Chapter 6 : me too I have secrets
Before you read this chapter, I want you to know it will be more about Zach's psychologie rather than adventure and theme such as suicide or grief are in this chapter, I understand it may be offensive to some people so I warn you
Planet Oa
Kilovog had been a green lantern for a long time, so long he could say during all his life; he was a bolovaxian, a specy with a communal mind; and thus he was one of the loneliest green lanterns.
Sure, he seemed rude when he was training the cadets but he just wanted to prepare them for what was coming, he soberly remembered each of his comrades who died, there were just too many of them.
It is why he was at Oa's archive, he saw this strange boy in Jessica's ring and these powers he knew weren't from earth, sure some human started to have powers but bending space and using a laser beam like a green lantern was too much.
So he decided to have a look at the planet with billions of years of knowledge, there was surely information about that.
The archive were empty since most of the green lanterns patrols in their sector and a few of them bothered to come there often, anyway, the Bolovaxian just put his ring in a scanner as it contained a copy of jess and hal history; the scanner was linked to a computer who would analyse theses information to find a file about them.
After ten minutes it came, one single file named 'eliatrope', Kilovog quickly read it and was surprised.
A specy of humanoid able to manipulate an energy called "Wakfu", my studies on this energy seem to indicate it is another part of the lifeforce present in anything alive.
The manipulation of Wakfu permits them to have access to incredible powers such as energy manipulation and teleportation.
Their society is a monarchy where the ruler chooses his successor among 'the six primary eliatrope' I still ignore why this group has such a privilege but I am led to believe it is because of their religion toward their deity named after their specy.
The planet is in harmony with nature, none of their infrastructure disturbs the ecosystem, they are clearly not able to travel in space for now.
I decided to hide this observation by fear that other species will try to exploit the eliatrope that I considere as a race too pure for space; it is clear this society isn't ready to know about life outside of their planet.
Update : I came back to observe their planet a century after I stopped my research on them but to my horror there was nothing left, the planet was nothing more than an asteroid when I came back, I could sense that nothing was alive, it was a complete dead world as if something syphoned all life in this planet, I found no trace of the eliatropes in the following centuries and thus I made this file and the following observation public.
That file was made public a millions years ago, there was no trace of the reappearance of these eliatropes following the last update, meaning that an earthling came out of nowhere with the powers a specie that disappeared years before the green lanterns, a specy too similar to the green lanterns.
Kilovog knew it wasn't good, he had to act; his cadets could be in danger.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After the beat up from Saturday, I stayed at the hospital for a while until they released me, I was a bit surprised that no one remarked I was a metahuman but I won't complain.
The Zeuls stayed with me at the hospital, even Doris, to be fair my feelings were mitigated, I felt awful that I was receiving care the original me needed but… I was happy to be loved, I won't lie by saying I didn't miss my old world and family, no matter how bad my world was I still loved them but I wasn't good at showing it, I was a bit distant and didn't talk very much while I was always afraid that the one I love would died just like that.
Ironically, I'm the one who died without warning.
I won't lie, I have regrets about my previous life and I decided to profite of this new life to live without regrets. I knew it would be difficult to change and living with the memories I had was going to be hard but I will try.
On a more joyous note, I had to go back to school on monday since my injuries were healed quickly, probably because of my powers.
Also because even if the school got trashed by a supervillain they weren't going to close it, if Metropolis closed everything that got attacked by a supervillain for a week then nothing would be open.
I spent a good part of my sunday in my home but now I was heading right to school, my foster parents had to go to Star lab early while Doris was not really pleasant.
I asked her if she wanted to walk with me but she didn't answer and just walked away.
Now, I was walking to the school and the first thing I noticed was the big hole at the top of the school windows, the sames who taught me that having a bleeding statue will bleed yout out in seconds unlike in video games.
I really needed a gamer body but I guess the angel would be bored.
I entered the school where all the students were distracted, albeit it wasn't the goggles this time, everyone seemed to be reading a newspaper.
Wait, is that a picture of Carol at the first page?
"Excuse me, can I have a look?" I asked a big guy with a yellow jacket, he was way taller than me and his eyes were covered by his hat and hair.
He nodded before handing the newspaper to me.
It was news about what happened when Star Sapphire went on a rampage at the school, there were pictures of Jess when she was in her green lantern suit, me and Carol.
Saturday, September the second; a villain attack happened during the football match between our team and the west coast's.
The reason of the attack is still unknown but witnesses assure the villain was after the football star 'Hal Jordan'.
Fortunately, the attack was stopped by two superheroes from our local league, the green lantern girl this newspaper named 'lightbringer' and the teleporter dressed as batman, we assume he is another of Batman's fan like the the mysterious Batgirl.
Lightbringer took Hal Jordan to safety while this batboy fought the villainess, a girl dressed like a disney princess with the same powers as green lanterns.
We couldn't assist at all the fight but it was a fierce one, the football field was destroyed, our school damaged but most importantly, three students were injuried during the fight.
Garth Bernstein, a fourteen years old water carrier.
