[Tom Hendricks POV]
A lot of things have happened to me for the past three months since I've arrived in the DC Universe.
While adjusting to my new normal, it still fascinated me each time I saw humans with superpowers. Be it heroes or villains, I enjoyed watching them demonstrate their powers either on the news report on TV or from videos that were captured and posted by civilians who were fortunate enough to witness it live.
Some might say it wasn't a fortunate circumstance and call it unfortunate because people might get hurt, or it's a very dangerous and unpredictable situation…blah blah…
For me it was exhilarating, shit happens everyday and we might as well get used to it. You either make the most of your situation and move forward or cower in fear and stay stagnant due to terror.
As for me, I chose the former and decided on making the most of my second chance at life. I had received an email from an administration at my predecessor's university which demanded I attend a meeting which would decide the fate of my academics, considering I missed an entire semester.
Although I only got this offer because they were informed about the accident and were reasonable enough to let me heal, both from the death of my family and from my amnesia.
Indeed I attended the meeting and it so happened to be before the beginning of the new semester. At the meeting the decision they agreed on was for me to repeat the semester, which was basically telling me to stay back a year.
Actually I was cool with that decision and I've also been reading at my free time, so I was prepared to resume college.
Although this would actually be my second time attending college, I was a graduate in my past world and graduated with a very impressive result, so the only issue I had this time around was that it would be a bother doing it all over again for the second time.
Attending lectures was cool and all but the stares directed towards me by people whom I was supposed to know gave me a feeling of awkwardness and I stared back at them at times in response so we both had our equal share of that inelegant feeling.
I was delighted knowing most of my coursemates didn't repeat the year because each time they saw me on campus, they tried exchanging pleasantries with me in hopes of me remembering who they were to me. But unfortunately I don't have those memories and I tried my best to avoid conversations.
The workout sessions at the gym proceeded smoothly and got me in good shape, even though I'm not as dedicated to daily workouts like I was in my previous life.
The trainer at the gym called out to me during one of the sessions and asked why I always ended up doing only the exact amount of workout required for each exercise and not pushing myself a little further to go above the limit.
My response for him had been as blunt as the weight I was lifting."If I wanted to go above the limits I actually could, but I do not wish to do anything that isn't a necessity and I don't have to do."
Thrown into a muse by the words I gave in response, he responded with a question to satisfy his curiosity.
"I know that you could do more than you give, don't you want to achieve buffed up muscles like mine?"
"Why would I want to stress about the build of a bodybuilder, when I am content with my tight and perfectly fit muscles."
I was being honest with him, I would not wish to do anything beyond the required amount when I get visible results from the necessitated quantity.
After living a life filled with hard work and dedication, I don't want to repeat the same thing at my second chance at it. I want an easy going life, a relaxed one without much commitments.
Atlas I was successful at getting a job after a while of job hunting. I wanted an easy going one, a chill part time job which would not cause me any physical or mental strain.
So I mostly hunted for jobs as a receptionist, a bartender, even as a barrister. After the long search I finally got a job as a bartender at a bar with a not so conspicuous name which was 'Gary's Pub.'
The first time I walked into the bar it was so obvious that it was my first time there, the looks and stares directed towards me gave that hint.
I ignored the stares and walked straight to the counter as they returned back to their previous activities and paid me no mind.
There was something about the bar which I just couldn't put a finger on, I just had the feeling that if I got the job here then my life here would become more intoxicated for some reason.
The person who stood behind the counter was a young lady who wore a white shirt, a waistcoat and black skirt. I guessed that was the uniform there after another person wearing similar outfits caught my sight at a far end corner clearing a table filled with empty bottles.
I told the lady at the bar counter about my objective and she picked up a telephone then called someone, she told the person that there was someone who wanted a job.
Few minutes later a man who seemed to be qin his late forties came down from a stairway around the back, he went behind the counter and asked why I wanted a job there.
He looked at me with an expression which plainly said 'do not fuck with me kid.'
A normal person my age would have been intimated by that look on his face but I wasn't shaken, not even the slightest bit. It was better to just talk plainly and not beat around the bush as to my reason for wanting to work there.
I looked at him with an unfazed expression on my face because I knew a person who easily gets intimidated could never work at a bar. I told him I was in college and wanted a part time job that would not involve labor as a side hustle.
He stared at me for a while before letting out a mild laughter, he looked at me and said.
"You got the job kid, this place isn't a place for pussys and you don't seem like one to me. But do you have any experience with a bar?"
I answered frankly."No sir, but I'm a quick study."
"Okay kid, be here tomorrow at 4pm Linda will show you the ropes."
