Chapter 45
July 18th, 2010
Empress
"Fascinating. Positively fascinating," Anita was sat in one of the very comfy armchairs dotted about Orca and Clock King's shared laboratory, her Empress Stick resting on a table as she nervously watched the time obsessed scientist take readings on one of his strange looking steampunk devices. "You say you can teleport using this?"
"Kind of," Anita said. "I'm still mastering it. If I know a place well enough, I can get there. I'm still learning about Hawaii though."
"And the explanation, the mystical one of course, for how it works?"
"That's like, waaaay complicated," Anita said.
"Believe me, I have a quick mind," Clock King said, tapping his head. "Try me."
Anita thought for a long moment, pursing her lips. "Well, it works on a combination of magical schools. Primarily Haitian Vodou, but also a few things my dad learned. It's guided by my memories, but also communicates with the spiritual plane. My body is pulled into the safest level of that plane, then ejected out, but in the place I picked. Like a wormhole or something."
The Clock King listened intently, nodding his head. "And the range?"
"Ten miles or so? Well, for my dad. I'm still learning."
"I truly wish I could bring your father in," Tockman said, shaking his head, before giving her a look of chagrin. "Uh, no offense, Miss Fite. Your insight is valuable, but having a more experienced user of the magical arts would help."
"What are you even trying to do?" Anita asked. "I mean, when you asked me to come, I kinda expected you to ask about gadgets or something."
Tockman walked away from the Empress Stick, lifting his scanner up to look it over. "In a sense, that is my goal. This new work, you and I are now a part of. Being a hero. It is, in a way, far more dangerous than when I was on the other side of it."
"Oh. Uh, yeah, because you were-"
"A villain," Tockman said without a hint of hesitation. "Anyway. As a villain, I had the advantage of the offensive. I could plan out assaults and know that no matter how skilled the opposition, they always had to respond to my action, to dance to my tempo and timing."
"Invincibility lies in the defense, the possibility of victory in the attack," Anita said absently.
"Sun Tzu? Appropriate," Tockman said. "As a hero, we cannot always be on the attack. So our defense must be immaculate. Our foes have shown great mastery of technology and biology, but what if we choose another avenue?"
"...You want to make magical technology?" Anita asked, bewildered.
"Science is not the ignorance of natural laws, but the understanding of them. And what is magic but a part of nature?" Clock King paused. He turned to look at Anita, biting his lip. Walking over, he sat down. "May I… confide in you? Briefly?"
This new twist in the conversation threw her. "Yeah, sure. If you want? We don't know each other very well."
"That makes this easier, in some ways," Clock King leaned back in his chair. "It is easier to speak with those who you are not close with about emotional matters."
"Emotional? Are you nervous about tomorrow?" God knows she was. Kahu had informed the team they were all going to meet with the Justice League's team of former sidekicks. Apparently they'd made some sort of covert ops group?
Which sounded insanely cool.
But now she was going to meet all those heroes. Robin, Kid Flash, they were household names!
And Aqualad was just so dreamy. She'd subtly asked Kahu a few things about him and he sounded just as cool and collected as she imagined. Like one of those guys from a drama or something.
So yeah, she was nervous about it. For normal reasons. Clock King probably had a few more realistic ones though.
To her surprise, he shook his head. "I suppose I have some anxiety. But no. I am instead filled with regret. Before the good Giovanni took me in, I had sacrificed everything for the chance of saving my sister. My reputation, my freedom, my interests. All because I thought I was dying…"
After a moment of quiet, he continued. "I am happier now. Therapy has helped. Reigniting my interests. Discovering new and incredible things about the world. But regret remains. Enjoy your youth, Miss Fite."
"You're only a little older than me."
Tockman smiled just a bit. "And yet, I've wasted so much time. All of this is a harried attempt to make up for it. Working with a superhero. Learning about the mystical arts. Taking up new hobbies, speaking with my sister on the web. All of it. I am a man of regret. I don't know if I'll ever be more than that."
"...You will be," Anita said sadly.
"Oh?"
"Yeah. My dad was the same way."
"Oh." He paused. "Do you wish to speak about that?"
"No. I'm okay now. As for what happened, I'd leave it to him to explain. But my dad got through it. Anyone can, with enough time. I think you're doing the right thing, if that helps?" She added a bit nervously.
For a moment. Just one. Tockman's smile was amazingly bright. "Yes. So far so good." The smile faded quickly. "But until I am truly tested, I won't know."
"Tested? Tested how?"
"I do not know. One day, someone or something, a situation, will force me to face myself. At that moment, I'll know what sort of man I am now."
Anita sighed, rubbing her face. "I'd almost prefer if you were just nervous about meeting the heroes tomorrow."
"Well, it will be awkward if Green Arrow is there. Hard to speak with a man who shot arrows into you after you tried to stab him with a sword shaped like a clock's hand."
"Ha!" Anita froze, mortified. "Oh, god, that's actually more sad than funny."
"Believe me, it's both." Tockman chuckled, rising to his feet. "Now, I believe that you were hoping for some gadgets?"
"I mean… maybe something cool?" Anita said with a hesitant smile. "And not clock shaped. Uh, no offense."
"None taken. Let us consider it, shall we? I'll need time to implement something that will work with the mystical, though I have confidence it will be short. What can I provide that can cover a weakness you have?"
Empress thought about it briefly. Then a thought came to mind. When she voiced it, Clock King smiled at her, clearly approving the idea.
Kahu Kiaʻi
"So where are we meeting tomorrow?" I asked Kaldur on the phone as I watched Tyrunt and Mimikyu stare at the TV. "Your lair, my lair, a room at Giovanni's restaurant?"
"Technically it would be my… lair, though we share it," Kaldur sounded amused. "The League agreed to let you into the cave. You won't be allowed to know its location, but you can enter designated areas."
"They're testing us a bit?" I guessed.
