Jack woke up with a start, and immediately checked his surroundings. Sterile smell, clean tools, heart monitor- A Hostpital. He lightly sighs in relief and lays back again. How is he alive? That Seraphim-
Eyes widening, he remembers his sister. His silly Jennifer, who was always up before him, who would prank him just to get a smile out of him, who would binge all the anime he bought-
Dead.
...Something broke inside him then. A deep emptiness he wasnt aware of until now, an irreparable feeling from seeing his dear sister get killed in front of him, and being too weak to stop it. "It should've been me.." He says, his voice coming out in a raspy croak, leading to him having a coughing fit.
She was the younger sister. She had her whole life ahead of her, with her great grades, kindness, and imagination, not to mention that he suspefted her to have inherit the Slayer genes... She had a bright future. Meanwhile, he's just a reporter noone takes seriously, with nothing special about him.
It should've been him that died.
The door opens for a few nurses with food and water, tending to him. He paid them no mind however, when he saw the large figure that walked in behind them. Standing seven feet tall, the man had excessive amounts of muscle and looked like he can wrestle a bear to death easily. His eyes were grey, but also extremely dull and unfocused. He had a blonde buzzcut, a chisled jawline, and a few scars on his face.
"Hey Jacks. Long time, eh?" He said in his baritone voice, an easy smile on his face. Jack doesnt remember ever actually seeing him before though.. Jack takes a drink of water, noticing midsip that the nurses have all stood near the wall in the exact position with glazed looks in their eyes...
".. And who are you again?" He asked warily, realizing that if a mind controller wanted him gone, there would be nothing he could do to stop it. He was alright hospitalized and not entirely healed yet, and even if he tried to fight back, the mind controller was much stronger than him in both mind and body-
His thought were interuptted by a boisterous laughter. "No need to be so worried my boy! Names Jim Valentine" He gives a toothy smile when my eyes light up from recognition. "Your 'crazy' uncle. And now, your legal guardian!"
○○○
Jim was a little nervous. He got a call in from the hospital that his sisters kids were in a Seraphim attack, and he quickly drove over there. They came about asking a bunch of questions, when this woman named Helen came and helped out. Imagine his surprise when she said that she got him to be their legal guardian! She did have a similar feel to her though, but she was gone before he could confirm his suspicions.
He always wanted kids, but due to his past Moniker "Nutty Jim", he had a pretty bad reputation with women in general. And not only because he was crazy, as his moniker also suggests. He did stop living like that a few years ago however when he went out on an adventure and found a sickly Valkrie, bleeding out and everything!
He, being the gentlemen he is, of course helped her out!... After knocking her out. Hey! Too many men have died trying to help beautiful supernatural woman, he couldnt give her that chance when he was helping her and leaving himself open! That's his story and he was sticking to it!
Moving on, that Valkrie turned out to be quite nice. Typically angels are openly hostile now, due to Slayers killing off most of the pantheons in the God-King wars, but she seemed to be an exception. She taught me alot of things, truths of the world and secrets of life in exchange for saving her.
Well, the short of it is that I've changed, and calmed down plenty in the last couple years. Back to the hospital, he always liked his sisters kids. Jacks was a bit strange, but pretty mature last he checked. Little Jenny was still a baby when he saw her, so no clue how she acts.
Man its really been too long. He never even got to go to his sisters and her husbands funeral, despite paying the expenses for most of it. The kids better be grateful for that later on, because the price of that funeral took alot of his research funds. The things I do for people sometimes..
Walking into Jacks hospital room, he tried to make himself as small as possible so he could both fit in the doorway, and not intimidate his nephew immediantly. It gets old how people look at you when your bigger than their doors. Looking at Jacks, he looked a mess.
His hair was all over the place, messily cut. Maybe the Seraphim did that? Lucky to be alive, so a bad haircut isnt a bad tradeoff. His skin looked disgustingly pale, likely from blood loss.. Oh, he noticed me huh? Better gets these nurses out the way then.
[ Standby, Do not move once out of our way. ]
That taken care of, I look into his eyes. He was frowning, but his eyes told me nothing, and my power was only giving muted responses. So he really did have something wrong with him, muting his emotions or something? At least it wasnt completely taking away emotions, else he would've long since died from lack of caution or care.
