NOVEL NEXT Chapter 41: Deep Down
Supergirl:
"What do you mean by that," The Man asks.
"I mean," I say, turning to Anthony. "What if Anthony is right? What if the reason we can't find Black Mask is because he really is living underground?"
Everyone looks at each other as they try to understand what I'm saying.
"Nope," Anthony says. "I still don't get it."
"Neither do I," Iris adds.
"I'm still lost," Scarecrow says, raising his hand.
"Well," I say, taking a deep breath. "I can't be sure how accurate this is, but during the time change--"
"Oh no," Dinah says, "Not the time change."
"Hey," The Man shouts, grabbing all our attention. Looking right at Dinah, The Man points at her before zipping his lips. "Go on, Kara. Something about the time change."
"Yeah, well," I repeat, "During the time change, I was told we had captured Black Mask. I wasn't told how, but according to Bruce, Black Mask's hideout was beneath Gotham."
"Beneath Gotham," Iris repeats. "So, he's living in a giant cave underneath Gotham City?"
"No," The Man says, "Not just a giant cave. A whole forgotten city!"
"A forgotten city," I repeat. "Wait, now I'm lost. There's another city underneath Gotham City?"
"Thanks for everything, Higgins," The Man says, walking over to the computer. "Please get back to breaking the encryption on the hard drive Bruce gave us."
"Sure thing," Anthony answers. "Wait, before I go, what is this about a whole forgotten cit--"
The Man ends the call with Anthony and starts searching for something. It takes a while but I think The Man found what he wanted. He downloads something from the computer onto his phone. Once the download is done, The Man takes his phone and turns around.
"Everyone meet me in the meeting room," The Man yells, "Now! We found Black Mask's location."
Raven:
With my eyes closed and my hands on my knees, I meditate while floating in mid-air.
"Azarath," I start, "Metrion. Zinthos. Azatath. Metrion. Zeinthos. Azatath. Metrion. Zeinthos!"
As I meditate, my eyes snap open and I uncross my legs. With my feet back on the floor, I put my fingers on my head and telepathically speak to the others.
"Felix Faust," I say, "Klarion. Morgan le Fay. Mordru. The Lords of Order have detected the beginning of a powerful spell. It can only be the man with the sunglasses. Prepare yourself. We leave now."
When I am done, I swing my hand, the floor turning a dark red. A few seconds later, red arms burst out from the red floor. They push themselves up, my father's horned minions, and bow at my feet.
"Your Highness," one of them growls. "Your bidding is our only duty."
I smile when I hear this.
"Prepare yourself," I say again, "All of you. We were going to Old Gotham."
The Man:
"Old Gotham," Ivy repeats. "That's real?"
"Yes," I say, nodding my head. "Old Gotham is real."
"Wait, what 'Old Gotham'," Kara asks.
"Old Gotham is the 1st, original, Gotham City," I answer. I push a button on the table and a hologram of Old Gotham, along with many old photos and newspaper clippings appear. "Built in the early 1600s, Old Gotham started as any small town before quickly growing into one of the most populated cities. By the time it reached its peak, Old Gotham had a population of almost 350 thousand, only short of Paris, the most populated city at the time, by 50 thousand."
"Okay, I have to ask," the Professor says, raising his hand before stepping up. "These photos and these articles. They don't look...fake. They look almost genuine. Like you got them the day they were printed. How is that possible?"
"Easy. It's because they are genuine. I took these pictures and brought these newspapers the day they were printed, and have been saving them ever since. I used to live in Old Gotham."
"What," Harleen shouts. "That can't be right! Based on what you just said, you would have to be, what, at least 400 years old."
"I am 600 million years old," I correct. "Give or take a few million years."
It was almost like it was on cue. How everyone's eyes went wide. How everyone's mouth fell open. How they all said 'what' simultaneously.
"Anyway," I go on, "It was in the 1800s that Old Gotham was buried, and Gotham, the present-day Gotham, was built right on top of it."
"Okay," Rusch says, now it's being his turn. "Ignoring the fact that you're apparently 600 million years old--Seriously?"
"More or less. When I got to the age where I could drink and drive, I stopped keeping track."
"But you don't drink," Selina says.
"But I do drive. A lot. Over the years, I have gotten behind the wheels of a lot of cars."
"Ignoring that fact," Rusch yells, grabbing our attention again. "Are you saying that Black Mask is living beneath Gotham City? In Old Gotham? How would he even get in?"
"Easy."
I tap another button on the table. The news clippings and photos disappear while the hologram of Old Gotham enlarges. When the hologram is about 30 percent bigger, a bunch of lines appear above it. They draw themselves while going further up.
"Despite being buried, there are still some very old tunnels that connect Gotham to Old Gotham. The most accessible being this one."
I tap at one of the tunnels, causing both Old Gotham and the other tunnels to disappear. Now, a new hologram appears.
"Arkham Asylum," Ivy says. "Oh, you have got to be kidding me. Why is there even a tunnel to a forgotten city in an asylum?"
"I don't know," I shrug, "Maybe a few inmates at Arkham Asylum were historians and wanted a quick little tour of Old Gotham? It's actually a very interesting city with some unique builds."
"Wait, wait, wait," Harleen says, shaking her head and hands. "Did you just say you don't know? You don't know something? Wow. That's a first."
"I know a lot, but not everything. Anyway, as I said, the most accessible tunnel to Old Gotham is beneath Arkham. Thankfully, it had been abandoned since Superman's first regime. We should have no problem getting in. Once we find the tunnel and use it to get into Old Gotham, we can find out what Black Mask is planning, and stop it."
I push one last button on the table and all the holograms floating in mid-air vanish.
"Oh yeah," I say, snapping my fingers. "Todd. Slade. I forgot to give these to you two before."
Reaching into my jacket pockets, I pull out two custom discs. Throwing them into the air, the discs bounce off the wall and table before Slade and Todd catch them.
"Those are called excellneno-suits. They're custom suits designed and built by me. Just slap them on yourself and you'll find yourself in a new suit with a few other 'tricks'."
"Tricks," Slade repeats.
"I'll show you," Harleen says, leaning in and whispering. "These are so awesome. I can fly!"
"Are you high," Todd asks.
"I really hope not," I say, "After all, in about 30 minutes, we're all going spelunking."