Project: Gamer Ver. 2 (Young Justice/Gamer/Multicross OC)
- Thread starter Mister Ficser
- Start date
- Location
- Auckland, NZ
He's gonna have to see them as something other than little sisters first.
I've never written a harem story and I don't intend on starting.
An actual harem doesn't operate like a personal brothel, as many people seem to think, and actually requires a lot of interpersonal work to function well.
Alchemist and interpersonal... Those things just don't mesh well, do they?
As to 'Girlfriends'... Consider how he died and try to look at it from his point of view. There's not a lot of actual thought put into it from him, but there is an undercurrent of 'I don't want to go through that again'.
Though with that being said- The M/F tag is up on AO3 for a reason
and it'll probably surprise him when it gets figured out.1. None, but he does get at least three underage teenage wanna-be's Lolita's.
2. yes
3. yes.
- Location
- Australia
Though with that being said- The M/F tag is up on AO3 for a reason
It'd probably be someone that can handle his communication issues. So an Empath like Raven or someone like Cassandra who's just absolutely broken. Not sure how she'd handle his metal body but considering he's got fake enough muscles and skin it still might be enough for her body reading.
Chapter 114
Project: Gamer Ver. 2 Alpha Build 1.1.4
Disclaimer Me Do: I own nothing you recognize. And most of what you don't recognize, I still don't own.
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Batman regarded his apprentice with a stony look.
Being fair, this was completely normal for him. Half of his 'looks' could give a sculpture a run for their money.
"And I understand that your 'Initial' escape from these 'Collectors' involved breaking free from their ship inside the boundaries of Bialya?" The mission report was utterly absurd, fanciful and downright unbelievable.
Still, it read better than the time they'd discovered dinosaurs hidden under one of the poles.
"Yes, sir. At which point we began to seek assistance from the nearest visible point of civilization." Robin at least looked like he was taking this entire farce seriously.
Batman decided he probably should have given his ward lessons on 'Creative' report writing well before now.
"So you came across an unmanned military base, is that correct?" Regardless of however true that actually was, Robin and his team had managed to infiltrate up to that point without being detected through mundane means. "At which point you discovered that none of you could speak or read the local language?"
That part? That part right there? Batman was looking at the mission and rethinking it in its entirety. Robin was passingly fluent in multiple languages, but the cluster of insular and very difficult languages of the middle east had never been fully covered.
"Correct, sir. We couldn't find anything to tell us where we were, or how to contact anyone locally. We were looking for anything that could help when the first mortar shell detonated next to the encampment." That was something, at least. By Robin's report, corroborated with the others, Bialya had been the first to initiate hostile contact.
Regardless of Bialya's stance on keeping the Justice League out for normal operations, it was a standard part of the United Nation's mandate for associate members to assist Justice League assets during an emergency.
Provided those assets identified themselves... Which the Team hadn't been able to do before being fired upon.
"And then you began to run to your exfiltration point."
"Not... Quite? Aqualad was critically injured, so I sent him back to the Bioship with Kid Flash, then began to evacuate with Super Boy, Power Girl and the Mechanical Sphere that was being tortured. While under fire from artillery." Artillery. The Bialyans had been lobbing thousands upon thousands of dollars worth of explosives at the Team, all without confirming who they were, or that they were even a threat.
Meaning that they had a very, very dangerous secret they'd been keeping. One that Batman hoped he could figure out through either the paperwork the team came back with, or the odd Sphere that came with them.
"Then it was during the last leg of your evacuation that you came across Commander Khalil? As well as this... Mini-Miser, Sorceress and Wallmaster?" The reports he'd read were all over the place in their descriptions.
Mini-Miser was this hunched over figure covered in shadows and wisping black smoke.
Sorceress... Well, her description matched something from a fetish film about dancing girls that Batman may or may not have seen in his youth.
And Wallmaster was some great demon, all black but for the countless horns and spikes covering his body.
It... Definitely didn't match Alchemist, Player One or Red Tornado in the slightest.
"Yes, sir. Wallmaster created a barrier that stopped two shells from the main armaments of a pair of tanks, as well as countless bullets fired from a manned turret on top. At which point he instructed Mini-Miser to confiscate the weapons." Something else Batman wasn't sure what to do with.
Alchemist didn't just have some grenades or guns anymore. He now had full scale military hardware.
According to Black Canary, that wouldn't be a huge improvement to his destructive capabilities. Batman begged to differ. He knew the man had a variety of spells to augment his weaponry, and he was very fond of using them.
"After Sorceress had rendered the Team docile, they then collected us into their ship. A saucer-shaped object, covered in large teeth or spines." Yes, that part Batman was very well aware of. It had literally been on the news as people screamed and panicked about -another- alien invasion. "We regained our full faculties somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean. At this point, Miss Martian managed to seduce Sorceress and convinced her to release us from our holding cells."
"Miss Martian." Batman wanted to rub at his forehead. He really, really did. "Seduced the 'Villainess' into letting you all go?"
"Yes, sir." Robin's face remained completely stoic, unflinching as he served Batman the largest load of bullcrap that he'd ever heard from the boy.
He was so proud!
"Power Girl managed to destabilize their reactor, something that ran on magic we assume, and we managed to make our escape as the ship began to self-destruct." Something that had been supported by Atlantis, who had recorded some kind of explosion or impact happening above their cities. "We then made our way down, to Atlantis, so we could recover and then make our way back to the United States."
It was absurd. Unbelievable. Nobody in their right mind would think any of it could have happened in the way that it did!
Except for the handful of facts that Bialya themselves had presented, already making complaints and demands against the League to support the country against the 'Obvious Alien invasion!'.
Queen Bee had, unintentionally, supported the Team in deflecting blame from the Justice League.
"I'll talk with Alchemist about producing more of these rings you all came back with. Hopefully in something a bit less... Eye catching." Robin had claimed it was a standard part of their mission kit, something produced by Alchemist to protect the team from toxic gasses or other harmful environmental hazards.
