A Marvel Of Reality

I hadn't ever given much thought to my circle of friends or my other relationships for that matter. After Dad died, Mom was the only other person whom I had been close with. It hurt to say it, but in terms of my personality development I had mirrored the life of my past-self. Distant, and aloof is how I would describe my behavior.

Unlike my past-life however, that bit had changed when I entered high-school. I could still vividly recall the day when our first class began and our gazes met. It had been nothing like I've ever felt. Alive and beating is how I had found my heart afterward.

That year had been my first attempt at reaching out to the real-world. I had made friends and did all sorts of stupid stuff that high-school student usually do. Sports had still been a distant field, but it was the practicals that I found the most difficult. I mean, how do you stare at someone without making it obvious? I sure learned how to.

Last year at high-school was spent like a dream and when the end arrived near the corner, I found myself chewing my nails in anxiousness. An act I would usually despise and express disgust over, I indulged in thoroughly because everything was coming to an end.

During that time friends hadn't been the most reliable group to confide in, but when desperation boiled over I had grabbed the straw closest to me. I was glad I did.

They had pushed me, made me see the world from their eyes. And what I saw gave me the confidence to push past the hesitation and confront the dreams of my past two years. I must say, what I felt at that time was anything but confidence. Still I had revealed my heart.

All of my fears evaporated right when I heard the simple words 'Yes'. Before I was nervous, now I was excited and nervous at the same time. I hadn't known what exactly I was getting myself into. Not until Christmas that year.

When the day was over what I awoke to was dead stillness. Cold and silent, whisper of death had stifled me. For a moment I had forgotten how to breathe. The light of dawn had felt like the calling of apocalypse. I was witnessing the end of the world and there was no one to support me.

College had been tough. Even though I had moved from Bronx to Harlem, the shadows of the past still haunted me. My grades were the absolute worst I had ever seen. Even though Mom said she understood, I didn't want to spend another day being a burden to her. I quit.

The two years solitude had brought peace to my mind, but even today I would sometimes dream of that day. It was nightmare that I never woke up from, but now I had the chance to make it better. Finish it for once and all.

I cupped my mug of caffeine and sat down with my laptop. It was early morning, and I was feeling refreshed.

The decision to off Cornell and Morgan hadn't been that difficult. Partly because of views on death, but mostly because I knew that even if some hesitation welled up, the rage would power me through.

That would've to wait though, because I had gotten a reply to my request. After finishing another project my portfolio was looking solid and ready. Just earlier this morning I had messaged one of the few programmers I had my eye on and asked if they were open to collaboration. It wasn't easy but after a couple back-and-forth we had arrived at consensus. 

The guy wanted a share of my profits and his name right beside mine, I managed to talk him out of latter. There wasn't much to do beside waiting on that front, so I set that aside and relaxed a little.

After leaving the club last night, I had managed to score another ability. 'Peak Human Balance' granted me enhanced sense of balance where in I could maintain my perspective even while in motion, hanging upside down or spiraling. With my somewhat inhuman balance thanks to my tail, this pushed that into the realm of true absurdity as was usual for my powers. Combine that with Advanced Combat Training and I was one of the better fighters in this verse.

I recalled that I had asked Colleen to set a meeting with Falcon. If my guess was correct than she might have already arranged for a meetup so I needed to prepared for that too. The only left to do for the time being was training.

Considering my Manipulation was still raw and uncontrolled, I decided to leave my house and change into my costume. When I arrived at my hideout, I hid my clothes and fished out the phone. There was a missed call and a text message that had arrived right after. It would seem Colleen had acted on her promise and I was to meet the Bird-guy before afternoon. It was still close to morning so I had some time to kill.

Heliokinesis is not exactly a super-powerful attribute when considering the background of story. There were tons of being who used this as sub-attribute. Consider Jean Grey who was a cosmic pyrokinetic, able to manipulate flames and then consider the ability to use the solar flares as the flames. Most might not have outright displayed control over solar energy but they did posses somewhat limited control over the elements of fire, gravity or magnetism. While mine was more general, it was also weak.

Since I wasn't technically a mutant, I had no idea how far I could push my Heliokinesis. But one thing was certain, unless I devoted a huge chunk of my time to train my abilities, it would likely take an enormous amount of time before I could even remotely use it for the more esoteric applications like flying.

I felt another connection form and knowledge descend. I had always wondered how far my powers could vary in general variety, that is. Learning combat, marksmanship, firearms and even martial arts had been a...Well, a learning experience. Now I was given the knowledge and training of a thief.

If I was going to commit another act of thievery like the last one, I had much better knowledge and practical experience. The power was called 'Basic Thievery Training' and taught me how to act in my capacity as a thieve and how to blend in a crowded area.

Thanks to this one power, I had much better prospects at stealing from Cottonmouth, now that I knew how to. I put the unexpected boon aside and decided to start on my training.

Heliokinesis was broad in terms of its application. It wasn't just Solar energy manipulation, nor was it like solar radiation absorption. If anything I was closer to the likes of Sunfire then Sunspot. Both of these were Alpha level mutants and my abilities were much broader than theirs. Was I better than them? On the contrary I was worse than both.

With my current level of Heliokinesis I could at best create miniature plasma constructs or generate fire. Most of that was thanks to Secretion, with my manipulation only doing the bare minimum of giving shape to the energy. It wouldn't be wrong to say that I was a total amateur in this field.

My very first application though was to try absorbing the Solar Radiation. If I already possessed small amount of solar power to use Heliokinesis at night, then it should technically be possible to absorb more solar power during day. It turned to be a lot more difficult than I thought.

Sunspot if I recalled correctly absorbed the solar radiation into his cells. The energy would be stored until he need to perform some specific ability. The question was if I could replicate the effect.

Turns out, I couldn't. Honestly it should've been more apparent, but my Heliokinesis or any ability for that matter worked on entirely different set of principles. It was like trying to use my martial arts to manipulate chi, which just wasn't possible because of how different my fundamental training was compared to Iron Fist.

Manipulation of Solar Energy meant I could control the motion of this energy. Secretion granted me some small reserves but they were just that, small. At the very least, I wouldn't be improving them anytime soon.

With the expectations of my enhancement out of the way, I was able to focus on more hands-on ability. Being a pyrokinetic was an experience if I say so myself, the only problem was trying to keep the fire away from my clothes. Despite knowing I could push the temperature to some truly insane heights, I managed to refrain myself from such an activity, if only to keep my costume from ruining.

Next on the list was plasma constructs. You would think manipulating light should be easier than plasma, but you would be wrong. While directly related to the light manipulation, Heliokinesis focused on the solar energy and more temperature related aspect. Heating matter was far easier for me than to distort the electromagnetic waves around the matter.

Even when I had first gotten the Manipulation ability, I was capable of creating a small needle thanks to my Secretion ability. That was at night, and at this time I could fire jets of plasma from my hand. It was wild and uncontrolled show of strength that would require more training before I could safely use this ability.

For the next hour I was engrossed in trying to shape plasma into smaller and more compact structures. I had a thought to learn to use plasma blasts, but then discarded. The reason being: unless I could concentrate the beam, and keeping it going for more than two seconds, it would be more a liability than actual power.

Last thing I wanted to do was the one I felt most anticipation for. Flight was the mark of a superhero even if many characters lacked the ability. Although I had Levitation, having Flight was another thing.

Being able to fly over New York while scouting the neighborhood for any ongoing crime was cool and all, but it also held a tactical advantage beside being a reliable mode of transportation than a bus or a boat.

