Author's Note: Sorry it has taken so long on the chapters but the muse has been sporadic at best. Here is an early Christmas present for you guys.

Young Justice

Chapter 6: A Change of Fate

July 27, 9:57 P.M., New Orleans,

A man in a suit was walking down the street as music was playing and people were enjoying themselves. The man had grey and white hair, wrinkled skin and blue eyes. He was holding a cane with a golden handle on it but was not using it to walk with. His name was Kent Nelson. Kent walked up to a store and stopped in front of it. The sign in the window read "Madame Xanadu" on it. Kent pulled out an antique pocket watch with a gold chain and opened it to reveal an old picture of a beautiful woman inside it.

Kent took a deep breath before he snapped the watch closed. He then entered the store and walked over to a table with a red cloth over it and a crystal ball in the center of the table.

A woman with tanned skin wearing fancy clothes that gave off the appearance of a fortuneteller. "Bonjour Monsieur, how can Madame Xanadu be of service?" The woman asked with an accent common of the area. She approached him. "Ah, there is someone who you wish to speak. Your wife, no?" She asked knowingly.

Kent tightened his grip on the watch he was holding in his left hand. "Yes, my Inza." He replied as Madame Xanadu sat down in one of the chairs.

"Then Madame will make contact, if Fate be kind." She said with a wink.

"Ah, but he so rarely is." Kent replied.

He sat down across from her but before Madame Xanadu did anything she held out her hand waiting for something. Kent knew what she wanted and handed her a roll of bills, which Madame Xanadu put inside her shirt. Xanadu closed her eyes and waited patiently.

Suddenly, the crystal ball started glowing and a mysterious wind began blowing in the shop. Madame Xanadu's eyes began glowing as her hair was blow and her eyes began to glow as she fell into the trance. The wind blew out some of the candles in the shop and the table rose into the air. "Ohhh, my love, I have missed you." Madame Xanadu said as she appeared to be in a trance.

Kent then burst out laughing. "Is that supposed to be my wife?" He asked as he tried to keep his humor under control. "Is that the best you can do?"

The wind suddenly stopped and the table slammed down on the floor. "Imbecile, you have broken the spell!" Madame Xanadu shouted angrily, trying to keep up the act. "You're wife is forever lost!"

Kent gave her a disbelieving look. "That was supposed to be my wife?" He asked with a laugh. "Heck, my little spitfire would've kicked my can for throwing away good money on you."

Madame Xanadu stood up angrily. "No refunds for nonbelievers." She said.

Kent gave her a serious look. "I think we both know that you're the nonbeliever, 'Madame'." He said completely serious. He gesture over his shoulder. "A wind machine," he then lifted up the table cloth, "tire jacks under the table. It's a shame too. You have the perfect aura for the work." He then held up his watch and flicked it open. "And nothing would've pleased me more than to be reunited with my bride." He commented.

A man appeared in the shop and grabbed Kent by the shirt, causing him to let go of his cane, and lifted him into the air. "You will be reunited with her soon enough." The man said menacingly. The man had tanned skin, brown eyes, a black goatee and long black hair in a ponytail. He was wearing black pants, black gloves, brown boots, a brown belt with a golden belt buckle, a golden earring in his right ear and a white shirt that was open down the middle to reveal his chest. The man was known as Abra Kadabra, a criminal. Kadabra grinned menacingly at Nelson before the both disappeared in a flash of blue light.

Madame Xanada gasped at what she had just seen and ran into the back of her store.

Kent's cane then rose up into the air all on its own and began to glow before it too disappeared only in a golden light.

August 19, 7:39 P.M., at Mount Justice,

Shark and Kaldur were facing each other in a holographic ring, like the one Black Canary would use during her training sessions. Shark was wearing blue jeans and tennis shoes without a shirt on while Kaldur was wearing his usual uniform without his water-bearers and backpack. "Initiate combat simulation in three… two… one…" The computer voice announced as the two circled each other.

Shark and Kaldur charged at each other. Shark threw a right hook but Kaldur ducked under it and countered with a left jab, right hook and spin kick, which Shark was able to block. Kaldur landed after the kick and back flipped away from Shark, who didn't let up.

Artemis, Megan and Donna were watching off to the side. Artemis was wearing a white top with a brown jacket over it with the sleeves rolled up, dark blue jeans and black knee high boots with small, round black earrings and her hair pulled back into its usual ponytail. Megan was wearing a white T-shirt under a blue short-sleeved crop top sweater, blue skirt, knee-high socks with brown shoes, and a headband to keep her hair back. Donna had on a red and black short sleeved T-shirt that hugged her body with a pair of dark blue jeans and some red and white tennis shoes. She also had her hair tied up in a high ponytail with two bangs falling in front of her face.

Artemis had her hands on her hips and a grin as she watched the two boys sparring. "Kaldur's, uh, nice, don't you think?" She asked Megan, causing the Martian girl to look at her. "Handsome, commanding, you should total ask him out." She suggested. 'That way I can get Shark without worry.' She thought to herself.

Megan chuckled at this. "He's like a big brother to me." She replied before grinning. "But you know who would make the cutest couple?" Artemis raised an eyebrow. "You and Wally." Megan said with a smile. They looked over at Wally who was wearing a white long sleeve shirt under a red short sleeved shirt, brown baggy pants and red sneakers. Wally was eating a burrito and took a huge bite out of it, making a disgusting noise.

Artemis wasn't buying it so Megan explained. "You're so full of passion and he's so full of… um?" She tried to find the right word.

"It." Artemis supplied causing all three girls to giggle.

