Today is not my day. You probably want to know why. Let's start with the fact that the morning was, to put it mildly, bleak: thunder roared and lightning struck outside. It felt like God had decided to put on a laser show but simply forgot to add the color. And in this exact weather, I had to go to the dean's office to pick up papers for my classmates. When I was made class monitor, I counted on many perks, but as it turns out, if you don't have a pair of "pretty eyes," you get squat, not advantages! So here I am, walking under pouring rain and strong wind with only one umbrella and a lot of irritation, though AC/DC's "Thunderstruck" lifted my mood a bit. Approaching the bus stop and singing along to my favorite line, "You've been — thunderstruck!" I noticed a flash. The last thing that crossed my mind was: "Is Zeus overdoing it with the special effects?"
And now we come to the middle of this day. Although, I'm not sure it's still the same day. After that flash, I remember nothing—only darkness. Then I felt warmth from the sun and a cool breeze. Opening my eyes, I found myself on a bus in the middle of unfamiliar streets, not understanding how I got here or how much time had passed, as the weather had changed from wet autumn to sunny summer. I tried to walk up to the driver to find out where we were, but after taking a couple of steps, I felt a sharp pain: my head felt like it was about to explode, as if it were being inflated and inflated, and the limit had long been reached! As the pain began to subside, a bunch of memory fragments appeared before me. ONLY THEY WEREN'T MINE. After the mountain of images and videos popping up in my head, I blacked out. I came to in a hospital room and tried to understand—what the hell is this?
So, think, what do you remember—shitty morning, rain, walking to the stop, a flash, and I'm on a bus... How did I end up on a bus if only trolleybuses run there? Wait! We're going the wrong way; what were those images after the pain? And at that moment, it hit me. I remembered everything: childhood, elementary school, middle school, family, home, and a pile of other information that was foreign to me, but at the same time, for some reason, so familiar. Sorting through some of these memories, I realized it was "that" thing: I had been reincarnated. I probably should have shouted with joy, but if you think about it, I had a family there: mother, father, a future—and leaving all that is very unpleasant, it makes my heart feel heavy.
Okay, I calmed down and started to figure things out: this is the body of Rain Pierce; he—that is, now I—is 16 years old, and today is April 3, 2009. I was quite surprised that I had been thrown back 12 years!!! Thinking more, I remembered that his family isn't poor, and his father rakes in good money—something related to politics, but that's not certain since his father never told him about it. I wouldn't say the atmosphere in the family was warm, but he didn't remember his mother: she either left the family or died during childbirth. His father was quite cold and didn't deny his son money or gifts, but after he turned 12, Rain could only get something if he met his father's expectations—namely, being the best in school and fulfilling his demands. He required Rain to study psychology, foreign languages—such as French, German, Chinese, and Russian—and hired a martial arts coach for him.
On the day of my arrival here, he decided to get rid of his father's surveillance and meet friends who, in his father's opinion, were "not of his level." Yeah, the kid was unlucky. Well, if—
Attention! Attention!
Loading draft system… 1%… 5%… 10%… 20%… 40%… 70%… 90%… 99%… 99.9%… 100%
Congratulations! You have become the owner of a test version of the system. Although it is not yet complete and not all functions are available to you, you can be proud of yourself.
Oh, this is just like those stories where the main character gets a system and a bunch of cheats, right?
Ding!
You have one private message.
"There's mail here?!"
— Uh... Open letter.
"There is a voice message here."
"Dear travel... ahem, traveler, I am the Creator of this system, and I want to destroy your foolish hopes and explain things regarding the system. The system was created quite recently—only a few thousand years ago—and hasn't been road-tested yet. Therefore, all you can get from it are quests that will help you in your development and won't let you die... ahem, stray from the path too quickly. Also, your skills will develop faster than those of other people. In your inventory, you will find three gifts for your future achievements. The world I sent you to is a fairly dangerous place, so I advise you to quickly move beyond human strength and capabilities. And finally, if you can show yourself well during the system testing, I might allow you to return to your world and finish your business there."
— Why me?
— Is my life some kind of joke to you?
+1 to Intuition
After I finished shouting at the ceiling, I decided to check the "gifts" in the inventory. There were three lottery tickets. Each had a strange name: "Starting Perk," "Attractiveness Boost," and "Character Trait."
Touching the ticket icon, I saw the description: You receive a random feature or ability from one of the many heroes of the multiverse. First, I decided to use the perk. Tearing the ticket, I saw an orange glow, and...?
You received "Time Acceleration." It allows you to accelerate the flow of time by 2x for your body.
