2: Speed

When you're too excited, you tend to be impulsive; when you're impulsive, you tend to act without considering the consequences.

In a situation where panic and doubts prevail, making mistakes is more likely than not making them.

At first, Mark Grayson was excited. When the world seemed to stop, he thought he had succeeded in accessing one of the greatest multiversal forces that exist. He felt like he could truly call himself "invincible."

But in the midst of that excitement, he realized he couldn't move.

Every inch of his body seemed to be frozen in space; even blinking became impossible.

"What the hell?" Had he made a mistake?

He heard footsteps but couldn't see where they were coming from or even attempt to see what was making that sound.

Then he felt electricity coursing through his body for a brief moment, and his state of freezing seemed to suddenly disappear.

He took a deep breath and held onto his knees, blinking in confusion as he looked up. Then he saw the origin of the footsteps.

Approaching him was a man wearing a red suit adorned with a silver lightning bolt.

His red hair seemed to wave in a non-existent wind.

Flashes of blue energy serpentine around his body. The man looked at him with a warm smile, and Mark couldn't help but stutter.

"Flash?!"

The man smiled broadly and replied.

"Close, but not quite"

His voice was strange, like several voices overlapping, speaking at the same time.

Mark looked at him more closely. He resembled Flash, almost a real copy of Wally West.

But he wasn't. Mark could sense something different about his presence, something beyond human.

"Speed Force" This time it wasn't a question.

It was now that he remembered, something he should have taken into account from the beginning. The Speed Force is a sensitive cosmic power, it has consciousness, and therefore, it is capable of choosing who carries it and who does not.

"Bingo!" "Wally" raised his thumb in a sign of success. His eyes seemed to scan his body as he continued speaking.

"How interesting" He looked up and gazed around the world as if seeing beyond Earth, as if seeing something different.

"You know, I'm not sure if you're stupid or a genius, probably the former" Mark didn't pay attention to the insult; he was more concerned with the living embodiment of an omnipotent force that had decided to appear before him.

"Your knowledge, although correct in some aspects, is lacking in many others. If you had attempted this in a universe other than this one, reciting the formula of speed force would have been completely useless. You simply don't have the mathematical knowledge to comprehend such force; it would have been like throwing words into the air"

That... seemed to be true? Mark then began to think more deeply. Almost forgotten memories came to his mind, and he remembered the comic where he had first read about the Speed Force. In his excitement to gain power, he had ignored several key points.

"But you're here" But even if he had done it wrong somehow, he had succeeded, or at least partially succeeded.

"But I'm here" the entity known as Speed Force repeated, nodding in agreement. It began to walk around him as if examining him inch by inch, which put Mark on edge.

"It's been a while since I visited this multiverse. Although connected to me, I've never really paid much attention to it, so when I felt a connection, however insignificant it may be, it caught my interest. Congratulations, you're lucky. If there had been a suitable bearer of the Speed Force here, I wouldn't have even paid attention to you"

Indeed, just reciting the mathematical formula was useless; you needed to know the formula and how to solve it, a level of mathematical knowledge that no one on millions of worlds would be able to comprehend, and those who did were amazing in themselves.

But the formula, well employed or not, still served as a gateway to the Speed Force. Just uttering it was like ringing the doorbell, but whether the owner of the door decided to respond to you or not was something completely different. Still, the mere act of doing so was something that the Speed Force would notice.

"I found the door but I don't have the key" Mark couldn't explain it any other way than this.

"Wally" nodded, stopped in front of him, and stared at him intently.

"But even without the key, you managed to make me open the door... so tell me 'Mark' do you want my power?"

The way he said his name made it clear to him; the Speed Force knew perfectly well who he truly was. But even if it did, Mark didn't care. He supposed it was to be expected; he didn't believe he could hide anything from a primordial cosmic force.

"Yes, I need your power" he replied without hesitation. Regardless of how it might perceive him, his chances of survival on his own were low. His knowledge was limited, he had no way to plan beyond a certain point in the future, and the likelihood of being taken by surprise would only increase as more things changed.

If he wanted to go further, if he wanted to be invincible, he needed to be more than just Mark, more than just a Viltrumite.

"Hmm" "Wally" seemed thoughtful for a moment. His gaze seemed to look beyond Mark, as if glimpsing something different.

"Your future is blurry; your nature causes my connection with time to blur partially. You don't have many special qualities besides this. I can't say if this is a good or a bad idea; you could end up destroying the entire local multiverse or simply die due to a stupid mistake... That's amusing" he smiled, and as if he had made a capricious decision, he pointed at Mark with his finger, and a stream of blue electricity shot out in the form of a lightning bolt.

The bolt hit his chest, and snakes of electricity began to run through his body.

"Don't get too excited; I don't really have high hopes. But I feel like this could bring about some changes. You're not yet a suitable user, and considering you worthy would be incorrect. Your connection with me can barely be considered superficial, and it's entirely up to you to change that"

Wally began to leave, his back moving farther away, although he seemed to be moving slowly.

