23

How long had it been? At least a month or two since I came here, since I started 'working'. I have learned a lot in that time, much like how a dog learns what behaviors to adopt to make sure it doesn't get beaten. I suppose things could have been worse, but I didn't want to get comfortable with my lack of freedom, especially considering these 'Shadows' (god what a terrible name for an organization) could and would kill me if they thought I was being the slightest bit of a problem. I just had to be careful, bide my time, and find a way out.

Now if only I wasn't in some kind of Tibetan mountain fortress full of ninjas…

I pinched the bridge of my nose as I fought back the exhaustion, shaking my head as I refocused on the book in front of me. The table was littered with such tomes, which I had pulled off of the selves on the wall behind me. More tables littered the large square patterned room covered in beakers, materials, and random knickknacks. If you had asked me a few months ago I would have said it looked vaguely like an old fashioned scientist's lab.

Well, something something sufficiently advanced…

I got what I needed from the book before I leaned back, making a complicated gesture with my right hand and saying a foreign word. The book snapped shut of its own accord and a symbol on the front flashed with a blue light before it disappeared. I mirthlessly chuckled under my breath. Behold, I now have the magic talent to emulate a street magician, I thought. Normally I would be more thrilled about learning magical skills. Hell, normally I would have been ecstatic about learning that magic was real at all.

But a lot of that excitement falls by the wayside when you find yourself trapped in an asshole's summoning circle after having stepped onto a subway car and

W̷͇̮̟͇̬̯ͤͬ̓͛́e̷̛̳̼̼̤̣̘̻̞̱̯̠̥͎͊͐́͒͆ͣ͒͌͌ͫ͟͠ ̊̔̐̒͑̍̏́͜͞͏͠҉̙̩̮̥̠a̵̧̛̲̘̖̳͍͖̘̲͈̰̱̜̙̗̯̰ͥ͑ͥ̽̿̾͊ͤ̀͝ļ̴̮͈̻̰̮͔̭̩̳̖͗̉̀ͬ̂̾l̾͑ͤ̂ͪ͒̉͂ͯ͂̇҉͏̖̥̭̲̩̗̯̮͖̩͕̟͔̥͓͕͠ ̧̰̹̱̙̬̟͍͇̾̏̔͗ͧ͊ͯ̂̓̽͐ͤ͛͗́ḩ̵̯̦͇̼̝͔̞̜̠̻͈̩̣̩̹̻̥̟ͪ͆ͤ̓ͪ͑̌̇͑́͒̈́̓̄̄͟͞a̬͕͉͉̱̫͎̖̲͙̗̤͖̺͚̣ͧ̅̽ͣͯ̃̑̇͊ͮ̎ͫ̑ͯ͌̽ͫ́͜ͅv̂̄ͧͪ́͐ͨ̈̑ͤ̈̀̏̋̏͋͢͏͔̤̜͕͇̼̱̲̫̺͢eͦ̉̅ͭͪ̃̓̌͐ͭ̎̾ͭ̓ͣ̉̔͐ͯ͏̛̜͔̥̥͇̠̟̳̖̦͇̯̩̀ ̸̅̍̂͒̎ͤ̿ͥ͏̶͏͕͇̞͙͇͖͎̮͉̝͖̘͍̕tͩ̌͛ͦ̅͛̄̽̓҉̴̷̢̖̫̩̖̮͍͓̫̻̯̙̖́ȯ̵͔̺̱͚̙͚̤̗̤̣͖̬͔̻͈̫̝͚̗̃̈́ͪ̇̿̅̔̆̏̚̚̕͝͝ ̒͑̄ͭ̅̚҉̷̧̢̺͔͇͕̝̯d̶̷̵̬̱̣̼̯͉͕̱̦̮̟̻̞͔̉̃̿ͨ̒͋̆ͤ̈́̉͗̈ͨͦ̎͒͜͞ȍ̉͋̉̆ͦ̏͊̌͐̑ͤ̉ͯ͒́̚҉̦̗͙̰̻͓̫͝ ̵ͩ́ͧ͂͐̅͌̌͗̏͂͗̒̃͊͏͏̡̤̬͖̹̳̱̬͍͙͜t̒͌̉̔̓̽ͩ̉̇͌̎͌͗̀͂̓̎̋ͥ҉̷͏̶̱̯̬͉̣̩͈̪̼̱͕ͅͅḥ̴̷̨͙̹̜͎̜̰ͨ́́ͥ͑͊̃́̚͘i̦̼̹͔̭̹͕͉͈͈̳̝̲̱͕͕̓̀̑̔̏́̕͞͡ş̨͙͇̳͓̮̼͔̻͍̜̟̬͖͔ͦ͒ͯ́̂̊̓̍ͥ̓ͬ̕ ̨͗̉ͫͫ̄̅̓ͪͯ̄̇̐ͤ̎ͫ͐͌̐҉͔̦͓͇̪̳͔͉̹̤̹̹̭̭̼̬s̴̶̷ͯ̓ͯ͊ͭ̈́̈҉̸͓̙͚̹͚̹̖̦̫̼͕̠̜̜͙͓o̢̒͂̃͐͊ͬ̆͗̏ͭ̎͗̊͘҉͓͙͇͚̞̻̥̰͖͎ͅȍ̸̶̝̘̻̥͉͆̐ͣ͑͑̃ͪͩ̅ͮ͂̉͐̀ͩ̔ͦ̕n̢̜̼̲̳̟̘̯̺̖̳͈͆ͬ̽͂ͣͯͨͣ̃̂́͠e̛̪̗̦͚̜͇̹̙̻̘͎̟̩͈͕͎͖̽̍̂̊ͣ̏ͥ̾́̀͢r̶̢̒͛ͦ͘͏̳̳̦̠͈͓͇̰̮̠̫̣ ͑̊̔ͤ̈̈́̌́̅̉ͩͬ͒̀́ͣͬ҉̷̢͈͇̱̤̘͔͖̩̺͠͝ͅo̸̵͊ͩͮ͂̔͑̀̿̏͌̀̎͋͗ͪ̌ͨ̓ͦ̕҉͎̟͎͎̯̻̮r͌̉̏ͪͮ̆͘҉̹̱̜͞ ̸̧̨̭͚̞̭͉ͤͦ͗͜l̡̛͑̂ͣͬ͂̂ͥ̏҉̷̡̟̟̝͍̩a̶̶̞̭̖͍̬̫̹̫̩̞̼̲̪̅̓̄ͩ͌́͟͞t͆̅ͥ̑̃̈̐ͣ̂̑̄̐̔ͯ̈ͮ̃̅ͩ҉̸̜̘̝̞̪͕̹̞̘̟̪̯͈̹̺̀͡͞e̛̩̳̯͔͈̱̭̟̳͖̟̱̋ͦͯ͐̋̓͌͌ͧͨ͗̏̅͠r̰͈͖̗͚̞̦͇̪̯ͮͬ̂̊̎̇͐̇̉ͮ͆̎̄̊̄ͫ͌ͥ͜͜

