The Weird Superheroes: Chapters 4 and 5

Chapter 4

Meanwhile Patrick Dodd has just walked up to the doorstep of Clay's house.

(Knock, knock)
"Yes, who is it?" Asked Clay's Mom as she opened the door.
"I'm Clay's friend Patrick Dodd. Is Clay here?" Pat asked thoughtfully.
"Yes, he and Michael should be in his room." She replied as she opened the door to let him in.

As Clay's Mom went back to doing housework Pat approached Clay's room, and opened the door.
"Is there anybody in here?" He called.
Walking inside the room, he wanted to know for sure if anybody was there.
"Hello?" He whispered as he walked quietly towards the far side of the dark room.
No one was here; she was wrong. I wonder where they could be, he thought.
In the shadows he could make out what looked like a huge machine, but he wasn't sure what it was. To see for sure what it was he turned on the light. He finally saw what it was he was looking at before. It was a huge machine of some sort, taller than him at least seven feet tall. And being tall himself, that was tall.

What could this be? He thought as he looked at the machine.
At the far end of the machine there seemed to be what was shaped like a large room. On the other end of the machine there was what looked like a control panel, with lots of blinking lights. Something inside him was urging him to touch the control panel, but he didn't for fear of what might happen.

Something shiny caught his eye at the far end of the machine. It looked like a label, but his couldn't tell until he got closer. Moving to the far end of the machine he felt his shirt get caught on something on the control panel. Slightly he moved and the shirt released. At the same time he thought he thought he heard a clicking noise. Startled he looked around for what could have caused that sound. Seeing nothing he shrugged his shoulders.
What he didn't know was that he had accidentally switched the machine from good to evil.
Now he could see that it was a label, he had seen before. Stopping he read what the label said. THE SUPER HERO MAKER, it read.

A Super Hero Maker, hmmm...I wonder how it works, he thought as he turned to the control panel once more.
"I think I will try it," he said.
"Now how to start it?" He asked himself, searching the control panel for a start button.
Finally he spotted it.

"Okay I'll just push this button, and go inside." He declared shrugging his shoulders hoping that the start button would open the door to the 'room section'.
Even though the light was on in Clay's room, it was complete darkness where he intended on going. Stepping inside he wished there were a light in the room; he would like to see what's happening to him.

Suddenly after he had stepped into the room, the door slammed itself behind him with a loud, "Bang." This startled him making his heartbeat ten times faster. Now he started to hear buzzing, noises coming from inside the machine.

Strange things were about to happen to his body now that the machine had started.
"Whoa, this feels weird!" He commented in a scared and shaky voice.

Indeed he had a good reason to feel weird; his body was undergoing changes as The Super Hero Maker did its work. First he felt extreme heat, and felt like he was going to faint. Just before he thought he was going to faint, extreme cold came upon him. He couldn't see his fingers, but he was sure they were frost-bitten. Right when he thought he was going to die of hypothermia, he felt like pins and needles were hitting him all over. The feeling a person gets when an appendage wakes up from being asleep. What he was feeling was that, but worse much, much worse. This was tremendous pain! He tried hitting himself, slapping himself, rubbing himself, but nothing seemed to work. Screaming until he was hoarse, he thought he was going to be needled to death.

Ah, but the machine was not done yet. There were flashes of light, white light to red light. They were flashing so fast that he couldn't tell what was which. And they were blinding him too. His only other option at the time was to close his eyes. Suddenly the lights stopped flashing, and he was in complete darkness again. The pain has also gone.

"Good, maybe it's done, and I can leave this living he..." He stopped suddenly when a throbbing migraine hit him. It was at that moment when he realized how wrong he was.
Trying to stand up, all he could do was rise to his knees. This pain was by far the worst. With tears streaming down his face he held his head from both sides. Now he couldn't even sit on his knees the pain was so much; he fell over on the floor. It was so painful to keep his eyes open so he shut them. For some reason he thought that would help the pain. Oh, how wrong he was. What he saw was worse than keeping them open.

