[indent][b][u]March 1st, 9:33 AM
Kasimir Castle, Gotham[/u][/b][/indent]

[color=orchid]”Ted?”[/color] gasped Karen, bolting to her feet. With her eyes now firmly trained on the glimmering fireplace, she trepidatiously began stepping around the couch. She would recognize that voice anywhere—and it was one she was actually quite relieved to hear right now.

If there was anyone that would be able to help with her current predicament, it would be the Firebringer.

But wait… he’d said “son”...

Was he here to talk to Mal? 

[color=orangered]”...Uncle Ted?”[/color] Was all that left the boys throat as he cast a sidelong glance and a Kasimir brow at the fireplace, seemingly not at all flustered by the fact that [i]it was fucking talking.[/i] [color=orangered]”You making housecalls now?”[/color]

An indignant snort from the possessed fireplace answered the boy’s question.

[color=maroon]”Well, funny story; I was just sitting about on the couch, eating my cheerios-- the frosted kind-- and watching the idiot box when I just so [i]happened[/i] see that some kid I used to tutor [i]somehow[/i] managed to [i]catch the ire of the scion of an order of mages that’ve been trying to take over the damned planet for thousands of years.”[/i][/color] The Firebringer snarked right back. [color=maroon]”Seemed worth checking out, at the very least.”[/color] 

At that, Mal froze mid-scratch of his dog’s ear, and slowly rose to his feet. Something that Buttons protested with a whimper but Gwen seemingly had the presence of mind to allow.

[color=orangered][b]”...What?”[/b][/color]

[color=maroon]”It’s a long story... now get over here, dammit- I’d rather not have to shout.”[/color]

But it was Karen who was the first to approach the fireplace, feeling that—before anything—the Firebringer needed to be made aware of the “situation” she had found herself trapped in these past two weeks. [color=orchid]”Ted, there’s something else—I’m not the wizard anymore. That is to say, I can’t say the [i]word[/i] to transform as of maybe two weeks ago.”[/color]

She then shot an apologetic glance towards Mal. It wasn’t that she didn’t think that his problems weren’t important, she just felt like whatever they were, they would be able to deal with them a lot better if she was back to her old self in full.

Especially since this apparently involved magic.

A pregnant silence filled the room at that, until finally…

[color=maroon]”...You fucking [i]what?[/i]”[/color] 

Karen nodded solemnly. [color=orchid]”You heard me—I can’t transform. Not like last time, where nothing happened when I said the word—I just can’t [i]say[/i] it now.”[/color]

Feeling like it would be best to simply show him, Karen instinctively took a step back and drew in a large gulp of air. [color=orchid]”SHHHHHHH—”[/color]

Despite a very clear effort—a vein had started rising on her temple—on her part to speak the word, it refused to be heard. She had tried several times after that, to a similar lack of success. Finally, she held her hands up in a shrug.

[color=orchid]”I try every day, but it’s always the same,”[/color] she explained, thankful she hadn’t accidentally farted this time.

Another silence followed that as the magically-animated flames drank in [i]that[/i] particular little nugget of information… until finally a long, low sigh escaped the old Titan over his fiery magic telephone.

[color=maroon]”Malcolm, is she fucking with me right now?”[/color]

The boy in question, who’d gotten up by that point and had made his way over as well, two dogs in tow, was quick to respond.

[color=orangered]”Not unless she can fake a sudden onset of lockjaw.”[/color] The boy replied, looking the currently-not-wizard over. [color=orangered]”...Or the irritable bowel that came around [i]last time[/i] she tried.”[/color]

A low hiss came from the Titan in the flames at that as he apparently took a deep breath, followed by another pause as the deity very clearly bit his tongue to stop some torrential storm of profanity from spilling out.

[color=maroon]”So let me get this straight; you’ve been like this for [i]two whole weeks.”[/i][/color] The old god spoke, almost [i]seething[/i] now. [color=maroon]”...And you’ve waited ‘til [i]now[/i] to tell me this… [i]why?”[/i][/color]

Karen scratched the back of her head sheepishly at this, looking away from the—literally—angry fire roaring in front of her. [color=orchid]”Because I was still kind of out of my head after, well, being on the Rock for so long. I don’t know...I just wasn’t thinking or [i]feeling[/i] like myself for the longest time, and...I only just kind of realized that recently...”[/color]

It was strange, reflecting back on those months spent alone on the Rock, in truth. It was like being a fly on the wall, looking down at herself, almost. The first few months she spent there were easier to remember, but—ironically—the more [i]recent[/i] memories proved to be much more difficult to recall.

