I'm in Marvel 11

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***

Yesterday's Promise. Two words, but so much meaning for those in the know. 

Who the hell is this Pluto of yours and why did I want to get his book first? 

In the world of the game, this guy was an adjuster. Simply put, it's basically an entire class whose members are willing to provide perhaps any kind of service for a decent fee. For example, assassinations, security, espionage, detective investigations, assistance in trade or escorting, and so on. They mostly worked in so-called Offices and Associations, usually dealing with a certain range of cases.

But back to Pluto. This man, during one of his assignments, was cheated by another adjuster, as a result of "small print" in the contract. From such an idiotic lapse on his part and a shattered faith in the honesty of the people of the City, Yesterday's Promise moved in a phase, believing the world to be nothing but an illusion. After a while he became a Distortion in the form of a black skeleton, cosplaying a London dandy in his three-piece suit, monocle, cylinder hat and cane in hand.

I chose this individual's book because of his "capabilities". He wasn't the strongest opponent in the game, as he wouldn't have lost then, but his abilities were the most extensive I knew of. Teleportation that couldn't be traced even with the City's super technology, with incredible flexibility of use, range and accuracy. Yellow energy control (by the way, the abilities in this category were very similar to the spells of local mages), which Pluto used to create attacking constructs, shields and barriers, covering hundreds of square metres from all sorts of penetration. A sort of conceptual destruction and rebuilding, as he could use these abilities to affect both living flesh with a mind and space beyond time and reality. A perfect disguise that could hold up for a long time. Clairvoyance, allowing one to see and hear even very distant places. Seals that can imprison an opponent in a cage of yellow energy, create a copy of them, and exchange their life forces with each other. The ability to copy creatures with nearly identical skills, powers, and abilities to the recipients. Pluto could even copy E.G.O. in this way, and after all, it is the embodiment of the inner qualities of a person.

But that's not the most important thing, because I can replicate such abilities by one method or another. If only by controlling the Light. The most interesting thing was something else. Pluto personified the archetype of the contracting devil or the same evil genie. Accordingly, his main ability was to make contracts that could change reality. Except they always worked to the advantage of Yesterday's Promise. Hence the name, by the way. But it's not a unique ability either. How many such comrades are there in the culture? Gunter o'Dim. 

What I've never seen anywhere else is enforced contracts. What's it like with these contractors? Until you sign an agreement, there's no authority over you. And Pluto could set certain conditions without regard for the other party. It is true that such contracts do not guarantee full power and if certain conditions are fulfilled, they give some bonuses to the enemy. But even with such disadvantages they can be very valuable. For example, put a condition to use only your own power. If the condition is not fulfilled five times, axe head. Then all those Gina Grey, Juggernauts and other fans of using borrowed power will be gone in a flash.

Pluto himself, after the Distortion, became a member of a very dangerous gang, whose members wanted to get the Light and rewrite reality itself with the help of music, creating a perfect world. Yesterday's Promise took on the role of an organ. The possibilities of this instrument are almost limitless: not only does it have access to all sorts of standard sounds, from the lowest to the incredibly high. It is capable of reproducing the sounds of nature, birdsong, and the ringing of bells. The instrument sounds extremely powerful, overpowering all the others in the orchestra, which is why the organ is rarely found in musical compositions and is mostly played solo. All of the above can accurately describe Yesterday's Promise.

And by getting this comrade's book, I can not only become stronger, but also start preparing a Plan to Change Humanity. Namely, to create an organisation that will help me in the implementation of this plan. After all, what is the most important thing in the selection of personnel for such work? Strength, intelligence, adaptation to unexpected situations or special abilities? Naturally, these are important criteria, but without one small detail they all do not work and can even become harmful. I believe the main one is loyalty. With Pluto's power, I will have the ability to provide it. Power, knowledge, skills and other things can be obtained with Singularities, but loyalty is the problem. It's not even the inability to achieve it, just the opposite, but all sorts of brainiacs, skrulls and other crap. Contracts are a whole different story. Oh, well, that's a future thing. 

I had to use all the enkephalin and Light I could create with my E.G.O. and the Singularity Machine. That's enough energy to power New York City for a decent amount of time. But it was worth it. 

