7 Chapter 7: Harlem Shake
(Author's note)
Hey guys!
Good news, I'm back with Marvelous Forge's new chapter! I am also officially accepted into my university!
Don't forget to check my other fanfics on Webnovel and AO3.
Also, don't forget to leave comments and tell me what you think.
Peace!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(May 1st, 2011)
"Huff… Huff… Haa."
I had just returned home from my morning workout. Sonia had already gone to work and today was Sunday. I couldn't wait for it to come since the past five days were weird and exhausting. For one, ever since I knocked Flash out in that fight, the other teens' demeanour changed around me. It was like I was not a social outcast anymore. The bullies backed off and Flash settled into simply glaring at me every time we met.
However, I can be petty. Therefore, every time we met, I would simply rub my chin in a subtle way which seem to provoke him quite easily. Unfortunately, for him, he couldn't do anything as his reputation had taken quite a dive due to the fact he had been knocked out by the fat Indian kid.
Some of the teens even started talking to me when I never even knew their names. Even after recovering more of my memories, I had no recollection of ever interacting with them. My only saving grace was Peter who seemed more animated when talking to me. He also shared his passion for science.
In the end, we were simply two socially awkward teenagers who became friends due to similar circumstances. Not that I mind, I kinda like him. He reminded me of the few friends I had in my old life.
All this because some idiot took things too far. At least, it was over…
I jinxed it, didn't I?
*Sigh*
Never mind, I went up to the bathroom and removed my shirt. I looked at my half-naked self in the mirror to see my progress. I could feel that some of the fat had been burnt off, but there didn't seem much of a difference. I stepped on a scale and waited for a moment.
*Beep*
[288.65 lb]
I smiled at the number. It's been two weeks since I started working out like crazy. I started at 308lb and now I am at 288lb. I've lost around 20 pounds in two weeks!
Realistically, this was impossible. No normal human can lose that many pounds without some sort of health complications.
Good thing I'm not normal, heh?
Thanks to chakra, I was able to work out longer and more efficiently while burning off more fat. I stepped off the weight and took a photo of myself using my phone to record this event. In my previous life, I had seen videos of people taking pictures of themselves during their weight loss journey and making a video out of it. I figured I could do the same.
Why, you ask? My answer is why not.
It would be satisfying to completely rebuild this body. That is unless Fate or the Celestial Forge had other plans.
Speaking of which, ever since it moved during my fight with Flash, I hadn't felt anything from it. I was kinda getting worried. Did it disappear or something?
No.
I can still feel it in me. The Celestial Forge was still there. The constellation was still lazily rotating around my astral form, but there has been no sign of movement.
I decided to let go of it for now and stepped into the shower and relax.
Half an hour later, I stepped out of the shower and dried myself before heading to my room and putting on some clothes.
I then headed down to the kitchen, grab some breakfast and turned on the TV. The news still talked about the fight between Iron Man and Vanko with some highlights. It always amazed me how Tony Stark's suit seemed to transform from a suitcase into full-on body armour.
Now that I had the Celestial Forge and Counter Technology, I hoped I could study it one day. Especially, his arc reactor. That little trinket could solve one of my Workshop's major problems: the lack of a power source.
Since the Workshop didn't come with a power source, I needed to bring an extension that would connect the plug in my room to my Workshop in order to get electricity.
*Sigh*
As I watched the TV, I thought about what I was about to do today.
Being a hero.
In the last five days, I scrounged up what money I could get and bought some gloves, shin guards, a black hoodie, and a mask that covered my mouth and nose. At this point, my funds were running out fast. I barely had less than thirty dollars left. Thankfully, my sister didn't see my purchases otherwise she would start getting weird ideas.
Unfortunately, I didn't get any fashion or clothing perk, therefore my costume was going to be a pretty basic one. But I was not worried for now, I will find a way to get a better suit. Probably even an armoured one.
Finishing my breakfast, I washed the dishes and went up to my bedroom and into my personal dimension before performing a familiar hand sign.
Four clones appeared.
Pointing at the first one,
"Find a place where we can easily get resources like junkyards and such. Also, upload a map of New York and check for its crime stats."
