C05 - Reflection.

'Inner dialogue/thoughts'

"Normal dialogue"

[System]

[Diary entries]

(Word Count: 1,978)

~ With Luke, in his apartment in Manhattan ~

[Congratulations host for obtaining the initial mastery of Water Manipulation.]

'Only initial mastery? That's practically saying that I obtained a beginner level skill! Where is the justice?! System?! You promised me great rewards! . . . Fine remain quiet then, be that way. Since there are only 3 current holders and the highest trust rating is only fifty-seven percent, I guess I can forgive you, system. Still, this is a good starting point.' Upon looking at the system prompt, Luke did not know how to feel. On the one hand, he could end up on the route of one of his favourite anime characters in his original world, Tobirama Senju. But on the other, he could also end up as Aquaman.

Luke glanced at the cup of water in front of him and decided to test out his newfound ability.'Water style: Swirling sphere.' Luke thought while clasping his hands together and slowly moving them apart. Of course he did not need to say that, but he really did not want to end up like Aquaman.

Ever so gently, the water began converging into a small sphere on Luke's palm. 'I see, along with the rewards, it appears that the system also imparts the appropriate experience and knowledge of the abilities. Thank god it's not the Aquaman route.' Luke breathed a sigh of relief when he received the knowledge of how to use his abilities. He continued playing with the sphere, changing it into various shapes and sizes with the help of his imagination. He settled on an image of an arrow for the sphere to take the shape of and gently flicked his hands towards a wall. In an instant, the water arrow darted towards the wall and slightly penetrated into it. Luckily for Luke, the penetration was not too deep as he would not be able to explain the sudden hole.

'Alright, the ability is based of action and intent. I need to create an action in order to use my ability, and the power, speed, durability, and the likes are dependent on the intent that I have. Obviously, there are some glaring weaknesses. For example, I will need an existing source of water in order to use my ability as I am unable to create water just like that. Furthermore, I am fairly certain that even if I had willed the arrow in an instance to be of max power, durability, and speed, it will only be able to penetrate at the most one wall. This is due to the actual composition of water against the object it is interacting with. However, if I had willed the water to be like a tiny jet stream and based on the force that can be applied, I would be able to do more damage in this way. The only limitation to my intent is that I would have to battle the intent of others, and not the intent of water itself. This means that if I had tried to use water against someone like Captain America who possesses a strong will, he could win me out and stop me from using these abilities. But this is only on the condition that the other person is aware of this limitation, which they will never be until it becomes obvious.' Concluding his final thoughts on his ability, Luke nodded in satisfaction. 'And if all else fails, one should realize that the average adult body is made of seventy percent water. Not that I would do anything to any innocents of course.'

(Editor's note 1)

Staring at his diary creation menu, Luke sat in thought for a moment. 'How can I increase the trust rating further? Wanda is the easiest, but for the other two. Hmmm, maybe I should add more depth to my supposed identity? Should I also tell them where I am so that they can find me sooner? I could also start hinting at personal relationships with Natasha and Fury. Of course, I would also have to subtly hint at the fact that S.H.I.E.L.D had been compromised. After all, I do not want to be put on the radar of the snake due to my relationship with Fury.' After a while, Luke began writing in the diary.

~ With Fury and Natasha, inside Fury's office in S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters ~

Natasha was currently flipping through the pages of the diary to read through the contents in order not to miss anything of note. Suddenly, she noticed that the second entry was being written and this surprised her. Not too long ago, she had just finalized her plan of action with Fury, and in a matter of a few hours, the diary is being updated once again.

"Sir, the diary is being updated." Natasha informed. Upon hearing this, Fury took out his own copy and began reading through the entry.

[I've been stuck on this world for almost two months now. Originally, I had thought that through the passage of time, I would be able to gradually forget the world that I came from. But walking down the streets of New York City, the memories of my world kept replaying in my mind. If only I knew about the intricacies of parallel universes, I would have done anything to get back home. But even if I could, my world is gone now. I am the last survivor.]

Reading through the beginning of the entry, Fury and Natasha could only feel empathy towards Luke's situation. After waiting a short period of time to set the atmosphere, Luke gradually carried on writing.

