Chapter 239: She Is Gaea part 1
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(Aden's P.O.V)
I tried to push away the memories from my Flame God form. I had concluded my tense meeting with the League and then taken them to the residential areas. Seeing Barry reunite with his girlfriend was heart warming and made me miss Kori and the kids even more.
Getting the others situated turned out be much easier as they each just disappeared into their assigned areas. The bots had simply led them to more reinforced and closely connected houses due to who they were.
Separating them would have been the wise move for sure and would probably lead to the League getting absolved eventually but an idea sprang into my mind. An idea that would ensure I would have nothing to worry about from the Justice League again.
After everyone had left, I was standing on the roof of a building with Batman and Wonder Woman behind me.
"Look around."
I spread out my hands.
"Tell me this isn't the closest to an ideal world that we can get."
"An ideal world is not backed by a dictatorship."
Batman was quick to answer.
"Let us agree to disagree on that front."
I moved past the aggressive move to start an argument. Jeez, you're already beaten, accept your defeat.
"What do you want Bruce?"
I asked him. The detective stood up straighter.
"A compromise. The world might not need our fighting skills but the League has much more to offer than that."
"So you want me to allow you the freedom to plot behind my back?"
I turned to look at him.
"You're not even going to try to give this a chance, are you Bruce? You have nothing. No money, no influence, no endless resources to throw at problems. Maybe this is an opportunity to see things from a different perspective. To understand how those who had nothing growing up, live their lives. There is honor in a simple existence."
Batman said nothing. His jaw was clenched as he kept a blank expression on his face.
"You've always wanted to leave the cowl behind. Maybe this is the time to do exactly that."
I pressed on.
"As long as there are people who try to enforce their ideas onto others, the world will need the Justice League."
Batman answered.
He reached to his cowl and removed it.
"But I am willing to do this differently." He amiably added.
"All I ask is for you to practice what you preach. You do not want to be a dictator, then allow us to see that. Give me access to what I need to make life better for the 7 billion lives you took it upon yourself to save. If you're afraid I'll be coming for you then I'll ask you where the confidence in the power you displayed went."
"Bruce."
Wonder Woman warned, however I held up a hand.
"You know what Bruce, I'm disappointed in you. You used to stand for something true but now you're resulting to provocation just to prove a point. The truth is, yes, I am afraid of you. But not because of what you can personally do to me. I'm afraid of you because you might be the final straw that broke the camel's back."
I stepped in closer.
"You see, when you're on my level, morals take a back seat. I care because I want to care not because society constraints me in a set of rules. I'm a god, a fact not narcism Bruce and if you want to keep pushing your luck, so be it. You're free to make any proposals to the current governing board responsible for humanity's integration into the world."
I smiled,
"The head is actually a good friend of yours. Lex Luthor. All the presidential representatives of each nation chose him as the leader of the United Earthling Coalition, the successor to the UN." I looked away in clear dismissal. Talking with Batman was always exhausting.
"I'm sure the both of you are going to have lots of fun."
I heard as the Dark Knight leapt away, finally leaving me with Diana.
She walked closer to stand next to me.
"You made the wrong choice. Bruce is relentless. This will not end the way you expect."
I snorted.
"On the contrary, it will end exactly as I predict. You fail to grasp something Diana, I know everything there is to know about each of you."
"Batman dreams of wrapping his hands around the joker and squeezing until light leaves his eyes. Hal craves for power to surpass any before him. The Thanagarians had a plan to slowly but surely annex earth to be a part of Thanagar, Kid Flash is always afraid that when he goes out to fight crime...one day his speed might not be enough and someone dies..." I turned to her.
"And you..." She tensed.
" You guard your inner thoughts with an impressive resolve because you are ashamed...you are ashamed because of what you want."
I touched her cheek with the back of my hand. She gulped and leaned into the touch.
