[New Mexico – 2011]
[Location: Unknown Facility]
Inside a run-down, half-buried laboratory in the middle of nowhere, a boy lay asleep on a small metal-framed bed. He looked around 18, with messy black hair, pale Caucasian skin, and a lanky build. He stood about six feet tall, thin but not frail. The most striking thing, however, were his eyes—pitch black. Not brown. Not even dark brown. Just… black.
---
Zack's POV
I opened my eyes slowly, blinking against the harsh fluorescent light. The walls around me were white—too white—and the room was bare except for a small bed and a toilet in the corner. There was no window. Just a reinforced glass door that reminded me of a prison.
'This is a cell…?'
I sat up abruptly. "Fck. This is a cell."*
As I tried to piece things together, a guard walked up and slid a metal tray through a small slot in the glass.
"No. 29, here's your food," he grunted, then turned and walked away like I didn't exist.
I glanced at the tray. Bland-looking porridge, stale bread, and water. No surprise.
Then it hit me—memories flooding back like a tidal wave. My old life. The rain. The lightning. The One Above All.
I sat still for nearly ten minutes, absorbing it all. So, it was real. I had died… and now, I'd been reincarnated. In the Marvel Universe.
Excitement surged in my chest, only to be doused by cold, harsh reality.
'That smug bastard TOAA couldn't have placed me in a decent family? Nope. Dumped me in a lab straight out of a horror movie.'
This wasn't just any lab either. I recognized the signs. Mutant experimentation. And worse—my memories of this life were little fuzzy. I remembered my name: Zack Snow.
I calmed myself and focused. Total Control. That was the ability I'd been given.
I crossed my legs, closed my eyes, and stretched out my senses. At first, there was nothing… but then—spark.
Electricity humming through the wires. Heat and photonic energy from the overhead lights. The kinetic pressure of moving air. I could feel it all.
With a mere thought, I dimmed the bulb overhead, slowed the current in the wires. I extended my perception—50 meters in all directions. If I wanted, I could ignite this entire facility like a tinderbox. But brute force wasn't the plan. Not yet.
Instead, I began planning my escape.
The facility wasn't large. Ten to fifteen human subjects in total—none of them mutants. Just ordinary people being tested on. The guards—maybe less than a dozen—usually gathered in the central lounge during lunchtime. That was my opportunity.
So I waited.
---
[Lunchtime – 12:43 PM]
The moment arrived. I took a deep breath, stood up, and focused on the glass door.
With a concentrated pulse of raw kinetic energy, the reinforced glass cracked. Another focused pulse of vibrational energy—and it shattered. The sound echoed through the halls like a gunshot.
I sprinted toward the common area. The guards were caught mid-conversation, sipping coffee and eating sandwiches.
"Surprise, motherf*ckers," I muttered, raising my hand.
A web of blue lightning erupted from my fingertips, dancing across the room. The nearest three guards spasmed violently and collapsed before they could even think of reaching for their weapons.
"What the hell—"
Two more guards came running from the hallway. I shifted, twisting my palm outward and summoned heat energy—converting the ambient warmth into focused plasma.
FWOOOSH!
A jet of flame burst forward. One guard screamed as fire engulfed him. The other panicked, reaching for his sidearm. I didn't hesitate. A sharp jolt of electric current surged forward and struck his chest. He dropped instantly.
I froze for a second, panting. The room smelled like ozone... and burning flesh.
My stomach lurched. I staggered back, nearly throwing up. This was the first time I had killed someone.
No time for guilt, I told myself. They were part of this nightmare.
I pushed forward into the lab.
---
[Main Laboratory]
I kicked open the steel door.
Inside were two scientists—one younger, pale and shaking, and the other an older man with graying hair. Both wore white coats. The older one tried to speak, but no words came.
I walked toward them slowly.
"Who are you working for?" I asked, my voice cold.
They said nothing. The older man tried to look defiant. I raised him off the ground by his throat with one hand and gave him a gentle jolt of electricity.
He thrashed violently.
"Francis!" the younger man shouted. "It was Francis! He funded the experiments—wanted to create a healing serum! We didn't have a choice!"
"No choice?" I repeated, a cruel smirk forming. "You both looked pretty damn happy when you cut people open."
Their faces turned pale.
No more hesitation.
Two pulses of heat—clean and precise.
They were gone.
I rifled through the files until I found mine: Zack Snow. Just an orphan from New York. My last relative—my grandfather—died a few months ago. Then I was abducted.
I pocketed the money in the lab's drawer and returned to the cells, opening each door. I said nothing. Most of the people here came willingly, chasing dreams of power and transformation. Let them find their own way now.
---
[Outside the Facility]
Just as I walked outside the sight in front me nearly gave me a headache.
Barren land. Endless sky. Dirt and dry grass as far as the eye could see.
Great. Now I'm stuck in the middle of nowhere.
One of the freed captives pointed toward a faint road in the distance before sprinting to a nearby vehicle. The rest followed. They didn't say a word. No thanks. No goodbye.
I didn't even get chance to hop on the jeep. Ungrateful bastards, I thought, watching them vanish in clouds of dust.
I sighed and started walking toward the road—nearly a mile away—when I saw a car approaching.
I raised my hand.
To my luck, it slowed down.
---
[Inside the Car]
I jogged up to the window and saw two women in their twenties and an older man driving.
"Hey! Can you give me a lift to the nearest town?" I asked politely.
The man nodded. "Sure, kid. Take a seat."
I slid into the backseat, sighing in relief.
"Thanks a lot. If you hadn't shown up, I'd probably be a pile of ashes by now."
They chuckled lightly.
"I'm Zack Snow, by the way," I said, offering a small smile.
The girl beside me turned with an easy grin. "Nice to meet you, Zack. I'm Darcy. That's Jane," she said, pointing at the driver's side passenger, "and this old man is Dr. Erik Selvig—our resident astrophysicist."
My eyes widened slightly, but I quickly masked my surprise.
Darcy Lewis. Jane Foster. Erik Selvig. I just walked into the Thor movie.
"So… Zack," Darcy said, suddenly narrowing her eyes, "what were you doing all alone out here in the middle of the desert?"
I smirked. "Hiding a body."
The car went silent.
I burst out laughing. "Kidding. Kidding."
Darcy raised a brow. "You know, you had me for a second there. I was about to call FBI myself."
"Honestly," I said alread thinking of excuse, "I was on a road trip with a few friends. We had a fallout, and... well, they decided to ditch me in the middle of nowhere."
"Your friends sound like assholes," she said, crossing her arms.
"No arguments there."
I leaned back, then turned to Jane. "Where are we headed, if you don't mind me asking?"
She glanced at me. "A town called Puente Antiguo."
Of course. The town where Thor fell to Earth. I really am in the MCU.
Darcy seemed to enjoy talking, and I didn't mind. She asked a dozen questions—where I was from, what music I liked, what I thought about aliens.
I kept my answers vague but friendly. Better to stay under the radar for now.
Eventually, we rolled into town. I thanked them all for the ride and stepped out of the car.
---
The town was small, sunbaked, and quiet.
But something big was about to happen here.
Time to gather information, I thought. I need to understand where I stand in this universe—what threats are coming… and what role I'm meant to play.
With that, I stepped into the heart of Puente Antiguo—ready to start my second life in a world of gods, mutants, and monsters.
---