With Levitation providing boost, I managed the basic task of lifting up in the air. While it hadn't been as obvious before, now I could clearly make out how the ability itself masterfully made use of my Heliokinesis to keep me floating. I couldn't achieve this level of control with just my manipulation unless I had extensive training in using attribute in this way.

This did make me wonder if there were other abilities that could apply to my attribute. If Levitation was there, was there also Flight? A question that would likely be answered no doubt.

Using Manipulation I tried to shift the gravity around me, making myself lighter. Then using the Solar Radiation I tried to make use of an updraft to push me higher. At first being cautious I had only used a hint of solar energy. Feeling like it wasn't enough, I applied more and regretted it a moment later.

There's a reason why you shouldn't practice flight inside a building. If only I didn't have Peak Human Durability and Dense Flesh, I would be supporting a massive wound to my head. Hitting the ceiling and blasting straight through it proved to be a learning experience. I was only glad that I had been prudent in choosing a different training location than my safe-spot.

This was the same place where I had tried my Levitation, only I had found an abandoned factory within the premises. I could only hope that no one saw this incident or heard the noise for that matter. The training did make one thing clear to me however: unless I spent a shitload of time honing my skill in manipulating Solar Energy, I wasn't going to be learning anything.

I felt a connection form and a new ability get secured. 'Disease Resistance' basically granted me super immunity to all diseases, well mundane diseases only but technically I was totally immune to them all. At worst I might suffer some negative side-effects from persistent illnesses.

It was a short-lived distraction as the sun was starting to reach its peak. I still had a meeting with Falcon and while my training hadn't borne any fruits yet, it had taught me a valuable lesson.

I contacted Colleen and asked her for the location and exact timing. Time to meet an Avenger.

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My knowledge of the comic books was subpar compared to their extensive lore. Despite that I had a good understanding of the select few characters like Falcon and the company. Especially Avengers who you might as well take as the face of the marvel verse. Aside from Fantastic Four and X-Men, that is.

What I knew about Falcon was a mix of what I remembered and what I had read from the internet. Basically I knew that he was a member of Avengers, but I didn't know his exact point of origin or his level of skill.

The only thing that interested me though was how he would react toward me. I was a vigilante like himself, but my feats were unknown and my powers were a factor of concern. Would he put aside his worries to work with me or would he try to apprehend me for the sake of containing chaos.

Thankfully I didn't have to wait long to find out. I made out the form of Colleen leaning against the lamppost from afar, thanks to my peak human vision. Deciding to send a text I informed her that I had arrived and was waiting to follow. She took a sweeping glance and passed right over me; missing me entirely.

I followed the redhead toward a rundown warehouse and found a man in red and white suit wearing a mask that covered his eyes but left the rest of his face open. Resting on his shoulder was an avian creature that I was sure was Redwing.

I dropped to the ground to make my presence known, and found the attention of both parties snap toward my direction. Taking a more cavalier attitude I made my way forward.

"Good afternoon." I smiled. "Hope I didn't keep you waiting for long."

Falcon shared a glance with Colleen and looked at me. "I heard you have something you want to tell me, what is it?"

"Straight to the point." I nodded. "Very well. Colleen should've already informed you of the surface level details." I turned to look at her.

"Just about how you wanted to deal with both Morgan and Cottonmouth." She said. "I thought to leave the rest for you to explain."

Explain I did. I started from the beginning about how we chased down this guy and how we came to spy on Morgan. Falcon listened with rapt attention until I told him about the evidence I got from Morgan where he promptly put a hand forth to stop me.

"Why would Morgan give you evidence that proves him guilty?" He asked, suspicion and confusion entwined.

"Because it would help me fool Cottonmouth." I answered. "They don't get along well, I've heard."

"And why would he be generous to help you fool Cottonmouth?" He followed with a second question.

Even without considering the implications I could tell where this exchange was going. Not in the direction I was hoping for. Either way I wasn't shying away from saying truth. If Falcon decided he didn't want any part in this, then I wasn't going to force him. But I wasn't going to let him get in my way either.

"He asked me for a favor." I spoke each word in a slow manner. "In exchange for helping him with a problem. This was a token of gratitude that didn't mean much in the grand scheme of things, but it did perform its due."

"What favor?" Falcon asked. The dude was relentless, especially after hearing that I was willing to make a deal with a villain, as if the alternative was better.

"You." I said. "To get you out of his way. I agreed."

Falcon narrowed his eyes and stared daggers at me. If this was his attempt at intimidation then he would've do better. As if realizing this wasn't working, he turned to Colleen. "I thought you said he was a hero, who fought criminals. But all I see is a guy who isn't above working with a criminal as long as he can get what he wants."

"Hey!" I interjected. "Listen dude, you might a flaming symbol of morality or whatever, but sometimes to clean the trash you've to get your hands dirty. If you've a problem with that then you can leave, I don't care either way."

"And rude too." He looked back at me. "How can I trust a guy who's willing to do favors for a crime boss just to gain fame and recognition?"

"I'm sorry, what?!" I looked at him confused.

"I don't think Aevitas is doing this for fame, Falcon." Colleen spoke from the side.

"The way I see it, here's a guy who wishes to make it big by exposing two criminal gang lords." He spoke. "And what does he get out it, a photo on the front page of the newspaper and-boom he's the next internet sensation. Just for that he decided to do a favor for a criminal. Am I wrong, Colleen?"

The entire conversation was going off the rails. And we hadn't gotten to the part where I stole from someone's house. Was he trying to provoke a response out of me, or was he being genuine?

"All right, you two, calm down." Colleen held up a hand and Falcon sighed.

I rubbed my temple and looked at Colleen. "This isn't working out. I thought we could come to an understanding."

I felt a missed connection and sighed. Now I was regretting having invited Falcon for a talk. The guy clearly valued shining heroics rather than getting the job done, should I say as expected of a comic-book hero. It was no wonder many villains continue to terrorize the world just because these guys couldn't get heavy-handed.

"Look, do you want to help or not?" Having had enough, I finally decided to lay it into him. "You might be a hero of Harlem for having fought all sorts of villains, but that's no excuse for letting some drug lord still run his empire. If someone is finally willing to do something about it, why the heck do you have a problem with it? The way I see it, you care more about showmanship than actually saving Harlem. What's wrong with faking interaction with a criminal if it would let me shut them down for once and all?"

Falcon narrowed his eyes at me, Redwing whom he shared a telepathic bond with also peering daggers at me.

"If you don't want to help, that's fine by me." I lay out my hands in mock surrender. "But I'm going to see this through, you can be sure of that."

"Harlem is my district." He spoke. "If help is all you want then you will get it. But let me make this clear: don't think of doing any underhanded activities in my area."

I gave him a hard look, as if to convey my standing towards his words; I didn't care what he thought or meant, I would do whatever I wanted.

"Here's the plan." With the conflict out of the way, I ran the man through the plan that I had been cooking since a while back. It helped that Falcon remained silent throughout and didn't question me on anything. By the end, he was giving me a weird look that told me he would be watching. I didn't understand what that was supposed to convey but then again I didn't care about him or his thoughts.

"Inform me before you begin." He left those last words and turned around. I watched in fascination as he unfurled his wings and took to the skies. Despite not getting a proper look I was still able to get a rough understanding of the components at work. Not every component mind you, just those that fell into the mundane category.

"Well, that went well." Colleen remarked. I knew she was being sarcastic but felt a smile creep up on my face.

We turned to leave while I spoke. "I still don't understand what that was about?"

While I knew and to some extent understood the attitude and behavior heroes employed towards general public, there was none of that when Falcon spoke with me. Instead he had that odd look of suspicion and distrust toward me, which made me wonder what brought that up.

