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A Kind of Magic (YJ Celestial Grimoire) by gothicjedi666

X-overs & Young Justice Xover Rated: M, English, Fantasy & Adventure, Words: 152k+, Favs: 451, Follows: 523, Published: Nov 12, 2023 Updated: Sep 6, 2024

48Chapter 3

Celestial Grimoire.

Restaurant. Happy Harbour.

Power Girl, or Jessica Otrera Kent, as she was now calling herself, had managed to convince me to take her out again, and I'd mostly agreed because I wanted to ask her about her name.

I understood the Kent part since I knew who had adopted Kal-El it was the Jessica Otrera part that had me confused. I'd never even heard of anyone called Otrera.

"So how did you come up with your name"? I asked.

She was eating quite a lot on our latest date. So far she'd devoured a serving of sweet and sour Chicken, a beef dish served with broccoli and mushrooms, and now we were waiting for some spring rolls.

"I can't tell you too much," said Jessica "But I guess it's okay to tell you that I have grandparents. While you were off at Hogwarts they found out about me and my brother".

By that, she meant that I'd been going off to learn magic from Kent Nelson. She'd never met the man so she had little idea of what I was getting up to when I was away from the mountain.

"So Connor, that's what Megan named my brother, and I went for a visit, and my grandparents are not happy that our father didn't tell them about us sooner. I thought they might ground him".

I was amused by the idea of Martha and Jonathan Kent telling off Superman, and I could easily imagine them feeling disappointed in him for not letting them know sooner that they had grandchildren of a sort.

"They wanted to know why didn't have names, and Connor got his name from Megan and he paired that with the Kent surname because our grandparents insisted that he should have a proper name," I was told "I need a civilian identity and Jessica is the name of my grandfather's mother".

I searched my memory for anything I had on the parents of Martha and Jonathan Kent, and I recalled that in the Smallville series, Jor-El, Kal-El's biological father visits that town and meets the parents of Jonathan Kent.

Some versions of Clark Kent would name his son after his Earth father and Clark was Martha Kent's maiden name so keeping these names in the family seemed to be something of a tradition.

"Because my father isn't old enough to have fully grown twin children that means officially I'm his cousin and so is Connor," Jessica told me "You need to know that for when we use our civilian identities. You should get one".

So far I'd seen no reason to be known as anyone other than Gothic the Sorcerer. I had no family or even any real friends.

"What about Otrera?" I wondered "I don't think I've heard that name before".

Power Girl began to devour the Spring Rolls I'd ordered with gusto. I wondered if her mixed heritage required her to ingest a lot of calories or if they mattered at all to her.

"Otrera is the name of my great-grandmother on the other side of my family" Jessica explained.

So that would be Wonder Woman's grandmother.

"Lots of people have exotic middle names and I wanted something to honour my Amazon heritage even if they don't want anything to do with me," she said.

I decided not to inquire about why the Amazons didn't want anything to do with her. I could imagine a few without any help.

Jessica was the product of man's science rather than someone given life the old-fashioned way or by the gods breathing life into clay. Which is how Wonder Woman was made.

For dessert she'd thankfully only wanted fortune cookies, anything else and my stomach would have started aching just from watching her eat.

Once she was done eating I asked for the check and the waitress gave us two fortune cookies. Which was something my date had been looking forward to as she'd never had one before.

"You first," Jessica said to me.

I decided to have a little fun with her.

"Please help me I was captured and I'm being forced to work at a fortune cookie factory" I said as seriously as I could.

Having never heard that silly joke before Power Girl looked worried, and I couldn't help laughing.

"You're mean" she commented once she understood the truth "Tell me what it says".

Which is what I did next.

"You will be a great success in the business world" I read out.

Next, I ate the cookie.

"Your turn" I then said

She opened the cookie.

"The one you love is closer than you think" she read.

She smiled at me, and I wondered if she was joking.

"Does it really say that?" I asked.

She gave me the small piece of paper, and I discovered that it did inside say that.

"Well, I hope it means me" I then said, "because if someone else comes along and snags you I'll feel bad about having paid the bill".

For some reason, she found that hilarious.

"Okay, where too next?" I then inquired.

Jessica gave the idea some thought.

"I'm a bit stuffed" she said "I'd like to go home and watch a movie".

For some reason, I got the feeling that she wasn't much interested in watching anything.

Mount Justice. Happy Harbour.

Not long after leaving the restaurant, Jessica and I were in the living room sitting on the couch, or at least I was, she was on my lap straddling me.

Also, she seemed to have decided that now was a good time to explore my body. Lucky for us there was no one around to care about what we were getting up onto the couch.

Kaldur had duties in Atlantis, as for Kid Flash and Robin, they were dealing with the aftermath of my exposing Red Arrow as a possible fake.

He'd been a clone as it turned out. The copy believed he was Speedy so much that despite me never having met the original I was able to find him with my crystal ball.

That didn't make sense logically, but when it came to magic things weren't always logical, and what mattered was that the original Roy Harper had been found.

What would become of the copy and the original I had no idea. Nor did I much care as I'd never met Speedy and I didn't like Red Arrow at all. It was best for the League to sort these things out.

No doubt there was some scheme going on even if Red Arrow's actions didn't make much sense if he was meant to be a spy, but that wasn't my concern. That sort of thing was best handled by people who had experience with supervillain plots.

Conner and Megan had their own date this evening. The girls in this group were not content to let the boys woo them they'd decided to stake their claim.

That made me wonder who Artemis would go out with because she was named after a goddess of the hunt and so I didn't think she'd wait for the guy to make the moves.

As for my body, it was much more muscular than it had once been, and Power Girl was taking a great deal of time to inspect what the Boy Mod perk I'd gotten before joining this team had done to my form.

She had put a hand up my t-shirt so that she could her palm over my chest, and she seemed to enjoy my chest hair. I should return the favour, but my hands had found their way to her ass and it was too nice to stop holding.

Jessica started to lick, suck and kiss my neck. I then put a hand under her shirt, much to her delight, however, I only touched her stomach, to begin with.

I put a hand on one of her breasts and started to massage it. She then pulled up her shirt without taking it off to expose her breasts. She had not worn a bra this evening and the sight of her uncovered tits was too much to resist.

Soon I was sucking on one of her nipples and rubbing the other in my hand, then I was rolling a nipple between two fingers, she seemed to very much enjoy this attention.

She moaned and followed that up with a gasp when I gave her a small bite around the nipple, while at the same time squeezing her other breast harder.

There was no way I could hurt her due to her alien heritage so I felt free to be rough with my hands and mouth.

"HELLO!" someone then yelled out.

Thankfully it wasn't Superboy, that would have been awkward. It was Black Canary, and while she looked very surprised Canary didn't become angry, which was good.

