Salem
July 28, 19:07
Nabu narrowed his eyes. I was hundred percent certain that if he could attack me right now he would.
Kent had a small smile on his face throughout my tirade, but it faltered when he heard what I said last.
"What do you mean 'separate his soul from the helmet?'"
"Lord of Order here doesn't produce any magical energy. The helmet does, by virtue of its connection to the plane of order… I think. If he continues being stubborn, I'll just remove him from the equation. Because at the end of the day, he's no different from a lich."
"Watch your words boy."
I rolled my eyes.
"Big words from a dead guy. You can't even beat Klarion in a straight fight. Today is the first time I met the Lord of Chaos, yet where is he now?"
"Klarion will return. He merely needs to locate another familiar."
"Ugh…" I groaned. "What is with you guys? This order chaos bullshit. Why do it on Earth? Why not fight your battles elsewhere? Earth has enough problems as it is."
"It is precisely because of those problems that that battle for balance must happen here," Kent said, drawing my gaze to him. "Our planet is home to demigods, and it has the potential to give rise to more. It is a breeding ground for chaos of the likes this universe has never seen."
"It is why two representatives of both sides need to be present. If you separate my soul from the helmet as you said, another Lord of Order will rise and you will answer to them."
"Wait, so Klarion..."
"Yes," Kent nodded. "If you manage to vanquish him permanently, another Lord of Chaos will take his place."
I didn't want to curse in Kent's presence, so I closed my eyes, took a deep long breath and let myself calm down. Some cosmic forces wanted to enrage me tonight.
"And who made these rules? Who decided that Earth was a playground for their forces?"
"Playground?! That's what you think the battle between order and chaos is?"
"Yes. Am I wrong? Aren't there a group of arrogant, self-important people like you sitting somewhere else making decisions for a planet they don't even live on?"
"...."
"Now you have nothing to say. No problem. No matter what happens, Earth will be fine. You said Klarion will be back? Let him. It'll be his last time. I have both you and his measure now. And if another Chaos Lord does indeed arrive, I'll deal with them too. As many as they send, I'll cut them down until you guys get the message that Earth is off limits.
Alright, enough of that, let's focus on the helmet and the enchantment. As I said earlier, possessing the host and keeping their body for an indeterminate period of time is out of the question. Why do you do that by the way?"
"It is the only way I can call upon the magics I learned in my lifetime."
"Not that. I mean why don't you serve as a teacher rather? You may be a powerful sorcerer, but you suck at combat. And before you rebut, I saw your fight with Klarion. You do not know how to fight."
"He did teach me some things, kid. How do you suppose I conjured that forcefield, or control the tower?"
"...I see. Why doesn't he lean into that then instead of the body stealing?"
"Kid, isn't it obvious? He wants to live."
"Then there are better ways to do this. What if instead of altering the enchantment, we clone you a body and put the helmet on it? That way you can inhabit it freely."
"The person needs to be alive."
"Duh. I haven't forgotten that. If not, I'm thinking of making the activation of possession enchantment a two way street. You," I pointed at Nabu, "can take control of a host only if he allows it or he's incapacitated, and a host can take control of themselves and remove the helmet whenever they wish. What do you guys think?"
Nabu and Kent looked at each other and I looked down at the ball of fur stirring in my lap.
"Uhh while you guys are thinking, can you think of any spells, artifacts, or rituals that can keep a Lord of Chaos from making contact with his familiar?"
"The cat is no longer Klarion's familiar," said Nabu.
"I know, but prevention is better than a cure and all that," I smoothed the cat's fur and it purred, the vibrations travelling up my hand.
"I'm sure we can find something," Kent said.
"Okay then. Thanks."
I gave my full attention to the cat and put the two old men out of mind. Its fur was still ginger colored, but the black markings and tiger stripes were gone. So was the unnatural red of its eyes.
If the solution Kent gave me worked, I'd keep her, maybe even give her to Cassandra as a pet. She would need a new name though. I'd leave that to Cass so that it would be one of the first things she did with her regained voice.
"Three questions," Kent announced upon the conclusion of their deliberation. "Who will be the donor of the clone's DNA? Will the clone have a soul? And will it have a talent for the mystic arts?"
