章 26: 2.11

1:24 PM, 4th of April 1989.

Location: Strafing over the countryside.

"Wheeeeee!" May shouted as we zoomed over hills and fields on a metal platform. Ryan was setting the pace, wheeling and just enjoying the feel of freedom and flight.

"Hahahaha!!!" She laughed, thrilled. "This is great!"

I spent the time considering how to handle the problem presented by age. On one hand I could chose the hypocritical path of: do as I say, not as I do. Or perhaps a more measured approach. Something in between Xavier's cloistered school and Worm's Wards. An academy for future heroes and those who need to master their powers. With the option of stepping straight into a national protection organisation, a UN sanctioned team or a background/civilian role.

Batman's throw them in the deep end approach obviously works to a degree… poor Jason… but I don't want to leave the kids without appropriate skills and training, especially teamwork and tactics. Being a solo or duo is great and obviously works for people like him and me, but it doesn't prepare you for when you're suddenly in charge or with new faces.

Young Justice for example shows all the worst sides of this. Sloppy management, limited training and lack of dedicated supervision. Teen Titans as well, since the team is initiated by Robin as form of rebelling against the Batman's stifling attitude.

Hmm. I feel like I'm constantly criticising Batman, when I don't actually know him. It seems quite unfair. I guess he's just the best example I have of a hero interacting with and training a kid. He can only teach what he knows and he certainly never trained expecting to have allies.

Something to consider. I need that training just as much as anyone I recruit for this academy. Senses and a quick wit aren't enough without proper planning and experience backing it up.

May screams in delight I move, flying down the slope of a hill just above the surface just for her amusement.

I rub her head affectionately. Huh. I can smell peaches. Her shampoo?

Pulling up beside Ryan I suggest he turn several degrees to the east. Otherwise we'll miss Paris. One of the perks of magnetic senses, a kind of global positioning system. I know where I am relative to the magnetic poles and thus where I'm going, where I've been and the direction to get there. Like a migratory bird, I suppose. With the benefit of being able to read a map and know the relative position of landmarks.

Passing over woodland I have a glimpse of a glint before the barrier around us against the wind shakes and then my whole world is pain. May screams as well and Ryan falls from the sky. I grab hold of May as we fall, slowing us.

Oof. I think I hit a tree branch and it broke. Several moments of falling later and we hit spiky branches and the ground. Stunned I don't quite follow what happens up until I see hairy feet and an ugly face I can't forget.

The gorilla kicks me over onto my back before firing a strange bazooka shaped weapon at me again. I say again, because I'm wracked by that intense, blinding pain again… increased a fair bit by proximity? I howl and lose any idea of what is happening.

When I come to, an unknown time later I find I'm handcuffed and alone.

Glancing around, I see I'm still in the woods.

I reach out to the metal of the handcuffs as the Gorilla Mallah watches impassively. Then a quiet beeping is audible from next to my left ear and I collapse as if I were boneless. It takes me time to recover from whatever the hell that was.

The gorilla grins as my face turns into a glare.

"Wakey, wakey brat." He grins. "Payback time."

I sense metal even here in the middle of nature. I grasp at a discarded fence post… and stop as I hear that beeping again.

"Smart move." The ugly ape admits. "That thing on your head? A neural scrambler. Triggered by any abnormal brain waves, so your powers? Useless."

"This is for petty vengeance, ape? Pathetic." I spit out, before he pulls out a small handheld trigger with just a single button.

He grins with delight. "This is something special, something The Brain cooked up just for you. To make you compliant." He pressed it. Without hesitation and a look of anticipation. In that moment my nerves lit up like I was ablaze. The agony of it all putting even the cannon thing to shame. "Pain amplifier." He explained as I gasped for breath.

"How…" I began, panting.

"How did I find you? You are a veritable singularity of magnetic energy. Every sensor Brain had placed could track you perfectly. When we saw your direction this is where we intercepted you." He sneered. "Now I get to drag you home, so Brain can cut you open and see how you tick. He's fascinated with you."

I tried to struggle at those words and he just smiled and held up the trigger, thumb ready. "This is your final lesson child." Mallah laughed at my sour expression. "Have you ever heard the phrase 'tall poppy syndrome'? Stand out and you get cut down!" He moved to grab me, and haul me away like a sack of potatoes. Over a shoulder.

