Origin City: A City Reborn

Who am I? (Chapter Eighteen)

I swung at Pulse, he blocked my strike and kicked me in the chest. My back slams against the brick wall and he quickly zips up to me and holds me by the neck.

"You're falling apart." He said. He lets go of me, but instead of my back hitting the ground, I fell infinitely through an empty void.

-

I wake up out of breath and sit up. I looked around my room in search of Lakota or Karen, but I remember that I slept at home. I guess I've grown too accustomed to their presence. "First night back in my bed and I have some strange nightmare..." I mumbled. "Not cool."

"Jarahn! You up?!" My dad shouted.

"Yep!" I yelled.

"Wanna go for a walk?" I didn't wanna go for a walk.

"Yeah! Give me a sec!" I throw my sheets off of me and snatch my phone as I head into the bathroom. I connected my phone to my speaker and start to blast some "Beach Bunny" while I rinse my face and brushed my teeth. "Maybe I should try harder.." I sang under my breath. I start brushing my teeth while I hum the song and I stare into the eyes of my reflection. I brush for at least two minutes and then spit into the sink. I felt a call from the mirror, so I look back up to face myself.

"Who am I?" I asked the reflection. The next song then starts and I start to yell the lyrics. "YOU'VE BEEN SUCH A JERK, SINCE YOU LEFT LAST WEEK YOU'RE CAREFUL WITH YOUR WORDS."

-

(25 Minutes Later)

"So, did it hurt when you were shot?" My father asked.

"Yes. A lot." I laugh.

"And this is your second time being shot?"

"Yes. But this time, it hurt much more."

"I thought you had enhanced durability?"

"Doesn't mean I'm bulletproof, Dad. Although I wish it did." I laughed again.

"Hahaha!" We both laugh for a bit and then things go awkwardly quiet. He then asks me a question...a question that didn't have the answer to. "Are you gonna be a hero forever? Of this city?" He asked. I stopped in my tracks, he stopped too.

"I...I don't know."

"Sorry. That's a pretty crazy question. Don't think too hard about it." He said. I shake my head and chuckle.

"Dad. You can't ask me a crazy question and then tell me not to think too hard on it."

"Good point...I just want you to have a future...ya know?"

"I know, dad. Trust me, I know."

"Good. Any plans for today?"

"Not sure. Don't plan on putting the cowl on today...Unless I really need to."

"Whoa, why? I thought you love this stuff?"

"I'm sort of having a mental crisis."

"Explain."

I took a deep breath before speaking and let out a sad sigh.

"I'm having trouble separating Pulse from Jarahn."

"Huh?"

"I treat both Pulse and Jarahn as two separate people. I do this because Pulse has all the things I need to get the job done. The attitude, the strength, the motivation and the mindset. Jarahn is just me and how I live my life on a daily basis outside of my alter ego. But recently, they're starting to merge. Which means part of me is now in Pulse. And I no longer have the serious attitude or mindset to get things done. Instead, I keep getting distracted and dropping my guard." I explained. My dad nodded throughout the whole explanation, but I'm not entirely sure if he understood.