Starman

Stars Be My Destiny

Book 4: Homecoming

by JSAGL

Continued from Stars Be My Destiny, Book 3: Talking With Doris

From the Shade’s Journal:

For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. This statement means that in every interaction, there is a pair of forces acting on the two interacting objects. The size of the forces on the first object equals the size of the force on the second object. The direction of the force on the first object is opposite to the direction of the force on the second object. Forces always come in pairs – equal and opposite action-reaction force pairs. A variety of action-reaction force pairs are evident in nature. Consider the propulsion of a fish through the water. A fish uses its fins to push water backwards. But a push on the water will only serve to accelerate the water. In turn, the water reacts by pushing the fish forwards, propelling the fish through the water. The size of the force on the water equals the size of the force on the fish; the direction of the force on the water (backwards) is opposite the direction of the force on the fish (forwards). For every action, there is an equal (in size) and opposite (in direction) reaction force. Action-reaction force pairs make it possible for fish to swim. At least that’s how I explained it to Sir Isaac. But did I receive even a single mention in any of works? Of course not. I wonder what would have happened had I beaned him with a brick instead of an apple?

So what, if anything, does this have to do with the story of young Jack Knight? Consider the long history of the Mist and the Starman. The Mist commits a crime. The Starman put him in jail. Equal yet opposite reactions. Now along comes the Mist without Ted Knight to oppose him. Foolishly, old Murphy thinks this action would breed no reaction, much as he thought the death of his wife would go unquestioned. The universe simply does not work that way. It requires — no, it DEMANDS — that no deed, good or evil, goes unpunished. Harsh lessons will be learned this day by the Murphy clan and the heirs of Theodore Knight. Today young Jack will be surprised by the return of someone he thought long lost, as well as the loss of someone he had only just found.

***

Natasha Murphy stood in her father’s old laboratory. God, how this place reeked of must and mold and death. She searched high and low for the object of her desire, finding only cobwebs and spiders. Knocking over an old bookcase, she saw the notch in the wood on the base board. She pried it open, revealing at last her prize: the formula that turned her father into the Mist.

Nash held the jar up to the light, wiping the grime and dust away. How long had this been sitting here? Twenty years? What if it had gone bad? What if it killed her? What if it will not work? No, she reasoned, if the revised formula worked for Kyle, then the original should work on her. She had always suspected that the formula that Kyle used was inferior to the original. Her father couldn’t stand the idea of anyone being more powerful than him, even his own son. Kyle always had to rejuvenate his powers. Father never did. Now neither would she.

Reaching into her pocket, Nash pulled out a picture of her mother. In her name, Nash would become the Mist and avenge the evil that her father had done. Popping open the top of the jar, she winced as the putrid odor wafted forth. Nash put the bottle to her lips and tilted her head back. The liquid burned her throat as she drank, but that would not stop her. She held the empty bottle up. Nothing happened.

“Damn you father! Damn you!” Nash screamed as she threw the bottle against the farthest wall, shattering it into a billion different pieces. He must have known she was coming here and left that swill in place of his formula. Suddenly, Nash felt a searing pain in her stomach, as though her whole body had caught fire. She fell to the floor, doubled over in pain.

He did it. Whatever was in the jar, he left it to kill whoever found it, she thought as she writhed on the floor. Then, just as quickly as it began, the pain stopped. Nash sat upright. A strange tingling sensation coursed through her left arm. She grabbed it with her right hand, but her hand went through it like so much… mist? Holding her left arm up, Nash saw it vaporize. She began to laugh, and then slowly, her whole body turned into mist. Nash was gone.

***

Opal City, the home of the Shade…

“I think I might have found something,” Matt O’Dare said as he walked into the Shade’s living room.

The Shade put down his pen and closed his journal. He had to smile at the number of times he had heard Matt say that over the past century. Of course, he wasn’t always Matt, but that was a tale for another time.

“Something incriminating, I trust?”

Matt smiled as he tossed a few old manila folders on the Shade’s turn of the century antique desk, “It took a little bit of digging, but a friend of mine in Canada actually stumbled across this.”

The Shade opened the files. He saw dusty old police reports and a few yellowed photographs. One picture, though, was unmistakable. He was younger to be sure, but it was Andy Murphy, the Mist. He read the files. It had been a rainy evening. Murphy and his wife, Aleksandra, had been out, presumably to dinner. On the way home, Murphy claimed that something jumped out into the road. He tried to avoid it but ended up wrapping the car around a telephone pole. Murphy had walked away from the crash with minor abrasions, but Aleksandra was killed on impact. The police found no evidence of anything that might have jumped onto the road. There were no farms or farm animals for miles around.

