Canon Fodder

CHAPTER 394 ESPIONAGE

I scanned the crowd. The afternoon was packed with people streaming to and from the large skyscrapers around me. I used my Observation Haki to help find potential candidates. It was getting easier to sort through all the emotions of so many people. More natural to understand what ailed them as well.

One girl just started her period and was complaining about cramps, another girl 100 feet away was scared she was pregnant since she was late. One dude was worried about his boyfriend who didn’t say he loved him before he left work earlier in the day. One guy was thinking about his mistress. One girl was wondering why she couldn’t get anyone to look at her. Another guy was worried about a presentation. Another, another, so on, so forth. 

I felt like Mel Gibson in What a Woman Wants, but I could read men and women’s minds. It wasn’t always so cut and dry of course. Mostly just emotions, but still I could distinguish many of them. Leading me to eventually deciphering the story of everyone as Rayleigh was able to do. 

As I sat there I considered my other powers. I was getting a lot better at Nen. Expelling it out of my body and coating myself in condensed Nen so I could use Armament Haki at the same time. I was positive that the other me still hadn’t figured out that just using the powers wasn’t exactly making him stronger. He relied on chakra too much. 

My Timeflow was a power I was trying to incorporate more. Speeding myself up was a cool way to get a little extra done. After I removed the lag weakness I could use it every minute, and the time between uses was becoming shorter. 

My Spark was probably my favorite skill. I had practiced with it a lot when I got it at the hospital in Hero World. But I hadn’t needed to heal anyone yet. Talking to women’s bodies was it’s main use since I hadn’t been in too many fights. 

Fusion was still a power I didn’t think I had found all the tricks with. I could fuse similar materials together easily. Fuse dissimilar materials as well with a burst of the power, but I could only fuse and unfuse myself to dissimilar materials. I could also morph items a little, like deform a rock. Molding it like clay. 

The power was more than just fusing, and though I had been stuck to train with it for 6 months. I still hadn’t figured all the idiosyncrasies out. It was more like sculpting. Making things into what I imagined. I wanted to dig into it more, but for now completing quests was the important aspect. I studied my status screen as I waited. 

Name	Weston Walker
Current Quest:	Power cause
World 1:	Marvel
World 1 Quest:	Power cause
World 2:	Invincible
World 2 Quest:
Passive Skills:	Memory Meld
	Dead Man Walking
	Handicap	Dismiss
	Gemini
	World Lasting Physique
Summon:	N/A
Pet:	Matatabi - Level 6	Summon
1 Challenger Slot
Forms:	Viltrumite Physiology	2%
Usable Abilities:	Status Screen	Other
3 Challenger Slots	World Escape
	Berserker Mode
	Nen
	Inventory
	Spark*
	Bond
	Fusion
	Timeflow
Bonuses	Major Psychic Resistance
3 Challenger Slots	Minor Identity Theft Resistance
	Adaptability
	Minor Radiation Resistance
Items	Gantz Armor	Stored (25)
1 Challenger Slots	Item Choice
	Bonus Copy	(2)
Currency:	USD	$15,995

My current quest was to find what caused my Fusion power. My Viltrumite physiology hadn’t raised yet, but I hoped that the quest or something else would start to raise it. Despite being able to fly I hadn’t found any other cool powers of the form. I still hadn’t decided on what to use the Item Choice on. Since my Inventory could only contain lower tiered items, I would need to make the Item Choice worth it. I still hadn’t figured out who I wanted to use my Bonus Copies on either. I had thought Wolverine, but I wanted to wait. The world still rather easy. There were plenty of heroes out there, I just had to find them. 

I stopped looking at my screen as I noticed someone. Looking behind me he was my height, had my same unruly black hair, and was pretty handsome. He looked just like me. And he happened to be leaving the very place I was looking to enter. 

Jumping down from the lion statue I landed on the sidewalk and made my way over to him. Moving through the crowd I picked his pocket easily enough. Finding an Oscorp photo ID on him I remembered I didn’t have chakra or Genjutsu. 

“Fuck,” I said, turning around to follow him. “How am I supposed to knock this bitch out?” 

My look-alike continued on toward wherever his car was parked or the subway could pick him up. Oblivious to the danger he was in. He was leaving work, but I couldn’t risk him deciding to come back, or check for his badge. I tried to think for a bit but then just decided to hit him with the ol’ razzle dazzle. Charging my fist with my Spark I hit it into him. He yelled out, his body becoming rigid and he fell to the ground. 

