WebNovels

Chapter 1 - Ch. 1: The Future Begins Now

I know that at this point I'm infamous for dropping a lot of work, but try to give this one a try, I'll make sure to finish this, this time around. Your support means a lot to me, comments, power stones, reviews, anything will do, just don't be a ghost reader, it's more than enough motivation for me.

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The air buzzed with anticipation. Excited murmurs rippled through the packed venue, a sea of restless energy waiting for the moment to begin. The sharp clicks of cameras echoed from every corner, reporters and photographers prowling like sharks drawn to blood, eager for the first headline of the night.

Then, applause erupted. Dozens of camera flashes burst from the crowd like a constellation springing to life, each flare capturing the moment from a different angle. All eyes turned toward the man stepping onto the stage, their cheers swelling in volume.

He was dressed immaculately, his tailored suit worth more than most wardrobes combined. With composed confidence, he approached the podium. A simple wave of his hand quieted the room in seconds.

"Thank you," he began, his voice smooth and assured. "My name is Harrison Wells."

He paused, letting the name settle before continuing.

"Tonight, the future begins. The work my team and I will accomplish here will change our understanding of physics. It will bring about advancement in energy, advancement in medicine. And trust me," a faint smile tugged at his lips, "that future will be here faster than you think."

Another round of applause followed, and once again, Harrison Wells was met with a flurry of flashes and rapid camera clicks that painted the stage in bursts of light.

When the applause finally subsided, a blonde woman near the front raised her hand, her voice steady and curious.

"What's the first thing you'll do once the particle accelerator is online?"

Harrison chuckled lightly, his expression softening.

"Open an expensive bottle of Dom Pérignon with my team," he said, smiling. "I've worked them very hard for this moment, they've earned it."

Laughter and murmurs rippled through the crowd. Before the noise could fade completely, another hand shot up from deeper in the audience.

"Those protesting the accelerator believe its activation could open a black hole in Central City," the woman said. Her tone was analytical, confident. "But isn't it far more likely to create a benevolent phenomenon? Perhaps something akin to a Higgs boson bridge?"

The way she phrased the question made it clear she had a scientific background.

"The only phenomenon that will occur this evening," Harrison replied with calm authority, "is one that has been calculated to the tiniest detail, to the smallest decimal point."

"So, you've foreseen every possible outcome?" the woman pressed, intrigued.

"Yes, I have, Mrs...?" Harrison tilted his head slightly.

"Mrs. Marlize DeVoe," she answered.

"DeVoe, DeVoe..." he repeated thoughtfully. His eyes flicked toward the man beside her. "Then that would make the gentleman to your right your husband, Professor Clifford DeVoe."

A hint of genuine admiration colored his tone. "I'm a big fan of your work, sir. I believe it will have an enormous impact on our future." He smiled warmly. "Thank you for coming, Professor. And good luck."

With that, Harrison Wells stepped away from the podium, the crowd erupting into another round of applause as he exited the stage.

Amidst the crowd, a young man watched the stage with cold determination. "It all starts from this moment," he thought, his gaze lingering on the couple who had just spoken with Harrison Wells. For a brief second, conflict flickered across his expression, but he quickly masked it, slipping through the crowd before anyone could notice.

He pushed his way past the protesters outside and made for home, moving with silent urgency.

Minutes later, Victor sat on the roof of his house, his eyes fixed on the distant glow of S.T.A.R. Labs. The building stood proudly against the night sky, its polished glass reflecting the city lights. Seeing it in person was surreal, so much grander than the version he'd once seen on a screen.

To Victor, this world had once been fiction, a universe of heroes and villains known as the Arrowverse. It all began with a man named Oliver Queen, rescued years ago off the coast of Lian Yu. That single event had ignited a chain reaction, giving birth to the world's first vigilante, the Arrow.

But enough about the world he was in. This was about him.

To put it simply, Victor had been reborn in the Arrowverse. He'd awakened the memories of his past life at the age of eighteen, six years ago. The trigger had been his parents' deaths.

