Black Thunder: Giant Robot Kidnapping (Part 1)

Towards downtown in Lei’s hometown a giant robot attacks the city as the sun rises. Black Thunder is flying around town when she spots the robot. She begins fighting by throwing a flying punch into it. It throws her back. Sending her tumbling through the sky.

Black Thunder (to herself): It’s too early and I’m too tired for this.

She claps her hands together and the robot starts to fall. It snatches her out of the air and knocks her to the ground with it. The robot crashes and Black Thunder rolls on the ground out of its grasp. She stumbles to her feet grunting. She flies to the head.

Black Thunder: I don’t know who built you, but I’m dismantling you.

At school Katie stands by her locker waiting anxiously for Lei. Cater waver to her and comes over.

Carter: Katie, have you…

Katie: Seen Lei? No.

Carter (Looking at Katie): Is Lei avoiding me? Doing that passive aggressive thing girls do?

Katie (Laughing): No, Lei wouldn’t do that to you.

The bell rings, signaling it is time to go to class. Cater walks passed some athletes leaning on the lockers. He exchanges handshakes and a greeting with some guys.

Inside a locker, looking out, is a small boy Carter’s age. He looks nerdy. He sees Carter high-fiving the bullies locking him in the locker. The boy begins pounding the locker.

Cater (to the guys): What’s that noise?

One of the bullies bounces against the lockers.

Bully: Just the lockers.

Carter (leaving): Kay, cool, see you dudes.

The boy inside the locker (Thinking): Everyone notices Cater. I bet Black Thunder even notices him.

Black Thunder flies towards the school. She starts to fall asleep. She closes her eyes and sees the horrifying image of her father’s body being stabbed to death. She begins to fall and is awaken by that. She rights herself just before crashing into the ground. She sees the time.

Black Thunder: I’m going to be late again.

She arrives at the school dressed in normal clothes just the class bell rings.

She sits behind Katie in homeroom.

Katie: Carter was looking for you again. He thinks you’re being, ‘passive aggressive’.

Lei: What? What did you tell him?

Katie: I said you would never do that to him. You should talk to him.

Lei: Tried that, I turned invisible.

Katie: He’s still trying to talk to you.

Lei: If I look at him I turn invisible.

The bell rings again signaling the start of class.

After school Katie and Lei are walking though the city. They had just picked up Lei’s little cousins, ages six and four. The boys greet Lei excitedly.

The four year old: Lei! Are you leaving today?

Lei: No, I’m not leaving today.

The six year old: Dummy, Lei’s living with us forever.

Lei: Don’t call your bother dummy. Not forever but certainly for a long time.

The four year old (He gives her a hug.): Yay! I love having you Lei.

Lei holds the four years old’s hand as they walk. The six year old stays close to them.

Katie: Is this normal?

Lei: Every day when I pick them up from school.

A loud crash from nearby in the city. A giant robot stands among skyscrapers. Lei stands tall ready to protect her cousins and friend. Lei kneels down to be eyelevel with her cousins.

Lei: Katie is going to take you boys home. You are going to stay there and listen to her until I get there.

The boys nod in agreement.

Lei: Katie, can you take the boys to my aunt’s house and stay with them until I get done?

Katie: Sure, Lei!

Lei pulls her rolled up costume out of her backpack and a book falls out.

Lei: Take my bag too. Thanks Katie.

Lei runs off towards the robot.

The six year old: Where is Lei going?

Katie: She has to take care of something.

The four year old picks up the book and hands it to Katie.

The four year old: Lei dropped it. What is it?

Katie: It’s a book.

She notices the title, something like “living with post-traumatic stress disorder” She’s shocked.

Katie: Come on let’s get you boys home.

She puts the book back in her bag.

Black Thunder flies at the robot about to punch at the head. She stops when the giant robot hand holds up a squiring boy. Lei recognizes the boy.

Lei (Thinking): Carter!

Black Thunder turns invisible.

Robot like voice: Guys like this everybody notices them. Even you, Black Thunder.

Black Thunder: Don’t flatter yourself. I saw the robot before I saw him. Put him down! We can talk about this.

Black Thunder flies around the root looking for a way to shut it down without hurting Carter. The robot kicks Black Thunder into a building. She becomes visible again. Behind her the windows are cracked. She falls and lays still on the ground.

The robot leaves and takes Carter with it.

Until Death Do Us Part

John and Jane were newly-weds, after the excitement of the honeymoon phase wore off the seriousness of life began. And they started doing something they had never done before, not while they were dating and certainly not in the first few months of marriage. They began to fight. This scared the couple because both their parents were divorced, and they knew that fighting could lead them to divorce. Jane’s parents had spilt while she was away at college, and John, his parents were divorced even before he was even a teenager. Both of them their greatest fear for their marriage was that one day they would not want to be together.

            For that reason early in their marriage they developed a ritual they would do each night after they had had a disagreement or argument. Following a fight they would take the time they needed and give each other the space they needed. But at the end of that night they both came to bed. Before either of them crawled in, they would always have an exchange that went something like this:

            The one who stared the argument would say, “I’m sorry I got upset.”

            The other would respond, “I forgive you. I’m sorry I let the argument go on.”

            “It’s okay. I forgive you. Do you still want to fight?”

            “Yes, I want to fight for our marriage.”

            Neither one of them knew how long their marriage would last, but they knew as long as that was the answer, they could make it last a little longer. They had hope that they could take that little longer and turn it into months. Then take the months, and turn them into years, and the years into decades. Somehow making the decades into a lifetime. So they could really keep their promise of, “until death do us part.”

Would People Say the Same about You?

            She walked home from school, the same way she had done for years. This day was different. While she was crossing the street a couple blocks from school, the brakes went out on an oncoming car. The car hit her, cracking her ribs. She bled out into her lungs. People on the street tried to help her. They even called paramedics, but they were too late. She was dead.

            At age fifteen she was very young. But when she was gone people discovered how much her life had meant. She had built relationships with the people around her. She wasn’t popular, but she would make friends with anyone who needed one.

There was a security guard who she got to know slowly during her time at school. When she saw him at school she greeted him politely Around Easter she handed him a card inviting him to church. During Easter he was not ready to step into a church, but after 30 years of not going to church he walked into a church for her memorial service.

As she left school the day she died the last person she had spoken to was a male friend of hers. She made sure she said “bye” to him that day because she had a crush on him. There was no way she could have known she wouldn’t see him again. After he found out she had died he thought back to that moment. He remembered the way she smiled at him like she wanted to say something, but resisted. She would not have had it any other way. She died and he remembered her as a good friend he could talk to. He wasn’t left wondering if they could have been something more, because the thought had never occurred to him. And it was never going to, but he would get to carry on with his life.

She never had a best friend. There were many people who would miss her friendship, but there was no one she meant the world to. More people were more shocked by what happened than upset. It was a wakeup call. A reminder of just how temporary life was. All the teenagers who had thought they were invincible had to reexamine their lives. When they examined their lives they found that they wanted to live a life more like hers. She was not famous and her death probably attracted more attention than her life. But she lived her loving on others above herself. People around her hoped that when they died others would say the same thing about them.