No one really reacted. Most people grabbing their wallets to make sure this wasn’t a ploy to distract them for pickpockets to get their valuables. 

“Fucking New York,” I mumbled digging into my pocket. I pulled out the cell phone I bought the day before and called for an ambulance. 

Leaving the scene of the crime I moved toward Oscorp quickly. Grabbing a few wallets of the bystanders that had callously ignored the man collapsing on the ground I made a few grand. One especially rich guy has been in the crowd. 

I got to the front of Oscorp. Watching other people it was a simple badge-in system. My eyes on cameras I discreetly looked away from them as I passed through the weak security. Getting to the elevator I extended my Haki outward. Feeling each floor as the elevator took me up and up. 

The first few floors were rows of cubicles, then the next few floors, then more after that. I did sense someone banging who I assumed was their secretary in a supply closet, but they very easily could have been roleplaying. 

My Observation gave me a 360 degree view of everywhere. I was able to search rather quickly. I finally got to an area I thought were labs. Getting off the elevator most everyone had on a white lab coat. So I zapped someone and threw them in a closet to find more lab coats hanging inside. Cursing I put one on and threw a bunch on the body. 

Without my chakra my stealth work wasn’t the best. Nen was so versatile I needed to learn to transmute it into a shadow like my chakra could. For now I started a list of things to do as I continued inside. Moving through the halls the labs weren’t in glass walled areas like the movies. Enclosed in drywall or lead coated walls there were some interesting experiments going on at least. 

One was testing for different food toppings. Another was using blind studies to see how different people reacted to different textures of food. 

“Gotta get off the McDonalds floor,” I mumbled. I was interested in the superpower / animal experiments aisle. Not how to make your tastebuds not hate you. 

Getting back onto the elevator more people were streaming out of work. Getting off and on the elevators as more forests of cubicles surrounded me. As we got closer to interesting floors though the elevator stopped again and let on someone I knew. Or at least wanted to know. 

Tall, she wore a white lab coat that opened to reveal a shirt with a grunge rock band shirt and tight jeans. Pale white hair tied in a bun she was so beautiful she didn’t wear makeup, except for a deep red lipstick that was the only source of color on her face. 

I was fairly certain I knew who she was. And as the elevator stopped on another floor everyone got off but she and I. 

“I’m sorry, but are you Gwen Stacy?” I asked. 

She jerked, noticing me for the first time. She turned a smile on her lips as she gave me a questioning look. “Sorry, do I know you?”

“No, but I’ve heard a lot about you,” I said. I assumed with the lab coat she worked there. I was pretty sure that normally tracked with canon. Gwen Stacy was either some super genius or random hot girl. I guessed in my world she was the smart one. 

“You have? From who?” She asked. 

“Uh George?” I said some random name. 

“My dad?” 

“Uhhh different George,” I said. I picked the name at random, or subconsciously tied the name with her, I wasn’t sure. 

“Don’t know if I know any other-“

“Doesn’t matter. I was actually on my way to pitch an idea for a new product. I’d love your input,” I said. 

“Product? I’m just a lab assistant,” she said. 

“Does it matter? Sorry I’m like super nervous and got here way too early. I would love someone else’s opinion on if you think there is a market for this weapons grade suit I’ve been working on. I uh don’t mean to be talking a mile a minute and I know it’s random. But I would appreciate your opinion,” I said. Coming up with the lie on the fly I couldn’t help but get a little sidetracked. Besides being near Gwen would make it less likely that I would be found out. 

“I uh…was supposed to help guide some people,” she said. Chewing her lip. The elevator dinged and opened to her floor. “You think it will take long?”

“I doubt it. It’s what I like to call a super suit,” I admitted. Touching her shoulder I walked beside her as I spoke. “Utilizing microscopic nanobots-sorry not sure why I would have to say microscopic with nano bots, Like I said, nervous. Anyway, the suit reacts to minuscule changes in your body. Increasing strength nearly 10 fold.” 

“10 fold?!” She asked. “That’s crazy.”

“Right?” I asked. “What do you work on here?”

“I’m just a lab assistant. I intern with a friend of mine.”

“Cool,” I said. “I’m so-yeah I’ve been trying to get this interview for ages. And I was up all night perfecting the design. You mind um…trying it out?”

“And it’s tested?” She asked, skeptical. 

“Perfectly harmless. It’s so skin tight you could wear it under your clothes,” I said. “You uh want to try it? It’s pretty easy to use.”

