Chapter 5
(CATCO)
Ozario-in the days of old-was a harsh planet with two suns that tortured the Trilobite's delicate, sapphire skin. Often, the suns caused severe blisters, rashes, and sometimes death from too much exposure to its deadly rays. The average daytime temperature in the warmer months was nearly one hundred and twenty degrees, but with the humidity, it made the place unbearable. Almost every day, right before the evening, it rained and mitigated the suns' dangerous rays. But when the three moons rose high in the sky, it alleviated all the pains from the suns, and the Trilobites worshipped the moons by calling the biggest one Ptah. The next moon they called Orion, but when it came to the smallest moon, they called it Ro'Dan.
Within the first few months, the dangerous rays of the sun killed three Trilobites, and Po immediately put out a law that nobody could work in the suns longer than fifteen minutes. But at the same time, several of the doomed crew grew increasingly sick because the suns' rays poisoned their delicate systems. Ku—one of the oldest Trilobites who ever lived—put out another edict that no Trilobite could work in the daytime, and all major activity happened in the night time under the three, beautiful moons.
When Po came with his assessment about the dangers of the suns, he demanded Ku pass a law that no Trilobite could work in direct sunlight. But when Ku suggested working under the moonlight only, it upset Po because he didn't come up with the plan.
"What gives you the right to make suggestions about when we work? You're incognizant, Ku," Po said with a grimace on his slender face. He walked over to the man he called father, and said, "I'm the captain on this mission. Respect that!"
"The mission ended when the ship crashed, Po," Ku said, "To think you can lead us without experience is foolish. Confide in me because I've lived a little."
Ku'Dan, a Trilobite who was nearly two hundred years old, was the first one to call the big moon after the god Ptah. He organized the other men and women to build a temple to Ptah, and even though Po objected, he built it anyway. The other Trilobites respected Ku because he was so much older than all the others, but looked younger than Vo. In his youth, he married a beautiful Trilobite princess named Ro Bri Ogden, of the Bri Ogden clan. She became Ro'Dan, but after sixty years of marriage to her, he felt he hadn't truly lived his life. She was nearly eighty-seven when she had a massive stroke, and lay on her deathbed. He stood by her side as she struggled in her last stages of life. Due to the pain of her dying, he took a walk in the Celestial Garden to clear his mind, when he overheard Ptah and Orion fighting over her rejecting to becoming a woman of flesh.
"You say you'd serve me until the end of time, but you won't become flesh for me?" Ptah asked in a condescending manner. Ku listened to them for a moment, and then Orion changed form into a holographic woman, back into a disc, and then back into a holographic woman. It was obvious that Ptah forced her to change forms because he often overstepped his boundaries with Orion.
"Quit!" She exclaimed. In her holographic, flesh form, she fell to one knee and looked stressed. "You violate me by entering into my mind, and forcing me to change! Respect me, Ptah! Can you just do that?" Slowly, she rose to her feet but had an angry visage.
"Is it too much to love me enough to take on the flesh?" He asked calmly, "After a long day of dealing with working on the Kryptonian formula, I want to hold and feel the warmth of your body against mine. Don't you remember what we had on Dora?" He glided to the other side of the holographic image of Orion, and then said, "Nearly twenty-eight thousand years ago, I promised the Great Mother that I'd fix her precious Kryptonians, but it's been long and tedious work. I've only yielded death with each iteration of the formula."
"Dora was nearly five million years ago," She said calmly, "Over ten thousand times I've become flesh for you, Ptah. I don't desire to go through that pain again, of living a life of flesh and feeling death creep up on me. In this metal casing, I never grow old. I never feel the pain of the flesh."
"But you also don't feel the joy of the flesh either," he quipped. "If I didn't save you and Veo for the purpose of returning to the flesh, then why did I upload your minds in these flying disc?" He asked. Ku couldn't help but noticed Ptah's snake-like hair crawling over his head, and on a few occasions, one of the snakes looked directly at him.
"For love, I thought," she said as she transformed back into the disc. She began to fly away when she said, "If your love for me is pure, then let me live my existence like this." Ptah looked down at the ground, sighed, and then watched her as she flew away.
Ku-an old and decrepit man-walked up to Ptah as he stood in the middle of the Celestial Garden, and now he could hear the serpents on his head hissing. It was a sign of his agitation. He wasn't happy over his spat with Orion, and Ku could tell by the way the god cursed under his breath. His anger was palpable. He stood in the middle of the garden with his hands behind his back, and his snake-like hair slithered around on his head, and at first, Ku didn't think Ptah recognized him.
