By: Kyran Kam
It was a Friday afternoon. Sammy had just returned home from school. To his surprise, his parents were not home. Sammy searched everywhere but they were nowhere to be found! Finally, Sammy made his way to the basement. He remembered his father’s clear instruction: “Never go down there!”
“But,” he reasoned to himself, “desperate times call for desperate measures.” He opened the door hesitantly and found a staircase, which seemed to be leading to some dark unknown. Filled with excitement, he hopped down the staircase without a second thought. When he had finally reached the bottom, Sammy noticed something weird. There was a giant room with many people in it. But these were no ordinary folk, they had superpowers! Sammy noticed a few of them, who seem to be practising.
Presently, Sammy was greeted cheerily. ”Hey, I’m George. What is your name”? He looked smart, but perhaps short for his age, Sammy reckoned to himself.
Sammy hesitated. “Ah...uh... I’m Sammy.” Before he could say another word, they were interrupted by a tall man.
“George! Get back to practising! And…” turning to Sammy as if to size him up, “who is this boy?” the man asked.
Sammy replied politely, ”My name is Sammy.”
“Nice to meet you, Sammy, I’m Trainer Bob,” the man said. “Have we met before?”
“No. I am actually looking for my father,” said Sammy.
Trainer Bob hesitated. “Wait a minute, what is your dad’s name?” he asked.
“Kenny Washington,” Sammy replied. There was a pin-drop silence in the room. Sensing that perhaps, he should not be there, Sammy turned to leave. As he did so, Trainer Bob called out to him,” Your father wants you to have this!”
Trainer Bob passed him an envelope. “I wonder what this could be?” Sammy thought, puzzled. He decided to open the envelope. Inside it, he found a letter. The contents shocked him into a 3-minute silence. It read:
Dear Sammy,
If you are reading this, you have probably gone to visit the basement. I am sorry we did not tell you sooner, but your mother and I are actually superheroes. And may be called out on an assignment at any time.
Trainer Bob will help train you on how to use your hidden powers. I have high hopes for you.
Your father,
Kenny Washington
Sammy was quiet.
“Are you okay?”, Trainer Bob asked.
“Yeah, let’s just start the training,'' said Sammy, without hesitation. He knew that the letter had been written by his father -- and he knew exactly what he meant by training.
For many months, Trainer Bob coached Sammy, who was a quick learner. George was there to encourage him too. Soon, the bond of friendship grew between Sammy and George.
When Sammy was able to control his powers better, Trainer Bob decided to let him know what his first mission would be. As soon as Sammy found out that he could go on a mission, he was extremely excited. Ever since he could use his powers, he had kept asking Trainer Bob to let him go on a mission. But Trainer Bob would always reply, “Be patient, when the right time comes, I will!”
First Mission
Sammy’s first mission was to spy on a suspicious old man who was known by the name Ben.
Lately there had been times when, after a robbery had taken place, the superheroes would knock on Ben’s house to enquire if he had heard or seen anything strange. He’d always claimed to be either sleeping, or watching television, or hard of hearing, and thus appeared to be innocent.
He would say, “Oh yes, I’ve just heard the news this morning that some youngsters would knock on the homes of senior citizens at night and beat them up!”
“What? You guys believed that?” Sammy asked.
“No… which is why we are sending you and George to investigate,” replied Trainer Bob.
It was cold that night. There were no signs of life for at least a mile away. George and Sammy were hiding in a bush, scared and panting.
Why panting, you may ask, dear reader. Well, Sammy thought it was a good idea to be stationed there an hour earlier!
“C-r-r-e-eak!” Sammy and George took a peek to see what was happening.
Big mistake! Ben’s gaze was already directed to both of them.
“Aaahhhh,” he boomed. “You boys out there! What do you want?”
George whispered to Sammy, “Perhaps he thinks that we are the youngsters who are going to beat him up?”
They decided to walk out of the bush. “Don’t be afraid,” George pretended to calm the old man. “We were playing outside and lost track of time,”
“Good grief,” whispered Sammy, thinking that Ben must have believed them. “Oh, why don’t you come in then, children. Come on into the house first,” Ben offered. “You must be tired,” he continued warmly.
Sammy and George saw this as an opportunity to spy on Ben. So, without hesitation, they both agreed.
When they had entered the house, Ben shut the door and locked it.
“Alright-y!” he laughed evilly. “Now I can be more efficient.”
George and Sammy were confused. “W-what are you talking about?” asked Sammy, nearly stammering.
“Oh? I guess it is time to tell you then, because you are both going to lose your memories anyway!” Ben shrieked madly.
Sammy and George were startled but could do nothing.
The old man revealed that he was not Ben. His real name was Doctor Doom.
“Pretty obvious you weren't Ben,” mumbled Sammy, whilst thinking fast.
There was a pause, before Dr Doom broke the silence.
“Let’s see now… I shall start with the skinny one first,” he laughed, as he pointed to George.
He picked George up, shoved him onto the table and hurriedly took out what appeared to be a blade. He attempted to cut George up.
With quick actions, Sammy managed to recover the weapon from him. George jumped up and stood beside Sammy, both ready to fight. Dr Doom looked at them. “Tut! Tut! Young children these days are a bit rude,” he said. “It will be my pleasure to teach you guys a lesson.”
Sammy and George got ready to fight. George said to Sammy, “This should be an easy fight, as long as we play our cards right.”
“Wait, I have a trump card,” Dr Doom chuckled. Then he started to multiply his clones.
“Now, shall we begin?” said Dr Doom, grinning.
George and Sammy put up a brave fight, but they were clearly outnumbered.
“You guys have been just so annoying to deal with,” Dr Doom thundered. He picked up a knife and walked slowly towards the boys.
Just as he was about to reach George, the area around Sammy started to shake. “What is this?” asked Doctor Doom, puzzled.
“Hehehehe, we also have a trump card,” Sammy responded. Dr Doom felt dizzy and started to close his eyes. He felt something within his head.
Suddenly, Sammy appeared to be standing just next to Dr Doom.
“Where am I?” Dr Doom asked.
Sammy replied in a low robotic voice, “In my imagination.” Dr Doom was not in the mood to disagree with this mind controlling statement.
Sammy easily defeated Dr Doom because of his cockiness. When Trainer Bob and the police arrived, Sammy and George were sitting on Dr Doom.
“Sshhhh.., he’s sleeping,” Sammy said.
Trainer Bob and the police were impressed. Soon, George and Sammy were promoted to work in the Superheroes Department. They received a special award from the president for their bravery. Sammy reunited briefly with his parents.
As for Dr Doom, he was indeed a dangerous villain. Following his arrest, he was placed in maximum security prison to spend the rest of his natural life.
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