Jack was completely blind-sided.
He had been lost in thought, looking out the window at the passing stores when half a car tumbled into the side of the bus behind him. It had soared through the air in a high, lazy arc, as if someone had casually tossed it away. The street was in chaos. Half a block away some sort of super powered brawl was taking place. People were abandoning their cars and running for cover. In Jack’s immediate vicinity, people were scrambling to get off the bus through all three passenger side exits.
The woman who had offered him a seat was lying on the floor at an odd angle with a rather large shard of glass sticking out of the back of her head.
Everyone else was trying to get to cover. From Jack’s point of view, everything was in motion except for him and this woman. He dropped onto the floor next to her the tried to hold her up. He moved his hand to support her head, and felt warm blood washing over it, ~Oh Shit! Oh Shit! Oh Shit! Oh Shit!~
This woman was going to die.
If he had just taken the seat, she'd be alive right now. She was dying, and while he knew on one level he wasn’t to blame, he couldn’t help but think it was his fault. He stared as her eyelids started to flicker. She was clearly about to leave this world. Jack suddenly shook his head violently to clear it as he mumbled to himself, "If I really can do a little bit of everything, then... if there is a god…" He pressed his forehead to hers and thought, ~Heal.~
Nothing happened.
He focused his mind on everything he knew about the human anatomy. He thought about how the shard of glass must be in her brain and how if it regenerated, it would push the glass out, her skull would reform, the skin would close, and she would survive. He pictured this while focusing every erg of energy he could muster into reviving her. He closed his eyes tightly, “Please… c’mon… work, Damn it! WORK!” A soft light flickered around the both of them for a moment then winked out. Jack broke out into a cold sweat as he felt it almost click, then lost it. His heart jumped into his throat, but he forced his fear down deep inside. Everything else faded away as he let everything go and cleared his mind of everything but this. Instead of forcing it, he tried to just let it happen.
Upon opening his eyes, he whispered softly only one word.
"Heal."
A light flared brighter then anything else Jack had ever managed to achieve in the past week of practice. Some sort of blinding white energy streamed out the bus’ windows. Those who were still near the vehicle were staggered by the brightness.
Jack blinked as the spots before his eyes danced and slowly faded away. He heard a woman ask, "Am I dead?"
Jack rubbed his eyes and looked at the woman he was cradling in his lap. He moved his hand to check the back of her head. The wound had been replaced with a fresh scar. When he pulled his hand away, it had blood on it, but she clearly was no longer at death's door. He laughed as a wave of relief washed over him, "Far from it, miss!" Something was off. Jack's voice didn't sound right. The woman sat up and backed away from him with a look that could only be described as reverence. Puzzled, he stood up to offer her a hand and help her stand, but stopped when he felt his wings bump into the roof of the bus, "Wha?"
Jack had transformed.
His wings had ripped right through his clothes. His undershirt, dress shirt and tie were in tatters as he had burst through them in the process of becoming the winged Adonis he had spent the past week crafting. He stood there before this woman in his full angelic glory. The woman was staring right at his naked chest. She reached out with trembling fingers, "Are you sure I’m still alive? Because it sure feels like I've gone to heaven."
A loud crashing sound from down the street interrupted them both. Jack looked up, "I’d love to chat, but we need to get out of here!" He focused on enhancing his strength, picked her up, and carried her out a side door, only briefly struggling to get his wings through the door. As he exited the bus, he found himself surrounded by a crowd of people taking cover.
Every last one was staring at him.
Jack ran over to the nearest building and practically kicked open the door. He put her down inside in front of a group of cowering civilians. There was one woman who looked like the store manager. With a slack jaw she stared at Jack, “Wha…?”
"She’s had a head injury!" Jack gestured to the store manager to come closer, "Call the paramedics and look after her!"
The manager nodded, “Uh-Of Course!” Then proceeded to motion to one of her underlings, "Go get something to use as a pillow!"
Jack returned to the street and boosted his legs to leap on top of the bus. He had learned the hard way that he actually wasn't that good at flying, but he could jump fairly well then use his wings to glide when he needed to. He landed in a crouch on the roof and looked around. Suddenly a thought occurred to him, ~What the fuck am I doing?~ He glanced around at the crowd, ~I don't owe these people anything! Why the fuck am I risking my life? I need to get the Hell out of-~
He spotted a chunk of debris falling off a building and about to crush a woman who was covering a man with her body.
"Son of a-" He coiled up his legs and jumped as hard as he could. He angled his body with his wings to slam into the falling masonry and knock it to the side. At the last second he diverted everything into a force field around his body to cushion the blow. With a flash of light he managed to deflect the masonry just enough that it impacted next to the couple.
Jack felt the blow in his shoulder and exclaimed as he landed next to the couple, "I'm gonna feel that in the morning!" The man screamed in terror as he was showed in dust and clung to the woman. The woman just stared at Jack with the widest of eyes, “Holy Shhhhhtuff!” She covered her mouth to keep from cursing. Jack turned to look at both of them, "Uh, Now would be a good time to run, Folks!"
