2: Life once again
United States, January 6, 2007
Waking up again was not unexpected if you knew you would.
What was unexpected was waking up hanging from a rope around the neck.
If he were still a normal human, he would be choking, maybe even struggling and looking for a way to save himself before dying of suffocation again.
Daniel just felt strange; there was no pain or discomfort, just a clear sense of bewilderment at finding himself in such a bizarre situation.
With a flick of his hand, he tore the rope from where it had been fastened, bits of ceiling falling due to the act, splashing a bit of dust on him.
His body fell to the floor, his back hitting the ground, and his gaze staring at the unfamiliar ceiling.
"You could have left me in a less unpleasant place." his hand touched his neck; there were no marks or wounds, but the feeling of having a rope literally around his neck made a grimace appear on his face.
He lay on his back for a few more seconds before getting up and looking around.
It was time to investigate; he was in an unfamiliar place, in a body that didn't feel bad but was clearly something different from what he had before.
Primarily the physique, he was taller, at least a few centimeters taller, more athletic. Not that he had a bad figure before, but certainly, it didn't have the definition he now possessed.
His hands looked like his hands, except for the absence of some scars he had gained over the years in different circumstances.
Even his skin had lost some blemishes that are naturally found on the human body due to various circumstances.
Despite these noticeable changes, he didn't feel strange; it was as if he was still him... but better?
"Let's check then," he saw a closed laptop on a small desk that had seen better days.
Without thinking too much, he went for it, carefully taking steps and gauging his strength.
He gingerly lifted the laptop lid.
"Well, so far I haven't broken anything, so probably the being helped me control this body's strength in some way," he thought.
That was good; having to learn to control his strength from scratch would have been a pain in the butt.
And dangerous for others.
He looked at the black laptop screen, and the reflection of a familiar yet different face greeted him.
Was it... him?
Well, it was very close to his previous face but better. His jawline was a bit more defined, and his nose was straight again. It had been a long time since he had seen his nose in its original state. He had broken it in a soccer game, and it had been a bit crooked ever since.
His teeth were dazzlingly white and straight, in fact, even a tooth that had broken a long time ago had come back as new.
His eyes remained blue, but somehow they felt brighter, although still of a dark shade.
His hair also looked much better, like the hair in those shampoo commercials—perfectly groomed and healthy.
He would admit that he hadn't taken much care of his hair before, so the difference was noticeable.
"So, am I still me, but raised to the tenth power?" He was already liking this second chance.
Of course, there was one last check to make, the most important one. Unprecedented seriousness came over him as he left the laptop on the desk, placed his hands on his hips, took a deep breath, lowered his head, then pulled down his pants and observed.
"Yeah, I definitely like this second chance a lot," he raised an eyebrow at the sight and smiled satisfied before pulling his pants back up.
Once confirmed that he still had his body, an improved version of his body but his body nonetheless, any discomfort that may have existed vanished.
"Now, why exactly was I hanging from the ceiling?"
He looked around, it was actually quite an empty room and lacked the usual signs of identity that would be present when someone has been living in a place for a long time.
That meant there were no obvious clues to follow. His gaze returned to the laptop, and he decided that he might as well give it a try before risking leaving the room.
"Alright, let the investigation work begin."
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Well, wasn't the Daniel of this world much more unfortunate than himself?
This Daniel from this world, because it seemed like he had taken the place of an alternative version of himself who had lived in this universe before deciding to commit suicide.
Daniel Warren Evans was just a 19-year-old boy who had been living happily with his family before a car accident killed them all except him.
The reason? He had decided to stay home on the day they all went out to shop.
If he had gone with them, he would have died, and that seemed to have eaten away at the life of young Daniel.
From the half-finished suicide note he had found in some files on Daniel's laptop, he could figure this out.
'Survivor's guilt or something like that,' Daniel thought.
He wasn't a psychologist or anything like that; he had just heard about it in some video he saw at some point.
He sighed with a tinge of melancholy, indeed, Daniel Warren and Daniel Evans were not technically the same person but at the same time, they were.
They didn't exactly live the same lives, and the Daniel in this world was younger than him, but there was a sense of belonging.
It was as if you were looking at a blood brother or a very close family member.
That's why he could feel sorry for his other self.
With regret, he closed his eyes and spoke into the air.
"Wherever you are, I hope you find happiness. I can't do anything else for you or your family, I can only use this second chance to live with dignity."
If it were before, Daniel would have thought that talking to a dead person was foolishness, but now he knew that souls were real and that life after death was a fact.
Whether his words reached the intended recipient or not was uncertain, but he hoped they did.
That Daniel Warren Evans would find a second chance, just like he did, and be able to live a good life.
After observing a minute of silence, he decided to rest for a bit.
Physically, he felt amazing, but mentally, he was somewhat tired.
To die, wake up in a strange place, get a second chance, and at the same time, acquire powers as well as unknown dangers wore him out.
Reading a half-written suicide letter by what was essentially himself and knowing that his entire family in this world was dead was the last nail he needed to know that he wanted to take a break.
"Challengers, huh?" Thinking about it, he couldn't help but clench his fist with strength, the sound of air being compressed to impossible measures clear to his ears, and a smile formed on his lips.
"All right, I'll be waiting," for this second chance at life, to live with dignity.
No matter what stands in his way, he would face it and overcome it.
But first, he must sleep.
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After calming his mind, he got down to business and reviewed all the paperwork he now had.
