Emergence 2.14a
– o – o – o – o – o – o – o –
HAPPY HARBOR
August 19, 19:29 EDT
There was a lot to be said for the process of hands-on tinkering. It was a craft that required time and effort, nimble fingers and dexterous digits, a keen eye for detail, and a strong spatial sense. Many who delved into it could wax poetic for hours on end, and for good reason.
"Son of a—!" Zeke yelped, his exclamation cut short as a burst of sparks sent him tumbling backwards off his stool.
Unfortunately, most of what Zeke had to say would be censored if it ever had to be aired on television.
-1
The red number flashed mockingly in his vision, eliciting a grunt of frustration as he bit back another stream of profanity. Zeke let himself flop fully onto the floor, deciding that lying in a heap was preferable to the awkward, head-first sprawl he'd landed in. With a shake of his head, the dark-skinned boy sat up, soot-covered palms slapping against his thighs as he paused to catch his breath. God, I hate this.
And there was plenty to hate.
A groan-sigh hybrid escaped Zeke's lips as he pulled himself up onto his knees, hugging the stupid stool and resting his chin on the seat. His blue eyes darted to the workstation against the far wall of his room, fixing the smoking hunk of electronics with a dirty look. I almost had it, he groused silently. I know it!
The "it" in question was the blueprint rolling around in his head—the oddly defined yet perfectly accurate concept he knew as the—
"Fucking Energy Infuser," Zeke spat, glaring at the sparking, charred remains of what had once been a microwave.
His encounter with the monstrous General had left him with this "concept" stuck in his head after a dizzy [Observe] on a strange device that had tumbled out of the man's overturned car.
> X-Ionizer (Unique)
>
> An item created by the advanced minds behind the Captain Atom project after studying alien technology. Its function is to alter the state of normal matter into a metamaterial (or vice versa) for the process of working with otherwise unmalleable materials.
According to Captain Atom, the X-Ionizer was something he'd heard about from a scientist named Heinrich Megala during the early days of the project. The doctor, a captive audience for his own ramblings, had claimed he had based the design on alien tech and could "rearrange atomic alignment via compressing particle lattices consisting of positive/negative ions in a permanently affixed linear fashion."
In theory, it had crazy potential.
"In theory, at least." the Captain had said with a shake of his head. "Unfortunately, Megala died from radiation poisoning a year after I was gone, and he never explained much. So the reality is that all the brass ever figured out was how to make things sharp and hard to break."
What Zeke had gleaned from the X-Ionizer wasn't the device's actual blueprints, but rather the "concept" of it—a glowing bundle of potential that had been bouncing around his skull for days, stubbornly refusing to manifest in the real world.
Days of tinkering, lugging around spare parts and tools, receiving weird looks from the rest of the Team when they saw him, late night dinners, hours on Viewtube looking up tutorials and so much dry erase board planning still had him scratching his head trying to figure out how to make this work.
Even after dropping off a few extra points in his INT at the last minute hoping that would help didn’t get him all that far. (+5 INT, + 4 STR, + 1 SPD). You’d assume that spending months at STAR Labs would have made me pay more attention to all the science stuff and figure it out, he grumbled to himself with no one else to blame. All that super science around and you couldn’t ask an intern for a lesson or something.
He knew he was being dumb, honestly.
It was unlikely that anyone in STAR Labs was properly qualified to teach, let alone had the time or even the patience to. Doctor Charles definitely didn’t, he thought to himself, mind going back to the dark-skinned young genius that had been his minder.
“God, I need a break…” the boy muttered to himself, sighing.
[Zeke!]
The sound of a voice in his head out of nowhere made him jerk in surprise, the thirteen-year old stumbling back and away from the stool again. Landing back on the floor again, he simply stared up at the fluorescent lights recessed into the ceiling.
[Zeke?] M’Gaan’s voice sounded off in his head again, the boy fighting the urge to roll his eyes. If it wasn’t bad enough he had to be careful about thinking too hard with the telepathic connection, facial expressions and strong emotions could be felt across it as well.
[...hey, Megan.] He answered back, making sure to keep his frustrations away from his surface thoughts. [What’s up?]
[We’re having a little sparring session in the main room.] She paused, the green girl seeming to think for a moment before the telepathic message continued. [The boys are, at least. Did you want to join in?]
Zeke glanced down at his little rudimentary workstation — from the smoking thing that was once a microwave oven to the multimeter, soldering kit, screwdriver and wire stripper — and let out a long sigh.
