15 The Oasis, The Dark Archer and Ancient Civilizations
The OASIS.
Standing for "Ontologically Anthropocentric Sensory Immersive Simulation", would be the world's first "Massively multiplayer online simulation game" produced by Wayne Enterprises.
My latest gift to humanity.
For those that didn't get the reference, it's from Ready Player One.
A virtual place where reality would be limited by imagination.
Where one could do anything and go anywhere.
Like the Vacation Planet. Surf a 50-foot monster wave in Hawaii, ski down the Pyramids or even climb Mount Everest.
Since I had already claimed ownership of ideas from my previous life, I had Minecraft World for creation and survival, Sports Station for all types of competition, or bringing to life my MMORPG.
There's also a casino the size of earth's moon. Capable of providing everything the real deal was capable of. You can lose and earn a lot of money there, get married and divorced. Not to mention full filing sexual fantasies.
The virtual universe of the OASIS was split into 27 sectors each 10 light hours across, arranged like a Rubik's cube.
The sectors have zones that could be of any shape and size, and each had different "rules".
Zones could allow or prevent magic, technology, PvP, teleporting, communications, and more.
For instance, Ludus, the schooling planet, was a no-PvP zone.
The worlds within OASIS could also have different settings.
While Ludus was locked in a state of always day, Neonoir (a Cyberpunk-themed world in Sector 16) was always night, and the sky of Archaide (homage to the early 8-bit tank-battle coin-op Battlezone) never changed with a volcano always on the horizon.
Planets could be player built, owned, and colonized, or created by the developers.
It was what I expected from No Man's Sky.
Besides, nothing beats making a lot of money by selling fake real estate (surreal estate).
Sector 1 has been set aside for Avatar Outfitters (a massive shopping district) and serves as the main "player hub" for chatting or picking a teleportation portal.
That said, I was also aware that people would come to my Oasis for all the things they could do or have, but they would stay because of all the things they could become.
Tall, beautiful, scary, a different sex, a different species, live action, cartoon, the sky was literally the limit.
Except for eating, sleeping, bathroom breaks and reproduction (for obvious reasons), people could do anything else in my Oasis.
From exercising to spending time with friends, I had big plans set for the rapid growth in the earth's population that was bound to happen due to my influence.
And with my recent progress on my "Needlecasting" project, the Oasis will follow my conquest of other planets.
That reminds me, New Krypton is all mine for the taking.
Wayne Enterprises already released Haptic Suits capable of tracking the player's movements, a functional VR Visor that enables the player to see, hear and speak within my OASIS. And the "Smell Tower" project has just been completed.
My Wayne X Phones and their Detective Operating System are more than capable of running the OASIS program.
So anyone would be able to access it from virtually anywhere.
Heh, get it?
Anyway...
The hardware would eventually expand to reach Gamer's hands-free computer room and Quentin Beck's Binarily Augmented Retro-Framing.
Or perhaps even exploring the "Sword Art Online" route and designing a NerveGear that won't fry anyone's head after a game over.
Though a death gun was still tempting for my assassins to get rid of any relevant target swiftly.
Soon enough, my Globally Networked Virtual Reality Universe would be used by most of humanity on a daily basis.
As for the Gameplay, obtaining and booting up the game would cost only 25 cents for a user to use and operate.
Partially as an homage to the video games of the 1980s which only required one quarter to run per game, but also as a cover up story as to how my company was capable of maintaining such a project online.
The costs alone would be worthy of complete bankruptcy to any other company.
While the in-game vending, travel between worlds and zones, and almost everything else would be managed through the players' skill and the in-game currency.
I was very adamant on not building a pay to win game. That would defeat the true purpose of building the Oasis.
Besides data mining, I wanted to find gamers who had the best skill, logic and reflexes. A concept I got from a kids TV show I recalled from my past life named Aaron Stone.
Added that to the ideas I got of Mapping a person's consciousness from "Upload", Cortical Stacks and Sleeves from "Alternate Carbon", the possibilities were truly limitless.
Within my OASIS, there were NPCs which players could interact with.
Some would drop experience and items when killed.
There are also quests, which a player (or group of players) could take on to get a prize, usually experience, credits and sometimes items.
On rare occasions, players could receive unique and powerful artifacts from killing the final boss of a quest.