A short time later, I held in my hand a simple book, with a gold braid with blue curls. It seemed to be the sign of the syndicate that Pluto was a member of at the time of his transformation into the book and subsequent death. The book itself felt similar to E.G.O. and Distortions. No surprise though, all of those things have the same source. I also made sure beforehand that the book didn't have Pluto's very essence in it. I don't need this fellow to suddenly somehow break out of his confinement and go create chaos. True in the end, the book was a bit weaker, but that wasn't a problem. I could pump Pluto's abilities with Light, like racers pump their cars with nitro, and thus achieve multiple reinforcements.

Okay, it's time to get started. With a force of thought, I wished to "equip" the book. After seeing how it turned into golden particles that were absorbed into my body, I decided to start by reviewing the memories of Yesterday's Promise to better understand its powers and the various tricks acquired with experience. Here we go!

- Boo! Ha-ha-ha! - I threw up all over the workshop floor. - Ugh! S**a! Shit!

After picking up the vomit with a rag and rinsing the disgusting taste out of my mouth, I lay down on the floor, away from the place. My strength, both physical and mental, was gone. When I'd decided to look through Pluto's memories, I hadn't expected to see something like this. I wish I hadn't done it... Although, if I thought about it, it was a natural result. Yesterday's Promise was a madman who used his power to drive other people insane, distort and kill them. And often it looked so sickening that there was no desire to describe it. In addition, even before his transformation Pluto was an adjuster and saw many disgusting things, among which killing was routine. What is a horror in the flesh for a 21st-century Earth dweller has long been commonplace for the people of the City. The same cannibalism that was quite common, even in some "civilised" places. And that's not to mention the various creatures left over from the Last World War, the Purifiers, the members of the Carnival, some Distortions like the Blood Red Night and all sorts of victims of monstrous experiments. Seeing it all live, and even participating in the first-person view, was too serious a shock. 

To be honest, after what I had experienced in captivity, I was convinced that death and torture wouldn't surprise me much anymore. I admit, I was overly optimistic. But I guess nothing can surprise me now. I've seen enough to last a lifetime. It's lucky I was able to get the E.G.O. out, and I'm tougher. Otherwise, I wouldn't have got off that easy. But it did change something in me. 

On the one hand, I'm glad I didn't go to the City, because it's a terrible place. On the other hand, I was even more convinced of my purpose. What I saw could very well be the future of this world if something goes wrong. No matter what. An alien invasion, some demons, or internal human strife. I didn't want that fate for myself or anyone else. Especially not my family.

With a grunt, I got up and checked the floor for spit-up dinner stains, and headed for my bedroom, hoping to fall asleep and forget myself for a little while. All the euphoria of getting such a powerful toy had evaporated. But, alas, this time I didn't sleep a wink.

I had to be at school today. I had to clean myself up, but even so, I looked like a woken dead man. One good thing was that I ended up falling asleep in class, and when my teacher asked me why I was awake at home, I told her that I was improving the demographic situation in the country. I think she even said something approving. So what? No point in scolding me if I'm an honours student and know the material perfectly. And my mum makes a big donation to the school.

When I woke up, I had to listen to a lot of jokes from Aki, Gerda and Dan about my nocturnal adventures. Benji was the only one who kept quiet. He's a good boy, not like those jerks.

But this time school was good. I was able to take my mind off what I'd seen and come to my senses. Although, probably, it's because my brain can't dwell on something bad for a long time and transfers attention to other things in order not to go crazy.

Eventually, when I got home, I decided to start experimenting again. I looked at the memories and blocked them out of existence. I wanted to clean them out completely, but I decided to take my time. 

Concentrating on the book, I activated its enhancements. My body felt lighter again, as it had with Iredzumi, and my mind became aware of my new abilities. Apparently it was a mechanism similar to E.G.O., where the wielder instantly knows what works and how it works.

I felt that I could use all of Pluto's abilities, but first I embodied an invisible barrier around my body. There's no such thing as an unnecessary defence. I was able to do this easily enough, which was good. The next abilities worked just as well. I teleported from corner to corner of the lab, destroyed unnecessary items and then rebuilt them, and tried all sorts of seals with constructs.

