Chapter 4

The next day arrived much quicker than I wanted it to, but nonetheless, it still arrived…luckily. The sun's beams which shone through a sun roof window seemed to hit everything in the room. Except me. Typical. I sat up and outstretched my arms while also yawning in the process. Today was the day that we embarked to find and kill the first villain on our long list. I lightly tapped Grace on the shoulder, and the instant my finger touched her bare shoulder, she woke up and turned to look at me. At the sight of my face, she smiled gently and proceeded to sit up, her eyes still narrow from just waking up. Why the hell didn't she wake up this easily last night? If Oblivion had walked in on me and her sleeping together he would have gotten the wrong idea instantly.

"Good morning, my lord. Did you sleep well last night?" She asked.

Her face was uncomfortably close to mine. Is she getting the wrong idea now? She better not be. For her own sake. Now, I'm warning you, reader, when you hear this next part, you BETTER NOT start shipping me and Grace. Alright. Here we go. You can do this, Wayne. Just tell them the story to its fullest. Her warm breath hit my chest, making me even more uncomfortable. I don't know how, but it also seemed like her face was growing closer and closer to mine. This is weird.

"I-uh-yeah. I did. H-how about you?" I asked nervously.

Grace placed her hand on mine and- Nope. You know what? You? Haha…you aren't paying me enough to say this shit. Skipping to when we left, pretty much, long story short, she kept getting closer, and I eventually got her off of me. We both made our way down the stairs and to the dining hall, where we found Oblivion, sitting in the chair next to the head, which was my seat. In Oblivion's hands, he was holding a strange looking box. Could it have been…? Oblivion stood up and bowed when he saw us. I raised a hand, and he immediately sat back down. Finally some decent respect around here. Grace shows me respect, just in…different ways. Grace walked ahead of me and pulled out my seat for me to sit down, in which I did, but as Grace went to go and make food, I grabbed her arm and dragged her back to the table. We were going to skip breakfast this morning, for we had bigger things to discuss. Grace took her seat, and looked up at me.

"Today, we will be embarking on our conquest. Last night, Oblivion, I had you build me, or at least attempt to build me, the TimeWatch, which would be highly beneficial to defeating our first villain. Grace. I assume you already know who it is?" I asked.

Grace nodded and tapped on the table twice, making a large hologram appear of our target. He was intimidating to look at, but I knew that I couldn't have any fear if I was to go on this journey of a thousand miles.

"Erebos, the lord of shadows. He's widely infamous for his anti-hero behavior. While he is able to move at unimaginable speeds, he also has a very big weakness, and that is his honor." Grace tapped on a file, "In the past, villains who came to challenge Erebos died in a 1-on-1 sword fight, which all began from Erebos's challenge. If his opponent breaks the honor by cheating, the divinity that rests in the temple where the sword fight happens strikes down the cheater." Grace read aloud from the file.

Oblivion cupped his chin with one hand and examined Erebos. Honor. What a pathetic weakness. If you want to be a villain, you will not disgrace the title of villain by having honor. You fight to win, and you will win by any means necessary.

"So we would need to draw him out of the temple for a fight? Then use the TimeWatch to ambush him, correct?" Oblivion asked.

Grace nodded.

"Indeed. Wayne, you will have to be the one to get him outside, then I will be the one to activate the-"

"Hold on there, princess." Oblivion cut Grace off.

Oh boy. Here we go. This should be interesting. Fun thing to note about Grace, she despises being cut off by anyone…except me of course. I glanced at Grace and saw that her eyes had flared a bit. Yep, she was definitely mad.

"I was the one who built the stopwatch, so I should be the one to activate it! Who ever said you were going to?" Oblivion crossed his arms.

Ah, right, I completely forgot to even see if he had built the TimeWatch. Before the two began arguing, I slammed a hand on the table and stood up, looking at Oblivion.

"That reminds me, Oblivion, let me see the watch. I want to see if you really did build it or not." I said, holding my hand out.

Without hesitation, Oblivion slid the box over to me. The box was a shiny silver with a symbol engraved into the bottom right corner of the lid. The box itself was built like a wedding ring box. I slowly opened the box and inside, there it was. The TimeWatch. He really did build it. At the sight of it, I nearly dropped the box, but managed to keep my grip. Grace leaned to the side to try and get a look at the device. I hesitated to show her, knowing that she had been waiting to attempt to build the watch for quite a while now. Oblivion shrugged and sighed proudly.

"It didn't take me that long to construct the thing. After about 2 hours, I had the device fully operational, so I just came here and slept."

I must say, I was impressed. Not only did he build it correctly, he also did it in such a short amount of time. I pulled out the TimeWatch and felt it with my hands. The back of the watch was smooth and cool, probably because the steel was still partly fresh and untouched for a while. The front of the watch had a standard clock interface, but with a small gear on the bottom of the watch that could be turned to control the interval of how long time should be stopped for. I spun the dial until the minute hand and the hour hand were at the top, then pressed the button at the top of the stopwatch, activating it. Sure enough, all of time around me stopped. I stood up and walked towards Oblivion, who was statue still. The thought of how easy it would be to kill him now did in fact cross my mind at least once or twice, but before I could do anything Oblivion jumped forward towards me, making me blink. What the hell?

