NOVEL SIMPLE Chapter 8 A Problematic Situation
Chapter 8 A problematic situation
'System. How long has it been since I escaped prison?'
{63 Days}
Hmm... So I figure now is around the time that I can go out in public more. But obviously not carelessly. That would just be stupid. I can finally go to a place where I can buy time on a computer and look some things up. But before that...
'System. Are you finished?'
{Affirmative}
{Basic Mental Blocks implemented}
This month, I asked the system if it was possible to put up mental blocks. By mental blocks, I mean mental barriers telepaths would have difficulty penetrating. The telepath-blocking tool I purchased is different than this. While it puts up artificial barriers made by the system, The natural shields are made by the system reinforcing what's already there. People naturally have shields on their minds. Some people have stronger shields than others, but everyone has them. I've asked the system to put up some basic shields to protect my mind. It had taken several days to make the calculations in order to make them. I would need to both level up the system and get a telepath-type power so that the system can scan people's minds for more data on how their natural shields work to put up more powerful ones. I have it set up so there are multiple layers of defense.
I also made sure the system analyzed and blocked my brainwaves from being easily detectable so that Charles with Cerebro couldn't detect me. Cerebro finds mutants by detecting their brainwaves. Mutant brainwaves are different from normal people, so it's easy to find them with it. With all these things in place, I feel much more comfortable going outside.
I have marked 37 separate mutants. They are mostly civilians, but a few are gang members or Morlocks. I have tracked a few and have figured out two more of their powers. One belonged to a guy who seemed to be stronger than normal, and the other belonged to a girl who seemed to have cryokinesis. A power I would like to have, considering I have a form of pyrokinesis, being [ExplosiveBlast]. Having them would increase my options. Maybe I can make a composite power. A composite power is a combination of two or more powers to create a stronger combination. Like All For One did in the Kamino ward incident in the MHA anime. A combination of [AirCannon], [SpringLikeLimbs], [KineticBooster], and various other quirks to boost its effects. A composite combination. But a composite power is a fusion between two powers into one power. All For One just had them working together. I might be able to fuse powers in a lab, I even have a few ideas on potential combinations, but that's in the distant future. Right now I'm still living in an abandoned warehouse.
Speaking of, I've made some upgrades. I've built a makeshift shower that collects rainwater and stores it. I've also made other various improvements to the place. I found a second warehouse than the original, and that's where I'm at now. I had to move out because I didn't want to risk being in the same place where a terrorist cell potentially stored its supplies. That doesn't mean I didn't take it all for myself though. But during the time I have lived here, I've made this place downright homely. I have various workstations built to help me build stuff. I try to use the tools the traditional way and only use my powers when I have to. I've been practicing by taking some of the guns apart, to then put them back together. It's a good exercise for me to do when I'm bored. I've even been using [Overhaul] and some of the parts to make various contraptions. I've made tripwire traps that shoot bullets if they're tripped and put them by the doors just in case. I hope no thrill-seeking teenagers come by to explore this abandoned building. Or they'd be in for a rude awakening.
I look around at the room from the couch I'm sitting on (The same one with $20,000 inside) and smile at all I've done. It's not much in the grand scheme, but it's enough. I should also rig the place to explode. I don't want any DNA traces getting out. I contemplate my next moves before deciding now is finally the time to go rent some time on the internet. There are a few things I need to research about. I go the usual route and teleport into another separate abandoned building, before leaving from there. Meaning I never go in or out of my real home. I walked further into the city to where I had previously found a place where I could rent internet time. I walk in, pay in cash, and use the computer set up for me to use. I decided I should hurry since there was a chance spooks (Feds) could show up based on what I was looking up. But that's just a chance. I look up info to find out if Charles Xavier exists, and he does. After some more digging, I found out he also made Xavier's school for gifted youngsters. So the chances are good it's not a normal school.
I did more digging and found out about a few various topics I had been wondering about since I started my studies, but couldn't figure it out on my own. After searching for a few other things, I finish by heading to a public bathroom. Waiting until no one is there, I use [WarpGate] to teleport away. Am I being too paranoid? Maybe. But it's better to be safe than sorry. But this leaves no trace of my real base.
