"Ugh," I sighed limply plopping onto a bench, a bone-wary tiredness permeating from my soul. " Man, I'm exhausted," I said. Despite my current inability to even feel exhaustion physically thanks to [Reactive Adaptation] slowly removing my ability to physically feel fatigued. I was still tired Because I was mentally drained.
The fact was that I was now in Brockton Bay, specifically, I was sitting on one of the benches in Brockton Bay Central Park, in Earth Bet!! Yeah, the fictional Earth Bet from Worm.
I sat in numb disbelief at the fact that I was now looking out into one of the shifting faceless crowds of a fictional world and realizing that the crowd before me was made up of individuals and not statistics written on a page to express the devastation a named character could wreak on an unsuspecting populace. They were people just going about their day heading to or from work or eating on a park bench just like mine and it was a mind-fuck that I was Ill prepared to handle.
I mean there they were going about their day or having a picnic in the middle of the park completely ignorant of the insanity that was unfolding right before my eyes I mean at first I thought it was kind of tripping balls and when I went to sleep I taught that I just wake up and all of this would have been a fever dream but as the sun rose to announce the dawn of a new day I got out of my new bed in my new secret lair under the park I didn't even have words for what I'd felt at that moment.
I didn't even have words for what I was feeling right now, As I sat there in a park, in America, in the hell-hole that was Earth Bet, in Worm, With the power of Power Manipulator from the Worm Cyoa v1, Standard mode.
One moment I had been at home eating a bowl of cereal and the next I was on the floor of my secret lair, Bowl of cereal still in hand, miles beneath Brockton Bay Central Park, and a head filled with Instincts that weren't there before, Knowing that for some reason I had been given Power Manipulator, Invictus, Blank, Shattered limiter, secret lair and I've been dumped into Brockton Bay.
I'd been so overwhelmed confused and shocked that I just shut down and said 'fuck it' before deciding to explore the 3 story complex that was my secret lair. I know I was sitting here above ground and thrown for a loop once more at my realization of all incredibly mental this was.
I mean don't get me wrong if I was given the option to travel to a fictional Universe with God-like powers I would have taken it so fast it would have left heads spinning, but I hadn't been given the chance to choose, or maybe I was and it was just wiped from my memory, But it just left me feeling Hollow and robbed in someway.
Even though in hindsight I probably still feel this way if I had actually been given the option since I'd realize too late that I was leaving behind my family, friends, and home. so it was a pretty good idea to just punt me across dimensions.
" Fuck I'm such a hypocrite" I hissed under my breath, standing in one smooth motion as I felt my body shift under the effects of [Pree-Adapt] in small yet significant ways.
[Pree-Adapt] or [Reactive Adaptation] was one of the two powers I had made in my first days panic costing me a total of 5 full charges out of the 10 I'd been given on day one and it was inspired by The Power of One Armando Muñoz, also known by his codename Darwin, he was a marvel X-man character and his power was to Reactively adapt, Which allows his body to automatically adapts to any situation or environment he is placed in, allowing him to survive possibly anything and by extension now me, you see when I was in the underground bunker I was kind of freaking out and Invictus wasn't that much of a help since having infinite willpower doesn't mean anything when you don't direct it towards a purpose and aren't really that overwhelmed, I could feel it there just in the background of my mind waiting for me to call upon it at the slightest thoughts but I didn't want to experience my emotions through a fog of unbreakable will and third the person perspective so I opted out to just swallow in my emotions.
So [Reactive Adaptation] was what I'd made when I'd had the thought of 'what the fuck would I do if for some reason scion decided to suddenly teleport over and murder me right there and right then?'I mean all you would have to do is stay out of my power manipulations range (About 274 meters or 900 feet which was about three blocks) and nuke this shit out of me with one of the countless powers he has available and there would be nothing I could do about it other than to just die, hence [Reactive Adaptation].
