A Super Awkward Situation

Originally posted on r/WritingPrompts, inspired by this prompt: https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/comments/1014jzo/wp_a_socially_awkward_superhero_has_to_assure_a/ 

"Hey, uh, kid?" I asked, unsure of what to say. I may have had superpowers, but human interaction was not one of them.

"We're gonna die, we're gonna die, we're gonna die!" The kid was sobbing.

My heart was screaming at me to say something, anything, to comfort this young child. But my brain was, once again, utterly blank.

"The monsters are gonna get us and we're gonna die!" Tears streamed down his face. He was hyperventilating.

That's right, I thought. The kid was afraid of the dark. I kept forgetting I could see in the dark and he couldn't.

"Look, kid, talking to people is...hard for me," I said, "but I'm gonna try to help you. We're both gonna be fine."

"No we're not! We're gonna die and my family's gonna be sad and the monsters are gonna eat us!"

"Shh," I said, trying desperately to comfort him. "It's gonna be okay. We're gonna make it out of here."

"No we won't! The monsters are everywhere, I know it!"

I had an idea.

"I don't see any monsters around here," I said.

"Yeah, cuz it's dark! The monsters are hiding all around us!"

"You might not be able to see right now," I said slowly, trying to form words, "but I can. I'm a superhero. I can see in the dark."

"You can?"

"Yeah," I said, relieved that my words were doing something. "I can. All that's around us right now is a bunch of broken pieces of building."

"You're sure?"

"I'm sure."

"But what if the monsters are hiding in the pieces?"

"They're not. If there were any monsters in the building before it collapsed, the monsters would have all been crushed to death."

"But we weren't crushed to death."

"That's because...I made...a special dome around us," I lied.

"A special dome?"

"Yeah," I said. "I used...a special glue...to make a dome to protect us. None of the monsters could do that because...because my friend invented it and...gave it to me for my birthday."

"Really?"

"Really. I...used it all up to make the dome...so none of the monsters could get it."

The kid seemed to calm down at least a little bit.

"But, uh, if it makes you feel any better, then maybe while I'm trying to figure out how to get us out of here, I can keep an eye out for any monsters. And...if any come for us...I'll just...scare them away."

"With like an anti-monster spray?"

"...Something like that," I said.

The child nodded, taking deep breaths to calm himself.

My leg flared up in pain from being crushed beneath the rubble. I bit my lip to avoid screaming. That would definitely freak him out if I screamed.

"You, uh, have a name?" I asked, partly to distract myself from my own pain and partly to keep the kid distracted from his own thoughts.

"Alex," he said.

"That's a nice name," I said. I hated small talk. It was always the most awkward part of a conversation.

"What's your name?" Alex asked. "Not like your superhero name cuz I already know that. Like your real name."

"Well," I hesitated, "no one's supposed to know my real name. Secret identity stuff."

"I won't tell anybody," Alex insisted. "I'm really good at keeping secrets."

"Well, okay," I said. "My name is...Ezekiel."

"Huh?"

"Uh, you can call me Zeke if you want," I said.

"Zeke," Alex said. He smiled. "I like it."

My leg flared up even stronger. I groaned.

"Are you okay?" Alex asked.

"Yeah, my leg just hurts," I said, gritting my teeth.

"Oh. Well, since you shared your secret, maybe I'll share mine," Alex said hesitantly.

"If...that's something you feel comfortable with, then sure."

"Can I touch your arm?"

"I guess," I said, holding my arm out towards him.

Alex felt around for a few seconds before finding my arm. He gently took hold of it.

Immediately, the pain started to subside. It wasn't gone completely, but it was less severe.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"I'm taking away some of your pain," Alex said.

"You can do that?" My eyes widened.

"Yeah," Alex said, though he sounded a little bit strained. "Mom doesn't like me doing this. She says if any bad guys find out they could kidnap me and make me work for them. But I trust you."

"You sound like this...what's the word...hurts you."

"That's because it does, kind of," Alex said, taking labored breaths. "Whenever I do it, it makes me feel the pain instead."

"You're sure you can handle it? You don't have to put yourself through that."

"It's okay," Alex said with a weak smile. "I want to help you. You helped me feel a little less scared. So I'm helping you feel a little less pain."

"Okay...just...don't take on more than you can handle, okay?"

"Don't worry," Alex said. "The pain doesn't do anything to my body or anything. I can handle it at least for a little while."

"Thanks."

"You're welcome." Alex smiled again.

Silence.

"Do you think you can, maybe, help me figure out how to get us out of here?" I asked.

"I don't think I'll be much help with that." Alex shook his head. "I'm only six. I don't know very much stuff yet."

"Okay, fair," I said. "I'll just...brainstorm on my own."

I racked my brain for so long I'd lost track of time. All I knew was that my stomach was now screaming at me. So I figured it had been a few hours, with not even an inkling of an idea of how to get out.

"Yeah, I'm hungry too," Alex said without me having to say anything. His face was now nearly white as a sheet.

"Do you need to, like, take a break or something?" I asked, concerned. "You don't look so good."

"I'm okay," Alex said, though I could tell he was straining from the effort. "Don't worry about me."

"Look, you're six, and I'm in my twenties. You need to take a break."

"I can handle it."

"Alex," I said, trying to figure out how to best word this. "I appreciate your help. I really do. But I also know that...even superheroes need breaks. And...if superheroes need breaks, then so do you."

"Are you sure?"

"I'll be okay," I said. "You take a break right now, okay? If after a few more hours we still haven't made it out of here, then maybe I'll let you take another turn."

"Okay," Alex said hesitantly. He tentatively released my arm.

Immediately the pain came rushing back full force. I gritted my teeth.

"You okay?"

"Yeah," I said with some effort. "Go ahead and, I don't know, take a nap or something. I'll keep watch."

"Okay," Alex said, nodding. "As long as you promise to wake me up as soon as it gets too much for you."

"I promise," I said, though I had no intention of keeping my promise.

"Wait, I hear something," Alex said.

"You do?" I listened around for the sound. "Oh! I hear it too!"

"What do you think it is?" Alex asked.

"It's..." I honed in on my hearing. My heart leapt. "It's a dog! A dog barking above us! We've been found! We're gonna get out of here!"

"How does a dog barking mean that?"

"Some dogs are, like, trained in finding people," I said. For the life of me I couldn't figure out what the exact word was. "When they sniff someone out they'll start barking to let people know about it."

"Really?"

"Yeah," I said, my heart beating faster with excitement. I heard a bunch of shuffling feet coming towards us. "Plug your ears for a sec, I'm about to make a bunch of really loud noise."

"Okay," Alex said, plugging his ears.

I took a deep breath, and shouted at the top of my lungs: "We're down here! We're down here!"

I shouted over and over again until I heard a faint voice call back: "Hold on! We're gonna get you outta there!"

That voice sounded strangely familiar. But I couldn't quite place it.

Another burst of pain shot through my leg. I cried out in agony. Sweat poured down my face.

Alex immediately grabbed onto my arm again, siphoning some of the pain away. I tried to pull away, but he was insistent.

I heard digging above us. I saw small rays of light starting to shine through.

"We're gonna be okay!" Alex's face lit up. "You were right! We're not gonna die, we're gonna be okay!"

I smiled weakly at him.

Then I saw huge metallic claws wrap around a large chunk of rubble above us. Strangely familiar, I thought.

At last, the rubble was lifted off of us. I blinked several times to adjust to the light, only to see a man with a very familiar-looking scar on his forehead.

"No freaking way!" I realized who it was.

"Well, if it isn't my old nemesis," Vince said with a toothy grin. "It seems I've finally repaid my debt."