I will never forget the day of betrayal. I was on the verge of taking down the Cookie Syndicate fighting side by side with my partner in justice “the Bolt”. We were travelling underwater in the process of uncovering illegal explosives kept in an underwater lair. Suddenly “the Bolt” stabbed me with a Kershaw knife; the ones used by sea hunters. He proceeded to remove my scuba gear and then left.
I was losing blood fast and was at the bottom of the ocean that was 400 feet deep and the nearest mass of land was approximately 10 miles away. I knew my traditional lightning powers would not work underwater and that without my scuba gear I was working with limited oxygen supply. This left me with very few options. Luckily I had a quasi-functioning first aid kit under my cape. I quickly wrapped the wounded areas and was able to stop the bleeding. Well… sort of. I then swam to the top of the ocean. Naturally, I was feeling woozy. As I continued to swim, I sent an SOS signal to the police commissioner. At the same time, I scoped the area looking for dry land. This was critical, as my lightning powers would help me expedite a much-needed visit to the hospital.
Unfortunately, my luck was about to get much worse. A shark was pursuing me. I tried to hit it with a lightning bolt. The shark was not impressed and whacked me with its tail hoisting me 10 feet into the air. Ironically, this gave me the opportunity I needed. For 5 brief seconds my entire body was no longer immersed in water. Additionally, the sun was shining brightly allowing me to access my lightning powers. With all my might I attempted to fly away from the water. At first I was a bit shaky. However, within 2 minutes I continued to gain my strength and flew to a secret government hospital. Their doctors have been responsible for my well being for close to 30 years and they knew exactly what needed to do ensure my recovery. I suppose working for the government has its advantages.
A few weeks later, I was working with the government to put a stop to the Cookie Syndicate. The government advised me not to do any public appearances. They were hoping my disappearance would encourage the Cookie Syndicate to act arrogantly and make a mistake. I also had an active tracer that pinpointed the whereabouts of “the Bolt”. Sure enough, my tracer, lead us to “the Bolt” and the Cookie Syndicate’s new hideout. With in 24 hours one of the greatest crime rings was taken down.
The newspapers and the local media would talk it about for many months and would tout it as one of my greatest triumphs. However, somehow I wasn’t feeling so invincible. My trusted friend of 13 years was working for the enemy the entire time. How could I have been so blind, so naive? In retrospect there were a number of hints dropped along the way. I kept saying to myself, “no you’re being paranoid.” I suppose our perceptions of what is are often colored by what we want it to be. One thing is for sure; I don’t think I will be mentoring another aspiring superhero anytime soon. This series of events is simply too painful to repeat again. I suppose time will heal the physical and emotional wound. Still… the lessons learned from this episode will linger for a long time to come.
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