Lycanthromancer
The Arcane Fuzz
- Location
- USA
"breath"
Project: Gamer Ver. 2 (Young Justice/Gamer/Multicross OC)
- Thread starter Mister Ficser
- Start date
Lycanthromancer
The Arcane Fuzz
- Location
- USA
Al and Yuffie are planning on going back to FF7, but how do they know it'll be the same version that Yuffie came from?
It'd be kinda nifty (albeit disappointing for them both) if they show up in a different version in the time of the game and have to face off against Sephiroth and Deepground. Yuffie could probably take them herself if she's been training as much as I'm sure she has. Al, of course, could solo them all (and the WEAPONS) simultaneously without issue. But still!
It'd be kinda nifty (albeit disappointing for them both) if they show up in a different version in the time of the game and have to face off against Sephiroth and Deepground. Yuffie could probably take them herself if she's been training as much as I'm sure she has. Al, of course, could solo them all (and the WEAPONS) simultaneously without issue. But still!
Thozmp
Gets my kicks above the waistline, Sunshine.
I'm kind of wondering, did the general populace of Wutai know that Yuffie had briefly returned? Also, how often did she go off on her own? I think I got the impression that Yuffie ran away somewhat regularly, and her times away varied a lot. I'm unsure just how long Yuffie's been living with Al in the DC verse, or how much time has passed in the Final Fantasy she hails from; so there is a chance that the general populace could be under the impression that this is just another of her usual escapades and she'll be "home" eventually.
Probably by using Yuffie as a pseudo locator sample. Either by using her magical signature or some form of quantum dimensional imprint of some sort of techno gibberish. Luckily, she has not had a race change yet or chances are that it would erase any method to use her to locate her world.
Alternately, they could try to go on a quest where the quest world has home teleport crystals (it's always crystals). A lot of semi-old game worlds tend to have them.
Yeah, but it's Terra-chan. The same goddess who tossed Alchemist to Worm, The Hopeless Universe. Chances are she will give them a potentially traumatizing quest in exchange. I'm thinking Yuffie becoming Sasha Yakovleva from Cyberpunk Edgerunner, a week before she dies. Not too traumatizing, but not too easy like MLP or god forbid Boruto.
- Location
- Planet Earth
Yes, it's Terra-chan, a goddess who is lonely and desperately needy, and who therefor can very easily be manipulated by Alchemist, especially in situations like the current where she recently hurt Alchemist and risked losing what might literally be one of the closest "friends" she has.
Chapter 331, TT
Project: Gamer Ver. 2 Alpha Build 3.3.1
Disclaimer Me Do: I own nothing you recognize. And most of wot you don't recognize, I still don't own.
_________________________________________________________________________
05/08/2003 (TT, Earth-12)
Standing against the railing outside of his motel room, John Constantine kept fiddling with the cheap lighter he'd bought at a corner store a few days back.
Click... clack.
Click... clack.
He didn't rightly know wot to think. He'd been in the middle of digging up records on an old estate that once belonged to one of his aunts, some lovely old place called Fawny Rig.
But there weren't a single sorcerer out there with a lick of magic in their blood that ain't felt the power that'd been called in Central City. Sommat big and powerful, called up by someone that nobody knew nothin' about?
Even the Burgess blokes wot owned Fawny Rig, dark and secretive they was, they had allies. Confidantes. Contacts that they knew and worked with.
Alchemist, though? Nothing.
Click... clack.
Click... clack.
At least, weren't nobody that Constantine had been able to find wot knew anything about the summoner. Some folks knew of another Alchemist wot'd been running around sommat like seventy years in the past. Some nutjob wot stole the Philosopher's Stone back during World War Two.
Two different Alchemists, though. Constantine was sure enough of that.
Click... clack.
Click... clack.
He weren't so sure about Fate calling the current Alchemist some illusionist, though. Or the ol' helmet claiming Alchemist had conjured up his illusion to scare off the Reverse Flash bastard.
It was the eyes. Slitted and yellow was an odd choice. Definitely inhuman, those. But it was the cold purpose in 'em that stuck out to the Laughing Magician. Alchemist had looked at Reverse Flash and, right then and there, made the decision to kill the man. Weren't no discussion, no debating things.
Alchemist was a killer and the spandex squad didn't quite seem ready to cotton on to that.
Click... zip!
Constantine pulled a cigarette out of a crumpled pack, some foul American brand that tasted half like paint, and put it to his lips before lighting the disgusting thing. The blond man took a deep breath, harsh smoke filling his failing lungs, and exhaled harshly through his nose.
Clack.
Honestly? Constantine didn't know wot this Alchemist was. Genuine, maybe? Truthful, at least.
The worst ones always were.
It'd taken a few days but they'd managed to crack the spell the other mage had put on the clothes he'd been tossing in them donation bins. Still couldn't detect the magic itself, really put a wrinkle in ol' Fate's mood, but they'd been able to verify wot them enchantments did.
Just like Alchemist said, them clothes he'd been donating made it easier for folks to learn things. Testing that had been a right nightmare, by the by. Ended up with John and the Green Arrow fella taking some side-by-side lessons in bloody physics and then answering questions put to 'em by the Batman himself.
Now, the thing is? John should've scored worse. Anyone wot knew him would'a said the same. John's head for numbers weren't that bad, no-sirree, but he had himself a degree in street smarts, practically a doctorate iffen you will. His mathing, though?
John could'a been a real wizard at the races, maybe, but the English wizard was lucky he even passed his secondaries.
But now it felt like ol' Johnny boy had actually taken a few classes in Physics 101 and managed to pay attention!
He was keeping the whole damned bag of enchanted socks they'd had him testing and Batman could eat his arse if he thought he was giving them back.