One moment, he was drowning in grief, broken and lost. The next, memories from another existence flooded into his mind, crashing and clashing until he could barely tell who he was anymore. For weeks, he spiraled in confusion, caught between two selves....until, slowly, he began to regain his bearings.

Those times marked the darkest period of his new life. When he finally regained his bearings, his very first thought was how to gain power. He had expected to be reborn special, gifted with some kind of hidden ability that would make life easier, a system, a cheat skill, anything that could give him an edge. But there was nothing.

For six long years, he wrestled with the same question: how to become stronger. He explored every possibility, the Mirakuru serum, magic, and countless other paths, but each idea proved hopeless. Back then, getting his hands on something like the Mirakuru was nothing more than a fantasy.

Magic, on the other hand, offered no clear path, no clues, no leads, nothing to pursue. The only option left was to become a metahuman. He had come to believe that was his only real chance at becoming someone significant in this life.

Unlike most people, Victor didn't crave a peaceful or ordinary existence. He longed for danger, for adventure, something that could make his blood race. Maybe it was because of his lingering main character syndrome.

Ever since his rebirth, there had been this persistent feeling deep within him, a belief that he was meant for something greater, something extraordinary.

Was it delusional? Yes. But Victor wasn't naive enough to think he was invincible or destined to conquer the world. He simply wanted to live this second chance to the fullest. Death didn't scare him, he had already faced it once.

Tonight, the particle accelerator would be activated. The gears of fate were already turning. Before long, it would explode, releasing waves of dark matter into the atmosphere.

The single event would set everything in motion, the birth of the Flash, the rise of the Thinker, and the beginning of countless other changes that would reshape the world forever.

The emergence of people with extraordinary abilities was only minutes away.

Under the relentless downpour, Victor shivered as the cold seeped deep into his bones. He sat beside a tall lightning rod, his supposed key to power. If he could just come into contact with the dark matter when it was released, his life might take a complete turn.

"I just hope I don't end up as ashes," he muttered, his breath visible in the frigid air. A faint vibration interrupted his thoughts. He fished out his soaked phone from his pocket, water dripping off the screen. It was a message from his aunt, Jenny, his mother's younger sister and one of the few family members he still kept in touch with.

"I'll be over there in ten minutes."

"Ah, just as I planned," Victor thought, a sly smile tugging at his lips. There was a real chance he could be knocked unconscious if struck by dark-matter lightning, but that was fine. His aunt would arrive in time to drag him to the hospital.

He checked the time and nodded, pushing himself to his feet. The particle accelerator had been online for the past forty minutes; any moment now, the explosion would come.

"This is risky," Victor thought, feeling slightly fearful. This was a gamble at best. There was no way to determine which power he would gain. For all he knew, he might just get useless or dangerous abilities, and in the worst case scenario, a freak mutation.

But it was a risk he was willing to take, useless powers and mutations be damned. At least he would be peaceful knowing he tried something to escape simplicity.

Victor took a deep breath, stabilizing his thoughts. Then just at the forty-five-minute mark, the sky erupted in a blinding light. A surge of dark matter energy shot upward, slicing through the storm clouds.

The reaction was instantaneous, dark matter fused with the storm above, and with a deafening boom, a brilliant arc of lightning danced at the heart of the explosion.

A wave of dark matter erupted outward, Star Labs at its center, sending a shiver through the city. Victor reacted instantly, palms pressed against the lightning rod.

"Here goes nothing," he muttered, bracing his feet against the ground.

The dark matter slammed into him first, nearly toppling him, but he gritted his teeth and held fast, refusing to let go of the rod.

Above, the clouds roiled, streaks of colored lightning arcing wildly across the sky. Yet the bolt he needed still refused to strike. Frustration clawed at him.

"Goddammit… strike me! If you dare!" he shouted, voice swallowed by the storm.

Then, without warning, a thick, searing bolt tore down from the heavens. Victor barely had time to react before darkness claimed him. See

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