The investigating officer, Lt. Martin “Mac” Maenza, had his doubts about the case. In his notes, Maenza described Murphy as on edge and nervous. There was something about the accident that just didn’t seem right. Murphy had walked away from the scene virtually unharmed. His wife suffered severe trauma throughout her body. From the force of the impact, Murphy should have been in almost the same condition. He had watched while his partner interrogated Murphy. Something strange seemed to be going on in the interrogation room.

“That’s it?” the Shade said as he looked through the rest of the folder.

“Yep,” Matt said as he lit up a cigarette, “Doesn’t take a genius to figure out what happened from that point on.”

“Indeed, nor what really happened to poor Aleksandra Murphy. I wonder why the Mist would…”

Before the Shade could finish his thought, he saw a woman flit past the door, her white dress flowing behind her.

“Matthew, did someone come here with you?”

“No, why?”

“We have an intruder.”

The Shade bolted from behind the desk with Matt not far behind. The sahde saw a wisp of the dress at the end of the hallway. As they turned the corner, they saw it again entering the room housing the comatose David Knight. The duo entered the room, but the woman was nowhere to be seen. Instead, they saw something that shocked them more. David was sitting up. He was awake.

“Where am I?”

“Welcome back, David. We were afraid that you were lost to us,” the Shade said, sitting down on the side of David’s bed.

“Why am I here? The last thing I remember is being on a rooftop, and then waking up just now.”

“The why is to keep you out of harm’s way. You have been in a coma for several weeks. You don’t remember anything else?”

“Well, it’s funny. While I was on that rooftop, I could have sworn I smelled my mother’s perfume. I’d swear I can smell it now, too.”

Matt looked at the both of them. “He’s right. I can smell it too.”

The Shade sniffed at the air for a moment. “Madame Rochas.”

David smiled at that. “That’s right. How did you know that? God, one time when Jack was little… Oh my God! Jack!!!”

David tried to bolt up, but Matt and the Shade were ready for him. He struggled for a bit, but eventually he realized he was too weak.

“Jack is fine, David. In fact, he is with Sylvester Pemberton and the rest of Infinity, Inc. He’s learning how to become Starman.”

David put his head back down. “I must still be in a coma. There’s no way Jack could have done that.”

Matt and the Shade started laughing.

***

Stellar Studios…

Jack stretched and yawned as the morning light broke through his window. He glanced at the alarm clock. 10:08. Wow. It wasn’t like Wildcat to let Jack sleep in this late. Jack quickly picked up his jeans from where they were crumpled on the floor, grabbed a shirt out of the closet, and headed to the kitchen. Once there, he saw Wildcat, Patriot and Power Girl sitting at the table, playing cards.

“Isn’t it a little early to be playing cards?”

“Morning, Jackass,” Wildcat said as he put his cards down. “Read ‘em and weep, girlie. Full House, Jacks over 10′s.”

Wildcat was about to grab the pot when Power Girl pushed his hands back.

“Hold on a minute, old timer,” she said as she laid her cards on the table. Four 2′s and a 7.

“I swear, you must using your x-ray vision ta peek at my cards!!!”

“Aww, poor kitty cat lost another hand,” Power Girl said as she scooped up the chips. “Believe me, Ted, with as bad as you play, I don’t have to waste my time using any of my powers.”

“Hardy-har-har, Power Chick.”

Jack came over to the table with a glass of juice. “So this is why you didn’t wake me up this morning to train?”

Wildcat looked up at the boy. “Kid, there is no more training. You’re graduated.”

“What?” Jack responded in amazement.

Without another word, Wildcat jumped up at Jack and attacked. Jack deftly countered each blow, never letting Ted Grant get the upper hand.

“Believe me now?”

“I-I…” Jack sputtered. For the first time in his life, Jack did not know what to say.

***

The Knight Estate the following evening…

Kyle Murphy was standing on the balcony off his room. He looked out into the night sky over the estate. Kyle knew he should have been happy to have all this. He knew that a lot of people would kill for this kind of wealth. Then he was reminded that he did just that. Kyle Murphy was the one who shot David Knight all those months ago.

“Beautiful evening, isn’t it, son?”

Kyle turned to see his father standing behind him. It startled him, because there hadn’t been a sound.

“Yes, father, it is.”

“Where did your sister get off to, Kyle? Surely as close as the two of you are, she’d have told you.”

Kyle locked eyes with his father. The tone of voice might have been even, but there was barely contained rage behind the Mist’s eyes. Kyle tried not to show his fear.

“No, I’m sorry, Father. She didn’t tell me anything.”

Kyle felt his father’s hand on his shoulder. It was not reassuring.

“Kyle. Dearest boy. There are many things I will tolerate, but failure and lying are not among them. Tell me where Natasha is,” the Mist said as his grip on Kyle tightened.

“Father, you’re hurting me!”

The Mist put both hands on his son’s neck as his body dissolved into the mist which gave Andy Murphy his nom du guerre.

“I’ll hurt you even more if you don’t… tell… me… where… your… sister… is… NOW!!”

Kyle was gasping for air, desperately trying to remove his father’s hands, ” I… don’t… know…”

Screaming at the top of his lungs, the Mist raised his son up and then violently threw him off the balcony. Kyle screamed as well. A sickening thud was heard. The Mist looked down to see his son’s body on the concrete below in a most unnatural position.

“A waste! All of you! Your mother, God rest her soul, learned the price of betrayal. Now so have you.”

The Mist’s body congealed as he stared at his son’s body. He would find his daughter, and she would pay as well.

“BASTARD!!!”

Something impacted on the Mist’s head, and he crumpled to the ground groaning. As he fell, he caught sight of his assailant, his daughter.

“Natasha…”

She came at him again, but this time, contact was not made. Andy Murphy had become the Mist. As Nash tried to regain her footing, the Mist solidified and grabbed his daughter around the neck, choking her.

“Oh, Natasha, I had such high hopes for you, but I cannot tolerate betrayal. Your brother was such a waste, a disappointment. But you, so much like your mother…”

“Actually… Father… more… like… you..”

This time it was the Mist’s turn to be surprised as his daughter’s body dissolved in his hands. “What the hell?”

Nash’s disembodied voice echoed throughout the room, “I am the Mist now, Father. In the name of my mother, whom you killed that awful night, I am taking your place.”

“I see. So this is about revenge, is it? Bravo, my child. Well done. I had always hoped one of my children would follow in my footsteps. Now we can rule Opal City together. No one will be able to stop us.”

Nash’s face became visible. “No. You’re not hearing me, Father. I am taking your place. You are going to die this evening. You deserve no less for what you did to her.”

“What I did? WHAT I DID?!!” the Mist howled, his spectral face contorted in anger. “Your mother had to die. I gave her everything. I gave her love. I gave her two children. A house. A car. I gave up being the Mist. For her. And do you know what she did, Natasha? SHE CHEATED ON ME!!”

“Well, good for her, then. You never loved her. She was just another possession to you. Like me. Like Kyle. I remember all the nights hearing you two argue. I remember hearing the sounds of you punching her. I remember Mom’s heavy make-up hiding the bruises. I REMEMBER!!! Now it’s time for you to die.”

The Mist broke into insane laughter. “Poor, dear, deluded Natasha. Just how do you propose to do that? We’re both ethereal. Both made of mist.”

Natasha solidified her hand enough to reach in the bag she brought with her. She retrieved a small brown object from it. “This is a little present from Artemis and the Huntress.”

She threw the object at her father. It landed where his feet would have been had they been there. Before the Mist could react, it exploded, and suddenly the Mist’s feet were there again. He tried to change back again, but he could not. He looked in exasperation as Natasha floated in the room again and became solid.

“I asked them how they would go about defeating you. It seems that the Sportsmaster and the Huntress has already thought of that and devised this little neutralizer to do just that. It’s time for you to die now, Father.”

Nash walked towards the Mist confidently, something he had never seen before. He was waiting for her fists to impact, when her leg came out of nowhere and hit his jaw, sending him flying. She followed that up with a stomp, then a kick, and then she began beating him senseless.

“Natasha… no… no… more…”

She dropped him to the ground and looked in his eyes. “You didn’t give mother that mercy, did you? I want you to look at me as I enter your lungs and expand inside them. I want you to feel every bit of pain that she did. Natasha is no more, old man. I’m the Mist. And you’re dead.”

Slowly her body began to dissipate. Murph tried to move away, but every breath began to draw her in even further. Then Natasha’s ethereal form began to glow, and she screamed, falling on the floor unconscious, the mists retreating from Murph’s body.