Donna wrapped her arms around both girls' shoulders. "Instead of trying to hook each other up with someone else so you can have Shark all to yourself, we could go with my idea." She whispered into their ears.

Megan blushed as she remembered what Donna's idea was but Artemis wasn't part of the team back then. "What idea is that?" Artemis asked carefully not sure if she wanted to know.

Donna smirked mischievously. "If he's interested in all of us, instead of fighting, we could just share him." The Amazon suggested with a wink. Artemis blushed at the implications as Shark and Kaldur got close, Shark slide his leg around Kaldur's foot. He tripped Kaldur over his leg and tossed the Atlantean over. This resulted in Kaldur landing on his back.

"Failed: Aqualad…" The computer announced as it recorded the fight's data and how he had lost.

Shark dusted off his hands. "Black Canary taught me that one." He said proudly before helping Kaldur to his feet.

A door opened in the ceiling area and Red Tornado dropped out of it. The robotic hero used his wind powers to land gently on the ground and started to walk away when Wally raced up to him. "Got a mission for us?" The speedster asked excitedly.

Tornado stopped and looked Wally. "Mission assignments are the Batman's responsibilities." He reminded the teen.

"Yeah, well, the Batman is with the Robin doing their Dynamic Duo thing in Gotham." Wally countered. "But you're heading somewhere, right?" He grinned. "Hot date or a…a mission?" Wally just didn't know when to just let things go and it really annoyed a number of people.

The others had joined Wally. "If we can be of assistance," Kaldur added, trying to make up for Wally's impatience.

Red Tornado turned around and activated the hologram computer screens. An image of Kent Nelson appeared on the screen. "This is Kent Nelson, a friend." Red Tornado stated. "He is one hundred and six years old."

"The guy doesn't look a day over ninety." Wally whispered to Artemis with a grin.

"And he has been missing for twenty-three days." Tornado continued. "Kent was a charter member of the Justice Society, the precursor to your mentors' Justice League." The image of Nelson changed to a man wearing a blue and gold uniform with a gold helmet on his head.

Aqualad immediately recognized the image. "Of course, Nelson was Earth's Sorcerer Supreme. He was Doctor Fate!"

"I've heard of him from Zatara but Doctor Fate hasn't been active for a number of years now." Shark stated.

"Pff, more like Doctor Fake, guy knows a little advanced science, Dumbledore's it up to scare the bad guys and impress the babes." Wally whispered to Artemis who was getting annoyed, only for Wally to suddenly be smacked upside the head by Donna, who had heard every word the speedster said.

"Shut it, Walter." Donna growled angrily as she did not like the disrespect Wally was showing a veteran hero.

Tornado faced the team. "Kent may just be on one of his… walkabouts but he is caretaker of the Helmet of Fate, the source of the doctor's mystic might and it is unwise to leave such power unguarded." He explained.

Megan was excited about being able to help a mystical lord and eagerly volunteered to help. Wally seeing this as an opportunity to impress Megan, pretended to also be a true believer and volunteered, much to the annoyance of Artemis, Donna and Shark, who had also heard Wally. Red Tornado pulled out a golden key and handed it to Shark. "Take this. It is the Key to the Tower of Fate." He explained.

"What are the chances that we both so admire the mystic arts?" Wally asked Megan with a flirtatious grin. The team soon headed to the Bio-Ship to head for the location of the Tower of Fate. Shark had suited up but wasn't wearing his mask and decided to leave his swords behind.

On the way, Artemis took it upon herself to question Wally's claims to believing in magic. "So, Wally, when did you first realize your honest affinity to sorcery?" She questioned.

Wally grinned, but inside he was worried. "Well, my don't mean to brag, but before I became Kid Flash, I seriously considered becoming a wizard myself." He said as he reclined in his seat and put his hands behind his head. Artemis, Donna, Aqualad and Shark rolled their eyes before looking out the front window.

8:22 PM, Salem, Massachusetts,

The Bio-Ship, in camouflage mode, soon arrived at the coordinates given to the team by Red Tornado. "We've reached the coordinates." Megan announced to the team.

"But there's nothing out there." Donna commented.

"Take us down." Shark instructed and Megan nodded as the Bio-Ship landed on the open field where the Tower was supposed to be. The team started to leave the ship when Shark sensed something mystical nearby and it wasn't the tower. "Wait!" He ordered causing everyone to stop where they were. "I sense something is out there." He cautiously disembarked from the Bio-Ship, looking around for any hidden enemies.

"Do you sense the tower?" Aqualad asked.

"No, something else is out there." Shark said as he narrowed his eyes and activated his thermo vision but didn't see anything out of the ordinary. The only thing he saw was a couple stray cats, one of which seemed to be looking in their direction. It soon ran off. "I guess it was nothing." He told the group as they disembarked. 'Something was off with that cat…' Shark thought as he could shake the feeling that the cat had been waiting for them.

Not too far away, in an abandoned theatre,

Shark's instincts about the cat were right as it was heading into the old theatre building where voices could be heard. "Grant us access to the tower and I will promise an end to your suffering." A voice said. "Continue to refuse and…" A blast was heard followed by an old man's cry of pain.

The cat made it's way to a boy that was sitting in one of the seats, watching what was happening on stage. He laughed as he listened to the old man's suffering as if he enjoyed it. The cat jumped up into the boy's lap, who immediately began petting the cat.

