Try to remember

Chapter 11: An Arcane Consultation

Disclaimer: I do not own South Park or Young Justice

—?M?—

"The girl is reluctant to tell us what transpired." Was the Dark Knight's opening gambit, stony and serious as the last time Mysterion had seen him. "Either she does not know or is trying to hide it. As for Robin, he lacks the context to understand what he saw. I want you to tell me exactly what happened, and for you to talk to Raven, find out what she knows."

Kenny was annoyed at the seeming lack of any questioning inflection to Batman's tone. Which made sense he supposed, with a begrudging sense of respect for the older vigilante. You didn't get to be The Batman by being polite. But by the same token, he didn't get to be Mysterion by playing nice either. "So what, you want me to interrogate a little girl for you?" He snipped, cutting to the root of what he was being asked.

"You know that isn't what I meant." Was the answer, equally clipped and curt in tone. "She's asked about you several times, she'll talk to you." He added more reasonably.

"And then you think I'll share what she tells me with you?" Mysterion crossed his arms over the haphazard M emblazoned on his chest, squaring up to the assumption, and the prospect of an insidious interrogation. One where the subject was unaware they were being grilled for information, and one whose concept did not thrill him.

"I would hope so."

After a short pause, a moment in which he weighed up the pros and cons of going with the Caped Crusader, Kenny replied ambiguously. "… We'll see…" Before uncrossing his arms and saying. "Fine. Where are we going."

"Manhattan."

The two remained in silence as they traversed the city, eventually coming to a back alley whose only barely notable occupant was an inconspicuous phone booth. Initially perplexed, Mysterion was soon enlightened to what the Boy Wonder had told him before, as Batman briefly explained that this was an incognito Zeta Beam teleportation device.

Stepping in and speaking aloud a code Batman had given him, into the receiver, Mysterion saw only a bright white light, before it dimmed and he saw that the piss stained, out-of-use phone booth in downtown Gotham had been replaced. By a different piss stained, out-of-use phone booth, only now it was one on the outskirts of New York City.

It was strenuous work, keeping up with Batman as they traversed the urban landscape. But after a while they emerged from the elaborate high-rise jungle, and into a neighbourhood where the buildings were lower.

They brought their travels to a stop, as Mysterion followed Batman down to the backdoor of a simple house, one that looked hardly out of place with the rest of the are. If was not for the two caped vigilantes waiting at the back door. When Batman stepped up to the door, the shadowy crusader, who had been nigh invisible amidst the swarms of shadows, became instantly illuminated by a light which blinked to life as their motion triggered it.

Giving a precise set of knocks, Batman didn't glance back to Mysterion as the door swiftly opened to reveal a rather gentlemanly fellow standing within the home. Not at the door, for the moustachioed man was stood inside behind a kitchen table. But the question as to how the door had opened was quickly answered as Batman strode in, Mysterion following behind him, when the formally dressed occupant of this rather mundane kitchen spoke.

"So you are Mysterion. Good evening, I am Zatara." The house they were in could not have been more homely. The whole kitchen screamed of upper middle class niceness, a style of decor that Kenny had never been comfortable in for some reason. Yet the Justice League's man of magic himself was smiling quietly at him, as the two new visitors to Zatara's home positioned themselves across the table from him.

"Hello…" He answered, not worrying about any pleasantries. If Batman had brought him here, brought Raven here, then Zatara probably knew a great deal all ready, so introductions would've been pointless. Instead Mysterion cast his eyes around the room, seeing the plates and cutlery sat drying by the sink, condiments still sat on the table, and a black cat prowling around on the kitchen counter behind the famed hero and magician.

"So… Batman tells me you are versed in the arcane?" Zatara asked politely, trying to start up conversation that would lead them to the matter at hand, and likely learn more about Mysterion in general. Kenny regretted the fact that he had not given much forethought to what he would actually tell them about himself, and moreover, about his purpose. Certain things needed to stay secret, of course. While other secrets would not let themselves be told at all. And so Mysterion simply grumbled a sarcastic response.

