Kalbario: So basically after tripping balls, his psychedelic self got the munchies and got the Chinese dumpling special (30 years old and STILL have no idea what's inside those things). the metaphorical diner says 'yeah, cool' and proceeded to deliver with the most explosive show of enthusiasm possible, giving birth to the most cuddliest chicken/pork dumpling combo ever.
personally, I think Morris looks like a headless kiwifruit with legs and wings but a dumpling makes more sense.
p.s. Zatanna and Megan will never leave him alone after discovering Morris.
Re: While it is true that Kiwifruit come from China, since they're more "fuzzy" than "fluffy", I went with "dumpling" instead~
Also, kiwifruit don't have heads in the first place~
LuckyShadowWolf: Well I am going to go ahead and put in that I predict Vergil having a vision quest episode sometime in the future where he either communicates with the Thunderbird his wand core is made up of or to learn about the ancient evil that was either previously sealed or has returned in some manner! Beyond that it was quite funny to see all the different magic school tropes that he has to do through especially with them being put under the microscope of scientific curiosity and need for understanding. But with his new familiar it is looking like he'll be forced to deal with a certain witch boy or another lord of chaos if not it just symbolically being there to indicate how chaotic his life is going to be in future. And finally I have to ask out of complete curiosity when will the time skips begin that you said to expect after Thanksgiving? I'm not complaining but the only one I've seen has been from the day after Thanksgiving to the start of December?
Re: Don't know if I'd go that far regarding the Vision Quest, but it's definitely a possibility. Although the Dark Spirit has technically already "gone the way of" Deliora from Fairy Tail.
As for the Time Skip, between a short period after New Years and the 4th of July in 2010; now that I've laid down most of the ground work, I can 'tell' instead of 'show'. Apart from the really interesting stuff at least~
Now that the "Transcription Factors" have been put in play, I can justify cranking up his technical ability at an accelerated rate.
Jebest4781: Great chapter here. Will be interesting to see what else can be done on the story. Also like the idea of having Morris as a familiar. He may not be used in the field, but helps as a support-like creature... at home to help relieve stress and anxiety through adorable comfortableness.
Re: Well, Morris is canonically an "Emotional Support Animal". If it weren't for Morris, Trevor Slattery (quote/unquote "The Mandarin") would've gone mad during his time in captivity under The Ten Rings; he canonically admitted as such.
Jamius: Primordial Moris, the almighty, fear him. In all serious though, this probably connects with his mysterious possibly alien heritage. Personally I think he should look like a Siba Inu of equivalent size when disguised, id I have to give a reason, cute, if I had to give another, that funny silent hill ending.
Re: Shiba Inu legs are too long for a Glamour to be effective, unfortunately…
NullSilver2005: Morris is so adorable, glad you included him. The wand is pretty cool, looking forward to when Virgil shows it to Z and Megan. I liked the subtle TFS Dbz abridged part when Virgil was tripping balls, will there be Mr popo lines is the big question.
Re: Also snuck in a little Cowboy Bebop and Familiar of Zero; just sayin'~
*FETCH QUEST*
A.R.G.U.S. Headquarters
December 9
"So… What's on the docket for today?" I asked my instructor as we made our way through Argus.
"Well… now that you've gotten some of the fundamentals of elemental magic out of the way and have a proper Foci of your own, what's next is… 'Individual Study'," Sebastian replied as he threw a set of doors open, revealing a familiar library. "Contained within this non-restricted archive is a collection of all the 'Functional Magic' Argus has at its disposal."
"Isn't all 'real magic' by definition, 'functional'?"
"What my compatriot means is, none of the magic here requires hereditary magical bloodlines coursing through your veins to function," Doctor Mist stated, idly leafing through one such book off to the side. "The reason we're giving you free reign like this, is because Argus is interested in seeing if certain personality types lean towards specific types of magic or not."
"Sooooo… I have free reign of the place, outside the classified sections?" William asked, Morris trotting in behind him and pawing at his leg.
