Mist of Shadows
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Endbringers Hate Paperwork Part 29
🕑 Added 2023-05-09 05:40:56 +0000 UTCMon-El wasn't a vindictive person by nature but he was willing to admit, if only to himself, that he felt a certain amount of satisfaction when he stabbed Darkseid in the chest with the sword Myst had loaned him and he saw the shock, horror and disbelief on his face a second before the life faded from his eyes.
"No!" Granny Goodness screamed when she felt her lord and master die in a way that shouldn't be possible.
Mon-El blurred forward and hacked the insane goddess's head off while she was distracted then turned his attention to the various parademons that were causing chaos and destruction. The world 'froze' as he flew forward as fast as he could, brought his sword up and hacked Gilbert Godfrey's head off as he tried to leave via a boomtube. He pulled the coffin sized explosive device that Myst had given him out of his spatial ring and tossed it through the boom tube, hoping that Myst wasn't exaggerating the genesis device's destructive ability. He waited a second for the device to clear then hacked the fatherbox in half, killing the malevolent AI and causing the portal to close.
Batman stared as all of the demons seemed to explode at once along with most of Darkseid's elite forces. "What happened?"
"I killed them," Mon-El replied as he wiped his blade off. He blinked when he found himself back in the warehouse. "Thanks."
"You're welcome," Myst assured him, glad that things had worked out as planned.
"How much damage did the device cause?" Mon-El asked, hoping it was enough to save Earth from an overwhelming counterattack.
Myst checked Mon-El's world. "The device obliterated Apocalypse which means the vast majority of Darkseid's army will be vulnerable, just let the rest of the Green Lanterns know."
"Am I going to need the sword?" Mon-El asked, worried about killing some of the gods without it.
Myst shook his head. "You shouldn't and it's safer if the gods can't find it."
Mon-El set the sword on the desk. "Do you need anything before I leave?"
"That depends, do you want to deal with a bunch of Kryptonians?" Myst asked hopefully.
Mon-El smiled as he thought about Gor-Don. "I'm sure I can find them a new world."
Myst tapped his summoning power and checked to make sure Gor-Don hadn't made any stupid wishes or lost Jen then summoned her from a couple of hours before the planet exploded, causing her to appear out of thin air. "You did the best you could."
Gor-Don handed Jen's bottle back to Myst. "Thank you for letting me try."
Myst gave the red haired Kryptonian a smile. "I had to try at least once. If you'll pick her up, I'll send you back."
"Who should I give the snow globe to when all of the Kryptonians are gone?" Gor-Don asked.
"Someone in the League that needs magical powers… or is just really, really bored and could use a vacation," Myst replied with a grin, fairly sure she'd be able to find someone that wanted an upgrade.
"I'll do my best," Gor-Don assured him.
"Worst case, I'll just summon you back," Myst replied then turned to look at Mon-El. "I know I said it before but thank you for dealing with Leviathan."
"Do you want help with Behemoth?" Mon-El asked.
"Don't worry about it, I have a couple of ideas," Myst assured him as he opened Jen's bottle, causing a stream of blue smoke to pour out and turn back into the Djinn. "How are you feeling?"
"Good, we saved a lot of children," Jen replied with a smile, rather proud of their efforts.
"Ready?" Mon-El asked Gor-Don.
"Ready," Gor-Don replied as she hopped into his arms, knowing they had a lot of work ahead of them if they wanted to build a society they could be proud of.
"Best of luck," Myst told the pair of heroes then canceled Mon-El’s summoning which caused Gor-Dan to vanish since he was holding her. "How many half Kryptonians do you think we'll have in the school?"
"More than a couple," Jen replied as she glanced at Excalibur. "What are you going to do with the sword?"
"I'll probably find someone that needs it or stash it for a rainy day," Myst replied as he picked Excalibur up and stuck it in his spatial ring before he could do something stupid like raise it over his head and scream something about being the King of England.
"Probably for the best," Jen replied as she walked over and flopped down on the couch. "What's next on the list?"
Myst used his power and checked on the snow globe. "Huh, I wasn't expecting Nightwing to go for it."