"I don't think he really meant any of that." Colleen said. "In my opinion, he was probably testing you. If you had been brash and attacked him, he might've taken you into custody and brought you to the Avengers Tower or something."

"So what, he was basically confirming whether I was threat or not?" I asked for further clarification.

"Yeah." Colleen answered. "Harlem aside, New York at large faces new threats every other day. You are new to the scene but any disruption to the dynamic in a huge cause of worry. Falcon thought you might be chasing after fame and thus wouldn't care of the path you would take. He was probably worried that you might be going down the wrong path."

It was what I theorized also. There had been a moment of worry where I wondered if this entire situation would devolve into those hero fights where they ultimately end up reconciling and working together to defeat the enemy. As much as I was leaning into the whole hero villain theme, I still wanted to avoid any cringe-worthy cliches.

"Please tell me I handled that well?" I sure hoped I did. Not exactly a fan of being under the radar of S.H.I.E.L.D or a telepath for that matter.

"You did good." She smiled.

Colleen and I exchanged a few more words before she looked at her watch and said she need to go.

"Why the hurry?" I asked.

"Got a date today, need to get prepared." She answered.

I didn't have the tendency for gossips but I did like some spices in my life to keep it fresh. Colleen was going on a date; I needed to know with whom.

"Who's the lucky guy?"

She smiled at me and showed me the picture. "Remember Bob?"

"Oh, yeah." I nodded. The picture in question belonged to the blonde man but instead of wearing that tight red martial uniform, he wore a three-piece suit and looked quite handsome. I recognized him from one of the movie posters that I had once come across. Turns out Bob was an actor, or used to be? I didn't dig much into his life.

"Then I won't keep you occupied for long." I smiled. "When the time comes, I will give you a call. Sorry to place all the burden on you, and thank you."

Colleen bid me farewell and went on her merry-way. I stood in the alley for some time, and decided to take a breather. Instead of just flopping on the ground I climbed to the roof of a building and dangled my legs from the parapet. It was such a spiderman moment that I couldn't help recall the insect themed hero. I wonder what Mr. Parker was up to?

The noonday sun beat down on my form as I basked in the feeling of sunlight stimulating my body. Just then I also felt the potential that had been rising for a while now reach its tipping point and miss.

Breath caught in my throat, I leapt to my feet. This was second time my potential was rising to four times its base. I could only wish for a strong power to provide some semblance of peace. Hopefully it wouldn't be something like Heliokinesis that required other powers to make it work.

My meeting with Falcon concluded, I was now facing some free-time. I could spend it on training more, but I had already ascertained that any improvement would require a considerable amount of time and effort on my effort. This was when taking into account my abilities like Swift Learning and Peak Human Memory Capacity. In short, it would be a waste of time to focus on training before I resolved this mess.

That left going back home and either working on other project to push my portfolio, or finishing my costume. There was also the matter of my potential rising to tall heights. If twice base potential could alter my entire genetics, I didn't even want to think what a similar power at this potential could do. It was best that I spent this time back at my home.

Tonight I am going to meet Shades too, and we are going to do our impromptu patrol in hopes of stumbling across a base of Morgan's. I wondered how long I could string along the idiot, alongside that sharp-toothed boss of his. Not for very long, so there was that.

All in due time, for now I needed to finish my costume.

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Working on my costume proved to be a relaxing activity. It also reminded me that I still needed to put on the rune and focus my Energy Storage to improve my defense. For that I needed to do some experiments.

I used a piece of cloth as the foundation for the rune and standard ink to draw my most basic defense sigil. I had previously gauged the limits of my magical pool which would allow me to keep this barrier in effect for around 15 seconds. This was without counting the impact it could endure. Based on my estimation, a low caliber bullet would put it out but the bullet would also be halted.

To properly test the limits of my new ability, I used Energy Storage on this cloth and watched in fascination as the energy tickled from my being and into the material. Even without proper testing I could claim the object to be just a smidgen more durable. Then the exhaustion settled in.

From my previous data it would take me about 20 minutes to recover the magical pool. I decided to spent that time working to finish my costume.

The work was coming along well and I had almost finished my costume by the time I pushed my internal reserves for the fourth time. By that period the cloth was looking pretty durable but the focusing matter was the energy that it was carrying to light-up the rune.

I used my magical energy to kick start the process and watched as the rune glowed and a sphere of blue spread around it. I set the timer and waited for about a minute to pass before the sphere dimmed and winked out of existence. It was an absolutely phenomenal display of magic that I couldn't help letting out a cheer at.

The cloth didn't seem effected aside from loosing that extra durability. According to what I knew of magic, the process of invoking a spell and the mechanics behind Energy Storage, I theorized that normally this cloth should've suffered some damage. However, since there was none to speak it might be the result of Energy Storage making it more durable to withstand the toll. This created a feedback loop that fed from that extra durability which would reduce overtime. By the end when the durability ran out, so would magic. I reckon the cloth would still suffer some damage overtime but it would be vastly reduced compared to what it was supposed to.

This ability was practically godsend, only limiting due to my limited magical reserves. I did try to push some energy from my Solar Energy reserves and found the task quite easy to accomplish. I soon realized however, that my stores of Solar Energy were quite low. I tried to circumvent the issue by directly feeding the energy from the ambient sunlight, only to find the method unusable. It would seem that Energy Storage only worked for the energy that I personally possessed. There was one good thing though, first the durability boost was universal; meaning no matter the type of energy the material would be durable. Another thing was the type of energy made the material more susceptible to that type of power. It was another reason why that shield was so stable.

With the experiments done, the first thing I did was draw a rune on my costume. Next, I drew another on the clothes of civilian disguise of Eddie. For the civilian even a boost of 10 seconds would prove monumental, I decided to go with a minute boost. That meant an hours worth of charge.

It would take time, so while I was busy charging the clothes I looked up my portfolio and found some good reaction toward my projects. I hadn't received any relevant powers that boosted my technical genius aside from Basic Engineering Training, and Advanced Computer Training. For now I had to make do with what I got, which meant mundane applications of my powers like Freelancing.

I wonder what others would think if they knew my programming skills and knowledge were facilitated by my powers. The only thing that I could call my own was logic and even then my powers spoon fed me some of the applications. I might receive a bad reception on account of cheating. Best to keep that to myself.

Once more I felt my potential shoot upwards, ready to burst like a dam. As it reached for one of the stars my excitement left me when I felt a connection form to one of the slightly stronger stars. I had exhausted 3/4 of the potential instead of using it all to secure one of the better powers.

And I take back what I said. If someone asked who my favorite alien from Ben 10 had been, my answer would be Kevin. Well, technically Kevin wasn't an alien inside the watch, but since he was an Osmosian, he could be considered an alien. There was a reason why I liked him though, it was his power of absorption that really got me going. And now I was him.

'Absorb Materials' was an understated name for the ability it offered. I could now absorb inanimate materials. I mean, that bit was obvious but the premise was that I could absorb any material from mundane metal like steel to magical gems to explosive chemicals. More than anything, I could only selectively take on their properties without retaining that Kevin like look. The only downside both of us shared was that the power itself would be temporary and I would need to absorb more to keep the effects working for longer duration.

The strength of the properties would also depend on the amount of materials I absorbed. Like I could absorb a metal ball to gain slightly increase in my durability. With my already enhanced durability, I might not be able to withstand bullets yet but I would be close. In my estimation, a bar of steel would be enough. This was another point where I was both different and similar to Kevin.

Thanks to this one ability, I now had another added protection to my being.

