A Marvel Of Reality

Thinking about it in retrospect, choosing Aevitas as my name probably wasn't a good idea. I had to stop myself from cringing when I mentioned it to the two women. They clearly had no idea of the meaning behind the name, but they accepted my designation and asked me to follow them.

During the time we spent on the road, I had missed another connection and was steadily marching towards thrice the base charge. I was very much in dire need for some good power-up.

I followed close behind the two as we moved from an alley to alley. Misty stole glances at me from time to time, but mostly accepted the fact that I was a new hero in the neighborhood. They hadn't asked anything about my ability or something, but I could tell they were curious.

"If you've got anything to ask, then ask." I looked ahead, but my words were meant for both of them.

Misty was the first to question me. "Do you live around here?"

"No." I denied. "And i'm more of the secret identity type of guy, in case you couldn't figure."

I could tell just from looking at their faces that they didn't believe me. Heck, I didn't believe me. But it was a common courtesy that we were more than happy to keep up the illusion of secrecy.

"How long have you been doing this?" Colleen asked.

The answer to that question was easy enough. I looked at the sky and approximated the time I had spent jumping over the buildings. "Probably an hour or two." I answered.

That seemed to have increased the already existing confusion. "This is your first time?" Colleen asked.

I nodded and we sank back into silence. Honestly, hero work was a bit wacky in terms of how it was done. You had heroes who did what I was doing and usually stumbled upon some gangster mob and from there went on to unravel the schemes of some criminal mastermind. Then you also had heroes, who worked for the government or a cause and usually dealt with much bigger targets. Heroes like those more often than not fought entire villain organizations, like Hydra for example.

One thing I knew when getting into this business was depending on how I approached it, I could attract all kinds of attention. From the likes of S.H.I.E.L.D, Hydra or even entire bands of mutants.

I felt my power move and a connection to one of the smaller stars, despite my charge hovering at 3 times the normal. The power was called 'Peak Human Swimming' and it instead granted me a marine animal like grace and speed. I didn't know the top world records in swimming, but I highly doubted they could swim at 15-20 knots, which was 28-37 mph. This was insane levels of speed only surpassed by some of the fastest marine animals.

That wasn't the only thing the power was good at, I mean that was certainly insane levels of speed. I was faster in water than on land. But the real meat was the control, efficiency, precision and traction that it provided. The biggest problem I had was in terms of stamina. I would usually tire easily, and even if the speed was good if I couldn't keep it going what was the point? But with the increase in these aspects, I wasn't suddenly the fastest swimmer, I was a better one.

My trance last only a second before I focused on the real world, only to find the two women staring at me.

"What?" I couldn't tell what was so surprising about the fact that this was my first outing. Everyone had to start somewhere.

"You did that thing?" Colleen said, to which Misty gave her a confused glance. "He spaced out yesterday too, you know when he brought me to them. Do you do that often?"

'Shit!' I cried in my mind. They had caught me standing still in a trance. I hadn't really thought that this could be a problem, but as it turned out, this could really affect my image.

"No, I mean, it's nothing." I assuaged their worries. "I was just thinking about some stuff, is all."

My smile didn't do anything, and I would bet that both women thought I was half-crazy or something. I wasn't willing to share my secret just to rid myself of false assumptions, so let them think what they will. Oh, that didn't sound too bad. It was actually easy to rid yourself of public image worries once you stopped giving a fuck. I should do that more often.

We rounded the corner and moved on to the main street. I only had a brief period of hesitation before I followed the two. New York was rife with activity, more so at night than during the day. I had to wade through masses before I realized our destination.

Heroes for Hire was a small business with few employees. Almost all of the New York knew of them, as they usually dealt with deadly mob. Power Man and Iron Fist weren't just famous in this locality, but also had a reputation as reliable businessmen.

I followed the two women and was led upstairs. Iron Fist stood near the phone with a grim expression lacing his features. At least what I could discern from the portion not covering his face. He looked at the women first before turning to me.

"You're that guy from yesterday." And blah blah blah. Repeat the whole story. Nope, not going to do that.

"Aevitas." I offered my hand, which he hesitantly shook. His focus was mostly on the women who started to explain the situation.

"Actually, you were right." He sighed. I would've felt smug at the admission, but I wasn't going to act like a prick for gigs and laughs. "I looked through the Board of Directors list and found him." He held up for all of us to see. I hate to admit, but I had no idea what that was supposed to mean. Misty didn't agree with me.

"John Bushmaster!" Her voice dripped with visible rage and vitriol. Iron Fist nodded and set the document down.

"He lives on a yacht nowadays." Iron Fist explained. "I contacted his people, and he's currently there."

I looked around at the gathered people and realized that this matter was far more important and personal. However, since I was already here I wasn't going to leave empty handed.

Just as I was about to speak, the door opened and in walked a man with neatly combed hair and thick mustache. He worse a red jacket and brown pants. He looked at the gathering of people and than at me. "Who is he?" He asked, while pointed at me.

Here we go again, I thought. Thankfully it was easy to explain to Lieutenant Scarfe my identity, to which he scoffed lightly. Thankfully the rest of them seemed to be in a hurry, so he put whatever interrogation plans he had for me on hold.

"So, how do we get there?" I asked.

"I'm sorry, 'We'?" Rafael Scarfe frowned.

"I mean, I can help." God, this was getting boring. Repeating the same line time and again really irked the hell out of me. Instead of giving the man a chance, I used my Levitation to hover slightly in the air.

All the eyes in the room were suddenly on me. There was both recognition and apprehension mixed there. Most of all Scarfe looked at me open mouthed without uttering another word. Good, that shut him up.

Showing one of my cards was something I wasn't comfortable with but to be honest, Levitation wasn't that big a game changer if we considered my whole repertoire. Besides, it was better than having to explain myself every five minutes.

"Ahem." The officer cleared his throat. "We have prepared a Coast Guard Cutter. We will board the vessel and take you as close to the yacht as possible. From there, it will be up to you."

Iron Fist nodded and looked around, his gaze lingering longer on where I floated mid-air. I dropped to the ground and crossed my arms. He nodded.

"We need to leave now."

At the man's prompting, we all prepared to head out.

We all boarded the vehicles and were taken to the ship. It stood on the waters looking lonely, but a procession of men quickly boarded the vessel. There were a lot of officers than I was comfortable with.

Just as we boarded the ship, I slipped toward the back just in time for a burning star to descend. The second strongest power after Heliokinesis, and I was teeming with anticipation.

As the power was secured, I felt a rush of strength course through me. 'Peak Human Strength' granted me strength well beyond peak human capacity. Now unlike swimming, I knew that the top bench-press record was little over 600 Kg, and this perk granted me enough strength to bench press 1,500 kg, more than double that amount. Calling it Peak Human Strength was a huge understatement. I might not be able lift cars, but I sure as hell can flip them now.

As the rush of new strength waned, I looked down at my arms to see no notable increase in muscle mass. Clearly, the strength worked more like a power than any physical enhancement. It would just be more passive.

I might not win against the likes of Daredevil, but I would beat him in terms of raw power. That guy had better spatial awareness—almost precognitive vision—so winning was downright impossible for now.

"What are you doing here?" I heard the voice call and turned to see Iron Fist standing there.

"Just admiring the scenery." I said, pointing at the dark sky and moonlit waters.

Daniel Rand nodded and leaned against the stern. "I appreciate you providing help, but it would be better if I go in there quietly, to avoid any unwarranted reaction."

I meant to say something when he cut me off.

"If Luke is incapacitated, and Bushmaster is present with his cronies, then it's unlikely we can win a frontal fight. This has to be done discreetly without alerting the enemy."

He wasn't wrong. Iron Fist was trained in varieties of martial arts, and probably knew stealth way better than me. But I was also confident in my skills.

"I understand." I nodded. "But, I can assure that I am very good in the water. Besides you can focus on rescuing the Power Man, while I keep the mob off your back. If it gets too hot, I am confident that I can escape easily."

Daniel seemed hesitant but in the end nodded. He probably thought that I meant to fly away if it got too thick, but since I didn't provide any opinion on that matter I wasn't going to expound on my means of escape.

The ship sailed in the calm waters for only half an hour before we caught sight of a yacht cruising in the lonely waters. The moonlight shimmered on the waves around the ship providing a lovely scene and blissful tranquility that came from just admiring the nature. This serenity was about to be disturbed.

"Alright, this is as far as we go." Scarfe voiced. "Outside of three-mile limit, we don't have any legal authority."

Danny nodded and turned to me. I looked around and took a deep breath. While Misty hugged Iron Fist, I plunged into the deep waters. The change in environment was instantaneous, and a welcome one. I could feel the power kick in, and with but a thought my body shot forth like a torpedo.

