[Emissary] Chapter 10 - The Reveal (Patreon)

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Chapter 10 - The Reveal

To call the heroes’ little social gathering a party would be a bit of a stretch, but nonetheless, it was still something that they had unknowingly needed and very much enjoyed after spending an entire week digging through the ruins of the destroyed city, especially when most of the bodies that they had dug out were lifeless. Seeing so much death and destruction over such a short period of time would take its toll on anyone’s mind. Spending some time away from all that, just resting and relaxing with friends, had been a godsend.

Alas, all good things come to an end eventually, and their little barbecue gathering had to end too when Harry saw one of the Justice League’s javelins landing not far from the perimeter of Runes that he had set up. Batman came out of it and started looking around everywhere except for the spot on the beach where the heroes were gathered; it was proof that the Rune Array was working perfectly.

“Superman, Batman is waiting outside the barrier,” Harry walked to Superman and told him.

“Something must’ve happened. He wouldn’t come all the way here without a good reason. Can I just walk out of this space?”

“Yes. But give me a sign if you want to return, and I’ll guide you. Otherwise, you won’t be able to find your way back by yourself.”

⁂

A few minutes later, guided by a trail or red light visible only to himself, Superman came back inside the warded area.

He clapped his hands once and said in a loud voice:

“Alright, guys. It looks like it’s time for us to go. We are needed in Metropolis.”

It wasn’t only Flash and Hal Jordan who looked unwilling to leave behind the grills with appetising meat on them; Hawkgirl couldn’t help taking a second look back too.

“You don’t have to come, Hal,” John Stewart said with a grin, recognising his plight. “You’re not a member of the Justice League.”

In truth, Hal Jordan was more than qualified to join the team, but he hadn’t been able to do so due to his duty as a Green Lantern. The Guardians had seen fit to assign him to patrol distant sectors of the Universe until then.

Having just returned from patrolling an alien sector, Hal hadn’t tasted his homeworld’s cuisine in months. Hearing John tell him he could stay behind filled his heart with gratitude. All of a sudden, John’s position in Hal’s heart jumped from a mere “Green Lantern Colleague” to “best mates for life”.

“Emissary, are you coming with us too?” Hawkgirl asked.

“No, I have to clean up after everyone here once they’re done. Also, I’d like to restore the city today.”

Before they could leave the border of the warded area, Harry took out a palm-sized stone from his pocket and levitated it to Superman.

“I haven’t had the chance to enchant a communication mirror yet, but this will have to do for now.”

“What’s this?” asked Flash as he sped up to Superman and snatched the stone from his hands. It looked no different than a regular stone that one would easily find on a riverbank. Nothing about it stood out except for the seven glowing runes that had been carved into it.

“It’s a sort of beacon. I’m going to be exhausted after I reverse the time on the entire city, but if you’re in dire need of help, smear a drop of your blood on the stone. The runes that I inscribed on it will serve to warn me of your call and summon me to your location.”

⁂

Perhaps they were feeling guilty over the fact that the Justice League of America had already returned to their duties while they were still loafing around because, merely half an hour after their departure, the Justice League of Europe and the rest of the unaffiliated heroes present at the barbecue stood up, ready to leave.

“Mind if I take some of these with me?” Hal asked.

“Take as much as you want, but keep in mind that this meat was duplicated with magic. It won’t last more than a day or two before it starts rotting,” Harry said.

“Ah, bummer,” said the Green Lantern, but he still took a whole bag stuffed full of grilled meat.

Once all the heroes were ready to go, Harry waved his wand and Vanished all the chairs, tables, umbrellas, grills, and food leftovers. With another wave, the signs of fire were covered by sand too. It took only a few moments to erase all traces of their previous activities.

“Captain, can I rely on you all to secure a perimeter? I can’t cast this spell in good conscience unless I know for sure nobody’s life is at risk,” Harry asked.

“Definitely,” Captain Atom said, and the rest of the heroes voiced their agreement too. “We’ve informed the police as well; they have already set up kilometres of yellow tape all around the affected areas, and all the people have been evacuated. It’s a rough circle of almost 30 kilometres in radius. You can rest assured.”

Despite Captain Atom’s promise, it still took almost one extra hour for the police and the superheroes to confirm the fact that no curious bystanders or crazy reporters had snuck inside the cordoned area.