The other power I made that day was called [Shard Malware] and it was kind of explanatory via its name alone but It was it power specifically designed to allow me to disrupt, damage, falsify data and allow me to gain unauthorized access to the Shard Network, So I know how to kind of loading bar in my head telling me how much of the estimated total Shard Network I had subverted it was currently at 2.5% and Counting but it was also awesome since I wasn't about to play fair with multi-dimensional Channel aliens, I was going to dedicate a full five charges a day to just pouring up that ability because if I wasn't going to play dirty with monsters like the entities I didn't deserve to live.
I made my way through Brockton taking in the sights and the sounds of a large 'cape city' when I twigged into the presence of two powers at a pizza place a bit always from me," Huh?" I was so distracted I almost didn't even notice the presence of Parahumans so close by.
not even thinking about it I made my way closer to try and get a look at who they were, I mean I wasn't against copying Powers wholesale but I already had decision paralysis from the powers I already had. Still, I didn't want to add to that by adding a power like Mush's to my repertoire.
So as I opened the door and entered Bob's Pizzeria I came face to face with Tattletale and Grue.
Note: Okay so I'm not going to make any promises that this is going to go past the first five chapters I've already drafted, I have a history of not completing stories that I started and I'm going to do a Snippets tread if this story follows a trend but right now I'm working on something else and this story was bugging me for the past 2 weeks.
Self insert
Standard difficulty (+6)
Power Manipulation (-2)
Blank(-1)
Invicttus(-1)
Shattered Limiter (-1)
Secret Lair (-1)
Reactive Adaptation(5Charges): The ability to develop adaptations, powers, or skills in response to immediate threats.Link
Shard Malware(5Charges): designed to disrupt, damage,Hide the Users Presence and gain unauthorized access to a the Shard network
Before I'd even noticed the threat Reactive Adaptation activated and I felt the world around me slow to a crawl. seconds stretching into minutes as my mind sped up to ludicrous speeds. I sighed internally, 'What were the odds that I'd meet someone with the exact powerset to bypass Blank? Seriously what the fuck was happening right now? Given I wasn't really paying that much attention to my power sense but even accounting for that this situation was still a bit too fucky to actually be possible right?'
Even as I thought at superspeed I could feel Reactive Adaptation Working along in the background shifting my body to more easily counter Tattletales Power, And I couldn't help but speculate on how that would work. 'Would it remove my ability to make micro-expressions? Would I suddenly become the most average John Doe there could ever be in a crowd of John Doe's?
It was interesting to think about but at the same time mostly irrelevant since I had to come up with a solution sometime within the next 10 seconds to prevent a chatty thinker from running her mouth about what she could pick up from me to the wrong kind of people ('mostly coil').
Occam's Razor could go fuck himself. this was a fictional setting so it's probably a good idea to assume that the most fantastical option would likely be the correct one, hence Rob interference!! Well Fuck you too!! Miss me with that bullshit boi!! The conclusion reached I was once again faced with the predicament of what I should do with Lisa and her power.
The way I see it, the easiest way for me to do this was to temporarily nullify or suppress her powers so that she wouldn't be able to pick up anything from me, but that would be akin to sucker punching her in the jaw and trying to fade into the crowd right after, A stupid and idiotic idea if my goal was to stay off the radar of a literal inference engine.
Don't get me wrong I could still do it and there would be fuck all they could do to stop me, even assuming that I didn't nullify Grue's powers. Reactive adaptation alone was strong enough of a power for me to be counted as one of, if not the strongest parahumans alive despite me not even being a parahuman in the first place so I'd still be practically invincible to them.
Nah, it wasn't a question about whether or not I'd be able to stop Tattletale from gaining knowledge about me and my powers, this was about what I should do going forward in situations like these, Like Should I allow Lisa to leave with whatever her power picks up? Should I just suppress or alter the abilities of anyone that manages to bypass my Blank perk? Or should I take away their powers altogether?
