Countdown (21 page)

plump ginger-colored cat with a singularly evil-looking expression perched upon the boy’s shoulder. Its slitted green eyes regarded Mary with palpable disdain. “Maybe,” she conceded.

“My name is Klarion,” he volunteered, “and this is Teekl. We’re from Limbo Town, home to the lost population of Roanoke. I’m a Witch Boy.”

“Good for you,” Mary said suspiciously. She remembered hearing about Roanoke in school; the first English colony in the Americas, its inhabitants had vanished mysteriously over five hundred years ago.
Guess that explains the Puritan getup,
she thought,
assuming he’s telling the truth.
“I’m Mary Marvel.”

Klarion gestured at the sprawling bazaar around them. His soft voice had retained his ancestors’ British accent. “What are you in the market for, Mary Marvel?”

'
I wish I knew,
she thought. “To be honest, I just kind of stumbled onto this place.”

That was true enough; ever since getting kicked out of Shadowcrest, she had been flying around the world at random, trying to figure out what to do next. She felt bad about the way things had turned out with Zatanna, but that didn’t change the fact that she still needed to get a handle on her new magical powers. Maybe the Fates had led her to this place for a reason?

“Chung Ling Soo Square is a very insular community,” Klarion observed. He stroked his familiar’s furry head, eliciting a purr in response. “I’m quite surprised no one has tried to kill you yet.”

Maybe they know better than to mess with me,
she thought. “I recognized the concealment spell from above, but you’re the first person to speak to me.” She reached out to pet the cat, but backed off when Teekl hissed in warning. Orange hair rose up along the feline’s spine.
What a nasty pussycat!
“So far I’ve only been cursed at in Mandarin and gotten some real dirty looks.” She shrugged her shoulders. “Nothing I can’t handle.”

Klarion nodded as they wandered through the market together. “Clearly you possess some ability in the art of magic; otherwise, you wouldn’t have found this place.”

A trio of ghostly giants, as huge as they were immaterial, stepped over their heads. Enormous bags of bones were slung over their mammoth shoulders. Nobody in the market gave them a second look. Mary watched them slowly fade from sight.

“Let’s just say magic and I are old friends, but I’m in the market for some new tricks.” She decided to lay her cards on the table. “Maybe I’ve come to the right place?” Klarion considered her words. “The problem with magic freely given is that it is never valued as much as that which is gained at a price.”

Was that why things didn’t work with 7/itanna ?
Mary wondered. Zee probably took her magic for granted; she couldn’t possibly comprehend how hard it was for Mary "to keep control of Black Adam’s unexpected gift. “I guess that’s what happened with the last person who tried to help me.”

Klarion seemed to understand. “Some rare folks are bom with magic in their blood. Altruistic types are happy to share their abilities, but every other magic user has to barter.”

Like I bartered with Black Adam ?
she thought.
What did I lose when I gained his power?

They paused in front of a wooden stall hawking jade amulets and bracelets. Charms and incantations were engraved upon the talismans. Laughing children chased a walking corpse through the street behind them as a w'hite-haired wraith floated by.

“What could I possibly barter with anyway?” Mary asked. Intrigued by the magical jewelry on display in the booth, she stepped closer for a better look.

The Witch Boy chuckled slyly. “You’d be surprised what passes for currency around here;*

Swirling strands of ectoplasm issued from his fingertips, trapping Mary inside a glowing sphere. The boulder-sized globe spun about madly: “Hey!” she cried out, tumbling head over heels inside the sphere. “What the hell are you doing?”

“Don’t worry, Mary Marvel,” Klarion said. “And cover your ears.”

“What?” She tried to break free from the translucent sphere, but its constant spinning threw her off balance. Dizzy and disoriented, she bounced clumsily against its walls.

“Your ears!” Klarion called out helpfully. He demonstrated by sticking his fingers into his own ears. Teekl buried his head beneath his paws. “Like this!”

Firecrackers went off loudly. Pyrotechnic green flames blasted the sphere, hurling it into the air away from the booth. Inside the careening prison, Mary was buffeted and tossed about. The noise of the firecrackers drowned out her indignant yelps. Startled shoppers gazed at the spectacle in alarm.