I wasn't just good at moving in the water, but also at holding my breath. I stopped and looked behind me to see Iron Fist's advancing form. He motioned with his hands and I nodded and shot forth.

The plan was simple, while I create a commotion and distract others, he would swoop in and go beneath the deck. If Luke was on this yacht, then he was bound be down below.

My enhanced speed took me only a few seconds before I found myself on the other side of this cruiser. There was a rope hanging down at a blind angle. I took to climbing and found the ease at which I could now pull my body. With my enhanced strength, such a level of activity wasn't strenuous enough. With this one power, gym had become obsolete, unless I asked them to get me a few tons of weight to flex with. Yup, done with that place I was.

As I reached the top, I peeked beyond to the sight of nary a guard on the deck. We had already checked and found the place to be deserted. Although there were a few guys here and there, it was a far cry from what you would expect from a place like this. Was it to avoid suspicion? Somehow, I felt that I was giving these hard-brained idiots too much credit.

I slid beneath the bars, feeling the wetness slough from my costume in droplets. My mask was thankfully still in place, whether due to Disguise Training or just material and design work. I didn't care enough to ponder the intricacies of my power.

Iron Fist was nowhere to be found, either still en-route or waiting for my signal. Couldn't keep the guy waiting for long, so i lunged for the closest man whose back was turned toward me. I wasn't going to shy away from using all my force. Not like my strength was that great anyway. I punched the guy from behind, right in ribs and heard a crunch of bones.

"Shit!" I looked at my own fist in horror. I knew I was strong, but how strong is even a three times human strength? I glanced at whimpering breathless thug rolling on the floor. "Pretty strong, apparently."

That altered the rest who stormed to my position. One of the far away ones whistled loudly, probably to alert others. I was already running at them.

This was first time I was using all of my skills. Combat Training seamlessly blended with my Martial Arts and incorporated the precision of Marksmanship Training, all the while keeping full hold on my enhanced strength. I wasn't like other heroes, I had no reservation in using full force to break their bones and all. But this was also a show of heroism and an act of credibility for the police to take note of.

I felt my powers fail to make connection, and was thankful that I didn't have to deal with another ability right now. As the first guy came in range, I waited for the right moment and grabbed and pulled him in. His meager resistance was nothing in front of my combined might and skill. With a kick to the shin and a blow to the temple he was out cold.

I ducked and weaved through the mob, my palms deflecting all sorts of punches and kicks. Some of them held a knife or a pole, but my skills outmatched them all. In moments, two guys found themselves on the ground wheezing for breath while holding their chest with tear filled eyes.

Even though I was holding back, my blows still tore at the un-powered mob. I was keeping things subtle for the sake of appearance, but I wasn't going to deal soft hands to these people. Not like they would appreciate my work anyway. Time and again, the people of this reality have proven just how much they dreaded those who were different from them and what they thought of them.

Though I dealt with the group as they came, as the numbers started piling, I started to feel the exhaustion take hold of my body. I was moving as efficiently as possible, and still getting tired. It said something about my body, and how bad in a shape I was.

Just as I dodged the knife of one guy I heard a gunshot and instinctively ducked. The man was standing on the bridge with a gun in his hand while aiming at me. Shit!

I shoved the man closest to me away, and jumped to the side. Gunshots rang out and I cursed myself for the carelessness. My heart beat thousand-mile a second, and my breath came out ragged. I was in the middle of a fight, and people had guns. If I was shot, I could very well die.

I took another breath and looked at the bandoleer of knives on my hip. They were a set of six throwing knives that I had brought yesterday. While I couldn't use a bow for the time being, these knives were supposed to substitute for the faster projectile weapons. I grabbed two and pulled them out.

As one of the men came running at me, I rolled forward and stabbed him through the shin. His cry lasted a single moment, before my foot connected to his head and he fell with a thud. Without giving the shooter a chance, I was already in the midst of the crowd. I ducked beneath the swipe of a fire-ax and cut the man through his thigh.

Then in an impressive feat of strength and agility, I leapt into the air, and activated Levitation for the briefest of moments. It was enough for me to aim and throw my knife at the man with the gun. I watched as it soared forward with the force of my enhanced strength and stabbed him right through his shoulder, close to his neck.

As my feet touched the deck, the men were rushing at me. There were still a few standing, and I was hearing gunshots. I glanced through the masses to see Iron Fist coming out the door with a man wearing glasses and a three-piece suit . Right behind them was Luke and they were getting shot at.

A dozen men rushed out the cabin and I felt a bit overwhelmed with the number of firearms they were using. I saw Danny signal at me, and I turned and ran. Shots continued ringing but I was already in the midst of my fall into the ocean. As water gripped me in its embrace, I felt the rush of adrenaline leave me body. That was a close fight, which I only survived because of my anonymity and lack of trained fighters on the opposite side. I did loose my knives though, thankfully I had enough sense to wear gloves so as to not leave any fingerprints.

I barreled through the cold water toward the cutter. As I surfaced and took a breath, I could see a number of searchlights being deployed to search the perimeter. I didn't see Danny, but I could make out the other guy who was with them. Just as I was about to swim toward them, I saw Iron Fist surface while dragging Luke behind him. What happened to him?

They were steadily moving forward, so I also made my way toward the ship. Scarfe was there to pull me up and I thanked him before moving to the side. The trio were a dozen or so seconds behind me. As they were pulled up, I saw blood gushing from a wound on Luke's back. I realized with stunned amazement that Power Man was shot!

That wasn't what surprised me though, it was the fact that he could even be shot. Wasn't he supposed to be bullet proof or something? I wondered.

"What happened to him? How'd he get shot?" My question seemed to bring focus to Luke.

The glasses wearing man sighed. "This is my fault. Bushmaster made me experiment on Cage. To rob him of his power."

Well, ain't that a nice plot line. Wait, if Power Man was no more for the time being, what were we going to do with that advancing yacht.

As the doctor was rolling in grief for his wife, Iron Fist placated. "Don't worry, Doctor. I knocked out the yacht's radio. So Bushmaster's men couldn't get the word to their friends. They don't even know he's dead. Wherever your wife is, she's safe. Right now, you are the only doctor on board, could you take a look at Luke."

That seemed to have done it, as the doctor hurried toward the hulking man who sported a pained expression.

I took to the corner as I felt another connection being made to a slightly larger star. The power was called 'Secretion' and would allow me to produce small amounts of my Attribute Type. It applied to Heliokinesis and I could now produce very small amounts of solar energy. Moreover, the produced attribute wouldn't hurt me.

Now solar energy I knew was hot. I mean, it's solar energy after all. I wasn't going to burn anyone or anything, but I could produce enough heat to light paper or dry wood on fire.

Finding no one looking my way, I turned around and looked at my hand. By willing the Secretion to activate, I watched a warm yellow glow suffusing my palm. The temperature would probably hover at around 300-400 degree in fahrenheit. The only problem was that I couldn't sustain the ability continuously. I could only use it in small amounts, not sustained, high-energy bursts.

"You did great there, thanks to you I was able to get in without a hitch." I heard the footsteps before I heard his approach. Iron Fist stood there with a small smile adorning his face.

"It wasn't much." I shook my head. "Honestly, you could've gotten him out without my help anyway." Which was true in my opinion, though I didn't know how Danny saw it. "It's too bad. I mean, what happened to Luke."

He nodded and I could feel a weight of this situation settle on him. They seemed pretty good friends to me, so it made sense that Iron Fist was distressed for Power Man.

"Is he alright?" I asked.

"Yeah." He nodded. "Doctor patched him up good."

We both turned around just in time to hear the captain shout through his megaphone. It turned out to me a bad move as the opposite group starting shoot at us without any concerns. They were using a considerable firepower and I wondered if being soft earlier had led to this situation. If I had put more people out of commission, we wouldn't have had to deal with this barrage.

We moved into the cabin and kept our heads low. A stray bullet could take any of us out of commission.

"Thank you for the help." I heard Luke say. "I heard what you did. For that I owe you a favor."

"Don't worry about it." I flashed him a smile. I could tell the man seemed uncomfortable being there.

"It's hard on Luke." Colleen said. "Not being able to help, I mean."

It really was. With his personality, he probably charged straight ahead without a care in the world. Bullets bounced off of him, and his invulnerability was particularly famous in Marvel. On local scale that is, but even that was impressive.

I nodded in understanding but my focus turned to Iron Fist who seemed to be contemplating something. Then with a determined face, he leapt from the ship and plunged into the water. I wondered what the Iron hero intended to do.

As it turned out, a rather dramatic scene took place. A horrifying one too, if I say so myself. The enemy ship rocked as if on high-waves and then tilted. A large hole was torn through the hull and the entire yacht started sinking.

