Providence
October 10, 16:54
The more I peeled away the Father Box's secrets, the more my hesitance at taking its life chipped away.
It was bad enough that its soul had been created and programmed for the exclusive purpose of corrupting any and all in service of Darkseid. However, it turned out the thing I coveted the most about it turned out to be covered in thorns that were pricklier than anything I'd ever seen.
Were it not for the Tech-Adapting, I'd have missed this danger entirely and turned myself into something unrecognizable. Yes, even with How Can You Cure Me When I'm Not Sick and SUPERHUMAN DESIRE.
Because the enhancement process would be me accepting a change. And in this case, the change meant being connected to the dark side of the force, sorry Source. The Anti-Life.
This was a revelation to me. I'd always thought the Source was one thing—the well, source… of any and all energy and life in the dc universe. I was right, but also wrong.
It had two sides, like a coin. A life side and an anti-life side. One side nurtured and protected all it came into contact with and the other warped and destroyed anything it touched, making them utterly unrecognisable on every level.
What a shitshow.
This new information nearly made me call it quits on this Father Box thing, and it dealt away with the last of the hesitance at killing it. I only stopped when I thought about Spider Sense and the other ability to protect my being from such things.
The first would've warned me before I cursed myself to an unbearable fate and the second, as for that one, now that I knew what the Anti-life energy could do… there were some possibilities I hadn't explored.
"Let's think carefully about this…" I set the restrained Father Box down, throwing up a blank holoscreen with a simple gesture afterwards.
First, I outlined the properties of the anti-life energy and the possible abilities I'd gain by willingly tapping into and protecting myself from the negative effects with How Can You Cure Me When I'm Not Sick.
Everything the Father Box could already do got added to the list immediately. There was no need going over those. Second on the list was becoming a New God.
I had already copied the entire database of the Father Box and a quick perusal of that info had revealed about every scientific achievement of the New Gods. Details of their physiologies, the effects of the Source's energy on them, and their godly domains were all available.
It was beyond tempting, but I typed in "become a New God" and simply moved along. If I could have all their power without making myself one of them and gaining a certain weakness, why would I go down that path?
Corruption. That was the anti-life's strongest and most potent trait. It could affect everything except its life counterpart. Everything. This kind of corruption was conceptual. So how it worked would be up to my understanding and skill IF I incorporated it into my abilities.
Take mind control for instance. The ability involved corruption in some form—changing the normal operation of a sentient being's mind to suit your own purposes. With the anti-life, I'd be able to do this. To not just minds, but to energy and matter as well.
And I would be fine. The energy would not harm me in the slightest. I was one of the few people in the universe who could do this.
Exhaling and throwing myself back in my seat, I stared into empty space and continued playing out the possibilities. If I succeeded with this, there was no one I'd not be able to fight and defeat.
Okay, let's not get arrogant. This is DC. The number of such individuals may be low but not zero. Still, did I have to go down this path? Did I really need the anti-life energy?
Logic dictated yes, but a part of me, one I gave more room to speak, stayed adamant, shouting a resounding NO. Why? I looked at the screen filled with the hastily input notes, specifically at the repeating "anti-life."
By aligning myself with the dark portion of the source, I would literally become the embodiment of it. I would become an antithesis to life, freedom, and all that it entailed. I'd become another Darkseid, maybe not in terms of personality and ambitions, but close enough for it to count.
"What is the alternative then? If I let the anti-life go, I'll be left with nothing…"
I brought up the scans of the Father Box and went over it again. From what I'd gathered, it had a small amount of Tenth Metal in it, and while it could do anything via its connection to the source, the Father Box's Apokolips aligned soul is what allowed it to tap into the dark side of the Source.
If I went ahead and destroyed the soul instead of cannibalizing it like I planned, I'd just be left with Tenth Metal that could warp reality alright, but I'd need to give it the codes it needed to do so.
This was the entire construction of Mother and Father Boxes. A life or anti-life aligned soul stuffed into a computer with Tenth Metal circuitry, and the metal responding to the nature of the soul and shifting its tap into the source from neutral to either life or dark.