"That's right," Sebastian nodded. "Read, train, craft, pursue your magic however you wish. What magic you decide to specialize in will become your 'brand' in the future, so while you don't want to spread your attention too thin and not be 'good enough' in a number of things, at the same time you don't want to over-specialize and become 'typecast'."
"Well then…" William said lifting Morris into his arms and looking at all the books laid out before him. "Let's see what catches my fancy."
*FETCH QUEST*
Conjuration Magic was exactly what it sounded like; A school of magic focused on the instantaneous transportation, conjuring manifestations of creatures, energy or objects, and object creation itself.
The [Find Familiar] spell was a "1st Level" Conjuration Spell, the end-result notwithstanding regardless of whatever outside variable allowed for the summoning of an Eastern creature of primordial chaos. [Summon Greater Demon], the calling card of Satanic death-cults and the like, would be considered "4th Level". [Gate], as in creating portals through space-time itself is considered "9th Level", with only the ability to cross dimensional boundaries being considered higher.
One of the magi-science nerds who "specialized" in Conjuration Magic explained that it was basically like the [Accio] spell from Harry Potter, only with real-life Conjuration Magic, you completely bypass space/time in order to bring something to yourself instantaneously. Using real-life magic as a metric, the [Accio] Charm would actually be considered Transmutation Magic, since it levitates and attracts an object toward you over an absurd range that the object in-question is still required to cross by traversing real-space.
Fortunately-enough, the mastery of Conjuration Magic in-turn made other schools of magic easier to use, as it gave one a foundation in the arts of [Instantaneous Transportation], [Conjuring Energy], [Conjuring Creature Manifestations], [Conjuring Objects], and [Object Creation]. Those who came from magical bloodlines with insane amounts of magical potential and energy conversion already "ingrained" into the body, would often ignore this foundation to get to the flashy stuff more quickly.
At least according to what the nearby magi-scientists told him.
Hearing all this, Virgil thought back to the [Lightning Bolt] he'd thrown at the Hoover Dam, and realized it fell under the umbrella of [Energy Conjuration]. Because he skipped the base form of summoning pure energy and then converting it into lightning, he over-taxed himself. Thusly, if he were to master [Energy Conjuration] his "conversion rate" of "MP" into magic itself, would only improve.
Or at least he speculated as such.
"Still…" Virgil hummed as he read and re-read the book that Argus had compiled on the topic, one half dedicated to the original interpretation of it, while the other half was a "dissection" of the aforementioned topics applying the scientific method into how the various sub-magics worked. "If mastering the basics of the basics will make you so much more-powerful later, why would the magical families skip this?"
"To be fair, many of the magical families that predate the Salem Witch Trials consider this kind of hard work 'beneath them'," Doctor Mist hummed as he and Morris stared at one another, even when the latter was completely lacking in a face. "Mundane and magical nobility has changed very little in the past few centuries."
"You know, that reminds me for whatever reason, but were any actual Witches and Warlocks killed during the witch hunts?" Virgil asked. "I mean… If they had real magic, would any of them have really gotten caught?"
"That is a historical debate that may not have any real answer…" the shaman hummed. "On the one half, you have those who consider true witches and warlocks completely above the ability to be caught by largely-uneducated villagers armed only with farming tools. On the other, there are those who argue that the arrogance of magical families therein may have been what caused their downfall."
"Hrmmm… I feel like if any witch or warlock had a lick of sense, they'd either move to a… 'convent' somewhere, or if that wasn't feasible, just pass the buck to some asshole nobody would misss," Virgil shrugged as he went back to his studies.
"That is one of the arguments for genuine witches and warlocks not getting killed during the Witch Trails," Doctor Mist admitted with a nod.
*FETCH QUEST*
After spending a few hours practicing [Instantaneous Transportation] magic with unimaginative incantations such as- "Nommus Koob." -or- "Nommus Pencil." -or "Nommus Riahc." and so-on, as well as trying his hand at conjuring raw energy without directing it towards a specific spell, and then conjuring objects which went absolutely nowhere… Virgil turned his attention to something called Abjuration Magic.
This school of magic was focused on protective spells, as well as those that cancel or otherwise interfere with other spells, magical effects, or supernatural abilities. Essentially, the use of Wards and Barriers for defensive purposes.
