As it turned out, the account I had with the International Bank of Transia was stuffed to the gills. I wasn't exactly Tony Stark, mind, but I had a few million dollars in there, which was more than I could have said for my previous life. Apparently, my Identity in this world had a trust fund that had recently matured in the past few months. Something about a patent my Dad had made in the seventies that had gotten bought up by Stark Industries for a new alloy that was around a hundred times stronger than steel at roughly a third of the weight, didn't rust or tarnish and was also extremely cold resistant. Apparently, the patent for this Kowalski Metal had been licensed to Stark Industries for use in arctic construction, aerospace engineering, and deepwater construction. It had made my dad a boatload of money.
He'd set up multiple trust funds for me and my brother, and this one had just matured upon my graduation from college. I apparently had a degree in Folklore from the University of Chicago. My mother had wanted me to get a STEM degree like my Dad had gotten, but the trust fund didn't specify that as a condition. Besides that, with magic being an actual thing, a Folklore Degree wasn't actually as bad for life as it otherwise would be. After all, the Norse God of Thunder actually has a legal residence in Manhattan. Who knows what else is bound up in Folklore that actually exists? As for my Dad, apparently, he'd been a victim of one of Namor's frequent temper tantrums. Stark Industries had been using his Alloy to construct an underwater habitat in the Atlantic and he'd been helping the team when Namor attacked.
Apparently, Namor had seen Stark's long-term research base as an attempt to encroach on his domain with a colony and showed up with half the Atlantean Army to assault the base. The Avengers had shown up to drive Namor off, but by that point, it was too late. The compartment the engineers had taken refuge in had flooded fully. My dad had drowned to death at the bottom of the ocean, all because Namor was a petulant manchild who couldn't figure out how to play nice with others. That had happened last month, roughly the week after my college graduation. My mom had taken it hard and turned to booze while my brother was too busy with his photography career. Personally, I got the sense that he was burying himself in photoshoots so that he could look at half-naked models all day and not have to think about our Dad's death, but what can you do?
Regardless, that was all just set dressing for the here and now as I withdrew a couple of thousand dollars to gamble with. I bellied up to the roulette table, taking a shot of an electrum vial that anyone looking at would think was Goldschlager, and sat down to begin to gamble. I burned the electrum sparingly as it sat in my stomach, using its oracular ability only every few spins to avoid suspicion and betting accordingly. Sometimes, just to mix things up, I'd make smaller, secondary bets when I knew the number the marble would land on that would lose just to throw off anyone watching. In this manner, I won far more than I lost, even though I lost enough to throw suspicion off of me.
By the time I'd depleted the metal in my system, I'd dropped about three grand on the roulette table and made fifteen thousand dollars, around five times the amount of money I'd lost. If nothing else settled the idea that magic could make earning money trivial if you were careful about it, that was it. As I went to cash out, however, I was confronted with a familiar voice. Well, familiar to my constructed Identity, anyway. Tony Stark was making his way over to me waving at me with a drink in his hand that was probably actually something non-alcoholic, at least it probably was unless Tony was relapsing. It had been known to happen from time to time.
"Hey! If it isn't Johnny Kowalski! I see you made out pretty good at my casino tonight." Called out Tony, a fake smile plastered across his face.
"Tony. Got into a hot streak at the roulette table, why?" I questioned.
"Good on you! You deserve a win after what happened to your old man." Nodded Tony as he made his way toward me and slapped me on the back. I could smell the alcohol on his breath and noticed the tremor in his movements.
"Tony, are you off the wagon again? I can smell the booze on you. Do you need me to call someone?" I questioned quietly. You never knew when the press was around at these sorts of things.
Suddenly, Tony's demeanor changed and his voice shifted as he murmured back to me. "It's a little bit of a trick I needed to pull. Need your help, Kid. I took a psi-blocker I cooked up for something like this, but it slowed my physical reaction times and I can barely walk without tripping. I'm gonna pretend to stumble now. When I do, catch me and look over my shoulder."
He did so and I caught him before I glanced briefly over his shoulder and spotted a woman in a pink dress wearing a black wig. Something was twigging on my powers as I looked at her and I realized that she was using telepathy to try and control Tony. It wasn't magical, but being a mutant with mutant-based psychic abilities myself, I could at least identify that she was using mutant psionics, likely boosted by some other source of power to do it. As Tony and I straightened up, I asked him if he was talking about the woman in the wig.
"Yeah, her. She's trying to get me to give up the code to my own casino vault so she can rob it. Help security deal with her and I'll even let you keep the money you won by cheating with magic." Answered Tony, softly.
"What makes you think I used magic to cheat at Roulette?" I muttered.
"Kid, I bankroll the Avengers, they live in my house. Do you think I don't know when someone's using mojo to pull a fast one on me? Look, are you gonna help me out or not?" Demanded Tony Under his breath.
