Chapter 2: CHAPTER 2
A/N: What's up peeps, as you read along I want y'all to keep in mind that this is an AU and also my first Fanfic. So pls keep the stones coming, keep the comments coming and any ideas. One love folks, PEACE.
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Tom was placed on sedatives for a week to help him heal and not strain his near damaged brain with stress and excessive thoughts or sudden aggressive behaviors like he had displayed.
Waking up a few days after sedation, Tom realized that he had to take things slow and try to understand what was actually going on here and why it seemed as if he's been whooped out of reality and into another, filled with a bunch of craziness.
Turning to his left, he sees the nurse, Lillian, replacing the withered flowers in the vase with some fresh orchids and calls out to her.
He had asked her if there's been word concerning his dad's murder and whether his traitor of an uncle had been caught, but the reply she gave him was both heartbreaking and confusing as it seems everyone keeps sticking to that same obnoxious story which makes him, not only look crazy, but sound crazy too.
She said to him sourly, that she doesn't have any knowledge concerning his uncle or any other relatives, but his parents and younger sibling died in the crash and he was the only survivor.
"Don't stress your brain too much trying to remember what exactly happened, it'll only worsen your head injury and amnesia too." Said the nurse in a worried tone and having a pitiable expression on her face, as she descried him looking down and placing a hand on his head as if in anguish.
Tom tried recollecting his thoughts and putting the wild puzzle together promptly wanting to figure out what in the goddamn world was happening, when the doctor stepped into the patient's room.
"Mr. Hendrickson, how are you feeling?" Asked the concerned doctor.
"Like I was hit by a truck trying to outrun a tornado storm." Answered the crude teenager who finally decided to cooperate as rebelling won't do him any good.
The doctor chuckled as he proceeded unto checking Tom's vitals, to the doctor's astonishment he realized that Tom had been healed up at an incredibly fast pace.
The now cooperating patient was taken for an x-ray and it came to light that most of the fractured bones are fairly healed up as they have been coalesced completely and he was barely in pain, only feeling slight aches around certain areas.
Regarding his injuries, they were healed up already and these revelations had the doctors marveling as they pondered on how such a thing was possible because it couldn't be explained in medical terms, or even heard of in the medical field.
It can only be explained if Tom was a metahuman, they are a race of humans who had evolved or gained special powers, as they appear to be everywhere now making it seem like the new normal. Doctor Walter who was the head doctor and who was in charge of the patient was actually Tom's family's doctor, of which he'll know if Tom was a metahuman.
Dr. Walter advised him to start therapy so he'll be able to recover faster and regain his memories quicker. Tom had previously declined the idea of undertaking therapy but in order to fully recover and leave the hospital as soon as possible, he decided to take up therapy so he'll be able to investigate and see for himself what was really going on.
He felt the people at the hospital were dabbling with him or keeping him from the truth which had Tom feeling disgusted and spiteful. Immediately he was alone with Dr. Walter without the presence of sight of anyone, Tom asked him the question concerning his family of which everyone had been giving him a very absurd answer.
To his dismay, the doctor explained it all again relating to the accident of him being in a car crash with his family and being the only survivor.
"Yeah yeah, like I haven't heard all that before," remarked Tom sarcastically with a displeased look on his face. Still he found it irritating that everyone was sticking to that story which infuriated him as it seems they are all playing some kind of sick game, but he kept trying to shrug it off.
Eventually he starts therapy, not for his amnesia, because he knows he doesn't have memory loss, but he agreed to it in order to regain his cognitive skills and muscle memory so he'll be able to walk and do certain basic things again without trouble or help.
The physical examination includes a neurological exam to check reflexes, sensory function, balance, and other physiological aspects of the brain and nervous system.
Imaging testing was something the doctor did too which included an MRI and CT scan to check for brain damage or abnormalities.
Blood tests were carried out too, to check for infections and nutritional deficiencies or other issues.
An electroencephalogram to check for the presence of seizure activity. All precautions were taken to ensure he doesn't have brain damage.
This therapy took a whole week to be completed and for his limbs which were finally feeling like his again, to regain their cognitive skills.
Now he could walk and run without the help of a crutch or the assistance of a nurse, and has basically fully recovered. But the doctors still wanted to examine him a while longer just to be assured he's ready to face the world again.
As for his amnesia, the doctor thought it best he goes home, reunites with friends and being surrounded by familiar things might jerk back his memories.
