Injustice 3: Rings War (Book 2)

Chapter 9: Magical Gathering

The Man:

"Awesome," the Doc says as soon as he sees Kara and me. "You're here. You need to look at this."

Stepping aside, the Doc reveals the holo-display from before, and as before, there are a bunch of fake Dr. Fates on it.

"So," I ask, "That's nothing new."

"But that is," the Doc says, pointing to Raven as she herself appears on the holo-display. Only, this Raven had a bright, glowing cross on the center of her chest and her cloaks is lined with gold.

We watch as Raven then swipes her arm and the army of fake Dr. Fates all over starts flying, spreading throughout Gotham City.

While many of the Dr. Fates and Raven fly away, a few of the fakers stay behind. Flying toward the streets and the empty buildings, they immediately start to tear them apart. Three Fates are pulling the street up, exposing the sewer underneath. The second the opening is big enough, two Fates fly in while the third Fate moves onto another street.

Meanwhile, five Fates haul themselves into what looks like an abandoned apartment building. Slamming through the boarded-up windows and the walls, they disappear only for a few seconds before bursting out different windows and walls. As they leave, the building they searched crumples in on itself. The roof and upper levels fall onto the lower levels and the building is soon nothing more than a pile of broken bricks and wooden planks.

"They're destroying Gotham," Flash yells, slamming his fist onto the table. "Prepare the portal, we're stopping them."

"Not so fast," I say, stopping anyone before they can leave the table.

"What are you doing," Flash says, "We need to leave now. Every second we waste, another building is reduced to rubble."

"There's something I want to see," I reply, walking over to the keyboard for the holo-display. As I start typing, I switch the holo-display from what the fakers are doing to where exactly Raven is heading.

An outline of Gotham City appears on the display, with a dot moving rather fast in a straight line.

"Is that Raven," Kara asks, looking at the dot.

Typing in a few more things, the outline of Gotham City squeezes in on itself as one-half of the display now shows Raven and a few Fates still by her side.

"Yes," I answer, "And look where she's heading."

Raven reaches what looks like a hole in the street, she and one of the Dr. Fates then drop down into it. The feed switching over, reveals an underground base with red and white stripes painted onto the sewer walls.

"Hey," Harleen says, "That's my old base. What are the bird lady and that faker doing in my old base?"

"I think we're about to find out," Cold says, his, along with everyone's eyes, still watching as Raven and the Dr. Fate clone land on the floor. All around them are the remnants of what happened there only a week ago; the destroyed betas, the discarded bullets casting, even the bridge I was on that dropped from high above.

The pair walks around for a little bit, kicking aside a few betas' parts and bullet castings. Once they have themselves a small clearing, they both sit down.

Crossing their legs and putting their fingers together, they start to meditate.

"Okay," Oliver says after a few seconds of us just watching them. "Does anyone else besides have any idea what those two are doing?"

"No clue," Selina replies, "But look. Something is starting to happen."

Looking back at the screen, we see the two starts to glow. The crosses on both Raven and Dr. Fate start to glow, the glow intensifying. Within only a few seconds, they are lighting up Harleen's entire base. The bullet holes on the walls can easily be seen. What sunlight was coming through the hole in the ceiling is being pushed out. Neither of the two still really have their shadow.

"I have a hunch what they're trying to do," I say, reaching into my pockets. Pulling out a teleporter, I set it on the table.

"What are you doing," Reverse-Flash asks.

"Checking on something," I reply, flicking my arm and pulling out from thin air a kunai. Using my kunai as a screwdriver, I begin to pull the teleporter apart. Unscrewing the cover and taking it off, I set it aside.

"Yeah," Jason says, "What are you doing?"

By now, everyone had gathered around me, all of them crowding behind me.

"Okay, personal space," I say, turning around to push them back. "Personal space."

"We wouldn't need to crowd around you if you just told us what it is you're doing," Jason says.

"I'm testing a hunch," I answer, turning back to my teleporter. "Hey Doc, give me your teleporter."

Holding out my hand and snapping my fingers, Doc reaches into his pocket and pulls out his teleporter. Giving it to me, I unscrew the cover and set it aside. The two teleporters side-by-side now, I wave at everyone.

"Now all of you can gather around," I say, standing aside. "My hunch is right. I know what they're trying to do."

"What's that," Oliver asks, getting as close to the teleporters as he can. "What?"

"They're trying to pick up on the teleporters' energy signature," I say, looking at the display as, somehow, Raven's and Dr. Fate's magical glow starts to shake the camera. The camera shaking wildly, moving in all and every direction, it breaks only after a few more seconds. Raven and Dr. Fate are gone, and the only thing on the display is a black screen.

"Wait, wait, wait," the Doc says, walking up to me. "They're trying to do what? Pick up the teleporters' energy signature? Oh my god. Wait, does that mean, assuming they do pick it up, they can trace it back here?"

Running his hands through his hair, Doc starts to walk in circles.

"Oh my god," he repeats, "Oh my god. Oh my god. Please, oh please, tell me they can't do that. I thought the base was secure."

"It is," I say, grabbing the Doc's shoulder and pulling him back from the edge of insanity. Just to be sure, I shake him a few times.

"Thank you," he says, adjusting his glasses.

"Yeah, you're welcome. Listen, I figured the reason how they were able to find Harleen's base in the first place was that they were able to trace the teleporter's energy signature."

Seeing a few eyes quickly turn to face me, I hold up my hands.

"And because of that, I have taken the necessary measures to change the energy signature so they can't be traced again."

"Well, if that's the case," Flash interjects, "Then what are they doing?"

"Wasting their time," I answer, "But still."

Walking through the crowd, I make my way back to the teleporters. Screwing the covers back on, I put one back into my pocket while handing the second one to the Doc.

"I rather not give them a chance. Doc, prepare the teleporter. Kara and I are going to Harleen's old base. The rest of you, you're fighting to defend Gotham. Be ready."