Chapter 4:

What Dreams Are Made Of

I spent the run home contemplating my situation. I have no doubt that Denise would let me back to work as a waitress but after everything that's happened, could I really go back to a normal life? I dismissed the thought from my head. What was I going to do instead? Become a superhero?

Shortly after, I arrived back home I found my aunt halfway into my wine bottle and Bellad watching her curiously. "Denise, you alright?" I said gingerly stepping closer to my drunken aunt.

It took two seconds for her to respond, "Huh, oh yeah? Yeah. I'm uh. I'm, imma. I am good."

I nodded along, "Yup. I'm just gonna call Anders. Okay? We'll get him to pick you up, yeah?" After setting my aunt down on my couch with a glass of water. I called my uncle. We spoke a few words; Anders was delighted to know I was fine and still kicking. I told him how Denise had dropped by and we caught up and how she ended up drinking a little too much. Anders told me they had gotten a call from the hospital to inform them that I was there and was soon to be released. Bellad must have somehow put Anders and Denise as my emergency contact. I did have their info on my computer. He also told me that Denise had gone to my apartment to collect some books for me to read while I was bedridden. Though she didn't expect to see me awake and already home.

When Anders pulled up into the parking lot, I helped my aunt down the stairs and into the car. Denise said in a loud hushed voice, "Don't worry I won't tell Anders our secret."

Anders piped up, "Oh? And what secret is that?"

Denise put a finger to her mouth in a hushing motion, "Shhh. It's a secret but Blake is a…" and she looked left and right eyeing the empty lot, "is a superhero."

"Right," Anders said drawing out the word. He looked back up to me, "I'll make sure she gets to bed."

"Thanks Anders," I said and waved them off.

When I was back home, I collapsed on my bed ready to sleep off the day. Bellad hovered into my room and asked, "Do you think it was wise to reveal your secret to the human?"

"I trust Denise," I said with my face in my pillow.

For a few seconds Bellad said nothing and then left my room saying, "Good night Miss Blake."

I muttered a "g'night." And fell right asleep.

Krypton, Vorkan City. Three years before its destruction.

Faora

One of my assistants had called for my attention back at the lab. It was the worst possible time. I didn't expect any change in subject's health or any new developments. A few years of my life had gone into this research and I feared it would all be wasted. Every subject we have ever tested on failed. My time was being exhausted on a futile experiment. A rumble shook the ground, most likely a cargo ship landing on the loading dock. I headed down the long winding staircase into the dark laboratory I had spent an unseemly amount of time in.

"Davra, why have you called me?" I asked without hiding my annoyance.

"Commander, I know you are busy but look." Davra pointed at a screen excited for my reaction.

My eyes lit up at what was shown. The experiment was a success. The subject for POD-216 had survived. "Incredible," I said truly amazed. This was a monumental victory. The very tides of war would favor our side. Dru's vision for Krypton would finally become reality. "After all these years…" I moved closer to the pod.

"It's an amazing discovery, commander!" Davra said.

I placed a hand on the glass panel of the pod, looking down at the sleeping figure inside, "…subject 164, you are the key to Krypton's future."

Davra, who had been going back and forth between computer monitors stopped suddenly. "one sixty-four? What other subjects do you mean? This man is a patient," he said gesturing toward the pod.

I turned to look at Davra, he was a young man who had graduated top of his class from his home city's university. I could sense his growing concern. I walked toward him causing him to take a step back, "Do you know what we've created? The foundations for a greater world are at our fingertips." He just needed to see what the vision was. To understand it. Accept it.

Davra's voice wavered, "You've had p-previous patients. You told me that a volunteer had died five years ago, and the program was pushed back until better equipment was available. Until it was safer to continue. How m-many people have gone through this?" He was confused and steadily becoming more unbalanced.

"Enough to get us this far and as many it takes from here on out," I said challenging. I needed to see his mettle. His true colors. Was he truly the man of science he claimed to be? Ready to do whatever it takes to further our cause? Or just another weakling to be trampled over.

