[Book 2] Chapter 15: Outsiders Insiders (Part 1)
[Clock - 08:33 | 08:33 AM]
[Calendar - 20/07/2010]
[Location - Beastialis Empire - Skypelago, Menagerie Island, Central Region, Pyramid Palace of Cycles]
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Adam Begala - Electric Light POV
A dull ache in his skull was the first thing that greeted him back to the world of consciousness. He almost regretted being alive, but the softness of the bed below him made him forget everything... It was like he was back in his room, lying atop his solid cloud bed! "Argh..." But even so, the ache in his body was still there from his fight against one of the beings that the Empress warned him about... Klarion, the Chaos Twink as the Empress liked to call him, was there in the Tower of Fate. He and the magic-less guy known as Abra Kadabra were messing around and wanted something from the Tower of Fate that he later learned was the Helmet of Fate, the artifact that housed the Lord of Order, Doctor Fate. When he appeared at the top of the tower, just as Wally who had put on the helmet defeated Klarion, Adam was met with dilemma... He had learned a bit about the Lords of Order and Lords of Chaos from the Empress, and he knew that if Wally wore that helmet, he might have never been able to take it off!
And that was when Doctor Fate offered him one thing- He'd let Wally go if he switched places with him. He would become the Host to Doctor Fate and Wally would get to walk free and return to his non-believer shenanigans... Seriously, through the whole trip around the Tower of Fate, Adam was able to navigate the place because of the tons of lessons that were jammed inside his head about foreign magics and how to properly deal with them, and Wally? He was boasting around! He was trying to explain everything scientifically, when there were no explanations! He almost wanted to show Wally a Soggoth and see what he can come up with, but then that would drive him either insane or make him even more annoying to deal with.
But he agreed. He put on the helmet... And then he started attacking Wally because he tried to get the helmet off of him- Off of Doctor Fate.
And... what happened after? "Urgh, my head..." Grumbling, Adam blinked- Wait, why does the ceiling have the same shifting night sky that is above his bedroom in the Pyramid Palace of Cycles, back in Beastialis? "Wait a minute..." He looked around- The bed was in the corner, the left corner to be exact. By the walls, he had viewing windows that could be controlled to show him all around the streets of the Central Region of the Menagerie Island, it was a good way to see street performances on the comfort of his own bed! He could see his desk and drawers, where he stashed his weird things. By the walls he could see the various miscellaneous shelves with magic books, books about magic, books about science and the application of electricity, books about esoteric manipulation of electricity, books about things he shouldn't really know, and books about sex. What? He has his porn collection, and it is actually something he was able to get from a Smut Shop in the Halls of Ptah, because smut is also a form of art. "Huh, I'm in my room?" Shaking his head, Adam slowly got up- he stumbled a bit, but easily caught himself before he could fall.
"The sleeping beauty has woken up!" A voice that sounded exactly like the Empress' voice echoed from around him. Adam sighed as he easily recognized the [Magic Mouth] spell that had been cast with the message he was now hearing: "When you hear this message, please go to the Dining Room, our... guests will be most likely waiting for you there, if you wake up within the next 6 hours or so. Well, good to know you're alright kiddo, we'll have to talk later though. And I'll have to get you a new emergency necklace." Adam winced when he remembered what had happened- So, he has (well, had) this necklace that was almost like an emergency warning signal to the Empress that basically said "help, fuck, help!" over and over again whenever activated. Then the Empress would come and help him if he could, so when he downed the Helmet of Fate, the necklace tried to interfere (because it was enchanted to protect him too) and it was broken by Doctor Fate, which in turn made the Empress aware that he was highly in danger.
He knows what he did was stupid- he could've called the Empress and then they could take the helmet off of Wally's head, but he reacted more than acted, and that is on him.
It's kinda embarrassing, to be honest...
"Okay Adam, time to face the game- Wait, guests?"
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"So you guys are here!"
The moment he entered the Dining Room, a bit confused but also slightly hopeful, he was met with the following scene: Jason, Superboy, Wally, Kaldur, Megan, and Artemis all seated in a table while the Empress and the Emperor sat before them. There was the other, usual table where shenanigans always happened... But it was unusually calm today! He could tell that there was a bit of tension in the air, mostly coming from the fact that, essentially, they had outsiders in their home. And you know, outsiders in Beastialis is a whole thing- Precautions are always taken to make sure that everyone who joins Beastialis are approved by the Empress and the Emperor, but there is always a small tension that comes with the integration of the individual to the lifestyle of the Beastialis Empire, but now?
Six outsiders, six heroes, six people that could potentially share everything they learn here with whoever they want. Sure, it might be some mundane and common thing in Beastialis, but the Empress is kinda paranoid about information control, so it kinda seeped into everyone else through natural osmosis.
So the tension was understandable- the awkwardness? Not so much?