Compared to the man of Iron, my strength was sorely lacking. I couldn't even melt aluminum with my powers. I sighed and leaned back as the two heroes handled the aftermath. I was feeling sore and in need of rest. After today's outing I didn't think I could continue tonight.

We were still in the middle of nowhere, so while I could make haste to the docks and then home, it was best that I stick around for a while.

"Thanks for the help." Colleen walked over and sat beside me. "Iron Fist said you fight well."

"Did he?" I raised a brow.

"Yeah." She nodded. "I myself was taught by my grandfather."

She was expecting me to follow up on that. I could tell where this was going. Subtle interrogation with the goal of probably assessing my reliability in case I asked to join them. Or maybe she just wanted to test my skills. If it was yesterday, I would still have some doubts, but right now I was confident in my skills against all of them, except Iron Fist. Luke didn't count since he had no powers.

"Will you be around the neighborhood?" She asked, possibly to divert my attention from the topic.

"Yeah." I affirmed with a nod.

I was about ask her about her job when Iron Fist walked toward us. The support had arrived and was rescuing the drowning men out of the water. I saw him and Luke talk with one of the guys, well threatening might be the appropriate word here. They were probably asking him where they kept the doctor's wife.

"You were quite heavy-handed with some of them." He stated. "Most of them carry light wounds in the form of bruises, cuts or fractures. A guy was found with broken ribs, and another with a fractured ankle. And this, was found in shoulder of another." He held a black throwing knife in his hand.

I almost facepalmed at the sight of the knife. I had considered the weapon lost, but I should've know not to jump to quick conclusions.

"It belongs to you?" He asked, but I could tell from his tone that it wasn't much of a question. I mean, I hadn't exactly kept my knives hidden. They were there for all to see.

At my nod, he handed it to me.

"It's a good thing I managed to get to it before the police did." It wouldn't have mattered if they did, but I kept quiet and let him speak. "With the amount of injuries you inflicted on those guys; I have to ask, was this your first time?"

Ah, yes. The hero talk about holding back, and showing compassion toward criminals. After all they were still human beings. I felt my powers connect and I now had higher toxin resistance compared to normal. Probably 10 or 20 times higher.

The power was called 'Toxin Resistance' and increased my natural resistance to toxins. I would survive most of the toxins and recover from any injury they dealt within a few hours.

It was enough of a distraction to count as me thinking or forming a valid explanation to my actions. I looked at Iron Fist and nodded. "Today was my first time out. And honestly I didn't know how to properly control my strength at the beginning. But I learned toward the end."

"I can tell." He must've thoroughly checked the men they were rescuing. "We are about to reach the city, do you want to come with us?"

It was an invitation, but different from the one he offered yesterday. I had a good impression of the man, but I had other matters to attend to—like sleep. I declined the offer.

We made a few small talks. Scarfe was asking about me, but I made an excuse to go the washroom. Through the small window, I slipped out and into the waters. They would consider my actions as not wanting to deal with authorities. Which might not be well-received, but again I didn't care enough.

Once I was back on the streets, I use my new power Secretion and coated by body in a yellow glow. The heat was enough for the water to evaporate quickly, though I had to activate the ability a few times. This was a good power, and probably had ton of uses as utility but right now, I was in a hurry to run home.

I ran to my safe-spot, retrieved my backpack. Changing took no more than a minute and I was back on the streets. Even this late, the streets were brightly lit and frequented by pedestrians. I kept to myself, with my head low and ears stuffed with buds to keep the music flowing.

I could recall each moment of the fight with vivid clarity and looking at it from this perspective, there were a few mistakes that I had made which became clear now that I wasn't as excited. More than anything though, it was the fact that I almost killed a guy or two that got me. On the matter of killing, I must say I wasn't very experienced at all. My views were simple though, if they deserved it, then killing them wasn't a wrong thing to do. Unfortunately I was no Ghost Rider. And to be honest, I didn't care much about killing anyway, in much the same way as I didn't care about some of the villains running this city from the shadows.

My walk back home allowed me to reflect on the talk, battle and the aftermath. I hadn't expected to have entered into conflict on my first day, but whatever happened already did. Now, I had to continue forward with the knowledge that I was a known factor. They would never have full data on my abilities, but just the knowledge of my existence would provide them enough to be prepared. Or at least give them an illusion of being prepared.

As I opened the door, I flipped the lights open and shut the door behind me. The apartment looked a bit desolate and cold, but that was probably due to sickly feel the walls managed to induce in this place. I rested the bag near the bed and put my phone on charging. I needed to take a shower, change and then sleep. Exactly in that order.

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.

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Friday saw me feeling sore all over. My legs were hard as wood and heavy as lead, and my head throbbed with minor headache. Apparently I hadn't escaped unscathed, I was now nursing a fever.

I rolled to the side and tugged at the blanket. There was much to do, like checking over the aftermath, or any news on the new hero who calls himself Aevitas. Nah, better go back to sleep.

For the better part of the morning, I spent rolling around in my bed, feeling lethargic and burning all over. Despite all the powers I now had, not a single one was suited to curing me of diseases. Toxin Resistance only helped with actual toxins, and fever was the mechanism by which our bodies fought harmful afflictions. Two didn't mesh together, and I had no medicine at home.

Coffee probably wouldn't work; tea might, but I was out of tea leaves. I knew the optimal choice was to go out and buy some medicine or stay home coping in my bed and hope it goes away. Surprisingly the latter method actually did work, only you need to sweat the fever out. Which meant optimal heating conditions to make me sweat in the first place.

Both options were a chore to follow, and If I had my say in any of this, I would just wanna go back to sleep and wake up cured. My say wasn't worth a fart, I knew. That's why I threw the sheets off of me in an act of defiance to the sleep and moved to stand up.

My actions were similar to a soldiers who had no choice but to follow his obligations. While I forced my body with a single-minded determination to freshen up and change into new set of clothes. Laundry was piling up and last I remembered it taking out was, ah yes, on Saturday. Peak Human Memory Capacity to hail.

I left my apartment wearing a thick jacket to stave off the cold. There was a medical store just down the street and I checked my pockets to make sure I had enough money. Thankfully I wasn't feeling a sore throat, nor had a runny nose, ok maybe a little, but I doubt it mattered that much. So fever only, got it.

As I was nearing the store, I felt my power achieve its threshold. 'Basic Pilot Training' gave me enough training in all land based vehicles or animals to operate them safely. I wasn't a professional driver or anything, but I had enough knowledge to not get into any accident, as long as I drove safely.

That was a neat addition, and would've been a godsend had I any money to buy a good enough vehicle. I could probably apply for a license, a learning one of course, but that would be a waste of time so I will hold onto that idea for a while.

"Hi." I smiled at the pharmacist. "I've been running a fever, but I don't have sore throat or anything. Do you have something for that?"

"Of course." He replied. "How long have had the fever, and have you taken anything for it yet?"

I shook my head and explained the whole thing. He nodded and left to fetch me some medicine. Probably Advil or Motrin. I could use some pain relievers right now.

The man came back carrying a strip of tablets and put it on the desk. "This will help bring down your fever and relieve any other aches you might be feeling. I would advise you stay hydrated and take some rest. As for the dosage..."

I nodded at his prompting and paid the 10 dollar bill, which earned me a candy on top. I was getting a lot of candies these days, thankfully this was one of those meant to relive your sore throat. Lozenge or something, I didn't care but I liked the taste of it.

The weather was a looking a bit heavy today, I reckon it was going to rain. I hurried home and stepped into my apartment, from the window I could make out the tiny droplets wetting the asphalt. It would start pouring in no time, better to prepare a warm cup of coffee and take the medicine. Heroes should also take a day-off, just like I was going to. Probably should watch a movie also.

Nuzzling beneath my blanket while sipping on the warm coffee, I watched as the sword dropped from above and bisected the poor girl in half. The movie was a horror one, and particularly brutal, but what I couldn't smell never affected me too much. So, as I took another sip I felt no stomach turing disgust at the gore unfolding before me.

Maybe one day I would see something similar in person. Did I sound psychopathic when saying that? I mean, this was marvel after all. Even Hulk who could be argued as a hero—and I am talking about Hulk here not Banner—had torn people apart. This wasn't crushing them into meat paste, or hurling them into space, but literally tearing them apart with bare hands. The blood splashing, viscera flying and bone breaking villain type slaughter. And that was a hero, I didn't even want to get into the likes of Mister Sinister or what Hydra did to their guinea pigs. Aside from brainwashing, that is.

Movie finished in two hours and it was nearing 30 past 1 on the clock. I sighed and opened the local news channel, only to find the mention of yesterday's happenings in a small article. There was barely any mention of me, probably because I didn't stop for a group photo at the docks. Whatever, at least they acknowledged my presence. I wasn't exactly thirsting after fame or anything.

