Typically, when you think of a superhero story you think of a comic strip or animated tv show. This, however, is not your typical superhero story, so I think it deserves a little special attention. Of course, it is my story so I might be a little biased. Still, first-hand experience and a little bit of hindsight has given me the most accurate and unbiased view of this story in the entire world, so I think it's about time to set the records straight.
First of all, I was not born in a lava ball or from the belly of an active volcano, nor was I created as a result of dragon evolution. How did I come to be? I honestly don't have a complete answer for you, but what I do know starts with the fact that I was born just as normal as you. I had a stay-at-home mom who homeschooled me practically from birth, a no-nonsense dad with a low-paying job who struggled to make ends meet each day; two sisters, and four brothers. (Whew, that as probably my worst run-on sentence ever!) Anyways, we were a pretty normal family, except for the fact that we're homeschoolers, and I was fine if that was the most unusual thing about us.
It wasn't until the finish line was in sight, my final year of high school nearly completed, that everything changed. And when I say that everything changed, I mean everything changed. I had friends, some good and some not, and we had lots of fun together. We were in the habit of having a get-together every Thursday to draw, paint, read, write, or whatever else came to mind. On that particular day we were swimming. One of my friends had a pool and none of the rest of us did; thus it made sense that when she invited us over it was on a nice day and we pulled out our swimsuits.
Just so you know, we aren’t supposed to have any poisonous anything in our area. Of course we have poison ivy, but I had never heard of any poisonous snakes or even spiders in the area. So of course we didn’t think to look in the pool before jumping in. It wasn’t really a leap of faith, but it sure required some measure of trust in the safety of that pool. Anyways, enough with the dramatics and on with the story- where was I?
Oh yeah, the pool.
Well, as it turns out, there was one poisonous snake in our area, and it was just waiting for me. The cool water of a luxurious swimming pool hit me with the force of concrete as I belly-flopped into its depths. The heat of intense and unusually expected pain hit me with the force of a gentle wave in a calm ocean. Before I knew what was happening, I wasn’t in the water anymore. In fact, I wasn’t anywhere near anyone.
To a dazed and confused teen it seemed as if I had been teleported, beamed-up, or knocked out and kidnapped. None of these could have been further from the truth, but the truth was so outrageous that I didn’t believe it for the longest time. Apparently, I had blacked out in the pool, they had found a snake clinging to my foot, I was taken to the hospital, and I had wandered away or something when I was pretty much healed. The last part is a bit sketchy since I couldn’t remember any of it and no one actually saw me.
Now that I have covered that back story, let me pick up in the woods after waking up in the middle of nowhere. The day was beautiful and I found myself wandering around a clearing, past towering oak trees, through fields of wheat- you get the picture. It started as I finally realized that I had no idea where I was, which just goes to show how stupid and slow I can be. Following the advice of every unrealistic movie I had ever seen, I climbed a tree to see where I was and found myself floating 60 feet above the ground. Sparks were literally flying out from the air around my feet as I flew. After all, what kind of superhero would I be if I couldn’t fly?
Sure, I was a bit freaked out when I started to fly, but I also had just been teleported from my friend’s swimming pool to a forest far from home and I was pretty sure I was simply hallucinating. So I kept walking, and it wasn’t long before I tripped on a root and fell forward as shot sparks out of my hands. The sparks seemed to fly out with the force of a hurricane and threw me backwards. I still ended up on the ground, but on the opposite side.
That was the beginning of the end, or the beginning- I’m honestly not sure which. Probably the biggest problem for me was the fact that somehow - probably through sleep-flying - I had ended up in Ethiopia. Since my family lived in America, and I couldn’t figure out how to fly again, I found myself stuck in a wildly remote area of a country I had only ever read about. This gave me a lot of time to develop my so called powers. It was probably the stupidest power ever, since it relied on glitter. That’s right; those sparks I was talking about were actually glitter.
I started out small, saving a few villages from raiders or wild animal attacks. By the time I had mastered my power, four years had gone by and I didn’t especially relish the return to my home. Of course I missed my family like crazy, but what would I tell them?
“Hi mom, hi dad! How’s it goin’? Where’ve I been? Oh, you know- developing my secret glitter power. The norm. You?”