The cat's master was a scraggy boy with long, thin limbs, a thin neck and an angular face. He has black hair in a mop-top style with V-shaped bangs and devil-horns rising over the ears to points slightly above the top of his head. Along with his pointed crown, these devil horns gives him a distinctive three-pointed silhouette. He has arched eyebrows and sideburns that taper to a point. He also has long, sharp, black fingernails. He was wearing predominantly black clothes but include a white shirt with a tall, stiff collar. On top of this he wears a black skinny tie that was low on the collar, black skinny trousers and pointed shoes, as well as a distinctive jacket. The jacket resembles a standard suit jacket around the chest and shoulders, although it had long sleeves with flared, pointed cuffs, and the jacket's skirt was mid-thigh length and shaped so that it comes to a point at the front. The jacket is fastened with two short button straps around the waist.

The cat tried to tell its master something. "Quiet Tickle!" The boy shushed. "I'm watching the show!"

Up on stage were Abra Kadabra and a tied up Kent Nelson. "Enjoy it… while you can." Kent wheezed to the boy. "Soon enough… my friends will come for me." Kadabra walked around behind the old man and raised his wand that sparked some electricity before he touched Kent's back with the sparking end. The electricity went through Kent's body, causing him even more pain.

The boy stood up as Kent cried out in pain. "Encore! Encore!" He cheered and clapped happily. Tickle whined even louder this time. "What?!" The boy asked in annoyance. The cat hissed before its eyes glowed.

The images that the cat had witnessed of the Team arriving at the Tower's location appeared in the boy's head. "Oh…" The boy said as he realized that this was more important than watching the old man get tortured.

Back in the park,

The team was standing around looking for any trace of the Tower of Fate. Kid Flash was whizzing around but soon can back. "Nothing. This isn't simple camouflage." He said to the group.

"So what do you think?" Artemis asked attempting to get Wally to show that he didn't believe in magic. "Adaptive Micro Optoelectronics combined with Phase Shifting?"

"Absolutely…" Wally started to agree but the realized that Megan was standing right next to him. "Not! Clearly, mystic powers are at work here."

"You're hopeless, Wally." Donna stated as she shook her head.

Unbeknownst to the group, Abra Kadabra and the boy had arrived with a restrained Kent Nelson but were covered by a cloaking spell or field. "Hey, Abra Kadabra, aren't you using adaptive micro optoelectronics and phase shifting?" The boy asked.

"Yes, Klarion…" The fake magician admitted reluctantly. Klarion chuckled as he pet Tickle, who was in his arms.

Shark turned his head and looked over his shoulder, narrowed his eyes as he looked directly at the concealed people. 'Someone is hiding from us…' He thought. 'Whoever it is must be the ones who kidnapped Mr. Nelson…' Shark pulled the key out of his pocket and looked at it.

"A test of faith…" Aqualad suggested and Shark nodded in agreement.

"Stay back." Shark ordered as he stepped forward to the open area and held the key out. The end of the key seemed to disappear in the air. Shark turned the key and the Team heard the sound of a door being unlocked. The Tower of Fate then appeared in front of them from out of nowhere. The key was in the lock on the door and the door opened in front of the Team of young heroes. "Alright, from here on out, we stay on our toes. No goofing off." Shark told the team looking specifically at Wally. "There could be all kinds of booby-traps in there so don't do anything stupid." This was direct at Wally, who wasn't really paying attention as usual.

The team entered the tower and the door closed behind them. Donna turned as found the door had vanished. "Uh, where'd the door go?" She asked.

Suddenly an ethereal form of Kent Nelson appeared before them. "Greetings, you have entered with a key but the tower does not recognize you. Please state your purpose and intent." The specter demanded.

Wally glanced as Megan and saw this as a chance to make a good impression for her. "We are true believers, here to find Dr. Fate." He said.

Nelson's projection frowned as Shark glared angrily at Wally. "Wally, you fucking idiot!" Shark shouted as the projection vanished.

Suddenly the sound of the floor rumbling startled everyone. The floor under the team's feet crumbled and the six teenagers fell down a pit that had a pool of lava at the end. The others screamed in surprise as they descended towards the lava, but Shark remained calm and managed to grab both Artemis and Megan with his arms around their waists. He levitated in mid-air while his eyes glowed green as he called upon the magical powers he possessed. Donna quickly regained her bearings and grabbed Wally and Kaldur by their wrists but wasn't strong enough to stop their descent, only slow it.

A few large pieces of rock broke from the wall and then formed into a small platform. The platform moved under Donna, Kaldur and Wally and caught them before they got too far down. A golden circular energy disk formed under Shark, Artemis and Megan, which Shark landed on. He released Artemis and Megan.

"That was too close." Shark muttered as the rock platform floated up to met them.

Outside the tower,

Abra Kadabra pushed Kent Nelson towards the still visible Tower entrance. A golden ankh symbol appeared on the door before it disappeared, allowing them to enter the tower. Klarion grinned evilly as the trio entered the tower. They soon found themselves in a hallway.

"The tower may not appreciate trespassers." Kent warned.

Abra raised his wand and pointed it at Kent's throat. "Mute!" He orders. A collar device attached itself to Kent's throat and a red light glowing in the center. The device effectively prevented Kent from saying a word.

The two criminals had Kent walk in front of them as they walked through the tower. They came to a wall that opened up for them and led to a study with a fireplace that had a picture of Inza hanging over it.

The ethereal Kent Nelson appeared before them. "Hello, Kent. How unlike you to bring guests to the tower? Especially one with such potent mystic powers…?" The specter questioned.

Abra placed his hand on Kent's shoulder. "My friends… come to… help me…" A recording of Kent's voice played from the device around Kent's neck. The specter knew something was up and smirked before fading away. The fireplace wall opened up revealing a staircase. The trio walked through the entrance which closed behind them.

Back in the lava pit,

The team was safe for the moment thanks to Shark's quick thinking, but he was having a bit of troubling keeping them from going down as something seemed to be pulling them down towards the lava pool. "Nice one, Shark. A second later and we would've been literally cooked." Artemis said with Megan nodding in agreement and wiping some sweat from her forehead.

