2 Chapter 2: Where am I?
"Huh?"
I couldn't help but let out a noise at my sister's answer.
Ma's in a coma? Since when?
This was getting more and more confusing. I had so many questions like why the hell was Ma in a coma, why does everything look different or, even, what the fuck is going on. However, now was not the time. I saw that something was off, and I didn't want to set my sister off again. Besides, she would most likely send me to a psych ward instead of home. I better find out more about what's going on once we get home wherever that was.
I grabbed my head and faked a headache. Actually, it wasn't hard to do that since this whole situation is headache-inducing.
"S-Sorry Bhen. I just have a headache. I think I want to sleep," I replied to her and turned my head toward the window to stop any conversation.
I'm sorry Bhen, but I need to know what's going on when I don't have the memories of this Jay to answer your questions.
Sonia looked like she wanted to ask more, but she turned her head back on the road and continued driving. I continued to look outside. I could recognize the streets, but not some of the establishments. At one spot, there was supposed to be a pizza place where my family and I used to go, in my previous life, but here there is a grocery store. At another place, there was supposed to be a primary school, but, in its place, there was an Italian restaurant. Stuff like this popped out everywhere I looked. However, it was as if they were always there. It was then my mind began to connect the dots.
The whole world seemed the same, but at the same time different. I died and woke up in a different but familiar body. Did I wake up in a parallel dimension?
It would explain all these phenomena like the fact that my mom was in a coma or Sonia had a different car. Or the mere fact, that my body was different. I know scientists have discussed for a long time the possibility of alternate dimensions existing, the possibility of there being an infinite amount of universe with different variations in each and every one of them.
The Multiverse Theory.
*Ba-dump* *Ba-dump* *Ba-dump*
I could hear my heartbeat loudly as different emotions swirled inside of me after arriving at this conclusion. Oh shit! I've literally been isekaied. Although I didn't die due to a truck, I've essentially been transported into another world!
After ten more minutes in the car, we finally arrived in a familiar neighbourhood, in Queens, where our house is supposed to be. I swallowed my spit in nervousness and anticipation as we approached our home. Since this was a suburb, I could see we possessed a house. Was it the same house in my previous life or was it different? If Ma was in a coma for years, how did Sonia even afford a place like this? In my previous life, Ma was a lawyer, so it was easy to buy a two-story house with her money. There was also the fact that Ma had inherited some lands in India after her parents died. She later sold them at a high price when she married my father and moved to America where she invested some money in some companies with the help of an advisor. My father, on the other hand, was an electrical engineer. Therefore, money was not a huge problem in my previous life.
We soon arrived in the driveway of a normal-looking two-story house and I let out a silent sigh of relief. It looked the same on the outside. My sister didn't say a word and we went up the porch and to the door. After Sonia unlocked it, we entered. That's when I noticed the difference. The atmosphere felt different.
It felt… lonely.
I stood there at the entrance looking around. Sonia had already taken her shoes off and put the keys and jacket away. She then turned around and saw me looking around.
"What are you doing standing there? Take off your shoes."
Right. I took off my shoes and my jacket away before going further into the house. I looked around. The living room was sparse with only two sofas, an entertainment unit with a TV, and a small Hindu shrine in the corner of the room. My sister then called me,
"Jay, are you hungry? I know the doctor said you can't eat solid food for a few hours, but do you want anything to drink?" Sonia said.
As if it had listened to her question, my stomach rumbled in answer. The woman let out a gentle smile,
"Looks like your body answered for you. I'll pour you some tea" she said before suddenly turning serious.
"But we are going to have a talk soon, alright?"
I nodded. However, as she was about to enter the kitchen, I thought about my mom.
"Wait," I spoke.
Sonia stopped and turned around,
"What's up?"
I took a deep breath,
"Can we go see Ma?" I asked.
Sonia's expression turned morose, but quickly changed into a smile,
"Sure, we can. But not today."
"Why not?" I asked.
"Because you have to rest. You just came back from the hospital."
"Oh… okay."
Sonia nodded,
"Now come. Drink your tea in your room while I deal with work."
I raised an eyebrow,
"Work?"
