Vincent Doom
BEEP
BEEP BEEP
BEEP BEEP BEEP
Jumping up out of my bed, I rushed to the bathroom. I was so late, and I was so dead. With my toothbrush in my mouth and my teeth half brushed, I pulled on a pair of jeans and grabbed a shirt that smelled clean and pulled it over my head.
With a quick gurgle and spit, I grabbed my toast and was out the door. I couldn't be late; not today, man, not today. My final was at ten on the other side of the campus, and I couldn't miss it. This was the last test of the semester before the summer break, and it would set the course for how I would spend the rest of my college days.
I dodged around the jock and his hot girlfriend Stacy while blitzing down the hallway as I made my way out to the parking lot. This way, I could jump the fence and cut across the mini garden the campus had. Honestly, I had no clue why they had the fence up since most people jumped it to get a quick shag on or just to piss on the plants.
Hopping over the first fence, I dodged around a few trees and ran past the Professor that was balls deep inside one of the other new freshmen this year. Guess now I knew why she always had such high grades: but that wasn't my worry right now. Ignoring the moans, I sprinted past a mini groove and cut a right for the fence behind the hedges. Ohh I was going to make it, I could feel it and could now already taste the stale air inside the classroom.
There was no way I was going to miss Mis. Baker's class; not only was she one of the hottest MILF professors around, but she was the most strict. The last time I was late by a minute, the door was closed, and I missed out on the test. There was no way I was going to be late today. Taking a look at my watch, I spotted I had five minutes to go with the shortcut that I used.
If I didn't go through the garden, I would have to run a full ten minutes around the long way. Looking ahead, I could see that there was road work I had to go around with all the orange signs up; but that would cause me to waste my head start on time.
Checking left and then checking right I took off across the work zone.
"Aye kid, get outta here!"
Someone yells out behind me so I did what anyone else would do in this situation. I pulled a Starsky and Hutch and slid my ass across one of the cars parked beside one of the hazard signs.
As my feet came down on the other side, I tried to stomp down to steady myself, but there was nothing there, and I fell in the hole.
"FUUUUUUUCCCCCKKKKKKK!" I screamed at the top of my lungs as I fell. I fell and fell. Time was there, and then it wasn't there was no up nor down, there was only the dark and my mind.
It could have been years a day or maybe even decades, but I fell some more. There were moments that I lost my sanity and gained it back only to lose it all over again. Then it hit me and drilled its way into my head. First, they started out small, and then the volume rose an octave, and I couldn't help but curl into myself.
My ears popped and my spine tingled, my brain felt like mush, and the voices came again and again, first low and then louder, but there was one thing I learned from being in this void, and that was to stare into it and show no fear.
This was not going to break me, and I would survive to live however long it would take me to get to the other side. I commanded myself to ignore the voices; the only way through all this was to be zen and be at peace. There goes a saying what doesn't kill me will only make me stronger. So as I curled into myself and I sought inner peace within me.
After a time the voices dulled but that wasn't good enough for me. What I wanted was total control to make the voices silent. It took what felt like days to get the voices under control, but once that hurdle was complete, I felt my mind expanding on a scale that I would have thought impossible before. Invisible fire poured into my veins as it ran from my heart to my brain and then the rest of my body.
Memories became clear, and thoughts and ideas on tech and what I knew from comics became easy not only to understand but also to create. My mind was now flowing on a level that was indescribable. With the clarity of my mind and newfound intelligence, I understood what I was given.
Somehow, I had gained the SAGE FORCE and all of its powers that came along with it. The major thing I knew about the Sage force was that it gave its avatars telepathy and telekinesis of the omega level scale and beyond.
The man makes the powers, and the powers did not make the man. Repeating the mantra over and over, I used it to focus myself and calm down. The other thing that I knew about the Sage Force was that it was from the DC universe, and that could mean far too many things for my situation. The only thing I could do was to force myself to wake up and then deal with it one step at a time.
Now that I knew I had more than an overdose of telepathy, that could only mean that I was currently trapped in my own mind in a coma. There had to be a way that Charles Xavier as able to get out of his mind while trapped inside. My will was already strong, so there had to be something that I was currently missing.
The voices I had under control now, but that only needed small amounts of my focus… That's it, and I was missing a focus. With the twinkle of an idea, I settled down and slowed my breathing. My body, I needed to get back to my body.
My body was my current focus, mind over matter, and the will to forge a path. I told myself this again and again before I noticed the glow coming from my chest to form a line to follow. With a grin, I grabbed hold and flew after the light. Soon there was a flash of light, and I felt the cool air on my face. Standing around me were people, and they had a light flashing between my eyes back and forth before my pupils.
With a groan, I tried to ask where were we but the dry rasp from my throat left much to be desired. With my groaning, a straw was thrust into my mouth, and I was relieved with fresh cool water to cleanse my parched throat. Taking to the water like a fish out of it, I swallowed it all down within moments and felt so much better afterward. Sitting up in my bed, I found that I was whole and hearty as could be once the initial light sensitivity wore off.
Around me stood two doctors and a female nurse with shocked expressions on their faces.
"Which hospital is this?" I asked as I felt a draft on the side of my leg. That sent a shiver up and down my spine as I looked at myself over to find that I was in hospital garb.
"Sir, sir, please calm down you're in Gotham General." The nurse at the foot of my bead said as she tried to calm me down.
"Mirror?" I demanded stretching my arm out and will the nurse to obey my commands. I could see the thoughts that came out of her mind as wave of energy and strings. It was easy to tangle her thought waves with my own and press upon her with my will for her to do my bidding.
Instantly the nurse pulled out her compact and handed it to me. With the small compact in my hands, I examined my features, chocolate skin check, grey eyes check, but my head looks like it hasn't had a cut in days.
"Thank you, nurse," I responded after checking to make sure that it was my body and not some bodyswap situation. "So tell me doc, how long have I been out?"
They both kept up that flabbergasted look, and it was starting to wear on my nerves really quickly. The one with the clipboard answered first. "It has been three days since you have been brought in for severe dehydration."
"Yes, yes, we kept you on fluid and a steady dose of electrolytes, and that brought you back to life." The second doctor said this, and he was also the one with the twirl tip mustache.
With a click of the tongue to myself, I chopped it up to what happened to Barry Allen when he was first hit with the speed force but different for me. The first thing I would need to do is get up out of here and find my way. If this was Gotham then it would be Batman's territory, and the Joker could be in Arkham or out, and I would need a place to practice before I could tackle anything big or even make an attempt to take out the J man.
"How much longer do I need to be in here doc?" I asked towards the one with a clipboard in his hands.
"One more day for observation now that you're up, the police would like a word with you since you appeared on the doorsteps of some hotel." The doctor said before he left to get whatever amounts to a police officer around here.
Hell, I honestly didn't care because I was happy that I had both of my kidneys and all ten of my fingers and toes. Since I had one more day what I really needed to do was get some practice in with my telekinesis.
Shortly after the doctor left in walked two beat cops that looked like they just wanted to find somewhere to sleep and not be bothered with some young punk. That helped me a lot because it was only a matter of pulling a Star Wars Jedi trick and they were soon out of my room and left me alone to relax and pull my mind together.
Laying back in my bed, I closed my eyes and focused because the last thing I remember was jumping across that car and then falling. There was nothing to land on, and I fell into a construction hole beneath me.
