Tachyon: Rise to villainy

Chapter 53

Barry stared at the kid, taking in the explanation of his powers. He discovered that his abilities came from the speed force, a cosmic force that controls motion and speed. Speedsters like Barry would reside in this cosmic realm after death. According to Cage, the speed force was sentient, and Barry was its avatar, bridging the gap between their worlds.

Barry was still processing this revelation. The idea of being the champion of a cosmic force was mind-boggling. He had a question: "Are there any other cosmic forces I should know about?"

Cage responded while one of his clones searched through the fridges. "There are many more, but right now, we should focus on figuring out how to beat Myles."

Barry, determined, asked Cage, "You mentioned that I could open a portal to the speed force if I ran fast enough. How fast exactly?"

Cage casually replied, "Faster than light, dude. But it won't be enough. Myles knows that our only chance is to land a solid hit on him."

Barry felt frustrated. It seemed like they were back to square one, needing to find a way to outsmart Myles. Perhaps overwhelming him and overloading his powers could work?

"What if we overload him?" Barry suggested, causing Cage to look at him as if he had lost his mind. "You said he has every ability, but I noticed he can't use them all simultaneously."

Cage furrowed his brow, recalling their fight. Initially, Myles seemed overpowering, but upon reflection, there was something peculiar about how he used his powers. Cage remembered seeing a minor crack in Myles' skin.

Suddenly, realization struck Cage. "His body can't handle the strain," he said, disbelief etched across his face. "Using more powers puts more pressure on his body."

How had they missed this? The answer had been right in front of them. The primal force devoured all and consistently generated energy. Myles, on the other hand, was like a faucet. Each time he used more abilities, he unleashed more pressure on his body than it could bear. It became clear that their strategy was to endure Myles' attacks, forcing him to release even more energy.

However, they needed to be cautious in their approach to Myles. If he continued releasing energy without control, he could become a dangerous bomb capable of obliterating parts of the multiverse.

***

Meanwhile, Myles was bored, but waiting for the two to finish their little bubble chat was hell on earth. Yet it gave him something to think about—something that he had never thought about until watching a commercial.

What did he want to do?

Having this overwhelming power should be fun, and it was until it started to erode, becoming stale like a damn fish out of water. Did... Having so much power somehow made him weak in a philosophical way? Did he lose something that was valuable?

He didn't want to admit it but... He had been having this nagging feeling that somehow and someway he wasn't living up to his old self. Not anymore. People fear him because of his power, not because of his actions.

His cunning and wit were replaced by the constant reliance on omniscience and omnipotence.

He was, for the first time in his life, having an existential crisis! How hilarous.

The addiction to absolute power and the desire to revert to his older, powerless self were now at war with him. He wasn't stupid; in reality, he was currently in wit and cunningness can only take him as far as he can throw a pebble.

The moment he faces off against Darkside, Trigon, and other top-tier worldenders, he loses. But with Primal Force, he was on par with them.

So how was he going to solve this dilemma? He can't turn off his omniscience since it'll pop up at any time but he also wanted to have a blast like in the old days. The thrill of being cornered by another predator excited him.