Hello gang, the First Stranger returns!
I've spent some time working on my other fanfics, maybe even making some new ones. But for now, it's time to update The Rise of Titan!
Enjoy, and enjoy deeply!
In another time, maybe even another life, I was a church going man and therefore I technically never followed that old philosophy, 'seeing is believing.' However, this time, I had seen and I still could not believe. The Flash. The Scarlet Speedster. Right in front of me, just a few feet away.
And possibly the only guy who advocated me not getting filled with lead by a couple hundred soldiers, but let's not dwell on such insignificant details.
"Subject, your heartrate has drastically increased." Computer noted. "What is the cause of this excitement, if not the prospect of certain death?"
"Right now C, I'm not entirely sure if I haven't died and gone to Comic-Heaven already." I said, still wrapped in awestruck.
If there was any doubt to my eyes, my inner comic nerd was about to gasm at the fact that Flash had not come alone. Closely behind him was a blur of red, blue, and a mixture of red and blue. Once the blurs had come down to regular speed, it was a famous blonde in a red cape, a insect-themed hero, and a man on fire. Supergirl, Blue Beetle, and Firestorm.
"Subject, please be advised: the beings that confront us are not human. One has a weaponized armor created by the infamous Reach empire, another appears to be surrounded by an unstable molecular formation, and the female is Kryptonian. She will be dangerous on this yellow sun powered planet."
"Computer, I already knew this. I know so much about this…."
"Stand down!" Supergirl ordered.
"What the lady said!" Firestorm added. "Don't make a move, clown face!"
Suddenly, like a switch, my awe had evaporated. "Clown face? That's racist!" He was black, I was pale. It works and I don't care what anybody thinks.
Firestorm blinked strangely, it was as if he didn't think I knew about common stereotypes. That, or this universe doesn't have any obnoxious problems with racism. Maybe it's because they have to deal with the planet constantly being threatened to be destroyed. Dunno if that's really a good thing or bad thing.
"So you speak our language." Flash said, directing his attention back to me. "That's good. Listen, my name is Flash. I'm member of the Justice League, we defend Earth from bad guys and would-be conquerors, maybe you've heard of us."
'Like I haven't?'
"Will you tell me why you came to our planet?"
"And why you suck at driving?" Blue Beetle quipped. I ignored him.
I breathed. "First, I just wanna say something and get it out of my system: really big fan. Now back to business. Well…I woke up in the middle of space in that ship, wanted to get out, but my parachutes were-somehow -damaged, so I had to make a….improvised landing."
Firestorm snorted as he hovered in the air. "You expect us to believe that?"
Before…..all this, I loved Firestorm to pieces. I watched the Flash and Legends just as much as the same fellow, and while I didn't completely understand his molecular power thingy, I respected the fact that they made C-lister hero look bad-as-hog.
This guy was not that.
"Right now, it doesn't matter what we expect to believe or not." Flash interjected. "You're clearly not causing any trouble now. Maybe you are friendly."
Relief flooded my entire body, I didn't know how stressed I was until relief hit me, and now I felt like I was just going to drop. A guy with a brain comes to my rescue! And the Flash no less! I don't really know what's going on, or if I'm still in the real world, but it looks like I'm gonna live long enough to find out.
"If you'll just come with me-"
"He's not going anywhere, Flash."
The third voice came out of nowhere, loud and clear. All of us looked back to see the soldiers lined up like some kinda walkway for two people to walk down it. The tall person was a tannish man with a strong chin and brown hair that was neatly combed and probably gelled into place. The other person, the shorter one, was somebody I recognized almost instantly, much to my displeasure.
"Waller." Flash said, the traces of venom in the normally upbeat superhero chilled my heart to the core.
Brown skinned, short black hair, and exceptionally short in stature, but has a high enough military status to be in an operation like this which is undoubtedly highly classified. There's no one else in the comics that comes close to her description.
And I'm in deep trouble now.
