Chapter 16“You hungry, son?” Thomas called out to his son.Joshua heard his father’s words. They came to him as if through a fog, distant to him, carried on the wind. He was sitting in a lounge chair in the backyard dosing, just on the edge of genuine sleep. He was supposed to be reading a novel. At long last he was finally getting around to Stephen King’s The Gunslinger. However, he had put the book down and lapsed into daydreaming. The book was so far great, intriguing, just the kind of thing he liked. It was just that he was really tired, not so much physically as mentally. His reality of late had clearly outstripped the fantasy of the book, indeed life was now much stranger than fiction.“Josh, you hear me?”“Yes, dad.” He sat up, and looked back.“You alright? It’s pretty cold out here.”“It’s a nice day. I’ve got a sweater on.”“It’s almost night, Josh. The sun is going down.”“I know. I want to watch.”His father stood at the back door, hands at his waist. He eyed his boy critically. He was clearly worried.Josh got up from the lounge chair. “I’m fine, Dad. I’m just chillin’. I’ll be in in a minute.”“You’re not hungry? I’m fixing an A-Town special for dinner.”Josh smiled sheepishly. “I’m really not hungry Dad.”“You haven’t eaten since before the game. What was that, lunch?”“Dad, please.”“Okay, okay.” Thomas said, waving a weary hand at his son. He turned to go back inside, but paused. “Oh, and Deke called about an hour ago. He said you weren’t going to the celebration party tonight.”“Nothing to celebrate. We lost, remember?“I remember, son.”“Besides, I figured the last thing you and Mom would want is for me to go to a teen blowout.”His father chuckled. “It’s not a teen blowout. It’s a heavily chaperoned party at the school. You have a lot to celebrate. Josh, the Vikings had a stellar year.”“I know, I know. I’d just rather stay home tonight.”They looked at each other, father and son. One knowing the other wanted nothing but the best for him, even when it came to having fun, indulging the teen spirit; the other working to hide his concern, he knew his boy, and of late, said boy had been keeping something from him. Of course, Thomas know this was typical teen behavior. He remembered being a teen. Still, that didn’t mean he had to like it. It clearly picked at some nerve inside, some special parent sense. He did not like it at all. It made him … worry.“Okay, Josh. The pizza will be ready soon. When you’re finished out here, do the old man a favor and come try a piece.”Josh smiled. “Sure, Dad.”Thomas went back in the house. Josh watched, as his father shut the door behind him. He loved his old man, but he couldn’t share with him the secrets running around his head. No, he definitely could not do that. He turned his attention back the yard, and the view beyond. He raised his eyes to the tree line and the horizon. The sun was slowly slipping, vanishing below, giving tomorrow to the other side of the world, and relegating him to the twilight. Josh sighed, the waning daylight made him feel melancholy as the memory of last night danced through his head, fresh as if it was truly just of the moment.The first drive had been tremendously successful. They covered forty-five yards on the first play, Viking Fire Left. From there, it all went downhill. The Vikings had dug deep, pushing for the endzone. The Lions dug deeper. Their defense seemed to find new reservoirs of strength. Josh did as he was told. The plays were called from the sidelines, two running plays and a pass to the tight-end. The Lions stopped the run cold. The pass to Steven Sanders was good for a first down. The next play called was a bootleg. Josh faked the handoff and swung wide, running around Steven, looking for an open receiver. When he didn’t find one, he ran. And as he ran, the Lions swarmed him. He could have easily avoided them all, but he let them come. They hit him, and he felt nothing. They dragged him to the ground, and he could have laughed, thinking, I could toss them like rag dolls.The time on the clock was running down to zero.Another play, a short pass, no joy. In the huddle, Josh relayed what would be the last play of the game. His arm, the ball, and his wide receiver, another Viking Fire Left. As they formed up on the line of scrimmage, Josh felt himself wanting to leave his pledge behind, to win this game for his teammates, his friends, his school. He could do it easily.As the center hiked the ball, he felt his emotions run high, and in that instant, the world began to slow down. His eyes went wide with sudden shock. He had felt things slow down before, everyone had, but this was ridiculous. He took a deep breath and got himself together. He was still in the game. He stepped back into the pocket and stood still. He knew