Playing Super Hero, A Gifted and Talented Anthology

Treed

Some training exercises were for the birds. After having been with the team for a couple of weeks, John Jacobsen decided each member of the group would have to deal with the classic rescue; a cat up a tree. Most of the team found the task to be fairly humorous and the mood was light. Heavyweight was not amused. Tree climbing wasn't his thing. With his body density being six times the density of the normal person, his weight followed suit. It hurt plenty if he just tripped on his own feet. There was no way he was going up a tree after anything.

The team had lined up and each one made their effort to rescue the cat, which was in reality a stuffed toy. It was up a little tree that wasn't much thicker around than his arm. Golden Girl went first. Using her aura, she skimmed up the tree grabbing the kitty. Prince telekinetically lowered the cat. Hot Shot tossed up a grappling hook and pulled the cat to him. Dead End just went and got a ladder. Her Majesty used Dead End's ladder. Dreamy surprised everyone when she laid down and went to sleep at the foot of the tree. They were a little taken aback when the stuffed animal got up off the limb it was on and climbed down to snuggle into her arms.

"Heavyweight, it is your turn." John Jacobsen called.

"Thanks, but I don't want to." Heavyweight said.

"What would you do if a cat needed your help? How would you save it?" Mr. Jacobsen asked.

"I'd call one of them." Heavyweight gestured at the other members of the team. "That is what they are good at."

"They may not always be available. How would you handle it without them?"

"I would call the fire department or the police." Heavyweight said.

Mr. Jacobsen sighed. "This exercise isn't about rescuing a cat. It is about adapting and finding a solution to the problem."

Heavyweight pointed at the tree. "I can't climb that. It won't even hold Her Majesty's weight."

Ignoring Her Majesty's sniff, Mr. Jacobsen pointed at the ladder. "You could use the ladder."

Heavyweight shook his head. "It will break under my weight."

John Jacobsen folded his arms. "I expect you to try something."

Heavyweight walked over to the tree. The tree was about as thick as his arm. Heavyweight tried to start pulling down the tree but couldn't get enough leverage. Giving a sideways look at Mr. Jacobsen, he gave the tree a shove. It was firmly attached but swayed slightly. Getting an idea, Heavyweight walked over to the tree and gave it a really good shake. The toy fell and Heavyweight just barely caught it.

Tossing the cat over to Mr. Jacobsen, Heavyweight headed back his seat after making a comment. "You're right; there is a way for to do this. The nice thing is, even if the cat tried to scratch me, it wouldn't succeed," he said.

Ignoring the team's incredulous looks, Heavyweight took his seat. He grinned, knowing that it would be very unlikely that anyone would ask him to rescue a cat in the field after that.

Thank you for reading. If you enjoyed today's story, don't forget to vote. I have made quite a bit of progress on the first book of the Gifted and Talented and with the end of tax season, I will start publishing it on Wattpad on Wednesdays. I only have one tiny issue, I am not sure yet what to name it. Be sure to watch my profile for the new book and Gifted and Talented will be in the title.  BTW I am finished with taxes!  Yay!