"Y-You've killed innocents," he stated, face pale.

I breathed in deeply grabbing my blade from its holster, "Empathy," I said disappointedly. A trait of a less evolved species. I thrusted my dagger into Davra's chest.

He let out a choking gasp. Blood pooled in his mouth trickling down his chin. "You're a monster," he sputtered. I twisted the dagger and his body went limp.

Blake

I woke up gasping for air. It was so real! Everything was so vivid and clear. I've never had a dream like that in all my life. I killed that man. I had twisted a knife into his gut. Like the man in the alleyway. Bleeding dead on the ground. Lifeless. I ran to the bathroom and threw up into the toilet. My breaths turned ragged and I could feel the start of a panic attack. The whole world seemed too unbearable to exist in and I couldn't hold a breath to save my life. I turned on the shower and huddled into the very corner of my bathtub. I let the hot water rain down on me until I started feeling better. The steam from the water filled my bathroom and no doubt spread out into the rest of my apartment. I didn't mind. The warm water was relaxing and eventually I felt better enough to get up from the tub, turn off the shower, and dry off. My clothes were soaked so I left them inside the tub.

I felt the telltale signs of an oncoming headache and popped a few Advil's. That was when it dawned on me. It wasn't a dream I had. It was a memory. The memory of that woman. "Fa-ora," I sounded out. That was her name. The memory Bellad showed me depicted her as an aspiring scientist. This one however showed her in a much darker light. I shuddered at the events held in the memory. Whoever Faora was. She was capable of cold-blooded murder. I was starting to think not all Kryptonians were as heroic as Superman.

"Miss Blake?" Bellad called.

I nearly jumped in fright. I still wasn't used to a hovering robot. Let alone one that might be evil. "Oh, hey Bellad," I said as nonchalantly as I could.

"Is everything all right?"

"Why wouldn't everything be alright?" I asked, again trying to appear calm and collected.

Bellad said nothing for a few seconds then floated out of the room saying, "Alright then."

I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding. I turned on the sink and splashed cold water onto my face. I needed to pull myself together. I looked up at the mirror. I saw my long dark brown hair slightly damp and hanging past my shoulders. I looked at my small upturned nose and thin eyebrows. Why me? I thought. Why did I have to be the one person to wonder into a secret government laboratory and get turned into an alien? I noticed something I'd never seen on my face before. My eyes, usually dark brown, appeared to be several shades lighter. Almost like amber or honey. Why didn't I see that right away?

I turned away from the mirror and left my bathroom. I needed to go out and get completely wasted. Preferably with a bottle of tequila. It seemed I was starting to build a tolerance to my own wine collection. "Head to a bar, down a few shots, reevaluate my life choices," I listed off my plan for the day. I went to my closet and got dressed. Jeans and my favorite hoodie. It was just casual for today. I walked into my living room to find Bellad watching the news. I didn't know if he was evil or just the product of an evil person. Were Bellad's intentions malicious? Was he plotting something nefarious? I couldn't say. "I'm heading out for the evening," I said.

Bellad didn't reply and instead continued to watch the TV.

"Okayyy," I said heading out the door.

The morning air felt fresh and breezy. A perfect day for a jog downtown or a hike in the park or getting heavily intoxicated. Walking down the staircase the sunlight hit my face directly and I was suddenly assaulted by an overload of senses. I fell down onto my knees clutching my head. The world was getting louder again! Every sound from miles away I could hear crystal clear. Sounds of dishes being washed, dogs barking, cars honking, people talking over one another. It was madness! I tried calming myself down, taking a few deep breaths before bearing the pain and standing upright. There was no one around me but I could still hear everyone. How the hell does Superman do it? I tried to just ignore everything and continue walking down the street. I didn't have a car and my phone was still at Donnie's so I couldn't call an Uber. I just had to grit my teeth and walk without seeming like a nutjob.