Jessica pulled down her top and blushed, but she stayed straddling me.

"What do you think you are doing?" Canary asked us.

I would have thought that was obvious.

"Making out" Jessica casually replied.

I gave a better answer

"Getting carried away," I said, "Sorry about that. We shouldn't be taking our clothes off in the living area",

Jessica then pulled away from me, however, she only turned her body away from me so she was still on my lap, and that was good for me.

"You guys are getting pretty hot and heavy huh?"

Black Canary said as she took a seat.

I had no idea why the superheroine was here because we never trained at night. I could only conclude that she'd come here because she had been aware of what was happening here.

"Yeah," was all I had to say on that.

As far as I was concerned it was no one else's business what Power Girl and I got up to.

"Well cut it out" Canary said "Do you have any idea what Wonder Woman would do if she found out?"

Given that she was an Amazon and I was male it would not be anything good.

"We were just fooling about," Jessica protested "What's the big deal?".

Unlike her mother Power Girl was not an Amazon, or even half of one, as being an Amazon wasn't a matter of biology, there was an entire culture. She might have taken an Amazon middle name, but that didn't make her one of them.

"How can I put this in a way you'll understand?" Canary replied, "Diana will most likely castrate, Gothic if you two ever have sex".

I could well believe that and it solved the issue of having an erection in public very quickly.

"Amazons are very anti-men" Canary added.

A mild understatement if I ever heard one.

"So I can't have a boyfriend because Wonder Woman might not approve," Jessica said "Well I don't care about her approval, she's never shown any concern for me before and I don't think she ever will".

I could see her point. I just didn't think that Wonder Woman would care what Power Girl wanted. Even if she didn't perform an act of violence on me, it wouldn't be hard for her to separate Jessica and me.

"You have to understand that Amazons are..." Canary tried to say.

She never got the chance to finish.

"Whatever!" Jessica said before walking out of the room.

For a moment I could really see how she was Superboy's brother.

"Thank you for ruining my evening," I said to Canary.

Not long after I entered my room I felt the need to go and check my book..

800cp

+200cp

1000cp

Roll?

-400cp

600cp

No Trap Can Hold Me

Well, not for long in any case. No situation is utterly hopeless for you, no prison inescapable, no magic too binding. Every minute your enemies leave you alive, torturing or gloating, is a gamble, and not one likely to pay off.

This doesn't simply apply to physical prisons: trapped in another dimension or adrift at the end of time, there is always a way out and you will always be capable of finding it. Escape is simply a matter of when not if.

Before I could feel pleased about this power that I had acquired, which was so going to come in handy given the universe I was in, someone knocked on the door, and when I opened it I saw Power Girl.

She only wearing a tight t-shirt that showed off her midriff, and panties, she stood there standing there while attempting to look seductive. She wasn't very good at it, but I could tell she was trying.

"Wanna have sex?" she asked me.

Sadly Black Canary had killed the mood for me.

"No, thank you," I said before moving away from her.

Jessica came into my room uninvited, and she locked the door behind her.

"Why not?" she demanded to know "I want to".

I had a few valid reasons.

"I'm not in the mood," I told her "Also I don't have any condoms, and I'm not risking you getting pregnant".

Then Wonder Woman really would castrate me and I don't think anyone would try to protect me from her.

"Besides, I think you only want to do it because it will anger your mother and that whole teenage rebellion does not make me at all horny" I added.

Looking at her sad face made me feel bad.

"But I can do something that will make you feel good" I then offered "If you need it".

She looked interested enough to make me think she might be horny. To be fair I had gotten her worked up earlier and while I was so not in the mood I wasn't going to leave her unsatisfied.

"Yeah?" she asked "What is it?"

I smiled.

"Lie down on the bed" I instructed.

Once she was lying down I slipped her underwear down and then I threw them off to the side. Next, I licked my lips and went on to place my tongue inside her pussy. She was already wet from before so there was no need for any kind of warm-up I could just drive my tongue into her.

This was further proven by Jessica moaning loudly every time I plunged my tongue into her cunt, she moaned even louder and somehow got wetter as I worked to bring her orgasm. I swirled my tongue very slowly, and she shifted her hips up against my mouth.

"Oh," she whispered, "Right there."

She had a slight tangy taste, it was rather nice and she seemed to be either naturally hairless or very well shaved, so I didn't have to put with any pubic hair tickling my nose.

Lucky for me, she seemed easy to please using this method, she orgasmed before long.

"Oh wow, that was…wow," she said.

When I saw her face I knew she was very happy.

"Did you enjoy it?" I asked smirking a little.

She nodded.

"Will you do it again?" she inquired.

I mulled over my answer for a moment or two.

"If you're good," I told her.

Now I was starting to see why it was so easy for women to control men with sex. Still, all things considered, I'd rather have her give me oral, but the word 'castration' kept popping into my head.

"I'll be really good" Power Girl promised.

That was something I could test.

"Go to bed" I ordered.

She grabbed her panties and scampered out of my room, which was amusing to watch. She only raced back to kiss me before finally going.

This was good because I was going to need to take care of my own needs before figuring out how I could break up with Jessica without her punching my heart out of my chest or ruining things for the team.

Either that or I'd need to find some way to make sure that Wonder Woman didn't involve herself in our relationship. Perhaps I should look into Amazon culture and see if they allow dating under certain circumstances.

When my familiar appeared I smiled at him.

"If things go wrong I might need you to fly me somewhere far away from here," I told the bird.

I got the impression that he would do that if required.

Celestial Grimoire.

Part 14.

The Tower of Fate.

I knew a little about Klarion the Witch Boy as he appears in the DCAU, he showed up once in the DCUA in one of the New Adventures of Batman, in that reality Klarion was a young Witch Boy who once went on a rampage on Gotham City, using the demon Etrigan who he was able to control thanks to some magical device after separating the demon from Jason Blood.

In that dimension, Klarion had been a powerful, but young magician who wouldn't have been a match for me due to simply being a child with some dark powers, and Jason Blood had easily dealt with the evil magician, imprisoning him for his crimes.

Alas, in this version of the DC universe, the Witch Boy was something else and it was going to take everything Kent Nelson and I had just to keep from taking the Helmet of Fate. Assuming that we could.

It was my fault that the creature had been able to enter this place as Kent Nelson had trusted me with one of the few keys that could allow someone to enter this place without using powerful magic and even if you could open a portal you needed to have been invited into the tower to enter at will.

The Key allowed anyone who held it access to the Tower of Fate as such it had been a risk to grant me one of them. Not that it had been totally my fault as I'd been ambushed upon arrival by a small group of villains who wanted access to the tower.

