It's hard to understand the life of a character when your only point of reference is text bubbles and images on paper, which often depict the heroes and villains. A normal character is usually an unrecognizable and indistinct face; a shadow in the background.
Having an outsider's perspective was jarring to say the least, knowing the world that you spent 22 years living in was a mere fiction. Those 22 years certainly contributed to developing the view-point of a native resident, one who was used to wide-scale disturbances, world ending threats, and a witness of good prevailing over evil.
I would like to say that my life spent in a comic-book verse was fulfilling and happy, that I got to battle the forces of evil and had the pleasure of working alongside the heroes and some of the greatest minds this universe has to offer. That would be a lie, though.
From young age, I was home schooled by my mother. I graduated from high school in 2006, and joined college in 2007. After spending a year being a burden to my mother, I finally decided to dropout in 2008, and have since then moved to Central Harlem and now work as a Delivery Guy from 9 to 5.
My life was boring, and in a city full of superhumans that longing and drive to standout burns much brighter. Unfortunately, I was very much a normal person in a world of superhumans, mutants, and aliens. The world of Marvel.
As I lay on the soft duvet of my bed, dregs of sleep waning and my head gaining clarity, I felt an odd sensation of the insiders perspective clashing with the outsiders. My whole reality felt out of sync, like I wasn't supposed to be here, and not this way.
Marvel.
When I think about all the heroes I have watched on TV or in person, I have always had this odd sensation of reverence and respect. Admiration, but only on the level of acknowledgment of their work as heroes, but not the desire to follow on their footsteps. Now that perspective was shifted, twisted and tainted by the memories of my former life.
A world that was supposed to be mere fiction had suddenly manifested as a reality in front of me. A world of heroes and villains, of bright costumes and colorful remarks, of survival and evolution. And in such a world, I, James used to be a normal man.
When I say used to be, I meant I wasn't anymore. A bright swirling cosmos of lights greeted me whenever i focused on my powers. A invisible potential surrounded this cluster of stars, one I recognized as the force that would help gain all these powers. Because there wasn't one, but many. And they were beautiful.
No amount of distraction could take away my focus from this beautiful piece of scenery that was now just a focus away. Apparently, alarms counted as just that. I twisted my body slightly to reach for the nightstand, swiping upward to shut the beeping.
I took a breath to center myself. It was 7:45 in the morning and I had just woken up as a superhuman. Despite the vast potential of my powers, I was still a baseline human being. A Celestial engineered Marvel Human, but a normal human nonetheless. It was frustrating, but if I had learned anything in these past two years, then it was patience. Even now I could feel the potential surrounding growing stronger.
Since I wasn't going to be accelerating the descent of a power anytime soon, then it was better that I freshen up and prepare myself for when it finally does.
I rolled off the sheets and moved out of the bed. The bathroom was cramped, with barely space for the shower and the toilet to co-exist together. I took time to freshen up, clearing the last vestiges of sleep that might have been the result of yesterday's exhaustion.
New York is an expensive city. Even with mold and flaking plaster of my studio apartment, with barely enough space for a bed, a kitchenette and bathroom, it cost me $1,200 just in rent. There was nothing to say about utilities and travel expenses. I was glad that I had dropped out of college early, and hadn't been a burden to my mother. I hoped she was doing alright.
All this while I have been living my life on easy-mode. I had never felt the pressing need for money, and while I barely had a couple hundred dollars in savings, i considered it enough to pay in emergency, if there ever arose one. With powers though, that would've to change.
Marvel was for the lack of better words, broken. It was a comics world after all, what could one expect. In simple terms it was good-old hero vs villain scenario, just exceptionally drawn out and convoluted to the point of being a mess of contradictions. Even if i knew Hulk and had seen him fight, I found it hard to associate the guy with a hulking brute capable of sundering entire worlds. Yet, the potential was there.
Even if this was comics world, I wasn't to treat it as walk in the park. There were serious threats in this world, and despite my lack of knowledge, I knew enough of the underlying darkness and fabrications that this world was built upon to understand that unless you were strong, you had no control over your fate.
As I felt the cold water run down in rivulets across my body, my head grew clearer. I barely had a good enough understanding of my power, just that a potential would start developing and once a certain threshold has been achieved, it would yank one of the stars towards me. There was a chance of failure however; and it depended on the charge, which star I would be able to secure.
I closed the valve and left the bathroom, wrapped in a towel. Today was going to monumental and my first power would decide how i would need to act in the future. I had a rough understanding of the path I wished to follow.
Being a villain wasn't exactly up my alley, since i had no plans for world domination. While i was happy to have received the power, whether as a boon of being a reincarnator/transmigrator , or simply having connection to some obscure dark dimension, I still didn't exactly understand the scope my powers will operate at.
I could become some strong enough to defeat Spider-Man, but it wouldn't be the same as having an Omega level Mutant's power. Or I could become strong enough to punch Galactus into oblivion. It would depend on how my powers worked, but most importantly what they were based on. Did they work on Cosmic Cube? Infinity Stones? Or even Heart Of The Universe? For all i knew they could very well be out-of-context or out-of-Omniverse.
If I ended up with basic powers, then i would need to focus on becoming stronger and influential and grow closer to people like Tony Stark and Reed Richards. But if I ended up with an awesome power, then I could choose to act however I wanted. After all, choice is the privilege of the strong.
I finished changing into set of clothes and piled my previous one's in a basket, a laundry to be taken out later. Instead I focused on my powers and felt the potential having grown much more from before, but still not enough to secure a star.
It was still around early 8, and work didn't start until 9, so enough for me cook myself some breakfast. I grabbed some oatmeal in a container and mixed it with peanut butter. There were eggs in the fridge, but I was running out, so i wrote that on my to-do list, and made some omelets. I had unfortunately run of bread, so I just grabbed the yogurt container that had barely in it for a quick wipe with a spoon.
Life working as a Delivery boy for a food service paid me enough to stave off hunger and homelessness. While i wasn't living the best there is, or could, I was getting by with enough time to spare watching movies or serials. Certainly not something that i would recommend to anyone; aside from a lazy lifestyle, it was also the major reason why I felt no need for improvement. I might have tried harder to rectify that problem, that is until I was suddenly bearing the weight of my powers.
I took a pen from the drawer and started scribbling the list for groceries. It was going to cost a fortune, but then again it always did. I earned on average about $2,000 a month, majority of which went into my rent. The rest I distributed among the bills and other expenses, and when and if I was left with anything, it would go into my savings.
I would've to change my habit, probably look for a better job. If I managed to score something cool, or something that helped in day-to-day life, then I could also land a good enough job. Hopefully.
Once I finished the list, I folded it and put it inside the pocket of my jeans. By now, it was getting dangerously close to my working hours, and while the workplace itself was only a few minute walk to 125th Street, it made better impression to always be on time.
Before leaving the house, i looked over everything that i might have missed. Lights were turned off, the stove wasn't burning, tap wasn't accidentally left open, and all my dishes were looking clean. Nice.
I fingered the keys and grabbed my pocket to feel the assurance of money that amounted to $100 sitting in my pocket. By the time I came back today, I wouldn't be the same.
.
.
.
The weather in New York is usually pleasant enough. Probably helped that heroes didn't have to fight villains in heavy rain most of the time. I snickered at the insider—or was that outsider,—joke and strode the path to my work.
It occurred to me that while not every hero had a secret identity, some of them in fact did. Like Spider-Man, and I knew his secret. There was probably a black market or something for information like what I had, but I had no intention of resorting to such measure. Not only because it would bring the wrath of every hero on my ass, but also for the attention it would attract. Again, a normal human. A telepath like Xavier or even Mentallo could read me like an open book.
I shook my head and once again considered my strategy going forward. I wasn't exactly the strategy type guy, but I also wasn't impulsive enough to jump the gun, instead it would be better if I took a wait and see approach. Only increasing my reach proportionally to my powers.
As I was contemplating the nature of life and the hardships that I would have face, I had already arrived at my workplace. A 'Johnny's Pizza Slice' pizza shack that was roughly 600 square feet, enough to fit in a kitchen, a small counter and a few seats.