Yeah, I don’t think that would go over too well. So, instead of going home, I stayed and made friends. One of which was named Melkamu. His name sounds cool, so I wish I could tell you it has some cool meaning to match, but sadly no one knows what Melkamu means. So Melkamu was my best friend, and still is, and he was the one who convinced me to help people more regularly. He also helped design my costume, and come up with my name, and come up with my catch-phrase.
I guess I thought that if I was legit, my family would accept me back without question. I threw myself into my work and started to take my job public. The name we chose was “Sonic Eruption”. Sonic because the force that gets me flying and blasting is best described as sonic; and eruption because the glitter that came with the sonic kind of looked like a volcanic eruption. Besides, “Sonic Glitter” doesn’t sound quite as cool or even super as Sonic Eruption.
The costume wasn’t as tight fitting as most of my predecessors’ costumes, because I honestly think you can be cool and still stay modest. It was split into two main pieces- the top and the bottom (duh). The top was red, like fire, and connected to matching gloves with zippers. It was also connected to a hood that started out matching the fabric, but faded and turned into gold towards the end. Again unlike the other superheroes, the bottom connected to the top with a zipper, but the black pants were more of capris than anything else. Lack of shoes and a smoldering orange mask finished the look.
There were some difficulties with the costume design at first, namely the gloves. Apparently my hands and feet give off a certain amount of heat when I use my power and I burned a hole right through my gloves when I first took the costume out for a spin. Which reminds me- my catch-phrase is… in the works. I said Melkamu helped me come up with a catch-phrase, but I never did say we succeeded.
Alright, I’m running out of time and I need to wrap this up so I’ll make it fast. I fought a few bad guys, killed a few monsters, blah-de-blah-de-blah. Blah blah blah, blah-de blah, blah blah. So that’s how I ended up here. Where is here? Well it’s kind of easy to say S.H.I.E.L.D., since that’s what we all call it, but I’m really in the headquarters for Supers International. S.I. just isn’t as catchy.
The fellow supers here gave me a warm welcome a few minutes ago, and I watched as they all ran out to chase some disaster. Now I’m just sitting here, waiting for something to happen. Just for further reference, “something” in my vocab usually means anything and everything, but it currently just means family crisis. S.I.’s a very top secret place, but they really wanted me to join apparently, because I talked them into letting my parents come up for a visit. Sure I don’t have much of a chance to finish school, or be a success, or make them proud, but I did finally come to my senses. Yep, that’s right; I finally realized that they should probably know that I’m actually alive.
So here we are, sitting across from each other, mostly staring at each other, and wondering what will happen next. Here’s what I think will happen next: in walks a majorly villainous villain who needs to be taught a lesson, and I give it to him. Sadly, we live in the real world where villains only attack over largely populated cities. They are quiet for a while, until my dad finally asks who I am and what they are doing here. Honestly, I don’t have an answer for him, since I honestly thought we were sitting in silence because they were angry with me. I thought they knew what was happening.
Well, they don’t know what’s happening so I finally gather up the courage to tell them. Alright, so I’m clearly not the most courageous superhero ever. Instead of saying it to their faces, I blast off into the air and say it into my hood. Again, not the most courageous hero, but at least I said it. When I touch back down, my parents are somewhat singed and not one bit closer to understanding what is going on.
I tell myself to just spit the story out, and it must work because two hours after the original meeting, we are all sipping coffee, eating cookies, and talking as if nothing had ever happened. They point out that superhero capabilities must run in the family as they tell me that three of my brothers are serving in the military. They’re probably right too, because I have helped soldiers out a few times and they are honestly the bravest men and women I have ever met. I kind of wish that my siblings had come, but mom and dad solve that problem by suggesting I take them on a trip.
They probably were thinking about something traditional, such as a plane or a car, but I’m not wired like that anymore. So, like a complete idiot, I grab them both and blast off into the air. It is really great to see my family again.
Oh yeah; that whole blasting-off comment reminds me of one final detail that you probably would like to know about. My power got much cooler over time. Now the glitter is actual sparks that really hurt. They don’t hurt me of course, but the bad guys don’t feel so swell after coming in contact. As I fly through the sun, sparks flying all around, the tiny smidgeon of imagination in my brain suddenly reacts. All around me I see sparks flying and glittering in the dying sunlight that reflects in brilliant shades of pink on the horizon, and I marvel at this eruption of gold.
