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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

“And then the world stopped... ” by Lucy Frejkova

Submitted to Contest #48

It was cold that morning. So cold that you had to jump up and down a few times before you managed to open the car door. It was 5 a.m. in the morning, Monday. The streets were quiet, dark and kind of scary. You sat in your car, realising how cold the seat is. You started the car, or at least that was the plan. It made kind of coughing noise. “Oh shit.” You muttered under your breath and tried again. The car made the same noise. “Oh shit!” You said, this time loudly and punching the steering wheel, you sighed. Think, think, THINK! The voi...

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“The Silent Peter” by Ashley Parsons

Submitted to Contest #48

Silva. Blond, youthful and full of life. Well she was at one point in her life. If you look at her long enough you can still see it, the glimmer of hope. A “let's do this!” Attitude, a sparkle that says “I can do anything I set my mind to”. Nevertheless, today is not a time for sparkle and glimmer. Silva is a mother to three smaller humans as well as a dog, fully kitted out kitchen and a strong handsome husband to boot! She's set up really, but when she's standing at the bus stop, one arm being pulled left by a 5 year old, the ri...

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“A Different Kind of Savior ” by Javeria Salman

Submitted to Contest #48

Sara has not been paying attention to me lately. Usually, she came home, put food in my bowl, rubbed my ears, and picked me up, carrying me to the living room to plop me on the sofa. Lately, however, she has been…distant. She comes home, puts food in my bowl, and then goes straight to her room. She doesn’t come out till dinnertime. We live alone in a small apartment because her school is far from her home. She has two siblings, Mark and Eliza, and if I’m being completely honest, without them here, there is a lot more peace and quiet. Since s...

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“At the Cost of Nothing” by Jessica Antonio

Submitted to Contest #48

Humans are wonderful. Humans are dangerous. These two thoughts seeped through my mind as I walked beside my owner with a collar around my neck. My owner is a good person. She can be annoyingly clingy at times, but she takes care of me at the cost of nothing. I spent most of the day locked up in a cage. No matter how much I cried, no one came to my rescue. I wasn't allowed outside until my owner came back home. My owner has saved me many times before. As a pup, my owner's family thought of me as a nuisance. I was careful not to provoke the v...

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“The Pendant” by Shyamika Hapuhinna

Submitted to Contest #48

It was only 5 minutes for the last bell. Mr. Peterson was conducting his history lesson on how Columbus got into America and all those except for those seated in the first two rows were actually living in several centuries ago – probably visualizing Columbus invasion in their minds. Visualization of invasion was so intense that Andy lost his balance and actually fell on Melissa’s shoulder. The instant slap given by Mellissa brought Andy to the present date and to the history lesson. “What’s going on?” Mr. Anderson’s thunderous voice immedi...

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“they came from the vat” by Derek Brown

Submitted to Contest #48

They were fed up. This was the second fight this week. Though there were more injuries as opposed to casualties this time. Collateral damage would never be forgivable. At least not in this town. This time it was one of them who lost someone close to them. He had been sitting in an unlocked cell looking into the void of spent emotion for awhile now. There would be no point in locking the door even if they new why he was there to begin with. They had seen him rip a car apart with his own bare hands. He was an Adonis, those who were not out...

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“Aspen the Hero” by Ella Kinnett

Submitted to Contest #48

I want to leave so bad, but I can’t, there's no way that I will get chosen. I have been in the same old tank looking at the same old faces for what has seemed to be years upon years. If any of you are wondering, it’s really boring doing the same thing every single day. Some fish who were said to be in the tank even longer than me, just didn't wake up one day. After a few days if they still were not awake they were taken away by the humans. Some say that they died of boredom, but those are just the legends and fairytales that the minnows tell...

