Harry POV
After finishing my morning workout, I could say it with confidence. I've changed. Not just the usual, slow changes from the templates, picking up skills, adapting bit by bit. This was different. My body felt… upgraded. I've gotten stronger, more agile, more flexible. My whole body feels… lighter, like it's filled with energy that just won't run out. If only I had someone to test my stamina right now.
By fighting, of course.
Walking up to the wall, I placed my hands on it and slowly started moving them upward… step by step. My feet followed without any effort, sticking naturally as I climbed higher.
Higher… and higher…
Then I looked down.
Damn.
If I did this the other way around, face outward, it would look straight out of a horror movie. Creepy as hell.
I let go.
Instead of dropping awkwardly, my body adjusted on its own and I landed cleanly, perfectly balanced. No stumble, no impact.
Another Spider-Man ability.
Superhuman equilibrium.
Basically, my body can maintain balance in almost any position. That's why I can stand, flip, or land on almost any surface without losing control. No slipping, no tripping… just perfect balance every time.
So… what now?
I really want to test this properly. Not just movement, but actual combat. Knowing I can do something and actually doing it under pressure are two very different things.
I was thinking about using the travel card, going to some low-level world and getting into my first real fight there. But I dropped the idea.
The reason was simple. Time limit of the card I have.
One day isn't enough, not when I have other priorities lined up. Wasting that opportunity just for a test run doesn't make sense.
Especially when I still have my other plan in motion.
The company.
Right now, the best starting point is software. Low investment, high return, and something I can handle mostly on my own. And honestly… I don't need to build everything from scratch.
That would just slow me down.
Instead, I can take a shortcut.
Use the travel card, go to a relatively normal world like Fast and Furious, nothing too crazy, and get what I need from there. Codes, programs, backend systems, app frameworks, cloud structures. Companies like Apple and others already have working models.
No point reinventing the wheel when I can just take it and improve it.
And it's not limited to software either. Cars, bikes, electronics, design structures, component details. There's a lot I can extract if I plan it properly.
In short…I'm not creating from zero.
Hmm… I'll probably go for that trip once the Damian template hits 100%. He's more of an assassin, sure, but his skill set covers way more than just fighting. Stealth, infiltration, systems… hacking into companies like that won't be difficult for him.
And I won't have to worry about the whole "minor owning a company" problem.
The legal adult age here was dropped to 16 last year. There weren't any big public discussions or build-up, just… announced and done. And no party was against the idea. The reason given was that many teenage vigilantes are popping up. While their intentions are good, their actions, or more correctly, the situations that arise due to their actions, aren't (property damage or civilian deaths), so they have to be responsible for their actions. The U.S. was the first to implement it, followed by countries like China and Russia.
Some people think it's connected to mutants.
About a month before the law passed, Magneto caused a major incident somewhere in Texas. The official reports were vague, just labelled it as an attack, said he'd "gone mad." Hundreds of soldiers dead.
If I had to guess… it was probably tied to a mutant facility. Maybe experiments, maybe containment. Something big enough to set him off.
And if that's true, then lowering the legal age starts to make a bit more sense. Most mutants awaken their abilities during puberty, mid to late teens. If the government legally classifies them as adults earlier, it gives them more room to act.
Cleaner on paper. Of course, that doesn't mean everything changes overnight. Laws like drinking age or driving licences are still regulated separately. Still… it's a convenient move. For them. And for me.
Beep! Beep! Beep!
I glanced at the clock. 6:45.
Workout's done, so yeah… time for a shower.
…And then school.
Argh.
Another reason why I need my own company. I am definitely not doing high school next year.
*****************
Midtown High School
Harry POV
"What are you doing?"
I didn't even need to look up. The voice, the light rhythm of her steps, even the faint hint of her perfume, yeah, Mary Jane.
"Nothing. Just passing time," I said, still focused on the page. My pencil moved in short strokes, sketching out rough shapes. Circles, lines, spacing. It didn't look like much right now, just a messy layout, but in my head it was already forming into something usable. Basic structure first, then mechanics, then visuals. Always start simple.
