Chapter 3: Welcome to the Jungle

Tyler Riddle

Matt headed back to his studio apartment, saying that he really needs to leave for work. I decided to help Nia finish packing up. We're going to move to the two leftover rooms in Matt's apartment. Our apartment/condo just sent the same with our parents gone. I may not be the original Tyler, but with both his memories and emotions, it's tough to separate his experiences from mine. Anyways, I need to help Nia move on as soon as possible, and that means moving out.

We pack the last of our things and move it all to Matt's apartment. It's pretty nice for a studio apartment in Harlem. It has a very industrial feeling, but the bricks on the walls are only there for show. Everything has the proper insulation. Matt probably could only afford this on his freelance lawyer salary due to the favor he got from my parents on his "night job." 

Matt: "Hey, don't I've forgotten what you said earlier." He whispers to me before walking out the front door.

________

A few days later…

7:00 a.m.

Matt: "Rise and shine little rascals! Your vacation from school is over!" Matt wakes us up with his voice resounding through the hallway. 30 minutes later, me and Nia are dressed for a grueling return to highschool, at least that's what the previous Tyler's memories say. I never gave it a chance, not when I could learn everything on my own much faster. But I am actually a little excited at experiencing the social aspect of high school. As for Nia, she seems to be holding up, surprisingly much better than a few days ago, but distracting yourself from a big problem with little problems never fails.

Me: "Okay Nia, make sure you turn in the homework I gave you to your teachers, it will let them know that you haven't fallen behind." And with that, we're out the door, down the elevator, and onto the street.

A little way north is our high school, located just outside Harlem. In New York, it's better to just walk unless you have to go far, even then public transport is better. 

_______

Midtown High

Now possessing the body of someone with a close connection to Matt Murdock is a miracle in my eyes. Going to Midtown High considering the previous statement, is slightly less of a miracle, but being best friends with Peter Parker is an even greater miracle. 

There are a few things I know about my current Marvel Universe. I know I'm not in a world strictly based on the comics, as Peter never had a friend named Tyler Riddle. I know that none of the Avengers have made their appearance. Tony Stark is still living his best life while Peter is still his smart but broke self. And I know that knowledge of mutants hasn't become common yet. Besides that, I have no clue what's going on. I may have designed a model of the universe, but I left a good bit of randomness so I could be sure to make the trip. From the rumors on the internet, it seems that Vampires in Russia could be a thing, and the same goes for most of the Marvel storylines. So far it seems to be some sort of a hodgepodge of every main Marvel storyline with some tweaking. Honestly, with how much Info I found on crackpot forums, it's no wonder how SHIELD monitors almost all unusual activity on the globe. The populace is doing all the hard work.

Me and Nia make it to school at 8:25, just enough time to get to first period before the bell. I'm a Sophomore while Nia is a Freshman, so we don't actually have any classes together. We say goodbye and head to our first periods. The hallways are cramped, noisy, and just plain chaotic. Damn people walk slow, watch cat videos at home.

Finally, I arrive at room B-19, Biology. I enter and immediately spot my labmate and best friend, Peter Parker who is stuck in his notebook scribbling some notes. Nobody notices me as I move to the back and sit down. 

Me:" Hey Pete." I say, catching him off guard.

Peter: "Tyler! You actually came back today. I know you told me this morning, but you've been saying that for a while now. What's up?"

"Well me and Nia managed to avoid foster care. I got my Uncle Matt to take us in."

"You Neo'd that one. How'd you do it?"

"I debated him into submission."

"Bullshit."

"Do you kiss Aunt May with that mouth? Well, you're right. It was plain old bribery and begging." 

"Tsch, knew it." Right then, our Bio teacher, Ms.Morris, walked in with a girl in tow. The bell rang to announce her entrance. The girl is hot, with blonde hair in a pixie cut and a dainty figure. Her skin was pretty pale, but it looked healthy and smooth.

Ms.Morris: "Alright class, quiet down. We have one old and one new face today. Mr.Riddle has come back to us. The new face is a student transferring to our school from out of state, her name's Gwen. Mr.Parker, Mr.Riddle, if you could catch her up, I would be thankful."

While I'm in this new world, I've decided to enjoy the things in life I never really cared for previously. That meant a lot of things really, but most importantly is romance. So, I'll start by making her fall in love with me. I'm pretty good at psychology, and I know a lot about her character. I just need to appear to be kind, smart, very studious, and mysterious. I already have the looks to pull it off too. After all, a girl as hot as Gwen wouldn't just be with anybody. 