The only logical and illogical conclusion would be that I fell from my world and into this one but how in the hell could a hole handle dimensional travel or even quantum tunneling. I had to accept that there was no way home, and I knew the fucker that caused my situation. It could only be the Flash and his fucking with the time and space barrier.
If that was the case, then that would mean this would be some time after FlashPoint and everything was recently reset in time. Placing all those thoughts aside, I sat back up and folded my legs into a meditative position.
Taking slow and steady breaths, I focused my mind; this telepathy and telekinesis would take some getting used to, but I couldn't stop now. I was in DC, not only that but I was in the worst of the worst towns around. Gotham city with their equally shitty and enabling hero Batman.
Slow steady breathes to control oneself; once the self is controlled, then the mind can be manipulated. With a steady heart, I opened my mind and felt the world around me. With a smirk on my lips, I pulled back my mind and went deeper inside. The Martian Manhunter was a telepath and liked to skim minds because it's socially acceptable on Mars, but I refuse to have someone else within my mind.
My mind would become a fortress and allow no one entry besides those I allow, and the Manhunter would not be such a person. First, the walls were erected of white obsidian, and then the windows were installed. Tall battlements and even more arches to go around the fortress, on the outer wall and inner wall rail guns were erected to ward off any mental intruders. There was no need to rely on relativistic speeds within my own mental domain, so each shell was packing the firepower or a gravity-driven singularity behind it.
Rooms were erected within the walls off of my fortress to store and contain memories: but with my memories laid out plainly before me, it was time to separate out the DC memories from the Marvel's and place them on the side for later viewing. With the defense of my mind in place and my mind organized, it was time to turn my sight somewhere else.
Marvel and DC had some pretty descriptive books on what telepathy could do, and I planned to use them to the fullest extent to make sure I don't die a premature death. Speed, strength, and reflexes were needed, this was the perfect chance to make the change to my body while I had this break.
The best way to make the improvements I needed was to gather more knowledge of the human body and then go from there. Opening my senses, but keeping my mind closed was hard at first, but I was able to get it down after the second hour and a bathroom break. It started as a dull noise, then became a loud roar as I heard and sensed all the emotions and thoughts of those with me inside the hospital. The trauma and pain almost forced me to curl up into a ball and cry before I was assaulted with joy and jubilation of families gaining new children and people being told they are cured.
Honestly, it was almost all too much for me to take. Taking a deep breath, I slowed down my mind and fine-tuned my senses. The minds I wanted were those of the doctors and nurses, and maybe a few investors and whoever else might have important information that could help me survive. I left the bank teller and the pregnant mistress of the mayor for now and the other twenty minds that lit up on my senses as the others went dim.
With my mind reacting like a radar to my thoughts that helped me zero-in on more than a few doctors from whom I started to pull information about the human body. With that down, I went around downloading everything I could from each doctor, from stitching wounds to the proper procedure to bed down a patient, old or infirmed. Before I knew it, I was becoming a first-rate doctor, and I hadn't even finished school yet.
When I thought about that, I gained a manic gleam in my eyes. Now that I was in a world like a comic story, I wanted people to address me by my name and a title like my most favorite character of all time. His name was Victor Von Doom, and he was my favorite because we shared the same last name. I could already see people calling me Dr. Doom to my face, but I had to temper my excitement because I had such a long way to go to get to such high standards.
One day though Doom will rule all, but first let's use my telekinetic powers to make a few changes to my body. There was no way that I would spiderman my body not only did I not have access to the OZ formula but I also didn't want something like that to get out into the DC universe, but what I could do was bring my body to peak human fitness and stamina, with the agility to boot.
The first few changes felt like fire was being poured into my veins, and it almost caused me to scream out bloody murder. Weakness was unbecoming of Doom, and I refused it, so with a quick review of my mind, I had my pain receptors shut down so I could continue with the procedure.
Multiple times I had to stop what I was doing to make sure that my body was hydrated with the correct amount of fluids, with the rate my body was burning through liquids from the muscle stimuli and vibrations. Somewhere around one o'clock in the morning, I was finally done before one of the orderlies came to check on me for the last time of the night.
With the improvements finished, I prepared myself for bed, with a thought I reapplied my pain sensors, and when they came online, I was knocked out from the overload.
o.O.o
The first thing I felt when I woke up in the morning was a dull throb of pain. On the TV diagonally from my bed was the news and man was I in for a surprise. The news was reporting about a turf war going on and how Batman came in and saved the day. Instead of watching Batman and his bullshit, I changed the channel and was surprised to be greeted with the Man of Steel himself talking to a news reporter.
Changing the channel again, I was treated this time with Wonder Woman battling Cheetah, while a camera-man stood on the side and watched. Now this caught my attention alright, not going to lie, Cheetah has me rooting for the fury club, but there's also something to be said about that princess, she was beautiful.
The fight lasted a hot minute while I watched them, Cheetah buns danced agile against Diana on screen. The fight ended rapidly once the princess took out her lasso and wrapped it around Cheetah's legs. With a shake of my head, I hopped out of bed and did my morning routine.
With that over with, I dressed in civilian wear and was on my way out of the hospital. Once outside, I was greeted with what could only be considered gloom and Doom. Looking at the sky above me was when it all finally settled in, you can walk the walk and talk the talk. Hell, you can even go so far as to prepare yourself for anything: but it's not until your given the reality slap to your face that you come to understand how much deep shit you're truly in.
Gritting my teeth, I hunkered down and made my way down the streets. The current plan was to get some thug to try and mug me so that I would relieve him of his cash and weapons. The bar with no names or the Iceberg lounge would be the perfect place to start.
Well, I can also make my way towards the hard side of town and go to that bar called The Busted Flush. There was never a hero bone in my body, and I wasn't going to go knock on Bruce Wayne's door and ask him for help. There was no need for his bullshit in my life because before long this city would be mine.
Right on cue as I hit the sixth block out from the hospital, my mental radar picked up the mind of someone that wanted to do me harm. With a grin on my face, I ducked into an alley, acting as if I was taking a shortcut. As I made it near the garbage can, the thug came in behind me while his buddy watched out at the entrance.
With a quick jab, my hand was out, and I had the thug up in the air as I held him with a telekinetic grip. My other hand came forward, and I commanded his wallet and the wallets of his friends to float over to my outstretched and open palm. What surprised me though, was feeling the leather of more than one wallet within my mind. With a shrug, I commanded those to also float into my hand.
With a flick of the wrist, I tossed the thug out and onto his friends that stood stunned watching. Out of the wallets, I had come into a total of over five hundred dollars and some change. This wasn't going to last me long, but it would do for now. Walking back out of the alley, I made a mental note to learn how to fly once I got the chance.
Making my way to the decent part of Gotham, which to tell you the truth, would be anywhere that wasn't bludhaven. I was able to get myself some lunch and time to put my mind together for what I planed to do. Money was needed and not just scraps, I would need a lot of it if I wanted to follow in the footsteps of Doom. So for now, I would have to keep robbing thugs until I gained enough to procure myself a laptop.
With that plan in mind, I went about the rest of my days luring hopeless thugs into back alleys and robbing them blind, while they also tried to hold me at gunpoint. After about the twelfth person I had gotten pretty good with my telekinetic hold and no longer needed to stretch my hand out like I was using the force. Although I no longer needed to use my hands, it felt right to keep doing that to people, and some will think I would need a focus. As Vincent Doom, I would need to hold a few cards to myself.
o.O.o
With the sun going down my feet were becoming weary but I was able to get myself a laptop, and I had a good wad of cash in my pocket, but the real gold of today was finding the location to the bar with no name. Honestly, I didn't want to go to Selina's place, but I also knew it was the only place that wasn't run by Cobble Pots where I could get connections and work.
