A small retcon , wouldn't affect the story' too much , He is in the final years of college instead of High school.
Sorry for this but sometimes it just takes a bit more time for ideas to become solid.
Ignore this if I changed it in the earlier chapters
...
"N-Nana don't worry I'll get you out! And I'll save everyone else too!" Desperation and fear clouded my mind as I held onto Nana's hand tightly as she was stuck under the book shelf while our surroundings burned.
"Addy it's fine , Nana isn't hurt at all … in fact it feels warm… why don't you go out and let Nana sleep here along with the rest of them…" Nana was smiling, even at a time like this she was still kind, but how can I leave her knowing she was in this position because of me ?
"N-Nana-"
"Shhh, Adrian my sweet child , I may not have birthed you , but there was never a moment in my life that I hadn't thought of you as my own , all of you were my children…. What kind of a parent would I be if I let something happen to you , and I think your siblings would feel lonely without me… so would you let Nana be selfish for once ? " Nana gave me her kind and motherly smile as she pressed her warm lips against my forehead in an affectionate kiss, making me tremble as I knew this warmth would be foreign to me…..
....
*3rd Person*
The moment Adrian collapsed to the ground while holding onto Jimmy , Paramedics quickly rushed in trying to help him.
But something inside Adrian had changed and he would only know after gaining consciousness.
[ Ding!]
[ Mission completed ]
[ While other cowered in fear and clung to their survival instincts , you showed them what makes you different. ]
[ First step has been taken ]
[ Mission Reward = A case of Redbull ]
[ Additional Reward = Vigilante Pack ]
...
...
*Adrian POV*
*Gasp!*
'A dream ?'
'Where am I'
I looked around me, taking a few moments to take in my surroundings as white sterile walls surrounded me.
My body relaxed as realisation struck me and I was aware of my predicament.
'I am alive..' My eyes became a bit blurry as I couldn't prevent myself from getting emotional.
I survived , and for the time being even if I was curious about Jimmy , I decided to ask about it later since my attention turned towards the blonde who was resting beside my bedside.
My gaze softened as I gazed at my sister as I could see the dried up tears near the corner of her eyes.
I rested against the soft mattress not bothering to disturb her as I felt that she must have been very tired due to the stress and worry.
She had told me that she was going to Mexico for a business related trip , so seeing her here meant that she had abandoned whatever plans she had and rushed over to New York , which made me feel guilty.
After Nana , Emma was the person who made me feel wanted and loved….
[ Image ]
…..
"Come on Emma ~ Cut our little hero some slack ~ " Susan giggled as she was feeding me while my sister just sat there with a scowl on her face which was present from the moment she had woken.
She had made sure to eat my ears out , which I had zero complaints about since I was just glad that I could listen to her voice and see her.
"Hmph! Hero ? More like an impulsive idiot! Did he even think for one moment about his safety or about me? W-What would I do if something happened to him?" Emma snorted while she continued to air out her frustration but the last part of her words hit me hard and seeing her be so vulnerable made a lump form in my throat.
Even Susan's cheerful smile faded slightly feeling Emma's emotions.
" S-Sis … I'm sorry " I felt a bit ashamed as the only thing I could do was apologise.
My words seem to make Emma calm down, as she gazed at me with a hint of guilt.
" No… I'm sorry for being too hard on you , you did the right thing Addy , and I'm proud of you. I was just a bit overwhelmed by my emotions. " Emma wiped the corner of her eyes as she reached out to hold my hands gently while smiling at me , making me feel relieved.
" It's just you are too important to me , to me you are more precious than all this money and power I have… " Damn it … I didn't want to seem like a wimp in front of them but my sister's words made it really hard for me to keep a straight face as tears flowed down my face involuntarily.
But they didn't make fun of me as my sister just sat beside me and pulled my face into her soft bosom while Susan just rubbed my back gently.
They really were too good to me…
...
Emma and Susan left me alone giving me some time to myself and I decided to check out the flashing notifications that had been bothering me for a while.
I'm pretty sure it must be about the case of Red Bull which made my lips twitch, as the thought of it sent a wave of annoyance through me.
But I took a deep breath to calm myself because I didn't do it for the reward.
But after checking out the notification I was so stunned that it took me a few seconds to come to my senses.
Is this the same system that has been with me for more than 5 years of my life ?
Am I still dreaming, this can't be true right ?
...
A set of powers that came with no strings attached, it seemed too good to be true but that was the truth.