"Fine." I nodded quietly.
"Good, now help me get to a chair and get to it." Intoned Tony quietly.
I helped him get to a chair in front of a slot machine before I made my way over toward the woman in the pink dress. Between the ice-blue eyes, the high cheekbones, the baldness she was trying to cover with a wig, and the preponderance of pink in her dress, I couldn't help but feel like I'd seen her before in a comic somewhere. It hit me as I was halfway across the casino floor to her. This was Danielle Forte, AKA The Supervillaness Mindblast. She was a cybernetically enhanced mutant whose main gimmick was telekinesis, but her cybernetic enhancements gave her the ability to use telepathic powers such as mind control and mental illusions as well, albeit to a lesser extent.
Notably, she could shoot a beam of telekinetic force that could lift five hundred tons, though she was limited to a single beam at a time. Stark may have been able to handle that in his Iron Man Armor, and if not he had guys like Thor and Hercules on Speed Dial who could, but if I got hit by that, I'd be jellified. The decrease in power brought on by my various complications meant I was only capable of spider-man levels of physical enhancement, at my peak I could dish out twenty-five tons of force with a commensurate increase in speed and durability. Five hundred tons would splat me right now, which meant it was time to dodge and rely on my magic.
Enhancing myself as best I could, I made my way to Mindblast's position where she was standing near a pair of women holding a glass of champagne. I was able to Identify with my powers that there was a psionic illusion over both other women and once I had, I was easily able to see through it with my own psychic abilities, showing the one on the left to have the red-haired and hazel-eyed face of Joystick, a Superhuman Criminal capable of great speed and agility along with more modest superhuman strength and durability. The other woman had the dyed purple hair and unmistakable violet eyes of Arclight, a Mutant Mercenary who was super strong, super durable, and capable of generating and controlling shockwaves.
"Can I help you?" Asked Mindblast as I reached the spot where she and her team were standing. She was trying to send a psionic suggestion to me telling me to go away, but thanks to my powers, I was able to no-sell it.
"Unfortunately yes. All three of you can." I sighed. All three of them eyed me as I said that, frowning as they did so.
This was so far above the thirty-grand payday I was going to get from this. Joystick wasn't that tough, she had less than half my strength and durability but was faster than I was. However, between Mindblast's Telekinetic Death Beam and the fact that Arclight was twice as strong and durable as I was, even if she was slower by a good amount, this wasn't a good matchup. I was definitely going to get my ass handed to me if this dragged out for longer than a few minutes. Hopefully, Tony would be able to shake off whatever whammy that Mindblast put on him and get to his Iron Man Suit quick.
"Oh? I hope you're not looking for an easy lay, Kid. This may be Las Vegas, but we aren't hookers." Deadpanned Arclight.
"I dunno, he's kinda cute, in a scruffy-looking way." Offered Joystick.
"Why am I not surprised you'd say that?" Scoffed Mindblast.
"Actually, I was kinda hoping we could skip the banter and just get to the part where we fight. I wasn't actually expecting to have to bust out the magic today, so if we could get to it, I'd appreciate it." I sighed.
"I think you have us confused for some other people." Frowned Mindblast as she tried redoubling her psychic efforts to crack open my defenses.
"That isn't going to work. Can we just stop with the charade, you're Mindblast, you're Arclight, and You're Joystick, the three of you came here to rob the Casino and you tried to put the mind whammy on Tony Stark to do it. Tony came and got me and decided to use his relationship as a friend of my Dad's to blackmail me into helping him out. So, if we can just get on with it, that'd be great." I pointed out.
The three looked at each other before Mindblast dropped the mental illusions on her two partners, took off her wig to reveal the translucent dome covering her brain, and nodded. "OK, Kid. We tried doing this the subtle way, but it's your funeral." She said.
"Finally, I thought we'd be here all night!" Grinned Joystick, flicking her wrist to produce two energy batons from the devices on her wrists.
"We should have just smashed our way into the vault from the start. It would have been quicker." Scowled Arclight, slamming her fists together to create a miniature shockwave that caught everyone's attention with a thunderclap.
As people began to flee the Casino, I noticed Tony wasn't where I'd left him, hopefully headed for the Iron Man Suit, or to call the Avengers, or to otherwise do something helpful. For a few brief moments, there was nothing but posturing going on, then the battle started with Mindblast firing off her doom ray that forced me to throw myself into a leaping dodge to avoid it. I tucked into a shoulder roll as I landed to avoid the shockwave sent at me by Arclight which smashed a video poker machine to pieces even as Mindblast's telekinetic beam slammed into the gigantic bronze statue of Iron Man in the center of the Casino and tore through it with five hundred tons of force.