I flinched at the sudden headache, waiting for it to subside before I got back to work. I never should have tried casting that damn memory spell, I thought. The event of my arrival was… confusing to say the least. Besides which, I needed to focus on finding a way out of being that prick's lab assistant/experiment. I know he wasn't exactly happy that I wasn't the whatever-the-hell he was actually trying to summon, but experimenting on me as a consolation prize was a dick move.

Absent mindedly I scratched my back, right near the top of the massive tattoo that covered the whole of it. The damn thing still itched, even though I had gotten it weeks ago. It was probably due to the thing being magical. Or maybe I was just imagining it. Either way it was how my 'Master' (whom I had mentally dubbed Schmitty) decided to control me to make sure I didn't get into trouble when he wasn't around. It didn't exactly rob me of my free will so much as give me debilitating pain anytime I did something he didn't like. He demonstrated this by ordering me not to eat for a few days and letting me find out what happened when I tried to disobey him.

It wasn't great.

Anyway, it turned out that having a means of control me was only the start of his plans for me. The control diagram was actually secondary to the main arcana inscription, a geometric diagram with six empty circles ringing around the outside. The sorcerer wasn't one to really explain things to his unpaid intern, but I managed to catch snippets of conversation between him and some of his colleagues. Turns out the spell was one he managed to acquire years ago from some ancient tomb or another, and he has spent a not inconsiderable time getting it to work. Its purpose was to connect to sources of power and channel them into the recipient, granting them powerful abilities. From what I had heard, this spell was meant to channel the power of gods.

