Okay, that could have gone a little better

[CelticMuscle]

(In light of everything that has happened today, may I offer a little something to cheer everyone up)

Part One

"Okay, I agree this is not quite the way I had planned to spend the evening!"

"What was your first clue, Sherlock?" came the reply

"Well, hanging upside down over a blast furnace for starters" I said, "but considering what I was doing 24 hours previously, everything"

***

It was one of these days when everything was going wrong. First of all, my iPhone died on me (just as I was getting ready to join a mass tweet for charity), then my cable connection was cut off (due to essential maintenance), then my gym class was taken by a supply teacher (who made us run laps for the whole class) and to make matters worse my night of astronomy was ruined by clouds.

"Can today get any worse?" I shouted at the skies.

The next door field on our farm suddenly exploded and I was showered with a combination of hay, sod and the occasional cowpat. I was just about to stomp off indoors and have a shower when I noticed something glinting and taking a bucket with me, climbed over the fence (stepping in a cowpat) and investigated the hole. There inside was an object which split open to reveal a rather large jewel. I fished it out with my fingers (cursing as I burnt them) and examined the object in the bathroom having filled the bucket with warm water in order to handle it. It reminded me of one of those good luck charms and so decided to wear it that night hoping that it would work.

And boy, did it!

The following morning I woke up, yawned, threw of the covers and went to the bathroom. Or rather I collided with the wall of my room. Rubbing the sleep out of my eyes, I realised that the ceiling was much nearer than I remembered. And that's when it hit me. I was hovering about two feet above the floor.

Panicking I made a grab for the door frame and slowly lowered myself to the floor and once there crawled to the bathroom. Trying to wash yourself on the floor isn't easy, but I managed it and crawled back to my bedroom where I got dressed (or rather tried to) because as soon as I let go of the floor, up I floated. "Oh, come on gravity" I thought, "get a grip" and no sooner had I thought that, than I sank slowly to the floor and was able to get dressed.

During breakfast, a million thoughts were running through my mind. Had gravity suddenly failed for five minutes globally? Was I the victim of some elaborate internet hoax? My mind was still lost in thought as I entered my first class of the day. Math. Now, don't get me wrong. I like math, but hate supply teachers especially this one who was less interested in teaching and more interested in doing his own thing.

"Every month, a girl gets allowance. Assume last year she had no money, and kept it up to now. Then she spends 1/2 of her money on clothes, then 1/3 of the remaining money on games, and then 1/4 of the remaining money on toys. After she bought all of that, she had $7777 left. Assuming she only gets money by allowance, how much money does she earn every month?" he said writing the question on the computer projector and then sat down saying "I expect that to take you the whole lesson!"

As soon as I saw the question, something inside me just clicked and I put my hand up which the teacher saw.

"Yes, Harrison" he said, in a bored manner, "what is it?"

"$2,222 sir?"


The teacher looked at me, then at the computer and at me again.

"Correct!" he said with a stunned expression, "class dismissed!"

As you can imagine, I was quite the hero that hour, but something didn't sit right with me. How on earth could I know the answer that quickly just by looking at it. It was a question that would be answered later that day in gym class.

[scot158f]

Excellent story start!! I can't wait for the next part!

[Blake]

I'm liking the way this story has started Celtic...

Neil

[CelticMuscle]

After what had happened to me so far during the day, I was beginning to wonder if I'd won some kind of intergalactic lottery. First was hovering, then having the intelligence to figure out a math problem just by looking at it, so the next class (biology) did fill me with a little concern.

Thankfully though, I need not have worried. Mr. Johnson (one of my neighbours) was talking about the muscular system and it was safe to say that on that point I didn't have anything to worry about (being 6ft 1, 200lbs and podgy). However, I spoke too soon

"Now then!" said Mr. Johnson halfway through the lesson, "who here reckons that they are the strongest person in the school!"

Up stood Jake Hartman, quarterback in the football team (standing 6ft 7, and weighing nearly 300lbs). "I reckon that would be me!" he said, flexing his arms and causing all the girls to moan.

"Thank you, Mr. Hartman!" said Mr. Johnson, "and the weakest?"

I felt thirty pairs of eyes look in my direction and begrudingly stood up. "Yes" I said, "I'll admit it!"

"Excellent, now if you would come to the front please" and as we did, Mr. Johnson gave us a piece of rope to hold. "Now" he said as Jake wrapped the rope around him and growled at me, "you remember last week we discussed that the strongest muscle is where Gillian?"