First of all, I was not born in a lava ball or from the belly of an active volcano, nor was I created as a result of dragon evolution. How did I come to be? I honestly don't have a complete answer for you, but what I do know starts with the fact that I was born just as normal as you. I had a stay-at-home mom who homeschooled me practically from birth, a no-nonsense dad with a low-paying job who struggled to make ends meet each day; two sisters, and four brothers. (Whew, that as probably my worst run-on sentence ever!) Anyways, we were a pretty normal family, except for the fact that we're homeschoolers, and I was fine if that was the most unusual thing about us.
It wasn't until the finish line was in sight, my final year of high school nearly completed, that everything changed. And when I say that everything changed, I mean everything changed. I had friends, some good and some not, and we had lots of fun together. We were in the habit of having a get-together every Thursday to draw, paint, read, write, or whatever else came to mind. On that particular day we were swimming. One of my friends had a pool and none of the rest of us did; thus it made sense that when she invited us over it was on a nice day and we pulled out our swimsuits.
Just so you know, we aren’t supposed to have any poisonous anything in our area. Of course we have poison ivy, but I had never heard of any poisonous snakes or even spiders in the area. So of course we didn’t think to look in the pool before jumping in. It wasn’t really a leap of faith, but it sure required some measure of trust in the safety of that pool. Anyways, enough with the dramatics and on with the story- where was I?
Oh yeah, the pool.
Well, as it turns out, there was one poisonous snake in our area, and it was just waiting for me. The cool water of a luxurious swimming pool hit me with the force of concrete as I belly-flopped into its depths. The heat of intense and unusually expected pain hit me with the force of a gentle wave in a calm ocean. Before I knew what was happening, I wasn’t in the water anymore. In fact, I wasn’t anywhere near anyone.
To a dazed and confused teen it seemed as if I had been teleported, beamed-up, or knocked out and kidnapped. None of these could have been further from the truth, but the truth was so outrageous that I didn’t believe it for the longest time. Apparently, I had blacked out in the pool, they had found a snake clinging to my foot, I was taken to the hospital, and I had wandered away or something when I was pretty much healed. The last part is a bit sketchy since I couldn’t remember any of it and no one actually saw me.
Now that I have covered that back story, let me pick up in the woods after waking up in the middle of nowhere. The day was beautiful and I found myself wandering around a clearing, past towering oak trees, through fields of wheat- you get the picture. It started as I finally realized that I had no idea where I was, which just goes to show how stupid and slow I can be. Following the advice of every unrealistic movie I had ever seen, I climbed a tree to see where I was and found myself floating 60 feet above the ground. Sparks were literally flying out from the air around my feet as I flew. After all, what kind of superhero would I be if I couldn’t fly?
Sure, I was a bit freaked out when I started to fly, but I also had just been teleported from my friend’s swimming pool to a forest far from home and I was pretty sure I was simply hallucinating. So I kept walking, and it wasn’t long before I tripped on a root and fell forward as shot sparks out of my hands. The sparks seemed to fly out with the force of a hurricane and threw me backwards. I still ended up on the ground, but on the opposite side.
That was the beginning of the end, or the beginning- I’m honestly not sure which. Probably the biggest problem for me was the fact that somehow - probably through sleep-flying - I had ended up in Ethiopia. Since my family lived in America, and I couldn’t figure out how to fly again, I found myself stuck in a wildly remote area of a country I had only ever read about. This gave me a lot of time to develop my so called powers. It was probably the stupidest power ever, since it relied on glitter. That’s right; those sparks I was talking about were actually glitter.
I started out small, saving a few villages from raiders or wild animal attacks. By the time I had mastered my power, four years had gone by and I didn’t especially relish the return to my home. Of course I missed my family like crazy, but what would I tell them?
“Hi mom, hi dad! How’s it goin’? Where’ve I been? Oh, you know- developing my secret glitter power. The norm. You?”
