CHAPTER 9: How I Came to Be a Super-Hero - Part Five ©
Training over the following months was not really all that interesting. Each evening, I would slip away from home, make my way to headquarters and spend the night honing my skills.
Training over the following months was not really all that interesting. Each evening, I would slip away from home, make my way to headquarters and spend the night honing my skills.
The team there also encouraged me to see what other kinds of skills I had, super or not, both to improve them and to see if they would be of any use in the future. My fast running was the first thing that had brought me to the attention of the organisation, but while I was quite a fast runner for a cat, it was not a super-speed. The team felt that my fast running would come in handy at times, but not to rely on it for getting out of risky situations.
The team set about determining what skills I had in this area and to give me more knowledge about them should they prove useful.
The team also discovered that my claws are very strong and I could rip through various substances, including wood. They believed that might would prove a useful ability. I wished though that I had unbreakable claws like the character Wolverine, but my claws were not that strong.
Retired superheroes are often asked to help train new recruits and I was placed with a human who I shall call Fred, because I cannot tell you his real name.
Fred was then in his 60s and had begun to slow down in his later years. While still having phenomenal super-abilities, he felt that he couldn't rely on them as much as he had in his youth, especially with his bones and joints showing signs of old age.
Married with three grown-up children and a second grandchild on the way, Fred's family had been aware of his work as a superhero, though the ongoing dangers often added a certain stress to their relationships.
A great trainer, teacher and friend, Fred helped me with my flying until I was able to fly at almost super-sonic speeds. I could manage a 180 degree turn in under ½ a second and create a small windstorm when required.
On our first field outing, Fred and I attended a small fire set up at a fire-station in a nearby city. (If you ask a fireman you meet about the training of superheros, they will deny all knowledge.)
My flying skills came in handy as I was shown how to create a small whirlwind to suck water up from the nearby tank. This water could then be dumped or sprayed onto the fire.
It took some time for me to get it just right, and eventually Fred and the fire-station workers were happy with my attempt.
"This will only be helpful if it is a small fire," Fred said. "Your main priority must always be to rescue anyone inside a burning structure, without placing yourself at too much risk."
Further training at headquarters included working with other superheroes who possessed different abilities. It also included determining what is the best way to handle differing situations using which super-ability, and how to assist humans and animals bigger than myself to safety.
Headquarters would contact me about any possible disasters or required rescues on the communicator they had implanted in both my abdomen and inside my left ear. No-one could tell they were even there, even when x-rayed.
At the end of the six months of training, they held a small ceremony to welcome me to the crew. Both Fred and Boss attended and I felt thrilled to be part of such an organisation.
I chose the name "Mal-Larci" as my superhero name because my real name is Larci and because Mal-Larci it sounds like 'malarkey' which means nonsense or absurdity. I figured being a superhero cat was a bit absurd and crazy and it suited me well.
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