Perched on the roof of a building I sat overlooking the tin roof bar, which had no name on the front of the establishment. Chuckling to myself, I jumped down onto the fire escape, then made my way out of the alley and across the street.
The music was bumping and the night hadn't even descended on Gotham yet. Pulling my hoodie up over my head, I pulled a Jedi mind trick on the bouncer at the front and walked into the bar. Settling my way into a seat at the bar, I ordered myself a rum and coke. With a nod, I slid the bartender his cash and relaxed my mind and began my second test of abilities.
Charles Xavier was noted to have a { trust me } telepathic field around himself. If memories served, that was how he was able to gain so many people on his side. The best way I can figure that a field like that would work, would be a reverse of the Jedi mind trick with a positivity twist.
With a smile on my lips, I ordered a pitcher of ale, then made my way towards the corner of the bar with a few guys huddled in a corner. Anyone with half an eyeball could tell that they were planning a heist and I didn't need my powers to sniff that out. Within moments I was among the group and in on the play that they had going down tonight. Move some guns and get some money, and I get a cool ten percent because I'm the new guy. That sounded good to me because I plan to take the whole payout of fifty thousand and erase their memories of the event.
This was far too early for me to be running into Black Mask or maybe even Batman himself. Even if I wanted to avoid the two, there was no need for me to be on my back foot. I'm a Doom after all, and Doom shall stand above in this new world even if it isn't Marvel.
With myself implanted in their minds, I left for a store to get myself a balaclava to cover my identity. Funny enough almost every store sold balaclavas but I guess I could mark that up to this being Gotham. With my mask procured, I went about acting like a victim once more to rob unsuspecting thugs.
Before the time for the heist, I ran into more than fifteen different gunmen, and damn was that surprising for me. The tenth one was able to get a shot off in my general direction, and I was surprised that my reflexes were able to react fast enough to stop the bullet matrix style, even though it wasn't going to hit me.
Logically I knew that I needed to take my time and learn my powers, but I also knew I needed the money and a few hundred dollars here and there, taking my sweet time, was not going to cut it. So this had to be seen through till the end.
Doom Shall Not Fail.
The crates in the back of the truck all had large labels with the name of LexCorp, and it reminded me to make a mental note to remove the bald asshole once I get the chance. Within my hands, though I was holding an old school Kalashnikov AK-47 with a few attachments that meant nothing to me at the moment. My mind was focused, and I was ready to spring on these unsuspecting goons.
As the guys hopped out of the truck before me, I pulled up the rear and helped offload the goods. With the last crate down, I took a look around me and found that we were in some type of warehouse in Gotham. With the smell in the air though it was easy to know we were by the docks.
The moment that I thought that the night was oddly silent, I heard signs of weapons fire in the distance. That sound oddly calmed my nerves because I knew Batman would have to go and deal with whatever that was going on. There was a niggle at the edges of my mind that snapped my attention back around as I felt the arrival of our guests.
The van was black and nondescript just like the clunker that we drove here and that was a shame. No extra muscle in case they had to drive in a getaway, or they could be going for the stay under the radar type of deal which still wouldn't help if Bruce wanted to locate them. Putting my thoughts aside, I took two steps back so that I had everyone within my sights and spread my senses to encompass the warehouse.
When the crews opposite us just exited their van, I felt that slight niggle at the edges of my mind again sending me warnings of something of which I should be aware, but I was unable to discern from where the danger was coming. With my focus razor-sharp, I was certain to be ready for anything. I was then presented with two duffle bags filled with cash. The moment to strike was here, all I had to do was bide my time, then vanish with the cash while also wiping the memory of me being here from their minds.
As the money exchanged hands, that was when it happened.
FWIP!
FWIP! FWIP!
FWIP! FWIP! FWIP!
The bullets came out of nowhere, but that didn't stop it from cleaving two heads off and then going through the chest of two others. With my defenses up, I was able to catch the round that was aimed at my heart but not before it knocked me over.
Fuck did that hurt a lot when I was younger I had broken my arm going snowboarding, but that was a sharp snap of pain and then numbing, but this was so much worse.
It was like my brain was on fire from the mental strain to catch the bullet, and then the impact felt like two ribs broke. My eyes were blurry and watered, but I refuse to give in now. My hands were clammy, and I wanted to get up and sprint from this place, but with the wet squelching sounds and the falling bodies, I was very aware that the sniper was still out there.
The bullets could have only come from outside and to the south of the warehouse. That was the only place someone could not only get a shot but also see past where the trucks were parked. They will rue the day that they chose to mess with DOOM.
With a quick look around, I had a plan of attack and retreat, now all I needed was for the sniper to come and get their prize. I waited for a minute and then two, but no one was here yet, so with a telekinetic pull I had one of the bodies laying over me as the blood flowed. Then I had the bags of money pulled closer to my location.
Two more shots fired into someone that tried to crawl away, and that made me very aware that the shooter was still outside. Luckily, I didn't have to wait long because, after five minutes under the cooling corpse, another truck came speeding into the warehouse.
Two goons came out of the truck, and I knew that this was my chance. When the goon with the leather jacket reached for the bag of money in front of me, I launched forward with a jab going for his solar plexus then turn around and blasted the other with a telekinetic blast to his chest.
The goon I blasted flew back over fifty feet, and the one that I punch was down and trying to catch the breath that was never going to return. The punch that I sent into his solar plexus was backed with my telekinetic force behind it, crushing in his chest. With a mental summons, I pulled the other duffle bag of cash into my hand as I tossed the other over my shoulder and ran for the exit.
There was a pattering above me, and I felt another mind land on the roof above. Placing aside that, for now, I noticed the last person in the van getting out with his gun up to aim at my general direction. Skidding to a halt roughly five feet before the door's exit, I whipped around and sent another telekinetic blast at my would-be shooter slamming him into the van behind him. Even from my distance, I heard the crunch of bone-breaking, but I paid him no further attention.
I broke through the back door with a bang and sent myself into a massive leap telekinetically assisted. Out in the night sky, I was greeted with water on the front and the warehouse at my back. With a smile, I dashed along the alley going for a car or person I can Jedi mind trick into giving me their car keys.
Not even ten steps from where I landed, I was greeted with a swooshing sound. The sound sent a shiver down my spine. With a spin, I reflexively slapped the rocket that was heading directly for me into the ground. That was a bad choice because I got an explosion to the face.
Everything happened within a split second, the ground broke open beneath me, but before I dropped, flames tried to lick at my body. There was no thinking there was no planning; there was only doing and making sure that I didn't die here with the choices I made.
Catching myself before I fell into the water below, I created a pad to jump off onto one of the pillars that held up the docks and pier. Jumping from point to point, I was happy that I used to parkour across the college campus back home as I made my way towards what looked like the end of a shoreline.
While I ran, I heard yelling and cursing behind me, but I ignored it all because I was almost free of this situation. What little hope I had, though died inside me as I heard another swosh above, my heart clenched but this time there wasn't an explosion. The none explosion caused me to double-time it because that swooshing sound could only be from one thing, and that would be the Batwing flying overhead.
