Chapter 54: To the Shadows (Part 6)
[Clock - 02:56 | 02:56 AM]
[Calendar - 18/04/2003]
[Location - Gotham City, New Jersey]
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Time Skip - 10 Days
POV Change
Atlas - The Queen of Beasts
It was in the middle of the early, early morning when the wards that he had placed on the outside walls were blasting inside his head. His eyes snapped open and without even wanting to wake Waylon up, Atlas softly vanished from his place at Waylon's chest and without any further thought, appeared right above Beastialis a little bit sleep drunk. "*yawn*" With a big yawn, his eyes barely open, Atlas looked down towards the walls that surrounded Beastialis territory. It had expanded, the walls had to be moved further and their territory had increased by a lot in the past 10 days! They now occupied the entirety of Old Gotham, including the Slaughter Swamp. It was a steady and slow increase over territory, with Atlas first scanning the areas and letting the people of Beastialis to clean up the streets while he and Waylon alongside their rescue team would make a swoop in the areas around Old Gotham in search of survivors. Their population and popularity was increasing by leaps and bounds, so much so that Atlas was expecting some sort of villainous plan to take them down, which was why he and Pamela have been keeping watch. He keeps watch during the day with his magic, and she keeps watch around Beastialis with her plants.
The thing is, Atlas also placed various [Alarm] spells all around Old Gotham, since the surface world was being repaired by him to become the homes of their new people. The homes he made beneath Beastialis would still be homes, they were just expanding to the surface now! Slaughter Swamp actually provided a place to take magical resources from, which was now available to Atlas as he can now take off into other planes of existence to find the things he needs to make intricate rituals or make magical items! He has been preparing a large piece of the Crystal Creature that they stole to make into a Mythallar, but progress has been rather slow because of the intricate ritual that he needs to cast for... 8 hours without break, pause, or being distracted. Which is why he has been spending a lot of time training himself on learnig and sharpening his multitasking skills! Thanks to his method of using magic, he can create circles and stars that act as batteries and enchanters for his soul. They store and keep magical energy that he uses for spells and magic, and the excess energy would then flow into his mind and then body, enchanting them as well! And thanks to this side effect, his mind was truly and capable of learning how to process more than one thing at the same time and also do more than one thing at the same time! Summoning his Shadow Healers helped him not only practice his multitasking skills, but allowed him to understand how to properly cast 10th level spells with the [Infuse Magic] spell.
"...annoying pests." With a frown Atlas silently casted [Arcane Eye] and this small human-like eye with a yellow iris appeared in his hands, that he sent it towards where he knew the group of people that had infiltrated Beastialis territory came from. Atlas' naked pale white skin had this soft glow on it that was the reflection of being bathed by the silver light of the full moon above him, which made him look ethereal, even more so with the soft pale silver colored gown that adorned his body as he summoned it because he got a bit cold: "Ah, there you are- huh?" What he saw were not the criminals carrying guns and ready to shoot everyone, but a group of people taking to the shadows to keep themselves hidden from the single noticable source of light that was the light of the moon. He was, sincerely, expecting some sort of gang or mafia family trying to get their territory, and because it hasn't happened yet (in a big scale) he is kinda anxious about it? His magical eye with a bright yellow iris was a glaring sign that they were spotted! So they started to scatter, but Atlas wouldn't let them. In a burst of blue light, Atlas teleported hundreds of feet away from where he once stood. His naked body was only covered by a pale white night gown, so when he suddenly appeared he did look kinda like a ghost— Floating above the family, Atlas reached out with his hand and casted [Command] as he spoke: "Stop." All the people- he counted about six people, hiding in the shadows -stopped. Immediately, he reached out with his hands and pulled a string from moonlight as he casted [Light], a beam of silver light illuminated everyone.
He saw the father or the tallest men of the group, clench his entire body as he tried to break free, but it was like his entire body was actively fighting against him and his choice to move. The [Command] spell normally doesn't last very long, but Atlas learned- thanks to the 10th level spell that he has been casting -that if he keeps feeding magic energy to a spell, the spell will hold for longer. And that is also the Metamagic known as [Extended Magic]! "So, who are you and what are you doing here?" They might be survivors, but this is Gotham and Atlas is fucking paranoid about the people joining their newly growing empire! Assassins and spies are a thing, after all. Just to make sure, Atlas also casted [Zone of Truth] to hear what these people. The spell created this soft zone of magic that compelled people to speak the truth and nothing but the truth, this spell can be resisted by those with strong minds, but Atlas would feel such a thing.
