Home Again

Super Power

T.P.P.O.V

Alice's mother was washing the dishes when her daughter limped down the stairs, her crutch under her arm. Alice climbed into a small, wooden chair, rubbing at some crust in her eye. Her mother placed a piece of buttered toast in front of her, the woman's eyes suddenly filling with concern.

"Alice? Did you sleep well? You look tired." she asked, as Alice picked up her toast. She crunched her teeth into the crust, the sound of eating filling the kitchen.

"Oh, it's fine," Alice said, after swallowing the food. "I just had a weird dream." Her mother raised an eyebrow, but seeing there was no other logical answer, shrugged it off and went back to scrubbing the pots. When her mother wasn't looking, Alice gave herself a private smile.

ALICE

I entered Poptropica again that night, landing on the all-familiar Home Island. I couldn't help but notice the hairs on my arms standing straight up. Today's island was far more dangerous than previous islands. I suddenly felt silly for thinking Monkey Wrench was bad. But for now, I didn't need to worry about Super Power Island. I needed to worry about Fierce Fox.

My poptropican was roaming around on the bridge as usual. I cautiously approached the bridge, as if I was approaching a tiger. A drop of sweat rolled down my cheek. No, I told myself. I need to. I cleared my throat.

"Uh... Hello..." I greeted apprehensively. Fierce Fox turned to me and her eyes widened.

"Alice..." she breathed, as if I was some sort of celebrity. She slowly and carefully trotted down the bridge. We faced each other for a few, anxious moments.

"So..." I began, scratching the back of my head. It felt like we were meeting for the first time. As if the past had never happened. "Uh... Can I come with you?" I kept feeling more and more awkward.

"I guess so." Fierce Fox replied, in an apathetic tone. Beats being angry, I thought. Without another word, we awkwardly climbed into her blimp, and she pulled up the rope.

"We're going this way," I pointed over the great Poptropican sea. We took off across that direction, peering down at distant islands. "So, what made you want me to come?" I hate my smart mouth.

"I'm not sure. Guess you had no other option." Fierce Fox answered, not emphasizing her tone. I sighed. The rest of the trip was in silence.

The blimp docked onto Super Power island, which is a little, cement city with terrorized people. Broken pieces of roof are everywhere, followed by the bold, yellow police tape. Straight in front of us is a comic shop, with a small, green and white, semi-circle rooftop sticking out the front. It has thick, stone walls and surprisingly clean glass windows.

"In here," I instructed; the two of us headed inside. There are shelves and shelves of comics, plus superhero posters on the wall. A nerd, Ned Noodlehead, is at the desk. He has french-fry marigold hair and huge glasses. Don't forget the sticking out teeth and pimples. "Do you have anything else apart from comic books?" I asked, like we had been talking for a while. Poptropican physics, everyone.

"I'm glad you asked! Check out this awesome handbook I wrote!" Ned Noodlehead exclaimed, shoving a proudly-made handbook into my hands; it disappeared into my inventory. Fierce Fox raised an eyebrow. I shrugged and gestured her to follow me outside, which she did. I led her into the shop next door, which is called 'Superhero Masks & capes'. It has a big mannequin head at the front, wearing a dark purple superhero costume. Inside's far nicer than the comic store; a lime, superhero-design wall paper and clean superhero costumes.