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Post by willc453 on Aug 31, 2020 18:54:00 GMT -6
The Affected: Thor Chapter 1
Boy, was Marvel ticked when I not only came on to the superhero scene, but wearing a costume just like their comic book and movie character. Not that I have the physique of or Chris Hemsworth's looks and of course, my hair was a wig and my hammer was nothing more than a piece of wooden dowel and the hammer itself is 3D printed in resin. But with my new abilities, it works just like the one in the comic books. Oh....let me formally introduce myself, though by now, many know my former name. I'm Jacob Cohen, former UNR (University of Nevada) student and Reno resident. I've always had an interest in drawing starting back when I was a kid, not that I was that good but my enthusiasm and drive was there. Our parents divorced when I was a kid and it was there I found my escape from life if you will, in reading comic books, graphic novels and manga books. As to the last two items, I read all that I could from the public libraries. As to manga, to put it simply, it's a form of comic books, covering a wide subject matter, but in a paperback form. Of course, those carried by the libraries were basically of the G rated variety. I have two younger sisters to watch while Mom worked as a cage cashier at the El Dorado hotel/casino on its swing shift. While our father was SUPPOSE to pay child support, it was a RARE occasion when she got a money order in the mail from him. In case you didn't know, casino people do NOT make a lot of money unless you're up there in the hierarchy, So finances were always a struggle in part due to the high cost of renting a three bedroom house. Then add needing new clothes, not that ours were. Our clothing came from Goodwill or some other thrift shop, along with free clothing posted on Craigslist. And I'll be honest....I was envious of other kids who seemed to get new clothes every year, their own phones, a pc at home in which they could access the internet, etc. And let's not forget us going to the food bank twice a month to help our finances stretch even further. But one thing we had in abundance was Moms love. And while we were poor money wise, Mom did her best that we did things together on her days off which was Wednesdays and Thursdays. Like having a picnic from time to time at Sparks Marina, She'd make us sandwiches (usually bologna and cheese or tuna fish), bring small bags of chips for each of us and a can of soda to drink. Other times, it would be a whole chicken which she baked the night before and her mothers potato salad using her Moms recipe. When I turned 9, my life changed. This was when I started babysitting my sisters after I was out of school, then learning how to wash clothes, clean house and cook. Mom worked VERY hard at making ends meet and working at the casino for extra hours when she could. Some might say we were latch key kids, but we weren't as Mom KNEW where we were at, which was always at home. As for me learning these and other things, that's because I volunteered. Anything to make Moms life easier.
As to me, I always had something to read from the library while my sisters played with their dolls. Mom would bring blank copier paper from work from time to time for me to draw on. At first, I couldn't do anything more than copy from my reading material, but then found several library books on how to draw comic book characters, followed by human anatomy. Dollar Tree and Walmart supplied me with regular pencils and for my birthday and Christmas, I always got actual drawing paper and an assortment of different colored pencils which Mom got from Michaels, always using a 20% off coupon which she got from a co-worker.
Now doing this (learning to draw), found myself withdrawing from others, but not Mom or my sisters of course. Which meant putting on weight. Trying to find a job when you're a child is basically impossible, but they ARE out there. Not a job job, you know, something where you knew how many hours you'd work and what you'd get paid each week. Must of been nice in older times where a kid could mow lawns, have a paper route, etc. We kids would be in school with me walking my sisters home, where we'd be with Mom for about thirty minutes before she had to leave for work. At which time she'd tell us what she'd made for our suppers, with her giving me a piece of paper telling what temperature to set the stove at, though more than once it was nothing more than soup, sandwiches and the occasional bag of chips. With several years between me and my sisters, I had to hustle to meet them at their elementary school when I started junior high school.
Once they started junior high school, I was in my first year of high school and able to get a job working at McDonalds. Felt bad that I couldn't escort them home, but the bus would drop them off several blocks from our place, so it wasn't that bad. So there I am, learning how things are done at McDonalds. Pay was low, but it was additional money coming in, something that helped us as a family and that was the important thing. And I got a free meal there too. I worked as many hours as I could, but there was a limit due to child labor laws along with I'd be getting health insurance if I worked forty hours or more a week. Since I didn't have a savings account, that was the first thing Mom had me open, taking me down to her bank. If I'd had my way, Mom would of gotten all of my paycheck, but she insisted that I save money each week, no matter how small it might be. She said from little acorns, giant oak trees grow. And that money she did get each week from me, did make a difference. When my sisters had their birthdays, they got a new dress along with some undergarment things. Funny thing about it was Mom asking me if this was okay. Of course it was and she did some crying about this. As for me, no new clothes because I didn't want them. Better to have Mom stash some money off to one side when things came up, like her not getting any overtime.
During all this time I kept drawing or should I say, LEARNING how to draw better? I wasn't Einstein, I got some A's and a lot of B's as Mom believed as well as I did that a good education was the path to a better life. However I did make some friends while going to school. You know, the nerdy type, some of which were into comic books, etc., along with having the internet in their homes. More than once I'd be at someones house where we'd watch old Japanese anime movies, along with the old Warner Brothers cartoons such as Bugs Bunny, Elmer Fudd, etc. Thing is, when I could, I'd read Thor comic books though I couldn't tell you why I had such a fascination about him. It was at a friends house that I found out about cosplay which is where people wear costumes of those characters they like, whether it's from a comic book, movie, etc. Thing is, there's a lot of nifty neat stuff you can learn watching Youtube videos....like making your own cosplay costumes. And no, you don't need to spend a lot of money on this stuff either. It was from the public library that I got internet access to. And that, readers was my secret desire: to build my own Thor costume and actually go to a cosplay convention. Not that it was going to happen money being what it was, but things change with the passing of time.
Mom had worked as cage cashier for a number of years and slowly ended up being the ranking worker there as far as time working there, so she was below the manager in job status and trained many new cashiers. Then the manager had a heart attack while at work, with Mom stepping in not only to help out, but in the hopes she'd be given the job because of her knowledge of the job. Casino hired a guy who was found stealing money from the till about two months later. In steps Mom again while the search goes for another manager. He lasted two weeks when he was discovered snorting coke while on the job. This time, Mom got the job and a BIG boost in pay as she knew what her former manager and the other two were making. She was firm, but fair. For example, one employee couldn't get anyone to cover her shift on her birthday, so Mom told her to take off as she'd cover it for her. You can't buy loyalty. Money became more available, not that we ran amuck with it either. But we did get some new (not used) clothes for birthdays and Christmas. As for me, my drawings got better which resulted in me getting beat up by Nicolas Kim Coppola who was on the basketball team and LOOMED over me because of our height differences. This was in high school. Thing is, I had a crush on Lily Chauchoin in my social studies class and Nicolas wanted her to be his girl. Thing is, she wasn't drawn to bad boys like Nicolas. And let me add, she wasn't drawn to dorks like me either, but still..... As you might of guessed, I was NOT a fighter of any kind nor did I have any kind of skill in defending myself. However, in one respect I was popular and that was due to my drawing of people, along with landscapes. For awhile, I'd do drawings of people or landscapes for free, but then in my second year of high school, Mrs. Peggy Middleton (a teacher) suggested that I should charge people for this because after all, I was spending money for paper alone. To my surprise, not only did students pay me for my efforts, but many teachers also did. With this small amount of income also coming in, I expanded my work to canvas learning to use oils. The canvas material were in 2 different sizes which I got from Dollar Tree, while the oil paints and brushes for them came from Michaels or Hobby Lobby, with Mom making sure I used coupons every time I could. What money wasn't spent on art supplies, went towards our bills and got saved.
When I graduated from high school, I knew I'd be looking for a better paying job, no matter how much of an increase in pay it might be vs working at McDonalds, along with being able to work forty hours a week. Which is where I got hired at Moms casino, working in the kitchen as a buser and dishwasher. A buser is the person who clears a table of dishes after the customers are done eating, resets everything like making sure there's silverware, etc. I made sure I got a different shift than what Mom worked so no one could claim I was being favored, though many knew Mom also worked there. Along with more money being made, I also got a free meal which helped us save money and being home when my sisters got out of school. Now I REALLY wanted to further my education as far as becoming a better artist, but the money simply wasn't there for me to go to UNR (University of Reno), but then there was Mom. More than one sibling has found out that his or her Mom is more tenacious than a pitbull when it comes to getting her way. She'd been talking with a co-worker which is where she found out that the casino had a college tuition program provided you worked there! Now I knew a few employees were going to UNR, but didn't know the casino was helping them tuition wise. Then Mom went to some of the teachers I'd done drawings for and got letters of recommendations from each of them, at which time she put in an application for me for tuition assistance at work. Once it was approved, she didn't hesitate in going to UNR to see the dean, who runs the university. Showed him my drawings, with the dean calling in a couple of the professors to look at it. Mom got me not only a small scholarship, but also at a reduced class prices? Was I surprised/shocked when Mom laid all of this out in front of me. How about I'd only be paying 35% of the cost of going to college full time?!
Now it wasn't easy working full time, going to college and getting some sleep. And yes, more than once I was tired which lead to some discouragement on my part, but Mom would buck me up morale wise and I knew if I was to get anywhere in life, I needed to better my skills as an artist. And if you're wondering, I didn't have any sort of a dream of becoming a famous artist like Norman Rockwell either, or opening my own art gallery. Strange as it may sound, I wanted to work in the movie business. No, not as an actor but someone who'd come up with different designs and characters like in science fiction movies, such as Alien, Avatar, etc. Not only was the money really good, but I'd be doing something I truly enjoyed. It was in college I learned more about those really into cosplay who are people who dress up like an actor or actress in some role they admired in a movie or characters which was fantasy (mainly anime), science fiction or comic books. For me, it was Thor, starting back when I was a kid, reading my friends comic books. Why him and not someone else, say The Hulk, The Torch, Batman, etc.? For some reason, that character resonated with me....he was tall as in 6' 3”, while I was of average height. Long blond hair, while mine was short and brown and of course good looking. Then there were his abilities even without using his hammer which is called Mjolnir by the way. Call lightning from the sky with or without his hammer, slam the hammer or his fist against the ground to create a shock wave and of course, fly thru the air using his hammer ala Superman and invulnerable to a lot of things. Then a couple of things happened. I saw some Youtube videos about cosplayers in their costumes at some conventions, how to create your own costume and then finding out several of my friends (male and female) in college were not only cosplayers, but had gone to several conventions. Believe me, creating ANY kind of these costumes takes A LOT of work and thought before hand. From school, I had resources and materials which saved me time and some money, like having someone 3D print me Mjolnir's hammer in resin, with a wooden dowel for its handle and a strip of leather from the Tandy craft store in town. I found out you can heat and bend the foam used in the insulation of homes was another. With encouragement from my friends, I got my costume done. As to blonde hair, Mom helped me with that when I bought some of those fake blonde hair pieces from Dollar Tree, along with sewing me a cape with material from Jo-Ann's. Of course, I made mistakes, but you got to learn some how, right?
Then the day came when it was done and of course, Mom and my sisters wanted to see me in it. This was something I DIDN'T expect or actually want, but with their encouragement, I put everything on in my bedroom and when I came out, it was me twirling “Mjolnir” just like Thor would do when ready to go into battle. What surprised me was my sisters NOT laughing at me. Not only that, they ALL insisted that the four of us have a selfie taken, which was done. This was my first group photo if you will, with all of this making me feel a lot better and not so much of a dork. As to my friends, they all liked and commented on it, but I told them that they too had helped in keeping me encouraged and giving me tips on how to do things. Then it was decided on our next get together (Little Waldorf Saloon), we'd all dress up in our costumes and take a selfie with all of us together. Oh yes, we did get a lot of stares and comments from customers and those working there, with more than one photo of us taken separately, then as a group. You probably didn't know this, but Little Waldorf has been a popular place for UNR students for decades as it's only a couple of miles from it. Anyway, there we were: me as Thor, Mike as Captain America, Julie as Wonder Woman, Jim as Batman, Eric as The Green Martian, Franklin as The Black Panther, Rachel as Supergirl and Taylor as Shazam. Talk about a wide variety of assembled heroes being in public that night. Then as we were leaving, we saw a Reno police officer in his patrol car cruising by, so I waved at him...and he briefly hit his lights and siren, then giving all of us a thumbs up!
During the summer when I wasn't going to school, I was still working full time at the casino, but I took a second full time job, but this time working at Michaels, but still getting one of my days off as Mom so we could spend time together as a family. Mom was on me in a way, telling me I needed time to relax and enjoy myself, but with us having been short of money for so long..... Which is also why I always sold my vacation time while working at the casino, so our savings as a family grew bit by bit.
It was in that summer of finishing my second year at UNR, my life changed. I had been talking with my cosplayer friends and they were quite excited that they were going to WonderCon in Anaheim, California. They were naturally all excited as they'd been to two other Cons in California and it was great hearing them talking about what they'd seen and done while at them. It was also depressing to tell the truth, which is why I quit wearing my Thor costume like I had and going out with those friends of mine. It was one thing to kick in seven bucks for pizza and something to drink when we got together at the Little Waldorf, quite another to pay around five hundred dollars for a shared hotel room, kicking in for gas for the trip down there and of course, the convention fee, plus money spent for food while there. Reality sucks at times. Mom asked me why I had quit going out with them and if need be, she'd give me some money as she knew how much I liked meeting up with them. I lied....told her it was just something I was into for awhile and now I'm not. But Moms.....they're great lie detectors, but didn't say anything. Instead, they do a better job of detecting than Sherlock Holmes or Batman.
She'd done everyone's laundry after getting off of work, while I was at work and while putting my clothes away, she found some of the printouts I'd done using UNR's computers and printers that I'd made of the convention and notes on what it was going to cost me. Frankly, thought I'd tossed them out after making my decision, but they'd fallen behind my desk where I didn't see them. But eagle eye Mom did. Then she lied to me, with my sisters helping her. That she was going to use some of her vacation days with all of us going on a mini vacation to an undisclosed location. So I naturally put in for the days she said she was taking hers on, which was a total of four days. She drove me crazy in not telling me where we were going, especially since we still didn't have a car. I badgered my sisters maybe thinking Mom had dropped some sort of hint to them, but they denied this and not only that, that maybe Mom had told ME something and not them for some reason?! Like that Shadow guy said, girls and women are sneaky. As to what to pack, Mom said ordinary street clothes, INCLUDING clean underwear for four days. Of course she went thru my selection, tossing some of them out saying we could be eating out somewhere special and that I would NOT be looking like some rag a muffin or someone with no aptitude for dressing properly while eating out. At which time she gave me some nice NEW slacks and dress shirts being packed in my suitcase, not that it was stuffed or hard to close you understand.
Then it came that day for us to leave on our mini-vacation and me still going crazy in trying to figure out where we were going as we didn't have a car. But then, maybe she rented one and taking us to Lake Tahoe each day to swim in the lake? Since it was pretty hot, jumping into and swimming in a cool lake sounded REALLY nice. But why have me pack a suitcase? Now originally, I was thinking she was taking us to Wild Island which is the ONLY water park in northern Nevada. As you can tell, it basically comes down to if gambling's not involved, the city fathers have no interest in giving kids something to do during the summer and keeping kids out of any possible trouble. I mean, the only other places there was to have fun was Circus Circus, The Nugget or GSR (Grand Sierra Resort) where there was some games and a lot of video arcade games to play. But they all cost money to play. Then Mom's calling out to me from outside our place, saying if I don't shag it, they're leaving without me?! Well, I WAS in a rush getting out until I stopped and remembered I'd forgotten my suitcase, so went to go back for it, telling Mom why. Tells me she'd already gotten everything, with it being in the taxi, so get back her and my sisters. Tells me she'd gotten my suitcase while I was taking a shower. So off we go, with supposedly none of us (supposedly) knowing where we're going except for Mom. I was thinking since we didn't have a car and Mom hadn't rented one for us to take to Lake Tahoe, the only other place I could think of was a train ride on Amtrak and either spend some time in Sacramento or better yet, San Francisco and Fisherman's Wharf, etc. Surprise, shock and awe as they say when we arrived at Reno's airport......we're going somewhere ON A PLANE?! More confusion when I got out of the cab as I only saw TWO suitcases, one of which was mine.
That was when Mom pulls out an envelope from her purse, saying here's your plane tickets, hotel reservation and paperwork for your cosplay convention. I just stood there dumbfounded, at which time she says there are times you should make your dreams and ideas come true instead of thinking gee, wish I'd of done this or that sometime in the future. Seems all three had kicked in for my gift, including finding two hundred dollars in twenties for food and possible souvenirs as she put it on her note enclosed with that money. Best I could do was give all three the best hug I could give. Mom tipped the baggage man so both suitcases wouldn't have to be checked in at the airline counter and then, finding the gate I was to depart from. Very strange taking off my shoes and belt, then walking thru that metal detector, not that I had any trouble. But I was wondering why would Mom pack so many clothes for me that I'd need a second suitcase. As you might guess, I'm a little slow a times. Now we WERE suppose to land in Anaheim, but then the pilot declared an emergency, with us landing back at Reno's airport. No idea what the emergency was, but it was what it was. Took a couple of hours before some-thing was fixed and we boarded the airplane to eventually land in Anaheim. It was because of this delay, I happened to be at the right time and right place to be altered as I put it, though others call themselves affected, mutated, changed, etc. I remember looking out of my airplane window and seeing a bunch of clouds gathering like there was going to be a thunderstorm and how neat it would be to actually be Thor flying thru all of them or calling down lightning on bad guys. I did get a little queasy for some reason and light headed for a bit, but getting some air blown on my face and the stewardess giving me another 7 Up, calmed my stomach and head. I know it sounds stupid and childish, but I asked the stewardess for extra packages of those honey roasted peanuts to take home, then explained why. She was a little surprised this was my first flight and not only that, she gave me TWO DOZEN bags of those peanuts to take home! Yeah, they were for my sisters as I figured they might like them and if not, I'd eat them.
While on that flight, I read Moms LONG note, which told me I could catch a shuttle bus to my motel from the airport and not only that, to the convention center for free! I got to the motel and took my two suitcases and once in my hotel room, opened the second, unknown suitcase....which held my Thor costume, including Mjolnir!? Like I said, with me being hit so suddenly like it had, I hadn't even thought of my costume. Oh, I was happy with the thought of going to the convention, but now being able to dress up as Thor? OH YES, YES, YES. Then came the icing on the cake. There were brochures for different places to see, including places to eat. I had no idea where anything was at, having never been here before, so asked the desk clerk who told me there was a pizza place right down the street which was not only pretty good, but would also deliver for a small fee. Wanting to see more of this city, got directions and walked about two blocks to get to it. Now don't get me wrong, I like Anaheim, but it's REALLY spread out compared to Reno and Sparks. It also smells and the sky is kind of a dingy gray due to the smog they have here all the time. And let's not forget the garbage and litter that seems to be everywhere on the streets. Guess I must be a small town boy at heart, though no doubt many will laugh at me for me saying or even thinking this. I like Little Ceaser's, but if you want a GOOD pizza, find one that's local. Soon as I entered, I knew this was going to be a great place because of the smell of pizza, the layout of the salad bar and cleanliness of the place. Next thing I know is someone's calling my name and when I turned around.......there were ALL of my cosplayer friends! They'd taken off from Reno in Mike's big van which would hold all of them and their luggage comfortably. They'd arrived earlier and after settling in, decided to check this place out on their way to the same motel I was in! Man, I was on a roll though I had NO idea what kind I'd soon really be on. They wanted to know how I got here and why I'd been basically avoiding them, so I told them the truth. That's when Mike said (with others agreeing) that if they'd known I was that hard up for cash, they'd of taken me down here for free and let me flop on the floor as my bed for free. All I'd have to have done was pay the convention fee and food for myself. Yeah, money can't buy friends like them.
After supper, we headed back to the motel where we went our separate ways to our rooms while I dug my costume out and put it on. In being honest, I was preening like a peacock in the motels mirror, turning this way and back. I know, I know.....I'm not only a lot shorter than Chris Hemsworth who's 6' 3” vs my 5' 10”, don't have his physic and certainly not his good looks. But my costume hid my body flaws pretty good. Thing is, I needed practice with Mjolnir at least a little bit before going to the convention tomorrow because I wanted to look good. Well, that went out the window almost literally because as I was swinging it via its strap, it came flying off my hand and hit a wall, fortunately with no damage to said wall or my resin printed hammer. Decided to take this outside just to be safe, but I was NOT about to do this is in the parking lot...... I mean, talking about REALLY looking like a dork if seen by anyone doing this. And possibly even being teased by my friends. But there was an empty field next to the motel and figured that'd be a good place to practice and not only that, I wouldn't have to worry about hitting or damaging anything if my hammer went flying again. Now one thing never explained in the comic books or Thor movies with Chris as Thor, was HOW did he command everything? It's not like he said Shazam or anything to get things done, he just started twirling his hammer and making things happen. I was thinking, maybe he was mentally commanding Mjolnir to do things? Kind of like Spiderman using his Spidey sense without thinking about it? Now all of this sounded reasonable to me and probably you readers too, right? Well, one thing was I couldn't throw my hammer as it being made of resin and it'd probably crack if I did and I didn't want that under any circumstances considering the amount I put into it making it as real as possible. So there I am, twirling my hammer over my head and mentally “calling out” for the wind, clouds, thunder to come to me ala Spidey sense. I was NOT paying attention to what was actually happening over my head for obvious reasons which was making sure no one was around me and seeing what kind of fool I was making myself to be. But then, I said in a LOUD voice, LIGHTNING, COME TO ME!!! Oh boy....I about wet myself when suddenly I'm struck by about a dozen BIG and POWERFUL lightning bolts! Not only was I NOT killed, but apparently some of them set off a couple grass fires around me?! They NEVER showed anything like this happening in those movies. Dazed, stunned....well, I sure as hell beat feet from there and scurried to my motel room and hopefully unseen by anyone as I did so. Now my heart was pounding and I quickly removed my costume to use the bathroom just in case I did have to go. After thinking it over, realized what had happened. That some how I had either a brain embolism, maybe even a stroke while I was in Reno? So I was wondering what hospital I was in and hoping that Mom and the girls were doing okay and eventually I'd come out of some time soon. Last thing I wanted was to be an unresponsive vegetable, possibly for years with all of this being some sort of dream. And while I had health benefits from my job at the casino, there was a limit to it. Which would crush Mom financially. As you might of guessed, I didn't sleep that well that night.
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Post by 9idrr on Aug 31, 2020 21:35:25 GMT -6
Great start, sir. I'm really lookin' forward to the next couple of hundred chapters.
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Post by willc453 on Sept 1, 2020 0:17:58 GMT -6
Thanks, but right now I don't have any idea how many there will be. I do have the feeling this is going to be a slow one, building up bit by bit kind of like The Shadow story went.....I'm just not really sure at this point and time. Remember how long it took for them to find out they'd been changed? I've also thought of a way to bring Ben into this one, along with another Affected character which I've been working on and off on when time/interest dictates. But both will only be briefly mentioned in that one chapter. Also still working on the latest Night Life chapter.
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Post by willc453 on Sept 4, 2020 23:38:22 GMT -6
The Affected: Thor Chapter 2
I got woke up by Julie and Jim really knocking on my door...I didn't know you could have the front desk call and wake you up at a certain time. But remember, this was also my first hotel I'd ever stayed in. Once again, the front desk told us about a local restaurant and with directions, Jim took us there. Now we weren't wearing our costumes because we worried about possibly spilling food on them even by accident. And for some reason, I felt like I was STARVING with me ordering four pancakes, three eggs and two orders of hashbrowns and three glasses of milk. Yeah, I got a few stares from my friends, but they didn't say anything and so glad Mom had given me so much money. I just knew that even being in a coma, the money I spent would soon be gone and not some how magically reappear in my wallet. Besides, what was going to happen when the convention was over? Would I have some sort of Groundhog Day repeat and if so, when would it start repeating itself? At least it didn't happen with everything resetting with me at home, getting ready to go with Mom, etc.
After breakfast, we went back to our rooms and got dressed in our costumes where some other people saw us and took photos of us. As to the fire last night, it started raining pretty good which thankfully put it out. Of course when they started talking about the thunder and lightning being so loud, I didn't offer anything to that conversation. Get to the convention area, find our parking spot and I don't know about my friends, but I was doing a lot of rubber necking seeing so many people in their costumes. Because we were wearing costumes, we did get a cheaper admission price along with having full access to everything at the convention. Now Mom had slipped her digital camera in my suitcase....you know, just in case I wanted to take some photos, so while non-costumed people were taking photos of us in our costumes, I was doing the same and having a great time. After wandering around for about five hours, I remembered we'd agreed to meet at a certain spot, at a certain time and go out to eat somewhere. Since my friends had been here before, we went to another local burger joint and it was good. We talked about what we'd seen and afterwards, went back. I don't know about them, but I not only took a bunch of photos, but checked out a lot of what the vendors and companies were selling there. I did buy me a coffee cup with the comic book Thor decal on it even though I don't drink coffee, but still.... I was also looking for something for Mom and my sisters, though that day I didn't see anything. Then there were the discussions they had with a lot of actors and actresses, along with showing a bunch of different movies. I was having a great time. Franklin teased me about how I was gushing on what I'd seen, but the others ganged up on him, reminding him how he'd and the rest of them acted at their first convention. Once again back to the motel, take our costumes off and regular clothes on, then back to that pizza place. I had a normal appetite and during this time, we talked of what we'd seen, along with everyone sharing the photos we'd taken. Thing that made me sad was when they got home, they'd download all their photos onto their computers and email them to each other. This way they'd have a bigger selection of photos to remember this convention. Felt really bad when I had to confess that I didn't have a computer at home and had to fess up when I was asked for my email address. That's when Rachel said she'd upgraded to a new computer last year because she needed more speed or something like that and if I wanted it, I could have it even though it was something like six or seven years old?! Then Taylor said he just bought a bigger tv as he's also a big video gamer. It was “only” twenty-six inches, but if I wanted it..... Of course, I said yes, with Julie telling me how I could get internet for forty-four dollars a month, along with free, unlimited phone service and wifi to boot from Spectrum. Couldn't thank her enough and knew when such an opportunity comes around like this, grab it with both hands. Once again, hard time sleeping because I didn't know if this would be the beginning of my Groundhog Day or not.