exactly what was happening to him. It was straight out of the comic books, except it was real. His was thinking at an accelerated rate, and probably moving just as fast. He stood motionless, and watched as the play unfolded in slow motion. He cocked his hand back to throw, and he wondered if to everyone else, he looked like a blur.Stop it now.The world quickly picked up speed around him, returning to normal. With strength and skill he forced himself to conform, to throw the ball just as he would before things changed, before his incredible rebirth. He threw the ball, just ahead of his intended receiver. He could have thrown it straight as a laser into the receiver’s chest, but it would have been too fast, too accurate. Still, the timing was almost perfect. Hands were extended. The ball was there, fingers touched cowhide, hands grasped the ball, but only for a moment. It was wet, it bounced, the ball slipped threw the hands, past the receiver, into the sidelines. On the scoreboard, the time remaining to play was zero.It was over.Josh felt the weight of the stadium on his shoulders. He could feel the crowd’s disappointment. He felt he owned this loss, this failure. While the Lions celebrated on one side of the field, on the other the Vikings choked on the bitter taste of defeat. That is until Coach Barnes rallied his young players around him. With the strength and emotion of his words Coach put steel back into their weary spines, and fire back into their spirits.“Get over here, gather round,” Coach said. “I want you boys to listen, and listen good. It ain’t over. It ain’t over by a damn sight.”Coach’s curse words were heartfelt. The boys were a bit surprised, but they understood.“No. It ain’t over. Not for this team, no way. Boys, you were outstanding tonight. You were on fire dammit! We just weren’t meant to win this one, and that’s okay. To my seniors, remember this night always, and know that it was worth it. Now put your hands in the center. Give a Viking yell, and let’s go over there and congratulate the Lions. We made ‘em earn it!”It wasn’t the actual words that were powerful, but rather the way Coach spoke. It made them all feel better about themselves, about being winners even though they lost. For the seniors, it was about still being winners, even in the face of a loss, and remembering and cherishing the moment for all time. For the rest, it was about the possibilities next year. The Vikings actually left the field smiling, infecting the crowd with their positive energy. People began yelling wait next year, wait next year, wait next year!Josh didn’t feel so bad about it. No one, not a single person, seemed willing to blame him, blame anyone. They had all lost together, and actually felt good about it, that tomorrow was most certainly going to be a better day. It helped, but it wasn’t enough, Josh had his own demons to wrestle. He was once again questioning himself. He didn’t know if he could still play, or a more honest question was should he still play.The question gnawed at him, depressed him. Some of his teammates, most especially the seniors, partied last night after the game. Josh knew he couldn’t participate. His mother and father were waiting for him at home. He considered that for a moment. On a Friday, he couldn’t, or rather out of respect and what was expected, chose to not hang out with his team. He knew his behavior was odd, even though no one would tell him so outright. Had he wanted to go? Part of him said yes. Still, there were those demons.Now, Saturday night was here, and the school had actually decided to have a championship celebration. Yes, a championship celebration. Even though the Vikings weren’t champions, the school still honored its team. Josh just couldn’t bring himself to attend. He wasn’t in the mood. He was thinking about too much at once, and there was no room for anything else. Plus he had a bit of an upset stomach.“Joshua Raphael Champion!” He heard his mother say behind him. “You get in this house and get something to eat. You haven’t eaten all day.”Josh smiled. Sometimes, his mother’s sternness filled him with love. She always looked after him. “I’m coming mom.”He had stood outside long enough. He turned and walked towards the house, giving his mother a kiss on the cheek as he walked inside.“I know it’s junk food,” she said. “But it’s something.”“Hey,” his father said, feigning hurt. “I made this.”“I’m sorry sweetheart. I love you, but it’s still junk food.”