Earth: New York City
Date: September 23, 1988
---
Mark P.O.V.
When Mark finally open his eyes, he had slept for well over 12 hours.
He noted the agitated buzzing was very faint now but still there. Otherwise he felt great. A little sore, but it was the good kind that felt amazing. The couch was not very comfortable, so he was a little surprised.
Standing up with a yawn and a long, satisfying stretch, Mark saw what was different when he went to the bathroom.
He was taller. And he could swear he looked a little different from yesterday. Still himself, but... 'Hotter.' It was the only thought that he could put to it. His features were just slightly refined into a more attractive version of himself.
It must be the template, and he could not complain about the effects. Maybe the first signs of becoming a Numenorean.
He had not expected anything like this. If all templates can bring unexpected changes like this he would need to take care in his choices from now on. The X-Gene sitting in his store right now came to mind. Was the nature of things purchased from the store automatically beneficial to him?
Mark was not willing to take the risk, not until he learned more. He had a second chance at life and he was not going to waist it by making dumb decisions, probably.
It did not take much time to get ready for school, he was wearing everything he owned. If he could not find a job soon that would be a problem. But for now he simply had to head for school.
The walk was uneventful. His neighborhood looked shady but felt more abandoned, he did not see anyone for a few blocks after leaving.
Soon enough he was back in the school.
Being in high school again was nothing special to Mark. There was no fondness for those days, but they were not bad ether. He was getting more attention from the fairer sex this time though. Unfortunately most of the girls eyeing him were still more child than woman in his eyes and he decided to keep a polite distance with them.
He settled into his first class faster that expected, the work was easier that he remembered.
It did not take long before thoughts of his situation had stolen his attention.
Mark considered why was he dropped here, into a high school? The chances of something happening here were not that high, but maybe that was the point.
Spider-Man being here probably makes this school one of the safest places in the city, maybe. Actually he was not sure about that, but Spider-Man being near at hand was better than not.
Regardless, the possibilities of this placement give him a lot of flexibility. Join Spider-Man's world, take the collage path after high school, choose the hero's path right away, or keep his head down and watch events from the sidelines. He was free to do anything he wanted.
'So what do I want?'
Avoiding Spider-Man and his bad luck sounded good. From what Mark could remember, Peter was going to have a very rough life ahead. He liked the spider powers, but did not really care one way or another about Peter himself. He would leave the wall-crawler to walk his own path in life. If fate brings them together as allies in the future then great.
What he did want was to help people if he could, not sit on the sidelines.
'How could any man with powers resist the hero's path in a world like Marvel?' he thought. 'No, I cannot stand by. And if I can use my knowledge and future strength to help others, possibly even bringing about better futures for them at the same time, then all the better. Maybe I can even find a beautiful heroine for myself along the way as well.'
He did not care if he was the most virtuous hero, but injustice always boiled his blood. Mark was drawn to choose a heroic world for a reason after all.
He did not think that would change when he had to face the ugly side of being a hero ether. The boring or gruesome things that do not make it into most comics.
The bell ending class brought him out of his thoughts.
Keeping an eye out as the rest of the day passed, he identified a few people. Mark shared at least one class with Flash Thompson, Mary Jane Watson, and Peter Parker throughout the day, but no sign of anyone else notable to him. No Harry Osborn or Gwen Stacy.
But as the day passed, Mark also noticed that the agitated buzzing in his body slowly grew stronger. He would probably sleep more than 12 hours again tonight. He wondered if the Aragorn template was at the upper end of what his body could handle right now.
The day passed quickly enough but he went straight home and almost did not make it to the couch before he was out cold.
---
The next day Mark found himself taller again, though his looks only changed slightly. The buzz was almost gone though, just barely noticeable. Probably a good sign he decided.
Now that it was the weekend he could start improving his situation, and right now he was broke. That needed to change, and the most straightforward way was often the best.
He started looking for a job.
It did not really matter what it was or how much he got, and found a diner that needed the help. He was offered $10 cash and a free meal before they set him to work 5 minutes later.