Breakfast was normal, two pancakes and one egg. While I would of liked two eggs and some hashbrowns, after eating like I did the day before, wanted to save as much money as I could so I could give some of it back to Mom. Now when we got there, found myself wandering around and after a bit, decided to take a break and look at my schedule for that day. There were a lot of actors and actresses also there, those from current and past tv shows and movies to sign autographs. Now I don't know how I ever missed it but Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, and Tom Hiddleston were going to be there for two days and this was the second day?! Not only that, they'd be signing autographs! I didn't know how much it was going to cost me for them, but if I had nothing to live on during my time here, I'd drink nothing but water from the bathroom sink and eat those airplane peanuts.......my sisters could STARVE! Problem was, I had all of twenty minutes or so before the autographing session was to close and I all but ran to that part of the convention center. Right after I got there, the doors closed behind me and my heart sank because there was about thirty people lined up for autographs. Figured well, I was having a good time even though there was no way I and many of the people there were going to get their autographs. And again, I had no idea what it was going to cost me either, which now, was a moot point. However, the other thing was Chris and Tom were in their Thor and Loki costumes?! While Natalie was in regular clothes, she is pretty as all get out. Tick tock. Tick tock. Tick tock. Bit by bit, time was running out and finally it did......but nothing happened. Like everyone being told time was up, thank you for coming, etc., etc., etc.....but this didn't happen even though there were fourteen of us left, standing in line?!
Talked with a girl dressed as The Black Widow who told me they were really nice people, unlike some egotistical a$$ wipes here at the convention to sign autographs. That these three APPRCIATED their fans. I found out that the photos were FREE and not only that, there were two different kinds. One was a photo of each them as regular people, while the other was one photo of the three of them in their movie costumes, so naturally I had them autograph all four of them. Tom started grousing about how pitiful these mortals were, not recognizing a TRUE god from Asgard when he signed his photos, with Chris responding....and these two were bantering like they were Thor and Loki! Talk about staying in character for the fans. After the three of them finished signing my photos, I turned to leave with Chris saying I was one of the few fans who actually had taken those photos of them in regular clothes and wondered why. I was kind of surprised with him actually talking to me, but told him that right now you're famous for your Marvel roles. Thing is, eventually you'll move onto other roles like Miss Portman did in her Star Wars movies. But I want to remember you as the three of you are here and now. They looked surprised at what I had said and I think it was because I looked at them as normal people when they weren't in some movie like the Thor and Avenger movies and of course, eventually they'd go onto being in different kinds of movies. I had thanked each of them as they signed my photos and thanked them again for even talking to me. And by the way, if you're going to ask someone for their photograph, HAVE A PEN WITH YOU! I hadn't thought of this, but they had some that they had been using. And when they offered me the pens they'd used to sign their autographs, you bet I took them.
But as I turned to leave, Chris asks about my hammer?! Told him what it was made of and how I had made it. Then asks if I'd like to see his, so he turns to one side, reaches down and pulls out HIS Mjolnir where it had been sitting on the floor next to him, then places it on the table! Yeah, I stared at it like I was Indiana Jones staring at some ancient artifact from the Bible. I kind of squeaked out if this was THAT one used in his movies, with him telling me it was actually one of several dozen props made, but this one he kept as a souvenir from his first movie. Well, all I could do was just stare in awe of it and that's when Chris asked me if I'd like to pick it up, but no swinging it of course. OH YEAH. Put my hammer on the table, then reached out to pick up his and I'm thinking come to Daddy when suddenly his hammer FLIES into my hand! To say the four of us were startled when this occurred is an understatement, with Tom saying that was a REALLY good trick, especially since I there was no green screening being done. Thing is, when Chris went to pick up my hammer, HE COULDN'T. He was actually making the table they'd been using move, but my hammer WASN'T coming off the table! Now Chris is bigger than me and of course, in fantastic shape so I thought he was playing with me. But then Tom said see, only those who are truly worthy may claim and handle Mjolnir with Chris saying he wasn't playing a joke and for Tom to try it. Tom said he'd go along with this charade a little bit longer, but not only he couldn't lift it up, neither could either one of them trying together! Then they wanted to know how I did it and I said I hadn't done anything and (reluctantly) put his hammer down, with Chris picking it up from the table with no problem. As for me, no problem picking mine up, but then I looked at Natalie, asking if she wouldn't mind answering one question for me. She says okay, shoot. Asked her if at any time when making any of the movies with Chris, had she picked up one of the hammer props and played with it like Chris did in the movies? Well, those two snapped their heads to look at her when I asked my question and she actually turned red in the face! She replied her secret's out and yes, she'd twirled one of the props more than once. I then put my hammer in front of her and said I'd like a demonstration if you please and no doubt your friends would like to see you in action. She smiled, held out her hand and held my hammer with no problem, then started twirling it around. Afterwards, she put it back on the table, with Chris going to pick it up, wanting to show me how he did it in the movies....and once again, COULDN'T pick it up even with Tom trying to help. But Natalie did without any trouble. Well, not only did I get to talk with them for about ten minutes, Natalie asked if I'd like to have a selfie with us together?! OH YES INDEED! The guy who'd closed the door to the convention room used my camera to do this. All I could think of was WOW, wait until Mom and my sisters see this. However, I did NOT make an impressive exit. As I got near the door, I turned to face them as they were leaving and called out to them while waving and saying thanks again......only to walk right into a wall?!No idea if they saw this or not, but left as quickly as possible.
So there you have it....I got a lot more than I expected from going to the convention, even though my nose and pride hurt. I still couldn't believe Chris and Tom doing what they did in trying to pick up my hammer though because Natalie had no trouble picking it up. Which got me to thinking of two things. The first was obviously I was still in a coma, laying in some hospital bed and my own imagination generated all of this. I mean, I LIKED what had happened with them, but also didn't as it was nothing more than some self generated delusion or fantasy. The other thing was I couldn't remember if Mjolnir could be used by anyone if Thor gave permission to do so. If not, it couldn't be picked up or handled in any way. So maybe I was subconsciously urging Natalie to pick up my hammer, but without the problem Chris and Tom had done? That was the only reasoning I could come up with. So there you have it....I'm kind of walking in a daze, mulling things over when it happened. There's a lot of cosplayers carrying different kinds of weapons, all fake of course. This was even though many looked quite realistic, like the pair of pistols carried by several women dressed as Lara Croft of Tomb Raider video game fame. I was walking to that area when the shooting started. I thought at first it was someone shooting off firecrackers, but then realized the noise was simply too sharp and loud for them. So, what was going on? Was this something normally done at these conventions? I'm with a large group of people who suddenly started screaming and running in different directions. Then I heard someone say someone's got a REAL gun and shooting people?! I took off running, not thinking of which direction I should take. Anything to just get out of there and it didn't matter to me if I was in a coma or not, I did NOT want to be shot. Nor did I know if I'd die from being shot while in a coma and I sure as hell did NOT want to find out about that either.
Then it was like I was Charlton Heston as Moses when he was having the Red Sea part because suddenly I found myself alone with about eight people who had been shot, some moving, some not, but ALL of them bleeding EVERYWHERE on the floor. Then I saw him...the shooter who was fumbling around with his assault rifle. Either a bullet had jammed in his rifle or maybe one of his bullets didn't feed correctly from his clip into his rifle. I didn't even thing about it, but threw my hammer at him in the hopes of distracting him and maybe even get him to drop his assault rifle. No fancy twirling of my hammer, just threw it as hard as I could at him, then started running away from him as fast as possible. As I was running, regretted/didn't regret me throwing my hammer and next thing I know is my hammer's in my right hand! NO idea what was going on with that, so kept running for the front doors. Thing is, I stopped to help get some people up who had fallen while trying to run away from the shooter. I just wasn't thinking and we were outside, they went one way while I went in the direction of where the van was parked. Figured I hide in it to tell the truth. With so many people being there, think it took everyone about ten minutes to make it to the van and of course, a lot of people were trying to get out of the parking lot in their vehicles. We barely got out of it when A LOT OF cops showed up in theirs. All we wanted to do was get back to our motel rooms with us not talking about getting together. Changed into street clothes and trying to figure things out...you know, my hammer coming back to me like it did. Maybe the guy threw it back at me, hoping to knock me down? Which made no sense as he could of more easily killed me with his assault rifle once the jam was cleared. But then found myself hungry and it wasn't the normal kind of hungry either. It was like when I had that massive breakfast earlier, so went to the pizza place as there was still time for me to catch all you can eat pizza and salad bar special.
Got there with ten minutes to spare. That place lost money that day with me being there. Literally almost ate half the salad bar, followed by THREE sixteen inch pizza's. I couldn't believe how much I was eating, but still hungry and of course, as far as the employee's were concerned..... But boy, did I feel good/satisfied and when I left, I left a five dollar tip for the guy who kept picking up my empty plates. Maybe it wasn't much and I didn't know if I was suppose to do this or not, but felt it was the right thing to do. Back to my motel room where I fell asleep. When I woke up, it was around nine pm and saw I had missed four of Moms calls! Mom had gotten us each a Net 10 phone when they were being discontinued at Walmart for five dollars each AND came with three hundred minutes. Not that we used them for every day things, but to let Mom know if we were going to be late or if she was going to be staying over a little bit at work. Didn't want to call her at work, but did. She was scared not knowing if I and my friends were okay or not. I told her that we were, though I didn't know if there'd be a third day at the convention considering the shooting that happened there. She was all for me returning home the next day instead of the day after the convention, but told her no because it would cost her money for the flight change. Then told her about meeting Chris, Natalie and Tom and the group photo I had gotten from both of them. Said she couldn't wait to see them, then it was about getting an older computer and monitor for free from my friends. She said she'd been thinking of buying a used one, so this would save a lot of money, but she'd get the internet for me and my sisters no matter what.
I had taken my drawing paper and pencils with me on the flight down here out of habit, so started doodling. That's when I realized I had been drawing a sketch of the shooter and his jammed assault rifle, so I put that away because I didn't want to remember what had happened all over again. Thought of doing the four of us when our photo was taken, but since I had a photo of it..... Then thought of something different....how about me dressed up in my Thor costume with Mom and my sisters together? Yeah, I know...I had a photo of us already, but it was something to do. But not actually being able to get into it because my mind was stuck on what had happened earlier, decided to take a nap. Which lasted maybe an hour, with my friends knocking on my door because they had taken their naps and were now ready to get something to eat. We ended up going to a local Mexican fast food place called Super Burrito. Now we entered the place instead of taking the drive thru option because we wanted for each of us to take a gander at the menu, something that would have been hard to do via the drive thru. So we're all looking at the menu, with me ordering three burrito's at two dollars and fifty cents each and they were MASSIVE. Like weighing about two POUNDS EACH? After going thru two massive eating frenzies, figured if it happened again, at least I could microwave two of them later on in my room. So while we're waiting for our food to be made, they started talking about what had happened at the convention, along with where they'd been and what they'd done upon hearing the shooting. Thing is, two of them had been in the Army and had served in the Middle East or as they put it, 'the sandbox”, so they KNEW what the sound of gunfire sounded like. Strange how you find out things about friends you didn't know about other wise. I wasn't saying much, but when asked, said I was pretty close to the front door and when other people started running, I did the same. I was NOT about bringing up how my hammer came back to my hand. I mean, even that sounded so strange to me. But I did talk a bit about meeting Chris, Natalie and Tom, along with actually being able to hold Chris's hammer and the group selfie that was taken. They just stared at me and I could see they weren't believing me. So I said when we get back to our motel room, I'll show it all to you on my camera. Once I said this, they accepted my story and wanted a little bit more what had happened. Not that I had that much more to tell. And by the way, they were impressed with my group photo and wanted me to email them a copy of it, along with whatever else I may of taken a photo of.
Then things got....weird or maybe strange is a better word. All I knew at the time was I did NOT like everyone talking about the next subject which was what happened to the shooter. The only reason they knew was they'd been watching the news shortly after we got to our rooms and believe me, not only were ALL the networks were covering this story, but it had also gone INTERNATIONAL? And while a lot of cosplayers and regular people were there taking videos of the convention, fortunately very few had been taking any when the shooting started. Thing is, some people want their claim to fame even if it means risking their lives. Thank you very much, but I'd NEVER be one of those people. As to what did happen, WAS partially caught on some videos. Like a guy wearing a red cape and long blonde hair throwing a hammer which not only hit the shooter, but slams him and his assault rifle back about twenty feet or so up against a pillar?! Not only that, the shooter and his rifle were PINNED against the pillar and apparently unable to move or break free of this hammer?! Then about a minute or so later, suddenly the hammer goes FLYING away to some unknown destination, with the cops and security guards having no explanation for this. Thing is, that delay gave time for the security people to pile onto this guy and then of course, the cops showed up to deal with him. All I could think was this was crazy and insane. One thing about being in a coma was I'd never heard or read anything about someone being in one, having dreams of ANY kind. So since I was in one, wondered if I could access the internet to find out when I got home...and of course, getting a computer and monitor like my friends said they would give me. Hopefully. After eating, we returned to our rooms but found I couldn't sleep, so started watching the news about the shooting and the shooter. Really ugly....twelve people shot, five being killed, with the others in intensive care due to their wounds. And yeah, I was shown briefly but fortunately my back was turned to those doing the recording. Last thing I wanted was ANY publicity or questions by the news media or cops simply because even I couldn't explain what had happened with my hammer. And while there was still some mention of the earth going thru some sort of dust cloud and the sun flare, there really wasn't much mention of it other than briefly by the media.
About fifteen minutes or so of watching the news, got to wondering just how far would my imagination carry me while I was in this coma. Now one thing Thor (in the movies and comic books) can't do is fly without Mjolnir. Thru a form of magic, Mjolnir can and there by lift Thor into the air, with Thor directing Mjolnir which way to go, along with how fast to go and since he's the god of lightning..... Grabbed my hammer and went to go outside, but something had me change my mind. Back inside to put my costume on, then to that open area next to the motel. First thing I tried was trying to make it rain of all things. I sure as hell did NOT want another big lightning storm or lightning strike happening in the same area a second time. But as I slowly slung my hammer overhead, I watched the sky and in all honesty, watched in awe as clouds started forming over my head and then wouldn't when I didn't concentrate on what I wanted. There was thunder being heard overhead and in the area at first, then I could see lightning starting to flash among the clouds, then it started gently raining. Then wondered if I could move the clouds and the rain to another part of the sky and after a bit, that happened about a mile away from me. Okay, let's try a heavier rain I thought, but since it was a mile or so away from me, I brought the clouds and rain back over me. Thing is, I hadn't mastered my abilities, so it started POURING down, with me running back to my motel room because I was worried about damaging my costume because it was made of insulation foam board. Once inside, I quickly removed it and wiped it down. Fortunately, it seemed none the worse from the rain, including my hammer. There was a lot more to me living some sort of fantasy life while in a coma than I expected or understood. I also found myself hungry again, but one of the burritos bought earlier took care of that and after that, went to bed a little tired.
The next morning, we got together to eat at the local restaurant to talk things over as to what was going to happen on the last day of the convention as there hadn't been any kind of news about this via the local tv stations. When we left for the convention to find out, none of us wore our costumes, figuring if it was still on, we could always return to put them on. The third day of the convention was canceled as the police had blocked off the area where the shooting had occurred, so it was still an active crime scene with the media also still out there. As it was, we had to park about a block away as the cops had taken over use of where we had parked for those two days. Thing is, we weren't the only ones wondering what was going to happen and while some people showed up in their costumes, most of us were in regular clothes. Then we got some info from some of those people that due to the shooting, the third day of convention was being canceled, though no one knew if anyone would be getting any kind of refund. Not that we were demanding some kind of course, but considering what everyone (hero's and regular people) had paid, we were hoping for some kind of refund.
Back to the van, then to our motel, with all of us getting together in Mike's room to talk about what to do next. As for me, the only option I had was catching my flight back home the next day, so I didn't say anything. They all decided to head back home which made me sad because I'd be stuck in a town that I knew nothing about and besides, going to the convention was the ONLY reason and now my friends would be leaving. With me not saying anything, it was Mike asking if I'd like to go with them instead of catching my flight back home?! Not only that, I wouldn't have to kick in for gas as one more passenger wasn't going to make a difference anyway. I gratefully said yes and afterwards, called Mom to inform her of the change of plans as we figured we'd be back in Reno some time that late afternoon. She was glad in a way that I wasn't forced to spend the rest of my vacation time somewhere without my friends. Yes, told her about finding them down here and all of that. About an hour we checked out and headed north. Thing is, I TRIED to kick in for gas but Chris said no, let it slide, then smiled saying Superhero's help each other out. The others agreed with him. Stopped in Bakersfield for gas and something to eat, with us hitting KFC and tried to buy a two, twenty piece buckets of chicken for everyone to eat, but everyone said no, so I got a 2 piecer and for me, that was a treat. I mean, I hadn't eaten out so much in my life before going to the convention.
When I got dropped off at home, Mom was at work, but didn't call her. Sisters were there and they were excited to see me and that I was safe. I still had those airline peanuts which they got and feeling to feeling a bit hungry, finished off that third burrito after microwaving it. Tasted great and yes, I offered the girls a third of it. Unpacked my suitcase, but left my costume in the other. Now what was going to happen with me being in this coma? I mean, do I go back to work or what happens if I don't? Does my family start falling on hard times because I'm not working and what about school? I don't go, no degree? Seeing that I was in a coma, decided to act like everything was “normal”, crazy as it sounds. I was thinking by doing this, it would be some sort of normalcy, though wondered what kind of physical shape I'd be in when I did wake up. Thing is, I also felt guilty in not buying Mom or the girls some sort of souvenir while at the convention, even if it was something minor. Then over the next few months, things changed once again for me.
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Post by willc453 on Sept 9, 2020 10:33:11 GMT -6
The Affected: Thor Chapter 3
When Mom came home from work, we were glad to see each other, but she knew some how something had happened while I was at the convention. Not that I told her about what happened when I wore my costume. Not only that, one of her co-workers had let her know about the shooting which is why she called me from work several times. I wasn't scolded for not calling her back once she realized why I had missed those calls. Then got her digital camera out and started showing them the photos I'd taken, along with me, Chris, Natalie and Tom. Then how he was really nice to let me hold his hammer though once again, didn't mention anything about what had happened when he tried lifting mine. And that's the thing about being in a coma and the things that you imagine happening to you. Things DON'T go as planned. Naturally Mom wanted a 8x10 photo of me with the three of them but surprisingly, so did my sisters. Next day, take the bus to Walmart where I bought a box of photo paper, 8x10 size. Then the bus to UNR where the computers and printers were at, making four 8x10 copies of that picture, then using a paper cutter, cut the photo paper down to 4x6 size so I could make regular sized prints for myself of some of the other cosplayers I'd seen. Then off to Dollar Tree where I got 3 photo frames for those 8x10 photos, but then I went hog wild in going back to Walmart to buy a large frame to hold all my photos with the 8x10 being in the center. This frame was for holding posters, like from movies or other things of that size. Once everything was done, gave everyone their photo, but when Mom asked about mine, I showed it to her. I was kind of surprised/shocked when she said she wanted mine to display right in the livingroom so everyone could see it. Didn't expect this and no trouble giving it to her, while I got her 8x10 photo and frame. So there it hung for us to see and yeah, I felt really good seeing it there.
Now the thing is, even when you're in a coma, you got to work. Now if I'd of had my way, I'd bought a lottery ticket while in California and winning the big one. Like I said before, sometimes I'm just a little slow. Besides, being in a coma wasn't going to change anything like me suddenly waking up, though I think I wished myself to wake up more than once once when I came home. It was kind of nice, but also a bit unsettling not working for so long. Maybe having four days off and being paid for it isn't any big thing for you but to me, it was. As to being home and not working, we caught the city bus to have a picnic at Sparks Marina. But I'd find myself looking at Wild Waters and imagining what it must be like going down one of those tubes filled with water, then hitting the pool at the end of it. Now if I'd hit the lottery.....of course in a way I did and it being so much different than I ever expected. Two days later, my friends brought over their pc and monitor and not only that, set everything up for me. So now I found myself being a computer junkie in wanting a printer to go with it. Figured the girls could use it for their homework assignments instead of having to wait for those few ones they had at their school. Then Mom got busy, calling Charter and got a great deal. Not only internet, but a wifi box to go with it all for forty-four dollars a month, without the price going up for TWO YEARS?! This also included a free house phone. A couple of days later the Charter guy shows up to install the cable with Mom asking him to give us an extra fifteen feet of cable in case we wanted to move the computer to another location. For a desk to have everything sit on, we went to a thrift store, getting one for twenty-five dollars which included a chair. Of course, we had to have a van taxi pick us up as obviously, this was something we couldn't carry on the bus. Then about a week after everything was set up, I was checking Craigslist and saw where someone was giving a free printer away and not only that, it worked! Seems they bought a better one, but who cares? Not only that, the cartridges (4 of them) were almost full AND they had a big spare black cartridge to boot. Naturally, there was no plan on printing a bunch of stuff in color and got a shock at the prices of these color cartridges. The “best” price was forty-six dollars plus tax for the three color cartridges. When I mentioned this to my friends, they told me about Ebay and generic cartridges which we could get for seven dollars each AND free shipping. Mom got us a rechargeable, cordless house phone from a thrift store for five dollars. It was cheap because everyone seems to use cell phones now days.
In some ways, you never think about your sisters as being attractive. Not that they were fly drawing, repulsive ugly mind you, but still....... When I got off work, Mom would of escorted them to the bus stop, I'd stay up a bit, then go to bed, then get up to meet them at their bus stop which was now about half a mile from the house. Mom would be up making lunches and breakfast for the girls who were headed for school and then for me when I returned home in the morning. I'd take a nap before taking off to see the girls got safely home. While there's gangs in Reno/Sparks, it's NOTHING like say, Los Angeles and other big cities in California. Then I saw him.... some guy hitting on one of my sisters who did NOT want his attention and kept pulling away, but he kept following her and trying to put his hands on her. At this same time, she saw me and I didn't even think about my actions, but I ran up to her with her moving to one side. I not only grabbed him by his shirt with both hands, but then tossed him backwards, telling him to leave my sister alone. And when I said I tossed him, he went FLYING backwards a good twenty feet or so. I decided it was time to leave, with me escorting them back home. Now they were pretty quiet at first, then talking about how I seemed to have “Hulked up”, something I didn't understand, but they said it was like I had changed like that guy in that old tv series where the guy would change into a green guy when he got mad. Took me a bit to understand they were talking about Bill Bixby and of course, Mark Ruffalo in those movies as The Hulk. I said yeah, that's me at which time I tried flexing my muscles like I was some body builder and gave out with an aaarrggghh. Sad to say, but my sisters LAUGHED at me! But we did agree not to tell Mom as we didn't want her to worry. Next day I was at the bus stop a good ten minutes early and that guy was the first one off the bus. Took one look at me standing there and proceeded in the other direction with some haste. As for my sisters, they were interested in boys, but NO dating during the week because of chores and homework you understand. Weekends were okay, but only when the boys introduced themselves to Mom and going to places like the movies or one of the casinos that had stuff for kids to do. And NO sudden last minute changes unless she was called and approved them. Yeah, Mom was VERY protective of her chicks.
With what had happened at the convention, I wasn't the same even though I had returned to work and Mom noticed this. Then came THAT day when she said we needed to talk and when Mom says this, you WILL have a talk. She asked if I should go to a therapist, considering what I might of seen, but then I hadn't really talked about what had REALLY happened as I had said that when I heard gunfire, I took off like everyone else. I said no, I'm okay but then she throws me a MAJOR curve ball, telling me that if I'm gay, that's okay!? Now this was something I DID NOT expect and just kind of looked at her in shock, at which time she says she will always love me no matter what and it's nothing to be ashamed about. Decided to tell Mom what I thought had happened to me BEFORE leaving Reno and how I felt I was in a coma and all of this was a VERY LONG dream. I didn't surprise her, but SHOCKED her. We got to talking and she got me to thinking about this train of thought because had I ever had any dream that was so long and so detailed, even going to sleep all the time, eating, going to the bathroom, etc. I had to admit I hadn't, but then what the hell HAD happened to me? I mean, how could I explain that lightning that I had CALLED TO in that empty lot in Anaheim?
Thing is, I've never been a big news follower but about a week or so after our talk, started seeing news stories about how some people had an experience for lack of a better world all over the world while on flights. So.......was I in a coma or had I some how actually been changed? There comes a time you have to face the music to find out the truth even if you don't want to or it sounds crazier than hell. My costume and hammer were still packed in that suitcase and hadn't thought of putting it on since coming home. So on my day off I lied, telling Mom that I was going to see my cosplayer friends. It wasn't much of a lie but still, talk about a guilt trip. Checked the city bus schedules and routes, but this time I took a bus I'd never taken before to a Walmart on the FAR north side of Reno which is in Lemmon Valley. Why there? Because there was A LOT of empty land around it that I found via a Google satellite search. It took me a little over an hour to get there and felt really awkward in carrying my suitcase and even more so when I got off the bus. Then not only did I climb a hill, but made sure I was on the other side of it just in case I found myself NOT existing in a coma. Now talk about this being awkward, as I had to disrobe because my costume would not fit over my clothes, so first thing to go were my shoes and putting on my costume boots...only to find out that I couldn't take my pants off because of the boots. That's when I thought screw this as this IS crazier than hell. If I HAD been altered, I should still be able to use my hammer ala Thor....I hoped.
