2/5/2022

Gotham City/E.S.F Base in Gotham!

I woke up suddenly when the bars to my cell opened and I was shocked by who I saw and by the fact that the bars are so old that they sound like metal scrapping against other metal.

"So, you're the guy who tried to steal from the Black Dragon. I've got to say your either very brave or very stupid." The guy said as this guy is none other than Kung Jin and he is dressed in his MK-X outfit which looks good on him honestly and I have to say I'm happy to see him since I missed him in eleven.

"They had something I needed and frankly I don't think stealing from a gang of smugglers is a bad thing to do since they stole stuff first." I told him as I sat up in my bed and saw Johnny Cage in his military uniform come from around the corner.

"You're lucky they didn't kill you kid. Now get up and come with us so the lady in charge can talk with you." Johnny said as I stood up and followed them both out of the brig. "And thanks for saving Cassie even if she ended up kicking your ass."

"It wasn't a big deal." I told him as my body begged to differ as we walked through the compound before coming into what looked like a sci-fi military room full of computers and what not as I saw Sonya, Cassie, and Takeda standing around a large table.

"Wow." I said as I looked around the place.

"You'll get used to all this stuff eventually." Takeda said as he looked over at me in his high-tech ninja outfit with a lower face mask covering his nose, mouth and checks as the mask looked to be a metal oni styled mask.

"Come here kid. We need to talk." Sonya said bluntly and with authority as I stepped up to the table. "The Black Dragon have been on our radar for a long time now and after a botched mission Kano managed to get his hands on Cassie and Jacqui. So, I have to thank you for buying them time for us to come in and extract them."

"It was no big deal." I said with a causal smile but one look from Sonya told me that she wasn't in the mood for jokes.

"Anyway, I want to know how you managed to infiltrate the Black Dragon base and what exactly you took from them." Sonya said in a deadly serious tone and frankly I can't lie my way out of this situation and I don't have the necessary skills I need to escape and even if I did it wouldn't take them long to find me.

"I snuck up on one of the guards behind the building and chocked him out since he didn't hear me sneak up on him and the stuff I took where items known as charms. The charms are magical objects that I have an interest in and since the Black Dragon most likely don't know what the charms are for, I thought I could take the charms from them without being noticed which obviously didn't work out so well." I told her as the group looked at me for a moment before Sonya spoke up.

"You've displayed some skill at least and since you saved my daughter's life, I can't leave you empty handed." Sonya said with a sigh. "So, how would you like a job with the E.S.F?" Sonya asked which shocked the group including me.

"Throw in a bedroom and some supplies and you've got a deal." I said back since I need a stable source of income at the moment.

"Those are both easily done." Sonya said back before Johnny spoke up.

"Hold on for a moment Sonya. We don't know anything about this guy. We did a background search on him and everything but found nothing." Johnny said as that confused me for a bit before I remembered my medical exam where they probably ran my blood or whatever.

"The same can be said for any homeless kid in Gotham Johnny and since he took out Cobra with little trouble, I don't see why we can't learn more about him while he is working with us." Sonya said back as Johnny did not like this idea by the looks of it and honestly, I can't blame him since I am a stranger but right now I am more concerned with finding a proper bed and some food.

"Fine. Jin take this guy to the barracks." Johnny said with a groan.

"The name is Andrew by the way." I said back as Jin showed me out of the room and after a decent walk, he showed me to the men's barracks where there are numerous beds with foot lockers as well as bunkbeds.

"This is the place where we sleep. Pick a empty bed that has a open footlocker and its yours. We'll get you a nameplate soon enough, so nobody tries to take your bed." Jin explained as I picked my bed before he gave me a tour of the compound as well as a duffle bag of supplies I need as I am now a soldier of the E.S.F and surprisingly this place operates similar to a police force instead of a military unit as some people don't live at the compound like me and instead have homes here in Gotham. If I have to say something about this place, I guess I could compare it to an FBI task force for Metahumans and Otherworldly treats that invade the earth.

Anyway, after eating some food in the mess hall I excuse myself and go to the nearby bathroom where I go in a stall and open up my Pocket space in order to properly use my charms.

[You have 3 Charms and can now choose to upgrade a power or select a new one.]

