Bab 2: CHAPTER 1
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I was on my way home after a hard day's work. I was quite tired and a little tense, but that was to be expected; fifteen hours of work a day will do that to you.
My job was nothing glamorous or fancy, but it was necessary; I worked with the Police IT department helping them with their systems.
I started two months ago after I came of age, and the pay was good.
But sometimes I wish I didn't have to work so much, but nothing is perfect, right?
"No traffic today; that's weird," I commented as I continued to drive home. Usually, the streets at the current time were full of people going to lunch. Yet, they were empty, outside of the occasional car and truck passing by, which was an impossibility in New York of all places.
With a smile, I dismissed those thoughts; why complain about the lack of traffic? This way, I would get home faster, which meant I would get to sleep faster, which would make me very, very happy.
As I smiled at that thought, a bright light blinded me, followed by a familiar sound I had heard before, the sound of tires screeching, though this time the sound wasn't in a movie, it was coming towards me. Seconds later, I felt a lot of pain, as my car was lifted into the air by the sudden violent hit, all while I lost consciousness.
I didn't know what had happened, but I knew something had hit me, that much was clear before I closed my eyes.
When I opened my eyes again, I could hear the sirens of the police and the fire department while my face rested in a puddle of my own blood inside my car.
I couldn't move; I could only faintly hear what was happening around me, but not very clearly. It was like hearing underwater, distorted, and far away.
Surprisingly I was calm, and not because I thought I was going to be rescued. No, something inside me was clear that I was going to die, that there was no way to save me, and even with the prospect of my imminent death, I was calm.
As I sank into my thoughts of acceptance of death, a light came into my tired eyes, blinding me.
"His pupils are unresponsive." I heard someone say in a worried tone.
"He has five penetrations, one in the throat, two in the abdomen, and two in the legs." added another person with the same tone.
"He's bleeding out; we have to help him," exclaimed the first person I heard before, who was blinding me with a flashlight, I guessed.
"No... I don't think we can." the second person added with a defeated tone.
While these two debated about my survival, I was laughing in my head, dying in a car crash; what a cliché. Still, I guess it's an ending like any other, how tired I am.... when I asked to rest... I didn't mean this, but maybe it's my fault for not specifying.
And with that last thought, my eyes stopped seeing, my ears stopped hearing, and my mind stopped thinking.
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[Star City. October 17, 19:30 PDT. 1995]
I opened my eyes again, and I was confused; I didn't feel like before, I didn't feel pain like I probably should've had, no, I felt different, it was hard to explain.
I immediately noted that I could not move, or rather, my body did not move as I wanted it to move.
I felt uncoordinated, out of control, like when you are drugged for an operation, but with all your mental faculties still intact, it was aggravating and very troubling.
Eventually, I managed to move my body to my right side to see something that didn't make much sense, a teddy bear, a giant teddy bear laying on the bed I was currently occupying; as far as I could see, it was as big as me.
Why would I have a giant teddy bear? Why would the hospital give me one… sighing I moved my eyes away from the teddy bear to see what else was around me, only to find some kind of bars surrounding my bed, wooden ones by what I could tell, my sight wasn't cooperating with me a lot today.
Bars and a giant teddy bear, none of this made any sense. Was I perhaps sleeping?
"Mom!" I heard someone say excitedly. "The baby is awake!"
The baby?
"Hello." a giant head peeked through the bars towards where I was looking. "I'm your big sister, and you must obey and listen to me." she declared, as I realized she was looking at me.
A giant blonde girl... something wasn't right...
She wasn't a giant, was she?
Suddenly it all made sense, to an extent of course. A giant teddy bear, a giant girl smiling at me.
It was all a matter of perception; these things weren't big, I was small, I was a baby.
Well, this I was not expecting.
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[Star City. October 23, 09:30 PDT. 1995]
Status update? Well, I was right with my first assessment, I was a baby.
I suppose there are worse things than being unable to shit properly like God intended or talk or move properly at all, I better not continue lest I want to become the first clinically depressed baby.
My new name was apparently David Lance.
My new sister aka the giant blonde girl that initially scared the crap out of me, her name was Dinah Lance, I wonder if she's a fan of Black Canary.
My new father was Larry Lance, a police officer from what I could see every now and then when he came to see me with his uniform.
And my new mother was Dinah Drake, no idea what she does, besides taking care of me.
Anyhow, I was a baby.
Quite the predicament, right?