He'd already talked with the magician, and that ran contrary to what he'd suggested... But it was also something they could work with.
"Very well, that should wrap most of this up. Robin?" The young man jumped, just a little bit, when Batman put a hand on his shoulder. "Good work."
-----
The team had returned just the day before. Soaking wet and exhausted, but Player One had been happy to see everyone was okay.
They hadn't had a whole lot to say to her at the time before they all got caught up in the mission debriefing, but what she'd heard? Atlantis had been beautiful, and she really had missed out on something unique and amazing.
Hopefully she could go sometime soon on her own, or with the team, or just... She just wanted to see it.
Today was Sunday, and she wasn't looking forward to going back to school tomorrow. Leslie didn't go to school yet, his mom was working on it though. Her other friends... Well, they got in trouble with the law over the summer. Very conveniently getting caught in the middle of a drug deal.
She wasn't saying Alchemist was responsible. She just wasn't saying he -wasn't-.
Speaking of, Superboy had said he was here today... And he'd promised to let her drive one of his new tanks in the zombie I.D.!
She was beyond the level range, closing in on sixty, so she wouldn't get much from it in regards to experience. And she was stuck at a wall in the Cave I.D. that she couldn't get past.
But sometimes, it was more about having fun than making progress!
She eventually found him on the ground floor, in the motor pool. Working on one of the tanks in question.
With the pink haired metahuman girl, Jinx.
Robin was also in the room and working on a motorcycle, but that was just infinitely less interesting.
"So, this should be one of the toggle switches for- Oh, hey!" Alchemist looked up from his phone, a video playing on it, when he noticed her approaching.
He was sitting on the rim of the hatch on the top of the tank, next to the great big gun on top.
She didn't know why, but he'd painted the tank a bright, eye catching yellow. On either side of the main cannon, he'd also painted a pair of black circles with white rings inside of them, almost like eyes.
It kind of looked like a face.
A ridiculously high powered, high calibered face.
"Why is your tank looking at me?" Tiffany finally asked once she was close enough to hear Jinx shouting instructions at him.
"So people know I mean it when I shoot them with the biggest bullet I have." He waved to her before dropping off the massive piece of machinery. "What can I do for Player One today?"
Jinx popped her head up out of the hatch, glaring murder her way. The metahuman outright held her hand up to her face, pointed to her own eyes with two hands, then at Player One in the universal 'I'm watching you' gesture!
"I was hoping I could get that chance today to drive around your tank." ...And she really, really wanted to shoot that gun!
"I think we can pull that off. Jinx, Dinah need you back for a few hours?" Was he- Seriously!? Come on! "A tank needs a crew, driver and gunner at a minimum."
"Are you seriously asking me if I'd like to ride your tank and shoot a great big gun?" Alchemist nodded at the girls question. Jinx, in response, pulled out her own phone and spent a few seconds texting. "I told her I'll be back late because we're gonna go blow up the moon!"
They... Didn't really think they could shoot the moon, did they?
"Fun. Can't wait to hear about that one." He really didn't sound enthusiastic. Was it something to do with him and Black Canary not getting along? "So, quick question before we go. How many perk points do you have left?"
"Twenty-Four. I got the rest of the elemental perks so I could get Universalist." Jinx answered after a moment of looking at her menus. "Why?"
"Did you get the special perk [Draconic Soul] after the debacle with Sindri?" He asked instead of directly answering.
~~ Tooltip! ~~
~~ Draconic Soul: Allows the purchase of perks normally reserved for [Dragon] race characters at increased cost. ~~
"Uhh... Yeah! What'ya thinking?" Jinx looked distinctly curious, and Tiffany was, too.
"Well, think on it for a second before you click anything. I saw a perk called [Draconic Growth], it doubles stat gains but halves experience. I figured, since we're going somewhere reasonably safe, it might be a good idea for you to [Transmigrate]."
"It costs five perk points." Tiffany goggled at the other girls statement! That kind of cost was huge! "Got it! Also got Substitute: Dragon Heritage! It says it'll take effect after I transmigrate."
"Dinah's going to kill me..." The man mumbled to himself before sighing. "Alright, hop on out of the tank, Jinx. We'll go to Gotham, it always looks better on fire."
"Can I come along?" Robin asked, over from where he'd been tinkering with his motorcycle.
"You just want to shoot the cannon!" Tiffany accused, a grin spreading across her face.
"Duh." Was the boy wonder's simple response.
"Eh, sure." Alchemist was not amused, but at least he wasn't saying no! "You get to tell Batman where you are, though."
As Alchemist was shrinking the tank and Jinx was doing something with her menu, Tiffany got a pop-up in front of her face. One she hadn't seen in a long time.
Of course, she hit Y.
-----
The first thing Alchemist did, one they'd entered the I.D. was to pull out both of his tanks. The yellow one with the face on it, and the other one that looked like it was brand new from the factory.
He only unshrunk the normal one, though...
"Alright, Jinx? You know Reloading Hands? I'd suggest using it, it'll be a lot faster than trying to load the armaments yourself. I'd stick to the M1028 rounds since we're hunting zombies and not, y'know, heavily armored anything. Everything has abundant ammunition locked in to it, so feel free to fire as much as you can." He was climbing up into the unshrunk tank, even as he talked.
"Uh, what are we supposed to do with this?" Robin asked him, motioning towards the tiny tank.
"What? Oh, nothing, that's for me!" Alchemist smiled as he started throwing helmets at everyone. "I just need a safe place to keep my body while I'm busy. So it's going to be strapped in to one of the unused consoles."
"...Is this going to be insane and slash or crazy?" Jinx asked, pressing a button on the screen that Tiffany could see now that they were in the same party. There was a ripple, and the girls skin went from being grey to beige, almost pale white.
A line of purple scales went down both her cheeks, down her neck and met to continue going down her back.
Her level reset from 100(!) to 1.
"I need to level up Object Possession." He said as he dropped down.
Everyone that was left looked to each other for a moment before following, climbing up and into the cramped cabin.
