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::---------------------------------::
(Billy's P.O.V)
The hot coffee left a burning sensation on my tongue as I took an impatient mouthful.
My eyes narrowed in on the cup containing the hostile liquid, it's sides warm in between my palms.
I did not avert my gaze. Partly out of focus and partly because the man I'd been staring at previously had somehow felt my eyes and was now looking around the restaurant.
And no, I'm not in the habit of simply staring at people.
I like to think I'm way more polite than that.
The only reason I'd even done so in the first place, was the transparent blue screen before my eyes.
A screen that only I could see.
The screen was an interface of sorts, telling me the material used to create the cup, it's durability and how old it was.
All this was accomplished simply by reaching out and interacting with it's magnetic field.
The ceramic was the furthest thing from ferro-magnetic you could get.
That said, it too had a magnetic field, as weak as it was. By prodding this field with my Psionic energy, a screen detailing the cup's parameters and make had manifested.
(Material: Ceramic)
Durability- Common.
Age- 2 years.
It was a basic well used mug.
Nothing too abnormal. And it seemed to be the same for most of everything. The man from before was normal and his field reflected that.
One prod and this had appeared above his head.
(Race: Human)
Power: Common.
Age: 42.
The screen unfortunately didn't go too deep into personal stuff. For example while I could see their ages, the same couldn't be said for the name or other details.
Good thing I could cover that weakness by simply reading the target's mind.
I looked around the Coffee place some more. Prodding the Barista's and the customer's fields.
(Race: Human)
Power: Below Common.
Age: 12.
A young boy seated in a booth with his family.
(Race: Dog)
Power: Below Common.
Age: 3.
A pooch on a walk with its owner, passing outside the shop on the sidewalk.
(Race: Human)
Power: Common.
Age: 37.
And then the owner.
I returned my attention to the inside of the coffee shop. My eyes falling on Pedro.
(Race: Human)
Power: Uncommon.
Age: 52.
I raised an eyebrow. Pedro's power parameter was the first I'd seen labelled as Uncommon.
According to some of the Barista's stray thoughts, he used to be a marine in the past.
So maybe that's how he knew Fury? Perhaps they had carried out missions together in the past.
"You've been avoiding me."
A voice said from beside me.
"MJ!"
I exclaimed, having gotten too distracted to track her mind. I didn't even notice she was standing beside me until she started speaking.
"I didn't see you there. When did you come in?"
I added with a fake smile.
"A few minutes ago."
She replied, holding up the coffee pitcher.
"Refill?"
I looked at my full cup.
"Huh..."
"You haven't been showing up around school."
She said, staring at me with narrowed eyes.
"And whenever you turn up here, you make sure to avoid the times when I'm working. You come before my shift begins or after it's ended."
She added accusingly, brows furrowed.
I raised my eyebrows, a bit surprised.
"What? I mean...why are you so concerned?"
"Why wouldn't I be? We're friends aren't we? I'm supposed to be concerned. Plus, Peter doesn't have a lot of friends and he's been worried about you. We all have."
She looked at the counter, and after noticing Pedro's attention was on other things, she slipped into the booth with me.
"I know how hard it is to be the new kid."
She said leaning forward.
Unfortunately, MJ had a sizable bust, so it was a fight not to stare at her cleavage.
To distract myself, I prodded her magnetic field.
Another screen appeared before my eyes, replacing the one from before.
(Race: Human)
Power: Common.
Age: 17.
Nothing too abnormal there as well. I wonder what's the range on this new ability. Speaking of which, I was yet to see the notification from the system saying that I'd accomplished the mission.
Mmh...maybe I was still missing something?
While the ability to see the Status of other things and beings was not a useless skill, it felt kind of based.
"...told him, I would check up on you if I saw you..."
MJ kept on talking but my mind was on other things.
There was more to the ability I was sure. I could feel it. I mean the reward hadn't triggered when I'd gotten Psychometry or my Magnetic sense, which were the basis for this ability.
Maybe to qualify for the Ring of Solomon as a reward, meant elevating the skill from a simple scanning feature to something just as powerful as control over magnetic fields.
If that was the case, then I still had a long way to go to start manipulating metal like Magneto.
However, maybe I was on a different path. One that would not necessarily make me a master of magnetism but would bring other benefits.
