Chapter 47

A bit of a vacation from Titans tower was nice. I enjoyed waking up and not being interrupted by a naked Beast Boy sitting in the sink. Or being pestered by Galatea into being a punching bag.

I may not be advancing my studies or experiments, but I was definitely making great strides in my progress of learning how to fight. Black Canary was a good teacher. And an even better one when she was frustrated about having her…’mission’ with Green Arrow interrupted.

I wasn’t informed of the details, nor was I stupid enough to ask. The only thing I knew was the wrath of an angry Black Canary. Which meant she was a lot stricter, less forgiving, and a bit more brutal with her techniques.

After having a few days to calm down, she’d usually start trying to wind things back down, but it didn’t matter. I had already learned the moves she wanted to teach. They were inscribed not only in my mind, but onto my body as well.

Usually in a rather painful method.

But I was fine with this, even if Black Canary wasn’t. Who gave an apology about how she ‘over did it’. It was meaningless. Pain, when applied correctly, was just another form of learning.

It would be one thing if she had actively sought to inflict wounds out of malice or pleasure. But the truth was she had still intended to teach me. Just in a slightly rougher manner than normal. Which was more than acceptable.

I’ve seen gang initiations that were much more violent than what I went through. Besides, with my newfound ability to regenerate from wounds, it took all of three minutes to pretty much fully recover. Not to mention how much more durable I was due to SHVA.

Then there was the media uproar online. I wasn’t one to really care about the opinions of others. Why care about the opinion of someone you would never meet? The exceptions to this of course was the problems that came with having too negative of a reputation, to which people actively come after you.

Which is why from an objective standpoint, having a positive and widespread reputation was beneficial.

As long as it didn’t affect me, what others thought simply didn’t matter. It would only matter when it was made my problem. In which case I’d need to solve it.

Thankfully that didn’t seem to be an issue any time soon. It was amusing how high the expectations of the public were. Lots of people were like Artemis, and wondered what my next big ‘project’ was going to be. With a ton of them having high hopes with really popular illnesses.

Then there was a rather sad and pitiful side that blatantly asked me to cure whatever illness plagued them personally. Whether they were the carrier or someone close to them. They even went so far as to post sob stories.

And they were a dime a dozen.

I respected their willingness to exploit someone’s emotions for their own gain. For a lot of heroes that would be rather effective, considering that practically everything most of them did was driven by emotion. This included even me, albeit to a much lesser extent than my companions.

Unfortunately, that method wouldn’t move me in the slightest. If they truly wanted to convince me, they would need to barter. And whatever they brought up would need to be really good. Especially if I was diverting a portion of my focus towards it for a significant time.

For example, Galatea. She was a Kryptonian. An absurdly strong one at that. To have her owe me her life…well, it’s pretty obvious the massive benefit I’d get from that.

Not to mention Superman’s invested interest in developing my understanding of Kryptonian biology…

Hmm…I wonder why there was so much emphasis on me all of a sudden. Lots of people have made breakthroughs in the medical field. What made me special?

Was it my age perhaps? Leading people to assume that I was some sort of young genius? Amusing to consider, but it was rather unlikely.

Maybe people believed that my power hard carried me to the answer and that it was capable of doing so again? Now that was actually a lot more plausible. Not to mention my connection to the Justice League showcased a level of power to be expected from it.

And they also wouldn’t be wrong. Of course, I needed to know what I was working with and a lot of work was mental, but I wouldn’t be able to do anything without it. All of my work, of my research would simply cease to be. Sure, I could still be a hero without it due to the modifications already done to my body, but I’d just be some mook. Enhanced strength and durability were a dime a dozen. You needed to have that in spades to really stand out.

Hmm…all that combining together would help explain it but…I can’t help but think there was something more to it.

There hasn’t been much to really think about, considering that I wasn’t exactly very busy at the moment. Unless I was training with Black Canary or attacking some pretty weak criminals, there…wasn’t much for me to actually do.

Which is why I was excited when Black Canary mentioned that a few friends of her were coming to town, and that she wanted to introduce me to them. Little did she know, that I had already meet these friends before.

Zatanna and her father were performing some sort of magic show in the city. They weren’t due to actually have a show for a bit, so that made it the perfect time to go visit them. Personally, I was a lot less invested in the visit once I noticed who exactly we were visiting.

Not that there was anything wrong with the Zatanna’s per se. More of the fact that I highly doubted much would come from visiting them that would actively benefit me. Still, building connections were important.

They had an entire opera house dedicated to them while they were here. Showcasing both how well connected and popular they were. Which…probably wasn’t hard. Actual magicians being good at magic shows? No…really?

They received us rather warmly. Though I couldn’t help but notice they received Black Canary a lot warmer than they did me. Likely hinting towards some sort of history between the two of them beyond Black Canary’s connection to the Justice League.

A theory that gained more credence when Black Canary called him Giovanni. So they were on a first name basis huh?

Zatanna’s dad was quickly talked into Black Canary into giving a small show for her. Showcasing a small bit of his performance. I had to confess, it was rather interesting to see him use magic to perform these tricks…but…

“You didn’t use magic for the card trick.”