Robin was the last one in, and he saw Alchemist fastening his safety harness before going limp.
"Alright Gang!" Alchemist's voice crackled over the radio, and Robin crawled back up to look out the hatch.
The other tank, 1/16'th the size of the one they were in, was moving on its own! The cannon moving up and down as Alchemist talked over the communications system!
"Here's the game plan. We're going to see who can do it better! Little old me, all by my lonesome? Or the biggest, baddest group of teenagers specializing in magical and martial mayhem!" His voice got deeper as he talked, pretending to be some kind of announcer. "On your marks! Get set... Suckers!"
The tiny tank took off at a surprising speed, far faster than what any of the teens had been expecting.
"Hey!" Player One shouted into the microphone. "That's cheating!"
Alchemist just laughed at them... And then the explosions started.
Then he laughed harder.
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~~ Special PVP Quest! ~~
~~ Defeat more zombies than the opposing team! ~~
~~ Time Limit: 30 Minutes ~~
~~ Reward: 5000 GP!, Boasting Rights! ~~
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The level of mayhem Robin saw was, well, far beyond what he was used to.
Buildings had been toppled or caught aflame, the roads were torn up all over the place, zombie corpses littered everywhere.
Almost all of which could be attributed to a little yellow tank the size of a toy car, the size little kids might drive around the backyard.
"How is he beating us!" Tiffany screamed from her seat, piloting the tank itself. "He! Is! A! Toy! I'm about to fail the quest! I've never failed a quest!"
"He's not even using haste! This is just ridiculous!" Jinx, up above in the gunners seat, shouted down at her. "That's it! I'm coming down there!"
Robin had to move to the side as Jinx squeezed her way into the cramped compartment.
"What's the score even at?" He finally asked after a few moments, watching the pink haired girl poking at nothing in the air.
"His score just says nine-hundred and ninety-nine plus. We're at a bit over four hundred, and the quest countdown ends in ten minutes." Tiffany grumbled, but drove the tank forward.
They'd all taken turns at the various stations before eventually finding what they each worked best at.
Player One was bad with guns. All guns. From the tank cannon to the machine guns on top, her aim was just bad. Likely because she'd never actually been trained with any of the weaponry. She'd eventually found her place as the pilot.
Jinx was a crack-shot with the weaponry up top, and decent with the turret, too. She could see better in the dimming light, however, and had taken up position in the commander's seat just behind Robin so she could get to those guns with more ease.
And Robin? He was decent at everything, but didn't have any particular area he excelled in. Eventually he'd just stuck to aiming and firing the main turret, or the small machine gun next to it as it reloaded.
In the loader's seat... Alchemist continued to just sit there, strapped in and insensate. Drooling on himself a bit.
"Ah-hahahah!" His voice crackled over the radio, a little yellow tank just zooming by. "Come on, guys! Put some spine into it!"
"Yeah. Y'know what? I'm really not surprised." Jinx had calmed down oddly fast. "If he hadn't done something, or rigged the game somehow, I know that he wouldn't challenge us three on one."
That... Actually made a lot of sense. Batman was kind of the same way, about rigging the game to suit him and planning ahead.
He was just less obvious about it.
Robin was broken out of his reverie, wondering about this game and system thing the girl and Alchemist were all using, when Jinx straddled Alchemist's prone form.
"Uhh, Jinx?" He asked, about the time the girl began lifting the mans face and moving it from side to side. "What are you doing?"
The girl pulled a marker from seemingly nowhere, popped off the cap and, with a smile in her voice said "This!".
-----
It wasn't actually very far off before the game came to an end.
And this time, with more people, more power, it felt more like a game to Robin. He'd noticed last time, but somehow it was even more obvious that the zombies... They all looked the same. Generic and indistinct, except for the bigger, mutated boss zombies.
Alchemist parked his small tank next to them, then his body woke up.
He was dazed, had trouble moving his limbs at first. It looked like he was trying to remember what his own body felt like, instead of one running on jet fuel and filled with explosives.
"Alright." He stumbled for a moment as he stood up, addressing everyone. "Up and out everyone, I'm gonna put these away until we need 'em again."
Robin let Jinx leave first, a mischievous giggle on her lips. Then Tiffany was second, she stopped to stare and left with a muffled chuckle.
Alchemist looked confused, but Robin wasn't going to tell him what was going on.
He had other things on his mind.
"Alchemist, can we talk?" The Boy Wonder had a few things on his mind, things that had been running in circles for a while now.
"Sure, let me just-" The magician pulled himself up and out of the tank. "-come on. What's on your mind?"
Robin pulled himself up, Alchemist actually helping him out.
He saw Jinx grab on to Player One, then both of them disappeared. Returning to the real world.
"You... You killed that woman, that werewolf. Is that- How do you feel?" Robin had seen people die. He'd seen a lot of people die.
His own family had fallen to their deaths in front of him.
"I don't really feel good or bad about it." The man put a hand against his tank and it began to shrink in front of Robin's eyes. "I don't actually remember doing it. Green Lantern said I had a pretty severe concussion, and that's not something that plays well with memory. If I had to put a feeling to it though? I guess... Relieved? She was going to either try and eat my soul, or give it to a demon god to be tortured until it got bored. And Jinx told me she'd said some things about doing that to her, too. I'm just hopeful I won't have to deal with her again."
"Deal with her again? Alchemist, the woman is dead." Was he just afraid of her, of her memory and letting that continue to impact him?
"Robin, I was dead, too." That... That... Robin hadn't thought of that! Hadn't had any idea what that kind of experience could do to someone.
The tank disappeared, probably into his 'Inventory', and Alchemist turned around to go to the other one.
"Can I ask you something about your power?" With the context he'd gotten from Player One, Megan and even Batman, he could see that Alchemist had been strangely direct with him. He was so used to having to dig and ferret for answers, someone just giving them to him felt weird.
"Go for it." And the other tank disappeared, too.
