Manhattan Villa.
Julia Roberts! The Hollywood superstar? No, just a real estate agent with an uncanny resemblance.
But to Vincent, that was enough.
"Catch me, and I'll buy you afternoon tea," Julia giggled, running up the stairs.
Vincent didn't hesitate. He chased after her.
Dusk.
They were woken by a phone call.
"Oh no, I have to go," Julia panicked, getting dressed. "My kids."
Vincent watched her. She was different from his other conquests. She had a family. A divorcee trying to make ends meet in a brutal economy. Her husband had collapsed during the financial crisis, leaving her to pick up the pieces.
"I enjoyed our time," Vincent said, pulling her into a kiss. "I'll call you."
Julia smiled sweetly and hurried out.
Vincent checked his phone. Gwen had sent a few texts about mundane things. He replied, playing the dutiful boyfriend.
Gwen didn't reply. She was probably out being Ghost Spider.
"Heroism is an addiction," Vincent mused. "But I like that about her."
He changed the villa's passcode and arranged for a cleaning service.
He thought about Oscorp.
"Connelly is a useful puppet for now. But I need someone loyal to watch the money."
Maybe Mystique? She was smart, adaptable, and could literally be anyone.
He left the villa and walked towards Central Park.
Even at night, his Hydro-Kinesis picked up multiple heartbeats in the bushes.
"Someone wants to play," Vincent smiled.
Central Park.
[Desire Points: 5.08 Million]
He had farmed nearly a million points from Gwen and Julia recently. But breaking the limit for his Ice Fruit required 80 Million.
"Long way to go."
Rustle.
In the trees, a squad of elite Marines aimed their weapons.
"Target in the kill zone," Major Terry whispered. "Intel says he's a Level 4 Mutant."
"Inject the Cure immediately," General Ross ordered via comms. "Do not let him use his powers."
Vincent heard everything.
"They think I'm a mutant. Cute."
Thwip!
Eight sniper rounds fired simultaneously. Needles, not bullets.
Vincent turned and smiled at the snipers as the needles pierced his skin.
The "Cure"—the mutant suppression serum—flooded his veins.
It did... absolutely nothing.
His powers weren't X-Gene based. They were conceptual. System-granted.
Vincent's Hydro-Kinesis simply grabbed the serum in his blood and expelled it through his pores as sweat.
"What the hell?!" Major Terry gasped. "He's not a mutant!"
"Attack! Lethal force!" Ross roared.
Gunfire erupted. Explosions rocked the park. Soldiers with flamethrowers charged.
Snap.
Vincent snapped his fingers.
Ice Time.
A wave of absolute white cold exploded from him.
In a heartbeat, a third of Central Park froze. The trees, the grass, the soldiers, the flames—everything turned into a silent, frozen sculpture garden.
The flamethrower troops were frozen mid-stream, their fire turned into jagged ice crystals.
Vincent walked up to a frozen camera drone. He tried to speak, but the device shattered from the cold.
"Connelly... you really aren't afraid of death, are you?"
Sanctum Sanctorum (Astral Plane).
The Ancient One stood atop a skyscraper, her yellow robes fluttering. The Time Stone (Eye of Agamotto) glowed green on her chest.
She peered into the timeline.
Chaos.
The Ice Demon's rise was a singularity. A cold front from the Atlantic that froze destiny itself.
"I cannot see his past. I cannot see his future," the Ancient One murmured.
She considered banishing him to the Mirror Dimension or a timeless void.
But her visions showed a terrifying counter-attack. If she moved against him, he would freeze time itself. An instant reaction. A cataclysm that would shatter New York.
"He is not evil... yet," she observed. "He is chaotic neutral. A force of nature."
She sensed the darkness encroaching on her own soul (from drawing power from the Dark Dimension). She was tired.
"The timeline is yours to break, child."
She opened a portal to the Himalayas and left.
Central Park.
[Alert: The Ancient One is shocked. +180,000 Desire Points!]
Vincent froze.
"The Ancient One is here?"
That was a massive amount of points from a single entity. It meant she was watching.
"If she uses the Time Stone, I'm in trouble," Vincent realized. "Unless I can freeze time first."
But she didn't attack. She left.
"Good. We have a truce."
He checked his total haul. +640,000 Points from the battle and the observers in New York.
Connelly Estate.
Arthur Connelly was shouting into his phone.
"General Ross! You failed! I told you he was dangerous!"
Luca, his bodyguard, backed away from the door, terrified.
Vincent walked in.
Connelly turned around, his face draining of color.
"He's here," Connelly whispered into the phone.
"Who?" Ross asked.
"The Ice Demon."
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