[ Lie Detection]
[ Night Vision ]
[ Pain Suppression ]
[ Aura Reading ]
[ Enhanced Smell ]
[ Cosmetic ]
[ Weapon Recall ]
[ Wall Crawling ]
[ Acrobatic Combat Mastery ]
[ Instant Multilingualism ]
[ Echo tracking ]
[ Energy Reflection ( limited ) ]
[ Shadow Step ]
[ Sound Reflection]
[ An underground personal Gym ] ( Every vigilante needs a place to hone his skills , what better place than under your own home! ]
A Vigilante gift pack with a set of useful powers and skills that aren't anything too ground breaking but at the same time they were really useful.
My gaze traced through the powers listed making me astonished as to why the system was being so generous.
Not to mention the gym under my own house….. That is some reality manipulating shit right there.
There should be a catch right ?
...
In fact there was a catch …
[ The Fire wasn't accidental … Do you wish to know more ? It will trigger another Quest which you are free to accept or decline …]
My jaw tightened at those words , knowing that the fire wasn't accidental made a pit form in my stomach as images of that night flashed through my mind.
The burnt corpses , the injured people , the wails , the screams … everything flashed through my mind.
I couldn't refuse it, it was like a sweet whisper, I wanted to know more even while knowing it would get me more entangled in a mess I probably wouldn't want to get involved in…..
...
The Hand , King Pin , Hells Kitchen.
These names flashed through my mind, my fingers clenching the sheets tightly as I gazed at the Quest screen.
[ King Pin and The Hand are conducting illegal activities centered in New York , and other nearby states starting from Organ Trafficking to prostitution , human trafficking, child trafficking, smuggling , narcotics . There isn't a single illegal activity they aren't involved in. ]
[ Recently there had been reports of orphanages burning down with all of the victims presumed dead, but the truth is however vastly different…. These children are to be shipped off in a week to some wealthy customers … Their motive is unknown ]
[ Purpose: Save the children, and destroy the hand and King Pin's cooperation while at the same time systematically taking down their chains of operation. ]
[ Countdown till the kids are diddled - 7 days ( Ps , the police and lot of powerful figures are also involved so no use in reporting to the authorities) ]
I bit my lips in frustration as I gazed at the information before me.
Just like I thought it was an even bigger mess , a fire to kill a target without alerting anyone and to make it seem like a natural death.
The casualties were icing on the cake for these people who wanted to make it seem as natural as possible.
The taste of blood on my tongue snapped me out of my thoughts as I let out a weary sigh while sinking back into the comfort of the mattress.
I wished Sis hadn't left me alone… but if she hadn't then I wouldn't have known about the kids.
But if I hadn't known about the kids then it wouldn't have bothered me.
"Damn it!" I cursed in frustration while shielding my eyes with my arms….
...
" Dude I really feel like I should have come later…" Miles awkwardly whispered to me while he gave a side eye to the 3 girls who sat in absolute silence while slightly eyeing each other from time to time.
" Did Sis invite you ? " I asked curiously while eating a slice of apple that Peni put in my mouth.
What a sweetheart~
And she is feeling shy too~ How cute~
"Oh Yeah! Why didn't you say your sister was fricking Emma Frost! " Miles said in surprise as he gave me a stink eye like I kept a secret from him.
" First of all you didn't ask , and second of all my sister wanted to keep me out of the limelight , and third she is my half sister …" Miles wanted to say something but my logic seemed to have made him a bit speechless as I leaned forward to take another slice of apple.
I'm not even going to bother turning to the trio in the corner who seemed to have issues with each other.
Only if all women could be sweet and simple like Peni , how simple would life be~....
…..
All three of them left wishing me well while leaving Felicia behind who just sat in silence.
Good for me , since I didn't know what to say to her too.
I ignored Felicia while reading today's newspaper and my grip tightened a bit when I saw the fire in the building being claimed as accidental.
"H-Hey…" I was broken out of my thoughts by Felicia's voice as my gaze moved towards as she was fidgeting a bit.
I could practically feel the awkwardness oozing out of her , and I too was feeling awkward around her but I didn't show it too much.
"Hey.." I greeted her in return since I didn't know what to say.
" Umm … are you okay ? " Felicia asked me with a hint of awkwardness as my reply had thrown the initiative of continuing the conversation to her.
'Was she concerned?'
" Yeah , Doctors said I could be discharged in a few days, since other than my arm and some minor injuries, I didn't sustain anything serious." I saw Felicia's form relax, making me confused because I didn't think she was this concerned.
Other than dislike I hadn't expected her to harbour any other emotion, since I had hurt her pride so many times.
"That's good…" Felicia replied and I didn't say anything else to her since I didn't have anything else to add and honestly being in a room alone with her was more awkward than I thought.
Yes .. we slept together a couple of times , but I don't think there was any emotional connection between us.
