2. Apparently, the early bird gets the worm.

The pages of the book were as trippy as the cover. Made of ... I don't know outer space? With starlight letters.

Agent name here:____

Choose your Power Level (ONLY ONE AVAILABLE PER AGENT):

World-Survivor -> You start with 0 points, can take up to 10 points from drawbacks, receive halved points from drawbacks (rounded down), and can only purchase Lesser Powers.

World-Strider ->You start with 10 points, can take up to 10 points from drawbacks, and can only purchase one Greater power, all other powers can only be Lesser.

World-Changer -> You start with 15 points, can take up to 15 points from drawbacks, and can purchase any Lesser and Greater powers.

World-Breaker. -> You start with 20 points, can take up to 20 points from drawbacks, and can purchase any powers, including supreme powers.

ATTENTION: WORLD WILL BE SELECTED AFTER POWER LEVEL.

"Ok, that's fine and dandy, but what are these points for?" As soon as I finish muttering the book blinks a few more times on the "Agent name here" and Lisa looks over.

"Oh, you just need to sign there if you agree to become an Agent. As for the points, they are what you use to allocate the resources; in other words, you use them to select which powers you want. I will warn you that being a Field Agent is as dangerous as it is exciting, according to some veteran Agents. So if you do not want that kind of life, you can just say so and you will be sent to the Heaven that contains your family." As she says this, she looks at me with... understanding? I don't know, but it makes me feel that no matter my choice, she won't think less of me.

Wait, why am I thinking like that?

"Are you doing something to me? Messing with my head, I mean." She looks startled and then sheepish. Suddenly, as I look at her, I still see the beautiful woman she is but there is less of this feeling like I don't want to let her down.

"I apologize once again. This is something so natural to me that I forget how this affects those without mental and spiritual protection... and to be honest, I do use this to make my job easier. I am not controlling your mind, it is strictly prohibited to do so in any staff or, in your case, potential staff. Think of it like an aura that attracts people to me and makes me approachable. I meant no offense by not deactivating it."

"No no. It's fine... it was just weird for a moment. I'm not offended," ...just in case, pen pineapple apple pen- "But back to the topic... Dangerous and Exciting, huh? I see some mentions here of Lesser, Greater, and Supreme Powers, is this how this always works? Or is this the bonus that we got?"

"Let me see..." She looks at the book for a moment and turns to look at me. "Well, apparently the bonus was this package here. The "resources" I spoke about earlier come in packages like these. They sometimes vary depending on the severity of the Anomaly in a world, sometimes they are better when an agent does a good job - that would be the bonus we talked about - and sometimes they are very barebones. Some limit your previous powers during specific missions, but those are usually for when you either shouldn't draw attention or when it's a challenge from the higher-ups."

"You did say that the powers and abilities would be mine once I get them..."

"And that is correct. Not even the higher-ups can take the power back once it's fused with your being, your soul, and your ego, but they can seal it, as a punishment or challenge. At least up until a point, in any case."

"I hope to God," Does God even exist? "That they punished the guys that fucked up my universe."

Lisa smiles in a quite feral way... even sending a shiver down my spine... down, Matt, down. "They are being punished as we speak, do not worry."

"So why would they challenge the field agents?" Is it some time attack or something?

"Well, to tackle the more... complicated issues, we need more experienced and powerful field agents. When your handler deems you ready enough, they may ask if you would like to go through a challenge to "upgrade" your rank. There are three ranks you need to know for now: novice agents, which you would be if you were to accept the proposal, intermediate agents and advanced agents. What each rank deals with is not important in this discussion right here."

"Hmm..." While the danger might be ... well dangerous, I've never been able to accomplish much in life.

Had an average high school life, a girlfriend here and there, and some friends that stuck around while others drifted off. Being admitted to a rather prestigious university was a highlight in my life... until my father died, my mother became unable to support both of us and I had the biggest reality check of my life. Learning how hard life can be when it really wants to fuck you over is humbling.

But despite them being gone, despite everything I knew being no more... or rather, because everything and everyone is gone, I can let go. I will grieve for my mother and my dog and honor their memory by living the best life I can. Grabbing life by its balls this time and not letting up, even if it begs me to.

