When I was young I found out, like many other boys my age, that I had the hyper gene.

Of course like any semi sane boy I dreamed about being a super hero and went about finding ways to try to activate my H Chromosomes.

Thrill rides didn't do it, bungee jumping, skydiving, and not even deep sea diving in shark waters. Every time I felt sorta scared I also got excited as my gene was going to finally activate. It never did.

Free hand mountain climbing, avalanche skiing, finding areas prone to violence or murders, I tried a lot of different thrills. Got a few bruises and broken bones. Nothing major.

I took to racing on bikes, dragsters, and vintage nascar. All very dangerous in the hopes of achieving my dream.

In hindsight I guess it was more the excitement of maybe getting my dream that prevented me from ever activating.

About fifteen years ago, driving home from a job where I was a stunt double in my supposedly safe Toyota Tundra, I was not expecting anything to happen. Of course fate has its hand in everything. I was broadsided by some mutant kid that had the ghostly image of an elephant thing around him. I can’t be certain of more as at the time I was much more concerned about how my truck was shoved off the road down slope into thick bush.

Ass over tea kettle was the saying at the time, as my truck disintegrated around me piece by piece with me stuck in my seat belt.

The specialist that put my bones back together after told me that had I not been wearing the seatbelt still after reaching the first road with its softer wood I would have been tossed from wreckage before going down the rocky slope beneath it. It was the rocks that further bent the truck cab I was stuck in breaking my bones from pressure or just hitting the jutting rocks.

I survived, got extracted via the "jaws of life" and spent the next eight months healing up. I left the hospital with titanium rods all over my body, a limp, and a fair amount of pain as arthritis set in soon after.

My thrill days were over. I mean, if that didn't activate my genes nothing ever would.

For the next ten years I spent my time making good money fixing cars, most of them restorations or upgrading. I paid down my house and shop, which is at home, had a few classics of my own. Attended a few car meets of like minded people.

Nowadays I still do work, but it's much hard to get up every morning. It takes a number of pain killers, heat, and coffee to get going. The days of classic cars and trucks are pretty much gone. There is still collectors, so I will always have some work. And the new cars still need tires fixed, or oil changes and grease jobs. But it's like the electric car killed it for the gas engine.

My own converted classic ‘stang, has the autodrive and electrics but still looks like a classic 05 GT 500 in gun metal gray. I even custom fitted some chrome bumpers to it. Thank gods for 3d metal printing and plating.

As usual I go to the local coffee place to talk to the guys, have judicious amounts of overpriced watered down coffee, talk about the good ole days with a few other guys in similar situations as me, them from old age. Read the locals, if there is an actual paper I prefer those, but usually it’s pulled up on my AV heads up display from earphone. It seems that today might be a day of hiding in the shelter.

One of the famumans is due to arrive.

The famumans are, apparently, a mix of hyper human and some ancient race sealed away via magic of some type. They started appearing a few years ago, usually one at a time. They cause havoc and try to kill any Hyper that they come across.

Well almost any. Only activated Hypers that are fairly strong.

Since I am middle aged at sixty I quickly paid the fifty for my three cups of coffee and a download of news, said my goodbyes to the lads, and hauled ass for home. It’s always a pleasure to feel the sheer awesome power of electrics. Not so fun to get pulled over and get expensive speeding ticket though. There went the cash float from that job the other week.

I had less than a block to go to get to my place which is on the edge of the town when the front half of my baby just disappeared. One moment there it was and now it’s gone... of course that also meant I had no brakes or steering.

I bounced around for a bit, got encased in foam, before coming to a stop relatively safe. The foam dissipates as quickly as it forms, leaves a bit of a mess in car, "saves lives" is the slogan. I'm not so convinced. When I get out I can see baby is beyond repair, unless i can find a donor. Wouldn't be the first time I've had to rebuild a car from two... or three other cars.

Of course at that moment the overly large oaf of a famuman crushes what is left of baby with his damn foot! The only thing left of baby is a flat pancake of metal and the bumper I spent the better park of week and half printing up. Of course I grab hold of it angry at the oaf.

I was holding the bumper I had so carefully made over a week using platinum scraps, steel, stainless steel, titanium, and two other metals I can't quite remember the name off as they were all scraps from other reproduction pieces. It was then I was bathed in a bright light of some sort. The bumper became red hot and started to melt as it burned my hands. The pain was excruciating. I could also feel and see all the titanium that had been added to me all those years ago. My hand showed the three pins holding it together.

The mind focuses on the oddest things. It reminded me of that really old movie where they show that wolf guy get his claws for the first time via video imaging. I could feel the pins in my legs burning as well as the ones in my back. My body felt both hot and freezing cold at the same time. I knew I should be dead, or close to it, and waited for the light of heaven or hell to embrace me.

Sadly that was not the case. I felt hands grab me and move me. I saw out of my one good eye girls battling the oaf with powers that I wished with all my heart I had had for years. There was Stellar fighting head on against the oaf. Sadly she had still yet to recover from her graphically known pregnancy. Her figure didn't quite fit the costume right.

Dana was there too. I had once customized a car for her years ago. She put her hand on me and it hurt. Actually any of the people I was passed to hurt. It was like each touch burned me on the inside in a way I can't describe.

They put me down as the screams of pain were increasing. My last thought was to focus on that time when I was barely seventeen and my life changed. I could almost see and feel the truck as it flipped end over end down the first slope. I looked up and saw this big bolt of lightening coming down. 1.21 gigawatts indeed wouldn't it be...

