Chapter 43
July 8, 2010
Kahu Kiaʻi/Mahmoud
"So then Alakazam led you here and that's the end?" I asked, trying not to look annoyed.
"Um… yes," Empress… goddamn Empress of all people, looked nervously at me. Smiley, in the meantime, ignored me in favor of running a whetstone along a metal baseball bat. No, I didn't understand why.
I'd had Alakazam teleport the pair into the Gym once he'd met them. It made sense to me. It was a location where I held all the cards. Orca, Gurdurr, and Mudkip were watching the conversation, while Alakazam floated just behind me and Mimikyu napped peacefully on his lap, tired from a long night.
Empress kept glancing at my Pokemon, but she couldn't stop staring at Orca. Orca noticed, but gracefully ignored it as best as she could. Empress also glanced at Orca's chest, but I was used to seeing people do that.
Gurdurr, on the other hand, eyed the blood dripping off Smiley and landing on the floor. He looked annoyed at it, and I reminded myself to clean up later for him. Smiley, unlike Empress, had refused to drink any potions. He didn't seem bothered by his wounds. Gurdurr looked like he wanted to hit him with every drip of blood.
"Goddamnit," I mumbled, rubbing my forehead. "Do you realize how much danger you were in?"
Smiley pointed at himself.
"Not you, the teenage girl who was with you."
Smiley lowered his finger, but his shoulders moved like he was laughing.
"I'm not a teenager, so it's fine," Empress said, sounding annoyed.
"You are lying. Badly."
"Well-"
"Anita."
I heard her mouth click shut under her mask. She stared at me. "How-"
"I'm not going to tell you. But I know who you are, and I know how old you are. You shouldn't have been involved in that fight at all," I sighed. If I wasn't wearing my own mask, I would have rubbed my forehead.
"That isn't your choice!" She snapped. "We had to help those people!"
"Oh, and you couldn't have, I don't know, called your dad and his friend, two people currently aggressively taking steps to fight the Silicon Dragons?"
"There wasn't time!"
"Which you can say with the benefit of hindsight," I pointed out. "If you're going to keep doing this, you need to call for backup before going in."
"...Wait, 'keep' doing this?" she asked, surprised.
I ignored her to continue. "You were with this guy," I pointed to Smiley, who waved back at me. "And Mimikyu. Two beings you'd never met, who you didn't know the true allegiance or abilities of. And rather than calling for backup in case, oh I don't know, a supertech wearing merc showed up to attack, you rushed in. Things could have gone a lot worse."
Empress stared at me defiantly. I let her for a moment before speaking again. "You realize I'm not saying this to be mean, but because I don't want you to die, right?"
At that, her defiance slowly faded away. Orca spoke up next.
"I'm still learning too. But you can't just rush in this business. We need to think before we move in."
"You can talk!?" Empress squeaked.
Orca just stared at her, while Empress sort of curled in on herself and looked as embarrassed as she could under a mask.
"She's not a Pokemon, she's a mutated human," I explained as gently as I could.
"I can understand the confusion though," Orca said awkwardly. "Anyways. My first time on a mission, I rushed in without thinking. I learned from that."
"That aside," I waved a hand, sighing. "So. Empress and Smiley. A magical girl teenager-"
"Magical girl?" Empress asked, offended.
"And some kind of ghost infested guy who talks through an MP3 player."
"Thaaaat's me!" Smiley waved again.
"I'm guessing you're not exactly going to worry about your safety while fighting the Silicon Dragons, are you Smiles?"
The yellow masked man nodded quickly. I uh… couldn't get a read on him. He acted like Deadpool or something. The sort of self-amused attitude. Except, in the memories Mimikyu cheerfully shared, he fought like a Terminator. Constantly going for the finishing blow, ignoring lethal damage, unflinching in the face of any odds.
"Any chance you're gonna tell me where you came from?" I asked more curiously than anything. "Can never get enough of a good origin story."
"..." He pressed a button on the MP3 player. "Get busy living. Or get busy dying."
Apparently he considered that answer enough. He went back to sharpening his baseball bat.
"Um," Empress said, looking at him. "My dad had a theory. About a type of spirit. Huaka'i pō. The Night Marchers. There are traces similar to ones in our books, but if uh, Smiley is one, then he's acting very differently."
Smiley raised the baseball bat to his eye and looked across it. Seemingly satisfied, he put away his whetstone and pulled out a rag, running it along the bat.
"Very different," Empress added.