"Hey, Al." I greeted the dirty blonde haired girl on the other side of the counter with a smile and a wave.
"James, you are just on time." She replied, and waved me forward.
"What?"
"Need to get some deliveries done."
"What? Like right now?" I would've cried 'who the heck orders pizza the first thing in the morning?', but that's just me, can't enforce my life choices on others. Still didn't change the fact that I was about to encounter a major change in my life. Wait, this might actually be good.
"Wait, let me change first." I didn't wait for her reply and bolted toward the bathroom right after taking out my set from the locker.
It was fortunate that I was alone right now. Just as I shut the door, the invisible pressure building in the back of my head suddenly dropped and I felt a wave of something else. Knowledge descended on me, and suddenly I knew how to disguise myself.
Unlike what the name of the power read, because it had a name yes, 'Basic Disguise Training' just made me a professional master in the art of disguise. Even if posters of me were on every wall, I could, with just clothing and makeup, make myself look unrecognizable. And it was utterly useless to me right now.
I sighed and started to strip off my clothes and change into workplace one's. I had just received my first power and it focused on disguising myself. Not that it wasn't useful, I was excepting something more. This did make me wonder how other powers would work. If they were similar in scope, then how far could I actually reach. No point in dwelling on something beyond one's reach.
Taking the addresses was easy as receiving a message with all the locations written. I took the pizza, strapped it on my electrical bike parked just in front, and blazed toward my target.
There something about doing a thing long enough that you become confident in your skills, overconfident in some cases. While I was marginally proud of my driving skills having ridden this piece for about two years, I always took caution to slow down where needed and didn't try to cut through where I couldn't. I had seen enough of those who tried to fill me with apprehension.
I wonder if Peter Parker was driving through lanes trying to make his delivery as fast as possible. He would be in Queens while I was making my way to East Harlem. It stumped me that I could've gotten any of the other powers, but now was struck with disguise mastery. It would prove useless for anything short of bank robbery or an espionage mission, both of which I had no intent in participating.
I put the thought out of my mind and focused on the road ahead. With the electric bike, I made it to my destination in only about ten minutes and removed the straps and walked toward the building. I took a lift to the upper floor and checked for the room number again. It was a commercial building full of single-room apartments but marginally better than mine.
As I rang the doorbell, my focused shifted to my power where I could feel the new charge building up. I felt anticipation creep up within me. If this was charge was building so fast, then I would probably score one more power before lunch.
Once I handed the pizza and received payment alongside a tip of exactly one dollar and 12 cents, I bade the customer his goodbye and moved down.
If I failed to mention it then let me make myself clear, Marvel was a petri dish of explosive chemicals that never once stopped its chain reaction. Just as my feet touched the footpath, I heard a bang go off in the distance. I bet a hundred that someone was robbing a bank, again.
The traffic was stunned and cars weren't moving, but it would be for a short while before people went about their daily business. You had to give it to these background characters to continue on with their lives among a bunch of walking disasters with a look of resignation. Well, considering that I was the same, or still am, I wasn't going to single myself out.
Once again I was off to my work being a delivery boy. I needed to pay mom a visit this week, so there's that.
Just like I predicted, not exactly a prediction if everyone knows, the traffic cleared in a matter of minutes and people went about their daily life. While a few blocks down, an angry villain was hatching a revenge plan or being loaded into a van to be transported to prison or a research facility. This was Marvel after all.
Mid-morning sun beat down on me, with the intensity of warm heater, not searing and perfectly bearable. A good day for a spider-cape to swing through taller buildings while taking a thrill at starling sights. I am going to resent my powers if they don't give something that will let me fly.
I was just driving past an alley when a shadow caught my eye, and I turned just in time to see a green suit wearing woman with battered appearance and messy hair look my way.
Although I had the backing of my past-life, I must confess that I wasn't particularly a big fan of comics, and my knowledge amounted to only movies, tv series and a couple of comics. Aside from that I might have read a few pages on fandom that I found interesting, but nothing more. So, even though I knew that green suited woman wearing a domino mask was a character from the comics, I had zero idea who she actually was.
Putting the thought outside my head I finally covered a couple miles to reach my workplace. Just like that my daily ritual began.
In that time, I found a particularly fascinating fact about my powers. Unlike what I had expected of my charge to increase, it didn't grow linearly. In fact, the curve was somewhat weird. At times I would amass no charge, and at others it would speed up. This reminded me of the dream I had, and how I woke up with zero charge. It would seem that I didn't actually accumulate any potential while sleeping either. Though that would have to wait till tomorrow morning to be completely sure.
At lunch I felt the charge nearly half as full as when I had secured that power. I grabbed a quick bite of the sandwich and drove back into deliveries. During these hours the rate of orders would pick and we needed all the available hands, which included me, Rick who was working part-time, and Jonas who was an older guy that usually helped in the Kitchen but did deliveries also when required. Johnathan or Johnny for short was usually absent from his own work place, so it fell on Alice or Al as everyone called her to manage this place.
We were handed the boxes and each took their own route. Mine was the farthest at Upper West Side of Manhattan at 3 miles, which I covered in 15 minutes, thanks once again to the traffic caused by a shmuck who thought it would be a good idea to start tearing through the vehicles cluttered on the broadway. Fucking villains caused more problem for people who were running late than the government with all the destruction wrought to infrastructure.
I had to take a different route and thus wasted a good five minutes. As I made my way back, I thought about what I should do if I was subject to mugging or something worse. Surprisingly the thought had never occurred to me before, so I wondered if this was something supplemented by the outsider's perspective.
A gun wasn't possible considering I had no license, and buying an illegal firearm without appropriate training would be epitome of stupidity. Yeah, let's stick with a knife for now, with a sheath of course.
My working hours lasted from 9 to 5, so as the Sun lost its glare, and heat started to subside a cool wind blew through the streets. The smell of city—a mix of exhaust from cars, the aroma of street food, and the concrete, asphalt and pollution. It was weird knowing the type of smoke you inhaled, but your nose had gotten so used to it that it didn't matter. You couldn't even distinguish the slightly brackish smell that was carried by the mixture of fresh and saltwater.
I smiled as I walked the streets, gazing at the traffic and the rush of pedestrians. Even if no one knew of the horrors that existed beyond this giant ball of mud, it was enough to just loose yourself in the small and happy activities. Seeking and hoping some greater goal in life isn't always a happy ending, sometimes you need look below and around you to understand your place in this world.
Shopping for grocery unfortunately didn't count as a happy activity for me. There was so much I wanted, so much I desired. It was easy to give into temptation, to lean into your cravings for once, but I knew it was a slippery slope and restrained myself. Once more I walked out of the doors with cheap stock to keep alive, and once more I was back at square one in terms of my finance management.
Tonight was going to be all about pasta, as usual.
.
.
.
Back at home, I started the process of cooking right after I was finished with changing my clothes. I packed away the extra groceries that are supposed to last me more than a week into the fridge and cupboard. With a little bit of flourish and a scarf I found myself looking at an entirely different person. I wasn't even suspicious looking. Damn, this disguise power was more than just basic training.
In the end, I couldn't hold myself back from trying out the power I had gotten this morning. Even till now, the charge was still not full but I could feel it gradually increasing in capacity. I smoothed my clothes and removed the disguise before moving to my kitchenette to check on the boiling water.
As I finished preparing my dinner, I decided to look up the local news. As expected there was a bank robbery attempt in Harlem today, though it was thwarted by the appearance of Power Man. As I scrolled through the details I confirmed that the green suit wearing woman was the villain responsible for this folly, and that she was named Scorpia. I don't think I have heard that name before.
This just proved a hole in my knowledge and I would need to address that soon rather than late. If I could compile a list on known heroes and villains, and any other masked vigilante, it would go a long way to help me in the future.
The dinner was as usual good enough, nothing that beat my mom, but I already knew my cooking skills were subpar. I washed the dishes and rested on the bed for a moment. There was a strong urge to just open up a streaming platform or something and watch a movie. I pushed past the reluctance and opened my shoddy patchwork of laptop that I had brought from an electronic resale store.
