And here is the second chapter. Enjoy.
Disclaimer: I do not own DC, or any other characters from other franchise.
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Chapter 2
The Symbol of Miracle
Batcave
Richard John 'Dick' Grayson, also known as Nightwing, tapped on the open file in front of him. It had been three weeks, and still, he was having a hard time coming to terms with it.
Joker was dead.
Of course, Batman and a few of the oldest heroes would use the term 'Murdered', but many did not care. By many, he meant the rest of the world including other villains.
Honestly, he could not blame them. If anyone deserved to be taken to the chopping block, it was Joker.
What impressed Nightwing was the assassination. It was the cleanest one he had ever seen. Granted, many would argue that burning a target to death was not a proper form of assassination. But the target here was none other than Joker. And anyone with enough experience in their world could see what the mastermind behind this attack was aiming for, 'To kill Joker once and for all'. Burning him until only bits and pieces of him were left was a sure way to achieve that goal.
Nightwing had to give it to them. The assassins had carried out their plan with remarkable efficiency. They entered Arkham Asylum, either by phasing or teleportation, and put the guards to sleep silently before taking out Joker. The entire operation had taken less than fifteen minutes. When Nightwing was going through this part, it actually brought a smile to his face, all puns intended. Because going by the time, it seemed like the attackers opened the door, burned him, waited until it was done, and then left; meaning they did not even bother to converse with Joker.
The most intriguing aspect of the assassination, however, was the assassins' attempts to cover their tracks. They had used a combination of magic-based artifacts and spells, abilities, typical assassination tools, and even everyday items commonly used by the Gotham underworld. These were not randomly thrown out there either. These methods were stacked in such a way to mislead them that it impressed even the Justice League.
Almost everyone had a grudge against Joker. Now with the traces purposely left behind by the assassins, the range of suspects became massive.
Of course, there was also the concern that Joker plotted everything, and now he was out in Gotham planning for his next move. Batman would say the possibility was extremely low. But he would say it was zero. Because they were able to collect enough evidence from the charred remains to know that it was Joker. The evidence was intentionally left behind, everyone knew that. To him, it was not a gloating of the mastermind but rather a message to them; to inform them that Joker was truly taken care of.
If that was the case, then the mastermind behind it all was not a villain, but a vigilante. Well, it was a personal opinion of his but he knew Batman would strongly disagree.
Nightwing looked away from the file and glanced around the table. The entire Batfamily was here inside the Batcave. Each of them followed up on specific clues for weeks only to come up with dead ends. Honestly, they expected it from the start. Regardless, they did not give up and kept pushing further. But he knew them long enough to see through the façade. All of them were relieved as well; maybe not as much as everyone else, but it was there. And he was no different.
After all, Joker was finally gone.
"Nightwing."
"Raven, Cyborg, and I had swept through Arkham and Gotham for any anomalies," He pushed the file forward, "No leads so far."
"What about the magical signatures?" Damian butted in.
Damian Wayne, Bruce's biological son who was currently wearing the mantle of 'Robin'. He was following the case very closely; not to find the culprit, no. He wanted to solve the assassination mystery. Considering his background, it was understandable.
And it was turning out to be quite the case.
"Magical items that Raven detected in the crime scene are commonly used by magicians, villains, and normal users alike. Everyone in Gotham checked out; but if we were to go outside of Gotham, and taking into the fact that it is hard to track magicians, it will take months to go through the list. As," Nightwing continued on immediately when he saw Damian opening his mouth, "for the spells, density was not enough for Raven to pinpoint to any direction."
"What does that mean?"
"It means traces of magic were just enough for us to know that spells were used but not enough to get actual information out of it, for example, the magic's element, nature, and intention. Like the rest, it could have been used for misdirection."
Barbara Gordon, a.k.a Batgirl, was the one who answered for him. Out of all of them, she was the least involved in this case since she was covering Batman's other cases.
Giving her a slight nod, Nightwing continued, "As for the alien technology angle, Cyborg found zero traces of it, inside and outside of Arkham."
While the frustrated look was clear on Barbara and Damian's faces, Batman still had his impassive mask on. But Nightwing had noticed it. After all, he was one of the very few who had stayed with him the longest and had known both sides of him.
It was the Dark Knight's job to solve this murder case and confront the mastermind, even if everyone else had turned their backs on it. After all, that was who Batman was. But as Bruce Wayne, the real one, Dick had seen him feeling relieved. He had seen the burdens on his shoulder lessening. And there were times the cracks would even show on the mask.
"So, what now?" Damian asked Batman.
For a few whole seconds, Batman did not respond. While to many, these seconds were extremely uncomfortable, Nightwing got used to it. Then out of nowhere, Batman stood up, a clear sign that the discussion was reaching its conclusion, "All of you take your hands off the case," His gaze landed on Damian who just opened his mouth, "And return to your duty. Meanwhile, keep an eye on any newcomer, be it a hero, villain, or vigilante. Anyone entering our world from this point forward, profile them."
Nightwing immediately connected the dots.
"He is playing for the long game."
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Outskirts of Metropolis
2 months after Joker's death
"Status."
…
Status
Name: James Bryan
Titles: N/A
Race: Human, (?)
Stats: Offense (B++), Defense (C++), Speed (C++), Intelligence (B)
Specialty: Gamer's System (Lite), Reader's knowledge, Summoning,
EA: Annihilation Maker
…
I felt myself grinning from ear to ear as my eyes were drawn to the stats section. I knew I had been checking my status constantly over the past week, but I could not help it. I looked down as I clenched, and then unclenched my fists, "This is a massive improvement."
In my defense, it was.
The stats section was divided into nine levels. Starting from 'C' to all the way to 'S++'. There was another level which was 'F'. Mew and I deduced that it was the 'Unranked', basically informing us who were 'Regular' folks. But what really shocked us, at least me, was the immense power gap between the levels.
