Damian groaned as he returned to the waking world. His eyelids were heavy, almost too heavy to open. His body felt different, lighter. He struggled to open his eyes, to see what was different.

  “Argh, fuxking hell,” Damian groans as his eyes crack open, immediately blinded by the harsh white lights of a hospital room.

  Damian's eyes finally adjusted to the light, allowing him to look around the room.

  The walls were a warm beige color, and several beeping machines monitored his vitals, a curtain separated him from the door.

  Someone knocks on the door before opening it, they close the door behind them and push through the curtain.

  “Oh,” the young woman gasps as she sees Damian looking at her, “You’re awake. We weren't expecting you to wake up for another couple hours.”

  She walked over and started recording the readings from the monitors before disconnecting them.

  “Alright, Mr. Damian, my name is Dr. Lynda, I will be your official doctor within the Continuity division.”

  “Huh? Official Doctor? I didn't know the Supers had doctors.”

  “Well, not many people do, now, can you please try to stand for me?”

  “Ye-yeah, I can try,” Damian struggles to stand up, eventually collapsing back into the bed, “Ow…”

  “Hmmm, unstable on his legs, muscle control needs to be learned,” Dr.Lynda started talking to herself while writing notes on a clipboard.

  “Why c-can't I move right?”

  “The injection that gave you your powers, completely rebuilt your body so that you could handle them. Usually, it's not a complete rebuild but more along the lines of a refinery.”

  Damian looked over at her and asked, “But my body got completely rebuilt?”

  “Yes, however, this should allow you much more control over your abilities, as your body is now hyper-specialized towards them.”

  “A-a trade off then, having to relearn My body, but also being better at control compared to most of the other Continuities?”

  “That is an accurate explanation, yes.”

  Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

  “Al-alright, when can I start physical therapy, ma'am?”

  “Dr.Lynda is fine, Damian, but to answer your question, you will be able to start tomorrow afternoon. For now, just rest and recover your energy.”

  Damian sighed and repositioned himself to a more comfortable position in the bed as Dr.Lynda walked over to a TV in the corner of the room, “I'll turn this on for you so that you're not bored, alright?”

  “Thank you, Dr.Lynda.”

  The doctor turned on the TV and placed the remote next to Damian and left the room, closing the door behind her.

  Over the next several days, Damian attended physical therapy to relearn what his body could do, he learned how to walk again, how to run, and how to control his strength. After he was cleared to go home, he stopped by Dr.Lynda's office.

  “Thank you for helping me, until next time?”

  “Well, Damian. Hopefully there won't be a next time, but considering what you will be doing now, yes, until next time.”

  Damian nodded and turned away from the open door, walking down the hall and into the main lobby.

  “Damian.”

  “Yeah?” Damian responds and turns to find Secret Agent walking towards him.

  “My name is Agent Nylis, I look forward to working with you. Have you decided on a codename yet?”

  “Likewise, I have a few ideas, but nothing set in stone yet.”

  “You're going to want to pick something before the media picks it for you.”

  “I know, I know. It's just, I've never really been good with picking names,” Damian scratches the back of his head in embarrassment before turning to leave the building, “See you soon, Agent Nylis.”

  Damian exited the building and looked down the street. I wonder what exactly I can do, I know it has to do with speed and lightning, but how exactly does it work? Damian started thinking about his new powers.

  Damian started walking down the sidewalk, attempting to summon some form of lightning. For a moment, Damian felt something stir inside him and a spark leapt between his fingers.

  “Whoa!” Damian was ecstatic, “This is so cool!” Suddenly feeling a little sheepish, Damian looks around and sees that a couple people are looking at him.

  “S-sorry?” he says while scratching the back of his head.

  Turning to walk away, he crosses a street and gets back to playing with his powers. He continued trying to play with his powers, but his control was overall lacking compared to what he wanted to do. Continuing to attempt to experiment, he lost track of time.

  Damian wandered the streets of his city for hours, trying to get more control over his abilities. He was able to get a couple more sparks to shoot off of his fingers, but not enough to actually harm or do anything. He was rounding a corner when he bumped into someone.

  “Oh, I'm so sorry, I didn't see you,” Damian apologized to the young looking woman.

  “Oh, you're fine,” she responds with a smile, “just be more careful next time, alright?”

  “O-of course!” Damian bows to the young woman before turning away and heading towards his apartment. Rounding the corner Damian pauses and looks back, hesitating before continuing away.

  10 minutes later, Damian scales the steps to his apartment, taking 2 at a time. Reaching the 5th floor, Damian fumbles with his keys before finding the right one.

  Opening the door, a rather plain living comes into view. A soft meow sounds from the couch, causing Damian to look at the source.

  “Hello to you too, Ria,” Damian smiles. Closing the door behind him, Damian moves over to the couch and places his hand next to Ria. Ria sniffs at his hand for a bit before rubbing against him.

  Sighing in relief that she recognized him, Damian picks her up and sits down with Ria on his lap.

  "I'm home..."