I could feel her leaning closer. Didn't need to see it, my spatial awareness picked it up instantly.
"Why are you drawing colourful circles with eyes… and is that a beak?" she said, squinting a little. "And what's this list...tiny wings, Angry Birds, Paper Toss, Fruit Ninja, Flappy Bird, Subway Surfers, Temple Run, Stick War, Crossy Road, Minion Rush, Shadow Fight…" She paused for a second "…Harry, don't tell me you've started drinking and this is the result."
That made me finally look up. I reached over and pulled the page out of her hands.
"Hey! I was reading that," she complained, frowning slightly.
"I know. That's why I took it," I replied, sliding the paper under my notebook. "Didn't anyone tell you it's rude to go through someone else's stuff without permission?"
"Oh wow," she leaned back a little, crossing her arms with an amused smile. "Since when did Harry Osborn start caring about manners? What's next, you joining a monastery?"
I just looked at her for a second. Not gonna lie… she looked good. Actually, "good" was underselling it. If this was my old life, I'd probably be fumbling words right now or avoiding eye contact like an idiot. But Damian's influence kept everything in check, posture steady, gaze normal, no unnecessary reactions.
"I thought you guys were avoiding me." I gave a quick glance toward the other side of the room. Flash and the rest were sitting there, pretending not to look in our direction.
"We were," MJ shrugged, completely casual about it. "But then I thought, why am I even doing this? It's not like you asked us to."
Well… that's exactly what I wanted. After that little talk earlier, everyone had started keeping their distance. Less noise, less attention, fewer unnecessary interactions. It was perfect.
Until she decided to ignore all that. Not that I said anything out loud. I just looked at her for a second before leaning back slightly in my chair.
"Fair enough," I said, going back to my work.
The class had technically started, but the teacher was still missing. Which meant a perfect window to get something done without interruptions.
Out of the corner of my eye, I could tell she wanted to say something. Her posture shifted slightly, like she was about to speak, but then she stopped and just lowered her head instead. She wanted the conversation to continue. She just didn't. And I didn't push it either.
Maybe because there was no point… or maybe because of my own bias. I never really liked her. Not because of anything she's done here, but because of how she was in the version I knew. But that's not fair. Not to her.
She hasn't done anything wrong. Hasn't said anything out of line. From her side, there's no reason for me to act distant. So the problem isn't her. It's me.
Still… it's not something I can just switch off either. People naturally form opinions based on what they know. Like how I'd always stay more cautious around Reed Richards than the people his team usually deals with.
Of course, I wouldn't let my meta knowledge cloud my judgement. I'll stay cautious around Peter Parker just as much as I would around Thanos. In a multiverse like this, anything is possible.
That should be enough.
I looked back at the drawings. The rough layout of dinosaur run chrome let's it's users plan when the server is offline or no internet scenario. This would be my first project. Not something to perfect, just something to test the process.
Even though I am planning to bring many projects from other world with most of the work completed done, I am planning to start working on the basis already by myself. They aren't for making money or fame but rather to help me learn how things flow here before aiming for anything bigger. Also… it helps pass time in school.
Next step is coding and then the audio.
Seriously, getting the Mystique template was pure luck. With that alone, audio work becomes ridiculously easy.
Just how much potential mutants actually have… and how little of it ever gets used.
Extra hands means can the person can write more code, better eyes can check for any animation error easily, someone who can create any sound can even handle audio production without needing external tools. One person covering what usually takes an entire team. And yet… most of them never reach that point.
Not because they lack ability. But because they're either hiding, being controlled, or just trying to survive without drawing attention. Society either fears them, weaponises them, or pushes them into corners where using their abilities freely isn't even an option.
So all that potential…Just sits there. Untouched.
People like Xavier and Magneto can pull them out of labs, out of abuse, out of places where they're treated like experiments instead of people. The Professor even goes a step further, giving them a place to stay, a controlled environment, something close to peace. But that's usually where it stops. A safe place isn't the same as a future.
