The afternoon of December 6, 1991, was quiet on the Rambeau farm.
Sunlight streamed through the living room windows as eleven-month-old Max sat on a playmat, dutifully pretending to be fascinated by a set of brightly colored wooden blocks.
Monica was at school, and Maria was in the kitchen, humming softly to the radio while preparing lunch.
Max had just stacked a red block on top of a blue one when a sharp, crystalline *ping* echoed inside his mind.
> **[SYSTEM ALERT]**
> *Sufficient Karma accumulated through positive familial bonds.
Spiritual-to-physical adaptation accelerated.*
> *System unlocking ahead of schedule.
Powers are now ONLINE.*
>
Max dropped the wooden block.
He blinked, a wave of profound relief washing over him.
He hadn’t even reached his first birthday, but the agonizing wait was finally over.
With a simple, instinctual thought, he summoned his status panel.
Unlike the sprawling, math-heavy interfaces he had read about in past lives, this one was sleek, minimalist, and straight to the point:
> **Name:** Max Rambeau (James Carter)
> **Age:** 11 months
> **Mana:** 5000/5000
> **[Skills Unlocked]**
> * Minor Healing
> * Resurrection
> * Shadowkhan Summoning
> * Shadow Dimension
> * Mana Heart
> * Body Modification / Strengthening
> * Crowbar Wielding
> * Gamer’s Mind
> * Gamer’s Body
> * Lumos
> * Alohomora (Lockpicking)
> ***Note from ROB:*** *Skills have been modified and calibrated to fit the fundamental laws and cosmic hierarchy of your current universe.*
>
Max mentally prodded the skills, watching as detailed descriptions unfurled in his mind’s eye.
**Minor Healing:** *Restores physical damage by infusing the target with Mana.
Effectiveness scales with the amount of Mana spent.*
**Resurrection:** *Returns a soul to its body, provided the soul has not yet dissipated into the afterlife.
The cost of this spell is paid using the accumulated Karma of the deceased.
If the target lived a life devoid of Karma, they cannot be resurrected again.
The Caster may choose to offset the target’s Karma cost by spending their own.*
Max read the description twice, a profound sense of gratitude aimed at the ROB.
The omnipotent being had genuinely looked out for him.
In the Marvel Universe, bringing the dead back to life was a surefire way to paint a massive cosmic target on your back.
The entity known as Death, the cosmic abstract Eternity, and various Hell Lords like Mephisto did not take kindly to mortals stealing their property.
By linking the cost to personal Karma rather than standard mana, the ROB had created a universal loophole.
Still, Max made a firm vow: he would never use this ability recklessly.
It would be reserved strictly for Maria, Monica, and whoever else managed to earn his absolute trust.
He moved on to his darker powers.
**Shadowkhan Summoning:** *Currently limited to the standard Ninja form.
The strength, speed, and numbers of the Shadowkhan scale directly with the growth and strengthening of the Shadow Dimension.*
**Shadow Dimension:** *An exclusive, pocket reality bound to the user’s soul.
Firmly shielded against the probing of all Cosmic Entities, Skyfathers, and Hell Lords.
The Shadowkhan utilize this space for instant transit.*
Max’s infant eyes widened.
His brilliant, adult mind immediately connected the dots between *Resurrection* and the *Shadow Dimension*.
If he ever had to resurrect someone and accidentally drew the ire of Mephisto or Death, he could theoretically pull the resurrected person into the Shadow Dimension.
The cosmic entities wouldn’t be able to sense them.
It was the ultimate supernatural safehouse.
Next were his augmentations.
**Mana Heart:** *Generates and stores magical energy.
Grows explosively alongside the physical maturation of the user’s body with no defined upper limit.*
**Body Modification (Demonic Possession Treatment):** *Derived from Cid Kagenou.
Allows the user to manipulate magic and bodily tissues to safely cure magical afflictions, forcefully mutate/strengthen their own body, and safely enhance the physical capabilities of others without risk of complication.*
Max grinned, displaying his handful of baby teeth.
The MCU was a dangerous place for ordinary humans, but Maria and Monica wouldn’t be ordinary for long.
Once he figured out how to control it properly, he was going to buff his adoptive mother and sister into absolute powerhouses.
And then, there was the strangest skill on the list.
**Crowbar Wielding:** *Grants absolute, masterful proficiency in the use of a standard metal crowbar in both lethal combat and structural dismantling.*
Max was momentarily speechless.
He let out a breathless, baby giggle.
Of course, the ROB had included Cid Kagenou’s ridiculous signature weapon skill.
He couldn’t wait until he grew up and unlocked his proper swordsmanship.
Once he figured out how to cast *I AM ATOMIC*, the world wasn’t going to know what hit it.
Finally, he checked his passive defenses.
**Gamer’s Mind:** *Grants absolute immunity to telepathic probing, mental domination, illusionary manipulation, and spiritual possession.*
**Gamer’s Body:** *Prevents death via blood loss, physical trauma, poison, or organ failure so long as the user retains a sliver of HP.
Additionally, any blood, tissue, or DNA separated from the user’s body immediately loses all anomalous properties.
Your powers cannot be cloned, replicated, or stolen by science or magic.*
Max released a long exhale, his tiny shoulders dropping with relief.
In a world with telepaths like Charles Xavier and cloning-obsessed organizations like HYDRA and the Weapon X program, these two passives were arguably more valuable than his Shadowkhan.
He could bleed on a battlefield, and no evil scientist could scrape up his DNA to create a knock-off Superman.
He finished reviewing his utility spells—**Lumos** for wandless light and **Alohomora** to bypass any lock—and closed the panel.
Sitting on his playmat, surrounded by wooden blocks, eleven-month-old Max Rambeau felt the immense, thrumming power of the Mana Heart beating in his chest.
The shadows in the corners of the living room seemed to deepen, whispering greetings to their newly awakened master.
His powers were online.
And he had a lot of work to do.