The Amazon, Mixing The Ingredients and Changing

"God-fucking-dammit..." I whispered to myself, the humid air of the Amazon making me sweat buckets while every breath felt like I was swallowing a glass of water.

Right now, I was inches away from something that could kill me outright and instantly.

Was it a Jaguar? A massive python longer than two men and thicker than a bodybuilder's thighs? No. It was none of those things. In fact, it was an exceptionally small frog - somewhere around 4cm long and barely big enough to take up any space on my palm. So, why was it so deadly? It was a golden poison frog, a species of frog that was deadly enough that the poison on it's skin could kill 10 full-grown adult humans without much trouble.

Then, if it was so dangerous, why was I slowly and methodically scraping it's skin for the poison on top of it?

Because I needed it. It was an ingredient for something that would finally let me gain some real power in this world. You see, I'm a reincarnator. One day, I woke up as a child in an orphanage - I didn't die. I wasn't stabbed and left to bleed out somewhere--no, I just went to sleep one night and woke up as a small child.

...I could've died when I went to sleep, when I think about it like that, but what I'm trying to say is that it was a surprise when I woke up in the body of a child.

And who'd have guessed that I was in the same orphanage that Matthew Murdock aka Daredevil would one day turn up at? How did I know I was in the Marvel Cinematic Universe? One of the nuns spoke about how Tony Stark and his Father were hedonistic sinners. A quick look through the papers showed a young Robert Downey Jr. alongside a gaggle of super models who were fawning all over him.

The year was 1993 and the body I was in belonged to Jonathan Mallory, a 5-year-old orphan.

The next year, a blind kid showed up at the orphanage, just having lost his dad to ''natural'' causes. It didn't take a genius to figure out his dad had been murdered. I also knew he'd been murdered when I heard the dad's name - Jack Murdock. The blind kid, his son, was called Matthew Murdock. That...well, that just about confirmed where I was.

It wasn't exactly hard to befriend the kid. I just treated him like a normal person and not like he was made of glass just because he was blind.

A year later, an old blind guy showed up. Stick. He started training Matt, and through constantly asking him, he eventually got fed up and started teaching me as well. I knew the Chaste was a bit of a fucked thing to get myself mixed up with - they were barely any better than the Hand - but between two evils, I'd pick the lesser one. Especially if it meant gaining any sort of protection for the shit I knew was going to come in the future.

At first, Stick didn't hold any expectations. But guess what? This new body of mine...was seriously talented. Physically and comprehensively. I was just as naturally talented as Matt but where he had enhanced senses, I seemed to have an incredibly talented body.

As Stick once said to both Matt and I, there are some things you just can't teach. Matt's superhuman senses were something I'd never be able to have, and my extremely high natural athleticism was something Matt would never be able to match even if he tried and trained his hardest.

That's just how it is. It's why not everyone can make it as a professional athlete - some people have it, and some people don't.

Though I'm not saying Matt couldn't kick my ass - he definitely could -, I'm just saying we each held advantages that the other couldn't have. That didn't mean Matt didn't train his body and that I didn't train my senses, however.

Alas, things followed canon and about six years down the line Matt showed a little too much compassion and pissed Stick off. Haven't seen him since and I'm 23 now, so it'd been 11 years.

In those 11 years, I'd been busy, however, so I wasn't really too bothered by that.

Been traveling the world, progressing my abilities. Learning to fight better, survive better. But I also had a more important thing in kind. You see, ever since I woke up in this world, I'd had something in my mind: a list of ingredients. It was thousands of different ingredients. Each of them hard to get because of their rarity or the danger associated with them.

As soon as I got out of highschool, I was going around the world looking for these ingredients. I had no clue what they were for except for how to mix them, how to prepare them and how to use the resulting concoction.

Well, actually, that'd be a lie. I do know what the ingredients will make, somewhat. They will awaken something inside of me when taken together. A system of sorts. Whether that means a system where I can buy shit through points or a unique system of power, I have no clue. All I know is that it'll allow me to gain some real power.