I put the notebook on my thigh and grabbed a pen also, then I started to go through the news websites one by one. As expected of New York, the crime rate here was off-the-charts compared to other cities like Boston and Chicago. Even New Jersey was nothing despite an occasional villain attack but that was quickly quelled by Captain Marvel and her sidekick.
I started to pen any name I came across and didn't recognize. After a while, I made a new section to write the names of those I recognized, also. As it turned out, I knew quite a bit, most of the famous heroes or villains and even organizations like Hydra, I recognized. But there were so much I didn't have any context for either. Like Silvermane, Chameleon, and many others.
Thanks to my insider perspective, I already had a rough understanding of Avengers, and their hideout. The Fantastic Four lived in Baxter building, and Charles Xavier still ran Xavier mansion. I had a little less about Dr. Strange, mostly due to the Sorcerer acting mysteriously, probably covertly fighting against the dark forces that were salivating after earth.
Once more I felt the built up reach the threshold and try to latch on to any of the stars. Unfortunately for me, it missed and instead of trying again or being exhausted, it continued to grow. An interesting development.
I had previously theorized that the strength of the potential itself would prove monumental to securing stars of gigantic size, and this just proved that i was right. Next time my power tired to latch onto something, it would be twice as strong and could directly access the stronger stars.
Distraction was gone and I dove back into work. Since I would need go out in the field someday, I would also need the backing of better fighting skills than blindly throwing a punch. So, a gym that also taught boxing or some martial art good enough for self defense. It would stretch my savings, but I already had plans of taking up a new job or increasing the workload.
It was getting late in the night, and today's exhaustion was creeping up on me. Unlike the physical exertion trying me out, it was the mental effort that sapped my reserves dry. I was never an extroverted guy and had always avoided any possible interaction. Anytime I had to engage a customer or talk to my fellow acquaintances, it would deplete my already low social reserves.
My eyelids were growing heavy and I had done a good deal of research by just checking the news websites, hopefully that wouldn't tip someone off or anything. I wrapped up the notebook and pen and left my laptop on charging while I tucked my tired body beneath the sheets.
.
.
.
Morning started as usual, though I had bread available, and I made scrabbled eggs. Just like I suspected the charge was still the same as it had been yesterday but was now starting to grow. I needed to put it outside my head, and not get distracted each time that it grew.
First thing on my list today right after I finished the work was to look for an affordable gym. Tomorrow was going to be my day off so that would leave me enough time to check out the place and get a good grip on how it all worked.
You would think that a 22 year old guy like me would've experience going to a gym, but I would have to disappoint and say that I've never been to such a place in my whole life. Despite the crime-rate in New York and the need for self-defense against the criminal elements of the city, people didn't really engage in such activities on wide-scale.
Thanks to New York being a big city though, I didn't have to look far to come across half-a-dozen gyms and dojos. I selected a few, wrote down the address and phone number and closed the tab.
I gave cursory look to my apartment and once more left the place for my work. Hopefully, today I topped that charge and secured a better power.
When I reached the place Alice was once again behind the counter, but busy looking through something on her phone. I waved and greeted the girl that was only a few years older than me.
"Hey James." She waved back. "Not in a good mood today?"
"What? Do I look sad?" I asked, a bit confused.
"Nah." She waved her hand. "It's just that yesterday you were beaming like you got a girlfriend, and today you look more normal, usual if i had to compare. What happened, you broke up?"
Well, that certainly was true. Not the girlfriend part, but me not being as happy as I was yesterday. There was still excitement, it was just more subdued. A day being kept on fringe does that to you, but I was more relieved than anything else.
"Just had a goodnight's sleep yesterday, is all." I said.
I had already decided to be discreet with my powers, low-key and all. My goal was to keep under the radar, a small fry, until I grew large enough. Even then, I had reservations over announcing my identity to public.
"Anyway, what are you reading?" I tried to shift the topic, before she would start recommending or setting me up with one of her friends. I had no intention of playing a boyfriend right now, I barely had enough to survive.
She gave me a knowing look. "News. They found a high school boy dead due to drug overdose. This isn't even the first one I read about, seems like the neighborhood is getting more rotten nowadays. You be careful, alright?"
"You got nothing to worry about me." I waved off her concern. "So, another one bites the dust."
"Why, do you hate them or something?" She asked.
My confusion lasted only a second before I realized that my tone must've come off as someone who was relieved hearing the news. The truth was I didn't hate them. But I did hate the ones who supplied this poison and ruined uncountable lives.
"I don't hate them." I clarified. "I hate what they represent. They are like this cancer to the society, eating it from within. When a drug addict is born, a member of society dies and many people are dragged into this mess. Innocent people."
I had never thought that there was anything wrong with committing suicide. Your life was your life, you were free to do anything with it. Except when it wasn't.
A man speeding through the highway is the one I detest the most. In an accident it won't just be him who was going to die, an innocent life would also get snuffed out. If your life didn't belong to you, then you had no right to give it up.
"An order just came in." Alice perked. I was thankful for the timely intervention. The thought was taking be back to places I would much rather avoid.
While she went through the motions, I left to change into my uniform.
The weather remained same for the most part. I did deliveries all over from East Harlem to Central Park. I did notice a rush of police cars blowing past me one time. Since they stopped just a few streets down, and I heard no gunshots, either the mobs were taken care of already, or there another super brawl going on. I would bet on the latter.
When the lunch time rolled, we had to do rapid deliveries. But sometime after the orders petered out, and I took a rare moment of breather. While I sat on the bench, I decided to sift through the blog.
The article read about the unfortunate death of one Donald Phillips, a 17 year old high school student who was found dead due to drug overdose. There was a strange detail that was easy to overlook; there was no indication of drug usage beforehand, and neither did find any trace of syringe marks or septum deviation.
Last night, I had mostly been focused on superheroes for the most part, so I had looked past any mundane news. But looking at it now, it was clear that this had been going on for a while. I would need to look further into this later, but for now I had work to do.
Being a Delivery Guy was an enlightening experience for me. I got to visit the nooks and crannies I never thought even existed. I would say I knew almost all of the alleys and secret passageways trailing through this part of the Manhattan.
Always being on the run also proved to an exciting adventure, as I got to see Iron Man flying past the tall buildings, an occasional visit from one of the X-Men, or even a villain looking to foil a perfect holiday. More than their hero work though, I felt admiration at the fact they wore tights and fought criminals in this sweltering heat. Wait, would I also have to wear spandex some day. Food for thought.
Once my shift had ended, I was called into the kitchen by the owner.
"How's the life going, James?" He started with the idle chatter.
"Fine. How about you?" I never got to see John much. The guy was almost never present at his own shop, and even when he did come, he would sit on the chair and open his ledger, tallying the profits for the month. I guess that's why the guy had such portly belly, stingy nature and never quite appreciated the work we did.
"Oh, you know how it is these days." John gestured a bit dramatically. "Anyhow, $2,200, your income of this month."
I looked down at the rolled bundle of notes that he had already prepared beforehand and took it. Some hesitation crept into me before I decided to go through regardless.
"Actually, could you tally these past 7 days also." I said, mustering my resolve. "I am leaving."
"What?" He looked at me as if he couldn't believe what I just said. God, why was it so hard to disappoint people for me.
It took him a bit to process my words it seemed, as he kept quite for a moment, then sighed. "Can I at least ask, why?"
I had already prepared the script so it didn't take a moment to blurt out the lie. "Actually, my mom has been ill lately, and I decided to move in with her for these few months. So, I can't come here anymore."
"Alright." He took a deep breath and nodded. He started rummaging through his pockets and fished out another roll of bills. "This was supposed to be Rick, but I can deal with him tomorrow. Are you leaving tomorrow?"
"Yes, and sorry about that." The lie was effective even if I felt a little bad. He rolled out five hundred dollars and handed them to me.
"So, anything else?" He asked in formality.
To be honest, deep down I was expecting a reward or bonus of some sort as a paring gift and my longtime service. Wishful thinking, it turned out.
