*AN: (EDIT: Got the go ahead from Wiz, all systems ready to fire, let's do this!) Find the original fiction, Apocalypse Now, here: http://royalroadl.com/fiction/3753

Simon was lounging on a bench in Central Park, going over his new case. It wasn’t anything too interesting, a claim of fraud between two small businesses, Paul Sen Co. and Telecen Enterprises. P.S. Co. claimed Telecen fabricated one of the documents involved in a deal between them in order to gain a larger stake in the deal. Of course, this is illegal, so P.S. Co. Turned to the law, and specifically, Simon.

Simon was a lawyer specializing in contract agreements and fraudulent behavior between and within corporations, and was, in fact, one of the top agents of his firm, Buck Logan Legal Counsels. Considering his accomplishments, he was the natural choice for this particular case. Unfortunately, he would never get to finish it.

He was reading the supposed fabricated document when it happened. An oddly sibilant voice started talking, seemingly into his very mind.

“Salutations. Welcome, Planet Earth, Dimension Fire692, to the System. In a few moments, this universe will finish updating, and will officially adopt the System as its own. The ‘read me’ option on screen will inform you of any other info you may need. That is all.”

The voice faded away, and as it did, a transparent screen appeared before him, and from the way they all stopped and stared into space, everyone else in the park as well.

Name:Simon BelfonsePoints:7224Lottery Slots:2ShopAbilitiesPhysical ModificationsSuppliesWeaponsArmor

*AN: I tried my best to turn it into a table, the number of shops caused a few problems, as you can see.

Simon tried to touch the screen, but, as if it was never there in the first place, his hand simply passed right through it.

‘What the hell... Physical modifications? Points? What is this, a video game? The hell is even going on?!’, Simon thought, thoroughly confused at this point.

Experimentally, he pressed his finger against the ‘Abilities’ button, and, surprisingly, he felt something solid. A several page long list appeared before him, with each option seemingly costing an amount of points.

Acting90 Points(2/66000)[tr]Adrenaline Boost200 Points(1/36000)[tr]Aeromancy (Beginner)360 Points(9/200000)[tr]Aeromancy (Intermediate)1000 Points(1/95000)[tr]Aeromancy (Master)2200 Points(0/42000)[tr]Aeromancy (Grandmaster)4400 Points(0/2400)[tr]Agility Boost280 Points(0/Inf.)[tr]All Element Control5800 Points(0/160)[tr](Pg 1/29)

‘So, what, I can purchase one of these things and I’ll be able to use the ability? This seems kind of far-fetched, but, well, I’ve never seen anything like these blue screens before. It looks like I have a lot of points, considering the prices of these abilities, so maybe I can buy a good one?’, Simon pondered.

He browsed for a minute, flipping pages, before he stopped at page 4 as and ability name caught his attention.

Clairvoyance3900 Points(0/23000)[tr]Complete Physical Control2400 Points(0/80000)[tr]Contract Creation6800 Points(0/7)[tr]Destruction/Creation9980 Points(0/1)[tr]Domain Control4100 Points(0/6000)[tr]Dominion3400 Points(0/15000)[tr]Door of Dimensions7900 Points(0/5)[tr]Eden Creation1400 Points(2/45000)[tr](Pg 4/29)

Contract Creation. As a lawyer, Simon has had a lot of experience with contracts, including writing them up, which the name of the ability seemed to imply. Considering the cost of the ability, Simon figured it was a little more complicated than simply creating a contract. In an attempt to access more information about the ability, Simon pressed on the points cost. In hindsight, this was a terribly stupid move.

Thank you for your purchase. Applying Ability now.

“W-wait, what?! No, no no! I didn’t want to buy it!”, Simon exclaimed aloud. It must be known that Simon was /not/ a gambler. In fact, Simon was the type to research an important decision for days, if not months, before deciding. For him, this type of mistake was extremely embarrassing. Normally, he would’ve gone over every page several times before making a decision, if at all.

*Brrrt* A vibration sound came from the screen.

Application successful. Contract Creation (1/7) applied. Points remaining: 424. To open the status screen again, simply think “Status”.

