Chapter 80: Its about Time.(2/3)
Moira sat next to Walter and took his hand into her own and smiled at him. They shared a look that only comes with time, and trust between two people. Walter nodded and looked towards Lash who waited patiently for them to continue. His long tail coiled around the bench, its blade tip digging into the ground. The tribal marks across his scaled form glowed softly, while all four of his reptilian eyes focused on them.
“I was attacked a week ago.” Moira started to say than raised a manicured eye brow when Lash's whole body radiated anger. Moira, and Walter both understood it was not towards them and it made them both smile.
“As you can see I am fine! It was one of the moments that I am thankful that Walter is a championship fencer from college. Along with a sword cane that Thea bought him several years ago because she claimed that british men were the only ones allowed to carry canes.” Moira said and kissed Walter who smiled back at her. But they both turned to look at Lash.
“We didn't tell Oliver, or Thea. We are aware of what Oliver does with his nights. We know it would only worry him more. They left something behind when Walter ran them off. We have it, and wanted to give it to you.” Moira pulled out a single stainless steal calling card. Inscribed with liquid gold in the center was, Scelerati Causas Oravissent. (Villains For Hire)
Lash carefully took the card from Moira and used his ability Retrocognition to read the history of the card. Unlike the time he used it in El Paso to find Blue Beetle, this time he did not create the image around him. He went into a mild trance as he watched the history of the card from its perspective. Traded back and forth between Moira, and Walter. Then into a pocket for days on end then he saw the fight. Walter was very talented! But the unfortunate news that the card wasn't dropped, it was placed. Walter was meant to fight them off, the thugs were meant to leave the card behind.
He continued to see the past of the card as his energy levels continued to dip. It exchanged hands several times until it was given to an agent from the primary employer. Malcom Meryln, Tommy's father...Who got it from another dark figure. The figure was kept in shadow the entire time just before Lash got any further the card was placed in a pool of water....The Retrocognition cut off from there. The card had no memories past that point.
“I wish I had better news. Seems the card was planted. No offense to your skill Walter. You are excellent with a blade. But the card belonged to Malcom Meryln, seems he was trying to send you a message.” Lash said softly, as he handed the card back to Moira who trembled at this information.
“I was afraid of that.” Walter said as he comforted Moira who and grown pale. “It had been a long time since I've pulled any of those moves. I thought it was a little to easy.” Walter finished, his lips pressed into a thin line.
“Moira, does Thea know?” Lash asked a simple question with a complicated answer.
“Know what?” Moira asked in return, Lash sent a simple Telepathic message to her.
Who her father is? -Lash asked, Moria white knuckled the card until it cut into her hand. Walter took the card from her and took out a handkerchief to apply to the wound. Walter to his credit didn't say anything. He just waited.
“No, she doesn't. Is that why you think Malcom has come back?” Moira said, her voice nearly a whisper. Walter was a smart man. He connected the dots with little to no information and understood the overall implication. Thea was Malcom's daughter.
“When it comes to your children, there is no action that is inconceivable; there is no decision that is impossible. You do what you must to provide the life that they need. Yes, I think that is why Malcom has come back. But I can't know for sure. How do you want to handle this, Moira? I can keep it to myself and investigate the people who made this card? I can inform Oliver that Malcom is back, and may be after Thea? Or, we can come clean with everything. The choice belongs to you, and Walter.” Lash said as he leaned back across the stone bench in which he sat.
Moira was conflicted, clearly thinking over the situation. She turned to Walter and looked at with worry. She hadn't told him the truth, no one knew but Malcom. Walter gave her a half smile and kissed her cheek. That was all that needed to be said, he would support her no matter the decision. She smiled back at him and whispered 'I love you' into his ear then turned back to Lash. Her decision had been made.
“Please, if you have the time investigate it yourself. But leave the telling to me.” Moira said with determination. Lash nodded in agreement and retook the card from Moira. He used a bit of his Nature Domain to heal her wound and stood up breaking the obstruction glamour.