“No one dies today, Nash.”

The Mist looked past his daughter to see his savior.

“Jack! Jack Knight! Thank God!!! My daughter. I don’t know what’s become of her, but she…”

“Save it, Mist. I know who you are. It’s why Jack Knight left here. But you can call me Starman.”

The Mist stood up and brushed his clothes off. “Really. Starman. How… presumptuous. I knew Ted Knight, young man. I fought against Ted Knight. And you, young Jack, are no Ted Knight. You’re not even David Knight. You’re a pathetic little pot smoker with delusions of adequacy.”

“That’s who I use to be, Mist. Not anymore. I’m Starman now. I finally know what that means. Nash neutralized your powers, so come along quietly.”

“Oh, how little you know,” the Mist said as he stared into Jack’s eyes. “Jack, put your cosmic rod down and drop to your knees.”

Glassy eyed, Jack fell to his knees and put the cosmic rod down in front of him. The Mist laughed as he walked over to retrieve the rod.

“I’ll take that now.”

Just as he was about to grab it, Jack got it first. He took the rod and landed it in the Mist’s midsection. Jumping up, Jack hit the Mist with the long end and then the short, backing the villain into the wall. The Mist tried to defend himself, but Jack’s superior training made that impossible.

“A little something Brainwave, Jr. helped me out with. Nothing like blocking the neural receptors that make your power of suggestion useless.”

The Mist sank down the wall, and as he did, his body began to dissolve.

“Well, well, how the worm turns. Seems that Mr. and Mrs. Crock aren’t as smart as they appear. I’ll grant you this, boy. Your father would have been proud. We’ll write that on your tombstone. Natasha was going to kill me by exploding my lungs. What a brilliant idea. Don’t think any bursts from your mighty rod will affect me.”

Jack just smiled. The cosmic rod began to glow, and a mighty electrical charge arced through the Mist. He was caught totally by surprise. He convulsed as his body returned to its solid state, and he too lapsed into unconsciousness.

“Something I learned from reading Dad’s case files. You might not have been solid, but the water present in your Mist form is an excellent electrical conductor.”

Jack rushed over to Nash, who was beginning to stir.

“Jack!!! I thought I’d never see you again!” Nash said, throwing her arms around the new Starman.

“But Nash, I thought… what your father said that night…”

Nash’s face turned cold. “He lied, Jack. It’s what he does. I never stopped loving you. That’s what makes this all the more…”

She was interrupted by a plaintiff cry from outside, “Please….”

Nash and Jack ran to the balcony. Kyle was trying to move below. He was injured, but he was still alive. Jack formed a cosmic stretcher to keep Kyle immobile as he lifted him back into the house. He gently set Kyle on the bed.

“Nash, I’m going to take your father in. Your brother needs medical care, but he still has to answer for killing David. You do understand that, right?”

Nash put her arms around Jack. “I know what need to be done, my love.” She leaned in and kissed him deeply. Jack returned the kiss, and then he started choking. He fell to his knees, gasping for air. Nash grabbed the cosmic rod.

“I came here for a reason today, Jack. I wish it could be different, I really do, but I vowed on my mother’s grave that my father would die this night.”

With that, Nash pointed the cosmic rod at her father. It blazed to life, firing a bolt of cosmic energy. Andy Murphy went up in smoke, and the only thing that remained was the charred carpet where his body had lain. Nash then threw the rod on the ground at Jack. She sat next to her brother and put something in his mouth. Jack stumbled to his feet.

“Nash, no. Why? Why?”

She looked into his eyes, tears forming, “I’m sorry, Jack. I really am. This isn’t what I wanted for us, but you of all people should understand. This is about family. My mother’s death had to be avenged, and, as much as I love you, I cannot let you take Kyle, even if he did kill your brother.”

“Actually, Kyle never killed anyone.”

Jack and Nash both turned to see the Shade and Matt O’Dare walk into the room with David Knight.

“DAVEY!!!” Jack screamed in disbelief as he ran to his brother and threw his arms around him.

“Careful, Jack. I’m still sore.”

“I can’t believe you’re alive!”

“I can’t believe you’re Starman!!”

The Shade observed the charred carpet. “Jack, I trust this was not you that killed the Mist.”

Nash spoke up, “No. I did. And the Mist isn’t dead. I’m the Mist now.”

