It may have taken at least thirty rolls of the random numbers to find the prompt that jumped out at me… But here ya go, a bit of fun for today.
Today’s Prompt: “I don’t know what the protocol is for revealing your secret identity so, hi? Surprise?”
Today’s Story:
Superhero Panda
The night was quiet, everyone had gone home, but still she was on the roof, waiting. She wasn’t really sure what she was waiting for, but it just felt right to stay, so she did. There was a quiet kerthump behind her, and she turned and there he was. Panda… the elusive hero. Or maybe antihero was better. I mean, he always saved people, but it more often than not seemed accidental.
“Why are you here?” she asked quietly. Watching him.
He slowly pulled off his hood, “I don’t know what the protocol is for revealing your secret identity so, hi? Surprise?”
She gasps. How in the heck did her twin brother of all people become a … what, a superhero? That can’t be right. But something. And how did he do it without her knowing? They lived together. “When… how… no… I don’t get it?”
“I wanted to tell you sooner, but… well… is there really any good time to tell someone you have decided to don a mask and save people. I had to Lily. With our gifts, I couldn’t just keep on pretending like our society wasn’t in dire straights.” Lloyd pleaded with her, trying to get her to understand. Hoping that she would stand with him.
“I… I just can’t believe you didn’t tell me to begin with. Did you think I wouldn’t help you? Because we have always done everything together. You know that I would have.” She responded, quietly, the hurt reflecting in her voice.
“I didn’t know how. You are so reserved most of the time. You always say violence isn’t the answer, but sometimes… sometimes it is necessary. I was trying to protect you.”
“Then why are you telling me all of this now…?” she asked, accusation heavy in her voice.
“Well, it was just too hard to keep it from you. The time was right, and sides… you would have figured it out anyway. You always do. What do you want me to say? To do. I will do anything to make this right… Just please… please don’t ask me to stop. This is something I really feel that I need to do. It may not always go the way I hope, but… I think that the world is better for it, do you think I am wrong?” He asks, hope twisting through his words.
“I won’t ask you to stop. I couldn’t do that, and you know that. But please, be careful. And maybe… just maybe you can start making some plans? Because right now you seem to only accidentally manage success. And that is not good for overall belief in your abilities, cause you could just as easily fail and get more people killed. I am pretty sure that would be bad publicity.” Lily says quietly.
Lloyd blinks slowly at her… “Are you kidding me right now?! You are worried about publicity? This isn’t about a publicity stunt, Lily! This is about helping people. About making a difference. It is NOT about what people may or may not think of me!”
“I understand that, but you also don’t want to end up found out, or worse, discovered. That means… you do have to worry about what people think… you don’t want them out there mad at you, because then they wont help protect you.” she responds, calm as ever.
Taking a deep breath and letting it out, “I guess you may be right, I am sorry. I just know that I gotta make a difference and let me tell you… being a superhero Panda is harder than it looks!”
Well, who is YOUR secret identity? What comes to mind if you explore this prompt? Please share in the comments, I love hearing from you! And if you haven’t seen them yet, please check out the anthologies I am published in, the MN Emerging Writers and the National Edition!
Random Acts of Writing 