I just needed to find ways to keep on getting better. I had a feeling I was on the verge of finding what I was missing.
"...mostly because everytime they come by your place, you're not around. Why is that?"
MJ asked, referring to the many times Peter and Ned had stopped by my place only to find I wasn't home.
'Because I can sense their minds from afar and react accordingly.'
I thought, but didn't say.
"Are you even listening?"
She asked a little frustrated.
I opened my mouth then closed it. Why is she so concerned?
"Look MJ. There's a lot going on in my life. But I promise you that I'm not trying to avoid you guys." (I totally am)
I added a reassuring smile at the end of the statement.
She stared at me for some time before sighing.
"I have a feeling that even if you were avoiding me, you wouldn't say it. So are you going to return to School?"
"Yeah?"
I replied unconvincingly.
"You're so full of shit."
MJ snorted.
True. I sucked at lying but luckily the redhead was gracious enough to drop the whole issue.
"I need to get back to work."
She said, getting off the booth.
"Even if school doesn't work out, don't stop coming round here."
She waved and went off to serve a different table.
I spent a few more minutes in the coffee shop before paying my bill and leaving for home with some spicy pastries to go.
Now that I could afford it, there was no reason not to splurge on myself.
Though I needed to be careful not to misuse the funds I had. Who knew how long it would be until I got more.
Once at my apartment, I changed into my costume and left on an early patrol. This past week, I'd mostly been starting my patrols at 9 or so, before making it back to my place by 1 or 2.
At 4 in the afternoon, the day was still going strong. Traffic was a bitch for the motorists on the road, the sidewalks were as busy as ever and the noise...
Good god, the noise was too much.
It made me stay away from the streets.
I simply hang around on the rooftops whenever I took a break from flying around.
Up here it was quiet and calm. I could think while enjoying the view.
My eyes caught the glimpse of a familiar building.
Stark Industry was off in the distance, the shiny skyscraper just as ostentatious as the owner had intended.
Then several blocks away from it was the Fantastic Four headquarters.
The Baxter building with all of it's 35 stories sat prominent, the upper floors jutting through the Manhattan Skyline.
I couldn't see anything fictional about this place. Maybe I'd gotten used to it but everything felt real and alive.
These people going about their lives were just as real as I was. And I would protect them with everything I had.
For just as there was marvel and mystery to be found in this universe, so too was death and suffering. Someone needed to shield the weak from such things.
Speaking of death and suffering, something was going down.
It first begun with a slight tremble. Then the shaking intensified into an earthquake that caused cracks to form around the surrounding buildings.
"This doesn't look like a normal earthquake."
I said, getting to my feet.
I took to the air, looking down at the street where the ground was splitting into two, the wide crack headed up the street.
Screams rose up from the scared masses on the sidewalks. Cars honked and crashed into one another as they tried to leave the street where the crack was swallowing everything.
Thinking fast, I dove down and begun to save people by grabbing falling cars and flying them out of the widening gap.
Some of them were stuck inside the cracks, vehicles wedged in between loose pipes spewing water and the underground tunnels.
For those, I used my telepathic sense, flying through the wind screen and tearing through metal to get at the ones stuck within the gap.
There were a few injuries but nothing too immediate.
I placed a Taxi on the sidewalk, the driver throwing a thanks only to find I was gone, flying in and out of the crack to retrieve more people.
Up ahead, a school bus tilted, it's back tires sliding into the crack. I covered the vehicle with TK aura and pushed it from the back, away from the edge.
The bus was a little too heavy to carry with TK but I managed it, placing it far away from the still growing crack.
I heard a thwip! And a few interesting minds entered my range.
I didn't need to look to see the Quinjet overhead that had stopped to let Spiderman and his team out into the scene.
"Let's move on ahead! My team has it covered here!"
Spiderman said, swinging past me right on the Crack's trail.
We could both see where it was headed. The Baxter building.
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::---------------------------------::
(Billy's P.O.V)
I increased my flight speed to match his swinging.
"We should prioritize stopping whatever it is splitting the ground and causing the gap."
I told Spiderman, the both of us approaching a busy intersection up ahead.
There was no way we could save all these people in time. The street was flooded with so many cars it was crazy. The sidewalks were similarly packed.