"Hm… Doesn't matter I suppose," I looked over at Empress. The thought struck me again. She was so young. And yes, I know. A lot of the sidekicks and heroes of the modern day were young. But I hadn't met them. Kaldur was an 18 year old man, with maturity far beyond that. Empress, on the other hand, was a teenager. She shouldn't have been involved in all this.
But she had gotten herself involved. Would keep getting herself involved. If I didn't step in, she might end up in some serious danger. The Silicon Dragons were upgrading daily.
"...I'm going to ask you both the same question," I said. "Do you want to team up?"
The sound of a record scratch came from Smiley. He and Empress looked over at me at the same time. It was almost cute how in unison they briefly were. RECORD SCRATCH Sound Effect
"What?" Empress asked, surprised.
"I was already planning on asking Smiley. Now I'm extending that to you as well. The Silicon Dragons are a continuing threat. They need to be taken down. You guys agree. But if we all run around like chickens without heads, we'll get in each others way."
"Technically the easiest thing would be to ask you guys to retire-"
Oh no no no laugh Smiley's shoulders bounced silently as the video played, the man slapping his knees.
"Kiiiip?" Mudkip looked between Smiley and me, grinning. At least someone thought Smiley's antics were funny.
"Yeah, I'm with him," Empress said firmly. "Those guys were bringing in kids! As slaves! I can't just let them get away!"
"Then yeah. Let's work together," I said, crossing my arms. "I've got resources, connections, and a team of superpowered family."
"Gurdurr!" the man himself grunted, swiping at his nose with a grin.
"You've got magic. You've got a host of ghost abilities I don't understand. So let's join up, and take down those Dragon fucks. How about it?"
Smiley and Empress shared a look. Smiley rose to his feet and put his baseball bat on his back. He pointed at me as his MP3 player turned on again.
You son of a bitch, I'm in.
"Me too!" Empress got up, fists clenched in determination. "How do we start!?"
"Well first," I turned away from them. "I'm grabbing a mop. Smiley's blood is all over the floor."
"GURDURR!" An emphatic agreement sounded out behind me.
As I walked off, Mudkip hopped onto my shoulder. Orca followed. "Kahu? You okay?"
"Kind of," I admitted. "I'm glad I can tell Sam that I got Smiley to join us. But Anita is almost his niece. If he ever finds out," I opened a door and reached in for the mop, sighing to myself. "But we also can't let a teenager run around fighting without help. It's more irresponsible than fighting alongside her."
"Is it?" Orca asked, befuddled. "Can't we tell her dad?"
"Sure. And then he'll lock her away, leaving her to sneak out." I shrugged. "Maybe I'm not being a responsible adult either. But I know how this shit goes," I closed the door to look up at Orca, her black and white face looking down at me. "I want to help her. Maybe she'll retire one day. Maybe she'll be Justice League A-Squad. Either way. Kids need people who have their backs through shit like this."
"...You're a good person," Orca said, smiling down at me.
"I'm a shit person," I snarled back, annoyed. "I wish anyone else would do this. But I'm here, so she's got me until I can get Kaldur or somebody to take her on."
Orca was still smiling at me for some reason, while Mudkip hopped onto her shoulder to give me the same smile. Like they knew better.
Trust me. Empress was going to join that team of Young Justice kids. Orca would probably join the Justice League. And I'd go back home. This was all temporary. Just until we took down the Silicon Dragons. Then we'd amicably go our separate ways.
I'd teach her what I could for now though.
"How positively fascinating!" Later, in my base, Clock King stood. CLOCK KING. What a damn world man.
The man who once fought Green Arrow was currently holding something that reminded me of the Ghostbuster EKG meter, holding it out as he scanned over the group. He was dressed in his 'superhero' outfit, right down to the clocks replacing the eyes of his mask and the derby hat. He glanced over at me and Orca.
"I knew that I would have some research ahead of me, but not on this level!"
Empress, unmasked, and Smiley, still masked, watched Clock King circle them with varying levels of wariness.
Clock King had been teleported in by Alakazam. I needed time to trust him honestly. He seemed like a nice guy. But he was a former supervillain. I'd be an idiot not to take that into consideration. This was DC Comics. I believed in reforming people, but this was also a universe where Lucifer was a real thing, where men, women, and other species of folk ran into temptation all the time, but monetary and magical.
...Then again, Lucifer did retire to run a piano bar in Los Angeles in many versions of DC so who knows.
And even if he fought temptation, I'd rather err on the side of caution. I'd trust him later maybe. But not before a week had even passed and we hadn't gone on a mission together.
Smiley and Anita were easier to trust. Anita was young and idealistic. Maybe she'd reveal the location of the base if her dad was threatened, but I doubted it. Smiley, on the hand, reminded me of Deadpool mixed with Punisher. He was goofy, but also filled with an unending hatred and rage. He'd more likely rip apart anyone trying to get the bases location out of him.
