Marvel: The Super Player

A package from twelve years ago?

Mine?

That unlucky delivery man?

So, the unfortunate client he came all the way to the Star Tower to find, the one who had been waiting for him for twelve years, was me?

WTF?

Locke raised an eyebrow. He took the box from the doorman—it wasn't very large and was patched up with all kinds of tape—and fixed his gaze upon it.

Texas, Galveston, Silver City Child Care Center, Locke Broughton.

It really is me?

Locke looked at the somewhat blurry writing on it and blinked.

"Oh, right."

As if remembering something, the doorman took an envelope out of his pocket and handed it to Locke as well.

"Mr. Broughton, the man also wanted me to pass this along. He said it is his letter of apology for making you wait twelve years."

Locke gave an hum of affirmation and took the envelope. "Is there anything else?"

"No, that is all."

"Thanks."

Locke smiled slightly, stepped back into the elevator, and pressed the button for his floor.

Ding!

When Locke returned home, he tossed his keys into the candy bowl he had bought this year to hold Halloween candy. Then, he shook the box in his hand. A rattling sound echoed, but nothing seemed particularly unusual.

As for this letter?

Locke ripped it open with a sharp tear.

It was an incredibly sincere, neatly written letter of apology from the delivery man for the twelve-year-late package. The content was hollow and completely devoid of substance. Although it filled two entire pages, it boiled down to a single phrase repeated over and over: I am deeply sorry.

Locke tossed the apology letter aside, grabbed a fruit knife, and sliced right through the layers of tape wrapped around the battered box.

The next second.

With a soft plop, a letter and a flash drive dropped straight into Locke's hand.

But...

"This flash drive?" Locke clutched the object in his hand, which shared the exact shape of a flash drive, and blinked. Looking at its connector—which didn't resemble a USB interface, nor did it look like an interface for anything else—he blinked again.

"What on earth is this thing?"

It should be a flash drive.

Locke squeezed the object. It looked like a flash drive, but he could guarantee that no operating system on the market had a port you could plug this thing into. With that thought in mind, his gaze fell upon the letter that had dropped out with it.

Rip!

"Hello, my son, I am Lorraine..."

"Fuck!"

The moment Locke opened the letter and saw the opening line, he instinctively snapped it shut, cursed in annoyance, and threw it far away from him.

Shit, is she seriously haunting me now?

Locke rubbed his face, stared at the fallen letter, and downed the Bourbon in his glass in one gulp.

Frankly speaking, he had actually felt a tiny bit of anticipation.

However...

Twelve years ago, Locke was only five years old. Who the hell would purposefully mail something to me back then?

Locke stared at the ceiling, feeling a bit dazed. What exactly had he been anticipating just now?

Was it just the mysterious thrill of opening a box?

Locke shook his head. Then, he looked down at the flash drive pinched between his fingers and the letter lying on the floor, his eyes flickering slightly.

This honestly feels like Pandora's box all over again.

Locke complained inwardly. He had spent a tremendous amount of effort just to clean up the mess left behind by Lorraine Broughton. The exact moment he successfully turned Lorraine Broughton back into a literal figure on paper, this letter and this bizarre thing showed up together.

This is a bit too much of a coincidence.

Locke's eyes flashed. He stood up, scooped up the letter from the floor, tightly gripped the flash drive, and strode straight into his study. He turned on his computer and began looking into the courier flight that crashed twelve years ago.

He didn't even need to waste much energy searching because this matter was currently a trending news topic. A special column had already been put together over in Los Angeles, the delivery man's hometown.

Furthermore, the delivery man had signed a contract with the Los Angeles Daily, granting them exclusive rights to publish his deserted island diaries.

The authenticity of the information was quite high.

So.

A coincidence?

This letter was originally supposed to be mailed to him twelve years ago, but because the delivery plane crashed, it had been delayed until now.

But...

Twelve years ago, there weren't even computers that could plug this thing in.

Locke looked at the object that looked exactly like a flash drive, narrowed his eyes, and finally let his gaze rest on the letter.

"Hello, my son, I am Lorraine Broughton."

"I am very sorry to greet you on your birthday in this manner."

"But Mom..."

Snap!

Thud!

Locke directly slammed the letter shut. With a flick of his right hand, he fetched a wooden box, threw both the letter and the flash-drive-like object inside, and locked it away in his study safe with a sharp click.

(T/N:- bruh i hate you author, this guy and his mommy issues)

...

The next day.

Gwen, who had changed into a pink down jacket and wore a very cute hat with rabbit ears today, stepped into the car and froze. She looked at Locke in the driver's seat.

"What is wrong with you?"

Locke yawned and looked back at Gwen curiously.

The corners of Gwen's mouth turned up. "Did you look in the mirror when you got up today? It is rare to see you looking like you haven't slept all night."

