed way of turning him into something dangerous, as a coping mechanism!"
"Then what do you propose?"
"I'll just take him with me, like I did with Trickster!"
"And how is that working out for you? Didn't 'Trickster' join the Rogues?"
Batman finally spoke up, "If the kid is kept in this city, it is inevitable that he will meet the Rogues, and 'Super villains' or not, they will undoubtedly become a bad influence. So a compromise is needed.
"Enroll the boy in school here, but afterwards have him report with the rest of the Titans. There he can learn how to use his abilities, for more productive means... and invite the Junior Rogues as well."
Flash blinked, "You'd be okay with that, Bats?"
"They're just kids," Batman replied. "If we start trying to influence them now, they could still become productive members of society."
Flash smiled, "Thanks," but then groaned when he realized something. "Unfortunately they're going to need some kind of incentive. They are being raised by outlaws after all."
"I can give them a decent payment, per mission, but training will be mandatory and they won't see a cent for it."
Flash nodded, "I can probably swing that. Captain Cold won't like them playing hero, but if enough money is involved he'll allow it.
"Like I said, he's an outlaw. He might not like cops, and most capes, but if I tell him the deal is on the up and up he'll trust me."
"He trust you?" Fate eyed.
Flash glared at the body snatcher, "We've got a weird relationship." Then turned more appreciative eyes back at Batman. "But that means you can't try to use the kids to catch the other Rogues. Our relationship is delicate and complex. If you do something to jeopardize that, he might want to start playing for keeps. Instead of just trying to get away, like he does now.
"It will also mean any hope I have of talking some sense into those kids, or them ever trusting me again, will be completely gone."
"I won't do anything unless necessary."
"... then no," Flash informed. "Thanks for the offer to help with them, but the only way that could work is if you left things alone, even if it was necessary."
Batman eyed him for a moment. "Alright, you have my word. I won't interfere, beyond giving the kids some much needed guidance."
Doctor Fate looked outraged, it could even be seen through his helmet "Batman!?"
The vampire reminded, "Jivin will undoubtedly form a relationship with the Rogues. He is far too great a potential threat to allow ourselves to hold no influence over the situation. The Junior Rogues will undoubtedly be the ones he will interacte with the most. If we do not get to them we will lose him."