I mean this was Bruce Wayne's stats:
Offense (C), Defense (C), Speed (C++), Intelligence (A)
Of course, when he would put on the Batsuit, his offense and defense stats would get a boost, but only by a level. Sure, Batman had situation-specific gears that could potentially improve his stats, but it was still a humbling realization.
And a scarier fact was that I had not seen anyone with an S++ level on a single stat yet, not even Superman.
So, from that perspective, getting out of level 'F' on all stats was a remarkable achievement. And unlike Batman, I did not have to rely on drugs. Since I had a helping bite from your friendly neighborhood radioactive spider.
Then I recalled the full experiment. I clicked my tongue in disappointment as I started to scratch the back of my head.
It was true that the final outcome of the experiment could be considered successful, but I really could not call that a win. After all…
"I did not get the fucking spider sense!"
Yes, the most famous ability of spiderman, and I did not get it. Same for the wall climbing. I was okay with the second but I really wanted the spider sense. Luckily, I received the full extent of physical enhancements – enhanced speed, reflexes, and healing factors. Of course, let's not forget the super strength. But according to Mew, I might have gotten an additional dose of the strength. I really hoped it was the case but unfortunately, we did not have any data to compare with.
And this was a one-time thing. I could not, more like should not be getting bit by another one of these radioactive spiders. Since there was no telling how my current body would react to it, I was not risking it.
I turned to face the large mirror. I lowered my arms and flexed my muscles. I mean I would not be winning any Wattpad male lead awards, but, "Damn! I look good."
If I were to compare myself with anyone from DC, I was a watered-down version of Dick Greyson. I might be as tall as him but I did not have his pitch-black hair or chiseled jawline. The shade of my hair was more toward darkest brown and I had the face of a 'Regular bloke'. And before, I would completely disregard his physique.
But now, "It's going somewhere."
Out of nowhere, my face in the mirror started to distort, twisting into a grotesque expression. My reflection grinned so widely that it seemed to tear apart my face as my eyes disappearing into shadows.
"Fuck! Shit!" I screamed as I jumped back and took a clumsy fighting stance. And then it hit me.
"Gengar!"
From the mirror, the bastard came out.
Gengar was the first 'Special Summon' that I had created. In a way, he was the answer to many questions we had for Annihilation Maker. How much 'Power' we needed to create a 'Special Summon'? How genuine my emotions needed to be? Could I use emotions from external sources?
More importantly, what was a 'Special Summon'?
It turned out that the answer was simpler than we had imagined. Regular Summons were emotionless, soulless constructs whereas Special Summons were living, breathing, creatures with unique personalities. But that also meant if I were to successfully create a special summon, it would stay with me for life. There was no way I could uncreate it, not that I would want to.
As for Gengar, he was nowhere near perfect though, not with that twisted sense of humor and sadist nature of his.
"Bitch! I told you not to do this!"
Gengar let out a cackling laugh, "And you should grow a pair."
With a groan, I put on a shirt, "And how many times have I told you that I was a normal human just a year and a half ago? Cut me some slack."
Then he smiled.
The anime had never captured just how frightening Gengar could look in the flesh. His skin was dark purple, his eyes a glowing crimson red, and his smile stretched so wide that it nearly reached his ears. He had it all.
I looked up and sighed, "Where did I go wrong with you?"
"You made the perfect Gengar, a ghost with a dark personality," His laughter sending shivers down my spine, "When will you start your adventures though?"
I looked at him with a triumphant smile, "I knew it! You are just being a…"
"You really want to go there?"
Clearing my throat, I immediately changed direction, "Look, my suit is not ready. You've seen it yourself."
"And I've also mentioned that when you have the strongest psychic force on the planet, you really don't need to cover all the nitty gritty details," Gengar, who was floating, started to look around my room.
"We ran multiple simulations."
He stopped in front of the large whiteboard, "The chances of the entire Justice League coming after us are less than zero."
I waved my index finger, "But not completely zero."
He turned to face me, "You are not getting out of this room, are you?"
"Look, Mew and I are working on something, alright?" I tapped on a specific part of the whiteboard, "After we get the baseline right, we will onboard you on that project. Trust me, you will enjoy the mission."
Gengar's smile should have worried me, but I was used to it now.
"Wait," I finally realized what was bugging me, "If you are here…"
"Yes, your parents are on their way."
"Gardevoir send you on an errand, didn't she?" I knew the answer to that question, but I said it anyway to poke at him.
The look I received in return made me backpaddle, "I will check up on the rest."
Saying my piece, I retreated.
"To Terra."
The whole world came to a stop, then a second later was engulfed by mist. As the mist dissipated, I found myself descending from the sky. Yes, the first few times, I was screaming my lungs out during this part. Now, I got used to it. I had no choice either way since I had no control over how I entered this place.
As I looked down, I saw the familiar, yet unfinished castle that was surrounded by rolling meadows on one side and a vast forest on the other. I could also see the starting lines of the ocean at the far edges.
This was Terra, a pocket dimension created by the Annihilation Maker after I successfully pulled off my 'Balance Breaker'. From my perspective though, it felt like a third reward for my first mission. And like my other rewards from that quest, it had helped me immensely by acting as a sanctuary for my special summons.
Speaking of special summons, I immediately send out a telepathic signal.
The castle was all me though. It was my mind palace. I knew that a mind palace was supposed to reside inside one's mind, not on a pocket dimension created by a divine artifact. But to me, it was a wonderful idea since there was no way anyone was stealing the Longinus. Plus, it opened up a large opportunity to train my mind.
And I really needed every bit of help that since I was stuck on my telepathy skills. I looked at the unfinished castle and sighed, "So many things to do."
Then I sensed them coming.
"Ahh~ My babies…. OOF!"
I need to start lifting heavier weights. The first one to reach me was the almost 800 kilos black dragon. If I was not prepared and did not have my upgraded strength I would have flown backward by his tackle.