John didn't know wot Alchemist was getting at, giving that kind of magic away. Some sort of monster like him, barely hidden in human skin? There was some sort of plot, some sort of secret.
There always was.
Click...
"Hey," a voice called out, getting John's attention. Turning his head to the side, smoke trailing towards the sky, the mage saw some fella in a rumpled shirt with messy black hair, a five o'clock shadow and bright blue eyes talking to him. In the man's breast pocket, the strings dangling out, John caught sight of a press pass. "You're one of the wizards that came here because of the machines that showed up, right?"
"I am," John admitted, smoke leaking from his mouth. "And it looks like you're a member of the press, don't it?"
"It does look that way," the paperboy agreed. "Mind if I ask you some questions?"
John mulled the question over for a moment, worrying the butt of his cigarette between his teeth. He inhaled deeply, burning through the rest of the cancer stick between his lips then looked up and exhaled a thick, heavy cloud of smoke before he tossed the butt of his spent cigarette to the ground below with a flick.
Zip!
Then put a fresh cigarette to his mouth and lit it.
Clack...
"You got 'till I finish me fag, here," John told the man.
"Uh, fa- English term, right..." the newsboy stumbled for a moment before shoring himself up. "The whole world seems to be paying attention to Central City at the moment. Investigators, government agencies, supposedly someone even called Child Protective Services on Captain Cold. what would a British wizard need here in the States?"
"...Answers," John said after a second of thought. "That giant machine wot crawled outta the river? It probably used more magic in them two minutes it was 'ere than wot all the people 'ere in Central City could'a offered."
And weren't that a right kick in the pants? Whole villages, countless child sacrifices had been offered up to summon the darkest beasties in Hell and some nutter came outta the woodwork and called up summat even bigger at a literal moment's notice.
"It was impressive," the journalist agreed. "But didn't Doctor Fate say that it was just an illusion?"
"So wot if it were?" Constantine asked before he pulled his cigarette from his lips and flicked it, sending ashes scattering in the wind. "It were real enough it left hand prints next to the river, didn't it? Even if it were just an illusion, maybe summat like a memory of the real machine? It had enough power thrown at it that it may as well have been real. That kind of power, it's gotta come from somewhere. Otherwise a lot of folks are gonna be feelin' real nervous about wot else is crawlin' about out there, hiding away wotever other dark secrets they been building out of sight."
"So, it's not just the machine," the journalist spoke up, mostly to himself as the man leaned against the railing outside the motel rooms, the same as Constantine was doing. "It's the uncertainty."
Rather than answer him, John just took a long drag on his cigarette then pulled the spent cancer stick from his mouth and flicked it away. Then, with a grunt, he pushed himself away from the railing to head back to his room.
He'd offered the fella just enough of his time to smoke his cigarette and not a minute more.
-----
Superman hovered high over Central City, more lost in thought than truly observing any one thing.
The facts that they'd been presented with... were adding up. They certainly created more questions than they started with but many of their initial questions had been answered. Most of them except for 'why'.
Why had this Alchemist conjured this giant machine to do -something- to the Reverse Flash?
It was a question that Batman had brought up once the truth regarding the clothing, which had been told directly to them by Alchemist himself, had been verified.
Clark had seen villains do great things, perform amazing acts of kindness for children in need before. He's seen them sacrifice their efforts, throw away their freedom...
But only for someone they could directly see.
Supervillains, brilliant through some may be, rarely ever seemed aware of the unseen effects of their actions.
But... donating clothing? Helping children learn in school?
The results wouldn't be seen for years. Possibly even decades!
There was just no short term benefit for Alchemist.
Superman crossed his arms, his brows furrowed as he thought on the matter.
It was... odd. And they had reasonable proof that the mage hadn't acted without provocation. He was just... donating clothes that he didn't need. Which were enchanted. From the future. From a reality that had been overtaken by zombies?
If Clark had to guess, the only part that mattered was the enchantment part. The Flash had said the man admitted to just clearing out an entire department store from the zombie reality which... said quite a lot about this Alchemist's hoarding tendencies but implied that the clothes were incidental and so were being donated because they were on-hand and available.
Clark reached up to rub his chin.
It wasn't quite in line with the actions of a super-hero or a villain...
And maybe that was the appropriate way to look at this. What did the actions entail if this Alchemist were some sort of semi-neutral party?
A disregard for the law, of sorts. Except, the last time Clark had checked (This morning, before dealing with another meeting regarding the forming League of Heroes) there wasn't actually a law against summoning, or conjuring an illusion of, a giant machine-god. It might, legally, be a public disturbance charge or an attempt to incite panic but they had video proof that the Reverse Flash had been attempting to inflict physical harm.
The clothes? While donating strange, enchanted clothing from the future was certainly... a choice. It very much so was not an illegal choice. Yet?
Clark quietly sighed, his unease unheard.
There were so many ways that sort of thing could go wrong. Circe or Morgan le Fey could have done the exact same thing with far more impure intentions. Tracking beacons, teleport devices, even mind control chips could be slipped into clothing- The Mad Hatter from Gotham immediately sprang to mind- and they wouldn't have any idea of the infection vector until well after it was too late to do anything.
There were easily tens of thousands, perhaps even hundreds of thousands of donation bins for countless different organizations. It would be impossible to police them. And doing away with them entirely would be akin to an assault against those in need.
Superman scowled, his frustration bubbling.
He didn't know enough about this Alchemist to make any assumptions about the man's intentions. They could have been as simple as he'd said they were. Or perhaps he was like Batman, with plots within plots and just waiting for an opportunity to revel in his mental superiority as people realized just how clever he actually was.
Thankfully, before the Man of Steel could get too thoroughly wrapped up in his circular reasoning, he caught sight of a red blur descending on the park where the altercation had taken place.
