The Name of the Game

by LostInAForest

John Smith woke up one day with a blinding headache and a concoction of strange memories and strange abilities. He didn't believe it at first until strange things began happening. He wanted to try and keep his head down but his desires and the world around him seemed to want different things. John knows he is not a good person, but he knows that if he tries he can do good things.

10. Chapter 10

John read through his book until he heard someone walk into his cell, the electronic door sliding open with a now-familiar sound echoing through the room.

He had been held in the SHIELD Asset Training Facility for over two months by that point, going through the same routine each day of being given tests by Dr Simmons and then being trained by the Lieutenant. It was tedious but it was also beneficial.

"Mr Smith." His thought was interrupted by a voice. He looks up and saw Agent Hand walk in. it had been about a week or so since he'd seen her last, she had come to check on how his training was proceeding. "I have good news for you."

"Yeah." John sat up from his bed and looked interested, anything to mix up his boredom. He put his book on Italian down.

"Indeed. You have been requested for field duty by one of SHIELD's top agents. In fact, he played an important part in bringing you in, you met him very briefly." Hand explained and John got excited, he'd been requested for field duty, he could get out of the damn facility.

Thought he knew even if that happened, he wouldn't be able to escape, this would be his first time out, they wouldn't take their eyes off his for even a second. His eyes wandered down to the tracking anklet that was wrapped around his ankle, impossible to take of without both an electronic key card and a key.

"That Coulson guy?" John asked and Hand nodded. "Have I been approved?"

"You have, by both your instructor and doctor." Hand explained, looking severe still. "Although I feel I have to warn you Mr Smith that this does not mean that you are free to go. You will be handed off to Agent Coulson in two days' time for a mission and any attempt to escape will lead you to being hunted down will the full force of SHIELD and, if you do not die during capture, you will be placed in such a prison where you will be alone for the rest of you life."

If there was one thing that John knew, it was that Hand was not lying.

"Your training will be cancelled tomorrow, and Doctor Simmons will be placing a tracking device inside your body in case you get that anklet off. Any attempt to tamper with it will result in it alerting up and then your immediate termination."

"Yes ma'am." John nodded but didn't let that get his excitement down. "I'll be ready to go then."

"Your instructor has approved various pieces of equipment for you to use. Using them on any agents will lead to your immediate removal from the program." She nodded and stood and left the room, leaving him no chance to ask questions.

John nodded and called up his profile. Before he did anything he wanted to review what, he was capable of and see if there was anything for him to do to improve that.

John Smith – Level 6 (460/750)

Title – Polyglot

HP – 168/168

AP – 868/868

Str – 21

Con – 28

Dex – 24

Int – 31

Wis – 18

Skill Point: 722

Skills:

English – Level MAX

Cooking – Level 21

Cleaning – Level 43

French – Level 80

Increased Cognition (S) – Level 4

Stalking – Level 35

Stealth – Level 69

Pickpocketing – Level 25

Running – Level 48

Language Comprehension (S) – Level 3

Enhanced Listening (S) – Level 4

Spanish – Level 80

Lockpicking – Level 11

Portuguese – Level 80

Unarmed Combat – Level 34

Lying – Level 15

Strategy – Level 16

Handgun Mastery – Level 8

Climbing – Level 10

Italian – Level 17

Abilities:

Blessed Soul (Passive)

Danger Intuition (Passive)

Paralysis Touch (Active)

Camouflage (Active)

Storage Dimension (Active/Passive)

In the past few weeks, he had been working very, very hard to improve himself and follow SHIELD's training, knowing how useful it might be in the future. At the state he was in that moment he could probably take down a few of the better SHIELD agents but nothing on the level of Black Widow or Hawkeye, that would take quite a bit more training. That was if he didn't use his abilities of course, if he did then he would have a good chance of beating them like he did with Bobby Morse.

However, he realised something as he looked over his abilities. He was seriously lacking any offensive abilities. He needed something more permanent than his 'Paralysis Touch'. He looked at the menu to buy abilities:

Buyable Abilities:

· Water-breathing – 150 Skill Points

· X-Ray Vision – 150 Skill Points

· Withering Touch – 200 Skill Points

· Prehensile Hair – 300 Skill Points

· Pheromone Generation – 500 Skill Points

· Hypnotic Vision – 500 Skill Points

· Concussive Blasts – 500 Skill Points

· Sonic Scream – 500 Skill Points

He was very tempted to buy 'Hypnotic Vision' but chose not to, if he was caught with that then SHIELD would be much, much more wary of him, but he decided that he was going to get it eventually, it would be extremely useful after all. Eventually he decided on 'Withering Touch', deciding that it was not only a nice ability but it was also a nice match for his 'Paralysis Touch' ability.

It took John a little time to get used to the combat suit that he had been given by SHIELD. It was a black tactical SHIELD uniform with a utility belt and various places to put weapons on his body. Despite that, there were no weapons on his body, he hadn't been approved to have any by his instructor, the Lieutenant.

At the current moment John was stood at the entrance to the Asset Training Facility, waiting for the doors to open as three SHIELD agents stood around him, ensuring that he didn't try anything.

He didn't need to wait long for his handler for the current mission, Phil Coulson, since the man walked in through the doors with a few additional SHIELD agents after only a few short minutes.

"Hey, Phil, nice to see you again." John smiled, waving to the man. "The cross lady tells me that you requested my help. I wanted to negotiate about my salary."

"Very funny." The man rolled his eyes. "First Stark and now this. I requested you because I saw you in action with no training, you could be of use on my current mission."

"What is it?" John waited as his handcuffs were taken off, it didn't mean anything though. The tracking anklet and the tracer device inside his arm proved that. He wouldn't be surprise if it would deliver a deadly shock if he attempted to escape.

"An 084 has been discovered in the New Mexico desert." Coulson explained, and John realised what he was talking about almost instantly, Mjolnir. "I've been asked to oversee operations pertaining to its containment and research. Do you know what an 084 is?"

"An object of unknown origin." John nodded. "It sounds fun, could be explosive." He looked around to the five agents surrounding him, they were all heavily, heavily armed.

"Let's hope not." Coulson sighed. "Remember, good behaviour."

"Understood." John nodded. "I already know I'm not supposed to use my powers without your permission. Agent Hand drilled that into me pretty severely."

"Alright then, let's go." Coulson told him as they led him outside and into the back of a truck.

New Quest Discovered:

Quest: 084 in New Mexico

Objective 1: Take part in the effects of the Thor movie.

Bonus 1: Attempt to Lift Mjolnir

Bonus 2: Gain the trust of Phillip J Coulson

Rewards: 300 EXP, 100SP, Increased Reputation with SHIELD, Increased Reputation with Asgard.

B. Reward 1: 100 EXP, 25 SP, Possible title 'Worthy'.

B. Reward 2: 200 EXP, 50SP, Massively Increased Reputation with SHIELD.

Accept this Quest?

Yes – No

John quickly accepted the quest, knowing that if everything went even remotely as he could tell from the other John's memories than he would be fine. He might even get a chance to defeat a mortal Thor, something that would be extremely exciting.