And naturally, I started talking to Mjolnir, saying let's see what you can do. Which is why I tried bringing the clouds, etc. to me....with NOTHING happening. Well, so much for being changed, but then thought maybe I needed to put my costume on....like there was a psychic or mental link between me and my costume? You know, with me in my street clothes, I'm just a regular guy, but once my costume's on, I become Thor? Figured what the hell, since I'm here may as well completely disillusion myself that nothing had happened to me on my plane trip. And as far as what had happened earlier in Anaheim, had to be some weird fluke of some kind.
That's when I completely disrobed, putting my costume on because in the off chance anyone saw me, better to be thought of some guy with long blonde hair and a red cape instead of some brown hair guy in regular clothing. After I was done, put my clothes in my suitcase in case I had to run and didn't want either of them to be left behind should anyone see me. But this time I FELT different and when I used Mjolnir, it did rain! Then when I drew lightning down, this time I felt a difference because I was TRYING to bring it down and not have it happening to me unexpectedly like it did the first time. It was like I was storing it like I was a battery being recharged if that makes any sense. Next test was flying which did make me a little nervous, though I'd never was afraid of heights. Now I'd seen Thor twirl his hammer and just take right off into the air. THAT was a little bit more action wise than I wanted, ESPECIALLY since this could be my first and LAST flight. Why? How long could I hold onto my hammer while flying thru the air? Bad ju ju if my hand got tired while flying or going straight up and I let go of it. Well, held my hammer above my head and said okay Mjolnir, lift me up into the air SLOWLY and NOT real high either. Thing is, I didn't feel a thing at first because I was concentrating on my hammer and NOT looking around. The other thing there was no sort of tugging by the hammer to lift me up in the air. I'm thinking, well this was a bust until I happened to look around and then down below me.....as I'm like a hundred feet in the air?! I finally figured out that when we were in the air we were one, so unless I consciously removed my hand from my hammer, there was no way I'd fall. Decided to practice horizontal flight at a SLOW speed and what a hoot! I looked around and not seeing anyone anywhere near me, decided to go faster and faster a little bit at a time, always remaining in the same area because that's where my suitcase was. When I landed, I laid Mjolnir on the ground and walked away about twenty feet or so and when I called to it, it came right into my hand! And no, there was no stinging sensation when it hit my palm which kind of surprised me.
Then I heard them....a couple of dirt bikes and sure enough, here they come right towards me! Time to get outta town. Quick. Grabbed my suitcase and pointed Mjolnir at an angle towards the air and said get us out of here PRONTO! The landscape ZOOMED underneath us and it took me a bit to tell Mjolnir to stop, which it did. This was when several things came to me. I actually felt NO weight from the suitcase even though it weighed a couple of pounds. And when I thought about this even more, it was no trouble carrying it when it had my costume in it. Like it was weightless of all things. Another was I BARELY felt ANY wind as I went flying thru the air. You'd think I'd have trouble seeing anything much like if you ride a motorcycle really fast, but without a helmet or eye protection like googles. It was like I was in a cocoon of something that protected me from all of this. So there I am, dangling horizontally in the air and looking down. Now while that was “pleasant”, I was thinking I'd be more comfortable in the air vertically. And that's what happened with me slowly going vertical. Next question was just where the hell was I? I'm guessing, but figured I was about two hundred feet plus in the air and honestly, with no road map with me, no idea where I was at. I could see I was over some large town with a BIG interstate highway going thru it, along with a lot of traffic, but that was all. Thing is, people don't NORMALLY look up in the sky and expect to see people just hanging there in the air or flying thru it which was a good thing. Did some checking and it was at this time a few people saw me, but fortunately while some had their phones out and taking photos, none of them had actual cameras, so NO closeups were taken. Time for me to get home as my sisters would soon be out of school.
Told Mjolnir that I had to get home quick and was thinking of our backyard and once again, zoomed away with me quickly dangling vertically in the air just a few feet above the ground in the backyard. No problem gently landing on the ground. Talk about being in a daze with what had occurred in the last hour or so. I quickly changed clothes without Mom hearing me come in. Checked the internet finding that Medford, Oregon was three hundred and five miles away, give or take a few miles. Man, that was FAST. As time passed, news about changed people slowly became more and more wide spread, along with videos like Ben saving that guys life from committing suicide on that bridge. And yes, I do know Ben but more about him later on coming into our lives. So back to work and no more thinking I was in a coma......at least I hoped I wasn't, because how can you tell if you are or aren't? Now that summer, I didn't bother looking for a job because of the convention and frankly, I was still trying to comprehend what had and was happening to me. Remember that guy who was too fresh with my sister and went flying backwards that I mentioned earlier? Well, he was back....with three of his friends who apparently were on the girls high school football team. Right after the girls got off, we started walking home when I heard that guy saying hey, mother f*cker, DON'T walk away from me. When I partially turned around and saw him and his friends, I told the girls get out of here. NOW! They got and quickly I found myself almost being surrounded by the four of them.
Then I saw something out of the corner of my eye......one of those guys was going to sucker punch me, but I moved my hand up and actually caught his fist before it landed! Thought I'd kind of close mine on his in the hopes of causing him some pain. Oh man, did I. We ALL heard his hand bones being broken! The guy gave out a small moan, then fell to the ground with me releasing his hand in total surprise. He was completely unconscious. I stepped back with EVERY intention of running away as there were three of them vs the one of me, but their ringleader had other ideas, with him telling the others to get me for what they'd done to their friend. Now I'm being pummeled by three guys while I'm trying to cover myself from getting hit, but it wasn't working when you're being attacked by three guys. Thing is, NONE of the blows hurt...I mean, I felt them, but there was no actual physical pain which should have been occurring. I was looking for ANY kind of escape, but with being surrounded.... That's when I wish I had Mjolnir with me so I could give 'em all a zap of electricity. Not enough to kill them of course, but to make them stop beating on me. KAZAAP! Electricity came out of somewhere, with all three doing a funky chicken kind of dance on the sidewalk for a few seconds and I wasn't affected by this occurring either. They then fell to the ground flopping around some more, with me running like hell for home and catch up with my sisters. Once again, nothing was to be said about this to Mom. And those guys? They NEVER bothered my sisters or me again.
Now with me working only one job during the summer and no school, found that I had a lot of time on my hands. Of course, I'm still thinking coma/no coma during this time, but as time passed, got to thinking more and more in the line of no coma. Simply because more and more videos were being shown of people doing amazing things that simply weren't humanly possible. So how things worked was when I came home from work, Mom was usually still sleeping, with me checking on the girls to make sure they had everything they needed for school, then walk them to the school bus stop. After that, go home, make some breakfast, then leave Mom a note telling her I'd be at UNR, the local library or hanging out with my cosplayer friends, which was actually a lie no matter how you sliced it. Yes, I did go to UNR as I was checking out books from the library and UNR. As to my friends, it was only when they got off from their jobs. Well, I needed a place not only to practice, but also a place to stash my suitcase with me taking the bus to get to north of town. Since our place had a wooden fence around it, what better place to use it as a take off point? I also had to worry about what if someone saw me somewhere doing my thing. But Mjolnir took me right up into the air really quick and from there, I headed north. Now having internet access, I started checking distances between Reno and other cities in California and Oregon. San Francisco was roughly two hundred eighteen miles, Portland, Oregon was five hundred thirty-three miles, while Los Angeles was five hundred sixteen miles and as for Honolulu, it was TWO THOUSAND, FIVE HUNDRED AND SIXTY-NINE MILES?!
Now one thing I had trouble was going in the right direction, so I bought a cheap wrist watch type compass. And then of course, it helps if you have a road map which if you don't MAKE SURE it's tucked in nice and neat, it WILL fly out. But then I found out I didn't need these things. That some how I was giving Mjolnir an image of where I wanted to be and with internet access, I was able to see a lot of photos of different places before hand. Over the next few weeks, I got to see a lot of different cities and our country while making sure I was high enough in the air just in case someone happened to see me either just normally flying thru the air or zooming. Now during this time I was lucky in that if anyone saw me, I was only observed and not recorded. It was in San Diego, California that I did my first superhero gig. It was seeing an armored truck being chased by about two dozen police cars on some highway. Basically, these things are built like tanks, with the tires on them NOT being affected by those spiked strip things layed out by the cops, along with being bullet proof. I forgot one thing: to REALLY check the area around me for actual planes or helicopters. Yeah, one of the local tv stations had one of them (helicopter) in the air and was doing a LIVE BROADCAST as this thing went down. So without thinking (hey, this was my first gig, remember?), I called up the wind, etc., then directed Mjolnir to strike the hood of the armored car as hard as possible with a POWERFUL bolt of lightning. Boy, did it ever. It PUNCHED a hole thru the METAL hood and when that bolt hit the engine, it was basically destroyed! Of course it came to a halt with the cops REALLY surrounding it, with LOTS of guns coming out. That's when I heard the helicopter, then seeing it coming towards me, obviously wanting to get a closeup of me. NO fricking way, so I told Mjolnir home James. NOW!
One moment we were over San Diego and a couple of minutes(?) later, we're over my place and I WAS going to land until I saw Mom in the backyard messing around in her flowerbed. Making sure the front of our place was clear of people, I landed, heading for my bedroom to change. This was when I realized doing this kind of thing (superhero gigs) was going to be a lot tougher than I had expected. I hit the internet for news and got a little bit more than I expected. How about while the Air Force was denying this, newscasters and aviation experts were commenting on how the Air Force was obviously testing a new, supersonic aircraft. Kind of like how the SR-71 and the F-117 were tested in the beginning, but they (the Air Force) wouldn't comment on it. Thing is, I didn't realize I was doing any kind of supersonic speed wise simply because I wasn't aware of my speed. Must of been during those times I was practicing and flew to Honolulu, Anchorage and Washington D.C. Yeah, good ol' Mjolnir had me bookin' thru the air. The other thing was I HADN'T thought of radar.....you know, to keep track of planes in the air. Then Mom about scared the bejesus out of me when she layed a hand on me, asking what was I looking at! When my heart more or less returned to normal, told her I was just checking out stuff on the internet.
Then I got into the habit of doing other gigs, but they had to be done only when my sisters were at school, then picking them up afterwards and of course, taking off when Mom was busy inside or sleeping. Felt like some cat burglar looking around for her, then heading for the backdoor fast as possible. From there, once back up into the air. Thing is, my second superhero gig was fighting a bunch of forest fires in California and frankly, from the news, it seemed like half the state was on fire. This meant we were getting a lot of smoke from them here in Reno. And man, those fires are HOT! I also had to look out for airplanes and helicopters dumping stuff on these fires. Thing is, when I had the lighting strike the ground, made sure it hit those places on fire and not near any of the people on the ground also fighting it. And I made sure it not only poured, but moved it several miles in each direction. Now of course I was seen, no way to stop that. What I didn't know was I was being described as floating in the air without any means of visible support along with being some guy in a costume with a RED CAPE?! Yeah....everyone got to thinking Superman which made me happy. Thing is, I was getting more and more into helping people, along with finding out that a lot of people got altered just like I did when catching news videos and those posted on Youtube. So, bit by bit I realized I WASN'T in a coma. Now in one way, helping people like I was doing was easy. The REALLY HARD part was trying to have a life, along with making a living.
Remember, I was helping to support Mom and my sisters and I'd be going back to college soon. I was quick to realize what Peter Parker went thru as Spiderman. The other was how EASY basically all the superheroes have it in the comic books. Bruce Wayne? Multi billionaire. Hey Bruce....try building a Batmobile, having a secret place to store all your stuff, KNOWING how to do different things, etc., etc., etc......while you're working at Walmart for example. Or being an orphan at a very young age and growing up in an orphanage because you have no family. Because of this, FORGET going to college. Try doing vigilante stuff without the gadgets you have as Batman and NO doubt the cops would eventually catch you and hello prison. Thor? He's a demi-god and has NO money worries. Wonder Woman? A princess for crying out loud, from a tribe of women from an undiscovered island and of course, she has NO problem with money. Barry Allen as the Flash? Before he got changed into The Flash, he worked for the police in one of their laboratories, so he had a job which I figured paid very well. But the comics never say how long he continued working there once he became The Flash. So, what did he live on afterwards? And look at Superman and Supergirl, neither of them ever having money trouble coming up. All they worried about was someone maybe discovering their secret identities. I could go on, but you get the idea how hard it was between taking care of Mom, my sisters, working, then helping people out. And let's not forget me trying to stay in touch with my cosplayer friends. I was beginning to really burn the candle at both ends. Thing is, Mom noticed it and then not long afterwards, so did my friends. And let's also not forget how HUNGRY I got more than once after doing some heavy duty superhero work. This is why I'd hit other casinos buffets during lunch time, with me hitting different ones during those times because I got more than one stare from the people working there from the amount of food I ate. Like eating a dozen pieces of chicken, THREE plates of mashed potatoes with gravy, two plates of salad, about two pounds of roast beef and at least two gallons of milk. Thing is, I WASN'T getting fat from all this heavy duty eating.
So I needed a REAL job and not something busing tables or washing dishes. Thing is, I wasn't 21 yet, with that being a few months away. And even then, it would be hard for me to get a job unless it was as change person and couldn't do that because Mom worked in the cage. In all honesty, I got crazy with desperation. There are cosplay conventions all over the U.S. and naturally, many parts of the world. Had my drawing stuff in a small bag which went inside my suitcase. Do you have ANY idea how hard it is to fly while carrying a suitcase, along with an easel and two folding chairs? It's NOT. Since I had vacation time still left, I put in for it and got it. Told Mom another lie.....that I thought I'd just take some time off to kind of unwind before school started. She was surprised, but glad I was doing this because as I mentioned earlier, I was looking a little bit stressed. Now I didn't have that much money to pay to get into any of these conventions as a seller, but figured why not try doing sketches of people in their costumes not far from the conventions front doors? Sounds reasonable right? It didn't work out that way, part of it having to be home to make sure my sisters were taken care of, so that only left about six hours a day for sketching and of course, there would be flight time and setting things up. Which meant finding a place to land, then carting everything to be near the convention centers front doors. This was when I started wearing a bandanna I bought from Dollar Tree to cover my face just in case I was photographed or video taped.
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Post by texican on Sept 10, 2020 16:43:06 GMT -6
WillC,
Great start on Thor.
Thanks,
Texican....
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Post by willc453 on Sept 11, 2020 18:09:41 GMT -6
The Affected: Thor Chapter 4
As for the bandanna, I told my customers that I had a cold and didn't want to pass it on to anyone. Thing is, some of the people (regular and cosplayers) wanted a photo of us together, but I always insisted in wearing my mask to protect them. Some of them joked how I was The Lone Thor, you know a play on words from The Lone Ranger tv series. I didn't care as long as nobody actually saw my face. Which is why I got to wearing it during my Thor, hero helping gigs. I charged twenty-five dollars for a basic drawing of someone which took about twenty minutes or so. For a bit more detailed drawing it was fifty bucks which was thirty minutes or so time wise and really working on one was seventy-five dollars, but then I was using oils and this took me about an hour. Thing is, NONE of the people complained about the wait time and naturally, all I took was cash as payment. The other thing was I was never chased off by security because I wasn't that close to the front doors as I didn't want to attract their attention in any way. The other thing was I didn't want to be doing any conventions in California for awhile as I'd already gained some attention from the media due to my earlier actions. So I'd hit a convention in Dallas, Texas one day, the next one could be in Wisconsin, the next in Jacksonville, Florida for example. And boy, I making money hand over fist with my drawings. One thing that did help was I never thought to autograph and date my drawings or putting down the location of the convention. This kept me off everyones (meaning the government) radar for the longest time. The other thing is conventions AREN'T held every day, so when there weren't any, I'd set my stuff up in either downtown Reno or Sparks, but without wearing my Thor costume. But when I did this, I wasn't making the same amount of money number wise for my drawings as I would of at a convention. The only problem with this traveling like I was, was it seemed inevitable that something would be going down and I felt I had to intervene.
California for example still had forest fires popping up from time to time, along with those in New Mexico, Arizona and Wyoming as further examples. The only times I'd let myself get involved was when they were really bad as in they couldn't be contained quick enough and certainly when homes and business's were threatened. Felt kind of bad in not dealing with all of 'em, but had to make a living from my drawings along with working. Thing is, when I said the money was rolling in, it was compared to what I was making as a busser/dishwasher. Like making seventy-five dollars an hour with my basic drawings of people. Times that by up to five for the hours I put in drawing, I was taking home THREE HUNDRED AND SEVENTY-FIVE BUCKS at least! So now I was making a lot more money in a shorter time that I would have been as a dishwasher/ busser. Some might ask, why didn't you find a better paying job, as surely there must have been a lot of them? Oh there were, but then I'd have to start from scratch getting health insurance for example and that was NOT cheap. The other was I'd lose my scholarship money from the casino, so while I'd make more money in one way, expenses were much higher in another. And I found out that I was REALLY good at riot control. This was in Chicago where there was not only a lot of rioting going on, but destruction of private property (stores), along with looting inside of said stores. That made me mad as Mom and I worked hard for our money and no doubt so did these owners in opening and running their stores. Thing is, when the girls got older, they found babysitting jobs and from what I heard, more than once they REALLY earned it.
So on my way to that convention, I'm hovering a couple of hundred feet seeing all of this and I told Mjolnir, let's do something about these people. Now I didn't have to hold my handle to twirl my hammer, just the leather strap which was attached to the handle by a rotating swivel. Once I heard the thunder, soon came the lightning, but made sure it didn't go anywhere until I was ready. Told Mjolnir what I wanted it to do and right after that there was a loud KRACK and suddenly there's about eighty some people doing the funky chicken from being lightly electrocuted and then dropping to the ground unconscious. With cops having body cameras and the media being there with their cameras, these people were quickly put in handcuffs and hauled away. Those that tried running from the store after this with stolen goods in their hands, also got zapped. Those inside the store decided they'd try the emergency exit doors and they too got zapped. When I got home, found out that a little over two hundred people got arrested that day. There were something like another sixty to eighty people inside stores who refused to come out until the cops went in and forced them out. Not that they had any stolen goods in their possessions when this happened. Thing is, while I was stashing all this extra money away for Mom and the girls, I was running out of time. Once school started, I'd be too busy going to classes, while also working the graveyard shift during the week. The only thing I could think of was making money via a convention on that one day I had off and that would happen ONLY if there was a convention going on that day. Remember, the other day off was reserved for us.
Then I saw an advertisement on the net how studios needed people to do art work for the prop people to make as not everything's green screened or generated via a computer. Looked pretty interesting and according to this website, I could be making a minimum of 50K a year. Sounds good, right? Had the option of submitting my personal information or calling, so called the toll free number. Good thing too as the guy on the other end kept pushing for me to fill out an online application and they'd get back to me. And by the way, there was a TWO HUNDRED AND FIFTY DOLLAR fee for this service AND there was NO job guarantee. But if you hurry now and fill out our application and pay the fee, why we'll only charge you ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-FIVE DOLLARS and this is a limited time offer only. I was NOT that naive, especially when he started naming names of big studios, but didn't have ONE recommendation from them on that website. Hmmmm...maybe I out to think this out, but in a different way. So I started checking the big name studios to see what categories they had as far as different jobs that were done and available. Nope....nope....nope...well, there were a lot of nopes, then I saw it. Marvel Studios was looking for an illustrator for weapons, costumes and set designs?! Thing is, I didn't have a degree but figure nothing ventured, nothing gained. From the net, got its address, phone number and some photos of the studio itself. Made arrangements with work to take two days off without pay on my regular work days, but didn't tell Mom. Yeah, I know, I know.....but I still had the money from those drawings I did, so I could cover the lost income for those two days with no problem.
After the girls were on their bus, went home, costumed up and took off for New York City, but ended up having a slight detour. I'd of left earlier, but had to take care of the girls, but there's also a three hour time difference between Reno and New York City. As to the detour, I was hauling thru the air, but not so fast I couldn't focus on things below me. This was when I found out how strong I was, though I hadn't done any heavy lifting before this. A chartered bus was traveling on a four lane road......you know, two lanes for each direction. Thing is, a little past half way down the bridge, there'd been an accident of multiple cars. Later on, found out that the driver had dropped something, went to pick it up and when she straightened up, saw the pileup in front of her. She hit the brakes and tried turning the wheel so she wouldn't rear end anyone, but ended up going partially thru the guard rail on that bridge as the rail wasn't designed that strongly. Anyway, the bad part was about fifteen to twenty feet of the bus was dangling over the river which was about forty feet below. Now I was thinking since Mjolnir could lift me up in the air, along with my suitcase and clothes in it, it could do the same for the bus by lifting it up and then backwards. No. First thing was to put my suitcase on the very top of the bridge, then when I told Mjolnir let's do this, I put my free hand on the bumper and it crumples and folds like it's made of cardboard?! Thing is, people were trapped in the bus, unable to get out because the ONLY door was dangling over the water. There were some firemen with a couple of ladders busy hacking away at the windows because the passengers didn't know you could unlatch them in an emergency with the windows popping out and fall to the ground. Guess they were in full blown panic mode. Then one of the firemen saw me and shouted the bumper wasn't designed to lift heavy weights and that I needed to lift the front frame work instead. He was right and I learned something that day. No problem with Mjolnir and me lifting the bus up and backwards onto the bridge where the passengers got out REAL quick. And while there were videos and photos taken, I was safe because I had my bandanna on. Got my suitcases back and headed for New York City and Marvel Studios with time to look the city over. And yes, I did take a look at the Empire State building and Statue of Liberty, though at an entirely different perspective.
Later, when I got home, went to look more information about her. I mean, EVERYONE knows what she looks like and found out that it was both countries kicking in money wise, while the French built her. Funny thing though, was I never thought she was that old. I thought she was build some time in the very early part of the 1900's for some reason. How about she dedicated and ready for business on the afternoon of October 28. 1886 by President Grover Cleveland? She's a figure of Libertas, a robed liberty goddess. You know about the torch and tablet obvious, but in Roman numbers is the date of America's independence of July 4, 1776. One thing I NEVER knew was as she was walking, there's a broken shackle and chain laying at her feet commemorating the recent national abolition of slavery. Which made me wonder if any of the other superhero's learned something that they didn't know before they became superhero's?
Found me an alley to land in, then changed my clothes though I sometimes feel like I'm some kind of a pervert when I did this. Thing is, even this early there was a hot dog stand open and ready for business. This was something I wished the city council would allow, but the casinos want every buck they can get their hands on, so it's not going to happen. Now I usually carried twenty bucks on me just in case Mom called to say we needed something from the grocery store. I also had what I called my “mad money” which was all of another twenty, but folded up and hidden behind my social security card. Thing is, I got that hunger feeling again and thirty-six dollars of it went for five big hotdogs that were loaded with everything that I wanted on it and a bottle of water. I kept the waterbottle with the idea of refilling it when I got home and thought it'd be a good idea to keep it with me when I was in my costume, so I'd have something to drink when needed. Like I've mentioned before, the habit of trying to save money is strong in me. So anyway, get inside of the Marvel Studios building and already there's something like two dozen people already there also wanting to get a job with Marvel. Get an application and of course with no chairs left, put my two bags down next to me and used the wall as my desk. Took me maybe ten minutes before I realized there was NO WAY I'd get hired as they wanted previous work experience and I didn't have any. Nor a college education, or anywhere where I'd served as an apprentice to some studio/company studying/learning my craft. I was in such a rush to get here, never even thought of asking any of my college teachers for a letter of recommendation. Crap. Time to go home. So put the application and my drawings and sketches (which were in a large, yellow office envelope) into my suitcase which held Mjolnir, then headed for the exit with my head now out of the clouds.
Thing is, wasn't really paying attention as I left. when I bumped into one of three guys walking together. I apologized and went to go my way when the second guy asks if I was okay, followed by if I was applying for a job. I stopped, turned around, saying yes, but I realize now after looking at the application, I'm simply not qualified. Surprised again when he asks why I wasn't qualified and told him about not having prior experience other than doing drawings for people in high school and recently, for cosplayers at conventions. No idea who this guy was at the time, but then realized the other two? Bodyguards. He asks to see my drawings, so got them out and he said they weren't bad at all but he was sorry, the studio needed people who were more skilled than I was. I understood, thanked him but then he said I might check with Disney studios in Hollywood as they do have an apprentice program and maybe..... Thanked him again, but when I went to put my drawings back into the suitcase which held Mjolnir, he said what's that, pointing at my bag and of course, Mjolnir. I said it's just a prop I made, that's all. Then asks if he could see it please and I figured okay, I'll let you see it and that'll be it as this guy had taken the time to talk to me, but I didn't want a repeat of what had happened to Chris, Tom and Natalie naturally. It didn't work out that way. Not at all.
