Previous Challenge Entry (Level 4 – Masters)
Topic: CHILL (11/24/22)
-
TITLE: I Scream, You Scream | Previous Challenge Entry
By Art Westefeld
12/01/22 -
LEAVE COMMENT ON ARTICLE
SEND A PRIVATE COMMENT
ADD TO MY FAVORITES
Tabitha Swift,AKA Amazing Girl, thought to herself, ‘Why can I stand up to supervillains who want to kill me, but I melt emotionally for two kids?’
Thinking unChristian thoughts about what she’d do to Megawatt, the team leader, for juggling patrol schedules that left her open to babysit while Rex and Rebecca had a night out, Tabitha decided that helping the budding superheroes control their powers and patience would be a good thing, saying, “OK, but first, you both need to stop using your powers.”
An instant later, the room cooled down and the small rain cloud disappeared. Satisfied that the children were exercising self control, Tabitha relented. The ice cream parlor was only a couple of blocks away, so she took the kids by the hands and walked the short distance. ‘This was what normal life should feel like’, the superheroine thought to herself, ‘A quiet evening taking my friends' kids for ice cream, and, I guess, some for me.’
After sitting down with three bowls of chocolate ice cream, Tabitha led the children in a rudimentary prayer, thanking God for ice cream. She was just scraping the bottom of her bowl of the chilly treat when a boy, no more than five years old, burst through the door. Years of superheroing had not prepared her for a pint-sized attacker. He walked up to the counter and screamed, “Give me all your money, and all your hot fudge!”
Amazing Girl thought that this was a joke until the young ruffian sprouted ice spikes and brandished them at a customer waiting in line. She whispered to Loretta and Daniel, “Stay put while Aunt Tabitha deals with this naughty boy.”
Loretta responded, “He doesn’t seem like a nice boy. I could toast his spikes away.”
“No,” Tabitha spoke more sharply than she had intended. Quietly she added, “Remember what we talked about, no powers?”
Loretta nodded glumly. Tabitha was well practiced in subtly sneaking away to change into her costume. An instant later, the violet clad Amazing Girl strode over to the kindergarten sized thief. She briefly considered using her super-strength to snap the spines pointed at her waist. ‘No,’ she thought, ‘the kid grew them so they may be part of his body.’ It was a cardinal rule of the Light Force not to use unnecessary force. She spoke to the lad. “Who are you, and why hold up this place?”
The boy’s face became defiant as he answered her with as much dignity as he could project. “I’m Iceboy. My mommy needs the money to keep the heat on. The hot fudge is for me!”
Taking a good look at him, Amazing Girl noticed a resemblance to the supervillain Lady Freeze. With what Tabitha knew about her, she didn’t understand how the child could have been conceived. She shook the thought of Freeze procreating from her mind, returning her full attention to the junior supercrook.
“Chill out, kid. You aren’t enough to take out a real superhero.”
“Am too!” he cried indignantly.
A moment later, his other hand pointed at her, and she began to chill out, literally, as she was encased in a coating of ice. Tabitha wasn’t sure if Loretta had her parents telepathy, but she sent a desperate message, ‘defrost me, please.’
Almost instantaneously, the chill left her body, to be replaced by a hot breeze. Amazing Girl saw Daniel and Loretta pointing in her direction, the two superkids pooling their powers to effectively defrost her. Like his mother, Iceboy drew the heat that warmed her into him to reinforce his icy exterior.
Tabitha had a sudden wish that her friend Coldfire had babysat the kids. Her powers could easily take down this tiny terror. But no, she was here on her own, and she couldn’t punch a child. An idea came to her suddenly. She shrunk to microscopic size and flew into his below zero ear. Below his chilling exterior he was completely human on the inside. Flitting down to Iceboy’s brainstem, Tabitha put pressure on various nerves until her surroundings changed and she guessed that Iceboy was lying down.
Exiting the way she came, Amazing Girl saw that the tyke was, indeed, …out cold.
The opinions expressed by authors may not necessarily reflect the opinion of FaithWriters.com.
Accept Jesus as Your Lord and Savior Right Now - CLICK HERE
JOIN US at FaithWriters for Free. Grow as a Writer and Spread the Gospel.
