IT’S TIME TO GET OVERCHARGE!

You know our world has several superheroes, few have similar kind of
powers and few have powers which are totally out of this world. Whenever
a superhero rises, a new supervillain wakes up too. Most of them are
hungry of their powers and so, as the same happened with me. This time, it
was for me to stand up against the villain. Let the story began. Once, there
lived a boy, named. Wait-Wait-Wait, why my introduction is starting like a
90's story? Let me start my story myself, in a very much better way. It was
evening, the sun was setting down, the roads were full as everyone is
returning home from their offices and in this peaceful pace of time, there I
was, sitting on a bench in the park all alone with my sadness. Because it’s
been fuckin three months since I've been a superhero and till now neither a
single supervillian has came after me, nor The CAPE (Corporation Against
Powerful Enemy). So, I was sitting in a park wearing a cap with a hoodie
over it, a mask and sunglasses (In such a manner that no one can see my
face) and was listening to music to cheer up my mind. All the people were
doing their evening walk, the old ones are chatting and children are playing.
Till a man came in and started to open fire with his high-tech guns (which I
wish I could also have). Everyone started running here and there. It was a
total chaos and an old women in wheelchair got in front of him. People
really stop looking after their parents once they are grown up. I saw a man
race towards her and stood in front of her. I thought let’s see where it leads
to, and then I’ll make a superhero entry. Anyway, the villain said, “Look
everyone, we’ve got a hero among us.” At first, I thought my identity was
out. But then he continued, “Trying to save his grandma.” Then I relieved
with a sigh. He said, “Guys like you are so pathetic. She’ll die if not now

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then within a day or two and you are willing to give your life for her, moron.
You guys don’t know how to survive. Never Be A Hero. Let’s teach our
audience a lesson on that. Prepare to say goodbye.” He got a clear shot at
him and shot two times and turned around. Just as soon as he shot, I
jumped in front of the guy and the lady. Obviously nothing happened to me.
I stood still like a mountain, immovable. But due to the smoke from the
destroyed bullets I had to cough. Yeah, I killed the heroic moment by
coughing. Anywho, I shouted at him, "Oi! Are you done already?" At first, I
thought he was a normal gangster but nope, he was a total cool jackass
supervillain. How did I know? Because he has a cool skull mask on his
face, had big biceps, and was bald and having next-gen weapons, well not
next-gen but high-tech and not being racist but he is black. He passes
almost every quality that needs to be a supervillian. I mean it’s true that
whenever a superhero rise, a new supervillain wakes up too. He suddenly
turned back and said, "Ah, you must be that superhero." Then I said back,
"Who do you think I am, douche bag." I knew there was going to be a fight.
So, I turned around and said to the guy, “Hey bud, it was great how you
came to save your nana.” But the villain interrupted me and shot me at my
back. I mean, it’s not like I’ll do my super heroic wisdom talk and he won’t
do anything, just standing there and let me have it. NO! It’s just some fake
bullshit shown in every superhero movie. Anyway, I continued and said,
“Take care of her like that for the rest of your life. Now take her home and
give her a hot cup of tea.” Then the nana said, “Actually soup would be
nice.” Then I said, “Anyway, just take care of her.” Then he took her nana
and got away. The villain shot at me again. Clearly, this guy has no respect
for heroic moments. I turned and said, “Zip it skull face. That’s enough of
you.” I hit him with a lightning bolt from my hand and he fell at least 5
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meters away from where he was standing (damn, that's far) and made a big
hole in the ground. When I got there he was fainted.

Oh! I almost forgot. Now you must be thinking why the guy in the
mask is attacking such a handsome guy like me, not because of he is
jealous of me but he wants my powers. I thought that you guys wanted to
know my superhero story but you want to know my life story, well here it is.
It’s flashback time. You know the villain is fainted so I wouldn’t be
interrupted in between for some time so it’s a perfect time for a back story.
Everybody in this world dreams of becoming a superhero. But me, I never
expected this would happen because I never dreamed of becoming one,
because it’s unreal. Yeah, I read superhero comics and I love watching
them. But truly, I never wanted to become one, but everything doesn’t work
on our belief. Sometimes it’s beyond our thinking. So let me tell you how it
all began.