Similar to how Westworld was capable of providing meticulously crafted and artfully designed narratives that offered an unparalleled, immersive world where one had the freedom to become who they've always wanted to be — or who they never knew they were.
Speaking of the TV series, I've personally crafted worlds inspired by each park Delos Destinations Inc. were overseeing.
Old West, Feudal Japan, World War 2, Medieval Fantasy, Safari and Colonial India.
[It's perfect master!] Dots announced as they walked barefoot through the beach. Hearing the sound of the waves and the nearby amusement park. [The system has completely stabilized.]
For the past moments, I've been having one of my constant rundowns while exploring my Oasis alongside Dots.
Since I was a being of higher intellect, I was capable of running multiple lines of thoughts without problems.
One of the worst parts of being an evolved Kryptonian was that mere headphones and VR goggles weren't optimal for my super senses.
If not for my absolute control over my powers, visiting my own creation with as much immersion as I could would not have been possible at all.
Perhaps even more than regular humans since I could continue to improve the simulation on its near insignificant flaws.
Sadly, my paramour Faora and my Kryptonian underlings weren't as disciplined. But nothing that my magic seals couldn't deal with.
Though they would experience life as most humans did. At least until they unlock better gear and skills.
"Try this one, Dots. I've programmed it to taste just like the real one." I told her while handing her a piece of cotton candy.
In the Oasis, Dots was the closest thing there was to an actual deity.
What about me?
Well, I am it's creator.
A deity here was actually akin to an admin of a Facebook page.
Dots had been boosted by my Mother Box, making her one of the most powerful supercomputers of all DC.
Being a cyborg from birth, she was still a being of the digital world.
But since I was the one who first bounded with it, the Miracle Machine had a maternal loyalty to me.
I could shut the entire Oasis in less than a second or display powers much greater than the ones I was currently capable of mustering, even in my Shazam form.
[It's…mmmm... really flavorsome!] She said whilst giving a closed-lip moan.
"Glad you liked it." I told while patting her on the head.
"Excuse me." Faora cleared her throat.
"Ah yes, I was waiting for you my dear." I turned to face her, well aware of her current thoughts. "So, how are the girls adjusting?"
Faora took a moment to adjust her tone and replied. "This place is incredible, my love. It feels like being back at Krypton. At first I was expecting a similar experience I had from the Phantom Zone, but clearly I was mistaken." She smiled. "Despite our soldiers lacking the same experience, they had proven very adaptive to this new environment."
"Perfect." I remarked. "Dots, I'm assigning you to aid the girls through the simulations I've prepared. Test how far their intellect has developed until I make my return. After that we will be testing their metahuman abilities."
[Yes sir.] She replied before flying away.
Gesturing with my hand to the side, a portal manifested with a loud 'boom' as I assumed my Shazam form without needing to be struck by lightning. "Come with me my love, I want to show you something I've been working on."
"Of course Kal." She replied confidently.
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A Boom Tube is a slang expression for an extra-dimensional point-to-point travel portal opened by a Mother Box used primarily by the New Gods of New Genesis and Apokolips.
The moniker derives from the loud "BOOM" that erupts when a tube is created.
The initial Kirby comics depicted Boom Tubes as a sort of quasi-technological equivalent of Bifrost, the Rainbow Bridge linking Asgard and Earth in Marvel.
Indeed, Boom Tubes were described as a "bridge to Earth."
Subsequent writers have allowed the tubes to be used for point-to-point transport between various locations on New Genesis, Apokolips, Earth and other planets, thereby making them near-ubiquitous for the travel of the New Gods.
Boom tubes replaced other mostly undefined concepts like the Electron Road, the Matter Threshold and the StarGate, all of which have been used by the New Gods for travel from either New Genesis or Apokolips.
Later canon had been unclear on whether it is even possible to travel from the regular universe to that of the New Gods without a boom tube or similar device.
Justice League International #19 shows the JLI reaching Apokolips using a normal spacecraft, but Cosmic Odyssey explicitly states that one cannot reach Apokolips or New Genesis without a tube.
Later writers introduced the idea that the New Gods were, in fact, giants, and the technology used in a Boom-Tube automatically compensates for a traveler's size and mass when teleporting them from one universe to another, resizing them to fit.
The precise size ratio has varied since then, with New Gods in their "original" size being depicted as anywhere from tens of feet tall, to thousands, to larger than our planet or even our universe.
