Ajax and Angel pushed Ethan into the laboratory. Subjects like him were rare these days, and the two decided to study him thoroughly.
When Angel approached with a scalpel in hand, Ethan instinctively tried to struggle. His body began to swell in sync with his thoughts, forcing Ajax to inject another serum into him.
A few seconds later, Angel secured the now-unconscious Ethan to the wall, then calmly left the room. From the control station outside, she operated a set of mechanical arms, injecting various serums into Ethan's body.
His veins bulged violently, threatening to burst at any second. Both scientists exchanged glances, shaking their heads with a trace of disappointment.
The intense pain jolted Ethan awake. Feeling the raging energy inside him, his eyes locked onto the Divine Blessing card in his mental inventory.
He whispered softly,
> "I am destiny itself."
The moment the words left his lips, the pain vanished. Seeing Ethan's body return to normal, Ajax quickly resumed the injections, feeding the rest of the serums into him before finally stopping.
When Ethan glanced at his system interface, it was filled with an absurd number of new abilities—most of them useless.
"'Become incredibly handsome when no one's watching'? What the hell's the point of that?!"
As he was still figuring out how to refine them, the panel suddenly began to shift—countless powers merged into one another, condensing down to six:
Super Hearing, Super Vision, Regeneration, Heat Vision, Steel Body, and Telekinesis.
Power surged through him like a storm. A sharp grin tugged at Ethan's lips as he stared coldly through the glass wall.
The two scientists froze under his gaze.
"He… he's not gonna break out, is he?" Angel asked nervously.
"Relax, Angel," Ajax said with forced calm. "This lab's reinforced. He couldn't possibly—"
Before he could finish, the metal restraints binding Ethan began to twist and warp.
Ajax spun around and bolted. Angel hesitated for only a second before chasing after him.
Barefoot, Ethan stood in the lab and used his telekinesis to crush the one-meter-thick iron door into a solid ball of metal.
Angel, fleeing for her life, glanced back—just in time to see Ethan's eyes flare red. Twin beams of searing heat erupted from them, slicing through the air.
Angel's body jerked, then collapsed, a burning hole through her abdomen.
A pair of bare feet stopped before her trembling body. Angel looked up, voice breaking, "P-please… don't…"
Ethan's eyes glowed crimson. He turned away toward Ajax.
Suddenly, a nearby lab erupted in flames—BOOM!
Through the blaze stumbled a charred figure. His blackened flesh began to knit itself back together. Ethan frowned as the man's face reformed.
"Telekinesis… Super strength… Heat vision!" Ajax's eyes lit up with feverish excitement. "Ha! You're a perfect weapon!"
Ethan's hand shot forward, wrapping around Ajax's throat. To him, Ajax's attempt to dodge moved in slow motion. The scientist clawed at Ethan's arm, kicking furiously—but his attacks bounced harmlessly off Ethan's shining, metallic skin.
Just as Ethan was about to crush him, a new voice came from behind:
> "Hey, pal. Mind handing him over to me?"
Ethan turned to see a man with a horribly scarred face. After a brief silence, he tossed Ajax to him and walked toward the exit.
A few armed guards, shaking in fear, aimed their guns at Ethan—only for the scene to cut, moments later, to Ethan calmly sitting in a chair, now wearing a black suit, munching on pizza as Ajax screamed in the background.
> "Wade! Only I can cure you!"
At the name, Wade stopped. A flicker of hope crossed Ajax's face—until a dagger plunged through his back, pinning him to the floor.
> "Maybe I can heal you," Ethan said, stepping up beside Wade.
The power of Divine Blessing allowed him to amplify any single possibility to its extreme.
It was how he'd merged dozens of powers into six.
Now, he focused on Wade—imagining the man's healing factor overpowering his cancer.
Three minutes later, a handsome man stood amidst the rubble, grinning ear to ear.
> "Hey, buddy! Name's Wade. From now on, you and I are best friends!"
With his super hearing, Ethan instantly regretted saving him. Wade's voice felt like a thousand ducks squawking in his ears.
He'd liked the guy in the movies—now he just wanted to sew that mouth shut.
Without warning, Wade's mouth literally sealed shut. His eyes went wide in panic. After a futile struggle, he looked pleadingly at Ethan.
> "Next time you're around me," Ethan said coolly, "keep your mouth shut. Got it?"
"Mm! Mm-hmm!" Wade nodded frantically. The invisible seal vanished a second later.
Glancing at the timer—only one minute left of Divine Blessing—Ethan murmured,
> "I want… money."
"Money?" Wade blinked, then wrapped an arm around Ethan's shoulder, grinning.
> "Bro, you okay? I know a great shrink who—"
He didn't finish. The ground beneath them cracked open. Ethan hovered in the air, eyes gleaming as he spotted a hidden safe below.
Wade, face-first in the dirt, groaned and looked up with disbelief. Ethan tore the safe apart with his mind and pulled out a briefcase, which vanished into his inventory.
No need for touch anymore, he thought. Just focus and it's mine.
Patting Wade's shoulder, Ethan used telekinesis to lift them both through the ceiling. They shot into the sky, shattering through the roof as police sirens wailed below.
Choosing a random direction, Ethan flew off.
> "See ya, Deadpool."
He tossed Wade into a side alley and disappeared in a flash.
At that same moment, in the Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters, Professor X's eyes flickered open.
He had just felt a surge of immense power—but when he tried to make contact, his telepathy was blocked.
> "Charles, huh…"
Landing in a dark alley, Ethan exhaled slowly.
Now he understood why Magneto wore that helmet. The only reason he'd been able to resist Charles was sheer distance. Face to face, he wasn't so sure.
His swelling pride cooled instantly.
The next morning, Vanessa opened her apartment door—and froze.
> "Wade!!"
"Hey, sweetheart," Wade said sheepishly. "Mind if I come in and… grab some clothes?"
Vanessa threw herself into his arms.
From the doorway to the living room, to the bathroom, and finally to the bedroom—
they left a lot of marks along the way.