Chapter 55: Denial iii

Just as Artemis and Wally reappeared on the flat area of a set of stairs in a room filled with them, all leading in different directions, Wally noticed a trio above them, one right away.

"Abra Kadabra," he said, standing up.

"Well, would you look at that?" Kent said, soon engulfed with a golden light that matched the cane's. His entire body rose and floated toward the two teens. Just as he grasped the cane, the ropes that were wrapped around his wrists evaporated. "In here!" he said to the two teens, using his cane to create an elevator before them.

"No, no, no!" a deathly pale, black-haired kid began to whine. "I want that helmet! I want it! I want it! I WANT IT!" With his hand out before him, red energy began to ball up before being sent to the trio that stood inside the elevator, the door closing just as the twin streams of red energy slammed into them.

Inside the elevator, the elderly man finally said, "I'm Kent Nelson, by the way."

Wally rolled his eyes and said, "No duh," being immediately elbowed in the side by Artemis. "Ow!"

"I'm Artemis," she introduced. "Ms. Manners here is Wally."

"Well, Artemis," Kent began, "we're up against an opponent with tremendous mystic power."

"Abra Kadabra?" Wally asked with a raised eyebrow. "Tch, the guy uses advanced technology to simulate magic. He's all show and no biz."

"Right you are!" Kent agreed, Wally immediately taking on a smug expression.

"He is!?" Artemis asked curiously.

"Abra is a charlatan, but Klarion the Witch Boy, the kid with the cat, is an actual Lord of Chaos. The ultimate enemy of a Lord of Order like Dr. Fate."

"Right~," Wally drawled sarcastically. "You're a Lord of Order."

"Oh no, not me," Kent admitted. "I'm just an old coat Fate used to put on. At least before my wife Inza convinced me there could be more to life. Ah," he said, looking lovingly at a picture in a pocket watch, "she was a real pistol, my Inza. Anyhow, Klarion's after the Helmet. If he gets his sticky little mitts on it, he'll turn the whole world into his little playground of pandemonium."

Before he could comment any further, the elevator door opened, revealing a short stairway to a large golden bell. The trio walked up toward it, but not before another trio came falling through a hole above them, revealing Superboy, Aqualad, and Miss M.

"Friends of yours?" Kent asked Wally lightly before both had to duck from an attack by Abra Kadabra.

"Friends of yours?" Wally asked rushed as they dodged his attacks. The team immediately went on the defensive, giving Wally and Kent enough time to get the Helmet.

Kent walked up to the bell and rang it with the head of his cane, causing the bell to be engulfed with the same golden light as his cane before walking through it as though it were an open doorway with Wally by his side. Both found themselves on the roof of the tower. Just as Kent went to reach the helmet, a spear of red energy struck him in the heart. The old man barely had enough energy to cast an extremely strong shield around them before Klarion, who had followed them, managed to attack again.

"NOOOOOO!" Klarion screamed, incensed.

"Not bad...for Dr. Fake...eh, kid?" Kent wheezed out, Wally having to support him as he fell to the floor. "The bubble...will give you just enough time t-to do...what you need...to do..."

"I have no idea what I need to do!" Wally exclaimed, looking at Nelson fearfully.

"Have faith...do what...you can't explain...believe...in what you can no longer...deny..."

And just like that, Kent Nelson was gone. No amount of Wally's attempts at CPR would revive him. Wally could hear Megan's pleas for Dr. Fate just before the telepathic communication was shut off from her pain.

He looked at the helmet that floated above him.

"A test of faith..." he said as he looked down sadly at the elderly man. Standing up, he grabbed the helmet just as Klarion used his powers to create giant red claws of pure energy to rip the shield.

"Hey dumb kid!" the witch boy said. "You put that thing on, you may never get it off!"

Just as the shield was destroyed and a huge flame came toward him, Wally put the helmet over his head, finding a world of darkness rather than pain.

Opening his eyes, he saw he was in a dark room, lit only by one light above him.

"Okay, okay, okay..." he said to himself in a panicky voice. "I'm not here, I'm dreaming!"

"Still don't believe?" said a familiar elderly voice. Turning around, Wally saw a living Kent Nelson. "Honestly kid," Nelson continued, "how did you become so bull-headed in fifteen short years?"

"But, bu-but you're...you're..." Wally stuttered, taking a few steps away from the man.

"Yup," Kent said firmly. "But don't feel bad. Soon as this little brouhaha is over, my spirit will ascend, and I'll finally be reunited with my beloved Inza."

"O-ooh? Okay..." Wally said softly before he became panicked again. "Wait! Does that mean I'm-!?"

"Ahh, you're alive," Kent reassured the teen. "But your soul no longer controls your body. See, we're inside the helmet." He explained, "You put it on, and my soul got sucked in. Probably because I spent so many years serving its master."

"Master?"

"Nabu. The real Dr. Fate. One of the Lords of Order I told you about. He's the guy controlling your body now. Want to watch?"

