fics I read

Buffs/Positive Effects:

Grants +500 Intelligence for 24 Hours

Grants +200 Charisma for 24 Hours

Grants +100 Dexterity for 24 Hours

Grants +100 Endurance for 24 Hours

Grants +100 Strength for 24 Hours

Chance to gain buff: [Euphoric Bliss]

Chance to gain buff: [Greater Euphoric Bliss]

Chance to gain buff: [Immense Euphoric Bliss]

Debuffs/Negative Effects:

– 100 Wisdom for 24 Hours

Chance to inflict Debuff: [Sensory Overload]

Inflicts Permanent Debuff: [NZT Addiction]

Inflicts Permanent Debuff: [Command: Love and Adore]

"I've essentially created a drug that can make you confident, make you high, make you horny, make you athletic, and make you smarter – all in one dose." I said with a grin. "By taking Poison Ivy's ability to kiss people and control them, the saliva and chemicals inherent in her and then combing it with a version Scarecrow's toxin, which, rather than causing you to feel fear, does the opposite, making you stop feeling fear and start feeling confident and aroused – and then adding some tinkering of my own with magic – I have created, the perfect Omni-Drug."

The drug increased their Intelligence, but reduced their Wisdom. This meant, whilst I would have mini-Einstein's capable of super-calculation and capable of making logical thoughts and creating marvels, they'd be unable to ask why they should create certain marvels or do certain things. I would essentially be creating an army of Dexters… or even better, an army of Doctor Doofenshmirtz.

Capable of creating world-revolutionary ideas and inventions, but utterly hopeless when it came to applying it to any real-term problems. Utter hopeless, without my help of course.

The drug was immediately addictive – meaning that a single pill would make you addicted, no ifs, or buts.

"Now, all that's left is to create it en mass and begin distribution – and then, that'll be another item clean off the list."

"All that would remain, Master Zack, would be your Item Five?"

I nodded, and frowned. "Unfortunately, to complete Item Five, I need to become Mayor of Gotham. With my money, these drugs, and my power, winning is not an issue. The only issue is with the red tape and the time. We're in November – the Elections aren't till March." I said with a growl. "That's five months. A whole five months. Anything could happen in five months – anything."

The problem was, there wasn't much I could do about it. I couldn't make them shift the election date any closer, not without drawing global suspicion. If I was running unopposed… I probably could… but even then, it was still going to be a stretch.

I clapped my hands loudly, drawing Nezumi's attention.

"Are there any other pressing issues we haven't attended to?"

"The captured individuals whose identities have been Taken Over by the Homunculi." Nezumi stated.

"How many do we have?"

"Two hundred human males and one hundred human females in custody. One for each homunculi of the Aphrodite Division, Altair Division, and Unassigned Division." Nezumi said. "Of the human males, one hundred and fourteen of the adult human males are police officers in the line of duty. Thirty-six of them are administrative officials in Gotham's hierarchy and government. Fourteen more of them are court officials. The rest are miscellaneous individuals who were chosen for particular skillsets or access to information."

I rubbed my chin.

"Of the human females, thirty-two are secretaries or office workers. Sixteen are nurses, doctors or otherwise qualified individuals. Six are emergency line operators, fifteen are newspaper workers, journalists, and news anchors. Twelve are –"

"Are there any children amongst the captured people?" I interrupted.

"No Master Zack. There are teachers, principals, and guidance counselors, but no individual under the age of eighteen."

I rose an eyebrow. "Then why is this even an issue? Kill all the males and harvest their organs. Sell them in organ trafficking. As for the women – burn off their fingerprints, file their dentals, scramble their memories, and send them off into the prostitute trafficking ring. Might as well make a profit out of them."

Nezumi nodded. "Effective as always Master Zack. I am telepathically delivering that order now."

"Anything else?"

"Ah, yes… we have yet to deal with… The Joker."

I blinked. "Oh."

Yeah… he wasn't amongst the villains that were rounded up was he?

Had I actually almost forgotten about him? That would have been one hell of a major screw up. Or was it just that the Joker subconsciously did not register as a threat on my radar?

"Do you have his current location Nezumi?"

The butler nodded. "A hidden underground Toy Factory in downtown Gotham."

"Keep watch on him… and send some agents to shadow him at the same time. I want to know where he's been, what he's been doing, and who he's been talking to. I want to know everything I can about him before I make a decision."

"A… decision, Master Zack?"

I nodded. "I'm not sure if this is Anarchist-Joker, whose a master manipulator and brilliant mind like the one I know from the Dark Knight Trilogy… or if this Clown-Joker, or Psycho-Joker, or Fourth-Wall-Breaker-Joker… depending on which one he turns out to be, I'll either eliminate him or recruit him."

Nezumi merely bowed, although I could tell he had some misgivings about the idea. "As you wish Master Zack, I will have the Joker followed."

"So… anything else we have going on?"

Nezumi shook his head. "Not necessarily Master Zack. Other than Makarov Dreyer's Campaign efforts, I believe there are no immediate tasks for you to attend to."

I wasn't sure why I felt partially relieved, and partially uncertain hearing that. For once, everything was going my way. Everything was moving along smoothly. My plan was in operation in full force, and in the months to come, I would have completely solidified my control over Gotham City. I would bring to it a revolution.

And I felt uneasy. Uneasy.

Things were going too well. Too according to plan.

I'd been surprised once by an unexpected outcome with Eva. Surprised a second time with an unexpected outcome with the Justice League. Both of those scenarios had occurred due to my own arrogance – my fatal flaw – my hubris.

As it stood, I didn't think I'd been overly cocky or confident so far – but I had no true way of telling. Part of me was still expecting to be completely blindsided by something from somewhere that would throw a wrench in all my plans.

There wasn't much I could do now, except to be prepared for anything that came my way.

XXXXX

Dead.

She almost wanted to laugh at the absurdity of it all.

John Constantine – dead.

It seemed impossible, a feat that would never happen. For all of his bluster and showmanship, John Constantine was damn near un-killable. Nothing could put him down, be it the angels from heaven or the demons from below – not even interdimensional demons had succeeded in taking out John. He was just far too resilient for something like that.

Except – now, it had happened.

His light, his signature – it had been snuffed permanently from the surface of the earth.