It took me ten minutes to get to the other side, up the shore, and into the woods. While I was running for my life, I had learned how to keep myself in a hover. I was going to use my hover for all it was worth as I ran through the woods. There was no destination in mind besides leaving this place, and I almost regretted not going for some cheap hotel somewhere.
All around me there was nothing but trees, I came to a stop and listened for any sign of anyone following and then checked with my telepathy within five hundred feet radius. There was nothing, but I was able to pick up on the minds of the birds and smaller animals around. Taking a little longer to double-check, I still felt nothing, so turning around I ran keeping up the pace of escape.
For another twenty minutes, I ran and hovered, and within that time, I came up with a plan for how I was going to proceed in the future. Jumping onto the tree like a ninja, I then jumped up above the treeline and looked around for any sign of people. On the third try, I found a road and not too far from it. I found a place that I could call home.
At the end of the road, there was an old house that had a greenhouse attached to the back of it. With a quick mental scan, I found the house devoid of another person, but when I check it with my telekinesis, I found a warm stove but a cooling body on the ground. The gas lines were cut, and there was a candle-lit in the living room. Damn Gotham held no kind nice for those that drop their guards, with quick mental nudges I flicked out the candle and turned off the gas pipe at the valve behind the stove.
With a sigh, I shoulder the second duffle that I was carrying and made my way to the house. There was no way I could tell the color of the house from the darkness, but I was able to spot the old truck parked out front.
With a twitch of my finger, the latches on the door unhooked themselves, and then the door opened to allow me inside. With a kick, the door closed and I tossed the duffle bag onto the table in the living room before I sat down in the recliner that faced the tv.
Everything hurt like it's never hurt before, shit I had no clue how Bruce does it. Then again, he had all that armor, money, and training. I'm a punk that woke up and took the world by storm, but I'm also a Doom, and I shall endure.
Falling into a simple meditation to look myself over, I found broken ribs and lacerations along my thigh and the left side of my abdomen. While I checked myself over, I noticed my body already in the process of healing my wounds. It would appear that I had enhanced healing but not at the same level as that of Logan, but I will be alright with this.
Releasing the breath I had been holding, I took another deep one only to be greeted with the smell of gas from the stove that was left on. Ignoring the pain in my chest, I raised my hand and did a wave that opened all the windows of the house. With another wave, I created a spiral of the air within the kitchen area and forced it outside.
There was no clue who killed the guy in the kitchen or for why, but there is one thing I do know and that they will be back someday. The fact that the firefighters didn't show up here or the explosion that they were hoping for didn't happen will be cause for someone to come sniffing and get answers.
Making another mental note to get up a perimeter defense, I pulled the balaclava off my face and removed my shirt, allowing my body to get some air. Sitting back down, I summoned the duffle bags to me so I could get a count of the cash: then I would have to find out where the National Embassy was located. I needed papers, and I was going to Jedi mind trick myself into a passport and student visa.
With my arms outstretched before me, it was easy to manipulate both duffle bags telepathically and then summon the cash out of the said bag. Eventually, I would have to gain control over my telekinetic abilities allowing me to use it without my hand motions as a crutch, but for now, it is time to count the cash.
With a flick of my wrist, the tv turned on, and the remote was summoned to my side. The TV played in the background as I counted out a total of one hundred and twenty-two thousand. Tomorrow I will also need to get myself a laptop and find the main library of gotham. For now, it was time to get rid of the body then get some rest.
o.O.o
Walking out of the Embassy in Metropolis, I looked at my new student visa. Vincent Doom age twenty-two from the nation of Latveria. With that taken care of I picked up a Wayne Tech laptop and cellphone from a store and drove back to Gotham, before getting back to the house I did pick up some trip lasers and a few things to create a connection to the outside world and the internet. There was no way I was going to use what was already installed in the house.
Now that the house was secure, I took another hour to clean up and change out the bedding and clothes in the closet. I refused to use any of those things. With all of my errands taken care of, it was time to head to the library that's perpetually empty.
Before I was launched into this reality, I was getting a tandem degree in general engineering and aerospace to cover my bases before NASA. Now though, with the way my mind worked, there was no way I was going to be working and become subservient to another. With the capital that I had remaining, I was going to release patents into the world to get my name out there and then blitz my way through school.
Bruce Wayne had more than seventeen degrees, and Clark was noted to be an exceptional scholar even among Kryptonians, and I would have to do better if I wanted to stand against such minds. Halfway through my third pile of textbooks, I was interrupted by a voice.
"Excuse me, is this seat taken?"
When I looked up, I was greeted with a redhead and her boyfriend that had a scowl on his face. My own scowl matched the black-haired guy's because in front of me could only be one of the worst couples in the DC universe. Taking a look around, I noticed the other empty tables and raised an eyebrow at the redhead.
Beauty was not going to sway me.
"It is not, but I do believe there are other tables that are available for one such as yourself," I replied smoothly before I went back to my studies.
"Told you Barb, let's leave him alone and go somewhere else."
"Come on Dick it's obvious he goes to Gotham University. We should at least be nice to a classmate. Not many of them come to Gotham Library after all." Barbara Gordon replied to her boyfriend before turning around and looking at some of the books I was reading. "The librarians said that you had the only copy of Criminology by James T. Do you mind if I get it since it's in your finish pile."
Without even lookup back up at her from my book. I waved for her to take the book, but she sat down across from me and pulled Dick Grayson into the seat beside her. Looking up at the two, I raised an eyebrow at the couple for interrupting my alone time as I sought knowledge.
Putting down the now completed copy of advanced nuclear physics onto the complete pile, I watched them out of the corner of my eye as I picked up a copy of aerospace and beyond.
Grayson was leaning back, balancing on his chair doing his homework while wearing a scowl, and Barbra was also going over her homework. The difference though was that Barbra was giving me the side-eye while also doing observations in a notepad on the side under her book. Tch, I clicked my teeth at that, just what I need, some noisy girl and her annoying sidekick boyfriend to deal with.
Getting up swiftly, I picked up my carrier bag and took the other books back to their rightful positions on the shelves. Turning my back on them, I left. I did not need nor want them to insert themselves into my life or situation.
"I would like to check out these two books please," I said to the librarian as I handed over a copy on software architecture and design and another book on genetics and evolution of man. I already knew about software design and computer engineering, but I needed a base for what this realities computer worked on because there was no way I was getting online with a Wayne Tech laptop and not remove whatever bugs Bruce had in place across the board. If Lex does it, there is nothing that said Bruce might not have some back door installed for key searches to ping the Bat Computer.
Once the computer was double and quadruple checked, tore down and pieced back together, I was then going to rewrite the operating system from the ground up, and then I was going to create a VPN before getting online.
"Do you have a library card, MR?"
"Doom, Vincent Doom," I replied as I gave the librarians a charming smile. "And might I know the name of the delectable beauty before me."
She smiled and placed a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "That can't be your real name,"
"Oh, my dear but it is, I would prefer you to call me Vince though," I replied as I leaned on the counter. "And what might I call a rose such as yourself?"
With a playful smile on her lips, she took my hand that I had held out for her to shake with my introduction.
"My name is Jaina, Jaina Hudson; it's a pleasure to meet you, Vince." Jaina returned with a smile as she got the things together for me to check out.
"It was lovely meeting you, Jaina," I replied as I took my things and left. There was no need to use my powers to know she was watching me leave.