"I imagine so. Black Canary will be there with us, as will Red Tornado and Martian Manhunter. They'll be monitoring us."
"And Clock King?" I asked.
"He is invited. But under strict rules. The League is willing to give him the benefit of the doubt… but-"
"Yeah, I get it. They aren't stupid," I figured. Clock King was a genius. A comic book styled one at that. "You sure you guys can take guests though? Didn't you just deal with that android guy today?"
"Mister Twister didn't injure any of us. We are more than ready for guests. Miss Martian is excited, as is Robin," it sounded like Kaldur was doing something. For a moment, I imagined him doing the same thing I was, just vibing in random positions while talking. Why is it that people can't just stay still while on a long phone conversation anyways? "I hope you like cookies. M'gann has been somewhat overeager in her baking."
He sounded more affectionate than annoyed. I kinda smiled. "Hey, cookies are awesome. Only the truly evil people don't like em."
A loud sound came from near the tv. I looked over.
Tyrunt and Mimikyu were staring at me imploringly.
"...Kaldur, I gotta go," I said with a sigh. "I've said cookies near my children and now must pay the price."
"Truly, you live a hard life," Kaldur teased. "I'll see you at the meeting point. Speak with you later, my friend."
"Later dude."
Hanging up, I looked down at my Pokemon. Tyrunt was giving me the big puppy rex eyes, whimpering slightly, while Mimikyu had fake tears in her own eyes while she wiggled in place, her classic Pikachu costume wiggling.
"All right, you punks. I think Alakazam and Martian Manhunter left a few packs of Oreos."
Coming home to find the two of them playing chess while drinking tea and eating cookies was a hell of a trip.
"Ty!"
"Mimikyu!"
The twin cries of happiness made me smile. I got up and walked to the kitchen, Mimikyu hopping onto my shoulder while Tyrunt pranced next to me. Tomorrow was going to be interesting.
July 19th, 2010
"...This explains a lot about how you got around so fast." I told Kaldur. We stood in a random garage hidden in Honolulu. It had been downtown, out of view of any random people. Inside, was the actual secret to the League members ability to seemingly pop in and out of any city in moments. A gigantic circular tube filled with technology. It kind of reminded me of the ghost portal from Danny Phantom.
"I've seen this design before," Clock King mumbled, circling the device briefly. "But only in an old journal."
"Is it some kind of wormhole tech?" Orca asked curiously, looking over at Kaldur.
"It is similar. Instant teleportation between two points," Kaldur said. For some reason, Clock King looked over at Empress, the two sharing a small moment. "It's heavily guarded and coded of course. But you are all allowed to use it for today."
"Coooool," I mumbled. Like the others, I was dressed in my full costume. Mask, long coat, tough undersuit, and my Pokeballs resting on my belt, all my Pokemon inside. The war club Amos had gifted me was on my back, along with my shield.
"My life has gotten so weird," my favorite killer whale girl mumbled next to me.
While Smiley, Empress and Clock King stayed with their usual outfits, Orca now wore a black and white bullet/knife resistant vest and leggings combo, woven to protect her chest and back. It wasn't as thick as I would have liked. But she had to swim and was durable already, so light and thin armor would have to do.
"It pretty much became weird when you gained a few feet in height," I mumbled. "After that it's all uphill with the freaky stuff around us."
"Hn. That explains why you're so used to this stuff." She asked. "You must have been freaky weird your whole life."
"...Are you making fun of me?"
"Just a little bit," she said, lifting her hand to bring her thumb and forefinger close together with a fanged grin. Empress giggled behind her.
Fail Tuba Sound (The Price is Right Losing Horn) - Sound Effect for Editing
When I looked over at the familiar sound, Smiley gave me a thumbs up.
I rolled my eyes at my so-called team and walked over to Kaldur. He was typing on a computer, inputting something. "So. We need to do anything crazy for this? Give DNA samples or whatever?"
"Not at all. Once you're in the system, you simply need the designation. Your biometrics will be read automatically."
"Our designation?"
"Yes. The Justice League is referenced by number based on when they joined. Guest's are 'A', the Team is 'B'. Thus, you and your team are now 'C'."
"Still don't have a name for your group, huh?" I asked. "We're workshopping it too."
Kaldur smirked. "What have you all come up with?"
"The Hawaiian Knights." That would be Orca, the native Gothamite trying to name us after her favorite sports team.
"Carnival of Terror!" An exuberant voice cried out from Smiley's tape recorder.
"The Elites was on the table," Clock King hummed. "I believe our sponsor recommende-"
"NO." I said firmly.
Yes, I knew he was making fun of me. I didn't care. Giovanni wasn't going to get us to call ourselves Team Rocket.
"Maybe," Empress said hesitantly. "Something related to our goals? To destroying the Silicon Dragons?"
"..." The thought burned in my head for a moment. "Something about being a killer of dragons? Like St George or uh… Sigurd?"
"Now that has merit," Clock King mumbled. "He was called 'Sigurd, Fafnir's Bane' if my memory is correct. Perhaps… Oormsbani?"
"That's a little… weird?" Grace said, getting an affronted look from Clock King.
"Well excuse me, for trying to tie us to historical legend!"
The train of thought that conversation led me made me suggest something laughable. "Dovahkiin might be available."
"Dovah-what?" Empress asked.
"Never mind… The Champions?" Like the ones in the Pokemon world.
Orca, Clock King, Empress, and Smiley glanced at me. "What? It's a good name!"
"I guess. I just… don't feel like a Champion?" Orca said nervously. "I don't think it really fits us."
"What she said," Empress added.
"It would look good on lunch boxes," Clock King said, though he didn't seem into it.
I sighed. "Fine. We'll wait on it then."
Well shoot, I thought it was good at least.
"The Zetatube is ready," Kaldur said, smiling just a bit. "Kahu? Would you like to enter first?"
"Might as well," I looked at the others and smiled under my mask. "Well… see you on the other side boys and girls."
