Chapter 1: 01 Rebirth of Memories

“OWWW!” I yelled when I woke up and tried to rub a hand on my chest, only there was something in the way and I couldn't move. I couldn't see anything and I couldn't remember what had happened. I started to panic, especially because I couldn't get much air into my lungs.

“Don't worry, young man. Help is here.” A man's voice said.

“Can't... air...” I said and the last of the air in my lungs was gone.

“Quick! Get the roof off of him!” A woman's sharp voice ordered.

“We can't shift it until we brace it underneath.” The man said. “If we try to move it, it could crush him completely and not partially like it is now.”

“FUCK!” The woman yelled.

I couldn't even thank her for her concern, considering I was trying to breathe and my lungs were not expanding at all. It felt like forever before daylight seemed to light up around me and I sucked in a long breath.

“HUUUUUHHHHHH!” I wheezed and then there was a very pretty woman looking down at me. I saw that she wore a domino mask that barely covered anything on her face. “P-p-pretty.”

She laughed a little and a tear came to her eyes. “Don't talk. Don't move. Don't... don't anything.”

“What... what happened?” I asked and tried to take another breath. It was quite difficult and I was sure one of my lungs was collapsed. I wasn't sure why I knew that, though.

“It was just a stupid villain cape fight over territory.” She said and reached for my face, then stopped. “I can't touch you. Your face looks... um... not solid.”

That startled me, because that meant the roof had crushed a heck of a lot more of me than my chest.

“Don't move! I shouldn't have said that, I'm sorry.” She said and a tear dropped off of her face and onto mine.

“S'okay. Just a boo-boo.” I whispered and she let out a sound that was a half-laugh and half-sob.

“What was this place, anyway?” The man's voice asked and he stepped into view. He wore a weird looking cheap Halloween costume as he opened a dented metal case. A little vial of blue liquid dropped out and hit the ruined hardwood floor, bounced, and landed right beside my hand.

“What are you doing?!?” The woman asked him angrily. “We're heroes! We don't loot victims!”

“I wasn't... I was just curious what was inside.” The man said and bent down to pick up the vial.

I felt like he shouldn't touch it and my hand grabbed it and pulled it close to my body.

“Hey! You can't...” The man started to berate me.

“It's probably his, you idiot!” The woman spat and turned to look at me. “I'm sorry about that.”

“S'okay. Can't fix stupid.” I said.

She clamped her mouth shut for a second, then she laughed for a few moments. It was a nervous laugh and almost seemed forced.

I waited for her to calm down before I spoke again. I wasn't sure why I needed to speak, I just did. “Parched.”

The woman nodded and looked at my hand. I made a sound of agreement and she helped me lift the vial to my mouth. I opened it with my teeth and then drank down the fluid inside. It tasted and felt like a mix of liquid snot and gasoline.

“We've called for an ambulance.” The woman said. “We'll get you into traction and...”

“Owww.” I whispered as pain lanced through my body.

“What is it?” The woman asked.

“Don't... know... something... wrong.” I said between shaky breaths. The pain started increasing and I screamed a long and ragged breath. “AHH-AHHH-AHHHH!”

“Oh, god! I think he's triggering!” The woman said and stood up, panic clear on her face.

“RUN!” The man said and they both took off and left me alone.

It was just too bad that he had said it a bit too late. The house exploded from underneath us and a giant houseplant swatted them aside. One of the man's arms broke and the woman cried out in pain when she landed on her leg wrong and it buckled underneath her.

I didn't have any time to worry about that as the thing swung a huge vine towards me and tore up the floor I was on. I was flung through the air like a ragdoll and I screamed again and felt something inside my head snap.

“NO!” The woman yelled and one of her hands reached for me as I flew over her. She seemed to black out and collapsed in a heap, as did the man in the costume.

I felt really bad that the nice woman was caught up in all of this. I couldn't open my pulped mouth, however. My body seemed to have become one giant expanding bruise and my flesh seemed to swell all over. I crashed down on torn up pavement and the people remaining in the street looked sick at the sounds of my cracking bones and my mangled body.

“ARRGGGHHHH!” I yelled and felt something else inside my head crack. A really weird feeling seemed to diffuse throughout my body and two more people that were passing near on the street, fell unconscious. The funny thing was, the giant plant with vines also seemed to stop moving.

“You aren't claiming what I've earned!” A man's voice shouted and another plant-like thing waddled by me.

I stared at the thing and wondered why my eyes still worked, despite having mush for a face.

“You have overstepped yourself.” An aristocratic voice responded before multiple energy beams cut apart both plant things.

I couldn't move my head to look, because I was sure my neck and back were broken. That didn't seem to matter, because someone wearing weird armor stepped over me to look down at me.

“Aren't you the horrible mess?” The aristocratic voice asked.

For some reason, I knew his cape name was Accord. I gurgled at him and he smiled.