Carol Ferris, a cheerleader of west coast.
And an unknown student.
They were carried to the hospital by Lightbringer but her comrades and the villain disappeared. We don't know where they are, who won and if this villain will come back again but we should ask yourself if we can trust these heroes.
After all, isn't it weird that this villain has powers near identical to green lanterns?
Isn't it weird that Batboy can create the same portals that the alien used on the news?
We don't know everything about them and it is why we shouldn't glorify these superheroes just because they stopped a giant robot piloted by a child.
For more information, go to page five
Wow, that's a bit insulting, I mean yeah I screwed up but it could have been worse if I wasn't there.
There were photos of the fight between Star Sapphire and me but, fortunately, my face was covered as my Batman Hoodie had its zipper all the way up.
Too bad Carol blasted it, I liked this hoodie.
Anyway, as much as it hurt, it wasn't all wrong, the school got wrecked and the bill was going to be salty.
And most importantly, it was Lois Lane who wrote that she must know a lot about how a superhero should act, she wrote about Superman after all.
I was also interested by the article, there were nice photos, then I was at the part about the fight, it started with ….the photo were I accidently grabbed Carol
"OH, COME ON, WHY DID LOIS PUT THAT PHOTO?!!!"
~~~~~~~~
"WHY DID YOU PUT THAT PHOTO?!" Jessica exclaimed to Lois as she showed her the embarrassing photo at the fifth page of the newspaper.
Jessica joined the newspaper club a year ago, she wanted to talk about the issue of nature and advice on ecologie but it was a bit complicated to capture people's attention although she won't give up on her causes for that .
She met Lois Lane on her first day, the black haired was a nice girl but sometimes she was a bit too passionate with her work.
"That was Jimmy's idea, he thought it would be nice to start the story with a good laugh, although I admit we could have chosen something else." Lois replied while she was tipping on her computer
Jess internally winced at the memories of the incident, after all, she was there when her friend was at hospital and his family was worried sick about him.
She knew it was her fault, she wanted to put Hal to safety and spend quite a time figuring out a plan to take down Carol but Zack wasn't with them, he was fighting a lantern all by himself.
She knew from firsthand experience how dangerous a lantern can be so for him to fight and win was a miracle.
Except he was injured and nearly died if she didn't bring him to the hospital in time
She wasn't there when he needed her.
That was definitely going to be on her mind for a long time and seeing that on the school paper wasn't arranging anything.
"Also don't you think Lightbringer is a touchy subject… I mean it's basically Satan's name." Jessica tried to change the subject from the fight to her new identity, she was catholic after all.
"I don't really see a problem with that, OLSEN? WHERE IS MY ART? LAYOUT'S IN FIVE!"
Jimmy practically ran to get what she asked.
"Enter."
"Excuse me." Someone entered the room, it was Zack, what was he doing here? "I came to join the newspaper club."
Oh, Jessica forgot Zack wanted to join the newspaper club, he didn't seem to care about the press.
"Too late, we were recruiting yesterday." Lois quickly replied before she got back on her work.
"But I was attacked by a supervillain, it's not my fault that I couldn't apply."
Lois sighed before she stared at Zack, she paused for a moment, looking perplexity at him.
"You recovered quickly." Lois seemed intrigued, that wasn't a good sign.
"I'm though."
"You know what? you're right; come back here at five tomorrow and we will talk about that." the reporter excitedly told him.
Jess knew it was out of character for Lois, she always took her job seriously and wouldn't have made an exception, except if she had something to gain…
Like an interview with a superhero!!!!
Did she figure out about Zack's identity, Lois just met him but knew jessica for years so how is it possible?
~~~~~~~~~~
Pov Zack
I was surprised to see Jess there but we all have our hobby so who am I to judge also maybe she could help me if Lois accepted me in the club.
I wanted to join the newspaper club because :
1-I'm a superman fan.
2-DC world suck when it come to press, it's still better than Marvel's but too close since Luthor was elected president in one timeline.
Anyway, I had to speed up because my physics class was about to start, I ran as fast as I could until I reached the classroom.
There was no one except a sort of … throll?
"Excuse me, is it where the classe A-1 has physics?"
"Yes, you're just early."
"Thanks, I thought I was late."
"Just take a seat." The troll like teacher told me.
Wait, bald, check; pointed ears, check; big glasses, check…. I think I saw him in 'the brave and the bold' but where…. he was a doctor …. doctor cypher? no… It started with a 'Siv…
Sivana is my teacher, the doctor Sivana?
"Are you … are you dr Sivana?" I asked him.
He stopped to take care of his copies and stared at me before he laughed.
"No, but it's true we look alike, My name is Isaac Von Braun."
"Sorry but …. I could swear you were him." I wonder if Sivana is still evil or not in this world . I read about his backstory after I saw Shazam and he was actually a decent guy …. before the trope 'reed richard is useless' crushed his dreams.
"I'm surprised you know him, he was a brilliant scientist but … some fools did all they could to erase his name, his work…" he started to rant.
