"Get yourself together, God damnit," Rio shouted as he faced Johnson.
"It is all my fault: I am the one who caused all this: it is my fault: it is my fault: who am I? Why am I living?" Johnson muttered, receiving another punch to his face.
"Nobody is at fault here: Archex would not want you to beat yourself up over what has already happened: the Quicklightning I know would never give up: he would fight: his strength is the will to overcome all odds: so stop being weak and fight back, God damnit: or we are going to die here," Rio yelled as the collapsing neutron stars became a black hole, sucking everything in its path: houses: buildings: cars: even other cities as it grew larger, destroying the land.
Electron floated above the city, raising his arms over the land: "This is your true salvation: your destiny: your fate, oh Human Race: for everything you have done to all realms and dimensions, you shall suffer the consequences," he declared, floating in the air.
A sudden punch struck him in the face, throwing him across buildings and cities, crashing fatally.
"We are not done yet: do not celebrate your end," Quicklightning shouted as he appeared in front of him: his hair glowed red with anger: his body radiated absorbed energy. "Release power to sixty percent," he commanded Jake.
"Yes, Master: releasing master power to sixty percent," Jake intoned, his voice mechanical and clear.
At that moment, the watch on Johnson's wrist pulsed with vibrant energy. A soft chime echoed, followed by a calm digital voice:
"User has successfully upgraded: access to seventy percent of total capabilities now granted."
Johnson's aura erupted, glowing like a radiant sun: his form engulfed in a fusion of gold, white, and red energy: the electrical cosmic currents surrounding him pulled inward. Power surged through every nerve in his body: time seemed to slow.
"Cosmic blast from the electrical entity has been absorbed," Jake confirmed. "New abilities unlocked: electrical and lightning resistance: atom perception: aura manipulation: perception level increased to Tier twenty: AUTO INSTINCT unlocked: enhanced cognitive systems activated."
Johnson's eyes sparked as he felt time slow before him.
"User can now exceed light-speed movement by sheer will: strength upgraded to Hyper Strength: speed level Hyper Speed Tier one."
The suit around him shifted as another upgrade flowed in:
"Time Bond enhancement complete: user can now interact with Time Bond and interchange mid-battle: transformation functions unlocked: user may select up to three object forms."
"Oh really," Johnson laughed: "how about you change my emblem and my sneakers into golden boots that can move anywhere?"
"Upgrading suit," Jake said as the sneakers morphed into tight boots glowing with gold energy.
"Come on: I was joking, but okay: I like it: wow," Johnson laughed, moving around to examine it.
"Emblem upgrade for user," Jake said as the Time Bond moved from his wrist to his chest: a diamond-shaped emblem filled with rainbow-colored energy spread across his blue suit: a strange warmth spread across his chest.
"It is not like you would not like it anyway," Jake added in a tired tone.
"I like it: but the suit does not like me," Johnson said sadly. "So everyone I knew is dead?" he asked, moving at hyper light speed, scanning the city for survivors.
"No: they are not dead now: fortunately: I am very sorry for not telling you everything," Jake replied in a sad tone.
"They are alive?" Johnson asked with joy.
"Yes: as soon as you left the building with Rio, they were transported: not just the people in Voyage City but all over the world," Jake explained.
"Oh: by who?" Johnson asked in confusion.
"You should know who did it," Jerry said.
"So tell me Jake: who are you?" Johnson asked, looking at his chest.
Jake sighed: "I do not want to add to your existential crisis: but I am going to say it: I am you: but at the same time not you."
"What do you mean?" Johnson said as he sat in a park, crossing his legs and reading a book: the bench remained still despite the chaos around him.
"This bench is still here: kind of funny though," Johnson muttered, laughing softly. He then visited the New Heights Library in Smart City, picking seven books and began to read.
"You are reading books to cure your mental state? Really at this time? Aren't you going to fight that guy trying to destroy your planet?" Jake asked in surprise.
"Haha: I am just trying to escape reality: the planet is destroyed and all the people I know are missing: it is because of me and you: it is my fault for not asking: I am sorry," Johnson said, voice low.
"It is my fault for not telling you too: Johnny: but you know I am always here for you," Jake said.
