Injustice 3: Rings War (Book 2)

Chapter 16: The Rusted

The Man:

"How in the world did we get here before any of the others," I say, walking down the final steps. My foot landing on the stone pavement, I look around and all I can see is my empty workshop. There is no one else here.

"How can you tell," Kara asks, still on my back. "I can't see anything."

"I can see in the dark," I reply, "And what I can see right now is my ship, the wood and metals I used to build her, and my tools."

"Woods," Kara repeats, the sound of an elevator's ding grabbing our attention. Quickly getting off my back, Karak and I look to see the elevator's doors slide open and the rest of the Insurgency all inside.

"You beat us here," Leonard yells, "How? I thought you said you would take the stairs."

"We did," I yell back, "And we beat you here. Haha, slowpoke."

"So where is this spaceship of yours," Barry asks, walking out of the elevator and looking around. "I don't see anything."

"That's because the lights are off. Give me a second."

Clapping my hands together, the sound echoing throughout the entire hanger, all the lights then simultaneously come on, revealing my ship, the mighty Rusted.

"Oh, you have got to be kidding me," Barry yells, the sound of his 'fingernails against a chalkboard voice echoing throughout the hanger. "This is your spaceship? This?"

"Yes," I reply. "This is my spaceship. The Rusted."

The Rusted, my spaceship, upon first look, is a refashioned pirate ship, complete with everything from the crow's nest at the very top to the hull, the belly of the ship. She comes equipped with three main masts, the sails already down and a figurehead I handcrafted years ago.

"You really put the 'ship' is spaceship uh," Cold jokes.

You got to be kidding," Jason joins, walking up to the Rusted. "This is a boat, not a spaceship. How is it supposed to take us to Oa? How?"

"Okay, first thing first. This is a ship, a ship, not a boat. Second of all, despite what you may be thinking, it is more than capable of taking us, all of us, to Oa."

Walking up and gently patting her, I look toward Jason.

"I made some upgrades since the last time she helped me. For example, despite being made from cedar and oak, the Rusted herself is heavily reinforced."

"Herself," Jason repeats.

"Yes Millennial. We old people like to refer to our precious cars, boats, and planes as 'her' and 'she'. After all, they have a special place in our hearts."

I nod my head as I look at the Rusted again.

"Also, you see the sails up there?"

Jason looking behind and up at the sails turns back to me.

"Yeah."

"They're made from an aluminum-like alloy, flat, smooth, and with a reflective coating that sunlight can push. Have you ever heard of something called solar sails?"

"I have," Professor Stein interrupts, stepping up. "Thought, I've never heard of someone building a pirate ship with solar sails."

"Wait, wait, wait," Barry says, shaking his hands left and right. "Are you saying this is for real? This thing--"

In less than a second, I pull off my shoe and throw it at Barry.

"Ship," I say, "This ship."

Rubbing his head as he looks at me, his eye twitching as he does, he looks back at Professor Stein.