Me: "Hello Gwen, and welcome to the jungle."

_______

2 weeks later

Gwen has been warming up to me lately. We even went on a date to the movies last week. Of course, I didn't call it that, but I had Peter bail on us on a group outing. I can't believe how much of Bio Genius is. She's better than me, but she just lacks experience. I made sure to milk that cow, giving her all the knowledge and help she could ever ask for while I made dumb bio jokes to poke holes in her defenses. She has a big ballet competition coming up, I think I'll go watch and formally ask her out afterward. As for Peter, he's hooked on MJ. I'll help him out, it's not my place to decide who he likes. 

I actually made a pretty big discovery a few days ago. I was really hungry in class one morning because I left without breakfast, and I had my hand on my desk. All of a sudden, I get this word tingly feeling from my hand and start to feel less hungry. I move my hand slightly to see what's going on, and I see that my hand ate away the paint and some of the wood itself. At this point, I was panicking. I did not need to taint my image to Gwen as being a casual vandalized. So I focused on that hunger feeling again, but instead of feeding it to myself, I tried to make myself more hungry, focusing on the desk. Sure enough, the desk was back to its old wobbly self. 

Testing my powers a few times, I've come to realize a few things about them. 

1. I can absorb things to 'feed' myself.

2. I can create or restore things, causing me to go hungry again.

3. The 'hunger' I gain is dependent on a few factors actually. Namely, how much mass or energy the thing I'm absorbing has.

4. I can also tweak or manipulate an object. This doesn't actually use any hunger, but it requires a lot of focus. 

If I had to guess, I think my powers are intrinsically linked with something called the spiritual or ideal realm, proposed by Plato in ancient Greece. This realm is supposedly where the ideal form of all knowledge and Eveet idea exists. Every horse in the real world is just a deviation from the ideal horse. It's a pretty cool but weird concept. I probably got these powers due to me traveling to a multiverse that was itself an idea. It's not exactly a perfect explanation, so I'll just call my new power the Origin Force.

I've taken to absorbing everything I can get my hands on. Whether it be dirt or rusty metal. Now I can create things too, but it's super slow, slower than any other aspect of my powers. And I can only create materials that I've already absorbed before. 

Though I may have these powers, I know that I'm very weak compared to the strength I need to survive in the Marvel Multiverse. The absorption, creation, and editing aspects of my powers are far too slow to be used in actual combat. So the only option available is to tweak my body a bit and get combat training. Matt obviously isn't the Daredevil yet, because he doesn't come home with cuts and bruises, but he does know how to manage and use enhanced senses. I'll ask him to teach me. 

Now all this pondering inside my own head, leaving me vulnerable. To what, you might ask? A weak neck chop from my female friend, Gwen. 

Gwen: "Hey Tyler, stop brooding and pay attention. Answer me. Are you coming to my ballet performance Sunday?"

Me: "Yeah, sorry Gwen, I was just thinking about something. Don't worry, I'll be there."

Gwen: "Great! It's at 5, don't be late." After she's said her piece, she saunders off into a car that I assume is her dad's. Yeah, I'm smashing that when I succeed at wooing her into submission. Peter walks up behind me.

Peter:"So when are you two hooking up?"

Not looking back, I respond, "These things take time, Pete."

"Only if the other person doesn't catch on. And she's definitely in the know."

"Pray tell."

"From the death glares you give that promise untold death and destruction to any dude who so much as looks at her, how would she not. She's not dumb like almost every girl in high school. She's as smart as you or me." As he says that, my sister, Nia parts from her friends and walks over to us.

Me: "Hey sis"

Peter: "Hey Nia, me and your brother were just talking about this girl that your brother plans to ask out."

Nia: "Hey guys. Who's the girl?" Clearly not amused.

Me: "Her name's Gwen, she's a friend of ours."

"I didn't think you had female friends"

"She's a transfer, so she's new. And Peter, why are you tattle-telling?"

Peter: "When you fulfill your promise of getting Flash expelled is when you get my loyalty back."

Me: "Turncoat. Come on Nia, let's head home. See you, Tuesday Peter." I see Nia slip Peter a pack of Tic-Tacs, presumably to be used when he talks to MJ. With that, Nia and I head home.