Hero

Natroya Stevens laid in bed hugging a comic from her father’s collection. That and a few other momentos were all she had left. Dying within months of a cancer diagnosis was not how she expected him to go. As a teenager she thought he still had decades more. But her dad was gone and all that talk about being a proud African American despite their barely above working class circumstances, seemed moot. No hero was coming to save her. This was real life and most of the girls who got rescued were blonde girls from perfect homes.

“I’m just going to read a comic each night,” Natroya decided, “to remember him by. He used to read them to me so much when I was younger and always had one in his jacket.”

Natroya read her favorite one with an invisible teleporting superhero. At nineteen The Disappearing Sliver was the Japanese daughter of immigrant parents who was changed in a science accident. Deciding to become a hero, she fought against crime everywhere. From the streets to the board rooms. Miya Sango used both her powers and secret identity as a paralegal to fight against injustice.

In the morning Natroya hurried to get ready. If she got one more tardy this month she would be in real trouble. But the school bus raced past her stop. The driver hated her and always skipped if no one else was waiting. She fumed and stomped her feet. Suddenly she was across from her school. Barely able to contain her shock, she hurried inside before anyone noticed.

“How could I get here in an instant?” Natroya wondered. She decided to concentrate and shrieked when her hands went invisible. “Oh man, I have the powers from the comic.” After a moment of shock, she cheered. Whatever was going on, she intended to have fun.

Throughout the day Natroya used her powers to get to class quickly. Prank her bullies and even help out a few teachers who had been kind in the past.

Suddenly there was shouting and Natroya peeked out to see three gang members holding a gun demanding for a student. Recruitment season was a tough time and recently the violence had been expanding. But they never attacked her school before. It was usually outside the disaster zone unlike her neighborhood. She decided to have some fun. Going invisible, Natroya ran up and knocked the guns out of their hands. The young adult males looked around in confusion. Then she teleported two to the police station and disappeared. By the time she returned students were laughing about the last gang member wetting himself and running off screaming about ghosts. She went about her day feeling like a million bucks.

At home Natroya sat staring at the collection of comics. Were they magical? Did they work for anyone or only for her family. Father said that these were not ordinary stories and she should treasure them. Perhaps he helped people too. Maybe that’s why he always took one along when he went to work as a temp. Sometimes he would come home with foodstuff instead of money. A secret reward? She would never know but was determined to continue helping others.

Natroya fished through the comics and stopped at the one with a male hero who had super strength and dexterity. She had gym tomorrow and needed to climb that stupid rope to pass. Nothing wrong with helping herself and being a hero. She grinned and started reading.