CHAPTER 5: HUMILIATION AND HIGH STAKES IN THE HIMALAYAS
The Waverider hummed through the time stream, a familiar comfort after the grimy, smoky reality of 1940s London. Adam, feeling invigorated from their last mission, was buzzing with an almost manic energy. His powers, particularly his telekinesis, felt stronger, more responsive. He could now subtly manipulate multiple small objects, or push with enough force to make a heavy object wobble. The regeneration felt faster too, almost anticipating injuries.
'Okay, so the last mission was a win. We stopped some of Savage's goons, saved some civilians, and I didn't accidentally turn anyone into a historical anomaly. Plus, I got to prove my worth. Not bad for a guy who died tripping over a curb. I wonder what fun historical disaster Rip has planned for us next. Dinosaurs? Ninjas? Or maybe just another terribly inconvenient historical convention where I can accidentally insult a king?'
Rip, however, seemed even more stressed than usual. His eyes, already perpetually weary, looked like they hadn't seen sleep in a century. He called a team meeting in the common room, his posture rigid.
"Gideon has detected another significant temporal anomaly," he began, his voice devoid of its usual clipped authority, tinged instead with a profound weariness. "A massive energy signature, unlike anything we've encountered before, emanating from the Himalayan mountains, circa 1975."
Adam leaned forward. "Ooh, Himalayas! Yeti country! Are we going cryptozoological? Because I've always wanted to meet a Bigfoot. Or, you know, a very large, hairy, time-displaced human who just really likes cold weather."
Rip ignored him, his gaze fixed on the holographic map that now showed a desolate, snow-covered peak. "This isn't a conventional Vandal Savage operation. The energy signature is… raw. Untamed. It suggests a direct, powerful ritual. He is trying something new. Something dangerous."
Sara narrowed her eyes. "A ritual? So, magic? That's not really our wheelhouse, Rip."
"Precisely why this is concerning," Rip affirmed. "Magic, true magic, is a chaotic force. And Vandal Savage, with his millennia of experience, could unleash something truly catastrophic. Gideon estimates the ritual is reaching its apex. We have a narrow window to intervene."
Jax piped up, a nervous tremor in his voice. "So, we're going into the mountains, against Savage, and whatever magic he's cooking up, in 1975? That sounds… chilly. And dangerous."
"It is," Rip agreed, his voice grim. "But we have no choice. If Savage completes this ritual, the repercussions could be felt across all of history."
Adam, for once, felt a prickle of genuine unease. 'Magic. That's a whole different ballgame. My powers are physical, psychic, not mystical. What if I can't regenerate from a magic spell? What if I get turned into a newt? I'm not entirely sure my sarcasm translates well to amphibian form.'
He tried to lighten the mood. "Alright, team! Operation: Save the Timeline from Spooky Magic, initiated! Just remember, if you see any abominable snowmen, don't feed them. They get gassy."
Mick grumbled. "You're not funny."
"I try," Adam chirped back.
The trip to 1975 Himalayas was quick. The Waverider landed in a hidden valley, nestled amongst towering, snow-capped peaks. The air was thin, biting cold, and silent, save for the whisper of the wind. Even the constant hum of the Waverider seemed subdued in this desolate grandeur.
"The energy signature is emanating from that cave system," Rip pointed to a dark maw in the side of the mountain, a faint, pulsing reddish glow visible within. "Be prepared for anything. This is Savage's inner sanctum."
As they trekked through the snow, the cold seeping into Adam's clothes despite his regeneration keeping him warm, a palpable sense of dread settled over the team. This wasn't like a street brawl in London. This felt… primal. Ancient.
They entered the cave system. The air grew warmer, thick with the scent of incense, stale blood, and something acrid that made Adam's nose wrinkle. Torchlight flickered, revealing crude drawings on the cave walls – ominous symbols, depictions of sacrifice, and the unmistakable, recurring image of Vandal Savage himself, surrounded by cultists.
The pulsing red light grew brighter, leading them deeper into the mountain's belly. They soon reached a large, natural cavern. At its center, surrounded by a circle of robed figures chanting in a guttural language, stood Vandal Savage. He was cloaked, his face grim, his arms raised as he directed the ritual. Before him, on a makeshift altar, was a glowing, pulsating orb, humming with dark energy.
"The Orb of Necrosis!" Rip gasped, his eyes wide. "He's attempting to infuse it with dark magic to amplify his control over life and death! This will make him truly unstoppable!"
"Well, that sounds bad," Adam muttered. "Like, 'universe-endingly bad.' Someone get a wizard, because I'm pretty sure my telekinesis can't un-magic a magic orb."
"We engage!" Rip commanded, drawing his Chronos blaster.
