Project: Gamer Ver. 2 Alpha Build 1.1.2
Disclaimer Me Do: I own nothing you recognize. And most of what you don't recognize, I still don't own.
_________________________________________________________________________
Quite often, the current course of events can be traced back through a series of actions and reactions to reveal a clear course of cause and effect.
Quite often, this can honestly be attributed to a person's own actions, regardless of however much they wish to think otherwise.
Sometimes, though, it really is just a matter of divine providence...
Or dirty, rotten luck.
Now, Robin thought, this might perhaps not be the best time to be thinking on such abstract matters, but really he didn't have that much control on where his brain would wander.
And the moments between artillery shells was, he found, just very oddly peaceful.
The team had left the Bioship a few kilometers away and proceeded to try and sneak up on the military outpost in the dead of night on foot. They'd even made a good effort of it, too!
And then, as these things are wont to do, a problem showed up.
Megan had shared the text Alchemist sent her with the rest of the team. While he personally questioned where, exactly, he would have heard a rumor about a metahuman the Justice League had no knowledge of, that didn't change the fact that it presented a variety of issues.
Among them being that the team had already determined a course of action, and the mystery meta would require a massive change in plans to counter. Megan wouldn't be able to join them if she was actively shielding the team, as it would require enough effort and focus that she would be rendered immobile for the duration of her efforts and she wouldn't be able to facilitate mental communications.
That also meant that she wouldn't be able to monitor the enemy forces, or redirect them with mental prodding or commands.
A challenging mission had suddenly become very, very difficult!
But they persevered!
And Robin returned to the here and now as he heard the whistling noise indicating that he needed to dodge, yesterday!
Power Girl grabbed him part-way into a jump and juked to her left. Hard. Shielding him from shrapnel and debris with her own body.
"Thanks for the save, PG!" It royally burned him, being the 'Normal' human of the bunch, but he could complain later! After they got back, and he got more training, and everyone was safe and not being fired at!
She wordlessly set him on his feet and waited the quarter-second it took for him to get running again.
If she had said anything to him, he couldn't hear it over the impossibly loud pitch ringing in his ears
They had made it to the base, and they'd started their reconnaissance efforts. None of the team could read Bialyan, so they just grabbed everything they could! From time to time, Megan would feed them something mentally.
She was struggling to keep up the shielding, there actually was someone trying to force their way in! An experienced telepath of some kind that was constantly switching his target and methods! She'd been able to keep them out, but only just. Whoever they were, their real talent had lain in being difficult to trace, stopping her from making some kind of counteroffensive.
Around the time they'd come across some kind of Sphere, the enemy psychic had stopped playing their games.
Instead of brute forcing their way into the teams minds, he'd done something perhaps more effective. And far more deadly.
He'd informed the local military command that they had saboteurs.
The first warning the team got?
Megan mentally screaming at them to 'Run!'.
Superboy had only just finished removing the last binding on the strange metal sphere when the first shell landed.
It... It tore apart the facility, just wrecked everything! The only injury had been Aqualad, but he'd been immobilized. Just trying to move him had been torturous, but the choice was to deal with that, or leave him behind.
Robin had told Kid Flash to carry him. He was the fastest, he could get Kaldur back to safety. At least, Robin hoped he could.
That left Robin, Power Girl and Superboy, along with his new friend the Sphere, to try and hightail it back to the bioship.
It wasn't going well.
Every ten or fifteen seconds, another mortar shell would land in the path they were trying to cross, but through bad aim or sheer good luck, they were making progress!
Megan had said for them to try their best, that she was calling in reinforcements, but that was almost ten minutes ago and things weren't looking good.
As a point of fact, things were looking like a pair of M1A1 tanks blocking the path back to the bioship.
"Halt!" A heavily accented voice screeched through a megaphone, carried by a ridiculously heavily medaled man standing between them. "Or you will be fired upon! Surrender, and you may still die with honor!"
Superboy stopped. Power Girl stopped. The Sphere stopped.
Robin ran into Power Girl's back.
"It is good to see that you have some sense, trespassers!" The man dropped the megaphone to his side and shouted something in Bialyan.
Something that caused the two tanks to start turning to face them.
Robin swallowed heavily. He knew the krypto-clones were tough, but he didn't know if they were that tough.
"Guys." Robin spoke up, getting their attention. "Go! Don't worry about me!"
This... This wasn't how things were supposed to go.
The two of them looked at him, confused, but he simply nodded.
The tanks had finally lined up, Robin knew what that meant... But the other three had refused to move. He closed his eyes. He couldn't- This wasn't- He exhaled, trying to quash the feeling of Failure in his chest.
There was a sound like- like- Robin didn't have words for it. It was as though the grenade launcher he chose not to bring had been scaled up a thousand-fold. And so close together with it was another sound, as though an impossibly loud gong had just been struck by the biggest hammer the world had ever seen.