Tall, dark, and handsome always works.
o.O.o
Vincent Doom
BEEP
BEEP BEEP
BEEP BEEP BEEP
Jumping up out of my bed, I rushed to the bathroom. I was so late, and I was so dead. With my toothbrush in my mouth and my teeth half brushed, I pulled on a pair of jeans and grabbed a shirt that smelled clean and pulled it over my head.
With a quick gurgle and spit, I grabbed my toast and was out the door. I couldn't be late; not today, man, not today. My final was at ten on the other side of the campus, and I couldn't miss it. This was the last test of the semester before the summer break, and it would set the course for how I would spend the rest of my college days.
I dodged around the jock and his hot girlfriend Stacy while blitzing down the hallway as I made my way out to the parking lot. This way, I could jump the fence and cut across the mini garden the campus had. Honestly, I had no clue why they had the fence up since most people jumped it to get a quick shag on or just to piss on the plants.
Hopping over the first fence, I dodged around a few trees and ran past the Professor that was balls deep inside one of the other new freshmen this year. Guess now I knew why she always had such high grades: but that wasn't my worry right now. Ignoring the moans, I sprinted past a mini groove and cut a right for the fence behind the hedges. Ohh I was going to make it, I could feel it and could now already taste the stale air inside the classroom.
There was no way I was going to miss Mis. Baker's class; not only was she one of the hottest MILF professors around, but she was the most strict. The last time I was late by a minute, the door was closed, and I missed out on the test. There was no way I was going to be late today. Taking a look at my watch, I spotted I had five minutes to go with the shortcut that I used.
If I didn't go through the garden, I would have to run a full ten minutes around the long way. Looking ahead, I could see that there was road work I had to go around with all the orange signs up; but that would cause me to waste my head start on time.
Checking left and then checking right I took off across the work zone.
"Aye kid, get outta here!"
Someone yells out behind me so I did what anyone else would do in this situation. I pulled a Starsky and Hutch and slid my ass across one of the cars parked beside one of the hazard signs.
As my feet came down on the other side, I tried to stomp down to steady myself, but there was nothing there, and I fell in the hole.
"FUUUUUUUCCCCCKKKKKKK!" I screamed at the top of my lungs as I fell. I fell and fell. Time was there, and then it wasn't there was no up nor down, there was only the dark and my mind.
It could have been years a day or maybe even decades, but I fell some more. There were moments that I lost my sanity and gained it back only to lose it all over again. Then it hit me and drilled its way into my head. First, they started out small, and then the volume rose an octave, and I couldn't help but curl into myself.
My ears popped and my spine tingled, my brain felt like mush, and the voices came again and again, first low and then louder, but there was one thing I learned from being in this void, and that was to stare into it and show no fear.
This was not going to break me, and I would survive to live however long it would take me to get to the other side. I commanded myself to ignore the voices; the only way through all this was to be zen and be at peace. There goes a saying what doesn't kill me will only make me stronger. So as I curled into myself and I sought inner peace within me.
After a time the voices dulled but that wasn't good enough for me. What I wanted was total control to make the voices silent. It took what felt like days to get the voices under control, but once that hurdle was complete, I felt my mind expanding on a scale that I would have thought impossible before. Invisible fire poured into my veins as it ran from my heart to my brain and then the rest of my body.
Memories became clear, and thoughts and ideas on tech and what I knew from comics became easy not only to understand but also to create. My mind was now flowing on a level that was indescribable. With the clarity of my mind and newfound intelligence, I understood what I was given.
Somehow, I had gained the SAGE FORCE and all of its powers that came along with it. The major thing I knew about the Sage force was that it gave its avatars telepathy and telekinesis of the omega level scale and beyond.
The man makes the powers, and the powers did not make the man. Repeating the mantra over and over, I used it to focus myself and calm down. The other thing that I knew about the Sage Force was that it was from the DC universe, and that could mean far too many things for my situation. The only thing I could do was to force myself to wake up and then deal with it one step at a time.
Now that I knew I had more than an overdose of telepathy, that could only mean that I was currently trapped in my own mind in a coma. There had to be a way that Charles Xavier as able to get out of his mind while trapped inside. My will was already strong, so there had to be something that I was currently missing.
The voices I had under control now, but that only needed small amounts of my focus… That's it, and I was missing a focus. With the twinkle of an idea, I settled down and slowed my breathing. My body, I needed to get back to my body.
My body was my current focus, mind over matter, and the will to forge a path. I told myself this again and again before I noticed the glow coming from my chest to form a line to follow. With a grin, I grabbed hold and flew after the light. Soon there was a flash of light, and I felt the cool air on my face. Standing around me were people, and they had a light flashing between my eyes back and forth before my pupils.
With a groan, I tried to ask where were we but the dry rasp from my throat left much to be desired. With my groaning, a straw was thrust into my mouth, and I was relieved with fresh cool water to cleanse my parched throat. Taking to the water like a fish out of it, I swallowed it all down within moments and felt so much better afterward. Sitting up in my bed, I found that I was whole and hearty as could be once the initial light sensitivity wore off.
Around me stood two doctors and a female nurse with shocked expressions on their faces.
"Which hospital is this?" I asked as I felt a draft on the side of my leg. That sent a shiver up and down my spine as I looked at myself over to find that I was in hospital garb.
"Sir, sir, please calm down you're in Gotham General." The nurse at the foot of my bead said as she tried to calm me down.
"Mirror?" I demanded stretching my arm out and will the nurse to obey my commands. I could see the thoughts that came out of her mind as wave of energy and strings. It was easy to tangle her thought waves with my own and press upon her with my will for her to do my bidding.
Instantly the nurse pulled out her compact and handed it to me. With the small compact in my hands, I examined my features, chocolate skin check, grey eyes check, but my head looks like it hasn't had a cut in days.
"Thank you, nurse," I responded after checking to make sure that it was my body and not some bodyswap situation. "So tell me doc, how long have I been out?"
They both kept up that flabbergasted look, and it was starting to wear on my nerves really quickly. The one with the clipboard answered first. "It has been three days since you have been brought in for severe dehydration."
"Yes, yes, we kept you on fluid and a steady dose of electrolytes, and that brought you back to life." The second doctor said this, and he was also the one with the twirl tip mustache.
With a click of the tongue to myself, I chopped it up to what happened to Barry Allen when he was first hit with the speed force but different for me. The first thing I would need to do is get up out of here and find my way. If this was Gotham then it would be Batman's territory, and the Joker could be in Arkham or out, and I would need a place to practice before I could tackle anything big or even make an attempt to take out the J man.
"How much longer do I need to be in here doc?" I asked towards the one with a clipboard in his hands.
"One more day for observation now that you're up, the police would like a word with you since you appeared on the doorsteps of some hotel." The doctor said before he left to get whatever amounts to a police officer around here.
Hell, I honestly didn't care because I was happy that I had both of my kidneys and all ten of my fingers and toes. Since I had one more day what I really needed to do was get some practice in with my telekinesis.
Shortly after the doctor left in walked two beat cops that looked like they just wanted to find somewhere to sleep and not be bothered with some young punk. That helped me a lot because it was only a matter of pulling a Star Wars Jedi trick and they were soon out of my room and left me alone to relax and pull my mind together.
Laying back in my bed, I closed my eyes and focused because the last thing I remember was jumping across that car and then falling. There was nothing to land on, and I fell into a construction hole beneath me.
