Chapter 18 : In search of new strengths

Author note : Hey guys ! Hope you're well !

I'm kind of tired, not feeling like going to work but… by the time, I write these lines, I actually have to move my butt and get in my car… The power of Sloth is strong in me…

Anyways, as usual you know the drill : visit my Patréon to read Reborn as Lex Luthor freely, have access to all public chapters, or make a donation in order to discover more of my work if you like. Also, don't hesitate to comment and review (either here or there), and gimme stones ! I'm trying to build a castle and I need them.

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It's been a few days since the kidnapping attempt. Ever since then, mom and dad are more stringent about security. I've also noticed how they use a spell every time we come back from school. I'm not a hundred percent sure, but I think that's the one to fry electronics in a short range. And the only reason I can see why they'd use it would be… because they believe a bug's been put on us.

After they fried our cellphones for the first time, I and Cory decided to just leave them at home. It's just a waste otherwise… Still, apparently, now in addition to hacking, Cory's found herself a new talent… Or at least, another hobby. She's using what's left of our cellphones and the various objects fried by my parents' spell to… actually, I'm not sure what. All I can tell is that her room's a mess and that's saying something coming from me ! I just hope she's not building us a Skynet in there…

Speaking of Skynet and autonomous programs, I realized something with this whole mess. Despite how overpowered the potential of my power is, it's useless if I don't make some preparations ! It's basically the biggest drawback to it, along with the fact that if what I write is no longer eligible, the effects disappears. Two big weaknesses, then…. And while I still can't find how to prevent the latter, I can do something about the former !

Unfortunately for me, I'm not a genius like Tony Stark or Bruce Wayne, able to play a hundred moves ahead. Actually, I'm more of someone who needs something to happen to him three or four times before he starts learning from it… Okay, maybe I'm exaggerating a little bit. Still, the point stays valid : I simply won't be able to prepare a contingency for every problem out there, much less the ones the ones that haven't happened or the endless possibilities of a comic book world.

At the moment, I'm thinking about… golems ! Preferably ones I'll program to defend me or come to my aid in a pinch. I'll have to consult with Cory about the code, when she'd done messing with the electronic parts…

She's really preoccupied by this hobby these days and doesn't like to be interrupted. In fact, it's like she's changed a lot since she has first moved in. She was always a bright and happy girl, though with an underlying current of defiance. I believe she simply tried to protect herself emotionally in case my parents decided that it simply wasn't working out… Now however, she's cold and distant, even a little mean, sometimes.

I'll start to work on it on my own, for now. I cup my chin with my thumbs, the rest of my hands standing around my mouth as I think on this. Maybe I should start with something simpler than an autonomous program. Why not piloted golems ? Should be easier to program. I start to write down the ideas, otherwise I'm not sure I'll remember in a few days.

Although writing is great to define and animate, it's also tedious and takes some time. Instead, I'll make some kind of remote control device, much like a game controller… The tricky part will be to link the device to the golem. I'll have to function for each of the button that would trigger some kind of reaction. For instance, I'll have a joystick dedicated to walking and running, and maybe another to direct the golem… Or, I can go the full PC route and create a mouse and keyboard.

That's when a new idea strikes me. An idea I find genius ! And from there, a bunch of new ideas follow. I'm almost giddy at the idea of recreating a computer based off my magic and ink. Maybe combine it with my hard drive concept even ! Or… I think back to all the light and webnovel I read in my past life. More specifically, I think of a specific genre : LitRPG. That, and Virtual Reality.

After about an hour spent blackening the blank pages of my notebook, I realize how carried away I was.

« Oops ! Let's go back to the original design, first ! »

Although I like… No, actually, I'm quite enthused with these ideas, but it'll be a long-term project. First things first, I need means to defend myself. That's what the golems are for, after all. And even that will take some time as I first need to figure out how to make them move and attack without them doing it awkwardly or falling over.

Now the first means of defense laid on paper, I need to find others. My ink, especially, though versatile and almost almighty, needs me to display its effect consciously. One of two things needs to change : either I don't need to physically interact with the ink… Make it do whatever through the power of my mind. Or, other mediums can make use of it. Like printing machines…

Another growing wave of ideas is born at this event and I find myself, once more, losing the relevant train of thought to write all the other idle ones crossing my mind. Although they're idle, they're also pretty awesome. Moreover, they all linked into the overarching concept of a literature/media empire.

Now the problem… or rather problems, plural, since there's more than one. There's actually a lot more than two, so…

The products I have in mind will clash heavily with the common sense currently in place in the world : moving ink on a white piece of paper, illusion uploaded directly into the mind of readers, Shikigami-toys… It will be obvious to even the most cartesian mind that magic, or some unnatural, unknown phenomenon is taking place. And rather than letting the people come up with their own explanation, it will be best if I am the one to explain… And, in my mind, the answer is simple : the truth ! Or rather, a part of it : that it is a result of my mutation that the ink I produce can alter reality… However, I can't very well do it under my own identity.

« What to do ? » I mutter while tapping my pen on the desk gently.

There's an easy method, but… People are afraid of things that are too different. My idea was to simply use my true appearance and write under a pseudonym. But my true appearance… is pretty ugly. At least, that's what I think. Mutant hate groups would make me a target of their bigotry. And let's not forget about the nut-bags from the Weapon-X and Weapon-plus programs.

« Not to mention the virus thingie… What was the name ? Something tacky… Sublime, or something. »

I don't actually know much about it. Some kind of entity which fed the humans' hate for the mutant genre. Haven't really read that storyline. Anyway, to put it simply, in order to use my powers and make money off of it, I need to go public and that'll bring trouble to us all.

« Yet another thing that won't happen for a while… » I comment with a sigh. Then, I shake my head. « Let's recap… The mediums to use the ink will have to wait. For now, it's probably best if I'm the only person able to use it. So, now I need to make something to use it without the use of my hands… »

As I look down at my hands slightly smudged with ink, I think of my dad's telekinesis spell. This would be the best but there are a few problems with this solution. One : it's actually much harder to make use of it than what my dad made it look like. It needs precise, consecutive and complicated calculations in order to impose your will over the momentum of something. Moreover, in order for the ink's to show the most effectiveness, the writings and drawings have to be pretty much flawless. Which would therefore increase the difficulty of the spells.

Secondly… I'm not even sure the ink spells work with telekinesis.

As I ponder on this, an image from a different comic franchise flashes in my mind : a Ring ! Like the Lantern's ring from the DC comics… If I am to design a ring whose sole purpose is to manipulate my ink remotely…

« This could work, I think… »

This is the day I decide to forge my first arcane artifacts !