Mark had his cocoa in one hand and an engraving tool in the other while sitting at his desk. He was sipping on the coca, but his eyes never left the almost plain black ring that was held up on a stand. Blue circuit-like patterns were flowing across Mark's right arm and the tool, which left a faint blue mark wherever it scraped away portions of the ring. Mark was being very deliberate with how deeply each portion of the rune was dug, dipping and diving within single-digit millimeters.
'Diana and Donna just had to bring me to Teen Tower when I was working on my latest project. That was just rude,' Mark continued to engrave while carefully applying his mana through the tool.
"Now the world is ready for you
And the wonders you can do
Make a hawk a dove
Stop a war with love
Make a liar tell the truth"
When he was still only a quarter of the way through the command rune, he got a phone call. The rune was starting to take shape, looking Nordic, Amazonian, and Infernal all at the same time. Mark could instantly tell who it was from the song playing.
"Mayday. Answer," Mark called out without looking up from his project. "Hey, Diana. What's up?" He was still carefully tracing the rune into the ring, but there was a gleam in his eyes.
"I just wanted to check on you," Mark could see the faint smile on Diana's face without her being present. "Since Nightwing and Donna haven't reported, Titan's Tower has been burned down, I suppose your first night and morning are going well."
"Perfect, actually," Mark agreed. "Caleb fits in perfectly with the popular kids, and is going to the football game this Friday while I'm chilling with the goths. We plan on starting a cult."
"Raven, I trust with a cult but not you or Magik. You might really summon a demon or fallen god," Diana almost laughed when she heard his fake plans. "You alright in the guest room?"
"Yep. I was dropped on them by surprise. No surprise that I was sent to the guest room. Being the mysterious bad boy doesn't help," Mark acknowledged while carving an upside-down V to finish the outline of the ring. Mark began to carefully carve the hilt of the sword-like symbol.
"I would tell someone else not to be the mysterious bad boy and play better with others, but that's just not you." Diana's tone was gentle. "All you need to do is be open to the idea. It's not good for a boy your age to surround himself with warriors, demons, and Constantine for the majority of his time."
"Demons aren't too bad. One of my teammates is half-demon and another rules a realm of them." Mark barely contained his natural sass when he made that comment. Just enough that it could come off as a joke.
"Very true. Those two are very special girls. I was reluctant at first when the others started working with them but they have proven to be excellent heroes with good hearts. It seems like you have excellent tastes," Diana could tell when Mark was dividing his focus. "Still working on the Hex Set?"
"Just the last and most important part: The Hexforge. I finally worked out all the runes and how to connect them correctly," Diana could hear the smile when Mark talked about figuring out a problem that had been bugging him. "Give me another hour or 2 and I can send you the finished designs."
"I'm looking forward to it. Especially after seeing the Hexhide, this one at least seems practical," Diana shook her head while remembering Mark actually made his leather jacket self-repair but also self-damage itself so it would always look like 'I am ready to get in a barfight and it doesn't look fresh off the rack.'
"Gotta have some style, Di. Someone among you guys gotta. The red and blue is cool and all but can never go wrong with black," Mark laughed. "And it is way better than Constantine's trenchcoat."
"I might just try out a black costume since it seems to work so well for you," Diana didn't mean it, but didn't mind humoring her mentee. "The idea of creating a multi-functional weapon is truly amazing, though. I couldn't be prouder that you not only thought of it but are also making it come to life."
"Hmm. I'll never be able to beat you or Donna in hand-to-hand, but with this, I've got a fighting chance when it comes down to a duel between pure skill," Mark knew he was lying to himself. Diana was a monster, whether with or without a weapon.
"If you say so," Diana also knew she wasn't going to let Mark beat her anytime soon but she was always ready for his challenges. "I'll let you finish up your project and make sure to send me pictures or videos later."
"Will do. Love ya, Di," Mark's attention started to focus more on the sword-like design in the center of the rune.
"Love you too, Mark," Diana hung up, knowing Mark's hands were busy.
As soon as the call ended, Mark's full attention returned to the Hexforge. He ended up spending 3 more hours focusing his mana through his arms and concentrating on the smallest details, especially the 5 small letters within the circle of the rune.
When the last part of the central rune was finished, the entire ring began to glow with blue light that covered the room. Once the light faded, the rune looked midnight blue, which could barely be seen from the black surface unless the light hit it the right way.
Mark put Hexforge on his left hand's index finger, and with a thought, the jet black ring changed into a black and blue sword in a flash. Mark stood up and slashed like there was a ghost in the room, using his formal training to make sure the balance of the blade was perfect. After going through his test rune, Mark smiled on pulled out his phone, taking several photos of Hexforge to Diana in its different forms.
Without leaving his room for dinner, Mark collapsed on his bed to sleep away the exhaustion of pushing his magic circuits for so long without a break, but the smile never left his face even in his sleep.