But at the moment, my 'fusion' with the book wasn't great. The fault was a non-combat mindset, emotional turmoil after the memories I had seen, and a lack of skill in using it. At the most basic level, none of this affected me, but if I needed to use more power, I was already in trouble. Nothing, it was fixable. You just need to spend a sufficient amount of time. But the most important thing is that I've found out the limits of my strength at the moment. 

Now I must find agents to recruit. Contracts will ensure their loyalty, and the same books will strengthen them. At the same time, I need to establish my base. In normal space for now, and then, using the Warp Singularity, move it outside this reality.

But I'll get to that later. Now we must construct a compact generator for the Klipot system. This thing limited Anomaly's abilities, but I was going to modify it with the knowledge I had, to block supernatural abilities in general. 

That's what I did for a few more days until I created a carved cane. It was inspired by a character who poked a guy's out-of-control power with this tool in the forehead. He did it so stylishly that I wanted to do it again. And the cane would be perfect for my look. After all, from Pluto's book I got not only the power, but also his equipment, namely a three-piece suit with a cylinder made of Nuovo fabric. 

This fabric was the Singularity of the destroyed Wing, produced by the members of the Carnival and could easily replace the best armour of the City, having incredible protective characteristics. Naturally, the tougher it was, the more expensive it was, but even the cheapest versions were as strong as steel. And like most Singularities, this one also had a rotten twist. The fabric was produced by disgusting creatures that combined the traits of worms, insects, spiders, and who the fuck knows what else, eating people. They called it the Silk Business, and the strength of their products depended on the strength of the "material". The more spiritually and physically tough a person is, the better the silk.

And Nuovo cloth was created from the Cleaners and had even more impressive characteristics than standard silk. The Purifiers themselves were formerly humans who were turned into sentient fluids poured into a special suit. These guys are another scourge of the City, feared by so many residents for fear of turning into slime themselves to feed these monsters.

Luckily Pluto's suit was just an imitation created with Light and stored energy. If it had been a real Carnival cloth, I wouldn't have worn it. As it was, my cane suited my dandy image perfectly and was a fine weapon at the same time. 

Now it was time for school, or rather the end of school. Our splendid five were preparing for this event at an increased pace. It was Benjamin's birthday on the 3rd of May. I, on my part, gave him a new pair of glasses, with all sorts of features like impact resistance, special coatings for all occasions and so on. Ben just wanted to change his old ones, but I beat him to it, having learnt all the necessary parameters for ordering. But when he saw me smiling and remembered how much money I had, he was embarrassed and frowned. Then taking the glasses in his hands, Ben put them on and said he would keep them. Dan, Gerda and Aki had also given him expensive gifts, like a treadmill from our main sportswoman. 

As it happened, everyone in our company except Benjamin was quite wealthy. Aki had a clan with hundreds of years of history behind her, Gerda was the daughter of an extremely wealthy woman whose ancestors were aristocrats. I had some savings, too. Except Daniel was from just a fairly well-to-do family. Benji, on the other hand, had only his mum, with not much income and loans. The boy's allowance saved the day, but most of it was spent on tuition at a prestigious school.

Naturally I decided to help them out and get Miss Anna White a job with Mum's company. Since the woman was a solid middle-skill specialist in the speciality of accountancy, needed always and everywhere, everyone was on the plus side. So the White family became more prosperous, and Ben thanked me for a long time. I wanted to help them with money, but both Ben and his mum objected.But I had to be careful how I handled the hiring process. Not because of the vigilance of secret organisations or anything like that. It was for a rather trivial reason. Women.

Back in the past world, I had to change jobs, for the most standard reasons, be it a bigger salary, shorter distance from home, better working conditions and so on. And sometimes I was under male bosses and sometimes female bosses. And at every job I've heard from female co-workers that it's better to have men as bosses. Not because of greater intelligence, honesty or anything like that. It's just that there are fewer problems with the male gender in that regard. 

When I heard this opinion, I was surprised. What about equality, feminism and all that? But the women who already had a lot of experience were literally unanimous in their opinion. I didn't hear the opposite from a single lady. Of course, I did not interview all the women in a row, but I got information from many sources. And then I was able to see it for myself. And now I was in a world where women are the absolute majority, which created its own interesting situations.