Okay, it's I'm. I'm sure at one hundred percent that my school suck, not as bad as the previous one but still sucks.
I still have three years of advance on the program at least.
After a few minutes, students entered the class and the teacher started to write on his board.
"Our first lesson will be on lasers, more precisely their heat and military uses."
AAAAND my advance is gone, I should have know they were going to teach comic physic in this world.
great…. just great….
It was finally lunch break, physic was actually interesting but I needed a break like anyone, I waited in the line and took my lunch, a burger, they never served that in my school.
After that I had to find a table where to sit… There was : a table where Doris was chatting with her friend, considering what she told me I'll avoid that place, I see her at home anyway.
a place next to the future poison Ivy...no, just no.
And I spotted an empty chair next to Kara.
"Hi Kara, can I sit here?" I asked her.
She seemed grumpy but she said move the chair so I took that as a yes.
I started to eat my meal… next to Supergirl…. It was awkward as I didn't know what to do next to a superhero, you can think it's creepy but let's be honest, anyone would react like that next to a superstar : uncomfortable and thinking of a way to make a good impression.
considering she told me 'screw you.' It didn't start well between us….
"Thanks for the gift … I really appreciate it." She gave me her autograph after the fight with Lena, it wasn't Superman's but I'm glad she gave it to me.
"You would have prefered to have Superman's." she grumbled
Okay, I wasn't an expert in social interaction but even I knew something was wrong
"Okay, what's off?"
"what's off… WHAT'S OFF, I will tell you what's off . Everyone worship my cousin like if he is their god."
Of course they do, it's the plot of many movies and stories on Superman.
"Did you know I was 12 when Uncle Jor-El and Aunt Lara had him? I used to baby-sit him back on Krypton!" she almost yelled.
Okay, that must have been a shock to see her baby cousin grow up so fast but still, WE WERE IN PUBLIC!!!!!!
"Kara…. " I was panicking a bit since the room was crowded.
She didn't noticed what I said and kept ranting about her life.
"I could've gone to Earth first and then everyone would love me, but no, I had to get stuck in space stasis while he was down here becoming a... "Man." I mean, I have the exact same power as him. I come from the exact same planet. I practically have the exact same backstory
"KARA!!!!"
My scream advertised everyone as their gaze turned on us… I was pretty embarrassed but Kara seemed to have taken it bad.
"What?" She seemed angry that I interrupted her.
"Not in public." I quickly answered her.
Speaking of the autograph was one thing but speaking about coming from Krypton and Superman's life.
"oh… my bad." She said.
I didn't really want to stay in public like that so I quickly finished my burger and walked outside.
But I was followed by Kara. although we were alone this time.
"Look, I may have overreacted about my cousin."
"you didn't 'overreacted'... Look I know no shit about what you went through… you lost everything and … I have no words for that."
But I actually know that, I went through it… I will live through it
"But… you're jealous of your cousin… the way you're talking about him is like … he isn't someone, did you know I had to fight a cyborg to save your cousin?" I asked her
"That's not new." She answered about his situation.
"IT SHOULDN'T BE LIKE THAT!!!!" She was taken by surprise because of my outburst.
Family was an important thing back in my previous life, reacting to a near death experience of someone from your family shouldn't be like that.
"Kara… I like heroes, I admire you." That's true, I watched all the animated serie of superman and loved it, supergirl included. "But the way you're talking … it's like you just want people to love you."
"Hey, I told you I didn't want to be a hero but you and Diana asked me to become a hero, did you forget what happened at sweet justice? because I remember how you yelled at me when I just tried to do what you asked me."
"I'm sorry about that Kara but if you really didn't want to be a hero then why did you take your suit on your first day of school?"
She didn't have an answer to that.
"Being a hero is more than having people to worship you, it's about saving life and risking everything you have even your own… wanting glory is not a good reason."
"So why did you choose to become one if it sucks so much? want to kill yourself?" she asked me.
I didn't answer, her eyes widened.
"Zack…"
"Forget it…" I tried to walk away but she grabbed my arm
"Why did you choose to become a hero?" She asked me.
"I don't want to talk about it."
"You practically harassed me about being a hero so why won't you tell me."
I couldn't get away from her grap, she was too strong and there's no way I could overpower a kryptonian at my level but I wanted to get out.
"I don't want to."
"tell me."
"no."
"tell me."
"no"
"I SAY TELL ME;"
"TO GO TO HEAVEN!!!"
The pressure on my arm left my emotions too much so I did the only thing I knew in these situations.
I ran.
I ran away from her, left the school and just lashed out, I created a portal and jumped inside it… I just wanted to go away.
Kara didn't know Zack so well, she met him three days ago and her feelings about him were mitigated.
It was annoying how he was telling her to act, she was older than him so why doesn't he mind his business.
She told him she didn't want to be a hero but kept asking her to act like one.
She tried to save those people at sweet justice and he yelled at her
But…
He genuinely cared about others, he really enjoyed having her autograph… it was nice to see someone react like that.