Mark spent the evening waiting tables, and got some good money in tips from the ladies too. He had thought it was just one nice lady at first. Who would have guessed that looking good would be the first useful benefit of his powers.
Some pocket money would fix his outfit problem. Namely that he needed more than one. He would also need to find a laundromat somewhere nearby.
After he was done working he still had to go straight home before passing out, but he had lasted longer today. He still got taller by the next day but was only out for 10 hours this time. The big change was the buzz did not come back, and his noticeable physical changes stopped.
Mark was about 6'4" now.
Being unnoticed was a thing of the past for him now, with his size and looks.
After that life fell into a rhythm. School, work on weekends, a little shopping, and learn everything he could about the world without drawing attention.
Mark's time at school was unexpectedly easy, getting through every subject with with ease. His mind was clear in a way he had never known before. He was not sure if it was the template but that would be answered soon enough.
School had one big benefit for him. Turned out it was the best place for learning about the known heroes, they were the main topic of discussion right now.
Over the summer, the Fantastic 4 gained their powers and already had some adventures, Tony Stark revealed himself as Iron Man, and Thor was sent to Earth by his father Odin. All in just a few months.
It was basically the only thing they were talking about and Mark took full advantage.
After a few careful questions it seemed that the X-Men were still unknown or have not been formed yet, though mutant hate was prevalent. And the papers were mostly positive on heroes thus far, so The Daily Bugle had not learned about Spider-Man yet.
There were also lots of rumors of supposed heroes, but most of it sounded like just that. Except for one story that could have been the Hulk fighting the military, but who knows.
---
The days passed slowly for Mark as he waited for the template to finish equipping.
When Thursday morning finally came, he was laying on the not-so-comfy couch. As the time arrived he immediately checked his character screen.
Name: Mark Smith
Race: Human(Numenorean)
Age: 17
Equipped Template:
-Aragorn
Traits:
-Keen Mind
-Fair of Face
Powers:
-Grace of the Valar: 0%
-Aura of Majesty: 0%
Disciplines:
-None
Skills:
-Weapon Mastery: 0%
-Wilderness Survival: 0%
-Elvish Language: 0%
Items:
-None
'...'
Mark was surprised. There was more than he expected.
'What is Aura of Majesty?' He could not remember anything like that in the movies, and he had not read the books in a long time. An unexpected surprise he would have to figure out.
Grace of the Valar had to be the primary power.
But the trait, Keen Mind explained his ease with school. He did not know if he was smarter exactly, but his mind just felt clear. It made learning and remembering things easier than before.
He was not sure if the Elvish language was ever going to be useful though.
'Now what?'
He sat up and looked around. Nothing was happening and he did not feel any different.
The equipped template was suppose to teach or train him but he was not sure how.
Mark frowned and considered the abilities he had received. 'Maybe if I try to actively use one? Weapon Mastery, that may cover Aragorn's hand-to-hand combat skills. Lets find out.'
He stood, awkwardly swung his fist, and flinched. For a moment he had felt something. Mark swung his fist again and this time paid close attention.
A jolt of excitement surged through him as he understood.
Whenever he did something that overlapped with the equipped template's skills and powers, he would be guided, directly. It was like there was a ghost of the real person, and Mark could feel how they would move or act in his place.
He could feel when and how he made a mistake at the moment it was made, possibly even correcting himself midmotion. It was like having all the skill and knowledge of a teacher already in your head, inaccessible directly, but always ready to guide your hand with their experience.
'Incredible.' he thought, 'It is so intuitive.'
The grin on his face could have probably scared small children.
He wanted to start training immediately, but school was starting soon.
'Should I just skip today?'
"No." Mark said it aloud, if he started skipping school now he knew he would never go back. At least for now he would continue, he could always change his mind later.
But his free time just disappeared.
'Time for a training montage.'
---
Several days later at Xavier Mansion, when Cerebro was being used to scan for mutants, it passively detected and logged an anomalous reading in New York City...
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A.N. - I feel like the chapters are on the short side and wanted this one to be longer but ran out of time. Let me know how you feel about the length.