Chapter Eight - Announcement

Chapter Eight

Announcement

         When Misty went to ask her dad to come inside the house, he had already finished the call with Joe. Matthew felt energized after talking to his friend. He wanted to tell Misty what they talked about. But first, he had to meet his two granddaughters as a 7'5" tall gray man with pointy ears, and not as the grandpa they knew.

         "Come on in, dad. I have talked to them and told them that grandpa has changed. He is still the same on the inside but different on the outside. I showed them the picture I took of you at the hospital."

         "I didn't know you took a picture. When did you take it?"

         "I took it when you were in your clothes, not in the hospital gowns. I was going to print the picture out but then changed my mind. I am glad I didn't delete it. It helped tremendously. I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner," Misty apologized.

         "It doesn't bother me that you did, I just wanted to know when. And thank you for not taking a picture with my butt hanging out of the gown," Matthew joked.

         Laughing, Misty stated, "Not a problem dad. Let's get inside with the kids. They are waiting to see the new grandpa."

         Misty led the way. Matthew had to dunk his head under the door frame because he was too tall to go through. When they got inside, Matthew was met with one little girl looking at him. No one said anything for two minutes.

         Finally, little Becca spoke up, "Grandpa?"

         "Yes, it's me. How are you, Becca? Where's your sister?"

         "What happened to you bad leg? Cindy is hiding. She doesn't want to see new grandpa."

         "I got it fixed when I changed into a new grandpa. I have two good legs. We can play hide-and-seek now! " Matthew said, thinking about Cindy.

         "It is you," she said excitedly. "Where have you been? Mommy was trying to call you for this many days, "she held up her hands with nine fingers up.

         "I know she was. I was in the hospital getting a shot and sleeping," Matthew began, "I feel much better now." He took a step toward her. She backed up to where Misty was kneeling. "I'm sorry Becca, I didn't mean to frighten you."

         "I not scared. You have big feets." She pointed to his feet.
         "Yes, I do have big feet. They will help me chase you when we are playing outside. Becca, where is Cindy? I want to see her, too."

         "In her bedroom hiding. She scared."

         "Were you scared to see me?

         Becca thought for a minute and then said, "Yes. Mommy showed us a picture of you. You look like the guy on TV who sells icky green beans."

         Matthew chuckles at her comparison. He needed to talk with Cindy. He wanted her to be comfortable with him.

         He then tells Becca, "I am going to see Cindy. Maybe after she is comfortable being around me, we could play a game together. First, I have to convince Cindy I am not a monster."

         Cindy was older than Becca by four years. She had always been quiet and reserved. Now that she was in 3rd grade, she has become more outgoing. She even goes to sleepovers with her friends. Cindy loves to read. She and Matthew used to walk to the Library every Sunday to return and check out more books. Sometimes, when they were having a good time, they would see who could check out the most books.

         Matthew stood by Cindy's door and knocked. There was no response. He knocked again, this time saying, "Cindy, this is grandpa. May I come in?"

         "You're not grandpa. You're something else. Grandpa was never that tall. He also wasn't gray with devil ears."

         "Cindy, I am not a devil, and these are not devil ears. I couldn't help the type of ears given to me, just like you." Matthew wondered what he could do to make Cindy more comfortable around him.

         He could not think of anything that would help. Just then an idea came to him. Matthew would just walk in and start talking with her. He didn't know how this would go, but he knew it had to be done.

          He turned the knob. It wasn't locked so he stepped in.

         Matthew saw Cindy sitting by her computer looking straight at him. She just stared.

         Matthew began to speak to her, "Hello Cindy. It is very nice to see you. How is school going? Are you doing anything exciting?

         Cindy did not answer. A few minutes passed with no one talking.

         "Want to see my superpowers?" Matthew asked. He didn't wait for an answer. Went over to her bed and proceeded to lift it off of the ground.

         As he turned to face her, he lifted the bed above her head and then moved to the other side of the room and placed it down in the new spot. "Is there anything else you want to be moved?"

         Cindy watched him move the bed and couldn't believe what she saw. It was amazing and exciting. Her grandpa was a superhero with real live powers.

"That was cool."

Matthew turned to fully face her and said, "I have a lot more superpowers, too. I can run so fast you can't see me. I can see very far away objects and zoom in on them. Oh, I can fly and hover." He said excitedly. "Watch. No, wait. Come here, please." Cindy got up and slowly walked over. Matthew continued, "I'm going to hold you and hover around the room."

After saying that, He gently picked her up and started thinking about hovering. He rose off the ground slowly.

"You're flying, grandpa!" Cindy excitedly announced. "Can we go higher? I want to touch the ceiling."

Matthew rose slowly and then hit the ceiling with his head. Cindy raised her arm and slapped the ceiling with her hand, "I did it! I touched the ceiling. I have always wanted to do that," she shared, "Thank you, grandpa, for doing that."

         As they were descending, Matthew asked, "How about we go out and play your favorite game with your sister?"

         "Can we float again after the game?"

         "Most certainly."

         When they were out of Cindy's room, they went directly to the living room. There they found Misty, Becca, and George, the cat.

