"Ugh... that was kinda disappointing," he muttered under his breath as he left the movie theater, hands stuffed into his pockets. He had just watched Thunderbolts, and while he didn't expect a masterpiece, it still hit harder than expected—just not in a good way.
(Man, I miss the Endgame days... maybe Shang-Chi was the last one I really enjoyed. Oh, and Loki was pretty fun too, I'll give it that. But after that? I'm not sure. Anything else worth remembering?)
He wasn't a hardcore Marvel encyclopedia or anything, just your average MCU fan. The kind who knew the movies inside out, dug a little deeper when something caught his interest, maybe read up on a character here and there. Comics? Sometimes. Full-on lore? Only if it was fun. He liked other stuff too—sci-fi flicks, thrillers, even a few anime. But only the shorter ones, like One Punch Man or shows that didn't require a lifetime commitment.
After getting home, he tossed off his jacket, plopped onto his chair, and fired up his laptop. Time to scroll through Reddit and Discord, checking out what other Marvel fans thought of the movie. Some were flaming it, others defending it, the usual chaos. He jumped in, typing out his own take.
(What if I actually lived in a superhero world? Could I survive? Would I even want to?)
He let the thought linger for a bit. The idea was cool, but it wasn't like he wanted to get thrown into space battles or laser fights. Still, the fantasy had its charm.
Hours passed, debates were had, and eventually, sleep hit like a truck. He leaned back, yawned, and called it a night.
When he opened his eyes again… he wasn't in his bed.
"...Huh?" he mumbled, blinking rapidly. He was standing in a completely white room—walls, floor, ceiling, everything. It wasn't blinding, just... empty.
(Wait. Wasn't I just home? This isn't a dream, right?)
There was no sound. No hum of machines, no ticking clock, no distant cars. Just... silence. The kind that made his skin crawl. He instinctively touched his chest—heartbeat steady, breath calm. Too calm.
(Okay... something's messing with my emotions. That's not normal.)
He should be freaking out. But instead, it felt like someone had turned down the emotional volume in his head.
He scanned the room more carefully this time. No doors, no windows, no lights—yet everything was visible. It was so sterile it felt unreal. And then, finally, his eyes landed on it: a single, boxy old-school computer sitting in the middle of the room like it had always been there.
The kind with a bulky monitor, beige casing, and a keyboard that looked like it came straight out of a sci-fi movie from the '80s. The screen was already on.
He slowly walked over.
The monitor flickered slightly, then displayed a blinking cursor and a simple message:
[If you had to live in a world full of heroes and villains… what would you wish for? Choose up to 3 powers or advantages. You can search or type your own.]
"...Okay, this is officially weird," he muttered.
Still, curiosity beat hesitation. He started browsing the list of example powers. Some were surprisingly well thought-out:
Gravity Pulse
Effect: Create high or low gravity zones in a 3-meter radius. Great for knocking enemies off balance or boosting jumps.
Weakness: Extended use drains stamina fast.
(Nice. Balanced, kinda practical.)
Then there were the weird ones:
Bubble Speech
Effect: Words appear as bubbles that explode, freeze, or release weird gases when spoken.
Weakness: Can't lie. Talking too fast causes unpredictable effects.
(Okay... creative but chaotic.)
And the flat-out useless:
Color Sneezing
Effect: Hair color changes randomly when you sneeze.
Weakness: No real impact. Just cosmetic.
(Why... would anyone pick that?)
After browsing for a while, he groaned.
(There's way too many. I'll be here all day just trying to pick one. Screw it, I'll type my own.)
He cracked his knuckles and got to work. If this was some kind of test or game, he was gonna go big. He typed in his first power idea—an insane, overpowered combo.
Immortality, indestructibility, power mimicry.
Access to all Tony Stark tech from every timeline and multiverse.
Absolute influence and control over any faction.
He hit Enter.
[Request denied. Too unbalanced. Please try again.]
He frowned. Okay. Maybe tone it down a little. He tried again. And again. And again.
Over twenty rejections later, he was ready to punch the monitor. But something clicked as he stared at the screen.
(Wait... it's not rejecting based on the name—it's reading intent. It knows what I'm trying to sneak in.)
He tested it. He typed something vague like:
Flavor Shift
Effect: Can change the taste of anything.
Harmless? Apparently not. Still got rejected.
(Seriously? I just typed Flavor Shift and it still rejected it? Come on!)
(Make poison taste like candy, trick enemies into drinking it. Turn air or water into something so nasty it makes people gag or pass out. Yeah, okay. I guess that is kinda OP.)
So the system wasn't just dumb code. It was smart. Possibly sentient. It filtered every idea with a sense of balance and morality baked in. He couldn't cheat it.
Eventually, tired of arguing with a screen, he settled on simpler stuff. Stuff that felt more grounded.
First wish: A good-looking face and a healthy body.
(Not gonna lie, being attractive helps a lot in life. And good health? Super important. I've seen what being sick can do to someone's entire life.)
[Accepted.]
Second wish: Full memory of all Tony Stark's MCU technology, complete understanding included, plus photographic memory.
(If I can't have comic book tech, I'll take what the movies gave us. And with a memory like that? I could recreate anything.)
[Accepted.]
Third wish: Be born into a super rich family. Like, Stark-level rich. Or Wayne-level.
(Yeah, I grew up with siblings and not much room to explore stuff I liked. If I had money from the start... things would've been easier. I could focus on building something big.)
[Accepted.]
A final message appeared on the screen:
[Good luck.]
The screen flashed—blinding, white-hot light that swallowed everything.
Then… nothing.
That's when everything changed.