…Holy shit!

What the hell…

That explosion was sure something…

…a room, he's breathing!

This just in, our morning news. It was only two nights ago when a DX gas station in downtown Tulsa has been blown up. Investigators and police have found a few guns still loaded and unfazed from the explosion, but only seven boys seemed to have survived. These boys have been identified as Darryl, Sodapop, and Ponyboy Curtis, Dallas Winston, Steven Randle, Johnathan Cade, and Keith Mathews. These boys have been enlisted in the hospital for observation while the cause of the explosion remains unknown.

And it was with the static of the radio that caused Johnny Cade to wake up.

Of course, it was that and an aching pain in his sides and back. But his back have been known to hurt for a while, considering that church fire a while back, but this felt completely besides the point.

Johnny fluttered his eyes open, seeing darkness and light over and over again. His train of thought was slowly awakening as he finally made the choice to try and sit up. There was something down and quite comfortable that his body managed to be resting on. And it felt nice.

With a groan from his mouth, Johnny propped himself on one elbow, the other hand rubbing his eyes to brush away the sleep and exhaustion. He looked around the little room, greeted with white. But then puzzlement was swept over him. Why did this place feel so familiar for him?

The bed was clean, with stainless sheets dressing it along with painted walls delicately and perfectly blinding pale. Looming his eyes over to the side, he saw two little purple flowers in a vase, and Johnny never had to turn to hear commotion in the hallways, the footsteps of doctors and nurses.

The hospital.

Holy shit, he was in a hospital.

Johnny pushed his body weight off his elbow and stood up completely in his bed. His breathing quickened and he shut his eyes. He remembered it. The radio was still talking and he just now realized what the subject was!

We were almost killed. A-And then Steve had a gun…and he was pointing it at some engine thing…

That night…the radio said that it was two nights ago. Was he asleep for two days? He could still remember the details, all of them, all rushing in against his own will.

The drag race.

Being confronted by that masculine black-clothed man.

All those men with loaded guns in the gas station.

Steve pointing a weapon of his own at that engine.

Steve pulling the trigger.

Johnny seemed to have recall not having most memories of what happened after Steve allowed his gun to fire. Only the feeling of distance. Just the matter of how he felt a presence seep into his veins and he welcomed it. How he as feeling so light on air until hitting the ground hard.

But why…why was he alive? That wasn't like anything he ever felt. He had been in a fire, the scorching feeling of himself of hell on Earth. The pain of his broken spine, of the injuries of the on his peeling skin at the time. What was he doing in the hospital if he was dead? Wait, he is dead, right? Johnny snapped his eyes open and put his hands in front of him. Other than the bandaged forearms that he remembered were burns, they looked pretty okay.

He looked down at his body, to see he had on a hospital gown, but under that was his skin just fine.

Maybe a little darker and more tan than he is, but other than that, he felt nice.

He felt normal.

He felt alive.

What happened, though?

Why did Steve feel so much toward the thing as to endanger everyone inside and to end up causing the thing to explode?

Wait.

Steve.

Sodapop.

The gang.

Were they okay?

The radio was still playing, already having the subject changed and onto the weather, but were they in the same condition as he was? Just fine and alive? The reporter said that they all survived, and they had no idea, hell he had no idea! But were they gonna be the same?

Were they gonna still be as normal as they appeared to be?

If they appeared to be?

Swiftly, Johnny threw the covers off his body and landed on his feet dizzily. He stumbled over to the wall, two hands to support his weight again. Damn, the motion felt too fast for him. He couldn't stand up straight. Sleeping for two days must do that to you, he guessed.

He slowly begun to stroll away from his room until a voice called out to him.

"Hey! Why aren't you in your room resting?"

Johnny winced. He had a good idea of what that feminine, peppy, I-know-what's-good-for-you voice sounded like. And he was mentally proven right the moment he turned around and faced with a tall and slim brunette nurse, dressed in her white dress and heels and slowly approaching him with a wonderous and careful look, almost as though approaching an animal.

Johnny swallowed. He should've checked for them or doctors or any other members of staff. With his hands still glued to the wall, he took a step back as she took a step forward. Her eyes were slow and patient and she smiled suddenly.

"Aw, don't worry. I'm not gonna hurt you. I just would like to take you back to bed for check-up."

She's sweet. Johnny appreciated that But he wanted to check something else of his own.

But he can feel his ears burning and the perspiration running down his back as he heard the whispers. The stares of patients in stretchers and doctors and other hospital members cup their mouths and continue on their way. Something about the "gas station explosion survivors". How it was a miracle they weren't dead.

But they didn't stop to examine him. They didn't stop to feed him questions, or stop to grab him and thrust him back into his room. They kept walking, and they kept whispering. Johnny wasn't a big fan of the minor attention, so he took back another step.

"Please…I wanted to go see my friends.", he claimed softly. God, he hated at how weak he sounded.

The nurse's eyes blinked quickly, and Johnny swore to himself that she held some puzzlement and sadness in them. But they disappeared as quickly as they had come, now replaced with stable reassurance. What did that mean? Were they okay?

The nurse's steps were quicker now, approaching him faster than he could muster and escape from. "They're fine, don't worry! They're asleep. And alive. You just have to rest now, we don't know what-"

"Please, let me see them.", Johnny protested, still quiet, but firmer than his last request.

He couldn't hear the response, for his bare foot tripped and he was sent tumbling.

The trip down was a lot quicker than he thought, and the worst part was, he landed flat on his back. It wasn't the best feeling in the world, hell it hurt like a bitch!

He spent way too much time around Dally. Because he rarely curses for one.

The pain shot through his rear mid-region and Johnny couldn't move. He felt stuck to the white linoleum-tiled floor. But what was stranger was another burning sensation. A tingle that shot through his skin and the numb feeling in his organs and bones. It was fast and indescribable, but it felt right and just.