Sonia shook her head,
"It doesn't matter. You know how it is."
I didn't, but I nodded, nonetheless. Now that I looked at her, she was wearing a uniform for some grocery store which she did not have in my previous life. Another change to note.
"Sorry."
Without even meaning to, the apology came out of my mouth. Sonia didn't say anything. I guess she was pretty upset and disappointed in this version of Jay. Although she tried to hide it, I saw her hands trembling slightly. It's not like I can fault her. According to what the doctor said, Sonia found me barely alive after swallowing too many anti-depressants and causing an overdose. I couldn't imagine being the person who witnessed their only family trying to kill themselves. It must've been horrifying. To be honest, I expected Sonia to blow up on me when we entered the house, but she was holding herself with surprising calmness. This Jay had tried to commit suicide at the age of fifteen. Fifteen fucking years old! He wasn't even an adult yet. He wasn't old enough to drive yet and he had a whole life ahead of him. I wanted to find out why he did it. What pushed him so far to literally take his own life? What sort of suffering was he subjected to feel that being dead was better than being alive? I know he was depressed which was evident due to the presence of antidepressants. Unfortunately, I didn't have his memories.
I tried to search for my memories, but I couldn't find anything about this life. I sighed. Maybe this whole soul-swap thing is still in process, and I'll gain this me's memories just like the stories I used to read.
I grabbed the cup of tea and slowly went upstairs. The house itself was the same, but the inside was not. Once I reached the second floor, I walked to a door which was supposed to lead to my room in my previous life. After opening it, I saw it was not my own. The arrangements looked different. Instinctively, I felt this was not my room. It felt more like my sister's. I closed the door and walked to another door and opened it. It was not mine either. However, this one felt like it had not been occupied for a long time.
'I suppose this room belongs to Ma.'
Closing the door, I arrived at the final bedroom door and opened it. I noticed the difference. This room felt like mine and at the same time didn't. There was a double-size bed and a work desk beside it. It had an open laptop and some books and medications all over it. It also didn't have anything related to swimming. Hell, there wasn't anything related to sports in this room. There was a library full of novels, manga, and comics. Looks like this version of me was probably a collector or shut-in.
I approached the desk and saw a frame with a photo of a younger me and Sonia with mom. I looked like I was around five years old, and Sonia looked like she was twelve. We were all smiling brightly in the photo in what looked like a parc.
Speaking of age, what's today's date and how old am I?
I found a Samsung smartphone on the desk and picked it up. Turning it on, I checked today's date.
[Sunday, May 15th, 2011
8:55 PM]
What? So I went into the past? No. That wouldn't explain the changes around me. I wanted to unlock the phone, but, unfortunately, I don't have this Jay's memories. I searched around the desk for any clues about my identity when I found a wallet. Picking it up, I opened it and looked inside. There I found what was supposed to be a school ID.
[Midtown High School
Name: Jay Patel
2686788
Student 2010-2011 Grade 10]
Midtown High School? Why does that sound so familiar? I'll check later. So anyway, I'm in grade 10 in high school. But I still don't know my birth date. I checked for other cards or paper as my ID on my desk since I didn't have my driver's license yet. Finally, I found my passport hidden in a drawer.
[Name: Patel
Given Name: Jay
Nationality: United States of America
Date of Birth: 02 June 1996
Sex: M
Place of Birth: Queens, NY, USA]
So that's my birthday, huh? That would make me fifteen years old now. In my previous life, my birthday was June 2nd, 2002, which made this Jay older than me.
I continued to sip my tea as I searched the room for any more information about this version of me. At the end of the hour, I found out that this version of me had an obsession with written entertainment as well as televised entertainment. So much that it felt like something was going on. As if he was trying to escape reality as much as possible. I found some of his school material and saw his grades.
Damn! This me was bad in studies. His highest mark this year was a B+ in English. And his lowest mark was a D in Physics. Although, it's not like I can say much myself since I was pretty much the same. In my last life, I was barely able to keep my grades up for my athlete's scholarship. I guess Jay Patel's inability to excel in academics is a multiversal thing.