True, here I was told about such details, life of collectives by my mother, as I could not know about it due to my age. Competition and intrigues among women were not serious. And there were plenty of occasions. At school this fate also passed me for reasons of alienation from the rest of my classmates and the closedness of the girls' quarrels. Usually guys did not participate in such things, except that the most authoritative were asked to become a kind of umpire. In general, not wanting to expose Ben's mother, because there could be those who wanted to spoil the favourite of the high authority, had to be careful. 

And everything seemed to be fine, but lately Benjamin was not himself. He didn't laugh in response to jokes, answered questions inappropriately and frowned all the time. We tried to find out what was going on, but the guy would just deny it. Eventually this went on for another week, until Ben came to school flaming with despair in every direction. He wouldn't answer questions, and at recess he tried to leave the classroom. I, however, was determined to find out what was wrong and cautiously went after him at another break. The boy stopped in the school park, sat down on a bench and started crying. 

- So Benji, tell me what's going on! - I said, stepping out into the open. - And don't you dare refuse, or I'll crack you!

- Kyle? W-what are you doing here? - The guy asked, his red eyes looking up at me.

- I followed you, dummy! Talk to me, you little bastard!

And Ben started talking. A while ago, his mum started complaining of lower abdominal pain. She had tests done and they showed some very unpleasant things. It's been making Ben very anxious all week. And then yesterday she completely passed all the necessary tests, which showed uterine cancer. The woman didn't say anything to her son, but this inquisitive fellow found the diagnosis sheet and when he found out what it was on the internet he just despaired.

- The prognosis is very bad! - said the boy, sobbing. - I went to my mum with this sheet and then she told me everything! We need a very expensive operation, which will not guarantee recovery, because it is a rare case! Although they know how to perform such surgeries, but mum was out of luck!

Yeah, well, since there are many times more women, they're pretty good at treating diseases that are dangerous to them.

- Yeah, it sucks," he said thoughtfully, and then he got up, grabbed the guy by the shoulders and shook him. - All right, Ben, calm down. Nothing's lost yet.

- N-but-but-but-but...!

- Look, if you get discouraged before the time is right, you might as well just get in a coffin and die. Benji, I know what you're going through.

- Do you?! - the guy interrupted me, pushing me away. - Why should I?! It's not Miss Smith that's dying! How would you know how I feel?!

If I were younger, I would have been very angry after what I'd been through a few days ago. But I knew exactly how my friend felt and I didn't blame him for his harsh words. To know that your only relative might die after a while is horrible. 

- Believe me, I know," I started, but the words literally stuck in my throat.

And at that moment, the iris of Ben's right eye turned yellow and the skin on his face faded. What the hell is that?! A mutation?! No... It's a Distortion... But how? I didn't give it to him...! 

- You didn't?! Do you know what it's like to realise that...?!?!

Ignoring his words, I dispersed my consciousness and concentrated on the sensation of Light. And the result surprised me. There was a small amount of that energy in Benji. That's crazy. How did this happen? Not drunk, since I don't drink anything stronger than tea.

I had to turn my attention to myself. And here it turned out that my body was emitting a very small amount of Light outwards. Since the recovery from the E.G.O. is thousands of times greater than the loss, I felt nothing. And it didn't seem like it should be dangerous to anyone around me. So what is it? Did Ben's proximity to me cause him to absorb a certain amount of energy and now he's distorted? Considering that this was my plan to awaken E.G.O. in all of mankind, namely to disperse the Light all over the planet, it would seem so.

But why didn't I feel it before? Because of the minuscule amount, which is not enough to extract E.G.O. or Distortion? It would seem so. But something has to be done. Ben won't have enough Light, which means he can't even Warp properly. Which leaves me with two options. Take all the power for myself before it's too late, or help him get the E.G.O.. Well, I hope I'm not wrong about the guy and everything works out right.

- Enough Benji," I cut the guy off. - It's time you faced your demons.

- What are you talking about?! - my friend cried. - What demons?! What the hell is that?!

- A star called the sun.

