Presentation Date: 4/30/24
Location: Westlake Porter Public Library

Suggestions Provided by the Audience:
Superpowers - Telekinesis, Teleportation, & Ability to Speak Every Language
Personality Traits - Flexible, Dangerous, & Relentless
Origin of the Superpowers - Chernobyl
Superhero Name - Hank the Ultimate

The roads were rough and treacherous. No one had driven this far into Chernobyl in decades. The radiation levels, even with a hazmat suit made the trip too risky. Hank, however, knew that if this land was ever to be a safe region for others again, testing and samples had to be retrieved from deeper in the area, and Hank never shied away from a challenge. Hank was the top nuclear scientist to come out of MIT. He had studied every language possible to better communicate with like minds that wanted to make the world a safer place. After several tests and trials, they all believed a solution for the Chernobyl lands was possible. So here Hank found himself as the one best suited to get the final pieces they needed.

Hank was almost to his destination when he noticed his Geiger counter spiking unusually high. Maybe this wasn’t the best idea in the world after all, but he couldn’t give up now. Hank stopped the Jeep he had been driving. He climbed out of the driver seat and stepped onto the ground below. It was soft like stepping onto a sponge. Something wasn’t right. A cloud passed overhead and blocked out the sun. Suddenly, a strong gust of wind flew past Hank, almost knocking him to the ground. Another current of air came from behind, then another and another. It was like the wind was alive and intentionally trying to get to him inside the hazmat suit.

One last burst hit him fully and his helmet flew off. Hank thought it was all over as no one could survive in the open here. But he found that he had no problems at all. It was true that he was feeling different, but not sick. What happened to him? Was it those strange winds? Did they have something to do with it?

The old remains of a tall tree began to shake near him, and then came crahing down right towards him. It was coming too fast for Hank to get out of the way. He threw his arms up to protect himself, but nothing happened. The tree was frozen in the middle of the air. He knew he wished that the tree would not come down, and then it didn’t. Did he just stop it with his mind?

No sooner did he stop thinking about wishing the tree would stop falling, it began to come down again. Panicked, all Hank could think of now was how he needed to be somewhere else…and then he was. Hank heard the crash of the tree, but it was 100 yards away from where he was now. He soon started to realize that whatever happened to him, it gave him some unique abilities.

Over the next several weeks, Hank tested his abilities, and they became stronger and stronger. He knew he couldn’t leave the Chernobyl area without endangering others. He found he had no need to. He no longer needed to eat or drink to survive. All he needed to do was contnue using these new gifts. He would now look over this land and use his new powers to find a way to restore it back to the way it used to be. When that day comes, he would no longer just be Hank. He would be Hank the Ultimate!