May 24th 2016 , Bibbo's Diner, Brightedge City , 3:00 A.M EDT

After we shut that one down, I spent a while coordinating with watchtower to locate the rest of them. One by one I verified each device, and even found a spare that they'd missed, and with the speed and versatility the League had to show, they shut the whole thing down inside of a fucking hour.

Kara headed out to help, and Barbie and I went to check on the house, which was fine, and meet with Zee about bringing back the girls. They were safe and sound in Gemworld, but I was hungry after all the effort and power tossing, so we decided to have the meeting at a diner so I could get some food. Zee had some things to attend to before she showed up, so it was just Barbie and me to start.

"So. You got it?" I asked her as the waitress left to get our food. Fucking Gotham, even mixed with Metropolis the people weren't afraid of shit. The world had almost ended and the leggy brunette in the short red daisy dukes looked like she barely noticed.

She grinned, holding up the crystal key that let the warworld stay active. "Easy peasy. I swapped it with the replica you gave me. Why did you want that thing anyway? It's pretty useless without the actual warworld, isn't it?"

I took it from her with a slow grin. "Oh, quite the opposite. There's a reason the thing doesn't run without this."

Appraisal function activated. Treasure detected. Shattered Divinity- A rank crystallization of power. One seventh of the divine might of Olgrun, first and greatest of the old gods.

"What exactly is it?" She asked hesitantly. "I know I told you I'd get it, but it's not going to hurt anyone is it? I think that damned construct has done more than enough damage. I don't want you using that to do something crazy."

I palmed it, slipping it into my belt pouch. "Don't worry. It's safer with me than anywhere. I'll rig up some karmic spoofing to prevent anyone from tracking the real one and default all inquiries to the fake. Meanwhile the warworld is with the League, and they can keep it, because the whole thing is basically a big empty soda can without this."

All in all, with the scarabs I'd collected and this, I was up to four point five billion counting the scrap of the ruined ones (still mostly B or C rank), which was enough to get my other four girls to A-rank when the time was right. This whole invasion had worked out shockingly well for me.

Barbie took my hand, eyes wide and excited. "You were great, by the way. Maybe a little murdery for the League, but they tend to look the other way on invading forces. You'll notice Kara didn't mention the bug smashing party you had at the pyramid. Though cleaning up helped with that. How does it feel?"

I laughed at that. "It feels like I made a bunch of money on salvage and am glad this bullshit is over."

"Well…not over over." She said slowly. "The Reach were invited. Luthor and his gang of shitheads. You could go after them next if you want. Make them pay for what they've brought down on us."

That made me laugh. "You're cute when you're trying to make me your instrument of vengeance. Talk to Rae about it. She's A-rank now too. And the others will be joining you soon enough. I give no fucks about Lex Luthor or the villains he has on his jock. If they fuck with you or the others I'll snap them up like a fucking scooby snack, but until then…"

"I know." She sighed. "I was just hoping you might have changed your mind."

I rolled my eyes. "See, this is why I didn't want to do this shit. I'm not a hero suddenly Barbie. I'm a dragon. The Reach fucked with my stuff, so I put them down. But I'm not going to fly around saving kittens from trees. I gave you plenty of power. Use it how you want when I don't need you. But don't put your hero complex on me."

"I don't have a hero complex." She scoffed. "I have plenty of complexes, but not that one. But fine. I see your point. You've done a lot. More than you would have before I think. For sure. Old you would have just fucked off to Gemworld with the others. So if all this WAS for us…thank you, daddy."

She leaned across the table, softly pressing her lips to mine. I kissed her back, hard, and I felt her get riled up before she pulled it back. "You trying to get me excited?"

"Well Zee IS coming." I grinned. "We haven't had any quality time just the three of us for a while. She's been working hard, maybe I should have you kiss all that stress better. She misses that cute little tongue."

She licked her lips. "That sounds delicious daddy, but I need to check in with the League. Even if they don't figure out about the crystal swap, they're going to try to figure out what's wrong with the warworld. I want to be around to steer things. Plus I want to help."

"I hit that thing with enough bad karma to curse a solar system." I snickered. "I bet half the fucking parts have melted and broken, at least once the key was out and the divinity stopped protecting it. They'll have plenty of explanation for why it doesn't work, and it'd take months for them to get it semi operational even if they could."

She shrugged. "Good to know, but I still want to help. You may not be a hero, but I still am. Thanks for your help, and take some of the frustration out on Zee's fat spankable ass for me."

"I'll bend her into a pretzel." I snickered. "And tell her you said hi." I smacked her sweet little rump where she stood close enough. "Now get going, before I make you stay." She giggled and took off.

"I hate to see her leave." Rang the voice of my sorceress as she appeared across from me. "But I LOVE to watch her go. The ass on that girl." I grinned as I turned back to find Zee sitting nonchalantly across from me, sucking on a strawberry shake provocatively as she looked me over. "So, how exactly did you know that she'd bail?"

"She's a smart girl." I said with a chuckle. "But she's predictable. Heroes always are. Did you get it?"

Zee nodded. "I did. I have to say, your plan worked perfectly. Big dragon distraction up in the sky while I lifted what we need and Barbara pocketed the key? You haven't lost your touch. But I'm curious. Raven told me you informed her I was looking into Reach countermeasures. Why not just tell them?"

I shrugged. "They worry. This isn't the…safest idea. But I should be able to handle it. I'm A-rank, and you will be too before we get into the thick of things. I also can't make it too obvious what I'm doing. I worry about one of the other players in the big game noticing before I make my move."

"That much I get." She laughed. "But why me? Barbara would do anything for you, Cherry is obsessed with you. Raven is devoted to you. Amy is your wife. Why pick me for your girl friday with this."

Thinking it over, I remained silent for a minute, but then finally I sighed. "Because you're power hungry. You want more all the time. When you were human, or I guess homo magi, you were always reaching, always striving. For magic in particular. So me going off book so to speak, to learn more magic, I thought you'd get it."