When I was a baby my father, named Clark Russo, just vanished. He

literally just left us. We didn’t know where he went, why he went. Nothing!
There was just a note. It was written, “I have to do something, but it can
bring harm to you guys. So, I have to go. Please don’t hate me. I Love
You.” Till now no one knows where my father is. The police also gave up. I
think he vanished because of me. Who wouldn’t? I couldn’t chew, couldn’t
talk, couldn’t walk and kept crying all the time. That’s a perfect reason to
leave someone, I mean, I totally would. Anyway, so my mother raised me
all by herself, she named me Thomas Russo (my friends call me Tom). As
we were facing financial crises after dad left us, we had to move out. We’ve
been living in really hard times. We lived in Mungallala. Our house had a
small kitchen attached to the drawing room, a smelly toilet with a little

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space to shower and one single bedroom. My mother offered me to sleep
on the bed and herself sleep on the floor, but I knew that she works really
hard to run our livelihood so, I let her sleep on the bed and I use to sleep
on the floor. My mother used to do farming and I, also sometimes helped
her in my free time, like during holidays. One day when she was digging in
the backyard she found some gold rocks (I know, it’s a jackpot). Now she is
the head of a gold mine. But we couldn’t shift to another town or city
because the mine was there. I was good in academics, so I had already
applied for a scholarship and I got in. So, she sent me out for my high
school. We bought a house there. It was in Brisbane. The house was of
$810,000. Now you may be thinking that I am rich, but no. My mother
wanted me to stand on my own feet. So, you can assume how much she
spends on me. The house that she bought for me is to avoid any
inconvenience regarding a place to stay. Fun fact: she bought it by a loan
from a bank on my name, without even telling me. She told me about the
loan when she gave me my first pocket money, which was through an
envelope. I had a little bit of a heart attack. Then I started looking around
the house. But I didn’t found any camera. Guys, this is not a prank. I have
been bamboozled, by my own mother. I didn’t know whether to cry or
laugh. So, I did a little bit of both. My monthly pocket money was $25,000. I
know it’s a lot, right. But here’s the twist, from my allowance, $22,500 goes
to the bank every month. Rest you can do the math, ‘Hard Times’. Man, I
wish I would have slept on the bed. But she was also right, because having
a personality of your own is something within itself. My mother had to go
back to look after the mine. It was my first day at school, and me and my
best friend didn’t know anyone. Sorry, I forgot to tell you guys about my
best friend. His name is Vikki Rana. Well, let me tell you guys about him. I’ll
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cover it short. Vikki is my best friend. Since my father left us, we had to live
poorly, which also comprises poor area. But in that poor area there was
someone rich at heart, Vikki Rana. He is Indian. His parents work at a
company. At that time, well, they were rich from us. He is one of the
brightest students I know. He also applied for the scholarship with me. But
he couldn’t get it. And I know that he has a strong will to study besides, he
is really good in academics. I don’t know why his scholarship was turned
down. So I made some agreements with the school and gave my
scholarship to him. I, now, can afford the school. Besides, scholarships
should be for those who can’t afford big schools like this one. Now the
question was where he will stay, because Queensland, from our town, is 7
hours away. After I had bought the house, I asked him to stay with me. It
was a big house, he is my best friend, he needed help and also I needed
company because a teenager living alone in a big house is a treat for bad
people. It’s not like the house was not safe, it had a pretty good security
system and the locality was safe, which was walking distance from school.
But he had always been there for me in times when I needed help, many
times in the past. His pocket money was 1/5 of mine. We know we had
financial differences but nothing comes between our friendships. So we
used to chip in all our money and use it together as one unit. My mom
agreed and his parents also agreed because you know, living with
someone you know very closely is safe enough. So, we packed our things,
bid goodbye to our parents, got in the car and started our 7 hour long
journey. Yeah, he had a car. It was the last time I missed on information, it
won’t happen again. I promise. We lived happily like a king, we party, play
games and we also study. Hence, we are at top of our classes. Not in first
position but, like between very good and perfect. We always fall between
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these two segments. Everything was perfect. But, one day we both were
arguing on something (I can’t remember). Whenever I am sad or angry I
used to come and sit in the park and listen to songs to cheer up my mind.
So as always, I was sitting on the park bench (it was raining). Suddenly
lightning struck on me.

