Roman Torchwick

It was not to say that Roman was annoyed, as he wandered through the temporary warehouse that he and a few of his "hired help" had based themselves. After another attempted dust heist ended in failure, he was getting furious. That was likely why none of the animals had even gone near him since his return. They were likely scared that one little act would unleash his fury.

"Good," Roman thought, as he leaned onto a desk to overlook schematics and blueprints of that evening's failed heist so as to find where he had gone wrong.

However, Roman knew exactly what went wrong. A group of really irritating high school kids that he can never account for.

"Gah. Fuck." Roman muttered, continuing to distract himself by staring down at the desk he was leaning on.

It was then that Roman noticed something that he had sworn was not there previously. He's far too careful about his surroundings to have unaccounted objects lying about. It was a sizable book: a black hardback with a red book marker. As Roman picked it up and swiped through some pages, he could see that most of the pages were blank, yet the first few pages were inked in a bizarre script. It was scratchy. Some things were scratched out, some things weren't. Regardless, he couldn't make any of it out.

Outside of the creepy alien writing, it seemed to be a simple, unassuming book that you'd find at any store, Roman gathered. Despite this, his insight led him to believe otherwise: why would it be here without his knowledge; why would someone get their hands on an everyday notebook just to place it at his desk? Why would someone write nothing but weird nonsense before leaving it?

As he was making to close the book, he spotted writing on the cover page. Writing he could actually read, this time.

The Book of Reality
Anything written in this book will be real.

This caught Roman's interest. That's not to say he believed it or anything; that would be ridiculous. Yet, as he read on, the concept became engrossing.

To ensure our powers are kept in check, please write any alterations you make into this book. Thank you.

"Our powers?" Roman muttered aloud. Alterations to what? Well, it was called the Book of Reality, so maybe that was what it meant.

Perhaps it was his yearning for a bit of power and control after such a terrible mission, but Roman was actually interesting in writing. He wasn't sure what to write or whether it was even real. The idea that this was all a joke by Neo crossed his mind.

"Ah, fuck it! She's not here, right now anyway and it isn't like there's anything to lose by having a go."

He was actually getting a little giddy as he picked up a stray pencil from the desk and sat down. Even the concept of being able to do anything at all in a cruel world that just takes everything from you was enough to excite him. Now it was just an issue of how to test it.

He better start basic and should keep it easy to interpret. Wishing for a mountain of gold did sound nice, but there would always be a monkey paw for most wishes. He knows from experience that most things are too good to be true.

How true were the claims that it could do anything? If he could do anything, could he potentially take himself back in time, so he can try that heist again?

Then again, it would be better to use it for something practical, right? He could deal with those nosey brats with a few pen strokes.

Huh, he was getting too ahead of himself; he should keep it simple. Move an object; light his cigar; make his coffee cup turn green: something simple.

He thought for a moment more.

"How best to test this?"