But how could he change like that? one moment they were chatting then he yelled at her_okay speaking of her origins in public wasn't a great idea but still_ was there something off about him?
'To go to heaven' what does it mean… he… he wouldn't.
I hated sadness, each time I was sobbing or just feeling it I felt so vulnerable.
I had the bad habit of trying to forget anything that made me sad, grief from the dad of a loved one, I don't talk about them and try to avoid everything that reminds me of them.
But my whole world…. I couldn't really do it, I'm trying, I'm really trying to not think about them but I can't.
The worst part is the memories. I have the memories of someone else who went through the same things as me, he lost his family. I could feel sadness when I tried to remember about his parents, HIS sadness.
So I walked in order to calm down, trying to clear my mind… but two freaking hours did nothing.
So now, I'm sitting on the daily planet's golden globe, watching the horizon.
"Hey." Someone called me.
I turned my head to him, it was Superman, I met him for the third time.
"Hi." I wasn't as excited as before. That's how low I felt
"So… Kara called… you really worried her."
"really?"
"She never calls me except for prank calls. Just last week she told me Zod was invading earth."
That wasn't responsible.
"You should talk to her."
"You need to talk." He answered me.
"I don't want to."
"Not even to me?"
"Not even to you."
"Fine."
Then he sat beside me, I didn't tell him to get off and I wanted to stay here a little.
"You know, you remind me of a girl I knew." he started. "I thought she was a jerk at first, telling me to get my head off my ass, that I wasn't special and she even punched me after I got the worst beating of my life.
"Come to the point."
"She had a lot on her mind." He was blunt and the joking tone was gone. "She… she was a descendant of the greek gods, it seemed cool at first but it wasn't. She lived for hundreds of years… the way she acted was a means to distance herself from us until the day we… you know."
Yeah, immortality has some downside when you care about people who aren't.
"Her name was Gally, she always fought evil no matter how outmatched she was or how desperate the situation was but ironically she always told the team to back off in these cases.
It took me time to realise… her work was just a way to end it."
I… I didn't know this story.
"She aimed high one day… there was a villain and … she didn't make it, I had to read her will to understand who she really was…. I knew she had problems but not that…"
I wasn't comfortable where this conversation was aimed.
"Look, I don't know you nor you know me but I can tell something is off, it's scaring Kara, it's scaring your friend. They skipped school to search you… don't let it consume you."
…..
"I can't deal with it…. I… still remember that I was saying going back home after I borrowed books from the library then... " Then I died but the other me… "I received that call… It was the neighbor, he found blood on a window… called the cop first before me… he was a friend so he thought I had to hear it from him… I try to suppress that memory… I try to forget them like if they never existed… I'm trying but I can't." Tears started to come out of my eyes…. I couldn't tell him about the truth but I could try to talk about my feelings.
"But it's not healthy, instead you're stocking it all inside you. I have been a hero for years, I faced demons and all kinds of monsters with my team but none of them thought that keeping their pain to themselve was a good idea."
"It's my life."
I don't want to deal with that.
"What about your friends?"
They aren't real… they come from a comic… they don't care about the 'real' me.
"I won't tell you how to live but you need to know that if you continue then you will lose everything."
He left and I stayed here, thinking about what he said… my life is a lie and it's not a fancy power, adventures or even joining a club and trying to join a club that would change that… It never crossed my mind how my death affected my family.
"Hey."
You know, the daily planed had too many people flying near it.
It was Supergirl.
"How did you find me?"
"Super hearing."
Makes sense… but that means…
"Did you…"
"I heard everything."
Okay.
"I won't kill myself if that what's worrying you."
"That's what you say."
"Kara… I went through a lot… so did you, I'm gonna be fine."
"But I needed help; after krypton was destroyed I was lost and afraid. Kal helped me to adapt to this new world but I still missed krypton and my parents."
Yeah… I can relate to that.
"Look, it didn't start well between us but if you need help or someone to talk I'm here."
"Thanks Kara… I will think about that."
But I will never do it, I couldn't tell her the truth like 'I died and an angel sent me here so he can have fun.' or even better : 'Did you know you lost everything because people thought it would be a great plot for comics?'
Even If I wanted, I couldn't tell them the truth.
It was a secret I would take to the grave.
Yeah, I haven't written a new chapter in a long time but I was busy with life.
So the whole chapter was there to talk about Zack's character as an Isekai, he miss his family and tries to cope with the grief by forgetting them but he can't.
He is human, he has loved one but he has flaws and refusing to talk about his emotion is one of them.
he is in a new world and lost everything, people around him are only human to him because he decided they were but when he snap they aren't people anymore. He is alone and that's when I saw it was something in common with Kara.
Also yes Eliatrope existed there, it will be the cause of many chapter,
About the whole 'Gally' and superman past it's going to be important later as I already have Ideas about Superman's past in this world. (it won't be based on Smallville but a cartoon, guess wich one.)
