First Day in Hell

Let's talk about my background a little.

Not related to my identity in my original world, but my identity on Earth Bet... Or lack thereof.

I'm pretty sure I count as a Self Insert according to the CYOA I filled, but in it, the primary mode of entry was Reincarnation, rather than Transmigration. Also, I looked in one of the puddles and my face was very much still average looking one that I've always had. No body snatching for me. So, maybe not all of my CYOA choices were applied.

That's one mystery for me to think about, I guess. The easiest explanation is that I guess the ROB who Isekai'd me didn't bother with reincarnation and just dumped me as it was.

And as a side effect of that, I have no background or identity in this world. I mean, first of all, I'm not even American to begin with. And I don't have my wallet or phone with me; The loss of the latter is especially painful as I had a lot of personal stuff in my phone that I would have liked to keep. My wallet's contents would be mostly useless here. As such, I have to be very careful to not be in the public eye too much and thus come in direct contact with the police— though I guess PRT and Protectorate would be more likely in my case.

Phantom Presence will definitely help me hide from those lawful agencies. Yes, there was heavy sarcasm implied there.

As I exited the alley, I found myself on a road that seemed to lead to an actual main road with foot and vehicle traffic. Not having any clue about where anything was, I could only walk aimlessly and hope to find some shops and maybe a restaurant/cafe to steal food from. I was getting kind of hungry. And while I wasn't fond of stealing like that, I didn't have any other choice. I was tapped out for today for self-created powers and I was still a normal guy who needs food and water to survive.

I also need to worry about where to sleep. I don't have a place to call home and I don't really want to sleep in abandoned warehouses or whatever. That's just asking for trouble. But I don't actually have any better alternatives.

Ah, maybe I should look for shelters for the homeless. Surely there will be some in this city filled with homeless people?

I could probably easily enter and take a quick nap in one of those. So far, that's the best I could think of. Still, even for that, I needed to research. And the best way to do it would be... The Public Library!

I swear every Self Insert Worm Fic I've read uses that place for initial research.

Chuckling ruefully at the revelation that, yes, I'm also a bonafide Self Insert character by definition now, I moved towards the crowd and while trying to keep my expression casual, I tried to gauge if people could sense me. It was hard to tell as people generally didn't pay much attention to others while walking on the streets and I didn't have any special qualities that'd make others pay attention to me.

I didn't want to risk doing something strange to test me so I remained alert and tried to find a place to eat and a landmark, if possible.

I wasn't overly familiar with Brockton Bay's map despite having read dozens of fanfics based on it. Heck, I hadn't even read the canon material for that matter. But I knew plenty of things regardless.

That knowledge, however, didn't quite extend to the local Map. So, I'd have to find a way to access a map. Or Library.

As I joined the crowd and aimlessly walked on the main street, finding more gang signs here and there, I could say with certainty that it was Nazi territory. Though, I didn't quite see any clearly identifiable gangbangers. That was actually good because I didn't want to encounter any while in such a vulnerable state

- x-

After probably an hour or two of roaming aimlessly on foot, I ended up finding a medium-sized showroom that sold smartphones. Well, these were still the early iterations of Smartphones and not the thin rectangle bricks with a 90%+ screen-to-body ratio. There were also plenty of keypad phones and flip-flops. Gosh, it'd been so long since I saw flip-flops. I never actually used one. The first phone I got was when I'd passed High School and by then Smartphones were the norm. Not that I had any regrets.

I entered the shop, carefully composed and keeping track of people. So far, I had no reason to doubt my skill and during my aimless walk, I did end up trying a few minor and safe stunts to see if people noticed me. They didn't.

To my relief, even with a door chime, nobody inside seemed to notice me as I entered the store. It didn't have many customers and the store employees were mostly sitting and doing their own stuff to pass the time as they waited for customers.

Reaching a more secluded corner, I reached for one of the open smartphones and unlocked it.

Alright, let's see... Yes! It's connected to a WiFi.

Feeling relieved at that, I quickly opened what looked like a Map app and searched Brockton Bay, enabling the Location feature to know my current location.

The map loaded and I could finally make sense of my location.

Alright. So, I'm somewhere down South, Southeast. Southern Coast. There's a high school nearby. Clarendon Highschool. Never heard of it. Let's see, I need a public library...

Searching for the public library yielded a few results and I chose the one which had computers visible in its images.

The only problem was that it was quite far from where I was currently. I'd have to walk 7 kilometers if I wanted to go there. There were libraries closer than that, but they didn't have computers from the looks of it.

Damn. I guess I can take the bus. Let's see... The route has...

