=====A=====
Man I wished I had enough room to pace.
As it was, I had shrunk down to my xenomorph form just to give myself a little extra room inside the magic circle. Of course, that only helped drive home that I was locked in a cage. This was the first time I had actually felt trapped since… well, the Psions. I did not like it to say the least. And for that matter, just
what happened? Abra did… something, and I just stopped. It didn't feel like any of the times Serling worked on my nanites, or even like when the Fog was gnawing on me. It felt… almost subconscious for lack of a better term.
I thought about the nanomachine box I assimilated from him. Was it advanced enough that it not only was able to access my consciousness emulation but leave also leave a back door I couldn't even recognize? If so it was only partially successful. Definitely didn't seem like things were going according to plan when he franticly tried to teleport away from me. As well, you'd think that if it had worked as intended he would have gained more control over me than just holding me still, and requiring all of his concentration to do only that. Which, in itself, was really strange that a man with such advanced technology had to concentrate on such a simple function…
I shook my head. I could think about the how and why of it later. Right now escape was my primary concern. "Machina to team, do you read me?" I said over the coms. "Klarion trapped me in a magic circle in some kind of quarry, please respond."
Silence was all I got. I knew coms were working earlier, so what changed? Could be the circle, could be out of range of short range communications, or any number of other things. So the question was, what the hell could I do now?
Taking a better look at the quarry I was in didn't help much. The grey stone rose up on either side of me about 20 meters, and I could just see green trees over the lip above.
Just where am I? I wondered. It still looked like the same time of day it was before I teleported, so I was probably still in the same dimension. I enhanced my hearing and listened as hard as I could, and sure enough I heard the faint sounds of battle in the air. That meant I was 'nearby', but given the strength of my hearing I could be as much as 5km away.
The thought of shouting for help popped into my head, and after a moment I formed a small sonic cannon on my tail. I started with a low powered wave pointed upwards and gradually increased it. It started out fine, but as it got louder the magical shell around me started to become visible and I heard a horrible shriek. I cut off the cannon with a growl.
Seems only a certain level of sound can get out. I then tried the same trick with a laser and got a similar result.
Ok, no big obvious signals for help, I thought.
What else have I got? I sat still for a moment and turned my focus inward, mentally parsing through the tech I could create. In particular I focused on the newest acquisition, that little box from Abra I had consumed. When I first assimilate tech it's a bit of a crapshoot as to how easily I can intuit its functions, and this one was giving me a bit of trouble.
Let's see here... wasn't just nanites, there were a number of connecting structures meant to channel energy and data, plus a central processor. Mutable in shape… and the nanites are there to actually transform the device to the desired shape, not interact with anything else. And it looks like these structures are meant to connect to things, So, at a guess, the device basically breaks down physically, enters something, finds key components, hijacks them and slaves them to its own processor… damn it I can already kind of do that!
Although… this would actually help me interface with tech without destroying it. That was pretty big. Didn't help me in my current predicament though. I needed to get creative. Did I have anything, absolutely anything else-
I sat up a little straighter as it came to me. I didn't like it. And it would probably be pointless. But… it wasn't like I had any better options at the moment.
I let out a growl as I pushed the air out of my 'lungs' and my form changed, all of my mass out of storage. My limbs flowed into my expanding torso, all semblance of a normal body disappearing as I twisted slightly and a trio of curving prongs formed pointing upwards. After a few seconds I had assumed my psychic ansible form and everything went black. I tried to ignore the rising anxiety at the loss of my senses and focused, mentally shouting as hard as I could.
Miss Martian! Miss Martian! M'GANN!
It probably wasn't going to work. Regardless of whether or not Miss Martian was even in range of me, my current form didn't actually make me telepathic. Something had been lost in the translation between me and the biotech M'gann had given me. I was basically a massive antenna or radar dish without any power. Miss Martian would have to be actively listening for me in order to hear me, and considering I never used this form…
No, no, keep thinking about how you can get out of this. There had to be a way, I had to have some kind of mechanism, to send out an actual psychic signal. Not an actually thought or message, just some kind of noise. But, I had no idea how the Martian tech worked or what I could do to manipulate it. But… I might have had a way to find out.