“It was nice speaking to you both. I'll do what I can, when I can. As you can assume I am very busy. Now, please excuse me.” Lash bowed from his waist, turned on his heel and walked away placing the card into his Storage ability.
Moira, and Walter stayed behind with out a word. Moira started to cry softly, and she started to tell Walter the whole truth. Through it all Walter never turned away, and kept loving his wife no matter what she said. Lash got snippets of the conversation before he was out of earshot. He needed to find Oliver and talk shop. He cast Virtual Intelligence and had the Tech-Spirit look into Scelerati Causas Oravissent.
Attention User! You have been issued a grand quest by your Patron!
Objective: Find out what the Scelerati Causas Oravissent is.
Objective: Dismantle their organization.
Bonus Objective: Follow the threads to their other organizations.
Bonus Objective: Save who you can, capture who you can, and kill the rest. Percentage based. Currently (0%)
Lash growled softly as his whole body shook in rage. Fuck! Another quest, another story line he could barely contend with. The invasion was coming and he had a long list of things to do. Not enough time to do it all.... Time? Lash stopped mid step and looked around the resort. No one was around, he expanded his Sensory Awareness, nothing. He pushed his vision through another change thanks to his Adaptation racial trait. Thanks to his extra set of eyes he could see in a wider range of full spectrum light. Electromagnetic, infrared, and ultraviolet light. At first he had thought his eyes were just meant to help him see better. But he had talked to Kara once about the different spectrum she could see in and it got him curious. No one was around, though with Magical Perception there were a host of magical spirits dancing through the leaves and trees.
“Dawn.” He said softly, barely a whisper.
“Yes, User?” Dawn's sweet voice whispered back into his ear.
“I need to bargain with my Patron...” Lash replied, before he took his next breath he was no longer in the garden area between the resort and the horse ranch. He was in a large room with cherry wood floors, stone walls, and a ceiling that went on forever.
Clack, clatter, rattle.... The sound of dice being thrown across a piece of wood sounded off near by. Lash turned towards the sound only to stumble, off balance. He wasn't in human-lizard hybrid form. In fact he wasn't even Lash anymore. He was Erik. He could still feel Lash/Saurian in his mind, but Erik looked towards the sound.
Sitting behind a large fully furnished dark wood desk was a man? Sitting in a large red velvet seat throwing dice across the desk. Each time the figure threw the dice it would write down on a piece of paper. The figure was larger than Erik by a lot. Almost towered over him, but Erik could still look straight at him. It was almost impossible to think about. The figure threw one more time before setting down their pen and looking up.
Pitch black nothingness looked back at Erik. The figure had a cowl wrapped around their heads, body wrapped in a shroud of smoke and shadow. Their hands made out of starlight. Just like how Dawn use to be. The face was nothing but darkness. Not a word was shared between them as Erik's Patron looked at him. Then he, they, them? Picked up the set of dice and threw them across the desk. They nodded and wrote something else down.
Lash stumbled, and fell to his knees. He was back at the resort in the garden path again. No time had passed but he felt like he had ran hundred miles in less than an hour. He took deep ragged breaths trying to calm his nerves when Dawn sent him a prompt.
Congratulations User! You have struck a deal with your Patron.
New primary objective, Invasion: You must find, and kill the leader of the alternate reality.
You have been awarded the Spell Domain of Time.
Domain of Time: The User is able to perform/cast a rare variety of magic spells and feats that manipulates time itself to a degree.
Domain of Time, Skill/Spell; Personal Time, The User can manipulate the immediate area around them. They can slow down, or speed up their own time. Allowing them to move quickly, or make others slow down. (30 ft sphere) Works in tandem with, Sensory Awareness, Magical Perception, Foresight, Danger Sense.
Side Note: The Time Domain is a very rare, and dangerous Domain! Use carefully!
Lash had wanted to bargain for the Time Domain, this was true. But if he had known the deal would require him to find and kill the leader of the invasion? He would have just put it off! Personal Time seemed incredibly useful. But after a few experiments he realized he couldn't move like Flash. He could with in his area of influence. But he would have to stop casting the skill/spell first before he moved on. But at the very least Lash could now fight speedsters, and other fast moving enemies.