Gillian, Jake's girlfriend came to after watching Jake bounce his pecs, "The butt?" she answered, causing the class to laugh

"Well, gluteus maximus in Latin" said Mr. Johnson, "but you are essentially correct. Mr. Hartman, would you be so kind as to turn around please and wrap this rope around your waist" and Mr. Harrison, if you could pull when I say so"

"If I must!" I said.

"And pull!" said Mr. Johnson

I tugged as hard as I could on the rope and Jake just stood there sneering.

"You're nothing but a runt, I bet I could gorilla press you all morning"

Just like in Math class, something clicked. I took a deep breath and pulled as hard as I could and to my, Mr. Johnson's, Jake's and Gillian's shock, Jake was pulled off his feet and fell down with a bump.

"A case in point" said Mr. Johnson of the "butt" being the strongest muscle" and with that he asked us to go back to our seats. As I walked back I looked at my hands. Had I really just pulled Jake off his feet. Jake was of course brushed it off as "helping prove what a wimp" I was, but something didn't settle right and after the class I asked Mr. Johnson for his opinion.

He smiled at me and said "That jewel you found last night, is not quite what you think it is. Meet me in the gym during lunch and I'll explain!"

[CelticMuscle]

Lunchtime couldn't come soon enough for me and after scoffing down what passed for lunch, I made straight for the gym and knocked on the door gently.

"COME (puff) IN!" shouted a voice that sounded like Mr. Johnson but was much deeper. As I entered the gym and closed the door behind me I gasped. There in the centre of the room was something and it was lifting the entire weight station as if it was nothing. It was large, red and had four very muscular arms. The something put the station down and jumped out of the middle and landed just inches from me.

To say that I was dumbstruck was an understatement. So when the something glowed bright red and Mr. Johnson appeared in it's place, is it any wonder I fainted. When I woke up, Mr. Johnson was holding a mug of hot tea and gestured for me to drink (which I did) and as I recovered he started to explain.

"We are very similar" he started, "we're not from here. You orginally came from England five years ago and I orginally came from a planet called Khoros. Don't worry, it's over 300 light years away!"

I gasped on the tea and said "You're an alien?". Mr. Johnson nodded. "And have been for the past 600 years!".

He explained that he left his planet on a mission. The planet was a peaceful one but that 800 years ago an invasion force of Daleks had invaded and although the Khorians had been decimated they fought them off. His mission was to find a someone in the universe who could become the planet's new hero. "After all" he chuckled, being 900 years old I'm no spring chicken!"

It then suddenly dawned on me. "So that means that this jewel" I said, taking it out from under my shirt, "is..."

"The all powerful Crystal" he said and explained that when we moved to the town five years ago, Mr. Johnson instantly noticed my interest in astronomy and how (as a Limey) I was always polite and kind to everyone. Using a hyper light messaging system, he signalled his home planet that he had found a hero and despatched the jewel to me.

"So, I'm a..." I struggled with the term but Mr. Johnson smiled

"A Superhero!" he said and changed back into his native form to demonstrate. "Arm Wrestle me!" he said.

"Which one?" I asked sitting up.

"All of them!" he replied and grabbed my right hand with all four of his hands. Expecting to be crushed I was stunned when I realised that I was still able to feel my hand. I looked up at the now alien face of Mr. Johnson who said "Wrestle!"

I closed my eyes and concentrated hard and as I did I could feel his grip starting to loosen. Breathing hard and willing my hand to move I slowly but surely moved the four arms towards the level and then slammed them down.

Mr. Johnson reverted back to human form and bowed as I looked at my arms. "I'm strong?" I said in wonder.

"Stronger than anyone!" he said as he asked me to lay down on the bench and grab the bar. As it had no weights on it, I found it very easy to lift and every ten reps, Mr. Johnson loaded an extra 50lbs onto it. By the time the bell for classes rang thirty minutes later I was lifting a bar that weighed nearly 1,000lbs.

"I want the ton!" I said, gritting my teeth (something that I would never had said before) and nodding Mr. Johnson added the last two 25's. I lifted the bar and banged out 50 reps in double quick time, put the bar back and sat up, my face red and my chest heaving.

"All you need now is a sidekick!" smiled Mr. Johnson as he opened the door to the gym and found the weights coach looking annoyed.

