016
— magic mayhem —

GAR HAD HIS HEAD LIFTED TOWARD THE NIGHT SKY, THE WIND BLOWING HIS HAIR SOFTLY AS HE KEPT HIS EYES CLOSED. His entire body still felt off, like there was a looming presence watching over him, raising the skin on his neck. Hazel could feel it all, the same unease washing over her as they stood under the golden streetlight.

Hazel stepped slightly closer to Gar and he sighed softly. "You can feel it can't you?" Gar asked, craning his neck so he could look at Hazel.

She sighed and spun her hands together, twisting her rings. "Do you wanna talk about it?" She asked, tilting her head at him.

Gar sighed and turned back to the sky. "I just need to focus on something else for a while," Gar muttered, taking a deep breath through his nose. Hazel nodded softly and leaned against the brick wall, looking over the trees. "Thank you for keeping me company." Hazel looked up at Gar, smiling as he looked over his shoulder at her.

The young boy inside the cafe called Hazel's name and she rushed back through the open doors to the small rustic cafe. She grabbed the to-go cup and walked back to Gar's side. She was about to call his name when he winced. "They messed up your order," Gar mumbled, opening his eyes to look at Hazel.

Hazel's eyebrows furrowed and she sipped the drink. Instead of the sweet hazelnut coffee she was met with a hot black tea. Gar pulled his lips into a tight smile and shrugged softly. "Fuck," Hazel hissed. "I'm gonna grab another one. I'll only be a sec."

"I'll wait here," Gar said with a nod.

"I'll be as fast as I can," Hazel said quickly before rushing back to the coffee shop. She quickly informed the poor coffee boy at the counter who apologised profusely, insisting she didn't have to pay for a replacement. She still gave a reasonable tip all the same.

She stepped out of the line, walking over to the wooden bench along the far wall, resting against it. Hazel tapped her knuckles against the wooden bench top as she waited, her eyes scanning the small shop. It was small, probably a family run business, but the interior felt chic with golden light bulbs hanging from the ceiling, the wire they hung from covered in dark green vines and leaves. Just as she was about to turn away the light above her flashed and the leaves shifted, sprouting an unnaturally small and pastel sunflower, and not a moment later the ends curved themselves to look like a lily.

Hazel's head snapped toward the boy as he called out her name, capping the coffee quickly. "Here you go miss, one hazelnut coffee," He wiped his hands on his apron and smiled sheepishly. "Sorry again." he said softly, sliding the coffee toward her.

"That's alright, thank you again. . . Shayne," Haze said leaning close to read his name tag. Hazel took the coffee and stepped outside, making her way back towards Gar. He hadn't noticed her yet but she watched as he rushed forward and grabbed a man's shoulder but he quickly let go as the man turned back, confused, before walking on.

Hazel jogged over to Gar and he almost dropped his coffee as he met her halfway, throwing his arms around her. "Hey, hey, just breathe," Hazel soothed, raking her fingers through his hair. Gar dropped his head against Hazel's shoulder for a moment before straightening up. His eyes still darted around and on instinct she placed her hand on the side of his face, her eyebrows creasing in worry. "Are you alright?"

"I uh—" Gar's eyes shot around before finally settling on Hazel's honey gold eyes, his breath settling for a moment. "I talked to someone, he made me hear these animals and— he said . . ."

Gar hiccuped as he tripped over his words and Hazel squeezed his arm. "Just take a breath," Hazel ordered, keeping her voice soft. Gar took a deep breath. "What did he say?"

"When the tower splits in half, go to The Red," Gar relayed. "I tried to talk to him again but when I chased him, he disappeared like it wasn't the same guy."

"Okay creepy," Hazel said, glancing back at the man that Gar had confused but he was gone. "Um, okay. The Red is the place with the tree, obviously. Maybe the tower is a literal tower."

"Or a temple," Gar said softly.

❁

Terran and Rachel sat comfortably on the large table, they and the others waiting for Cole to finish his work on the computer before they headed back to the lab to prepare for Jinx's spell. Tim had stayed by Cole's side, making jokes and little remarks as Cole tried his hardest to both focus and move quickly. While they waited Dick had made his way over to Conner, trying to talk to him but Conner continued to brush him off.