I smiled at the man. "Nothing."
Following the events Alice inquired about it, drilling me why I didn't mention anything to her. All I could say was that I would visit from time to time whenever possible, and that we didn't live that far away either. That calmed her down and she finally let me go.
Unlike Alice, I had more calming partings with the rest of my colleagues. Since I was always the quite guy, I had never built anything close to friendship.
After investing over one-and-half a year, I finally resigned as a Delivery boy with $2,700 in my pocket. With my savings of over $900, I had enough to last me a month without worry. That was enough.
.
.
.
Since most of my preparations were already completed, I didn't have to indulge in the task of finding a gym. I just followed the predetermined routes and arrived at the training center. The facility was on the fifth floor of the building, I took stairs to arrive there.
My first impression of the place was: classy. There were a ton of equipment, people engaged in their own activities and and trainers looking all buff and intimidating. I felt apprehensive over entering the place but I pushed through the hesitation and opened the door.
Unlike what I had been expecting, the interior was cool and odor free. The floor boards were smooth and varnished, and the entire place was just the workout area; an office cabin easy to make out from the glassy exterior was on the right and another area with a door that read 'Locker Room' stood in the corner. I wonder where they kept the bathroom since I couldn't find it.
I realized it before I even approached the guy, but I had clearly gotten carried away. This wasn't a place I could afford. Even without approaching the staff, I could tell that this place would take a good chunk out of my savings.
Very discreetly I decided to depart from the place after pretending to look over the things and getting an occasional glace. I fished out my phone and mimed browsing something then slipped through the door, feeling relieved at finally getting out.
The invisible pressure building in the back of my head finally calmed down, and I felt a wave of knowledge coming into existence.
Suddenly I was an amateur marksman, skilled enough to send a screwdriver to a dartboard bullseye at 5 feet of distance, which wasn't much but better than your average person. The power was called 'Basic Marksmanship Training' and it made me better at well throwing projectile weapons. It felt a bit underwhelming especially when I realized that only half of the charge was used for securing the star.
Thankfully the charge was still building and next time I just might secure a better power. Once I was out of the building, I looked through the local gym on my list and crossed out the ones that were known names.
As expected of the neighborhood it wasn't hard to find one near my apartment building. This one looked a bit more subdued with flaking plaster, a more boisterous atmosphere and lots of boxing equipment.
I found the place far more inviting then the one before it, and entered to find the receptionist at the desk sorting through some documents.
"Hey." I waved at the man who nodded and proceeded to ask me what I wanted.
"So, I would like to join, how does it work?" I truly had no idea of how this was all supposed to go. Will he give me a form to fill and ask me a few questions? Or will I just be given a membership card once I paid the fee? I had no idea.
"We take $20 initiation fee, after that there's the membership fee of $80 per month." The guy explained.
Apparently they took an extra $30 if I also wanted a personal trainer. All I had to do was write my name on a slip of a paper he handed me, and deposit the money. I handed him one of the hundred dollar bills that Johnny had given me and with that I was effectively a member of the gym.
A voice in the back of my head kept nagging me to make more preparations, to do more research before I devoted myself to this endeavor. But I was well past that point with the still thumping excitement of my powers. I just hoped that fate would deal me a better hand next time instead of these shitty powers that I was getting.
Instead of starting from today, I decided to do some shopping. Brought a couple of sweatshirts, a few shorts, and carton of water bottles. That last one might have been a mistake, but what's done is done. In a single night, i was down from initial $2,700 to $2,500. I prayed that this spending would prove useful in the future.
It was getting late in the evening so I treaded my back home through the lit streets of Harlem.
Dinner was accompanied by the browsing experience I was getting. There wasn't much on the drugs and its influence on neighborhood, but if you have ever read a comic, then you will understand the entire premise seemed to build up to something.
I read an article on a small altercation between Spiderman and some gangsters. Coincidentally, those very same people were paddling drugs on the street. The only part that I found interesting was that Peter Parker was in Manhattan.
After his small get-together with the Fantastic Four, he had moved back to his city. He should be in Queens, not Manhattan. Something was up and If I had to connect the dots they all seemed to lead to this drug cartel.
Unfortunately for me, I had very little knowledge of the comics storyline, so even as I read every news blog I could find, I couldn't make an inkling. In the end I shook my head and sighed. Even If I had more knowledge it wouldn't make a difference without having the ability to back it up.
If Spiderman was here, then this mess would resolve itself. I wonder if people thought the same when they looked at other superheroes.
I washed the dishes, started another session of jotting down the notes on any interesting article I found, and finally snuggled beneath the sheets and dozed off. Tomorrow was going to be trying, but I desperately hoped that it would turn out better.
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Morning arrived earlier for me than most people. I rolled off my mattress to turn off the alarm and groggily rubbed my eyes. Despite having my power for two whole days, the excitement was being rubbed off after getting nothing substantial. Even now, it had droned off into the quite buzzing rather than the thumping engine it had been the first day.
I pulled myself up, and stretched my shoulders. Saturday and sunday had always been special for me. Free to do whatever I wanted usually translated to playing games and watching movies. I might occasionally read a book also, and take a walk in the park.
This week's saturday was going to be different however. For one, I had gym to do, and later tonight I am going visit mom. I would've to tell her about quitting the job. Which would then result in me lying to her that I had already plans for another and had spoken with some people. She would want to know more and I would've weave an elaborate lie, just to keep her from worrying.
That was certainly going to be trying. As much I anticipated the idea of meeting mom and feasting on her cooking, I dreaded the talk that would follow even more. I would've make up for it somehow. Probably by earning some money.
Being a hero or a rouge was great and all, but it didn't pay your bills and make you rich. Unless of course you were already rich like Tony Stark, then you could easily indulge in your hobbies without worrying about going to bed hungry. I didn't really care about playing a hero, but if my powers could help get me rich, then I wasn't going to shy away. Yup, getting rich was definitely on my list now.
I took a shower and changed into a plain blue shirt, dark blue jeans, and a thin jacket. I had never much paid attention to my fashion sense. I guess when you worry more about trying to survive, you hardly care for how you look. At least, that was true in my case.
My breakfast consisted of toast and butter, a couple of hard boiled eggs and a glass of milk. Mom would've said something about how less I ate or something, but again poverty doesn't really care about your health or desires. Food was a resource to keep from starvation and any joy and pleasure I could derive from it died when I consumed the same thing for months on end. I doubt my taste pallet was working okay, it might've even dulled.
While my mouth was busy chomping on the crummy bits, my hands worked on my phone surfing through the news channels and any latest article. It's ironic how I had never paid any attention to news, only being enamored by the superheroes and their catchy one-liners. And now all of sudden I had powers, and was now busy looking through the local news-outlets.
There wasn't much on the drug-followup. I did see an image that made me pause though.
"Black Cat..?" I muttered, my spoon stopping short of reaching my mouth. I was looking at an image of Black Cat with Spiderman, in Manhattan. As I read the article my mind wandered back to that alley where I saw the costumed woman. I hadn't been completely sure then, but looking at it now, there was no doubt that she was this so-called Scorpia.
I had no idea who that was, neither did I remember her. My best guess was that she was a minor character that was only featured on couple of comics. She was an insect based villain. What were the chances that she would clash with Spiderman? As expected of a comic-book verse.
Felicia Hardy on the other hand was a surprise. My initial assumption had been that she had followed Spidey here, maybe they were back together or something. But I crossed that off when I remembered that she wasn't even in New York these past few years. And now all of a sudden she was here, right where this whole drug thing was going on.
As I read the full article where it was stated that this Scorpia had tried to kill Mr. Garrison Klum, but Spiderman and Black Cat had intervened at the right time and saved him. The man seemed to thank them, but that name Klum was feeling oddly nostalgic.
There was certainly something going on there, but I couldn't accurately pinpoint it. Not without more information.
I closed the tab shut and picked up my dishes. I had no time to think about something pointless that would lead to nowhere. Better to invest my time where it would return dividends.
