The secret of power

Submitted into Contest #51 in response to: Write about someone who has a superpower.... view prompt

277 comments

Fantasy Suspense

Nobody noticed Jake's absence during the English class in the only college in the city. Jake loved technology. So, he took the computer science stream. 

Mrs. Norwich, the English lecturer for the class, had switched on the television in the class when a college staff member came and whispered something. She was a tall, young woman with black hair and large spectacles.

The news flashed,"The Big Jumper is having another encounter with the Trapshot".

"Wow!", shouted the excited students. The Big Jumper was a hero in that small city and could make large leaps.   

Many times the encounter had happened between The Big Jumper and Trapshot. Nobody knew the reason why they were fighting and who they were. 

The bell rang for the college and all the students ran to witness the fight between the hero and the villain.

Trapshot, though not his real name, looked terrifying with self-made advanced technology weapons. Nobody knew his real name. People thronged in the devastated street to watch this encounter. The Big Jumper in a green-blue attire which he dons all the time while he fights, to hide his identity. Trapshot looks like a cowboy on his brown outfit and black boots.

"Give me that suit," shouted Trapshot.

"Not possible, Trapshot," replied The Big Jumper.

" What…," before Trapshot could finish his sentence, The Big Jumper packed a punch on Trapshot's face which sent him flying. Trapshot escaped on his Superbike which could also fly and the crowd applauded The Big Jumper for the gallantry act. He signed some notebooks and took photos with his admirers. At that time, many police cars came to the street. A bank robbery had happened in the nearby bank. Then The Big Jumper ran into an empty street and touched his chest. Suddenly, the suit started disappearing and there stood Jake. He was a strong man with large fists and the suit made him more powerful. He had silky brown hair with blue eyes. He walked into the empty college to take his backpack, but it was not in its place. He went home, keeping his head down. It was his favourite backpack and he had kept it for five years. He was the only child to his parents and they showered all their love on him. They were very friendly towards Jake and never used to chide him. The teachers liked him even though he barely attended the college nor did he secure good marks but for his socialising attitude. 

Meanwhile, people witnessed Trapshot going into the police station and having a conversation with the police. People living near the police station were afraid that Trapshot had got the police in his hands.

….

The following day, Jake decided to attend college. On that day, a new student came to class.

 Mrs. Norwich introduced her as Jane to the entire class. She had curly black hair and she shone brightly like the moon. No one could take eyes off her, but she saw Jake admiringly. She went and sat on the bench where the academically bright students sat. 

At lunch time, many gathered in front of Jane to get a chance to go out with her. But she didn't seem interested. She found Jake standing in the shade of the tree outside the class and started walking towards him. 

"Hi, would you be interested to accompany me to the cafe?", She asked Jake.

"Sure," Jake said while the other students looked at him in surprise. 

As they were chatting while sipping coffee in a cafe nearby, a woman cried,"somebody catch the thief. He is taking my purse".

Jake thought to himself "this looks like a job for The Big Jumper". He took this as a chance to impress Jane. He put down the coffee glass on the table and went into an empty street where no one could see him. He changed into his suit and started chasing the thief. As he could take huge leaps, he caught the thief in no time. He changed into Jake and handed over the purse to the woman. Then he saw some guys trying to kidnap a small girl. Jake remembered Jane waiting for him in the coffee shop. He called the police station near him to come and save the girl and ran to the cafe. But when he returned to the coffee shop, she was not there. He had missed a nice chance to be with her. As he walked in disappointment he saw Jane talking to the same woman whose purse was stolen. He rushed to talk to her.

“Sorry for leaving you in the middle of a conversation. Do you know that woman, Jane?”

“It's okay. Jake, what you did was awesome. No, I was just asking the route to the shopping mall nearby to her,” she said, trembling in surprise.

“Thank you for saving my purse, young man,” the woman said.

“It’s my pleasure,” said Jake.

“Okay, Jake. I have to leave now,” Jane said and walked away. Jake’s mood got better.

On his way to his house, his phone rang. It was his friend, Collins. 

