Chapter 5 (Patreon)

My mind sprang into action as I cleaned up the kitchen, nabbing a cleaning skill along the way. For my snack-fighting strategy to work, I would need to prepare food in advance—tons and tons of it—and make it small enough to inhale in an instant should I need help in the middle of a fight.

Of course, that meant honing my cooking skills quite a bit, but it was well worth it considering the short- and long-term benefits.

It could even make me life-changing money if my meals worked on regular people and heroes. If memory served, this universe didn’t have supes who could heal. Magic food meant I didn’t actually have to be there for the effects to work…

Cecil would pay through the nose for my services. I could use it to push Mark harder and get him ready for all of the major Viltrumite fights. I could probably do the same for the rest of the Guardians of the globe, and the Teen Team, and just about every other heavy hitter on Earth.

It was beginning to become clear to me now… I would probably not be strong enough to take on Omni-Man or even a Baby Viltrumite in a fight a year from now, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t hand them the tools and information we needed to win.

And all of it started with a decent plate of food.

Too bad it meant going into the city to get groceries…

The animated show and the comics didn’t exactly paint an idyllic picture. There was danger around every corner. Regular people died like fleas, and I knew that the odds of me running into a villain attack were slim to none, but I still couldn’t shake the fear.

“Research,” I muttered.

That’s how I get over it. I could look up local crime statistics. Actually, know what the odds are, rather than being scared of some nebulous future threat.

And so, I did just that.

I was surprised and intrigued by what I found.

Supervillain attacks were mostly confined to major city centers and high-value targets such as banks, jewelry stores, and landmarks. They happened every two weeks or so in big cities like Chicago.

The death toll was typically in the low double-digits, and mostly caused by collateral damage during the fight to apprehend the villains.

It was rare for a villain to go on a tear in a mall, school, or movie theater--so rare that only 10 of such events have happened worldwide since the start of the year, or at least that’s what the GDC public-facing website told me.

I estimated that the number was likely higher, much higher. If I were Cecil, I’d bury as much shit as I could get away with. I imagine the CIA and foreign superhuman agents were putting down villain dictators and eccentrics all of the time, but I was almost certainly not happening here in the United States…as often.

I still remembered the whole DA Sinclair storyline, and what happened to him after capture.

All of which to say, the chances of dying to a random supervillain were not zero, but it wasn’t high enough that I should fear going to the grocery stores. Odds were, lightning wouldn’t strike twice, not unless I was standing on the highest point of a hill with no trees around.

Probably.

But then again, the villains weren’t the only thing I had to worry about.

I caught a news video of Omni-Man battling some kind of massive sea serpent off the coast of Japan.

The fight raged on for nearly a minute. The beast didn't touch him once. His aerial maneuvers were tight, leading the creature farther out to sea, and his hits shattered the windows of nearby buildings.

He finished the beast by blasting through its head so fast that the camera only caught a blur, even when the footage was played back in slow motion.

I swallowed.

Jesus. And to think he’s holding back.

It was scary enough that I started rethinking this whole superhero thing. Then, I remembered what was at stake. Chicago, the cities that would burn in the invincible wars. Conquest. Thragg. And the rest of the Viltrumites.

Fear wasn’t a luxury I could afford.

The realization sobered me up and gave me the strength to drive Old Danny’s truck.

It was an F-150 from the nineties that had seen better days and had been a birthday present for Danny's sixteenth birthday.

I hit the local bookstore before the market, and it was a treasure trove.

I bought a few recipe books, encyclopedias, science, history, and psychology textbooks, along with a few biographies.

The effort nabbed me arguably the quintessential Gamer skill.

Observe Lv 1

Rarity: Common

Type: Active

Glean information about any object, person, or entity through keen observation.

+Viewing distance and information gained with every level.

"Quite the reading list," the girl at the register said.

"Just broadening my horizons," I replied with a polite smile.

I took a good look at her.

She was about my age—maybe slightly older—and had a few floral tattoos on her hands and shoulders.

I activated Observe.

Name: Milly Cox

Occupation: Bookstore Salesgirl / College Student

Level: 4

Milly Cox is a marine biology student at Northwestern University who works part-time at a bookstore and doodles in her spare time.