The only logical and illogical conclusion would be that I fell from my world and into this one but how in the hell could a hole handle dimensional travel or even quantum tunneling. I had to accept that there was no way home, and I knew the fucker that caused my situation. It could only be the Flash and his fucking with the time and space barrier.
If that was the case, then that would mean this would be some time after FlashPoint and everything was recently reset in time. Placing all those thoughts aside, I sat back up and folded my legs into a meditative position.
Taking slow and steady breaths, I focused my mind; this telepathy and telekinesis would take some getting used to, but I couldn't stop now. I was in DC, not only that but I was in the worst of the worst towns around. Gotham city with their equally shitty and enabling hero Batman.
Slow steady breathes to control oneself; once the self is controlled, then the mind can be manipulated. With a steady heart, I opened my mind and felt the world around me. With a smirk on my lips, I pulled back my mind and went deeper inside. The Martian Manhunter was a telepath and liked to skim minds because it's socially acceptable on Mars, but I refuse to have someone else within my mind.
My mind would become a fortress and allow no one entry besides those I allow, and the Manhunter would not be such a person. First, the walls were erected of white obsidian, and then the windows were installed. Tall battlements and even more arches to go around the fortress, on the outer wall and inner wall rail guns were erected to ward off any mental intruders. There was no need to rely on relativistic speeds within my own mental domain, so each shell was packing the firepower or a gravity-driven singularity behind it.
Rooms were erected within the walls off of my fortress to store and contain memories: but with my memories laid out plainly before me, it was time to separate out the DC memories from the Marvel's and place them on the side for later viewing. With the defense of my mind in place and my mind organized, it was time to turn my sight somewhere else.
Marvel and DC had some pretty descriptive books on what telepathy could do, and I planned to use them to the fullest extent to make sure I don't die a premature death. Speed, strength, and reflexes were needed, this was the perfect chance to make the change to my body while I had this break.
The best way to make the improvements I needed was to gather more knowledge of the human body and then go from there. Opening my senses, but keeping my mind closed was hard at first, but I was able to get it down after the second hour and a bathroom break. It started as a dull noise, then became a loud roar as I heard and sensed all the emotions and thoughts of those with me inside the hospital. The trauma and pain almost forced me to curl up into a ball and cry before I was assaulted with joy and jubilation of families gaining new children and people being told they are cured.
Honestly, it was almost all too much for me to take. Taking a deep breath, I slowed down my mind and fine-tuned my senses. The minds I wanted were those of the doctors and nurses, and maybe a few investors and whoever else might have important information that could help me survive. I left the bank teller and the pregnant mistress of the mayor for now and the other twenty minds that lit up on my senses as the others went dim.
With my mind reacting like a radar to my thoughts that helped me zero-in on more than a few doctors from whom I started to pull information about the human body. With that down, I went around downloading everything I could from each doctor, from stitching wounds to the proper procedure to bed down a patient, old or infirmed. Before I knew it, I was becoming a first-rate doctor, and I hadn't even finished school yet.
When I thought about that, I gained a manic gleam in my eyes. Now that I was in a world like a comic story, I wanted people to address me by my name and a title like my most favorite character of all time. His name was Victor Von Doom, and he was my favorite because we shared the same last name. I could already see people calling me Dr. Doom to my face, but I had to temper my excitement because I had such a long way to go to get to such high standards.
One day though Doom will rule all, but first let's use my telekinetic powers to make a few changes to my body. There was no way that I would spiderman my body not only did I not have access to the OZ formula but I also didn't want something like that to get out into the DC universe, but what I could do was bring my body to peak human fitness and stamina, with the agility to boot.
The first few changes felt like fire was being poured into my veins, and it almost caused me to scream out bloody murder. Weakness was unbecoming of Doom, and I refused it, so with a quick review of my mind, I had my pain receptors shut down so I could continue with the procedure.
Multiple times I had to stop what I was doing to make sure that my body was hydrated with the correct amount of fluids, with the rate my body was burning through liquids from the muscle stimuli and vibrations. Somewhere around one o'clock in the morning, I was finally done before one of the orderlies came to check on me for the last time of the night.
With the improvements finished, I prepared myself for bed, with a thought I reapplied my pain sensors, and when they came online, I was knocked out from the overload.
o.O.o
The first thing I felt when I woke up in the morning was a dull throb of pain. On the TV diagonally from my bed was the news and man was I in for a surprise. The news was reporting about a turf war going on and how Batman came in and saved the day. Instead of watching Batman and his bullshit, I changed the channel and was surprised to be greeted with the Man of Steel himself talking to a news reporter.
Changing the channel again, I was treated this time with Wonder Woman battling Cheetah, while a camera-man stood on the side and watched. Now this caught my attention alright, not going to lie, Cheetah has me rooting for the fury club, but there's also something to be said about that princess, she was beautiful.
The fight lasted a hot minute while I watched them, Cheetah buns danced agile against Diana on screen. The fight ended rapidly once the princess took out her lasso and wrapped it around Cheetah's legs. With a shake of my head, I hopped out of bed and did my morning routine.
With that over with, I dressed in civilian wear and was on my way out of the hospital. Once outside, I was greeted with what could only be considered gloom and Doom. Looking at the sky above me was when it all finally settled in, you can walk the walk and talk the talk. Hell, you can even go so far as to prepare yourself for anything: but it's not until your given the reality slap to your face that you come to understand how much deep shit you're truly in.
Gritting my teeth, I hunkered down and made my way down the streets. The current plan was to get some thug to try and mug me so that I would relieve him of his cash and weapons. The bar with no names or the Iceberg lounge would be the perfect place to start.
Well, I can also make my way towards the hard side of town and go to that bar called The Busted Flush. There was never a hero bone in my body, and I wasn't going to go knock on Bruce Wayne's door and ask him for help. There was no need for his bullshit in my life because before long this city would be mine.
Right on cue as I hit the sixth block out from the hospital, my mental radar picked up the mind of someone that wanted to do me harm. With a grin on my face, I ducked into an alley, acting as if I was taking a shortcut. As I made it near the garbage can, the thug came in behind me while his buddy watched out at the entrance.
With a quick jab, my hand was out, and I had the thug up in the air as I held him with a telekinetic grip. My other hand came forward, and I commanded his wallet and the wallets of his friends to float over to my outstretched and open palm. What surprised me though, was feeling the leather of more than one wallet within my mind. With a shrug, I commanded those to also float into my hand.
With a flick of the wrist, I tossed the thug out and onto his friends that stood stunned watching. Out of the wallets, I had come into a total of over five hundred dollars and some change. This wasn't going to last me long, but it would do for now. Walking back out of the alley, I made a mental note to learn how to fly once I got the chance.
Making my way to the decent part of Gotham, which to tell you the truth, would be anywhere that wasn't bludhaven. I was able to get myself some lunch and time to put my mind together for what I planed to do. Money was needed and not just scraps, I would need a lot of it if I wanted to follow in the footsteps of Doom. So for now, I would have to keep robbing thugs until I gained enough to procure myself a laptop.
With that plan in mind, I went about the rest of my days luring hopeless thugs into back alleys and robbing them blind, while they also tried to hold me at gunpoint. After about the twelfth person I had gotten pretty good with my telekinetic hold and no longer needed to stretch my hand out like I was using the force. Although I no longer needed to use my hands, it felt right to keep doing that to people, and some will think I would need a focus. As Vincent Doom, I would need to hold a few cards to myself.
o.O.o
With the sun going down my feet were becoming weary but I was able to get myself a laptop, and I had a good wad of cash in my pocket, but the real gold of today was finding the location to the bar with no name. Honestly, I didn't want to go to Selina's place, but I also knew it was the only place that wasn't run by Cobble Pots where I could get connections and work.
