Today was a winter night. My months here in Metropolis were unforgettable, although I still miss my past life. The truth is, I love being here with my friends but especially with my team.
During these months we had not only forged an enormous bond of friendship, but also. We have assembled the team of heroes that metropolis has been asking for for quite some time.
I was now in sweet justice with my team as I watched the snow slowly begin to fall. Barry was handing out hot chocolate to everyone until I saw a snowflake land in front of me.
"Hey Zatanna." I turned around to see my team but especially the magical girl.
"Yes? Tell me, darling." The magical girl said with a smile as she was drinking her hot chocolate.
"I think I'm ready to awaken my ice magic." I said smiling but my statement made the magical girl spit the chocolate out of her.
"What!? Umm, Benja, love. Don't you think this is too hasty? I mean, don't you want to find out more about elemental magic from Nozomi's book? I mean, you already met Yamato and Momoyo, how about you?" find another wizard? Zatanna asked nervously which caught everyone's attention.
"Sister, why are you worried that our Benja managed to awaken his ice powers? Is it dangerous magic?" Diana asked curiously causing Zatanna to sigh.
"A part of ice magic yes, it is dangerous. But to wake it up is even more difficult." Zatanna said before opening taking a book from her bag before opening it.
"Years ago. In the far lands, the ice mages kept themselves hidden on top of the most unforgiving and dangerous mountains that ever existed, not because of the place or lack of fear in them. It was because of their powers. It is said that ice wizards had such destructive and dangerous power that it was said that a touch on an organ by the hand of an ice wizard could cause fatal internal injuries."
"Over the years. The magicians were controlling their magic more efficiently and professionally, but that did not mean that they were so sociable. Yes, they had accepted that they would not attack the other clans again. But recover their Loyalty and trust would be difficult, it is said that these mages only come to the call of duty only if something threatens their people and each other."
"No one knows what happened to them. But it is said that an ice wizard only awakens his power when his mind is at peace, when all pain from the past fades and when his soul is in complete peace and harmony. Only like this can unlock its power." Zatanna said making everything go silent.
"Well, that's easy. Only Benja should meditate and." Kara was going to continue talking about but everyone saw that my hair covered part of my eyes.
"It's not that easy, Kara. My soul is not at peace, and. I feel miserable, miserable and disappointed. There are things from my previous life that I urgently need to resolve, I can't put it off." I said with a muffled voice which made everyone nervous.
"Benja. There is a way for you to achieve that goal." Zatanna said which caught my attention a lot.
"Remember when I said I can send you to your dimension? Well, I know a way you can go and maybe fix those problems you have." Zatanna said making me very surprised.
"That's true but. It won't be a complicated spell? I mean, maybe it's a spell you can't master yet." I said with concern but that made Zatanna laugh a little.
"It's not a spell. But, it's something much better that can make the task easier." Zatanna said which caught everyone's attention.
We all went to Zatanna's house. The magical girl was looking for something in Giovanni's room while the rest of the team and I were in the living room. At that moment, Zatanna returned but with a mirror covered by a blanket which left us a bit confused.
"Umm, Zee. Why the mirror?" Kara asked in confusion looking as the girl removed the blanket from the mirror and we saw that the mirror had silver rims adorned with multiple gems around it.
"Not just any mirror, Kara. In front of you is the Dimensional Mirror, an artifact made by the ancient wizard Merlin years ago. It is said that only in this mirror and no other, Merlin used it to travel between dimensions, and different realities. " Zatanna said making us all look at this with surprise.
"Incredible but. How does it work?" I ask curiously while looking at the girl.
"Very easy. This mirror uses magic to activate, once the portal is activated all that is needed is to use the thoughts of the person trying to travel somewhere. But there is a problem." Zatanna said making us all fall silent.
"This mirror has almost no magic left from the ancient wizard Merlin. It can only take one trip before it seals itself, once that happens. The portal will never activate again without Merlin's power." The magical girl said with concern making the girls hesitate but I went closer to see my reflection in the mirror.
"I'm going in." My statement made the girls completely petrified and stunned.
"Benja, did you lose your mind!?" Kara yelled in disbelief but they saw that I sighed and turned serious.
