“Do you remember when I took you to the lake for the first time, James?”
“I was trying to teach you how to swim. I started you off in the shallow end and held you as you swam. I wanted to be a helping hand while you made progress on learning how to swim.”
“After a few minutes of teaching you how to stay afloat and kick your feet while propelling yourself forward, you decided you were ready to go to the deep end.”
“I tried to keep you away and make you stay where I could easily pull you out in case something went wrong, but you insisted that you were ready. You dove in and quickly discovered that without me to assist you, you couldn’t swim.”
“You panicked. You kicked and flailed to try your best to stay afloat, but all that ended up doing was draining your stamina. I had to dive in the water myself and drag you to shore before you drowned.”
“But even then, you fought with me. You kept kicking and flailing as though I wasn’t there to help you. As a result, I struggled to keep you above water as I guided you to safety.”
“Now that time has passed and we’ve transformed into the people we are today, I have to wonder if you’ve learned anything from that experience.”
“I’d argue that you haven’t. Despite nearly drowning in Doom’s Odyssey Pool, you’re still the same stubborn child that would dive head first into the deep end of the lake despite not knowing how to swim.”
“Despite this new mean streak you’ve developed while trapped inside his laboratory, you still need a helping hand to guide you in the right direction. However, even when I offer it to you, you’ll kick and flail away from it, saying that you don’t need my help anymore.”
“I’ve tried to offer you a chance to resolve this without going off the deep end, James. I tried to be the guiding force that changed you back to the hero I once knew you to be, but you refused to take that opportunity.”
“Now that I’m an older man and not as strong as I once was, I won’t be able to keep your head above water if you continue refusing my help. I won’t be able to save you in my current state if you can’t swim by now.”
“I hope it won’t have to come to this, son. I hope I don’t have to let you drown because of your hubris. However, if you really trust Doom more than me, your own father, then I’ll have no choice but to let you sink to the bottom.”
“Please see sense, James. Please let me help you and fix whatever damage Doom caused you and stay in the shallow end of the Odyssey Pool.”
“Let me put out the fires of hatred that Doom started. Or else be burned by them at the end of our fight.”