His soul, which would normally have been sent to heaven or hell, and hence, he would be kicked out and be back in the mortal world – had been… destroyed. Or worse – consumed. All that made John Constantine – was gone, and he was gone for good.

She'd warned them about the demon – about a magical being with immense power to rival Nabu – and she'd expected them, the Justice League, to do their best to take care of this threat. John had travelled from England to Gotham City just to take care of it! From England! The League was supposed to be his back-up – because surely a world-destroying, reality-altering entity was a significant concern?

But no.

They'd instead been focused on trying their best to save the life of Batman – and to catch some small time criminal who'd used a dark ritual to kill nearly all of Gotham's criminals and a few other civilians and police officers. She knew the work of dark magic when she saw it, she knew the work of complicated Voodoo rituals when she saw it – and it hadn't taken her long to realize that the Consultant or whatever he called himself, was a talented magician.

It also didn't take her long to realize, that an Eldritch Demon could not have manifested in the world all by itself, without an anchor.

The fool had most likely summoned the demon to aid him – but had no idea what he was dealing with, and lost control of it. He probably didn't even care, and let a world-destroying entity run wild unchecked. After all – if the Consultant truly was a mere teenager – he clearly had no idea as to what he was doing.

But she did.

Oh, she did.

She would find the boy – and she would torture every information about his magic out of him – and find a way to take down the Eldritch Demon herself.

And the Justice League?

She scoffed.

The good they had done for her cause so far. The good they had done to save the city. The good they had done to help Constantine.

No. She was done with the League. She was done with them. From now on, she was taking matters into her own hands.

The world had an idiotic, but immensely powerful teenage sorcerer and an Eldritch Demon strolling around as they pleased.

That needed to be corrected.

"Ecnaegnev fo tirips, ouy ekovni, I em ni detstevni rewop eht yb!"

By any means necessary.

Gotham City

Iceberg Lounge

Music.

The rhythmic beats and echoes of instruments, often accompanied with an elegant metrical voice. In this case, the voice was anything but elegant. Coarse words, interspaced lyrics, copious amounts of swearing, mentioning of human sexual anatomical parts, repeated use of 'ass' 'titties' and 'pussy' echoed in what some people would consider as music, or consider as good.

The objectivity of the music could only truly be put into question when taking into account those present in the room, listening to it. Females, scantily or sparsely dressed, their faces painted with different products to arrive at red-tinted lips and dark-flavored brows. Males, caring little for the dresses and outfits, their hips gyrating and turning in response to the oscillation of the female behinds.

Such was the nature of a nightclub. Overwhelmingly loud music, dark, cool environments, fog, strolling in from different machines, a man, standing center stage with oversized headphones on his neck, his head bobbing back and forth in response to the music like a lizard attempting to break a world record for push-ups. Occasionally, his hand would thrust into the air, the music would change to something with faster tempo and rhythm, and people would excitedly yell at the new beat, resuming their activities with far more fervor.

Of course, in places like this, environments filled with the hedonism and restless desire, the philosophy of living in the moment, the stench of alcohol and thick, human pheromones with primal sexual desire, there would be… supplements provided, to attempt to augment the experience.

This, of course, was where they came in.

Him – clad in a thick hooded jacket, a shady looking appearance, a plastered, pastel smile, and completely unremarkable facial features, he made his way into the crowd of dancers.

Her – clad in a short red skirt that barely went past her thighs, a loose fitting top that showed generous amount of cleavage, lacking a bra and seemingly lacking any form of inhibitions, she danced wildly, flirted wildly, and made many heads turn – or rise, as fitting the situation.

He was Agent 73 of the Al'Tair Squadron, currently codenamed: Mr. Whiskers.

She was Agent 14 of the Aphrodite Squadron, currently codenamed: Brandy.

And together, Brandy and Mr. Whiskers were assigned an important job in this little nightclub. Their eyes only ever made contact once, the silent communication needed for them to begin their mission.

Mr. Whiskers targeted those whose inhibitions were lower, those whose eyes had caught on to Brandy, and he saw one, a young man, shyly, with glasses, staring lustfully and enviously into the crowd. He marked his target, and, like a bloodhound trained for the hunt, an ambush predator honed for the attack, he moved.

"Psst – hey buddy – you want to tap that ass don't you?"

The mark looked startled, rapidly changing the direction of his gaze. "W-what? I don't – who the fuck are you?"

"Relax, relax man – I'm your friend here. See… I happen to know that sexy little thing… and I know a rather nasty secret she's got." Mr. Whiskers said. "But – if you're not interested –"

Mr. Whiskers turned around, and he barely had to wait before his mark moved.

"Wait! Wait! I never said I wasn't interested!" he called him back, his eyes once more eyeing Brandy. Any fool with a pair of eye-sockets could clearly see the desire lidden in the mark's eyes. "What… what secret?"

Mr. Whiskers 'smiled.'

"She used to be a complete washout. Boring as cardboard – couldn't have fun to save her life. Now – she's living it large all cause of a little friend."

"F-friend?"

Mr. Whiskers brought out a small pill. "This little baby. We call it – NZT."

Brandy, of course, was not merely bait. No – she was far more, a far more dangerous, deadly, sort of predator. Her eyes latched onto a new target, awkwardly standing to the side, a reluctant, seeming third wheel in a group. She sauntered over, grinning, flirtatiously, pushing herself unto the target, taking in his momentarily confused look and eyes, before moving in, and breathing, deeply, huskily, into his ear.

"Hey handsome."

His cheeks flushed. His pupils dilated. His breathing was short and erratic. It was easy, too easy, like molding clay within her grasp fingers. Her hand roamed down, resting on his crotch. She turned to him, smiling innocently, a glimmer in her eyes.

"Would you like to dance?"

Humans, primarily the males, were a sorely amusing sort. All she required, was a little bit of contact, a little bit of attention, letting them touch her, pet her, trying to 'subtly' grope and feel at her skin. She needed to merely probe them on subtly, speaking in a husky, slow voice. Smiling at their touches. Lightly grinding her behind on them. It was an effortless art – one that would only fail upon those with the strongest of wills and the greatest of convictions.

Luckily, there were no such men to be found partying inanely in a nightclub.