I had to be in a dream. This time I reached down through all the pain and unclicked the seatbelt. It took a bit as my hand was all burned.

Every part of me hurt, and then, I was sailed out of the truck onto the paved road skidding along the top of it probably leaving smears of blood and skin and bone in the wake before I plowed into the dirt and all went black.

"Subject has obviously recently Activated. She is still not completely stabilized..." someone was saying. Oh poor girl. I hope the heroes got to her in time... oh pain relief.

"What do you mean her bones are not bones...oh my, is that steel? No can't be...Imagine if... ouch what the hell… Oh that is gonna cause problems with Marvel." Ha I wish my bones were that tough! Oh pain relief.

I don't know how long I had been in and out of it in pain. I remembered the pain but now there was nothing. Must be on some really good drugs as I know I was totally fu...ggered up!

Fuggered? No heck no I meant to fugging swear...O...kay...these drugs have messed up my brain big time.

Gosh dang it! Now I can't fuggin swear even in my own fuggin head! Oh well time to face the music I guess.

"Oh sweetie your awake!" sweetie? Look toots I'm an old man! Are you blind? Oh I can see... huh I didn't think they had replacement eyes worked out.

"Don't move I'll get the doctor." and I heard her leave the room. Anytime someone says that on vid you know it’s a really, really bad sign.

So of course I sat up.

Two things I noticed. One something went pting, which is broken metal, and two there was movement on my chest. So of course I looked down.

"Aieeeeeeee! What the gosh forsaken heck did you quacks fuggin do to me!" I screamed out in a high pitched voice. I think some glass shattered, not sure.

Sure I was in a good body. I was probably a babe of some sort since that is what always seems to happen on vid in these situations. Yep that's right my brain was surgically planted into some freaky looking girl. I looked at my hands and the tips were all metallicly chromey looking. Nice ovals if a touch long.

I used one to grab side of bed with its bar thingies that never really made a whole lot of sense to me when I saw them. Apparently not meant to hold much weight. Probably for little kids to not flop out bed or something since it was like tinfoil.

"What the heck.." I had grabbed a piece to look at and it was fairly decent stuff being 1/8 wall round 3/4 tubing. Was I suddenly strong or...

"Omg They put me in the body of a Hyper girl!"

"Not quite Mister, or more accurately as you can guess, Miss Lewis." What? "This is how your H Chromosomes activated, it is all you, more or less."

"Huh?"

The doctor, who hadn't yet introduced herself, sat down in one of those standard hospital chairs that nobody would sleep in but usually do.

"Well when you were brought in your body seemed to have multiple DNA sequences at one point. They evened out after a few days and have stabilized you into something else entirely."

"I'm no longer human." Slumped back and promptly sat up again as my back suddenly hurt a lot!

"That is not the best idea. Your wings probably didn't much like that I gather." Wings?

"They grew in a couple of days ago. I suspect they are not yet fully grown. I can tell you that unlike many other Hypers that grow wings yours are a bit different. They have ailerons. Or more accurately wing tips."

"Huh? Okay doc you’re talking to an old man who spent his life on cars. What does that mean?"

"Old man? Miss Lewis you’re barely seventeen." Oh great I’m a kid again. Yay me. Years of people not recognizing I have skills and intelligence.

"To answer the question. Most Hypers develop wings like bats or nominally flightless birds. Good for gliding or getting off ground but not for controlled flying. Smaller birds are more prominent but even large birds such as hawks and eagles have wing tips that help control flight. In your case you have the tips and your wings fold up quite a bit more than most. At a guess, and this is just my guess, when fully grown your wingspan will be in the twenty foot range, maybe more." She smiled before adding, “You’re a little gosling at moment all fluffy grey feathers that are just so soft."

"It also seems you have enhanced strength" she saw the piece of metal in my hand, I flinched.

"We know that your skin has become impenetrable as well. Which makes sense if you’re meant to fly, all those dust particles cause some flyers to bleed."

"Impenetrable not invulnerable?"

"I see you see the difference. Yes Impenetrable. You get bruised and can possibly get internal injures. However you also heal fast." She looked down at one of those old iPad things from years ago." I would advise not landing on your head if you can avoid it. Concussion is the least of the problems you would encounter."

I laid back a little more gently into the pillows. It was a little much to take in. "Vid on. Date and news please."

"Well the date is August 23 2013." She said...wait... 2013... That can't be right I had my accident in the thirties... or was it forties...let’s see… I was…

"How did I ...I mean I remember a crash and undoing my seatbelt too…" I was in a little bit of shock to tell truth I lost over forty years.

"From what your parents tell us you were out joyriding in your dad's car when you lost control. Now it may be your H Chromosomes activated and caused that to happen or you tried to make that happen." I shook head side to side “Okay so your activation caused the car to lose control, yes you undid your seatbelt, which is why you’re not a pile of ashes at moment. The Civic caught fire and burned rapidly at the bottom of ditch while you were thrown clear. You left quite the mark on pavement."

"Tie rod" I remember vaguely having a small accident when the tie rod end snapped off on my dad's civic. I had barely been able to keep it on the road. I was barely... well seventeen. But how did I get here? Lightening, no couldn't be that is just science fiction. Then again there was a lot of magic being thrown at the time... I suppose it was possible in a way…

"Your probably pretty tired I'll leave you get some rest." She paused for a moment" do everyone here a favor and try to not move around too much. Until you get used to your strength you will cause injuries to others. "

"Don't worry doc. I'll be a good bo...er… ah...so your name was?"

"Dr. Park. I run the Hyper care unit at another hospital and happened to be visiting some friends in the area."