When he said the name 'Linda' he gestured to the young lady behind the counter. And that's how I got the job. I've been working there for almost 3 months now and one finally got to discover why the bar's atmosphere had me excited.
It was because that bar just so happened to be a safe ground away from the horrific crimes which take place at night in that city, a neutral ground where civilians and officers could leave the grudges outside and go in with a hate free heart while they drink the long day's work stress away.
Although no one could tell if they were cops but I have an eye for recognizing them. The bottom line was that when they come to the bar, they leave their official duties outside and go in for a drink as civilians.
The short time that I have worked there, I have seen weirdos sitting and drinking with other weirdos as they bragged about who's day was toughest.
There is this excitement I often get when they talk about how fucked up their day was while I serve their drinks, it was like hearing a story from the actual source and not from a third person. For some reason which I don't know, stories hit differently when the teller is drunk. It's definitely because it is the alcohol speaking and pouring out their hearts.
I tried not to get too familiar with any of them considering I don't want any trouble or anything that might get me fired. So I mainly just do what bartenders do, respond to their complaints and be the man they could pour their drunken heart to.
…
After a while adjusting to my new life and daily duties, everything finally felt normal like the easy life I had always wanted. Where I could just do whatever makes me happy and not bother about living up to anyone's expectations.
I got home from work that night at around 10:30 pm, tossed my cross bag on the couch then walked straight into the shower for a cold and refreshing bath.
Subsequently, I finished my bath then wore a cozy black robe to keep me warm as I went into the kitchen and prepared warm milk to help me sleep like a baby that night.
Thereafter, I sat on the dining table with my laptop placed on the table in front of me and my mug by the side as I took a sip every now and then while I did my research.
Apart from my studies at school I still went ahead and started online courses just for the sake of learning.
As I studied and took my online course for the night, I turned to get my notes so I could jot something that intrigued me when my right hand came in contact with my mug and was knocked off the table.
Oh fuck! Was my reaction as I extended an arm to catch it but I couldn't, and this was where things got interesting. Before the mug could make contact with the group, it froze in mid air without a spill of its content.
Yep! You guessed it, shit is about to get a little more interesting around here.
My immediate response was."Holy crap." It baffled me as I stared at the frozen mug for about 5 seconds with my arm still stretched out before it continued its motion and fell to the ground but without a dent on it, my milk spilled and the ground needed cleaning but I wasn't paying attention to that.
The only thought in my head right now is."Just when I thought things couldn't get anymore exciting, something as exhilarating as this happens."
Few days since that incident with the mug being suspended in thin air and without spilling its content. I have been practicing and trying to understand how these sudden powers of mine actually worked.
Luckily for me it was my day off and I had all evening to myself, meaning I had enough time to try and figure this out without a thought reminding me of where I need to be and getting me distracted without the ability to focus.
It might take a lot of concentration but I think I could activate and enact its effect on an object if I put size and weight of the object into consideration, but only on small objects which wouldn't cause much strain to me.
I placed an empty soda can on the dining table and then knocked it off of it while trying to recreate the same process for similar results.
At first it seemed like what happened that night might have been a fluke and would not happen again but I was well aware most powers needed to be nurtured before it could be used at will.
After many trial and errors with the heat of frustration slowly piling up and getting on my nerves, I decided to take a warm relaxing bubble bath and call it a night. While in the bath as I sunk into the bathtub trying to relax my nerves and tried not to overthink it.
A sudden thought hit me which made my eyes slowly widen and just before the light bulb which appears above people's heads when they get an idea could appear on mine metaphorically, I jumped out of the tub like I was avoiding getting electrocuted when the bulb showed up.
I ran straight out of the bathroom in the direction of the dinning table with bubbly water dripping from all over my body from my soaked and drippy white hair to the sole of my feet, because I was too excited to try what I had thought of in the tub that I did not even consider toweling my body dry and just used my hand in sweeping my hair backwards.
On getting to the table I placed the can on it then flicked the can off. I extended my right arm in the direction of the can then started thinking about going against the gravitational pull acting on the can when all of a sudden the following calculation started flooding into my mind, the weight of the can, it's mass, the gravitational force acting on the can and pulling it to the floor.
Suddenly the soda can stopped mid air without coming in contact with the ground, a wide smile slowly creeped across my lips as I stared in both amusement and satisfaction.
I repeated the same procedure over and over again till I got ten straight consecutive successful trials. Then the thought came to me. "What if it goes both ways, like currently going against gravity and holding it in place? What if I try to make it move against the gravitational force trying to pull it down?"
