Start or end your story with a hero losing their powers.

Posted in Character on Aug 9, 2024

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✍️ 41 stories

“Live, Angelica” by Michela You

Submitted to Contest #263

I hated Monday mornings. I hated mornings in general. The too-hot cup of coffee always burned my tongue, no matter how much I blew into it. Good thing that this was the last morning I would have to endure. I sighed as I turned the TV on from the kitchen, simply flipping the remote with my mind. I was born with telekinesis, or as my mom said, the ability to save the world. I had always wanted to be a superhero as a child, making the planet a better place for the people around me. But as I lived for the past twenty-seven years, I slowly realiz...

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“With Managed Self Care” by Angela Gilmartin

Submitted to Contest #263

from:Quanta <quanta.superhero@thenexusorder.gov>to:Accelera <accelera.superhero@thenexusorder.gov>cc:Dr. P <drp.superhero@thenexusorder.gov>date:May 3, 2019, 10:44 AM subject: Re: Hey! mailed-by: thenexusorder.govSigned-by:the nexusorder.gov.2043927.gappssmtp.comSecurity: Standard encryption (TLS) Learn more:Important because previous messages in the conversation were important.Hey Accelera,Thanks for the flowers. They really brighten my hospital room. At first, I had them right by the bed, but I co...

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“Tidal Waves” by Andrea Krist

Submitted to Contest #263

Travis sat on the bed and stared at his hands. It was gone. He could feel it. He was not sure how or why it had been taken from him, but his ability was gone. He rubbed the tips of his fingers with his thumbs. Nothing external had changed. He looked, sounded, and--for the most part--felt the same. The residual tingling in his palms and wrists was normal, but he was not as he was before. There was a deep-set knowing, an empty hole in the pit of his stomach that lay open and exposed, raw and bleeding. A part of him was missing and he knew in w...

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“Sunny Wobbles: the Cat Who Couldn't Jump” by Dr. Kat Cleary

Submitted to Contest #263

Dedication: to anyone trying to reach new heights. When Sunny was born, he didn’t know he was any different.He was a little wobbly when he walked – but no one is born a marathon runner! Unsteady on his feet, Sunny would sway from side to sideLike a sailor who hasn’t gotten his sea legs yet! When he would try to go down the stairsHis bottom would outweigh him and he’d tumble down the steps - flip, flop, ouch! Despite this little nuisance, Sunny became quite the explorer!Up, down, left, and right – every corner had to be investigated. Once he...

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“The Sacrifice” by Jane Cantor

Submitted to Contest #263

Angelica thought it must be impossible to find anything new in the world, something no one had ever seen before. She had seen so much over her lifetime – lifetimes - surely there was nothing original, nothing for her to experience that could bring joy or anger or despair, or any of the emotions experienced every day by all the normal people she met. She stared around at the wild, desolate scenery, her constant sanctuary since time immemorial, deserted and unchanging. Far below, the lake stretched away between the hills, the surface wri...

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“A Lionheart's Feast” by Alyssa Krestal

Submitted to Contest #263

She was magical. Powerful. Mystifying. My grandmother was the brightest light in our home. More welcoming than the sun after a thunderstorm. Warmer than a mug of hot cocoa and a freshly lit fire. The reason I wanted to learn witchcraft myself. Her vigor inspired me regardless of the dangers ahead. I remember the way I felt when her exuberant spirit shriveled into something lesser. A normality of sorts. I felt the shift for only a moment before the strength transferred to me. It was the same feeling as a moth begging for warmth th...

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“Backup Failure” by David Willett

Submitted to Contest #263

Bolts of multicoloured laser fire rained down over Sherrif Masran Usa’s head. She dodged the barrage by diving toward the floor and breaking into a somersault, landing behind a crumpled hunk of debris that had previously been a computer console. A faint smell like freshly welded metal entered her helmet from numerous near misses. She peaked above her cover, taking a chance to identify her attacker’s position. Her combat suit instruments indicated their tactical advantage, elevated on a mezzanine at the far end of the cavernous shuttle bay. A...

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“Do Nothing” by Michael Williams

Submitted to Contest #263

A mysterious figure watches from the brick building across the street, observing with an unnatural interest in this magical quarrel. Across from the train station parking lot, a chaotic scene of storefront fires rages on as damaged cars sit idly scattered, twisted, and bent beyond proportions along the cobblestone steps of old town Biloxi; now, New Coast City. Iron Jaguar faces off against danger from the deepest chasms of the Gulf of Mexico. BOOM! “The airbreathers will feel the sting of the sea for their crimes against the king...