"Toothless," Gasp, "You useless reptile," Gasp, "Let me breathe!"
Of course, he moved only after covering me with his saliva. This shit was nasty. I shuddered as I willed the saliva to disappear. I gave him a look and he just returned it with his puppy eye one. I sighed, he was smart, I would have to give him that, "Alright, come here, give me a hug," I immediately raised my hands, "A gentle hug,"
He made his unique happy noises and tackled me again, lightly this time. With a smile, I started rubbing his head.
The smile widened when I saw 'Elizabeth'.
It was an enormous goose. I was not sure if I could categorize her as a goose at this point. She was almost as big as Toothless, who himself was larger than his original counterpart. And her feathers had this very unnatural but attractive yellow-silver tint to them.
Why did I create a goose? And as a special summon on top of it? Because it was the golden egg-laying goose.
"Eli," I patted her head before letting out a chuckle when I noticed the last comer, "Nemu."
Unlike the rest, the majestic huge lion was lazily walking toward me. Even though he had a bored look on his face, I had been with this lazy cat long enough to see the subtle signs.
He was just as happy.
"Now, hold still for a moment. Status."
…
Status
Name: Toothless
Titles: N/A
Race: Dragon (Night Fury)
Stats: Offense (B), Defense (C++), Speed (B++), Intelligence (C++)
Specialty: Plasma Fire, Stealth, Enhanced senses
…
Status
Name: Elizabeth
Titles: N/A
Race: Mythical Goose
Stats: Offense (F), Defense (F), Speed (F), Intelligence (F)
Specialty: laying 'Gold' eggs
…
Status
Name: Nemu
Titles: N/A
Race: Mythical Lion
Stats: Offense (B), Defense (B++), Speed (C++), Intelligence (C++)
Specialty: Impenetrable skin, Adamantine claws, Enhanced senses
…
It was just a regular checkup. Then it hit me, I did not see Gengar's, "Well, will check his with Gardevoir," Then I extended my hands, "Alright everyone, as I said through my telepathy, we are going to have a feast tonight."
The moment they touched my hands, I teleported out.
Of course, not to my room, I teleported us to the basement of our house which was massive. After all, it was built for occasions like these.
"You know the drills guys; don't make too much sound or try to go upstairs. My parents are going to be here soon."
Yes, my mom and dad knew about everything.
Why did I tell them? Why did I risk it? It was all because of one selfish reason.
I wanted them to accept me, all of me; the other part of my soul that was not from here, the powers that I had received, the summons that I had created, and the actions that I would have to take because of said powers and summons.
When I exited the basement, my eyes naturally fell on the picture.
I still could not tell if I was laughing or crying in that picture as I was hugging my parents. While my dad was hugging back with a proud look, my mom was wiping her own tears.
This moment was captured by Mew. It was when my parents told me that it was okay. Three simple words but the strength and the meaning behind them were unexplainable.
"They are here."
With a smile, I approached the main door and opened it. My smile widened when I saw them.
"Welcome back."
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The Base
"Arise!"
The shadow beneath my feet grew exponentially, covering the whole area within seconds. And from the shadows… they came.
Each of them was around 200 cm tall, clad in their inky black armor that emitted blue flames from the cracks, But the fire coming out from the eye sockets of their armored helmets was especially captivating.
The first time I pulled it off, I literally had an orgasm.
Anyone who had read 'Solo Leveling' surely wanted to have Sung Jinwoo's power. Of course, pure necromancy was not a power that I desired. Ever. I mean in a world filled with dungeons, that power was extremely handy, no questions there. But what about a world where dungeons were scarce. It was terrifying how quickly the mind would venture into evil thoughts.
Luckily for me, 'Annihilation Maker' was quite flexible. I was able to train the Longinus to create summons similar to 'Solo Leveling' instead of the usual golem-like creatures. Unfortunately, they were not as powerful as the real 'Shadows' since they were only my 'Regular' summons.
But the biggest drawback was their defense. Unlike 'Solo Leveling', regular guns and weapons could harm them. And they were especially weak against 'piercing' damage and 'Light' magic. To be fair, these limitations made sense.
However, there was one issue that I constantly bitched about in the beginning.
'Annihilation Maker' did not 'Summon' creatures, it would 'Create' them. Mew and my other special summons were an exception, only because of how I created them, not because it was an existing feature inside the Longinus. That was why, every time I called for my shadow soldiers, the Longinus would create them from the scratch, meaning every time these soldiers were coming out with a blank slate.
Technically, there were no issues regarding their battle efficiency. But when it came to finer details, I would have to provide the information telepathically. For example, I needed to tell them which enemy to focus on, which battle strategy to employ, and if there were multiple objectives, what the priorities were. The list went on.
If I only had a few shadow soldiers, communicating telepathically would not be an issue. Thanks to Mew's training, I became quite proficient at it. But if I were to create hundreds of these shadow soldiers, I was certain my brain would explode. Well, Mew said I would just faint, but I was not eager to test that theory.
Fortunately for me, I had the best problem-solver in the world, Mew.
He created a separate 'Memory bank' in my head, which somewhat functioned like a 'Server'. So, every time a shadow soldier was created, their mind would connect to the 'Server' and they instantly knew what to do. But here was the best part… everything was automatic.
I wouldn't have to lift a finger. Plus, Mew had also set up all the defensive mechanisms and multiple fail safes. I had no idea what they were.
"Maybe I should make some time to properly go through them."
A thought for the future.
When I noticed that the shadow soldiers had grouped up in a specific location, I looked at my side, "Nemu."
The enormous feline, who was lying down beside me, slowly stood up.
"Time to get to work, big guy," I said, patting his mane. He responded with a powerful growl that vibrated through my bones.
Shaking off the sensation, I stepped away from the mythical lion.
