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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#48: Superpower

The faces of superheroes have long emblazoned everything from our t-shirts to our lunch-boxes. For over a decade, the Marvel movies have dominated box offices, and for almost a century, superhero comics have remained prized possessions.

A Smithsonian article describes the broad appeal of superheroes: "At their best, superhero origin stories inspire us and provide models of coping with adversity, finding meaning in loss and trauma, discovering our strengths and using them for good purpose. (Wearing a cape or tights is optional.)"

This week's prompts are for anyone who's ever wondered, "If you could have one superpower, which one would it be?" And as always, our prompts are open to interpretation! Whether your entry includes familiar superhero tropes, or ends up being a piece of literary fiction about someone who just so happens to move faster than the speed of light is up to you.

This week's prompts

Write about someone who has a superpower.

Middle School – 333 stories

Write about someone who always comes to the aid of others.

Teens – 108 stories

Write the 'origin story' of a person who goes on to achieve great things.

Fiction – 128 stories

Write about a person who collects superhero comics.

Middle School – 89 stories

Write a story that features a protagonist with an archnemesis.

Character – 112 stories

Stories

“The Representation of Unreality” by Amy Wang

Submitted to Contest #48

(content warning: implied suicidal ideation) Once, there was a girl who was preternaturally good at creating representations. She could not tell how she came to possess this power. Perhaps she had been born with it, or perhaps one day she had gotten carried away reading Erich Auerbach and it had simply sprung into existence.She could do impressive things with this power, and for a time she put it to good use. She could make movies and carve ice-sculptures and impress small scribbles on a piece of paper, and all around her, the people would s...

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“The Upward Option” by Benny Regalbuto

Submitted to Contest #48

Everyone has wished or hoped or dreamed they could fly at some point in their lives. Free as a bird, finally untethered from their earthly troubles as they soar through the stratosphere. It’s a nice idea, but I can barely stand the troposphere myself. I’m no meteorologist, but Google says that 62°F is the average tropospheric temperature, and it can get as cold as -60°F. I went up to test it out a while back and… won’t be going that far up again. So lame. Then there’s the matter of landing. I don’t really watch superhero movies or read com...

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“EvoWatch” by Aneka Williams

Submitted to Contest #48

Kaleb watched with interest as his friend, Daniel, swung across the balustrade on his graffiti designed skateboard. It skidded on the iron, causing enough friction to build between the wheels, and jumped off in a frontside one-eighty. Daniel continued to slowly stroll around after that with a cocky grin on his face.“Let’s see you top that,” Daniel challenged.Kaleb had been skating for three years, Daniel only having a year under his belt. Kaleb didn’t need to tell him he could top it and he figured his actions would speak for itsel...

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“Origin of Invisible Woman and Human Torch” by Nataleigh Sandberg

Submitted to Contest #48

Frost Green was a normal middle-school student. She was the average height, had blue eyes, freckles, and brown hair. She had friends (but not a lot) and enemies. She was normal. That is, until a year ago. Frost was suntanning out on her driveway, with sunglasses on and a hot, blue-fringe bikini. She was laying on her towel and winking at the cute boys that passed by, when she saw someone walking across the street-Tyler Higgins. Shoot. Tyler Higgins harassed Frost all he wanted in the School Year, and now that it was summer, it was his favori...

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“Venomous Cure” by Meralys Matta

Submitted to Contest #48

My name is Josh and I’m 18 years old, first thing you need to know is that my sister Natalie is the person the I love the most in this world. You may be thinking, How about your parents? Well my mom died when I was 13 and my dad was the cause of my world being destroyed. 5 years ago, I was very sick, and so you don’t have to do the math, yes, I was 13 years old. I was basically all day in a hospital bed, yes, I know, Boring. A few weeks later my dad, who works in Nova, a very cool scientist place, discovered a cure for me. But little d...

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“PUMA The heart of a lion” by Monday Williamson

Submitted to Contest #48

Have you ever felt like you would make a difference in the world if only you were someone important? or if you are as strong as Superman? or perhaps spiderman?well I am sure you most have thought of something of such in the past or now, just like I have and I'm sure most people have too. Sometimes you might be feeling kinda inspired to do something great and heroic perhaps trying to save someone from getting bullied only to end up having your ass kicked.that's when you realize this superhero shit only happens in movies and in real life those...

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“Snow and fire” by Wadoomy M

Submitted to Contest #48

It’s time, I have to do this. I settle my hand on my stomach benevolently, rubbing on it, a tear escapes my eyes. This will be the hardest thing I will ever have to do. This is the only way for one of us to survive and take care of you, I speak to my growing stomach. I put on my white cloak; I gaze at it recalling the day I was gifted this it was a representation of my tribe the Chióni. I used to hear the folk tales as a kid, the rivalry between the Chióni and the Fotiá. It all started when Christopher Fotiá, the leader of the Fotiá t...