"What do you want, Ku?" Ptah asked, "Don't you know I can see you through the eyes of the serpents? How dare you try to sneak around my Celestial Garden undetected listening to my entreaties?"
Ku dropped to one knee, bowed his head, and then said, "I overheard your argument with the Great Orion. It was a sad argument, indeed. The way you begged..."
"My communications with my wife aren't the concern of a lowly Trilobite," he snapped. Ku didn't know why he said what he said, but now he feared the god might kill him on the spot. "I know of the Dan clan, Ku, and every last one of you are trifling little maggots. My desires for Orion better not enter the ears of the other Trilobites. I'd strike you down where you stand."
The god stood tall, bold, and angry, and then Ku stood to his feet, and said, "For nearly sixty years I've been married to Ro'Dan, and she's at the end of her days. Maybe it's watching my wife die that has me not minding my tongue. I don't know. Her breathing is shallow and death is near."
"I'm sorry to hear that," he said as he stared at the unicorns off in the distance. They frolicked on the other end of the garden, and before noon time, Ptah would eat one for breakfast as he did every day. It was the way of things. "In her youth, she was the prettiest Trilobite on the ship. Her beauty was talked about among the gods." He laughed for a moment, and then said in a serious voice, "Trilobites die. It's the way of things."
"That's right," Ku said, "All the lowly Trilobites will taste death, but Ro'Dan was of the Baronial class. The council chose me because of my intelligence to marry Ro. I lived a life I didn't choose to live with her. It was the life the council chose for me."
"Indeed," Ptah said, "We don't always get the things we desire. The council thought Ro would be better with a Trilobite of your intelligence. I agree with their decision."
Ku bit his tongue for a moment, but he felt a great deal of frustration. He looked up at the god with snakes for hair, and then lamented. "Give me my youth, Lord?" He asked. "Let me live this lowly Trilobite life one more time, but under my own terms? I want to love who I want to love."
"What do you have to offer for this?" He asked. "Even on the Celestial Kingdom, nothing is free. Even the gods aren't permitted to love who they want to love."
"My wife," he said calmly. "She's dying. Her mind is feeble and childlike. You could download a copy of Orion's mind into her, and then turn her youthful again. After a long day of work, she can occupy your bed and give you the flesh you so desire."
"Get out of my garden, Ku!" Ptah screamed, "What kind of god do you think I am? We have rules against gods and Trilobites mixing." He paused for a moment, and the frustration on his visage was palpable. He looked directly at the old Trilobite, and said in an angry voice, "And if you come back, old Trilobite, I will strike you down where you stand. I might just send Orion to incinerate you in your sleep."
Ku walked nervously back into his chambers and watched his wife as she took her last breath. Ro'Dan lay on her deathbed, and her blue skin looked almost a pale gray; it was the number one sign that indicated a Trilobite was near death. Even though he felt like his life didn't have any meaning for the last sixty years, he loved his wife nonetheless. At the same time, his heart hurt because he felt he lost favor with Ptah over his proposal, and if the god did tell Orion to kill him, he knew he was good as dead. But now, he was in a position that disrespected all the Dans before him because of how he propositioned the Great Ptah. He held on to his wife's withered hands and cried as she took her last breath.
"Step away!" Orion said in a commanding voice. At first, he didn't know what to think because she appeared out of nowhere. He didn't know if she had been in the room the entire time. As soon as Ro'Dan took her last breath, Orion magically appeared in Ku's hovel, and landed on top of Ro'Dan's chest, and then said, "Back up, Ku!"
"What are you doing?" He asked with a grimace on his face. Stumbling backward, he fell on the chair at the end of the bed and then watched Orion as her lights flickered in the front of her casing. Since he knew he had upset Ptah, and then he threatened the old Trilobite in return, he thought Orion was there to kill him. "I didn't mean to disrespect our Lord."
"Calm down," she snapped, "I overheard what you said to Ptah," Orion said, "You're an idiot to offer your dying wife to a god. You know damn well the gods forbade any sexual relations with the lower-class beings." She paused for a moment, and then said, "But, we all know Ptah loves the flesh and defies the very laws he enacts."
"It's rumored he always takes a Trilobite paramour," he said calmly; it was almost in a whisper. "From as far back as I can remember, the women would dress up in the hopes Ptah would take one or twenty as a paramour."
