"AH!" I scream as I pop off my back. I breathe heavily and look around. Lakota then busts through the door.
"Is everything okay?" She asked. My breathing starts to slow. I hold my stomach in pain.
"I'm fine...sorry to scare you," I say. I slowly lie back down.
"Nightmare?"
"Yeah, I keep seeing his face. I keep hearing his words...I NEED to get him back!" I say I feel a fire grow in me.
"And we will get him back. Tonight."
"Tonight? How?"
"Your suit is finished. Everything is finished. Watches, suit, my brain since I didn't sleep...everything."
"You should rest."
"I will. Make sure you test out the suit." She says. She yawns loudly and heads out. "Night!" She says. I make a look of confusion and check the time.
"It's 12....oh shit. My dad!" I yell. I jump out of bed and dash towards Lakota's lab. "Hey! Does the s-" She's out cold. She really needed the rest so I leave her to it. I dash to the room and look at the blueprints and schematics of the suit. "There's no time!" I yell. I fold the schematics and place them into the suitcase. "How do I put it on?" I asked myself. I put my shoes into the boots and the suit begins to speak.
"Greetings Mr. Pulse. Very nice to have you back." Delta says.
"Delta? You're in the whole suit now? How do you know it's me?"
"I remember your weight and shoe size."
"How do I get out? I need to be home as soon as possible! Where's the chest plate and stuff?"
"Please put on the gloves Pulse. They made some major upgrades." Delta states.
"Major? Can't be that cool." I say. I put the gloves on and they start to read my hands. Tech starts to cover my entire body, my suit covers my entire torso and the boots start to cover my legs. I look over to the right and find my mask. "What is this made of?"
"Nanotech and Carbon Fiber. The carbon fiber parts of the suit are the gauntlets, boots, chest plate, elbow card, shoulder guards, knee guards, and the knuckle area. Everything else is Nanotech. Pretty sweet huh?" Delta explained.
"That's impossible...how did they do this?"
"Karen and Lakota. Both of their brains put together is quite marvelous...plus, money. A LOT of money."
"Insane...this is insane...beyond insane..." I say in shock. I froze as I stare at my suit. "Holy shit this is insane...where's the watch?" I ask.
"You'll see when we get home. Let's go!" Delta says in excitement. I laugh and put my mask on and it connects with the torso piece. I run to the pad and I see Jaden waking up.
"Whoa...that suit is awesome...." Jaden said I'm not sure if he's awake or not.
"Thanks." I elbow the button and I'm sent flying out the roof.
"Systems online," Delta says. A hud appears on my eyes and I see the time, location, and battery percentage.
"Wait what, what's the percentage for?"
"The suit. No worries though, it charges whenever it's not being used."
"What if I drain it out?"
"Not possible, the battery lasts for 15 hours. You only patrol for about 5 to 6."
"Okay but, what if I run out?"
"The nanotechnology retracts into the boots and into the gloves, also knowns as gauntlets."
"But then what?! My identity will be shown to all that are near me!"
"Ah yes, but that won't happen. Now, hurry up and go home!"
"Got it!" I shoot my grapple and start to swing home. I arrive home and jump through my window. As I jump through, my foot hits the windowsill and I slam face first. "Ouch..." I wince as I hold my face.
"Jarahn?! Are you finally awake? You alright?"
"Yeah, I'm fine," I say. I snatch off my mask and my suit retracts into the boots and gloves. I sigh. I think I have mixed feelings about this suit. I throw the boots, mask, and gloves into my closet and shut it. I pull out my phone and check my messages. 'Karen? How'd she get my number?' I thought.
"Hey, Jaden gave me your number. What time will we be meeting up?" The text read. I smile. It's very rare to see people use actual grammar in text. It brings a smile on my face.
"How's 2?" I text.
"That's perfect, we'll meet at the base."
"That's a copy. (Cool emoji)" I place my phone on the counter and head downstairs.
"Hey, dad," I say.
"Sup. How'd you sleep? You've been knocked out for a bit."
"I slept alright. How was work?"
"Pretty crazy. We had this guy who was threatening people with a gum scraper. I was able to restrain him without tasing him."
"Sounds fun." I laugh.
"I still can't believe you're 14, you're getting old on me."
"Dad, age is just a number. The only difference is...I don't know..." I stop to think. 'Where was I going with this sentence?' I thought.
"The difference is teenage brain farts apparently." My dad laughs. I laugh harder than before. The sound of his laugh definitely makes me laugh even more. "Any plans for today?"
"I'm meeting up with a friend but..." I check my wrist and then my pockets. "What time is it?"
"12:45"
"Well, I have time to spare so I was gonna head to the garage and train a bit."
"Cool, mind if I join?" He asked.
"Of course not. Let's go old man." I say as I run downstairs.
"Who you calling old?" He asked as he rushed down after me. We head to the basement and I find my breakfast from yesterday.
