Super Power for a Night

 

Invisibility. For some of us it can come as easily as riding a bicycle.

 What Everybody Knows

As most people know, comic books are fictionalized accounts of real life. Only the names have been changed to protect the innocent.

For every tale told of the Incredible Hulk there is a real-life event upon which that tale is based. It has long been established in scientific circles that extended exposure to certain forms of radiation can result in mood shifts, incredible feats of strength and unfortunate complexion problems.

As anyone who has ever been bitten by a radioactive spider from a nuclear power facility knows, you can almost immediately expect to experience a sense of heightened awareness. Of course, few of these effects are permanent. It is unlikely that you’ll ever master shooting webs out of your wrist before the power wears off.

In most cases the effects of super-powers brought on by artificial means such as exposure to radioactive insects, a yellow sun, or just ordinary unethical lab experiments are short lived. There are some documented cases where the super-powers have persisted for years, even decades, but they’re rare.

My story is the true story of a case of a derived super power. It didn’t last for years, or even days. It dissipated within a couple of hours. But it did happen.

How It Began

The exact trigger mechanism for most super-powers is seldom immediately known. Mine was no exception. It was only later that I was able to surmise that my powers had been brought on by the unprotected viewing of this once-in-a-lifetime meteor shower.

It was well after sundown on a new moon night. Several of us, not many, were wandering along the Wildwood beach at low tide. It was so dark that I could barely see my own hands.  

The meteor show started in unspectacular fashion. A single shooting star shot across the dark sky. A full five minutes went by before there was another and then another. Soon the floodgates had opened. It was one, two, three and then dozens! The sky was almost solid with the long trails of the meteors.

No doubt these meteors had travelled many light years through several galaxies before reaching their final destination. They disappeared in a cosmic mist, some of which fell to the earth, but some of which was captured by my lungs; the normal path to safe dissipation in the sea being disrupted with every breath I took.

I could smell the stardust. It was a sweet smell, yet not unlike aluminum foil. It clearly wasn't of this world.

I looked towards my fellow humans on the beach. I could see their outlines in the darkness but they did not appear to be able to see me.

I called out and they turned in my direction, but they did not acknowledge my presence. It was as though they were seeing beyond me. Obviously the cosmic dust had turned me invisible.

Invisible! What luck! I finally a super power of my own! I would have preferred x-ray vision but as a second choice invisibility wasn’t bad.

Pizza for Five

I left the beach and walked up on the boardwalk. There was a pizza stand with a few small tables. Four guys who I had never seen before were just flipping open the lid on their box. Little did they realize that the fun was just about to begin.

They had ordered a pepperoni pizza, my favorite. I grabbed a single slice and made it float in the air like a star fighter. Swoosh! Swoosh! No doubt the flying slice of pizza had caught them completely off guard.

I heard what sounded like a shriek. I let out a hearty disembodied laugh and took a bite. One of them, obviously swinging blindly took a swing. He got lucky and caught me in the gut. I spit out the chewed piece of pizza. I can only imagine what that slightly chewed piece of pizza must have looked like as it emerged from thin air. I almost wished that my super power had been mindreading.

I dropped the remainder of the slice back on the table and ran down the boardwalk.

“I’m here,” I called out. “No, wait, I’m over here.”

The looks of confusion on their faces as they attempted to reconcile the location of my disembodied voices were priceless.

I continued running. One never knows how long these super powers might last and there was still more fun to be had.

I ran back down on the beach. It was much more crowded at this end. There was a bonfire going and dozens of people were gathered round.

Skinny Dipping

Skinny dipping! It was something that I had often thought about but I’d never had the courage to carry through. Tonight I would step into the ocean naked. I was invisible, so, why not?

I started removing my clothing and immediately noticed a problem. As soon as I removed a piece of clothing it would apparently became visible. People would pick them up and throw them into the fire. Oh well, this might prove inconvenient later on, but it was of no consequence now. I shed the remainder of my clothing which various strangers obligingly burned. I turned and ran into the ocean.

It was cold, really cold. I kept going until I was chest-deep in the water. That was enough! I ran back toward the fire to get dry and warm.

Uncovered

This was when the problems began. As I approached the fire it seemed as though I had developed a second super-power. Moses had been able to separate the waters of the Red Sea. I seemed to have developed the power to separate people. A clear path opened up before me.

I got as close to the fire as I could without crisping the ends of my hair. I turned around to dry my back. That was when I noticed that I was casting a shadow. My invisibility was fading fast!

I heard some swallowed screams and a few utterances of disgust. Then I saw the four guys whose pizza I had recently levitated. I knew they wouldn’t be able to identify me yet they were coming straight toward me anyway. I looked up, hoping to see a shooting star that might yet save me. I didn’t see one — not exactly.

Recovery Room

I woke up in a strange room. My face and ribs felt slightly swollen but somebody had lovingly draped a warm blanket over me. They had also strapped me to a gurney.

A beautiful woman, she may have been a doctor, a nurse or simply an angel, looked into my eyes and asked me my name. As soon as I started to tell her she turned and yelled, “He’s awake. Get him out of here.”

I looked out a window and spotted a shooting star. With any luck I would once again be invisible. They would see the empty gurney and never know what had happened.

 

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