Something Johnny never felt. So quick and so sudden and it felt okay.

Like it was part of him.

"Oh my god!"

"What the hell?"

But Johnny was snapped out of his trance the moment he heard the shouts from the nurse and a few doctors. They seemed to be looking at him. Well, it didn't seem to be right at him actually. More like at his spot. Where he sat helplessly. Were they gonna help him up? Johnny thought that they had seen worse than a boy who fell down on his back. But this staff was wide-eyed and their faces were twisted with confusion and fright.

The nurse stood and looked around, occasionally peering her head across the floor. "Umm, excuse me? Where do you go?"

What? Is she okay?

Johnny peered at her with a face. It was the same face Darry made when Two-Bit has done something stupid when a task he did was so simple: completely confused and irritated.

"I'm right here.", he called, lifting a hand.

Wait.

Where was his hand?

The nurse turned her head fast in every direction possible and hissed something to the doctor still in the hallway, but Johnny tuned out their conversation; instead, Johnny felt his breath hitch in his throat. It was in front of his face, right? It was attached to his body, right? He could feel his fingers wiggling, because he was sure he commanded them too! And how could he do that if it wasn't there?

But Johnny looked at his hands, bringing them out. Nothing.

There was nothing.

Only the lights from the ceiling.

Johnny managed to get on his feet, or what he thought his feet were. He felt his body collapse against the wall again, and his knees were on the verge on buckling on him.

Why can't I see my own body? Is that what she meant by asking where I have gone? What…

Questions begun to flood his mind, but he paid them no matter. Instead, Johnny, still leaning against the wall, begun shimming away. Nobody could literally see him, right? This is easier. He could go find the gang, and absolutely nobody could notice.

Maybe they could help him understand what happened to him. Hey, maybe Steve could explain what happened the other night.

With a head full to bursting, Johnny walked slowly away, checking the floor, yet still seeing that: the floor.

oooOOooo

With a sudden yelp, Steve sat up straight in his bed panting.

His eyes bustled around the room, finding himself in a snowy white room in a hazy atmosphere with the stainless sheets covering his body from the torso down.

Shit.

He was in a hospital.

Holy shit!

In that instant, everything came back to him. Every memory of what had happened.

McAllister. Sodapop's tiredness. The drag race. Damien. The mob of men. The engine core. Him holding the gun and shooting it. The feeling of all the energy overwhelming him and being too much for his body.

Steve just then felt panic rising in his gut. How was he alive? Is that natural? Wait. What happened to Sodapop? Darry and the tagalong Ponyboy? Two-Bit and Dallas and Johnny? Were they gonna be alive and okay like him? God, how the hell did this happen? Then, the truth cam. It all came back to one person: Jake. If he hadn't made Sodapop and himself guard the thing he had made, they wouldn't be in the hospital, or worse: dead.

Ugh. All this worrying and questions are giving my head a squeeze…

It was true. All the fear and anger swarming around inside has begun to build up something awful, and hell it didn't think to stop. A immediate pressure was hammering in the back of his head, steaming into his retinas. Steve rubbed his eyes with the heel of his hands helplessly in some vain attempt to rid him of the burning feeling bubbling inside.

It never stopped. Never took a break for one moment to give his eyes end any pain. They felt like melt through, like popping out of their sockets, and-

EZZRR-!

And just like that, the pain and pressure stopped.

Instead, Steve looked ahead to find a sizzling burnt hole in the wall ahead of him, only with a few hospital staff peering in awkwardly with wonder and weird looks.

Did he do that? He must've, right? The pressure in his head and eyes never bothered to stop the pain until it finally released and he felt heat shoot through his own vision. But normal people couldn't do that, right? This isn't something everyone else can do, right?

Without another word, Steve threw his legs away from the bed and stumbled into the hallway. His legs were shaky and stiff and sore. How long was I even asleep?, he asked himself. But he couldn't stop. Steve wanted answers, starting with the gang, because that was an easier question to solve.

Shoving the other patients and doctors in his way, Steve dashed through the hospital, the worry and panic confidentially rising in his gut once again.

The sooner he found his family, the better.

oooOOooo

This is getting good! I think. What about you? What do you think?

My swimming competition went well, and I was ready to begin writing because I have mercilessly put my favorite greasers in a life-or-death explosion that will change their lives more drastically than ever! I suck. ._.

But to all those who have an idea on what Johnny and Stevie's powers are, cool! On those who are lost and have no idea what was happening or why this author is rambling again, excuse me and let me clarify the powers (plus, I'll shut up):

Johnny: Invisibility. The ability to blend in with his surroundings at will, but couldn't control it at first because he just learned about it. Many others who did a superpower story of their own granted Johnny with this super trait, and since it applies with his personality and home environment, it makes sense.

Steve: Plasma blasts through his eyes, chest, and fists. I assumed his eyes would be first because a chest blast felt a little much. These powers are based off of Havok and Cyclops from X-Men (comic and movie.)

Also, I would like to point out that the engine core idea (plus the explosion and the guns and armed approach) was inspired by the new Captain Marvel movie. I was still brainstorming ideas for the fic and my family went out to see it, and I was so amazed that I had to use it! (This is not sponsored in any way, shape, or form.)

Now, answering your reviews before signing off:

Guest: AAAAAAAH I'M SO HAPPY!

Guest: I don't know about fun, but I tried to make it interesting! Thx for sticking around though!

animefreak5355: You think my chapters are great and suspenseful? ;D Thank you so much!

soraxtsuna123: I hope the powers and this chapter overall made sense to you! Heh heh. Thank you for pointing that out, I didn't know about the emotion. Also, thx for reading!

Have a great summer, y'all! Stay gold.

-Deximon