I stared at the empty bottle as if it was an alien baby. I was absolutely dumbfounded and it took Andre snapping repeatedly in front of my face to knock me out of it.

"Dude, John, are you ok man?" He gave me a worried look, but I could only give him a shaky nod in assurance. I was too busy trying to suppress the decidedly not girly squeal of pure fanboy fanaticism.

I had just met The fucking Wolverine!

The scene played through his head on repeat. The glint of light from the corner of his eyes, the sound of an unsheathed blade, the rough masculine tone. A real, honest to God, superhero had just left out those plain old doors mere moments ago.

...

AND I DIDN'T GET TO ASK FOR AN AUTOGRAPH!

The loud sound of a head slamming into the counter and a groan dripping with regret echoed through the now empty restaurant.

Suddenly I stopped my, admittedly, overdramatic expression of self-loathing to another realization. Holy shit. I'm in the Marvel Universe. I had read and written many novels and stories with similar plots, but I didn't expect to actually be transmigrated!

...

Damn this is bullshit. Other people get cheat-like powers, systems, meetings with hot goddesses or to be reborn into a rich family, and I get stuck lost in the middle of bumfuck nowhere as a hobo for a few months before ending up as a fry cook? Suddenly the idea of spending any more time idly behind the grill lost all its former appeal. What the hell have I been doing?! This is no time to be enjoying the scenery or such mundane things. This was my second chance! My turn to become the protagonist, the hero I always dreamed of as a kid. Let's make something great of myself!

I got up from where I was, making sure to carefully pocket the empty bottle and the tip (What? It is totally not creepy to keep a celebrity's used item... Stop Judging me!) before rushing towards the back of the shop and entering the boss's "office"

A large grin was on my face as I imagined what the future could hold for me. Power fantasy harem hero here I come!

I had been too busy working and finding a place to live than to read the news. Judging by the outfit people wore and the styles of the buildings and technology he shouldn't be too far from what the 90s would be like. Maybe. I was hard to tell time in comics as it was based on a fluid scale and reason had to give way to comic logic at times. Like why was Gotham City perpetually in the 70s? I don't know how well real life and comic logic and tropes will apply in real life, but I sure as hell want to find out.

I wonder if I could find and befriend any heroes. Maybe I could become one of the greats. Captain America, Spiderman, Ironman, Richard Reeds. Could I join them? The Avengers? Xmen? Maybe I did have a cheat after all? It wouldn't be something lame like just my nerd knowledge right? Maybe I have some power I just don't know yet?... Am I secretly an op mutant with latent powers?! Wait... Was Shield and other such groups even formed yet? Oh God, please don't let this be an alternative timeline where the Nazis won.

My mind was occupied with such thoughts as I barged in without knocking. A startled yelp and some obviously fake moaning were heard before the sudden slam of a laptop crackled like a whip across the room. Man, talk about heavy tastes, the girl sounded like she was screaming her head off. Hardcore. Whatever, I wasn't here to judge, nor to kink shame the dude.

I gave a small laugh.

"John! What the fuck is wrong with you?! Ever heard of knocking, kid?" A flustered middle-aged man yelled at me. Yet, even being scolded by him after catching him watching porn couldn't ruin the excitement and sheer joy I had at my discovery. In fact, it only served to increase it if anything.

He was Jacob Dizamaro, an Italian immigrant who left his home to follow his dreams. He was also the man kind enough to give a preteen like me a job when I needed help. I owed this man quite a lot.

"Sorry, Boss, definitely won't happen again. Actually, I came here to let you know I'm quitting. Thanks for everything! I won't forget you once I make it big."

I rushed out the door before he could stop me, grabbing my jacket on my way out.

I asked for directions to the local library and soon found myself in front of a computer. With years of experience backing me up, I quickly managed to Google through this world's history. Everything seemed to be in order. We won the war and there was no mention of Nazis or aliens in the news. There were some sightings of 'monsters' and UMA that he was sure was tied to mutants or unknown heroes in the making. An article of a 'green giant', a blurry photo of a blue furry beast, mysterious sightings.

Well now, things are about to get interesting. I had quickly gotten myself the local orphanage, Home for Little Wanderers, and gotten enroll in Midtown middle school.

If memory served me right, there was still a couple of years before anything big happened. This was going to be fun, with dreams of the future I went to sleep with a large smile. Truly, it was going to be a Marvelous life this time around.