Second Chances to Save the World

“Welcome to a little TV show we like to call Second Chances. As I am sure none of you know yet, the world ends in two days time.

“After all of our forces tried and failed to stop it, we took all of our crew and time traveled back to two days before the disaster.

“Now, I’m sure you are all wondering what the premise of this game show is and I’m about to tell you!

“Since all of our prepared forces failed us in the end, we decided to pick select superhumans off of the street and teleport them into the future ten minutes before the disaster. They will have to use these ten minutes to try and stop doomsday. They are our second chances for us to have a second chance at living.

“Now, let's get into it.”

I blinked several times, unable to believe my ears. I had been told this game show would take two minutes and that I’d have a chance to win more than I could imagine. Ordinarily, I would not have taken this deal from a stranger on the street, but I have been a little desperate regarding money recently. It had briefly crossed my mind that they had picked me out because they saw me use my powers, but I never could have imagined this was what was coming. 

I looked at the other contestants, standing at podiums beside me. There were seven of us in total. I could only assume that, with a premise like this, the others had also been scouted for their powers.

I opened my mouth to ask if this was some sort of joke or metaphor for a game, but was cut off by the host speaking once again. This was all an obvious setup for a game, right?

The host had finally turned to address the contestants rather than the audience and the look in his eyes sent a shiver down my spine. He was wearing a traditional black superhero mask, you know, the kind that only covered about a third of your face, which only made his gleaming eyes stand out more. He looked crazed. 

“At different intervals within the next minute you will each be teleported into the center of the city, directly where the meteor impacts the earth. Remember, you will only have ten minutes to stop the impact, so you will have to work fast. Whoever manages to stop it will be rewarded a million dollars and the honor of saving humanity. We will be watching and listening to you through the cameras and microphones built into your suits. Questions?”

“What if we work together to save the planet?” one of the other contestants asked. My mouth hung open. They weren’t taking this seriously, were they?

“Then you can split the money,” the host reasoned. “Okay, first person.” With his last words, one of the staff members came and touched a strange device to the contestant who had just spoken and he disappeared into thin air. I gasped. 

“Wh—” I began, but one of the other contestants clearly had a more pressing question because they talked directly over me. 

“Why are we not all going in at the same time?”

“Well,” the host hummed. “Time is finicky. We can make it so that you all arrive within the same minute, but trying to get it down to the exact second is too difficult. Next!” 

I watched as the girl beside me vanished. No way this was real. My power wasn’t even that useful. How was I supposed to stop the apocalypse?

“Any more questions?” The host looked me directly in the eyes as he asked the question and I gulped, shaking my head violently. “Good.” The host smiled. “Do us all a favor and don’t fail.”

I yelped in alarm as I felt the cold metal of the strange device touch my arm and suddenly it felt like I was on a roller coaster. A pressure built up in my head like I was moving at an incredible speed and suddenly I was standing in a mass of screaming people. 

Feeling like I was going to vomit, I tried to quickly take in my surroundings. Sure enough, I was standing at the center of the city, directly by the marble fountain. People were running and screaming around me and it wasn’t difficult to tell why once I looked up. 

My heart dropped into my stomach at the sight before me. The meteor was so close that I wondered if the host had messed up and given up less than ten minutes. Like that made much of a difference when we were all getting ready to die. I looked around for the other contestants desperately. We were all dressed in bright colors and masks matching what the host had been wearing. We were dressed like superheros. 

I didn’t have to look long before I saw someone in a brightly colored suit float up out of the crowd. I desperately ran over to her. 

“How are we supposed to stop this thing?” I yelled up to the girl dressed in such a bright yellow that it hurt my eyes. 

“I have no idea! The largest thing I have ever been able to pick up with my telekinesis was a car! How am I supposed to stop a meteor?” her response did nothing to soothe my nerves. 

My attention was drawn elsewhere by someone teleporting to my side. I jumped in fear before realizing it was another one of the contestants (or should I say victims?) of the show. 

“Please tell me your powers are actually useful in this situation,” the newcomer pleaded. I shook my head and the floating girl did the same. “We’re doomed,” Mr. teleportation whined. 

“I saw a gathering. Do we have a plan?” I shouldn't have been surprised to see a man in a matching red suit come running up to us. “I have super strength, maybe I could help.”

I could practically hear the time ticking away in my head as we desperately tried to come up with a plan. We had gotten nowhere by the time another one of the contestants found us. “Oh thank goodness I found the rest of you.” The new arrival seemed worn out already. “I already ran into the other two and they can’t really help. One of them ran away to find their family. I can freeze things in midair, but it only works for a few seconds. Maybe we could use that somehow."

And with that the group came up with a plan. As they talked, the meteor barreled ever closer and the heat began to rise. By the time the group came up with a solid plan, things around us had begun to catch on fire. The goal was to redirect the meteor. They were going to try to freeze it and use the telekinesis to change its coarse. As a backup, the teleporting contestant was going to bring the strong one onto the meteor to try and move it using sheer strength. I, on the other hand, wasn’t useful to them at all. 

I merely watched as the other contestants ran off to enact their plan. Instead of helping them, I got to work using my ice powers to put out fires and help get people out of the park. At least they might have an extra few seconds to spend with the ones they loved if I got them out of the immediate zone of impact. 

I looked up into the sky as the meteor stopped momentarily. I froze and I hoped. My stomach dropped when, only seconds later, the meteor continued on its path to us as if uninterrupted. The other contestants didn’t return. Now I was alone, covering the world around me in ice that was melting almost just as quickly as I was making it. 

Time passed and the meteor was close enough that the world around me was beginning to literally crumble. Trees were being ripped from the ground and I was struggling to stay on my feet. But I didn’t run. I stood and I faced the giant space rock that was getting ready to wipe out the entire earth.

Gathering all of my power I shot my ice at the meteor, hoping to move it, slow it down, minimize the impact, anything. But nothing changed. As the impending threat barreled closer, I closed my eyes. 

I thought the beeping was my imagination and I braced myself for impact. I waited, but it never came. The air around me was cool and I wondered for a moment if I had died. Confused, I opened my eyes. 

I squinted as the bright lights flashed into my vision and a bright cheery music played. I froze. No way. 

“Welcome to a little TV show we like to call Second Chances.”