‘This base is a bit… low tech,’ Dan frowned as he followed Green Ghost through the halls. He’d grown accustomed to the advanced technology of Krypton and the Star Wars galaxy. ‘Maybe I should give them a bit of an upgrade…’
He had Venom to help, plus a perfect memory of every schematic and technical document he’d ever read. He could bump this unknown Earth ahead by a thousand years. Surely that would make a change in the timeline big enough to make a dent in his system charge.
“Here are your quarters, Superman,” Green Ghost opened a pair of pneumatic doors with the touch of a wall switch. The light activated automatically and displayed a well ordered room, complete with a small kitchenette. “You can sleep and eat here whenever you like, just promise you wont leave a mess around the rest of the base.”
“Thanks…” Dan walked around the room and glanced into the small private washroom. It came with a shower/toilet combo that raised his eyebrows.
“Sorry,” Green Ghost laughed at his reaction. “Most of us have homes of our own, so this place is pretty spartan.”
“No problem,” Dan smiled as he sat on the firm, sturdy bed. He didn’t need anything fancy, just a place to call his own until he could return to his family. “Any chance I could meet with the one responsible for the Guardian’s tech, I’ve got some advice if they're open to suggestions?”
“That would be Darkwing,” Green Ghost shook her head. “He’s pretty reclusive… but I could send him a notice on the Guardian network for you!”
“Thanks,” Dan titled his head as the woman hesitated, on the edge of leaving. “Was there something else?”
“I was wondering… have you ever met another Viltrumite on your travels,” Green Ghost leaned in, body tense. “You know, someone like Omniman?”
“I’ve never heard of the Viltrumites, but I’m from pretty far away,” Dan rubbed the back of his head and shrugged. “He seems kind of like my people, but so does the Immortal, in his own way.”
Green Ghost drifted closer and knit her fingers together. Dan edged back from the woman and she stopped.
“Sorry… It’s just that the team has almost no information on Omniman that didn’t originate with him,” She stomped her foot and walked a loop through his room. “You said he seemed like a member of your race?”
“Sort of… his abilities seem sort of the same, at least at a glance,” Dan couldn’t sense a biofield around the Viltrumite, so his strength and speed were all physical. “I don’t know if his limits will be the same though, my people are pretty… robust.”
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“He’s sturdy enough,” Green Ghost let her feet carry her to the door. She paused and looked over her shoulder. “I saw you fight today… I hope you can stick around for a little while,” she rubbed her thumb against her pointer finger, a nervous tick that raised Dan’s eyebrows. “I’ve had a bad feeling lately, like something terrible is about to happen…”
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“Have you found any sign of him…” May sent Gladius through another phantom jump. She’d scoured over a hundred nearby systems, but so far there was no trace.
“Nothing yet,” Merlyn paused in his astral projection and faced her, worry in his eyes. “I’m sure he’s fine… all his servants are still bound to his will, so he’s out there somewhere.”
“It’s almost time for the start of the plot… have you gotten everything ready like he’d planned?” May took a breath and bottled her worries within her sense of duty. “We have to make sure things progress as they should, or things could go off the rails pretty quickly.”
“Things are as they should be,” Merlyn patted may on the shoulder. He gave a gentle squeeze and a light shake. “Even without him, we can carry forward without issue and surprise him upon his return.”
“Alright,” May nodded, eyes firm. “Let’s gather what we need and head to Tatooine, it’s time to save a princess!”
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“It’s nice to be back on Earth again…” Dan sighed, adrift in the evening clouds. “System… is there any way to return to this place once I’ve gotten home, something faster than changing fate?”
[Quest available: Bring enlightenment to the Earth: Raise the potential standard of living to the highest point possible for the current Earth. Guaranteed Reward: Two Universal Portal Devices: Capable of transporting up to one dozen individuals, or one thousand tonnes of non-living material, between universes. Bonus Rewards for the creation of an outpost station for future expansion of Krypton.]
“Not bad,” Dan accepted immediately. It would make his return a bit tougher, but he trusted May to hold down the fort. This would create another avenue for his Empire in the future, who knows what treasures this universe contained. “The bonus is also an easy one!”
He had one last fortress crystal. The technology within it could terraform a planet and ready the way for Kryptonian colonists. Satisfied, he moved to return to the Guardian headquarters. It had been a long day and his body still ached from the forced teleportation.
“Help!!!”
Dan squinted below. A half dressed teen fumbled his way through the air, headed straight for a large plane. The boy dodged the aircraft, but his trajectory sent him to the far reaches of the upper atmosphere. Dan floated over as the youth struggled for air.
Hand extended, Dan grabbed hold of the kid’s wrist and dragged him closer to the Earth. The air density increased and the teen gasped for air.
“Thank… thank you!” He managed to force between rapid breaths, face on the return to a more healthy hue. “I’m Mark… are you a new hero, or…”
“Something like that,” Dan waved his hand. “Be more careful kid, if you can’t breathe in space then fly lower or you’ll end up dead.”
Dan left Mark in a burst of air. He blitzed toward the Guardian’s HQ, brain ready for a break. He wanted to get an hour or two of shut eye, then it would be time to start the enlightenment of the Earth.
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“You’re saying the most advanced network on this planet is located below this dump…”
Dan floated above an abandoned scrap yard, located in the depths of middle-america. His eyes peered below the surface to find a densely fortified bunker, large enough to hold several stadiums. Filled with orange, robotic drones, it held the taste of a ghost town. Silent and devoid of life.
“We are certain,” Venom rasped. “The next advanced location is a government facility in Arlington, Virginia.”
“The pentagon, huh,” Dan snorted. He would rather deal with a hero. Darkwing had ignored his message, so Dan would find the reclusive fellow himself. “Let’s check this out first, I doubt a member of the Guardians is living in a government base.”
A push of his biofield speared Dan into the earth, a forceful tunnel that cracked open the top of the base like an egg. Subtly wasn’t his strong suit and Dark Wing had made the choice to ignore him. Dan burst through the ceiling of a wide vehicle bay, surrounded by a host of robots.
“Hey, I’m looking for Darkwing…” Dan squinted at the identical drones. “Take me to your leader?”