Captain Marvel.
Catching up to him, Clark found the energetic hero just as he was sitting down at a park bench. One that overlooked the scene of the incident. The man, always boisterous and smiling, had a troubled look upon his face. His mood was... ponderous, it seemed.
Clark sat down on the opposite end of the bench after getting a small nod from his fellow hero.
For a while, neither side spoke.
"...How many kids are already wearing clothes that were enchanted and don't even know about it?" Until Captain Marvel spoke up, finally, breaking the uncomfortable silence.
"You think Alchemist has done this before?" Clark asked. The man leaned forward, placing his elbows on his knees as he cupped his chin in both hands.
"You heard Flash. The man was surprised he was being stopped. You're not surprised if it's the first or second time you do something." Captain Marvel sighed, his back slouching and his fists clenching on his knees. "Someone is surprised about being stopped when you're interrupting their routine. When they think they're not doing anything wrong."
Clark pursed his lips, the action hidden beneath his hands.
Marvel had a very good point.
"...What do you think about the idea?" Clark asked. "About making children learn... easier? Faster?"
For a long moment, the man was silent. Utterly still as a statue as he thought about the question.
"I... appreciate... the sentiment," Captain Marvel slowly uttered, his words chosen carefully. "He's not wrong about kids in bad situations struggling in school. And maybe, -maybe- this will help them. But..."
The red-clad hero sat back and slouched, losing his imposing figure in the process.
"Foster parents, teachers, 'friends'..." Marvel muttered with a defeated sigh. "They might see the new success as something they can take advantage of. Or pile up more expectations once they see that a kid can do well in school. Or else what will a kid do when they outgrow their 'lucky' shirt and start to struggle again? Feeling stupid when you used to feel smart can be worse than never succeeding at all..."
Clark listened, his eyes trailing down to the ground as Marvel continued to speak.
This? All of this?
Clark would have preferred to deal with a mad scientist creating a giant robot castle of doom.
It would be far easier to handle.
-----
Yuffie buzzed around the house like an excited puppy, checking and double checking and triple checking to make sure they had everything.
Alchemist was significantly calmer. Potentially because of age. He was simply older, traveling wasn't much of a wonder for him.
Realistically, it was because of investment. Yuffie had reasons to be excited about their little trip and Alchemist, while lacking such motivations, was simply happy for her.
He'd gotten pretty much everything he could get out of that world. The only thing left, aside from potentially challenging the super bosses like Minerva, would be the social interactions. And, being honest?
Alchemist wasn't sure he'd made any friends in that reality.
He'd done what he could to help Aerith, offered some support to Cloud with giving the boy's mother a key to unlocking his power but the others? Like Vincent and Lucrecia? They were better off than they'd started but their personalities and situations didn't lend themselves well to 'friendships'.
Vincent was, once one got down to the brass tacks, a corporate murderer with the personality of a teenage goth girl. Lucrecia, in contrast, was an idiot with a degree that agreed to inject unknown fluids with unknown results into her own fetus on the off chance that it could result in super powers.
Alchemist's life was dramatic enough, thank you very much, without going out of his way to associate with people that were even worse than himself.
"Come on!" Yuffie shouted, dragging Alchemist out of his thoughts. And around the house. "We got everything! We should go! Right now!"
"Alright, alright," Alchemist placated the girl as he let her drag him outside. "Let me just grab the door and we'll go do the quest."
The ten-year old ninja was just so... enthusiastic.
It was nice.
Pulling the door away from the wall of the laundry room of the apartment complex he'd stolen, the piece of ensorcelled wood disappeared into the inventory-
And a pair of arms wrapped around Alchemist's chest from behind.
"Try to enjoy yourself, love," Kary whispered into his hair as she hugged him from behind.
"I'll do my best," Alchemist promised as he placed one hand over Kary's wrist.
"Da-ad!" Yuffie whined as the two adults enjoyed the moment of closeness. "Come on! I wanna go to Wutai! And get soy sauce that actually tastes good!"
Kary gave him a final, tight squeeze before letting go so Yuffie could grab his left hand and Alchemist opened his quest menu with his right. Digging through it briefly, he quickly came across the repeatable 'vacation' quest for the Gold Saucer and paid the GP fee, a measly ten grand-
"Get out the way!" someone shouted after the world shifted between blinks.
Alchemist shivered and Yuffie let go of his hand before the duo stepped out of the way as... a shirtless man pushed a wheelbarrow through where they'd just stood, loaded up with tools.
Confused, Alchemist looked around and saw... the cable car was in place behind them but the platform they were on was practically unrecognizable. It was mostly bare steel, no lights or balloons or, well, much of anything. In the distance he could hear rattling, knocking, grinding and welding...
"'Ey, look," some other guy, big and muscled, shirtless and wearing a hard-hat and a pair of blue overalls approached the silently confused duo. "I get that Dio's got the place open for spectators, drummin' up int'rest an' investors 'n all, but could ya keep outta the way? 's still a construction site."
"Uh... sorry, yeah," Alchemist agreed as he put a hand on Yuffie's shoulder and pulled the gawking girl towards the wall and away from the traffic of great, big, manly men moving back and forth.
"Uh... dad?" Yuffie asked, her head whipping back and forth as she took in the various details. "What's going on?"
"I'm... not sure," Alchemist admitted as he looked around.
He wasn't sure, no, but he had an idea forming.
"How about we head on over to Wutai and get started on our shopping?" the man suggested.
The little ninja nodded sharply, her face fixing into something resolute. Alchemist raised one hand, the other still on her shoulder, and snapped his fingers to Teleport them elsewhere. They reappeared in a place that was familiar.
That should have been familiar.
In the center of the city they appeared in, a tall, red tower stood out against the blue of the sky. The Pagoda of the Five Gods.