"Whatever you do, make sure not to mess it up too quickly" he waved his hand in farewell, and then he disappeared.

The world returned to normal, and Mark breathed quickly. He felt a connection to something, something superior. It was weak and faint, barely able to access a tiny fraction of that infinite energy, but it was there, coursing through his veins like lightning.

He looked to where the Speed Force had gone, and he couldn't stop a drop of sweat from falling from his forehead. At this moment, he knew that his chances of failure were immense. The Speed Force could have decided that his call was an offense and easily erased him from existence, or it could have completely ignored him and left him to his fate.

Stolen story; please report.

But whether by luck or something else, the Speed Force had deemed him interesting enough to let him access it.

He closed his eyes, feeling that electric current inside him, trying to interact with it, to use it. But it was like trying to grasp something intangible. He thought deeply before covering his mouth again and speaking.

"3x2(9YZ)4A=?"

This time the world didn't stop, but something changed. He could see sparks of blue lightning surrounding his body, and that energy within him stirred. This time when he called, a part of it responded and reached him.

Describing it was difficult; the closest comparison would be as if someone injected a stimulant into his bloodstream. Every cell in his body seemed to vibrate with energy, and he almost began to fly towards the horizon.

But he managed to calm down before that. He barely knew how to fly; doing it while using the Speed Force? He was afraid of ending up on Mars by mistake.

While he pondered how to test his new power, he felt that electric current decrease, and then a feeling of exhaustion hit him for a brief moment.

His stomach growled with hunger, and the Speed Force stopped being active, returning him to his normal state.

"That's..." how long was it? 20? 30 seconds?

It seemed it wouldn't be as easy as he thought.

Going back to school... honestly, he wasn't sure about it.

But for now, he had a role to play. He still needed to get used to this world. He had been researching all night while eating. This world was strange; it was Earth, yet it wasn't. Unknown cities, states, and countries seemed to have been added all over the map.

Even the streets of the cities he knew were different. It seemed that the damage caused by fights between heroes and villains required cities to be rebuilt every so often, changing their layouts.

Perhaps the only thing similar in this world to his own were the humans. They still acted like humans and looked like humans... well, maybe a bit better.

Certainly, everyone seemed more attractive than in his old world. At least the heroines all seemed to be beautiful women, of which he wasn't complaining.

And the idiots were still idiots.

"What's up, your girlfriend isn't here to protect you?"

What was this guy's name? Seeing him approach with that stupid grin on his face wasn't pleasant. When he stretched out his hands ready to grab him, he decided he had wasted enough time. His fist crashed into his face; blood easily flowed from his broken nose due to the impact.

He hadn't even put an ounce of force into that punch. He looked at his fist and realized how much self-control he lacked.

"Whoa!" William? Willkem? The guy who had been talking to him since he arrived at school seemed alarmed, and everyone around him was surprised. In his defense, he only wanted to hit him a little, not break his nose.

"Mark, you..."

"Do you have a tissue?" He raised his fist, showing the blood dripping from it. It was really annoying.

William looked at him bewildered before pulling out a piece of paper and handing it to him.

"Thanks."

Needless to say, he was called to the principal's office.

At least they didn't call his parents.

From atop the buildings, Mark looked down at the city beneath his feet. Upstate, New York, huh?

He had been to New York, but Upstate? That was something new.

The reason he had come to this place was to gain some experience. Fighting his father had been good, but those battles boiled down to him trying to hit Nolan and Nolan kick his ass. He couldn't hold back or measure his strength against his father.

His father... calling him that felt very strange. He hadn't had one in his previous life. The guy had decided to go for cigarettes one afternoon, and after that, he never came back.

But calling him Nolan wouldn't be appropriate. If he accidentally called him that out loud, it could raise suspicions. So, he had been referring to him as his father in his mind for as long as he could, so it would sound natural when he said it out loud.

The sound of gunfire snapped him back to reality. It seemed it was time.

He maneuvered through the buildings until he spotted the guy he was looking for. He didn't remember his name, but he knew enough to remember that he could take one or two hits.

That was enough.

His body accelerated, crashing into the pirate version of the thing, with enough force to dent the steel. Mark easily stopped his momentum, letting the other guy roll on the ground for several meters before coming to a halt.

"Who are you!?" he sounded pretty angry.

"Call me Invincible" he decided to start using the name at once. Honestly, he couldn't think of anything better, and he didn't want to dwell on it too much.

"Hah! Invincible? How arrogant. how about the kid in pajamas?"

He wasn't in pajamas! Well, maybe a little. He still didn't have a superhero suit, so he made do with what he had in his closet.

"Well, this kid in pajamas is going to kick your butt, buddy, so don't laugh too soon"

That seemed to annoy and he began to run towards him.

