[Sam]

Here's the first part of my fan fiction. It stars a small-time criminal name Jack who finds out he has powers, and wha the does with it. I thought I'd just do something a little differently.

_____________________________________


Heroes.

He liked the idea. Then again, he always liked comic books, superhero movies, and all those things his girlfriend kept telling him he was too old for. Screw it. What did she know? She was 25 going on 16, while he was already 29 going on -- what? What was he going on?
Jack snorted.

He was 29 going on 30 years to life.

But that was before he discovered something very special about himself. Not the kind of "special" that would get him a spot in the Special Olympics, mind you. The other kind of special. The kind that gives you power over others.
He wished he could think like those other heroes, the ones he had been hearing about in the news, but of course that was wishful thinking. He wasn't a hero, no matter how many comic books he read, or umpteenth "Fantastic Four" sequel he saw in the theaters.

Jack was a thief. A liar. A con artist. He stole money from the poor and the rich and gave it to himself (although they later went to somebody else, but that's another story altogether). In any case, he was no hero, and he knew it, most of all.

Which made being here, stuck in the middle of a goddamn jewel store robbery, of all things, all the more ironic. Jack had the ability to stop them -- all three of them -- but he didn't have the desire to do so. If anything, he wished he had done what they were doing now -- rob the place. With his powers, he could have.

But that wasn't why Jack had come into the store. He was looking to buy a diamond ring. For his immature girlfriend. Or his immature girlfriend who insists she is mature, to be precise. God bless her she had a lot of faults, but he still loved her. Maybe he was just a softy at heart after all. Maybe he did have what it took to be a hero --

"Get down! On the floor now, dickwad!"

The butt of the gun, crashing into the back of Jack's head, snapped him out of his thoughts. He landed on the floor, right cheek first, and for a moment almost went out completely. But he didn't, and the pain seared through his body.

Damn, Jack thought, this is ironic. How many times have I done this to someone? What was that song by that Morrissete chick…?

The robber ran past Jack's prone body, shotgun waving menacingly in the air at the store employees standing behind glass display cases full of sparkling diamonds and gold bracelets.

"Get out from behind there, now! Are you stupid? Move move move!"

Jack glanced to his right. The second robber, also wearing a ski mask, was smashing the glass displays on the other side of the store, dipping into them with a gloved hand as the first robber kept the employees and customers at bay. The third robber, behind Jack, stood at the door, continually glancing out, as if he expected cops to appear in the street anytime soon.

Dumb****, Jack thought, someone's going to see your masked ass face and call the cops anytime now. These guys are stupid.

Before Jack could look back, the robber who had smashed him in the back of the head came back, saw him looking, and pointed the shotgun down at Jack. Jack glanced up, and could see the man's eyes, as wide as saucers (Oh ****, Jack thought, the ****er's high, too), and his entire face seemingly twitching behind the ski mask.

"What are you doing?" the shotgun-wielding maniac screamed down at him. "Stay the **** still! Are you playing with me? I'm going to blow your ****ing head off --"

Before Jack knew it, before he could think about it, his instincts took over, and his left hand, a half foot from the robber's leg, snaked out and grabbed the man by the ankle. The robber, more stunned than anything, looked down at Jack's hand, gripping his ankle.

"What the f--" he started, but he didn't finish.

The robber screamed as incredible heat seared through his body, originating from his leg. From his angle. From the spot where Jack was gripping him.

Jack pulled his hand back, leaping to his feet, as the robber stumbled away, the shotgun falling from his hands, as flames engulfed him. The other two robbers ran over, guns waving, then stopping dead in their tracks as they watched, wide-eyed and in shock, as their comrade burned before their eyes, falling to his knees, screaming, as fire continued to eat away at him like sentient alien creatures --

The robber crumpled to the floor, his body gone, eaten away by the fire, which now evaporated into the air into mists. Ashes fell and spread as the robber's clothes, and what was left of his ski mask, flopped to the floor.

The two robbers turned in unison in Jack's direction. They stared at him, still too paralyzed by what they saw to do anything.

It took a second before they lift their weapons at Jack --

Oh, crap, Jack thought, as he felt heat flush along his fingers, rising up his hands, licking the air…

[FromHero2Zero]

Dude he's the human torch! Can he fly?

[tobnameless]

Torchey. One of my favs. It is exciting to read and I want some more. I love that he doesn't burst into flames, but others do.

[PeterPorker]

Cool! A heroes perspective from someone who ISN'T a hero!

[Super Ordinary Guy]

Woohoo! When does part 2 come out?

[The_Heroic_Loser]

cool story. I hope Part 2 comes out soon!

[PeterPorker]

Part 2 now!!!!

[Gargy]

Avoid "Special" Olympics references and other such terms as to you offend the developmentally disabled and the people who know them, please.

[Super Ordinary Guy]

Originally Posted by GargylovesWolfy

Avoid "Special" Olympics references and other such terms as to you offend the developmentally disabled and the people who know them, please.

