Unveiling the Truth #306

"You see..." I said, trailing off and taking a deep breath as I turned to Kara to look her in the eye. "I'm not from this world..." I added, causing the blonde Kryptonian to frown in confusion.

It might seem like I was making a rash decision, and maybe I was, but I honestly couldn't bring myself to care. After spending more than half a year alone in the desolate Nightshade Dimension and several months in Hell, I had more than enough time to ponder many matters, including my origin, which suddenly didn't feel like such a big deal.

In fact, nothing felt like a big deal anymore, my insecurities, my fight with Kara, Superman's retarded moral compass, none of it mattered in the grand scheme of things.

My alleged transcendence and the ungodly amount of strength I now had at my disposal only served to strengthen and embed such thoughts in my mind.

Now more than ever, I've realized that my plans, goals, and ideals could all come crashing down my head at any moment despite my strength, simply due to bad luck or the whim of some higher entity like Nabu.

I was powerful enough to destroy a friggen planet without the Helmet of Fate. But there were many beings out there capable of annihilating me should they wish it, and I'd be able to do nothing about it.

Still, there were ways for me to protect myself and my loved ones. I had many roads to tread, but none of them was pleasant, and I honestly if I could reach the end on my own.

I genuinely cared for Kara, and I wanted her walk with me all the way until the end, but for that to be possible, she needed to know what lay waiting at the finish line. She needed to know me.

"I'm not from this world, Kara..." I parroted with a smile. "And I don't mean that I'm from another parallel world with slight differences or anything of that nature..." I added with a sigh, much to Kara's confusion as she waited for me to explain.

"Back home, there were no heroes... there were no supervillains, gods, aliens, demons..." I added, shaking my head. "The most impressive man on Earth was some guy from Iceland who could deadlift a thousand bounds of weight..." I continued with a chuckle.

"I was just a regular guy with a regular job, and a regular job..." I said as I raised my head to look at the stars. "Then I died, and my death was not exactly what I'd call a regular one...." I added as I lowered my head, then turned to face Kara.

"There was darkness, and then I opened my eyes and found myself in an unfamiliar body, lying on a stinking heap of trash in some dark alley..." I concluded, smiling bitterly.

"I... that's one crazy story, but I believe you..." Kara said as she heaved a sigh after a momentary pause. "But what makes you seek power when you're already so powerful? How can you so casually arrange for someone's death like it was nothing...?" She asked with a frown.

"It's because I know what it feels like to be helpless and powerless in this crazy world..." I said, keeping my expression neutral as I spoke. "Before I got all these crazy powers..." I added as I opened my palm and created a small fireball.

"I was just a kid, living in one of the most dangerous cities in the world..." I added as I closed my fist, extinguishing the flame hovering over my palm. "I had to live my life knowing that at any moment, some crazy freak, fresh out of Arkham, could walk around the corner and torture me to death..." I added, my tone turning bitter as I spoke.

"That part of my life is over... but countless people are still living as I did in Gotham and everywhere else..." I added, shaking my head and the bitterness in my tone along with it. "Take Black Adam's rampage, for example... one man managed to cause millions of death, simply because he was upset..." I solemnly added.

"I could kill without batting an eye, and I continue to seek power despite my strength because I want to change the world..." I said, looking Kara straight in the eye. "I want to make the world a place where no one has to live as I did..." I said with a smile.

"That is my dream, and I will never stop seeking power until I've achieved it..." I said, and Kara's only response was silence as she seemed to process my words. "You wanted what drives me... and now you do..." I said as I slowly stood up.

"This turned out to be quite the one-sided conversation..." I said with a chuckle, getting a bitter smile from Kara. "But I had to get it out of my chest...." I added with a sigh.

"I'd love nothing more than to have you by my side... but I wouldn't want you to be miserable..." I said as I levitated off the ground. "So take your time and give me an answer when you're ready..." I concluded and waited for Kara to nod before flying away without saying anything else.