"Jinx was a metahuman, not a Gamer, right?" Robin already knew the answers, but he was trying to frame his next question correctly. When Alchemist nodded, he continued. "So, could you have invited me into a party, made me into a Gamer, too?"
"I think... You might want to ask Player One about that more than me." Alchemist grimaced, but then began to wave his fingers around in the air before him.
"You made Jinx a Gamer, right? So why not me, or Kid Flash, or any of us?" Robin kept his tone even and steady as he asked, but he... He'd felt helpless, in Bialya!
"That wasn't a decision I made lightly, Robin. I've had several near-fatal experiences, just where my 'System' glitched on me. One before I even tried to contact Batman, the other one happened with the Shadows and Doctor Roquette. Remember when I said I saw the future, but the skill broke? It literally left me on the verge of dying. One bad hit, a stiff wind maybe, and I wouldn't be getting back up." Alchemist swiped his hand, possibly closing out the 'Window' that Player One said the system looked like.
"Then why did you bring Jinx into it? Why is it okay for her to be put at risk like that?" If his power was that much of a double-edged sword, why would he be willing to share it?
What was he missing?
"She bumped into me, while I was looking at doing a personal mission of sorts. I have access to things kind of like these I.D's that Player One uses, but more inherently dangerous. For the most part. The one that she and I went to, that I'd been debating doing, was at the upper end of things. A deep, pitch-black labyrinth filled with Hellhounds, Dragons, an honest to gods Grim Reaper and an Angel of Punishment at the very bottom. I didn't have to just go to the bottom, I had to do it over, and over, and over again. We were there for three and a half, maybe four months." Alchemist sighed deeply and ran his hand through his hair, flinching when he pulled his hand- his claw! Away from his head with blood on his fingertips.
"Still not used to that..." He mumbled, before shaking his head. "If something had happened to me that I couldn't recover from? If I'd died, and she'd been trapped there? I had to make sure she had something. Had a chance. Even if that chance had been to escape the hellhole and go to the medieval crapsack world outside of the dungeon, at least it would've been something. Afterwards? The cat was already out of the bag. I'm an ass, I know that. I'm not the kind of asshole that'll just rip away something I've given to someone and say 'Alright, I'm done with you. You can leave, now.'"
"That... Sounds really rough. Why would you go and do that again for Black Canary?" Robin asked him, and Alchemist snorted at the question.
"Because I have a hard time saying no sometimes. Right now though?" Alchemist reached up and rubbed his face, smearing his drawn on glasses and handlebar mustache. "I'm completely burnt out. If a quest looks like it'll take more than a day, I'm not interested. I don't care who's asking."
Robin swallowed, he had one more question but he wasn't sure if he should ask. He hadn't cleared it with Batman, but... "Would you be willing to teach me healing magic?"
Alchemist looked at the Boy Wonder for several long seconds. His glowing yellow eyes practically piercing through Robin's opaque lenses with an uncomfortable intensity...
Until, finally, he simply nodded.
AN/ Small edit where formatting got weird. Substitute Dragon Heritage had a smiley in it that wasn't supposed to be there.
Second edit: I couldn't remember exactly what I put in as a quest the first time around, but now there's one up there for Player One to see.
Disclaimer Me Do: I own nothing you recognize. And most of what you don't recognize, I still don't own.
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Batman regarded his apprentice with a stony look.
Being fair, this was completely normal for him. Half of his 'looks' could give a sculpture a run for their money.
"And I understand that your 'Initial' escape from these 'Collectors' involved breaking free from their ship inside the boundaries of Bialya?" The mission report was utterly absurd, fanciful and downright unbelievable.
Still, it read better than the time they'd discovered dinosaurs hidden under one of the poles.
"Yes, sir. At which point we began to seek assistance from the nearest visible point of civilization." Robin at least looked like he was taking this entire farce seriously.
Batman decided he probably should have given his ward lessons on 'Creative' report writing well before now.
"So you came across an unmanned military base, is that correct?" Regardless of however true that actually was, Robin and his team had managed to infiltrate up to that point without being detected through mundane means. "At which point you discovered that none of you could speak or read the local language?"
That part? That part right there? Batman was looking at the mission and rethinking it in its entirety. Robin was passingly fluent in multiple languages, but the cluster of insular and very difficult languages of the middle east had never been fully covered.
"Correct, sir. We couldn't find anything to tell us where we were, or how to contact anyone locally. We were looking for anything that could help when the first mortar shell detonated next to the encampment." That was something, at least. By Robin's report, corroborated with the others, Bialya had been the first to initiate hostile contact.
Regardless of Bialya's stance on keeping the Justice League out for normal operations, it was a standard part of the United Nation's mandate for associate members to assist Justice League assets during an emergency.
Provided those assets identified themselves... Which the Team hadn't been able to do before being fired upon.
"And then you began to run to your exfiltration point."
"Not... Quite? Aqualad was critically injured, so I sent him back to the Bioship with Kid Flash, then began to evacuate with Super Boy, Power Girl and the Mechanical Sphere that was being tortured. While under fire from artillery." Artillery. The Bialyans had been lobbing thousands upon thousands of dollars worth of explosives at the Team, all without confirming who they were, or that they were even a threat.
Meaning that they had a very, very dangerous secret they'd been keeping. One that Batman hoped he could figure out through either the paperwork the team came back with, or the odd Sphere that came with them.
"Then it was during the last leg of your evacuation that you came across Commander Khalil? As well as this... Mini-Miser, Sorceress and Wallmaster?" The reports he'd read were all over the place in their descriptions.
Mini-Miser was this hunched over figure covered in shadows and wisping black smoke.
Sorceress... Well, her description matched something from a fetish film about dancing girls that Batman may or may not have seen in his youth.
And Wallmaster was some great demon, all black but for the countless horns and spikes covering his body.
It... Definitely didn't match Alchemist, Player One or Red Tornado in the slightest.
"Yes, sir. Wallmaster created a barrier that stopped two shells from the main armaments of a pair of tanks, as well as countless bullets fired from a manned turret on top. At which point he instructed Mini-Miser to confiscate the weapons." Something else Batman wasn't sure what to do with.