"When did it start Diana? No. silly question. You're just attracted to strong men. First it was Clark because he could break the planet in half if he wanted, then it was Batman because his mind was even more deadly and then along the way...me. Powerful, smart, ruthless when it calls for it. The perfect combo of power and intelligence."
The illusion faded, showing that I had never left my position, content to stare at the wider world.
"We can never be a thing Diana because you lack something Kori doesn't. She chose me. You on the other hand will always be held back by ideals you do not even believe in and refuse to give up control. The point, to all this is that, you're all players in a game that I control. So start acting like it."
I didn't need to look behind to know she was clutching her fingers into tight fists. Winder Woman Was prideful, a warrior who had tussled with the best. She took a deep breath and looked up, trying to hide the pain of my rejection.
"Why did you want to see me?"
Her tone was formal, so I matched it.
"Your mother informed you of what your people have been doing to the males you sire right?"
She gave a curt angry nod. Her eyes were scrunched up in disgust.
"It is a barbaric practice."
I nodded.
"Exactly and now that the Amazons are not isolated inside an invisible island, I fear that interaction with the outside world will bring forth more than a few problems. My drones are currently monitoring their every action but it is not a permanent solution. One of my own will oversee a meeting between the two factions. Tell your mother that I'll summon her soon."
She agreed and left without another word. I ran a hand through my long golden hair and sighed. One last thing to do and then I could go get me some sweet Kori attention.
I warped to the budding UEC building (United Earthling Coalition) the zone before the UEC was undergoing construction for a very cool project. A 500 plus mega statue of yours truly. You see, something came to mind after realizing I could acquire more divinities through getting worshipers.
And I had a potential massive number of worshipers in my realm. So this was an experiment. An experiment to see if I could create a cult. Yikes, how the heck did my life turn out like this?
There was a lot of activity going on in the EUC building. The realm had copied the same design of the United Nations set up. So it was an eerily familiar human set up. The ongoing construction on that, seemed to freeze as a golden man appeared in the middle of the room.
Everybody raised their eyes to look up at me in wonder. Over 1000 people pointed and whispered as I floated above them to where I knew the elevator was to the conference hall. My body phased through the elevator shite and simply flew through metal and the material used in creating the walls to arrive through the floor of the UN secretary's dais.
A loud wave of gasps sounded out when my form emerged.
"What is the meaning of this?!
An asian representative who sat with a plaque that read Mongolia demanded only to have a massive pressure land in the room.
"You run your mouth with impudence mortal, unaware of what stand's before you."
Yaotl coldly stated.
"It's alright Yaotl, they will soon learn."
I waved him off, the pressure disappearing as they all watched me ascending to my rightful place.
My spirits, Vaatu and Yaotl, flanked a throne above the UEC's raised platform where Luthor sat with a strange look on his face. He stared at me with something unreadable. Then slowly, Luthor got up, faced me and bowed.
"Welcome to our humble discussion, your honor. We are glad to have you here."
Well well well, who knew Luthor could ass kiss. The best part, he was actually serious. He knew I had them all at a clear disadvantage. The new pecking order was me, then everything else in a descending list the way I wanted.
I was going to have so much fun.
(Elsewhere)
"Focus. Don't let your mind wander..."
I instructed. This was harder than I thought it would be.
"No, you're trying to press everything together and hold it with pure will, that will only exhaust you in the long run. It's like a puzzle piece...oh you don't know what a puzzle is?"
I sent her an image of what a puzzle was. It's individual pieces separating then combining perfectly to form something beautiful. We were communicating through a spiritual language. Her mind was not strong enough to bear my full touch, so i took special care not to bombard her with too much information. It was slow going but at the end, it would be worth it.
(General P.O.V) (3 days later)
He woke up feeling like he had had the longest and most relaxing sleep of his life.
Clark's eyes widened when he remembered everything that had happened.
"Lois!"
"Shh... I'm here Clark. I'm here."
A teary voice said, hugging him as if her life depended on it. Then she started bawling. Clark instinctively brought his palm to her back and rubbed her gently, holding her to his arms in a vice but gentle grip.