"Donor donor donor," I said while looking off into empty space. "We can use any regular joe. Though to prevent any problems, I suggest someone who'd been dead a long time. Although, if your father stops hiding from me," I looked at Nabu.
"I'm sure he'd love to contribute to having his son alive once more. As for the clone having a soul, I'm not certain, but I highly doubt it. Creating a clone is pure science, but I won't dismiss the possibility. As for mystic talent, I think that depends on the donor. If they have mystic talent, it will be passed on."
"What do you mean my father is hiding from you?"
"Well, he's been causing a whole lotta problems and he needs to be stopped. But I can't find him anywhere and I'm pretty good at finding people."
Nabu said nothing and simply looked away, growling. Huh… it seems someone knows the kind of man their father is. It opened up a new line of questioning about how Savage ended up with Klarion while his son became the nemesis of his chaos buddy.
However I kept my curiosity to myself. All would be revealed in due time. For now, we deal with the helmet issue first.
"Regardless of what you decide, I think the enchantment on the helmet has to change. In the case someone doesn't want to be Doctor Fate anymore, they should have the ability to relinquish it."
"He's right, Nabu. Your insistence of maintaining control is why I refused to wear the helmet all these years."
"Decades!" Nabu suddenly exclaimed. "You left me to collect dust in the dark for years. I do not appreciate the isolation, and the inactivity that led to chaos growing stronger."
"Well, it's good there's a solution now isn't it?" I cut in before things veered off course.
"I'll modify the helmet and leave it with Mr. Nelson. If Klarion is really going to return, the world does indeed need Doctor Fate… even if it feels like I ate sand by saying it. In the meantime, I'll work on your new body. When it's done, we'll check it together to make sure it's viable and then we'll pass it on to you so you can cheat death properly. Is that agreeable to everyone?"
Kent pulled out his pocket watch and flipped it open, smiling. "Inza. It seems I'll be delayed a bit my beloved."
He put the watch back and nodded. Nabu became the recipient of both our gazes.
"Your proposal is acceptable," he said like he was being strangled.
"Good. Now about the cat…"
.
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Bludhaven
July 28, 20:30
Abra Kadabra may be a joke of a villain, but his technology was not.
A simple probing glance at the wand, necklace, gloves, and other devices Kent had confiscated triggered Tech-Adapting and Spider Sense violently, the abilities sounding intense warning bells in my head.
For a moment it was a bit difficult to concentrate due to the twin assault. This peculiar reaction begged the question: how far off in the future did this wannabe magician come from? And where was his time machine?
It had to be the 23rd century at least. Cause isn't that when the Legion of Superheroes were active? I shook my head. I didn't know what I was talking about. And spitballing would get me nowhere.
Better to focus on the now, in my own time where I could effect change.
Dutifully heeding the dual vehement warnings, I applied a stasis spell to Kadabra's implements, my worries fading into nothing when nothing happened to repel my attempt or even retaliate.
Magic being the bane of technology seemed unfair, until you thought about the things technology could do in this universe. The rings that could create anything came to mind without any prompting.
Fortunately, my latest reward would allow me to bridge these two separate worlds. There were definitely some all nighters ahead of me, but I couldn't wait to get started. For now though, I had to finish these performance reviews.
After dropping Kadabra off at Belle Reve (he was a wanted man with powerful unknown technology) in my Spider-Man persona, I returned to Bludhaven's SHIELD's office.
The situation in Northern Pakistan had stabilized.
We'd collectively dubbed the general area where the portals were positioned, the Indus Hydrological System, and the magical drainage constructs were doing their jobs splendidly.
It was almost tempting to put our minds off of them and wait until the threat of the mega flood passed completely, but we knew better. The system was still being monitored, same as the drainage locations.
Well, in the latter case, not all of them.
A few of the runoff locations were desert plains with high temperatures all year round while most were oceanic sink zones, locations with deep water, strong mixing and no proximity to coasts or shipping lanes.
Since the ocean sinks had essentially unlimited capacity, there was no need to worry about them. I did have to check with Atlantis though before we went through with things.
Overall, it was a really busy day. But the League showing up in force helped. Superman's presence couldn't be understated. The range of his senses, his speed, and his strength contributed massively to the reduced death toll.
Zatara helped with the portals when my magic finally ran out. It was how I discovered my mystic eyes didn't need magic energy to function or apply their permanence to stuff.