"I left things unfinished in my old home. Now I have the possibility to return and make my soul whole and at peace now." I said seriously leaving everyone silent.
"The portal will last a couple of hours open. Once you enter, we will be able to see everything you see as if the portal is following you. Please be careful." Zatanna said making me just give a nod.
I slowly knelt down before placing my hands on the ground. Slowly my hair started to catch fire as I used my magic on the mirror. I slowly close my eyes as I think of home.
Slowly the portal began to open and everyone saw that some kind of path was visible. The place was covered in snow, as were the trees, and a city could be seen in the distance.
"Benja, you did it." Zatanna said causing me to open my eyes and I was shocked. In front of me was my home, New York.
"It's my home. It's my home!!" I yelped in surprise but before I could move forward, Zatanna grabbed my hand.
"Benja, before you go. I have to give you something." Zatanna said before touching my ear and suddenly a magic circle appeared.
"It's a communication seal. When you're in there we won't be able to hear you, so that seal will keep us in communication until you get back." The magical girl said as she looked at me.
"Okay. I'll be back soon girls, wish me luck." I said nervously as I slowly walked through the portal.
When I opened my eyes I saw that everything around me was covered in snow. A strong wind shook my hair as I looked around and seeing that everything was almost as I remembered it, but the portal was not there.
"Girls? Are you there? What happened, where is the portal?" I ask with some concern as I look around me.
"Don't be scared, honey. The portal is only open in our dimension, in your dimension it won't be open. The only way to get back is if you think of metropolis or if one of us forces you out." Zatanna said through her communicator.
"Okay. Guess it's time to meet my old home." I said nervously before starting to fly at a low height and speed to avoid suspicion or anyone seeing me.
I slowly started to get to the city until I saw a cemetery. At that moment I stopped and looked around to find some change but everything seemed the same.
"The graveyard. It's still the same. I don't change anything at all." I said as I walk around the place until I stop at a grave.
The girls and I saw the grave until I decided to remove the snow that covered the tombstone and to my surprise and that of my team, it was my grave.
"Well. This is disturbing. I never thought I'd be in front of my own grave." I said with some fear but then I saw that in the distance there was another person standing in front of another grave.
"Maybe that person can tell me what year this is." I said as I start walking towards the other person.
"Be very careful, Benja. You can't give deep details of who you are or where you come from, try to give other information like another name or another identity." Barbara said through the comm.
"Okay, don't worry." I said as I keep walking but what the other person said. It left me completely disturbed.
"Hello, Tadeo. I'm so sorry I haven't come to visit lately, but. My job right now is very demanding and I hardly have time to come here to visit. I came all the way here, just to visit you and Benja. I really hope in God and in all the saints who are now together". Said the person as she left some flowers on the tombstone.
"Dad?." I said with a broken voice before looking at the grave in horror. It was my father's grave. Tadeo Escudero.
"No, dad. Not you." I said while trying not to burst into tears and control my magic but I saw that the other person slowly turned around.
The person was an older adult with blonde hair, the man was wearing formal clothes under the trench coat he was wearing, and the man had green eyes. When I saw that person I recognized him quickly.
"Fede?" I asked nervously but the other person seemed very surprised.
"How do you know my name?" Federico asked with confusion and at the same time with seriousness as the man slowly lowered his hand to his belt where there was a gun.
"Fede. You. You're my uncle Federico, my mom was Patricia. It's me, Benja." I said nervously but the other person seemed serious.
"Look motherfucker, you better not play with that shit because I swear I will." Federico was going to continue until I screamed.
"It's me, Benjamín Escudero! Remember!? Years ago I had a birthday party where I wanted to tell you that I lost weight but all my friends were there, then we had a talk and you made me make a promise that I know to this day standing up!!" I yelled at the top of my lungs generating a deep silence in the place.
The man looked at me with shock and slowly backed away until he fell to the ground, Fede's gaze showed pure terror, shock, astonishment and sadness.
"No, that's not true. He died in an assault!!" Fede yelled in disbelief but before he can pull out the gun I quickly stopped him.
"Fede, it's me! It's me! Look at me!" I yelled as I looked the man in the eye as he took my uncle's hands.