The woman didn't move. She was stuck starring at Jack's chest and his rippling pectorals. The man noticed where her eyes were locked and suddenly looked intensely jealous. He scowled as he grabbed her and yanked her to her feet, "You heard the hero!" He said the word, 'hero' in a way that was absolutely dripping with venom. They both broke into a run as Jack tried to reply, "Oh, I'm no-" He was cut off by the shower of dust and debris that suddenly surrounded him.
The cloud of concrete came from above as someone slammed into building next to him at about the third floor leaving a huge hole in the side of the building. Whatever happened, the person who was thrown through the wall didn’t appear to be coming back out any time soon. The battle had moved closer and it wasn't quite what Jack was expecting. He thought he was going to see the Caretakers in action, but no. It was just one superhero at the moment, currently fighting… something.
There was this large... bulk of a creature. It looked like a twelve-foot tall toad-human hybrid. It was warty with mottled, greenish-brown skin. It had just backhanded someone into the building next to him and was turning to focus on the only remaining heroine on the battlefield.
She was a bouncy red head. She clearly was the team tank, judging by her muscles and figure. She had a bright green, skin tight body suit that matched her eyes and a red cape that matched her hair. Her ample bosom was on display along with her hourglass curve. Her face was clearly of Irish heritage, judging by her perky nose and light dusting of freckles. Jack was stunned by her beauty and spent several seconds just admiring her form. She had a large red letter 'S', smack dab in the middle of her chest, right between two magnificently mammalian mounds straight out of Larry Flint's id.
He was so enthralled that he almost missed the fact how screwed she was.
She was backing away with a limp and holding one of her arms like it was broken. This wasn't anything like how Jack imagined a superhero battle to go. This... thing looked like it was intended to do its level best to straight up kill her. Jack looked around and saw nobody was coming, ~She is screwed if no one helps her...~
~And I am way out of my league!~ Jack turned away from the impending murder, ~There's nothing I can do to help.~ He started to coil up to put as much distance as he could from himself and this rampaging monster, ~Don't look back. Don’t get involved. You aren’t a hero. There is no point in watching so no matter what, don't look back.~
Jack looked back.
He looked over his shoulder just in time to see the creature backhand the heroine. She flew backwards into a lamppost knocking it over as she slid to the ground. She wasn’t moving. The creature chuckled with pure malevolence as it closed in on fallen woman.
Jack closed his eyes.
Jack turned away.
Jack jumped.
Jack was completely blind-sided.
He had been lost in thought, looking out the window at the passing stores when half a car tumbled into the side of the bus behind him. It had soared through the air in a high, lazy arc, as if someone had casually tossed it away. The street was in chaos. Half a block away some sort of super powered brawl was taking place. People were abandoning their cars and running for cover. In Jack’s immediate vicinity, people were scrambling to get off the bus through all three passenger side exits.
The woman who had offered him a seat was lying on the floor at an odd angle with a rather large shard of glass sticking out of the back of her head.
Everyone else was trying to get to cover. From Jack’s point of view, everything was in motion except for him and this woman. He dropped onto the floor next to her the tried to hold her up. He moved his hand to support her head, and felt warm blood washing over it, ~Oh Shit! Oh Shit! Oh Shit! Oh Shit!~
This woman was going to die.
If he had just taken the seat, she'd be alive right now. She was dying, and while he knew on one level he wasn’t to blame, he couldn’t help but think it was his fault. He stared as her eyelids started to flicker. She was clearly about to leave this world. Jack suddenly shook his head violently to clear it as he mumbled to himself, "If I really can do a little bit of everything, then... if there is a god…" He pressed his forehead to hers and thought, ~Heal.~
Nothing happened.
He focused his mind on everything he knew about the human anatomy. He thought about how the shard of glass must be in her brain and how if it regenerated, it would push the glass out, her skull would reform, the skin would close, and she would survive. He pictured this while focusing every erg of energy he could muster into reviving her. He closed his eyes tightly, “Please… c’mon… work, Damn it! WORK!” A soft light flickered around the both of them for a moment then winked out. Jack broke out into a cold sweat as he felt it almost click, then lost it. His heart jumped into his throat, but he forced his fear down deep inside. Everything else faded away as he let everything go and cleared his mind of everything but this. Instead of forcing it, he tried to just let it happen.
Upon opening his eyes, he whispered softly only one word.
"Heal."
A light flared brighter then anything else Jack had ever managed to achieve in the past week of practice. Some sort of blinding white energy streamed out the bus’ windows. Those who were still near the vehicle were staggered by the brightness.
Jack blinked as the spots before his eyes danced and slowly faded away. He heard a woman ask, "Am I dead?"