I arrive at my hideout and the portal closes behind me. I walk to the couch I have and sit down. I look around at everything I have again. I'm slightly proud of building this but also disgusted that I have to live in these conditions. A part of me is worried and wants to try and get someone's help. But, that's not how it works. Even if someone believed me, the legal system is trash. Working in favor of the real criminals. Not the people who are in bad situations like me, just the real dirtbags. And if I asked someone like Charles Xavier, things would not end well... So I'm not trusting anyone but myself. I'll work from the shadows and take everything for myself. Of course, I also have these gifts. So, why not use them? It would be a waste otherwise.
Thinking about this, I make final preparations for tonight. I have marked enough people and I have researched enough into their background. So I'll finish that quest that's been there for over a month.
{Quest: 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}
It's a lower amount of VP than I would have liked, but oh well. I have twelve civilian mutants marked. It's about time I complete the quest and get some more powers.
I've gotten pretty far with practicing my other powers, but I need more to get stronger. So it's about time I get out of the house. I yawn as I look out one of the windows on the roof of the warehouse. It's the afternoon, so I should do something productive before I start stealing powers. After contemplating for a while, I decided that it was about time I checked up on a few people. I stretch as I stand up from the couch.
I open another mist gate and step through. This one goes to another location closer to where I want to go. I step out on a roof while invisible and head towards my old home. I hop down from the roof and walk on the sidewalk. Eventually, I was near my old home and I used [Search] to see if anyone's home. I marked them a while back just in case. I see my brother and my sister are home. They seem to be fine. She's in her room, and he's downstairs watching TV. I just sigh again. Just then, I pause for a moment after noticing something. I was thinking I was Axel. Was I? No. I wasn't. I was someone else. But what just happened there?
After contemplating it for a moment, I decided that I should just head on to the next person I was checking up on.
I don't really want to hurt people. That's the main reason I left Brittany with her ability. It was helping her and others, and if she lost it, the situation would likely all fall apart. So I let her keep it. I don't really need it at the moment anyway. I would like to get a blood sample in the future since I would be able to duplicate it. But that's not really an option now.
I really wasn't trying to act like a stalker, but it was kind of looking like that from a neutral perspective. I checked up on her every once in a while to make sure no one had figured out she was a mutant, and possibly hurt her. She wasn't really my problem, but I still didn't want her to get hurt. With that in mind, I had been checking up on her every once in a while. Nothing too close and personal, just making sure she was alright. I focus on the marker I placed and notice she isn't at home or at school and is somewhere in the city. I normally wouldn't think much of it and just go home, but after focusing on the marker I placed on her, I felt something.
After getting [ConsciousnessControl]. I learned how to get a basic sense of what someone feels when I place a marker on them using [Search]. But it's mostly just a form of empathy. Meaning I'm able to sense their emotions to a certain extent. Using this ability, I can tell what she's feeling right now... And that emotion is fear. Fear for her life. And something else... After a moment, I place it. Fear for the life of someone close to her.
Worried, I focus on it again to make sure, but there's no doubt. She's in trouble. Did someone find out she's a mutant? But how?
Pushing these thoughts aside, I focus on finding out. What exactly happened? After contemplating it, I decided that I should go to her house. I had kept track of her, so I knew where she lived...
I really do seem like a stalker huh? Pushing the thought aside I head there. I need to check there in case something bad happened. I could sense she was fearing for someone close to her, so something bad could have happened to one of her family members.
I go to the street and notice a bunch of cop cars surrounding her house. Yeah, something bad happened. I turn invisible and head inside. I keep out of their way so they don't bump into my invisible form. I act like a ghost and listen to their conversations. After around twenty minutes, I have a good idea of what happened. Apparently, a group of armed men came in and kidnapped the two kids. A daughter and son. The daughter is Brittany, and the son is her younger brother. Yeah, this is bad. Her parents were beaten up and were currently at the hospital. I hope they'll be alright. I wonder why they didn't just kidnap her on her way home from school or something? After thinking about it for a little while, I push it aside and focus on the present.
I dodge people as I walk out the front door. I nearly bump into a cop, and he looks around like he feels something off. But he ignores it when his superior tells him to get back to work. I make my way down the street past a roadblock while thinking about what I should do next. I had been planning on stealing powers from the civilians I had marked. But is that an option anymore?
{Quest added: Rescue - A friend of yours has been kidnapped, as well as her brother. Rescue them. Bonus rewards will be granted based on how well you do.
{Rewards: [100VP] [???]}
Another quest? And look at all those rewards. And then there's the question mark. Based on previous experience, it's probably a skill or a quirk or something. What to do...