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“Sunbeam ” by Cynthia Black

Submitted to Contest #48

This is a fairy tale for those who do not believe in fairy tales. Once not so very long ago, a lake was discovered that provides all who drenched themselves in its waters with something extraordinary. Nestled deep within the Blue Forest of Belgium between the Zenne River and the Zonien Woods is Lake Sapphire. Unlike any other in the world is the Blue Forest with its beautiful yet eerie carpet of bluebells and giant Sequoia trees. At night Lake Sapphire is said to glow. By day one must squint to shield its brilliant blue. It’s a wonder...

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“The Life Changing Gift” by Neil Brooks

Submitted to Contest #48

Like most people, Horace Cardwell had a humble beginning. Horace was born in 1882 New York City, as the son of a blacksmith. Working long hours with his father growing up, he scraped together meager savings and a dream of going to college. Horace wanted to be able to give his future family a better life than he had growing up on the lower east side of New York City. All throughout school, Horace worked as hard as he could to get the best grades; he knew that being a blacksmith was not for him. Using connections he made through his fathers sh...

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“Ambivalence” by John Ramone

Submitted to Contest #48

Throughout their youth they were rudderless ships; bright sparks that had all the potential in the world but lacked the drive to conquer it. Or so they thought. Their parents would often complain that they did the bare minimum, but the bare minimum by their standards was more than enough to keep them ahead of his peers. They would constantly scream at the children for not working hard enough or missing out on key chances to elevate themselves above their classmates. The parents were so focused on the achievements of others that they failed t...

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“An Unlikely Savior” by Dayton Buziak

Submitted to Contest #48

An Unlikely Savior Northern Saskatchewan, Canada – 11:30 PM – December 24th, 1999 Three men, guised in military gear head to toe stomped through the thick brush, their feet sinking into the mounds of fresh snow gathering around them each and every piece to their heavy armor black as night. A red, fuming glow exchanging from between their hands, each inhaling a heavy lungful of the toxic smoke through their skeletal facemasks, then releasing it into the cold, night air. Ahead the very sight, sound and smell of Christmas seemed to un...

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“Healing Cuts” by Jason Burchfield

Submitted to Contest #48

I read her chart several times. Nine years old is too young to have cancerous tumors growing in your brain. I guess there’s no age that it’s good, but bad things shouldn’t happen to children. I waited until three in the morning, the perfect time. Her parents were passed out uncomfortably in their chairs. My one coworker was probably dozing in and out at the desk waiting for the shift to end. Then there was me trying to mentally prepare myself for the pain to come. I had no problem making the trade, but I didn’t ...

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“Artemis: The girl behind the mask ” by Angel Browne

Submitted to Contest #48

I was a normal kid until I wasn't. My mother was all about fairytales, she talked of damsels in distress who would eventually be saved by a knight in shining armour. She would tell me to be patient and wait for my knight to show up and save me whenever I was in trouble. Since I can remember, it has always been just me and mom. I was never a curious kid, never asked my mom about my dad because I knew that whatever the answer was, it would do nothing but hurt her. And if she said that he was dead I would never have a knight to come save me. ...

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“The Missing Friend” by Steffani Hitchcock

Submitted to Contest #48

Kyle was a very average person. He worked at a call center in Manhattan. He had a group of three friends who he spent most of his time with. He lived in a tiny two-bedroom apartment with one of those friends, Billy Childress. They met at school when they were twelve after Kyle invited Billy to his tree house so they could look at Kyle's dad's Playboy magazines that he had hidden in a box. When they were fourteen, they met Carlos Trujillo at the mall attempting to pick up two eighteen year old girls. After the girls turned him down, Kyle and...

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“The Avenue That We Call Home” by Hana J

Submitted to Contest #48

The street lamps on Winch Avenue didn’t just flicker, they crackled and waned from the lack of life. A loud buzzing however ascended, small flies swarmed against the frosted glass beating at it until each fell. Worming at the pavement, they twitched and flopped against the frigid concrete in the aftershock of their deaths. Winch Avenue stood bearing silence among its reckon. A road that many people had called home for several years, lessened in its sole attempt to be recognized. Growing in a way that no one ever thought was even possible.&nb...

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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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