Over the past two hundred years, authors and screenwriters have created so many spinoff fictional worlds in the transmigrator's past that it's dizzying. There are hundreds, even thousands, of versions of the Marvel universe alone. But since mutants aren't mentioned on TV, that universe can be written off. Or can it? It's hard to say, as there have been film adaptations of the Marvel universe in which mutants hid their existence from ordinary people. And so many movies and holofoils about wizards, mages, psionics, and other possessors of supernatural powers have been made that a human lifespan wouldn't be enough to watch them all.
Richie could immediately recall the holofilm "The Sorcerer's Apprentice", in which the events took place in a similar past world.
"Oh! How complicated it is with all these reboots, sequels, prequels, and standalone stories," the transmigrator thought sadly. "Why didn't people just create one book, or make one movie, set in a single universe? Then it would be easier to navigate."
***
For some time after being discharged from the hospital, Richard did nothing. He rested, recovered, and gained strength.
Or rather, that's how it looked to everyone around him. In reality, the transmigrator was experimenting with his mutant abilities. Naturally, he kept it under wraps and did it alone.
For his experiments, Richie tried to wind himself up. He artificially induced various emotions. The easiest way was to induce anger. It was enough to recall all sorts of unpleasant things to begin to genuinely hate everything around him. But since he needed an outlet for his hatred, the boy used various objects.
It's very difficult to hate, for example, a stuffed animal. Difficult, but possible.
The toy wasn't chosen lightly. Richie assumed that hatred would only cause harm, and only God knew what would happen to the thing. If he used something hard like a chair, who knows, maybe it would explode. Being killed or maimed during his experiments wasn't in Richard's plans.
The experiment proved its worth on the very first day. At first, Richard simply hated the toy, but that wasn't enough. So, at the height of his emotions, he decided to add a message.
"Go ahead and explode!" the boy exclaimed.
POOF!
With a dull thud, the plush bunny shattered and scattered scraps of fabric and stuffing all over the office.
Fortunately, the clap was quiet enough that the valet and servants did not hear it.
For the first time in his life, Richard had to personally clean up the mess to hide the traces of his supernatural powers. Despite the effort, the boy was immensely happy. He had succeeded in consciously using his mutant powers.
Dozens of experiments were conducted in this vein over the course of a week. Richie destroyed the vast stockpile of toys in every possible way: exploding, cutting, crushing, squashing, tearing, and all using his superpowers. Destroying things proved easiest. However, after destroying three stuffed animals, Richard began to feel tired.
By the end of the boy's experiments, he had accumulated two large bags of trash. Since the house was full of servants, it was impossible to dispose of the evidence discreetly. Richard thought:
"Damn it! If superpowers can grant my wishes, why not wish for something even more supernatural? Like shrinking an object so I can discard evidence without being noticed."
However, he did not have time to carry out his plan, since the bruises had disappeared and Mr. Rich decided that it was time for his son to return to school.
Another frantic marathon of tutoring sessions and studying the curriculum for the second year of high school began. Moreover, Rolf Edling, a Swedish fencer and two-time individual gold medalist in international competitions and the 1980 Olympic team champion, began coming to Richard's home. A two-meter tall blond with a neat beard, at forty-six he looked thirty-five at most, had a good-natured disposition, and was an excellent teacher.
Richard, frustrated by his inability to compete with Mr. Vince, decided to take up fencing seriously. As a result, Mr. Edling trained the boy six days a week for two to three hours.
It wasn't until Sunday, when Richie had the day off, that he was able to practice his mutant ability. And then a problem arose: negative emotions weren't helping him fulfill his positive desires. They were easy to use to destroy, smash, and wreck, but they weren't able to shrink the bags of evidence.
Then Richie decided to try to evoke different emotions. But studying and training took up all his free time. By evening, the boy had no energy left for anything except one thing: crawling to bed, laying his head on the pillow, and closing his eyes.
Due to his busy schedule, Richard began training in using supernatural abilities only on Sundays.
After two months of torment, the boy finally succeeded. But instead of shrinking the bags containing the remains of the stuffed animals, Richie, in a fit of anger, wished them away. And a miracle happened-both bags vanished. They vanished, as if erased from reality by a giant eraser.
And it would seem that he should have been happy about even this success, but Richard was afraid. After all, the garbage bags might have been replaced by a living creature, or even himself.
Richard vowed to never again wish anything bad on himself, even in his thoughts. Sometimes, when something bad happens to someone, they start cursing themselves out loud, calling themselves an idiot, or wishing they could disappear into thin air. If you imagine for a second a mutant with superpowers whose wishes sometimes come true, it's terrifying.