Let's reach 250 Power Stones for an extra chapter
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I walk the streets. They look the sa, but everything feels different. The hospital ssed with my head. Nothing feels quite real anymore, like I'm seeing the world through a dirty window.
…The bent bed rail… how did that even happen? My hands just… gripped it. It twisted like it was made of plastic. Then the boxes at the old house… I just picked them up, no problem. Ethan even joked about my "super strength." He doesn't know the half of it. He thinks it's funny. I don't.
It's not funny at all. It's terrifying. I'm scared. The comics I used to read, the ones where ordinary people suddenly had powers, they never showed this part. The confusion. The fear. This isn't like anything in those stories. No cool costu, no catchy origin story, just… this. This weirdness inside . What if I can't control it? What if I hurt soone?
I duck into a deserted alley, the air thick with the sll of garbage and exhaust fus. My heart pounds against my ribs. I need to know if it's real. If I'm real. I spot a rusted old dumpster, overflowing with trash. It's perfect. It's heavy, probably full of broken stuff.
I take a deep breath. My palms feel sweaty. This is insane. I'm about to try and lift a dumpster. . Jessica Campbell. The girl who always blended in. I brace myself, wrapping my hands around the grimy edge of the dumpster. My knuckles whiten. This can't be happening.
I grasp the dumpster's edge. My muscles tense. This is it. I push. The rusted tal groans, then screeches against the asphalt.
Scrrraape.
The dumpster slides, scraping a deep gouge into the pavent. It feels… light. Too light. My heart leaps into my throat.
"Holy crap," I whisper, staring at the displaced dumpster. "Did I just do that?"
I try again, more gently this ti, pushing the heavy bin back into its original spot. It moves with surprising ease. A small smile touches my lips. Okay, so I'm strong. Really strong. What else?
I look up at the fire escape, then at the brick wall. A crazy thought sparks in my head. I take a running start, push off the ground, and whoosh, I'm flying.
Whoosh!
The wind whips past my face, the alley rushing beneath . I sail over the brick wall, landing softly on the opposite rooftop. The city stretches out, a sprawling concrete canvas. This feels… amazing. Like I could just keep going.
I leap again, a longer, more powerful jump this ti.
Swish!
The sensation is exhilarating, a dizzying rush of speed and height. I bounce from one building to the next, the ground becoming a distant blur. The air is cool and crisp up here, the city sounds muffled below. I feel weightless, free.
"This is incredible," I gasp, a wide grin spreading across my face. "Absolutely incredible."
From my new vantage point, high above the streets, the world shrinks. Buildings beco toy blocks, cars look like ants. Then I see it. A small commotion below, near a dimly lit street. Three hulking figures corner a lone woman. One of them shoves her against a wall.
"Hey!" I shout, but my voice gets lost in the city din. They don't hear . They can't.
My stomach clenches. This isn't right. I can't just watch. Not anymore. I clench my fists. I'm coming down there.
I drop from the rooftop, landing with a soft thud that still rattles the pavent. The gang mbers turn, startled, their predatory grins faltering as they see .
"Leave her alone," I say, my voice steady, surprising even myself.
One of them, a bulky guy with a snarling scorpion tattooed on his neck, steps forward. "Mind your own business, sweetheart, or you'll regret it." He lunges, his fist a blur.
I instinctively throw up an arm. The punch connects with a sickening crack, but it's him who cries out in pain, clutching his hand.
"What the hell?" he screams, his face contorted. "My hand! What did you do?"
Another charges, a switchblade glinting in the dim light. I parry awkwardly, the blade scraping harmlessly against my forearm, leaving only a faint, silver line. I push back, my untad strength sending him sprawling into a pile of trash cans. They clatter loudly as he lands.
"What just hit ?" he yells from the garbage.
The third man, visibly unnerved, tries to flee. I move with surprising speed, intercepting him, inadvertently slamming him against a brick wall with enough force to leave a visible dent before he slides to the ground, unconscious.
I look at the dent, then at my hands. This is… a lot. The woman I saved scrambles away, wide-eyed, not even thanking . I don't bla her. I probably look just as terrified as she does. I feel it, too. This isn't a comic book. This is real.
The woman I rescued stumbles back, clutching her purse. Her eyes are wide, darting between and the unconscious thugs.
"Are you okay?" I ask, my voice sounding a little shaky even to my own ears.
She nods, a quick, jerky motion. "Yes, yes, I'm fine. Thank you. Oh, thank you so much." She looks like she's about to cry, or maybe faint. "You… you saved ."
"Just be careful out here at night," I tell her, my words coming out stiffly. I don't want to answer questions about super strength or flying. She glances at the dent in the wall where I slamd one of the guys, then back at . Her gratitude feels heavy, sothing I don't quite know how to carry.
I hear sirens wailing in the distance, growing louder. I can't be here when the cops show up. Not yet. Not like this. I need to figure things out first. I lt back into the shadows, making my escape before the flashing red and blue lights paint the alley.
My heart still thrums, a mix of adrenaline and sothing else, sothing… exhilarating. I'm walking fast, not really sure where I'm going, when a discarded newspaper catches my eye. It's plastered with headlines about Iron Man, blurry pictures of Spider-Man swinging through the city, and a ntion of "Cipher" from the Harlem incident. Heroes. Vigilantes.
I used to feel invisible, like a ghost walking through life. The accident, losing my family, it just cented that feeling. Like I was just… there, taking up space, with no real purpose. But out there, in that alley, I felt a surge of sothing different. A spark. A reason.
Could this be it? Could this be what I'm supposed to do with this… power? If I'm going to do this, really do this, I need to figure out what it ans. And maybe, just maybe, I need a costu.
***
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