[ Location: Hawkins - Frostwell Home Gym ][ Date: October 31st, 1985 - Halloween (Three Months Later) ]
THWACK.
The sound echoed off the rubber mats like a gunshot.
"Again," I muttered, sweat stinging my eyes.
I pivoted on my heel, channeling Aether through my core, but not into a spell. Into my muscle fibers.
'Right hook.'
CRASH.
The heavy punching bag didn't just dent this time. The chain snapped with a metallic ping. The 100-pound bag flew across the room, sailing over the bench press, and slammed into the far wall, cracking the plaster.
I stood there, panting, steam practically rising off my shoulders.
"Oops," I whispered, wiping my face with a towel. "Don't know my own strength anymore."
It had been three months since the Mall fire. Three months of peace. Three months of The Grind.
I walked to the mirror wall. The reflection staring back wasn't the scrawny kid who got squashed by Optimus Prime a year ago.
I had grown. A lot.
My shoulders were broad, tapering down to a waist that looked like it was carved out of granite. My muscles were dense, defined, buzzing with the latent energy of the Aether Core. I looked less like a wizard and more like a middleweight boxer who dabbled in sorcery.
'System. Status.'
[ User: Vivan Frostwell ][ Energy: Aether (Unified) - Pool: 4,500/10,000 ]
[ Core Attributes ]
Strength: 40 -> 45 (Superhuman. You can flip a tank if you get good leverage).
Agility: 35 -> 50 (You can catch bullets. Literally).
Vitality: 40 -> 60 (Regeneration is near-instant for minor wounds).
Spirit:120 (Stuck).
I frowned at the Spirit stat.
'Stuck. I've been stuck at 120 for months.'
[ Skill Update: Telekinesis ][ Level: 10 (MAX). ][ Evolution Blocked: Requires Massive Energy Source. ]
"I'm capped," I growled, tossing the towel into the hamper with a telekinetic flick. "I can lift a building, but I can't break the ceiling. Pennywise isn't enough. I need a sun to jumpstart this battery."
Inside my head, a giggle echoed. "Feed me a city, landlord. I'm hungry."
"Shut up, Bozo," I thought back. "No cities. Only toast."
I walked upstairs to shower. It was Halloween and I had a date. Two dates, actually.
[ Location: The Palace Arcade - Parking Lot ][ Time: 7:00 PM ]
The air was crisp and smelled of dead leaves and candy corn.
I leaned against my bike (I really needed to buy a car soon), waiting.
"Trick or Treat!"
I turned.
Max and El were walking toward me.
Max was dressed as Michael Myers (the slasher, not the actor), complete with a jumpsuit and a rubber knife. El was dressed as a Ghost, which consisted of a bedsheet with holes cut in it.
"Spooky," I grinned.
"I am a ghost," El said seriously, lifting the sheet to show her face.
She was beaming. "Boo."
"Terrifying," I said, kissing her cheek.
Max rolled her eyes, but she was smiling. "Nice costume, Frostwell. What are you? A catalogue model?"
I was wearing a black turtleneck and a leather jacket. "I'm a spy. Obviously."
"Obviously," Max scoffed, bumping my shoulder with hers.
We walked into the Arcade. It was crowded, noisy, and perfect.
We played Galaga. I used Telekinesis to nudge the joystick when Max wasn't looking, helping her beat the high score. She cheered, high-fiving El.
I watched them. They were happy. Safe.
'This is the life,' I thought, sipping a soda. 'The Love Life isn't about drama. It's about this. Peace.'
Max caught me staring. She raised an eyebrow. "What?"
"Nothing," I smiled. "Just... glad we're not fighting monsters tonight."
"Don't jinx it," Max warned.
[ Location: Vivan's Bedroom ][ Time: 11:30 PM ]
I lay in bed, staring at the ceiling.
The town was asleep. But I felt restless. My Aether Core was itching. My Spirit felt cramped, like it was trying to grow but hitting a glass ceiling.
'I need a challenge. '
Ding!
A massive gold window slammed into my vision, illuminating the dark room.
[ WORLD QUEST GENERATED ]
[ Target World: Marvel Earth-616 (Timeline: 2012) ]
[ Event: The Chitauri Invasion (The Battle of New York). ]
[ Objective: Halt the Invasion & Close the Tesseract Portal. ]
[ Reward: Spirit +380. ]
[ Difficulty: S-Rank (Planetary Threat). ]
My heart skipped a beat. Marvel.
'Close the portal? That involves fighting an entire alien army and a Norse God. But that Spirit reward... +380? That puts me at 500. Near Equal to Vecna. That's the key..'
[ Party Size: 2 Members. ]
[ Registration: OPEN. ]
I didn't think.
I slammed my mental finger on the [ ACCEPT ] button before anyone else could blink.
'Mine.'
[ Player 1 Confirmed: Vivan Frostwell. ]
The chat exploded.
Lloyd Frontera (Admin): HEY! I WAS CLICKING THAT!
Esdeath: An invasion? Finally. My sword has been getting bored executing rebels. I'm going.
Ryomen Sukuna: Tch. Boring. Try not to die, brat. Or do. It would be funny.
Vivan Frostwell: Sorry, Lloyd. My fingers are faster than your greed and Sukuna, I'll send you a postcard from the apocalypse.
'I need a +1. Someone who can handle an army but won't try to destroy the city just for fun.'
I hesitated.
Esdeath was... risky. She was a walking war crime.
But she was also the One of strongest person in the chat for crowd control.
Esdeath: Vivan. Take me. Or are you afraid I'll steal all the kills?
Vivan Frostwell: I'm afraid you'll freeze the civilians, General.
Esdeath: I only freeze the weak. Besides, if you want to win a war, you need a general, not a babysitter.
'She has a point. If thousands of aliens are pouring out of the sky, I need someone who can clear the board.'
Vivan Frostwell: Fine. But we follow my lead. No freezing the good guys.
Esdeath: If they are strong, I will respect them. If they are weak, they are ice sculptures.
[ Party Confirmed: Vivan Frostwell & Esdeath. ]
I stood up, adrenaline flooding my system. But then I paused, catching my reflection in the mirror.
A fourteen-year-old boy stared back. Fit, sure. Strong. But a boy.
'If I show up in the middle of a war zone looking like this, Captain America is going to try to put me in a shelter and Esdeath... she might not respect a child commander.'
'I need them to see a warrior.'
'Metamorphmagus.'
I closed my eyes.
I focused on my bones, my skin, my height.
Stretch.
My jaw squared, losing the last hint of softness. My shoulders broadened further. I pushed my height up to six-foot-one. I added a few years to my face—sharper cheekbones, a faint shadow of stubble, eyes that looked a little older, a little harder.
I opened my eyes.
A twenty-year-old version of me stared back.
It wasn't a stranger. It was just... Vivan Frostwell, but finished. The baby fat was gone, replaced by sharp angles and a jawline that could cut glass. My hair was still messy, but now it looked roguishly intentional rather than just 'bedhead'. I looked dangerous and handsome.
I looked like I belonged on a battlefield.
"Much better," I said, my voice deeper, resonating in my chest.
I summoned my Chakra Sword and strapped it to my back. I threw on a long black coat over my suit.
I grinned in the darkness.
"Hold on, New York," I whispered. "We're coming."
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