"Step aside Mr. Allen, we'll take it from here." Waller commanded. Flash did no such thing.
"You don't need to treat him like a threat. He's a friendly." He persisted.
"He's an illegal alien of the extraterrestrial variety, and the last time we had those, the Earth fell under Superman's Regime-the Regime you supported-and Brainiac nearly wiped us out." Waller reminded coldheartedly. "Stopping both cost us good men and cities full of innocent people, cities we still have yet to reclaim."
"W-Wait a sec! I'm not an alien!" I hastily exclaimed. "Sure, I may look a little….paler than most, but I'm from Earth just like all of you! 'Cept maybe her." The last part I added for Supergirl.
"I don't believe you." Waller said. "I would have found you a long time ago and your space ship survived atmospheric entry completely intact, unlike all of our crafts. I'm willing to bet that's because it's not made of Earth metal."
"Her assessment is correct. The craft was not made from Earth minerals, or we would have most assuredly perished." Computer chimed in.
"I know, it's kinda hard to believe me, considering the situation, but I haven't hurt anybody!" I stammered.
"And I'll make sure you never will." She said back.
Flash took a step forward. "There's no reason to be like this. He isn't Regime, he hasn't hurt anybody, just let us help him!"
"Flash, if he's as good as you say, then he has nothing to fear from us." The man next her assured. "We'll make sure he gets the best of care."
'Regime….' The words floated in a very familiar manner in my head. 'Superman's Regime…they don't mean..' Realization came to me like the flip of a light, though the words realization and horror could be considered synonymous in this situation.
This might be DC, but it's not the DC universe I thought or hoped for, not even New 52, but a much more darker, grittier version.
More bad news to an already bad day.
As Flash and Waller continued to hash it out, I did some quick thinking, weighed my options. Flash wasn't Batman, he'd fold like a pretzel when Waller gets done playing around with him and it looks like the other heroes'll follow his lead.
Most likely outcome: Waller takes me in.
What would happen then? I wondered. Well, given how evil Superman and his Regime was, as well as factoring in Waller's already intense bias against metahumans and aliens, I'll probably be taken to a secret location, "interrogated," and spend God knows how long there because she wouldn't believe me; about as much fun as it sounds.
That. Was. Not. Optional.
"C, I may have to make a break for it." I whispered.
"Are we going to become criminals of the entire planet?" She asked in an equally low tone. "How marvelous! Though the Subject should be aware that he has 103 firearms pointed at him, and four metabeings with unspecified abilities."
"Right then, we need a distraction." I glanced around discreetly, looking for something to give me an edge. No such luck. If I moved, those soldiers would freak out and shoot me in a heartbeat. Maybe there was something in the ship….but the whole point of a distraction was getting to the ship.
'Wait a sec..' "C, you're still in charge of the ship. Isn't there something you could do?"
"Subject would need to be in the cockpit for functional controls to operate." She said. "However, I still maintain control over communications. Perhaps a high-pitched pulse would suffice?"
I grinned. "That's perfect.." At least it'll take care of Supergirl, unless she heard everything.
Dear Lord, she didn't hear everything, did she?
"Let's just wait for Batman-"
"I've had enough of this." Waller got right into Flash's face, her patience clearly run out. "Batman isn't the law, and neither are you Flash. Not anymore. You wanted to handle the situation, you did. Now run back to whatever hidey-hole you made for yourself and let me do my job."
As expected, Flash caved like a broken man. Waller didn't even look back at him.
"Hey!" Supergirl cut in. "Flash proved he's changed. You can't just-"
"I suggest you keep your mouth shut, Kryptonian." Waller advised. "You may have helped with Brainiac, but you're Superman's cousin and an illegal alien like this one here, so that makes you my problem for another day."
Supergirl-albeit grudgingly-did just that.
It was just me and Waller now. It was hard to stare into her eyes.
"You're coming with me." She declared.
I gave a weak smile. "What if I peacefully protest?"