“Woman, you better watch your mouth.”She walked over to her husband and kissed him on the lips. Thomas Champion wrapped his strong arms around her and hugged her tightly. Josh smiled as he watched his parent’s banter. Their love always seemed fresh. In a time when he knew too many kids living in single parent homes, he felt blessed to see and know the strength of his parent’s love.He looked at the slice of pizza his father had put in front of him. He wasn’t hungry, but he picked up the slice and bit into it anyway. It was delicious. He really wasn’t hungry, but he knew he would probably have to eat three more slices before his mother was fully satisfied. He ate faster.It was one-thirty in the morning. Josh was lying in his bed trying to go to sleep. He wasn’t being very successful. He put his hand on his belly and rubbed it slowly. The slight discomfort he was feeling had been steadily growing since he ate the slices of pizza. However, the pain wasn’t conventional. He knew better than to blame it on the food. It was like nothing he had ever felt, rays of acute pain, like lightning strikes radiating form his stomach to the extremities of his body. He could even feel it in his toes. It was striking with increased regularity. Luckily, it wasn’t totally debilitating. He was trying to ignore it.He thought about school. He thought about his friends. He thought about football. He thought about Julia. Julia Mitchell was never far away in his thoughts. Considering everything else he had to deal with, it was amazing he thought about her at all. But he couldn’t help himself. And now, he had questions about her as well. They had never officially said they were boyfriend and girlfriend. They had simply settled into their relationship. He knew she liked him for who he truly was, a geek made cool by an instinctual ability to play football.Josh was lucky and he knew it.But now he had to toss luck out the window. His blessings had vanished. Since the accident, he was something else. On that point, his emotions were mixed.Suddenly, the pain in his stomach flared up. It felt like firebomb had exploded in his belly. Hit bit his bottom lip to keep from screaming out loud. The pain intensified. It felt a furnace, a sun in his stomach. He couldn’t hold it in. It was too much. He folded himself into a fetal position and tried to scream, but nothing would come out. His mouth was wide. He tried to force out a sound. Nothing. He felt sweat popping off his forehead. He closed his eyes tight and stopped breathing. Is this it, am I dying?No, you are not dying.Josh heard the voice in his head. It echoed, reverberating inside his skull. It seemed to affect him, soothe him. He recognized it.“Yes, Joshua. It’s me.”Josh opened his eyes, and looked across the room. Sitting at his desk was Ean, the Sfresonal god. His so-called Father in Power. He was wearing cargo shorts, and a t-shirt. He looked, normal.“I’ve been exploring your world. I find it to be fascinating, in all its glorious simplicity.”Ean had spoken out loud, not in his head. He looked, sounded normal, behaved like a normal human being. He even laughed.“Indeed Joshua,” he said with a smile. “I am what I need to be, within certain boundaries.”Another wave of pain wracked Joshua and he folded in on himself, his eyes shut tight.“It is called the culling,” Ean said, his soothing voice seemed to carry a material quality, like an invisible wave of force washing over Josh, easing his great pain. “It is a necessary thing. It will pass quickly.”Culling? Josh knew what the word meant, but he could not apply it to the pain he was feeling.“As you have noticed, your powers have been developing. You are becoming accustomed to who, and what you are, but the body still naturally resists the change, mentally, and physically. This resistance fuels doubt. You will still question yourself, for that is the nature of being, but physically, your body will know itself instinctually. It will know how to do what you command it to do.”It hurts! Josh screamed in his head.Ean got up and stood over him, still smiling. Josh looked up. He wanted to yell at him.“It will pass. And when it does, come join me outside.”And with that, the Sfresonal vanished. Josh was alone. Another wave of pain wracked his body. He was drenched, a wet mess wallowing in pain. His whole body was shaking. His opened his eyes wide, gritted his teeth, and just when he thought he couldn’t take it anymore … it was over. The pain was gone.Josh jumped up from the bed. He blinked, looking around the room. Everything seemed so vivid, so much more real then normal. Colors were brighter, objects clearer, the differences seemed more distinctive. He took a deep breath and smiled. He had never in his life felt so good. Then, he remembered, Ean.Josh slowly opened his door and peeked into the hall. The door to his parents’ room was closed. All was quiet. He closed his door and got dressed. He put on black jeans, a hooded blue sweater, and his boots. He thought about creeping down the stairs to the front door, but changed his mind. The window in his room was on the second floor. It wasn’t tied into the alarm system. He opened the window. He could see Ean in the backyard. The Sfresonal gestured to him, urging him to come down. Josh stepped on the windowsill, and leapt out the window. He fell about eight feet, and found himself slowing down. He realized, slowing down as he fell, was exactly what he had been thinking about doing.