Trainee Superhero (Book One) (10 page)

The second weapon was a bomb. We weren’t even
sure that it could pierce the saucer’s shields.

One temperamental suit, and one bomb that
might not work. They were crude and ungainly things to carry the
Earth’s future, but they were all we had.

We only had a week to practice in the suit.
There were two of us who were best. I was one, and the other was an
older Japanese man, a good friend and a fine leader. He was better
than me, in my estimation, but I was younger and I think my
superiors valued that. I was also alone in the world, having lost
my parents and siblings two years before. That probably played a
part, too. They knew I wanted to kill saucers.

Whatever the reasons, I was chosen to carry
the bomb.

The most powerful people in the world
gathered to see me off. It was strange to see such unity; I could
still remember the wars and arguments that had dominated the world
before the saucers had arrived.

I was introduced to a lot of people, a sea of
faces awash with hope and fear. The only one I remember was Marshal
Smith’s young son. I had heard that the boy had taken a lot of
interest in the superhero suits, but so had everyone. I remember
him because he was the only calm face I met, and he had intense
eyes that seemed to pierce right into my soul.

He was shorter than I expected; a lot of
people were dismissive of him because of his stature, but I thought
he had more fire in his heart than most.

“I believe in you,” he said, “you’ve got
this. Set?”

I didn’t want to let him down.

They filmed me in my suit. It was a live
transmission to all parts of the world still capable of receiving
it. Think about that: the whole world, every person, was depending
on me. I could only think of my dead family, and how surprised they
would have been to see their rebellious daughter saluted by the
president. I was given flowers and medals and then I was loaded
into a modified stealth bomber.

It was a relief to be away, really.

I was in the bomber for an hour. I sat in
silence with the bomb across my knees and the whole world resting
on my shoulders. I was set.

It wasn’t a graceful exit; the bomber was hit
hard before it reached the saucer. The pilots only managed to keep
it together long enough for me to escape before they spiraled out
of control. The crew died, but their courage meant I survived. I
dropped through the clouds and right onto the biggest saucer I have
ever seen.

It was big, too big for the bomb.

I could see helicopters in the distance. They
would be watching me, radioing my progress to the world. We knew
that many of the helicopters would be destroyed, but their loss was
considered acceptable. The world was burning, and the U.N. was of
the opinion that my success would give people the hope they so
badly needed.

And if I failed? If I failed, the world was
lost. It no longer mattered if people knew that.

That’s how desperate we had become.

I don’t know how I made it through the
saucer’s defenses. I shouldn’t have, but perhaps Earth was overdue
some luck. I was in a bad way when I landed, but I could still
move. I crawled along the saucer’s hull, a trail of blood marking
my path, until I found what I could only pray was a weak spot. The
saucer’s creatures found me there, so I planted the bomb and then
used the last of my strength to draw them away.

My vision was blurry by then, but I saw the
saucer explode into plumes of glorious flame behind me. I whooped
with pleasure, and the whole world celebrated with me. My victory
was the world’s victory.

But my luck ran out as a piece of the
exploding saucer caught me in the chest and threw me through the
air. It didn’t matter; I had seen the job through.

Now I’m falling through the sky towards the
ocean below, and there is no one to save me.

I hope those who follow me work in teams. I
hope they have better shields, better weapons, better training. I
hope that some of them survive their first mission.

I know they will.

I was
The First
superhero, but I won’t
be the last.

Next time in
‘Trainee Superhero’…

Superheroes die, strange new aliens appear,
Tenchi makes a re-appearance and the
Cerberus
Brawlers
go fishing with a rocket-powered harpoon gun!

If you are enjoying this series, please tell
your friends about it or tell the whole world by leaving a review…
it would really make my day! You can also email me at c.h.aalberry
(at) gmail.com and let me know what you think of my work. If you
send me the name and a short back story for an original superhero
serving with the
Cerberus
Brawlers
, I’ll try to
include it in the next part I write.

About the
Author

C.H. Aalberry wasn’t allowed to buy or even
read comic books until he turned sixteen. He still did, of course,
because comics are great. He has also written a few books you might
like:

‘
The Origami Dragon And Other Tales
’,
a collection of thirteen sci-fi and fantasy short stories.

‘
200 Shorter Stories
’ a collection of
punchy (very) short stories in every genre.

‘
Zo And The Impossible Gardens
’ for
younger readers and lovers of sci-fi mysteries.

‘
Wish: An Epic Adventure of Magic and
Mayhem!
’ for younger readers and lovers of Fantasy

Lesson One: Get Used To Dying

Lesson Two: No One Cares What You
Think

Lesson Three: Don’t Get
Distracted

Lesson Four: The More You Sweat In Training,
The Less You Bleed In Battle

Lesson Five Lesson Five: You Are Terrible At
(Almost) Everything

Backstory One

Next Time In ‘
Trainee Superhero
’

About The Author