The next morning sunlight slowly crept through the cheap motel curtains and spilled across Eli's face.
He groaned.
"...Five more minutes."
A second later he opened one eye.
"Oh right."
London.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Superpowers.
Possible alien invasion in a few days.
Eli sighed and sat up.
"Guess sleeping in isn't part of the superhero lifestyle."
He stretched, got dressed, and went downstairs to check out.
Unfortunately, the receptionist from yesterday was still there.
And she was just as talkative.
"Oh good morning dear!" the woman said cheerfully. "You won't believe how quiet the night was! Nothing happened at all! Usually we get drunk tourists or people arguing in the hallway, but yesterday—"
Eli smiled politely.
"That's great."
She continued anyway "—and the police patrol even stopped by around midnight, but there was absolutely no drama, which is very rare for this area, let me tell you—"
Eli nodded slowly.
Inside his head he sighed.
These women just don't stop talking.
"Well thank you for the stay," he said, slowly edging toward the door.
"And if you ever need—"
"I'm late!"
He slipped out before she could finish.
Outside, the cool London air hit his face.
"Freedom."
He walked around the corner and headed toward a nearby dumpster.
After digging around for a bit he found several empty beer bottles.
"Perfect."
He picked up one.
"Let's see what glass gives me."
He smelted the bottle.
The familiar transformation spread through him.
Then the information appeared.
[Powers Gained: Transparency (Become invisible or see-through), Reflection (Reflect energy attacks (lasers, magic, etc.)]
Eli blinked.
Then slowly grinned.
"Oh that is ridiculously useful."
He held out his hand.
It slowly faded until it was completely invisible.
Then it reappeared.
He laughed quietly.
"So now I don't even need a complicated heist plan."
He shrugged.
"I can literally just walk in."
Still, Eli decided to scout the museum first.
The British Museum was open during the day, and it wouldn't hurt to look around.
Besides…
There were some incredible historical artifacts inside.
Eli spent most of the day wandering through exhibits, occasionally pretending to read plaques while secretly observing security patterns.
By afternoon he had his plan.
"Simple is best."
He whispered to himself.
"Step one: turn invisible right before closing."
"Step two: slip inside before the doors lock."
"Step three: wait."
"Step four: grab the Vibranium weapon."
"Step five: leave tomorrow morning when the doors open."
He nodded.
"Easy."
Surprisingly…
It worked perfectly.
No alarms.
No guards noticing.
No problems.
He even left a small handwritten note in the display case.
It read: "Sorry. I'll pay you back when I have money… or bring something better (◠‿◕)."
Eli was absolutely certain the guards and police were furious.
The story even appeared briefly on the news the next morning.
He laughed when he saw it.
Later, in a quiet alley, Eli pulled out the small vibranium fragment he had taken.
"This should be interesting."
He smelted it.
But this time the sensation was different.
Not static.
Something deeper.
More powerful.
Then the information appeared.
[Gained Abilities: Vibranium-Level Durability, Energy Absorption, Energy Redirection]
Eli slowly clenched his fist.
Power pulsed through his body.
He could feel it.
His cells could absorb enormous amounts of energy.
Combined with his fridge power's energy efficiency, the potential was ridiculous.
"If I released everything at once…"
He frowned.
"I could probably destroy a city block."
He touched his arm.
"My skin could probably tank a rocket launcher now."
He smiled slightly.
"Good."
His eyes hardened.
"That should help against Loki and his army."
The The Avengers invasion was only three days away.
After enjoying the power boost, Eli decided to test his abilities.
He flew to an isolated area outside the city.
The first thing he practiced was flight.
Wind currents swirled around him as he moved through the air.
The feeling was incredible.
By nighttime he pushed himself faster and faster.
Eventually he estimated his top speed.
"About 260 meters per second."
He hovered in the air.
"That's… near subsonic."
He frowned.
"Not good enough."
He crossed his arms.
"Who gets the power of flight and doesn't want to break the sound barrier?"
He imagined it.
Flying so fast the air ignited.
Sonic booms shaking the sky.