She glared at me, not batting an eyelash. "Safeties."
At her beck and call, the guns once again pointed at my head and chest. The soldiers, once shaking and just waiting for an excuse to blow me away, were miraculously stone solid, ready to follow the orders of some lady they never met.
"Just go with her. Everything'll be fine." Flash assured. I knew he was lying, but his own voice gave it away too.
"Don't make this harder for you and me." Waller said, getting closer to me.
"I would hate to be a bother and obstruct you from your governmental duties…" I replied, slowly edging away from her as she got closer. "….But I like freedom a lot better-"
I barely finish my sentence when a violent screech rang out. I plug my ears tightly, watching all the other soldiers yell and do the same. It tore my fan heart a bit to see Supergirl scream in pain and collapse out of the air.
I'll pay for that one later. First thing first: run for my life.
Without wasting a second, I did an about face and bull rushed back to the crater. Bullets whizzing past my ears, I don't even waste the effort of running down the slope, opting to just violently roll to the bottom.
I hop into the space craft that was my personal prison craft not just an hour back, and now it's my only salvation. The irony wasn't lost to me.
"C, get this thing mobile like right fraggin' now!" I yelled, my voice unashamedly cracking as more bullets ricocheted off the window.
"Affirmative. Starting thrusters 'right fraggin' now.'" She replied.
The ship hummed to life in response to the AI. My view suddenly lifted a couple of feet, turned 180 degrees, and shot forward at the speed of a rocket.
It didn't take long until it felt like I was miles from the crash site, the giant army, and most importantly, away from Waller. There even wasn't anymore bullets hitting the back of my ship. I was putting that all behind real quick. If I ever come across the person who made this craft, I'll kiss em' on the cheek for the godsend.
Home free in the blink of an eye!
If I was a lesser being, I'd use a quip for my situ-ah screw it.
"Now this is pod-racing!"
"Alert." Computer cut through my happy time. "Please be aware that we have four hostiles that are maintaining our current velocities."
Ah crap. Firestorm, Blue Beetle, Flash, and one angry Kryptonian teenager.
"Can't we just-I don't know-go faster?"
"Well yes, but attempting to make escape velocity would overheat the thrusters several thousand degrees, explode, and undoubtedly lead to our immediate deaths. I operate under the assumption that we want to avoid such outcome."
I sighed. Officially nothing wants to go my way today. "What about weapons? Any cannons?"
"None. At least, none that aren't damaged enough to explode and undoubtedly result to our deaths."
And I rest my case.
"But…." Computer added. "Your gauntlet pistols are still in one piece, in a manner of speaking."
"My what-"
Suddenly, my head violently banged against the wall as the ship took a sudden jolt into the dirt. A red beep flashed and words of a radioactive blast struck my craft.
Firestorm. That cheeky-
Fire instantly flooded into my blood, anger giving strength to my bones and filling my head with large amounts of courage that bordered insanity. I may have just got it, but nobody shoots my ship!
"Pop open the ceiling roof." I ordered.
My upper body popped into the outside world. Through the howling wind, I could see the three super-amateurs trailing my craft. Beetle had an arm cannon pointed at me and Supergirl's eyes glowed bright red, all scary like.
Just as I was wondering how to use my gauntlet-blaster thingies, my black gauntlets moved from my wrists like liquid metal, taking the form alien pistols in my hand with my fore-finger on the triggers.
This was all so cool, I couldn't help but grin. That grin turned into a smile. Then a laugh. Then an insane laugh.
How freaking cool was this? Beyond freaking cool. Maximum time of my life.
"COME AND GET ME, COPPERS!"
I can honestly say that in the midst of a serious chase, with real live superheroes bobbing and weaving through alien blaster fire, even with my human identity in question, was me having the single greatest moment of my life, hands down.
"Jesucristo, he's insane!" Beetle's exclamation rose over the wind.