Which shouldn't be possible.
Ash and Cinder had burned that down during their last visit...
Either Wutai had managed to rebuild that in between Alchemist's last visit and this one. Or else something strange was going on. And, looking around the bustling, busy city as Yuffie dragged him towards the markets?
Alchemist was betting on the latter.
Yuffie had noticed something off as well, judging by the way her hand was clenching tighter and tighter around his. The blue glove on her left hand, its edges sharp as stone, dug into his flesh but he ignored the discomfort to focus on other, more important things.
This wasn't the Wutai that they'd left.
"So," Alchemist asked, drawing Yuffie's confused brown eyes back to him. "What were we looking for?"
"I... hinoki and zelkova." Yuffie seemed like she wanted to start saying something else before clamping down on whatever she was thinking. "And lacquer, jade, coral..."
Alchemist listened quietly as the girl listed off an ever-increasing list of materials. Some of which would have been too expensive for the average person. Especially during war or an uneasy armistice.
Which Wutai didn't seem to be suffering under.
"Come on," Yuffie told him, pulling him along and through dense throngs of people. Her forceful attitude drew a significant amount of attention, a significant number of confused glares that, once they turned towards him, swiftly became hostile. "I know where we can get the wood; Sonon's dad is a carpenter."
He let her drag him around the city, through the thoroughfare and, eventually, turning down an alley to come to a cramped little shop. Sliding the door open, they stepped into a dim room that had wooden beams piled up to one side and a little counter near the back.
There was nobody at said counter but that didn't stop Yuffie from walking right up to it and slapping her hands against it.
"Hold on!" someone shouted from a side room. Alchemist leaned over, trying to catch a glimpse, but the door led directly into a hallway. "I'm busy!"
"Well I wanna buy something!" Yuffie shouted back.
"Ugh! Fine!" the unseen man shouted back. There was a clatter from the back room, then a moment later a man stepped out of the door. He was not a tall man, even for his demographic, and he wore a plain leather apron covered in wood shavings. His brown eyes showed obvious confusion when he looked at Yuffie, then slid up to Alchemist's own eyes and became... guarded. "Whadda ya want, kid? I ain't open."
"Wood. Duh." But Yuffie didn't seem to notice. "I need to get enough to-"
"I said I ain't open," the man repeated, his voice flat and even. "So how about you get on outta here?"
"...What?" Yuffie asked, clearly confused. "But I just-"
"Look. Kid. I don't care what you want," the man said slowly, as though talking to someone that was a bit dim. "I. Ain't. Open."
"...What?" Yuffie asked again, her voice trembling for a moment before she shored herself up. The girl placed her hands on her hips and leaned forward, fire lighting up in her eyes. "Do you have any idea who you're talking to, buster?!"
"I don't care," the carpenter responded as he crossed his arms. His next words carried the hostility that Alchemist had been noticing ever since they'd first arrived. Since -he- had arrived. "Half-outsider is still an outsider. An' I don't sell to your kind."
"I am Yuffie Ki-" Yuffie started to shriek before dropping silent as Alchemist placed a hand on her shoulder. Her cheeks red, tears forming at the edges of her eyes, she looked up to the wizard in confusion.
"Yuf," the dragon began, his voice hard and quiet. "Why don't you go on outside while this man and I have a... talk."
"...Okay," Yuffie responded even as the carpenter was saying "We ain't got nothing to talk about!"
Alchemist waited, glaring at the man, Daisuke Kusakabe according to Libra, as Yuffie went outside to meet with Alchemist's bilocation duplicate. Once the sliding door clicked shut-
"I ain't gonna repeat-" Daisuke started to say...
Just to be cut off as Alchemist, faster than Daisuke could blink, reached across the counter and grabbed the man by his face and pulled him over the counter, sending tools and paper crashing to the floor. Daisuke grabbed at Alchemist's wrist, trying to pry himself free, but came to a very sudden stop as he was slammed, head-first, through the countertop and pinned to the ground.
"You are free to insult me," the dragon said, very quietly, to the dazed, injured man beneath him. "You do not get to insult my daughter. Do you understand?"
Disclaimer Me Do: I own nothing you recognize. And most of wot you don't recognize, I still don't own.
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05/08/2003 (TT, Earth-12)
Standing against the railing outside of his motel room, John Constantine kept fiddling with the cheap lighter he'd bought at a corner store a few days back.
Click... clack.
Click... clack.
He didn't rightly know wot to think. He'd been in the middle of digging up records on an old estate that once belonged to one of his aunts, some lovely old place called Fawny Rig.
But there weren't a single sorcerer out there with a lick of magic in their blood that ain't felt the power that'd been called in Central City. Sommat big and powerful, called up by someone that nobody knew nothin' about?
Even the Burgess blokes wot owned Fawny Rig, dark and secretive they was, they had allies. Confidantes. Contacts that they knew and worked with.
Alchemist, though? Nothing.
Click... clack.
Click... clack.
At least, weren't nobody that Constantine had been able to find wot knew anything about the summoner. Some folks knew of another Alchemist wot'd been running around sommat like seventy years in the past. Some nutjob wot stole the Philosopher's Stone back during World War Two.
Two different Alchemists, though. Constantine was sure enough of that.
Click... clack.
Click... clack.
He weren't so sure about Fate calling the current Alchemist some illusionist, though. Or the ol' helmet claiming Alchemist had conjured up his illusion to scare off the Reverse Flash bastard.
It was the eyes. Slitted and yellow was an odd choice. Definitely inhuman, those. But it was the cold purpose in 'em that stuck out to the Laughing Magician. Alchemist had looked at Reverse Flash and, right then and there, made the decision to kill the man. Weren't no discussion, no debating things.