"I do." She smiled warmly. "And I'm happy to help. I get dibs, right? Once you're done. There's so much I can learn. Assuming it's safe."

Winking at her, I picked up the burger as the leggy waitress dropped it off. "It will be." I said through a mouthful of food. "I won't let you suffer for helping me. You know I take care of what's mine. You have it on you right?"

She nodded excitedly, pulling back her jacket to reveal the edge of a book. "It was a pain in the ass to get. They had it hidden deep, and it was being guarded on top of that. Luckily that big fuck off magic beam did its job. I swapped it with the duplicate you made. Where are you getting all of those?"

"Stocked up before this whole mess. Mostly just odds and ends I can combine for whatever I need." I pulled a scale from a pouch. "They're pretty simple to make with the right materials."

Raising a brow, she took it, studying the thing. "Mystically speaking…this is you. When did you make this?" Her eyes shone as she tried to untangle the magical applications of my karmic magic.

"Before you showed up." I shrugged. "I was carving it under the table with my claws while Barbie and I talked. Most knives don't work, but the exercise is relaxing and it keeps my talons sharp."

She handed it back. "Speaking of Barbara. How do you think she'll take this? It's not just risky, it's kind of on the grey side morally. You've got her pretty tamed, but this might be a bridge too far." I held out my hand, and she pulled the book out, passing it to me.

"Maybe." I said with a smile. "But I think she'll empathize. Not only is this about survival, it's about family too. That's fairly sympathetic to her and the others." I flipped the book open, leafing through the pages, enjoying the illustrations and colors. "You're sure this is the one? It seems weird that it was so easy to find."

"It WASN'T easy to find." She scowled. "It was a straight up nightmare. They switched books about nine times. And there were half a dozen false leads. But I'm a child of magic now. Spells don't impede me like they used to. Magically I've confirmed multiple times that the book you're holding is the right one."

"Perfect." I said, flipping it shut. "I appreciate the hard work, and you're first up for an upgrade as a thank you. I'm assuming your only real goals for this one are 'MOAR MAGIC'?"

She giggled at that. "Pretty much. You know me. Though I wouldn't mind a more…personal reward. You know I love our quality time together. It WOULD have been nice to spend the night with Barbara before her inevitable snit over this."

"There might not BE a snit." I said reproachfully. "It's not like I'm letting her OUT. I'm going in to say hi. I need the magic training before the big prize fight, or even if I win I'm going to lose. This is pure self interest. They'll understand that."

Sighing, she chewed her lip. "She's dangerous, Nicky. If she wasn't she wouldn't be locked up. And the lengths they went to to hide that book…no one but me could've found it. I get the concept, but it still seems risky."

"She considered Lilith a peer, which means she's probably B-rank." I said firmly. "And while I know rank isn't the only deciding factor, it DOES weigh heavily. Plus there's two of us."

"Maybe." She said. Still sounding unconvinced.

I ran my fingers over the book's brown leather cover. "They'll be fine once it's done. Even the most heroically inclined of them will have some sympathy." The gold letters on the front gleamed artistically as I traced them. "After all. What's more sympathetic than a family reunion? Right mom?" Even the title of the book seemed to echo my sentiment. Once Upon a Time indeed.

May 26th 2016 , House of Nevers, Brightedge City, 4:00 P.M EDT (smut warning, cnc, rough sex)

The next few days were busy. Cleaning up the remainder of the reach took up most of Barbie's time, I had Zee researching the book, and the other girls had elected to stay in Gemworld for a while (with some slight nudging from me) which meant they weren't underfoot for my plan. Gracie and surprisingly Mordiel had been excited to have them visiting, presumably trying to sway them to their cause and usurp Amy (nicely) as top bitch.

If I had to be totally honest…I missed them. It was strange to admit, because I'm a strong and independent dragon that don't need no woman, but having them around made me happy, and not just because I could shove my dick in them (though it certainly helped). They'd even taken Magnus with them, so I couldn't even hang out with my dog, and I was bored.

Luckily I had at least one thing important to do. I needed to upgrade Zee. I'd promised her first dibs for helping me with my little project, and I wanted her at her best when she escorted me into the book. I'd selected the Helm of Celestine from among the royal armaments, it provided insight and clarity, which seemed like it would help with magic stuff, and the weakness spotting power seemed useful to anyone.

[Appraisal function activated. Treasure detected. Helm of Celestine- B ranked royal armament. A helmet belonging to the extinct Celestine House. Provides clarity and insight allowing the user to spot weaknesses in opponents.]

I could probably have gone looking for a book or something, but honestly I felt like Zee had surpassed the need for that level of item. She was a child of magic now, and she didn't need manuals, just more power and skill. Plus B rank items didn't grow on trees and that seemed like a lot of work.

This seemed like a proper fit, and I had some ideas in mind. So I called Zee from where she was researching to do her upgrade…and maybe a little something extra.

"I'm a bit busy with all this Nicky." She said absently as she carried the book into the room. She had it balanced in the crook of her arm, her hand spread and purple magic dancing across the pages as she scanned it for whatever magical shit she was looking for. "Can it wait? I want to get this done first thing."

I held up the helm contemplatively. "Well, I guess if you don't want your upgrade we can hold off, but I think this next one is gonne be a doozy."

She slammed the book closed, eyes lighting up (literally they were glowing a little) at the thought of more magic and power. The funny thing was she wasn't even going to use it for anything different. She just wanted more strength so she could do more research. Plumb the depths of magic and learn everything there was to know.

"Strip." I said bluntly. She raised a brow and I shrugged. "I'm horny too. We're going to kill two birds with one stone. First we upgrade, then we fuck."

Grinning lasciviously, she started slowly removing clothes, unbuttoning her jacket and then shirt, and peeling it off to show me pale, pink capped tits and a flat, smooth stomach leading down to her neatly trimmed pussy and mouthwatering thighs. I let myself get hard looking at her, licking my lips at what I was about to get.

