Super & Real
Chapter Thirteen
I.
The team stood in the makeshift arena. John had used his super science to transport them to another dimension once again, and they used one of their dimensional bases as a training ground. They didn’t want to trust that their enemy would leave them alone. It didn’t seem like their enemies had the ability yet to travel between dimensions, so they counted their advantages and proceeded.
“So,” Jericho said, as the group stood in the barren building. “We’ve got all the equipment we’re ever going to have, all the powers we’ve gathered, and our allies are doing their part to limit our enemies’ power. What do we do next?”
Jennifer pondered the events that happened thus far. “I won’t lie,” she said. “This is insanity.” She looked at her friends, whose battle experience, while limited, contained the memories of herself, Jericho, and several others. The looks on their faces, the weeks of horror that felt like decades, told her of their understanding. “We might not make it. This is one of the worst-case scenarios I envisioned when I started this. But we’ve got to stop Jack Hurst.”
“I think I’ve got something I can do,” Luther said. All eyes turned to him. “My power is empathy. Jericho’s memory sharing power is one thing, but I think mine is stronger. I think I can hit Jack with every person he’s hurt, all at once.”
Jericho had a thought. “What if Jack is having the fake Jesus share some of the suffering with him,” he explained, “because, you know, so many religious leaders have said that pain brings you closer to God?”
Luther nodded. “Believe it or not,” he explained, “I’ve thought of that. It’s possible, but I don’t think he’s been hit with everything at once.”
Jennifer pounded fist into palm. “Right!” she exclaimed.
“Think,” Luther said. “Think about all those millions who he’s killed, all those people who’ve seen the image of their lord perverted into something horrible. I don’t know if he can handle it.”
“Think you can do it?” Ed inquired.
“I think so,” Luther replied. “Honestly, I can feel their memories just by invoking my power and thinking about it.”
The two brothers shared a nod that spoke volumes. Jennifer cleared her throat. “We can battle train until the cows come home,” she said, “but honestly, I don’t think you guys want to stand here and fight each other one more time.”
Annie clenched her steel-covered fists. She’d been dying to get something done. To her right, Edward breathed in and out. He’d spent days learning every facet of his character. John and Raymond had hardly slept, wracking their brains for every ounce of scientific advancement they could squeeze out of their enhanced intellects. They’d developed some things that would make Star Trek stare in disbelief and envy, but all of that depended on survival. Each person didn’t think they could hide away any longer. “What do you want to do?” Annie asked, eyes on their de facto leader. One by one, each member turned to her.
“I want to go back in time and put my fist through Jack Hurst’s miserable skull,” she admitted. “But barring that, I think the best thing to do is to be a symbol.” Jericho gave her a look indicating he had a similar idea. “Our enemy wants a big spectacle. He wants his army versus ours. We took out one of his loyal followers. We take out the people doing wicked things in his name.”
“Yeah,” Ed said, clearing his throat. “He might have been keeping his followers in line at first, but now, they’re let loose.”
“John?” Jennifer asked.
Her friend looked up from his laptop. “Yes?” he asked.
“I’ve got some locations in mind,” she explained. “We go out and put an end to the worst that this fake Jesus has to offer.”
He grinned and showed the map on his laptop to her. “Way ahead of ya,” he explained.
In Africa, a group of men and women had been gathered onto a platform. At least six pyrokinetic supers stood in a circle around them. They’d been tied to posts. Beyond the group of men with hands on fire, stood several brutes, muscled and bulky. A figure stepped onto the platform, hand in a vial of oil. He made the sign of the cross in the air and began speaking.
“As the hour of our Lord is at hand,” the man said, turning pages with his thumb, “the servants of the enemy must be sacrificed.”
The ground trembled as a quake shot through the area, knocking men off their feet and jostling wooden buildings. Everyone turned to the sound of the impact, as it originated behind the large group. The sound of metal grinding and tearing echoed as Jeeps and other heavy vehicles were ripped to pieces. A single scream broke the dam, and soon, thousands of voices cried in a cacophony of noise. A woman of incredible stature rammed her way through the crowd, taking shots from artillery like a man playing dodgeball with children.