Not much to say beyond that.
Life is monotonously boring as a baby, you eat, you process your food, you sleep, and rinse and repeat.
You have no control over it too, I get hungry many times a day, I sleep a lot, and well… soil my diaper a lot.
Though like I said before, not all is bad, yes it's depressing sure, but I'm alive, that has to be worth something, at the very least.
Yes, it would be torture for a bit, but not for that long, I mean, by my second birthday I should be able to go as adults say potty relatively alone, and walk, meaning I only really had two years of baby prison ahead of me, which is not that bad considering the situation.
Maybe even less, I was an adult in a baby's body, I should be able to learn things faster, right?
Though I wasn't sure how physically possible that was, I mean, for all I knew the body needed to mature to do certain things, and I couldn't rush those things, I guess I'm about to find out.
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[Star City. February 03, 15:30 PDT. 1997]
A lot of things have happened since my rebirth.
Things I never thought possible, things that often kept me awake at night.
For starters, during my first birthday, I discovered that the city where I lived was called Star City. Which although strange wasn't very concerning, how foolish I was, at the time I couldn't tell it was the first of many red flags I would get in my new life.
Days later, I saw my new mother dressed in a very strange way, like a stripper cosplaying Black Canary, but in the old comic style, not the updated style, at first, I thought that's what she did for a living, a cosplaying stripper, but days later I found out how wrong I was.
When a man wearing a golden helmet floated into our house telling our mom she was needed. A man I knew as Dr. Fate.
Imagine my surprise for a moment.
It was there when I became aware that this was not my world, that I had not only been reincarnated in some kind of past but that I had been transported to a new universe, one to which I was somewhat familiar.
I'll be honest, I didn't know what to make of this situation.
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[Star City. November 21, 19:30 PDT. 2001]
Six years passed in the blink of an eye, and well, there was a lot to tell.
My sister, Dinah who since my discovery of what universe I inhabited I knew was going to be the next Black Canary was an awesome sister. She loved me a lot, she showed it with everything she did for me, and I'm not going to lie, I loved her a lot too.
I never had siblings, and I never thought that having siblings would be so good, so necessary.
Maybe it wasn't like that for everyone, but Dinah was a pretty good big sister.
I didn't miss my past life at all, in fact, heck I barely remembered it. I only remembered my job, and what I knew about this universe, but things like my name before I died, or my age, I didn't really remember, they faded with time, leaving only what I knew now, that I was a man, that I died, and that I knew a lot about this universe.
Although based on what I remembered, I could make some conclusions about my past life, like for example, knowing that I died in a car crash, I knew that I must have been at least sixteen years old.
But I really didn't care for it.
Anyway, about my current life.
Well, Dinah was already training to be a hero, even though she was just sixteen years old, our mother and others were helping her get a hold of her powers.
Which brought me the following question, would I inherit such powers, I mean, in a world like this any kind of power is a good power.
I suppose sooner or later I would know, Dinah got hers when she was six, almost leaving her entire first-grade class deaf, which was when she started training with other heroes to control her power, so considering I'm six, I should know soon.
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[Star City. December 21, 19:30 PDT. 2001]
I killed someone.
It wasn't my intention, but… I did, and it feels awful, I think it's the first time since I got here that actually cried.
I got my powers and they were worse than I imagined.
I was playing hide and seek with Dinah in an abandoned building when all of the sudden a random drunk appeared as I tried to hide behind some boxes, the man startled me, but I didn't scream. I just mutter a word, like one does when surprised but not enough to be scared. I wasn't scared, I knew Dinah would kick his ass if he tried anything, but as soon as I muttered that word, the man exploded leaving nothing behind but a small handful of blood.
Dinah found me a few seconds later.
I was in a state of shock, she hugged me, I didn't feel it.
I had killed a man.
I could barely think, but something was clear, a part of me knew that if I ever opened my mouth again, the result would be the same, but worse.
I could feel it now.
And I was scared, not only for me but for everyone around me.
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[Star City. January 13, 15:30 PDT. 2002]
After that fateful day when my powers awoke.
I was moved to a secured location to train me into controlling my powers, courtesy of Green Arrow, the new upcoming hero of Star City, who was apparently friends with the family.
No one blames me for what I did, not entirely.
But that didn't make me feel any better.
My powers, I knew them, I had somehow obtained the powers of the inhuman known as Black Bolt.
Each passing day, I felt my power growing stronger, which alone was more than enough to aggravate me.