Orion laughed for a moment, and then said, "He loves the flesh, indeed," she said, "But that isn't any of your business now." She planted prongs into Ro'Dan's chest. "Every thousand years, I give our Lord eighty years of me in the flesh, but I've grown tired. It's nothing more painful than growing old while Ptah remains young. He loves, but he loves hard. It's destructive to the soul. It's catastrophic to the flesh."
"What are you saying? We view you as a god," Ku said, "We pale in comparison to your greatness."
"I'm saying that Ptah expects me to become flesh soon, but I don't have the heart for it. Even though Ro'Dan will have my mind, a part of her will remain too. The two minds will live side by side in harmony." Suddenly, a ray of blue light shot out of her metal casing and then entered Ro'Dan's blue forehead. "I'm uploading her mind with my backup from the Neuronet."
As the beam went into her head, she began to transform into a young Trilobite, and her beautiful figure and face returned. "She's more lovely now than ever," Ku said with a smile. "She looks like the woman I first married."
Once Orion finished with her, she clamped onto Ku's chest and turned him into a young Trilobite too. The blue beam hit him in the middle of his forehead, and he could feel his skin tightening. It rejuvenated his entire body, and he looked no older than twenty-years-old. "Under no circumstance will you ever make an attempt to love Ro'Dan. She's for Ptah. As long as she's Ptah's paramour, you will never touch her."
Ku loved Ro'Dan, a love that would transcend time and space, but at the same time, he felt like he sacrificed himself for the old tradition of an arranged marriage. He looked at himself in the mirror and his youthful appearance amazed him. He stood less than five feet tall, but still a tall Trilobite nonetheless.
Trilobites-once considered the scourge of the Celestial Kingdom-often found themselves pleasing a god sexually in pretty much all dimensions where they existed. The gods often called sexual relations with a Trilobite "Trilo Love", and within the old verse, it was outlawed. But even Ptah, on several occasions, mated with a Trilobite who carried a copy of Orion's mind. This worried Ku because he didn't want anything to happen to Ro'Dan. But as soon as Orion finished transforming her into a youthful princess, she dressed her up and then presented her to him. At first, he didn't know how to handle what was happening, but at the same time, he knew he couldn't defy his Lord.
On the first outing of many with the Ptah, she returned two days later: hair in a mess and clothes ruffled. She sat in the corner of the hovel with her head between her knees and sobbed. The dress she wore had a tear right above the cleavage, and her cries sounded like a baby cooing.
"Why do you cry, Ro'Dan? You're blessed to please the chief god of the whole universe," he said with a calm look on his face.
"It's not I who cries," Ro'Dan said, "It's the other mind in my head that's crying. Her name is Rogue."
"You mean Orion's mind?" He asked.
"Yes. But she goes by Rogue now," she said, "She's upset because she didn't want to live this life again."
"She doesn't want to please our Lord? Rogue, why?" He asked.
"For four million years she's given her all to him, but he always wants more," she said, "She will live in me, but dormant."
After the first ten years of pleasing Ptah, Orion planned on sending Ro'Dan to another part of the galaxy. The fact that he took interest in one Trilobite over all the others was a bad omen, and Orion didn't like it. In addition, Ro'Dan had begun to show signs of aging because she worked on creating the Speed Force and curing the Kryptonian blithe with Ptah and Orion. Not only did she help them, but she also had to please Ptah on demand. Ro'Dan-as far as Ku knew-loved her Lord, but when Ptah refused to let Orion place her in another part of the Galaxy, Rogue surfaced. When Orion told Ro'Dan that she had to stay in the Celestial Kingdom, she said, "Good. I didn't want to leave in the first place."
"I did," Rogue said. Immediately, Orion changed into her holographic form and walked up to Ro'Dan. "You know the rules, Orion. Ro'Dan can't stay any longer. What will the other Trilobites think?"
"Who's speaking?" Orion asked.
"Rogue," she said.
"Oh. That's what you're calling yourself now?" She asked.
"It's a name that I chose out of protest," she said, "Protest to all of this nonsense. You turned us into Ptah's whore..."
"Watch your mouth, Rogue!" She exclaimed.
"Ladies?" Ku said.
"Shut up, Ku!" Rogue said, "The ladies are speaking."
"Well, Rogue," Orion said as she stood toe to toe with the Trilobite. She actually towered above her and looked at the top of the lady's head. "You'll do what I need you to do. You'll please him as I would please him. That's why I put my mind into this lowly Trilobite."
