Chapter 5

Me and my parents are in the car on the way to a quirk doctor to see why my powers have not manifested yet. It’s only a few months left before I turn five, and I still haven't gotten my powers, and some of the other kids in kindergarten have been teasing me for not having any powers. I don’t really care for kids' insults, but I do care about my power manifesting, even if it’s not amazing. There is just such a culture around having powers that if you don’t get any, you will get bullied and looked over as a third-rate citizen.

As we pulled up to the clinic, I was both excited and fearing the worst, and my tummy was giving off all the butterflies. We had to sit in the lobby for a while before the doctor came and got us, and he did some tests and took an x-ray of my foot to see if I have the legendary extra-toe joint that would signal that I don't have a quirk. When the x-ray came back, I was sitting on my mom's lap in both excitement and trepidation. I wondered if she could feel my nervous aura from me as the doctor walked in with the x-ray and, after putting it up on an x-ray illuminator on the wall, he sat down on a chair to explain the good or bad news to us.

The doctor started with some explanation about quirks and the new studies with the extra toe joint, but I was not really listening; I was staring up at the x-ray photo, and for the life of me, I could not figure out if there was an extra toe joint or not. It was such a long time ago that I watched the first episode of the show, and I don't know what the extra toe joint was supposed to look like. I was jolted out of my guessing when my mom shook me a bit, and I looked up to her and said, "What?" She shook her head and said that the doctor was calling for me, so I looked over to him.

The man smiled at me, and I hoped it was a smile to reassure a kid because I needed it.

"Hello, Sora," the man said to me.

"Hi," I answered.

"Do you know why you are here?"

"To see if I have a quirk?" I said it in a questioning tone.

"Yes, if you look at that x-ray of your foot over there, it will tell us if you have a quirk or not."

"Do I have one?" I said it in a questioning but excited tone.

"The doctor smiled just a bit brighter, and yes, you have a quirk," he said, and pointed toward the x-ray to show there was no extra toe joint.

It was like a mountain of weight that just fell off me all these years, ever since I was born. I always feared the small chance I could be born without a quirk. My parents and the doctor must have felt the excitement radiating from me as I smiled and looked up to my mom as she smiled down at me, and I said, "I am going to be a superhero when I grow up." It's not the first time I said it to my parents; I must give possessive affirmation to the universe or something, so I can wow them with my totally super cool future powers.

It's been a few months now since we were at the doctor, and it’s now my birthday again. This year I'm turning five if no one is keeping track... Why do I always monologue in my own head? like there is someone listening in? I did this in my previous life, too. I could totally go on tangents and go down the deep hole of what if I got this or that power, or, wait, I'm getting distracted again. BIRTHDAY PARTY, here I come.

This year, my parents bought a big inflatable pool for our big backyard and tricked me with distractions and stuff. The first few guests appeared, and I was told to bring my friends to the back garden. I did not know why, but as we got there, I was surprised there was a big pool there. My parents really surprised me, as I often went to the local pool as a kid in my previous life, so I got excited to jump in. When I thought of going to my parents to ask if we could play in the pool, my parents and my friend's parents came to the back of the house, talking, and could see us excited about the pool as we had already dipped our hands in the pool. My parents said this year we are going to have a pool party, so I should go to my room and get my swimming trunks as my friend got to change in the bathroom.

Many hours later, after eating cake and playing in the pool, my birthday was over and the last guest had left. I was exhausted. I loved playing as a kid, but emotionally, I am an introvert, and my inner battery is at 5%. I needed some alone time to decompress after a long day.

It's now May, and I'm in my daycare, and I am playing with some of the other kids as I am starting to feel a painful sensation growing in my stomach, and it's slowly getting worse! Was it something I ate at lunch? I quickly made my way over to the daycare lady, who was talking to another kid about something. I interrupted whatever they were talking about by pulling her sleeve and saying

"My tummy hurts" as I was gripping my stomach.

"Where is it hurting?" "Can you show me?"