In the end, only 357 people lost their lives. No one was missing. The Zephyr's scanners, my magic, Superman, and the boots on the ground had made sure of that. We'd located every missing person whether they were dead or alive.
SHIELD didn't stay long after that. Not just due to that fact but due to the increasing presence of Pakistani authorities and international aid organizations flying or teleporting in.
Those people didn't really question things much when a superhero appeared to them offering money, resources and a way to reach crisis locations instantly.
Nevertheless, SHIELD had been exposed.
Not to the general public. It would take a while for the victims and authorities who interacted with the agents to get news out. Even then, I doubted it'd get far. I could be wrong though. The internet was wishy washy like that.
The people talking about SHIELD were the security organizations of most of the world's countries. The dark web and many secret and private channels buzzed with talk of this agency.
Most were interested in where SHIELD came from, its leader, its intentions, and the tech its operatives used. That had been the hottest topic of all the conversations.
Either these people were shitting their pants at the notion of an army where all the soldiers were capable of flight and insane feats of strength or they were frothing at the mouth to obtain these capabilities for themselves.
China, Russia, I'm looking at you.
Of all these voices though, there was only one I was interested in. So unlike the others, I let their probes work just a bit. They gained a bit of information about SHIELD, mainly its purpose and the man leading it, me.
Afterwards, I sent an email to one of the high ranking officials, one of the highest really on the case, asking for a meeting.
Bugging Waller's office had yielded some astounding results.
That woman had already pushed her Task Force X idea to her superiors, and so far, only two had shown interest. Well, showing interest was inaccurate since only one of them loved it.
The other, Mackenzie Olsen, commander of SOCOM (Special Operations Command) and an Admiral in the Navy had become a staunch opposer of the initiative.
His problem with it was the nature of the people Waller was recommending. Though I'm sure the joke Waller made about terminating Superman should the need ever arise sealed the deal.
Big Blue was the worst example she could have chosen. The Admiral was a diehard Superman fan and considered him a national hero.
And this side of him is what gave me confidence I could seal the deal for SHIELD's rise to the grey area of legitimacy and acceptance. Because I was never handing it over to any government, not even the American one.
That didn't mean we couldn't work together though.
By meeting with the SOCOM commander and coming to an agreement with him, I'd finally have an in into the U.S. government and then from there, the world. Privatising world peace, one country at a time.
The long message I sent contained a lot of juicy hints about what Olsen himself, the government, the military and the United States as a whole stood to gain from just the meeting.
So it came as no surprise when he replied with what I asked for, a location, time, and place. And a healthy dose of tracking and hacking attempts of course. Because why not? Laughing, I committed the message to memory and swiped it from my screen.
I was almost done with the performance reviews.
All the agents that aided in the crisis, those that were on the ground to be precise, all received detailed reports tailored to each of them, drafted by yours truly with the help of my latest assistive A.I., Lupa.
Her job basically amounted to monitoring the body cam footage of the agents and pointing out rule breaks, inappropriate or generally unacceptable behavior. Fortunately, the recruits were professionals, some more than others but professional all the same.
There were no egregious things that required sacking, disciplinary or police action. Just some rough behaviour with property and the people we were there to help. Again, nothing egregious, but enough to earn some week-long courses in relational intelligence.
I couldn't let a few worrisome nuts give SHIELD a bad name, especially this early on. The goal was to reach the legendary status of the Justice League and obtain the kind of reputation they enjoyed. And we were going to get it.
A few more minutes passed and I finished with the reviews. I checked my schedule for tomorrow, amended it a bit and let Felicity know I would be home soon.
Ever since she discovered the beach house, she took all the possible chances she got to come over.
Currently, she was in town for company related stuff and was supposed to stay in a hotel, but she made me send her to Providence once she was done for the day. She was there with Cass, probably helping the girl get ready for bed.
I grabbed the cat, the feline displaying unusual but much appreciated obedience, staying in the general area I pointed out while I worked. It had to be the sword cut. Or something.
Frankly, I didn't care. I got a nice cat for my daughter.
Snapping my fingers toward it, I stood up and I used magic to shut down the lights and all power in the building. I also raised all the wards and strengthened them, applying my eyes to each and every one before creating a portal and walking through it.
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