Chapter 6: If I Only Had a Heart

The duo of Kara and Green Arrow went along the Yellow Brick Road, with Green Arrow holding Krypto, as being still a puppy, it was harder for him to keep up with them for extended periods of time. Unknown to anyone there, a green skinned woman watched from the shadows before disappearing into the distance.

As the walk went on, they came across a wild apple orchard as Kara smiled.

"Oh, apples!" Kara said excitedly. She always enjoyed apples for a snack. "Oh look!"

Kara went to pick one as the tree branch suddenly grabbed her hand, took the apple and flung it down.

"Ouch!" Kara said as the branch let go, stinging her hand.

"What do you think you're doing?" The tree asked.

"We were walking a long way, and I was hungry, and-" Kara began when she suddenly realized what she was doing. "Did you say something?"

"She was hungry." The tree scoffed to the rest of the orchard who repeated what the tree had said. "Well, how would you like it if someone came along and picked something off of you?"

"Oh dear." Kara sighed. "I keep forgetting I'm not in Kansas."

"Come along, Kara." Green Arrow said dismissively. "You don't want any of those apples."

"Are you eating my apples on what they ought to be?" The tree asked, seeming even angrier.

"Oh no." Green Arrow assured him. "It's just that she doesn't like little green worms."

"Why you-!" The tree began as it grabbed Kara, but Green Arrow quickly fired an arrow at the tree as he pulled her away, but stopped her from running away.

"Hush." Green Arrow whispered to her. "Don't you wanna get some apples?"

The trees then proceeded to fling various apples at them as the two quickly grabbed them.

"Hooray!" Green Arrow called out. "I guess that did it. Help yourself."

The two went to collect the apples that rolled away as Kara followed one apple to a silver statue. Kara knocked on it, and it made a muffled bonging sound. It was made of tin. Kara then looked up to see that it was a statue of a man.

"Why it's a man." Kara said to herself. "A mare made out of tin!"

Green Arrow arrived, having heard Kara, and looking over the statue with her. As they looked over the figure, they heard a muttering.

"Did you say something?" Kara asked as the tin man muttered again. "He said oil can."

"Oil can what?" Green Arrow asked.

"Oh!" Kara said as she looked down and grabbed an oil can. "Here it is. Where do you wanna be oiled first?"

The tin man muttered as Green Arrow listened hard.

"He said his mouth." Green Arrow said as he oiled the mouth as the tin man moved his jaw and finally opened it.

"My goodness!" The tin man gasped happily. "I can talk again! Oh, oil my arms please. Oil my elbows."

Green Arrow did as he was told as the tin man began to stiffly move his arms around as his joints squeaked badly when his left arm, which held an ax, was finally lose enough to come fully down, he sighed.

"Oh, does that hurt?" Kara asked.

"No." The tin man said. "It feels wonderful. I've been holding that ax up for ages."

"Goodness!" Kara remarked as Green Arrow oiled the tin man's legs. "How did you ever get like this?"

"Well," The tin man began. "I was born as a normal person named Kal-El. I got a job chopping trees for lumber. For some malicious reason I'll never know, the Wicked Witch of the East enchanted my ax so that it cut off my leg, but my father was a great tins man, so he made me a new leg of tin, but this didn't sit well with the witch at all, so she had the ax chop off more and more of me until my father eventually had to remake me into tin, keeping everything attached and moveable by means of joints. Then, about a year ago, I was chopping down that tree when suddenly it began to rain, and right in the middle of a chop, I rushed solid, and I've been that way ever since."

Kal-El then began moving his legs, stumbling a little from having them much loser and movable than they'd been from the past year as Green Arrow and Kara helped steady him.

"Well, you're perfect now." Kara said cheerily.

"Perfect?" Kal-El asked incredulously. "Bang on my chest if you think I'm perfect. Go ahead, bang on it!"

Kara banged on the chest as they heard the echo for a good minute or so.

"Beautiful!" Green Arrow remarked. "What an echo!"

"It's empty." Kal-El remarked. "My father forgot to give me a heart."

"No heart?" Kara and Green Arrow asked.

"No heart." Kal-El confirmed. "All hollow."

When a man's an empty kettle,

He should be on his meddle,

And yet I'm torn apart.

Just because I'm presuming

That I could be kind of human

If I only had a heart.

I'd be tender, I'd be gentle

And awfully sentimental

Regarding love and heart.

I'd be friends with the sparrows

And the boy who shoots the arrows

If I only had a heart.

Picture me a balcony.

A lover's voice sings low.

"Where for art thou, Romeo?"

I hear a beat.

How sweet.

Just to register emotion.

Jealousy, devotion,

And really feel the part.

I would stay young and chipper,

And I'd lock it with a zipper

If I only had a heart.

Kal-El then began moving around to loosen up his legs, with occasional doses of oil here and there from the duo as Green Arrow and Kara began whispering to each other about an idea they both got. Just then, Clark lost his balance as the two caught him.

"Are you alright?" Kara asked.

"I'm afraid I'm still a little rusty yet." Kal-El confirmed.

"Oh dear." Kara remarked, imagining that standing outside for a year probably didn't help his original condition. "That was wonderful. You know, we were just wondering why you couldn't come with us to ask the Wizard of Oz for a heart."

"Well suppose the Wizard didn't give me one when we got there?" Kal-El asked.

"Oh but he will!" Kara said optimistically. "He must! We've come such a long way already."

Just then, horribly familiar laughter occurred, and they turned to a shed that Kara presumed was where Kal-El lived as the Wicked Witch was there.

"You call that long?" The witch asked with a scoff. "Why you've only just begun. Helping the little lady along are you my fine gentlemen? Well stay away from her."

The with then turned to Green Arrow.

"Or I'll stuff a mattress with you." The witch remarked before turning to Kal-El. "And you, I'll use you for a beehive! Here Scarecrow, you wanna play ball?"

The witch then set out a fireball as she laughed and disappeared while Green Arrow quickly backed away while Kal-El stamped it out. As the two sighed, they looked at a trembling Kara.

"I'm not afraid of her! I'll see you get safely to the Wizard now whether I get a brain or not!" Green Arrow said before addressing the area the witch was at. "Stuck a mattress with me. Pah."

"I'll see you to the Wizard whether I got a heart or not." Clark agreed as he also addressed the witches threat. "Beehive. Bah. Let her try and make a beehive out of me!"

Clark then pointed to himself, knocking his finger into his head as it made a clink sound as he looked at it.

"Oh, you're the best friends anybody ever had." Kara said with a smile before she began wondering. "And it's funny, but I feel as if I've known you all the time, but I couldn't have, could I?"

"I don't see how." Green Arrow pointed out. "You weren't around when I was stuffed and sown together, were you?"

"And I was standing over there rusting for the longest time." Kal-El agreed.

"Still, I wish I could remember, but I guess it doesn't matter anyway." Kara said as she and her friends began laughing. "We know each other now, don't we?"

"That's right, we do." The two agreed as Kal-El and Green Arrow each took on the Kara's arms.

"To Oz?" Green Arrow asked.

"To Oz." Kal-El agreed.

We're off to see the Wizard,

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz!

You'll find he is the Wiz,

The Wiz if ever the Wiz there was!

If ever the Wonderful Wiz there was,

There is because, because, because, because…

Because of the wonderful things he does!

We're off to see the Wizard,

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz!

The group then continued down the Yellow Brick Road, towards a forest, ready for anything.

Oh, this is going to be interesting when they get to that forest.