I pointed at the area where it was hurting, and suddenly it got worse as it was now flooding my entire body with a rack of pains. I was silently crying, and I would have fallen over if not for the caretaker holding me up. I can take a lot of pain, but this was just too much, and then it all...

[Third-person POV]

Hirota Yori has worked at this kindergarten for many years now, and in all her years working here, she has seen many strange quirks and children come through here, but having a child running up to you and say their stomach hurts is not something that is out of the ordinary children say and do some weird things all the time, so she tried assessing what was the problem with young Sora, but all of a sudden, as he almost fell in pain from whatever was happening, she was just about to call over to one of the other caretakers in the room to call for an ambulance. When the unthinkable happened, the kid in her arms exploded in a gory mess all over the room.

It took her a few moments to register what happened. One second she was holding Sora in her arms; the next he was gone, and all the kids were crying. She would most likely need therapy, and she hopes the children won’t be too traumatized by this event in the future.

As we quickly assured the kids away from the gore-filled room, she fished out her work phone. As the lead caretaker, it was her duty to call the police and his parents about what happened here today. She first called the police, and after speaking with dispatch, the police were on their way. This was one of the safer districts in the city, so they would most likely be here soon. As she stayed on the line, she asked one of the other caretakers to find the number for Sora's parents so she could call them.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

The police arrived quickly and cordoned off the room while she was on the phone with the parents of the child. As you can guess, they were distraught at hearing their kid exploded and said they would be right over there. It was not even five minutes, and they were both here, and that's when she remembered that the father has the ability to teleport, and that's how they got over here so fast. The mother was distraught and crying while the dad was talking to the police with a shell-choked look in his eyes. As all of this was going on, a bright light appeared in the bloody room, and as it got brighter and brighter, everyone had to cover their eyes. As the light faded in the room, there stood a boy with snow white hair and almost piercing green eyes that almost looked like they were glowing. And naked as the day he was born. With a confused look on his face, he watched his hands as he opened and closed them in sheer confusion. And as he looked up, he noticed all of us staring at him. The boy noticed something and waved his hand.

"Hi mom and dad, what are you doing here so early?" The boy said it in a confused tone. Oh, it's sora… SORA is back! She thought he died, but he is back, and he looks different now.

[First-person POV]

As I was looking toward the glass windows leading to the hallway, I could see the police and my parents. As I waved to them and asked why they were here so early, it's only then that I looked around me and could see all the blood and gore around me, and I started to panic, and then I felt a sensation in my stomach again, and this time it was not pain but a roiling sensation like it was as though something new had been unlocked, something I have had my entire new life, but only now I could notice it, and it was then that the energy lashed out from my panicking. I heard a tearing noise like cloth tearing behind me as I was about to turn around. I could feel a janking sensation that pulled me backwards faster and faster as I looked toward my parents. I called for my dad, and he quickly noticed something was wrong and teleported but was too late to catch me as I fell into whatever was behind me, and then I only felt PAIN… so much pain as I passed out.

[Location: Unknown]

[Time: Unknown]

[Third-person POV]

A man was sitting at his computer, watching the multiple screens as the newsfeed was going on in the background. The man was in deep concentration when he heard the sound of tearing cloth. As the man knew he was alone, he quickly stood up and prepared himself for whatever threat the sound could be.

But what he did not expect was to see a tear in space appear and a naked child with hair as white as snow falling out of the portal unconscious. He looked so frail, but the man knew better. After living in one of the most dangerous cities in the world his entire life, he slowly made his way over to the child and examined him. The child has a steady pulse, so he is still alive. He picked up the child and brought him over to the medical table. He used to stitch himself up so many times after coming back with cuts or gunshot wounds.

That's when he heard someone coming down the stairs. As he turned around, he could see an older man walking towards him and saying,

"Master Bruce, are we kidnapping children now?"

"Not now, Alfred," said Bruce.

"And here I thought Batman was the heroic type."

As Bruce grumbled at his sassy butler, the child on the medical bed started to shiver from the cold of the cave.

"Master Bruce, where are your manors? The child is freezing in this cold, damp cave of yours."

