Project Superhero

by E. Paul Zehr

  Audrey tried our plan five times today. Instead of staying calm and carrying on, I kind of freaked out instead. Which involved a lot of shouting. Shrieking might be a better description, actually. Anyway I was pretty loud. And not particularly dignified. It was a bit embarrassing. And definitely un-Batgirl-like.

  More work is needed, clearly, unless my superhero plan is to confuse attackers by random hysterical behavior . . . hmmm. Maybe that should be looked at?

  Anyway, while I am writing about Audrey, she and I had another friendly Batgirl versus Iron Man argument today after Socials. She has been talking about this writer Warren Ellis and what he thought about Iron Man. He wrote this Iron Man story — according to Audrey — called “Extremis.”

  In “Extremis,” Tony Stark uses some really wild technology to basically fuse his nervous system with the armor. His suit of armor gets hooked right up to his brain. Kind of like plugging into a computer. But everywhere at once. Anyway, Audrey went on a rant about that for a while. Audrey also mentioned that another writer named Matt Fraction used a similar idea for Iron Man.

  Not like Audrey thinks she can actually connect something to anyone’s brain. Certainly not any of our friends or classmates. Like Dylan, as a totally random example that just popped into my head. If I was still annoyed with Dylan, I’d say that he’d need a brain in order to connect something to it in the first place. But I am more dignified than that, so I won’t say it.

  Audrey really likes Warren Ellis’s writing and the Iron Man and X-Men comic books that he has done. She even found this session on the internet from a comic book convention. Somebody asked Warren if there was any way for Batman to beat Iron Man in a fight. He said that Iron Man “can launch munitions and fire gigawatt particle beam emissions from space” while Batman “is dressed as a bat.”

  That was pretty harsh! Audrey said she’s taking Ellis’s answer as a no, Batman could not beat Iron Man. I said maybe the jury is still out on that. I looked up the comic book convention Audrey found and emailed writer Dennis O’Neil! He did lots of Batman and Iron Man writing and editing.

  Dennis emailed back: “Obviously, Stark’s technology is superior and his engineering mentality bests Bruce’s. But for logic and deduction — maybe abstract reasoning — Bruce Wayne would probably win. Since both have a narrow focus, I’d nominate neither to solve the world’s problems . . .”

  I’m also thinking about what Mike Bruen said about how technology can fail and that’s a big reason why he likes Batman. Batman uses technology, but ultimately he relies on himself.

  I think it’s becoming pretty clear that a great superhero needs to be good at many things. Both Hayley Wickenheiser and Clara Hughes told me that! Got to make sure I’m doing it with my own training.

  SUNDAY, MARCH 29

  My mom just got a call from Cade’s dad! He — Cade, I mean — was in a freak snowboarding accident. He hit a tree with his head and his leg and it’s broken! Got to S-L-O-W down here. His leg is broken, not his head. I’m a bit freaked out. He’s such a good boarder. How could this happen? And he was wearing a helmet too! Cade’s unconscious. His helmet broke when he hit the tree. And his lower leg bones are both broken!!! But the thing is he’s unconscious . . . I see that I wrote that already . . . anyway. He isn’t awake. He’s gotta wake up!!! They said he has a concussion for sure.

  I’ll look it up. It’ll keep me busy. I need to be too busy to cry . . . Which is pretty much all Audrey and I did on the phone a few minutes ago.

  MONDAY, MARCH 30

  Audrey and I went to the hospital. She is totally freaking out. We weren’t allowed to go in and see Cade, but they let us look at his door. (Ugh. Too tired to erase that. We didn’t look at the door. We looked at him through the window in his door.) He looks pretty peaceful. It’s like he’s sleeping. But with lots of tubes in his arm and up his nose. And lots of medical machines. I tried to make a (lame) joke with Audrey that Cade looks a lot like Iron Man with all the technology connected to his body.

  He’s got to wake up.

  He will wake up. They think so. He’s in “stable condition.” But not awake.

  I asked Mom about what’s going on. She told me a bit about concussions. But I’m too freaked to write it down now.

  In order to keep from freaking out too much, Audrey spent a lot of time explaining what all the machines hooked up to Cade were doing.

  Audrey (in not really the clearest voice): “That is just the saline drip to give Cade water and drugs and stuff.”

  Me (not really sure what to say): “OK.”

  Audrey (talking very fast and kind of like a robot): “That tube in his nose is to give him oxygen. So he can breathe easier. Usually oxygen is about 20% of the air we breathe in. Cade might be getting like 95% oxygen right now, so he can breathe super easy.”

  Me: “Um. Right. Cool!”

  Audrey (like she was going to cry again): “That little clip thingy on Cade’s finger uses infrared light to check out his heart rate and how much oxygen is making its way into his blood.”

  Me: “That’s pretty neat?”

  Audrey: “That other line is for the saline drip to give Cade water and stuff . . . Did I say that already?”

  Me: “Um. Yes, but no problem. You’re all good.”

  It mostly helped. But not all the way helped. The only thing that would have helped all the way was if Cade told us to quiet down. And to do that he’d have to wake up.

  TUESDAY, MARCH 31

  Cade.