When Orion left, Rogue stood in the middle of her hovel for about two hours and stared at the floor. Ku didn't say a word but kept reading an old book on warp engine technology. Every few minutes, he'd look up at her, and then down at his book. Eventually, she said, "Every day is one day closer to death."
"That's like sixty years away," Ku said.
"Don't spoil the moment, Ku," Rogue said.
"Well, Rogue. Just play the game," he said.
"Rogue is gone," Ro'Dan said, "What happened?"
After about sixty years, Ro'Dan sat up in her bed and yawned. Her wrinkles were prominent on her forehead, and she sagged. Even in her old age, Ptah invited her and only her into his bed, and it was the way of things. But in her old age, Ro'Dan looked over at Ku, and said, "I'm tired. I've please Ptah for forty years now, and I'm ready to pass to the next life."
"You've been in that bed for three days without seeing our Lord," he said, "Won't Ptah be mad?"
"Let him," she said. "Orion can please him now." She laughed for a moment, and then said, "That stubborn bitch."
Ku gasped. "Rogue? Is that you?" He asked.
She pointed her right index finger at him with the thumb sticking straight up in the air, and then winked, "Yep."
Ro'Dan laid back on her bed, closed her eyes, and went to sleep, and as soon as she closed her eyes, a fresh scent of peaches permeated the air. He began to tremble because it meant Ptah was near. Quickly, he hopped up from his chair near Ro'Dan's bed and walked right into Ptah's crotch.
"Calm down, Ku," he said with a grimace. He tossed the little Trilobite to the side and climbed on top of Ro'Dan.
"What's happening?" Ro'Dan asked frantically. When he placed his large hands over her head, she went into a deep sleep.
Suddenly, a blue beam of light emanated from the god, and then both Ro'Dan and Ku turned young again. It happened quickly, and he didn't have time to adjust. When he finished with them, he turned to Ku and said, "You need to live this time. Find you a mate and love."
"Yes, Lord," he said calmly. "What about her?"
"I've always sensed Orion's mind inside of Ro'Dan," he said calmly. "I will keep her with me for all eternity."
Ptah became reckless in how he approached sex with Ro'Dan on the third iteration of her life; his love for her was genuine, but at the same time, the law was the law: a god and a lower life form couldn't create without grave consequences.
Ku sat in his hovel with three other Trilobite women, and they had wild sex to the early morning hours. The smell of sweat and drama was in the air, and when Ro'Dan walked into the hovel, she stood at the edge of the living room, and when Ku looked up at her, he noticed her stomach sticking out. It was barely visible, but since she had three kids nearly one hundred and seventy years earlier, he knew.
"Ladies, get up?" He said, "You gotta go." The Trilobite women slowly pulled themselves off the floor, and then he physically helped them out of the hovel. "I'll call you later." He pushed them out the front door, and they stumbled in the hallway. Quickly, he turned to his wife and placed his hands on her stomach. "You're pregnant?"
She looked at him for a moment, and tears raced down her face. "I fear he'll kill me and the baby." Pausing, she then said, "He can kill me, but I want the baby to live."
"Has he noticed?" He asked.
"I don't think so," she said, "But he touches every inch of my body every time we make love."
"Why doesn't he just take you through the apotheosis?" He asked.
"Because of the law," she said with a grimace. "We have to tell Orion."
When Ro'Dan was in her fifth month of the pregnancy, Ku, Orion, and Ro'Dan took the Phantom to Neo Star, a planet on the edge of space. The reason for the trip was because Orion needed some data to help with the digital scale of the Speed Force. It took approximately four months for the project to happen, and at the same time, Ro'Dan had her first child on Neo Star. When Ku saw the baby, he instantly fell in love with it and wanted to do everything in his power to protect it.
Ku named the child Po'Darro after an old friend who passed nearly two lifetimes ago. And after the birth of the child, Rogue surfaced more and more and did her best to spend as much time with Po as possible. Ro'Dan would show up to please Ptah and Rogue would show up to take care of the baby. After the first year, Ku fell deeply in love with Rogue because that was all he saw, and she fell in love with him.
So, when Ku'Dan named the biggest moon on Ozarrio after Ptah, it angered Po because he didn't care for his estranged father. Even though he never met him, he despised him nonetheless. Ku watched his son as he bit his lip, and agonized over the name of the largest moon in the sky.