Alfred made his way over to the cabinets where the blankets were and brought out the biggest one.

Bruise was inspecting the kid for any wounds or clues about who he was and got nothing. As Alfred came back and draped the blanket over the child, he walked back to the bat computer and brought up the feed of the cave. He rewinded the video of the cave and zoomed in on the tear in space, but he could only see a void of blackness and light coming from the rip in space. As he was contemplating what to do, Alfred walked up beside him and watched as the tear in space opened up on repeat.

"Master Bruce, should I inform Master Dick that we will be having a new guest over?"

Bruce thought this over for a while because he could not throw the kid out on the streets and he wanted to solve the mystery of the child that appeared.

"Yes, inform him that we will have a guest over for a while and that he is not to talk about the Batman when not in the batcave."

"Very well, sir," he said before walking away, before turning around, and saying

"Should I prepare the guest bedroom, sir?"

"Yes, prepare the room close to mine. I want to keep a close eye on the kid."

"Very well, sir," Alfred said as he walked away to get the room ready for the child.

After Alfred left, Bruce took one of his scanners out to take a few tests to see if he could locate where the kid could have come from and see if it matched any missing child reports.

It was only ten minutes later that Dick came running down the stairs, all excited to see the new kid after hearing what happened from Alfred.

"BRUCE, where is he?!" dick shouted

"Over on the medical table," he answered, focusing on the bat computer.

Dick ran over and looked at the kid sleeping on that hard medical table; he had sat on it before, and he knows how hard and uncomfortable the bed is.

The kid had hair as white as snow and looked to be peacefully sleeping. He poked the kid, hoping he would wake up, but nothing happened. He now wishes he took a marker with him to draw on the kid's face, but he knew Bruce would scold him. He is not a kid any more; he recently turned 14, almost practically an adult, and drawing on someone's face is an age-old tradition. Bruce should not be such a stick in the mud and have some fun, but he has to be all brooding and stuff when working.

After poking the kids just a few more times just to be sure, Dick jumped after hearing Bruce clear his throat behind him. After turning around and seeing him standing there, looming, Bruce said,

"What are you doing?"

"Umm, nothing…" Dick said while fidgeting under his stare.

"Go to your room; it’s getting late."

"But Bruce,"

"Now,"

"Fine," Dick said as he stomped off to his room.

After watching Dick walk away, Bruce picked up the kid in the blankets and brought him upstairs to the guest bedroom. Alfred should have prepared the room by now. As he walked through the mansion, he looked over at the kid. He looked so young he could not be older than four to five years old. Where are his parents? Are they looking for him? Can they get here the same way as the kid? Are they strong? He has so many questions for the young boy when he wakes up.

As he walked into the guest bedroom Alfred had prepared, he noticed Alfred had just finished setting up the room for the kid.

"Ahh, master Bruce, I was just about to come and inform you the room was done, but you beat me to it, I see."

Alfred pulled back the blankets so Bruce could place the child in the bed. After tucking him in, Bruce noticed a set of children's clothing sitting beside the bed.

"Where did you find children's clothing?"

"Don't you recognize them, sir? It’s your clothing from when you were a child; it's been in storage for years. I fished out a set that the child can use until I can get to the store tomorrow morning."

Bruce was a bit shocked to know some of his old clothing was still around; he never asked what Alfred did with his old clothing as he grew older.

"Should I put on a new pot of coffee, sir?"

"I expect you won't do the reasonable thing and go to bed."

"Yes, put on the coffee; I have work to do," he said before walking back to the batcave.

He had to prepare in case this was not a one-case thing. One way or another, he would get to the bottom of this.

Alfred watched as Bruce walked away and was about to pull another one-nighter, and he thought to himself that his young master needed to sleep more the city could survive one night without Batman surely.

As he walked out of the child's room, he turned around one last time, watching the child and wondering if Bruce was going to adopt another child? This seems to be becoming a trend, he hummed to himself as he walked away.

After closing the door, the young child kept sleeping peacefully, not knowing what tomorrow would bring.