"Godspeed!" Smiley gave me an over the top salute.
Then, trying to hide my nervousness, I walked forward. At the last minute, a thought struck me.
My pokeballs. They were an advanced form of technology. What if they had some sort of reaction to the tube? What if they exploded, or did something unfathomable? What if this counted as being traded, would Gurdurr evolve?
Then, in a flash of light, I was somewhere else. I panicked for a second, grabbing at myself.
"...Still all there," I huffed out in relief.
"Hey, I did the same thing!" A very familiar voice said. I looked up from my inspection of myself to see Robin grinning at me. "First time is always the weirdest."
"Yeah well, I've seen too many sci-fi movies," I looked over the group.
Robin was directly in front of me, his arms crossed and little smirk fixed on his face. To his left, a tall young man with piercing blue eyes and a very familiar red 'S' symbol on his black shirt was glaring at me. To the strangely angry looking kid's left was a petite young girl with green skin and long red hair, a happy smile on her face. To the right of Robin, another redhead stood, this one a guy, with a yellow suit and a red lightning bolt on his chest.
Superboy, Miss Martian, and Kid Flash.
"Hi." I waved at the bunch.
"Hello!" Miss Martian said, moving forward with a hand out. "I'm Miss Martian!"
"I know," I said with a grin, shaking her hand. "Good to meet you though."
"Kid Flash," the redhead sped forward, shaking my hand as well with a smirk that mirrored Robin's. "So you're the Hawaiian hero, right? Ever save any babes on beaches?"
"Sometimes. I usually work at night, so it's mostly gangbangers and rapists."
"Yeesh," Kid Flash winced. "Wow, Rob was right. You are intense."
I was? Ignoring that, I looked over at Superboy. "Nice to meet you."
"..." He crossed his arms and glared at me further.
"Huh. Anyone tell you the bad boy image works for you?" I grunted.
Miss Martian blushed, apparently agreeing.
Behind me, a series of lights went off.
"Recognized," A robotic female voice declared. "Orca, C-02. Clock King, C-03. Empress, C-04."
When Orca appeared, Kid Flash's eyes widened at the sight of her 8-foot form, wearing her uniform of a skintight swimsuit tailored to her. "Whoa. Big… uh, I mean-"
"You get used to it," Orca said, apparently pretending not to notice where Kid Flash was trying to avoid looking.
"Didn't you fight Green Arrow a few times?" Robin asked Clock King, though he sounded more teasing than accusatory.
"And lost quite handily," Clock King said graciously, as behind him Kaldur appeared.
"Uh… hi!" Empress said shyly to Superboy. Miss Martian looked very uncomfortable about that, while Superboy just nodded at her.
Yeah, the bad boy thing really did work for him.
"So… I guess we're all here. What now, board games?" I joked.
"Board games? How old are you?" Kid Flash asked.
"Older and younger than I look."
"Come on, I will give you the tour," Kaldur said, cutting through the awkwardness. "Would you like your Pokemon to join us?"
"Yeah, let me see the dinosaur again!" Robin said excitedly.
"You… have a dinosaur?" Superboy said. Despite his grumpiness, he showed just a bit of… I wanted to call it excitement?
Rather than answer, I ran my hand along my belt, tapping each of the Pokeballs in sequence. In flashes of familiar red, each one appeared.
"...Mudkip!" My little blue guy said happily, landing on my head and waving.
"Mimikyu." My shy girl waved a ghostly hand from under her Wonder Woman costume, then hurriedly hid behind Empress and me.
"Ty, tyrunt!" He ran up to Robin, pointing eagerly at the mask Mimikyu had made him.
"Hey, looking good, buddy," Robin said, getting a toothy grin from Tyrunt and a happy wiggle from Mimikyu.
Gurdurr popped in and simply looked around, before gruffly moving over to take a bodyguard stance to my right.
Alakazam floated in the air for a moment, then glanced at M'gann. She eyed him, confused, then gasped, before her eyes glowed, Alakazam's following suit.
"Uh… should we be worried about that?" Kid Flash asked.
"They're just getting to know each other," I said, rubbing Magcargo under her chin and getting a gurgling noise of pleasure. "So yeah, this is our team."
"Wow," Kid Flash mumbled, looking over all of us. "I guess Speedy was right."
"I thought you were Speedy," Orca asked, sounding genuinely confused and cutting off my question about what the arrow boy was 'right' about.
"Ah man, seriously!? Every time!"
"Come," Kaldur said, looking amused even as he got us back to business. "This shouldn't take too long."
I frowned. Smiley hadn't shown up. "Wait. Where is Smiley?"
"Smiley?" Kaldur looked around, then frowned. "He entered before me. Where-"
"R-Reco-gnized, Smi-SMILey, C-05." The robot sounded… confused? Towards the end it smoothed out, like it managed to push through whatever was confusing it.
In a burst of light, Smiley appeared. He looked around. On seeing us, he raised both his thumbs up, doing a Fonzie as his tape recorder played the familiar 'Ayyyy!'
Fonzie Thumbs Up
"Did you… just hang out in the Zeta Beam?" Kid Flash asked.
Smiley didn't answer beyond shuffling his hands a little, thumbs still raised. I think he was trying to be friendly.
"What does-" Kid Flash looked befuddled, to say the least. Those of us more used to our violent vigilante teammate, if barely, did a combination of focusing on Kaldur while not really ignoring Smiley.
Ignoring Smiley when he was having a good time always somehow led to him finding the nearest gangsters and getting covered in blood.
"Lead the way, Kaldur." I said, following him. Smiley joined us, while Kid Flash frowned.
"So that's it. No one is going to comment on that? …And I'm talking to myself. Wait up!"
Giovanni Giovanni
The new world wasn't as peaceful as his old one. Not simply in terms of war, but also in the battlefield of business. Business was competitive in the world of Pokemon of course, but compared to this new world of superheroes, they might as well have been squabbling children.
