Chapter 3
[Diana of Themyscira]
She watched as Jason entered the apartment she'd gotten for them for the foreseeable future.
Diana didn't often stay in one place for long, having to go from city to city and often even to other countries. Thus, she didn't really have a place to call her true home, outside of Themyscira, of course. Instead, she usually rented places for however long she needed to be wherever her duties took her. A nomad's life, in a way, never settling down, never stopping moving.
Now, she had decided to take Jason in as her… ward, as it were, so the single bedroom apartment she'd gotten was no longer good enough. A few calls had solved that issue, getting her a two bedroom one instead, and it was time to show the place to her new… charge? Diana herself wasn't very sure what she was doing or where things were going. The Moirai's design or not, Jason needed someone, and it might as well be Diana.
Maybe she was unknowingly taking a page out of Bruce's book.
That was an amusing thought that she was sure to bring up with her colleagues.
Things weren't off to a great start though, considering the way she could see Jason visibly uncomfortable. The teenager was doing a great job at looking calm, but there were tells that Diana could very easily catch, like the way he'd shuffle on his feet from time to time, the way his eyes shifted as if expecting something to happen, and how he would fidget with the strap of his duffel bag. That was something Diana couldn't force to go away, however. She'd just have to help him feel more comfortable around her and in unfamiliar places.
She didn't like what it said about him though, that he seemed more troubled by the relatively normal environment than he was with her presence or even the tests at the labs.
"So, uh… Any ground rules that I should know?" Jason asked, still glancing around as if afraid to move from the spot he'd decided to stop at inside the apartment.
"You don't strike me as a childish or unreasonable person," Diana told him, which was mostly a non-answer, but she didn't think there needed to be ground rules. Jason was almost an adult and he acted fairly mature all things considered, as far as she had seen so far. "I don't believe we need specific rules while we stay here. Just let me know if you leave here, you have my number and should be able to get a quick message out without shorting the phone, right? If you do leave, I'd appreciate it if you give me updates on where you are. Now, I have duties to take care of, but once those are done, we'll move somewhere else, and then things might change."
That was probably a bit lax, but she'd spent plenty of time
"So, I have to just not mess up. I can do that," he replied, trying to play it off as a joke but she could see the tension in his posture and the twitch in his smile. He was afraid and she knew it. He was scared that this chance she was giving him would slip through his fingers.
Diana wondered, at that moment, how many times had he been given hope only for it to vanish in front of him.
She'd just have to prove to him that it wouldn't happen though. Just telling him would do nothing. She'd seen it happen several times already. She'd try to tell him something, a reassurance or something else, and he'd say all the right things in response. However, there wouldn't be a single trace of belief in him, as if nothing she said could be true.
"I have to go," she said, a grimace forming on her face. She would rather not, in all honesty but there was no way around things. She'd delayed many things while dealing with Jason's situation, but there was only so much she could put her duties aside without it being troublesome. The world of politics was a troublesome one, even for someone like her.
"It's fine," Jason reassured her, his hand gripping at the strap of his duffel bag. "I know you have things to do, go ahead. I'll be here," he said. Despite his best efforts, Diana was far from feeling better about things, but it was what it was. "I'll try not to destroy your place."
"I know you will and don't worry if anything happens. I know you're still getting a hold of your powers," she reassured him in turn. Because he might have passed the testing, but things had been sped up quite a bit because of her, Diana knew. The STAR Labs experts weren't quite sure how well Jason could handle his own powers. These doubts were proven right occasionally, with flickering lights and the teen's inability to be in direct contact with any electrically reliant device for long without it malfunctioning in some way.
In response Jason just nodded at her, his gaze sweeping around the apartment once more.
"I have to go now, but if you need anything…"
"I can call you, yeah," he finished for her, a nervous smile on his face. "I know. You've told me," he added, the grin turning the smallest bit more honest.
"Good. I'll see you later then," she told him with a soft smile of her own. Things could be better, but it was all fine. Jason and her were practically strangers still. Furthermore, he had plenty of reasons to be uncomfortable. It would just take him some time to get used to his new life.
Some part of Diana felt strangely excited about the future in a way that she hadn't in a while, if ever.
"Diana," he called as she turned to leave, making her pause and turn back to him.
Maybe he wanted to ask some questions or clarify something? She wasn't in a rush per se, so she could take some time if he wanted to talk. It wasn't often that he asked for more than she offered and she understood the reasons behind that. It would be nice if he could start soon though.
Diana saw him hesitate for a long moment, as if struggling to get whatever he wanted to say out. Eventually though, he managed.
"Ευχαριστώ πολύ," he said, slowly, trying to get the foreign pronunciation right. He got the 'ef-cha-ree-'sto' right but the 'po-'lee' got turned into 'po-'li'. She didn't point that out though, because she was too busy processing what he'd said.
Diana had been thanked a lot of times in her life, for both important and inconsequential things. Some of them had been, too, important in completely different ways. Some of them managed to touch her, one way or another, and become treasured moments. The kind of moment that made it all worth it.
"Παρακαλώ," she said, not really expecting him to know what she meant. Maybe it was bold of her to assume, but Jason had never struck her as someone who knew Greek. She was surprised when he smiled at her.
"I'm gonna guess that's 'you're welcome' and not 'you suck', if it's all the same to know," Jason told her, making her smile wider than it already was.
"And you'd be right," she reassured him.
[}-o-{]
[Kent Nelson]
'Silence is a virtue.'
The old saying was often associated with keeping oneself quiet unless their advice was necessary; instead of just rambling endlessly and proving yourself a fool. A phrase that Kent had heard hundreds of times across his long life. Both in passing from vaguely remembered conversations, and as a piece of advice from the multiple teachers he had the privilege of learning under during his time.
Even Nabu was partial to state as much every once in a while, denoting how old the saying truly was. His old friend and master often claimed that it wasn't only a virtue to exercise, but a privilege to have. One couldn't strive to take the best path forward amid chaos. He had come to partially agree with said view as the years passed, even though Kent still thought Nabu was partial to silence due to its common association with order.
Now, though. Now Kent thought that Nabu might have been on to something.
He took a sip of his cup of tea — an Oolong blend from an old friend of his in Taiwan — and looked at the young boy who had shown himself at his front door just the day before.
Young Bennett continued to scarf through the breakfast Kent had prepared with nary a show of manners or care. Crumbs flew everywhere as he transformed the table into a veritable mess. Luckily, magic was rather convenient when it came to menial chores, so it wasn't really an issue, no.
The kid continues to ramble about anything and everything. He only ever seemed to stop occasionally to breathe and take a bite of his English breakfast. Kent wasn't really sure what was being said — something about cheese — since it was too early in the morning and he hadn't even finished his first tea.
He had always considered himself a morning person. Years of heroism and study saw to that and he had never broken off the habit, even after retirement. However, it seemed that young Bennett was a particularly early bird. The kid had already been out and about by the time he came out of his quarters.
Kent had found him snooping around one of the display rooms playing around with a sword from the times of the Ming dynasty. Luckily enough, it wasn't one of the very cursed and dangerous ones, but more of a souvenir from an old mission back in his time with the Justice Society.
Kent wasn't sure if the kid had gotten lucky given the amount of cursed or dangerous objects in the room — whose wards had been bypassed — or it was his clear divination inclinations that pushed him to go for one of the few moderately harmless items in there. The sword wasn't even sharpened, after all.
What did catch Kent's attention though, was the sharp and fluid movements Bennet managed while carrying the sword. If that wasn't enough to put some pieces together, the misty blank look in Bennett's eyes, was a dead giveaway as to what was happening. He had seen enough synchronizations to know what was happening in front of him.