"Phew I am so hot." Megan stated.

"You certainly are." Wally agreed in a dreamy tone.

"Walter!" Artemis and Shark shouted at the same time glaring at the speedster.

"Hey! Inches above sizzling death, I'm entitled to speak my mind!" Wally retorted.

Kaldur wiped his forehead. "My physiology and Megan's are susceptible to extreme heat. We need to get out of here and quickly." He urged.

"Hello Megan!" The female Martian said as she realized something. "We never truly answered… the question." She then put a hand to the side of her mouth so her voice could be heard. "Red Tornado sent us to see if Mr. Nelson and the helmet were safe!" She shouted. Her answer caused a platform to close around the pool of lava.

The two floating platforms landed on the larger platform. Aqualad knelt down and touched the surface with both hands. "This platform… it should be red hot but it is cool to the touch." He pondered in fascination.

Wally immediately went to Megan's side to help her. "Don't worry Megalicious I got ya!" He flirted which only angered Shark even more than he already was.

"Alright… That's it!" Shark growled as he grabbed Wally and threw him hard into the nearby wall, shocking everyone as Shark had used more strength than necessary.

"H-Hey, what's your problem?" Kid Flash asked only the cringe in fear at the pissed off look Shark was giving him.

"What's my problem? Funny you should ask since this incident is entirely your fault, you fucking idiot!" Shark shouted. "I told you not to do anything stupid and not even ten seconds later, you nearly get us all killed!"

"Yeah Walter, that half assed stunt you pulled in your 'impress Megan at all costs game' nearly got us all barbequed." Donna said as she wasn't happy with the speedster either.

"When did this become my fault?" Wally questioned not liking that he was being blamed for this.

"It became your fault when you lied to that… whatever it is and called yourself a true believer!" Artemis answered.

"Wally, you don't believe?" Megan asked as she was somewhat hurt that Wally had lied to her.

Wally remained silent for a few minutes before having enough of the dirty looks he was being given. "Fine, fine, I lied about believing in magic!" He admitted. "But magic is the real lie, a major low!"

Kaldur was running his hand on the floor and shook his head at Wally's declaration. "Wally, I studied for a year at the Conservator of Magic in Atlantis. The mystic art created the skin icons that power my water-bearers." He argued calmly.

"Dude, have you ever heard of bioelectricity?" Wally retorted. "Hey in primitive cultures fire was considered magical too! Today it's all just a bunch of tricks."

"You're pretty closed minded for a guy who can break the sound barrier in his sneakers." Artemis commented.

"That's science! I recreated Flash's laboratory experiment and here I am!" Wally explained. "Everything can be explained by science."

Kaldur had found a door ring to a trap door. "Let us test that theory." He challenged as he grabbed the ring and pulled on it.

"Wait! The back draft from the lava will roast us alive!" Wally warned only for a snowy breeze to blow into the pit.

"It's snow." Megan said with a smile.

Artemis grinned at Wally. "Do you ever get tired of being wrong?" She teased.

The team all jumped down into the opening only to land sideways in a snow covered field. Wally was the last one to jump through the portal, which closed right behind him, with Artemis looking at him. "Well?" She asked waiting for him to explain.

"Ever hear of String Theory? We're in a pocket dimension." Wally argued.

"Wrong!" Shark said before snapping his fingers. A pile of snow fell on top of Kid Flash, making Artemis, Donna and Megan giggle as he sat up with snow in his mouth while glaring at the team leader.

"You make it just too easy sometimes Walter." Donna chuckled with a grin.

Shark sensed something mystical nearly. "Hey, what's that?" Megan asked drawing everyone's attention to Kent Nelson's cane that was floating nearby.

"It looks like the cane Mr. Nelson had in the picture Red Tornado showed us." Shark said as Artemis walked over to the cane.

She grabbed it but her eyes widened due to the fact that when she tried to pull her arm back, she couldn't let go. "Hey, I can't let go!" She cried out.

Shark immediately leapt forward and grabbed the cane as he sensed an energy building up in the cane. "Brace yourself!" He warned before they were both pulled into the air and suddenly vanished in a flash of light, shocking the other Young Justice members.

Wally managed to spit the snow out of his mouth and zipped to location the now missing team members had been. "See? What did I tell you? Pocket dimension!" He shouted.

Meanwhile, in another part of the tower,

Klarion was getting bored as Abra Kadabra, Kent Nelson and he were walking through an endless labyrinth of stairs. "Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet?" Klarion asked over and over again.

Kadabra grabbed Kent by his shoulder and stopped him. "Tell us how to find the helmet!" He demanded as Klarion was getting on his nerves.

Nelson was unable to answer because of the collar on his neck, so Kadabra removed it and tossed it aside. "I can't, having too much fun." Nelson retorted with a grin.

Kadabra had enough of Nelson's defiance and zapped the old man with an electrical charge from his wand. The pain caused Nelson to collapse to the ground. "Still having fun?" The fake magician asked.

Klarion chuckled. "I am! Zap him again! Or dump him off the side and watch him splat!" He encouraged. Kadabra raised his wand and unleashed another electrical blast at Nelson, causing the old man to cry out in pain.

Teekl growled something at Klarion, which caused the witch boy to sigh. "Yes, yes, I suppose we might still need him." He reluctantly admitted but didn't immediately stop Kadabra.

Back in the snowy area,

Kaldur, Donna, Megan and Wally were searching for a way out that area of the tower. Wally was zipping all over the place, while the other three stuck together. "I don't understand Wally. It's almost like he needs to believe that the impossible can't happen." Megan said to the others.