It's not the kind of chapter I wanted to write at first but it was probably one I needed to write.
still, I hope you enjoyed it.
chapter 6 : Me too I have secrets
Planet Oa
Kilovog had been a green lantern for a long time, so long he could say during all his life; he was a bolovaxian, a specy with a communal mind; and thus he was one of the loneliest green lanterns.
Sure, he seemed rude when he was training the cadets but he just wanted to prepare them for what was coming, he soberly remembered each of his comrades who died, there were just too many of them.
It is why he was at Oa's archive, he saw this strange boy in Jessica's ring and these powers he knew weren't from earth, sure some human started to have powers but bending space and using a laser beam like a green lantern was too much.
So he decided to have a look at the planet with billions of years of knowledge, there was surely information about that.
The archive were empty since most of the green lanterns patrols in their sector and a few of them bothered to come there often, anyway, the Bolovaxian just put his ring in a scanner as it contained a copy of jess and hal history; the scanner was linked to a computer who would analyse theses information to find a file about them.
After ten minutes it came, one single file named 'eliatrope', Kilovog quickly read it and was surprised.
Observation on specy #616 : Eliatrope
By Krona
By Krona
A specy of humanoid able to manipulate an energy called "Wakfu", my studies on this energy seem to indicate it is another part of the lifeforce present in anything alive.
The manipulation of Wakfu permits them to have access to incredible powers such as energy manipulation and teleportation.
Their society is a monarchy where the ruler chooses his successor among 'the six primary eliatrope' I still ignore why this group has such a privilege but I am led to believe it is because of their religion toward their deity named after their specy.
The planet is in harmony with nature, none of their infrastructure disturbs the ecosystem, they are clearly not able to travel in space for now.
I decided to hide this observation by fear that other species will try to exploit the eliatrope that I considere as a race too pure for space; it is clear this society isn't ready to know about life outside of their planet.
Update : I came back to observe their planet a century after I stopped my research on them but to my horror there was nothing left, the planet was nothing more than an asteroid when I came back, I could sense that nothing was alive, it was a complete dead world as if something syphoned all life in this planet, I found no trace of the eliatropes in the following centuries and thus I made this file and the following observation public.
That file was made public a millions years ago, there was no trace of the reappearance of these eliatropes following the last update, meaning that an earthling came out of nowhere with the powers a specie that disappeared years before the green lanterns, a specy too similar to the green lanterns.
Kilovog knew it wasn't good, he had to act; his cadets could be in danger.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After the beat up from Saturday, I stayed at the hospital for a while until they released me, I was a bit surprised that no one remarked I was a metahuman but I won't complain.
The Zeuls stayed with me at the hospital, even Doris, to be fair my feelings were mitigated, I felt awful that I was receiving care the original me needed but… I was happy to be loved, I won't lie by saying I didn't miss my old world and family, no matter how bad my world was I still loved them but I wasn't good at showing it, I was a bit distant and didn't talk very much while I was always afraid that the one I love would died just like that.
Ironically, I'm the one who died without warning.
I won't lie, I have regrets about my previous life and I decided to profite of this new life to live without regrets. I knew it would be difficult to change and living with the memories I had was going to be hard but I will try.
On a more joyous note, I had to go back to school on monday since my injuries were healed quickly, probably because of my powers.
Also because even if the school got trashed by a supervillain they weren't going to close it, if Metropolis closed everything that got attacked by a supervillain for a week then nothing would be open.
I spent a good part of my sunday in my home but now I was heading right to school, my foster parents had to go to Star lab early while Doris was not really pleasant.
I asked her if she wanted to walk with me but she didn't answer and just walked away.
Now, I was walking to the school and the first thing I noticed was the big hole at the top of the school windows, the sames who taught me that having a bleeding statue will bleed yout out in seconds unlike in video games.
I really needed a gamer body but I guess the angel would be bored.
I entered the school where all the students were distracted, albeit it wasn't the goggles this time, everyone seemed to be reading a newspaper.
Wait, is that a picture of Carol at the first page?
"Excuse me, can I have a look?" I asked a big guy with a yellow jacket, he was way taller than me and his eyes were covered by his hat and hair.
He nodded before handing the newspaper to me.
It was news about what happened when Star Sapphire went on a rampage at the school, there were pictures of Jess when she was in her green lantern suit, me and Carol.
-0-
Saturday, September the second; a villain attack happened during the football match between our team and the west coast's.
The reason of the attack is still unknown but witnesses assure the villain was after the football star 'Hal Jordan'.
Fortunately, the attack was stopped by two superheroes from our local league, the green lantern girl this newspaper named 'lightbringer' and the teleporter dressed as batman, we assume he is another of Batman's fan like the the mysterious Batgirl.
Lightbringer took Hal Jordan to safety while this batboy fought the villainess, a girl dressed like a disney princess with the same powers as green lanterns.
We couldn't assist at all the fight but it was a fierce one, the football field was destroyed, our school damaged but most importantly, three students were injuried during the fight.
Garth Bernstein, a fourteen years old water carrier.
Carol Ferris, a cheerleader of west coast.
