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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

“No, You Can't” by Tom Alberti

Submitted to Contest #48

"No, you can't." I heard that phrase from my father. He was a kind and gentle man who loved me very much. My desire of wanting a train set or building blocks even a Golden Retriever was never denied. As to the aspect of reaching physical goals, he would always say, “No you can’t.” I was born with Cerebral Palsy. I learned to walk at the age of five. My knees were deformed which made my balance awkward that occasionally made me plop to the ground. I held back the tears, not to the pain of falling, but the embarrassment of other...

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“A little too much” by Aliza Hameed

Submitted to Contest #48

She always wore hand-me-down clothes as her school uniform. Her eyes had a dark brown color. Her amber silky hair were almost always braided. Her mother was very kind and soft spoken person and her father had a very short temper. Her grades were good and her athletic abilities were a little above normal. Her social skills were also fine. She had a good number of friends in her school. To others she would seem almost perfect. But she lived in her own imaginary future. She would always go on about how she will go to one of the most prestigious...

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“Resolution” by Clarys J.C.B.

Submitted to Contest #48

It happened out of nowhere. I didn’t even notice until it was too late. It was a normal Monday morning, and as expected I was late. “Hey man! You missed first period.” Joey greets me with a high-five as he came out of our classroom. The sea of students rushing to get out pushed him nearer to where I was waiting by the door. “I was reading the book you lent me.” We both walk towards the direction of the gym. The second subject is P.E. which I don’t really look forward to. We try to avoid bumping into any other student in the hallway als...

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“The Sinning Saint” by Indigo Love

Submitted to Contest #48

I’ve managed to put myself into one of the worst scenarios anyone could ask for. I’ve begun wondering whether I was tricked, and this really is hell all along. Left to rot in dimension of evil, an endless torture that I both feel and cause. I wanted to give up. This can’t be worth all the trouble I go through. I get so close to throwing it all away, then I think of that day. I think of how far I’ve come. Everything I’ve sacrificed. All the work I have yet to do. That may be the only thing fueling the fire, so I have to run while it’s burning...

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“A Better Day” by Penis Cunt

Submitted to Contest #48

A Better Day “Day 652. Flash. Issue 51. Flash collection still incomplete.” Steve writes on a charred, leather notebook. Amidst the dusty space laden with cans of food and other related scraps, Steve sits himself behind a neatly organized desk. He then opens a small drawer and tosses the notebook inside. Steve takes off his leather-clad armor and throws them aside. Placing his gun down onto the clean table, he carefully unloads the magazine and cleans the dust off his rifle, before putting the magazine back in again. Before reclining o...

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“Crinkled Memories ” by X. Berry

Submitted to Contest #48

The attic door opened, years of undisturbed dust floating in the sunlight that peaked through the windows encrusted with hints of mold. The attic itself was a mess, really, as one should expect any attic to be, but Lyra knew they held more than years of hoarded junk. She bent down near a brown cardboard box, which seemed to have bumped into a multitude of objects over the course of its lifetime for its corners were bent and worn away. Lyra carefully picked up the stack of graphic novels and crinkled news comics that lay inside and set them t...

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“A Fan Till The End” by Isla Scott

Submitted to Contest #48

I had always loved comic books, right from a young age the adventures of Batman were my favourite. Although the heroes were never really my favourite characters. I mainly loved the villains and would sometimes find myself sympathising with them.I never thought there would be anyone like me.Until one day, I ran into my favourite comic book store to get my hands onto the new edition of The Umbrella Academy. There were a few people here and there but mostly the store was empty. I noticed a man holding my favourite edition of a comic. One which ...

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“Athena: Goddess of Comics” by Steffani Hitchcock

Submitted to Contest #48

Athena's best friend, Kylie, was helping her get ready for the first day of their Junior year of high school. "I don't really like that top, Athena, it's a weird color." Kylie said. "You're right. I'll change," Athena told her. "This is going to be our best year," Kylie explained. "Sophomore year didn't count because we were still young, and senior year isn't that important because no one goes until around prom anyway." "It's also the most important year for grades, Kylie," Athena said, annoyed. "Right, right," Kylie giggled. Kylie meant w...

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“The Red Raider” by Becky Nanney

Submitted to Contest #48

I didn't know much about comics, but he did. He was fascinated by all the heroes, villains, magical places. I wasn't. Nevertheless, it was he who awoke the hero in me. My brother, Jakob, was only six years old when he saved my life. His curiosity so was impeding upon my personal life that I thought I might kill him, as most teenagers feel about younger siblings, I'm sure. He was always asking what I was doing and why I was doing it. He then would proceed to compare me to some superhero or another and I would always just shake my head. "I'm...

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“Blue Light” by Lauren Bae

Submitted to Contest #48

Adam quickened his pace but the fourth grader wouldn’t leave him alone. He groaned before turning around. The girl was caught by surprise and fell on the ground, leaves crunching underneath her and her backpack. “I don’t care what you think you saw, Charlie. Whatever it was, it never happened.” Adam said, helping Charlie up from the forest ground. “Just please go home.” Charlie responded by shoving a yellow comic book in his face. Without looking at the title, Adam already knew which one it was. “The Mind Bender.” Adam sa...

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“Birds flitting” by Clarys J.C.B.

Submitted to Contest #48

It was really hot in the morning. The kind of hot where the sun was hard to look at as it just blinded my eyes. The sunlight on my skin felt burning. I wanted to cover up but then it was also very warm and I didn’t like icky feeling of clothing clinging to me because I was sweating in places I didn’t even know could sweat. It was just plain horrible. I even smelled horrible. I just longed to go home, take a shower, and chug down cold drink after cold drink. But I couldn’t do that right now. A job was a job. I had to do it, even if I didn...

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“Enigma” by Leland Day

Submitted to Contest #48

It came in the mail. An announcement that the Superhero Comic Book Development was making their newest comic, Enigma, in bulk and releasing it to the public on June 26. But that wasn’t all! This time around they were changing things up a bit. Five out of the billions of copies made contained a golden superhero silhouette. Whoever found one and presented it to the Head of Development would receive a tour through their most secret and illustrious factory. The tour would begin once all of the tickets were found. Of course, once June 26 arrived ...

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“Fighting Fit” by MG Taboada

Submitted to Contest #48

“Just look at this place!” Janice says, standing in the middle of the hallway and fanning herself. Stacks of comic books line the walls, forming a dark tunnel. Her dark hair is drawn back in a tight bun, she smooths over her freshly ironed shirt. “This has gone too far.” “Looks alright to me,” Kim says as she leans against a wall near the doorway. “You would say that; when was the last time you actual...

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“Adventures in collecting” by Darren Bourne

Submitted to Contest #48

I remember a day back in 1994 it was a bright sunny Saturday morning. Although not always the earliest of risers I was up, washed, dressed and had eaten my breakfast by 8 o’clock in the morning a rarity on a weekend. Today I was going to the comic book shop in Barnet with my friend Graham. It had one of the largest back issue collections out of all the shops we generally visited. Our usual shops in Watford and St Albans were good but this had a much larger selection and I was looking forward to filling some gaps in my...

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“The Stars in the Pages ” by Elisha Hill

Submitted to Contest #48

I lived in a small town on the countryside. It was one of those places where everybody knew everybody. Where people did not worry too much about forgetting to lock their front doors or set the alarm for their cars. To anyone else, this town is nothing but another spec on a map, a town that people passed to get to another, but to me it was so much more. It was my home, my life even. “Your head is in the clouds again, Mira.” A soft voice whispered to me. In front of me lies my mother. Her wrinkled golden-brown skin hung loose around her ey...

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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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