Where was he taking me?

I struggled again, but Mallah was a gorilla. Considerably stronger than I was.

Slowly we emerged from the forest, to a clearing. As we entered Mallah must have been identified, because a small cargo transport plane, with funny looking jet turbines decloaked in front of us. The turbines raising to display VTOL (vertical take off and landing) capabilities. And an angry red light emitted from a turret on the roof splashed over us.

Then wheeled around as Ryan flew past us, with May arm locked and held below. He dropped her off with a quick darting motion to ground level then took flight again, zig zagging as pulses of blue energy leapt out of the turret at him.

Mallah growled, before charging toward the opening bay door of the machine. Carrying me along.

"You let him go!" May shouted, shrilly.

Vines, grass and branches reached out from the ground and tripped Mallah. I fell just a few feet away, squirming further back. Mallah reached for the button and pressed it to keep me pacified. This was a mistake he would learn moments later as I writhed in agony, straining against the handcuffs.

Whatever restraint May had, faded away and was replaced by hatred.

Trees practically stepped from the soil, growing from seeds to maturity in moments. Each one slamming down roots and branches, trying to crush Mallah. He stumbled back and fled inside his plane.

Panting and shaking, I found I too had had my fill of this.

As the plane rose into the air I saw him raise a hand in the cockpit, with the trigger in it as he began to pull away. Intending one more parting shot.

ENOUGH!!!

I sent a massive pulse of magnetic energy screaming from my body. The device paused in the middle of the beep to spark and then explode next to my head, my only protection the magnetic energy pushing the blast away.

I stood shakily as the jet roared away, before floating upwards and bursting into supersonic flight after it, burning with rage. I didn't register the barriers I had raised in the instant between rising and flight until I was already in motion.

On the tail of the plane I tried to tear at it, but the external components were ceramic or plastic. Decidedly non-magnetic. The turret turned and spewed blue energy at me, disrupting my attempts to rip the superstructure apart, beneath the monkey.

Then a structure appeared in the distance. A radio antenna. The long steel spike kind, several metres tall. Grinning I tore it free from the ground as we passed and hurled it at the jet, throwing a barrier around it to reduce the friction and air resistance it had, just like I trained on that artillery range a few days ago…

It didn't break the sonic barrier, but it came close enough as it pierced the hull of the jet. Laughing I watched as it turned and spun out of control. Mallah himself bailing out, ejecting from the cockpit by blowing out the windscreen.

I drifted closer to Mallah strapped into a parachute, floating down with him eye to eye.

"You win, for now." He grunted.

The plane crashed at that moment, sending a fireball into the sky off to one side.

"No, monkey. I think I win, period." I replied. A twisted spike of wreckage rose to float just past my shoulder. Part of the undercarriage. "Because I'm going to turn you into monkey kebab."

"I think not, child." Mallah responded, before whining. "Ahh… this is going to hurt..." He slammed his hand down on a small device at his side and vanished with a shriek and the smell of burning hair.

Dammit, an emergency teleport beacon as well?! What the hell?! I never realised Brain was that big of a deal. I suppose the fact he was a member of the Light in Young Justice was more than a clue, but still living it is something else entirely… I mean I hadn't expected him to come after me like this. It must have been his plan from the beginning…

So… that drone thingy that rescued the Monkey was Brain? Did they have such a buddy/buddy relationship in the comics? I really wish I had access to wikipedia right now...

On top of all of that… I let him get away by monologing… ugh. Next time I just kill them, then taunt them. It was justifiable homicide up until the end there. I need to learn to aim better. If I'd shoved that radio tower right up his ass in the first hit it would have been a 'hot pursuit' issue. However I doubt Gorillas are legally considered people... yet. So it would have been an animal cruelty issue. Hmm. Have to abuse that loop hole before it fades.

However what I should have been aiming for was more along the lines of a Rubber stamp, slap on the wrist, don't do it again deal. That is the ideal scenario for a villain kill. My temper got the better of me.

Sighing, I drop the metal spike before turning and flying back to the woods.

I meet Ryan and May part way there, chasing after us.

