Chapter One: Transition to the Marvel Universe.
Daniel Adam woke in his small New York apartment in the alleys to the sound of his alarm. When he looked at the clock he realized he was late for work, so he sprang hurriedly from his bed, which looked as messy as usual; he stayed up late every night because of his addiction to computer games, especially "LoL." He hated that game for the abundance of toxic players in it, yet if an outsider watched the way Daniel played, they would think he was the most toxic of them all.
He washed his face quickly, searched the fridge for something to eat and found it truly empty. He sighed, shut down his personal computer that had been running since the night before, and left for work with an empty stomach. He worked at a company that made video games as well.
After a long, grueling day Daniel returned home at night exhausted. The day had taken longer than usual; after finishing his shift he had been forced to work double to make up for days he'd been absent. Although his manager was tense and complained a lot, he was kind at heart; and Daniel often took advantage of that kindness.
When he reached home, and before climbing his own stairs, he remembered he had to buy food because the fridge was bare, and he couldn't bear to spend the night without eating after having had only one meal in the middle of his shift. Instead of going up he decided to change direction and head to the nearest shop that was still open.
He remembered that the last shops were closing now, and that the closest one was about a kilometer away if he walked the regular route. But he knew a shorter path through some back alleys that required jumping over a wall in the middle of the way. Of course Daniel chose that shortcut. He finally arrived at the supermarket, bought quickly some instant noodles, several bottles of Pepsi, and packs of pre-packaged cured meat, then returned the same short way.
As he climbed over the wall for the second time on his way back, and as his feet landed on the pavement while he was jumping, he caught from the corner of his eye something glinting near the trash bins. He was immediately drawn to it; it was shaped like a coin — and all that came to mind was that it was a gold coin. He picked it up and stepped toward the dim streetlight that barely lit the road; when he examined what was in his hand astonishment stirred within him: "A gold coin!" he said to himself in a low voice. "My luck — I find a gold coin in the trash. This must be my luck after a hard day. With this I could buy meat for a long time."
A strange symbol was engraved on the coin, but he ignored it as he sank into calculations of how much he would get from selling it. Then he noticed something unsettling: the coin was stuck to his hand, it would not come off. He tried to let it go but a slight downward pull held it in place and it wouldn't drop. He placed the shopping bag in his other hand and began trying to pry the coin off with his other hand, but every attempt failed and anxiety swelled in his chest.
Suddenly a spatial portal opened from the coin in the shape of a black circle. It grew little by little until it swallowed Daniel's hand. He screamed, "Ah—help! Help!" but no one heard him; this was a path no one had used for years. The circle continued to widen until it extended to fill the entire street. Although he felt no pain in his hand, his terror was immense; he tried with his other hand to call for help or grab something, but it was too late. The portal expanded quickly, swallowed him whole, and consumed his mobile phone and the shopping bag beside him.
Then, as it had appeared suddenly, the portal began to shrink and wither until it vanished completely. Daniel had disappeared in an instant, along with everything connected to him; even the coin that had caused it left no trace.
Daniel opened his eyes slowly.
When the portal had swallowed him he had been unable to see anything or even move his body, but he had felt a strange sensation he had never experienced before, a mixture of lightness and vertigo, as if his body had been torn without pain.
After all that he was finally able to look, and found himself lying on the ground in the same place he had been moments before. Beside him lay the bag of noodles and the Pepsi, and his phone was still in his hand. Nothing had changed… or so he thought.
Daniel rose quickly, his heart pounding violently. He grabbed the bag and began to run away from the place as fast as he could, running without stopping until he reached the main street again.
He stopped there, panting from exertion, and stood stunned, looking around:
(What is happening? What is this? Was I dreaming?)
He sat on a side bench near the road. He drew breaths among the passersby, trying to make sense of what had happened as his mind replayed the scenes one after another.
Had what he saw been real? Had he dozed off on the path from exhaustion at work and dreamed it all?
He felt no pain, and found no trace of anything strange on his body, yet something seemed different… something he did not yet understand.
Then he began to notice another oddity.
(Since when did this street become this crowded? And why all these cars?)
The street he was used to seeing almost empty now teemed with people and vehicles to the extent that he would have to push through the crowd if he wanted to move. Even the shops that were supposed to have closed minutes ago were all open, fully lit, although the time should have been after midnight.
(Did an important person pass through here? Or have I lost my sense of time?)
Amid his bewilderment, a daily newspaper page fluttered on the night breeze and passed by his side. He ignored it instinctively but his eyes caught its bold headline:
"The Mutants… Are They Human or Not?"
He froze in place, then snatched the paper lightly and began to read it with wide eyes.
Each line he read increased his confusion and astonishment.
(What is this!!!!? Mutants!!!!??? Is this some prank by someone distributing these papers?)