Since this was a Father Box, I had already lost the life side. And now, it was looking like I'd have to relinquish the dark one too. That meant I'd be left with just Tenth Metal preloaded with all the code for the Father Box's abilities, minus the corruption part.
That… sounded like a good deal.
"I can work with this," I swiped away the old screen for a new one.
Sure, I'd lose the purifying and nurturing side of life and the corrupting side of the anti-life. But what did that leave me with? Every scientific, magical, technological and technomagical breakthrough I'd ever made.
Instead of relying on some arbitrary concepts to make me strong, I could rely on my own gifts to reach the heights I wanted. By its very nature as a reality altering material, Element X (Tenth metal) didn't have storage or processing limits.
It could hold and execute all my scientific and magical achievements and more. With it, I could become a walking crystallization of all my technology. A walking, talking, self updating, Father Box.
Nah. That's not a good name. It's not accurate enough. I was relying on myself, my own gifts. I didn't have the support from neither the light nor dark side, my mother or father. I was… an orphan.
An Orphan Box.
"Yes," I nodded repeatedly and threw myself back, enjoying the comfort of the seat and the apt nature of the name. "That's the right one."
.
.
.
.
Gotham
October 10, 17:24
Somedays, you just can't help but appreciate the misfortune of others, and that you get to witness them.
Because few things served as good learning opportunities as watching people live through levels of embarrassment and consequences they brought upon themselves with terrible decision making.
There were too many examples to cite, but one that stood out most were public proposals. Time and time again, despite the prolific dissemination of videos of failed and disastrous attempts to ask for the hands of their ladies in marriage, there were still some men who refused to learn.
And they got what they rightly deserved.
For the lucky ones, the women simply walked away like they wanted to outrun the poisonous halo surrounding a hobo. The slightly less lucky ones had to endure questions that made it seem like they had lost their minds or misinterpreted the nature of the relationship.
And then the third level. Those with the absolute worst luck. I'd seen a guy offer wads of freshly pressed bills alongside the ring and get slapped, verbally dismantled, and his money taken but the ring left behind, all in front of an audience large enough to fill a theater to the brim.
I still cringed when I remembered it. What a way to go out.
Point is, I rarely met misfortune in my life because people around me chose to steer me clear with their own lives. That's why when I proposed to Felicity—fully expecting her to reject it—I did so in the privacy of our apartment bedroom.
Instead of going the route of trying to use public pressure, I gave her the room to reject me without any hassle. I won't lie, it stung to hear the "no" and the explanation she tried to come up with, but I rolled with it.
It's not like I was asking her to co-own a pet. This was marriage, and she had all the reasons to detest the concept. Having anticipated the rejection though, I timed the proposal right as she was about to leave for Vegas.
The recent world splitting situation and the tragedy that followed had scared Donna like most other parents. So Felicity was going to see her for a few days.
The drive to the airport was silent. She seemed almost afraid to speak or even look at me. But I knew better. She didn't know how to face me nor process my calm after she'd done the equivalent of break my heart in her mind.
At the end of the escort trip in the airport, she stopped and asked, "Why? Why aren't you mad?"
I just chuckled and kissed her. "I love you."
Stunned, she stared at me for a while and simply turned around, joining the others to board the plane.
When her flight finally took off, I teleported straight to Gotham City, directly going against Mike's advice. In our numerous conversations, I'd figured out that the situation with Felicity's dad was roughly the same as in the show.
Sometime when she was young, he simply disappeared from her and her mother's lives. There were obviously more details to the story, and I wanted to know them and the man that had unknowingly created a stumbling block in my path to becoming a legally married man.
Noah Kuttler, or The Calculator, as his clientele knew him by.
His hacking skills were on par with if not better than his daughter's. But none of the ironclad digital defenses he'd constructed could stand before the might of magic and the ability to make technology proclaim me its lord and savior.
A single minute was all I needed to narrow his location down to Gotham City and pinpoint the exact penthouse suite he lent out his services from.