"Got away, huh? Damn ape!" Ryan grumbled.

I pulled a pile of iron dust from the soil and compress it into a solid platform, collecting May from him.

"Well, it wasn't a clean getaway. I shot down his plane and nearly had him. Unfortunately he had some kind of teleport device for emergencies. Seems it burnt most of his fur off in the process of escaping." I replied. "So somewhere there is a very angry, very bald ape plotting revenge."

May grabbed my arm and pulled me down to get a closer look at my face. She raised a hand and it began to ooze green juice. "Your face..." She murmured.

Oh right, that explosion. "How bad is it?"

She moved to touch it, with the oozing hand. "Looks sore."

"Hey, wait! What is that stuff?!" I asked, wary.

"Aloe vera extract, Mum showed me how to make it. Good for burns. Now stop squirming!" The warmth of her hands and the gel was soothing relief.

"Are you two going to keep flirting all day?" Ryan asked pointedly as he hovered waiting for us, arms crossed. "I don't intend to camp out under the stars tonight, thank you very much."

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章 27: 2.12

9:55 AM, 4th of April, 1989

Location: Cafe, in a private booth.

Fleur was livid, hearing about the ape and it's master's plan. As far as the strange plane was concerned Airforce investigators were crawling over the wreckage with a fine tooth comb. What had been found however was shocking to them.

The plane itself was covered in a layer of ceramic composite armour that absorbed radar. The components they could identify matched no known maker and the unknown technology was built into the plane from the ground up. It was designed to include them, rather than haphazardly upgrading as a prototype could be. Some elements, such as the turret were a kind of transferable payload that could be swapped out, but the fibre cables running the length of the ship (believed to be the cloaking device) and the strange energy generator that fuelled the engines were integrated flawlessly. Speculation suggested it was operable even in low orbit.

Thus the entire military wing of France in the know was horrified.

This was a stealth plane that could easily be used to destroy their nation. It showed industrial production and planning and technology beyond anything they had seen before.

One thing was discovered, that survived the majority of the destruction: the cannon/bazooka used by Mallah which he hit me with twice. It was some as yet indecipherable sonic based weaponry.

The fragments of the neural disrupter/pain amplifier were too mangled by the EMP I hit it with. However it was concluded that the device had a small bomb built in, based on the burn pattern.

As we talked May nodded off to one side, because for some reason she had decided that my home was now hers and that I needed her protection twenty four, seven. She didn't actually understand what was said in French, but she nodded anyway. It was kinda cute.

I made sure she got some pastries to keep her occupied as Fleur and I talked.

Ryan at least was more interested in sleeping in. He's planning to just relax today, which he's doing in a private room in a hotel.

Anyhow, that attack by Mallah was a wake up call. I need to be more proactive. I've been stagnating.

Once we're done Fleur pauses in her professional act to squee and hug May tightly. Which is a side I've never seen from her before. She settles into the booth next to the girl and begins petting the brunette like a cat, pulling May onto her lap.

May gives her a complicated look for a moment before settling back down and eating pastries.

Then Fleur whispers in her ear and May is blushing and trying to hide from my curious look.

"Girl talk." Fleur says to my look, sounding pleased with herself.

I shake my head in response. I really don't want to know.

Next stop: Louise's workshop, with May tagging along as a guardian angel… um… bodyguard.

I had to float past the front gate of the military base to identify May as a guest before settling my sheet of compressed iron dust on the landing pad assigned to me as a parking space.

Knocking before entering I found a worried looking Louise hurrying to meet me. It almost looked like she was going to hug me, but she paused when she saw May.

"Who is this…?" She asked.

"May. She has powers. May, this is Louise. She is a magic practitioner." The two exchanged glares. Uh… not good.

Then Louise switched to ignoring her. "I heard the report, you were attacked and nearly kidnapped?!"

"Yes, that's why I'm here." I pulled out a plastic bag. "Can you use or create something that has a tracking ability? I have some hairs of the Gorilla that rubbed off onto my clothes."

She thought a moment. "I'll need a set of maps… or better an atlas. I think dowsing could work to narrow the location down to a few dozen square kilometres."

I smiled. "Then I'd just have to do some leg work. By all means, give me a moment."

