Young Justice: Yellowstone
October 11th, 2010
It was into the afternoon when we were finally finished. I looked around blankly, my eyes glazed and my mind roughly as active as a dead snail’s. I took two staggering steps towards the trunk of a toppled tree––unable to muster the willpower to conjure or transfigure something more comfortable––then simply slumped down onto my knees. It took all my remaining faculties to interpose my arms between my face and the ground as I sagged forward, but my muscles were as weak as if I’d been hit by a jelly-legs jinx and failed instantly.
My head thumped against the ground, unpleasant but not really dangerous thanks to my aura, and I exhaled slowly. For what was probably just a minute or so, but could have easily been an hour or more, I just knelt there. It wasn’t comfortable––my chin was digging into my chest, my head was supporting a good deal of my weight, and the throbbing of my sore fingers was only exacerbated by the rough ground––but I simply couldn’t muster the willpower to make myself move.
I was unbelievably exhausted. I thought I knew what it felt like to be tired––those training sessions that I’d had Glynda push me through were utterly brutal, and I’d gone through the same anti-interrogation training that every Black did in their youth––but apparently I had yet to experience proper exhaustion until now.
I’d spent the better part of twelve hours on my feet, casting spells and carefully directing my magic the entire time. I’d slept less than three hours last night and perhaps four the night before, and both of those days had been long and exhausting in their own ways. As much as I had enjoyed Zatanna’s surprise, right about now I was really wishing she’d chosen some other night to spring it.
I groaned softly, but the sound only served to further irritate my worn, dry throat. Sometime around the three hour mark I’d switched away from silent casting to help myself differentiate between what I was doing with my regular wizarding magic and the elemental manipulation that Ozpin and his Maidens had taught me. Between that and constantly coordinating with the other people working to suppress the ash plume, I’d done a lot of talking, and the air here was both unpleasantly hot and dry. My bubble head charm helped, as did drinking plenty of water, but there was only so much that either could do in the end.
The instructions for a throat-soothing charm drifted through my head like a cloud of ash caught in a stiff breeze. I’d taught myself the spell back in fourth year when a bad case of pepperup-resistant cough had been going around the castle.
It had taken Professor Slughorn and the Hogwarts mediwizard an entire three days to identify the proper spells and potions to deal with it, and in that time it had really come in handy. I’d managed to avoid getting sick––it turned out there was a bubble-head variant that could cover the entire body, not just the head––but Dorea and my yearmates had been insufferable.
Flick, half-circle, and then a tap on the throat. I could do that. Yeah. I could do that.
My fingers twitched and I felt a thoroughly pathetic burst of sparks emerge from the tip of my wand. Just that much sent another spike of pain through my head and made something in my chest clench painfully. I felt rather woozy for a moment, my eyelids fluttering and waves of cold shooting up and down my limbs.
Or maybe not.
Merlin’s beard, I felt rather wretched. I really, really should have bowed out hours ago, but both Green Lanterns and Superman had still been hard at work and I’d refused on principle to be out done by a magical creature and two muggles with fancy magic rings.
I tried to focus on my breathing, the charms on my robe ensuring that the air entering my lungs was clean and fresh even if it was still uncomfortably dry and annoyingly warm as well. I could feel the sun shining down on the thin strip of bare skin between the top of my robe and my hair, a strip of warmth dulled by the over-stressed cooling charms on the robe. It was a little uncomfortable, but much better than not being able to even see the rising sun through the clouds of ash.
I froze when I heard the muffled crunch of footsteps from just beside me. Getting the ash out of the air had been our primary priority and, while most had been compacted down into a single large mound, a lot of it had ended up on the ground around me. I was in no shape to defend myself, and probably looked like an utter mess. Oh Merlin, if this was––
A hand landed on my shoulder and I was gently pulled upright, strong fingers supporting my weight and stopping me from slumping forward or backwards. I forced one eye open and found Raven standing over me, an unreadable expression on her face.
Oh. That was alright then. My muscles relaxed and my eye slipped shut, my head lolling to the side. Only the vice-like grip I had around the handle of my wand remained. My nails were digging painfully into my palm, and my wand felt like it weighed as much as a led rod, but I refused to let go of it. Its warmth, unlike the light of the sun or the baking heat rising from the earth, was a necessary comfort.
Something brushed against my forehead and I instinctively pulled away from the touch. Another hand landed on the back of my head and held me gently in place as two fingers were placed on the center of my forehead.
Someone said something, but I couldn’t make out the words. Then there was a flare of white light, bright enough that I could see it through my eyelids but somehow cool and gentle instead of painful. It washed through me like ice-water on a muggy summer afternoon, cold and crisp and carrying with it a lingering chill.
