The Great Powers Outage by William Boniface Page B

tusks, but she was no match for an animal that size, and her rope was yanked right out of her hands. That left only the Amazing Indestructo, who, realizing he had no choice, decided to make the most of the situation.
    â€œStep back kids,” he boomed in his best TV hero voice. “The Amazing Indestructo is here to save the day.”
    As the kids let out a cheer, he barreled straight at the charging beast. It didn’t take long for AI to notice with horror that the elephant had suddenly sprouted a second set of tusks. And then a third. And then a fourth, fifth, and sixth. I could only imagine the horror in the Amazing Indestructo’s eyes. But it was too late for him to do anything now.
    Like the thundering sound of a dozen cannons, the indestructible hero and the unstoppable force collided. When the dust finally cleared, none of us could believe what we saw. The multitusked elephant had been knocked back on its rear and looked a little dazed. But crumpled in a heap in front of him was the Amazing Indestructo. He was practically pulverized.
    â€œOw . . .” was the one solitary word that emerged softly from his contorted lips.
    We all held our collective breath as Whistlin’ Dixie ran to his aid.
    â€œTarnation! Someone git some help,” she hollered in a panic. “The Amazing Indestructo’s been—” the very impossibility of the word caught in her voice “—hurt!”

CHAPTER SIXTEEN
    Faded Genes
    It wasn’t hard to guess what was going to be on the front page of the newspaper on Saturday morning. I retrieved our copy of the Superopolis Times from the front porch and there, front and center, was one of the largest headlines I’d ever seen: AI INJURED!!!! And yes, it had four exclamation points. Below, in slightly smaller type, it asked the question: INDESTRUCTIBLE NO MORE?? Here they used only two question marks. I brought it into the kitchen where Mom and Dad were preparing breakfast.
    â€œI can’t believe it,” my dad said as he read the headline over my shoulder. “How could someone who’s indestructible be hurt by anything?”
    Dad had a frying pan resting on his palm and was busy scrambling eggs. My mom was setting out milk, orange juice, and a bowl of AI’s Maple Glazed Pseudo-Chips. I sampled one of them. It was as disgusting as you might imagine.
    â€œIf he were still around, I might think that Professor Brain-Drain was somehow responsible for this,” Mom said as she focused her gaze on my glass of milk to get it extra cold. “But clearly he isn’t.”
    â€œThanks to our little hero,” my dad said proudly as he gave me a mock punch in the arm.
    Instinctively, I recoiled. Not because Dad had hit me too hard, but rather to keep from getting an imprint of his superhot hand on my skin. Oddly, his fist was only lukewarm at best. I probably wouldn’t have thought anything more about it, except Dad brought over the frying pan and proceeded to scrape a portion of half-cooked, curdled-looking eggs onto my plate.
    â€œDad, are you okay?” I asked. My mom was suddenly concerned as well.
    â€œThermo, what’s the matter?”
    â€œNothing is wrong,” he replied, obviously agitated. “Everything is just fine.”
    For about thirty seconds he succeeded in maintaining his facade of confidence—then he broke down and began blubbering into his hands.
    â€œI don’t know what’s happening,” he sobbed as only a mild hint of steam was given off. “Ever since I woke up, I haven’t been able to generate anything other than a mild heat. What’s happening to me?! Oh, and we also got fired as the spokesteam for Maximizer Brand Snack Cakes.”
    â€œThere, there, dear,” she attempted to calm him. “Everything will be— Wait, you also got fired?”
    I nodded encouragingly to my dad to fess up as I picked up my glass of milk. I hadn’t taken more than a sip