Episode 4 ; Spike , Moons : ( Timeline ) , One month after Spike entered the heroes universe and Loki de-aged himself.
It had been near a month since Spike had travelled through the void. The staff kept asking him if he was eager to get home... which was just cruel. He'd told them it take 30 moons and it hadn't even been one.
"Moons," Cyborg muttered as he worked in his lab in the Watch Tower, a large Space Station that orbited the planet.
Batman stood behind him, hovering over shoulders, as per usual. Superman and Wonder Woman stood present, just listening. The big three, or rather the Trinity as the press called them, always involves themselves in everything. They were the founding members of the Justice League after all, and tended to micromanage everyone else.
Captain Marvel stood off to the side in case his knowledge of magic was needed. That knowledge seemed to come in handy as the "man" looked at the screen with concern.
Wonder Woman, however, wasn't following "What's that?"
Cyborg sighed, "Our little dragon said moons, not nights, and I think I know why. I was able to trace his home dimension through the scar tissue the portal left in our universe. The result is far more troubling then expected.
"Our dimensional frequencies are so vastly different that time doesn't even progress the same way. A year in our dimension is 365 days... theirs is exactly 3000. There days are even 6 hours longer then our own. We shouldn't have ever been able to interact with such vastly different laws of physics and dimensional frequencies. Honestly, the kid should have died the second he entered our dimension. Whatever he used to break through the dimensional barrier instinctually altered his body to match our laws.
"Our knowledge of dimensional travel is too limited to safely get him back there and according to the kid the portal won't open up naturally until 30 months from now. That's not a big deal to him as a hundred months make up one of his years. However that is over 8 of our own and his body ages by our laws now... If we leave it to his people he'll go from a bouncing 12 year old, to an adult before they get him back.
"They can't get him back," Captain Marvel looked grave before pointing at the readings on the screen, "You see that scar tissue you used to trace to his home dimension."
Cyborg just raised an eyebrow, "Yeah, it's a common side effect of inter dimensional travel."
"Not for magical portals. That closes the portal completely after opening it. it's much safer then using machines. The frequency of this portal suggest it's a magical one, which mean it shouldn't have left scar tissue... like you said, our dimensions are vastly different. Only an enchanted item could open a portal like this... and it wouldn't be able to handle the strain."
Superman looked worried, "What are you saying?"
Marvel sighed, "They can't open the portal on their end again... there probably isn't a portal at all anymore. It's not 8 years before they can get to us. They will never be able to reach us... the kid is stuck here, permanently."
Batman pressed, "Isn't it possible they have another portal. They did build this one after all."
Captain Marvel shook his head, "An enchanted item which tunes someone to fit the universal norms of even violently different dimensions? That would take centuries to enchant. Just making one would take several generations of master wizard after master wizard working on it. It's purely theoretical in our dimension because no one actually has the means to build one. The very fact they could build ONE is incredible. I can't imagine two being found in the same dimension."
Wonder Woman sighed, pinching her nose. While Cyborg stated, "As I said earlier we don't have the means to send the kid back ourselves. Our universes are too different and he is tuned to our laws now. We send him back, he will die. It could take decades before I could build something to compensate for that, but I could never turn him back into his original species. That's speaking optimisticly, most likely I would have to work on this my whole life and never actually do it. I have other projects and responsibilities. I don't have the time or resources to dedicate too such a project.
"Our dimensions are just too different. The fact they sent him here safely at all, even if it did turn into a one way trip, is incredible..."
Wonder woman just stared a moment before looking at the rest of the trinity. "Maybe we should start considering candidates for a permanent guardianship over the boy,"
Superman thought, "We would need one who is as long lived as the kid and familiar with magic."
Captain Marvel groaned and the Trinity looked at him, "I know a guy but you might not go for it... he's kinda... a reformed villain,"
"No," Batman glared, correctly guessing who he was talking about.
Captain Marvel pressed, "He is skilled in the mystic art and can teach the boy a lot about himself. Let's not forget he did help resurrect trillions of lives during the Infinity War. He might not be totally trust worthy but he is a hero now,"
"Yes now," Batman glared, "Did you forget the the trouble they caused during the infinite Crisis."