...

The Diamond District

Grayson's theatre

"Here goes nothing..." I muttered, taking a deep breath as I walked to the theatre's entrance and greeted the man standing guard. "Hello, John... is Patrick there...?" I said, causing the man's eyes to widen as he recognized me.

"Hello, Mr. Witlock..." The guard quickly returned my greeting once he gathered his bearings and got over the initial surprise. "Please pardon me... I didn't expect to see you here so soon after..." He added, seemingly unable to pick the right word.

"That's fine, and please call me Gray..." I said with a smile. "Now bout Patrick.. I have some urgent business with him..." I added, gesturing at the theatre's entrance.

"Oh yes, he's inside... head right in..." The man, John, said, maintaining a polite smile as he stepped out of the way, and I merely nodded at him as I headed inside.

Once there, I asked around, and the people inside told me Patrick was in the manager's office, so I made my way there without delay. I quickly reached my destination and put on a neutral expression as I opened the door and entered without knocking.

I scanned the area and found Patrick sitting behind a desk, seemingly tending to some paperwork. He raised his head and smiled as our gazes met. "Oh hey, Gray... I'm just doing some bills and taxes for the theatre..." He said in greeting before burying his head back into the stack of papers on his desk.

"I figured people would want their money now that we're in the clear thanks you ..." Patrick said, scratching his head as he wrote something down. "Damned aliens... can't even count on them to get out of taxes..." He jokingly added with a chuckle as he pushed away the papers before him and turned to me.

"So what can I do you for?" He asked with a beaming smile.

"You can start by cutting the crap..." I said, squinting my eyes as I sat on the couch opposite Patrick's desk, much to his confusion. "Who are you, really?" I asked with a frown.

"What are you talking about, kid...?" Patrick asked, scratching his head in confusion. "I'm Patrick, the old hobo living in your theatre... who else could I be...?" He asked, tilting his head.

"I said cut the fucking crap!" I coldly said as I retrieved Ebony from my inventory and promptly pulled the trigger, firing an energy projectile that flew past Patrick's head and put a hole in the wall behind him.

"I was willing to let you slide before, but I can no longer afford any more surprise..." I said, keeping my hands on the trigger as I looked Patrick in the eye. "I need to stay focused, and I can't leave you here without--" I added, pausing as the door suddenly opened, and Cassandra hurried into the room alongside Crush.

"Hey! What's going on here, pretty boy?!" Crush exclaimed, her eyes widening as she looked at me and noticed the gun in my hand while Cassandra grunted, sounding both concerned and confused.

"Nothing... stay out of it..." I said, promptly activating my Starheat ring to create a green construct cage around the two girls to confine and stop them from interfering.

"I'm sorry, but I have to do this..." I said as I turned away from them and toward Patrick. "Now... I'd prefer that you spill the beans yourself, but..." I added, trailing at the end of my sentence.

"I have ways to get it straight out of your head... don't make me use them..." I concluded, prompting Patrick to sigh.

"Was my acting really that easy to see through...?" Patrick said with a chuckle, his face and body rapidly transforming into a familiar figure changing as he spoke.

His tanned skin turned lighter, the wrinkles at the edges of his eyes disappeared, his kindly smile turned into what I could only describe as a smug grin, and a pair of shades appeared around his eyes.

Eventually, his time-worn clothes disappeared, replaced by a tight red leotard spandex suit with a yellow belt around his waist.

"Fucking Plastic Man...." I muttered, rubbing the bridge of my nose in frustration as I released the two girls, and they could only alternate their gaze between us, too stunned to speak or grunt, for that matter.

"How long have you been with these people...?" I asked as I turned to Patrick (that's Plastic Man's actual first name). "And what are you trying to achieve?" I asked, giving him a confused look

"I've been with my homeless buddies for a couple of years before you showed up, kiddo..." Patrick said, reverting to his homeless form as he shrugged. "I'm not really trying to achieve anything... that's the point of being retired..." He added with a chuckle.