The clone nodded and booted up the laptop and simply searched the news and articles.
By the way, one thing I noticed about my laptop is that it ran smoother, and the computer now says that there is now 96 hours of battery life left which meant my little experiment worked and my laptop could last longer than it should be possible.
I turned to the other clones,
"Work on chakra control. I want us to master wall walking and water walking"
"How are we supposed to practice water walking when we have no water? And it's not like we can go outside to practice unless we want someone to see us and start worshipping us as the second coming of Jesus," one of the clones asked.
"I don't know. Go to the bathroom and fill the bathtub with water."
The clone who spoke shrugged and began to walk away,
"If Sonia asks about the water bill, I'm blaming you."
I couldn't help, but facepalm,
"Of course, you're going to blame me. You are me!"
The other clone sighed, and they both walked away to train. Shaking my head, I turned to the last clone and gave him my phone,
"I want you to dismantle and rebuild the phone so that Efficient Electricity perk can be applied to it.
"Sure thing, boss," he said and went to the workshop to work on my phone.
With Counter Technology, I wasn't worried that he would mess the phone up since I can basically learn how the phone is made and how it works while dismantling it thanks to that perk.
I still couldn't believe that I could now actually build something with my own two hands. I'm not going to lie, I used to be jealous of those who were able to actually create something on their own. It must've been amazing being able to make a difference.
And now I have the same gift and I'm not going to waste it. Of course, since I'm in the world of Marvel, making a difference can spell more trouble than necessary.
Now that I think about it, the attack on the Stark Expo hasn't happened yet, didn't it? Something in me tells me I should probably be prepared for that. Since our class will be attending the Expo in two days, I should be prepared for the attack. Since it will be an attack using the drone, I should find a way to disable them, shouldn't I?
EMPs should probably work.
The problem?
I don't know how to build a device capable of emitting an electromagnetic pulse. I probably have the resource in the Workshop thanks to its supplies, but I don't know how it is made exactly.
I should probably get to researching since Counter Technology will help with that. And, since my clone is using my laptop, I should head to the library. I could've used the home computer, but I wanted to get some fresh air too.
An hour and a half later, after the clone had finished dismantling the phone and rebuilding it, I popped the clone and all his memories returned to me including his newfound knowledge on how to build phones.
I am now able to build phones from scratch thanks to the preternatural instincts of Counter Technology. I was also able to build a device to disable said phones which could probably be useful at a later date.
After putting my socks on and my jacket, I headed for the library where I would borrow some books and use the computer. Of course, I wouldn't research how to build on EMP since it's probably illegal and I would end up on some sort of watchlist.
What a dumb way to fuck my life.
No, I would increase my knowledge of anything electricity and circuit related, and I would go from there.
And so, I grabbed my bag and left the house. I took a bus and a subway and headed for the library in the heart of New York. I could've gone to my local library, but I also wanted to take this opportunity to look around the setting where a lot of Marvel stories happen.
[***]
"I'm home!"
I locked the door behind me and took off my shoes. I checked the time.
[4:30 PM]
Man, I was there the whole day, huh? At least, I can confidently say, that I know my shit for now. Thanks to enhanced learning, studying has never been so easy.
It was an odd feeling.
I also took the time to walk around New York. I visited Times Square, Manhattan and even Chinatown.
Speaking of which, I found something I didn't think I would find.
Chikara Dojo.
That's right. The very same dojo found in the series Iron Fist and the recruiting hub for the fucking Hand!
As soon as I saw it, I turned around and walked away as fast as I could. I was one hundred percent sure I couldn't deal with some immortal ninjas for now. I wasn't physically in shape to deal with them.
To be honest, I really wanted to buy some takeout for Sonia, unfortunately, she would most likely scold me for wasting money when we had food at home.
So, I just bought some for myself since I didn't eat any lunch.
Heh.
Seeing that dojo reminded me of what other places there were from Marvel. And so, I visited the Baxter Building and home of the fantastic four. They were already famous around the world. Unfortunately, I couldn't tell which itineration of Fantastic Four they were. However, I can tell they were young. For example, Johnny Storm aka The Human Torch was my age which was freakishly young to be a superhero.