'No. that wasn't the answer.' I thought closing my eyes as the path forward was made clear,' I needed to somehow compensate for the gaps in the Blank perk' And with that, I closed my eyes in the real world and opened them once again inside of the conceptual space that held all of my charges, currently there where only the 10 that I'd gotten this morning.
I wasn't here for them I thought as I moved past as I sending my senses deeper into the place that held my perks 'Haha' I chuckled as I felt my metaphorical mouth stretched into a devious smile, 'I almost forgot that Power Manipulator allowed you to modify powers from the Cyoa.' Reaching a metaphorical hand out towards Blank I spent a full five charges on modifying the power with what I had in mind.
Within the blink of an eye, I was done. And I opened my eyes, my perception of the world no longer affected by Reactive Adaptation's acceleration. I stepped aside holding the door open to let Brian and Lisa pass, The Thinker Paused, looking at me strangely for a moment before her eyes widened, A look of realization spreading across her face, I quirked a quizzical eyebrow as If asking if anything was wrong.
I knew that she was reading something from me as a result of her constantly running power, and it would seem that despite Reactive Adaptation actively blocking what It could she had probably caught onto the fact that I was a cape from the way my very being resisted her powers attempts to gather information.
Hell, she might even know that I knew she was a cape if she was able to catch my look of recognition when I enter the store hence the clearly agitated posture and attempts to stealthily drag Brian away, but It didn't really matter cause as soon she took her attention off ForgetMeNot did its thing and all of her memories of me where erased.
ForgetMeNot was the alias of one, Xabi (full name unknown) who was an Xmen that had the power to make anyone forget his existence once they looked away from him, the power was an add-on to Blank made specifically to work with and not against Blank,
She paused in confusion for a moment but I was already closing the door behind myself cackling to myself all the while…
2 minutes later the grin was wiped from my face as I stood in front of the counter hands rummaging through my pockets as I realized that I didn't have any cash on me at the moment, I mean I had a $100 in my wallet but I left my wallet in the lair, I was starting to panic when I came to the sudden realization that I was being an idiot as I closed my eyes and was taken to my power space.
Moments later I was giving the cashier $20 bucks for a pepperoni stuffed crust pizza and sitting at a booth reviewing my latest power and the effects It had on how I'd operate, the new power was called [GDP] of 'Gross Domestic Pocket money' and It did 2 things, first it allowed me to reach into my pocket at any time and pull out the direct amount of legal, local currency needed to pay for any of my transactions credit/debit card included and it's all actual real money. And secondly just as how it allowed me to generate legal tender the secondary ability allowed me to do the same with legal documentation whether it be ID, Drivers license, Ect, it didn't really matter since it would always be above board despite it not being so moments before.
It had cost 2 charges and it was without a doubt worth It, I mean I basically had infinite money and if I wanted to I could head into the PRT Office right now, with my actual Employee ID on me with all the perks that entailed and none would be the wiser.
I mean even If we had outlier cases, like if someone memorized all the employee faces and IDs the moment they turn away we'd be right back to square one when ForgetMeNot activates.
"Fuck I loved my powers!" I said taking out my phone and logging into the place's wifi for the 20 min wait. I did some studying on world history, mostly just history after the appearance of Scion.
I was planning to visit my home country before I did anything else and It was probably a good idea to know If it was sunk by Leviathan or not before I even stepped onto the island myself.
Why would I visit the place you ask? Well ever since I got here I couldn't help but feel a little curiosity at the possibility that there might be a version of myself hidden somewhere on Earth bet. I mean it's 2011 so I'd probably still be in primary school, and don't get me wrong I'd love the chance to tour the states diminished as they probably were by Enbringer attacks and murderous parahumans I'd still like to see the place at least once.
My nerves just wouldn't seem to settle and it sounded like a good idea to visit my hometown.
As I sat, I started to think about Life the Future, and Everything, mostly about the fact that I was in Worm and there weren't any big titty goth elf chicks, I had God-Like powers and was now morally obligated to save the world from Scion and the Endbringers.
