I woke up in an unfamiliar room. My entire body was bandaged and aching quite a bit. Looking around, I didn't see anything unusual, which was a relief: at least I hadn't been taken for experiments. And who were those people anyway? Were they hunting that guy and just took me along for the ride? And who was that psycho? I don't recall many werewolves in Marvel besides maybe Jameson's son. And what "end of the world" was he talking about? Sure, he's strong, but Thor or the Hulk would wipe the floor with him. Anyway, time to get out of here.
I applied a partial transformation and headed for the door. Listening closely, I caught the sound of footsteps. Definitely more than two people, and they were coming toward my room. I quickly stood in the blind spot of the corner and prepared for my escape.
"I'm telling you the truth! He's definitely his son! And he tried to kill him because the brat showed up demanding child support."
"Remy, you are a treasure trove of information, but considering the amount of gibberish you make up on the fly, do you really think anyone takes you as an ultimate authority?"
"You'll see for yourself and immediately realize they have common features, even if he turned into a wolf. Remember how Thomas was droning on about his 'honor' and 'blessing'? Turns out it's a family thing. I wouldn't be surprised if there's a badger-werewolf running around somewhere from another one of his exes. Here, look for yourself, isn't he the sp—"
I lunged, pinning the talker and pressing my claws to his throat.
"Where am I? And who are you people?"
"He really does look like him, ha," Shultz said, smiling at his friend's predicament.
"Kid, calm down, I promise to talk to Thomas about the child support, he'll pay up," Lebeau said, eyeing the claws nervously.
"What are you talking about? What child support?"
"Wait, you mean you weren't trying to kill each other over that?" Lebeau asked, surprised.
"That psycho just jumped me, screaming about some blessing and warriors."
"So you're not his son?!" Remy asked, shocked.
"NO!"
"Then why do you both turn into animals?" Remy asked, bewildered.
Great, what do I say now? Better stick to the old script.
"I'm a mutant."
"Yeah? Me too. Maybe you can let me go, brother, and we can talk peacefully?" Remy tried to de-escalate.
"Prove it."
He reached into his pocket, pulled out a playing card, and flicked it at the wall. It began to glow brightly and exploded on impact, shredding the wallpaper. That's when I remembered who knocked me out. It was Gambit.
"Well? Satisfied?" Gambit asked.
"Good enough."
"Herman, why were you just standing there doing nothing?" Gambit asked, looking annoyed at his comrade.
"I was interested to see if he'd finally finish you off so our suffering could end. As you can see, luck is not on my side," Herman replied with mock disappointment.
"Oh, come on, you're still sore about that evening? You lost your share; it could happen to anyone," Gambit said, giving Herman a wicked grin.
"How long was I out?"
"You've been unconscious for 16 hours. If there's one way you and Thomas are different, it's recovery. He was back on his feet in two hours, itching to finish your 'warrior' battle. Philippa had to knock him out a few times to keep him from running in here to finish the job," Herman answered calmly.
"Who are you people, anyway?"
"Mercenaries. You'll find out more from Philippa. She'll be back in an hour. Meanwhile, I'll go tell Thomas that nobody is coming for his 'magical' title—Remy barely got away in one piece when Thomas woke up and remembered who interrupted your duel." Herman quickly left the room.
"Is that what they call an unprovoked murder attempt now?" Look at him run. Apparently, he doesn't want to deal with that loose cannon either.
I sat at the table. To my left was Gambit, to my right was Herman, and across from me sat a dark-haired woman—evidently the leader of the squad. The "Warrior" sat on a sofa in the corner, glaring at me with pure resentment.
"So, what's your name?" Philippa asked, studying the teenager.
"Bruce Wayne." Sorry, not revealing my identity. For all I know, my father put a bounty on me—'Bring him home in one piece, but if you beat the crap out of him first, I won't mind.'