Jack rubbed his eyes and looked at the woman he was cradling in his lap. He moved his hand to check the back of her head. The wound had been replaced with a fresh scar. When he pulled his hand away, it had blood on it, but she clearly was no longer at death's door. He laughed as a wave of relief washed over him, "Far from it, miss!" Something was off. Jack's voice didn't sound right. The woman sat up and backed away from him with a look that could only be described as reverence. Puzzled, he stood up to offer her a hand and help her stand, but stopped when he felt his wings bump into the roof of the bus, "Wha?"
Jack had transformed.
His wings had ripped right through his clothes. His undershirt, dress shirt and tie were in tatters as he had burst through them in the process of becoming the winged Adonis he had spent the past week crafting. He stood there before this woman in his full angelic glory. The woman was staring right at his naked chest. She reached out with trembling fingers, "Are you sure I’m still alive? Because it sure feels like I've gone to heaven."
A loud crashing sound from down the street interrupted them both. Jack looked up, "I’d love to chat, but we need to get out of here!" He focused on enhancing his strength, picked her up, and carried her out a side door, only briefly struggling to get his wings through the door. As he exited the bus, he found himself surrounded by a crowd of people taking cover.
Every last one was staring at him.
Jack ran over to the nearest building and practically kicked open the door. He put her down inside in front of a group of cowering civilians. There was one woman who looked like the store manager. With a slack jaw she stared at Jack, “Wha…?”
"She’s had a head injury!" Jack gestured to the store manager to come closer, "Call the paramedics and look after her!"
The manager nodded, “Uh-Of Course!” Then proceeded to motion to one of her underlings, "Go get something to use as a pillow!"
Jack returned to the street and boosted his legs to leap on top of the bus. He had learned the hard way that he actually wasn't that good at flying, but he could jump fairly well then use his wings to glide when he needed to. He landed in a crouch on the roof and looked around. Suddenly a thought occurred to him, ~What the fuck am I doing?~ He glanced around at the crowd, ~I don't owe these people anything! Why the fuck am I risking my life? I need to get the Hell out of-~
He spotted a chunk of debris falling off a building and about to crush a woman who was covering a man with her body.
"Son of a-" He coiled up his legs and jumped as hard as he could. He angled his body with his wings to slam into the falling masonry and knock it to the side. At the last second he diverted everything into a force field around his body to cushion the blow. With a flash of light he managed to deflect the masonry just enough that it impacted next to the couple.
Jack felt the blow in his shoulder and exclaimed as he landed next to the couple, "I'm gonna feel that in the morning!" The man screamed in terror as he was showed in dust and clung to the woman. The woman just stared at Jack with the widest of eyes, “Holy Shhhhhtuff!” She covered her mouth to keep from cursing. Jack turned to look at both of them, "Uh, Now would be a good time to run, Folks!"
The woman didn't move. She was stuck starring at Jack's chest and his rippling pectorals. The man noticed where her eyes were locked and suddenly looked intensely jealous. He scowled as he grabbed her and yanked her to her feet, "You heard the hero!" He said the word, 'hero' in a way that was absolutely dripping with venom. They both broke into a run as Jack tried to reply, "Oh, I'm no-" He was cut off by the shower of dust and debris that suddenly surrounded him.
The cloud of concrete came from above as someone slammed into building next to him at about the third floor leaving a huge hole in the side of the building. Whatever happened, the person who was thrown through the wall didn’t appear to be coming back out any time soon. The battle had moved closer and it wasn't quite what Jack was expecting. He thought he was going to see the Caretakers in action, but no. It was just one superhero at the moment, currently fighting… something.
There was this large... bulk of a creature. It looked like a twelve-foot tall toad-human hybrid. It was warty with mottled, greenish-brown skin. It had just backhanded someone into the building next to him and was turning to focus on the only remaining heroine on the battlefield.
She was a bouncy red head. She clearly was the team tank, judging by her muscles and figure. She had a bright green, skin tight body suit that matched her eyes and a red cape that matched her hair. Her ample bosom was on display along with her hourglass curve. Her face was clearly of Irish heritage, judging by her perky nose and light dusting of freckles. Jack was stunned by her beauty and spent several seconds just admiring her form. She had a large red letter 'S', smack dab in the middle of her chest, right between two magnificently mammalian mounds straight out of Larry Flint's id.
He was so enthralled that he almost missed the fact how screwed she was.
She was backing away with a limp and holding one of her arms like it was broken. This wasn't anything like how Jack imagined a superhero battle to go. This... thing looked like it was intended to do its level best to straight up kill her. Jack looked around and saw nobody was coming, ~She is screwed if no one helps her...~
~And I am way out of my league!~ Jack turned away from the impending murder, ~There's nothing I can do to help.~ He started to coil up to put as much distance as he could from himself and this rampaging monster, ~Don't look back. Don’t get involved. You aren’t a hero. There is no point in watching so no matter what, don't look back.~
Jack looked back.
He looked over his shoulder just in time to see the creature backhand the heroine. She flew backwards into a lamppost knocking it over as she slid to the ground. She wasn’t moving. The creature chuckled with pure malevolence as it closed in on fallen woman.
Jack closed his eyes.
Jack turned away.
Jack jumped.