Funny that a world full of the devastating power of Pokemon paled in comparison to the ruthlessness of this new one.
Giovanni loved it. Loved it. Hawaii's value could not be overstated, and he was taking full advantage of that. All of his businesses were thriving
While his lobbying to legalize gambling in the islands was being fought against by the more idiotic, the Restaurant Royale had exploded in popularity, drawing in tourists from across the world. The inclusion of plushies based on Kahu's Pokemon, as well of plushies for the man himself, had added a pretty penny to the pocket.
His medical branch was by far the most profitable. Even with criminals robbing some shipments, all the rest of it was getting sent across the world. Compared to other medicines, it was not only massively cheap, but also effective. This world was highly advanced, but the sheer power of his old world's medicines outshone anything this world had to offer outside of the supernatural.
Along with that, he had opened an insurance company. A very reasonable one. Nothing as established as Wayne's own companies of course, but the combination of reasonable rates and generous payouts would add not only to Giovanni's bank account, but also the goodwill the islanders had towards him.
He may not have been the most popular man in Hawaii, but he was quickly rising in the eyes of even the most skeptical. It was funny, the sheer amount of money you could make simply by not being the worst option.
Perhaps he would open up some more criminal enterprises down the road, but for now he was having quite the novel life.
And now Giovanni sat in his office, reading through paperwork. Honestly, no matter how advanced, the world couldn't avoid the need for a man to double-check the numbers. Persian was resting beside him, only for his whiskers to flick. Giovanni knew what that meant.
"Floyd."
"Giovanni," the assassin circled around him. Even with all of Giovanni's experience, he could never track the man without Pokemon help. "Nothing since Kahu and his band left. Islands are quiet."
"Are they?" Giovanni wrote down something quickly and placed the paper in his hand aside. "I assumed that there would be some action from the Silicon Dragons by now. They have been… quiet."
"That attack alongside Crystal must have cost them a lot," Floyd hummed, crossing his arms.
"Crystal?"
"Killer Frost."
"Ah, of course. I still wonder about the brazenness of that attack. No one seems to know why there were similar attacks across the world at the same time. And your old contacts?"
"They've been getting organized. More than before," Floyd, even under his bone-white mask, seemed disquieted. "There's something happening out there. I thought it was just the Silicon Dragons, but the old crew is getting skittish."
"Hm…" Giovanni leaned back in his chair, finally ignoring his paperwork in favor of the conversation. "I suppose it can't all be good news. So someone is behind Killer Frost. And it isn't the Silicon Dragons. I would even say they were to aid her, rather than the other way around."
"Something is happening," Floyd said again. "A lot of names that are usually looking for work went underground. The ones that are left over are minor names or guys like Bane, folks who have crews."
"...We'll continue to focus on Hawaii and the Silicon Dragons," Giovanni said firmly. "But once they're done, looking into the broader world may be to our advantage."
"You want to take advantage of something that's got the world's supervillains running scared?"
"Their lack of imagination isn't my concern," Giovanni said without missing a beat. "Kahu will be thankful for the assistance, I'm sure. And he'll be able to work outside the country!"
"I still can't tell if you like him or not," Floyd mused.
"I like his usefulness. Beyond that, I maintain professionalism," Giovanni said with a smile that faded. "Still. Hawaii is to be mine one day. And it won't be if others feel free to play here."
"You better be ready then," Floyd said slowly. "If I'm right, when the Silicon Dragons are done, they won't be the last heavyweights we fight."
"Then we're well within our weight class, Mr. Lawton," Giovanni didn't touch the set of Pokeballs hidden on his person. He was too professional for that. But they remained, as always, at his side. "In the meantime, I'll require more training. Mr. Lawton, we may need to expand our hiring practices. I'll inform Roxy of the budgetary concerns."
Persian let out a small purr of noise, pleased at the savage look on his master's face.
Kahu Kiaʻi
The cave was legit. Super cool in every way. First off, the place was massive, big enough to hold dozens more than the small team inhabiting it. Gurdurr kept on trying not to look impressed, but he couldn't seem to help himself.
"The cave is actually the entire mountain!" M'gann said proudly as they led us through the halls.
"I guess construction is easy when you have that many superhumans working together to build it," Orca hummed.
"Why doesn't the League still work out of here then?" Empress asked.
"The Joker found it," Superboy said simply.
"Ah," Empress couldn't be seen blushing under her mask, but I could imagine it. "I guess that would do it. So why do you guys live here? Isn't that dangerous?"
"Well, we know they know we know, so you know?" Robin shrugged.
"Ty…runt," the little dinosaur mumbled, befuddled.
"Really hope I don't have to depend on that logic one day," I mumbled to myself.
On the list of things the cave had were a hanger, kitchen, library, a set of living quarters, a workout room with full lockers and showers, a lounge with a TV that was way too big, a very advanced medical bay, and a few other things they didn't feel the need to show us.
Coming back to the lounge, Kid Flash casually hopped onto the couch, grinning at us. "So that's the crib. Impressed?"
"Very," Empress said, sounding excited.
"Gurdurr," my fighter guy had pulled out a pen and paper and was beginning to write on it. It looked like he was drawing makeshift blueprints? It was very nice.
"I'm surprised there isn't a laboratory in the place," Orca asked, gingerly sitting down as well.
"Yeah, well, no one here besides me is really a scientist," Kid Flash said proudly. "And I can just run to the nearest lab whenever I want."
"That seems… inefficient," Alakazam noted.
"I may have suggestions, if it helps?" Clock King said. He leaned over to watch Gurdurr draw. "Hm, perhaps an adjustment here?"
"Gur." As Gurdurr edited the page, Mudkip spoke up.
"Kip, Mudkip?"
"He wants to know what the sea life is like around here," I translated.
"There are many mammals in the waters around us, including seals and dolphins," Kaldur said.
"They can talk?" Superboy asked. He looked over at Mimikyu, who was currently being pet by Empress, then at Magcargo, who was letting me rest against her shell. "All of them?"
"Them saying their name is a language?" Kid Flash asked, just as confused.
"It's actually a combination of subtle gestures, sophisticated vocalizations, and other things we're still having trouble deciphering," Orca said excitedly. "It's very interesting!"
"So what should we do now?" Robin asked. "Maybe we go fight crime?"
"You mean go on a patrol? Aren't you guys supposed to be covert?" I asked.
"Oh, right," Robin said, chuckling.
"Gurdurr," the Fighting-Type in question rose up and began walking off, makeshift blueprints in hand.
"He wants to borrow your library," I said.
"Oh… uh, feel free?" M'gann said.
"I'll come along," Clock King said brightly. "I'm quite interested in those plans."
"I'll come too," Robin said.
"To escort the former supervillain?" Clock King asked, though he didn't seem too annoyed.
"Nooooo," Robin said with a very mischievous grin, following the two closely.
"Orca, Mudkip, would you like to join me for a swim?" Kaldur asked. "There are several interesting points I can show you, if you wish?"
"Sure!"
"Mudkip!"
The tiny mudfish and giant woman both rose up to follow the Atlantean, all of them heading towards the grotto.
"Tyrunt!"
"Is your dinosaur trying to play video games?"
I turned to see Kid Flash staring in confusion at Tyrunt, who had somehow turned on a fighting game on the giant tv. Tyrunt was grinning happily while selecting his character.
"Yeah, he does that. Little guy's addicted."
"So am I!" Kid Flash became a yellow and red blur, stopping next to Tyrunt and plopping onto the sofa next to him. "Dude, I'm gonna play video games with a dinosaur!"
"Huh," I looked around. Smiley, Empress, M'gann, Magcargo, Mimikyu, Superboy, Alakazam, and I were remaining.
Actually, scratch that. Miss Martian and Alakazam were floating across from each other, eyes glowing as they communicated
"I guess it's just us, then," I said to Superboy and Empress as Mimikyu hopped onto my shoulder. "So. What do you guys want to do?"
"Nothing," Superboy said immediately. He continued to glare at me.
Awkward silence followed. Empress shuffled just a bit next to me, while I cocked my head, confused.
"...Mimikyu?"
"No, I think he's mad at me, and he's too immature to explain why. I'm gonna hit the gym. Empress, Smiley?"
"Huh? Oh, coming!" Empress followed me quickly, while Superboy seemed stuck between being more angry and just plain confused. I ignored him.
"-Eye of the tiger," Smiley's mp3 sang, the masked man stretching as he followed. Huh. Who knew he was a fan of fitness.
Anyway, in the case of Superboy… Look, if someone is angry at you, and won't say why, then it's not really your problem is it? Best to just move on.
Still, after a bit of walking, I did hear some booted footsteps following. Yeah, like I thought. Batman had ordered the team to keep an eye on us. Which was just smart I guess.
So yeah. Spending the day in a superhero hideout and using the superadvanced facilities to workout with superhumans. You couldn't say I wasn't productive.
Hopefully before I left I could find out why the half-Kryptonian was still pissy.
Chapter 46
In Memoriam, Rachael Lillis, the voice actress for Misty, Jessie, Jigglypuff, and so much more. I only met you once, and you were sweet as hell. Thanks for the memories, and goodbye.
Ever since I'd woken up in my fourteen to fifteen-year-old Pokemon training body, I'd been stronger than ever. I wasn't exactly an Olympic bodybuilder, but I was stronger than a normal teenager would be by a wide margin—more horsepower than most people.
Superboy was a living industrial machine in terms of power.
I watched as he lifted the equivalent of a tank, feeling just a bit impressed. While the gym didn't seem to have the sort of super advanced equipment you sometimes saw in comic book gyms, all the barbells were made to hold far more weight than any commercially available one. The plates Superboy was lifting had some massive numbers as well.
"What do you think?" I asked Empress as she did bicep curls.
"It's a lot more intense than my dad's home gym," the fit young woman said, struggling one more rep before lowering the weight with a sigh. "Seriously, this place is insane. We need a gym like this!"
"We can make a better one," I say, just little bit annoyed but trying to hide it. "Besides, Alakazam can help us train even better. His telekinesis can act like increased gravity."
'Act'. I tried not to mention it too often, but some Pokemon moves didn't seem to just be named for fun. As far as I could tell, moves like Gravity did just that. Increase gravity. Pokemon didn't exactly break physics, but they did bend the rules enough to seem like it.
We'd tested it a bit, and once Gurdurr finished the gym, we'd be able to have a place even superhumans would find worth working out in.
Until that time, this base kicked the shit out of ours, and I knew it.
Superboy smirked briefly at me, but I let that go. Sort of. Kid was more of a jerk than I expected. No, a different kind of jerk. Grumpy, rather than being overly confident.
"Pele gave us permission to expand within a certain space," I explained to Empress. "So Gurdurr should be able to make us a really damn good setup soon enough. We'll have room for some real cool shit."
"Pele?" Superboy lowered the weight he'd been lifting and looked over. He wasn't even sweating the bastard. "The Hawaiian goddess? Pele-honua-mea?"
"...Yeah?" I said, a bit surprised at his perfect pronunciation of the words 'Pele of the sacred land' in the original language of Hawaii. Alakazam had to run me through it a bunch of times to get it right, and I still sounded like a foreigner when saying it. "Know a lot of goddesses?"
"All of them," Superboy rose up and tapped the side of his head. "I have it all up here."
I put the pieces together instantly. "Wait, so Cadmus just loaded your brain up with information on mythology? What else?"
He looked uncomfortable. Or angry. Or grumpy. His expressions seemed to stay in a certain range. "Math, history, science, languages. Anything they thought I would need."