Not that I can say anything as that would make me a hypocrite.
I returned to my room and saw that my clones were still at work.
"What's up, guys?" I called.
Inside the workshop, the clones working on chakra control and the one working on the laptop stopped whatever they were doing.
"Oh, you're back," one of them said.
"Yeah. As you can see." I replied sarcastically.
I don't know why, but being sarcastic to my own selves seems kind of fulfilling.
"Then our work here is done." the third clone said, and they all popped themselves.
Soon their memories rushed into my mind, and I shifted through them to see what happened during my absence.
At that moment, the Celestial Forge, after five days of inactivity, finally moved. The energy reached out for the Domain: Personal Reality constellation and latched on to a mid-sized star. As soon as the energy touched the star, the entire workshop began to rumble as if an earthquake had struck.
BRRRRRRR
"What the fuck!"
I ran out of the Workshop and arrived in the Entrance Hall where I saw a new door. I walked up to the door and opened it and saw what the Celestial had given me.
A garage.
It was a godamn garage for all of my future vehicles and that didn't only include land vehicles, but also private planes and such. It was something straight out of a Fast and Furious movie.
I closed the door and looked around the garage. I could see many car lifts, parking spots, etc. There was even a hangar door for cars and planes and even boats. There was also a workshop with tools on the corner of the wall for anything mechanically related.
According to the Celestial Forge, any garage door can be used to open my garage door. I would simply need my Access Key to open a door to my personal dimension just like when I use any normal door for my workshop. If I had a pond or a body of water nearby, this perk would install a marina for any of my boats.
I entered the garage and walked around in the vast area. According to the perk, I could place 40 vehicles which was a lot.
I couldn't help but giggle. It was every man's dream to own the best cars they could find. But I wasn't going to do that. I was going to build them. I'm going to build custom-made vehicles that would put the likes of Bugatti to shame.
That is when I learned how to actually build a car. It all boils down to learning how to make things, that is unless the Celestial Forge grants me some knowledge itself. I walked back to the Entrance Hall and into my room, before closing it. At that moment, the main door opened, and I heard my sister's voice.
"Jay! I'm home!"
I walked down the stairs and saw my sister in her work uniform.
"Welcome back, Sonia. How was your day?"
"It was great!" she replied while beaming in joy.
Raising an eyebrow, I couldn't help but ask,
"Great? What do you mean?"
Sonia reached into her purse and pulled out two pieces of paper.
"Guess what those are?"
I looked at what she was holding but couldn't see what they were exactly.
"What are those?"
"Tickets! Tickets to a movie theatre!"
I was surprised. We rarely go out to the movies. According to my memories, the last time we went out to watch a movie was almost a year ago. We usually wait for it to come out on HD on those pirated websites
My sister and I love watching movies. It was a hobby we both shared. Therefore, when we had time, we would watch a movie together almost every Sunday when it was her day off. We would prepare food and drinks and sit in front of the TV after connecting to my laptop.
So, it was a surprise that my sister got us movie tickets.
"What's the occasion?"
"As she took her shoes off, my sister spoke,
"One of my coworkers had to cancel her plans. Since she had two tickets, she didn't know what to do, she gave them to me."
"For free?" I asked.
"Yep."
"Cool! So, what's the movie?"
"Kung Fu Panda 2. The sequel to the first Kung Pu Panda."
"Ooh. I loved that movie. Nice!" I said with a fist pump.
I'm not going to lie, I really did like the first Kung Fu Panda. Actually, I loved the whole trilogy that I watched in my past life.
"So, when is it?" I ask.
"It's today actually. At 7:30 PM"
I looked at my phone.
[4:47 PM]
"It's basically in two hours"
"That's right! So, get changed. I'll also get changed and we're going to buy some snacks that we'll sneak in."
"Why so early? We still have more than two hours left."
"That's because the theatre is in Harlem, and we'll have to take public transportation. Who knows if we're going to have parking space over there? So, get ready. We're leaving in ten."
Jokingly I made a military salute,
"Sir, yes, sir!"
"Shut up."
I laughed and went to my room before changing into going-out clothes.