Spiderman nodded once I told him the same.
"You're right. But I have an idea. What if I can create a net of webs under the cars so that they don't fall within the gap?"
He proposed.
Solomon's legacy came through and expounded on that idea.
"Yeah you do that. Meanwhile, I'll lift all the cars a meter high, giving you room to work with!"
"Okay. Let's do this!"
He said, much more emboldened now that we had a working plan.
I stopped in mid air, spreading out my TK range as far as I could. I sensed the metal chassis and structures that could only be the vehicles we needed to save, using my Magnetic sense.
And within them, were minds.
People leaving for home after work. Kids coming from school. I took it all in and decided no one was going to die here.
The crack begun to approach the intersection, the buildings on the sides trembling as something heavy passed under the street, not straying from its path towards the Baxter building.
I breathed in then out.
On my next exhale I used a combination of TK and Magnetic sense to spread a shroud over every single vehicle in the intersection.
Then I heaved, lifting them all up.
I could feel my mind splitting from the strain. The cars glowed a beautiful rainbow color and slowly rose up in unison.
"Hur-hurry!"
I half yelled half stuttered, my hands trembling from the strain.
Spiderman quickly got to work, shooting his webbing onto the ground and forming a thick pattern of tightly woven web fluid strings.
The strings closed over the widening crack and went on to provide a layer of strong silky fabric, that was attached to the buildings on the side of the streets.
A second later, I literally couldn't hold on anymore and released the cars. Luckily the fabric acted like a net and held them up like a wide and huge container.
Immediately my body was hit with a ton of exhaustion. My flight speed deactivated while I was in midair, causing me to plummet towards the ground.
Trying to call onto my powers only wielded disappointment. I was devoid of Psionic Energy, my tank running on empty. I...I had never exhausted my reserves this much before.
Right as I was about to land on my head, Spiderman swung in, grabbing me, before safely landing on the sidewalk.
"I got you."
He said.
"The trembling...it hasn't stopped."
I noticed, even in the midst of an annoying headache that was causing me vertigo and nausea.
It wasn't anything I wasn't used to, though, annoying was an understatement as it effectively put me out of the fight before we even really knew what we were dealing with.
"Yeah... whatever that thing is, its still moving straight for the Baxter building."
Spiderman stated before leading me to the steps of a store front.
It was a pandemonium before when every vehicle in the intersection had found itself suspended in midair.
But now that an invisible force was moving underground, overturning the tarmac, and causing a lot of destruction to the street, a fresh wave of panic hit.
"Stay here and rest. Shield or my team will pick you up."
Spiderman stated before running forward and jumping, the leap taking him dozens of feet up before he swung away after the thing.
Whispers begun to rise up from the bystanders on the sidewalk. I could feel their gazes on me as I tried to meditate, hoping to regain a little bit of Psionic energy and follow after Spiderman.
The quaking and trembling was getting far away, leaving me behind as I recuperated. Fuck. I hated feeling useless.
"Her mister, do you know Spiderman?"
A soft voice asked from beside me.
I looked up and saw a little girl, about 7 or 8 standing next to a worried mother who was looking at me warily.
I smiled at the two who were part of a few crowd of civilians watching me.
I didn't know whether to be impressed by their bravery at staying behind in an unsafe zone when others had ran away. Or maybe it was just stupidity.
Regardless,
"Yeah."
I told her, immediately enjoying the look of wonder on her face.
"Though not personally."
I added with a little bit of guilt.
To be honest, I'd been avoiding the Friendly Neighborhood Spiderman because of how things got crazy around him. Not exactly heroic I know, but a part of me wondered if it came down to it...
If I suffered just as much as Peter has AND WILL, would I still want to be a hero?
The look of wonder on the girl's face never changed even after my response.
"That is so cool! I wanna be Spider girl when I grow up!"
She exclaimed just as the sounds of the authorities and emergency cars arrived on the scene.
"She huh- She drew a picture of Spiderman."
The mother said tentatively.
"We have it pinned on the fridge door. He's an inspiration."
Her eyes briefly fell on the lightning bolt Insignia on my chest.
"You all are. Thank you for saving this city."
"Yeah! Whoooo! Thanks lightning guy!"
Another civilian, this time a man whose truck had just barely avoided getting caught up in the web, said.
