The world slammed back into existence with a brutal force. Agony. A searing throb radiated from Alex's skull, pulsing in time with a frantic heartbeat that wasn't entirely his own. His lungs burned, drawing in air that tasted sterile and sharp, laced with the reek of antiseptic and something metallic.
'blood?'
His eyelids felt glued shut. He fought them open, blinking against the assault of blinding light.
'Where?'
He looked around with his eyes, blurred shapes swarming into focus. A clear white ceiling. The rhythmic beep-beep-beep of a machine nearby. Panic clawed its way up his throat. This wasn't the rain-slicked NY street. His memories were coming back to him, yet it felt incomplete.
'Mission compromised... fleeing from the ambush... sprinting through the street... desperate turn around a blind corner... then-
The truck.
That goddamn truck, driving on the wrong side of the road. No time. No escape. Just the world-shattering impact, the sensation of weightlessness, then the brutal embrace of darkness.
'Alex.' That was his name. He had been the best. A ghost in the underworld. A blade in the shadows. Until he wasn't. Until his last desperate escape led him around a blind corner, straight into the path of an oncoming truck that was clearly on the wrong side of the road and erased him.
Until now.
[Supreme System Activation Complete]
A voice in his head that wasn't his own. It felt cold. Mechanical. Ancient. Vibrating with arrogance that felt etched into the fabric of reality itself.
'What the hell?! Who's there?' Alex wanted to shout, yet no voice came out of his mouth. His instincts as an assassin kicked in, urging him to defend himself, but his body felt heavy and unresponsive. He tried to move, only to be rewarded with fresh waves of pain radiating from his ribs and head.
[Cease struggling, Host. Your current physical state is sub-optimal. Your panic is inefficient.]
The voice sounded arrogant but also dismissive. Alex gritted his teeth, the effort sending another wave of pain. He focused on his surroundings- the IV drip feeding into his arm, the stiff sheets, the generic decor of the room. This didn't feel like a black site. This was just a hospital, but the technology felt subtly... off.
[Analysis of Host's cognitive dissonance complete. Integration of residual soul imprints at 87%. Proceeding with Orientation Protocol.]
More images began flooding his mind, clearer than his own. A lavish modern mansion. Men and women in tactical gear adorned with a stylized 'k' emblem. A powerful figure with a dignified face, an older version of the reflection Alex glimpsed fleetingly in the chrome rail of the hospital bed- Marcus Kane. His father. 'dead.' It sparked a surge of rage and sadness within him. It felt like his own, yet it wasn't.
This body- His name is Alexander Kane. Sole heir to Marcus Kane, who was the CEO of Kane International Security Solutions. Marcus and his force were ambushed, and Alexander saw him get killed. He was also wounded but was saved and brought to the hospital.
'What is happening? What are these memories? Whose emotions are these?' He was confused.
[Your original organic vessel terminated. Your soul exhibited sufficient... tenacity and potential. It was retrieved and integrated into this compatible secondary vessel: Alexander Kane, age 21.]
The cold declaration hit him hard. Reincarnation? Soul retrieval? It sounded insane. Yet, the memories of Alexander felt real, seeping into his own. The grief for a father he'd never known, the weight of a legacy he hadn't asked for, the blankness of the attack that killed Marcus and nearly... no, truly killed the previous owner of this body.
'Why?' Alex asked the intrusive entity. 'Why me?"
[The Multiverse is vast, littered with discarded potential. This universe possesses a unique energy that the system requires. Your particular skillset and psychological profile were deemed marginally adequate for the challenges from this chaotic universe. The system used considerable energy to retrieve your soul. Consider it a promotion, Host. From a minor player on a mundane stage to a potential force within the Marvel Universe.]
Marvel Universe? The name echoed in his mind—flashes of his old and new memories. Movies, comics, poster images flooded his mind along with news reports and magazine cover photos. A name suddenly clicked. Tony Stark. Iron Man? His old memories suggested a fictional character, but his current memories denied that with clear proof. Because Tony Stark, or rather Stark Industries, was the reason the company was in this situation.
Yes. When the foggy memories began clearing, Alex remembered. Just before they got attacked, he was travelling with his father to meet Tony Stark. His father said he has some vital information that can potentially affect the future of Stark Industries and, at the same time, elevate Kane International to a whole other level.
Three months ago, their company was contracted again to protect Tony's security after he was brought back by the military from a weapon testing in Afghanistan. Normally, although it was not an easy job since Tony Stark hates bodyguards, the contract was straightforward - bring Tony back to America. But this Tony was ambushed and kidnapped by the terrorist organisation called Ten Rings there. His father investigated extensively, although it was the military's responsibility, as their company had been contracted to protect Tony Stark.
Alexander didn't know the result, but remembering his father's expression, it should have been something important - a high-stakes turning point.
The realisation brought another wave of panic. 'Fiction becoming reality? I remember Tony Stark was Iron Man, and Obadiah Stane was the antagonist. Is the attack related to Stane? I can't even remember the events that happened properly. I remember Iron Man, Captain America, Hulk-the big green thing...also Black Widow. It was just fiction for me at that time. A pure time-waster. If I knew this would happen, I would have memorised all the information.'
[Your fixation on future knowledge is irrelevant, Host. Time is ever changing, and even the entity that tries to control the timeline does not know it has already been altered by the system. Host didn't survive in the previous world by knowing the future. This reality is no different. And cease the useless worry. You possess something infinitely greater than mere glimpses of the future. You possess the Supreme System.]
The final words resonated with absolute icy superiority.
Alex let his head sink into the sterile pillow, the ghost of an assassin's instincts battling the inherited grief of a son. He closed his eyes, retreating into the fractured landscape of his mind. Outside, in the distance, unseen enemies moved in the shadows, and Tony Stark was perfecting his creation.
Alexander Kane was wounded, hunted in a world where fiction bled into reality.
Survival first. Answers next. Vengeance last.
The board was set. And the deadliest piece had just returned to play.