Chapter 36 - Fear
Chapter Summary
Previously, Clark was kidnapped by Zazie and questioned about his involvement with the invaders stealing the Plants.
Now, will Clark accept an alliance with the last person he'd expect: Millions Knives? And can Meryl help Vash through his own fears.
Lifting his head with a groan, Clark swept his gaze across the dark room searching for whoever Zazie had called "Big Brother." A fluttering motion on the other side of the glass partition caught his eye.
The silvery-white outer layers enshrouding the cocoon in the center of the aquarium slowly peeled away. They shifted from soft, feather-like petals into slithering rows of metallic scales. The extra bulk dissolved like sparkling ashes.
The half-obscured mass began drifting closer to the glass. As the shape neared, the glass surface rippled as if liquid itself. Clark watched transfixed as the mass phased right through the glass and dropped feather-light to the floor.
The form had melted away, leaving behind only a cloaked, person-sized silhouette. Bare feet, visible under the bottom edge of its bladed shroud, carried them a few heavy steps forward. Wet footprints trailed behind.
That overwhelming pressure of malice was undoubtedly emanating from this figure.
With all his remaining strength, Clark pushed himself to stand. He couldn't let a potential threat take advantage of his inopportune bout of weakness.
"Beast. You are dismissed."
The figure's voice was a smooth, masculine baritone. Their sudden command shocked Clark out of his daze.
"Aw, we were just getting to the interesting questions!" Zazie whined but hopped off the chair.
The cloaked figure turned ever so slightly to face Zazie. But without any further protest, Zazie huffed and waved to Clark. "Byeee Superman. Catch ya later!" Their body shattered into dozens of brightly glowing green, winged insects. The Worms fluttered about the room, a number flying uncomfortably close to Clark. A moment later, they were all gone.
Clark was surprised to feel a trickling of energy flowing back into him. His shaky stance became more steady. Had Zazie somehow stolen his power to bring him here but then gave some of it back? But why?
"Pardon the Worms. I merely asked the Beast to extend an invitation to you. They are yet uncivilized and barbaric in their methods."
"Who are you? Where am I?" Clark asked, attempting to keep his nervousness out of his voice.
"Ah, who am I?" His host gave a soft chuckle. "I am but a crusader charged with the protection and salvation of my brethren." He gestured to the tank, a pale hand extending from a loose cloak sleeve. "This vessel is what little remains of our refuge after the obliteration of JuLai."
Clark finally took a closer look at the large, flowering shapes inside the basin. He walked over to the partition, resting a hand on the glass and gazing up. He immediately recognized the somewhat humanoid figures of the Plants, recalling the one he'd first seen unfurled on the sandsteamer.
A few Plants had wrapped their wings back around themselves, returning to their budded states. The others seemed to slowly be following suit. Clark caught the oddly blank yet captivating stare of one of the Plants before its wings covered its face. Unable to get a read on what the Plant felt or thought, an unsettling feeling constricted his chest.
Clark brought his wary gaze back to his host. The glistening blades enveloping the man—the Independent Plant—finally clicked. "You're Vash's brother, right? Millions Knives."
The material of Knives's hood dissolved, revealing an angular but gaunt face half-covered with long, untamed platinum blond hair. A narrowed pale green eye pierced straight through Clark.
Despite Knives's uncanny resemblance to Vash, their expressions—the look in their eyes—were further than polar opposites. Where Vash's eye had radiated a somewhat mischievous, unguarded gentleness, Knives's visible one exuded cold, calculating contempt.
"Vash. Yes. My dear little brother," Knives replied, his voice soft but lacking genuine fondness. A nostalgic smile flickered on his face, but it was gone in a blink.
"What has my brother been doing all this time? While this scourge from beyond the stars has been whisking away our sisters." Knives turned to face the other Plants. "By now, Vash must know I have survived and have requested his return. Conrad sent the Punisher to retrieve him, did he not?"
"The Punisher? Wait. You mean the priest, Wolfwood?" Clark asked, not quite following.
"Priest." Knives chuckled again. "Yes, Nicholas the Punisher is one of the Eye's best soldiers. An unruly servant but remarkably efficient with his duties."
Clark felt sick to his stomach.
The black-suited man who'd been traveling with Lois, Jimmy, and Vash was actually working for Knives? Had Wolfwood intended to betray them this whole time? Clark just couldn't believe it. Despite the man's cool demeanor, they'd shared meals and laughter together. He recalled how easily Meryl and Wolfwood teased one another.