"Fede. Please. Remember, before when I was in Argentina. I spent the winter holidays with you and my grandmother together. Do you remember that?" I asked fearfully as the man slowly began to shed tears.
"No, no. He, he's dead. You." The man slowly seemed to be about to cry until I hugged him making him feel something that only family members separated for a long time could feel. The connection between families.
"It's me, Fede. It's me." I said as I hugged the man tighter while Fede couldn't take it anymore and he started to cry.
The girls watched this sadly as small tears fell from their eyes. They were happy, but they couldn't help but feel a little sore. The girls couldn't imagine being separated by their family for so many years.
"Benja. It can't be. It's really you but. How is this possible?" Fede asked with tears as I slowly calmed him down.
"There are many things to tell you about, Fede. But I think this is not the right place." I said as I help my uncle up.
Minutes passed and now I was in a coffee shop with my uncle. Things were still the same in my point of view but Fede noticed certain worrying changes but even so, he seemed serene and calm.
"This is. Shocking. I'm supposed to travel from Argentina to see your father's grave and yours. And now I'm sitting in a Starbucks with you when you're actually dead." Fede said with frustration while I looked at this with concern.
"Fede. This isn't easy for me either, listen. Many things have happened since I, umm well. I died, but I assure you that I am real and I am alive, my guardian angel revived me." I said while looking at my uncle but Fede quickly shook his head again and again.
"No no no no. This is just a side effect of my meds, this isn't real." Fede said but that left me petrified.
"Medications? What are you talking about Fede?" I asked seriously making my uncle nervous. At that moment I noticed something in his pocket and I quickly took it off, my uncle would try to stop me but I won and looked at the bottle of medications.
"Antidepressants!? Fede, you better explain to me what kind of shit these are right now." I said seriously but deep down I was very scared.
"Okay. But promise me you'll tell me later what happened to you and that shit you told me a while ago." Fede said before calming down and starting to speak.
"Everything went to shit when the news talked about what you did. People called you a hero, but when everyone found out about your death things only got worse for everyone. Tadeo, your father went into a deep depression for not being able to help you, he continued to work as a slave but now he was a different person."
"Day after day, month after month, your mother always called me because your father did not stop drinking alcohol every day, his only consolation in not being able to help you was the strongest alcoholic beverages like vodka or the purest whiskey that the could find. One fateful day the news reported that your father died in a car accident due to massive and dangerous consumption of alcohol."
"Things only got worse. Your mother's work could not progress due to the pandemic and many of us asked her to please return to Argentina, but they could not due to lack of money. Over time, your brothers continued with their lives. but they were never the same again. Unfortunately I never heard from them again and it's hard for me to say what happened to them."
"The news also affected the grandparents. They cried for your loss and prayed every day so that one day you could return, I did not want to ruin their hopes and I remained silent at all times. I do not deny it, I also wish you would return but I already knew that would be impossible."
"I was alone these last years. And I constantly come to see you and your father because I promised, that there would always be a flower on your grave as a memory of you." Fede said sadly.
The tears did not stop falling from my eyes, my heart at this moment felt that it was literally turning off while in me an immense feeling of pain and sadness invaded my entire soul.
"Mom. Mom. Where's my mom!?" I yelled as I lifted my uncle from his chair and my hair was covered in fire which scared everyone in the cafeteria.
"Speak! Where is my mom!?." I screamed in desperation as the tears only increased as did the immense pain inside me.
"In the hospital. She is in the hospital." Fede said fearfully as he points in the direction of the hospital with a trembling finger.
At that moment, I left Fede to then break down the door of the Starbucks, scaring all the passers-by. I looked in the direction of the hospital and was quickly covered in an aura of blue fire before flying at high speed towards the hospital.
"Benja stop. This is not right!" Jessica yelled through the comlink.
"Shut up!! I don't want to hear them!!" I yelled in anger as I increased my speed.
When I arrived at the hospital I immediately opened the doors violently before reaching the receptionist and lifting the man in the shirt.
"Where is she!?." I yelled in fury as the guards quickly closed in.
"Don't interfere!!" I yelled furiously unleashing a strong gust of wind that made the officers fall to the ground due to the force of the wind.