Hey, the fainted villain is coming back to life. So let's step away from
the back story and come back where I was dealing with the villain. I
promise, I’ll continue it later. Let’s come back to the park. So, I turned
around and started going back thinking police will take care of it. Then
suddenly I felt something is pulling me back, so I turned around and WTF!
He's got a very cool weapon, which was connected to something he was
wearing on his head. That gun was pulling me towards it. I tried very much
to get away but I can't. Then he pressed a red button. I knew something
bad is going to happen because I have read in comics and seen in real life
also that whenever a villain presses a red button something bad happens
every time and so as this time. The gun started absorbing my powers and
the thing on his head was starting to fill up. He was stealing my powers.
Although, he is a supervillian but he is really smart. Because to make a gun
like that, needs a big brain. I tried everything to get out of it but I couldn’t, I
got exhausted and I got overcharged and then suddenly, boom. I exploded.
I realized this power for the first time. I didn't know what happened. I think
his weapon was successful in absorbing my powers. I looked around and
he was fainted on the ground. The police took him in his custody. I was
feeling really weak. So, I went home. Vikki asked if I was okay or not. I said
I’m fine. I just want to sleep. He said, “Yeah, I get it, for what happened in
the park. And I’m sorry about arguing with you earlier.” I said, “Me too. But I

6
really need to lie down.” Then I locked myself in my room and lie on the
bed and slept through the night. Now I’m sleeping so it’s a good time to
continue my back story. So yeah, lightning struck on me and I fainted.
When I woke up, I found myself in a bed and my friend was sitting beside
me and my mother was sleeping on the guest couch. He woke my mom
and said, “Ms. Russo, Tom.” They were looking at me like I came back to
life from death. My mother said to me (crying), "Tom, are you okay?" I said,
"I'm fine. It's just, I don't remember anything." I asked, “How you came back
so fast?” She said, “You’ve been sleeping for two days.” I replied, “I wasn’t
sleeping, I was fainted. Both are different.” I asked my friend, "What
happened there in the park, I don't remember a thing?” He replied, "Tom
don’t freak out, it's just, you got struck by lightning and you got fainted.
That’s all, no big deal." I was shocked after hearing this and suddenly all
the electrical appliances in the hospital stopped, like it was a power cut. My
mom called out the doctor. “See, I told you he’ll be fine. There are many
lightning accidents happened all around the world.” The doctor said. I
asked the doctor, “When can I get discharge?” He replied, “Right away,
because you have passed all you tests.” I said, “Which tests?” He replied,
“You have no outer injury, no internal injury, and no brain injury. Basically
you are fine overall and most important test, waking up. So yeah, you are
good to go. Or you can stay here a little more and make us good money.
Ha-ha, laughing is the best medicine. And you should see your chest.
You’ve got a great tattoo.” I looked at my chest and I saw a scar which
looked like lightning. You know a symbol of lightning. It looked pretty good
on me. I said, “Thank you doc and no, we’ll be get going.” I got discharged
from the hospital and everything was fine. My mom convinced me to stay at
home for one more day. So, I stayed and my mom also stayed till the
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evening. Then she bid goodbye and everything was going normal and fine.
But strange things started to happen the next day. In the morning when the
alarm clock started to ring, before I touch it to turn it off a lightning-sparked
from my hands and the alarm clock busted. I thought that maybe the cells
overheated. I didn’t pay much attention and started getting ready for school
my friend was already waiting for me in the car. In school, something
happened which I thought was very weird. I was playing football (my
favorite sport in which I was not the school champion, but I was good at it)
and I got a penalty kick. When I kicked the ball the lightning struck from my
body to the ball and its speed was unknown. It was very-very fast and it
ripped of the goal net and ended up in a classroom. Everyone started to
look at me freakily. Somehow I managed to hide myself from everyone at
school. You know, I am good at covering up my face. Then I ran away and
at the end of the school when I reached home I locked myself up in my
room and started figuring out what was happening. Vikki had some extra
class, so I came by myself. Then I started to memorize that there is one
superhero comic (Electric Man) in which a man got struck by high volt of
lightning and got powers. So I decided I should be the real hero of this city,
like he became. You know we have same abilities (powers) so I should
follow him. I thought that I've got those powers. I tried the lightning powers
first. My phone's power was gone so I tried charging it. When I focused,
lightning struck from my hand to the phone. I thought that it will be charged
but it got overcharged and blasted. Hey don't laugh, it’s my first time, I’m
still practicing. Now it was time for the strength test I tried punching the
wall. I thought that the wall will have little cracks but, the wall cracked all
the way from bottom edge to the top edge. I was like OMG! I have super
strength. But I needed to cover my traces paved on the wall. So, I bought a
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wallpaper of same kind and put it on the wall. The best thing which I got in
addition which was not in the comic is an electromagnetic force field around
my body whenever I focus. I figured that power first time, when a tough guy
(who is a bully) tried to punch me but his punch didn’t touch me and his
palm got swelled. The only power missing was that I didn’t had bullet proof
body, I mean I feel very little pain and when someone punches me I hardly
feel something. So yeah, I had tough body but not tough enough to stop
bullets, they can still penetrate through me. But I had the electromagnetic
field for this case. But I am a real man. So, I decided I would always fight
fair. Which means, using force field only when someone has gun or
anything like that, basically anything that can damage, like penetrate my
body, not in hand-to-hand combat. I made a list of the powers I have. They
are super strength, super speed (not like the one where I run as fast as a
blink of an eye, more like speed of a super soldier, just read the comics or
watch the movies and you’ll understand), tough body, force field, flying
(floating actually, electromagnetic fields, just study electromagnetism and
you’ll have the answers, which also makes me thinks I have teleportation),
of which I have not tried because I am afraid but I have felt it sometimes,
fast healing, enhanced senses, durability and you know lightning bolts.
Now I realized what was happening to me. Our city did not have any
superheroes so I thought it should be me. First, I thought that I should have
a superhero costume. But I did not like the costume stuff. Then I realized
that I should have a mask so that no one can see who I am. So I made my
mask my way. I decided that whenever I fight I will wear a mask, a cap with
a hoodie over it and sunglasses. That’s kinda cool, you know keeping it a
secret from everyone, even from my friend and family. Now it was time for
a really cool superhero name so, I am thinking, thinking, thinking, not
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getting so leaving. I am unable to think a bad-ass superhero name so I left
it. I mean whom I am kidding, like I am a superhero so, now a super villain
will appear and I will fight him, save the city and then people will ask my
name. I mean whom am I kidding. I don’t think a supervillain will come after
me. Pfft, such an over thinking. That's all from the flashback.