That's pretty cool! Now let's try clicking the second one... Hmm... Strange: no description. It seems besides the name, nothing will be explained to me. Tearing the ticket, I see the same glow again. Luck seems to want to restore balance for today.
You received a body modification: "Captain America's Ass." You are the owner of one of the best asses in the universe.
Is this going to increase my attractiveness for which damn gender, huh?
Fine, I tear the last ticket. A gray light reminds me of what kind of day it is, and I get...
You received a one-time ticket: "Roronoa Zoro's Topographical Disorientation — 1 hour."
What do I need this for?! This feels more like a curse than a gift.
Aside from the ability, I got plastic surgery and a curse—top-class gifts, truly.
— Status
Name: Rain Pierce
Level: 1
Experience: 0/100
Parameters:
Strength: 15
Agility: 13
Endurance: 18
Intelligence: 23
Intuition: 14
Free Points: 10
Traits: "Rich Kid," "Lab Rat," "Traveler."
Skills: Martial Arts – Lvl 9, Shooting – Lvl 4, Polyglot – Lvl 5, Psychology – Lvl 6, Strategist – Lvl 3, Stealth – Lvl 3, Gamer's Mind – MAX.
Superpowers: Time Acceleration.
I think I won't distribute the points for now—just in case I need to sharply increase one of the characteristics.
Ding!
Quest Received.
"Where am I?"
You have found yourself in another world, and although you know the name of the city, it would be good to understand the name of the world this city is in. You have 5 hours. Good luck!
Reward: 3 Free Points and understanding of where you are.
Failure Penalty: -5 Intelligence points and the "Slow-witted" trait.
Fantastic! And how am I supposed to figure this out, huh? For example, if this is the "Harry Potter" world, do I run to London for tickets? Or if it's "Underworld" or "Twilight," do I go get a bag of blood and a few bones? This quest is just absurd!
Anyway, first I need to get out of the hospital. I pressed the nurse call button and waited. Two minutes later, a woman of Latin appearance entered.
— Hello, I am Carla. How are you feeling? — for some reason, her gaze was filled with a mix of anger and relief.
— Hello, Carla. Well, I don't feel any discomfort in my body, and I would like to know how long I was unconscious.
— You were unconscious for two days, and right now it's best if you keep lying down until the attending physician arrives, — she said before quickly leaving my ward.
A minute later, a doctor walked in.
— Well, let's see what your readings are. — He was carefully reviewing the papers, and his expression became increasingly puzzled.
— Strange... They show that while you were unconscious, your brain was simply going crazy, as strange as that sounds. Different parts started working even though there were no reasons for their activity. Your cerebellum and basal ganglia were particularly active at maximum almost the entire time of your coma and only calmed down about an hour and a half to two hours before you woke up. This is the first case in my 15 years of practice that I've seen this. Did you have any trouble understanding where you are, with movement, or with self-awareness?
— No, I remember everything and understand who I am.
— Good. Then state your date of birth, name, and surname.
— Rain Pierce, born March 15, 1993.
— Relatives?
— Father — Alexander Pierce. Mother, probably dead.
— What do you mean "probably"?
— Father doesn't like to talk about her, and I didn't push for questions.
— Fine. Blood tests showed nothing, so I have no theories as to why this happened. Do you?
— I have no idea either. Also, I'd like to know when I'll be discharged.
— We will conduct a few more examinations, because if you go out and black out again, it will be the end of our hospital.
— Excuse me?
— The head of the hospital gave us a vivid performance describing the "joyful" future of this hospital, and especially me and the other doctors, if we can't help you. He was very frightened and his face grew pale in direct proportion to the gloominess of your father's gaze. One more day, and I think he would have checked into the next room himself.
— Can you call my father? I would like to talk to him.
— There might be a problem with that. A few hours ago, he got a call and left on business. But he left a number for us to report any changes in your condition, so he already knows about your awakening and will likely call soon.
— Fine, I'll wait for the remaining exams, but in the meantime, could you bring me some magazines to pass the time?
— Yes, of course.
Left alone, I started thinking quickly about how to get information about this world and figure out where I am. As luck would have it, Rain had left his phone at home that day because he knew his father used it to track all his movements. Magazines might give some information, but then again, if this is a world with the supernatural, I'll get as much info from them as I would from the view out the window. Well, wait and see.
— Here are the magazines, as you requested. — Carla brought the magazines, and as I noticed, her gaze became a bit softer.
I immediately grabbed the stack and started looking for any available clues about where I was. Come on, come on, at least something. I flipped through the pages, looking for leads, and suddenly my eyes caught a section: "America's Top Bachelors." In it, in first place, I saw a name that is hard to forget, a name that had sounded from cinema screens for 12 years. First place, America's most desirable bachelor: Tony Stark.