Like did I have to start going around the world killing villains and fighting the Endbringers? Repair the damages caused by cape battles? Make an actual ethical Super Jail? Shut down all Parahuman powers in their entirety? Spend a month stockpiling enough powers to challenge Scion to fisticuffs? Embrace my new role as the god-king of humanity?
As I stepped out of the Pizzeria I was plagued by the question of ' what should I do and what I wanted to do,
Moments later I closed my eyes and vanished.
Self insert
Standard difficulty (+6)
Power Manipulation (-2)
Blank(-1)
Invicttus(-1)
Shattered Limiter (-1)
Secret Lair (-1)
ForgetMeNot(5Charges): User can not be detected of remembered after visual is lost.Link
GDP(2Carges): Every time the user reaches into there pocket they either choose between pullout $20 or the equivalent amount of legal local currency, any other amount of local currency or any legal documentation.
Jumper(3Charges):user can teleport to anywhere he has been of seen, user can also do a blind jump but this is not recommended.
Reactive Adaptation(5Charges):The ability to develop adaptations, powers, or skills in response to immediate threats.Link
Shard Malware(5Charges): designed to disrupt, damage,Hide the Users Presence and gain unauthorized access to a the Shard network
Once I got back to the Secret Lair pizza box in hand, I made my way to the luxurious living room of my underground penthouse. I sank into one of the oversized couches, and turned on the massive wall-mounted TV that seemed to beckon for me as I opened the pizza box to indulge in cheesy goodness. I surfed through what passed for cable in Earth Bet and actually spent 30 mins watching an interesting series called Hindsight, It was basically a story about a Thinker with the ability to glimpse into past events named Mitch that uses his power to solve crime, it was basically a weird mix of Psych and NCIS and it was unexpectedly good.
But as I watched nagging thoughts gnawed at me—how did all this shit get down here? Other than Fiat that is? I mean I was in an underground bunker with water, cable, WiFi and electricity and according to the perk all of this shit was untraceable. Hell, I had a swimming pool sized bathtub in my bathroom with all the bells and whistles but this was all somehow untraceable?Was some unsuspecting person unwittingly footing the bill for my underground paradise?
I was somehow obtaining all these services without detection by the city. If there were ever a sudden blackout, would I be left in darkness underground? I couldn't recall seeing a generator, although my inspection of the area had been cursory at best.
"Hmm, that's an idea," I mumbled with a mouthful of pizza. I picked up the empty box and ventured into the kitchen, searching for a bin. It took me three minutes to locate the bin since I was wholly unfamiliar with the place— it was in a compartment slot beneath the massive 'U'-shaped granite island counter/sink combo. The word "massive" seemed to describe everything on this floor. Even the bedroom alone likely occupied as much space as my entire house. The kitchen, living room, gaming room, bed, and bathroom constituted just one floor of the three-story complex that served as my lair.
I took the elevator to the second floor, marveling at the fact that I had an actual elevator at all. Given that the base was underground, it made sense, despite the relatively modest three floors. As I arrived at the place most likely to house what I sought—the "Workshop"—I reflected on the four workshops on the second floor. There was a computer lab, a metalworking workshop, a woodworking room, and a mechanics shop with an elevator likely intended for moving cars. Each shop was fully stocked with parts and equipment, although I recognized only a few tools, such as the 3D printer and CNC machine.
But nothing that looked like a generator or water tank.
On the first floor, the one closest to the above-ground park, there was a full-on gym, which in hindsight seemed kind of useless since I had Reactive Adaptation. I didn't need to exercise since I'd always be as strong as I needed to be, and that brought up a thought.