And an unknown student.
They were carried to the hospital by Lightbringer but her comrades and the villain disappeared. We don't know where they are, who won and if this villain will come back again but we should ask yourself if we can trust these heroes.
After all, isn't it weird that this villain has powers near identical to green lanterns?
Isn't it weird that Batboy can create the same portals that the alien used on the news?
We don't know everything about them and it is why we shouldn't glorify these superheroes just because they stopped a giant robot piloted by a child.
For more information, go to page five
Wow, that's a bit insulting, I mean yeah I screwed up but it could have been worse if I wasn't there.
There were photos of the fight between Star Sapphire and me but, fortunately, my face was covered as my Batman Hoodie had its zipper all the way up.
Too bad Carol blasted it, I liked this hoodie.
Anyway, as much as it hurt, it wasn't all wrong, the school got wrecked and the bill was going to be salty.
And most importantly, it was Lois Lane who wrote that she must know a lot about how a superhero should act, she wrote about Superman after all.
I was also interested by the article, there were nice photos, then I was at the part about the fight, it started with ….the photo were I accidently grabbed Carol
"OH, COME ON, WHY DID LOIS PUT THAT PHOTO?!!!"
~~~~~~~~
"WHY DID YOU PUT THAT PHOTO?!" Jessica exclaimed to Lois as she showed her the embarrassing photo at the fifth page of the newspaper.
Jessica joined the newspaper club a year ago, she wanted to talk about the issue of nature and advice on ecologie but it was a bit complicated to capture people's attention although she won't give up on her causes for that .
She met Lois Lane on her first day, the black haired was a nice girl but sometimes she was a bit too passionate with her work.
"That was Jimmy's idea, he thought it would be nice to start the story with a good laugh, although I admit we could have chosen something else." Lois replied while she was tipping on her computer
Jess internally winced at the memories of the incident, after all, she was there when her friend was at hospital and his family was worried sick about him.
She knew it was her fault, she wanted to put Hal to safety and spend quite a time figuring out a plan to take down Carol but Zack wasn't with them, he was fighting a lantern all by himself.
She knew from firsthand experience how dangerous a lantern can be so for him to fight and win was a miracle.
Except he was injured and nearly died if she didn't bring him to the hospital in time
She wasn't there when he needed her.
That was definitely going to be on her mind for a long time and seeing that on the school paper wasn't arranging anything.
"Also don't you think Lightbringer is a touchy subject… I mean it's basically Satan's name." Jessica tried to change the subject from the fight to her new identity, she was catholic after all.
"I don't really see a problem with that, OLSEN? WHERE IS MY ART? LAYOUT'S IN FIVE!"
Jimmy practically ran to get what she asked.
Toc-toc
"Enter."
"Excuse me." Someone entered the room, it was Zack, what was he doing here? "I came to join the newspaper club."
Oh, Jessica forgot Zack wanted to join the newspaper club, he didn't seem to care about the press.
"Too late, we were recruiting yesterday." Lois quickly replied before she got back on her work.
"But I was attacked by a supervillain, it's not my fault that I couldn't apply."
Lois sighed before she stared at Zack, she paused for a moment, looking perplexity at him.
"You recovered quickly." Lois seemed intrigued, that wasn't a good sign.
"I'm though."
"You know what? you're right; come back here at five tomorrow and we will talk about that." the reporter excitedly told him.
Jess knew it was out of character for Lois, she always took her job seriously and wouldn't have made an exception, except if she had something to gain…
Like an interview with a superhero!!!!
Did she figure out about Zack's identity, Lois just met him but knew jessica for years so how is it possible?
~~~~~~~~~~
Pov Zack
I was surprised to see Jess there but we all have our hobby so who am I to judge also maybe she could help me if Lois accepted me in the club.
I wanted to join the newspaper club because :
1-I'm a superman fan.
2-DC world suck when it come to press, it's still better than Marvel's but too close since Luthor was elected president in one timeline.
Anyway, I had to speed up because my physics class was about to start, I ran as fast as I could until I reached the classroom.
There was no one except a sort of … throll?
"Excuse me, is it where the classe A-1 has physics?"
"Yes, you're just early."
"Thanks, I thought I was late."
"Just take a seat." The troll like teacher told me.
Wait, bald, check; pointed ears, check; big glasses, check…. I think I saw him in 'the brave and the bold' but where…. he was a doctor …. doctor cypher? no… It started with a 'Siv…
Sivana is my teacher, the doctor Sivana?
"Are you … are you dr Sivana?" I asked him.
He stopped to take care of his copies and stared at me before he laughed.
"No, but it's true we look alike, My name is Isaac Von Braun."
"Sorry but …. I could swear you were him." I wonder if Sivana is still evil or not in this world . I read about his backstory after I saw Shazam and he was actually a decent guy …. before the trope 'reed richard is useless' crushed his dreams.
"I'm surprised you know him, he was a brilliant scientist but … some fools did all they could to erase his name, his work…" he started to rant.