"You're eating into this school's chances of a medal at the powerlifting meet next month!" the coach grumbled, "Why you need to use the gym I have no idea, you're a wimp and as for him!" he said pointing to me

Mr. Johnson smiled and said "Never judge a book by it's cover" and with that asked to see me that afternoon at his home.

[scot158f]

Great continuation! Glad to see Hartman get some good help!

[CelticMuscle]

"So, let me see if I have this right" I said, whilst wrestling with Mr. Johnson's alien form, "This jewel is in effect a mini nuclear power station but instead of heating water to spin a turbine, my body is absorbing it's power and has turned me into a Superboy?"

"Got it in one" he said, as he wrestled me to the floor and pinned me for a three count. He let go and changed back to his human form as I lay there still slightly stunned by what had happened.

"And all because I'm British?" I asked sitting up.

"Well" he said, helping me to my feet, "not just because you are British but because of the fact that you want to help people so much. That's just the attitude our people are looking for in a hero. Which reminds me, would you like a sidekick?"

I looked at Mr. Johnson quizzically. "Who" I asked, "would want to be my sidekick?"

Just then the doorbell rang and Mr. Johnson opened the door and there stood Jake. Only he didn't seem to be all there.

"I came as commanded" he said in a monotone and walked into the living room and sat down. I looked at him with concern and could see that he wasn't really there.

"Hypnotised!" smiled Mr. Johnson and explained that I needed someone who could look after himself.

"Well" I said, "I think we can agree on that score, but does that mean he doesn't know what's going on?"

"Indeed he doesn't" said Mr. Johnson and handed me a collection of clothes and asked me to put them on. I did and when I looked in the mirror I had a terrible time not trying to laugh. "These are about three times too big for me!" I smiled

"OOOOOOOOOHHHHHHH!" moaned Mr. Johnson, "JIMJAHAYAH!" and he pointed a finger at me.

Suddenly, I felt as if I'd been struck by lighting as every single part of me exploded with muscle and within seconds the clothes that were three times too big now fitted extremely snugly. As I recovered from the shock, Mr. Johnson snapped his fingers in front of Jake who came to. He shook his head and then looked straight at me.

"Captain Mighty!" he exclaimed, and practically threw himself at my feet, "I've read all your comic books and knew that you were real. Please, sir, I beg you, can I be your sidekick?"

"Yes" I said, and noticing that my voice had dropped several octaves, coughed and said "YES! Us superheroes are always on the look out for new blood. Show me what you can do!"

Jake instantly launched into ten minutes worth of pushups, situps, squats, jumping jacks and finished off with fifty handstand pushups. As he did so, Mr. Johnson explained that Jake had been hypnotised into believing that I was a long standing superhero who had contacted him online about being a superhero's sidekick.

Just then, the television which had been showing cartoons broke into a live news event. Jake was the first to spot it saying "Captain, the people are in danger". Mr. Johnson turned the sound on

"To repeat our breaking news at this hour, police have sealed off the ironworks in downtown after reports of a hostage situation!"

Jake instantly jumped up and made for the door. I stopped him and nodded to Mr. Johnson who hypnotised him again. "If I manage to sort this out" I said, "will that prove to you that I am worthy of your choice?". Mr. Johnson nodded and was just about to bring Jake back when I said "Any chance of him not being quite so deferential?"

Mr. Johnson smiled as he snapped his fingers.

***

"Okay, I agree this is not quite the way I had planned to spend the evening!"

"What was your first clue, Sherlock?" came the reply

"Well, hanging upside down over a blast furnace for starters" I said, "but considering what I was doing 24 hours previously, everything"

"So what do we do now?" asked Jake who was chained to a post.

"That's a very good question" came the reply as the hostage taker revealed himself from the shadows and then glowed bright red. "Because no one can beat me, the Colossus of Khoros" and with that he kicked a lever that sent me plunging into the furnace.

[cutlerfan]

Awesome read so far! Cool choice for his side-kick...nice touch! I am looking forward to more! Peace!

[cutlerfan]

Sorry to nitpick but I think the math answer is incorrect. Great story though! Peace!

[CelticMuscle]

Being a keen fan of science I am a great fan of the Mythbusters programme especially the "Can you do something on a material that you wouldn't expect?" for instance "Can you walk on custard?".