Alchemist didn't just have some grenades or guns anymore. He now had full scale military hardware.
According to Black Canary, that wouldn't be a huge improvement to his destructive capabilities. Batman begged to differ. He knew the man had a variety of spells to augment his weaponry, and he was very fond of using them.
"After Sorceress had rendered the Team docile, they then collected us into their ship. A saucer-shaped object, covered in large teeth or spines." Yes, that part Batman was very well aware of. It had literally been on the news as people screamed and panicked about -another- alien invasion. "We regained our full faculties somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean. At this point, Miss Martian managed to seduce Sorceress and convinced her to release us from our holding cells."
"Miss Martian." Batman wanted to rub at his forehead. He really, really did. "Seduced the 'Villainess' into letting you all go?"
"Yes, sir." Robin's face remained completely stoic, unflinching as he served Batman the largest load of bullcrap that he'd ever heard from the boy.
He was so proud!
"Power Girl managed to destabilize their reactor, something that ran on magic we assume, and we managed to make our escape as the ship began to self-destruct." Something that had been supported by Atlantis, who had recorded some kind of explosion or impact happening above their cities. "We then made our way down, to Atlantis, so we could recover and then make our way back to the United States."
It was absurd. Unbelievable. Nobody in their right mind would think any of it could have happened in the way that it did!
Except for the handful of facts that Bialya themselves had presented, already making complaints and demands against the League to support the country against the 'Obvious Alien invasion!'.
Queen Bee had, unintentionally, supported the Team in deflecting blame from the Justice League.
"I'll talk with Alchemist about producing more of these rings you all came back with. Hopefully in something a bit less... Eye catching." Robin had claimed it was a standard part of their mission kit, something produced by Alchemist to protect the team from toxic gasses or other harmful environmental hazards.
He'd already talked with the magician, and that ran contrary to what he'd suggested... But it was also something they could work with.
"Very well, that should wrap most of this up. Robin?" The young man jumped, just a little bit, when Batman put a hand on his shoulder. "Good work."
-----
The team had returned just the day before. Soaking wet and exhausted, but Player One had been happy to see everyone was okay.
They hadn't had a whole lot to say to her at the time before they all got caught up in the mission debriefing, but what she'd heard? Atlantis had been beautiful, and she really had missed out on something unique and amazing.
Hopefully she could go sometime soon on her own, or with the team, or just... She just wanted to see it.
Today was Sunday, and she wasn't looking forward to going back to school tomorrow. Leslie didn't go to school yet, his mom was working on it though. Her other friends... Well, they got in trouble with the law over the summer. Very conveniently getting caught in the middle of a drug deal.
She wasn't saying Alchemist was responsible. She just wasn't saying he -wasn't-.
Speaking of, Superboy had said he was here today... And he'd promised to let her drive one of his new tanks in the zombie I.D.!
She was beyond the level range, closing in on sixty, so she wouldn't get much from it in regards to experience. And she was stuck at a wall in the Cave I.D. that she couldn't get past.
But sometimes, it was more about having fun than making progress!
She eventually found him on the ground floor, in the motor pool. Working on one of the tanks in question.
With the pink haired metahuman girl, Jinx.
Robin was also in the room and working on a motorcycle, but that was just infinitely less interesting.
"So, this should be one of the toggle switches for- Oh, hey!" Alchemist looked up from his phone, a video playing on it, when he noticed her approaching.
He was sitting on the rim of the hatch on the top of the tank, next to the great big gun on top.
She didn't know why, but he'd painted the tank a bright, eye catching yellow. On either side of the main cannon, he'd also painted a pair of black circles with white rings inside of them, almost like eyes.
It kind of looked like a face.
A ridiculously high powered, high calibered face.
"Why is your tank looking at me?" Tiffany finally asked once she was close enough to hear Jinx shouting instructions at him.
"So people know I mean it when I shoot them with the biggest bullet I have." He waved to her before dropping off the massive piece of machinery. "What can I do for Player One today?"
Jinx popped her head up out of the hatch, glaring murder her way. The metahuman outright held her hand up to her face, pointed to her own eyes with two hands, then at Player One in the universal 'I'm watching you' gesture!
"I was hoping I could get that chance today to drive around your tank." ...And she really, really wanted to shoot that gun!
"I think we can pull that off. Jinx, Dinah need you back for a few hours?" Was he- Seriously!? Come on! "A tank needs a crew, driver and gunner at a minimum."
"Are you seriously asking me if I'd like to ride your tank and shoot a great big gun?" Alchemist nodded at the girls question. Jinx, in response, pulled out her own phone and spent a few seconds texting. "I told her I'll be back late because we're gonna go blow up the moon!"
They... Didn't really think they could shoot the moon, did they?
"Fun. Can't wait to hear about that one." He really didn't sound enthusiastic. Was it something to do with him and Black Canary not getting along? "So, quick question before we go. How many perk points do you have left?"
"Twenty-Four. I got the rest of the elemental perks so I could get Universalist." Jinx answered after a moment of looking at her menus. "Why?"
"Did you get the special perk [Draconic Soul] after the debacle with Sindri?" He asked instead of directly answering.
~~ Tooltip! ~~
~~ Draconic Soul: Allows the purchase of perks normally reserved for [Dragon] race characters at increased cost. ~~
"Uhh... Yeah! What'ya thinking?" Jinx looked distinctly curious, and Tiffany was, too.
"Well, think on it for a second before you click anything. I saw a perk called [Draconic Growth], it doubles stat gains but halves experience. I figured, since we're going somewhere reasonably safe, it might be a good idea for you to [Transmigrate]."
~~ Tooltip! ~~
~~ Draconic Growth: Every milestone of growth for a dragon is significantly farther off, but also twice as rewarding. They stand at the apex of mortal, and even some immortal, species for a reason.
