Chapter One: Tragic Losses and Terrific Gains
Warnings: Character Death, Violence, Blood
I thought it would be just an average day when it happened to me. The day that my life changed forever had been going just as any other day would have. The bell rang, signaling that the school day was finally over. Quickly, I gathered up my school supplies and shoved them into my bag. If I hurry, I'll be able to get a seat on the bus. My bus is often crowded with other kids and I have to sit on the floor all the time. I bet if I wasn't in 6th Grade, bigger kids would treat me better. I guess that's just the way it is.
I ran to my school bus in the lot and climbed the steep steps. Luckily, there was still a few open seats available so I sat my things down and plopped myself into the seat. It was such a rarity to get a seat, so luck must be on my side. Wendy, my friend, will be pleased to have a seat to sit in.
Wendy boarded the bus and smiled a bit when she noticed that I had gotten a seat. I scooted over to the window, and she sat down beside me.
"How was your day, Peter?" Wendy asked.
"It was alright. It would have been better if you were on the morning bus with me though. You know how the bigger kids like to tease me when you're not here," I replied.
"You need to learn how to defend yourself against those bullies, Peter. You know I can't always be there for you. Anyways, my alarm didn't go off so I missed the bus."
"Oh so that's why you were late to homeroom. Mrs. Olive was too harsh on you when you came in only a few minutes late. You're never late so I don't get what her problem is." I stated. It was a bland conversation that was going nowhere. I wish something interesting would happen.
The buses started to drive out of the parking lot, filing out one by one. It always takes way too long for them to leave the lot. The bus better bring me home before my favorite superhero cartoon comes on. I love cartoons about superheroes and I don't want this stupid bus to keep me from watching it.
As the bus was making its way down the road, it suddenly came to a screeching halt. Kids sitting on the floor were flung to the front. Luckily, Wendy and I only hit our heads on the seat.
I quickly turned my head to the window and saw what I never thought I could see in real life. A man was levitating above the ground! He had silver hair and a long dark scarf that flapped in the wind. Suddenly, dark clouds filled the sky and a chilly breeze filled the air. How is this possible? It's the beginning of September!
The mysterious man chuckled and started to create an icicle with his hands alone. He then struck a nearby car with the huge icicle. He moved his hands to the street and coated the road in slippery sheets of ice. A speeding car flew by and crashed into a tree almost immediately.
"Hehe, isn't the chaos beautiful?" the man chimed. Some people walking on the sidewalk tried to run away, but the man quickly made an icy disk and decapitated the people running. I screamed along with a few other kids.
"Everyone get down!" The bus driver yelled. We all ducked down and hid beneath the seats from the chaos that the man was causing. This man is absolutely crazy!
I looked around and saw some people crying, some praying, and others just watching in terror. We're so close to my house, so I can only hope that it'll be alright.
The man laughed again, "I am Winter Chaos! Look at the beautiful work I've made on the city streets!" He sounds just like a supervillain from the shows I watch. Where is a hero when we need one?!
"Stop right there!" I heard a heroic voice call out. I peeked out from under the seat and saw a different man who was also levitating. He had a tight blue super suit that showed off his humungous muscles, a cape with the American flag, and blonde hair the color of honey. On his chest was a white star with a bold 'J' and 'S' in the middle.
"Who do you think you are?" Winter Chaos snarled.
"I am Justice Star and I will see it through that you are defeated, evil doer!" Justice Star tackled Winter Chaos, bringing him down. Winter Chaos fought back and blew a cold gust of wind at Justice Star. Justice Star flew off of Winter Chaos, but retaliated with a swift dive to the ground where Winter Chaos was. Winter Chaos seemed to be rendered unconscious. Then, with the strength of 1,000 men, he threw Winter Chaos into the air and punched him hard enough to send him flying.
With hot red beams, he thawed the road and melted the ice and cold that Winter Chaos caused. Justice Star flew over to the bus and said, "Don't worry, kiddos! That evil dude is gone!" We got up from the floor and cheered.
Justice Star flew over to the car that was struck with the icicle. When I took a closer look at the car, it looked familiar. Wait a minute, that's my mom's car!
"Oh god," I whispered in horror. I ran out of the bus and to the car. It was worse than I thought. Both of my parents were in the car. "Those are my parents!" I cried.
Justice Star gave me a saddened look and said, "I'm sorry kid but you might want to stay back. This is a matter that is out of my hands. I've already called 9-11."