I hadn't had the chance for Serling to work her magic on me since the last time, but I tried to remember what I had felt when she ran that diagnostic algorithm through me. I focused on that chittering that was always there in the back of my mind, the flow and rhythm of the algorithm. Slowly, some of my mass started to shift and blend. Bits of information passed through my mind, but it wasn't enough. I keep pressing more and more, shifting more bits around, fitting new information in where I could. It still wasn't enough.
I formed Amazo's data processing structure, lacing it throughout the whole of my body. It might interfere with the signal, but it was relatively low mass compared to the rest and I needed more information. The moment I did the amount of data in my mind overflowed, and I saw a kaleidoscope of lights and a symphony of sounds. Everything was folding in on itself over and over again, a pattern repeating infinitely down and up. But what did it mean, I had to-
<Argh!>
The scream brought me up short and I stopped, darkness and silence returning to me. Did… I just imagine that scream or…
A few seconds later when a felt a light pressure on my mind, different from what Serling had managed but familiar all the same. <Machina? Is that you?>
If I had been capable of it I would have sighed in relief. <Miss Martian, thank god, I didn't think that would actually work.>
<Just what did you do? It felt like the first time I tried to talk to you telepathically, but louder.>
That… wasn't quite what I meant to do, but I'll take it. <Uh, sorry, I was trying to get your attention. Look, I got teleported by Abra and trapped in a magic circle by Klarion, but I think I'm still somewhere in a 5-10 kilometer radius. If you could find me->
She cut me off. <As much as I'd like-> A pause and a mental grunt. <-to, we're a little busy right now! Mister Nelson left through the portal, but we had to stay because we didn't know what happened to you. He managed to find team Beta and return with them and the Helmet, but the sorcerer boy enslaved a bunch of those monsters, and is now throwing them at us right now to breach the portal!>
…What the hell did I miss?!
Regardless of this, Miss Martian continued. <Hold on, I'll connect you to the rest of the gr->
And then my world exploded.
Traps and glowing trip wires filled the path < I won't lose > his water-bearer sliced through the crude weapons with < Wait, I didn't mean this > He stood fast and pummeled any that got <Oh my> The orcs dropped from her grip as she clutched < Miss Martian, this is not > Starbolts rained down on < Can we turn down the psychic volume > If only she wasn't so useless
Enough!
I mentally untangled all the threads that had forced themselves into my head, holding them seperate for a moment before bringing them back together again a bit more evenly… and suddenly I was standing back in the copse that we had first arrived to this world in, right next to a very confused looking Artemis. No, wait, I was in the sky next to Miss Martian. No, I was next to both of them, as well as next to Kid Flash as he ran at Abra, and Starfire as she rained down starbolts at the magician, and Superboy and Aqualad pushing back a charge of orcs with glowing red eyes.
Looking down at myself/selves, I was hazy and indistinct. I couldn't tell if I was in my human form, my armored form, something in between, or something else entirely. I didn't focus on it for long though, as turning my attention outward showed me… so much. I saw the copse from above and how there was a small but steady stream of greenskins heading towards it from the plains to the north. I could see to the west where Abra was fighting Starfire and Kid Flash on the plains. Patches of the area where haze and indistinct, but they flickered in and out of focus for a reason I couldn't discern.
And up above, just beneath the gathering storm clouds, two figures fought. One was dressed in blue and gold, a golden cape billowing out behind him matching the helm on his head. The other was the Witch Boy, reddish orange power leaking from his body and merging with the clouds above. Energy met and clashed between the two, the air filling with the sound of thunder.
I took in all of this, and processed it as best I could. "…what the hell is going on?" I said, not sure if I was actually saying it or thinking it.
