When Richard Daniels woke up, he was sitting in the bottom of a crater. He seemed to be in a field surrounded by forest.
"What happened?" he asked himself. "How am I still alive? I just fell from thousands of feet." Richard looked down and saw that he was no longer wearing his black and blue suit, but realized he was back in his warm ups he wore before he put on his space suit.
"I need to get out of this crater and get back to the base." Richard hoped he wasn't far. He knew he needed to let them know he was alright. Hopefully they hadn't already assumed the worst.
Richard started to climb out, surprised at how good he felt despite the fact that he just fell to Earth from the edge of the atmosphere. When he got top the top of the steep wall, someone was standing there looking at him.
"Umm... are you okay?" said a girl looking down at him. Richard wasn't sure what to say. He was flustered due to the fact that she was actually a rather pretty girl. She had long, wavy brunette hair and had big hazel eyes. she was wearing a plaid shirt and cowgirl boots, she had appeared to be about his own age.
"What are you doing here?" he asked, hoping she didn't think he was some sort of freak.
"I heard something crash, so I came to see what it was. Was it you?" She didn't seem scared as much as she seemed curious. "Are you hurt?"
"No, no, I'm fine." Richard was confused. Why wasn't she scared? "Who are you?"
I'm Zoe Perillo. Pleased to meet you." She said smiling
"You too. I'm..." he stopped himself. Should he really tell who he is? What would happen if she told people that Richard Daniels, the famous astronaut, was some sort of super-powered freak? "I'm... Joh...nny. I'm Jonny." He lied.
"Hello, Johnny. How did you survive that fall?" She asked as she helped him up out of the crater.
"Can you keep a secret?" He asked. She nodded. "I have superpowers... I think... It's complicated."
"Really?" she said skeptically. "Superpowers. Like Superman?"
"No. He's not real," he said, "don't be ridiculous."
"How can you have powers? And why did you fall from the sky?"
"It's complicated," he said. He still wasn't sure himself. "How far from the base are we?"
"Base?" As if she didn't understand. Everyone in Florida knows "Base" means where NASA launches shuttles.
"You know, NASA. Where they launch shuttles." How does she not understand? Unless he wasn't in Florida. Realizing this possibility, he cautiously asked, "What state are we in?"
"Arkansas." She said with the same 'How-do-you-not-understand' tone he used on her.
"Oh crap," he cursed. "This is bad. I need to get back to NASA."
Why?" Zoe questioned. "And why are you out-"
She could never finish her question, because right at that moment, there was another crash behind her. It sent her flying into his arms and both of them fell into the crater. Looking up from the bottom, Richard saw two dark purple tentacles creep over the edge, followed by a head.
The faceless head looked right at Richard and hissed, "Give usss the sstar-sstone!" And then it lunged right at them.
To Richard, it was as if the next few seconds slowed down. He saw the creature getting closer and he felt his hand reaching toward the glittery stone in his pocket. Without thinking he placed the stone on his left chest and suddenly he was wearing his black and blue armor again. He pulled Zoe close to him and yelled, "SHIELD!" Suddenly a large, star-shaped shield appeared over them and the creature crashed into it.
"SKREEEE!" it shrieked as it fell back.
Richard could tell it was disoriented and he knew he had to think fast.
"Hammer!" He shouted, and a large mallet materialized into his hand. No sooner than it appeared in his hands, he smashed the hammer down with a surprisingly great force on top of the creature.
"SKREEeee..." it squealed.
When Richard lifted the hammer, it vanished from his hands and all that was left of the creature was a fast dissolving tentacle.
He stood panting over the remains of the creature when he heard Zoe move behind him. He turned and saw her looking at him in amazement.
"Johnny?" She said with wonder in her eyes.
Johnny. That sounds awful. He needed a new name. "No," he said with determination. "Call me Blue Star."