"I must be!" I laughed back, then fired more shots. Beetle proved to be as agile as the insect he named himself after and dodged all of them.
The guns turned out to be surprisingly light and very accurate, I pulled the trigger where my eyes saw the target, and the plasma usually tended to end up at that general location.
Of course, the supers had already evaded that location, but the goal wasn't to hit them. Persistent or not, they still have an affectionate place in my fanboy heart.
Except Firestorm. He's losing his spot.
Then Supergirl shot her heat vision at me. I want to believe that she was aiming for my guns, but the sudden jerk of my ship caused my arm to move and take heat on my wrist.
"Agh!" I yelled, feeling like somebody had just stabbed me with two hot needles.
I fiercely clutched my left arm, the pain suddenly made everything not like a game. But when I moved my hand to look at the damage, a funny thing happened.
At first, the scorched flesh pulsed sickeningly, then it began to close itself up. Like super fast healing. Soon enough, there was no mark at all.
"That's…new." I guess Waller was onto something when she called me an alien.
"Incoming!"
Computer's warning came too late as I looked up just in time to see Beetle tackle me. We skid dangerously to the front of the ship, but thankfully not off of it.
Beetle being on top of me began to slam his fist into my face over and over again.
Then I grabbed his fist.
"Annoying!" I growled and punched him in his face.
I mustered all the strength I got in that blow, and it showed too. To my surprise, Blue Beetle was launched off the ship at least a half mile back (quickly factoring in the speed we were going).
I stared at my fist in wonder. Was I….super-strong?
"Subject, we are facing an impeding crisis!" Computer called out. I only had to look forward to see what she was talking about.
We were heading into a city. If we take this chase to a metropolitan area, we'll crash for sure, endanger the lives of innocent.
"C, pull the frag up!"
"Ascending!" She repeated, slowly making the ship incline from the ground.
"Oh no, you don't!" Supergirl pounded straight in the middle of the ship, hammering it into the ground. My heart nearly stopped when my hands lost grip to the ship.
For the splittest of moments, there was a dreaded feeling of weightlessness. For the last fleeting moments, I had hoped with the highest of hopes that I pass out before I feel any pain, and especially before I die.
Then I hit the dirt and began to violently roll. I quickly lost consciousness after that.
X
X
Sound-echoes were the first thing my brain processed when I began to wake up. Wearily, I opened my ears to see a nasty blur of grey, then it cleared up to be a metal wall. I didn't even have to turn my head too much to see three more walls.
Good news: Not dead.
Bad news: Still Incarcerated and nursing the worst headache I've had since kindergarten.
"-Arnian?"
"Wha-" I began as I wearily tracked the sound of the voice, but when I found the owner of said voice, my own stopped dead in its tracks.
Strapped down in a cell directly adjacent to me was a man larger than anyone I've ever met, but he wasn't a man. He was most definitely not human.
His head was bald and a nasty shade of green. His eyes appeared soulless, both metaphorically and jet black, with the exception of purple irises that illuminated in the darkness of his cell. The rest of his body was completly encased of metal armor.
"I said a Czarnian survivor should not be possible. Czarnia is in my collection, unless the primitive humans have already defiled it." He repeated, his echoey voice laced with anger.
"Brainiac." I breathed. The collector and destroyer of worlds, a terror of the galaxy alongside the likes of Darkseid and Parallax.
Captured. Imprisoned. Separated from his ship.
"Wait, did you just call me a Czarnian?" I asked.
"Yes, a member of the Czarnian race from the planet of Czarnia. Your people's strength and physique rival that of the Kryptonians under a yellow sun." Brainiac stated factually.
I flexed my hand, as if I could feel the added strength within it.
To be a Czarnian, an alien like Lobo. Knowing that, maybe I shouldn't have ran from the police and shot at the super-heroes. I don't need them thinking that I'm just another intergalactic bounty-hunter on a bloody warpath.
Even though I hammered that impression.
