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There were many things that had happened since that symbol appeared everywhere around the world at once. I would only learn in the weeks following that even that symbol was the complete Anti-Life Equation. The Anti-Life Equation would allow the owner to have complete control over not only the minds and bodies of a whole population of people but also their souls.
The whole of the population of Earth had been under that control.
Most of the information I was able to get from the copied pages from the old book Fritz had somehow been able to get a hold of. It was pretty clear the book had once been compiled, at least in part, to deal with that sort of even if it would happen. There was so much more about those events in that book.
It described how the completed Anti-Life Equation would be able to have its owner have complete control over whole populations by taking a hold of their souls. The more people the owner had in his control, the more powerful they would become. For obvious reason there would be a need to keep that power hidden away forever.
I could feel myself be locked away in my own mind as the symbol took control over me. It was difficult for me. My pride would not allow me to be controlled by anyone. It bothered me, and there was nothing I could do to put an end to that sort of thing.
I remembered finding Fritz, and even in my zombie state, I could see she was not acting as deadened as everyone else. The part of me that was being controlled could not allow that to ever happen, and I actually felt outraged. The small part of my mind I could still control was both relieved and slightly pleased over her being herself. Nobody could tell Fritz what she could or could not do.
I walked over to Fritz, and we walked into each other. Fritz had looked up at me, wearing a questioning look as she had started to see him look and act like everyone else. There was starting to be fear that had filled her eyes the longer I had looked at her. I did not need to wonder what she was seeing. She saw a killer. I did not like the look she had been giving me.
My hands gripped her upper arms to keep her from running away from me. when I gripped her arms, she had actually grimaced at me. The small part I could control was horrified at what I was being forced to do to her. I would never have hurt Fritz. No matter how ridiculous and irritating she could be to me.
"You are not complying. . ." My voice said to her. It was cold and emotionless. Not something I would use on her. Never.
She was trying not to show how uncomfortable and afraid she must have been feeling. "Since when do I ever conform?"
That was when one of her hands went to the old necklace she had been wearing under her shirt, and she had showed me the pendant of her necklace. The moment I saw the symbol on the pendant, a warmth started to go through me as i had started to regain control of myself.
I looked at her, trying to understand what had happened. I shook my head as I took a step back from her.
"Did I hurt you?" I asked her when I finally had the full control over myself.
I looked at her when I asked her the question. Fritz's eyes did show her confusion, and she really had to work to keep herself from showing me she had been afraid of me and had been hurt by me. When she had realized I was myself, she looked relieved, and the fear was long gone. I do not know how she would do that, allowing herself to ignore that sort of thing.
Fritz shook her head. "No. Of course not."
I looked at her, and I knew she had been lying to me. "You have never been good at lying."
That was when I had reached out to look at her necklace. The longer i had looked at the symbol, the better I was able to recognize it. That symbol was everywhere in that old book, and like the book, Fritz had somehow been able to possess it. That symbol would have canceled out the Anti-Life Equation.
"Where did you get that?" I asked her.
She studied me for a moment, being able to understand I may have known more about that symbol than I would ever say to her.
"My grandma wanted me to have it," she admitted. "I think she had an idea about what was going to happen all over the world."
Just as there were people on Earth who worked for the interests of Darkseid, there were those who worked for the interests of his greatest adversaries from New Genesis, though they primarily kept to the shadows. No one really knew who the New Genesis allies were.
I looked around us before I pulled her closer to me as we walked back into the dark alley as some people started to walk by on the streets. For a moment, I became keenly aware of how close we had been, so I had to push her away from me.
"It was anything with a screen," she started to say like she had been planning something, and she pulled out her cellphone to show me the Anti-Life Equation.
I almost flinched away from the phone like it would affect me again, but my training had kept that from happening. We realized it would not affect me again.
Fritz went to sit on the ground as she started to pull out her laptop. I looked around us as I went to sit closely to her, and I watched her play around on the computer.
"Is now really the time for this?" I asked her.
We were sitting very close to each other, and I could smell the light flowery scent coming from her long hair. For that moment, I had to close my eyes to make myself clear my head, so I could focus on the work ahead and not only on her.
"You remember that one time where you basically told me to never hack into computers again?" She asked me. I nodded. "Never really listened. I'm going to use it to free everyone all around the world."
I was going to say something to her, but I had to stop myself. I should not have been surprised. If she possessed a way to free the people and had the means to do so, then she would do it. That was in her nature.
She realized I had been looking at her very closely, and she made eye contact with me, curious about my reaction.
"What?" She asked me.
I shook my head and went to look away from her. "Nothing."
Fritz had started on her work to send her own symbol to the world. When it was done, there was going to be a wait as the people would be able to see that symbol. She went to rest her head on my shoulder and closed her eyes. I wrapped my arm around her waist to pull her close to me.