Until he snapped, pushing himself out of his chair. "Well, you know what, I'd say it's happening just in fucking time," Conner's loud voice drew everyones attention toward him. Conner had changed so drastically, he never really swore, still learning new things— he had only bowled for the first time 3 days ago. But now almost everything about him had changed; the soft smiles were gone, his casual clothing, the way he stood.

When he had first waltzed through the doors acting more like Lex than Clark, Terran thought he would at least keep the part that had made him Conner, but it's like a switch had flipped. Instead of just swearing at Dick, he had started insulting them all, "Rachel's useless, Terran's not even trying, Gar's losing his mind, Kory's blue-thing, inconsistent at best. And Tim, well, he can't do anything at all."

Tim shuffled uncomfortably, his hands squeezing the bo-staff tighter. Cole squeezed Tim's bicep and smiled ever so slightly, "That's not true and you know it."

Conner could hear them, no one doubted it but he had ignored them, as if they were beneath him. "I'll give Cole credit for stepping up, and let's be honest here, Richard," Conner hissed, "We'd all be screwed without Hazel. So, if I were you, I'd stop worrying about my best player and just take the win."

Dick sighed, but he didn't look back at the others, he just continued to press his point on Conner. "You're not the only one to ever have to go through this," Dick said, ensuring to keep his voice calm and steady, almost like a father giving his most sage advice. "Me, Kory, Rachel, Gar, Hazel. . . we've been there. We've all had to fight a battle with our dark side."

"This isn't my dark side," Conner said harshly, nearly chuckling. "This is the side that's looking out for me. That's why you're trying so hard to save Hazel from something she's already accepted. Maybe that's why you don't like it."

The silence was heavy as Dick stared at Conner, no one wanting to speak up and break the tension. But in the end it was Dick, after he spared a glance at Kory. She had shook her head softly and Dick turned back to Conner with a glare. "If we're done here, we'll be in the lab setting up a way to bring Sebastian back. We could use your help." Dick ran his hand down his face and turned for the stairs, the others jumping up and following after him.

❁

Jinx had already set up everything she needed for her spell so they ran through the list of steps before they started to properly prepare for the spell. "All right. We need to be clear on exactly how this is gonna work," Dick said walking into the open lab. "Let's run it one more time. Rachel?"

"I'll reach out, search for my powers and then, from there, I should be able to zone in on Sebastian," Rachel repeated, handing Tim back the bo staff she spun.

Dick nodded softly, "Okay, once that starts Kory?"

"I join hands with Rachel and begin feeding her my blue light," Kory nodded.

"After Kory had started to feed Rachel her blue light?"

"I connect us all, ensuring that Sebastion will be the only one to get disorganised," Cole said confidently, stopping to lean on one of the desks, the main table already prepared for the spell.

"And once the connection is secure, Jinx?"

"I join hands with Cole and Kory, and once Sebastian is thoroughly disorganised, I will keep all of that matter in one place and the four of us draw him back here," Jinx said with a wide grin.

"And as long as all his physical matter ends up somewhere in this room, I'll reassemble him," Doctor Esponson said with a nod, Kruger standing with her.

"All right. Once we start, we've got one shot at this," Dick warned. "It has to work. Okay." There was a wave of nervousness that ran through them all but they kept their head high and started to move into their positions, notably Tim and Dick taking a few large steps backwards.

Terran went to follow them but paused and moved to Rachel's side, stopping her before she could pull herself onto the table. Terran rested one arm against the table, leaning most of her wait on her hand as she looked up at Rachel. "You'll be safe while you do this right?" Terran asked, keeping her voice somewhat quiet. "Don't get me wrong, I've seen you work your magic ju-ju but this isn't exactly your magic ju-ju."

Rachel laughed softly, her eyes crinkling at the sides. "I'll be fine Te, i'm just reaching, Jinx is doing all the heavy lifting," Rachel said with a small shrug. Her smile then turned teasing and she leaned closer, tilting her head at Terran. "You worried, Claire?"

Terran scoffed softly, but she still smiled, "Don't patronise me."