Either way, Superboy finished beating down the orc he had been dealing with before turning to look at 'me'. <How are we supposed to know? You're the one who keeps pulling new powers out of your ass.>
I was going to respond when I saw an orc that was coming up behind Superboy, having snuck up from behind a small mound. As its sword was raised to swing down on his head, out of reflex I yelled "Look out!"
Even before I started to 'speak' Superboy moved, taking a small step back and to the side, into the greenskin's reach. The creature arm awkwardly came down on Superboy's shoulder, and the moment it was off balance Superboy grabbed the arm and flung him clear. The half Kyptonian then blinked. <Wait, how did I know he was there? Like, his exact position.>
"Because… I saw it?" I said before I looked towards the copse, and understanding dawned on me as I saw Artemis at the edge looking at him. "No, because Artemis saw it. Which means I saw it. Which means I could 'show' it to you. That why I've been able to see a map of the area, I'm building it out from all of your sense combined!"
I then felt a sudden flash of realization from M'gann. <Hello, Megan! It's Jacob's ansible form! It's acting as a central hub for our link, and it has so much brain to use!>
I hesitated at the odd way she phrased that, but after a moment's thought I realized what she meant. Martian biotech was not all that different from their biologies and she had mentioned the tech typically scales up quite well. Miss Martian's telepathic nerve cluster was about the size of a walnut, and she could setup an auditory psychic link. Mora's was the size of a baseball and capable of more complicated information transfer (even if only a Martian could understand it).
I was currently 300 kilograms of pure psychic ansible. I had processing power to spare.
<Great, now how's that help us?> Superboy yelled as he and Aqualad ran at a trio of greenskins bearing down on them with axes. Aqualad danced around their clumsy blows, while Superboy just plowed through them.
<It can help me use my telepathy on more targets!> Miss Martian said as she closed her eyes and brought a hand up to her head. <Klarion and Abra are shielded somehow, but I can try to break the mind control on these things!> A moment later I felt a new sort of pressure on my mind. It felt like several distinct objects bundled together, but it was 'light' enough that it wasn't a problem. Back with the team, the remaining greenskins started to slow and stumble, the red light fading from their eyes. They still fought, but now they were lashing out aimlessly in confusion, rather than with a goal.
Meanwhile, the fight against Abra was not doing as well. Starfire and Kid Flash were constantly moving to avoid the steady stream of energy blasts Abra was sending in all directions. Kid Flash would try to get in close, but each time he veered off just before an explosion of some sort triggered. In the air, Starfire weaved around large strips of red cloth that tried to ensnare and trap her. She fired bolts at Abra whenever she could, but he was always ready with a shield to block them.
Up in the sky, powerful magic was thrown back and forth between the two mages. An array of ankhs circled Dr. Fate as he weathered a barrage of red energy from Klarion. One by one the ankhs shattered until he stepped back into the last one and disappeared, reappearing some distance farther back. Fate cast out his hands in an arcane gesture, and dozens of golden motes of light formed around him. The light then shot out, moving rapidly in jagged patterns towards Klarion.
The area around Witch Boy twisted and bent in on itself, and the motes were deflected in all directions. Fate quickly tried to follow up by creating a cyclone in his hands, directiing the ever growing maw of the whirlwind at his opponent. However, the boy just grinned and raised his arm up, his aura bleeding upwards into the clouds to grab on to them. With a pulling motion he pulled the clouds down into a cyclone of his own, meeting and neutralizing the one Fate threw.
Klarion's cackled as his voice boomed through the clouds. "That host of yours is past its expiration date, Nabu!" Red-orange lighting gathered in the clouds above the boy. "Whereas I still remember how to tap in to the power of this world!"