With determined eyes, I look over to Lisa and nod. She nods back with a small smile and to my right (of course they know I'm right-handed) appears a surprisingly normal-looking pen.

When I went to sign, I hesitated and looked at Lisa. "Do I sign with my normal name or do I need some other name, like a codename?"

Still smiling softly, "You can sign with your name Matthew, or you can sign with any other name. I should warn you, however, that the name you sign there will be kept as your official name by the Agency until your contract is terminated. And should you keep working with us for enough time, the name will be engraved in your soul..." Her smile turns sardonic. "So I personally would not recommend anything along the lines of "XxSoul$tealerxX" or "Shadow Money Wizard" or even "HogWild", since those names are both already taken and pretty distasteful."

Wow, people really are using X-box nametags as names on what is the most literal definition of a job for life, huh? Or would it be afterlife? Anyway, I signed the damn thing as Matthew and that's that.

The place where I signed shone a bright starlight and my name was there, shining and blinking. Eventually, it settled down and I had a feeling I could now peruse more parts of the book. Looking first at the Power-Level thing stumped me. Why would I not choose the obviously better option? That sounded too good to be true, so I looked at Lisa with a raised eyebrow.

"Am I reading this Power-Level thing right? Is there a trick or something?"

"No, Matt, there is no trick. Although all four of you will be choosing from this same package, the amount of resources this time is limited for you. We did not plan for these recruitments after all. So, while this package is very widespread in the choices it gives, all four of you will need to "share"."

Lisa smiles happily, going back to her upbeat self from earlier. "That will not be a problem for you, however! Since you are the first here, and with quite the margin I might add, you can choose the highest Power-Level and you are free to choose whichever combination of Powers, Abilities, and Drawbacks."

"If we are sharing this, are we going to be sent to the same World? Like a squad?"

"That is not needed, nor is it something we do regularly here. We have all kinds of Agents here, so some sparks and conflicts are inevitable. That's why it is usually a one-person job, mostly. Oh, some packages contain companions, however. If that is something you would want."

"Nah, just curious with the whole "sharing" thing." Good thing I don't have to care about picking leftovers.

Selecting the World-Breaker, the word brightened up and the other options vanished. In their place appeared:

Searching adequate worlds for novice agent...

World Found!

World: Amalgamation including but not limited to: Chronicle, Transformers, and Pacific Rim.

World Danger: High-Low ~ Low-Intermidiate. (+2)

Amalgamation Bonus: +5 Points

ARRIVAL: How the Agent will appear in their world.

Reincarnation (You will reincarnate in the body of an infant of this world): -1 Points

Subtle (You will arrive in the world as you are, with current and acquired clothes and equipment. Your arrival will be unheralded and will be unnoticed by anyone): 0 Points

Dramatic (You will arrive in an extremely dramatic fashion. Many significant entities will be aware of your arrival and the point at which you emerged.): +1 Point

As I look at these I frown. Do I need more points? Can I see the powers first and decide this later? As soon as I finish thinking that, the book "shines in" a new page.

BODY POWERS

Super Soldier Serum (-2) Lesser Power

You become a super soldier similar to Steve Rogers, with all the physical and mental advantages.

Spider Physiology (-3) Lesses Power

You gain powers equal to the Spider Totems, like Peter Parker or Cindy Moon, including all their physical abilities. You will also gain a connection to the Web of Life and Destiny, in the Worlds in which it may apply.

.

.

.

Ok, ok... these are pretty fucking cool. There are conduit powers here, like from InFamous and I can even choose to be a Kryptonian or Saiyan! As I look at the end of the Body Powers, I see something that makes me widen my eyes and look at Lisa.

"SPEEDSTER?!"

She shoots me an unimpressed look. "Yes, yes. Exactly the ones you are thinking about."

"And I can just grab it?? Isn't it like, super overpowered? Like... breaking Universe Stability overpowered, I get it now."