Just in case, I checked a few other sites and found the same problem. Some had delved a bit deeper into my appearance but still glossed over plenty of things. I was perfectly fine with that and closed to tab to rest my head on the pillow.

The rest of the day would probably be spent in my bed, and with the rain pouring, I didn't think it was good idea to go around jumping. I mean, I did have a fever after all. It wouldn't do to exacerbate my situation further.

I opened a book that I had been meaning to read on my kindle. It was about cooking, but rather than the recipes, it focused on the art of spices, seasoning, oil and all the gimmicks we use to enhance the taste of the food. I mean, being a chef didn't sound half bad, but the truth was I just wanted a hobby to indulge in. With Self-Sustenance, I would never grow hungry, but it didn't mean I couldn't eat anymore. I could make less food, but it would be wonderful if it tasted good.

Just as I finished reading about authors thoughts on cooking, a call came in. I read the name and sighed. Mom. Mom was calling me.

"Hi, mom." I put as much enthusiasm into my voice as possible.

"Hi, honey." Her reply came. "How are you doing?"

"I'm good. How about you?"

"Same old, same old. So, how come you didn't call me back after you went back."

She was just worried, I realized. Then I considered her question and almost face-palmed. Was it weird that my memory somehow turned worse after I got that memory ability? I mean this happened before I gained that ability, so probably not.

"Sorry, mom." I sincerely apologized. "I shouldn't have forgotten about your date. Anyhow, how did it go?"

"At least you have the decency to apologize." I am pretty sure she sounded more angry than earlier. Women can be scary sometimes, even your mother. "And it went wonderfully, thanks for asking. By the way, the reason I called you was check up on that business thing of yours. How's it going?"

There it was. Lie once, and you have to lie a thousand times more just to protect that one lie. Should I have been more forthcoming with her? But tell her what: Hey mom, so I got these powers yesterday and now I'm quitting today. I will be doing hero work from tomorrow, so don't worry about me. Right? Yeah, no.

I felt my powers miss a connection while I thought how to reply without rousing any suspicion. "The work with Brian is going great. I mean we haven't setup yet, still need to finalize a few things, but we are looking to start before 20. Otherwise, everything is great."

"That's good." Mom said. "If you are free, why don't you drop by one of these days."

"I will think about that, but I'm not exactly free, what with helping Brian and all."

"That's alright, honey. You can bring your friend with you the next time you drop by."

Bring my 'friend' with me? How was I supposed to do that? Brian didn't even exist. "Yeah I'm not sure. He's not the, what you might call a social type."

"Don't worry." She said. "Just try to ask, but do come by before the fortnight."

"I will see what I can do." I bit back a curse at myself. "See you soon. Goodbye, Mom."

"Goodbye, hun."

I sighed and flopped back on my bed. Honestly, I didn't like lying to my mother. It wasn't about being honest or anything, I just hated to deceive her like this. Now I had another meeting coming up in the following week, and needed to prepare another lie. Just like that, my mood was ruined.

The book had lost its appeal, and so had my mobile. I just laid there on the bed staring at the ceiling. I had been thinking about cleaning my apartment for a while. Might as well get to it.

Music flowing through my headphones, while my hands worked their magic. Despite the fever entrenched body, I was able to exert my abilities without any effect. I levitated to clean some of the trickier corners and played with burning dust on the floor. The spider wasn't happy to have its home destroyed but I was already being merciful by not kicking it out. You deal with what you get, hmph.

I cleaned beneath the bed, which I was able to lift with one hand and swept the floor beneath the refrigerator. There was a surprising amount of dust in all the crevices and I had more fun cleaning that out than in the act of cleaning itself. It was like one of those weirdly satisfying videos.

By the time I was done, rain had stopped its assault, and sky was getting clear. For a moment I just stood near the window and watched the rays of light peer through the clouds. There was no rainbow, but the scene was mesmerizing. I did wonder if it was the doing of Storm? I mean, she was pretty powerful, changing the weather of New York must be pretty easy for her. Though I doubt it was the mutant behind this, sometimes things just happened. That's why coincidence was a thing.

The medicine had proved its effectiveness. Although I still felt a little tired, the headache was almost gone and I could tell my body temperature was more sedate. I took a moment to check over my costume, nothing it was not quite dirty, but still somewhat worn out. Maybe I had been too harsh on it the first day.

I wasn't going to wash it just yet, instead I took a few minutes to set up and start work on my spare costume. I wondered if I had to do the Spiderman trick to wash my costume with my laundry. Thankfully, it was all black with white highlights, so the possibility of color leaking were quite low.

I hadn't brought my grappling gun yesterday, but I had kept my Transponder and Signal jammer in one of the pouches. They still worked pretty well, even the batteries weren't affected.

Working on my second costume proved to be a task both easy and difficult. With my near perfect recall of those stitching videos and Swift Learning working in conjunction, I was able to do considerably better than before. It did take more focus from me though, but I was learning and improving.

Till the night had fallen, I kept to working on the piece and managed to finish the bottom part. They looked to be more professionally designed compared to before. In fact, it was hard to make out the seams and joints. I felt exhilaration at seeing the improvements. I was growing, not just in strength but in skill and general. And i found the latter growth far more fulfilling.

I stowed the unused fabric away and kept the suit in a case. It wasn't complete but judging by my skills, it would be before the next week arrived.

The sky was more clear now, but the light pollution was omnipresent in this city. Maybe a high enough vintage would help get a clear look at the world beyond, but that just wasn't possible for me. At least, not with just my Levitation.

I took another dose of medication and proceeded to prepare for the sleep. It would come in moments, I was sure, especially with the medicine. But tomorrow would be bright no doubt.

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.

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Saturday was maybe the first day since the past few hectic days that I awoke on time to depart for the gym. The only problem was that I had more strength than even a Super Soldier like Captain America and it would require either tireless meandering task to even begin to push for improvements, or I would actually need ton-and-a-half weight to bench-press.

If I did something like that, I might as well announce my status to the rest of the world on a stadium with the biggest woofers. Cardio on the other hand might still work, but only doing that would rouse suspicion. I could pretend to be doing other exercises also, but honestly at this point it was better if I acknowledged my reality. They wouldn't suspect a guy who shows up one day and never again. They might suspect a guy who does suspicious activities and shows up occasionally.

I felt the missed connection, with the potential growing past two times the base. It would be wonderful if I could actually use my Heliokinesis. With that handicap I was more distraught than anything. I sighed and put the thought behind me. It would come in time, being patient was the only thing I could do for now.

Since I wasn't going to the gym and I had no intention of wasting another day in my room, it was time to do some hero work. If it was a few days I might still have some reservations, but now I was quite sufficiently strong and was confident enough to handle most of the shady business that went down in Harlem. Speaking of shady, maybe I should snoop around the bases of some of the crime lords. And there were lot of those in Harlem.

Having decided on what to do, I donned my suit and then took it off it again. Damn excitement! Almost made me forget that I wasn't supposed to change in my apartment just yet. I prepared my backpack and left my apartment. After the venture of the day before yesterday, I was feeling more cautious. When I arrived at the safe-house—as I had taken to calling it—I used the dust to form a pattern near the more obvious entry spots like doors or windows. In case someone was snooping around, I would know.

Chances of that happening were small, but there were all kinds of people here. From the scientific freaks, to ghost communicating mutants. Of course, if the person was clever they would clear their tracks and catch me unprepared.

I might be overthinking things and being unreasonably paranoid, but being cautious never hurt. If I was wrong good, but if I wasn't at least I tried. God dammit! I was trying to justify my failure once more.

Instead of dwelling on my past, I moved to the upper floor where I promptly changed and hid away the backpack. The costume looked same as the first time, only a bit wrinkled at places.

My second day being a vigilante started the same as first. I jumped to a building and hopped like a rabbit from there. Maybe I needed a better form of traveling gear, that grappling hook was still on the list. All I needed were the material and skills. Well, with all my combat skills supporting me, I might be able to manage.

Buildings here were tightly packed but I was using more smaller ones instead of the taller ones. It would've been difficult in the East Harlem where there more taller buildings. I kept to the railings and relied on my parkour training to carry me. My super strength did come in handy to allow me to hang using a single hand.

In my travel excitement I slipped too far and found myself closer to the East Harlem. In fact judging by my position, I was in East Harlem. Might as well carry through.

Moving through alleys, and relying on the rails and stairs allowed me a wonderful time. Today might not be productive on the scale of Hero work, but I was having fun. I did attract a lot of stares from time to time, and many people turned their phones in my direction. My excitement carried me through so I wouldn't have to wave or do anything dumb to embarrass myself.

I stopped near the intersection when I caught sight of a man running for his life. Right behind him was someone I recognized and almost had the urge to facepalm. I mean, once was okay, twice, well coincidence, but thrice yeah even I didn't believe that. It was best to turn around before she caught the sight of me. There would be no escaping the accusations if she saw me.