When it was finally time, it was Power Girl who flew over to him to inform him of it.

“You’re good to go, Harry. We just got the green light from the NYPD; the entire area is clear.”

“Did you remind the mass media not to get too close with their helicopters? My magic disrupts electricity. They’re legitimately in danger of dying if they get within the range of my spell.”

“Yes, don’t worry. We are professionals, you know? So get started already!” she said with a grin.

“You sound excited,” Harry said, chuckling at her exuberant behaviour.

“Can you blame me? I had just started my own-” Kara stopped midway, having realised that they were not alone. Dozens, if not hundreds, of drones were swarming the sky, filming them and the scenery of the destroyed city from above. She didn’t want to divulge her civilian identity.

“You can speak freely,” said Harry as he took out his wand and cast a nonverbal Muffliato. “I just cast a spell, the drones won’t be able to catch any sounds.”

“As I was saying, I just started my own company, rented a huge place on Wall Street, and even got a big-time investor, only for all that to turn to dust when the meteorite hit. Of course I can’t wait to have my place back!”

“I won’t lie, it took me completely by surprise. Of all the things that I’ve imagined you as, the CEO of a company was not one of them.”

Power Girl laughed, not taking his words as an insult. Instead, she fired back with a retort of her own.

“So you’ve thought about me that much? I’m flattered.”

He shook his head at her antics.

“You’re a flirt and a half, aren’t you?”

“Life would be so boring if you were serious all the time,” she said, still grinning. “Having a laugh, meeting new people, travelling, discovering and experiencing new things, eating good food; these are the things that make life enjoyable.”

“You forgot to add flirting and starting a company to that bucket list,” he chuckled. “What made you want to get into business?”

“Maybe I’ll tell you more about it over dinner tonight.”

Harry was momentarily at a loss for words. He wasn’t sure whether she was really coming onto him or if she was just messing around with him.

His mask couldn’t hide his face from her X-ray vision. She burst into laughter at his gobsmacked expression.

“Can’t believe I’m being teased by a brat 30 times younger than me,” Harry muttered quietly to himself.

But his quiet mutter didn’t escape her sensitive hearing. She choked on her laughter.

“Thirsty times?! Whoa! I knew you were older than you looked, but… Wow! You’re practically a living, human-looking dinosaur.”

“...Just go away and let me cast my magic.”

His mask couldn’t hide his deadpan expression, and she laughed again.

“Okay, Grandpa, I’m leaving; don’t get mad. It’s not good for your blood pressure.”

“Just go already.”

“I’m going,” Power Girl snickered as she flew away. But she turned around and said one last thing: “So, dinner in half an hour?”

“Good grief,” he laughed. “Hell, I don’t see why not. Fine! Dinner in half an hour.”

In truth, her offer was more than welcome. In his current condition, he desired other people’s company. They were a much-needed distraction from his inner turmoil and growing depression. And Kara certainly knew how to make him be present in the moment.

⁂

All the members of the Justice League of America except for Emissary were gathered in the conference room at the Watchtower. While the seven of them were seated at a round table, Lex Luthor was standing between them and the large windows of the room, watching the starry outer space vacantly.

“My world is similar to yours in many ways, but very different in others.”

With Wonder Woman and Martian Manhunter having already confirmed that he was not lying about being from a parallel Earth, the rest of the members didn’t appear to be surprised by his words. Furthermore, currently, Diana’s Lasso of Truth was tied to one of his wrists, making him unable to lie.

Flash even felt like piping in with a joke:

“Oh, wait, wait, don’t tell me. In your world, you’re the Leader of the Justice League.”

Lex Luthor didn’t laugh.

“As a matter of fact, I was. But I’m not just the Leader of my world’s Justice League. I’m its only surviving member. We were systematically destroyed by a group of superpowered beings known as the Crime Syndicate. They’ve run rampant for years, doing whatever they pleased. They rule through fear… …occasionally turning against the population, just to remind us of who they are.”

“What about the government? NATO? The United Nations?” John Stewart asked.

“They’re helpless,” Luthor shook his head, sighing. “Conventional military and weaponry are obsolete against the likes of them. In hopes of maintaining some minimal order, the authorities simply pretend they aren’t there, trying not to antagonise them. But increasingly, the Crime Syndicate refuses to be ignored.”