I couldn't help but chuckle a little bit. I wanted to find out more information, but the laptop and phone had passwords which I had no knowledge of. There is also no biometric lock in the devices found in most phones back in 2011 since biometric security was not a thing back then unlike in 2022. I also didn't want to approach Sonia yet. The sister I knew was a woman who always maintained her calm, however, if pushed past her limits, she would explode and become really scary or release all of her emotions at once. If this Sonia was the same, I didn't want to set her off. I can search for more information later.
I finished drinking the tea and lay in bed. Looking at the ceiling, I thought back to what Sonia told me in the car.
Mom is in a coma, huh? I wonder how that happened. Does that mean Sonia raised me alone for the last three years? Now that I recall, although she seemed younger. She also looked older at the same time. I guess the exact word is worn out. She looked tired and stressed out. In my past life, Sonia would have already started on her career path as a lawyer. Wait? Did she go to university?
I continued to ponder on that when, suddenly, I was hit with an intense headache.
"Ngh. Shit." I grunted when the headache started. It felt like a hammer was pounding a chisel into my brain. However, that was not the end, the pain grew more and more intense. It was a miracle I didn't scream out loud and alert my sister. Unfortunately, the pain was too intense, and I passed out.
I opened my eyes and found myself looking at what looked like the vast space in the universe. I could see multiple conglomerations of stars forming constellations. They were constantly rotating around me like electrons around an atom's nucleus.
'Wait. Haven't I been here before?'
I looked down at myself and found myself in a vaguely humanoid-shaped glowing body. I remember now.
I remember now. I have seen this right after I had said my goodbyes. I didn't think much of it because… well… I died. However, something was odd. The glow of my body was more intense than the first time I had seen it. I had this feeling that I was full of energy. Suddenly, the glow intensified, and the energy burst out of me and shot forward toward the constellation in front of me. The line of energy then touched one of the stars. As soon as it did, I blacked out once more and woke up and looked at a familiar ceiling.
Suddenly, information began to forcefully download itself into my mind inducing another headache. I groaned and, after what felt like forever, it stopped, and I gasped for air.
"Huff! Huff! Huff! What the actual fuck?" I gasped before whispering.
I couldn't believe what happened just now. Just the fact that I somehow died and reincarnated was crazy enough, but this? This was a whole other level! I placed my hand in my pocket and retrieved a black skeleton key. I was in too much shock, and I just stared at the key that I knew for sure wasn't there before. For good measure, I wiped my glasses and stared at the key.
It didn't change anything.
I looked at the door of my room and saw that my sister wasn't there. Getting up from my bed, I walked to my closet and saw that there was a lock on it. I inserted the key and, to my surprise, it easily entered the lock as if it was made for it. I slowly turned the key to the right and opened the closet door.
"Oh Gods," I let out in Gujarati as I gazed at the sight before me.
What was supposed to be just a small closet was, in fact, a five-cubic-meter white room. There was no window. Just one large white cube. I entered the room and looked around in awe. I looked back to the closet door and only saw my bedroom on the other side. All this was only possible due to the skeleton key provided by my power.
That's right. Power as in superpower… I think. I'm not sure what else to call the Celestial Forge. I closed my eyes, and I could see the rotating constellations representing the Celestial Forge. My inner body, I decided to dub the glowing body thing, was not glowing anymore. The Celestial Forge was a power containing an agglomeration of powers, items, knowledge and more meant for crafting and inventing. Essentially, to make creations. Much more. Unfortunately, it's not like I can instantly access all that power. This is where the glowing body comes in. The glow was an energy that builds up over time. At random moments in my life, the energy will be expelled and shoot out to the constellation closest to me. However, sometimes, the closest constellation would be too far for the built-up energy. In that case, the energy would be kept and continue to build up until the next random moment.
The star that the energy reached belonged to a constellation called: Facilities: Mundane. This constellation contained technological facilities like the one I just got. The star I got was called the Workshop (Electronic). It came with three things: the workshop itself, the Entrance Hall and Access Key.