I left for the jog at 7:15, only to find old people doing their turtle-slow exercise. They probably woke up at 5 or even earlier and might have been stretching their muscles since. All of a sudden, getting old didn't seem to be appealing. I mean it never did, but the thought of being so weak and powerless filled me with dread, more than the inevitable death that would follow.
Taking a moment of attention from the clear road, I focused on my powers and felt the ever growing well of potential just waiting to be realized. My focus shifted back to present when I noticed the clear signs of damage to the buildings.
It wasn't my first time seeing something like this. You walk around New York city, and you see enough of this shit that it starts to feel normal. What always set me off though was how frequent this thing was. I could swear that those marks weren't present the day before.
Even as I looked at the traces of malignant darkness that crept from the dark underbelly of this city, I never once slowed my pace. My steps took me through the streets wide open and empty, except for the trash cans that were full to the point of bursting. Alleys reeked of smoke and sewage, and air felt just a bit heavier.
My breath came out ragged as I slowed near a bench, my lungs burning like they were being searing on hot coals. I took the bottle of water I had brought with me and took steady and small gulps in-between.
I didn't usually run this much, or exert myself in anyway. My routine had always been of home to work and work to home. I avoided any bars, and never drank. I had tried smoking once, but I almost coughed my lungs out. Never knew my allergy to smoke was going to kill me.
After that I never found any appeal in alcoholic beverages. I would much rather get snacks and watch a movie, the turnout seemed better than possible kidney disease and obesity. Of course, it all depended on moderation really. Excess of anything was always bad.
As my breathing stabilized I took a few deep calming breaths and appreciated the nature around me. It wasn't much, but in a city like this, it was better than anything. Another reason I took a moment to re-orient myself was because I could feel the build-up growing really fast. I don't think I have ever seen it grow as fast as this.
The potential buildup finally gave in and and the knowledge descend alongside something else. My body felt weak for the briefest of moments before I caught myself. Finally I had something that would prove more effective in the current setting.
The power was called 'Parkour Training', and it gave me a solid foundation in movement, agility and the ability to overcome obstacles. Suddenly the world seemed different, every nook and cranny gave me an extra perspective that I lacked before. I could tell even from where I sat, how to climb that tree, or run up that wall.
No better way to test your powers then to put them to test. I took off running and moved into an alley. My legs pushed against the concrete and I jumped atop the trash bin, and then in one full swoop, I caught hold of the pipe running down the wall.
Instincts and knowledge guided me to the rooftop in no time and without wasting a second I took off once more. Ducking and weaving through the obstacles, jumping and balancing myself on walls that I would normally hesitate to walk atop. Now I was running and scaling those walls like a monkey. I felt the rush of adrenaline like nothing else before. I felt at the top of the world.
Then it came all crashing down, leaving me wheezing like a dog dying of thirst. I supported my tired body against the wall and cursed my childishness for getting carried away. I might have just gotten the awesome skills of parkour, but my stamina remained the same, and so did my body. I could feel the hardening of muscles of my calf, and the ache in my joints. This wasn't counting the absolute breathlessness I was currently undergoing.
As my breathing started adjusting, I took a moment to analyze my powers and once more found that only half of the potential had been used up. But alongside that detail there was something else. The charge was building once more.
That wasn't a surprise, but what was was the fact that it was growing insanely fast. It even eclipsed those moments when I sat on the bench. If I had to take a guess then it was already a third full, just after I had gotten my last power.
I took a shower as the first thing on arrival. The cold water felt soothing to my burning body. When I stepped out I felt refreshed, though still with an aching leg. I wonder how that would reflect when I go to gym. Would they think that I was faking or something?
It was still early in the morning, so I took a moment to stretch out. I flopped on my bed, feeling the rush leave my body. The potential was still building up, and building up fast. At this rate I would score another power before the half a day passed.
Taking a note of the time at 8:35, I still had around 15 minutes to waste. Instead of doing another pointless research through the news articles, I started browsing the memes.
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When I arrived at the gym, the place was looking a lot more packed than yesterday. I showed my membership card to the guy at the desk, and was thankful that he remembered me. He handed me the key to my locker compartment which I took and left to change.
I stored my clothes in the locker, having now changed into a sweatshirt and loose trousers. I moved toward the workplace where a bunch of equipment littered.
"First time today?" A voice called from behind and I turned to find a bushy bearded guy grinning at me. He wore a yellow t-shirt which strained against his packed muscles and towered me by good two inches.
"Yeah, just registered yesterday." I said.
"Name's David." He put his hand forth which I shook promptly. "I work as an instructor here. Let me get you through the motions."
David turned out to be a helpful guy. He calmly explained my training schedule, what to do on which day and all. He then had me focus on the variety of equipment and helped get me familiar with some of them. After about five minutes he left, but not before putting me on exercise. Need to do warm-up first.
Gym was as it turned, trying. For a beginner like me, all the compounding exertion did was produce muscle tears and aches all over my body. The urge to quit was strong, but I pulled through, recognizing the need as laziness trying to dominate.
Compared to most of the others, my first set of exercises were lot less intense. I was already familiar with most of equipment thanks to David, like where cardio, weightlifting or functional area was. Once my warm-up was finished, I started with the bench-press.
3 sets of 10 reps, as it read on the blog that I had been trying to reference. Suddenly not having an instructor around to direct me seemed to be not as quite a wise move. I swallowed the curses at my past self, who always managed to screw me over.
With the same set and rep, I tried my hand at rowing. The light workout ended with me doing plank and standing up to feel all my muscles protest in agony. I don't think I have ever exerted myself to such a degree.
I was leaving for home right after I finished with the shower. The first day at gym lasted about a little more than an hour, but the results would probably linger for days or weeks to come.
The foremost reason I made haste in leaving though was because I could feel the buildup so dangerously close to reaching the threshold. So by the time I arrived at home, it was 10:35 in the morning and my power had just started another expansion.
The power was called 'Self-Sustenance'. With this I would never need to eat or drink again, as it would compensate for whatever I needed in terms of nutrients and vitamins. I could still eat if I so wanted, but that would be mostly for the purpose of enjoyment rather than serving any meaningful purpose.
This was the first power that used all of the charge I had built up. In terms of what it represented, it was a great power, first supernatural one in my case. But it still failed to meet my expectations of what I considered an optimal superhero power.
It did remove the need for expelling waste. And since it would provide what an optimal stable diet would, I would see some improvements in terms of physique development soon. With gym, those improvements would be guided toward developing a more robust and lean body.
I sighed and rubbed my forehead. This entire power cluster was getting less exciting by the day. Thankfully the potential was growing a lot faster, that I could already see improvements even when it was just exhausted.
I still had the rest of the day before me, and I wasn't going to meet mom until later this evening. I decided to look up the local news and found the article on gruesome death of Alberto Ortega and his wife. It seemed that they were chopped into pieces, a complete massacre.
It seemed to be getting weirder and spooky by the day, but that's New York. I doubt people even second guessed the entire ordeal, except those involved which I was pretty sure included heroes and villains.
Unfortunately, while I had some good power combo, they were mostly focused on survival and defense aspects, at least what counted as defense when it came to running.
In the end I closed the news tab and starting looking up boxing videos. Since the gym had some boxing equipment, I intended to train up some form where I wouldn't accidentally break my hand if I tried to punch something.
Let me just say that people had a lot of time on hand, or was it just the monetary compensation from content creation that had them going. Videos on boxing weren't difficult to find, and I ended up bookmarking a playlist where the man was going through different forms. I even decided to look some matches, but found the appeal waning when I saw the lack of focus on their lower bodies.
The field work wasn't going to be like a boxing match, fighting against another boxer with similar strengths and weaknesses. It would undoubtedly be more fluid and require extensive body moments. That's where the martial arts came in. They usually focused on technique and speed, even if they lacked the sheer raw power.
I was already in the process of a choosing a good enough martial art, but then I thought about the equipment at gym. It might not be the most ideal form of fighting, but boxing wasn't to be underestimated. Besides, learning a completely new martial art would require more just than doing horse stance, and breaking cardboard. I would need an instructor, but I wasn't completely sure that was the best idea.