"Hey Jacks. Long time, eh?" Gah, now he's giving me a suspicious look! Im not a suspicious character! Im not even shady looking, I purposely wear white T-shirts, shorts, and flip-flops so people dont get so intimidated of me! Gah, what to do...
He takes a quick sidelook to the frozen nurses, which in second thought was probably a bad idea since I can now feel some of his fear rising. "... And who are you again?" He asks in a rough voice. Yeah, definitely shouldn'thave stopped them since they were the ones feeding him water..
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I saw him starting to sweat from the slightly prolonged silence, so I laugh to try and lighten the mood. A tad loud.. "No need to be so worried Jacks! Names Jim Valentine." I saw his eyes widen a bit and can practically feel his recognition, seeing his image of me in his mind updating. I never had green skin or stole presents! What did my damn sis say about me?!
Well, best stick with a moniker he is a bit more familiar with. Fucking hell Trace.. "Your 'crazy' uncle. And now, your legal guardian!" I swear if she wasnt dead, I'd talk about all those dirty secrets she let me in on as children. Like when this one time, she took a shit and was walk-
"What you mean my guardian? Why show up now?" He says, a bit of venom slipping into his voice. Ah, I guess it might look a bit bad if you show up for the first time in years, after they were taking care of themselves, and proclaim them as my wards after a traumatic experience.
Eh. He's just a bit mad, right? I flow into him my calmness and slight amusement of the situation, and he calms down.. Though it feels alot harder to do this than usual for some reason? Something to look into. "The reason I've been gone for so long is because I've been training my new powers. I am a Chosen now, got the power of 'Empath'." I say, my voice nearly echoing in the small room.
I sit down next to him and take one of the grapes the nurses came with. Hm, I forgot how bad hospital food could taste like with all their preservatives.. I look at him and he was staring at me with another frown. Man this kid has got to smile more..
"So.. when is the funeral?" He asks out of nowhere, and I have no idea what the fuck hes talking about. Blinking in confusion, he continues, "My sisters funeral.. When do you think we can set it up..?"
Jim raises his eyebrow and sigh. Did noone really tell him? Fuck now he has to deal with it. Gotta make my way out, leave the nurses behind. Heading towards the door, I look back and say, "Theres no funeral".
The pure anger and despair was coming off him in waves. Right before closing the door, I give him a knowing look before letting go of my control on the nurses. "Because she is still alive." Jim slams the door closed and starts walking away, nodding to himself about his dramatic reveal. Now, I should probably dissappear for a bit before the nurses report me. Im pretty sure its not legal to use mind manipulation on people getting paid by the government...
Whoops?
○○○
Jennifer never felt like this before. The closest feeling to it was swimming, except your completely surrounded by water, cant see or hear, and there was almost no pressure. Stars were everywhere, and memories felt like they werent real, slipping away from her.
How did she end up like this again? She was out doing something in the.. park? Yeah. She saw a girl with wings, and someone called out to her.. Someone...
Someone very familiar to her..?
Time wasnt something one could keep track of where she was. It could have been seconds, minutes, or days, before she saw the light. It was pretty scary having no heartbeat, it felt so surreal, so still. The lights getting close now. I can almost reach out and touch it-
Then the memories of what happened hit her like a truck, along with all the pain that came with it. She never felt anything like it! It was like molten plastic slowly making its way through her veins, reaching into her brain, her heart, her brain!
The first thing she heard waking up was the sounds of her deafening screams and loud sobs. "Make it go away! It hurts! H-Help- Help me- please! STOP!!" She screamed out, more to herself in hopes it made the pain away, as if screaming out would help her. She opened her eyes to see the-
[Congratulations! You have been chosen by the Fates to be gifted with an ability! May you become strong for the good of all of Humanity!]
[Power Transmitted; Negation]
Suddenly the pain went away. Like it never was there, except she still was screaming from the mere memories of what she felt moments ago. It only started dying down when her voiced started cracking, and she went into a coughing fit instead.
She only then was able to notice others helping her, seeing blurs into her vision slowly coming to focus. They looked like almost looked like evil scientists, except she didnt think evil scientists would be so bold as to experiment on a girl with a window wide open, or have a overly clean smelling room.
So a hospital? Ew, Hospitals were so stinky. Why was she here anyways? Why did she feel so much pain before? The last thing she could remember was turning around to look at-
"Her heart rate is raising, quick put her under the sleep gas! Her veins arent completely aligned yet and fast blood-"
That was all she heard from the woman, before she passed out.