"Well, while yes they are a - excuse my language - pain in the behind, you would most likely not be able to reach that point quite yet. These powers will be yours, of course, but I believe you haven't been a Speedster your whole life, have you? These powers grow with you, physically, mentally, and spiritually." She looks very serious at this bit, for some reason. "And of course, it's not just any run that will break the space-time continuum." She adds with a bit of humor.

"I guess you're right... Still, Speedster man! I can only imagine the damage a Kryptonian Speedster would do..." Throwing infinite mass punches with that physique would not be as difficult as it would as a human...

"Yes, that is certainly a very powerful combo. Expensive too." She speaks somewhat suggestively.

I notice that and pay more attention to her expression. She seems almost... bored?

"Why the long face?" I couldn't hold my curiosity back.

"Well, you have barely touched the book and already looks almost ready to jump to conclusions..." Ah, I see.

"These are the "mainstream" choices then. Well, can't blame 'em, 'tis strong. But you're right, if I were to get these two I would need... 22 points if I were to get all the mods for Kryptonian. Well, you did say I had a lot of time so I might as well use it." And with that, I kept on reading the choices in the book.

There are Discipline Powers, Item Powers, and Perks. Special attention will be given to the Omnitrix for 10 points, Chakra for the base cost of 5 with the possibility of getting a tailed beast (including 10 tails), and something called Spiral Energy with the whooping 10 points cost. By the description it's powerful, but I never really saw Gurren Laggan... But what takes the cake is the Perks.

BLINDSPOT (-1 Points)

You are an unseen variable who is immune to magical, psychic, supernatural, fate-based, advanced technological, and other such effects of otherwise impossible analysis, detection, tracking, identification, remote viewing, predictions, calculations, scanning, modeling, precognition, postcognition, alternate timeline viewing, etc. Powers and tech designed to gather info about you return a divide by zero error. This works both on abilities that affect a grand scale that would take you into account, and those that specifically target you to discern your identity, your motives, alternate selves, your abilities, your status, your location, and your actions past, present, and future.

...What the hell?

INVICTUS (-1 Points)

Your mind, will, and soul are immune to any form of mind control, mental attack, memory removal, soul manipulation, emotional alteration, etc. Anything that would unnaturally override or directly influence your behavior fails. Attempts to control your senses such as directly mind-affecting illusions likewise fail. You also have a mind unshakable by pain, trauma, or suffering and most other psychological conditions. You still feel emotions, but the weighted stress of for example living for a thousand years cannot destroy your will, nor will having to experience extreme or long periods of discomfort like torture or isolation.

This can't be right...

INVIOLATE (-1 Points)

Your body and existence are unaffected by any effect that directly affects your internals, such as telefrag, a portal cut, telekinetic spine severing, time warping, gravity alteration, possession, creating items inside your body, etc. You also resist any effect that would transform you such as transmutation or morphs. You also no longer need to breathe, drink, eat, or produce waste. You can still perform these actions if you so choose but do not require them to sustain yourself. You are also immune to any form of poison, toxin, corruption, virus, or disease. You can still die of old age.

HOW IS THIS ONLY 1 POINT???

Singularity (-1 Points)

Your existence, and powers, rely on yourself and nothing else. Any attempt to directly copy, steal, drain, suppress, negate, nullify, weaken, control, and reproduce your powers fails automatically. These types of effects will find you untargetable in the present, past, future, alternate timelines, etc. You maintain independence from all verses. This separation grants you resistance to certain reality-altering phenomena, you are immune to things like timeline changes and destruction, temporal paradoxes, vacuum decay, big crunches, conceptual alteration, and reality-destroying events such as multiversal epoxies and causal retcons of the Meta narrative.

BONUS FEATURE: if you purchase 2 or more of the protections, you can grant them to other individuals with a few seconds of concentrated contact, this requires your conscious non-coerced intent. You can only grant the protections you have. Their versions are not as absolute as your own, and your powers will work on them as normal. You can also take it away anytime you wish. There is a maximum number of individuals granted at a time based on how many protections you have:

1 (protections you own) = 0 (protections given to others); 2 = 2; 3 = 4; 4 = as many as you wish.

I look flabbergasted at Lisa, who herself has a self-satisfied look on her face.

