[Two hours later]
Still unconscious, I woke up to banging on the cell, seeing the damn guard who had left my whole body battered throwing what seemed to be my food for the day? Although calling it food seemed generous—it looked more like vomit. I think calling it vomit would be a compliment to this disgusting stuff. Remaining vigilant in a corner and waiting for the guard to leave, I decided to observe my surroundings more carefully, wondering how the hell I went from my bed to here.
Do I feel... smaller? That's what I thought, and the next moment I exclaimed, "NO WAY!" only to be reprimanded with a loud bang on the cell bars by another guard as a warning. After calming down, I touched my face in confusion, realizing there was an abysmal difference compared to my old one. "I even look a bit better," I whispered. After getting somewhat used to this new body, I realized I no longer had scars or open wounds left by those bastards yesterday. Reflecting for a long time on everything that has happened since I woke up in this place, I am more than convinced that I've arrived in the Marvel Universe. Most would ask why I reached such a narrow judgment. Well, the reasons are that I have a damn tight collar around my neck, but what convinced me the most was that bastard calling me a "mutant" while beating me. Assuming that discrimination against mutants has always been high in Marvel, I resigned myself.
In short, I've transmigrated into a poor mutant in an unknown base. Apparently, this person died due to the inhumane treatment he was subjected to, but that only makes it discouraging because if I don't do something, the same fate awaits me. Damn it.
After checking my surroundings, I noticed there were more mutants like me in other cells. Most of them looked incredibly weird with pieces of crystal in their arms. I even saw some whose faces were made of rock. I felt grateful once again for not having any deformities, but that led me to wonder what my superpower was, you know.
At first, I thought it was regeneration because of how I woke up without wounds today. I even thought it was as powerful as Deadpool's regeneration since I healed last night even with this collar suppressing my X-gene. But I tested it by cutting myself a little with a sharp edge, and it heals at the same rate as an average person, so it's still a mystery. After trying different things without drawing too much attention from the guards—like running, jumping, even yelling "EXCALIBURRR!!!", which only made the guard look at me like I had some mental problem [AHEM]—most of the time, don't transmigrators usually have cheats? Where the hell is mine?
I even took a plastic fork that came with the disgusting food and wielded it like an artifact, but nothing worked. Then came the despair of realizing I might stay here forever. Angry, I punched the damn wall with immense fury because I had never felt so powerless before. But as I let my anger boil over in my head...
[Ding!]
[System successfully linked.]
After seeing a notification on the left side of my vision, I was shocked for a few moments, then almost jumped with overflowing excitement—a thing I didn't do for obvious reasons. When I saw that I had some sort of system, I instinctively knew what to say in my mind: [Open status]. A display appeared in front of me:
[world destroyer System]
[Name: Ritzer
[General Power: ☆ 1 Star
[Fragment of Sin: 0
[Abilities: > [Sinful Herald X] (Passive Effect)
[Items: > [Beginner's Gift Pack] (New!!!)
[Summary: Disappointing.
After seeing my status, it was really empty except for my innate mutant ability and a beginner's gift. But let's check everything out later. This system, though it has an evil-sounding name, isn't complicated at all. Honestly, I'm fine with simple stuff [shrugs]. Let's see what's inside my beginner's bonus. Damn, I'm nervous. Anything that makes me stronger, please... [I said while mentally kneeling.]
A new notification appeared before me as a question mark symbol materialized in front of me:
[Analyzing host...]
[Searching...]
[Deficiencies detected.]
[Scanning memory...]
[Generating item...]
[Complete.]
As I watched the simultaneous notifications, the question mark symbol gradually deformed until it took the shape of a syringe—or at least, that's what it looked like—until the syringe filled with a strange blue liquid. I had no idea how this would help me unless it was a lethal injection to give me a game over [I thought as a bitter expression overtook my face].
The notifications disappeared, and in my items, a name appeared that any average comic fan would recognize instantly:
[Items] > [Compound V (Perfect)]
[ Description: A substance that releases the V-gene into the body, binding to DNA and modifying it simultaneously to enhance physical performance, granting superhuman abilities through Compound V. The ability/abilities awakened are influenced by the user's psychological state. (Optimized version without risk of failure.) ]
After acquiring this "miracle substance"—in quotes because I might awaken some lame power like improved vision—I mentally prayed to my ancestors as I prepared to inject this thing.
I then hid in a blind spot in the cell, gritting my teeth and hoping to gain something that could get me out of this damn dump.
[Warning: The user will corrupt more later, but I’ll do it gradually so the change in the world feels more realistic. In the early comments of the fanfic, readers can decide which superpower will awaken. If the most supported one gets chosen, or if there are no suggestions, I’ll decide. Good night.]