"Just because Batman doesn't want magical abilities, doesn't mean the people he trains won't," Jen pointed out.
"True," Myst agreed as he summoned Nightwing just after he accepted the snow globe from Gor-Don.
Nightwing twitched when he found himself in a warehouse without any warning even though he'd been half expecting it. "Myst?"
"Yeah," Myst replied. "How do you feel about telekinesis, electrokinesis, and the ability to turn into a silvery blob so you can slide under doors?"
"Can I change back?" Nightwing asked warily, thinking of Clayface.
"Yeah," Myst assured him as he used his power to look for a version of Alex Mack that needed a bit of help.
Nightwing handed him the snow globe Mon-El had asked him to hand over. "In that case, having powers would certainly help."
"Don't touch the girl I'm going to summon unless Jen tells you to," Myst warned him then summoned a version of Alex Mack that was going to get shot by one of Danielle Atron's minions in a couple of years unless something changed from her first day of middle school while she was drenched with the chemicals that gave her powers.
Alex blinked as she looked around, trying to figure out how she'd gone from walking down the street to standing in a warehouse with people she didn't recognize, one of which looked like someone straight out of a comic book. "What's going on? Am I hallucinating?" she asked nervously.
"Not that I know of," Myst replied as he scanned her and the chemical she was covered with, getting a pattern for a GC-161 mutant and a pattern for GC-161. He pulled one of the magic girl rings they'd picked up in the dungeon out of his spatial ring and tossed it to the blonde middle school age girl wearing shorts and a flannel shirt over a t-shirt. "This should let you transform into a magic girl."
"Seriously?" Alex blurted then blinked when she found herself back on the street holding the strange ring. "Weirdest day ever."
"Do you make a habit of summoning people and sending them on their way after giving them magic items without explaining anything?" Nightwing asked, wondering what Batman would have done with the ability to summon people.
Myst considered the question then shrugged. "Depends on the person. I didn't see a point in complicating things, it's her first day of middle school and she's already had a weird day. Besides, I already scanned the formula I needed and she dripped some on the floor."
Nightwing watched as a glass vial appeared in his hand and he levitated a glob of gold goo up and dropped it in the vial. "What is it?"
"No clue, the factory called it GC-161, it's supposed to be a weight loss chemical but it also gives permanent powers in high enough concentrations. I'm pretty sure the C.E.O. of the company that came up with it has brain damage considering she wants to get rid of Alex so she can use it as a weight loss drug and escape to some third world country with the money she'll make rather than selling it to the government or just marketing it in various countries as a safe way to get powers."
"Is it actually safe?" Nightwing asked.
Jen shrugged. "Compared to some of the stuff from your world, yeah. Compared to aspirin, not really. I wouldn't use it if you have medical issues related to putting on weight or if you have certain heart conditions but yeah, it's surprisingly safe considering it gives people telekinesis, electrokinesis and the ability to turn into a silvery blob. The triplicator should get rid of the side effects since I doubt you really want to glow when you get nervous."
"Not really a useful ability," Nightwing admitted.
"Time to do some mad science!" Myst said cheerfully as he headed over to the triplicator to see if he could make a version without the side effects.
"Is he always like this?" Nightwing asked.
Jen glanced around. "Not really, he's just having fun."
"Don't worry, I'll give you a sample and the chemical formula," Myst assured him, curious what they'd come up with.
0o0o0
Whack!
"Oh come on!" Myst complained good naturedly as he rubbed his head where Taylor had hit him with the rolled up newspaper. "Don't you want to take a break and rescue some cute magical ponies while getting the ability to hide anything in your hair and a blueprint for a cannon that creates an instant party when fired?"
Taylor nodded. "Yes, but you still get whacked!"
"Come on, I just gave you six months on a magical tropical island." Myst glanced at Annette. "Was she always this violent or did the school make it worse?"
Annette looked up from the collection of expensive looking jewelry she was examining. "You're the one that wanted her to keep you on task and gave her the newspaper."
"I only gave her the newspaper because she said she wanted to read the comics," Myst argued as he picked up the whiteboard and glanced over the list of things Taylor had added to the list while he'd been working on enchanting his costume.
