Chapter Twelve

Early morning March 2, 2019…

"All my freaking gawd," Jennifer said as Peppermint encrusted her with a pile of sticky stuff. "I can't move my arms." She tried to twist out of the white, cocoon of sticky goo, but she couldn't move at all.

"That's the point," Peppermint said. "Use your powers to break free."

"How did y'all become so good at this stuff?" She asked.

"Blame Supergirl for that," Peppermint said. "We train with her all the time, and she hits hard." Peppermint walked up to Jennifer as she stood in her gooey prison, and said, "Now break free."

Suddenly, Jennifer turned into pure energy, and the goo dissolved from around her body. As soon as she tried to relax, the Vulcan flew over the hill, and then she knew the chase was on. She took off into the air, and then he flew after her like a speeding bullet. Her heart raced because she felt like she was running for her life. She tried her best to flee from her mentor, but it was hard. He seemed to know her every move. When she turned into pure energy and flew into the powerlines, he chased her into the powerlines and caught her. He brought her back down to the ground, and she was breathing so hard that she thought she was going to die.

"You're getting fast," Peppermint said. "Real fast."

"You guys were moving at thirty thousand miles per second," Orion said as she sat on the Vulcan's right shoulder. "I bet you can push it to the speed of light, Jennifer."

"We'll wait on that," the Vulcan said, "We don't want to push her too hard too fast."

"Eli's waving," Vera said as she held James Junior in her arms.

Eli Ga'Narian sat on the far hill and then waved. "Are you ready?" She screamed.

"Give her a minute," Peppermint said, "She's a little winded."

Jennifer spent the last two weekends with the Vulcan, his two girlfriends, and his nanny. She laughed because Peppermint often referred to his flying robot as his mistress, but at the same time, she had a flying robot too, but she didn't confide in her flying machine the way the Vulcan did with his. His computer was called Orion, and she appeared to be a valuable member of his family. She had a sweet voice, but when it came to Peppermint's flying friend, his name was Veo.

The other girl was their best friend Vera, a petite white girl who often backed JJ up, even when he was wrong. At first, Jennifer thought they were in a sexual relationship, but it was the furthest thing from the truth. Peppermint brought up JJ's guitar that Vera pawned behind his back, and said, "We've always taken care of you, Vera. You didn't have to pawn JJ's guitar. He let you use his first guitar in good faith."

She broke down, started crying, and then JJ said, "Vera, you're more important to me than a freaking guitar. But if your mother is short on cash for the rent, then we'll give it to you. It's no big deal."

"The pawn shop owner told me he sold it to another pawn shop in Metropolis," Vera said, "I'll find the guitar. I will, JJ."

Jennifer watched them as they had their little tiff over the guitar, but JJ never once raised his voice with her. When he helped Eli Ga'Narian train John, JJ and Peppermint would retreat under a shade tree, and discussed their lives. They left John in the middle of the field, but before they retreated, they told him, "Life is going to get really painful for you if you don't put more effort into your training."

On two occasions, JJ took Eli Ga'Narian into a private room, and then when they returned, she looked like she had been crying. Often, she returned with torn clothes, bruises, and mental exhaustion. When Jennifer asked, "Is he abusing you?" She looked at her and smiled.

"He's training me for the future," she said softly. She pointed to a cup of water and it flew to her right hand. "I never dreamed I would be able to move things with my mind, Jennifer." She paused for a moment, and then said, "He's been training me every day. I didn't experience this much pain in Lantern Academy."

It was about eleven o'clock in the morning on March the second when John Stewart flew over the small hill and tried to hit the Vulcan with a graphical fist. The Vulcan made a forcefield around his body, and then the fist dissipated. "You're not that smooth, John," Peppermint said.

"I know, right," the Vulcan replied. "I'm starving, guys. Let's go to Bang Bang Burgers? My treat."

Bang Bang Burgers…

The people who lived out of town always loved eating at Bang Bang Burgers. JJ rented a private room in the back so Peppermint could breastfeed James Junior without any complaints. When he took off his superhero uniform, he dressed in all black like the emo students.

"Have you tried the Lil' Rocks, Eli?" JJ asked with a smile.