So I held it out to him WILLINGLY for him to hold with him and his two bodyguards admiring my work, then asking how I built it and why in the world would I carry such a thing when applying for a job? I said New York's real strict about people owning guns, but nothing's said about carrying a big hammer is there? I heard there's a lot of crime in this city and no offense you understand, but this hammer does look kind of scary doesn't it? So if someone tried to mug me, I thought I could pull this out and maybe they'd back up and leave me alone. The other thing is that a hammer doesn't need to be reloaded or aimed like a gun. And the real reason is that Thor's been my favorite superhero since I was a kid and it's kind of like a security blanket that Linus carries with him all the time, so it's a kind of confidence builder if you will. Well, got some looks from the three of them, along with some people looking at my hammer as they walked by. Then this guy makes a BIG mistake by passing it to one of his bodyguards, asking him what he thought of my work. Before I could say or think of anything, Mjolnir went right to the floor, barely missing this guys foot, thank God. The bodyguard apologizes for being so clumsy with my property, but when he went to pick it up...... You KNOW what DIDN'T happen. His boss didn't think this was funny and told the bodyguard to quit fooling around with this guys property, but when the second bodyguard went to help him, Mjolnir wasn't moving and that's when I started backing away, making plans for my escape.
Thing is, the guy I was talking to tried to pick it up, but because I'd only given him permission to do so, Mjolnir wasn't having any part of this as those two bodyguards were still trying to lift it off the ground and I hadn't given them the okay to do this. I was maybe ten or fifteen feet from them, edging towards the front doors when the guy I'd been talking to, realizes this. When he said hey, what's going on, why can't we lift this thing when I could earlier? I took off running for the front doors, with him saying stop, wait, let's talk, come back.....then it was somebody stop him, meaning me. I called out to Mjolnir and it came FLYING out of their hands and into mine. However, when this guy said somebody stop him, meaning me, suddenly I got something like five security guards on top of me, knocking me to my knees. THAT'S when I said Get. Off. Of. Me. NOW! Flexed my arms with the five of them flying I don't know how far away. That's when I said ENOUGH and without thinking, slammed Mjolnir against the floor. Oh boy.....where I hit the floor with Mjolnir, there was now a twelve inch diameter divot in it, along with a shock wave being produced which knocked everyone around me on their b*tts. This was also followed by the ENTIRE glass front of the building being shattered, along with the two entrance glass doors! I got up and ran like hell, but started shouting EARTHQUAKE! EARTHQUAKE! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES! THAT got a lot of peoples attention, not to mention all the alarms that suddenly went off inside the building. Once outside, I flew straight up to the top of the building just to get out of there, not thinking of those who might of seen me doing this. Well, crap.....this did NOT turn out as I had hoped.
On top of the Marvel Studio building, decided I needed to get into my costume, then after getting my bandanna on, time to get out of here. Just after putting my clothes in my suitcase, a door opens up behind me and here come a couple of guys and women. I don't know who was more startled....me or them, but one of them wanted to know who the hell was I and why was I in a Thor costume? I said I'm sorry, I'll leave and that's when the guy pulls out a walkie talkie, telling security to get to the helicopter pad RIGHT NOW. I said there's no need for this fuss, so I stepped onto the ledge of the building and with suitcases in one hand, I waved to them with Mjolnir in my other hand and simply leaned backwards to fall out of sight....with me screaming for a few seconds. I heard a scream and really quick, there were a couple of guys peering down over the edge of the building.....only to see me floating in the air about twenty feet below them and about five feet or so from the building. Man, you should of seen their shocked faces when they saw me as it was funnier than hell. I said, like I said a few seconds ago, there's no reason to get security involved and took off. Now I still had some time on my hand as it wouldn't take that long zooming home, so figured maybe there's something I could do around town.
First thing was finding a place to stash my suitcases because I didn't want them stolen. So what if my clothes were stolen? It'd cost me money to replace 'em. And as far as the suitcase goes, Mom bought that for me. And if I tried replacing it and she saw it, no doubt she'd be asking what happened to the one she'd bought. That was NOT a path I wanted to go down. Well, found a really good spot....it was a really tall building and had some of those satellite dish things on a tower, so it was no trouble to put my suitcases in place among a couple of girders. Thing is, ALL of New York City looked the same to me from the air. NO idea if I was over Queens, Brooklyn, etc., but I did recognize Central Park so went over to look it over out of curiosity while slowly flying about twenty feet over the trees. Like I said, no one really looks up, especially in thinking there might be something flying over the trees and bushes. Then I heard a woman scream, so headed for that spot and a woman is crying while saying some guy on a bicycle stole her purse and is pointing where that guy had taken off to. No problem spotting him and I knew it was him because he had a womans purse. No problem swooping down on him, grabbing him by his shirt collar and lifting us about fifty feet off the ground, then returning to that woman who had lost her purse. Talk about scared.....the guy had a death grip on his bicycle handle bars and looped his legs the best he could around its frame. I see she's got a couple of cops next to her, so I called out to them, asking the lady if this was the guy. Sure enough, so that's when I told the guy to drop the ladies purse, which he didn't want to. So I said fine, with us rising to where we're about two hundred feet in the air and that's when I said this is where I drop you off. He immediately starts screaming no, no, no....I'll give her back her d*mn purse.
Lower us, at which time the thief drops the womans purse, then ask the two cops that since this guy stole this womans purse, maybe the bike has also been stolen? The cops, along with the woman and other people are now kind of staring at me, but finally one of the cops says, yeah, it's possible. So I tell the thief when the bike wheels touch the ground, he's going to let loose of it, because if not..... He let go of the bike, then started begging me to let him go. I said not yet pumpkin, then asked the lady if all her stuff was there and when she said yes, I tell the thief it's time to make financial reparations for stealing that ladies purse, so drop your wallet on ground and ANYTHING of value. He wasn't going to until I shook him a bit and when I was done, he couldn't get rid of his stuff quick enough.....including some small baggie things which I figured contained drugs of some kind. Had one of the cops pick up his wallet and other stuff, then asked the cop to see how much money was in the wallet. There was only twenty-three dollars, while the watch and some jewelry had some value. Said I'm pretty sure this guy won't mind GIVING you his stuff and with some shaking of him by me, he had NO problem with this. One of the cops said the small plastic bags looked like narcotics, at which time I slowly drifted over over the lake, lowering this guy to about five feet above the water and ten feet from everyone. This guy was ecstatic, thinking I was going to just drop him into the water. Didn't happen. That's when I asked everyone (meaning guys) if they'd ever skipped a rock across the water. And no sooner than I had said that, yanked the guy up in the air by a few feet and catching him by one of his ankles so now he was upside down in the air. He started moaning no, no, no....too late bud. You shouldn't of taken up a life of crime AND scaring some poor lady. So I started turning in a circle, then released him about five feet above the water. He skipped about twelve times, kind of like when someone's water skiing, but lose control and go tumbling on the water for a bit before coming to a stop. Flew over to grab him again and back near the shore we went and when I asked everyone if they'd like to see this done again, they ALL roared yes. This guy was crying, sobbing and begging me not to do this again and I said okay, but only if you go with the cops and tell them EVERYTHING you've ever done illegally, fair enough? Him: saying a bunch of yeses. So I gave him to the cops, with this guy sobbing and starting to babble his guts out. That's when I said goodbye to everyone and took off to see what else I might find.
I stopped not one, but two bank robberies in progress. Those two sets of robbers were beating feet for their get away car, but I zapped 'em with a little lightning, leaving them to flop on the ground until the cops came roaring up. Thing is, while there were bags on money laying on the ground, NO ONE was stupid enough to try and grab some for themselves. Seems the people who saw this realized maybe it wasn't a good choice to make when there's a guy floating in the air above you and realizing the bad guys just got hit with lighting coming from this guy. I helped two little girls in different parts of the town whose cats were stuck in a tree. There was a building on fire, which I put out by using a lot of wind, followed by rain. Some people were stuck in the building as the fire was in a lower floor and they were above it. Pulled out about two dozen or so as no one knew if the fire escape stairs were safe to use or not. I was kind of busy flying around town, doing different things, but then took a look at my watch which was set for Nevada time. Oh no....had to get home to meet the girls at their bus stop and there wasn't that much time left. Grabbed my suitcases and did my best to zoom back home.
Got home with a little time to spare, met the girls, with us returning home. Thing is, now I was REALLY on the news media and what made it worse was some of the girls friends had portable computers, which are called iPads? So now, ALL of 'em had been talking about what was being shown on these things, so the girls were naturally telling me about it. I told 'em Mom would be disappointed in them for fibbing and no sooner did we get home, they're on the net, making me look at these videos of me helping others. I couldn't believe it....they were actually GUSHING how handsome, strong, etc. he was, along with me wearing a costume just like this guy. Yeah, they never put two and two together and wondered why this guy wore a mask. I told them that in reality he was really b*tt ugly, with beady eyes, probably hadn't bathed in days, a nose that an elephant would envy, etc. They said I was just jealous and then whacked me with two of the couch cushions a few times. Mom had made stew, along with a loaf of French bread, with margarine and garlic powder on the bread. There were no leftovers this time because once the girls had enough, I dug in eating everything with the promise I'd do the dishes while they did their homework or surfed the net. Afterwards, went to my room to not only replace that money I'd spent in New York City, but added one hundred dollars because I didn't want to find myself hungry and not enough money. Then one of my cosplayer friends called on the Charter house phone, saying they were going over to the Little Waldorf Saloon for a get together.
Naturally they were all talking about what was going on news and video wise. Of course, they all KNEW who this unknown guy was dressed as and they had also started talking not only the possibility of that solar flare and dust storm changing some people, but also how the military was now involved?! Remember those airport radar sites I talked about earlier? Well, the military has a whole bunch and when I zoomed across the country like I did in returning from New York City, all sorts of radars went off, with fighter jets being scrambled to intercept whatever it was. They never even got close. Seems I was doing something like mach 8, with one of my friends saying that meant whoever it was, was doing 8 times the speed of sound?! And according to him, the fastest plane known to exist was the SR-71 which made a speed run from Los Angeles to Washington D.C. in just over and hour. Then he says he looked it up....mach 8 meant I was doing basically SIX THOUSAND miles per hour, which explained I was home so quick. Then it was about how I disappeared off a bunch of radars in the Nevada area, with everyone commenting how it had to be one of those flying saucers that the Air Force kept denying it had at some place called Area 51. Yep, it's gotta be a flying saucer or some spy plane I said. As far as me disappearing off those radar things, that was because when I got over Salt Lake City, I dropped lower height wise and when I got near Fallon, slowed down and got lower.
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Post by 9idrr on Sept 12, 2020 18:50:27 GMT -6
Jeeze, and I was always impressed with how fast the Blackbird was.
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Post by willc453 on Sept 12, 2020 19:40:23 GMT -6
I was wondering in the beginning of this story just how fast could he move as I was thinking of when Ben and Superman (aka Hercules) worked together saving those people on that jet airliner. Then the answer became obvious: Thor's the god of lightning, which meant (to me), he could move at the speed of light. Wikipedia says it's 186,000 THOUSAND MILES PER SECOND. Thing is, he hasn't gone balls to the wall yet as he wants to see what's below him when he's traveling. So Mach 8 is just over 100 miles per minute. And don't forget about the sonic booms he's creating when he does this.
As to the SR-71 and its speed run, it had to refuel a couple of times in the air AND it wasn't going balls out speed wise because the Air Force didn't want anyone to know its true capacity even though at the time it had been in service for a number of years.
Working on chapter 7 right now, with what I hope are believable twists with his abilities.
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Post by texican on Sept 12, 2020 19:54:55 GMT -6
Jeeze, and I was always impressed with how fast the Blackbird was. 9, You are easily pleased. WillC, Thanks for the chapter. Do like Thor a little more than 9 and his antics. Texican....
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Post by willc453 on Sept 17, 2020 6:53:05 GMT -6
The Affected: Thor Chapter 5
Still having some time off from work, I checked out Disney Studio's in California and thought I figured the place to go was human resources. Now carrying those suitcases with me was kind of awkward in that I had to find a place to stash them before helping others out. I checked out packs at the local Army/Navy store, but they simply wanted too much for them for the size I was thinking of, but a seller on Craigslist had exactly what I needed. It was a military pack called a Molly or something like that and it was huge in my opinion. No frame, which was something I didn't need anyway and got it for thirty-five dollars. It even had some fairly large pouch things which the guy said could hold something called MRE's which I later found out were instant meals that you just added water to a heater pouch thing. Never heard of them before, but sounded pretty cool. Not only that, I could use them to store bottles of water when I got thirsty or for snacks. I also found out to carry toilet paper and a small hand shovel for those times I had to go as Thor. Another thing the movies and comic books never bring up. One of our neighbors was big into recycling AND drank a lot of those one liter bottles of water. So I went thru his recycling bin, taking six of these empty bottles. After washing them out, refilled them with tap water and I'd put them in the freezer so later on, I'd have a COLD water to drink.
Told Mom that I was looking for another job that paid more, but also one that would help me out college wise. She was rather dubious about this, but said go ahead because she was sure I didn't want to be washing dishes while going to college the next few years. The girls are on the school bus, Mom's taking a nap, so time for me to leave for California with a couple of side trips dealing with those pesky fires not only in California, but Oregon and Washington which took me a couple of hours and made me glad I had those water bottles. Which still left me a lot of time for Disney so I could put in my application.
I get there, but I'm smelling a little bit smokey if you know what I mean. Find a place to change and it was there I remembered I could use and call Mjolnir to me without wearing my costume which made things a lot easier. However, I also found out that I wasn't at my full potential either. Like maybe I had some sort of mental symbiotic relationship between me and my costume? With my pack on, found the place I needed and eventually filled out the application form. Thought I had at least a chance of getting hired on here. Thing is, I couldn't be working here while flying back to and living at home. So me taking this job also depended on how much it paid, not that anything was said about this naturally. The HR lady just took my application, said thank you and we'll get back to you if the company is interested. Okay by me as this seemed to be the norm I thought as it happened basically the same way when applied for a job at Moms casino. However, since I was here why not wander around for a bit? Not that I was going to go inside any of the buildings mind you. I was thinking it'd best getting my costume back on just in case I had to beat feet after remembering what had happened at Marvel Studio's, but then realized this just might attract attention to me, so I didn't.
So there I am just wandering around rubbernecking at different things, then heard some guys who walked by me how studios use people called stand ins, something I'd never heard before. Now an actor or actresses time is valuable, so they studio will use someone of that height (more or less) to stand somewhere where the actor would eventually be. Apparently, they also use measuring tapes to get the right distance for some shots, others for basically close up ones. Hmm......sounded interesting, so asked those two where does one go to see if they're hiring. Apparently the quota was full and of course, it's not a full time job as they'd use the movie employees for this. They asked if I worked there and said no, I was just here to see if I could get a job as an illustrator. Told if I was interested, a scene was being done in one of the open lots there and as long as I kept quiet and out of the way, I could probably watch things being done. They told me where this lot was (Disney's Studio is something like forty-five acres?), so I hustled to get to it. Man, I was quiet as a church mouse watching how things got set up, etc., then it was over after about an hour or so, so I went to find a place to change.
Now when I change, it takes me about ten minutes or so to do this. I found a dead end between two buildings, figured this would be a good place to do this. Especially since there were two large dumpsters to hide behind. So I undressed quickly, then got my boots and other things on from the waist down. Then my bandanna, followed by my Dollar Tree wig while leaving my cape draped over a corner of one of the dumpsters. Next would be the upper parts, but then a door opens that was part of one of the buildings. I mean, what are the odds of me getting caught while only partially costumed? I guess that day wasn't my day odd wise of not being caught. That's when I saw, then heard a door close to one of the buildings. I see two women who pull out cigarettes and start puffing away. I quickly ducked behind the dumpster with the plan of waiting them out, then realized my cape was on the corner of the dumpster, so quickly pulled it down to me. Which got the one womans attention and wanted to know who was there. I didn't say anything and do you have ANY idea how hard it is to get dressed when you're squatting behind a dumpster? Then she says if I don't come and identify myself, she's calling security?! Oooohhhh crap. So I stood up and I held my cape in front of me because like I said, I didn't have what anyone would say of me having a manly chest. I don't believe it, but I actually said shoo ladies, shoo and give me some privacy so I can finish dressing please while I waved my cape at them like a bull fighter does to a bull. They didn't listen.
Next was why was I wearing a mask and I told them about having a hair lip, being really ugly, etc. She, nor the other lady thought this was funny, so she whips out a walkie talkie and calls for security because they caught a trespasser! Modesty be damned, with me quickly getting the rest of my costume on, followed by my backpack. All that was left was my cape and Mjolnir, with me placing both of them on the dumpsters lid while I was dressing. I'd no sooner gotten my cape on when here comes SEVEN security guards?! That's when the other lady said for everyone to calm down and asked why was I dressed up as Thor. I came up with a quick partial lie, figuring it wouldn't hurt. Said I had submitted an application here for one of the jobs advertised awhile back and thought I'd check on its status. I could of called, but figured if I was there in person...... But the security guard naturally wouldn't let me in because I wasn't on some sort of access list, so I snuck in. The reason for my costume was because I figured I'd blend in with others I'd seen in their costumes going somewhere. Boy, that lie was caught real quick because employees are NOT allowed to just wander around but also, there was NO WAY I'd be getting out without being checked on the OTHER access list, in or out of costume. How the hell was I to know people were checked in and out of the studios property? None. So now the lady says it obvious that I broke into one of the wardrobe departments and was stealing a prop?! So now we got him on trespassing and theft?! Well, that made me mad......the stealing part that is, so I said BULLSH*T lady. I MADE this costume myself and my Mom got the fabric from Jo-Ann's and sewed it for me. And with that, I grabbed Mjolnir and got ready to leave.
That's when the other lady says wait a minute....that's NOT one of our props, so maybe this guy did make it. Then I really looked at her and realized it was Natalie Portman?! I said thanks and started lifting myself up into the air, with all nine of them undoubtedly just staring at me as I did this. I wasn't thinking and waved to Miss Portman, saying thanks and good to see you again. I'd of shot up straight into the air, but there were some power lines of some kind strung across the buildings and didn't want to damage them. Thing is, when I'm about five feet from them, I could FEEL the current going thru them which got me to thinking about this later on. That's when she says it's you isn't it? That guy that was at the cosplay convention when the three of us were there signing autographs.......and you bumped your nose into the wall as the four of us were leaving. I know it's you because all the props we use in the movies are basically the same while your's a little different than any I've seen or used. I got ready to zoom outta there, but she stopped me when she said if I was really looking for a job here, she could GUARANTEE me employment. THAT got my attention, so I'm up in the air about thirty feet or so and well clear of those power lines now and said I'm listening, but if I don't like it, I'm outta here.
Tells me EVERY studio in the world would KILL to have me in their movies as a stand in for someone to fly like I can. Then it was....wait a minute, was that you at Marvel Studio's yesterday? I said yes, but they started it when that guy sicced all those security guards on me when I hadn't done anything wrong either. Then I saw the older lady and the security guards had their phones out either taking photos or videos, so I said NO photos or videos and they put them away. Said that's not good enough because you've all got some video's or photos of me, put 'em in a pile near me. They hesitated until Miss Portman said for them to do it and they did. As soon as they backed off a bit, I zapped their phones, frying them which got everyones attention. Then she shouted up to me, asking me to land because looking up like she and everyone else was doing, was giving them a crick in their necks. I said okay, but everyone but you people are to go to the opening of the dead end area, which they did. She asked if one of them could get some guy down here and let you and him talk things over, if that's okay. I said okay, then looked at my watch to make sure I'd have enough time to get home, which I did. She asked if there was a time limit for this guy to get there and I said no, not really. But I also gotta get home and meet my sisters when they get off the school bus. She looked at me and I said don't ask okay? She agreed, then wanted to know if this was the same hammer I had at the cosplay convention and I said yes. She wanted to know how I did that trick with Chris and Tom being unable to pick it up, but she could. I told her I'd given Mjolnir permission to do so. Then she asked for a demonstration and I remembered that old line from Romancing The Stone with me saying I'm not cheap, but I can be had. She looked at me and said how much, with me replying how much would it be worth for you to pick up my hammer, but those seven security guys can't?
When she quoted ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS, I couldn't believe it. I said you're joking, right? She said no, but not knowing her, I said that's nice and meaning no offense, I'd like to see the color of your green first. She looked shocked but thing was, she didn't act like she was insulted, but understood what I meant. She asked if the other lady could get the money which would take about ten minutes and I said okay. So we're just standing there not saying a word for a few minutes, then asks me what I did for a living when I wasn't flying everywhere and zapping peoples phones. I said I work as a busser, clearing off tables when people are done eating and washing dishes. She just stared at me, then says I was joking, right? Well, I will admit I got a little huffy and kind of tore into her, telling her not everyone has a silver spoon born in their mouth. And how the comic books and movie people NEVER have anyone being poor except Peter Parker and how now, all he seems to do is web slinging over New York City WITHOUT a regular paying job. She said she was sorry and didn't mean to offend me and I could see she meant it. That also, what I had said had very valid points in how easy it was to be a superhero when you have no worries about money. I said that's okay and sorry about getting so huffy about it, but now you know why I'm not doing this superhero stuff full time. I gotta make a living to support my family.
About this time, here comes that other lady with a thousand dollars, a bunch of it in twenties and lower denominations and how she had talked with some guy about Miss Portman needing a thousand dollars RIGHT NOW. Well he didn't have it, but then everyone kicked in with this guy saying he'd make sure they got paid back. Miss Portman asked if I wanted to count it and I said no, because when I leave and find I'm short by even a dollar, I WON'T be returning. She counted it just to make sure and as it was, she actually had twenty some dollars over the amount requested, so I told her to give it back to that lady to return it to whoever she got it from. Then had Miss Porter and the lady put their backs to the wall where the dumpsters were at, with the seven guards to remain standing in the other, open end. I walked, then placed Mjolnir on the ground about halfway between both sets of people and asked if this was half way or not. They all agreed, with each of the guards trying to pick up Mjolnir without success. Then another security guard shows up with three men and a woman with him. He wants to know what's going on and I said I'm about to make a thousand bucks so if you don't mind, shut up please. He, the other guys and the lady with him didn't like this, but did shut up. I then told guards for ALL of them to try picking up Mjolnir and once again, they failed, but Miss Portman had no trouble when I asked her to pick it up. As for those four people, later on found out they were executive vice president and chief financial officer, president of Disney's animation studios, president of theatrical distribution, franchise management, business and audience insights and senior vice president chief technology officer. Kind of the who's who there at Disney. Well, the head honcho thought this was a good gag, but seriously people, it was also a waste of their time. I said oh really....I got a thousand bucks that says neither you or the people with you can lift my hammer. I turned to Miss Portman and said can I have my money please and right off the bat, she walks over to me and gives it to me.
Then Miss Portman tells this guy she knows he doesn't have a thousand dollars on him, but if it's alright with you (meaning me), she'd vouch for the money. I said that's fair enough. He tries and fails, then calls the security guards to give him a hand and they fail. He doesn't know how I'm doing this, but obviously it's still a gag. I said how about a two thousand dollar bet that Miss Portman can pick up Mjolnir without any trouble, walk back towards me a little bit, set it down and you all try again....and fail again. However, once again you have to pony up the money as I'm sure Miss Portman's not going to lend you two thousand. That's when Miss Portman tells the guy don't take the bet because you're going to lose and this guy says there's no way since he and the guards couldn't pick it up, she couldn't either as it was still obviously some sort of gag the two of us were playing on him. But she said if you want, she'd front him the two thousand. This guy agrees, so Miss Portman walks over to Mjolnir, picking it up with no trouble and actually twirls it a bit while do so, with THE biggest grin on her face. Then she puts it down, saying for this guy to go for it and if you want, have the security guards give you a hand. They failed, with the guy saying I cheated some how?! And it was in extremely poor taste for Miss Portman to be in this gag against him. I said, really....I cheated some how and said I gotta go. So when I called to Mjolnir, it leaped into my open palm with everyone staring at me. As I was slowly rising into the air, I was thinking at least I got a thousand bucks out of this visit. Something to add to my stash of money from those convention drawings. But then Miss Portman calls out that I had forgotten my other three thousand and I said forget it...obviously that guy's a tight wad and will never pay off. But when she says she would and could maybe I fly her to her bank where she'd draw out that money right then and there for me.......that is, if I could fly with someone. I said yeah, been there, done that already, but not mentioning what I'd done in New York City.
Asks me to come back down as she couldn't jump that high, so lowered myself to ground level, with her asking me how did I want to do this. Well, I certainly was NOT going to grab her by the back of her blouse, so told her easiest way would put her back to me and I'd wrap an arm around her waist, at which time she could hold onto that arm. So I slowly raised us into the air, never dreaming or thinking I'd have some famous movie actress holding onto my arm while flying thru the air. Talk about having doubts again whether all of this was real or not. Then I tell her we're going to go horizontally flight wise so we could see things better as we head for her bank. She shows me the direction of her bank, then asks if I REALLY got ahold of her and told her yes maam. Then then lets go of my arms, spreads them out while SHOUTING top of the world ma, top of the world?! I said she was crazy, she laughs, then said this was the first time she felt something like that was truly appropriate. Found a place behind a business basically across the street from her bank, which she walked to without any trouble. Trouble was, she was recognized leaving the bank and I saw this as I was on top of that building where I'd dropped her off at originally. No problem to get to ground level and though she was surrounded by about twenty people, I was able to work my way to her saying Jane Foster, are you ready to leave? Jane Foster was her characters name in the Thor movies in case you forgot or didn't know. Well, all of them got to looking at me, then her, then she says yes Thor, I'm ready to leave. That's when someone said you're kind of small to be Thor aren't you? I said, well movies can be deceiving....look how tall Tom Cruise ISN'T and with that being said, lifted up Mjolnir with us slowly rising up into the air, leaving those people totally jaws open and dumbfounded.