"Oh god...oh thank you god. I thought...I thought I had lost you."
"Shh, don't cry. I'm not going anywhere."
Tears were threatening to fall from his eyes as well. Over Lois' shoulder he saw his other precious people.
"Oh Clark my boy..."
His mom and dad were standing on the doorway.
"Ma, Pa...I missed you."
They both walked forward and came to hug him and Lois.
"Connor...?"
Clark asked. Ma and Pa looked at each other.
"He's outside. He wanted to give us some privacy." Pa shook his head.
"Told him he had to be here too. He's family too but..."
Clark nodded with a smile. He knew his son was just as stubborn if not more than him.
"I'll talk to him."
Clark assured, he could already guess what was troubling him. Guilt mostly. Only after a while did Clark notice that something was different.
"Umm...where are we?"
Finding Connor was easy. Crossing the long distance from the residential area the Kent family had been assigned was a different matter. Everything was so alien and there was much to see.
The buildings were built in the most optimal way possible to make for a fully occupied space without feeling too crowded. Clark had analysed the metal and concrete making up the walls of the building and found out that the material was constructed from a mineral that was highly resistant to damage as well as malleable to some extent.
Clark pushed his supervision to it's limit and managed to find conduits of energy running down to the ground from the residential house. Every building was not constructed on the wide flat area rather it was constructed FROM the ground itself.
He had to fly above the clouds to avoid detection. After what Lois and his parents had told him, he did not want to alarm anyone by his presence. Not until he regrouped with the Justice League and came up with a good excuse for why he had been missing.
His civilian identity was even more complicated to sort out. Where had Clark Kent been for the last 3 months? All these questions ran around his mind nonstop, as he enjoyed the scenery. The whole realm was beautiful. Vegetation randomly grew between the houses to provide a more wholesome feel.
The open ground and roads were just a smooth layer of the same material making up the buildings, and each building was constructed in the same monotonous way. Clark knew that would change soon as creativity have way to new color tones and ingenuity.
The whole of humanity was confined to one massive continent...it boggled the mind and left the recently awake Kryptonian shocked.
Far off into the distance, he could see a huge statue that was taller than the empire state building. The statue was still under construction but Clark could definitely see who the statue was being dedicated to. Aden.
Clark frowned. Unsure of his feelings on the young man. He had saved him and not only that but flashes of someone familiar when he had been under the control of...Clark stopped in place. He had been trying his best to avoid thinking about that. There was no reprieve to be found. All he could remember was a tiny dark space that squeezed unto him.
The sensation of space shrinking around his form, tightening. Like a hangman's rope choking him and...
"Are you alright?"
Connor arrived before him.
For a second both of them said nothing else and then Clark hugged the young teen.
"Connor!"
"Hey... dad." Connor smiled. That word didn't feel as weird now as it did back then.
"Glad to see you're awake and already looking for someone to save."
The younger boy joked, hiding his tears by wiping his eyes with his sleeves.
After the pleasantries, both Kryptonians floated around at a leisure pace.
"...And so that's when I decided to name myself Superion, hoping...no, knowing that you WOULD come back. Superman is a symbol of more than hope, it's an ideal we aspire to reach. You inspire the masses just by the mention of your name. It belongs to the people just as much as it does to you. I did not want to selfishly take it for myself."
Clark laughed.
"What?"
Connor asked, bewildered.
"I don't think I've ever heard you rant before."
Clark answered, patting the younger man's shoulder.
"I'm happy that you chose to go your own path, Superion. I'm happy that you found yourself. That you found an identity you can aspire to live up to."
Connor smiled. A genuine smile that lit up his face and eliminated the last few things that distinguished both men from each other. Connor looked like the spitting image of Clark.
Seeing the matching smile on his father's face, Connor looked away in guilt. That smile reminded him of his little brother. It reminded him that he had to break the news soon and that Clark would not take it well. For now though, he didn't have to worry about that in favor of even more urgent things to think about. No rest for the wicked indeed.