"Wally uses his understanding of science to control what he cannot comprehend." Kaldur explained. "Acknowledging the existence of magic would be to relinquish the last vestige of that control."

Megan didn't like that answer and neither did Donna but neither could argue with the reason. "Hey I think I see a way out!" Wally shouted pointing at a stair case that showed another area of the tower.

Back in the staircase labyrinth,

In a flash of light, Shark and Artemis appeared on the floor. "That was fun." The female archer groaned before shaking the cobwebs from her head.

"Uh, Artemis." Shark said getting her attention. Artemis opened her eyes and found herself staring back at Shark's blue eyes. She looked down to find themselves in an awkward position where she was sitting on stop of Shark and her team leader was on his back. This position caused a pink tint to form on her face as she quickly jumped up.

"S-Sorry." Artemis apologized while the blush died down and offered him a hand to help him up.

"Don't fret, accidents happen." Shark assured her before he sensed that they weren't alone. "Trouble…" He muttered before turning to see Abra Kadabra, Klarion and Kent Nelson. "Abra Kadabra!" Shark shouted as Artemis pulled out a retractable crossbow.

Kent smiled. "Well would you look at that." He said.

The cane that was still attached to Artemis's hand was surrounded by a golden glow. That same glow appeared around Mr. Nelson and caused him to float in the air, towards the two young heroes, knocking Klarion and Abra over as he past them. As soon as Kent touched the cane, Artemis's hand was freed and the robes binding Mr. Nelson vanished. "Quickly in here!" Nelson said as he stood up and used the cane to create an elevator doorway.

Artemis and Shark did as they were told and entered the elevator as Klarion stood up. "No, no, no, NO! I want that Helmet! I want it! I want it! I want it!" The Witch Boy screamed in a childish matter and fired red mystic volts from his palms at the three while the door closed and deflected the blasts.

Artemis, Shark and Nelson stood quietly in the elevator as it went up several levels. Mr. Nelson decided to break the silence. "I'm Kent Nelson by the way." He introduced.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Shark." Shark said.

"I'm Artemis." Artemis stated.

"Well, Shark, Artemis, we're up against an opponent with some tremendous mystic powers." Kent warned.

"You must be talking about the kid with the cat because Abra Kadabra is a well known fraud. He uses futuristic technology to simulate magic, which the Flash proved and is probably another reason Wally doesn't believe in magic." Shark stated. "The dude's all show and no biz."

"Right you are." Kent agreed. "Abra is a charlatan but Klarion the Witch Boy, the kid with the cat, he's an actual Lord of Chaos, the ultimate enemy of a Lord of Order like Dr. Fate."

"So you're a Lord of Order?" Shark asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh no, not me. I'm just an old coat Fate used to put on." Mr. Nelson said before reaching into his pocket and pulling out his pocket watch. "Until my wife, Inza, convinced me there could be more to life." He opened the watch and looked longingly at Inza's picture. "Ah, she was a real pistol, that Inza… Anyhow, Klarion's after the helmet. If he gets is sticky little mitts on it, he'll turn the planet into his own personal playground of pandemonium." The elevator chimed at they had reached their destination.

The three stepped out to find a large golden bell handing in front of them. They walked up to the bell when a portal doorway opened and the rest of the team fell through. "Friends of yours?" Kent asked Artemis but before she could answer, Shark leapt in front of Kent with his arms forward and palms open to create a yellow barrier around them, deflecting electrical blasts. Kent's eyes widened in shock that the sight of the barrier's power. "Incredible…" He muttered. "To think that one so young could create such magic, and with such little training…"

Abra fired again as the barrier dissipated but Shark batted it away with his bare hand. "Allow me to show you some real lightning faker. Lightning Strika!" Shark shouted as he fired an arch of magical lightning, combined with the electrical powers he gained from Black Lightning, at a surprised Kadabra. It exploded on contact while Klarion leapt away with Teekl in his arms.

"Wow! Nice lightning spell! You might actually be fun to play with." Klarion said in a happy tone.

"Sorry dude, but I don't swing that way." Shark countered as Artemis helped Kent over to the bell, which the old man rang once with his cane before it began to glow. Shark quickly followed after Artemis and Kent as they vanished into the bell with Klarion also following after them. The others tried to follow as well but were blocked by Abra's lightning blasts.

On top of the Tower of Fate,

Kent, Artemis and Shark appeared on the roof of the Tower where they found the Helmet of Fate was floating in the air above them. As Artemis reached out to touch it, a red hex bolt shot towards her but Nelson pushed her out of the way and took the attack right in the chest. "Agh!" He shouted as he clutched his chest in pain.

"No!" Artemis cried.

"Mr. Nelson!" Shark shouted as he caught the man before he fell to the ground. He helped the old man stay standing.

"Zet tey ottow zetien nobnus incontarta ed eum adesem!" Nelson chanted before slamming the bottom of his now glowing cane down on the ground. The cane released a golden energy that created a bubble that surrounded the three, as well as the helmet. This blocked another hex bolt that Klarion had fired.

"NO!" Klarion shouted in rage.

Nelson turned towards Shark. "Not bad for a former Dr. Fate, uh kid?" He asked before he began to collapse. Artemis and Shark caught him before he hit the ground. "The bubble will give you just enough time… to do what you need to do…" He explained to Shark as he pointed at the helmet.

Shark was shocked by this. "You want me to put on the helmet?! But I'm just a beginner! I've been practicing spells but I've never used them in a fight before now!" He argued.