In the background, the noise from the automatic hammers drilling in the nails reverberated throughout the area as the Trilobites built their cottages. The small hovels went up fast, and every inhabitant of the She Ah Vog had his own home. Most of the men assumed they'd all die out because Bri'Ogden La was the only female on the ship, and she was also a demigod. So, in other words, the only way for any future inhabitants of Ozarrio to know they existed was to build a monument to Ptah, and on the front of the moment was the three moons, and the names of Ptah, Orion, and Ro'Dan on the front.
"Father, why would you name the biggest moon after Ptah?" Po'Darro asked as he looked up at the plaque on the front of the monument. "He's the reason we're all lost on this rock." He folded his arms for a moment, and then looked down at his father. "Why do you still honor him?"
"We should look at Ozarrio as a blessing," Ku said as he patted his son on his lower back. He thought long and hard about his words before he spoke and then said, "The other Trilobites agree on the three names. Isn't it wise to go with the many instead of the one?"
Ku was much shorter than Po because he was full Trilobite while Po was part god, a demigod. He stood tall, nearly six feet in height, and anything related to Ptah incensed him. Ku knew it too, but at the same time, he never opposed Ptah or Orion, and even the thought of dishonoring them caused him great dismay.
"You might've been my father on the Celestial Kingdom, but I'm the leader here," he said, "I'll name the moons."
Ku recognized Po's hostility-jealousy and range-and it dismayed him to no end, but at the same time, he wouldn't let his son overrule the voice of the Trilobites. "The people have spoken. The name stands, Po," Ku said in a stern voice.
August 26, 2019…
JJ flew into James' office and sat in the far corner of the room, waiting for a discussion with him about life in general. Often, he dropped by his friend's office before school started just to chit chat and discuss his nightly patrols. He knew most of the team resented him on some level since he smashed in Lena's face, killing her instantly. Even though he brought her back to life, he knew it still bothered Supergirl because she saw exactly what he had done. But as far as JJ was concerned, he accomplished the mission with absolutely no casualties except for Kara's trust.
But at the same time, his perception about the world, about life in general, and about pretty much everything had changed dramatically. Before the Neuronet upgrade, the godspark impregnated him with confidence, but after the insertion of his old memories, he saw himself as Ptah, and JJ was more like a partner, a conscience within a conscience. The love for Orion and Veo was so powerful and ingrained that he couldn't see his life without them; they meant the world to him. He didn't know a time when they weren't in his life. It was important to point out that Orion and Veo came before all others, and without them, he wouldn't be much of anything.
He noticed the neatly stacked papers on James' desk, and from what he could tell, he hadn't been in the office the entire weekend. At first, he thought he was late for work, but since he was the CEO of Catco, it didn't matter. Kara walked past the office several times wearing a white dress with a pink, sweater-like top. She dressed conservatively all the time: hair in a ponytail, a cute pink or sky blue sweater with absolutely no cleavage showing, and a conservative dress that hung past her knees.
She walked into James' office, immediately grabbed a dart off the counter, and threw it into the picture of JJ, and said, "Take that."
"Ouch!" He exclaimed. "Do you always throw darts at my photo?" He asked calmly.
"Every golden opportunity I get," she said with a serious visage. Pushing her glasses closer to her eyes, she asked, "Where's James?"
He looked down at the neatly arranged desk, and said, "I don't know. I haven't seen him since Friday. He's probably tossing sheets with Lena or something. They bang like a couple of jackrabbits." He laughed for a moment until Kara complained about reminding her about James' relationship with Lena.
"You're a piece of shit, JJ," she said with an angry scowl on her fair face. Putting her hands on either hip, she accused him of interfering with their relationship. "You purposely used your little device to force a union between them. God or not, you don't have the right to do that!"
"I don't see a problem," he said.
"Freewill, JJ! Have you heard of it?" She asked. Walking directly over to the young man, she said, "You have all the freaking powers in the world, but you're using them to play matchmaker."
"Oh, please," he said, "James and Lena are happy as happy can be." He flew up over James' desk, and then set down near Kara. She immediately turned to see if anybody in the main editing room saw him, and then he said, "Even the Kryptonian mind can't escape the power of the gods, Kara," he said, "I know you love James."
"Don't be traipsing around in my head, JJ," she snapped.
"Like I have to," he said, "It's written all over your face every time you see them together. Well, you had your chance to be with him, but you blew it. Let him enjoy Lena and let Lena enjoy him."
