Chapter 2 - Flashback

"What do we have on the kid?"

Up in the sky, on a helicarrier masked by the clouds a bald, black man with an eyepatch asked his team about the mysterious young man now known as shadow to the world.

"Sir, there's not much on him. All we know is that his name is Vali Ferguson, age 27, both parents unknown and grew up in a local orphanage. Everything else on him is nothing out of the ordinary!" A woman standing near him answered.

"That's it? Nothing else?" Fury skeptically asked seemingly not very convinced.

"Not that we are aware of sir!" The woman next to him answered bluntly.

Going quiet for a good while Fury then ordered, "Find him! And also track the big green guy!"

After giving his orders, Fury walked away while pondering, 'Vali, who exactly are you?' He then turned to his assistant and ordered, "contact general Ross immediately, I need to ask him some questions!"

"Yes sir!"

.....

Vali made his way through the streets of New York jubilantly as he occasionally picked up a couple of snacks along the way from various street vendors along the way.

"I should visit the x-mansion, they should have some good potential... no, that's just cruel, I'm not like that but maybe I can get myself a magneto though!" Vali mumbled quietly to himself.

After thinking about it for a while he found it was a pretty good idea and started to set up a future growth path for himself. He didn't want to become an all powerful being in the universe, being the strongest on earth was enough, ok scratch that, stronger than Thanos should be enough.

Now then, Vali remembered tidbits about the x-mansion, he didn't know the exact location but he did know it's general location being somewhere in Westchester county, New York.

"I should go home first though." Vali nonchalantly mumbled to himself.

Vali lived in an a apartment complex in a suburban area of New York. To be honest it was a shitty place but what can you expect from such a cheap and crappy building?

This is his second time walking into this apartment after he transmigrated into this world into the body of this young cop. Vali didn't know much about his new self besides his name, age, and a couple of things about his living conditions.

The first time he walked into this apartment wasn't a good experience as he just spent most of the time cleaning up all the blood off his body and he had to trash his uniform. This time wasn't much better when he saw the blood stains all over the carpet.

He didn't plan to stay here for long, he was just here to get a couple of things, mainly his secret money stash and some clothes but when he got back he decided to also take another quick shower.

As he took a shower many brief flashbacks started playing through his head. Although he didn't seem at all affected by his current situation, in truth it has been stressing his mind for a while now.

...

"You've got nowhere left to hide Val!"

In a forest in the dead of night, the scene of a young man on his last breath was playing out like some kind of movie moment. Standing in front of the young man was a man with a mask over his face holding a gun to the young mans temple.

"Don't act proud, the only reason you found me was because I let you find me!" The dying man scowled.

The man with the mask was seemingly unaffected by what Val had said and just waved the gun in his hand around, pointing it at various parts of Vals body like he was playing around.

*Bang* The man fired his gun at Vals right leg.

"Ahhhh!"

"Remember what I told you once before? I would make you beg for death!" The masked man growled.

Val was panting heavily as blood gushed out of his leg but his eyes were focused on something else, the watch on his wrist. Unlike a typical watch, for some reason his watch was counting down.

"Hah, hah, hah, and do you remember what I told you once before? No one can find me if I don't want to be found!" Val said with a smirk.

The masked felt that something was wrong, he then heard it, it was like the ticking of a clock. His eyes widened, he ripped open Vals shirt and what he saw immediately caused him to despair.

"Hahaha! Sorry man but I don't swing that—"

*Boom!*

...

"Well, that was one hell of a shit show but where am I?"

In a complete white room an ethereal figure of a young man stood confused as he looked around his surroundings, it was quite scary to be honest, like a psychiatric ward.

[Kid, I'm going to get straight to the point, I brought you here because I need your help!]

Hearing the sudden voice, the young man looked around but he couldn't find the source of the voice so he gave up trying.

"I don't do things for free!"

[Of course, that's why I'll be giving you some benefits, I'll give you 3 wishes of any kind, and a chance to live again, now tell me isn't that a great deal?]

"Tell me the request first, then I'll decide weather to take the job or not!"

[Good! It seems I've chosen a good candidate. What I want from you is actually two things, first I want you to retrieve something for me...]

"..."

[...]

"Well, are you gonna tell me what you want me to retrieve?"

[Haha, yes, you see I misplaced a couple of thing in a certain universe but I'm not allowed to...]

Before the voice could finish, the young man stopped it, "stop, I don't care for the details just tell me what you want!"

[...Fine, I want you to find 3 stones, they're like the infinity stones in the marvel movies you watch only they're way more powerful, I'll be sending you into the marvel universe to retrieve them.]

"Ok, but how do I get them to you after I retrieve them?"

[Simple, I'll put a marker on you, as soon as you touch the stones they'll be immediately sent back to me.]

"I don't think I like the idea of being constantly monitored."

[Relax, the marker only tells you when you're near a stone then transfers the stones to me, it doesn't do anything else.]

"Fine, what's the other request?"

[This... ok, my last request is for you to torture and kill a man, he was like you, I requested him to retrieve the stones but after he arrived, he backed out of our deal!]

"Why don't you kill him yourself?"

[I can't! If he was in my domain I could've done so easily but he's in another's domain now so I can't touch him! I should've bound him to a contract!]

The voice seemed to have gotten agitated as he angrily spewed all sorts of curses at the man who backed out of the deal.

On the other hand the young man was dumbfounded, "the hell? Was the man stupid? Why would he back out and anger a higher being?"

[He backed out after finding out one of the stones was in the hands of Thanos!]

"Didn't you give him enough power to defeat Thanos?"

[I gave him the powers of Superman like he asked for plus I made it so he could grow stronger but instead of trying to get stronger and take the stone from Thanos, he settled down on a planet and completely forgot about our deal!]

"Alright, I agree to your conditions, one question though, why am I getting 3 wishes when the previous dude only got 1?"

[Simple, I won't make the same mistake twice, you mast sign a contract with me that will kill you and bring your soul back to me if you back out of the contract and in exchange I'll give you two extra wishes, one for killing him and the other for the contract!]

"Deal! Who is he?"

[He's called Finch in that universe, he's from an alien race called Zehoberei, same as that Gamora from the planet Zen-Whoberi as for his locating I can't help much on that, now place your hand on the contract!]

After the voice said that, in front of the young man a contract was formed out of thin air. The young man reached for the contract and firmly pressed his hand against the paper causing a blinding golden light.

[Alright, now that the contract has been established we can get on with your requests.]

"Ok, I want the powers of the shadow monarch from solo leveling with no limits!"

[Very well, two more!]

"I need and infinite arsenal of any and all weapons known to me!"

[They'll be in your inventory attached to your shadow monarch powers but weather some weapons can be used will depend on your own capabilities so be careful, last wish!]

"Immortality, make me forever 27 but none of that unable to die shit with super regeneration crap, I'm pretty sure I'll want to end myself eventually."

[You're a strange one... alright, also once you're in your new life I have no jurisdiction over you unless you betray the contract!]

"I don't back out of deals!"

[Whatever kid, I just don't to see you again as that would mean I need to go through more troubles and send another person!]

"Just send me off!"

After the young man said that he immediately disappeared from the white room.