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[Emissary] Chapter 27 - Resolve
🕑 Added 2024-08-19 17:09:30 +0000 UTCIt was the 27th of August and Astrid's second day on Paradise Island. Autumn was just around the corner, but it was still boiling outside. While the Amazons were handling it rather well (they were superhuman after all), Power Girl was sweating buckets. Suffering because of the weather used to be something foreign to her in the past, but ever since Supergirl arrived on Earth a few years ago, she started experiencing moments when she lost her godlike powers and became no different than a regular human.
In contrast to her 'mother' whose short blonde hair was matted to her forehead and whose clothes were soaked, Astrid appeared to be in pristine condition; she was not even sweating.
In spite of her discomfort, Kara was not complaining. She was paying close attention to the little girl's training.
If the previous day the Amazons had tested Astrid's physical strength and trained her in ways to better control it, today Kara was helping her get used to her other Kryptonian powers, her heat vision in particular.
Currently, Power Girl, Astrid, and three Amazons were by the riverside, close to a rocky area of the island. The Amazons were setting targets all over the place, and Astrid had to hit them with her heat vision.
'She's surprisingly accurate,' Kara was inwardly amazed. Astrid had nailed all the targets dead centre.
"Mamma, did I do good?"
Power Girl smiled at how cute she was.
"Yes, Astrid, you did great!" she said, patting her on the head affectionately. "It looks like hitting stationary targets isn't difficult for you. Let's go to the next level, shall we?"
Kara picked up a clay disc in the shape of a frisbee and threw it in the air with such a speed that the Amazons inwardly wondered if she was starting to regain her Kryptonian powers. But that wasn't the case; she was still depowered at that moment. The reason for her mean throw was that, even without her Kryptonian powers, Kara's physique was still at the very peak of humanity; her muscles weren't just for show. Furthermore, the density of her bones, muscles, and tendons was far beyond that of humans.
Astrid quickly activated her heat vision, but her beams missed the clay disc by a long shot.
Kara threw a second and a third clay disc, but Astrid missed the next two times too.
"Why can't I hit? What am I doing wrong?" the little girl asked, bummed out.
Kara smiled; she knew the cause for it. Astrid was 'closing' her eyes when firing her heat vision. Not literally, but figuratively. Due to her inexperience, the little girl was unconsciously turning off her eyesight while firing her heat beams. It was as if she was blind or as if her eyes were closed when she used her heat vision. And that was something that Power Girl wanted to address as soon as possible because a Kryptonian's heat vision was one of the most dangerous weapons in their arsenal. Astrid needed to learn how to 'keep her eyes open' while shooting her heat vision so that she could react in time and stop if an innocent bystander were to be caught in their trajectory.
It was well past noon when Astrid finally got the hang of using her heat beams properly. It was still taxing for her untrained mind to multitask, but her mother's encouragement and praise were a great motivator to make her pour 120% of her efforts into it.
"Girls, come, let's take a break," one of the Amazons beckoned them to come and rest in the shade of a straw parasol close by.
"Here, Astrid, have a taste of this," another Amazon said as she offered her a slice of watermelon.
"Thank you, Mala. But what is this? I've never seen this fruit before," Astrid asked, gazing intently at the deep red fruit in her hands.
"It's a watermelon. Go on, take a bite."
Taking a small bite out of it, Astrid's eyes widened comically when she finally got a taste of it.
"IT'S SO GOOD!"
Kara and the Amazons burst into laughter when Astrid practically inhaled the rest of the watermelon slice in the blink of an eye. They laughed even harder when the little girl tried to eat the peel too, only for her face to scrunch up cutely in a grimace and spit it all out.
While the girls were resting and having a fun chat in the shade of the parasol, a new person arrived.
"Diana!" Power Girl quickly stood up when she saw her and noticed her deplorable state.
Her long hair was caked with grime and dirt, her Amazon costume was scratched and stained with dirt and blood, the skin on her arms and legs was bruised all over, and her face was dirty, with only a few clear lines running down her cheeks, trails left by her dried-out tears.
"Sister! What happened to you? Are you okay?" her fellow Amazons also stood up and rushed to her side to support her.
Wonder Woman's lower lip trembled, but she regained her composure when she saw the young girl also looking at her anxiously.
"Power Girl, can I speak to you?" she asked.
Kara glanced at Astrid and then back to Wonder Woman.
"Sure. Just give me a moment."
She went to Astrid and crouched so that they were at the same eye level.
"Is Wonder Woman alright? Who injured her?" Astrid asked.
"She is fine; don't worry."
