A massive dome stretched out from the horizon had enveloped the neon skies. It was transparent yet Beatle senses it enveloping his world all over. On the other side of the transparent wall was complete absence, nothing but a snow horizon and some mountains, snowy indeed, but at the far end of the great Enlex road was a banner of sorts, clearly showing a red pentagram on it.
Beatle scoffs and walks into the airport, which has since become a military base, yet abandoned for many years. The airport was absolutely wide and massive. He entered the airport and saw a massive mall inside, kept clean by various drones that tend to the cleanliness of the mall. Curiously, the mall also still had good food, which had been kept organic and healthy by the drones themselves through magic lights.
”Saint King! You have returned! We are glad you have done so soon as possible! You have been gone for approximately 333 years, 6 months, 11 days, 16 hours, 37 minutes, 12 seconds AND counting!”.
Beatle gives a gruff cough. “Uh huh.” He stomps in front of Jollibee and asks for a meal. “Chickenjoy, please. And Jolly Fries. And a Cheesy Yumburger.”
The drone nods and joyfully offers him the meal. Beatle takes his mask off and begins eating happily, revealing a gruff yet handsome gray-haired middle-aged man with scars all over, a well-shaven beard, and a sharp, well-cut curly set of hair. He has sharp eyebrows and a look that seems to be once kind but hardened by years of war. He has that look to him. A look that is annoyed by the universe itself. He sighs and takes a bite out of his burger, proceeding to drink an iced tea. “Best damned franchise in the Philippines…” he coughed before swallowing some medications along with the iced tea.
Beatle burps and coughs. “Hay Naku… I LOVE this place… Growin’ up here…”
“Ah, yes!” smiled a drone. “I believe that you were once considered a Filipino. Is that correct?”
“Still am.“
“Well, obviously, you have risen into becoming the Saint King! All-powerful! All-knowing! And believes in all that is good! You must be immensely happy with the aptitude you have reached after 800 years of war! You MUST be happy, sir, after ALL the accomplishments!!”
“Mhm.”
“Especially the fact that you have what the Humans considered a psychological disorder for hundreds of years! Autism!”
“Yep…” he popped his lip as he ate another crispy fry.
“By goodness, my Lord! How are you in the Moon?”
“Good.”
“Wonderful to hear!” smiled the Drone.
“By the way, H466Y. Or… Harry.”
“Yes, sir?”
“Kindly make sure that the Crusaders land safely. The time is nearing for their landing. And tell them the barrier’s still up. Safe for us to uh… return.”
“Indeed, sir!” Harry’s jets could be heard whirring through the breeze upon flying past his face.
“Mhm,” said Beatle.
Beatle turns to the chair and touches it, feeling it is warm.
Beatle feels that his senses are as sharp as ever. “I know you’re there.”
A little Caucasian girl smiles, walking up to Beatle.
The girl just stood on top of the gigantic seat in front of him. She smiled, flapping her hands and fluttering her fingers.
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Beatle flapped his own hands by twisting them left to right while clipping his thumb and index fingers together, repeatedly tapping them.
She looks younger, but she seems to be 12-14 years old, but has the face of a baby.
Beatle sighs and continues eating. “Harry. Another meal for the child, please.”
“Certainly. How on Earth did we not detect the child?” asked Harry.\
“Beats me, Megatron,” said Beatle.
The girl smiles and bounces up and down, rocking her entire body forward and backward as the chair squeaks on the tiles.
Beatle sniffs softly and offers the girl some fries. She smiles, flexing her finger up and down and touching the fries over and over. She eats them, happily smiling.
“What is your name?”
She barks, not like a dog, but like a girl saying “Bam!”.
Beatle sighs and offers her more food.
“Sir, I believe she has been here for months without our knowledge,” said Harry. “She has avoided eye contact for a while. Though she seems comfortable with you.”
Beatle gives her more fries from his carton. “Keep eating.”
“Bam!”
Beatle tilts his head. “Because you need to eat. You look like you kept evading the Drones for a while…” He turns to Harry, who backs away in fear. Beatle turns to the child again.
“Bam Billi Bam!!” she smiled.
“I will name you… Billy Bam.”
“Bam!” Billy smiled.
“So… Billy. How do you like your food?”
Billy smiles. “BAM!!!“
Beatle nods and continues eating.
Beatle sighs and carries her in his arms, “I’ll find you a good place to sleep, kid. I don’t uh… sleep much at all.”
“Bam!”
“Got any parents? I don’t think you do…”
“Bam! Bam!”
Much later, he enters one of the hotel rooms, kept clean by the drones, and places her in the bed. Beatle sighs and sits on the floor, watching her as she dozes off. Beatle sighs and coughs, mostly just ignoring her as he begins typing into his computer from the Moon.
Beatle sighs.
“The child. Raise it,” spoke the voice in his head.
Beatle sighs. “I am a soldier. She won’t be safe. She’s better off here in the hotel.”
“And if the She-Devil, who is at the border, enters here? Then what?”
Beatle sighs. “Fine. Billy.” He turns to the child. “I’m your dad now, I guess.”
Billy kept asleep.
The hotel room was very clean, a white room, a white bed, and a television that Beatle uses to read stories. Beatle smiles and watches an old movie, Superman from 2025, which came out nearly 800 years ago.
Billy, after 16 hours of sleep, saw Beatle watch the picture over and over again, through glimpses of waking up. “Bam!” She finally spoke.
“This picture is nearly 800 years old,” said Beatle. “It’s about a man who believed he could do good no matter what. The Greatest War occurred after the movies began to decline in popularity. People began to think more about politics… regarding my existence. Men avoided women, causing an 87% decline in the child population. Men and women viewed dating other humans as obsolete. Women became pickier, like the beautiful ones in that rat experiment. The males began falling for Artificial Intelligences and VTubers. Reproduction tarnished. Human extinction became absolutely horrific. 8 billion people were wiped out, leaving only 2 billion alive. Movies became obsolete, but corporations kept making them… Not for politics, but they relearned to avoid it… making entertainment a mirror and a way to escape the harsh realities.
This movie was a beacon of hope back when I was a young adult. It reminded me that a man as good as Superman has the power to change the world simply because he was given such power. The world wasn’t thankful for most of his life, but in the end, they ended up believing in him. I… relate very much to this figure. Nowadays, the DCU Cults see him as a god.“ He tuts.
“Bam!”
“I once believed I was him… Then the war… happened. I lost so much…”
“Bam!”
“I will never hate humanity for that. My duty is to judge, not to despise.”
“Bam! Billy Bam!”
“Mmm…” said Beatle.
She smiles, waddling around while flapping her hands, and Beate sighs, flapping his hands and following her. She smiles and grabs his hands, forcing him to hug her.
Beatle sighs and pats her head before returning to work.
“Bam! Bam!“
Beatle sighs. “I’ll be teaching you to speak soon, kid.” He turns to the call. “Where the hell are those guys?”