I felt anticipation creep up within me, the excitement of finally getting to use all these abilities. Well not all, I suppose I should keep my Heliokinesis under the wraps. That ability was still more powerful all things considered. That is, unless I absorbed an infinity stone or something. Considering the sheer cosmic significance of those gems, I wonder how long they would last if I did absorb them. Probably for a very long time.

With the distraction out of the way, I needed to focus on the project. I was still going to create a rune for my protection, so there was that.

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"Not the docks." Shades said while looking at me. "We are pushing for main base. If they keep their goods safe, then it shouldn't be far from there."

I had to do a double-take at what he was suggesting. Usually the type of guy to keep to the sidelines, now he was saying that we push forth boldly without any care for whether that may alert them.

"You're kidding, right?" I shot him a puzzled look. "If we move so openly, Morgan will be gunning for us in no time. I thought you didn't want to alert him of our presence?"

There was clearly something undergoing that I lacked the context to properly understand. Shades being bold was worrying on levels that I never thought would concern me.

He looked at me with his teeth gritted. "We're not wasting anymore time, alright? Boss wants this done before the end of this week."

It would seem that Cornell was getting restless. If he was actively pushing us into an open conflict with Morgan's forces, it would stand to reason that he had an alternate motive beneath the charade. I took some time thinking this over and realized that this might actually prove to be the perfect opportunity I was seeking.

I looked at shades to find him with a stony look on his face. He was clearly not on board with this idea, probably terrified over what may unfold. I resisted the urge to sneer at him and nodded my head. "Very well. Whatever the boss wants."

"I will sneak around the periphery, while you check over the area where his men gather." He proposed. "We will meet back here in three hours."

And now he was dictating the route we needed to take. It was plain as a day to see him steer clear of any immediate trouble by pushing me to be on the forefront. Again, I resisted the urge to laugh and left him to savor his petty victory.

Tonight would be fun, no doubt.

Cottonmouth and Morgan both delved into drug trade, but while later had far reaching motives and background, the former was your typical gangster. One thing they shared in common though was the need for a safe-hideout to keep their merchandise from the prying eyes.

I had been complacent in my thinking that with my abilities I could sniff out his warehouse. It took me serious reconsideration to realize that while it maybe possible, it would not be easy at all. The problem came from the fact that I was working with limited time and resources. The reason why I had relegated the task for Colleen to manage.

On the flip side, Cottonmouth was an easier prey. Mr. Slick was like a ticket to disneyland that was all the records and known associates of Cornell. All I needed was to let the authorities handle that stuff. In short, my only burden were the two heads themselves. The only sins I will be alleviating from this planet.

Even with the knowledge that my act was meaningless, I looked devoted enough to fool some of Morgan's men littering the streets. They eyed me suspiciously but kept their distance. I was pretty sure that they were more mindful of pedestrians and possible alarm that could bring trouble knocking on their door. I took advantage of that fact to look over all the buildings, and to not conceal my intentions while doing so.

If Cottonmouth hoped to spark a conflict between us, and somehow benefit from it, then I would play my part with due devotion. The only difference would be that I would use this to prop my own game into the field.

I felt a connection form to an ability called 'Peak Human Reflexes'. It granted me what it promised, and so much more. The ability enhanced my reaction speed to the point where I could catch arrows midair, bullets fired at me or even flying daggers. Heck, I could even react to the moves of someone moving at over 200 mph so long as I kept my head clear.

Combine this with my Advanced Combat Training and I found it hard to see myself loosing against the likes of even Black Panther in terms of pure combat potential. This was an insane level of skill that would be put to use in due time. For now, I was keeping my head low while three men followed a few paces behind.

"Hey!" One of them called. "I think you dropped something, buddy!"

I snickered. "Nah, I don't think so, dude!" I yelled back. "You can keep it."

Increasing my pace, I was practically running. The other three that followed me cursed and broke into full sprint. I only took a single glance back before I took my hands out of my pockets and ran.

I didn't mind Cottonmouth using me to achieve his own goals. This was just the way things worked, so I felt no indignation at being set as a bait. But that didn't meant I would take this lying down.

Despite being faster than the three, I had no intention of outpacing them. Instead I kept my distance while waving and ducking through alleys. Somehow between our fifth turn and the sixth one, the three men had transformed to five. I smiled at that and slowed down a bit.

They probably thought I was taking a breather, and honestly they would be right. Stamina was still a problem that I had no solution for. Daylight did fill me with vigor thanks to Heliokinesis, but at night I was the same old James. The only thing my powers did to mitigate the problem was by letting me move more efficiently to conserve my stamina. So, although I was a bit tired, that was only surface level exhaustion.

Just as the men seemed to gain on me, I picked speed and left them in the dust. Our chase of cat and mouse didn't stop until I led them to the spot where Shades was waiting.

The man was lounging on the bench, leisurely smoking with an arm around the backrest. He looked at me and waved, only to pause mid-motion. His wide eyes darted from my approaching form to the men behind me. The cigarette fell to the ground and he let out a string of curses.

"Run!" I bellowed and made a beeline to the guy. Shades took off without my prompting.

"What the fuck is that?!" He cursed. "The fuck did you do?!"

Despite the chase I found myself enjoying the thrill. This was exactly the reason I took up the hero work. For the fun and adventure.

"I don't know." I answered while falling in step beside him. "They just started to chase after me without any reason whatsoever."

Shades didn't believe me, if the stink eye he gave me was any indication. Too bad he could do nothing but run beside me. Helpless as he was, he wasn't totally anxious. I would credit the lack of actual violence in the form of guns and fists.

"Let's hide in the club." I proposed. "That way they won't cause any trouble, and we can slip out discreetly."

In normal circumstances he might've argued. Going to the club would be the same as announcing our identity as Cottonmouth's henchmen. But being chased by five—oh, make that eight—very bulky looking men didn't count as a normal situation. That and my deception worked wonders to impede his judgment.

Cottonmouth might've made use of me, but I wasn't going to play by the rules. If he was trying to set us up with Morgan, then I could only reply in kind.

Club was near enough that it took us only five minutes to arrive. By then, both of us were wheezing like dogs dying of thirst. Shades was marginally better due to less distance he needed to cover, and also due to his fitness. I on the other hand needed to lean against the wall to catch myself.

The men did enter but by then we were already in the backside. Mr. Slick was reprimanding us on how we should've been more prudent in avoiding to give away our affiliation. I laughed at that inwardly.

Today had no doubt been fun.

.

.

.

With the promise of a long day ahead of me, I stood and made my way to the bathroom. Cold water had always helped clear my head, and now due to my Heliokinesis it also helped bring my body temperature down.

Using one of my latest abilities, I felt my body soak in the water and undergo a startling change. Water is a liquid and most liquids are known for their fluidity. Apply that property to a human being you get the sort of flexibility that would make snakes look tame by comparison. With my latest ability that enhanced my reflexes, I could think of a dozen ways it would prove helpful in combat.

Another difference that set me apart from Kevin, since I had never seen him try and absorb water or a chemical for that matter. I think the difference was between the fundamental effects of our power. He would absorb the material to mimic it and by extension use its properties, while I only took in the properties without the follow-up changes.

Looking at my skin and the way I was capable of bending my fingers, I wasn't exactly sure about the change though. This did rouse a question within me: was I a mutant now?

I mean if you considered my eyes and my tail, the notion itself felt redundant. Absorb Materials though, felt more like a supernatural power than a genetic one.

I took a moment to dry myself by effectively absorbing all the water lingering on my body. It also served to enlighten me on the time limit my powers provided in proportion to the material absorbed. Afterwards I donned my clothes and looked myself in the mirror.