Holding up the helm, I triggered the merge. A billion points slid away as the light consumed both the helmet and Zee. When it faded…I admit I was a little surprised.

[Appraisal function activated. Treasure detected. Zatanna Zatara- A rank Archon. A being of pure magic who can channel the powers of creation. Able to assume human form but naturally shaped from the forces of the universe, the Archon is the first step to creating an independent magic system, free from the constraints of any universe.]

All that was a lot to unpack but I was a bit distracted by what exactly Zee had turned into to care. Delicate crystalline skin held a whole universe of stars, glowing with a purple radiance. Her eyes blazed with violet light and her hair looked like waves of condensed power made manifest.

Zee was a being of pure magical power, a construct of unrestrained mystical might…I was gonna fuck it.

I was so glad I'd had her strip. "How does it feel?" I asked her with a grin as I stared at her glowing violet nipples. It was kind of wild to look at, but I could see her shape perfectly despite the interior of her body being…essentially a vast expanse of cosmic nothingness.

"Like I'm drowning in power." She whispered, voice a cacophony of harmonies packed into a single sound. Like a choir of angels were singing to me. "Like my whole body is alive with undiluted energy." I strolled over to her, reaching up to palm one of her tits roughly. She gasped, glowing eyelids fluttering. "Oh. That's nice. Fuck I like that."

"I've never fucked a fragment of the universe." I said pensively. "Take my dick out."

She flicked a hand and my pants and underwear vanished. I gave her an annoyed look and she giggled as she dropped to her knees. Hard to stay irritated with your dick in someone's mouth, so it was probably a good strategy.

Leaning forward, she slid her mouth down my dick with almost no resistance and I couldn't help but groan. The sensation was insane, a kind of tingly energizing surge of near electric pleasure. It felt like I was being deep throated by en electric socket, and I grabbed a fistful of her glowing hair and shoved my cock in deeper as she reached up to fondle my balls.

"Fuck yeah, choke on you superhero whore." I groaned, knowing Zee's preferences in bed. She moaned at the words, somehow vibrating the energy as she gave me the multiverse's most intense cosmic hummer.

Worried I might nut down her throat, I yanked her off, her harmonic voice panting as her gorgeous cosmic tits heaved. "Vile beast!" She spat, getting into the game. "You seek to defile magic itself? Do your perverse appetites know no bounds?" I noticed the bright violet light making up her nipples and hair started getting even brighter and tried not to grin, that was a hell of a tell.

Yanking her up by her hair I dragged her over to a table and bent her over, my hand slamming down on one of her celestial cheeks, crystalling flesh jiggling as the stars inside burned brighter. "Stupid little magic bitch." I hissed, leaning into my part. "I'll tame those mystic holes and see if you still feel like talking back to your new god."

I slipped my cock between her ass cheeks, planning to bust open one of her new holes right away but stopping to luxuriate in the weird energetic reaction like some kind of magic electricity building as I hot dogged her unusually smooth and soft booty cheeks. "Fuck. Shit that's good. Give me a sec. This ass is fucking smooth. Fuck the friction feels so weird." I groaned. Telling her how much I liked her new cheeks.

She pouted. "You're not supposed to break cha-OH FUCK!" Getting bored of the cosmic booty I'd just decided to stuff my dick into her all at once. "FUCK IT'S IN ME!" She shrieked. "YOU'RE INVADING MY FUCKING PUSSSSYYYYY!"

There wasn't any dirty talk here, she was squealing because of the feeling of my draconic cock violating her dimensional cunt. I knew because I was getting the inverse and it felt fucking insne.

It was like sticking my cock in a supernove, but fun instead of awful. Her cunt was a rioting dimension of cosmic force swirling and exploding and buzzing along my dick like someone had mixed poprocks and the big bang and then sucked my dick.

I didn't have time of energy for pretending anymore. I clapped my hands to those crystal buttcheeks and held on, riding her singularity grade snatch like she was a bucking bronco, pounding it in with every ounce of my A rank strength. The house shook and pulsed, dust coming from the rafters as my hips slammed into her jiggling celestial booty.

Thunder claps shook the air alongside high pitched squeals of shock and joy. "Fuck yeah!" She screamed. "Do it! Conquer that magic ass. Make me your bitch! This is how you master magic! I'm your enchanted cocksleeve, stud! I'm your mystic pocket pussy!"

I slapped her jiggling ass as I pulled out before shoving back in with another burst of force. "That's why you wanted to be closer to magic huh? You wanted me to do what you never could. Make magic my bitch!"

"YESSS!" She howled. "You're doing it. You're making magic your little slut. You can do anything to me sir! Take that cosmic pussy!"

"Not yet." I growled, claws digging into her crystalline cheeks. "I put that fire in your cosmic cunt, now I have to put it out. Hose down all those stars with my cum until you're a weeping little mess on the floor. That what you want bitch? Me to blow my load inside your pure magic pussy. Defile that universal force?"

She squealed, her cunt somehow clamping down on me, if I had to describe it. "YES!" She shrieked. "I'm a bad girl! I hoarded magic so you could ruin it. Nut in me master, corrupt my pure and holy magic with your thick dragon cum!"

Curious about how it'd feel, I shoved in to the base as I came, then slid my other hand between her cheeks.

As I nutted, I pressed all my fingers together at a point, then just kind of…shoved them up her asshole. Her eyes widened and she squealed so loud the windows cracked as I emptied my balls into her, my hand wrist deep in her tight ass as I came.

Something about the hot collapsing star tightness of Zee's supernatural back door (no issues fitting my hand and surviving because she was A rank) made the pussy portal somehow ten times better. I felt serious suction, which my A rank cock didn't even flinch at as my cum was slurped down by her tightly grasping twat like I was fucking a black hole.