Astrid wanted to say that she was young, not blind. She could tell that something terrible happened. But she didn't have the courage to speak her mind. She did not want to upset Power Girl. After all, Astrid was 'born' only a week ago. For her, Harry and Kara were her whole world.
"I'm going to talk with her now. It's grown-up talk, so I can't take you with me. Can you stay here and continue training your heat vision with Mala, Penelope, and Daphne?"
When Astrid nodded obediently, Kara caressed her cheek gently and said: "Good girl. I won't be gone for long."
When she returned to Wonder Woman, she said:
"Let's go somewhere else. To my knowledge, Astrid hasn't awakened her superhearing yet, but it's better to be safe than sorry."
Wonder Woman grabbed Power Girl by her wrists and flew with her a few good kilometers away, to the other side of the island.
"Harry's camp is close by. Let's go there," Power Girl suggested.
"Might as well. It would save time to inform you both at once," Wonder Woman agreed.
⁂
If the first day on Themyscira felt like being in paradise for Harry, the second day could not be any more different. It was like hell.
It was late in the afternoon, and, currently, he was lying in his bed in the magically expanded tent in a fetal position. His shirt was soaked with sweat, and his face was red with exertion.
'Am I growing softer with age? Or is this hurting way worse than it should?'
Although he had not managed to find a Chinese Chomping Cabbage, he did find a way to increase the potency of the brew with other magical plants from the island. Nevertheless, it was still not a perfect potion.
"Bollocks!" he swore through his teeth and groaned in agony. It was almost as bad as the Cruciatus.
'Did I increase the potency too much?'
The original Skelegro potion took around 7 or 8 hours to grow the bones in an entire arm. As far as magical potions go, it was a slow-acting potion, but it was brewed to be like that on purpose. If it was too fast-acting, the resulting pain from feeling one's bones grow so quickly could drive one insane.
Due to his injury-ridden past, Harry had developed a high pain threshold. Nevertheless, at that moment, he felt almost as if he was a 14-year-old boy again, and Voldemort was torturing him with the Cruciatus Curse in the graveyard.
It was at that moment that Power Girl and Wonder Woman entered the tent.
The sight of Harry groaning in pain and shivering uncontrollably made Kara completely forget about Wonder Woman momentarily and rush to his side.
"Harry! Harry! Are you okay?!"
Having predicted that his imperfect brew would have unpleasant side effects, Harry had prepared a note for Kara before he drank the potion.
"On the table," he said with difficulty.
Picking up the piece of paper on the table, she read:
If you see me in pain, unconscious, or if my skin turns purple, don't be alarmed. It's a side effect of the potion. It would be better to leave me alone until tomorrow morning. You could take Astrid and spend the night in the city with the Amazons.
Harry.
Having read the note over Kara's shoulder, Wonder Woman didn't ask useless questions. She understood what was going on.
"I can't leave you alone. Tell me, how can I help? What can I do?" Power Girl asked Harry.
"It's all good," he said, audibly struggling to hide how much pain he was in. "Nothing you can do. I promise."
"Power Girl, let's go in the other room," Wonder Woman said.
It appeared as though she was insensitive, but the news she brought was far too grave to postpone.
"Go with her so I can finally start crying when I'm alone," Harry said
Despite her rising anxiety, Kara sniffed with amusement. She could tell from the shivering of his body and his distorted facial expression that he must have been in agony, but even at that moment, he was still thinking about her, cracking jokes for the sake of easing her worries.
Once they left the bedroom and went to the living room, Wonder Woman put her hands on her shoulders and said:
"Power Girl, I want you to listen to me carefully. What I'm about to tell you is not a joke."
"Diana… What's the matter?"
"The creature that Emissary fought when the two of you broke into Cadmus' secret facility—it's back."
"Impossible!" Power Girl exclaimed. "I checked that creature's vitals myself. Astrid's heat vision had incinerated his brain. It was dead! I wouldn't make such a rookie mistake!"
"I'm not here to accuse you, Kara," Diana said calmly. "The creature seems to have come back from the dead."
"How is this possible…?" Power Girl said in disbelief.
"I don't know how, but it's the truth. It was the most powerful foe I've ever faced. I couldn't do anything against it. None of us could."
It was the first time Power Girl saw Wonder Woman show such an expression of defeat and despair.
"My sword couldn't even scratch its skin, and he shrugged off my punches like they were nothing. Zatanna's magic seemed to have no effect on it whatsoever. Hal and Jon did everything they could to stop it, but even their Green Lantern Rings couldn't subdue it. Flash was helpless against him too. Supergirl held her own for a short while, but she was quickly overpowered. It was only Superman who stood a chance against him."
