Ethan woke abruptly, his chest tightening as if he'd forgotten how to breathe. He sat up, scanning the room, and immediately noticed something was wrong. The blue dot—the system—was gone from the corner of his vision.
Panic surged. He clutched the hospital blanket, his mind racing. Is it gone? Did I lose it because I didn't use it?
"Come on, come on... damn what was that keyword again?" he muttered, squeezing his eyes shut. He tried to will it back, throwing every term he could think of into the void of his mind. 'System? Status? Menu? Power?'
Nothing.
Frustration bubbled up, mixing with anxiety. He pressed his palms to his temples, forcing himself to calm down. 'Think. This thing activated before. What was that damn keyword?' Then it clicked. 'Oh right, abilities.'
The blue dot flared back to life, and the familiar translucent screen materialized before him. Relief washed over him like a tidal wave.
[Abilities:]
S-Rank: [N/A]
A-Rank: [N/A]
B-Rank: [N/A]
C-Rank: [N/A]
D-Rank: [N/A]
E-Rank: [N/A]
F-Rank: [N/A]
His eyes scanned the empty slots, but when he thought about the powers he'd seen yesterday, they were gone. Doom's energy manipulation, Reed Richards' elasticity, Johnny Storm's pyrokinesis—none of them were available anymore.
"Okay," he muttered, leaning back against the headboard. "So... it doesn't save options indefinitely. That's good to know."
He replayed yesterday's events, piecing it together. 'I saw their powers in the middle of the fight. That means the system can analyze abilities in real-time. Does that mean that as long as I see it even from far away it can work? However, if I don't pick one by a certain time then the option expires.'
His brow furrowed. 'How long? 24 hours? Less?' It was a theory he'd have to test. For now, he noted the information.
A few hours later, Ethan was pulled from his thoughts by the sound of the door creaking open. A doctor walked in, clipboard in hand. He was an older man with gray streaks in his dark hair, wearing wire-rimmed glasses.
"How're you feeling?" the doctor asked, his tone light.
"Better," Ethan replied, though his ribs still throbbed.
As the doctor approached, the blue dot flickered.
Ability Detected: Medical Expertise – F-Rank
Ethan's breath hitched. He stared at the doctor, processing the new prompt. 'So, it's not just powers from superhumans... it can copy regular skills too.'
It was fascinating—and daunting. If the system could analyze something as mundane as medical expertise, then anything was fair game. He glanced at the clock. 11:25 a.m. If the ability disappeared by this time tomorrow, it would confirm the 24-hour window theory.
"Good news," the doctor said, oblivious to Ethan's inner turmoil. "You're healing nicely. We'll have you discharged in about an hour."
Ethan nodded, filing the new discovery away for later.
By noon, Ethan found himself in the back seat of a car, his new "parents" up front. His mother—warm brown eyes and an easy smile—kept glancing at him in the rearview mirror.
"You okay back there, sweetie?" she asked.
"I'm fine," Ethan replied, his voice steady.
His father, tall and broad-shouldered, had one hand on the wheel and the other resting on the console. "We're taking you to a hotel for now," he said. "Insurance should cover a new place once the paperwork's through, but it might take a while."
Ethan barely nodded, his gaze focused out the window. The city sped by, chaotic and vibrant. New York. Marvel New York, he corrected himself. A place where gods and monsters clashed, and ordinary people like these two were collateral damage.
The hotel was small but comfortable. After his parents got them checked in, they headed to their room while Ethan stayed behind in his. He was grateful for the solitude.
As he unpacked, he noticed a dated computer sitting on the desk. His lips twitched into a faint smile. "Perfect."
Booting it up, he connected to the internet and began searching for anything that could be used to anchor himself in the timeline. He knew he was in the Marvel Universe but around what time he had no idea. He scanned headlines, piecing together fragments of recent events.
An hour later, he found what he was looking for: articles about four new Spider-themed vigilantes—2 heroes and 2 villains named Dusk, Hornet, Prodigy, and Ricochet. Ethan leaned back in his chair, his mind digesting the information.
He remembered the arc clearly. This should be around the time when Norman Osborn had returned to public life, discrediting evidence of his time as the Green Goblin. With Osborn's influence over the media and a staged confrontation, he'd framed Spider-Man as a criminal. Peter Parker, forced to abandon his identity, had taken on four new personas to continue his work in secret to clear Spiderman's name.
It was a quieter time compared to major events like the Infinity Gauntlet or Civil War, but it was a double-edged sword. Not a lot of world-ending threats... yet. But it wouldn't last long because some major event were scheduled to occur in the future.
Ethan rubbed his temples. The Marvel Universe wasn't static. In a few years, the superhero Civil War would pit everyone against each other. Then would come events like the Skrull Invasion and the rise of Norman Osborn's Dark Reign.
'If I don't get stronger before then, I'm royally screwed.'
Later, Ethan joined his parents for dinner. They ate at a nearby diner, the meal warm and filling. His mother asked gentle questions about how he was feeling, while his father kept glancing toward the windows, as if expecting trouble.
Ethan did his best to play along, offering simple answers and letting most of the questions slide. They chalked up his quiet demeanor to lingering shock, and for now, that suited him fine.
After dinner, Ethan retreated to his room again. He sat at the desk, staring at the blue dot in his vision.
"I have to be ready," he muttered. "No one's going to protect me but me."
He thought back to the list of potential abilities he'd begun mentally drafting. Reality warping, super speed, weather manipulation, probability manipulation, shape-shifting, and magic... there were so many powers to choose from. The question however was which abilities would be needed to combat the coming crisis and world-ending threats.
But for now, he needed to focus on the basics. Testing the system. Learning its limits. Planning his next move.