Alchemist was a killer and the spandex squad didn't quite seem ready to cotton on to that.
Click... zip!
Constantine pulled a cigarette out of a crumpled pack, some foul American brand that tasted half like paint, and put it to his lips before lighting the disgusting thing. The blond man took a deep breath, harsh smoke filling his failing lungs, and exhaled harshly through his nose.
Clack.
Honestly? Constantine didn't know wot this Alchemist was. Genuine, maybe? Truthful, at least.
The worst ones always were.
It'd taken a few days but they'd managed to crack the spell the other mage had put on the clothes he'd been tossing in them donation bins. Still couldn't detect the magic itself, really put a wrinkle in ol' Fate's mood, but they'd been able to verify wot them enchantments did.
Just like Alchemist said, them clothes he'd been donating made it easier for folks to learn things. Testing that had been a right nightmare, by the by. Ended up with John and the Green Arrow fella taking some side-by-side lessons in bloody physics and then answering questions put to 'em by the Batman himself.
Now, the thing is? John should've scored worse. Anyone wot knew him would'a said the same. John's head for numbers weren't that bad, no-sirree, but he had himself a degree in street smarts, practically a doctorate iffen you will. His mathing, though?
John could'a been a real wizard at the races, maybe, but the English wizard was lucky he even passed his secondaries.
But now it felt like ol' Johnny boy had actually taken a few classes in Physics 101 and managed to pay attention!
He was keeping the whole damned bag of enchanted socks they'd had him testing and Batman could eat his arse if he thought he was giving them back.
John didn't know wot Alchemist was getting at, giving that kind of magic away. Some sort of monster like him, barely hidden in human skin? There was some sort of plot, some sort of secret.
There always was.
Click...
"Hey," a voice called out, getting John's attention. Turning his head to the side, smoke trailing towards the sky, the mage saw some fella in a rumpled shirt with messy black hair, a five o'clock shadow and bright blue eyes talking to him. In the man's breast pocket, the strings dangling out, John caught sight of a press pass. "You're one of the wizards that came here because of the machines that showed up, right?"
"I am," John admitted, smoke leaking from his mouth. "And it looks like you're a member of the press, don't it?"
"It does look that way," the paperboy agreed. "Mind if I ask you some questions?"
John mulled the question over for a moment, worrying the butt of his cigarette between his teeth. He inhaled deeply, burning through the rest of the cancer stick between his lips then looked up and exhaled a thick, heavy cloud of smoke before he tossed the butt of his spent cigarette to the ground below with a flick.
Zip!
Then put a fresh cigarette to his mouth and lit it.
Clack...
"You got 'till I finish me fag, here," John told the man.
"Uh, fa- English term, right..." the newsboy stumbled for a moment before shoring himself up. "The whole world seems to be paying attention to Central City at the moment. Investigators, government agencies, supposedly someone even called Child Protective Services on Captain Cold. what would a British wizard need here in the States?"
"...Answers," John said after a second of thought. "That giant machine wot crawled outta the river? It probably used more magic in them two minutes it was 'ere than wot all the people 'ere in Central City could'a offered."
And weren't that a right kick in the pants? Whole villages, countless child sacrifices had been offered up to summon the darkest beasties in Hell and some nutter came outta the woodwork and called up summat even bigger at a literal moment's notice.
"It was impressive," the journalist agreed. "But didn't Doctor Fate say that it was just an illusion?"
"So wot if it were?" Constantine asked before he pulled his cigarette from his lips and flicked it, sending ashes scattering in the wind. "It were real enough it left hand prints next to the river, didn't it? Even if it were just an illusion, maybe summat like a memory of the real machine? It had enough power thrown at it that it may as well have been real. That kind of power, it's gotta come from somewhere. Otherwise a lot of folks are gonna be feelin' real nervous about wot else is crawlin' about out there, hiding away wotever other dark secrets they been building out of sight."
"So, it's not just the machine," the journalist spoke up, mostly to himself as the man leaned against the railing outside the motel rooms, the same as Constantine was doing. "It's the uncertainty."
Rather than answer him, John just took a long drag on his cigarette then pulled the spent cancer stick from his mouth and flicked it away. Then, with a grunt, he pushed himself away from the railing to head back to his room.
He'd offered the fella just enough of his time to smoke his cigarette and not a minute more.
-----
Superman hovered high over Central City, more lost in thought than truly observing any one thing.
The facts that they'd been presented with... were adding up. They certainly created more questions than they started with but many of their initial questions had been answered. Most of them except for 'why'.
Why had this Alchemist conjured this giant machine to do -something- to the Reverse Flash?
It was a question that Batman had brought up once the truth regarding the clothing, which had been told directly to them by Alchemist himself, had been verified.
Clark had seen villains do great things, perform amazing acts of kindness for children in need before. He's seen them sacrifice their efforts, throw away their freedom...
But only for someone they could directly see.
Supervillains, brilliant through some may be, rarely ever seemed aware of the unseen effects of their actions.
But... donating clothing? Helping children learn in school?
The results wouldn't be seen for years. Possibly even decades!
There was just no short term benefit for Alchemist.
Superman crossed his arms, his brows furrowed as he thought on the matter.
It was... odd. And they had reasonable proof that the mage hadn't acted without provocation. He was just... donating clothes that he didn't need. Which were enchanted. From the future. From a reality that had been overtaken by zombies?
If Clark had to guess, the only part that mattered was the enchantment part. The Flash had said the man admitted to just clearing out an entire department store from the zombie reality which... said quite a lot about this Alchemist's hoarding tendencies but implied that the clothes were incidental and so were being donated because they were on-hand and available.
Clark reached up to rub his chin.
It wasn't quite in line with the actions of a super-hero or a villain...