"Patricia. Patricia Forestello. Where is she!?" I yelled angrily scaring the poor man.
"O-On the t-third floor. In room 26." The man said fearfully before I released him and quickly ran to the third floor.
I ran through the corridors at high speed, jumping on the stairs until I reached the third floor. I immediately started searching for the room number until I found it and stopped in my tracks.
"Hey, stop right there!!" My eyes turned cold and steam slowly began to rise from my body as my hair changed color to ice blue as well as my eyes.
Just by touching the ground with the tip of my foot suddenly the ground trembled and behind me huge spikes of ice rose up that would pierce the ground and create a wall of ice.
When I put my hand close to the doorknob I saw that the knob seemed to be covered in ice. I slowly began to relax my body and mind getting my magic under control before I opened the door.
The first thing I saw, and I swear to God. It is something that I never wanted to see in my whole life, my mother was connected to a respiratory and cardiac machine. Her wrinkled skin, her almost white hair, I could feel that at any moment my heart was going to explode due to the pain.
"Mother?." I slowly started to walk around the room until I reached the bed where my mother was. My mom gently shook her head and slowly opened her eyes to meet my magenta eyes.
"Son?." At that moment I felt that at any moment I was going to burst into tears and I made a titanic effort not to cry but slowly some tears fell on my mother's old hands while she gently wiped my tears.
"Yes, it's me. It's me mom, I'm Benja but. How, how did you know it was me?" I asked with pain making my mom laugh a little.
"A mother always knows how to recognize her own child. She could recognize you even blind, but. What happened to you?" My mother asked as she looked at me and I delicately held her hands in mine.
"Mama. It's a long story, so many things happened that. I don't know where to start." I said nervously but my mom gently patted my hand to calm me down.
"Relax, Benja my love. And tell me everything you have to tell me." My mother said with a smile.
"Mom, remember. When I said I wanted to be a hero? Look, look at me." At that moment some vines covered my body and slowly disappeared to reveal my hero outfit which amazed my mom as I took off my mask and hood.
"I'm a hero mom, I'm a hero. Me. I belong to another place, another city, where heroes and villains that we thought were just science fiction, comics and anime, everything is real. I now live in a city called Metropolis, I have a team of heroes and we fight crime together."
"Me. God, there is so much to tell you about this and how it happened. I don't know if you can believe me, surely you think this is all just an illusion or something." I said sadly but I saw that my mother put her hand on mine.
"Please son of my soul, tell me everything." My mother said with a smile as I started talking to her.
Time passed almost instantly. I didn't care about the time, I didn't care about what was going on around us, I was having what I always wanted for a long time. Being able to talk to my mom. Fights, training, appointments, my magic, my reincarnation, the existence of guardian angels, I didn't keep a single detail to myself.
"My son. You have lived through so many things, I would have liked to have been there to see you in your most beautiful moments." My mom said with a smile making me smile.
"I also wish you were with me, mom." I said smiling but then my smile changed to a disappointed expression.
"I'm sorry mom. This is all my fault, dad, Uncle Fede, my grandparents. This is all my fault, if only I had been better, or fought harder. None of this would have happened." I said as tears fell from my eyes as my hair slowly seemed to darken and my eyes changed to a blood hue.
"I'm a miserable coward. I failed everyone and everything is like this because of me. Forgive me mom, please." I said with anger but at that moment my mom took my hand making me look at my mother who showed me a soft smile.
"My son. Don't say such ugly things to yourself. You are a boy with a big heart, what you did is something unique, you proved to be strong and brave, I am proud of you for everything. Just look at what you have become, You are a man now. I never stopped being proud of you, and I never lost my faith in you." my mother said with a smile before slowly moving her hand closer to a drawer before pulling out a small box.
"Every day. During these years, I asked God to please one day tell me how you are. I wrote these letters for you during this time, and every time I remember you I always think of all our moments. And now, I want to give it to you." My mother said as she hands me the box.
I slowly opened the box only to see a photo of my entire family with me, letters from my mom and multiple drawings of my brothers. I felt my heart calm down and my hair and eyes were slowly returning to normal.
"Mother." My eyes filled with tears and unable to contain it any longer, I hugged my mom and started crying like I had never cried before in my life.