I'd come here not just for a magic lesson, but to escape the mountain as things were getting tense there what with issues with the clones and the fact that Wonder Woman had found out that her lab-grown daughter was dating.

It seemed best to avoid Wonder Woman, who had shown up out of the blue, as all my research into her people made it clear that only same-sex relationships were allowed. I blamed Hercules for that as he'd killed and raped quite a few Amazons according to the historical records.

Not that the history of the Amazons was a big concern to me right now what with the bad guys having gotten into the tower and with me having ended up lost due to the M.C. Escher stairs. If this had been my tower it would have proper stairs, not this insanity.

I was grateful for my new perk that meant I couldn't be trapped anywhere for long since because of it, I found myself on the roof where Kent was facing off against Klarion.

Those crooks who had come here with the Witch Boy were lost somewhere in the tower and could be dealt with later. If either Kent or had a later.

Upon closer inspection it was clear that Kent wasn't magically duelling Klarion, rather he was giving everything he had to keep a golden shield up, and I didn't think it was to protect his own life.

"I want that helmet, you old bastard!" shouted out Klarion.

While I wasn't ready for this battle I didn't see that I had much choice. Kent couldn't stop the Witch Boy, he was doing everything he could just to stay alive, but maybe between us, we could at least drive him off until help arrived.

Assuming that help was coming. Kent had mentioned calling for help, but since we'd gotten separated I didn't know if he'd been successful. Not that this changed anything as my only option was to flee and as tempting as that was I didn't even know if I could get out of the tower. Nor did I wish to abandon Kent Nelson.

"Firaga!"

The powerful fireball struck Klarion. Yet when the flames died out I saw that the creature had created some sort of shield. The flames didn't even touch him.

"Oh, is this your successor, Nelson?" questioned Klarion in a pleasant tone of voice before he became angry "Well he's not getting the helmet".

I didn't want the helmet I was just here to learn to use my powers, and lucky for me I had a few talents that I'd been gifted that Kent had begun to teach me to use in a magical battle.

"Thundaga!"

While Klarion did the whole evil monologue thing and threw around some insults I made use of a powerful bit of magic. Bolts of lightning came down from the sky and struck the Witch Boy. Alas, he was able to shield himself again.

"Elemental magic, not bad kid," my enemy praised "But it's going to

take more than that to impress me".

Klarion fired a blast of energy at me that I was able to stop with a shield of my own. That was rather basic magic so the Witch Boy must have known that I would be able to protect myself. As it turned out the blast was just a distraction so that my new enemy could create a flock of birds.

They flew over to me and began to peck at my shield as Klarion laughed. None of them alone were much of a threat, it was only their combined efforts that were causing a problem. Trying to fend off many weaker attacks was harder than dealing with one strong attack.

Again I was super grateful for my staff as without it to focus my power and to provide me with extra energy along with my sword and my new amulet, I wouldn't have been able to keep up a protective barrier for this long.

I reached for the warhorn at my side and blew it. Right away the birds, who acted like actual animals would when under its effects, turned on their creator, who destroyed them all with a single spell and a wave of his hand.

While he was distracted I made use of ice magic to try to freeze the Witch Boy, but that was about as effective as everything else I'd tried. The creature, whatever he was, seemed amused more than anything by my efforts even as I blasted him with magical power.

Taking a queue from the Dragon Age series I moved my body and twisted my staff so that I could fire off a few blasts in short order, only for the Witch Boy to batter them aside with ease.

He went on the offensive once again and he forced me to put everything I had into a magical barrier. I could feel the shield getting battered by blasts of power that were different to any sort of magic that I had seen before.

Klarion was simply too powerful for me to harm or even to keep distracted for very long. Something he proved when he brushed me aside with a spell and I would have come to harm if Kent hadn't expanded his shield around me with what must have been great effort.

"I need a lot more training" I muttered to myself.

Nelson was not doing well. Klarion was now using some sort of magical claws to take apart the golden barrier and even the appearance of Phosphor, who sang a magical song to boost our spirits, didn't do much more than allow Kent to rise up to his feet and hold on to his cane.

"Face it Kent, you're done!" called out Klarion "Nabu can't help you now".

Well, that wasn't totally true. Nelson couldn't become Nabu's host as he had done in the past because it would kill him, but I could become the host for the Lord of Order.

I didn't want to, it was just that didn't have a choice. I'd die here unless I did something very drastic and I didn't think Kent was going to make it no matter what I did.

Everything suddenly became peaceful as I chose my course of action. I could not let that evil magic user get his hands on the magical device. Who knew what kind of horror the Witch Boy would unleash if he could somehow tap into its power? Nor did I know what might happen should he destroy the helmet.

So I reached out for the helmet and before anyone could try to stop me it was in my hands. I put it on and the world went away for a time as golden light blinded me.

When my eyes opened I found myself in a void and yet I wasn't alone. Kent was somehow here.

"Where are we?" I asked.

Kent seemed amused by the question.

"Imagine that for your entire life you've been in the driver's seat of a car and that car is your body" he said "Now someone is driving".

That wasn't too hard to comprehend. I'd let Nabu take the wheel so to speak so he had control over my body.

"Hold on, how can you be here?" was my next question.

Kent again seemed amused.

"I'm dead," he said, rather matter-of-factly.

While I hadn't gotten to know Kent that well I was fond of my teacher so this news saddened me.

"Oh don't fret" he chided "I'm looking forward to seeing my wife again".

He took out his pocket watch and looked at it. I'd never seen what he stared at so intently, but it wasn't hard to guess that there was more than the face of a clock inside that special item.

"I'm more concerned about you" Kent was now saying "Nabu will not give up such a powerful host easily".

Given that I had obtained a perk recently that would allow me to escape any imprisonment, I should be able to free myself of Nabu even if it took a while.

"Taking the helmet off will be hard and what comes next will be harder" warned Kent.

I wasn't sure what he meant so it was good that he explained.

"Someone needs to guard the helmet and this tower once I am gone" he told me "I was looking for a successor when we met and I hoped to ease you into the idea. We just ran out of time. There never seems to be enough time even if you life a century and more".

Kent spent a moment in reflection before getting down to business. I didn't know how much time we had, only that he didn't seem to be in a rush to tell me what I needed to know, at least not yet.

"Don't worry about the witch-boy he'll be dealt with and Nabu will secure the tower" said Nelson "Once he has you need to take the helmet off and then you will become the guardian of this tower. Someone must guard the helmet and you might as well have the tower. Everyone should have a home of their own".

This was one heck of an inheritance considering that the man hardly knew me.

"Just like that?" I asked.

Kent smiled at me and it was a kind expression.

"The tower belongs to Nabu more than anyone and he finds you to be an acceptable host" he said "Besides, both the tower and helmet need a guardian. There is a lot of power in this place. Enough that you might one day become this world's Sorcerer Supreme, or perhaps you'll find your own path and someone else will become Doctor Fate".

