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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

“Badgerman” by F. B. Lee

Submitted to Contest #48

I used to be a farmer. I loved to plant things and watch them grow. I raised chickens, pigs, and cows. I was content with my quiet farm life. I loved to work with my hands doing hard labor from sun up to sun down. I was born big as my mom used to say. There was not a mean bone in my body and I could not hurt a fly. I was a big farm boy who just wanted to be left alone. The world could pass me by and that was just fine. I lived in the middle of no where on my parents farm. It was mine now they had both passed on the year before. A ...

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“Within My Mind and Outside of Yours” by Cadence Rush

Submitted to Contest #48

I simply had died of a car crash, but the aftermath was not quite as simple as the death itself. They said it was a miracle that had saved my life, but I believe that it was pure persistence, electricity, and the feeling of guilt hanging over everybody's shoulder. I was the poor 16 year old boy who almost lost his life, but did lose his family to a semi-truck. Tragic, obviously, but not the end of the world. The tragic thing was that I was now a walking ouija board. I had no tattooed or burnt pentagon on my ...

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“Snuffy's Golden Path” by Hope Wells

Submitted to Contest #48

Once upon a time in November 2009 a beautiful rabbit princess was born in the springtime. Her mummy called her Snuffy. Snuffy enjoyed her young life. When she began to grow, her parents announced to her that it was time to begin her journey on the Golden Path. At the end of the path, she was told, is the land of the Rabbits, but her parents let her know that her journey on the path would be filled with excitement and growth.And so on one very special morning Snuffy set off on the Golden Path. Although Snuffy was afraid to leave her parents,...

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“Where Gods Tread” by Croix Perkins

Submitted to Contest #48

The clouds were doing something strange today. Well really, the clouds were not doing anything, it was the wind; but the clouds and the wind are very good friends, so one can really just lump them together. When I looked up, as I spend most of my time, I saw a crow flying high on the wind. The wind obliged the crow just as happily as it did the clouds, and in fact the two flew in unison; when the crow banked right, the clouds changed their course; when the crow dove, the clouds grew larger in the sky; as the crow cawed, the wind howle...

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“The Support Group” by Katrina Lewin

Submitted to Contest #48

“I am more than my power. My power does not define me. I am powerful just as I am.” I slipped in the back door of the meeting room as the mantra was being chanted and made a beeline for the snack table while everyone took a seat. Some days you just need stale coffee and week-old doughnuts, and today was one of those days. “Hi, I’m Mark, and... I have a shitty superpower.” His voice cracked, and I was pretty sure if I was closer I’d see tears in his eyes. Poor bastard. “Hi, Mark!” “It manifested when I was twelve,” he said, beginnin...

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“THE ONE TRUE SUPERPOWER” by Udochi Ikpa

Submitted to Contest #48

“Get out of the way loser!” Ryan says as he pushes me away from him. I sigh and bend to pick up my book which fell from the impact before hurriedly moving out of the way so I don’t get trampled on. I begin to walk to my class but it seems he isn’t done with me. “Are you walking out on me?” “N-no…” I stammer. I’m sure I just peed myself a little bit. “I…I just thought you were gone.” “Oh! I’m so little you can’t even see me huh? That’s what you think?” Oh God no. Not here, not now. I’m already late for class and I really need the grades. I st...

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“A Quiet Voice” by Linz Vandermeer

Submitted to Contest #48

Fariah Bukhari was born to an average American family. Her Aba worked in an office in the accounting department, and her Ummi stayed home so that she had more time to spend with their small daughter. Her family were devout Muslims, performing the Salah, and living a life of peace. Peace was an integral pillar of the Bukhari household. Fariah was slow to speak as a child, but Aba and Ummi did not despair, for all happened when Allah allotted it to. Though she made small sounds, she formed no true words until she was nearly four years old. Tha...