"Aww, that's not fair," Empress grumbled, crossing her arms. Even under her helmet, I could imagine her pouting. "I wish I had school just downloaded into my brain."
"I don't," I crossed my own arms. "The idea of someone shoving knowledge into my brain without context, without nuance freaks me out. I'm okay with Alakazam, he's my guy, but people digging into your mind and giving you their version of knowledge just…"
I shivered. Superboy looked more uncomfortable but also eyed me with some trepidation.
"That's why I offered to let you dig into your own brain if you wanted," I told Superboy, finally confronting the elephant in the room. "Let you go in and figure out what you want to keep, toss out, make sure Cadmus didn't leave some codeword that lets them mind control you-"
"Let me go in?" Superboy, to my surprise, didn't get more annoyed. Instead, he looked surprised. "I thought you wanted your… Pokemon?"
"That's what they're called."
"I thought you wanted them to mess with my head?" He almost growled the last part.
Oh. I did sort of think of it that way. I'd misspoken just then. Technically I didn't know if he could just get shoved into his own mind so he could compartmentalize his mind… But shit, maybe that was what he needed.
If Superboy was uncomfortable with anyone fixing his brain, why not let him fix it himself?
"It's up to you," I said honestly. "If you want someone else to help you, that's fine. If you just want to go in yourself, you can. The best route would be to enter your mind with someone you trust to keep your head safe. Maybe Kaldur or M'gann, someone who can keep a level head and protect you."
I rubbed the back of my head. "And again. Knowledge without wisdom, without the memory of obtaining the images and information, is dangerous."
"Dangerous?" Empress asked, confused.
"Let's say someone shoves the full knowledge of every book approved by a certain person. What if that person is biased in way Superboy isn't, or has prejudices about the world and life he doesn't, like they believe in a flat earth." I asked pointedly. "Then Superboy gets only those facts without any nuance or dissenting opinions to go along with it. On the other hand, if they did give you unbiased knowledge, that you have knowledge of something working, but not how it works."
"...What?" Empress asked, befuddled.
"Okay, like… a bomb," I looked at Superboy. "Lets say you get knowledge of how to put bomb together, right? But you don't know why those parts have to get put together that way, you don't know how careful you should be, you don't know how big the boom might be. All you have is the stripped down knowledge, without the nuance that comes with time and training."
"...Tch," Superboy let out, sighing. "It's not that bad."
"Are you sure?" I asked. When all I got was a glower I decided to quit while I was ahead, instead moving to the next exercise. Maybe he'd listen, maybe he wouldn't, but at least I'd tried, right?
Still, at the end of the brief workout we'd done, I was left annoyed. Empress had fun though I think.
A bit later, we'd traded partners, so to speak. When Kaldur, Orca, and Mudkip came back, Empress kidnapped Aqualad to talk shop about magic, which was fun to listen to as Mudkip and I watched. Orca drifted over to Kid Flash and watched him play Tyrunt in a video game, which led to Mudkip and I half-listening to two very different conversations.
Magic from Kaldur and Empress in the kitchen, science from Kid Flash and Orca in the living room right next to us.
"The magic you utilize is truly fascinating," Aqualad said in that deep voice of his. "In Atlantis, we've used the same magics for centuries. We are powerful, but the magic you describe is more versatile than I imagined. Darker, as well."
"That's voodoo for you," Empress giggled. I shared a smirk with Mudkip as we watched her act like… well, like a teenage girl with a crush. "I love it, but it has a bit of a stigma. I tell people about it and they think of voodoo dolls, killing chickens, and Kevin Smith singing."
"Who is Kevin Smith?" Kaldur asked, befuddled.
"...You're lucky you're cute." Empress said without thinking before she started. "Uh, I mean uh…"
Kaldur grinned, looking flattered and amused.
I tuned into Kid Flash and Orca's conversation.
"The Appellaxians are the first comparison I can think of," Kid Flash said, looking at Tyrunt thoughtfully. He'd let my dinoboy take over the console and Tyrunt was currently playing Dragon Quest… which was multiple levels of ironic. "Energy beings inhabiting bodies made of different materials? That fits, right?"
"Except, Pokemon are flesh and blood," Orca pointed out. "Even Mimikyu, who is the closest to being pure energy, is a biological being. Pokemon seem to straddle the line."
"Oh, I fully accept that," Kid Flash said, crossing his arms and nodding wisely. "But I'm going with the closest analogue I can think of. I've still got like… a billion questions. Like those Pokeballs. They can turn things like Pokemon into raw data for storage, right?"
"Yes!" Orca said happily, sounding excited. "I have a theory that it can also be used to store any sort of matter, not just Pokemon."
"Seriously?" Kid Flash turned to look at her, grinning. "That would be amazing! They could… um-"
He stopped, seeming distracted. Then I realized he wasn't meeting Orca's eye level, and hid a smile. Yeah. She was… impressive.
"I mean uh, if you could figure that out," he forced himself to continue. "That could solve so many issues. Do you have any prototypes?"
"No, not at all," Orca shrugged. "My specialty is biology, especially marine biology. As you can see, I'm still learning with that discipline." She waved over her form, chuckling a bit.
"I think you look great." When Orca looks over at me, along with Kid Flash, I realize I spoke aloud. I cough, turning back to focus on Empress and Kaldur's conversation, only to see them smirking at me. I look down to see Mudkip doing the same.
A Mudkip smirking, by the way, is hilarious.
"Anyways… I might as well lay this out there, since we're all talking about magic, and science, and Pokemon," I say aloud, ignoring the looks I'm getting. "Orca already knows this, but in my world, Pokemon Professors follow a series of different disciplines. The most famous, Oak, studies ecology, but it's a wide range."
"Pokemon breeding, for example, is based on body types, rather than species. So Mudkip, for example, can have children with a whole host of Pokemon, not just other Mudkip, and the child can be either a Mudkip or a member of the other species. They can pass on useful traits that way."
