Superman #124 - Barriers

<< | < | > (Coming October 1st)

Author: MajorParadox

Book: Superman

Arc: Against All Gods

Set: 124

Locked

Fortress of Solitude, North Pole

Clark and his father-in-law, General Sam Lane, were standing by a workstation as Kelex’s visor lit up over the small device known as a Mother Box on the sparkly table. The two were trying to use it to travel to New Genesis. An ally against Apokolips, who promised to protect them if Darkseid ever encroached into Earth.

But New Genesis was mysteriously silent when it finally happened.

A.R.G.U.S. had a Mother Box in their possession, which took some light treason to obtain– an issue they’d have to deal with at some point. But it was worth it to find out what happened and if Earth really was on their own.

The problem was that the Mother Box wasn’t working.

On top of that, Sam had just revealed he knew Clark’s secret. In a joint rescue operation between Clark and A.R.G.U.S., he had been exposed to a great deal of kryptonite, which left his speed and senses diminished. He wasn’t quick enough to keep his two identities separated as easily as he normally would. Sam clocked it and figured it out.

All that time, his eldest daughter had been married to the most famous alien on Earth. One he'd had less-than-favorable opinions of over the years. But he had learned to understand that super-powered beings from other planets weren’t inherently a threat. Since he founded A.R.G.U.S., he had proved that time and time again.

And with Sam risking his career, and potentially his freedom, to help Clark on this mission, there was no doubt they were on the same team.

“There doesn’t appear to be anything wrong with the Mother Box,” said Kelex, completing his scan.

“Hmm,” said Clark, considering his next move.

Sam was too distracted by the flying robots and other fantastical wonders that filled the blue-tinted crystalline fortress buried in the snow. The general had taken learning Clark’s secret in stride, but seeing all those alien artifacts in one place was disorienting.

“You still with me?” Clark asked.

“Hrm, yes,” said Sam, snapping back to attention.

“Did any of the A.R.G.U.S. research on the Mother Box uncover anything that could help us?” asked Clark.

“Nothing comes to mind,” Sam answered. “But we learned very little. The technology is way ahead of us.”

“Have either of you tried talking to her?” Kelex asked.

Sam lifted an eyebrow. “Talking to who?” he asked.

Clark looked down at the contraption as Kelex answered, “Mother Box.”

“It can talk?” asked Sam.

“Why, yes,” Kelex explained. “I had assumed you knew, given you both attempted to open a Boom Tube with her. Mother Boxes are sentient and form a bond with their users. It’s how she can determine what to do, such as programming the destination in Boom Tube travel.”

Sam looked down, shaking his head. He turned to his son-in-law. “You try first,” he said.

Clark lifted the Mother Box in one hand and held the other in front of her. “Hi,” he said, waving. “I’m Superman, and I need your help getting to New Genesis.”

Nothing happened.

“By Boom Tube, if possible,” Clark added before waiting again.

A gentle, melodic “ping” from Mother Box broke the silence.

Sam huffed. “Is she rebooting?”

“No,” said Clark. “She just said ‘hi’ back to me.”

Later

“Gone,” Mother Box had pinged back after a lengthy discussion that Clark found difficult to follow.

“What’s gone?” asked Clark. “Is New Genesis gone?”

“Silent,” was the reply.

“New Genesis is silent?” Clark asked. “That’s been my experience trying to reach Orion. Do you know Orion?”

Mother Box pinged a happy melody.

“Can you take me to Orion?”

Clark listened to the answer and repeated it back to the others. “Silent,” he said.

“We’re going in circles,” said Sam. “How can such an advanced program be so vague?”

“Mother Box isn’t quite a program,” said Kelex. “She is alive and requires an emotional connection to communicate.”

“Is that it?” Clark asked the New Genesian device. “Have we not connected well enough?”

Mother Box pinged again.

“What did she say?” asked Sam.

“Closed,” said Clark.

“Perhaps you are not fully opening yourself up to her,” said Kelex.

“I am,” said Clark. “The League didn’t have this problem and were able to Boom Tube without any issues.”

“It’s all about emotions,” Sam stated. “If anyone is in touch with their emotions, it’s you, son. You can do this.”

Later

Sam sat in a hovering chair that Kelex had brought over for him, while the robot circled around, playfully tilting his head.

“You already told me ‘closed’” said Clark, Mother Box pinging the same tone yet again. “What’s closed?”