From students to teachers to X-Men, the path is almost already decided for them. Even the students end up as backups, reserves for something bigger they didn't exactly choose for themselves. And for those who don't look human, mutants like Nightcrawler, there isn't even a real choice to begin with. Society isn't going to accept them no matter how harmless they are.
As for the ones who can pass as normal, most of them don't want to go back anyway. Not after what they've been through. That kind of treatment doesn't just fade away. It leaves something behind, something that changes how they see the world… and themselves. Fear, disgust, isolation, not just from others, but from their own reflection too.
I remember there was a group of mutants living in the underground tunnels of New York, pushed out of society simply because of how they looked. Situations like that aren't rare either, it happens all over the world. Most of them were deformed, seen as monsters before they were ever seen as people. So they stayed hidden, away from the surface, away from judgment. I think Storm even led them at one point.
Sigh… they don't just need someone to save them from what they are right now. They need someone who can give them a future.
I can try to prevent the rise of Sentinels, but things like that rarely go according to plan. In most timelines I know, mutants end up on the brink of extinction or stuck in endless persecution.
If they want to survive, they need unity. And that kind of unity won't come from ideals alone. It needs someone willing to stand above them all, someone willing to get their hands dirty so others can remain clean… someone willing to walk through hell so others can reach heaven. Someone ready to become the Emperor of Mutantkind.
Heh… it's a cool title. And the kind of aura it carries? Yeah, taking that empty seat will worth it.
I don't have any Messiah complex but at the end of the day I am a mutant now so better start thinking of the problems I am going to face.
But a title alone isn't enough. It'll take more than just me to save them. Plans, weapons, resources, influence. People who can build, people who can fight, people who can think ahead. Some who are willing to kill… and others who are ready to die if it comes to that.
Both are necessary.
And above all… faith.
Faith in me.
Faith in the plan.
And faith in themselves.
"What happened? Why are you so late?" hearing Ned voice I looked up, stretching my arms slightly as Peter finally walked into the class. The moment he stepped in, a strange sensation hit me, a faint buzzing at the back of my head. It wasn't painful, just… there. Subtle, but impossible to ignore. Like something inside me had reacted on its own.
Spider-sense. Not fully mine yet, but close enough to recognise what this was.
Another spider person nearby.
I didn't react. Just gave him a quick glance and then looked back like nothing happened. Peter had paused near his seat, talking to Ned, but he clearly wasn't fully focused. His eyes kept shifting a bit, like he was trying to figure something out. So yeah… he felt it too.
Makes sense. Two similar signals in the same space, of course it's gonna mess with things.
I kept my face normal, posture relaxed, not giving away anything. He might get a little suspicious, but without anything solid, there's no way he figures it out.
Still… I really need to get this under control. Letting it just leak like this is risky. Any experienced Spider-Man would pick up on it right away and realise I've got the same kind of ability. That's not something I want.
I need proper control. Both ways. Picking up signals without sending anything back. If I can do that, I don't just stay hidden, I get an advantage. I can figure out who's who without exposing myself. And with Peter around... Yeah, I've got a pretty good practice partner.
In Progress:
[Peter Parker — 67%]
[Damian Wayne — 38%]
[Raven Darkhölme — 32%]
Peter's assimilation is going crazy fast. I've already unlocked most of his abilities, even if I haven't really tested the limits yet. That's the main issue right now. Having power is one thing, knowing how far it goes is another. I need a proper fight for that. Not some random thug, someone who can actually push me.
Damian and Raven are a different story though. Their progress is slower, but that makes sense. They're way more complex compared to Peter.
There's nothing to say about what Damian knows and mystique too have number of skills, depending on the version she is over a century.
I remember she once even pretended to be sherlocks too working as a detective.
"Okay, students, sorry for being late. Mr. Cobbwell got injured, so I'll be taking this class as a substitute."
Oh. Mr. Dell. And next period is history with him too.
…Shit.
**************
Is there only one HELL or each universe of multiverse have a seperate hell since there is Council Of Red?