With a cackle he cast his hand out, and what happened next was almost too fast to follow. The lightning spilt and shot out like a group of serpents, lancing down towards the team near the portal. Dr. Fate cast out his hands and a large golden shell formed over the surrounding area. However, the instant he did that the lightning changed course and coalesced into a single massive spear headed straight for him. The barrier in front of him held for just a second before the lightning pierced through and struck him dead on in the chest.
"
AARRGH!"
He screamed, until the lightning stopped. Still smoldering, Fate fell to the ground, landing with a heavy crash near the portal. Artemis scrambled over to him, finding him heavly burned all over his body, but his hands still glowing gold. The barrier up above was still there, but it was starting to fracture and break. The glow from his hands started to fade as he looked up at Artemis. "
You must… you… find a new… just… believe."
The light faded from his eyes, and his hands fell down to his sides. The gold and blue uniform simmered and faded away.
He… we lost him.
Artemis looked at the body stunned for a moment before looking back up at the sky. Then, her face set, she reached down and pulled the Helmet off of Nelson's head. "Artemis, what-" I started to say.
<I'm the least useful one here right now, and we need someone to keep him occupied!> She mentally yelled at me. <No one else can stand up to that little demon, so I'm putting on my robe and wizard hat!>
And without further hesitation she jammed the Helmet onto her head.
Gold light flared around her and suddenly she became fuzzy to me. Her connection to the mind link didn't break, but it became dampened, like it was covered by a heavy cloth. By the time the light faded the link lost 'sight' of her. A moment later from Miss Martian's perspective I saw Artemis shoot up into the air, decked out in the raiment of Fate. "
Foolish Witch Boy," I heard her say, her voice overlayed by a much deeper, masculine one. As she struck the crumbling barrier it exploded outwards, knocking Klarion back in the air. "
You cannot stop Fate!"
Ah, wizards. Always trying to put it off.
"NOOOO!" Klarion screeched in anger, energy building around him once again. "Why won't you stay down you stupid bucket?!"
As the magic battle in the sky resumed, the one on the ground was wrapping up. Between all of the orcs being broken from mind control, and Superboy and Aqualad pushing forward, the remaining ones routed quickly. As they fled, Starfire said <Everyone, join the fight with Abra! Aqualad, I leave the battle to you!>
She disengaged the moment Miss Martian reached her, flying towards the battle between Artemis and Klarion. She must have felt my confusion, as she then said. <I have to assist Artemis. Nelson said that he was looking for a suitable candidate to pass the helm to, but I doubt Artemis was what he had in mind. Besides, he could not do it on his own either.>
"You're not wrong," I said. "But the Witch Boy is more powerful than I would have thought. You need to be careful."
<I know.> She stopped in the air and looked at me. <Can you think of anything that may be of assistance? Any method that might pierce his defenses, anything that would blunt his attacks?>
"Well… anything that can disrupt or fight magic would be best. Barring that, I'd say sheer willpower is probably the best thing to get through. If you know of a way to focus all of your metaphysical being into an attack…"
She was silent for a moment as she looked up. <…I may have something, a part of my training with the Warlords I have been trying to apply as of late. It is not perfect, and I will need to concentrate for some time before I can use it, but this would be the situation for it.>
"You can do it." I said. "I know you can."
She looked at my apparition, and I felt something I couldn't quite place. She nodded at me… and then started stripping off her clothes.
"Uhh…" I said intelligently.
<I need to gather as much power as I can for this, these garments will only get in the way.> She explained, her clothing drifting to the ground. <I need to focus on this, everyone try to take down Abra in the meantime!> And with the last bit of garment discarded she shot upwards, straight through the storm clouds. A few moments later she broke through the clouds and floated to a stop, closing her eyes and closing her fists as she took in the bright light of the sun.
I kept my focus on her for a moment longer before I switched it back to ground level, watching as Aqualad and Superboy approached the fight with Abra Kadabra. It was not going well for Kid Flash and Miss Martian, as the pair were trying to escape a flight of burning doves. <Ahh! Get them away, get them away!> She mentally yelled as she frantically dived around in the air.
