Particle Man #15
"Genesis: Part I,
Mysteries and Enigmas"

Cover:  The background is a brick wall that fills the entire cover.  Particle Man is facing the wall.  His right arm is cocked back, holding the Lucky Ball and Chain.  He looks as though he is about to hit the wall with all his might.

    The wizard Greenhowl paced back and forth behind his lines of troops as he waited for the enemy's assault.  He paused beside his Juggernaut, a four-wheeled, evil visaged mechanical creature of destruction.  Having just attacked, the Juggernaut was being re-energized by peasant underlings and would be useless in the defense.  That job fell to the skeleton hordes, the craw wurm, and the mighty basilisk.
    "What will you do, my enemy?" Greenhowl mused to himself.  Godwrath was a crafty one, to be sure, but Greenhowl had already weathered Godwrath's ultimately destructive namesake spell.  Then the attack came, in the form of a blazing ball of fire.  The fireball sailed over Greenhowl's amassed troops as it sought the wizard himself.  Greenhowl's green eyes narrowed in concentration as the fireball exploded upon hitting him.  Suddenly, he and the skeletons had traded places, and the skeletons took the full impact of the fireball, burning into cinders.  Greenhowl tapped the black mana of Demon Swamp to reassemble the skeletons, none the worse for wear.
    "Nice try, Godwrath," Greenhowl said, chuckling.  Greenhowl checked the lands that his enemy controlled.  All of the mountains except one had been tapped, their innate power used up for the moment.  Greenhowl grinned as he sent his demon hordes over to Godwrath's only remaining untapped mountain, where the demons fell upon the land, utterly destroying it.  His enemy could initiate no more red destruction spells.  What was he up to?  Greenhowl continued to watch as Godwrath drew forth the energy of Mu Island and the Island of Bali.  Greenhowl could see Godwrath in the distance, his blue and white robes fluttering in the breeze as he manipulated the blue energy of the islands into a spell.  Then, Greenhowl felt a wrenching in his gut as he felt all of _his_ lands being tapped by his enemy.
    "He still has no red," Greenhowl muttered.  "What the hell is he up to?"
    The raw power flowed out into Godwrath, who channelled a minor fraction of the seething energy into the creation of a very special prism artifact.  Godwrath channelled another portion of the mana through the prism, changing it to red.  He was forced to trade two mana of other colors for one red, but one red was enough to trigger his signature spell.  Raw energy flowed forth like a river, destroying everything in its path.
    "Disintegrate," Greenhowl noted, glancing momentarily at his unpowered circle of protection from red.  "Damn him."  He stood, accepting his fate as the red energy blasted him out of existence....

    "Damn!" Person spat as he began clearing his cards from the table.  Bandwagon Chick nodded sympathetically, for she had been knocked out of the game fifteen minutes ago.  Constellation simply stood by the table in the cafeteria and watched.
    "Thank you for being my proxy," Blue Canary said from the shoulder of The Incredible Man With No Life.
    "No problem," he replied as he replaced Blue Canary's cards in their case.  "It's fun watching you play this game."
    "Well, what did you get?" Bandwagon Chick asked as No Life opened up the booster pack that had been the ante.
    "Looks like an Armageddon Clock, Onulet, and another Sol Ring are the big ones," Blue Carary answered as No Life showed him the cards.
    "Lucky," Bandwagon Chick said.  "That Armageddon Clock's a buttkicker."
    "Well, I'll see you guys later," Person said as he stood to leave.
    "You're not up for another game?" Bandwagon Chick asked as she shuffled her deck.
    "Nah, you guys go ahead and play.  I'm gonna go for a walk."  Person closed his card case with a loud click and quickly strode from the room.
    "Person?" Constellation called from behind.
    "Yeah?" Person asked as he turned to face Constellation.
    "We have to talk."
    "About?"
    "About that battle with the VerminMACs, Person."  [Kid Kirby/Particle Man Robot Invasion Special -ed.]
    "Yeah, well, I'm really sorry about hitting you," Person said, looking distinctly uncomfortable.  "I just kind of...lost it, you know?"
    "That's not the point, Person.  The point is that you shouldn't have been able to hit me at all.  I was completely unsolid."
    "You couldn't have been," Person protested.  "I connected.  Hard!"
    "I know.  Believe me, I know.  The only things that can affect me when I'm intangible are psionics..."
    "That's straight out," Person noted.
    "...and magic.  Do you know the source of your powers?"
    "You have to promise to keep this to yourself," Person demanded.  Constellation shrugged.
    "Sure, no problem."
    "Well...I'm a mutant."  Constellation looked at Person for a moment.
    "So?"
    "Well, mutants seem to have problems with prejudice every so often."
    "Oh, that's right.  This reality is linked pretty tightly with some of the more mainstream comic book cliches.  Don't worry, I won't let anyone know that you're a mutant.  But I really think that you should talk to Occultism Kid, specifically about your powers.  Your non-mutant powers.  Interesting card game, by the way," Constellation commented as he walked away.