The brutes charged forward, smashing their shoulders into Annie at full force. She took the blows and dug her feet into the ground, tearing a ditch as she held. She grasped the two and smashed them together and launched them in opposite directions. Several fireballs hit her and rolled off her armor. The two that got close to hurl fire fists into her, got limbs broken. One unlucky bastard caught her fist right to his chest, bending him into a tight U shape, and launching his crushed body into a truck with enough force to flip the vehicle.
“Anyone else?” Annie yelled.
She ripped the shackles and ropes off the victims. Before they could thank her, she took to the sky. Using her battle sense, she could tell where all the conflict areas were, as the servants of the fake Lord had come out in force. She landed in a village a few dozen kilometers away, where a local terrorist group had found themselves a new leader.
“The Lord has given us great purpose!” the man shouted.
A giant boot planted itself in his back, launching him into a mound of dirt. He looked up and brushed himself off. His face lit up. “A ha!” he yelled. “This is my chance to destroy one of the lieutenants of the Devil!”
“I’m the Goddess of Strength,” Annie said, playing up her character. “Not some servant.”
He assumed a fighting stance. “Matters not,” he shouted, clenching his fists. “I’ve had my power enhanced by the Lord himself!”
She slugged him in the chest, smashing him through several wooden buildings. Before he had a chance to get to his feet, she clobbered him with a rising knee to his gut, lifting him off the ground. He hovered in place for a fraction of a second, before a left arm clothesline caught him and propelled him into and through a rock wall.
He burst from the rubble and swung at her. His fist connected with her abdomen, and the shockwave from the impact blew away loose dirt and debris for several feet around. She didn’t budge. “Hey, that wasn’t half bad!” she said. Then, a swift upwards kick caught him on the chin and he sailed upward.
At the peak of his flight, he screamed and swung a fist. She dodged, and an axe handle smash shot him downward with the rifle bullet velocity. He left a forty-foot crater in the ground. She landed and saw as he breathed his last breath. She closed her eyes and let the feeling come and pass. Each life taken bothered her, cut her deep, but she wasn’t about to let it stop her. Each person corrupted by this fake Jesus had to be stopped. The sooner they defeated Jack Hurst and his monster, the sooner people could be shown that this messiah wasn’t real.
The sound of gunshots and explosions nearby told her that followers of the false messiah were everywhere. She grit her teeth and leapt into the fray.
Jennifer flew head-long into action. Scores of superpowered gangs were hunting down those of religious faith that did not accept Jack Hurst’s Jesus as real. She landed in Texas, where she’d heard clusters of people being rounded up and imprisoned inside churches. An ice shot sailed past her as she impacted the ground, throwing six men in different directions from the shockwave.
They swung their ice-armored fists and steel-coated feet at her, and her speed meant they sailed past her. The variety of superpowers coming at her honestly impressed her. Here were people who had gotten together incredibly quickly and fought in sync perfectly after just a few days. She would have been impressed if they hadn’t been either brainwashed zealots or those simply seeking the right to harm others with impunity.
Angry shouts and expletives flew as she used her speed just enough. Their strikes slowed down to a crawl just in time for her to be seen effortlessly dodging them. Once they tired themselves out, she zapped them, disrupting their nervous systems and capturing them.
She signaled and a portal opened, with their agent allies taking the criminals. She then snapped the chains sealing the church and let out the innocent. A woman ran up and hugged her as the crowd spilled out of their makeshift prison. “Oh, thank you!” she yelled, crying. “We were so scared!”
“It’s alright now,” Jennifer said. “We’re going to do everything we can to put things the way they should be.”
“It’s horrible!” the woman said, regaining some measure of composure. “That monster is so blatantly a false messiah!”
“I know,” Jennifer agreed. “Right now, I have more people to save.” She gave the woman a smile. “We’ve got a few more days until the battle. We’re going to use the time to save as many as possible.”