I mean, knowing martial arts is cool and all...but up against the Hulk? I'd be squashed. Utterly and thoroughly.

There are a few other ways to gain power but they're either not around yet or it's waaaay too dangerous to get. Extremis doesn't exist yet and the Heart-Shaped Herb is damn near impossible to get to. So, I'm kinda just stuck gathering these ingredients.

With an audible click, golden poison frog was crossed off the mental list in my head. It did that whenever I'd collected enough of whatever I needed.

Clicking the cap on the tube I'd collected the poison into, it closed and I secured it in a impact resistant box on my belt and threw the piece of wood I'd used to scrap the poison off of the frog to the side as I turned around. Though as soon as I did turn around, I froze. About ten feet away from me, was a Jaguar just...looking at me.

Slowly - and I mean, SLOWLY - I moved my hand to my hip, pulling my pistol from it's holster. Cocking it, I flicked the safety off and pointed the gun up and pulled the trigger.

*BANG!*

The thunderous sound echoed through the rainforest, quickly followed by the flapping of wings as all sorts of exotic avians were spooked by the shot. The Jaguar across from me reared back, flinching as it snarled at me.

"Don't try it," I whispered, more to myself than to the Jaguar, as the creature across from me put a paw forward and leaned down like it was about to lunge.

Pointing the gun down toward the Jaguar, I pulled the trigger again and the bullet hit the ground in front of it's nearest paw. All the Jaguar's bravado and snarling stopped at this and in a flash, it turned around and sprinted off in large bounds. Seeing it'd worked, I let out a sigh - not because I was scared but because I didn't really want to kill an animal I didn't have to kill. It wasn't on the list either, so I'd rather just scare it off.

"Speaking off the list," I smiled to myself as I holstered the pistol, "The fucking thing is finally done!" I shouted to myself, pumping my fist in the air in a mini-celebration. Five years--that's how long I'd been traveling the world and searching for the ingredients I needed.

And now I was done.

Pulling out a satellite phone, I dialed a number and brought the phone up to my ear. It rang a few times before a man spoke to me in Portuguese, pretty much asking 'Who is it?'. Smiling, I replied, "Lucas, how quickly can you get me a plane ticket back to the states?" I asked in flawless Portuguese. The man replied and I felt my smile get bigger, "That's great, thanks, man. I'll see you sometime in the next week - you better be greeting me with some alcohol and some pretty ladies when I see ya!"

Laughing when he hung up the phone while mumbling something about me being a womanizer, I shook my head as I put my satellite phone back in it's holster.

Now, I needed to get out of the Amazon.

...Easier said than done, if I'm gonna be honest with you.

. . .

Poisons, precious metals, ground up bones, blood from multiple different predators and dangerous animals--all poured into one tube that was then put through a centrifuge, then it was filtered multiple times and then concentrated. This was done multiple times until I had a syringe full of a mysterious red liquid that seemed to go from light red to dark red in an unnatural cycle.

...It was like the liquid was alive.

Though I guess I should've expected this. Who knows what type of unknown reaction was taking place right now? Plus, there was a few grams of Vibranium in it. That metal had some weird effects on things.

Thinking about that Vibranium did leave a sour taste in my mouth though. Had to pay up 10,000 dollars just for an ounce of the stuff...not to mention the money went to that dickhead Klaue.

Alas, it was all for this moment.

I'd located a vein in my arm, I'd stuck the syringe into that vein...and now I was just sitting here, waiting for myself to inject it. Except it wasn't that easy. Thoughts, insecurities and worries entered my head, popping up and plaguing my mind.

'What if it doesn't work?' 'What if it kills me?' 'What if it turns me into some sort of monster?'

All very valid worries, honestly...but I couldn't let them stop me. Not now. Not after all the time I'd spent getting ready for this exact situation. Not after all the people I'd...