It has been noted that alternate methods of travel affect one's size by different amounts, which may explain the discrepancy.
So it's fair to say that it's a matter up for debate and interpretation.
Kal-el has continued to explore the Mother Box he got from the humans, slowly but surely mastering its less known secrets.
Since he had based his Oasis on the reality he lived in, Boom Tubes have proven themselves one of the best ways of traveling around his virtual universe.
Especially as an exclusive method to travel to the restricted areas of the Oasis.
BOOM!
From a portal, both Sentry and Faora-ul appeared in a very familiar landscape to the latter.
"What?!" Faora gasped. "It can't be!"
"Heh, I was hoping to surprise you." Sentry told her with a smile. "Behold…"
The eight feet tall man gestured to his paramour, lingering his words for a moment while she took great notice of the place they were standing in front of.
Having an Earth-like terrain composed of canyons and oceans.
The gravity being much greater than that of Earth, and the atmospheric composition differed to the extent of being unsuitable for humans.
"...Krypton!" Sentry announced, showcasing everything he managed to reproduce from the data he had about Krypton before the planet was destroyed in a seismic implosion due to careless mining of the planetary core.
He had made use of all the data on the ship that brought him, the scouting ship that alerted Zod and his Black Zero ship.
Even going as far as to probe the minds of the remaining members of Zod's crew to give the virtual solar system an air of authenticity.
From where the two of them stood, they could sight many cities that were towering metropolitan areas surrounded by similar themed walls and towers.
The section of the planet they now stood was tidally locked to its star, creating a limited sweet spot where life could form while the rest of the planet was forever untouched by the light of the nearby sun.
This meant the planet they now inhabited didn't have a night cycle, as Rao was always in the same place in the sky. Krypton was orbited by four moons, including the destroyed Wegthor.
The planet's wildlife included many predators, with some notorious species being genetically created through the mixing of many local species, including even some extinct creatures. By the time of Krypton's latest Civil War, only domesticated life forms remained alive.
"It's… perfect my love." Was everything Faora was capable of muttering due to her shock.
Even Dru-Zod's plans to terraform earth would require at the very least decades to come close to what Krypton once was.
"I know it isn't the same as the real one, but I hope you accept this as my gift to you." Sentry told her.
Her immediate response was to lunge at him with a kiss.
Actually, it was the first virtual kiss happening in the Oasis.
—————————————————————
"That's not what I was expecting." Oliver said as he was led by his fake bodyguard to a penthouse.
Sandra stared at him.
"Not that I'm complaining." He remarked stoically before looking around.
It was relatively isolated, meaning that no one would notice his movements as a vigilante and the terrace would also make it easy for him to get in and out undetected with his cable arrows.
The place had plenty of space and gave an excellent view of the city. Not sign of any security system, but somehow Oliver knew there was one.
"I'm glad it's of your liking." A familiar voice to Oliver suddenly announced. "The great Oliver Queen has a reputation of only frequentating only the best parties."
As he shifted his gaze, the young Queen finally noticed the famous Patrick Wayne eating some lavish meal alongside a beautiful woman with blonde hair and green eyes.
"That was back then." Oliver replied, not noticing how honest he was unintentionally being. "Before the island…"
"Ah yes, the sad tragedy." Patrick acknowledged. "Listen, I don't know what happened there, and if it's too personal I would rather you don't tell. What I do know is this, you have talent in regards to killing, and you are one of the most famous celebrities in this part of the city."
Oliver kept quiet, waiting patiently for his host to complete his line of thought.
"You got the eyes of a man with a mission. And perhaps you are willing to sacrifice your personal image to accomplish some higher purpose. But I'm offering you the opportunity to not have to compromise." Patrick told him.
"I'm listening." Oliver replied before being surprised again by the shadowy ninja as the seemingly materialized from out of thin air.
After wiping his mouth with a cocktail napkin, Patrick said. "I'm here to offer you a place in the Court of Shadows. Our best soldiers will aid you with sharpening your skills, while our agents will be publicly more friendly to you and your family's company."
"I won't decline training alongside skillful warriors, but why should I waste my time pretending to be like you?"
It was then that the blonde woman chuckled and a ghostly voice appeared from behind Oliver, followed by a woman of middle eastern descendance.
"For the greater good, Mr. Queen." A shadowy figure replied.