I had been in Worm for a total of one and a half days, and I had already made or gained enough power to make me a heavy hitter in this universe. I mean, even if I just stopped using my Power Manipulation powers, I still had:
Reactive Adaptation (5 charges)
Shard Malware (5 charges)
ForgetMeNot (5 charges)
GDP (2 charges)
Jumper (3 charges)
And Tattletales power
Each Power Manipulation charge is equivalent to a 4 or 5 on the Prt threat rating scale. The strongest parahuman, Eidolon, is supposedly a Trump 12+, which means that if I was generous with rating his power, he'd be equivalent to using 3 or 4 charges to make a Trump power. I had been given 10 charges a day to make powers. Hell, Reactive Adaptation, the only power that could be counted as a Trump ability, already had 5 charges inside, which should make it undoubtedly stronger than Eidolon's power, and Reactive Adaptation was only focused on survivability.
I mean, was it as strong as Darwin's ability in the comics? I highly doubt it, judging by the upper end of what Darwin could do with his abilities. But was I anywhere close to X-Men First Class Darwin? No, hell no, but I wasn't to sure where I sat on the scale between the two extremes.
So, after a moment to freshen up and put on some new exercise clothes from my new walk-in closet, I went to the gym and started exercising. Well, more like attempted suicide, as I ignored any gym safety rules and loaded up as many weights as I could. I had gotten up to 400 kg using a couple of 50 kg plates, and I was going to try to bench press it. The world max bench press was 612.5 kg,and before my newfound powers, I wasn't even able to bench the empty bar properly when I had been dared to by my friends. So, lifting 400 kg in an empty underground bunker with no one to spot me and no way to call for help with an untested ability was enough to make me sweat bullets metaphorically, I even started praying to a higher power because for a moment I thought that all of this was some kind of fever dream. Yeah I had broken into my local gym in the middle of the night, convinced that I had superpowers or something and I was going to break my spine or something the moment I lifted the weight.
But with a little help from Invictus and the memory of Reactive Adaptation making the 50 kg plates easier and easier to lift while I was stacking them, I took a deep breath and pushed. And felt nothing as I bench pressed 400 kg like it was nothing.
"Hah... Haaa, There is only weight and those too weak to lift them" I laughed a little hysterically as I, the 180 lb, moderately out-of-shape 20-year-old, lifted more than four times my own weight like it was nothing. There was just a moment where it felt like my body shifted as I pushed the weight off its rack, and the next moment, there was nothing. No strain or exhaustion as I continued into a 100-set bench press. There was only the sense of weight and nothing else.
Hell, I even did it one-handed at one point, and other than a slight unbalancing of my form and a slight bending of the bar, there was nothing but the sense that I was lifting a 5 kg dumbbell. I set the bar back into its rack and took a sip out of my water flask as I thought about the current state of affairs. I mean, I knew that Reactive Adaptation would be an amazing ability the moment I got it and all the unknown aches and pains throughout my body had faded away. But somewhere deep down in my mind, I had placed limitations on what I thought it would do. Yeah, making me bulletproof and allowing me to survive a hit or two long enough to get away was the goal. Even now, I didn't really think that it would allow me to survive something like Scion's golden beam or Flechette and March's Sting. But I thought of it as a supplementary power made to protect me from surprise attacks by unexpected powers long enough to make or steal what I needed to counter-attack.
But that was all I needed in the first place. I just had to improve it a little more. I thought, making my way to the staircase instead of the elevator and jumping down the middle instead of taking the stairs. Invictus firming my will, I got to the bottom within seconds, my skin taking on a dark grey texture as I landed almost silently on the floor.
A goofy grin stretched across my face as I made my way to my room. I needed to test the limits of Reactive Adaptation, and the gym wasn't going to cut it.
Note: Yeah this ones ruff and I almost decided not to post it, but I promised myself to post on death-line so heres what you get. and as always corrections and constructive criticism is always well come.
P.s: Preemptive adaptation has been changed to Reactive adaptation i'll be making touch ups to the entire story around Wend-Thurs so look out for that.
Warning: this chapter contains violence, gore and suggestions to racist vitriol (it is light but it is alluded to and therefore a warning must be given).