“They had completely intimidated civil authority. The police won’t arrest them, and prosecutors wouldn’t press charges if they did. The only thing keeping them from completely overthrowing the government is the threat of a nuclear response. You, people, are my world’s last hope.”

The Justice Leaguers were quiet for a moment.

“We have to discuss this. Please wait out here,” Martian Manhunter said as he led Luthor into the hallway outside the conference room.

But as the Martian closed the door after him and left him alone, Luthor took out a small, luminescent flask from the secret pocket in his armour’s wristguard and hid it behind one of the electronic devices in the hall.

⁂

The moment Lex Luthor was sent out of the room, Superman was the first to talk:

“I don’t trust him.”

“There’s a surprise!” Wonder Woman said in thinly veiled amusement.

“He had the Lasso of Truth wrapped around his wrist the entire time. He couldn’t have lied, could he?” Hawkgirl pointed it out.

“I don’t know, parallel Earths? Wasn’t that just an unproven theory? What if he’s crazy? Does the Lasso of Truth work on crazy?” John Stewart disagreed.

“I concur,” said Superman. “A crazy person could tell you that the Earth is flat and the Lasso wouldn’t react since that’s what he truly views as the truth.”

“I’ve read his mind; he didn’t seem like a crazy person to me,” J’onn shut down that avenue. “I believe he’s telling the truth. And if that is the case, we have a responsibility to the millions of people being oppressed in his world.”

“I don’t know about that,” John Stewart said. “At the end of the day, I’m not that different from a space cop. I’m a Green Lantern. I follow the rules. Another dimension may be out of my jurisdiction.”

“I can’t believe we’re having this discussion. Of course we’re going to help!” said Wonder Woman when she saw that some of them were seriously considering not crossing over to the other world.

“...She’s right,” Superman said. In the end, that was who he was as a person. Even if there was a chance this was a trap, he couldn’t ignore the possibility that it was all true and that he was turning his back on millions of people suffering. “We are the Justice League; helping people is what we do.”

“Not this time,” Batman shot back right away.

“Why not?” asked Flash.

“Are you seriously asking me that? We’ve got too much on our plate right here.”

“It’s our responsibility to protect the people of Earth,” Superman said.

“That’s right,” Batman unexpectedly agreed. “The people of our Earth. We don’t have enough manpower to even do that properly. Look what happened not even two weeks ago! Nearly a million and a half people died from that meteorite impact and in the aftermath.”

It was hard for anyone to find anything to say against that. Anyone except for Flash.

“Look, Emissary has got this, right? He said he’s going to fix everything up tonight. And with the government out for blood now, criminals have been lying low all across the country in the past two weeks. Nobody dares to step out of line now, afraid of following in Vandal Savage’s footsteps.”

“Speaking of Savage, do we even know that he’s really dead?” Wonder Woman asked.

“Someone broke into the government’s secret facility and snatched him right from under your noses. If you don’t know what happened to him, nobody does,” Batman said, uncaring of how Hawkgirl and Wonder Woman both started staring at him in indignation. “But it’s just further proof that we shouldn’t be going to another world but focusing on our own for now.”

“How about this: we’ll wait for Harry, I mean Emissary, to fix New York. Once we’re assured that everything is back to normal, we’ll make a quick jump to Luthor’s world and see if we can solve things quickly.”

Knowing that he couldn’t stop Superman once he put his mind to something, Batman stopped trying to convince him otherwise.

“Suit yourselves,” Batman said, shrugging his shoulders. “But I’m staying behind. Someone has to stay and keep an eye on things.”

As they had been best friends for many years, Superman knew Batman’s character too, that he was just as stubborn as he was. So he didn’t try to convince him either.

“Fine, but you should keep this with you then,” he said as he handed Batman the palm-sized stone with carved Runes on it. It was the beacon that Harry had given Superman before they left Manhattan.

Batman narrowed his eyes, not raising his hand to receive the magical artefact.

“Why are you glaring so hard at it?”

“You know I don’t trust this guy,” Batman said bluntly.

“Oh, come on, this again?” Hawkgirl rolled her eyes in exasperation.

“Just take it,” Superman said, sighing as he put the stone on the conference table and slid it to him. “Emissary won’t be coming with us regardless since he said he needs time to recover after casting such a strong spell. But if you do get in trouble, he could be handy to have around. We’ve all seen his magical abilities at work before.”