0.5X Experience penalty, 2X bonus to all attribute points gained through leveling up. ~~
~~ Tooltip! ~~
~~ Transmigration: LOCKED ~~
~~ Please reach Level 100 for additional details! ~~
~~ Draconic Growth: Every milestone of growth for a dragon is significantly farther off, but also twice as rewarding. They stand at the apex of mortal, and even some immortal, species for a reason.
0.5X Experience penalty, 2X bonus to all attribute points gained through leveling up. ~~
~~ Tooltip! ~~
~~ Transmigration: LOCKED ~~
~~ Please reach Level 100 for additional details! ~~
"It costs five perk points." Tiffany goggled at the other girls statement! That kind of cost was huge! "Got it! Also got Substitute: Dragon Heritage! It says it'll take effect after I transmigrate."
~~ Tooltip! ~~
~~ Substitute Dragon Heritage: Replace one racial benefit with the one associated with your dragon form, where applicable. Otherwise it will be chosen at random. ~~
~~ Substitute Dragon Heritage: Replace one racial benefit with the one associated with your dragon form, where applicable. Otherwise it will be chosen at random. ~~
"Dinah's going to kill me..." The man mumbled to himself before sighing. "Alright, hop on out of the tank, Jinx. We'll go to Gotham, it always looks better on fire."
"Can I come along?" Robin asked, over from where he'd been tinkering with his motorcycle.
"You just want to shoot the cannon!" Tiffany accused, a grin spreading across her face.
"Duh." Was the boy wonder's simple response.
"Eh, sure." Alchemist was not amused, but at least he wasn't saying no! "You get to tell Batman where you are, though."
As Alchemist was shrinking the tank and Jinx was doing something with her menu, Tiffany got a pop-up in front of her face. One she hadn't seen in a long time.
~~ You Have Been Invited to Join ~~
~~ Player: Alchemist ~~
~~ Do You Accept? ~~
~~ Y/N ~~
~~ Player: Alchemist ~~
~~ Do You Accept? ~~
~~ Y/N ~~
Of course, she hit Y.
-----
The first thing Alchemist did, one they'd entered the I.D. was to pull out both of his tanks. The yellow one with the face on it, and the other one that looked like it was brand new from the factory.
He only unshrunk the normal one, though...
"Alright, Jinx? You know Reloading Hands? I'd suggest using it, it'll be a lot faster than trying to load the armaments yourself. I'd stick to the M1028 rounds since we're hunting zombies and not, y'know, heavily armored anything. Everything has abundant ammunition locked in to it, so feel free to fire as much as you can." He was climbing up into the unshrunk tank, even as he talked.
"Uh, what are we supposed to do with this?" Robin asked him, motioning towards the tiny tank.
"What? Oh, nothing, that's for me!" Alchemist smiled as he started throwing helmets at everyone. "I just need a safe place to keep my body while I'm busy. So it's going to be strapped in to one of the unused consoles."
"...Is this going to be insane and slash or crazy?" Jinx asked, pressing a button on the screen that Tiffany could see now that they were in the same party. There was a ripple, and the girls skin went from being grey to beige, almost pale white.
A line of purple scales went down both her cheeks, down her neck and met to continue going down her back.
Her level reset from 100(!) to 1.
"I need to level up Object Possession." He said as he dropped down.
Everyone that was left looked to each other for a moment before following, climbing up and into the cramped cabin.
Robin was the last one in, and he saw Alchemist fastening his safety harness before going limp.
"Alright Gang!" Alchemist's voice crackled over the radio, and Robin crawled back up to look out the hatch.
The other tank, 1/16'th the size of the one they were in, was moving on its own! The cannon moving up and down as Alchemist talked over the communications system!
"Here's the game plan. We're going to see who can do it better! Little old me, all by my lonesome? Or the biggest, baddest group of teenagers specializing in magical and martial mayhem!" His voice got deeper as he talked, pretending to be some kind of announcer. "On your marks! Get set... Suckers!"
The tiny tank took off at a surprising speed, far faster than what any of the teens had been expecting.
"Hey!" Player One shouted into the microphone. "That's cheating!"
Alchemist just laughed at them... And then the explosions started.
Then he laughed harder.
-----
~~ Special PVP Quest! ~~
~~ Defeat more zombies than the opposing team! ~~
~~ Time Limit: 30 Minutes ~~
~~ Reward: 5000 GP!, Boasting Rights! ~~
------
The level of mayhem Robin saw was, well, far beyond what he was used to.
Buildings had been toppled or caught aflame, the roads were torn up all over the place, zombie corpses littered everywhere.
Almost all of which could be attributed to a little yellow tank the size of a toy car, the size little kids might drive around the backyard.
"How is he beating us!" Tiffany screamed from her seat, piloting the tank itself. "He! Is! A! Toy! I'm about to fail the quest! I've never failed a quest!"
"He's not even using haste! This is just ridiculous!" Jinx, up above in the gunners seat, shouted down at her. "That's it! I'm coming down there!"
Robin had to move to the side as Jinx squeezed her way into the cramped compartment.
"What's the score even at?" He finally asked after a few moments, watching the pink haired girl poking at nothing in the air.
"His score just says nine-hundred and ninety-nine plus. We're at a bit over four hundred, and the quest countdown ends in ten minutes." Tiffany grumbled, but drove the tank forward.
They'd all taken turns at the various stations before eventually finding what they each worked best at.
Player One was bad with guns. All guns. From the tank cannon to the machine guns on top, her aim was just bad. Likely because she'd never actually been trained with any of the weaponry. She'd eventually found her place as the pilot.
Jinx was a crack-shot with the weaponry up top, and decent with the turret, too. She could see better in the dimming light, however, and had taken up position in the commander's seat just behind Robin so she could get to those guns with more ease.
And Robin? He was decent at everything, but didn't have any particular area he excelled in. Eventually he'd just stuck to aiming and firing the main turret, or the small machine gun next to it as it reloaded.
In the loader's seat... Alchemist continued to just sit there, strapped in and insensate. Drooling on himself a bit.