Zee SCREAMED, fountains of amethyst light squirting out of her cunt, power washing the floor as she erupted with magic energy fluid all over the floor, her voice undulating as she screamed herself hoarse, milking me dry as golden explosions lit up the inside of her celestial body, stars changing colors and exploding as she wrung herself dry on my dick.

Yanking my hand from her ass, I gave it an affectionate smack. "Fuck that was nice. Good girl. Turn back for me will you? We need to clean this up."

She let out a low whine, her eyes glazed and staring off into nothing. I sighed. "Right, probably going to have to give you a minute. Good job though. My first time fucking a cosmic concept. A plus for that ass Zee. You fucking worked it."

She gave a happy whine, eyes not focusing, and I winced. Appraisal showed no actual damage, I'd just kind of…gone too hard. My power was ravaging the inside of her as I came, tugging karmic strings and pressing buttons. I'd made her ride that orgasm to a truly terrifying height. She was A rank and could take it, but she'd need a minute.

I stepped over the wet spots on the floor and set her naked body on the table, picking up the book she'd sat down as I walked over to an untouched chair. I supposed I could take this time to do some research. Couldn't hurt to be well informed. It was a lot easier to focus after some fun.

May 27th 2016 , House of Nevers, Brightedge City, 6:00 P.M EDT

"So…you finished yet?" I said, leaning smugly against the door frame as I watched my new and improved Archon stand next to the table flipping through the storybook. "Because if you're hitting a wall again we can always-"

"No!" She hissed. "We cannot." She slammed her hands down on the table, closing her eyes, and I watched her incredibly juicy ass cheeks jiggle with the force from behind. "Nicky. I adore you. You are my lord and master and I will be loyal to you for the rest of time. The things you do to my body make my fucking brain melt. WHICH IS THE PROBLEM, BECAUSE I AM TRYING TO DO RESEARCH!"

Seeing my sorceress shriek at me and stomp her foot was both adorable and highly arousing, but she wasn't wrong, we were in a time crunch. "Well yeah." I said bluntly. "That's why I've spent the last like five hours NOT inside you. But you should either have made some progress or bend the fuck over because I'm bored and you're a fucking smokeshow."

She snorted, but I swore I saw her lips quirk up. "Oh I made SOME progress. It's just not enough. Here, come see."

She flipped open the book and I strolled over to stand next to her. Flipping through pages, she started pointing out a ton of colorful images on odd numbered pages. I blinked as I saw the story. "So…what, they put her in this book right?"

"No." She groaned. "I wish. Your mother must have been a fucking monster. They put her in a mirror, or more specifically a mirror DIMENSION, and then severed that mirror dimension from THIS dimension and threw it into a DIFFERENT dimension. A land of fairy tales called the Enchanted Forest."

I nodded. "Ok, annoying, but we were expecting a trip, so we go to where the mirror is in the Enchanted Forest and pick it up, then bring it back."

"We could do that." She said testily. "Except apparently, she found and corrupted a student over there, and he cast a curse she gave him, which transported everyone important in that world and all their stuff INCLUDING the mirror, into an attached version of earth. Yet ANOTHER dimension, and one that also happens to be completely magic free."

I could see where her aggravation came from. I pinched the bridge of my nose. "Ok, whole earth to search. Annoying. But we can search a magicless earth. I have magic. You ARE magic. We can just track the damned mirror that way."

"No, we can't." She snapped. "Because the MIRROR has no magic. And we don't have anything connected to it. We can't even use you because we're tracking the mirror itself, which is the entrance to a dimension where your mother is being held, a separate dimension that would completely isolate her from tracking spells. So we need to go to this alternate earth, and find someone who knows how to locate the mirror, then have them help us start it back up because if WE use our magic to pump up something like that it would just fry the enchantment and leave a new one in its place, because we're way too strong."

I grimaced at the book. "Sounds annoying, but fine. Can you transport us there? You have that portal spell for Gemworld right? The book is clearly connected, just use that as a connection."

"I have been." She sighed. "I'm actually done. I was just calibrating the time period. If we land wrong we might have to wait. The book is a whole big thing about breaking the curse, which is good, and bringing back magic, which is great, but it's also kind of dramatic and I don't want to drop us in the middle of some crisis that'll make things harder."

"It's a bunch of fairy tale characters on a magicless earth right?" I asked with a shrug. "I can handle any issues. Just get us close. We have our own time constraints. If Barbie gets downtime or the girls come back this gets way harder, and I NEED this training."

She puffed out a breath. "I can probably do it now. If you're in that much of a hurry. The return trip won't be an issue either. You sure you're ready?"

"Definitely. Do you need anything for the ritual?" She'd made it sound complicated, even for her.

"No." She flipped the book shut and pulled out a diagram. "It's not exactly hard, just…intense. We aren't parallel to this earth, we're parallel to the Enchanted Forest. We need to drill straight through into the other earth, which means this portal is punching through multiple planes of reality AND the void, AND the dimensional wall of this earth."

I held up a hand, willing power to gather, a golden glow flickering between my fingers. "So you need more firepower."

Smirking, she tossed the diagram and flicked her fingers. A shimmering veil of purple magic swept over it and it expanded, imprinting itself on the floor flawlessly. She blew on her fingers. "I'm the Archon now. I don't NEED more power. Hecate herself doesn't have the natural talent for this I've got. Five hours of research was plenty to set it up if we're not aiming for too specific a time."

"Then quit suckin' your thumb and let's light this candle." I said with a grin. She winked, shifting her body back to her Archon form, which made me understandably horny. Sadly my favorite piece of A ranked ass (hadn't tested Raven's Deva pussy yet to be fair) was a bit busy, so I had to step aside as she started to cast.

She started chanting, weaving power and funneling it into specific spots on the circle, each one lighting up like a torch until she finished and then they all collapsed into the center, warping and shifting until she finally reached into the swirling orb of purple power and pulled out…

"A bean?" I said in confusion. "Why the fuck did you make a bean?"