To begin with, the Access Key was the black skeleton key that I had found in my pocket, and it allowed me to access my workshop. But it was no ordinary key. I would never lose it since it would always be on my person. If I lose it, it will return to my pocket. I don't what would happen if I don't have a pocket, but it will return regardless. The second feature of this key was that it would work on any door. I could access my workshop from any door which had a lock even if it was not mine. Another feature was that no one can use it except for me. One could say it was "soul-bound" to me. This key was essentially a universal constant, therefore, be it destroyed, lost, or anything else, it would come back to me within a few seconds. Unfortunately, once I put the key into a door and open it, I wouldn't be able to close it. Therefore, I couldn't just hide in the Workshop whenever I want since the door won't close. Since it wouldn't close, it also won't stop any intruders unless I added some security.
The Entrance Hall was just like its name said: an entrance hall. It was a simple five-cubic-meter white cube with nothing else in it which led to my Workshop.
I turned around and found myself looking at a metal door. I quickly went to my bedroom and glanced outside to check if my sister wasn't coming. Seeing the coast is clear, I went by into the Workshop and walked up to the metal door. I opened it and saw the final item granted by the star: the Workshop (Electronics).
Inside the electronics workshop, I saw the walls were filled with tools. Screwdrivers, drills, soldering irons, hammers, multimeters, etc. I could see the large working table going from one wall to another and, on it, were many measuring tools. One could find this kind of workshop in high schools, in an overly enthusiastic dad's garage or even in engineering schools. Although I was never good at studies, I always found science fascinating so I couldn't help, but feel like an excited child during the Holi festival or a child receiving a Christmas gift. On one side of the room, lined up to the wall, were boxes filled with supplies such as copper, circuit boards, silicon, silver, lithium, gold-wait. Gold? I turned back to one of the boxes and I found strings upon strings of gold! I've never seen so much gold in my life. Unfortunately, one of the downsides of the shop was that I couldn't take any supplies out of the Workshop and into the world without having it being used in one of my creations. Therefore, I couldn't just take those strings and sell them to a nearby pawn shop or jewellery store.
I let the strings of gold down with a groan of disappointment and continued my exploration. I wanted to try using the tools and make something. Anything. Unfortunately, I didn't know how to use them. Hell, I knew next to nothing about building electronics. I barely finished high school in my last life.
But that was going to change. I had the motivation. Some god or entity or even sheer luck gave me this amazing power and it would be a shame to not use it. I could use it to change the world even! With the Celestial Forge, I could probably even help humanity by inventing or bringing new technology.
But why? Why did I get this opportunity? Why was I transported into the body of an alternate version of myself? Why was I connected to the Celestial Forge? Usually, in stories, that would mean that I would have to deal with some great destiny or conspiration that I had to take down. Bullshit like that those protagonists have to deal with. Now, I'm not delusional enough to think that I'm some sort of protagonist. In my past life, I could say I was the background character in everyone's lives. The only thing interesting about me was the fact that I was a swimmer. I had no social skills and therefore no social life or girlfriend. I was bad at studies and even most of the friends I had would disappear after the end of the school year. I was the kid who would only listen in the group of friends since most of the time they would talk about things I couldn't relate to except when I was with my swimming buddies. Buddies that I wouldn't see anymore.
I got out of the Workshop and closed the closet door and retrieved my key before going to the bed. I guess I should call it mine now. I lay on it and looked up at the ceiling.
I wonder how they are right now. Did they cremate my body? Are they doing well? I hope Ma and Sonia continue to live happily. I was ready to die and leave them. I was ready to let them go and, unexpectedly, I was given another chance at life.
Suddenly, I realized something. What if the world itself was not an ordinary one? What if I was transported into a supernatural world or something? Is that why I got the Celestial Forge? It's not like I can ask it since it's not sentient, or is it?
I got off the bed and checked the time.
9:30 PM.
I went downstairs and saw my sister passed out on the couch in the living room
'She must've been exhausted.'
I went to her room and grabbed a blanket. I knew this was not my sister, but at the same time, she was also my sister since she was an alternate version of Sonia from my past life. Therefore, I can't help, but show care for her even if I don't know how to interact with her. She was always there for me. Along with Ma, she always supported me in my swimming and studies. Although, she would always yell at me when she helped me with my studies.