Soon, we were ready. I wore some black joggers and a grey shirt along with my jacket and a backpack. My sister wore some jeans and a black shirt and her jacket.
"Let's go, shall we?" she asked.
"Sure!"
We left the house and took a train to Harlem. After almost an hour and a half, we finally reached Harlem with 30 minutes to spare. Unfortunately, we didn't have time to get some snacks, so we were going to buy some at the theatre. I forgot how cheap things used to be compared to 2023.
As soon as we entered the theatre, we got the snacks and waited in line for our seats. At 7:30, the movie started.
[***]
Even if I was watching this movie again and I knew the end of it, I couldn't help, but enjoy it from the beginning until the end. Especially, the part where Po accepts his past and achieved inner peace enabling him to reflect the cannon balls.
Now that I think about it, can I do something like that? I mean, I have chakra and it had allowed the shinobis of Naruto to do some more impressive feats.
Soon the movie ended, and everyone started walking out of the theatre.
"How was the movie?" I asked.
Sonia turned to me excited,
"It was amazing! The animation was great, and I really like Lord Shen as a villain. The voice acting was also great."
"Yeah?"
"Yes!"
I listened to my sister talking about the movie like some amateur movie critic. But I was not going to stop her. It was nice to see her happy, especially when our situation was like that.
"And did you see when Po di-"
*BOOOOMM*
I whipped my head toward the explosion. At the end of the block, something exploded, and everyone began to scream and run.
*KABOOOM*
Another explosion, this time closer.
"Watch out!" someone in the crowd shouted.
I whipped my head and saw something falling from the sky and my legs froze.
'Move! Move you son of a bitch!'
The object was getting larger and larger until I finally found the strength to move lest I die from getting crushed. I turned to my sister who was still frozen.
"Sonia!"
I grabbed her and we jumped out of the way just in time for the object to land and cause a crater
*BOOM* *CRASH*
"WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK!?" I shouted in shock.
What the hell am I even looking at!?
The flying object was actually a piece of a car broken in half! What the hell is going on!? Was it a terrorist attack? A freak accident? Or just a nightmare
I didn't wait for an answer as I grabbed my sister.
"Move! We have to move, Sonia!" I shouted at her.
That seemed to snap her out of it and she grabbed my arms tightly.
"W-What's going on, Jay?" she stuttered.
I'd never seen such an expression on her face, but it was understandable considering the insane situation happening right now.
"I don't know and I'm not waiting to find out."
I flinched again when another explosion and broken glass was heard. However, as we ran, I heard something that sent chills down my spine and almost froze me in place.
"GRRAAAAAAHHHHH!"
The entire place seemed to tremble after that roar.
I slowly turned toward the noise and the first thing I saw was hell on earth. Harlem was burning with the streets destroyed. Cars were overturned and everyone was panicking while running away.
But that's when I saw it.
'Oh my god.'
It was twenty feet of disgustingly bulging muscle. It towered over the people and had bony protrusions all over its body. It was completely naked except for some torn shorts stretched way past its limit. It was an-
"Abomination." I could help mutter.
I knew the name of that thing. I knew what that thing was. Hell, I watched that thing rampage on a screen. Seeing it in real life was not fun. It was not fun at all. It was horrifying.
"Help! Please Help! I'm stuck!"
I snapped my head toward the cries and saw a woman trapped underneath a pile of rubble. She was crying for help, but the people around were ignoring her out of fear. I could see blood flowing down from her head as she weakly tried to push the rubble that seemed like it could collapse at any moment.
I could hear my heartbeat so loud, the only thing stopping it from leaping out of my body were my ribs. Time seemed to slow down as everything seemed to quiet down.
I saw the woman barely holding on for her life. I could see she was slowly losing strength due to the weight of the crushing mass.
W... What was I doing? Running away? The guy who tells himself he was going to be a hero? The guy who said he was going to improve the world? Where did he go?
Right now, I was simply a guy running away at the first sight of danger. Is this who I want to be?
Fuck it. Fuck it! Fuck it! Fuck it! Fuck it all.
'I had to help.'
Without even thinking, I was about to help her when I felt my hand being grabbed. Turning around I saw my sister pulling me as she was shaking like a leaf.