"Whoops," I say. He sees the plate and shrugs it off.
"Don't worry about it. We can toss it after training." After those words, we trained and trained. My dad still can't get over the fact of how much I know. And we're big sweaty monsters. We find ourselves in the kitchen, gulping cold refreshing water and panting. An hour and some minutes have passed.
"Time?" I ask. He checks his watch and speaks.
"Time to get ready for your hangout." He says. I smile and rush upstairs. I enter my room and close the door behind me. I start to undress and think about what I'm going to wear. I throw my shirt into the dirty clothes bin and start to take off my jeans. I trip over my shoe and slam onto my floor.
"Again? Delta, can you hear me?" I asked. A watch beamed through my closet door leaving a hole. It landed onto my bed and she spoke.
"Yes, I am here. How can I be of assistance?" She asked. I stood there in shock. "How?" I ask.
"The boots of your suit create the watch, and the rest of your suit remains intact with the watch. So, you can suit upon command." She explained.
"What's the command?"
"You have not entered one yet, would you like to?" She asked.
"Yes, activate entry for command."
"Listening."
"Shazam," I say with a huge smile. Yes, I stole that from the comics...but, can you blame me? This is an awesome opportunity.
"Command is now registered. A big day Mr. Pulse?"
"Nah, just a hang out with Karen. She wants to get to know me."
"I see, it's a date."
"Why do we keep calling it a date?"
"It sounds like a date."
"Whatever you say Delta. I'm gonna hop in the shower now. Be ready for your first trip as a watch." I say as I head to my bathroom and close the door behind me.
(Play "I'm still standing" By Elton John)
I hopped into the shower and started to sing.
"You could never know what it's like." I started to sing loud and proud. I sang and sang as I wash all the sweat and gunk off of me. I start to hum the rest of the song and dance like a silly kid. "Looking like a true survivor! Feeling like a little kid!" I sang louder. I finish my short shower and step onto the mat. "I'm still standing!" I yelled.
"Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!" My father yelled from downstairs. I laugh as I start to dry myself with my towel. I stop suddenly and stare at the watch.
"Uh, Delta...you don't have any eyes right...?" I ask awkwardly.
"No, only if you activate my camera or use the lens in your mask." She replies. My eyebrow raises.
'I have a camera on my watch?' I thought. I flip my watch over to the side anyways, just to be cautious. I finish dressing up and I head out my front door. I start to run a few blocks and I smile brightly.
"Shazam!" I yell with excitement. My suit starts to cover my entire body. My mask forms last and I jump and start to swing the rest of the way. I arrive at the warehouse and come through the exit from the roof. I drop onto the floor and my mask automatically retracts into my suit. "Hey," I say.
(Stop song)
"Whoa...the suit...you remind me of Iron Man..." Jaden says.
"Y-yeah...we were going for something like that. But with the unique touch of your color red and black." Karen says nervously.
"Yeah, it's pretty techy. Do you think we can dial that down?" I ask. I feel like I sound ungrateful. It's a really good suit but, I'm not sure if I completely like how techy it is.
"Um, I'll check with Lakota later...ready to go?"
"For sure. Shazam!" I say as I smirk at Jaden. My suit retracts and my watch forms.
"Whoa ...what?! Billy Batson!" Jaden said in excitement.
"Heck yeah!" I say. Karen and I headed out to McDonald's and have a small talk on the way there.
"So, when did this all start for you?" She asked.
"Well, I remember seeing on the news how a little girl was killed in the crossfire of a gang shooting. It made me think of all that happens in this city. Murders, Robberies, Rape, all these innocent people getting hurt, losing their lives and being abused. It angered me to the core. It made me so angry that I rushed upstairs and immediately started drawing ideas for the suit. The suit that would start it all, the suit that would start my story. I didn't get the name until I saved Jaden from 12 Gang. And that was about 3 months after I started." I explained. I stop walking for a second.
"Is there something wrong?"
"No, it's just...you're the first person I ever told. Not even Jaden knows. Not sure what came across me."
"I get that. It's like that organic feeling of trust. The same feeling I got when I vented to you that night..."
"That's a good way to put it." I start to walk again and I smile. "You're good with words."
"And you're good with your hands. I guess you can say you've been doing this for a while."
"Yeah, the city is starting to hear about me now. Some think it's just a rumor, some believe it. It's a nice feeling."
"What's a nice feeling?"
"It's hard to put it into words...it's like. I feel as if this city really believes in me. The cause, and just the fact that I'm doing this just because I want things to change. I feel like a hero. And I really like this feeling."
"That's great Jarahn." Karen smiles at me. I blush a bit. "Would you say Pulse is apart of who you are? Or some sort of alter ego?"
"I'd say both. I feel like Pulse is apart of who I am. Without him, I'd be lost. Without a purpose. But, when I do patrol...I feel as if I'm just angry. And I use that anger to finish and clean up the mess they made...is that weird?" I look at her with a confused look.