So I told them. Anita had something about being glad she was next to the beach.
Smiley got a motorcycle inside. I don't know how. I was afraid to ask. He left it next to mine.
And yeah, call me prejudiced. Look, I'd let Clock King into the base, I'd probably reveal it's location to him down the road. Sue me for being careful with the guy I'd seen on the internet saying an actual supervillain monologue.
My god, the clock puns had flowed.
Still… his story was sad. He'd went villain to try and get money for his sister, because health care in the United States is a fucking travesty. Giovanni, always keeping his nose to the ground, heard about it. So he'd provided legal and financial assistance after Mr. Tockman had been arrested. His sister was doing much better, and Giovanni had another former supervillain on the payroll.
If this Giovanni had something over the other versions, it was knowing how to instill loyalty. William Tockman would likely never turn on him.
Today, he was simply scanning Empress and Smiley. "This compares well to scans taken of your adorable costumed friend."
"Kyu!?" Mimikyu poked her head up from behind her drawing board where she'd been drawing Wonder Woman in a variety of costumes for her online classes.
"She's asking how much?" I translated.
"Hm…" Clock King tapped at his EKG meter thing. "Miss Balin? I believe you have some knowledge on the subject. Tell me, what do you see?"
He handed her the device. She took it gently in her larger hands, looking it over. "I… It's almost like Mimikyu's signature energy was split up and joined to others?"
"Indeed," Mr. Tockman stroked the chin of his mask, pacing. "I believe, my friends, in the research done in the field of magic by some colleagues of mine. They were laughed out of academia of course, the snobs in higher learning are extremely stiff when it comes to new information. No sense of the times at all I tell you. But the truth holds. Magic is a blending of energies. You and Giovanni," he pointed at me. "Called Mimikyu's energy 'Fairy/Ghost'. If we can imagine that Fairy is pure form of magic, and Ghost is the spiritual energy of the departed…"
He stopped, nodding to himself. "There is something useful here. Beneficial to mankind even!"
Then he froze. "Oh! How rude of me!"
He walked up and raised his hand towards Empress and Smiley. "My apologies! William Tockman, the Clock King!"
"I was wondering about that," Empress said as she shook his hand.
Yeah. He'd kinda just walked in and started scanning the second he could. Scientists man.
"Oh, how fun," Clock King mumbled when Smiley turned the handshake into a more complex one, somehow matching him.
"Okay," I told the group. "Science stuff can wait-"
"Actually, my good man, science is always right on time!" I was going to hate these puns. "For you see, I've come back with the reports on Temblor's technology!"
"Temblor?" Orca asked.
"The earthquake guy we fought," Empress explained.
"It would be more appropriate to call him a 'vibration' guy," Clock King said.
"That sounds… dirty."
"Hm?" Clock King thought about it. Then visibly winced. "Ah. I see now. T-That aside, his gloves are actually quite ingenious. They project a precisely calibrated force that engages with any item it touches, violently vibrating the object. But it can be better. It's all in the timing!"
Course he had to end that way.
"With your permission, I'd like to incorporate the technology into your base," Clock King said. "I can think of a few ways to use it. And I can even help improve your defensive and offensive options."
"..." After a long thought, I shrugged. "Sure. Just have to make sure it doesn't disturb the goddess that lives under here."
"I'm sorry, the what?" Clock King asked, befuddled.
"Pele," Orca said. "She lives under the base."
"Really!?" Empress asked, Smiley looking down at the floor and kicking at it curiously.
"Really really," I said in my best Shrek impression. Only Smiley seemed to get it. "Smoking volcano goddesses aside, Gurdurr and Alakazam have been improving the base. Talk to them for anything we need."
Kaldur had mentioned something about a Zeta tube, but I didn't know if that was a possibility I had to look forward to.
"Excellent!" Clock King flipped his EKG meter away. "Before that. I believe I should hand you these."
He reached into his coat again and pulled something out. As he did, he continued speaking. "Thankfully, Giovanni informed me I may need several of these for later, so I had a couple more for our young Empress and Smiley."
"A pocket watch?" I asked, looking down. It was gold, with a chain coming off it. The front was a old school showing Roman numerals and golden colored hands. I flipped it open, then blinked at the buttons and screen there.
"A smartphone!" Empress said, immediately tapping at it.
"Precisely!" Clock King said proudly. "Something I made myself. It's powered by clockwork, of course. Branding is everything after all. Despite it's advanced design, it is much tougher to hack or shut down thanks to the mechanics within it. Sadly, that does mean it can't download 'apps'."