For this visit, I had none of my work wear on, just a pair of black jeans, a light gray sweatshirt, and a black topcoat covering it and making me look as I imagined myself to be… I hoped.
Well, considering I was standing at the very top of the skyscraper enjoying the peak autumn air filtered by the invisible forcefield surrounding me, I had every fight to feel as cool as I did.
Since this was Gotham and there was nothing to appreciate except the multiple trails of smog rising to the sky and drab buildings that made the city resemble a slightly more advanced Yharnam, I climbed down the building and went to complete my business.
The climb was literal. I had both hands tucked comfortably in the pockets of my coat and simply walked down the side, dropping down on the balcony decorated with plants, the whole thing looking out of place in the backdrop.
There was no sound upon my landing. Pushing the thoughts of these plants cursing my name out of mind, I turned around and walked straight ahead, unlocking the glass door in my way with a lazy flick.
Once inside, I locked the door behind me and gave the room a small tour, doing so to pass the time. My hooks into the building's system told me Mr. Kuttler was on his way up, so I repositioned myself, ensuring he'd not see me as soon as the elevator doors dinged open.
It was hard to see the man at first. His real features were hidden by layers of disguises, and he began to peel them off as soon as he entered.
"Ahem," I drew his attention, arms crossed behind me.
His motions ceased, entire body going rigid like a statue before resuming slowly, bringing him face to face with me.
"Hi," I threw a nod.
He released a nervous chuckle. "Uhh… who–who are you?"
"Elliot Rath. You're Noah Kuttler, correct?"
Perhaps because I hadn't moved since this interaction started or maybe because he'd begun to calm down, his spine grew straighter and his motions became less rigid. "I'm afraid you have the wrong—"
"Really?" I cocked an eyebrow. "You're telling me there are two Noah Kuttlers on Earth, both with the codename 'The Calculator?'"
The man struggled for a bit and released a defeated sigh. "It appears you are well informed."
"Eh… perks of the job. I'm here about something less nefarious and bloody than what you're thinking though. Can I?" I gestured to his sofa.
"It's all yours," he responded, and remained on his feet.
"Okay then," I kept my hands hidden and relaxed in the expensive and soul sucking cushions. "I'm here for one thing… I wanted to see the man responsible for my failed proposal."
The "huh" might as well have been branded on the old man's forehead.
"I'm dating your daughter, Felicity." That lit up his features considerably. Brain light bulb moment, not happiness or excitement.
"I asked her to marry me. She said no. So I decided to track down the reason why, and hence, you."
"Ahem." The man visibly relaxed and smoothed over his turtleneck. "You're dating, my little girl?"
I wouldn't call her little but okay. Weird dad stuff, I understand.
"We're in a relationship, yes."
"Oh… don't take this the wrong way, and I know the chances you're lying are so very low, but you can't just expect me to believe something like this without proof."
"Fine. I'll call her."
Noah did a double take. Why did he look like I said I'd call Batman on him? Because the dark knight was actually looking for him, and he knew it. "Uh…uh… you're gonna call her? Right now?"
I responded by giving him the most "duhh" stare I could muster while waving the phone in front of him.
"Please don't…"
"Why?" I kept my thumb hovering over the dial button.
He was scrambling, searching for a reason. "I'm not—she—think about how this will make you look. If you really love my daughter, you won't do this."
"Hmm, you've given me something to think about," I nodded subtly. "I don't care though. I don't keep secrets from her. Especially not about stuff like this. What I can do though, is postpone the call, if you tell me why you abandoned her."
For this, he actually sat down, his appearance the man who had had the wind taken out of his sails. "I didn't…"
"What?"
"Well, I guess I technically did. Her mother was afraid of the trouble… my work, could cause. So she took Felicity and disappeared. I found them of course, but I stayed away because she was right. I'd only hurt my baby girl by staying. It was inevitable."
"....Thanks for telling me. That's why I came all this way," I said and paused. "You know what happens next right?"
"What?" He looked up just in time to see me tap the dial button.
"I told you, I don't keep secrets from her. I'm going to fess up, and so will you."