‘There, there, brave Teekl,” Klarion cooed to the agitated feline, who clearly did not approve of the racket. “Everything’s fine!”

An aged Chinese wizard, awash in a flowing emerald robe, dashed out from the endangered stall. Golden dragons were embroidered on his garments. His long white beard flapped in the wind.

“Self-defense!” he shouted to his worried neighbors. “She approached my stall uninvited. Her raw magic disturbed my spells!” Greedy eyes assessed Mary through the shimmering walls of her prison. “I demand compensation!”

“Compensation?” The bouncing globe finally came to a stop upon a stretch of cobblestoned pavement. Regaining her balance, Mary tore her way out of the ectoplasmic sphere, which came apart into shreds of formless vapor. “For nearly nuking me?”

Charging across the street, she grabbed on to the old man by his collar and yanked him off his feet. The snow-white strands of his beard frizzed out from his face as a powerful jolt of mystical lightning shocked him to his bones. His eyes rolled inward until only the whites were visible. A whimper escaped his Ups. Smoke rose from his robes.

“I’ll give you payback, you wretch!” Mary snarled. Klarion tapped her on the shoulder. “Mar}'?”

She glanced back at him in annoyance. “Yes?” “Pardon me for interrupting,” the Witch Boy said, “but I believe he will trouble us no more.”

Huh?
Mary turned back toward her victim, who was now trembling helplessly in her grasp. A twinge of guilt pricked her conscience as she realized for the first time just how frail and frightened the old man looked. His bloodless face was as white as a ghost’s. His creased skin was as thin as rice paper. Rheumy eyes pleaded for mercy.
Holy Moley,
she thought.
He’s scared to death of me.

She let go of his collar and the vanquished wizard dropped awkwardly onto the ground. Gathering his singed rohfes around him, he scurried away from her as swiftly as his ancient bones could carry him. So intense was his need to escape that he abandoned his wares without a backward glance, frantic prayers spilling from his mouth.

“Wait!” she blurted, anxious to make amends. “I’m sorry.... I didn’t mean ...”

“Forget him, Mary Marvel,” Klarion urged her. “You have more important things to consider... such as how to thank me for saving your life.”

That got her attention. Whirling around, she confronted the boy and his cat. “And how exactly did you do
that"!”
“By shielding you within that protective cocoon, of course,” he said, as though that should have been self-evident. “I knew that your interest in those jade trinkets would provoke a hostile reaction.”

“Uh-huh.” Mary knew she was being hustled. “No way. I could have handled that geezer just fine on my own.” Her hands rested confidently upon her hips. “I’m not letting you blackmail me.”

Klarion clutched his chest, as though deeply hurt by her accusation. “You’ll find only charity in my heart, Friend Mary, not malice. All I ask in return for my service

ISSUHTDeWN til

is just the tiniest, barest, most insignificant fraction of your power.”

“Is that so?” she asked. “And what’s in it for me?”

“A simple trade,” he assured her. “For the merest taste of your occult puissance, I’ll help you master the forces that rage within you.”

At least he’s up-front about it,
she thought.
Unlike Zatanna, who promised me everything
,
then threw me out the first time I screwed up.

She gave his offer serious thought. Certainly, she still needed help controlling Black Adam’s tainted magic; look at the way she had just blown her top at that old man a few minutes ago. Why not make this deal with Witch Boy here? She had so much magic in her now that she could afford to spare him a spark.

, “All you need do is take my hand,” he explained.

*
Okay,
Mary thought. She reached out to him until their fingers were less than an inch apart. “Just a touch,” she reminded him.

Klarion wanted more, however. To her surprise, his slender blue fingers stretched like rubber and wrapped themselves around her wrist and upper arm. Latching on to her like leeches, the sinuous digits refused to let her go. Mary felt a sharp stinging sensation. Static electricity crackled beneath the Witch Boy’s hungry fingers.

Teekl hissed in excitement. The cat’s green eyes glowed with demonic glee. Claws extended, he lunged at Mary.

“Yes, Teekl,” Klarion promised the familiar. “You can have her once she’s drained.”

