“Get up you weakling!”

A jolt of energy surged through John’s body as his eyes slowly opened. The woman was standing in front of one of the girls. John’s hand was out in front of him and he began to notice something unusual. He felt this burning sensation all over his body and he saw a mist rising from his skin. The woman with the claws raised one of her hands as John’s eyes widened.

John jumped effortlessly to his feet. As the woman swung her arm John moved and instinctively caught her by the wrist. She looked at her hand then at John. He could see the surprise etched on her face  just as much as it was on his. The burning mist continued to rise as he pushed her away. Surprisingly, she went hurtling away from the two girls. John stared at his hands wondering what was going on. As he started walking toward the woman he began to have this splitting headache. His senses heightened to an unnatural level causing everything to go haywire. He collapsed to the ground groaning in pain.                 

“I awakened you… how lovely.” The woman said as she grabbed John and sat him up to face her. Her long brown hair covered most of her face. John winced in pain as he tried to pull away as he began to hear her heart beating.

“Awakened? What the hell are you talking about you crazy witch.” John said as the woman laughed before gently slapping John. He didn’t like the fact she was suddenly acting friendly.

“Preternatural and certain supernatural beings manifest their true selves after a near-death experience or a certain fight or flight event. We call it the awakening.” She said sounding fascinated. 

 John pulled away as he head felt as if it would explode. She rolled her eyes as she grabbed him again. “I’m a human…” 

“If you want help with understanding who you are then find Dr. Lee.” She said as she stood up and took off running. John staggered to his feet and turned to the two girls who appeared frightened.

“Can you two get to Valentine manor safely? I have to try and see if anyone else needs help.” John said as the girls nodded before running off to find Gizmo’s estate. 

John looked down at his burned and torn clothes as he walked down the street. He could hear the ongoing fights as he walked in silence. The task force soldiers finally arrived and were putting the fires out. John could also see the soldiers fighting superhumans that were attacking. John decided to keep walking and head home. He walked down the street as people passed him. He began to feel invisible as no one seemed to notice him. He still struggled to process what had happened to him. 

As he was making his way out of Blackthorn district he saw someone lying in a ditch. It was a young woman who appeared to be severely wounded. Her hair was brownish-black with a curly texture. Her clothes were torn and badly burned. Her mask was cracked enabling John to see her face. He got closer and for a brief moment, he thought he recognized her. John realized she only bore a slight resemblance to someone. He looked around realizing no one would help her if she was alive. 

He reluctantly picked her up and carried her out of the ditch. At first, he thought about taking her to the hotel he was staying in. Unfortunately, it'd be too far of a walk with her. He looked around and saw a house that had slightly been destroyed. It wasn’t much but it was enough to give her time to recover. He carried her over to the house as he looked around making sure no one was around. He stumbled trying to keep from tripping over debris. As he looked around for a few minutes he saw a place safe enough to set her down. He gently placed on her the floor causing her to wince silently. John pulled off her mask to see her bruised face. She had light brown skin and brownish pink lips. He stared at her wondering why she resembled someone he once knew.  

He staggered over to a spot in a far corner to sit down. John slowly looked around the broken down and beat up house. He got up when he saw a burned blanket on the ground. He picked it up and placed it on top of the woman before sitting back down. He rubbed the back of his head as he wondered what he’d do next. She seemed to be barely breathing as he glanced over at her. He started thinking about what the other woman had said. What had been awakened inside him? He began to wonder as he stared at his hands. He noticed he didn’t have any scars causing him to shift his body to lift up his shirt. He looked down to see that he didn’t have a scratch on him. All his scars were completely healed and no longer existed. He sat silently as he stared at the floor of the broken-down home. What the hell was happening?