'Where am I?'
Renzo's consciousness slowly returned.
'Why can't I move my body...?'
Renzo was an ordinary man from Earth and a veteran otaku. His favorite thing to do was stay at home and watch Marvel movies over and over again on his 4K big screen. Every time he watched them, he couldn't help but feel excited—he always wished he could enter that world himself.
"Come on! Beat up that purple shitbag!"
Renzo chewed popcorn, standing excitedly on his leather chair, shouting incoherently as he cheered for the Avengers.
"It would be great if I became an Avenger. At least I wouldn't be a liability like Star-Lord."
Renzo muttered to himself, his eyes never leaving the screen.
Boom—!
"Is it thundering outside?"
Renzo frowned, reluctantly paused the movie, then stood up to close the window.
"This weather… it was obviously sunny just now…"
He kept complaining, then turned to look at the Marvel figures in his glass display cabinet, a sense of pride rising in his chest. These were the results of years of collecting—some of them were even out of print and incredibly hard to find.
Renzo gently picked up a Vision figure and carefully stroked the red-and-green-skinned figure.
"You were so strong when you first appeared. How did you end up so weak in Infinity War…?"
He looked at Vision in his hand with regret, then raised it slightly.
Boom—!
Thunder roared.
The sudden crash startled Renzo, and he instinctively let go. The figure slipped from his hand and shattered on the floor.
"Ah! My Vision! My limited-edition figure!"
Renzo dropped to his knees, holding Vision's broken body—now in several pieces—in his hands. His heart ached as tears welled up in his eyes. He pointed at the sky and shouted angrily.
"You asshole! If you've got the guts, come at me—why destroy my figures?!"
Boom—!
Before Renzo could finish speaking, a bolt of white lightning struck him directly.
"Ahhh!"
His scream echoed throughout the building.
...
"This framework is incompatible."
"The genetic data match has reached 97%. You need to upload the schematic within three minutes..."
Someone was speaking. A doctor?
Renzo's consciousness gradually awakened again. He felt as though he was lying inside a coffin-like container—confined, unable to move at all.
'What's wrong with me? I remember being struck by lightning… Did I become paralyzed?!'
Renzo's thoughts spiraled into panic. He recalled reading about a man who had lain in bed for over twenty years—fully conscious, aware of everything around him, yet unable to speak or move. Silent. Isolated. Until one day, someone realized he was conscious, and he traced the words "I want to die" into their hand.
Yes—who could endure lying alone for decades? No communication, no care, no entertainment—living as if already dead.
Renzo now felt exactly like that man—conscious, yet completely unable to control his body.
'I won't have to lie here for twenty years before someone finds out, will I…?'
He couldn't accept it.
"You don't know what you're doing—"
"And what about you? Aren't you under her control too?"
Suddenly, Renzo heard arguing voices. They sounded strangely familiar, as if he had heard them somewhere before.
Amid the argument, he suddenly felt something being pulled out of his body.
Then came a gunshot—and the sound of shattering glass.
'Gunshots? Why are there gunshots in a hospital?'
Renzo's thoughts turned to fear. Had he been unconscious for a long time? Was he sent overseas for treatment?
'I can't be that unlucky… running into robbers in a hospital, right?'
'Pietro!'
A woman's anguished scream pierced his ears.
'Pietro? That voice… it sounds familiar. Like from a movie. Are they playing a movie in the hospital?'
Renzo's thoughts drifted hazily. Then, suddenly, he felt it—
His fingers moved.
'Hey! I'm okay!'
He was thrilled, though he didn't dare move further.
In the next instant, a flood of information surged into his mind, nearly overwhelming him completely.
"This is—"
He watched in horror as scenes unfolded within his consciousness: countless nuclear missiles launching into the sky, spreading across the globe. In an instant, the world was destroyed. Billions of lives vanished before his eyes—animals, plants, humans…
Everything.
The world fell into nuclear winter. No life remained.
"Boom!"
An intense heat coursed through Renzo's entire body. It was overwhelming—yet strangely relieving. He wanted to groan, but no sound escaped.
A blinding white light pierced through his closed eyelids. The sharp crackle of electricity filled his ears, as if countless bolts of lightning were converging upon him, pouring into his body.
Thor stood tensely before the regeneration cradle. Inside, the strange, newly formed synthetic body lay still.
Crack—
The glass cover suddenly shattered.
The figure inside leapt out, slamming into Thor and sending him crashing to the ground.
The strange being landed atop the cradle in a crouched position. Its metallic body gleamed, red and green interwoven with intricate patterns. The yellow gem on its forehead shone brilliantly, emanating an unfathomable aura.
Everyone watched the sudden intruder with vigilance—and it, in turn, observed them.
Then its gaze locked onto Thor.
As if drawn by something, it suddenly rushed toward him.
"Hm?!"
Thor reacted instantly, bracing himself. With a powerful motion, he deflected the being, sending it crashing through the lab glass and stopping near the outer wall.
Captain America leapt forward, preparing to engage, but Thor raised a hand to stop him—signaling caution.
A tense silence filled the room. Everyone remained on edge, ready to act at a moment's notice.
Renzo stared blankly at his reflection in the glass.
The unfamiliar form—the metallic body, the red-and-green coloration, the glowing gem on his forehead—none of it truly registered.
He slowly raised a hand and touched the glass, confusion flickering in his eyes.
Three voices echoed in his mind, overlapping, merging—
Until only one cold, indifferent voice remained.
He opened his mouth.
"I am Vision."
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