“Yes,” he heard Ean say. “It doesn’t take much effort.”Josh floated the remaining feet to the ground, landing on his feet effortlessly.“Nicely done,” said Ean. “You’ll find out you’re capable of far more.”Josh was at a loss for words. He didn’t quite know what to say. He still had his doubts.Ean chuckled. “Your doubt will pass. Be ready Champion. For tonight is your coming out night. I have toured this world of yours, and I have come to understand what might have drawn the power to it, and to you. Each world in the universe is full of possibilities, each one infinitely interesting in its own right. However, I sense immensities around this little blue orb, future possibilities that may very well determine the destiny of the cosmos. As such, it is appropriate that you be born to power.Josh shook his head. “What in the world are you talking about?”Ean smiled. “Nothing, forget I said it. Listen, tonight you will get to know yourself. Doubt will give way to curiosity. In a few moments I will be gone, and you will … try.”“I will try?”“Yes, you will, and you will be successful. Out there, in the city,” Ean pointed over the house, towards downtown, “there is a person waiting to meet you.”“Meet me? How, why? I don’t understand.”“Yes you do, Champion. Test yourself, begin to push the limit. It’s what you’ve wanted. It’s what you’ve wondered about. Your body is ready. You are ready, to a certain extent. Go out there. Begin to be who you are destined to be.Josh blinked and Ean was gone. He was alone, with the cold night air, and the moonlight. He looked up at the moon and thought about how far away it was. He wondered, can I touch it? He felt butterflies in his stomach. He was nervous. A smile began to spread across his face, as he thought about what he wanted to do. He questioned, but he did not doubt, he decided, and then he exerted his will.He began to rise.It was unto nothing, no more than deciding to actually do it. His eyes were wide. His mouth hung open as he floated higher. Shouldn’t his be harder?He stopped, hovering just above his house. He felt as though he had been born to do this. He realized he had perfect control of his body. Ean was right, he could see himself in his ability doing things, wielding his power, energies that were totally alien to him, and anything in his experience, save what he read in comic books. He looked at his fist, and concentrated. It began to glow a subtle yellow.“Whoa!”He drifted to the left, startled by the power in his hand. The glow quickly vanished as he righted himself.“This is incredible. I, I can’t believe it.”He looked around. He was actually floating. He drifted forward. He didn’t realize it, but there was a glimmer in his eye, to match his smile. He slowly raised his arms and hands, putting them out in front of him.“I can fly.”He thought of himself flying forward. He willed it. And that’s exactly what happened. He took off over the trees.“I CAN FLY!”Joshua Champion laughed as he flew. The feeling was indescribable. He loved it. He looked down. He had flown over several neighborhoods, and now was above a sprawling expanse of new construction. He had seen it before, on the ground from a car. It was called Gilded Forest. A big yellow bulldozer was sitting silent. He considered it, and decided to land. The bulldozer presented an opportunity for him to test himself.Launching himself into the air had been a simple thing. Now he wondered if landing might be the same. He thought about it, willed it, and it was. He just aimed down, oriented his feet to the ground, slowed down, and touched down on the earth gingerly. He didn’t even have to bend his knees.“OH MY GOD!”He laughed out loud, holding his stomach, and turned in circles. “That, that was just incredible. I can’t believe I just did that.“He paused and took a deep breath.“Ean!” He called. “Ean, are you out there? Can you hear me?”There was no answer. He wanted to talk to him, to talk to someone about what he had just experienced. He had flown, just like a bird, no not exactly like a bird. He didn’t have wings, and didn’t need them. He was full of himself, full of excitement. He looked at the bulldozer. Just how strong am I?A catalogue of skills flashed through his mind. It was all a jumble. He didn’t have a strong grip on what he could, or couldn’t do, not yet. However, he was fairly certain that the bulldozer would be like a Tonka toy. He decided to test his theory.He walked over to the bulldozer and placed his hand on it. He pushed. The bulldozer moved forward. He pushed harder, and the bulldozer slid forward.