In MARVEL With The Ultimate Villain System (Temporarily Dropped Read description)

Chapter 4 An Unexpected Encounter

We stared at each other for a long time. I was waiting for a notification from the system that telepathy was detected being used but didn't get one. Eventually, the man speaks.

"Undo what you just did."

He said. He wants me to undo the marker I placed with [Search] huh? Curious to see what he would do, I removed the marker. After I do, he just nods and turns to walk away.

"You're not going to ask? You're not curious about what I did?"

I ask curiously. He just turns around and gives me an annoyed look. His careless attitude is starting to get on my nerves.

"I know enough."

He said. Hearing that, I place another marker on him. Again, he stops in the alley and turns towards me.

"I thought I told you to take that away."

He said with anger in his tone.

"And you haven't said a word about what happened. About how you knew what I did and how you knew I was the one who did it. You just assume that I'm going to let you go without telling me? I only took it away cause I thought you were going to tell me how you knew. If you're not going to tell me, then it stays."

He just remains silent and we stare at each other for a while. Eventually, he does answer though.

"You're a mutant right?"

I'm technically not but he assumes by my expression that I am one. He just chuckles at that.

"Well, it's an interesting gift. You can place a fragment of your consciousness into people. What it does, I don't want to know. And I don't want to know. So get rid of it."

He said. A fragment of consciousness? Does he not have telepathy? Then what does he have? No, maybe he does and is just hiding it. Or maybe he doesn't have an ability and practices a type of magic? Maybe some kind of spirit art? Hmm... It seems possible.

"So you're not a mutant? You give off a similar energy."

I say. I want to see what he says. Maybe he knows more than he's letting on. He's just silent for a moment before answering.

"You can see energy? That's an interesting gift. I can see why you thought I was one, and I very well might be one. I don't know. But I don't want to get involved in mutant affairs or whatever you're doing. So please just take it away."

He said. Someone who doesn't know if they're a mutant or not? Maybe, but it seems like there's something else to it.

"I can do multiple things related to that. But it seems your gift is similar in nature. Something to do with consciousness? I don't see any other way you could have known what happened, let alone that it was me."

I said. He looked contemplative for a moment before answering.

"My gift is similar, but that's all I can say. Now can you remove it?"

He said. Normally I would. But there's a problem. He could be a telepath and is being purposely vague to imply he isn't one. Maybe he saw my thoughts and decided to be neutral, but he'll go straight to someone and say what happened. There's also the chance he isn't one to begin with. He could also be much stronger than me and is just being nice though... But if he's a mutant, he could have a useful ability that I could steal.

'System? Any thoughts?'

{The chances he's a telepath are low}

'Why?'

{I have been unable to detect any attempts at reading your mind. However, the possibility that he is a powerful telepath that I cannot detect exists. However, that possibility is extremely low.}

That's stating the obvious. I look at the guy again and contemplate whether or not I should steal his ability. He likely has a consciousness-related ability. An ability that will be quite useful in the future...

"You're probably a nice guy, so I'm sorry. But, I need to protect myself. And your ability will help me do so. I know you're not going to do so willingly, so I'm sorry."

I said with a sigh. I may be aiming to be a villain, but that doesn't mean I have to be evil. He looks like he's going to either run at me, or run away from me, but I don't give him time to do either. I use [RivetStab] on the fingers of my right hand and wrap the extensions around his neck and body. I then pull him towards me. I don't want him punching or stabbing me, so I wrap up his arms and legs. He gives me a shocked and angry look but I don't say anything. When he's wrapped up on his knees in front of me I place my hand on his head and activate [AllForOne]. I can remember from the My Hero Academy series that if All For One ripped the quirk out of someone violently, it could cause permanent damage. Going so far as leaving someone brain-dead. Or maybe that was a fanfic I read... So, I decide to be slow and make sure I don't cause permanent damage.

I can feel something when I activate it. It's my first time activating it, so I didn't know what to expect, but I can feel something. I try to pull it out and into myself, but it resists. And it keeps resisting. I push myself though and eventually, I succeed. His ability is mine. I look back at the guy whose name I don't even know, and he has a blank look. Ignoring him I focus back in on myself and can feel... Something. Something's different...

