Playing Super Hero, A Gifted and Talented Anthology

Stormy Night Part 5

Gathering the team while the children were taking a break from the story, John checked the police reports. The team drew a sigh of relief as the few reports they heard were minor injuries and minimal damage. They weren't needed at this time in the field. Her Majesty contacted Electrocutie and verified that the power company still hadn't found time to work on the schools area. Electrocutie let the team know that she was able to get the trapped family out of the car surrounded by power lines without anyone getting hurt.

John noticed that Odds and Whiz were arguing across the room. Looking like it was getting heated, he started over to find out what was going on. As he approached Whiz shrugged and apologized. Odds sighed and headed back to her seat in the circle.

After everyone had finished their ice cream, they sat around talking for a while. Slowly, the teachers noticed that the students were starting to get nervous again. Whistling, John called the children back to the circle to continue the story.

"We left off where Prince, the black knight and princess Nocturna had arrived at the green and orange clad devil's caves. They saw..." John said, bringing everyone back up to speed while he handed it to the next girl in the circle.

"a golem. It just stood there as they approached. It moved to block their entry if they tried to enter. When Prince tried to attack it, it returned the attack but when Prince backed away from the entrance it stopped." Hot and Cold said, smirking at the boys. "Prince and the black knight backed away and huddled, debating on the best way to defeat the golem. While they were thus occupied Princess Nocturna approached the golem. As it moved to block her way she came up to it and standing on her tippy toes, gave it a kiss on the cheek. The golem dissolved into a pile of dust. Waiting for the black knight and Prince to join her she commented that most men melted when kissed by a beautiful girl. Entering the cavern the green and orange clad devil appeared in a poof of green and orange smoke. He was grinning which they took as a good sign. He listened to their request and told them that they needed..."

"the bird man that was called Golden Girl." Gourmet said to the other children's amusement.

"Oh no, there is no way I am going to be a guy. You change it." Golden Girl said, arms crossed.

"It specifically says bird man, though." Relenting at Golden Girl's glare, Gourmet continued. "All right, the bird woman was said to be found on the highest tree. She was said to be very temperamental. The tree was close so Prince took the challenge and scaled the tree as the sky grew lighter. Reaching the top, he saw the most beautiful woman he had ever met. She, upon seeing him fell madly in love with him."

"Oh, give me a break!" Golden Girl and Prince said at the same time, causing snickers throughout the gathering.

"Getting back on track, she told him that she couldn't help him but that she could take him to..." Gourmet finished and handed it off to another boy.

"retrieve the floating skull. She told him that it was the key to starting the metal man and without it the metal man would never be able to move. Prince agreed and found himself picked up by the bird woman Golden Girl by her talons. After flying for a while they reached a large nest. She dropped him in there and told him to hurry because the nest was the home of a giant crow which gathered all sorts of shiny objects. Prince sorted through the miscellaneous items, dislodging them to allow the skull to appear floating. Seeing the crow approaching, Prince grabbed the skull and leapt from the nest to be caught by Golden Girl just before certain death. She flew him back placing him on a lower branch of the tree."

The boy continued. "Prince scaled down the tree to find the black knight and Princess Juniper waiting for him. When he asked where Princess Nocturna had gone both appeared not to have heard the question. Hurrying back to the group, they ran smack dab into..."

"A giant. The giant upon seeing them, decided that they would make a good lunch and started chasing them. Running for their lives they dashed back to where the metal man was located. Throwing the floating skull to the Minotaur, they turned to prepare to engage the giant. The Minotaur inserted the floating skull and activated the metal man. Rising the metal man approached the giant. After a difficult fight, he threw the giant back into the forest where the giant retreated. Celebrating their victory they didn't notice the approach of..." another boy finished.

"the invalid's lover." A girl started. Several children giggled. "He had tracked the company into the dark and forbidding wood because he needed to tell them that..."

"Queen Her Majesty had decided that they were taking too long so she offered a reward of whoever could defeat the black guards would become Princess Juniper's husband." Odds snorted, offended at the latest turn in the story. Shivers, an elemental, smiled at her and continued. "Sorry Odds, but that is how fantasy stories go. Princess Juniper was very indignant. She demanded they set off at once to defeat the midget. The invalid's lover was an excellent tracker and started to lead them along the scent of magic where they met..."

"a strange girl by the side of the road working on the weirdest contraption. It was a horseless carriage. It had broken down and the girl was knee deep in mud and grease trying to fix it. When they asked her if they could help her, she introduced herself as the genius. She noticed the metal man and immediately jumped up and inspected it. She then gave instructions on how to make it run better. After making sure that they were piloting the thing correctly, she hopped into her horseless carriage and drove off backwards. Apparently, what she was trying to fix was the ability to get the vehicle to drive forward." Betty said, another of the techno-geeks. "They continued on when they met..."

Author's Note:  And next, the conclusion.  Be sure to remember to vote and comment.  To give this the feel of how the story would really flow, I pulled the names out of a jar.