Slowly, I began to press the liquid into my vein through the syringe. A slight heat began to spread up my arm and toward my chest and as soon as I'd emptied the syringe into my arm...the heat was a little more than just 'slight'. It began to climb, going from warm to hot and from hot to boiling. I was quite sure I could feel and hear my blood boiling in my body.

Though I couldn't be 100% sure as my body seized up and began convulsing as I dropped to the floor. I was quite sure this was it and that I'd die...but it never came.

Sure, the pain was nightmarish but the darkness of death never came. I didn't even pass out.

I was just collapsed on the floor, convulsing as I felt like I was being cooked from the inside out.

Another thing that gave me confidence that this was working in it's intended way, was that something appeared in my vision who knows how long into whatever was happening to me.

[Gene Warrior System...activating...Beginning Gene Empowerment...]

Suddenly, my body stopped convulsing as I went ramrod straight. Every muscle in my body flexed and contracted at the same time, turning me into a statue. A statue undergoing an ungodly amount of pain. Slowly but surely, my body began to shake and convulse again as the heat kicked up to another level.

My clothes were covered in sweat by this point but I couldn't take them off - I couldn't control my body in the slightest right now.

[Gene Empowerment...finished...]

I felt a slither of hope that this was coming to an end, yet another box of text popped up and broke that hope like it was brittle ice.

[Activating Genetic Potential...Unlocking Genetic Limits...]

...I felt like I was in for a long night.

. . .

I don't know how long it took for the pain to be over, just that once it was over, I threw up everything in my stomach alongside a few clumps of black-ish blood.

Gasping for air, I was bent over on my hands and knees as I looked at the vomit and blood mixture.

"I'm...I'm alive?" I asked, genuinely confused. After a certain point, the pain genuinely did feel like it was killing me. So, to see myself alive and without that pain...well, it was both shocking situation and a good one. "I'm alive...!" I got out through my raw throat, my voice sounding hoarse as whatever had happened to my body made my everything feel sore and roughed up. Like I'd just been ganged up on by ten big dudes with baseball bats.

Taking my hands off the ground, I laboriously leaned back and looked up at the ceiling to the secured apartment I was in.

And I began to laugh.

Nothing crazy or deranged - I was just happy. Especially after I saw another box of text that proved it wasn't an hallucination brought on by the pain.

[Genetic Profile Full Awakened.]

[Show profile? Y/N]

Hesitantly, still thinking it might be a figment of my imagination at the back of my mind, I lifted a hand and pressed the 'Y' in the text box. The box disappeared and another, bigger box reappeared. I wasn't crazy, it would seem.

[Name: Jonathon Mallory]

[Age: 23]

[Height: 192cm]

[Weight: 114kg]

[Genetic Rating: S+]

[Genetic Rank: Third-Class Beginner Warrior]

[Genetic Abilities: Regeneration]

Instantly, I spotted something wrong. My height and weight. I was around 185cm and 88kg last time I checked - but this profile said I was 2-3 inches taller and over 25 kilos heavier.

Looking down at my jeans - though soaked in sweat - they were a little tight and a little too short. My ankle was definitely shown despite the jeans being completely pulled down. The loose fitting jeans had been transformed into tight fitting ones by the size gain as well.

"...Huh," I made my surprise vocal as I shakily stood up and looked at how my clothes were a bit too tight.

Taking off the t-shirt I was wearing, I looked down and saw the weight gain most definitely wasn't in fat. I was still shredded. Probably even more so than before, if my eyes weren't deceiving me. My muscles were lean and compact but I was by no means slender - it would be stunningly easy to see that I was muscular, even through clothes. I'd never been one of those slender pretty boys and I doubt I was gonna start now.

Shimmying off my jeans because they felt uncomfortable as hell as they constricted any and all blood flow to my lower leg and foot, I saw that all my muscles had been enhanced in size and not just my arms, upper body and abdomen.