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“The Heir” by Tyler Pyka

Submitted to Contest #263

“So, what do you do for fun?” “Hm?” I raise an eyebrow. “Oh.” I think about it for a moment. What do I do for fun? I know what I used to do. The memory of it flashes behind my eyes as quick as lightning—me, my sisters, and our father standing on a rooftop together as the sun sets over the city’s horizon. Dad looked down at me smiling, the sun illuminating his dark brown skin. My sisters and I were happy to be with him, sharing such a picturesque moment. Then came the screams. The city below was engulfed in fire, and so were most of the peo...

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“The Superpower” by Tina Dottino

Submitted to Contest #263

“I can do this, I know I can.” Those were the magical words, the words that unleashed Rory’s superpower. Once he uttered those, he truly could do anything he set his mind to. Rory doesn’t remember when he got his marvelous gift, this wondrous superpower. He’s had it for as long as he can remember. It was there for him the first time he tried to climb the tallest tree in the yard, on a dare from his cousin. Rory was six, his cousin, Josh, ten. Rory had watched with awe as Josh scrambled into the tree and began ascending through the branches...

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“The Undeniable Need in a World of Denials” by Simon Dimas

Submitted to Contest #263

In an unspecified intersection, the lights were functional. One direction, the light was red. The adjacent direction had a green light. However the many vehicles were at a stand still for in the middle of the unspecified intersection smoke rose up in the air; oil spilled out onto the road; and three cars with deformed bodies and broken windows faced in random directions. Already, a couple of good Samaritans had appeared to ensure that the ones involved in the crash are tended to. One man was tending to a flipped car that had its roof crushed...

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“The Fall of Lady Mara” by Elan Ricarte

Submitted to Contest #263

August 11, 2024 – 2:39 PM She felt it the moment that it happened. One moment she is zipping through the air, causing the golems to explode into fiery shards with a flick of her wrist, and the next moment, she is falling through the air, concrete-bound. Winds whipped past her, her arms flailing for purchase. Anything, anything. She tried flapping her arms repeatedly, trying to will the air around her to buoy herself back up the air as it had for the past 105 years. Nothing. The concrete just rose up faster and faster and— A loud CRASH expl...

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“A Hero's Belief” by Israel Olmos

Submitted to Contest #263

He looked down at his hands, the red sheen no longer surrounding them like a glove. He breathed in deep, ragged breaths. Smoke choked his lungs and burned his throat. He felt snot drip down his nose. That’d never happened before. “Done yet? Or is this another one of your acts?” A figure walking on a platform of ice glared down at him. He had to crane his neck up to look at the woman. He’d never actually seen her from this angle. Her eyes peered down at him like bitter stars, her sneer somehow mo...

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“Truth Alone Lives On Forever” by Jeffrey K Schmoll

Submitted to Contest #263

Two of the train robbers lay dying in the dust, their blood leaking out and horses scattered. A third robber was riding hard, whipping his lathered horse, trying to get away from the famous lawman and his Native-American partner. The Legend sat tall in the saddle and drew his gun, his white hat and iconic black mask steady as a rock. The gun barked twice but the robber wheeled his horse and charged back towards them. The Legend had missed! After all these years, he had missed! The robber fired and three bullets tore into the trusted partner....

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“The Purchaser” by Bradford Campbell

Submitted to Contest #263

“Yeah, my name is Ted, and I’m an alcoholic.” There was a spattering of applause with varying enthusiasm. Some in the meeting knew something of his story, some had no idea what the fuss was about and couldn’t have cared less. This suited Ted just fine. If he’d known that there was free coffee at the meeting, he’d have saved himself the $1.69 he’d just spent on a cup at the gas station, but this suited him too, and, in fact, felt right. He had a little of his own money now, a little of his own head, a little of his o...

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Start or end your story with a hero losing their powers.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 41 stories

“Live, Angelica” by Michela You

“With Managed Self Care” by Angela Gilmartin

“Tidal Waves” by Andrea Krist

“Sunny Wobbles: the Cat Who Couldn't Jump” by Dr. Kat Cleary

“The Sacrifice” by Jane Cantor

“A Lionheart's Feast” by Alyssa Krestal

“Backup Failure” by David Willett

“Do Nothing” by Michael Williams

“The Heir” by Tyler Pyka

“The Superpower” by Tina Dottino

“The Undeniable Need in a World of Denials” by Simon Dimas

“The Fall of Lady Mara” by Elan Ricarte

“A Hero's Belief” by Israel Olmos

“Truth Alone Lives On Forever” by Jeffrey K Schmoll

“The Purchaser” by Bradford Campbell

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a story from the antagonist’s point of view.

Write about two mortal enemies who must work together.

Center your story around someone facing their biggest fear or enemy.

Write the origin story of a notorious villain.

Contest #263

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

314

Contest entries

109

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: