“.... And with your help, Blackridge Inc. can help to lead Metropolis into the future, a future built on clean, sustainable energy for the entire city. Thank you.”
Jake Blackridge left the stage as the applause from the sea of investors showered him with applause. It was the annual Blackridge Inc. investors meeting, and Jake had just finished announcing the company’s plan to expand from just being the city’s tech giant to providing forms of clean, alternative energy for all of Metropolis. Jake’s wife, Courtney, waited for him as he walked through the wings of the stage, greeting her husband with a kiss on the cheek while handing him his phone. “Great stuff out there, as always. CNBC is already projecting company stock to soar tomorrow morning at the opening bell.” Jake smirked a little bit to himself, pleased to hear the news. With Metropolis’ recent peace, he’d been able to focus more and more on building the company, to the point where he’d already become the 4th richest person alive, despite the fact that he was only twenty-three years of age.
Metropolis’ villain activity had fallen drastically over the past three years, as improvements to prison infrastructure, along with improvements in crime prevention by the city’s police force, had nearly lowered Metropolis’ crime rate to 0%. Birdboy and Catgirl had locked up the rest of the villains, and finally, Metropolis was able to breathe clean and easy. The city was finally reaching its full potential, and it had Jake Blackridge to thank... more than most civilians knew, of course.
Jake and Courtney walked through the back of the convention center where the meeting was being hosted, as Courtney, still his secretary after all the time, read off his appointments to him. “We have the art exhibit opening tonight at eight PM, you’re having Coffee with Beth at three, and...” Courtney took pause. There was something written on her virtual calendar that wasn’t there this morning. “... and you have a meeting with your “other wife”... right now.”
Before Jake could even blink, himself and Courtney were transported seamlessly into Jake’s private office, where PuppetMistress, Jake’s guardian angel, and wife in death was waiting, sitting back in his chair with her feet up on his desk. “Hi, hun.” She offered Jake a small wave, and a small smile to go with it. Jake was used to her powers by now, so he wasn’t shocked by the teleportation, even though he did see it as a bit of an inconvenience at the very moment. Him and Courtney both took two of the other seats in the office. “Puppet...” Jake cleared his throat a bit. “This is certainly unexpected... it’s been-...” “Three years.” PuppetMistress finished his sentence for him, and sat up straight. “Three years of peace, and prosperity, where I’ve just been able to sit around and get some reading done, while not having to worry about saving your skin every five minutes or so...” Puppet took a deep breath, clearly concerned and worried about what she was about to share. “And I’m sad to say that it’s coming to an end.”
Jake and Courtney shared a look, before raising their eyebrows and leaning in closer. “What’re you talking about? If one of the villains had gotten out of prison, we would know about it...” PuppetMistress shook her head. “I’m referring to the villains that can’t be held in any sort of physical prison. The Immortals. Stinkromancer. Froststench. Ashley Bilefoot. Lady Akushu. Countess Vashnara. And the Deathknight, Paladria. They’ve broken through the inter-dimensional prison I had sealed them in, and in the process, created a rift to another universe- one in which I did not create.”
Jake cocked his head. “I thought you made everything.” Puppet smirked a bit, and reached out, wanting to stroke Jake’s face, but her arms simply weren’t long enough. “Oh, my Jake. Somehow, so bright, yet so simple at the same time. You have no idea how much I’ve missed you.” Courtney’s glare told PuppetMistress to get on with it. PuppetMistress retracted her hand and continued.
“... And while they were still imprisoned by me, I caught wind of what they were planning to do.”
PuppetMistress created a projection with her hand on the wall, showing five rings, each with a different colored gemstone: Yellow, Green, Red, Blue, And Black. “The rings you see here are known collectively as the Keys of the Cleansed. The five of them being separated from one another at all times acts as a sort of lock. See, back at the very beginning of the creation of this universe, things got... a little out of control...”
PuppetMistress’ words gave Jake pause. “Wait... there are others like you?” Puppet nodded her head.