We're flying back when she says you know what you just did don't you? I said I was just having a little fun, was all and hope you don't mind. She says no, with us rising in the air like you did, the next Thor movie with or without me in it, will be MASSIVE audience and money wise now because if you didn't notice, several people had their phones out taking photos and videos. I wouldn't be surprised if they weren't already being posted on Youtube, Twitter, Facebook and other social medias right now. Oops.....and now there's something like ONE HUNDRED PLUS people in that alley way?! That's when Miss Portman told them to back off so we could land and they all did except for that guy and the three he'd brought with him. And naturally, LOTS of phones and cameras were being used. First thing this guy did was to give me that two thousand dollars, but I told him that Miss Portman had already paid me. She holds out a hand, taking that guys money and you know what she did? She said that money was now mine?! I protested, saying I'd already gotten paid when I took her to the bank, but she says considering what she had just gone thru, it was cheap airfare!? Besides, it was BOB'S money I'd be taking, not hers. I did ask her if she was REALLY sure because that was a lot of money. She leaned towards me and in a low voice, said think of your family. I said okay and took the money. So now I've got SEVEN THOUSAND DOLLARS which was basically SEVEN MONTHS of paychecks I'd of gotten from the casino AND no taxes paid on it!? This was when that guy offers me a TEN THOUSAND DOLLARS A WEEK contract for one year! So now we're talking over FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS a year! But then remembered I'd not only have to pay taxes on that money, but they'd have my social security number and no doubt, people would quickly find out about Mom and my sisters. And who knows what would happen then?
That's when Miss Portman says forget it Bob........you're NOT getting off that cheap, then proceeds to tell everyone what happened when we left her bank. This guy and those three people? Their jaws literally dropped open, with Bob saying Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ.......you CAN'T buy publicity like this, then offers me ten thousand for every day I work for them doing flying stunts? Yeah, this sounded good, but then there were taxes, etc. that would have to be dealt with. Miss Portman saw my face and asked what was wrong, so we huddled together so no one could hear us. I explained my predicament and she understood. She tells Bob that IF I work for Disney, I was to be paid IN FULL, IN CASH, with no receipt, no social security number or anything like that. He protested about this and Miss Portman said that's bullsh*t and you know it. That there ALWAYS unexpected expenses which won't go into a specific category. Naturally I had all that lovely money stashed in my pack. At which time Bob asks what else can I do, with me saying okay, watch this. Rose up into the air and calling out to make sure we could still hear each other and when I figured I was high enough, started twirling Mjolnir, which started going round and round, faster and faster. Started calling clouds to me, which helped get rid of the smog that's always over Los Angeles. Those below me quickly realized this, then there was the faint rumble of thunder, with the clouds getting darker and darker. Then the lighting started flashing among the clouds and when I asked everyone if they were ready, I heard a yes and REALLY started working Mjolnir. Then I shouted LIGHTNING TO ME! There was one massive kaboom and bolt of lightning which struck not only Mjolnir, but worked its way into me. I felt recharged and then it started raining....hard. So reversed Mjolnir's spinning so it was going the opposite way and soon the clouds were gone with a nice blue sky overhead.
Now Miss Portman and the other lady told him about those destroyed cell phones which were still laying on the ground. Bob asks for a demo and I said no problem and once people had backed away, I zapped the phones again, but now they were nothing but bits of melted plastic and maybe some metal from the circuit board. Then I looked at my watch and said I gotta go, at which time Bob says wait, wait......let me give you my personal number so you can call me. All you have to do is say it's Thor calling. I said okay, give me your business card, at which point Miss Portman started laughing, slowly followed by many others. I said what's so funny about asking some guy for his business card? Come to find out Bob is the CEO of Disney's Studio's and he doesn't carry business cards because everyone (meaning Hollywood and the business world) knows who he is. I said, I certainly didn't and maybe he should get some printed up just in case something like this happens in the future. Everyone laughed again. Well, he got a pen and a piece of paper and went to give it to me, but Miss Portman took it from him, saying this was her phone number. And by the way, QUIT calling me Miss Portman......call me Natalie. I looked at her when she said this, with her smiling and said yes, REALLY. I said okay and got ready to leave when she asks if I'd mind taking off as fast as I could. I said okay, but get everyone up against a wall or away from the open area. They had NO problem doing this and once it was done, raised Mjolnir and said let's blow this town and go home as FAST as possible up to ten thousand feet. A couple of seconds(?) later, we were there. Of course, at that height I couldn't make out people except as blobs, so headed for home.
As to my money, I had put it in my backpack because I certainly didn't want it possibly blowing out if I'd stuck it inside my costume for example. That money went into my yellow envelope along with my cosplayer drawing money. Then it was back to work, with me getting some overtime, which I always took. Yeah, I had a lot of money and possibly an outstanding job offer, but what if I didn't take the job because of Mom and the girls? I mean, what if I couldn't be paid in cash without Disney needing my social security number for income tax purposes? Better no job than them becoming involved. Then of course, school started with me starting my second year there. One good thing was I made sure there were no classes to be taken on my days off from work. To me, that was an automatic gimme. While walking to the bus stop to go home, stopped to see what one of the pawn shops had on display in its window. Was looking at the jewelry, not the rings, but earrings and necklaces. Then went inside to see what else was being offered. Found what I wanted and paid for 'em, though it pretty much blew my wallets mad money that I had stuck in it after coming back from Disney. Off to Dollar Tree for 3 small boxes, some wrapping paper and a roll of ribbon. Got home and after saying hi to Mom, went to the bedroom where I wrapped everything and put them in my closet.
I escort the girls home and boy, talk about dull stuff. How so and so did this, you couldn't believe so and so said that, how cute so and so was. Well, when I heard that part, believe me, I listened. But it was schoolgirl crush and gossip stuff basically. As far as any guy at school getting too fresh, never happened as word got passed around what I'd done with that one guy, then of course that freak accident of them getting struck by lightning. Then was thinking how they'd react if they knew what I knew and could do and I must of smiled and they caught me at it. Then they said they KNEW I had a secret and wanted to know what it was. I said no and took off running with the girls quick to give chase. When we got home, they complained to Mom about me having a secret, so I stuck my tongue out at them. Mom told them to drop it as you girls also have your secrets and you don't share them with him do you? THAT got them to shut up, but I overplayed my hand. I wrapped my arms around my chest, gave off a BIG moan, then in a high, pitched voice said oh Brad Pitt, you're SSSSOOOO handsome and made kissy noises. All Mom said was don't kill each other, otherwise I'll never get my cleaning deposit back from all the blood spilled and off to work she went. Well, after supper and everything's cleaned and put away, I'm sitting on the couch reading a magna book I got from the library and suddenly those two jumped me!
I'm dragged off the couch onto the carpet and now they're both sitting on my chest, DEMANDING I tell them my secret or else. It was that or else bit that got my attention. Despite my many abilities, there is one thing I am TOTALLY vulnerable to: I have ticklish feet. Then the girls take my shoes and socks off, saying okay, since I wouldn't tell, DEATH BY TICKLE! I'll be honest.....I didn't last long though I could of tossed them off with no trouble, but they are my sisters. I said okay, okay, I'll tell you. When they let me up, they DIDN'T expect me to run for my bedroom with me locking my door! They demanded that I tell them my secret because after all, I said I would. I said yeah, I did.....but not when. Oh boy, talk about my sisters fury hearing that. Told me eventually they'd catch me sleeping, tie me up and no mercy would be forth coming from them. Knowing them, yeah, it was quite possible. So I said did you know while Mom sleeping and I was home, that the Easter Bunny was here? Them: they couldn't believe I could tell such a whopper and expect them to believe that, but just you wait until you fall asleep. I said fine, DON'T believe in the Easter Bunny and I'll call him to let him know not to come around tomorrow while you two are at school. Them: silence. Then it was the Easter Bunny doesn't have phone service and I told them that's why I go to college to know these things and you girls don't because you're still in high school. Them: silence. Then it was so something's going to happen tomorrow and I said yes. However, NO threats by you two of death by ticklish feet. Well, we got to bargaining on a time limit and believe me, I was going for a MINIMUM for twenty years. They weren't going for it naturally and we finally settled on six months because I said they'd be surprised with the Easter Bunny's gifts. Of course, I took a nap before going to work, with the girls asleep when I woke up and that's when I hid everyones presents.
When I got off work, Mom knew about the Easter Bunny and gave me the eye, but I didn't cave in to her look. Now the girls wanted to know WHERE the Easter Bunny presents were and I said oh, didn't you get the memo? He'll deliver them some time while you're at school. The howls they did would shame a pack of wolves. Mom just looked at me and I said yes, so she knew I'd gotten the girls something, but was also really giving them a good, big brother tease. When I met them at the bus stop after school was over, they left me in the dust getting home, along with getting more howls from them until I said you forgot the other memo? I said, remember the Easter Bunny HIDES things. Took them all of fifteen minutes to find the three boxes, each with a small card on them with their names on the card. Yeah, Mom was totally surprised. A set of earrings for each of the girls, one with a small emerald, the other set with a small ruby. As for Mom, it was a silver necklace with an angel at the bottom of it. Mom cried, saying I shouldn't of spent so much money because I had worked so hard to help support the family. I told her and them, that money can't buy love. We did a group hug and yes, the girls liked them and couldn't wait to show their girlfriends at school the next day.
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Post by texican on Sept 18, 2020 0:12:18 GMT -6
WillC,
Thanks for the chapter. Now Thor is definitely funny and smart, but has two younger sisters that will pick at him, but he does have a 6 month pardon from them.
Texican...
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Post by willc453 on Sept 18, 2020 4:15:57 GMT -6
Yeah, but ya gotta be that way when dealing with women whether it's women or ones sisters. And when negotiating with female terrorists like them, do what ya gotta do. Working on chapter 8 right now, but it's only 1.5 pages long and I'm taking it a direction that Marvel never thought of. This guy's much like The Shadow and Aaron and now he's not only run into a famous actress unexpectedly a 2nd time, but actually taken her flying with him to her bank and back. So his experiences with his ability's are going to be a lot different than theirs. So while he's in awe of her and the others he met previously, he also knows when it comes right down to it, she and others in the movie business are just people no matter how high they may be on the food chain or how others see them. He REALLY wants this job, but he also has to consider the safety of his family. He has a job working at the same casino as his Mom, watch/take care of his sisters, he's going back to college and of course, he's going to keep seeing his cosplaying friends all of which can lead to complications....like setting off radar warnings off across the U.S. and military aircraft being scrambled to intercept whatever it is zooming across the skies of the U.S. Just trying to keep it as real as possible. As for that realism part, been reading Redditt stories on Youtube what famous people are like as viewed from ordinary people such as waiters, etc., along with those in the music and movie business. From what I've read, those three people are really nice, so I thought let's go for it that way personality wise for those three at the cosplay convention.
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Post by texican on Sept 18, 2020 16:54:41 GMT -6
WillC,
Females are truly God's gift to man, but they do have demands.
The difference between the poor and rich is money and power.
Chapter 8 should be very interesting.
Texican....
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Post by willc453 on Sept 23, 2020 0:18:07 GMT -6
The Affected: Thor Chapter 6
Didn't know if there was time limit if I was to accept Bobs offer or not, but decided to call Natalie instead because she knew a lot more about this stuff than me, along with knowing a little bit about me, Mom and my sisters than Bob did. However, I couldn't make a call from here, even from a pay phone as the number I was calling from would show the area code on her phone. I didn't know if she'd tell anyone the number I was calling from, but decided to play it safe. Once again after seeing my sisters off to school, took the bus to Lemmon Valley, that open area, etc. Now I'd been surfing the net looking at different cities all over the world and figured why not call her from Quebec, Canada? Let someone trace that number only to find out it was from a 7-11 type pay phone at some store. Thing is, those fires in California had not only started up again, but were REALLY spreading. Figured I'd hit the San Francisco area first which was actually a really good idea because I learned a new trick using Mjolnir. I was over the bay area when this idea occurred to me. I'd been bringing in the clouds which was easy enough to do, but what if I used ocean water instead as I figured it might be easier to use it than drawing clouds to me. I thought what I wanted Mjolnir to do and after a bit, the wind picked up and started a funnel of water rising from the ocean! It was able to keep it in place and then after a bit, the water tornado (which is what I call them) rose from the ocean, staying in place while in the air! With the winds centrifugal force keeping the water in place, none leaked out and I was able to move it to where the first of many fires were going crazy. Then had Mjolnir start at one part where one fire was, to another spot about a mile away, while releasing that ocean water at a certain rate. Took me a couple of tries to figure out how much to release, but those fires were out. Go back to form another water tornado and thought could I make two of them AND keep them in control? Found out that three was the max, but when I got done, all the big fires were out, along with a lot of smaller ones. But doing this was putting a strain on me and I knew what that meant, so headed for southern California where that Super Burrito place was at.
Ordered a dozen of them, figuring I better stock up food wise, while getting three large teas to drink. I dumped about 12 packets of sugar in each cup, along with four slices of lemon, then found myself a place to sit and eat because I was hungry and there were NO cameras in that place. Wasn't about to remove my bandanna just to be on the safe side, so I'd lift it up with one hand, pull it a little away from my face and eat with the other hand. Thing is, I didn't eat or chew the first five of them, but basically inhaled them while sucking down that ice tea. When I came up for air feeling a lot better, I see two boys standing not far from my table which were maybe eleven and six years old with the youngest saying look Mommy, THOR, in the most awesome sounding tone I ever heard. I saw the youngest staring at Mjolnir just like I must have been when I saw Chris bring out his for me to look at, so I said yes, this is Mjolnir, would you like to handle it? I had placed Mjolnir on the floor next to my table. Well, he did but his brother pushed him aside, saying ME FIRST RUNT. The mother didn't say anything about this rudeness, so I told the younger boy to remember only those worthy of the honor could pick up Mjolnir and he nodded, looking disappointed in part because of that, but also his brother pushing him to one side like he did. His brother couldn't get it off the floor and I said, apparently Mjolnir doesn't think you're worthy. Then turned to the younger boy asking if he'd like to try and he said thank you sir, but since my brother couldn't pick it up, I'm sure I can't either. I said Mjolnir doesn't judge someone by their age or strength, but by their worthiness. And remember how Harry Potter had that hat placed on his head when the hat was going to determine which Hogwart house he was going to stay with and how he didn't want that one house, but another and getting the house he wanted? The boy nodded so I said, better to fail in trying something than never to have tried at all. The boy walks over to Mjolnir and I'm thinking come on Mjolnir, let the kid pick it up and if you're ordinary weight is a bit much for him, help him out. Should of seen the look of awe and amazement when he picked it up with no trouble and the look of sour grapes his brother had. But then his brother said gimme that and that's when I stood up, saying no. Mjolnir apparently finds you lacking in the right stuff while your brother has it. Held out my hand with the younger boy giving me Mjolnir back and I placed it on the floor, asking the older one if he'd like to try again. Oh yeah.....and failed again, with his younger brothers grin getting even bigger. I said hold on a bit and I'll show you a trick you've NEVER seen before. Emptied my cups of ice into the garbage can and put them in one of the burrito bags because I didn't want anything left behind because of the possibility of anyone getting fingerprints from them, with them going into my pack. Yeah....paranoid, but I was starting to understand I had to be more careful in the future if I wanted me to keep who I was, secret.
Asked the younger one if he'd like to carry Mjolnir for me out to the parking lot and of course, he was quite happy doing this while his brother still had his sour grapes face on his. Asked the younger one to place Mjolnir about fifteen feet from us and said I didn't drive here, at which time the older one says yeah, like you're going to fly away or something? I said actually yes, turned to the younger one saying there's a Disney movie where someone says sometimes dreams DO come true. Believe in yourself and your dreams, do you understand? He nodded, then I looked at Mjolnir and in a clear voice, said to me Mjolnir and of course, it flew right into my hand. The boys....well, they looked like their eyes were going to pop out in total amazement. As for their Mom, her mouth just kept opening and closing like a fish out of water. For a more dramatic effect, I started twirling Mjolnir over my head, but telling it NO clouds or wind please and slowly lifted myself into the air for about twenty feet and stopped. At which point two things happened: apparently someone wasn't paying attention that the car in front of them had stopped when the driver saw me slowly rising into the air, so that car got rear ended. Then I took off at first going higher, then heading back to the bay area to finish more of those fires.
Felt really good inside in putting the older brother down in front of his younger brother. And I knew what it felt like like that time not only meeting Chris, Tom and Natalie, but them taking the time to talk to me AND of course, holding Chris's Mjolnir. Back to the bay area where I put the rest of the big ones out, then north to two cities called Yuba City and Marysville which by the way, has two rivers going thru/by them called the Yuba and Feather Rivers. I got there just in time as some of the places were starting to catch fire, with the different fire departments trying to hold back the flames. A few water tornadoes from those two rivers took care of those problems. Now no doubt you're thinking wow, that's great work, right? Not entirely. You see I hadn't thought about salt water being put on those fires in the bay area, not that much ecological damage was done using salt water vs what the fires had done and would of continued doing. It was what was in the ocean water being used to fight the fires being the problem. Sucked up more than one saltwater fish, but how about TWO great white sharks?! Yeah, as in the Jaws movie kind of sharks. One was “only” six feet long, but the other...try almost fourteen feet. What made it worse was when that one was released from that water tornado, it landed on a California highway police car?! When something that weighs eight hundred pounds or more and drops from the sky, it TOTALS anything under it, including a police car. Of course, I didn't know this till a couple of days later while checking out the news on those forest/brush fires which were now being controlled and put out. Anyway, off to Quebec.
It took me longer to find a store with a payphone in front of it than it took me to fly there. I landed behind the store, then walked to the front after taking five dollars with me from my pack because I realized I'd need Canadian coins for the phone. Some things you just don't think about ahead of time. Well, the lady looked a little startled, along with the two customers seeing me walk inside. Now naturally, no one was thinking I was robbing the place because who would wear a mask while dressed up as Thor? Kind of hard to be incognito while making ones get away. Was going to ask for change and then I saw it....a Slurpee machine. Now Superman has Kryptonite as his weakness and mine's Slurpee's. Not that I had them that often, but when I did and had the money, I bought the BIGGEST one available, with me mixing cherry and the blueberry flavors together. Once I got to the cashier, paid for my Slurpee, then asked if I could have change instead of bills as I needed to make a long distance phone call. No problem says the lady cashier. Then one of the customers around my age asks if I was a cosplayer as her boyfriends sister was into this. I said yes and the reason for my mask is I have a cold and don't want to spread it. Then it was about the pack and I said it carries different things in it and when need be, I can always take it off so I look more like Thor. She says cool and I leave for the pay phone.
The good thing was I had that piece of paper with Natalie's and Bob's phone number ready to go so I didn't have to search for it in my MRE pouch thing. It rings for about a dozen times and I'm ready to give it up when it goes to voice mail with the normal message of leave a message, etc. So when it went beep, I said Miss Portman, I mean, Natalie, this is Thor and I can't come down there for a few more days until I have my two days off from work. Do you think Bob would still be interested in me com.....and that's when Natalie answers saying Thor, do you have ANY idea what's happening down here since you left? I said no....am I in some sort of trouble? She says God no, it's just EVERYONE'S gone crazy in trying to find out who your are and where you're from. And I'm NOT talking about Disney either....ALL the studios are out looking for you. I'm surprised that the media hasn't gotten ahold of this and when they do..... Adding to all of this, who knows what kind of bidding wars that must be going on behind closed doors. So I asked, then Bob's not mad at me then? She laughed, said no, not at all. He's damned anxious for you to return. Asked if she knew how I'd be paid because I said I can't afford to have a paycheck of any kind or anything with my name of it be....she says because of your Mom and sisters, right? I said yeah...I mean if I gotta chose remaining a bus boy and dish washer till I get my degree while keeping them safe vs working for any studio, you KNOW what I'll chose. She understood and said if I wanted, she'd talk with Bob about this and just give her a call when I was off work. She'd also make sure someone was watching for my call and if you don't mind, just where are you calling from? I said right now I'm in Quebec and not trying to get a brain freeze from my Slurpee. Silence, then laughter from her, with her saying trying to cover your tracks Thor? I said I gotta and you know why, so next call may be made from England or Germany okay? She said that was fine and to take care of myself, along with my Mom and my sisters.
Remember those military and airline radar sites all over the U.S.? Well, they got 'em in Canada too, though I don't think as many. Then I'm hearing, then seeing fighter jets overhead as apparently someone was thinking either I had ducked down below the radar beams or maybe I was still somewhere in the area. What made it worse was hearing helicopters, then seeing them?! Figured they had to be doing some sort of search pattern, though in all probability they would have NO idea what they were looking for. Maybe a flying saucer or some super secret Air Force spy plane which crashed somewhere in the area? I hurriedly finished the rest of my Slurpee and trying not to get a brain freeze. With that done, put it in my pack, wiped down the phone with my cape to remove any fingerprints and wandered to be behind the building with the intention of taking off once the helicopter went in some other direction. You know what a pain in the a$$ is? How about using your cloak to pick up coins, rubbing them clear of fingerprints, then putting those coins in a pay phone. I just happened to think of this because of that Tom Cruise movie where the sniper puts in a quarter into a parking meter with his friends fingerprint on it. As to the helicopter, it didn't happen and once I saw it was getting closer, I naturally went to put the building against my back to keep better out of sight which apparently drew that pilots attention with said helicopter coming closer my way! I admit it.......I panicked again. With Mjolnir in my hand, get me out of here, but don't hit anything in the air okay? ZOOM and we're gone WAY up in the air. HOWEVER, now I was being hit by those airplanes radar, along with who knows how many ground radar sites.
Wow, those Canadian pilots are GOOD as they quickly turned around to come after me. I WAS going to just zoom away, but then decided to do something a little different. Remember that Iron Man movie where Tony's being chased by those fighter jets? I said hey Mjolnir, let them see what you can REALLY do. I want you to fly about thirty feet above one of them and no matter what that pilot does, follow him, but DON'T be hitting any of them or allow them to accidentally hit us okay? And if ANY of them shoot at us, get us home QUICK. Mjolnir performed outstandingly and it took those two pilots about three minutes(?) before realizing I was above them, at which time I waved at the pilot I was flying over. Well, I will say they tried shaking us, but Mjolnir wasn't having any of this. After five minutes or so, I was ready to go home, but a couple of things happened. First is finding out I now had SIX fighter jets around me. Then there was a slight boom(?) with me seeing stuff flying out of the two jets engines exhaust parts. Found out later we'd flown into a flock of geese with one or more being sucked into the engines with the plane now heading towards the ground. Not good. So I had Mjolnir get me under the plane and together we kept it in the air from going down any further height wise. Ever try to QUICKLY find an airport while holding up a multi ton aircraft? Forget it. However, there was a BIG highway not far from us and figured like the old saying goes, any landing you can walk away from is a good one.
So I had Mjolnir take us to it and we slowly got lower in height. The next problem was waiting for a break in traffic because I didn't want somebody to rear end this airplane which cost millions of dollars or whatever they call it in Canadian money. Think the pilot figured something was happening and it looked like the plane was going to land, so he dropped his landing gear and I almost got hit in the head from one of those doors. Well, when you see a big fighter jet overhead slowly coming down on the same freeway you're on, you stop. So pretty quick, we had an open stretch of highway where I landed the plane. Fortunately I didn't have to crouch that low and got busy with my cape to remove any possible fingerprints, then crawled out from under the plane to where the pilot is standing there in a kind of daze. It got better. Not. Next thing I know I hear a siren and figured real quick it was a cop and time to leave. But the pilot came out of his daze when he saw me saying who are you, what happened, did you do the damage to my plane? I said no sir, it WASN'T my fault that something went wrong with your plane. And next thing I know is some cop is RUNNING towards me while shouting, saying YOU! YES YOU THERE, STOP RIGHT THERE! I told the pilot that I just realized I didn't have a passport, so was there illegally, so I'm going to take off for home. Sorry again about your airplane and we took off for Lemmon Valley where I changed clothes, etc. before finally arriving home. Ate the rest of my burritos which helped, with no leftovers from supper either. Decided I'd wear gloves ALL the time in the future so there'd be no hassles from leaving any possible fingerprints. Also needed a small change purse for my Canadian coins and possible other countries coins. And if you're wondering, Canadian money isn't taken unless it's by accident. Otherwise, you've got to exchange it at one of the main cashiers in one of the casinos. As for gloves, Harbor Freight took care of that, with me picking up a couple of sets of each just in case they got damaged. Regular, heavy work glove type with leather palms, heavy, thick, plastic green gloves like if you're messing around with chemicals or doing some sort of really nasty job. And finally, latex gloves. The hardest part was making sure I could get the green ones inside the work gloves. It was a pain, with me eventually just going with the green plastic ones while also wearing the latex ones and adjusting myself to using them while doing different things and handling Mjolnir.
The problem was I didn't know what the girl I'd talked to did after I left. Apparently she wanted to ask me something, so followed me and the corner and right after that, I had taken off. Now since I had my bandanna on, the convenience store cameras weren't that good, but once again I was caught on video. She not only got interviewed by the news media, also the people that were inside the store while I was also inside. And sales of Slurpee's shot thru the roof not only in Canada, but the U.S. And really quick, there was a really crappy commercial about Slurpee's. “Do you have what it takes to become a superhero? Taste a Slurpee and find out”. This was followed by several people and kids before and after tasting a Slurpee. Ordinary people before tasting their Slurpee, then suddenly being in some weird a$$ superhero costume that must of be designed by someone on drugs. Jeez, talk about a crappy commercial.