As though they were watching through a window, the two saw as Nabu took Wally's body and used it as his own, even their own voices sounding as though they spoke in unison.

It was only when Klarion finally got a clean hit that Kent informed Kid that even though Nabu was in control of his body, it was still his body, and whatever damage was dealt to it, was dealt to his soul. Every attack, punch, kick, and throw, Wally would feel.

When he was told that should Nabu lose...Wally was less inclined to believe putting the Helmet on was a good idea.

Out of nowhere, a voice echoed, "Doton: Kajugan no Jutsu (Earth Style: Weighted Boulder Technique)." Toneri's fist appeared millimeters from Klarion's face, shocking everyone present. As Klarion tried to say, "Wha..." the fist slammed into his face, instantly crushing his skull, turning it to mush as his face folds in releasing a shockwave due to the force of impact. But Toneri wasn't done yet. If what he thought was true about this walking abomination, then this wouldn't be enough. The ground cracked due to the force, and a millisecond later, his body released a massive amount of steam as Toneri called out his next jutsu, "Futton: Funsuiken (Boil Style: Eruption Propulsion Fist)." The already damaged head of Klarion, which began healing the moment his skull was turned to mush, suddenly evaporated due to the added force of Toneri's boil release. Klarion's body rocketed off faster than sound and crashed with a loud BOOOOOOM!! on the streets of Salem. Before Klarion's body reached the ground, Toneri muttered, "Kōngo Fusa (Adamantium Sealing Chains)," and light golden chains erupted from his back, binding the chaos lord while also shooting out three chakra rods that morphed into three broadsword with a paralyzing and immobilizing seals on them impaling the bound headless body.

Toneri thought, 'That wouldn't hold him for long, but first...' His eyes immediately shifted from the milky white byakugan to the the azure flower pattern eyes of the Tenseigan, and he looked into the eyes of Doctor Fate, who was now using Wally's body. He then used a jutsu, saying, "Tenseigan: Genjutsu."

Suddenly, Toneri found himself in the same space as Wally and Kent.

"W-Wow, Lunaris! How'd you get here?" Wally started, but his words trailed off as he saw Toneri's eyes. "Wow, dude, your eyes—they're different now."

"These are my Tenseigan," Toneri said.

The helmet appeared in the space above them and spoke, "What have you done, foreigner? I cannot move this body."

Toneri's eyes glowed with power. "Relinquish your hold over this body. It doesn't belong to you."

"He can't do that!" Kid exclaimed see as Nabu didn't want to give him his body back, "Can he do that?" he asked Kent beside him.

"Can, but shouldn't." Kent said before addressing Nabu, "This is not the right candidate, the kid's soul belongs to the world of science, not sorcery."

"True." Nabu admitted, "But I do not appreciate being permanently hidden away. Useless and isolated...for decades at a time. Chaos must not be allowed to reign!"

Toneri stepped forward. "I understand, but this boy is not suitable to be your host. He is magically inept. We will find you another host."

"And why should I trust the word of a foreign god?" Nabu demanded.

"It's either that or I take you off of him forcefully," Toneri warned. He began to release a massive amount of pressure, causing the entire space they were in to tremble.

Nabu scoffed, "Hmph, such insolence. To think you would command Fate to do such a thing," he said, releasing his own pressure as well.

As the two forces clashed, Kent moved to shield Wally from the overwhelming power. "Fine, then. You leave me no choice," Toneri said, his Tenseigan shining with chakra.

"Dakyō sa reta jiyū: Jinmin no shihai (Compromised Freedom: Subjugation of the Populace)."

Using the Tenseigan's 360-degree vision and psychokinetic abilities, Toneri identified Nabu and Wally as his targets. After making eye contact with them, he established a link with their spiritual and physical bodies, allowing him to cut the connection between Nabu and Wally, separating the Helmet's hold on Wally's soul.

Nabu screamed, "NOOOOOOOOOOO!" before going silent.

Wally's body started melting into flakes from his feet upwards. Kent observed with a mix of awe and relief. "Well, would you look at that? That's the first time anyone has put Fate in its place," he said, turning to Wally. "Some free advice before you leave, kid." Kent looked into Wally's bright green eyes. "Take care of that mentor of yours. He may look like he's close to your age, but an old man recognizes another one. He's strong, but even the greatest of knights have chips in their armor. Also, find your own little spit-fire, one that won't let you get away with anything. Like that—"

Before he could finish, Toneri lifted the helmet from Wally's head, allowing him to regain control of his body. Wally looked at Kent's body, then at Toneri, who spoke up. "Take the helmet and get to the team."

Toneri snapped his fingers, opening a portal beneath everyone, including Kent's body and abracadabra, transporting them out of the tower and close to a road. They found themselves facing a headless body wriggling and breaking the golden chains around it.

The team looked around, shocked by the sudden change in location. They turned their attention to Toneri, who stood tense and ready for something very bad.