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#2
APR 12 |
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“Twisted Fate” Part Two
Vera Burnsteel’s apartment
Boston, Massachusetts
Vera Burnsteel still couldn’t believe how Jared Stevens, former mystical vigilante also known as Fate, showed up out of nowhere. He’d been asleep for over 18 hours ever since he’d collapsed on her doorstep with a golden helmet under his arm.
Having nearly a hundred pounds on her, Vera nearly killed herself dragging him to her couch about twenty feet away, so that he’d at least have a comfortable spot to slumber in.
Jared had been presumed dead for over a year and Vera was still coming to grips with his rather sudden appearance.
After getting to him to the couch the previous night, Vera phoned in and put in a personal day at work. She wasn’t anxious to be away at work when Jared eventually awoke, not only because she wanted answers, but also because she was keenly aware of the kind of trouble that Jared had a habit of getting into when he was alone.
As he slept, she spent her time trying to busy herself with looking over the few clues available to her. For starters, he seemed to be fairly healthy, no obvious injuries or signs of illness. His arm even appeared to be healed. Vera remembered before that Jared always wore a golden bandage wrap around his right arm at all times, something that her brother Arnold claimed was the ‘Cloak of Destiny’, one of three artifacts called the Fate Arcana that were tied to a powerful sorcerer named Dr Fate, Jared’s predecessor.
That thought led Vera to the next clue on her very short list.
She looked over to her front door at the golden helmet Jared had been carrying when he arrived. Jared dropped it shortly before collapsing in her hallway, and it managed to roll into her apartment just to the left of the door. After getting Jared to the couch, she’d been afraid to touch it, initially believing it to be some powerful item Jared might have ‘acquired’ on one of his adventures, possibly trying to deprive it from some horrible demon lord or prevent an ancient ritual of some apocalyptic cult.
By the time she remembered it had rolled inside and had a chance to look at it closely (while keeping a safe distance) she immediately recognized it for what it was…or at least what she thought it might be. The golden sheen, faceless visage and small eye slits were key features of the mysterious Helmet of Nabu, a powerful relic that was indelibly linked to the background of Dr Fate. It was also the primary mystical tool used by Jared during his time as Fate.
There were only two major issues with the possibility that this was the Helmet of Nabu.
First, when Jared used it, he said it had been reforged into a large knife, three throwing ankhs and a golden gauntlet that helped him maintain a mental link with the knife.
Second, Vera also knew that there was a new Dr. Fate running around with the Justice Society of America who seemed to have a helmet exactly like it.
Had Jared returned only to ‘reacquire’ the helmet from his replacement? If so, then it likely meant that she could be expecting some unwelcome visitors anxious to get back their teammate’s equipment.
Still, Jared wasn’t currently the type to steal something that didn’t belong to him, or at least not something that was in the hands of one of the ‘good guys’. Maybe in his old life he’d plundered his fair share of tombs and temples, but that was the old Jared. The new Jared, altered dramatically by his mystical encounter with the Fate Arcana, had a cooler head and would only go to such lengths if he felt he had to or if the long term goal was to maintain the ‘balance’ between Order and Chaos, something he often mentioned though it usually drew a blank stare from Vera.
Vera considered calling her brother Arnold, Jared’s oldest and best friend (who was still talking to him), but decided it would be better to do so once she had answers to the questions he would no doubt ask.
Arnold long believed that Jared had been replaced by the ‘superhero establishment’ in order to make way for a ‘more suitable Fate-themed superhero’. Jared’s return would no doubt spark new theories about the truth behind the true reason behind the re-formation of the Justice Society, the Zappruder Film, and his adamant claim that billionaire Lex Luthor was secretly a clone.
Vera humored her brother, but he often went overboard with his conspiracy theories.
For the first time in 18 hours, Vera’s thoughts were interrupted by sounds caused by her unexpected guest. Looking over at her couch, she saw that Jared was tossing and turning slightly while also talking in his sleep.
“Why…” he said in a low mumbling tone, and Vera could help but feel worried about his current mental state.
What strange path led him back to her doorstep after missing for over a year?
The Dreaming
In the sleeping realm, a small battle raged as Jared Stevens looked out upon a scorched wasteland that stretched for over a mile, though he could make out a few structures in the distance.
