Chapter 46: We're Rich!
"Rachel! We're rich!"
After suppressing the urge to roast Oliver Queen, Luka returned with a bank card and some cash for daily expenses.
As for why he wanted to roast Oliver Queen...
This guy's persona seemed to overlap with Batman's, yet he was constantly outshone by the Dark Knight. And this flamboyant guy didn't seem to take hiding his identity seriously at all.
His "disguise" was just a mask and a hood. Both of his identities sported the same little curly golden mustache and the exact same eye color.
Relying on formidable self control, Luka faithfully followed the ritual these masked heroes seemed so fond of. In the Queen Industries reception room, he informed Oliver Queen, Star City's most prominent tycoon, that Green Arrow had instructed him to collect funds.
Oliver feigned a sudden realization.
"Ah, so you're a friend of Green Arrow."
Then, pretending to be profound, Oliver put his hands behind his back, walked over to the floor-to-ceiling window, and chattered on for nearly half an hour about Green Arrow's story and the spiritual kinship and deep friendship he shared with him. It was like they were kindred spirits who regretted not meeting sooner.
His words were full of praise, expressing his deep respect for this masked hero who silently guarded Star City in the night.
The sheer eloquence of his phrasing rivaled Shakespeare himself.
Even with Luka's extraordinary patience, he nearly lunged across the desk to pin Oliver down and pluck out that incessantly twitching golden mustache that danced with every movement of his lips.
At first, Rachel just glanced at the rolls of cash Luka brought back and snorted coldly.
It wasn't until Luka produced two newly purchased smartphones and a bank card that Rachel began to sense something was amiss.
She snatched the offered phone and turned it over in her hands, examining it from every angle.
For Rachel, who had grown up in a sacred realm where only magic existed, this was a very novel thing.
After fiddling with it for a few minutes and grasping some of its basic functions, Rachel's gaze locked onto the bank card.
"How much money is on this?"
"Both phones are linked to the card. You can check for yourself."
Five minutes later, Rachel's startled cry echoed from the escape pod perched on the sea cliff.
Though her expression remained as stiff as a dead fish, a spark of excitement began to flicker in her eyes.
Luka watched quietly as Rachel slowly tapped on the phone's keyboard, murmuring about their plans to head to Metropolis early the next morning for a shopping spree.
"First, we'll get two proper beds. No more sleeping in sleeping bags."
"Then we'll buy some clothes. Magic can keep us clean, but your clothes are too worn out. Except for your combat suit, I don't feel like using magic to repair any of the others."
"That means we'll need a wardrobe!"
"A deep fryer, a frying pan, a stove, and some seasonings from the human world. That way we can cook fish in different flavors..."
"This escape pod has a built-in thermostat, so we don't need to buy temperature control equipment."
Rachel suddenly glanced at Luka cautiously.
"Can I get a dryer? I don't want to keep using magic to dry things."
Luka shrugged.
"Sure, you can even get a washing machine. It's not like I'm completely useless. I didn't focus much on academics back then, but I can still do some basic mechanical modifications."
Luka looked around the escape pod.
"This escape pod can be modified to have a device that purifies seawater, and converting its energy source to electricity is pretty durable too."
He wondered how Bruce had managed it. Not only had he repaired the escape pod, but he'd also fully replenished its energy reserves.
Interrupting Rachel's daydreaming, Luka pointed to the escape pod's ceiling.
"But if we buy all this stuff, there won't be enough space in here."
Rachel stayed silent for a few seconds, then her eyes lit up, and she started typing on the phone again with her clumsy fingers.
"Then we'll buy some wood, steel, adhesive, glass..."
Luka stared at her, bewildered.
"What are you buying all this for?"
Rachel rolled her eyes, as if it were obvious.
"I have magic, you have superpowers, and you're even pretty handy yourself. There's an empty beach right next to us; we can build a house ourselves!"
Rachel continued tapping away merrily on her phone, her speed increasing as she grew more familiar with this human technology.
It wasn't until a full half-minute had passed that Rachel suddenly noticed the unnatural silence around her.
She tilted her head curiously and looked up at Luka, who stood as stiff as a wooden statue.
"Why did you suddenly stop talking?"
Luka stared blankly at Rachel, who was cradling her phone.
She sat cross-legged on the floor, her pale, slightly iridescent legs tucked beneath her. The gray hood of her cloak drooped loosely down her back, while the cloak itself lay spread out haphazardly across the floor behind her.
Her eyes sparkled, and a few strands of silver-gray hair fell over her forehead.
Luka snapped out of it.
He stood up awkwardly, turned, and opened the escape pod's hatch.
"I'm going out for a bit. If it gets too late, go to sleep first."
With that, he leapt away. Rachel heard the splash as he hit the water.
The abrupt shift in his mood struck her as odd, but the thought of tomorrow's shopping spree, and of finally experiencing the bright, abundant human world that had never existed in Gotham's shadowed corners, quickly filled her mind with a flood of new ideas.
She lowered her head and continued typing her notes.
The escape pod's hatch remained open, its interior light spilling out and reflecting on the shimmering sea.
Beneath the dark waters, Luka sped forward without direction.
In truth, across both lifetimes he had rarely gone underwater. Even now, his movement relied mostly on activating his ability to fly.
Water was denser, though. The resistance was stronger.
Lost in thought, he accelerated without realizing it, plunging deeper and deeper.
A turbulent current swirled around and behind him, sweeping away some innocent sea creatures in its wake.
Damn it! I was single for thirty years in my past life. Why do I suddenly feel like I'm about to settle down?
This is a sin! Rachel's only fourteen!
Before he knew it, a dazzling array of lights suddenly appeared before Luka's eyes, snapping him back to reality.
After swimming another few hundred meters, a city of indescribable splendor and shimmering light emerged into view.
"Is this Atlantis? Where have I swum to?"
He glanced upward, but the unprecedented depth made it impossible to see any starlight reflected on the surface.
The massive dark currents Luka had stirred up during his swim had already alerted the Atlanteans, who were highly sensitive to any disturbances in the water.
Two guards, armed with silver spears and faces full of vigilance, burst out of the magical bubble structure covering Atlantis and swam toward Luka.
Luka narrowed his eyes, suddenly remembering the two pearls Aquaman had given him earlier.
A moment later, Luka, gripping the two terrified, screaming guards like chicks, charged into Atlantis's magical bubble.
As the thick, salty air rushed back into his lungs, Luka casually tossed the guards aside.
"Where's Aquaman? Tell him to come out and face me!"