  Still.

  Not.

  Awake . . .

  

  Audrey and me.

  Still.

  Freaking.

  Out.

  

  At least Audrey and I are getting along fine, with no weirdness. Just supporting each other for our friend.

  WEDNESDAY, APRIL 1

  He woke up — finally! He woke up he woke up he woke up!!! ☺☺☺ Audie and I went by again after we heard. Everyone was super happy. We brought him a stack of comics to read. His favorites — Daredevil, Avengers, Batman Incorporated, and Punisher. I also slipped in the Batgirl, Birds of Prey, and Captain Marvel annuals.

  Cade looked a bit confused when going through the pile of comics. I know why — he didn’t see any Aquaman. But when he gets to Batgirl, he’ll find Aquaman slipped inside the Batgirl cover.

  I had to buy two issues of that comic, but it was worth it for this prank! Ha! Ha!

  Happy April Fool’s Day, Cade! ☺

  FRIDAY, APRIL 3

  Cade is back at home now. He is doing pretty well, but he is still feeling a bit “fuzzy.” He’s had lots of headaches, I guess, so they want him to stay at home and kind of lay low for a bit.

  Mom said that’s pretty normal after a concussion. But it was still kind of strange to see him like that, being slow to answer and not having real quick comebacks when we were making fun of each other.

  But considering what happened to him, I am super happy to see him doing anything.

  I asked him what it was like. He said it was pretty weird. Here’s a list of all the things he experienced:

  * massive headache

  * dizzy and poor balance

  * felt sick to his stomach (and even threw up once)

  * felt really down and grumpy

  * has trouble remembering stuff

  * sleep has been out of whack

  His leg is still messed up too. And will be for a while. Apparently when he broke the bones in his lower leg, he really stretched a big nerve too. I guess they aren’t supposed to stretch so much, and now he can’t feel much in his foot. Just a bit of tingling.

  Cade is also having some problems picking his toes up and moving his ankle. They told him it will take months before the nerve gets fixed up. Apparently it is busy regrowing. But it’s sup
er slow — growing only one millimeter each day. Yikes.

  Audrey asked him if he is going to go snowboarding again when his leg is all healed up. Cade said he thinks so. So, just to encourage him, I told him the story about Shay when she fell off her horse and broke her arm.

  Now, since I am the older sister, it is part of my sacred duty to make a little bit of fun of my younger sister. And kind of give her a hard time about stuff, you know? And I sort of do it, but not ALL THE TIME.

  But sometimes I do it to make myself feel better, because Shay is kind of pretty awesome.

  Like when she broke her arm. That wasn’t so awesome. Basically her horse went a bit haywire and took off running (if Shay were writing this, she’d use some fancy horse term like “canter” or “trot” or whatever). And then came to a sudden stop. Since there are no seat belts (who knew?) on saddles, Shay went flying off. And landed on her arm. Which snapped at her elbow.

  Gramma was watching the whole thing. It was her first time seeing Shay ride a horse. It was also her first time seeing Shay fall off a horse. And her first time seeing Shay break her arm.

  The good news is that we have some pretty funny photos of the event. Gramma took loads of pictures. So we have a bunch of Shay riding happily, Shay trotting happily, Shay waving at Gramma, Shay giggling. Just like a nice family memory. Except the last picture in the series is Shay laying on a stretcher and being loaded into an ambulance. Good times. Luckily she was fine.

  I told Cade the main point I was trying to make is that Shay is doing awesome now. She’s all healed up and back riding every week. The other main point for Cade is that Shay was afraid of getting back on a horse at first. She wasn’t allowed to do any riding for like three months until her bones had healed up. That entire time all she did was talk about what it would be like to ride again and couldn’t she ride again now. On and on.

  But when she was finally told she could ride again, she said she didn’t want to. I suspect she was pretty terrified of falling again. Like, who wouldn’t be, right?

  Here’s an excerpt from one of our conversations:

  Me: “It’s okay, Shay! You know what they say, get back on that horse!”

  Shay: “I am terrified of falling again.”

  Me: “Nah, it will be fine.”

  Shay: “You said it would be fine last time too.”

  Me: “Er . . .”

  Shay: “When I go riding again, I am going to leave you my hospital emergency kit.”

  Me: “Say what?”

  Shay: “A kit with some books, my Nintendo DS, clothes, and stuff. Like for if they have to put another pin in my arm or leg. I want some stuff all packed and ready.”

  Me: “Don’t you think you are being kinda paranoid?”

  Shay: “I call it being prepared.”

  Me: “Well, while we’re getting all prepared, if you’re in the hospital for a while, mind if I use your room as a lounge? If we cut a hole in my wall, I can put a doorway straight into your room. I’ll just have to move your desk and some of your junk and then . . . Hey!”

  Shay sure hit hard for someone who only recently had a broken arm. She ought to watch that. All I was doing was feeling out her thoughts on some little home renovations!

  But it was awesome to see Shay up there on the horse again. She met her fear head-on and just got in the saddle again. I would never tell her this, but I am not sure if I could be that brave.

  I was surprised when Cade said he wasn’t sure if he could be as brave as Shay either.