"Must be wondering how I'm moving, well, while I was designing the watch, I realized something that could be a problem, but could also not. It depends on how you look at it, and from what angle." Oblivion said.

While he stood up, he tapped a button on a device that wrapped around his neck. A very bright and blue aura surrounded Oblivion after he pushed the button. I stepped forward and tapped on the aura, which rippled like water when touched. Ah, I see what it is now. It's complete and utter nonsense and a waste of materials. But wait, he did say something bad happens when the watch activates…could this aura be-

"A time and space reflector. Whomever is caught inside of this shield, which is really just a manually torn pocket between time and space, can withstand any stoppage of time…and all matter defects that take place when time is stopped." Oblivion stated.

I kind of figured that. I looked down at my hand to see that it started to sort of glitch out and deform slightly. He was right. Time and space does deform all matter that breaks its rules. I pressed the button on the stopwatch again, and all of time resumed. My hand returned to its normal state a few seconds after time resumed. What a wonderful invention to have. The only problem with this damned watch is the fact that there's a chance of death if the watch is used long enough. Grace saw the watch in my hand and stood up, wanting to ask something about it, but before she could, Oblivion tapped on something on the table, and a larger detailed file of Erebos, and that's when I saw how he was able to move so incredibly fast: He could control his own personal time pocket.

"Erebos is actually rather slow, when we look at it in a way that doesn't involve time." Oblivion said, pointing to a paragraph under the Powers section.

I cupped my chin. That's interesting. I had never known anything about that before. Oblivion was proving to be far more useful than some measly engineer after all. In my peripheral vision, I noticed that Grace had seemed a bit uneasy about Oblivions current knowledge, or at least I think that's what she was uneasy about. Should have known that she would be the first one to get upset about a newcomer having such a wide range of knowledge. Not to my surprise, she stood up and pointed to something else in the powers section.

"I would have to agree to disagree, Oblivion. While Erebos is able to control his own perspective of time, he is still incredibly fast, easily able to exceed mach 10, so simply getting him out of his time pocket would do nothing for us." Grace replied stoically, trying to hide her feelings.

He's that fast, yet he still uses a time pocket to strike his opponents at unimaginable speeds. So technically, this son of a bitch can move faster than time. Now don't get me wrong, I've fought fast opponents before, like Galaxus, but fighting someone like Erebos, who was infamous for almost beating Galaxus and some other top of the line heroes, I knew that this would be one helluva fight…

"What if we didn't fight him?" I asked.

Grace and Oblivion both turned their heads towards me. I didn't look back up at them and instead tapped on the biography of Erebos. If I get this right, we won't have to fight such a formidable foe. Sure enough, in his biography, it said clearly that Erebos only ever fought other villains that wanted to fight him. I pointed this out.

"Look here. Erebos's overwhelming sense of honor always used to get the best of him, like when he fought Galaxus, the only reason he had lost was because he gave Galaxus a chance to stand so that he could, in his own words, 'be given a fair chance'."

Oblivion opened his mouth to say something, but I held my hand up in response, cutting him off. He was beginning to forget his place, and THAT is, as Sonic would say, no good.

"Don't forget, Oblivion, that you are still my slave and the man who killed my mother. Just because you built something impressive doesn't mean you get to think of yourself as an equal to us." I said.

Grace seemed happy with my remark, while Oblivion did not. Not my fault if he gets upset with my words, he deserves every bit of hatred for all I care. Oblivion fell backwards into his chair and remained silent. At that very moment I looked up at the clock on the wall and noticed the time. Well shoot. It was already noon...IT WAS ALREADY NOON!!! I jumped up and looked at Grace, who looked back at me, confused. Typical.

"Is something wrong m'lord?" Grace asked.

I pointed to the clock on the wall.

"The time. What time is it?" I replied.

Grace looked up at the clock and an eyebrow raised. Upon seeing the time, her eyebrow lowered again and she looked back at me, still oblivious to what I was trying to point out.

"12:05. Is there a problem with the time, my liege?" She asked again.

Oh my god. I knew she was stupid, but this was ridiculous. Taking a deep breath, I clapped my hands together and walked towards Grace, Oblivion waiting for the coming storm. At least he was smarter than Grace was. As I stood over Grace, my hands together, only one thought ran through my mind…

"Grace. Darling. What are we doing today?" I asked calmly.

Grace quickly glanced over at Oblivion, who shook his head, denying her help. When she looked back at me, I was even closer to her face than I was before. I could see a bead of sweat start to form on her forehead. This was growing intense for no real reason very fast. After realizing this, I took a step back and put my hands behind my back, sighing.

"Just…go and get in the jet. We're leaving. And Oblivion." I looked over at Oblivion.

Oblivion stood up and locked eyes with me, anticipation resting gently on his stare.

'Resting gently.'

Yeah now that I say that, those words don't really add much depth to the imagery I'm trying to make, huh? Alright then.