"Does he now…"

The moustachioed mage shot a surreptitious look at Batman, slightly quirking one eyebrow. Body language Mysterion didn't pay any mind to, being too busy worrying about how much he should disclose to them. "May I ask how you came to learn of such arts?" Zatara questioned gently, if slightly suspiciously.

Here was where the talking really started, Mysterion thought wryly, and answered blankly. "… I grew up in a place that… I grew up in a strange place…" He absolutely would not call what he knew arts, art implied beauty, but Zatara didn't need to hear that.

"I see… Are you a practitioner of magic by any chance?" The inquiry elicited a noncommittal shrug from him. He never made a habit of using magic, the kind of magic he encountered struck him as a slippery slope, one he should stay away from. Not that he was a natural, but some 'spells' didn't require wands or rituals or magic mojo or whatever, some of them 'were just words'.

"Not a practitioner, no. More of an observer."

Batman cut into the conversation like a knife, getting to the point faster than the two mystics were willing to. "Shall we get down to business."

"Indeed." Zatara nodded, gesturing to a chair at the dining table. "Mysterion, please, take a seat. And tell us, if you will, what you saw in that sewer system." As he said this, Zatara himself took a seat, while Batman remained standing.

Mysterion slowly approached the table, placing a hand on the back of the wooden chair across from Zatara. He did not however, sit down. Something about the image of three superheroes sat around a dinner table just seemed surreal, which was maybe why the Bat remained standing.

"… Old magic…" He finally began, looking between the two heroes. Vague terms might be best he had decided, if he fed them small morels of information hopefully that would satisfy them until he knew they could be trusted. All he needed to do was give them enough details to seem forthcoming, and to let him speak with Raven. "It was, rough, unclean, no effort was put into the design. But a lot of effort was put into their summoning ritual. That's where we found Raven. She was some sort of catalyst, a key sacrifice… They'd killed, I don't know how many people already. All to get the attention of, well, something old."

"A demon, perhaps." Zatara mused, leaning back in his chair.

Shaking his head Mysterion replied. "No, I know what they were summoning. It wasn't a demon…" Not that the difference mattered too much, at least Kenny didn't think so. Demons weren't exactly something he had encountered before. Henrietta had mentioned them, but then again, that was Henrietta. "… How much d'you know about, old gods."

To his surprise Zatara answered quickly. "Which pantheon?" Although the answer didn't seem to be following the right line.

"No… Old ones." Mysterion levelled Zatara with a pointed stare. If the man knew what he meant, then the two words alone would speak for themselves.

A reserved look came over the middle aged man's face, as he seemed to think deeply for a moment. Perhaps trying to remember something. Either way, Kenny had seen the comprehension, whether it was deep or shallow didn't matter. "… Continue…"

"I heard their leader shouting the summons." He took in a deep breath and sighed, now he was coming to the real crux of the matter. "They were looking for information, a way to summon something else. But whatever it was they needed to know, couldn't be found, so they turned to something that would know…"

"This is troubling. They were willing to kill so many just to get information… Can you describe the creature they were contacting?"

"No. Knowledge is power, Zatara. Power for them. I won't pretend to know what this old one's nature is, but I can't risk letting you know too much. But if you let me talk to Raven, I might be able to let you know more about them…"

Zatara looked over to Batman, who had been staring at Mysterion the whole time they spoke. Catching each others eye, the two League members nodded, and Zatara made a wide accepting gesture with his hands and said. "Very well. Head up the stairs, it's the first door on your right. Knock first."

—?M?—

As Mysterion left the room and the door swung shut behind him, Zatara turned to Batman, his dark eyes subdued and serious. "Batman, I have only heard the term Old Ones mentioned by a few individuals. I know next to nothing about whatever they are, but those who I hear speak the term are not usually the most reputable."

"Names I would know?" The Dark Knight inquired, turning his head to briefly watch the door Mysterion had left through. Thoughts and theories clearly formulating and contemplating beneath the cowl.