On and on the night went, men who were married, men who were not, boys who knew little of the opposite sex, those who were confident in their machismo and saw her as a new conquest –

She took them all, to a silent, secluded corner, the protrusion in their pants all but painfully obvious, and then, she told them, one by one, the requirements of having her –

"S-so I just take this pill – and – and then –"

She smiled. Amused with his flustering, her latest prey. The poor fool – all it would take was once. Taking the pill once, snorting the powder once, using the intravenous injection, once – and he would be hooked to it. For life. Forever. And here he was, so eager, so willing, to do that, merely for the momentary satisfaction of having his manhood squeezed by her tightness.

Laughable.

"M-m-my – this… what is this drug? I – I – It's like everything is –"

"Shhh…." She whispered. "Don't think about it… just think… about… me."

She engulfed him, and his thoughts, his inhibitions, what little of them – vanished, with the wind.

But, she knew he would be back. They would all be back. If not for the pill, then for her, for the nameless seductress – the one that granted them –

A taste of heaven.

The man finished, a lost, far-away look on his face. His mind, overloaded with pleasure. His dopamine receptors, super-charged and stimulated, flooding his brain with far more ecstasy than a human mind was meant to handle.

She tapped the side of his cheek, satisfied with her work. With their work. She was merely one of the few hundreds dispatched to the City, to spread their master's creation far and wide. Soon, it would merely be a manner of seconds before everyone in the city was hooked.

She activated her telepathic communication. "This is Brandy reporting. I have suitably completed my mission. What is the status report Mr. Whiskers?"

Nothing.

Had she been human, she would have frowned or scrunched up her nose. Instead, her face remained perfectly passive. "Come in, Mr. Whiskers. What is your status? I repeat – what is your status?"

Still nothing.

"Mr –"

"Ah! You must be the other one!"

Brandy's hair stood on edge, she turned around from her position, finding a blonde woman standing in front of her.

"Your partner was sooooo mean! He actually stabbed me with a needle full of some stuff that felt great! But – I didn't ask, and I really want to know what's inside! My pudding would probably just love it!"

Brandy did not speak.

"Alpha Division Command Center – this is Agent 14 of the Aphrodite Squadron reporting. Have sighted priority target – Harleen Quinzel. Requesting permission to engage."

"Agent 14, permission gran –"

RAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT!

Brandy stared, looking down at the numerous bullet holes, and then up, to the smoking barrels of two machineguns held in the woman's hands. She blew the smoke from the top of both of them, before hugging them to her chest.

"I just love my babies!"

The insane woman smiled, turning back to Brandy.

"Don't you?"

And the rain of gunfire continued.

XXXX

Xx ¬ DC – Remastered Edition ¬ xX

XXXX

Gotham City

Deep Underground

Zack's Fortress

"The latest batch are now available for deployment, Master Zack."

I nodded, staring out over the coliseum and examining the gathered people. Their numbers were far larger than the previous set, and it was immediately sizing up to be a formidable force.

Congratulations!

You have attained (5000) new Homunculi Soldiers!

Your total number of soldiers is now: [5500]!

You may now create new Squadrons!

You may now increase the number of troops in each Squadron!

The only item left in my Quest Progression required me to become the Mayor of Gotham. Whilst I was already guaranteed that I would succeed, the elections were still in March. There were five months from now till then, a large amount of time in which any chaotic unforeseen outcome could possibly attempt to blindside me. For now, I was focusing on increasing the amount of troops in my army, and ensuring that NZT fully hit the streets and dominated all of Gotham.

Several Platoons and Sections had been assigned the task of ensuring the full spread of the drug to the local populace, and I estimated a few manner of weeks before the drug was in every single household shelf in the entire city.

"Sigh… if only I could apply the time-dilation effect in the real world, and make these five months fly by in a single second."

While I could do something similar to the fort, it would mean, to the outside world, that I would have been missing for five months. It would be unwise to leave for such large stretch of time.

I rubbed at my chin slowly, feeling the slight development of a small stubble, which truly reminded me of the vast amount of time I spent working with Poison Ivy in order to create the perfect drug. A little over six months… my birthday had actually passed – which meant I was biologically seventeen years old now. Odd, when I thought about it. I wondered how I would be able to explain the sudden aging to Naomi and her family, or if I would have to resort to using my Alteration skill to change my appearance.

Ping!

Family [Side] Quest Alert!

History and Other Miscellaneous Facts

As per your agreement with Evelyn Brooks, you will receive bi-weekly updates on her work and studies, in exchange for solving her monetary problems.

Objective:

Meet Evelyn and find out what she has for you

Bonus Objectives:

?

?

?

Rewards:

Information on World's History

?

?

Failure:

Massively Decreased Reputation with Evelyn Brooks

No information on World's History

?

Accept?

Yes

No

It clicked the minute I saw the alert. I'd actually forgotten. I'd forgotten. It had been six months, give or take a few days – well, from my perspective it had been six months. For them, for everyone on the outside, barely a day or two had passed. That was the power and danger with hyperbolic time chambers, the way it managed to mess with perspectives –

I hit the accept button, before frowning as an odd thought came to my mind.

Messing with time.

In this world, there were people who did that on a daily basis. Speedsters for one, and then there were the "Legends of Tomorrow" and the entire organization of time masters. Time travel was not in the realm of fantasy. I could, technically already control time to a small extent, although, most of this was due to my magical spells and enchantments, rather than direct control over the forces of time and space.

Do I want to mess with time?

"Is… is something the matter, Master Zack?"

I turned to Nezumi, who had finished barking the initiation commands to the new soldiers. "Nothing. Just a stray thought." I shook my head. "I'll be heading back to the City for now. Be sure to contact me if anything comes up."

Nezumi bowed formally. "As you command Master Zack."

I opened a portal through the ID and found myself emerging from a discarded street in one of Gotham's back alleyways. A cat meowed loudly, hissing at my sudden appearance before scampering away, and I couldn't shake off my thoughts, the potential power of messing with time. The power to render causality completely irrelevant.

I took in a breath of the stale-but-familiar Gotham air, placed my hands into my pockets, and then narrowed my eyes as I let my body move on auto-pilot, focusing on the mini-map to Evelyn's location. I emerged from the alley, moving into the streets, with the thought still on my mind.

