Chapter 41: Contra (Patreon)

After my ‘debriefing’ with Black Canary, the first day of school couldn’t come fast enough.

For all that the session itself was much…better than I’d expected. Even though I’d been exhausted by the end, I’d found it almost enjoyable. Just not enough to request another.

No, the problem was the Team. I don’t know what Martian told everyone, but they spent the rest of the weekend treating me with kid gloves. Only Raven and Artemis stayed the same; I could tell that the sudden change of behavior bothered them nearly as much. It grated at me, the awkward silences and shared glances behind my back. My own burgeoning telepathy did little but reinforce that alienation.

Unsurprisingly, I got along better with the mountain full of teenagers when I couldn’t tell what they thought of me.

Thus, I spent most of the time training magic until I ran my mana dry, and talking with Raven about interplanar travel. Apparently she had an idea, though she wouldn’t reveal the full scope of it. I let her know that Planeswalking was lethal, of course. Aside from that, I spent more time avoiding the team than interacting with them.

Even the existential fear of returning to high school paled in comparison next to spending another second with M’gann telling me that I ‘needed help’.

Artemis and I met up at the gates, where we spent a moment ogling at how this private school was apparently rich enough to have a gate in the first place. I vaguely remembered pictures of Arcadia, from the bay, as I said. “Even the nicest school in my hometown wasn’t this snazzy.”

Artemis swallowed as we walked onto the grounds. She tugged at the sleeve of her blazer. “Did you go there?” she asked.

“No, I went to the crappy public school instead.”

“Same.”

We shared a smile.

She looked different in the uniform. Where she usually stood loose, back hunched as if in preparation to dodge, now she was all stiff lines and straight laces. It gave away her nervousness no matter how well she schooled her face. If not for my power, I’d have been in the same boat. Of course, her ridged posture only emphasized the difference in our heights in a way that her normal relaxed stance did not.

Artemis laughed as we passed a group of jocks. “Looks like you’ve already got your own fanclub.”

“I’m sorry, what?” I said.

“Don’t look behind you, but that kid just walked into a tree,” she said, still snickering. “He’s still staring at you. Got this giant red mark on the side of his face.”

I shrugged, “I don’t know why he’d be looking at me.”

“Suuuuure you don’t,” Artemis said.

Before I could respond, a blonde girl detached herself from a nearby clique and walked over to us. I suppressed a surge of dislike. Still, I molded my expression into something pleasant as she approached.

“Hi there!” she said. “You must be the new students.”

“Guilty as charged,” I said. I saw Artemis glance at me out of the corner of my eye. 

“I’m Becky,” the girl said. “I’m your liaison and guide for Gotham Academy. I’ll show you to the office.”

“Sounds good, I’m Artemis.”

I nodded. “Taylor”

“It’s a pleasure to meet both of you,” she said, falling into step in front of us. “Do you two know each other? It’s odd to have transfers at this time of year.”

Artemis and I had discussed our ‘backstory’ the day before, and we’d decided on a simple lie. “We’ve met.”

“That’s nice,” Becky said. “Artemis and Taylor, hm? Too bad there’s no Athena…”

Artemis just looked confused at the comment, but I felt my smile becoming a bit more genuine. “I’m not much of a weaver,” I murmured.

Becky laughed. “Good one,” she said. “No one appreciates the classics anymore.”

Artemis frowned. “I’m not sure about you guys, but where I’m from the classics are, like, Alice and Wonderland, or To Kill a Mockingbird or something.”

“Well…”

“I think she meant the classics as a field of study,” I said. “You know, Latin, Greek. My—” I almost stumbled, “My mom had a minor in them.” I felt a brief surge of grief, before pushing that down. For a moment, it felt like everything was tilting on its axis. I didn’t even know why I brought that up, what in the world compelled me to talk about my parents.

The snap of a camera shocked me back to the present. Without thinking I snapped out, grabbing the offending device in a steel grip. 

“Woah there, New Girl!” a familiar voice said. I glanced down at the younger boy who was holding the phone… something about the shape of his face. “I was just trying to be friendly!”

I relaxed my grip. Internally, I was screaming at myself to get a grip, even as I autopiloted through the next interaction. “Oh, uh, sorry. I was just surprised.” The thoughts of those around me helped stabilize me, anchoring me back to the present. Becky’s surprised reaction about my speed gave me a few second to catch my breath. 

It also gave me time to figure out who the person in front of me was.

“I used to do some martial arts,” I said, putting on what I hoped was a convincing smirk. “I guess wonder boy here wasn’t expecting it.” If I wasn’t looking for the flinch, I would have missed it.

“Hardy, har, har,” Robin said. I could feel his underlying panic. “If that’s what I get for saying hi, then I’m out of here.”

He moved toward a covered sidewalk as quickly as he could without drawing attention, but even that wasn’t enough to dodge Becky’s huffed, “Honestly, Richard. Try and be a bit more considerate.” Again, if I wasn’t watching, I would have missed the slight tensing of his shoulders. I guess for some people, turnabout isn’t fair play.

“Well,” Becky said. “Now that that’s out of the way, shall we go to the office?”

* * *

That evening, I was unsurprised to find both Artemis (in costume this time) and Robin at the Gotham zeta tube. They seemed to be having a standoff, something about Artemis’s presence here when she was supposed to be Green Arrow’s niece?

Now, I hadn’t given her backstory much thought, but even though I found it suspect didn’t mean I needed to go around poking holes in it.

“Honestly, boy wonder,” I called as Robin made a prickly remark. “Would it kill you to be a bit more courteous, or are you interrogating me next?” Once again, my ammo from this morning proved effective, though he did a better job of not showing it. Yes, perhaps threatening him with his secret identity wasn’t the nicest thing I could have done, but at the moment I wasn’t exactly feeling charitable. Sue me; the added stress of being back in school, combined with my continued inability to contact Kent, had me a bit on edge.

“Glad to see you’re still chipper, Des,” Robin said. I didn’t push.

“Look, are we going back to base,” Artemis said. “Or are we gonna dick around out here for another half an hour?”

Robin gestured to the phone both. “Ladies first.”

Artemis grunted something scathing at that. I rolled my eyes.

“Well if you don’t mind,” I said, opening the door. Even in Gotham, with its gothic architecture and stone gargoyles, the booth was anachronistic. I remember there being a popular show from Aleph that mom used to watch, featuring something like this.

“Recognized: Destiny—B08.” I stepped forward ‘into’ the wall as the light of the zeta tube washed over me. 

I stepped out into hell.

The antechamber was cratered, concrete charred black and shattered. On the central dais, I caught a glimpse of a cage of flame and a sphere of solid darkness. Behind me, the zeta tube flaired again.

“Honey, I’m home!” A voice called with childlike glee.

Behind me, Artemis gaped. I saw a pale, grinning face enter the room on the far side. Red, angry magic flickered at Klarion’s hands.

“Recognized: Robin—” I spun, grabbing both of my teammates and dragging them to the nearest hall. Explosions trailed in our footsteps.

“You got some ‘splaining to dooo!” 

Then a veritable tsunami of water swept us out of the room.