“This is just too much,” he said to himself. “I, I just can’t believe it.”He looked at the bulldozer, sitting there about two yards ahead of him. Again he wondered. He took a deep breath, and decided to go for the limit. He walked over to the bulldozer, bent down, shoved his hands under it, and heaved. The bulldozer moved without any resistance. Josh worked his hands under it, gaining enough leverage to heave it upward. It was like lifting a pillow. He raised the bulldozer high above his head, and just stood there.“Unbelievable! Un-freakin’ believable!”He carefully put the bulldozer back on the ground. He thought it might be amusing to leave it where he put it down, about five yards from where it was parked by the construction workers. He enjoyed the idea of a little mystery and mischief.“Now, what else should I try?”He looked around the developing subdivision. He didn’t want to destroy any property. He really didn’t want to harm the natural surroundings either. An idea flashed in his head.“I’ll help.”On the other side of the road was a huge boulder, a piece of granite sitting in the middle of what was obviously going to be a new lot. There was a series of things he wanted to try, exotic superhuman things, powerful skills that in his mind he was certain he could do. It was like knowing how to walk, run, jump, or eat. He simply knew what he could do. He had to put these skills to the test.The boulder was huge. And there were so many ways to go about this. He decided to scorch it first. He concentrated, and wide beams of bright red light flashed from his eyes. It was like hitting the boulder with two spotlights. However, the beams were a bit wide. The boulder turned black, but so did the trees beyond.“Oh, oh, oh man!”Josh shut off his eyes, and stared. The boulder was simply smoking, but the trees were beginning to burn.“What do I do?”He was getting frantic. He raised his hand, and instinctively reached out with his mind. The flames were instantly snuffed out, starved of oxygen, as though an invisible hand had reached around them and closed off the flame from its supply of air. With a few of the trees he had been too forceful, they snapped, the broken half floating in mid-air.“Whoa.”He lowered his hand, and the trees fell to the ground.“Unbelievable,” he whispered. “Telekinesis. But like with the eyes, I have to work on control.”He once more set his sights on the boulder. This time he concentrated on making a refined beam. He looked at the boulders centerline, furrowed his eyebrows, and concentrated. Two focused beams of light, like lasers, shot forth from his eyes, and struck the boulder. Josh slowly moved his eyebeams downward, until they reached the bottom.The boulder still appeared whole, which was what Josh wanted. He had struck the boulder at its top, leaving a piece of it still connected. If he had started cutting above the boulder, he would have cut and burned even more trees. He didn’t push the beams too hard. He didn’t want to cut completely through the rock for the same reason.He walked up to the boulder, and looked at the line he had created. He shoved his thumbs in with little to no effort, and pried the two halves apart. It was like holding two halves of a grapefruit.“This is just ridiculous.”He squeezed, gripping both halves of the boulder securely. He looked up, and tossed the half in his right hand into the air, quickly followed by the half in his left.“Boulders. I’m tossing boulders in the air like paper wads.”The stones flew high, climbing as if propelled by rockets. Josh concentrated. His hands began to glow. He could feel raw energy building from within, as though he were tapping into a fountain. He looked at his hands, they glowed bright yellow. He shaped them into fists, and looked up.The stones had reached the apex of their flight, and were coming back down to earth. He raised his hands, first his right, and then his left. He pushed the energy out, right, and then left. Pulses of super heated plasma shot into the air. His arms recoiled, like cannons firing. The oblong pulses of energy flew with tremendous speed, colliding with the boulders. The night sky was suddenly ablaze as the stones were reduced to dust. The explosions were high in the air. They sounded like fireworks. This subdivision was empty, but the one next door was not.