But, Schmitty understandably didn't want to deal with divine entities just yet, so he found some other 'volunteers' to deal with the first round of testing. I glanced to the back of the room at the row of magic circles and what they held. At a glance they seemed to be glowing masses of energy and matter about the size of a person, from a rolling cloud of flames to a sifting mound of dirt, and so on. But I knew that these were elementals, just like out of the Monster Manual. They were… a bit weird, but I had spoken with them. Earth, fire, air, water, ice, and lightning. And none of them were too happy at their current circumstances.

Something we had in common.

I looked back at the table and pulled another book towards me, this one about the intricacies of arcane geometry. The spell inscribed on me wasn't quite complete. It needed one final ritual before the binding would be set and power would be channeled into me. As to the question of 'why would a sorcerer give such a potentially powerful spell to a slave rather than himself', I can only guess that the answer is something along the lines of 'because he's not sure if it will cause the recipient to explode on first use'. Besides, having a super soldier for a slave is the next best thing to turning into one yourself.

Needless to say, I had no plans of letting that happen. Every spare moment I had, every chance I could sneak, I studied the spell that had been inscribed onto my flesh. I learned every curve and line, I learned what it meant, I learned every bit of arcane trivia my 'Master' didn't want me to know. I was going to make sure that the ritual succeeded, and when it did, I would be the one in control. And then I would get the hell out of there. And if that meant staying up all night-

I blinked as a line of light fell onto the book I was reading. I looked up and saw the first hints of dawn breaking over the mountains through a nearby window. "Ah crap, I stayed up all night," I muttered, looking around the mess I had made of the lab. I would have to clean this up before he sees this, but lucky for me I had plenty of time that day.

Schmitty had a fondness for drink, especially when he felt like he accomplished something. Last night there had been a big summoning ritual, similar to the one that had brought me here, and apparently it was far more successful than last time. He claimed that he summoned a 'demon mage', and would going to get to work 'breaking it in' tomorrow. That would be an extra week for me to prepare, and more immediately he would be drunk off his ass that night and hungover the next morning. As such, I had plenty of time to-

"Whelp! Just what in the hell do you think you are doing!?"

I spun as terror gripped me, and saw the man who had been making my life a hell for the past few months. His goatee rimmed mouth was set into a scowl, and his eyes smoldered as he started at me. They also noticeably were missing the dark bags they usually had after a night of revelry. "M-Master," I stuttered. "You're up rather early."

He huffed. "I turned in early. Can you believe that we are out of wine at a time like this? Utterly deplorable." His scowl returned. "Now, tell me what you are doing with those books."

"I-I uh was organizing them. For this day's work. I'll put them back-"

I didn't hear the word he spoke so much as felt it, and the next moment I was on the ground writhing in agony. I was dimly aware of the hem of his robes as he stepped over me to look at what I was studying. "Hmm, I see. You were trying to find a way to break your bindings." A sigh. "I should have known better than to give you so much freedom."

"M-master-"

"Silence, whelp!" he snapped. "I was in a foul enough mood already, and now I am going to have to spend more time putting an extra geas on you. Do you have any idea how valuable my time is?!"

As he screamed, he kicked me hard in the ribs as I tried to get up, sending me rolling across the floor. Through the haze of pain, I realized I was fucked. Regardless of whatever other compulsion he put on me, he'd be watching me much more closely from now on. I'd never get the chance I needed now. Not while he was there.

A half formed idea drifted through my mind, a contingency I hadn't dared tried. I was already compelled not to raise my hand against him, but that didn't mean I couldn't do other things. I shakily got to my hands and knees, and this time I waited for the next blow to hit. I rolled with it and pretended that it impacted with more force than it had, sending me careening into a workbench. I groaned as I hid my hand underneath me, tracing a specific part of the floor with my fingertips. As the man came over to stomp down on my back, I rolled away at the last second and his foot hit the floor.

There have been a number of small, menial tasks I had been assigned by the sorcerer since the start of my unexpected internship, but as time went on I started getting assigned more important jobs. One of which being securing the lab after we were done. Rather notably, Schmitty had been kinda of vague as to exactly how I should secure things.

As such, considering he had technically ordered me to do so, it wasn't exactly my fault that he happened to step on the lightning trap I had set up in front of the alchemy station.

