New Orleans; July 27th; 21:57 CDTTrumpet music plays in the background as an old man walks down the street. Carrying a cane but not using it. He stops before a door on his left. MADAM XANADU the main golden oval sign reads and eye in the centre. Three small square signs with red font read TAROTS READ > LOVED ONES CONTACTED > FATES FORETOLD. He pulls out a golden pocket watch. Looking at the woman on the inside of the cover. He closes it and walks inside.
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As he does a woman steps through the bead-guarded doorway. Her skin and hair dark, but her green eyes are accented by the three blue jewels on her forehead. "Bonsoir, monsieur." (Good evening, sir) she greets. "How can Madame Xanadu be of service?" her French accent rather mild. "Ah, there is someone to whom you wish to speak." she stops about the distance of the table to her right apart from the man. "Your wife, Mai non"
The man"s hand clenches tightly around the watch. "Yes, my Inza."
Xanadu sits down. "Then madam will make contact if fate be kind."
The man sighs as he sits down as well. "But he so rarely is."
"Ahem." She clears her throat, then holds out her hand.
The man reaches into his jacket, pulling out a roll of bills "Oh, of course," he says, placing them in her hand. She slips them down her shirt with no hesitation and closes her eyes.
The ball in the centre glows pure white and her hair is blown back, The light above sways and creaks, the table shakes ever so slightly, and the curtains blow with the wind. The man watches as the table rises. Then the candles blow out.
"Oh, my darling. How I"ve missed you." Madam Xanadu says, though her voice is slightly higher than her own. Her eyes snap open, glowing white as well. "I"m so lonely here and cold."
The man bursts out into laughter. "Th-that"s the best you could do?"
Everything clatters to their original places.
"Imbecile! You have broken the spell." Xanadu snaps as her eyes open once more. "Your wife is forever lost."
"Th-that supposed to be my wife?" he questions mocking. Letting out a single chuckle before he continues. "Heck, my little Spitfire would"ve kicked my can for throwin" away good money on you."
"No refunds for non-believers," Xanadu replies hastily as she stands up out of her chair and crosses her arms.
"I think we both know you"re the non-believer, Madame. A wind machine." he gestures widely with his hand to where a wind machine is hidden from sight behind the curtains near the ceiling. "Tire jacks under the table." he lifts the long table cover to show it off, then sits up straight. "A shame, too. You have the perfect aura for the work, and nothing would"ve pleased me more than to be reunited with my bride." he opens his golden pocket watch, looking down at the picture in longing.
A hand is placed on the back of the man"s jacket and then on his left lapel. Turning he"s stunned to find Abra Kadabra grabbing him. "You will be with her soon enough," he promises through his thick accent, holding the older man off the ground. He smirks and all the old man can do is looked stunned before they disappear in a flash of blue-white light.
Madame Xanadu gasps in shock, finally her flight reflexes kick in and she runs back through her bead blocked doorway.
Behind her turned back the cane the old man had glows gold, floating on its own before it too disappears, but in a golden flash.
Mount Justice...August 19th
"Initiate- Combat Training." the computerized voice says as Kaldur and Superboy slowly work their way from the opposite sides of the circle towards each other. "3." the two begin to circle each other. "2." they"re now maintaining about ten feet of distance from each other. "1."
Both charge, Superboy goes in for a right hook punch that Aqualad ducks under, retaliating with a left-right one-two combo. Both of which Superboy blocks, though Kaldur jumps and goes for a hook kick, that Superboy both ducks under and raises his hands for. As Kaldur lands he goes for another right hook that Kaldur dives back into a back handspring, landing in a crouch.
Artemis and M"gann watch on. "Kaldur"s uh, nice, don"t you think?" Artemis asks, glancing at M"gann to ensure that she"s the only one listening before she continues. " Handsome. Commanding. You should totally ask him out."
"He"s like a big brother to me." she denies light-heartedly. "But you know who would make the cutest couple? You and Wally." she teases, looking over her shoulder at the ginger currently noisily enjoying his burrito. "You"re so full of pa.s.sion and he"s so full of-uh-of…"
"It." Artemis finishes with conviction, though their combined laughing afterwards proves that she is mocking him.
"Fair enough....then what about Steve?" M"gann asks which Artemis raises her eyebrow in confusion "Well come on! I see how you look at him." Artemis then looks over to Cap who was silently watching the match.
Kaldur and Superboy charge each other, with his bigger build Superboy gets his arms on the Atlantean"s shoulder blades, before getting his boot behind Aqualad"s barefoot and throwing him over his shoulder and a good fifteen feet away, on his rear.
Aqualad lets out a stunning cry as he feels his feet leave the ground.
"Fail > Aqualad." the computerized voice calls out, as his stats appear near the fallen Atlantean"s shoulder.
Superboy stands up straighter, brushing off his hands. "Cap taught me that."
Red Tornado drops out of a hole in the ceiling. Gaining everyone"s attention. As Superboy helps Kaldur to his feet.
"Do you have a mission for us?" Wally asks, speeding in front of Red Tornado.
"Mission a.s.signments are the Batman"s responsibility," Tornado responds.