Thankfully, like modern maps, even this decade's map had directions. A quick search on the web browser told me the buses that went along those routes. I was still penniless but I thought I could at least hike a ride in the public bus without any issues. For safety, I'd be taking one without too many people. Just in case.

I also noted today's date and time.

7th April, 2011 2:13 PM

If my Worm canon knowledge is correct, in a couple of days, the major canon events will start in full force. Good ol' Taylor 'Cursed By the Author' Hebert aka future Skitter and Khepri, the supreme Queen of Escalation herself, would be making her debut by taking on the strongest cape in the city. That is, if nothing butterflied things too much.

I wasn't sure how my own actions would be changing at least that bit as I was certainly going to be keeping a very low profile for the time being.

In fact, I wanted to do nothing related to Parahumans until I had at least 5 more charges available tomorrow or unless I got lucky enough to come close to some unsuspecting capes with useful powers. But the latter was still a risky proposition and I didn't want to take unnecessary risks just yet.

I paused to go roam around the store—still un-noticed—and managed to find a pen and a notepad. Sneaking in those items to the phone stand, I jotted down the details and a crudely drawn map of the route and the area near the Library.

I momentarily wondered if I should just grab the phone and keep it. But a few things made me not do it. First, I wasn't sure the phone wasn't trackable, even without a SIM. It could cause some issues if that led to the authorities searching for me. Second, there was no SIM in the phone, so unless there was free WiFi available, it'd be as good as a metal brick that could take pictures, provide some light, and keep digital notes. Third, I wasn't comfortable with the idea of just stealing things like that.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not so morally upright that I wouldn't do it if needed. In fact, I was going to steal some food soon. But that was necessary for my survival and was often times cheap. This phone though… It'd be both a costly item, relatively speaking, and not something I desperately needed to survive—I did need a phone (or three) eventually, though. Couldn't live without those in the modern world.

With my needs fulfilled, I tore the page off cleanly and put the notepad and pen back to where I took them from. Again, nobody seemed to notice or care, busy in their own work/lazying around.

As I left the store though, my eyes fell on the CCTV camera and I felt my heart drop.

Oh fuck... Fuck fuck fuck. I forgot to cover my face!

I began panicking as I quickly left the store.

My powers were great at making people forget me. But it didn't quite work on electronics. Not yet. If, for any reason, someone checked on the camera and saw me...s

I grimaced.

That was not good. But also... Did what I did warrant any serious action? I entered their open store, used their showcased device (without permission and with no intention of buying it), took their notepad and pen (also without permission), and then left with a single torn page.

Okay, yeah, it wasn't exactly normal behavior. That alone was strange enough. But the fact that I was practically invisible to everyone in the store would tip all sorts of alarms. Just the mere fact that I was a Parahuman (I wasn't technically as I didn't have one of those crystalline bio-super computers attached to my head through benign brain tumors) would be enough to call in the PRT and the Protectorate.

Also, they had special rules against Masters and Strangers. The so-called M-S Protocols. I didn't know how effective they would be at countering me but I was certain this wouldn't be the first time the PRT and Protectorate would be dealing with a Stranger cape. They definitely must have some contingencies planned for cases like mine.

In that train of thought, I might have just fucked myself up by being so carefree and not covering my face. Fuck.

Though, on the other hand, if it was so easy to tackle Imp's power and the PRT was so competent, surely she'd have been found out quickly. She wasn't, as far as I knew. And she probably did a lot more shady and suspicious things than I. Well, I don't actually know that for sure

I sighed, feeling annoyed at myself for the obvious mishap. I was not ready for the whole cape secret identity bullshit that goes on in this world.

Whatever. Shit happens. Worst case scenario, PRT finds me and catches me. I can tolerate them for a day or two. Even cooperate if things turn troublesome and they try to press-gang me. I just need a few days in relative safety. In just a few days, I should be strong enough to handle most immediate problems within this city.

It wasn't an exaggeration either. My power was just that bullshit.

Heck, maybe I'll even get to copy the powers of Protectorate capes easily this way if things work out.

Velocity's powers would be useful at running away…

… Wow, my every thought is about hiding and running away today. Fuck my life.

Despite that little minor nerve-wracking realization, I managed to make my way to the bus stop and sat there, waiting for the right bus.

And I waited.

And waited.

I had to wait for quite some time before the bus I was waiting for finally arrived and I couldn't wait to climb aboard. For fuck's sake that took ages.

During the waiting, however, I had started planning things out.

