Am I still me?

It took a little bit of explaining mostly because I was trying to comprehend it myself. Right now I was in the bathroom looking at the mirror seeing a face that I only just recognized as me. There was just a little bit of stubble on my face and my dark brown hair just long enough to pull back in a ponytail since I haven't been able to cut it in a while. Aside from a skinnier face but I really didn't look that different. However I definitely felt different for instance my body wasn't in pain anymore. Lifting up my shirt I had a flat stomach something I hadn't had since I was a freshman in high school. No abs despite apparently having the strength of seven men or something like that. Although I did ask for strength and a healthy body not the body of some Greek statue.

Looking down at my hands and fingers squeezing them tightly into a fist. Did I really have all those different abilities? I was starting to wonder how that slowing time thing was going to work when I heard Mr Johnson knock on the bathroom door. " you all right in there kid?" It seems like he had composed himself just a bit more than the way he had been after I finished telling him everything. " yeah I'm coming out. I'm coming out." I told him as I opened the door stepping out wearing the clothes that he had said I could borrow. Mr Johnson was a bit taller than me but they fit better than my old clothes that were wet regardless.

" how you feeling kid?" Mr Johnson asked again as I walked out towards the window and peeked outside through the blinds. " physically? I don't know honestly I don't think I've ever felt this good. It's trying to take it all in that I'm having trouble with. I mean did that really just fucking happen?!" I said in a hushed tone turning towards him before putting my palm on my forehead. " it was real kid from what I can guess by all the chaos outside everybody else got the same message at least the beginning part. Sounds like you and a handful of others got some extra shit besides just a welcome message." Mr Johnson said as he sat back down in his recliner and the sound of another emergency response vehicle blared by.

" you think maybe I should go help? The highway is just down the road and it's got to be a mess from the sound of things...." that earned me a grunt with Mr Johnson shaking his head. " Kid the last thing you need to do is go out there and show off. You go out there flying around like Superman and you'll just freak everyone out." Mr Johnson said firmly portraying wisdom that honestly he couldn't have on the subject since nothing like this ever happened before but he still had a point.

" flying around like Superman wasn't on the list... " I said falling into my own mental debate. None of this was my fault I didn't ask for any of this to happen regardless I still felt not responsible for what happened but a sense of responsibility as a whole. I was usually the type that ran towards Danger anyway. If it wasn't for the body pain and weight gain I probably would have picked a career that had me doing that quite often. But now things were different. I was different. Even if all the other stuff wasn't true I felt so much healthier and lighter. I could help...

" look I can't just stand around Mr Johnson!" I said quickly as I made my way towards the door. " kid wait! don't! ..... shit just be careful! Don't end up with a fucked up back like me !" He said as he got it from the Sharon followed me out towards the door finishing his sentence as I was already down the parking lot. I started jogging down towards the highway going at the same Pace I would have just that morning. I felt like I could go faster so that's exactly what I did started running instead of jogging. By the time I went around a corner and saw the line of cars and Chaos I barely noticed the pain in my lungs showing proof that I was going to need them still work on myself a bit. " Help! Oh God someone! " the sound of someone crying for helping immediately caught my attention sending me running towards the commotion. Just a little ways across the highway there was a woman desperately trying to move a car and lift it up. The car itself looked pretty mangled and beaten up with the top caved in as if it had rolled and landed upright. She was small and petite only really showing in her face. Aside from that she didn't look in great shape with blood trickling from her head down to her shirt. " where's your son?! is he under the car?!" I asked her only now hearing the cries and whimpers bending down to the ground quickly to look underneath. There was a motorcycle underneath the car pinning both of the boys legs between it and the car.

" all right let go! I'm going to try and lift it up you just be ready to pull him out! " it took a moment for my words to sink in with how panic she was but she soon let go of the car. " okay okay just please hurry!" Coming to the back of the car I squatted down grabbing hold of the bumper. I wouldn't say it was effortless I could definitely feel the weight of the car but I was still astonished that I was able to lift it up at all. The poor kids screamed in pain as his mother pulled the small boy from underneath the car cradling his body. Letting go of the car I let it drop back to the ground rushing back over to the pair of them. " okay his legs don't look like they're bleeding too much but I wouldn't be surprised if they weren't broken. It's going to be crazy at the hospital for now you're just going to have to wait and see what happens." She held on to the boy sobbing painfully with fear of what was going to become of her child and the boy was crying just as hard through the pain and confusion of the situation. She reached out putting her hand on my shoulder quickly mouthing the words thank you. " if you can you should probably move him to the side of the highway. Any number of these cars could catch on fire right now." I told her as I helped her up studying her as she cradled her son's body trying not to bump his legs that only looked more mangled as they hung in the air.

It was a very long night after that. Up and down the highway helping to pull people from Cars that didn't seem to be in critical condition or pushing cars out of the way. More than once I had to have lifted more than 500 pounds without straining myself too

hard. Just the other day I think I would have had trouble benching 200 lb if I really gave it my all. Don't get me wrong it felt good to help everyone that I did that night. But the more I helped the more I didn't feel like myself. like I was someone else now. All I really experience that night was a piece of the supposed seven times strength. There was still more to experience.

More than my other gifts I was curious about traveling. The explanation was so vague and seemed almost too easy. It was something I was definitely going to have to give a lot of thought to. It was exciting but it's still left me with a question. What am I? Am I Still Human? Am I still the person that woke up and went to work this morning? Am I still me?