"Have faith, kid… I've seen what you're… capable of… You've got the makings… of a fine Lord… of Order…" Kent urged as he pulled out and opened his pocket watch to look at Inza's picture one last time. He then went limp in Shark's arms as he died. The locket fell out of Mr. Nelson's hand.

Klarion kept firing hex bolts at the bubble as Artemis tried to revive Kent Nelson. "I want that helmet and I want it now!" The Witch Boy shouted.

"Artemis, Shark, we're in trouble!" Megan said telepathically as Kadabra was capturing each member of the team in an electrical net. "Tell Mr. Kent that we need Dr. Fate!" She said before she was also captured.

Shark glared angrily at Klarion as he stood up and walked over to the Helmet of Fate. "Hey Klarion!" He shouted as he took the helmet in his hands. "You want this helmet so bad?! Then come and get it!" Shark challenged as he put on the Helmet of Fate. Instantly Shark was engulfed in a bright gold light, which then died to reveal Dr. Fate.

Mindscape,

Shark opened his eyes and found himself in a dark void surrounded by nothing. "Okay… What just happened?" He asked out loud.

"Ah, I see you managed to put the helmet on in time." A familiar voice said behind him.

Shark turned to see Mr. Kent Nelson standing behind him, looking very much alive and healthy. "But I thought you died?" He questioned.

"Yeah, but don't feel too bad. Soon as this little brouhaha is over, my spirit will ascend. I'll be with my beloved Inza again." Kent explained happily.

"That's all well and good Mr. Nelson but what's happened to me?" Shark asked. "I put on the helmet like you asked."

"Yes but your soul no longer controls your body at the moment." Kent explained. "See, we're inside the helmet. You put it on and my soul got sucked in, probably because I've spent so many years serving it's master."

"Master?" Shark questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"Nabu, the real Doctor Fate. One of them Lords of Order I told you about." Kent stated. "He's the guy controlling your body right now. Wanna watch?" He gestured to a mystical screen that was showing what was going on outside.

Real world,

Nabu was in complete control of Shark's body and had a giant golden energy ankh to block Klarion's hex blasts as Artemis watched. "Give it up, Nabu! Order went out of style back in the twentieth century!" Klarion shouted.

"This battle is pointless." A deep voice combined with Shark's stated. "You sought to take the helmet before it gained a host. But you are too late!"

"Shut it ya old fart!" Klarion shouted as he stopped firing energy blasts and used his magic to cause sections of the brick ground to rise up in an arch and slam into Dr. Fate.

A golden ankh symbol appeared where the arch came together and an explosion followed soon after with Dr. Fate freeing himself. "Brat!" Fate shouted before firing a golden beam of energy at Klarion which struck an invisible force field that surrounded the Lord of Chaos.

"AHH!" Klarion shouted as he appeared to burst apart. He the reformed behind the Lord of Order and blasted him in the back.

Mindscape,

"AHH!" Shark shouted in pain as he felt the attack strike him. He dropped down to his knees. "What the hell was that?!"

"Well it is your body." Nelson replied as if that explained everything.

"Then how come I'm not in control?" Shark asked.

"I'm afraid it doesn't work like that." Kent stated. "And if Fate ends up losing against Klarion, you'll see Inza before I do." Shark gritted his teeth as he hated being unable to do anything.

Suddenly, Shark's body started glowing. "Now what?!" He asked before vanishing.

"That's unexpected." Nelson said as he could guess what had happened because of Shark's strong magical prowess.

Out in the real world,

Dr. Fate became surrounded by a golden energy orb and when it dissipated, Dr. Fate looked completely different. He was now wearing blue body armor under a gold duster jacket with a golden belt around his waist and gold boots on his feet. His head was covered by a full blue mask with a golden X in the center of his face. His hands had blue gloves with gold Xs on the back of them.

Klarion and Artemis were shocked by the sudden transformation. "What's going on, Nabu? Finally decided to go with a more modern look, instead of having that bell on your head?" He asked in a mocking tone.

"Sorry to disappoint you, Witch Boy, but Nabu is no longer in control." Shark's voice said. "Now you've got to deal with Red X!" He then fired a beam of energy from his right hand that blasted Klarion off his feet.

Artemis was shocked to see the power that Shark now possessed. "Shark, what's happened to you?" She asked.

"I don't know Artemis, but I like it!" He replied with a smirk under his mask.

Klarion jumped back up to his feet and fired a magical blast at Red X/Dr. Fate in the form of a dragon head. Shark jumped out of the way but the fiery head quickly turned around and came flying at him. He created a mystical shield that blocked the attack, but was unable to react in time when Klarion shot him in that back again. The blast caused Dr. Fate to change back into his original form.

"Can't keep it together in your old age, Nabu?" Klarion taunted as he created several red orbs in the sky and began firing them at Dr. Fate.

The Lord of Order created a golden energy shield to protect himself from the attacks.

Back inside the mindscape,

Shark had reappeared in the mindscape. "Okay, what the hell just happened?" He asked Kent who had been watching.

"If I had to take a guess, I'd say that your natural prowess with the mystic arts is so powerful that you'd not only be a perfect host for Dr. Fate but a viable replacement for Nabu as a Lord of Order." Kent answered.

"That's the last thing I need right now." Shark stated. "I've got enough problems with controlling the powers I have right now. The last thing I need is any more, at least until I get what I already have under complete control."

Kent smiled and nodded in agreement. "Yes but I'm afraid that you and Nabu may keep changing back-and-forth until one of you takes off the helmet." He stated.

"Then one of us needs to stop Klarion as soon as possible." Shark said as he went back to watch the fight.

