The Superman At The End of This Story

[Big Daddy]

Chapter Thirteen

When Fred opened his eyes after spending an unknown amount of time being unconscious, he was surprised to see that he was no longer inside the Fortress of Solitude, but somewhere outside. He was thankful enough that he was still in the Arctic; but it just puzzled him that he wasn?t in Superman citadel anymore. Fred got to the feet, only to feel as if he was losing his balance afterwards; he looked down, seeing that he was standing on the edge of a huge block of ice that was floating in the cold water. Regaining his balance and keeping it on the block of ice, he looked around to see where his friends were.

Fred spotted the unconscious Daphne lying across another block of ice, only a few feet away from his, while Shaggy, Scooby, and Velma were all unknowingly sharing one of the biggest ones out there. Fred figured that he could just jump over to Daphne?s ice block, since it was only a few feet. But once he jumped, however, he leaped a little further than a few feet?more like sixteen feet! Fred couldn?t help but to scream, as he fell towards an ice block and landed on it for a brief time, until he fell into the cold water, creating a big splash that drenched Daphne and awakened her.

?What the??? Daphne uttered, and when she noticed how Fred was struggling in the cold water, she began to panic. ?Freddy!? Daphne took off her heavy winter coat and then her boots, just before diving into the cold water and swimming after Fred. As she swam towards him, she was a little surprised that the water wasn?t as cold as it should?ve been. Once she got a hold of Fred, she swam with him to the huge block of ice that Shaggy, Scooby, and Velma were on. She set Fred down on the block first, and then she brought herself onto it. ?Are you alright??

?I shouldn?t be, after nearly drowning in that ice cold water,? Fred said, looking all over his drenched body in surprise, ?But I am alright. In fact, I?m not even shivering!?

?I?m not either.? Daphne said, looking at herself. ?And I was swimming without anything to keep my body or feet warm.? Fred looked around at the area, seeing that the Fortress of Solitude was nowhere around.

?A few minutes ago, we were standing in a giant crystal building,? Fred said, ?And now we?re out in the middle of nowhere. Now that?s one big mystery.? Daphne went over to Shaggy, Scooby, and Velma, bringing each of them out of unconsciousness.

?You guys okay?? Daphne asked.

?Ask that question again, after I?m filled up with some burgers and pizza.? Shaggy replied, and that remark, along with Scooby?s hungry look, helped Daphne know that the both of them were fine. Velma stood up on the ice block and joined Fred as she looked around the area as well.

?Either we?re still in the Arctic or we found a better way to travel to Antarctica.? Fred remarked.

?We?re still in the Arctic.? Velma said. ?But I think it?d be better ask whether we?re in our world or the ?Phantom Planet? that Superman?s father warned us about.?

?Well, we must be in the ?Phantom Planet?, because I remember getting sucked out of the Superman?s crystal summer home and flying in between two large planets, courtesy of this strange blue, yellow, and red wormhole.? Shaggy said.

?I remember that, too.? Daphne said.

?Yeah, so do I.? Fred said.

?We can?t be on the ?Phantom Planet?.? Velma contradicted. ?Look where we are. We?re still in the Arctic zone.?

?But do you remember what Superman?s father said about imitating planets that are closest to it?? Daphne asked. ?Maybe we?re in the Phantom Planet?s imitation of our world.?

?Well, it can?t be an exact one.? Velma said. ?Notice how Superman?s citadel is nowhere around. If this were an exact imitation, we?d be seeing it somewhere near us or standing right in it.?

?It?s all so funky, man.? Shaggy uttered.

?That?s not all that?s funky, Shaggy.? Fred said. ?You know what I did while all of you were unconscious? I think I?flew.? Shaggy, Scooby, Velma, and Daphne looked to each other and shared peculiar expressions, before turning back to Fred and looking at him in the same way.

?You flew?? Velma queried.

?I can?t really explain what happened.? Fred said. ?All I was trying to do was jump from my ice block to Daphne?s, and I ended up soaring higher than eight feet and longer than a yard.?

?That?s impossible, Freddy.? Daphne said.