He screamed as electricity arched up his body, flashing so brightly that I had to look away. A second later a heard a thump and an ungodly smell reached my nose. As I staggered to my feet I turned back to look and found a smoldering body before me.

Holy shit, he's dead, I thought to myself. I stood there for a moment before I kicked the body as hard as I could. "Suck it, you sadistic moron!"

My revelry was short lived though, as I heard shouting coming from the open doorway some ways off. I considered my situation for a few seconds before I bolted to the door, slamming it shut and barring it. There was no way I was going to be able to talk my way out of having Schimitty's still smoldering corpse at my feet and still keep my head (even if it was his own stupid fault). Which meant that I was going to have to enact my escape now, a week before I was ready.

Step one: don't explode.

I barreled over to the materials and grabbed paint and a brush before hurrying to the space in front of the elementals. Once there, I began to paint, trying to shut out the shouting and banging on the other side of the door. My nerves were frayed as I simultaneously tried to hurry and not make a mistake, going line by ling, rune by rune until I was almost there. The diaphragm splayed out beneath me, the gaps yearning to be filled.

I got up and faced the entities which had been silent this whole time. "Elementals, I entreat with you again," I said rapidly as I bowed. "Do you remember what we have discussed?"

The water element let out a gurgle before it responded. "We do. You proposed that we lend you our power through the inscribed spell to help to escape."

"And in exchange, I release you from your bindings." I confirmed. There wouldn't be time for anymore negotiations beyond what had already been done in secret. They only agreed to give me their power for my escape, so I'd have to make it count. "Unfortunately, it looks like I'll have to do it now or never. Do you agree to my terms?"

There was a moment of silence where the various beings shifted, their masses moving slightly faster than usual. I shifted nervously from foot to foot, the smashing on the door growing louder as they seemed to have found a battering ram. Eventually, they all refocused on me and said "The bargain is accepted."

"Good." I moved to connect their circles with the one I had just made, linking them in as part of the array. "One the spell if complete, your containment will collapse and you'll be free to go." I finished and moved back to the center. "To seal the pact I will need to invoke your names."

"We have none."

I froze mid-stride before I turned to the giant rock thing. "Wait, what do you mean you don't have names?!"

"We have never needed them." It replied. "Your 'names' are given to us."

I ran my fingers through hair in frustration. "Alright, so I just have to give you names, right? That will be good enough?"

"Perhaps."

"Fine, whatever!" I yelled as I pointed at each of them, shouting the first thing that came to mind as I looked at them. "Sylph, Helios, Arc, Zephyr, Ardent, uh… Melchior!"

"…Melchior?" the ice elemental crackled.

"It has to fit a certain schema, and you try coming up with good names with a bunch of assassins knocking down the door!" I yelled as I wrote their names on the floor next to the connecting lines. When I was done I moved back to the center of the diagram I had made and I undid the top of my robe and let it fall, leaving me bare to the waist. I took a deep breath to center myself, and then I began to chant.

I don't know what language it was, other than that it was something long dead. The words rolled of my tongue with an unusual cadence, and as the incantation went on I felt a sort of tension fill the air. Every nerve in my body felt charged as the circle around me started to glow, the intensity picking up as went. My mind raced as I tried to keep the spell together in my head, desperately trying to build out the last part before I got to it.

I ran out of time just before I finished. The door to the lab smashed open, and I felt the last bit of the spell come together in my consciousness as I imaged the names of those I was entreating with. The names fused together, and in that instant I had the final word of the spell.

Perhaps, I could be forgiven for not piecing it together sooner. Being trapped in a sorcerer's lab and forced to be his slave narrows your focus a bit. And more immediately, having a squad of ninjas focuses it even more. But as the word passed through my lips and the spell finished, I had a moment of frozen clarity. Everything I had seen and done since I had come here flashed before my eyes, all the pieces falling into place around this one word. And when that knowledge of where I was, what power I was calling crystalized, the realization hit me like a-

Well, yeah.

"SHAZAM!"

Lighting slammed into me from above and I felt power surge into my body, consuming everything I knew in light, sound and fury. It only lasted for a moment though. When it cleared I was left standing in the middle of the lab, standing a good deal taller than I used to. My body was chiseled and reminiscent of worked stone, and sparks of electricity arced off me. The air around me shifted and flowed like a cloak, bits of flame and ice drifting in their currents.

