Chapter 2: The Alley Gambit
The cash in Alex's pocket felt both like a fortune and a lead weight, a beacon in the cold, biting New York air. The pawn shop owner had been a grizzled man with a perpetually suspicious squint, but he'd paid for the items—Alex's old phone, a nice watch—without a word. Now, as Alex walked down a side street, the city felt a little less alien, a little more like a game board he could navigate. But every game has its rules, and its players. A low-frequency hum from the System gave him a vague sense of unease. He turned down a narrow alley, hoping for a shortcut, and found himself cornered by three figures, their faces obscured by the harsh shadows cast by a flickering streetlight.
"Easy there, man. Just hand over the cash, and no one gets hurt," the lead thug said, a switchblade glinting in his hand. The metallic click of the blade was the only sound in the oppressive silence. The smell of cheap cigarettes and something acrid hung in the air, a scent that was all too familiar from his old life. The damp, slick cobblestones beneath his feet seemed to mock him, making a clean escape impossible.
"My mind raced. I had no combat training, no real weapons. This was it. The first big test. I could feel the panic rising in my throat, but a bizarre, almost manic part of me found the situation absurdly funny. I'd survived a dimensional shift, but I was going to get mugged in an alley in 2012 New York. The irony was palpable."
He took a deep breath, his flirty, sarcastic side taking over as a defense mechanism.
"Sorry, I'm all out of 'handing over cash to shady guys in alleys' today. Try again tomorrow. I'm taking appointments now, but the line is a little long."
The thug's expression, obscured by the shadows, hardened. "You think this is a joke?"
[SYSTEM: Threat detected: Low-tier muggers. Threat level: Embarrassingly low. Recommends using your daily power: Blink. Try not to trip.]
"Oh, good. The system has a sense of humor. Barely. Blink? Is that… teleportation? Right. Don't trip. Sound advice."
The first thug lunged, a knife glinting in his hand. Alex, acting on a gut instinct, felt a familiar buzz in his head, a sort of mental twitch. He focused on a point behind the thug, and in a flash of non-light, a sound like a wet towel flapping in the wind, he was there. The thug, overshooting his mark, stumbled forward, a look of utter confusion on his face. He looked back, his eyes wide. Alex grinned, a mix of fear and pure exhilaration coursing through him. He felt like a magician, a con artist.
"I told you, no. But I can offer you a free magic show. You look like you need a little pizzazz in your life. Seriously, a switchblade? It's not 1980 anymore."
The second thug, now terrified, backed away. Alex felt the mental twitch again, this time with a little more control, and blinked behind him, appearing with a soft whoosh of displaced air. The thug let out a startled gasp, his face a mask of cold dread. The third, the leader with a cobra tattoo on his neck, stood his ground, but his bravado was gone. He was staring, not at Alex, but at the empty space where he'd been standing.
[SYSTEM: Reward: +5 EP for creative use of Blink. Your teleportation is... improving. Barely.]
"Hey, I'll take it. I've only done it twice and I haven't died yet. New record."
The leader's face, now visible in the harsh light, was a picture of fear. He was no tough guy, just a desperate man in a bad part of town. Alex, feeling the adrenaline wear off, stood his ground, his confident smirk a part of the act now. He blinked in front of the leader, who flinched violently, his switchblade clattering to the ground with a sharp, metallic sound.
"You know, this city is about to get a whole lot more interesting, and I'm not talking about the magic show. The real show, the one with aliens and super soldiers and gods, is about to start. So get out of my way, before you get caught in the blast. You're not a part of this story, so go home. Before you get caught in the crossfire."
The thug, shaken, didn't need to be told twice. He turned and fled, his footsteps echoing in the distance, a faint, rhythmic drumbeat against the asphalt. Alex stood alone in the alley, the cold night breeze against his face, the sound of the switchblade clattering on the ground a final, poignant note. The adrenaline had worn off, leaving him shaky and exhausted. He looked at the System icon, a new respect for it dawning on him. It had given him a tool, and he had used it. He was a survivor.
[SYSTEM: Threat eliminated. You are now 5% more competent. A new record.]
"Only 5%? What's the other 95%? Getting a cup of coffee without a existential crisis?"
He knew he couldn't stay in the alley. He needed a place to rest, to plan, to figure out what came next. The city felt both more and less threatening now. He had a weapon, a weird, unpredictable one, but a weapon nonetheless. He had a purpose. He had a mission. He had to find Wanda. And he knew, with a certainty that settled deep in his bones, that to find her, he would have to face the storm that was coming.
Love [ MARVEL : Random Xmen Gene daily ]? Unlock More Chapters and Support the Story!
Dive deeper into the world of [ MARVEL : Random Xmen Gene daily ] with exclusive access to 35+ chapters on my Patreon, plus new fanfic every week! Your support starting at just $5/month helps me keep crafting the stories you love across epic universes like [Grimm, Teen Wolf ,blacklist,Game Of Throne ,MCU and Arrowverse].
By joining, you're not just getting more chapters—you're helping me bring new worlds, twists, and adventures to life. Every pledge makes a huge difference!
👉 Join now at patreon.com/TheFinex5 and start reading today!