?Yeah, man, if you were able to do that, then might as well be?? Shaggy said, and he stopped when they all began to see the irony of the situation they were in. They were five beings from another planet that came to a slightly different one, harnessing godlike powers that were granted to them through the sun?s rays.

?This must be what Scrappy?s plan is all about.? Velma said. ?He must?ve figured on following the origin of Superman?s powers, in order to turn himself and the Sleaze Brothers into beings just like him.?

?But the little troublemaker probably didn?t count on us following him here.? Daphne said. ?If he plans on conquering this place, knowing that neither him or the Sleazes belong here, then who knows what kind of chaos he will cause, in addition to the infection that the existence of this planet will bring over our entire universe.?

?Which is why we have to find out where he is and stop him!? Fred exclaimed.

?And now that the five of us have superpowers to match his, he doesn?t stand a chance.? Shaggy said, with a chuckle. ?Right, Scoob??

?Reah. Reat rision.? Scooby said, just as he focused his eyes downward, creating invisible microwave energy beams from them that hit the ice block beneath them and started to melt it all away.

?Scooby!!!? Daphne cried, and Scooby stopped projecting the beams from his eyes, once he realized how the gang was losing their footing on the melting ice block. When all of the ice block had melted away, the gang truly believed that they were all going to fall into the cold water (which really would?ve had no effect on them); but they were surprised when the air had caught them as they fell, and they were floating instead of falling.

?Hey! We?re flying!? Shaggy exclaimed, and he started to wonder if he could control his flight. He was really surprised when he did, flying high into the air, almost reaching the clouds. ?Hey, gang! Check me out!? The others smiled, as they all began flying through the Arctic sky, heading above the clouds and letting the morning sun hit their super-powered bodies.

?Man! I can?t believe how easy this is!? Fred exclaimed, as they all removed their warm winter clothes, realizing that they no longer need them, and got back into their ordinary street clothes. That?s when Daphne?s hands went up to her ears, which she covered with them, and she winced in pain. ?What?s wrong, Daph??

?Argh!? Daphne exclaimed. ?You guys don?t hear that?!?

?Hear what?? Velma asked.

?All of those voices?echoing through my ears!? Daphne yelled, and Shaggy smiled once he realized what was happening to her.

?It?s your super-hearing, Daphne.? He said. ?You?re hearing all of the voices around the world.? Daphne gritted her teeth, as she desperately tried to fight through the unbearable pain the billions of voices had on her head.

?I wish it would stop!? Daphne shouted. ?It?s giving me a migraine.? But that?s when Velma had gotten an idea that she believed would assist them in their mission.

?Daphne, see if you can focus on Scrappy?s voice.? Velma suggested. ?It might help us find out where he might be on this alien planet.?

?I?ll see if I can, Velma.? Daphne said, still wincing in pain. ?There are so many of them.? She attempted to do what Velma wanted her to do, and though at first it was undeniably painful for her, she was able to use her incredible powers to shorten the number of voices down to one, which was Scrappy-Doo?s voice. She no longer winced; instead, there was a small grin that crept across her face. ?Got him.?

?Which direction?? Fred asked, and Daphne pointed to her left.

?That way.? She said, and the gang started flying in the direction that Daphne pointed. As they flew away from the Arctic zone, Velma couldn?t help but to notice something unusual about what happened to Daphne.

?You know, Daphne, if that were Superman hearing all of those voices, he wouldn?t have been in pain like you were.? Velma said.

?Well, for someone that hasn?t spent her entire life with superpowers, it could be a little hard for my subconscious to get used to.? Daphne remarked, just before she noticed how Scooby was rubbing his eyes and whimpering. ?You see? Even poor Scooby?s going to be having some trouble seeing for a while, after using that heat vision.?

?I guess when it comes to things like swimming in freezing water, our physicality is totally immune; but when it comes to using powers similar to Superman?s, I guess our mentality can?t take that much ?super-ness?.? Velma assumed.

?Well, if that?s how we?re going to be like, I hope we can handle a confrontation with Scrappy and the Sleazes.? Fred said, as they exited the Arctic zone within less than an hour, flying right over Iceland.

END OF CHAPTER THIRTEEN