"No, not weird at all." She replies. We make it to our destination and that's when the Pulse questions stop. We order and sit down to wait for our numbers to be called. Not sure what's up but, I feel as if I like Karen. Not normal like, but like like. I refuse to fall in love! Jaliyah will be my queen! "Do you like Anime?" She asked. 'Nevermind.' I thought.
"Yes. Love it. But, enough about me. How were things before you found me?"
"Awful, parents constantly fighting. Father always saying how I'm a waste of space. Mother always leaving the house and leaving me there with his words. He never laid a hand on me but, he hates me."
"That's awful...how did this start?"
"Since I was born I guess...I wasn't on purpose but, my mom didn't wanna have an abortion and my dad didn't wanna leave but, he also didn't wanna take care of me. It kind of hurts knowing your dad hates you and your mom can't even take care of you...I'm really grateful for you finding me, saving me. Not sure where I'd be..."
"Number 149," The worker said.
"I'll get it..." I stood up and approached and the counter and grabbed our food and as I walk back to my seat, I see Jaliyah and some dude walk by. I stood in confusion. 'That's not right...she was busy today...she would've texted me or let me know...maybe she's running an errand....' I thought. I knew those thoughts were wrong but, I needed something, anything to stop me from thinking she's with another dude. I sit back down and Karen can sense the uneasy vibe I have.
"Is there something wrong?" Karen asked. I look down at the table for a moment. 'I guess she doesn't want to be with me...' I thought.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Just remembered something...that's all." I lie. Karen grabs a hot fry from my box.
"What did you remember?"
"Just...I have to practice my bo-staff techniques in order to fight The Splicer." I respond. I wouldn't say it was much of a lie at that time. I really do need to practice. "You do know those are my fries right?" I ask.
"Yeah...so?" She joked nervously. I could see that she was getting more comfortable around me. I laugh and grab her bag.
"Well, I guess you wouldn't mind if I ate your burger.." I shrug.
"Wait! No! Not the burger!" She said as she reached for the bag. We laugh hard and continue to eat our meals. Time flies and it's late. Instead of Karen and I finishing a short lunch date, we ended up spending the entire day together. I decided to walk to her home to her complex. We went up to the stairs and right before Karen knocks, the door is flung open and her dad was on the other side, drunk.
"Where the hell were you brat? And who the hell is this? Why are you with a boy? Alone? This late?" He yelled.
"Dad...why are you drunk..." Karen asked. I clenched my fist. Her dad sees my hand and walks up to me.
"What you gonna do...? You ain't no man! You just a boy!" He said. Each sentence he said was the time he pushed me.
"Dad! Stop touching him! Stop it!" Karen panicked. I stood there and took the pushes, they barely phased me. Her dad then trucks me with his shoulder into the wall and I lose my breath. "Jarahn! Are you okay?" Karen asks as she rushes over to me, her dad then turns and hits her with a quick backhand and she falls to the floor. Karen holds her face in shock and tears start to fall from her eyes.
"Should've backed off brat. You stupid, waste of space brat!" He screamed. I regained my breath and tackled him back into the room and slammed him onto the wooden coffee table. I stood up and brushed the wood dust off my shoulders. I turned to Karen and started to speak.
"You should go pack, you can't li-" My words were interrupted by a headlock. Her dad had a tight hold around my head and he was choking me with his forearm. I slam my knuckles into his nose and he releases his hold. I cough hard and turn to him. He raises his guard.
"Wanna fight a man? Then I'll beat you up like one..." He said. Karen rushed off into her room to pack the things she needed. I raise my guard too and we start to fight. He swings with his left and I dodge and strike his side. He winces loudly and starts to swing fast at me out of anger. I dodge and dodge left strafe right strafe. I then catch his last punch and start to twist his wrist. "AGHH!" He screamed in pain. I punch his face with my right and then my left. I knee his stomach in and he falls down. He slowly tries to stand and I front flip forward and slam my foot onto his head. His face slammed into the floor and he goes unconscious. Her mom finally rushes out and screams.
"What's happening? What are you doing to him?" She asked. Karen came out of her room with her suitcase full of things. "Karen...where are you going?" She asked.
"Away from here! Dad does nothing but abuses me! And you sit there and do nothing about it! And it's because you're scared of him! He smacked me, mom! Smacked me! But, guess what? You'll run to help him! And not me!" Karen started to cry hard. "Not your own daughter!" She screamed. Karen stormed off and headed downstairs. The mom started to help the dad.
"You're twisted...I hope I never see any of your faces again...you disgust me. Letting a grown man do this to a teenage girl? You utterly disgust me..." I say angrily. I yell out of anger. The mom just stares at me like I'm crazy. And then I start to think if I am too. I walk out of the room and head down after Karen. 'She's never going back to that place. They won't hurt her again! I'll make sure of it!' I thought.