After a short inquiry, something that took longer than expected due to how hard it was for the kid to put himself together. It became clear to him that said control over traditional weaponry didn't come from training. Kent was too experienced not to connect the dots together. Divination, in itself, was the branch of magic that delved into the means to acquire information, be it prediction of future events, scrying, or something like communicating with the spirits of the dead, all of them fell into the same category called divination.
Mages need to connect with a specific object or magical artifact to channel their magic into and acquire such information. Oracles did it through temples tied to their respective divinities to more easily connect with said gods. Crystal and gold were often used to predict the future due to their magical properties related to clarity and eternity. Rituals to contact spirits tend to involve a particular material from the deceased to form foci that guide the mage toward them.
Now, normally, said artifacts or rituals tend to be confusing or with materials that are hard to acquire depending on what is done. The human mind was not made to touch into the strands of archaic powers that rule over divination. His gold, gem-embedded, orrery was one such item. That said, young Bennett's talent for the arts far surpassed his and pretty much any other oracle he had ever met. A connection being made to the memories and abilities of the previous owner of a seemingly random sword wasn't out of the question for the kid. Which brought interesting applications-
"So, what are we going to do today?" the young man said, unknowingly interrupting his thoughts. The plates in front of him were empty save for residual crumbs and stains that were in the process of being cleaned by a floating rag. Kent spared a look at his tea and noticed that it was already finished. It seemed that he had lost himself in thoughts more than he'd realized.
"That would depend on you," he said with a smile on his face. He had always liked teaching, ever since he had guided Giovanni into the path of heroism, he felt a part of him that had been gone since his days donning the cape himself be lit like a flame once more. It would be a nice experience to once again have another full-time student. "First, I'd like to inquire, why do you wish to learn magic? What do you wish to accomplish with it? Please take your time and consider."
"I want to learn magic because it is awesome and I want to do cool stuff with it," the boy answered instantly and decisively. Bennett followed his statement with a firm nod as if to punctuate how important it was for him… Despite very obviously taking zero time to actually think about it.
Well… the youngster was a thirteen-year-old kid. Really, Kent should have seen that one coming. It seemed that old rhetoric and philosophy method wouldn't be as effective as they had been with Giovanni back in the day.
"I- Well that is a start, I guess," the old mage acquiesced, rubbing his eyes. The day had just started and he already started to feel tired. And it was not because he was old. "But I meant for a more… clear answer. Magic is knowledge, and misusing it could lead to consequences. It is up to those with power to be responsible with it."
It was at times like this that he realized that he had taken a student by only knowing him for less than a day. He barely knew anything about young Bennett. Perhaps it was desperation and boredom getting to him, but when he saw someone with so much talent show up at his door after years of partial solitude. When he saw the kid's eyes shine in wonder at every paltry magic trick he gazed into, a part of Kent couldn't help but take the decision.
Kent had contacted Red Tornado the night before, to inform him of his newest guest and to see if his old friend could help him find anything about the kid's origins. Not even his scrying was enough to track any kind of origin which was telling in itself. He was still waiting on those results, but they could be nothing but interesting no matter what, he was sure.
"Uhm, I… don't know. I mean, I just learned about all this, so I still don't know what to do with it… I'm sorry," Bennett said, visibly frustrated and confused as he scratched the back of his head with a frown.
"No no, it is alright. Perhaps it is a bit too difficult of a question to ask at this point in time," the old mage said as he shook the subject away.
Perhaps Kent was being too harsh expecting an answer for something like this when the preteen hadn't even experienced what magic had to offer first. A part of him, one that he realized was being deeply unfair, was disappointed that the kid hadn't claimed his wish to fight for the good of all with unwavering conviction. The same conviction that still burned deeply in his soul every time he felt his body weaken with age. The same desire that made him lock the helmet as deep into the tower as he could, not only to protect it from enemies but also himself.
