Mark was sleeping on his stomach, hugging his pillow. He was having a dream about flying, but the dream was cut short when he opened his eyes and saw that he was floating in the air, still hugging the pillow.
"Huh?"
As soon as that happened, he fell to the floor, not on his bed, since he'd been moving while floating. The sound was loud enough for the whole house to hear.
"Argh! My arm." Mark groaned, holding his right arm, which had taken the fall.
He took a deep breath and released it, then sat up and rested his back against the bed.
"Ah."
Then his father and mother came in. They saw Mark on the floor, holding his arm. Debbie quickly approached and knelt down.
"Are you okay?" Debbie asked, concern in her voice.
"I'm fine," Mark said. It wasn't that bad, but the pain still lingered.
"Did you fall off your bed?" Nolan asked.
"Yeah, I fell pretty hard," Mark answered.
"Are you sure you don't need to go to the hospital?" Debbie asked, having heard the loud crash.
"Yeah. If it gets bad, we can go to the hospital tomorrow." Mark glanced at the digital clock on his bedside table. "It's already late. I'll be fine with some ice."
"Okay, wait here. I'll get you a cloth with ice in it." Debbie headed downstairs to get what he needed.
"Son, be careful next time you sleep," Nolan advised.
"Got it, but I can't really control that," Mark said, trying to smile.
"Yeah, you're right." Nolan let out a small smile.
Then Debbie returned with a cloth full of ice. Mark took it and placed it on his right arm.
"If anything else happens, knock on our door, okay?" Debbie said, looking at his face.
"Okay," Mark said with a nod.
Nolan and Debbie left the room, but before they did, they said:
"Goodnight, son," Nolan said.
"Goodnight, and take care," Debbie said.
"Goodnight," Mark replied.
As they left, Mark got up, closed the door, and landed back on his bed. A thought crossed his mind.
'I'm glad my father didn't notice I was floating in my room.' He needed more time before he could take on Nolan one-on-one. 'I guess I should start training intensely.'
. . . .
"How's your arm?" Debbie asked, noticing Mark had just come downstairs as she made her coffee.
"I'm fine now," Mark answered.
"And where are you going?" Debbie asked, since Mark was dressed nicely and wearing perfume on the weekend.
"To the bank. They called me for a check-in," Mark lied. He was really going just to change his username and password.
"Do you want me to drive you there?" Debbie asked, since she was free.
"It's fine. I want to get some exercise in." Mark wanted to go somewhere else too, and he didn't want to bother his mother. 'I feel weird asking for help, even if she's my new mother. Even with my real mother, I had trouble asking for help.'
With that, he headed to the nearest bank to handle his situation. Since he arrived early, there were few people, so his problem was handled quickly.
After changing his username and password, he went to the place that trained MMA and had a gym. He immediately got a membership so he could start learning.
At the gym, he started controlling his strength, something he needed for daily life. He tested it from the weakest to the strongest, using the training equipment to prepare, since he could feel himself getting stronger by the day.
During training, he noticed he wasn't that exhausted even after several hard sessions. But since his coach told him to rest, he rested, closing his eyes and dozing off. When the coach called him to continue, he got right back to it.
When the coach said to take a break, Mark checked his phone and realized he was late for his part-time job. He made a quick decision and sent a message quitting on the spot.
"Get in the cage, Mark."
Mark saw his coach calling him. He closed his phone, put it in his bag, and entered the cage to learn how to fight.
After a few more hours of training, Mark went to test the weights. Unfortunately, he didn't feel anything, his muscles didn't even struggle.
'Looks like I have to find another way to push my muscles into overdrive.'
People in the gym were surprised as the new kid casually lifted the heaviest weight there.
After that, Mark finally left after showering and changing into the clothes he'd brought in his bag. But he wasn't tired at all, he was still full of energy.
As he walked home, thoughts swirled in his mind.
'I don't think my strength will increase fast enough if I avoid fights, since that's how Mark grew strong so quickly. Just training won't help me surpass Nolan, who's been training and living for centuries.'
Mark cursed under his breath. "Fuck."
'Sure, there are a few ways to abuse my Smart Atoms. But there's a high chance it won't make me strong enough to surpass Nolan in a short amount of time. I don't know when he'll turn bad after I tell him.'
Mark sighed.
'If Nolan finds out I have powers and I've been hiding them, I don't think he'll be calm about it. And I really do need a strong sparring partner alongside intense training.'
It was a double-edged sword. Mark ran his hands through his hair, trying to think of a way to get stronger faster without risk. He hadn't even considered the pain he'd receive from future intense training.
"Fuck me," Mark muttered in annoyance, unable to find any answer.
Then a guy came running toward him, purse in hand, with police chasing behind.
"Stop!"
"Drop the purse!"
At the last second, Mark extended his right arm. The guy ran straight into it with his neck, collapsing unconscious on the ground. Mark looked at him, shook his head, and continued on his way home.
'I'm also wasting time by not training right now, pushing my body to the limits.'