The environment was strange and alien but somehow seemed familiar. Jared recalled a time not too long ago when two brothers, one an avatar of chaos and the other an avatar of balance, warped his environment into a reflection of the subconscious of the world and people around him. It was the kind of world where a young teenager was re-imagined as an idealistic superhero and a dark city took on a personality of his own. The only ones immune to this change were those like Jared who possessed an immunity to being mystically altered or those whose minds were splintered by some kind of mania, such as a multiple personality disorder. Was that world created from the dreamstuff of this realm?
Jared was sure that he was dreaming, but didn’t know how. His mystically altered metabolism had almost completely eliminated his need for sleep, and when he did sleep (usually only about once a week) he didn’t normally dream, leaving him with a feeling of restlessness when he did awake.
Was this dream realm meant to be a reflection of his troubled subconscious? A side effect of communing with the Helmet of Nabu?
Jared had been wandering the wastes for hours all the while a strange storm brewed around him. Lightning struck the ground around him at differing intervals, always accompanied by a mind-numbering thunderclap. Each strike also coincided with visions and memories, either an encounter from Jared’s life or someone else who previously bore the Helmet of Nabu. It had taken several hours of confusing visions to assemble a brief summary of the lives he was seeing.
Unfortunately, this only confused matters.
One of the visions was of a young man, a college student. Before taking on the mantle of Dr. Fate he’d been gifted with incredible elemental powers, ones that might even equal or exceed the powers of Dr. Fate. The name of the boy rung in Jared’s head: Ronnie Raymond. Who this was didn’t matter to Jared, but the man’s death was particularly interesting as it led to visions of the second bearer of the Helmet of Nabu shown in the visions.
Godspeed. The name sent a shiver down Jared’s spine as he witnessed firsthand how the supernaturally fast woman retrieved the Helmet of Nabu and killed young Ronnie Raymond. Jared also recognized her from his visions in purgatory, showing a woman fighting the Flash and a different Dr. Fate. The lightning slide show ended with her being trapped by the Flash and Dr. Fate.
Somehow, the Helmet he had taken originated from a different reality…a parallel earth? Those were the kinds of theories that Arnold normally subscribed to, but Jared knew firsthand about parallel dimensions and alternate states of being, so parallel universes with different but similar Earths weren’t outside the realm of possibility.
Of course this just left new questions. First of which, what would the new Dr. Fate think about someone retrieving the alternate Helmet of Nabu from the Tower of Fate.
Problems for another day, Jared thought to himself. Still, this did help clarify at least a few things, even though it offered even more questions. For some reason, Jared knew the helmet was responsible for summoning him. Once he placed the Helmet on his head, he felt a connection, similar to when he first gained his abilities.
“But why?” he shouted at the dark landscape before him. “Why me?”
“I REQUIRED A VESSEL,” a loud voice echoed.
Jared recognized it as the voice of Nabu, the semi-omnipotent Lord of Order who gifted Dr. Fate with his powers through the legendary Fate Arcana, the three mystical tools otherwise known as the Helmet of Nabu, the Amulet of Anubis and the Cloak of Destiny.
“So you grab me? What makes me so special?”
“YOUR WORLD WAS NOT MY OWN. I WAS LIMITED TO THOSE TOUCHED BY THE NABU OF YOUR DIMENSION IN ORDER TO TAKE ACTION IN THIS WORLD. I SHOWED YOU MY PAST VESSELS SO THAT YOU UNDERSTOOD MY RECENT…LOSS. MY LAST CHOSEN HOST WAS KILLED BY ONE WHO SOUGHT TO USURP MY POWER FOR THEIR OWN PURPOSES. THE PRETENDER THEN RAVAGED HER OWN WORLD AT A SPEED EVEN I CANNOT MATCH.”
“Well, it seems like there’s another Dr. Fate already. Why don’t you go through him?”
“THE CURRENT DOCTOR FATE IS THE VESSEL FOR A DIFFERENT NABU. WE COULD NOT BE SURE OF OUR…OTHER’S MOTIVES FOLLOWING OUR USE BY THE MADWOMAN CALLED GODSPEED. HE MIGHT HAVE BELIEVED WE WERE AFFECTED BY HER PERSONALITY. WE WISHED TO HAVE A SUITABLE HOST THROUGH WHICH WE COULD ACT BEFORE SPEAKING TO HIM. THE CURRENT DOCTOR FATE BELIEVED THAT BEING FROM ANOTHER DIMENSION SOMEHOW WEAKENED THE CONNECTION BETWEEN US AND THE HELMET, AND WE BELIEVE OUR OTHER BELIEVES THE SAME THING. UNTIL THEY DISCOVER THE HELMET’S DISAPPEARANCE, THEY HAVE NO REASON TO BELIEVE THAT WE COULD ACT ON OUR OWN.”
