Holding Out For A Hero: An Original Superhero Quest

You clutch your sword and shield and look right at the hulking man. In the split second before he charges, you see a light out of the corner of your eye, you see someone on the other side of the highway. Car pulled over in the service lane and filming you the fight with a camera phone.

You almost want to scream at the guy to get out of here. To run. That no matter how many hits this would get on youtube that it isn't worth his life. But at this point, you're the only one who sees him. All you can do is try to draw your enemy away from him. And if that doesn't work, then you

As the hulk charges at you, you don't move at first. In the few seconds it takes for him to close the gap, you hold your shield out in front of you as if you're going to block him. Ten feet from you, he leaps in the air, high enough to easily clear your own height, and comes down.

With a swiftness that doesn't look like it should be possible in your armor, you tuck and roll to the side. He lands hard on his left foot and brings his meaty arms down on where you stood. There's a loud crack when the cnoncrete shatters under his strength. But he doesn't waste time after his failed attack, and lashes out at you again, trying to catch you in a clothesline. This time, you roll backwards, barely avoiding the blow. As you look up again, you see his face get even redder, this time with rage.

"Hold! Still!" Your opponent yells as he raises his arm again. Once again, you roll backwards to dodge. He leaves himself swinging at empty air.

"And why would I do a thing like that?" You say as you once again duck under a swing. The hulking man snarls in response and tears out a chunk of concrete from the highway twice the size of your head. You dive to the side and feel the rushing wind as the concrete almost takes your head off. The relief you feel is almost crushed as the chunk sails by your motorcycle. The concrete nearly clips the handlebars, but thankfully, it sails over your bike, not even leaving it with a scratch.

"Hey, you'd better not mess up by baby!" You yell before you can stop yourself. You spend years on that bike. If this guy even puts a scratch on it… But before you can finish your threat, you and he hear voices.

"Ah man!"

"That's life in the city, baby!"

"Kick his ass"

The hulking man's head snaps in the direction of voices. Another car has pulled over to the side of the road and both people have stepped out and started filming your fight. Your opponent just looks at the people with his eyes wide. He doesn't even have time to respond. But you have a second to attack while his attention is divided.

[] Conjure a fireball and slap him in the face.
[] Summon a lightningbolt to strike him.
[] Stab him in the chest.
[] Slam him in the face with your shield.
[] Headbutt him. Your strength plus your metal helmet
[] Write in.

Once again, you channel your magic, but this time, something is different. It's stronger. It feels like pure energy is coursing through your veins. Like something flipped a switch in you. You feel even more power.

You don't know what happened, but there's no way you're letting this go to waste. With a flourish, you channel your power to your spell. As your lift your arm in the air, more power than you've used at once and you immediately see your spell take form.

The last electric sphere was a little larger than a head, around the size of a basketball. Not this time. Now, this one is easily six feet in diameter. A bright sphere of light with bolts of lightning arcing in and out of it. It tints everything you can see in a harsh white light. Everyone, the man, your audience, even you, look up at the sphere you've summoned, at the power you're containing.

Time to unleash it.

"DOWN!" You shout. Like a hammer, a bolt of lightning is sent down and strikes your opponent. A large crack not unlike thunder snaps through the air. The lightning hits the hulking man in the head. He screams as the lightning runs through his body. And just like that, the lightning is gone. No lights. No thunder.

The hulking man still stands for a few more seconds. His face is frozen in pain. He isn't falling, but he isn't moving either. You slowly walk towards him. He still doesn't move. Tentatively, you flick him. He topples down to the ground, with smoke wafting from his unconscious body from the shock.

"Jesus Christ! What the hell was that?!" Jasmine shouts through your earpiece. "I think I saw that from here!"

You don't respond at first. You just stand there, basking in the moment. You've done it. Not only have you stopped your first crime, but you took down Superhuman without taking as much as a scratch. You feel…


[] Elated. I'm officially a hero!
[] Pumped! I'm going to need to do this more often!
[] Powerful. That spell... I need to find out how to do that again!
[] Satisfied. I managed to save a man's life, even if he doesn't know who I am.
[] Relieved. At least I didn't get hurt.
[] Proud. With all of the work I put in my spells and armor, I'm glad to see them do so well.
[] Tired. This was great, but I want to go home and go to bed.
[] Worried. I hope that this doesn't come back to bite me.
[] Hungary. I'm pretty sure there's a donut place that's still open. I should swing by on my way back.
[] Happy. That's one way to make a first impression as a hero.
[] Write in.