She took off and returned to a high position in the atmosphere. A battle she saw taking place was a young man with projection powers fighting off a crowd of zealot supers. She flew down. An eight-foot tall beast of a man pounded against an energy barrier projected in front of him while fists made of light constructs battered him in the side. A young man attacked several assailants at once with energy fists. A similar brute attempted to charge the young man from behind. At that moment, Jennifer smashed into both at incredible speed and knocked them silly. Freed from the distraction, the young man grabbed two magnetic manipulators attacking him and smashed them together with energy fists. A teleporting super popped in front of the kid and smashed an elbow into his face. Before he could be hit, he popped out again. Before Jennifer could find him, he popped into being in front of her. Using her super speed, she grabbed him before he knew what happened, and zapped him.
The young man turned to her. “Thanks for saving me…Wow! You’re Capacitor!”
His excitement turned somber. “Don’t thank me,” she reminded. “I’m just doing what needs to be done.” She turned to leave.
“Can I help?”
She turned back at his question. “It’s your choice,” she said. “We can’t guarantee our survival, much less victory.”
“I don’t want to leave this world to the nutjobs,” he said.
She mulled it over. “What’s your name?”
“Andrew Javier,” he said.
“Come with me,” she said. She signaled for a portal and one opened.
Luther approached. “What do we have here?” he asked.
“Another ally,” she said. “Go with him, he’ll get you set up.” She returned to the outside and the portal closed.
She returned to the air and listened. Some of the agents were hard at work taking down targets, and her friends were busy with their own battles. Knowing that the Lord sat in the middle east, preparing for the final battle, gave her a sense of foreboding, but at least his effect could be reined in. Being able to do something was better than doing nothing.
A statement, she realized, would be the best way to get the whole ordeal set in motion. Sure, the date had already been set, but she knew her foes would use the opportunity to give a series of final statements before the battle. She had to make one as well.
The portal opened, and Raymond, working on a project with John, turned to her. “What’s next?” he asked.
She let out a harsh breath. “We have to make a statement,” she said. “We’ve been behind this whole time. Our enemy preaches and everyone sees him, but it’s time we make a statement for ourselves.”
The two exchanged glances. “Are you sure we should be baiting them like that?” Raymond asked. “Shouldn’t we just be doing what we’re doing?”
She gave it some thought. “We probably should,” she agreed, “but I think we need to set the record straight.”
John smiled. “I think we can work something like that out,” he said.
II.
Jack Hurst preached to crowds in the middle east, on their way towards their destination on this crusade. To his immense surprise, the crowds were very receptive. Very few displays of power had to be made, and few resisted. They recruited more followers as they moved onwards, and some of the supers that came along would prove quite useful, he figured. What truly pumped him up about the validity of his mission, the reason why he knew the Lord would not be countered by evil, was the communities that came together once He showed them healing and love. These were vulnerable people left behind by decades of western imperialism and to see children who had lost limbs to American bombs hurt his heart. To be able to restore them, as well as health and vitality to the elderly who had been victims of western chemical weapons injected adrenaline into his faith. He had finished preaching, and the Lord ordered the latest crowd to line up and receive the blessings.
“My Lord, you look conflicted,” Jack said. “What bothers you?”
The Lord touched a man’s hand, fingerless after being hit by shrapnel from an IED, and function returned. As the man stared incredulously, the healer turned to his mouthpiece and smiled. “There is no emergency,” He spoke, calming tones in his voice. “It saddens me when I feel our allies being defeated in combat.”
“I have no doubt of your inevitable victory, my Lord,” Jack pleaded, showing his unshakeable faith.
“Nor do I,” The Lord agreed. “There is a limit to how much I can enhance someone’s power. Our enemies are crafty and come up with strategies our allies haven’t stopped to consider.”
“Will it impact our cause?” Jack asked.
The Lord kept on healing people while talking. “No,” he decided. “Ultimately, giving our enemies a false sense of security won’t hurt us at all.”
Those words struck Jack a bit oddly. “Do you honestly think they’ll believe they can win?” he asked. “That they’ll fall for it?” He trusted his Lord beyond explicitly. It was the kind of trust a son gave his father. Yet, his human wisdom failed him; he thought his Lord was making a mistake, and yet, he knew his Lord made no mistakes.