Instead of the simple shock of being caught by surprise he had experienced from Patrick, the Dark Knight's presence had completely spooked Oliver.
Despite his hardening experience on the island, the young playboy felt as if he had met death for the first time.
"Wha-who are you?" Oliver asked, almost tripping as he backed away.
"Relax Oliver, this is just the leader of the assassins." Patrick said casually before taking another bite from his meal. "And in my humble opinion, the deadliest man on earth."
"So, Mr. Queen, do you accept our offer?" The devilish presence asked for the last time as his mask released a chilling breeze. "Ready to fulfill your father's list?"
…
Over the next few weeks, Oliver began crossing more names off the list in a more aggressive fashion, doing enough to get Malcolm's attention that someone was crossing names off his list.
He was tasked with apprehending a Drug Czar named Chien Na Wei and delivering her to be judged by the court.
Under the guidance of the Shadows, Oliver noticed how much he had yet to learn.
Not only in regards to actual combat, but also with psychological warfare and fear tactics.
With constant upgrades to his gear…
Like the arrows he got that were Teflon-coated titanium blades serrated to split bones and shaft being made by a specialized polymer, which was much stronger than a typical carbon fiber. Not to mention several trick arrows he had received as well.
…the young Queen grew more effective, and more subservient to his superiors.
He was slowly becoming a worthy addition to the Court of Shadows.
Not simply as an assassin, but also as a reformed billionaire that was finally taking action to help his city.
Oliver had even begun to be close to his family.
Despite his suspicions for his mother's involvement with the sabotage of the Queen's gambit, he still wished all the best for her and Walter's relationship.
As for Thea, he had convinced Moira to act more as a caring mother and teach something to his sister while she was still a minor.
Though she certainly wouldn't admit it, the attention from her family was a welcoming change for her.
Patrick was insistent that he was present for his family.
Be it by accompanying them on Walter's stock auction or spending some time goofing around with his sister.
After getting reports of another archer roaming around making hostages, he had his next mission assigned.
Turning on the TV, revealing a newscast with a woman and other hostages. "Hello Star District. For the past few months, this city has been laid siege by a group of vigilantes. But the police have been unable to bring them to justice because they lack the will to do what justice demands." She sobbed before continuing to read. "I will kill one hostage every hour in the name of these vigilantes until their leader surrenders himself to my authority."
"This guy wants me, he'll get me." Oliver said, moving to check his quiver.
…
When Oliver arrived at the scene, he found the police were already attempting to gain access to the building, but he just quickly arrived on the scene by sliding on a cable to the roof and entering that way, finding the hostages exactly where they were the first time.
"It's okay, I'll get you out of here." The Arrow said as he used a flechette to cut them free. "Get to the roof now. I'll take care of the other archer." He told the hostages after he freed the last of them, who nodded and ran up to the roof while he headed down to the factory, where the Dark Archer was waiting for him.
"Thank you for coming. Since your last target, I knew I'd have to do something dramatic to get your attention." The Dark Archer said.
"You should've tried to avoid it. You're in over your head." Oliver said.
"Really, and why's that?" The Dark Archer asked.
"You're outmatched." Oliver said as he fired a flash arrow to blind his opponent and then lunged at him while he was distracted, hitting him with his bow.
"Lucky shot." The Dark Archer said.
"I'm just getting started." Oliver replied as the two continued fighting, but surprisingly, Oliver was the one with the upperhand.
As a matter of fact, the other archer didn't have a chance.
Probably due to the slim power suit he had been wearing under his armor. Or to the small boost he had received from a serum.
"It's over." Oliver said after a short battle which ended with him tossing his opponent over his shoulder.
"How did you beat me? It's impossible!" The Dark Archer asked as he struggled to get up only for Oliver to punch him back down before hoisting him up and removing his hood.
"Do it! Kill me!" The now revealed to be Malcolm Merlyn said, preferring to die and let his plans continue on than live in defeat.
"No. I won't kill you. And not out of mercy. But simply because you're more useful to me alive." Oliver snarled, since he'd broken into Unidac Industries a week after assuming a position at Queen Consolidated and got all the plans on The Undertaking that the Court of Shadows requested.
"What do you mean?" Malcolm asked.
"You'll find out soon enough." Oliver said as he jammed a tranq arrow into Malcolm, knocking him out.