I could maintain up to five hundred of these shadow soldiers at any given moment without incurring any consequences. This meant that even if I were to lose a few in combat due to an unexpected or overwhelming attack, I could quickly replenish the numbers as long as I did not exceed the maximum.
This limitation was imposed by Mew, who explained that going above five hundred would weaken the telepathic defenses he had set up.
I was okay with this. After all, if I ever needed more than five hundred of these formidable monsters, I would retreat tactically without hesitation.
Still, it did not mean that I could not improve upon my limitation. One easy win was to create a lot of those out-of-the-box battle strategies and store those in my memory bank. After all, more battle strategies of various kinds meant more experienced soldiers.
The second way was a bit tricky. I needed to improve my reaction speed. Right now, it was okay. But in my defense, I was a regular teenager just a year and a half ago. While I did get an extremely OP ability, it did not affect my physiques in any way. So, that part was completely on me.
How did reaction speed help? Simple. When single or multiple soldiers were destroyed in a certain area, I would receive feedback. Then, I would need to focus on that location and create new ones. Normally, it was somewhat okay. But under stress? Yeah, I was getting a 'Below average' result on that.
Of course, real-life battle experiences would help tremendously. Since I was not ready for that yet, I was going for the next best thing.
Battle simulations.
When everyone was in position, I blew the whistle; and immediately winced at the sight.
Nemu who was walking leisurely, immediately pounced at the soldiers. There were three rows of soldiers with tower-shields, and yet they could not absorb the tackle. As the soldiers struggled to maintain their footing, Nemu stood up on his hind legs and then slammed his forelegs down. The shockwave was enough to drop me on my butt who was more than fifty meters away. As the soldiers were trying to steady themselves, Nemu went for the kill with his adamantine claws.
Just like that, the vanguard was down.
I immediately went on creating 'Berserker' type soldiers. These two-handed axe-wielding soldiers were the best bruiser type I had. But Nemu did not wait. He kept hopping around and destroying them just as their head would pop out from the shadows. From my angle, it was as if I was looking at a cat playing the whack-a-mole game.
Of course, the archers were constantly firing their arrows but they were just bouncing off of Nemu's impenetrable hide. It was okay since the goal was to hold out for sixty seconds.
"Phalanx!"
There was no point in shouting since the soldiers were already aware of my command, but as usual, I was stressing out. The soldiers regrouped quickly and started creating a two-line phalanx while circling the flag. At the same time, I focused on replacing the archers with more 'Spartans', but we were just not fast enough.
Nemu, the second the army started to reorganize, started sprinting. He was circling the soldiers, and the moment he found the spot where the Phalanx stance was not stable, he struck.
He tore through the soldiers and reached the flag.
I looked at the stopwatch. 14 seconds. Then I looked at the sky and let out an unintelligible scream.
I crossed the distance by swapping the location with one of the 'Scout' soldiers. Then, I dismissed the rest with a wave of my hand. Nemu, with the flag still in his mouth, was giving me an expectant look.
"Fine, fine, I will order that wagyu beef for you," I looked at the battleground and then at the stopwatch again, "Next time, we are going for thirty seconds. Sixty is impossible for me right now."
Nemu dropped the flag and flopped down without a care.
The simulation was simple. The idea here was to utilize a hundred soldiers as best I could. I would only use these soldiers to defend the flag from the opposite party for sixty seconds. Well, technically, the opposite party would always be either Nemu or Toothless.
And until now, I could not even exceed twenty seconds.
Nemu was a juggernaut who knew how to utilize that overwhelming strength of his. Toothless, on the other hand, would abuse his speed and the territory. But after a few bouts with them, I finally realized what was their most dangerous trait. They were both highly intelligent alpha predators.
That was why they were my trump cards. As for Mew, he was my 'Pseudo plot armor' card.
"James, could you come to the research room?"
Speak of the devil.
"You will have your wagyu during dinner, Nemu," I patted Nemu who purred before going back to napping.
Our base was in Grand Canyon. It was underground obviously. But an interesting part was that there were no visible gates connecting to the canyon; meaning if anyone wanted to enter the base, they would have to teleport in. Or smash through the ground. But if anyone were to choose the latter, they would be met with a number of unpleasant surprises.
The reason why we were able to find such a perfect location and create a gigantic base, all within the span of three months, was again all thanks to Mew. I did not know why 'Building base' interested him at that time but thank the Presence, it did. He combined all the 'Rock' and 'Ground' Pokémon moves to create the 'Earth manipulation' technique. After he mastered that, it did not take long for the base to be set up.
To be fair though, more than seventy percent of the base was just training ground and the rest was used for all other facilities. We might expand our base further, but for now, we were not seeing that need.
Before I could knock on the door of the research room, it opened by itself.
"A new project?" I blurted the question unintentionally the moment I entered the room.
The objects, the notes, and the images were all completely different from the last time I was here. Heck, there was a lot more now.
"Stealing from Lex can wait since we have a bigger issue to tackle," Mew pointed at a particular memory shard, "If I am not mistaken, we have another invasion coming."
I blinked a few times in confusion.
"The Thanagarian invasion."
It just made me more confused. Hawkgirl was a Thanagarian, and she was a founding member of the Justice League. Why would her people invade us? If I was not mistaken, she was not a refugee. This made no…
My eyes widened and my jaw hung open as I recalled, bits and pieces, of watching certain episodes.
"Fuck!" I ran toward the table, "Fuck!"
"I believe you remembered."
"Wait, wait! I need to refresh my memories," With that, I grabbed the shard and closed my eyes. I took a long breath and focused on the pulsating energy in my hand.
Images started to form in my head which started to animate. Then I saw the whole event. It was like watching a 3D movie. If it was any other time, I would have taken my time to enjoy it. But this time, I was here to gather intel.
When it was done, I opened my eyes and saw Mew looking back at me.
"Green Lantern is missing though," That was my first comment.