Batman didn’t express his verbal agreement, but Superman took it as a win when he saw him grab the beacon and put it into one of the many pockets of his utility belt.

⁂ Back in New York ⁂

Now that everyone around him had left, Harry was once again alone with his thoughts. The desolate scenery of the destroyed city didn’t help with his feelings either.

‘I don’t have enough power to cover the entire city with my spell.’

Back in his homeworld, most wizards and witches would struggle to cast a Repairing Charm that could fix an entire building, to say nothing of what he was about to attempt.

[Arc of Time] was already a very demanding spell, but casting one that was large enough to engulf everything in a radius of over 10 kilometres around him would be impossible with his strength alone.

He had to use Death’s power. As their Emissary, it was one of his rights to borrow their strength. However, he hated the incantation that summoned Death’s magic.

It was a hymn in which the Emissary proclaimed that they belonged to Death.

Even in normal circumstances, Harry avoided borrowing Death’s power, but now, after Death got him killed no more than two weeks ago, he hated it even more than before.

He let out a long sigh as she started levitating until he was over 500 metres above the city.

He could use his lifespan for the sake of casting the spell, but was it worth it to trade his life away only because of his hurt feelings? It would be complete idiocy.

The Invisibility Cloak appeared on his back, he held the Elder Wand in his left hand, and the Resurrection Stone in his right.

Once all three Deathly Hallows appeared together, an eerie hum was heard in the air and magic flooded the surroundings, destroying all the drones in the vicinity.

Regular people and those who were not attuned to magic didn’t hear that hum but those with superhuman hearing could hear it. As for the ones who were adept in the mystical and occult arts, they felt the side effects of that phenomenon the hardest. Regardless of where on the planet they were, a feeling of uneasiness suddenly washed over them.

“By day I sleep, at night I weep.”

It was as if the gates of a dam were ruptured and a river of magic burst through. It wasn’t his magic. It was dark, powerful, inhuman... and endless. (1)

“Death, come near me!”

The Deathly Hallows thrummed with power as more of Death’s presence was summoned into the material world.

At that moment, John Constantine, who was on the other side of the ocean, in the UK, woke up from his sleep with a look of terror on his face. He had fought and defeated demons and many other creatures of darkness, but the energy he was sensing now was something entirely different.

But Constantine wasn’t the only one who felt it. Doctor Fate, Zatanna, Billy Batson, Raven, and even Trigon, who was sealed inside of her, Circe, Hippolyta, the Olympian Gods themselves, and even the Spectre… the entirety of the Supernatural world all became aware and alert.

“Be the one for me, be the one who stays.” (2)

As he chanted the third verse of the hymn, his body was hidden away from view completely by Death’s magic in a sphere of shadowy wraiths.

“You called me, Emissary?” Death’s voice suddenly rang in his right ear as they appeared at his back and put their bony hands on his shoulders, sending an icy chill down his spine.

When Harry didn’t reply, Death chuckled softly.

“Ah, yes, the silent treatment. Reminds me of when you first died on Earthland.”

Death took their hands off his shoulders and flew slowly around him in their wraith-like form, seemingly taking delight in seeing his appearance, all black, submerged, and bathing in their deathly magical power.

“Here you are, using so much of my power, yet not even saying a 'thank you' in return. I’m hurt.”

“You’re acting as if you’re doing me a favour. You are not. It’s merely part of our contract,” Harry said curtly.

The Summoning Hymn was longer than that but those three verses drew enough of Death’s power to cast the colossal spell.

As he brought his palms closer to each other, Death didn’t linger and disappeared from the mortal plane.

[Lost Magic: Arc of Time]

Once Harry spoke that incantation, a blue magic circle appeared above his head. The dark sphere encasing him thinned out as more of the power that he had borrowed from Death was sucked into the spell, and the magic circle rapidly expanded, growing to an immense size within seconds.

⁂

Thanks to the police and heroes’ joint efforts in setting up a perimeter, the journalists and curious people couldn’t sneak in to watch the fantastic scene by themselves.

Despite the explicit warning the Justice League issued that all electronics would be destroyed if they were caught within the affected area, the sky was swarming with hundreds of drones, most of them having been sent by dozens of TV channels. Perhaps they didn’t believe the warning, or maybe they thought that even if the drones were to be destroyed, it would be worth it if they managed to catch a glimpse of the actual scene.

