The Protagonist System

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The Smallville Gazette ran a story about my shocking graduation from high school and a news reporter showed up from the local television station. They did a small human interest story about it and that was it. Apparently, something that happened in a 'hick town' like Smallville, wasn't important enough for the well known networks to pick it up.

Now that I knew I wouldn't be pestered by the newsies, I studied my ass off and learned everything I could over the next few years. It was kind of the first time I was allowed to do such a thing without restrictions, so I went whole hog with it.

Both Martha and Johnathan were impressed by how much information I could absorb and I allowed both my Occlumency and intelligence powers full reign. I also did my best to help the both of them during the day, my dad with farming and gathering, and my mom with cooking and cleaning. According to them, I was the best son they could have ever asked for.

By the time I was eight years old in 1989 and had studied as many books from the library as possible, pretty much all of the relevant ones, I started to worry. You see, I knew a significant event was going to happen soon and I had no way to tell what day it was going to happen on.

Because of all the different continuities I knew of for this universe, the death of Batman's parents could be changed to be anywhere from early summer to late summer, in any alleyway from the slums to any upscale neighborhood in the city of Gotham, near a theatre, a play, or a restaurant, and Bruce Wayne's age changed anywhere from 8 to 12, as does his date of birth.

It was really frustrating to know it was going to happen and I only had brief uses of my clairvoyance power to keep an eye on them. On the positive side, I was slowly regaining access to my full powers again as I grew older. On the negative side, I had a successful farm and a family to take care of and didn't have a lot of spare time to maintain a constant watch.

I was tempted to convince my parents to go on vacation for a week or two to Gotham City, just so I could be that much closer to my targets during this time of high potential. The only problem with that was it was considered the crime capital of the world, just above New York City's crime rate... and wasn't that city name a surprise to discover.

This world had both New York City and the city of Metropolis. They were both huge cities that covered hundreds of square miles and had millions of people living in them. What was funny was Metropolis was located in Delaware, Gotham was in New Jersey, and New York City was in New York.

All three cities were in a kind of direct line with each other along the eastern seaboard and were in competition for the biggest and best city. Gotham was very easily losing, because itwas nestled between the other two large beacons of hope. That wasn't really the point I was trying to make, though.

Kansas was pretty much smack-dab right in the middle of the US and it was about 1,400 miles to reach any of the cities on the east coast. It would take about 20 hours of straight driving to get there, so there was no way I was running that distance. Neither my flight ability nor my teleport ability had activated yet, which pissed me off.

I also didn't have many karma points, since my contributions to the world have been few and far between, not to mention very small. I once tried to 'find' some gold coins while I was out exploring, to help my family make ends meet and buy newer farm equipment, and my father immediately turned them over to the local museum for testing and date authentication. We never saw them again.

I didn't bother trying to find any money, because I knew my too-good-for-his-own-good dad would turn it over to the local police for them to search for the money's owner and we wouldn't get it back for at least a year if it was unclaimed, which I suspected it would be just before the deadline. That was just how things usually worked out when I tried to cheat like that.

Johnathan was constantly saying how we couldn't deny others their good fortune, while also denying it to his own family. It was maddening that I couldn't curcumvent that in any way, no matter what I tried. If he didn't accomplish something with his own hard work, he saw it as charity and wouldn't accept it.

I did eventually discover that I could make a teleportation circle like I used to make back in Danmachi and Harry Potter, which was another reason to visit one of the cities on the east coast. At least it would have gotten me a lot closer than I currently was.

However, we couldn't really afford to take a trip like that, even though we were one of the better off farming families in the area. Johnathan kept sinking the finances right back into the farm to ensure it would always be successful.

I did my best to ensure it as well, even suggesting sectioning off a large part to build a cheap greenhouse for growing smaller crops during winter. After looking into it, Johnathan decided it was too big of an expense for so little gain and decided against it. Plus, those were his months off and he usually relaxed during them.

By relaxed, he meant he was constantly repairing the farm vehicles and equipment while also helping out his fellow farmers. He really was a nice and honest guy and explained why Martha fell in love with him in the first place and still loved him after so many years of dealing with his stubbornness.