I had no control over it, if I uttered a word, people would die.
Especially taking into consideration the fact I used to talk, it's hard to simply stop talking, to simply not say or utter a sound. It's unbearably hard, it's torture.
At least things like sneezing, or coughing didn't activate my powers, but every other sound did.
I regretted thinking that any power would be a good power in this world, this power was not a gift, it was a burden, if I wasn't careful, I would end up killing those who I loved.
"Everything will get better," Dinah said, as she approached me with a smile.
Taking my notepad, the one I had been given to communicate, I wrote. --I don't think so, but it's good to dream, isn't it?--
Dinah sighed, hugging me tightly. "I will love you, no matter what."
Tears fell from my eyes, but I made no sound.
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[Star City. October 13, 15:30 PDT. 2007]
By 2003, our mother died, and soon after our dad followed.
Not much to say about that, beyond that they were somewhat old, but not old enough to die of old age.
As for me, well, I was twelve, and as I had said, my powers had only gotten stronger.
Not only voice-wise, but physically, I was leagues about what a twelve-year-old should be capable of. I was strong, not sure how much in the scale of things, especially considering Superman was a thing here, but I was strong.
As for my speech, well, I was now legally a mute you could say.
After destroying five arrow caves in less than a year by accidentally muttering a word, well, they all came to the conclusion my powers were always active, and that it was best if I learned how to control them, in a different manner, by containing them.
By this point, both Dinah and Oliver, who now trusted me enough to share his name, were both part of the newly formed Justice League.
And with their help, well, I got better training, in facilities made for such things.
Batman specifically was interested in my training, I knew why, I mean, it was more than obvious he wanted to neutralize a possible vocal nuke.
My training consisted of two things, meditation and pain control.
Meditation was mostly done with Martian Manhunter, who helped me with it.
Pain control was done with Batman, he would put me in a soundproof room, and have a robot punch me or slap me, or electrocute me.
Dinah was not happy with that, but I begged her to let me handle it.
I didn't want to destroy a city by hitting a toe.
I needed to be able to control my voice, even if I lost an arm, or if someone broke my legs, I needed to be able to talk only when I wanted to.
It had come to the point, I was seriously considering damaging my pain receptors, but Dinah forbade me from doing such, even Batman seemed appalled by my idea.
~Stop thinking about mutilating yourself!~ Dinah signed, she didn't have to, I could understand her if she talked, but she… she said she didn't want me to feel left out, so she learned sign language with me.
~I know it sounds like a suicidal thing.~ I signed with a smile. ~But you have to admit, it would solve a big part of my problem.~
~I don't care~ Dinah signed angrily.
~I love you~ I signed with a smile.
~I love you too.~ Dinah signed, hugging as she did so.
I didn't know what life had in store for me, but I would be ready.
Bab 3: CHAPTER 2
If you want to read up to 20 chapters ahead go to https://www.patreón.com/cornbringer
Discord invite: https://discord.gg/XHduApz
Enjoy!
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[Star City. January 13, 15:30 PDT.]
I became a hero, kinda.
I was a sidekick, working with my sister Dinah.
It was Batman's idea surprisingly, I really didn't want to do it perse, nor did Dinah want me to, but he convinced her, saying I needed a purpose, a reason to not let my emotions, my power consume me, and that living in isolation would do that eventually.
I didn't know how to feel about that.
But in a way, I understood his reasoning, he was trying to avoid letting me fall into the dark pit known as depression, by giving me a fulfilling purpose.
Funny how things play out.
After he convinced Dinah, well, as I said before, I became her sidekick.
Black Bolt.
I picked the name in honor of the man that shared in a distant universe the same burden as me.
It felt right.
As for what I was doing, well, Dinah was keeping me out of danger's path, my training was yet to be completed, and while I was almost sure I could avoid talking or making any type of sound.
Precautions had to be made.
Especially considering I can level a city with a whisper.
Anyway, my life now basically consisted of helping Dinah with minor crimes, like robberies and such, and going back to the soundproof bunker to continue with my training.
So far I could break bones and not utter a sound, most of the time, according to Batman at least, he didn't actually break my bones, or Dinah, in her own words would've castrated him with a pencil. So, instead of breaking my bones, Batman brought a small device that he made that made me feel the pain of breaking a bone or two, by sending direct signals to my brain that basically emulated the feeling perfectly.
No idea why Batman had such a device.