After words to help with concentration, I manifested the medallion and quickly touched Ben's forehead with my fingers and began to pump the Light. Finishing the procedure pulled us both into the white man's inner world. 

The entire space was filled with tall shelves of books, mostly in white and grey. A little further away from us was a spiral metal staircase leading somewhere upwards. Lights were flying around it, fulfilling an unknown purpose. There was also a light from above, but we couldn't see its source. In general, considering that Benji is the main smart guy, and the racks represent his knowledge, it looked quite suitable. The only thing that spoilt the pleasant stop was the smoke rising from the burning books and the general unkempt state of the inner world.

It was like the Religion Floor of the Library of Ruins. What a coincidence. Although considering Benji looks like one character from there, it might not be a coincidence. I just hope I don't get to meet some of the psychos from that world.

- W-what? Where are we? - Ben asked puzzled, looking around.

- This is...

- This is your inner world," came a voice behind me.

When I turned around, I saw a familiar sight. A shadow with silvery eyes that mirrored Ben's contours was coming toward us. 

- Kyle, w-what is that?! - my friend asked me with a frightened tone in his voice.

- It's basically your doppelganger, the result of the Light. I'll talk about that later. Right now we have to deal with your Distortion.

- Distortion?

- The point is that when you have the Light in your soul under the influence of strong negative emotions, your mind and body start to change," I explained the short version, watching Ben's face distort. - I'll tell you more about it, just let's keep calm. If you can't get your emotions under control, things are going to get ugly!

- I'm sorry Kyle, but I don't think you should get involved," the shadow intervened. - Right now it's Distortion, as you call it, that's going to be Benji's salvation.

- Salvation from what? - I asked him sceptically.

- From weakness, insecurity and fear. 

- That's a nice ring to it. Except I think you're exaggerating. Ben's not what he used to be.

- Oh, really? The shadow asked mockingly. - I'm sorry to disappoint you, but he's not. Benjamin never got over his weakness. Not completely, that's for sure. And you're to blame.

- In what way? - I asked, glancing at my friend, who remained silent, fists clenched.

- Watching you take on all your problems, Ben decided he couldn't be the same. He just pulled himself up to a certain level and stopped. And even he only did that for fear of making you despise him. I mean, we admire Kyle so much, right?

- Yeah," Ben answered quietly, his head down.

- All our lives we've been outsiders," the doppelganger continued. - The only thing we had was brains. And even they were a hindrance! If it weren't for that, we'd be in a normal school, among normal kids. Mum wouldn't have had to take out loans and work most of the time. And maybe she'd be fine now. 

I stood and listened, looking at Ben's slumped face. He didn't even try to argue with the shadow's words. And the distortion was getting worse, taking half his face and moving up to his neck. What the hell is this? Do I have to motivate everyone?

- And then we met you, Kyle. The loser kid and the coolest guy in the class, if not the school. Ben was amazed and overjoyed, thinking things would be different now. But when he faced the harsh reality, he realised that he could never reach the level of his idol," the doppelganger said, sitting down on a stack of books.

- Don't make an idol of yourself. It's written for a reason, you know," he replied glumly.

- Yeah, but that's just the way it was and Ben decided not to try to jump in over his head and just pretend everything was fine. Until he found out about Mum's illness. That knowledge was the end of the line. Now we have to go all the way and become the Distortion.

- What a stupid thing to say," I said, listening to the shadow's words. - Ben, you're a fool. I always thought you were a normal guy with a backbone. Even if it was hidden deep down. After all, you brushed off your main offender and managed to bring it all down to a draw. You didn't get scared, you didn't fall to the ground and cry. Oh, and you became much more confident going forward. Believe me, you can see it better from the outside. And your thoughts are just a consequence of low self-esteem.

- That's easy for you to say," Ben said uncertainly.

- Yeah, right. You think I was born so tough, don't you? - Ben asked the boy with a grin. - And to be honest, I'm not that tough. I got a lot of flaws. If you look at it that way, I'm probably exposed to all the deadly sins. I'm prideful, lazy, mean at times, I like to eat too much, I'm jealous of a lot of people, and I get moody from time to time. And what's more, I like intercourse, so to speak. So you've got the wrong guy, mate. 