Aqualad gathered as much water as he could as he cleared the distance between them, and when he got in range he lashed out with his water-bearer. It formed into a long whip which struck the birds hounding the girl, each hit causing the birds to vanish in a puff of steam. <We need a plan of attack!> he thought. <Our enemy has many tricks up his sleeve, we can't just rush in!>
<Good luck with that!> Kid Flash yelled as he juked past Superboy, who snuffed out the birds with a massive clap of his hands. <Abra's got traps hidden in the ground. And he keeps teleporting the things around. I can't get close to him, only close enough to see the things that would fry me.>
I paused for a moment before I said "So, you know where the traps are."
<Yeah, but like I said, he keep teleporting them, so they move before I can do anything.>
"But you know where they are. And because of me, that means you all know where they are."
Aqualad straightened. <I see what you are getting at, Machina. Kid Flash, you're on point to find all the traps. Superboy, you take them out, ranged option. Miss Martian and I will harry Abra to keep him distracted. Go!>
Aqualad strafed to the side, his water-bearer whips striking out at the enemy. Abra merely stood there and conjured some shield constructs to block the blows before manifesting an array of swords. Miss Martian took to the air and intercepted them with her telekensis, knocking them out of the way and giving Aqualad the chance to attack again. This time Miss Martian let out a grunt of effort and shoved, telekinetically knocking the shields out of the way and letting the attack get through. There was a flash of light as the water whip hit, and Abra staggered a little but didn't fall.
Meanwhile, Kid Flash ran. He sprinted straight at Abra before suddenly making a sharp turn, avoiding the landmine or tripwire or whatever other nasty thing had been hidden in the ground. A second later a rock hurdlde at the spot at blinding speed, cratering the area before it exploded in fire or electricity or light. Some distances away Superboy continued to take chunks out of the ground, a stockpile of rocky ammunition being his makeshift minesweeper. In a minute they cleared out a whole cluster of traps in and arc leading up to Abra.
Something the man did not fail to notice. "I can't stand a rowdy audience!" The man said as he threw out his arm, and an open magician's box popped into existence before hurdling itself at Superboy. "I'm putting you backstage!"
Before it could reach him though, water flowed in from the side and sliced through the box, the pieces falling to the ground before disappearing in a puff of smoke. Aqualad slid to a stop in front of Superboy as he looked at the magician. "Too bad, Abra. We're sticking together." He twirled his water-bearers in his hands, and a slight grin crossed his lips. "And we aim to misbehave."
…Kaldur has adopted the Tao of Malcom Reynolds. I see no problem with this.
As one the Team moved, spreading out in all directions. Abra lashed out with lightning from his wand, but Kid Flash saw the paths as they were being formed. Aqualad whipped out a line of water in just the right shape to intercept the bolts, grounding them through the tattoos on his body. Kid Flash sped in and weaved around a line of fire heading for Miss Martian, forming a cyclone that captured it and sent it straight back at Abra. The man growled as he fell back towards the tree line, slashing out with his wand and cutting a line in the air, causing the tornado to sputter and die.
Abra then started to gather energy in motes around him, but before he could do anything with them he was forced to turn to the side form a wall of shields as rocks shot at him. Miss Martian floated nearby, her eyes glowing as she was orbited by dozens of rocks of various sizes. Abra blocked each hit, but they kept curving in ways that forced him to keep his attention on defending. Which is why he never saw Superboy charging in from the other side until it was too late. Superboy's fist collided with Abra's chest just as he started to turn, and I just barely saw a hexagonal shield form over the man's body before it shattered and exploded, sending both of them flying away from each other.
Abra flew backwards into the tree line, rolling awkwardly before managing to get to his feet with a snarl. "Alright, I can see how this show is going." He ground out as he quickly swept his wand in front of him, a thick black fog enveloping his person. The cloud billowed out from him and covered most of the area up to the tree line. The team dashed in, but the moment Kid Flash hit the fog he stopped, and I felt a wave of panic from him.
<Pull back! Pull back now!>
Everyone reversed direction and bolted just as Abra said "Time for the final curtain you little brats." He snapped his fingers and there was a spark.
The cloud ignited, the blast rending trees for a good ten meters and sending the team flying. They landed with heavy thuds some distance away sprawled out in the field. Their senses became muted, and I was blind for a moment. "Is everyone alright?" I asked, trying not to let my worry be heard.
"Ow, I-I'm alright." "…Check." "Hmp, fine." "I hate today."
I let out a mental breath as they opened their eyes and pulled themselves to their feet, looking at the burning woods Abra's last attack had created. "So… did he…?" Superboy trailed off.
"Nah, he's pulled that trick before." Kid Flash said. "He changed the color, I recognized the gas from the smell. The fraud's legged it."
Before we could consider chasing after him, Starfire spoke over the link. <I am nearly ready, but must strike with the element of surprise. Machina, if I stay above the clouds, can you guide me to my target?>
As I thought for a moment, Miss Martain looked up towards the fight between Fate and Klarion, energy still blazing across the sky. I watched for a moment before I said "Every, spread out and all eyes on Klarion. I need as many eyes and angles on the kid as possible."
The all nodded and spread out, and quickly enough my spatial map of the battlefield filled in. In a few moments I felt the innate knowledge of distances fill into the back of my mind and I returned my attention to Starfire. Now that I was focusing on her again, I noticed that her fists were glowing intensely, brighter than I had ever seen them before. My impression of her was tense and focused, and she barely acknowledged me as my apparition moved in front of her. "I've got it, follow me."
She flew after me as I positioned myself directly above Klarion, and I gestured to stop as we were right over. "Artemis, I don't know is use can still hear me with that helmet on, but Starfire's about to launch an attack from above. If you can distract the kid, do so." I waited for several long moments, watching the fight between her and Klarion rip through the sky. Then, she flew low and passed almost directly under the Witch Boy, turning upwards to form a massive ankh that in turn formed a pillar of golden light. Klarion turned to face it, blocking the attack by forming a twisting barrier that hurt the eyes of everyone that looked at it. "Now!" I yelled.
And so, Starfire turned downwards and fell, Tactical Ballistic Tamaranian inbound.
The wind ripped past her as she powered through the clouds, guided by the gentle nudge I gave her towards the target. It was only a few seconds before she broke from the cloud cover, Klarion about a dozen meters away. The Witch Boy spun in the air as she approached, his aura expanding into the shape of a massive demon around him as he went to strike at her. However, golden chains formed around his limbs the moment he turned away from Fate. He emitted pulse of power that shattered them, but that gave Starfire the time she needed to clear the distance, and as she did she shouted her warcry.
"Sunlight Green-!"
What.
"OVERDRIVE!"
Starfire impacted Klarion hard, her glowing fists moving in a blur as she pummeled the demon-like child down towards the ground. Klarion was pushed back at surprising speed, each blow resulting in a green burst of energy that tore away at his aura. In a few short seconds she forced him all the way to the ground, and with a final punch she burned through the last of his aura and hit him square in the chest. Green light flared as the Witch Boy cratered into the ground with bone crushing force.
…I did
not squee.
You can't prove it.
As the dust and dirt cleared, I got sight of Klarion through Starfire's eyes as she stood over him. The boy was a wreck, his limbs bent at odd angles and much of his clothes burned away. His chest was charred and slightly caved in, but that didn't stop him from staring up at her with glowing hate filled eyes. "Ffffuchchhh-" He spat out as his body started to writhe and become even more misshapen. "Fff-f-fine! Keep the stupid helmet! But you will pay for this!"
A moment later he simply imploded, his body turning in on itself into a single point. Red light flared and in the next instant he was gone.
For a long moment everything was still, the only sound being Starfire breathing. Eventually, I said "So… Sunlight Green Overdrive?"