"This... this- Is this real? Is it a bug or error? It should be 10 each, right? RIGHT???"

"I am afraid that is not the case, Matt." Lisa says, with a sickly sweet smile.

"So... for 4 points... all of this? And I can even share with no trouble?"

"Yup! Though the level at which they work depends on your 'level', your strength. Know that they evolve with you and, therefore, are not absolute."

"... Well, ok. I have 18 points to spend. Or rather, 23 because of this Amalgamation thingy."

Lisa lightly frowns, "About the Amalgamation, I advise you to be careful. They give generous bonuses to resources but they are a lot more dangerous than singular worlds."

"I mean, yeah I guess having Kaiju and walking and talking vehicles in the same universe is bound to be a little crazy." I say with a little bit of humor.

"I am serious about this." Her voice took a serious edge there... scaaary~~ "And you should be too since this concerns your safety."

I draw a deep sigh. I'm pretty sure I'm not having a killer migraine here because I technically don't have a head, but seriously it's a lot to take in. I better take care of this soon so I have some time to think.

"Ok, sorry. Any other advice?" I ask genuinely. Although it is a lot, I need these answers now to better plan.

"Amalgamations are dangerous because central pieces of different worlds will intermingle with each other, possibly making them more powerful or volatile. And the most important thing-"

I mutter before she can speak. "Fucks over my knowledge of them... fuck."

"Ok... so I need to be powerful, but adaptable. Still, kaiju and giant robots, people with weird abilities, and a trio of teenage telekinetics... joy."

"Those are the confirmed ones, yes."

The silence stretches between us as I think about which powers to get. Even if boring, the Kryptonian draws my attention. It is just such a comprehensive upgrade over the normal human it's hard to ignore.

Seeing my pensive state Lisa smiles softly, "You asked for my advice and I shall give it. This is your first assignment, your first World as a Novice Agent and even if it is an Amalgamation, it is still at maximum a Low~Intermediate. Something that I've seen countless times is a new agent fall to the allure of these strong and famous and over-the-top choices - in your case, Kryptonian and Speedster - and ignore other fronts."

She leans forward a bit, "You are already a bit better since you picked the Protections before anything else, but 8 or 10 points is a lot. You could get a few other things that may not be as strong initially but that can make you a better foundation."

"A "late-game build" huh... that is doable, very much so." I scratch my chin as I take another look at the powers, with a more critical eye. One of them draws my attention and not really because it is outwardly powerful, but because of the sheer potential that I see.

SHARD POWER (-3 Points) LESSER BODY POWER

You gain a corona pollentia, and a shard, as such you are a parahuman. You can select any canon parahuman powerset from a natural non 'aberrant' (No Ashbeast, Sleeper, Butcher, etc.) trigger that has not been second triggered. You also have none of the mental disadvantages parahumans usually suffer, lastly, your shard has never-ending energy, but only within the limits of the original powerset. Once bought these powers cannot be changed and can only grow stronger within the parameters of the shard acknowledging its host in conflict and therefore easing restrictions, but this has a limit.

MODS

{GREATER} For -3 Points you can select Eden shards, 'aberrant' triggers, or second trigger power sets.

{GREATER} For -3 Points you can "Jailbreak" or second trigger a powerset modifying it or making it more powerful or removing the Tinker Blackbox.

I've never personally seen or read whatever this Worm is, but I've been to the internet and I've read some frankly stupid things that came from whatever this media is. What I know is that there is a chick that controls a lot of bugs, a girl that buffs and controls dogs, a woman that apparently can guess things from very little amounts of details and there's a guy that turns into a dragon or similar-looking lizard that breathes fire. And these shards are like parts of one big eldritch-like being and they seek conflict.

But one thing I know, and what brought me to pay so much attention to this one power: There is a very powerful biokinetic in this work. For many days I fantasized about being a biokinetic myself or having the power to heal others or myself.

My father might have been alive for longer and... my mother might have suffered way less.

Now that I can have the power to heal, I want it. My countenance must have changed, since when I looked at Lisa to ask more about the details of this power, she was ready to answer.