Robin opened his eyes, and saw something he wasn't sure he could believe.
A man stood in front of him, wearing a suit of pitch-black armor with wisps of black smoke obscuring the details. He held out his hand in front of him, towards the tanks, and Robin could see metal fragments still glistening in the air where the shells had apparently hit -something- and failed to penetrate. Next to him was a girl- Player One?!- wearing an outfit that was barely an outfit.
And completing the ensemble was Red Tornado. Painted black and covered in glued on animal horns that did a terrible job concealing his profile.
"Robin." That voice- That was Alchemist! He'd never been so happy to see the man before in his life!
"Play along."
-----
Sitting in the Bioship, Kaldur recently healed with Kid Flash near her, M'gann was still struggling to contain and control the other psychic.
They had shifted tactics, constantly, and it was immensely frustrating!
And also, much as she didn't want to admit it, the most fun she'd had since she came to Earth. It was almost like playing hide and find with her siblings, back on Mars.
And that experience, that was what allowed her to shift the game from searching to containing!
A little over five minutes after she'd sent out the S.O.S., Alchemist, Red Tornado and Player One had arrived. Dressed in the most ridiculous outfits.
Well, alright. Not Alchemist. The time she found him cooking eggs while wearing green little bootyshorts and an absurd, blue cowl with little stenciled on eyebrows. That was, absolutely, winning on the ridiculous outfits list.
It was apparently Red Tornado's idea. He said that, if their intrusion had been detected, they instead needed to mask the origin. So for the four minutes after they'd assembled while Alchemist had been scrying M'gann's location they'd been getting a different outfit on and debating how to act out of character.
The final decision had been to give Player One a scroll for a 'Free Magic' spell and then have Alchemist cover two other power sets with his spells.
When they'd arrived, the enemy psychic had tried to latch on to the most open mind available, which was Alchemist's. Except he had some kind of weird, new protection in place that kept them, and even M'gann, from actually tampering with his mind! She could look into it, watch the other psychic trying to do things to it, but it was like trying to move Mars by mind alone!
She'd gotten an idea, and had latched on to it immediately!
"Alchemist!" She'd said once she realized the opportunity available. "Think of the most inane and distracting thing you can!"
"Uh, alright?" He'd agreed readily enough... And M'gann realized she probably should have been more specific. Or made a request. Or anything, really.
But she had to admit. Anthropomorphized airplane pornography was incredibly distracting.
And also a seriously strong -What the ever loving hell is wrong with him?- moment.
But, and this was the important part. It distracted the other psychic, too, and that gave her an opportunity! She latched on to his connection, she was stronger than him, even if the other one was more subtle and slippery. She latched on to him, and she locked him in place in Alchemist's inexplicably uneditable mind!
Then she watched Alchemist get distracted thinking about jet fuel, and how hot it burns, then shifting over to a table showing off the tensile strength of standard steel beams at different temperatures. That moved over to the homeless problems in New York. Then that moved on to diseases, then bloodborne diseases, then that finally settled on to something called Bloodborne.
It had been kind of like watching Kid Flash get distracted during a wiki-crawl while doing homework.
She'd maintained one thread of thought, watching these Bloodborne memories even as she kept the opposing psychic locked in to them. She managed to split off a final one, though, and directed Alchemist to teleport to Robin and the rest.
She bit her lip as the memories played out, while at the same time watching the encounter through Robin's eyes.
"I must thank you, Humans, for assisting in the capture of our prey." Red Tornado said to the Bialyan military, his hands clasped behind his back and his chest out. "But your assistance is no longer required. Sorceress, subdue the specimens for transit."
"Yes, Wallmaster." Player One was incredibly uncomfortable in her outfit, but she appreciated that it was also the opposite of what she normally wore.
She waved her hand in front of Superboy's face and whispered "Pretend you're getting sleepy." to him, small lights floating off of her hand.
Alchemist, in contrast, was staring directly at the... General? Of the Bialyan armed forces in front of them and giggling. Giggling.
"You will not take the trespassers, trespassers!" The man with a ludicrous amount of medals on his chest shouted at them. "Men! Fire upon them!"
The tanks, still in the process of reloading, had a man pop out of the hatch on the top of each one. Another pair of Bialyan soldiers, one for each tank, manned the guns sitting atop each. They began firing, but the bullets were simply impacting an invisible wall. The same one that ate a pair of tank shells without flinching.
Of course, while this was happening, M'gann and the other psychic were getting a face full of a kind of eldritch horror that Alchemist apparently thought was amusing... He'd somehow watched over the shoulder of a man that had been injected with some kind of 'Pale Blood' and gone on to interact with- with- giant wolf monsters and mad men and ugly little partial men, crawling out of puddles of fog. She saw a massive, twisted wolf monster that Alchemist referred to as the 'Cleric Beast' and saw a man transform, calling out to the blood and madness!
