บท 132: Gwen
Charlie had been buzzing with excitement about the new feature he'd unlocked last night, so attending class was completely out of the question. His mind was entirely consumed by thoughts of the game, strategizing and planning his next moves.
He grabbed his phone and sent a quick message to his good friend Walter, asking him to cover for him in class and sign him in. Walter had always been the reliable type, the kind of friend who could take care of roll calls and small favors without making a fuss. With that settled, Charlie turned back to the only thing on his mind—the game.
Sitting at his gaming station, Charlie fired up the system, anticipation bubbling inside him as the interface loaded up. He picked up right where he left off the previous night, eager to test the new functions and push further in his hero journey.
Since unlocking the B-level card pool, Charlie had started to become suspicious of the whole system. It was as though the game was rigged, full of hidden "insider information" that only the developers knew, leading to odd results with every draw. Every time he pulled from the pool, there was a strange sense that the game was intentionally holding back the good stuff.
Sure enough, his first few pulls today were more of the same—a bunch of weird, seemingly useless gear. Wrist guards, goggles, and some other random equipment flooded his inventory. Most of it was nothing to write home about. And to top it off, he even got a few superhero duplicates—characters he already had, which was beyond frustrating.
Charlie sighed, running his fingers through his hair. What's the point of this? he thought. I mean, really—who needs ten pairs of wrist guards?
Still, he knew that this was just part of the grind. Even if he had to wade through a sea of useless junk, the chance of hitting something extraordinary was always there, and the excitement of it kept him coming back. Sure, the B-level card pool wasn't going to give him the "thank you for participating" messages he'd feared from the C-level pool, but he also wasn't quite sure what he was getting out of it yet.
Then came a shift—a pull that finally made him sit up straight.
The system chimed, the screen lit up with bright, sparkling effects, and a new hero materialized before him. His heart skipped a beat when he realized who it was: Bucky Barnes, the Winter Soldier.
Bucky wasn't just another hero—he was Captain America's best friend, and like Cap, he had been enhanced by the super-soldier serum. But Bucky's story was darker. He had been brainwashed by Hydra for decades, turning him into a ruthless assassin. It wasn't until modern times that he finally broke free and returned to the hero fold.
In terms of gameplay, the Winter Soldier was an absolute beast. Not only did he have all the enhanced strength, speed, and reflexes of a super-soldier, but his mechanical prosthetic arm added an entirely new layer to his abilities. He was skilled with a wide range of weapons, could go toe-to-toe with almost any combatant, and was practically unstoppable in hand-to-hand combat.
Charlie grinned, taking a moment to appreciate how far his hero roster had come. The Winter Soldier was a serious upgrade.
Still, he couldn't help but compare Bucky to Captain America, who he had previously pulled from the C-level card pool. Despite their similar origins, it was strange to Charlie that Bucky had ended up in the B-level pool while Steve Rogers was in the C-level. Theoretically, they should be on par with one another. But maybe this version of Bucky represented a more battle-hardened, post-Avengers incarnation, whereas the Captain America he had pulled was from an earlier, less experienced era. That could explain the discrepancy in their ranks.
His mind wandered to the MCU, where Bucky's arm had been upgraded in Wakanda to a vibranium model. A powerful enhancement, sure, but it seemed like that arm was always getting detached or stolen, leaving Bucky in a constant state of having to replace it. Charlie couldn't help but laugh, remembering how Bucky's arm always seemed to be an ongoing joke in the fandom.
With the Winter Soldier now firmly added to his team, Charlie continued his pulls, though the next few were underwhelming. More equipment he didn't really need or understand, some random power-ups that seemed situational at best, and a few forgettable items. Just when his hope was starting to fade, the system flashed once again with another significant prize.
This time, it was a weapon—a silver longsword, to be exact. And not just any longsword, but one that belonged to Blade, the vampire hunter.
Charlie had to take a moment to appreciate this one. Blade's weaponry was specifically designed to take down vampires, and his sword was no exception. For an average person, the silver sword might have been nothing more than a well-crafted blade, but for anyone facing vampires, this was a game-changer. Even the slightest scratch from this sword would be deadly to the undead. It was a Ripple Sprint for vampires—a one-hit kill.
The only problem? There weren't any vampires on Earth's Pole Star.
"Great," Charlie muttered to himself, "I've got a dragon-slaying sword in a world with no dragons."
Still, the sword was cool, and if there ever were vampires (which, in this game, anything was possible), he'd be more than ready.
He moved on to the next draw, and this time, something truly remarkable happened. The system lit up with vibrant special effects, and Charlie's eyes widened as he watched what unfolded on his screen.
