Molly's POV
"Holy fuck," I mumble, squinting at the bright light. I rub my eyes.
"Hey Molly," a voice calls, "How ya doing, kid?" I open my eyes and turn my head. Michael and Calum are sitting beside me, smiles on their faces.
"Am I dead? For good?" I ask, closing my eyes again, "Is this heaven?"
Michael laughs, "No, just the hospital."
"Even worse." One of them brushes my hair out of my face. I open my eyes again, "Where are Luke and Ashton?"
"Ashton took Luke back to your guys' apartment to take a shower. He didn't leave the room for two days. We finally made him go home because he was starting to stink. We also figured that he'd feel a little better if he took a shower," Calum answers, pulling his phone out, "I'm gonna text Ash and tell him that you're up."
"I've been asleep for three days?" I double check.
Michael nods, "It was one hell of a nap."
I groan, "It feels like I haven't slept in three years. Everything hurts."
"Well you did go through a lot," Michael agrees, "Between the power drainer, dying, escaping, fighting the goons, fighting Tremor, getting us all free, and then dying again."
"I've died five times now," I laugh, "Weird to think about."
"We're just glad none of then stuck," Calum tells me, messing up my hair, "We wouldn't know what to do without you around." I sit up and hug them both tightly, savoring the moment. Calum's phone then starts ringing. He pulls away and answers it.
"Hey. Yeah, I'll be down in a minute. Bye," he says, "I've gotta go let Luke and Ash up. I'll be back in a minute." Calum waves goodbye and leaves my room. I turn to Michael, confused.
"The cops shut this whole floor down for you and Felix," Michael tells me.
My eyes go wide, "Felix? He's dead though. I watched him die back before the first fight with Tremor?"
"He didn't die. Tremor took him and got him healthy apparently. He was being held at the same place as us. I thought you saw him there. You said his name right before you died."
"I thought I was dying and he was coming to get me," I confess, my cheeks rosey.
"It was actually him. We were confused until the cops showed up, and Chief Owens flipped her shit after seeing him." I smile at the thought of the reunion.
"Yeah, the shower did help, but I'm still not happy that I left. Wh- You're awake!" Luke yells. He rushes over to me, engulfing me in a tight hug.
"You didn't know?" I laugh, squeezing him tight, "Calum texted Ashton to let him know."
"I didn't want him running out of the shower and down the street naked," Ashton jokes, smiling at me. I grin back, still hugging Luke. Ash and Cal take the other seats by Michael.
"Not fucking cool, Molly," Luke laughs, "Running away and stabbing yourself. What the hell?"
"I'm sorry," I choke out, still clinging to my brother as everything rushes back to me, "I had to protect you guys. I thought I could get to Tremor before he got to you all. I'm so, so sorry."
"Don't do that shit again," he laughs, wiping his eyes and then my own.
"I promise," I assure him.
"So what the fuck is up with the constant dying? Like, I'm confused. What-" Ashton stops himself.
"Okay so supers are really fucking weird," I start, making the four boys snort in amusement, "This is as much as I've figured out. We don't die like normal people. We have a set number of lives. Like, it could be two, it could be thirteen, it could be five billion. If it were two, after you died twice, you'd just stay dead for good. But if it was five lives and you died four times, you'd have four new powers. It's kind of a power balance and reward system. Like, in theory, if a super was using their powers for good and died, they'd come back with a new one. It prevents us from being greedy and just constantly dying and gaining new powers on purpose because we never know when we'll actually die die. The flaw is the bad guys who abuse their powers and then die and get more."
"Did you just know this all after getting your first powers?" Calum inquires, "Like the blue energy stuff?"
"No," I answer, "I had a theory after Tremor came back so that's why I stabbed myself an-"
"Hold up you stabbed yourself because of a theory?" Luke demands, a bigger frown on his face.
"And this weird voice inside my head kind of confirmed it after I came back after stabbing myself."
"You're gonna make Luke have a stroke," Calum laughs. I giggle at my brother. Someone knocks on the door, making our heads turn. Chief Owens walks in.
"Hey chief," I greet. She walks over and hugs me tightly. I sigh, holding onto her body.
"Thank you," she whispers in my ear, "for saving my Felix and the city."
"Of course." She pulls away, still smiling at me.
"However, it was beyond irresponsible of me to put this kind of pressure on a teenager and get you into some pretty bad behaviors like sneaking out. I can't ask you to help us out anymore."
"I'm still gonna do it. Sorry Luke," I tell my brother, making him laugh, "The cash would certainly be appreciated. But this city needs me. Tremor had started creating more supers. I need to-"
"Rest, Molly," Michael cuts in, pushing me back down.
"He's not wrong kid. Get some sleep. We'll talk later," Chief Owens assures me.
"I just slept for three days!" I call, laughing.
"Go for another three. It's the only time in your life you're gonna have this chance." She leaves my room.
"She's not wrong," Ashton jokes, "We'll still be here when you get up. You should rest some more."
"Fine," I huff, "But only because I actually almost died died."
"Goodnight Molly," Luke jumps in. I smile and close my eyes, drifting and to sleep already.