Note: the opinions of E88 character in no way represent my views, beliefs or opinions, please don't take them as so. (constructive criticism and corrections are appreciated)
I spent the last hour or so patrolling the streets of Brockton Bay. "How so, you ask?" Well, I did so by running at 40 mph through the streets, leaping onto and over buildings with tremendous speed as I tested the limits of Reactive Adaptation's ability to respond to stimuli absent of any imminent threat, well, other than the likely possibility of my body splattering against a wall at inhuman speeds.
And as I parkour through the concrete jungle that was the bay I tried to get as many style points as I could Flipping, running on walls, and even teleporting through the city with Jumper. I tried my best to keep an eye and ear out for trouble, mostly gang-related trouble since I was gonna be targeting the Empire, half because If I remembered correctly they were the group with the most Parahumans but mostly on principle.
.I mean I didn't do that much research on the gang I was looking for and in high sight I really should have since I'd never actually read Worm. I mean I'd experienced the web novel through the lens of fanfiction which while likely woefully inaccurate was more than enough for me to get a general idea of the plot.
But the hubris of my thinking was demonstrated in the fact that despite not reading the source material I was confident enough to be able to go out into a populated city and fight super-villains with completely untested powers, and only the vague sense that Reactive Adaptation had enough charges to prove powerful.
Well while the hunch was accurate and Reactive Adaptation was proving to be a great ability judging by how my agility, flexibility, speed, reaction time, and durability were all increased to superhuman levels it still didn't solve the fact that despite all of my overwhelming powers and ability I still had a lot to learn since I was now trying to get directions to the Empire88 territory from my 17th Attempted robbery rescue of the day.
2 mins later I was making my way towards E88 territory when I'd suddenly come across the presence of multiple Parahuman active at the edge of my powers range, but even though they were likely active judging by the sounds of conflict I could hear even now, I didn't rush in by teleporting to the edge of my range but instead sped up my pace to a comfortable 45 mph. It wasn't like they were the first parahuman signals I'd felt since the start of my patrol because I'd seen many, though they'd either be in Civs, in crowded areas, or traveling in cars unawares.
When I finally arrived at the scene I saw chaos as both the ABB and E88 were going at it, the sounds of semi-automatic fire reverberating through the air in a rumbling staccato riddim across the intersection as gang members hid behind armored vans on opposite sides of the conflict. Storm Tiger was in the middle of the empire contingent, using his powers to deflect the sporadic gunfire directed towards the Empire's men while sending the occasional flurry of wind blades into the ABB contingent.
HookWolf meanwhile looks to be in a running battle with Oni Lee, the exploding suicide bomber, He was continuously getting tossed around by concussive explosions, however instead of sending shrapnel racing through the air in every direction like what would happen in an actual grenade instead what looked like a wave of force warped the surroundings a second before HookWolf was sent bouncing around in a net of disposable clones.
I took a quick second to copy all 3 of their powers as I watched Hookwolf be pinballed around the street by Oni Lee, getting Arokanesis, clone teleportation, and Hookwolfs breaker state. But while I was distracted StormTiger sent out a massive set of wind claws that he had likely been generating for a while now straight towards where HookWolf and Oni Lee were fighting, dispersing most of the clones that had the other cape pinned.
Not even a second later Oni Lee appeared behind Storm Tiger swinging what looked like a machete straight for his neck, but unfortunately for Lee as soon as he appeared behind the other cape, Strom Tiger was somehow able to sense the hit coming, and managed to avoid the attack outright by leaping back into a flip about 8 feet into the air before sending out a flurry of wind blades that shredded Oni Lee's clone into a cloud of white ash.
The two capes stood at a stand-off for a moment before there was a roar from behind them as HookWolf took the opportunity to make a rush towards the sheltering ABB and Oni Lee was once again forced to engage.
