Ch 3 – A Thousand Deaths (rewrite)

Jack was completely blindsided.

Jack had been deeply engrossed in his thoughts, gazing out of the window at the passing stores, when a sudden, jarring impact shook the bus. 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 it had been casually tossed aside with incredible force. The scene outside had descended into chaos. Roughly half a block away, a superpowered brawl raged on, the combatants engaged in a furious clash of abilities. Panic had seized the streets, with people abandoning their vehicles and fleeing for cover. On the bus, urgency gripped the passengers as they scrambled to exit through all three passenger side exits, desperate to escape.

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 and tried to figure out how to help her. He moved to support her head and felt warm blood washing over his hand, ~Oh Shit! Oh Shit! Oh Shit! Oh Shit!~

This woman was going to die.

As Jack watched, his heart was heavy with guilt. he couldn't shake the feeling that somehow if he had only taken the seat, the woman might still be alive. She was now teetering on the brink of death, and even though he understood deep down that he wasn't directly to blame, a sense of responsibility weighed on him. His gaze remained fixed on her, witnessing her eyelids flickering as she neared the end. Jack's thoughts swirled with desperation. He muttered to himself, "If I truly can do a little bit of everything, then... if there is a god..." He pressed his forehead gently to hers. In his mind, he thought the word, ~Heal.~

Nothing happened.

With a deep and determined focus, Jack's thoughts converged on his understanding of the human anatomy. He visualized the shard of glass embedded within the woman's brain, imagining how, if his powers worked as he hoped, regeneration would occur. The glass would be pushed out, her skull would reform, the skin would seal, and she would live. Every erg of energy he could muster was channeled into this desperate endeavor.

His eyes squeezed shut as he implored the universe, "Please... c'mon... work, damn it! Work!" A soft, ethereal light flickered briefly around them, illuminating the moment, then abruptly vanished. Jack's body was drenched in a cold sweat as he felt something almost click into place but then slip away, leaving him with a gnawing sense of frustration and fear.

Yet, he knew he couldn't give up. In that pivotal moment, he let go of everything else, focusing solely on the task at hand. Instead of trying to force the universe to bend to his will, he surrendered to the possibility of the extraordinary. Upon opening his eyes, he whispered softly but one, single word.

"Heal."

A light flared brighter than anything else Jack had ever managed to achieve in the past week. Blinding white energy streamed out the bus’ windows. Those who were still near the vehicle were staggered by the brightness. Jack blinked as spots before his eyes danced and slowly faded away. A woman asked a rather telling question, "Am I dead?"

Jack gently rubbed his eyes as he looked down at the woman cradled in his lap, the exhaustion and emotional strain having taken a toll on him. As he moved his hand to check the back of her head, he found the once-fatal wound had been replaced with a fresh scar. When he withdrew his hand, it was stained with blood, but there was no denying that she was no longer on the brink of death. Overwhelmed by relief, he let out a relieved laugh and said, "Far from it, miss!" However, he couldn't help but notice that something seemed off. His voice didn't sound quite right.

The woman, her expression filled with awe and reverence, sat up and cautiously moved away from him. Perplexed, Jack stood up, intending to offer her a helping hand to stand, but he abruptly halted when he felt his wings bump into the roof of the bus. Bewildered and caught off guard, he could only manage to utter, "Wha?"

Jack had transformed.

Jack's wings had torn through his clothing, leaving his undershirt, dress shirt, and jacket in tatters as they burst forth in the process of becoming the winged Adonis he had spent the past week crafting. He now stood before the woman in his full angelic glory. The woman's gaze was fixed on his naked chest as her trembling fingers reached out towards him. She spoke with a hint of playful disbelief, "Are you sure I'm still alive? Because it sure feels like I've died and gone to heaven." Quipping about her surreal situation.

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, 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 the woman down 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 crippled bus. He had learned the hard way that he wasn't that good at flying, but he could jump fairly well and 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 am I doing?~ He glanced around at the crowd, ~I don't owe these people anything! Why 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 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 crashed next to the couple, "I'm gonna feel that in the morning!" The man screamed in terror as he was showered 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, "Now would be a good time to run, folks!"

The woman remained transfixed, her gaze locked onto Jack's chiseled chest and the impressive muscles that adorned it. Meanwhile, the man observed her fixation, his expression shifting into one of intense jealousy, "You heard the hero!" With a scowl, he grabbed her and forcibly pulled her to her feet. He had spoken the word 'hero' in a way that was dripping with venom.

They both broke into a run as Jack tried to reply, "Oh, I'm no-" Before Jack could finish protesting, he was abruptly cut off by a sudden shower of dust and debris that enveloped him, causing his words to fade away into the unfolding chaos.

The cloud of concrete came from above as someone slammed into the building above him at about the third floor leaving a huge hole in the side of the building. Whatever happened, the person who was thrown into the building 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.

The woman was a lively redhead, and her well-defined muscles and figure indicated that she played the role of the team's tank. Her form-fitting green bodysuit perfectly matched the color of her striking eyes, while her flowing red cape complemented her hair. Her hourglass figure and generous bosom were prominently on display, drawing attention to her undeniable allure. With a face that bore Irish heritage, complete with a perky nose and a smattering of freckles. She possessed a captivating beauty that left Jack momentarily stunned. Amidst her stunning figure, a large red letter 'S' stood boldly in the center of her chest, right between two magnificently mammalian mounds straight out of Larry Flint's id. It was a distinctive emblem that couldn't be overlooked.

He was so enthralled that he almost missed 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 dead 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 the fallen woman.

Jack closed his eyes.

Jack turned away.

Jack jumped.