Simon blinked. He didn’t feel like he had gained a new ability. Suddenly, a searingly bright white flash filled his mind, and he collapsed, sinking into unconsciousness.

Simon awoke an hour later.

As his groggy mind recovered, he managed to open his eyes slowly. It felt as if he’d had a few to many drinks the night before. After checking his watch, he looked around curiously.

Not much had changed in the quiet Central Park. Well, if you consider people flying, tossing fireballs, or lifting benches with one hand an everyday occurrence. Simon sat in awe at the sights before him for a minute, before the ringing of his cell-phone snapped him out of it.

“S-Simon Belfonse speaking.”, he said into the phone.

“Simon!”, said the voice on the other end. It was his boss, Jeremy. “I’ve been trying to call you for an hour! Do you see this shit going on around here?!”, he shouted. This sounded serious. His boss never swore.

“Yeah, sorry. I tried buying one of those Ability things from the screen. It knocked me out.” replied Simon.

“No shit?! Well, I’m gonna need you down here stat, we’re getting more calls than we can handle. You need to-”

*BOOOOOMMM* A loud explosion cut Jeremy off, leaving a low buzzing coming from the phone. In the distance, the general direction of his firm headquarters, Simon could see a large mushroom cloud rising through the gaps in the buildings.

Simon shot to his feet, alarmed. Of course something like this would happen! He felt so stupid!

What happens if everyone, no matter their background, is given supernatural powers indiscriminately? Some would abuse it, of course. As a lawyer, Simon was intimately connected to this fact. He should have known. He had gotten distracted, and now his boss had payed for it

Of course, he could still be alive, but Simon really wasn’t the fighting type, and he wasn’t that close to his boss anyways. So, he immediately sprinted in the opposite direction. Most of the people in the park were still shocked. At first, there were surprised screams and yelling, but now everyone was just frozen in awe of the remnants of the explosion.

Fortunately, Simon was able to take advantage of the distraction to get away from the commotion, making his way deeper into the park. On the way, he furiously dialed his phone.

*rrrrrring* *rrrrrring* *rrrrring* “The person you are trying to reach is currently unavailable.”

Simon tried each of his contacts, but not a single one picked up. In the distance, he could hear more explosions, increasing in frequency every moment.

Breathing heavily, Simon managed to reach the center of the park. He figured there wasn’t much to blow up in an area filled with trees. Speaking of trees, Simon picked one at random and started climbing. Despite being a lawyer, a profession infamous for the laziness of its practitioners, Simon worked out regularly, and was a regular visitor to the rock climbing gym. Soon he reached the top, but what he saw stopped him in his tracks.

It was anarchy.

There was smoke everywhere, casting a dark haze over the whole city. Flickers of orange light flashed within the smoke, signs of out of control fires in every direction. It was a rare sight to find a building not damaged in some way. Like little ants, Simon could see figures flying here and there, some with wings, a few glowing mysteriously, and more still simply jumping around the place. Flashes of light came from them as fireballs appeared out of thin air, and various energies clashed together.

One hour. It only took one hour for the whole city to fall into complete chaos.

*BRRRRRING* *BRRRRING*

Hastily, Simon reached into his pocket and pulled out his cellphone, noticing the caller ID named the caller as his brother. He put it to his ear quickly.

”Hello?”

“SIMON! Thank god, man! We thought you went boom like the rest of the city! Where are you, bro, I’ll come pick you up right away!”, his brother, Thomas, sounded hysterical, and at the same time excited. So very like him.

“I’m in the middle of Central Park. Wait, how are you going to pick me up? The whole city’s gone insane.”

“Heh, don’t you worry about that. Central Park, huh? Alright, so just like this and... Woah!-”

“Thomas? What happened?”

“Don- *Bshh* worry, I’ve- *Bshhhhhh* be- *Bshhh* soon br-*Bshhhh*”, the phone started breaking up, as if his brother had entered a tunnel, before eventually cutting off altogether.

Simon looked at his cellphone dejectedly. A small ‘call dropped’ symbol flashed on the screen. He sighed, wondering what would become of him, and looked up at the sky. It was filled with fire and lightning, despite the absence of clouds.