[Sounds fun, be right there.]
– o – o – o – o – o – o – o –
Zeke sighed as he slowly walked into the mission room, one eyebrow cocked as he watched Superboy sweep Aqualad's leg. In one smooth motion, he grabbed the Atlantean bodily and sent the other boy down to the ground with surprising restraint. The dark-skinned teenager’s back hit the ground with a solid thud.
A moment later, Aqualad opened his eyes, a smile on his lips as he allowed the clone to haul him back to his feet.
The younger member of the team stared at all this, unable to help himself as he voiced the one major question on his mind…
“Why is your shirt off?”
Conner glanced over, eyes meeting Zeke’s, his hand still clasped with Aqualad's. "Oh... Artemis said it would only slow me down."
The thirteen-year-old shot the blonde archer a side-eye, brow still arched. “Did she now?”
The girl in question smirked back at him, M’Gann herself blushing slightly from her place next to the other girl. “Don’t bother taking yours off, though, I think you’ll do just fine.”
"Against Superboy?" Zeke gave her a knowing look, eyes narrowed, before shifting his gaze to Aqualad and Conner as they stepped off the glowing central platform. Gimme a break.
The clone snorted as his head popped through the neck of his shirt, the red S stark against the black fabric. "What? You scared?"
Is he seri- Ezekiel raised both brows, fixing Conner with a pointed stare. "Yes. 'Cause I have a brain."
"Smart," Superboy admitted, letting out another snort of a laugh as he folded his arms over his broad chest. "But no, not me. It's Wally's turn." He jerked a thumb towards the far wall.
Zeke's eyes trailed in that direction, his lids drooping as he watched Wally eagerly demolish a large burrito, the speedster cramming the last bit of his snack into his mouth with gusto. Jeez, man. Learn to chew.
"This'll be cake!" The redhead crowed, cackling in a way that would've made Robin proud.
He zipped up to the training stage, barely tapping into his speed, and began shadowboxing the air with exaggerated motions that Wildcat would’ve smacked the redhead for if the old man ever saw. "No worries, Zeke. I'll go easy on you."
Same old Wally… for better and especially for worse. Even after their mission together, squaring off against the speedster's crazy stalker villain chick, Kid Flash hadn't changed much. His attitude was as insufferable as ever, and Zeke doubted that would shift anytime soon. Though, that could just be his own irritation talking. I mean, he's not thaaaat b-
Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
"Yo, pint-size, hurry it up!" Wally's voice shattered his musings, the redhead cupping his hands around his mouth as he called from the stage. "I get being scared, but it's just a spar. I won't embarrass you in front of the laaaadies." He finished with a wink in M'gann's direction, but the Martian girl was too focused on her chat with Artemis to notice.
Zeke stared blankly. Alright, I'm gonna enjoy this. Cracking his knuckles and stretching out his hands, he nodded in return. "...You do that."
Zeke stepped up to the glowing central chamber in the cave, the light beneath his feet framing both him and Wally as they faced off. The speedster bounced on the balls of his feet, a cocky grin plastered across his freckled face, while Zeke maintained something more approaching a serious expression, hands raised in a classic boxing guard. His time training with Wildcat and his protégés had honed his skills, and he was ready to show them off.
And not get knocked out and off my feet, he thought with a grimace, thinking back to Black Canary.
"This is a sparring match," Aqualad announced, arms crossed as he fixed the pair with a stern look. "Which means powers are to be kept at a minimum. Understood?"
Kid Flash's grin widened as he nodded. "Got it, nothing crazy."
"No energy blasts, I hear you," Zeke confirmed.
Aqualad nodded, while Superboy observed from the far wall, his own arms folded over his chest. M'gann clapped her hands together, her voice ringing out in support. "Go Zeke, you've got this!"
Artemis chimed in, "Yeah, you heard her!"
Wally’s head snapped over to face the archer, an offended look on his face as he let out a whine. "Hey, what about me?"
The blonde raised an eyebrow, a smirk tugging at her lips. "Go for it, whoo, Wally!" Her sarcastic cheer echoed through the chamber.
Shaking his head, Wally turned back to Zeke. "Women, right?"
"...Right."
"Begin!" Aqualad's hand slashed through the air.
Without hesitation, Wally darted forward, throwing a quick jab at Zeke's face. The younger teen slipped to the left, feeling the punch graze his cheek as he countered with a short right hook to Kid Flash's ribs.