She chewed her lip. But I could tell she was as inquisitive as I assumed. Her field or not, who didn’t want to try something that wasn’t on the market? 

“Where is it?” She asked. 

I moved my hand behind my back and pulled a Gantz suit out. The black skin-tight gear dangling in my hand she frowned but nodded. 

“There’s a bathroom…” she pointed down the hall and led the way. I couldn’t help but picture her in it. 

As she tried the suit on I felt a little more calm as I looked around. Gwen gave me legitimacy for being there. But I hadn’t forgotten my goal. Seeing someone move to a computer in a small cubby I focused my Observation on them. Sensing every keystroke I memorized their username and password and prepared to find somewhere to dig into their records. 

Before I could implement my new plan Gwen walked out of the changing room. She was wearing her lab coat and regular clothes but at her neck I could see the metal discs of the Gantz suit poking out.  

“It’s a little tight,” she noted with a frown. 

“You have a great figure,” I remarked. “Think you’re a little more top heavy than my model was.” I looked up from her chest and forced myself to blush and look away. “Sorry…professional inquisitive nature.”

“Sure,” she said, rolling her eyes but her Haki said she rather enjoyed the compliment. “Can’t believe you talked me into this.”

“Me either,” I said. “Now the testing part. Is there anything around here you couldn’t hope to pick up in a million years?”

“Uh I think so,” she said. Moving down the hall she stepped into a lab and pointed to a large centrifuge. A dome top it was about 2 feet wide. Some hoses around it the centrifuge had hoses hooked up to it and was on wheels. 

“Perfect,” I said. “Okay now, walk up to it and pick it up.” I moved over beside it. 

“That simple?” She asked, skeptical. 

“Yes and no,” I admitted. “The trick is to know you can pick it up. Grab it here and here. Picture that you’re picking up a…chair. Your mind and body know you can pick up a chair. Different muscles will activate than if you believe you couldn’t lift it. The suit does the rest.”

“You can’t be serious,” she said. 

“I am serious. Go on, try it,” I said. “No wait, don’t try. Do it.”

She frowned but stepped up anyway. Taking in slow breaths she looked at me. “Just have to believe I can do it?”

“That’s it,” I assured.

Her Haki was a mix of doubt but honestly a bit of hope. She must have been a scientist at heart. Taking her time she let the drama build until she jerked up and lifted it in a smooth motion. Then over corrected and threw it over her head. 

The centrifuge was about to land on her as she fell back, I moved forward and grabbed it. Maneuvering it away from hitting her the thing was a good 600 pounds. 

“Holy shit,” she said as it landed next to her. 

“Yeah, holy shit. You lift chairs like that?”

“No, it worked. I can’t believe it worked,” she said, getting up off the floor. 

“Told you it would. This time try it out with a little more belief and less force,” I said. She smiled but nodded, getting excited as she grabbed the handles on the centrifuge and lifted it easily. 

“How is this possible?”

“Take off the jacket and you’ll see,” I said. She did so. Lifting the centrifuge up again the suit’s arm veins bulged as she picked it up again. 

“These vein looking things are actually channels that follow the muscles in your body. You can’t see it but veins in your legs are bulging as well. The suit knows exactly which areas of the body to strengthen. Helping you keep balance. Nanobots are shooting through the suit. Strengthening the suit and your arms.”

“What are these discs?” She asked. Putting the machinery down. 

“Those take in air. You notice how you aren’t hot in the suit? A certain group of bots regulate airflow. Regulating temperature for you. They also act as exit points. The nanobots will also harden in spots you are about to be hit and absorb damage. Then those damaged bots exit the suit through the discs.”

“So you have to refill it?”

“No, the suit naturally makes them,” I said. “It takes a few days but there are specific repair bots in the suit that automatically manage replenishment and repair. I’m sure there’s a limit at some point. But I haven’t found it.”

“This is…amazing,” Gwen admitted. “I’ve never seen a suit like this. And you made it?”

“Well not so much made as found.”

“You found it?” She asked. “Where? How can you expect to sell it if you found it?”

“I didn’t say I found it on this planet,” I said, giving her a smile. “Trust me. No one on this planet has this suit.”

“So what? Now you’re an alien?” She asked. Rolling her eyes as she turned to study the suit. I shrugged and stepped away, letting her play with it. 

A computer off to the side I sat down and entered the username and password I noticed earlier. Digging through some files I looked up the shipping company that crashed into my parents car. There was a database with a mention of it but it referenced the replacement for that shipping company. I then dug through to find the routes the shipping methods frequented. 

