What is magic? It's the refinement and application of the mana we contain that surrounds us, through different techniques and spells. Techniques are consciously developed by the mage, while spells result from an unconscious need due to a situation. The grimoire allows for their implementation, even if they are more powerful than the caster's magical potential.

Magic comes in different elemental affinities composed of sub-branches. There are also non-elemental affinities, but they are rarer. The manifestation of magic into an elemental affinity is natural and intuitive, requiring no prior training other than an awareness of one's magical power. At least, that's what I remember.

Since I was at Marvel, let's replace mana with magical energy. To develop their magical abilities, a mage must possess a natural talent for magic, work hard, and ultimately have a near-death experience or intense stress to unlock some enlightenment.

The first thing to know was that I had it, without false modesty. Since I possess a four-leaf clover grimoire, The second, determination, is an absolute imperative, especially in my case. As for the third, I wasn't really on it. Flirting with death to evolve, is not my thing. But I was in a perpetual state of barely contained stress.

Considering all this, I realized that my way of training was a bit off, in the sense that I was deciphering the mana and my affinity. I didn't need any kind of conversion, mana = flames. I had all the elements for rapid growth. But I gave an appropriate overview. Luckily, Jessica brought me back down to earth. If she were an enemy, I'd be dead by now. My time was running out; sacrifices had to be made, all while thinking intelligently.

So despite Jessica's warning not to leave the safe house, I found myself in a fairly empty place, but not too far away, to train. During the week she was absent, I would venture out around one in the morning for intensive training until I exhausted my magical reserves, and then I would return to sleep and meditate.

Wanting to make the most of this time exponentially, I focused solely on my speed, increasing my reserves, and manipulating my flames as second nature.

For speed, I had to learn to move my mana to envelop my body in a cocoon of flames. This step was quite easy. Then I had to go through dozens of forms before finding one that was aerodynamic enough. Again, it wasn't difficult, just required imagination. I chose that of a cheetah, an animal known for its great speed.

Then came the most crucial step, which was adapting to the form while hurtling at an incredible speed. Being on all fours (even if it was the mantle that moved), having tunnel vision, and not being able to change direction in time was a real pain.

But despite all these temporary problems, my cloak of fire, coupled with my thrusting technique, was simply devastating.

I was still far from being a speedster. But I sped along like a bullet. The only drawback, like all my big techniques and spells so far, was the fairly short usage time due to the rapid depletion of my energy.

Even though I was beloved by Mana, I was a baby magician in an adult body with issues. My techniques were not at all correlated with my youthful magical reserves.

Besides, after this business, I need to find the Ancient One for more serious training. Training at Kamar-Taj or in the Mirror Dimension would be awesome. The magical density of these places must be phenomenal; I should thrive there.

Knock! Knock! I heard a knock on the door.

It was surely Jessica's return. Checking the peephole, I saw that it was indeed her.

Opening it to let her in, she slumped onto the couch like a weight.

"Hello," I said to her. "I suppose you didn't find anything."

"You underestimate me, don't you?" she retorted.

At that, I just shrugged.

"Well, I contacted a lawyer named Matt Murdock, and he's agreed to handle the case."

"And then?" I asked.

"Since your testimony is worthless, we'll need to stir up some trouble to find evidence."

"You could be a bit more specific," I said, slightly annoyed by her theatricality.

"I'm getting to it! The unprocessed file of your complaint still exists. I have it. We just need to find Fisk's allies who will confess to the murder, along with his other misdeeds. Uncover the corrupt cop in his pocket. Connect all the dots and bring Fisk down."

"You make it sound easy. Your plan is screwed up," I laughed.

"When I tell you that you underestimate me too much, my dear Alex, I haven't even told you the best part, and you're already sulking."

"Tell me the best part, oh great Jessica!"

"Since you insist so charmingly."

"........."

"Okay! I found the one who sent the killers to your apartment. His name is Franck; he usually handles all of Fisk's dirty work. He runs a butcher shop in Hell's Kitchen. No need to draw you a picture."

"I see. How do we proceed?"

"Simple, we sneak into his office and plant bugs there."

"Don't look at me like that," she said, outraged. "I'm a private detective, I have legal obligations. You didn't expect us to kidnap him and torture him, did you?"