"Mini-Miser? I believe you would enjoy adding some new... Toys, to your collection, wouldn't you?" Red Tornado, AKA Wallmaster, said to Alchemist. He hadn't yet moved a single servo, maintaining his position as the collected commander of the group.
"Toys?" Alchemist giggled again, his pitch rising to a shriek. "I love toys!"
Alchemist took off to the side, easily dodging around bullet fire, sometimes dropping to all four limbs as he dodged, hopped, jumped and over-all evaded gunfire in a way that made Robin feel distinctly envious.
Alchemist, on the other hand, was actually feeling incredibly nervous but was also appreciative of the fact that his evasion spell, Blink?, was ludicrously effective when there weren't other gamer shenanigans involved.
He actually thought that. He actually thought the word shenanigans.
If M'gann wasn't busily watching him follow this Moon-Scented Hunter through a corrupted, ruined college, she might have been amused. The hunter dropped down, into the reflection of the moon upon a lake, and they encountered a massive spider called... Rom?!
Alchemist grabbed the first gunner and literally threw him off the tank, probably breaking something, before literally dropping into the hatch. Giggling like a lunatic the entire time. There was the sound of flesh impacting metal, and then two more soldiers were thrown out of the hatch, landing roughly.
At this time, Red Tornado was still standing imperiously, staring down the general who couldn't decide which was the greater threat. Player One had the entire team pretending to be hypnotized by the meaningless little lights that she had dancing around her fingers.
Red Tornado held out one hand, and then sharply jerked it down in between the two tanks.
The signal for Alchemist to create another wall between them before he got shot while getting out of the first one.
M'gann, meanwhile, was hunched over in the Bioship. One hand held against her mouth, trying to keep her lunch in. What she'd seen in Alchemist's memories was impossible! It had to be!
She'd let go of the other psychic, and they'd fully retreated.
Things were finishing up over with Robin and his half of the team. Alchemist 'Mini-Miser' was shrinking the two tanks and calling them his toys. Red Tornado was approaching the quivering General. And Player One had 'bound' the three people together.
The sphere had just been burbling happily and rolling in circles.
"Leave, Human. We have much better specimens. It's not worth the effort for us to stain the sands with your inferior blood." The many horned form of Red Tornado took one step towards the cowering man, and he took off running! His countless 'War Medals' clinking like wind-chimes.
The other soldiers, some hurt but none of them dead, scrambled to their feet and took off running as well.
M'gann wiped at her mouth, sending a mental apology to the Bio-ship, and altered the external configuration. Red Tornado had been very specific, it needed to look edgy and spiky and organic.
More importantly, it needed to be showy.
As the ship began molding to its temporary form, M'gann made herself a promise.
She was never, ever diving deep into Alchemist's mind again! Ever!
She didn't want to imagine what other cultures gods he'd seen murdered and their children consumed...
And there went her lunch!
Right into her boots.
Today was a terrible day.
-----
All in all, things could have been far worse.
Everyone was alive, nobody got brainwashed, Aqualad had only been minorly crushed and perforated and, most importantly...
This qualified Alchemist for his hazard pay bonus! A fifty percent hike on his paycheck, compounding per incident that occurs within the same week!
An extra grand for basically half an hour of work!
...He needed to raise his standards.
Everyone was squeezed into the bioship, which had taken on a more saucer-like appearance. Covered in spikes. He wasn't sure exactly where they were, but they were out of Bialyan airspace and over water.
"So." Alchemist started, since Red Tornado was very content to simply sit in silence. "Did you guys learn anything before Queen Stink's pet psychic Simon Says messed everything up?"
"...Queen Stink?" Robin asked after everyone looked around each other in confusion.
"It's... Her metahuman power? I mean, seriously, she goes by 'Queen Bee'. Biology? Insect study? Hive structure and... You know what, nevermind. Her power is pheromones. Her body odor has mind control powers. Simon Says, Psimon, friggin' nimrod who replaced the top half of his skull with a see-through glass dome? I don't know if the brain can get sunburned, but now I'm gonna look it up when I get back to base." Alchemist leaned back in his seat and grumbled a bit under his breath.
"Why didn't you tell us sooner?" Superboy asked after he'd gotten done digesting what Alchemist claimed.
"Didn't know if it'd be safe." Alchemist shrugged. "She's a key figure in the Illuminati. If it gets back that I know that, her other backers might have tried to do something. Probably not the Brain, and Luthor's already got Deathstroke the compensator after me. Basically just leaves Ra's and his band of nutty assassins to go after me on land. Aquaman's brother, Prince what's-his-name, isn't really worth much up here."