[Maybe. Maybe me being the lone survivor is a sign. A sign that I should live on and protect this world instead. To carry on our legacy as protectors and to prevent a similar disaster from happening. . . But I'm tired. On my world, I had been an Avenger for over ten years. Called upon many times in the face of danger and global destruction. After I've lost Wanda, I can't seem to find the fire that I had once possessed. Right now, I just want to be a normal person. To grief in silence. Instead of protecting this world, maybe this is a sign from a higher power – I have endured enough suffering, this time, I can finally rest.]

At this admission, Fury could only sigh in helplessness. He had wanted to bring Luke in, however, he also understood that Luke had lost enough and deserved his rest. As for Natasha, she could only feel a kindred spirit in Luke for she too had lost everything once, yet here she stood with new hopes and purpose in life. 

~ With Wanda ~

Wanda was on her flat bed reading through the parts of her supposed life with Luke and about the vague mentions of Pietro. When suddenly, she noticed that the diary was being updated. She had initially felt empathy for his situation, but after reading about his honest feelings, Wanda had unknowingly begun to shed tears for Luke. Wanda was still young and impressionable. This was a hero who had given his all, yet still fell short. She felt that the world was being unfair to him.

[But I can't do it! Every night, our final moments kept replaying like a nightmare as I slept. And even as I knew I was dreaming, I still tried looking for a way to get us out of that desperate situation. Even though I'm tired, I know that I can't stop here. Not when they exist in this world too!]

[Should I contact Fury and inform him of the future dangers of this world? He was my boss in my old world, and I can trust my life to him, as he did his to me. No, not yet. I spent these last two months searching for my counterpart. Yet somehow, he does not exist here. Some things may be different from the world I know. So, it's not yet the time to reveal myself to this world. Especially since even Fury as the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. is unaware that his organization is no longer the organization that it was created for. The S.H.I.E.L.D. as it is now, only Fury, Hill, Coulson, Natasha, Clint, and Sharon can be trusted. Everyone else is a security risk.]

~ With Fury and Natasha ~

Alarm bells were ringing in both Fury and Natasha's mind. What did Luke mean? Was S.H.I.E.L.D. compromised? If so, how bad was it? Fury's mind was working overtime in analysing that statement, yet he could not come to a conclusion.

[Furthermore, Stark hasn't been kidnapped and he hasn't become Iron Man yet. That means I still have time to rest and recover. Hah, I get to do both it seems. I get to have my rest for now. And once things start to get real, I'll be ready.]

'Kidnapped? Why is this the first that I've heard of this.' Thought Fury.

Fury raised his hand when he noticed that Natasha was about to say something. Under Natasha's gaze, Fury reached out and pressed a hidden button under his table. Unbeknownst to Natasha, all electronics within the room was forcibly disabled and the room began emitting signal waves that disrupted any external surveillance devices from peeking or listening into the room. This had been one of Fury's ultimate secrecy contingent, of which only he and Agent Hill knew of. And now, Natasha had been included into this small list of people.

"Agent Romanoff, correct me if I'm mistaken, but don't we have two teams currently keeping an eye on Tony Stark and the people around him?" Fury asked to which Natasha simply nodded affirmative. "Then why is this the first that I've heard about a supposed kidnapping of a high value target such as himself? And from the way the diary was written, the kidnapping is going to happen not too long from now." Fury stated.

Not receiving a reply from Natasha, Fury gave his order. "I want the teams working double time. We will not rest until we figure out who and why someone is targeting Mr Stark, aside from the fact that he is a Billionaire genius. No, it seems that this kidnapping is not so simple."

- End of chapter 05 - 

Editor's note 1: This entire explanation on his water manipulation ability is fully made up by yours truly. In the original MTL, I felt like his abilities were kind of lacklustre and was left with a GLARINGLY obvious OP hidden ability. The ability to manipulate the water content of other living beings. So, to stop this notion from happening easily against someone like Thanos or Kang, I came up with the intent limitation. Bear in mind, this limitation will NOT be revealed even to Wanda, and the only time the enemy will be able to figure this out is if the enemy has a strong will and Luke is trying to manipulate the water in their body. This was the only way I could see to stop this OP ability from taking place in important battles in the future, no matter how stupid it the limitation might seem.

Editor's general note: The next chapter will focus more on Wanda and building her relationship through the content in the diary! But wow! What a chapter and my longest one yet! This took me a long time to edit and is basically almost 70% different from the original chapter 5 of the MTL, and I can only hope that it's for the better! If you like this version, then don't you think that I maybe deserve some cookies :D? This Takodachi needs his daily dose of WAH!