Chapter 2: Elira’s New Beginning
At Sundrift City, In a small hospital room, tension filled the air like thick smoke.
“My daughter fell down the stairs and suffered a concussion, and your school is only willing to pay this little?” Elena Kane snapped. “What if she has long-term damage? What if she can’t study anymore? Her whole life could be ruined! If you don’t pay fifteen thousand dollars right now, I’ll go to the police and make sure the whole city hears how your school treats its students!”
The teacher standing at the end of the bed sighed. “Mrs. Kane, please. Your daughter isn’t a small child anymore. Teachers can’t follow her around all day.”
Another staff member added, “She fell because of her weight. It’s not the school’s fault. We’ve already covered half her medical bill. That’s more than fair.”
The head teacher stepped forward. “Your daughter’s grades are the lowest in the class. She has no motivation. She even brought breakfast to a boy at school last week. His parents were furious. Her behavior is affecting other students.”
Elena folded her arms. “So, what you’re saying is—you’re refusing to pay anything more?”
The room grew louder as the argument heated up.
Then, suddenly—
“Quiet.”
The voice was low, firm, and cold.
Everyone turned toward the hospital bed.
The girl lying there had just sat up. Her eyes were open, her face pale, and her hand pressed against her forehead. The movement made the old bed creak. Her breathing was shaky, and pain flickered in her expression.
Something wasn’t right.
She blinked a few times, slowly scanning the room.
“Who are you?” she asked.
The people at the foot of the bed stared, confused.
Elena rushed forward. “Elira! Are you okay? You scared us!”
“Elira?” the girl repeated slowly. She looked down at her arm. It was thick, soft, and unfamiliar. She didn’t recognize the voice coming from her own mouth. Panic flashed across her face.
Her fingers touched her throat. Her brows furrowed. Her mind raced.
Why am I alive?
She looked around again. Her sharp eyes locked onto the four people standing there.
None of them looked familiar.
“Look at my daughter!” Elena turned to the teachers. “She’s still in shock, and you don’t even want to cover the bills?! Shame on all of you!”
The male teacher, adjusting his glasses, tried to calm her. “Mrs. Kane, please…”
“Elira, it’s me. I’m your dad,” the man beside Elena said gently. “Don’t you recognize us?”
Elira didn’t answer. She just stared at the people around her… and at her own unfamiliar hands.
Then, from the television nearby, a news report started.
“At 7:10 this morning, a remote island in Velora exploded…”
Her eyes locked on the screen.
Velora.
Her heart skipped.
That explosion… was real.
She was supposed to be dead.
And yet here she was. Alive. Awake. In a new body.
Her thoughts spun wildly. All at once, another wave hit her. Memories—fragments that didn’t belong to her—rushed into her mind. A girl named Elira Kane. Laughed at in school. Bullied. Ignored. Judged.
Her body trembled from the overload.
She clenched her teeth. “Enough,” she muttered. Then louder—
“All of you—get out.”
The room fell silent.
Her father finally said, “Let’s go. She just woke up. Let’s not stress her more.”
They all left.
The room grew quiet again.
Elira sat in the silence, breathing in the sharp scent of disinfectant. Slowly, she stood and walked toward the bathroom.
Ten minutes passed.
She stared into the mirror.
The girl in the reflection had soft skin and full cheeks. Not too bad. Her face had potential, even if the body was out of shape.
“If I lose weight,” she whispered, “I could be decent.”
She looked deeper into the mirror.
“Elira,” she said.
The name sounded strange, yet familiar. She said it again. “Elira Kane.”
She took a deep breath.
This was no ordinary situation. But Phantom V had lived through enough chaos to know when to adapt.
Her body was gone. Her original life—blown apart with the lab.
But now, she had a second chance. A new identity. A fresh beginning.
Back in bed, she had just settled when a doctor entered.
“Are you Elira?” he asked, flipping through a chart.
She raised her eyes. “Yes. That’s me.”
---
Paragon City. The Cross Residence.
In a large, quiet study, a man sat at a desk.
He wore a dark suit. His sharp eyes scanned a file lying open in front of him.
Across the top of the report, a name was stamped in bold letters: Phantom V.
He spoke to no one in particular. “What a shame.”
He turned the page.
“Such a waste of a genius.”
---
Back in Sundrift, Elena Kane was already back to her usual behavior.
The next morning, she walked into the hospital room with her usual sharp tone.
“Get dressed,” she ordered. “We’re leaving now. The school barely gave us anything. I’m not paying another cent.”
She tossed some wrinkled clothes onto the bed and began complaining loudly about hospital fees.
Elira sat still, watching her silently.
“Hurry up! I have to get to work! What are you waiting for?”
So loud. So annoying.
But Elira—now Phantom V—stayed calm. She’d tolerate Elena. For now.
They left the hospital together, but as soon as they reached the street, Elena handed her thirty cents and walked away.
“Take the bus,” she snapped. “I’m busy.”
Elira turned and made her way home, following blurry memories in her mind.
Before she reached the apartment entrance, a boy in a school uniform passed by.
He was around fifteen, slim, quiet, and carried a backpack.
He stopped. Looked at her. Then noticed the bandage on her head.
Without saying a word, he handed her a steamed bun—and kept walking.
Elira looked down at the bun in her hand.
Her brother.
He hadn’t said anything, but that small act of kindness touched her.
So, not everyone in this family was like Elena.
---
That night, Elira slept hard. Her head still throbbed from the fall. The doctor had advised against leaving the hospital, but Elena didn’t care.
Sometime later—
BANG!
Her bedroom door burst open.
“Fat pig!” a voice screamed. “All you do is eat and sleep! You should just die!”
Elira opened her eyes slowly.
At the door stood a teenage girl—about sixteen—with crossed arms and a cold glare.
Delilah.
Her so-called younger sister.
“What are you staring at?” Delilah sneered. “Get up and eat. Or do you need someone to spoon-feed you too? Even a cripple is better than you.”
Without waiting for an answer, she spun around and left.
Elira sat up in bed.
She blinked once.
Twice.
Then smiled—just a little.
This family was toxic.
And Delilah?
She had no idea who she was speaking to now.
Because Elira Kane was no longer the same weak, beaten-down girl she once mocked.
Phantom V was awake.
And this time… she wouldn’t be pushed around.
