บท 27: Chapter 27: Pizza Delivery
Alex stood in front of a full-length mirror in his tiny apartment, staring at his reflection as if it would give him answers. After the recent series of events—Hulk's battle with Abomination, his frustrating encounter with Nick Fury, and the complete scam the system pulled on him—he was at a loss. He had no points left, his Platinum Wheel was unlocked but useless, and worst of all, he had no way to grind more points without risking exposure, after too much scrutiny lately.
In other words, he was screwed.
He glanced at the system panel that floated just in his peripheral vision, flickering faintly. It was a reminder of both his gift and his curse. Six silver slots, not all filled. The first slot: Spider-Man, granting him Peter Parker's agility, strength, and that sweet spider-sense. Second, a low-tier psychic character from the DC universe, Zatanna's telepathic skills—though nowhere near her full power, it was just enough to let him hear surface thoughts if he really focused. The third, Black Pather's hand-to-hand combat skills.
The fifth was Moonkight abilities and energy absorption and control, which allowed him to channel his energy into explosive punches . Lastly, the sixth currently unfilled, and a low-level illusion ability from the system as his first gift which he has hidden in the system panel. He'd forgotten about it until the system kindly reminded him this morning. Apparently, it had helped him more than once during close calls, tricking people into thinking he was just another face in the crowd.
But no matter how stacked his abilities were, none of it mattered if he couldn't accumulate more points. That was the part that kept Alex up at night. The system didn't hand out points like candy—he had to earn them, and the only way to earn them was by influencing events in this world, which always seemed to lead to danger. He had to tread carefully.
His stomach growled, reminding him that while he may have superpowers, he still had the very human need to eat. And rent was coming up and he had already left the building in Hell's Kitchen assuming it was because of that place he was tracked by SHIELD. That meant he needed to get some cash flow, fast.
"Alright," Alex muttered, rubbing his hands together. "I need a normal job, something low-key."
His mind landed on something simple, something that wouldn't attract attention. Pizza delivery. It wasn't glamorous, but it was perfect for staying off the radar. Plus, it would give him an excuse to be out and about, potentially gaining points from observing and interacting with certain individuals in the city. Not every move had to be big. Small ripples could build up.
So, he found himself at a local pizza joint, the "Pizza Parlor," standing before the manager—a gruff middle-aged man named Jerry, with a receding hairline and an ever-present cigarette hanging from his lips.
"You ever deliver pizza before?" Jerry asked, sizing Alex up from behind the counter.
"No," Alex said truthfully, figuring he shouldn't try to make himself sound too competent.
Jerry scratched his chin, eyeing Alex's casual outfit: jeans, a black t-shirt, and sneakers. Nothing fancy, but enough to make Alex appear clean-cut. That's what mattered, apparently.
"You look alright," Jerry finally said, puffing on his cigarette. "The girls'll love ya."
Alex blinked. "Sorry, what?"
"You've got a face that'll bring in the young ladies," Jerry said, completely serious. "More business for me if we get some college girls ordering pizza 'cause they wanna see the cute delivery guy." He winked, which made Alex feel uncomfortable, but he wasn't about to let that get in the way of him securing the job.
"I, uh... thanks, I guess," Alex muttered, rubbing the back of his neck. He hadn't realized his appearance was a factor in this job, but he wasn't about to argue. He needed the money.
Jerry shrugged, not seeming to care. "You start tonight. Delivery guy quit yesterday, so you're up. Uniform's in the back. You know your way around the city?"
Alex nodded. He'd memorized most of the major streets just in case he needed to get out of sticky situations quickly.
"Good," Jerry said, motioning toward the kitchen. "Go get yourself changed. Orders come in fast around dinner time."
With that, Alex had a job. It was surreal, balancing his day-to-day life with the fact that, at any moment, he could be dealing with world-ending threats or trying to stay hidden from S.H.I.E.L.D.
As he slipped into the back and found the plain black uniform, he checked the system again. His six silver characters were still in place, and now that his points had reset to zero, the Platinum Wheel mocked him from the corner of his vision. It would take ages to gather the points needed to spin it, and who knew what kind of powers it held? He couldn't think about that now. For now, his survival depended on keeping things as normal as possible.
He took a deep breath as he looked at himself in the mirror, now dressed in the pizza joint's uniform. For the first time in a while, he felt something akin to normalcy. A job delivering pizzas wasn't glamorous, but it gave him structure, something simple to focus on.
But, as always, his mind wandered. There had to be a way to get more points—something low-key, something that wouldn't attract attention from people like Fury. Maybe if he interacted with some side characters or got involved with minor events, it could add up over time.
He stepped out of the back room, ready to start his first shift. The rush of pizza orders came in quicker than he expected, and before he knew it, Alex was juggling a stack of pizza boxes in his arms, ready for delivery.
As he hopped onto the old moped parked outside, a wave of absurdity washed over him. Here he was, a guy with powers from Spider-Man, Black Panther, Zatana, Moonkight, delivering pizzas in a city where gods, aliens, and super soldiers roamed. The irony wasn't lost on him.
He zoomed through the streets, feeling the wind on his face, his enhanced senses making it easy to navigate through traffic. His spider-sense tingled once in a while, alerting him to small dangers like potholes or careless drivers. It wasn't glamorous, but it was better than sitting in his apartment, wallowing in the fact that the system had tricked him.
His first delivery was to a college dorm, where a group of giggling girls answered the door. He barely managed to keep his cool as they tried to flirt with him, Jerry's prediction coming true. Alex was polite but distant, taking the tip and leaving as fast as he could without being rude.
As he drove away, though, he heard a ding in his mind. His system flickered.
[+5 Point]
He nearly crashed the moped.
"Wait, what?" Alex whispered, pulling over to the side of the road. He quickly brought up the system panel. Sure enough, his points had gone from zero to one.
"That can't be right," Alex muttered. "Did I just… gain some points from delivering pizza?"
The system didn't respond—because of course it didn't. It never gave him direct answers. But the fact remained that he had gained a point, and if he could do that again, slowly but surely, maybe this job would help him grind his way to more spins.
"Well," Alex said to himself, smiling for the first time in a while, "this might not be so bad after all."
With newfound purpose, he revved the moped and headed off to the next delivery. It wasn't glamorous, but it was progress. And in his world, any progress was a win.
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