Relying on my powers to rig something for me seemed to be a foolish idea, especially after what it had lauded me with. Still, I wasn't going to diminish the potential of my powers when I had just barely scratched the surface. The truth was, I was being impatient. With hundreds of stars in mental space, I had barely touched upon three, and those were some of the weakest. From what I could see, there were stars so bright and shiny that I reckon the powers they granted would be world altering and reality bending.
Ultimately, I put aside the thought and decided to focus on the principles of boxing. Stance, moves and most importantly which curriculum to follow. With 'Self-Sustenance', I was set on the path of rapid development, at least when compared to normal folk. I doubt it would be better than what athletes had, considering that my training intensity would hardly mirror theirs.
In the mean time I decided to look up any job posts and their requirements. IT field had tons of opportunity, unfortunately my understanding of computer and internet only to amounted to basic operations, browsing and downloading content. I could take up the courses where they taught software development, but I didn't want to waste my time on something which might not even prove useful.
After all, no matter how much I read the books on machine coding and neural networks, I wasn't creating an artificial assist program. Sucks, but it was true. I was no Ironman.
There were jobs available for delivery services, but they paid equal or less than what Johnny paid me. Aside from that, I wasn't qualified for work at library, didn't have a degree for corporate work, and had neither skill nor credibility for freelance work or opening a business.
I could do parkour, and make social media content. But I wasn't keen on putting such sensitive information on the internet. Who knew, if and when I started being active in the field, some A.I model like Jarvis made the connection. On that thought I also needed to consider my eventual costume. Did I want to go X-Men style, all wet suit or looking for something mechanical like an armour? Or maybe just a simple getup of trench coat and top hat, go with that arrogant detective look?
Putting aside my costume, there was also the matter of my name. I didn't want to end up with something like Power Man, wait, there was already a Power Man in New York. So maybe they would go for NO-Hunger Man? Parkour Person? Stark Mark?
Yeah, definitely not going with public opinion, so need to look up something.
My power connected to the star and knowledge filled my brain. Power was called 'Basic Martial Artist Training' and it gave me required training equivalent of 7 years in Wing Chun. Why Wing Chun exactly, I had no idea. But what I had an idea of was the centerline theory, sticky hands (Chi Sau), and basic forms (Sui Nim Tao).
This power had basically given me a foundational base in Martial arts that I had no idea about. Seven years of training was not a joke, even if it read Basic. I could probably handle multiple street-level fighters, and those where guys who were used to brawl. I might fall short of individuals like Daredevil or Punisher in terms of sheer combat potential, but I could handle myself alright.
Most of all though, what Wing Chun lacked in terms of running away Parkour made up. Since the martial art was focused on defense and counteracting moves of your opponent, I could say that I had better fighting chance than your average joe.
Knowledge of Wing Chun didn't just fill me on the fundamentals of fighting, but also understanding of human body. Which parts to target, which to defend. There was also a specialized training method where I could hone my skills with the use of a training dummy. So, there goes my thoughts on learning boxing.
I sighed and resumed looking for the names. There were ton of categories to go through but I focused on the ones I resonated with. What did I think of my powers? For now they were quite limited, but that wouldn't be the case for the future. In time I would grow beyond the scope of my own imagination, of that I had no doubt. So again, what did I think of my powers?
Something that would raise me to be the epitome of cosmic scale. And in a world where a eternity and infinity were conceptual existence that said a lot about the eventual reach of my powers. This was something I confirmed when I got 'Self-Sustenance'.
Let's just say that Marvel naming is quite edgy at times. At others the names fit perfectly like Wolverine, or Cyclops. I thought about choosing Omniarch, which meant ruler of all forms of abilities. But as much as I was willing to lean into edginess, this was too much for me.
I wasn't going to settle for anything less than imposing, so I started to look up names, derivations and meanings that read close to what I hoped to represent. Polymachus? Nope, nerdy. Exousios? Too limited. Aeonarc? Again, edgy.
Going through the list was an interesting process to say the least. Ultimately I was caught between Viritas and Aevitas. The former meant truth in power, while the latter represented eternity.
In the end, I settled for the one that should've belonged to a cosmic librarian guarding the secrets of multiverse. Although I might achieve such a state one day, I wondered if I was biting more than I could chew.
I wanted to design my costume also, but I had neither the sense of aesthetics regarding something like that, nor the skills. I could doodle something on a piece of paper, but doing that would only result in tainting my ideas of what I considered could be a good costume.
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By the time evening arrived, and I sat in the bus on my way to my mother's home, I had spent the day going through the stances and moves that were drilled into me. As expected, I didn't just have an understanding of fighting using Wing Chun, I knew the pace, accuracy and power to put behind my moves. This was me, who had a single day's training under his belt, not me who was beating the wooden dummy since 15 years of age.
During that time, I had looked up the videos of Wing Chun, and thanks to my new perspective, I could tell that most of those people had sloppy foundations. Like they seemed to be lacking in fundamentals. I didn't if it was the nature of my power that made my Martial Art perfect, or if it was the time period we lived that the influence and originality has waned overtime. What I did know is my Wing Chun even at basic level was leagues better than most of those youtube guys. Not everyone of course, there some good one's that even I had to acknowledge.
Although my Wing Chun was good enough to label me as a street-master. I still lacked the advanced aspects of the art which would allow for more dynamic movement, advanced trapping and long-range striking techniques. I couldn't even make use of improvised weapons, at best I could throw a knife at someone thanks to my 'Basic Marksmanship Training'.
I had half a thought of joining a dojo to improve my skills, but I ultimately decided not to. For one, I already had a membership to a gym. Second, who knew what I would get next, what if that made this entire combat thing obsolete. I did look up how much it would cost for a training dummy, but after looking at the price, I decided to just be content with what I had. Maybe if I had a better job, but for now I was centering my survival on limited capital.
When I left the bus, it was already 5 in the evening, and the potential was showing no sign of stopping or slowing down. I felt anticipation at what I would end up with, hopefully something that would either put me in the field, or something that helped with my current financial crisis.
I walked down the road, among the flock of busy pedestrians. There was strange feeling being among so many humans and knowing that you were different from them all. I didn't if I would call this feeling as being smug, or superior to them, but there was certainly a sense of detachment. I wonder if heroes felt an obligation instead, that they had to help those who couldn't help themselves? Guess I really wasn't the hero material after all.
I felt my power try to reach for the stars, and fail to connect with anything. On one hand, I felt a strong urge to curse, on the other, I felt more anticipation at getting a chance for one of the better powers with higher cost.
When I rang the doorbell to my mother's home, I felt a nervous anticipation creep up within me. The truth was, when I regained memories of my former life, I had acted as an observer instead of a participant. It was like looking at a movie that detailed your life, but found it hard to connect to it emotionally. That didn't meant it had no impact on me, just that it was less than what one would expect from something like this, and vastly overshadowed by the arrival of the expansive powers. Instead of dealing with the mess that was my past life, I had focused my entire attention on the powers.
Still didn't change the fact that I had lived another life, with another parents and as another person. I wondered how I would face my mother, would she notice the difference?
I heard the door click open and pulled inward.
"James?" Mom called as she looked at me. "You came."
"Hi, mom." I hugged my mother with a smile on my face, and felt the visible relaxation that overcame her.
"Come inside."
Following my mother, she took me to the living room where a number of documents were strewn on the coffee table. She hurriedly cleaned up the paper, and motioned for me to sit.
"Should I get you something to drink?"
"Water would be fine." Since I had no need for sustenance anymore, the process was more of an obligation than a physical need.
Mom went to get me water, but I could see her back from where I sat.
"You don't pay a visit much these days?" It was a rhetorical question, and one for which I was going to get grilled over later.
"Yeah, I have been a bit busy." I still answered.
"Busy enough that you forgot your old mother?"
"You know what I meant, mom."
She came over carrying a glass of water and handed it to me. "How's the job?" She asked.
I was hopping to not have this talk until later tonight, but this was as good a time as any.