On second thought, should I help her in catching that guy. I mean this entire scenario called for action, something I was hoping for some quite a while. You know what, fuck it!

I took off running, following close behind and anticipating where the man could slip through. My chance presented itself when he dove behind a dumpster and then made to escape through the fire escape stairs. I didn't wait for the man to even start climbing. Using parkour training I started to run down the stairs and when I was close to forty feet up, I jumped.

My heart leapt into my throat for a moment, as the far away ground rushed to meet me. Even before the jump, I had already activated the Levitation and waited for it to kick in. When I was close to half the way down I felt myself slow down, not exactly stop but gradually loose momentum. The guy looked above in horror to see my descending form. And that was all it took for Colleen to close the gap and arrive near the befuddled man.

"Hi." I landed with a thud but barely felt an impact, instead I waved at the red haired girl who was giving me a weird stare.

Before she could reply, the man tried to make a run for it, but I was even faster and tackled him to the ground. With my enhanced strength, holding him down was like restraining a baby chicken, barely felt a thing.

"What are you doing here?" She asked.

She was clearly taken by surprise and possibly nursing suspicion. I wouldn't put that past her, but I need to keep divert her attention from that topic.

"I was just doing the vigilante thing, you know." I shrugged. "Caught sight of you chasing this guy, so thought I would help."

She scrunched her nose. "You're being awfully helpful to me. Too helpful, if I were to say."

Shit! Did she think I was stalking her? I mean, no matter how one looked at it, things weren't looking in my favor. What do I say?

"Pfft." That's when Colleen burst laughing and I stood there in more confusion than the guy I was restraining. "Oh! You should've seen your face. You went like, all pale."

If my power hadn't suddenly made a connection and manifested in such a way, I might've said something. Instead I just cursed and looked away.

The power was called 'Peak Human Vision' and gave me well, enhanced vision. Unlike the super strength, this was still in the limits of human realm, only stretched to very farthest limits. I could make out details from 20 feet away, when it would take to be as close as 5 fee for a normal person. This meant I could read text clearly from a distance. It also gave me low-light vision. Not night vision, but I could make out things in regular darkness. This had only expended 2/3rd of my potential. Next time I would've another chance at twice the base.

"Hey, sorry if I offended you or anything." She did sound sincere, and I wasn't petty enough to follow up. I wouldn't usually mind a prank, but I had intense hate against being labeled with things I didn't do. Accusations were my personal pet peeves.

"Don't worry about it." I smiled. "I was just caught off-guard. Besides, I know how this looks to you. I mean, we did run into each other three times."

"Nah." She waved her hand away. "We patrol these streets and running into each isn't that big of a coincidence. I run into Power Man five times a week. Really, it's not that big of a deal."

Now that she mentioned it, that was correct. I mean sure crime was abound and new villains rose everyday. But that didn't mean people weren't fighting against them, and running into like-minded individuals shouldn't be that strange an occurrence. If anything, the contrary would be weirder.

"So, Why were you after this guy?" I pointed at the still struggling man on the ground.

"Ah yes, Jacob." She seemed to have recalled her mission finally. "You know we, Misty and me, run a private detective organization." I nodded and she continued. "So, we got a lead on one of the drug peddlers from around here. I investigated a bit and managed to catch sight of him. He turned out to be surprisingly fast."

"Oh." Another drug lord. That wasn't really that strange, after all, New York had a wide variety of those. In short, they came in all sorts of colors.

"Yeah, thanks for the help, by the way."

I grabbed the man by the scruff of his neck and forced him on his knees. "What are you going to do with him now?"

"Well, I was going to kindly ask him to lead me to his boss." She grinned at me. "And then, I was going to get some action."

"By kindly, you mean." I matched her grin and stepped on the man's calf. "This."

The man screamed, but we weren't going to ask anything. Say what you will about high schools, they did teach you how to bully someone. Although I was never involved in such an activity, either on the giving or receiving end, I did witness an act or two. It always fascinated me how easy it was to break a common man.

"I can lead you there, just stop! Please!" I could tell his ankle was probably strained and he might even be suffering from a fracture. Just pressing my foot on his calf was no joke and he apparently wasn't loyal enough to endure torture. Figures, considering it was a drug trafficking organization.

"Do you want to call Misty?" I asked.

While I was confident, and Colleen was no doubt an excellent fighter, we were going to be raiding a hideout full of gangsters. They would've a lot of firepower on their side, and weren't exactly bullet proof. Unless my powers provided something that dealt with this situation, we weren't going to be just waltzing in and punching anyone who crossed our path.

"Don't worry about that." She took out her phone and rapidly type a short message. "We aren't going to fight them or anything. Just snoop around, get a feel, numbers and all. And then we get the police. We might be Private Detectives, but even we don't have the authority to operate in such a way. Of course, that's if you want to help?"

"Of course, I do." I wasn't going to deny after coming this far. A little shooting wouldn't faze me, I had handled worse. Ok, maybe not yet, but time wasn't exactly linear in Marvel, so future counted as an activity having done. Or not. Alternate? I was getting off the road here.

"Who do you work for?" I asked the man who was busy stroking his leg.

"Morgan." He winced. "He's the boos that runs this whole thing. But if you think you can take him down, then you're wrong. You don't have enough evidence."

That was true. A single maybe witness wouldn't cut it, we needed real proof. I looked at Colleen for answer and found her frowning.

"A while back, Stone-Face used to run all the underground operations. After he disappeared it seemed this Morgan took over. If that is the case, then I'm afraid we can't do much without proper evidence."

There was a story there, I could smell it. "But you are a detective, right? That's what you do?"

"Exactly!" She smiled. "That's why we are going to gather sufficient evidence on this guy."

"What about him?" I asked.

"We can't let him go yet, can you perhaps knock him out or something?" She contemplated before asking. I was perfectly capable of doing something like that and didn't wait for a word to come out before my chop forced him into wonderland.

"With that dealt with, I think we should leave." I said.

"Yeah, let's go." She agreed, and we departed.

I followed behind the women as she led to through the streets. I felt my powers fail to connect.

We rounded the corner and found ourselves near a building. It looked exquisite being right on the corner. Two guards were suits stood near the door, both black and one with an afro hair. There was a distinct presence to these two, easily associated to the gangsters with their mannerism, gait and posture.

"So, what's the plan?" I didn't know what the procedure was for a detective to collect evidence. This was Marvel after all, instead of going through all those lengthy processes, they could very well use their powers to speed up the work.

I knew Colleen could get past those doors easily. It would just count as an assault and she might face legal action, but that didn't mean she wasn't capable enough. If it was just collecting evidence, maybe this guy's ledger, money laundering records or whatever documents he had that proved his association to the drug racket would work. Question was, how to get them?

"Usually, we monitor our target for sometime." She stated. "Watch over their activities, habits and everything else. If we are lucky, and they did something during this time, we can pick on that and follow through. Otherwise, we will just do things the hard way."

"You mean breaking in?" I asked.

"You can call it that." She answered.

"What do you call it."

She grinned. "Action performed based on sufficient circumstantial evidence and target behavior."

That was an excuse but I was already in favor of this whole detective thing. It was too bad that I had zero understanding of the laws or the deduction thing, beyond figuring out who stole my lunch in high school. Man, I still hate that guy.

"Which are we following now?"

Colleen looked at me and asked. "Do you want to join us? As a team, I mean?"

The sudden shift in the topic caught me off-guard. "What?"

"You are still new to this whole thing." She explained. "And empty heroism doesn't pay you, but we do get paid. Although not as much as Power Man and Iron Fist, but enough. With your skills we could do even better."

It wasn't that the thought had never crossed my mind, just that the notion of joining a team and confining myself felt too limiting. I still hadn't forgotten my ideals and most of all the motivation for joining this hero business. Ultimately, I wanted to adventure. There so much this universe had to offer, so much to explore and I wanted to see it all. From the wretches of Negative-Zone to corners of galaxy where Shi'ar empire ruled. I wanted to experience it all.

Despite all of that, I took a moment to consider her question. I now had the lifespan of over 150 years at least. I didn't fully well about my powers, but there were bound to be abilities that would grant me even higher lifespan. If I could live that long, then I was in no hurry to chart out my exploration map. I could take things slowly, make the most of the present moments.

"I—ahem." I cleared my throat and looked ahead. "I haven't thought about it yet. I mean, this whole hero thing was on-the-whim-decision in the first place. But, if I happen to take some interest in the detective work, I will contact you first."

That should put us back on the main goal, is what I thought. Instead Colleen looked at me in confusion.

"Wait, you are telling me that you just decided to be a hero on a whim?"

