6 6

'.....'= Thoughts

"....."= Conversations

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John observed his body and noticed that although his physical strength had increased, his appearance remained the same and had not changed at all. He still had the same lean muscular body as before.

During the fight, John hadn't used his weapon because it was too heavy for him to wield. But now, with his increased strength, there would be no problem for him to use it.

"What about them?" John asked as he pointed towards the researchers and soldiers.

Tony walked up to these people and after observing them, he concluded, "They are dead."

'Dead? Hmm, they were hit by the power of the fruit at point blank range after all. The shockwaves from the fruit must have destroyed them from the inside out. In the end, they are just normal humans,' John pondered.

"There's no need for you to feel guilty, John. These people are heinous criminals. They have killed countless individuals and even conducted horrifying human experiments, kidnapping innocent children. By eliminating them, you have actually saved many lives," Tony reassured John, emphasizing that he shouldn't blame himself for the deaths of these criminals.

Confused, John thought, 'Huh? What is he trying to say? I don't feel guilty at all.'

"I understand," John replied, putting on a serious expression and nodding in agreement with Tony's words, concealing his true emotions.

"Did you leave anyone alive?" John inquired.

"I tried to, but they ended up taking their own lives," Tony explained. "By the way, about earlier, I mean the strength you used to defeat those individuals, when did you discover it? You don't have to worry about your abilities. You're not alone; there are a few others like you who have awakened different powers," he assured.

"What?" John asked, surprised. He had no idea that mutants existed in this world.

"Yeah, there's even a school for people with special abilities. The teachers and the founder of the school also have special abilities. These people are usually referred to as mutants. Of course, this information is top secret and not accessible to the general public," Tony answered.

"Hmm, for now, I don't think I want to go there. Maybe in a few months? How about we keep this between us?" John suggested.

He wasn't ready to go to Xavier's school without knowing the whole situation. He had no idea which version of Professor was present in this world.

Therefore, going there without enough information and strength would be risky, and John decided against it.

'I should increase the proficiency in all my abilities first, before paying a visit to them. Also technically I am not a mutant like them as my powers were granted to me by the system. So maybe Xavier won't be able to sense me and won't come here to invite me to join his school,' John pondered.

"I guess I can keep a secret," Tony answered. "Only if you tell me the reason for which you drank the serum. Did you know what it did?" Tony asked.

John knew that this question would definitely arise so he had already prepared a story for it.

"Well, I had known about it for a few months. It was the month of March, and my parents, who had come home from their company, seemed to be quite happy. That day, they drank a lot. It was the first time that I had seen them so exhilarated. Curious as I was, I kept pestering my parents about the reason for such joy. Despite my stubborn attitude, they finally told me some of the details. They said that they were so close to successfully recreating a serum that could make a person surpass the limits of humans. Although I didn't believe what they said at that time, as they were quite drunk in the first place, so I thought they were just trying to fool me and decided to let the matter go," John replied. "But who would have thought that all this was true," he further continued.

Tony had no choice but to believe what John had said. He couldn't confirm whether it was true, as his parents were already dead. Furthermore, Tony was already kidnapped under the orders of Obadiah Stane by the time John's parents died.

"Been quite a rough day for you, kid," Tony said while patting his shoulder.

"It definitely was. Anyways, why aren't we leaving?" John asked, as there was nothing left for him to do.

"No, SHIELD is coming, and they informed me to stay here with you," Tony answered.

He explained to John what kind of organization SHIELD was, along with its aims and objectives. Tony also advised John not to trust this organization too much, as it harbored a lot of secrets.

John just nodded his head at Tony's explanation. From watching the movies John knew more information than Tony.

"Don't worry though, I haven't told them anything about the serum, neither the mutant power. It's all up to you," Tony said.

John nodded his head and suggested that they would wait for SHIELD in the living room till he decides what to do.

Sitting on the sofa, John pondered what to choose. He had two paths in front of him; the first one was to hide that he had used the serum on himself and blame it on the dead researchers, that the serum was destroyed by them.

However John knew that this wasn't plausible as SHIELD was not some eight year old kid who he was trying to fool. They would definitely suspect him or Tony of having the serum. And HYDRA would definitely do its best to acquire that serum from him or Tony. And targeting an 18 year old kid first seems a better option than targeting a famous genius with a suit.

This would complicate things more and if HYDRA tried to kidnap him again, he would not just sit back and tolerate it, which would ultimately reveal the fact that he had used the Super Soldier Serum.

John now focused on the second path.

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