Camp Justice

Return to Camp (Fanfic Commander)

"Finally Grandpa Jor-El explained that I'd gone into the simulation chamber before we temporarily jumped universes. The jump plus the simulation disorientated me which is why I thought I was at summer camp."

"Wow..." said the other campers.

The campfire flared a bit to add a touch of suspense.

"So, what happened after that?" said one camper.

I rubbed at the back of my head. "Oh, right. It took some time, but I figured out that Grandpa was using the food to pacify Mom and me."

"What about the communicator?"

"I found out that Grandpa had just been faking the transmissions from Dad. Before we'd left with Grandpa, he gave Dad a communicator so that we could still talk to each other. But Grandpa was faking it."

"Man, Jon," said a camper, "you tell the best stories. It's like you were there. You should write for DC Comics."

I smiled brightly. "I know! It'd be awesome if that happened!"

"Oh please," said another camper with a pfft-wave of his hand. "That was the lamest story ever. It wasn't scary at all. Mind control super-villain, magic spell that makes it so you can't speak, a crossover battle, and food that brainwashes you..." He rolled his eyes and gave a long, loud sigh. "And it all ends up with 'your' grandpa being some crazy villain."

"He was crazy because he had kryptonite embedded in his brain," I huffed.

"Don't listen to Louie," said a camper. "You're story was great."

Louie threw some dirt on the fire making it spark and flare. "Campfire stories are supposed to be scary. Tell you what; I've got something to scare you better than some," he made eye contact with me, "lame fanfiction: fortuneteller cards." Everyone "oohed" as Louie started shuffling the deck.

"Yeah! Let's do that!" someone shouted.

A few minutes later, Louie was set up. The light of the campfire cast an eerie glow against us as we huddled around Louie and his cards. He told us to ask a question. Someone asked how many people were present in order to prove they worked. (Not that Louie couldn't just count how many of us there were.) He answered eight when there were only seven of us. After some gasps of shock, someone asked where this eighth person was.

Louie looked up from the cards with an evil grin. "Behind Jon." There were more gasps while I rolled my eyes. Louie then took it further. "He's following Jon. No...attached. He's a part of you." The others chattered in awe and excitement as a shiver passed through me and I gulped.

"Will any of us go bald?" someone asked.

A smirk passed over Louie's face. "Only Jon," he chuckled. He then pointed a finger at me. "Your destiny is that of pain, suffering, and sorrow." What a jerk, I thought. But everyone was eating it up. "You'll never know happiness; only fear. Ah-hahahaha!!"

Suddenly lightning flash behind him; a rumble of thunder quickly followed. It then started to rain. And that put an end to our evening. We ran for our cabin as the downpour strengthened.

***

Once we were somewhat dried off, we took to our beds. I pulled my covers to my chest while Louie laughed. "See ya in the morning, Smith."

I closed my eyes and was soon fast asleep. But soon the nightmares began.

I saw New York City. It looked peaceful—a normal day. Suddenly, a giant space-squid attacked. Within moments half the city was destroyed.

"Did we do the right thing?" a voice said.

"Nothing ever ends," said another voice.

Time seemed to shift for a moment.

"Where will you go?" asked a voice.

"Somewhere into the universe. Explore life. Maybe create some," said the "Nothing ever ends" voice.

I saw a hand. It might have been mine. Something swirled in it and the hand slowly closed.

The voice that asked about if they did the right thing spoke again. "He had a fascination with the DC Universe. It was probably its child-like wonder that drew him to it."

I then saw my mom; she was pregnant. That "Nothing" voice said, "The hybrid won't survive without help; the DNA mix will be harmful. He will be needed." A hand then reached down and touched Mom's head.

Suddenly, I was on Jor-El's ship. It looked just as I'd imagined it.

"You lied!" I shouted at Jor-El. "How could you do this?"

"Control your emotions, Jonathan," he said. "He already messed with our universe once, don't let it happen again. Control the power."

"I can't...I can't do it. It's too much!"

A shockwave of energy exploded out from me.

***

"Smith!" shouted my boss.

I jerked awake. I'd fallen asleep at my desk. The nightmare had kept me awake all night. For the last 18 years, that dream has haunted me. It started at Camp Justice and hasn't stopped yet. I've been to doctors of all sorts and no one can tell me what's wrong.

"Smith!" shouted my boss again.

I quickly glanced down at my desk. A half sketched drawing of Lex Luthor sat on my desk.

My boss saw the drawing and slowly shook his head. "Smith, you've got to be the slowest artist we have. Listen, kid, we need the drawings out fast. Who cares if they're a little off?"

"The fans will," I grumbled.

My boss let out a long sigh. "It's a good thing you're one of the best writer/artists we've seen in a long time. The way you write and draw...it's almost like you were there." He started to turn away then stopped. "Oh, by the way," he said like he was about to tell me birds have feathers, "they liked your pitch. Jon Kent will be joining the DC Comics team as Superman's son."

My boss quickly turned away, probably to cover his smile, as I jumped into the air with a "Whaaa-hooo!!!" Everyone turned to look at me. "Sorry." I sat back down, blushing, but still smiling.

***

One day while we prepared for the debut of Jon Kent, a message came saying that the Big Boss wanted to see me.

"Sir?" I said, peeking into the office.

An older man with white hair (he looked a little like Jor-El) motioned me to approach. He gave me a spiel about how good of a job I was doing. Then he put his hand on my shoulder and looked into my eyes. "Jon, it wasn't a dream."

Somehow those words triggered something and everything came flooding back to me. I remembered being on Grandpa's ship; after he told me about the communicator and the fake broadcasts, he told me about a god-like being called Dr. Manhattan and how he basically created me.

I blinked a couple times. The Big Boss was Jor-El. "Why do this?" I asked.

"Manhattan believes in predestination while your father believes in hope. To prove his point, Manhattan must destroy your father's hope. First, he destroyed Kal-El's relationship with his father. Next was his son. You're betrayal is the final nail in the coffin. By coming with me, Kal-El is left without the support of family. So now, the battle begins."

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Words: 1,198

Entry for the Fanfic Bootcamp "Commander" prompt by Fanfic

https://www.wattpad.com/599067149-fanfic-bootcamp-round-5-commander-15-july-to-24