"P-please, we're just seeking refuge!" The first one to speak was not the man, but instead the woman beside him. She was holding her children close to her, and Atlas casted [Detect Thoughts] on himself to read the surface thoughts of those around him as she spoke: "This is the only place that is safe!" Atlas could tell she was desperate and that she believed this was the only place she and her children cohld be, and she was also genuinely afraid of him and what he could do. "Please- please- my children!" She lifted the little one she had in her arms, making Atlas narrow his eyes as he looked down at the child she was holding out to him. It was a small baby, wrapped in what seemed to be a cloth covered in blood, and by the pale skin of the poor child, it was clear that it was hurt. "She's dying, please save her- my child!" Unbeknownst to Atlas, the fact that he has the power of healing and much more has spread and escaped the boundaries of the Beastialis territory, reaching other territories that were starting to form. Gangs started to form and gather territory, the GCPD has established their own territory after Batman vanished, and so some villains started to spread out with their own territories. This has lighted the slightest of sparks within the heart of this poor family and many others all from Gotham, and this family decided to take a risk because they were desperate.
"Very well." Atlas sighed- Is he being too paranoid, or is he being paranoid enough? He has been preparing for his plan to get Beastialis recognized by the UN as a nation, but he has also been preparing himself for whatever might happen in the future! He has been shouldering a lot of responsibilities for the kingdom, and he sometimes he thinks he's being too paranoid? But oh well, if anything, he'd blame Batman's knowledge that has made him a bit more paranoid than normal because of the sheer amount of ways he knew someone could hurt him or hurt his kingdom. "[Heal]. There, your child is completely fine now..." He was about to sigh when a small, a soft little trigger seemed to just go off inside his brain as he casted [Shield], creating an instantaneous barrier of energy that instantly shattered. His brain was a lot faster than a normal human, and that allowed him to instantly react to the shift in the atmosphere and the sudden sense of danger and death that emanated from somewhere! He swiftly casted [Misty Step] and vanished as soon as the shield of energy he created to protect himself shattered, he appeared about 30 feet higher into the sky. His eyes immediately glared at the direction he had felt the danger coming from, only to have the same sensation coming for him at a sharp speed, and he reacted by immediately by teleporting away with [Dimension Door], going 500 feet above everything and looking down at everyone. He narrowed his eyes as he thought: "...Bait."
That family (perhaps they not knowingly) were bait. Whoever had tried to kill him had used them as bait... so either they knew he would appear, or they weren't actually after him but after anyone from the Beastialis Kingdom that could heal. So, someone with money had somehow learned that their group were accepting survivors, maybe they knew he could heal? This is DC, Gotham City! Perhaps they had a little mole within their territory? Maybe they somehow heard some sort of rumor about him and his capabilities? Somehow, someome tried to kill him today. With a cast of [Locate Creature] and focusing on the person who tried to kill him, Atlas received a small ping. Someone that was running away, huh? Well, he won't let that happen!
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POV Change
Lawrence Crock - Sportsmaster
It was supposed to be an easy job, bait was even provided. He just was supposed to shoot this random freak that was apparently the leader of this group of homeless people that apparently had some sort of ability or power to do weird shit— he was told by his contractor, the Penguin, that this guy was one of the people that held most part of Gotham as his territory, and that with him dead the territory would be free for the taking. He also went to explain about a bunch of random things about the guy that he didn't really listen, mostly because there were no known reported abilities that could pose a serious problem to him, besides the healing thing, of course.
But nothing a bullet in the head couldn't stop, right?
He has done this before. Some random guy thinks they're untouchable and all powerful, but a bullet in their head simply ends those thoughts instantly! He followed the desperate family from a distance— They were simply found by the Penguin, he had one of his henchmen simply cut several veins from the baby, telling their parents that their child would die of blood loss if they didn't nanage to find this specific person, a person that could famously heal. They had been under the Penguin's territory ever since the Cataclysm had hit Gotham, and they were being thrown out with the simple instructions of going towards this place to save the life of their baby? Even if it was a rouse or some sort of trick, to save their child, they would do anything! So they took their other children and ran. Sportsmaster couldn't really fathom why they would go so far for something that would die soon enough.
But hey, everyone has their flaws, right?
He loaded the sniper rifle and took aim- that weird guy was simply floating, but Sportsmaster has been in the business enough to know that you don't really question why some people are able to do what they do, you just shrug and kill them!
Right as he pulled the trigger, he could swear he saw the man stare right at where he was before this shield of energy materialized around him- he thought that that was it, but the shield shattered, and the man vanished 30 feet above of where he was. Cursing, Sportsmaster tried to shoot him again and- The guy simply vanished again! "Yeah, fuck this shit I'm out-"
"Leavin- so soon?" A voice spoke from above, and just as he feared, the same guy he tried to kill was floatimg right above him: "I have a few questions- Wait a moment, please..." A book appeared in his hands as he frowned: "Your name is Lawrence Crock? Sportsmaster? Huh, never heard of you- anyway, to the shadow realm with you." The shadows beneath him simply turned to this sluggish liquid that dragged him down, and his body refused to move.
In the night, Sportsmaster simply vanished.