         "Hello, we're back. We had a good conversation and did some rearranging of her bedroom," Matthew announced. He then asked, "What type of game are we playing?

         Becca was the first to answer, "I want the Dot game."

         Misty rolled her eyes and answered, "Hun, we played the Dot game twice already. How about we play a different game and then play the Dot game?"

         "Promise?"          

         "Yes, we promise."

         Before they could set up the game, Matthews's phone rang. It was Joe calling. He answered the phone, "Hello Joe. What's up?"

         "If you are near a TV, turn it on to channel 18. You gotta see this."

         "Joe wants me to see something on channel 18." Misty turned the TV on and switched the channel to 18. It was a news update regarding the kidnapping of two women who were at the same park Joe and Matthew got mugged.

         "I got the TV on 18 and am watching the coverage. I wonder if the kidnappers are the two who robbed us?"

         "I was thinking the same thing. I was also thinking we need to see what the Defender in Green can do."

         "Think so? I could go help. See how it goes. OK, I'll go. Keep watching. I'll talk with you after I am back here."

         "That was Joe. You heard what we were talking about and watched it on TV. I gotta go. Watch for me. Can you record this? If you can, start recording now."

         Matthew went to the garage and opened the door. He backed up a bit before he left. He wanted to be running when he got out of the garage as this was the second time he had done this.

         "Here goes nothing," Matthew stated before he started. He then began to run.

         If you were watching him as he left, you would've seen a greenish blur as he started, then it would be gone before you could blink.

         As he ran, he saw everything stop. Nothing was moving. The cars, people, and even the hummingbirds he saw were frozen in mid-flight. He arrived at Windor Park within seconds after leaving the garage. He saw the police, the news crews, and citizens watching the events unfold. He also saw where the criminals were hiding. He headed in that direction and when he was within the trees, he stopped running. He was concealed by the trees and so far, no one has seen him. He couldn't see anything or hear anything. Matthew then remembered he had super hearing. He focused and then heard everything at once. This time he was prepared, He focused and started to listen for talking or whispering within the trees. Within seconds, he heard them. It was the Tall One and the Muscular One. He also heard women crying. He went in the direction of the crying. As he came into the clearing, he assessed the situation and thought of a plan.

         First, disarm them. He ran past each of the men, took their guns from their hands, and threw them as hard as he could.

         Second, secure the hostages. He went over to one of the hostages, picked her up, and ran to where the police were. He did the same with the other hostage. He stopped very briefly with each delivery.

         Third, apprehend the criminals. When he got back to the men, he stopped running in front of them.

         When time caught up with him, the two criminals both shouted in pain. When he took the guns, Matthew just yanked them from their hands. With the speed he was moving, and the strength he possessed, he broke each of their gun hands.

         As he stood in front of them, they became aware of him. "Who are you? Where did you come from? Where are the two girls we had?"

         "Allow me to introduce myself, gentlemen, my name is the Defender in Green. And you are out of business," the Defender in Green stated.

         "What I see is someone who thinks they're all that because he has pointed ears. Well, friend, you aren't. My friend and I will be walking out, and you'll be a gray puddle." Said the Tall One.

         They rushed him at the same time. The Muscular One reached the Defender in Green first. The Muscular One attempted to tackle him. As the Muscular One slammed into him, he broke his right shoulder, and dislocated his left shoulder, 7 ribs were fractured, and a concussion. As he fell into a heap, the Tall One hit him on the jaw. This broke his other hand.

         The Tall One fell back, defenseless. "Who are you? What are you?"

         The Defender in Green told the Tall One, "Hold that thought."

         The Defender in Green disappeared, along with the Muscular One. In the next instance, he was back.

         "I am the Defender in Green, and I am a Superhero."

         If anyone was watching, they would see a towering giant, and someone hurt on the ground disappear.

         After being unceremoniously dropped off, the Tall One realized where he was and who surrounded him. He was about to rub his eyes out of reflex when he again realized both hands were broken.

         "Ugh! Can I get a doctor here? My hands were broken by some vigilante wearing a dumb outfit. Come on, I am not joking. Ask the other poor individual laying there in a heap."

         "Shut up, Hinder. Just be quiet. I have a splitting headache and your screeching is making it worse." said the bigger gentleman lying curled up on the ground.

         Hinder kept proclaiming they were innocent, and someone attacked them. "A man in green was the attacker, he was very tall, had gray skin, and pointed ears. That mask was very unbelievable. He crippled my friend with a rock and then use the same rock to break my hand. Oh yeah, he used some type of weapon to rip our guns from our hands as we were using the guns to protect ourselves."

         "Don't forget he used that rock to break my back and both shoulders. I can't move my legs. My vision is going dark. He paralyzed me and blinded me. I shall never see my wife and loving children again, cried the bigger gunman.

         "I demand to see my lawyer. I want to sue all of you for not protecting fine, upstanding citizens such as us. I will not move until I see my lawyer.' shouted Hinder.

         "You can see your lawyer at the hospital." cited one Policewoman.

         "We aren't going to jail? Of course, we are not going to jail. I will wait for my attorney in the hospital, as will my friend. We will each need a different attorney, make mine the better of the two." Hinder stated.

2212 Words