"Still, I thought I was doing a pretty good job hiding myself..." Patrick said as he sighed and scratched his head. "What gave me away...?" He asked, his tone genuinely curious.

"You're too fit for a supposedly homeless old man..." I replied with a scoff, shaking my head. "And you can understand Cassandra's body language..." I added, gesturing toward the confused girl.

"If it were someone else, they might not sniff you out, but I tend to act on my paranoia..." I replied with a shrug. "Sorry about pulling a gun in your face... I can't afford to have variables around my people..." I added, my tone sincerely apologetic.

"Not anymore..." I concluded, shaking my head.

"They're technically my people, but water under the bridge..." Patricks said, sounding unconcerned as he grinned. "So what happened up there anyway? You know, with space satan or whatever he's called..." He asked, gesturing to the sky.

I was ready to reply when my phone rang, prompting me to swallow my words as I fished out my phone to see who was calling me. "Gimme a minute, will you...?" I said, raising an eyebrow as I picked up the call.

"Hell, Miss Gordon... I'm well, how about you?..." I said with a smile as Barbra's Gordon greeted me from the other side of the call. "Yes, everything is fine... so what can I do for you...?" I asked, getting straight to the point after getting the pleasantries out of the way.

"No, that's fine... I'll pick you up in a minute or two..." I said with a nod. "Alright, then I will see you shortly..." I concluded, ending the call and putting my phone away.

"Looks like we'll have to continue our conversation some other time..." I said as I turned to Patrick. "Something I need to tend to came up..." I added, and he merely shrugged as he watched me stand up.

"I'll catch up with you girls later... I gotta run for now," I concluded as I turned to Crush and Cassandra, teleporting away without waiting for a reply.

...

Gotham

Tricorner Island

Former Comissioner's house

Barbara Gordon's eyes couldn't help but widen as she heard a knock on the front door only a minute after she ended the call with Grayson. She shook her head and pushed her chair toward the entrance to answer the door, expecting a salesperson or something of that nature.

The redhead quickly reached the door and opened it, prompting freezing as she found Grayson standing on the other side. "I didn't think you'd be here in a literal minute or two..." She said, flashing a bitter smile.

"Alien technology and magic make life so much easier..." Grayson replied with a chuckle as he raised his hand, levitating a Mother Box over his open palm. "May I come in...?" He asked as he closed his hand and dismissed the alien device.

"Of course..." Barbara said, smiling as she pushed her chair away from the door. "Please come in..." She added, gesturing for the young man to go inside as she turned around and headed for the living room.

"Take a seat..." Barbara offered once they reached the living room, and Grayson obliged as he watched her move to the kitchen. "Do you want to drink something specific...?" She called out as she stopped in front of the fridge.

"A water will do..." Grayson briefly replied, and the redhead nodded as he opened the fridge and retrieved a water bottle. "Thank you..." He added as he watched her return to the living room and put it on a table before him.

"So... I take it you're ready to accept my offer...?" Grayson asked, trailing off at the end of his sentence as he opened the water bottle and took a small sip before putting it back on the table.

"I am..." The redhead replied with a resolute nod. "When the aliens attacked the city... you protected us, but those days of sitting on my ass, unable to do anything while the world burned..." She added with a bitter sigh as she looked at Grayson.

"They were some of the worst in my life..." Barbara went on. "There you were and the other heroes, taking on entire fleets by yourself while I could do nothing but grit my teeth and pray for your success..." She added.

"And I'm not even particularly religious..." The redhead jokingly said with a chuckle as she shook her head. "That's how helpless I felt... I don't want to go through that ever again..." She added with a sigh.

"The next time something like this happens... I want to be able to do something..." Barbara said, her tone firm. "No matter how small... it would be better than sitting here and doing nothing..." She concluded.