The Legends charged. Sara was a blur of motion, leaping into the circle of cultists, her staff a whirlwind of precise strikes. Mick unleashed torrents of fire, incinerating the robed figures. Ray zipped in and out, using his miniaturized form to disarm cultists, while Snart froze their weapons and limbs. Jax and Stein merged into Firestorm, their energy blasts disrupting the chanting.
Adam, however, felt a strange sense of helplessness. His powers worked on physical objects, on minds. This was different. He saw a cultist raise a hand, muttering an incantation, and a dark tendril of energy lashed out, knocking Ray back. He tried to telekinetically swat it away, but his power simply passed through the energy, ineffective.
'Damn it! My powers are useless against this! This is a magical beatdown, and I'm just here with a blunt instrument and a sarcastic attitude!'
He saw Vandal Savage, unaffected by the chaos, pour more of his power into the glowing orb. The red light intensified, throwing grotesque shadows across the cavern. Savage looked up, his eyes meeting Adam's for a fleeting moment. A flicker of recognition, of ancient malevolence, passed between them.
"You!" Savage roared, his voice echoing through the cavern. "The anomaly! The one who defies death! Your presence here only fuels my power!" He gestured, and a wave of dark energy slammed into Adam, sending him flying backward, slamming into the cave wall with a sickening crunch.
Pain exploded in his chest. A searing, burning pain that felt different from a gunshot or a stab. It felt like his very essence was being ripped apart. His regeneration, usually so quick, was struggling, fighting against an unseen force. He coughed, a trickle of blood escaping his lips.
'This isn't good. This isn't good at all. This magic is… it's doing something to my healing factor. It's slowing it down. I can feel it fighting.'
He watched in horror as Savage completed the final chant, pouring every ounce of his power into the Orb of Necrosis. The orb pulsed violently, then swelled, emitting a blinding flash of red light that engulfed the entire cavern.
When the light faded, Savage stood triumphant, the orb now merged with his own form, glowing faintly beneath his skin. His eyes glowed with an unholy power. The cultists, who had been struggling against the Legends, suddenly seemed infused with new, dark strength, their eyes likewise glowing.
The Legends, caught off guard by the surge of power, faltered. Sara was forced back by a surge of dark energy. Mick's flamethrower spluttered, its fire struggling against the cold aura emanating from Savage. Ray's suit flickered. Firestorm struggled to maintain cohesion.
Savage laughed, a chilling, triumphant sound that echoed off the cave walls. "Fools! You thought you could stop me? This Orb has granted me dominion over life itself! You are but insects before me!"
He raised a hand, and a wave of dark energy, far more potent than before, slammed into the entire team. They were thrown backward, slamming into the walls, groaning in pain. Adam, still recovering from the previous blast, felt the new impact like a sledgehammer, his body screaming in agony. His regeneration finally kicked in properly, but the pain lingered, a sharp reminder of his vulnerability against this new, magical threat.
Savage stalked towards them, savoring their defeat. "You disrupt my plans for millennia, Rip Hunter. But this time, you have failed. The Age of Savage has truly begun!"
Rip, struggling to his feet, glared at Savage, his face a mask of furious determination. "This isn't over, Savage! Not as long as one of us still breathes!"
"Oh, but it is," Savage snarled, and with a flick of his wrist, a column of rock plummeted from the cavern ceiling, blocking the main exit route, trapping them. "And soon, none of you will."
He turned, gathering his empowered cultists, and began to make his way deeper into the cave system, presumably to escape.
Adam, still trying to fully recover, pushed himself up, watching Savage disappear. His chest ached, a deep, persistent throb. He looked at his team, battered and defeated. Sara was helping Mick up, Ray was checking his suit, Stein and Jax were still trying to stabilize Firestorm. Rip was staring at the blocked exit, his shoulders slumped in utter defeat.
They had lost. Humiliatingly. Their first major encounter with Savage, face-to-face, had ended in a decisive, crushing defeat.
'We got our butts kicked. Royally. And my awesome, unkillable powers were basically useless. This isn't a game. This isn't a show. This is real, and Vandal Savage is terrifying. And magic is terrifying. And I'm not entirely sure how we're going to get out of this one. Or how we're going to stop him. This is going to be a long, painful journey.'
He stumbled over to Rip, who was staring at the rockfall, a grim expression on his face. "So, uh, Plan B? Or are we just going to sit here and wait for Savage to come back and finish the job?"
Rip just shook his head, his voice low and defeated. "I… I don't know, Mr. Stiels. This was… this was a mistake. We underestimated him. The Orb of Necrosis… it changed everything."
Adam looked around the shattered cavern, at his defeated team, at the lingering, ominous magic in the air. He tried to think of something sarcastic, something witty to say, but for the first time since his rebirth, the words wouldn't come. The weight of their failure, the sheer scale of Vandal Savage's power, pressed down on him. This wasn't a joke. This was life and death. And they had just stared death in the face and lost.