Zee just shrugged. "Who fucking knows? The spell was guided partly by the magic's connection to the book. I already aimed it. I guess portals work off beans in the Enchanted Forest. Not the weirdest thing I've ever seen."

"Fair enough." I said with a shrug. "So how do we use it? Like do I eat it? Plant it? Mash it up with red peppers and smear it on some crackers?"

She snickered. "Hummus is made from chickpeas, not beans, but I take your meaning. I THINK, and don't quote me on this, mind you, we do this." She tossed it down on the ground in front of us. The bean began to glow, then before my eyes, sank into the ground. The darks spot left behind grew, energy swirling up to create what amounted to a magical whirlpool on the ground.

"That looks safe." I said sarcastically. Wrapping an arm around her waist, I withdrew a piece of paper and tossed it onto the table, a note in case one of the girls came looking, Then pulled her with me into the vortex.

It was a weird experience. One time when I was younger, I'd gotten really sick and my nose stuffed up so bad it had pressed on my ear canal. When my sinuses cleared, the pressure change fucked up my inner ear and I'd gotten what the doctors called 'labyrinthitis'.

It fucking sucked. Losing all sense of equilibrium and being stuck in vertigo with no way to fix it is terrifying. Even lying down and closing your eyes doesn't help, and you start to think it might never end. This was a lot like that, except instead of spinning, it was like being in freefall, except the space around me was in a paint mixer as I fell. Somehow.

Even my wings didn't do shit, because I didn't know which way to fly, and I was worried if I fucked up our aim we'd end up gods knew where.

Still, I was a dragon god, and despite the nauseating ride I didn't scream, just held onto Zee tight so I didn't lose her, until finally, I felt the air (or lack of air I couldn't even tell in wherever the hell that was) change, and we got hurled up out of a hole just like the one we fell into, shooting up into the air only to crash back down on the road.

I took the brunt of the impact, being a dragon and all, and after a minute of regaining my balance, I groaned and got up, helping Zee to her feet.

"That." I said in annoyance. "Fucking sucked. How the hell do I tank A ranked space lasers and I can still get motion sick?"

Zee groaned, holding her now glowing head. She'd shifted to her Archon form mid fall, probably to try to curb the discomfort. "Dimensional whiplash." She said with a wince. "Not motion sickness, trust me. It wouldn't hurt you, and you'd get used to it eventually, but think of it like getting your sea legs."

Helping her up, I looked around at the nearby area. Like I'd noted earlier, we were on a road. Specifically, a back road, because there wasn't jack shit anywhere near us. Just trees and nothing. "You sure you aimed us right?" I asked her suspiciously. "Because not only do I not see any mirrors, I don't see any places to KEEP a mirror."

She rolled her eyes. "Use your other eyes, genius. I can see it and I'm still recovering from whiplash. Granted, it's magic, but the chances that no one in there has any karma are slim to none."

I paused. Right, my karmic eye. I would have thought of that if my teeth weren't still buzzing. I flipped to my dragon specs real quick, and blinked in surprise at the…whatever the fuck I was looking at. Some huge ass dome of energy woven from what looked to me to be strings of bad karma. "Huh, that's…interesting. Not really sure what it does. I'm not so good with the complicated spell mechanisms. Looks like their magic is karmic in nature though. Or I just see it that way."

"Seems related." She agreed. "Regardless, I can see the bones of it. We can enter without a problem. Leaving should be doable for us too, but only because our magic is self contained. The spell is designed to rip the magic from anyone who crosses the line. Along with their memories of it. It's weird though, it seems kind of haphazard. Almost naturally occurring."

I shrugged. "If we're good I don't really care." I swept her up in a princess carry, earning a squeak of surprise, and stepped through the dome without pausing to consider."

I felt a wash of cold energy, the karmic magic trying to do…something, but rolling right off me. The upside of their weird destiny drenched magic was that it resembled mine, and nobody was more powerful than me with my magic. Maybe someone here could teach me how to do some stuff, at least while we looked for my mom. Never hurt to pick up new tricks.

Up ahead of us, I saw…more road. But inside the dome I could also see a lot more karmic threads woven through a large collection of people up ahead. "I think we found the place. Though it's a bit further up the road. I can carry you there if you want." I shot her a lascivious wink.

She snorted, but didn't disagree, so I just started walking. Wasn't too long of a trek, especially not for me. As we headed into town though, my eyes caught on a sign on the road and I couldn't help but laugh. I enjoyed a good pun, but that seemed a bit on the nose. Oh well, at least it was polite. 'Welcome to Storybrooke' huh? I wondered how welcome I'd be when they found out why I was here.

May 27th 2016 , Storybrooke, Maine, 8:00 P.M EDT

I put Zee down before we made it into town. She recovered fast, not being a human being and all. As much as I liked have her soft curvy body pressed up against me, I knew that walking into town groping my Archon wasn't a great first impression. Plus, I was kind of enjoying the walk, checking out all the foliage and the small buildings as we made it into town.

"This place is pretty nice." I said casually as we strolled down the road. No one was driving, which was good, because there were no fucking sidewalks here. I knew that was miserable in the winter, but with plenty of walking space and the crisp evening air of the end of May, it was fine.

Although…was it May? Maybe time worked different here. Or maybe we just ended up at a different point in time because of the jump. We had been aiming for a specific period. Oh well, it was May until proven otherwise. And it was nice out.

"It is super cute." Zee said as we wandered past a small drugstore. "We should get a summer place here or something."

I heard a clank behind us. I'd heard someone walking up, but they weren't actively attacking so I figured it would be more personable to let them approach in their own time. "Sorry to tell you sister." Said a gruff voice from over our shoulder. "But we don't really have any real estate for sale in town."

Turning around, I saw a short, bearded man with a beanie and a pickaxe, flanked by two other short mens without beards. "Ah." I said cheerfully. "Locals. Don't worry about her. She thinks out loud. We're just passing through, but out car broke down a few miles out. We're antiquers, actually, towns like this are great for finding historic pieces."

I figured that was a great cover for finding the mirror. The man grimaced. "Sorry, not much of an antique market in Storybrooke. Not much of anything. Might want to find yourself a place to crash for the night and then take your car to the mechanic first thing. There's an inn in town."

"Sounds perfect." I said with a good ole boy grin. "Though we're a bit hungry, any good food?" I was kind of starving after the trip. Weird side effect maybe, or maybe my appetite had grown since I was a dragon god of eating things now. Intangible things sure, but eating is eating. Might as well fill up on the local cuisine.

Before he could respond, a car appeared around a corner, driving toward us at a leisurely pace. A beat up old yellow bug.

It pulled to a stop, and the driver's side door opened as a woman got , leggy, blonde, with kind of a resting bitch face and wearing a red leather jacket. She shot us a calculating look. "Hey there Leroy." She said, her eyes flicking to the bearded guy so we knew who she was talking to. "You having any problems here? You folks lost or something? Because I'd be happy to give you directions to the highway." She pointed down the largest road. "Pretty straight show down this road and out the other side."

Huh, not so friendly here. I just shrugged. "No car. Ours broke down outside town, we had a bit of a walk getting here. Just looking for a place to eat and sleep before we leave."

"They're antiquers." Stressed Leroy. "Traveling around looking for any nice pieces."

One of the two beardless guys perks up. "Oh hey! Mr. Gold ought to have a bunch of old stuff to sell." Leroy whirled on him, glaring daggers, and the man's eyes went wide as he slapped his hand over his own mouth.

"Thank's Dopey." Said the sheriff tightly. "But I don't think those are the kind of antiques they want. Why don't you two climb on in." She said with a strained smile. "I'll give you a ride to Granny's. She owns the diner and she has a nice little B and B you can stay in while we get your car fixed up."

I shrugged, figuring we could start work tomorrow. Looking for old shit was one thing. Looking for old shit in the middle of the night was creepy and suspicious.

Granted, I could have just bug smashed everything within a ten mile radius and demanded they bring me the mirrors but that was so…gauche. Plus the blonde wasn't bad looking. Might be some more eye candy around. Might as well make a vacation out of this before we got down to business.

The car was a tight fit. I was a big guy and it was NOT a big machine. But I managed to cram myself in her back seat (while studiously avoiding the obvious joke). Zee had an easier time fitting, and the woman drove us a bit further into town before stopping at a tiny picturesque diner with a little fence in front of it.

"Sorry if it's crowded." She said tightly. "We were having a welcome home party for some residents. But I'm sure you'll love the food."

I shrugged and stepped inside, and promptly blinked as EVERY SINGLE PERSON froze mid sentence and turned to stare at me. I turned to Zee and clicked my tongue. "They're staring at you, you know. I told you those socks didn't match your outfit."

She pinched the bridge of her nose. "First of all. You did NOT, tell me that. Second of all these are black socks, and they match everything."

I looked toward the closest table to the door, at the kid sitting with a couple in their mid twenties. "Back me up on this here man." I said seriously. "I'm as harmless and unobtrusive as a bunny rabbit. You guys aren't all staring at me right?"

He chuckled. "It's both of you actually. But don't take it personally. We don't get a lot of visitors. You guys are the first since my mom showed up." He stuck out a hand. "I'm Henry, by the way. Henry Mills." I took his hand with a nod, shaking it as my eyes scanned the room…and found a lot of weird shit.

Appraisal after appraisal fired off, identifying most of the people in here as fairy tale characters. The couple at the table with Henry were Snow White and Prince Charming, Leroy was Grumpy the dwarf, and the extremely leggy brunette in the tight red shorts was Little Red Riding Hood, though she sure as hell didn't look little to me.

"Nicholas Lord." I said in a friendly tone. "But my friends call me Nick, or Nicky. This is Zatanna, but she goes by Zee."

To my surprise, the kid seemed to start a bit at the name before letting out a laugh. "Wow, like Zatanna Zatara from the Justice League comics? Your parents must have been pretty nerdy. That's awesome."

Zee's face twitched as she tried to hide her surprise and then amusement. "Not sure I'd call them nerds. But my parents were BIG Justice League fans."

He nodded solemnly. "I'm an Avengers guy myself. But the JLA is pretty cool. You guys are alright." He nodded to the couple. "These are my gr- my aunt and uncle. David and Mary Margaret. My mom was the woman you came in with, Emma Swan. She's the sheriff around here, so you guys better stay on the straight and narrow."

"Roger." I said seriously. "Zee, ditch our plans for that bank robbery and start disassembling the death ray."

She rolled her eyes, though I knew she thought I was funny. "Weren't we supposed to be getting food here? I love it when you eat. You're so pretty when you don't talk."

The waitress, who had been dropping off plates to one of the shorter guys at a nearby table, burst into giggles at that. I shot her a wounded look, taking in her nametag that read 'Ruby' (man, Red Riding Hood really worked for that one didn't she). "Et tu, beautiful waitress I don't know?"

She chuckled, giving me a long once over. "She's not wrong. You ARE pretty. But you don't strike me as someone who needs to be told that. I get a pretty confident vibe from you." She glanced at Zee slyly. "Though he's not the only one that's pretty. You're not exactly rough on the eyes either."

Zee winked at her. "Thanks. Now can we get a menu. I'm afraid he might start gnawing on the tables. He's not exactly housebroken." I made an offended sound but it was mostly for show. I could feel Zee's desire, and more importantly, I could feel why it was there. Zee wanted to fuck the pretty waitress, but more than that she knew I wanted to fuck her, and she was happy to lend a hand.

The waitress herself was pretty obviously bi, given her long inspection of my Archon's sizable rack. She passed us the menus, and we took a seat at the next booth up from the kid and his, according to my appraisal, grandparents. I was pretty sure Snow White qualified as a GILF, which was a weird thought.

