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Ryan.
No, not Ryan anymore.
For now, he was Jimmy.
He stared at the floating interface in front of him, thoroughly confused.
The skill descriptions made sense, Level one, fine, he could accept that.
But age one?
Was that not a little insulting?
And since when was Adamantium considered equipment?
Memory Imprinted Adamantium, no less, Was there a difference, or was the system just being dramatic?
Then there was the level issue.
Level one meant leveling up was possible, right?
So how exactly did that work?
Did he need to kill enemies? Grind experience? Punch rocks until something happened?
Before he could figure it out, his thoughts drifted back to what had just happened.
That messy, blood-soaked chaos.
Ryan frowned.
Come to think of it, he had not actually killed anyone yet.
As that realization settled in, the distant rumble of engines reached his ears.
A massive convoy was approaching.
Good, right on schedule.
A mechanical voice echoed in his head.
[Roulette system ready, Initiate draw now]
"No."
[Roulette system ready, Initiate draw now]
"I said no."
[Roulette system ready. Initiate draw now]
Ryan finally snapped.
"You just do not shut up, do you? I am not drawing."
He braced the machine gun against a rock, irritation clear in his voice.
This was a perfect ambush point. X-24 might have absurd regeneration, but Ryan still hated pain, and getting shot did not sound fun.
The system paused.
Then responded.
[Three refusals detected. Entering mandatory draw mode]
[Congratulations, Destination selected, Primary World, Marvel]
[Initiating forced dimensional transfer]
[First unanchored traversal detected]
[Please choose the release direction for spatial turbulence]
[Warning. Spatial turbulence has extreme destructive potential]
[Estimated impact radius exceeds one kilometer]
Ryan froze.
Marvel.
The real one.
The version without mutants.
"Well," he muttered, lips curling into a grin, "then let us give them a proper farewell."
"Straight ahead, release it forward."
Directly ahead was the path of the convoy hunting the mutants.
The moment the command registered, the air twisted.
A wave of gray, fractured distortion surged forward, shredding everything in its path. Vehicles, terrain, metal, and flesh were torn apart as if reality itself had been fed into a blender.
The sheer scale of it made Logan and the others turn their heads in shock.
"What the hell is that?" someone whispered.
"X-24," one of the children said quietly.
"What?" Logan stared, first at his own hands, then at the distant spatial storm.
"I once overheard something in the lab," the boy continued. "X-24 was never just a clone, There was more to him."
---
Ryan never heard the rest.
Ahead of him, a blue circular portal formed, eerily similar to something straight out of Diablo.
Without hesitation, he dove straight in.
The world spun.
It felt like being stuffed into a malfunctioning washing machine and turned up to maximum.
When he was finally spat back out, Ryan aka Jimmy dropped to one knee and dry-heaved.
A voice spoke nearby.
"There is water on the table."
Jimmy blindly grabbed a cup, took a gulp, and still managed to mumble, "Thanks."
Then the voice continued.
"Oh great, A huge guy dressed like a homeless mercenary, wants to tell me how you just appeared out of thin air?"
The speaker circled him, clearly unimpressed.
"Let me guess. That thing you are holding is an M2 heavy machine gun, A museum piece. Are you planning to throw it at someone?"
"Honestly, aside from the weight, that thing is useless."
The voice leaned closer.
"And trust me, big guy, if you pull the trigger, the recoil alone will turn you into salsa."
Then came a pause.
"Oh wow. And what is this? Two grease guns?"
He laughed.
"Where did you even find these? A landfill?"
"Hey, big guy," the voice kept going. "Even the idiots outside have better gear than you."
After finishing the water, Jimmy finally took a proper look around.
The man talking was tall and well-built, with messy hair paired with a carefully groomed beard, sarcasm pouring out of him nonstop.
At the moment, though, all he could do was talk, because he was being helped into a bulky metal suit by an older man with glasses and graying hair.
Jimmy squinted.
"So what is this supposed to be," he asked. "A walking tank?"
"Hey, hey," the man snapped. "I see that look, That was definitely disrespect."
"Tony, no time," the older man said urgently. "Hurry up, they have found us."
Outside, voices echoed through the cave.
"Yinsen, what are you doing? Stop this right now."
Tony waved it off. "Relax. We still have time."
He glanced at Jimmy. "Big guy, keep watch, If they rush in here, we are all getting turned into Swiss cheese."
That was when it clicked.
Jimmy finally understood where he was.
This was it.
The birth of Iron Man.
And the man helping Tony was Ho Yinsen.
Jimmy checked his weapons, chambered a round, and casually lifted the M2 heavy machine gun with one hand as if it weighed nothing.
He was just about to step out when Tony spoke again.
"Hold on, do not go yet, I rigged a little welcome present at the entrance. Once they trigger it, then you charge."
Tony eyed the weapon. "Also, you are really planning to use that thing? I strongly suggest you put it down and grab those two grease guns behind you instead."
Jimmy clenched his jaw.
Tony Stark.
He had admired this man once.
Meeting him in person made Jimmy want to stitch his mouth shut.
The nicknames alone were unbearable. Big guy, Scrap collector, Tomato paste. Beggar, Idiot, He had gone through half a dozen already.
"Yinsen," Tony said, "press F11 and tell me when the progress bar shows up, You should see it by now. Say something."
"I see it," Yinsen replied, "I see it."
"Good, now press Control plus I, then hit Enter."
"Enter."
The explosion rocked the cave.
Tony grinned. "Happy birthday, boys. I hope one of you is celebrating today, be a waste of good fireworks."
"Help me lock this in place. They are coming. It does not have to look good, just make it work, Big guy, maybe do something useful instead of standing there."
Even now, Tony still cared about aesthetics.
"They are coming," Yinsen said, sweat forming on his forehead.
Jimmy watched from the side, useless in this part. He had no idea how any of this machinery worked.
The noise outside grew louder, and even Tony started to sound tense.
"Make sure the cave is clear before we go out, Understood."
The progress bar barely passed fifty percent.
"We need more time," Yinsen said. "I will buy us some."
"Stick to the plan," Tony snapped. "Big guy, help me stop them. No. Wait. Do not go out yet."
Jimmy stood up.
"Hold on," he said calmly. "Doctor, combat is better left to professionals."
With that, he lifted the M2 and walked toward the entrance.
"Hey, Hey, You are seriously using the M2?" Tony shouted. "That recoil will shatter your bones."
"By the way, what is your name? If you die, I need something to put on the headstone. If you get shaken to death by the recoil, I am definitely adding an adjective in front of it."
Jimmy did not turn back.
"Jimmy Halstead," he replied. "And save the adjective for yourself, Tin Man."
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~Support with 200 PowerStones = 1 Bonus Chapter
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