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Chapter 305: The Memory Problem
Author: Rowing Without Oars 233
"What? Superman? Me?"
Young reporter Clark Kent waved his hands repeatedly.
"Stop kidding me, how's that possible? If I were Superman, Lois wouldn't be ignoring me. How could I be in this mess... sigh!"
He was halfway through his sentence when Kara suddenly snatched off his glasses and, at light speed, shoved a small mirror in front of his face.
Without his glasses, Clark raised an eyebrow and stared at the mirror for a good while.
"Alright, you took my glasses, but that doesn't change anything—whoa! I really do look like Superman!"
Clark was stunned.
Orin Vale: “…”
He hadn't expected this.
Everyone used to joke about how no one recognized Superman when he put on glasses. Turns out, he didn't even recognize himself...
"See? I told you so." Kara placed her hands on her hips. "You are Superman. Your name is Kal-El, and you're my younger cousin!"
Clark still had a look of disbelief. He repeatedly put his glasses on while looking in the mirror, then took them off, put them on, and took them off again...
"Alright, stop playing around," Kara snatched his glasses away. "Do you believe me now? You're Superman!"
"This doesn't prove anything. I just happen to look a bit like Superman," Clark was still being stubborn.
Kara sighed. "Alright. In that case..."
...
A minute later, she was carrying Clark a hundred meters into the air. He was flailing his arms and legs like a chicken she had picked up.
"W-w-what are you doing!?" Clark panicked. "I'm telling you, this is a v-v-violation of human rights—"
"They say on TV that in times like these, only the instinct from a crisis will jog your memory. Don't worry, you'll be fine," Kara said, full of confidence. "Now... fly!"
She let go.
Boom!
Clark plummeted headfirst into Mother Earth's embrace, kicking up a soaring plume of smoke that even Gaia would have given an eight out of ten.
Orin Vale floated nearby, arms crossed. "The plan isn't going very smoothly, huh?"
Kara: “…”
Clearly, Superman hadn't managed to fly, but the plan wasn't a complete failure. Clark, after a hundred-meter crash, climbed out of the large crater in the ground, shook his head, and was amazed to find he seemed completely unharmed.
"Wait, I was just in a free fall and nothing happened to me... Could I really be Superman?" Clark said in amazement.
"I told you that you were." Kara slapped her forehead and shot Orin Vale a pleading look. "What on earth is going on?"
"He seems perfectly normal." Orin Vale cupped his chin. "His abilities are functioning correctly, his body is healthy, and a scan at the cellular level shows no problems... But we probably won't make any new progress just by looking. I think I'll have to take him to the Laboratory to get more definitive results."
He turned to look at Superman, who was standing in the crater, still staring in disbelief at his own reflection on his cellphone screen, repeatedly studying his face.
"I'll take him back for an examination first." Orin Vale lifted Clark and flew off the ground. "You go find Wonder Woman and Batman."
"Oh, okay."
Kara obediently went.
In no time, the Trinity had regrouped in a way they never had before.
"Hey." Bruce, holding a coffee cup, sidled up to Diana with a playboy smile. "Wanna know who I am?"
Diana moved aside in distaste and turned her head, only to see the young reporter still over there, continuing his game of taking his glasses on and off in front of the mirror.
Diana raised an eyebrow, beginning to doubt the intelligence of this big guy.
"Gods, I might never be able to forget this version of Batman for the rest of my life," Kara muttered.
"Be serious. We have important business to investigate right now," Orin Vale said with a straight face.
"Oh, oh, I'm sorry," Kara apologized hastily.
Orin Vale nodded, thought for a moment, and then added, "Don't forget to start the video recording."
Kara: “…”
"Remind me why we're here again?" Diana asked.
In a blur, Kara appeared on the sofa in front of them, pointing at each of the three in turn. "Him, Superman. You, Wonder Woman. Him, Batman."
"This is so stupid."
Bruce expressed his dissatisfaction, holding his cup.
"You guys are going to make me miss my party tonight."
"It won't take too long... How about this? Dare to cooperate with me and say it like this?" Kara lowered her voice, making herself sound like a terminal throat cancer patient. "'I'm Batman.'"
Bruce frowned, pondered for a moment, and then copied her: "I'm Batman."
"No, no, it needs to be deeper and more somber," Kara said, shaking her head repeatedly.