That didn't solve my problem, however. How the hell was I supposed to cross half the country on a moment's notice to save Bruce from the tragedy of losing his parents? Yes, it would stop the creation of Batman; but, it would also stop decades of suffering and obsession on his part. It wasn't healthy to be so focused on fighting crime that your normal life was the facade you lived to cover up what you were doing.

For the entire month of August, I briefly used my clairvoyance power and checked on the Waynes diligently every night before going to bed, just to see if my late bedtimes were going to coincide with them going out.

It wasn't until the last day that I 'saw' them leaving a movie theatre that was replaying an old movie, The Mask Of Zorro, that I realized this was it. This was the night when Bruce's parents died and I couldn't do anything about it.

My power somehow didn't end as I watched the masked robber assault them and bring them into the dirty and grungy alleyway and I cringed as Thomas Wayne didn't back down from the mugger, even as he handed over his stuffed wallet.

The criminal didn't like his defiance, since he had the gun and all the power, so he snarled at the rich snob and pulled the trigger.

*BANG!*

I flinched from the sound and tears came to my eyes as blood started to flow and Thomas dropped to his knees.

“DAD!” Bruce yelled an tried to catch him, only his father was too heavy and fell backwards anyway. Both Bruce and Martha cried as Thomas bled out through the large whole in his chest.

“I warned you.” The mugger said and turned to look at Martha Wayne. “Sorry lady. I can't have any witnesses.”

“No!” Martha and I said at the same time, because we both knew he meant he was going to kill Bruce, too. The man's finger started to squeeze the trigger again and I lost it.

I wordlessly yelled my frustration as all my hopes to help were dashed, then I felt my whole body tingle. My not-so-silent wish was granted when there was a loud crack of thunder at the same time that the mugger's gun went off, and I was suddenly there in my own vision in front of Martha and the bullet slammed into the right side of my forehead.

My head whipped to the right as I felt the bullet tear into my skin and bounced off my skull. Thankfully, the bullet went off on an angle and pinged off of the alleyway wall instead of hitting the taller woman behind me. I felt a small trickle of blood and wiped at it with the back of my hand.

“Wh-wh... who the hell are you?” The mugger asked.

I was hurt from being shot and too angry at the man to answer, then I felt my eyes start to itch. Two bright red beams shot out and hit the gun that I was focused on, heating it to bright red almost instantly. The man yelped and tried to throw it, which was a mistake. I was still pouring my heat vision into it and the gun deformed and melted over his hand.

The mugger screamed and fell to the ground, his hand and the gun almost merging together. I felt a delicate hand on my shoulder and the red beams cut off. The last thing I needed was to look at Bruce's mom with lasers coming out of my eyes. I turned to look at her and saw her face was streaked with tears. She nodded to me before she knelt beside her dying husband.

“Dad, no! Don't die. You can't die!” Bruce pleaded with him.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

“I'm... sorry, son.” Thomas said, his voice faint. “Martha...”

“Hush, my dear. Someone should have heard those gun shots.” Martha said and petted his short dark hair with one hand and had her other hand gripped over the wound to try and stem the bleeding. “Help will be here soon.”

“No, I...” Thomas shook his head. “It's too late...”

It was a touching scene and I was tempted to let it play out a bit more; but, I wasn't an asshole or a masochist, so I walked around them and knelt by the man's head and put a hand on his neck.

“What are you doing?” Martha asked me and her voice was calm, despite the situation.

“Helping.” I said and used his own body to push the bullet back out of his chest and then reformed his heart, the damaged sack surrounding it, part of the lung, his chipped ribcage, then the muscles and skin where the wound was. I gave Thomas the same upgrade package I gave my mom and dad, too.

“DAD!” Bruce yelled when he saw Thomas regain his color and his breathing went back to normal.

Martha on the other hand, stared at me with a blank face, the bullet gripped tightly in her hand.

“You might want to save that.” I said and patted her hand, giving her the same upgrade.

Martha sucked in a sharp breath, somehow feeling the change as it happened, and I smiled at her. She watched as I stood and went over to the whimpering criminal.

“Who sent you?” I asked.

