Chapter 1: A New Start
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Marvel Universe, United States of America,
New York, Queens,
Street 03
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Inside a House
The room was dim, lit only by the faint glow of a lamp filtering. John sat cross-legged on the floor of his small bedroom, his eyes closed, his breathing slow and deliberate. The chaos of his mind swirled like a storm memories that weren't entirely his, fragments of a life he hadn't lived, and the overwhelming weight of a world he now recognized. Stark Industries!Tony Stark. A playboy billionaire, not yet the armored hero. The Marvel Universe. A place where gods walked the earth, demons lurked in shadows, and heroes were as common as stray dogs. But for an ordinary guy like John? It was a death trap.
His eyes fluttered open, and he exhaled sharply. The realization hit him like a punch to the gut every time. This wasn't a comic book or a movie. This was real. A world where family planing titan like Thanos could snap half of existence into dust, where Dormammu hungered to swallow the Earth whole, where alien invasions and chaotic gangsters were just another Tuesday. And here he was, John, a nobody in a world of super-powered somebodies.
He rubbed his temples, trying to ease the throbbing headache that came with piecing it all together. "I'm just a regular guy," he muttered to himself. "No powers, no tech, no magic hammer. Just me." The thought was both sobering and terrifying. In a world where the earth could be shattered by a villain's bad mood, being ordinary was a liability.
John was a transmigrator. In his previous life, he'd been a policeman, a beat cop who'd seen his share of danger but nothing like the insanity of this world. He'd died—how, he couldn't quite remember and woken up here, in the body of a newly graduated kid named John, same as his old self. His parents in this life had died in a car car crash, leaving him in the care of his grandmother, who'd passed away three months ago. She'd left him this modest house in Queens, a small corner shop a few blocks away, and enough savings to get by for a while. It wasn't much, but it was a start.
He stood, stretching his lanky frame, and caught his reflection in the mirror. Pale, thin, and unimpressive. "This won't do," he said, shaking his head. If he was going to survive in this world, he needed to be more than ordinary. He needed to be ready. His old life as a cop had taught him discipline, strategy, and how to keep calm under pressure. Those skills would serve him here, but this weak body? It had to change.
The next morning, John walked into a nearby gym, a no-nonsense place filled with the clank of weights and the smell of sweat. He signed up for a membership, ignoring the skeptical glance from the trainer who sized up his scrawny frame. "You sure you're ready for this?" the trainer asked.
John smirked. "I've handled worse."
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Days turned into weeks, and weeks into months. John threw himself into his training with the same dogged determination he'd had as a cop. He lifted weights, ran sprints, and studied boxing techniques from videos. His diet became a science—lean proteins, complex carbs, and enough greens to make a rabbit jealous. No shortcuts, no steroids, just hard work and consistency. Four months later, he stood in front of the mirror again. He wasn't a bodybuilder, not by a long shot, but the change was undeniable. His frame had filled out, his arms and chest showing defined lines of muscle. He looked… average. Not superhuman, but solid. Capable. For now, that was enough.
With his body in better shape, John turned his focus to his future. He couldn't just sit in this house waiting for the world to explode. He needed purpose, a way to protect himself and others in this dangerous world. His old life as a policeman called to him. It was familiar, something he knew he could do well.
He scoured the internet for openings in the NYPD. The process wasn't easy. First came the written exam, a grueling test of logic, law, and situational judgment. John breezed through it, his cop instincts from his past life kicking in like muscle memory. Next was the physical fitness test—push-ups, sit-ups, a 1.5-mile run, and a brutal obstacle course. His months in the gym paid off; he wasn't the fastest or strongest, but he passed with room to spare. The psychological evaluation was trickier, He kept his answers grounded, focusing on duty and protecting the innocent.
The final hurdle was the oral board interview. Three stone-faced officers grilled him on everything from ethics to hypothetical scenarios. "Why do you want to be a cop?" one asked, her eyes narrowing.
John leaned forward, his voice steady. "Because people out there need someone to stand between them and the chaos. I've seen what happens when no one steps up. I want to be that person."
He got the call a week later. Accepted. He'd start at the Police Academy in six weeks.
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A year passed in a blur. The academy was brutal—endless drills, legal studies, firearms training, and learning to navigate the gray areas of human conflict. John excelled, not because he was the best shot or the fastest runner, but because he had something the other recruits didn't: experience. Not just from his past life, but from the knowledge that this world was a ticking time bomb. Every lesson, every practice scenario, he approached with the urgency of someone who knew what was coming.
Graduation day came, and John stood in his crisp blue uniform, badge pinned to his chest. He felt a flicker of pride, but it was tempered by the weight of what lay ahead. Tony Stark was still out there, partying his way through life. Captain America was still frozen in the Arctic. The Hulk was on the run, and Thor was swinging his hammer in Asgard. But soon, the world would shift. Heroes would rise, villains would strike, and John would be right in the middle of it a cop in a city on the edge of chaos.
He walked out of the precinct on his first day, the streets of Queens buzzing around him. A kid swung by on a skateboard, a hot dog vendor shouted his prices, and somewhere in the distance, a siren wailed. John adjusted his cap and took a deep breath. "Alright, Marvel," he muttered. "Let's see what you've got."
Little did he know, the universe was already shifting gears.