He thought that perhaps Bennett could be the one to pass that torch to. Maybe if he taught the next generation, then he wouldn't feel as empty and directionless, while simultaneously keeping his promise to his dear firecracker. He'd done that with Giovanni and it had given him purpose. Surely Bennett could be the same…
And yet…
Curiosity in itself was no crime, he knew. Like almost all knowledge, magic shouldn't be something to be hoarded but shared. Just like with any mundane subject out there, the desire to understand was not wrong. That didn't mean that said knowledge couldn't lead to disaster. Kent had seen many mages turn to less reputable practices in the pursuit of understanding the arcane. That was what Kent feared the most.
"Does that mean the magic teaching is off?" the silver-haired kid in front of him said with a despondent tone. "I didn't answer correctly, did I? It's all over your face," Bennet answered his unasked question. His green eyes looked at the table in defeat. "Man, I was hyped out to do cool magic stuff."
"And you might still do 'cool magic stuff', as you call it," Kent answered with a chuckle at the almost complete turn of emotions on the kid's face at his words. Ah, to be young…
"Wait, really?!"
"Yes, really. Before that, I must apologize to you. I tried to place expectations that aren't your responsibility to carry just now. My hopes are my own to carry, not for you to fret over," he apologized with a bow. "Though, I would be glad if, one day in the future, once you become sure and set on your path, you could share your answer with your teacher."
"Awesome! So when do we start? Can you teach me to make food appear? Also, the one that makes things float, that one is cool. And-"
"First of all," he interrupted for the sake of his ears. "We will address your talent with divination, as I told you before. You seem to have a talent for it. I assume you already suspect what I am talking about."
"The gut feelings, ghosty stuff, and the visions of people thing, right?" Bennett inquired.
"Correct, I see you already tapped into it without training. Though I imagine that it would be quite troublesome to deal with." He waited for the expected nod in agreement. "Then, how about we start getting those bouts of magic under control?"
Even more expected was the eagerness of Bennett at this.
The cases of what was colloquially known as "accidental magic" were troublesome at the best of times, no matter what type of inclinations one had for the arcane. Having a power that reacts at unpredictable times and completely out of control is hardly ever beneficial and much too common an affliction for novices and the uninitiated. He imagined that uncontrollable visions and synchronization with people you don't know were particularly troublesome. Especially so for someone with such a deep connection to divination.
"Well then, how about we start right now? We have a lot to cover after all."
He didn't manage to finish his sentence before a silver blur passed by him and swung the door open; making him chuckle. He would claim that the kid didn't know where to even go, but, at that point, it was a fifty-fifty.
For now, it was time to fulfill his role as a teacher once more. Regardless of the path Bennett chose in the future, Kent would do his best to nurture this young talent. Perhaps, one day, he would find himself surprised by the path the youngster would take and decide on his own.
Fate worked in mysterious ways after all.
[}-o-{]
[Diana of Themyscira]
"What do you think?" she asked curiously. "Be honest" she added, because she herself didn't really have much of an idea about the architectural preferences of people from Man's World. Her acquaintances had wildly different opinions on the matter, and she knew they were all far from the norm. Not that she was much better. She was actually likely the worst of them all, coming almost from an entirely different world, definitely from a different culture.
"It looks…" Jason started, pausing for a moment as he took in the apartment for two she'd gotten. It was bigger than the last one, with more room and so on. After all, since this would be a semi-permanent place for once, Diana had gone a little beyond the frankly spartan approach she'd taken to living spaces before. She didn't often care for how things looked, since she didn't really spend all that much time in the apartments, but now Jason would be doing that so… "Like more than I'd ever have been able to afford," he commented wryly.
Diana was still figuring out how much he meant by comments like that. He didn't seem to be insulting or bitter about it though, from what she gathered. If she had to put a name to it, she'd say that he was just… voicing facts. For example, at that very moment, Jason was just telling her about his genuine belief that he'd just never have been able to get such a place for himself, nothing else.