Lash was irritated now and needed to finish up his goals today as quickly as possible. He used Connectivity and looked for Oliver. He was out on a boat in the water near the resort. He moved towards the water and cast Water Walk and just kept moving towards the boat across the water. He had to admit walking across water next to the beach was an interesting experience. Like walking on a water bed that was about to pop! He was sure he looked funny, he felt funny. He caught himself laughing just a bit. Then he used his new skill/spell to freeze the area. He walked up across the water and unfroze his own personal time. To anyone watching it seemed like they blinked and he was suddenly from one place to another.
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Quentin Larry Lance was.... enjoying himself. For the first time in a long while. He sat on a nice boat sitting on the back with a fishing pole in hand, a beer to his left, and the sounds of his daughters laughing made him smile. He had caught a few fish already and that was already on the grill. But he kept to himself while Sara, and Laurel enjoyed their time with their future husbands. Quentin still shuddered every time he thought about that. Laurel was marrying Tommy, and Sara was marrying Oliver. What was the world coming too?
Quentin took a sip of his beer, and rubbed his eyes under his sunglasses. The boat rocked back and forth along the water. He could faintly hear the crashing waves on the beach not far off. This entire resort was amazing. He loved the beaches, the view, the available refreshments that came from across the world. Despite his daughters insistence he didn't go to beach three. Nope! He would not go to an orgy beach, no thank you! He was content to just spend time with his family, drink his beer, and fish. This was...
“Enjoying your day, Captain Lance?” Said the giant monster standing on the water right next to him.
“JESUS CHRIST!” Quentin shouted at the top of his lungs as he jumped out of his chair, and all but pulled his side arm that he didn't have at the moment. He looked over the edge and there standing on the water like it was solid ground was an eight foot tall lizard man with a smile on his face.
“Dad!? Whats wrong?” Laurel called as she ran across the boat she came up short and smiled wide.
“Wraith! Its nice to see you again!” Laurel called, and came to the boats edge to talk to him. Completely forgetting about her father who nearly had a heart attack.
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By the time Lash had reached the boat he had cooled off. He wasn't sure if it was the resort, or it was seeing the family having a good time. He didn't want to ruin that mood. But, he couldn't help himself to not scare Quentin just a bit. Laurel Lance was a brilliant, strong, and beautiful woman that had rich brown hair past her shoulders, green eyes, and tanned skin. She wore a one piece swimsuit with out a back, that was a deep blue color. Lash was sure she would have worn something more revealing her father hadn't been aboard the boat. But it still clung to her curves, showing off her figure. She smiled with genuine glee at seeing Wraith next to their boat.
Tommy Meryln walked over to join the conversation after he made sure his future father in law Quentin was OK. He had short cut black hair that was stylized with hair gel, a wide welcoming smile, with blue eyes, strong physic. He wore a white cotton buttoned up shirt, floral swimming trunks, and sandals as he came up behind Laurel to greet Lash.
“How you doing, Agent Wraith? Would you care for a beer?” Tommy asked, Lash shook his head as he slowly climbed onto the boat. Or he should say small yacht. It had another floor above them, with a floor beneath the deck, with a full kitchen in the middle.
“No, thank you. Unless its a certain type of liquor its mostly just different flavored water to me. I just wanted to drop by and see if all of you are having a good time or not?” Lash said with a smirk as he saw Quentin fix his chair back into place and grab his fishing pole.
“I was having a great day! Until a giant monster from the black lagoon came out of now where and scared off all the fish!” Quentin said with a grumble. Laurel laughed at him and came over to give him a kiss on his cheek. Quentin was more amiable after that.
“Sorry Wraith. Dad can get a bit grumpy when it comes to fishing.” Laurel replied with a smile.
“Its perfectly fine, though he wont catch anything the rest of the day. There is a shark swimming around the water right now. All the fish left the area.” Lash said as he pointed at the shark fin not far off.