"John Constantine. Jason Blood, even Kent Nelson…" The Magician listed slowly. "They speak of them either in passing, in fear, or in some drunken half-rant, but whenever I hear the term mentioned it is always with trepidation… Batman, the fact that these Old Ones have been called upon in Gotham means nothing good. Neither does the fact that this mystery boy seems to be very familiar with them…" Rubbing his temples in thought, Zatara gave little thought to the Bat's next question.

"Do you think he can be trusted?"

"I think it can't hurt to keep a close eye on him… I can't put my finger on it, but there is something inherently strange about that boy." The man was clearly vexed, but without outright casting spells on the boy there was little he could do.

"I had intended to introduce him to the team. Would you advise against that?" Batman spoke steadily, as he sought the mages opinion on the matter.

"The Team again? It's your call Batman but… Don't you think you're throwing too many temperamental teenagers together on this team? Next thing you'll be asking me if Zatanna…" Zatara saw no change in the Batman, but he could feel a shift in the mood. His mind drew lines between dots and jumped to the conclusion. "No… Batman, don't even think about it!"

—?M?—

The floorboards creaked nervously as Mysterion made his way along the upstairs corridor, stopping at the first door on the right and knocking twice. Shortly thereafter the door edged open to reveal a dark haired girl in what looked like some sort of evening wear. She seemed surprised to find him behind the door, but smirking realisation soon dawned behind her dim blue eyes. "You must be Mysterion. Do the adults want us downstairs then?"

"They do not. I'd like to talk to Raven though." He replied politely, being as he was, a strangely dressed stranger in this teenage girl's house, even if her father was a renowned magician and superhero.

"Oh." Her shoulders sagged and she seemed quite a bit disappointed at that, but stepped aside and bid him. "Well come on in then." Despite whatever she had been hoping would happen. Perhaps to be part of a discussion with two members of the Justice League on a matter of some importance? She was Zatara's daughter after all, maybe she wanted the same kind of heroic lifestyle for herself? But Kenny wiped the musings from his mind as he nodded in thanks to the girl, and stepped into her room.

What he saw within the dimly lit bedroom was not dissimilar to what Henrietta's room looked like. Everything from the shelves of books and heavy drapes, to the candle strewn old wooden desk could tell him what kind of person Zatanna Zatara was. But he wasn't here to pry. Only to talk with the other young girl who sat cross legged on Zatanna's bed, still wearing his overlarge cloak, but now dressed in some proper clothes beneath that. A purple shirt and black jeans were what Raven now sported, as her eyes found his own when Zatanna moved aside to allow him in.

Raven did not smile, but her expression was by no means cold or unwelcoming. She appeared solemnly serene than expressionless however, and inclined her head to him as their eyes met, saying as she did so. "Hello, Mysterion."

Immediately Kenny knew he wanted to help this girl, because everything from her silent demeanour to her haircut reminded him of someone. The differences were there, certainly, but she reminded him of Karen. "Raven." He answered, giving a slight smile, before noticing that Zatanna was still standing right next to him, looking between the two of them curiously. Shooting her an awkward glance, he coughed lightly before edging. "Could i speak to her privately?"

For a brief moment the girl looked mildly affronted, before she exchanged glances with Raven, who nodded at her while muttering. "It's alright." Which seemed to cause the older magician's daughter to back away and out of the room, leaving the two purple cloaked characters inside.

However, Myterion did hear her grouse quietly as she left. "Kick me outta my room why don't ya." Which made him smile a little more in amusement, turning his head to look back at Raven as the door clicked shut behind him.

"… How're you holding up?" He asked the young girl, after a brief awkward silence. Wherein Raven stared at him intently, her dismantling gaze making him equal parts uncomfortable and annoyed.

Seeming to shake her intense staring off, Raven answered quietly. "I'm well, thank you for visiting."

"How've they been treating you." Mysterion queried, not wanting to storm right into the topic they both knew was waiting for their attention.

