If you want to read up to 20!! chapters ahead go to https://www.patreón.com/cornbringer
Discord invite: https://discord.gg/XHduApz
Enjoy!
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[David Lance POV]
Within moments we arrived at our destination to find an empty lot of land surrounded by buildings, yet, nothing where the tower of fate was supposed to be.
"What the-?" Kid Flash said as he looked around, clearly confused.
"This is the place, right?" Miss Martian asked, giving me a questioning look.
I nodded. ~These are the coordinates Red Tornado gave us. I'm positive.~
Considering the place we are looking for belongs to Dr. Fate, it's more than safe to assume that magic was keeping the entire building out of mortal bounds, and obviously, Red Tornado failed to mention that because why would he?
"Camouflage then? Adaptive micro-optoelectronics combined with phase-shifting... maybe a bit of nanotechnology?" Robin mused as he kneeled on the ground to inspect the grass closer.
"Use the key," Raven suggested as she floated a few feet off the ground in a Padmasana posture.
Good point, I mean, Red Tornado had given us the key for something. Perhaps the key to finding the place, as redundant as it felt right now, was in, wait for it, the Key he had given us. Inwardly smiling at my key joke, I grabbed the key from my belt and stepped forward, inserting the key into a random point in the middle of the air.
As expected when dealing with magic, the key inserted into the empty air into what I can only describe as an invisible lock, and with a twist of the key and the click of a door, the tower appeared.
"A show of faith," Aqualad said with a small smirk as he looked at the newly appeared tower.
Not gonna lie, I kind of wish I could learn magic. The sheer flexibility it has and its massive range of uses has always fascinated me. Sadly, I have no affinity for the art, as Raven herself confirmed a long time ago.
~Miss Martian, make a telepathic connection with the team. We're going in.~ I signed, turning to Miss Martian.
"On it!" Miss Martian replied with a nod before establishing the connection.
-Raven, empower the connection with your magic,- I added as an afterthought. I mean, we were looking for an old sorcerer, a very old one, who, according to Red Tornado, had been missing for quite a while. Chances were if the old man wasn't dead or enjoying some time alone that he had been kidnapped.
And, whoever had kidnapped him, couldn't be a normal guy. After all, beware of an old man in a profession where men usually die young.
"Got it," Raven said calmly with a nod before using her magic to empower the connection. With that taken care of, I turned back to the tower and pushed the door open, entering the tower with the team following me close behind.
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[Inside the Tower]
Once we were all inside the tower, the lights inside flickered to life, revealing a large room with no doors, windows, or any exits for that matter. Even the door we had just used to enter was gone.
-Ehm, guys, where's the door?- Superboy asked as he looked around.
-It's no longer there. Magical constructs between magical gates between dimensions,- Raven said as she looked around the room with a critical eye. -This is advanced, even for me.-
-In other words, we're stuck here,- I summarized as I looked around the room.
Before we could continue scrutinizing the room for a way out, a magical hologram of Dr. Kent Nelson appeared in front of us. "Greetings. You have entered with a key, but the tower does not recognize you." The hologram said in a deep voice that echoed throughout the room.
Ok. A magical construct inside a magical building has asked us a question, and if Raven has taught me anything, it is that more than not, the truth is always the right answer for these kinds of things.
"We are true believers here to find Dr. Fate, isn't that right, Miss Mmmm?" Kid Flash said as he looked over to Miss Martian in an overly flirtatious tone.
-I swear to God, Wally, if your stupidity doesn't kill me today, I will kill you,- I facepalmed, as immediately after, the floor beneath us disappeared with a loud creak, leaving us to fall into a pool of lava.
-I second that motion,- Raven replied, catching Miss Martian, Aqualad, and Kid Flash with her magic, while the rest of us hung to the rocks, Superboy being at the bottom.
"What did I do?!" Kid Flash complained as he looked up at Raven in disbelief.
-You lied,- I deadpanned.
-Those were my favorite boots!- Superboy growled, glaring at Wally, before turning his attention back to now naked feet. -This Nelson guy better be worth it...-
-I'm... so hot,- Miss Martian panted, barely hanging on to Raven's magic, that by the looks of it, seemed to be weakening with each passing second. Perhaps this trap had magical means to deal with magical beings like Raven.
-You certainly are,- Kid Flash grinned.
"Oh my god! If you don't kill him, I will!" Artemis growled, barely hanging on to the rocks.
"Hey! We are inches away from a sizzling death, so I'm entitled to speak my mind!" Kid Flash protested.
-No, you are not, not now, not ever, in fact, if the world were fair, the mute one would be one,- I growled, cutting him off. -Raven, can you teleport us out of here?-
-If that was a possibility, I would've done so already,- Raven replied, her voice sounding strained. -I've been trying to do that since a genius over there trapped us here by answering a magical question without thinking, but no matter what I do, the tower keeps finding a way to block or divert my magic.-
-Is that why you look so tired?- I asked.
-Not entirely. That would be the magical properties of this trap. Even with my magic, I can't block all of the heat from below, so... is slowly getting to me,- Raven explained, sweat running down her head.
-Right, any ideas, team?- I asked, turning around.
-We could answer the question,- M'gann offered. -Perhaps the tower didn't count Wally's answer, and if it did, then... maybe we have more chances?-
"Worth a shot," Raven nodded.
"Red Tornado sent us! To see if Mr. Nelson and the helmet were safe!" M'gann called out.
Right as M'gann said that, the pool of lava beneath us closed with a marble floor that, upon landing on it, Aqualad and I noticed, was very cold to the touch. -That was unnecessarily close for my liking.-
"Agreed," Superboy said as he stood up. "I would've been fine, but, yeah."
Weird moment to flex, but okay, buddy.