Admittedly, all of that practice with Conjuration Magic was showing dividends right away, because it actually "felt" easier turning his magic into a tangible wall in front of himself; a pane of semi-transparent glass colored a deep gray like burnished steel, about the size of a dinner plate.
It almost completely exhausted him, but he felt like in a pinch, at the least his "Llaw" spell would be better than nothing.
Not that he'd ever try practicing Abjuration Magic with live ammo just because he could make a wall. Most he'd do until he was willing to put his life on the line was practice with a tennis ball launcher; and even then he'd be wearing a helmet and athletic cup.
No way was he going to survive the hell of New York Zero only to die "in a horrific tennis ball accident".
Admittedly, the idea of using [Dispel] magic to cause supernatural containers to break, magical locks to fail, or make enemy fireballs detonate prematurely, sounded cheap as hell… At least until he realized that there were probably a plethora of "anti-tampering" protections for spells and magic. Just like with computers, for every piece of malware, there was a firewall to keep it in check.
Still, any second he could buy himself against a magic-user would be an invaluable asset, if he wound up fighting more magic-types again…
By the end of the first day and many hours of practice, he'd gathered a thick stack of books for himself to study in his remaining time at Argus. Like a high school student who hadn't decided what he wanted to major in, Virgil, just-now stepping into the world of real magics, had no idea what sort of magic he'd want to keep learning once he'd learned it. Elemental Magic in of itself was utterly fascinating from a mechanical and practical standpoint, but throwing rocks or lighting shit on fire couldn't solve every problem out there. Some of them needed a little more subtlety than that.
Though admittedly… when the previous Snakes dealt with supernatural stuff like psychics, nature powers, bee-body-cavity-storage, ghosts, demons, ninja zombies, invisible zombies, armored zombies, attack helicopter-eating whales made of fire, and so-on… The idea of-the-concept of "subtlety" was almost completely nonexistent…
Half the time, Virgil wondered if he were reading actual post-mission debriefs by sound-of-mind people, or if someone's media-induced, paranoid, delusional nightmare and shroom-induced military/fantasy fanfic got mixed in along the way…
*FETCH QUEST*
A.R.G.U.S. Headquarters
December 10
The following day, Virgil had grabbed every book on Rune Magic he could find; Norse and Celtic were of particular interest to him, partly due to their portrayal in popular media. Though if any actual magi-scientist at Argus accused him of having his decision influenced by the episode of Samurai Jack, "Jack and the Scotsman", he would deny it every which way.
Looking at it back then, the Scotsman saying his sword survived the Tremendous Horse Cut Technique courtesy of "magic runes" could be treated as just a throwaway line; something you hear once and don't have to think about ever again. However, if you look at the lore of the Sword of Righteousness, how it's a divine weapon blessed with the power of Orin, Ra, and Rama, the fact that an ordinary mortal-forged blade could stand up to a weapon empowered by the highest deities of three Pantheons… From a purely mechanical standpoint, the ability to turn any mundane weapon into a metaphorical if not literal "God-Tier" item, was certainly an attractive prospect.
Runes in of themselves were magic symbols used to cast spells and inscribe an object with magical abilities. Runes were so-powerful in fact, that Odin, King of the Aesir, plucked out an eye, impaled, and hung himself (the latter for nine days and nine nights) just to gain the knowledge of other worlds and the ability to understand Runes.
Due to the fact that someone had taken the time to write what each Rune did down and compile it into an easy-to-digest "manual" for the purpose of mass producing Rune-users, Virgil thankfully did not have to resort to acts of grievous self-mutilation for this fact-finding mission. In terms of "great suffering" alone, he'd already endured a great deal in his short existence on this planet, so at least that prerequisite was said and done with.
At first, the idea of scribbling centuries'-old chicken scratch onto pieces of wood or ivory to change or transform the world around him sounded ludicrous. However, if you were to buy into the whole "the universe is a simulation" thing, then one explanation for how Runes were able to do all that they did, discounting any religious subtext, is that they're like introducing new lines of Code to a Program. And considering the original Golem could be made to "act differently" by changing EMETH to METH, that gave some credence to it.