There were dozens of warehouses that were visited throughout the city. Gwen started lifting the centrifuge over her head. More and more confident with the suit. I continued on. Trying to think of other ways I could narrow my search. 

Thinking back to the fatal road trip we had left Illinois. Then headed East. I was flown to Philadelphia so we were probably close to New York when the crash occurred. I added in another search for shipping routes that left the city. There were only 5 warehouses that handled that sort of thing. 

Writing the addresses down I stuffed them in my pocket as Gwen asked, “What are you doing?”

“Just checking my Facebook,” I said with a smile. I was surprised that I got my answer so easily. Then again Batman did this sort of thing all the time. Since the company used an intranet it was their own problem for not breaking the information up into different areas. 

“So what do you think?” I asked. “Think there’s a market for the suit?”

“Hell yeah,” Gwen said. “How much does it cost?”

“Each suit?” I thought back to Mei’s presentation. I was fairly certain she said the equivalent to, “$2,000. If it is mass produced. This one cost about $20,000.”

“$20 grand?” She asked, amazed as she looked to the black sleeves arms. 

“Yep,” I said. “And if you go into business with me you can have that one.”

“What?” She asked, doing her best Anne impression. 

“If you help me make them, I’ll give you that one. You can join my company and we can be billionaires,” I said. 

“I thought you were here to pitch this thing to Oscorp?”

“Eh, I changed my mind. This place is already established. They’re all rich as it is. This suit could make us millionaires, to start. There are plenty of applications for the suit. A leap forward in nano technology for the world and you could be at the ground floor, Gwen.”

“Why are you offering this to me?” She asked, getting a little scared. “You don’t even know me?”

“Ah but I’ve done a lot of research on you, Gwen Stacy,” I said. Leaning against the desk as I took my least threatening pose. My arms crossed I looked her up and down. 

Taking off my business jacket I rolled up my sleeves. “As you can see I’m not wearing one of those suits. So there is no reason to be scared. You’re 10 times stronger than me,” I lied. She calmed down a little realizing that the suit gave her a lot of the power. 

“I want to go into business with someone that enjoys the science. From what I see, you do. Top of your class. Hired to intern at one of the biggest military contractors in the city. I don’t want some board of directors telling me we should make the suit yellow so people aren’t as scared of it. I literally found the suit. I have no idea how it’s made. I want to work with someone that wants to find out.”

“Why don’t I just steal it?” She asked. “You don’t own it.”

“You could,” I said. “But I have more. You really think you can learn all there is to know by dissecting one? Also I can provide money for equipment. Money for you to quit this place and do your own research.”

“Why?” She asked. “Again, you don’t know me.”

“No, but I’d like to,” I admitted. “This doesn’t intrigue you? Fine. I can find someone else. But you Gwen, I think you could get the answer. You think power suits are the end goal? Hell no, I want to make it so these suits can help people walk again. There are so many applications. I want you to find them-“ 

I stopped talking as an alarm began to blare. “Fuck,” I mumbled. Assuming I had been caught. 

“That’s the contamination alarm,” Gwen said, running out the door. Going the opposite way of the elevator I decided to follow her. No one in sight, we ran into a room and the first thing I noticed was the spider printed on the inner door. 

Inside the room was an inner room with glass windows looking into it. Gwen and I ran to the window. Inside was a large glass case with spiderwebs all around it. 

“It escaped!” Gwen yelled looking into the case. The inner room had some white fog chemical spraying into it. “Peter’s in there!” She yelled. 

I looked down to see a passed out boy in a white lab coat. He was between the glass in front of Gwen and I and the glass of the spiderweb encrusted enclosure. 

Gwen moved to the door trying to open it. “The room is spraying poison in there. He could die.”

“What the hells in there?” I asked, trying to hide how upset I was that I missed my opportunity. 

“A spider…a very bad spider,” Gwen said. Her black suit veins popping as she tried to pull the door. The doorknob flew off. 

“Fuck!” She yelled, kicking the door. 

“Step aside,” I said, moving her. Channeling Nen, Haki, and my strength I kicked the door in with a smooth motion. Jumping inside I grabbed Peter and pulled us out of the room. I felt people running closer with my Observation Haki. Since I didn’t want to be caught I pulled him out into a hall and into the office opposite the spider room.  