Mood: Slightly annoyed.

I blinked at the last line and noticed that Milly had caught me staring.

"I really like the, uh... tattoos?" I lied. "Did you design them yourself?"

Deception has reached Lv 2.

The annoyance shifted into surprise.

"No. But I'm working on a personal design for my thigh. How did you know?"

“Lucky guess…” I said with a small smile. “And I saw that.”

I pointed at a half-closed sketchbook hidden under her purse behind the register.

She chuckled as she wrapped up my purchase.

“You know you could’ve played it cool. Kept me guessing.”

“I seem to be winning you over easily enough.’

“Are you now?” She said with a playful smile on her lips. Milly tapped on the register and read out my total. “That’ll be $84.”

Dipping my hand into my pocket, I mentally withdrew a crisp hundred-dollar bill from my inventory and placed it on the counter.

She tried to hand me some change, but I didn't take it, hefting the paper book bag instead.

"The name's Danny. What's yours?"

"Milly.”

"Be seeing you around, Milly."

I walked out with a slight spring in my step.

I tested out my inventory when I got back into the truck, storing the stack of books and retrieving them a few times, always still inside their paper bags.

I'd wanted to buy a few books on combat, drawing, plumbing, crafting, and other useful subjects, but the store was a small business.

It didn't carry those kinds of books.

I'd have to hit a Barnes & Noble or a city library to get my fix.

The weather was turning by the time I got out of my truck in the Walmart parking lot.

It was mostly empty.

I passed a woman carrying a grocery bag almost full to bursting while talking loudly on the phone.

She wore bright pink jeans, boots, and a see-through blouse.

Name: Mindy Strauss

Occupation: Fashion Designer

Level: 5

Mindy Strauss is an up-and-coming fashion designer who caters to the affluent and eccentric side of Chicago.

Mood: Stressed.

A few steps from the Walmart entrance, I spotted a bedazzled wallet on the ground that looked very much like something Mindy would own.

Scooping it up, I turned back and hustled toward her as she loaded her groceries into a bright-red Mini Cooper.

I fought back a snicker bubbling in my throat and was about to call out to her when somebody else beat me to it.

"Miss me?"

A man approached her.

His head was shaved completely, and he wore a black T-shirt that barely contained his muscles. His arms were covered in tattoos, most of them gang- and prison-related.

She jumped at the sound of his voice, bumping into her car and pressing herself against it.

"Lee... baby. I thought you weren't getting out for another six months..."

I could hear the panic in her voice.

"Your sister told me where you were. Long time no see."

Name: Lee Harper

Occupation: Ex-Gang Enforcer

Level: 6

Lee is an ex-enforcer for Machine Head who recently got out of jail. He took the fall for his girlfriend in a robbery gone wrong.

Mood: Angry.

Oh boy.

Mindy was about to have a very bad day.

"It's been what? Three? Four years since you came to see me? What happened to all my money, Mindy?"

Mindy's eyes desperately searched the parking lot and found me staring at her, a bit dazed by the situation.

"Somebody help me!" she screamed. "He's trying to kill me!"

Lee's backhand was as vicious as it was sudden, sending her stumbling into her car and sprawling onto the pavement.

He grabbed her by the hair, which turned out to be a wig, and yanked it off.

A scream ripped from his throat when Mindy clawed at his eyes, and he slapped her in retaliation.

The impact carried all the way to the Walmart entrance.

I wasn't the only one watching now.

A couple stood frozen beside me.

A father grabbed his daughter and pulled her closer.

Someone was calling for security close to the entrance of the Walmart.

A few other people were scattered around the parking lot, all glued in place, all watching in horror as the brutality unfolded.

For a world defined by its heroes, heroes were rarer than you'd think.

I was moving by the time he grabbed her by the throat and began to squeeze.

"I gave you everything, Mindy! Everything! And you do me like this! If I'm going back to hell, then you're coming with—"

"That's enough out of you!"

I slammed into Lee, knee first.

His head dented the door panel of Mindy's car and bounced off.