“Once again,” The Lord reassured, “I sense and understand your concern. Our allies that fall against them go to receive their final reward. Our enemies might believe they’re being careful, they might believe right now that they aren’t letting their victories go to their head, but as their battles progress, they will.”
Jack pondered this. “It’s human nature, right?” he asked.
“Correct,” The Lord replied. “The Word of the Father will play out, even if not exactly as ancient men have written.”
Jack seemed content with this answer. As the crowd finished receiving their blessings and healings, he made his bid of farewell to the crowd, and those who had pledged their loyalties got onboard a series of aircraft, while Jack and his Lord took their places aboard Air Force One. Soldiers made sure no one else got on board, and the craft took off.
“Sir,” a soldier said, standing next to Jack’s seat, “we’ll be touching down in Tel Aviv in a few hours.”
“Fantastic!” Jack cheered.
“Soon, the holy land will be receiving our final blessing,” The Lord said, “and then we will prepare for our final battle.”
Jack turned to his Lord. “I’m terribly sorry for wavering,” he confessed.
The Lord looked at his charge. “No, my child!” He said, his strength and conviction audible. “You’ve held firm in the face of impossible opposition! How many others could have survived the insanity you survived? You’ve kept your sanity against all odds!”
Jack wiped his eyes. “Thank you,” he said. “I am not worthy.”
“Come now,” The Lord replied. “Sleep.”
Jack leaned against the wall of the plane, and a soldier came and provided a pillow. He went to sleep almost immediately. In his dream, he got to experience a limited mortal glimpse of the eternal happiness that God’s kingdom on Earth would provide. A world appeared in his dream, in which, no person would ever suffer again. Anytime his mission seemed too difficult, he had only to think back to what the end goal was. Mankind could not be trusted with its own future, and the inevitable collapse of humanity could not be stopped by human hands. The arrival of the Lord would bring all debts into the clear. The Kingdom of God on Earth would solve all problems. There would be no sorrow or misery. These servants of Satan probably didn’t think they were bad people, but they seemed like they didn’t understand what they fought against. It was the fact that they fought to prevent God’s eternal kingdom of happiness.
“Sir, wake up,” a soldier’s voice said.
Jack slowly rose to awareness. “Hmm?” he asked. “We’ve arrived?”
“Yes, sir,” the soldier agreed.
“We shall get prepared for the final battle in a few days’ time,” the Lord said, rising from his seat.
As the two stepped off the plane, a battalion of soldiers greeted them. The leader of the Israeli army greeted them and led them to an armored vehicle. Crowds stood outside guardrails where men wielding machine guns kept fanatics away. The shouting fanatics mingled with hatemongers and every manner of sign was held up.
A man in a business suit came up to greet them. “Ah…uh…” he said, stammering as he struggled to get his composure. “I’ve been assigned to be your official government liaison. What will you be needing?”
The Lord and his loyal follower exchanged glances. “What is the state of the site of the final battle?” Jack Hurst asked.
“Well,” the government liaison explained, “we’ve been keeping the people from crowding it too much, because we expect that a battle between yourselves and the enemy will cause significant casualties without.”
“Good decision,” The Lord complimented, nodding once. “Until such time as the final battle has concluded, we don’t want to be involving those who have not yet picked a side.”
“Um, if you don’t mind my asking,” the man asked, “what will be happening after…well, the battle?” The Lord gave him a confused look. “Well, I…it’s just that the text of Revelation hasn’t happened according to the Word, so I figured…”
“I understand,” The Lord said. “After the forces of Satan are defeated, my father’s eternal kingdom of glory and happiness shall begin upon this Earth. All who disbelieve shall be cast into the Lake of Fire.”
The man swallowed and nodded. “I…see,” he said. “Let me be the first to say, I am a believer.”
The Lord pat him on the shoulder. “Do not worry,” he said. “I have seen you accept my father’s glory, just now, so as long as you remain faithful, nothing bad shall befall you.”
“Thank you, my Lord,” the man said.
An armored vehicle sat at the end of their short stroll. “In here,” a soldier said, opening the rear compartment. “Forgive the accommodations, but it was the safest vehicle we had.”
“Nothing to apologize for,” Jack Hurst said.