From what little I've seen of your series, you weren't scrupulous about the laws, since it suited you, I thought.

"Alright, alright," I replied with a laugh.

Three days later.

"Do you remember the plan?" Jessica asked me to make as much trouble as possible outside while I sneaked inside.  Then, when I finished, You make your presence known to the guards. Then we run away."

“Absolutely,” I replied.

During the last two days, she was scouting in and around the butchery.

For a simple shop, it was well guarded by men armed to the teeth. But not impenetrable.

Equipped with our hoods, we got out of Jessica's car and parked a street down.

The night is very dark and conducive to shady acts.

Approaching the butcher's shop was child's play.

To create a diversion, I slipped between the cars in front of the building. Setting everyone on fire, with a small fireball.

Car alarms going off, all together, was a real cacophony.

To complete my misdeed, I broke a few empty bottles here and there, to give the impression of an attack by delinquents.

By the time the guards had gathered outside, they were visibly panicking. Jessica had already slipped inside, as quiet as a cat.

I put myself in a safe place, out of sight, waiting for his return.

The guards hadn't even finished putting out the fires yet, and she was already outside.

I checked my watch, it hadn't even been 10 minutes.  My God, she was good.

As she approached, I suddenly felt something burning cut through the air with a thunderous crack. Damn, that was fast, and it was heading towards Jessica.

It came from a building very close to the butcher's shop, someone spotted us.  Holy shit!  I swore.

The speed of the thing was phenomenal, not sure she could avoid it. And the guards were now on the lookout.

There is only one option left.
Making all these deductions at lightning speed, I fell into my feline form, pumping out as much mana as I could.  Then I rushed to pick up Jessica.

I should burn her, instead of her pierced.

 

 ******

Bullseye was stunned, to say the least.  He was a mercenary, he had seen a lot of things, experienced a lot of things, and also killed a lot of people.

But for Alex's case, it was a first.  The guy had just saved someone from one of his shots and his Barrett M82.

Despite his superb eyesight, he barely saw it move.

“You surprise me more and more. There’s no question of letting you go,” he laughed, a maniacal smile on his face. While descending from his perch.

 *****

"Damn, Alex, why did you hit me like that?” Jessica moaned in the middle of the debris.

We were lying inside the butcher's shop, in a pile of debris and glass.  Having difficulty controlling my trajectory, we tumbled into the building, instead of where I was aiming. The shots we were taking had something to do with it.

"I just saved the skin. You'll thank me later," I growled.

As Jessica got up, I told her to lie down. Not even a second later, a barrage of bullets reduced the store to shreds.

“I told you your plan was messed up,” I groaned.

" Who are you saying that to?"  she shouted at me, angrily.  “How are we going to get out of here?”

While Jessica was asking me this question, I had already straightened up.  Kissing all the men who approached, with a panoramic glance.

I lower myself into my feline form.  The first man didn't even have time to blink, as I was already on him, throwing him into a vehicle.

In less than thirty seconds, I was wreaking carnage in the ranks of the attackers.

As I knocked down another man, I felt the same sensation as Jessica attacked.

Quickly, I cast a large trail of fire to burn the entire area; no unnecessary risk-taking. Given my demonstration, it's likely that the guy got away.  I figured that fighting me wasn't worth it.  He's smart, I guess.

Returning to my normal form, I was knocked out. When suddenly a barrage of bullets came towards me, I was barely dodging, when I felt something come into contact with me and explode.

Boom!.

“Shit, that hurts,” I screamed as I crashed into a car. I was shocked, to say the least, The guy was still there, waiting for the right moment to strike.  I don't know what hit me, but it was enough to throw me dozens of meters into a car. If it weren't for my resistance to flames, I would have died.

I had bruises everywhere, and even a piece of metal lodged in my shoulder.

"You know, my dear Alex. You pleasantly surprised me. This shot was aimed at your head, but you were able to deflect it. It's unfortunate. You don't think so" said the guy as he approached me. A semi-automatic in one hand and a grenade launcher in the other.

As I stood up, I could see that the man was quite frightening. Apart from the rifles in his hands, he had one strapped to his back, and two guns on his belt.  And a long military knife on the thigh.