***
The doctors helped her as much as they could, though they told her that the process of being Chosen could be very deadly, depending on how you die. Had to put my head on my body and put some stitches they
Died. She really died.. Had her head cut off by a Seraphim apparently, and shes glad she didnt remember that. Sounds painful to remember. She didnt remember alot about the event surrounding her death honestly.
They replied that due to how long my brain was blood deprived, I would be expecting some minor damage. Typically its targetted to ones memory, and it was very common amongst chosen who had their head cut off. Its still creepy how they said that so casually.. And how common is a beheaded chosen, if they think memory loss is normal?
But.. Despite the pain at first, I still got super powers! I have a pretty cool sounding power, and I can really be a superhero! Its a dream come true, and noones gonna take that away from me. A [Ping] went off quietly, but she ignores that thinking its just the hospital machines.
Giggling to herself, she cringes when it feels like sandpaper is scratching in her throat with how dry it was. Drinking her cup of water she notices a figure walking into the room. She was tall, with bright red hair and piercing green eyes. She looked at me, and noticed that for a moment, her eyes widened in surprise, before it was quickly supressed, and she smiled.
"Hello Jennifer. My names Helen Rosewood, and I have an offer for you."
○○○
"Where is my sister?!"
I held one of the nurses down, a cold look on my face. She looked terrified right now, which was the point of the syringe near her eye. I idly notice the others ran away, likely to get security.. But I dont care. My sisters alive, and chosen! She needs me right now, and I need to know if shes okay.
"R-room B88!" The pink haired woman almosts yells, Happy by her nametag I note idly, before I tossed her aside without a care. I run out my room, noticing that I'm actually not that far from her room. Running pastthe medical staff that tried to stop me, dodging the grabs by the security guards, I quickly make my way to my sisters room, slamming open the room door.
And I saw her there. Alive. Laying in her bed with a smike on her face, like nothing ever happened, the only thing showing what happened was real was the butterfly stitches around her whole neck... And the Leader of Hero Corps sitting on her bed talking with her.
I didnt care about that though. I decided to do one of the most emotional things I've done in years, since our parents died.. I went and hugged my little Jen as tight as I could. Feeling her hair, still with some glitter in it from yesterday. Smelling my dogs breath from all the licks he gives her, under the blood and bleach smell..
"I thought you were dead.. Im sorry I couldnt do more, but I promise that after today, we are gonna train lots! Okay? Im sorry..." I told her, trying to think of how to make it up to her. She loved anime, so maybe I could try to recreate some moves from anime for her? I looked into her squinted eyes, and gave her a genuine smile. Yes, this is a second chance. I wont hold us back again on the notion of living a normal life! Nothing will be the same, Believe it!
"Im sorry... Do I know you?" My little sister said to me, a confused expression on her face.
In that moment, somehow, that Deep Emptiness inside him grew.
***
CODEX;
■Chosen; They have been randomly Chosen by the Fates to gain a unique power after they "Trigger", due to some "circumstances" they saw in the future requiring them (unknown circumstances to date). The way a Chosen Triggers is that they must die, and their power is different depending on the circumstances, personality, and mindset of the person at death. One in a million people end up being Chosen at a time. Most of Hero Corps are Chosen, including the leader of Hero Corps; Helen Rosewood.
Triggers, from recent studies, show that the body undergoes a sort of metamorphosis in the body, and slightly alters the soul, in order to safely keep any powers. To do this, the body and soul must seperate, in which the only pubically known process is death. Double triggers happen when someone either dies to two things at once (ex. Drowning + eaten alive), or someone attempts to destroy their soul along with their body.
■Helen Rosewood; Leader of Hero Corps and indisputably the most influential Chosen since Stalin. Having killed Hitler during WWII, gotten control over most Chosen when they first appeared due to her charm, she is adored by the public. Known to be a first generation Chosen, and is pubically known to have the powers Metal Manipulation and Agelessness, due to her "Double Trigger" event. Those close to her know that her powers include: [Error:404]
■Psychic; Someone born with the innate ability to interact with and manipulate minds and in some recorded cases, the Astral Realm. Psychics are very rare and hard to track. Famous past Psychics include Adolf Hitler, Alexander the Great, and current Head of PROGRESS.