Bruce tried again for a moment, then shook his head. "No, this is too stupid. Anyone who talks like that would just sound like an idiot."
Kara burst out laughing.
"Pfft-haha, sorry, I'm sorry. I know this is an emergency, I shouldn't..." she wiped away a tear, "I just can't help it..."
Diana opened the case Kara had brought from the Watchtower and lifted out the classic, revealing Wonder Woman armor inside.
She frowned with a hint of disgust. "You're saying I normally wear this?"
"Yep, yep."
Kara nodded repeatedly.
Seeing Diana's somewhat subtle expression, she hurriedly added, "Oh, don't worry, it looks really good on you. Although the style seems a bit over-the-top, because you're... really big, you can pull off the design. It doesn't look empty, and sometimes it even looks a bit tight..."
She shut her mouth when she noticed Diana's increasingly disapproving gaze.
"Uh... you don't like it?"
Diana placed the battlesuit back in the case.
"I don't know," she shook her head. "It looks more like a swimsuit than armor. I don't like wearing things that expose my thighs."
"Ah! That's truly a loss for an entire civilization."
The speaker was the Old Wizard, who had appeared at some unknown time. The Old Wizard shook his head, an expression of utter heartbreak on his face.
He has completely adopted the persona of a modern netizen.
Kara stood up and looked at Orin Vale, who was walking out with the Old Wizard. "What is it? Do you have any results?"
"Not sure, but it looks like a problem on the magic side of things. So," Orin Vale shrugged, gesturing toward the Old Wizard, "I'm preparing to consult an expert for their opinion."
The Old Wizard smugly stroked his long beard. "You've come to the right person. I am the Guardian of the Current Reality and of Magic. There's no magic in this world that I haven't heard of..."
Kara's eyes lit up. "So you can change them back!"
The Old Wizard laughed heartily and said bluntly, "Of course... I can't."
Kara gave him a deadpan look. However, just as she was about to express her disdain, the Old Wizard deftly changed the subject.
"However, I might know the key to undoing this magic," he said. "To awaken the missing memories, you just need a certain item, a magic orb that can seal memories... and I might have just heard from an old friend where to find such a thing."
(end of chapter)
Author: Rowing Without Oars 233
"What? Superman? Me?"
Young reporter Clark Kent waved his hands repeatedly.
"Stop kidding me, how's that possible? If I were Superman, Lois wouldn't be ignoring me. How could I be in this mess... sigh!"
He was halfway through his sentence when Kara suddenly snatched off his glasses and, at light speed, shoved a small mirror in front of his face.
Without his glasses, Clark raised an eyebrow and stared at the mirror for a good while.
"Alright, you took my glasses, but that doesn't change anything—whoa! I really do look like Superman!"
Clark was stunned.
Orin Vale: “…”
He hadn't expected this.
Everyone used to joke about how no one recognized Superman when he put on glasses. Turns out, he didn't even recognize himself...
"See? I told you so." Kara placed her hands on her hips. "You are Superman. Your name is Kal-El, and you're my younger cousin!"
Clark still had a look of disbelief. He repeatedly put his glasses on while looking in the mirror, then took them off, put them on, and took them off again...
"Alright, stop playing around," Kara snatched his glasses away. "Do you believe me now? You're Superman!"
"This doesn't prove anything. I just happen to look a bit like Superman," Clark was still being stubborn.
Kara sighed. "Alright. In that case..."
...
A minute later, she was carrying Clark a hundred meters into the air. He was flailing his arms and legs like a chicken she had picked up.
"W-w-what are you doing!?" Clark panicked. "I'm telling you, this is a v-v-violation of human rights—"
"They say on TV that in times like these, only the instinct from a crisis will jog your memory. Don't worry, you'll be fine," Kara said, full of confidence. "Now... fly!"
She let go.
Boom!
Clark plummeted headfirst into Mother Earth's embrace, kicking up a soaring plume of smoke that even Gaia would have given an eight out of ten.
Orin Vale floated nearby, arms crossed. "The plan isn't going very smoothly, huh?"
Kara: “…”
Clearly, Superman hadn't managed to fly, but the plan wasn't a complete failure. Clark, after a hundred-meter crash, climbed out of the large crater in the ground, shook his head, and was amazed to find he seemed completely unharmed.