She could believe that herself and it made her wonder if she'd made the wrong choice. She could pick somewhere else, but the damage was likely done already, sadly. When she was about to ask, she caught him looking at her instead of around, which silenced anything she might have said, if momentarily.
"It looks great. I'm just… a bit confused, I guess," he admitted and it was visible that he was very unsure of what he was saying, but it was something he wanted to say anyway. It made her very curious, if nothing else. "What even are we right now? Is this a Bruce Wayne-Richard Grayson kind of situation?"
Oh, how amusing it was for him to say that, because that comparison was perfect, in more ways than he could reasonably realize.
"Something like that," she answered with a nod. "It can be more if you are so inclined."
"More?" he asked, eyes narrowing and she could almost see the cogs turning inside his skull. He might not be booksmart but he had a sharp mind all the same. It was like that because it had to be growing where he did, but that didn't take away from it at all.
"Indeed," she replied with a smile, feeling a little eager and proud, if she were honest. "There's one more place I want to show you besides this. If you want, we can go now," she told him as an explanation that didn't really tell him much. Either way, Jason's curiosity had been picked and not a minute later, he'd dropped his meager possessions and followed after her as she left the apartment building.
Close by – purposely so – was their next destination. It was a very special building that she'd asked for, and she was a little surprised that it was already set up when she asked. Then again, Bruce did have a knack for having things ready even when they weren't necessary, and if not he could get them very quickly.
She should have known, quite honestly.
"This is our γυμνάσιον," she announced, signaling to the mostly empty open room in front of them. There was more to the building than that, but that was the important part of it.
She didn't have to go for the Greek word, admittedly. It wasn't even that different in English, really, but Jason had asked to learn her language and who was she to deny him that? So, on top of his own independent studies, she'd been throwing some words at him, sometimes simple ones, like at that moment, and sometimes impossible for him to know without her teaching it to him.
She didn't know what had prompted the interest, but she certainly appreciated it.
"Gym," Jason summarized, his lip twitching into a smile that made Diana very happy. "For me to train with my powers, I imagine," he added, glancing around and trying to decipher the secrets of the gymnasium she'd acquired for him, for both of them, really. She could do with a spot to actually train herself, instead of just looking for places away from civilization as she'd done so far, for the most part.
"Indeed," Diana told him, smiling at the teenager. "Also to prepare yourself, if you so desire," she added and she grinned a little wider when he sent a questioning gaze her way. "Because this is also a Batman-Robin situation, or it can be," she explained, having some fun with the unknown tidbit that Jason wasn't privy to in regards to his previous words.
The boy stood still for a moment as if he had trouble processing that before…
He smiled.
[} Chapter End {]
Adrian: Let's all hold a moment of silence for Arc, who died in the writing of Bennett's part in this chapter. His sacrifice will be forgotten.
Arc: Kent is so hard to write sometimes. I can't explain how much it took me to write those 2k words. I had to physically fight every single word that was written there, but in the end, I finally managed to get something that I am at least happy with. I hope you guys enjoy it. We got a bit about his hopes for Bennett and his inner demons. Just because you are old doesn't mean you stop having those in your life.
Adrian: Oh, he's alive. Nevermind then. Anyway, our guys have officially been adopt- I mean, they've been taken in as students, yeah, that. We hope you are having fun watching their journey so far.
Arc: Don't forget to leave a comment if possible. We love to hear what you think. If you like it or not, and why.
Random Adrian Question: I don't think we've asked here, but which is your favorite Fable (meaning, your favorite story in Kingdom Fables, in case it wasn't clear)?
Arc: I am partial to Black Iron and Touching Grass myself. I like those two the most.
Adrian: Hm, my favorites vary a lot, but right now I'm the most excited about this one and two others that we haven't gotten to post just yet. So… look forward to those (or don't, I don't do well with expectations).
Discord Link: discord .gg/UTDransjJZ