It was tempting to take up this offer. Mount Justice was more my workplace than a proper home and I wouldn't mind having a life away from the Justice League as I'd never been motivated to become a hero. It had always been about earning more cp and getting the training I needed to survive in this crazy world.

Despite this, I didn't think I was a good choice for this role.

"What about Constantine or Zatara?" I asked.

"While John is a good man deep down he's reckless and too quick to risk what he has" I was told "He would gamble the fate of the world to save a single soul. As for Zatara, he has a family".

And I had little tying me to my current life.

"Do we really need the helmet?" I wondered "Can't I just lock it away".

I didn't like the idea of losing my life even for a time, and Nabu could be strong enough to keep me trapped for months or years.

"Yes, as much as I don't like to admit the world needs that helmet," said Kent "Order balances chaos, without Nabu, this world could be doomed. You'll understand as your knowledge of magic grows. I wish I had the time to explain it all to you".

I got the sense that something had just changed.

"Now the battle is over" Kent let me know "You must remove the helmet and take back the driver's seat of your life. Make sure they bury me with my beloved at the base of the tower. What else is there? The laundry room is in the basement and I can't remember the wifi password. I'm sure I wrote it down. Oh, you'll figure it all out".

With that, the hero faded away, hopefully moving on to a nice afterlife, and I was left with only one course of action. To free myself.

That was certainly easier said than done. Nabu didn't want to get let go, but I didn't get the sense of hostility from the Lord of Order it was more a feeling of frustration.

When the helmet came off I dropped to the ground and hit the stone painfully as I'd been floating above the tower when the magic keeping me up in the air was stopped.

For a while, I just sat there. Trying to take it all in. This tower, everything in it and the responsibility of safeguarding the Helmet of Fate was all mine. I didn't really want it because I desired to be my own person once I was ready to navigate this world, yet I couldn't just walk away and leave the helmet vulnerable.

I placed the helmet in my pouch of holding as I didn't want to think about it right now, and then I looked over at Kent Nelson's body. He had a hand over his chest and if I had to guess his heart had given out due to the strain of keeping up that golden shield.

A chirping noise got my attention. I found Phosphor as a chick, sitting in a pile of ash. A Phoenix was reborn from its own ashes just as the legends had promised.

"Klarion messed you up too, I see," I said.

That bitch boy, as I would now refer to him, had been banished by Nabu, and despite this, I knew that the two of us would meet again. Next time I'd be better prepared to face that monster and what I'd do to him would make Nabu seem merciful.

He'd also hurt me despite the protection granted by my ring. Now that I wasn't in danger I could feel all the sore parts of myself.

"Maybe the grimoire will give me something for healing" I muttered.

I picked up Phosphor and carried him back into the tower. Now that I was the master of this tower I found it easy to get around and I soon found myself in a living area with comfy chairs sitting next to a fireplace that was giving off a lot of warmth due to somehow being lit without any fuel to burn.

Before sitting down I placed Phosphor on a pillow that I put down by the fire. I'd have to figure out what he ate since it would be a while before my familiar could simply fly off and get his own food.

When I sat down I wondered about my own fate. Would the Justice League even let me stay here without any oversight? Would they trust me to be the new owner of this tower and guardian of fate? It was something to deal with later.

Kent needed to be buried I couldn't just leave him up on the roof so I would have to contact the League. My comm device should work once I had left the tower.

Before long I found something to drink that didn't burn too much when going down. I had no idea what it was but I would make sure to hide it when John Constantine came for a visit.

My book wanted my attention and I decided to attend to that since Kent wasn't going anywhere.

600cp

+300cp

900cp

I might as well have a roll.

- 400cp

500cp

Stone Golems

Eight figurines that can transform into large stone golems to fight or do physical labour for you. Any lost or destroyed figurines will reappear in your magic bag the next day.

Not the healing item I was hoping for, yet I had no reason to complain since if I was going to defend this tower some golems could come in handy.

I finished my drink and then headed out. I needed to talk to Batman and let him know what had happened and what this meant for my future. I should still be able to lend my skills to the team, at least until they find someone with magical skills to replace me.

Celestial Grimoire.

Part 15.

Mount Justice. Happy Harbour.

I'd been in the middle of packing my stuff so as to move into my new home, which I was relocating to because even if the League took custody of the Helmet of Fate it was still my tower, and I was not going to ignore Kent Nelson's dying wishes by abandoning the tower and its contents.

Once it had really sunk in that I was the new owner of the Tower of Fate I would admit to having felt giddy at the prospect of having my own wizard's tower. What kind of self-respecting mage doesn't have a place to practice his spells, somewhere to gather this knowledge of the mystic arts?

As to why I'd been sent into this office, that was part of the mountain I'd never been in before, this was because someone in League worried about my mental state after seeing Kent die. I didn't know who this was, but Batman gave me the news and I just couldn't be bothered to argue about it.

I had imagined a professional doctor. Maybe some version of Doctor Leslie Thompkins who turns up in some DC universes as a sort of ally of Batman. So I was a bit shocked to find Black Canary sitting in here waiting for me.

"You're a therapist?" I asked Black Canary.

Without an invite, I took a seat across from her. I figured that if I cooperated this would be over soon. Anything medical appointment be it for the body or the mind is best handled as quickly as possible.

"Not exactly, but I am formally trained in psychology," she said.

That didn't exactly fill me with confidence.

"So is Harley Quinn," I pointed out "And I wouldn't go to her about my mental health issues".

While she didn't like hearing that, she didn't let it divert her, and it wasn't a fair comparison anyway.

"You aren't here for therapy, this is more of a check-in, and we need to talk about your future," said Black Canary.

Oh, that sounded serious, and I was not fond of the idea that people were deciding my future for me since it was my life, yet there was no point whining about it as that would only make the members of the League who were trying to restrain me to feel justified in their actions.

"Some of the League have discussed this situation, about what happened to Nelson Kent and how he has named you as his successor," the superheroine started by saying "To make sure this is all legal, a new identity has been sorted out for you".

That might seem generous, however, I saw it as an attempt to keep some sort of control over me. I should resent that and I would have if I didn't understand why they would want to keep tabs on my situation.

I was self-aware enough to understand that I was not much of a team player or a hero, and now I'd been handed a position of responsibility as well as plenty of mystical resources. The League would be foolish if that didn't concern them.

"There are some terms you need to agree to if the Justice League is going to leave the tower and the Helmet of Fate in your possession," I was told.

I could have argued that it wasn't something they should involve themselves in, however, they could take the helmet from me by force, and I knew that Batman was certainly willing to screw people over, even his allies if he felt he was doing the right thing.

