Crackle! Crackle!
The sky darkens as sparks of blue lightning dance across the rooftop, filling the air with an ominous charge. The lightning crackles, arcing unpredictably, casting a shimmering azure haze that flickers in and out like a pulse, alive with energy. Shadows shift and distort with each surge of light, warping the scenery into a surreal landscape of chaos.
Zap! Zap!
Suddenly, the sound of rushing wind rips through the air, followed by a streak of red and orange that blazes a path across the rooftop. The air crackles with kinetic energy as The Flash materializes, his form vibrating slightly as the residual speed still courses through him. His face is stern, his eyes fixed on the figure before him—his nemesis.
"Put her down," The Flash says in a voice that is firm yet measured, holding a tone meant to de-escalate the situation but with an uncompromising undertone.
Crackle! Crackle!
Across from him stands Zoom, electricity flaring from his form in sharp, erratic bursts. His pitch-black eyes, their eerie emptiness, devoid of any discernible emotion, lock onto The Flash's. A distorted, inhuman chuckle escapes Zoom's lips, the sound as fractured and jagged as his lightning.
"You like to fish with bait," Zoom mocks, his voice reverberating with an eerie distortion, as though multiple layers of sound overlap. Sparks crackle around him, skittering across the rooftop tiles.
Zoom's grip on Linda tightens as she dangles precariously over the edge of the building. Her eyes are wide with terror, her lips trembling as suppressed whimpers turn into shallow, shaky breaths, her body stiff from shock. The world below seems so distant, an abyss that threatens to swallow her whole.
"I... do... too," Zoom continues, the words dripping with sadistic pleasure. Without hesitation, he releases Linda, his hand letting go with a casualness that belies the atrocity.
"AHHHHHHH!"
Linda's scream rips through the air, her arms flailing as gravity takes hold. The Flash's eyes widen in an instant, but his body moves faster than thought—his form dissolves into a blur of red and gold as he throws himself off the roof, chasing after her.
Swoosh!
Wind howls around him as he spirals downward at blinding speed. As soon he reaches the ground, The Flash twists his arm in a lightning-fast circular motion. His hand blurs, and soon his entire arm spins in a vortex, creating a localized whirlwind that begins to slow Linda's rapid descent.
The tornado buffers her fall, reducing her speed enough for The Flash to catch her mid-air, his arms cradling her gently. Her terrified eyes meet his as he lowers her safely to the ground.
"Go," he says, his voice soft, dismissing her fears for his safety. "Get out of here."
Linda hesitates for a moment, looking back at him with wide, fearful eyes, but then she takes off, disappearing into the distance.
The Flash straightens, turning his attention back to Zoom, who has casually descended the building like a specter, his distorted aura of lightning following him in ghostly arcs. The two adversaries lock eyes.
For a long moment, the rooftop is eerily silent. Then, without warning, The Flash turns and races away in a blur of red.
Zoom tilts his head ever so slightly, his dark, soulless eyes following The Flash as he runs. His black suit, crackling with violent, black-blue energy, stands out against the night sky as he watches The Flash circle Star Labs from a distance.
Seconds later, The Flash comes to a sudden stop, clutching his streak of lightning, now pulsating with raw kinetic energy. With a swift, powerful motion, he hurls the lightning bolt directly at Zoom, the energy crackling violently through the air as it races toward its target.
"Ha."
A mocking, distorted laugh escapes Zoom's lips. In a display of effortless agility, Zoom rushes forward with a burst of speed. He flips over the lightning bolt, catching it mid-air with a single hand. The electricity crackles as Zoom twists his wrist, hurling the bolt back toward The Flash with even greater force.
Boom!
The Flash barely has time to react. The lightning bolt crashes into him, sending him flying into a nearby electric sign with a deafening crash. The metal frame of the sign warps and bends, the force of the impact denting it as sparks rain down in a cascade of light.
Zoom remains in the throwing posture for a second longer, then gradually straightens into his usual nonchalant stance. His dark aura ripples, his lightning dancing restlessly around him.
"What do you want from me?" The Flash groans as he picks himself up from the wreckage, his body still vibrating with residual energy.
In his demonic, distorted voice, Zoom replies, "Everything."
A cold laugh escapes The Flash's lips. "You want to be like me? You think you can be a hero?"
Crackle! Crackle!
Zoom steps forward menacingly. "Heroes die," he hisses.
***
Crackle!
The sound of pages turning echoes in the vast silence of the Grand Oak Library. Dust motes swirl in the dim, golden light, their paths twisted by unseen currents. It's been over a week since Aizen was forced into this world. He has spent the past few days reading all twenty-seven thousand, four hundred sixty-two books in the library.
As he turns the final page of the last book, he taps the wooden surface of the table with his fingers, and the book lifts itself off the table, gliding through the air to slot into its proper place on the shelves.
Aizen had placed the entire library, along with its inhabitants, under an illusion—an elaborate web that ensured no interruptions. Even the books checked out by library members had temporarily materialized in his presence, their information absorbed into the recesses of his mind.
As he idly fiddles with a strand of his silver hair, his gaze drifts over the polished mahogany table before him, but his thoughts are far away, lost in contemplation.
***
"Superheroes," I think to myself, the word rolling around in my mind with a touch of amusement. I can't help but chuckle softly.
"Superman—a naïve idealist with a tendency to hold back to maintain his 'humanity.'
Batman, from the books Histories of Gotham, Prodigal Playboy, and Rise of Wayne, is most likely none other than Bruce Wayne. A man who has overcome human frailty through intellect and preparation—quite commendable. But in the face of overwhelming power, such methods are mere clever tricks. His resolve is admirable, but ultimately, he's still bound by human weakness.
The Flash... an interesting test subject.
Aquaman, a ruler tied to his throne, bound by the desires of his people. His power is limited to the ocean, confined by the needs of others. He is little more than a prisoner with a crown.
And, Wonder Woman..." I pause, my eyes narrowing. "Gods, huh? Interesting."
As I continue mulling over the power structures, key figures, governments, heroes, villains, histories, and philosophies of this world, I can't help but marvel at how fragile it all is. A delicate balance of power—one nudge in the wrong direction, and this world could collapse into ash and ruin.
My thoughts drift back to the scene from broken time fragments—the desolate ruins.
The smirk on my lips grows, and I speak softly, "I've only recently joined the game... let's not tilt the board just yet."
Tapping the table once more, a nearby computer materializes before me. I delve into my memory, rummaging through the volumes I've read. After a few seconds of thought, my fingers begin flying across the keyboard, strings of data and lines of code blurring past.
"The pieces on the board are tricky to deal with, let alone the entities behind them. Just from what I've gathered so far, it's already thought-provoking how many powerful beings exist in this world."
Wonder Woman alone could make me ponder for days. It seems that the texts citing the Greek Pantheon are more than just tales. But if so, what about the other pantheons?
Crack!
I can't help but hit the space bar a little too hard when I think of Christian mythology. 'Yahweh'—a name I'm careful not to speak aloud, cautious of the machinations behind it.
Omniscient. Omnipotent. Omnipresent... Frankly, I don't believe it. But in a world filled with unknown variables, who knows?
Regardless, the first step is naturally to become a piece on the board. And in a place like America, what better way than to buy your way in?
***
With a final keystroke, I complete my rudimentary self-learning AI.
It's based on reinforcement learning (RL)—an AI that interacts with its environment and learns through trial and error. I name it "Zero." Its goal is to maximize long-term rewards, gradually improving its decision-making by associating actions with rewards. In the early stages, it will explore by trying random actions, but over time, it will shift to exploiting what it has learned.
I used a simple Q-learning algorithm. Zero maintains a table of expected rewards for different actions and updates it based on experience. However, basic self-learning AIs are slow and limited in their ability to generalize across complex environments.
That's why...
Click!
I press the enter key, infusing the code with an illusion that morphs the computer into a pair of silver-framed glasses. Gently stroking the glasses, I place them on.
Strings of data whiz by at immeasurable speeds in a holographic display before me.
After a minute, the data coalesces into a simple greeting in large blue 3D font: [Greetings, Creator].
"Greetings, Zero," I respond mentally, "Display your current functions."
[Affirmative.]
---
List of Functions:
A) RECORD ALL DATA GATHERED FROM REFLECTED LIGHT PARTICLES
B) SEMI-INFINITE MEMORY CAPACITY
C) 98,456 QUBITS OF CALCULATION CAPACITY
D) 2-DIMENSIONAL INFINITE STORAGE
E) SELF-AWARENESS
F) DIGITAL SEMI-OMNIPRESENCE
G) DIGITAL SEMI-OMNISCIENCE
---
"Explain your 2-dimensional storage," I command mentally.
[As long as an object exists as a 2D material, it can be stored.]
My eyebrow raises in intrigue. "Interesting... Graphene, for example, is considered 2D since it consists of a single atomic layer. Can you store Graphene?"
[NEGATIVE. GRAPHENE'S ATOMS ARE 3-DIMENSIONAL IN NATURE.]
"Ah, so only 'truly' 2D materials," I muse aloud, the corners of my mouth curling into a thoughtful smirk. "In other words, nothing in this material plane can be stored. Perfect."
With a casual flick of my wrist, I summon a miniature black hole in the palm of my hand, its event horizon shimmering as it bends light around it. My eyes narrow in concentration as I focus on the singularity's point of no return, my mind straining to push beyond the physical realm into the theoretical.
I feel a slight mental strain as I push my spiritual energy toward the singularity. After what feels like an eternity, I succeed—establishing a connection between the singularity's entry point and Zero's 2D storage space.
Breathing a sigh of relief, I break off a piece of the table and toss it into the black hole. As soon as it enters...
[Broken wood fragment: 1.15×10^25 atoms]
Stroking my hair calmly, I gather my thoughts. "As expected. Since a singularity isn't spatially extended in any direction, for an object to enter that space, it must confine itself in that 'zero dimension,' making it capable of entering a 2D space.
As for why this is important...
Any random entity on my level or higher, as long as they exist in dimensions similar to my own, could meddle with my possessions. But now..."
I casually toss the black hole in the air, then force it back down with my spiritual pressure before catching it like a tennis ball.
"...without this specific singularity."
I clench my fist, and the black hole collapses into nothingness.