"Duty calls..." Kara said, sighing as she turned away from me towards the bank. "Looks like we'll have to continue this some other time," She added, turning back to me.
"Well, it's getting late, and it's about time I get going too..." I said with a nod. "But before that, you wanna see something cool?" I asked with a smile, raising an eyebrow as I retrieved Ebony, much to Kara's confusion.
"Well, just watch," I said with a chuckle as I briefly inspected the cafe, the bank, and the street separating the two buildings. "Ever heard of trick shots?" I said, watching as a man in a ski mask came running out of the bank's entrance with a duffle bag, likely full of cash.
"Don't blink now," I concluded as I pointed the gun at the cafe in the opposite direction of the robber and fired, causing Kara's eyes to widen at my actions.
She seemed somewhat skeptical but didn't react or try to stop me. Kara's eyes widened even more as she watched the blue energy projectile hit the cafe's wall, bounce, hit the ground, and pass through a waiter's legs as it flew towards the street.
Kara seemed anxious as the energy projectile headed straight into traffic, flying straight toward a taxi moving rather quickly. However, it passed through the opened passenger windows and hit the robber in the head, instantly knocking him out.
"That was both impressive and terrifying..." Kara said after a momentary pause as she gave me a weird look. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were trying to show off..." She added, crossing her arms as she smiled in amusement.
"Maybe I was," I said with a shrug as I put away the gun before anyone noticed what happened and retrieved my wallet. "I had fun today," I added as I tucked some money under the coffee cup.
"We should do it again sometime," I went on as I took a small piece of paper with my number and put it on the table, sliding it toward Kara with a smile.
"See you later," I concluded as I turned around and walked away without waiting for a reply.
...
I lazily stretched my limbs as I stepped into my hideout and headed straight to the couch, plopping down next to Lil Soot, who was too busy grooming himself to acknowledge my presence.
I definitely didn't intend for the little outing with Kara to be a date, but I won't deny that I enjoyed it. I never had the time or leisure to think about anything other than survival for the longest time. The fairer sex was the last and least of my concerns.
But it was time for me to stop surviving and start living, so I went with the flow and got a pretty enjoyable experience out of it, even if it was a bit too spontaneous and sudden for my taste.
In any case, I merely shook my head at the little feline's antics as I retrieved my phone and noticed a new notification from an unknown number, causing me to smile.
"Hey, It's Kara. I'm still exploring human customs and culture, but I don't think anyone used paper to exchange numbers for decades."
"That was a bit old-fashioned, don't you think, Mr. Whitlock? No wonder you're so concerned about feeling old,"
I couldn't help but chuckle at the texts and instantly began typing my reply. "Hey! That's Gray to you, young lady. Besides, it got the job done and made an impression, didn't it?" I paused, checking for typos before pressing send.
"Fair enough. Anyway, I have to get some shut-eye. I got a busy day tomorrow."
"Alright. I'll text you once I have some free time. Maybe you can come to Gotham, and I'll give you the grand tour of our glorious city next time." I replied after a brief pause.
"Sure thing. Good night."
"You too. Rest well."
"Second date secured... I still got it..." I muttered with a chuckle as I put away my phone and stood up, which got the little feline's attention as he began meowing.
"No more treats for you, you obese little demon," I said, shaking my head at the little demon as I turned around and started walking toward my work room, and the little feline immediately followed, insistently meowing my ears off.
"No means no. Give it up," I firmly said, without bothering to look at the Lil Soot, and he responded by swiftly lunging at my back and climbing over my shoulder.
"Well, maybe just one treat..." I said, sighing in exasperation as the little feline began rubbing against my cheek.
...
The Flash winced as he got hit with a blue thunderbolt to the chest, which sent him crashing into the giant rock behind him. He gritted his teeth as he raised his head and saw Black Adam flying straight toward him, ready to smash his face.
He rolled to the side and quickly got to his feet, speeding away before the attack could hit. Realizing he wasn't out of danger yet, he vibrated his body at an incredible speed and sighed in relief as a tree branch emerged from the ground and went through his chest without causing any damage.
"I don't know how you found your way here, speedster..." Black Adam solemnly said as he watched The Flash zooming around the rock of eternity as he dodged attacks from Mary Marvel and Isis.
"But you will find that the way is not as easily treaded," The former champion said, his eyes glowing blue as he drowned the ground in lightning, leaving nowhere for The Flash to dodge.
The Flash yelled in pain as the lightning hit him, causing him to trip and fall right next to the bound and gagged Billy Batson, who immediately began squirming and making strange noises.
He got the hint and immediately removed the gag from Billy Batson's mouth, and the latter immediately began speaking. "Run as fast as you can into the mists surrounding the rock. Bring back The Wizard. Only he can put a stop to this!" Billy Batson shouted, and The Flash only hesitated for a fraction of a second before obliging.
"Anubis curse and take you!" Black Adam said with a scowl, having tried and failed to stop the speedster with his lightning.
"It is of no consequence, husband," Isis said as she flew to Black Adam's side, putting a hand on his shoulder. "The fool did naught but doom himself. There is no return from the mists of eternity," She added, shaking her head.
"After all, it is why we threw that damnable Wizard into their embrace," She calmly concluded, speaking in a matter-of-fact tone as she turned to the flitterings mists surrounding the mystical rock.
"Regardless, we must hasten our plans. More so-called heroes are bound to appear sooner or later..." Black Adam replied with a frown as he turned to Billy Batson, giving him an unpleasant look.
"How goes the search for an energy source to restore the power of the rock of eternity?" He asked as he turned away from Billy Batson and towards his wife, his tone solemn.
"Not well, I'm afraid..." Isis replied with a sigh, shaking her head. "I've found and identified many sources of incredible power, but none were suitable for our purpose," She concluded.
"Then we have no other choice. I didn't want to bring your benefactor into this..." Black Adam said, his tone frustrated. "But we must do it to cleanse this world of evil," He concluded, firming his resolve.
"So be it. The boy might even understand and become a valuable ally to our cause..." Isis said with a nod at her husband's words. "I will find him," She concluded, closing her eyes as visible magical energies began leaking out of her body.
...
"Hmm?" I intoned, stepping back to get a better view as I observed the puzzling strange reaction Nith metal displayed in response to being exposed to gravitational forces.
I had taken a small piece of the chunk of Nth metal in my inventory to experiment on and study the ore's properties and how it reacted to various elements and energies from Earth, magical and mundane.
Most of the time, Nth metal would dominate other metals and absorb whatever energy I imbued it with, showing no reactions or changes whatsoever.
The only times I got any reactions was when I imbued it with obscene amounts of pure energy and exposed it to some of the magical metals I plundered from Faust's hideouts. Even then, the reactions were minimal and inconsequential.
However, Nth metal seemed to resonate well with gravitational energies as it swallowed every ounce of power from my gravity device and doubled the effects, almost causing a city-wide blackout had I not intervened and shut it down.
"Neat... this will definitely come in handy..." I muttered as I began taking notes. However, I froze before accomplishing anything as I felt a burst of energy locking into me from god-knows-where.
"Shit..."