“Oh…” I breathed, and this time there was no discomfort. I still felt exhausted––physically, mentally, and magically––but some of the unpleasant aches and pains were gone and my mind was clearer than it had been just moments before.
The voice returned, but this time I could actually understand what it was saying. “Elune protects.”
I cautiously opened my eyes and found the priestess I’d summoned what felt like an eternity ago staring down at me, a placid, peaceful expression on her face. Her white dress was marked in places by streaks of black ash and there was what looked like a handprint on her shoulder, but she otherwise looked exactly as she had when I’d summoned her.
I glanced to the side and found Raven standing beside the priestess. She looked a lot less pristine than the elf did, and the sight of them standing side by side was unreasonably amusing. Raven was a rather tall woman. She had a good half-inch on me even without the extra height her heeled boots gave her. Beside the statuesque night elf priestess however, she looked much less imposing than she usually did.
Despite myself, I burst out laughing. I doubled over, nearly faceplanting back onto the ash, but I didn’t have the energy to care about how undignified I looked. This time it was the priestess that caught me and pulled me upright. Both she and Raven had moved nearly simultaneously, leaving them standing side by side with their shoulders pressed together. Or well, with Raven’s shoulder pressed against the priestess’s elbow. My laughter only intensified.
“What’s wrong with him?” I heard Raven ask over my choked, delirious laughter. “I thought you healed him?”
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“He is physically well, but there is only so much Elune’s blessings can do without access to a moonwell. He is simply exhausted.”
Something she’d said tickled my memories, but I couldn’t place it. I kept laughing until I simply ran out of air, my efforts to sit up stymied by Raven and the priestess, who were still standing side by side. Each time I looked at them, I just started all over again. Eventually I squeezed my eyes shut and finally managed to pull myself together. Raven helped me to my feet and with her help I finally managed to stagger over to that fallen tree and sit down. It was also covered in ash, just like the ground was, but it was a much more comfortable place to sit.
No sooner than I’d sat down, there was a thunderous boom and I tensed again, turning to see a small cloud of black ash billowing up into the air, concealing whatever had hit the ground. A moment later, it was smashed back down into the ground by a wave of emerald stars, revealing Ysondre’s imposing draconic form.
Raven, who was sitting beside me and supporting part of my weight, reached for her sword, but I stopped her with a hand on her thigh. “She’s one of mine,” I mumbled, and Raven paused, then nodded and pulled her hand away from the hilt.
I’d summoned Ysondre some hours ago, once I’d finally regained my expended mana. I hadn’t been certain how helpful she’d actually be, but had figured that a protector of the natural world would be able to do something useful. Plus, I was planning to summon her soon anyway, and it was good to have what was probably my heaviest hitter around in case something went wrong while I was otherwise occupied.
Ysondre shook herself, a few specs of ash falling from her shining acid-green scales. Then she took a single step forward and between one moment and the next, the dragon became an elf. She brushed a single strand of hair away from her face and fixed her blindfold, then began walking towards us.
Instead of the bulky, impractical-looking armor that she’d been wearing the first time I’d seen her, Ysondre was dressed in something reminiscent of some of the dress robes I’d seen worn by foreign wizards back home. She wore an open, pale-green robe decorated with even paler patterns of vines and rune-like symbols. Beneath it was a darker green but similarly decorated wrap blouse and a simple chain necklace from which hung a tear-drop shaped green stone. She was also wearing loose-fitting pale-green pants and practical but clearly well-made and heavily enchanted leather boots.
It was a good look. Without the blindfold––and the pointed ears––she could have passed for a particularly tall witch, at least from a distance. As she approached however, her height became more clear. She wasn’t the tallest ‘elf’ I’d met––that was definitely Tyrande––but she was still taller than the generic priestess.
I glanced over at Raven and the priestess, then quickly looked away and bit my lip. I was thankfully saved from those particular intrusive thoughts by the arrival of Superman, one of the Lanterns, and Dr. Fate. I was somewhat annoyed to see that they didn’t look nearly as worn out as I did. Then again, Fate had arrived considerably after I did, Superman was some sort of incredibly powerful magical creature, and the Lantern––the light skinned one whose name I either didn’t know or couldn’t remember––was relying on borrowed power. It wasn’t the same.
I sighed heavily and forced myself to stand up. I was incredibly tired, but the few minutes I’d had to rest––and the priestesses healing––had helped blunt the worst of it. There was still a bit more left to do before I could get out of here.