"Wait, I was just in a free fall and nothing happened to me... Could I really be Superman?" Clark said in amazement.
"I told you that you were." Kara slapped her forehead and shot Orin Vale a pleading look. "What on earth is going on?"
"He seems perfectly normal." Orin Vale cupped his chin. "His abilities are functioning correctly, his body is healthy, and a scan at the cellular level shows no problems... But we probably won't make any new progress just by looking. I think I'll have to take him to the Laboratory to get more definitive results."
He turned to look at Superman, who was standing in the crater, still staring in disbelief at his own reflection on his cellphone screen, repeatedly studying his face.
"I'll take him back for an examination first." Orin Vale lifted Clark and flew off the ground. "You go find Wonder Woman and Batman."
"Oh, okay."
Kara obediently went.
In no time, the Trinity had regrouped in a way they never had before.
"Hey." Bruce, holding a coffee cup, sidled up to Diana with a playboy smile. "Wanna know who I am?"
Diana moved aside in distaste and turned her head, only to see the young reporter still over there, continuing his game of taking his glasses on and off in front of the mirror.
Diana raised an eyebrow, beginning to doubt the intelligence of this big guy.
"Gods, I might never be able to forget this version of Batman for the rest of my life," Kara muttered.
"Be serious. We have important business to investigate right now," Orin Vale said with a straight face.
"Oh, oh, I'm sorry," Kara apologized hastily.
Orin Vale nodded, thought for a moment, and then added, "Don't forget to start the video recording."
Kara: “…”
"Remind me why we're here again?" Diana asked.
In a blur, Kara appeared on the sofa in front of them, pointing at each of the three in turn. "Him, Superman. You, Wonder Woman. Him, Batman."
"This is so stupid."
Bruce expressed his dissatisfaction, holding his cup.
"You guys are going to make me miss my party tonight."
"It won't take too long... How about this? Dare to cooperate with me and say it like this?" Kara lowered her voice, making herself sound like a terminal throat cancer patient. "'I'm Batman.'"
Bruce frowned, pondered for a moment, and then copied her: "I'm Batman."
"No, no, it needs to be deeper and more somber," Kara said, shaking her head repeatedly.
Bruce tried again for a moment, then shook his head. "No, this is too stupid. Anyone who talks like that would just sound like an idiot."
Kara burst out laughing.
"Pfft-haha, sorry, I'm sorry. I know this is an emergency, I shouldn't..." she wiped away a tear, "I just can't help it..."
Diana opened the case Kara had brought from the Watchtower and lifted out the classic, revealing Wonder Woman armor inside.
She frowned with a hint of disgust. "You're saying I normally wear this?"
"Yep, yep."
Kara nodded repeatedly.
Seeing Diana's somewhat subtle expression, she hurriedly added, "Oh, don't worry, it looks really good on you. Although the style seems a bit over-the-top, because you're... really big, you can pull off the design. It doesn't look empty, and sometimes it even looks a bit tight..."
She shut her mouth when she noticed Diana's increasingly disapproving gaze.
"Uh... you don't like it?"
Diana placed the battlesuit back in the case.
"I don't know," she shook her head. "It looks more like a swimsuit than armor. I don't like wearing things that expose my thighs."
"Ah! That's truly a loss for an entire civilization."
The speaker was the Old Wizard, who had appeared at some unknown time. The Old Wizard shook his head, an expression of utter heartbreak on his face.
He has completely adopted the persona of a modern netizen.
Kara stood up and looked at Orin Vale, who was walking out with the Old Wizard. "What is it? Do you have any results?"
"Not sure, but it looks like a problem on the magic side of things. So," Orin Vale shrugged, gesturing toward the Old Wizard, "I'm preparing to consult an expert for their opinion."
The Old Wizard smugly stroked his long beard. "You've come to the right person. I am the Guardian of the Current Reality and of Magic. There's no magic in this world that I haven't heard of..."
Kara's eyes lit up. "So you can change them back!"
The Old Wizard laughed heartily and said bluntly, "Of course... I can't."
Kara gave him a deadpan look. However, just as she was about to express her disdain, the Old Wizard deftly changed the subject.
"However, I might know the key to undoing this magic," he said. "To awaken the missing memories, you just need a certain item, a magic orb that can seal memories... and I might have just heard from an old friend where to find such a thing."
(end of chapter)