"Awww," Empress, Orca, and Smiley's MP3 Recorder said in unison.
Clock King chuckled. "But it is a workplace device. It is made to only communicate with similar devices through a specific frequency, while still being able to receive missions, police reports, and coordinate our patrol routes."
Mimikyu got one of her own. She glanced at it, then went back to drawing.
When I went through the device, I was honestly impressed. The watch wasn't huge, but the screen was intuitive, and the buttons helped. I like buttons. I don't mind certain aspects of touch screens, but when I fat finger on a piece of glass, my brain aches for the certainty of buttons.
"Your device, Kahu, is the Alpha model," Clock King said. "You control all the others. So you can decide on certain things ahead of time-"
"Nope," I grabbed his and gave him mine. As he blinked at me, I continued. "Mr. Tockman. You are literally the clock guy. We want someone to make an efficient schedule for patrolling? That's you."
It was both a test and a way to slide out of the responsibility. I had never been trained in how to make a good schedule, so I'd give the job to the man obsessed with time. And it was a good way to see how reformed he was. Alakazam could keep an eye on things.
There are benefits to having a supercomputer brained friend.
"A capital idea! It will also help me show you I can be trusted."
That's the problem with potentially evil people being smarter than you, you can't figure them out before they figure you out.
I looked down at my new watch, spinning the dial on it. Huh. Familiar feeling.
"So that's that," I told Kaldur later over a video call on the Gym's computers. "Clock King, Smiley, and Empress."
"You're assembling quite the eclectic team," Kaldur said, sounding amused. Behind him I could see the library of the new base.
I don't think Batman and the rest of the league knew that I knew the base was in Happy Harbor, but I'd guessed it. Granted, I could have been wrong, but I had a hunch considering one Wally West had uploaded some photos of him hanging out there recently.
"Says you," I scoffed. "I'd argue that any team is made up of weird individuals in the hero world."
"I suppose that is true," Kaldur said, though he was still smirking.
I turned serious. "Speaking of teams. Superboy."
Kaldur became just as serious. "Batman took your warning under advisement."
"Under advisement," I said as tonelessly as I could to convey just how much I loved that idea.
"Superboy reacted… strongly, to the idea of having someone in his mind," Kaldur said. "I can not blame him. He spent every day of his life under the mental control of others. I would not be eager to allow even those I knew into my mind after such a thing."
"Goddamnit," I sighed. Apparently, this Superboy was more like the brooding and serious one from the 2000's comics, rather than the 90's fun-loving kid who would eventually end up in Hawaii. "Well. What about the Cadmus G-Gnomes?"
"We've been speaking with them. Well, the League has," Kaldur amended. "I am not privy to what they have been doing, but Aquaman ensures me that they are doing what they can to protect the G-Gnomes and provide them with better environments."
"They better. I'm telling you man. The world is changing fast. Earth is going to end up home to a whole host of aliens, mutations, magic-folk, cyborgs, and gods with a small g."
"You speak with such surety," Kaldur said lightly.
"I do. Keep in mind, I come from a world that is like that," I ran a hand through my hair. "Pokemon are called by a single name, but they fit dozens of different archetypes, origins, and powersets. If Earth is anything like I think it is, you'll need to start preparing the world for that. Or we'll end up in a horrific state."
Some versions of DC's future were fairly peaceful. Still had enemies, monsters, and threats. But still peaceful.
And sometimes? Bad futures are all too common in comics.
"We should meet," Kaldur said suddenly. "Our two teams. Join together, trade ideas, get to know one another. It is possible we will have to work together one day. Having an established relationship will help."
"It would be good to finally meet the group," I mused. "You wanna say, the 18th?"
Making plans to meet then, we said our goodbyes and hung up. Nice to see Kaldur so happy. Seemed like having a new team would be good for the 'sidekicks' as it were.
More importantly, removing any mind whammy's Superboy had. That kid had potential to be more dangerous than Clark.
Still. That wasn't my responsibility. My goals still remained. Take down the Silicon Dragons, go back home to my Earth. Once I did that, I'd say my goodbyes and introduce my family and friends to my Pokemon.
Man. My old discord buds would freak out.
I went to sleep that night dreaming of my nieces and nephew playing with Mudkip, Mimikyu, and Tyrunt while Magcargo kept them warm.
Author's Note: That's the chapter. Next one has more Batman.
For now, next one will be on Pa tre on, let me know what you guys think of this one. The ending is kinda good I think. I miss my nieces. Been playing Bloons 6 with my nephew a bunch too.