Chapter 14: Simulation: Marcus Reed, Part 1
[New York Streets – Night – Simulation, Age 18, Year 1]
Adam blinked, and the familiar grimy alley of Hell's Kitchen faded away, replaced by the glittering, rain-slicked streets of a futuristic New York. The smell of garbage was gone, replaced by the clean, metallic tang of advanced technology. He was standing on a rooftop, and the city lights twinkled below him like a field of stars. He looked down at himself. He wasn't Adam Stiels anymore. He was Marcus Reed, an 18-year-old tech-enhanced vigilante. His suit was sleek, black, and covered in a network of glowing blue circuitry.
[IN THE FIRST YEAR, YOU AWAKEN AS MARCUS REED, A VIGILANTE WITH TECH GADGETS. YOU EVADE A HYDRA AMBUSH.]
[SIMULATION: MARCUS REED, VIGILANTE. MASTER INFILTRATION.]
He could feel the gadgets, an extension of his body, the tech flowing like a second nervous system. This was different from his last simulation. This was tech, not magic. This was his world.
"Tech vigilante? I'm Stark 2.0!" he said to himself, a wide, enthusiastic smile on his face.
He heard the sound of footsteps on the rooftop below. A HYDRA ambush. They were coming for him. He slipped a hand into a built-in compartment in his suit and pulled out a small, metallic device. He threw it into a crowd of operatives, and it landed with a loud thump. The device began to project a holographic message, a large, flashing red alert that read: TECH BREACH! The operatives froze, their faces a mix of confusion and panic.
"Tech breach!" one of them shouted, pointing at the device.
"Just a glitch, folks!" Adam yelled, slipping past them, his footsteps silent on the metal stairs.
A voice, familiar and exasperated, came through his comms. "Focus, Reed, or you're scrapped." It was Tony Stark. He was his mentor in this simulation, a grumpy, perpetually annoyed version of himself.
"Focus? I'm a tech ninja!" Adam retorted, grinning as he went down the stairs, leaving the confused HYDRA operatives to deal with the fake alert. He had evaded them with a simple prank.
"Tech life? Time to shine," he thought. This was going to be fun.
[Stark Industries Lab – Morning – Simulation, Age 18, Year 1]
The Stark Industries lab was everything Adam imagined and more. It was a playground of gleaming metal, flashing lights, and holographic displays. Tony Stark was bent over a workbench, fiddling with a piece of his suit. He looked up at Adam, a scowl on his face.
[IN THE FIRST YEAR, YOU TRAIN WITH TONY STARK, UNLOCKING BASIC TACTICAL INFILTRATION.]
[PROGRESS: BASIC TACTICAL INFILTRATION UNLOCKED.]
"You're a menace, kid," Tony muttered, not bothering to look up. "This is a lab, not a playground. Now, let's get this over with. You're going to master Tactical Infiltration. It's about being unseen, unheard, and un-sensed."
"Infiltration? I'm a tech ghost!" Adam said, running a hand over a holographic display. He sent a small, harmless spark into a nearby workbench, causing a neatly stacked toolbox to rattle and fall to the ground with a clang. The technician working at the bench jumped, startled.
Tony sighed, massaging his temples. "Quiet, Reed, or you're fried. I swear, you're going to break something important."
"Fried? I'm too cool!" Adam quipped, a laugh bubbling up in his throat.
The technician, picking up his tools, looked at Adam with a mixture of annoyance and awe. "He's a mess!" he said to Tony.
"Mess with style!" Adam added, a triumphant grin on his face.
"Infiltration's fun. Gotta master it," he thought, looking at the complex training program Tony had prepared for him. This was a whole new world of skills, and he was ready to conquer it.
[HYDRA Outpost – Afternoon – Simulation, Age 19, Year 2]
A year had passed. Adam had spent it training with Tony, mastering the basics of Tactical Infiltration. He was a better ghost now, a more subtle shade. The system's prompt affirmed his progress.
[IN THE SECOND YEAR, YOU TRACK A HYDRA CELL, USING BASIC TACTICAL INFILTRATION. YOU GAIN STARK'S NOTICE.]
[PROGRESS: BASIC TACTICAL INFILTRATION AT 20%.]
"Twenty percent? I'm a shadow!" he thought, a sense of pride swelling in his chest. He was in a warehouse, tracking a HYDRA cell. He moved from crate to crate, his movements silent and precise. He could feel a guard's vibrations in the floorboards before the man even turned the corner.
Tony's voice came over the comms, a rare note of genuine approval in his tone. "Stay hidden, Reed. Don't alert them. Just track them."
"Hidden? I'm invisible!" Adam replied, sending a low-frequency hum through a nearby crate. The crate began to rattle and shake, startling a guard who was about to round the corner. The guard paused, confused, looking at the rattling crate before turning back.
"Good work," Tony said, a note of surprise in his voice. "You're… surprisingly good at this."
"Stark's watching. Gotta impress," Adam felt a rush of gratification. He was doing well. He was learning. And the best part? He was still getting to be a little chaotic.
[HYDRA Cell Base – Evening – Simulation, Age 20, Year 3]
The years continued to blur. Adam was now 20, a veteran of two years of infiltration missions. He was good. Too good. The system's latest prompt was a test.
[IN THE THIRD YEAR, YOU SABOTAGE A HYDRA CELL, USING BASIC TACTICAL INFILTRATION. A MAJOR CHOICE APPROACHES.]
He was in the heart of the cell's base, surrounded by terminals and armed guards. He had already found the main terminal. He sent a small, barely perceptible electric current into the main server, causing a large, bright red alert to blare on all the terminals. INTRUDER ALERT!
"Sabotage? I'm wrecking this place!" Adam declared into his comm, a grin on his face.
Tony's voice was a panicked whisper. "Don't be reckless, Reed. We need to do this quietly!"
"Reckless? I'm a tech legend!" Adam retorted, already moving to the next terminal. An operative saw him, his eyes wide with surprise.
"Intruder!" the operative screamed, pointing his weapon.
"Intruder with style!" Adam said, a small, controlled plasma spark jumping from his fingertip, shorting out the terminal.
Tony just sighed. "Focus, kid. We need to talk about your choices."
"Big choice, big rewards," Adam thought, his eyes on the main terminal. He had a choice to make, a decision that would define the rest of his life in this simulation. He could hear the panicked footsteps of the guards, the shouting of the operatives. The place was in chaos, and he was the one causing it. He had a job to do.
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