Well, for the next few days it was back to the same ol' grind: work, school, etc., etc., etc. Then Mike (the guy who cosplays Captain America) called the house phone and who did NOT impress the girls when he said it was Captain America calling for Thor. When my sister passed me the phone, she actually sniffed when she said you're certainly no Thor, unlike that Chris guy. I'd just come out of the shower, partially dressed and trying to dry my hair with a towel when he called and she called out to me about having a phone call. Well, I TRIED to snap hit her behind with the end of the towel as she passed, but I missed completely. And you know what she said after I missed her? Said that if Thor ever had a sidekick, it would be me, but my name would be Dork the Dweeb, followed by her sticking her tongue out at me and then going to her bedroom no doubt to tell my other sister what had just happened. Times like that I wished I'd been an only child. Anyway, Mike said everyone's going to meet at Little Waldorf and wanted me to join them, so I said okay. However it was going to take me maybe thirty minutes or so on the city bus, but don't be eating all the pizza before I get there okay? He laughs, says okay and he'd give me a ride back home. Great, I finally get some relaxing time with my friends.
Get to the Little Waldorf and they're there, with pizza quickly being ordered, to go along with their beers. Thing is, there were six new people there with a couple of tables joined, kind of like one of those big board meeting tables you'd see. Got introduced, then them introducing themselves to me. Was told they were getting into cosplaying and starting on their costumes. Thought this was great. I ordered my normal brand of soda and as far as beer was concerned, tried a beer one time and just didn't like the taste of it. Of course, all of them had been talking about me doing these different things and wondered why hadn't the guy come out of the closet so to speak and show himself. I wasn't saying a word. Then Julie, who cosplays Wonder Woman, asks me what I thought of all of this. I said two words which got all of their attention: pizza's here. This ensued with all of us not talking, but munching pizza and drinking our drinks for about ten minutes which helped. Then back to whoever this guy was and I said a minute, what if it's NOT a man, but a woman? They're all saying no way and no offense, that's got to be the dumbest thing they had ever heard. I said why not? I said I don't remember off hand, but how many women were dressed up as a female version of Thor for example, Captain America or Lara Croft at the convention? But then it was it's gotta be a man because there's videos of him taking off with Natalie Portman at Disney's Studio into the air. My reply was there are tall women around you know and it doesn't look like he or she is that much taller than her.
Them: what about his voice being recorded, even though it was of poor quality? I said remember that old Mission Impossible movie where Tom Cruise discovers that bad guy and at the end, he pulls off this fake mask where it reveals he was also using a device which changed his voice so he'd sound like whoever the other guy he was portraying? So, why couldn't Julie for example, wear a Thor costume to hide her true identity, along with buying one of those voice changing things and of course, wear a blonde wig. And we know if you got the money, you can buy a really realistic cosplayers costume to wear. I said what if it is a woman but she's rich as hell and money is no problem? Imagine instead of a Bruce Wayne, multi billionaire, it's some Sally or Betty Wayne? Groans on that one. Thankfully none of my friends were remembering where I was in the air when all of this stuff started.
Well, all good things must come to an end and we agreed to start meeting here on a regular basis every two months though no date was set. However, we decided on a date for next month. Then one of the new people came up with the idea that we should form a club, with Franklin (aka The Black Panther) saying he could design us a web page for free at home. We could post photos of ourselves, along with tips of how to build costumes for newbies. So after talking it over, we agreed the club should be called Northern Nevada's Superhero League, you know, much like the Justice League comic books. And we wanted to make sure everyone would know we weren't affiliated with some Las Vegas chapter that might be formed. Civic pride you understand because Las Vegas always seems to get all the media attention. Then I wondered if there were any cosplayer clubs here, meaning U.S. clubs and this was something no one had thought of. Then I added, maybe we can get a further discount at these conventions not only because we'd be there in costume, but we actually have a club with members. Everyone thought this was a great idea to check out. And if you're wondering, my friends didn't go to every cosplay convention because like me, they had jobs and going to school. After all the pizza was eaten and beer/soda drank, everyone started taking off and I was really happy in having a really good time since all this stuff started with me on that flight.
Mike's van is a stick, but when he went to start it, nothing but click, click, click...then nothing. Now he'd pulled the cover off the engine and cables seem to be tight, so he goes back to Little Waldorf to see about getting a jump. I thought about it, then popped off the caps to expose the battery core and using his flashlight to see it and this was something that shouldn't of been seen....the battery core was showing instead of having water covering it. He comes back, saying someone would be out in a bit and that's when I told and showed him what could be the problem. He goes back for a couple styrofoam cups of water from them and while he's gone, I put my hand just above the positive cable and saying come on, just a LITTLE bit of juice, just enough for it to start. Saw the spark from one of my fingers hit the positive battery cable part, turned the key and it started right up! When Mike came back with the water, he was surprised it had started and we poured water into the open battery, with us both going back for four more waters. Told him it should take a charge between you dropping me off at home and you getting back to your place. But I'd stop by Grand Auto before they close and pick up one of those battery acid bulb test things and check it when you get home. Could be because it got so low water wise, your battery may soon permanently give up the ghost. He thought this was a good idea, then asked him if he did regular maintenance on it, like checking the oil, etc. He hadn't, so I said why not stop by the auto shop at school and have someone show you what to look for and do so you don't have any future problems like this one. Said he'd do things right before getting home and then again after he got off work.
So back to my normal routine, which now included checking the news about me between or after classes at UNR. A lot of stuff going on, but thing is, couldn't really help out during those times and felt a bit guilty. But then I was between a rock and a hard place. Now I usually left for work around 11:15pm, walk down the street and wait for the bus which came at (more or less) 11:30. So I'd arrive at work around 11:45, clock in, bs with some people, find out how things were going. You know, a regular routine. Thing is, the waitresses/waiters would tip us bussers from their own tips just to make sure we got their tables cleaned up and ready to go as soon as possible. This averaged about fifteen dollars a night which seems lot, but they'd be making a hundred or more from their tips and as for the cocktail waitresses, I could only imagine what they got paid. And as for our free meal, it was the same food the restaurant served and it was damn good. From time to times, I and other bussers would be able to bring home some of the deserts which had a limited time to be served. If it wasn't, was suppose to be thrown out and this included biscuits which Mom would make scratch gravy to put on them, served with fried eggs and hashbrowns from the potatoes we bought each week. So even with this extra food coming in from time to time, it helped us money wise before Mom got that raise. And even after she did, I still brought home what I could from work.
Now we didn't always go to Sparks Marina for our time together. Go downtown where there's a park, eating our lunches in the shade of the trees while watching everyone go by and of course, you could tell who the tourists were because they were busy taking photos of everything and each other. With the four of us guessing who they were....like some nice old man walking by with his cane was now a retired Mafia hit man for example. That old woman? She was actually a homicidal maniac with seventeen murders to her credit, with those bodies scattered all over the U.S. Spend some time at Circus Circus watching the circus acts and blow five dollars on the games there. On the far west side of town there's another park, with us walking maybe half a mile to get to it from the bus stop. There are barbeque grills there, with us gathering old, dead wood for our fire. Mom would cook some hamburgers and/or hotdogs, along with a big bag of chips to eat and of course, our sodas. Now I was carrying all the heavy stuff while the girls would take turns carrying our sodas which were in a plastic pickle bucket Mom had gotten from work. Then it was my job to fill the bucket with cold water from the Truckee and leave it there until Mom said everything was ready. This way our sodas were cold until everything was cooked. During that time, we'd be tossing a frisbee to each other or trying to see who could land it closest to a rock we'd put on the grass. I don't know why, but cooked food outside tastes so much better than eating the same thing at home. Simple stuff yeah, but good times.
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Post by texican on Sept 23, 2020 14:08:38 GMT -6
WillC,
Thor is burning the candle from both ends, but he is having fun.
A girl in his future? Natalie is to old, or is she?
Thor needs to go to Hollyweird and earn some big bucks for his family and for him.
Thanks for the chapter.
Texican....
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Post by willc453 on Sept 23, 2020 16:06:13 GMT -6
I was going to say something about Natalie but nah, I'm not. As to a girl in his future, that comes up in a future chapter somewhere down the line. Working on 9 now, at 1.5 pages. And things will start changing for Thor in the already written chapters in other ways. Like him coming up with water tornadoes and those fish being sucked into them. And thinking of the things he's doing and the reaction by our govt. alone, not to mention Ben, Dancing Wind, Hercules, The Speedster, etc. doing their things. And knowing how governments fear change/the unknown..... As to Reno, been here since '81, so I know ALL the different valleys around Reno/Sparks, along with the major streets. And Thor's looked at as the man of the house by his Mom and sisters, though sometimes it is a pita. But a man gets the job done, while a child whines. As to having fun, oh yeah, but then there's his Mom wondering if work and school is a bit much for him. And yes, Thor goes to Hollyweird and what happens there....well, that'll be starting again in 7. And remember, Thor's a YOUNG man, with him soon starting his 2nd year of college. And you'll notice, Thor doesn't have an ego problem which was reinforced by how Chris, Tom & Natalie treated him and the few others at his first cosplay convention. This was why he had no problem putting that older brother down in front of his younger brother. And Thor's trying to deal with HUGE amounts of cash, none of which had any taxes paid on it. That's in a future chapter and no, not saying which one either. I may be repeating myself, but if so, sorry. Been checking Youtube on Reddit posts of people meeting or dealing with the famous and their attitudes. Chris, Tom & Natalie are good people and are nice to their fans. Now, imagine you're someone rich, famous and always seeking publicity with all these people coming up with amazing and totally unknown abilities. Of course, they're going to want to be seen with you, preferably taking you to some nightclub, out of dinner, a photo shoot, etc. Imagine their ego's getting a severe kick in the a$$ when they're either turned down or if someone does turn up, THEIR name isn't being called out, but that other persons is? And what about the normal rich and famous....how do they react to meeting someone like Hercules, The Speedster, etc.? Ben's the only one who went hobnobbing with someone famous and that was Hugh Hefner and all those luscious girls at his place. And of course, those ladies in the porn industry back when he financed his own movies. Also back working on The Night Life story, with the character starting a new endeavor, along with finding another place to live in San Francisco. it's coming along, but like my Thor story, want to keep it as realistic as possible which means some time in the future, the feds (FBI/Homeland Security) will be getting involved.
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Post by texican on Sept 24, 2020 12:26:25 GMT -6
Thanks WillC for the insights.
Chapter 9 soon?
Texican....
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Post by willc453 on Sept 26, 2020 21:12:39 GMT -6
The Affected: Thor Chapter 7
Well, my two days off happened with me going to call Natalie, then meeting Bob about me being in the movies. Things got complicated. After seeing the girls off to school, the problem was that the Lemmon Valley area I'd been getting ready as Thor had a couple of kids riding their dirt bikes. No way was I going to chance getting caught in just my underwear no matter how quick I might be. However once they were gone, took Mjolnir and flew north to the other side of Steads airport. You know, where they have the air races every year and NOTHING was around but a couple of airplanes parked in the dirt for some reason on the other side of the runways. Figured this would be a good place to change because I could do my thing under one of the wings of this big, propeller driven airplane. Found out later it was some old Russian transport plane and from what I saw of it from the outside, it hadn't been flown for I don't know how long. Then I heard it: whoppa, whoppa, whoppa, whoppa......how about a military helicopter? I didn't know what was going on with it, but didn't hesitate in opening the door to this plane, get inside of it, close the door and then watch the helicopter fly by from the cockpit. Once again, didn't know there was an Army Air National Guard helicopter squadron based at Steads airport. Then it was off to Hawaii with me slowing down a bit as I flew across the bay area and north of it. There were still fires, but they (the fire fighters) seemed to be handling with it pretty good. I'd of stayed and put more, if not all of them out, but had no idea how long I'd be talking with Bob.
As to those Canadian coins, one of the new cosplayer guys was wanting to be some sort of fantasy warrior, ala Conan the Barbarian. He told me how he had made a couple of leather pouches that he'd gotten from Tandy Leather here in town. So, went to the store and ended up buying two different sizes of pieces of leather, along with a leather punch which looks like a hole puncher for paper and a couple of feet of rawhide string. I got two different sizes because I was thinking ahead of time. Instead of just dumping my change into my MRE pouch, one could be used for American money, the other for foreign ones. Another MRE pouch held my water bottles, the other some snacks, with the extra fast food stuff like those yummy burritos in the main pack. I also made sure I had some plastic bags for garbage, like those empty cups of tea I'd buy and those burritos for example. Didn't want my costume to get stained in any way. Bet Batman never had this trouble. Can you imagine him driving in Gotham, seeing a Del Taco place and going thru the drive thru to place his order? And what if he paid cash for his food....what did he do with the change? Did he had a change cup installed in the Batmobile? Or even a cup holder?
Anyway, Hawaii is really pretty from the air and then I got low and kind of fast. The problem was WHERE to land? I'd of landed in the countryside, but no idea if the city bus stops posted the route number or what bus I'd need to take. Another was trying to find a 7-11. Found a bunch of trees and bushes not far from a 7-11, so landed there, changed and walked into the store with me telling the guy that I had a cold which was why I was wearing a mask. He says thanks, then after getting and paying for another big Slurpee, got the change needed for my phone call. Since I didn't have my costume on, I had already put on those latex gloves, so no fingerprints except on the five dollar bill I paid the clerk with. Figured that wouldn't be a problem because those stores are making change for tens and twenties all the time. One thing I saw while flying over, was a REALLY big tree that had a bunch of buildings around it of all things. So asked the clerk about bus stops and how to get to that tree. Find out there's a bus stop two blocks down the street and the bus driver could tell me what bus I'd need to make a transfer to that tree and what I found out were businesses. Decided to make some time to check it out and maybe thirty minutes later, I'm staring at the tree in awe. As far as the stores went, they were selling a bunch of touristy stuff and no thought of buying anything. That is, until I saw this guy who had a cart or wagon and selling candles in the colors and shape of pineapples?! He had just started setting things out when I saw him and his candles. I went to look at them and decided this was JUST the thing that Mom and the girls would like. At least I hoped so. How or where I got them from.......well, I'd have to think that one over, but better to get them NOW instead of later. So I got three sets, a big one for Mom and two smaller ones for the girls. They fit in my backpack with no trouble and I made sure those candles were put in separate cardboard boxes, then after a little searching found a payphone.
With my latex gloves on, called Natalie and some guy answers? I said I'm sorry, but is this such and such number and the guys says yes, can I help you? I said this is Thor and I was trying to reach Natalie because she gave me her number not long ago. This guy says oh my god....it IS you. Right now she's shooting a scene which will take about fifteen minutes for it to be done. Can you call back and I said no problem, but how about in thirty minutes just to make sure she's got time to spare? He thanks me, saying he'd let Miss Portman know that I called. Another bus ride back to those bushes and trees by that 7-11, where I got into my costume. Since I had some time to kill, figured why not take a look at Waikiki Beach from the air because it looked real pretty. It was pretty cool seeing everything from a couple of hundred feet in the air, kind of like a helicopter ride, though I'd never been in one before. Now you need to remember, Hawaii's on a two hour different time zone than Nevada, meaning, it was around nine am or so Nevada time when I called Natalie, but seven am in Hawaii. Not that I knew this at the time and was another lesson to learn. There were surfers out there doing their thing, along with those surfboards with sails on them. One thing I couldn't understand was those dark shadows which would appear from time to time in the water, so went down for a closer look. How about sharks as in the Jaws movie kind of sharks and one of them seemed to be interested in a guy paddling his surf board out to catch some wave. Then I see one of the sharks headed for this guy, so I dropped lower telling him there was a shark headed his way and to be careful. He's looking around, then looks up and sees me.....and falls off his surf board?! Apparently this was like ringing the dinner bell for the shark, so I swooped in and while hovering over him, tell him to take my hand because there's a shark coming right for you. I'm glad to say he took it, with me raising us up in the air, out of shark biting range. Right after lifting him up, we both saw the shark kind of leap out of the air and land on the guys surfboard. I said your board will wash ashore, so let me just take you to it and wait for it okay? He'd seen the shark coming out of the water like it did and he was quite happy to return to shore.
Now the thing is, he wasn't that far from shore, but we did attract the attention of some non surfers who got busy taking photos. So I ended up dropping him in an area where the beach was a bit more deserted to get me away from them. Unfortunately, we ended near some military base and I had forgotten about the military and its radars. And here come some fighter jets taxiing on the runway and LOADED with missiles?! And looking around, here come a bunch of helicopters to boot! I'll be honest, once again I started panicking again, so went to fly away from them, but now I found myself going over part of Pearl Harbor where the Navy has its ships and radars, along with being real close to some other military bases where there were more fighters. When I saw some of them coming out of some shelters and also armed with missiles, it was time to get out of there. Told Mjolnir take me back to the Disney studios without hitting anything. When we got to the California coast, we got lower and didn't go as fast while also making sure we didn't hit no birds or buildings.
No problem not being detected when I landed in the same dead end I had been at before. Felt a growl from my stomach and realized I was hungry, but it was a normal kind of hunger. I'd of taken off via the dead end to find some place off the lot, but then saw a roach coach and figured I'd get something from it, then eat my food from a roof top. BUT a couple of things happened. First was walking by a couple of people and just saying hello. I also didn't know that tours were given here and sure enough, here comes a what I think is called a tram loaded with about two dozen or so people and some kids. I had paid for my two double cheeseburgers, large fries and soda when the tour announcer says look everyone, it's Thor over his PA speaker! Well, I had my stuff in a bag and had just turned around to walk back to that dead end place when I heard that guy saying what he said, but didn't say anything. The tour guide then says hey Thor, how about a wave to your fans, so I turned, waved at them with Mjolnir in one hand, the other was holding my bagged lunch. Crap. Why? Because then some people started arguing that it was that guy who'd been flying around while others saying no way and believe me, I was rooting for the no way people. Then someone says look.....he's got a mask on just like that flying dude! I said I'm not that flying dude okay, I'm just working as a stand in for a Thor commercial that's being made and I got this bandanna on because I got a cold. Then one of them says how about a selfie and I'm thinking okay, but as this guy walks up to me, he goes to take my bandanna off?! I said get back, I don't want you to get sick and blame the studio okay? I turn to walk back to the dead end and he says don't be such a dick, grabs my Mjolnir arm and goes to take off my bandanna?! I said DON'T and when I flung that arm backwards, he goes flying about thirty feet and hits a couple of people coming towards us. Yeah....it hit the fan when that happened with those tram people seeing this go down and their phones REALLY came out. Screw this. Lifted Mjolnir up into the air with me flying over a couple of buildings and off the lot until I came to a hillside. Lunch was pretty good, then go looking for a pay phone which I found at a 7-11. Why a 7-11? Because I wanted another Slurpee since I could afford 'em now. As it was, think I was a little over the thirty minute time frame when I said I'd call Natalie back.
I got her right off the bat and apologized for calling back a bit later than I said I would. She said heard about what happened and not thinking (which seems normal for me at times), I said wow, that was quick. She said what did you expect from those people on that tour with you flying up like you did? I didn't say anything and then she says she checked the area code from my previous call and it was from Hawaii. When I didn't say anything for a bit, she says let me guess.....because THAT'S on the news now. I said yeah, but that surfer guy was going to be eaten by a shark and then the military started scrambling fighters WITH MISSILES on them, so skedaddled here and all I wanted was something to eat. And I'd of been okay, but for that b*tt head who tried taking my bandanna off while wanting a selfie with me. I wasn't thinking when he grabbed me to do this, so I kind of tossed him away from me and figured it was a good time for me to leave, eat my lunch and then call you. And by the way, tell that roach coach cook that food was delicious. We agreed to meet at the same dead end where we'd originally met and she'd bring make sure Bob blocked off any access to that area so we wouldn't be disturbed. I said that's great, I'll be right over and was. And the streets in that area were blocked off with security guards, along with some guarding doors within those those streets.
Kind of surprised to see not just Natalie and Bob there, but Chris and Tom? And how about they were carrying THREE Mjolnir's with Chris carrying two, Tom having one. Natalie said I hoped I didn't mind, but would I mind autographing them for them?! I'm just looking at her dumbfounded, then she smiles and says yes, RRREEAALLLY. I said I'd be honored. So I signed them on all three sides of these props. One side had their actual name and movie characters name written on it, the other side said thank you from an admiring fan and on the top of the hammer, I wrote Thor with the month, day and year under it. When I asked if this was okay, I could see they were quite happy me doing this for them. Frankly, I thought it was kind of weird considering who they were and I wasn't. Then Bob calls someone from the street and says would you mind trying one of these on and it was a kind of rubber mask with a strap on it, but with Chris's face on it, along with the eyes and mouth cut out. I said okay, went to a rooftop, removed my bandanna and put the mask on. No problem breathing or seeing out of it, so went back to them and ground level. Apparently everyone was kind of shocked, with the four of them saying except for my height, I could pass for Chris. That surprised me. Bob wondered if I could take anyone into the air like I did Natalie and was there a weight limit. When I said as far as I know, I can take anyone and it doesn't have to be like we did it. That's when Natalie tells everyone about me being in Hawaii and saving that surfer from a possible shark attack. Then one of the security guards don't forget about Thor lifting up that bus off the bridge while he was in the air. Seems the four of them hadn't heard about that one for some reason.
Then Bob's asking me about the damage I'd done in the Marvel Studio building with my hammer and why wasn't it damaged or destroyed? I said I had no idea, but it obviously wasn't. So he asks if I'd like to give a demonstration of my hammer and strength, with me saying okay. Tells me where to go, so I start rising up into the air when Natalie says give a girl a ride mister? I say no problem, but then happened to look at Chris and Tom as I landed and said what, you guys want a ride? Them: HELL YES! I said okay, but let's try something a little different because I just thought of it, okay? This was followed by me saying I'd never done it with three people before, so I'm not sure how it'll turn out. Everyone's looking at me and then I realized what I had said and what it could of meant. That's when Natalie started laughing and said look, HE'S BLUSHING! I automatically replied am not, with her smiling while saying am too. Think I blushed even more. Said you guys know what I meant okay? With Chris being so taller than I, he stood behind me with his arms around my chest, while Natalie and Tom stood on each side of me, with their hands and arms wrapped around my waist. Made sure my arms were free and said come on Mjolnir, raise us up just a little bit, like two feet okay? We did and I was also kind of surprised. Natalie tells the other two imagine what I felt like when we were flying to and from my bank. We land and I could see the disappointment in their faces, but said how about us trying something a little different this time if it's okay with everyone? They said okay, but this time I held Chris's hand, with Tom holding his and Natalie holding his. Said whatever you do Chris, do NOT let go of my hand and I raised the four of us into the air with Natalie dangling from Toms hand. Thing is, they all said they really didn't feel each others weight as we lifted into the air. Wondered if I could take any more into the air with me and ended up having six security guards holding onto each others hands, with the first one holding onto Natalie's. Thing is, had a hard time getting the first guard into the air at first until he went from holding her hand to them holding onto each other by their wrists once those two were back on the ground.
Thing is, felt a growl from my stomach, so asked Bob if that roach coach was still around because I was hungry and Natalie just looked at me because she knew I'd eaten from it earlier. I said I don't know why, but even after I zap myself, there are times I get REALLY hungry. Bob said he'd have it over to us quick and it was there in maybe five minutes? I got them and some others hanging around me and Bob tells the person taking my order to give me whatever I wanted and he'd foot the bill. Now the food from these trucks are done in two different ways. Cooked to order like burgers and fries and hot sandwiches, while others are already cooked, put in a cardboard tray and wrapped in plastic, then placed in a small oven to keep warm. And of course, various things to drink. I got an empty soda pop box, putting the six servings of wings, eight burritos (they were kind of small ones compared to Super Burrito's), four egg and cheese sandwiches while ordering four double cheeseburgers and two orders of fries. Had my water, so I was good that way. Went back to the dumpsters and pulled them so I had a barricade around me as I wanted to remove the mask and be able to eat a lot easier. When my other food was done, Chris came over announcing himself ahead of time, so mask goes back on and I get the rest of my food which I promptly devoured. And after that, gave off an unexpected belch. Apologized for not covering my mouth, pushed the dumpsters back where they had been and then stuck all my garbage into my pack.
I'm looking at Chris and Tom, walked over to them and said hey guys, since Natalie got a solo flight with me, would you? Yes indeed. Said I wasn't going to play favorites, so after a coin was flipped, Tom was first to go solo with me. Then came up with another idea since he had his Mjolnir. Took my cape off and with some safety pins from one of the people, pinned it to the back of his shirt with me holding him in front of me and me under my cape. I then had him left his shirt up so my arm was against his belly and under his shirt which kind of startled him. I said okay, lift your Mjolnir in the air like you now possess it and Thor's cape while doing your Loki thing once I get us up about thirty feet or so in the air. That okay with you? Oh yeah and I can only imagine the sh*t eating grin he had when he started his spiel about how he was Loki, a demigod from Asgard, had defeated his weaker brother, etc., etc., etc. while holding his Mjolnir upright and wearing my cape. I said why not tell Bob you asked if I wanted a quick tour of the studio from the air and we'll do something different, but for Chris to hang back so he can get his ride okay? Tom: fine with me. Asked if he was scared of heights and he says not really, so I said make sure you're holding onto me and your Mjolnir. Tom: I'm ready. We go drifting over a couple of studio buildings and then I said hang on and we shot up into the air to about ten thousand feet or so. Tom: what just happened? I said we're really high up.....wanna go zooming around and thru different buildings downtown? Tom: oh yeah, so that's what we did. He kept repeating he couldn't believe we were doing this and I said now for the grand finale. And once we were higher, hello Hawaii and then hovering about the beaches of Waikiki. I said want to do your spiel again, but something extra added? Tom: okay. So there we are floating about a hundred feet over the beach and of course, Tom's getting all the attention because I'm hidden partially under my cloak. So Tom goes into his spiel and not getting much attention and at the end of it. So I snaked my right arm holding Mjolnir outside of the cloak and near his which is holding his. Then I let loose a bolt of lightning.....KABOOM. That got everyone's attention, so Tom goes into his spiel again. I said we gotta get outta here because no doubt those jet fighters will be coming our way real quick and they got missiles on them. A quick flight back to the studios dead end where Chris is waiting for us.