"They are kinder than anything I have ever met." The blunt, monotone reply shocked him slightly, but he made no show of finding it unusual. The girl was speaking as if the concept of kindness itself was unfamiliar to her, yet there was still something about hr that Kenny could not pin down. The use of the term anything as opposed to anyone did not go unnoticed by him either.

"That's really good to hear…" He nodded, smiling in spite of the myriad of questions her odd response had stirred up in him. "They want me to ask you, about what happened…"

Raven shifted her gaze, looking down at her hands. One might think she looked almost bashful, except her expression did not once deviate from its sternly controlled emotionlessness. "I wasn't sure what to tell them. They are kind, but people are untrustworthy."

"Not all of them." Mysterion answered comfortingly, loosening his gravelly voice a notch, his tone becoming more comforting. The kind of voice he used to speak to Karen with, whenever she had need of her guardian angel.

"I still didn't know, so when they told me you were to come and speak with me, I decided to ask you, and maybe tell you." Her expressionless voice had picked up pace slightly, her brow creasing in nervousness, even though the very act of showing such seemed to cause her some sort of annoyance.

"Why me?" Kenny asked gently, curious but anxious for what the answer might be.

"Because we are alike." As she said this Raven met his gaze, and as opposed to the cold eyes that had greeted him when he entered the room, Kenny now saw the eyes of a very scared young girl.

"In what way?" As he replied, Mysterion caught a glimpse of the bedroom's oaken desk in the periphery of his vision. Sat upon it were a few books and trinkets, as well as a framed picture of Zatara, his daughter and a woman to whom the teenage girl bore some resemblance. But these are not the things which drew Mysteriou's attention. It was the ethereal black glow coating them, holding the objects in a trembling, levitating grip, washing over the items like oily gas. He could feel it as well. This energy, whatever it was, strung out from Raven and worked itself upon the ambient area of the room. This wasn't magic, not exactly, if it was he wouldn't be able to sense it so plainly. But its outer-dimensionality almost cried out to him, the energy was bathed in feeling, in power, in something not of this world. Kenny could almost smell it.

"Neither of us are completely human…" Raven stated, noticing to where his eyes had been drawn and taking in a sharp breath. Seizing hold of her slipping emotions the dark haired girl brought this power back under control, and the levitating objects dropped back onto the desk.

It was clear that she was not as she said, but him? How had she determined that. "… What makes you say I'm not human…"

"I don't know. A few things…" She started, straightening her back and realigning her meditative pose. "I can't feel your emotions… it is, disquieting."

"You feel other peoples emotions?" To him that sounded unpleasant for anyone to be able to experience, but that she could not sense him certainly was an interesting point. Though maybe not entirely unexpected…

"Yes. I do many things normal humans cannot." She nodded dimly, violet eyes flicking over to where the previously airborne objects now sat, only slightly out of place.

"Yeah… I can tell… Where d'you come from, Raven?" Mysterion started along a different line, coming at the conversation anew and taking a seat by Raven on the side of the bed.

She shifted uncomfortably and answered shortly. "Another place."

"Well I could've told you that." Kenny said, smirking.

Raven looked away at the door to the room, maybe amused by his sarcasm, maybe not. "… If I tell you, will you keep it secret from them? If they knew, I don't think they would be so kind to me…"

"I will, trust me. i'm good at keeping secrets." As long as she relied on him or even called him a friend, that was the least Kenny felt he could do.

"I am from another dimension, a place called Azarath."

He met her statement not with alarm or suspicion or doubtfulness, but with concern, following the information he already had. "Why did those people bring you here?"

"The leader of them, my brother, was going to use me in a ritual to summon a powerful being." Between anyone else, maybe outside of certain members of the justice League this conversation would ring the church bells of lunacy, but not here.

"Your brother the one in the gold cloak?" Mysterion asked. The sheer presence of that figure in particular had stayed with him, even though what they had personally done wasn't exactly cosmically apocryphal.