I popped up from my Roll just in time to cast a shield that blocked an incoming combination of energy baton swings from Joystick that struck the shield six times in rapid succession before it winked out, allowing me to lash out with a Chi and Magic-enhanced Muay Thai-style front thrust kick that slammed into Joystick's Solar Plexus and sent her flying back into a slot machine. She landed with a grunt and exploded the Slot Machine as she landed on it, sending quarters flying everywhere. I immediately was forced to dodge again as Mindblast's Telekinetic doom beam lashed out at me, jumping up, and using my Aeromantic abilities to double jump above the beam, which passed below me and blew a hole in the wall leading to the sportsbook.
A Snarled Mystical Incantation had a whip of water coalesce out of the moisture in the air and lash out at Mind Blast even as she sighted down on me for another telekinetic assault. The Watery Tendril wrapped around her ankle pulled her up, and slammed her into the shakily rising Joystick. The combination of the collision and the backlash from the half-readied telekinetic attack sent both women flying away from each other, knocking Joystick out cold and doing likewise for Mindblast. I was going to do it, I was about to actually win my first Super Fight all by myself while outnumbered three to one! That was amazing!
Of course, that was when I felt the approach of Arclight with my powers and turned in time to see her rushing toward me. From this angle, all I could do was try to block the punch. I snapped off a Karate-style Soto Uke outside block. That turned out to be a mistake as the shockwave and the force of the punch practically shattered the bones in my forearm and sent me crashing into a craps table, smashing it in half around me and causing stars to explode behind my eyes as my head bounced off the wood. It was taking all of my capability with Matukai Force Techniques to try and soldier on, even with a completely destroyed left arm and what had to be a concussion. Fortunately, no sooner had I managed to extricate myself from the smashed table and took up a stance to face Arclight once again than Tony returned, jetting to the rescue in his Iron Man suit.
"Take it easy, Kid. The cavalry's here." Came Tony's altered voice from the suit.
"Good, 'cause I'm pretty sure there's no bones left in my left forearm after blocking that last punch. Just bone broth and blood soup." I growled out.
As Iron Man took the fight to Arclight, I tried to ignore the pain in my arm so I could heal the completely fucked bones with a combination of the Force and Alakhestry. It was slow going and Tony had managed to wrap up the fight neatly long before I managed it, but eventually, I managed it, even if the combination of the fight and healing from the fight left me drained doing so. By the time I was done, Tony had arrived with a briefcase full of money.
"Good job, Kid. Not too shabby for your first real fight. You handled both Mindblast and Joystick on your own." He offered.
"Arclight destroyed me." I pointed out.
"Arclight is a professional mercenary who's been doing this for years. You weren't gonna be able to take her without help. Why do you think I sent in Iron Man on the double?" Questioned Tony.
"Yeah, sure. You sent Iron Man in. That charade about him being your bodyguard's wearing a bit thin, don't you think Tony?" I grinned.
"You figured it out, huh?" Queried Tony.
"Wasn't hard." I answered. It was true, even if I hadn't had outside metaknowledge to go off of, I could have figured it out.
"Yeah, well keep that under wraps for now, all right?" Frowned Tony.
"Or what, Tony? Folks are gonna figure it out eventually." I answered.
"Just as a favor to me, all right? I'll worry about people figuring it out when that happens. Otherwise, well, does your mom know you're out here gambling away your trust fund money?" Tried Tony.
"Yeah, try another one. Like my mom would crawl out her bottle long enough to ask those kinds of questions." I scoffed.
"Fair enough. I don't exactly have a whole lotta room to lecture anyone about drinking too much." Huffed Tony.
"Yeah. Don't worry about the whole Iron Man Secret Identity thing. I'll keep it under wraps. As a favor." I agreed.
"I appreciate it, Kid. Say, do you have a place to stay for the night?" Questioned Tony.
"No. Why, are you offering a room?" I asked.
"Well, it occurs to me that the recent spate of excitement might have scared away a few high rollers. That means a suite has opened up and it'd be a shame to let it go to waste. On the house, think of it as an incentive to keep saving my bacon." Grinned Tony.
I took him up on the offer. The Casino Skirmish happened at around nine at night. By eleven, the Casino was back in full operation like nothing had happened. Apparently, all Stark Properties had protocols for replacing damaged appliances and decor in case of a supervillain attack. The suite that had opened up was ultra-luxury. The bed sheets were Egyptian cotton, the television was gigantic, there was a fully stocked minifridge, and it even had a hot tub in the room. I ordered a steak and fries from the room service menu and washed it down with an imported German beer from the minifridge, all on Tony Stark's dime. Then I got the best sleep I could remember getting in years.