"Yeah, about that. I quit." I tried to whisper the latter words, but it seemed that mom heard me.
"What?" She furrowed her brows. "Why did you quit? Did they fire you or something?"
"No, nothing that drastic." I shook my head. "I decided to quit, because they weren't paying enough. I thought it was about time I started looking for a job that did more just keep me alive."
"Oh! Well, do you have another lined up then?"
"Yes, actually I had already talked with this guy who needed some help with his business, so, you know. And before you ask, it's not something shady and 'Brain' is a friend I have know for a long time."
"What's the business about?" The nosy part was always difficult to circumvent. Surface level lying could only get you so far, you needed an actual plan to fool someone.
"It's about textile. You know fabric import and sale." I had no idea what I was talking about but copy pasting the technical jargon from the blog I had read about economics and impact of various sectors on the economy seemed to convince mom that I wasn't lying. Or at least not getting completely scammed.
"Well, if you know and understand what you are getting into, then that's good." She smiled at me. Now I was feeling bad about lying to her. Once again, I found myself comparing my life to those of heroes. Was this what had they go through on daily basis, yeah, I could sympathize with them.
"How about you? How are you doing?" I asked.
She seemed to take a moment to collect her thoughts and finally spoke. "I have been doing fine. Good, in fact."
"Did something happen?" I asked with a smile.
"Well, I met this gentleman and we have a date tomorrow." She almost seemed shy, or was it ashamed saying that. I could understand where those feelings came from. I didn't remember much about dad, aside from his accident when I was five. His death broke mom, and for a long while it had been a reason for my worries.
Overtime, mom had focused on work and raising me, and seemed to have all but forgotten about dad, but I knew that it was facade that was built around strangers. She had never recovered from his death, and it felt cruel to me for such loving people to separate due to whims of mortality. So, as I considered her words and behavior, I felt both conflicted and happy.
"That's great, mom." I voiced. "It's good that you are trying to live again, for yourself this time. I am genuinely happy."
"Thank you, James." She hesitated before continuing. "I didn't know how you would react, so..."
"Just know that I am always here for you, mom."
Our talked progressed further, but devolved into more dodging on my part when the topic shifted to my own romantic endeavors. It didn't help when she started talking about our neighborhood girl, well my former neighborhood girl whom I used to have a crush on. I knew I would regret letting mom know that day, and this day I was reminded of it for a hundredth time.
When the time for dinner came, I felt nothing like I usually would. The hunger was absent and with that the lack of mood and anticipation for mom's cooking. Guess each power has its own drawbacks, no matter how perfect it might seem.
It was during the time when I busy cutting into steak that I felt my powers achieve their threshold and try to yank one of the stars. And surprisingly failed once more.
Instead of feeling disappointment, I felt excitement. The higher my potential grew the greater chances of latching onto one of the bigger stars. And something told me, the difference between each level was more than mere cost increase and slight effectiveness. That each level was a world of its own.
When the dinner finished, I found myself surprisingly full. Despite having no need for sustenance I could still partake in consumption If I desired, so I had been expecting more of the same feeling throughout. But instead, I found contentment.
"I think it's getting late, I should leave." I spoke.
Mom turned to me with a horrified look on her face. "You are leaving? Like, right now?"
We were sitting on the sofa, and watching a movie. The lights were dim, so when she turned the lights from the TV seemed to cast a twilight shade on her face, which made whatever she was saying seem spooky.
"Yes." I replied, curtly.
"Do you hear what you are saying? Have you not read the news about what's taken place over the past few days?"
"I will be fine, mom. Besides, I bet superheroes will arrive before any harm befalls a citizen." Which wasn't true at all, and both mom and I knew that. It was more of a jest on my part.
"You are not leaving, James. End of the discussion."
"Oh come on! You can't believe that, people are up and about during midnight. And besides I will take a cab, and be back at my place in about 10 minutes. It's not even that far."
She gave an exasperated look. I recognized her attempts at equal part worry, and part coercion to force to me to stay the night. On any other day, I might have relented, but after the speedy train that my power had transformed into, I had no idea when the next grab will be. If I ended up with something drastic or dangerous, I wanted to remain as far away from human presence as possible, especially my mother.
"You won't listen to me, will you?" This was the last attempt on her part, trying to appeal to me by pleading. She still seemed to be treating me as a kid sometime, and it was as frustrating as it was heartwarming. I mean, the care.
I shook my head and spoke. "I actually joined a gym yesterday, and they have this early morning schedule set up. I need to arrive early in the morning, so can't stay the night. Maybe some other day."
Mom sighed and stood up. She followed me outside while I waited for the cab to arrive. I wasn't usually one to expend so much on travel costs but meeting mom was an exception and an activity that only happened once a month.
"Be safe, honey." She hugged and kissed me on the cheek.
"You too, mom." I broke the hug and smiled at her. "And good luck on your date. Call me if there's any trouble, alright?"
"Don't worry, he's a nice gentleman."
I boarded the cab and gave mom a wave. It had required quite a bit of lying to get around mom's suspicions, but I had managed it. Now it was time to face my power at potential that I had never seen before.
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Arriving at my apartment took exactly twenty minutes thanks to the traffic on the streets. I felt the exhaustion of my morning exertion settle in, and felt the need to crawl up beneath the sheets. If I slept, the charge growth would stunt and I could wake up in the morning with better mindset and fresh body to deal with whatever was going to be thrown at me.
In the end, I sighed and decided to take a bath first. I refreshed, brushed my teeth and changed into my sleepwear. The advantage of having a smaller place was that you had much less steps to take before crash landing on the mattress. I practically crawled beneath the sheets, feeling exhaustion take over.
When sleep came, I had no idea. I was already feeling foggy and tired.
Come morning, I missed my run. Despite having set alarm at 7 in the morning, I successfully managed to win the fight and woke up at 8:30. I was still feeling the lethargic sensation and urge to just go back to sleep. I groaned and painfully lifted myself off the bed.
The morning ablution went by in a daze and I had accidentally cooked myself a couple of eggs and filled my glass with milk. The instincts of two years had been on autopilot despite no visible need from my body. I wasn't going to let the breakfast go to waste, so I doubled-down and cleaned the platter.
I washed the dishes, changed my clothes and left for the gym. It occurred to me that since I had no need for food anymore, I would be saving around 500-600 per month. That would go a long way in building up my savings. Maybe not enough for investment in a business, at least not anytime soon. But with better job, and plenty of savings, turning the lie I had uttered into truth to my mother didn't seem that far-fetched. Sill felt bad about that part.
Starting with cardio for warm-up, I kept at it for ten minutes. I looked at the boxing equipment and bit my lip. I couldn't do the Wing Chun moves here, mostly because it would be a dead give away for my future identity in case I had rely on it. And i had no idea how here compared to Mid-Town High students in terms of connecting dots. If my luck was bad, they would turn out to be smarter than they looked.
I moved toward the locker room when I felt the power reach the threshold and yank one of the stars. Unfortunately it wasn't more powerful than 'Self-Sustenance', but its equal.
In terms of what it represented though, let's just say that it was absolute game changer. Suddenly I was genuinely happy that I had scored this power.
It was called 'Swift Learning', and it enabled me to learn at a far greater pace than normal humans. It made a world of difference in what it represented. Like becoming a good boxer in a week.
It didn't just allow for fast learning process but also allowed me to remember moves and actions when committing a task, so that I could reflect on them and grow.
For the first time, I felt like I had what I needed to work in the field. All I needed was to get some preparations done, and I could go swinging from the tall building with a grapnel gun strapped to my wrist. With Wing Chun and my enhanced learning speed, I could adopt to any situation and should be able to operate at Daredevil level, or at least close to it.
The excitement that had been waning was back in full swing. I was now counting down till I scored another power. Since I only exhausted 2/3 of the charge, I still had enough to secure a small power. When the next threshold was achieved, I would have twice that.
The rest of the exercise went by in a flash. I did try the boxing equipment and copied whatever I could from the videos. Thanks to that I could now punch better and had to stop my training when I caught a curious eye linger longer than a second. I didn't want to attract attention so I focused on the weights and the rest of the routine.