So it would be best to go along with their plans and to focus on expanding my knowledge of magic. Besides, I couldn't be sure that I could handle my new role without outside help so I'd be a complete idiot to cut myself off from such powerful allies and their resources.

"Before we get the stuff about your future, how are you feeling about the situation with Speedy, both the clone and the original that you helped us to recover?" I was asked.

Aside from discovering that Red Arrow had been some sort of imposter and magically finding out the location of the real Speedy, I hadn't been involved much. Once I'd been able to point them at the right spot on the map, the Justice League had taken charge of the situation.

"I don't know Speedy and I don't like Red Arrow so the discovery didn't affect me," I stated.

Assuming that I could read her reaction I saw that my words didn't surprise her. It would be the same for Artemis, Power Girl and Superboy, as they'd only met Red Arrow once, and he'd been rather abrasive.

Although given that the Wonder Twins were sort of clones it might serve as a reminder of their own origins.

"Why don't you like Red Arrow?" I was asked, "Did you sense that something was off about him?".

I didn't think that I had.

"No," I truthfully stated, "I just think Red Arrow is a whiny git".

By the looks of things, she hadn't expected me to be so direct.

"Care to elaborate?" she asked.

I didn't mind doing so.

"When we met at the Hall Justice and weren't immediately taken up to the Watchtower to be inducted into the League he had a temper tantrum like an overgrown toddler," I told Canary "That made me feel uncomfortable and it was a terrible first impression".

Since he was a toddler in terms of age his attitude made more sense in retrospect.

"I was still uncomfortable around him the second time we met as he came into the mountain and seemed hostile" I shared with the heroine "It was enough to make me worry about what he was up to so I used magic to see where he was going after he left the mountain and that ended up exposing him as a fake. Beyond that, I wasn't involved and I didn't wish to be as it was a private matter".

We soon moved on from that.

"I also wanted to ask how you are coping with the death of Kent Nelson," said Canary "I know you didn't spend that much time with him, but he clearly liked you since he named you his successor".

For a moment I wondered what to say.

"I'm not sure how much of a choice he'd had given that was at the end of his life and he wasn't able to find anyone more suitable" I admitted "It's a bit of a mixed bag. I've been focused on what his death means for me rather than the fact he died and yet I still feel the need to avenge him, even if I don't think he would approve".

He hadn't seemed upset about dying so getting mad about his death seemed like an odd reaction. Assuming that he was back with his wife then I should be happy for him.

"I also feel grateful towards the man who gave me time when he didn't have much left and while he has given a burden he's also gifted with a lot. I'm grateful to him even if I should be sad" I admitted.

Canary shifted on her seat before speaking and I couldn't help admiring her legs.

"It is good to acknowledge that you have these emotions, and it is okay to feel these things," she said "Repressing emotions is unhealthy and there is no right way to grieve as long as you actually work through those feelings rather than bottling them up".

I might not express my feelings as much as other people do, but I did have them and I can express them, I just didn't go around acting like an Edgelord, or whatever it was you'd call certain crime fighters.

"The only part I'm concerned about is your desire for revenge," said Canary "Feeling a desire to strike back isn't a bad thing exactly it's just in my experience choosing revenge over justice tends to lead a person down a dark path".

Given that this was a comic book world it would likely end up getting rather dark if I tried to take down the Bitch Boy for what he did to Kent and because he'd made me feel rather pitiful as a mage.

"Klarion is a personification of chaos" I pointed out "He can't be killed or sent to prison even if I could hold him long enough to get him into a courtroom, he can only be battled and banished. I know that trying to kill him would be pointless. Which is frustrating".

He'd only be replaced by another chaos lord. Which was not something I'd known until quite recently. There was still so much that I didn't understand.

"As long as you don't lock yourself up in the Tower of Fate and spend all your time plotting your revenge," said Canary "You need a life outside of your work, and we can discuss that as well".

I wondered what the League had planned for me.

"Kent Nelson updated his will shortly before he died," Canary told me "To make it fully legal your new civilian identity is James Nelson. The great-grandson of Kent Nelson. While he didn't have any property other than the tower he did have some stocks".

Canary passed me over a folder and I had a look inside. Kent hadn't been a billionaire like Bruce Wayne, Oliver Queen or Lex Luthor, but he was a millionaire.

Over the many decades of his long life, he'd made some good investments that had grown and given that he lived in a magical tower he wouldn't have paid taxes and his living expenses could have been low.

While most of his wealth was tied up in stocks and other investments they did earn a tidy profit if I was reading things right. There was quite a bit of cash in my bank account as well as whatever treasures he had in the tower. It would be good to have that if I ever needed a lot of money in short order.

"Wow that's a lot of investments" I commented.

I might not be able to live the life of a playboy billionaire, but money wasn't going to be an issue for whatever I did in the future, those plans were only just starting to form and no matter what I'd have the funding required.

He'd given me so much even if it did come with a burden I was grateful. A shame that I'd never get to thank the old man.

"Kent Nelson was one of the members of the Justice Society of America," Canary told me "When the JSA was forced to disband due to public pressure he had many years to make his investments".

The JSA was a crime-fighting group of superheroes during the mid-twentieth century it could be considered the precursor of the Justice League.

"We gave you a British identity since you still have the accent and you are in this country to attend The University of Metropolis" I was informed "It's important for you to have a life outside of our work".

According to the information I was given in written form, Metropolis University or simply Met U is a major university in Metropolis. Considered a first-tier tertiary institute nationwide, it has an excellent medical school and astronomy program, along with journalism, botany, and biochemistry.

"You'll be majoring in journalism and taking a minor in history," said Canary "If you want a different course of study we can arrange that for you".

I couldn't help thinking that this was some plan to stifle my process because the League was worried about me becoming too powerful and they wanted me to be distracted.

If so it was a terrible plan as the Grimiore rewarded me for going out and doing things, or at least interacting with people not for studying magic. I could assume that was because something out there was feeling entertained by some parts of my life.

"It's a lot easier to give you a civilian identity if you are in this country to study" Canary informed me "And Met U's journalism course will teach you a lot that can be useful if you ever want to become a member of the Justice League. It's not all punching people, there can be a lot of investigation and research involved".

That sounded reasonable and since I was immortal a few years of my life spent in higher education wasn't a big deal. Plus if I cooperated the League would have fewer reasons to look into what else I got up to. Besides, I could always drop out if I really wanted to.

"Connor, Megan and Jessica are taking the journalism course" I was told.

The Wonder Twins must want to follow in their father's footsteps or maybe their grandparents had encouraged it. As for me I just wasn't willing to cut my ties to the Justice League.

Perhaps it was cowardly of me to not want to venture out totally on my own, but I just didn't feel ready. Klarion had demonstrated just how out of depth I was in the mystical world.