Real World,

Nabu's shield wasn't able to hold up against Klarion's barrage of spells and shattered, knocking the Lord of Order backwards. He immediately got back up and leapt into the air to avoid a stream of fire that Klarion blew from his mouth. Klarion stopped that attack and raised his clawed hand, causing burst of red hex energy to shoot up into the air. Nabu managed to evade two of those attacks but a third hit him hard, causing control of the body and it's appearance to shift back to Red X. "You're out of practice, Nabu!" Klarion taunted. "That body may have some affinity for the mystic arts but zero control."

"That may be, but in this form, I can use my other abilities." Shark countered as he fired his Omega Beams at Klarion. Klarion countered with a hex blast that caused a massive explosion.

"Ha! Like that would… work?" Klarion said in confusion and the smoke cleared but Red X was nowhere in sight.

"Oh but it did." Shark's voice said from behind the Witch Boy. Klarion turned around just in time to be punched in the face by a vicious right hook that sent him tumbling in the air until he managed to stop in his tracks.

"Hey! What was that you brute?!" Klarion shouted in anger as he rubbed the point of contact.

Shark cracked his knuckles. "That was my fist hitting your glass jaw." He replied, pissing off the Chaos Lord. Klarion begins firing off blasts of hex power but none of his attacks come close to hitting the host of Nabu, who counters with his own mystical energy blasts as well as atomic energy and electricity.

"Stand still!" Klarion shouted as he was get frustrated with constantly missing.

"Yeah right." Shark retorted as he created a golden Chinese dragon out of energy that roared to life and descended towards a shocked Klarion who avoided being chomped down on as it hit the ground and dissipated. The witch boy glared at Shark but then spotted Artemis out of the corner of his eye and gained an evil smirk on his face. He did a gesture with his hands, making pieces of earth rise from the ground but then form into spears and aimed them at Artemis.

With a swing of his arm, Klarion sent the spears flying at the shocked female archer. "Artemis!" Shark shouted before he vanished in a flash of yellow and appeared in front of his teammate and used his enhanced telekinesis to stop the spears. "Leave her out of this, Klarion!" He shouted as he sent the spears back at their creator.

The Witch Boy took off into the air to avoid the spears and had a grin on his face, like he was enjoying himself. "Now where's the fun in that?" He cackled in glee while firing a barrage of red fire balls at the two.

Shark created a field to protect the two of them from the attacks. The Lord of Chaos stopped his attack and brought his hands together, gathering a large amount of energy in his hands. "Come on brat, surely this can't be all that you can do?" He taunted and launched an even larger fire ball at the barrier. The impact shattered the shield and sent Shark and Artemis flying and crashing into a wall.

The two young heroes shook the cobwebs from their heads but Shark was the first to start to get up, only to get zapped by volts of red electricity, causing him to cry out in pain and fall to one knee. The attack caused Shark and Nabu to shift back again so now Nabu was in control.

The Lord of Chaos raised his hands into the air and a multicolored portal formed. "Time to end this." Klarion declared. A massive bolt of red hex energy was unleashed from the portal and came down towards Dr. Fate. Dr. Fate created a golden bubble force field to protect him and Artemis.

Rainbow energy was created at the point of contact between Fate's shield and Klarion's attack. "Ooo, rainbow powers." The Witch Boy admired only to have Teekl growled at him. "I am paying attention you stupid cat!" Teekl didn't like being called a stupid cat. "In case you haven't noticed, I'm winning!"

Nabu immediately realized what was going on and his amulet began to glow before an explosion happened. He then stood surrounded by a circle of gold fire, while Artemis was completely unharmed. "It is difficult for a Lord of Order or Chaos to maintain a presence on this physical plain." Nabu stated calmly.

Klarion's eyes widened as he knew exactly what Nabu was talking about. He and Teekl were then surrounded by a red mystical aura that gave them a more demonic look. Large balls of fire energy appeared in each of Klarion's hands which he then threw at Dr. Fate. Fate flew into the air and began dodging as he continued talking. "I am bound to the helmet and use a human host." He stated before firing a blast of energy. Klarion formed a stone wall to block the attack. "But that is not your way."

"You're babbling Nabu!" Klarion shouted in his more demonic voice.

"Am I?" Nabu asked. Dr. Fate then unleashed another blast of mystical energy from the amulet under his neck.

Klarion responded by forming a solid energy shield in front of himself but the blast passed by him and hit Teekl who cried out and was sent sprawling across the ground.

"Teekl!" Klarion shouted in concern as he turned back to normal, no longer looking more demonic, before he glared back at Dr. Fate. "I can't believe you would assault a defenseless pussycat!"

"We both know that creature is no mere cat, Witch Boy." Fate countered as he narrowed his eyes at the now glowing Teekl. "For without your familiar, you have no anchor on this reality." Teekl struggled to get up as Klarion seemed to fade in and out of existence.

"Bully! Killjoy! GEEZER!" Klarion shouted angrily. Dr. Fate replied by firing a beam of energy from both hands at Klarion. Klarion knew he couldn't survive that in his weaken state. "Holy Carp!" He gulped as a blood red portal appeared behind him, which he jumped back into. The portal closed just before Fate's energy beam reached it. The portal open over Teekl and Klarion dropped down, picking up his cat. "We're out of here!" Klarion shouted in panic before he and Teekl turned into black fog with a red outline and disappeared.

Dr. Fate stood staring at the sky with his cape blowing in the wind. Artemis stood up. "You did it, Shark!" She shouted happily but he didn't respond at all to her voice. "Shark? Dr. Fate? Nabu?" She tried to get his attention as she walked closer but he didn't move a muscle.