They stepped into the vehicle and sat on a padded bench on one side. Jack Hurst marveled at the thick steel walls and the soldiers armed, seated around them. The preacher took a deep breath and relaxed. This whole adventure had been a bizarre whirlwind of activity. He’d seen the best and worst of humanity. His Lord had performed great miracles of healing, and painful judgments consisting of what mortal, flawed men would consider murder. It tested his faith, but he would hold strong. This is what he’d been praying for his whole life. If only the glory of God happened in my lifetime, he would pray. He wanted to be there for when the Lord’s kingdom on Earth returned.
“Sir?”
The Lord and his servant both looked at the soldier across from them. “Yes?” Jack said. The Lord sat, paying close attention. Jack listened attentively.
“Will I get to see my grandfather again?” he asked.
Jack turned to his Lord. “If you believe, and are faithful,” The Lord advised. “Anything is possible for my Father. I will advocate on your behalf.”
“Tell me, Lord, if you will,” another young soldier said, his voice cracking with uncertainty. “What will we do all day, in Heaven?”
The Lord smiled, and Jack Hurst let out a mild chuckle. “Oh, my child,” the Lord spoke, “your mind wasn’t meant to comprehend eternity. Let me tell you, the wondrous experiences that will enter your soul will be more than enough to keep you fulfilled forever and ever. Such is the power of the Father above.”
The sense of wonder painted itself across the soldiers’ faces as they exchanged looks at their Lord’s words. “To me,” Jack interjected, “That’s what makes all this worth it. Our enemies believe this Earthly world is the extent of the pleasures available.” He solemnly shook his head. “No. The kingdom of Heaven is beyond any Earthly paradise. God in Heaven has no equal and his love and glory will fill us all and guide us to feelings impossible to put into words.”
“They condemn you as a murderer,” a soldier said, “because they only see the forest for the trees.”
“Exactly,” Jack replied. “When I got into preaching at a young age, I wanted to get across the feeling of love that the Lord instilled in me.” He leaned back in his seat, letting the youth in front of him fill his eyes. “I don’t enjoy the punishments we have to dish out. I don’t. I would prefer no one be judged and come up short. I don’t want anyone to be sent to hell.” He took a breath and let it out. “The problem is, some people are so unwilling to experience glory that they will fight to defend this broken place.”
“Said wonderfully,” The Lord praised his charge. “Together, we will defeat the armies of Satan and the Kingdom of my Father will be restored.”
The vehicle passed by an almost endless crowd, some cheering, some screaming and holding up signs decrying a false messiah, everyone drowning the military escort in a cacophony of noises. Military forces held onlookers at bay while a military barricade was moved aside so their vehicle could pass through. Once their vehicle entered the area, Jack Hurst marveled at the scene. Although people had snuck in, the military kept grabbing people and getting them out. The preacher stood in awe as he surveyed the land that, within a few more days’ time, would see the greatest battle for good versus evil in the history of civilization.
The Lord beckoned, and the vehicle came to a stop in the middle of a clearing, and they stepped out. As military men clamored to surround them in a shell of human protection, a man wearing a more decorated uniform approached the two of them. “Will you be giving a statement to the press?” he asked. He gestured behind him. “There’s a number of news outlets who want to have access to you.”
The Lord and his charge exchanged glances. “I imagine that’s our purpose here,” Jack answered.
“That area near here seems to be the best vantage point,” The Lord said, pointing. “Bring them here.”
In about a half hour, a series of news crews had been helicoptered into the secure area of the valley, and cameras and all manner of recording and transmission equipment got set up. Jack looked at the crews and at his Lord. His Lord nodded.
“Okay, then,” Jack said. He turned to the camera crews. “We will begin.”
The crews got their equipment set up finalized, and a woman indicated the broadcast had begun.
Jack took a sharp inhale. It held in his lungs for a long moment, then he let it go. “My fellow servants of Christ,” he preached, “in less than seventy-two hours’ time, the final battle will be here. Our most powerful opposition shall gather their satanic forces here, for the climactic battle against God almighty.” He stared into the camera. “The kingdom of God that shall reign upon this Earth will be an everlasting kingdom of love, peace, and holiness. No longer shall pain endure. Every debt shall be paid, every misery made right. The things that make you less than whole shall be taken away, and your imperfections made perfect, your shortcomings made substantial and enough. There shall be no need or want; all shall be provided to all.”
