Marcus stared at the glowing blue text.
Fifty points.
He had no idea what Merit Points actually bought, but in a world where Iron Man and mutants existed, he needed every advantage he could get.
Besides, she was just a scared kid right now.
He reached out and turned the deadbolt.
Click.
He pulled the door open.
Marie jumped back.
Her shoulders hunched up to her ears, and she watched his hands closely, like she expected him to swing at her.
Water dripped from her chin.
“Get in,” Marcus said.
He kept his voice low and calm.
“Before you freeze.”
She hesitated for a split second, then slipped past him.
She hugged the far wall, keeping as much space between them as possible in the narrow entryway.
Marcus closed the door and locked it.
The loud crashing of the storm outside turned into a dull, quiet hum.
A soft ping sounded in his head.
[Quest Complete. 50 Merit Points awarded.]
Marcus ignored the blue box for now.
He looked at Marie.
She stood awkwardly in the middle of the room, a puddle forming on the cheap wood floor beneath her boots.
Her teeth were still clicking together.
“I’ll get you a towel,” he said.
He walked into the tiny bathroom.
It smelled like old soap and damp drywall.
He grabbed a clean, faded green towel off the rack.
When he came back out, Marie hadn’t moved an inch.
She was staring at the floor.
He held out the towel.
He made sure to hold it by the very edge.
“Here.”
“Thank you,” she whispered.
She reached out to take it.
Her hands were pulled deep inside the sleeves of her leather jacket.
She grabbed the towel with the fabric of her sleeve, making sure not a single millimeter of her skin touched his fingers.
She knows, Marcus thought.
She already knows what happens if she touches someone.
Marie quickly dried her face and hair.
She wrapped the towel around her shoulders, pulling it tight like a blanket.
“I’m sorry,” she said.
She kept her eyes on her wet boots.
“I just… I saw the light under your door. Every other door in this hall was dark.”
“It’s fine,” Marcus lied.
He rubbed the back of his neck.
“I’m Marcus.”
“Marie,” she said again, her voice barely a breath.
Marcus pointed to the lumpy bed he had just woken up on.
“You can sit. I’m not going to hurt you.”
She walked over slowly and sat on the very edge of the mattress.
She looked tiny against the messy sheets.
Marcus took a step back, leaning against the peeling wallpaper near the door.
He needed space to think.
He focused on the blue screen still hovering in the corner of his vision.
Status, he thought, hoping it worked like a video game.
The screen shifted instantly.
[Host: Marcus Cole]
[Merit Points: 50]
[Bonded Heirs: 0/1]
The blue screen blinked, scrolling down to reveal new lines of text.
[Ways to earn Merit Points:]
[1. Quests and Achievements: Survive major events, complete System tasks, or alter the timeline.]
[2. Bond Influence: Form a bond with a target. Points are awarded based on your impact on their life. Changing their decisions, providing protection, and building trust increases Influence. Deeper bonds yield higher payouts.]
Reading the words twice, he blinked the glowing interface away.
Right.
Hiding in the background wasn’t an option.
Surviving meant getting involved.
Over by the muted TV, his new guest still hadn’t moved.
“Do you… have a phone?” she asked, voice shaking.
“I need to call my parents. Just to tell them I’m fine.”
A quick check of his pockets turned up nothing.
Scanning the small room, a thick, older-model cell phone and a worn brown wallet sat on a wooden desk.
Inside the wallet was a driver’s license.
Marcus Cole.
Age 19.
The address was right here in Queens.
Tucked behind the plastic were two crisp twenty-dollar bills.
Forty bucks.
Stuck in a world with mutant hunters and killer robots, and his total life savings barely covered a cab ride.
Grabbing the phone, he tossed it onto the bed.
It landed softly on the blanket beside her.
“Make it fast.” Crossing his arms, he leaned against the wall.
“If you’re running from someone, they might be able to track the signal.”
She froze.
The phone sat untouched on the sheets.
Slowly, she drew the towel tight against her neck, burying her hands deeper into the oversized sleeves.
The soaked, heavy leather clung to her frame, dripping steadily onto the floorboards.
“How do you know I’m running?” she whispered.
He kept his expression perfectly blank.
“People don’t knock on random doors in the pouring rain unless they are.”
She stared, glancing down at the phone before looking back up, making no move to grab it.
“I hurt someone.” The words cracked on the way out.
“A boy back home. I didn’t mean to. I just… kissed him, and something went wrong. He fell. He wouldn’t wake up.”
Wiping away a sudden tear, her hand retreated deep inside the oversized leather sleeve again.
“I’m dangerous,” she murmured to the floor.
“You should probably kick me out.”
“…”
“I’ll take my chances.” He nodded toward the mattress.
“Keep the towel. Take the bed tonight. I’ll take the floor.”
The mattress springs groaned as Marie carefully curled into a tight ball on top of the covers.
She kept her wet boots dangling off the edge, refusing to let go of the towel.
The quiet hum of the storm outside filled the room, and exhaustion was clearly catching up to her.
Marcus found a flat, yellowed pillow in a small closet and dropped it onto the floorboards near the door.
Sitting down with his back against the wall, he stared at the cracked ceiling.
Wait.
A massive detail suddenly clicked into place.
Charles Xavier.
The bald guy in the wheelchair had a giant metal room in his basement.
Cerebro.
It was a literal global GPS for mutants.
If a teenage girl just drained the life out of her boyfriend in Mississippi and ran all the way to Queens, that machine was definitely pinging right now.
The X-Men were probably already tracking her location.
Good.
Let them find her.
If a team of seasoned fighters showed up at his apartment, the absolute smartest move was to just open the door and step aside.
They had a secure mansion, high-tech jets, and people who actually understood mutant powers.
He had a damp room and exactly forty dollars.
Going with them was the best possible outcome for her.
And for him, it meant staying off the radar.
No mutant drama.
No government black-ops teams kicking his teeth in.
Except… if she left, his only chance at gaining Merit Points walked out the door with her.
The System made it clear.
No Bonded Heir meant no points.
And without points, his survivability rating stayed at 0.04%.
He would just be a regular, broke guy waiting to get crushed under a falling building when aliens inevitably invaded New York.
He dragged a hand down his face, letting out a heavy breath.
“Fuck it.”
He couldn’t worry about an imaginary rescue team right now.
He needed to focus on what was right in front of him.
System, he thought.
Open the store.
Show me what I can actually buy with fifty points.
A soft chime rang in his ears.
The blue interface snapped back into existence, glowing brightly in the dim room.
[System Shop Initialized]
[Current Balance: 50 Merit Points]
[System Shop — Level 1 Categories] [Current Balance: 50 Merit Points]
[1. Host Memory Integration]
– Downloads the complete memories, passwords, and basic muscle memory of the original Marcus Cole.
Removes the risk of being discovered as an imposter and reveals any hidden assets this body may possess.
Cost: 15 Merit Points
[2. Emergency Funds]
– Grants $5,000 USD in untraceable cash, spawned safely inside the Host’s current residence.
(System Note: Large wealth transfers are locked until higher Host levels to prevent S.H.I.E.L.D. or IRS algorithmic detection.) Cost: 25 Merit Points
[3. Street-Level Conditioning]
– Instills functional muscle memory for basic striking, grappling, and evasive footwork.
Equivalent to roughly one year of consistent boxing and self-defense training.
Does not grant superhuman strength or speed.
Cost: 50 Merit Points