Chapter 34: The Helmet of Fate

(Aden's P.O.V)

I was tongue-tied, mouth slightly open in shock. The origin of my powers was similar to the Helmet of Fate. That…that was… surprisingly believable. It made a lot of sense. The Avatar's role was basically keeping balance between the material and spiritual world. Granted, I didn't understand what that meant in the DC world but that purpose was not unlike the Lords Of Order.

Their purpose was to maintain order and foil Lords of Chaos like Klarion. Another thing was that the Avatar spirit was a high tier supernatural entity aligned to peace and light which made her a close relation to the Lords of Order, the Antithesis of the Lords of Chaos. It was convoluted at it's core because I doubt I possessed Raava's spirit inside me.

Why was I so sure of this? For starters, I wasn't a super powerful bending master reincarnated every generation to maintain peace among the four bending nations and secondly, The Avatar System siphoned it's energy from the Blind Eternities. That couldn't be where a Lord Of Order like Nabu acquired his powers. I wasn't a fan of the comics but I think, a lord of Order represents the extreme embodiment of stagnation which to a short lived being like a human can be misinterpreted as good.

A Lord of Chaos is vice versa. The extreme agents of Anarchy. Where was I going with this point? Their powers had a mystical origin and could be explained away by high tier magic or something. My own powers seemed like a complex science project in comparison. So the question remains, why did Red Tornado sense that our energies were similar? Could that mean that maybe I possessed an innate talent for the mystic arts apart from the powers I got from the Avatar System? Interesting but unlikely. This wasn't something I could solve now but maybe if I studied the Helmet I could get the answers to my questions.

"I think we need full hands on deck with this. The rest of the team's help will prove invaluable."
I informed Red Tornado after thinking about it.

The mission details were coming back to me now. Basically, Klarion and Abracadabra, a Supervillain who used technology to fake magic had abducted Kent Nelson, the retired so that he could help them gain access to the Tower of Fate and steal the Helmet of Fate. The team intervenes and they end up fighting off Klarion when Wally puts on the Helmet of Fate and gains access to immense mystical ability.

We could take on Klarion as long as we worked together and targeted his pet cat, Teekl which was his anchor to the real world. It wasn't going to be easy but a part of me was excited. Excited to see how I matched up against someone like Klarion.

"Negative. This mission does not require assistance from the rest. It is a simple reconnaissance to the Tower of Fate. I have already investigated the premises myself. You'll go there to see if I have missed anything."
I frowned. Ok, I get that he doesn't know how badly this shit will go down but come on! Haven't they learned something from all our past missions?
"With all due respect, Tornado. I don't think that's a good idea. All of our past missions have had some unforeseen developments. Going in less than prepared is…"

"Are you not confident in carrying out this task?"
His question drew me up short.
"No. That's not what I'm saying…"
"If any 'Unforeseen developments' do occur withdraw and contact me immediately. That said, your point does have merit. You can take the team with you."
With that he left me on the beach feeling weirded out by the whole thing. It wasn't like Red Tornado to do things hastily but I guess I could understand his desperation. He must have been feeling useless that he hadn't found out Kent's whereabouts and was instead stuck pulling surveillance at the Watchtower. I could also excuse him because in his opinion, this wasn't a dangerous mission…just an investigation to see if we could find out anything about Kent's disappearance.

I finished up with my exercises, making sure I had sufficiently upped my control over the sonic attacks. Something told me I would need them for what we would be facing.

After school was out, the rest of the team was gathered at the hall. All except for Robin who was with Batman in Gotham.
"So Aqualad, you said there was a mission for us?"
Kid Flash asked while stuffing his face with a burger.
"Not exactly. It doesn't come from Batman. Red Tornado has asked us to check up on the disappearance of an old friend of his from when he was part of the Justice Society."
"Sweet! Maybe I can get another souvenir. Those guys had some awesome adventures back then."
Wally said.