At least as long as you were trying to impart "logic" to something like Magic…
"Rune Magic might be a little old-fashioned, even considered out-of-fashion for all but craftsmen, but I think someone pragmatic and creative like you will be able to find it useful," Sebastian mused after catching him with his books and depleted mugs of coffee. "Many magical families can 'do without' modern appliances thanks to Runic Magic; a very popular application is putting a Rune on a shower head so they only have to pay for cold water, but still get warm. Magic in of itself is also a great time-saver, though because of it, many become lazy and over-reliant, so don't let me catch wind of you turning into some slovenly sofa spud."
"What, don't they have fat-burning potions like in Harry Potter?" Virgil asked sarcastically.
"They do… but if you get one of the bad ones not from a reputible dealer… Euuugh!"
" . . . I think I'll leave the potions to the experts."
*FETCH QUEST*
"Sooooo… you learn Rune Magic, and the first thing you do with it is… use a hammer and a screwdriver on popsicle sticks?" Carolina asked finding Virgil in a crafting room after lunch.
"Well I'm certainly not going to try working with ivory on my first outing," Virgil said after completing a Rune symbolizing the word "Kenaz" he was satisfied with. Holding it between his fingers and audibly concentrating on the less-than-symbol-like symbol he'd pressed into the processed wood, after a few moments he broke the popsicle stick-sized piece of wood in half, Carolina letting out a startled yelp as a free-floating ball of fire materialized overhead.
"Hey! Watch it!" the red-head cried stepping back, Virgil clutching the broken halves in his hand and waving them about, causing the torch-like ball of fire to follow.
"Hmmm… A little bit literal… but definitely useful," he hummed before turning to his cheat sheet and wood-working tools. Feeling the fireball sapping his stamina after a couple minutes, he extinguished the flame by swiping his hand through it, the halves of wood in his hand going inert.
"So that's really all it takes then? Scribbling old markings onto stuff?"
"Well, Odin had to endure 'great suffering' to make them work. In my case, it's the emotional suffering I've endured, that lets me make these work. I think Odin only enucleated, impaled, and hung himself because Norse deities are all a bunch of masochists in the same way Greek deities are all sex perverts."
"Ah. I see…" Carolina hummed furtively, realizing that to survive in the Red Zone for any measure of time would leave behind a great number of mental scarring. "Well… Do you need any help with anything?"
"Not really. Right now I'm just playing around," Virgil said practicing engraving with some scrap wood from the nearby bin.
*FETCH QUEST*
A.R.G.U.S. Headquarters
December 11
Transmutation Magic, as the name implied, was a school of magic focused on the alteration of matter, as well as the properties that acted upon it. Things like making objects levitate or causing time to ignore them, making them more-receptive to magic, less-receptive to magic, and so-on.
He almost-immediately got some Fullmetal Alchemist vibes off of the idea… until he learned there definitively weren't any magical "gates" leading to all alchemical knowledge and God's domain inside every person exactingly like in FMA. The biggest real-world example of Transmutation was when Nicolas Flamel made the Philosopher's Stone, a magical catalyst capable of transmuting lead into gold and granting immortality with its Elixir of Life.
Given that the Chinese had their own "Elixir of Life" which wound up creating the world's first gunpowder-related fatality, and even in a world as-fantastical as their own, Virgil was still skeptical as to whether or not the Philosopher's Stone lived up to all the hype.
Wait a minute… Wasn't Zatanna related to that guy?
Oh well. Inquiry for another day. Maybe after New Year's.
*FETCH QUEST*
Divination was the school of magic focused on acquiring and revealing information.
Now, when most people hear the word "divination", they think about fortune tellers revealing "the future". However, it wasn't always that way. Back in the ancient past, when the wheels of magic were just-then beginning to turn, Divination was used to glean more about the present, to acquire information of far-off places that people couldn't see or touch.
The advent of modern camera phone technology took most of the wind out of those sails, as did the invention of things like satellite photography and UAVs. But even with all that mortal technology in place, there was still a robust study regarding more-innovative, as well as more-invasive, means of magically gathering information.
