Chapter 3: Pieces on the Board
Late evening blanketed the city in amber light, filtered through smoke and distant factory exhaust. Horns honked in frustration. War-time America was anything but peaceful.
Victor stood atop a derelict rooftop, gazing at the skyline. His cloak — stitched together from a discarded curtain and wire mesh — flapped gently in the breeze. From this vantage, the city didn't seem chaotic. It looked... malleable.
Like metal before the forge.
> [Sync Rate: 14% → 15%]
[Environmental Familiarity Bonus Applied]
[New Node Unlocked: "Urban Awareness"]
— Passive: +10% chance to detect tailing enemies
— Unlocks "Territory Control" System (Locked until Lv. 2 Followers Obtained)
Victor narrowed his eyes. Territory Control…?
The System wasn't just offering him personal strength. It was hinting at dominion, influence, perhaps even a proto-empire.
But empires weren't built alone.
---
Back at the warehouse
Jacob returned at dusk with a potato sack filled with parts — some broken, some rusted, but some promising. His eyes were brighter, voice steadier than yesterday.
"Found these near a scrapyard in Brooklyn. Gotta watch out for the Watchdogs though — some ex-cops who turned thugs."
Victor examined the contents methodically, one piece at a time.
"Acceptable," he said. "You show initiative."
"…You really gonna build something from all this?"
Victor nodded. "In time, a city within a city."
Jacob blinked. "That… makes no sense."
"You'll understand when the electricity runs through veins that don't bleed."
---
> [Follower Loyalty: +2]
[Social Link Upgrade – Jacob Lv. 2]
— Trait Gained: "Runner's Instinct" (Passive: Warns of danger in a 30-meter radius)
— Unlocks Mini-Map Feed (Passive UI Overlay)
[Territory Control System: Partial Unlock]
[Current Turf: Dockside Warehouse Block (Control: 3%)]
— Enemy Influence Detected: "Watchdogs"
— Passive Threat Level: Yellow
Victor tapped his finger against the table. A plan was forming.
He could bend this city one block at a time.
But first — his claim must be defended.
---
Nightfall.
Footsteps echoed near the warehouse entrance. Jacob, who was sorting wires in the corner, froze. Victor calmly raised a finger — a silent command.
The boy ducked behind the workbench.
The door creaked open.
Three men entered — trench coats, brass knuckles, and one carrying a revolver that looked barely legal. Their leader had a chipped tooth and a star-shaped tattoo on his throat.
"Well, well," the leader grinned. "Heard some squatter's been setting up camp here. Thought we'd come say hello."
Victor didn't move.
"You're trespassing," he said evenly.
The leader barked a laugh. "Funny. We say the same thing to people right before we break their legs."
---
Victor took a step forward.
> [System Alert: First Combat Encounter Initiated]
— Adversaries: Low-Level Thugs
— Bonus Objective: Win Without Weapon
— Optional: Reveal Power to Jacob (Y/N?)
Victor chose N.
Let them think he was just a man — until it was too late.
---
The first thug lunged.
Victor sidestepped, grabbing the man's wrist mid-swing. With a precise torque and a brutal twist, he dislocated the elbow and swept the thug's legs in one clean motion.
The man crumpled with a cry.
The second thug raised a bat — and hesitated.
Victor's eyes locked onto his. Cold. Detached.
"Run," Victor whispered.
The man bolted.
The leader didn't. He raised the revolver with shaking hands — too slow.
Victor slammed a salvaged magnetic coil (half-charged) into the man's chest. The sudden pulse of unstable current arced through him like lightning. He screamed, convulsed, then collapsed.
Victor exhaled once.
> [Combat Completed: Bonus Objective Achieved]
— +3 Engineering XP
— +1 System Sync
[Perk Unlocked: "Tactical Execution"]
— +10% damage against stunned or distracted enemies
— Unlock: Passive ability to scan enemy weak points (Lv. 2+ required)
Jacob peeked out from behind the workbench, wide-eyed.
"…You're not normal."
Victor nodded.
"You're not afraid of them. Or guns. Or getting shot."
"I'm not afraid of the future either."
"…What are you?"
Victor paused, then knelt to Jacob's level.
"Someone who knows the rules of this world," he said softly, "and who will soon rewrite them."
---
Elsewhere
In a nondescript SHIELD facility under construction, a report lands on a desk belonging to Howard Stark.
Photos: A strange man disabling armed criminals with makeshift coils. A radiation signature unfamiliar to any known tech. Echoes of cosmic energy.
Stamped in red:
> [Subject: Unknown. Likely Meta or Enhanced.]
[Codename: "Doomsman" – Preliminary Only]
[Recommendation: Observe – DO NOT ENGAGE]