Turning to the kid, I held up the menu. "So what's good to eat around here?" They had party stuff out, but it seemed rude to just assume I could eat it. Might as well order something cooked just for me anyway in that case.

"The Lasagna." He said seriously. "It's amazing here. Granny went through like a hundred recipes before she perfected it."

I laughed and passed the menu back. "Well, apparently I'm having the Lasagna. I'll also take four orders of chicken tenders, a country fried steak, three burgers, two shakes, and an entire blueberry pie. For here." I glanced at Zee. "You want anything?"

She snickered at the shocked looks on everyone's faces. "I'll have a salad and a glass of iced tea." She winked at Ruby. "Gotta watch my figure."

As the leggy waitress walked away I heard her mutter something about being happy to watch it for her and grinned internally as I switched my attention back to Henry. "So, kid. We're going to be staying at the B and B apparently, but tomorrow I was hoping to scope some antiques. Somebody mentioned Mr. Gold's place. Anything interesting in there?"

He stiffened, his face flashing with, for some reason, fear, before returning to normal. "Nah." He said, surprisingly good at lying for a kid. "Just a bunch of old knick knacks and tourist junk. Not worth your time." I had to say, I respected the hell out of that kind of acting ability. Kid reminded me of a young me.

Of course, I obviously had to return the favor. "Ah, fair enough. Was hoping at least some part of this trip wouldn't be a bust. Maybe when we get to the next town." We chatted for a bit, his grandparents seeming guarded at first, but Zee's natural effervescence won out eventually, and by the time the food arrived we were all laughing together.

Emma had followed a dark haired woman (the evil queen) out of the diner, trusting her parents to watch her kid. As we dug in, the two of us fished for info in the most unobtrusive way possible.

After that, Ruby offered to take us over to the B and B, though sadly she wasn't QUITE intrigued enough to help us break in our room, not that I asked. She had a bit of a wild side (werewolf pun intended) and I knew she wouldn't be able to resist some fun with the sexy new couple in town once we made our interest now, we had to get to work looking for magical shit, and hopefully find dear old mom in her home away from home. But that was all tomorrow's work. Tonight, it was time for rest.

May 27th 2016 Granny's B and B, Storybrooke, Maine, 6:00 A.M EDT

I woke up pretty refreshed. The beds at the B and B were really comfortable, and while I was a bit bummed I couldn't rail the shit out of Zee before bed (Zee was talky when we fucked and werewolves had super hearing) I did fuck her face a few times, which was almost as good a way to lull myself to sleep.

Rolling out of bed, I stretched languidly. This place was weirdly relaxing. Not just the inn, but the whole town. Stakes seemed pretty low here, at least for me. My girls were safe in Gemworld mostly, Barbie was in the League. I wasn't in a rush.

Zee was curled up on the bed, her naked body wrapped in a sheet, her ass was sticking out (hard not to when it's that big) so I smacked her cheek gently to wake her.

Groaning, she sat up. "Nicky?" She asked blearily. "What time is it?"

"6 in the morning." I said with a smirk, pointing to the bedside clock. "Wanted to get an early start. Get down to the diner for breakfast and then start…antiquing." The truth was I needed way less sleep as a dragon god. Technically I needed none, but I LIKED sleeping, so I took a nap when she headed to bed. It hadn't stuck so I was up and ready to go.

My archon grumbled a bit but did as she was told. She was enjoying the chance to tease me in front of the others while we played tourist, but she was still mine and she knew it. I didn't mind, honestly, I was having fun bickering with her. As long as she didn't ignore me when we ran up against something nasty it was actually pretty cute.

She got dressed, fishnets, a ripped up off the shoulder black shirt, and a black skirt with heels. Weirdly it reminded me of her costume somehow, though more informal and goth. She looked pretty great.

I slipped into something less comfortable, then we headed to the diner, arriving just in time to catch the sheriff and her family eating. I grabbed the booth next to them, and the kid leaned over the back, grinning at me. "Up early huh? This town tends to do that. I like to sleep in anyway when I can."

"You're not alone." I chuckled, jerking my thumb at Zee. "Lazy bones here would have been in bed still at noon if I hadn't woken her. I assume the breakfast here is worth it though."

He nodded seriously. "Of course. Granny's homemade blueberry waffles are amazing." He waved at Zee, blushing a bit. "Hey Zee. You look really nice this morning." I forced myself not to smirk at her about the obvious crush because I knew it would devastated the kid, and it would be impossible NOT to swoon over my girl.

She beamed at him. "Why thank you Henry. My brain is still in sleep mode, but it's nice to know I'm not as much of a mess as I feel."

"If this is what you look like as a mess, you cleaned up must be a sight." Said Ruby with a smirk as she arrived. "What can I get you two? I heard Henry mention the blueberry pancakes, and I second that."

I shrugged. "Blueberry pancakes it is. "We're just getting some food before we head out to look around. I also wouldn't say no to some of that hot cocoa. It smells fantastic."

We spent the next forty minutes or so eating and talking. Henry was a font of information, and the sheriff seemed resigned to letting him babble. She tried to calm him down a few times, but she was clearly tired herself and saw no harm in her son being friendly. I managed to tease out a few pertinent details about the town (reading between the lines at least) and by the time we left we had a few possible destinations.

"So, I assume you want to hit the library?" I said with a snicker as we left the diner. "I can check in at the shop, see if whoever Mr. Gold is has the mirror we need."

She just grinned at me with a shrug. "A library in a clock tower in a magic town made up of fairy tale creatures? How could I say no. Just…be careful. The karmic magic they use here is nasty when properly woven. I don't think it could HURT you, given who you are, but there are a few other tricks they have that could be inconvenient."

"Ditto." I said, giving her a quick kiss. "Be good and stay out of trouble. If I have to burn this town down to rescue you it's going to put a crimp in my plans."

