Something's wrong with you!

“Hannah!”

“Miss Hannah!”

The sudden incident startled both Jack and Liam. They hurried over, intending to help her up.

Hannah glared at Jack angrily.

“Jack Sullivan, have you lost your mind? You just shocked me!”

“What? I… I didn’t!”

Jack looked stunned. They were only fooling around as friends. This wasn’t the first time they had messed about like this, and he had never been rough enough to hurt her. No matter how tough Hannah acted, she was still a woman.

“…”

Hannah struggled to her feet, brushing herself off as she muttered under her breath.

“That felt like being hit with a bloody Taser…”

She glanced at Jack’s hand. There was nothing in it. But…

“Wait a minute… Jack doesn’t have anything in his hand.”

Liam instinctively reached for Jack’s hand to check. The moment he touched it, a powerful electric current shot from Jack’s fingertips.

“Ah!”

Liam jerked his hand away just like Hannah had. He stumbled backwards two steps, nearly losing his balance. Grabbing his wrist, he grimaced as his ears rang for a moment.

“Liam…”

Still stunned, Jack automatically reached out to catch him, but Hannah quickly pulled Liam away.

“Jack, don’t move! Something’s wrong with you. You’re like a bloody live wire!”

She glanced at his feet and searched the surrounding area, but there was nothing unusual on the floor.

“…”

Drenched in sweat, Jack stared at his hand with a serious expression.

“I swear I can feel electricity running through my body…”

He looked at the two people he had accidentally shocked.

“Are you both alright?”

“I’m fine.” Hannah shook her head. She had pulled away quickly and now felt only a slight tingling in her body.

“I’m okay too.”

Liam shook off the lingering shock. Then, as understanding dawned on him, his eyes widened.

Ignoring Hannah’s presence, he swallowed nervously and stepped towards Jack.

“Jack, listen to me. Mate, you might be awakening a superpower.”

The circumstances surrounding each person's awakening could be different. Some experienced unusual symptoms, while others showed almost no warning signs. However, a sudden high fever was one of the most common signs.

“What… what do you mean by awakening a superpower?”

Hannah stared at him in confusion. She had heard every word clearly, but somehow, the sentence made no sense at all.

Liam shook his head, silently telling her that he would explain everything later.

“Superpower awakening…”

Jack recalled the strange news reports he had seen recently, along with Liam’s nightmares about the apocalypse and people developing supernatural abilities. Slowly, the pieces began to fit together.

“So, what am I supposed to do now?”

Sweat poured down his face. It felt as though his entire body was cooking from the inside.

“First, don’t panic. Try to calm yourself down.”

Liam thought back to his own awakening in his previous life and the advice he had heard from other survivors. Combining what he remembered, he quickly explained what Jack should do.

“Follow the energy moving through your body. Don’t fight it or try to suppress it. Let it flow naturally and become part of you. The process could take hours, or even days. We can’t get too close to you right now, so you’ll need to stay in a room by yourself.”

“But I feel so hot, like I’m about to burst into flames…”

As Jack spoke, his skin began turning red. The electricity he had previously felt coursing through his body now crackled visibly across his fingertips and along his skin.

“Lightning…”

Liam had just begun to suspect that Jack was awakening a lightning based ability when flames suddenly burst from his fingers.

White hot electricity twisted through the flames, creating a strange and mesmerising sight that was also incredibly dangerous.

“This is… a dual attribute mutation. Lightning and fire!”

Even Liam was shocked to see two different elements appear at once, let alone Hannah.

He quickly waved towards Jack, who was surrounded by rising steam.

“Jack, get to the bathroom! Your powers might not hurt you, but they could seriously injure anyone nearby and destroy everything around you. You’ve got fire as well, so you can’t stay in this room. Go, quickly!”

Already dizzy from the heat, Jack immediately rushed into the bathroom.

Liam followed him, turned on the shower, then stepped outside and closed the door. Standing on the other side, he raised his voice.

“Don’t panic. Water can put out fire, and it can also conduct electricity, so be careful about how you use your powers around it. Jack, you need to stay calm and keep control. If your abilities go wild, you could destroy this entire apartment. Hell, you might even damage the whole building!”

Attack type abilities could be terrifyingly destructive, especially rare dual attribute mutations like Jack’s. Liam had not witnessed many such cases in his previous life, but he had heard enough stories to understand how dangerous they could be.

People with powerful offensive abilities were highly sought after by every surviving group. Even the authorities sometimes depended on them.

“Don’t worry. I can control it. But you and Hannah should stay away from the door. If things get out of hand, go downstairs first.”

Jack sat beneath the showerhead, his body half covered in crackling lightning and flames. Even with water pouring over him, the heat remained intense.

Strangely, his hair wasn't burning away.

His mind was still clear, and he believed he could control his abilities. Nevertheless, he was prepared for the possibility that things might get worse.

“No. I’m staying right here outside the door.”

Liam dragged over a chair and sat down. He trusted Jack completely and had no intention of abandoning him at such a critical moment.

Hannah, who had finally recovered from the shock, brought over another chair and sat beside him.

“We’ll both keep watch. If you feel like you’re losing control, just remember that your wife and your right hand woman are waiting right outside.”

Liam’s ears turned red at her blunt remark, but he said nothing.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, he began explaining the awakening of superpowers to Hannah. He showed her the strange news reports he had collected and told her about his recent nightmares concerning the coming apocalypse.

He gave her the shortened version, only explaining the most important details before concluding.

“People say there are always signs before a great disaster strikes. I believe this is one of them.”

Considering everything he had told her, and with Jack’s powers awakening right before her eyes, Hannah could hardly dismiss the possibility.

She recalled how Jack had gone along with Liam’s unusual obsession with stockpiling supplies. Putting the pieces together, she nodded slowly.

“I understand.”

Then she raised her voice and called into the bathroom.

“Jack, was that supply gathering training really for this reason?”

Jack did not deny it.

“Some things don’t need to be said out loud, Hannah. For now, I want tonight’s events to remain between the three of us. That includes Liam’s dreams and everything we’ve done to prepare.”

Hannah waved a hand dismissively.

“I understand. Whether the apocalypse actually comes or not, spreading this kind of information would only bring us endless trouble. We need to look after ourselves first, respect other people’s choices, and only think about helping others when we have enough to spare.”

The fact that Jack and Liam were looking out for them at a time like this was already more than enough.

“Exactly! Hannah gets it.”

Liam sighed in relief. It was always easier to deal with sensible people.

Truthfully, he had been worried. Women could sometimes be soft hearted, and in a chaotic world, the saying that good people died first was more than just an empty warning.

Hannah seemed to read his thoughts. She gave him a knowing smile and waved her hand.

“Relax. Your sister here isn’t some self sacrificing saint. And honestly, even outside an apocalypse, anyone who can’t tell right from wrong or understand their priorities deserves whatever trouble they get into.”

“Mhm.”

Liam smiled as well.

He had nothing against kind hearted people. What he couldn't stand were those who made reckless decisions and then guilt tripped everyone else into sharing the risks.

In the end, people could ruin their own lives if they wanted. That was their choice.

But as long as they didn't drag others down with them, he had no problem with it.