When I was back at home, I was scrabbling for my laptop. I needed a costume designed and it wouldn't do to wear a patchwork that might just get me labeled as Mr. Trash-Man. Anything was possible in Marvel, after all.
If your power is super learning, and you wanted to have something made, what do you do? It's simple really, you learn to make it.
My knowledge of design work amounted to nothing. I had no idea of how to design a piece of cloth into something that changed the vibe of a person. The application of placing seams at specific places, mounting pockets or simply making it plain and unassuming, all so that it could radiate a specific aura. Of intimidation, Hope or even just a heavy presence.
But 'Swift Learning' didn't care about that. I wasn't hoping to become a fashion expert on the design work. And honestly even with the rate of retention and learning dialed up to eleven, it would take days or weeks of extensive effort on my part. The fact that there was even a possibility though, meant that I was treading the supernatural grounds.
In the end, my goal was simply to design a suit that would act as the start of my career. I could then learn to sew, and since spiderman could do it, I gave myself fair chances of getting something that wouldn't embarrass me.
It turned out designing is both difficult and easy. Easy as long as you understand the preferences, personality and mindset of the person you are tailoring after. Difficult if you have none of the above. Ultimately fashion was the sense of class projected by enhancing your charming qualities and bringing out the good traits while suppressing the bad gimmicks.
Luckily for me, I understood myself well enough, and I also had a good enough understanding of my goals. It took me sometime to get the artwork right, but by the end of my three hour extensive work, I was looking at the design of my to-be costume.
The part about sewing, though was more practical and not something I wanted to start on before I got my hands on some fabric. Unfortunately, it wasn't possible to get my hands on anything magical, like self-repairing cloth, or impact-resistant fabric, or even bullet proof suit.
I decided to settle with Neoprene, mostly because it was water-resistant and tough and it also had that shine found in usual superhero suits. It grated at me that I had no better options like a technologically engineered or magical enhanced fabric and had to settle for something mundane.
This was going to cost me a bit more than other fibers like Lycra. I still decided to put it on my list and then settled to make myself comfortable.
I now had a legitimate power that could help me in my day to day life. I could pick anything I wanted and quickly at that. With this single power I had enough leverage to start a business or work at someplace and quickly climb the ladder. But the question was, did I want to?
I had barely scratched the surface of my powers and they were already showing promise, if I ended up with something even better than wouldn't all the effort I put in learning go to waste.
It took me a long train of thoughts to arrive at the conclusion. And that was, I was being an idiot. If I decided to rely on my powers for everything, then it would screw me over in a precarious situation. I needed to leverage what I had and reap benefits even if those benefits amounted to nothing later on. At least this way, I would save myself the regret in the unlikely scenario.
Now the question was, what did I want to focus on? I already had a good enough foundation in martial art. I could use parkour alongside my martial art to escape from almost any mundane problem. While marksmanship was little underwhelming, it could prove useful in situations, like a distraction.
All in all, my basics were covered and if I wished to improve upon them, then it wasn't going to a week long training session, it would take months.
My focus was broken when power yanked one of the smallest stars and filled me with knowledge, and what knowledge it was. I suddenly knew about the devices like regular engines, gears, levers or simple guns and how build them. I knew how to construct the machines that would be required to build these devices. And there goes all the effort I put into thinking to waste.
The power was called 'Basic Engineering Training' and it allowed me to understand any mundane mechanical device and create schematics for them. I could repair and create something from the scratch. On the surface it seemed to have made me a good enough Mechanical Engineer, but the true meat of the power lied in two things. One, i could understand the operation of ANY mechanical device, as long as it wasn't too complex. Tow, it allowed me to instantly recognize what I could and what I couldn't use for the creation of the device.
I think, I was finally ready to move onto that part where I start making some money.
.
.
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Powers gained this chapter -
- Basic Disguise Training [100 PP] — You have learned the artistic skill of using mundane clothing and makeup in order to conceal your own or someone else's identity.
So long as this disguise is not removed then this would allow you to move unrecognized even when your face is on dozens of bounty posters plastered on every wall.
- Basic Marksmanship Training [100 PP] — You have had good training with most projectile weapons being capable of hitting small and distant targets with relative ease.
Using this you could use a screwdriver to hit a dartboard's bullseye from 5 feet away or consistently hit the center archery board using a Compound bow from 28 yards away.
- Self-Sustenance [200 PP] — You no longer need to eat or drink, and will instead naturally regain what you would normally get from eating or drinking an optimal stable diet required for your body.
You can if you choose to eat and drink without any negative side effects.
- Basic Martial Artist Training [100 PP] {Wing Chun} — You have gained the equivalent of 7 years of training for your selected martial arts up to a high Kyu Grade with a capable Sensei and Uke's.
- Swift Learning [200 PP] — You are able to learn at a far greater rate than most people, allowing you to remember the actions or movements shown or committed when doing a task so that you grow far quicker than normally possible.
- Basic Engineering Training [100 PP] — You can understand the operation of any mechanical device and effortlessly create a schematic for any mundane mechanical devices or weapons.
You are also able to create the content of your design and the tools required for its creation out of any compatible materials including scrap and refuse instantly knowing what is and isn't compatible.
Note:
Hey guys, welcome to my new story.
First of all, I would like to say thank you for making it till here, and I hope that you read this article in its entirety.
Marvel Of Reality is a new project of mine, a fanfiction on Marvel Comics. It starts with our mc waking up with memories of his former life and new powers. Remember I said, memories of his past life, rather than him waking up in Marvel, just so you know which takes precedence. If you haven't checked the tags yet, then I will just put it here, [Unreliable Narrator]. Do not, and I will once again say do not take mc's words at face value. He will think of one thing when making a plan, and then do another, thus the [Unreliable Narrator] tag to warn you all. Anything Mc says doesn't have to be correct, either in his assumptions or his memory regarding the comic book storyline or characters. Unless of course he has a specific perk to enable that.
As for the power system, I used a half-assed template of Celestial Forge to build a system centered around superhuman powers. For the powers themselves I used the Generic Superpower Supplement. I had to remove some, so in the end I categorized the whole doc into different categories that follows somewhat similar logic to a constellation in Celestial Forge.
The story is told from first person point of view, and will mostly follow the view of our character with an occasional interlude. Those will be few and far-between. Our character is immature for the most part. He's like that excited kid that got handed a light saber in Star Wars and now wishes to duel a Jedi.
You can tell from the way he behaves to how he acts and responds to certain situation, that the reality hasn't settled around him fully. This might be related to his past, but you will have to read further to explore that.
Another note on power system and how it works.
I actually made a few changes throughout the first chapter. At first I started with a fixed rate system. Basically, our character will gain 100 PP (Power Points) per 2000 words. At each accumulation of 100 PP, we will initiate a roll. At first, there was a 50% chance of ending up with nothing. 25% for 100 PP perk, 12.5% for 200 PP perk and so on.
The problem is when I redefined the new categories, I also changed the PP requirements. On one hand, I had massively increased the PP count, on the other, I had gathered a ton of abilities.
So, around 8000 words, I changed the exchange rate and increased the rate of gain from 100:2000 to 100:1000. This would double the rate of PP gain.
50% flat nothing, and increasingly decreasing values for others led me to make another decision. I wanted to make a dynamic roll chance system.
It would depend on the available PP, and would only roll among the viable categories. There was still a flat 30% chance of gaining nothing, but now it changed the rate of other categories. If I rolled at having only 100 PP, I had 70% chance of drawing a perk from that category. If I rolled at 400 PP, I had 28% chance for drawing 400 PP perk, 21% for 300 PP perk and so on.
There are other rules that govern how to handle a problem in case it arose.
All in all, this exchange rate of 100:1000 would continue for sometime, but I am likely to change it in the future. In which case you would be reminded.
One last thing, the word count of these chapters is going to be massive. 15k+ at minimum. This chapter capped at around 15k. So don't be discouraged by low chapter count.
That's all.