"I wasn't even alive back then," Marvel muttered.
Superman agreed, "That was 100 years ago. You'd barely dawned your Cowell. I believe in giving second chances and he's more then earned his. Besides, he is living in Norway now, with the rest of the Asgardian refugees. Thor says he's been a big help there, acting as second in command and handling the day to day dealings of that floating city of theirs."
Captain Marvel added, "A lot of Homo Draco, and other magical beings, have moved into New Asgard to. It might help the political side of things if the royal family took in one as their ward."
Batman shook his head, "I can't believe we're discussing this."
Superman insisted, "He's a good choice."
Batman disheartedly grumbled. "Bloody Loki."
The next morning, when Starfire got the call, she honestly didn't know how to handle it. How do you explain to a little boy that he can never go home again. And Loki, Loki of all people, was being made his guardian. How did they figure the "god" of mischief could look after a child? True he would only see the boy on the weekends and holidays but he would be a big influence on the kid.
She sighed as she walked down the hall to Spike's room. She stopped short when she hurt crying.
Could the boy already know? She thought well hovering just outside his door. How could he? No one else in the tower knew and he was too excited and bouncy on his arrival to know then. Was he just homesick? Her news certainly wouldn't help that.
Sighing, she knocked on the door, "Spike?" she called, but got no answer, "Spike, I'm coming in," she waited a moment before opening the door. She found the little boy sitting on his bed crying his eyes out. She calmly walked in and sat down. With a gentle hand on his knee she asked, "What's wrong?"
He pointed at a scroll on his bed. It looked to be some kind of old parchment. Picking it up she raised an eyebrow at all the scribbles written in neatly spaced lines.
"What is this?" She asked.
"R-right," Spike choked back his sobs, "I (sniff) I can't read your gibberish... how could you understand Equestrian..." The boy trailed off as he gently took the parchment from her.
Starfire tried to contain her shock. The boy couldn't READ!?! Why was she just hearing about this now!? It had been near a month!!! Was it that the boy spoke such perfect English everyone assumed they shared the same written language?
"It's a letter.." Spike forced himself to speak so Starfire pushed back her shock and listened. The boy looked at the letter, as if willing the words to change, "From my mom... I got it this morning."
Starfire gulped, "How?"
Spike shrugged, just as he managed to compose himself "Mom taught me a spell to send and receive letters with my dragon fire... still works, even across dimensions."
"I see... what does the letter say?"
Spike looked like he was about to fall into a new batch of tears but managed to soldier on, "That... that I can never go home... the mirror broke almost instantly... she... she's sending me this letter hoping I can answer... so she knows I'm alive... they're not sure if I actually made it to the other side."
"Have you answered?" Starfire asked
Spike shook his head, "no." but couldn't verbalize the trauma of that word.
"Come on, let's get to your desk and write a letter," Starfire insisted, "I'm sure your mom would be relieved to know you're alive and safe."
Spike nodded and was about to get up when something clicked in his head, "You knew?" He whispered before shouting, "You KNEW!?"
"Not until this morning," Starfire assured, "The Justice League spent all month trying to figure out how to send you back... but last night, they discovered... that the portal you used to get here was most likely destroyed. Unfortunately... we just don't have the means to send you back ourselves either. I actually came in here this morning to tell you.
"The good news is your safe, and healthy, and you can still write letters to your mom apparently... who I bet would really love a letter right now."
Spike let his anger melt away at her explanation, "Yeah..." he hesitantly crawled out of bed, still clutching the letter. "You..." he tried to gather his thoughts, "You sure you can't send me back yourself. This letter got here so maybe."
"Sending a little letter between dimensions is one thing but no living creature could survive the trip," Starfire explained. "And honestly after we send your mom a letter we need to make sure it is having no adverse effects on you or our dimension... I'm sorry Spike but you're going to have to ask your mom not to send anymore until we get this stuff checked out but she deserves to know you're alive."
Spike looked like he might cry all over again, "So this might be my last letter to my mom."
"Make it count, but don't take too long because she's waiting."
Spike nodded, dedicated to write the fastest and greatest letter ever written.