Marvel : Endless Power

Norman Osborn was already lying on the recliner inside the modulation chamber. In just a few seconds, the green mist laced with the Goblin Formula would fill the sealed glass enclosure, irrevocably altering his physiology.

Rody moved quickly to the control panel. After observing Osborn's experiments for over ten hours, he had a rough understanding of how to operate the system. His finger hovered over a flashing red button before pressing it. Instantly, the chamber's processes halted, and with a hiss, the glass door slid open.

"What the hell?" Osborn muttered, frowning at the malfunction. He was prepared to take the ultimate gamble injecting himself with the unstable serum but now, the equipment was betraying him?

Growing impatient, he reinitialized the program and stepped inside the chamber again. Just as the timer reached the critical point, the glass door slid open a second time.

Osborn's face darkened, his rage barely contained. But after two failed attempts, his rational mind reasserted itself. Testing on himself was reckless even he knew that. Like a man standing on the edge of a cliff, ready to jump, only to be pulled back twice, his resolve wavered. Eventually, he sighed and left the lab.

The lights dimmed, leaving Rody alone in the silent, high-tech facility. Moving swiftly, he located the Goblin armor. With a practiced hand, he activated it using the security override he had memorized earlier.

The moment the system powered on, the armor's exo-skeleton synchronized with his movements, making the heavy suit feel weightless. With the Goblin Glider also in his grasp, Rody was ready. He'd spent weeks refining his stealth ability, and it paid off—after some effort, he successfully cloaked the entire suit, rendering both himself and the bulky equipment invisible.

As he made his way to the exit, the elevator doors suddenly slid open.

Rody instinctively backed into the shadows. A stocky man in an Oscorp uniform stepped out, moving with urgency.

Why would anyone be in the lab this late?

Rody focused his mind, attempting to read the man's thoughts—but before he could, an eerie red glow shimmered around the intruder's body.

A stranger. Possibly a hitman.

Rody's mind flashed back to the last time he encountered someone with this kind of energy signature a mercenary who could turn invisible, a dangerous operative from a secretive organization. How many of them were out there? And more importantly, were they hunting him?

If this man was part of that faction, Rody couldn't let him leave unchallenged. Capturing him could provide much-needed answers.

Deactivating part of the Goblin armor, Rody extended his wrist gauntlet. Unlike the original Oscorp design, he had modified his version—his grappling hooks now had a built-in electrical charge. If he landed a hit, the target would be incapacitated instantly.

With precision, Rody fired the first hook at the intruder's back.

He expected the man to be caught off guard, maybe even knocked off his feet. Instead, what happened next made Rody's jaw drop.

The stocky man twisted unnaturally, his spine contorting as if he had no bones at all. Instead of dodging normally, he seemed to fold around the attack like a liquid shadow. Then, with a sudden burst of inhuman agility, he sprang several meters away moving with the speed of a trained assassin.

Rody barely had time to react before the man drew a pistol and fired.

The bullets clanged against the Goblin armor harmlessly, but Rody now knew for sure this was no ordinary thief. The intruder might not be able to see him, but his combat instincts were razor-sharp.

Realizing he was at a disadvantage, the man abruptly abandoned the fight. Spinning mid-air like an acrobat, he darted toward the elevator.

Rody wasn't about to let him escape.

Through his enhanced perception, he tracked the glowing red aura surrounding the target. It moved at normal speed, but in Rody's mind, it was as if time had slowed. Calculating the trajectory, he fired another hook this time, predicting the man's evasive maneuver.

He was right. The first shot was dodged, but the second hooked onto him.

Then, in an instant, his entire body shifted.

The burly frame melted away, revealing a tall, slender woman with striking blue skin, covered in reptilian scales.

Rody's eyes widened in recognition.

"Mystique—Raven Darkhölme."

Hearing her name spoken aloud in a native language, Mystique's yellow eyes narrowed.

"You're one of us?" she asked in Mandarin, her tone sharp with suspicion.

Her words confused Rody at first, but then he realized—his excitement had caused him to instinctively speak in Chinese.

Mystique had mistaken him for a fellow mutant.

Her next words confirmed his suspicion. "Did Xavier send you?"

Xavier—Professor X. Leader of the X-Men. A telepath powerful enough to shut down entire cities with his mind.

If Mystique was involved, then Magneto couldn't be far behind. Rody now had an opportunity to infiltrate her faction, but then he noticed something in her hand—a thick file folder, labeled with the Oscorp logo. The first three letters were printed in bold: OSB.

She was here to steal Oscorp's research.

Rody's mind raced. If he let her go, she might escape with valuable intel.

Before she could move, Rody focused his energy into a needle-thin psychic assault and struck.

Mystique staggered, her grip on the folder loosening.

Rody seized his chance—launching another hook, he yanked the file from her grasp.

His head throbbed from the strain, but it was worth it. He had something of value. Meanwhile, Mystique had recovered far quicker than expected—proof of her experience in resisting mental attacks. She stared at him for a moment, her expression unreadable.

"It seems the professor trained you well," she muttered before vanishing into the elevator, escaping before Rody could press the attack further.

Breathing heavily, Rody lowered his weapons and turned his attention to the stolen file. If this was what he suspected… it could be the key to everything.

With trembling hands, he tore open the folder.

If someone had been watching from above, they would have noticed something eerie—Rodi stood in the exact same position as a scene from the comic book he had been searching for.

The faint rustling of paper filled the empty corridor.

As his eyes scanned the pages, his heart pounded.

There, painted in ink and color, was a character he recognized immediately.

The manga pages he had been searching for.

His fate was now written into the story.

And for the first time, he truly understood—he wasn't just living in this world.

He was a part of it.