"But one of the most mysterious things about Pokemon, is their ability to Evolve." I said, leaning forward and frowning. "Pokemon evolution isn't just changing to master their environment. It's a consistent way of growing in power. Alakazam, Gurdurr, and Marcargo, are all examples of stronger forms of their species."
"And there are theories that there are more powerful forms. Ones strong enough to match the gods of the Pokemon world."
"Gods?" Kid Flash scoffs. "So, more powerful Pokemon, then?"
"Some people say that. But I've met a god," I mumble. "Met Arceus. Met Pele. Gods are different from just being superhuman. They are… there is a presence to them. Wally, you've probably felt that kind of power, right? When you run. At the edge of your senses, something drawing you in, a strength beyond your understanding."
"Uh… no?" Kid Flash looked bewildered. Then he frowned. "I mean… B- I mean the Flash, he said that sometimes-" Kid Flash scoffed. "But no, my powers come from science. Not hocus pocus."
The idea of that bewilders me. In my world, Wally West was the master of speed. Barry and the rest, they eventually got as fast as he was. But Wally was the one who turned being a speedster, accessing the speed force, into an artform.
"Okay… well, the point I was making is that Pokemon knowledge is kind of an evolving discipline. So I'm interested in what Orca will end up uncovering. We have a unique perspective in this world, right? We might discover something my old world never considered."
After all, we still didn't know what Marcargo's evolution would lead to. She was the first Pokemon to ever have an evolution influenced by another dimension's divinity. She might find levels of power never discovered. The idea was exciting.
"Yeah… yeah whatever," Kid Flash said, still giving me an odd look. "So, Orca, you have any paperwork on your studies?"
"I would be a bad scientist if I didn't," Orca said with a grin. "Oh, you won't believe the strength to weight ratio on these guys! Tyrunt's jaws can slice through a car engine!"
"They can!? I let him nibble my fingers earlier!"
"...Well, maybe be more careful next time?"
While Orca and Kid Flash kept talking, I looked over at Kaldur and Empress, moving to join them.
"What you were talking about earlier," Kaldur asked me, looking curious. "You seemed convinced that KF had access to some sort of power beyond just his speed."
"He needs to eat after he runs for a long time," I say softly.
"So?" Empress mumbled, looking bewildered. "Everyone needs food for energy."
"The Flash doesn't. And if his powers needed food to fuel them, he'd need to eat more than a zoo of elephants to match the energy he outputs," I say softly. "I wonder how much of that is actually his powers, or him subconsciously following what he thinks is logical."
Huh… if a Pokemon could connect to the speed force, it would be… Deoxys, maybe? In it's speed form? …Oh, duh. Regieleki. I didn't think of the latter generation Poke's too often, but of course the speedy god of lightning would be able to use to speed force. Ha! That would be hilarious. Long as I didn't have to fight… him…
"Really hope irony doesn't hit me down the road," I mumbled.
"I don't know why you said that, but in my experience, it always does," Kaldur said.
"...Thanks bud."
"Mudkiiiip," Mudkip sighed.
Later, I rode Magcargo as she roamed into the armory, where Clock King and Robin were still talking.
"I mean, sure, a lot of our stuff is pure style," Robin said. "But we have a standard kit that we bring on everything. It'd be nice if we brought everything on every mission, but bat-shark repellent isn't going to be useful every time."
"...Is it really called 'bat'-shark repellent?" Clock King asked, cocking his head to the side.
"Nah. Batman gets annoyed when I put "bat" in front of everything," Robin said cheerfully. "But yeah, I can help you come up with a standard set of gear to share with your whole team. Except for the guns."
"I did wonder about that," Clock King said. "While I do avoid them, I can't help but acknowledge the lack of firearms among you and your contemporaries. Is there a reason for that? Many of your opponents can be subdued by firearms without worries about killing them."
"There's a few reasons… some personal," Robin's cheeriness fell a bit, but he continued speaking. "But guns aren't always useful. They're lethal first and foremost. You carry a gun, expect to kill someone when you use it. Our weapons mean we can take people in to serve sentences. Ninety percent of the time, if we run into someone who can survive bullets, they can't be taken down by them."
Marcargo rubbed at Robin's side as he spoke. Without looking, he began scratching the top of her head, still speaking. "There's more, of course. Legally we'd need to give proof we can carry them. Amusingly? Batarangs are street-legal. And then there's the fact that bad guys feel safer to fight us when they see we don't have guns. If we had them, they'd go into cover more, run away. The second they see we don't have guns, they rush at us, expecting an easier fight, or at least a fight they won't die from."
"Hm… I can still think of arguments for the other side, my boy," Clock King said.
"Sure. But at the end of the day, Batman and I don't like guns, and that's the biggest reason."
"Fair enough."
"Mar…" Marcargo sighed as Robin kept petting. He looked at her, then did a double-take. "Wait, when did you get here?"
"Cargo!"
He blinked under his mask, then shrugged and went back to petting her. "So obviously I can't suggest anything that is really secret, but I can tell you the standard that most people know about."
Robin began pointing around the room at the various bits and bobbles around the armory, Clock King and I listening closely. Some of it was familiar, right out of the DK books I'd read as a kid. Some surprised me. Batarangs and grappling hooks, sure. Lockpicks and cameras, yeah. But then things like simple lasers or a blowdart gun, those were surprising, though Robin explained the reasoning for them easily enough.
But Clock King especially seemed to get something out of the conversation, his body language practically vibrating as he listened and asked questions. And then they got to the Batmobile.
"...I swear, if we end up with a steampunk car as a team vehicle, I'm going to be annoyed," I mumbled to Magcargo as the questions blew up in volume.
"Cargo!" Magcargo said.
"You'd love one? You traitor," I said playfully, scratching her chin.
"...Smiley?" I asked, bewildered when I found him in the same room as Alakazam and M'gann. He was meditating near them. Seriously. As I approached, I heard his MP3 player speaking.