“I see. Well, your brother is no longer guilty of murder, but he is guilty of assault. I think that if you turned yourself into the authorities, they’d be lenient on you, considering the proof we now have that your father killed your mother.”

Jack handed the cosmic rod to David and walked to Nash and her brother on the bed. “Nash, please. Don’t fight us. Turn yourself in. We’ll do everything we can to help you. Be better than your father was.”

Nash laid a hand on her brother and then looked up at Jack with tears in her eyes. “Your destiny was to become your father, Jack. So was mine. I’ll always love you, but what I did today, I’m not Nash anymore. I truly am the Mist.”

The Mist and her brother quickly dissolved and faded from view. “We’ll always be connected, Jack. More than you’ll ever know.”

***

Epilogue, one month later:

Somewhere in Canada, a young lady named Sandra Rasputin was taking her brother, Alex, to his weekly therapy session at the hospital. Alex had a bad fall from his apartment and snapped his spine. He was paralyzed from the neck down. Sandra had her own appointment this day, for prenatal care. She was just starting to show. She does not speak of the baby’s father, except to say that he was her true love. The sonogram showed that the baby was a boy. He would be named Theodore after his paternal grandfather.

***

Stellar Studios, California…

One month ago, Starman returned from the dead. David Knight had finally been given a clean bill of health by his physician, Dr. McNider. This left only one problem. After a month of being Starman, Jack Knight had no desire to quit. David Knight was anxious to get back in the saddle. Where before, the brothers would have fought to the death, this time, they easily reached a compromise that their father would have been proud of. David returned to the JSA as Starman. Jack was about to be inducted by Infinity Inc.

The entire membership of Infinity Inc. was gathered, along with the JSA’s Starman, Wildcat and Power Girl. Jack Knight stood before the assembled heroes. He wore jeans, a plaid shirt, a black leather jacket adorned with the star his mother had given him, and a bandana with white stars on blue. He held the cosmic rod in his left hand.

“Jack Knight, by unanimous vote of the membership,” the Patriot said with a huge smile, “we hereby induct you into full membership in Infinity Inc. as the new Star-Spangled Kid!”

The room erupted in applause. Jack looked at Sylvester and smiled. If only Dad were here to see this…

Suddenly, a violent wind began to blow into the room as a portal opened in mid-air. Someone came flying out of it, followed by five other somebodies.

“Mr. Brown!!! I would appreciate it if you would get off me! I do not enjoy being your landing pad!” the rotund man harumphed as he pulled himself off the floor.

“Sorry, Professor, but you’re a whole lot softer than the ground,” Rembrandt Brown said as he helped Professor Arturo up.

Ted Knight pulled his glasses out of his pocket just as two voices shouted in unison…

“Dad?”

Ted Knight looked in astonishment. He read the banner on the wall, which read:

“Congratulations, Jack, our new Star-Spangled Kid.”

Diana Davis walked over to Ted, holding the timer. “Is this the right world, Ted? Are you home? Mallory and Wade were told these were the right coordinates.”

Ted stared at David and Jack. Starman and the Star-Spangled Kid.

“It’s close, but it can’t be. David might be Starman, but Jack… he couldn’t be…”

Diana looked down at the timer and then back at Ted. “Well, you’d better decide quickly, because the next portal opens in ninety seconds, and if this is the wrong world, we’re stuck here for the next 29 years…”

David and Jack ran to Ted, and all three men hugged.

“Dad, it’s really us. You’re home. You’re home!!!”

Ted looked at Jack through tear filled eyes. “God, you look so much like Jack, but what could have happened that…?”

“Dad, you left us, trying to find a way to Earth-One. We thought you were lost forever. Then David died, and the Mist took over, and I… Dad, I had no choice. I had to become Starman. I had to be worthy of you. You remember what you told Mom about me? You told Mom that David was your son, but I was hers. It’s why you shut me out after she died. I reminded you too much of her.”

“Oh, Jack…”

Ted heard the familiar sound of a portal opening behind him. Professor Arturo, Mallory, Wade, Rembrandt and Diana all stood before the portal.

“Ted,” the Professor said above the roar, “it’s time. Do we go or not?”

Ted looked at his comrades — no, his second family — and then his sons. He had spent over five years from his point of view sliding from world to world. They almost lost Max. Quinn had been merged with his duplicate. It was time.

“Close the portal, Diana. Ted Knight is done with sliding. We’re home…”