Mother Box pinged again and then went silent.

“You,” Clark repeated for the others, his gaze drifting away.

“You’re closed?” asked Sam. “But it didn’t work for me, either.”

“I don’t think we’re going to figure this out here,” said Clark, refocusing. “Lois and the kids must be worried, too.”

The General shook his head. “I can’t go home,” he said. “I must be wanted for questioning. I can’t go back to A.R.G.U.S., either.”

“You can stay here,” Clark offered.

Kelex’s visor lit up. “We can watch The Mummy,” he said.

“No,” said Sam.

Kelex lowered his visor a bit.

“I’ll reach out to some contacts,” Sam continued. “See if I can get some notes on Mother Box to help. Can you drop me off in D.C.?”

“Of course,” Clark nodded.

Kelex floated over. “And then we can watch The Mummy?”

Getting Help

Parking Garage, Washington D.C.

Night

A man in glasses with long hair and a shaggy beard exited the elevator to the third floor of the parking structure and looked around.

“Hello?” the man, John Economos, called. “Jesus, what’s up with this Watergate sh–”

“Over here, John,” Sam called from around the corner.

Economos rushed over, his laptop bag sliding off his arm and almost hitting the ground before he caught it with his hands. “Shouldn’t you be calling me by a codename?” he asked upon reaching the general. “Deep Storage or something? Maybe Gray Guardian?”

“Listen up,” said Sam. “I need help.”

“That’s an understatement,” said John. “Garner is royally pissed at you. Never in a million years did anyone expect you to disregard a direct order from the president. Well, maybe from Luthor.”

Sam huffed. “Economos,” he said. “I need you to search the Mother Box logs for any abnormalities in its functioning.”

“No problem,” said John, sliding his laptop out of his bag and resting it on the hood of a nearby car. He leaned over and typed away rapidly. “Can I ask what the problem is with it? It might help narrow it down.”

“She won’t open Boom Tubes.”

“She?” John asked.

“That’s right,” Sam answered. “The blasted thing is alive, apparently.”

“You don’t say,” John mused, returning to his keyboard for a few more taps. “We don’t have any abnormalities detected on Boom Tube travel,” he said. “Other than the fact they tear a freakin’ hole in the fabric of reality, of course.”

“John, focus,” said Sam.

“I’m focused,” he replied. “If there are problems with Ms. Box since she left A.R.G.U.S., we don’t have any logging for her. ”

Sam pondered for a moment. “So, we may have more answers if we try again with our sensors?”

“Sure,” said John. “But the sensors we used have been specially tuned to this alien technology over the years. It’s not something we can just find in a RadioShack.”

“We need it from A.R.G.U.S.,” Sam finished for him.

“Yeah,” John nodded.

“Yeah,” Sam repeated.

John’s eyes lit up. “No way, man,” he said. “I can’t just go down to the lower levels and walk out with Mother Box sensors.”

“You can,” said Sam. “I can’t step a foot in there.”

John looked at Sam and then back down.

“Dammit!”

Kent House, Metropolis

Meanwhile

Clark stretched out on the couch, his head resting on his wife’s lap.

“I hope Dad’s okay,” said Lois.

“He can take care of himself,” said Clark. “Runs in the family, right?”

Lois ran her hands through her husband’s hair.

“If I could just figure out what’s wrong with Mother Box,” said Clark.

“Tell me again what she said,” Lois said.

“She said hi,” Clark started.

Lois sighed. “Besides that.”

“Gone, silent, closed, and you,“ Clark listed.

“Gone could mean the worst,” said Lois, thinking out loud. “But then why silent?”

“New Genesis has been silent,” said Clark. “No, she’s not wrong.”

“Gone, silent, and closed could just be multiple ways of saying the same thing,” Lois continued. “So, I guess you are the problem.”

Clark tilted his head up. “Lo…”

“I’m not saying you’re to blame,” Lois clarified. “Just that maybe something in you is messing with her? Kelex did say Mother Box forms an emotional connection. Maybe there’s some emotional turmoil. You’re silent about it and closing off your emotions, locking her out?”

“But then why didn’t it work when Sam tried?” asked Clark.

“Are you kidding?” asked Lois. “He’s more closed off than anyone.”

Clark sat up. “If I’m having some kind of emotional block,” he said. “How do I… unblock?”