And honestly that made it weirder for me since I was just using Felicia as an escape and a way to release my frustrations.
I didn't feel bad … because both of us were using each other….
…..
*Felicia POV*
Ugh… why do I feel so uncomfortable because of this jack ass.
I fricking hate his guts…. But why do I care so much about what he thinks?
Say something you idiot ? Or do you think you are too good to talk to a 'slut' like me ?
And what's with those precise and curt replies like you are speaking to one of your servants.
Heh… bastard…
…..
"Take care.." There were many more things I wanted to say , to be specific, a bunch of curses.
He made me feel worthless especially since I was the one constantly making advances on him only for him to brush it off.
I hated that his indifference hurt me way more than I thought it would.
I bet you couldn't even imagine that , I gave my first time to you , and I'm probably sure that you wouldn't believe it even if I told you.
You are just the same as everyone else… Why did I even hope for anything different?
...
I'm such a hopeless idiot …. Why can't I just leave with dignity without being such a pathetic and insecure bitch.
Just one step and I'll be out of this god forsaken room away from this asshole who has been dominating my thoughts for the last few weeks for God knows what reason.
I promised myself to stop caring about whatever this jackass thought about me , but I still wanted to know … so the words flew out of my lips before I could even think.
" Do you hate me? " To my credit my voice didn't tremble and I was pretty calm unlike the emotions I was feeling.
I could guess the answer , but I still wanted to hear it from him.
" Not really , In fact I like you…"
...
...
...
'Huh?....The fuck !!!!! '
" I-I see .." Run away , quick ! I have to escape, my chest is starting to feel weird…
…..
I leaned against the wall while covering my face as I hid the wide smile on my face which I couldn't stop , and I didn't want people thinking I was mad.
I am so hopeless… a few words from him was enough to make me feel like I went on a roller coaster ride.
And this nonchalant bastard said it so calmly, did he even mean what he said?
How am I supposed to act when I face him again ?
Ugh!..Damn it!
...
*Adrian POV*
Does she like me?... But what changed?
I believed the only thing she had for me was amusement. That was why I wanted to stay away from her since I didn't want my feelings to develop further.
And even if she did , I wasn't completely over 'her' yet and I didn't think it would be fair to Felicia…
But what about Peni?
I don't want to hurt her and if I weigh my feelings then I obviously care about Peni more.
Then there is Gwen and MJ , another can of worms.
Ugh …. feelings are such a pain…..
....
[ Emma Frost ]
...
Gib the stones ... Cuz Im saying please 🦆
....
Mc current powers
[ Perfect Recall / Photographic Memory ]
Adrian can remember everything he has seen or heard.
[ Very low level Empathy Detection]
Will not work every time , has a higher chance of working on individuals in a fragile state of mind and eye contact is required to trigger it.
[ Enhanced agility ]
Only at the level of a trained athlete , fast and flexible like a gymnast. It is good for agility but it is in the realms of normal humans , not even reaching super human.
[ Plant Communication ]
Can sense the health and need of plants to help them grow faster and healthier but cannot control or move them.
[ Perfect Genes ]
The perfect genes to gain a perfect physique as long as Adiran puts in the work.
[ Enhanced Hearing ]
As the name suggests it enhances Adrian's auditory senses , and the best part is that it gets stronger with him.
It's not capped like Enhanced agility
[ Lie Detection]
Can tell if someone is lying , but not what the truth is
[ Night Vision ]
Can see in the dark
[ Pain Suppression ]
Can ignore pain temporarily, but the damage still happens and it could get worse without noticing.
[ Aura Reading ]
See vague colours around people that hint at mood or intent , but can't get clear answers
[ Enhanced Smell ]
Great for tracking , but could be overwhelmed by strong odors
[ Cosmetic ]
Can change the colour of hair and eyes
[ Weapon Recall ]
Can summon a specific weapon to hand as long as it's binded to the ability, range of 100 metres.
[ Wall Crawling ]
Can stick to walls but cannot run super fast or carry heavy loads.
[ Acrobatic Combat Mastery ]
Fights like a pro with skills focusing on dodge , flips and style. But it's skill based not power based.
[ Instant Multilingualism ]
Understand and speak any language.
[ Echo tracking ]
Like a bat, use echo location to track targets , works best in stealth in the dark.
[ Energy Reflection ( limited ) ]
Can deflect energy or elemental attacks but has a Cool down period.
[ Shadow Step ]
Can move between two shadows that are within ten metres of each other. Useless in direct sunlight or well lit areas.
[ Sound Reflection]
Redirect noise elsewhere, good for stealth but not for combat.