"Jessica managed to short out any issues her parents had with you two dating" I was also informed "I'll let her fill you in on the details".

At least she didn't want to pry into my love life. That would have been too much.

"I'll be living in the tower, and I want to major in archaeology as it's more useful for someone who needs to deal with relics," I said as I stood up. "If I'm going to college then I want to enjoy the rest of my summer".

Taking a vacation mixed with some work sounded like a plan.

"Just keep your communicator with you" requested the crime fighter.

Since that seemed to be everything I headed back to my soon-to-be former bedroom to finish packing my stuff. As I did my book wanted some attention and I had a few moments to spare.

500cp

+200cp

700cp

Bank or Roll?

I wrote to Roll.

-400cp

300cp

The Boots of Springheel Jak

To an ordinary onlooker, these would just be a fine pair of leather boots. To the wearer? These will allow you to leap up to twenty feet in the air, and make you immune to fall damage. Additionally, it increases your skill in acrobatics in order to make the most of these abilities.

It was always nice to get another magical item. I might want more knowledge and power that I could use without items, but it wasn't as if I was paying for any of it, and they might help me to get around those funky stairs in my new home.

Wally (Kid Flash) POV

The whole thing was a mess. He had been their friend. Speedy was their friend, except he was not, he had been captured and replaced, and Wally had a difficult time believing it. They had been buddies for years, this kind of a surprise was pretty hard to swallow. Heh, and Wally's appetite had been making him very good at swallowing down a lot of stuff in a fast order. Too bad it didn't apply to the problems like this. Sitting on the couch staring at the television screen, he considered how the whole thing had played out.

Batman arrived, and the Wall-man had been ready for action, thinking they were about to get a new assignment. Only for Bats to drop the bomb on them that Speedy was an imposter, a clone infiltrator that had taken the place of the real Speedy. None of them had even realized. It had seemed unreal. It still seemed unreal. There had been some shouting and yelling, some were more accepting it than others. Wally took it poorly, and so did Robin. The two of them felt they knew Speedy the best, and to learn something like this seemed absolutely absurd. But the League was insistent and he was left hurt and confused.

"Man, why?" Wally asked before standing up, zipping around under his acceleration to grab a bunch of things from the fridge and assembling a sandwich for himself as well as putting a couple of things into the fridge to heat up at higher power, before grabbing a drink and a couple of bananas and returning to his seat, all within a short second or two. He had not pushed himself to go faster than necessary, but the main waiting time in that was still the fact they didn't have cans, so he ended up pouring the drink from a large bottle into a glass, because he wasn't supposed to just grab the entire bottle with him when he returned to the couch. Even if he could totally demolish a quart in one sitting, but he wasn't supposed to.

What he had gathered was only a light snack really, even if it would have filled some other people for a time. Still, five sandwiches and heating up a pair of large cheese burgers and grabbing a bunch of bananas was just fueling the grumbling belly for a moment, while he was trying to sort his thoughts out.

"Feeling whelmed or overwhelmed there?" Robin spoke up as he approached the couch, having been trying to spar with Kaldur earlier. His hair was still wet from earlier, Kaldur's attacks having forced the boy wonder to practice some fast dodging, even if they had been blunted to not cause any serious harm. Kid Flash had watched from the side for a bit then, still thinking about the same thing then.

"Yah, still can't wrap my head around it! I mean, he's our buddy, my dude, my friend! Hearing he's a fake, its a kick in the crotch." Wally slumped back in his seat, groaning. "Is it bad I wish Gothic had kept it to himself?" He grumbled in annoyance.

"Probably, but I get you. We needed to know, and its messed up. Still, I'm not sure what to think about either Speedy or Gothic leaving right now." Robin let out a long groan. Wally looked at him confused at that, before Robin blinked. "Dude, did you space out about the rest of it? Not only is Speedy a clone, and they found the original, but Gothic's probably retiring from the team for something else." Robin spoke in a serious tone for a change.

"Hmmph, well good riddance, anyone who thinks Magic is real is sort of a nutter or showboat with their abilities, magic ain't real." Wally grumbled, besides, while Power Girl kind of scared him at times, it was still irritating that she seemed to focus in on Gothic. It was also starting to look like Miss Martian, or Megan, had her eyes on Superboy. He was still thinking about trying to hit on Artemis, but they'd had a real rocky start there, and this Speedy issue was going to be something that messed that up even further.

They'd been aiming to have their buddy join them as an archer, only to get another, insulting Speedy in doing so, and the new girl turned out to be genuine while Speedy was fake, and wasn't that a mind-twister.

"Wally." Robin let out a sigh. "You do realize he still helped the team, and this might change things again?" Robin didn't argue about the magic thing, which was good.

Sure, Kaldur and Megan might insist on magic being real, but hey, Wally was sure it was just sufficiently advanced technology, or powers, calling it magic was just cheap. He'd prefer if they let up on that, but Gothic was a sore-point to him in that because the guy seemed to act like it was all magic and it rubbed the skeptic in him the wrong way.

"Yeah, well, things are changing." Wally finished up the last of his bananas, mouth stuffed, when Artemis entered the room, blinked at him having his mouth full of banana with just its end showing in his mouth before he swallowed it, leaving her to blink, before avoiding the couches and heading for the kitchen.

Yeah, looked like he might have a lot of work ahead trying to make any gains on putting the charm on the team's archer now that Speedy wasn't an option for a team-mate. He had been so sure they'd get their buddy, he'd dismissed her from consideration before. Thinking back on that, he had to wonder if he had salted the earth where that relationship could go, but nobody could say that Wall-man wasn't willing to put in the work when it came to ladies.

"-to do next?" Wally paused and blinked, looking over at Robin, who frowned. "You didn't listen to a word I said, did you?" Crossing his arms before his chest, and staring at Wally, Robin seemed a tad miffed.

"Hehehee, yeah, sorry." Kid Flash waved it off, while Robin simply sighed.

"I said, what do you think they are going to have for us to do next? Are we going to have someone new brought in to replace Gothic, or are we going to be waiting for a mission, do you think we might be getting the real Speedy here?"

That last thought was a momentarily exciting possibility, before Wally realized they might not really know the real Speedy, and felt torn once more. The whole thing was a mess.

Warning there is sexual activity in this chapter

Celestial Grimoire.

Part 16.

The Tower of Fate.

If the collection of notes I held in my hands was anything to go by my new home, the Tower of Fate, was more than just a magically protected building, or a home for a wizard.

Among other things, it could be considered a nexus point between different realities and a beacon of magical power. Which made it more important for this place to have a guardian

The Tower of Fate was built long ago as a symbol of the powers of the Lords of Order, it was built in their honour. Its exact age remained something unidentified, nor was its original location known according to the notes left by Kent Nelson.