Tom was so excited he close to babbling what we'd done to Chris, with Chris saying you two did what? HOW high were you? WHERE did you go? WHAT did you say? HE did WHAT? Then he started laughing and then looking at me. I said yeah, if you want, we can do the same with a slight variation if that's okay. Chris: okay by me. So once again, Tom and I are pinning my cloak over Chris's shoulders, etc., etc., etc. and when we were done, Tom took off to tell Bob that Chris also wanted to give me a quick studio tour. Up we go and yeah, just like Tom, he was a little nervous and surprised how quick and how high we were in the air. I said are you ready and we went ZOOM and only slowing down when we saw the White Cliffs of Dover and from there, we were quickly floating not far from Big Ben. I said pretty neat hunh and he said you have no idea how neat this really is. Then I saw them for the first time in my life: street vendors. Now I'd seen them before via Youtube while killing time at school, but man, all that food looked so good and tasty on those videos. I asked Chris if we could stop so I could take some home with me and he says no problem. So I find an alleyway to land in and we go looking. Found what I was looking for: a place that sold BIG roast beef sandwiches. I ordered seven of them and was going for my wallet when Chris say it's on him since I was doing the flyin', he was going to do the buyin'. Okay by me. Now I'm standing next to him in my costume with his rubber face copy on me, but no cloak, while Chris is standing there with Mjolnir in his hand and my cape on. Well, Chris being Chris, he started attracting attention and he's the one who nudged me, so I started looking around too. Got my sandwiches, put them in my pack, then he and I walked to that alley way. Now the British people are polite....not mobbing us or anything like that, but some were taking photos with their phones. Back under my cape and up we went with people no undoubtedly staring as this happened. I said let's get back, he says fine and quick enough, we're coming in for a landing after seeing a group of people where Bob said we'd met.
Well, Chris and Tom were grinning like crazy at each with Natalie asking if I'd been given a good tour of the studio and I said yes. After getting my cloak back on, then Bob comes up, asking what I should be called and I said, let's keep it simple okay....just call me Thor. He says okay and if you don't mind, I'd like to know what else you can do. So I've got a car for you to lift if you don't mind and I say okay. See the car, walk over to it, with Bob asking me to pick it up by the bumper. I said I can try, but the bumper might get bent if it's not designed to be picked up that way. He says go ahead and try any way and of course the bumper bent. Knelt, felt the frame and lifted it up a couple of feet and said is this okay? He's happy, then wants me to hit the hood of the car with Mjolnir because he wanted to know what kind of damage I might do to a vehicle considering how I put that dimple in the concrete floor of Marvel Studios in New York City. I was kind of dubious about this, but said okay, I'll give it a shot but please have everyone stand back a bit just in case you understand. Bob has everyone back up and then Natalie of all people, SHOUTS go for it. I'm standing there in front of the car thinking what I felt back then, then suddenly hit the sh*t out of the hood with Mjolnir. Everyone (including me) got a bit more than expected. I not only caved in the hood, but afterwards, it was found the hood was actually embedded into the engine block which was also cracked. Not only that, I had hit it with so much force, the engine broke from its mounts and was embedded into the ground by six inches? And BOTH front tires blew. Total silence from everyone for a bit, then a bunch of cheering. Thing is, when I hit the hood? It kind of folded around my right arm which held Mjolnir like a taco shell, with me pulling and peeling it away with no trouble. Then Bob wants me to put Mjolnir in the cars trunk, call it back to me, with me saying I have no idea what's going to happen, but I'll try. Mjolnir goes in the trunk, it's closed and I walk away a good thirty feet from the car. Mjolnir comes RIPPING out of the side of the car trunk area with no problem when I called to it. Then was it could I throw Mjolnir and once again, I'm on unknown ground. Have everyone get on each side of the street in case Mjolnir goes too far thru the now totally destroyed car. Figured I better have some force behind my throw, so started twirling it along my side, while at the same time, talking and thinking at Mjolnir with me then adlibbing to Bobs request. Tell Mjolnir that I wanted it to not only hit the front, right passenger door, but to go thru the left front drivers door and then, quickly as possible, to go thru the left rear passenger door, then the right rear passenger door, then return to me as quickly as possible. Everyone got really quiet, then I started twirling and soon the noise it made being twirled was kind of a buzz saw sound. I mean, that's the best word I can think of. Then I said NOW MJOLNIR, NOW with me releasing Mjolnir. It did as I asked. Utter and total silence for about five seconds, then everyone's cheering and gathered around me, clapping me on the back, wanting to shake my hand. Talk about weird.....people actually reaching out to shake MY hand? Thing is, it was also weird me doing these things for the first time.
So I put down Mjolnir to shake those different peoples hands and next thing I know is Natalie, Chris and Tom are doing the same telling me how they'd never seen anything like this before unless they were being filmed in front of a green screen and that was after everything had been done. Then Bob calls me over, asking me to take a look at some of the footage he had some of people take, so I walk over to him leaving Mjolnir behind. Yeah, I was kind of in a daze, kind of like I had been when all this stuff started happening to me after the convention shooting in that empty lot next to the motel we were staying in. Thing is, those three went with me, leaving their Mjolnir's behind and next to mine. I mean, after all, who would think of stealing one of their or my hammer? I'll tell you the truth....in watching what I'd done to that car, it was awesome, with Chris, Natalie, Tom and others saying with the rubber mask on, it looked like Chris was doing all of these things. That made me feel good because I figured I'd really get a job being his double and doing these things he and the others had been green screening previously. I looked at my watch and said if everything's okay, I'd like to take off for home. Bob says okay, but wanted to know when I could start work. Said I'd have to give two weeks notice, though I'm pretty sure I can get by giving only a week. Besides, there's other things I have to deal with. Well, he's pushing me to just quit and of course, he doesn't know about Mom, the girls or college.
Now Chris and Tom didn't know about my background, but Natalie did so she tells Bob not to push it because if he (meaning me) can't have things for a certain way, he WON'T work for Disney.....and probably go to another studio since he's the only one who can do the things he can do. Then she turns to me, asking if I'd thought of wearing some other superhero costume....like Superman's?! THAT got Bob's attention and that's when Chris and Tom suggested why not other comic book hero costumes like Dr. Strange, Iron Man, etc.....you know, other superhero's under Marvel's name. I said I don't know, but that'll have to wait for another time. Apparently Bob hadn't thought of this either. NOW he was quite happy to wait until I got things settled back home. Said I'd give him a call a day ahead of time so if he wanted me to return and try other outfits, I would and that's when Natalie spoke up again. She clears her throat and says Bob, haven't you forgotten something and he says what? She says after this discussion between you and him, wouldn't the two of you agree he was going to work here, then looks at me. I said oh yeah, not a problem, followed by Bob saying the same thing. Then she says the last time he and Thor had spoken, you talked about a ten thousand a day paycheck, so he HAS BEEN WORKING for you even if it was showing you and everyone else what he could do. So you owe him ten thousand dollars! In cash. Boy, was I stunned and so was Bob. Man, there was NO WAY I was going to let that kind of money slip thru my hands. Thing is, she turned to Chris and Tom, then everyone else there, saying doesn't this seem reasonable? EVERYONE agreed and said so. Bob knows he's been had by Natalie and probably figured on me doing my thing for free and possibly doing the same thing while I'm being recorded, but not in some movie. Tom and Chris spoke up, saying this is only right, Bob. Bob says it'll take about thirty minutes for the money to arrive and I asked that it be in hundreds if possible. I mean, the money I'd earned earlier was a BIG stack of bills since it was in twenties. Then we ALL got another shock.
----- 9's got 3.5 pages, with me just starting on the .5 part. Like I said, taking this story in a different direction than what the comic books or movies ever did.
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Post by texican on Sept 27, 2020 15:03:38 GMT -6
Thor earning cash money.
Where will he hide it?
Thanks WillC for the chapter.
Texican....
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Post by willc453 on Sept 27, 2020 17:54:01 GMT -6
As to the money he's already and just earned, it's in his pack and that yellow office envelope at home. On how he deals with his new found money, this starts in a future chapter already written. 9's done and know what I want to do in 10, plus some other stuff. For example, the media is about to find out it NOT nice to stalk people for photos, interviews, etc. As to 10, I got my ideas what I want Thor to be doing, but gotta think how I'm going to do it, so it sound realistic and of course, peoples reactions (bystanders, cops & firemen) to what he does in 10. He has to deal with moving from home, a new one on him. Then find a place to live as he's figured out a way to explain why he's moving out to his Mom and sisters. As to the shock everyone got, it's in 8. And as to that $10,000 it's not that thick....any more than a stack of $1 bills would be.
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Post by willc453 on Oct 2, 2020 16:49:51 GMT -6
The Affected: Thor Chapter 8 I got to remembering what it was like meeting Natalie, Chris and Tom for the first time and seeing the looks of some of the people when I landed with Chris and Tom. I said since we got up to thirty minutes before I get my money, if anyone wants, I'll fly them down the street from one end to the other. Oh yeah, they were all for it. So I had every-one form a line with me planning on taking one person from the end of the line to the other end of the line, then picking up another person from that other end to the other end of the line I'd originally started from. Now Natalie, Chris and Tom had laid their hammers on the ground near mine and all I did was look at one of them and said Mjolnir, to me and it came flying into my hand. Bob was first to fly and right off the bat as we rose a couple of feet into the air, he kept asking me do you have me, do you have me? I said yes Bob, I got you. Remember, I just got done picking up a car and you don't weigh that much, okay? Then I said let's do a little something different, so instead of vertical flight, I changed us to horizontal, got us a little higher in the air and then told everyone to raise their right arm as Bob was going to high five everyone as we go down the line. And that's what Bob did and yes, he had the biggest sh*t eating grin when we were done. Then started doing everyone else, getting maybe twenty people or so before a couple of security guards show up with my money. I could see the disappointment in those who hadn't gotten a ride, so told them that I'd give everyone I could a ride next week provided I had the time. This meant even if it took a couple of visits by me with everyone looking a lot happier. Now I can get my pack on and off, but I have to work at it as I've always made sure my shoulder harnesses are good and tight around my shoulders. Once I got my money, I'm trying to put it in my pack without taking it off, so Natalie says she'd do it for me. Said thanks, she opens the top part of the pack, but when she goes to put the money in, she feels those sandwiches Chris bought me in London. And pulls out one of my sand-wiches, then asking when did I get something to eat? I said excuse me, but that is MY sandwich you're fondling, with me going to take it from her. Thing is, she says this is a great smelling roast beef sandwich and still warm....then sees the wrapper with the sellers name and London, England printed on it. Get my sandwich back and I started backing away from her and frankly what I was going for was to be behind Chris and Tom. She says you've been here for the past hour or so....WAIT A MINUTE! Then she points at Chris and Tom, saying HE TOOK ONE OR BOTH OF YOU SOMEWHERE, DIDN'T HE? I was wondering why you two were huddling together like you did after the two of you came back. Thor DIDN'T just take you two around the studio lot, did he? Then it was it was Tom that I had to have taken to London as he's from Britain, something I didn't know. Tom says not hardly my dear, after all, I just returned from there a little over a month ago or have you forgotten this while giving her that smirky Loki look and smile. Well, that didn't go over too well with Natalie, so she turns to Chris and while pointing a finger at him, says so, YOU and Thor went to London? Chris didn't say anything, so she's now pointing that deadly finger at Tom, asking him where we'd gone. Oh boy.....he says since you're asking you silly, mortal female, WE went to Hawaii! Of course, we'd of stayed longer, but Thor was worried about fighter aircraft armed with missiles coming after us. Natalie's jaw kind of dropped open and her deadly finger slowly lowered. But Tom WASN'T done because he said these poor, mortal, misguided fools now KNOW that LOKI is THE most powerful demi-god not only on Earth, but Asgard while turning to look at Chris. And why would that be he says? It was because I unleashed a bolt of lightning into the sky! When he said that, Chris just looked at me. I just kind of shrugged my shoulders and help up my hands as if saying what the hell man, then said it was something I came up while we were there. Natalie saw me doing this and CHEATED! She started crying, saying she thought we were friends and how she'd helped me with Bob, etc., etc., etc. Man, I felt like sh*t and went to go between Chris and Tom to apologize, but they weren't having none of this. How about they put up an arm to block me, with Chris and Tom telling me she was playing me better than any fiddler ever had played before.....and that included Satan?! Tom says watch and listen because here real shortly, she's going to start giving off small, quiet sobs?! I'll be damned if she didn't start doing this. That's when Chris says all women can be quite deceiving and crying is one of their oldest trick in the books. Besides, remember, as an actress it helps if she can cry on cue while it's being filmed. Well, I got between them and looked at Natalie and said you....you....you nefarious, Machiavellian CHEATER! Tom said oooo, I like that word, nefarious and told him to help himself to it in the next Thor movie he's in with Chris. Well, Natalie right off the bat quit sniffling and quietly sobbing, but then said it's NOT FAIR you took them someplace and not me. Then she stomps a foot on the ground! I couldn't help myself when I said in a high pitch kind of voice it's not fair and stomped my foot against the ground. But my stomping of that one foot...well, EVERYONE felt the shock wave of that, though no one fell on their a$$. Then I said wow, did I do that? Everyone agreed I had and I said I didn't know I could do that either. Told Natalie that I hadn't planned on taking Chris and Tom like I did, but thought they'd like to see what it was really like, so we did it. As for you, AFTER I take the rest of the people for their free flight next week AND there's still time, I'll take you to a place of your choosing. If not, it'd have to be the week after, okay? She smiles and says she really had me going didn't she? I said yes you did. That's when Tom says don't forget, women have MANY tricks up their sleeves and Chris says, brother, the words nefarious and Machiavellian are perfect words to describe these mortal women. I still had maybe fifteen or twenty minutes before I had to leave, so I'm slowly rising into the air, waving at everyone and saying see you guys next week. Kind of felt like Dorothy when she left Oz for Kansas in that hot air balloon, while waving goodbye to the Munchkins. I'm about a hundred feet or so in the air when I hear Tom not only calling me, but waving his arms back and forth over his head. Thought what was going on, so landed and that's when he tells me I have HIS Mjolnir?! I said no, I got mi.....and when I looked at it, yeah it was the one I'd autographed earlier. What the hell? So I put his down, walked over to mine and took it. But that's when Tom said Thor.....would you mind? I turn around and Tom's trying to lift HIS Mjolnir, but obviously can't. Well, people had started drifting away while I was leaving, but soon headed back because I had landed and of course, possibly heard Tom shouting up at me. He says he's NOT joking and can't lift his hammer up and calls Chris to give it a try.....and he can't either. I said hold on and back up a bit. I look at his Mjolnir and said come to me and it comes FLYING into my left hand! Yeah, stunned silence by the four of us and murmurs by some of the people. I look at Natalie and ask her to please take Toms Mjolnir and she does without any trouble. Thing is, Tom went to walk over and get it back from her and I said wait Tom, that may not be a good idea because I haven't given you permission to hold it. So Natalie put his hammer back on the ground, then when Tom looked at me, I nodded.....and again, he couldn't pick it up. I ended up doing the same thing with Natalie's and Chris's hammers, with each of them unable to pick them up unless I gave them permission to do so. Then tried switching hammers between them....Chris could pick up Natalie's and Tom's hammers, while they couldn't for example. Things were getting really weird all right. Then I wondered just what kind of control I had not only on those three hammers, but mine too. So asked everyone to stand back and placed my Mjolnir with their hammers. Thought about what I wanted to do and then said out loud Mjolnir's return to me, but remain in the air ten feet in front of me and fifteen feet high in the air.....and all four did this?! More silence and murmurs, with Bob saying did you people get this, I mean, did you REALLY get all of this recorded? I called out to Bob, saying I like to have one your security guards try something with me if that's okay. He says okay and picks out a guy and I said no, how about someone REALLY big, you know Chris size....like that black guy. Well, he does volunteer, then thought of something else, so I whispered to Natalie who says since the security guard is doing this, it's a bit beyond his job description, so he should get a bonus of some kind. Like a thousand dollars? Bob's more than happy to agree because he's curious (like everyone else) what's going to happen next. So I explained privately to the guard what I was going to attempt, then walked to where the four hammers were still resting in the air. And when I say resting, I mean they were NOT moving in any way. I said Chris's Mjolnir, I want you to GENTLY and SLOWLY place yourself against that mans chest and do NOT allow him to walk towards me. Well, Chris's hammer did exactly that and the guy couldn't move forward at all. Now this guy was kind of huge as in like that black guy in the Green Mile movie. I then had Bob have two good sized security guards attempt to pull that guy forward, without success. And yes, I made sure they got some extra money, in this case two hundred and fifty dollars each. Looked at my watch and it was time for me to go, so called my hammer to me and as for theirs, had them land in front of their owners with me saying you Mjolnir's be as you were. They could pick up their hammers and swap them among themselves with no trouble. Said I'm sorry, but I gotta get home and that's when Bob is saying God, oh God, no......PLEASE don't go as what you just did was amazing and if you want, I'll give you another ten thousand for a couple more hours. I said I can't, but I'll give you a call next week to find out what time you want me here, okay? Then I rose up into the air with Bob still pleading with me to stay for a little bit longer and once I was high enough, took off for home. Now I'd of been okay, but for one thing.....Mom was screwing around with her flowers in the backyard?! So I landed on the roof, then get down safely without anyone seeing me. Well, almost. I had no sooner walked into the house, headed for my bedroom and here comes Mom from the backyard. She sees me, asking if I was having fun with my costume and I said you honestly don't know how much fun I have when I'm dressed up like Thor. She says that nice dear, but change into some more suitable and go pick up your sisters as I have to leave for work in a bit. Nothing like a Mom bringing a “superhero” down to earth. I change and realize time's running out, so I jog down the street to meet them. Get there just as they're getting off the bus and we're walking home with them chattering away as usual and me not paying attention as I was mulling over what had happened earlier at Disney. Poor judgment on my part because their voices were low instead of its normal volume. Oh....forgot I haven't talked about them much. Margaret is the oldest, followed by Danielle. Next thing I know is Margaret gives me a GOOD poke in my back, saying who is she and how long have you two been dating?! Me: what?! Danielle says yeah, fess up about her. I said what are you two babbling about? Margaret says your face was all kind of red and flushed, then she turns to Danielle, asking her if she thought my girlfriend looked anything like Denise Richards?! Yeah, I was at a friends house watching Starship Troopers many years ago and I immediately had a crush on her. Now the library gives away its older magazines and I happened to get a copy of one that had photos of various scenes from it. It wasn't a real big photo being from a magazine, but I liked it and took it out of the magazine. Now as to that photo, it was taped to my bedroom wall even though the tape has aged and yellowed. I swear to God, those two have ESP because they just looked at each other, wrapped their arms around their bodies and then said oooohhhh Denise, you are sssooo beautiful and make kissing sounds? I said SHUT UP with that stuff, it's NOT funny! Well, they took off like a shot for home, but started singing their d*mn chant. Margaret would chant that I had a girlfriend, then Danielle would chant they were going to tell Mom back and forth. They had a lead on me and got home a minute or so before me because I was going to catch them, though didn't know what I'd of done if I'd caught them. And slammed my face into the front door?! Yeah, those witches in disguise had actually locked the front door on me! So I'm rattling the door knob while saying let me in like I was some big, bad wolf in front of the three little pigs brick house or Dorothy trying to get into that cellar as that tornado got closer and closer. Mom opens the door, asking what was going on. I'm looking in the livingroom and see that the girls bedroom door is closed and undoubtedly locked. I said nothing's going on and as I passed the girls bedroom, they made kissing noises?! I didn't say anything because I KNEW if I did, they'd be on me quicker than a swarm of starving piranhas in a river on a fat cow. Well, Mom told me about supper to be cooked that night, then she took off. Maybe five minutes after she left, the girls came out and gave me looks as if DARING me to say something. I didn't. Now the girls were like me in that we liked reading, but we also played a lot of board games either the three or four of us. Thing is, when Mom wasn't playing and ESPECIALLY when she was at work, they CHEATED! Oh yes indeed. Took me awhile how they cheated at Monopoly. They'd both sit on one side of the kitchen table, while I was on the other side. Sisters being sisters I figured. And talk about acting....when one of them would land on the others fully loaded hotel wise property, she'd boo hoo, boo hoo and pay off the other. But when I wasn't looking, meaning one would distract me, the one who had just gotten all that money from the other, would slip it back to her under the table! And I always wondered for the longest time why they kept their money in their hands and most of the time, under the table. Yeah, I lost A LOT of Monopoly games before I caught on and made them sit at opposite ends of the table and out of each others hands reach. We had a couple of dozen board games, starting when we were kids and you'd be surprised at the number of complete games you could get cheap at various thrift stores, including some that had never been opened. And I didn't realize it for a long time, but Mom was giving us an education because we'd play scrabble a lot, even getting four dictionaries from Dollar Tree. Mom got a chess set and the girls whipped my behind basically all the time. Uno and Risk were also played and believe me, Mom cut us NO mercy when it came to wining. Said it was good for our character so that we'd learn life wasn't fair, but with hard work and a good education, we'd be better off long term wise in life. And she'd shuffle thru her stack of properties she'd won playing Monopoly, while saying my, my, my.....just LOOK at all this property and money I have and SLOWLY counting it again in front of us. Of course, each of us would do the same when we won. Battleship was another lesson in remembering things. So, you have four ships with a total of fourteen holes for the red pegs that you would place when you hit your opponents ship. So ALL the pegs you got were red ones, with NO white ones to show misses. Even though poor, we had a lot of fun with what we had in life. The girls did their homework after coming home and I went to do some thinking about taking this new job in my bedroom. Apparently, I could be paid in cash and no taxes which kept my name and therefor, my family out of my new job and financial endeavors. After thinking it over more, thought it would be best if I got a generic letter from Disney, saying I'd been hired as an apprentice illustrator under some program Disney had. Of course, it wouldn't say how much I made, but sounded good to me. I also wanted to start working there asap, but still needed to give notice at work so I left on good terms, while also not reflecting on Mom doing her job in any way. Two weeks was standard I thought, though I knew more than one person who just upped and quit or only gave a weeks notice. I mean, considering the wages the casino paid, I could understand the second part, but never the first unless it was a family emergency which did happen, though rarely. Most of the time, they simply got another paying job and could you blame them? Then I'd need not only a place to stay, but a place where I could change and take off for work. I also didn't know how many days a week Bob would have me working, though I didn't expect him to work me seven days a week either. I also wanted to continue helping people like I'd done on those fires across the western states. Thing is, Los Angeles is actually a kind of generic term when there's LOTS of towns surrounding it and I had no idea where they were as far as how close they were to Los Angeles. I needed some place near it and not too far from it as I'd have to tell Mom what city I was living in. I mean, I could have some place in no where Georgia and commute to the studio every day with no problem. The other thing would be it would have to be a SAFE place. I'm not talking about crime wise, but some place where I could take off and land WITHOUT being seen. But then if I did live in a heavy crime area, I'm sure the people and cops would appreciate my help. Something to think about, especially if I did this at night. Another thing to think about and learn was what I'd done earlier that day. MULTIPLE Mjolnir's? Apparently I could control them, but could I do more than that? Like send one to smash the hood of a car for example or have lightning shoot out of it? And if so, what about my my energy level? Would it go down and would I go into some sort of mad, crazy feeding frenzy like it had happened before? I also needed to start checking the news at least once a day not only to check on what was happening around the U.S. and the world but also any news about me. Well, Natalie was right about what we'd done at her bank.....not only were we being shown taking off, but Chris and Tom were also identified. And man, the three of them were being mobbed/hounded by the media, news and entertainment wise. Bob was telling Disney had hired someone with unique gifts as he put it. So no more green screen, hanging from wires, etc. It was a new and higher level era for the entertainment industry. Damn.....I simply hadn't thought of those three being involved in this way. I was still in my bedroom when Margaret knocked on my door, saying supper was ready. Yeah, a couple of hours had passed with me being unaware of time passing by. Mom had made lasagna, with the girls making a salad. Basically after supper and dishes were done, I went to bed, but didn't sleep well that night. Next day with the girls at school, decided to check the Los Angeles Craigslist for apartments and got a BIG shock....most of them ran between two and three thousand dollars, which meant coming up with first, last months rents, along with a security deposit and who'd know how that much was. And these were ONE BEDROOM apartments! As far as houses went, start at three thousand? I never knew rent was THAT expensive as this was something Mom never spoke about. No wonder she put in so much overtime when she could. The other thing was though I'd chosen Los Angeles, a bunch of other cities came up. You know, from the surrounding city limit. Some of the apartments had balconies, while a bunch didn't. And even with balconies, others could see you if you were on yours. Homes....well, that was a different manner, but didn't know how big of backyard they'd have. And again, there's that chance of being seen taking off or landing. Left that website and went to check Reno's Craigslist with me seeing what was being sold by people, along with always checking the free part out first as normal along with other things being sold, not that I could afford to buy any of them earlier. Or plans on buying anything now. Now I normally didn't check a whole lot of things being sold on Craigslist, mainly it was video games and consoles, not that we could afford one. Decided to check the rvs+camp listing out of curiosity, surprised to see a lot of trailers that get pulled behind a truck, along with class A, B and C motorhomes, with those last three getting me to thinking those may be just the thing I need. Thing is, I didn't know anything about them other than they're really big. Grand Sierra Resort has a big parking lot for people who have these things, but didn't know how much the casino charged for people to park there. And I've seen a couple of people pulling their trailers, but parked at Sierra Sid's and The Alamo truck stops while on the bus. Hmmm....with a motorhome, I'd have more than mobility as I could park anywhere. Can you park on a city street or do you have to stay at some campground? Though I'd seen some of them parking at Walmart, though I didn't know how long they'd been there or if there was a time limit for them doing this. I mean, I had no idea if there were any truck stops in Los Angeles. A LOT more questions got brought up about these things. Not just buying one, but what kind of license do I need? Is it a special one, like a truck drivers kind? I thought it over and even though I had a savings account at Moms bank, if I needed money for something (which was REALLY rare), I'd have to take the bus to it to get my money out. Yeah, I didn't have a debit card and didn't know what they were until I got into high school. I thought my friends were really rich because I thought they were using credit cards while I paid cash for everything. Needed a bank that would have branches all over the U.S., along with ATM's, so there was that to deal with. Man, all of this was getting complicated. Then there was not only staying in touch with my family, it'd be good for me to keep up on the news. I know a lot of places like McDonalds have free wifi, but what if I'm out in the middle of no where and there is none? Didn't know if Charter had this as a service or not, but figured AT&T and other phone companies would/should. Then decided to take a break by checking out the news, something I hadn't done much of before, but then until recently, everything I'd done on a computer was either from the public library or college. I was SHOCKED by what I read and the video's I saw. The only “good” news was there were apparently a lot others who got changed, but with different abilities. I thought Natalie was over emphasizing about what was going to happen.....I had NO idea things WOULD EVER get this big or so blown out of proportion. I knew about Facebook and Twitter, but I was never interested in them and whatever else that comes under the category of “social media”. Couldn't believe the number of posts now showing when I typed in Thor for my search. I thought of saying the hell with all of this, that is working for Disney and maybe even helping other people. But a couple of things came to mind. First would be Moms disappointment in me in not helping people with what I could do, like putting out those fires. I mean, how many homes did I save and maybe, lives? Then of course, there was the money and what it could mean to Mom and the girls. I hadn't thought of what they'd be doing job wise once they got out of high school. Like me, they'd have no real job skill and with me working, maybe I could some how set things up so they'd have a “scholarship” of some kind so they could go to college. Heck, even go full time along with some money so they could continue helping Mom out bill and spending money wise? Then there was that old Spiderman saying of with great power, comes great responsibility. Crap.....life was becoming more complicated than I EVER expected. To get things rolling, took four thousand from my yellow envelope, told Mom I was taking off for a bit. Took the bus to the nearest bank branch and that was also a bit strange after flying around everywhere like I had been doing. Thing is, some people were talking about those different peoples abilities, which included me. Some even had those portable pc things that gave you could access the internet. With the money I could make, I realized I could buy more minute cards without any trouble, though I wondered if I did, would the girls use them a lot more. You know, start talking with their friends with them all the time instead of actually hanging out with them like they did. Opening an account was really easy and I was given a temporary debit card, then being told a more permanent one would be mailed to me. Then of course, back to the same grind, but I gave a weeks notice figuring instead of having Bob mail me that letter, I'd have him get someone to type it up, then give it to me then and there. No matter how I looked at it, I was going to have to leave Mom, the girls and Reno. Attachments:
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Post by texican on Oct 2, 2020 17:38:11 GMT -6
And as to that $10,000 it's not that thick....any more than a stack of $1 bills would be.