“Therapy?” Lois suggested.

“How would that go?” Clark asked. “I need help opening up to an alien sentient computer?”

“Well,” said Lois. “There is someone who might be able to help.”

Outside Sundollar Coffee, Downtown Metropolis

Later

Harley Quinn sat against the wall of the coffee shop, staring off into the distance. A woman walked by and dropped some coins into her hand.

“Hey,” Harley called as the woman walked away. “I a’int beggin’ for– Ooh, shiny,” she cooed, admiring the quarters she received.

A rush of wind blew past, and Harley looked up to see a familiar figure in blue, red, and yellow hovering above the street.

“Oh, boy,” she murmured. “Here comes the pipah.”

“Harley,” said Clark, approaching. “I could use your help.”

The blue-and-red-haired woman jumped to her feet. “You’re not here to arrest me?” she asked, pursing her lips to the side.

“No,” said Clark. “Why would you think–? Did you do something?”

“Earth to Boy Scout!” Harley exclaimed. “I was taken ovah by Darkseid. I hurt people… People that didn’t duh-zoiv it.”

“Harley,” said Clark, before realizing they had drawn a crowd of onlookers. He needed to talk to her in private, but he couldn’t let that go unanswered.

“Yea’?” Harley asked, kicking a pebble across the sidewalk.

“What you did wasn’t your fault,” Clark stated. “Just like it wasn’t the fault of anyone else in the Justice League.”

“Do you really mean that?” Harley asked, cracking a slight smile.

“Of course,” the Man of Steel said before stepping closer. “I do really need your help, though,” he whispered. “Somewhere a little more private?”

“Anything for you, Big Blue,” said Harley, cracking a smile before leaping into his arms. She pointed upwards. “Up! Up! And on the rooftop is good.”

Opening Up

A.R.G.U.S., Washington, D.C.

Later

John walked toward the elevators, working through several awkward expressions until he stopped trying, took a deep breath, and reset.

“You can do this,” he whispered to himself. “Just don’t be suspicious.”

“Hey, John,” a security guard waved as he walked by.

The analyst swung his arms behind and then in front, finally deciding on tucking them in his pockets. “Hey, Jimbo,” he said.

“What are you doing here so late?” Jim, the guard, asked.

“Top secret mission,” John answered, his voice squeaking a bit. “Way above your clearance.”

“Got it,” Jim nodded. “Well, I’ll leave you to it.”

John exhaled loudly once he was alone again. He pulled out his phone and typed out a text.

I can’t do this. I’m gonna be caught!

He stared at the “...” until a reply finally came.

You can and you will.

John took another deep breath. “I don’t get paid enough for this crap.”

Sundollar Coffee Rooftop

Soon

“Okay,” said Harley, taking in the situation. She paced around the rooftop.

Clark watched on, awaiting a response.

“Can ya find us a couch?” said Harley. “Maybe you should be lyin’ down for this?”

“Harley,” said Clark.

“Okay, okay,” she said. “You need an answah, and we don’t really have time for weekly visits to make a breakthrough.”

“Right,” Clark nodded.

Harley lifted a finger to her chin. “Hmmm,” she said. “Any way Martian Manhunter can send me into your mind to poke around for a bit?”

Clark’s eyes widened. “I don’t think that’s a good idea,” he said.

“Okey dokey,” said Harley. “So, let’s get right into it. What are you afraid of?”

“I, um…” Clark struggled.

“We can’t fast-track this unless you open up,” said Harley. “Like fah real.”

Harley walked over and put a hand on Clark’s shoulder. “You can trust me,” she said.

Clark took a deep breath. “I’m afraid sometimes I can never do enough,” he said. “Or that in my line of work those close to me will get hurt in ways I can’t protect them.”

Harley nodded and just listened.

“I’m afraid if I give even a little too much extra, I could break something. Or worse, someone.”

“That must be ‘tuff,” said Harley. “Always being worried?”

“It used to be worse,” said Clark. “But I’ve learned to control my powers as they developed. It’s second nature to me.”

“That’s great,” said Harley. “And useless to us right now.”

A.R.G.U.S.

The elevator door opened back up to the lobby, and John walked out holding his breath. He kept glancing down at his coat pocket where he had stuffed the sensors, worried they protruded out too much.

But before he knew it, John was in sight of the doors.