"Please, there has to be something you can do!" Tears started to stream down my cheeks.
"I'm really sorry, but this goes beyond my power. I'll stay with you until the ambulance arrives."
It felt like an eternity before the ambulance finally arrived. The sirens echoed in my brain like an agonizing orchestra. There was no telling whether my parents were okay. They both looked like they passed out.
The paramedics carefully, delicately took my parents out of the vehicle. It was painful to see my parents, the ones who I've looked up to and considered to be strong, being handled as if they were made of glass. Justice Star was speaking to the paramedics about something that I couldn't hear over the deafening ring resounding in my ears. My entire body felt so weak and ready to collapse onto the pavement below me.
I felt someone try to shake me out of it, but I feel disconnected. I can't do anything at all. I'm as frozen as the icicle that pierced through my mom's car. What am I going to do if they don't make it? My parents disconnected from their families to be together so will anyone be able to care for me? I don't know anything at all.
When I finally snap out of it, I realize that the paramedics had taken me with my parents to the hospital. Despite the weak beating of their hearts they looked dead. I could only feel a sense of dread looking at their blood-stained faces. Mom's bobbed blonde hair was dyed an ugly red and Papa's short blonde hair was dripping with crimson. The metallic scent that filled my lungs and assaulted my nose against my will gave me the urge to puke.
My mom's eyes, pigmented with a blue so dark it appeared purple, opened and looked directly at me. Her face looked full of pain, yet she managed to smile for me. Her gentle pale hand reached out to gently touch my face. In her light Finnish accent she spoke in a quiet voice. "Please don't be afraid, Peter. Everything will be alright in the end. Even if the worst comes, we have relatives that will take care of you. Uncle Mathias and Uncle Lukas will gladly take you in." My face was wet once more with tears at the thought of losing her.
"I don't want anything bad to happen to you or Papa!" I said. She looked at me sadly.
"Well, nothing bad will happen. I promise everything will be okay. I only said that just in case."
Finally, the ambulance arrived at the hospital. Just before the paramedics took them away, my mom choked out, "I love you, Peter!" and then they were both hauled off. Meanwhile, a worker took me into the waiting room for the time being.
The news was droning about nothing interesting on the TV in the room. Just for something to distract me from the current events, I began to listen to what they were saying.
"Are there any radioactive contaminants in our city's water source? We sent Matthew Williams, local journalist in training, to investigate," the news lady said.
"Thank you, Sharon. We are in an area where the Chesapeake Bay is our watershed. That water feeds into the river that we get our water from. Unfortunately, much of our water seems to have been contaminated due to a recent radioactive spill in the Chesapeake which leaves areas of Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, the District of Columbia, and our state of New York affected. An odd side effect of drinking the contaminated water is that people have been developing superpowers. As we've seen earlier today, there are already superheroes and supervillains in the making."
"Tell us more, Matthew."
"Well, a supervillain that goes by the name Winter Chaos attacked the intersection near the local middle school. Luckily, a hero named Justice Star put an end to the madness. Unfortunately, we've identified that 3 people died and 2 were injured during the attack." Those two injured must be Mom and Papa. I only hope that they don't have to add them to the death count. "Due to the fact that Winter Chaos was disguised, we do not know who he is. Hopefully, he will be apprehended before he causes any more catastrophes."
I wonder if I'll get powers. The guy did say that New York had some of the radioactive water, so I could get powers. If I do, I'll be able to be the one to defeat Winter Chaos! They'll have my face plastered all over the news and I'll be the hero!
I was pulled out of my thoughts when a doctor came up to me. "Are you the son of Tiina and Berwald Oxenstierna?" she asked.
"Yes, I am Peter Oxenstierna," I replied.
"I'm afraid that I have some bad news." My eyes widened as she spoke. "I'm sorry to be the one to tell you, but Berwald had died upon arrival to the hospital."
"No, you have to be lying! Papa's fine!" I yelled.
She looked like her eyes were watery as she continued, "Unfortunately, that is the truth. Now, Tiina requested that she see you. Follow me." The doctor led me to the room that my mother was in.
"Oh, Peter, I'm so glad that you're here. I want you to have something," she said in her sweet voice. In her hands was an old golden watch. "It's your father's watch. It has been passed through his family for years. I know he wanted to give it to you himself, but that can no longer happen." She stifled a sob and put it onto my wrist. "It's a bit big for you, but you'll grow into it."