She was terrified. I can see the tears spilling out of her eyes.
"What are you doing!? We have to run!" my sister yelled.
"She's going to die!" I shouted back.
I didn't have time to feel guilty about yelling at my sister as the adrenaline pumping inside of me seemed to make that non-priority. It was then Sonia finally saw what I was talking about, and her eyes widened at the sight.
"Oh god," she whispered.
"Come on!" I told her and I ran toward the debris.
I had to act fast before the Abomination made things worse.
My sister followed me, and we quickly began to remove the debris.
The woman, seeing us, wept in joy,
"Thank you. Thank you!"
"Don't worry. We're going to get you out of here!" I told her.
"Hnnng!" my sister groaned as she used all her strength to remove another piece of concrete.
Seeing us, others also came to help us. I even used chakra to help remove some debris to heavy for some without arousing suspicions. Even if I wanted to help, I didn't have to do it at the expense of my life.
After removing most of the debris, there was only one piece of concrete left that pinning the woman's legs.
I and some other guys grabbed the base of the concrete piece and I shouted.
"On three! One! Two! THREE!"
As soon as I said three, we all groaned while picking up the concrete. It took all of our effort to pick it up. I even had to use chakra. But when we did, Sonia pulled the woman away.
"We have to go!" she shouted.
I nodded and just as we were about to go away, I heard another explosion and gunshots and I saw the military had already started getting involved.
I finally remembered the scene. It was the final fight between the Hulk and Abomination in the movie Incredible Hulk.
At that moment, the Celestial Forge chose the perfect moment to grant me a new perk. I was now able to open a portal using only my mind. I could create a portal leading me into my Personal Reality. I didn't need to use my Access Key on a random door anywhere. I would jump up and down out of joy if it were any other situation. Unfortunately, I was in the middle of a fucking disaster and trying not to die.
At that moment, I heard something crash right in front of us creating a cloud of dust.
'Now's my chance!'
I had to do something to stop this before any more tragedy happens. I was a hundred percent sure many people died due to Emile Blonsky's rampage and his fight with Hulk, and I didn't want my sister to be a part of it. My mother was already three feet under and I'm not going to have my sister follow her.
I took advantage of the huge dust cloud created by the explosion and created a clone that would follow my sister without anyone seeing me. I then went in the other direction.
Tapping my pockets, I had a sudden realization.
"Oh, you've got to be fucking kidding me!?"
I forgot to bring my talismans. And I didn't have anything to hide my identity.
'What to do? What to do?'
I looked around for a solution until my eyes caught a clothing store with the windows smashed in.
That'll work.
I sprinted inside and saw it was mostly empty as everyone evacuated. I quickly swiped some black pants, a black hoodie, a ski mask and goggles large enough to fit my glasses without stopping my movements. I ran to the changing rooms where the cameras wouldn't see me and changed in record time. I even took some thin gloves that would cover my hands so that I wouldn't leave fingerprints all over the place just in case.
Paranoia for the win!
I now looked like either a fat robber or an extra in a rap music video.
At that moment, I heard a loud crash and a familiar-sounding roar.
"The Hulk," I whispered.
I quickly got out of the store and ran up the wall like a shinobi. Once I reached the roof, I looked at the source of the roar and saw the Abomination and the Hulk facing each other. The horrifying creature had a man in his hand which he then threw them away. I had to divert my eyes so as not to see the man's head crash into a building. I didn't know if he was alive or not. I didn't want to find out.
The entire city was on fire. I saw the loud car sirens as well as the military cluttering the street. The bullets bounced harmlessly off Blonsky's body. At that moment, the Hulk roared,
"ROAAAAAARRRRRR"
As if that was the signal, Blonsky began to walk toward the Hulk, the latter did the same as he ripped the tattered remains of his shirt. The walk turned into a stomping run. The run then turned into a sprint.
And before long, they clashed with each other. The collision was so intense, it created a shockwave that shattered all the remaining windows in the area.
However, Blonsky won out and the Hulk was sent back flying. The hulk landed on the ground not before tumbling back and regaining his footing. I couldn't help but cringe at the sight of him recovering.
It was not a pretty clash.
The Abomination, however, was fine and was catching up to the green creature. The Hulk, in response, tore a police car in half and wore the pieces like boxing gloves before starting to wail at him. Punch after punch until Blonsky was buried in the asphalt and his makeshift gloves were destroyed. The mutated soldier then said something before kicking the Hulk onto a building.
"Well, that's my cue."
I was nervous. I was terrified. But a small part of me was excited. Even though, I didn't start my hero career on my own terms.
As of now, I knew I couldn't beat Blonsky. The guy was too tough. And I wasn't fast enough to incapacitate him. My only arsenal is my chakra which I am barely scratching the surface and my Rune Magic which took time to cast.
Before Blonsky could get up and chase the Hulk, I already wrote two runes. The symbols combined and formed a basketball-sized fireball that shot toward the monster. The latter only had the time to see the fireball materialize out of thin air and smash toward him.
"WHA-" *BOOM*
Before he could utter a word, The fireball slammed into his face.
"Bullseye!"
Unfortunately, the fireball only managed to stagger him backways. Once the smoke dissipated, the Abomination looked pissed as it turned to me.
'Hehe, I'm in danger.'
"ROOOAAARRR!"
It shouted and launched itself towards me.
"Ohshitoshitoshit!" I kept muttering as I started running away. I infused chakra into my legs and leapt onto the next building. The feeling of weightlessness was unreal as I landed on the next building clumsily. I quickly picked myself up and continued to run and leap with the Abomination right behind me as I tried to lead him away from the crowd.
I was about to jump on the fourth building when I felt a shadow over me. Looking up, I saw the godamn creature jump over me and land right behind me knocking me off balance.
"Fuck!"
I turned around and found myself facing the grotesque monstrosity who let out a huge roar.
" WhO ArE YoU, MaGgOT?" Blonsky asked with his distorted voice.
"You're mom!"
'The hell? That's what you come up with man? Of all the things you could say, that's what you come up with?'
I don't know what came over me. In my defence, my mind was running on adrenaline and on panic.
Before he could answer, I drew two Force runes which I then combined it. What resulted was a pure wave of force that knocked him back to where he came from, right in the path of the recovering Hulk.
The Abomination flew and Hulk caught him, and they began to fight each other. I tried to catch my breath. However, at that moment, Blonsky saw the helicopter in the sky, which was raining down bullets at him, and jumped. He caught one of the landing skids of the helicopter and I could hear the screams inside of the vehicles.
I looked at the helicopter and saw that it was the one where Betty Ross and her father, General Ross, were in.
"Oh, you've got to be kidding me."
I began to run towards them, but the Hulk jumped and caught him. This causes the helicopter to lose control. I began to run toward the out-of-control vehicle. After rotating multiple times, they crash-landed on an empty street. The crash threw the Hulk away. As he tried to get up and help the people in the helicopter, the Abomination jumped on him, and their fight resumed. At one point, I saw Blonsky keep the Hulk pinned to the wall while the latter tried to escape in order to help the humans in the burning wreckage.
I noticed the chopper's blades sparking while the gas tank leaked gas. There was also fire everywhere.
Well, that was a recipe for a disaster.
I quickly ran toward the chopper and hopped inside.
"Who the hell are you!?" one of the soldiers shouted as he brandished a gun at me.
"That's not important right now. Just know I'm here to help."
They all scrambled away as they tried to get themselves out. I heard a whooshing sound and saw that the gas had caught fire, and it was only a matter of seconds before reaching the tank.
I quickly hopped out of the helicopter all the while drawing Force, Blast, and Air in the air. The runes combined and a veritable shockwave ensued that seemed to disperse all the fires that threatened the helicopter. However, it was still sparking, and the chance of an explosion was still there.
I turned around and created four clones.
"What the hell!?" shouted General Ross when he saw four identical copies of me.
"You can gasp later; we have to get out now!"
To be honest, I didn't like the guy much. But I was not so much of a dick that I would let him die just because I didn't like him.
"Let's get out of here."
My clones grabbed the soldiers who were injured and unconscious one by one without worsening their injuries while I kept an eye on the fight between the green monsters. However, seeing my rescue of the humans, the Hulk fought with newfound vigour due to not having to worry anymore about Betty and the others. Unfortunately, the Abomination was still as strong as ever
"Thank you for helping us."