    Magic?  Person thought as he walked down the corridor toward Occultism Kid's room.  As if I didn't have enough problems, now I find out that I'm wielding two of the most misunderstood and feared power sources of all.  Wonderful.  Orphan mutant magician.  Beautiful.  Orphan, _dateless,_ mutant magician.  Even better.  Orphan, dateless, flight-ring-losing mutant magician.  Whee, I'm having some fun now.  Orphan, dateless, flight-ring-  Person's train of thought came to an abrupt halt as he came to Occultism Kid's room.  Cautiously, he knocked on the door.
    "Occultism Kid?" he called.  "You in there?"
    "Nobody here but us demons!" came the reply.
    "Whoa!  Sorry!  I'll be going now!"  Particle Man prepared to run for his life.
    "Wait, wait, I was kidding!" Occultism Kid called.  "Come on in!"  Person relaxed slightly as the door opened itself.  "Enter freely, and of your own will."  Person shrugged and stepped through the door.  Used to his own messy room, he navigated the clutter of books and scrolls with little difficulty.
    "What was that?" he asked Occultism Kid, who was gazing at cards that bore various, arcane sigils.  "It felt like I was stepping through a thin wall of jello."
    "Oh, that was just the ward I have over my room," Occultism Kid answered as he took one more look at the cards before returning them to an ornately carved wooden case.  "If I hadn't invited you in, it would've been like walking into a thick wall of titanium steel.  Have a seat.  There's one right behind you."
    "There is?" Person asked as he turned around.  "There is!  That wasn't there before!"  Person sat down with a confused look on his face.
    "The life of the mage is filled with coincidences," Occultism Kid replied, smiling.  "It's not all hocus-pocus and abracadabra.  So...what's up?"
    "It's my powers," Person answered.  "I have reason to suspect that they're magically derived."
    "Magical, eh?  Well, that's easy enough to see.  Do something,"
    "Okay."  Particle Man summoned the ball and chain into his hands.  "Good enough?"
    "Yeah," Occultism Kid nodded.  "That's magic, all right, but it's nothing I've seen before.  It's universal magic, but it doesn't put much strain on local reality.  As a matter of fact, it seems to be a completely natural phenomenon."
    "Pardon?"
    "Oh, sorry.  I'll break it down for you."  Occultism Kid retrieved his cards and shuffled through them absently as he spoke.  "There are many, many different types of magic, Person.  Any given world probably has hundreds in and of itself.  Most of these types of magic can be broken up into three major types.  The first and most basic is magic derived from the...power that flows through everything that lives.  This personal magic is the basis of some of the more powerful martial arts, for example.  Personal magic lets one levitate, ignore pain, and perform some minor tricks."  To illustrate his point, Occultism Kid floated a foot above the chair in which he had been sitting.
    "Cool," Particle Man said, nodding.
    "Nah, that's just a neat trick.  The good thing about personal magic is that you don't have to gesture or chant or anything.  Just hit the right state of mind, and you're there.  It doesn't even take much concentration once you get used to it."
    "Ultimate Ninja uses personal magic?"
    "Probably," Occultism Kid replied.  "I doubt if he does it consciously, though.  Most of the really powerful wielders of personal magic don't even think of it as magic, but who's to say?  Anyway, the next grouping of magic is universal magic.  Universal magics are generally too powerful for the mage to fuel using his own personal power, so the ambient power of the universe itself is tapped.  That's where a lot of the really fun stuff comes into play.  Basically, anything that affects anything else falls under universal magic.  Anything from a shaman manipulating the weather or plant growth to flight and teleportation can be accomplished by using the magic of the universe, but it takes some concentration.  Magic words, gestures, and substances are usually neccessary, too."  Occultism Kid reached into a pocket of his trenchcoat and pulled out a small piece of amber.  "Did you know that the word 'electron' was derived from the Greek word for amber?" he asked as he snapped his fingers.  A tiny stroke of lightning shot from the amber, striking and lighting a candle on the far corner of the cluttered room.  "The snapping of my fingers and a muttered word or two was enough for that tiny bolt, but I can do bigger ones."
    "The third kind of magic?" Person asked.
    "Oh, sorry.  I tend to ramble when I actually have someone to talk to about these things.  Anyway, the third kind of magic is what I refer to as dimensional magic.  Tell me, what do you know about the PluRealities?"
    "Well, I know that there's a large, possibly infinite, number of realities separated by..."  Person paused for a second, deep in thought.  "...certain universal parameters of which I'm aware but I can't find names for."
    "A good, scientific approach.  Well, some of those realities are filled with magic.  Literally seething with magical energies.  A lot of those realities are claimed and ruled by one or a few being of immense power.  These entities are so powerful that they can not only produce personal and universal effects from within theirselves, but they can actually grant magical power to mages who invoke their names in spells.  Some of the realities are sentient in and of themselves.  Net.torak is a name that I can invoke to summon binding spells, for instance."