The event I just saw was from an old animated series. This series was the one which introduced me to the world of DC. And in that particular DC universe, the founding members of the Justice League were Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Martian Manhunter, Green Lantern, and Hawkgirl. But in our current universe, in the real living-breathing world, instead of Green Lantern, we had Aquaman. Also, if I was not mistaken, Hawkgirl was quite active even before the forming of the Justice League.
"This is the only universe where Hawkgirl was a founding member. Of course, I am aware that you did not read all the DC stories, so this may be wrong or outdated," Mew then levitated some papers and dropped them in front of me, "But this world had a Martian invasion which pushed the heroes to create the Justice League, exactly like that universe. I know that many events will not match since we do not have Green Lantern. But most of the major ones matched to a certain extent."
I pulled a chair, before dropping down on it, "Fuck! We are not ready!"
"Plus…"
"There's more?!"
"I think the time is right. If the invasion happens, it will give the initiative the League needs to expand on their members," More documents were dropped in front of me, "Since the number of heroes and villains is steadily rising."
I leaned back on the chair and let out a frustrated sigh, "Another fucked up inconsistency."
There were many universes and timelines inside DC. Many of which conflict with each other. I was aware of that. But what I expected was the current DC world where I was living to follow a specific universe or storyline.
Unfortunately, it did not.
But what made me truly uneasy was the first red flag pointed out to me by Mew.
After I had told Mew how I had created him, he pointed out some inconsistencies. According to Mew, the formulas I had provided for the 'Life Equation' and 'Anti-Life Equation' could not be entirely accurate. After all, if they were, then Mew would have been extremely more powerful than he was now. And when I took some time to think about it, I realized Mew was right.
Certain parts of the equations were correct. I was sure of that. If not, then I would not have been able to create Mew. But this also raised a very concerning question.
How much of the DC wiki is right?
That was one of the main reasons why we were being so cautious. I had received a second chance, and no way in hell I was going to blow it up.
I released another long-suffering breath through my mouth, "Do you have any idea when it will happen?"
Mew looked at the wallboard before answering, "Within the next two months."
I looked at him and blinked… once, twice.
"Two months?!"
"It is a possibility," Mew faced me before pointing at another stack of papers, "But the clues are, unfortunately, heavily pointing toward it."
I moved the chair forward, before dropping my head on the table.
"It is very sudden, I know, but we still have enough time to prepare."
I was too tired to even raise my head. Mew was right, we had enough time to prepare for the invasion. But what worried me was the risk factors. Especially since Batfamily was on high alert because of Joker's death. A single misstep might put Batman on my tail. Still, I knew that I needed to do something. I just had to do whatever it was tactfully and from the shadows. But,
"Two months…"
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X
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Two weeks later
"Two months my ass!"
The Thanagarian invasion had already begun.
In the original series, if the information was correct, the Thanagarians arrived on the planet and aided the Justice League in stopping a Gordanian battleship. They then made a plea for help and the Justice League, along with the world leaders, fell for it. Batman, of course, was skeptical and discovered the truth behind their lies, but, as usual, he was captured early on. Not sure who to blame here, Batman for going solo or the plot for making things unnecessarily complicated.
After that, the Justice League started to help Thanagarians to build a space-bridge-thingy. But quite soon the true color of the Thanagarians would show and a battle would occur, where the Justice League would lose; and so would the earth's army. Then, the Thanagarians would occupy the earth spouting nonsense like it was for our own good and whatnot, while building the space-bridge-thingy which, turned out, would destroy our planet if activated. The rest part of the invasion would go as usual, The Justice League would escape, would have a rematch, and would defeat the Thanagarians.
But the reality was quite different.
Yes, the Thanagarians came the same way… helping the Justice League to stop the Gordanian battleship. But for the space-bridge-thingy, it was already partially constructed. The Justice League just needed to help set it up. Of course, the next part of the event happened the same way, somehow Thanagarians were found out, battled the Justice League and won; and later defeated the earth's army.
From the moment the Thanagarians came to the earth until their forceful occupation of our planet, it took one week… one fucking week. One of my plans was to anonymously inform the Justice League. But I did not even have the time to plan it out properly. It happened that fast.
And once again I was reminded that I was in the real world, not in a fictional series with sunshine and rainbows. From what I had heard, according to the black-market channels, there were many casualties when the US army clashed with the Thanagarians. Most, if not all the losses were from our side. And after the Thanagarians announced to the world that they were occupying our planet, there were, of course, riots that happened throughout the USA and many other countries. And they were brutally put down.
Total casualties, as of now, were close to a million.
That was why the moment they announced that the Justice League escaped, I started working on my plan B. Well, there was another incentive behind this.
I looked ahead, and the words became visible again.
World Quest: Stop the Thanagarian Invasion
The Thanagarians had invaded your planet, Earth (X). They had defeated the Justice League and the best of your planet's armies. Their illegal and forceful occupation of your planet is causing high casualties. If they reach their target, your planet will be destroyed in the process.
Stop them any way you see fit.
Reward: You will receive rewards based on the actions you have taken
Failure: The cost of failure will depend on the actions you have taken or have not taken
Of course, the second quest that I had received was to stop a fucking invasion where the Justice League had failed. True, that there was a high chance that the Justice League would take care of it without me doing anything. But the 'Failure' part of the quest was very worrying. It clearly stated that there would be a cost if I did not take action. So, there was no way I was going to risk it. I learned my lessons the hard way from my first quest.
One thing that Mew and I definitely needed to look at was these 'Quests' as well. I knew how they worked in real game settings but I did not have the 'Gamer' ability. So why was I still getting quests? And how were they being initiated? But that was for a later date. For now, we had an invasion to handle.
With a sign, I looked down, "I really hope this works out."
"This should," Hearing Mew, I looked at him, who smiled back at me, "We have taken more than enough necessary steps to ensure the success of this 'Balance Breaker'. Believe it!"