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“A Forgotten Memory” by Audrey Park

Submitted to Contest #48

"How do you still have straight A's man? Tell me your secret man, come on." Jack pleads as he walks with me out of the class, his arm wrapped around my back. Junior year hit him like a truck when he realized he was failing all of his classes and barely scraping by with a C minus. "it's not that hard man: stop partying and start studying." I tell him. as I say hello to my fellow classrooms. "There has to be some other way Felix." Jack says as he pushes the front door open for both of us. "You know I can't stop." "Which is the problem Jack...

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“The First Amazon Woman” by Rachel Wilcox

Submitted to Contest #48

“You literally have a superpower,” TJ argued. “That’s cool!” “But it’s not a cool superpower. It’s not like I can fly or shoot lasers from my eyes or something,” Chloe sighed. She was walking home from school with her best friend. They were very different, she and TJ. She was tall and blond with the awkward gait of someone who grew too fast and didn't quite know what to do with their body. She was bookish and introverted, not much into sports and preferred the company of butterflies to humans. TJ, on the...

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“A Girl Named Jusine” by Marcia H.

Submitted to Contest #48

Jusine loved going to the zoo. She had fond memories of her grandmother and dad taking her to the zoo when she was a little girl. She always liked to look at the different animals and sometimes she even got to feed them. That all depended on what animal though. Jusine wasn’t going near the goats. She had a dream that a goat with big horns and a bad temper bit her on the leg and she wasn’t taking any chances. Jusine twenty years later still waited in anticipation of the zoo being opened for the year. They closed the zoo in her town in...

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“Another Chance comes in a Snap ” by A. L. V.

Submitted to Contest #48

A rush of sound hit me with great force as I walked inside the chaotic household. What I expected to be a small gathering revealed to be the party of the century as I walked towards the living room. People from the age of fifteen to twenty were scattered about, the disturbing behavior disgusting me as I strut through the house with purpose. Compared to the partiers around me, I probably looked like someone’s lame mom wearing a black leather jacket. I just finished my shift at a local bar and grill, so I smelled like booze and hamburgers....

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“The Traveler” by Shawn Bills

Submitted to Contest #48

“Hello, Cordi,” the man said quietly as he approached the woman. Cordi sat alone on a faded park bench. She was on her lunch break. Today, Cordi was engrossed in a book she had just started reading. Her curly, dark auburn hair hung to one side, creating a sort of fortress that told others she was busy and to stay away. The man then sat on the far side of Cordi’s bench, leaned over and tried again. Clearing his throat, he said a little more loudly, “Excuse me, miss … I said ‘hello’?” Cordi rolled her eyes. She just wan...

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“I HUG!” by Cynthia Cronan

Submitted to Contest #48

REEDSY.COM 03JUL2020 Writing prompt #48 Write about someone who has a superpower. I Hug clcronan2020 When the nurse finally handed the baby to me, I felt my heart grow. The love overwhelmed me. I looked up into Adam’s eyes to see if he felt it too. He did. He was teary eyed. He met my gaze and we let out a collective gasp. We did it. She was finally here. She was tiny, and beautiful, and she was crying. It was a raspy little noise that sounded like it was difficult to make. The nurse indicated I should try to nurse ...

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“Closer” by Rebecca Goldguire

Submitted to Contest #48

It started with the headaches. Searing pain with no warning - flashes of sound and colour. They became more and more disruptive to my life and no medication or treatment could provide me with any relief whatsoever. The headaches led to the appointments. First with doctors, then with specialists and psychiatrists. It all had me convinced I was some kind of crazy. And trust me, having several PhDs delving into your subconscious day in and day out will definitely provide something for you to feel traumatized about.It’s not that the therapy and ...

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“Beer Run” by Rabbitt Sharp

Submitted to Contest #48

This story is Fan Fiction even though I have used none of the characters and only one God from Rick Riordan's "Percy Jackson and the Olympians" Universe. There is at least one barely veiled reference to Camp Half-Blood and it's Director Dionysus. Enjoy the thrill of the Gods once more! And though it is only incidental and of no bearing to the story, the Protagonist is Non-Binary.===============================================Robin sat, balanced on the top of the bus stop bench, and watched the water slowly ooze out of and around the concrete...

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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.

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