NOVEL NEXT Chapter 68: Real Power
Supergirl:
Hearing a loud horn, I turn around and see a blue and gold train with a bright red light on the front of it. Somehow, the train is riding on top of flying, glowing tracks. The tracks lead the train to us and the civilians we're guarding. The train stops and unleashes a thick cloud of steam. When it does, Cyborg, Slade, Leonard, and everyone with a weapon aim at the train.
"Calm down, you moron," a man in gold and blue armor says, stepping out of the cloud. "It's me."
The man in the armor then makes circles with his fingers. He then places the circles on his helmet. It takes me less than a second to realize who this is.
"Stop," I shout. I push through everyone and stand between them and The Man with raised arms. "Stop. It's The Man! In armor? What are you wearing?"
"It's armor," The Man answers. "Knight armor. From an old friend. This is also from that same friend."
The Man points behind him at the train. Looking at something past me, I turn around. Following his gaze, I think I see what The Man is looking at. Surrounded by people, resting on Dinah's lap as she's crying, is Oliver.
"What happened to Oliver," he asks.
"I don't know," Cyborg answers, de-activating his arm cannon. "But I do know this. Oliver Queen is dying. His vitals are extremely low. He's barely breathing. He has chills, is cold and shivering, but still has a fever of 106."
"A fever of 106," The Man repeats. "That's already too high."
"I thought about getting medicines for him," Barry says, stepping up. "But with Trigon and his demons destroying the city, I couldn't leave these people alone."
Barry steps aside and shows the civilians we manage to save. They're all scared, shaking, crying, and huddling together.
"What are we going to do with them," I ask. "We can't just leave them here."
"There is no here," Todd interrupts. "Jump City is destroyed. There's nothing left."
We all turn our heads and see nothing except building ruins. Most of them are either still on fire or are smoking. Debris, dust, and broken cars litter the broken streets.
"Everyone," The Man shouts, all heads turning to him now. "Get onboard."
Stepping to the side, The Man swings his arm and points at the train's entrance. Though clearly hesitant, a man and a little boy, most likely his son, approach the entrance. He stops before entering it and turns to The Man.
"Wher--," the father starts. "Where will we be taken?"
"To a new city," The Man answers. "One where there is plenty of hot food and soft beds. So long as you're willing to work for it."
"Will there be any more monsters," the little boy asks, clinging to his Dad's leg. The Man looks at the little boy. He drops to his knee and looks face-to-face at the little boy.
"I can't promise that," The Man says. "But I can promise this. If there are more monsters, we, all of us here, will fight to protect you from there."
The father and his son turn to us. The son turns to me. He looks at me with shaking eyes. Looking back at him, staring right at him, I nod my head. The son nods his head. Looking up, I notice the father looking at me and then at his son. Bending down to pick up his son, the father carries him onto the train. When they see this, the civilians of Jump City all flee onto the train. They crowd around the entrance as they squeeze their way in.
While the people rush to get a seat, The Man leaves the train and walks over to Dinah and Oliver.
"Power down," he says, the armor disappearing and The Man's jacket and long pants returning. While walking over to Dinah, The Man reaches into his jacket pocket. He pulls out a tissue and hands it to Dinah. Dinah shakes her head and hand so The Man puts it away.
"Do you trust me," The Man asks me while he puts the tissue away.
"What," Dinah says.
"Do you trust me," The Man asks again. "I know you have no reason to, but I need you to trust me. Do you?"
Dinah raises her head.
"Can you--Can you save Oliver?"
The Man doesn't answer. Instead, he looks over Oliver. Oliver is pale, almost as white as a ghost. He's breathing heavily and is sweaty. Also, there are thick black lines all over his body.
"I think I can," The Man finally answers. He puts his fingers on the sunglasses. Seeing this, I rush forward and grab his hand, stopping The Man.
"What are you doing? Were you about to take off your sunglasses?"
"Yes."
"Why," Dinah yells. "Isn't that what causes this in the first place? Why would you do it again? Are you trying to kill---"
"The same power that caused this can fix it," The Man says, cutting Dinah off. "This is my real power. This is what I am capable of, but only when the situation is right. Only when a thousand and one things are right can I do this."
"So a thousand and one things are right, right now," I ask.
"Yes," The Man says.
I look at The Man before looking at Oliver and Dinah. When I take another look at The Man, I let go of his hand.
"Do it," I say.
"Thank you Kara but I'm not asking you. I'm asking Dinah."
"Do it," Dinah says.
The Man nods his head before looking at everyone.
"Cover your eyes," he says. "And don't look."
"What," Todd asks. "Wait, what are you--"
Before he can finish, Harleen punches Todd in the stomach.
"Just shut up and do it, Batman Jr.," Harleen says, covering her eyes and turning around. All of us cover our eyes and turn around. The last one to do it, I smile when I see The Man places a baseball cap on Dinah's head.
The Man:
Taking a deep breath, breathing in and out repeatedly, I calm myself down before taking off my sunglasses and looking at Oliver. Oliver cries out as the black lines move further and further up his body. He shakes and cries but I tell everyone not to move, that everything is still fine.
Waiting and watching until the black lines reach the top of his head, I then place my two fingers against the side of his forehead. The black lines move from his forehead to my fingers. They travel through my fingers, up my arms, and into my head.
A bright white light appears before me in a pitch-black void. I waste no time and walk toward it. The second I can, I place my hand on it, and a flash appears. The flash takes me to another place and time.
Oliver Queen:
My eyes snapping open, I scream as I push myself up and look around.
"Wha--Wher--Ahhhhh!"
A headache comes on and now, it feels like my brain is being crushed. As I twist and turn all over the ground, I feel my brain quickly get better. The headache goes as strangely as it came.
"Hey," a voice says while I'm still on the ground. Shaking my head, the last of the headache going away, I can push myself up and look around. When I do, I see the man in the sunglasses sitting on a bench. I see more than him though. I can see right through him.
Looking down at myself, I can also see right through my arms, my body, and even my legs. Fighting the urge to scream and jump, I look at the man again and see him patting the empty seat beside him. Still fighting the urge to scream and jump, I walk over to where The Man is and take the empty seat beside him.
As I sit down and look around, I find myself back in that village. The one where the buildings are made of wood. The one where people threw rocks and trash at me. The one where I met that kid.
"Ju--Juba," I start, trying to remember the kid's name. "Jub---Ju"
"Juba Nobu," The Man finishes. "You know the name, meaning you know the story."
"What story," I ask. "What is going on here? Why are you and me see-through? Why are we in Japan?"
"Korea," The Man says. "We're in Korea, not Japan."
"Okay," I say slowly. "Why are we in Korea? And who is Juba Nobu?"
"We are in Korea because many, many, many, many, many years ago, I lived in Korea. Well, sort of. I crashlanded in Korea, was imprisoned, and was then released. Well, I should say more thrown out than released. Either way, I was stuck in a foreign land with no money, no way out, and a son."
"A son?"
"Juba Nobu was my son."