Broken Soul Part 17 (Patreon)

Myst watched the portal close then turned his attention back to the suspiciously normal looking forest. "Can anyone sense anything?" he asked the group as he pulled his enchanted compass out of his pocket, wondering if Peter or Gwen were picking anything up as his spider sense had stopped tingling once the portal closed.

"I'm not sensing anything dangerous in the area," Peter replied as he glanced around, not seeing anything that jumped out at him as being strange or out of place for a forest.

"I'm not sensing anyone with telepathy," Selena offered, wishing she'd put a bit more effort into improving her telepathy and telekinesis over the week since her range sucked. "Remind me to do more training with the alchemy robes."

"Not until we find a decent telepath that can give us some pointers," Myst replied as he started walking towards the nearest source of alcohol. "We don't need to have our heads explode."

"That only happened a couple of times," Selena argued as they followed Myst, trying not to think about the shadow clones that had accidentally ripped their heads apart or driven themselves mad because of the voices they were hearing.

"Ron's shadow clone blew his head apart five times, it's not worth the risk," Myst argued, unwilling to take the risk since they had plenty of other things to practice.

"Seven," Ron complained, trying not to think about the three shadow clones he'd ended up killing because the robes had driven them completely insane.

"I lost at least twenty five," Akari admitted, "but part of that is because they were screwing around and trying to figure out how their powers worked."

"We should probably spend a couple of days getting used to our powers now that we're not distracted or drunk," Gwen argued.

Myst frowned when he started to walk around a tree and the compass needle spun so that it was still pointing at the tree. He walked around it then sighed when he noticed a hollow section of the tree that had an old beehive. "So much for the compass leading to civilization."

"We're probably in some forgotten world that doesn't even have alcohol…" Taylor trailed off as she heard an airplane in the distance. "Or not."

"Give me a minute, I'll just fly up to the top of the trees," Ron said as he flew up toward the top of the trees, wanting a better look around the area, figuring he'd swap to climbing when he reached the top in case anyone was watching.

"Here's hoping we're not stuck in a post-apocalyptic world where they're hunting mutants with giant robots," Myst grumbled.

"Marvel?" Akari asked.

"Or something worse," Myst replied as he put the compass back in his pocket, wishing they had a better way to jump between worlds or a spell that would tell them about the local worlds so they could jump if they ended up somewhere too nasty.

"Or we could be in a perfectly normal world," Peter suggested, trying to stay positive.

Selena shook her head. "Normal is overrated."

Ron flew back down. "It was just a small plane flying around." He gestured back the way they'd come. "There's a town a couple of miles that way."

"Cool," Selena replied as she floated off the ground and started flying back the way they'd come. "Race you!"

Ron grinned as he flew after Selena, trusting his spider sense to avoid running into branches.

"What do you think the chances are of the government having a way to detect the portal?" Amy asked as she floated off the ground.

"No clue," Myst replied as he sent his avatar into a version of the new world and the chests so that he didn't have to carry them into the town. He flew after Ron and Selena, figuring they'd be fine as long as they stayed under the treeline.

"If they can detect it, we're already screwed," Gwen pointed out then followed Myst.

"We should be fine as long as we don't fly above the treeline," Peter pointed out then followed Gwen.

Taylor shrugged then flew after the group.

"Here's hoping they don't have a way to detect powers," Akari mused then followed the rest of the group.

0o0o0

"Looks normal enough," Akari muttered as they walked into the town, having landed a quarter of a mile away and walked the rest of the distance to avoid spooking the natives.

"Looks like the last stop before the forest," Myst replied as he headed toward the diner. "Molly's diner? Does anyone recognize the franchise?"

"It's probably just a local diner," Akari replied, not seeing any sort of symbols on the building beyond the large sign.

"Are you getting anything with your telepathy?" Myst asked Selena, knowing that she'd had a bit more experience with it than the rest of the group.

"Seven to twenty seven, someone just made a touchdown," Selena replied, rather annoyed that most of the people in the diner were focused on the game. "The cook wants to get into one of the waitresses' pants and one of the waitresses is wondering if she'd get more tips if she unbuttoned her shirt another button. Everything seems normal enough."

"How do you pay attention to everything?" Amy asked, feeling like she was in a crowded room as she picked up the thoughts of everyone in the diner at the same time.

"Practice, it's easier if you focus on one voice at a time," Selena replied. "For example one of the tables has a group of gamers that are talking about their latest adventure, something about sneaking into a government base and rescuing some mutants."

"We should probably grab a hotel room and come up with a plan," Peter suggested.

"The newspaper should have the date," Myst mused as he walked towards the newspaper dispenser. He froze when he got close enough to recognize the picture on the front page of an unfamiliar teenager wearing Superman's red and blue costume. "Huh, looks like we're in a version of DC."

"Or they're making a movie," Akari pointed out.

Myst shook his head. "If they were making a movie in town, it would have been on everyone's mind, if they're just making a movie, I doubt we'd have a Daily Planet newspaper talking about him setting fire to a refinery."

"Daily Planet, Lois Lane, that checks…" Akari trailed off when she noticed the credit for the pictures. "Since when was Clark a photographer?"

"No clue," Myst replied as he moved a touch closer so he could read the article. "He's usually a reporter, unless it's a What If version where he landed somewhere else."

"Which means we're probably in an alternate DC world or he's young enough that he's using the photographer angle to get his foot in the door," Akari mused, looking forward to getting some autographs and pictures with some of her favorite heroes.

Myst smiled at an older couple that were walking out of the diner. "Can you tell us where we are? We got a bit lost."

The man in his seventies glanced over the group. "Cold River, you're about thirty minutes from Metropolis, maybe forty depending on traffic." He gestured the opposite way they'd come. "Just take the road out of town and keep going straight, the sign has been out for months since one of the local idiots used it as target practice. There should be plenty of signs once you hit the highway."

"Thanks," Myst replied.

"I told you we should have taken a left," Selena teased.

"You're not going to let me hear the end of this are you?" Myst asked, playing along.

"Nope!" Selena replied with amusement.

"What do you think of Superman?" Gwen asked the old folks.

"I think he's a good kid and Luthor should stop trying to smear his name," the woman complained.

"It was a better paper before Luthor took over," the man grumbled, wishing the old editor hadn't gotten killed in a home invasion as that had been the start of everything going wrong with the paper. "Best of luck getting where you're going."

"Thanks," Myst replied as the old folks continued walking toward their car.

"Thirty minutes by car, we're going to have to hitchhike or catch a bus," Gwen mused, trying to figure out the best way to get to Metropolis since a city would make blending in easier and it would give them a chance to meet Superman.

"Is there a reason we can't fly?" Amy asked, not seeing a problem with flying since they had capes and they weren't planning on sticking around.

"I'd rather not stick my hand in that wasp nest until we know more about the world. If Luthor's running the paper and Clark is a photographer, we're operating without a map. I'd rather avoid getting shot out of the air."

"Bus?" Ron asked thoughtfully.

"I've got a better idea," Akari replied as she pulled a glowing crystal out of her pocket that she'd picked up off a goblin. "Give me five minutes and I'll get us a ride."

Ron shook his head. "Not a chance."

"Want to bet?" Akari asked with a grin.

"Yes," Ron replied.

"If I win, you owe me a favor. If I can't arrange a ride in five minutes, I'll owe you a favor," Akari replied with a smile.

"Deal," Ron replied, figuring there was no way that she'd be able to arrange a ride in five minutes.

Akari pulled off her sweatshirt and tossed it to Myst, leaving her in a halter top that left very little to the imagination then headed towards the diner with a spring in her steps.

Gwen shook her head. "You shouldn't have taken the deal, it's Akari."

"Worst case, she owes me a favor, best case we get a ride, either way I win," Ron replied, not particularly worried about it.

"That's fair," Gwen admitted, almost feeling sorry for the guy she conned into taking them to Metropolis.

"Do we have an actual plan?" Taylor asked.

Myst shrugged. "Sort of, it basically involves going to Metropolis and finding somewhere we can get an internet connection then getting in touch with Superman. If that doesn't work, we'll figure out another way to get home."

0o0o0

"Damn," Wendy muttered when she saw an attractive and unfamiliar girl wearing jeans and a halter top that showed a nice amount of skin walking into the diner like she'd just stepped out of a movie.

"What?" Eric asked.

"Over by the cash register," Wendy replied as she studied the girl's long athletic legs as she talked to Deloris.

"Damn," Vince agreed when he looked and noticed the girl standing by the cash register. "I'd do great and terrible things to her."

"You're a pig," Eric complained.

"I just said what we're all thinking," Vince argued, thinking of the various times his friend had bragged about the girls he'd had sex with after a gig.

"You're horrible," Valerie scolded them, knowing that Wendy was just as bad as the guys when it came to talking about sex.

"Probably a tourist, there's no way she's local," Wendy mused as Deloris gestured in their direction.

"Or a cop, she's walking this way," Eric suggested.

"I haven't done anything illegal in months," Vince muttered.

"Liar," Wendy muttered, thinking about the one and only time she'd checked his phone's browser history when he'd passed out after a gig.

"Nothing they can prove," Vince argued in a whisper as the girl walked over.

Wendy smiled at the attractive girl with dark hair, trying to keep her eyes off the girl's nipples since her halter top did very little to hide them. "What's up?"

"I was hiking with some friends and our ride ditched us, I asked the nice lady at the cash register if she knew anyone that had a van or a truck that could give us a lift to Metropolis and your name came up," Akari replied as she pulled two gold coins out of her pocket.

"That's a bit of a trip…" Wendy trailed off as when she saw the gold coins and the glowing crystal in her other hand. "Are those gold?"

"I wasn't going to ask you to give us a lift for free," Akari replied with a smile at the redhead. "I'm also willing to give my license number to the waitress if that makes you feel better."

"Just a bit," Wendy replied with a smile, not particularly worried about the strangers since her girlfriend would be going with them. "You realize a taxi would probably be cheaper, right?"

"I've got a couple of gold coins and a glowing rock, I doubt I'd be able to get someone to drive out here, they'd probably think it was a prank," Akari replied with a shrug, causing her breasts to bounce and drawing the group's attention. 'Super powered girlfriend, okay, this is getting interesting,' she mused, rather happy that she'd grabbed telepathy when she had a chance.

"We're almost done, right?" Wendy asked Valerie. "My character could just teleport back and stash the mutants, it would make it easier for the rest of the group to get back without getting screwed over by an agent and it's in character." She smiled when she noticed Valerie's wince when she mentioned the agent screwing them over. 'Screw that.'

"Fine," Valerie grumbled, slightly annoyed that she wouldn't be able to catch Wendy's character in the ambush she was planning. "Just be safe."

"That's the plan," Wendy replied as she collected her dice, not seeing a problem with slipping out early if it meant she was going to make a couple of thousand, especially since her girlfriend had lost her character to one of the traps in the base. "We need to swing by the local museum and pick up my girlfriend, but there should be plenty of room in the back of the van."

"I appreciate it," Akari replied as she handed her the gold coins.

"Is this going to break the bank?" Wendy asked, wanting to make sure she could actually afford losing the coins.

Akari shook her head. "No, I just don't have any cash on me."

"Cool," Wendy replied as she grabbed her character sheet and dice bag and headed for the exit, happy to have a reason to avoid the ambush that Valerie was planning on hitting them with when they left the base. She pulled her cell out of her pocket and started a text to her girlfriend, letting her know that they'd be heading back early.

0o0o0

"We have candy?" Myst asked suspiciously when they got to the girl's large black van and saw the words printed on the back door.

Wendy laughed. "It's the name of the band."

"How often do you play?" Myst asked.

"A couple of times a week. At least twice a month for money, more if we take gigs in Gotham but that depends on the clown," Wendy replied as she unlocked the back of the van, revealing the fact that there was actually a decent amount of instrument cases and a couple of speakers.

"Clown?" Ron asked as a tall smoking hot blonde teenager with blue eyes walked over, wearing a pair of shorts and a black t-shirt that said, "Aliens ate my homework!" in green.

"The Joker, he's basically an insane lunatic that the cops haven't managed to shoot yet, it's a bit annoying, he keeps gassing people with laughing gas and robbing them," the blonde haired girl complained as she walked over holding a folder and a bag of dice. "They keep throwing him into the asylum and he keeps managing to escape."

Myst frowned slightly as he caught Kara thinking about the Joker's head exploding like it was stuffed in a microwave. 'Yep, she's a gamer.'

"Which is why it's written in the contract that we can bounce without penalty if the Joker escapes, we don't make enough to risk that type of shit," Wendy complained. "This is Kara, Kara, this is Akari and her friends."

"Nice to meet you and thank you for cutting your plans short," Myst replied, feeling slightly guilty about messing their plans up, even if Akari had paid them.

"Don't worry about it, Kara lost her character and she was probably five seconds from hitting Vince because he wouldn't stop laughing," Wendy explained.

"Damned one," Kara grumbled. "I'm going to laugh when his priest dies."

"Same," Wendy agreed as she gestured toward the inside of the van. "Get in and let's get the show on the road. Do you want shotgun?" she asked Akari, wanting someone in the back to make sure they didn't mess with their gear.

"Sure," Akari replied with a smile.

'Makes sense that she'd want someone to watch us,' Myst mused as he climbed into the van, glad that he'd found someone that was willing to help them out. "What type of game?"

"Mutants and Masterminds, it's basically a pen and paper game where you're playing mutants that are trying to deal with evil mutants and a corrupt government, it's pretty fun most of the time."

"Cool," Myst replied, glad that they had something to talk about during the trip.

0o0o0

Clark looked up from the camera that he was trying to repair when he heard the door open. "You're early, what's up?"

"Valerie murdered my character with a trap and someone paid Wendy for a lift so we decided to skip out on the last hour of the game," Kara replied as she walked into the apartment.

"How much did they pay you?" Clark asked, knowing his cousin's girlfriend wouldn't normally cut a game short without a good reason.

"About four thousand," Wendy replied with a grin as she shut the door behind her.

"Four thousand?" Clark asked in surprise, wondering why someone would pay that much for a ride if it wasn't a matter of life or death.

"Two gold coins and a glowing rock, the clerk at the coin shop gave me four thousand two hundred for the coins," Wendy said smugly.

"Glowing rock?" Clark asked warily, thinking about kryptonite.

"Yep," Wendy replied as she held out the metal cookie tin she'd walked in with. "Do you still have the geiger counter? I want to make sure it's not radioactive."

"Just a second," Clark replied as scanned the box, checking the crystal that was wrapped in an extra shirt. "Doesn't look radioactive but I'll check," he told her as he walked over and grabbed the geiger counter that he'd used when he was checking the salvage before he'd picked up the ability to see radiation. "Did they say why they were in a hurry?"

"Their friend basically dropped them off and they didn't have a ride, I'm pretty sure they just didn't want to reveal the fact that they're aliens," Kara replied with a shrug.

"Aliens? What type?" Wendy asked excitedly.

"No idea," Kara admitted. "They appeared out of nowhere and they were talking about getting help from Superman to go home, so I figured I'd just wait until they contacted Superman and explained."

"Any reason you didn't mention it in the car?" Wendy asked.

"I wasn't sure if they were listening," Kara admitted.

"Most people don't have super senses," Clark reminded her as he turned the geiger counter on and put the sensor over the box. "I'm not getting anything, you should open the box."

Wendy opened the box. "Anything?"

"Nothing," Clark admitted.

"Cool, I can use it as a nightlight," Wendy said as she pulled the glowing crystal out of the shirt she'd stuffed it in so it wouldn't rattle around in the box.

"We should probably have it checked by Giovanni," Clark mused, relieved that it wasn't kryptonite. "Are you still keeping track of your passengers?"

"Yeah, they're talking about…" Kara trailed off as Selena mentioned catching her looking at Akari's panties with her x-ray vision. "Shit, Selena's a telepath."

"Great, how much do you think we gave away?" Wendy asked in concern.

"I don't know," Kara complained. "They've just been talking about the places they want to see and the heroes they want to take pictures with, I'm pretty sure half the heroes they're talking about don't exist."

"What makes you think she's a telepath?" Clark asked.

Kara relaxed when Selena mentioned something else that she could tell her cousin that didn't involve admitting to using her x-ray vision to sneak peeks at people. "Selena just mentioned agreeing with me about exploding the Joker's head like a toad in a microwave, something I didn't say."

Clark shook his head. "We've been over this, as long as he stays in Gotham and doesn't start murdering people left, right and center, we'll leave it to the courts and Batman, Luthor would have a field day which would make it a lot harder to help people."

"I reserve the right to defend Wendy if he comes near us," Kara stated, fairly sure the Joker was going to escalate from his horrible 'jokes' to something more lethal.

"Fair," Clark agreed, hoping she wouldn't have to do anything drastic. "So, what can you tell me about your passengers?"

"They like RPGs and games but they weren't familiar with a couple of the more popular ones which makes sense if they're aliens," Kara offered.

"I'm surprised they knew what D&D was," Wendy admitted as she walked over and set the box on the table.

"It's been around a while," Clark replied as he put the geiger counter back on the shelf. "How far do you think their range is?"

"Less than five miles since they didn't react when I mentioned they had telepathy," Kara mused.

"Keep an eye on them," Clark told her as he pulled his cellphone out of his pocket. "I need to call Giovanni and see if he can check the glowing crystal."

"Sure," Kara replied as she walked over and flopped down on the couch, glad that it was facing the right way so she could keep an eye on them as it made it easier to focus on their conversion rather than the countless mundane conversations in the city. "Movie?"

"Are you going to have to leave in the middle?" Wendy asked as she walked over to the media cabinet.

"Probably," Kara admitted, knowing they'd have to talk to them now that she knew they knew about her identity.

"I'll just work on a game," Wendy said as she knelt down and started searching through the games, figuring she'd grab one of the RPGs since she could always work on her gear and save the story for when Kara got back.