Canary Cry

Chapter 12: Denial

"If we can be of help." Aqualad offers more maturely than the speedster. Red Tornado opening a holo-screen with a picture of an older man with grey hair and a cane.

"This is Kent Nelson, a friend. He is one hundred and six years old." RT says.

"Guy doesn't look a day over ninety." Wally whispers to Kate and Artemis.

"And he has been missing for twenty-three days. Kent was a charter member of the Justice Society, the precursor to your mentors Justice League." Kent Nelson's picture changed into a picture of some guy in a golden helmet. Goldfinch had no idea who he was, but Kaldur seemed to have the answer.

"Of course, Nelson was earth's sorcerer supreme. He was Doctor Fate." That name rung a bell for Kate, she remembers one of the boys in one of the many group homes she had been in being obsessed with the Justice League before the Justice League. Specifically, Doctor Fate and his mystical abilities. The only reason she even remembered was because he was so annoying about it, it was the only thing he would talk about.

"More like Doctor Fake, guy knows a little advanced science and 'Dumbledore's' it up to scare the bad guys and impress the babes." Wally whispered again, sounding so sure.

"Kent may simply be on one of his walk abouts, but he is care taker of the Helmet of Fate. The source of the Doctor's mystic might and it is unwise to leave such power unguarded." Red Tornado says, Kate wasn't totally on board with the whole 'magic is real' thing just yet, mainly because she hadn't seen it with her own eyes and she wasn't a person that held a lot of blind faith (none actually). But she wasn't going to pull a Wally and just shoot it down completely. But as it stood, she could only really think about magic in the terms that it was something in the books she read and not something in real life.

"He's just like the great sorcerer priests and priestesses of Mars. I would be honored to find him." M'gann says admirably, probably happy to find some familiarity to home on Earth. Her response had Wally changing his tune real quick.

"Me too! Sooo honored, I can barely stand it. Magic rocks." Wally did cheesy 'rock n roll' hands, making Kate roll her eyes, equally annoyed and amused with Wally's usual antics of trying to get M'ganns' attention.

"Take this, it is the key to the Tower of Fate." Red tornado handed Kaldur the golden key he showed the group of teens.

"What are the chances we both so admire the mystic arts?" Wally asked M'gann in a way he probably thought was being suave. Artemis and Kate shared a matching look of exasperation and disbelief.

~~*~~

SALEM

August 19, 20:22 EDT

They all dressed down into civies, Kate wearing her usual light wash, ripped, mom jeans and long sleeve shirt. The toe of her Doc Martens scraping against the floor of the Bioship in boredom as her hands played with the sleeves of her new leather jacket. It was a little strange not wearing her old one, the worn material of the too small piece of outerwear had become like a weighted blanket to the teen.

Giving it up was akin to shedding the last piece of her old life, and it was a lot harder than she thought it would be.

"So, Wally, when did you first realize your 'honest affinity' for sorcery?" Artemis asked sarcastically.

"Well, I-uh, I don't like to brag but before I became Kid Flash, I seriously considered becoming a wizard myself." Wally leaned back in this chair, his arms crossed behind his head, everyone in the Bioship beside M'gann looking at him with disbelief and annoyance.

"We've reached Tornado's coordinates but..." M'gann trailed off.

"Nothing's there." Kate realized, seeing nothing but an empty plot of land.