-X-

[Available Upgrades]

Void Soul-Rank 1 [Upgrade]

Pocket-Rank 1 [Upgrade]

Blink-Rank 1 [Upgrade]

-X-

I didn't look at the new power list yet and instead I chose to upgrade my Blink and Void Soul abilities first. I will need to make quick escapes and protect my mind from telepaths since I don't want anyone knowing anything about the meta information I have.

Blink is now Rank 2! Void Soul is now Rank 2!

Blink-Rank 2: You can harness the energy of the Void to achieve short range teleportation between short distances with a modest cooldown period. [Next upgrade requires 2 Charms]

Void Soul-Rank 2: Your soul has been touched by the Void and as a result you are now modestly shielded from magical or other mental intrusion based powers. [Next upgrade requires 2 Charms]

"The information on the skills has changed slightly. That's at least showing some progress so let's see what I will get with my last charm." I said as I looked at my available skills and thought about what would be the most useful to me right now.

New Power Available!

Endurance-Rank 1: You have the Endurance of a athlete and as a result you have gained slightly more stamina and your muscles has gotten slightly tougher to lessen the damage you take!

"Okay that seems good for now and I can at least have more stamina to use now." I said to myself in a whisper before I leave the bathroom and head back to the barracks where I open my duffle bag and see my new uniform as well as a schedule for what to do. Basically, I am like a rookie cop who is going to be getting training for actual police work except this is more of a special forces unit and apparently the person who is going to be training me is a man named Stryker and I really hope Stryker is the same cop from MK 9 because Stryker was one of my favorite characters.

So, with that in mind I decided to head off to bed early.

2/6/2022

Gotham City/E.S.F Base in Gotham!

"Come on ladies pick up the pace!" A man shouted as I and several other rookie soldiers where running laps around the base at roughly seven in the morning and thanks to picking up that endurance skill I am not doing too bad compared to some of these other soldiers and the man shouting at us was none other than Stryker himself as he is dressed in what looks like a swat uniform but without any police symbols on it as he also sports dark blue sunglasses and has a fit build.

The dude is honestly kind of a hunk if I'm being honest. Anyway, we soon switch to other exercises where I don't do as good since they require physical strength and speed that I don't have a lot of at the moment.

The training soon stops at noon and for the rest of the day we are allowed to freelance until tomorrow when we have to train again and this freelance time can be spent in or outside of the base. Some take this time to goof off and what not but I decided to head out of the base and spend some time at the library close by and study a bit while I rest and recover. It also seems that my Endurance has also effected my bodies recovery period since I managed to recover from the soreness and exhaustion a tiny bit faster than I used to.

"A rose among thorns?" I asked as I was in the romance section and looked at a dark romance book and reached for it as the same time as someone else who stood next to me. "Oh sorry." I said as I looked at the girl and realized that she wasn't from DC or MK and instead was from a teen show that I remember watching.

"Its fine…Wait is that the Outsiders Mark?" The girl asked as I looked this girl up and down and I had no doubt in my mind that this girl is Nikki Wong from 6 Teen. The same piercing, the same hair and make up but she looks a bit older and is wearing a black shirt with a skull on the chest with baggy pants and purple boots on her feet.

"What are you talking about?" I asked her as I quickly put my hands behind my back to see how she will react.

"I'm talking about the mark on your right hand that you think your hiding." Nikki replied as I looked around and saw that nobody was paying attention to us as I sighed and removed my hands from behind my back and raised my right hand and showed her the back of it aka the mark.

"Yes this is the mark of the Outsider but I didn't think anyone else can see it. How are you able to?" I asked her bluntly.

"People won't be able to see it unless they've studied and learned about the Outsider or the Void. But the question is how did you get his mark?" Nikki asked as I lowered my hand.

"Sorry but that information is a bit personal." I told her as she looked a bit sad at that reply.

"I guess I can understand that but can I at least talk to you a bit more. Maybe we can be friends." Nikki said and I instantly knew what she was doing with the way she stepped closer to me. She was trying to control the situation and seduce me into spilling my secrets and honestly this is a much bolder tactic than I thought she would use and sadly its working a bit since she is quite the looker but I quickly focus.

"I guess we can talk for a bit but I'm not spilling any secrets." I told her as she reached past me and grabbed the romance book I was looking at.