Despite the number of powers I'd gained over the period of two weeks, none of them explicitly worked to enhance my features. Not that I was complaining but this was a comic verse, and most of heroes had the looks of celebrities at the very least. How was I to woo a charming lady if my looks weren't up to par? Maybe someone who was more interested in novel features like my tail would prefer me.

Thoughts like that always made me chuckle a little. I still needed to earn some money and move into a bigger place than this dumpster before I can even take a step in that direction. And I fucked up!

I cursed at my past-self who always had no regard for me and hurried to my computer. After coming home last night, I was supposed to check for any messages from my partner in name only, but I forgot and instead rushed to sleep. I just hoped that the offer wasn't taken down and that I still had some time.

Relief flooded my body when I opened the tab to see the message and I almost jumped in excitement. This was good, this meant progress. The project itself was easy enough, probably to avoid any fallout in case I fucked up on my very first work which had a high possibility of happening. Let's just say I was glad to get my hands on something that resembled work at last.

We had 60-40 deal set up. He would bring me clients, I would do the work and the payment would split with 60% going to me and the rest to him. My very first work was easy enough, and would in my estimation cost about a week to complete. I could do it in a day with dedicated effort and the pay was at around $400.

If I took out the guy's share I would still more than $200. Which considering only cost me a day to earn, I would say was a sweet deal. Unfortunately, due to my busy schedule the work might take 2-3 days to finish.

All in all the deal was looking good, with the prospects of improvement in the future. Once I grew past the need to rely on someone, I could approach my clients by myself. At that point earning more than $500 a day wouldn't look as far-fetched.

Since the day was just starting I decided to start the work earlier. Using my abilities from the Advanced Computer Training to Swift Learning I realized I might've been underestimating my own skills. With my latest inhuman reflexes and my enhanced learning process I was making strides towards completion of the project.

I realized that the synergy between my skills was phenomenal. With the speed I was writing code and the continuous progress, I might very well complete the project in just half a day. Insane, I tell you. But honestly, most of the programming was just staring at your monitor screen and thinking up logic or trying to find a bug in your program. I did not face that problem. I faced no problem in fact, because my training was fiat backed, I didn't just forget things. Or maybe it was my Peak Human Memory Capacity that helped; none of it mattered because I was blazing my computer screen with line after line of code.

By the time I finally finished another component, it was near 11 on the clock. By my estimation another 3-4 hours would've let me complete and optimize the entire thing. I decided not to rush it because one, there was no need to, two, I didn't want to scare my new partner or have him become suspicious of me.

Sometimes I lamented at the scope of my skills. I had enough to earn much, but lacked just the component that would've helped me avoid surveillance and work under the table. Not sure if that was possible here though, considering the shit that Iron Man could pull out his ass. For now I was fine letting world run its course while I took it easy.

With that out of the way, I closed my junk of a laptop and went to get my backpack. Colleen might've something for me considering more than a day had passed since I passed that evidence to her. Considering the time-limit I was working under I was hoping that she had kept her end of the bargain and I could finally proceed with the last part of my plan.

Out in the sunny-day I found the streets chock-full of pedestrians milling about. I recalled the time of earlier days when I would feel apprehensive over walking in my costume in broad daylight. The effects of my growth were showing not just by broadening in scope of my powers but also by developing my mindset.

I checked the makeshift dust parameter around the place and use Levitation to hover over. It showed no sign of disturbance which made me feel a bit fidgety. I would soon need to relocate to a better place, probably set up a ward of some sorts now that I could construct magical batteries. It seemed worth thinking over, but for the time-being I needed to keep single-minded focus on the work.

Changing into my costume but keeping the shades over my eyes, I considered for a brief moment before sighing and removing the tinted glasses. I had been thinking about building my identity as Aevitas different from my civilian one. The idea was that since I could now superimpose additional features to my image, why not go with that to widen the gap between my superhero and normal persona.

There was a missed connection while I secured the glasses. My eyes were unique looking but not that different if you considered some of the wild features others supported. Take Beast for example, guy was way worse than me in appearance.

Despite that however, I was not willing to let my tail out in the open, not matter how appealing the idea sounded. It was one thing to have glacial blue eyes that seemed to shine, and another to support a furry appendage. Even if I disregarded the reaction the local populace would've towards that, there still some concerns over what it could mean for others. Most of all, it was sort of embarrassing.

The message on the phone Colleen had provided me proved to be a welcome distraction. I quickly read the text, only to let out a cheer. She had found the base. They had found it, if second part of the message was anything to go by. Thanks to that, Danny and Luke were demanding my presence in a meeting they had setup.

I took a moment to consider before replying to the text. I wasn't the type of guy to engage in arguments with others, nor was this the time for that. I was fairly sure the discussion would devolve into an argument with one of them trying to dictate roles for others in this operation. As much as I hated being labeled impatient and conceited—because I was partly sure they would view me such after reading my message—I would hate it even more if Cornell or Morgan got away.

With the message sent, I now had some time to kill. The first thing to do in my opinion was check out the location for the base. To be more precise, feel out the surroundings and how they can be used in my favor.

Now that I knew that Cornell was cooking something, instead of going to his place and snuffing him to death, I had a better option of making him disappear. Morgan on the other hand would surely not be at his base, in which case I could take him out even more easily.

Leaning over the corner of an alley I let out a burst of laughter. Just a month ago I would be more busy with what sort of activity to engage in for the weekend and if I should start looking for a new job. Now here I was, planning to take down tow notorious criminals of underworld while keeping up the facade of heroism. I knew that if I so wanted, with my current abilities making both Cornell and Morgan disappear overnight would be a child's play. The only reason I was going to such great lengths was because I wanted to live my life defined by my decisions, rather than my ever expanding array of powers. Call it my noble efforts at grasping the thin straw of humanity that was so easy to let go.

It took me some time to check over the area, the more strategic locations that could be used in case a fight broke-out. Considering that possibility was pretty high, a good location could prove monumental in how long they could survive. How long. I snickered at that. Be it their heroic plot armor or their superhuman qualities, there was no way Morgan could triumph over the heroes.

Once I had finished taking in the surroundings and memorizing the place with my enhanced memory, I left to roam over the neighborhood.

As if to prove the festering crimes taking place in wounded areas of New York, I found myself looking at a group of three men robbing a convenience store. I had no idea whether to feel angry or to pity them. I mean three men robbing a store that barely fit five men at a time, are you running short on snack-bars to eat?

"Alright, time to get to work." A kick propelled me with enough force to jump over the lamppost and right before the door, startling the three men who were busy stuffing snack-bars in their pockets. "Seriously, dude?"

With a shake of my head, I burst inside. I didn't want to break their bones so most of my work went into dodging their attacks only to trip them and use their force against themselves. It turned out more fun than I thought, especially when I leaned entirely into my martial art mindset, moving effortlessly and with grace to leave the men stunned at the ease with which I disarmed and bound them.

"I am not great at giving speeches or anything." I spoke. "But you guys might really want to look up a job that pays for those snack-bars."

I turned to the man behind the counter, who was probably only a few years older than me, only to find him holding his phone with the camera pointed at me. "Dude! Are you streaming this?!" I had to give it to the man for having the gall to start a live stream while a fight was happening a few feet away from him. These might've been fake-fonzies, but the gun was very real. "You know what, I don't care. Just call the cops when you're done." I left with a shrug and shake of my head.

In retrospect the attitude of the salesperson shouldn't be that surprising. He was after all a resident of the crazy New York. If anything this should be a perfectly normal day for him, aside from meeting a new hero, that is. It made me wonder what the reaction to my appearance was? This was after all my very first true heroic act.