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“A Reluctant Superhero” by Ajay B

Submitted to Contest #48

Seth did not know how it happened. One morning, he just woke up and he could do it. It was a miracle! Apparently, he no longer needed the wheelchair beside his bed. The feeling in his legs returned and his toes even twitched! He wiggled his legs while he was still in the bed. They moved and he was moved to the point of tears. Three years after a motorcycle accident left him paralyzed and after doctors told him the severity of his injuries would never allow him to walk again, Seth was walking. He was somew...

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“You'd Better Not Lie” by Carille Durbin

Submitted to Contest #48

When she was five years old, Margaret asked her friend, Nichole, if she took her barrettes. Nicole lived next door and they played together almost every day. The day before, Margaret had been showing Nicole her beautiful new hair clips. They were pink with sparkling stones; Margaret loved them. "I haven't seen your barrettes since you showed them to me!" Nichole sounded angry. Margaret's vision became blurry just before she saw a bright flashing red...

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“His Super Power was Obvious” by Nanci Arvizu

Submitted to Contest #48

The FBI team had been waiting in the most god-awful ugly unmarked cars in the parking lot of Home Depot in what was any town U.S.A. Agent Xavier Yates couldn’t keep cities like this straight anymore. The same tree-lined streets of sleepy suburbia leading to a plethora of retail waiting to soak up whatever money could be squeezed by the surrounding residents who flocked to these places like moths to a flame. Even the bad guys blurred together. “Hey, YoLo, wake up,” his partner Axe pointed at the entryway. “There goes our guy.” Yates noted...

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“Burn” by Y N

Submitted to Contest #48

Take a deep breath. Breathe. I’m trying to calm myself. I tell myself the same words over and over again, trying to brace myself for whatever happens next. You have to do this. You only have a few minutes. There are people who are counting on you. You don’t have much time. I hear screams. Cries of terror. My hands are shaking, but I clench them. You can’t show them that you’re afraid. You have to be there for them. You have to give them hope. You have to comfort them. A part of me screams at me to run away, but I can’t. These people ...

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“Comforted Cries” by Dorothy Claybourn

Submitted to Contest #48

At just three years of age Eleanora or just El as she prefers to be called first heard the cries, more like a mewling almost. Not sure what or whom she was hearing it frightened her. She pulled the covers over her head and sang You are my Sunshine over and over until it stopped.When El turned 8 she was already used to the crying she would hear that no one else seemed to hear. Each time she would sing You are my Sunshine and it would go away after a bit of time.She could never talk to her Mother or Father about the cries. They were ...

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“The Unforgettable Truth” by Choice Goodwin

Submitted to Contest #48

In an orphanage located in Yonkers, there lived a poor, little witch named Choice Nickel. It wasn't ideal. Not a ripped red house, but one filled with weapons and an evil smell. It was a stripy house with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a witch-house. Though they were supposed to be a family, all the children had was fear. All of the kids' powers were hidden from them, so they could live a “normal life.” The foster parents never told the kids about their powers because they wanted to be powerful as they inherited Choice...

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“She is my superhero... ” by Kayla Bruyn

Submitted to Contest #48

My mom is a superhero. I know that everyone says that. But I want to tell you all about her. This is why she is better than a marvel superhero. She had me at 18 with a man that was very bad. She found out he had been touching me inappropriately just before I turned two. She took him to court with a lawyer that took her case pro bono after meeting bio dad and hated him on the spot. His rights were terminated. Mom took me and ran with everything we had. It was legal, but only just. She would spend the next 22 years raising me h...

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“A Stray Friend” by Amber Griffith

Submitted to Contest #48

I walked along the edge of the park, away from the crowds. From wall to wall, it was a groomed green field, segmented up by hard grey paths that cut from one edge of the park to the other. People sat on benches littered across the grass. Pigeons gathered around them, hoping that one generous soul would toss them some leftovers. Pampered dogs walked next to their people, attached to them by a leash. You could see excitement blatantly written in the dog’s faces and bodies, as if this was the best part of their day. Walking through this park us...

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$50

Prize money

770

Contest entries

0

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Jul 03, 2020 EST

Won by Jeff C. Carter 🏆

Title: Primum Nil Nocere

Submissions must be between 1,000 - 3,000 words and will be approved and published on Reedsy Prompts within 7 days of the contest closing.

Read the full terms & conditions or check out the FAQ if you have any questions!

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