A bad premonition washed over Kara as she asked:
"Did he defeat it?"
Diana's eyes fell to the floor.
"He did. He defeated that creature… ...but the victory did not come without a price… he paid the ultimate price to protect us. Superman is dead."
"No…" Power Girl whispered. She couldn't believe her ears.
"I'm sorry," Wonder Woman said and hugged Power Girl in an attempt to comfort her.
Shell shocked, Kara didn't react to her gesture.
Letting her go from her embrace, Wonder Woman looked at Power Girl worriedly.
"I can't stay here for long. I have to go. I need to return to the Justice League and also prepare for Superman's funeral. But if you need anything, don't hesitate to tell me or my mother," Wonder Woman said. "We will do all we can to support you in this trying moment."
Kara nodded numbly before asking:
"When is Superman's funeral?"
"It's tomorrow at 10 am, eastern timezone. It will be held in Metropolis."
Giving her one last worried look, Wonder Woman left the tent and flew away.
The news of Superman's death rattled Power Girl deeply. But she didn't allow herself to break. For the sake of Astrid, she couldn't show any weakness.
'How would I explain to her that he died?'
Despite her physical appearance and increased level of intelligence, Astrid was 'born' only a week ago. It was too early to explain to her the concept of death.
Kara sat down on the sofa with her elbows on her knees and her face buried in her palms.
'Rao…It's one thing after another.'
First, it was her powers going haywire and being forced to retire from active duty as a member of the Justice League.
Then, Vandal Savage used his railgun to fire a meteorite and annihilated New York City, killing millions of innocents.
After that, it was the fiasco with the Crime Syndicate from the other dimension and Batman's death.
Then it was Cadmus. Captain Atom and Rocket Red lost their lives and she also became a mother out of the blue, adopting her own clone.
And now Superman died. All these things happened over the course of less than 3 months.
Hearing a particularly loud groan of pain coming from Harry's room, she quickly stood up and went to check up on him. She froze, stupefied at the sight of Harry's rubber-like arm suddenly starting to gain shape and volume as the missing bones within began to grow at an alarming pace.
Even with his willpower and high pain tolerance, Harry thrashed to the point where he fell out of bed and let out cries of pain. Not knowing what to do, Kara could only kneel on the floor next to him and clench her fists in worry, frustration, and anxiety.
Eventually, the agony went beyond what Harry could endure, and he fell into blissful unconsciousness.
She let out a breath she didn't know she was holding when Harry fell unconscious. After checking his pulse and making sure he was still breathing, she took him in her arms and placed him gently on the bed.
Then she left the tent and went back to Astrid. Considering the fact that Harry's camp was several kilometres away from the Amazons' settlement, Kara had sufficient time to recollect herself before she arrived.
She decided not to tell Astrid about Superman's death; she would help her train until dusk and act as if nothing happened.
⁂
Fortunately, by the time Kara and Astrid left the Amazons' city and returned to the camp, Harry had regained consciousness.
Just like the day before, Astrid flew into his arms with such strength that she almost toppled him over.
Harry laughed. He would never get tired of being greeted like that.
"You little monkey, didn't you train to control strength? One of these days you'll send me to the hospital. Come here!" he said and started tickling her sides.
Astrid laughed in delight as she started wrestling with him and trying to get away from his arms now. He could tell that Astrid was now controlling her strength, unlike the previous days.
The little girl suddenly stopped fighting and looked at Harry's right arm wide-eyed.
"Dad, did you heal your arm?"
"Yes, I did. You'll never win a tickling war against me ever again."
She let out a squeal and quickly flew away as Harry lunged at her.
"You can't catch me!" Astrid said and stuck her tongue out at him.
In spite of herself, Kara could not hold back her smile. The sound of Apparition was heard, and Astrid yelped when Harry suddenly appeared behind her, in the air, and wrapped his arms around her.
"I got you!"
"Using magic is not fair!" she whined.
"Using your Kryptonian powers isn't fair either," Harry said as he flew down.
Once he let go of Astrid, Harry came to Kara and enveloped her in his arms. Despite managing to stay strong the entire day up until that moment and hide her pain from Astrid, Kara almost broke down the moment that Harry embraced her.
She wrapped her arms around his back tightly and buried her face into the crook of his neck. Although he had been in pain earlier that day, Harry did hear bits and pieces of what Wonder Woman told her a few hours ago.
"When is it taking place?" He asked meaningfully.
"Tomorrow at 10 am, eastern timezone," she muttered, still not raising her head and continuing to embrace him.