I think I have slept a lot. It’s time to wake and restore my powers. So
let’s come back to the present. I remember that in the comic the superhero
charged himself with electricity whenever he got weak. So I was going to
try it, I was afraid but I had to. Vikki had gone to the school and he didn’t
bother to wake me up. He thought it might be okay for me to stay for a day.
For what happened yesterday. Also he thought that it might be good to
ease up on me, I mean I was struck by lightning. So I charged myself
through the electric wires of my house and sucked a lot of power. Now I
was feeling a lot more powerful. Let me tell you an interesting story when I
was powerful. It’s time for another back story. I promise it’s the last back
story. Have Fun! Once a boy in my college started fighting with me
because I won against him in football, I tried to get away from that fight but
he tried punching me. But I ducked and he missed me as I have enhanced
senses. But he was not backing off, so I punched him back and his two
teeth were out. After that, I swear not to fight with anyone. Let’s come back
to the present. I was ready to kick his butt the next time I encounter him.
So, I turned on the TV and did something unexpected, I watched the news
for the very first time. It was evening and Vikki came back from school and
when he watched me watching the news, he was shocked. Obviously,
because no teenager watches the news. He asked, “Tom, what are you
doing?” I replied, “Nothing, just watching the news to find out more about

10
the villain in the park.” He said, “OK, I am gonna go and freshen up.”
Anyway, I was still watching-still watching-watching-watching and finally
after 1 hour and 17 minutes, I saw him on the news. The news was saying
that the hero has become a villain now and they named me Electric Man (I
am not naming me this. This sucks). It was him. I couldn’t understand how
he got my powers. He must have got them when the gun, absorbing my
powers got destroyed. But I don’t care because I am in a full mood of
fighting. He first was heading towards the power plant. Now I had to go
there. So, I told Vikki that I was going to the market to buy some chips and
drinks. Also, I am taking the car. I am afraid of flying and probably will be
slow in running than in driving. He said, “Fine. Just don’t scratch the car
and be back soon.” I took the keys and got in the car and I had to rush. So,
I drove the car like a pro racer and, yeah ended up in an accident,
destroying the car but at the entrance of the power plant. Yeah, I made it. I
got there and said, "Hey you, ‘thief’, you stole my powers and now you're
misusing them. That’s how you repay me. Anyway, it’s time for the end."
The fight begins!

He rushed towards me and punched me and I was like, Ow! First,

he’s got ‘The Rock’ like big biceps and now my powers gave him strength
too, just great. I strike him with lightning and it hurt him only a little bit
because he was able to absorb my powers, he did the same back to me
but I got out of his sight so he missed me. I broke a tower a little bit and hit
him with the metal rod and a drop of blood fell out of his face, WOW! He did
the same to me and I bleed a little bad than him. At this scene, we were
facing each other with a metal rod in our hand so, I said aloud, "You
thought this was going to be a street fight, well you're damn right." I didn’t

