I woke up with a gun under my pillow.
Habit, mostly. Not paranoia.
Well… a little paranoia.
In the MCU, paranoia was just survival with better PR.
The digital clock on my nightstand blinked. 3:59 AM.
I stared at the ceiling, waiting.
Right on cue:
DING.
A familiar blue glow appeared midair.
---
[WEEKLY SIGN-IN AVAILABLE]
User: Victor Wick
Sign-In Counter: Week 2
Processing reward...
Congratulations! You have received: "Enchanted Toilet Paper (x1)"
> Effect: Unknown. Possibly none.
Grade: ???
Rarity: "Commonly Useless"
Description: "Wipe away your problems... maybe."
---
I stared at the screen for a full ten seconds.
Then I said, "You've got to be kidding me."
No response.
The toilet paper appeared with a soft pop in my inventory. It looked normal. White. Soft. Quilted.
I resisted the urge to tear it up and flush it just out of spite.
Then again… the system didn't joke. Even its jokes meant something.
I stored it in my inventory with a sigh and rolled out of bed.
Toilet paper or not, I had business.
---
By 7:00 AM, I was parked outside a rundown auto shop in Queens—front for an Eastern European gun-smuggling ring. Word was, they'd recently acquired a shipment of black-market vibranium.
No way I was letting that float around the city. Especially not this early in the timeline.
I double-checked my weapons.
Two Glocks, silenced. Combat knife. Tactical suit. Reinforced gloves. Wick's gear.
System HUD showed:
Inventory Slots: 9/20
Cash: $128,000 (Clean), $78,000 (Dirty)
Sign-In Timer: 6 Days, 23 Hours
Scan & Analyze: 94% - Initial Use Imminent
Toilet Paper: 1 (Unused)
Still couldn't believe that last one.
---
The op went sideways immediately.
As I entered through the back alley, I heard shouting inside—too chaotic for normal business. I crept up to the rear door, gun raised.
BOOM.
The wall to my left exploded.
I dove behind a dumpster, heart pounding. Shrapnel cut my cheek.
Gunfire. Screaming. Someone inside shouted in Russian.
And then—
ROAR.
What the hell was that?
I peeked through the smoke.
Inside the building stood something huge. Seven feet tall, reptilian skin, and glowing orange eyes. It swatted a man across the room like a fly.
Not a mutant. Not a gamma freak.
Experimental enhancement. Black market.
That vibranium shipment? It wasn't just material. It was tech. Someone had been testing it.
Which meant I had two options: retreat, or go full John Wick.
Guess which I picked.
---
I dove through the side window, guns blazing. Took out two men before they even noticed me.
The creature turned, snarling. It lunged—fast for something its size.
I rolled, narrowly dodging its claws, and unloaded half a clip into its chest.
No effect.
Great.
I reached into my inventory, grabbed the combat knife, and slashed its leg.
That got its attention.
It kicked me across the room.
I hit a steel beam. Hard. Pain bloomed in my ribs.
System: Pain Dampening at 40%
Better than nothing.
The creature roared again and charged.
I had seconds.
And no idea what would work.
Except…
I opened my inventory.
Stared at the one item I hadn't touched.
"Enchanted Toilet Paper."
"...God help me."
I pulled it out, ripped off a sheet, and threw it in the air like a dramatic anime character.
Nothing happened.
The creature was almost on top of me.
Then—
FLASH.
A blinding white light erupted from the paper. The creature howled and stumbled, clawing at its face like it was being burned.
I stared.
"What the hell?"
The glow faded. The creature collapsed, twitching, then went still.
Smoke wafted from its eyes, nostrils, and ears.
Dead.
Killed by toilet paper.
---
[System Alert]
> Hidden Item Effect Discovered:
"Cleanses Entities of Corruption, Poison, and Mutagenic Enhancements."
Item Rarity Updated: "Mythic (One-Time Use)"
---
I sat down on a broken crate and just started laughing.
Loud. Crazy. Maybe a little too much.
Somewhere, the gods of irony were patting themselves on the back.
---
The rest of the gang was easy pickings.
I cleared the warehouse, secured three crates of vibranium scrap, and one locked briefcase full of confidential files—including shipping logs from a Hydra-affiliated shell company.
Things were starting to connect.
Hydra wasn't dead.
Not yet.
They were quietly rebuilding through criminal networks, long before Cap would ever uncover them in The Winter Soldier.
And I was now officially on their radar.
---
Back at my apartment, I added the files and vibranium to my inventory.
The system chimed.
[Scan & Analyze: UNLOCKED]
You can now analyze unknown tech, substances, or targets.
Energy signature tracking: Enabled.
Basic scanning radius: 20 meters.
Upgrade cost: 1,000 System Credits or rare material cores.
Finally.
I scanned the vibranium crate.
[Analyzing...]
> Material: Vibranium (80%)
Energy Signature: Stable
Origin: Wakanda (stolen shipment, rerouted through Istanbul)
Trace Contaminants: Gamma-variant mutagen compound
So they were trying to combine gamma with vibranium.
Bad idea.
Hydra wasn't just building weapons—they were building monsters.
And I'd just killed their first prototype with a literal wipe.
---
I closed the window, loaded my Glock, and checked the lock on the door.
Someone out there knew about me now.
I wasn't just robbing gangs anymore.
I was interfering with Hydra.
I'd officially become a variable.
A threat.
Victor Wick wasn't invisible anymore.
---
But that was fine.
Because next week, I was signing in again.
And this time?
I'd be ready for whatever came next.
---