Now that would be cool.
After hours of training he returned to his testing area.
The ground was covered in ice and deep wind-cut marks.
He landed smoothly.
But now exhaustion was catching up to him.
Even with the ant's endurance, he had barely slept for almost three days.
"I need rest."
He walked to a nearby London Public Library to research something.
And maybe nap.
He couldn't afford another motel anyway.
After buying food earlier he only had £23 left.
Inside the library he found a quiet corner and sat down.
Within seconds he fell asleep.
"Miss?"
A voice shook him gently.
"Miss?"
Eli groaned and lifted his head.
A young librarian stood beside him.
"How long was I out?" he asked groggily.
The librarian looked concerned.
"You've been asleep since we opened at nine."
She checked the clock.
"It's four in the afternoon."
Eli blinked.
"Eight hours?"
She frowned slightly.
"Miss… are you okay?"
"Do you need help? Is something wrong at home?"
Eli chuckled and waved his hand.
"No no, I'm fine."
He smiled.
"Just studying for exams."
"You know how it is."
"All-nighters after all-nighters."
The librarian nodded sympathetically.
"Oh I remember those days."
She began talking about her old school exams.
Eli listened politely until she eventually returned to work.
He felt slightly guilty for lying.
But technically he was researching.
He spent the next hour searching for ways to gain supersonic speed.
Most ideas were difficult.
But one stood out.
The Royal Air Force Museum London.
It had several retired aircraft on display.
Including a Eurofighter Typhoon.
Eli grinned.
"Mach 2."
Perfect.
After thanking the librarian he headed toward the exit.
Then suddenly stopped.
"Oh."
He turned back.
"And by the way…"
He smiled casually.
"I'm actually a guy."
The librarian froze.
Her brain visibly stopped working.
Eli walked out while she silently questioned reality.
He took a bus to the museum.
It was around 6:30 in the evening and still crowded.
Lots of kids.
Some of them kept staring at him.
Others whispered.
His hearing easily picked it up.
"she's so pretty."
"Look at her hair!"
"Is that a scar?"
Eli sighed.
Here we go again.
The only thing that really annoyed him was being mistaken for a girl.
One little girl approached him shyly and handed him a flower.
"You're so beautiful and have pretty hair," she said.
Eli blinked.
Then smiled warmly.
"Thank you, but I prefer cool"
Eventually he reached the aircraft section.
There it was.
The Eurofighter Typhoon.
He admired it for a moment.
Then placed his hand on the underside.
Using his pinky nail he scratched off a tiny fragment.
"Sir, please don't touch the display," a guard said sternly.
Eli quickly stepped back.
"Sorry."
Hands in pockets, he casually walked away until closing time.
Honestly…
He had really enjoyed the museum.
Later that night he entered a shopping mall.
He didn't want to steal money again.
But furniture stores had beds.
Very comfortable beds.
He slipped into a bathroom, turned invisible, and quietly entered a Home- Choice store before it closed.
Once everyone left…
He explored.
Testing beds.
Sitting in chairs.
Pretending to cook on display stoves.
He laughed quietly.
This was fun.
Eventually he found a bed that felt unbelievably comfortable.
He collapsed onto it.
"Clouds."
He smiled.
"Speaking of clouds…"
"Maybe tomorrow I should try smelting one."
He pulled the jet fragment from his pocket.
Then smelted it.
The information appeared again.
[Powers Gained: Mach 2 Speed, Shockwave Manipulation, Air Pressure Control]
[Similar abilities will be combining abilities…Aerokinesis has improved.]
Eli could feel the difference immediately.
The air around him felt like an extension of his body.
He could sense everything within roughly 40–50 meters.
And something else had changed.
He slowly floated upward.
This was different from before.
Before, he used wind currents to fly.
'Aerodynamics.'
But now…
He simply rejected gravity.
True flight.
Even in space.
He slowly drifted back down onto the bed.
Still invisible.
Still smiling.
Within minutes he fell asleep.
That night he dreamed about flying across endless skies.
And for the first time since arriving in this universe…
He slept peacefully.