"It's cute," Rachel laughed. Terran shook her head at Rachel and walked over to Tim and Dick, making the proper amount of room for the spell.

Cole walked over to Rachel and mirrored the way Terran was standing. Rachel turned around and almost jumped when he faced him. "So. . . you and my little sister?" Cole questioned, lulling over the words as he looked down at Rachel. Rachel's eyebrows shot up as she began to stammer, but that only made Cole laugh. "I'm just messing with you. Besides, you've known her longer. But she's still my little sister, so I have to be a little cheesy."

"No I get it," Rachel said with a nod. "I just wasn't sure if Terran had said something."

Cole raised his eyebrow, "Did you want her to say something?"

"Alright!" Jinx called rubbing her hands together. "You three ready for this?" Cole smiled at Rachel and held a hand out for Rachel to help her onto the table. Jinx did the same, pushing herself off of Cole's shoulder and onto the table, being weary of the stones and powders on the table. Kory stepped up to the table, standing opposite to Cole.

Kory gave Jinx a swift nod and Jinx quickly lit a candle, setting it in the middle of all the stones.

Jinx took a deep breath and straightened her posture, her hands resting comfortably on her knees. "Okay, Rachel, focus on the light," Jinx ordered and Rachel looked down at the candle, keeping her breathing steady. "Now, picture your power growing like leaf-shoots bursting from a tiny seed and spreading out, searching for air, searching for sunlight. Searching for you." The flame flickered slightly and Cole's eyes widened.

Jinx picked up a small glass jar of purple paste and dug her finger in, smearing the colour over her ring finger. Rachel took a long breath, closing her eyes and Jinx reached out, smearing the paste in the centre of Rachel's forehead. Rachel took a sharp breath and the paste started to glow. A moment later the light disappeared and Jinx grabbed the small jars of red and blue paste, coating her pointer and middle finger.

"Now, Kory, Cole. . ." Jinx set the jars down, "take her hands at the same time." Kory nodded, letting her blue light flow from her chest and through her body. Cole copied her, his body pulsing with a deep red power.

Kory looked up at Cole and nodded, "On three." They pushed their powers into their hands. "One. . ." Rachel lifted her hands, resting them on her knees with her palms facing up. "Two. . ." Kory glanced at Cole, her eyes glowing a bright green. ". . .Three." Kory and Cole took Rachel's hands, their powers flowing from their body and into Rachel. At the same time, Jinx had reached forwards, spreading her fingers and drawing the lines of red and blue on either side of the purple smudge. Rachel's breath picked up, but it settled when Jinx took Cole and Kory's hands.

Terran had taken a small step closer, nervously biting her knuckle. Tim noticed Terran starting to rock on the balls of her feet and he reached out, squeezing her shoulder softy. Terran looked at him and smiled, her hand moving to squeeze his.

They looked up at Rachel and her eyes shot open with a gasp, the remnants of the spell shooting through the room, extinguishing all the candles Jinx had set up around the room. Then Rachel shouted, "They've got Conner!"

Tim spun on his heel, throwing himself into one of the spinning chairs and turned on the computer, looking through the login system. Cole held his hands out, supporting her as she jumped off the table, Terran already at Rachel's side. She pulled her sleeve over her hand and whipped the paste from her skin before helping her down as well.

"Fire Creek Dam," Tim announced and they crowded around the computer. "Forty miles north of here. Funded by the Luthor Foundation."

Tim pulled up a picture of the surrounding location and Rachel nodded, tapping her nail against the screen. "Yep. That's where they are. Maybe 200 feet underneath."

"Then that's where we're going," Dick said with a nod.

"I thought we wanted to avoid a head-on confrontation?" Kory questioned.

Dick sighed softly, sliding his hands into his pockets, "Thanks to Conner, now we have no choice."

"Can't we teleport them both out?" Cole asked.

"No!" Jinx shouted, shaking her head frantically. "When you try and do two, their cells intermingle. It's not pretty," Jinx warned.

"Do them one at a time, and they'll notice what's happening and stop us before we can do anything," Terran groaned.