Jared could feel that there were other reasons behind his resurrection, but he knew Nabu wasn’t likely to be upfront about his true motivations.
“So I’m to be your vessel? Is that it?”
“YOU HAVE BEEN THE BEARER OF THE POWER OF NABU BEFORE. THE SMALL FRACTION OF POWER YOU USED WILL SOON FADE. YOU ONLY POSSESSED A SLIVER OF THE ABILITIES THAT ONCE FLOWED THROUGH YOUR BODY. IT WILL FADE AND YOU WILL BE LEFT WITH NOTHING UNLESS YOU CHOOSE TO ACCEPT.”
A golden orb manifested in front of Jared and quickly took on the shape of the Helmet of Nabu.
“OUR PREVIOUS HOST, RONNIE RAYMOND, POSSESSED THE POWER TO MERGE THE FATE ARCANA INTO A SINGLE TOOL, AN INCREDIBLE ACCOMPLISHMENT FOR A MORTAL. WE HAVE ALREADY BEQUEATHED YOU SOME OF THE POWER OF THE AMULET OF ANUBIS AS SHOWN BY THE BRAND UPON YOUR FACE. TAKE UP THE HELMET AND TAKE YOUR PLACE AS OUR RIGHT HAND IN BRINGING ORDER TO THIS REALM.”
Jared rubbed the red ankh over his eye, the ‘mark’ Nabu referred to. “So it’s like that? ‘Welcome back, not take this helmet and be my Dr Fate in this plane’. You don’t think I might want to think about this offer?”
“YOU WERE DEAD WHEN WE FOUND YOU, YOUR SOUL ADRIFT AND IN NEED OF A PURPOSE. STANDING BETWEEN ORDER AND CHAOS, YOU FOUND NO HEAVENLY REWARD. WE OFFER YOU A CHANCE TO CONTINUE THE WORK YOU ONCE CARRIED OUT.”
“And if I don’t?”
“THE RESTORATION OF YOUR BODY IS ONLY TEMPORARY. IF YOU DO NOT ACCEPT OUR OFFER, THEN YOU WILL RETURN TO THE STATE YOU WERE ONCE IN, AND WE WILL FIND ANOTHER. YOU WERE SIMPLY OUR MOST REASONABLE CHOICE, AS OUR PREVIOUS HOSTS HAVE LONG SINCE BEEN GROUND TO DUST OR THEIR SOULS PASSED ON TO WHERE EVEN WE CANNOT RETRIEVE THEM.”
Jared couldn’t question that. He’d personally witnessed the souls of Kent and Inza Nelson going on to the Great Beyond and any previous vessels of Nabu were likely hundreds if not thousands of years dead, dating back to the time of Ancient Egypt.
Jared wasn’t anxious to be the tool of a Lord of Order but perhaps this Nabu had a similar mindset to ‘his’ Nabu, the same Lord of Order that had bequeathed his power and tools to a young treasure seeker who happened to be in the right place at the right time so very long ago.
“All right, you’ve got yourself a deal, but I’m not a tool. I won’t be a full servant of Order just as I won’t be an Agent of Chaos. I’ll do what I did before, maintaining the balance, keeping both sides in line as good as I can.”
A long uncomfortable pause set in, as Jared wondered if this Nabu might be insulted by the demand. Lords of Order didn’t like being told what to do, and were just as fickle as any other omnipotent being.
“WE ACCEPT. PUT ON THE HELMET AND USE IT TO MAINTAIN THE BALANCE BETWEEN ORDER AND CHAOS.”
“That’s another thing. The helmet may have worked for the Nelsons, but I’m used to something a little different.”
“WE UNDERSTAND. YOU MAY SHAPE IT INTO A FORM YOU SO DESIRE.”
Jared stepped up to the glowing helmet and took it in both hands. Turning it around, he slid it over his head, a purely symbolic gesture as he knew the helmet wasn’t really there. He only perceived it in this strange realm.
