Chapter 3: Awakening Power

The first thing Marcus became aware of was the sound—an incessant beeping that pierced through the thick fog clouding his mind. He tried to open his eyes, but the world around him was still dark, his head pounding with a dull, persistent ache. The beeping grew louder, more rhythmic, as if syncing with the throb in his skull. Slowly, he became conscious of the weight of his own body, the coolness of the sheets beneath him, and the sterile smell of antiseptic hanging in the air.

Hospital, he thought groggily. I'm in a hospital.

He struggled to remember how he had ended up there. Fragments of the incident at Stark Industries flashed in his mind—the arc reactor, the surge of energy, the explosion of light. He remembered the raw power coursing through the room, the shockwave that had knocked him off his feet, and the terrifying sensation of being enveloped in pure, overwhelming energy.

Marcus tried to shift in his bed, but his muscles felt stiff, uncooperative. A sharp jolt of pain shot through his body as he attempted to move, and he groaned, his voice weak and raspy. The sound stirred something nearby—a rustling of fabric, a sudden shuffle of footsteps.

"He's waking up," a voice said, soft but urgent. It was a woman's voice, one he didn't recognize. "Get the doctor."

Marcus forced his eyes open, the bright fluorescent lights of the room stinging his vision. Everything was blurry, as if the world had been smeared with a layer of fog. He blinked rapidly, trying to clear his sight, and gradually, the room around him came into focus.

He was in a hospital bed, surrounded by machines that beeped and hummed softly. The sterile white walls and the faint antiseptic smell confirmed his earlier suspicion—this was a medical facility, but not just any hospital. Stark Industries' private medical wing. He'd seen it before in employee orientation tours but never thought he'd end up here.

A nurse hovered over him, checking the monitors attached to his bed. She looked up as she noticed his eyes fluttering open, her expression softening with relief. "Mr. Young? Can you hear me?"

Marcus swallowed, his throat dry and sore. "Y-Yeah," he managed, though his voice came out hoarse. "What happened?"

The nurse smiled gently. "You were involved in an accident during the reactor demonstration. You've been unconscious for about two days."

Two days? Marcus's mind reeled. What had happened after the reactor went critical? How had he survived? And, more importantly, why did he feel so... strange?

Before he could ask any more questions, the door to his room slid open, and a tall man in a white coat walked in. His presence was commanding yet calm, with an air of authority that suggested he was no stranger to situations like this.

"Mr. Young," the man said as he approached the bed. "I'm Dr. Simmons. I've been overseeing your recovery."

Marcus shifted slightly in bed, wincing at the stiffness in his muscles. "Recovery? From what? What exactly happened?"

Dr. Simmons pulled up a chair and sat beside Marcus's bed, his expression professional but not unfriendly. "You were exposed to a significant surge of energy from the arc reactor during the demonstration. From what we've gathered, the containment field around the reactor failed temporarily, and a burst of energy was released into the room. You were caught in the blast."

Marcus frowned, the memory of that moment flashing through his mind once more. The energy... the light... the feeling of being submerged in pure, unfiltered power. "But... how did I survive?"

Dr. Simmons gave him a measured look. "That's the question we've been asking ourselves. When you were brought in, your vitals were... abnormal. Your heart rate, your neural activity—they were all off the charts. At first, we were concerned you had suffered some kind of internal trauma from the energy blast, but after running extensive tests, we couldn't find any lasting physical damage."

"No damage?" Marcus echoed, confused. "So, I'm... fine?"

"Physically, yes," the doctor confirmed, though his tone carried a hint of uncertainty. "But we've noticed something unusual about your recovery. Your body seems to be... adapting."

"Adapting?" Marcus asked, his confusion growing.

Dr. Simmons hesitated for a moment, then leaned forward slightly. "We don't fully understand it yet, but it's as if your body is metabolizing the energy you were exposed to. Your cells are behaving in ways we've never seen before. You're recovering at a much faster rate than we expected, and your neural activity is... well, it's off the charts. It's almost as if your brain has been hyper-stimulated."

Marcus stared at the doctor, trying to process what he was hearing. None of it made sense. His body metabolizing energy? Faster recovery? Hyper-stimulated brain activity? It all sounded like something out of a sci-fi movie, not real life.

"So... what does that mean?" Marcus asked cautiously. "What's happening to me?"

Dr. Simmons exchanged a glance with the nurse before answering. "That's what we're trying to figure out. We've never seen anything like this before, so we'll need to continue monitoring you. For now, though, I suggest you focus on resting. Your body is still recovering from the incident, and we don't know what kind of long-term effects there might be."

Marcus nodded slowly, though his mind was anything but calm. Something was wrong—different—and it wasn't just physical. Even now, lying in the hospital bed, he could feel a strange sensation pulsing beneath the surface of his skin. It wasn't pain, exactly, but an unfamiliar awareness, like his body was humming with energy. His mind, too, felt sharper, more alert than usual, despite the fatigue weighing him down.