"Actually..." Alchemist started after a few moments of thought as the team tried to digest what he'd said and try to decide if he was serious or just a conspiracy nut. "Where is Atlantis? I've got an idea."
"I would like to interrupt here?" Kid Flash raised his hand as he spoke. "I just want it known that I don't know what your idea is, but I already don't like it and think it's terrible."
"And I would appreciate it if you could explain your accusations regarding Prince Orm." Aqualad stated, his voice tight with anger.
"Prince Orm wants the throne. He'll gladly kill Arthur, Mera and any kids the two have to take it. Seriously, he's Ocean Master, try to keep up." Alchemist absently answered as he began digging through his inventory. He knew he had something cheap and disposable... There, perfect! "And I was going to suggest we throw you all at Atlantis, give you a bit of time to come up with a story as to how you got free from Wallmaster, Sorceress and I. If one of the Illuminati's agents reports your story back for you, that's even better."
"Do you... Have any proof of these claims against the Prince?" Aqualad had just put his head forward and was resting it against his hands, his elbows on his knees.
"Saw it on the television, I think." Alchemist had a handful of rings in hand. Small, cheap, made of plastic with little cartoon characters on them. After a moment, they'd all been fused with Life Bubble. "Anyway, here you go. These will let you breathe and survive comfortably under the sea."
"...It's a pretty princess Sparkle ring." Power Girl says as she takes the one he'd been trying to hand to Kid Flash. "I love this show."
"Well I'm glad somebody appreciates what I try and do for you!" Alchemist huffed, more than a little bit amused.
"We'll be over Atlantis in an hour... Is... This really a good idea?" M'gann turned to look at the still silent Red Tornado.
They'd had to remove the horns from him. They were... Well, kind of sharp. And things were really, really cramped.
"While far from ideal." The android finally answered. "This does maximize the potential for subverting mission identification. Assuming Alchemist is correct, and Queen Bee is associated with Ocean Master. Otherwise, this still allows the team to spread misinformation regarding their whereabouts, motives and activities. If subterfuge fails, it remains critical to obfuscate as much of your trail as possible. Prince Orm is notably active in the United Nations meetings, and has been known to spend a significant amount of time conversing with representatives from Bialya and South Rhelasia."
"And the magical rings?" Super Boy asked, holding up his own novelty plastic ring.
"Say you traded for 'em. Got 'em off Mini-Miser for an autograph from each of you. Play him up as some sort of collector of memorabilia or something. Just keep your stories straight and consistent, but not perfect. Be prepared to add everything you make up about the 'villains' to your reports though. In case we need to use them again." Alchemist leaned forward to see the round table that had popped up in the middle of the lone room of the Bio Ship, a map on display.
"I just have two questions." Player One finally chimed in, her face no longer beet red since everyone had been considerate enough to turn around so she could put on some real clothes. "Why do you have so many Pegasister rings from the little fifty cent vending machines outside of stores?"
"I can remove the bolts holding the little coin op machines to the ground in ten seconds apiece. When Batman, Robin and I were looting the ever loving hell out of the east coast, I may have grabbed everything. Ever-y-thing. What's your other question?" Was he going to comment on Superboy trading his ring with Robin so he could have the ultra rare limited edition Rainbow Flyer? No, no he was not.
"Can I drive one of your tanks?"
"Sure" "No" Alchemist said at the same time as Red Tornado.
The two looked to each other, both with blank expressions...
"Only inside her Zombie I.D.?" Alchemist asked after a moment.
"...This is acceptable." Red Tornado answered back after a long moment of processing.
-----
Simon Jones stared down at his hands, his eyes unseeing.
Well, no.
His eyes had seen too much! Had seen too much and understood so little!
He needed more! Needed to see more! See more, more, more, more see see seeseesee!
Eyes. More eyes! Look up! Look down! Look inside! But... It was too cramped! Too small!
Where would he put them? Where would he find them?!
His hands came up, brushing against the glass dome covering the top half of his head.
"Sir! The trespasser's have escaped! What do you... Sir?" His aid, some faceless member of the Bialyan military looked on in confusion as Psimon gripped the sides of his artificial cranium.
With almost inhuman strength, he pushed! It slowly, slowly twisted in his hands. His skin warped and tore, trying to cling on to the artificial material it had been grafted to until, with a sound akin to tearing paper, he pushed his skull cap off of his head.
It fell to the ground, shattering on impact.
"Much... Better." Simon rasped, his face deflating. "So... Confining."
His mad, sunken eyes landed on his aid. Looking into his terrified brown eyes, Simon's face twisted into a bloody smirk.
His brain was pulsing, countless tiny -things- wriggling their way out from between the folds.
"You!" The psychic shouted, his hands reaching out to his paralyzed assistant. "You have such pretty eyes!"