And maybe that was the appropriate way to look at this. What did the actions entail if this Alchemist were some sort of semi-neutral party?
A disregard for the law, of sorts. Except, the last time Clark had checked (This morning, before dealing with another meeting regarding the forming League of Heroes) there wasn't actually a law against summoning, or conjuring an illusion of, a giant machine-god. It might, legally, be a public disturbance charge or an attempt to incite panic but they had video proof that the Reverse Flash had been attempting to inflict physical harm.
The clothes? While donating strange, enchanted clothing from the future was certainly... a choice. It very much so was not an illegal choice. Yet?
Clark quietly sighed, his unease unheard.
There were so many ways that sort of thing could go wrong. Circe or Morgan le Fey could have done the exact same thing with far more impure intentions. Tracking beacons, teleport devices, even mind control chips could be slipped into clothing- The Mad Hatter from Gotham immediately sprang to mind- and they wouldn't have any idea of the infection vector until well after it was too late to do anything.
There were easily tens of thousands, perhaps even hundreds of thousands of donation bins for countless different organizations. It would be impossible to police them. And doing away with them entirely would be akin to an assault against those in need.
Superman scowled, his frustration bubbling.
He didn't know enough about this Alchemist to make any assumptions about the man's intentions. They could have been as simple as he'd said they were. Or perhaps he was like Batman, with plots within plots and just waiting for an opportunity to revel in his mental superiority as people realized just how clever he actually was.
Thankfully, before the Man of Steel could get too thoroughly wrapped up in his circular reasoning, he caught sight of a red blur descending on the park where the altercation had taken place.
Captain Marvel.
Catching up to him, Clark found the energetic hero just as he was sitting down at a park bench. One that overlooked the scene of the incident. The man, always boisterous and smiling, had a troubled look upon his face. His mood was... ponderous, it seemed.
Clark sat down on the opposite end of the bench after getting a small nod from his fellow hero.
For a while, neither side spoke.
"...How many kids are already wearing clothes that were enchanted and don't even know about it?" Until Captain Marvel spoke up, finally, breaking the uncomfortable silence.
"You think Alchemist has done this before?" Clark asked. The man leaned forward, placing his elbows on his knees as he cupped his chin in both hands.
"You heard Flash. The man was surprised he was being stopped. You're not surprised if it's the first or second time you do something." Captain Marvel sighed, his back slouching and his fists clenching on his knees. "Someone is surprised about being stopped when you're interrupting their routine. When they think they're not doing anything wrong."
Clark pursed his lips, the action hidden beneath his hands.
Marvel had a very good point.
"...What do you think about the idea?" Clark asked. "About making children learn... easier? Faster?"
For a long moment, the man was silent. Utterly still as a statue as he thought about the question.
"I... appreciate... the sentiment," Captain Marvel slowly uttered, his words chosen carefully. "He's not wrong about kids in bad situations struggling in school. And maybe, -maybe- this will help them. But..."
The red-clad hero sat back and slouched, losing his imposing figure in the process.
"Foster parents, teachers, 'friends'..." Marvel muttered with a defeated sigh. "They might see the new success as something they can take advantage of. Or pile up more expectations once they see that a kid can do well in school. Or else what will a kid do when they outgrow their 'lucky' shirt and start to struggle again? Feeling stupid when you used to feel smart can be worse than never succeeding at all..."
Clark listened, his eyes trailing down to the ground as Marvel continued to speak.
This? All of this?
Clark would have preferred to deal with a mad scientist creating a giant robot castle of doom.
It would be far easier to handle.
-----
Yuffie buzzed around the house like an excited puppy, checking and double checking and triple checking to make sure they had everything.
Alchemist was significantly calmer. Potentially because of age. He was simply older, traveling wasn't much of a wonder for him.
Realistically, it was because of investment. Yuffie had reasons to be excited about their little trip and Alchemist, while lacking such motivations, was simply happy for her.
He'd gotten pretty much everything he could get out of that world. The only thing left, aside from potentially challenging the super bosses like Minerva, would be the social interactions. And, being honest?
Alchemist wasn't sure he'd made any friends in that reality.
He'd done what he could to help Aerith, offered some support to Cloud with giving the boy's mother a key to unlocking his power but the others? Like Vincent and Lucrecia? They were better off than they'd started but their personalities and situations didn't lend themselves well to 'friendships'.
Vincent was, once one got down to the brass tacks, a corporate murderer with the personality of a teenage goth girl. Lucrecia, in contrast, was an idiot with a degree that agreed to inject unknown fluids with unknown results into her own fetus on the off chance that it could result in super powers.
Alchemist's life was dramatic enough, thank you very much, without going out of his way to associate with people that were even worse than himself.
"Come on!" Yuffie shouted, dragging Alchemist out of his thoughts. And around the house. "We got everything! We should go! Right now!"
"Alright, alright," Alchemist placated the girl as he let her drag him outside. "Let me just grab the door and we'll go do the quest."
The ten-year old ninja was just so... enthusiastic.
It was nice.
Pulling the door away from the wall of the laundry room of the apartment complex he'd stolen, the piece of ensorcelled wood disappeared into the inventory-
And a pair of arms wrapped around Alchemist's chest from behind.
"Try to enjoy yourself, love," Kary whispered into his hair as she hugged him from behind.
"I'll do my best," Alchemist promised as he placed one hand over Kary's wrist.
"Da-ad!" Yuffie whined as the two adults enjoyed the moment of closeness. "Come on! I wanna go to Wutai! And get soy sauce that actually tastes good!"
Kary gave him a final, tight squeeze before letting go so Yuffie could grab his left hand and Alchemist opened his quest menu with his right. Digging through it briefly, he quickly came across the repeatable 'vacation' quest for the Gold Saucer and paid the GP fee, a measly ten grand-
"Get out the way!" someone shouted after the world shifted between blinks.