"Hey, Jake," Collins started.

"What's the matter, Collins?", asked Jake.

"That new girl Jane is going out with your archenemy, Jake Hutchins". 

"What?"

"Yes, I saw them go out".

Jake sighed.

"Don't worry, Jake. You come to college and talk to her again".

"Okay, Collins. Bye," said Jake and hanged the call. His frustration knew no bounds.. He put on his suit and started jumping building after building. Hutchins and Jake were college mates, and they didn’t get along with each other. He was another handsome man.

….

On the following day, Jake went to the college and to his surprise saw that Jane was waiting for him. This time he knew he wouldn't miss the chance to go out with her. He decided to reveal his identity to get her attention better. 

"Let's go to the coffee shop again," invited Jake.

"Okay, but before you run away, say the reason to me,” said Jane.

"Okay," said Jake with a smile. They were happily chatting, but this happiness didn't last long. Everyone in the streets started running. They were afraid of something. Jake and Jane went to see what was happening. It was the Trapshot again. 

 She called the police immediately. But, Jake started running away.  

"What are you doing, Jake?", shouted Jane. 

“I am afraid of Trapshot. I am going home,” he replied. But soon The Big Jumper swung into action. This time the police had come on time.  

“ You cannot escape today, Trapshot. The police have come to arrest you on time,” The Big Jumper said, triumphantly.

But Trapshot just gave a wild grin and the police started attacking The Big Jumper. Jake was very confused. 

He fled the scene and found a place on a tall skyscraper to think what was happening around him. Suddenly, he saw a poster saying “Please defeat Trapshot. He has got the police in his hands”.

Jake thought,”that could also be the reason for the police attacking me. Today I will end his story”. Suddenly he remembered some familiar faces. The woman to whom he had given the purse and the thief were among the police force. He was very confused. 

 He thought he had to talk to Jane to clear some of his doubts as he trusted Jane a lot. 

Jake called Jane to meet him in his house.

Jane arrived in an hour and sat down to talk with him. 

"Okay, Jake. What is it?", Jane asked eagerly.

"Who are you? Can you say something about yourself,” Jake asked.

“What is it, Jake? You appear tensed up”.

“I trust you, but, I want to know more about you”.

“Hmm, okay. But do you know that people are talking about Trapshot coming to the police station and having a strong conversation with the police?”Jane asked, to divert him from knowing about her.

“Really! This explains a lot”, Jake exclaimed.

“What does it explain?” she asked.

“Nothing. Just an expression”.

 “Okay, why did you call me, Jake?”  

" I have to say one important thing to you, Jane".

"I am The Big Jumper”.

“What? Are you joking! Jake".

He touched his chest and his suit appeared. 

“Now do you believe? I have to touch this button on my chest to become The Big Jumper,” Jake said, delightedly waiting for her response.

“Wow!”

Jake made his suit disappear and said,” I have to tell you another important thing”.

“You are full of surprises, Jake”.

“Andy and I were childhood friends," Jake started.

"Who is Andy?"

"Wait. We loved technology, but I didn't take any effort to innovate things. But he did. He was an ardent boy. At the summer holiday of 11th grade, he started to make a suit. I was eager to find what suit it was. He revealed it to me and it was a jumper suit, which I use right now. I liked it very much and I wanted to own it. But Andy refused to give it to me. So, I stole the Jumper suit. From then on, I am using his suit to save people and he started to do terrorizing things to get back his suit. He doesn't want to be a villain, but I had made him one. He isn’t the kind of person who blackmails people as I know him. I never shared this with anyone," Jake said with a sigh. 

“It’s okay, Jake. Don’t worry,” Jane said and embraced him. But Jake felt something on his hands. It was a handcuff.

Jane touched her ear and then only did Jake notice that she had an earpiece in her left ear. 

"Confirmed, Sir. You may come.", she said. She stood up and showed her identity card to him. She was a police officer.

" What did you do right now?"Jake asked, panicking.