Knowing where he was and why he was there was an important step.
And it wasn't difficult to figure out.
He was currently in Smallville, Kansas, on the property that had been the home of his paternal grandparents. The Daniel of this world had decided to retire to the farthest place he knew before deciding to take his own life.
That was, of course, an old farmhouse in the middle of a small town.
He had sold any other property or possessions he had inherited and had only brought the basics with him.
The Daniel of this world had actually been quite wealthy once he sold all the properties and received life insurance payouts from his relatives.
He wasn't a super millionaire or anything, but he had enough capital to survive for a long time without leaving home.
But, of course, with his mind being a mess, he didn't really use much of that money and had let it gather dust in his bank accounts.
The bank accounts were now Daniel's, and therefore, he had a decent budget to work with. It wasn't too much, but it was enough.
On the other hand, the name "Smallville" caught his attention. There was a sense of familiarity there that he couldn't quite explain. It was important, he somehow knew that. Therefore, he decided that he would investigate the town to try to find that "important" thing.
It didn't hurt that it was a good place to practice and test his abilities.
A solitary farmhouse in a small town where few people lived, so he wouldn't have to worry about harming anyone while practicing.
So, there were some advantages and an "important" reason why he didn't just pack up his things and go to a city or something.
Looking at the acres of uncultivated fields filled with tall grass, he couldn't help but nod.
It was a discreet place away from any prying eyes and perfect for starting his practices.
It was time to see what he could do.
First, he took a tour until he found the most secluded place where no one could see what he was doing. He didn't really care much about maintaining a secret identity or anything; without a family, he had nothing to lose besides privacy. Honestly, he could go anywhere in the world or beyond with the body he now possessed. Still, he decided to be discreet for the moment.
With a thought, everything around him seemed to move extremely slowly—grass swaying in the wind, birds flying across the sky, he even saw a bee frozen in the air hundreds of meters away.
Its wings moved so slowly that saying they were still would not be incorrect.
"Alright, let's go there," he lifted his foot and took his first step with the intention of approaching.
Quickly, he realized that it was a very bad idea. Any semblance of control he might have had vanished like dust in the wind.
His body propelled forward like a ballistic missile, going beyond the bee's position and ending up hitting a tree that shattered into splinters upon contact with his body.
"Durability test successful, clearly I was testing durability, bleh-pff poof." he spat and looked at the ground. The poor bee lay dead amidst his saliva and pieces of splinters.
"Maybe I should try going slower..."
It seemed that controlling his new abilities wouldn't be as easy as he had anticipated.
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"Slowly, slowly!" above the clouds.
In the midst of the night, a figure rose slowly, although it was somewhat unstable; it was still an impressive sight.
A flesh-and-bone body, on its own, ascended beyond the gravitational force of the planet and pierced through the clouds.
Looking at the moon in the sky, Daniel couldn't help but smile with excitement.
He knew that if he wanted to, he could touch it, step on its surface, walk on it.
It was both amazing and a little intimidating.
To have so much power...
Looking at his hands, which were now capable of holding the stars, he couldn't help but feel somewhat overwhelmed.
There were so many possibilities at his disposal, but at the same time, so much uncertainty.
What was he supposed to do with so much power? Should he even do anything?
Looking at the starry sky, he couldn't help but recall a phrase he had heard somewhere.
The memory was somewhat blurry, and part of it was completely blank, undoubtedly an effect of his last disadvantage.
But even if it was incomplete, that phrase was still there, something that had ingrained itself in his mind for some reason, and he knew it was important.
"With great power comes great responsibility..."
It was a good and fitting phrase for the current situation. He wasn't perfect, nor had he been some kind of saint in his previous life.
He had flaws, and he probably hurt people who didn't deserve it.
But he wanted to be better, to be something greater, to live a life worth living.
A life he could be proud of.
Recalling the few fragments of memory he still had from this new world, he couldn't help but look seriously at the blue planet beneath his feet.
"So, villains, aliens, gods, and monsters, huh... alright, come everyone," a smile formed on his lips, and his eyes gleamed.
"No matter how many, no matter how strong..." he took a deep breath, feeling the weight of a self-imposed responsibility settling on his shoulders.
"I will protect this world."
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In an old barn, a telescope gazed at the starry sky. Eyes of a sky-blue color observed for a while before the girl to whom those eyes belonged sighed, lowering her head.
The school year in Smallville was about to start once again, and for the girl in the barn, this was nothing more than an unpleasant reminder of how little she had done during the holidays.
Just like all the previous years, in fact.
There were no significant moments, memorable memories, or new friendships.
Just a dull monotony that made the days seem endless.
When everything around you seems made of cardboard and is as fragile as glass, having a "normal" life is too dangerous.
Carol Kent felt loneliness creeping back to her, but quickly shook her head, trying to clear that feeling from her chest.
She looked again through the telescope.
In reality, she didn't need it; if she wanted, she could look directly into the sky, and it would probably be much more detailed than using the telescope.
But it had been a gift from her father, and somehow it made her feel more "normal."
Through the telescope's lens, she noticed something falling rapidly from the sky. Due to the poor quality of the telescope, she couldn't see it clearly, and when she looked up to observe directly, the phenomenon had vanished.
Perhaps it was an illusion or a misinterpretation due to the poor image quality of the telescope, but it almost seemed to her as if a person had fallen from the sky.
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