He paced around as he lectured his sermon. “All of this shall be made by the mighty hand of God in Heaven,” he continued. His expression darkened as he thought to their enemies. “Our foes are the worst kind of sinner. They blaspheme against their Father in Heaven, because they believe they possess the ultimate knowledge of their righteousness. Satan’s influence has convinced them they can prevail against their Lord and their Father, because they believe the lies of the King of All Liars. They have been misled into treating the eternal goodness as misery and pain, that the kingdom to come shall be the worst of all.” A contemplation passed through his mind, and he settled on a decision, shaking his head, in the manner of a disappointed parent. “It is beyond words how sad this makes me. Believe it or not, I do not want to see my fellow people suffer, even sinners such as these. However, they fight for the deceitful one, and their misery shall have to be overcome by holiness and joy.”
A signal broadcast all over the world. Within minutes, every news station on the planet began showing it on their stations. From an undisclosed location, Jennifer and her immediate allies stood visible within the frame of a camera’s lens. Jennifer blinked a long moment, then opened her eyes and let out her breath.
“Hello, everyone,” she began. She clasped her hands together in front of her abdomen. “You know me, and you know my allies. I’m not going to go on and on about good and evil, I just want to get a few basic points across. This won’t be long.” She closed her eyes and went over every thought with a fine-tooth comb. A few moments later, she opened her eyes. “When superpowers first became real, we all thought we were going insane. After all, this wasn’t a comic book, this was real life. The first thing I thought about was the impact of what I’d been given. After all, this was an impossible opportunity; I could actually do something to make the world a better place.”
Her eyes drifted over to her allies, her friends, with whom she’d spent the past weeks doing untold good in the world. “My friends and I have been on an incredible adventure, we’ve done more in these past weeks than the entire rest of our lives beforehand, and we’ll never be able to get over how amazing this whole thing is.” Her expression darkened as she turned back to the camera. “Now, the thing I feared the most has come to pass. A horrible evil has come to extend his rule to the world. I’m speaking, of course, of the false prophet, the Reverend Jack Hurst, and his false messiah, this monster masquerading as the Lord and Savior of Christianity.”
The briefest of moments of silence passed while she allowed the statement to gain traction in people’s minds. “I’m not here to tell you what to believe, or how to believe,” she continued. “I’m here to tell you that, regardless of what you believe, this is not the savior of humanity, nor can he be the savior of anyone. My parents were religious; they taught me that Jesus was a Lord of compassion, of justice, and of love. This monster commits murder. This monster uses the threat of death to compel nations to bow to his feet. Most importantly, he is the creation of a mortal man with a superpower.”
Jericho stepped forward. “I met the man,” he explained. “I discovered that this fake Jesus appeared not to the world, but to him. He appeared to one man in his living room.” He gestured disapprovingly. “How can you trust this man and his summoned monster when he blatantly demonstrates a lack of the basic characteristics needed to be a savior?”
“If you understand that this man and his summoned monster cannot save us,” Jennifer cut back in, “if you see this abuse of religious belief for what it is—a tool of monstrous control and manipulation—then you must not support this. We aren’t going to ask you to follow us to your possible death in combat, but we must ask that you do whatever you can to oppose this creature.”
“For the sake of the future of civilization,” Jericho said, “we will fight. If need be, we will die for the future of civilization. Just remember, this man does not fight for you, and his promise of an eternal kingdom will not happen.” He wiped his eyes. “Thank you.”
The final verbal volley had been launched. The warriors who stood as the last line of defense against Jack Hurst and his false messiah hugged each other as the camera stopped rolling. They only had a handful of time left before the ultimate struggle.
“If I die,” Jennifer said to her friends, “I’ll…”
“No,” Ed cut in. “Don’t talk like that. I’m not going to hear it.”
“We win together,” Jericho said. As Jennifer looked into his eyes, she saw his deathly seriousness.
“We win together,” she agreed.