"I am a spy. Trapshot aka Andy had come to the police station. We were afraid and took weapons for our defence. But he had come unarmed. He lodged a complaint against The Big Jumper. We were surprised when we heard that The Big Jumper had stolen the jumper suit from him. We didn't believe him so we started to investigate it. He also said that every fight was planned by The Big Jumper and that it was an attempt to distract the police and the people to do other crimes like robbery and kidnapping. It was a valid point that he had given and he was not wrong. You were the one who planned the robbery and also the kidnapping of the small girl to distract the police. He said that he had saved the girl from the rogue gang. You are not the hero, Jake. Andy is. He also said that The Big Jumper's name was Jake. He didn't remember the last name so we were a little confused. So I was sent to know about you and Jake Hutchins. The thief and the woman’s purse getting robbed was all our set-up to find out your real identity. Now we have found out the secret of your power and you were right about his character," Jane explained.

“You gave me a big surprise, Jane,” Jake said, ironically.

 Many police cars were standing in straight rows to take Jake to prison. Andy was also there. 

"Come back as my friend, Jake," Andy said.

Jake was taken into the police van with dozens of policemen to make sure that Jake cannot escape.

….

The head police officer decided to say that they had arrested Trapshot so that Andy would continue to win the trust of people as The Big Jumper.

A wild grin came on Jake's face as he knew what was going to happen next.


He knew that from then on he would be a disturbance to the world.



July 23, 2020 14:28

You must sign up or log in to submit a comment.

277 comments

Katrina Lee
09:34 Jul 29, 2020

I like how you challenge our perception of a hero, and a villain. As I was reading, I was getting very strong spider-man vibes, which I love :) Keep writing!

Reply

Keerththan 😀
09:51 Jul 29, 2020

Thank you. Even I love spiderman and Marvel stuff. Thank you for reading. I am glad you liked my story. Also would you mind liking my story?

Reply

Show 0 replies
Show 1 reply
05:09 Jul 29, 2020

Very well written, and very interesting to read, well done.

Reply

Keerththan 😀
05:25 Jul 29, 2020

Thank you for reading.

Reply

Show 0 replies
Show 1 reply
Elle Clark
21:59 Jul 28, 2020

Fun idea for a story, well done!

Reply

Keerththan 😀
00:53 Jul 29, 2020

Thanks.

Reply

Show 0 replies
Show 1 reply
Abigail Slimzy
18:19 Jul 28, 2020

Quite interesting Prakash. Nice story. Though, your descriptions weren't sequentially arranged but you did well by letting the reader(s) know about the trapshort " The story reminds me of "Robin Hood "

Reply

Keerththan 😀
00:53 Jul 29, 2020

Thank you for reading. I have never read Robin Hood actually. Thank you.

Reply

Show 0 replies
Show 1 reply
Doubra Akika
16:50 Jul 28, 2020

I enjoyed reading this. Liked the twist too. There were a few mistakes though but the storyline was amazing. Continue writing!

Reply

Keerththan 😀
00:50 Jul 29, 2020

Thank you for commenting. I will go through my story and try not to do the same mistakes in my next. Thank you for reading.

Reply

Show 0 replies
Show 1 reply
Kathleen March
15:21 Jul 28, 2020

Quite a lot going on in this story. It felt a little too compact for me to follow easily, but then I do not read superhero things very often. Lots of detail!

Reply

Keerththan 😀
15:38 Jul 28, 2020

Okay. But I love superhero stuff. So I was waiting for this prompt. Yes, it also had a lot of details, which were all revealed in the end of the story. But, anyway, thank you for reading.

Reply

Show 0 replies
Show 1 reply
Tharamai Selvi
10:31 Jul 25, 2020

Hi Keerththan, amazing story with awesome climax. Keep writing.

Reply

Keerththan 😀
10:36 Jul 25, 2020

Thank you for reading.

Reply

Show 0 replies
Show 1 reply
Mithra Manjunathan
21:19 Jul 24, 2020

Hi Keerththan It’s an amazing story with an interesting ending. Keep going dear

Reply

Keerththan 😀
03:36 Jul 25, 2020

Thank you for reading.