I was aware of this, just as I was aware of the assortment of monks and ninjas picking themselves off the ground near the door. I was also vaguely aware of the elementals, now much smaller in size, drifting aware before simply disappearing from sight. But all of those things were secondary to what I had just realized, and just how bullshit it was. I was in the DC universe.

"Huh."

The few ninjas near the front took this as their cue and rushed me, drawing their swords as they did so. I stepped forward and thrust out my palm, and a blast of wind tore out from me before slamming into the men coming at me, sending them flying back. The rest of the men started to spread out to try to flank me, but a sharp gesture with one hand sent a wall of ice ripping across the ground and blocking their passage. My other hand thrust out in a fist and a torrent of flame blocked the other side.

The knowledge of how to use my power flowed through the back of my mind, like something half-forgotten but still remembered by reflex. I was curious if all the motions I was making were actually necessary, or just me filling in the gaps with poorly mimicked Avatar moves, but then was not the time to dwell on it.

Before the men could regroup I charged forward, pulling water from the air and lashing at the men in front to knock them off balance. Some fell, some managed to dodge, but none were ready when I barreled into the frontline. Lightning ran over my entire body as I struck wildly, hitting anyone who dared get close. There was no grace or skill in how I fought, and more than a few attacks from the ninjas managed hit me, but I didn't care. Pent up rage and stress from having spent months as a slave turned me into a whirlwind of destruction and violence, headless of the ones trying to stop me.

Things got a little blurred towards the end, but before I knew it I was breathing heavily in a room full of bodies. I didn't know how many were simply unconscious and how many were… it didn't matter, I had to get out of there.

I groaned as I clutched at my side where a particularly vicious sword blow had hit my kidney, and I knew there was going to be some heavy bruising later. I have to be more careful, I'm not invulnerable, I thought. And it's very well possible I might run out of power if I'm reckless. Shazam made this spell to work with gods, not moderately powerful elementals. I quickly shoved down the thought of where I was to focus on more immediate things. I made a forceful gesture at a slab of stone kept in the corner of the lab, which broke apart and flew to me. In a few moments, I had some makeshift stone plating covering me, and I moved out.

The journey through the fortress was a quick one. I knew roughly where I wanted to go, and it wasn't like paltry things like doors or floors could stop me. A few random monks ended up in my way, but they weren't much of a problem. I didn't meet any more large groups, but they may have been busy what with all the fires I was starting as I ran. Soon enough, I ended up at the front doors to the fortress, a pair of massive wooden slabs. Now that I was close to the actual mountain though, that was even less of a problem. I lowered my stance before I took a step forward and thrust both of my fists out. A pair of thick earthen pillars ripped out of the ground next to me and smashed into the doors.

The entryway shattered from the force, and I felt a blast of cold wind hit my face as I got a clear view of the mountain pass leading down. Alright, now what? I thought as I hesitated. If the contract held, I would probably lose my powers when I got a decent distance away from the fortress. I had wanted to arrange something with the supply convoys that came here regularly, find a space to hide on them, but best laid plans and all that. A short distance away I spotted a smaller building which was likely a sort of garage/supply building. If I was lucky, there would be some warm clothes and maybe a snowmobile in there. Without better options, I headed for the building-

-and immediately stopped as I bounced off a rippling barrier that formed on the threshold of the doorway. I blinked in confusion as I put my hand out, feeling the repulsion as the air waivered in front of me. I struck at the barrier to no effect. I blasted it with fire and lightning which dispersed harmlessly. I tried to destroy the threshold and dig underneath, but the barrier extended beneath the ground. I was trapped.

Well, now what the fuck do I do?! No one told me there was a goddamn magic barrier around this place! I apparently couldn't brute force the barrier, and I didn't have time to figure out how it worked! Did I have to beat up everyone in the stupid fortress if I wanted to get out of there? I mean, with my power up I suppose it wasn't impossible, but they only had to get lucky once. And besides, I was pretty sure I had only been facing jobber ninjas up until this point. There were bound to be at least a few around here who actually knew what they were doing. What I needed was someone with way more magic power and skill than me to get me through the barrier. But who the hell here would help-

I stopped as the though occurred to me. No, that's insane and will probably get me killed.