I chuckled at the memory as I went to the living room and draped the blanket on her. Luckily, it didn't disturb her. I watched her sleep before going to my room. I then went to the bathroom and removed my clothes. Before I could hop into the shower, I saw myself in the mirror.
'Gods, man. What did you do to yourself?'
I saw my new body in the nude, and I was horrified. I had a huge belly and stretch marks right at my armpits and the side of my knee. My thighs looked bigger than some of the steel pipes I had seen in the Workshop, and they were full of fat. Now that I think about it, my breathing also seems weird. I touched my right thigh and I swear it jiggled like Jell-O.
Jiggled.
This won't do. No offence to any overweight people out there, love yourself and all, but this body was just not for me. I was a swimmer in my last life. The duality between my old body and this new body was insane. Fortunately, because I was a swimmer, I knew how to get in shape. I went into the shower and turned on the hot water and cleaned myself off with a sigh of relief. It had been so long that I took a proper shower. I truly missed it.
Almost thirty minutes later, I shut the water off and wrapped the towel around me before going to my bedroom. Just as I finished putting on my clothes, the Celestial Forge moved again. This time I found out about another Constellation called: Personal Reality. This was the constellation that would essentially add stuff to the Workshop. Unfortunately, I hadn't built enough energy to reach it therefore the energy had been reserved for the next time the Celestial Forge shifted.
I was about to head to bed when the door knocked,
"Jay, can I come in?" Sonia's voice could be heard on the other side making my heart skip a beat in panic.
I tried to remain calm as I prepared to pull on the little amount of acting skill I had and answered,
"Yeah."
The door opened and I saw my sister enter. She then sat on the bed before tapping on the spot to her left. I slowly walked up to her before sitting down on the spot and waiting for her to speak. The silence was excruciating as I could feel the sweat roll down my forehead. I didn't even do anything! Alas, it's not like I can say that since it would be too bizarre. She would probably try to get me to go see a psychologist or something.
Suddenly, I felt her hand grab my own. I looked at her and she was looking straight into my eyes.
"Why?" she asked. "Why did you try?"
I stared at her in silence trying to think of an answer. However, before I opened my mouth, Sonia continued to speak,
"Ever since the accident, Mom has fallen into a coma and our lives have changed. It's been hard on us. Really hard. I know that since I had to raise you for the last three years."
She paused and I continued to listen. This was an opportunity to learn about this family's history. She must've thought I would say something because she quickly continued to speak,
"And it's not your fault. You should know that. It was a freak accident that no child should witness experience."
Was I in the car with Ma when the accident happened?
"I know you blame yourself which led to your depression, but you should know that no one blames you at all," Sonia said.
Is that why this "me" took anti-depressants?
"Ever since, you wouldn't smile nor laugh. I tried anything to make you smile. You wouldn't eat or sleep. You were simply in a daze like a zombie. I'm no expert in mental health so I took you to a therapist so that they can help you.
Sonia looked down in anger,
"But it didn't work It didn't seem to work because you weren't improving. I tried multiple of them, but they all seemed to say one thing than contradict themselves or simply stall for time for us to pay more by making more appointments. It's all bullshit!"
This was the second time I heard her swear today.
"So, with the advice of an acquaintance, I took you to a psychiatrist and they prescribed you anti-depressants. At first, it seemed to work. You seemed more active, and you even smiled a few times. However, just like any drug, anti-depressants contain side effects. You had trouble exhibiting emotions. I heard they called it emotional blunting. I didn't know what to do at this point. Mom was in a coma, Dad is not with us anymore and I was just a twenty-one-year-old woman who just finished her undergraduate studies in law."
I simply stared at her. There was nothing I could say, but I felt the pain and suffering she had gone through in her voice. It seems like it was the same for this Jay.
"I then decided to earn money since we didn't have a stable income. There was also the fact that Mom didn't have insurance for when she fell into a coma therefore, we have to pay for her care fees. We had to sell most of our things to save money. It was a good thing mom had already paid for this house's mortgage otherwise we would have to move into an apartment. I started working two jobs while you continued to study."