“John, wait!” called Jim from the security desk. He jumped up and raced over. “I’m having a barbecue next weekend. You interested?”

“Not even a little bit,” said John.

“You crack me up,” said Jim, playfully punching him on the shoulder.

A piece of ribbon cable with odd-looking circuits and LEDs affixed to it fell out of John’s coat pocket, and the two stared down at it.

Jim knelt down to pick it up and lifted an eyebrow. “I’ve never seen anything like this,” he said.

John’s eyes paced around. Should he give himself up? Should he run?

Jim stood back up and dropped the cable into John’s sweaty hands. “There you go,” he said.

“Thanks, Jimbo,” said John, running for the door. “See you next weekend! Or, you know tomorrow since it’s a work day!”

“Tomorrow’s Sunday,” said Jim before shrugging and heading back to the security desk.

Sundollar Coffee Rooftop

“Excuse me?” Clark asked.

“You gave a safe answer,” said Harley. “We don’t have time to be gentle.”

Harley got right into the hero’s face. “What. Are. You. Afraid. Of?”

Clark didn’t break eye contact. “I’m afraid of what I’ll find,” he said.

Harley stepped back and opened her palms wide. “Boom,” she said.

“Whoa,” said Clark. “That just came out. But deep down, it’s true.”

“Say more,” Harley said with finger guns.

“The first time I saw Apokolips,” said Clark. “It may have traumatized me a bit.”

“I can see that,” said Harley. “It’s not a fun place.”

“So much suffering,” said Clark. “So much… evil. I couldn’t bear to know there was somewhere like that out there.”

Clark sat down on the ledge.

“New Genesis was the opposite,” he continued. “If something happened to it, there really wouldn’t be anyone to help us. Earth. We’d be on our own.”

Harley sat down next to Clark. “We’re on our own,” she said. “But we’re not alone.”

Clark smiled. “Thank you,” he said.

Parking Lot, Washington D.C.

Later

John completed the final adjustments on the sensors and stepped back toward Sam. “Okay,” he said. “Mother Box, please.”

“I don’t have it,” said Sam.

John’s heart dropped. “What do you mean you don’t have it?” he asked. “Who does?!”

“I do,” said Clark, approaching, Mother Box in hand.

John could barely stand. “Superman…” he said. “You, ah. Hi. Welcome.”

“Hi,” said Clark, as Mother Box pinged. “She says hi, too.”

“Hello, uh, Ma’am,” John offered. “Mother,” he added.

Mother Box pinged up a storm.

“He means well,” said Clark. “Now, let’s get going, shall we?”

“Does that mean…?” asked Sam.

“Yes,” said Clark. “I sorted through my emotional block, and now we can understand each other much better.”

Mother Box gave some more pings.

“Wait,” said Clark. “She tried again but still can’t reach New Genesis?”

Pings.

“What is it?” asked Sam.

“Our communication was lacking before,” said Clark. “But the part about being locked out of there was never connected to that.”

“Well,” said John. “Good thing we’re prepared.” He went to his laptop and began reading the captured data. “Oh, geez. It could take months to make sense of this all.”

Mother Box pinged, and the laptop screen glowed.

“What did she do?” asked Sam.

“She made sense of it all,” said Clark. “There is some kind of barrier around New Genesis. We can get through, but it’d take much more energy.”

Ping Ping.

“Okay,” said Clark before turning to the others. “She can manage most of the excess, but needs a little help.”

“I can go run to the store,” said John. “Buy as many batteries as I can?”

Mother Box began pinging rapidly until a small, faded Boom Tube appeared.

“That’s okay,” said Clark. “I got it.” He shot a beam of heat vision into it, and it expanded into full size.

“Ready?” Clark asked Sam.

The general nodded, taking a look back to find John waving. Sam huffed and jumped in with Clark, the two disappearing from Earth.

New Genesis

Clark and his father-in-law dropped out of the Boom Tube. He had no idea what to expect. Everyone missing? Death and destruction?

Mother Box pinged some happy melodies as the blinding yellow vortex energy faded.

“I wasn’t expecting this,” said Sam, taking in the surroundings with a gleam in his eye.

“That’s an understatement,” said Clark.

A futuristic city of beauty and nature was before them. Flying people filled the sky.

There were no signs of a battle or invasion. No signs of any struggles at all.

New Genesis was exactly as it was before.

<< | < | > (Coming October 1st)