By G.P. Avants

 Okay, right off I am a superhero fan. Spiderman is my favorite hero because is an everyday man, doesn’t have a lot, but he is these superpowers thrust upon him. Talk about a hero for the underdog, right? We have seen him for ages in comic books, early TV shows, and how he has had at least three incarnations in the movies. 

I am excited about the influx of superhero movies that have hit us in a great deluge. Marvel has really lived up to its name. I never was an Avengers fan, but now introduced to the universe, I am hooked.  I grew up with DC and the Justice League. I knew Superman, Batman, Aquaman, Wonder Women, etc. very well. I think it will take a while, however, the Justice League will have its time in the sun as well. 

Every hero needs a team. They become more than the sum of their parts. Superman, no matter how powerful he is, does have a weakness that can destroy him. The other on his team can fight when he can’t and are strong when he isn’t. So, everyone needs to be part of a team.

In my story Chronolocity: A Fistful of Chronotons, Levy realizes a few things about heroes. As an inventor he relates more with Iron Man because of his mechanical abilities and totally neeks out when he encounters future technology at his fingertips. 

******

“How long did it take to build all of this?” Levy eagerly beams. “This place is huge!” His voice echoes. “Sorry,” he whispers.

Mr. Cross snaps back into the role of a friendly tour guide. “The Chronosphere took only a few months to synthesize. Once you are able to get the Chronotons to accept your matrix, they make quick work of building the basic construct.”

“What?”

“Chronotons are very active and highly resistant to modern technology. That is why we chose to construct here,” Mr. Cross explains. “Less stress on the design process and in many ways cheaper and less convoluted by foreign technology.”

“Okay.” Levy opens his hands. “I have no idea what you mean.” 

Before he speaks, Mr. Cross sighs. “Let’s just say I found the right people who knew what they were doing. They saw how all of this could benefit mankind.” 

“Whoooo-dee-doo.”

“That little word of yours…sums it up.” He brushes the front of his coat. “I like our little patch of paradise. I think you will, too, Levy.” The two of them begin walking across the great hall.  Levy spots three other elevators, each in an opposite “corner” of the spherical arena.

“Let me show you something.” Mr. Cross walks over to a nearby wall.  He whisks out his slick black remote from his jungle attire, and his fingers go to work.  A holograph sphere the size of a marble hovers just above the device. 

I gotta get me one of those.

Mr. Cross points it at a nearby wall.  With a roll and a slide of the holographic sphere, the wall begins to glow.

“Can I…touch it?”

“If you could touch light particles.” 

 It winks on, revealing a view screen. It’s a TV screen, only much, much sharper. 

“It’s like looking through a window into another room. It’s like HD but, I swear it’s really there,” Levy whispers.

He feels the pebbly hard surface behind the image, which project images a few inches off the wall. They aren’t in the device. They seem to just suspend naturally in the space around it.  Future technology. Levy observes the tiny dots illuminated in the shape of the projection. 

“I live with this every day back home, but it still amazes me how inventions work.” Mr. Cross stares at the screen. 

 “Ah, I love tech.”. Looks like they can produce some kind of light and energy when needed. His fingers slightly tingle as they pass between the image.  “Sweet stuff.”

Being a loner and a bit untrusting of others, Levy often takes on his hero duties on his own. However, after his trip to the past, and being locked away for his safety, he befriends the childhood versions of Thomas Edison, Martin Luther King Jr., Annie Oakley, and a quiet boy named Albert. Faced with a greater challenge than he had before, they become a team of heroes who want to save history from unraveling. It is a daunting and probably impossible task for one twelve-year-old boy, but when the combine forces, they have a greater chance to take on the monumental task ahead.

                                                              ******

“Has anyone ever shown you how dangerous it is to be selfish?”

“What?”

Levy waves that one off.  “Okay, bad choice of words. You’re just thinking about yourself.” 

“Hey!”

Junior pats Tom’s shoulder. “We are a team, right?”

Tom smiles weakly.

“You can trust that Levy knows what he is doing. Listen to him.”

Long live the superhero age! I hope we will enjoy their adventures for years to come.

Who is your superhero and why do you relate to them?