He didn't know if it was some side effect of the Speed Force or just something Viltrumites could already do, but his movement seemed really slow to his eyes.

How was the original Mark hit by this?

"Be a good punching bag and don't pass out" although he said that aloud, his opponent couldn't react to his words.

His fist crashed into his face, sending him to the ground and cracking his rock-like skin.

"W-what?" he seemed dazed.

Mark looked at his fist and furrowed his eyebrows; he tried to hold back, but again, it seemed he had used more force than he intended.

"Come on, don't just stand there, man, or I'll really give you a beating" he tried to motivate his adversary a little more.

"Argh, shut up!" It seemed to have worked; the punches rained down quickly, but Mark easily dodged them all.

Su own elbow crashed into the rock guy's stomach, knocking all the air out of his lungs and sending him flying towards one of the walls of the alley.

This wouldn't do. At this rate, he'd end up accomplishing nothing.

"I need to find another way" he sighed, accelerating forward. Before his opponent could orient himself, he struck him with much more force, shattering the rock covering his face instantly, and causing him to lose consciousness.

Well, wasn't that a waste of time? Or at least it would be if he hadn't had more than one intention in doing this.

"That was excellent," as he felt his father's presence descend from the sky, Mark couldn't help but clench his fists.

"Perhaps you spoke a little too much, but it's fine. Against such insignificant opponents, there's no need for you to be too serious" he seemed pleased, so much so that he seemed to have forgotten to hide the disdain in his tone.

He looked at him, and his smile faltered slightly upon seeing his attire.

"You may be progressing quickly, but you still need the right gear for this, son"

At least he didn't criticize his appearance aloud...

"Follow me"

He didn't hesitate much; soon, both of them were flying out.

'Mission: Get a super suit. Check'

Art was a pleasant man to talk to.

"So, do you already have something in mind?" his father and the older man looked at him with raised eyebrows.

Mark smiled confidently. Of course, it's not like he had something in mind; he was simply going to steal what the original Mark had already done.

"I've been thinking about this since I was a kid. I know what I want. Do you have a piece of paper and a pencil?"

In response to his question, Art pointed to his work desk, where there was everything needed to design any type of super suit.

Mark wasted no time. While he may not have had many skills to boast about in his previous life, if he was allowed to brag, then he'd have to say he was pretty decent at drawing.

He used the natural speed of a Viltrumite to speed up the process, and as he sketched, he thought about an image he had seen of the original Mark.

At first, he thought about simply using the suit he had seen in the series, but the yellow color was never his favorite. Then, he remembered one of the spoilers he had accidentally stumbled upon while browsing the internet.

Black and blue, huh? Yeah, that could work.

He finished the drawing and passed it to Art, who raised an eyebrow in amazement at the well-done design.

"Yes, this is what I want."

"Why the 'i'?" As expected from the man who designed it in the first place, he noticed the symbol that many fans overlooked on the suit.

"It's a somewhat iconic symbol. After all, kids need something to draw on their notebooks, don't they?"

Art smiled and chuckled aloud.

"It seems you have a pretty smart kid, Nolan. I'll be glad to work on this suit"

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"What are you doing?" his mother's voice made Mark lose concentration, and the egg in his hand exploded, staining his arm.

"Shit!"

"Language!" Mark fell silent by instinct. Raised only by his mother in his previous life, he still held that basic respect within him. Maybe Debbie wasn't his real mother, but she was the mother of the original Mark, and acting as if she wasn't would be stupid.

The woman deserved at least that much; He had already taken her son from her accidentally.

He raised his hand, showing his mother the broken egg, and said, "I'm training. I can't control my strength as well as I'd like, so I thought I'd try to do it this way"

Debbie looked around, dozens of broken eggs scattered throughout the backyard.

"You know you're going to clean this up, right?"

Mark looked at the ground and only now realized the mess he had been making.

"Right away"

Debbie watched him clean for a few moments before leaving, and Mark sighed in relief when he saw her go. Honestly, he didn't want to have a heart-to-heart talk with her. He had enough concerns on his own; he couldn't worry about Debbie at the moment.

He needed to start planning. With the Speed Force in his hands, even if he couldn't use it to its full capacity for now, he had many more possibilities ahead of him.

He could do much more, and that was also worrying. Significant changes meant that his knowledge would become increasingly useless.

Making too many waves would be dangerous at least until he was ready, but he didn't remember every fragment of the program exactly. Following everything to the letter would become more difficult every day.

"One step at a time," he would deal with each event as they came to him. Making elaborate plans would only lead to failure. Maybe if he had complete knowledge of the series and the comics, he could have done anything, but he didn't, so he would have to improvise on the fly.

For now, he only had two goals: to become stronger and to learn to control that strength.

He needed to train like a Viltrumite while also improving his connection with the Speed Force.

Simple goals, but they helped him have something to work towards.

"I hope you're ready, world, because I won't be easily defeated"

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