The streak of light cut across the sky like a comet, swift and mysterious, and headed straight for Hell's Kitchen Community College, where classes had already ended for the day.
There, Ben Grimm—also known as the Stone Man—was crouching low, using his massive rocky form to play a game of "Eagle Catches the Chick" with the children. Their joyous laughter echoed across the courtyard, weaving a chorus of happiness.
The light shot down in an instant and sank directly into Ben's body. He froze mid-movement, his massive arms suspended in the air.
"Uncle Ben! Why'd you stop? Come catch us!" the kids called out, laughing at first.
But no matter how they shouted, Ben didn't move. It was like he'd turned to stone—ironically even more than usual.
Some of the children approached him with confusion. Others grew anxious, their laughter replaced with cries as they feared something had gone wrong—some even thought Uncle Ben had died.
Then it happened.
Ben's body suddenly shifted, his rocky surface morphing as molten fissures spread across his skin. The Lava Monster—Malphite's power surged through him, reshaping his form.
The transformation was terrifying.
The sheer size and new aura emanating from him made the children scream and scatter in fear.
Their cries were what finally brought Ben back to awareness.
The Sandman, alerted by the commotion, rushed over and saw Ben standing there, reverting to his more familiar rocky form.
"You've… gotten stronger?" Sandman asked, frowning in confusion.
"Yes," Ben replied, his voice deeper, heavier with newfound power. "Thanks to Alex Ray."
His gaze turned east, eyes locked toward a distant point through buildings and barriers—as if nothing could obstruct his vision.
Elsewhere on campus, Frank Castle, better known as The Punisher, was drilling a group of security guards recruited from Hell's Kitchen. He watched them sweat through endless push-ups, expression stern and unyielding.
Suddenly, a beam of light streaked toward him.
Frank's eyes narrowed with suspicion, already reaching for a weapon—but before he could move, the light pierced into his chest.
Just like Ben, his body froze.
His eyes shut. His breath stopped.
The guards looked at one another in panic.
Had they failed? Was he testing them? Had they done something to offend this grim-faced veteran?
The tension was suffocating.
Then—light exploded around Frank.
His black trench coat turned white in a flash of magic and energy. Two silver pistols materialized in his hands. The aura around him was no longer merely human—it was something more.
Frank opened his eyes. The sheer intensity in them made every guard instinctively straighten up.
He held up the pistols and muttered, "Double Guns… they'll give me answers. Don't worry, Alex. I'll protect this place."
Deep inside the Community Research Institute, Doctor Otto Octavius was immersed in the calibration of his mechanical arms. The multi-jointed appendages twisted and flexed with fluid precision, reacting to the tiniest movements of his hands.
Otto's face alternated between frowns of frustration and smiles of satisfaction as he made fine adjustments. His love for science radiated from every motion.
Then a beam of light entered the lab and pierced his chest.
The arms froze. His own body stiffened.
Unseen power surged through his veins—cold, calculating, mechanical.
He closed his eyes, overwhelmed.
Then he laughed—loudly, maniacally.
"I understand now. I understand! Mechanical ascension! Flesh and blood are weakness!"
His gaze shifted to the very mechanical arms he had once poured his soul into.
Now he looked at them with scorn.
Tools of the past. Crude, obsolete.
His mind had evolved.
Meanwhile, far across the city in Fisk Tower, Wanda Maximoff floated in mid-air, legs crossed, her aura dense with churning darkness as she communed with the Goddess of Chaos. The Darkhold hovered before her, whispering terrible knowledge into her mind.
Her expression was fierce, almost distorted, as though she was at war with herself.
"Control it!" the Goddess urged within her. "You must master dark magic! If you lose control, the Darkhold will control you! Calm yourself!"
Wanda's aura grew more unstable, and her magic lashed out wildly.
Then, a ray of light shot into her heart.
Time stopped.
Power unlike anything she'd known surged through her. The storm of chaos settled instantly, balanced by something dark—yet refined.
Her eyes snapped open. A new gleam sparkled within them—Syndra's legacy.
The Goddess of Chaos watched in stunned silence.
"…Interesting," she murmured. "This dark energy…"
Inside a secret Hydra Research Institute, Wilson Fisk—the Kingpin—stood at the center of a massive lab. His voice boomed as he berated terrified scientists.
"You call this progress?" he growled. "I gave you unlimited funding!"
His glare was enough to make trained killers flinch.
Then, light pierced him too.
He froze, every muscle locked, eyes distant.
But his inheritance would be unlike the others.
He wasn't just gifted the power—he was tested.
Kingpin found himself submerged in memories not his own—memories of Frieza, the cosmic tyrant.
The vision changed—shadows and fire gave way to a floating figure, tail coiling, arms crossed, arrogance personified.
Frieza.
"An insect like you wants to inherit my power?" he sneered. "Pathetic. I could obliterate you on a whim."
Kingpin didn't even flinch.
His eyes burned with defiance.
"Waste? Arrogance? No wonder you failed," Fisk said coldly. "If I had your power, I wouldn't squander it. Even a lion uses full force against a rabbit. That's why you lost."
Frieza bristled.
He could feel this mortal challenging him—judging him.
The emperor of the universe should have vaporized Fisk in that moment.
But he couldn't.
"…Very well," Frieza muttered at last. "Show me how far you can go. Impress me."
With a dramatic sweep, Frieza dissolved into starlight and plunged into Kingpin's core.
Wilson Fisk awoke.
Power surged. The lab trembled. Scientists collapsed, forced to their knees by the sheer pressure of his rebirth.
"So this… is real power," he whispered.
Then louder, "Don't worry, Alex. I'll protect what you've built."
His eyes burned with newfound fire. And he knew—he'd barely unlocked even 1% of what was now inside him.
Outside the lab, the villain scientists exchanged glances, pale with fear but trembling with excitement.
They had heard the rumors.
Join Hell's Kitchen, they said, and Alex Ray will give you power.
Now, watching Kingpin ascend before their eyes, they realized—
the legends were true.
Their eyes sparkled with greed, awe, and reverence.
And in their hearts, one desire grew louder:
We want in.
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Bonus Chapter - 150 Power Stones
2nd Bonus Chapter - 300 Power Stones
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