"Yeah, Well, the Batman is with the Robin, doing the Dynamic Duo thing in Gotham," Wally responds, tauntingly emulation Tornado"s speech pattern. "but you"re heading somewhere, right?" all of the Team members were slowly moving in. "Hot date or a missión."
"If we can be of help..." Kaldur speaks up.
Tornado looks the Team over for a moment. Then he turns and calls up the holo screens. "This is Kent Nelson, a friend. He is 106 years old."
"Guy doesn"t look a day over ninety," Wally comments in Artemis" direction, M"gann steps upon his left, immediately drawing the ginger"s attention away from the archer.
"And he has been missing for twenty-three days." Tornado continues, either not hearing Wally or ignoring him. "Kent was a charter member of the Justice Society," the image on the holoscreen changes to cover Kent"s face with a golden helmet and his clothes turn royal blue with a gold belt, breastplate, gauntlets, boots and cape the precursor to your mentor"s Justice League." with that Kent"s picture became Doctor Fate"s.
"Of course." Kaldur realizes, sounding annoyed with himself. "Nelson was Earth"s Sorcerer Supreme. He was Doctor Fate."
"Pfft." Wally snorted. "More like Doctor Fake, guy knows a little advanced science and Dumbledore"s it up to scare the bad guys and impress the babes," he whispers to Artemis but not paying attention Cap slaps him in the back of the head "Dude!".
"Wally show some respect," Cap said sternly, Wally didn"t reply as he rubbed his head and paid attention to Tornado.
Tornado turns to the Team again. "Kent may just be on one of his… walkabouts, but he is caretaker to the Helmet of Fate." Tornado continues, "The source of the Doctor"s mystic might, and it unwise to leave such power unguarded."
"He"s like the great sorcerer-priests and priestesses of Mars, I would be honoured to help find him," M"gann speaks up, everyone pays her attention, knowing that it isn"t often she would bring up her life on their sister planet, Much less her religion.
Wally"s hand shoots up instantly. "Me too." Everyone turns in, surprised "So honoured, I can barely stand it." Wally continues, suddenly sounding sheepish as he realizes all attention was focused on him. Behind him, Artemis glares. "Magic rocks." throwing in a Rock and Roll hand gesture. The blonde rolls her eyes and she crosses her arms, but soon Wally quietened down as he felt the glare of Cap piercing him.
"Take this, it is the key to the Tower of Fate," Tornado says, offering up an old bra.s.s key, Aqualad takes it from his waiting hand.
"Okay, we got our mission so let"s move out," Cap called out before walking away, everyone began to spread out.
Inside the Bioship, M"gann at the helm, Artemis directly in front of her, Wally and Cap to Artemis" right, with Kaldur and Superboy on her left. "So, Wally," Artemis begins, an already mocking tone in her words. "when did you realize your honest affinity for sorcery?"
"Well, I-I don"t like to brag," Wally stumbles over his words, but his attention is fully out of the corner of his eye right at M"gann. "but, uh before I became Kid Flash, I seriously considered become a wizard myself." seeing that he has M"gann"s attention he puts his hands behind his head and visibly relaxes.
Cap and Artemis roll their eyes, while Kaldur looks away from KF.
"We"ve reached Tornado"s coordinates, but-" M"gann starts, as she brings the bioship down in the street.
Salem...August 19th
The bioship is fully camouflaged as it makes its descent. On the right side of the road is an open field, but on the left, there is an old theatre that looks shut down, and a red brick building that with its lights on seemingly has people inside.
"Nothing"s there." Superboy finishes.
"Take us down," Aqualad commands. Outside the bioship is a mangey orange cat with deep red markings around its body. Though its face has similar black marking and red eyes that seem to observe the hidden bioship before it hops off the box it was on and trot inside the theatre.
"Grant us access to the tower, and I promise an end to your suffering." a man"s voice- the same man who was in New Orleans- bargains. "Continue to refuse and-" he cuts himself off as something zaps.
Causing another man, who sounds older, to cry out in pain.
The cat jumps on a teens lap as he laughs from the front row of the seating. Instantly he begins petting the cat, causing it to purr and meow. His face is pale, his hair is dark and styled in a way that almost seems to give him horns, but his eyes are old and angry. The cat begins to babble at him. "Shush, Teekl!" he reprimands. "I"m watching the show."
Upon the stage, tied in ropes and sitting in a chair, panting from pain is Kent Nelson. The same man that was in New Orleans standing before him holding a magic wand. "Enjoy it…" Kent begins, though forced to take a breath due to the a.s.sumed torture he"s been receiving since New Orleans. "while you can." he finishes. Then looks up with determination in his eyes, knowing he has their attention. "Soon enough, my friends will come to help me." the Hispanic with the long ponytail walks behind his chair, raising his wand as the end sparks blue. Touching it to Kent Nelson"s back to zap him once more.
Teekl the cat hisses as the teen stands up. Clapping and shouting. "Encore! Encore!" before laughing in sick joy.
The cat meows once more. "What?" he questions, annoyed.
The cat hisses then meows once more. Almost as if he understood her his eyes soften. "Oh."