She then smiled,
"Do you know how happy I was when you found yourself a hobby? It was the first time I would see you smile or even laugh when you read your novels and comics. I wanted you to keep smiling since it was one of the only things left in this miserable world that keeps taking from us." The woman said.
I was barely holding myself from tearing up. This was an alternate version of my sister, which basically meant she was my sister, describing a life I would never imagine living myself.
"I didn't care if you brought bad grades. I know Mom would disagree, but it's not like she's here."
Sonia let out a small laugh and continued,
"But I simply wanted you to live a happy childhood. A childhood that had been robbed too early."
Suddenly, tears began to spill and rolled down her cheeks,
"So why? Why did you try to kill yourself!? You're the only one left in this world for me, I wouldn't know what to do if you too were gone! You were improving! That's what I thought, but why? What went wrong? I know I wasn't always there for you, but I tried to make your life better. Was it school? Are you being bullied? Was it the trauma from the accident? Was it because I didn't try enough? Should I have earned more money to get you what you wanted!? Why didn't you tell me when something was wrong? Why? Is it something I wouldn't understand? Would I-"
"NO!"
The room went silent after I shouted. Sonia looked at me in shock.
I didn't know what took over me. I was supposed to only listen and piece things together and try to act a little. However, I couldn't bear to see her like this any longer. I may not know what this Jay was thinking, but I wasn't going to let Sonia start blaming herself when she was blameless. This Jay wasn't here anymore. I was here. This Sonia was now my sister and as her brother, I can't let her thinking continue like this.
'I'm gonna be living in your body now alternate me. Might as well make it mine.'
"No. It's not your fault. I…"
'Quick! Think of something!'
"I don't know."
'Nooooo!'
"I don't remember what went on in my head at that time."
I guess we were going with the classic "I forgot" excuse.
"What I do know is that you are not at fault You… are an amazing sister and I couldn't ask for more." I simply told her.
It was not a lie since they were my true feelings.
"Then why? What caused you to overdose?"
I shook my head,
"I don't know."
I looked into her eyes,
"What I do know is that it's not going to happen anymore."
Sonia stared at me with red eyes,
"Can you promise me?"
I nodded,
"I promise. And I'm going to change. I'm going to change for the better. I'm going to become something you wouldn't be ashamed of."
Sonia continued to give me a hard stare before softening up,
"You've changed."
"I guess when I was close to death, I had some sort of epiphany."
I then felt her arms wrap around me,
"And you are mistaken. I was never ashamed of you. I'm your bhen and you're my bhai and I will always support you."
I slowly brought my arms around her too. In my past life, my declining health prevented me from interacting properly with my family and it was one thing I missed a lot. Finally, I could do it even if it was an alternate sister. After a long hug, we separated.
"I don't know what to tell you, but I can tell whatever epiphany seemed to have changed you for the better. Well, I hope. Know that your sister will always love you and will continue to support you."
I nodded and smiled at her,
"Me too."
Sonia stared at me before walking up to the door,
"Tomorrow, you won't be going to school since the doctor said so. Therefore, you'll be resting. Is that understood?"
I nodded,
"Yeah."
Sonia gave a gentle smile,
"Alright. Good night, Jay."
"Good night, Sonia."
Sonia closed the bedroom door leaving me alone on the bed.
"And Jay?"
However, she popped her head into the room again,
"Yeah," I answered.
"I'm glad you stayed alive."
I simply nodded and Sonia turned the light off and closed the door. Suddenly, my head ached as an image popped into my head.
"Good night, Beta," an older woman's voice could be heard.
"Good night, Ma!" a younger version of myself could be heard saying.
I grabbed my head as I let out silent but heavy breaths
'What was that?'
Was that a flashback? Were those the memories of this version of Jay? If so, it meant the memories haven't completely disappeared which was a good thing. At least, it meant that I could regain my history.
I took off my glasses and put them on the nightstand before laying down on the bed. I looked up at the ceiling in the darkness before turning my head to the closet door as I remembered the Workshop.