That being said, Superman, the Justice League, and the rest of the world witnessed Power Girl and Emissary’s interaction.

“What are they talking about?” asked Flash, crossing his hands to his chest when the sound of their conversation was unexpectedly cut off. The recording still played the sound of wind and other environmental sounds, but Harry’s and Kara’s words were muffled.

“Hey, is there a problem with this monitor?” he asked again and sped up to it, slapping it a few times.

“What are you doing?” Batman almost growled at him.

“You know how sometimes the radio or the remote control don’t work and you slap them a few times and boom, they suddenly start working again, like a miracle?”

Hawkgirl, Superman, and even Green Lantern burst into laughter at his words.

“That monitor is worth more than thirty thousand dollars. I paid that much especially so I won’t have to slap it for it to go boom and work again.”

Batman’s grouchy response had the others laughing even harder, with Wonder Woman and Lex Luthor joining them too.

“I believe Emissary must have cast a spell to keep their conversation private,” Martian Manhunter explained.

“That makes sense…” Flash admitted sheepishly.

But even without hearing what they were saying, going by their mannerism and the look on Power Girl’s face, it didn’t take a genius to realise what the contents of their conversation must have been.

“Are these guys flirting? Hey, I’m not just seeing things, right? They’re totally flirting! Look at PG’s face,” Flash said.

‘Jesus, Kara, right in front of the whole world,’ Superman thought, palming his face in embarrassment.

Hawkgirl and Wonder Woman started grinning when they saw his reaction.

“You guys don’t look surprised… Since when? Why does it look like I’m the last one to find out?” Flash said, bummed out.

“They hit it off from the first time they met each other,” Wonder Woman said, remembering the scene from a few weeks ago when she and Superman flew across the ocean, to London, to recruit Harry into the Justice League.

“He went with her to the Star Labs the other day too. And they also worked together to save a burning building in Metropolis while I was away, stopping a plane from crashing,” Superman added.

“It sounds to me like you approve of him,” Green Lantern noticed.

“I’m not related to Power Girl, so I don’t exactly have a say in who she chooses to date,” Superman said with a shrug of his shoulders. “But I do think he’s a decent guy. As far as dating choices go, she could’ve gone for someone a lot worse.”

Once Power Girl left, two items appeared in Harry’s possession out of nowhere. It was a small, black, octahedronal stone, and a long, silvery cape. But the Justice League and the rest of the world only managed to catch a glimpse of them before all the drones in the vicinity simultaneously shortcircuited and exploded due to the magic power they suddenly released.

“He did warn everyone what would happen,” Green Lantern said.

Suddenly, Wonder Woman’s face stiffened, and her posture became tense as a deep feeling of uneasiness washed over her.

At the same time, a ringtone was heard from Batman’s smart bat-themed watch. He was about to reject the call but stopped when he saw who was calling him. It was his childhood friend, Zatanna.

He left the monitor room at a brisk walking pace and closed the door after him before answering her call. He didn’t have the chance to even greet her because Zatanna’s hurried voice burst the moment her hologram came out of the watch.

“Thank God you answered! It’s him, Bruce! It’s him!”

“Calm down, what happened, who are you talking about?”

Even with the rather low-quality image provided by the hologram coming out of his wristwatch, Batman could tell how distraught she was.

“Stonehenge, a bit over a month ago,” she said impatiently. “The wraith you asked me about, and the dozens of strange suicide cases in London. When we went to the site, I told you I felt a strong deathly energy.”

“Don’t tell me…”

“I'm feeling that deathly magic power again now. But it’s more powerful. So much more powerful. I don’t know if you can understand how horrible it is. And it’s growing stronger. It’s-”

Zatanna stopped, seemingly unable to continue speaking for a few seconds.

“It’s coming from New York. I’m sure of it. Emissary is definitely connected to it.”

⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂

AN: the cat is out of the bag now. For those who aren't that familiar with DC, I recommend you to watch the movie "Crisis on Two Earths". It's more than worth it if you love the idea of parallel Earths, heroes having evil counterparts, and brilliant action scenes.

(1) It’s common in DC for magicians to borrow strength from a higher power (gods, spirits, Lords of Order/Chaos etc).

(2) The verses of the hymn do not belong to me. They are from "Death, Come Near Me" by Draconian. If anyone is curious about it, it belongs to the doom metal genre. It is a melodic, sad, slow type of metal.