10. Rallying Call

MJ had been trying for hours now, but she couldn't think. There had to be a way she could help Mum, but she couldn't think of anything. She didn't even know where she was. Well, she knew she was on the Kryptonite space ship, but where that was was a different matter. MJ needed help.

She opened the door to her room, and looked out into the hallway. It was dark; the lights were off. Down stairs, she could hear Dad was cooking dinner. He'd been doing it for five hours now; even MJ suspected that he was doing it just to distract himself. She also thought that if she asked Dad what he thought she could do to help, he'd try to stop her – keep her out of danger. So MJ couldn't go there.

That only left one person. MJ pushed the door open to her brother's room. Edward didn't respond when she entered. He was starring at the television, mainly because he was playing Colin McRae Rally (Okay, product placement over.) MJ glanced at her brother, and then the screen. He had a look of unrivalled concentration on his face, and it showed, as he was two minutes ahead of the next car.

Edward was often – make that always – extremely competitive about his computer games, so MJ decided to wait until he'd reached the end of the special stage before saying anything. Instead, she glanced at his bed. It was covered in newspapers, separated into separate sheets. Every article was about Blossom.

"Why are you reading this stuff?" asked MJ, forgetting her decision to keep quite. Edward waited until the computer model of a rally car on the screen in front of him had stopped barrel rolling from the resulting accident before answering.

"You can often see the truth through the web of lies," he said. "I was hoping I could find out about Mum."

"Could you?" Edward's car hit another rock.

"No. I'm too stupid." He bent down and switched the console off.

"You didn't have to do that," MJ said. Edward turned round.

"It wasn't important," he said. "Not today. It will be tomorrow though."

"Why?"

"Because I'll need it to distract me from… well, you know."

MJ looked at her miserable brother. "Have you given up?" she asked.

"Probably."

"We can't! We have to do something!"

"Have you got any ideas?"

"No, that's why I'm here. I was hoping you might."

Edward sighed. "Sorry MJ, I'm not a superhero."

"But you know everything; you knew all about that thing this morning and… stuff."

"The more you know, the more you realise you don't know. Sorry."

MJ looked at her feet, and left. Edward sighed, and looked for another computer game. He stopped at Grand Prix 2. It was very old, but good fun. Maybe winning a race in something rubbish like a Simtek would make him feel better…

"Hi kid," he said kindly, "you want to be a racing driver, do you?"

"Yeah," said Edward, he looked at his body. "Not much chance of that now."

"Why not?"

"Because I'm a mutant, so they won't let me, and I'm dead. That's why you're here, isn't it." He surprised himself with his calmness.

"Well don't worry about it," the cloaked strange said, "you wouldn't have made it anyway if you gave up that easily."

"What?"

"It's like all things in life. If you want to reach the top, you have to work dammed hard and not let things like serious injuries and not being allowed to get in your way. That doesn't mean you should walk over people to get there, but don't let anything walk over you. Even death."

"Pah," Edward muttered, "what would you know about motor racing… or life for that matter?"

The cloaked figure sighed, and opened the cloak a bit. Edward glanced at the overalls underneath, and then clicked.

"Your Roland Ratze…" he began in awe.

"Please just call me Roland," Roland smiled. "And I think you can be a racing driver. You've got determination."

"Is that important?" Roland nodded.

"Determination can substitute for talent, up to a point. Now lets get you back in your body, okay?"

Edward jumped back. The flash back had reminded him of something. All this didn't mean his dreams for his life were over. It just meant he needed even more determination.

Giving up has nothing to do with determination. So he started thinking.


"Come on people!" Buttercup shouted once more over the huge table. "We can't just leave her up there to die!"

"We've got to do something over then just sit and chat!" Bubbles said. Once again Batman banged his hammer to try to bring the meeting to order. Part of the problem was that since Blossom hadn't got round to appointing a new Second in Command, several other heroes also had hammers they were also banging.

"Why should we bother?" said the Green Lantern dejectedly. "What are we fighting for? If all our leaders have been murderers and Superman a traitor, what have we got to hold on to? How do we know that we are right?"

"We can have that debate after we've rescued Blossom!" said Butch.

"I don't know," said Vegeta, "a fight to the death could do her some good. It would be very educational."

"She could die!"

"That would be an important lesson."

"May I remind you all," said Spiderman, "that if Blossom looses, the Kryptonites will take over the world, and make us slaves."

"That doesn't change things for all of us," said Raven, but no one was listening.

"No one ever beat Superman," said Robin, "what chance do we have?"

"Some of us haven't tried before," said Goku optimistically.

"And Blossom HAS!" said Buttercup.

"Oh, and that's a good reason to get her back?" said Flash. "Can't you just accept she is a murder and should be treated as such?"

"Can you accept that about Superman?" asked Bubbles, but Boomer hauled her back.

"We don't need to start another fight," he said.

"We are ashamed about Superman," said Wonder Woman, "but surely you are ashamed of Blossom?" Buttercup's head slumped uncharacteristically.

"Well, maybe. But we should still fight!"

"What's the point?" said Cyclops sadly. "We don't have what it takes." As the heroes listened to what he said, they all went silent, and most of their heads dropped. The few that looked defiant didn't say anything to back their looks up.