"Living with amnesia can be frustrating for those with memory loss, and for their family and friends, too. People with more-severe forms of amnesia may require direct assistance from friends or professional caregivers." The doctor said as he advised Tom to accept extra help of which he fiercely refuses to get.
"It can be helpful to talk with others who understand what you're going through, and who may be able to provide advice or tips on living with amnesia." Advised the doctor who's still pressing on, hoping he'll change his mind about it.
Tom agreed to join a support group and was given a membership card to one nearby.
'Psh! like I'd join a group filled with fucked up personels who just keep sharing stories of their pathetic lives and forming a community of messed up people. I just agreed with Doctor Walter so he'll drop the topic and I'll be able to leave the hospital as soon as I can.'
Finally Tom was to be discharged the next day, after his daily therapy session he had nothing else doing which had him lazing around and laying on the bed for the rest of the day watching TV while also reading some magazines he found on the small table in his hospital room.
While watching a TV program, he then decides to check the news channel to see if anything relating to the night of his accident and his dad's murder or uncle's take over of their company would be announced on the news, but instead it was news about a bank robbery.
Looking closely at the news report and footage of the incident being played on screen, he saw a young lad in yellow and red costume with a lightning bolt drawn in the emblem on his chest which had him looking like a superhero, the young male was moving just like a speedster as he completely dominated and apprehended the armed robbers.
After the footage, he was then interviewed by the press where he gave a statement telling the people of Central City that he loves them and would work harder to keep them safe.
Immediately after the interview, he said with a smile on his face, 'Gotta run' before zapping away and drawing a flaming lightning bolt on the ground which was the same as the one in the emblem on his chest, while the crowd cheered in adoration for him.
"Motherfucker," exclaimed Tom with his jaw dropping as his eyes widen with surprise and his gaze flickered with shock as he kept staring at the TV screen.
"Nah nah nah…there's only so much crazy a man can take right now. What the fuck is going on here?" remarked Tom without a visible change in his facial expression.
At first he thought maybe they were actors but watching the speedster move was just too realistic to have been edited and the actual panic of the hostages due to the gunshots and captivity was just too real. Also what purpose would it serve the news if they reported fake news with edited footage.
He averted his eyes to the news headline on the screen and saw the caption, 'Bank robbery hindered and 25 hostages rescued, all done by the superhero known as Kid Flash.'
He had read comics and watched movies, cartoons even, about the Flash series and knew very well that the superhero on the screen was actually Kid Flash.
Tom's best friend and roommate, Alex, was a huge DC geek who had their dorm room filled with posters of DC superheroes the Justice League mainly. Even made him watch cartoons and read comics about the DC-verse but he didn't pay any mind to them, as he found them to be distractions and he couldn't let fictions interrupt him from attaining or losing sight of his goal which was surpassing his dad, academically and in all aspects.
"He said Central City," Muttered the confused Tom as he looked closely again at the news headlines, he then realized eminently that the incident was taking place at Central City.
As he recalled from the comics, Central City was the home and territory of the Flash and Kid Flash, which was a far cry from home. No not home, from his own universe entirely as Central City doesn't even exist where he's from.
Tom called for a nurse and asked if what the news was talking about actually took place or was just an act and she confirmed it to be true, saying the Flash, Kid Flash and most of the superheroes in the city keeps them safe from supervillains and metahumans threats.
-"Superheroes?"
… "Metahumans?"
"Is someone up there fucking with me right now?" Tom was downright flabbergasted at the revelations.
To break the iceberg, he asked what city was this particular hospital located and the answer he got was something which attested to the thought he had been wishing wasn't true, it actually seemed impossible.
Other headlines were of the masked hero also known as the Green Arrow, who violently apprehended some criminals in Star City. Also of the Riddler who was captured in Gotham and handed over to the chief of police by the dark knight vigilante also known as the Batman.
Tom kept seeing news reports about the activities of different Justice League members and other superheroes foiling the plans of villains and apprehending criminals, making the job easier for the police as most of them were actually supervillains whom mere bullets won't make a dent on them.
This was a huge pill to swallow, he had read fictional comics of being transported or reincarnated in another world. He also watched anime series where the main character was reincarnated in another world or as they call it isekai.
His dad had them all confiscated of course, saying he should focus more on his studies and pay no mind to these fictional nonsense which he devoted his time to.
Tom came to the realization that he might have died from the accident and being as his doppelganger also died here too, a supernatural being up there must have transmigrated his soul to this universe.
'So of all the known and unknown universe, I just happened to be reincarnated in this fucked up one in particular where shit just happens, the DC verse…. Yeah, fuck this shit! I'm out.'