“Whoa! That was kind of loud. I think it’s time I jetted.” He looked at his hands. They were back to normal. “Jetted.” He chuckled. “And I guess I mean that literally.”He jumped, and didn’t come back down. Instead, he gracefully shot into the air, his arms at his side. His theories were proven to be fact. He had experimented with some of his power. It was enough for one night, but he wasn’t quite ready to go home. He looked north, at the spires of downtown Atlanta. He smiled, put his hands out in front, and flew towards the city lights.He glided high over the trees, reveling in his ability to fly. The towers were up ahead, steadily getting closer. He looked down. He had come quite a long way in just a short time. He was crossing over Cascade Road, just below West End. He had traveled in this direction more times then he could remember, by car. Whether riding up Cascade, or on Interstate 20, it had always taken far longer. Obviously the shortest distance between two points is indeed a straight line.Josh reached out with his senses. He watched the old houses pass below him. He slowed when he was over a gas station. He felt something. A Cadillac was parked at the station. Its engine was running. A man was sitting in the drivers seat gesturing towards the station. He listened, and heard everything clearly. He concentrated his eyes on the gas station. It was like a window opening through the roof. He could see inside.“Come on!” Yelled the man in the car. “Let’s go!”The other man was still inside the gas station. He had a gun pointed at the attendant, who was busy taking money out of the register and putting it in a paper bag.“Hurry up!” Said the man with the gun. “Man, if you don’t get that money in the bag on the quickfast, I’m a make sure your momma won’t recognize you by blowin’ a hole in your face! Now move!”“I’m moving as fast as I can,” said the attendant, stuffing the last bit of cash in the bag. “Here, take it.”Josh had heard enough. There wasn’t even a moment’s hesitation. He descended, landing between the car and the door to the station. He looked back at the man in the car. His mouth hung upon, and his eyes were wide with bewilderment.“What the f…”Champion looked at him and held a finger to his lips, “Shhhh.”The robber in the gas station burst out the front door, and came to an abrupt halt when he saw Champion.“What the hell. Get outta my way kid!”Champion shook his head. “I don’t think so.”The robber pointed his gun at Champion’s face. “You brought this on yourself.”Before the robber could pull the trigger, Champion moved forward, and pushed him. The robber flew backwards, flipping over twice before hitting the glass door of the station, shattering it. He fell to the ground, apparently unconscious. Champion wondered if he had pushed him too hard. He then heard the screech of tires behind him. He turned to see the driver of the Cadillac speeding away.“Oh no you don’t,” said Champion.He took a few steps forward, and reached out with his hand, his palm facing upward. In his mind, he imagined he was holding the speeding car. Down the street, it came to an abrupt halt, its tires screaming against the pavement. Josh moved his hand back slowly, and the car followed suit, as though an invisible chain were pulling it back towards the station. As soon as the car was out of the street, Champion began to close his hand. The metal of the car began to grind, then compress. The man inside was screaming. Champion’s eyes were wide as he watched in amazement at what he was doing. He imagined the car being in his hand and crushing it, and just beyond, the car was indeed being ground into a ball of metal, with the man still inside.A fresh wave of shrieking brought this fact home for him. There is a living man inside. Something in his mind clicked, and he immediately let go.He was suddenly appalled by his power. The Cadillac wasn’t completely crushed, but it wasn’t going anywhere either. He stared, peering into the crumpled car with his vision, looking through the twisted metal, at the man inside. He was pressed close to the steering wheel, but he didn’t appear to be hurt. Champion looked harder, into the man, and saw a mass of human organs. He had received an A in biology but looking into this man was very complicated. He refined his vision, creating contrast. The man’s major organs appeared to be intact. He was going to be fine. However, the authorities would have to call the fire department to get him out. This job called for the Jaws of Life.Suddenly, Champion felt a tickling sensation on his back, and a loud bang. He had seen enough television to know what it was, but why was his back tingling. He turned, and touched himself at the same time. Yes, the robber was awake, standing, and firing, the gun, at him.“Holy,” Champion whispered. “What the…”The robber was still shooting. Champion instinctively raised his arms and hands. However, it wasn’t necessary. Now that he faced him, knew what he was up against, he concentrated on not being hurt by the bullets, and suddenly, even the tickling vanished. The robber fired until the clip was empty. He dropped his gun and stood there, staring at Champion in disbelief.