I pointed out, something that got Giovanni’s attention. He raised both his eyebrows in surprise before nodding along. Black Canary also seemed somewhat surprised.

“Correct. I like to blend both more standard magic tricks and actual magic together in our performance.”

Zatanna rolled her eyes behind her father.

“Not like it really matters…”

Her father pursed his lips, but didn’t say anything. Likely because nothing needed to be said. It wasn’t hard to tell that this was some sort of common disagreement between the two. Real magic vs fake magic huh…

What a world we live in.

“You are pretty perceptive to see through that. Do you…have some experience with magic tricks?”

Giovanni asked me in a curious manner, making me narrow my eyes slightly. That was not something I cared to remember.

“…A small amount.”

I commented, only for Giovanni to hand me the deck of cards that he had been practicing with. I was already not liking where this was going.

“How about this time you show us what you can do?”

“That’s a great idea Giovanni.”

Black Canary commented after Zatanna’s dad. Giving me a rather genuinely interested look.

…Should I just fumble the trick he just showed up? No. In that scenario, he’d likely just keep attempting to teach me how to do it correctly. So, the best course of action was to just perform it as normally as I could.

It was just basic misdirection and being quick with my fingers. Other than that there was no real trick to it. And despite this, both Black Canary and Giovanni applauded after I performed the trick. Zatanna looked on with slight interest, but she obviously didn’t feel the need to fake her excitement. Unlike the others.

“Impressive. Very impressive. You have very steady hands, not to mention you’re rather dexterous with them. I dare say you have more experience with magic tricks than you let on, correct?”

Wrong. Unless he counted picking pockets as a magic trick. In which case I was already a wizard.

“Maybe a bit.”

It quickly became evident to me that this had been the worst course of action to take. As he quickly became excited and sought to teach me a variety of magic tricks until he finally found one that was too difficult for me to pull off immediately. It was more than a bit of hassle.

Black Canary and Zatanna had grown bored of the magic tricks, and had started to talk amongst each other. Leaving only me and Zatanna’s dad alone. Great. At the very least perhaps I could learn something actually useful out of this.

“So, does Zatanna know these tricks as well?”

He paused at that.

“Yes but…I’m not sure if she could them off the same way you or I can. She has the knowledge and skill. She just lacks the enthusiasm and desire. She’s always been more interested in the magical side of the show though.”

Not surprising. Why learn basic tricks anyone could learn if you could learn magic instead? Actually, speaking of…

“Is magic something anyone can learn?”

Giovanni huffed a bit in amusement before shaking his head.

“If only. No, me and my daughter are…special.”

I needed more than that.

“How so?”

I continued to prod. Hoping that Giovanni relented. Thankfully, it seemed that he did.

“Well, you know how there are special people like you who are born with strange and unique abilities?”

I nodded.

“It’s similar to that. It’s genetic, and a few people have the gift because of it. Though it’s a lot less random and more of a…family thing.”

Ah, now that was interesting. Some sort of mystical magic gene that gave people access to magic…how could I not be intrigued?

“Is that the only way to be able to use magic?”

“Well, no…but it is the most natural for humans at any rate. People have also made deals with devils and other entities for power, but…I don’t think I need to tell you why that’s a bad idea that ALWAYS backfires.”

Unfortunate. Coming up with a way to just give someone magic was actually very interesting, but would take at least years upon years of effort. Especially when I haven’t been given a direction to go in like with Langstrom’s serum. And changing human genetics with human genetics was a lot different than just animal genetics.

…Animal genetics…Langstrom’s serum…why did that ring a bell?

“Speaking of entities, how’s the jewel of Pandemonium?”

“Safe, and well-guarded. I’m just thankful that idiot Faust didn’t know what he was actually doing. After not being chosen by the jewel, he actually thought that he could make himself worthy by triggering a lunar eclipse…”

I nodded at that. Not all too concerned about the subject matter. I just wanted something else to distract him. Giovanni was about to keep talking before his eyebrows furrowed in confusion for a few seconds. Before looking back towards me.

“…when did I…no, never mind. I must just be getting old…”

Hmm? Was that suspicion just then? Odd.

“And Constantine?”

A groan of displeasure left Giovanni. His lips twisting up into a frown.

“Somewhere far, far away from me and my daughter.”

“Sounds like you’d like to keep it that way.”

“Absolutely. That man…well, let’s just say nothing good will ever come from him.”

Yikes. That was a scathing review if I’ve ever heard one. Then again, from what I’ve seen of the guy, he wasn’t exactly very reliable.

I tried to switch topics once more, but Giovanni had begun to get wise to my tricks. Eventually ignoring them while teaching me more and more magic tricks. There wasn’t much use in learning them, but still. I didn’t plan to try to get on the wrong side of the guy who could turn me into a stool.

Besides…it wasn’t all bad.

After what felt like the better of an hour, Giovanni clapped me on the back. Giving a wry chuckle before basically telling me to shove off in a nice way. But not before telling me that I was welcomed back any time.

I doubt I planned on actually coming back. Even still, it was nice to know the option was at least open. As well as a potential magician’s assistant position. Who knows, maybe if everything I have goes tits up, I can fall back on parlor tricks and sleight of handas a stage hand.

Magic tricks huh….It’s been awhile….