When you think of the word HERO, what’s the first thing that comes to mind? A man in a blue suit with a red cape and the letter “S” on his chest, whizzing around stopping crime and saving damsels in distress? Well, that’s exactly what I am; a man who has to wear a skin tight suit and save a helpless maiden from a villain. The only thing that is keeping me from doing that job is a hundred-foot drop. I turn my head to see if there is another way to get to my destination. All I can see are too many buildings with screens displaying commercials for Japanese sparkling water and the busy people of Tokyo mulling about on the streets below. Doing a free fall drop is my only option, so to prepare myself, I get into a stance and jump. At that very instance I dive and waited for my feet to hit the floor…

There is a safety mat on top of the floor, so I am fine.

“Cut!” shouts the movie director; “That was good, let’s take five and then do the other scenes.” We all move to the snack bar to get some food. My fellow stuntmen and I like sweets, so we all go for the bowl of M&Ms. I am currently stunting for the new superman movie.

“Riku!” I hear the director call me. “Yes sir” I answer; I see the director come towards me, he wears his usual plaid shirt, all black scarf, khaki pants, black dress shoes, and a tan newsboy hat to top it all off. “Good job today, you know, I didn’t really expect anything from you at first, but now, after I have seen what you are capable of, all I can do is applaud you” he says. “Um, thanks” I answer; I don’t really know if I should take the comment as an insult or a compliment; but just to be on the safe side, I let it go.

Since it is break time, a leisurely walk sounds good to me. As I take, I overhear a conversation. It sounds like an argument; I turn a corner and can’t believe what I see, a hulking man wearing a black hoodie towering over a young woman in the alley behind the studio. Just to be on the safe side, I crouch behind a dumpster and listen.

“Give me the package unless you want a death wish” the man says. Someone has to call the police, I thought. I pull my phone out and try to call, but my phone is dead. He slowly raises his arm gripping a knife, but before he can go any further, I reveal myself. “Hey you! Stop right there” I say. He bursts out of the alley; I listen to my instincts and begin to follow the perpetrator. As I chase him down multiple streets, I end up in the doorway of a massive power plant.

The sulfuric stench begins to fill my nose as I scan the area for any sign of the man in black. I carefully walk as silently as I can, on the balls of my feet; I don’t want the man to start running again. As I walk down multiple hallways, I see many types of chemicals. I stop at a room with a tall pillar in the middle of it. I get distracted by the streaks of electricity twirling around the pillar. Just then a black figure rushes through the room and out a side entrance. I quickly change my pace and rush to get him. When I reach that side, I see green fumes coming out of cracks in the floor. Lights flash around me, sirens ring in my ears.

I move my head back and forth trying to find any signs of what is going on. I see the man in the black hoodie press buttons and turn knobs in a room that was hidden from the doorway; I try to tell him to stop but the fumes fill my lungs and I can’t breath. I try walking but my legs are suddenly numb and heavy; I am helpless. I see him smile, look at me, and turn one final knob. I feel the floor open; there is a bubbling pit of green chemicals in a huge tub beneath me. Luckily there is a cord connecting the trap door to the pillar, so I grab on. I hold on for dear life. I see a shadow fall upon me; as I slowly look up I hear a chuckle.
“Shouldn’t have chased me down. man. That is what you get for trying to be the hero.” He cuts the cord that leads to the pillar; there is a loud crash. All I can see is the top of the pillar teeter, and the whole thing falls into the pit with me.

My whole body burns so white hot that I don’t feel pain. I use all the strength I can muster and try to open my eyes. Everything is wavy and blue. I see the cord that led to the grand pillar fall into my field of vision. I stretch my hands forward in an attempt to grab the cord; it is too far away; I reach to grab it again, but no luck.
“I’m not going to die here!” I think; I make one last attempt at the cord; my fingers feel the rubbery texture of the cord. At that moment I feel my body go numb and my vision go white.

I blink the white away, and I am on the floor and out of the tub. My eyes focus on my hands and my feet. Huh, they are okay. I feel a tingling sensation on my fingertips and a bolt of lightning comes out of the tips. “Whoa! What was that?” I say out loud. I point my hand towards an empty space and concentrate; I see my hands glow a shade of blue and a lightning bolt shoots out once again. I look at the chemical pit. I hear two sets of footsteps above me.
“I don’t know…wait, look there is someone down there.”
I hear the footsteps get closer and decided to make a run for it; they wouldn’t believe me if I told them that I had fallen into a vat of chemicals and lived.
“Stop!” “We just want to ask you some questions.” I hear one of them say, but by the time he had completed the sentence, I was long gone.