Salem was chosen for the relocation more than a century ago because it is a mystical hotpot with a lot of supernatural activity known to have taken place around this area. Things other than humans have immigrated to America in the last few centuries.

Around the 1900s, the Tower of Fate would come to be occupied by Kent Nelson and Inza Cramer, the former being the first person to adopt the Doctor Fate mantle and play the role of superhero.

"What is a nexus point?" questioned Jessica.

My girlfriend, who seemed to have taken up the role without much input from me, was reading over my shoulder. She'd been helping me move my stuff as an excuse to come over and see the tower.

"I'm not sure," I admitted "But I suspect that it means that other dimensions can be accessed from this place much more easily than if you were somewhere else, and that might mean that creatures from other universes could enter this world more easily in this area".

Jessica gave the matter some thought.

"Like in that horror movie we watched?" she asked.

That could be the case. I didn't know which movie she meant, so I assumed she was referring to some movie involving monsters from other universes invading the Earth.

"It could be like that," I said "Given that Kent didn't tell me about any monsters popping up perhaps the tower is preventing them from entering this world".

Yet another reason to have someone keeping an eye on the tower, and I wished that Kent had left more information about this place for me to access. His research into the tower seemed to be rather haphazard.

At least I'd quickly figured out how to navigate the tower. The stairs might seem like a complete mess, but there was a pattern to it, and I got the sense that the tower was guiding me around it.

"Okay so we have plenty of bedrooms," I said as we wandered around.

The Tower houses several bedrooms that were scattered about and required using the stairs to reach.

"We'll need to find yours later" said Jessica "I didn't just come over to help you move your stuff".

While that was intriguing, for now, my attention was drawn to the library. Proof, if any was needed, that I was a Ravenclaw at heart.

The Tower of Fate houses a very large library and according to Kent's notes, many of the books here were once part of the Library of Alexandria. I doubted that I could read many of them, but still, I liked having such an impressive collection, and Kent had added to the collection.

"Okay, next up we have the Scrying Chamber," I said to Power Girl "The Tower houses a chamber of scrying windows which can view the whereabouts of every single significant supernatural power on the physical plane of existence".

None of the windows currently showed us anything.

"I might need to do something to activate them" I mused.

There were more than windows here. On display, there was a mystical globe.

"According to Kent that is the Orb of Nabu, a mystical globe used by Dr Fate to learn about different dangers to this world," I told Jessica.

Power Girl poked the orb, which was currently dormant.

"So you can spy on your enemies and perve on hot women," she said.

It wasn't quite that simple.

"The windows only show me supernatural beings and the orb is meant to warn about danger so I can't use them to watch women in the shower," I told her "And even if I could I wouldn't. There's plenty of porn on the Internet and the magical women out there might get upset if they found out I was spying on them".

Jessica flashed me a smile.

"You can always watch me take a shower" she offered.

I might take her up on that.

"But first, I should tell you about the arrangement I made with my parents before we fool around" Power Girl let me know.

Black Canary had mentioned that the League was messing with more than my life. They really were a bunch of control freaks.

"If I go to college and spend some time with the Amazons, then I am allowed to date," Jessica let me know "I have to live in the mountain, but I can spend some nights with you as long as our relationship doesn't interfere with the other parts of my life".

It sounded as if the League was managing her life even more than mine. No doubt they justified it to themselves by saying that were guiding us and making sure we didn't become villains,

"And you accepted that?" I asked.

Jessica shrugged.

"I can't fly so if they dumped me on Paradise Island I'd be stuck there," she said "And that might have happened as Wonder Woman was not happy about me trying to hook up with you. I don't think she likes you very much".

Bitch didn't even know me.

"Then my grandparents got involved and they were not happy about Superman ignoring me and Conner, they told him off about it, and reminded him that no child asks to come into the world and sometimes they do without the parents planning for it".

While I knew that my existence had been planned as my mother had wanted children, my father hadn't been enthused about the idea of parenthood. He'd abandoned me, but at least I'd had something of a family while growing up.

"So long story short, Connor and I are going to college, I get to date anyone I please, and I will take a few vacations on Paraside Island. It could be worse" she said "And it seems to fit in with Megan's plan".

While I felt it was unfair for her life to be managed by other people I was glad Mr and Mrs Kent were looking out for their grandchildren.

"You are handling this very maturely," I praised.

Knowing Connor as I did my thinking was that he hadn't been so grown up about it.

"Well I am the older twin" she joked

Something she'd just spoken about got my attention.

"What do you mean by 'Megan's plan' what plan does she have?" I asked.

She didn't seem the type to come up with schemes.

"Megan has a plan for her life on Earth" Jessica told me "Going to school, having a boyfriend, a few good friends, learning to bake, getting a house and a husband to put in that house. That's her big plan".

"Setting it up involves a lot of magazines and gossip" Jessica was now saying "I somehow ended up as part of her plans to hook people up. Even if you could resist my charms then Megan will find some way of trying to bring us together".

I hoped that it didn't involve the use of her psychic powers.

"Now she's trying to hook up Artemis and Wally" I was informed "And she's very happy about us all going to college together. I get the impression that she thinks it's going to be like a sitcom you see on TV".

Yeah, I could Megan wanting that.

"Who knew she was such a Yenta" I said.

Jessica's confused look let me know that she didn't know that word.

"A Yenta is someone who meddles in other people's lives, by doing stuff like trying to pair people up regardless of what the people involved want, and they can be very big gossips" I informed Power Girl.

The part-human nodded.

"She is totally one of those" she agreed.

"And you're onboard with this plan?" I asked.

She seemed surprised by the question.

"Isn't that what life is about?" she asked back "You're supposed to be working towards your goals. Go to school, get a good job, share your life with someone, get married, maybe have some kids".

Perhaps it was because I was immortal, but I didn't see things that way.

"James, don't you want a home and a family?" Jessica asked.

I'd have to get used to her calling me something other than Gothic.

"This is my home" I pointed out "And I don't know about the rest".

Having children seems less important when you can live forever. I have no need for anyone to pass my work on to and even if I died I wouldn't be around to care if I had a successor or not.

"You've got time to think about it," said Jessica as she leaned into me "We don't need to decide what we are going to do with our lives any time soon".

We were not going to be compatible in the long run, but I didn't think she cared much about that at the present, and neither did I.

"I think you missed the important part about me getting to stay over. Why don't you show me your bedroom" she requested.

I hadn't actually picked out one yet, but that didn't matter because if I wanted a bedroom I felt sure that the tower would guide me to a suitable one.

As we left the Scrying Chamber we ended up going through a hallway that had many interesting items on display.

"When I was at Cadmus I was shown an image of one of these," Jessica said.

