The Adventures of Strengthman and Speedman I: The Story Begins

Chapter 2

     After a few weeks at the local hospital, Jacob and Sam were told by doctors to get some bedrest at home. Did they listen? Fuck no. If they did, we wouldn't have much of a story, now would we? They were pissed that they couldn't the work for awhile, and not to mention Denzel's constant apologies for, you know, almost killing them. The day after they were released from the hospital, Jacob and Sam decided to blow off some steam at the gym, despite doctor's orders.

     At this site though, they had the first of many strange experiences. First, Jacob went to bench press his normal 200 pounds to get started. He lifted his 8 reps like it was a feather. Granted, it was just a warm up for him, but it was still strange. So he put on another few pounds. Same results. Put on more weight. Same results. He kept adding weight and before he knew it, he couldn't fit anymore weight on the bar. He had 5 one hundred pound plates on each side, near superhuman weight to lift so lightly. Sam, on the other hand, ran the track. He timed himself and counted how many laps he ran. Being an indoor track, it was fairly small, and can usually get about 50 laps done in 20 minutes. I'm sure you could imagine his shock when he counted 500 laps, while only jogging.

     On the car ride home, the brothers shared their experiences, but shook it off as a lucky day, because, you know, anyone can bench press a thousand pounds with lady luck on their side (sarcasm). After a full week of these superhuman results, the duo began to realize that this wasn't luck. Why did it take them so long? I dont know, just deal with it and stop poking holes in the plot. They even had experiences like these outside the gym as well, such as Jacob slamming a car door shut, and the impact shattering the window and nearly tipping over the car. Sam would jog the sidewalks, and find that he'd finish a half an hour long jog in minutes. Finally, the brothers sat down on the couch to discuss their new abilities.

     "Should we see a doctor?"

     "No, Sam. We'd become nothing but test subjects."

     "Should we ignore it?"

     "Why? This could be a gift or a curse, but either way we can't ignore it."

     "So what do we do?"

     "I don't fucking know, Sam, how am I supposed to know?"

     Jacob put his head in his hands out of frustration. Sam looked at the floor, uncertain of what to say. In the silence, the TV was airing a news report. The sound of Mayor

     "So we got electrocuted, and boom! Super powers?" Jacob didn't even look up. "I wouldn't say 'super powers,' but it seems like it." Sam looked down again, but then his eyes widened. "Super powers... like super heros. What if... we wore these masks, and used our powers to help people? We could be real life superheros!" Jacob lifted his head and looked his younger brother in the eyes. "It's an option, and I did say it could be a gift. But..." he paused, letting out a long sigh as his eyes floated towards a wall behind Sam. "It could be beyond dangerous. Is it worth the risk? Help an old lady get a cat down from a tree and risk our identities being discovered, and being locked up and probed? Stop a bank robbery and possibly get shot?"

     Sam countered Jacob's earlier stare with one of his own. "What would Mom want? What would Dad want? What good is life if you don't affect another's?" Jacob's gaze returned to his brother, before soon finding his hands once again. "Yeah. You're right. I... I guess we are superheros now." Jacob said the word 'superheros' with a weird grimace on his face, as though he couldn't believe he was actually going through with this ridiculous plan. "What will we dress up in?"

     "All black. Shirts, pants, we can make some masks. You print your superhero name on your shirt, I'll do the same. We just need superhero names. Something that reflects our powers." Jacob looked up yet again, npw sporting a thoughtful face instead of a frustrated one. "Keep it simple. My super strength makes me... Strengthman?" Sam nearly lept with excitement, obviously enjoying himself at the idea of being a hero. "My speed will make me... Speedman! Now let's just hope these names aren't copyrighted!"

     For the first time in a week the room was filled with the brother's laughter. "Let's get the gear, and start patrol tomorrow night." Jacob said this a little bolder now, seemingly warming up to the idea. "We start work again Monday, so let's make nighttime, our time!" Sam grinned, and Jacob returned it. They both knew this was the birth of something special. Something that they can do in the name of their parents. Something they could do to make sure nobody goes through what they had to. That something was the birth of Strengthman and Speedman.