It was getting close to afternoon and I needed to relay the message to Colleen also. I decided to just move back to the safe-house where I changed and sent the message. Just then I also felt a connection form to one of the smallest stars.

The power was called 'Basic Business Management' and provided me with extensive training and knowledge in managing and improving a business. I had all the skill required to manage staff, do taxes and most of all how to promote and improve a company. A great ability no doubt; too bad that I lacked to capital to make use of this power.

The only thing that could prove valuable was the customer-centric view it provided. Apparently to run a business properly you needed to understand the demands of your consumers and how to best provide them without damaging your own profits. While I may not be applying this class of skill to the betterment of my company, I could use it to approach my clients as a freelance developer. Basically it would boost my communication skills, all the while providing hints into my customer's desires.

The latter portion might sound like some kind of supernatural ability, but the truth was it was pure training and experience induced judgment over what others desired. All in all a pretty useful ability.

That aside I still had more pressing matters to attend to, so it would be a while before I could make full use of my abilities in other fields.

Arriving at my home, I took to working on the project first before resting. There was still time before I had to leave to meet Shades; I decided to spend my remaining time meditating. Unlike what I had been expecting it was hard trying to focus on my breathing because even that became a distraction and a spring board for other thoughts to grow.

Instead of delving into the upcoming crisis that was the conversation with my mother, I focused on the aspects of knowledge that I retained and still seemed valid, and compared that to the world around me. It stood to reason that the timeline of many things happening would differ considering that this was a very modern looking world, while some of the things I have seen date back to the 90's. That didn't matter to me; what did was the steps I wished to take after this.

It had become painstakingly clear to me that I needed to move to greener pastures if I wanted to grow and develop my abilities thoroughly. The most important aspect though was my inability to utilize my abilities to the fullest due to lacking financial background or more appropriate environment.

And to be fair, despite having spent a little less than two years in this apartment, the place sickened me to the bone. For one it was small, but the thing that irked me the most was the vacant feel it gave off thanks to my less than appealing social prospects.

Even though meditation proved fruitless, my mind was calm and ready for the fight that was to come.

.

.

. 

I arrived early at the club in hopes of catching Mr. Slick alone. I had no designs on the man, at least not yet. What I wanted was for him to be alone so that I could get a sense of his thought process. Instead I came to face a very serious looking Shades standing near the entrance.

"You're early." He looked at me with eyes narrowed.

"So are you." I replied. "What's the matter? You got something to say to me?"

Shades looked at me for a moment before sighing and standing straight. "If you've come, that's better. Tonight we are going to the same place you were at last night. Together."

Something was up and Shades was behaving a lot less hostile towards me. I wondered if it was Cottonmouth's doing. Did he not receive my gift well yesterday. That made me snicker a bit.

"We can't cover much ground if we move together." I countered. "The goal is still to find the base. If we stick together it will look suspicious and attract a lot more attention. Alone we can work discreetly."

"Yeah?" Shades snarled. "Like you did yesterday? How did that work out?"

"I will agree that it was not my best moment." I nodded. "But that was mostly due a mistake on my part. Besides it was the time of night and I stood out like a sore thumb looking to find something."

"Doesn't matter." He shook his head. "We move together."

I cursed inwardly at that. This was not going according to the plan at all. I thought hard for two long minutes before finally coming up an idea.

"Alright then, how about this? You go take the front, while I take the rear and we meet in the middle right where those guys chased me. This way even if we do end up getting caught, at least we can stall it long enough to call for support, and also cover more ground."

Shades gave my words some thought, hesitation written all over his face.

"Listen, even if those guys are alert now, they would only come after me. If that happens you can still make a run for it." I proposed.

The war finally won, the hesitation disappeared. Shades looked at me and nodded. "We'll meet at center, alright?"

I gave him a nod and watched him leave, while I also took my leave. His behavior was indication of the coming storm and I hoped I was ready to face it.

There was a reason why I wanted to get away from Shades. As I moved from Amsterdam Avenue toward the 109th Street, I recalled the street I had traversed to get a better look over Morgan's base and also check over the surroundings. Another reason was that my powers had missed quite some connections and like I had decided beforehand, I would try to avoid human involvement as much as possible, especially when I had pretty high charge. Although this might not be the highest, it was still a cause for concern.

2/3rd of my charge was exhausted to secure 'Absorption' which basically let me passively absorb the energy specific to my attribute type, which in this case was Solar Energy. It irked me little that I hadn't gotten this perk earlier during the day when it was still light. Although trace amounts of solar energy was present on earth and what the moon reflected, it was so pitiful that it made no difference at all.

That didn't change the fact that I could now store energy within my body, probably in my cells if I was correct. While I had no idea of the upper-bound of how much energy my cells can store, I knew it would be absolutely monstrous to allow me to fire plasma blasts and make shields.

While Absorption was a nifty ability, no doubt, it didn't add much to my immediate concerns. For now, all I could see was an old looking storefront that also doubled as a hideout for Morgan. I had to say, it was pretty ingenious to hide it plain sight. Still didn't change the fact that most of the street looked deserted, and with my new businessman sense, I could ascertain that the place wasn't chosen with profit in mind. Discretion would be more precise.

I entered the place to find the antique shop equally as dusty as I had found the windows outside. There was a lack of merchandise on the shelves which looked a bit lonely and judging by the layer of dust covering the surface, I would say it had been quite a while since new stock had been ordered. Clumsy, in my opinion. If you were going for honest business front, the least you could do was keep to the cover with certain level of devotion.

"Is there anything in particular you're looking for?" The short black old man smiled at me, his wrinkly face coming off as harmless even though I knew that this was all a cover.

"Yeah." I nodded. "Actually I was looking for those ancient looking pots that you smoke weed from, you got any?"

My question would've come off as uncanny if I hadn't been wearing what I was wearing. It was meant to cast double meaning but I doubt the old man understood, seeing as he looked at me with confused eyes at first before shaking his head in apparent regret.

"We don't sell those here, boy." He said. "I don't think you're at the right place."

I smiled while taking a wide look around. "I don't know." I said. "I think I might be at the right place."

The old man was now looking at me suspiciously. Was I troublemaker, or did I know? He wouldn't have the time to find out as I turned around to leave. "Well, I gotta leave now, but I might drop by later."

As I left the store I turned my gaze to see the sky turning darker still. There was shroud of black covering the moonlight from falling on this earth. Tonight would be a dark night, if only the light pollution didn't exist.

The game had finally begun.

.

.

.

The deserted street, burst tiles of the sidewalk, cracked asphalt of the road, and a single lamppost illuminating the front of the shop.

"A lot of rats have come out of the sewer these days." A man who I didn't recognize at first but soon recalled to be one of the men guarding Morgan's little office. He was a tall man with broad shoulders and a menacing scowl etched on his face. I looked at the one behind him to match the guy to one who had chased after me yesterday. I looked behind me to see the old man behind the counter with a frown marring his face. At last I smiled.

"You should be careful then." I said. "Rat bites can be a little nasty."

Tension sprang in the atmosphere as the men behind looked ready to go. The tall man glanced around me and asked. "Who the fuck are you?"

"A rat!" I grinned and before the man could even register my move, I was in his personal space with a rapidly advanced fist ready to meet his chin. As the blow connected I heard the splintering of bones but before I could savor in the feel of felling a guy with a single punch, the rest of the guys were already upon me.

Even as outnumbered as I was, with the added distraction from trying to keep on with my disguise, I could make a short work of this bunch. I didn't. Or rather I couldn't because that would foil all my plans. Instead, I turned around to run.

"Stop you fucker!" The men roared and I laughed. With a burst of speed I escaped their little encirclement. They gave chase with rabid determination while I raced down the street.