"We don't have the desire," Cyclops continued. "Some of us don't have the strength; of body or will. Some of us have lost our faith in being a superhero. Some of us have lost faith in our selves. We've all lost our leaders, and there aren't any left. Without strength, desire, commitment, belief and leadership, we've got nothing…."

"Which translates into mobian for "we're all a bunch of mindless cowards"!"

Everyone turned round. Sonic was battered, blackened and scared. But he was standing before them, with a gritty smile on his face. Everyone gaped accept one "person," who spoke.

"What took you so long?" said Piccolo knowingly.

"Sorry big ears, I had an escape pod crash," Sonic replied in the same style. Someone else finally found there tongue.

"S…s…Sonic? What are you doing here?" asked Batman.

Sonic jumped on to the table, and slid along its polished surface till he was standing over Batman. "You said you needed a leader? And I might have a few of those other things you wanted in my pocket!" He jumped back into the centre of the table. "Okay, let's pull ourselves together! You're a complete mess!" he looked around at the group of dejected/surprised Superheroes. Then he smiled.

"I've got the measure of all of you, you know," he said smugly. "Do you know why I lied about what Blossom had done? Not only for the reason I gave her, but also because I could see what was going to happen. Imagine if I had told you that Superman had killed Brick and Blossom had killed Superman? If I'd told you that the only person – be it Superman or Blossom (he looked at Buttercup and Bubbles as he said the second name) – that you looked up to had fallen off their pedestal? That they were human after all? Everyone needs a hero; someone who they think will be strong and stand up for their beliefs, what ever the situation. Even you lot! But there aren't many heroes for you, are there? If you'd lost them, I thought you would have become a bunch of floundering jelly fish. And what do you know? I was right! Everyone in this room is a Jelly fish!" he sighed dramatically. "If it wasn't for Blossom, they'd have already won."

"What?" said Bubbles, "you mean…"

"I do indeed," said Sonic smugly, "the one person who has nothing to gain from the Kryptonites loosing is going to keep going. You lot have everything! Family, friends, or time to make them! All Blossom has – all I have – is a stay of execution. But we're going to keep going; if not for any reason other than that it's our job. A job we're good at, a job you're ALL good at! Nothing is different today to the last time the world was nearly destroyed; it is just our minds that are different this time. So ignore them. Superman's a murder? So what! Why does that make you believe was a spy as well, just because some guy that's trying to destroy us is telling us that he was? It's all in the mind! If you want to sit here and think about how awful things are all day that's fine. Or your can actually do something about it! Now!"


Brick distractedly shook the rattle above Brandy's head. The Green puff giggled happily, burbling as she did. There were some advantages to raising a child in Death's domain, i.e. it didn't eat, so it also didn't…

Roland re-entered the apartment. Brick nodded to him. "Hi Roland, how was your day," he asked unenthusiastically.

Roland walked over to the cot. "Good, I got to meat the head of the Russian police. I expect yours was pretty good to, eh?"

"What do you mean?"

"You know," said Roland, fetching a bottle for Brandy (just because she didn't need feeding, didn't mean that she didn't enjoy it.) "Blossom's nearly here. You must be so excited. Have you started looking for a place yet?"

"Roland…"

"I mean, you won't want to live here anymore," he paused. "I suppose you get Brandy to right?"

Brick wondered how to phrase his next statement. "Did you actually see how she's going to die?" he asked.

"Nope, I just saw the headlines. Why, what's wrong?"

"She's going to lose trial by combat. That's how." Brick turned back to Brandy, who'd gone quiet.

"Oh. And you don't want that, right?"

"I'd rather it was painless for her. And that she got to see her kids grow up first. I want her to have a fulfilled life on earth first, rather than arriving here with lots of regrets."

Roland thought for a moment. "Is she certain to lose?"

"Probably. If I could help her somehow though…"

Roland when into his bedroom, and he came out with a small bottle. "Here," he said. Brick looked at it.

"The doctor says I have another week until I take my next urine sample."

"It's not for that!" said Roland angrily, "It's my reward from Death."

"What, like I got Brandy?"

"And the chance to appear to your brother, yes. You get one after fifteen years, the next after sixty, the next after two hundred and forty, and so on."

"What does it do?" Brick studied it. "It's got a clear liquid inside!"

"Yep, it's a standard fifteen year reward. It allows you to interact with the living world for three minutes. All you have to do is drink it."

Brick gapped. Now he could help her… somehow. What could he do in three minutes, other then kiss her? Then something occurred to him.

"You're giving this to me? It's almost priceless, and you won't get another reward for another thirty years!"

"Huh, what could I use it for? Scaring some old friends maybe." Roland turned on the television. "Don't say any more about it."

"Oh come on," Brick said, "You must want something for it!"

"Well since you insist," Roland swung round, "you can baby-sit Brandy and cover my shifts while me an Ayton go to see Austria all-stars play Brazil all-stars at football. And buy me a new Austria scarf."

"I didn't think Austria played football."

"European football."

"Oh." Brick paused. This was too good to be true. "Thanks Roland," he said.

"Great. By the way, the match is over the over side of the Domain, so I'll be gone for a week. And Brandy's going to start teething. (The kid gurgled on cue). I hope you've got some aspirin…"


Okay thanks. Please review. (For anyone who's interested, it's possible to work out the year from this chapter. If you have a guess, tell me.)