Dr. Simmons stood, giving Marcus a reassuring nod. "We'll be running a few more tests later today. Try to get some rest, and if you feel anything unusual, let the nurse know immediately."

As the doctor and nurse left the room, Marcus was left alone with his thoughts. He sank back against the pillows, his mind racing. The energy from the reactor blast had somehow changed him. His body was healing faster, his brain was working overtime, and there was this strange, humming sensation that seemed to be spreading through him.

But why? What exactly had that energy done to him?

Hours passed in a blur of medical tests and quiet contemplation. Doctors and nurses came and went, checking his vitals, asking him questions, and running scans. Marcus tried to stay calm, answering their questions as best he could, but inside, he was growing more and more restless.

The strange feeling of energy beneath his skin hadn't gone away. If anything, it was getting stronger, more pronounced. At times, it felt like his body was buzzing, as though tiny electrical currents were flowing through his veins. And his mind—his mind was racing faster than he could keep up with. His thoughts were sharper, clearer, and memories from the reactor demo played on a loop in his head, growing more vivid with each replay.

It wasn't until late in the afternoon, after the doctors had left him alone to rest, that Marcus decided to test just how different he really was.

He sat up in bed, ignoring the slight soreness in his muscles. His eyes scanned the room, searching for something—anything—that might give him a clue about what had changed. His gaze landed on the small metal cart beside his bed, where the nurses had left some basic medical equipment: a blood pressure cuff, a clipboard, and a stainless-steel tray.

Marcus reached for the tray, his fingers brushing against its cool surface. As soon as he touched it, something strange happened. A flicker of awareness shot through him, like a jolt of electricity running from the tray into his hand. It was subtle, almost imperceptible, but he felt it.

What the hell was that? he thought, pulling his hand back instinctively.

He stared at the tray for a moment, then cautiously reached out again, this time placing his palm flat against the metal surface. The same sensation returned—stronger this time. It wasn't just a jolt of electricity. It was more like... information. Knowledge. As though the tray wasn't just an object, but something his mind could analyze and understand on a fundamental level.

His breath caught in his throat as the realization hit him.

He could feel the structure of the metal—the way the atoms were arranged, the slight imperfections in the surface, the temperature shifts across different parts of the tray. It was as if his brain had become hyper-aware of the physical properties of everything around him.

Pulling his hand away, Marcus stared at his fingers in disbelief. He flexed them, feeling the faint buzzing sensation still lingering in his fingertips.

What is happening to me?

He glanced around the room, his heart pounding in his chest. He had to test this further, figure out the extent of whatever was happening to him. His eyes landed on the clipboard next to the tray. It was a simple object, made of plastic with a metal clip, but as soon as he picked it up, the same flood of awareness hit him again. This time, though, it was even stronger.

He could sense the tension in the metal clip, the way it clamped down on the papers underneath. His mind seemed to break down the molecular structure of the plastic, understanding its flexibility, its durability. It was as if his brain had unlocked a new layer of perception, one that allowed him to analyze and comprehend the physical world on a level he'd never thought possible.

Marcus dropped the clipboard onto his lap, his heart racing. This wasn't normal. This wasn't just faster healing or enhanced awareness—this was something far beyond that. The energy from the reactor hadn't just changed his body—it had changed his mind.

He tried to calm himself, taking deep breaths to steady his nerves. But the more he tried to push the sensation down, the stronger it became. His mind was racing, his body humming with that strange, almost electric feeling. It was as if the energy inside him was building, begging to be released.

Marcus's eyes flickered to the television remote sitting on the small table beside his bed. Hesitant but determined, he reached out for it. As his fingers curled around the plastic device, he concentrated, focusing on the sensation that had been building within him. And then, suddenly, something clicked.

The remote sparked in his hand, a brief flash of static electricity dancing across its surface. Marcus flinched, dropping the remote in surprise, but his mind was still locked onto that sensation. The spark hadn't been accidental. He had caused it.

He sat there, staring at the remote in disbelief. A part of him was afraid—afraid of what this newfound power meant, what it could do. But another part of him, the part that had admired Stark's genius and thirsted for more, was intrigued.

What if this power wasn't just a side effect of the reactor explosion? What if it was something more? Something that he could control, harness, use?

Marcus picked up the remote again, his hands trembling slightly. He focused, trying to recapture that moment of clarity, that sensation of power building inside him. For a few seconds, nothing happened. And then, just as before, a small spark of electricity arced across the remote, harmless but unmistakable.

His heart raced with a mixture of fear and exhilaration. Whatever had happened to him during the reactor demo, it had given him more than just enhanced perception. It had given him the ability to manipulate energy—at least on a small scale.

Marcus sat back in his bed, his mind racing with possibilities. This power, whatever it was, had changed him in ways he couldn't fully understand yet. But one thing was clear: he wasn't the same person who had walked into that reactor demo two days ago.

The energy from the arc reactor had awakened something inside him. And now, it was up to him to figure out what that meant—for better or for worse.