"May, be right back. Try not to fight with Louise while I'm gone. I just need to visit a book store." I explained to my new right hand woman, apparently.

She crossed her arms in annoyance and looked sharply at Louise who narrowed her eyes back.

The brief fifteen minutes of the trip had apparently lead to unusual events. I found the pair happily chatting away in pidgin English. Louise was apparently fluent enough to be understood and May to understand. Well, if May is to spend a decent length of time here, immersion in the local language is the fastest way to learn how to be understood.

They both looked up and smiled… I felt a brief shiver and the weirdest feeling. Like I was a piece of meat.

I took a breath.

Focus.

I handed over the atlas. Louise pulled out a jagged lump of quartz on a string and held it over the map. It pulled towards Europe. We flipped to the map of the region. France. The monkey was still here!

National map. Where are you? The crystal pointed to a place I wouldn't have expected. A rather inhospitable region on the side of a mountain in the alps. Bingo. Lair.

Local map. Got you.

Louise looked pleased and May was memorising the location, having marked it with a pen.

"Can I ask for one more favour? I need a defence against loud noise." Louise seemed confused before pulling out a rock with runes carved into it, handing it to me.

"Silence charm. I use it when I'm enchanting. Keep it. When you need to use it, rub it." She explained.

"Thanks, this should be a great help." She smiled brightly. "And… I'm sorry about the other day, trying to drag you along to a fight… you don't need that. What you're doing right now is invaluable." She pat my shoulder.

"It is okay. Perhaps one day. On my own time I've been going to the gun range on the base to test my creations." She explained. I nodded. Not a bad idea, even as simple self defence for someone who can conjure guns from thin air.

My next stop was a junkyard. I paid a rather exorbitant fee to take anything from the heap I could carry on my person. May watched with glittering eyes as I began to upgrade my costume. Underneath, Punk styled leather jacket studded in places and matching pants. Steel cables wound around my arms and connected, interwoven. Crushed cars were compressed and melted down by friction at an atomic level, cast by my barriers and magnetic fields into solid, compressed sheets of armour to overlay the cables in a smooth appearance, interlocking perfectly. A helmet, because while I may not be Magneto, I am emulating him and sometimes feel a kind of kinship. So a helmet like his classical one as a homage. All of it fitted better than a high class business suit. Skintight, yet smoothed out surfaces and edges to avoid abrasions. Atomic level smooth. It felt like silk.

Solid as I could make it. Even micro fractures and weaknesses fixed.

The guy at the gate of the junkyard just stared open mouthed as I walked out in shiny chromed surfaces, using the cables as muscles I was able to move fluidly despite the three hundred kilos of metal I wore. The cape, woven from copper filaments micrometres thick was majestic.

I grinned and tipped him extra, because I was certain I'd just cheated him.

May seemed really intense as she gushed about how cool I looked.

The finishing touches were the hardest part: The outer surface of the metal plates and cape is a thin layer of manganese alloy extracted from the steel. Bright purple. while the cabling and cape has a rust red from iron oxide.

Now I feel suitably like my role model. My looks are different, a kind of palette swap with elements of Iron Man's suits in the sleek lines and form fitting nature. Bad form to rip off this universe's heroes, after all.

I'm not sure if this suit can take heavy damage, I'll test that later. For now, it should be enough.

May struck me as equally as fragile as myself, so I included her in my little construction frenzy. She's been wearing a blouse and skirt with leggings I had brought to my apartment yesterday. A thin breastplate under her blouse, with chain mail as light and tough as possible. Her power seems to work through proximity, rather than touch so I add chain gauntlets and greaves thin enough they are hidden by the stockings. The final touch, an iron mask inlaid with a design like a blooming flower.

Covered in so much metal, I was able to carry her aloft without foothold. She was thrilled by experiencing something equivalent to actual flight. To finish her defences I found her a few nice pouches and a belt, which I filled with seeds from varieties of plants. She mixed them together declaring she could identify them by feel. Showing this ability off by pulling out an apple seed after naming it.

Wanting to keep radio silence for operational security, I arranged for a second meeting with Fleur. Who knows how far reaching Brain's information network is, with his tech.

That monkey and his disembodied brain were going down! This time, for certain!

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