"Fine by me. The name is Nikki by the way." Nikki said as she introduced herself.

"I'm Andrew." I told her back before I grabbed a different book and the two of us sat down at a table across from each other and talked for a bit while reading our books as Nikki had actually convinced me to grab some other important books as well as these books revolved around subjects of the Void and the Outsider.

"So, you've studied the Void and the Outsider for years?" I asked her as she nodded her head.

"Yeah. I started learning about it back in high school and I found myself studying everything I could about the Outsider and his Void but I never in a million years thought that I would see his mark in person." Nikki said back as she played it off cool but I can tell that she was a bit excited.

"Back in high school. So, are you in college?" I asked her as she shook her head.

"Nah, I landed a cushy job that I can do from my home, so I focus the extra time on random things like hanging out with my friends or studying." Nikki said back.

"Sounds like fun." I told her back as I read the romance book I had picked up while Nikki handled the other books.

"It can be. So, let me ask you a question." Nikki said as I looked at her. "Have you ever seen a shrine to the Outsider before?"

"I can't say that I have." I told her back.

"These shrines are apparently all over the place and can be used to speak with the Outsider. So, I can't help but wonder if that is how you managed to get his attention." Nikki said back with a coy smile as she tried to pry some info out of me.

"That's not what happened but that is good information to have." I replied back with my own smirk before Nikki reached into her pocket and took out two charms and put them on the table.

"Alright Andrew how about this. If you let me study you with my business partner you can have these two charms and any other charms or artifacts that we find. Deal?" Nikki asked in a serious tone with all her playfulness gone as I gave her a serious look of my own.

"Who's your partner?" I asked her since she said she worked alone but is now suddenly mentioning a business partner.

"She wouldn't like it if I gave you information on her. So, I'll simply say that she has an interest in the Outsider like I do." Nikki replied as I thought about her deal for a moment.

"Well, I work with the E.S.F but when I'm free I could work with you, but I don't really have a way to contact you since I don't have a phone right now." I told her as she shrugged.

"That won't be a problem. Now follow me." Nikki said before we put the books back as I followed Nikki out of the library and I couldn't help but notice the nice sway of her hips as she walked before we soon came up to a nearby lab like building that was closed but apparently Nikki has a key as we walked in and I couldn't help but notice that nobody else was here.

"What is this place?" I asked her.

"This is the Star Labs base in Gotham but it was closed down some time ago before I came under new management and now it's a base where my partner and I can study and work on the Void." Nikki explained as this place has a lot of rooms before we entered a large room full of empty space and a few computers and recording equipment. "This is where we can start testing." Nikki said to me.

"What do you need me to do?" I asked her.

"Well first lets discuss what abilities you have." Nikki said as that made me raise an eyebrow.

"What makes you think I have any kind of abilities?" I asked her.

"Anyone who has the mark of the Outsider is given powers of the Void. Besides you wouldn't have taken those charms if they couldn't aid your abilities in some way." Nikki replied as she went to a nearby desk and grabbed a clipboard and pen as I told her about Blink, Endurance, and Pocket while keeping my Void Soul a secret since I don't want anyone in the universe to learn about that one.

"Short ranged teleportation, enhanced stamina and durability as well as a shortened rejuvenation period from high impact exercise and a extra dimensional storage space." Nikki said as she wrote on the board. "Try learning a new ability with those charms I gave you." Nikki said as I told her that the charms gave me powers or upgrades and now she seems to want to see a new ability.

So, I bring out the charms and see a familiar game like screen and try to pick a new power that I want to unlock.

New Power Available!

Strength-Rank 1: You have the Strength of a athlete and as a result are much stronger than before and able to lift heavy objects with ease!

Strength is now Rank 2!

Strength-Rank 2: You have the Strength of a Olympic level athlete and as a result are much stronger than before and able to life very heavy objects with ease! [The next upgrade will cost 2 Charms]

"Whoa." I said as I felt my body shift and change as my muscles strengthened and became stronger as I wasn't heavily jacked but now I looked very fit and I felt…Lighter than before.

"Enhanced muscle growth that would take months has been achieved in seconds." Nikki said as she wrote some more things down as I looked over at a heavy looking container and I easily picked it up with both hands and felt that this thing was holding dozens of tools inside which added to the weight. "Amazing. And this was just a minor upgrade?" Nikki asked as I put the container down and nodded my head.

