Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
I woke up in panic, struggling to breathe. Who am I? Where am I? I asked myself, disoriented. Chaos surrounded me. I was in a random alley in the middle of a warzone. As I sat up, I felt my memories rush back.
"Bastard!" I shouted in anger.
Then I noticed I was too small. My hands were not my own. I stood up fast. Seeing an abandoned mirror by a trash can, I ran toward it. I froze in shock when I saw my appearance. I was 10-year-old Erica Sinclair.
"System! System! Are you there?" I asked, trying to confirm if this was actually happening.
[ Congratulations! Now you are in your correct universe. Your new identity is Erica Sinclair from the Stranger Things Universe! As compensation from ROB, you have a newbie gift bag. Do you want to extract? Yes or No. ]
"YES!" I shouted. I would need everything to survive Hawkins. Oh my god! Stranger Things is a dangerous reality full of monsters trying to kill and dominate the world. How am I supposed to fight Vecna?!
[ You have received the power of Telekinesis. ]
"Am I like a Number but without the experiments?" I muttered to myself, excited. I had just gained superpowers. Wow!
Wait, focus. I was still in a warzone.
I walked out of the alley to scan my surroundings. What the hell! This was not Stranger Things; this was clearly the 21st century. Despite the chaos, I recognized I was in the wrong decade. Then, I looked up.
My heart almost stopped again. I saw a sight I recognized immediately: a gigantic portal in the sky, Chitauri flying everywhere, and even Iron Man. I was in the middle of the Battle of New York. I was in MARVEL.
"System! This is fucking Marvel, not Stranger Things!" I whispered, panicked but furious. Marvel Universe. Suddenly, Vecna was the least of my problems. Thanos, gods, monsters, and universe-ending threats? Yeah… Hawkins never looked so safe. Even the government was kind in comparison to SHIELD or HYDRA.
[ Marvel? There seems to be an error. My database shows that we are in Stranger Things. ]
"Look around us! This is freaking MARVEL! Oh my god! I'm going to die again! And that is an experience I do NOT want to repeat."
[ I will check with Headquarters for optimal solutions for your situation. ]
[ … Loading … ]
"No! Help me! How am I supposed to survive?!"
[ … Loading … ]
"System?!"
"Breathe. Breathe. Calm down. You need to think logically to survive. The system is now unavailable, you can't change that. What else can you do? The newbie gift bag. I have telekinesis. I can protect myself and hide somewhere safe until the system comes back."
Overwhelmed and lost in my thoughts, I forgot a tiny detail: I WAS STANDING RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF A REAL ALIEN INVASION.
Three aliens surrounded me.
I instinctively threw my hands forward and shouted, "Activate telekinesis!" The silence was almost embarrassing. I could feel even the Chitauri judging me. But I didn't care. I desperately kept flinging my hands around as if it would help.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Captain America running toward me with his shield raised. Yes, the superhero could save the day. He would save me.
But he was too far. Not even Captain America, the super soldier, could reach me in time.
I closed my eyes and screamed,
"AAAAHHHHHH!!!!!"
Then something almost magical happened. I felt something unlock inside me. All the Chitauri were thrown back by a massive force and killed instantly. For a moment, I felt powerful, like electricity was running through my body. My nose started bleeding. My telekinesis! I had real superpowers!
When Captain finally reached me seconds later, I had already saved myself. He dropped to his knees immediately.
"Are you okay?"
I could only nod, still in shock, not believing what just happened. He scanned the scene, eyes widening as he realized what I'd done. A 10-year-old girl killing three aliens by herself with telekinesis was not an everyday sight. But as a soldier, he knew now was not the time to be distracted. Steve Rogers stood up and turned toward Stark Tower, heading toward the origin of the chaos.
Again, I did something stupid before thinking. I launched myself onto his back. The soldier stumbled in surprise.
"I can help!"
"Little girl, now is not the time for games. I don't know what you just did, but it's too dangerous for a kid like you. Go run!" he ordered sternly, holding my clothes to put me down.
But all I could think was that this wasn't a movie anymore. Many, many people would die. Now that I had powers, I could help, even if it was just one person. Almost as if my powers acted on my thoughts, I stuck onto him with telekinesis. He couldn't push me off no matter how hard he tried.
"I will not hide, and it looks like you can't push me away. Plus, it looks like you need to get to that building fast before something worse happens." I said cheekily, pointing toward Stark Tower.
"RUN!" shouted the Captain.
"NO!" I shouted back in his ear.
"Damn it!" Captain America swore.
"Language!" I responded automatically, out of pure MCU meme instinct.
He took off running with no other choice. And I, acting recklessly and full of adrenaline, did something no one dared to do. I barked orders from his back as he ran.
"Run, horsie! Run!" I shouted, laughing, kicking him lightly, pointing forward, having the time of my life in the middle of a warzone — even if I was probably going to die.