“Crap.... What's a shark doing in the area? I thought there was shark net in place?” Quentin pulled his fishing rod out of the water and looked at the shark, the very large shark moving through the water.
“Oh they do, that is not a normal shark. It belongs to Atlantis, they use them as mounts.” Lash said objectively, case and point as the shark sped up a man with gills on his neck climbed up the shark's back and waved to them over at the boat. Lash waved back.
“Right, I live in a world where aliens are real, and so is Atlantis. When did life get so strange?” Quentin said with a frown as he sat down in his chair and sipped his beer.
“Are you hungry, Wraith?” Sara called out from the kitchen. She came out wearing shorts, a tank top, and tennis shoes. Again Lash was sure she would wear something else if Quentin was not aboard.
“No, thank you. I have to check with a few more people before my day is over.” Lash replied softly, as everyone looked at him with mild concern.
“Is everything alright?” Oliver said as he follow Sara out, he wore much the same as Tommy just filled it out a bit better especially across the chest. With a classic 5 o'clock shadow on his face.
“Just the same thing we've been dealing with. I enjoyed the first two days, just checking off a few boxes so that way I wont be so swamped when we start up again tomorrow. Are you all planning on attending the festival tonight?” Lash asked, as he looked back at the resort.
“Yes, we are!” Tommy said with a smile. Having spent a lot of time at clubs, festivals, and raves. He understood it was going to be a good party.
“You kids will be! I'm calling it early and having a nice rest in those amazing thousand thread bed sheets.” Quentin pipped up, and everyone laughed.
Lash kept talking to them for a bit and decided against bringing anything up at the time. He was planning on talking to them about the card, but not where he got it from specifically. But he realized it would ruin every ones vacation. He soon said goodbye to everyone on the boat and took another walk across the water. Pulling a 'Jesus' as Quentin called it.
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“Wraith works to much.” Tommy said from the couch as he ate one of the fish Quentin caught.
“He's got a lot on his plate. I'm happy he was able to relax for a few days. I heard about his Sand Castle war game. Seemed like a lot of fun, I know Felicity, and Roy really enjoyed it.” Laurel commented as she sat next to Tommy.
“Something more than that. He wanted to tell us something but decided not to.” Sara said from her seat across the table. Quentin nodded in agreement but kept his piece to himself.
“Wraith is pretty open when it comes to information. I'm sure he'll tell us later. He probably just didn't want to ruin our vacation.” Oliver said, as he began to clean up the kitchen table.
“We should head back soon if we want to get a chance to change, and head over to the festival. I think its more along the lines of team building. Which is why Wraith was checking on us.” Oliver said as he started to wash the dishes from the sink.
“You sure you don't want to come with us dad?” Laurel asked, with a bit of smile.
“No, I'm am fine thank you. Not as young as I use to be, I'm just going to curl up in that giant king size bed and catch some sleep. We have to be out of here tomorrow before 10. I for one will be bright eyed, and full of energy unlike the rest of the League.” Quentin said, putting his metaphorical foot down. Laurel, and Tommy both laughed. Laurel continued to tease her father as Sara got up to help Oliver. She came up behind him and placed her hand on his back. She leaned in and whispered to him.
“Any ideas?” She said softly.
“I can think of a dozen different things he could talk to us about, I am sure he knows a dozen more things we don't know. But I can tell that stress is getting to him. I know Kara is worried about him.” Oliver replied as he finished washing the plates, and moved onto the cups as Sara dried them.
“I think he is worried about everyone not making it through the invasion.” Sara whispered, and Oliver stopped what he was doing. Turned towards her and kissed her gently.
“We'll all make it to the end, and keep fighting.” Oliver said with clear conviction in his voice. It was such a naive, and sweet statement that Sara just smiled at him. They both knew that tragedy was right around the corner for everyone.
“Ya...We will...” Sara kissed Oliver's nose and nudged him to keep cleaning.
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There was only so much time in the day. Before Lash knew it, the festival had started. He knew he should attend even if he had work to do. He also understood that if he worked to much he would be disrespecting Quetzalcoatl's command she gave him. So he had to find a happy median between the two. A work-vacation as it was called.