Running as I was, I left the work to my legs while my hands worked their magic on the keypad of my phone. With a click the message was sent and I hoped that Colleen had been ready.

I saw Shades hidden behind a wall peeking at me and my followers. "Shades!" I yelled. "Inform boss right now! They got a base down here and they know about us. If we don't do anything soon, they will run away."

I saw his eyes widen and he hurried to fish out his phone. Now it would all depend on the Cottonmouth. Game has been set, only the players needed to take their position.

It was for the briefest moment when I saw the flash and heard a bang. I looked in shock at Shades who now held a gun with the muzzle pointed at the men behind me. Confusion washed over me as I ran through all the things that had taken place. My plan dictated that Cottonmouth run straight here to take over the base, while Morgan's men fought him off. In the midst of chaos I would finish my game. This wasn't in the plan at all.

Just as I ducked behind the wall, I felt a new connection form and expend all of my accumulated potential. It felt surreal to know that I know held a PHD. Well, knowledge wise only, I didn't actually have a phd from any of the universities I knew. It was in Chemistry at that.

This wasn't the moment to think about all the cool ways I could now use to create some otherworldly compounds. After all this was a PHD in Marvel, not in my previous universe. Creating a deadly acid that melts Adamantium wasn't a dream anymore, not that I had one. Still the knowledge itself was more theoretical than practical so it would take time to actually master any field. I realized that I was getting distracted once more.

The sound of the gunfire drew my attention to the group that had taken cover behind another alley wall.

"What the fuck are you doing?!" I yelled at the glasses wearing man beside me. "We were supposed to find the base to raid it, not fucking wake the neighborhood and signal the cops."

It still befuddled me that Shades had opened fire on the opposite party in the middle of a street. Even if it took some time, the cops were bound to get here—then we would be in for a tough run.

"I don't know about you." He replied. "But this is what I am supposed to do." He tossed me a gun. "Boss told us to maintain a distraction while he finishes his business."

As the pieces started to fall in place, I could finally make out the true intentions of that snake bastard. I had wondered why he wanted me and Shades to be more bold. Turns out he wasn't afraid of us getting caught, in fact he was betting on it to further his plans. I recalled the message I had sent to Colleen and felt my lips twitch a little. "Bald fucker." I cursed under my breath.

With a gun in my hand and a team to fight off, I had to say I enjoyed the exchange of sparks between us. With my skill level I could easily pick out the targets. But I didn't want my disguise to end up on a poster as a wanted murder so I avoided any lethal shot.

Shades took my attempt as clumsy but barely passable. I didn't care what he thought because there was a truck full of men coming from our right and we were only two with little ammo to our name.

"We gotta run." I said. "Any longer and we will be surrounded with no way out. At that point we won't be able to worry about getting caught, only about if we can make it out alive."

Shades grimaced as a shot bounced closed to his shoulder, missing only by single inch. "There's no way out of here!" He pointed to our right. "Morgan's men have sealed that path, the back is just a brick wall."

And he was right. Unless I went full superhuman there was no way out of here. "Then why the fuck did you pick this place for a shootout?! Do you even have a brain?"

"Shut the fuck up, kid!" He yelled. "You think I'm enjoying this? Besides you didn't give me much choice to prepare when you came bounding down the streets."

I sighed and fired another shot. Lucky for him though I had scouted this place ahead of time in case of a scenario like this. "Ok, here's what we will do." I began. "You will run straight for the alley, while I provide cover. Then I will come running after you, while you give me cover. How's that?"

"And what, risk getting shot?" He growled.

"Or we can stay here and wait for our inevitable death." I groused. "Do you wanna do this or not? Because either way, I'm not waiting."

"Fuck!" Shades cursed under his breath. "Alright, you know what, I'm in."

I lay out the plan which wasn't much of a plan and told him to wait for my signal. Just as I finished changing the magazine, I gave him a nod and staring firing at the both groups surrounding us. Shades took a breath and broke into a mad dash to cross the street.

That seemed to have caught them off-guard as no one was prepared for us to take such measure. He managed to cross safely and breathed a sigh of relief. Now it was my turn but it wouldn't be easy. Just as I turned the corner only a few men kept Shades in check while the rest starting firing at me. As I had realized, they weren't going to let me cross.

I put on a difficult expression and looked at Shades from across the street. "I can't make it!" I shouted. "You gotta run while I hold them off. Go, now!"

Shades gave me a hard stare with traces of hesitation appearing on his brow. I wondered if he was feeling apologetic toward me. Was it camaraderie blooming between us? I snickered at the thought inwardly.

"Run!" I yelled and started firing at Morgan's men while Shades took off and disappeared into the alley. I ducked behind the wall and fired another shot to give the illusion that I was still fighting. Just a few seconds ago I had received a message and as I opened my phone to read it, I felt conflicted. In the end, I typed a reply and hoped it would help.

Firing another two shots I discreetly slipped back in the alley and with the full extent of my parkour training, enhanced by my strength, balance and reflexes I climbed the wall faster than a monkey would. I doubted even spiderman could scale the wall as fast as I did, unless he pulled that slingshot trick.

With a jump I was on the roof of the building watching as the men scrabbled to ambush my position only to find nothing but an empty gun. In my haste I had forgotten to remove the fingerprints. They wouldn't cause any problem though, since I had no prior record in the criminal database.

Colleen would be arriving soon, and another distraction will provided Cottonmouth much needed respite just like he must have planned. Falcon on the other hand would prove to be a nasty variable that I'm sure Cottonmouth would curse by the end of this day—oops, night. That is, if he made it till there.

During the climb I had felt another connection form, this time to an ability called 'Advanced Disguise Training'. It expounded on my basic version of the ability and elevated it to some true ridiculous heights. Before I could disguise myself in such a way that no would be able to recognize me; now I could disguise myself in such a way that others would mistake me for someone else.

Although my own body structure and height my pose a problem, but so as long as I was even remotely close to a male or female I could impersonate them without a shred of doubt. This included emulating their gestures, expression and mannerism. More importantly however, I could teach someone on how to hide their emotions or act in a certain way.

Another ability that wouldn't provide much help in my current circumstances, but I could see the future applications. Especially the resonance between the acting part and my Deception Training ability. I might as well have become a deceptive mutant.

Now that I was out of the thick of it, I had a much better target to chase after. If Cottonmouth wasn't here, then I needed to know where he went? Starting from his place would be preferable.

At this time of the night stealing a motorcycle from the street was easy enough. With my abilities so was driving at night, especially with my night vision and Basic Pilot Training ability. I might not be the greatest driver, but with my other skills supporting the driving, to say that causing an accident was impossible wouldn't be wrong.

I drove through the streets but kept to the dark parts of road to avoid any camera from picking on my face. As was my philosophy: if you can avoid it, why bother? Simple, and sophisticated.

As I pulled near the place where I had met Cottonmouth, I found the place empty. There was no guard standing near, nor was there any indication of this place being used. It would seem that Cornell had cleaned his tracks thoroughly. In retrospect, considering the fallout he would've to deal with tomorrow it would make sense if he packed his bags and disappeared for a while.

There was only place that I could go then, and hoped that I would find what I wished for.

When I arrived at the club, the doors were closed and place looked deserted. I saw no one near the entrance and moved toward the back. I knocked on the door three times before a creek was opened and I saw the face of the man I recognized too well.

"Eddie!" He looked at me surprised. "How're you here, man?"

Mr. Slick opened the door to let me in, while I smiled and walked inside. "I walked through the road."

