Chapter 118 : Very bad trip
Author note : Hello, my fellow citizens of the world ! Hope the climate change isn't too bad for you. It's kinda cooking me slowly… Then again, it might be just the heat of summer ! Stay hydrated and don't stay in the heat too long ! And if, like me AC is too costly or simply unavailable but you have an electric fan, get a towel wet and put yourself in front of it with it : it'll cool you right off !
Don't really know why I'm writing this… Instead, come visit my Patréon page : search for Cathbel or use this link https://www.patre*n.com/user?
You'll find advanced chapters of my stories, and exclusive stories such as 'Reborn as Lex Luthor' whose 5th chapter was posted. And of course, you'll also find my original stories like 'Splinter's Tale' ! Enjoy and see you around !
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As Ned glimpsed at Volthoom floating in space in the distance, he was brought back to the moment when the Metal had taken over. At the time, he couldn't tell what was happening. It was an insidious evil, worming its way through his psyche, making him dumber and dumber, oblivious to the fact that most of his motor and cognitive functions were being taken over.
But when Sombra started to dissociate, or rather copy his consciousness… He became aware. For the first time in months perhaps. And he felt fear. Fear that he would be forever a slave to this… higher consciousness, this collective of AIs and robotic intellects. Facing Volthoom, even though the thing hadn't yet laid eyes or even his interest on him, he dreaded falling to the same situation.
He shook his head. Time had passed since then. Not only did he leave behind his status as a flesh-bag, he also worked tirelessly for months on contingencies against mind manipulation powers and magic. Therefore, he believed that even someone like the First Lantern wouldn't be able to read his mind and use his emotional traumas against him…
Suddenly, an unknown voice resounded in everyone's mind - or, at least, those who had one to begin with.
« I am finally free ! And there are so many people for me to play with… » The immortal looked at the battle unfolding around him and tilted his head : « These things… They feel familiar. And not amusing at all… » He snapped his fingers, and suddenly, the third army was no more, blown to bits.
Then, everyone that was left… They all felt like Volthoom was looking at them specifically. It might as well be the case. Ned, who, if he had been able to, would feel the sweat flowing down his body, dreaded the situation anew. They were in the void of space and while all Lanterns had the ability to generate their own atmosphere to survive, the First Lantern was doing something different. He was projecting his thoughts directly into everyone's mind… Which also meant that his prided defenses were completely useless against this guy ! Ned doubted he even paid attention to them…
In addition, he wondered about what he just saw. Although killing a few drones of the third army was not difficult, Volthoom had eradicated them all. Erased them. Could he believe his eyes or was this also a trick played on his mind ? Did the Emotional spectrum really allow those attuned to it to simply reshape reality as they saw fit ?
Volthoom's voice sliced through Ned's interrogation like the sharpest sword through paper :
« What a peculiar existence you are… How interesting ! How amusing ! »
Like a revolving lantern, Ned experienced his whole life backward, up until his birth… and even beyond. He had no doubt that the First Lantern was going through every single one of his memories with a fine tooth comb, and this terrified him. What could this man do with the knowledge held in his mind ?
He heard a scoff in his mind.
« The knowledge you hold is not even a mirror image of the reality. It is an illusion. It holds no sway over my life, no matter what you believe. » He paused before he resumed speaking about another matter : « I see you fear what the real you will do. But I also see that you understand him, and even agree with him somewhat… You truly are a hypocrite ! »
Volthoom laughed in his mind. Ned felt naked. No ! Worse than this. He felt like a newborn in the arms of a dangerous person. Helpless. Defenseless.
« Like so many of your kind, you see the problems that plague your world, you know the easiest and fastest way to solve them. But, because of morals, because you don't want to dirty your hands, you refuse to act… Even though you don't believe in humanity or that it should rule the world you call home. »
Now, Volthoom was right in front of his face. Everything around him had faded and disappeared, to be replaced by a blinding all-encompassing white light. Idly, a thought pierced through the fog of fear in his mind : this looked like the program used in the Matrix.
