Marty the Mask with Superpowers

You may think of me as just a plain old mask. How you are, my friend! I am not just a simple mask. I am Marty the Mask, and I have superpowers! Pretty cool, huh? Let me tell you how my superpowers save lives.

Tommy is my beloved owner. He is the coolest kid around! At first, Tommy was not a huge fan of wearing me. You could say he HATED wearing a mask! His mom sternly warned him he absolutely had to wear his mask whenever he was going to be close by people who did not live with him. She said it did not matter if he was inside or outside with other people. It was safe for Tommy to leave me resting casually on the counter when he was playing inside with his little sister. His whole family was incredibly careful when they left the house, and everyone was healthy.

"Aw, Mom, that's just stupid! No one is afraid to see my snot nose and blubber mouth," Tommy complained.

Tommy's mom explained, “Tommy, no one is afraid to SEE your nose and mouth. We are trying to keep your germs away from other people and to keep their germs away from you. It is the smart thing to do, and it is considerate of other people. Pretty soon, it is going to be a law, and you will have to wear it all the time, even at school. In fact, I do not want you to be around your friends unless you are outside, but still do not get too close to them.

I need to explain this unusual situation. You see, when Tommy was only six years old there was this sickness going around called COVID-19. It was very contagious. That means it was quite easy for people to get sick from being around other people who had COVID-19. The hardest and most confusing part was that some people who did not even feel sick could pass on the harmful germs to other innocent people. Some people got the illness and did not even feel sick. Others caught the illness and had trouble breathing and even had to go to the hospital. It was scary times!

No one could see the ridiculous frown on Tommy’s face when he was wearing me—Marty the Mask with Superpowers. I was so proud to be courageously protecting my buddy Tommy and the people he was around. One day, we went to a supersized grocery store with Tommy’s mom. A disgruntled old man passed us in the crowded aisle. He had a deep cough, and colorful, nasty germs started floating aimlessly toward Tommy. Do not worry, I was on immediate alert. I instantly ignited the barrier across Tommy’s nose and mouth and yelled, “You disgusting germs get away! You will not come near my boy!”

The germs tried hard to penetrate the royal blue fabric on my superpower-coated mask, by my intense barrier was too strong. Those pathetic germs soon gave up and fizzled pitifully to the floor. After the man and his germs passed, Tommy heard the man cough. “It’s a good thing we were wearing our masks. That man sure did look sick,” Tommy’s mom exclaimed.

Another day, Tommy was riding his shiny red bike when he saw his friend Paul. Paul abruptly stopped his rusty green bike right in front of Tommy’s bike and yelled, “Hey, buddy, how’s it going?”

“Where’s your mask?” asked Tommy nervously.

“Oh, I never wear those. I am not going to catch any stinking sickness. I’m invincible!” bragged Paul with a smirk.

They were not waiting long before their friend Jose joined them. Jose was not wearing a protective mask either. Jose looked a gray pale color and was sweating bullets. He started coughing and wheezing. I saw the disgusting germs start soaring with a mission through the air. I put up my super-duper protective barrier and yelled, “You’re not getting near my boy!”

The determined germs tried to get through my extra cool blue fabric, but my incredibly protective barrier was too strong. They gave up pitifully and shot quickly over toward vulnerable unprotected Paul. They smiled slyly at me as they quickly slithered into his nasal cavities with victory.

It is not surprising that a few days later, Tommy’s mom found out Paul had become extremely sick with Covid-19. She said, “I’m so glad you wear your mask when you play outside. It is really protecting you from all kinds of germs. That is so important, and I am proud of you, Tommy”

My friend Maxine the Mask has been busy. Her owner Katy is terribly sick with Covid-19. Katy is coughing a lot and having trouble breathing. She has an extremely high fever. Katy wears Maxine all day long to protect her family from her frightening germs. Maxine says it is hard to keep those scary germs from getting out. She also has superpowers and can put an extra barrier inside the bright pink mask, so no harmful germs can escape. “I tell those nasty germs they aren’t going anywhere!” Maxine proudly exclaimed.

We superpower masks work double duty. We prevent dangerous germs from being pass on from our beloved owners AND we cautiously avoid germs from exposing anyone who wears us.

Tommy soon wore me all the time and even smiled underneath when I was covering his face and mouth. Tommy’s mom washed me well every night in hot water just to make sure no germs were still hanging around.

When school started at the end of the summer, all the students at Tommy’s elementary school were required to wear protective masks. It was fun to be around my other superhero friends. We had a serious job to do—to protect our owners. Some of Tommy’s friends were not able to attend school because it was too risky for their families to take a chance of getting exposed to COVID-19. They watched their smart teacher through their computers. Their teacher was so cool! She has five different superpower masks—one for each day of the week. Each is a different color with letters, numbers and animals on them.

I am proud to be Marty the Mask, using my superpowers to protect Tommy and repel any harmful germs that come his way!