Once I reach the library, I'll start researching about the place in more detail, find out about major and some minor recent events, find some good places from where I could... ahem, free them of some of their excess food. Finally, I needed a safe place to stay until I could find better accommodation. Somehow, I was half convinced that I'd be finding a way to loot from the gangs and their hideouts soon (because they're such guilt-free targets!) and use that money to live a more normal civilian life for the time being. Well, as normal as I can be in my particular situation.

As I sat on an empty seat in a secluded part of the half-filled bus, I kept an eye out for people while revising the plans for today and tonight.

- x-

The public library was a moderately large but fairly average-looking building.

Climbing the stairs, I paused as a realization struck me.

What are the odds that this is the same library Taylor uses? And that she's in there right now?

I promptly used my senses to check and while there were some pings multiple blocks away, I didn't find any parahumans in the block I was in.

Honestly, it was a really useful ability, able to detect cape presence in a fairly large area. And, I was not using it to its full extent, I realized.

My ability to sense parahumans was a passive ability rather than an active one. It was always there at the back of my head and all I had to do was pay a little attention to it.

I should've been paying some attention to not get caught by surprise by the capes, at least. Rather than pinging it every now and then when I remembered.

Constant vigilance!

I reminded myself in the most strict and militaristic voice possible, chuckling immediately after at the source of that quote.

Man, maybe I should've filled a Harry Potter CYOA instead. Would've been much safer than here at least. I'd bitch slap Voldeshorts, save the day, and then learn magic to my heart's content…

Eh, it is what it is. I probably know more about Wormverse than HPverse at this point, thanks to all the fanfic I've consumed.

Entering the library was easy and finding a corner computer was also not a problem. The library had some people inside but overall, it was fairly empty. Which was perfectly fine.

Opening up the computer, I began my search in earnest. I had nothing else requiring my time and attention so I had plenty of time to use the free internet here.

Damn, this internet is slow as hell.

-x-

Three and a half hours later, my stomach reminded me that I had forgotten to eat. By that point, I had made most of the searches I needed and was already going through my secondary objectives. Namely, checking out the Cape Reddit/forum of this world.

I honestly felt a little excited to finally use PHO for real. I mean, after reading so many stories and, in them, finding dozens of PHO segments, I had taken quite a liking to the platform.

In reality, though, I quickly realized that it wasn't as fun and convenient to find relevant info as I had expected.

Don't get me wrong. There was plenty of Cape-related stuff in it. A whole butt load of it, in fact. The problem: It was almost impossible to point out fact from fiction a lot of times. Anything that wasn't from official sources(and in some cases even those ones) were speculations, theories, conspiracies, gossip, personal and professional agendas, etc. Most of it was useless to me.

The platform was an odd mixture of Reddit, internet forums, and a bit of text-based social media.

I ended up giving up searching for useful things after some time and I also realized that I couldn't just search certain terms I wanted to in fear of getting tracked back. I had absolutely no delusions that PHO was actually safe.

Still, there was plenty to learn. Just from official sources and known entities.

I even got to read some of the posts from the Bagrat himself. Cool guy.

I also got to read the threads related to the EndBringers (they were a mixture of cheering for the participants and bleak mourning for the losses), local gangs(most people hated them and wanted them gone, as expected), and Protectorate heroes and Wards(those threads were clearly moderated to hell and back, given how "clean" and tidy it was).

I ended up spending some time reading the Wiki pages of various capes, sometimes feeling amused at the various theories and guesses about certain capes' powers. There was a lot less information and a lot of speculations and understandably incorrect or white-washed information present.

From everything, I could get the hint that, yes, capes were definitely white-washed and there was a systematic attempt to make people more accepting (or at least tolerant) of them.

Eventually, my stomach wouldn't let me focus so I left for the nearby fast-food joints I'd found online.

Seriously, all hail the internet.

-x-

The trip to the east side of my current location didn't take as long and soon enough, I was within walking distance to the Boardwalk.

I didn't actually go to the Boardwalk itself as the place I'd wanted to go was merely close to it.

Entering a fairly popular pizza joint, I looked for CCTV while feeling a bit scummy for trying to steal food. Along the way, I had found a cloth mask to cover my face and once I exited the bus, I quickly hid in a nearby empty alley and dawned the mask.

With that, I was at least somewhat trying to dissociate my non-existent civilian identity from my "cape" identity. Not that I had any delusions that I'd do a very good job at it. But why make things too easy for the law agencies.

The glass door opened without a sound and the moderately cool air inside blew my hair a little as I trodded to the counter and picked a menu.

Now, how the hell do I whisker away a pizza and two. Maybe something to drink with it.

I pondered just trying to enter past the counter to the inside but I wasn't sure I'd be able to avoid bumping into the employees while roaming inside that small and packed space.