"Don't worry, M'galicious, now everything is gonna be a-okay," Wally said as Raven dropped M'gann and him on the floor.
"Enough!" Artemis yelled as she tackled him to the wall.
"What? I was just trying to make her feel better!" Wally protested, crossing his arms.
"Guys, there's no need for violence..." M'gann said weakly.
"There is when he doesn't know when to shut up," Superboy growled, glaring daggers at Kid Flash.
"Your little impress-M'gann-at-all-costs game nearly got us all barbecued!" Artemis growled, to which Superboy coughed. "Almost everyone."
"What?! When did this become my fault?!" Wally protested, taking a step forward.
"When you lied to that magical construct and called yourself a true believer," Raven replied calmly. "But by all means, keep digging that hole; I might even feel bad and offer you a shovel. I said might, though, so don't get your hopes too high."
If you want to read up to 20!! chapters ahead go to https://www.patreón.com/cornbringer
Discord invite: https://discord.gg/XHduApz
Enjoy!
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[David Lance POV]
As Artemis scolded Kid Flash for his behavior, I focused on inspecting the ground beneath us.
The floor was hard and cool beneath my knees, and from between the cracks on the ground that formed on the floor, the unmistakable stark aroma of the wind of winter tickled my nose. Taking that cold air in, I ran my fingers over the floor for a few moments, finding a groove that would release what appeared to be a secret door.
Giving Aqualad a look, who was the only one helping me find a way out, I tugged, and the door swung open with a soft creak blasting me with a cold blast of wind, revealing behind the secret door beneath the floor a tundra of white snow, and desolation.
"From lava to ice," Aqualad said as he looked at the view behind the door.
I nodded, noticing the team had gone silent with their discussion about Wally.
At the door, snowflakes danced in the stream of light that poured through the opening as the howling of the storm behind it all pushed around. Taking a deep breath, I leaned forward to peer into the new room. It was difficult to make out any details, especially considering the cause of such a place, but it appeared to be some sort of pocket dimension hosting an ice storm.
Options were presented in my mind as I tried to figure out our next course of action. The current room had no escape, and the tundra didn't seem to have an end. Both paths were or at least seemed like dead ends in their own way. Meaning I had to take a leap of faith again by following the tower's machinations. Hopefully, the tower will see we are not threats to Kent.
-There's no other path. Let's go,- I said as I stepped into the tundra, followed by the team.
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Without a clear path, we walked through the icy tundra aimlessly, Artemis fighting with Wally and the fact his actions had almost killed us while everyone ignored them. While it was true I wanted nothing more than to scold Wally when this was over, we had other priorities in place.
Suddenly as I was about to ask Raven to scan the place again, a cane appeared in the middle of the tundra. It was floating eerily in the air as if it had been placed there deliberately. Noticing this, we all stopped in our tracks, staring at the mysterious object.
It was clear that this was no mere coincidence. Perhaps Kent was sending us a message.
-Raven?- I asked, turning to face her.
-There's a lot of magic in that cane. It feels safe, though,- Raven said after a moment of silence.
I nodded in understanding as I reached for the cane, only for Raven to shout in alarm. Without questioning why she was alarmed, I jumped back. However, even though I had reacted as soon as she had made her dismay clear, I could feel a vortex of energy pulling me in, in every direction, yet to none at the same time as a red whirl of darkness enveloped me whole.
The last thing I saw was the look of horror on my friends' faces as they watched me being swallowed whole, as Raven glowed positively, trying to save me from whatever this was before everything went black for a moment.
"We finally met," An unfamiliar voice said as I regained my bearings.
Klarion, The Witch. The Lord of Chaos.
I tried to get up to avoid direct confrontation with him, knowing I had nothing in my arsenal to deal with him, but my body wouldn't respond, no matter how much I willed it to. It was as if my body had been frozen in time by magic. The only thing I could move was my eyes, which darted around the room wildly, trying to take in my surroundings for a way to escape.
"Rejoice! you're in my presence now. You should feel honored. Not many people get summoned by me," Klarion said, his voice sickeningly sweet as he circled around me like a vulture.
I tried to follow his movements with my eyes, but it was difficult to keep up. He seemed to be teleporting around the room randomly.
"Klarion! Kent has escaped!" I heard someone shout.
"What?" Klarion said, his voice suddenly laced with anger as he teleported to the person who had spoken.
I couldn't see who it was, but from the sound of their voice, it was clear that they were terrified of Klarion. If I had to take a guess, I would say it was Abracadabra; his accent and speech pattern matched what I knew of the guy.
"You imbecile! I'll deal with you later. For now, find Kent and capture him!" Klarion shouted before turning his attention back to me. "Now then, where were we?" He said with a sickeningly twisted smile on his face. "Oh yes, perspective. I was about to give you perspective."
Perspective? What the hell was he talking about? And why did I feel that whatever it was, I would not like it, not even one bit?
"Azarath Metrion Zinthos," Raven roared, snapping out of my train of thought as Raven's astral form appeared behind Klarion, blasting him head-on.
"That's adorable," Klarion snorted, blocking her attack with one hand, swatting Raven's astral body aside as if it was a mere fly. "Sad, but adorable."
As Klarion mocked Raven, I realized the hold he had on me was gone as I was able to move, so, without delay, I jumped back, muttering. "Begone!"
"Be silent, will you," Klarion said, waving my attack away with a dismissive flick of his hand.
I looked at Raven, and without words, we both came to an understanding. Klarion wasn't an enemy we could face alone as we were right now; we needed to regroup, lest we wanted to play his sick games any longer.
"Azarath Metrion Zinthos!" Raven said, opening two portals, one for her and one for me.
"Don't worry, Bolty, we will continue our talk soon," Klarion chuckled, not even bothering to stop our escape.
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