Dammit,
Mary thought.
I should have known this was a trick!
Her temper flared as she knocked Klarion away from her with a vicious backhanded blow to his face. His ductile fingers came loose, tearing away bits of skin beneath her black gloves. Teekl sank his claws into her shoulder, but she yanked the snarling cat from her flesh and flung him after his duplicitous master. The fiendish feline let out a caterwauling screech as it tumbled through the air, finally landing on its feet on the other side of the market.

Mary’s blood boiled. It seemed like everyone was out to backstab her these days.
Fine,
she thought.
I can give as well as I get.
Lightning crackled about her, setting nearby banners and paper lanterns aflame. “Okay, Witch Boy! You wanted a drink from the fire hose? You got it!”

But it seemed like the little sneak had had enough. “T-Teekl... ?” he murmured weakly as he lay sprawled upon the pavement. Fresh bruises added a touch of color to his pallid face. He looked about anxiously for his filthy pet, who slunk to his side. The cat’s hackles raised as it glowered back at Mary.

Mary considered eliminating these two once and for all, just to send a message to all the other snakes and liars out there. She was sick and tired of people who thought they could outsmart her.

,
Yes, Mary,
a familiar voice whispered in her brain.
Kill them if you like. They won't be missed.

It took Mary a second to realize that the voice was not her own. “Who said that?”

The one you ’re searching for.

“Right,” Mary said sarcastically. She’d heard that before. “Someone else out to take what’s mine.”

Oh, I’m more like you than anyone. Follow my voice and you ’11 see what I mean.

Mary launched herself into the air. If nothing else, she wanted to find out just who had the nerve to invade her thoughts this way. Her clenched fists tore through the sky. “This better not be another trick.”

Trust me, Mary. You won’t be disappointed.

She left Klarion to deal with the angry merchants below.

22 AND CODNTING.

GOTHAM BiTY. " 'EARTH-15.

“This
is a gross violation of your jurisdiction, brother,” the second Monitor declared ominously, “Your intemperate actions, however well-meaning, jeopardize the integrity of the Multiverse.”

Although he obviously belonged to the same alien race, Donna noticed subtle differences between this Monitor and the one who had recruited her and Jason. This Monitor was clean-shaven, for one thing, and instead of comrows, his long black hair was knotted in the back. His futuristic armor looked equally formidable, though, and, like his kinsman, he towered a head or two above the ordinary-sized humanoids populating the park.

“Called it,” Jason gloated. “Didn’t I say this was serious bad news?”

“Shut up,” Donna said. Now was no time to be distracted by juvenile banter. Between the two of them, the godlike Monitors outclassed them all in power. She didn’t want to get caught in the middle of a fight between them. “Nix Uotan!” their own Monitor addressed the newcomer. “You do not belong here either. What business have you interfering in my affairs?”

“You forced our hand, Solomon,” the new Monitor said. “Your reckless travels have not escaped the notice of the rest of our number. The Monitor of this world originally wished to confront you on her own, but we persuaded her that a more unified response was desired. Therefore I have been dispatched by our assembly to present our ruling.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “You will surrender yourself to my custody and be returned to the Nexus of Realities, there to stand trial for crimes against the Multiverse.”

“Crimes?” The original Monitor, whose name was apparently Solomon, raised his voice in anger. “Everything I have done has been to save the Multiverse from a universal threat!”

'‘That’s enough, both of you!” Batman strode forward decisively. He snatched a Batarang from his utility belt. “I don’t know which of you aliens is in the right, but this is my city and my world and I want some say in what happens here.” Superwoman, Wonder Woman, and the female Atom formed ranks behind him. “The Justice League is taking charge of this situation right now!”

Nix Uotan glanced at the heroes in annoyance. With a wave of his hand, he teleported them away from the scene. “You see,” he accused Solomon, “you have already disturbed the native inhabitants of this Earth.” He turned his scarlet eyes on Donna and Jason. “Moreover, you have violated Multiversal law by removing these humans from their own Earth and exposing them to realities they were never meant to encounter.”

“No harm was done to Earth-One by extracting these two,” Solomon insisted. “They are both anomalies who should have remained dead in the first place. They were expendable!”

“What the hell?” Jason blurted. “You chose us because we’re supposed to be dead anyway?”