Reply

Show 0 replies
Show 1 reply
Deepa Kesavan
15:39 Jul 24, 2020

Keerththan, Well developed plot with twists and interesting climax . Keep writing ✌️

Reply

Keerththan 😀
15:41 Jul 24, 2020

Thank you for reading.

Reply

Show 0 replies
Show 1 reply
Mridula K
05:23 Jul 24, 2020

Story line is very creative and apt for a superhero drama. Your vocabulary was strong where it had to be. There was suspense filled at many situations, and it led to a surprising climax - Hero and Villan roles were reversed. Good story.

Reply

Keerththan 😀
05:24 Jul 24, 2020

Thank you for reading. I am glad you liked my story 😊.

Reply

Show 0 replies
Show 1 reply
05:02 Jul 24, 2020

Well done keerththan👍 I liked the climax..keep it up God bless

Reply

Keerththan 😀
05:05 Jul 24, 2020

Thank you reading. I am glad that you liked my story 😊😊.

Reply

Show 0 replies
Show 1 reply
Rizwan Hussain
02:26 Jul 24, 2020

A well narrated superhero drama. Different from the usual good vs evil stuff. Can't wait to read your next story, Well done Keerthan!

Reply

Keerththan 😀
02:37 Jul 24, 2020

Thank you for reading.

Reply

Show 0 replies
Show 1 reply
Krishnan A
23:55 Jul 23, 2020

Very well written. Very good command on language. Long way to go. Looking forward to read more from you. God Bless you.

Reply

Keerththan 😀
01:51 Jul 24, 2020

Thank you for reading.

Reply

Show 0 replies
Show 1 reply
Karthi Keyan
22:37 Jul 23, 2020

Great Keerthu.this one is more engaging and the way the suspense was revealed was awesome..love to see the scenarios of creativity that sprout in you.. continue doing it..😘🤗

Reply

Keerththan 😀
02:13 Jul 24, 2020

Thank you.

Reply

Show 0 replies
Show 1 reply
Anjali Arutchelvan
17:43 Jul 23, 2020

Good creativity, and a curious suspense in the Climax of your story. Keep going. All the best keerthu !!

Reply

Keerththan 😀
01:49 Jul 24, 2020

Thank you.

Reply

Show 0 replies
Show 1 reply
Khethzi Kerena
17:31 Jul 23, 2020

Loved the way the story was narrated... though, initially it resembled spider man stuff... this particular story had a lot more to it.... the suspense kept me to expect more... and all my expectation were fulfilled.... the role reversal... hero as the bad person and vice versa was neatly narrated and justified...way to go.... God bless..

Reply

Keerththan 😀
01:50 Jul 24, 2020

Thank you for reading. I am glad you liked my story.

Reply

Show 0 replies
Show 1 reply
Santosh Kumar
17:09 Jul 23, 2020

Nice one.. excellent thought process to create characters like this and a suspense till the end .. great going .. all the best ..

Reply

Keerththan 😀
01:48 Jul 24, 2020

Thank you for reading.

Reply

Show 0 replies
Show 1 reply
Shamile Rls
16:44 Jul 23, 2020

Lovely story, continue ur efforts 👍

Reply

Keerththan 😀
01:48 Jul 24, 2020

Thank you for reading.

Reply

Show 0 replies
Show 1 reply
Shamile Rls
16:40 Jul 23, 2020

Continue your creations and new thoughts my dear go ahead with ur upcoming stories 👍

Reply

Keerththan 😀
01:47 Jul 24, 2020

Thank you.

Reply

Show 0 replies
Show 1 reply
Dhana Lakshmi
16:37 Jul 23, 2020

A great story Keerthan May God shower blessings to make you churn more stories like this

Reply

Keerththan 😀
01:47 Jul 24, 2020

Thank you for reading.

Reply

Show 0 replies
Show 1 reply
Reedsy | Default — Editors with Marker | 2024-05

Bring your publishing dreams to life

The world's best editors, designers, and marketers are on Reedsy. Come meet them.