Yeah, I don’t think that would go over too well. So, instead of going home, I stayed and made friends. One of which was named Melkamu. His name sounds cool, so I wish I could tell you it has some cool meaning to match, but sadly no one knows what Melkamu means. So Melkamu was my best friend, and still is, and he was the one who convinced me to help people more regularly. He also helped design my costume, and come up with my name, and come up with my catch-phrase.
I guess I thought that if I was legit, my family would accept me back without question. I threw myself into my work and started to take my job public. The name we chose was “Sonic Eruption”. Sonic because the force that gets me flying and blasting is best described as sonic; and eruption because the glitter that came with the sonic kind of looked like a volcanic eruption. Besides, “Sonic Glitter” doesn’t sound quite as cool or even super as Sonic Eruption.
The costume wasn’t as tight fitting as most of my predecessors’ costumes, because I honestly think you can be cool and still stay modest. It was split into two main pieces- the top and the bottom (duh). The top was red, like fire, and connected to matching gloves with zippers. It was also connected to a hood that started out matching the fabric, but faded and turned into gold towards the end. Again unlike the other superheroes, the bottom connected to the top with a zipper, but the black pants were more of capris than anything else. Lack of shoes and a smoldering orange mask finished the look.
There were some difficulties with the costume design at first, namely the gloves. Apparently my hands and feet give off a certain amount of heat when I use my power and I burned a hole right through my gloves when I first took the costume out for a spin. Which reminds me- my catch-phrase is… in the works. I said Melkamu helped me come up with a catch-phrase, but I never did say we succeeded.
Alright, I’m running out of time and I need to wrap this up so I’ll make it fast. I fought a few bad guys, killed a few monsters, blah-de-blah-de-blah. Blah blah blah, blah-de blah, blah blah. So that’s how I ended up here. Where is here? Well it’s kind of easy to say S.H.I.E.L.D., since that’s what we all call it, but I’m really in the headquarters for Supers International. S.I. just isn’t as catchy.
The fellow supers here gave me a warm welcome a few minutes ago, and I watched as they all ran out to chase some disaster. Now I’m just sitting here, waiting for something to happen. Just for further reference, “something” in my vocab usually means anything and everything, but it currently just means family crisis. S.I.’s a very top secret place, but they really wanted me to join apparently, because I talked them into letting my parents come up for a visit. Sure I don’t have much of a chance to finish school, or be a success, or make them proud, but I did finally come to my senses. Yep, that’s right; I finally realized that they should probably know that I’m actually alive.
So here we are, sitting across from each other, mostly staring at each other, and wondering what will happen next. Here’s what I think will happen next: in walks a majorly villainous villain who needs to be taught a lesson, and I give it to him. Sadly, we live in the real world where villains only attack over largely populated cities. They are quiet for a while, until my dad finally asks who I am and what they are doing here. Honestly, I don’t have an answer for him, since I honestly thought we were sitting in silence because they were angry with me. I thought they knew what was happening.
Well, they don’t know what’s happening so I finally gather up the courage to tell them. Alright, so I’m clearly not the most courageous superhero ever. Instead of saying it to their faces, I blast off into the air and say it into my hood. Again, not the most courageous hero, but at least I said it. When I touch back down, my parents are somewhat singed and not one bit closer to understanding what is going on.
I tell myself to just spit the story out, and it must work because two hours after the original meeting, we are all sipping coffee, eating cookies, and talking as if nothing had ever happened. They point out that superhero capabilities must run in the family as they tell me that three of my brothers are serving in the military. They’re probably right too, because I have helped soldiers out a few times and they are honestly the bravest men and women I have ever met. I kind of wish that my siblings had come, but mom and dad solve that problem by suggesting I take them on a trip.
They probably were thinking about something traditional, such as a plane or a car, but I’m not wired like that anymore. So, like a complete idiot, I grab them both and blast off into the air. It is really great to see my family again.
Oh yeah; that whole blasting-off comment reminds me of one final detail that you probably would like to know about. My power got much cooler over time. Now the glitter is actual sparks that really hurt. They don’t hurt me of course, but the bad guys don’t feel so swell after coming in contact. As I fly through the sun, sparks flying all around, the tiny smidgeon of imagination in my brain suddenly reacts. All around me I see sparks flying and glittering in the dying sunlight that reflects in brilliant shades of pink on the horizon, and I marvel at this eruption of gold.