I could not help it. I laughed out loud. As usual, Mew was right. And he knew how to lighten the mood.
With a smile still on my face, I waved my hand at him, "Go. You have more work than me."
Mew smiled and twirled a few times before disappearing in a blink.
"Alright, time to start," I took a few long breaths. When I felt my nerves calming down, I started, "The Annihilation Maker grants the user the ability to create any creatures based on two resources - Imagination and Emotion."
I repeated that several times, like a mantra.
Well, now we knew that 'Imagination' and 'Emotion' were not the only resources Annihilation Maker needed, at least not for special summons and definitely not for Balance Breakers.
So what kind of power we needed to provide to the Annihilation Maker for a successful Balance Breaker? Fortunately, we learned from our first try that the 'Power' here did not actually mean raw energy. It could be something abstract like knowledge, or an object; but they had to have extreme value and the capability to disrupt the power balance in a world.
I released a long breath from my mouth before looking at the glass box in front of me. Inside it, there was Green Lantern Ring.
"View."
…
Green Lantern Ring (Prototype)
Also known as a Power Ring. It is a piece of artifact that grants the wearer incredible and incomprehensible powers and abilities by harnessing willpower. This preliminary version has not been used for quite some time.
Status: Uncharged, Unattuned
Price: 10 billion
…
This was what I bought using my reward coupon from the first quest. Well, technically, I did not buy it since I got it completely free because of the coupon. And, I had a strong feeling that the non-prototype and charged version of this ring could be bought from the 'Legendary' section.
The price, for sure, would be legendary as well. But this old broken one worked just fine for what I had in mind.
This was the first item. As for the second, I looked at the glass tube beside it, "View."
…
DNA of Superman
A vial containing a few strands of Superman's hair which are being artificially sustained to protect and sustain the DNA inside.
Status: N/A
Price: 500 billion
…
Well, since I knew who Superman was and where he lived, getting his DNA was not hard. Honestly, it was easy because of Mew. He just teleported into his apartment, took some strands, and then teleported out. Of course, the timing had to be perfect and Mew made sure to remove any traces of him. After that, I bought one of those sci-fi vials to store the hair.
I would be lying if I said that I did not have the urge to 'farm' Superman's hair for money. But Mew talked me out of it. One slip and I would have Superman tailing me. Or worse, the whole Justice League.
It did not mean I completely disregarded the idea.
But the last item, though, "View."
…
Mother Box
A sentient, autonomous supercomputer possessing wondrous powers and abilities not understood even by their users, the gods of New Genesis. While it is believed these objects are part living being, part highly developed machine, their true nature and origins are unknown.
Status: N/A
Price: 1 trillion
…
This was the item we stole from Lex's lab, other than his money. I had no clue how the fuck Lex got his hand on this. I did not recall any series where he possessed one of these. Or maybe I forgot?
But what I feared was the 'Sentient' part. In some DC stories, these had a mind of their own. And in some others, they were connected to Darkseid. Since I was not sure which origin it was following, I wanted to sell it. But Mew told me that the Mother Box was 'Not bad'. I had wanted to ask him how he knew but when he had given me that look 'To trust him', I dropped it.
That was why it was still here. But I also had to admit, this Mother Box really tipped the scale. After all, I had to make sure in regards to 'Power' I had enough to match what I used for Mew.
The temptation was real, to sell the items and get the money. But then I remembered. Thomas Wayne was one of the richest person back then, and yet it was not enough. Same for Tony Stark. What I needed was not money, but power and insurance.
"I hope this works," I did not recall how many times I had said that but there was no going back at this point. I needed this to ensure I had enough 'Power' to pull off a successful Balance Breaker.
Well, all these items should definitely take care of the power.
As for 'Emotion', we were doing something different.
From experience, we could tell that for Balance Breaker we needed emotions as genuine and strong as what I had during Mew's creation. Easier said than done. The emotions I produced at that time were the combination of two souls who had their worlds turned upside down; not something that I wanted to replicate.
So, the other alternative we were going with was the quantity.
We already did some successful tests and turned out, if done right, we could use other people's emotions. Of course, as usual, it was no way an easy task. On the contrary I believe that the only reason we could pull it off was because of Mew.
I never knew how powerful Mew's psychic abilities were until he told me what he could do.
If he wanted, this small floating feline could hear and connect to almost all the people around the planet. Heck, he could push it further if he wanted to. Of course, there were some individuals who could detect the intrusion and locate Mew's location through psychic wavelength. But Mew was skilled enough to avoid detection from these individuals.
So, why was not Mew using his incredible telepathic skills to defeat the Thanagarians? The answer was simple: eliminating individual or small groups of Thanagarians was not a problem, but for some unknown reason, Mew was struggling to launch a full-blown psychic attack on their main mothership and that spacebridge.
Both Mew and I were surprised when he discovered this. We did not know the reason behind it, but it meant that we had to try our hands on the next Balance Breaker.
And, all of us were preparing for that.
While I was fully confident in Mew's capabilities, we did not want to take any risks. Gardevoir and Gengar were on standby to support Mew when he would start the 'Broadcast'.
Again, we did a few light tests the day before yesterday and everything looked perfect.
"Well then, onto the last part," With that, I picked up a small box from the table. Mew told me that it was a foolish idea. I wholeheartedly disagreed. If it worked without any side effects, why would it be a foolish idea?
So, to work on the last step which was the 'Imagination', I needed to destress myself. And the way I was going to do that was to smoke a joint and get high. One of the best ways to forget about worldly problems and anxiety.
I took out a joint and lit it up. Then my gaze landed on the memory shard Mew left for me. I was going to watch one of the best anime movies of all time in virtual reality with the highest resolution while being high.
Of course, I was watching this particular movie to freshen up my memory on the creature I planned to create as my next 'Balance Breaker'.