She turned to look at my apparition. "The Warlords of Okaara taught me that as a method as putting all of oneself into an attack. They taught that it was useful to have a mantra or incantation for the moment of release. I had not yet thought of one for that particular move, and the words just… popped into my head, spur of the moment." A beat. "Thank you for leaning me those illustrated books, by the way. It's been quite a good read thus far."
"Wait till you get to part two." I said as the others moved to Starfire's location.
Well, everything seems to be in order.
The first to arrive was Fate, who landed next to Starfire and simply stared for a moment. She then raised her hand and a golden beam traced over Starfire's body. When it disappeared she was covered in a fine silk robe the same color as her hair. "
Fate… appreciates your dedication to defeating the Witch Boy." She said after a moment.
"It is nothing." She waved off. "I can get more cloths some other time."
Fate did not respond to that, and a few moments later the rest of the team showed up. "I do not see Klarion." Aqualad said. "Has he been defeated?"
My many images shrugged. "Well, I saw him get all mangled up before he imploded in on himself, so I'm going to guess yes."
I got a few raised eyebrows at that, save for Kid Flash who was focused on something else. "Hey, boss lady, where'd you get the fancy get-up? Not that I'm complaining, mind you."
"Dr. Fate was kind enough to make them for me, seeing as how I discarded my old cloths to absorb as much sunlight as possible."
The kid reeled back. "Wait, you mean you stripped-"
"Anyway," Miss Martian interrupted a little loudly. "Just what happened to Klarion? Is he…"
"
No." Fate responded. "
Klarion is a Lord of Chaos. His physical body is merely a container for his power. Though he will be weakened and disrupted for some time, he cannot be destroyed by such conventional means." Fate raised her hands, which started to glow gold. "
Nevertheless, I should secure the Tower quickly. I will bring us back-"
"Hold up, we still need to get Machina!" Superboy protested. "The guy is trapped somewhere in this world."
Miss Martian lifted into the air a little. "I can track him though the psychic link. He's not far, a few miles maybe. It shouldn't take long."
It was at that point I said "I could use Dr. Fate's assistance as well, what with the magic circle thing."
"Right, Dr. Fate, could you come as well? He is trapped by some sort of magic barrier."
Fate paused for a moment before she too lifted into the air. "
Very well, let us make haste."
Starfire joined them. "I will come as well, just in case. Aqualad, secure the portal, we will be back shortly."
With that, the three took off, Miss Martian leading the group off to the northwest. As they flew I got a good look at the surrounding area, and saw that the battle we had spotted earlier was wrapping up. And it looked like the humans won, luckily enough.
Good, I really didn't want to have to deal with that. Especially after fighting a Lord of Chaos, I thought to myself before checking the girls for signs of exhaustion.
I hope wearing the Helmet isn't too much of a strain for Artemis. Otherwise she's going to be cranky when she takes it off.
How is the unusual one coming along?
I then noticed something out of the corner of Miss Martian's eye. "Starfire, are your hands alright?"
<Hmm? Oh, yes, they're fine, nothing to worry about.>
My apparition appeared underneath her, my arms folded, and my mouth pressed thin. She glanced at me before she sighed and held up her hands in front of her face. There were a few burns and bruises scattered on them. <While I can hold my starbolts without issue, their detonations are another matter.> She explained. <I have been practicing controlling the energy in my hands so that I can send all of the force away from me, but it seems I have not perfected the technique yet. Really, this is quite minor.>
"Focus on your hands, I want to get a better look."
Instead she lowered them to her sides. <It is nothing to be concerned about.>
"Well, how am I supposed to be sure of that if-"
"Jacob," She said out loud as she looked at me flatly. "You are fussing over me again."
I waggled my non-corporal finger at her. "Woman I am, somehow, the team medic. I will fuss over you however much I want." I was about to say more before I actually noticed my hand and stopped. My image had stopped shifting around so much and had finally settled, but I wasn't expecting what I saw.