Alternatively, I could wait till someone ordered a pizza or a meal and then swipe it before the customer got it. It'd probably cause a bit of a scene but I can just dash away quickly. They'll soon enough forget about me.

... Maybe I should have chosen an easier target to steal from, but my stomach demanded Pizza. I needed it. I really really wanted to try American Pizzas (and other various fast foods). So, I found excuses to come here.

Picking an empty seat nearby, I once again focused on the counter as people came and ordered.

-x-

Got it! Run run run!

I cheered as I quickly grabbed the meal ordered by a group of high schoolers and then hurriedly made my way towards the exit, tray in hand, passing the table where one of them was finally standing up to pick up their order. I had known that anything I carried with me seemed to be included in the effect of my power, as long as it wasn't extremely eye-catching, that is.

I'm sorry, guys.

I mentally apologized to both the high schoolers and the employee manning the counter. They were probably going through a very confusing and awkward conversation right about now.

Entering an alley, I barely dogged a group of skinheads that seemed to be loitering around here, doing... whatever these people do. They're probably up to no good. But eh, I'd give them the benefit of the doubt right now. Not that I was in much of a position to judge people.

Watch out, Brockton Bay, the fast food stealer cape has come to eat your hard-earned fast food!

I mentally recited as I finally slowed down. As expected by now, the probably Nazi gangbangers didn't pay any attention to me despite our near encounter.

Two alleys down, it opened to the boardwalk and I took some time finding a place where I could sit and eat my meal.

There weren't any empty seats here, though, but after some quick strolling, I found a nice enough spot where I could sit and eat, and also watch the scenery.

And damn what a scenery it was.

As I opened the first box of still warm Pizza, I apologized to the troubled parties again and thanked my luck.

The first box had what looked like a Veg Farmhouse style with a thin crust. I didn't like thin crust as much but whatever. Beggers can't be choosers and all that. Also, I was hungry.

I didn't waste a second, picking up a piece and taking a bite.

"Mmm~"

It was delicious! Huh.

As expected, there was a good reason why the USA was called the Fast Food Capital of the world. I think. Probably. I actually don't know if it's really called that generally but I remember hearing something like this in the past.

Eating the delicious pizza, I could agree with the sentiment though.

Stolen pizza tastes just as good as a bought pizza.

I noted sagely as I sipped on the cold drink and watched the glimmering dom of force field that surrounded the famous Rig in the distance. There was supposedly a hard light bridge or something like that that connects the Rig to the mainland but I wasn't sure if it was canon or fanon.

I'd seen pics of the Rig during my binge search (not Bing search) in the public library. But seeing the real deal was even far more impressive.

Doesn't Uppercrust make the Force Field modules for Protectorate branches, including the Rig? Or is that Fanon too? Hmm, maybe I should search for that in the near future if I have time. Shouldn't rely too much on my shoddy meta-knowledge.

I spent the time going through the first box as I watched the people of the Bay and tourists going about their business on the Boardwalk, the setting sun in the bay providing a picturesque view. Then the second box of Pizza—this one was a cheeseburst with non-veg toppings. No thin crust. Yay! Though, it became a struggle towards the end of the second box as the combination of Pizza and cold drinks had filled me up quite well. Still, not wanting to waste my (stolen) food, I forced the last two slices and the accompanying Garlic Bread slices and then took the final cup of cold drink in my hand as I stood up and began making my way towards the bus stop after throwing the box in the garbage and leaving the tray there for anyone who might want to use it...

... Or I was going to, but I paused as I felt the presence of two Parahumans approaching in my direction.

I managed to keep my calm as I sipped on my cola and tried to look for colorful or brightly costumed people. I highly doubted it was one of the villains out in costume, given how calm everyone was. This was the Boardwalk and it was still early evening. And this region had a very active Protectorate presence from what I understood.

As I mingled among the crowd, hidden in plain sight, I saw one of the two parahumans. Flying a little above the heads of everyone, the red and white costumed man flew slowly, looking to be searching for something or someone. Or maybe he was just PR patrolling like I'd read in many stories.

Following up closeby on the ground was another white costume-wearing male with clocks embedded in it.

Ah, Clockblocker and... I think that's Aegis? Yeah, has to be him. No other flying Protectorate ENE capes with red costume.

I felt a rush of excitement at the prospect of getting access to two powers, both of which were quite useful and strong in their own right, no less.

As they approached closer I saw a small crowd starting to form, with some people taking their phones and cameras out to click pictures and videos, murmuring and whispering to themselves or their peers, while some others looked in mere idle curiosity. There were even some who just gave them a glance and then went back to their business like it was no big deal. Brockton Bay was, after all, the cafe capital and this sight might have been merely one of many the locals must have seen regularly. It was likely the tourists that were more excited.