  Monday, April 6

  This is a MARVEL-ous diary entry! Captain Marvel, that is! Cade is feeling better and I got an answer back from Captain Marvel writer Kelly Sue DeConnick!

  Dear Kelly Sue,

  Wow. I am super excited to write to you. I’ve just read a bunch of your Captain Marvel comics — your stories are something else!

  I didn’t really know much about Captain Marvel at all before, actually, even though the character has been a Marvel hero since 1967. But then I learned about the science fiction bits and how Captain Marvel gets power from an alien “Kree” technology. Ricki (she works at Curious Comics where I get all my books and she’s awesome) told me about how your Captain Marvel — Carol Danvers — is such an amazing female superhero! It’s cool how you took Ms. Marvel and morphed her into Captain Marvel! It really made me want to ask you some stuff!

  For a school project, I am trying to sort out what it would take to get the abilities of a human superhero. I settled on Batgirl. (BTW, don’t get me started. It was a whole thing all on its own trying to pick one superhero to focus on.)

  I’m trying to train to be a superhero, but my friend Audrey thinks a better idea is to build a ­superhero. Her fave is Iron Man. She’s been reading Iron Man forever and was super stoked when Pepper Potts got her own suit to use.

  Audrey’s mom is a biomedical engineer and Audrey wants to build an exoskeleton like Iron Man. “Ambitious much?” I asked. But anyway it’s a cool project. Sorry, got a little off track. Thanks for considering my questions!

  Do you think it’s better to become, to be, or to build a superhero?

  As tempting as it is, I think it’s a mistake to compare our experiences for what is “best.” What’s best for us is who we are. Each of our challenges is unique and we are uniquely qualified to live our lives our “best.” If there’s a lesson to be learned from Carol, I think that’s it.

  Maybe it sounds goofy, because you are writing Captain Marvel, but who is your favorite superhero? Is it different now than when you were my age? (I’m 13.)

  It’s not goofy! When I was 13, my favorite superhero was probably Wonder Woman. I was born in 1970 and so the Linda Carter Wonder Woman TV show got its hooks in me early.

  These days it’s hard to say. Probably Captain Marvel, though!

  Is Captain Marvel the most powerful superhero you can imagine?

  She’s not, actually. But I don’t really want her to be. You follow? If she were the most powerful being in the universe, it would be hard to imagine situations in which she was challenged, and Carol’s challenges are the opportunities she has to learn and grow. Just like you and me, huh?

  I think one of the things that makes Carol special to me is that I find her relatable. I can imagine that her thoughts, emotions, and experiences are something like my own. If she were the most powerful being in the universe . . . well, we wouldn’t have very much in common then.

  What does it feel like to write a girl superhero who’s so amazing?

  It feels pretty good.

  Did you always want to write comic books? Like even when you were a teenager? Is it fun?

  I didn’t. When I was your age, I wanted to be an actor. My degree is actually in theater. I love my job, though. It’s hard work, but it’s fun and especially rewarding when I get letters from curious girls like you, Jessie.

  I look forward to watching you punch holes in the sky.

  Your friend,

  Kelly Sue

  Jessie, I just saw your P.S.!

  I’ve just read about Amelia Earhart and her flights. Wow. She did so much way back then. Learning about her really got me into your story about the World War II squadron of women fighter pilots! It was great. My question is, why did you make your Captain Marvel story around them?

  First, I should clarify that women were not actually combat pilots in World War II—they were ferry pilots. That means that they delivered planes from one place to another so that the male pilots would be freed up for combat positions.

  Did you know that women were not officially allowed into combat until 2013? It’s true! History is happening all around us, Jessie.

  Anyway, I chose to include the Banshee Squadon because I was thinking a lot about the idea of legacy and I wanted to remind Carol of some of the incredible women aviators who came before her.

 
Have you gotten around to reading about the 99ers or the Mercury 13 yet? What a bunch of wonderful discoveries you have waiting for you, Jessie. I’m jealous!

  I really like how Kelly Sue describes Captain Marvel as relatable. Just like I’ve been doing with Batgirl. But I never thought of it quite the way she describes it: how heroes and superheroes can be so strong but still have weaknesses and fears.

  But they go and do things anyway.

  FRIDAY, APRIL 10

  Mr. Richardson asked my mom to come in and talk to our class today about concussions, because she does some work with athletes who get concussions. Like football, hockey, and soccer players mostly. Mom said that the brain gets a bit damaged in a concussion, but most of the time, if treated properly, things can return to normal pretty quickly.

  Our brain cells — those neurons — need lots of oxygen and food all the time. The more active the neurons are the more energy they need. This is my sketch of what she showed us! And my explanation of what I think she said . . .

  Apparently, a big bang to the head or the body causes a big energy problem for the brain. Neurons still need lots of energy but while all this is going on, there is less blood flow getting to the neurons.

  The energy is in the sugar found in the blood, so increase in hunger of those neurons at the same time that less energy is coming along means big problems. Because of that, the neurons just don’t work properly for a bit and some just stop doing their jobs. They kind of “go to sleep,” Mom said, and some of them don’t wake up!