"You don't seem to be very talkative. Let me introduce myself, Bullseye, the one who's going to kill you," he said with a laugh.

I understand now. He wasn't a metahuman, but when he's armed, he's just like that.

"Stay still! I saw your little show earlier. Letting you do it again would be boring. Anyway, I doubt you can dodge a grenade at point-blank range."

He was right, my injuries were embarrassing. Which greatly reduced my reaction time.

But I still had a chance, this guy seemed to enjoy taunting his opponents, and also listening to himself talk.
Let's buy time so Jessica can sneak up on him. This is my only chance!  I thought

“And in what honor are you stalking me?”

"You're bothering important people. Being the good pest controller that I am. I have to eliminate you. Nothing personal, my friend."

With superhuman agility, Bullseye spun around on him. Shooting several bullets at Jessica, who was trying to take her by surprise. And a grenade of mine, who was trying to take advantage of his distraction.

Despite the explosion and the pain that followed, I was able to take my swift form, decamp, and recover the seriously injured Jessica.

Shit! Nothing was going as planned.  We were two damn supermen, getting our asses kicked by a mere human.  Who was hired by another normal damn criminal?

I was sick and tired of it. This couldn't continue.

Jessica is out of action. I need to take this guy out quickly before I run out of juice. Only my willpower allowed me to stand after these two explosions.

Armed with new resolve, I slalomed between the cartridges as best I could.

The guy's accuracy was monstrous,
which prevented me from approaching quickly.

The idiot also kept throwing those damn grenades at me. Which I gracefully avoided.

I want to give him a hard time.

Without warning, I jumped on a car to gain altitude. Considering the face he was pulling, he didn't expect it, well.

And even less I cut my technique for my normal form, reducing my size as a target.

As expected, it unsettled him for half a second.
It was enough for what I planned.

"Pistolero!” I shouted, my spellbook coming to life.

“Eat it bitch.” I roared.

Each shot was overloaded with mana.  I had no intention of missing this guy for anything in the world.

With his always disconcerting agility, he dodged the first shot. But the explosion of the latter pushed him back.

Asshole!  You're not the only one who can spam explosives.

Unfortunately for him, he was unable to avoid the second, who tore off his arm.

Despite the pain and his screams, he pulled out a handgun to shoot me.

I quickly disarmed him, breaking his arm.

I am not someone who is cruel, or who takes pleasure in killing. But this guy's arrogance, the shit-eating grin on his face.  And especially what he had just done to Jessica. To break a dam inside me.

While he was lying on the ground.  Shot after shot, I unloaded my gunslinger on him.
With each shot, the earth sank, digging a deeper and deeper crater.

I was still tired, but the hatred within me had taken precedence over reason.

As I was about to fire one last shot, a really hard stick hit my hand, deflecting the shot.

“I think he’s dead, no need to persist.”

Turning around, I felt a cold glint in my eyes.  I saw at first glance that it was Daredevil.

Upon realization, I relaxed a little.  In addition, he supported Jessica, who was still in critical condition.

Even though he presented himself in peace, I felt his distrust of me. Not that I cared much.

“I guess you can take us somewhere for treatment.”

“You guess right. But you shouldn’t hang around, here, it’s like a war zone, the police won’t be long.”

Silently, I accepted his words.

We hadn't even traveled ten meters.  Then we heard the sound of a bunch of engines roaring.

At first, it wasn't the police, given the lack of identification on the cars. Big black sedans, typical gangster vehicles.

My mood is already low. They quickly deteriorated when I saw them. When they descended their vehicles, assault rifles were in hand. All I wanted to do was to tear holes in them until nothing was left of them.

As this thought stirred, a page of my grimoire was filled to satisfy this desire for carnage that invaded me, and my mana on the verge of exhaustion was revived, crossing a new level.

Despite all of Daredevil's pleas and displeasure, I turned a deaf ear. I didn't want to run away, I had to send a message to Fisk. And to anyone who wants to piss me off.

Stretching out my ten fingers, slowly, I repeated: Machine gun.

When I finally finished, I saw the fearless man looking at me, his mouth open, his eyes wide.

“You’re a monster.”