—————————————————————
Thousands of years before current events.
When Zeus had created humanity, Ares held disdain for them and began corrupting men with hatred, violence, and war.
In response to Ares' actions, Zeus created the Amazons, an all-female race of warrior women, to protect mankind from Ares by spreading love and compassion.
One day, the God of War manipulated his half-brother Heracles to gather forces and attack the original Themyscira, where Heracles seduced and ravaged the Amazon Queen Hippolyta.
His forces succeeded in ransacking Themyscira and enslaving the Amazons.
Through strength and savage cunning, Hippolyta and Antiope led the Amazons to freedom while Asteria bought them time by sacrificing herself.
As decreed by their gods, Hippolyta led the remaining Amazons to a remote island, where they were tasked with guarding the Gates of Tartarus.
The new Themyscira was built and restored by the combined might of the Greek gods the Amazons worshiped, with each one bestowing a blessing over the land and the Amazons.
Being protected by some kind of barrier that concealed the island from the outside world.
They named the island itself Themyscira, after their fallen capital, and began new lives, erecting buildings and monuments, and perfecting their skills as artisans and warriors.
Pressed by the Olympian Gods for his warmongering, Ares murdered nearly all of them, until he was banished to Earth by Zeus.
In order to protect the world from Ares after he succumbed to the wounds he sustained at the hands of Ares, Zeus fathered a daughter with Hippolyta imbued with his power so that she would one day defeat him.
For centuries the Amazons lived in what they felt was a perfect state of harmony with their surroundings.
For thousands of years the Amazons of Themyscira stayed isolated from humanity.
Until recently.
—————————————————————
The Kingdom of Atlantis was an underwater kingdom located somewhere deep in the Atlantic Ocean.
It was home to the ancient, isolated, and highly advanced Atlantean culture.
Originally part of a larger Atlantean empire, the present day Atlantis is now one of four surviving kingdoms after the Sinking of Atlantis.
Heavily isolated from the surface, the only way into Atlantis is a colossal glowing gate in front of an ancient bridge, guarded by customs and enforced by a massive array of powerful hydro-cannons, Stinger squadrons and Shark cavalry also patrol the gate, Stinger Squadrons also patrol the interior for criminal activities.
After the Great Fall, Atlantis broke off into seven separate kingdoms - Atlantis, Xebel, the Fishermen, the Brine, the Trench, the Deserters, and a seventh lost kingdom.
Due to the Great Fall, however, Atlanteans also gained the ability to breathe underwater.
Overtime, as each kingdom grew and developed, Atlanteans belonging to different kingdoms also began to evolve to better fit their new aquatic habitats.
Though it's believed that only the "high-born" of Atlanteans and Xebellians are capable of breathing air
Eventually, being an Atlantean meant being more than just being able to breathe in water.
Their bodies were equipped to survive the extreme cold, and pressure, and their eyes adjusted to see in the dark.
Physical characteristics differ as well, as Atlanteans are shown to possess superhuman strength, as well as impressive durability; they can withstand water pressure from at least 20,000 feet below sea level.
In addition, while it is unknown if all of them share this quality, some are exceptionally long lived, as Atlan was around when Darkseid invaded Earth prior to 3000 BC and died sometime after the fall of Atlantis that occurred thousands of years later.
Rare few among the Atlanteans possess the ability to telepathically communicate with (and potentially control) marine life.
Three kingdoms especially - the Fishermen, Brine, and Trench - evolved into non-humanoid forms, differentiating themselves from the human-like Atlanteans.
As such, only those of Atlantis or Xebel are considered "Atlantean" in physiology.
Of the seven original kingdoms, only five - Atlantis, Xebel, the Fishermen, the Brine, and the Trench - are extant, with the Kingdom of the Deserts and the Lost Kingdom having died off or simply disappeared.
Throughout their history, Atlanteans had spent most of their existence keeping their nation a secret from the humans.
At least most of them.
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(25/05/2021)
*Hope the chapter is of your liking. If there's anything that you wish to ask, feel free to do so.
Thanks as always for your attention and please be safe.
If there're any problems with my writing, just point them out and I will correct them as soon as possible.
** Really sorry for the constant delays, my college classes have resumed so I'm having a hard time organizing my time to write my fics. 😓
*** Please, tell me your opinion about this fic's current cover picture. I was aiming for something better than the previous one.