Lash found the most direct path that led to the music festival arena that had been built for the event. The area it self was a miniature stadium with an open skylight, and several smaller stadiums around them. Thanks to some creative construction, and a few spells in place one could walk from one theater to the next with out the sounds overlapping. Why do this? Because not everyone enjoyed the same music.
Lash used Plant Control and made a sitting place from plant vines, leaf cushions, and branches for the back rest. Little by little people started to trickle in. Most of them continued to wear their bathing suits, nothing wrong with the exceptionally tempting eye candy. Lash said hello to any one that noticed him, and for his part took stock of the different people attending the event. It was open to anyone at the resort but it was meant as a going away present for the Justice League. Lash had to assume that anyone attending was either friendly with the League, or wanted something from the League. Be it good or ill.
There was a moment when the world seem to tilt on its axis. Lash felt the magical energy in the area was energized for brief moment. Then he turned to his left and saw two people sitting on his offered plant furniture. Giovanni Zatara, and Sindella Zatara waited patiently for him to get over the teleportation they had used to arrive with a bit of flare. As stage magician fog, and starlight danced along them.
Giovanni wore a custom tailored three piece suit with white buttoned shirt, high collar, with a bow tie. Deep midnight purple vest, a pocket watch tucked away across the pocket. Pitch black suit jacket, and pants, with silver enchanted thread inscribed into it. With a single orichalcum belt buckle, black leather belt. To finish off the look he had black wing tip shoes, a cane, and magician's top hat. The man was approximately 5'11”, with blue eyes, and short black hair that was pulled back with hair gel.
Sindella wore intricate orichalcum choker, with an enchanted stone as its center piece. A skin tight short skirt white satin dress that went to her mid thigh, with straps, and no back. Her figure showed that she exercised regularly, the dress didn't leave a lot to the imagination. Her rich blond hair was pulled back into a lose tail, as several ringlet bangs framed her face. Her eyes were the most distinct feature. She did not have the whites in her eyes that a human would. But her entire eye was starlight. Lash had seen this look on Dawn before, he always found it beautiful to look at.
“Good to see you again, Mister Zatara. Hello Misses Zatara, welcome back to Earth.” Lash said as he stood up and bowed from his waist, keeping to his Warden etiquette. Sindella smiled at him, and turned to her husband.
“Thank you for helping out daughter, as well pointing her in the right direction. I will confess I imagined you and her coming to my aid. I may have even preferred I..gah!” Zatara started but jumped a little as Sindella pinched his side.
“What my husband means to say is. Thank you for pointing our daughter to John Constantine. He needs a lesson in manners, but he is a talented man that treats Zatanna well. His unique abilities allowed me to return home when I had thought I would have died.” Sindella said with a grateful smile and nod of her head. Zatara rubbed his side and nodded as well.
“I don't suppose the Homo-Magi will be rejoining the supernatural council by chance?” Lash asked, honestly curious about their people.
“I'm afraid not, they are in part still stuck in the past. Better to hide in their own realm then associate with any other.” Sindella replied, sadness creeping into her own voice.
“Pity, there was much we could have learned from each other.” Lash was disheartened by the news.
“There is....Something different about you, Warden Lash.” Zatara looked at him with a bit of mild curiosity. Sindella's magic eyes caught what Zatara was looking at and her eyes went wide.
“You have the Time Domain?” She said, her voice caught in her throat. As Zatara's eyes went wide in both fear, and a bit of pride.
“You understand that is a very dangerous Domain? Having access to it places you on a very short list with in the supernatural world.” Sindella said, she reached across the table and took Lash's hand sending a wave of energy through him. She was checking to see if he was distorted from use of Time magic. He was not, he only had one spell after all!
“I see, you are new to it. Advantages of using Domains, and not free form magic like my husband and I use.” Sindella said with a soft smile as she released his hand.
