The Mirror Still Broken
#3 of The Chronicles of Atom City
Gloria Summers aka Lady Liberty is copywritten her creator, my good friend Train.
All other characters are copy written to me.
The mirror's reflection was fractured, and Radar Nocturn let out a soft sigh as he stared at it. He couldn't help but be reminded of himself, seeing all the different little pieces that once were whole. As he looked into the broken mirror, he saw versions of himself that were and never would be. So many things had changed him, twisted him and warped him. But then he was reminded of the good things that happened to him when he took out his pocket watch, looking at the embroidered design upon the watchcase. He traced his thumb along the circles surrounding the star before opening the case to check the time.
Time, it was one thing he wished he could go back and change. There were so many what-if's in his life, so many forks in the road. Sometimes he found himself unable to sleep, contemplating many of the choices he made, only truly happy with one. He glanced to the etched quote on the inside of the face cover for the watch and shut it with a slight smile. But there was always one thing he wished he could go back and change.
The bat shivered a little, pulling his coat closer as he pressed onward through the wind, not wanting to be late. He clutched the flowers close, fearing the wind would damage them before he arrived at his destination. This was the first time she'd be meeting the two people closest to him, and he didn't want to look disrespectful. He knew she'd be there waiting for him, and he wanted to do the proper introductions, yet as he walked forward he could not help but think back.
The main thing he remembered was the broken glass and mirror lying everywhere. He hadn't paid any attention to the blood as he walked forward, hearing the glass crunching beneath his feet. His attention was elsewhere as he slammed the door open. The gunshots barely fazed him as he lunged for the bulldog, his armored fist closing over the canine's throat as a scream escaped his victim's lungs, only to be silenced.
He did not know why he let it happen, or how really. Since then, he had locked the suit of armor away, to never be touched. In truth, he had become afraid of the armor, afraid of not what it could do to others, but what it might do to him. He had lost himself to his anger and it had taken a long time and a lot of suffering to regain control. The main thing was, it took the assistance of the few loved ones he had left.
He took a moment to glance around, admiring how the small city had actually brightened up, how the streets were actually safe to walk through now. It had changed a lot since before he left for college, and he made certain of it. It was probably an accomplishment he would have been more proud of if it had not required the spilling of so much blood.
As he thought about it, this city was his testing grounds, where he first arrived to the world in that suit of armor of his. The cops didn't like him because he killed their own, but he had always given his victims a choice, unless they did not deserve a second chance. Murderers always died, as did the drug lords. The dealers were given a choice to straighten up or die, most thought they could fight back and live. He had attacked all stages of existence in the city, from the rich to the poor, and even those in political power. The drug dealers quickly realized they should take their business elsewhere if they wished to actually live.
But this was where the problems started. He truly lost himself and his anger and frustration at the world fully blossomed. Seeing all the corruption and filth on his way towards murderous revenge made him start to believe that he should wipe it all clean, clear out the filth and start things anew. It was not long after his mentor's lab was set ablaze that Dr. Nefar was born.
He struck back at the world, stealing funding from the criminals of the world. Money was drained from the bank accounts of those who made a living off of the suffering or death of others. With that funding, he began to build his army of machines. Each one he built, it built another in half the time. Eventually, he began the process of constructing his airship, the "Nefarious Nightmare." From that ship, he could begin the process of taking over the world, to cleanse it and start things under his rule. He even started forming a bit of a relationship with an old colleague of his.
Before he even had a chance, he managed to strike back at the man who shot his wife and killed her, or so he thought. Nicholas Cray survived and escaped, while his whole world came to an abrupt halt. Deep in the basement, he found his wife, alive and in a stasis tube. His life was wonderful again.
It didn't take long for this happiness to be shattered. They ended up fighting almost constantly. He couldn't let Nicholas Cray go for what he did, for killing his wife Alice, reviving her, then using her as a test subject for diabolical experiments. Alice wanted to forget the whole thing and try to live a normal life.
Eventually, she came to suspect he was having an affair, as he'd stay out late and not call. It was not long before she followed him, learning his dirty secret as she caught him violently interrogating and then murdering a weapons dealer. She was shocked, as the man she had fallen in love with could never do such an act. Not long after that, she left him and he fell into a deeper depression than before.
The angel tried to comfort him, and he had cursed her. Anger and sadness swirled around inside him, and he didn't know what to do. Half of him wanted to destroy everything, smash it down into tiny pieces and then torch it. The other half wanted to just end it with the press of a button or the squeeze of a trigger, to die and not have to suffer any more.