"Just go," she said in frustration, "I have to get some work done. Can't be dilly-dallying with your ass all day."
"Have James call me later?" He asked calmly. "Oh. Peppermint is making sausage spaghetti for dinner tonight. Why don't you come by for a plate? Orion, Veo, Vera, Winn and Alex will be there."
"Okay," she said.
National City University…
JJ and Peppermint did a combination of high school and college classes all rolled into one class; they wandered through the hallways of the university and didn't really stand out that much except that he stood approximately six-foot-five inches. Several of the students dressed in the boxy, black clothing, long hair, and jewelry. In addition, it was extremely crowded in the school, at least forty thousand people attended college classes on a daily basis at National City University.
The hallways smelled new and the walls were freshly painted. The air conditioner hummed; it was almost like a song of comfort. The students plodded through the corridors and their steps sounded like a thousand soldiers marching off to war. It was a battle; it was college, and at the end of the day, not all of the students would survive to obtain the fruits of the war. It wasn't because they lacked intelligence, but life was hard. Some people had it easier while others struggled.
JJ was nearly six-foot-five inches and soared above most of the students in the school. He looked like a basketball player, a stellar athlete, but he wasn't. Looking around the hallway as Peppermint held him around the waist, he looked at all the successes and failures around him. At first, he didn't realize he was hopping from mind to mind like a swarm of angry gnats. There was so much pain in the brains of humans that he could barely take it all in. So many students knew pain on a personal level, and their home lives were havens of corruption. After he stole so many thoughts, he rushed out the side door to clear his head in the fresh air.
"What's wrong?" Peppermint asked with a grimace.
"I accidentally performed a mind rape on nearly a thousand people at once," he said with a befuddled look on his face. "There's a copious amount of pain in so many people. I had no idea the human race had so much bitterness in it. The thoughts were so random and disheartening that now I'm filled with hate and discontent."
She smirked. "You might as well eat doggy do," she said with a grimace, "The human mind is filled with sick, uncontrolled thoughts. Taking in that many random notions at once can only lead to madness."
He kissed her gently on the lips, and then said, "I'll have to do a better job with my powers."
Mickey-Macs…
Noontime came quickly after they finished their four college classes in the morning hours. JJ only had one more class left at Little Africa High and Peppermint had two. Unfortunately, all of Vera's classes were at Little Africa, but she also did a work-study between two and three at CATCO media. Since Vera moved in with them and didn't pay any rent, she had been nagging him to do more missions as Victory, but he was reluctant to let her be a hero. Often, Veo and her practiced combatives in the old warehouse across from his Momma's apartment building. She was a good, strong fighter, but the world was an increasingly dangerous place and he didn't want her getting hurt.
During the lunch break, JJ and Peppermint ate at Mickey-Mac's diner located in Little Africa on the Main Street of town in the middle of the city. The small bistro was much more than a local eatery to them, but a place they ate at since babies. His father often took him and Peppermint to the restaurant and the young kids would share a small burger and fries. Nothing had changed between the two of them since the god-sparks of Ptah and Sekhmet imbued them.
The bistro often smelled like sauteed onions, an aroma that he actually liked. Even with the soft music in the background, he could hear the burgers sizzling on the grill and Mickey singing to the song playing on the stereo. Three, thin waitresses took orders, but as usual, it wasn't really needed for JJ and Peppermint because they all knew them and their orders. One of the waitresses named Laura Amiga screamed out, "JJ and Peppermint are here."
"Okay! One fat Mickey-Mac burger, chocolate shake, and fries coming up," Mickey said loudly.
"Right on right on," Peppermint said loudly.
In the last year, after Peppermint had her baby, they bought a house about a mile down the street from their parents' apartment complex, and Orion and Veo usually kept an eye on the baby during the day. His mother normally worked the overnight shift at the hospital and needed her sleep in the day time; therefore, Orion decided to care for the child when Peppermint couldn't.
They shared one, large Mickey-Mac burger with fries and a chocolate shake, and then handed Laura a sizeable tip.
"Thanks, JJ," she said with a huge smile as she walked away from the table. "I was worried about this month's rent, but I'm good now."
Peppermint took a sip of the milkshake and then said, "Please be more discreet with your money. We don't want to draw any unwanted attention."
"You're right, but I knew she was having a problem making this month's rent, so I helped her out," he said calmly. "She's a hard working lady and deserves a hand up once in a while."