“I saw the trigger. I will be keeping an eye on... ARGH!” Accord yelled as he was slammed in the back with a thick vine and thrown over me.

Unfortunately, I was right there and the vine dropped and crushed what was left of me. At least, that's what it felt like. I couldn't really feel my body anymore as my mind once again seemed to crack and I felt power flow through me.

I laid there in the middle of the street for an unknown amount of time as the villains fought over territory, according to that pretty woman. I had lost track of her until she crawled over to me.

“Don't... worry.” She said with a ragged breath and placed a hand on my chest. She didn't react as her hand seemed to push my flesh down a bit further than it should have. She put her head on my arm and looked into my eyes. “You... you're safe. I made sure... took precautions.”

I couldn't move my mouth and tried to express with just my eyes what that meant to me.

She smiled and took a deep breath. “You... not responsible... for... can't expect...” She stopped talking as the life drained from her eyes.

As hurt as I was, I couldn't even cry for her. As I blacked out from the pain, I realized I didn't know her name and that fact would haunt me for years to come.

*

I woke up a really long time later and I was fully healed. My identity was changed, not that I could remember what it was anyway. I had also been taken into Protectorate custody and installed into the Wards program while I recovered from the incident that had devastated a small portion of Boston. My parents had died in the attack as well and with the damage I had suffered, I couldn't even remember them.

As per PRT policy, I was shipped off to a different precinct to lessen the people that would know who I used to be. It didn't matter to me, considering I looked nothing like I had before. Or so the pictures in the wrecked house had shown. No one could explain why I looked completely different, even though my DNA matched that of the old me.

As an orphan and a ward of the government, I arrived in Brockton Bay on the evening of January First in 2011 and was given a small room in the compound that the Wards were housed within, called The Rig. I was only slightly surprised that there were already several members staying there on a semi-permanent basis and I was awestruck by the youngest and very pretty girl named Vista.

Before anyone could speak and welcome me into the Brockton Bay wards, I walked over to her and gave her a huge smile. “I know this may seem weird and is a lot more forward than I think either of us expected; but, I feel like I already know you, Vista.”

Everyone in the room gave me curious looks.

“I don't know how I know you, though.” I tapped my head. “They called it selective amnesia.”

“Hold on.” One of the guys said and seemed to glare at me, as if he was frustrated. “You know her and don't know how you know her?”

“That's right, whoever you are.” I said to him, which surprised everyone, and I looked back at Vista. “I don't remember your civilian identity, which is weird. I only know you as a kick-ass Ward that doesn't take crap from anyone.”

Vista gave me a happy smile. “What's your name?”

“I was assigned Alex Powers, because I have no idea who I was or anything.”

“Are you a Case 53?” A different guy asked.

“Nope! The PRT knows who I used to be. The problem is, I was beaten so much in a villain attack that I had to be scraped up from the pavement and now I don't look like who I used to be.” I said and didn't divert my gaze from Vista. “A cape died protecting me and I don't know her name or anything, either.”

“They didn't tell you?” The first guy asked.

“No one could find out who she was, or so they said.” I shrugged. “I'll always remember her sad and happy face at the end, though. She was so nice and pretty and she's my first memory, not counting the things I sometimes remember for no reason.”

“Like knowing me and not knowing me?” Vista asked and I nodded.

“I'm your age and will be going to the same school as you, too.” I said and she looked happy. “I hope we can be friends.”

Vista nodded. “Do you want to know my real name?”

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“You can tell me later if you want, because it doesn't matter in my head. You're Vista and that's all that seems to be sticking in there.” I said and she seemed very pleased with that information.

“What's your cape name?” The second guy asked.

I turned and looked at the East Indian woman wearing the American flag on her face. “Miss Militia?”

“The next name on the list was Myriad.” Miss Militia said.

“It seemed appropriate as well.” Armsmaster said.

“What are his powers?” Another guy asked.

“Aegis, that is a sensitive subject.” Miss Militia said.

“That's because we're still working it out.” I said and everyone looked at me. “What? I'm still growing.”

They all looked down at my well-muscled body.

“You're joking, right?” The first guy asked and his glare didn't fade or change.

I saw his frustration and smiled at him. “Whatever your powers are, if they are mind-based, you're out of luck. I'm completely immune. Like, from everything.”

That had gasps come from nearly everyone that was still in the common area, including some of the Protectorate capes.

“It's true. No thinker powers work on him at all. Not one.” Armsmaster said. “Even precogs can't sense him.”

“That's amazing.” Vista whispered.

“I'm invulnerable, too.” I said and more gasps came from around me. “Whatever happened during my trigger event, it made me completely impervious after I healed. I can never be hurt that badly again.”

“Really?” A female cape asked. She wore some kind of odd armor that matched the man standing next to her. “That's amazing.”

I would learn later that her name was Battery and her partner was called Assault. “No, this is amazing.” I said and held a hand up and formed a combat knife, then changed it into a pistol.