Zatara nodded his head as he helped his wife back to her seat, she had to stretch across the table to get to Lash. An action that he noticed made Lash turn his head so he wouldn't enjoy the sight of a beautiful woman stretching herself. Zatara put a point of respect into the Lash category for not ogling his wife.
Zatara, Zatanna, Sindella, and Constantine had was called free form magic. This essentially allowed them free access to every type of magic in known history as long as they had access to the material, items, and words. Zatara, and Zatanna were great examples of being able to invoke ancient long forgotten dead magic casters from the grave for information. While Constantine was a magical creature, and or demon depending on his background in the comics. While Sindell was simple a human being of magic incarnate. She used her very imagination to cast spells.
Those that chose the Domain path were limited in scope to the different Domains they had access to. Domain casters can't throw a fireball at someone unless they have specific Domain that allow that action. But the benefit of using Domains is that the spells write themselves as long as you focus on the pool of knowledge, they also have very little backlash. Generally all you get is a drained feeling of having your magic pool taken from you. While free form magic users can get physically hurt, or even have their spell go wild which has a lot of unpredictable consequences. So pros and cons.
Lash technically could buy the free form aspect of magic in the store. It took 100 DP, and a story event to obtain. But from his readings on the forum threads he discovered that if you want to buy the type of magic you can start a story quest to obtain it. But you also still need the DP. He was content with his Domains for now. He wasn't even sure he could multi cast the different kinds of magic. Dawn would not go into specifics unless he purchased it.
“Well we should head off! They have a specific, refined theater for those that wish a little more of a cocktail party. Thank you for your time, Warden Lash. If you ever want to talk shop please do not hesitate to call.” Zatara said as he tipped his hat, and gave a bow as he stood up. Sindella stood with her husband, arms wrapped his own. She winked at Lash and gave him a breath taking smile.
“Thank you for stopping by. I am happy to know that Zatanna has both her parents back in her life.” Lash stood, and bowed from his waist as he finished speaking.
Lash sat back down in his plant throne, letting it change to fit his bodies unique physiology like his tail. Sitting comfortably when you have giant tail was a task in it self. He closed his eyes and tried to think about what was to come. What else could give him an edge? He checked his Dream Point total and discovered he had 45 DP already. He could save it up and get the upgrade key for Vici. But he was terrified to start the upgrade process while they were being attacked. Thanks to Quetzalcoatl's warning he knew it was soon. But w....wait a minute?
“Dawn, I remember a while a go you told me it was possible to buy an item called a Rift Compass?” Lash said very softly to himself.
“That is correct, User! It is a passive ability that allows the User to detect a Rift with in a hundred miles of themselves. Also, the compass allows you to know what type of Rift it is, along with its grade.” Dawn's voice was sweet on his ears as he thought about his next question.
“Is it possible to give that ability to Vici? Could she create a grid program to systematically search the entire globe?” Lash asked, his heart beating faster then normal. Lash waited for a moment, normally Dawn would respond as soon as he asked. Any time she didn't meant she was working a problem.
“Very clever, User. Yes, that is possible. The compass takes 50 DP to purchase, you currently have 45 DP, and 8 DP on your card. Would you like to install this new piece in the Watch Tower?” Dawn asked, her voice carried a hint of a smile. Lash knew that sound, he could imagine a teacher showing a bit of pride as their student figured out something.
“Yes...Very much!” Lash said with a grin, and clenched his hands into fists. Small victories!
“Your purchase has been complete, User. Vici has been granted a new tool. She will message you shortly. Well played, User.” Dawn's voice was teasing as Lash felt a soft touch of lips on his cheek.
“Father! A new piece of technology, and knowledge has been implanted into my system. It has your signature! Is everything alright?” Vici's voice came over a holographic window by way of Connectivity.
“Yes, daughter. Trying a new form of updates. I should be able to give you upgrades, and new modules with out being directly present anymore. The implant granted is a form of compass to find a Rift with in 100 miles. Once it has fully integrated into your system do you think you could create a grid pattern program to search the globe for our uninvited guests?” Lash asked, though he knew the answer already.
“...Yes...YES! I can -->>