I took a long puff, immediately feeling the effect. Then I grabbed the shard.
"Let's start, shall we?"
.
.
X
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.
A few hours later
I was not exactly sure where we were. In the series, from what it looked like, the Thanagarians created their spacebridge somewhere in the desert. But in our world, they had it on an island somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean, near the United States. It was one of those private islands owned by the country.
This made things easier, to be honest.
We teleported to our pre-determined destination. It was close enough to see the bridge but far enough not to be caught on their radar… I hope.
"Is everything ready?" I turned to Mew who nodded his head in reply.
I glanced at my suit. It was not complete since certain enchantments and attachments were missing. But the worst part was that I was wearing a knockoff Deathstroke mask that we bought from the shop. Then again, this was urgent. I did not have time to be picky. But if all worked out well, no one would be seeing me… at all.
I carefully placed the three objects in front of me. One was a Green Lantern Ring, another was the vial containing our Superman's DNA, and the last was the Mother Box. I took a few short breaths to calm my nerves.
It was now or never, "Alright Mew, time to start."
Mew closed his eyes. A second later, his body started to release blue energy. I could even see that small dense light outlining his shape. Then he opened his eyes.
It was not his pupilless eyes that made me tense up. It was the psychic pressure that I felt through my bones. And it was just a small side-effect caused by Mew's psychic technique. The funny part was, I even boosted my mental fortitude by drinking various potions and wearing multiple single-use artifacts.
Few seconds later, I felt it… countless minds of children.
Yes, our targets were the children of our planet. Of course, Mew could not connect to every single one. And there was no way in hell I could handle all these minds without the direct help of Mew.
Still, the experience… it was quite novel. It felt like I was standing on a small stage, surrounded by millions of curious minds.
Taking another long breath, I started.
"Hear me…"
For a brief moment, I was surprised at my own voice since it had that soothing and echoing touch to it. I knew Mew was helping me with how I sounded and feel but I did not expect him to dial it up this much.
The moment I felt their confusion and fear, I immediately went on with the narrative.
"See me…"
I could see the illusion of a mystical egg trying to hatch. It was as if I was showing a 3D magic to these children from my small stage. After all, they were not just seeing it. They were sensing my emotions as well.
"Help me…"
The egg slowly started to grow, and at the same time, it radiated multiple bright colors, so that it did not look menacing.
"Our heroes… they have fallen…"
Flashes of The Justice League fighting and losing. Yes, since we did not have the original contents, we improvised. We created multiple short clips based on my memories. We also tried to keep the violence to a bare minimum.
"Our world… she had been taken…"
Images of the Thanagarians flying over the sky with their battleship.
"Help me… to take it back…."
Images of many people crying, and many who were hurt. Again, we made sure nothing was too intense.
"Help me… to save everyone…"
The egg started to glow and was making a soft humming sound. I closed my eyes and tried to recall the feeling of seeing him for the first time. And through our connection, I shared that sense of wonder with all the children.
"Help me… O' heroes of the future…"
This was the best part. And I hoped it worked because I was not seeing it. Every child ought to see their reflection now. Their reflection was surrounded by a white aura, and the connection between their aura with the egg. Of course, Mew created a few fake children among the real ones who were standing tall and had their hands raised at the egg, which made their reflections to head toward the egg. I hoped this visualization was enough to make them understand what was going on, and that they had the power to affect the egg.
I was sure I grinning from ear to ear when I felt their willpower, sensed their understanding, their courage.
It was time for the last push…
"Believe… in yourself…"
I paused to have a dramatic effect.
"Believe… in the miracle…"
I knew the words were super cringy, but these were not aimed at the tainted minds of the adults… but at the innocent minds of young children.
I really hoped this was…
I gasped as I went down to my knees. The emotions… the amount, the intensity… it was fucking unbearable. It hurt, every fucking part of my body. I opened my mouth to breathe and instead of air, white glowing smoke was coming out from my mouth. I could feel Mew's touch, I could sense his fear. I could even feel the blood coming out of my nose.
I wanted it to stop.
"The Balance Breaker."
Something or someone spoke. The voice was gentle, and it helped me to focus. I raised my arms, it felt like I was lifting hundreds of kilos, and barely aimed at the objects in front of me. I tried, my best, to recall the memory once again, of a certain movie.
"Balance…" Gasp, "Breaker…"
And then I blacked out.
.
.
X
.
.
Mew's perspective
Mew had agreed with his father when he had presented him with the idea and the speech. Yes, the words, the lines he had come up with were not sophisticated but they ought to be more than enough for the children. Also, the tone and soothing background melody ought to be enough to persuade the children.
And then it came.
He was not prepared for it. It was as if a floodgate had been opened. The number of emotions and the intensity behind them… it was as if all the children they reached out to had responded… with extreme passion. The protective mind layers that he had created in his father's mind shattered under the pressure.
He felt his heart stopping when he saw his father dropping down to his knees. His whole body started to glow. He immediately tried to dive deeper into his mind to block the emotions, but he could not. For some unknown reason, he was not able to affect his father's mind. He was still connected but only as a spectator. It was as if something was blocking him from taking action.
It scared him.
And the worst part, the Thanagarians noticed their presence and were approaching them. He started to shout at his father through their mind link, to let go of the emotions, to drop the connection… to respond to him. But his father had lost his consciousness with his eyes open. And then out of nowhere, his father raised his arms and opened his mouth. No words came out, but Mew saw it.
Millions of white shades of children started to come out from his father's body and headed toward the items. And those items responded back.
The Mother Box shattered into countless tiny light particles which then merged with the ring, making it hum with power. The pulse from the ring then started to resonate with the last vial causing multiple strands of light to emerge from it which were then absorbed by the Power Ring.