Speak of the devil and here she comes.
"No problem, but we have to get out of here. It's too dangerous." I told her.
"But you have to help him! He's not going to last long like that"
"Watch out!" someone shouted.
I turned around and saw Blonsky had gotten hold of a chain and weight and smashed the Hulk's head with it. The latter fell to the ground and struggled to get up!
Fuck. Is it really going to change from the movie's end?
I didn't want to take any chances.
"Please help him!" Betty cried out to me.
At this point, I was the only one who could do anything. I couldn't even remember the movie much since it's been so long, so I wasn't going to rely on some script.
"No! Stop!" I turned to see General Ross shouting to the Abomination holding up his chains.
The latter then started swinging it in a circle to gain momentum while the Hulk struggled to get up.
At that moment, I knew. If he finishes his swing, we`re going to die.
I had to do something. I crouched down and began drawing the glowing turquoise runes on the ground.
"What are you doing!? And what are those!?" Betty asked/cried in fear.
Not that I blamed her, I was also terrified, but it was hidden behind my mask and goggles, but I needed to do this as runes had a stronger effect when they had a support or are used on something.
Fuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuck!
I was cursing internally as my finger scraped the ground as I continued to write the runes.
The Abomination bellowed before swinging the chains and the weights descended upon us.
At that moment, I finished writing the last rune and a translucent blue dome surrounded us eliciting shouts from the people behind me right before the weights and chains fell upon us.
*BAM*
The collision was so strong it caused a shockwave.
*Crack*
My eyes widened when I saw my shield had cracks at the point of impact.
How strong was the force to cause my magic shield to crack like that?
While the Abomination recovered, the Hulk jumped up with a roar and smashed the ground, this caused the ground to crack and split making his enemy fall into one of the cracks and lose his makeshift weapons.
Meanwhile, the Celestial Forge moved and missed the Time constellation and I had to get Blonsky away from here.
I only had one option.
I pushed chakra into my legs and ran up to Blonsky while drawing two runes onto my left arm: Force and Multiply.
The runes glowed and I could feel the mana convert into kinetic energy before wrapping around my arm. However, I could feel the strain on my left arm. I don't think I could do this a second time unless I want to shred my arms due to all the compressed force. Even now, my sleeve was ripping apart from all the trapped kinetic energy.
I could almost feel myself blitz toward the towering monster and as soon as he freed his legs, my fist buried in its stomach.
Blonsky`s eyes bulged as all the trapped kinetic energy detonated into his stomach and he flew back. Unfortunately, the knockback was strong enough to send me flying. My arms throbbed and stung, and I think I broke something.
I was so high on adrenaline I could barely feel the broken bone and shredded muscles.
Why the hell did I do something like that?
My mana reserves are low right now. I think I can only perform one or two spells. I popped my clones, and I felt some chakra and mana return returning my mana reserves to half full. I cast a healing spell on myself, and my left arm was glowing green as the injuries were slowly healing.
I then turned to the battle and so the Hulk had gotten hold of the Abomination's chains and wrapped it around his neck before choking him. The latter struggled against the Hulk, but he was too strong.
Soon I could see the strength leave the Abomination as he couldn't get any air and, before long, fell unconscious and dropped to the ground.
Silence reigned over the area before being interrupted by the Hulk letting out a world-shattering roar signalling the end of the battle.
"ROOOAAAAAAARRRRR!"
Suddenly, police officers and soldiers surrounded the place with their guns drawn ready to fire at any second. I looked at my left arm and saw that it was still healing. It would still take ten minutes due to it being a low-level healing spell that I created when making the talismans. However, I was exhausted.
I could barely catch my breath. Two weeks of training was not enough to get back into shape. I was low on mana and chakra.
Seeing the people surrounding him, the Hulk let out a growl of wariness, but it didn't matter to Betty. The woman walked up to the big guy.
"Stand down. Stand down." General Ross said to everyone.
The woman slowly walked up to the Hulk and whispered,
"It's going to be okay Bruce," she said.