WillC,
A 100 $100 bills would not be very thick.
A 100,000 $1 bills would definitely be a stack.
A good condition to be in for a kid.
The kid is getting lessons in life.
Texican....
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Post by willc453 on Oct 2, 2020 23:41:17 GMT -6
Yeah, dealing with this kind of money in one way isn't easy for him. He's got more money in his hands than he's EVER had in his life. But remember, his background too, so he's not going to be blowing it in any way, shape or form. In future chapters, it deals with how he's dealing with this, along with some of the problems he's facing in how to take Disney's job, but also having to deal with him leaving his Mom and sisters. The only real splurging he's done has been those Hawaiian candles for his Mom and sisters and buying Slurpee's at one time or another. Right now, 11 is on page 5.5 and started adding to a new Affected story called X-ray and it's on chapter 2. He's also a college guy, with his 2 roommates also being Affected, which I'm calling Windy and Marbles. Going to just keep adding to that story, while going back to my 2nd American Revolution stories, Conservative vs Liberal ones and I Love The Night Life. There are others that I have started writing on others like The Healer, The Void, The Mentalist, Just Passing Thru and The Artist. Also got 2 pages done on one called Parallel, which I haven't touched in 5 years, but posted on Kaijafon's Chatter? Surprised the girl hasn't disowned me. Also got 2 variants of my original virus/stay at home story posted here. But wait folks, there's more.
Working on my zombie/apocalypse stuff and while checking out Survivalist Boards, saw where some guys had posted photos of either kits they'd built as a kid or had bought, but never built. So in the Dark Side (where trolls roam), started a thread called For Those Who Build Models. Started posting some kits I had built with background info, followed by kits I've bought to use in my dioramas. This led me to posting Youtube videos on different dioramas and how to do things. Also different drawings of people/things from Google and Pininterest.
That's it for now.
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Post by willc453 on Oct 5, 2020 12:14:34 GMT -6
The Affected: Thor Chapter 9
Now I got a lot of money in that yellow envelope and was thinking more and more about a motorhome, though I couldn't figure out what size. I mean the bigger it was, the more expensive it'd be. Now even though we didn't have a car, I did get my drivers license thru the high schools driver ed course. I mean, what kid wouldn't have a drivers license before graduating high school, even though he or she couldn't afford one? Add to this was now we had internet which made life a lot easier. Mom wasn't big on it, with the girls being on it more than once when they got out of school. Which left me a lot of time to be on it, usually after getting back home from seeing the girls safely off to school. And if wondering, none of us thought our school routine was strange even as we got older. Mom protected us, I protected my sisters and the four of us watched out for each other. You do that when you have no one else.
Since I knew nothing about motorhomes, there was Youtube with videos by people who not only used them on vacations, but also lived in them full time, traveling across the country?! I thought that last part was amazing, being so rich and all to be able to do this. But then found out many do what's called working at home. That is, they'd work doing something for some company like if they were in an office, but actually, they were doing it from their motorhome. Another source of income was making videos about their travels across the U.S. This was where advertising came in during their video. Apparently they were paid by these companies via Youtube to air those commercials. Think one of those people said they were paid a penny per commercial, maybe more, depending on the length of the commercial? Now maybe a penny doesn't sound like much, but then started seeing how many people subscribed to their channel AND how many were also viewing it. One thing I didn't know was if they still got that penny or not if the watcher didn't watch enough of the video for the commercial(s) to show up. Anyway, thought this was kind of neat, not that I was going to do anything like this. Why? Because no doubt I'd have to declare that as income and hello IRS wanting its cut.
With Youtube, I learned a lot about motorhomes as far as the different kinds, along with the good and bad of each type. Now for me, price was a BIG factor......I mean how was it someone could say oh, we paid XXX,XXX amount of dollars for this brand new class A motorhome? Too high for my blood even if I might be able to afford one. Besides, getting attention for driving around in such a thing was something I didn't want. Another thing was repairs as things do break down and you have two choices: repair them yourself or pay for those repairs which could cost a lot of money. And tires? I didn't know they could look brand new, but actually be ready to blow because of cracks in the sidewalls of them or simply blow out while going down the road. At which time you'd have to call for road side assistance to either replace that tire because you didn't have a spare or come out and put your spare on because those things have BIG lug nuts holding the tire and rim onto the axle. Leaky roofs was a MAJOR thing to look out for when buying used too. Water gets inside the motorhome, possibly rotting the wood, paneling or the interior roof splitting from that wood. Even causing black mold which is NOT good for ones health. I had a lot to learn and doing it as quick as possible if I was to buy and live in one of them. The other thing was those class C motorhomes....great on mileage, your own toilet, shower, etc. just like the big, class A ones, but just a lot smaller in amenities. But since they were basically a van with a big box on it, they'd also be a lot easier to drive. But, some of these people that were advertising them for sale on Craigslist were (I thought) asking an outrageous amount of money for them. I mean, they were asking for MORE than what a good class A was going for?
Now during that week after returning from Disney's Studio, I wasn't on the net all the time as I had chores to do, including getting groceries with Mom while the girls were at school. Now we didn't do this together all the time, because the girls liked going too, which meant going on the weekends. And Mom taught us not only how to cook, but prepare meals to be cooked. As to my garbage from those fast food places, it got buried in the garbage can that waste management provided and part of our rental agreement. Thing is, started running short on time as I knew Bob would want me to start working asap, on a regular basis, meaning maybe a couple of days a week. Now part of me was all excited about my new job and REALLY excited about the money I could be earning for us. BUT....I'd be leaving home and not being around everyone as I had been all my life. Besides, until I got changed I'd never been outside of Reno or Sparks. So while exciting, it was also kind of scary. So I gave two weeks notice a work, figuring I'd see Bob next week and get that acceptance letter from him, then in a few days, show it to Mom and the girls. So between working, helping Mom, chores, taking the girls to/from the bus stop, school and getting some sleep, I was pretty busy but still managed to help people out when I could even if it was only for an hour or so. It would have been more time wise, but I had to catch the bus to either Lemmon Valley or the Stead airport in able to do my thing. Out of sight, out of mind was becoming my motto. I also started practicing so I'd be better not only in helping people, but make myself more valuable to Bob and the studio. Last thing I wanted to do was screw up and get fired from that job. Too much riding on it.
With me needing to use a payphone to call Natalie or Bob, finding good places were kind of hard to find. I mean, it's not like you can find one anywhere, any more because everyone's gone to cell phones. Another thing was me only being able to speak English, though I did know some Spanish because it was one of my required classes in high school. No Japanese, German, French, Russian, Chinese, etc. And what if I go to some country and the operator DOESN'T speak or understand English? In Europe, the phones there will USUALLY have multiple instructions posted on how to use their phones. How about those payphones that DON'T take money? Instead, you either use a credit or debit card or buy a pre-paid card with X amount of minutes on it? It's that way in Japan and Mexico for example. Last thing I wanted to be doing is carrying a bunch of leather pouches carrying different countries money that I couldn't use anywhere but in that country. Another problem was SPOTTING a payphone in another country for the air while hopefully NOT be seen flying thru the air AND finding a spot to change from my costume, to my street clothes. Another was with me zooming thru the air like I could, I didn't want sonic booms down low for obvious reasons. The only reason I thought of getting on the net about payphones was because I'd seen some videos about the different vending machines they have in Japan. And unfortunately we don't have them here, as far as the variety of food being offered. So that's why I wondered what else was different in other countries. This was when I decided that I'd need a separate cell phone for superhero work, meaning calling the studio. However, this one would have to be hidden somewhere where hopefully only I could access it. Not only that, I'd have to use it one time in Japan for example, take the battery out of it, fly somewhere else to stash it, then fly back to use it from that second place to make a phone call, remove the battery, etc. Of course, this meant that I could be calling from Germany the second time, England the third, etc. This was giving me an unexpected headache and one I'd simply have to deal with later.
Ever get to depending on something and suddenly it's NOT there any more? Seems the Lemmon Valley area was gaining popularity with kids on their bikes, atv's and dirt bikes, so hello Stead airport and that plane with me flying thru the hills between both places with Mjolnir? Not happening as the plane had been moved back to the tarmac area?! But then I remembered where there was a really big dip, not quite a valley and out of sight of everyone, so I flew over there using Mjolnir. Now remember how it takes me awhile to get dressed and how I gotta do it? So there I am, with my boots on and had just started tightening my belt for which holds my pants and then it's WHOPPAWHOPPAWHOPPAWHOPPAWHOPPAWHOPPAWHOPPAWHOPPA?! Yeah, it's those Army guys and one of their helicopters again. I had just enough time to get my mask and wig on as those people were seeing and headed right for me! Grabbed Mjolnir with one hand, with my other holding my backpack by its shoulder straps. Told Mjolnir head over that way kind of quick, but don't hit anything or allow anything to hit us. Ever hear of clothing disasters? Like a model could be walking down some runway or whatever it's called and she trips on her long flowing gown or a heel breaks on her. Well, I had mine.
We rose rather quickly, while also going horizontal flight wise. I was ever so glad we didn't zoom out of there. Also remember how hungry I'd get and eat a lot? Well, I thought I was doing okay that way, but if for example I ate five pounds of food, but had lost eight pounds of weight...... So my belt wasn't as tight as it should have been, with my pants dropping down to just below my b*tt and exposing my boxers?! I panicked once again. Last thing I wanted to be known as some sort of perverted hero exposing himself, so I told Mjolnir land NOW....without thinking of where we were at. How about landing on some asphalt and not far from me are a bunch of military helicopters parked? Yeah, I had just landed on that Army base at Stead and was quickly getting unwanted attention AND people running towards me?! I quickly pulled up my pants, grabbed my backpack with one hand, then held onto my belt, then taking Mjolnir in hand, got the hell out of there. I headed north looking for some empty land and found there's a rest stop just north of Frenchman's turnoff on I-395. With no one around, landed behind it, dropping my stuff, then unbuckling my belt. I said come on, give me just a little juice...enough to burn a hole in my belt, but NOT my pants OR crotch. Zap...it happened and NOW my belt was tight and NOT going to let anything loose. Finished dressing, backpack on back, followed by my cape and off we went for Hawaii because I'd been there before and didn't want to screw around looking for a payphone in some other city or state. Just get it done.
Like I said, I was still in the learning curve of how to do things. This time, I have Mjolnir zooming high in the sky, but when we got within ten miles of Hawaii, we went to about one hundred feet which I figured would be well below any radar spotting us. We were also not zooming like we had been and told Mjolnir NOT to break the sound barrier either as I didn't want anyone hearing us flying overhead. Well, we went around the island, then thru it till I spotted that particular 7-11 with its bushes and trees, with me landing behind it. First thing was to call Natalie, though maybe I should of called Bob because he was going to be my boss. Glad I didn't. Outside her place was BLOCKED with the media....tv, photo journalists, etc., with her saying there must be a hundred of them waiting to pounce for a statement, interview, photos, etc. I said I'm really sorry about this, I just didn't think they'd go after you. What's going on at Chris and Tom's places? She didn't know, but would call to find out, then call me back. I said give me at least five minutes because I'm going to score big time with another big Slurpee. She laughs and says okay. Now I had two rolls of quarters, so to use them, all I had to do was crack one and with my gloves on, NO worries about fingerprints as far as I knew.
With my left over change in my hand, get my Slurpee and kind of anxious to suck it up even if it means getting a brain freeze. That's when the clerk says it you, isn't? Even though you don't have your bandanna on this time. And by the way, that rubber mask of Chris Hemsworth REALLY looks good on you. I said thanks, but actually I like pranking people into thinking I'm that guy flying around. You wouldn't believe the number of stares I get when I get on the bus to go somewhere. He says, oh....sorry about that and by the way, you left your hammer on the Slurpee counter. Crap. Why, because the manager or store owner had seen me leave it there and was trying to pick it up and bring it to me before I left the store. Of course, he wasn't getting anywhere with Mjolnir. Then he calls out to me saying I'd left this thing on the counter and why couldn't he pick it up. Hurriedly walked over to him, picking up Mjolnir, telling him it must of gotten stuck from syrup from one of the Slurpee machines. Go to pay the cashier, setting Mjolnir on his counter, with a couple of the quarters rolling around a bit, including hitting Mjolnir. The clerk goes to get those quarters when he realizes Mjolnir ISN'T moving when he put his hand against it to pick up those quarters. So what does he do? Automatically goes to lift it...and fails. I said, see Slurpee juice. Thing is, he saw that part of Mjolnir when I picked it up and there wasn't any juice on it naturally. Then it was YOU ARE HIM, AREN'T YOU? AREN'T YOU?
I sighed and said yeah, I'm him and if you don't mind, I'd like to just pay for my Slurpee and get out of here. He says NO WAY man, this one's on me considering how you helped all those people out by putting those fires out. I said thanks, scooped my quarters back up and put them into my MRE bag thing. Next thing I know, he's got his wallet out, gets a dollar bill, then asks me to autograph it? Asked him why would he want such a thing, with him telling me that I'm the first famous person he's ever met, along with me being able to do things that even the famous can't. Once again, thinking of Chris, etc. and say okay. Ask him his name and with a sharpie, put his full name, 7-11 clerk, Honolulu, Hawaii and date, showing month day and year on his dollar bill. He goes to put it in his wallet and I said wait a minute, let me have it back real quick would you? He did, with me putting the hour and time I was there, with me telling him that a lot of people may say you faked all of this buy having some guy dressed like Thor come in and of course, you and that other guy faking about not being able to lift Mjolnir. Understand? He say yes, then tell him he needs to do two more things.....one is to get a copy of the store's security video as proof and if you can take photos with your phone, how about the three of us doing a selfie, then going outside so when I do leave, a short video of me doing this? I can tell that his boss isn't buying any of this, but goes along with what he thinks is a gag by his employee, with him taking a photo of me and the clerk. We then go outside, with the clerk using his phone as a video camera and I slowly not only lift myself up into the air, but turn horizontally. Manager/boss jaw drops and now HE wants an autograph and a selfie with me?! I said I'd only do a selfie with the three of us together, then I'd autograph his twenty dollar bill, which I did. Looked at my watch and remembered I needed to call Natalie a second time, so got out of there after finishing my Slurpee, looking for ANOTHER payphone. Remember kids, don't drink and fly.
This took me a good five or ten minutes, but I found another payphone in front of a mom and pop store. Got my change from my MRE pouch and with gloves still on, called her. She was worried because I hadn't called her right back and told her why I was delayed and that I was sorry. She understood, which is why I liked the three of them. Anyway, seems Chris and Tom are also besieged by the media and the three of them have decided to call the cops. I said if I could, I'd just come to you guys and pick you all up. But do it in such a way, the media would never know you guys had left. She says oooohhh, that sounds ssssoooo nefarious and Machiavellian, then proceeds to give me her address? I said that's nice that I have your address, but I don't have pencil or paper and think how hard it is for someone flying like me to actually see the stree.... and when I didn't say anything for a good fifteen seconds, she asks if I'm okay and still there. I said yyyeeeaahhh.......but I think that Slurpee gave me a brain freeze. Give me a moment to think this one out okay? She does and then asking if she's got a pool in her backyard and do Chris and Tom have pools? Said call the cops so your driveway is cleared of those media people by the cops. If things work out, you then call Chris and Tom, with her saying okay. I'm up in the air and thinking things over between myself and Mjolnir, with NO idea if this harebrained scheme of mine will really work or not. But like I told that younger brother, nothing ventured, nothing gained.
We shot up faster that any man made rocket and ZOOMED to California in a matter of seconds. Think we were within a mile of her place when we started slowing down, with us over some really nice place with a pool in the backyard. And below us, there's some lady waving both arms while looking up at me, so I descended. Yep, it was Natalie with the BIGGEST grin on her face. I explained to her that apparently one of my abilities is to go to places I've never been to, but have seen photos or videos of is also extended to people as individuals. Asked her to call Chris and Tom, saying we'd be out there in a little bit to pick them up. That woman could NOT stop grinning. I said before we leave, let's take a look at those media people, okay? She says fine. Now when someone like Natalie calls the cops, they don't take fifteen to twenty minutes to get to her place. This is when I get thrown for a loop. She asks if she could introduce her kids and her husband to me?! Boy, was I stunned and she asks if I was okay with this request and if not, she understood. I said.....you..you..you're MARRIED AND HAVE KIDS?! Now she looks stunned, then says I didn't know this? I said heck no, I mean when I was able to go to the movies every once in a great while, it was because I wanted to see it, not because someone was in it. And never was interested in what the rich and famous ever did because I simply didn't care. She then asks, it's okay then and I said yeah, no problem, but let Chris and Tom know we might be a little late okay? She waves her arm back and forth to the back of her place and her comes her husband, Benjamin, and her two kids.
Their son is named Aleph, who's 9 years old and their daughter Amalia who is three. Now Benjamin tells me that she's told him a lot about me as far as what it was like flying, but because you want to keep your identity secret, nothing personal you under- stand? I looked at Natalie and said thanks. That's when I asked if the kids would like a quick and real low flying lesson like Mommy did with me? Amalia shook her head, then ran for Natalie, giving her a death hug around one of her legs. But Aleph, he was all for it, so flew him around vertically and horizontally for a bit. I didn't know if her husband would like a ride, but I did ask him, which he eagerly accepted. I'm holding him like I've held Tom then whispered to him about doing something a little bit different than what I did with your boy if that's okay. No problem was his reply. Now in case you didn't know this, Benjamin's French, so all I said to Natalie was we were going to take a quick trip around the neighborhood if she didn't mind. She didn't. Up in the air we go a little bit and headed further away from their backyard and that's when I said strap yourself in boys and girls, you're going on a heck of a ride. ZOOMED up high, then headed east and within less than five minutes there we are.....about two hundred feet from the top of the Eiffel Tower. He didn't have time to grasp how fast we'd moved until he saw the tower in front of us. Then it was.....is that, is that, is that the Eiffel Tower? I said since you're French, thought you'd like to see a different perspective of it and with that, I circled it while he used to phone to video tape this view, then said we gotta get you home to your wife and kids. And by the way, PLEASE do NOT mention this to her because so far, all I've done is taken her to her bank one time, while Chris and I went to London, then Tom and I went Hawaii. He looked at me in disbelief, then said okay. Up in the air again, zooming back till we got near their place and landed.
Benjamin tells Natalie he now knows why she likes me so much as he's such an unpretentious individual. I told her my thoughts of what could be done and they were both grinning and laughing when I got done. So with Natalie in front of me, we cruised just above her property to land further down from the driveway as the property was surrounded by a brick or concrete block wall. I made sure no one could see us when we landed and it didn't take long for Natalie to confront the media who were giving the cops a bad time about freedom of the press, blah, blah, blah. She told them go see Bob at the Disney Studio if they wanted information, other wise if they DIDN'T clear her driveway, there would be unexpected consequences for them. They didn't move, but kept asking questions. That's when she asked the cops to get back in their cars for their own safety and if they didn't, so be it on their heads. They did, even though they had NO idea what she was talking about when it came to dire consequences. During all of this, she's recording with her phone on what the media was saying and refusing to do. Well, I raised myself so I could stick my head over the wall, then guided a SMALL water tornado over the wall, then up into the air. Everyone was busy looking at Natalie and had NO idea what was coming next. Well, when she said the words unexpected consequences, she stretched out one arm and that was my cue to drop that water tornado on those people. Now I'd released it about one hundred or so feet above their head and they were totally unprepared for this......including what happened to all their expensive electronic gear. As to the water, that came from their pool earlier.
Natalie started laughing and kept recording for about thirty seconds, then ran towards me, with us going back to her backyard to tell Benjamin what she'd seen. After that, we went to Toms place as he lived a little closer to her than Chris did. She couldn't wait to tell Tom what I'd done and I said she's the one who kept 'em distracted. And when I asked him if he'd like to do the same, yes indeed, with Natalie video taping him. However, this time we did things a little differently. This time I had Tom put on his Loki costume, the same one he had worn in that first Thor movie. Man, you couldn't believe the predatory Loki smile he had when he came back to us all dressed up, including his helmet with those BIG horns on it and cloak. Well, I got to making a water tornado and both are looking at me and it in shock, with Natalie saying Bob's going to go crazy when he sees this as Chris hasn't EVER done anything like this in the films, which I later understood she meant movies. Yeah, Hollywood people use a different language and slang than I ever knew. What's really funny was Tom wanted me to use ALL of pool water because after all “she (Natalie) was a mere mortal, while I am a demi-god from Asgard”! I said okay and sucked up basically all of it, even though the pool was trying to automatically refill itself. I told them NOT to talk to me as I didn't want to be distracted as this was still a new and first one for me. Tom's in front of me just like we were over that beach in Hawaii, with Natalie wrapping her arms around my waist, with the three of us cruising just above the ground and staying out of sight of the media because of the walls around Toms place. Once I set Natalie on the ground where she could film Tom easily, I rose above that wall so I could see where everyone was.....but this time, there were a couple of tv news crews with their vehicles. To hide better, we used those same safety pins to pin the outside edges of Toms cloak to his costume. Then the two of us drifted back towards Toms place out of sight, then drifted into those peoples sight. And as we got closer, oh boy.....talk about media frenzy in action when they saw Tom floating in the air. Of course, they weren't about to move because they all wanted exclusive videos and photos of Tom doing his thing, with a little help from me. And just like at Natalie's place, the cops got back into their cars and when Tom gave the media the last and final dire warning, he says on your heads be it...now. At which time I released ALL the water from his pool on top of everyone which was maybe twenty feet or so wide. I quickly had us drift to Natalie, not that the media was now interested in us.
From Tom's place and going the way of being out of sight to be behind his place, we took off for Chris's which didn't take long and he was waiting for us in his backyard. When I set us down on the ground, those two were quick to tell Chris what we'd done with the media at their places and almost doing a jig. Much like we did as kids when Mom would splurge and get us an ice cream cone at 31 flavors. When they finally got their stories out, Chris started laughing and I said, I hate to say anything, but Bob's no doubt wondering why I haven't shown up for work. So now Chris is in front of me, with my arm around his waist, Tom's behind me with his around mine and Natalie's got hers around mine, but on top of Tom's. Got us up into the air about a hundred feet or so, then headed for Disney's Studio. Now as many people there are in Los Angeles and the surround cities, there's really not much distance mileage wise between them. Kind of like all those valleys I talked about, are within twenty miles or so, north of Reno. I wasn't going as fast as possible because I thought they'd like the scenic tour as it wouldn't really add that much time flight wise. Then we actually saw an accident as it happened. We got delayed.
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