Gwen was a bundle of nerves as she followed us out. “Oh my god, Peter. Wake up buddy,” she said as I set him down in front of a desk. When we were safe and out of sight I leaned over him. Searching him with my Observation Haki I was focused on the smallest details. Eventually I found it. 

Turning him over I found a small spider still latched onto his neck. I moved to squish it but it let go and it’s legs curled up as if dead. But it’s Spiritual Energy wasn’t that of a dead thing. More sleeping than anything. 

Standing up I found a beaker and cork stopper. Scooping the spider up I sealed it away for later. I wasn’t sure if the thing would die or live but having a radioactive spider in my inventory wasn’t that bad. I tried to throw it in my Inventory but it rejected it since there was living tissue. 

Cursing I put it in my pocket and moved back to Peter. Feeling a pulse I sensed him with my Spark. His nerves were aflame with excruciating pain. I rubbed my hands together. Sparks shooting out of the tips of my fingers. 

“What are you doing?” Gwen asked, stopping her crying to watch. 

“Saving him,” I said. “Clear!” I forced the electricity into him but instead of jolts of lightning that would cause pain I forced his body to heal. Telling it to fix the painful parts of him. The pain lessened as Peter’s body jerked up. 

“You’re killing him!” Gwen yelled. 

“Saving,” I clarified and did it again. Forcing his body to heal another section he shook and began to foam at the mouth. I continued on. Praying I was actually helping. 

Turning him over thin spiderwebs of electricity shot from my hands onto his back. He cried out in pain but every second his body healed exponentially, forced to do what I ordered it to. 

I studied him. His Spiritual Energy equalized and his lifeforce, though weak, was there. 

“I think he’s going to make it,” I said, turning him back around. 

“How can you know?”

“I’ve got some super powers,” I admitted. “Now what the hell is this thing?” I pulled the still comatose spider out from behind my back. 

“I don’t know. It’s from some old experiment,” Gwen admitted. She began to talk in quick bursts as she breathed heavily. “We were told it killed the last 3 people it bit. It’s been locked away ever since. Peter is a classmate of mine. We intern here. He was assigned to keep an eye on the tank but…”

“Fuck,” I said. Either I really had saved Peter’s life and the spider was useless to me, or Peter was special and would have survived anyway. I didn’t know the answer. 

Marvel World Quest 4.1:

Escape Oscorp with Peter Parker

Rewards:

Bonus Upgrade

I extended my Haki out. In the hallway in front of the lab the spider was supposed to be in, it was a madhouse. There were guards with guns pointing everywhere. 

“Double fuck,” I said. Standing up I looked at Gwen. “Gwen, I need to get out of here and I think I should take your friend with me.”

“What? He needs medical attention,” she said, moving for the door. “Oscorp can-“ I blocked her path. 

“Oscorp can suck my left nut. I did not come here today for any noble reasons. Oscorp did something bad to me. Something that didn’t make it to the news. No one even knew about it. Despite what you may think, it is not a good place. You really think that they’ll let your friend go? No, this spider changed him. Trust me, it’s one of my powers, I can tell. They will study him. And keep him under observation. At the least. I know for a fact they would much prefer a wrongful death lawsuit than some survivor saying they keep killer spiders in this place.”

“You can’t be serious,” she said, but her heart wasn’t in it. 

“I’ve tried not to lie to you yet,” I said. “I need you to distract the guards while I carry your friend out.”

“Why are you doing this?” She mumbled. Fear and tears in her eyes. “You don’t even know him, or me.”

“I know enough,” I said. “Do it. For your friend.”

She looked down to Peter who appeared to be sleeping. Gwen thought for a long time, biting her lip as her mind played events out. Cursing she nodded. Fixing her hair and clothes she said, “I’ll do my best.”  

I nodded. As she stepped out she got a guard's attention and was escorted away. Using my Observation Haki I studied the area outside. Eventually I found the right timing. Throwing Peter’s arm over my shoulder I made myself see the moves people would make them. 

Studying those in the hall all at once there was an opportunity I just had to find it. As it called to me I stepped out. Someone turning their head I dashed to behind them. 2 people walking out the door I used my Timeflow and dragged Peter along. Dodging this or that view I was 20 paces away and started walking normally. At the elevator I hit the lobby button. 

Seconds ticking away I studied everything around us. But I noticed more than a few guards far below on the lobby floor. Getting off on one of the cubicle floors I walked smoothly to a side window. Shooting some Nen at it the window busted and I jumped out. Carrying Peter with me we landed on the ground, no one the wiser as I joined the crowd and tried to figure out where the hell Queens was.