The Book of Destiny had solved one problem, but it hadn't fixed the bigger one.
The people who had been affected were still behaving differently, and there was nothing Daniel could do about that anymore. Without the Book, there was no way to simply rewrite reality again and put everyone back the way they were.
So Daniel decided to leave it alone.
At least there was one small update with Kara. She wasn't hanging around his house anymore, although she was still operating as Supergirl. The only thing she seemed to have a problem with was the name.
Kara didn't understand why everyone called her Supergirl when she was already an adult woman and perfectly capable of handling herself.
She preferred the idea of being called Superwoman, but the name had already caught on with the public.
Daniel understood her frustration, but there wasn't much he could tell her. The public had given her the name. She couldn't exactly go on television and complain, "Stop calling me Supergirl and start calling me Superwoman."
That would make her look petty, especially when she was supposed to be out there helping people.
Daniel wasn't getting involved in that argument.
Then the morning broadcast caught his eye. Grainy helicopter footage showed a glowing wall of solid green light manifesting in the middle of a freeway, catching a speeding vehicle right before it plowed into a crowd of pedestrians.
The camera zoomed in on a man hovering above the wreckage, a bright ring glowing on his fist.
The news chyron flashed: GREEN LANTERN APPEARS.
Daniel watched the footage for exactly three seconds. He recognized the name immediately. So, the Green Lantern had finally shown up.
He grabbed the remote and hit the power button. The screen went black.
"Whatever."
He tossed the remote onto the coffee table. Costumes and rogues were popping up across the globe like toxic mushrooms after a rainstorm.
Daniel had officially stopped keeping score. He had his own immediate problems to deal with, and adding another glowing space cop to the roster wasn't going to change a single thing.
Then Daniel's phone rang.
He looked at the screen and saw Diana's name.
"So Diana finally decided to call me, huh?" Daniel said, but he didn't get the chance to continue.
"What? Rachel has been kidnapped?"
Daniel's expression immediately changed. "How? Aren't you with her?"
He listened to Diana's explanation for a few seconds before asking, "Okay. Where are you now?"
Another pause.
"Yeah. I'm coming there."
Daniel ended the call and immediately headed out.
***
One hour earlier, Diana and Rachel had finally found Rachel's birth mother, Angela.
Angela had been locked away in a mysterious psychiatric facility for years. When Diana and Rachel found her, she looked nothing like the dangerous person Rachel had expected.
She appeared traumatized, frightened, and emotionally exhausted after spending so many years confined inside the facility.
The moment Angela saw Rachel, she broke down.
Rachel stood frozen for a moment before finally approaching her. The reunion was emotional.
Angela hugged her daughter tightly, crying as she apologized for the years they had lost. Rachel had spent sometime since the truth is revealed wondering about her birth mother, wondering if she was even alive, and now she was finally standing in front of her.
After rescuing Angela from the facility, Diana and Rachel helped her return to her home in Ohio.
Once they arrived, Angela continued talking with Rachel, telling her about the past and everything that had happened before she was taken away.
Eventually, Angela suggested that she and Rachel go upstairs so they could talk privately. Rachel agreed. Diana didn't object. She simply remained downstairs in the hall, giving the two of them some privacy.
For a while, everything seemed fine.
Then Diana started feeling that something wasn't right.
She looked toward the stairs. "Rachel?"
No response.
Diana waited another moment before calling again. "Rachel?"
Still nothing.
Her expression tightened. Diana immediately went upstairs.
The room was empty. Rachel was gone. So was Angela.
Diana's eyes narrowed as she looked around the room. There was no sign of a struggle. No broken window. Nothing.
Diana immediately pulled out her phone and called Daniel. When he answered, she didn't waste any time explaining. "Rachel is gone."
Daniel stood up immediately. He raised one hand and tore open the space in front of him with his bare hand.
The air split apart, revealing a dark opening on the other side. Without wasting any time, Daniel stepped through. The tear closed behind him as he appeared directly in front of Diana.
"Okay," Daniel said, looking at her. "Now explain."
Diana quickly went over everything that had happened, from finding Angela at the psychiatric facility to bringing her back to Ohio, the emotional reunion with Rachel, and the moment she realized both of them had disappeared.
Daniel listened without interrupting. Once Diana finished, he sighed and rubbed his forehead.
"Well, I didn't expect Angela to be like this."
Diana looked at him. "You knew her?"
"Not personally." Daniel shook his head. He just knew the character from the comics. Her personality there was completely different, so he didn't expect her to turn out like this.
He looked toward the empty room where Rachel and Angela had disappeared.
"Apparently, this version has other plans."
Daniel's expression became serious.
"Well, time to find her before this turns into a bigger mess."
*****
A/N: If you'd like to read ahead of the Webnovel release schedule, you can join my Patreon!
The Patreon version is 30 chapters ahead.
👉 patreon.com/Universal_Peace