Everyone was shocked, except for Miss Militia and Armsmaster.

“How are you doing that?” Vista asked.

“I have no idea!” I said with a laugh and it disappeared. “Miss Militia showed me what she could do after she picked me up at the airport. After a short while, I could do little things like her.”

“I'll be leaving for the night and I will be well outside the city to make sure he isn't actively copying my powers constantly.” Miss Militia said.

“Why hasn't this been reported to me?” A stern voice said over the intercom.

“It was discovered on the way here.” Armsmaster said. “My initial report on the event was sent as soon as we arrived.”

“I see.” The stern voice said and paused. “It was. Make sure your report header is more clear in the future.”

Armsmaster seemed to shrug. “I've made note of it.”

“Wait, wait, wait.” The second guy said and looked from me to Armsmaster. “He can copy people's powers?”

“Technically.” Miss Militia said.

“What does that mean?” The first guy asked.

“He can't make rifles or anything much bigger than a sawed off shotgun and his knives can only reach ten inches while mine can go up to twenty, like a machete.”

I held my hand up again and created a machete that was only ten inches long. “Look! Isn't that neat?”

“If the experiment this evening works, my report will show a definite copy ability at exactly half of the copied power's strength.” Armsmaster said. “I have already arranged a few tests tomorrow morning to see if he is limited to one power at a time.”

“I'd say so.” I said and everyone turned to look at me. “I'm trying to copy Vista's awesome power and it hasn't worked yet.”

“She hasn't used it.” Nearly everyone said.

I chuckled. “You guys need to pay more attention to your most powerful member.”

They all stared at me like I was crazy while Vista had a huge smile on her face.

“She's used it six times now, like when I first approached her, in case she needed to push me away.” I said and then felt something click inside me. “Oh! There it is!”

Everyone stared at me and I used Vista's power to warp space around myself and made everyone zoom away twenty feet. I undid it and grinned at all of their shocked expressions, especially Vista's.

“I told you that you were awesome.” I said to her and she blushed a little.

“Can you make a knife?” Armsmaster asked immediately and hit a button on his gauntlet. “That was five minutes since he first witnessed Vista's power.”

I held up my hand and squinted. Nothing happened. “Nope.”

“Well, I suppose that's confirmation that he can only have one power at a time.” Miss Militia said, a bit sadly.

I saw her eyes and couldn't let her be disappointed. “Give me a minute.” I said and closed my eyes.

“What are you doing?” Armsmaster asked.

“I think I can... switch powers.” I said and they all gasped. Five minutes later, I opened my eyes and held up my hand. A machete formed there and I could see the smile under Miss Militia's face mask.

“Did you copy the power again?” Armsmaster asked. “Time for replacement power, five minutes.”

“No, I wasn't concentrating on Miss Militia and only on myself.” I said and tilted my head slightly as I thought about it. “I think I... yes, I can feel them inside of me.”

“What's that?” One of the other Protectorate capes asked.

“A copy of Vista's and Miss Militia's powers.” I said and blinked my eyes. “Huh, that's weird.”

“What is it?” Vista asked and touched my arm.

“It's like they're locked and I can't fully access them.” I said and felt a little frustrated.

“Wait, you can have their full power?” The first guy asked.

“I have no idea.” I said with a shrug. “This is the first time anyone's ever used their powers near me.”

“When you were hurt didn't count?” Vista asked.

“I didn't trigger at first and I didn't really see anyone use powers afterwards, not that it would have helped me at all.” I chuckled. “I was pretty much mush by then and it took a really long time to recover.”

“Why aren't you mush now?” The second guy asked.

“I have a massive healing factor.” I said with a shrug. “It's where I got some of these muscles, too.”

“Some?” Vista asked as her hand moved up my arm.

“After I healed, my body seemed to perfect itself.” I said and pulled up the shirt I wore to reveal toned abs and no hair. “The doctors couldn't explain it besides being a part of my trigger.”

“You're twelve. How can you have a perfect body?” The first guy asked.

“That's what they said. Perfect digestion, perfect muscle to mass ratio, perfect everything. You name it, I have it.”

“What about your eyes?” Vista asked as she looked into them.

“20-1.” I said and she looked confused. “20-20 means I can see at 20 feet what everyone else can see at 20 feet. 20-1 means I can see clearly at 20 feet what you can see clearly at 1 foot. One of the doctors said it was like an eagle's eyes.”

No one seemed to know what to say to that.

“We should call it a night for now.” Armsmaster said and there were nods and sounds of agreement from everyone. “Those of you staying the night, head to your rooms. Those leaving, the transport will be leaving in ten minutes.”

We all nodded and I picked up my bag to go to my room to unpack. Vista's smile from two doors down before she entered her room, made me feel all warm and tingly inside. Having a friend like her was going to be great.

My brand new life as Alex Powers was going to be awesome!

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