Most people linked the idea of "divination" with crystal balls, but in Sebastian Faust's "Introductory Course" once he caught wind of what his student was reading up on, decided to teach him Catoptromancy; a form of divination in which the practitioner used mirrors or other equally-reflective surfaces as a medium.
"Out of curiosity, why aren't I using a crystal ball for this? I'd assume it's just too 'derivative', but…"
"William, do you have any idea how-hard it is to carry one of those things around?"
"I'd wager it's like hauling around a small bowling ball."
"Exactly. Magic mirrors, hell, even mundane mirrors, are just so much simpler to move around, not to mention find. If you're in a pinch, even an ordinary bathroom mirror could be used for Catoptromany. Assuming you don't mind working with dirty glass."
"Euuugh… No thanks. So… What do I do?"
"Well, since this ordinary desk mirror doesn't have an Intellectus-"
"Intell-what-now?"
"You remember Disney's Show White? The thing in The Evil Queen's magic mirror… Well, an Intellectus is basically the magical equivalent of the lady living in your phone who can't understand thick accents."
"Huh. Neat."
"Anyway, as I was saying… Since this mirror does not have an Intellectus, you'll be expected to do more of the heavy lifting; though since this mirror has been minorly enchanted, it's receptive to some magic."
"So… What're the magic words?"
"Place one or both hands upon the glass, channel your magic, imagine very clearly where or whom you want to see, and if need be, say it aloud. Since you've used a little of the Zatara family's Logomancy, using that as your focus might help things along as well since that's what your mind most-directly 'associates' with the arcane arts."
"And you're sure I won't get into trouble for doing this? Like… wouldn't the other person be able to see me back?"
"Only if they have counter-wards in place, or they happen to be Scrying on you at the same time. Without them, your target will only get a vague feeling of 'being watched'. In fact, most of the paranoid nutballs who think they're being watched, actually are being watched by novice magi; though that's neither here nor there..."
" . . . What the hell, I'll give it a try. Ahem. Wohs em Tnega Anilorac!"
"Okay… The mirror has turned black and it's rippling… So far so good… You know, Nostradamus actually used a black mirror in his own Seeing, so that's probably where Disney got the idea."
"Does it… normally take this long…?"
"Well, you're just starting out so you might only be able to hear her instead of seeing-"
"Somewhere over the rainbow~"
"Oh my god!"
"Ah!"
The disguised brunette yelping as he pulled his hands away from the mirror, the image disappeared, an awkward silence filling the library before the two turned to face one another.
"We carry this secret to our graves."
"Agreed," Sebastian said laying it face-down.
"Sooo… Are there any safer mediums I can try to use? Not that I didn't like what I saw, I am a straight teenage boy, but if she ever catches wind of this… well… Let's just say she knows where I sleep, and leave it at that."
"Ehhhh… Bones, dice, tarot cards, and tea leaves are more-traditional and less-invasive… but they also have a larger margin for error and are heavily subjective…"
"Note to self; add self-censoring to any divination I do in the future."
"That's probably wise. Especially concerning the more-shapely practitioners of witchcraft."
*FETCH QUEST*
A.R.G.U.S. Headquarters
December 12
Evocation was the school of magic pertaining to creating matter and energy, calling up from out of nothing. Unlike Conjuration which could only create temporary "constructs" like a Green Lantern, Evocation could make permanent matter; though from whence the matter in question came, I had no idea.
Not only was Evocation the basic building blocks for Healing Magic, it was also the first stepping stone for turning raw magic into power, like [Magic Missile] from D&D.
What passed for "the nerd in him" found the idea of firing energy blasts from his hands in real life too irresistible to pass up, so he spent the rear half of his day at the firing range shouting- "Cigam Elissim!" -over and over again while trying not to be self-conscious of the fact that he sounded like a LARPer in an over-sized raincoat…
*FETCH QUEST*
A.R.G.U.S. HEADQUARTERS
December 13
Enchantment, frequently confused with "Enchanting", was the school of magic focused on affecting the minds of others, including or outright controlling their behavior.