Okay, it's I'm. I'm sure at one hundred percent that my school suck, not as bad as the previous one but still sucks.
I still have three years of advance on the program at least.
After a few minutes, students entered the class and the teacher started to write on his board.
"Our first lesson will be on lasers, more precisely their heat and military uses."
AAAAND my advance is gone, I should have know they were going to teach comic physic in this world.
great…. just great….
-0-
It was finally lunch break, physic was actually interesting but I needed a break like anyone, I waited in the line and took my lunch, a burger, they never served that in my school.
After that I had to find a table where to sit… There was : a table where Doris was chatting with her friend, considering what she told me I'll avoid that place, I see her at home anyway.
a place next to the future poison Ivy...no, just no.
And I spotted an empty chair next to Kara.
"Hi Kara, can I sit here?" I asked her.
She seemed grumpy but she said move the chair so I took that as a yes.
I started to eat my meal… next to Supergirl…. It was awkward as I didn't know what to do next to a superhero, you can think it's creepy but let's be honest, anyone would react like that next to a superstar : uncomfortable and thinking of a way to make a good impression.
considering she told me 'screw you.' It didn't start well between us….
"Thanks for the gift … I really appreciate it." She gave me her autograph after the fight with Lena, it wasn't Superman's but I'm glad she gave it to me.
"You would have prefered to have Superman's." she grumbled
Okay, I wasn't an expert in social interaction but even I knew something was wrong
"Okay, what's off?"
"what's off… WHAT'S OFF, I will tell you what's off . Everyone worship my cousin like if he is their god."
Of course they do, it's the plot of many movies and stories on Superman.
"Did you know I was 12 when Uncle Jor-El and Aunt Lara had him? I used to baby-sit him back on Krypton!" she almost yelled.
Okay, that must have been a shock to see her baby cousin grow up so fast but still, WE WERE IN PUBLIC!!!!!!
"Kara…. " I was panicking a bit since the room was crowded.
She didn't noticed what I said and kept ranting about her life.
"I could've gone to Earth first and then everyone would love me, but no, I had to get stuck in space stasis while he was down here becoming a... "Man." I mean, I have the exact same power as him. I come from the exact same planet. I practically have the exact same backstory
"KARA!!!!"
My scream advertised everyone as their gaze turned on us… I was pretty embarrassed but Kara seemed to have taken it bad.
"What?" She seemed angry that I interrupted her.
"Not in public." I quickly answered her.
Speaking of the autograph was one thing but speaking about coming from Krypton and Superman's life.
"oh… my bad." She said.
I didn't really want to stay in public like that so I quickly finished my burger and walked outside.
But I was followed by Kara. although we were alone this time.
"Look, I may have overreacted about my cousin."
"you didn't 'overreacted'... Look I know no shit about what you went through… you lost everything and … I have no words for that."
But I actually know that, I went through it… I will live through it
"But… you're jealous of your cousin… the way you're talking about him is like … he isn't someone, did you know I had to fight a cyborg to save your cousin?" I asked her
"That's not new." She answered about his situation.
"IT SHOULDN'T BE LIKE THAT!!!!" She was taken by surprise because of my outburst.
Family was an important thing back in my previous life, reacting to a near death experience of someone from your family shouldn't be like that.
"Kara… I like heroes, I admire you." That's true, I watched all the animated serie of superman and loved it, supergirl included. "But the way you're talking … it's like you just want people to love you."
"Hey, I told you I didn't want to be a hero but you and Diana asked me to become a hero, did you forget what happened at sweet justice? because I remember how you yelled at me when I just tried to do what you asked me."
"I'm sorry about that Kara but if you really didn't want to be a hero then why did you take your suit on your first day of school?"
She didn't have an answer to that.
"Being a hero is more than having people to worship you, it's about saving life and risking everything you have even your own… wanting glory is not a good reason."
"So why did you choose to become one if it sucks so much? want to kill yourself?" she asked me.
I didn't answer, her eyes widened.
"Zack…"
"Forget it…" I tried to walk away but she grabbed my arm
"Why did you choose to become a hero?" She asked me.
"I don't want to talk about it."
"You practically harassed me about being a hero so why won't you tell me."
I couldn't get away from her grap, she was too strong and there's no way I could overpower a kryptonian at my level but I wanted to get out.
"I don't want to."
"tell me."
"no."
"tell me."
"no"
"I SAY TELL ME;"
"TO GO TO HEAVEN!!!"
The pressure on my arm left my emotions too much so I did the only thing I knew in these situations.
I ran.
I ran away from her, left the school and just lashed out, I created a portal and jumped inside it… I just wanted to go away.
-0-
Kara didn't know Zack so well, she met him three days ago and her feelings about him were mitigated.
It was annoying how he was telling her to act, she was older than him so why doesn't he mind his business.
She told him she didn't want to be a hero but kept asking her to act like one.
She tried to save those people at sweet justice and he yelled at her
But…
He genuinely cared about others, he really enjoyed having her autograph… it was nice to see someone react like that.