"Well" I thought as I splashed beneath the molten iron in the blast furnace "Can you swim in molten iron?" to which the answer was a "Yes" although I should point out that even though I was able to swim it was more a doggy paddle. And then it suddenly dawned on me, here I was, doing a doggy paddle in molten iron in a blast furnace. I really was a superhero and that's when I realised what I had to do

***

"So, Mr. Hartman" said the Colossus squeezing Jake with all of his strength and causing Jake to go purple, "what do you think of your hero now eh?"

Just then several regular clangs resounded from inside the blast furnace and I burst out covering the floor with molten iron and leapt on the Colossus and wrestled him to the ground.

"You leave my sidekick alone!" I shouted and displaying a rage I never usually have started punching him throwing at least 120 punches a minute. After thirty seconds though, the Colossus started to laugh and was still laughing when he picked me up.

"Insect!" he sneered and threw me against a wall. Using the force I jumped off the wall and punched him right in the stomach. He staggered backwards (which was just as well as I shook my hand in order to regain some feeling) and then charged at me again. I jumped out of the way and taking off my cape decided that if he was going to play a bull then I should help him

"Toro!" I shouted, "Toro!"

The Colossus charged again and I deftly swept my cape over him and shouted "Ole!". The Colossus screeched to a halt and charged again and again he missed me as I jumped out of the way. Having resisted my punches it was clear that he was even stronger than me and that meant I would have to be clever. As he charged past me a third time, that's when it clicked. "More clever!" I thought and with that reattached the cape, stood my ground as the Colossus made a fourth charge at me, closed my eyes and concentrated hard. "Light as a feather" I thought, "Light as a feather"

"Hey, he's rising!" shouted Jake

I gingerly opened an eye and could see that the Colossus was indeed floating a few inches above the ground and as a result had come to a grinding halt. His legs were still running but without any traction he couldn't acclerate. I closed my eyes and concentrated harder than ever before. Slowly but surely, the Colossus floated up, gathering speed and a minute later crashed through the roof and was shooting into space. I opened my eyes and breathed again.

"My hero!" said Jake, shaking me from my relief and I walked over to him and decided that I should at least give him a reward and so snapped the chains holding his arms and legs together which caused him to moan uncontrollably. Thinking I had hurt him, I was rather suprised to see a damp patch appear on his trousers. Chuckling to myself, I picked him up, placed him on my shoulders and ran back to Mr. Johnson's house.

***

"What, Where, When?" asked Jake as he came to

"Woah, don't do that!" I said, now dressed normally again and my own usual size, "When you attempted that 1,000lb bench press, you didn't manage to lock out and the bar came crashing down. It was sheer luck that Captain Mighty was on hand!"

Jake moaned.

"Are you all right, lad?" asked Mr. Johnson

"Man" Jake said, sitting up, "I've just had the most bizarre dream about him. I dreamt that I was his sidekick and that he was fighting a giant red alien and then when he defeated him by sending him into space merely by thinking, he snapped the chains that I was bound with like butter!" and with that he moaned again and a damp patch appeared again.

"There, there!" I said, "it was just a dream that's all!" and helped him up to his feet and out of Mr. Johnson's door. As I closed the door, both myself and Mr. Johnson both burst out laughing.

"Well, Well, Well!" I said, "Who would have thought that the lead quarterback in the school had a thing for superheroes eh?" and with that turned to Mr. Johnson who put on a pair of glasses

"Intelligence: A, Strength: A+, Throwing caution to the wind: A*. In other words, congratulations Mr. Harrison, you are a fully fledged superhero!" and he presented me with a certificate.

"So" I asked, shaking his hand, "does this mean that I have to go to your home planet now and leave my family behind?"

Mr. Johnson took off his glasses and looked at me seriously. "Mr. Harrison" he said, "You have great powers" and then smiled "So how about you use them on Earth for a while, eh? See you tomorrow morning then!"

That evening, I jotted down what happened to me "changing the names of the innocent" I chuckled and posted it on a superhero fan fiction website. Within seconds, I had attracted a hundred fans who comments ranged from "Wow!" to "Captain Might for President!"

"Yep" I chuckled, "Britons can be superheroes!"

[jimboylan]

What about Capt. Might for Prime Minister?

[SmokeMyPole]

Great read so far! Do keep going for everyone's sake. "squeezing Jake with all of his strength and causing Jake to go purple"... Jake's not the only thing turning purple! Ehem, excuse me