The walk to the bar was excruciatingly difficult. Eventually the sounds started fading and I could focus more on my walk to the bar. Everything still seemed way too loud, but it was far more bearable. When I finally arrived at the bar, I was jarringly disappointed to see it was closed. "What the fuck," I said annoyed. There was a sign at the window that read, 'Closed For Maintenance'. I was thoroughly peeved now because I just realized why it was closed. Donnie's Wing Hut was only four buildings down. Most likely the super fight that caused my life to spiral into chaos also destroyed my only means of dealing with said chaos. "Great, just effing great."

The sirens brought me out of my stupor. They weren't too loud, so I glanced around trying to spot the source. It was distant but I could hear the sirens coming from SE Maddison's St. Which was only a few miles away from where I was. I tried to concentrate on seeing through the buildings and neighborhood that blocked my vision like before. I was able to barely make out the firetrucks barreling down the street. They were headed my direction. Curiously I looked opposite of me and saw a building on fire behind a taller office building. I wondered why I didn't hear the fire on my way to the bar. It looked like the fire was spreading. It must've started out small but enough to warrant a fire alarm to go off and for the firemen to respond. This time I heard the roar of the flame growing faster and spreading farther throughout the building. Then I heard people starting to scream.

My heart started pounding in my chest. I mean, I could actually hear it beating louder which was unnerving on its own, but the panic filling my chest took precedence. Why was I getting so worked up? The firemen were on their way. I could hear them coming. But would they get there in time? I thought worryingly. Shit. The screams were getting louder and before I knew it my feet were moving on their own. Why am I doing this, I thought as I sprinted down Maycaster Blvd. and straight toward the burning building. I was speeding down the road much faster than yesterday. The world blurred and the air rushed past me. Time seemed to slow down as I maneuvered around other people and cars. It was an incredible thing to experience. When I was close to the building, I saw that it was an old school brick layered building. There was a mounted brick sign near the front entrance that read, 'Jensen's Law Firm' and there were about a dozen or so office workers running out into the street in slow motion. I was still mid-run when I took in all that information. It was so bizarre, when I looked upon the roaring fire it also moved in slow motion. With my x-ray vision, though I loathed calling it that, I was able to see four people trapped on one of the top floors. The fire had consumed the floor beneath them. From what I could see they were the only people left in the building. Using the momentum from my run I launched myself straight into the top floor window. I braced for impact as I burst through the glass. Of course, I didn't feel any pain at all, but I still felt like I had to cover my eyes. The four office workers were huddled behind a desk on all fours. The smoke was higher in the air and smelled horrible. I ducked down and called out to the workers, "Hey! Over here!"

One of the workers looked around confused before spotting me. He was an older man with short black hair and a clean shaven faced. The other three people were a blonde woman wearing a neat grey business suit, an old man with big glasses and a younger looking kid with a Minecraft shirt. "How the hell…" the man started but stopped himself, "You need to get down, the fire department are on their way!" he yelled back coughing.

I moved closer to them. "Give me your hand!" The roar of the fire was loud. Strangely I didn't feel the heat. It was definitely warmer in here, but I couldn't feel the searing heat one would feel this close to an open flame. I was done waiting for them to make a move. They seemed too scared to move from their spot on the floor. So, I stood up and grabbed the man under the arms and lifted the kid over my shoulder. The man gave a confused yell and the kid was starting to hyperventilate. Once I had them secured, I jumped out the window praying to God that I didn't drop two innocent people on cold hard concrete. I managed to mitigate my fall by bending my knees almost all the way to the ground once I landed. I let the two go and said, "Are you both okay?"

The kid nodded grateful and the man looked back up toward the building, "Debora... Mr. Jensen…."

"Don't worry," I said walking toward the building again, aiming myself for the window, "I'll get them." I didn't have a running start this time, but I was confident I could make the jump. I leaped into the air and hit the railing of the window. I quickly hauled myself over and back into the building. The woman and old man were still huddled behind the desk.

When the woman saw me, she said, "Oh thank you God! Can you take us down?" she said hopeful.