"Yes: except you are me," Johnson said in frustration as he returned to the city, looking at Archex's faint aura: "Is that his soul or aura?" he asked. Archex appeared matured, like a twenty-three-year-old, his soul glowing brightly.
"That is his soul: did you not know? Your aura perception lets you see the aura of people and objects even on a spiritual level," Jake explained.
"Oh yes: I forgot: no wonder I can see the spirit of every pest in my house sometimes. I am not sure I am ready to fight that guy: I might just kill him in anger," Johnson said, staring at Electron. "But why did we forget what happened before?"
Jake sighed again: "I am your will: not technically you as in your personality: imagine me as your voice in your head each time you read a book or think about something: I have always been with you ever since you had a will to do something for someone without considering yourself: I am your willpower given life and integrated into the Time Bond."
"I understand," Johnson said. "Can I switch with you?"
"Um: okay: but I will say anything I know you are screaming inside," Jake warned as he pulsed and took over Johnson's body.
"Temporal perception level ten attained: note: further advancement requires approval from the Time Bond Creator."
In that instant, Jake's voice softened, almost human for a moment:
"Sharing ten percent of Origin Core: accessing past memories of temporal loops and anomalies: download complete."
"Rewind ability upgraded: Reverse Temporal Movement is now active."
In a single breath, less than a second, Johnson Stones had evolved: his fists clenched, wrapped in surging cosmic energy: the ground cracked beneath him.
He raised his head slowly toward Electron: the light from his body outshone the devastation around them.
"I should not celebrate: hehe: there is nobody in this world that can stop me: I am the pinnacle of all impulses in the universe: you cannot possibly do anything," Electron began, receiving a heavy uppercut to his chin that threw him into the sky.
"You should look at who you are fighting and stop talking," Quicklightning said, kicking him in the stomach with a knee jab.
"Damn you: Human," Electron shouted as he rushed to punch, charging through the planet and obliterating everything in his path.
Back in the destroyed city, Rio floated in the air: he removed all his limiters and swung on the clouds glowing with energy: "Elemental Weaving Technique: Protection Gate," he said, weaving the clouds like a net over the city as the black hole pulled at him.
"Ah: I cannot hold it much longer: where is Quicklightning?" Rio muttered, checking his wrist panel. "He is in Russia? No: England? No: Finland? No: Kansas? No: Australia? No: Greenland? No: Iceland? No: Africa? No: what the hell: he is everywhere at once."
Suddenly, Quicklightning and Electron reappeared in the shattered city: Johnson landed a fierce punch on Electron: Electron retaliated with lightning-fast strikes at Quicklightning. Johnson dodged effortlessly, countering with a brutal uppercut that sent Electron crashing to the ground.
Johnson's fists blurred, punching Rex millions of times faster than light, driving him deep into the Earth's core. Faster and faster he struck, each blow roaring like thunder.
"Ah: I will not let you destroy my world," Quicklightning roared, relentlessly striking Electron.
"Who is this guy?" Electron gasped: "I am using full strength just to defend and he is punching me non-stop: is he even human?"
Summoning a bolt of lightning from the sky, Electron aimed a devastating blast at Quicklightning. Quicklightning dodged: the lightning surged back, striking Electron and forcing him to vanish.
Electron reappeared far beyond the Milky Way, over 500 million light-years away, observing Earth from the void.
"Where do you think you are running to?" Quicklightning's cold voice echoed in his mind.
A tap on his shoulder stopped Electron's escape: "Impossible," he muttered before a punch slammed into his stomach, blasting him through planets and solar systems, crashing him back toward the Milky Way with Quicklightning in pursuit.
Electron retaliated, unleashing massive bursts of energy that obliterated entire planets in his path.
Amidst the chaos, Jake's calm voice echoed in Johnson's mind: "User power increasing due to willpower and resilience."
"Jake: absorb," Johnson said calmly as he sprinted through the searing beam of energy, powering his suit: energy surged through his veins: without hesitation, he punched Electron, sending him hurtling through space.
For a brief attosecond, time seemed to pause: Johnson caught his breath: then time snapped back as he continued running: stars streaking past like rushing lights.
"Wonder how I am moving in space..." Johnson muttered, scanning the emptiness.