"You say the sweetest things." She smirked, giving me a much longer kiss before sauntering away, putting plenty of sway in her hips for me. I did appreciate the show. Once she was gone I turned in the direction Henry had mentioned. He hadn't told me exactly where the shop was, having not wanted me to go there, but he mentioned some of the stuff next to it in passing and I'd been able to get directions to one of those.

So I walked down the main street, taking a few short turns, before ending up at 'Mr. Gold's Pawn Shop'. Opening my karmic eye I could see the whole place was almost radioactive with magic. My kind of magic too. Bad karma tainted most of it, with a few white flickers of light showing me where the good stuff was hidden. I didn't see anything connected to me beyond superficial stuff though.

To be fair Zee had told me I might not. Since I was connected to mom and not the mirror. Still, I kept my eyes out as I pushed open the door to the place.

A little bell rang as I entered…well, it didn't look like a pawn shop really. Too cramped and dark. Most pawn shops I'd seen were large open areas with lots of lights. Well, except the one I robbed. But that was only because I'd robbed it at night. Still, this place looked more like a curiosity shop than anything. I could smell must and old stuff as I entered.

"Ah, welcome dearie." Said a scottish brogue from across the room. I looked up to see a short older man with long brown hair and beady dark eyes. His half smile revealed a single gold tooth in his mouth, and he wore a dark suit. "What can I help you with?" Raising an eyebrow, I appraised him.

[Appraisal function activated. Treasure detected. Rumplestiltskin- B rank incarnation of dark magic. Most recent in a long line of 'Dark Ones' fashioned from the perversion of the holy grail, Rumplestiltskin is a powerful dark sorcerer who delights in making deals and hoarding power. Currently on the hunt for his only son, Rumplestiltskin, also known as Mr. Gold is searching desperately for a way to leave Storybrooke.]

"Nothing, I suspect." I said, appraising everything in the shop one at a time to try to find the mirror. No luck. "But I believe I can help YOU, if you're willing to pay a price." Deals. The appraisal was clear that he liked to make deals. Which meant my best bet getting the mirror was to get it as payment. If he didn't have it he could find out who did. B rank was nothing to fuck around with.

I hadn't expected him to be some kind of dark magical champion. Apparently the holy grail was heavy shit here. This guy was on the same level as a relatively powerful god. Not MY level, granted, but there was no reason to start shit, given his obvious experience with our kind of magic. Maybe I could get him to throw in lessons.

He gave me a polite smile that didn't reach those dead black eyes. "Really? I'm afraid I don't take your meaning friend. Traditionally people come to a shop to buy or sell. I don't need any help other than your business."

I shrugged. "Oh, I was going to help you find your son. But if you're not interested, I suppose I'll find Tsaritsa's mirror on my own."

Turning to leave, I hid a smile when I found he was already standing behind me. There was a dagger in his hand, pressed against my throat. I flicked my gaze down to the handle and gave it a quick appraisal.

[Appraisal function activated. Treasure detected. Dark one dagger- A rank dark magic weapon. The dagger of the dark one, the source of their power as well as their greatest weakness. With the ability to kill nearly anyone, the dagger, a shattered fragment of Excalibur, a magic sword forged from the holy grail itself, the dagger also acts as a binding leash on the dark one. Hold the dagger, command their power.]

"Who are you?" Hissed the suddenly less harmless looking man. "And what do you know about Bae? Why do you seek Tsaritsa? My mistress has been sealed away for centuries. Even I dare not release her."

I shrugged. "She's my mother. You could say my situation is a lot like yours. Only in reverse. Word around the water cooler is you're her prized pupil, and she helped you arrange this curse. I'm wagering you know where she is now. So are you going to give me a shave and a haircut? Or can we talk about this like civilized embodiments of nearly indescribable power? "

That seemed to jar him out of his little tantrum. He slipped the dagger back into his coat. "I…apologize. I've been under quite a bit of strain lately. If you can help me…I'd do anything. But I feel I should warn you. If you seek a happy reunion, you're sure to be disappointed. Tsaritsa is a monster with a heart of stone. She'd as soon kill her child as embrace them."

"Been there, done that." I said with a chuckle. "She's a sociopath with a nasty sense of humor, I know. I'm more than capable of controlling her. I need her help with something. A little project. I'm sure I can get her assistance." Or I'd whoop her ass and then merge her into a toilet seat. Her call.

He shrugged. "If you can help me find Bae I'll help you get to her. The mirror she's trapped in isn't with me. But there's a limited number of places it could be. I expect you wish to be paid up front?"

I shook my head. "Nah, I'm stronger than you are. If you try to double cross me…well, I don't take betrayal well. But there's no need to make things unpleasant. The best deals mean everyone gets what they want, don't you think?" Left unsaid was that if I DID find his kid, then I'd have even more leverage against him. Best to LEAVE that unsaid though.

"Aye." He said with a look of relief. "Find my boy and bring me to him. Do that and I can give you whatever you want."

"Alright." I said with a grin. "Do you have a way to get past that annoying memory spell at the border? Because until you do I'd say its a moot point. I can get us there in an hour or two no matter where it is, but if you don't know who he is it kind of defeats the purpose."

Grimacing, he shook his head. "No. Not yet. But I'm close. Once I do, you'll take me to him?"

"Sure." I said casually. "In fact, I'll do you one better. My girl is a dab hand at magic. I'll send her over to help. I trust she'll be safe with you?" I made sure my voice was ice cold as I asked that. The implication that if he hurt one of mine I'd hurt one of his was plain. Zee was an A ranker and an embodiment of magic, I doubted he even COULD hurt her. Still, a vague disclaimer is nobody's friend. He gave a solemn nod and I held out a hand. It was nice to make a deal with someone civilized.

As usual pat-reon has the advance chapters at that site /malcolmtent 10k words minimum of advance content. Hope everyone enjoys, let me know what you think! This new arc is going to be a blast.