"Of course, now climb on." I ended up cradling the old man in my arms while the woman was on my back holding on for dear life. I reached the window and let my self fall, making sure to brace for impact. I hit the ground a little more gracefully this time.

I set the man down on his feet and he put a hand on my shoulder, and he said in between ragged coughs, "Thank you miss, you saved our lives." He then hobbled over to the man and child all the while steadying himself on the woman.

Said woman looked back toward me and spoke softly, "Thank you."

Hearing those words and the words of the man I felt this warm feeling grow inside me. I managed a curt nod and started jogging away. Once the firetruck arrived followed by an ambulance, I made a hastier exit. Lest I reveal myself and my powers to the public. I worried that the four office workers would forever recognize me, but I dismissed the thought and instead focused on the fact that I saved them. I made a difference in the world and it was such a marvelous feeling. Way better than drowning my sorrows in tequila shots.

Instead of making my way straight home I decided I needed to head to Donnie's and retrieve my phone. Instead of speeding down the street I opted to just walk. I was a normal person. Normal people walk when they don't own cars. About four minutes into a fifteen-minute walk I decided to just hurry things along and run along rooftops like some kind of vigilante. Did Superman start off not being able to fly? Food for thought, I suppose.

When I arrived at the restaurant, I saw Denise working the till. I waved to her. She noticed and waved back. There were a couple of customers in line, so I didn't want to distract her from work, I made the pretend phone motion with my hand and mouthed the word 'cellphone'. Denise nodded understanding and pointed behind her toward the small office room.

With my phone now retrieved and the line of customers non-existent I walked up to Denise and said, "Hey thanks about being cool with all that's happening."

Denise gave me a confused look, "Well. Yeah, it's not everyday you fall in a hole and get knocked unconscious for a week." She seemed to be trying to fish for the right response.

"Right, and get superpowers," I said frankly. There was something off about Denise. She seemed vacant. Not all the way there. I only saw her blank gaze for a second before she continued.

"Superpower?" she said laughing, "What like the Flash?"

I backed up a few steps. A cold shiver ran down my spine as I tried to make sense of what my aunt was saying. Was she joking? I had to ask. "No, I mean… superpowers like Superman."

"Oh, honey if all we needed was a bump on the head to be like Superman," she said walking toward the sink. Denise loaded a few dishes and said, "You know, its weird," she touched her forehead, "I had this strange dream last night," she let out a laugh, "You and me were in my car and we were talking about cute pet names and…" she paused for a moment, "We had gone up to your apartment and you surprised me with a dog and the little thing was so excited but you were like, "No Bell! Bad dog!" it was so surreal!"

At this point I couldn't speak words. What happened to my aunt? How could she have forgotten everything that's happened! This was so confusing. "I-I need some air."

"Oh! Sure Blake, I'll catch you later!" My aunt continued working on the dishes.

I left the restaurant trying to collect my thoughts. I had several questions which all seemed to point to one answer. Why did my aunt not remember anything? Somebody didn't want her knowing about what happened to me. How could she have forgotten the entirety of last night? Some kind of memory wipe? What kind of device was capable of messing with memory. Making things seem like a hyper-realistic dream. Who was it that was overly cautious about me being friendly with my new found powers? The answer was, Bellad. There was some kind of conspiracy going on that I wanted nothing a part of! Why did this all have to happen to me? Who would I even talk to anymore? I feared for the life of anyone who knew my secret now. What would Bellad do to them?

I steeled my nerves. I took a few deep breaths. I wasn't about to be scared by a flying trashcan. It was clear to me that a simple drone or whatever Bellad was, wasn't capable of fighting me head on. In fact, Bellad needed me to fight those armed guards back at Lex Corp. There was only one person I could think of that could explain to me what was going on. Though I had no idea how I was going to speak with this person. But I knew my path was clear; I needed to talk to Superman.

A/N: I do not own Justice League, it belongs to DC Comics. Any original characters belong to me.