Alchemist shivered and Yuffie let go of his hand before the duo stepped out of the way as... a shirtless man pushed a wheelbarrow through where they'd just stood, loaded up with tools.
Confused, Alchemist looked around and saw... the cable car was in place behind them but the platform they were on was practically unrecognizable. It was mostly bare steel, no lights or balloons or, well, much of anything. In the distance he could hear rattling, knocking, grinding and welding...
"'Ey, look," some other guy, big and muscled, shirtless and wearing a hard-hat and a pair of blue overalls approached the silently confused duo. "I get that Dio's got the place open for spectators, drummin' up int'rest an' investors 'n all, but could ya keep outta the way? 's still a construction site."
"Uh... sorry, yeah," Alchemist agreed as he put a hand on Yuffie's shoulder and pulled the gawking girl towards the wall and away from the traffic of great, big, manly men moving back and forth.
"Uh... dad?" Yuffie asked, her head whipping back and forth as she took in the various details. "What's going on?"
"I'm... not sure," Alchemist admitted as he looked around.
He wasn't sure, no, but he had an idea forming.
"How about we head on over to Wutai and get started on our shopping?" the man suggested.
The little ninja nodded sharply, her face fixing into something resolute. Alchemist raised one hand, the other still on her shoulder, and snapped his fingers to Teleport them elsewhere. They reappeared in a place that was familiar.
That should have been familiar.
In the center of the city they appeared in, a tall, red tower stood out against the blue of the sky. The Pagoda of the Five Gods.
Which shouldn't be possible.
Ash and Cinder had burned that down during their last visit...
Either Wutai had managed to rebuild that in between Alchemist's last visit and this one. Or else something strange was going on. And, looking around the bustling, busy city as Yuffie dragged him towards the markets?
Alchemist was betting on the latter.
Yuffie had noticed something off as well, judging by the way her hand was clenching tighter and tighter around his. The blue glove on her left hand, its edges sharp as stone, dug into his flesh but he ignored the discomfort to focus on other, more important things.
This wasn't the Wutai that they'd left.
"So," Alchemist asked, drawing Yuffie's confused brown eyes back to him. "What were we looking for?"
"I... hinoki and zelkova." Yuffie seemed like she wanted to start saying something else before clamping down on whatever she was thinking. "And lacquer, jade, coral..."
Alchemist listened quietly as the girl listed off an ever-increasing list of materials. Some of which would have been too expensive for the average person. Especially during war or an uneasy armistice.
Which Wutai didn't seem to be suffering under.
"Come on," Yuffie told him, pulling him along and through dense throngs of people. Her forceful attitude drew a significant amount of attention, a significant number of confused glares that, once they turned towards him, swiftly became hostile. "I know where we can get the wood; Sonon's dad is a carpenter."
He let her drag him around the city, through the thoroughfare and, eventually, turning down an alley to come to a cramped little shop. Sliding the door open, they stepped into a dim room that had wooden beams piled up to one side and a little counter near the back.
There was nobody at said counter but that didn't stop Yuffie from walking right up to it and slapping her hands against it.
"Hold on!" someone shouted from a side room. Alchemist leaned over, trying to catch a glimpse, but the door led directly into a hallway. "I'm busy!"
"Well I wanna buy something!" Yuffie shouted back.
"Ugh! Fine!" the unseen man shouted back. There was a clatter from the back room, then a moment later a man stepped out of the door. He was not a tall man, even for his demographic, and he wore a plain leather apron covered in wood shavings. His brown eyes showed obvious confusion when he looked at Yuffie, then slid up to Alchemist's own eyes and became... guarded. "Whadda ya want, kid? I ain't open."
"Wood. Duh." But Yuffie didn't seem to notice. "I need to get enough to-"
"I said I ain't open," the man repeated, his voice flat and even. "So how about you get on outta here?"
"...What?" Yuffie asked, clearly confused. "But I just-"
"Look. Kid. I don't care what you want," the man said slowly, as though talking to someone that was a bit dim. "I. Ain't. Open."
"...What?" Yuffie asked again, her voice trembling for a moment before she shored herself up. The girl placed her hands on her hips and leaned forward, fire lighting up in her eyes. "Do you have any idea who you're talking to, buster?!"
"I don't care," the carpenter responded as he crossed his arms. His next words carried the hostility that Alchemist had been noticing ever since they'd first arrived. Since -he- had arrived. "Half-outsider is still an outsider. An' I don't sell to your kind."
"I am Yuffie Ki-" Yuffie started to shriek before dropping silent as Alchemist placed a hand on her shoulder. Her cheeks red, tears forming at the edges of her eyes, she looked up to the wizard in confusion.
"Yuf," the dragon began, his voice hard and quiet. "Why don't you go on outside while this man and I have a... talk."
"...Okay," Yuffie responded even as the carpenter was saying "We ain't got nothing to talk about!"
Alchemist waited, glaring at the man, Daisuke Kusakabe according to Libra, as Yuffie went outside to meet with Alchemist's bilocation duplicate. Once the sliding door clicked shut-
"I ain't gonna repeat-" Daisuke started to say...
Just to be cut off as Alchemist, faster than Daisuke could blink, reached across the counter and grabbed the man by his face and pulled him over the counter, sending tools and paper crashing to the floor. Daisuke grabbed at Alchemist's wrist, trying to pry himself free, but came to a very sudden stop as he was slammed, head-first, through the countertop and pinned to the ground.
"You are free to insult me," the dragon said, very quietly, to the dazed, injured man beneath him. "You do not get to insult my daughter. Do you understand?"
- Pronouns
- Male
So what's going on? Did they go Wutai in a previous point in the timeline or did they go to another version of Wutai entirely?