Flesh. Normal bones and muscles covered in skin. Looking down I saw my body was the same, normal looking bare skin and human physique. I… hadn't seen myself like this in months, so for a few moments I was just stuck silent. I suppose it was also why it took me a bit to realize I was orange.
I was a slightly darker tone than Kori's, but it definitely wasn't a human skin tone. My lower half was covered in a sort of loose cloth whose style I did not recognize, and a belt with various tools lined my waist. I had a moment of double vision and I saw myself from the outside. My hair was still white, but my eyes were a shocking shade of blue, nearly solid save for the lighter irises. For a second I wondered just why I looked like this before I realized. No one else was 'looking' at me at that moment, it was just her.
Was this how Kori saw me?
[███]
I reeled as I felt something ripple through my being, deep but very familiar. And wrong. Kori saw my sudden distress. "Jacob? Jacob what's wrong?"
"It's Abra! He's found me and he's-!"
[██████]
I couldn't stand it, it felt like something was reaching into to me. My focus returned to my body as it twisted and morphed. As I finally snapped back to human I opened my eyes to see Abra standing a few feet away from me. His hand was extended towards me, and a scowl was on his face. "I was hoping you wouldn't notice… damn, I am out of practice. Well, no matter." He said in a strained tone.
"What-" I started to say before a wave of lightheadedness hit me. "What are you doing to me?"
"I am removing the schematics of the technology you assimilated from me." He said. "I may not be terribly concerned about the rest of society, but I don't want to have to deal with any temporal paradoxes that would arise from a technovore consuming future technology."
"…And just
how are you doing that?" I asked as I tried in vain to fight off whatever was going on inside of me. "I have been having rather immense difficulty finding anyone capable of interacting with these things."
Abra hesitated for a long moment before he said "I come from four millennia in your future. You really think I don't have the proper technology to manipulate nanomachines?"
"I think I find it strange that your technology requires you to point your hand and me and concentrate as hard as you are." I remarked.
"Oh, what do you know?" He snapped before falling into silence.
I stared at him for a long moment before I lashed out my arm at him. It hit the barrier of course, but that was the point. I held back a scream as I felt myself loose cohesion a little, chaos magic playing merry hell with my structure.
Abra was alarmed by this. "What?! What the devil are- you can't break out of there like that!"
"Ye-yeah, but I bet it's a lot harder for you to-" I cut off my throat clenched up, my whole body writhing as kept pushing my hand into the barrier.
"No! Stop it! Stop being unreasonable! Damn it, one equals null such that negative lambda
/ κ+λ=max{κ, λ}< █████████]
I stopped.
Hmm, not yet.
I don't know how much time passed before I could move again, but when I finally dropped to my knees Abra did so as well. I pulled myself back together quickly, though he was still breathing heavily. We stared at each other for a long moment before I shrugged awkwardly. "And that was…"
"Not… telling." Abra breathed out.
I frown. "I… guess we're supposed to banter now? Sorry, I'm still not very good at that part yet."
He scoffed as he got to his feet. "I would say theatricality is a lost art, but considering the time period we are in, I would think it would only take a little observation on your part."
A single flat laugh was my response. "So, are you going monologue about how you're so much better than me, while I give you some variation of 'you'll never get away with this'?"
"And let you stall for more time while your allies get closer? No, I don't think so." He turned and started to walk away. "Good bye, D- Machine Man. May we never meet again." He paused for a moment and looked back. "And… stay out of reach." That white glow surrounded him and an instant later he was gone.
But...
It wasn't long before Kori and M'gann arrived with Fate in tow, but I was still left feeling I was missing something very important.
He will have to do it sooner or later.
=====A=====
Me: Ok, this one really should only be six pages.
*14 pages later*
Me: Motherfucker!
Also:
"Is that a motherfucking J-!"
YES, DAMN IT!