“What are you?”Champion stood in silence. So many words rushed through his mind, witty comebacks that might sound cool, but were in reality wholly inappropriate. He could only think of one thing that seemed right. He waved the back of his hand at the robber, as though he were slapping him. The robber flipped over, as though struck by an invisible hand, which in fact he had been.Champion looked around, observing what he had done. The metal form the Cadillac was creaking. The man inside was whimpering. The other robber was on the ground, unconscious … again. Champion heard the attendant walk out of the station.“I called the police,” he said. “They should be here in a minute.”Champion didn’t turn to look at him. He didn’t want him to see his face.“I don’t know who you are, or what you are. Frankly, I think I must be crazy. I saw what you did, and it was, it was unbelievable. And, I … I just want to say thank you.”“You’re welcome,” Champion said.Suddenly the sound of police sirens could be heard in the distance.“You might want to leave,” said the attendant.Champion smiled. He wanted to see the man, to look him in the face. “What are you going to tell them?”The attendant chuckled. “About what? I was hiding behind the counter. I came out here, and this is what I saw.”Champion nodded. “Thanks.”“No, thank you.”It was time to leave. The attendant was right. He didn’t need to be here when the police arrived. Also, he was suddenly very tired. If he didn’t get home soon, he might wind up falling asleep on the pavement. He took a step forward, and launched himself into the air. Behind him he heard the attendant whoop at the sight of a man, or boy, who could fly.Champion didn’t blame him. He felt he would have done the same thing. He looked back over his shoulder, and thought, what a unique view. No one had ever slowly flown away under their own power, and looked back over their shoulder at someone … at least that’s what he believed.He picked up speed, flying south, flying home. He was feeling exhausted. All he wanted to do now was climb into his bed, and forget.Joshua woke up the next afternoon. He opened his eyes and looked around the room. He was in his bed, in t-shirt and underwear. He vaguely remembered his mother coming into his room this morning, asking him if he was going to church. He was surprised she hadn’t been more insistent. He must have looked just as tired as he felt.Guess using my powers takes a lot out of me.He listened to the sounds of the house, listened far better than he ever had before, or could have for that matter. He was alone. He got up from the bed and grabbed the remote to his television. He switched it on as he walked to the closet.Inside, was the sweater he wore last night. He picked it up, and looked at the back and front. The back had holes in it. The front did not, almost as if when he willed himself not to feel the bullets, which was after the first few struck him in the back, his clothes became protected to. Josh shook his head in disbelief. He had been shot last night, and he was still alive. Which, of course, should have been no more surprising than the fact that he had flown to the spot where had been shot. Still, he found it all very hard to believe. It was at this moment he noticed what was playing on the television.He slowly turned. It was the news.“Incredible.”He dropped the sweater and moved closer to the TV. He looked at the bottom of the screen. This was a replay, which explained why it was night on the television. The news correspondent was standing at the very same gas station he visited last night. And behind her, he could see the car he crushed. Firemen were busy prying the man out. He turned up the volume.“The gas station attendant says he has no idea how this happened. All he knows for sure is that these were the men who attempted to rob him. He has no idea what happened outside. Strangely enough, despite the horrific appearance of the car, the man inside appears unharmed. The other alleged perpetrator seems to be far worse for wear. Both seem to be in an incoherent state. Apparently, they believe a flying teenager did this to them.”Josh quickly muted the volume. He didn’t want to hear anymore. He walked over and looked at himself in the mirror. He didn’t know what to think. Last night had been real, very real. He had done those things. He had stopped a crime. He felt butterflies in his belly. He stared at himself, feeling just a bit nervous. Slowly, slowly, a smile began to spread across his face. It was true.He was a bona fide superhero.
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