The next morning, Alex wakes up without any pain or exhaustion, completely refreshed—almost as if he had been brought back to life.
Unfortunately, when he gets up, he notices he still doesn't have a bed. As he checks his body, he realizes the tattoos and black nails are still there. They even seem slightly sharper now, but he dismisses it as his imagination.
Realizing that everything that happened yesterday was real, Alex starts getting increasingly nervous, thinking the police might knock on his door at any moment to arrest him.
Reluctantly, he decides the first thing he should do is tell his mother about the tattoos. So he begins thinking of a good lie.
Suddenly, his bedroom door bursts open.
"Alex, Mom is calling you. She wants to talk and she—"
Trix walks in without knocking, only to see her brother shirtless and covered in tattoos.
Her eyes widen as she stares at him—then she screams:
"MOM! ALEX GOT TATTOOS!!"
"WAIT, THAT'S NOT IT!"
But before Alex can explain anything, Trix runs off. Acting on instinct, Alex chases after her, completely forgetting he was trying to hide the tattoos.
"GET BACK HERE, YOU BRAT!"
"MOM! ALEX IS GOING TO HIT ME, HELP!"
They run through the small house and quickly reach the kitchen, where Nora is finishing breakfast. Trix hides behind her.
"MOM, ALEX GOT TATTOOS ALL OVER HIS BODY!"
"SHUT UP, THAT'S NOT WHAT HAPPENED!"
Now realizing he didn't manage even a shred of subtlety, Alex panics. He clearly remembers the first threat of his life:
"My child, if either of you ever comes home with any kind of tattoo, you'll be kicked out of the house naked."
Remembering that, fear takes over. Being kicked out right now would be terrible—especially naked.
"M-Mom, i-it's not what you think. Th-they're… they're… allergic marks! Yeah, allergies, not tat—"
"Oh my God… they came back, Alex?"
To his surprise, Nora doesn't get angry—she just looks shocked that the marks somehow "returned," which confuses both Alex and Trix even more.
Seeing their confusion, Nora walks toward her room while speaking.
"Honestly, Alex, your birth was a huge headache for me. Most of the equipment used to monitor you during pregnancy just didn't work for some reason. We could only hear your heartbeat."
She enters her room, searching for something while continuing:
"My biggest fear back then was whether you were really okay… and even so, you were born four weeks early. A premature birth… ah, found it."
She returns with a thick medical folder and sits at the table, pulling out documents and photos.
"And to make things even more surprising, you were born with four arms, two mouths, and four eyes. I was extremely worried something bad would happen to you because of that… but after tons of exams, the doctors said the opposite—you were healthier than a full-term baby."
She continues pulling out documents showing absurd data: a newborn weighing almost five and a half kilos, a second heart pumping blood, enlarged lungs, and organs with enhanced or additional functions.
Many reports described him as:
"The pinnacle of mutants and humans.""If there were such a thing as a perfect biological body, it would be this child."
"But above all, what caught the doctors' attention the most were your birthmarks that covered your entire body. Everyone was afraid it could be some kind of disease… but they disappeared a few weeks after you were born. And they only showed up again when I took you to the doctor—which was almost never."
As she says that, she shows a photo of baby Alex—just a few weeks old—with the exact same markings he has now.
'The same as Sukuna's,' Alex thinks.
"Now I understand why you didn't go to school yesterday. You were afraid your friends would be scared of you, right? Don't worry. I'll call the school and say you were sick."
'Actually, I didn't go because of that bastard Mr. Miller… but she doesn't need to know that. I'll deal with him personally.'
__________
Right after that, Nora takes Trix to school while Alex heads out as well.
As he walks toward the bus stop near his house, something suddenly crosses his mind.
'Wait… if the tattoos are real, then…'
Alex starts remembering everything from yesterday—Sukuna, and especially the horrifying way he killed all those people.
The more he remembers, the more dizzy and afraid he becomes. Eventually, he stops—and then suddenly starts running toward the place where everything happened.
The faster he runs, the more he realizes that now… he's as fast as a car.
When he finally arrives near the entrance of the alley, he sees a large number of police officers gathered around, questioning people about whether they saw anything strange.
Seeing the situation, Alex can't help but panic.
If they find anything about him… everything collapses.His family… Peter… Gwen… and even his dream of becoming a prosecutor.
Shaking slightly and feeling nauseous, Alex approaches one of the officers.
"Hello, good morning, officer. What happened here?"
The officer turns—and freezes.
Standing in front of him is what looks like a giant. He has to tilt his head up just to meet Alex's two pairs of eyes, each with different colors… unsettling.
The officer instinctively moves his hand to his holster.
Seeing that, Alex immediately steps back, scared.
"RECRUIT, YOU IDIOT! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!"
A man with sharp features and a well-built physique—though nowhere near Alex's size—shouts from behind the officer.
Alex instantly recognizes him.
George Stacy.
Gwen's father.
"You trying to get yourself arrested, threatening a civilian like that? Get back to your post before I write you up!"
The officer quickly backs off, intimidated by both George and Alex.
"Alex, good to see you. What are you doing here?"
George is about 1.80 meters tall, and even then he still has to look up to meet Alex's eyes.
Truth be told, George didn't react much better than that officer the first time they met. When Alex showed up at his house to study with Gwen and Peter, George almost pulled his gun on instinct.
Luckily, his wife and daughter stopped him, explaining that Alex was Gwen's friend.
After that, he was so embarrassed he barely spoke during dinner—and even ended up giving Alex and Peter a ride home.
But as he got to know Alex better, he realized how kind and decent the boy was. Since then, whenever Alex visits, they sometimes talk about law and police cases.