Half an hour later, I was only still standing because of one thing: the newest Blueprint I could feel within my soul. One of the most expensive Blueprint I’d ever seen, second only to Ysera––an unfathomably ancient and powerful dragon. Superman really was just as impressive as everyone said. I hadn’t even had to ask or scheme. We’d shaken hands and it had just appeared, no effort from me required.
Getting that had bouyed my spirit so much that it had kept me going ever since. I couldn’t use that Blueprint yet, but someday. Someday soon…That much power at my beck and call was an intoxicating proposition.
I got a feeling that it wouldn’t be usable in every circumstance––there was a limit to how much my summoning could affect the actions of my summons––and Superman, Clark Kent, was a man of unbendable moral character. Still, I’d been rather heroic in my dealings in all three of the worlds I’d visited so far and it had worked out well for me. As long as I only used him in similar circumstances, well. He was going to be very useful.
I did my best to focus on the conversations going on around me. We were discussing what we’d done, any work that still needed doing, and other potential dangers. Thankfully, after the first few minutes I didn’t really need to do much talking. I’d introduced both Ysondre and Mavria––who’d emerged from the earth a scant minute after the others and caused something of a scare––made sure my contribution couldn’t be glossed over, and then mostly let the two of them speak for me. They had a lot more knowledge and experience with this sort of thing than I did.
Mavria in particular had a lot to say. She and the Green Lantern quickly devolved into throwing around terms I certainly couldn’t follow in my current state, if at all. I gathered that she’d stabilized the volcano, and that was good enough for me.
Dr. Fate spent a good three-quarters of the time staring at her and Ysondre, who were standing on either side of me, and the rest of the time looking at the priestess who was hanging back with Raven. I wasn’t sure what that was about, but I could deal with it some other time. After I’d slept. Oh Merlin, how I wanted to go home.
And then, as we were finally starting to disperse, who but Kent Nelson arrived, carrying in his arms a few twisted scraps of ruined metal. He at least looked just as haggard as I felt, shakily stepping out of a partially unstable portal that snapped shut behind him.
He seemed surprised by the number of people gathered in this rather unremarkable patch of destroyed forest, but quickly focused on me. He took a step forward. “I…I found what I could. This is…this is all that’s left.”
At that moment, I genuinely wanted to cry. But I didn’t. I couldn’t.
I looked down at the scrap metal in his arms, then up at Kent. I sighed heavily and drew my wand. What was it I’d said? “No promises, but I’ll do my best.” I gestured to the ground in front of him and Kent reverently set his load down before stepping back. Fate drifted forward, stopping beside Kent and giving the elderly wizard a hard look.
Maybe if I’d been in a better state of mind, I’d have tried to make a show of it. I definitely wouldn’t have done it right away. It had already been nearly half a day. A few more hours wouldn’t really matter to the magic, and I would have been in much better casting shape.
But I wasn’t really thinking. I was barely standing.
I only really had one shot at this. Repeated repair charms didn’t work very well on a single object. It was why a wizard couldn’t just fix their robes or whatever over and over again and never need to buy new ones. The effect grew weaker with repeated exposure, and you’d never be able to fix something as well the second time as you could the first. That didn’t really matter with simple things, but something as complex as a living, thinking machine? I didn’t even know if I could pull it off the first time at all.
There were ways around that issue––hyper-specialized charms, rituals, and the like––but I’d never really looked into that sort of magic. It hadn’t seemed applicable. I mean, why would I ever need a spell designed to specifically fix a certain type of brickwork in a way that didn’t cause reparo fatigue?
Keeping that in mind, I knew I needed this to be as sure a thing as I possibly could. That meant power. As much of it as I could pour into the spell.
A mote of white, a mote of blue, and a mote of colorless mana flowed through me and down the length of my wand, my skin tingling in its wake. I hadn’t practiced using more than three mana at once in a spell before, and reparo could realistically only take so much extra power. I’d found that most spells could only really benefit from a single mote of mana, so this was probably thoroughly excessive.
I carefully traced out the wand motions and enunciated the incantation. “Reh-PAH-roh!”
Magic poured through my wand, the wood singing between my fingers, and struck the metal. The scrap rattled, shuddered, and twitched, before smoothing and flattening out into something identifiable as one of Red Tornado’s shoulder plates. The ground shuddered and flecks of metal seemed to shoot from the ground, joining with the scrap.
And then, well. I don’t really remember what happened next. Using so much magic in my current state had been a decidedly foolish endeavor. Apparently, I’d collapsed. Right in front of all those heroes I was trying to impress and my newest summons. Lovely. Just lovely.