Mew felt the nudge of gratitude from the Mother Box. Then the ring shattered flooding the area with light. Since Mew's mind was still connected with his father's, he was able to see it…
…
Balance Breaker: The Symbol of Miracle
Omnimon
Omnimon is one of the 'Royal Knights' from the Digimon universe. A benevolent being who was created in the current world from the willpower and courage of countless children who wished for a miracle.
Status
Name: Omnimon
Titles: Wandering Paladin
Race: Digimon
Stats: Offense (S++), Defense (S++), Speed (S), Intelligence (A)
Specialty: Wielder of 'Grey Sword' and 'Garuru Cannon', Ultimate Digimon Physiology
EA: Omega xforce
…
Mew had seen him many times in his father's memories. Still, seeing him in front of him, it was quite a distinct experience. He immediately noticed some of the glaring differences between the Omnimon in front of him and the one from the original source.
In the original source, his body and legs were quite thin, to Mew they even looked frail. And with his large arms, the overall proportion of his body looked quite off. But the one in front of him had a buffed body, matching the size of his arms. Speaking of arms, although the shapes of them were the same, the colors were not. Instead of orange color for his left and blue for his right, both of his arms-heads had a distinct green hue to them.
Mew narrowed his eyes when he noticed the incoming attacks from the Thanagarians. He was about to put up a shield for all of them, a task quite daunting for him now since he had spent a lot of his energy on creating the connection. But a voice stopped him.
"Just for our father."
Blinking, Mew looked at Omnimon, who already had his sword out, his back still facing the enemy. With a nod, Mew created a shield covering just him and their father.
Omnimon nodded back, and then he turned around to face the enemies, swinging his sword.
All the attacks that were coming toward them, no matter the angle or size, were now going back at the Thanagarians. It was too fast for their enemies to react. And just like that, in one single swing, Omnimon decimated their enemy's advancing forces.
With a large clicking sound, the cannon came out from Omnimon's right hand. He shot once at the approaching battleship, and then without waiting for the result, he turned around and shot at another battleship.
The battleships immediately activated barriers, but it was all for naught. The cannon blasts tore through the shields as if they did not exist and took down the battleships and all the smaller airships around them. With that, Omnimon took out the whole vanguard in less than a minute.
Mew then sensed their mothership approaching. It seemed his brother, Omnimon, also sensed it. His brother turned the cannon at the tower but instead of shooting at it, he waited, as if he was analyzing something. Then he retracted the cannon and rushed toward the tower. It seemed Omnimon was also able to gauge the strength of the shield surrounding the tower. Turned out, this shield was also the reason why Mew was not able to penetrate the tower using his psychic abilities.
And then the sky lit up. The number of attacks released by the Thanagarians' mothership was countless. It seemed they trusted the tower's barrier enough not to worry about it being damaged.
What Omnimon did next, it was something Mew knew he would remember for a long time.
His brother did not move, not until the beams were just mere meters away from him. And when he moved, it was as if he was performing a dance, swift and graceful.
Omnimon tilted his body to the left, and then did a 360-degree rotation, with his sword out. But instead of deflecting the attacks like before, his sword absorbed them. When he made his full turn, absorbing all the attacks, he pushed his left shoulder back with his now glowing sword aiming straight. And then he struck.
The barrier shattered like cheap glass.
He paused just for a second. And then flew back, his cannon coming out again. He fired at the tower while he was still flying back. When he stopped, the tower had already fallen.
Mew did not need his psychic powers to tell that the Thanagarians were livid. And just as he suspected, instead of turning tail, they were still approaching Omnimon.
His brother raised his right arm, the head of the cannon facing the sky. Then the cannon rotated a few times, releasing a series of clicking sounds, all the while moving and dodging the incoming attacks.
Then, he stopped and aimed the cannon at the approaching mothership. When he fired, unlike the previous times, the blasts were smaller. But he continuously fired. Even though the blasts did not damage as much as the previous shots, they still took out chunks of the mothership.
It was then Mew noticed it. Omnimon was testing his power. His brother was not even going all out.
Finally, the Thanagarians started to retreat. It seemed they finally understood that they were powerless in front of his brother. The only thing they would achieve by continuing the fight would be the body count… their body count.
As the Thanagarians were retreating, it hit Mew that Omnimon had taken out the full Thanagarians' army all by himself. No, it was better to say that he had crushed them, within less than five minutes.
Both he nor Omnimon did not move from their spot. They remained vigilant until the mothership was completely out of sight. Only then, Omnimon came back.
He came in front of their father and kneeled down, his weapons were withdrawn. The action surprised Mew but he did not say anything. Omnimon then looked at their father, his tone soft and warm, "Thank you for lending me your powers. You helped me to save our planet."
Mew's eyes widened in shock. The children were still connected it seemed. And Omnimon was speaking to them.
"This is not the end, my friends. I promise you this, for as long as I am able, I will protect our planet with all my might. So… rest now."
Mew blinked rapidly. He finally was able to fully link with his father's mind. He immediately dived in and started healing him. The damage was not as extensive as he feared, his father was just mentally exhausted.
"Thank you," Mew said without looking at Omnimon.
"We are a family, are we not?"
The statement made him smile. He understood the underlying message. No gratitude was needed because they were a family.
"Let's go back home."
Although he could not see Omnimon's expression, he could sense his joy and happiness.
But before he could pick up his father, a message appeared in front of him.
…
World Quest: Stop the Thanagarian Invasion
Status: Completed
You had completely defeated the Thanagarian army all on your own with overwhelming force and with zero support from the Justice League during the confrontation.
Reward: The unique ability 'Copy Ability (Summoner)'
Copy Ability (Summoner)
This ability allows you to copy a technique or move from your summoned creatures. Certain techniques cannot be copied if they have specific requirements, for example, moves that require wings or tails.
Copied ability: 0 / 4
…
Something told Mew that his father would be dancing nonstop for the next few days.
.
.
.
Done
If anyone is interested, feel free to drop by my disc**d server. Here is the invite code –
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Until next time…