"Why don't I show you around some more?"
Connor offered to which Clark agreed to enthusiastically. The first place they flew towards was the beautiful lake that was to the east of Aden's statue. Getting
there took over 20 minutes at their leisure flight speeds, which was a lot.
The trip to the lake turned out to be just what they needed to break the ice fully as Connor told Clark about everything he had missed. The lake lacked a name though. Then they went back the way they came.
"Wow." Superman said, looking at the slowly enlarging Statue in his sight on their way back. Up close and the structure looked even more massive than he had initially thought, taller than the empire state building at least.
They pulled in closer, Clark stopping to stare at the masses of white and gray dressed people standing before the safety boundary of the foundation of the statue. A massive well of glowing white water shimmered in the afternoon sun. Behind the Statue was a huge stretch of castle like buildings making up the administrative complex.
"What are they doing?"
Clark asked, about to use his super hearing but deciding to first hear Connor's explanation.
The younger Kryptonian smiled.
"Worshipping."
Clark blinked.
"I see. So it's true then, the earth is truly destroyed and Aden saved everyone."
Connor nodded.
"More or less. However, it's a bit more complicated than that."
Clark frowned at the response.
"Follow me."
Connor informed him, taking off towards the west where a huge mountainous range took over for thousands of miles before the ground evened out again.
Clark followed behind with a confused frown on his face. They flew for a few hours before landing on a thick jungle leading up to the huge range. Clark had witnessed over a hundred different species of animals. Hybrids that made no biological sense.
Inside the jungle the phenomenon was even more common. Eventually, Clark could feel as his body passed through a film of energy. His sight eventually grabbed something peaking out of the rough and uneven terrain. A tower of sorts that was similar to the ones you'd see in fantasy movies.
"A magical veil?"
He questioned in the way of asking what purpose it served but Connor shook his head.
"Let's get there first."
They drew closer to the tower before finally passing through the huge openings and arriving in a sparse but neat reception area.
A woman in a white overcoat was behind the reception. She rose up in shock. Clark wasn't wearing his usual costume but was instead dressed in a strange garb that undulated with a certain energy, he couldn't clearly perceive even with his powers.
The garb was tight fitting, like the Solar Suit Connor had been wearing before. It was most likely something left behind by Hundun, then with a touch of Aden's power, the suit had changed into something else. Clark had the feeling that if he wanted, the suit could take on any form he willed.
The fact that the Receptionist recognized him while he was wearing the purple body suit made him do exactly that. He concentrated and willed for the body suit to change into his classic Superman costume. The red, blue and yellow was comforting to his eyes.
Connor whistled.
"Neat."
He walked forward, leaving Superman admiring his costume.
"The 9th slice of the pie please."
He informed her in secret code.
The pretty receptionist blinked and then pressed a button under the desk.
Connor stepped back as the ground lit up in a yellow glow.
"What is this Superion?"
Superman asked, intrigued as they stepped into the glowing circle.
"A group called Interests Of Humanity (IOH) has sprang up in the past couple days after Aden made a huge announcement."
The light swallowed them and a new view appeared before their eyes. It was an entire world made up of an unending white space. The horizon was more white and their outlines were different as well. A yellow mystic energy clad their bodies as they flew towards the only thing that looked out of place in the white world. A huge castle in the middle of all the white, the grey tones of its structure contrasted well with the white void around everything.
"A creation of Dr.Fate. Normally nothing can escape Aden's perception. This entire place is a pocket dimension linked to the Lord of Fate's helmet."
A look of suspicion appeared in Superman's eyes.
"Interests of Humanity. IOH." Superman's eyes grew hard.
"Bruce is part of this, isn't he?"
Superman wondered.
Connor looked at his father and sighed. They were drawing closer to the castle.
"Yes. And I need your help to stop him from getting himself killed...or worse."
Connor shivered.
Superman did not need to ask what was worse than death because he was already aware. They flew the rest of the way in silence.
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