I waited with baited breaths, observing as they closed the distance.

Anytime now, they'd be within my range and I could copy their powers.

Come on, come on... Yes! Got it!

The moment they got in range, I immediately got an instinctive basic understanding of their powers. I could practically SEE the core of their powers, and associated with it, I got my very first real glimpse at the 'things' that were the source of the said powers.

Looking at those... things, those... Shards, I couldn't help but feel a little overwhelmed. I hadn't fully realized the scale of both the source and their means of creating the effects that powers cause.

Just then, I was reminded of an important tidbit about my powers that I'd forgotten.

I could actually extract the Shards from Parahumans, and in turn give them a non-Shard version of their powers, if I wanted. At the moment they came within my range, I already had access to both of their powers, up to the true capabilities of their Shards which the hosts weren't allowed to access. Though, it'd require my charges to make any upgrades to their current powers.

That was the only limiting factor for me. But copying, bestowing, and taking away those powers required nothing. I could do that as simple as breathing. Of course, I didn't do anything to their own powers. I wasn't an idiot, causing a scene in public and so close to the Protectorate HQ.

Instead, I just took a copy and promptly left. I wanted to extract their Shards and give them a safe copy of their powers with no conflict drives as a clause. But I didn't know if such an action would be noticed by them. They might feel a sudden lack of their abilities even if I was quick enough. Aegis was still hovering a bit above ground, so he would definitely feel the temporary loss of power. And that'd be troublesome.

All done, it was simple enough to leave without anyone noticing. Hopefully, I had managed to get around any plots or events that could trigger due to getting close to the two underaged Parahumans. You can never know when things will trigger or get out of control without any obvious rhyme or reason just because you're in the area.

-x-

I tried not to jump for joy and instead began making my way toward the bus stop as the two prospective heroes had stopped to sign some autographs and take selfies.

Yet I couldn't help the pleased smile that drew on my face.

This was a very lucky encounter! Absolutely fantastic! I just got my hands on powers! I didn't want to waste a single second and immediately applied Aegis's powers to myself.

Redundant Biology. I just became a fairly decent Brute that can probably go tow-to-tow with Glory Girl (who's often called Alexandria lite) and have flight as Mover powers with some really potent vitality.

I wanted to study it in more detail and modify it to be even better but I couldn't risk doing it in the open, nor did I actually have the charges left for it.

Though, as a consequence of applying this power I had started feeling strange tingles and wobbles all across my body. Itches that felt beyond skin deep. Likely my body getting adjusted and rearranged to allow for Redundant Systems and all that crazy stuff.

It'd probably look quite disturbing if someone could check my body Panacea-style right now. Even I could feel my muscles and other inner organs shifting and moving, making it a little uncomfortable and mostly bizarre feeling. Still, for the significant boost in my offense, defense, and movement abilities that it provided, that discomfort was a very small price to pay.

I also learned something I didn't know about Aegis' power. I have an extreme pain tolerance now. I could easily shrug off my arm being cut off (and even reattached it later if I can get it back in one piece). And I also have a pretty significant Regeneration factor. Well, I knew that bit. Only the pain tolerance was news to me. Happy news! Who likes pain anyway? I sure don't! Not a masochist, no sir.

Next was ClockBlocker's Temporal Statis. His ability to "tag" and freeze nearly anything in time, rendering it completely immobile and invulnerable for a duration held great potential. What I didn't know about Clockerblocker's power is that it wasn't Manton-limited and it was an All-or-Nothing effect. Or maybe I knew from reading fan fics and just forgot. I didn't have that great of a memory and he wasn't exactly a main (or even important side) character in most fics that I'd read.

Regardless, like I said, this was a fairly powerful ability with a lot of growth potential. I'd definitely be investing in this and Aegis' powers. And if I could get Vista's Space Warping, I'd have control over both Space and Time! Damn!

"Ugh."

I groaned as I realized I was starting to build up things that required the charges while not having any means to increase the amount of charges I get. I had a lot of things vying for the 5 charges I'd get in a couple hours.

Oh well, no point whining about it. It's literally one of the very few limiting factors of my otherwise insane and overpowered power.

The other being my own creativity.

I'd just make do with more powers. I can still mix and match different powers to find a feasible fusion or break powers into smaller components or modules for easier Permutation and Combination. And neither has any need for charges. I should start doing that and try to come up with a stronger and more potent combination. Though, that'd require a few more powers in my arsenal.

I groaned.

Ugh, it still sucks that I'm not as creative with powers as I'd like. Maybe the internet would have something useful.

-x-