He saw what seemed like a theater stage, part of it was white, and part of it was black. From the white side came someone who looked exactly like him. He was wearing a white shirt with jeans. From the black side of the stage came someone, who also looked just like him. He was wearing a black shirt with jeans. The person with the white shirt started backing up, knowing there was a fight coming. The person in the black shirt ran over to him, slamming him with his body. White tried to defend himself the best he could, but to no avail. They fought until they reached the black side of the stage. Black smiled, and gave White such swift blows that white had no idea where they were coming from. Until finally white fell to the ground, his whole face was covered with blood; his arms and legs were broken. There was no reason for black to check his pulse he knew his foe was dead. Looking at White's shirt, he saw that it was no longer white, but blood-red. Putting his foot on White's back he declared, "That's what you get when you mess with The Scourge!"

Suddenly Pat opened his eyes, the migraine was gone. It now seemed like he was a whole different person. Very slowly, android-like, he rose from the floor. His standing seemed to trigger the door to open. Looking around, he stepped out of the machine very slowly. Once out he breathed a heavy breath, and let it out.

No longer was he wearing the long-sleeve green shirt and jeans, he was know wearing a dark green suit; with black boots and a black cape. He was also wearing black gloves. His eyes no longer looked good he looked evil, they looked evil, with dark imprints under them. It looked like that part of the skin had never been regular skin color but had always been black. His hair was not longer light brown it has always been, it was now a dark brown almost black. Also it was flat against his head and forehead; like somebody had slicked it down with hair spray. Finally his entire body rippled with muscles, not needing to flex to show muscle.

He took another deep breath and declared, "I feel like a new person!"
This voice he was now using was not his normal voice; it was a deep evil voice. It was true, he was a new person, and he was The Scourge!

"Clay and Michael must have used this machine; that must be why they are gone. Wait until they get a load of me!" He shouted in the same deep evil voice.
Meanwhile at Jesse's house, Jesse had let Kristin and Aaron in, and Kristin was interrogating him.

"Okay why aren't they here? When we were just told that they were up here?"
"I don't know what you are talking about they haven't been here all day." Jesse said in a regular voice hoping Kristin wouldn't be able to tell that he was lying.
"If that's the truth then why did your Dad say that they were here with you?" Asked Kristin knowing she had caught him to the quick.
"I dunno", Jesse replied quickly.

Kristin had thought that she had caught him at the quick, but Jesse it seemed was quicker. This time Kristin looked more serious as she continued.
"And why did Clay's Mom say that they were here?"
Jesse started to say something, but stopped knowing there was nothing he could say to convince her that they were never here.

Aaron standing next to Kristin folded his arms, and cracked a smile, which could have turned into a laugh. But he stopped himself in time.
"All right, you got me there; they were here but they left."
"Here's what really happened. It's kind of a long so I will make it brief," Jesse proposed.
Kristin nodded.

"You see Clay made what he called a Super Hero Maker. They used it and became Super Heroes. Then they came over here and told me what happened." Kristin rolled her eyes and wondered why Jesse still wasn't telling the truth. This couldn't have happened, she thought.

Meanwhile Aaron was looking at his watch, 3 o'clock already. This was not how he wanted to spend his Saturday afternoon. They looked at Jesse again; at least they had to make it look like they were paying attention.

"I suggested Clay make the Super hero costumes with the fabric, and sewing machine I had. I thought it only made sense for Clay to do it since now he had the ability to do things super fast." Jesse continued pointing to the sewing machine.

Wow this kid has a sewing machine; man he is weird! Well, it does look pretty old maybe it isn't even his, Kristin thought while Jesse talked.

"So Clay sewed the costumes within minutes, and they left to fight crime," Jesse finished.
"And this is a true story?" Kristin asked skeptically.
"Yes it is", answered Jesse quickly.
Aaron motioned for Kristin to come closer.
"Do you really believe the story Jesse just told us is actually true?" He whispered with skepticism in his voice.

"Well, it does seem to be out there doesn't it? There also doesn't seem to be any other way they could have been here one moment and gone the next. I mean I did hear voices coming from inside the room, before we were let in. They sounded pretty quick like a couple of people were just leaving," she whispered back to him.
"You're right Kristin I heard voices too. His story does make sense now that you pointed out hearing the voices", Aaron agreed.

They turned back to Jesse; Kristin could now feel the tension in the room. In order to break that tension and to let Jesse know everything was fine she said in a slow breathy voice, "Well, I'm just going to have to tell my Mom. Goodbye Jesse. Nice talking to you."
"Bye", said Jesse.
"Come on let's go Aaron", beckoned Kristin.
Aaron followed her out of Jesse's room.

As they shut the door behind them Jesse thought, oh, Clay and Michael are not going to be very happy with me so much for their secret identities.

Meanwhile Kristin and Aaron continued to walk down the stairs. Making their way down the stairs they exited the house. Mr. Call heard a door open and shut but didn't see that Michael wasn't with them.

*****************************************************************
Chapter 5

Michael and Clay fly over to Michael's house to tell his Mom about being a Super Hero. They return to Clay's house realizing the worst has happened.

*****************************************************************
In the meantime Clay and Michael were flying around the city looking for crime. Michael was having second thoughts about not telling their, parents their secret.

"I don't think this is right."
"You don't think what isn't right?" Asked Clay wondering what could be troubling his friend.
"That we didn't tell our mothers about us having Super powers."
(He said mothers because at the time neither of their fathers was home.)

"Let's go to your house, and then my house", suggested Clay.
"Okay", Michael agreed brightening up.
In a flash they were at Michael's house
"Hi, Mom I'm home." Michael greeted as he and Clay entered the house.
"Oh, hi Michael," she muttered barely looking up from the newspaper she was reading.
"Mom, there's something I need to tell you", he confessed.

"Yes, Michael what is it?" She sighed lazily still reading her newspaper.
"Well, you see Clay made this Super Hero Maker, and we tried it", he replied quickly.
"Mom if you will just come outside I will show you what I mean", he suggested.
"Oh, all right." She said sleepily putting her newspaper on the floor, and standing up.
Suddenly she noticed for the first time the costumes they were wearing.
"Why are you two wearing those costumes?"

"Like I said Mom we are Super Heroes!" He explained once more, this time with frustration in his voice.
"Oh, okay", she muttered in a whatever-you-say voice.
Clay shook his head wondering why it was so hard to believe that they were Super Heroes.

Outside in front of Michael's house, Clay and Michael took turns showing their powers.
"Mom watch this", he instructed walking over to one of the two garbage cans they had.

He then threw the garbage twenty feet in the air. Carefully he watched the garbage can for where it would fall. When he was sure where it was going to land he held up his index finger. The garbage can landed perfectly balanced on his finger.

"Wow that was amazing!" She exclaimed barely believing what she had just seen.
"Now watch this." Clay announced as he prepared himself to run.
"Okay."

She had seen him leave running down the sidewalk, but blinking her eyes she saw him standing in front of her again.

"But you just left a minute ago, or maybe less," she stuttered.
"That's right I ran around the block in less than a minute," he explained.
"Now Mom you have to keep this a secret. We have to have secret identities after all." Michael insisted as they leaped up into the sky and flew away.
"Right, I can't tell anyone. Who would believe me if I did?" She muttered to herself as she walked into the house without shutting the door.

"Do you think she believed what she saw?" Inquired Clay.
"I don't know? It didn't look like it. Does it really matter if she believed us or not? We only said we would tell them, not make them believe us," he said sarcastically.
"Right." Clay agreed as they landed at his house.
"Hi, Mom I'm back!" Clay announced as he entered his house, forgetting that he never told his Mom that he had left.

"What do you mean? I thought you were in your room! And why are you and Michael wearing those costumes?" She shouted in a worried voice.

"Calm down and I will tell you. First I'm sorry I didn't tell you I was going to Jesse's house. Second the reason we are wearing these costumes is, because we are Super Heroes now. I made a Super Hero Maker, and Michael and I used it. I have the power of super speed and Michael has the power of Super strength. We went to Jesse's house, told him of our powers, and he gave use ideas for costumes. I then sewed them with the fabric and sewing machine. Crime fighting is what we were going to do, but we decided to tell you and Michael's Mom first." He explained rapidly.

She nodded slowly trying to take it all in, not sure whether to believe her son or not. Suddenly she remembered that Pat had come by.

"Oh, yeah I just remembered a friend of yours came by while you were gone. I let him in because I thought you were still here."
"Thanks Mom."
She started to walk away when Clay quickly added, "by the way Mom which one of my friends was it?"

Turning around she answered, "he said his name was Patrick Dodd, and he went into your room, because that's where I thought you were." After making sure that she had left, Clay started whispering to Michael.

"She must have unlocked my door after we left, that's how he got in. Oh! Nooo! He could have used The Super Hero Maker, and switched it to Negative instead of positive!" Michael gulped as he turned to Clay's room, afraid to open it.