She was referring to a drained Green Lantern Power Battery. I might never have owned a power ring, however, it was clear to me that this battery was totally dead.

"I wonder why Kent never gave that to one of the Lanterns that visit Earth" I muttered to myself.

There were other objects around that could be useful or dangerous. Some swords, a broken trident, suits of armour, and a book that was chained up for some reason, as well as a cloak that was dropped over a statue of a man.

I knew that there were other rooms like this, filled with powerful objects, of which I knew nothing about. I would have to research them carefully before I made use of any of the objects, but that was a low priority for me since I already had plenty of magical items and I would likely be given more in the future.

"Not to come off as a slut, but I really want to fool around" Jessica let me know "You can impress me with all your cool stuff later".

Lucky for her we did soon enter a fancy bedroom that many of my possessions had ended up in, the tower must have moved them, and as soon as we did I grabbed the busty girl by her arms

I roughly pulled her towards me, something that made her giggle in a very girly way. Power Girl moaned as I kissed her and began to let my hands roam over her back.

Her warm body pressed into mine so hard that it felt as if she was trying to melt into me. She would have fallen over if not for my arms being around her.

"What do you want me to do?" she questioned "I'm not going to go all the way just yet, so tell me something fun we can do without fucking".

Already, I could think of a few things.

"I want you to make me cum with your tits," I told her.

Again she delightfully giggled and then she quickly began to undress as I sat down on the bed.

"I'll just shower afterwards" she said "So feel free to make a mess".

She paused for a moment.

"You do have a shower somewhere near here?" she questioned.

I had more than one bathroom as a matter of fact.

"If you need a room the tower will guide you there when you take the stairs" I told her "Just focus on where you want to go".

Before long Power Girl stood before me in all her naked glory, and she had a very curvaceous frame and her tits were the biggest I had ever seen and impossibly firm with a perfect shape.

I'd not admired them as much as Black Canary had put me off sex with Jessica. Now that she'd come to an arrangement with her parents things had changed and I was free to admire her body.

When her lower half was exposed I saw her long smooth legs, her hips, and her cunt, which I could imagine struggling to get my dick into given how tight it looked.

"Let me get it out" she insisted.

Power Girl got down on her knees and licked her lips as my cock was exposed to the air. She was so eager to get at my dick that she ripped my jeans. It was a good thing that I had some changes of clothing close by.

"I'm going to make you feel so good that you won't even think about other women" she promised.

Before long the very large bosom of Power Girl swallowed my cock to the point where only the tip could barely be seen between them.

She then drooled on herself quite a bit, letting the spilt fill the space between her breasts that was mostly filled by cock. For some reason I found this to be very erotic.

"This won't take long" she promised.

She might not have done this before, but clearly, she had some idea of what she was doing. She kept her impressive breasts squeezed around my cock rather tightly as she began to move while on her knees.

All the time she was doing that she kept smiling at me as if pleasing me like this made her look very smug, as if she was winning something or about to.

"You might as well cum" she said "We all afternoon to fool around and I'm going to figure out how to please you in lots of ways".

I couldn't help wondering if this was part of some plan of hers to snare me as a proper boyfriend. If so it was a good one as how could any man, mortal or not, resist her charms?

"Want me to speed up?" she wondered.

She didn't wait for me to reply, she just started moving faster, and as expected this resulted in my balls getting emptied all over her chest and face.

"I'm a natural," she remarked.

She then began gathering my cum on the tips of her fingers and tasting it.

"It's not that bad, a little bitter," she told me "I think I taste better than you do".

She'd kissed me after I'd gone down on her so she would know, and I might have commented on that only this was when I felt the urge to look into my book.

"As wonderful as it is to see you licking your cum off your chest you should go get cleaned up so I take you out," I said.

Jessica beamed at me.

"I love it when you take me places and spoil me," she told me.

She started to leave and then turned around.

"Did you want to watch?" she asked "Or you can join me".

Tempting, but I did want to see what the Grimoire had to offer.

"Next time" I promised "We'll take ages to get ready if we shower together and I want dinner".

She didn't bother to take her clothes with her and I didn't mind as her backside was one hell of a view. I didn't check my book until she was gone.

300cp

+300cp

600cp

Bank or Roll?

Might as well roll. Six hundred points was a lot considering the total amount I could have was a 1000cp.

-400cp

200cp

Highway To Hell

There exist magical pathways between most mystical dimensions. Heaven, Hell, the Faerie realms, Gemworld, and pretty much every afterlife or magical nook and cranny you care to name.

With proper knowledge of these pathways, one can easily slip into them, allowing easy access to both them and what amounts to teleportation around Earth, as well. And you are one of the few people with knowledge of pretty much all of them.

If nothing else this would make getting home after a mission much easier as I now knew of several paths that would quickly take me to Salem from anywhere else on Earth.

Oh wow, getting knowledge of the pathways had been a bit of a rush, it was a good thing that I'd been sitting on the bed. As I recovered I considered that this ability would be very useful for dating Jessica as I now I could take her to so many places.

If we were going to do this whole boyfriend/girlfriend thing we might as well do it properly. She was clearly eager for it and I'd been advised to have a life outside of my work.

Not that I really had much work since I wasn't Doctor Fate or the Sorcerer Supreme, but I'd gotten the message and Jessica was pleasant to have around. Perhaps I would fall in love with her.

As I got dressed a strange noise filled the air and it took me a moment to realise that it was the doorbell. Since very few people knew the location of the tower it must be something important.

When I got to the door I didn't need to open it to see who was on the other side, and had no idea who the woman at the door was. I just knew that she wouldn't be able to enter without an invite.

I opened the door and a letter was shoved at me by an annoyed-looking woman.

"He wants to see you," said the woman.

It wasn't until she turned and left that I realised who she was, and understood why the woman wouldn't have been able to enter.

"Who was that?" Jessica asked.

Power Girl appeared and while she was only wearing a towel I didn't pay much attention to her body.

"That was Mazikeen of the Lilim" I answered.

Before my girlfriend could ask her next question I explained more.

"The Morning Star wants to meet with me," I said, "At this nightclub in LA".

And that was not the kind invitation you refused.

"So I guess you're taking me to a club" started Jessica.

I was about to suggest that she stay here but she was having none of that.

"You aren't meeting with the Devil without some kind of backup and if you even think of leaving me here you can forget about me spending the night" she warned.

There was no point in debating the matter.

"Go get dressed" I ordered.

She did as she was told, and I wondered how someone so stubborn could also be so eager to please by following my commands.

Then I worried about meeting with the devil and again I regretted that I couldn't depend on my mentor to be there when I needed advice. Still, it wouldn't hurt to call him, he might answer this time.

Celestial Grimoire.