But I really didn't care.
As for Dinah, well, she wasn't exactly happy about this training method, but after some dialog with her, I convinced her to let me do it, I needed this.
I needed to be able to control any type of vocal reflex, regardless of the situation, which lamentably included pain.
"You are making remarkable progress," Batman nodded in approval as he approached me, getting compliments from him was always weird.
~Well I try~ I smiled ever so lightly.
"I know it must be hard, and that no one can really relate to your situation, but know that you are doing what is right," Batman replied, his disturbingly cold gaze on me. Even when being friendly the man was unnerving.
~I guess~ I nodded.
"My new sidekick is coming later today to meet with you," Batman added, and I could almost swear I felt fondness on his tone, "He knows about your unique condition, so don't worry about explaining much."
I eyed Batman and gave him a look that said, why?
"You need to socialize with people close to your age," Batman replied, reading my look. "You live in a soundproof military-grade cave, you only go out to help Black Canary every now and then, and the only people you talk to are Green Arrow, Black Canary, Martian Manhunter, and me, all adults, that is not healthy." if only you knew how old I really was Bruce.
~Well, you are the boss here.~ I sighed, I mean, he was paying for the majority of the shit I used, including the soundproofed military base, that although was not strong enough to stop me, was resilient enough to tank a whisper, at least according to his calculations, and he was Batman, so I believed him.
"Needless to say, I'm not ordering you to meet with Robin," Batman added. "But I think you need to socialize with people your age." people my age, funny.
~When is he arriving?~ I suppose meeting Robin can't be that bad.
"He's already here," Batman scowled looking towards a corner in the base.
"How did you even know?!" And there is Robin.
"I told you to wait." Batman glared at the kid as he came into view.
"I was excited to meet him." Robin chuckled, scratching the back of his head.
~Hey~ I waved.
With a smile, Robin approached me and started to move his hands, ~I'm~ pause, ~learning~ long pause, ~Sign language~
I had to fight the urge to chuckle right there, not a good start. ~Batman, do you happen to know where is my notepad?~ I asked the dark knight.
"No, but I have one here," Batman replied, pulling a notepad from his belt, god that thing really does have everything. "Here's a pen." I definitely want one of those for X-MAS, I wonder if Dinah can make it happen.
-Hi there- I wrote.
"Sorry, I just started learning… like two days ago." Robin smiled shyly.
-It's cool, we can use the notepad for now, at least until you understand what I say without it.- I wrote, that I really didn't care if people talked with me using sign language, but them understanding was always helpful.
"I'll leave you two alone," Batman said, walking out of the room.
-So, is this a batplaydate?- I wrote, making Robin chuckle.
"I suppose in a way." Robin snorted.
-So, my name is Black Bolt, I'm twelve years old, and well… I live here.- I wrote making conversation.
"I'm nine," Robin began, "I live with Batman, and my codename is Robin."
-So what, sidekick squad?- I grinned.
"Oh god, that sounds awful." He laughed. "But sure, why not, sidekick squad!" he added, high-fiving me.
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[Gotham City. February 21, 16:30 CT. 2008]
Robin was a good kid.
A bit too energetic for my taste, but a good kid nonetheless, very smart too, the little bastard learned sign language, fluently, in less than one month.
A feat that took me almost a year to complete.
I guess that's why he was considered a genius.
As for Batman, well, he was especially interested in me making connections with his protege, which is why, I was currently on Gotham, helping them with some minor crimes.
This was a big step for the Dark Knight, if there was someone in the superhero business that was, territorial, it was him, so needless to say I was surprised when he invited me to help in Gotham for a bit.
And even more, surprised when Dinah allowed me to go.
So, with that said and done, I went to Gotham, though I have to admit, I was a bit reluctant to go on this business trip so to speak.
Because the Joker terrified me.
Which is funny, with my powers I could solo him with ease, but still, if there was one villain that creeped me out, it was him. He was utterly crazy, and that scared me a bit.
Anyway, working with Batman was a bit different than working with Dinah or Oliver, Batman was an odd character so to speak, ever silent, and at the same time, very communicative.
He had looks and grunts for every scenario.
One look, could mean anything between, go there, to wait here.
It was a confusing time for me.
Robin helped though, whenever I didn't understand one of Batman's grunts or silent glares, he would translate them for me.
As Robin jokingly put it, the Batman GLARE language was a thing.