    "That sounds like something that Size of the Entire Universe Man could do," Person noted.
    "I've never heard of that one," Occultism Kid said.
    "I met him," Person insisted.
    "Oh, I'm not doubting you.  I'm not claiming to know everything about magic, either.  That could explain why your magic looks a lot like dimensional magic."
    "But Size of the Entire Universe Man lives in this reality," Person said.  "He might even _be_ this reality."
    "That would explain the dimensional bit, and the universal bit, as well as why your powers don't leave any 'marks' on reality."
    "So now I'm going to show up on magic detectors?  Great."
    "No, it's not that bad.  You're using one of the narrowest...bandwidths, for lack of a better word, that I've ever seen.  I had to be looking specifically for magic when you used your powers, and I couldn't negate them any more easily than I could negate, say, Steak and Potatoes Man's powers."
    "Well, that clears that up.  Now, my second question's about my flight ring, and-"
    "Oh," Occultism Kid said as though he had been expecting a question of that sort.  "I was wondering when someone was going to notice."
    "You mean you've known about this!?"
    "For some time, yes," Occultism Kid answered, nodding.  "I had to charge Kid Kirby something for the rings.  I'm not mercenary, and I would've gladly done it for free, but the nature of the magic demanded a trade.  The Visionary Grimoire the Kid Kirby gave me in return for the rings was powerful, indeed, but temporary.  In fact, it was a one-shot deal.  That limited the usefulness of the Grimoire and, thus, the rings.  The rings, it turns out, were dependent on conscious thought.  Most of the other Legionnaires conveniently forgot about the rings due to the nature of the magic itself.  I think that you were the only one that actually used the ring after we went after Dimwiticus.  That would explain why your ring stuck around for so long."
    "Can you fix it?" Person asked.  "I can pay for it with money, but I don't have any magical stuff."  Occultism Kid shook his head.
    "The ring's already paid for," he replied.  "I'll see what I can do.  Dropping the number of rings down to one should compensate for the limited usefulness of that grimoire."
    "Great!  Thanks."
    "No problem.  You should see the results shortly, if it works.  For now, you'd better leave.  I'm about to unleash forces that mankind was never meant to use."  Occultism Kid grinned as Person left quickly, not knowing whether or not Occultism Kid was joking.

    "How did it go, Person?" Blue Canary asked when Person returned to his room.
    "Well, my powers are magical in nature, as you probably already knew," he answered.  "He also said that he might be able to fix my flight ring.  I hope that he can.  Flight is extremely useful."
    "I'm familiar with the concept," Blue Canary said, chuckling as he raised a wing.  "Those weren't the only things bothering you, though, were they?"  Person sighed as he sat heavily upon his bed.
    "Those dreams are getting really strange," Person replied [see Particle Man Interlude -ed.].  "And you saw that winged woman that flew over the farm when we were fighting those giant robot bugs.  That was Lucky!"
    "I'll admit that there was a resemblance, but-"
    "Resemblance, my ass!  That was Lucky, and I have to find out more!"
    "Person, calm down.  I've done nothing to deserve such ire."
    "You're right, and I'm sorry.  That was Lucky, though, I know it, but she had wings and energy powers, and she saved my life.  I have to find her.  Hey, could she have gotten powers the same way Pencil Rain got their powers?  Residual effects from when I got mine?"
    "Conceivable, but doubtful.  I would have sensed something, unless someone or something has gone to great effort to conceal her from me."
    "Well, the first step is going to be finding her, no matter how she got her powers.  Multi-tasking Man is the man to see."  Person grabbed his black leather trenchcoat and his mirrorshades and rushed to the monitor room, where Multi-tasking Man was balancing his checkbook, coding on three different MUSHes, writing out a shopping list, and learning Greek from a tape.
    "What's up, Particle Man?" Muti-Tasking Man asked.  "And aren't you hot in that trenchcoat?"
    "I have a high tolerance for heat and cold," Particle Man replied.  "I need a favor.  I need to find a mysterious, angel-winged woman, and-"
    "Say no more, Particle Man.  It just so happens that I've been tracing the movements of just such a being over the past week or so."  One of the many screens changed to show a pattern of movement imposed over a map of Net.ropolis.
    "It looks like they're concentrated in one area," Particle Man noted.  "Garvey's Cannery District, where I'm from."
    "The pattern's even tighter than that," Multi-Tasking Man said, increasing the magnification.  "She's been flying over one particular building for hours at a time."
    "The Orphanage," Particle Man gasped.  "It IS her!"
    "Hmm?"
    "That's the Net.ropolis Orphanage.  It's where I grew up.  Thanks a lot!" Particle Man called as he ran from the monitor room toward the front door.
    "I never thought that I'd go back there, Blue, but I have to.  I have to go back to the place that made a living hell of my childhood."