"I mean, yeah." It wasn't exactly right, but she wasn't wrong either. My main motivation was fun and adventure, but it was true that I wasn't pushed by my circumstances or burning righteousness to become a hero. One day I decided, yeah let's do that and I did.

"Weird." She raised a brow a looked ahead. "I took you more for a guy who thinks their actions through. I mean, you need to at least find a meaning in whatever you're doing."

What meaning was there in hero work? Satisfaction? Comfort? Happiness on behalf of others? A drive to turn the world for better? No! To me it was simply an opportunity. Like I said before, I didn't mind helping others. In fact, I felt quite good by helping others, but I wasn't a hero, not really. My help would extend only as far my arm, I wouldn't go out of my way or risk of life for the just cause. So yes, while I did have a meaning, our disagreement probably came from looking at this from two different perspective.

She probably saw me as someone like Spiderman or Captain America. While I was just a normal guy with abnormal powers, trying to have fun while also helping others. I think that was good enough.

"I guess, that's just me." I wasn't the one to argue with others. Never have, and probably never would. Besides that, we were drifting from our original mission and I needed to remind her that.

"I think it's better if we wait for them to leave the building." In my opinion, a prominent drug lord like this one kept their hands clean. I doubted he kept the evidence at what was clearly his office building. Or maybe he did, this was Marvel? People here were as idiotic as they were smart.

"No." She shook her head. "People don't leave evidence like that in their office safes. He would probably bring it with him, and that's when we can strike."

"You mean, attack his guards and all?" That would be an assault and might put us on the not-so-good-side of the cops.

She sighed. "Of course not. We raid his office just in case, and find out whatever we can. Then we can follow him to his accommodation. Stealing is better done at night."

I understood what she was getting at and nodded. My powers were right at their threshold, so I turned and looked at Colleen. "I will be back in a sec, do you mind?"

"No problem." She gave a nonchalant nod, but I could see a smile trace her lips.

I moved toward the other end of the alley, just as it finished connecting to the star the same size as the one that gave me enhanced strength. Instead of manifesting as another power-up, I had just received knowledge and a spellbook that now rested in my hand. 'Shit.' I cursed in my head. This was exactly the reason I hated my powers expanding while in public. Thankfully, I had moved to the side.

All this time I had been missing the piece to use my magical reserves, this power gave me that final piece and completed the puzzle. Now I had the Magic in the form of potential and reserves, I had the style of magic that would act as the medium for the spells, and at last I had the spells themselves.

The school of magic was the art of blending magic and producing desired results. The power I gained allowed to me use what was called 'Abjuration Magic'. It primarily focused on protective (Barrier) type spells and suppression of other magics. It also dabbled in usage of healing arts and banishment of one being into another plane of existence.

It was broad, versatile, and something I could really use right about now. I mean it was healing on steroids or protection against bullets. Unfortunately, I needed to use Alchemy to create potions and gems to act as the mediums for these spells. Another thing I need to worry about, but for the latter.

I tucked the book beneath my jacket and walked back to Colleen. "How's it going?"

"You didn't miss anything." She replied.

It was getting hot and I didn't like sitting in one place for long. "Hey, how about we move to a better vintage point?" I asked.

She looked at me with a raised brow. "Like where?"

"Up." I pointed at the roof.

"Seriously?" She didn't look she believed me. Well, time to show her the real magic.

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.

.

When I first thought of hero work, my impression was of patrolling the locality, protecting the civilians and most of all battling the villains. Growth would be the biggest aspect of my adventures. After all, what was a man without growth and development? Was he even human at that point?

I hadn't exactly thought of watching a sunset on the rooftop with a redhead beside me. A quirky one, with a katana on her back, though I wasn't the one to talk. Our time spent watching the building seemed more wasteful than purposeful spying. In the hindsight, we were both aware and yet we chose to ignore those feelings. I wonder what that meant?

"Is this how you do your detective work?" My question sought to break the silence that had grown between us.

"Yes." She answered. "Mostly, it's the observation part. Picking clues here and there, charting our targets habits, their schedules and all that."

Boring stuff, she meant. Honestly, to me detective work had always been the Sherlock Holmes stuff. You take a case, you move around picking clues, unraveling secrets until you have caught your target. The only element of fun seemed to be the deduction part, but I doubted people actually wove an entire story from a stray lock of hair sticking to your back. If that were the case, we would've already left.

"Oh, look." She pointed toward the door. "I think they are leaving."

I could see. A black man in a gray suit with the guards following close behind. He wore glasses, and an earring on his left ear. We watched as he boarded the vehicle and left the place.

"Are we breaking in?" I asked.

Colleen looked ahead and then around, seemingly trying to formulate a plan or something. At least that's what I thought she was doing. "How far can you lift up in the air?" She asked.

I looked ahead at the building and shook my head. "If you are asking whether I can reach the top, then no. And in case you were wondering, I can't carry another person with me."

"Really?" She looked like she was amazed at me, or my incompetence. "Guess we have to do this the old fashioned way."

The old fashioned way as it turned out was breaking through the back door, using her lock-picking skills. We moved in to find the interior dimly lit by the lights. There was a desk with some papers on it, alongside a landline and a table lamp. I exchanged a glance with Colleen and she pointed at the cabinet on other side.

We made quick work of the paperwork, but found nothing worthy of notice. That is, until she called me over and showed me some photographs.

"A ship?" I looked at her confused. The photo was of a cargo ship, loaded to the brim and marked with bright red cross. "Is that his?"

"Don't think so." She pulled out another document that listed the timeline, arrival date of the ship. Instead of full report on the status of the ship, there just seemed to be a date marked. "I don't know what this means. But it's not his. He might be looking out for it for someone else."

Possible, but hard to relate to someone that dabbled in drug trafficking. We shared a look and came to a sudden realization. "Target of opportunity."

With my enhanced memory putting things back in their place was easy enough and we left without a trace. There were no cameras in the place, whether as a precaution by the owner, or simply because he had no need for them, we didn't care.

"The ship arrives today at 9. It's unlikely he will present by himself, and that is providing the assumption is correct. So, one of us needs to have a talk with him, while other can take care of that cargo."

Colleen was right, and if it really turned out to be a heist, then it would need as much support as possible.

"I will go talk with the guy." I offered. "You can take Misty with you and make sure you have the right target. If it's red light, then you call the police."

She nodded at me and said. "That works, but you have to be careful."

"Got it." I smiled. "You be careful too."

She offered a smile and we parted ways.

Just as we parted ways, I felt my powers expend the accumulated potential to connect to one of the smaller stars. It was called 'Deception Training' and it just made me a very, very good liar. Good on the scale of evading lie detectors. I wasn't at level yet, but it seemed like this power could be improved upon by other powers.

Sometimes my powers could really be humorous, by providing me with the ability to lie just as I was about to meet a crime lord. I snickered and followed the route to Morgan's home.

I had to say, time flows differently when you are detached from the world. You are in the sky, with a cool wind blowing through your hair and all the world is beneath you. There is a rush, a feeling of freedom and strength that you believe you are at the top of the world. That was my experience every time I took to jumping from building to building.

My enhanced strength helped what that, by virtue of sheer physical force I was able to apply. Each jump would take me beyond 20 feet, or and if I pushed, I could easily pass the 50 feet mark. I didn't. My body might have the strength, but I lacked the durability to withstand such force.

By the time I arrived at the building the man lived in, it was already late in the evening. I usually didn't keep my phone with me when I was in the costume. All it would take is an unfortunate run-in with a tech savvy guy like Tony Stark, and I could very well have my whole biography read in my face. While I did want to exchange numbers with Colleen, secrecy was more important for the time being.

Climbing the building wasn't going to be easy, because of course taking stairs wasn't an option. With the number of skills I possessed, I could very well climb to the top using the piping and occasional ledges. Problem was I had no idea which floor he lived on.

It confused me that a guy like him who earned cash in buckets would settle for an apartment. A very opulent, luxurious and setup in a wealthy district, but an apartment nonetheless. I guess the tax was still a thing, or maybe he had a house just not here in this place. I didn't care as long as I got what I wanted.

Alright, time to get to work. Despite my wide array of powers, none came close to utility in terms of snooping around as parkour did. Others powers only served to enhance the effectiveness of this power, bringing it from normal to superhuman levels. My recent addition also helped. Peak Human Vision gave me enough capability to see in regular darkness. It wasn't clear, shrouded in fact, but way better than normal vision. And the street was decently lit enough that I could see as well as most saw during the day.

Locating Morgan proved to be a challenge. I had to snoop around the windows, and use my enhanced memory to make connection to the guy. Noises were frequent, but oftentimes false alarms. It was getting late; I needed to change the plan.