Inside the tower,

Abra Kadabra had captured the rest of the team, save for Kid Flash who was used to Kadabra's tricks and kept moving to avoid the attacks. Suddenly, a golden ankh appeared behind Kadabra and caused his clothes to vanish, leaving him with only his underpants and gold chain necklace on, stunning the fake magician. This was the opening Kid Flash needed to zip in and take Kadabra's wand from him. The others were freed from their electrical binding. Donna stood in front of Abra. "Show's over." She said before punching Abra in the face, knocking him to the ground and out cold.

Wally held Kadabra's wand in his hand. "Souvenir!" He said happily.

Back on the roof,

Artemis was waving her hand in front of Dr. Fate's face, trying to get his attention but he didn't even blink. "Something's wrong." She said with worry in her voice.

Inside the mindscape,

"Alright! That takes care of those two." Shark said happily but soon became worried as Nabu was just standing there and not taking off the helmet. "Uh, the fight's over, right? So why isn't Nabu taking off the helmet?" He asked Kent.

"Because the Earth needs Dr. Fate." Nabu's voice said as an image of the helmet appeared in the mindscape. "I will not release this body."

"You can't do that!" Shark shouted as he got ready for a fight.

"Actually he can but he shouldn't." Kent stated calmly. "Nabu, this is not the right candidate, at least not yet. The boy has potential but that potential cannot be reached if you take over his body. Perhaps at a later date, he could become your new host or even your replacement."

"True, but I do not appreciate being permanently hidden away, useless, isolated, for decades at a time." Nabu stated. "Chaos must not be allowed the reign!"

"That will not happen again. The boy will take the helmet and make sure you're put to good use." Kent stated.

"Yeah, I have no problem with that. It'd be nice to have someone like Doctor Fate waiting in the wing should my teammates and I get into too much trouble. Besides, I'm sure Zatara wouldn't mind occasionally wearing the helmet." Shark added getting a nod from Mr. Nelson.

"And in the mean time, I'll stick around and keep you company." Kent offered.

"Wait! What happened to you ascending and being with Inza?" Shark asked in concern.

"Heh, don't sweat it, kid. I'll spend a few millennia here, and then see Inza." Kent said happily. "That's the great thing about eternity, it's eternal."

"The bargain is acceptable but, if the boy is to reach his potential, he'll need this." Nabu said as his eyes glowed and an ancient tome appeared in front of Shark. "This tome is connected to my vast knowledge and wisdom. Use it to help gain a better understanding on magic. If you are to one day be my replacement as a Lord of Order, you will need that to guide you on your way."

Shark accepted the gift. "I appreciate the gift but how do you know I'm meant to become a Lord of Order?" He asked.

"I don't." Nabu admitted. "But you are the most qualified of any candidate I have ever encountered, so I am hoping that you'll be able to replace me so that I can finally move on from this existence."

"Some free advice before you go." Kent said to Shark. "Find your own little spitfires, ones who won't let you get away with nothing." Shark looked at his with a raised eyebrow. "Yes, I'm talking about more than one female. Even though it's frowned upon by the public, I knew a few heroes what had more than one girlfriend or wife at any given time. Someone as powerful as you will need them to keep you grounded and on the right path. For example, girls like that-" Kent was cut off as the area became completely white and Shark was freed from the mindscape.

Real world,

Shark removed the Helmet of Nabu and returned to his normal clothes. He found Artemis looking at him with concern written on her face. "Are you alright?!" She asked urgently.

"Yeah I'm fine, Artemis. I just had to talk to Nabu and Mr. Nelson about a few things before I took off the helmet." Shark explained as the tome Nabu had given him appeared in the real world. He took the tome and looked over at Kent's corpse. He set down the book and helmet before he put Kent's locket into his hand and closed the hand around it.

Artemis picked up the tome and helmet for Shark so he could pick up Kent's body. "Make sure you don't lose those." Shark told Artemis. "I have a promise to keep that involves both of those items." The female archer nodded in understanding as the two made their way back into the tower where the others were waiting.

"Oh no…" Donna said in horror when she saw Shark carrying Kent's dead body. No one said as they left the Tower of Fate, which Aqualad resealed by locking the door behind them and taking the key from it.

Mount Justice, August 20, 3:48 A.M.,

It was raining outside as Shark was in his room and placed the Helmet of Nabu on a shelf next to other items he had acquired from the team's previous missions. Shark sighed sadly as he felt the mission was a failure for not being able to keep Kent Nelson from dying but he wasn't about to dwell on it too much as he knew Kent was much happier where he was now. Shark had set the tome from Nabu down on the study table to look at later. Right now he wanted to get something to eat before going to bed.

He walked through the hallway and found Artemis leaning on the to a storage area where Wally kept his souvenirs. "So how do you explain what happened to Shark when he put on the helmet?" She asked the magic skeptic as Shark approached.

Shark wanted to hear this and saw that Wally had his own souvenir shelf. On it were the robotic eye from the android Brom Stikk, a hood and mask from a Kobra Cultist, a damaged M.O.N.Q.I. head, the mask of the assassin Cheshire, and now the wand of Abra Kadabra. Wally looked at Artemis. "Energy from the thing rewrote his brain's beta waves. He was bio-scripted into become Dr. Fate for a few minutes." Wally said matter-of-factly.

"Wait, you're still claiming there's no such thing as magic even after everything we just went through?" Artemis asked. "If that were true then why is Shark keeping the Helmet and tome?"

Wally looked at his souvenir shelf. "Duh, souvenirs!" He replied with a grin.

"Geek!" She said before walking away with Shark shaking his head.

Shark remembered what Kent said about needing to find his own spitfires to help keep him on the right track but he was worried about how the others would react to him having more than one girlfriend, so for now, he was just going to wait and see what happens.

To Be Continued…