And then the small crowd broke out into cheering and applause.
They were cheering for me, I realized.
I couldn't believe it. I had to check their minds to see if they were being genuine and they were.
Their praise and adoration was urging me not to give up. To keep on pushing.
I looked at the far away Baxter building and the news chopper following after a swinging Spiderman who showed no hesitation or fear.
I got to my feet. Moping wasn't going to help. Just because I was weakened didn't mean I wasn't useful. There was one thing I could still do.
I stretched my hand out, dipping it into my Hammer space before pulling out Neptune's Trident.
"I didn't think I would be forced to rely on this so soon."
I muttered to myself as the crowd gasped in awe at the golden weapon that had appeared out of nowhere.
There was a lot of water flooding the streets due to the broken pipes and destroyed fire hydrants.
With my hand around the shaft of the three pronged weapon, I could sense all water in more than a mile radius. And control it.
The crowd begun to get back as streams of water swam through the air, the dying light of the sun making the liquid shimmer beautifully.
The water gathered under me in a vortex before it rise up in a wave under my feet, carrying me up.
My eyes locked onto the faraway building.
It wasn't over just yet. I wasn't done. Not by a long shot.
"Hey mister!"
The little girl from before called out again.
"What's your name?!"
She asked.
I smiled, reveling in the mystical might contained within the trident.
My hands tightened on the shaft, mind and soul connected to a vastness that boggled reason.
"Shazam."
I answered, voice ringing with conviction. With a final smile, I tore down the wrecked street, avoiding the net of webs holding up the cars we'd saved.
It wasn't easy riding on top of a massive Tsunami. For starters it made no sense I was doing so in the first place. I mean what was I even standing on?!
The best part waz the looks of absolute shock I was receiving as I quickly got the hang of using the Trident, hot on Spiderman's tail.
My feet were firmly anchored to the water by magic, guaranteeing stability even as I weaved through overturned cars on the street.
I leaned forward, thrusting out the Trident which had the effect of increasing my speed even more.
It wasn't comparable to my normal flight speed which was steadily approaching Supersonic but it was close.
Close enough that it didn't take long before the distance between the Baxter building and I shrunk.
Soon enough the Fantastic Four Logo highlighted above said building grew prominent.
Then something big appeared before the entrance.
"Whoa..."
I said in shock.
That 'Something big' turned out to be a massive green skinned creature standing on two limbs. The other two were being used to fight against what looked to be ants compared to its size.
It was more than 50 feet tall and possessed a bulky body.
It's back was covered by a layer of tough looking crystals and it's chest rumbled like an airplane engine as it smacked away...
Holy shit, that's Ben Grimm! The Thing had been smacked away like a baseball, sent tumbling through the ground and upheaving a few cars in his path.
Creating a crater with his body upon landing, The Thing was too slow to evade the creature's leg stomp.
But then the limb landed on an invisible shield, the clash producing a loud impact. Standing before The Thing was a blonde Woman with her hands outstretched, who could only be Susan Storm, the invisible woman.
The Creature came back for a second blow on Sue's shield, only to be interrupted by a shower of flames.
Another familiar face darted around the monster, body burning with orange flames.
"Flame On!"
Delivering one of the most iconic catchphrases ever, Johny Storm aka the Human Torch unleashed a swathe of flames right on the Creature's face.
The already sweltering heat increased, managing to reach me even at my distance.
To the creature though, it must have been unbearable as it released a loud roar, shattering all the glass panes of the windows nearby and throwing away The Human Torch, Invisible Woman and the Thing who had taken a jump in a bid to attack it.
A thwip! Sounded out with Spiderman diving for a few bystanders, grabbing them from the path of a car thrown by the Creature's roar.
The Invisible Woman managed to slow down her and The Thing's momentum in the air. Then she manifested a construct for them to stand on.
The Human Torch on his part, took flight, flying around the monster while looking for openings.
In reality, all this took a few seconds to happen.
Meanwhile, I had been preparing for my reintroduction into the fight by gathering as much water as I could.
A shadow appeared before the Creature. All eyes turned towards me and the towering Tsunami of water behind me. Towering even over the Creature.
I stared into its enraged eyes, twirling the Trident in my hands.
"Ready for round 2?"
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