“Ow!” Wally said with a wince, backing up a few steps. “Okay, alright!” Like before, he rushed at Zeke again, attempting to use his speed to his advantage, fist raised in a telegraphed punch.
Predictable. He pivoted on his left foot, sidestepping as Kid Flash overshot and stumbled slightly. Seizing the opportunity, Zeke landed a solid left cross to Wally's jaw, sending the speedster staggering back in surprise.
“Son of a-!”
Frustrated, Kid Flash gritted his teeth and began circling Zeke rapidly.
Guard still up, the smaller teen simply flicked his eyes from side to side, tracking Wally's movements. He can’t move much faster than I can without momentum. So he’s trying to make me dizzy. Suddenly, the redhead changed direction, aiming a roundhouse kick at Zeke's head. Ducking under the blow, Zeke felt the wind ruffle his hair as he drove forward with a powerful uppercut to Kid Flash's solar plexus.
Wally gasped, the air knocked from his lungs. Zeke didn’t hesitate, rushing at Wally with a flurry of well-practiced body shots as he used the older boy’s body like a punching bag. The speedster tried to block, but Zeke's combinations were both fast and focused, several punches landing clean, one after the other with barely any time to let the redhead breath.
Kid Flash backpedaled quickly, trying to create distance, but Zeke kept on him, cutting off his escape routes with efficient footwork. A panicked look on his face was clear to see as Wally swung out with a wild punch, a haymaker.
Clicking his tongue, Zeke easily weaved under it, feeling the punch whistle over his head. Not wasting a moment, he countered with a textbook left hook-right straight, the blows connecting hard and solid with Kid Flash's chin and nose.
Stumbling backwards and visibly dazed, Wally shook his head, the back of his hand going to his nose as he wiped the blood from his nostrils. A growl on his lips, the speedster rushed forward again with a quick jab, this time moving faster than Zeke could blink.
Wha- Despite his enhanced speed, Ezekiel barely managed to slip the punch as he spun, throwing all his force behind a strong right cross.
Kid Flash darted back to dodge the blow, then surged forward in the same breath, delivering a rapid series of body shots to Zeke's upper body. Fuck!
His ribs ached with each impact, superhumanly fast blows rattling his chest as Wally's voice rang out, "What? You think, just 'cause I move fast, I can't fight?"
Ezekiel attempted to create distance, backpedaling as fast as he could in the limited space they had. "No," he grunted, still trying to put some space between them, "but I do think your mouth is faster than your legs."
Kid Flash rushed forward in time with Ezekiel's own movements, matching his pace as they circled the elevated training circle. "Let's see about that!" Zeke flinched as Wally threw a left hook, the smaller boy realizing at the last moment it was a feint as the ginger dropped low for a leg sweep.
Frick! Caught off-guard, Zeke jumped to avoid it, leaping over the speedster's head.
While airborne, Ezekiel watched as Kid Flash used the confined space to his advantage, accelerating as he circled him multiple times before he could even land. Crap, he's fast! As he touched the ground, Zeke barely had time as he hit the floor palms-first, quickly handspringing away from a sliding kick Wally sent his way.
> Acrobatics + 1
Landing on his feet, still disoriented, Ezekiel threw a wild haymaker, his eyes going wide as it missed by a mile.
"Missed me!" Kid Flash taunted, easily ducking under the punch. In a rush of motion, Wally countered with a blurred uppercut, moving so fast he nearly disappeared from Zeke's vision.
The punch hit home, lifting Ezekiel off his feet. Fuck!
Even in a haze of pain, Zeke grabbed Kid Flash's arm, attempting to use his superior strength to throw him. Not done yet!
Panicking from the reversal, Kid Flash kicked his legs rapidly underneath him, the momentum turning Zeke's throw into a flip. Son of a b- In a heap of limbs and a grunt of pain, both boys hit the floor of the glowing training circle hard.
Scrambling to his feet, Kid Flash immediately dashed back, trying again to create space.
“Oh no, you don’t!” Every single time he allowed Wally some breathing room, the speedster got the momentum he needed. Not again! Ezekiel charged forward as fast as he could, closing the distance quickly, moving nearly as fast as Wally as he refused the other boy the room to build up speed. Shouting, he threw a straight right punch.
With no room to accelerate, Wally rushed in, sidestepping Ezekiel's punch and throwing a clothesline at the smaller boy.
Gotcha! Zeke ducked under Kid Flash’s arm and spun on his heels to smash an elbow into Wally’s side. Before the speedster could react, Zeke grabbed Wally’s wrist and pulled him close, dazed and off-balanced.