By now I have walked a good distance away from Brittany's home. Since I'm at a safe spot I use [WarpGate] and teleport to a place near where Brittany's marker is. I turn invisible and start walking towards where she is. Eventually, I see it. It's a huge warehouse-type building. It looks like a regular business, but that's usually how most criminal outfits work. After looking for a while, I decide to head inside. I step down the hallways and rooms in the direction I can see Brittany while I invisibly map out the place while heading in the direction of where Brittany is. I figured that I would just walk in and take her back, but a problem emerged.
{Telepathic power detected being used on host}
{Countermeasures deploying}
{Countermeasures Failing. An immediate retreat is recommended}
After seeing this, I feel something foreign in my mind. I opened a gate immediately and stepped through into my in-between warehouse. After calming down from the stressful situation, I asked the system what happened.
'System, what was that?!'
{A telepath using their powers on you. I was able to block them, but they likely know you were there}
Crap! They know I'm coming now! I knew I should have planned better. But how was I supposed to know there was a telepath? Wait. Was it Brittany?
'Was it Brittany?'
[Negative. The system can distinguish Brittany's influence from another form of telepathy. This isn't Brittany's power}
Okay, was hoping it was her and not my one real weakness as my main foe. Alright. What do I do now? They might know I'm coming. Wait, if they are a telepath they can see her thoughts, and probably already know about me. Crap! They know I can sense mutants, and probably the fact I disappeared, which means they will likely think my mutation can sense other mutants' influence.
I have spoken to Brittany a few times after our first meeting, and she really wasn't all that worried about me. She just instantly trusted me. I'm not sure if she can get a sense of people using her power, or if she's just that kind of person. But she's way too trusting. She probably trusted someone with the knowledge of her being a mutant, and they talked about it to someone. But maybe that telepath came into contact with her or the person she told, and that's how they found out. Right now there's no way to know. I need more information.
After pacing in the abandoned warehouse with these thoughts in mind, I try and think about my next move. After thinking about it, I know what to do. I could probably make a better plan if I had time, but I don't. After thinking some more, I sigh in frustration. Should I really save Brittany? She isn't my problem. I may have chosen to be a villain back in prison, but that doesn't make me have to be one. If I save her, it could reveal my existence and cause problems later on. Maybe even lead to my death further down the road. But, after talking to her, even if only a few times during these months, I know she's a good person. And apart from her, they took her eleven-year-old brother. Besides, I'm not going to just leave them in the hands of kidnappers. And let who knows what happens to them. After thinking, I made my choice. I'll save them.
.....
I went back to my 'lair' and got to work getting supplies. I walk down to the basement area of the warehouse and open the secret door to where I keep the good stuff. I turn on battery powered lamp set it on an old table and look at the other things set on it. A suit. Not an ordinary suit, a suit I had made using a combination of the bulletproof vests I found in the crates from the other warehouse, and various materials I could get my hands on. I really want to have more resources than this, but oh well.
The suit is primarily black. I built it using [Overhaul] primarily, but I tried to use traditional tools as much as possible to get a feel for them. I don't want to become too over-reliant on my powers after all. The helmet is made using an internal lining of both foam and kevlar, while the helmet itself is metal. I tried to make it look intimidating and shaped it like a skull. It looked awesome.
It was bulletproof, impact-resistant, slashing-resistant, and stab-resistant. It was the best thing I could do at the moment. I made it to hide my identity. I also build a gas mask into the helmet. I got one from one of the crates and built it off of it. I added holsters for pistols and a belt with space to hold grenades. I built it to the best of my abilities.
I put it on and prepared my mind for the confrontation that was going to happen...
.....
A/N
It's going to be a blood bath next chapter. I won't hold back on the details. In case I need to say it, Axel is a good person at heart. He is going to help Brittany because he can. He has no real hidden motives. But if there's an opportunity he'll take it. He originally started out thinking maybe an opportunity may present itself in the future. He left her with her power since she would practice with it and possibly awaken a new power, and then he'd steal it. He also didn't steal it for another reason. He wasn't sure if it would cause permanent damage.
And in case any of you are wondering, no, Axel is not a stalker. Or at least not in the sense most would think.
The next few chapters are probably going to be a pain to write. And again, if anyone has any suggestions, I'd like to hear them in the comments. I'm primarily having problems with coming up with powers that random mutants have that he'll steal. I'm trying to make it seem realistic, and have weak almost useless powers show up. But a few diamonds in the rough every once in a while. A comment on an idea about potential powers would be helpful.