"Ugh! Is that all you you care about?"
Artemis questioned while giving the fastest boy in the world the stink eye.
"Nope. I can give you a list if you're so interested about my likes though, Artemis."
Wally shot back smoothly, making the rest of us laugh.
"Focus. Maelstrom will do the briefing."
Aqualad ordered and everyone settled down.

I stepped forward and swiped my hand at the projector near the wall. An image of an 80 or so year old man appeared on the screen.
"This is Kent Nelson. Otherwise known as Dr. Fate and he's been missing for more than 2 weeks…"
The briefing went smoothly. I answered all their questions, even the dumb and idiotic ones from Wally. Artemis was close to exploding in anger when Wally pretended he believed in magic to impress M'gann. I was kinda annoyed but I knew that soon he would change his whole outlook on magic.

I tucked the key to the Tower of Fate that Red Tornado had given me earlier in the day and we left for Salem, where the Tower was located.
"So Wally, when did you realize your 'honest affinity' for Sorcery?"
I sighed. Here we go again.
Wally cleared his throat and responded to Artemis question with a lie that almost made me roll my eyes.
"Well I huh…before I became Kid Flash, I seriously thought about becoming a Wizard."

I tuned them out just as we arrived at the coordinates given to us by Red Tornado. The bio-ship opened up and we all jumped out. After deeming that this wasn't a real mission, the team had opted to go in our civilian attire. I didn't argue against that because I knew the fight would take place inside the Tower of Fate. That meant the chances for a civilian spotting us in our real life identities was close to nil. That said, I palmed the Balaclava inside my pocket comfortingly. I wasn't exactly comfortable with taking that risk. Robin had the right idea to always carry a domino mask for when heroics were needed.

"Everyone spread out and look around."
Aqualad gave the order and everyone fanned out. I didn't jump to use the key because I wanted to leave a bigger impression on Wally when the Tower appeared before his eyes despite not existing a few moments prior.

We didn't find anything and regrouped.
"There's nothing here. Could Tornado have given us the wrong coordinates?"
Connor asked.
"Unlikely."
I shook my head.
"So what do you think it is, adaptive micro-optical electronics and phase shifting?"
Artemis asked our resident Speedster who was also the expert in technology and engineering barring Robin. Wally spared a look at M'gann and quickly changed what he was about to say.
"Huh…it's..clearly mystical."

I couldn't take it anymore.
"Really? You'll have to try better than that to convince me you believe in the mystic arts man."
Wally immediately blushed which caused Artemis to break out in laughter.

"That aside," I begun, showing them the key I had.

"I have an idea. Red Tornado wouldn't give us a key if he wasn't sure we would find the Tower."

I stepped forward and felt a brief hum from the key. My hand reached out and a key hole manifested before me in the open air. I stabbed the key inside and turned it. With a shimmer, a building appeared before us. Everyone gasped at the sight.

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"I can't believe this was here the whole time."

Connor said, awed just like the rest of the group.

I pushed the door open and from inside a torrential aura of power registered in my senses as a static feeling creeping up my skin.

"This place..."

I started.

"I know. The conservatory of magic in Atlantis feels the same way. Raw untamed magical power."

Aqualad finished in a respectful tone.

We proceeded inside and found ourselves in a bare room. The door behind us instantly disappeared as soon as the last person entered.

"Ok. This is getting kinda creepy."

Artemis commented.

"No need to be afraid Artemis. Back in Mars, the Sorcerers were often masters of intrigue and strangeness. Maybe it's similar on earth too."

M'gann commented in that positive optimism that I found so endearing. I regret that the longer she stays on earth the more she's going to realize just how much the world actually sucks.

"Greetings. You have entered with a key but the Tower dies not recognize you. Please state your purpose and intent."

A projection of Kent Nelson appeared before us and declared.

Before any of us could stop him, Wally stepped forward.

"We are true believers, here to find Dr. Fate."

"Dammit!"

I cursed out loud, shocking everyone present. How had I forgotten about Wally and his big mouth?!

The projection disappeared and disaster followed. The floor below us gave out and we plummeted towards a lava pit.

"Wally, I will kill youuu!!!"

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