Does Peter Pan Exist?

by Terry B. L. Paine, Paragon Tattler

STEEL CANYON - It was a perfect day. One of those where you know anything can happen. Even magic.

This mild-mannered reporter was spending the afteroon on my small-yet-relaxing balcony on the 20th floor of the Pagent building, enjoying the fresh air and a day free from crime and persecution. The sun was warm and my tan was coming along swimmingly. Just then, a shadow crept across the sun, blocking out the blissful rays.

Not that unusual -- clouds block the sun all the time. What was unusual was the loud shriek of pleasure that accompanied the shadow. My eyes flew open, and I scanned the skies for the source. And there he was. The largest hero from my favorite supergroup Power, Incorporated -- Horfrost -- was hovering right in front of me!

Then, with an impish grin to rival Peter Pan's, he dove.

I leaned out over the edge of the balcony, trying to track where he'd gone. I'd spotted him. He was plumeting towards the ground at an incredible speed and looked like he hit bottom any second now.

But at the last possible moment, this amazing brickhouse of a hero reversed course, pulling up from the ground and accelerating up the side of my building, leaving a cheering crowd below. He let out another ecstatic yell that bounced off the buildings, echoing everywhere. Grinning wildly, he hovered for a moment, the sun glinting off the droplets of water gathering on his horns from the cloud he was in.

And then he was gone.

But happily our hero still returns my calls, so I rang him up the next day for an interview about this exciting new power.

Terry B. L. Paine: "So you can fly? When did this happen? And how?"

Horfrost: "It happened quite suddenly, actually. I've always been able to hover, of course, comes in quite handy in my line of work." He rubbed his horns nervously before continuing. "So anyway, I was giving a hover demonstration the local orphanage -- there are several of my namesakes there -- and I didn't feel quite right. As I pushed off from the floor to hover up a few feet, I instead shot straight up and through the building's roof!"

TP: "That must have pretty scary for kids -- and you!"

H: "Actually, the kids loved it. Power.Boy was on hand, and healed anyone who'd been injured by falling bits of ceiling. I flew back down through the opening and all I could see were a bunch of grinning plaster covered faces and glowing eyes." He grinned at the memory. "They kept chanting 'Peter Pan, Peter Pan." His eyes unfocused, reliving the incident with a smile. But his expression then darkened slightly. "But that was before Power.Boy snorted 'Peter Pan? Girl, that's Horfrost! Does he look like a little green fairy boy to you? Believe me, I can tell, and he ain't one.'"

TP: "Erm, that's uh, terrible. Uh, what about the roof?"

H: "Don't worry," he laughed, recovering quickly. "We have a fund to clean up and repair buildings and such -- you never know when a hero might discover a new power!"

TP: "That'll be a relief to those plaster-covered kids. So what does this new power mean to you and your career, Horfrost?"

H: "Quite a lot, actually," he said seriously. "I can now fight crime more efficiently by flying to major crime scene instead of having to wade through crowds of gawking autograph seekers as I try to run there. Plus, it just feels great."

And with that, he ended our interview with a wave, activated his ice shields and yes -- flew away.

So there you have it. A new hero with a new power -- and able to save more lives because of it. This is Terry B. L. Paine, sunbather extraordinaire and hero watcher saying "Even if you can't fly, you just might be saved someday by someone who can."