'I don't know how I got the Celestial Forge, but I will not believe it to be some simple coincidence. Let's hope that in this life, I live a better and more fulfilling life.'
Little did I know that acquiring the Celestial Forge was just the beginning.
***
*BEEP-BEEP-BEEP-BEEP* *click*
I moved my hand from the alarm clock after turning off its annoying alarm and lay there. With a groan, I lifted myself off the bed and headed to the bathroom to wash myself up.
Fifteen minutes later, I was out of the bathroom and refreshed.
'Alright, Jay. Today's the first day of your new life.'
Looking at the time, I saw that it was 7:30 AM and I headed downstairs to the kitchen to make myself a small breakfast. However, on the dining table, I saw a plate of food along with a note. Taking the note, I read it.
[I woke up a little earlier than usual, so I had time to make you breakfast. Enjoy!
-Bhen]
I smiled and took the plate. It was a simple plate of pancakes with syrup with a glass of milk on the side. And the pancakes were still hot. Once seated, I took the remote of the TV in the living room. The dining room and the living room were together therefore the Tv is easily watchable. I searched for a news channel and put it on since this was going to be my first source of information since I arrived in this world before digging into the pancake. As I listened to the news, I planned what I would do about my body and studies.
"… As you may all know, Stark Expo 2011 has already started along with the exposition of many revolutionary inventions. The Expo has not been seen since the last Stark Expo in 1974. It has now been revived by the billionaire and CEO of Stark Industries Tony Stark or otherwise known as Ironman-"
*PFFFFTTTT*
The milk I was drinking made a beautiful spray into the air as I did a spit-take.
"Say what now?" I let out.
I turned and stare at the TV as the female anchor was speaking. The background looked filled with people moving around and looking excited.
'What the hell is she talking about? Stark Expo? Tony Stark? Ironman?'
Have I finally gone crazy? I continued to listen to the TV, but the woman was still talking about the Stark Expo which had already started apparently. There was footage last night, where the same anchor interviewed some tourists about their time at the Stark Expo.
I didn't even hear the glass of milk dropping to the floor and shattering as I stared at the TV in stunned silence.
"What the actual fuck? Is this a joke? Is this some sort of cosmic joke?"
I suddenly remembered my school card. I quickly ran to my room and took out the card from my wallet.
Midtown High School
My feet felt weak as I staggered toward the bed. I finally remembered why the school's name was familiar. I chalked it up to the returning memories, but I was wrong. So wrong.
Midtown High School. It was the school a certain superhero attended.
Midtown High School, Ironman, Stark Expo. All of these had one thing in common.
"Marvel. I'm in fucking Marvel."
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(Author's Note)
Perks gained:
Workshop (Personal Reality) (100 CP) - Repeatable
Each purchase of this adds to your Personal Reality, a Workshop needed to perform a specific type of craft, which is to be specified when a purchase is made. It comes with a basic set of tools and supplies. Good for fixing or creating all sorts of things, although any complex parts or nonstandard supplies will have to be brought in from outside. Additional purchases can add different types of Workshops to your Personal Reality or expand existing ones. Anything built in one of those workshops is fiat-backed to be restored to its original condition within 48 hours if damaged or destroyed.
Access Key (Personal Reality) (Free)
This is a special key which lets you access your Personal Reality and its contents.
When inserted into any lock on any door, the door opens to reveal a gateway into your Reality at a predetermined location within it. You are the only person who can take the key from the lock, the gateway remains open as long as the key is in the lock, and if key is ever lost or stolen you will find it in your pocket a few minutes later. You cannot close the door as long as you are inside the Personal Reality.
Entrance Hall (Personal Reality) (Free)
This is the room your Access Key opens a door to. It starts off as a 5-meter cube with blank white walls, floor, and ceiling, as some doors, one leading to the current Host Reality, the other into your Cosmic Warehouse, with additional doors leading to other extensions as these get added to your Personal Reality. Feel free to customize this Entrance Hall as you see fit. Additional Halls can, at your discretion, be linked only to certain keys or only to certain extensions. This allows you to have an entry hall just for skiing if you want.
Points banked: 100 points