"Yeah. I can get more upgrades with more charms and I still have other abilities that I can unlock." I told her honestly as she just kept writing with a shocked expression on her face as I looked down at my hands and balled them up into fists. It's a strange sensation of suddenly gaining strength when I wasn't nearly this strong a moment ago but the sad thing is that I know I am still canon fodder for the villains in the DC and MK universes. "I need to get more power." I said to myself.

"What about your speed and endurance? Where those effected by this sudden change?" Nikki asked as I shook my head.

"No. They require upgrades to get better just like my strength and I don't know if I can enhance them with basic exercise like a normal person can." I told her honestly since I don't think that is how this power works.

"This is amazing." Nikki said before she had me do a few strength and endurance tests as well as test involving my Blink power which basically meant that she timed how long my teleportation takes to cool down and how far I can go as well as having some Geiger counter like machine to detect the Void traces left behind by my teleportation.

"So, what's the verdict?" I asked her after teleporting for the last time since I felt a noticeable drain in my energy when I teleported a few times.

"Your maximum range at the moment seems to be ten Meters and the cool down time seems to clock in between eight and ten minutes with no certain number in between the two. Also when you teleport you leave behind trace marks of Void energy known as Ether that dissipates into the air after a short while." Nikki explained before sitting down at a computer as she typed in everything she had written down.

"So, is that everything for today?" I asked her as she reached into her desk and took out a flip phone.

"Yes and this is for you. My contact information is on there and I will contact you when we can run some more test or find more charms. I also might be able to create some nifty gadgets for you to use in combat." Nikki said and once again it surprised me.

"What do you mean?" I asked her.

"Anyone with the mark of the Outsider is destined to change the world in someway and each time it happens the chosen one meets combat and I don't want you dying anytime soon. So, give me some time and I might be able to come up with something. Now you can leave for the day." Nikki said as I took the cell phone and left the place and headed back towards the E.S.F base.

"I have a place to stay and a new ally that will help me get some weapons and test out my new abilities. This is coming along nicely." I said to myself as I walked the streets of Gotham with a smile on my face.

2/14/2022

Gotham City/E.S.F Base in Gotham!

"This is never getting easier." I said as I changed into my uniform of a black tank top underneath a green army styled uniform with matching pants and black shoes like the other soldiers in the barracks but the problem was that some of these soldiers keep staring at me and talking about me for being some kind of Metahuman given how I abruptly got physically stronger.

Honestly I'm not mad at them but I'm just a little freaked out with all the staring they keep giving me. Luckily today we aren't doing training so I simply put on my clothes and grab my phone before I head out of the base and start walking around Gotham for some fresh air before I suddenly get a phone call on my phone that I answer right away.

"Hello." I said into the phone, and I knew that it was Nikki who was calling me.

"Andrew I've got some good news for you. I got my hands on another charm but more importantly is that I managed to make some equipment for you that I think is going to really help you out. Come to star labs as soon as you can." Nikki said before she hung up and afterwards, I quickly made my way to the lab and saw not only Nikki, but I also saw her mysterious partner.

Her partner is none other than Futaba from Persona 5 Royal or at least from what I know since I couldn't really get into the Persona series sadly. Anyway I know of her to see that she is clearly still in school and is wearing her in game outfit and in front of Nikki and Futaba is a stand holding a strange outfit and a familiar looking mask.

"Andrew you're here." Nikki said as she turned around to look at me as Futaba did the same.

"Yeah you called me here after all." I said as I walked up to them and got a close up look at the outfit as it looks to be the outfit from the Prey game that Morgan uses.

"This is the outfit we designed. Its light weight and protective against small knifes and a shot from a pistol but its still a prototype at the moment." Nikki explained to me as the suit was very impressive looking as I noticed Futaba kept glancing at me but when I look at her she looks away or looks down at her feet.

"I have to say that this is actually pretty awesome. Are you sure I should use this?" I asked as it almost seemed like something that is too good for me to use.

"Think nothing of it. Making something for a champion of the Outsider is more than enough for me but we also made you something else." Nikki said before she quickly ran over to a nearby table and picked up something before bringing it back towards me and gave me the object as the object looked like a pistol but it also seemed more on the sci-fi side and has a power cell like device powering the thing.

