2 Simple Beginnings
Bob hovered in a forest surrounded by lustrous trees that appeared to be bigger than normal. Birds occasionally chirped above, while wild animals bellowed in the distance. Strangely, the air smelt a bit chiller? than normal, but that could be his superhuman senses playing tricks on him…
For all his usage of the Sentry's powers, Bob still didn't know where his new limits apparently lied - though Bob knew the Sentry could easily crack the entire planet if he wanted too… Like that ain't a scary assumption.
Anyways, upon touchdown on the familiar but strange planet. Bob ceased further movement as he belatedly realized that for all his talks about having a slow second life, he did not have any concrete idea on how to even go about it.
"Gah!" Bob cupped his head, "In my first life, it's either physical training to keep fit, playing golf to either socialize or to cultivate an image of sophistication, or literally burying myself in books. I've got 0 idea on how to even begin this slow life of mine… Wait, I have Sentry's memories."
Closing his eyes, Bob dived back into the Sentry's memories. After all, even for someone as powerful as the Solar Based Hero, there's got to be a point where he can take a little break away from all the madness, right?… Right?!
However, what Bob saw only made him want to cry and wince at the same time. The Sentry's life could be described in sum as one heck of a whirlpool.
'Urk, if my past life is one big hell of a mess up, then the Sentry's one big supreme F… It's is all kinds of fucked up.'
While Bob had the Sentry's memories, it wasn't on the level that he automatically understood the Superhuman at an intimate level – more like the memories were stored in recordings for Bob's usage. It's the main why he had been able to distinguish his sense of self from the Sentry's own.
"For all the Almighty level powers the Sentry possessed, his life was still one big roller coaster – with more downs than ups... Honestly don't envy him."
But that isn't why Bob's voice carried a tinge of nervousness. He had seen it. In the Sentry's memories, there was an aspect of the Hero that has always been present throughout his superheroics – a ubiquitous aspect born of his power, manifesting in the form of an arch-nemesis.
One can even say it was his dark side being granted a form of consciousness.
Giving himself a thorough over, Bob muttered quite nervously. "Do I have the Void in me?"
Unlike the Sentry, Bob was at least 90% sure he was right in the head – though he did had multiple regrets in his former life.
Nevertheless, Bob can confidently say that he was not a drug addict nor has he ever had any form of murderous thoughts against someone— no, the second part might be somewhat of a lie. Bob had once entertained the thought of killing a certain someone. Still do. But that would be more of an act of passion.
Not to mention that the said person did ruin his life…
Anyways, if Bob still has it in his physique; the Void that is… Then a whole lot of things would change – both for him and this world as a whole.
More importantly, it could ruin his peaceful vacation before it even begins!
… How golden.
Sighing, Bob shook his head deciding that such a conundrum was for his future-self to deal with. Was that being lazy? Damn right it is. But from now on, Bob has decided to be as lazy as he can be… It's his damn vacation to enjoy.
"Who needs to learn the intricacies of living a peaceful life?" Bob harrumphed, placing both hands at both sides of his hip. "Passion and determination, the rest will come on its own… Ugh, can't believe I gave myself the speech. I ain't running a campaign, for crying out loud."
Thus the middle aged old man continued on without a word.
ᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥ
While it was a given that Bob could fly as part of his superpower package, he decided not to as he wanted see the exotic and rather quaint sights the forest had to offer – and boy did he see.
Trees, colorful flowers, and small rodents he couldn't recognize… Bob's eyes feasted on that and many more. Though there was a rather embarrassing incident that had occurred in the course of his journey.
"Hmm…"
Bob paused in his stride, raising a bemused brow upon seeing some sort of large stem? in his path. It appeared to be quite brownish in color, and upon touching it, Bob found it to be suspiciously soft and cold.
"… Hmm, I think I've seen something like this in a documentary or something. But what is it?"
Something about this seems familiar – unpleasantly familiar.
Hiss~ Hiss~…
An eye erratically twitched, Bob slowly swerved back to see a gigantic snake staring at him. It was large serpent – the kind of one that could comfortably swallow a human whole. The name Anaconda automatically supplied itself courtesy of Bob's enhanced memories…
Not like that is helpful at the moment!
"!"
In that instant, Bob's minded temporarily blanked and he committed the sacrilegious. Whereas flying brick superheroes use their inhuman strength for feats like lifting a mountain, pushing tectonic plate, or tugging a planet. Bob used his world shattering strength to hurl the anaconda away while screaming in fear!
"Gyaaaaahhhhh!"
With a loud bang, the anaconda's bulk shattered the sound barrier – multiple times to be more specific. Taking with it noticeable patches of cloud as it escaped pass the planet's atmosphere into the far reaches of space.
Safe to say, the anaconda or rather what has been left of it has been properly exterminated – for mankind.
It was only after some heaves did Bob decide to relax. An instinctive urge to compose himself enveloped him – it was an urge born out of the need to appear favorable to the eyes of the masses. It was after he realized once again that he was truly alone did he let out a self-deriding sigh…
"Hahaha… Guess old habits really do die hard."
There was no need to keep such a secret to his grave – since there was no one else to hear about it.
… How golden.
ᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥ
"Oooohh~ this is the place!" Bob oohed as he looked around picturesque clearing. "The premium package."
