Fate/Heroes - Chapter 28

Four figures stood in the long shadows cast by the Manhattan skyline. Three stood on one side while facing a single figure standing in the single crack of sunlight that crept through the shadowy scenery.

Kara Kent, not Kara Danvers spoke up first with narrowed eyes.

“How can we believe what you’re saying? How do we know that your not just lying to us to try and learn our actual secrets?”.

The concept of parallel universes was not a foreign one to the members of the League, and neither to the protégés of Superman, Aquaman and Wonder Woman. The Flash on multiple occasions had traveled to other “Earths” accidentally while learning how fast he could truly go. Even on their short time on the Team, Wally had on multiple occasions told them how amazing it would be to be able to go to other Earths.

The concept even intrigued the technologically advanced Kryptonian Kara Zor El, or Kara Kent as she was known in this world.

Krypton had long since theorized the concept of parallel Earths but had never proven the notion. To think that an planet like Earth had people that could utilize this “Speed Force” to try and break through the space/time barrier.

Cassie narrowed her eyes and added onto Kara’s question.

“How do we know that you’re not just trying to get close to us in order to get close to the League? Or even if you’ve just made this whole thing up? Things are different on other Earths. You could just come up with some crazy alternate reality and play that off as being true, am I wrong?”.

Gray smiled and put his hands in his pockets disarmingly. If he wanted his plan to work he had to be careful about his words, as well as his tone.

“That’s true. I could just make up some crazy world and tell you that I really came from there. But I know things. Things that, while might be fiction in my world, are true here?…. Kara? Your parents names are Zor-El and Alura? Is that correct?”.

Cassie and Mareena peered at the shocked look on Supergirl’s face and the latter didn’t respond but her lack of any worded response caused Gray to smile.

“And I am correct in ȧssuming that she had a twin sister? Your aunt by the name of Astra?”.

The young Kryptonian unconsciously nodded at just the mention of those familiar names. Kara wasn’t like Clark in that he never properly met his deceased parents. She spent less than a year on this planet and was going to turn seventeen in just a few weeks. Experiences and feelings that she bottled up since arriving to Earth had slowly loosened just by hearing Gray’s words.

“You told me that! That your mother was a member of the Kryptonian High Council and your aunt a member of the military. I’m not sure about this universe, but you told me that you wanted to be just like her when you wanted to grow up! That you wanted to help get justice for those you had been wronged. That you wanted to give justice to those who had-“.

“Stop talking! Can’t you see that your words are affecting her!”.

Mareena, the daughter of Aquaman shouted at Gray and lent a shoulder to the emotional Supergirl, the places that Gray had pressed on where an emotional weakness to the Kryptonian. Having to leave her family to die and escape to another planet.

Teenagers, even alien ones had a hormonal period of growth in which emotions could run rampart. In humans this was puberty, and Kryptonians had their equivalent of the process. Bottling up said emotions was just adding more coal to the fire. Once they reached a point at which they couldn’t hold anymore….

Gray’s face turned solemn and he listened to Mareena’s words. Making Supergirl cry made all the Class Cards act up, even Saver didn’t keep quiet at Gray’s methods.

He let out a deep sigh.

“I apologize. I didn’t mean to cause you distress Supergirl. If you still have reservations about me, I will not try to explain myself further”.

His words were completely neutral and his stance neither passive or aggressive. Cassie still eyed the twenty year old but was more focused on getting Kara in a state that was at least stable, let alone battle ready.

The sixteen year old Kryptonian looked more human than alien in the eyes of many of the Heroic Spirits in Gray’s Class Cards. They could see Gray’s clear memories on the various different versions of Kara Zor El and thought that even if she wasn’t a human she would be worthy to enter the Throne of Heroes. It was different from her cousin that was raised by human values.

She came to this planet and tried to live a “human” life, but she protected the people, people that weren’t her own. She didn’t have to, she wanted to.

Kara took a deep breath before wiping her face and looking at Gray straight in the eye.

Her own sky blue irises stared straight into his own smooth black eyes.

She detected no change to his heartbeat, nor glimmer in his eyes that would’ve shown any disturbance at any lie. They were clear, despite being unfathomably deep and dark. No signs of pity or regret were visible in his eyes.

Only nothingness. As if they were empty.

She steadied her breathing.

“I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt and believe your words, for now at least. That doesn’t mean I trust you, just that I want to know more about this…. parallel Earth you call home”.

“I can try and help you but I don’t remember everything about it. When I found myself in this world, I had memories that didn’t belong to me. Of battles that would make even the greatest of heroes tremble…. I can’t even remember my own mothers name, yet I can remember the faces of Meleager and Atalanta when they boarded the Argo….”.

A wistful smile grew on Gray’s face. The mention of two Greek Heroes caused Cassie’s eyes to widen and she couldn’t help but ask.

“Atalanta? Meleager? They died several thousand years ago! What’s your relationship with Heroes from the Argonauts?”.

A primal feeling of kinship emanated from Cassie, the granddaughter of the King of Gods. Despite the familiar feeling, a sense of challenge came from the strangers body and a warm and gentle smile was given to the three girls.

Kara felt at ease at the presence of such a smile. As if the man in front of her had turned into a peaceful friendly giant whose honor and power demanded respect.

Mareena “knew” the presence Gray was giving off. It was similar to the feeling she got when she stood in the hall filled with the statues of the past Kings of Atlantis. An ancient, yet not unwelcome feeling bubbled up within the princess of Atlantis.

Gray, or “Archer” rather smiled through Gray’s face. The mana in the world seemed to grow just a little bit purer at his presence and the od coming off his body was almost as if a God had descended on them.

“Me? I’m the greatest of “his” sons”.