Playing Super Hero, A Gifted and Talented Anthology

The Golden Touch

Golden Girl cursed. She hated having things explode in her face. The rogue giggled as he tore through the school scattering bits of glowing paper in his wake. Golden Girl weaved and dodged as the papers blew up. Scowling as the shock waves rocked her aura, she kept close to his tail. Pop, as he decided to call himself, could cause any item to explode. However the larger and heavier the item, the longer it took for Pop to charge it. Golden Girl was determined that Pop wouldn't get another chance.

Dealing with a rogue was always harder than any other mission that the team was sent on, regardless of what the other child's ability was. A rogue situation had so many variables. The child could be having difficulty controlling their abilities, using them secretly or not even be aware they were causing havoc. In Pop's case, he had discovered and kept his ability secret while it developed. When he had been laughed at in class, he showed exactly what he could do. Determined to get revenge for his humiliation, he put his teacher in the hospital and terrorized the school until the Golden Girl and the rest of the first responders had arrived.

The situation had become serious when Pop had charged a child's desk. Dead End had taken the brunt of the blast, preventing an explosion that would have taken apart a classroom full of children. Anytime that Dead End's ability activated, the team became extremely alert. John Jacobsen had immediately withdrawn the majority of the team, leaving only Golden Girl to pursue him.

Swearing again, Golden Girl dodged a handful of exploding papers as she heard Her Majesty in her head. "You had better keep Mr. Jacobsen from hearing you talk like that."

Golden Girl avoided yet another batch of glowing scraps as she growled her reply. "At the moment, he is not likely to know, unless you tell him. Now do you have a reason for annoying me at the moment? I am kind of busy having someone throwing firecrackers in my face."

Her Majesty's mental voice snickered. "Prince and Hot Shot are positioned just out the door that you are headed for. Hot Shot has his tranks and Prince will be watching for your cues. Oh, Mr. Jacobsen said to be careful."

Golden Girl rolled her eyes as she attempted to cut Pop's lead. As the doors came into view, Pop sped up, while throwing the rest of the glowing confetti into the air. Golden Girl rolled and dove under the shower of fireworks as Pop burst through the door, slamming the door behind him.

Golden Girl screamed her frustration in her mind. "Her Majesty, have Prince open the door for me! He is getting away!"

The door swung open just as Golden Girl was beginning to slow down. Relieved, Golden Girl shot through the door, skimming the ground as she flew. As she entered the play ground, she saw Pop running for the forested lot that bordered the school.

No longer being limited by walls and a ceiling, Golden Girl lifted her flight up to her full height and rocketed towards Pop. Deliberately overshooting him, she dropped down in front and blocked his way.

"Give it up." Golden Girl said. "You are already in plenty of trouble. Don't make it worse."

Pop scowled. "I am not going back there. They are going to want to send me to the principal's office."

Golden Girl rolled her eyes. "I think this has gone beyond the principal's office. You are going to be lucky to avoid going to jail."

Pop's hands went onto his sides as he took a defiant stance. "I am not going anywhere. You can't make me."

As Prince and Hot Shot approached, Golden Girl sighed. "You might as well give up. You are surrounded and you are out of ammo."

Pop suddenly got a devious look and dropped to the ground. Grabbing a handful of grass, he spun around and threw it in the air at in a circle. Golden Girl darted back out of range and into the air.

Her Majesty's thoughts suddenly rang in her head. "Golden Girl, be careful! He took off one of his shoes! It is behind his back!"

At that moment, Pop yanked a glowing shoe out from behind his back. Golden Girl pulled back, but instead of throwing the shoe at her, he spun around and launched it at Prince. As soon as he telegraphed his intentions, Golden Girl was off. In a moment she was over the shoe and using her aura, forced it into the ground. Immediately she used her field to jump, launching into the air as high as she could go. Prince, at the moment he saw the shoe coming towards him, started sprinting away from the shoe. Looking back he aided her jump, by pushing her telekinetically.

The shock wave from a larger object exploding sent Golden Girl an additional thirty feet in the air. Prince and Hot Shot were knocked head over heels as well. At forty five feet in the air, Golden Girl first glanced at her friends, before spotting Pop making a last break for the wooded area. Infuriated, Golden Girl angled her fall down toward the escaping troublemaker. At ten feet her aura started to catch her, slowing her descent. In feeling another force kick in, Golden Girl drew a breath of relief. She had felt Prince's telekinetic grip before. Pulling out of the dive, Golden Girl barreled towards Pop at high speed.

Unwilling to give him a chance to react, Golden Girl hit him going top speed, her arms spread out. The impact caused Pop to drop his other shoe, which had only been half charged at the time. Scooping him into the air, she held on tight as he squirmed, mentally yelling for Her Majesty to arrange help.

Golden Girl had Pop in such a tight embrace that she felt the tranquilizer dart hit his body. Slowly, she felt it take effect. Still, she held on until Mr. Jacobsen and the rest of the team had approached. Golden Girl slowly lowered herself to the ground and released Pop into the arms of the authorities.

As she backed away exhausted, she saw John Jacobsen, the new team adviser walking her way. Taking the last of her energy, she pulled herself upright, trying to act nonchalant.

"Nice job." John said. "You really pulled off a miracle."

Golden Girl nodded. "You didn't expect less did you? I already told you that we can handle ourselves just fine."

At that moment Golden Girl began to sag, the last of her energy spent. Mr. Jacobsen stepped over and putting an arm under hers, helped support her to her great annoyance. As he walked the stubborn child back to the transports, he smiled.

Author's Note: Thank you for reading. Remember, if you enjoyed the story please be sure to vote so others can find the story as well. The voting for the Onceuponnow contest is coming up so please check out my story, the Rumpelstiltskin protocol and be sure to vote on the first chapter during the week of the 14th of June. I do have a father's day story in mind, which means you will be seeing back to back Golden Girl stories.