"It was fun, maybe Batman will let you come to Gotham more often." Robin smiled, as we tied a few robbers that had tried to rob a bank.
~It was.~ I nodded, slapping one of the robbers that was trying to bite me.
~Well, let's go.~ Robin grinned.
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[Gotham City. February 22, 16:30 CT.
Batman POV]
David Lance, code name. Black Bolt.
David Lance shows all the signs of a clinically depressed person, his isolation, and lack of normal human stimuli are slowly but surely weighing him down.
But the biggest chain of them all are his powers. His powers and the constant threat they represent are an impossibly large looming shadow above his head, above everyone's head.
A new plan had to be created, for the worst-case scenario. Security level. Omega, password Delta Charlie 27 51939, new contingency plan, under the file Agamemnon Contingency.
Should Black Bolt become a threat, we need to be prepared for the worst. Contingency file, Codename The Silent End.
If Black Bolt ever becomes a threat to the planet, the following protocols will need to be enacted to ensure our survival.
Black Bolt's power differ a lot from Black Canary's powers, medical tests show his powers are directly connected to the left hemisphere of the brain, connecting directly to the speech zone of the brain. Results for containment are inconclusive, further testing is required, though results show that tear gas if administered quickly enough, should cut off his ability to speak and scream, and should this not be enough adding a well-timed blow to the trachea should do the trick. Alternatively should this not work, the best way to disable his powers would be to distract him. His sister is an excellent blind spot, as is his fear of killing everyone. Taking hostages is also a good distraction, particularly if he knows them, should this prove to be ineffective, battle relocation is essential, while his powers are dangerous he himself is a human with minor superstrength, relocating the battle to an enclosed zone should limit the use of his powers out of fear of killing himself, recommendation, underground location.
The Silent End, file closed.
"Black Bolt left," Robin said, as he entered the Bat cave.
"I know," I replied, turning the pc off.
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[Star City. March 13, 12:30 PDT.
Dinah Lance - Black Canary POV ]
I loved my brother. How could I not? In more than one way, he was my world, mine to protect, after all, that was my job as his big sister.
And that was exactly why it hurt me to know I had no way to help him, not really.
His powers were beyond anything we have ever seen in our family. Minor superstrength, minor superspeed, minor super stamina, and minor superhuman durability.
Batman's theory suggests his powers mutated from our family line, creating something entirely new, and dangerous.
His sonic scream was leagues above my own, and simulations suggest he could level cities with but a word.
I could see he was depressed.
Isolation was drowning him in a sea of despair, and the looming shadow of danger that his powers represented only helped to cement his own self-loathing.
He would say no, that he wasn't sad or anything, but I knew better.
Which is why I had accepted when Batman told me to put him under my wing, that helping others would break him out of his own shell of misery, and give him a purpose.
I was happy with this because it worked.
He was getting better, helping others, forgetting for a moment the weight he had on his shoulders.
Many start on this career because they need to help others, he started because he needed to help himself.
Just like Batman.
Heck, Batman with all of his cold disturbing demeanor was actually trying to help him, he was even arranging playdates with his sidekick Robin.
"Dinah, so… I was thinking," Oliver said, snapping me out of my long reverie.
"Yes, I would love to go out with you," I replied with a smile.
"How did you… never mind," Oliver chuckled with a blush.
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[Star City. March 13, 01:30 PDT.
Oliver Queen - Green Arrow POV]
David Lance was a good kid, with more weight on his shoulders than any kid or adult for that matter should have.
I don't know what would I do if I had the power to destroy a city by simply talking. I really wished I could help him more, but even the Bat was at a loss with how to suppress his powers.
Even the inhibitor collars didn't work on him, though according to the Bat it's because we don't have enough data on his powers to actually code a collar to work on him.
It broke my heart when I told him about the collar, and the chance he could speak again, because for a moment he seemed hopeful, and then, it didn't work.
That day, I failed him and I lost my third arrow cave.
I wonder if this is how Supes feels all the time, so much power on the tip of his hands, one wrong move, he could kill those who he's trying to save, perhaps I should introduce the two of them, perhaps they would relate to one another.
If I was in his shoes, I would like to know someone who can relate to me.
"Oliver, I am the woman and I am already ready!" Dinah shouted.
"I'm almost done!" I shouted back.
"You said that thirty minutes ago!" Dinah sighed in annoyance.
"I want to look pretty okay?" Why can she understand?! My elegant mustache needs some work, delicate work, after all, perfection takes time.
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