It was situated some meters near the riverside; a small clearing surrounded by trees with mountains in the distance. Bob stride towards the river. Crouching, he dipped a hand into the water while his senses spread out, picking the rich aquatic life was thrived within the water body.
This automatically means that a source of food has been located.
This place is quite the catch… Although.
"Hmm…" Waving off the water on his hand, Bob turned to watch the clearing with a small frown. "I quite like this location. The problem is just that there isn't much space for what I want."
Namely, farming and animal husbandry…
Frowning, Bob eyed the location before snapping his fingers.
"It doesn't have to here. Just having a location near the river would do nicely."
With that in mind, Bob ascended above the trees, leaving the area behind. Luckily, it didn't take minutes until he found a more desirable location. It was a large clearing some meters outside the forest – a lowland of sorts.
The river wasn't far off, and there is enough space to start a farm – to farm what, Bob still had no idea. Nevertheless, what truly sold this place was the way the blue sky casted an indescribable beauty over the plain.
It even took Bob's breathe away for a second.
"This… This is it."
Closing his eyes, Bob immersed himself in the wind that flew through the valley. Doing his best to ignore the sounds of gunfire and bombs going off hundreds of miles away and around the planet as a whole – he wasn't going opening that can of worms if he can help it.
For now, its building time… Or that is what Bob would have said if he had been given a run in the mill flying brick powers.
A light hop took Bob sailing far out into plain. The forest was still observable, the river more so - but it was no longer close.
Not much of a problem.
"Here will do…"
Bob nodded, his eyes altering into bright fiery yellow orbs.
"It'll do very nicely."
A form of awareness distinctly different his superhuman senses emanated out from Bob in a ripple.
This facet of the Sentry's ability was one that Solar Based Hero didn't use much in his career – this and many more. Bob couldn't facilitate why that was so, after all the things he could do with this powers…
Becoming a Godlike being wouldn't be a fool's dream.
"Enough, ruminating on things that won't help you. Let's begin."
With an internal command, Bob seized it; everything within the plain; the land and underneath it, the particles in the wind, and the unstable gaseous atoms… The very molecules that constitutes the area far as the eyes can see.
Which to say is VERY far.
Reality begun to blur – but that wouldn't astutely describe what Bob was doing. He had simply taken control of the molecules. Manipulating it in a way synonymous to reality-wrapping.
Bob didn't need to think of the intricacies or complexities of what he wanted – he merely needed to give the order and the very molecules will obey.
A quaint-sturdy modern house of bricks and stones.
The colors changed; bricks, stones and 'something else' promptly manifested according to Bob's orders.
Barns, Silos, Cribs, Water Reservoirs, Brooders, Coops…
Bob kept on recalling all the fundamental structures in a farm; using the mental image within his head to construct them. With that done, Bob went to the more crucial aspect of his 'work'; the farm itself.
Plenty space, tiled earth… Yep, that's all for now.
The earth shook with a loud tremor, the blurry effect the land had taken slowly faded away, and the result of Bob's molecular manipulation was shown proudly.
It truly was a work of art…
Walking pass the overhead sign that had [Sentry's Farm— cringing, Bob hastily changed the name to [Bob's Farm].
'Whew, now that's better.'
Rubbing off an imaginary sweat, Bob shook his head and continued onwards.
The contents within the land appeared exactly how Bob had envisioned it. Over 45 meters away, separated by a waist-size wooden fence was an expanse of tiled land that stretched far out into the distance. For now, the land had not been seeded – but that is more of Bob still having no idea on what to plant.
'Might as well check out the forest for anything palatable that can be planted.' Bob thought, 'Same with dairy animals… God, I hope chicken, goats, and cows aren't extinct in this post-apocalyptic world.'
Structures for farm produce and animal housing were up and ready to receive its contents – though that would depend on the result of his next outing.
Nevertheless, while Bob was sincerely impressed with what he saw, his eyes only spared the farm structures a cursory glance. Bob was more interested or rather, captivated by the dream house right in front of him.
His dream house…
"Straight out of a picture book." Bob said, wearing a beam that stretched at both sides. "Hurray for Molecular Manipulation."
Entering the house, Bob's smile only grew wider as he saw the electricity is actually working – the TV, PS5 and disks, refrigerator and loads more! He had added the 'electricity' aspect of what a modern quaint house constituted off. Now upon seeing it, Bob couldn't help nodding while lines of tears streamed down his face.
This is it!
The truly absolute beginning of his slow life!
ᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥ
"Hah~ it's been quite a while since I'd lain on a comfy bed."
Absolute satisfaction etched on Bob's face as he made himself comfortable on the king-sized bed in the Master Room. The said room unlike the rest of the rooms in the house was a combination of the rooms Bob had back when he was still a 'somebody' and when he became a 'nobody'.
In an insignificant way, Bob reminded himself of the life he once had. The luxuries and the destitution – the best and worst of both worlds.
"What a heck of day…" Bob muttered to himself.
Just some mere hours ago, Bob had been a 'soul' in the afterlife? placed in some sort of stasis. Bob had thought that it was the end of his story, and while he might have regrets on how it went, ultimately, Bob was fine with it…
But it seems like fate isn't done with him, yet.
"I don't know how or why I'm here in this world, with this power." Bob griped the bedspread. "But I'll make the best of it… That's my promise… But first up its snoozing time."
Why Bob might never have to deal with physical exhaustion again. The events of today was just too overwhelming.
Besides, he literally has all the time in the world.