"You appear to be an enemy against the humans and imprisoned, like I am." Brainiac noted. "We appear to be in a position to help one another."
"Don't even try it." I cut him off. "I'm having a crazy day so far, kinda questioning my sanity, but I'd be off my rocker if I ever think that letting you out was a good idea."
A light went off in my head. Brainiac's not my only prison buddy and my only means of escape, I still got the little lady on my belt.
"Hey Computer, you still with me?" I asked, getting no response.
"Don't bother."
I quickly jerk back around to the front of the prison, my mind automatically recognizing the deep and gravelly voice of a man. It was voice that stayed with me during my childhood, magnified through the power of TV every week, and more so when I bought DVDs.
Batman stood stoically in front of my cell, garbed in black armor and larger than life itself.
Plus the glare….the Bat glare. Sent shivers down my spines.
"I shut down your built-in artificial intelligence, as well as took away your ship and your weapons." His eyes narrowed to create an even greater spine-shivering Bat Glare.
"Tell me who you are. What are you doing here?"
"Who I am…?" I repeated.
Obviously he meant that he wanted my name. A real simple question, to be honest, if I was the old me. Old me had a pretty simple name. Old me had a pretty simple life. Old me was a pretty simple human who never went to space and thought super-heroes to be fictional.
This…this was not old me. New me faced down a hundred guns, healed wounds, ran from metahumans, and wears a sarcastic AI on my belt. And he was a Czarnian.
New me should have a Czarnian name!
….what names do Czarnians have?
The only Czarnian name that I can think about was Lobo, and that loosely translates into "He who violently devours your entrails and thoroughly enjoys it". That's already taken and clearly doesn't advertise non-hostility.
"Slo-Bo!" My mouth spoke before my head could even catch up.
Batman raised an eyebrow. "Slo-Bo. A word away from Lobo."
"R-Right you are!" I stammered with a weak smile. "It's-uhmmm-it's meant to be the exact opposite of Lobo! He who doesn't eat your entrails! I'm a good guy."
"You ran from the authorities, attacked the Justice League, and nearly put a city in danger." Batman said. "You soundly dangerously close to Lobo."
"That was an accident!" I exclaimed, waving my hands. "I mean, have you seen that lady? She was looking at me like I was never gonna see the light of day again and she wasn't denying it!"
"Regardless, you're now a criminal for resisting arrest." Batman stated. "Once Green Lantern comes back from Oa, he'll take you-"
"NO WAIT!"
My voice was louder than I thought it would be, or what I wanted it to be, but I didn't give a frag about that. Leaving Earth struck me in a way that I never thought possible.
I breathed out the emotions that bubbled within me. "I-This may come as a shock to you, but I'm currently having the most complicated day in my life right now. It's been fun, it's be scary, it's been sucky, and I don't think I can take much more of it."
"Earth is…."My birth home. An alternate dimension from my real home. "….it's all I got."
I inhaled, tried to regain control of myself. "Please, I'm a good guy. Honest. I'll do anything to prove that, aside from spending time in a cell."
Batman said nothing, merely stared at me. Part of me was chastising me, wondering why I even bothered trying to sway an emotional bastiche like Batman. He didn't get this far by having a bleeding heart.
"I'm taking you to STAR Labs." He suddenly declared. "We need to take some tests, find the limits of your powers."
My cell suddenly opened. I hesitantly stepped out, finding my equipment on a separate table.
Batman looked back at me. "After that…..we'll see."
Chapter Completed.
What do you think about this? I've personally got big plans for the fanfic, but they all hinge on your reviews and feedback.
So REVIEW, PRIVATE MESSAGE, tell me how you feel about my fanfic.
I'm thinking about putting little interactions notes at the bottom of the chapter. Y'know, those interactions between heroes in Injustice 2? Tell me I'm not the only one who spent hours watching all the interactions. I'm pretty good at making those, so fell free to check the bottom of the chapter for them.
But for now. Time to say goodbye!