MARVEL: CARD EXTRACTION SYSTEM

Chapter 17 – Heroism Quest



The constant tingling I felt in my body was a message that I was going beyond my usual capability because of One for All. However, I had no time to hesitate or weaken. I had a villain in front of me.

Even though my limbs were a little shaky from the shock I had received, I could still move faster than I had ever been able to before. So I ran to a cart where some bowling balls were stored. If I could pick up several balls and throw them at him, it would probably give me a chance to get close to him. 

Considering that my strength was far superior to Electro's, a well-placed punch might be enough to finish him off. 

Electro was still a bit sore after being hit by the ball I threw, but when he saw me running, he stretched out his right hand with a scream of fury while holding his slightly sprained right shoulder with the other.

Still, I had time to get to the bowling balls, and instead of picking them up one by one and throwing them, I grabbed the trolley with all my strength and threw it all at Electro.

The balls flew toward Electro, but he screamed and fired a huge bolt of lightning that hit one ball and traveled to the others, exploding them into hundreds of fragments still in the air. 

"You're not going to surprise me again, kid!" Electro said to me. 

What Electro hadn't counted on, however, was that the debris from the bowling balls would create a curtain of smoke that was short and very thin, but still more than enough for me to enjoy.

When the smoke suddenly cut in half, something strange, which seemed to be made of small pixel-like cubes, flew at Electro. He only noticed it when it was inches away from him, and it hit him on the head with a deafening sound.

The world around Electro spun for a moment as he felt the impact on his head, followed by a sharp pain that sent him reeling. His ears were ringing, and for a moment everything seemed distant, as if he were submerged in water. He touched his head with a trembling hand, trying to make sense of what had happened. When he looked down, his eyes were fixed on the object that had hit him and fallen to the ground.

It was a very strange thing. A tool, perhaps, that seemed to have come from a dream. The shape resembled a pickaxe, but it was made of small cubes. The handle was long and thin, made of a dark, smooth wood, while the head of the tool was made of iron, but not just any iron - it seemed rigid, sturdy, but made of blocks, as if from a game.

'What the f**k is that?' he must have thought at that moment, and then he remembered that he was in a battle.

It was almost too late for him, because I saw my chance after I threw the Minecraft Iron Pickaxe and ran towards Electro. 

Although I was fast and strong, I had nowhere near the agility and verticality that Spider-Man had to deal with someone with electric powers.

Electro realized I was coming his way and managed to recover in time to push off and unleash another area-wide electrical discharge. 

Even with the Sharingan, I could not have dodged it, so I was hit and began to be electrocuted. The sensation was terribly worse than being accidentally shocked in a tomb. My muscles began to contract involuntarily, including my fingers, and my mind went blank. What's more, I felt like my body was burning from the inside out.

Electro was panting. Still, with a cruel smile, he said as he electrocuted me: 

"Ah, young man, you're only feeling a little bit of my power. When the human body is exposed to a constant high voltage like this, the electric current passes through your muscles, interrupting all the signals your brain is trying to send. You see, human muscles contract and relax using electrical impulses that the brain sends through the nervous system, but when you're hit by a powerful electrical discharge, that current takes over."

He was right. All I could see at that moment was a wobbly version of the world, and my mind kept switching on and off.

"Right now, the electricity must be overloading your nerves, causing them to fire wildly. It's like I've taken over the reins of your own body, isn't it fascinating? You want to move, you want to fight, but you can't. And if you go on like this for too long, your muscles start to get damaged, and your heart - well, it's a muscle too, you know? Put enough strain on it and... Well, it could just stop beating. What's up, unlikely hero? Are you beginning to understand how fragile flesh really is in the face of the power of electricity?"

"I... won't... give up!" I muttered.

"What? Can you still talk?! Your brain should be fried!"

"Are you... kidding...? I... played... LOL! My... mind... is... already... fried!" 

With one last burst of strength, I took two steps forward, grabbed Electro's chin with my right hand, and threw him to the ground. 

Electro's body hit the ground with such force that it shook the ground. I immediately tried to land a devastating blow to knock him out. My arm came up, but suddenly it locked. 

Electro, though wounded and clearly frightened by my strength, started to get up with a nervous smile. "You're strong, kid... you must be a mutant... but you don't understand, do you? Electricity... it paralyzes the muscles for a while, especially after the flow stops."

I tried to speak, but my lips wouldn't move. I was conscious but unable to react, trapped in my own body. 

Electro's smile widened as he realized he had the upper hand.

"Looks like the game is over for you. And now it's my turn..." He said, but stopped when he saw a smile slowly appearing at the corner of my mouth. 

"If... I were you..." I began to whisper with what little strength I had. "I'd look back." 

"Hey, moron," Spider-Woman said. "You should be more aware of your surroundings."

Without giving Electro a chance, she threw a web over the villain's head, covering his mouth, eyes, and especially his nose, preventing him from breathing. Then, as he tried to pull the web off, she lunged forward and punched him straight in the stomach, knocking all the air out of him and easily rendering him unconscious. 

"Sorry to keep you waiting." She said, ducking her head slightly at me, which made me smile.

"What... happened? Was there traffic on the way?" I asked her. 

[Congratulations! You have completed the Heroism Quest "Blackout"!]

[You received 1 Mysterious Rare Skill Card.]

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