I said the last one in a cheerful tone, and Ben seemed to come round a bit. 

- You shouldn't look up to me. You're capable of a lot of things," I said, stepping close to him and putting my hands on his shoulders. But the doppelganger at that moment even his posture expressed scepticism. - You just have to lift your head and look forward through fear. You can do that, I know you can.

- Even so, words can't cure Mum's illness," the boy said, bowing his head.

Okay, the Distortion seemed to be progressing more slowly, though it had taken over his head, most of his chest, and his right arm, turning the boy's skin into a pale grey substance. He was able to take his will in his fist, albeit partially. Now it was time for the final trump card. And if Ben doesn't get a grip on his mind after this, I'm going to give him a hell of a workout in the future for unlocking his human limits.

- Yeah, words won't help. But I have something better than words. Tell Benji. Do you believe me?

- Y-yes, but what's your point?

- Then know that I have a cure for almost any disease. And cancer is one of them.

After I said that, I created an illusion of a capsule of green liquid and showed it to the guy.

- Can this cure Mum? - Ben asked hopefully.

- Yes.

- Then...

- Wow," said the shadow, rising from its improvised chair. - You, Kyle, even have one of those? But that doesn't change our worthlessness, Ben. Even now you're being promised help, and you're meekly accepting that help. Isn't that just more proof that we're completely useless? Because...

- Yes, you're right," the doppelganger was suddenly interrupted by his friend. - I'm worthless and all that. But now, I can't go back to being an incomprehensible creature until I repay Kyle for everything he's done for me. I realised that I owed him too much, and I was even more certain that I was right.

Having said that, my friend looked at me and I could see the faith in his eyes. A faith that could be compared to fanaticism.

- You can't do anything on your own, and yet you make such pathetic speeches," the doppelganger said irritably. - Only through the Distortion can you finally, as Kyle said, throw off your shackles and free yourself. Stop this useless argument.

- I've already figured out what I want to do with my life. And Warp doesn't really fit my goals," Ben said with conviction as his skin returned to normal.

- You'd better be right," the shadow doppelganger said sadly. 

- Don't worry, I see clearly what I want now," Benjamin assured him with a smile.

- I hope so," the shadow said, disintegrating. - Don't complain about it later.

- I won't. 

Eventually, the shadow disappeared, and the Distortion was completely gone from Ben's body. The boy's inner world began to come into order. The books stopped burning and the smoke gradually cleared. But E.G.O. still hadn't appeared. Although.

- Benji, do you feel any change?

- Very much so. It's like I've got that clarity of thought you say you have. Also.

Ben took off the glasses I'd given him and took a closer look at them. Now, if my gut's telling me right.

- I thought you said something about E.G.O.? I guess that's what it is.

- But to embody the mind in an object requires a strong connection to it.

There was a lady who turned her smoking pipe into an E.G.O.. As I recall, it was given to her by a man she idolised. Hmm, if you look at it that way, it's a similar case. But Benjamin couldn't have become so attached to those glasses in a little over a week, could he?

- Your gift is very dear to me, maybe that's why? - The boy asked embarrassed.

- It's the only option I can think of," I said thoughtfully. - What can you do now?

- I think it can be called informatsiokinesis, or simply information management, - my friend began to tell me cheerfully. - For example, you can influence the information in a person's head, materialise something, change the properties of objects or phenomena through the information component. Or just by looking at a person, I can read all the information about him. Weight, height, deeds done, marital status and so on. But this is only a small part of the possibilities!

When I realised that he could do so many different things with that ability, my face changed as Benji asked me sadly:

- What kind of ability is that?

- It's fine," I told him, trying to calm down. Geez, what's with all the creepy abilities everyone who gets E.G.O.'s have? - Are there any restrictions?

- Yes. The scale and amount of effort involved. Trying to change things is hard, but looking at information costs nothing.

If you look at it that way, Benji's ability fits. He's the smartest of the five, and he likes to mess around with new information. It's true that his friend used to only learn it. But maybe that has something to do with his desire for change. 

- By the way, Kyle, why don't you tell me what's going on? This Distortion, Light, E.G.O., what is it?

- I'll start at the beginning, then. 15 years ago, a wonderful guy was born into this world....

***

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