It was like she had been progressively getting smaller over the course of that period. Like she was shrinking away to nothing. It sent a shiver down her spine.

[color=orchid]”I’m not sure what it was—but I think it’s because I stayed the Wizard for too long. Somehow, I—[i]Karen[/i]—started disappearing, and now that I’m me again, it’s like Arcana is now gone…”[/color]

For a moment, the ancient being in the fireplace said nothing. 

The steadily climbing ambient temperature in the room, however, spoke volumes as a very different voice echoed out from within the gently cracking flames.

[color=darkorchid]”...And if I need a decrepit, obsolete old [i]thing[/i] like yourself again… [i]I will be sure to find someone [b]less pathetic.”[/b][/i][/color] 

Mal’s head slowly turned to his Karen at that, brow raising, but he himself saying nothing as something that sounded an [i]awful lot[/i] like her continued.

[color=darkorchid]”Now get off my Rock, [i]Old Man.[/i] And don’t you [i]ever[/i] come back.”[/color]

Karen nodded quickly, though she had, for a brief moment, looked quite surprised at her own words—she had forgotten them entirely. She definitely remembered saying them now, however. [color=orchid]”Yes! That’s what I mean! I said such awful things—I don’t understand why. I was [i]really[/i] mean to Mal, too, when he called.”[/color]

Drawing a heavy breath, she pinched the bridge of her nose, trying harder to remember everything that had happened in those eight months. The closer to January she got, the more blurry things became.

[color=orchid]”I’m sorry, Ted—I’m [i]really, really[/i] sorry! I’ve just been...like, [i]literally[/i] out of my head for the better part of a year,”[/color] she said, her posture having notably deflated. She looked tired, Karen knew.

The Titan said nothing, though the ambient temperature in the room began to drop back to something a lot less sauna-like… and the fire started to die out.

The Firebringer, it seemed had had enough of this conversation, and had finally hung up.

...Or so it looked, until at last, when all that was left of the crackling flames were fading embers, a low sigh echoed from somewhere within.

[color=maroon]”Well… doesn’t matter, I suppose.”[/color] 

The old man relented, as a gout of flame suddenly sprang forth from the fireplace and deposited him there, physically, on the hardwood floor before the two teenagers. Plainly garbed as ever but still taking a moment to shoot the young Kare-Bear a look that showed he still wasn’t exactly [i]pleased[/i] with her at the moment.

[color=maroon]”We have work to do.”[/color] 

[hr]

[indent][b][u]March 1st, 9:50 AM
The Grotto, Kasimir Castle[/u][/b][/indent]

Karen wasn’t exactly certain when the last time Ted and Zoey had actually met.

Certainly, they had encountered one another since the Titan’s invasion five years ago, but it had still been a while. Knowing Zoey, she probably wasn’t too happy that he was able to simply enter her castle at will, even if he was their ally.

Still, at the moment, they had bigger things to worry about.

[color=orchid]”...and that’s basically everything, Zo,”[/color] said Karen, finishing her explanation of what had happened upstairs. [color=orchid]”Ted said he’s going to help us figure out what to do about my powers.”[/color]

For her part, Zoey was pinching the bridge of her nose with one hand, the other squeezing a bright green stress ball - it beat reaching for a bottle. She stayed like that a few moments even after the explanation was finished, and finally lowered her hand to stare at the three of them with that impassive visage.

Her eyebrow twitched.

[color=crimson]”You’ve lost your powers. Again.”[/color] The billionaire stated flatly. The stress ball made a squeak as it was clenched particularly hard. [color=crimson]”And you saw fit to tell me this only now?”[/color]

[color=maroon]”...Preaching to the choir on that one….”[/color] Ted quietly grumbled under his breath.

[color=crimson][i]”Youth.”[/i][/color]

The old Titan could only offer a shrug and a nod in agreement.

Karen made an indistinguishable grunt of protest at their assessment, before continuing on. [color=orchid]”I was in Atlantis! I was still trying to wrap my head around what was happening. But [i]anyway,[/i] our priority should be trying to figure out why this is happening, and how we can fix it!”[/color]

Honestly, she was getting just a little sick of people being angry at her for one thing or another. It felt like she had spent the whole of this past month catching flak over something or other.

[color=orangered]”Right.”[/color] Mal piqued up, sounding just a [i]wee[/i] bit impatient to just get this whole thing over with so that he could get around to grilling Ted about that ‘World-Conquering Mage Cult’ he’d mentioned earlier [color=orangered]”Well, if we’re gonna fix this, we might as well be sure of what we know first.”[/color]

Crossing his arms and tapping a solitary finger on his elbow in thought, the boy leaned up against a nearby workbench, scanning over that [i]master of making his life complicated,[/i] The Kare-Bear with his glowing orange eyes.

Furrowing his brows he continued. 

[color=orangered]”That big tangled mess of… [i]whatever that is[/i] going from your chest into the damned sky. Is that normal?”[/color]

[color=maroon]”...Wait, [i]you[/i] can see that?”[/color]

[color=orangered]”One thing at a time, Big Guy.”[/color]

Without a word Zoey stood, tossing the stress ball over her shoulder with careless abandon as to where it ended up bouncing to. At the expanded workstation she grabbed one of the numerous sets of goggles hanging from the wall, this one tinged a light purple, and pulled them on even as she turned her gaze to Karen.

A thoughtful hum bubbled up in her throat.

[color=crimson]”There’s always been a tether from Karen to the Rock of Eternity, which is what you’re seeing. After creating these I had the theory that it had been snapped when she lost her powers in the One Week War, but that doesn’t seem to be the problem here.”[/color] Wtihout looking away, Zoey jammed a finger at Malcolm. [color=crimson]”Also, we’re going to have a talk about this new built-in magic vision of yours later.”[/color]

[color=maroon]”Yeah, might need to be there for [i]that[/i] one.”[/color] Ted added, still eyeballing the kid he used to teach math, physics and language to with a peculiar expression.

Malcolm, for his part, just inhaled sharply to keep the internal screaming within him right where it belonged.

[color=orangered][i]”Anyway.[/i] If the connection’s still [i]there,[/i] and the problems-- all that locking up, sneezing and nearly crapping her pants-- only start when she [i]consciously tries to say the word,[/i] could we just… bypass all that [i]mechanically?”[/i][/color] The boy finally offered, rapping his fingers on the workbench’s steel top in thought. [color=orangered]”Stick some diodes on her neck and directly stimulate the vocal chords with a low voltage, maybe?”[/color]  

[color=maroon]”Could work.”[/color] Ted added, head swaying side to side slightly as he finally got to mulling over the problem at hand. [color=maroon]”Something that emulates the exact frequency of her voice saying [i]the word[/i] might also do it, if we can mount it near her connection to The Rock.”[/color]

Karen glanced between the three of them, her lips pursed as she struggled to think of some way to contribute to a conversation that was primarily focused on her and the recovery of her lost powers. She felt rather pathetic at this moment for not really having anything meaningful to add.

[color=orchid]”Err, Zoey...do you think that you could maybe build something like what they’re suggesting?”[/color]

[color=crimson]”Probably.”[/color] Zoey offered carelessly, any dart of her eyes hidden behind the tinted lenses, though she appeared to still be peering at Karen’s neck. [color=crimson]”I’d prefer not to put electricity near your very [i]mortal[/i] neck, but I suppose desperate times - we could even clip together you saying different parts of the word? Hm, in combination with the proper frequency and perhaps a magic surge…”[/color] The Gotham Hero trailed off, turning back to her work station. The goggles were pushed up even as she already began to retrieve different parts, wires - a sketchbook full of ideas. Her voice turned to mumbles as she worked.

[color=orangered]”Welp. Guess that’s my queue…”[/color] Mal stated to no one in particular, though he did offer a cheeky little grin and reassuring wiggle of his brows Karen’s way before, almost like a machine switching on, he went about the grotto grabbing up all the tools not in Zoey’s immediate reach she’d need and sitting down beside her to silently get to work.

Ted, for his part, kept his eyes lingering on the boy for a few moments longer before just softly shaking his head. 

When all this was said and done, he [i]really[/i] needed a word with that kid.

[hr]

[color=orchid]”...So, is this going to hurt?”[/color] Karen couldn’t stop herself from asking, shifting uncomfortably in her chair. She didn’t even like going to the doctors for a shot, in truth, much less having untested technology used on her.

Mind you, she hadn’t been to the doctor since she was a kid.

[color=orangered]”You’ll be fine.”[/color] Mal replied calmly, not even looking up from his laptop as he ran through his final checks. [color=orangered]”We’ll try the frequency synthesizer first, and even if we [i]do[/i] have to move on to electrical stimulation, it should just feel like a little muscle spasm.”[/color]

That was probably meant to be reassuring.

The fact that the boy was now in his Nth Metal and Promethium-alloyed Watchdog armour was slightly… [i]less so.[/i]

[color=orangered]”But don’t worry- [i]we’re[/i] well protected.”[/color]

...And now he was clearly just screwing with her. As he was wont to do.

Karen glanced at him for a long moment before allowing her shoulders to fall. She needed to relax for this. Being tense would only make things harder, she knew. [color=orchid]”Alright...let’s just get all of this over with.”[/color]

[color=maroon]”You’ll be [i]fine,[/i] Karen.”[/color] The Firebringer reassured, leaning forward slightly on his stool, posted slightly off to her side as he was the one person in the room least likely to be vaporized by any arcane explosion that might occur. [color=maroon]”Anything goes wrong, I can have you out of all that gear and to safety before you even know it has.[/color]  

[color=crimson]”It most likely won’t go wrong,”[/color] Was the absent addon from Grim, voice deep and masculine thanks to the modifier in the Iron Fang helmet. [color=crimson]”There are uncertain variables, but at least it doesn’t seem to be [i]Gods[/i] this time - I doubt they’d be able to resist trying to lord the mystery over our heads again. God-Complexes, and all. Now hold still.”[/color] 

The device was strapped to Karen’s chest - almost like a chest protector wrapped around her, deceptively light with bits of purple-tinted magitech slotted into the sides. From the top was a padded quarter-cuff that fit snugly against her throat.

[color=crimson]”There we go. No fanfare - are you ready?”[/color]

With one final gulp, Karen gripped the arms of her chair tightly and nodded. Although she was still quite anxious about the whole thing, she felt oddly snug and secure within this contraption they had built—perhaps because it was almost like armor, in a way.

Looking between her friends and family one last time, she opened her mouth and began to speak the word.

[color=orchid]”SHA—”[/color]

Her voice immediately started to seize up, but then the device kicked into action, stimulating her vocal chords. Almost against her will, the word was pushed to its conclusion. 

[color=orchid]--ZAM!”[/color]

Like so many times before, a radiant bolt raw, primordial magic descended upon the form of Karen Hernandez, illuminating the entirety of the Grim Grotto, the literally thunderous echo of the arcane power reverberating painfully off the cavern walls.

But something was off.

While there had always been a small amount of smoke in the wake of her transformation, it had this time billowed out in lung-choking amounts, consuming Karen entirely and threatening to do the same to any standing too close to her.

Yet despite the blinding fog, there was something inside of it…something that was [i]glowing.[/i]

[color=darkorchid]”What…? Where…”[/color] the voice of Lady Arcana called out from the smoke, the sound of her boots against the floor of the grotto echoing with each step as she staggered forward through the haze. 

Reaching a hand out through the smoke, they would immediately be able to notice the shining, purple veins webbing their way across it. As Arcana emerged fully into view, they would see that these magical fissures had worked their way across her entire form.

[color=darkorchid]”I...I don’t feel right…”[/color] said Arcana, a hand grasping her head as she staggered unevenly towards a nearby table full of experimental equipment, leaning against it for support. [color=darkorchid]”None of this is right...I can’t [i]feel[/i] it anymore, but that shouldn’t be possible?”[/color]

Despite his previous, customary snark, Mal [i]had[/i] been the first to his feet when things had started to go [i]just a little weird.[/i] The coldly logical fact that he’d seen Karen’s transformation enough times over the past half-decade from his own unique perspective to be able to so quickly pick that out being far less the reason than he’d admit for doing so.

Nor would he admit to the spike in his heart rate when he realized he [i]couldn’t see Karen[/i] through the ultradense background magic that now formed an impenetrable fog where she once stood.

All that haste came to an abrupt halt however, as Arcana began to step forward. And for a brief moment, he [i]almost[/i] relaxed.

...And then the figure actually cleared the fog and a smile that had [i]almost[/i] managed to form beneath his helmet was abruptly terminated in the womb as the living amalgam of many deities staggered outward, dreary, seemingly delirious and… ill.

And the boy from Blud had a damned good idea why as his eyes lingered over her chest-cavity for a moment.

Still, asking questions was part of triage-- his time as a medic had drilled that much into his head-- so he [i]did[/i] have to ask.

[color=orangered]”Karen…?”[/color] The boy asked, creeping forward, slightly weary [color=orangered]”How do you feel?”[/color]

[color=orchid]”Mal?”[/color] called a familiar voice within the smoke, in between coughs. [color=orchid]”Zoey? Ted? Can you guys get this thing off me? I can barely breathe in here!”[/color]

With uncharacteristic slowness, Mal’s glowing eyes, visible beneath his visor, tracked to where that had come from… then back to Arcana… then back to that voice again.

[color=orangered]”Okay… [i]what the hell?”[/i][/color]