“I was not the only entity present in its creation. There exist beings more powerful than I. There was one known as The Filthmother, a creature so disgusting, so vile, I had no choice but to lock her away. I created the five rings as a locking mechanism, a way to ensure she remained imprisoned. Now, the Immortals want to join the stones together and release her, so that she may destroy this, and all other surrounding universes, subjecting them all to her namesake filth...”
Courtney could feel a lump forming in her throat. “Alright.. So... what do you want us to do about this whole thing? Jake isn’t Birdboy anymore. And I’m just his secretary for Christ sakes.”
“If Filthmother gets free, there’s nothing that I, or anybody else can do to stop her.” PuppetMistress quipped back. “That’s why I need you to go and get me those rings, Jake.”
Jake’s eyebrow furrowed at that request. “Wait... So... you want me to prevent those five rings from being joined together... by joining the five rings together?”
PuppetMistress shook her head. “No, no. As long as we don’t touch the actual gems to each other, they’re fine. I’m going to destroy them.”
Jake nodded hesitantly, but there was still something fishy about this whole plan. “Alright... continue...”
“The city needs Birdboy to come out of retirement. It doesn’t know it, yet... but once the Immortals really start their hunt, things will get worse for this city than they ever were before...”
Jake takes a deep breath, and he feels Courtney’s hand latch onto his. It was clear all of this made her nervous as well, the idea that Jake would have to don the suit again. She had thought they’d gotten away from that life. Jake swallowed his nerves and looked back up at PuppetMistress. “Alright... maybe I can gather these rings up without too much trouble. Then you can destroy them, lock the Immortals away again, seal up that rift, and we all go on with our lives... so... where are the rings?”
PuppetMistress took a deep breath and thought long and hard about where the five rings were located. “Well... Ashley was in possession of the red one... until they escaped. They used the ring to escape, and it fell into the rift once it was used, it’s somewhere in that other universe...” PuppetMistress scratched her chin. “The Blue One is kept in a collection, by Monica Costello, A.K.A. Nightshade...” A shiver was sent up Jake’s spine. The massive businesswoman who wanted nothing more than to make Jake her bitch had one of these rings, meaning that Jake would probably have to come into prolixity with her at some point to get it.
“The Yellow one, the gemstone was removed, actually. I believe Brooke has used it for the centerpiece in the championship belt for that wrestling promotion she won...”
Jake’s mind harkened back to the day that he saved Metropolis from a power hungry Japanese businesswoman, and several professional wrestlers, before it all just turned out to be a test to see if Brooke could revive that near-dead promotion. If Jake recalled, he had a claim to that championship belt. It may be as easy as walking in there and asking for it.
“The green one, rumor has it, has been being passed around on the black market as of late. Who knows what kind of shady character has it in their possession. And I’m afraid the black one has been lost to time. Even I don’t know where it is. But as long as it’s out there, they can get their hands on it. So we need to find it and destroy it.”
“Look, all of this is important, and all...” Courtney had heard enough of PuppetMistress trying to drag Jake back into his superhero life. “But why can’t you do this all yourself? You apparently were able to lock them away once before. Why aren’t you able to do it again?”
PuppetMistress raised an eyebrow, and sat back, folding her arms. “Maybe you weren’t listening when I said there was a rip in the lining of the universe. That’s where I locked them away the first time. For me to fix that rift, it’s gonna take a long time, and I’m gonna have to put all of my energy into it. By the time I do, they will have gotten all of the rings.” Courtney rolled her eyes once again. “Then why don’t you go and hunt down the rings and destroy them?” “Because I have to fix the rift in the universe, so we have someplace to put them before they destroy everything, you dense bitch!” Both women had stood up now, and were practically screaming in each other’s faces. Jake quickly stood up and got between them. “Girls! Girls! Knock it off. Breathe... I’ll go get the rings. I’ve dealt with all of those immortal bitches before. I’ll be fine.”
After talking his wives down, Jake thought long and hard about the task ahead of him. It had the possibility to be his most dangerous adventure yet. But this was still his city, and it was still his job to defend it.
Jake pressed a button on the desk, and one of the wall panels opened up, revealing a brand new Birdsuit. Blue and Chrome instead of the old blue and orange he once donned. PuppetMistress grinned, but Courtney was still visibly nervous.
“Time to save the world again, I suppose...”
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