Ascension: The One Who Takes

Pain. That was the first thing I felt—sharp, searing, all-consuming agony. It coursed through my body like fire, my nerves screaming as if I had been torn apart and stitched back together in the most violent way possible. My vision swam in and out of focus, the world around me a chaotic swirl of colors, sounds, and unfamiliar scents.

Then, as quickly as it had begun, the pain receded, leaving behind a strange numbness. I gasped, dragging in a lungful of air that tasted... different. Crisp, clean, but tinged with something electric.

I sat up with a groan, my hands digging into damp grass. I was outside, beneath a night sky that seemed clearer than anything I had ever seen before. The stars shone unnaturally bright, almost as if they were painted onto the heavens with a divine brush. But that wasn't the strangest thing. No, that would be the fact that I was very much not in my own body anymore.

My hands—no, my whole body—felt different. Stronger. Bigger. I clenched my fingers experimentally, feeling power hum beneath my skin, an undeniable force just waiting to be unleashed. It was then that a flood of information crashed into my mind, memories that didn't belong to me, but ones I now possessed.

All For One. The quirk—the power—of one of the most dangerous villains ever conceived in fiction. The ability to steal, store, and distribute abilities at will. The sheer potential of it made my head spin. But the more pressing matter was where I was.

I inhaled again, this time more deeply, and my enhanced senses picked up something distinct. The distant hum of a city, the faint buzz of electricity, the presence of others—people, mutants, meta-humans. I could sense them. Like flickering beacons in the dark, their energy signatures pulsed all around me, some weak, some unimaginably powerful. It was intoxicating, the knowledge that I could feel them, track them, and—if I wanted—take from them.

But there was something else. While All For One's potential was vast, I currently only had access to a limited number of abilities—nothing more. No secret reserve, no hidden power locked away. Just these few, and that was it. I clenched my fist, frustration bubbling beneath the surface. I needed to grow stronger, to push past these limits. But first, I needed to understand exactly what I could do.

The pieces fell into place, and my mind raced. If this was the Marvel universe, if mutants existed, then I had been thrown into a world filled with gods, monsters, and threats beyond comprehension. But unlike the poor souls who usually found themselves in these kinds of situations, I had knowledge. I knew the plot.

And I had the power to change everything.

I grinned, flexing my fingers as I stood up. The possibilities stretched out before me like an endless road. The only question was: where did I start?