"Well, the sleeping beauty is awake!" The Emperor chuckled- Adam easily noted how he was wearing a few more pieces of jewelry. He could see Miss Pamela wearing a nicer dress today, he could tell Captain Alamos was wearing his full armor and not just a few important pieces, he could see that Miss Langston had her fur fluffier than ususal and her enormous ears were also preened, contrary to their usual floppiness... The Empress looked as regal as ever, wearing a few aditional pieces of jewelry as well, but their magic seemed to almost blind him for a few moments until his senses got used to the magic emanating from them. The Emperor was also wearing similar jewelry with strong Abjuration magic on them. "So, how was your rest, kiddo?"
"Weirdly restful? I thought getting possessed made you tired after!" As he passed by the main table, he kissed his mother's forehead and picked up a piece of bread before he went to sit beside the Emperor, right by his left: "So, what's with the awkward tension?" He went directly for the question- no beating around the bush with him! Taking a bite of his sweet pale pink bread, Adam could feel the looks from the others. They looked... afraid? Not really, intimidated! That's the word. "Oh, you made them piss their pants, right? Did you show them the heat death of the universe? That one's weirdly beautiful!" There's a few intimidation tactics that the Empress likes to use. One of them is to mess up with your mind showing the endless power he wields with his soul- and how does he do that? Well, he literally takes you to see the heat death of the universe! Not physically, but your mind is taken to see as the stars go supernova, watch black holes wither away, and witness the universe come to a sparkly end. "I kinda like that one."
"Well, I didn't show them the heat death of the universe-" The Empress chuckled: "-I simply peered into their souls a bit to make sure they were truthfully answering a few questions here and there... Nothing important." With a devious grin, the Empress pushed a plate in his direction with his magic, and Adam hummed. He probably asked either invasive questions, awkward ones, or a mix between them! It's kinda of a power play too, so Adam doesn't really care about it. "They also showed great enthusiasm to learn more about Beastialis! Although this boy here-" The Empress casually pointed towards Superboy: "-wanted to learn more about his species' home world... Krypton." Ah, right! He did mention to Superboy that the Empress knew what had happened to Krypton!
"By the way, you need a name kid." The Emperor hummed, pushing a place of miscellaneous meats towards him- Adam didn't even bat an eye at the sheer size of the place, he went right into it: "Can't be calling you 'Superboy' at all times, that's a bit weird."
"About that..." Slowly, Superboy spoke: "Ugrh... I don't know what name to choose? I guess anything goes?"
"Wouldn't you rather have a meaningful name?" Asked Megan, joining the conversation: "Or maybe a traditional Kryptonian name! Something like that? I'm M'gaan M'orzz, from the M'orzz family!" She stretched her hand- literally, it flew out like a rubber band and her hand wrapped around a bubble of pink bread before she took it from the table and began eating it.
It was like a snap. Everyone started to eat too, not only him.
"Well, then I can share with you a few snippets about the House El then, since you share Superman's DNA." Nonchalantly, the Empress began sipping a drink he got from who knows where- Adam learned not to question where the Empress gets his knowledge or his drinks. They just appear! "Or should I call him Kal-El?" With those words, the entire room was bathed in darkness, light seemed to blink out being consumed the endless void, and silence greeted them all. A right red light suddenly blinked into existence, floating above.
"Rao."
Bold, bright red letters flashed above the star as the Empress' voice echoed. "It was a beautiful red sun... Well, a beautiful time bomb." A small sphere started to rotate around the sun, and that sphere was soon identified: "Krypto. A beautiful planet, isn't it? It's kinda sad that it exploded... Well, it was that or, you know, becoming shadows of their former selves by corruption and- oh, wait..." With a chuckle, the sun exploded- it was honeslty kinda beautiful to watch this wave of red destroy everything- Well, almost everything. There was this single small shooting star that floated away. It was bathed in red and shot very fast, fading away into a bright blink of silver.
The darkness faded away, and they were all back into the dining room. The Empress was simply sipping a drink and- is that avocado toast mixed with strawberry jam and raw meat? "So, basically-" The Empress took a bite and swallowed it down: "-your grandpa found out their sun was going to explode, nobody believed him. He sent his son- Kal-El -to the nearest place that was safe. Through some shenanigans, the baby ends up here, falls somewhere in Smallville, Kansas, and grows up to be Superman. A few years before this whole thing happened, the Collector of Worlds took a piece of Krypton out of it because why not? Then there was also the whole tyrannical attempt to overthrow the goverment there- It was a whole thing." Shrugging at the both amazed and horrified looks he was getting, the Empress shrugged: "Any questions?"
There were many questions to be had, many questions to be asked, and many eyebrows raised.
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Omake
Atlas held out a piece of avocado toast. Strawberries floated in the air, and raw meat too: "Huh... weird cravings are getting weirder each day."
Meanwhile, Waylon: "...I think you're just weird." Sadly for him, he had to kiss the weird tasting combination later.
Somehow, it tasted like raw fish...