Perched on the roof of a building I sat overlooking the tin roof bar, which had no name on the front of the establishment. Chuckling to myself, I jumped down onto the fire escape, then made my way out of the alley and across the street.
The music was bumping and the night hadn't even descended on Gotham yet. Pulling my hoodie up over my head, I pulled a Jedi mind trick on the bouncer at the front and walked into the bar. Settling my way into a seat at the bar, I ordered myself a rum and coke. With a nod, I slid the bartender his cash and relaxed my mind and began my second test of abilities.
Charles Xavier was noted to have a { trust me } telepathic field around himself. If memories served, that was how he was able to gain so many people on his side. The best way I can figure that a field like that would work, would be a reverse of the Jedi mind trick with a positivity twist.
With a smile on my lips, I ordered a pitcher of ale, then made my way towards the corner of the bar with a few guys huddled in a corner. Anyone with half an eyeball could tell that they were planning a heist and I didn't need my powers to sniff that out. Within moments I was among the group and in on the play that they had going down tonight. Move some guns and get some money, and I get a cool ten percent because I'm the new guy. That sounded good to me because I plan to take the whole payout of fifty thousand and erase their memories of the event.
This was far too early for me to be running into Black Mask or maybe even Batman himself. Even if I wanted to avoid the two, there was no need for me to be on my back foot. I'm a Doom after all, and Doom shall stand above in this new world even if it isn't Marvel.
With myself implanted in their minds, I left for a store to get myself a balaclava to cover my identity. Funny enough almost every store sold balaclavas but I guess I could mark that up to this being Gotham. With my mask procured, I went about acting like a victim once more to rob unsuspecting thugs.
Before the time for the heist, I ran into more than fifteen different gunmen, and damn was that surprising for me. The tenth one was able to get a shot off in my general direction, and I was surprised that my reflexes were able to react fast enough to stop the bullet matrix style, even though it wasn't going to hit me.
Logically I knew that I needed to take my time and learn my powers, but I also knew I needed the money and a few hundred dollars here and there, taking my sweet time, was not going to cut it. So this had to be seen through till the end.
Doom Shall Not Fail.
The crates in the back of the truck all had large labels with the name of LexCorp, and it reminded me to make a mental note to remove the bald asshole once I get the chance. Within my hands, though I was holding an old school Kalashnikov AK-47 with a few attachments that meant nothing to me at the moment. My mind was focused, and I was ready to spring on these unsuspecting goons.
As the guys hopped out of the truck before me, I pulled up the rear and helped offload the goods. With the last crate down, I took a look around me and found that we were in some type of warehouse in Gotham. With the smell in the air though it was easy to know we were by the docks.
The moment that I thought that the night was oddly silent, I heard signs of weapons fire in the distance. That sound oddly calmed my nerves because I knew Batman would have to go and deal with whatever that was going on. There was a niggle at the edges of my mind that snapped my attention back around as I felt the arrival of our guests.
The van was black and nondescript just like the clunker that we drove here and that was a shame. No extra muscle in case they had to drive in a getaway, or they could be going for the stay under the radar type of deal which still wouldn't help if Bruce wanted to locate them. Putting my thoughts aside, I took two steps back so that I had everyone within my sights and spread my senses to encompass the warehouse.
When the crews opposite us just exited their van, I felt that slight niggle at the edges of my mind again sending me warnings of something of which I should be aware, but I was unable to discern from where the danger was coming. With my focus razor-sharp, I was certain to be ready for anything. I was then presented with two duffle bags filled with cash. The moment to strike was here, all I had to do was bide my time, then vanish with the cash while also wiping the memory of me being here from their minds.
As the money exchanged hands, that was when it happened.
FWIP!
FWIP! FWIP!
FWIP! FWIP! FWIP!
The bullets came out of nowhere, but that didn't stop it from cleaving two heads off and then going through the chest of two others. With my defenses up, I was able to catch the round that was aimed at my heart but not before it knocked me over.
Fuck did that hurt a lot when I was younger I had broken my arm going snowboarding, but that was a sharp snap of pain and then numbing, but this was so much worse.
It was like my brain was on fire from the mental strain to catch the bullet, and then the impact felt like two ribs broke. My eyes were blurry and watered, but I refuse to give in now. My hands were clammy, and I wanted to get up and sprint from this place, but with the wet squelching sounds and the falling bodies, I was very aware that the sniper was still out there.
The bullets could have only come from outside and to the south of the warehouse. That was the only place someone could not only get a shot but also see past where the trucks were parked. They will rue the day that they chose to mess with DOOM.
With a quick look around, I had a plan of attack and retreat, now all I needed was for the sniper to come and get their prize. I waited for a minute and then two, but no one was here yet, so with a telekinetic pull I had one of the bodies laying over me as the blood flowed. Then I had the bags of money pulled closer to my location.
Two more shots fired into someone that tried to crawl away, and that made me very aware that the shooter was still outside. Luckily, I didn't have to wait long because, after five minutes under the cooling corpse, another truck came speeding into the warehouse.
Two goons came out of the truck, and I knew that this was my chance. When the goon with the leather jacket reached for the bag of money in front of me, I launched forward with a jab going for his solar plexus then turn around and blasted the other with a telekinetic blast to his chest.
The goon I blasted flew back over fifty feet, and the one that I punch was down and trying to catch the breath that was never going to return. The punch that I sent into his solar plexus was backed with my telekinetic force behind it, crushing in his chest. With a mental summons, I pulled the other duffle bag of cash into my hand as I tossed the other over my shoulder and ran for the exit.
There was a pattering above me, and I felt another mind land on the roof above. Placing aside that, for now, I noticed the last person in the van getting out with his gun up to aim at my general direction. Skidding to a halt roughly five feet before the door's exit, I whipped around and sent another telekinetic blast at my would-be shooter slamming him into the van behind him. Even from my distance, I heard the crunch of bone-breaking, but I paid him no further attention.
I broke through the back door with a bang and sent myself into a massive leap telekinetically assisted. Out in the night sky, I was greeted with water on the front and the warehouse at my back. With a smile, I dashed along the alley going for a car or person I can Jedi mind trick into giving me their car keys.
Not even ten steps from where I landed, I was greeted with a swooshing sound. The sound sent a shiver down my spine. With a spin, I reflexively slapped the rocket that was heading directly for me into the ground. That was a bad choice because I got an explosion to the face.
Everything happened within a split second, the ground broke open beneath me, but before I dropped, flames tried to lick at my body. There was no thinking there was no planning; there was only doing and making sure that I didn't die here with the choices I made.
Catching myself before I fell into the water below, I created a pad to jump off onto one of the pillars that held up the docks and pier. Jumping from point to point, I was happy that I used to parkour across the college campus back home as I made my way towards what looked like the end of a shoreline.
While I ran, I heard yelling and cursing behind me, but I ignored it all because I was almost free of this situation. What little hope I had, though died inside me as I heard another swosh above, my heart clenched but this time there wasn't an explosion. The none explosion caused me to double-time it because that swooshing sound could only be from one thing, and that would be the Batwing flying overhead.