The same part of him that found "firing energy blasts from his hands in real life too irresistible to pass up", found the idea of "Jedi Mind-Tricking" people too good to pass up as well… barring the major ethical implications of literally mind-fucking with someone's decision-making abilities. Spells like [Charm Person], [Command], [Sleep], [Calm Emotions], [Enthrall], [Suggestion], [Charm Monster], [Confusion], [Dominate Beast], [Geas], [Modify Memory], and so-on sounded all well and good in a tabletop dice game, but knowing you could do that sort of thing to real people, in real life… It was honestly quite terrifying, to be honest.
If he could actually make thought-controlling magic work, the most he'd ever use it for was getting someone "disagreeable" out of his face. Using it for anything more intrusive than that would be toeing the line into "supervillain territory".
Glamour Charms, like the one fooling everyone into thinking he was a white-haired teen with red eyes, was another form of Enchantment that altered other peoples' perception of the user. While there was disguise magic independent of charms, Glamour seemed more-reliable as long as you could keep the Foci hidden and not draw attention to yourself.
So in summary, Enchantment was basically the magical version of mundane Hypnosis. The more willpower you had at your disposal, the more you could push people into doing what you wanted. While mundane hypnosis was easy to break because it can't be used to force a person to go against their will, the magical form of hypnotism was a battle of wills. Tech-based mind control, on the other side of the trifecta, directly affected the nervous system, and was by far the most-diabolical, and as Sebastian explained, one of the reasons why modern science could be so terrifying to the practitioners of the arcane arts.
What he did, and would continue to do for a living in his "off hours" was undeniably in a societal gray area, but outright mind-fuckery was a shade of gray he wasn't 100% comfortable with.
. . . For now.
*FETCH QUEST*
A.R.G.U.S. Headquarters: Mess Hall
December 14, 12:14 EST
"So. How have your studies been going?" Carolina asked. "Been doing any LARPing lately~?"
"Urk…!"
"Relax, I'm just poking a little fun at you. All us Freelancers are a bunch of weirdos~" she waved off. "Ever the busy bee, I see."
"I doubt they'll let me just walk out of here with these materials, so I have to absorb as much as I can. I have no idea when the next time I can get back here is," Virgil replied, nibbling at his meal with study materials in the other.
"Well, it definitely looks like Morris got the memo," she hummed looking over to the side, the Chinese dumpling laying on his belly with a book in front of him, carefully turning pages with his forepaw, letting out the occasional chirrup and wing flutter. "Still, is he actually reading, or just copying what you're doing?"
"Hard to tell. It's debatable whether or not Familiars have 'human-level intelligence', but I think as we both know, that's a pretty low bar to aim for…" Virgil hummed idly as Morris clumsily fumbled to turn the page. "Anyway, can I ask you something?"
"Sure."
"How well do you know Diana?"
"Pretty well. We're on a first-name basis at least. Why do you ask?"
" . . . I need to apologize to her for something, but I don't want it to be some huge spectacle, so I was hoping you could get me a one-on-one meeting with her."
"What, did you use her as fapping material~?"
"No, oh god no…!"
"Hey, just had to check; you have been stringing a bunch of girls along. Not to mention that time you woke up in a married woman's bed~"
"First off, she, woke up in my bed; not the other way around."
Off to the side, Morris let out an agitated trilling sound.
"Okay, fine, I'll stop picking on him~" she said stroking Morris atop his 'head'. "As for Diana, she and I will be getting drinks at the lounge later this evening after she's gotten her League duties done, so I'll see about pulling her aside for you."
"Thanks. I appreciate that," Virgil said before turning back to his research materials.
" . . . So what're you studying anyway?" she asked tipping up the book he was working with. "Quantum physics?"
"Dunamancy involves the manipulation of entropy, gravity, and time, where Dunamancers draw power from alternate timelines and unseen realities, subtly affecting the flow of time, and either tightening or loosening the grip of gravity," Virgil hummed back, quoting the introductory summary. "Actual Dunamancy is way out of my wheelhouse right now, but I figure studying the science of it will help me bridge the lost ground for if I eventually get around to studying it seriously."