His grip tight even as the other teen strained against it, the boy in blue slammed his head forward into Wally’s and executed a textbook hip throw, slamming Kid Flash into the ground with all his force.
"[Combat Fail]," the computer's voice rang out robotically. "[Kid Flash.]"
“...ow.” A dazed redhead stared up at the ceiling, cradling his head. “What was that?”
Zeke smiled down at him, offering the other boy a hand up. “I think that was you trying not to embarrass me. Thanks, by the way.”
“...you’re welcome.” Ignoring Zeke’s hand, Wally pushes himself up to his feet, his bad mood lasting only a second as Red Tornado drops out of a hole in the ceiling, the android’s lower body a spinning blur of red wind.
Everyone's attention turned to their robotic den mother, Zeke's as well. About time something interesting happened around here.
Before anybody else could, the freshly beaten speedster sped up to Red Tornado, a hurried question on his lips. “Do you have a mission for us?”
"Mission assignments are the Batman's responsibility." Tornado responds, in that digitally synthesized voice of his.
"Yeah. Well, the Batman is with the Robin, doing the Dynamic Duo thing in Gotham," Wally responded, mockingly mimicking Tornado's particular speech pattern. "but you're heading somewhere, right?" At this point, all of the Team members were slowly moving in, Zeke at the rear as he brushed off his hands. "Hot date or a- a missión."
"If we can be of help..." Kaldur spoke up, counteracting Wally's general rudeness with his trademark polite and formal speech.
Tornado looked the Team over for a moment, face unreadable and unmoving. Without saying anything at first, the aerokinetic robot simply turned and called up the translucent blue holo-screens in the center space both Zeke and Wally had just fought in. "This is Kent Nelson, a friend. He is 106 years old."
"Is that Dr. Fate?" Zeke blurted, eyes wide. "He's a hundred and six?" Damn, the guy's ancient.
"Guy doesn't look a day over ninety." Wally snorted, the teen glancing over at Artemis. M'gann stepped up, on his left, immediately drawing the ginger's attention away from the archer rolling her eyes at him.
"And he has been missing for twenty-three days." Tornado continued, ignoring both Wally and Zeke as he spoke. "Kent was a charter member of the Justice Society," The image on the floating screens changed to cover Kent's face with a golden Helmet, his clothes shifting to a royal blue with a gold belt, breastplate, gauntlets, boots, and cape, "the precursor to your mentor's Justice League as Earth's premier sorcerer and mystical defender."
“Yes,” Aqualad nodded in Zeke’s direction, sounding slightly terse with a frustrated expression, “even we in Atlantis have heard of Earth's reigning Sorcerer Supreme.”
"Pfft." Wally snorted a second time. "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 whispered to Artemis again.
Zeke shot him a look. "...dude." Really? Right in front of the magic android? If he knew anything about anything, he was sure that Red Tornado's whole deal was being at least kinda-sorta magic... right?
Wally glanced back at him. “What?”
Tornado turned back to face the Team again. "Kent may just be on one of his… walkabouts, but he is caretaker to the Helmet of Fate, the major source of the Doctor's mystic might, and it is unwise to leave such power unguarded.”
M’Gann stepped forward, hands clasped together as she stared starry-eyed at the image of Dr. Fate above them. "He's just like the great sorcerer-priests and priestesses of Mars, I would be honored to help find him."
Zeke blinked, turning towards her. Mars has sorcerers? Huh… that doesn’t sound r-
Wally's hand shot up as soon as she spoke, distracting Zeke from his thoughts. "Me too."
The thirteen-year old glanced back at him again, eyes half-lidded. Dude.
"So honored, I can barely stand it." Wally continued, suddenly sounding sheepish as he realized all attention was focused on him. "Magic rocks," he kept going as he tried to sell his sudden change of heart, throwing in a rock and roll hand gesture.
Artemis let out a scoff, once again rolling her eyes and crossing her arms as she shot Zeke a look. "Can you believe this guy?"
"I wish I couldn't," Zeke replied, shaking his head.
"Take this, it is the key to the Tower of Fate." Tornado said, offering up an old brass key. Aqualad took it from his waiting hand, examining the intricate design etched into the metal.
"What are the chances we both so admire the mystic arts?" Wally turned to M'gann with a question and a wink.
Oh, brother. Zeke fought the urge to facepalm, settling for a mental eye roll instead. This is gonna be a long mission.