Alan Walker would be lying if he said his life had been an easy one. 

Now, he wasn't ignorant enough to think he had it worse than countless other people in the world. After all, he had a Mom who loved and cared about him with all her heart, a nice home, food on the table, and he had a job he actually enjoyed. That said, the road to get here had been less than ideal, thanks in no small part to a certain deadbeat father. 

However, in recent times, things looked to be finally going their way and the future was looking brighter...so why was he currently lying in a hospital bed?

Oh right, the university... Alan sighed as he stared up at the ceiling and let his memories come back. This whole situation had started out so innocently too. He'd set up shop outside of one of the local universities, hoping to make a quick buck and then treat his Mom to dinner to help her unwind after working so hard at her new job.

However, that's when he saw the people running and before he had a chance to find out what was going on, that wall of colored mist had totally engulfed him. Almost immediately, he fell faint and collapsed to the ground coughing and hacking up blood. The last thing he remembered before everything went black were men in hazmat suits approaching him with at least one saying something to him. It came out kinda muffled but it sounded like the man was trying to reassure him that everything would be ok....

What a load of fertilizer that promise turned out to be.

The next few days were anything but "ok" unless your definition of it was drifting in and out of consciousness constantly, coughing up blood and mucus, having parts of your body flare up like they had touched the surface of a hot stove, and a dozen other things that were better off not being described here. Long story short, it was a truly miserable time, with the only thing getting him through was the thought of seeing his Mom one more time.

That's when things got...strange. Just when it felt like he had reached his limits...the misery stopped and he felt...fine. Better than fine actually. He glanced around the room only to realize something very important:

His glasses were gone...and yet he had perfect vision.
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However, the changes to him didn't end at just that. 

Over the next couple of days, a number of things became clear to him: He was much stronger than what he was before as became evident when he was finally allowed to watch some television and he wanted to change the channel...only to end up snapping the remote like it was a twig. 

Not only that, but he found he healed faster than normal as while in the middle of eating some crummy hospital food he somehow managed to accidentally cut himself a little with the silverware. Before he could panic and call someone, the cut closed itself up. Naturally, he was more than a little freaked out by this. 

But perhaps the most startling thing to happen was what started happening to his own biology. At one point, he was just lying down, pondering over the idea of having bigger muscles...and suddenly, he felt wriggling beneath his skin. Startled, he would look down at his forearm to see it beginning to pulsate and quiver before bulking up a little. Overcome with shock, the new muscles receded. 

After what felt like forever, he was finally given a clean bill of health and allowed to leave to the hysterical arms of his Mom. All the way back to their apartment she fretted over him and cursed out the hospital staff for not even letting her know what was going on.

Once he got back, he was finally able to get a proper shower and some food in his system that wasn't hospital food before finally getting the chance to lay down on a real bed. Needless to say, he was out like a light...
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Alan's sleep was interrupted by hearing his Mom shouting, "My son and I have just been put through the most hellish three days of our lives and you want to question him??!" 

The young man crept out of his room and took a peek to see his Mom arguing with what looked to be a pair of men in police uniforms, and judging by their faces, they were clearly uneasy at being put on the spot, "M-Miss Walker...we know you're going through a difficult time and we apologize, but we believe your son maybe able to help us in our investigation. We just want to ask a few qu-"

"Save your questions for someone who cares and get lost!" With that, his Mom slammed the door shut and locked it before storming over to their couch and putting her face in her hands. 

Seeing this, Alan quietly moved to the kitchen and put on the stove. In a matter of minutes, he had some green tea and cookies ready, "Here. Figured you could use this." He set the tray and drink down before his Mom.

This broke her out of her stupor, "Oh, Alan...you shouldn't have," He handed her a tissue which she thanked him for before wiping her tears and picking up the mug, letting the aroma stabilize her. After a quick sip, she sighed, "...This isn't right. I should be the one taking care of you."

At this, the young lad just shrugged,"Mom, this isn't anything new. We've always taken care of each other."

"I know, I know," His Mom managed a small giggle despite the circumstances as she sipped some more tea,"It's just...a part of me was actually starting to think I wouldn't see you again, and then those police starting coming around, asking all their questions and then I started hearing the news and..." 

Alan put a reassuring hand on her shoulder, "It's ok...I'm here now. I'm fine, see?" Of course, that was up for debate but he didn't need to worry her more than she already had been.

Miss Walker slowly nodded her head and seemed to settle down a little,"You're right. I...I gotta pull myself together. Listen, if you want to go back to sleep, go ahead. I'll be alright now." 

He shook his head,"Eh, to be honest, I got plenty of rest. What about you? You gotten any rest lately?" She didn't say anything right away so the young man took a closer look and saw the first signs of bags forming under her eyes, "...You haven't, have you?" She shook her head,"Alright...lay down and get some rest. I'll be here when you wake up."

"What you saying? I'm fi-" She stopped herself as she suddenly yawned,"On second thought...maybe a quick nap is just what I need..." He fetched her a pillow and blanket and before long, she was out cold on the couch. 

Alan watched her sleeping with a smile before taking a seat by the window and watching the street outside. The few glimpses he'd seen of the news showed that things weren't exactly great on the outside. People were letting fear and paranoia consume them, the police said they were trying to catch the culprits but it was clear to anyone with two brain cells it was mostly just lip service. 

He looked down at his hand as he felt it quivering once more. He had actual powers now, like a superhero, so that meant he could do something...right?

Suddenly, he heard heavy breathing and looked out to see a familiar figure stumbling her way along the street, "Lindy!!" He rushed to the bathroom and got out the First Aid Kit before rushing out the door...