"Do you want me to come with you?"
"I wish you did, but we can't leave Astrid by herself."
"Do you have to go somewhere?" the little girl flew up to their eye level and asked.
"It's a place for grownups. You can't go there yet; you are too young. Your mom will have to go alone," Harry explained.
"Ah, I didn't want to go," Astrid said quickly. "But if you have to go there with Mom, I can stay with my Amazon friends tomorrow."
It took only one look into her eyes for Harry to feel how worried the little girl was for her mother.
"Are you sure about it?" Harry asked, knowing how much she disliked being alone.
"Don't worry, Dad. I'm a big girl now. And you'll come to take me back once your business is over, won't you?"
"Of course we will!" Harry reassured her with a smile. "But that's a matter for tomorrow. Come, food is almost ready."
Both Kara and Astrid felt their mouths water at the sight of the meat being roasted over the campfire.
"We're having roast wild duck tonight."
⁂
To say that the United States of America was thrown into chaos would be an understatement. Not even two days passed since the funeral of the United States president when an even more shocking piece of news dropped: Superman was dead.
Fear and anxiety gripped people's hearts. Too many strange and terrible events took place that summer. The country had yet to heal from the catastrophic loss of over 1 million people when they lost their president and now also their most beloved protector, Superman.
The Man of Steel was not just a normal metahuman. He was not just a hero. Whenever someone mentioned that word, their first thought would go to Superman. He was the superhero.
Not just for the United States but for the entire world at large, Superman was a symbol of hope and peace. His mere presence alone was enough to cower most criminals into submission and inspire hope and a feeling of safety in the hearts of others.
However, that beacon of hope and light had been extinguished. Superman was dead.
His funeral turned out to be an even bigger affair than the funeral of the United States president two days ago.
It was not only presidents and dignitaries from all over the world that flew over the ocean to say their last goodbye in person but also hundreds of other metahumans and even some otherworlders, such as a group of five Green Lanterns from Oa, Orion, a New God from New Genesis, and Maxima, the Queen of planet Almerac.
The center of Metropolis City was packed with thousands of people who came to witness Superman's burial.
Lois Lane was crying in her handkerchief, and many other people, even among strangers, could be seen shedding tears.
Hal and John were bandaged from head to toe, full of injuries from their battle against Doomsday, but they still decided to attend Superman's funeral. At their side, Flash was doing his best not to start crying like the rest, but the sobs of his friends, Sue and Ralph Dibny didn't help his situation.
Constantine, Zatanna, the retired Dr Fate, the Teen Titans, the Bat family, and many others were present at the funeral too, most of them wearing a darker and more modest version of their hero suits or a black cape attached to them.
Harry and Kara were also present at the funeral as Emissary and Power Girl. At Kara's request, Harry had transfigured her sexy, white leotard into a more modest bodysuit and covered its boob window. He had also changed the colour of her red cape to black.
Due to Power Girl's relation to Superman (the world at large thought of her as Superman's cousin), the two of them were seated in the front row. Supergirl was seated at Power Girl's right and she was crying, an unending stream of tears rolling down her cheeks.
Harry's facial expression could not be seen with the skull mask he was wearing, but Power Girl's was visible to all. To many people's surprise, she was not shedding any tears. Neither was Wonder Woman, who was seated at Harry's left. The two powerful women were looking at Superman's coffin stoically as if they were made of stone. Only Harry knew what was going on inside Power Girl's mind at that moment.
⁂
Harry watched the funeral in silence, only holding Kara's hand in his as a way to comfort her. He could not pretend that he was saddened to tears by Superman's death because they were not close. Nevertheless, he had never wished for his death. Superman's death not only saddened Kara, but it was a great loss for all the people on Earth.
'You could bring him back, you know?' a whisper that only Harry could hear sounded in his ear.
A chill travelled down his spine when he felt two cold, bony hands on his shoulders.
'Death? What brings you here?' Harry asked mentally.
He and Death had not spoken to each other ever since the incident with Crime Syndicate when he had blackmailed Death into giving him a clean slate and making them swear never to directly manipulate the events in order to kill him again.
Their last encounter had been less than pleasant, to say the least, so Harry was immediately on edge when Death contacted him out of nowhere.
'Just checking up on my Champion. We haven't talked in a while, have we? Don't be nervous, Harry. I'm not here to get revenge on you. You are my precious Emissary,' Death chuckled in their cold, raspy voice when they noticed his apprehension. 'It was just a suggestion. You did something like that for that boy in your second life, did you not?'
It was as Death said. In the past, Harry did offer his life to Death in exchange for cleansing Neville Longbottom of the Horcrux in his scar.