The next day I found myself with my briefcase full of money at a Chevy Dealership, where I bought a Camaro to replace the Toyota Camry I'd gotten in the desert, which I'd dropped off at the Las Vegan Police for a cash reward that the owner had posted with the Department. With another thousand dollars in my pocket, and having to pay twenty-three-grand for the Camaro, that meant I still left Vegas with five thousand dollars more in the bank than I'd entered it with, and all it had taken was a brief scuffle with some Supervillains trying to rob Tony Stark's new casino, and some time spent at the Roulette Table.
Five Grand plus a Camaro and a night's stay in a comped High Roller Suite wasn't too shabby in my opinion, especially after I'd managed to heal my arm. As I made my way out of Las Vegas, heading for the East Coast, following the mystical pull toward my tower, I couldn't help but feel like taking the roads instead of stopping to figure out how to teleport had been the right call. If I'd known what would wind up happening once I reached Chicago, I probably wouldn't have been so sanguine about my little road trip. Tony hadn't been the only one to take my presence into account.
Two Days later, I would as I pulled into Chicago, I would find out the results of that notice. . .
XXXX
Meanwhile, In Morvania, a ritual was being prepared, as the Morvanian National Army, with help from the Serbian Army and the Carapasian Royal Army, had blocked Mors Cruentia, his undead Legion, and his followers in with a strict blockade of the Mopuvar and Dinestrovsc Valleys. They had brought Supertech Plasma Weaponry and a team of Carpasian Superhuman Agents to aid in the blockade, but Mors Cruentia was no one-note necromancer, even weakened. He had spent two days using his mastery of Biomancy to grant the most loyal of his followers enhancements of their own, making them reach the Peak of Human Potential.
He had enchanted the rifles of those followers to be able to fire longer, farther, more accurately, and harder so that each Kalashnikov in the hands of his Elite Troops was capable of firing at the rate of a Kalashnikov, with the range and accuracy of a sniper rifle, the punch of a fifty-caliber anti-materiel rifle, and with the ammunition capacity of a machine gun. There were only fifty of these enhanced followers, but he would say that each of them could fell a hundred of the enemy and that was no mere propaganda. Adding to this was the Zombies.
Generally speaking, when Zombies were concerned, the Older the Corpse is, the more physically potent the Zombie is. The vast majority of his Zombies had risen immediately after being slain and were little more than chaff that died harder than a normal soldier but were otherwise indistinguishable in terms of raw physical ability. However, Dinestrovsc had an old Serbian Orthodox Abbey within its city walls, one that had interred several dozen fallen Venetian and Ottoman troops during the Wars of Skanderbeg whose families would not pay to have the bodies transported to Turkey or Venice. The monks had left, forced to flee from the advancing conflict by the Morvanian National Army, and though his new subjects would perhaps revolt if Mors Cruentia raised their ancestors, the long-dead Venetians and Ottoman Turks were no object. From them was raised a further fifty elite troops as Zombies.
And now the ritual, merging together zombies of the recently slain to consolidate necromantic power and create new elites. It was through this ritual that the bulk of the Elites that would eventually win Mors Cruentia the Battle of the Blockade were formed. In the end, five thousand troops were whittled down to one thousand five hundred. From a Full Legion to an Understrength Regiment, but it would be enough. Ten Days after he had arrived in this new world, Mors Cruentia would take this Regiment to battle against the combined forces of his foes.
It would be a slaughter. . .
XXXX
AN: So yeah, turns out having drawbacks cursing him to live in Interesting Times means all kinds of shenanigans are bound to happen to the SI. He's been in Marvel not two days and Already he's had a team-up with Iron Man to fight a trio of Supervillains. Meanwhile, his dark mirror is refining his forces in terms of quality and pulling out what stops he feels appropriate to kill a bunch of Serb Nationalists and continue taking over Morvania. Both are continuing their initial goals of getting to the East Coast to track down his Wizard Tower and conquer a Kingdom to use as a base respectively.
Mors Cruentia eventually plans to seize control of both Morvania and Carpasia while forcing Serbia to cede him territory in Kosovo and then pressure Bosnia into ceding him a strip of land to connect Morvania and Carpasia. If he manages that, he'll likely draw the attention of Victor Von Doom, as there's only room in the Balkans for one Megalomaniacal Mystical Dictator. Honestly, he and Doom have a lot more in common than they'd care to admit, between the overseas rival, the dictatorial ambitions, and the magic. Meanwhile, having a new and powerful mutant pop up in such a public way is going to cause certain Mutant Factions to try and recruit Jan, by force if necessary, which will begin next chapter.
I know from the comics, at least one of you doesn't like the Mors Bits, I promise that you won't get regular updates from his perspective after the first Arc, as he'll transition from being a Secondary POV Character to an antagonist for Jan, in much the same way Doom is for Reed Richards.
Speaking of the next chapter, that will involve a showdown with a Hellfire Club Recruiter in Chicago for Jan and the breaking of the Serbian Blockade for Mors.
Stay tuned. . .