"For your information, I read the comics before I repurposed it," Taylor replied with a grin, feeling better than she'd felt in years since her 'vacation' in the snow globe with her parents while Myst had been running around town scanning things.
"Not my problem, definitely not my problem and probably not my problem, which just leaves fixing the school since Vicky already hit her family with fairy dust." Myst set the whiteboard back on the desk.
"I'll give you the first two but you're going to need to talk to the PRT about bringing people back from the dead," Taylor argued, willing to admit that Myst had a point about not wanting to deal with the reporter that wanted an interview and the bean counter that wanted to harass him about lifting the cargo ship out of the bay without jumping through a couple of months filled with paperwork and bribes.
Myst glanced at Taylor's mother then focused on Taylor. "Fine, I'll swing by the PRT after I deal with the building inspector."
"I still can't believe the Mayor got all of the paperwork squared away in a day," Annette said, wondering how many favors he'd called in.
Myst glanced at the clock on the table. "More like a day and a half and saving a few million dollars has a way to motivate people, especially since someone on the school board decided to drop the cape insurance on Winslow."
Taylor stared at Myst. "That sounds like a remarkably bad idea considering Lung."
"Cape insurance is expensive," Annette pointed out, thinking of their own insurance policy.
"Either way, the district was extremely happy to sell me the remains of Winslow and the property on the condition that I'd have a school up and running that could take at least half of the displaced students within two weeks," Myst replied, fairly sure most of the school board figured he'd fail which would let them pocket the money and use it to rebuild.
"You're going to have trouble hiring enough competent teachers," Annette warned him.
"I'm planning on cheating," Myst replied smugly. "Why bother hiring teachers when you have a blueprint for a magical school that creates projections as needed and a telepath to make sure none of the inspectors complain?"
Annette shook her head. "I feel like I should defend my profession but I've talked to some of the staff on the island and taken some classes, they're better than anyone you can find for a reasonable salary."
"They're great," Taylor agreed, planning on finishing her degree in one of the snow globes since she didn't want to have to deal with any of the idiots from Winslow.
"Not to mention cheaper," Myst replied with a grin as he grabbed the file of blueprints off the desk that he needed to show one of the city's building inspectors. "I'm off to deal with evil politicians and building inspectors, try not to have too much fun without me."
"No promises," Taylor replied cheerfully, more than happy to stay in the warehouse and sort through the loot and while hanging out with her mother.
"Best of luck with the PRT," Annette told him, looking forward to getting her life back.
"We can hope," Myst replied as he headed for the door.
0o0o0
Grant glanced over the designs for the college that Myst wanted to build. "You'll never get the city to approve a flying school."
Myst pulled his attention away from the people he could see through the restaurant window and focused on the gray haired man wearing jeans and a nice work shirt that was sitting across the table. "Even if I can prove that I'm not using tinkertech?"
"That actually makes it worse," Grant admitted. "There are a couple of exceptions you could use if the flight system was tinkertech or powers related. Actual technology? You'd have to file a patent on the technology and then you'd have to prove that it's safe, you're looking at years or even decades of work and you'd need a team of demonic lawyers to jump through all of the hoops."
"Whatever happened to 'here sign this waiver and we're good?" Myst asked.
"Masters, greedy lawyers, stupid judges and billions of electronic contracts that aren't worth shit because you can't prove that anyone real actually signed them," Grant replied as he folded the blueprints for a flying school and set them off to the side of the table. "Considering the speed you're trying to get everything done, you're going to have to pay for an entire team of inspectors."
"Is there a way to ensure that your team actually puts in the effort and finishes everything in a timely fashion?" Myst asked.
"Are you trying to bribe me?" Grant asked.
"Bribery implies trying to get you to do something illegal or unethical, I'm merely trying to make sure we don't have a bunch of delays so the school board can screw me over because of a bad contract with the city," Myst argued.
"We'd probably need overtime and it's the holidays," Grant pointed out.
"Double time and a half, assuming you can get everything approved and finished by New Years," Myst offered.
"How long will it take to finish the building?" Grant asked, not sure how the man's powers worked.