Instead of going from window to window, I climbed to the roof and took the stairwell. Now, I had no idea which room my target was occupying, but I had some very good mastery in terms of disguising myself. I found the storage room easily enough and slipped inside to find the buckets and brooms. There were shelves also, with a set of clothes probably worn by workers. This was a high-end apartment after all.

Changing into new clothes took no more than a minute. I kept the book with me, no way was I leaving it here. And in no-time I was strolling down the hallway looking completely different from the James one would be familiar with. I walked directly to the Front Desk and gave a smile.

"Hi!" I put full throttle on my Deception Training, hoping that this would work. "I don't think we have met. I'm Sam, just joined the maintenance team. Today's my first shift, so I'm still getting the hang of things around here."

The lady was quick to smile. There was confusion no doubt, but people usually didn't put too much thought into something that was obvious. Like with my acting, it would be weird if I didn't work here. Right? Deception was all about perception.

"So far, it seems like a nice place to work. You must know the place inside out by now! Any tips for the new guy?" Appropriate amount of enthusiasm would make you appear more friendly, and asking for advice was the old way of stoking someone's ego and distracting them from the real follow up.

I nodded as she listed off a few things and expressed my opinions wherever necessary. "Oh, right! I think I was supposed to check in with a Morgan on one of the floors? Just making sure I've got the right place, do you happen to know which apartment they're in?"

Questions, and answers. Always being dismissive and distracting from the real point. Deception Training, or any training for that matter worked by virtue of feeding me the appropriate amount of knowledge. There were still aspects that were regulated by my power though. Like with disguising myself and using deception.

"I think it's for a routine check-up, don't worry." I waved away her concerns and she gave me the address right away. There was something about deceiving someone that didn't sit right with me. Call it a moral quandary or whatever, but I was never quite the fan of brainwashing or manipulation. Always managed to rub me the wrong way. Thankfully the deception was small enough that it only made me question my own morality rather than igniting any guilt.

As I started the climb back up, I felt the connection miss. I was back in the storage and changed into my costume. Instead of going through the proper way, I was going to make a superhero entry by climbing down the window.

Now that I new the apartment Mr. Morgan were living in, I quickly located the place and peered inside. There was a soft and warm glow suffusing the room, and no one in sight. I gently slid the window open and dropped on the carpet. The walls were adorned with motifs in a pattern that me a bit dizzy looking at.

I stepped foot in the living room to find an open bottle of whiskey with one empty cup. There was no one there, but I could hear the sound of water running in the background. Deception works whichever way you wanted it to. The underlying need to impose or impress on your target's mind, to create an image of yourself that is far removed from the real you. And for that the act itself wasn't be-all end-all, the foundation played a critical role. The stage where the act would be done, the very first impression of your target when they lay their eyes upon you. What do they think?

When Morgan got out of the shower in his bathrobes, he looked at me sitting on his couch in a relaxed posture. I wasn't admiring the work of art that hung on the walls, I wasn't being nervous or fiddling with his bottle of alcohol. I was just watching, peering into his eyes without a blink.

"The wind is cold outside, make yourself at home." He said and walked away. I followed his departure with my eyes until he disappeared behind the doors. What did he think when he saw me?

The next time Morgan arrived, he was back in his suit, a new one I could tell thanks to my memory. He placed another cup on the table and poured half a cup in both. He set one in front of me.

"You've heard of me?" I asked. It wasn't as much a question as it was asserting my own confidence and belief.

"General public only cares about their heroes in action." He took a sip from his glass. "We, on the other hand take note of any potential ally."

I took the glass from the table but made no effort to drink. "You've got a lovely place set up. You must be a successful businessman?"

Morgan smiled and leaned back. "Harlem is rife with chaos and only real businessmen can profit from the disorder. You must understand the state of our locality, right?"

"I have some ideas." I nodded. "Aren't you going ask for my purpose here."

He let out a laugh. "Now, my friend, what purpose could there be with myself if not about Cottonmouth. Tell Luke, I send my regards."

I didn't show it, but inwardly I was frowning. He was clearly mistaking my presence here, but what that had got to with Luke, I didn't understand. Let's play along for now.

"Yes, about Cottonmouth." I leaned forward. "What can you tell me?"

"Plenty you might want to hear." He said. "It costs a petty penny though, think you can afford?"

Now he was playing games with me. "I don't think you're in need of money. What do you want?"

"What every businessman wants, a clear road to success." He rested the glass on the table and leaned forward, eyes locked onto mine. "Question is—can you do it? Can you finish off someone for me?"

"That's out of question." I said. "Luke would never get into dirty work just to get some answers."

He looked at me as if he was expecting that. Clearly he didn't know what true deception looked like. "But." I drew the word out. "I might be interested in other side business. As long as I am well paid."

He smiled. "I heard you roughed them up real bad. If you put Falcon in his place and keep him off my back, I can pay you good. Finish him, and I guarantee you a spot as my partner."

Falcon?! The Captain America sidekick. When I was checking over the list of active heroes and villains in Harlem, his name had come, but I hadn't paid much attention to the dude. Seemed like Mr. Morgan here had a bad omen coming. "You want me to kill Falcon?"

He shrugged.

"You know he's usually beside that shield dude. That's a story guy right there, and you want me to mess him up?"

"Can you do it, or not?" He asks.

I smiled and rested my handed on the table. It glowed for a brief moment before the glass gave in and we heard a crash. Morgan looked down in horror with his brow twitching.

"I think that should answer your question." I stated. "Now, I've got one question for you, Cottonmouth?"

Morgan took a deep breath and cleared his throat. His eyes flickered to the broken glass and split alcohol on the floor. "I know where he keeps some of his stashes. If you can get me the rest of the addresses, I would've my men raid them overnight. You can then call the police or whatever, get them all rounded up and locked away for good."

I knew there was something about Cottonmouth that bugged me. Now I knew why? He was or still is, one of The Rivals, a gangster lord just like Morgan here. He clearly had a history with Luke and probably something serious. Morgan didn't seem to like him either which was good for me. But I need more than just this.

"I don't care about Luke, if that wasn't clear from the beginning." I griped. "I want know what value Cottonmouth has for me?"

By now my deception should've painted a picture of a guy who was greedy, easy to give into promises of money. This was exactly what I was hopping for. To know your enemy, you must bring them close.

I felt my powers miss another connection, while Morgan listed off the reasons as to how Cottonmouth could prove 'monumental' to me. I could feel the subtle manipulations he was doing, and it disgusted me. By making everything about me, he was absolving himself of all problems, but I didn't care. This was just an act, and I was a very good actor. Deception Training agreed with my thoughts and I prompted him to continue.

By making questions about Cottonmouth, I was able to get a handle of Morgan's character. He was a coward without a sense of morality, a drug lord who cared more for profits than lives. I knew asking for such a thing was a fool's dream, but even thieves had honor.

"Falcon will be taken care of." I assured. "But first, I would like to conclude my business with Cottonmouth."

"You have a personal grudge against him?" He asked.

"Something like that." I leaned back. Just then the cell started ringing. Morgan gave me an apologetic smile and fished out his phone.

"Sorry, but I have to take it."

I prompted and he moved toward the window. As soon as the call began, I knew something was wrong but it didn't click until I recalled the shipment that was about to arrive today. Morgan cut the call and sat back looking all gloomy.

"What happened?" I put on my best confused look, but still gave off the aura of indifference.

"My men were captured by the NYPD." He spoke in a grim tone. "Although I'm sure they have no evidence against me, but to have something like this happen. It could very well be a mole in our midst."

"That's concerning." I voiced.

"It is." He nodded, but the look he was giving me told me he was suspicious of my presence in his apartment. "The cargo belonged to Cottonmouth."

And the pieces fell into place. He had been hoping to steal from the rival crime boss, but they both got played by a third-party. I smiled inwardly, this was an opportunity.

"Do you think it was a ploy by Cottonmouth." Deception flared to life with full focus. "Maybe he already knew of your plans and hoped to, let's say, beat you at your own game?"

"But his men were also caught." His confusion was apparent.

"A good lie needs to be covered in truth." I said. "Right now you are playing his game and if you want a way out, you need a new piece that can get you the win. Me."

Negotiating with Morgan turned out to be easy enough, especially when he got all riled up. All I need was a bit of dirt on him, something that could be proven wrong with enough evidence later on. Something he was he very eager to provide. And something that would get me into the ranks of The Rivals. Time to play the villain.

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I left the room through the window and asked Morgan for his contact number. The man watched me jumped from up top and softly land on the bottom. I melted into the shadows soon after, running toward my destination.

With the ship caught, the police were probably dealing with the aftermath. Colleen and Misty might have already left, but since it was on the way I decided to drop by.

When I arrived at the scene, it was all yellow tapes and police cars. A procession of men carried crates into a reinforced truck while a few were taking notes of the scene. I didn't see any captives, so they must have already taken them away. I didn't stay for long and hopped away.