— I'm in MARVEL!
Ding!
Quest Completed. You receive 3 Free Points.
I'm in Marvel, holy crap. Okay, I need to think about what to do now. If this world follows the MCU plot, then in a month Tony will go to present his new missile, and then he'll be captured by the Ten Rings. Then, if the story repeats, I'll get confirmation of my guess. Now I need to think about myself. Rain's father is a big shot in the government, which means he might have a connection to S.H.I.E.L.D. Now I need to figure out: is there a connection, and which side of S.H.I.E.L.D. is he on? Because I'm in trouble if my old man is for the octopuses.
And at that exact moment, the nurse came in and handed me a phone with a video call active.
— How are you feeling and what happened to you?
— Everything is fine now, and you shouldn't have... worried so much. — "It's him, I know him. You idiot, how could you forget him? You said his first and last name an hour ago and didn't even think about who they belonged to. My father is freaking Alexander Pierce—a member of the World Security Council and one of the heads of HYDRA. I can already see the 'bright' future he has prepared for the son of a Hydra leader: I'll be walking around giving salutes, shouting 'Heil Hydra,' and reminding everyone that compliance will be rewarded. So many opportunities opening up, mm."
— Are you sure? You look a bit pale.
— Everything is fine, it's just this camera doesn't represent color well. The doctors said the latest results show no abnormalities and I'm healthy, so just a couple more exams and I'll be discharged. I also heard about how you talked with the head of the hospital.
— Healthy people don't fall into a coma for two days! And I would have fired them all, because a doctor who can't help a patient shouldn't work in such a hospital.
And you really wouldn't take him for one of the leaders of the most dangerous organization on earth—just a concerned father with big connections.
— Do you have any idea what happened to you?
I was reincarnated in the body of your son, Mr. Pierce. Yeah, like I'd tell you that.
— No, I just felt unwell. Perhaps overwork took its toll.
— I'll see what I can do with your schedule and lighten it for the next 2-3 months. Also, I've already talked to the school, and for the next 2 weeks, you've been transferred to home schooling.
— If the following exams don't reveal anything, I can be discharged—that's what the attending physician said.
— Alright, people are here to see me. Rest and get well.
Now I'm worried about my future: after all, in 5 years Captain America and Black Widow will destroy everything Hydra worked for after the invasion in New York and put my "father" in some top-secret prison. I'll be out on the street because all accounts will be frozen, and I'll be at the top of the military's surveillance list. I wasn't hidden from everyone like Strucker's son and I won't be able to sip cocktails on a yacht after this mega-fail. So, I need to develop a plan to get rid of the family ties while staying alive, or become a good guy in the eyes of the Avengers so I don't have problems after the events in Washington. I took a piece of paper and a pencil from the nightstand and started writing, then realizing it was stupid, I erased the first words and started working through goals in my head:
Gather personal finances that have no connection to my father.
Establish connections with one or more Avengers.
Become strong enough before Thanos arrives.
Well, following the points of the plan, I can already say how I'll get my starting capital of "clean money." Right now, I have about 5 million dollars in my account, and you'd say: "Hooray! That's enough for a lifetime!" But fat chance—for Marvel, I'm just slightly above average. Мой план заключается в том, что если события пойдут точно в соответствии с сюжетом КВМ, то, когда Тони вернётся, он закроет производство оружия на заводах Stark International. After this announcement, his shares will drop to half price, and although Obadiah will be able to stabilize them, they will still lose value until the battle on the highway. The day before that, they will be at their lowest point on the market. What could be better than buying Stark Industries shares for 5 million on the cheap and watching people's faces when their value increases by 30-40% in just one day thanks to a single phrase: "I am Iron Man."
I also need to think about other ways to make money, for example: as soon as I get out of here, I'll find out if there are differences in music, books, movies, games, TV shows, and so on—it's all a plagiarist's gold mine.
Next are connections. And I'll deal with them in... just a year! When Tony is dying from palladium in his mini reactor. I also have an idea about another genius who could be made my debtor.
And the last point is strength. I can't clearly imagine it yet, as I don't know what kind of quests the system will throw at me and how I can get more of those gift tickets. Though, I think I should pay a visit to Kamar-Taj—extra abilities won't hurt. A plus is that if the letter is true, I should learn faster than Strange.
Falling asleep, I wondered: what if this is all just a dream and, closing my eyes, I return to my world? Would I be upset or, on the contrary, happy?