"Ah-hahahah!" His voice crackled over the radio, a little yellow tank just zooming by. "Come on, guys! Put some spine into it!"
"Yeah. Y'know what? I'm really not surprised." Jinx had calmed down oddly fast. "If he hadn't done something, or rigged the game somehow, I know that he wouldn't challenge us three on one."
That... Actually made a lot of sense. Batman was kind of the same way, about rigging the game to suit him and planning ahead.
He was just less obvious about it.
Robin was broken out of his reverie, wondering about this game and system thing the girl and Alchemist were all using, when Jinx straddled Alchemist's prone form.
"Uhh, Jinx?" He asked, about the time the girl began lifting the mans face and moving it from side to side. "What are you doing?"
The girl pulled a marker from seemingly nowhere, popped off the cap and, with a smile in her voice said "This!".
-----
It wasn't actually very far off before the game came to an end.
And this time, with more people, more power, it felt more like a game to Robin. He'd noticed last time, but somehow it was even more obvious that the zombies... They all looked the same. Generic and indistinct, except for the bigger, mutated boss zombies.
Alchemist parked his small tank next to them, then his body woke up.
He was dazed, had trouble moving his limbs at first. It looked like he was trying to remember what his own body felt like, instead of one running on jet fuel and filled with explosives.
"Alright." He stumbled for a moment as he stood up, addressing everyone. "Up and out everyone, I'm gonna put these away until we need 'em again."
Robin let Jinx leave first, a mischievous giggle on her lips. Then Tiffany was second, she stopped to stare and left with a muffled chuckle.
Alchemist looked confused, but Robin wasn't going to tell him what was going on.
He had other things on his mind.
"Alchemist, can we talk?" The Boy Wonder had a few things on his mind, things that had been running in circles for a while now.
"Sure, let me just-" The magician pulled himself up and out of the tank. "-come on. What's on your mind?"
Robin pulled himself up, Alchemist actually helping him out.
He saw Jinx grab on to Player One, then both of them disappeared. Returning to the real world.
"You... You killed that woman, that werewolf. Is that- How do you feel?" Robin had seen people die. He'd seen a lot of people die.
His own family had fallen to their deaths in front of him.
"I don't really feel good or bad about it." The man put a hand against his tank and it began to shrink in front of Robin's eyes. "I don't actually remember doing it. Green Lantern said I had a pretty severe concussion, and that's not something that plays well with memory. If I had to put a feeling to it though? I guess... Relieved? She was going to either try and eat my soul, or give it to a demon god to be tortured until it got bored. And Jinx told me she'd said some things about doing that to her, too. I'm just hopeful I won't have to deal with her again."
"Deal with her again? Alchemist, the woman is dead." Was he just afraid of her, of her memory and letting that continue to impact him?
"Robin, I was dead, too." That... That... Robin hadn't thought of that! Hadn't had any idea what that kind of experience could do to someone.
The tank disappeared, probably into his 'Inventory', and Alchemist turned around to go to the other one.
"Can I ask you something about your power?" With the context he'd gotten from Player One, Megan and even Batman, he could see that Alchemist had been strangely direct with him. He was so used to having to dig and ferret for answers, someone just giving them to him felt weird.
"Go for it." And the other tank disappeared, too.
"Jinx was a metahuman, not a Gamer, right?" Robin already knew the answers, but he was trying to frame his next question correctly. When Alchemist nodded, he continued. "So, could you have invited me into a party, made me into a Gamer, too?"
"I think... You might want to ask Player One about that more than me." Alchemist grimaced, but then began to wave his fingers around in the air before him.
"You made Jinx a Gamer, right? So why not me, or Kid Flash, or any of us?" Robin kept his tone even and steady as he asked, but he... He'd felt helpless, in Bialya!
"That wasn't a decision I made lightly, Robin. I've had several near-fatal experiences, just where my 'System' glitched on me. One before I even tried to contact Batman, the other one happened with the Shadows and Doctor Roquette. Remember when I said I saw the future, but the skill broke? It literally left me on the verge of dying. One bad hit, a stiff wind maybe, and I wouldn't be getting back up." Alchemist swiped his hand, possibly closing out the 'Window' that Player One said the system looked like.
"Then why did you bring Jinx into it? Why is it okay for her to be put at risk like that?" If his power was that much of a double-edged sword, why would he be willing to share it?
What was he missing?
"She bumped into me, while I was looking at doing a personal mission of sorts. I have access to things kind of like these I.D's that Player One uses, but more inherently dangerous. For the most part. The one that she and I went to, that I'd been debating doing, was at the upper end of things. A deep, pitch-black labyrinth filled with Hellhounds, Dragons, an honest to gods Grim Reaper and an Angel of Punishment at the very bottom. I didn't have to just go to the bottom, I had to do it over, and over, and over again. We were there for three and a half, maybe four months." Alchemist sighed deeply and ran his hand through his hair, flinching when he pulled his hand- his claw! Away from his head with blood on his fingertips.
"Still not used to that..." He mumbled, before shaking his head. "If something had happened to me that I couldn't recover from? If I'd died, and she'd been trapped there? I had to make sure she had something. Had a chance. Even if that chance had been to escape the hellhole and go to the medieval crapsack world outside of the dungeon, at least it would've been something. Afterwards? The cat was already out of the bag. I'm an ass, I know that. I'm not the kind of asshole that'll just rip away something I've given to someone and say 'Alright, I'm done with you. You can leave, now.'"
"That... Sounds really rough. Why would you go and do that again for Black Canary?" Robin asked him, and Alchemist snorted at the question.
"Because I have a hard time saying no sometimes. Right now though?" Alchemist reached up and rubbed his face, smearing his drawn on glasses and handlebar mustache. "I'm completely burnt out. If a quest looks like it'll take more than a day, I'm not interested. I don't care who's asking."
Robin swallowed, he had one more question but he wasn't sure if he should ask. He hadn't cleared it with Batman, but... "Would you be willing to teach me healing magic?"