"Not here," she said, "I've been filling up on corn dogs from the street vendors."

"I think the Lil' Rocks are the best," he said.

"Yeah," Jennifer said with a smile. "I use to eat them all the time."

"Why did you stop?" Eli asked.

"I was getting fat," she said with a smile.

When JJ paid for the food, he pulled out a black card. She knew he had money, but not black card money. A waitress escorted everybody into the dining hall that was in the back of the restaurant.

"Orion, check the room for bugs," JJ said calmly.

"Nothing detected," she said.

"Put a protective shield around the room," he said. He looked directly at Eli, and said, "I'd like to think things were going to be easy for you, Eli, but it isn't," he said with a grimace. "Moxia is in a war for its very way of life, and I'm depending on you to make a difference. You have to be the beacon of hope to your people."

She smiled for a moment, and then said, "But I'm only one person. We have a Doraxian Lantern on Moxia who hasn't made a single wave."

"But he's not Moxian," he said, "We've trained hard in the last two weeks, and I think you're ready to take on the universe." He paused for a moment, and then said, "A million years ago, the Oans designed the Green Lantern Battery. They attacked the Great Mother and yours truly."

"Wait? How old are you?" John asked with a grimace.

"I'm sixteen," he said, "But I have the godspark and it goes back over a million years. I'm basically the reincarnation of Ptah. When the Oans attacked us, I designed the Yellow Lantern Battery and gave it to my brother, Luciferous. A great war that encompassed the entire universe took place, and my sister was torn between her Oan brothers and her husband, Luciferous."

"Aren't they all brothers and sisters?" Jennifer asked with a scowl on her face.

"Yes," he said, "But we're talking about gods. Peppermint's godspark is the descendant of my godspark," he said, "She was a Deceiver who I elevated into a god. When the Green Lanterns and Yellow Lanterns went to war, I tried to diffuse it by creating the Sapphire Corp with Sayd in charge. The rings in those days were so powerful that my family destroyed several worlds in their great war. The Great Mother told me to fix it, so I created the Black Lantern, and suppressed the powers of all the rings until my family calmed down. When the Great Mother fled to Chthonic, she took the master rings with her. She has the Luciferous ring, Sayd's ring, and Ganthet's ring. These rings aren't anything like your rings. They're a thousand times more powerful."

"How about your ring?" Eli Ga'Narian asked.

"It's on my homeworld," he said, "Protected by my daughters."

"Why didn't she take your ring?" John asked.

"I'm the first son," he said with a smile. "If you search your ring's history, you will find that I'm telling you the truth."

"It's true," Eli said, "I thought it was all simple myth."

"Why do I feel like I'm on a mission?" Jennifer asked.

"You are on a mission," Peppermint said with a smile. "That's why we're here. Everybody in this room plays a significant role in the future."

"But first thing is first," Orion said, "Moxia must stop their infighting."

"I was just thinking," Eli said, "I don't recall a Sayd."

"She's born exactly ten years after Luciferous arrives," he said, "He accidentally killed her the last time, and the time before that. He falls madly in love with a mortal woman we call the Green Witch. When she nears the end of her life, he usually makes her young again. Unfortunately, every time he does that, her depression grows. Eventually, she begs him to let her die. Of course, Sayd is the good wife who tries to please her husband, but his love for the memory of the Green Witch drives her to drink ambrosia, a drink that temporarily weakens gods. In Luciferous fits of rage, he usually kills his beloved Sayd. It's a tragedy that happens repeatedly. After that, he retreats into a yellow sun. When he flies into the sun, he finds nirvana, and then the matrix kicks out another Luciferous two thousand years later. "

"But why?" Jennifer asked.

"For the time he's here, he'll put the universe back on track," he said, "Once that happens, he needs to leave so the universe can learn. All of this is the design of the Great Mother."

"JJ, the cops just pulled four bodies out of a pawn shop in Metropolis," Orion said, "It appears the men have been dead for a few days."

"Analyze the footage, and tell me if you find any similarities with any other murders," he said calmly.

"It looks like the murders happened on Wednesday," she said, "You still have enough time to extract memories."