"Huh, so that's the game plan then?" I said in realization. 'Hookwolf would attack the ABB and Oni Lee to draw their attention, while Storm Tiger Stays back to deflect bullets and protect the Empire contingent from being attacked by a teleporting suicide bomber. This meant that the E88 could shoot with near impunity, and since Storm Tiger could sense and attack from Oni Lee with his aerokinesis he didn't have to worry that much about a surprise attack from the other cape, meaning that Oni Lee could be forced into a defensive game of keep away while the E88 widdle down their forces from a distance.
===
The ground shattered in my wake as I slammed into the pavement at extreme velocity. Before anyone had even noticed my presence, I'd blurred towards Oni Lee. Of anyone here right now, he was likely the most dangerous due to Bakuda's bombs. I had managed to move so fast that I likely couldn't be seen properly by the human eye. Yet it seemed like Oni Lee had already taken that into account as soon as he heard my landing, I felt his power shift positions as he teleported to the roof of a nearby building.
Despite my ability to teleport behind him thanks to my power sense, I wasn't too perturbed. I continued, letting my momentum take me straight to where Storm Tiger and the rest of the Empire goons were. In one swift motion, I was already halfway there. Just then, Storm Tiger sent out a barrage of wind blades toward my general location. He rightly assumed that another Parahuman had entered the fray, given his extensive experience as a cape in Brockton Bay.
I watched the blades come towards me in what felt like slow motion, but I didn't move. I let the blades inch closer as I felt my muscles and skin shift, my mass increasing and my steps growing heavier. The weak wind blades cut into my clothes, ripping into them, but they stopped against my skin without leaving a mark on my now-enhanced flesh.
Not dwelling on it too much I let Invictus fill me as I fell to the asphalt below, the pavement shattering in my wake as I slammed into full gear straight towards Oni Lee and HookWolf, he was likely the most dangerous combatant here due purely to the fact that he was equipped with Bakuda's bombs, I went in for a liver punch but before I could even reach him I felt his powers shift location leaving me crashing into a clone at around 60 mph, needless to say, the clone exploded into a pile of dust.
However I was unperturbed as I shifted gears and ran past Hookwolf, speeding towards StormTiger in a blur of motion, I was already halfway there when I felt the wind shift as a funnel of air was pushed towards me accompanied by a barrage of wind blades. Yet I didn't stop as I felt my body already shifting to counter the wind as my muscles shifted like snakes instances before impact. The blades crashed into me at high speeds before dissipating as they crashed against my now crystalline flesh, I saw Stormtigers eyes open in what felt like slow motion as I closed into range and delivered a devastating kick to his chest, sending him ragdolling through the air up and over one of the empires vehicles and bouncing across the asphalt.
"Holy Shit" I cursed realizing that I'd probably killed a man despite me trying to hold back after exploding Oni Lee's clone.
"Uughh'" Storm Tiger groned, spasming and coughing as he rolled to his side.
I sighed in relief as I realized that he was alive and that I hadn't caved in his chest or something despite that likely being the best punt I'd ever made in my life.
I was immediately snapped out of my frozen state as I was enveloped by a shifting mass of hooks and blades, It would seem that seeing one of his comrades being sent flying by an unknown assailant was enough to induce a response from HookWolf.
'Who would have guessed?'
In a blur of motion, he was on me and I was put on the defensive, dragging across the asphalt Before I could react. I locked up, but It didn't matter as Reactive Adaptation did its thing and my entire body grew, A metallic texture spreading over my skin as Hookwolf continued his assault, what passed for my muscles in this form tightened like corded steel as I literally grew to tower over hook wolf's breaker form, though that didn't seem to help much against the more experienced fighter as despite being out massing him, he only paused in apprehension for a moment when anger overtook whatever passed for common sense in his head before he lunged forward and I wasn't able to overpower the cape as instead of trying to take me head on he settled for grappling me to the ground his body shifting into a more humanoid form.
==
"Who the Fuck are You," Hookwolf's snarl twisted his metallic face into a mask of rage as he lunged at me, his eyes burning with hatred. "You're nothing but a worthless fucking ch*nk!" he spat, his voice dripping with venom. He aimed to pin me down in an armbar, his movements fueled by his fanatical rage. "I'll make you pay for crossing the Empire 88 You ambushing fuck!"