Smirking at my internal joke, I stretched my legs a little in the impromptu lab I'd set up. As I walked back and forth, I felt...stronger. Much stronger. Full of energy as well.

Then I realized I'd seen something else weird, and now that I knew the status was accurate...

[Genetic Abilities: Regeneration]

I stared at the status box, the Genetic Ability part specifically. With narrowed eyes, I picked up a nearby scalpel and brought it to my hand. Carefully, I gave myself a light cut to the back of my hand. If it didn't heal like I thought it was going to, it wasn't in an inconvenient place that would cause any pain and it's not like I'm gonna die of blood loss from a cut there either.

Yet those thoughts were unnecessary because after a brief sting of pain...the cut just healed. It healed quickly enough that it didn't even have a chance to bleed any blood. In fact, it was actually pretty hard to cut into my hand and through my skin. It took more force than I thought it would.

Unsure what to do with this knowledge, I let out an uneasy laugh, "J-Jesus Christ, it actually worked," I began, just staring at my unwounded hand, "I actually have powers now," I whispered to myself, a smile working it's way across my face as I just leaned against the table in the room with all the machinery and supplies laid across it. "Question is," I mumbled to myself, "How do my powers work?" I questioned, unsure what my powers had to do with the system and what 'Beginner Warrior' an 'Third-Class' meant.

[Your powers come from your unlocked genetic potential. The limits placed on other humans no longer apply to you and through further physical training, you can progress your physique and genes even further.]

A textbox appeared and before I could even react, another one appeared underneath the first one.

[Warrior is what you are. More specifically, a Gene Warrior - a Warrior that relies on the strength of their genetics to empower themselves. 'Third-Class' is what level you are in relation to your stage, while 'Beginner' is what stage of Warrior you are. The stages are as follows: Beginner, Advanced, Expert, Master and Peak. Each of these stages are filled with three levels. Third-Class (Weakest), Second-Class (Middling) and First-Class (Strongest).]

[Do you have any further questions?]

"..." I was forced into dazed silence for a few seconds before I nodded to myself. These stages and levels...were like cultivation from a Xianxia. I could understand that. But there were some things in the status I didn't understand. "What is Genetic Rating?" I asked the system.

[Your Genetic Rating shows your potential and decides your strength at each level and stage. A Gene Warrior with a B-Rating will always be stronger than a Gene Warrior with a C-Rating. It also decides your speed at which you progress through the stages.]

"So...S+ is pretty good, I presume?"

[Yes. S+ is the highest rating. It shows that, genetically, you are the top of the line. For a Human, that is.]

Hearing this information, I felt a sigh of relief escape my lips - one I didn't even know I was holding in my chest. Taking in a few deep breaths, I felt another weight come off of my shoulders as I asked another question, "Would you happen to know my current level of strength? Or just my overall level of physical ability would do."

[At Third-Class Beginner, with an S+ Rating, you can lift 4 tons, run at 33m/s, your body is strong enough that wooden bats and metal pipes swung by normal people will hardly even hurt you, and your stamina is enough to outrun Olympic-level Long Distance runners and still have enough energy to continue running. Your physical parameters are all thoroughly superhuman.]

[Was this answer satisfactory?]

Reading through the textbox, I looked down at my hand and clenched my fist. The soreness was quickly disappearing...all that was left was a feeling of pure power and energy that seemed like it wouldn't run out.

Smiling, I ran a hand through my hair, "Yeah...that was a pretty good answer," I spoke to the system though it didn't speak back or signal me in anyway.

But that was okay. I was feeling so good after finally getting powers.

And if this is how strong I was now, I could only imagine how massively powerful I'd be in the future. Though, for now, I was gonna go and rock my way through New York city. I had a full year before the Incident happens and the Chitauri attack the city, so I might as well make the most of the night I gained superpowers because the rest of the year is gonna be spend working myself to the bone to get stronger.