"No, I do not know who he was. My brother was the one who was sacrificed instead of me." Raven answered, the cadence of her voice not showing clear emotion but flowing in such a way that she sounded at least relieved to be finally talking about this to someone who could do something.

"I see…Raven, I need to know what the ritual was meant to do, how you arrived here from your home dimension, and who you are." The three questions were simply put, but if Kenny's experiences were anything to go by, their answers would be anything but.

"I only know the ritual was meant to bring my brother the knowledge he needed to create a different ritual, one capable of summoning my father into this dimension. A cabal of the Church of Blood sent me here against my will by magic. And I am Raven, only daughter of Trigon the Terrible…"

Her matter-of-fact nature of answering took him aback for a second, not least of all because of what the information implied. "… Fuck… That's a lot to take in… Concise though, thanks. Most people I talk to about this kind of stuff don't seem to know when to shut up."

She shook her head at his more casual response, dark lilac strands of hair shifting across her placid brow. "What will you tell Batman and Zatara?"

Again Mysterion took a moment to think. He probably had a hundred questions he could ask, but Raven didn't seem like she had much on the how of matters, which was what concerned him more than the why of matters. The why was almost self evident. Thinking back to her question though, what would he tell the two heroes downstairs. "…Whatever you want me to. Although, i'd maybe advise letting them know sooner rather than later… I'm guessing your father coming into our dimension wouldn't be the best, right?"

"How do you think they would react. What would they do." Raven's intention was clear, even if her voice betrayed little and her small features even less.

"Worried?" Mysterion returned, attempting to remain reassuring.

After a short pause, wherein she looked forlornly around the room, Raven replied. "… Yes. I like it here, on Earth as well as with this family. I don't want to see anything happen to it."

Swallowing his pride, and shedding some of the stern and cynical attitude of Mysterion, Kenny told her. "Well I could tell you that they're some of the most noble-ass people on the planet, but I'm guessing they've told you what the Justice League is and what it does? So if I'm honest, you're probably better off trusting them than you are me. They want to help you Raven, so if you can trust me, a guy who you've barely spoken too just because I'm not exactly a traditional human, then you can trust these guys as well. They can help."

"Okay. Thank you, Mysterion." The answer looked to be what she had hoped for, or at least close two it, as she smiled fractionally at him in thanks.

"That's alright." He said, standing once more and getting ready to head back downstairs.

"I forgot to ask. How is your wound?" Her question caught him as he rose, and a little shiver of ice shot through his brain…

"My what?" That was unexpected, to say the least Kenny did not know how to respond. With his usual pokerface resolute, the immortal McKormick tried to remain calm, despite what her memory of his injury implied. Usually… no, always, people always forgot the more crippling injuries. Lost limbs, ruptured organs, partial immolation, the really serious grievances always slipped through the cracks, just like actual deaths themselves. A sword through the chest surely counted as one of those, didn't it?

"You were stabbed though with a sword." Raven prompted, and her tone held the tiniest bead of confusion.

"You… You remember that?" Mysterion asked, voice faltering and flickering to the higher pitched cadence of Kenny McKormick.

"Should i not?" Raven pursued, confusion creeping ever more steadily into her tone.

"I… It's fine, I get over that stuff quickly." Masked voice forgotten, Kenny found an answer for her in his worry and shock.

They locked eyes again, as they had done before they started talking, and a bolt of understanding flashed between them. Nothing concrete, but something that verified Raven's earlier assumption that neither of them were exactly normal. "… This is why we are alike, Mysterion. We are both different."

"Sure are… i'll see you around, Raven." And with that, he slipped out of the door, inclining his head to Zatanna as she hurriedly shifted away from where he was sure she had been eavesdropping. Then descending the stairs of Zatara's darkly lit home, he once more swept into the kitchen, stopping the conversation of the two men as he entered.

The silence was brief, before Mysterion started. "I had a talk with Raven. Told her she should tell you guys the details. For what it's worth I think she will… She's just scared is all."

"And regarding the old ones?" Zatara asked, now standing with a mug of coffee in his hand.