{Invading consciousness detected. Attempt failed due to telepathy shields}

{Eliminating Invading consciousness...}

Invading consciousness? What?! No wait, powers have a fragment of the users' will stored within them. Abilities that have to do with manipulating powers or consciousness are even more severe cases, like One For All and All For One. I look back at the guy, he is panting and looks like he's sick, but he's not brain-dead.

{Invading consciousness Eliminated}

{Achievement unlocked: Steal your first power - You have stolen your first power from someone}
{Rewards: [50VP]}

An achievement? And I also get rewards? I wonder what some of the achievements are. But that's not important right now. What is important is the fact that there was a foreign consciousness detected!

'System, was there a fragment of his consciousness stored within the ability?'

{Affirmative}

{I can detect that a minor connection remains with him. Should I begin severing that connection?}

Abilities have a fragment of the will of their users within them. But maintaining a connection after losing it? Hmm... If he is able to maintain a connection to his ability even when he doesn't have it anymore, then maybe I can do something similar to what the original All For One did... I might have to duplicate this ability multiple times though.

'System, what type of ability is it?'

{A consciousness-related power. A System tool is required in order to analyze further}

Another one? I just spent a ton of VP on the last one.

'How much does it cost?'

{50VP}

Seriously? I'm going to be bled dry.

'Buy the tool'

{Affirmative}

{Tool purchased}

'Analyze the X-gene'

{Analyzing...}

{X-gene analyzed}

{Results: [Consciousness Control X-gene - Grants user greater control over their consciousness]}

Huh, So that's it. He wasn't a telepath at all. He just sensed something when I placed my marker on him. He said he felt a consciousness fragment on him when I used my ability. Wait, if [Search] works by placing a fragment of my consciousness on someone, then this new power can possibly upgrade its effectiveness. He still had a connection even though he didn't have it anymore. Maybe... No, I should focus on the situation right now.

'System cut his connection and start erasing all his will from my new ability.'

{Affirmative}

{Severing connection...}

{Connection Severed}

{Erasing remaining trace consciousness from stolen power...}

It took around thirty seconds for the process to be complete for this one.

{Trace Consciousness erased}

After it was finished, I felt something. I felt clear. I felt a little bit of it before when I first stole this ability, but now it's multiple times stronger. Now that I know what the ability does, it seems obvious. I have greater control over my consciousness. Looking into myself I can feel the connection to my quirks and the new ability I stole. I feel lighter. Like there was a weight on my mind, and now it has been removed. But there's also something else. I look at the person who I stole this ability from. He looks blank. I feel slightly bad about stealing his ability, but I have to. I need to be stronger in order to defend myself.

I release him from my grip and he drops onto the ground. He doesn't move. I remember from the anime that All For One stole [Search] from someone and they were like this for a while, but eventually recovered. The two of them are both consciousness-related abilities, so maybe that's why. I need more practice with All For One, and to see if this remains a constant. If someone can barely stand after having their ability stolen every time, then any of my future allies would also have to go through that.

After I take his ability, I leave. I leave a marker on him just in case. I don't want him to show up later out of nowhere and cause trouble. I step out of the alley and begin making my way back towards my home. I had an unexpected encounter, but it's nothing in the long run. I just hope that it doesn't come back to bite me. I'll have to be more careful in the future...

.....

After I got back to my temporary home, I lay down on the couch. Even with the [HealthyBody] Quirk, I'm still exhausted after walking around the less populated streets of New York. Remembering that my status probably changed again I turn my attention inwards towards my system.

Status:
Name: Axel/???
Level: 1 - 0/100
Age: 20/??
Species: Human/Metahuman/Homosuperior
System: Ultimate Villain System
VP: 50

Quests: [ClickToExpand]

Tools: [MentalShields(Minor)] [PowerAnalysis]

Bloodlines/Powers:

[All For One - Allows its user to steal/transfer genetic factors that make up powers/gifts from others, and put them into themselves. And once the user has stolen it, they can also transfer it to others for them to use if they desire.]