I did wonder if I should change my name to Jumper or Hopper. The Rabbit had more class to it, maybe if I switch color themes of my costume and make white more prominent. Flying would've been really great. If only I could truly control my Heliokinesis.

With the speed I was jumping, I managed to reach the place in under 10 minutes. Nightwing Restoration Office was located on the corner of the broadway. It was easy to slip inside unnoticed. I mean, who would be looking at a window on the second floor being used as an entry pathway.

Their office was quite clear to make when I got close. Both of them were working on something and I heard the laughs drifting from there. I hurried and knocked on the door.

"Come in." Misty called.

I pushed open the door and entered. "Good evening."

My unexpected entry caused both to stare my way for a long frozen second, then Colleen blinked and walked my way. "You are back from Morgan's?"

"Yes." I nodded. "And with information."

"Yeah, I heard what you did today." Misty interjected. "Thanks for the help. That was a lot of heroin from the cargo, and it wouldn't have been possible without your help."

"Don't mention it." I shook my head. "Colleen could've managed on her own. Anyway, I just came to inform you that the shipment belonged to Cottonmouth and Morgan had been planning to loot it. Too bad he never saw us coming."

"Yeah, we got that from the dichotomy in two gangs." Colleen said. "Thanks for the help anyway. Is there anything else?"

"No." I said. "Just came to check up on you guys. Would you like to take a walk with me, Colleen?"

"Uh..." Colleen looked hesitant, and turned to look at Misty. The latter looked suspiciously at both of us, but I couldn't figure out what that was about.

"Yeah." She finally nodded. "Let's go."

I must say, I fucking hated when my powers did it. Though in retrospect I was aware of the imminent fallout when no connection was made for quite some time. For the second time in a day I connected to a star the same size as Peak Human Strength and Abjuration Magic. Much like the Abjuration magic, it arrived right when I was near Colleen and in the form of a book.

The warning from the potential only gave me a split second to turn around and leave, before Colleen came. The door shut closed behind me and I shoved the new arrival beneath my jacket. This was getting boring, and a bit tiring but it just affirmed by belief in keeping away from others when my powers were making a connection.

As one of the few strongest powers I got, aside from Heliokinesis, it was a really powerful style of magic that just turned my earlier thoughts on not using Magic obsolete. It was called 'Sigil Mage' and unlike Alchemy allowed me to use sigils and runes, a magical writing system to perform magic.

It also need materials, but the requirement wasn't as stringent. I could in theory use my own magical energy to draw temporary runes and use magic. Of course the effect would be better with ink, and even greater with a magical material. For now though, I needed to deal with something else.

Colleen and I walked through the hallway toward the window. She hadn't see anything, and as much as I was being open regarding my powers, I wasn't willing to do a full disclosure.

"So, you had anything you wanted to talk about?" She asked.

"Yeah, actually." I nodded and showed her a folded piece of paper. She took it with a puzzled look on her face. "This proves Morgan's status as the owner of a warehouse where he keeps some of his shady equipment. Although on paper the warehouse is owned by a shell company, this document traces the entire puppet string back to Morgan."

She read the paper and said. "Well, this is great. Now if we can associate the drug empire being run by him also, we can sweep him clean of the streets."

"While that's great." I took the paper back. "Why kill a goose that can lay golden eggs."

"I don't understand." She looked at me in confusion.

I smiled. "Morgan thought I was an associate of Luke, and that I came to talk about Cottonmouth. He was probably expecting me to ask help in bringing down the crime boss, but I managed to land a better deal." I folded the paper and tucked it into my pocket. "And this piece of paper is my ticket into Cottonmouth's gang. Once inside, I can find sufficient dirt on both of them and then we can bring them down."

"But it will be dangerous." Colleen expressed. "Why did you need to tell me this alone? Misty isn't the one to tattle in-case you thought so."

I shook my head. "That's not it. I mean I trust Misty, but for this, the more people know the worse it has the possibility of going. I trust you, and I trust Misty, but the only reason I'm telling you anything is because I felt like I owe you. Without you this wouldn't have been possible in the first place. But telling Misty, or anyone and everyone we trust is just asking for trouble."

She didn't look convinced, but I wasn't in the mood to explain that a vehicle didn't need more than one drivers. That would only cause an accident.

"Listen, I need to go now. It was great today, but goodbye." I slipped through the window and gave her a wave.

My walk back to the safe-spot was uninterrupted and I enjoyed the cold breeze caressing my cheeks. Wearing my costume all day wasn't uncomfortable or anything, thanks to Clothing Manoeuvrability. But I was getting tired. And there was the magic to do also.

I changed into my civilian clothes and walked my way back home. Today had been tiring and I was due for some rest.

You can live in a cave, away from everyone and everything, but the safety you feel at home is the most assuring. It's not the safety from the threats, but a place of solace which belongs to you and you only. And there was something about that that I always found comely.

At home I took things with care and patience. I tucked the documents beneath the mattress, and hid the costume beneath my bed. I had no need for food or drink so I went right to learning.

Weak Capabilities provided me with quite a weak aptitude for magic, alongside some knowledge of magic itself. That knowledge expanded when I received Alchemy. Now with Abjuration Magic and Sigil Mage, I had received a month's worth of training in both.

I was a little worried after scoring Abjuration Magic, because to use it I had to delve into Alchemy. Now the style of magic itself wasn't bad, but the requirements to even begin the venture were less than promising. I had almost resigned myself to shelving my magic potential. Then the Sigil Mage arrived, and I had a whole world lying before me.

Runes were the words of power, more so in Marvel due to Odin who was a known Rune creator. Sigil Mage provided me with knowledge on how to delve into the art, and how with the help of these Runes to invoke the School of Magic that I knew of.

There were a variety of ways I could use sigils, but the most powerful ones were those written using ink extracted from powerful materials. Like a dragon's horn. But what appealed to me more than anything was the prospects of using your own magic to create the sigil. Using that as a base to produce the desired effect.

There was a miss to the connection, but my focus was on the book resting in my hand. It detailed of the ways I could use Runes. I just had to use them as the primer—the base of the spell—and the spell itself would become fixed. As long as they were powered by my magic, the spell would continue to work. The only problem was using my own energy as the base would make it a temporary fixture, and would dissipate once I had exhausted myself.

The best way to avoid that was to use normal ink and prepare talismans of sorts that can then be powered by my magic. The mundane nature of the material would mean the less conductivity and wastage of energy. The spell itself might lack the inherent integrity that it's supposed to have, but it would be better than wasting much magic by drawing Runes on the spot.

Abjuration Magic on the other hand proved to be a big deal. It dealt with barriers mostly, with the banishment being a core aspect also. There were however spells in the category of healing too. With Sigil Mage I could bring these effects into focus but only for a very little time. My magical reserves were quite weak. To the point that they might not last more than ten seconds to hold a barrier.

With my understanding and my magic potential, the barriers I could erect would probably protect against low caliber firearms. But anything higher like a sniper might pierce right through it. It was weak and mostly useless.

With Alchemy I could've put it to better use. After all I didn't have to expend my magical reserves when using potions, only during the creation process. There was one thing though that outshone the others. Healing.

Healing was a great ability in my opinion. There was a reason why Wolverine was able to tangle with foes far beyond his caliber just by virtue of being hard to kill. My healing was nowhere near that, but stopping bleeding or healing cuts was easy enough. Again, Alchemy could've been so much better right about now, but Sigil Mage had much better future potential.

I had a task clear out for me. For now I would close the books and take some rest. Tomorrow would probably be hectic, but I hoped my Deception Training would carry me through. I would need a good disguise also, a new name too. Never though I would be playing an undercover cop. Except I wasn't a cop and these people weren't normal.

I did some digging on the local news outlets, but I only recognized one character that might be loosely related to these clowns. William Fisk. The Kingpin.

That was a guy I didn't want to tangle with for now, but thankfully he only seemed to have certain association to the gang, rather than running it. I tried to look for anything else but found nothing.

One thing that did stuck me through the conversation with Morgan was talk about Falcon. While I wasn't going to off him, he did provide a good opportunity to get into the know with Avengers. And to be fair, I had always been wanting to meet the Scarlet Witch. I mean, I did like other Avengers, but the Dark Sorcerer tickled my interest like no other.

You would think a man like me would stay away from something so dangerous. You would be right. Usually I wouldn't want anything to do with one of the most powerful beings on this planet, if not the most powerful. But I did want to meet her. It just excited me to know that a being this powerful would be lying around reading a magazine while less powerful gods kept to their arrogance on cosmic high thrones.

All in due time. I was sure.

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[Note: Due to some unforeseen limitation, webnovel doesn't allow chapter length to exceed 20k words and 100k characters. Thanks to that I had to split of this chapter in two parts.]