It took me ten minutes to get to the other side, up the shore, and into the woods. While I was running for my life, I had learned how to keep myself in a hover. I was going to use my hover for all it was worth as I ran through the woods. There was no destination in mind besides leaving this place, and I almost regretted not going for some cheap hotel somewhere.
All around me there was nothing but trees, I came to a stop and listened for any sign of anyone following and then checked with my telepathy within five hundred feet radius. There was nothing, but I was able to pick up on the minds of the birds and smaller animals around. Taking a little longer to double-check, I still felt nothing, so turning around I ran keeping up the pace of escape.
For another twenty minutes, I ran and hovered, and within that time, I came up with a plan for how I was going to proceed in the future. Jumping onto the tree like a ninja, I then jumped up above the treeline and looked around for any sign of people. On the third try, I found a road and not too far from it. I found a place that I could call home.
At the end of the road, there was an old house that had a greenhouse attached to the back of it. With a quick mental scan, I found the house devoid of another person, but when I check it with my telekinesis, I found a warm stove but a cooling body on the ground. The gas lines were cut, and there was a candle-lit in the living room. Damn Gotham held no kind nice for those that drop their guards, with quick mental nudges I flicked out the candle and turned off the gas pipe at the valve behind the stove.
With a sigh, I shoulder the second duffle that I was carrying and made my way to the house. There was no way I could tell the color of the house from the darkness, but I was able to spot the old truck parked out front.
With a twitch of my finger, the latches on the door unhooked themselves, and then the door opened to allow me inside. With a kick, the door closed and I tossed the duffle bag onto the table in the living room before I sat down in the recliner that faced the tv.
Everything hurt like it's never hurt before, shit I had no clue how Bruce does it. Then again, he had all that armor, money, and training. I'm a punk that woke up and took the world by storm, but I'm also a Doom, and I shall endure.
Falling into a simple meditation to look myself over, I found broken ribs and lacerations along my thigh and the left side of my abdomen. While I checked myself over, I noticed my body already in the process of healing my wounds. It would appear that I had enhanced healing but not at the same level as that of Logan, but I will be alright with this.
Releasing the breath I had been holding, I took another deep one only to be greeted with the smell of gas from the stove that was left on. Ignoring the pain in my chest, I raised my hand and did a wave that opened all the windows of the house. With another wave, I created a spiral of the air within the kitchen area and forced it outside.
There was no clue who killed the guy in the kitchen or for why, but there is one thing I do know and that they will be back someday. The fact that the firefighters didn't show up here or the explosion that they were hoping for didn't happen will be cause for someone to come sniffing and get answers.
Making another mental note to get up a perimeter defense, I pulled the balaclava off my face and removed my shirt, allowing my body to get some air. Sitting back down, I summoned the duffle bags to me so I could get a count of the cash: then I would have to find out where the National Embassy was located. I needed papers, and I was going to Jedi mind trick myself into a passport and student visa.
With my arms outstretched before me, it was easy to manipulate both duffle bags telepathically and then summon the cash out of the said bag. Eventually, I would have to gain control over my telekinetic abilities allowing me to use it without my hand motions as a crutch, but for now, it is time to count the cash.
With a flick of my wrist, the tv turned on, and the remote was summoned to my side. The TV played in the background as I counted out a total of one hundred and twenty-two thousand. Tomorrow I will also need to get myself a laptop and find the main library of gotham. For now, it was time to get rid of the body then get some rest.
o.O.o
Walking out of the Embassy in Metropolis, I looked at my new student visa. Vincent Doom age twenty-two from the nation of Latveria. With that taken care of I picked up a Wayne Tech laptop and cellphone from a store and drove back to Gotham, before getting back to the house I did pick up some trip lasers and a few things to create a connection to the outside world and the internet. There was no way I was going to use what was already installed in the house.
Now that the house was secure, I took another hour to clean up and change out the bedding and clothes in the closet. I refused to use any of those things. With all of my errands taken care of, it was time to head to the library that's perpetually empty.
Before I was launched into this reality, I was getting a tandem degree in general engineering and aerospace to cover my bases before NASA. Now though, with the way my mind worked, there was no way I was going to be working and become subservient to another. With the capital that I had remaining, I was going to release patents into the world to get my name out there and then blitz my way through school.
Bruce Wayne had more than seventeen degrees, and Clark was noted to be an exceptional scholar even among Kryptonians, and I would have to do better if I wanted to stand against such minds. Halfway through my third pile of textbooks, I was interrupted by a voice.
"Excuse me, is this seat taken?"
When I looked up, I was greeted with a redhead and her boyfriend that had a scowl on his face. My own scowl matched the black-haired guy's because in front of me could only be one of the worst couples in the DC universe. Taking a look around, I noticed the other empty tables and raised an eyebrow at the redhead.
Beauty was not going to sway me.
"It is not, but I do believe there are other tables that are available for one such as yourself," I replied smoothly before I went back to my studies.
"Told you Barb, let's leave him alone and go somewhere else."
"Come on Dick it's obvious he goes to Gotham University. We should at least be nice to a classmate. Not many of them come to Gotham Library after all." Barbara Gordon replied to her boyfriend before turning around and looking at some of the books I was reading. "The librarians said that you had the only copy of Criminology by James T. Do you mind if I get it since it's in your finish pile."
Without even lookup back up at her from my book. I waved for her to take the book, but she sat down across from me and pulled Dick Grayson into the seat beside her. Looking up at the two, I raised an eyebrow at the couple for interrupting my alone time as I sought knowledge.
Putting down the now completed copy of advanced nuclear physics onto the complete pile, I watched them out of the corner of my eye as I picked up a copy of aerospace and beyond.
Grayson was leaning back, balancing on his chair doing his homework while wearing a scowl, and Barbra was also going over her homework. The difference though was that Barbra was giving me the side-eye while also doing observations in a notepad on the side under her book. Tch, I clicked my teeth at that, just what I need, some noisy girl and her annoying sidekick boyfriend to deal with.
Getting up swiftly, I picked up my carrier bag and took the other books back to their rightful positions on the shelves. Turning my back on them, I left. I did not need nor want them to insert themselves into my life or situation.
"I would like to check out these two books please," I said to the librarian as I handed over a copy on software architecture and design and another book on genetics and evolution of man. I already knew about software design and computer engineering, but I needed a base for what this realities computer worked on because there was no way I was getting online with a Wayne Tech laptop and not remove whatever bugs Bruce had in place across the board. If Lex does it, there is nothing that said Bruce might not have some back door installed for key searches to ping the Bat Computer.
Once the computer was double and quadruple checked, tore down and pieced back together, I was then going to rewrite the operating system from the ground up, and then I was going to create a VPN before getting online.
"Do you have a library card, MR?"
"Doom, Vincent Doom," I replied as I gave the librarians a charming smile. "And might I know the name of the delectable beauty before me."
She smiled and placed a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "That can't be your real name,"
"Oh, my dear but it is, I would prefer you to call me Vince though," I replied as I leaned on the counter. "And what might I call a rose such as yourself?"
With a playful smile on her lips, she took my hand that I had held out for her to shake with my introduction.
"My name is Jaina, Jaina Hudson; it's a pleasure to meet you, Vince." Jaina returned with a smile as she got the things together for me to check out.
"It was lovely meeting you, Jaina," I replied as I took my things and left. There was no need to use my powers to know she was watching me leave.
Tall, dark, and handsome always works.
o.O.o