Clark felt an uncharacteristic flare of anger. His first clenched so tightly the leather of his gloves creaked in protest. He took a daring step forward to position himself in front of Knives. "If you want to see Vash again so badly, why bring me here and not him?"
Knives drew his gaze down to Clark. He closed his eyes for a moment and sighed.
"Vash will come in due time. However, perhaps another may convince him where I have been unsuccessful. Someone my brother will listen to.
"I have pleaded with Vash for over a century to help me protect our kin. To stand by my side while we build Eden together. A place where we are no longer in pain. Have no more fear. A true home, unlike this decrepit hovel or their secluded prisons scattered about the desert."
Clark frowned, taking in Knives's words. "You think Vash doesn't want to find a way to help the Plants?"
"He allows them to remain in the clutches of the humans, does he not? To be locked inside their cages until they shrivel away into nothingness?"
"But, I mean… Don't the people care for the Plants? Like uh, a symbiotic relationship?" Clark tried to remember all the notes Meryl had shared. Not only was she not an expert herself, but apparently a lot of the knowledge about the Plants had been lost through the generations. She explained that most people only thought they were a form of Lost Technology without a clue of their sentience.
Knives's sudden echoing laughter filled the chamber. He pushed uncomfortably close into Clark's space bearing a Cheshire smile. Clark went wide eyed and took a few steps backwards.
"Symbiotic?" Knives's laughter calmed down, his voice still amused. "No. Humans are parasites." His tone abruptly twisted with revulsion, his smile into a grimace.
"They are like the ticks of the universe. Sucking the blood of every living thing in their grasp." Knives gestured with his arms and hands to match the emotion of his words. "Plants, animals, the earth itself. Each other. Spreading like a disease and laying waste as they go."
Clark tried to find the words to defend the people—the race—that adopted him. Taken him in like one of their own. His Earth wasn't ravaged like Meryl said theirs was, but he had to admit, humans needed to take more responsibility for the wellbeing of the planet. And of each other.
Knives stepped closer to Clark. Knives's green eye practically glowed from within the shadows. Actually, no, it was literally glowing.
"Not all humans are like that," Clark said just above a whisper. "Most are kind, and giving, and want to make the world a better place for all. From what I've seen, your brother believes in them too. He'd risk his own life for someone in need."
"My little brother is misguided. Stubborn. Vash is indecisive and refuses to take action. He shirks away from our mission while our sisters suffer. While they are slaughtered."
"But hasn't Vash tried to bridge the gap between Plants and humans? Helped to find ways to lessen their burden?" Clark countered.
"His efforts are futile," Knives's voice rose as he sliced a hand through the air. "Unfortunately, my wayward twin refuses to see what is happening right before his very eyes. Vash is blind to our oppression, willing to believe the human's deceptions."
"I don't know your brother that well, but he seems anything but oblivious to your plight. Or to the relationship between humans and Plants."
Knives and Clark paused their exchange, the two considering each other thoughtfully.
Clark cleared his throat. He rocked his hand, palm up. "Surely you can find a way to compromise? Talk it out, brother to brother?" He gave a weak smile.
Knives sighed again, bowing his head. "I've tried countless times to convince him of the truth. Our conversations circle one another endlessly like the moons orbit this barren rock. His idealistic sentimentalism traps him in illogical daydreams." Knives raised his head again, the shadows falling away from his face. His long hair fell away, fully uncovering his face.
Clark barely held in a gasp.
A gruesome burn scar, yet unhealed, marred the left side of Knives's face. The visible red musculature and eye socket looked painfully raw. Missing skin and lips exposed inhumanly sharp fangs. Clark could only imagine what other unhealed injuries lay hidden under Knives's bladed cloak.
Despite his eyes lingering on the wound, Clark finally noticed Knives's expression. For a moment, Clark saw a genuine hopeless, sorrowful darkness in the Independent's eyes.
Clark hesitantly took a step forward. Knives's scowl returned instantly. He tilted his head so his hair obscured his face again. Clark gulped, feeling a chill run down his spine. "Uh, so, can I help you two talk it out or something? Is that why you had Zazie bring me here?"
"I invited you here because I believe we are not dissimilar. The Beast has observed you closely since you arrived on their desert plains. At first, I did not believe the Beast's claims of a strange foreigner, neither Plant nor human. A being with superior powers who instilled fear amongst the humans—"
"What? No!" Clark interrupted, waving his hands frantically. "Okay, maybe people are a little wary of someone different, but 'instilling fear'? That's a bit much, don't you think?" He rambled, forgetting for a moment his own fear of the man before him.
"I think the humans' fear speaks for itself." Knives stepped over to the wide desk with numerous computer monitors which faced the glass tank. He hunched over the keyboard and typed a few commands. He gave a definitive last tap.
"—another statement from the December City authorities, as well as the Federal Army battalion stationed in Ripmela. General Blankenship— who serves as commanding officer of the military intelligence department—addressed the Union yesterday afternoon."
It sounded like a radio broadcast. Whether live or recorded, Clark wasn't sure.
Another deep male voice on the broadcast spoke next.
"The Alliance of Seven Cities Federal Militia has issued a $$80,000,000 bounty for the flying cloaked being, henceforth dubbed 'The Doombringer.' The Doombringer is wanted alive for questioning in its involvement with the alien abductions of over twenty Plants across the planet.
"Our intelligence has gathered that this individual has exceptionally augmented strength, speed, and other supernatural abilities. With the possibility that this man or creature is an alien itself, its intentions are still unknown.
"If the Doombringer poses any sort of immediate threat, hunters reserve their license to kill and bring the Doombringer in dead for partial reward—"
Knives tapped a key, this time with less intensity. The audio turned off, leaving the room in foreboding silence.
—T&J—
Meryl took another cautious step into the dark room. "Vash?" she called in a lower voice than before.
Even though the hall light spilled into the front of the room, the back was hidden in shadows. She swiped a hand around the walls to the side of the door looking and failing to find a light switch. "…Needlessly complicated lost technology… Can't even turn on the lights…" she grumbled, giving up.
With another step inside, she spotted subtle movement in the back right corner. She sucked in a sharp breath, but berated herself for being startled. If it was Vash, there was nothing to be afraid of.
She willed herself to creep closer to the corner. Meryl let out a breath making out the dulled red of his duster. She whispered, "Vash? It's just me…"
Another step had Meryl almost falling flat on her face as she tripped over his gangly leg. The black of his pants had been completely obscured by the dark. She let out an only half-restrained screech as she ungracefully collapsed into his lap, her face smooshed against his chest.
Meryl scrambled to get off Vash, embarrassed and worried he'd be even more upset. And to think he'd always been the clumsy one! She was just glad Wolfwood wasn't around to see her lose her composure!
"I am so sorry! I just—" Meryl began, walking a knee over his thigh, trying to maneuver herself to his side. She braced a hand on the wall and another on his shoulder for leverage.
She paused and glanced up, realizing Vash hadn't responded whatsoever. He'd always had lightning-fast reflexes. Her concern grew, knowing he hadn't even braced himself or caught her as she fell.
"I'm sorry," Vash whispered.
Meryl's heart dropped. She was the one who collapsed on him! Why was this doofus apologizing?
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Vash's whispers grew more desperate, more choked.
Baffled, Meryl didn't really know how to respond. "Hey. Vash, it's okay. It was my fault. I should be apologizing—"
Wet drops hit the back of her hand. She felt them trickle off, soaking into the shoulder of Vash's coat.
"I-it's all my fault. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I didn't mean it," Vash sobbed.
Now more accustomed to the dark room, Meryl could tell Vash's face was turned to his left, pressed up against the wall. She squinted, noticing something odd about the wall too. She leaned forward, both to get a closer look and to reach out to coax Vash to face her.
"What the…" she sucked in another breath. The odd marks on the wall were jagged tally marks in sets of five that covered the surface like engraved wallpaper.
She snapped her head to peer at Vash. "Vash! Please, look at me! I… want to help. Please…"
Vash shuddered, a ragged breath escaping him. After a few more whispered "I'm sorries" Meryl palmed his cheeks and tugged his face forwards. He was utterly pliant under her touch. And it was strange; she didn't feel his glasses.
His eyelids fluttered open. Meryl full-bodied flinched and ripped her hands away. Vash's eyes glowed, his Plant markings blazed a pale blue-white. They widened but his gaze seemingly passed right through her as if she weren't even there.
—L&P—
Visions from the reign of destruction wrought by Supermen alters from across the multiverse replayed over in Clark's mind. Buildings obliterated in the blink of an eye, unmoving bodies crushed under rubble, fire engulfing the cities.