'I did. But that was before I knew how cunning you were. Besides, Neville was just an innocent boy. I merely wanted to give him a chance at a regular life, something that I never had. Unlike Neville, Superman was an adult. He chose to fight Doomsday. He knew what he was signing up for. He fought and died to protect the innocent. He died a hero.'
Death cackled at his response.
'Many words to say that you just don't care about him. Not enough that you would give your life for him.'
When Harry did not fire back a retort, Death took their hands off his shoulder and walked in front of him. Going by everyone's lack of reaction, nobody else could see their body or hear their voice. But that was obvious to Harry because if Death made themselves visible to everyone present there, they would all die instantly.
Death was no longer using the appearance of a young and pale woman this time, but Harry was actually glad to see them go back to the appearance he was used to. He very much preferred the cold, skeletal, inhuman-looking Death.
'Alas, the reason I came to see you now is to give you a warning. A heavy storm is coming. Prepare yourself. Don't blame it on me this time if you or the ones around were to lose your lives.'
'Is that a prophecy?' Harry asked, his eye narrowing behind his mask.
Death shrugged their shoulders noncommittally.
'Take it as you will. I am only telling you that I did not involve myself in any of the things that are about to come.'
And with that, Death's body vanished and his mystical vision ended, leaving Harry with many thoughts and new worries.
'Is Death messing with me? Did they just tell me that to make me feel miserable, or did they really give me a genuine warning?'
Regardless of what was the truth, he could not simply pretend he did not hear their words. He started making all sorts of plans for the future.
Initially, he had planned on no longer involving himself with the matters of the Justice League but, if Death's words were to be believed, he would need all the help he could get in order to face the upcoming trials.
⁂
After the funeral ended, Harry portkeyed with Kara back to Themyscira, inside their magical tent. Seeing as Themyscira was located close to Greece, in the Mediterranean Sea, it was evening, around 8 pm, when the two of them returned from the States.
It was time for them to go and pick up Astrid from her training with the Amazons.
"Before I go, can I ask you something? I need your help, Harry," said Kara.
"Anything you need, Kara. As long as it's in my power, I will help you."
"I want to fix it. The problem with my powers is a mental one, right? Please help me sort it out. Read my mind, wipe my memories; I don't know, do anything you want. Just… just help me fix this."
A look of doubt appeared on his face.
"Are you sure? You said you hated the thought of someone rummaging through your mind."
Kara looked down.
"I still do… This isn't easy for me, you know? I don't know who would find it easy to leave their mind open to someone else and let them see their most hidden thoughts and desires, their fears, and their most shameful or intimate moments…"
"Then why?"
Harry could understand what she said perfectly. His so-called "Occlumency lessons" with Severus Snape in his first life had been one of the most torturous and hateful moments of his childhood, especially since it was one of the people he hated the most who got free access to his mind.
"Superman died. Batman died. Martian Manhunter is gone too; he's in another dimension. Hawkgirl is still in intensive care. Of the original seven members of the Justice League, only Wonder Woman, Flash, and Green Lantern are still able to fight. At this rate, the Justice League will disband… I can't let that happen."
She raised her head, her eyes meeting his now. What Harry saw in her eyes at that moment was not sorrow, anguish, or despair.
It was determination.
"People need hope. They need a protector. They need the Justice League. People need a figure like Superman. I will be that figure."
Harry looked at her in surprise, inwardly awed. Power Girl had been broken, numb with despair when Wonder Woman delivered the news of Superman's death to her yesterday. But now she was like a completely different person.
"I have some very big shoes to fill. I don't know if I'll ever be able to inspire and protect the people of Earth as well as Superman did. But I will use all my power and resources to live up to his ideals. And I need your help to do so. Will you help me, Harry? Will you stand by my side and support me? Will your shoulder be there for me to lean on when things get too tough for me to handle alone?"
Her words sounded almost like a proposal, and if it were any other moment, Harry would have poked fun at her for it. But that could not be further from what he did.
"I will, Kara, I will. Didn't I say it before? We're in this together."
They had only known each other for a few months, but even so, the circumstances pushed them to grow much closer to each other than they expected. Not only had they become the adoptive parents of a little girl, but now Kara was even ready to reveal herself to him completely, her true self, letting him see things about her that she had never told anyone else. There was no higher show of trust than that.
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂
AN: For those who are interested, you can join my discord server at /x7xdd53WqE
Comments
Kelevra
Did not expect Superman to die, you have quite the talent for surprises. Especially with the last chapter I’d expected a complete different path for him