"Thank you, Mom."
"I'm afraid that I'm going to be joining Papa. Uncle Mathias will have to take care of you." Tears spilled from both her cheeks and mine. Her breaths began to seem labored. She opened her arms and I dove into them. I felt her wince, yet she said nothing. Her soft hands rubbed my back gently. With a faint whisper she muttered, "I love you so much, my dear Peter," before she went limp. The heart monitor screeched the tone of death as doctors pulled me out of the room to try to resuscitate her.
My world came to a halt at that very moment. The worse had happened; both of my parents have died. Darkness nipped at the corners of my eyes and I ended up falling unconscious. Please, bring me to where my parents are.
I awoke in a hospital bed with tubes in my arms. I hoped to see my parents in the room, but instead I saw a stranger. My parents are dead. This must be Uncle Mathias or maybe Uncle Lukas. I've never met either of them. Heck, I didn't know they existed until Mom was…
The man was very quiet and seemed hesitant to speak to me. Despite that he said, "It's good that you're up. I'm Lukas Bondevik. I'm a close friend to your parents." He wasn't very expressive.
"Oh, you're Uncle Lukas. My mom kept bringing you and Uncle Mathias up and saying that you two would take care of me." His eyes watered a bit at my statement.
"Mathias is no longer with us. I haven't talked to Tiina or Berwald in a while so they didn't know," he stated with a melancholic tone, yet his face was blank of any expression. "I wish we were meeting under better circumstances. Are you alright?"
"I'm not great, but I'll be fine. It all happened so fast," I responded.
"I should get you something to drink. I'm sure it will help," Uncle Lukas said and left the room. He returned with a styrofoam cup full of water and handed it to me.
"Thank you, Uncle Lukas." I sipped from the cup and felt a bit better. As I sipped it, I began to feel like my body was tingling. I didn't think much of it and continued to drink it. After about five minutes of silence, Uncle Lukas spoke up.
"I need to go use the bathroom. I'll be back in a moment," he said. Once he had left, the tingling grew and became a sting. My heart started to pound rapidly. I downed the water and ended up feeling incredibly powerful despite the stinging. Soon, my appearance began to change. I looked to the mirror to my right and saw a mask form around my eyes. My hospital gown was replaced with what looked like a sailor outfit except the shirt was similar to a wet suit. The golden watch on my wrist snaked and twisted all over my arm. I felt the urge to get more water, so I went over to the sink and filled the styrofoam cup. Honestly, Uncle Lukas only needed to get a cup. It was nice of him to fill it for me though.
I chugged down several cups of water until I was finally satisfied. Oddly enough, my stomach didn't feel like it was going to bust. Instead, I felt a cool sensation on my back. I looked in the mirror and saw that I had made wings and a halo out of water.
"I'm actually a real superhero," I muttered quietly as I stared at my reflection in awe. Suddenly, my happiness was interrupted by the door knob turning. My new powers seemed to take over and I melted into the floor like a puddle. My power must be the ability to manipulate water.
"Peter, where'd you go?" Uncle Lukas asked. After looking around, he turned and went to find a staff member. Once he was gone, I reformed. The only problem is the fact that I don't know how to make myself turn back. I can't let Uncle Lukas see me like this.
Eventually, I felt worn out and lied back down onto my hospital bed. Gradually, the costume faded and I returned to my original state. Tiredness filled my body and I was ready to rest. Before I faded out into unconsciousness, I had one single thought.
"Winter Chaos will pay for what he has done!"
AN: Yet again, I've started a fanfic despite the fact that I have several more that have less than five chapters and haven't been updated in several thousand years. I apologize for the infrequent updates. School often gets in the way of my creative processes and I rarely feel motivation to do anything. I'm surprised that I managed to do this. I'm not sure if I'll ever finish No Escape and Russia's Crazy Dinner Party since I've been familiar with those stories for so long, especially No Escape. Since it used to be Trapped when I wrote it on Wattpad, I changed up the concept to the point where it almost feels like a different story entirely. I feel like my old story Trapped is still strong in my heart and it's hard to stop thinking about. There were several hundred different ideas I had for this story but unfortunately, I just can't give it the justice it deserves. I don't know anymore. I envy my old self that was able to write a chapter each week without fail. I wish I could do that. If you're still reading this then kudos to you. I know that no one looks at this stuff anyways. With that being said, I'll see ya next chapter!