To Be What You Are

Chapter 3

I stood outside the building, breathing heavily. The fresh air didn't really help. The world started spinning around me.
It couldn't be real. It couldn't be happening to me. I was just a normal girl trying to pass her classes. I didn't know how much more normal my life could get...
But the thing is, I wouldn't know if my memories were replaced, I thought. It could be me or anyone else. There was one way to figure this whole thing out.
Everyone knew that it's impossible to take away someone's superpowers. If I was really Mindraider, the powers would still be somewhere inside me. The article said that Mindraider could control people. I just had to find someone to try it out on.
I looked around. The area was virtually empty, since it was getting pretty late. I noticed a guy walking with a bag slung over one shoulder. He was probably getting home from class.
I quickly walked to catch up to him. If this didn't work, I was going to be pretty embarrassed. I stopped a few paces behind the guy.
"Stop," I said quickly.
The guy stopped and looked around at me. I stared at him, dumbfounded. He gave me a funny look and started walking again.
I just had to try one more time.
"I said stop!"
This time, I felt a surge of power through my body. It felt like my mind was waking up. Like I was remembering some skill I hadn't practiced in a long time. It felt great.
The guy stopped again, but this time he didn't turn around.
I walked up to him. He was standing completely still, looking in front of him blankly. I walked around him, surprised.
"Whoa," I said to myself.
But I had to make sure that he wasn't messing with me.
"Uhm, stand on your head," I said hesitantly.
The guy just stood there.
Okay, so it doesn't seem to work if I just tell people to do stuff, I thought. I have to kind of, feel the power and think really hard about it. This isn't making much sense.
"Act like a dog," I commanded.
I felt the surge again, this time it wasn't as strong.
The guy dropped his bag and got down on all fours. He started barking and panting, trying to scratch himself with his foot.
I stared at him as he continued. It was real. I had superpowers.
I was Mindraider.
I had to tell someone.
"Get up," I said quickly and the guy stopped acting like a dog and stood up.
"You will now pick up your bag," I continued, my mind racing. "And you will walk away, forgetting this entire encounter."
The guy picked his bag up and walked away, seemingly not noticing me. When he was a fair distance away, he slung his bag over his shoulder and started walking at a more relaxed pace.
He had no idea what just happened.
My heart pounded excitedly. I had to get home.

***

"Where have you been?" I asked Tyler the next morning.
"I was just out," he said tiredly stumbling over to the sofa.
"Well, I have to talk to you," I said excitedly.
"What about class?"
"It can wait. This is important."
I sat across from Tyler as he looked at me quizzically. I told him about my newfound powers that I had discovered the previous day. As I spoke, he seemed to grow less and less tiredly.
"And, uhm, how did you figure this out?" he asked.
"I saw this thing about Mindraider in a newspaper," I explained. "Come on, I'll show you."
We almost ran to the library. I quickly got back to the room at the back. The newspaper was where I left it. I picked it up and showed it to Tyler.
"See? She looks exactly like me," I was almost hopping from excitement.
Tyler's face went white as he looked at the picture.
"And... you tried the superpowers out?" he asked.
"Yup," I said. "And it works. Which means that this is definitely me."
"Have you told anyone else?"
"No, you're the first," I frowned. "You don't seem very excited."
"Well, It's just-" Tyler stammered. "How- how do I know you won't use it on me or something? I mean, you're a supervillain."
"Don't worry," I said. "I'm still me. I'm not going to go full supervillain or anything. And I promise that I won't use my powers on you. You're my friend."
"Uhm, okay," Tyler said hesitantly. "Well, okay. But Abigail, you can't use this power."
"Wait, why not?" I asked, surprised.
"Because it's not right," he replied. "You can't just control people..."
"Fine," I said, frowning. "I'll think about it."
"Thank you," Tyler put the newspaper back on the table. "Now come on, we need to get to class."
I watched Tyler as he exited the room. Why was he being against the whole thing? Oh well, maybe it was better not to use this power.
Controlling people might not be the right thing to do.
And I don't want to turn into a supervillain.