"Inner peace… inner peace… inner peace…"
"Is that from Kung Fu Panda?" I asked. Smiley raised a thumbs up, but continued to meditate.
"He is more peaceful in mind than you would think," Alakazam thought towards me. "His rage is that of a storm in the distance. Dangerous, but peaceful as well. Beautiful, in a way."
"And scary," M'gann shivered. "I can feel it. He isn't… normal, is he? The only person I've ever felt with more suppressed rage is Batman."
When Smiley glanced at me, I shrugged. "Hey, that's a compliment. The number of people anywhere near as pissed as Batman can be counted on a single hand."
Kratos and Doomslayer, maybe? A few others, but my brain was stuck on video game comparisons.
"Kyu!" Mimikyu waved at me from the shadows. She'd discarded her costume in the center and seemed to be resting in Alakazam's shadow. I felt that little tickle of disturbance at the sight of her, but pushed through it to join them.
"So, what are you guys doing?"
"Exploring each other's minds," M'gann said out loud. "And each other's memories. It's been so long since I did this with someone who wasn't my uncle. Your world is so amazing! I want to see it one day."
M'gann shifted forms, suddenly becoming a Gardevoir floating above the floor. "And Alakazam is teaching me how to change into them. Sadly, I can only do them in appearance. I would love to turn into them completely."
"You speak as though the possibility wasn't there," Alakazam said, smiling. "Perhaps you should look into it. Your people's shapeshifting may be more comprehensive than you believe."
"...Ooooooh," M'gann's form flickered. For a moment, I saw white skin, before she shifted back into her 'original' body.
Right. Secret White Martian. I'd leave that alone. If this team was the same as kids from the comics, they'd be fine… unless I had to help.
"So… I'll join you," I sit down next to Smiley, who pats my shoulder, then goes back to meditating as well.
It was nice… though M'gann shifting into different Pokemon got kinda distracting. Always psychic, always humanoid and feminine in appearance. Gardevior, Gothitelle, Meowstic, Hatterene, Delphox, she had a host of them to choose from…
There were a surprisingly large amount to choose from. I decided not to comment, and just keep meditating.
Later, we all gathered in the Zeta-Tube room to get ready to leave.
"Next time, you guys should come to my neck of the woods," I said as I shook Kaldur's hand, grinning. "We can visit Hawaii's beaches. Show you the sun, sand, and babes."
Empress coughed.
"And studs, sure, if that's what anyone prefers," I said.
"T-That's not what I-" Empress sputtered.
"I would appreciate that," Kaldur chuckled.
"Same here!" Kid Flash shouted. "Hawaii on a vacation? Awesome!"
"That's if we don't have to go on a mission," Robin said.
"We can make time," Clock King said.
"Gurdurr!" Gurdurr barked proudly.
"Gurdurr says when you visit, our base will kick yours' butt," I translate, getting a nod from my fighting boy.
"Looking forward to it." Robin chuckled.
"Thank you for speaking with me, Alakazam," M'gann said respectfully.
"It was a pleasure, child. You have more power and potential than you know. It will be an experience to watch you grow." Alakazam said fondly.
"Mudkip?" Mudkip asked.
"No, I don't believe her species evolve. I meant grow in the sense of experience and skill."
"Kip."
"Perhaps."
Superboy then walked up to Alakazam. They stared at each other. Finally Alakazam nodded. Superboy looked relieved, backing away and crossing his arms. Who knows what passed between them, but both seemed satisfied.
"It was fun talking with you," Orca said to Kid Flash. "I love my team, but the only science guy we have is Clock King, and he's all tech-based. Hopefully, we can keep talking."
"...Huh?" Kid Flash blinked, finally looking her in the eye. He blushed, but recovered quickly (appropriately). "Yeah, that would be great! We can talk shop. I've got some ideas that might help you out, and I'd love to look into your research more too. It'll be fun!"
"Magcargo!" my lava girl said, smiling.
My grin dropped. "...Baby girl. What did you do?"
"What?" Robin looked between us. "What did she do?"
"Welp, time to leave!" I grabbed my pokeballs and summoned back everyone. "Something happened at home, time for us to check it out!"
"Kahu. What did she do?" Kaldur asked, bewildered.
We disappeared in flashes of light. As I left, I shouted back. "You… might have some more room around here! She was halping!"
And before I could expound, we were back in Hawaii.
Kaldur/Aqualad
"...Halping, huh?" Robin said, staring out in front of them.
A huge portion of the mountain had been… hollowed out. Just a giant cavern that stretched the length of the mountain went up for dozens of feet.
"This looks more solid than I thought," Kid Flash said, joining them in a burst of speed. "The walls are strong, and the whole thing looks like it was made to last."
"How did that lava monster do this in a single day!?" Robin asked, bewildered.
"I am unsure… but maybe we don't tell the league about it yet," Kaldur said slowly.
"What do you mean?" Superboy asked, his boots digging into the new stone floor.
"This could be… ours. Our space to change. Make our own. The league has provided us much. This could be for us."
"Just us…" M'gann said. She smiled. "I like the sound of that. We could put lights in, set up some areas for different things! This could be amazing!"
"Halping… who says helping like that?" Robin asked.
"This is going to be 'whelmed' all over again, isn't it?" Kid Flash asked in return.
"It might be!"
As Kid Flash and Robin continued to banter, Kaldur smiled. Yes. This could be good for them. It would be fun, to have a space of their own to change to their desires. He could build a real magical study room, somewhere he could bring Empress to share ideas.
Empress had been a very impressive woman. If he was single he would have been tempted… Kaldur decided to reach out to Tula soon. He missed her.
For now, Kaldur would need some paper. "KF. Run around and figure out the layout of this place, and then we'll divide it between us. Maybe leave some spots for when visitors come."
"Sure… Oh dang, there's another hole! It leads to a lower level!"
All in all, Kahu's team visiting hadn't turned out too bad.