"It's a stun gun. If you ever get into trouble you can use it to fire a small electronic burst of energy to stagger people and knock them out cold." Futaba said weakly as I looked at her and could tell that she was struggling to be brave. "It is rechargeable so you don't need to change out the battery unless you plan on modifying the weapon somehow." Futaba explained as I looked closer at the weapon and on the right side of it I saw a small display screen showing the batteries charge level.

"We built these for you and we are hoping that you could help us on a small little errand or I guess you could call it a mission for you as a champion of the Outsider." Nikki said as that piqued my interest a bit.

"What do you need?" I asked her bluntly as I stored the pistol in my Pocket space with no issue.

"I looked around a bit and learned that a few charms can be located in a nearby Red Dragon Outpost. The security is minimal and the police don't know about it yet so it is the perfect place for you to try getting some new charms." Nikki said to me as I thought about that for a moment.

"Last time I went into a gang hideout I almost got killed so I'm not exactly thrilled to rush back into such a dangerous situation." I told them.

"That is why we developed some other tools as well and you don't need to head out right now anyway. You need to learn the ins and outs of your weapon and gear first because we will be able to upgrade the soon after enough time." Nikki explained to me.

"Great but first I think I should learn how to use these first since they will probably help out a lot." I said as I reached into my Pocket space and took out the two kali sticks I took from Cobra.

"With your strength I doubt you'll need much skill, but I guess I can look up some information on how to properly use those sticks since I don't know anyone personally who could teach you." Nikki said before I shrugged and put the sticks down.

"Actually, you don't have to do that. This little thing can work just fine." I said as I reached over to a nearby table and picked up a sturdy looking pipe wrench and with the suit it just seemed like it was fate that I start acting more like Morgan and follow in his/her footsteps in terms of combat.

"A wrench?" Futaba asked as I nodded my head.

"Yup. Now why don't we start by teaching me how to best use the stun gun." I asked as I took it out of my Pocket space before Nikki and Futaba instructed me on how to best utilize this little spark gun. They also let me put on the suit and after I finished changing in the bathroom, I have to say that this suit is amazing.

The helmet doesn't obscure my view at all and the glass itself is basically bullet prove from what Nikki had said and the suit itself feels protective yet flexible. Now the insides of it are layered so I don't see the high tech stuff on the inside of the suit but I can see a map in the lower right side of my view and Futaba explained that the helmet offers me GPS systems so I know where I am going as well as getting a small indicator of rooms and buildings that I might be in so I don't get lost. However, the signal will fail at times in certain locations like a cell phone, so I need to be careful about where I go while wearing this thing.

I also test out my Blink ability while wearing the suit and I notice no change in my teleportation which means that the suit doesn't slow me down or anything like that which is a good thing.

"This is amazing." I said as I am loving this suit as I also learned that the helmet has some form of cloaking device as people will only see a dark shaded helmet instead of my face while I can still see them perfectly fine and the helmet even disguises my voice too.

"We worked pretty hard on it." Futaba said back after looking at me with a hard to read expression after she saw me teleport. "The suit also learns more about your powers as you use them or more specifically it harnesses the energy left over by the Void as well as recording the data and application of your abilities via micro cameras and technology of my own design that gathers information on the inner workings of your body without having to actually invade your bodies systems." Futaba explained.

"So, the information around me and inside my body is getting fed directly to your computers?" I asked her as she nodded her head.

"Yes. With your help we can gather all sorts of information about the Void and the Outsider himself." Futaba said with some excitement in her voice even though I'm not so sure that I like being treated as a lab rat but right now I can put those feelings aside since I need to focus on locating more charms and right now Nikki and Futaba are my best bet at finding those charms.

END

A/N: Okay another chapter done and gone and I have added Nikki from 6 Teen into the story because I feel like she is a hottie and I want her in the story. Also, as you can probably tell I am injecting the Phantom Thieves into the story but our dear protag knows almost nothing about them other than their looks so I can't wait to see how he interacts with them.

Also, before anyone throws a fit I am telling you now that Andrew is in fact Bi-Sexual and is attracted to both men and woman so if you don't like it than you don't have to read.

Anyway the next chapter is coming so stay tuned.