"So chaos, gravity, and time…" Carolina hummed. "Well, I guess you've got the right Familiar for it; if you're taking this as some sort of sign."
"I guess," Virgil hummed as he saw Morris struggling to turn the page. Reaching over and giving it a turn, he then pat his familiar atop the head, before resuming his own work.
*FETCH QUEST*
A.R.G.U.S. Headquarters: Dorms Level
December 14, 21:04 EST
"So you truly have no idea what William wants to apologize to me for?" Diana inquired after some drinks, some stories, and good company down at the lounge/bar on the lower floors.
"No. The kid was pretty tight-lipped about it," Carolina shrugged. "Assuming he wasn't lying, it isn't about using you as, ahem… 'recreational material'," she explained with an awkward cough.
Diana for her part, knew what she meant by that, but chose not to comment further. It was no secret what people thought of her, doubly-so after the advent of modern Internet connectivity and the subsequent advent of "Rule 34". If William said what he had to apologize for wasn't related to "recreational male activities", she would believe him until proven otherwise. While his prior honesty was refreshing, she was still aware of the fact that people kept things to themselves for a very good reason.
On Themyscira, the inability to keep secrets from one another in a community so-insulated, often resulted in passive-aggressive feuds that endured for centuries. There were no cases of outright violence or even murder amongst her sisters, but you pack hundreds of Immortals onto an island for thousands of years where little changes… It was why long ago, she had stopped disparaging those who chose to keep things to themselves voluntarily, because often times the opposite, a complete honesty, could be so much worse.
"I told the kid to wait in my room, so you should have him all to yourself," Carolina replied coming up to her door. "Try not to break him. You do have a thing for younger men after all~"
"What happened with Steven's grandfather doesn't count," Diana returned with a light dusting of pink on her cheeks, Carolina waving her into the room with a chuckle. "William, I understand you wanted to speak to me?" she asked once they were alone.
"Yeah…" the white-haired teen replied. "Has Carolina told you about my… cynicism regarding the Justice League and superheroes in particular?"
"Yes, though your distrust is understandable. You were a child in danger, but you were 'let down', and as a result, your parents died. We can't save everyone, so it's not like we can just tell people to 'get over it' when no-one comes to their aid," she replied.
" . . . I need to apologize. For the longest time, I just assumed you were the 'token female member' of the Justice League, as weak and pacifistic as all the other liberals who would always let the bad guys get away so they could go on to kill more people after breaking out of revolving door prisons in a never-ending cycle of complete and utter disregard for the common people," the white-hired teen began. "But… during my time here, I heard about all the good you did for Team 7 and the like, how you'd actually break 'the one rule' that always pissed me off so much about superheroes. I've come to realize that I was wrong about you, and I apologize for demeaning you like that, even if it was only in my own head. I'm sorry."
The teen bowing his head, a hushed silence filled Carolina's room before Diana strode forward, placing her hand upon William's bowed head and ruffling his hair.
"It gladdens me to hear that," the Amazon replied. "Most would simply tell themselves that they no longer think the way they have and leave it at that, but that you've gone out of your way to apologize to me in person shows just how much you've grown. And even if you don't forgive us for our shortcomings, as you shouldn't have to, that you're willing to change your opinions of others shows a great deal of character. I'm sure Zatanna and M'gann will be able to rely on you a great deal in the future. So raise your head, and be proud of what you've accomplished for yourself this day."
" . . . I really am sorry. It was never you in particular I had the problem with, though dressing like Uncle Sam is your pimp certainly never helped matters."
Diana, having heard similar such analogues before, simply nodded her head.
"Fact is, it's the Justice League as a whole that grinds my gears," William said raising his head. "Every time you let the bad guys go after their latest killing spree, I feel like you're just making it everyone else's problem to deal with them. I don't know why the government keeps letting super-criminals get away with what they do, or how every judge that does hasn't gotten disbarred from the profession, but I'd like to think that if it came down to it, I wouldn't put my own clean conscience before the lives of other living people."