Who wants to bet the paper boy is Alchemist?
Yeah, that... that's a good point. I'm glad you're bringing it up
- Location
- Here
So speaking from experience, every person will eventually reach this point. No matter how big of a genius you are, there will be a moment when it fails you... And if you were an asshole back when you were on top? It hits hard.
I don't think it'll be an issue though. It took me years to find out that I was supposed to be smarter than others, because most people don't realize. They don't think they're smart, they're confused that solving problems is not as easy for everyone else as it is for them.
zane
not so tiny, fiery death
- Location
- in you base, burning your d00dz
Considering that the ff7 compilation covers a fairly BROAD chunk of time, (ff7 ever crisis w/ teenage Seph - all the way to dirge of Cerberus, something in the neighborhood of 40+ years give or take a few…)
And the the rebirth saga is introducing multi/ parallel world elements,
Yea, no fuckin clue when or where they are.
Depending on the timeline or past they are in Yuffie might just get to see her mom again or even herself.
Which kind of makes me wonder if Alchemist might end up bring another person back with home with them.
As I could easily see Yuffle treating another version of herself like a sister and asking if she wants join her awesome big sister to go on adventures.
Which kind of makes me wonder if Alchemist might end up bring another person back with home with them.
As I could easily see Yuffle treating another version of herself like a sister and asking if she wants join her awesome big sister to go on adventures.
- Location
- hell
I think it's been established they went back in time when crossing universes to jump city, so it makes sense that it's same Gaia, different time and the system doesn't account for time travel the way it should. After all, holiday quest at Gold Saucer is invalid without a Gold Saucer. Just another bug report for Terra-chan to fix. Then again, that doesn't mesh with the other quest they took with the titans tagging along landing them in the correct time period for the quest... Unless the revisit worlds have their destination coordinates become temporally fixed relative to the quest selection point after each visit. So, you wait ten days to revisit, ten days have passed in the target quest world. You go back a week in time before visiting, you end up a week before you last left that quest world instead.
I feel like there is probably some way for Alchemist to exploit that with some of the worlds he's visited if true.
I feel like there is probably some way for Alchemist to exploit that with some of the worlds he's visited if true.
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Billy Batson, aka Captain Marvel, aka Shazam, would be one of the few who actually know what it's like to have a form that's less intelligent than the other.
The Wisdom of Solomon is a great boon, and works greatly in conjunction with Billy's pure heart, but like all of his boons it is at its most potent while he is in his adult form.
When he gives that up? It must be incredibly frustrating to look at the decisions that he'd made as Captain Marvel and struggle to understand how me came to make those choices. What connections he saw, the intuitions he felt... it's about like trying to catch smoke with your bare hands.
rkyeun
Cabbitus Maximus
- Location
- ◕ ‿‿ ◕
Oof, the family that trapped Dream. I wonder if there was only one family that did that in the 52 or multiple?
Holy Disguises Batman! I really hope this is the only time Bruce meets Constitine, for Bruce's sake.
Alec didnt have time to take care of it himself, so he called it in. Nice.
There can always be negative side effects to charity. It doesnt mean that charity is wrong. Hopefully the boost is enough to get them caught up, or interested in studying, once it has results.
So they can leave, thats good.
Good job being a dad! But I wonder how you'll feel once you realize her mother is still alive (edit: I assume). Dragons dont give up their treasures easily. Luckily Alchemist ensured he's protected from paradoxes. But unfortunately I think he did the same for Yuffie.
Great chapter!
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Magos Tractor-1
Archmagos Dominus
- Location
- Somewhere in Mars, Olymus Mons probably
- Pronouns
- He/Him/His
Ooof. You better pray to all gods, dead or alive, to interfere in your situation Daisuke. I doubt the Eldritch Arch-Wizard is in a merciful mood right now with how you treated his daughter, his most precious hoard, in front of him.
Yanno, Marvel's argument could be seen as quite harsh.
Following his logic, Heroes shouldn't help people. After all, helping people creates a safety net that made regular people feels safer than they actually is.
What happened if the heroes is busy in another part of the world/galaxy, got busy, or fail due to one way or another?
Bam! No more safety, yet the muggles still think that they're protected.
Now, I know that I'm using an Ad Absurdum logic... But it's still internally consistent.
My point is that for the one supposedly holding the Wisdom of Solomon, he seems to be misusing it.
Following his logic, Heroes shouldn't help people. After all, helping people creates a safety net that made regular people feels safer than they actually is.
What happened if the heroes is busy in another part of the world/galaxy, got busy, or fail due to one way or another?
Bam! No more safety, yet the muggles still think that they're protected.
Now, I know that I'm using an Ad Absurdum logic... But it's still internally consistent.
My point is that for the one supposedly holding the Wisdom of Solomon, he seems to be misusing it.
There's always the Chrono Trigger paradox resolution. Go to the very moment of someone's death and replace them with a doll indistinguishable from the original, and steal the actual one into the future. The past says they died and so they have, as far as the past is concerned. Uncertainty is the bread and butter of time travel.
Lycanthromancer
The Arcane Fuzz
- Location
- USA
As well as the same line of thinking that Lex Luthor used to determine that he should kill Superman.
Isn't really that wise, when you think about it.
One thing I really enjoy about this story is that it has shown second and third order effects of Alchemist's actions. While what he is doing and his logic for it are sound, it is also clear that he either hasn't considered those effects, or even if he has not fully explored them to their end. Which fair, he has a lot on his plate and his background isn't in the kind of think-tank studies and policy development that explicit consider for those things [if they are any good anyway].
Given that the Saucer seem to be under construction and Wutai seems to no have suffered the full effects of the war, I am betting sometime into the past.