When he sat in the restaurant, he had his back to the door and she sat across from him. Directly above him and to the rear of the diner hung a large screen television set. Mickey had already sliced the burger in half for JJ and Peppermint, and then when he picked up his half to take a bite, he noticed a picture of Lena Luthor on the screen. Underneath her caption was the word, "Missing!"
"Something's wrong," he said calmly, "Lena is in the news and they're claiming she's missing."
"Didn't we see James on Thursday?" Peppermint asked with a look of concern on her face.
"Yeah," he said, "We were all hanging in the warehouse. I was telling Winn about the seventy-two gateways on Earth to other worlds. He pretty much called us a bunch of nerds, tuned us out, and continued to play video games."
"I remember now," she said, "It's funny how YOUR son takes all MY attention."
He looked at his fiancee for a moment, and then said, "I'm going to search for Lena using my telepathy."
"Okay," she said, "Just be careful because it takes a lot of energy."
He tapped his fingers on the table for a moment, looked down at the floor over his right shoulder and began to concentrate deeply. He used his telepathic ability to try to find Lena's mind and he had to jump through tons of interference to do it. Due to his genetic enhancements, he was able to scan millions of minds almost effortlessly an ascertain an understanding of any situation. He assumed he could extrapolate an understanding of what happened to Lena from other people in the area. For almost five minutes, he looked down at the table with a blank stare on his face. He saw her hanging on a branch in a highly vegetated area along Metropolis River. The branches held her above water, but she was unconscious. "I see her," he said calmly, "She's barely alive."
"What about James?" Peppermint asked.
"I haven't found any trace of him," he said, "It's like he's not on the planet. I can't keep up the constant memory probing for long periods of time without it draining me, but it's obvious a tornado barreled through the area."
"How do you feel now?" She asked.
"Drained," he said, "I've been trying to ascertain what happened on Friday in Metropolis, but I'm getting misinformation. I probed a guy named Kevin Michaels. He was thinking about some armed men robbing the club and then their body parts started falling off in front of his eyes. I attempted to slow down his thoughts and I could only see a blur racing through the club."
Peppermint chuckled. "That's crazy. Could it have been your son, Hermes?" She asked.
"I don't think so," he said calmly, "But we did detect a small tear in space and time over Metropolis. Captain Atom helped close it. Mister Michaels saw a tornado sweep the club away, but the image in his mind was an upside down funnel. It's bizarre," he said with a grimace. "In any case, the dude is obviously traumatized." He looked down at his wristwatch, pushed the black button labeled "M" and within seconds the Messiah was parked in front of the diner.
"Your class starts in an hour, babe," Peppermint said calmly.
"Yeah," he said, "It'll take only a few seconds to fish Lena out of the river and scrub it for any additional bodies. You go ahead and go to school and I'll make sure Lena is okay."
Metropolis River…
The Messiah landed right above Lena's location. He had her on a digital display inside the vehicle; it had the ability to detect all heat signatures in the area and he could see her hanging on a strong branch. With the power of his mind, he tried to awaken her, but she was in a coma. When he landed the flying car, he stepped out of it and looked over at the river for a moment. The water moved rapidly from east to west. Deep at the bottom of the river, he could see the bodies caught on rocks. Some of them were beaten badly by the tornado, but they all appeared to be intact.
When he walked over to the edge, the branch that held Lena grabbed her around the waist and brought her to him. He didn't expect that to happen, but he remembered he did have powers over many things in nature. He felt her forehead with the back of his right hand and it was still warm. She was alive, but barely. He raced back over to the edge of the river and used his powers to lift all the water into the sky, and then weeded out eight more bodies, but none of them were James. All the people died sometime on Friday evening so he had time to revive them without breaking any celestial laws. Reviving a body after three days required the re-insertion of a soul, and that usually meant he had to find a soul in the netherworld which was a tricky, dangerous, and dirty process.
He dug a huge hole in the ground with the power of his mind. With one thought, a large swath of dirt flew into the air and left a huge hole in the ground. It was deep. He filled it with water from the river, and then tossed the bodies into it, including Lena, and he moved quickly too. It was happening so fast that it was hard to make out everything he was doing. When he walked into the water completely nude, his energy reverberated throughout the water like electrical currents and began to restore life. When he left out of the pool, the energy continued to restore life and heal Lena. He left the area so people wouldn't know the role he played in bringing people back to life.