Time was relative. The specific physics and calculations which could prove the sheer relavity of time aside, what was important was that time was relative, even here, in this universe. One of the most obvious example of the relativity of time would be the issue of Superman and Supergirl. Superman was sent from Krypton mere moments before Supergirl, and she was sent immediately after him in order to protect the young baby Kal-El.

The problem was, of course, by the time Supergirl had landed on Earth, Kal-El was anything but a baby, whilst Supergirl had not aged a day. How was this possible?

I crossed a road, moving at a steady gait, my eyes noticing, and appreciating the fact that there were far fewer cars on the roads, and hence, a complete absence of traffic. It was proof of my work, clearing out most of the criminals in the city had long-reaching circumstances that even I was not fully aware of. Regardless, that was not what my mind had chosen to focus on. No – I was still focused on the issue of time.

Superman aged on Earth, because he was bound by earth's, and, if I'm correct, the Solar System's gravity. Time on earth was effectively the measurement of a period in which the earth rotated on its axis, and eventually rotated around its star – The Sun. If you were not in this solar system, you would not be bound by its measurement of time, as it would be far different on alien planets. So, Supergirl, coming from her home-planet via wormhole technology, had arrived into this world. Of course, Superman had been here long enough for the planet to have rotated around the sun at least thirty or so times… so he had aged.

I paused in front of an abandoned shop, staring at my reflection in the mirror. I had a small stubble, and there was far less baby-fat on my face than before. My hair was also significantly longer, and a bit more untamed. I… had aged, visibly.

The difference of time – being in a dimension separate from earth and therefore not bound to its own time… it was sparking a lot of ideas in my head. More so, it was sparking numerous questions, particularly in response to the beings in this world capable of moving faster than the speed of light.

The closer you move to the speed of light, the more time slows down, and at the speed of light, time stops. So, theoretically, beyond the speed of light, time should move backwards.

I continued onwards, checking my watch, whilst my mind was still thinking. Stars in the night sky were all dead. Every single one. The light from their explosions and death, however, took several years to reach earth. So when one looked into the starry night sky, they were seeing the past. They were seeing remnants of the death of a star several years past.

Shouldn't the same be in reverse?

…

Fucking special relativity. I wasn't about to crack my brain trying to figure it out when I could get scientists to do it for me.

I came to a stop in front of my destination, raising my eyebrow at the realization that it was the same Starbucks knock-off shop I'd been earlier. I entered, drawing the customary glances and looks from patrons and customers when someone new entered a building, before they all returned to their business and eating. It didn't take me long to find Evelyn, sitting in the corner of the shop, her nose seemingly buried in a small pile of books.

Again, I ordered two small coffees, before moving over to her.

"Hard at work I see."

She shot her head up at the voice. "Of course I am – I mean I –" she stopped abruptly, staring at me as I took a seat and handed her a coffee. I smiled at her gaze.

"You're not going to keep being awestruck every time you see me, are you? The charm will wear off a bit too fast."

"Zack…? Is that you?" Evelyn asked, her eyes scrutinizing me.

"Who else would be this handsome?"

She rolled her eyes. "And vain. Yes – it's definitely you. What happened to you? You look… different."

I pointed at my chin. "It's the stubble. Beards and a haircut are the make-up for men. Growing one can make you look like you've aged years."

"…No kidding. You do look like you've aged a bit… and… are you… taller?"

"You sure you're not the one growing shorter?"

A foot lightly kicked my leg under the table. It was so light, it didn't even register as an attack, whereas, Evelyn's face immediately scrunched up in pain.

"OW! What the hell? Why does your leg feel like solid concrete?!"

I smiled easily. "Trust me, that's not the only thing I have that's hard like solid concrete."

She spluttered in indignation. "You –"

"I was of course, talking about my abs." I said with a knowing look. "What were you thinking of?"

She spluttered again, and a part of me found it amusing how easy it was to deflect or evade most of her questions and enquiries with light deflections and subtle teasing. Over time, she would probably figure it out, because she was smarter than I gave her credit for – but – she was also smart enough not to ask too many questions.

I blinked when I noticed a blue moving icon appear on my minimap, before I immediately turned my attention back to Evelyn.

"Did you tell anyone you were meeting me here?"

She frowned. "What? No – we had an agreement remember –"

"Okay…" I responded, before shooting my thumb to the door. "So why is your brother here?"

Her eyes widened, travelling to the front of the café, where very visible, Lucian walked in, not even attempting to be subtle in the fact that he was looking for something or someone. Then, all at once, he caught sight of her, and yelled.

"Aha! I knew you secretly had a boyfriend!"

… I slowly contemplated the different numerous ways to kill him as several pairs of eyes turned in our direction. Most notably, and obviously, were the eyebrows that rose as people noted the age difference.

"Idiot!" she hissed.

I supposed it was up to me to run damage control. Amusement pulled at my lips as I stood and turned to Lucian.

"So what if I do?"

Numerous pairs of eyes widened. None more so than Lucian and Evelyn who were both staring at me like I'd grown a second head.

"Is this what the 21st century has become? One cannot even keep their gay boyfriend a secret?" I sighed audibly. "Shame. Shame on you."

Lucian looked torn between spluttering, turning inside out, or fleeing as the patronage of eyes whipped in his direction. Humans did love a scandal, and more than that, they loved a scapegoat.

"I – er – you – this – I mean –"

I could almost see the steam coming out of his ears. The mortification on his face was immensely amusing, especially as people began to whisper rumors about certain homophobic sentiments. Without waiting for any more clarification, he bolted out of the room in a mad dash. The little shop remained silent for several more minutes, before I made an exaggerated sigh, and uttered out a "Good grief."

Slowly, the patrons in the shop began clapping. It was one person at first, then two, then three, and within seconds, I'd received a standing ovation, and a bit of whistles and approving cheers. I smiled at all of them, before returning to my seat.

Evelyn stare grew to insane amounts.

"You… you're impossible."

"No my dear, I specialize in actualizing the impossible." I responded cheekily. "There's a difference."

Two waitresses came by, and of course, dropped some free refills, and I saw Evelyn's nose scrunch up in disbelief at the number of 'receipts' under the coffee.

"Why are there even more phone numbers than before?!" she groused. "They think you're gay! So why –" she shook her head. "You know what? I'm just going to have to get used to this type of stuff happening around you."

I grabbed the coffee cup, taking a long sip. "Smart decision."

"Also, Lucian is going to be pretty upset when he realizes you pranked him."

"I'll probably make it up to him later. Get him a present. What does your brother like?"

Evelyn narrowed her eyes at me.

"What?"

"Don't what me. Sure my brother might be an idiot sometimes, but he's still my brother. He really looks up to you – and you're just going to bribe him."

I paused for a second, the amusement vanishing from my lips. "He looks up to me?"

"Zack this, Zack that, Zack is so cool, Zack probably has dozens of girlfriends, I wish I could be like Zack when I grow up –" she said in a snooty sounding voice. "Ever since we met you, you're the only thing he talks about. He just can't shut up about you."

Strange. Had I left that much of an impression on him? Me? Being someone's role model? Without Soul Conditioning?

"Is that jealousy I hear in your voice?" I responded cheekily.

"You wish."

"Of course I do, that's why I asked."

Evelyn shook her head. "There is seriously something wrong with you Zack."

I smiled. "Oh you have no idea."

"Let's just… go over my findings before I have to sit here and listen to a sad sixteen year old try and pick up a girl three years his junior."

I winced. "Oof!" I said, before smiling. "That smarts. It would have stung more if you were right and I was actually trying, chibi."

She rose an eyebrow. "Chibi?"

"It's Japanese. Look it up." I said dryly. "Also, most certainly do not look up the word netorare. Ever. Trust me, you'll thank me for it later."

Evelyn furrowed her brows. "I didn't know you spoke Japanese."

"There are a lot of things you don't know about me."

"Then who does?"

The question caught me off guard for a second. "What?"

"Who does, know stuff about you, I mean." She clarified. "Who is the one person in the world who knows more about you than anyone else?"

I opened my mouth to answer – only to find myself slowly closing it.

Who is the one person in the world who knows more about you than anyone else?

I spent several seconds attempting to answer that question, until the realization that the question had no answer came back to strike me. Not even Nezumi knows everything about me.

My silence was more than enough of an answer for Evelyn.

"…So you're that kind of person."

"And what kind of person is that?"

"The lonely hardass." She said, "The type of person who doesn't have any friends because he thinks they'll hold him back. Or because he's afraid of losing them. Or because he thinks they'll betray him – or one other stupid reason."

My smile became very, very strained. "You don't know me."

"No. But I know that you're not dirt poor. You're handsome and attractive. You're funny. Marketable. Skilled. Smart. Confident. If you were in my school you'd probably be elected as Student Council President or Star Quarterback or something. Guys would fistbump you everywhere you went and girls would keep asking you out and giggling as you passed by. The only reason why a person like you wouldn't have any friends is if he chose not to." Evelyn said, staring straight at me.

"The real question here is, why would you chose not to?"

A terse silence followed in the wake, and I allowed a natural smile to come to my face.

"Unfortunately, the world isn't quite as rosy-tinted as your perception of it. Technically speaking, you should be right. Such traits would be ideal for gaining friends and alliances. However, that is only up to a certain point. That point is called the point of diminishing return." I spoke easily. "When you are too smart, you make others envious and feel stupid in comparison. When you are too good-looking, you make others around you seem plain in comparison. Too charismatic? Others around you are dull and lifeless by default. Too athletic? Others no longer seem to stack up. When you outshine everything and everyone around you like a burning supernova in the wake of a candle flame – 'friendship' or any illusion of it is pointless. To stand at the top is to stand alone. Below you and behind you are rivals and competitors forever cast in the shadow left by your light."

I shook my head. "They are not your friends. They are the people seeking your moment of downfall, so as to stand as your equals."

Evelyn seemed unable to say anything for a brief second, and inwardly, I found myself feeling irritated at the fact that her words had spurned me on to say that.

"Are you… speaking from experience?"

"Does it matter?"

"I think… that was the first time I heard you say something that you… actually believed." Evelyn said, "I think, for the first time… you spoke from your heart. You showed you – the real you."

I blinked. Shit. The real me was not a person that should be near children. I was cynical. Mean-spirited. Pessimistic. I had a love for Machiavellianism and a penchant for cosmic nihilism.

"I don't know what you're talking about," I diverted easily. "Besides, didn't we come here to discuss your schoolwork? As awesome as I am – I think it'll feed my narcissism a bit too much if we keep talking about me."

Evelyn pursed her lips, leaning back into her chair, before bringing out her notes. I leaned back into mine comfortably, before a realization hit me.

"Now that I think about it, I don't really know much about you, personally."

She snorted. "What's there to know?"

"What drives you, for starters?"

"The desire to not be poor." She said dryly.

I grinned. "Simple, but a worthy goal. So, how'd you plan on achieving this desire? What do you want to be when you grow older?"

"Neurosurgeon." She said without missing a beat.

"Neurosurgeon?" I repeated.

"Neurosurgeon." She confirmed. "Failing that, I'd prefer to become a Top Leading Astrophysicist at either Star Labs or Palmer Tech. If my foray into sciences doesn't pan out, my back up plan is to become a Prosecutor at a Top Law Firm – or failing that, an international fashion designer – or, my least likely goal as a politician –"

"Whoa whoa whoa," I gestured my hand out, "Someone's certainly not lacking any ambition." I said jokingly.

"I don't know what you're talking about." She said stuffily.

I laughed. "Not bad. Not bad at all. It's great to have big goals and dreams. It makes living so much more worth it."

Evelyn nodded slowly, analyzing me. "And you? What's your dream?"

I smiled at her.

"To become God."

Her nose scrunched up. "You're joking."

"I'm not."

She stared at me for a second.

"Okay, so you're definitely insane. That's nice to know."

"Aww, what's this, little-Eevee doesn't think I can do it?"

"One, I'm not a Pokémon. Two, obviously I don't think you can do it –"

Hold up –

"Wait, you know Pokémon?!"

"… Uh, yeah? Pokémon Go was like a major hit two years back –"

I sharpened my gaze at her.

"Have you heard of Dragonball? Naruto? One Piece?"

She shook her head. "You'd have to ask Lucian – he's the geek in the family."

… Amazing. Often times I forgot the possibility of other fictional worlds existing inside the fictional world that I currently was in. I'd gotten so used to people not having a damned clue as to where my references came from –

Yeah, I'd definitely need to look into this.

"Wait… could it be that you don't have any knowledge of pop culture either?"

I blinked at the question. "Er… you could say that."

Evelyn stared. "So you've never watched Terminator? Or Star Wars? Or Harry Potter? Or Lord of the Rings? Or even Back to the Future? Or –" she paused "Zack… why are you staring at me like that?"

"You… you know Lord of the Rings… You know Star Wars…"

"Of course I do! Why wouldn't – er - Zack – earth to Zack – you're kind of entering my personal spac – Zack – wait –gah! Why are you hugging me! Let go! This isn't funny Zack! Your face is too close! ZAAACK!"

XXXXXX

Brooks Household

Later That Evening

7:23 PM

Naomi Brooks felt it was certainly strange to watch the normally capable, normally upright, unflappable and confident teen named Zack Cabrera, have a large, impossible smile on his face. It wasn't to say that she never expected the boy to smile, it was just that she never expected him to smile so earnestly. It often felt like there was a wall between Zack and people, and although he tried to get close, there was something stopping him from doing so.

Except, today, she watched him, with an unbelievably large, genuine smile on his face, sit down in front of their TV, bring out their DVD player, and immediately insert a disc inside, giddily grinning and laughing as it came up.

The famous Disney song and logo came up, and Zack all but cackled with glee, making Naomi turn her attention to her daughter that stood beside her, a questioning look on her face.

"I don't think I've ever seen anyone get so excited to watch The Jungle Book before. What did you do to him?"

"Nothing!" Evelyn responded scandalously "Nothing! I mean – I told him that I'd watched Aladdin, and a bunch of other movies and he immediately went like this! I –" her voice became quiet, low, "I don't think he's ever watched them before. Any of them. He's heard of them… but…"

Pain and unease struck at Naomi's heart as she saw the sheer earnestness with which Zack gazed at the screen. It hit her, the realization of what she took for granted. As an orphan, and as one who practically raised himself, Zack had probably never watched any movies or TV shows – or even had time to as much as enjoy his childhood.

She listened to him sing The bare necessities of life and couldn't help the choked feeling in her throat at hearing the sheer happiness that filled him from watching a children's cartoon. His eyes and his posture, it looked as though the boy had found something he had been missing for years upon years, something that the thought he would never see again –

He was… happy.

There was a significant difference between this happiness he had and the 'happiness' he usually wore.

"I mean the – bare necessities – the simple bare necessities –"

"I… didn't think he'd be this…" Evelyn wanted to say something, but somehow failed. It was as though she could not properly articulate the words, or the meanings, or even knew what she would say and where she would begin to say it.

Her daughter wasn't stupid of course. She was smart. She was smart enough to know that someone as 'hardened' and serious as Zack becoming this cheery over an animation was not something you saw everyday. It was something endearing, until the reasons for why it happened reached into your throat and landed on your tongue like a bitter pill.

"Come on – let's… let him have his moment."

"Forget about your worries, and your strife!"

XXXXX

Gotham

Brooks Residence

2:12 AM

I wasn't going to get any sleep that night.

Ping!

Family [Side] Quest Complete!

History and Other Miscellaneous Facts

As per your agreement with Evelyn Brooks, you will receive bi-weekly updates on her work and studies, in exchange for solving her monetary problems.

Objective:

Meet Evelyn and find out what she has for you [Completed]

Bonus Objectives:

Chat With Evelyn [Complete]

Rediscover the Classics [Complete]

Divert Lucian Away [Complete]

Rewards:

Information on World's History Gained!

Classic Movies Gained!

Massively Increased Reputation with the Brooks Family!

Within the euphoria of back-to-back Disney movies and plain ol' classics, I'd somehow found myself sleeping over at the Brooks place once more. Surprisingly enough, I completed the quest, So far, my favorite movie to rediscover, which I was watching, again and again and again, was the Lion King. Particularly, the opening sequence.

"AHHHH TCHUMBA BABATITIBABA!"

"No, no, it's NANTS INGONYAMA BAGITHI BABA!"

"What? No way – it's totally RAAAWRR INTANA BOOBY TITTY BABYA!"

A pillow crashed into my head and I grinned at Evelyn, sitting on the couch in her pajamas, and rolling her eyes.

"Gods you're such a pervert."

Lucian was the first to rise to my defense. "Well of course he is! He's a guy! The coolest – manliest –"

"Ugh – really Lucian – if I didn't know any better – I'd say you really wanted to suck Zack's –"

"Language."

Lucian frowned. "What the fuck –"

"Language." I called out again, amused.

"Sorry," Lucian said, "Why the fuck –"

"No!"

I laughed, shaking my head at the twins. They were always at odds ends – until something came up in which they'd be the first ones to join forces.

"Well –" Evelyn rose from the couch, stretching and yawning. "I'm off to bed."

"What, is it 'past your bedtime' already?" Lucian asked in a babyish voice.

"I'll be the one laughing when you get detention for falling asleep in History class." Evelyn retorted.

"Whatever! Rules were meant to be broken! Live a little!"

"You're the one telling me to live a little? Last I checked, who still hasn't asked Anabelle out on a date?"

Lucian's face lit up. "S-s-shut up! You – you – graaah!"

"If grunting in anger is the best comeback you have, then you're a really sorry sight brother."

She laughed, her footsteps echoing softly on the staircase as Lucian sat, his face a red storm, as indiscriminate swear words spewed from his mouth in a stream. He turned his attention to me, before groaning.

"Graahh! It's – it's not what it sound like okay?"

"I have no idea what it's supposed to sound like."

"Well…" he started "There's this girl I like. She's really – really cool and pretty – she's a cheerleader. But she isn't like those other cheerleaders y'know? She's smart, and cute, and – and –

My lip twitched. "And?"

"And I like her okay?" He said with his cheeks flushed.

"Okay?" I said, my lip still twitching.

"It's not funny!"

"It's okay. So… you have a crush." I said, "Have you tried talking to her?"

"What? No way!" he said immediately.

"And… why?"

"Dude… she's like… totally out of my league. How would I even walk up to her? What would I even say?"

I rubbed my nose slowly as I stared at the confused bundle of hormones that was the thirteen-year-old boy in front of me.

"But I like her man! I really do! I want her to like me to – I want to be with her… I just don't know how I'm going to do it."

"Fascinating as this is," I said "Why are you telling me this?"

"Well…" he gave me a strange look, "You… look like you'd know a lot about this kind of stuff."

"I'm sorry?"

"Dude – don't make me say it." He groaned, "You – you look like a bloody chick magnet dude. You're hot – no homo – you can outcook my mom, and you've got this weird charisma about you. There's no way someone like you hasn't hooked up with a bunch of girls. Unless you're gay – but I don't think you are…" He paused, "Unless you weren't pranking me this afternoon."

"No, I'm not gay." I said, amusement on my lips. "You're right though. I've had my fair share of college girls and women before."

He turned to stare at me as though I was some sort of god-amongst-men. "College girls? No fricking way! But you're… you're…"

I shrugged a bit. "I like my women a little bit older. I've never actually tried girls my own age, though I'll probably give it a shot sooner or later. I doubt I'll like it though – teenage girls are annoying."

The stare grew, and it was slightly disconcerting.

"Teach me." He whispered.

I chuckled. "Alright padawan, let's get something straight first –"

"You finally watched Star Wars?!" he blurted out immediately, and I blinked as I turned back to him.

"Yes, I watched it today. Now, as I was saying," I shot him a mild look and he appeared sheepish, "Let's get something straight first. This girl you have a crush on, are you looking for a relationship, or do you just want to fuck her?"

He immediately spluttered, his face going red.

"Yeah – we're going to have to do something about that. Blushing and spluttering when talking about sex is a big 'no-no.'"

"I can't help it! I'm just thirteen and I've never even –" he stopped.

"You've never even… what?"

"Nothing!"

"…You've never had a girlfriend before, that much is obvious. And I'm guessing you've never seen or touched real breasts before. If that follows, I'm guessing it means you've never even been kissed before."

His face went red.

"At least tell me you can hug girls?"

He turned his gaze to the side.

"You've held a girl's hand before… right?"

His gaze turned further away, and I could do nothing but stare.

"At least you can talk to girls… right? Right?"

"I… talk to my sister? Does that count?"

"Do you plan on fucking your sister in the future?"

"Ew – gross – no!"

"Then it doesn't bloody count!" I stopped myself from getting any more irritated, and blatantly annoyed with the concept. Jesus – was I ever like this when I was thirteen in my past life? I couldn't remember. I certainly hope not. When I was thirteen in this world, I was setting down the foundations for my billion dollar company, and training my magical power to make people do my bidding.

It was strange, to listen to this – this travesty. Was this what it was like for a real thirteen year old? To be a nervous bundle of emotions who couldn't even talk to someone because they were a different gender?

"What about your friends? Don't tell me everyone in your little group is filled with people who can't talk to girls?"

He let out a soft mumbling grumble. "…anyfriends."

"What was that?"

"I said I don't have any friends! Okay?" he yelled "You gonna laugh and get angry at me for that too?"

I opened my mouth to reply, but then closed it immediately. I wanted to ask him how it was possible for someone to have no friends, when the overwhelming irony hit me.

This was the second time in a short while that my lack of friends and acquaintances was brought up.

Nezumi, the closest thing I had to a companion was still more or less my minion and butler than he was my friend. I'd once spent entire years in isolation from any sort of interaction with anyone, and even afterwards, I did not speak to anyone. I did not even have any allies to speak of, yet alone acquaintances.

Had I really been alone for seventeen straight years?

Did I truly, absolutely, have not a single person, on this planet of seven billion, in this universe of quadrillions, who I could have talked to, spoken with, invited out for a drink, or cracked a joke with?

It left a somewhat bitter taste in my mouth. Even if the world was fake – even if every outcome was predetermined and destiny was a lie –

Did I really have not one soul?

Hmmm… I'd have to look into befriending some of the villains sometime. At the very least, the Yellow Lantern Corps guys would make some good drinking buddies. Or maybe I could organize a party with Lex Luthor?

"I wasn't going to laugh." I answered, unsure of what I would say next. "I understand. I understand what it's like."

"You… do?"

"What's with that skepticism?" I asked dryly, "In case you've forgotten, I have no parents, I lived on the streets, and I've been taking care of myself since I was half your age. You think someone like me would have time to sit down, have some drinks and chat about how swell life was?"

"Oh."

"In any case, we're going to fix that little problem of yours."

"Fix?" he asked, "How?"

I grinned.

"I may have a few ideas."

XXXXXX

Gotham City

Iceberg Lounge

Strip Club

3:41 AM

"Remember, don't do anything to draw attention to yourself. Don't say anything a kid would say. Don't say anything a kid wouldn't say. Be cool, smooth – and you may just end up having a good time."

It was an issue of pride, and a bit of stubborn sentimental bitterness that kept me from owning a nightclub or a bar or brothel of my own. It reminded me too much of my mother, and it reminded me of a past I wanted to forget. So, I never bought one, Legend Industries never purchased one, and not even Zeddicus Zul Zorander/The Consultant owned one. Hence, if I wanted to go to a lounge to 'relax' in Gotham City of all places, I ended up having to go to the ones that were already 'owned' by several people.

Case in point, this one, as I, Zack Cabrera, entered the infamous den of The Penguin, the Iceberg Lounge. The thing was, however, as I stood at the gate and stared at the burly bouncer, my young protégé behind me in a masterful illusionary disguise that even he himself was not aware of, I smiled at the bouncer, and he nodded at me.

"A pleasure, Overlord Master."

I tilted my head, and dragged the stary-eyed, nervous-as-hell thirteen year old in behind me.

My agents had infiltrated the Penguin's base. Actually, more accurately, my agents had infiltrated everywhere in Gotham. There was no place, no store, no market, no shop, no salon, no business center, no swimming pool, hotel, brothel, school, hospital, or anywhere, that did not have my homunculi. They replaced people, loved ones, or merely inserted themselves as 'newcomers' to the city.

Right now, a husband or wife was kissing their significant other, having no idea that the person with them was merely an identical clone of their loved one, down to every subconscious attitude, behavior and tick.

Ah, an interesting horror story it was, but, I came here to man-up Lucian, not to bask in the glory of my conquest.

"I – I can't believe it! He let me enter! He let you enter! Why did he –"

"Let's just say, I pulled a special favor." I said to Lucian, before dragging him forward a bit. "Now, tonight, we're going to let you have something that most boys your age can only dream about."

He turned to me, eyes wide. "Really? What?"

I pointed straight ahead.

"That."

It was strange, how seeing strippers dance on a pole brought me a weird sense of discomfort. There was no arousal, no fascination, just a plain, mechanical sense of observation. Their bodies, gyrating, their hips and breasts, swaying, even as they gestured eyes to their sacred parts that was covered with enough fabric to obscure their hidden contents, but little enough to leave so much to the imagination.

"Ah – ah – my – wow – that's –"

A small part of me questioned the ethics of bringing a kid to a strip club. At least, until I caught Lucian's starry-eyed gaze and then shook my head. If only he knew what his mother was like back in the day –

"Um… I – er – Zack – I think –"

"You have a boner."

His face went red. "Don't just say it like that! It's – I mean – is this awkward? What if they see – what if –"

"Lucian. Relax." I said, tapping the boy gently on his shoulder. "At a strip club, no one cares if you have a boner. Just don't wave it around, don't make it obvious, don't stare at other people's boners – and don't walk funny. Play it off. Calm. Collected."

He took in a deep breath.

"Calm. Right. Calm – Calm. Calm. Ca – aahhh, there's a girl – she's walking towards me –"

Right on cue, a young woman, with thick raven locks, sparkling blue eyes, a wide smile, full hips and breasts approached us, a smile on her face.

"Hey handsome! You want a private dance?"

I smirked a bit, before turning to Lucian.

"Actually, my friend here would love one. Wouldn't you?"

"Ah? Me? I – ah –"

The woman giggled. "Aw, he's just the cutest thing." She winked at him. "Don't worry, I'll take good care of you."

She grabbed Lucian's arm, pulling him towards her, while the boy in question looked more confused and awkward than ever.

"Zack," he mouthed "Help me!"

"Have fun!" I mouthed back.

The woman, turned to me, a sharp expression on her face, as she sent a mental note.

Aphrodite Division Agent 86. I will ensure no harm comes to your ward, Overlord Master.

I nodded. See to it that you teach him well.

Like I was going to leave a thirteen year old kid out on his own in a place like this. The strippers would eat him up and attempt to gobble him for every penny he had. Better to let one of my Agents 'show him the ropes' so to speak. Better yet still, she'd provide him with the necessary tools needed in seduction and pleasuring a woman. I highly doubted a night's session would be enough to turn the thirteen year old into Johnny-fucking-Bravo, but it should be enough to eliminate his initial awkwardness, fear, and shyness of the opposite sex. Exposure therapy, as I would like to call it.

There was no way you would be shy to talk to a possibly flat-chested, developing thirteen-year-old girl if you'd just spent the previous night having sex with a well-endowed, beautiful woman out of your league.

Or at least, that was the general idea.

Although… having his first time with a female homunculus would probably ruin all other sexual experiences in the future with regular women… considering the whole 'shape-shifting' part of their ability and the fact that they could 'change' down there to be whatever was most pleasurable…

Meh. It'd all work out in the end.

Eventually.

I focused my attention back on my immediate surroundings. Other than making Lucian a man – there wasn't really much left for me to do here. Unless, of course, picking up some interesting new game to spend the night with –

But at the same time, I needed to make sure that I got Lucian back home before either Naomi or Evelyn discovered we were missing. I highly doubted they'd approve…

If the two major females in his life would not approve of this activity, did that mean that it was wrong?

I pursed my lips.

Was what I was doing good or bad?

He'd be the envy of guys his age and be considered a lucky bastard blessed by gods above if people found out how he lost his virginity – but at the same time, if I flipped the gender a bit, it became a bit more worrying…

Where was the quest window when you needed it to answer a moral dilemma for you?

Ping!

That was eerily convenient.

New Main Quest!

… That was also not what I was expecting.

Justice and Vengeance

In a Just World, all evil is punished, and all good deeds are rewarded. The world may be anything but Just, but, there are those who attempt their best to make it so. Some of them happen to be rather powerful, and, as of this moment, are homing in your location to deliver what they believe to be Justice… or Vengeance.

Main Objective

Survive

Optional Objective

Defeat or Evade your attackers

Rewards:

You Live To Fight Another Day

Failure:

Death. Incarceration. Insanity Beyond All Imaginable Limits.

Eternal Life as A Cockroach. Randomized Infinite Suffering.

It Varies on His Mood.

… On his mood?

…What?

A sharp ringing immediately hit my ears and I winced at the force of the mental communication.

"MASTER ZACK!" I heard Nezumi roar "THERE IS A –"

The words cut off abruptly as everything stopped.

Everything.

The world seemed to have come to an absolute standstill.

The strippers were in gravity defying poses. The people and dancers around me were stuck in those moments. The very air became stale and motionless. There was no movement of anything or anyone.

The hairs on my body stood on edge. An uneasy cold filled the air. My every breath produced a haze of mist.

And then, a voice spoke.

"Isaac Zachariah Cabrera."

I froze.

Appearing in front of me, hovering, with the familiar green cloak and imperceptible features, was one of the few individuals in this world I did not want to meet.

Name: The Spectre

HP: Does Not Apply

MP: Infinite

Level: EX

Age: Does Not Apply

Race: Divinity

Occupation: Vengeance of God

Title: The Spirit of Vengeance

Affiliations: The Innocent, Justice League, Justice Society of America, Heaven, The Presence

Base of Operations: Unknown

Alignment: Lawful

ATTRIBUTES

Strength: EX

Vitality: EX

Dexterity: EX

Charisma: EX

Intelligence: EX

Wisdom: EX

Luck: EX

Bio

Do you believe a worm such as yourself can view the history of the Vengeance of God?

…ha.

Hahaha.

Ha.

…The DC Universe was bullshit.