Dick sighed, running his hand down his face as he looked at the computer. "All right, find Hazel and Gar. We leave in five minutes," Dick ordered, nodding at Cole.

Cole grabbed his phone and stepped out into the hall, calling Hazel, which she thankfully answered quickly. "Hey, we have a massive problem. Can you get back to S.T.A.R Labs quickly?" Cole asked, his hand running through his hair as unease crawled up his spine.

"Not quickly, no," Hazel answered.

"Okay, imma send you an address, if you get there before us don't go in," Cole ordered, still sighing.

"Why? What's going on?" Gar asked, seemingly yanking the phone from Hazel.

"I'll send you a text, it's. . . complicated," Cole huffed, "I gotta go, be safe."

Hazel tore the phone from and spoke to Cole, "Yeah, you too."

Cole ended the call and stepped closer to the wall, dropping his head against it. He groaned, hiding his face in his hands. The unease had moved from his spine throughout his whole body, making him shake with shallow breaths.

"Hey Cole, you find Hazel—?" Jinx stopped suddenly, her voice cutting off as she stared at Cole. He lifted his head and stepped back, smiling at Jinx. "You all good?"

Cole shrugged, "You ever get a feeling that something terrible is going to happen?" Cole asked, crossing his arms over his chest. "But it feels so terrible that even your powers sense it so you can't escape it?"

Jinx stepped closer, still bouncing on her feet. "Your godly senses feeling something?" Cole shrugged softly and Jinx sighed. "You thinking about that book?"

Cole raked his hand through his hair, "It looks like her Jinx. Something bad is going to happen to her and us."

"Nothing is going to happen," Jinx said sternly, taking another step closer. "We're going to get Sebastian back. Conner too I guess." Cole nodded softly and that was good enough , Jinx spun on her heel with a smile. "But we probably won't if you stand there all night."

Her head was raised toward the clear sky, rays of golden sun pouring over her skin with no warmth behind it. It made her skin glow, just slightly but the golden hue was there. The lavender rustled against the wind, her jacket caught in the soft wind, her thick curls bouncing in her shoulders. She had come to appreciate the fact she couldn't feel the sun, or the chill of the wind.

It meant Hazel wasn't dead.

That much she could appreciate. She could feel the gentle brush of the lavender against her fingertips if she focussed hard enough but the sun stayed trapped behind an invisible force that Hazel had given up trying to understand years ago. The wind still bellowed in her ears but she had grown used to it, if it were any calmer, something was wrong, so she was thankful for the howling and the cold sun.

But it didn't mean she was alone.

The woman stood in the tall grass, the rays of light still covering her face. The layers of her dress stayed untouched by the wind, frozen like the outfit had been placed on a mannequin, never to be worn or touched. She had followed her dreams for years now, speaking in strange tones and riddles she never understood, and when she did the terrible distortion of her voice had hidden her words.

"This path is run by desire, you are forbidden," She warned, "You cannot take this path." The wind took her voice, the words disappearing in the wind, muffling like they were pushed deep underwater. Hazel looked over her shoulder, but the woman was still shrouded in light, the runes on her skin sparkling in the gold. It was both ethereal and strangely annoying.

"Don't you see?!" The woman yelled this time, her voice cutting through the air like the pang of a bullet. The shout sent shocks of pain through Hazel's skulls and she dropped to her knees, her hands slamming against the side of her head. "Call for him!"

"Hazel?"

Hazel lifted her head from the glass of the car window and looked up at Gar. He smiled softly and Hazel shuffled in her seat, stretching as she sat upright. "Sorry, I didn't realise I fell asleep," Hazel grumbled, running her cold hands down her face, trying to wake herself up quicker. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah," Gar hummed, clicking his phone on, "Cole messaged though, and I can't read it right now." Hazel took the phone from Gar and slumped back in her seat, her eyes skimming over the message. She sighed through her nose and Gar glanced at her, his eyebrows creasing. "Is everything okay?"

"Conner's lost it," Haze scoffed. "Went out by himself and got himself caught. The teleportation plan is a bust. . . and it's less than an hour before the satellites shift and the Red Moon comes back." Hazel looked up at Gar and he picked up the speed.

— rapture —