The man gave me a pitying look. “N-n-no one.”

I knelt and grabbed his melted hand and he screamed. “Don't make me repeat myself.”

“F-Falcone! He offered a fortune to get rid of the Waynes!” The mugger now assassin admitted.

“Anyone else?” I asked.

The man said a few other crime families had also offered a nice sum to remove the thorn in their side that the Wayne Foundation's charities were causing to their operations. As a reward for telling the truth, I numbed the pain in his hand and stopped any chance he would die from the damage, then stunned him.

I stood up and nodded to Thomas, who was sitting up and holding his wife and son tightly. “I think you know what to do now.”

Thomas nodded and his eyes held a world of retribution that the crime families of Gotham were going to regret bringing down upon themselves. “Who are you?”

“A friend.” I said and closed my eyes as I concentrated and built up some magic, then another loud crack had me back across the country and inside my bedroom. I opened my eyes, glad to be back home, and froze... because I was not alone.

“I think you have some explaining to do.” Martha said to me.

“This was the first time, I swear!” I admitted and she squinted her eyes at me, then she nodded. Just like Diane, she could always tell when I lied to her. Maybe it was a special power that all mothers had? I wondered. I was not stupid enough to ask about it, though.

“I heard your yell and then the loud snap of thunder. I rushed in here and you were gone.” Martha said and patted the bed beside her. “Tell me what happened and how you got that jagged scratch on your forehead.”

I took a deep breath and let it out, ducked my head and walked over to the bed, and plopped down beside her. She put her arm over my shoulders and pulled me into her side. That meant two things. She was supporting me as I talked to her and she wasn't going to let me go until I told her everything.

*

The assassination attempt on the Wayne family was in the national papers and on the news for the next week. It would be months, probably years, for the case to be investigated and probably thrown out. Gotham was a cesspool of corruption and crime, so the attempted murder would be covered up eventually.

I also had a small white scar on my forehead in the shape of a lightning bolt, which seemed really appropriate. I had used accidental magic to apparate across the country to save someone and was marked for it. I could have healed it right away and was going to, then Martha told me it would be a reminder of the very first life I had saved with my powers. That had been a great point and I decided to keep it.

Life at the farm went back to normal, even though Martha knew about my powers and how I had been hiding them as they developed. She chose to not include Johnathan in the secret, since I had been so diligent in hiding them from everyone, because that would be exactly what he would have wanted.

Keeping them from him actually fit into his philosophy. It also stopped him from needlessly worrying about someone else finding out about my powers, which both my mom and I agreed would slowly consume him to the point that he would be paranoid beyond all reason.

Sometimes during the days, and sometimes during the evenings, Martha would ask me to look in on someone or something. Her family, her friends, the president, a famous actor or actress, and once even her mother's grave. She wouldn't say she was helping me practice, even though she was.

It also gave me the idea to check in on a few people, like Princess Diana on Themyscria, Arthur Curry at his lighthouse, Barry Allen at his home and... dammit, I apparated right into his house and stopped his mother from being murdered and his father being framed for it.

Unlike last time, I didn't let myself be seen or allowed the criminal live. I snapped Reverse-Flash's neck and stored his costume, transfigured normal clothes on him, and left his body in the local morgue for the police to find. An unexplained John Doe being found never made it to the newspapers.

I also checked in on Hal Jordan, Bruce Wayne a few times, and J'onn J'onzz, or Martian Manhunter. He was already on Earth somehow and was living a relatively normal life while also solving crimes as a detective. I checked on Mars to see that it was the desolate wasteland it was always depicted as, which meant the Martian Civil War must have been either devastating or a very long time ago.

I briefly checked other people that might become heroes in the future and had to smile a confirming I was in at least a world where the Justice League was possible. What iteration it could be was completely up for debate, since many different types of those heroes were in several different versions of the League.

Well, only time would tell which one it was going to be. All I could do was wait for it to happen, assuming a heavy hand wasn't needed here and there to fix things. That made me think I should start looking into the various villains I knew about and possibly stop them from being created or appearing later.

I sighed, because a hero's work was never done when applied on a near global scale.