Red Dragonfly: Wilbur Watts

Chapter One

Wilbur Watts was a good kid. He went to school, kept his grades up, tried to keep his head up and would do his work. He didn't start fights on the playground and if he was on the street and heard something bad happening, he knew to keep away from it and find a cop if he could, but otherwise he should not get involved.

Scarlet City could be dangerous, especially for a scrawny, black kid like him. He was a prime target. He was small and skinny and his height and personality put a neon sign over his head that screamed 'I'm a dork.'

His hair was short and his skin was too light to stick out to anyone, and he was just a regular brown skinned dude who looked just like any other teenager. He wasn't special. There was nothing memorable about him. So if he got robbed, or killed for that matter, who would be able to tell anyone anything? He would be one of the many faceless victims, lost in the ghetto if he were attacked and left for dead. His best defense was his ability to blend in and his ability to ignore other people's problems.

It was tough out there, without a hero to look up to. Scarlet City was crime ridden. It didn't help that the police were on strike.

But after the bite, everything changed. He wasn't as skinny anymore. He could run his laps without having to worry about a anxiety attack. When he got bitten during his pizza delivery job, it turned out to be a blessing in disguise. He was soon let off for wasting pizzas outside. But the powers were a pretty neat bonus.

His eyes had 360-degree vision. Wilbur could see in all directions at once! He also had enhanced agility, enhanced strength, wallcrawling and durability. Only problem was he didn't manafest wings yet. He couldn't fly like a actual dragonfly. The craziest thing was the Uber.

It had been barreling towards him while he was in the intersection, as he rushed from Fast Fred's to home, ignoring the light. At the blare of the car horn, Wilbur spun to face the speeding car and grabbed the front with both hands. Somehow, he lifted the car up before dropping it down on all four wheels. The Uber driver stared at him with wide brown eyes, his mouth hanging open as he gripped the steering wheel tightly, ignoring the white air freshener swinging around wildly back and forth on his rearview mirror.

After a moment of hesitation Wilbur bolted, zipping out of the street and down the sidewalk to be lost the masses once again. The truth is, Wilbur didn't know what to do with all of it. Suddenly, he had all this power at his fingertips. Wilbur felt like he could do anything! He could play football or maybe win money at some of those talent shows he saw on TV. He decided to sign up for Scarlet City's Got Talent on cable access. His act was gonna involve him doing impossible stunts with his powers while wearing a luchador mask.

When the time finally came, Wilbur walked on the stage in front of the judges and audience. He took a deep breath before introducing himself. "Ummm...hello there. I'm Wilbur Watts and I'm here to do a 40 foot drop towards this trampoline." Said Wilbur. "What trampoline?" Asked the judge. Wilbur looked to the side to see that he didn't bring his trampoline. "Damn it, I forgot my trampoline." Wilbur said softly. The judges and the audience all started to throw tomatoes at him as Wilbur ran off the stage in terror. He was booed as he got an automatic disqualification.

Outside, Wilbur threw his costume in the trash out of frustration. He felt completely humiliated. "I knew this shit wouldn't work out." scoffed Wilbur. "Stupid judges and their accuracy at throwing tomatoes."

As he was throwing his costume in the dumpster, he heard a noise from the bottom of it. His eyes widened as he took a closer look. "Is somebody in here?" asked Wilbur. Just then, a young boy popped his head out from the dirty trash bags.

"How did you get in there?" Wilbur asked, concerned. "Some guys jumped me for my backpack and threw me in here." The kid replied. "Which way did they go?" Wilbur asked. "They went around the corner, but you can get there faster if you take the roofs."

Wilbur climbed up the walls, his mind practically telling him where the thugs were. He grabbed his luchador mask and slid it off as he hopped on top of another rooftop. He saw the thugs ran into what seemed like a boarded up building. Wilbur looked through the window to see this was a drug ring. They were packing up cocaine in large crates, packing it up on a airplane along with some machine guns.

Wilbur then converted into his camouflage ability, making him completely invisible. He snuck into the building, climbing from the ceiling to the wall, trying not to make any noise. But by no luck, he managed to topple over a couple of boxes and turned back visible.

The dealers immediately turned around and opened fire on Wilbur. Luckily, Wilbur's body deflected all the bullets thanks to his armored skin. The bullets ricocheted off of him and went straight towards the thugs. They couldn't tell who the boy in the mask was but they knew guns wouldn't work on him.

Wilbur took down each of them, disarming them as he slung them across the room. They got knocked into the cocaine as something in Wilbur was telling him how to fight each of the thugs off. It was like QuickTime events in a video game. Wilbur then spotted the backpack belonging to the kid in the alley. He picked it up and smiled, actually feeling important for once. But before he could leave, he was spotted by the SCPD. He quickly feld the scene, turning the corner as he tries to find the same kid that was thrown in the dumpster. Sure enough, the kid was already out of the trash with his parents.

Wilbur smiled softly, taking out his luchador mask and heading up to the kid. He hoped his parents didn't mind. "Hey kid, got your bag back." Wilbur said, tossing the backpack to him as he saw police cars speeding down the street. The young boy looked in amazement, smiling at Wilbur. "Are you like...a superhero or something?"

Wilbur thought about it for a moment before nodding softly. "Yeah...I'm a superhero." He said softly. The kid ran over to tell his parents about the guy who got his backpack back for him. But then, Wilbur disappeared.

Wilbur walked back to his house quickly, turning around to see crime all around him. People ethier dealing drugs, getting robbed or ending up dead. Wilbur felt so bad about his community. Scarlet City is suppose to be a safe place to live. Too bad that the Green Dragonfly moved on from Scarlet City four years ago. Wilbur had nobody to look up to. Nobody had anybody to look up to. If Wilbur could take up the mantle, he could. But he knew he couldn't. It was too much pressure having everyone look up to him.