As he attacked, a torrent of thoughts raced through my mind. Did he mistake me for an ABB cape? Hadn't he seen me taking a swing at Oni Lee right from the get-go?
It seemed rather ironic that he would accuse me of ambushing, considering I was certain that given the opportunity, he would have done the same to me had he known about my powers. Furthermore, I was the farthest thing from being Asian and, more importantly, not a supporter of the ABB.
Speaking of Oni Lee, I sensed him waiting above on a nearby roof, watching us intently. 'What the hell was he doing anywa-?' I wondered. The momentary distraction costing me as Hookwolf swiftly flipped me upside down and onto the asphalt. Apparently, realizing his attempts to provoke a reaction out of me with his armbar weren't working, he decided to try and immobilize me instead, pulling my arm back and into my shoulder blades rather than trying to tear my arm off.
==
Which was kind of too bad for him because as soon as my arms were immobilized, Instead of trying to wrestle my way through the grapple I instead focused all of my will on not laughing in his face as my head turned a full 180 degrees around to face him with the flattest look I could manage.
==
"I'm not Asian, I'm black," I told him in a dry tone, and to his credit he only paused in incomprehension for a moment before going back on his tirade.
"Then I'll Fucking Skin you you fucking n-" He didn't get to continue his vitriol as two massive fists smashed into either side of his head, sending him reeling back in disorientation, As he now gazed upon my new four-armed form. I slammed my now four arms together, ready to continue the fight, a grin on my face. But in the next second, we were interrupted by the return of Oni Lee as he appeared between us dropping a grenade.
However, this time was different as a miniature sun bloomed in the space between us. The next thing I knew, I was trying to pull my charred body out of the rubble of a nearby van. "Ugh," I groaned, despite not feeling any pain, Reactive Adaptation likely preventing me from passing out from my likely disfigured state. Correction, it seemed Reactive Adaptation had once again saved my bacon as what I assumed were third-degree burns turned out to be charcoal-like textured skin. I could actually see what looked like molten lava flowing through vein-like structures under my skin.
"Ughhh!!!" I looked up as I heard the loud growls to see HookWolf on the floor opposite me, molten metal sluffing off his changer form in streams.
Before I could gather my bearings, Oni Lee's masked face loomed before me. The sound of falling pins echoed, and in an instant, I found myself atop the very roof where the conflict had begun. The previous location I occupied was engulfed in a swirling, purple void of Raging energies.
Holy fuck," I whispered under my breath, my eyes fixed on the spot I had occupied mere seconds ago, contemplating whether I would have survived whatever had just occurred. Shifting my gaze, I sensed Oni Lee's presence, Finding him seconds later on an adjacent roof.
He surveyed the wreckage of the place I had been seconds ago with dispassion, there was now only a circular scoop taken out of the asphalt to signify that anything had happened to begin with. Then his gaze shifted to the downed HookWolf and I lost it.
The next moment I was standing in front of Oni Lee a fist speared through his chest, fragments of viscera spewing forth from where a clenched fist exited his now broken form.
I froze in shock at what I had done in my furious outburst, As before me the body that I'd speared through crumbled into a cloud of dust. However… The viscera remained on the roof. I turned my gaze to the location where I had sensed Oni Lee's powers, only to have it disappear entirely from my senses. I teleported above the roof where I had last noticed his presence, only to see a lifeless corpse lying broken. As I floated down under the effects of Reactive Adaptation, I took in the scene with numb disbelief.
I didn't know how long I stood there, shocked at the fact that I had just eviscerated a man and now felt little to nothing about it in the aftermath of my actions. But, an undetermined time later, I was startled out of my contemplation as a hook was shot into the concrete beside me. Not even a moment later, a tinker in blue power armor stood before me, halberd raised.