"Where she's coming from sounds more like your wheelhouse. I reckon the cult leader took the stance of go big or go home, and just tried to contact the biggest, ugliest creature he could for help… No surprises what happened to them when you think about it…" Kenny shrugged, taking a step up to the table and trying to marshal his thoughts on the information that had come to light tonight.

"Can you tell me more about these old ones, in the event that-" Zatara was undoubtedly good intentioned, but Kenny really didn't like the idea of sharing his knowledge too widely, especially with those who didn't already have a grasp on it. He was of the mind that it wasn't your problem, until such things made themselves your problem. Until the mythos came crashing through your door, the best thing you could do was live in ignorance. But Zatara being who he was, could maybe be afforded some greater insight.

"I'm gonna stop you there. We can talk about demons and magic all you want, but… Some things aren't meant for us to speak about over kitchen tables… If you ever need to know - and pray you don't - then maybe i'll call the Justice League to give you a heads up. Maybe…" They hadn't been present during the lost gulf crisis, and Kenny doubted they could do much anyway. You can't fist fight the high priest of the sunken nightmare city… But apparently you can send him packing with the power of mint, berries and a tasty satisfying crunch… God damn it, now he was angry. Fucking Mint-Berry Crunch…

"Speaking of contact." Batman interjected at that point, seeing the end of the conversation looming with the stubborn Mysterion. "Take this." The Dark Knight said, handing Kenny a small, gunmetal grey, watch-like wrist device. "Should you need to contact us, or we you, then this communicator will do just that. It's voice activated, and passcode protected. Your code is simply 'Mysterion; A-zero-three.' That code will also allow you limited access to the League's zeta-tubes."

Mysterion slowly took the device, looking at it long and hard before he finally arrived at a conclusion. "… If I find out that you haveve been tracking me with this. Then I swear, i will shoot you in the dick… But thanks."

—?M?—

A/N: Here we are! Longer chapter to make up for the wait, and one with a lot of dialogue to boot. I'll answer a few review questions down below, but apart from that, thank you for taking the time to read, I hope you enjoyed it.

As opposed to answering specific questions, I'll just ramble for a bit and try to cover stuff I saw asked.

The new South Park game, the fracture but whole. I'll try and release a chapter to mark the occasion, but it keeps getting delayed! That's something this story and that game have in common I guess. Although the trailer for that game, where the boys outline their plans for a cinematic universe, is absolutely amazing.

A bunch of questions I won't answer because they will reveal themselves through the course of the story.

My favourite Kenny death is (I can't recall the exact episode) but he goes the whole episode without dying, then right at the end some pterodactyl monster just bursts in through the school roof and apropos of nothing, picks him up, throws him around, then just leaves, roll credits. Very random, very surreal, very South Park.

Mysterion will meet the Team soon, and we can actually make this more of a Young Justice crossover. Soon… soon~

With regards to which versions of characters I'm using; think of any character who isn't shown in Young Justice and who is from the DC multiverse, as a version unique to this story. I.e I'm not specifically going to use cartoon Teen Titans Raven, or Young Justice Joker. Instead they'll likely be a combination of versions of that character that I'm familiar with and that are appropriate for this story. So expect some canon deviations even for characters in YJ canon. This is a crossover in that it is a melding of the South Park, YJ and H.P.L materials. Like a tasty fiction stew, and each chapter is a nice slice of bread, yum!

The waits between chapters hurt me, physically and metaphysically. I do try to get them out though, it's just stuff gets in the way. I don't have plans to discontinue this though, I've got a - dare I say - shocking amount planned. It's daunting for me, but I'm excited for what lies ahead.

If it vindicates Elena-chan at all, I will say that I can also picture a Mysterion/RedArrow ship. However slash is not the way this story will be going. I won't say there won't be same-sex pairings at all, but I doubt it'll involve Kenny or Mysterion.

That's enough questions for one chapter, if you read the whole author's note as well as the chapter itself, thank you even more so! Till next time - Faff