" . . . Have you ever heard of the 'Trolley Problem'?" Diana inquired taking a seat on Carolina's bead, patting the spot beside her. The white-haired teen shrugging his shoulders, once he took the proffered seat, she continued. "The Trolley Problem is a series of thought experiments in ethics and psychology, involving stylized ethical dilemmas of whether to sacrifice one person to save a large number. The series usually begins with a scenario in which a runaway tram or trolley is on course to collide with and kill a number of people, traditionally five, down the track, but a driver or bystander can intervene and divert the vehicle to kill just one person on a different track. The other variations of the runaway vehicle, and analogous life-and-death dilemmas such as medical, judicial, and so-on are posed, each containing the option to either do nothing, in which case several people will be killed, or intervene and sacrifice one initially 'safe' person to save the others."
"Are you asking me what I would do in that situation?"
"You can view it as a rhetorical or a rudimentary inquiry," Diana answered noncommittally.
"If it were me, I'd sacrifice the one to save the many, no doubt about it. Doing nothing would kill four more people than I would save, while changing the course of the trolley would save five times the number of people I inadvertently 'killed' by changing the trolley's course."
Diana looking into his eyes, realized that even if she were to place the Lasso of Truth upon him, his answer would not change.
The level of honesty he displayed was both gratifying, as well as a little worrying. Gratifying because he was willing to give a true answer instead of saying something ambiguous like- "I'd find a way to save all six." -, but worrying because he could say he would willingly kill a single person to save five with such conviction.
"Or do you think changing the trolley's course from killing five to killing one is the 'wrong' answer?" he asked with a sarcastic tilt of his head, his nose slightly upturned.
" . . . Dealing with supervillains isn't the same as switching a track by pulling a lever… Or at least that's what I'd want to say, but I feel like you deserve more than lip service and empty platitudes," Diana answered. "Say I ask you the same question again, only the five people on the original course are homeless vagrants, offering nothing of value to society, while the 'one' is a scientist working towards the cure for cancer, or world hunger. What would you do then?"
"So what, do supervillains act like 'population control', and that's why they should all be spared?" he asked dryly.
"That was a poorly-thought-out example," Diana redacted a moment later.
"Look, if you really want to know, who I would or wouldn't save in any given situation is this little thing we like to call 'Context Sensitive'," William said making exaggerated 'hand bunnies'. "If it were Zatanna or M'gann's life weighed against five, fifty, five-hundred, or even five-thousand people, I'd choose to save their lives over that of a bunch of strangers in a heartbeat. Why? Because in the long-term, they'll probably save as many if not more people than I killed by 'not saving' them. If I don't save Zatanna or M'gann in that instance, it's the same as killing all of the people in the future they could've saved. Unlike most of the Justice League, I refuse to treat the lives of helpless nobodies or treasured friends as something less-valuable than a clean conscience. Even if I were to go my entire life without killing someone directly, I still bear the original sin I inherited from Adam and Eve after that thing with the snake and the two apples, so what's one or two more to the tally?"
Carolina, somewhat-discretely eavesdropping, wanted to chuckle at the biblical double-entendre.
"That is my answer. Life is about consumption, and even human lives are another commodity bought and sold through action or inaction both," William said getting up from his seat. "I've said my piece. I don't need to argue ethics to know I'm in the right, because the real world isn't black and white, it's an endless spectrum of gray, while 'pure black' and 'pure white' are only imaginary. What one person considers 'right' another considers 'wrong', so I won't bother arguing ethics on the subject anymore. Thank you for agreeing to see me on such short notice, but I really should get going. Have a good evening, Diana."
With that, he left Wonder Woman to her thoughts, returning to his own room, Morris asleep on the floor with a book for a pillow where he'd left him.
*FETCH QUEST*
AN:
Thought that Part 4 would be the end of it, but I wasn't even close to being finished with this Arc by the time I got to 10,000 words, so I decided to break it up here at what felt like a good stopping point.
Thankfully, the next chapter will be the end of the "Fetch Quest Arc", and I can get our MC back to Bludhaven in time for the Holidays.
See you next time in "Chronicle of Zhu", and I hope you leave me lots of Reviews for this story to tide me over in the meantime!