Yeah, I really hate it when people insult me. Sam's writing style was meant to mirror the character that he created, and his character didn't strike me as the politically-correct type. I wasn't offended by his word usage. I say this because I have an older cousin, who's in his 30's, who was born developmentally disabled. Not only this, but my mother is currently suffering from a degenerative neurological disorder called Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP). Her medications are too numerous to mention here. Eventually, it will claim her life. Right now she constantly suffers from double vision, slow and slurred speech, and can't walk more than a few feet without assistance because of problems dealing with her equilibrium. Very often I have trouble understanding what she is trying to convey to me, and if neither my dad nor I are helping her walk she has shown the propensity to fall even when she uses a walker.

Again, I wasn't offended by his word usage. If she was closer to death or had recently passed away, maybe I would be more sensitive, but this is a forum on the internet not some legal document. Even more so, this is a fan fiction section. One can always choose to discontinue reading someone's posts in this area if they prove to be displeasing. More so, Sam warned readers in the post headline that strong language would be used. If anything, he was warning individuals that if they are sensitive to such language to avoid his post.

Now, maybe I have to undergo sensitivity training, but everyday I get to watch my mother slowly fade away just a bit further. I am learning a lot from this experience, and one such thing is that if someone insults my mother I will be extremely angry. It isn’t her fault she is like this, just as it isn’t my cousin’s fault. But in the end, I am where I need to be. And the only thing that truly matters is family. What anybody says doesn’t mean a hill of beans. If someone insults my mother, then they prove to be the true idiot. I am vengeful enough not to enlighten them mentally.

I have no such feelings for Sam. In my mind, he has done nothing wrong. To me, it was a perfectly harmless phrase. Sam made NO comments about “special people” as to their worthiness as human beings. Sometimes, small slights just need to be let go. I could not function in this world if I reacted to every slight I perceive (And believe me, I can see them in everything). If she wasn’t sleeping right now, I would ask my mother, but I can already guess her answer.


http://www.psp.org/

[Gargy]

Originally Posted by Super Ordinary Guy

Yeah, I really hate it when people insult me. Sam's writing style was meant to mirror the character that he created, and his character didn't strike me as the politically-correct type. I wasn't offended by his word usage. I say this because I have an older cousin, who's in his 30's, who was born developmentally disabled. Not only this, but my mother is currently suffering from a degenerative neurological disorder called Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP). Her medications are too numerous to mention here. Eventually, it will claim her life. Right now she constantly suffers from double vision, slow and slurred speech, and can't walk more than a few feet without assistance because of problems dealing with her equilibrium. Very often I have trouble understanding what she is trying to convey to me, and if neither my dad nor I are helping her walk she has shown the propensity to fall even when she uses a walker.

Again, I wasn't offended by his word usage. If she was closer to death or had recently passed away, maybe I would be more sensitive, but this is a forum on the internet not some legal document. Even more so, this is a fan fiction section. One can always choose to discontinue reading someone's posts in this area if they prove to be displeasing. More so, Sam warned readers in the post headline that strong language would be used. If anything, he was warning individuals that if they are sensitive to such language to avoid his post.

Now, maybe I have to undergo sensitivity training, but everyday I get to watch my mother slowly fade away just a bit further. I am learning a lot from this experience, and one such thing is that if someone insults my mother I will be extremely angry. It isn’t her fault she is like this, just as it isn’t my cousin’s fault. But in the end, I am where I need to be. And the only thing that truly matters is family. What anybody says doesn’t mean a hill of beans. If someone insults my mother, then they prove to be the true idiot. I am vengeful enough not to enlighten them mentally.

I have no such feelings for Sam. In my mind, he has done nothing wrong. To me, it was a perfectly harmless phrase. Sam made NO comments about “special people” as to their worthiness as human beings. Sometimes, small slights just need to be let go. I could not function in this world if I reacted to every slight I perceive (And believe me, I can see them in everything). If she wasn’t sleeping right now, I would ask my mother, but I can already guess her answer.


http://www.psp.org/

Well, your mother (I don't know about your cousin, so I don't presume to speak for them) is NOT Down Syndromed......my wife's older sister is Down's...........and I know what my wife has told me about how people have treated her sister, how she feels about people staring at her sister, how their baby brother is an a**hole who can't stand to be around his big sister in public because he's embarrased by her..........and being called a mongolided to my face (by someone who would cheat off me, nonetheless) and people assuming things about me..........because of my speech-impediment.............AND how to this day "What?" (when someone either didn't hear me right or didn't hear me at all)...........still causes frustration, anger, and old scars to never heal for me............therefore, I have every right to ask, expect, and DEMAND that phrases like "He must've just gotten off the SHORT bus", "........It's like running in the Special Olympics. You might win a medal, but you are still retarded." Those type things are degrading and rude.........towards people who can not help being mentally retarded...........and besides, the word "retarded" is and has been so mis-used in so many types of entertainment that it is way too acceptable..........so, yeah I am speakin' out about it. Which FYI: is my God-given right, too!! :shock: