Chapter two: Research and Sewers

Reaserching was harder than I'd imagined. Some things were easy enough to find out. Mutants existed and had existed since World War 2, possibly longer than that. Xaviers school for gifted youngsters was not yet founded but Charles Xavier was a prominant figure in mutant research and understanding. Victor von Doom was already the legitimate rule of Latveria. There was, however, nothing to be found about either the fantastic four nor the avengers. Tony stark was a prominant public figure but he was still an arms dealer, not the Iron Man. Bruce banner was yet to go into hiding and was currently still working at his lab, so most likely, he hadn't been turned into the hulk yet.

Searching for the less public members of the avengers resulted in a big fat stack of nothing. Natasha Romanov for example was nowhere to be found, neither was hawkeye and well... Thor is thor, so I found a lot about his mythilogical counterpart but nothing to the ends of 'Thor turns out to be real, has visited earth' etc. etc.

It seems as though this world is yet to go through most of the important events which cascade into marvel as we know it. Most of the heroes haven't become heroes yet, the orginisations were mostly non existent. The only orginisation which was already formed was the Strategic Homland Intervention, Enforcment and Logistics Division or S.H.I.E.L.D. and there wasn't a lot of info about them either, basically just that they existed.

It was frustrating. I couldn't use my knowledge yet because basically all concentrated group of enhanced wasn't formed yet. Xaviers school for gifted youngsters being my most promising pool of powers to draw from. No matter, I would just have to wait a bit, until then, I could check for Morlocks underneath New York. Not that day however. I'd researched all day and needed to rest so that I could go early the next morning.

And so, after eating a full meal -which my bodies prior owner had already cooked- I went to sleep.

The very next morning, I woke up, brushed my teeth and ate a bowl of cereal. It was nice, tasting things once more, every flavor seemed so much more pronounced after having lived(or un-lived) without it for god knows how long. Every bite of cereal was divine, as had been the pasta from the day prior.

At 10 sharp, I left my house and made my way towards new york city, or rather the nearest sewer. After the grueling task of opening an entrance, a sewer grate and climbing inside, I was met with the nauseating smell almost immedietly. It stank to high hell. Just as the taste of food had been amplified, so was the smell. It was a thousand times worse than it was supposed to. Luckily, I brought a few nose clips to keep the smell outside. Still, I could smell it through my open mouth.

It took me an emberassingly long time to find the entrance to the tunnels underneath new york city. It was a big, metal door leading right from the sewer canal. It was open and written on it were the words: 'MORLOCKS ONLY, OUTSIDERS STAY OUT'

"Well that isn't very welcoming", I muttered and shrugged, making my way into the hallway. Immedietly, the smell faded, replaced by the smell of fresh paint. The entrance had been recently painted a nice blue color and farther into the tunnel, the color turned from deep blue to light blue and finally to white. The hallway ended in another door, this one also open, but without the warning label on it.

Inside, there were a few deformed humans, one had the head of a bird but with human teeth, another had huge, bulging out eyes that popped out of their sockets every once in a while only to get pushed back by him. There were a few more but nothing noteworthy.

Before my eyes the screen from the void appeared again, only me being able to see it.

[Several superpowers in vicinity... Calculating]

[Harmful mutations filtered out... would you like to absorb {Blunt force damage reduction}, {piercing damage reduction}, {fire resistence} and {fire manipulation}?]

"Yes, a thousand times yes"

The screen pulverised in front of me and tendrils of light shot from three mutants sitting there towards me. Of course, no one but me could see the tendrils of light but it was still a sight to behold. I felt each new power flowing into my body. I felt my body harden to be better suited against attacks but I also felt a switch appear in my mind, just a small lever that could be flicked on and off.

I tried flicking it on and on my palm, which I had stretched out, a small flame appeared. This showing of mutation granted powers seemed to appease the uneasy Morlocks who were thinking I was just a normal boy. Now that they were proven wrong, since I had mutation given powers, they relaxed extremely. They must've worried that I would expose them, something I had no intention of doing by the way.

I played with the open flame in my hand, making it jump from one finger to another, slowly, ever so slowly. As I practised more and more with the flame, it became easier to do. My need for concentration decreased and the flame grew taller. Satisfied with my haul for that day, I went back into the hallway and back into the sewer, before I finally, after a bit of searching, found another manhole cover to open up and climb out of.

During my way back home, the screen appeared once more.

[Superpower within vicinity... Calculating]

[Harmful mutations filtered out... would you like to absorb {Kinetic energy absorbtion}?]

"Yes please", I muttered under my breath, amazed at my luck, finding another mutant whilst walking around. Again, the light came and went and I had another power at my disposal. I could feel the power absorbing the impact from my feet hitting the ground, making me completely silent whilst walking.

"Great for stealth", I told myself and went back to my house, exhausted.

Taking powers seemed to exhaust me, good to know, so I took a quick shower and jumped into my bed again.