« Levity ! » Volthoom scoffed lightly. « Is it a sign of your crumbling rationality, or was there none to begin with ? I am inclined to believe the latter… »
Ned still couldn't move, nor could he take his eyes off the predator looming over him, like a giant made of colorful lights. He knew what was coming and he was trying, with all his might, to find a solution… A way to escape. To fight back. However, his body wasn't responding, and his mind… his mind too, was frozen.
« Let us see… How can I show you how utterly pointless your very existence is ? »
And then, the world faded away. His thoughts were slowly, inexorably muted as was the light in his eyes. When even his consciousness faded, that's when Volthoom went to work…
* * * * *
Ned watched, unable to speak or move as his parents spoiled his little sister. Susan had always been a bright child. Perhaps, not as bright as Ned himself, but bright nonetheless. At the moment, Susan was… 8 or 9 years old, perhaps. While Ned witnessed this scene full of love, he slowly felt the happy memories he shared with his sister and parents start to disappear in the void, as if they never existed in the first place.
With a growing sense of loss, he listened to his parents praise Susan's intelligence and rejoice over the fact that she was going to Illvermony in the future.
Volthoom's voice commented :
« If you didn't exist, your family wouldn't need to face such hardships. And, unlike the failure that you are, she can actually use magic… »
Once more, he felt his consciousness slip away…
* * * * *
It was the first time he ever donned the armor to affect change… Harry Potter and his friends were roaming the Prophecy hall, heading right for a trap set by the Death Eaters and Voldemort. Ned knew all this, and he really wanted to act… Unfortunately, he was once more paralyzed. Forced to watch the scene he read numerous times in the past unfold. The battle between Dumbledore's Army and the Death Eaters. The arrival, in the nick of time, of reinforcements in the form of the Order of the Phoenix. A new wind for the battle. Sirius Black's death through the Veil. Harry's pursuit of Bellatrix, rage in his heart and pushing him forward. His failed casting of the Unforgivable. Bellatrix' turning the tables on him. Bellatrix ordering him to give her the prophecy and Harry admitting that it had been destroyed earlier in the chaos of the battle. And then… Voldemort appearing out of nowhere, incensed and ready to kill, followed right after by Dumbledore, shielding Harry from yet another imminent death… Of course, after that, was the epic battle opposing those two powerful wizards.
« All you did here… was save one life. Was this life worth the effort you put in ? More importantly, did your meddling truly have any impact on History ? »
* * * * *
Floating over the chasm left by the absent Metropolis, Ned watched Brainiac's ship before he was transported inside. He witnessed how Superman led a losing battle against someone vastly more resourceful and powerful than he was. And how he overcame the odds in the end.
After that, like a balloon attached to Steel, he followed his every move as the black man clad in high tech armor saved people, one after another. At one point, Steel even supported an entire bridge to allow the civilians on it to pass by safely…
« Whether or not you were here, this battle would have ended in the same way. In fact, your presence might have made things worse… Your little battle with Metallo did quite a bit of collateral damage, after all ! »
* * * * *
Various scenes of his life flashed before his eyes. Only, they weren't his life anymore. It quickly became apparent what the point of Volthoom was : his lack of impact, of importance in the world. According to what he showed Ned, none of what he did changed things. Voldemort would still be defeated, even with a slightly higher body count on Harry's side. Circe would be routed by Wonder Woman. N.O.W.H.E.R.E. ? Still gone, thanks to the Titans. Same for its leader. At the end of the day, the total sum of his actions in order to make the world a better place amounted to zero…
That's if he was to take Volthoom narrative as his own. The First Lantern did its best to work on wiping his memories of the things he was proud and happy about. His genius, his heroic activities, the lives he saved. It worked, too ! At first… But then, the tech spirit's programming reverted back to what it was prior the outward input of foreign energies on his sensors. Basically, he instinctually discarded what he was perceiving as a reality…
Ned didn't know how or why. He simply thanked his lucky star that's how it worked. Maybe the immortal from the future of a different earth had no background in computer programming, no knowledge of magic or worked on making both work in tandem. In any case, as the guy's increasingly whiny and annoying voice in his head proved, he was getting frustrated. His volatile feelings might have been a side effect of his connection to the emotional spectrum… A thought to ponder at another time.
The problem for him right now, was that, even if what Volthoom was doing was pretty useless, Ned was still powerless to fight him.
« What to do ? » Ned asked himself.