[Overhaul Quirk - Allows its user to deconstruct and reconstruct matter. Requires physical contact to activate, but not required once a connection has been established.]

[???-X-gene]

[ConsciousnessControl X-gene - Grants its user greater control over their consciousness. Granting many minor boosts to things such as focus, memory, multitasking, and various other things.]

[Explosive Blast Quirk - Allows its user to create explosive blasts. Size and power depend on users' skill in using this ability and strength. Also gives the user minor heat resistance.]

[Laser fingers Quirk - Gives its user the ability to shoot laser beams from their fingers. Has great accuracy, and enough penetration to easily pierce people.]

[WarpGate Quirk - Allows its user to open portals made of black mist, allowing the user and others to teleport.]

[Search Quirk - Allows one to place roughly 100 invisible markers on someone and track their location. Users can also vaguely sense weaknesses in someone a marker has been placed.]

[Scanning Quirk - Scanning allows the user to search for and identify people's Quirks to some extent, as well as to measure their level of power using a heat signature-like vision.]

[RivetStab Quirk - Allows the user to extend black extensions with cracked glowing throughout it from their fingers and spine.]

[Strength enhancer Quirk - A basic strength-enhancing quirk.]

[Healthy body Quirk - gives the user a healthy body. Affects things like eyesight and how fast someone ages.]

[Intelligence Enhancement Quirk - Enhances the users' intellect.]

[Body Strengthening Quirk - Strengthens the user's body. Makes the user much more durable.]

Skills: N/A

Blessings: N/A

My status has been updated again. I got two tools. And I got a new power. And yes, I can steal mutant powers. It says I'm a "Homosuperior" which Is kind of obvious. I never really thought about it the moment I stole it, but since I confirmed that I could steal them, a lot of options opened up. I ask the system another question.

'System, Why is one of my powers blank?'

{It is this body's original power.}

'What do you mean?'

{It is this body's original mutant power.}

'So I have another power?'

{Negative. It is still in its dormant state. The system has detected the X-gene within the host body. It is unknown what power it is. Further analysis would require the system to be upgraded. The X-gene is genetic. Similar to quirks, it is hereditary. Meaning that you will likely awaken a power similar to one of your parents if they were to awaken the X-gene. But it is not fixed. There is the possibility of awakening a unique power. The X-gene in its dormant state is essentially a blank slate. The possibility of choosing a specific path is a possibility.}

No way. Even without the system, there's a chance I would have become an incredibly powerful mutant. But now with the system, the possibility of becoming even stronger exists...

'Why wasn't it visible before?'

{It wasn't visible before since it wasn't detectable by the system. Now that you bought the [PowerAnalysis] tool, it was detected by the system}

Huh. Makes sense.

'You said I can choose a specific path?

{Correct. The possibility of fusing the X-gene of the host with one or more of your quirks, or X-genes you steal later on to create a stronger variant exists.}

'So you're saying I can fuse All For One with my X-gene and awaken an even stronger mutation?'

{Correct. However, to do so effectively would require multiple level-ups and system tools.}

Awesome. So The possibility of me becoming even stronger than Apocalypse is a possibility. Wait, does he exist in this world? If I go to Egypt will he be there? Hmm... I'll have to visit sometime in the future...

After contemplating for a while, I ask the system yet another question.

'System, are there any notifications I missed?'

{Affirmative}

{A new quest has been added: Power Thief - You can steal powers in a world where powers exist. You can't sit around and waste this opportunity! Steal 10 powers of any type. Be it mutant or otherwise.}
{Rewards: [25VP] [???]}
{Progress: 1/10}

After seeing all the notifications my eyes widened, but after reading through them I was pleasantly surprised. A new quest had been generated. I was planning on doing it eventually, but I guess this speeds things up. But there's another thing. I was wondering where I was supposed to get skills, perks, and blessings apart from quests. And also what SP is even used for. The answer is kind of obvious now that I think about it. I get it from the shop!

.....
A/N

And that's another chapter. I've probably been putting way too much effort into this... And again, if anyone has an awesome idea of how the plot can progress, please say so in the comments. I have a general idea of how things are going to go, but there is still room for improvement.