"A couple of hours," Myst replied with a shrug, fairly sure he was going to be chugging mana potions like crazy to finish that fast.
"You're going to want a camera crew so we don't have to rip things open to check," Grant warned him, trying to make it as easy on his team as he could. "You're also going to have to explain your power system."
"It's tinkertech," Myst lied, not wanting to have to go through the hoops needed to prove that it was viable, if only because that would put a massive target on the school. "It's safe enough and we should be able to reconnect to the grid if or when it fails."
"The local power company will probably give you shit," Grant warned.
"They're welcome to try, I know a couple of lawyers," Myst replied with a shrug as the waitress walked over with their food.
Grant moved the blueprints off to the side and smiled at the waitress. "Thanks."
"You're welcome," the girl in her late teens replied as she put the food on the table. "Let me know if you need anything else."
"Thanks," Myst replied with a smile then worked on cutting his burger in half when she left.
"You're going to need decent security on the room to the power systems or the insurance is going to eat your budget," Grant mused as he started cutting up his steak. "What are you planning on making the windows out of for the garden on the sixth floor?"
"I know a guy that can get me sheets of bulletproof polymer for a reasonable price," Myst explained as he finished cutting his burger in half.
"Not a bad idea considering the gangs," Grant admitted. "I have a couple of concerns about how I'm going to write everything up but I know a guy that has a scanner that can detect structural issues, so we should be able to make this work."
"Fantastic." Myst picked up his burger and took a bite. 'Worst case, I'll have Frost make sure everything is signed and filed, we can always double check things once we're done.'
0o0o0
Assault pulled his attention away from where the unmasked cape was absorbing the ruined school and looked at his wife. "How long do you think it would take him to break into a bank?"
"No clue," Battery admitted in a whisper, wanting to make sure none of the civilians could hear her but knowing Ethan would keep at it if she didn't say something.
"He might have a limit on the type of materials he can absorb," Armsmaster pointed out, wishing he had the ability to absorb material and create whatever he wanted with it as it would let him stretch his tinkering budget.
Assault glanced at Armsmaster. "I'm surprised you don't consider this a waste of time."
"Considering the current lack of villains running around, we have time," Armsmaster replied, curious if he'd learn something from studying the effect the new cape was using.
"Hopefully their replacements aren't as bad," Battery muttered as she watched Myst float over to the section he'd already cleared and start conjuring granite. "How many powers do you think he has?"
"He's probably a trump like Eidolon," Assault mused as he glanced at the stacks of raw material that Myst had piled up.
"Or a powerful grab bag," Armsmaster offered, not sure how telekinesis fit with the ability to destroy and create matter or at least repurpose it at will. "It's weird, I'm not seeing any material loss from him breaking matter."
"You could always just ask," Assault pointed out.
"I'm just converting the junk into something useful," Myst called out as he continued covering the ground with a layer of granite so that he'd have a decent base to work with.
"In other words, you're basically Mr. Recycle," Assault joked.
"Something like that," Myst agreed as he floated backwards so he'd get an even layer of granite.
"How long will it take to finish the building?" Armsmaster asked.
"No clue," Myst admitted as he started moving faster, stepping up the speed now that he'd cleared some space. "I'm going to need to take several trips to the cargo ship and I'm going to need to hit the recycling center for some glass so it's probably going to take an hour or two, mostly it's just going to be waiting for the inspectors to walk around and look at everything, after that I'll add the finishing touches like carpets and all of the electronic equipment."
"You can build electronics?" Armsmaster asked.
"If they're basic enough," Myst replied, not taking his eyes off the work.
"He missed the fact that Myst just claimed to be able to build an entire school in an hour, didn't he?" Assault asked Battery.
"Yep," Battery agreed.
"There's a difference between the complexity of building something out of concrete and stone and building electronics," Armsmster argued.
"I can also build the electronics if I want, I just can't build tinkertech," Myst admitted.
"Of course," Armsmaster replied, figuring that made sense.
Myst smiled as he finished the granite layer on the first section then turned and started working on deconstructing the rest of the ruined building now that he had more space in his inventory for stone and a place to put the rest of the supplies. 'This would be so much easier if I still had Endbringer level telekinesis.'