The Hulk looked at her and I could see the tenderness in his movements.
"Betty," he answered as he slowly wiped a tear off her face
It would have been touching if it weren't for the fact we were in the middle of a burning city surrounded by soldiers and cops.
At that moment, a helicopter shone a spotlight on him. The green creature growled before leaping on the destroyed helicopter. He turned to Betty who continued to gaze at him. He then turned to me.
I simply nodded which he reciprocated before jumping away until we couldn't see him anymore.
Oh my god, the Hulk acknowledged me!
It was only us remaining and everyone's attention turned to me. I checked my arm and there were only around five minutes left of healing.
I hear footsteps and turned to see General Ross walk up to me.
"What's your name, son?" he asked.
It was my first time talking to a military man and I can say the charisma of this guy was really high. He had this authoritarian air around him.
"The name's Arcanum," I replied.
I had days to brainstorm on what sort of name I would pick and Arcanum was the one I chose. According to Google, Arcanum was Latin for secrets or mysteries. It also meshed well with my situation and the Celestial Forge.
I like the name.
"Arcanum, eh? What kind of name is that?"
I smirked behind the mask,
"It is what is."
"I saw whatever you did. You one of those mutants? No normal human can do that."
I shrugged,
"You're free to think what you want."
Something in my answer must've amused him because he let out a snort. He turned to one of the soldiers before motioning to the Abomination,
"Secure him before he wakes up."
He then turned to me,
"I believe we owe you a debt. Things would have been much worse if you hadn't helped us," the man said.
"I just did what I had to do."
The man nodded,
"You're right. I'll look forward to what you'll do next."
I raised an eyebrow,
"What makes you say that?" I asked.
The man looked at me,
"Well, I have a feeling this won't be the last time we'll be seeing you." He said as he turned his head.
I looked at where he was looking and saw we had gathered a crowd of onlookers. Some had their phones out and were recording it.
I couldn't help, but smirk.
"And I have a feeling you're right."
The man turned back to me,
"If you need anything, just know I will help you, Arcanum."
I blinked in surprise. That sentence was not one I was expecting from him. I simply nodded and ran up the building and leapt away. Turning around I saw no one was following except for the cameras. Ross must've stopped anyone from following me.
Once I was out of everyone's sight, I quickly went to the store where I had left my clothes. I then created three clones before changing.
"You know what to do."
They all nodded before leaving the building in three opposite directions. Since there was no distance limit between me and my clones, I simply sent them running away in order to fool any observers while I changed clothes. At this point, my arm had healed and it wasn't glowing anymore. I flexed it a little to check and was glad it was all working properly.
At that moment, I felt a rush of memory and saw that my sister had arrived home with my clone. She then fell asleep out of exhaustion. Once the clone was sure she was knocked out, he popped himself.
I was so relieved since I didn't have any news from her. I quickly left Harlem before anyone saw me and boarded the train back home.
It was such an exhausting day.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Perks gained:
-Garage (Personal Reality) (200 WP)
A garage for you to place into your vehicles, automatically adjusting to meet with their requirements. Any sort of land, air, or space based personal vehicles (up to the size of 12 meters long, 6 meters wide, and 4 meters tall). The Garage has room for up to 40 such vehicles, with every increase in your Starting Size also increasing the number of slots by a factor of 5. The Garage comes with its own entry room and a set of adaptors which can turn garage doors (even non-automatic ones) into Personal Reality Portals. These adaptors respond to the presence of a Key Holder and open the way into the parking area. If you also have the Pond, this installs a Marina which comes with special adaptors for boat slots. Boat slots do not worry about the draft or masts of the boats you part in them, only the distance from the waterline to the top of the primary hull. Each size increase of the total Personal Reality also increases the maximum size of each vehicle slot by a factor of 5 (60x30x20, 300x150x100, 1500x750x500, etc.).
-Free Portal (Personal Reality) (100 WP)
This Portal Upgrade removes the limitation on a portal having to be opened on a flat surface... or on any surface at all. It also allows you to open the portals to any part of your Personal Reality simply by picturing where you want the portal to open. Without the Control Rod, the portals must be opened within 2 meters of you.
Points banked: 100
