Still Defiant! SI-OC [Marvel/DC] ENG

2: Life once again.

2: Life once again.

United States, January 6, 2007

Waking up again was not unexpected if you knew you would.

What was unexpected was waking up hanging from a rope around the neck.

If he were still a normal human, he would be choking, maybe even struggling and looking for a way to save himself before dying of suffocation again.

Daniel just felt strange; there was no pain or discomfort, just a clear sense of bewilderment at finding himself in such a bizarre situation.

With a flick of his hand, he tore the rope from where it had been fastened, bits of ceiling falling due to the act, splashing a bit of dust on him.

His body fell to the floor, his back hitting the ground, and his gaze staring at the unfamiliar ceiling.

"You could have left me in a less unpleasant place" his hand touched his neck; there were no marks or wounds, but the feeling of having a rope literally around his neck made a grimace appear on his face.

He lay on his back for a few more seconds before getting up and looking around.

It was time to investigate; he was in an unfamiliar place, in a body that didn't feel bad but was clearly something different from what he had before.

Primarily the physique, he was taller, at least a few centimeters taller, more athletic. Not that he had a bad figure before, but certainly, it didn't have the definition he now possessed.

His hands looked like his hands, except for the absence of some scars he had gained over the years in different circumstances.

Even his skin had lost some blemishes that are naturally found on the human body due to various circumstances.

Despite these noticeable changes, he didn't feel strange; it was as if he was still him... but better?

"Let's check then" he saw a closed laptop on a small desk that had seen better days.

Without thinking too much, he went for it, carefully taking steps and gauging his strength.

He gingerly lifted the laptop lid.

"Well, so far I haven't broken anything, so probably the being helped me control this body's strength in some way" he thought.

That was good; having to learn to control his strength from scratch would have been a pain in the butt.

And dangerous for others.

He looked at the black laptop screen, and the reflection of a familiar yet different face greeted him.

Was it... him?

Well, it was very close to his previous face but better. His jawline was a bit more defined, and his nose was straight again. It had been a long time since he had seen his nose in its original state. He had broken it in a soccer game, and it had been a bit crooked ever since.

His teeth were dazzlingly white and straight, in fact, even a tooth that had broken a long time ago had come back as new.

His eyes remained blue, but somehow they felt brighter, although still of a dark shade.

His hair also looked much better, like the hair in those shampoo commercials—perfectly groomed and healthy.

He would admit that he hadn't taken much care of his hair before, so the difference was noticeable.

"So, am I still me, but raised to the tenth power?" He was already liking this second chance.

Of course, there was one last check to make, the most important one. Unprecedented seriousness came over him as he left the laptop on the desk, placed his hands on his hips, took a deep breath, lowered his head, then pulled down his pants and observed.