11
plan for this but the scene was like that only. So I went with flow. Now we
were hitting each other with the rod and in between with lightning too. But
my lightning powers weren’t working as he was able to absorb them. At
least 3 minutes later we both were pretty much tired, but I was more tired
than him. Since, he was absorbing my powers whenever I hit him with
lightning bolt. So, he was a little less tired. Now at this scene, he was
standing a little distant from me and from there he took a jump and was
going to hit me hard on my head. I tried to save myself by holding my rod
from both the ends. But he hit very hard that my rod broke in two pieces.
He threw his rod and punched me hard on my chest and I am bleeding very
badly. I was a little fainted. He took a grab hold on me and was choking
me. I was running out on options, so I was trying to get out of it but nothing
was working. I tried punching. I tried giving lightning strike on his head. Hell
I even tried tickling but nothing happened. I was running out on options,
nothing was working and I got frustrated and I got overcharged then again,
boom! There was a big explosion and an EMP (Electric Magnetic Pulse)
charge got released from me and I was feeling very much week. He tried to
absorb this also but you know, ‘Too much of anything is not good’. He was
looking like a giant ball filled with immense electricity. There was a giant
explosion. There was an energy that got released. It was the electrical
energy that he absorbed. It destructed the city a lot. So, from then onwards
I swear that I will control this power and will never use it unless I am all out
of options. As we were fighting in the power plant so because of an EMP
charge the whole city was black out. Also, the plant was pretty much
destructed. But the main line was fine. All it needed was a little charge to
bring the city back on power for a little bit. At least till it could be rebuilt. So
with my leftover power, I charged the plant and the city was back on
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electricity. I looked at the man and he fainted again, but this time I was
going to finish him. But police came in and I don’t want to kill anyone and
become a criminal. So I handed him over to the police. Clearly his all
powers were gone so I let the police took him. Then a boy came rushing
towards me and thanked me and said, “Electric Man, you are the true
superhero of our city.” I said, "My name is not electric man. It’s…….
Overcharge.” Cool! Right, I named myself on my strongest move. I mean
everytime I lose control, got overcharge and explode. From then onwards I
decided no matter what, I will always save this city from all badass villains
who will try to destroy the city no matter how strong the villain is. From now
onwards my city too has a superhero and it is me. As I was sinking in the
moment, I heard a helicopter approaching towards me. It landed right in
front of me. A man stepped down from it and started walking towards me.
He stopped in front of me and said, “Hey kid, what’s your name?” The boy
who rushed towards me said, “His name is Overcharge.” I said, “Yeah,
thanks kid, I got this. Now go to your mom, alright. And never do anything
to upset her.” Then I turned towards the man and said, “My name is
Overcharge, sir. And I am a huge fan of yours. I mean, who isn’t.” He said,
“Yeah, fine. How would you like to join us kid?” I replied, “Of course sir. It’s
a lifetime opportunity.” He said, “Don’t rush into anything. Here, think about
it thoroughly and give us a call. And remember, thoroughly.” He handed
over a card to me, got back in the helicopter and left. You all must be
thinking who he was. Well, he is the founder of ‘The CAPE’, Mr. Cage.

THE END

“So, mam what do you think? Will it work?” I said to my teacher,

Ms. Anderson. She replied, “Yeah it is good. Every character is well

13
handled, well written. The sense of humor is also good.” Now, you must be
thinking that I am reviewing my own story, so I will only say that it’s good
but these were her exact words. Now, let’s come back to what she was
saying. “But, the next time I want you to make a character of the villain.
Unlike the one in this, where you just introduced him as a criminal, but I
want you to build the character of the villain, understood.” I said, “What do
you mean by next time.” She replied, “This will work for the scholarship. For
one year. For second year you have to write one more and for third year
one more, got it.” I replied, “Yeah got it, alright.” In my mind I was like,
“Fuck it, it’s a lot of work. But maybe it’s for the best.” I got home and was
sitting in the drawing room thinking what could be the character build up of
a villain. I mean they are all always criminal. Tom came flying, landed in the
backyard and came in through the backdoor. He asked, “What are you
doing?” I replied, “Nothing just working on another story and this time I
have to give a character to the villain. Not like he was a criminal already, it
will not work. Anyway, what about you, fought anyone recently?” He
replied, “Yeah, I fought a girl, you know. Yeah, she had me lose my mind.
I mean, she was really clever. She was like a psycho. She had a real hate
spot for boys. But I got her.” I said, “You know you just gave me a really
great Idea. Now if you’ll excuse me I have got story to write about, with a
character for the villain.” Oh, I am sorry. Now you guys must be thinking
that, “Oh, he just saw him flying and is not freaked out. How he knows his
powers.” Well, like I said, I have got a story to write about. So, see you
guys. Till then, ‘Keep being Overcharge’.

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