"Good thing you're here, Mr. Stacy. I thought I was screwed."
"Kid, I told you—call me George."
They chat casually for a moment before Alex asks:
"So… what happened here, Mr—George?"
George scratches his head and sighs.
"Sigh… honestly, Alex? We have no idea. We got here and it looked like something out of a horror movie. Flesh and blood everywhere. Not even a single document to identify the bodies… or however many there even are."
He glances toward the alley before continuing:
"We're waiting on the coroner to figure out how many victims there are—or whatever the hell he can even make of this. And I'm already overloaded dealing with that Spider-Woman… or Ghost-Spider… or whatever the hell the papers are calling her now. And now this massacre."
Caught off guard, Alex blinks.
"Spider… what?"
"It's a new superhero or something like that going around fighting crime, which honestly is more of a problem than anything. My boss is putting insane pressure on me to catch her."
George, completely exhausted, spoke with irritation in his voice as he pulled a cigarette from the pack and was about to light it—before remembering he was standing in front of a kid, even if Alex didn't look like one. He sighed and tossed it away.
"You almost broke your promise to Mrs. Helen to quit smoking."
"Alex, you're my friend—and my daughter's—so I'll be honest... sometimes you're a pain in the ass."
Already in a bad mood, George said that and started walking away, clearly anticipating a massive headache in the near future.
'Phew... at least they don't know it was me. Otherwise, I'd either be executed or arrested... probably the first option. I better start being more careful.'
Leaving the police tape and crime scene behind, Alex began heading to school. Just as he was about to run like a car again, something hit him.
'DAMN, I'M SUCH AN IDIOT! Why the hell am I running like that? I'd just attract attention.'
So even if it took longer, Alex forced himself to move at a normal human speed.
Some time later, Alex sat in his classroom, confused. He had searched the entire school but still hadn't found Mr. Miller.
'Thinking about it... if I had found him, what would I even do? Actually, it's better that I didn't. It would've just made things worse.'
Before classes started, Gwen and Peter approached Alex, who was sitting with his back to them, lost in thought about how to avoid being identified as the one responsible for the massacre. He didn't even notice them calling his name.
Only when Peter tapped his shoulder did Alex snap out of it and turn around casually.
"Hey guys, sorry I didn't come yesterday. I wasn't feeling well, so I had to skip."
"ALEX?" ×2
Both of them froze.
They noticed the tattoos covering his face—and since they knew him well, they could feel something else too. The air around him felt heavier… like someone had died nearby. And yet, he was smiling happily at them.
"Alex, what the hell happened to you? Why are you covered in tattoos?"
Seeing their reaction, Alex realized he still hadn't hidden anything. He looked at them like it was no big deal.
"Oh, these? Just birthmarks."
"WHAT KIND OF BIRTHMARKS JUST APPEAR OUT OF NOWHERE?! I'M PRETTY SURE THOSE WEREN'T THERE TWO DAYS AGO!"
Under pressure, Alex started thinking desperately for a way out—until something crossed his mind, and he acted almost instinctively.
As Gwen kept pressing him against the wall, trying to intimidate the same gentle giant as always…
Suddenly—
Alex pulled her closer and reversed their positions.
With one hand under her chin and the other against the wall in a kabedon stance—despite still having his arms crossed thanks to his unusual anatomy.
Gwen froze.
She didn't know how to react. Ever since she met Alex, he had always been just a kind, gentle giant… but now something about him was different.
Deeper. More… masculine.
Alex leaned closer and spoke softly:
"If you want to know the secret behind these tattoos… you'll have to tell me your secret first."
Hearing his tone, Gwen finally realized he was messing with her.
She punched him in the stomach, making him slightly hunch over and take a few steps back.
Still thinking about everything, something returned to Alex's mind.
'That Spider-Woman case Mr. Stacy mentioned… that vigilante, or whatever she is, is completely screwed in terms of the law.'
Alex started imagining what would happen if that so-called Spider-Woman ended up in court…
But this time, instead of being the prosecutor, for the first time in his life, Alex imagined himself as the defense attorney.
"Alex."
"ALEX."
"ALEX!!!"
He snapped out of it when Gwen shouted right in front of him.
"Oh—sorry, Gwen. I got distracted thinking about something. What is it?"
"I'm not saying anything. I'm telling you the bell already rang for break, and you need to wake up because Peter needs help."
Hearing that, Alex's expression turned serious as he stood up.
Normally, he didn't get involved—but he always helped Peter when he was being bullied. Especially because his presence alone was intimidating enough to scare most people off.
So when Gwen grabbed his hand and started pulling him along—
'Soft.'
That was the first—and only—thought in Alex's mind.
After running for a bit, Alex and Gwen saw a crowd of teenagers gathered around something.
When they got closer—
Peter was being brutally beaten by two older teens.
And they showed no signs of stopping.
The moment Alex saw that—
His body froze.
Not out of fear.
But rage.
For the first time…
Alex felt anger.
He pushed through the crowd without caring who he shoved aside.
When he got close enough—
He kicked one of the guys hitting Peter with so much force that the boy was sent flying.
Then he grabbed the other by the neck, nearly strangling him.
"YOU SON OF A BITCH—WHO THE HELL SAID YOU COULD TOUCH MY FRIEND?"
XXXXX
Hey guys, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! And for those who might be wondering—no, it wasn't a mistake that George didn't react to the tattoos. It's just that he hasn't been sleeping properly for several nights, so he didn't notice them due to extreme exhaustion.
As always, if you liked it, please send some Power Stones or leave a rating—it helps a lot! And if you have any constructive criticism or suggestions to help me improve, feel free to share. I always read the comments.