[David's POV]
I sat in the chair, my body loose but my mind strangely still. The room was silent, and for the first time in what felt like forever, I felt truly calm. My gaze rested on the wall, though I wasn't really looking at it, just letting the rare peace wash over me.
The soft chime of my system broke the quiet.
[Primary Mission: Revenge – Completed]
Objective: Make those responsible for your mother's murder pay.
Rewards:500 SP, A Skill, Mystery Box
"Finally," I muttered.
I expected to feel something, maybe relief or satisfaction, but there was nothing. Maybe all the stress of this mission had come from the original David's soul still clinging to me. Now that he was gone, I just felt empty.
But then doubts crept in. Victor had only been a fixer. Someone else had to be in charge. So why did the system say the mission was complete? Was it because of some deal the original David had made with it? Did he really see Victor as the one who killed his mother? If so, that was a shallow kind of closure.
Still, I owed him something. At the very least, I would use what I had to track down the real mastermind.
For now, I pushed the thought aside and opened the Mystery Box. Light flashed in my eyes as the rewards appeared.
[You have received:
- 1 Lottery Card (Animeverse)
- 350 SP
- 1 Lottery Card (Marvel Universe)
- Background Customization Card × 2
- 1 Roulette Lottery Card (General) ]
I didn't waste time. I started with the roulette draw. The wheel spun and landed on number 6.
[You have received:
- Joseph Albert Nefario (Despicable Me)
- NZT-48 (Limitless) x 1
- Iron Crowbars (The Eminence in Shadow)
- Jason Todd (DC)
- Randall "Memphis" Raines (Gone in 60 Seconds)
- Raizo (Ninja Assassin)]
For a moment, I just stared. Then I let out a short, disbelieving laugh.
Raizo. The man who turned shadows into weapons. The one who could wipe out an army in the dark and walk away without a single cut. A ghost wearing human skin.
I quickly used a power-up card on him and set him for assimilation.
Jason Todd, the Red Hood, was also a great draw. I did not think twice before putting his template up for assimilation.
After that, I moved on to the Animeverse lottery. The process was the same, but this time I had to choose 10 cards from 100.
The cards burst into light, and the rewards appeared.
[You have received:
- Taro Sakamoto (Sakamoto Days)
- Claire Stanfield (Baccano!)
- Hidden Leaf Village Headband (Naruto)
- -Better luck next time-
- Sea King Meat (One Piece)
- Erwin Smith (Attack on Titan)
- -Better luck next time-
- Fujiko Mine (Lupin the Third)
- Derous Kitchen Knife (Toriko)
- Walter C. Dornez – Human (Hellsing) ]
I frowned at the "Better luck next time" messages. "System, why are the rewards dropping?"
[As the system upgrades, the chance of rewards goes down, but the quality of rewards goes up.]
"Figures," I muttered, then smirked. "Still, not bad."
I quickly set Taro Sakamoto for assimilation and moved on to the Marvel Universe lottery.
Same process — pick 10 out of 100 cards.
[You have received:
- -Better luck next time-
- -Better luck next time-
- Kayla Silverfox
- Jonas Graymalkin
- -Better luck next time-
- Fake Infinity Gauntlet
- Flerken
- Nightshade Plant
- Stark Industries Fabricator
- Universal Translator ]
"Yes, finally!" I shouted with excitement. "Jonas's abilities will work perfectly with Raizo.Hehehe... at last, a template with real superpowers has appeared."
But before assimilation, I used a weakness removal card on him and then started the process.
I looked at the screen and saw I still had two General Lottery draws left. My fingers hovered over the button for a moment before I tapped it.
[You have received:
- Makunouchi Ippo (Hajime no Ippo)
- -Better luck next time-
- Marty Byrde (Ozark)
- Bo Staff of Donatello (TMNT 2012)
- Lara Croft (Tomb Raider)
- Hoverboard (Back to the Future Part II)
- -Better luck next time-
- Light Jet (Tron: Legacy)
- -Better luck next time-
- Frank Martin (The Transporter film series) ]
I looked over the rewards. Not bad, but not exactly what I was hoping for either. A few of them caught my interest, sure, but the rest… they felt like missed opportunities. It wasn't disappointment exactly, more like an itch that hadn't been scratched.
Without wasting time, I moved on to the second draw.
[You have received:
- Holoprojector x 2 (Star wars)
- -Better luck next time
- Predator Cloaking Device (Predator)
- -Better luck next time
- Railgun (Metal Gear Solid) ]
I leaned back in my chair, satisfied. The rewards were good.
I stood and walked to Gideon's console to ask about the tasks I had assigned.
Roberta came back just as Gideon was about to speak. She carried a few bags. I had sent her to buy cleaning supplies for the bloody mess in the basement. She set them by the chair and handed me a takeout container that smelled familiar.
"Your dinner," she said.
I opened it. It was a combo over rice from the Halal Guys. The smell hit me, and my stomach growled.
"Did you eat?" I asked.
"Yes," she said.
"Good." I started eating. The warm food cut through the long day. Between bites, I turned to Gideon. "Progress report. Start with the tasks I gave you."
The display lit up in front of me, silent and efficient.
"First, properties," I said. Gideon showed several brownstones and a few mansions that met the requirements.
They looked good, but some details needed a human eye, like the surroundings, the neighbors, and any security flaws.
"This needs a human touch." I looked at Roberta. "Work with Gideon on this. Find one brownstone for a base and another place to live. Check every detail."
She nodded without hesitation.
I ate a few more bites before moving on. "Next. Hammer Industries. Like I said before, I want everything tied to them, warehouses, factories, research labs. Any asset still active or hidden, flag it."
Gideon's display shifted, pulling up maps, blueprints, and data dumps.
There were warehouses in Long Island, an old factory in Yonkers, and two research facilities in New Jersey. Each site had a different level of activity, but all were still linked to Hammer. A few locations even showed up along the east coast.
"Interesting," I muttered, taking another bite of food. "They've still got pieces left on the board." I leaned back, eyes scanning the intel. "Cross-reference all Hammer shipments, front companies, and personnel. I want a map of every move, every transaction. If they're moving something under the radar, I need to know before anyone else."
I shoved another forkful of rice into my mouth and pointed with the fork. "Keep digging. Find the weak spots in their network, the distribution routes, anything we can exploit."
"Understood," Gideon replied. "Moving to the list of individuals you requested updates on. The highest priority remains Miles Lydon. He is considered one of the best hackers in the world. Notable incident: he infiltrated the Kremlin and stole compromising photographs of Vladimir Putin. Lydon is currently aligned with the hacktivist group known as Rising Tide. His ideology is that information should be free and accessible to all, no matter the consequences. He is currently in Austin, Texas, operating under multiple digital aliases."
I set down my fork, thinking. "Keep me updated on his movements. If he hacks SHIELD, use him as cover and pull as much information from them as possible."
"Yes," Gideon confirmed.
I leaned back, letting Gideon's filtered reports flow across the holographic display. This was not the kind of intel you could find on the dark web or through leaked files. It was not about gangs, corrupt politicians, or secret bank accounts. It was something deeper, history and power shaping the mutant question. At the center were two names: Magneto and Charles Xavier.
Magneto. Since 2010, the island nation of Genosha had been under his control. Before his arrival, Genosha was infamous, a place where mutants were enslaved and treated as tools by a human government. Magneto crushed that order. He declared the island a sanctuary for mutants, reshaping it into both a refuge and a fortress.
By 2013, Genosha was not just a home. It was a flashpoint. To mutants, it was their homeland, free from human law. To world governments, it was a rogue state, full of defenses and guarded by the Brotherhood. The message was clear: Magneto was not asking for tolerance. He was drawing a line of steel, daring the world to challenge him.
Reaching Genosha was almost impossible. Its waters and skies were tightly controlled. If you were not invited by the Brotherhood, you were not setting foot on the island.
Then there was Charles Xavier. A telepath unlike any other, one of the most powerful on the planet. He had spent years studying, traveling, and searching for ways to prove that humans and mutants could live side by side. When he returned to his family estate in Westchester, he opened the Xavier Institute for Higher Learning. To the outside world, it looked like an elite boarding school. In reality, it was something else, a safe haven, a training ground, a place where young mutants could learn to master what made them different instead of being destroyed by it.
By 2013, the world outside the mansion was shifting toward fear. Governments were monitoring mutants. News anchors painted them as dangerous. Legislators whispered about registration and control. Nothing had been passed into law yet, but the paranoia was real. Mutants existed in the public mind as ghosts, glimpses on shaky cameras, blurry photos, and rumors whispered late at night. But Xavier's X-Men were real. They moved quietly, helping mutants in danger and stopping those who threatened to push things into open conflict. His mansion was one of the few places where mutants could breathe freely, even as the world beyond its gates grew colder and more hostile with each passing year.
I dug deeper into the chatter Gideon had flagged. Social media was buzzing with talk of strange clashes in upstate New York. To the average person, they were just rumors, stories about masked figures fighting in the woods, flashes of light in the night sky, and unnatural sounds echoing across small towns. Most people brushed it off as conspiracy talk or imagination. But Gideon had gone further. She had acquired image proofs. The pictures were blurry and half-hidden by distance and darkness, but to me they were clear enough. I knew what I was seeing. Mutants. And more than that, two groups fighting against each other: the so-called X-Men and Magneto's Brotherhood.
It was no coincidence these fights were near Westchester. Xavier's mansion was in that area. If the X-Men were operating out of there, then their presence in New York was not rumor but fact. What the public dismissed, I recognized as the start of something larger. The images showed bursts of energy, twisted metal scattered like paper, and silhouettes of fighters who did not move like ordinary humans. The Brotherhood was testing the X-Men, or perhaps the other way around. Either way, a quiet war between mutant factions had already touched American soil.