"Oh my gosh: is that Alpha Centauri?" he asked, pointing at the closest star to his solar system.
"Yes: what do you want to do?" Jake asked in confusion.
" I wanna see it..." Johnson soared through the vast emptiness of space, the stars stretching into streams of light as hisbody accelerated beyond light speed. He approached Alpha Centauri, the nearest star system to his own. At first glance, the void seemed stark and silent, the darkness punctuated by the brilliant pinpricks of distant suns.
"It's… mostly black, but the light from the stars is sharper than I expected," Johnson muttered, his voice carried by the suit's comm system. He reached out, and the energy field around him absorbed a fraction of the star's radiation. Colors that had been invisible to the naked eye began to emerge: subtle blues of ionized gases, deep reds of stellar plasma, and shimmering greens from scattered cosmic dust.
"Oh, so space isn't just black and white," he said with a grin, eyes widening as he realized the spectrum his suit revealed. "It's alive with colors I never imagined."
Jake's calm voice responded in his mind: "Your suit enhances perception, Master. It converts invisible wavelengths into the visible spectrum. That is why you now see space's hidden hues. The blackness is real, but the colors were always there."
Johnson nodded, touching the star's surface with his hand. He felt the energy surge through his body, the suit stabilizing his temperature, shielding him from the star's immense heat. "It doesn't burn. I can… actually feel its energy flowing into me."
"That is correct. Your absorption ability has adapted to extreme conditions, allowing you to operate in vacuum and harness stellar energy safely," Jake explained.
Johnson stepped back, taking in the sight of Alpha Centauri in its full spectral glory. "Now I get it. Space isn't lifeless. It's just that most humans can't perceive it properly. But now I can… and I'll use it."
"It is also not burning your skin or body because you absorbed energy from Electron: your suit adapted: allowing you to move and survive in space despite zero gravity: impossible by conventional physics: you have unlocked other abilities through absorbing the star: would you like to explore them?" Jake explained.
"Yes: sure."
"User now has Hercules-level strength and cognitive support," Jake said as Johnson moved, regaining control.
He propellled himself forward running, as the absorbed cosmic energy reflecting across his golden boots and diamond emblem, his aura blazing as he prepared to face Electron once more.
Johnson surged forward, landing a brutal punch that slammed Electron into a swirling white energy orb around which planets orbited. He looked back at colorless space: "I am going to come back: and when I do I will make sure everything has color," he said, observing the planet.
The impact was catastrophic: Electron crashed violently onto Venus's molten surface: the planet shuddered.
"My speed is being drained: my energy siphoned by that insane human child," Electron muttered, his glowing eyes reflecting disbelief.
"How is this possible? I faced demons, elves, dragons: but never anyone with such unbreakable will: how is he even breathing in vacuum? Was he just crying over his friend moments ago? What is his true power? His strength?"
He trailed off, gazing into Johnson's electrons and atoms: what he saw shook him: an infinite mass of energy growing with his will.
"This boy... he defies all rules: no limits: no cause and effect: just raw infinite power growing with his will: what the hell," Electron cursed.
He crashed through Earth's stratosphere, igniting the atmosphere in a blazing inferno.
Quicklightning appeared before him: a fierce silhouette glowing with energy.
"I am going to switch now: Johnny: sorry," Jake said as Johnson regained consciousness: his hair turned white and eyes normal.
"You asked who I am?" Quicklightning's voice was cold but resolute. "I do not even know what I truly am: but I do know: I want a peaceful life with my family: I will never let anyone harm those I love: not even you."
His fists slammed into Electron's face repeatedly: each punch echoed like thunder, colliding with the crumbling city: buildings shattered: dust clouded the air: energy rippled outward.
Restraining himself from delivering the final blow, Quicklightning screamed: "Ahhhhhhhhhh," Johnson cried, clutching his head: the Great Labs were rubble: the city shelter destroyed: the slums engulfed in ruin.
From the battlefield edge, Rio's voice was weak but desperate: blood dripping as he strained to hold back the black hole:
"Quicklightning: you can still save us: can't you?"
"User physical body cannot handle any more strain," Jake warned.
Johnson's blood poured from his eyes: a grim testament to the cost: but in his heart, hope burned fiercely.