His chance at salvation came from a television show by sheer luck. On it was the amazing and lovely Lady Liberty, performing for a crowd and showing off feats of strength and agility. As she spoke with the host, he became intrigued. This was a woman filled with a loving heart, kindness and a burning desire for justice.
She was beautiful, strong and stood for all that was good in the world. She spoke of her challenges as a heroine, as a woman, and as a role model. The part that was most touching was when a little girl called in and said she wanted to be like Lady Liberty when she grew up. Radar knew that this woman was the embodiment of some of the best qualities a person could have. That was the day he left the east coast for California.
He knew he had to see her, and at the very least she could help him. So he watched her and learned everything he could about her. He dared to learn as little as he could about her secret identity, not wanting to ruin many of the surprises. He merely learned her name, job and family and friends. It did surprise him that she was a model, but it came to little surprise that her family and friends were also in the caped crusader business.
By that time, his suit of armor known as the Pavor Nocturnus, was associated as working for the super villain Dr. Nefar. He knew it was a risk wearing the armor as he tried to help her, but it was one he was willing to take. Lucky for him, everything worked out well and their team up was able to bring down the brother/sister duo of Comedy and Drama.
He wasn't happy he had to fool her to get her to work with him under the premise that she would help a scientist friend of his for his cooperation. After the job was done, he revealed his secret identity to her, and that he was the one asking for help. It was probably the biggest risk he took, and he was half afraid she'd throw him in jail and toss away the key.
Over time, he fell in love with her, not realizing she was gaining the same feelings for him. He knew bits and pieces of her past, but still saw her as the gleaming sword of justice. He also knew he could never become a true hero like her, that his link to the criminal underworld could assist him, so he asked her to keep his assistance a secret. For a while, everything was perfect.
That all changed when Alice and Nicholas Cray came back into his life. To this day, he still did not know why his ex-wife sought him out, but when the hyena kidnapped everyone he cared about, even Celestrial, the angel who helped him, he lost it. Nicholas Cray's identity as the murderous Golden Laugh was still kept from the public, and in his absence, he had somehow gained dark demonic powers.
As far as Radar could tell, his archenemy was planning to summon a more powerful demonic creature and give it the angel as a treat. So he attacked Nicholas with all his might, holding nothing back. Even though his injuries were severe, he had dished out worse than he had gotten, having dropped the hyena from the rooftop after shooting him through the eye. That was the last he thought he'd see of Nicholas Cray.
As bad as his physical injuries were, they were nowhere near as severe as his mental ones. He could not risk seeing the woman he loved get hurt because of him again, and the guilt of the deaths he caused in the past had caught up with him. The next day, he turned himself into the FBI, revealing to the world that Dr. Nefar and the Pavor Nocturnus were the same person.
Not long after his imprisonment, he was released and given a full pardon, if he'd merely give some assistance to a top-secret government project. It wasn't exactly the deal he wanted, but he missed Gloria Summers, aka Lady Liberty, just too much.
But all good things don't last, and over the past few months he had been picking up news of the Golden Laugh resurfacing with new demonic powers. Afterwards, the reports disappeared again, but he knew that his enemy would return. The last time anyone had seen someone even remotely similar to Nicholas Cray was at the entrance to the New Innovation Corporation, formerly the Cray Corporation, but the figure seen looked like a hobo off the streets. Simon Specks, Nicholas' right hand man, had taken over the company and turned its work towards good.
The wind bellowed as Radar closed his pocket watch and put the birthday present away again, smiling as he thought of Gloria. He loved how she had gotten him a watch with the same pattern as her shield on its cover, and it always made him think of just how wonderful she was when he looked at it.
The sound of crunching glass under his feet brought him back to reality, and he sighed, a slight shudder going down his spine as he sees a newspaper get stuck on the mailbox, the obituaries facing him. He quickly looked away and made his way to the graveyard, the harshest memories of all coming back to haunt him.
The iron gates creaked as he pushed them open, and walked through the field, brown leaves blowing in the wind. He walked straight for the tall striped mare, a few roses in his paw the entire trip. He stopped and stood beside her before a big tombstone and gave her a weak attempt at a smile. He then looks to the big granite marker and sniffled, setting the flowers in a little vase built into the front of the tombstone.
"Hey Mom, Dad, I'd like you to meet Gloria Summers, the love of my life."