I heard the shouting behind me get closer. On the other hand, if I do nothing, I will most certainly be killed.

I hesitated for only a moment before I turned back into the burning fortress and started running to where I had first been summoned, the grand array at the very bottom of the fortress. "Fuck it, time for bad decisions!"

I was going to make a deal with the devil.

Well, a demon mage, but that's just semantics really.

It was another short journey down to the bottom of the fortress, which thankfully wasn't populated. The doors to the summoning chamber were also thankfully unsealed and I pushed my way in to the large chamber. The eight sided room was bare of furnishings, though the walls were covered in scripts and designs meant to aid in the channeling and focusing of arcane energy. Everything there was aesthetically designed to converge on a point in the center, which is where the summoning/containment circle was located.

The circle itself was an elaborate affair about 3 meters across, with glowing scrawl dense enough that it was hard to make out without kneeling next to it. Inside the circle was an opaque black dome, its surface occasionally rippling with energy. And unfortunately, obfuscating the occupant.

Shit, I thought to myself. I knew that bargaining with a demon was a terrible idea even if I had its freedom as leverage, but even worse was just setting it free and losing that bargaining chip all together. But if I couldn't speak with it, I couldn't do much else. "Hello?" I tried asking anyway, hopping that the barrier didn't block sound as well as sight. "You in the circle, can you hear me?"

I then got a sort of response, but it wasn't from the circle. The motion of the air behind me suddenly shifted, and I hurled myself to the side in time to avoid getting hit by several shuriken. "Ah, I was hoping to end this mess quickly…" a lightly accented voice said, and I turned to look just in time to see another ninja drop to the floor, but this one was different. His arms, legs and torso were lightly armored, small inscriptions glowing with a soft power. He did not wear a hood, revealing an older Asian man with graying hair.

Definitely not a jobber.

"I don't suppose I could convince you to simply surrender, could I?" He said as he smoothly drew his sword and got into a fighting stance. I couldn't help but notice the harsh red light the sword emitted.

"If I did, would I get to live?" I asked skeptically as I carefully stepped away from him.

"Probably not." He admitted. "But I promise it will be a much less painful if you give in right now."

I grit my teeth as my mind raced. Up until this point I had been relying on overwhelming power, but if I had to fight someone who had actual skill, that wasn't going to cut it. If I was going to beat this man I had to be smart. I had to come up with a plan. I needed to play this game with such cunning that my strategy would be sheer elegance in its draconian complexity.

Or I could just flip the board.

I stomped my foot into the ground, and a short pillar of earth shot up a short distance away.

Right through the edge of the containment circle.

The ninja stared at the rapidly failing magic circle before looking back at me. "Oh you son of a wh-"

There was a flash of light and the sound of glass shattering, and before I knew it I was tumbling back away from the circle. I quickly got my feet under me and settled into a guard stance, ready to deal with whatever hellspawn I had just unleased on the Shadows. However, as the spots cleared from my eyes and I regained my vision, what I saw caused me to freeze. Getting to her feet in the middle of the fading circle was a young woman in a dark cloak, cut into thick strips and covering most of her body. As she turned her head to scan the room I caught sight of her ashen skin and sharp features. And more importantly, the small red gem in her forehead.

The Shadows hadn't captured a demon. Well, alright, she was a half-demon, but my point stood.

"Azarath …" A pulse of power rippled away from her, the energy coalescing around her dark with a halo of white. "Metrion…" She rose to the air, her cloak billowing out behind her in the vague impression of wings as the energy around began to grow and take form.

Rachel Roth roared as her aura finished taking the shape of a massive Raven. "Zinthos!"

=====C=====​

When thinking about making and SI for the DC universe, I had about 5 different ideas about how to approach it. Techno-Blacklight + Starfire won, but this was the runner up. Essentially, this version gives the SI an unbound version of the Great Wizard's spell, which means that if he wants any entity's power, he need to bargain for it. A lot of his power at any given time would depend on what beings he can contract and for what price. That said, the elemental crew would show up again later, and some pantheons would be interested in his services. He and Raven would go on and help make Young Justice Dark.

I will admit that this chapter isn't what I would actually put out if I was being serious about this (it's pretty much the second half of a real chapter). Still, a 'real' first chapter of Contract would be about twice as long and hit most of the same points as the first chapter of this fic, so I decided to just get the point across.