Alchemist looked at the Boy Wonder for several long seconds. His glowing yellow eyes practically piercing through Robin's opaque lenses with an uncomfortable intensity...
Until, finally, he simply nodded.
AN/ Small edit where formatting got weird. Substitute Dragon Heritage had a smiley in it that wasn't supposed to be there.
Second edit: I couldn't remember exactly what I put in as a quest the first time around, but now there's one up there for Player One to see.
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- Location
- Here
I've been reading several stories recently and it's always infuriated me when easy magic that can handle curing and health recovery was always hoarded by the main character. It's really satisfying and relieving to see this main character willing to help other people stop people from dying. More medics! More medics for everyone!
Alexander Snow
Mad Artificer
I'm fairly certain that this was not intendedSubstitute
Alchemist mentioned a while back that he didn't teach anyone because nobody asked.
Jinx got pushed into his crash course of magic because they were in a miserable hell-world.
Black Canary was given the book of Cure so she could learn it herself, since she was whining and complaining about not letting him heal her.
Now, finally, someone asked him. And true to his word, he's willing to teach people. So long as they're willing to learn and willing to ask.
You are quite correct. It's already been fixed.
Jinx got pushed into his crash course of magic because they were in a miserable hell-world.
Black Canary was given the book of Cure so she could learn it herself, since she was whining and complaining about not letting him heal her.
Now, finally, someone asked him. And true to his word, he's willing to teach people. So long as they're willing to learn and willing to ask.
You are quite correct. It's already been fixed.
- Location
- Florida
i hope Alchemist explains to him the price that comes with using Magic in DC about it Opening you to the Truth of the World and because of that it draws those truth to you whether you want it to or not.
The problem is that in DC the more you use Magic the more it gets involved in you life and the more you have to face things Like the Vampire Courts, Werewolves, Demons, Evil Wizards, evil wizard Cults, Gods etc... that are always a Problem in the world
Remember that in DC alot of people Die every day to Vampires ,Demons, Dark Gods, Spirts , etc... the mainline heroes that aren't Zataras, Constantines, Blood ,Batman (he knows about it but avoids it because he knows he has to much on his plate so he sends it to the others)
The rest of the mainline league don't really know how Bad the World really is.
Side note: The guardians are going to be pissed when they find out all the Magical, Dimensional Eldritch, Divine etc.. nonsense that's been going on on Earth and none of it has been reported back to them by their Lanterns. Probably going to have to send probably Ganthet, Syad, or Appa Ali Apsa to check on all the Hidden things on it especially when they learn Darkseid is knocking on the Fifth Worlds Door.
- Location
- florida
"Tell batman to put it in my contract."
- Location
- Elsewhere
Batman calls them learning experiences, but really he's just a sore loser.
Just ask Joker and Riddler!
Thozmp
Gets my kicks above the waistline, Sunshine.
Would like to see some draconic interactions. Maybe Breath of Fire 4, with the chill God-Dragons (Deities that happen to be dragons rather then Deities of dragons), learn their evocations from a game of hide-and-seek.
(Seriously, the God-Dragons are super chill, and in the manga at least, the Sand Dragon apologies for their first encounter.)
Legend of Dragoon, with the dragoon spirit stones would be neat as well, be a dragon while wearing dragoon armor!
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Lycanthromancer
The Arcane Fuzz
- Location
- USA
I wonder when Batman is going to realize he could just ask Alchemist about all the stuff he clearly knows a lot about in order to get answers.
I feel that having more Medics is asking for violations of the Geneva convention and the laws of science. I mean, have you met the guy?
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=36lSzUMBJnc
A DC hero just ask and Al, the weird anomaly he is, agrees to share his cosmic power. Truly, the wonders never ends
- Pronouns
- he
Is it supposed to be Superboy? Because it doesn't make sense to me from context. Typo?
Lycanthromancer
The Arcane Fuzz
- Location
- USA
It's a bit of colloquialized English.
"Speaking of [Alchemist], Superboy had said he was here today..."
- Location
- The House of Moon and Star
- Pronouns
- She/Her
It's a common sarcastic name for the sort of annoying person Alchemist appears to be, and perfectly realistic I'd say. Though it is awkward when a teammate literally goes by that name.
Hey, sometimes asking nicely gets results.
Jinx has embraced her inner lizard.
- Location
- Australia
Ah, alchemist with his out of context mentality throwing everyone for a loop. He has said they just need to ask him and he'll hand them phenomenal cosmic power without the caveat of an itty bitty living space.
Kid Flash took him up on it before, got a Demi plane and a super mouse sidekick out of it (maybe it'd give him the hint he needs to fix his speed force connection, even if it isn't really a thing in young justice) and now Robin has asked and he's got the chance to learn the basics of the white mage class. Teach him Dia as well, just for Grundy and Esuna (which in FF2, where these spells are from, cures Curses) and he'd basically have all he needs to handle the magical side of Gotham.
Kid Flash took him up on it before, got a Demi plane and a super mouse sidekick out of it (maybe it'd give him the hint he needs to fix his speed force connection, even if it isn't really a thing in young justice) and now Robin has asked and he's got the chance to learn the basics of the white mage class. Teach him Dia as well, just for Grundy and Esuna (which in FF2, where these spells are from, cures Curses) and he'd basically have all he needs to handle the magical side of Gotham.
- Location
- Alabama
Agreed!
what's scarier to a villain a rag tag group of heroes or one that has the ability to heal each other and counter poison. Would really make them scream "Why wont you just DIE!"
kinda makes me want to see a scene where it's an even match slug fest between superman and some supervillain with both looking hella beat up and alchemist poofs in casts his myriad of healing spells and possibly buff spells on superman shoots the 2 finger salute and disappears.
though that being said robin with magic might be terrifying, idk if batman would use it or not because it might be seen as a crutch but imagine batman with spells buffing him. Haste, self-healing enchanted returning batarang wielding batman is something that villain nightmares are made of.
- Location
- Auckland, NZ
It's the Justice League - its in the hob description.