As it went over Jared’s head, the Helmet of Nabu gave him a cramped, almost claustrophobic, feeling. It made him wonder how other Fate-bearers had worn it comfortably before. Also, the two tiny eye-slits were difficult to see through. Jared then rationalized that to anyone else wearing it, the Helmet likely gave a different sort of feeling. His immunity to magic and illusions was likely the cause for his discomfort. Where others might find the helmet soothing and comfortable, all he could feel it as was a thin golden helmet that also served as a tool for channeling the powers of Nabu.
Jared, now once more filled with the power of Nabu, began to feel like his old self as his body slowly faded from the realm of the Dreaming.
Vera Burnsteel’s apartment
Boston, Massachusetts
Jared’s eyes opened, and he found himself staring up at the grimy ceiling of his old friend Arnold’s apartment. His head was clear as he sat up on the couch, the same couch he remembered helping Arnold carry up three flights of stairs several years ago.
“Rise and shine,” a soothing female voice said. Jared turned to see the recognizable face of Vera, Arnold’s little sister.
“How long was I out?” he asked.
“’Why hello, Vera? How have you been?” the woman responded in a mocking tone. “Just fine, Jared. Thanks for asking. It’s good to see you’re alive. You won’t believe what I’ve been up to.”
Jared signed and rubbed his temples with his right hand. “Sorry, Vera. It’s been a long day. Sorry to drop in unexpectedly.”
“Unexpectedly is when Mrs. Jefferson downstairs comes up to ask to borrow something. Unexpectedly is when Arnold asks me to wire him money so his band can buy some equipment because he lost his credit card.” She walked over to him and seemed to be in a huffy mood, though Jared noticed a mixture of worry and sadness in her eyes. “Not hearing from someone in over a year when the few people he knows claim he’s dead only to have him show up in your hallway fit as a fiddle but dead-tired not to mention carrying a priceless occult artifact? That falls into the realm of the ‘Next to Impossible’.”
“I deserve that,” Jared replied, “though I can explain…or I think I can explain.”
“Go ahead,” Vera responded.
“I was dead and now I’m not. Nabu resurrected me last night because he needs a new vessel. Though this isn’t the same Nabu I knew before. Still, it seems he wants me to do for him what I was doing before, though I’m sure there are strings attached that I’m not aware of.”
“Is that is?” Vera said with a look of disbelief and panic.
“That’s all I really know right now.”
Jared watched as his words sunk in and noticed Vera’s eyes shift from slight panic to satisfaction. “Well, then I’ll just thank heaven for small miracles and be happy to have you back. I know at least one other person that will be happy to know you’re alive, though he never really believed you were dead.”
Jared wretched at the words. “Arnold, yeah…I can already picture the theories developing in his head. I’ll need to plan a little before I give him a call.”
“It’s fine. He’s on the other side of the country right now anyway, so he can wait until tomorrow.”
“Yeah, I can use that time to get re-situated. I’ll need to catch up on what I’ve missed.”
“I might be able to help with that,” Vera said, leading Jared over to her computer.
Jared looked at the glowing green screened and recognized the layout. “Arn’s old database? Its still running?”
“Yeah, he insisted that I maintain it and it gets a couple hundred hits a day. It’s a nice source of revenue for unexpected bills.” Vera then smiled and added, “Plus I’ve met some pretty interesting people doing this. It even had a nice history on your helmet.”
“My helmet?” Jared said as a thought flashed in his head, “Where is it?”
“Over by the door,” Vera replied pointing to the apartment door.
Jared walked over but didn’t see the famed Helmet of Nabu. In its place lay a glowing golden knife and three ankhs, the trademark weapons from Jared’s previous time as Fate. It seemed that Nabu had taken the liberty of reshaping it to something ‘more appropriate’.
Jared knelt down and picked up the knife, staring at his reflection in the blade.
“This should work out fine.”
Unexpectedly, a booming voice came from the knife, shocking both Jared and Vera. “IF IT WILL SERVE YOUR DUTIES BETTER, THEN WE WILL ALLOW IT…FOR NOW.” Nabu was being channeled through the blade the same way he was normally channeled through the former golden helmet, a notable change from Jared’s former knife.
“Talking knife…this will be useful.”
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To Be Continued...
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