But how could he change like that? one moment they were chatting then he yelled at her_okay speaking of her origins in public wasn't a great idea but still_ was there something off about him?
'To go to heaven' what does it mean… he… he wouldn't.
-0-
I hated sadness, each time I was sobbing or just feeling it I felt so vulnerable.
I had the bad habit of trying to forget anything that made me sad, grief from the dad of a loved one, I don't talk about them and try to avoid everything that reminds me of them.
But my whole world…. I couldn't really do it, I'm trying, I'm really trying to not think about them but I can't.
The worst part is the memories. I have the memories of someone else who went through the same things as me, he lost his family. I could feel sadness when I tried to remember about his parents, HIS sadness.
So I walked in order to calm down, trying to clear my mind… but two freaking hours did nothing.
So now, I'm sitting on the daily planet's golden globe, watching the horizon.
"Hey." Someone called me.
I turned my head to him, it was Superman, I met him for the third time.
"Hi." I wasn't as excited as before. That's how low I felt
"So… Kara called… you really worried her."
"really?"
"She never calls me except for prank calls. Just last week she told me Zod was invading earth."
That wasn't responsible.
"You should talk to her."
"You need to talk." He answered me.
"I don't want to."
"Not even to me?"
"Not even to you."
"Fine."
Then he sat beside me, I didn't tell him to get off and I wanted to stay here a little.
"You know, you remind me of a girl I knew." he started. "I thought she was a jerk at first, telling me to get my head off my ass, that I wasn't special and she even punched me after I got the worst beating of my life.
"Come to the point."
"She had a lot on her mind." He was blunt and the joking tone was gone. "She… she was a descendant of the greek gods, it seemed cool at first but it wasn't. She lived for hundreds of years… the way she acted was a means to distance herself from us until the day we… you know."
Yeah, immortality has some downside when you care about people who aren't.
"Her name was Gally, she always fought evil no matter how outmatched she was or how desperate the situation was but ironically she always told the team to back off in these cases.
It took me time to realise… her work was just a way to end it."
I… I didn't know this story.
"She aimed high one day… there was a villain and … she didn't make it, I had to read her will to understand who she really was…. I knew she had problems but not that…"
I wasn't comfortable where this conversation was aimed.
"Look, I don't know you nor you know me but I can tell something is off, it's scaring Kara, it's scaring your friend. They skipped school to search you… don't let it consume you."
…..
"I can't deal with it…. I… still remember that I was saying going back home after I borrowed books from the library then... " Then I died but the other me… "I received that call… It was the neighbor, he found blood on a window… called the cop first before me… he was a friend so he thought I had to hear it from him… I try to suppress that memory… I try to forget them like if they never existed… I'm trying but I can't." Tears started to come out of my eyes…. I couldn't tell him about the truth but I could try to talk about my feelings.
"But it's not healthy, instead you're stocking it all inside you. I have been a hero for years, I faced demons and all kinds of monsters with my team but none of them thought that keeping their pain to themselve was a good idea."
"It's my life."
I don't want to deal with that.
"What about your friends?"
They aren't real… they come from a comic… they don't care about the 'real' me.
"I won't tell you how to live but you need to know that if you continue then you will lose everything."
He left and I stayed here, thinking about what he said… my life is a lie and it's not a fancy power, adventures or even joining a club and trying to join a club that would change that… It never crossed my mind how my death affected my family.
"Hey."
You know, the daily planed had too many people flying near it.
It was Supergirl.
"How did you find me?"
"Super hearing."
Makes sense… but that means…
"Did you…"
"I heard everything."
Okay.
"I won't kill myself if that what's worrying you."
"That's what you say."
"Kara… I went through a lot… so did you, I'm gonna be fine."
"But I needed help; after krypton was destroyed I was lost and afraid. Kal helped me to adapt to this new world but I still missed krypton and my parents."
Yeah… I can relate to that.
"Look, it didn't start well between us but if you need help or someone to talk I'm here."
"Thanks Kara… I will think about that."
But I will never do it, I couldn't tell her the truth like 'I died and an angel sent me here so he can have fun.' or even better : 'Did you know you lost everything because people thought it would be a great plot for comics?'
Even If I wanted, I couldn't tell them the truth.
It was a secret I would take to the grave.
Yeah, I haven't written a new chapter in a long time but I was busy with life.
So the whole chapter was there to talk about Zack's character as an Isekai, he miss his family and tries to cope with the grief by forgetting them but he can't.
He is human, he has loved one but he has flaws and refusing to talk about his emotion is one of them.
he is in a new world and lost everything, people around him are only human to him because he decided they were but when he snap they aren't people anymore. He is alone and that's when I saw it was something in common with Kara.
Also yes Eliatrope existed there, it will be the cause of many chapter,
About the whole 'Gally' and superman past it's going to be important later as I already have Ideas about Superman's past in this world. (it won't be based on Smallville but a cartoon, guess wich one.)
It's not the kind of chapter I wanted to write at first but it was probably one I needed to write.
still, I hope you enjoyed it.
