If Alvin Patton Woodrose were to be asked to describe himself in one word, he'd choose Mediocre.
And why wouldn't he?
He got a whole new chance at life, an opportunity some people spend an entire lifetime trying to qualify for, and he spent most of it away doing nothing.
He was middling in grades, he wasn't smart, but he wasn't at the bottom of his class either. Same with fitness, he was in the middle. Putting in enough effort into his life to not be at the bottom, but never bothering to go above and beyond.
Maybe that's because of his home life; being reincarnated into this new life didn't erase sixteen years of memories. Suddenly finding yourself as a baby being taken care of by people who claim to be your parents, but you know deep down that they're not.
He felt bad about that as well. Zachary and Linda Patton have adopted and taken care of him since before his new body was able to retain memories, and yet he always compared them to the parents of his first life. It was unfair for them to be compared to a couple that did not exist in this world. A couple he couldn't even remember the names of.
And that just made him feel even worse about everything.
And the worst part? He didn't even realize this new world was different from his last until he reached middle school.
When he sat in the living room, watching the news, seeing a group of four people with wonderful powers beat back a man who lived on a place called Monster Island.
Those people? Those Four Fantastic individuals? They were Heroes, honest to god real Super Heroes.
And they were instantly the talk of the entire world, it felt like.
Reed Richards, Son of famous physicist Nathaniel Richards and one of the most famous rising stars in the world of science, suddenly became a household name that everybody could recognize, not just the science nerds.
Ben Grimm? Star football player turned Astronaut? Anybody who was interested in Sports or NASA knew about him. But now? Everybody does!
Susan Storm? She just happened to be Reed's fiancée. But now? Another worldwide celebrity, an inspiration to girls all around the world!
And Johnny Storm? He stood out the most. I mean, why wouldn't he?
A lot of people will say it's because his powers are the most showy. When he yells Flame On! Everybody can see him.
But that's not why he stood out, not to Alvin at least, no.
Jonathan Storm stands out because he was a teenager, only three or four years older than himself.
Watching a guy, a kid really, so close to his age, make something so grand out of his life at such a young age?
It just made Alvin feel even more mediocre. Living in a world with real Super Heroes, fighting against villains like the Mole Man and his army of Monsters, foiling Doctor Doom's plot to take over the United Nations, and even helping the illusive Inhumans escape from the clutches of Maximus the Mad!
And then the Avengers showed up~
And if you thought the Fantastic For were household names? Boy- The Avengers were another breed entirely.
Captain America? He was the original Super Hero for most people alive; his comics were collector's items that were worth thousands. Now that he's not frozen in Ice, anything Captain America from before 1950 is worth ten times more!
Iron Man? After billionaire Tony Stark disappeared on a business trip gone wrong, he showed up with a brand-new bodyguard wearing an incredible suit of high-tech armor. Leaving the weapons industry and turning Stark Enterprises into the center of High-tech innovation in the States.
Thor? A literal god from Norse Myth! If the others were Super Heroes, he was a Classic Hero, the type you'd read in a poem written over one thousand years ago!
And then there were the next two~ Ant-Man, a mysterious man with a size-changing suit and a brilliant mind for robotics and biochemistry.
And then the Winsome Wasp, Janet Van Dyne, the only other member of the team with a public identity. Daughter of world-renowned scientist Vernon Van Dyne, Niece of textile magnate Blaine Van Dyne. She was rich, smart, popular, and most notably, still very young. Only a few years older than the Human Torch.
Two incredibly famous, successful, and powerful people, neither of them more than seven years older than him.
And when Alvin watched them, he couldn't help but feel even more mediocre.
A few years have already passed since the Fantastic Four made their debut, and Alvin was already in his second year in High-School.
And still, looking at all those amazing people around him, Alvin Woodrose couldn't help but feel mediocre.
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"Enjoy your field trip to Oscorp~"
"Mom, he's just taking a bus to Manhattan. Why are you acting like he's traveling halfway across the country? He'll be back before the sun sets." Madeline Patton said lazily, her eyes on her phone as she leaned back into the chair she sat in.
"I'm his mother, Maddy. It's my job to act like this~" Linda Patton told her daughter, "Now get up, just because Al is going on a field trip doesn't mean you're free to laze around! It's a school day for you, too."
It was almost routine at this point; every morning, Linda would dote on the two of them, Maddy would say something sarcastic or snarky, and Alvin just coasted through it as he does through every part of his life.
Like any other mediocre morning.
Little did he know, this little field trip was about to change his life.
Whether it changed for the better or worse, however, is really up for debate.
But change it will, and it all began with a school field trip to an Oscorp research facility on the other side of the city.