This thought had me bubbling up inside because the potentiality of telekinesis seems too unreal and might expose my world to a whole new possibility because at that moment I felt like this is just the beginning, the tip of the iceberg, the first phase of the manifestation of my powers. Telekinesis can't be the end of it. I had this feeling within me and it felt like I could do so much more than I am currently capable of.
Still staring at the floating can I raised my extended right hand slowly as I thought of going against the gravitational pull and making the can move upwards.
Slowly but surely the empty soda can started moving upwards in the direction of the dining table next to it. The can kept on levitating as it rose above the table then dropped carefully on the table's surface.
This little exercise was extremely enfeebling, not physically but mentally. The success of this trial had me pondering on the fact that I could do so much more than just lift a can.
While laying on my couch trying to recover from the mental burnout, it came to me that if I could perfect this ability I might be able to stop a moving car, maybe a bullet even. The excitement kept growing as I anticipated the refinement of my newly discovered powers.
…
Woah! That was the exact reaction I had right now, as I opened my eyes trying to process two things. One was the confusion of me falling asleep on the couch all through the night just after I decided to rest a little and…It's morning already.
The other was the information flooding my brain, the physical and mathematical readings I have been doing concerning forces had suddenly become way more simplified in my head.
Like I could state formulas for different vector calculations and the applications slowly came in each time I thought about it, the sudden influx of knowledge scared me a bit but the mind-boggling anticipation I felt was way more overwhelming.
I decided to start up my day and prepare for classes, letting my brain digest the current understanding I have about physical forces and the exhilarating powers I was still trying to figure out.
Haaa!
Nothing like a cold shower to start up your day, most people prefer warm or hot showers in the morning but i find cold showers perfect for starting up my day. It keeps me active the whole day unlike hot showers which just makes me feel so relaxed to the point that I might sleep off during lectures.
There's something about thinking in the shower that just provides ideas and solutions to troubling thoughts. While I took a bath I kept getting ideas on how to practice and improve on the grip I had on my powers.
After the cold shower , I went on ahead and prepared a healthy breakfast which consisted of toast accompanied with bacon and fried eggs, washed down with a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice. I just love having this for breakfast, it's healthy, nutritious, and easy to prepare.
After breakfast I was all dressed up and headed to the university. While the lecturer taught advanced mathematics I knew the formulas before he stated them and I knew the answers even without a calculator.
I kept grinning within myself because with this kind of intelligence I could not help it but wanted to know more, so after lectures were over I went to the library and hit the books.
Reading was a hobby of mine and it seems like the more knowledge I acquired the more I had a better understanding of how the forces work.
However, this ability of mine requires enhanced intelligence and calculation to determine what vectors affect what force.
Everything in the universe is going to a new location with direction and amount of space to fill the destination, that being magnitude. From subatomic particles, kinetic energy, fundamental forces, momentum, trajectories, and more could be modified by me. With that information, I could learn to manipulate anything by changing its vectors.
The university's library was helpful to me in different ways, especially in giving me a better understanding on how my powers work but only the basics. I would have to groom my hold on telekinesis before attempting to proceed to the next level which might take a while due to my current level of control.
I stared at a book with a red cover located at the top shelf of which I would definitely need a ladder to get to it. Maneuvering around the library, I noticed there wasn't anyone insight so I lifted my right hand in the direction of the book and gave a command in my head for the book to come to me.
Immediately I started accounting for the weight of the book, the distance between the book and I, which vector force was required to make the book move in my direction.
I came to the conclusion which emphasized on the force of attraction, then the book started up with shaky movements but eventually it came at me but at top speed. I had to get down in order to avoid it and avoid getting hit in the face by a book.
That's almost like being allergic to libraries or getting kicked out of a library by a book.
I looked at another with a lilac cover, then repeated the same calculations but this time I accounted for the speed too and the book came to me at moderate speed.
I held the book as a smirk appeared from my lips and crossed to my left cheek. I let go of the book but it did not fall neither did it move an inch from where I had left it, it suspended in mid air without leaving that spot.
I slowly moved the book up the shelf and placed it on the spot it was originally located. I did the same with the book from earlier, the one with a red cover and it seemed like I'm finally getting the hang of it.
Looking across the library between the bookshelves I spotted the librarian who wore a white shirt, tucked into her black fitted skirt and was extracting some books and shuffling them. I could only assume she was arranging them in alphabetical order.
A blue pen which was at the side of her skirt was visible from where I stood, a mischievous smile slowly creeped across my lips as I lifted the pen from her skirt and pulled it to myself using telekinesis.
"Good I've gotten the hang of this, soon I will be able to either pull or move objects in my everyday life subconsciously ."
Anyway it is time to call it a day and prepare for work, my shift starts in two hours.