Even with Lois and Jimmy's reassurances that Clark wasn't sent to Earth as a weapon… Even if the citizens of Metropolis had cheered Superman on... Maybe wherever Superman went, chaos and destruction was destined to follow in his wake.
The Doombringer.
Clark gave a sardonic, breathy laugh. No. No. A bringer of doom couldn't be his fate! He wouldn't become that!
He wanted to help! To be a force for good, to inspire people around him to stand higher and lend a hand to their neighbors and those in need. Build a better world, not burn it into ashes.
"Can you see? It is in their natures." Knives began to circle Clark. "Humans will always lash out at those who frighten them. They know no better. 'Shoot first and ask questions later' is one of their favorite mantras. Their prejudice convicts us on the spot, sentences us to death even before any evidence is brought forward."
"But…" Clark's thoughts swirled but the words wouldn't form. "They're not… It's not that simple," he tried.
"Tell me. Are there many of your race where you come from?"
Clark struggled with how to respond. "I don't know… I've never met another Kryptonian… on Earth that is…"
"I see. That feral beast who calls himself Lobo may have spoken the truth then."
Clark went wide-eyed again. "Wait, you met Lobo?!"
"Let's say the creature is, ah, currently another one of my guests at the moment," Knives said with a grin. "Excluding a few flavorful, choice words, he spoke quite highly of your Kryptonian Empire. A true shame to hear of its downfall."
Knives gave Clark a pitying glance. "I digress…"
"My other guest also seemed rather… displeased at failing to capture two enticing bounties. Yours and my dear brother's. Only, I cannot understand why my brother enjoys being hunted. Surely, you don't desire the same? To be hunted for sport."
"Well… No, not particularly…" Clark had to agree. He had fought back against Task Force X multiple times. Constantly defending against their ambushes. He'd only escaped his imprisonment because of another's attempt to hunt down and exterminate Superman. Only when Ivo broke his shackles did Superman regain the ounce of strength needed to flee.
"Then, will you accept a treaty of alliance? I have a great number of resources. With time, I guarantee I could find a solution to return you home. All I ask in return is to lend me your power where my brother will not."
Knives held Clark's gaze unwaveringly.
Clark's gut warned him against the offer, but his heart and mind were lulled by Knives's words. In the same way Clark was beginning to feel a kinship with Vash despite barely having met, he could sense Knives had gone so long without anyone who could understand him. Besides Vash and the Dependents, Knives was the only one of his kind on his world.
Just like Clark.
But maybe Knives had also thought Clark could help repair the divide between him and Vash. Both sides sounded reluctant to work together. If all the details Meryl shared with him were true about Lost July, getting the twins to reunite without them fighting seemed impossible.
But Superman had achieved the impossible before, hadn't he? Maybe this was a job for Superman.
Maybe… He at least had to try.
—T&J—
"I'm sorry I'm not good for anything!"
"When they wake up, do you think they'll accept us?"
"I'm a Plant too!"
"There's no difference between a human's heart and ours, right?"
"I'm useless. I can't do anything."
"Is that kid the monster they picked up?"
"Look at him! What a little creep!"
"Why don't they just kill it already?"
"The brat's a monster not a human! He's never been on our side!"
"You'll have to choose a side at some point, you know."
"Who's side are you on?!"
"You share blood with that monster? Get outta my sight. And get the hell outta my town."
"You! You monster!"
"I know how they treat you. Look at yourself. You're a monster. Whoever you don't scare to death is disgusted by you. They hate you…"
"It's our fault!"
"You did all of this, you know. What happens when they find out?"
"They will never hope to understand. They're the enemy!"
"Do you intend to cling to your old way of life? Do you really believe that the scum known as humankind should be saved?"
"I don't know! I don't know! How could I know?!"
"Your very existence is a contradiction!"
"I'll do whatever it takes to have them believe in me!"
"They will only ever see us as slaves! How long will you remain the hunted?!"
"No pain. And no more fear! A home… for you and me. A paradise… for us."
—L&P—
AN:
I've been struggling with this scene for a long time. I'd like take a somewhat one-dimensional Knives from TriStamp and give him back a little more TriMax nuance. I don't think it shows up much in this chapter for intentional reasons, but hopefully I do him justice further in.
Also, since I'm writing as I post, please excuse any glaring pacing or plot hole issues. I know I should edit more, but I'm doing my best. I do have an outline for the ending, but it's not quite as fleshed out as the beginning. I might have to come back to these newest chapters once I've wrapped up this arc.
Thanks for your continued support!
Love & Peace