And the incidents were not limited to New York. Another rumor was spreading online, far from the usual chatter, this one about Alaska. Reports claimed a massive dam had been destroyed overnight with no clear explanation given. Officials called it "structural failure," but whispers suggested mutant involvement. Some said it was a lone mutant who lost control, while others insisted it was a strike carried out by a group. Gideon had not found hard proof yet, but the details matched the kind of collateral damage mutants could cause. My gut told me it was not an accident.
"Reed Richards," Gideon began. "Better known to the public as Mister Fantastic. He leads a small group of enhanced individuals who call themselves the Fantastic Four. They gained their powers in 2010 after a space mission went wrong."
I set down my fork and nodded, curious about where this was going.
"In 2011, they clashed with a powerful adversary named Victor Von Doom, or Doctor Doom. The battle was made public. Videos of their fight were shared online, making them known worldwide. Despite Doom's strength, they defeated him."
I remembered seeing some of those shaky videos when they first appeared. Buildings torn apart, fire in the streets, and four people moving together as if they had trained for years.
"They did not join the Avengers," Gideon continued, "but they played an important role during the Chitauri invasion in New York. Instead of fighting alongside Earth's Mightiest Heroes, they focused on evacuation, clean-up, and saving civilians. Their actions earned respect, though they remained separate."
Roberta shifted her weight slightly, her arms tightening as if she respected that choice. Not every group needed to serve under someone else's banner.
"They operate out of their own headquarters," Gideon finished. "The Baxter Building in Manhattan. It serves as both their home and their research facility."
I had finished dinner by the time Gideon wrapped up her updates. I had a good idea of what was happening around the world, but it still wasn't enough. Rumors and blurry images were one thing, confirmation was another. To get that, I'd have to come face to face with either the Brotherhood or the X-Men. That wasn't something I was willing to do, not yet.
After some thought, I decided to go with the flow. For now, I needed to elevate my living standards and also secure my team's future. That meant money. Loads of it. I was already knee-deep in the stock market, but it wouldn't be enough. I needed to pull from other sources. I also needed a legitimate business front. Being rich wasn't just about survival—it was personal.
I was still deep in thought when the sound of footsteps reached me. My team came in carrying four duffel bags. They dropped them on the floor right in front of me.
"2.3 million dollars, just like you asked," John said.
"Good," I said, glancing at the bags. "Gideon?"
Gideon replied in her flat tone. "No traces left in or around the unit."
That was what I wanted to hear. Still, I studied them carefully. "Any other problems?"
They exchanged looks. Robert was the one who finally spoke. "We almost ran into some guy in red spandex. Swinging around. Looked like a circus act.Red suit, big white eyes on the mask. He was swinging from building to building," Robert said. "Fast too. Thought he was coming for us at first, but turns out he was chasing a car full of robbers. We slipped out before he noticed."
I knew he was active already. A masked figure in red spandex, swinging through Queens. There was no mistaking it.
"Spider-Man," I muttered.
"Spider-what?" Tahani asked.
"Spider-Man," I said, keeping my voice calm. "He is a vigilante with superpowers similar to a spider."
John raised an eyebrow. "Should we be worried about him?"
"Nope," I said. "Anyway, good work guys. I will transfer the money for this soon." I finally said. "Get some rest. John you stay others can leave."
After Shin, Robert, and Tahani left, I turned to John. I wanted his honest opinion about Shin's capabilities. John didn't hesitate. He told me straight, Shin was weak compared to the others. Robert Dubois, Tahani, Rosarita Cisneros, and John himself all outclassed him by a wide margin. Shin could survive, sure, but that was about it.
I leaned back, letting that sink in. "So that means I need to upgrade him," I muttered under my breath.
John gave me a look, one of those what the hell does that even mean looks. I smirked slightly. "You'll know soon enough."
I shifted the conversation. "Anyway, starting next week you and Roberta will be working closely beside me. I'll share my detailed timeline through her."
John raised a brow. "And my role?"
"Assume you're my bodyguard for the time being," I said plainly. "I have plans for the others, and I'll be bringing in more allies to form our teams. Once they're in place, we'll spread out. But for now, you stick with me."
I stood up, stretching my shoulders a little. "Alright, you guys can leave now. Get some rest. I'll see you in a week, John." He gave me a short nod before heading out.
Turning to Roberta, I said, "Please look for a place I mentioned before. Also, try to recruit an assistant for yourself, you can ask Gideon for that."
She gave a small nod.
I turned away and walked toward Delgado. He was slumped in the chair, unconscious from earlier. I untied him, then ordered Gideon to send one of the bots to carry him to the basement. As the machine obeyed, I followed behind. I needed to clean up the mess I had created down there.
To Be Continued...