"You know that's not what I meant." He walked toward his office, while I kept pace. "I heard about you and Shades. That was a brave shit you pulled off. But, now you are here..."

He trailed off but I could understand what he meant to ask. Shades wasn't here as I looked around the place, so he had to have sent a message or something. I wondered if the gang had some kind of group chat platform where they kept up to date. Somehow the idea didn't sound pleasing at all.

"I got lucky." I said, taking a seat on the sofa. "Those guys from Heroes for Hire arrived and I took the chance to get away."

"That's good." Mr. Slick commented. "Want anything to drink?"

I didn't drink, never have since three years ago. But I nodded and accepted the glass of soda while he went to prepare something else.

"Why is the club closed today?" I asked. "When I came earlier, it wasn't like this, so what happened?"

Mr. Slick look a bit hesitant at first before he spoke. "Boss ordered me to close early. Something about laying low to avoid retaliation from the other gang."

"On that note, where's boss?"

"Why do you ask?" He looked at me, while I shrugged. "I don't know where he's exactly. But if you want to meet him you need to wait till tomorrow."

I nodded and took a sip. "Say, Mr. Slick." I paused. "Why did boss ask for Shades to attack just when we were surrounded? It could've been dangerous for us, you know."

"That's just the way it works." He said, avoiding my eyes. "You should've known it beforehand. As for Shades, he had clear command that he followed to the bone, you can't blame him."

"That's certainly true." I nodded. "You know, before coming here, I went to the place where I met boss first. The place looked squeaky clean. Not even a single document to find, except maybe ashes in a bin. Does boss clean his place every time he leaves for home?"

Mr. Slick sat before me on his recliner. "I don't think boss would appreciate you coming around without any warning." He sipped. "In our line of work secrecy is the most important."

"Is that why he employs you?" I asked.

He narrowed his eyes at me. "Careful with what you spout, Eddie. You're a little jumpy right now. So, why don't you listen to me and go home and take some rest."

That was a bit hypocritical thing to say in my opinion. The way i saw it, Mr. Slick here seemed to be on his feet a lot more often. I wondered if it was a result of fear or anxious anticipation.

"You know Eddie doesn't have a home." I said, having drained my glass. "That's kind of rude thing to say to homeless person, even if the person in question doesn't exist."

"What do y—" Mr. Slick never got to finish his question before the glass made impact with his head. That seemed to knock him out of his bits as the gun he held fell on the floor, him right after while holding his head that bled crimson.

"I don't want you to waste my time, so answer me quick." I grabbed him by the collar of his coat and forced him back on the recliner. Just then I felt another connection form and my head get filled with knowledge. Knowledge of mathematics that they taught in schools, including the ability to calculate motion for movement and for some reason the pokemon catch rates. The power was called 'Basic Mathematical Training' and I had no time to focus on all these formulas swirling in my head.

"Where is Cottonmouth?" I slapped him across the face and forced him to look at me. "Tell me where he is and you can leave this place, what do you say?"

"Who are you?" He glared at me with his teeth gritted. "And I don't know where Cornell is."

Another slap across the face resulted in him holding his rapidly swelling cheek while his gums bled. Ok, maybe I should be more careful with my one and half ton strength. "Listen, I understand that you're a smart man, but what you're doing right now isn't very smart at all. The end result can either be you getting away at the expense of Cottonmouth, or you both dying at my hands: choose?"

"Fuck!" Mr. Slick whimpered while holding his mouth. "If I tell you, I will be dead anyway, so what's the point?"

I looked through all of my abilities and if there was anything that could help. In the end, I didn't have any training in interrogating someone or reading their minds for that matter. The only thing I could do was use violence, and continue until I found my answer.

"Very well, your choice." I poked my finger at his thigh. "I won't stop until you're ready to tell me."

"What do—ahhhh" Mr. Slick let out a shrill shrike while struggling to escape my hold. He couldn't, not with my strength.

Even before Manipulation, Secretion allowed me to emit small traces of Solar Energy hot enough to bend aluminum. Imagine that same heat being seared into your very flesh. Mr. Slick didn't have to imagine what he was experiencing at the very moment.

I was never fond of noise much, and his shrieking was grating at my ears. At last however, he finally managed to pour out some words. "I'll tell, stop! Please! Stop this!"

Removing my finger showed a depression in his thigh that went quite a bit inward. Thanks to the heat the wound was cauterized so there was no bleeding. "Alright, speak?" I asked.

"Boss wanted to use you two as distraction." He grit his teeth and hissed in pain. "While you kept Morgan's men busy he would sweep his other bases. It would leave Morgan helpless as he can't rally his force under such tight constraints. Aside from the base you found, there were three others that he kept on. He can be in any one of them."

I asked him to show me which one's and he pulled his phone out to give me the locations.

"See, that wasn't difficult." I offered him smile which made him groan in pain, and anger no doubt. "I will keep my end of bargain, you can leave."

Mr. Slick gave me a doubtful look but seeing as I wasn't back to torturing him, he gingerly stood on his feet and winced as the weight forced out a few droplets of blood from his thigh. I cringed at the sight, finding the sight of blood and puss trailing down a bit repulsive.

He made his way to the door and after giving me one last look, limped out of the place. I gave one look around myself and let loose a jet of golden flames near the cabinet full of beverages. With that I left the place.

Mr. Slick was already near his car and fumbling with keys. I smiled and shouted. "Need help getting home?" I was a hero after all, can't look away from a human in need.

He shot me a horrified look and shook his head. "No no, I can go back on my own."

"Come on." I spread my hands in exasperation. "Not with that leg. You can't go home like that. Let me help."

I didn't wait for his reply before snatching the keys from his hand and forcing him into the passenger's seat. I took the driver's seat and started the car. Mr. Slick was shaking in his seat, but that might've been the cold. Did he catch a cold? Who knows.

As I pulled into the street, I drove very slowly.

"Why are you doing this?" He asked.

"What do you mean?" I smiled. "I'm just offering you my free service. Unlike you I don't ask for money when selling my merchandise."

"Who are you?" His voice echoed hollowly. Strength seemed to have left his body as slumped forward nursing his head in his palm.

I looked at him for a moment, then pulled to the side. "You know, I fucking hate you." I finally said. "It's unreasonable because I know you weren't responsible, but I can't help it. Every time I look at you, or Cottonmouth, I feel like stuffing a ten feet long pole down your throat while you died choking on it."

He wasn't looking at me, so I grabbed his hair and made him look me in the eye. "I just." I paused, drawing out every word. "Fucking." My grip on his hair tightened. "Hate." I pulled my hand back a little, his spine snapping taut. "Every." I pushed my face forward. "One of you." And with a bang slammed his head on the dashboard.

Anger left me as I took in the limp body of the man. It was all just so easy to end him. But I needed him for the evidence he possessed in his head. And oh shit, he was bleeding the hell out.

I gripped him by the shoulders and pulled him straight, wincing at the broken seat belt that was the result of my strength. I had lost control of my emotions there for a second, which was dangerous on a lot of levels considering the power I possessed. For now, I needed to do something about this man.

Again I felt a connection form. The ability was called 'Basic Detective Training' and trained me in all things I would need to know to start my career as a detective. I was no Sherlock but I could hold my own. It enhanced my logical deduction and reasoning power, which made a lot of things clear now that I was processing the clues.

Mr. Slick was bleeding quite a bit, and I might've been a bit heavy handed. I looked through his pockets to find his cell phone. With a quick press I had notified the hospital and given them the address. He should be rescued and I needed to be on my way.

The night was drawing too long and I still had a prey to hunt.

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[Webnovel limitation on word count per chapter strikes again. Rest of this chapter continues on second part.]