Locke glanced at himself in the rearview mirror.

He did look a bit drained of energy.

No matter.

Locke smiled, started the car, and headed toward the location he had agreed upon with Cindy and Kahn.

He had indeed stayed up all night.

After all, Locke disliked secrets. He had searched the internet for half the night and failed to find a single thing that could match the interface of that flash drive in the wooden box.

As for that letter?

Locke did end up reading it later. After all, if he didn't read it, it would imply that he cared, so he definitely had to read it.

But just like the apology letter, it was hollow and devoid of substance, blabbering on with a bunch of phrases like, I had no choice, I promise to come back and find you after this mission is over, take you with me, and watch you grow up.

And the result?

She died right after writing the letter.

Locke let out a sigh. This is why if you aren't the main character, you shouldn't throw around death flags for no reason. If nothing goes wrong, great, but the moment something does, you won't even be able to keep your own small life.

As for what this flash drive was.

It wasn't mentioned.

Lorraine Broughton merely said in the letter that she hoped Locke would keep it safe and never show it to anyone else, because it was an amulet she was giving to Locke.

Your son was five years old, and you gifted him a fucking flash drive.

Wait, no!

Back then, had things like flash drives even come out yet?

Locke was somewhat speechless. Therefore, in order to figure out what this thing actually was, he had searched the internet for the entire night. In the end, despite relying on his influence that spanned both the underworld and the legitimate world, he couldn't find an answer.

This was truly fascinating.

By the time Locke and Gwen arrived at the restaurant, Kahn and Cindy, who were supposed to arrive before them, had broken down midway and would probably be a bit late.

While waiting in the restaurant.

Gwen nudged Locke and blinked. "What happened, Locke?"

She swore to God that this was the first time she had seen Locke look exhausted in the morning, so Gwen was somewhat worried.

Locke looked at Gwen and smiled. "You know about that package delivered to the Star Tower?"

Gwen nodded.

The next second.

Gwen opened her mouth wide and looked at Locke in shock. "It couldn't be for you, right?"

Locke nodded. "Correct guess, but there is no prize money. It was sent by Lorraine Broughton."

"And then?"

"And then..."

Locke pulled out the object that looked exactly like a flash drive from his pocket with his right hand. "In order to figure out what this thing is, I searched through records all night."

Gwen took it and looked it over. "Isn't this a U— Huh?"

Locke watched as Gwen's expression changed as well and smiled. "Is it strange?"

Gwen nodded, flipping over the small but beautifully metallic flash drive in her hand.

"Didn't she tell you what this thing is?"

Locke shook his head. "She did. An amulet."

Could it be that amulet containing the roster and profiles of the ICA members?

Locke suddenly recalled the words Madame A had spoken right before he shot her dead.

However...

The ICA had been completely uprooted by him. In fact, the entire city of London was currently experiencing a massive political and media storm during this term precisely because of this ICA affair.

Gwen smiled and handed the flash drive back to Locke. "Since it is an amulet, you should keep it safe."

Locke didn't reply and put the flash drive away.

The reason he kept this flash drive was because he wanted to know what was stored inside it. Once he figured it out, this flash drive could be destroyed immediately.

Furthermore.

Locke thought of a good method.

Spend some money, find a supplier, and have them construct a unique USB adapter that matched this flash drive's interface so it could connect to a computer.

The suggestion was excellent, but it wasn't realistic.

After all, this wasn't an issue regarding the physical size of the interface; it was an issue of data transmission. Moreover, twelve years had already passed. Ghost knew if the contents inside would disintegrate into ash if an operation failed.

"Where are you going after we finish eating later?"

"Chester's house."

"Today is Christmas Eve, Locke!"

"I know."

Locke looked at Gwen's expression and smiled, as if remembering something. "Oh right, Christmas Eve, I almost forgot."

As he spoke.

Locke pulled out his phone.

"Carrie."

"Locke."

"Are you over at Chester's place this afternoon?"

"Yes."

"Then wait for me. I have something to give you."

"...Alright."

Locke put down his phone, looked at Gwen's gaze fixing directly upon him, and smiled.

"The Christmas gifts Chester got for me and Carrie were left at the house. He asked me to go pick them up, and while I'm at it, deliver Carrie's gift as well."

Gwen nodded. "I didn't say anything else."

Just then.

Kahn and Cindy walked in from outside, looking travel-worn.

In the afternoon.

Locke retrieved the two gift boxes—one blue, one red—from the location Chester had mentioned over the phone. He immediately handed the red gift box to Carrie.

"Chester asked me to give this to you."

Carrie accepted the gift box, blinked, and looked toward Locke. "Locke, are you free during the winter vacation?"

Locke, who was just about to open his own gift: "..."

***

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