…anticipation in his stare. He probably knew what I was going to say, but no matter, he still needed to hear it from my lips directly. I hesitated before I spoke. Why? Who knows? I probably felt bad for what I was about to say. Eventually after a few moments of staring, I sighed and let my head drop. I outstretched my arm, pointing towards the door.

"Go get in the damned jet you mother killer. No way in hell will I leave you here all by yourself." I said, seething through my teeth.

Without another word, Oblivion stood up and moved quickly out of the room. As I sat by myself in the room at the head of the table, I glanced up at the clock again. It felt like just yesterday that we were relaxing, and now we immediately have to leave to go and do this conquest. No one else would understand the reasoning for my rushed self, because no one else is a great villain like I am.

"I wish I could just have my own pocket of time, at least then I'll be able to seclude myself…completely…" I said to myself.

That's when I realized it. Of course! Why didn't I think of it before?! I stood up and ran out of the room quickly towards the jet. As I entered the large warehouse room, which was still chill from the cool morning air, I ran up to Grace and Oblivion who were getting themselves into the jet.

"Wait, Grace! I have an idea." I shouted up at her.

Grace turned around and looked down at me, patiently awaiting my wondrous idea. She'll see me as the greatest leader after this…well she already should've seen me as the greatest leader beforehand but whatever.

"Yes, m'lord?" She asked

"You and Oblivion said that Erebos has his own small pocket between time and space, which allows for him to move so incredibly fast. Am I wrong about that?" I asked in return.

"That is correct, yes. Why do you ask?"

"Because…what if I had my own pocket between time and space, but on a much more accurate scale…"

Clapping my hands together, the room went dark and a hologram of a blank canvas appeared in front me. On either side of the hologram in front of me as well there were small technological pieces that could create a larger piece of machinery. Grace stepped forward and cocked her head, confused as to what I was trying to get at. Once again, my superior intellect is too much for other plebeians to withstand. I started to move different items from the tool boxes on either side of the canvas and put them together, making a small wristwatch. As the final product started to appear, Grace realized what I was making and put her hands on her hips.

"Ohhh you want to build a device that gives you the ability to access your own pocket between space and time! Of course! You're a genius, sir!" She exclaimed

I crossed my arms and sneered at the device in front of me, not giving Grace the time of day. She doesn't deserve a direct look from an absolute chad like me.

"Of course I am. Now, let's get-"

"It's not possible." Oblivion called from inside the jet.

You've gotta be joking. I looked up at the jet, annoyed. This guy thinks he can tell ME what's possible and what's not?! I'll show him. I'll show him it's possible with a refute that can NEVER be beaten!

"Yes it is!" I shouted back.

"No. It's not." Oblivion instantly replied, peeking his head out of the cockpit, arrogance smeared all over his disgustingly…pretty face.

I took a deep breath and clapped my hands together. There was a moment of silence.

"Yes it-"

"No it's not."

"GET OUT OF THE GODDAMN JET THIS INSTANT!!!" I roared at him.

Grace took five steps backwards, knowing full well about the storm that was coming for Oblivion, who started to climb out of the jet. When his feet hit the ground, he stood straight up and crossed his arms. I approached him, my fists trembling with anger.

"Oblivion. You wanna explain to me why you think you have any right to argue with me when you're the one who murdered my mother and lost in a fight against me?!" I asked as calmly as possible.

Oblivion shrugged sassily. This mother-

"I already told you, Ebon can move at MACH 10 even when in his pocket. You'd have to have incredible speeds just to be able to track his movements." Oblivion said.

That's true, he did say that. Shit. I rubbed my eyes in annoyance, and without another word, pointed to the jet. Oblivion turned and jumped back into the jet, as well as Grace. This is proving to be far more challenging than I hoped for it to be. As I entered the jet, I moved to get into the Co-Pilot seat, and buckled myself in, checking the time. We had 30 minutes to get there before the plan backfires completely. I looked to Grace who was prepping the jet controls, and then over my shoulder to Oblivion who was toying with an assault rifle like it was a childrens toy. Looking forward again, I could see my reflection in the windshield…and my mother as well. Her hand rested on my shoulder and she smiled gently, which filled me with ease and tranquility.

Mom. All that I am doing now is for you. Galaxus took you away from me, and now I'm going to make sure that no one takes him out but me, and only me.

Upon thinking this, my mothers smile turned from a smile into a frown, then let go of my shoulder and turned away, disappearing from the windshield reflection. I snapped back to reality at the touch of Grace's hand on my shoulder.

"Sir, are you alright? I've called your name at least 10 times by now. Are you rethinking your conquest?" She asked.

"Of course not. I am doing this no matter what, and nothing will stop me. Galaxus's pathetic life will fall into MY hands alone!!!" I replied, determination on my tone.

The sight of my mother frowning and turning away stuck in my mind for a few minutes more. As the jet took off, for just a moment, I thought I saw my mother again, with a disappointed look on her face.

I am doing this no matter what, and nothing will stop me.

That's right. Nothing will stop me. I closed my eyes and cleared my mind, and when I opened them, she was gone once again. Nothing will stop me from doing this.

…not even you, mother…