Injustice 3: Rings War (Book 2)

Chapter 13: S-O-S

Dr. Fate:

"He must die," someone says, "He had to die. The future of Earth depends on it."

"We all agree that the man in the sunglasses must die," someone else replies, "But the question is not whether or not he must die but it is how. We cannot find him. Despite our best efforts."

"We must lure him out," a third voice answers. "And once we do, we must destroy him quickly. However, the man's true power is still unknown. I would suggest we find ourselves a new ally."

"A new ally," the first voice repeats. "What do you mean by a new ally?"

"I believe our best option for defeating the man is to form a partnership, a temporary one, with Superman and his One Earth Government. His resources are near endless and his army is at the ready."

"Ready for what," the second voice asks.

"For the invasion against the Green Lantern Corps."

The next thing I know, visions of Oliver, Barry, Harleen, Superman, and someone in a pair of sunglasses flash by, too fast for me to make sense of what is going on. Somehow, I'm entering the sewer but at the same exact time, I'm with Raven who is now glowing yellow? Meanwhile, I'm also fighting Cheetah, but Captain Cold had just frozen me in a block of ice, and the last thing I see was the sky before hearing something shatter.

As the visions run by faster and faster, they soon become too much for me to handle.

"What's going on," I think, my head feeling like it's ready to explode. "What's going on? Why am I fighting? Why am I destroying an empty street? Who is that man in the sunglasses?"

The visions going by too fast now, there's nothing more than colorful blurs. I try and look at them, try to understand what is going on, but I can't. It's too much for me to understand. It's too much for me to get. I can't understand what is going on.

Before I know it, my eyes suddenly snap open.

The Man:

I watch as the Doc jumps up and down and screams when Dr. Fate himself wakes up and starts screaming too. I take a step back and watch as the two scream their heads off. Eventually, the screaming attracts Iris who runs in. Stun for only a few seconds, Iris then grabs the Doc and keeps his feet on the floor.

"Well, that was amusing," I say, stepping forward. "I especially like the part where you ran around for a bit before jumping up and down again."

"What," Dr. Fate screams, looking all over as he struggles against the table's restraints. "What? What is the meaning of this? What's going on?"

Turning his head, he then notices the three of us.

"Scarecrow," he growls, looking like a cat that is about to attack a bird. "And Iris? You're with him now? And you. Who are you?"

"That's is not important right now," I answer.

"Also," the Doc interrupts, lending in between Fate and me. "Nowadays, it's Dr. Crane. Dr. Crane, not Scarecrow. Dr. Crane."

"Thanks for that," I say, pushing the Doc back, "But that's also not important right now. Iris, please stay here while I go and get the others. They'll want to see this."

"Wait," Iris says, stopping me before I can leave. Looking like she's about to say something, she stops herself. Instead, she leans in and whispers.

"What's about Dr. Fate? I mean, no offense or anything, but I don't think Dr. Crane is much of a fighter anymore and I can throw a few punches, but I doubt that's going to do much against a guy with magic."

Looking past Iris, at the tied-down Dr. Fate as he goes on and on, demanding answers about what is going on, I then look toward Dr. Crane.

"Dr. Fate can't use magic without his helmet," I start, "And he is tied down to the table. Still, I understand. Listen, if anything happens, there are bottles of propofol in the cabinets over there."

"Propofol," Iris says slowly. "What's that?"

"It's a type of anesthetic used commonly to put patients to sleep before surgery."

"Surgery?"

"He's not getting any surgery."

Nodding at Iris, I leave.

Going from room to room, I quickly gather everyone else in the base. As we walk through the hallway, Dinah is at my side, constantly asking questions.

"So Kent is finally awake," she starts, "And he's okay."

"More or less," I answer, "He's screaming at the top of his lungs, demanding to know what is going on."

"And you didn't tell him,"

"What exactly was Sunglasses supposed to tell him," Cold asks, "Hey, Kent, guess what? You're in my super-secret base after I, along with a bunch of your old friends, kidnapped you from Raven, who by the way, was apparently granted extra powers from your bosses, the Lords of Order?"

"No," Dinah says, slapping herself in the face. "Not that, but at the very least, you could have told him who you are."

"We don't even know who he is," Harleen interjects.

"Call me whatever you want," I say, "Honestly, it's been so long since I've heard my actual name, and I've been using so many fake names for so many years, I do not care what any of you call me."

"Really," Jason asks, "So you're okay if I start calling you Crazy Son of a Bit--"

I stop walking and elbow Jason before he can finish. As he's about to fall back, I turn around and rush forward, grabbing Jason's shirt.

"I'm not okay with being called that," I say, pulling Jason up and letting go of his shirt. "Don't swear kid."

Most of the Insurgency still behind me, I tap on Barry's door.

"Knock, knock," I say, waiting for Barry's door to open. Surprisingly, he opens it after a few seconds. About to tell him about Kent, I stop when I see the radio in Barry's hand. Immediately, I turn around and shush everyone. Everyone going quiet, I step back and watch as Barry leaves his room.

Standing in the hallway now, he vibrates his hand to the right frequency, the light turning from red to green.

"Hal," Barry starts, turning up the radio so we can all hear it. "Hal. It's me. What's wrong? Is everything okay?"

"Hello," a voice answers. The voice is not Hal. It sounds like a woman. "Hello? Is this the Flash? Hello? Please come in. Hello?"

"This is Flash," Barry answers, "Who is this? Where is Hal?"

"Hal is badly injured," the voice says, "Please listen. My name is Arisia."

"Arisia," Selina repeats," Who's that?"

"She's a fellow green lantern," I answer, thinking of her. "There's a name I haven't heard in a while."

"I'm a Green Lantern," Arisia goes on, "And we need your help. You and everyone else. We need all of your help."

"What's going on," Barry says.

"Hal is down. So are Gardner and Tomar Re. We're badly outnumbered and I don't know how much longer we can fight. Please, get here."

The sound of an explosion cuts Arisia off, and the light switches back to red. Despite Barry's best efforts, he can't seem to call Arisia back. Eventually, he just lets the radio drops to his side.

"What was that," Cheetah asks, the first to break the uncomfortable silence.

"An S-O-S," Kara says, "We need to help Arisia."

"And apparently, the rest of the Green Lanterns Corps," Harleen adds. "But just one slight problem. I mean, hey, I'm on for saving Hal and his Green Lanterns buddies, but they're in space. Far, far, far, away in space. How are we supposed to even get there in the first place?"

"One problem at a time," Dinah says, "For now, let's go and see Kent."

Patting my back, Dinah starts to push me toward the infirmary.