Northern Pakistan
July 28, 6:22
When I chose to dip my toes in this hero and SHIELD stuff, it never occurred to me that I'd be seeing so many dead people. I always imagined stepping in before the atrocities and disasters occurred, not after.
Well, life had given me a brutal punch to the gut by cooking up such a situation. After the flood in Bangladesh, I added disaster watches to the list of the analyst team's responsibilities.
They were supposed to notify me when there was an imminent natural catastrophe threatening lives so I could muster what little field agents the organisation boasted to provide aid.
They had done exactly that. Yesterday, they gave me the forecasted reports of monsoons in the northern areas of Pakistan and the strong possibility of heavy rainfall.
Floods were predicted, but nobody could've predicted that they'd strike so hard and fast in the deep of night, especially when people were asleep in their homes.
Imagine being lost in the throes of sleep in the wee hours of the morning around 2:00 AM and then you are woken up suddenly by the roaring of water and the crumbling of the building that was supposed to keep you safe.
That was the story of the hundreds of people that had died and the thousands more that had been displaced. Hundreds of villages, I'm talking almost a thousand had been affected, a good number of them only partially.
More than 200 had been wiped off the map. Not even a single structure remained, what little was left of their foundations buried under unending streams of brown water, the same water carrying away bits and pieces and people, some alive, some dead.
My current location was one of the partially destroyed villages. Like the hundred field agents I'd sent in teams of two to other villages to help, I wore the Mark 1 Tactical suit.
It wasn't power armor, but with the kind of boosts it offered in terms of strength, speed, and durability, and the little knick knacks installed in it, it might as well be.
I hovered above a collapsed building with the aid of the suit's small, compact jetpack, my HUD overlaid with the scans from the more powerful ones in the Zephyr cloaked in the sky. There were multiple people in the ruined mess, but their silhouettes matched the cold blue of the surroundings.
Only three dull orange forms stood out, two little ones and one adult. I waved over the two agents also present at the location, and they finished covering the arranged corpses with sheets before activating their own packs to join me.
The suits came with helmets, but the identities of the agents didn't elude me.
"Agent Hoff, check in with overwatch and rendezvous with another team. There are more villages and more people out there."
"Yes sir," he nodded and took off in another direction.
I held my arms out over the rubble and said to the other agent, "Agent Michaels, prepare to give medical aid. There are three civilians alive down there. I'm bringing them out now."
"Roger that. Preparing," she soared back down, deftly avoiding the crowd of people that had gathered.
The chant for the targeted teleportation rolled off my tongue and locked on to the three people, purple outlines of energy encasing them. I uttered the last words of the chant and the three people materialized near Michaels' location, where hasty medical tents had been erected.
She went to work immediately, and I made to descend. The alarm cries and clamoring of the people stopped me, the translators in my suit picking up multiple cries for help and requests for their own family and friends to be rescued as well.
Sighing, I descended and spoke, altering the language that came out of the helmet's speaker. "I'm sorry. They were the only ones alive. I'm sorry."
Before they could swarm me, I vanished and repositioned myself near agent Michaels, crossing my arms while I watched the people. I kept an eye on them while Lyla tended to the victims.
They would need further medical attention, but she had done a good job of making sure they would live to receive it. Lucky couldn't begin to describe this situation. Out of the fifty or so people in the building, they were the only survivors.
Reminded once again about the immense casualties, I contacted overwatch, basically Economos and his team. I had tasked them to find me a solution to the floods, because the destructive waters were still flowing.
They had been briefed on my ability to create portals. Their job was to find where to place them and where the water they sucked in were going to be dumped. And they were taking too long.
"Economos."
"Sir. We've identified safe destinations for the flood waters—"
"The sources. Have you identified the sources? Where should the portals be placed?"
"About that sir. We're still working on that, but we've narrowed down what rivers contributed to the flash floods and have concluded that the portals will have to be placed at upstream locations."
"How many rivers?" I asked, checking my magical energy reserves. More calls for help were coming in from the other teams, and I'd respond soon. But the dozens of prior villages I'd gone to had required help that even my technology couldn't provide.
"Five sir. And we estimate that each will need at least two portals to reduce peak flow."
"How long?"
"Sir?"
"How long till you have what I need?"
"Thirty minutes."
"You have twenty," I said and cut the line, focusing on agent Michaels. She was done with the patients, and the scans I just conducted showed they'd live to see another day.
"Sir, are we going?" She must be getting the requests for help as well.
"Yes," I said and chanted another portal. "But this can't continue. We need help."
I waved her forward and she stepped through. Right on her heels, we both ended up in another village, a smaller one but devastated nonetheless. The three agents present, Vasquez, Russell and Fox, clawed at a collapsed building with their tractor beams, removing chunks off it and tossing it aside.
"Watch the villagers," I said to Michaels and flicked a finger at a piece of wood that flew too close to a civilian for my liking. "Stop," I ordered the agents and flew forward.
"Sir," they obeyed and spread out. The reason for their frantic actions revealed itself in my HUD and I held both arms toward the rubble, spreading magical telekinetic feelers through the mess.
Once I had a tight hold on things, I spread both arms slowly.
The rubble came apart slowly, chunks of concrete, wood, ruined furniture and appliances and even two deceased separating from each other to reveal another agent, Noble, in the basement.
He held on tightly to a piece of roof—or was it a floor? Didn't matter—with the suit's inbuilt tractor beam, three kids and a elderly man shielded beneath him.
The light hit all four of them and he registered our presence instantly. He tossed the roof aside and stood up slowly. I gave him a nod and the other agents moved in to help.
While things went on in the background, I retreated to a secluded but openly visible location and collated all the images and video the suits had recorded and forwarded them to Mike.
These floods had caught everyone by surprise. The analyst team monitoring it closely at my request was the only reason we were here. If things proceeded as they were, it would take hours before this country's authorities became aware.
As for international coverage and awareness, it would take days. However, even knowing wouldn't help the problem, because the floods had taken out communications and bridges.
Roads and pathways had been covered by water. Evacuation was a pipe dream. That's why I wanted to cut off the water at the source. And to do that, I needed help.
Using the contacts I'd accrued during my time with the team, I personally contacted the League members, focusing mainly on the magic users, of which they had only one, Zatara.
Doctor Fate wasn't part of the League, and I didn't have his contact, but I did know who could reach him. Red Tornado should've received my request right about now. Having a powerhouse like Fate would help the portal plan greatly.
"Sir," Economos interrupted my correspondence with the League and the team. "We have identified the first location."
"Send it."
"Sending… now."
The images of the location popped up on the holoscreen above my watch and I memorized them all. Unlike Zeta-tech, magical teleportation required me to form a strong metal image of the destination, especially if I'd never stepped foot there.
Quickly relaying orders to the agents present, I activated the candle flame for ultra precision and chanted the familiar portal spell. The flat circle I'd grown used to appeared before me and I activated my jetpack, flying into it.
The scenery changed to a wild river with rushing brown waters near some mountains. I was right above the maelstrom of strong tides, but not high enough. The jetpack responded to my will and sent me higher, until the view became almost panoramic.
My HUD singled out the optimum locations calculated by the team and I went to work. Positioning myself at a spot that was upstream, I created three even spaced portals and put them in the right places, using my new eyes to keep them going.
I would personally return to undo them once the disaster had passed. For now however, they would stay since it would take quite a while for the effects to be visible. Just in case of anything, I added two more portals.
My magic energy was close to tanking, and the message I just received didn't help things. I read Red Tornado's reply to my earlier request and I clenched my fist tightly.
Kent Nelson had gone missing, and from the looks of it, it had been days. Why did this have to happen now? Couldn't The Light wait until people weren't dying to execute their stupid plans?
Fucking assholes.
.
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Salem
July 28, 6:22
To Red Tornado, Kent Nelson going missing didn't mean much, because the aged man took similar sabbaticals from time to time. He'd just vanish without informing anyone, travelling the Earth and doing all manner of things by his lonesome.
Upon my insistence and explanation of events regarding Klarion's play for the helmet of fate, Tornado gave in and showed me where to go with the key to the location where the artifact in question was located.
This was a solo mission. No League members and definitely no team. On one hand Red Tornado explained when I asked that if my intentions were truly nefarious, the tower would deal with me.
On the other hand, I felt bringing a group of teenagers into a possible confrontation with a Lord of Chaos, one with the temperament of a petulant child and the malevolence of a demon did not seem like a wise decision.
Even the presence of my trusty Soulsword didn't take away the faint nerves I'd accumulated on my way to this place. Faust's knowledge had bolstered the defenses I could mount against magical attacks. But Klarion was in a league of his own.
While I needed to chant, he just needed to wave his hand to generate the effect his whims dictated. While I needed to watch my reserves and gauge the way I cast spells, he had a constant connection to an endless source of magical energy.
I had my work cut out for me.
Cloaked from sight with the technological and magical means available to me, I scanned the empty park and the abandoned buildings nearby and came up with nothing. Not even Sorcerous Sight and Mystic Eyes of Permanence picked up anything.
However, it was all coming to me. Klarion, his cat and Abra Kadabra were here somewhere with Nelson. Maybe they could even see me. Spider Sense hadn't said anything however. Still, I chose not to trust it today due to the parties involved.
Abra Kadabra was a fugitive from the future with technology that gave credence to the saying "any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." And Klarion, well, you already knew the kind of monster he was.
Gripping the old key tight, I kept my magic perceiving abilities active and stuck it forward. The front portion of the key with the teeth disappeared into thin air, and I felt the familiar constriction of a lock around it.
I turned it and a brown, medieval style door appeared. Without hesitation, I pushed it open and tried to remove the key but failed. Before I could do anything else, the door shut on its own and disappeared, a wall taking its place.
An apparition that was a splitting image of Kent Nelson appeared right after and started to speak.
"Greetings. You entered with a key but the tower does not recognise you. Please state your purpose and intent."
Here goes nothing.
"Kent Nelson has gone missing. Red Tornado sent me to ascertain his safety and that of the helmet of fate."
The apparition smiled and hummed, disappearing with a wriggle. Right in front of me, the terrain shifted and a flight of stairs assembled itself, a floating walking stick waiting at its very top.
I began the climb immediately, resisting the urge to skip the steps. With my abilities, I could clear ten with a single leap, but something about this whole place and situation impressed upon me to take things slow and calm.
So one by one I climbed and climbed, the minutes rolling by till I arrived. Again, my magic perception abilities revealed nada when I gazed upon the stick. Not yet giving up on trying to understand the tower, I slowly and gently wrapped a hand around it.
What was it even supposed to be or even do? I mean, it clearly belonged to Kent Nelson—oooohhh. Forgoing the urge to slap my forehead, I prepared a tracking spell only to get yanked from my location by the stick.
It pulled me up and teleported me to a different location. Kent Nelson's location.
Staircases moving in a thousand different directions made up the world around me, but I could make out the bound old man and his captors from my perch. And they could see me too.
I stood up in a flash and attempted to summon the Soulsword, only for the bound old man to beat me to it.
"Well would you look at that," he remarked and flew from his position toward me.
He grabbed the walking stick and the ropes keeping him restrained wilted to nothing.
"NOOO!" Klarion's annoying voice sounded, but Kent paid him no heed and pointed his staff at the wall behind me. That definitely wasn't there before.
He stood up and we both went into the elevator doors that opened, the last thing I saw being Klarion's twin bolts of energy lancing toward us.
Thankfully, the doors shut before his attack reached us.
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