It’s time for another short story.
The prompt for this one had to do with a villain trying to escape while doing community service and how he could do that when everyone had superpowers. I dropped the community service part and had fun with a villain escaping from prison.
You might notice that I don’t describe the main character. They have no gender, no name, and no physical description. All you know is a few of their superpowers and that they are a villain. This is done on purpose. As you read, you should fill in everything I left blank. What does this character look like to you? Guy, girl, hermaphrodite green alien from Rigel? The fun of reading first-person stories is that we can become the character if we want, or we can imagine them in a million different ways. Enjoy!
Catch and Release
As the invisible shield closed across the opening of my cell, the captain of the guard gave me a strict warning. “This shield will stop any power you try to use on it. The more you increase the intensity in your attempt to escape, the more it will hurt you. I suggest you just lie on your cot and wait for your trial peacefully.”
I stared at the rocky giant in front of me, amazed that they found a uniform that would fit him. “So, if I use my laser eyes, the shield will stop me.”
“Yes. Numero Cinco tried that once.”
I raised my right hand. “And my retractable claws won’t slice it?”
The captain chuckled, and it sounded like a landslide. “No. But I would like to see you try.”
Lowering my hand, I looked around my cell. “And my supersonic throwing ability won’t penetrate it?”
“You have supersonic throwing ability?” The captain sounded surprised. Perhaps that wasn’t on my superhero resume.
“How do you think I got the bomb into the vault before it automatically closed?”
The captain frowned. “I had wondered. The film footage was inconclusive.”
“Well, it would be since the throw was supersonic.” I ran my hand over the plastic bedframe. No metal in this cell what with magnetism being one of the most common superpowers in a world where everyone had some type of power. “Wouldn’t work here, though, would it?”
The captain turned to go. “No. As you can tell, there is nothing in your cell to throw, and as I said, the more power you use against the shield, the more you will regret it.” He gave me a stony look over his shoulder. “No one has died from testing the shield. Don’t be the first.”
I rolled my eyes and sat on the uncomfortable bare cot. The captain closed a huge metal door behind him, leaving me alone. Leaning against the cinderblock wall, I ran through all the possible powers I could use to get through the shield and wondered if it could really stop everything. I had more abilities than most people, which made me an outstanding criminal. I was hard to catch and even harder to hold.
That last thought made me laugh. Actually, I was easy to catch. That was my job. If I allowed myself to get caught, then my teammates could escape. And I loved seeing how various superheroes throughout the universe designed traps for me. Of course, they didn’t have to be clever. I walked into them all.
With that last thought, I stood and waved my hand in front of the shield. I couldn’t see it, but I had no reason to believe the captain of the guard was lying. He seemed like an honest guy, perhaps too honest. According to him, this shield would resist every superpower imagined.
However, while I was easy to catch, no prison had ever held me. I walked out of my cell and away from the captain’s quarters, half-hoping an alarm would sound. Disappointed, I strolled out an unassuming exit door at the end of the hallway. Blinking in the bright sunlight, I nodded with satisfaction as a sleek black sports car pulled up in front of me.
Lady Vicious rolled down the window. “Right on time. I don’t know how you do it.”
Just for fun, I levitated through the window and onto the passenger seat. “They built a shield to deflect all superpowers. Apparently, it doesn’t stop someone who doesn’t use their powers.”
The black-haired vixen shook her head. “And these bozos are the good guys?”
I laughed. “At least they keep things interesting. I wonder how they’ll catch me next time.”