"I don't want to lose you, finally after so long I was able to see you again, I never want to lose you again. I love you, I've always missed you and I miss our family. Please don't leave me." I said desperately as my mother gently held my back.
"My son. I will never leave you, wherever you go, I will accompany you, when you feel alone I will be there by your side, if you cry then I will hug you to calm your pain, if you feel alone you must remember that I will never leave by your side and I will always see you even if you can't see me, I will always listen to you even if you don't notice me, and I will always be with you, even if you don't feel it."
"Live your life. Live each day of your life as if it were your last. Fight, scream, cry, fall in love, run, jump, be free. I want you to be free, spread your wings and show the whole world who you are and that you are capable of, do not feel bad if we are no longer with us by your side. You should know that mom loves you and will never stop loving you, and I will always be with you. In your heart." My mother said with tears making me cry.
"I love you too, mom. I will never leave you, and I will never forget them. I promise." I said smiling before seeing my mom.
"You are my greatest pride. And my huge baby, son of my heart." My mother said as she slowly closed her eyes.
"I love you son."
A noise. That noise that would be engraved in my mind, heart and soul. In horror, I looked at the heart machine only to see that there was no pulse. That feeling of loneliness, a deep emptiness and pain took over me again as my hair and eyes changed color again as before.
"No, no, no!! Mom, please don't leave me mom!!" I screamed in horror before covering my hands with electricity but my electricity was now magenta. Without wasting time I began to give electroshocks to my mom's body but it didn't work.
"Please, I beg you. Don't leave me, mom!!" I yelled as I continued but no matter how hard I tried, each attempt was useless.
At that moment I felt something grab me and pull me hard causing me to quickly grab my box and hold on to the bed.
"No, please wait. I can't abandon her, let me go!!" I screamed in desperation but suddenly I was pulled hard making everything behind.
The girls pulled hard and I suddenly shot out of the portal before falling to the ground with a jolt and the box fell to the ground causing everything to lie on the floor.
"Benja! My love, are you alright?" Zatanna asked with fear but the girls saw that I slowly got up from the ground with my hair covering my face.
"Open it. Open that portal again." I said coldly causing an immense silence to fill the room.
"Benja." Jessica tried to speak but everyone fell silent as she looked at them with blood red eyes.
"My mom. She stayed behind. I can't leave her. Please let me go back to her again." I said coldly as I tried to open the portal but it was useless.
"Benja, please."
"She may still be alive. Maybe my lightning magic still works, maybe I just had to use more power." I kept trying to open the portal but at that moment Kara grabbed my hands tightly.
"Snowball, wake up once and for all! She's gone, we're sorry. And forgive us for having taken you out, but if we didn't do anything, the portal would open and close and you would have stayed there!!" Kara yelled but suddenly my hair was covered in an attempted dark fire which surprised everyone.
"Shut up!! You have no idea what you're saying, Kara Danvers!! I could have saved her, but you guys had to interfere!!" I yelled before breaking free and expelling a huge gust of wind that made everyone back up and suddenly there was the sound of something breaking.
"No.." I ran until I reached the mirror. The mirror was destroyed due to the wind. Slowly lift the fragments of the portal while in the room an immense cold was present in the place.
The girls watched with sadness and concern that I began to cry as the cold increased. Slowly my team approached where I was but every step they took, the girls felt the cold was more powerful.
"I just love my mom. Is that too much to ask for!? All I ask is to see my family again even if it's just one fucking miserable time!" I yelled in anger before flying out of the room at high speed.
"Benja!!" Diana tried to stop me but Zatanna stopped her.
"Diana, no. I think we'd better leave Benja alone." The magical girl said sadly as everyone looked in the direction I went but Barbara then noticed my box and slowly checked the things inside.
I was now on the city bridge looking at the buildings with a cold gaze. My hair returned to normal but my body was still expelling cold and my eyes were a combination of magenta and ice blue, at that moment I looked at the photo of my family and shed a small tear in the photo.
"My whole family. Every one of them, I lost them." I said while my gaze was off.
"There is no hope left." I said as I dropped the photo letting the wind take the photo. However, I never noticed a person who was close to me.
"Benja?" I turned around only to see Selina close to me.
"Selina? But what are you doing here? It's already too late." I said surprised as the girl walks to where I was.
"Oh well. I just finished work, and I'm walking home until I saw you." Selina said as the girl discreetly put something away but then she noticed my empty eyes.
"Why are you here alone? Is everything alright?" Selina asked as she sat down next to me.
"No. Nothing is fine." I said sadly making the girl put a hand on my shoulder.
"Why don't you tell me what's going on with you? I think you need to get something off your back, and if you need to cry then I'll be your shoulder to cry on." Selina said with a smile full of confidence.
"It's just. Have you ever felt when finally after months of nightmares, silent crying and sleepless nights you find a person you lost for a long time, only for that person to end up not being with you anymore?" I asked sadly making Selina pay attention.
"I feel that it no longer makes sense to move on. What is the use of continuing if that person that mattered so much to you, those people who were always there from the first moment of your life and who are supposed to be with you always until the end, you lose them forever?."
"At one moment you are in the arms of your parents and from one moment to another, you are in the middle of the ocean, in an eternal labyrinth and in a darkness that only expands to infinity without anyone being with you. I know I have friends , and people who appreciate me. But. All I ask, for God's sake, I ask. It's just one more minute with my family." I said tearfully making Selina take my hand.
"I understand you. I know how you feel." At that moment I looked at Selina while the girl looked at the stars in the sky.
"Years ago. I had a family, and a little sister. Heh, I remember it well. My mother was a loving person and my father, although he worked a lot, always managed to make me smile and brighten my day just like my little sister. "
"However. Life can never be rosy, my parents were constantly arguing and we had no choice but to resign ourselves and put up with that shit, and even though I used to get angry, my sister could barely tolerate it. Later on we lost our parents and had to learn to fight on our own."
"However, as if things couldn't get any worse. My sister left me, so now it was me alone against the world. However, I think it's understandable that she left. I made mistakes before in the past that she could never forgive and surely she would rather die than speak to me again."
"Sometimes I get to thinking that if I had thought better of the things I did, and could have at least had a measly shred of value in my parents, things would be different. But that's not the point." Selina said before looking at me.
"The point is that you shouldn't give up. Life yes, it can be hard, life sucks, when you think you're fine, it suddenly comes and knocks you to the ground, over and over again. But you have to know this."
"The world can be a mean and horrible place, but you have to think positive and move on. I know it's hard and I know I've been through the exact same thing, I can tell how you feel and I know you may feel like your life It sucks now and there's no point in going on."
"But think of all those people who always supported you. In all those people who were always by your side and even though they are no longer with you, they will never stop supporting you and continue with you. Benja, please. Perhaps you are going to Give up? Are you going to quit just because you lost? We all come to a time in our lives where we have to be free."
"Spread our wings and go on with our lives. You may have lost your family, but they will always be with you in your heart. Never deny that, they will never leave you and they never will." Selina said with a smile making me look at everything in amazement.
"Selina, me. I have no words, thank you very much. You're right, I'm not giving up. I'm going to keep going for my family and all my friends." I said smiling making Selina laugh a little.
"That's the attitude I wanted to see." Said the girl with a smile but she was surprised when she kissed her on the cheek making Selina stunned.
"Thank you Selina, I owe you a lot." I said smiling and at that moment we saw that it started to snow which caught our attention.
"Looks like Christmas is getting closer. I think it would be best if I walked you home, Selina. I don't want you to get sick." I said smiling making the girl come back from her daze.
"Huh? Oh yeah. Thanks Benja." The girl said as the two of us walked away.
We both started to walk but at one point Selina shyly leaned her head on my shoulder making me blush as well as her. I smiled sheepishly as she continued walking but didn't notice that Selina was purring with a small smile.
Today may not be as good a day as I had hoped. But now I knew what to do, what my greatest mission and goal is. Take care of my city, and my new family. Until the end.
So far today's chapter. I hope you liked it and I also hope you are enjoying the story so far.
Thank you very much for the comments you leave me. Every time I read them, I am always inspired to continue making more chapters and I hope that the stories you are liking as well as you are.
I hope everyone has a good day, afternoon or night. See you later, goodbye dattebayo.