"Alright, Bruce. I've been briefed on the situation, and I apologize for Thomas and his actions. I saw your fight yesterday; you're a capable kid. I want to offer you some profitable work. Are you interested?" Zontag asked in a level tone.
So they just stood there and watched that psycho maul me?
"How profitable?"
"Missions vary, but pay starts at 80,000 and can go up to 200,000–300,000 per person."
She likely expected to see shock in my eyes at those numbers, but I'm set to make about $1,500,000 from the first run of my book. They're trying to lure me with crumbs. However... this could be great training. My sessions with Brooks stopped yielding fast level-ups. I need combat experience, and this job is perfect for that.
"I'm in."
"Then, Bruce, tell me what you can do. I need to know your capabilities," Philippa said, watching me closely.
"Well, you've seen the transformation. In that state, I'm stronger, faster, and my senses are sharper. I'm also a good shot and I can fight."
"You can show us your marksmanship later. For now, get to know the team. You have a week to recover before your test mission. I assume that's enough," Zontag said, standing up and leaving the room, leaving me with the others.
"Yeah, I'll be fine. Just keep that lunatic away from me."
"At this rate, we're going to turn into a traveling petting zoo," Shultz grumbled.
"If you'd seen them fight, you'd realize it would be the first and last time any 'visitors' touched the animals," Remy Etienne Lebeau, better known as Gambit, said with a smirk.
"What can you guys do?"
"I'm pretty handy with cards, as you've seen," Gambit replied.
"He's pretty handy at cheating at cards; that's about it," Herman corrected.
"Well, you've met our Cougar. By the way, while you're healing, think of a codename. I'm Gambit, this grumpy one is Shocker, our aggressive animal is Puma, and our leader is Arclight," Remy listed the team's aliases.
"I'll think about it." I talked with Gambit for a bit longer and began to understand Puma's hatred. He's from some ancient tribe where the transformation is passed only to the most worthy—it's a massive honor. Then he meets some random kid who looks exactly like him post-blessing and demonstrates powers that are 80% identical. It's like saving up for a car for years, finally buying it, and then finding out a dealership opened two blocks away giving the same car to the first ten people for free.
So, what do we have? As I asked, here's the adventure. Despite the rough start, I'm happy with how this turned out. What better way to level up my skills than dangerous battles? Plus, I can always use Teleportation to escape. Though why that idea didn't occur to me yesterday, I have no idea.
It took me three days to fully recover. Time Acceleration played a significant role, but Philippa was still surprised—it seems she doesn't often miscalculate. My shooting skills were rated well, though it seems they expect me to mostly use my beast form, like Puma.
"So, have you picked a codename?" Gambit asked with interest.
"Yes."
"And?"
"Werewolf."
"..."
My test assignment was the target they'd come to this city for. They claimed I was lucky the contract was so close. Since it was a test, I'd only get 40,000 for completion. How generous! And the role they picked for me was perfect. Me, Puma, and Arclight would act as the distraction, smashing buildings and killing guards, while Gambit and Shocker slipped in from the opposite side to steal something and blow up their labs. We're attacking some Arabic organization—its name in the underworld is so edgy: "The Secret Empire." I can't even. They're apparently responsible for 60% of explosive-related terrorist attacks.
The assault team will take an armored vehicle and ram the gates, while our "quiet" friends go in on foot. The briefing during the drive was very specific:
Make noise.
Smash stuff.
Kill.
Don't die (optional).
The first three points are basically Hulk's daily to-do list.
Ding!
Quest Received: "First Time"
You have killed before. Но killing from several hundred meters and killing someone standing right in front of you are completely different things. Prove to yourself and your associates that you are worth something. Complete the mission and return alive.
Reward: Depends on the integrity of your body after the mission.
Failure Penalty: Loss of chance to join the team, loss of respect, loss of limbs, death.
How sweet... they really laid out the prospects for me.
"We're approaching. Get ready," Arclight said.
Well, time to see what I'm made of.