Batman.
Not just any Batman, but an upgraded version from the B-level pool.
Charlie could hardly contain his excitement. Batman had been one of his first heroes in the game, but this version came with even more options, more upgrades, and more features than before. Logging into the game, Charlie entered the Batcave to explore the new content.
The Batcave was larger than before, filled with new vehicles, gadgets, and suits. There were Batmobiles of every version, tanks from various timelines, and an array of Bat-suits, each tailored for specific situations. Cold-resistant armor, fireproof armor, poison-resistant suits—all designed for specific enemies like Mr. Freeze, Poison Ivy, and Clayface. Each suit had its own purpose, and while none of them were as powerful as the Hellbat armor, they were all incredibly useful in their own right.
Charlie could feel the excitement bubbling inside him as he explored the arsenal. This is how it should be, he thought. The sheer variety of tools at his disposal made him feel invincible, ready for any threat the game could throw at him.
But the game wasn't done with him yet.
Another pull, and this time, something truly jaw-dropping appeared on the screen.
The Iron Man Mark 5 portable armor.
Charlie's heart raced as he watched the special effects unfold, his screen bursting with light. The Mark 5 armor, from Iron Man 2, was one of the most iconic suits in Tony Stark's arsenal. Unlike the later armors that could fly to him or assemble at the touch of a button, the Mark 5 was housed in a suitcase, designed for portability and emergencies.
The armor wasn't as powerful as Stark's other models, but its compact size made it perfect for situations where he didn't have access to his regular suits. It had limited weapons—only a repulsor cannon in each palm—and the flight capabilities were minimal, designed more for quick escapes than prolonged aerial combat. The suit wasn't built to withstand heavy firepower, but for a portable set of armor, it was still beyond anything modern human technology could replicate.
Charlie wasted no time testing it out in-game. He watched in awe as the suitcase unfolded, assembling piece by piece onto his character's body. The metal segments locked into place, forming the sleek, silver armor he remembered so well from the movies. It took over ten seconds to fully assemble, and during that time, his character was vulnerable—completely defenseless until the armor was ready.
Even so, watching the process was exhilarating. The transformation, the way the metal clicked and locked into place, was the stuff of childhood dreams. This was the pinnacle of man's romance with technology—a mecha in real life.
Friday, ever attentive, suggested that she could block all nearby signals and let him test the armor outside in real life. She offered to create a blind spot where he could fly around for a while without being detected.
Charlie was tempted. The idea of flying around in an Iron Man suit was almost too good to pass up. But in the end, his cautious nature won out.
"No thanks," Charlie said, shaking his head. "I'll stick to using the heroes remotely."
[TL Note - That's it... The author is officially gay... It's oficiall... WTF!!!]
As much as he wanted to experience it firsthand, he wasn't willing to take the risk. His strategy was simple: stay safe, play smart, and let his remote-controlled heroes handle the dangerous work. As tempting as it was to don the armor and take it for a spin, the potential risks outweighed the reward.
He reluctantly folded the suit back into the suitcase and stored it away for future emergencies.
Just when he thought his luck had run dry, the system flashed once more with another pull.
A petite figure in a black-and-white bodysuit appeared on the screen. She wore a white mask with large, expressive eyes and a hood that hung loosely behind her head.
Spider-Gwen.
Charlie blinked, momentarily stunned. Gwen Stacy, Spider-Man's love interest in the main universe, but a hero in her own right in an alternate reality, had now joined his team. In this version of events, Gwen had been the one bitten by the radioactive spider, gaining powers almost identical to Peter Parker's and becoming Spider-Woman.
Though Gwen's abilities mirrored Spider-Man's, having another web-slinger on the team wasn't a bad thing. In fact, it added more depth to his roster. Plus, Charlie couldn't help but admire her sleek, stylish bodysuit. It was a perfect balance of form and function, and her agility and strength were a welcome addition.
But then something dawned on him.
This was the second Spider-person he had drawn from the B-level pool.
Two Spider-heroes are fine, Charlie thought. But what happens if I get more?
Spider-Man was one of Marvel's most beloved characters, and over the years, there had been countless alternate versions and clones of the web-slinger. Some came from parallel universes, others from different timelines. The possibilities were endless.
What if I keep pulling more versions of Spider-Man?
A sinking feeling crept into Charlie's chest.
Did I just open the floodgates to a spider infestation?
[TL Note - Sighhhhhhhhh... WTF!!! Just wear the suit... AHHHHHHHHH!!! that it... no more editing today; I'm done]
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