Empowered, Part I

Everyone said I was crazy for wanting to witness a superhero battle at first hand.  Hey, some people chase storms.  I chase supers. I had always been fascinated by supers. I watched every news broadcast. I collected their memorabilia. I even owned a few threads from Batman's cape (don't ask me how I got them). I dreamed of gaining power myself, protecting  the city and keeping people safe. I fantasized about superheroines, dreaming that they would somehow find me attractive and claim me as their boyfriend.  I wanted so much to be a part of that world that I was willing to risk my own life, despite the danger of collateral damage that frequently accompanied a fight between supers.

Downtown was being rocked by a confrontation between Black Adam and  Power Girl. I made my way to a skyscraper's observation deck so I could watch the action. The two moved around the city at amazing speed, shattering windows by the sonic booms they left in their wake. Occasionally, one would catch the other and deliver a devastating blow, sending the other through a building. The tower I was standing atop was pierced in this way, and for a few heart-stopping moments, I worried that the building would collapse around me.

Power Girl looked like she was having the best of the fight. Dodging Black Adam's arcane blasts, she was able to pummel her foe, and I could see the villain start to stagger and weaken.  I cheered as it looked like I would see history in the making not ten yards above my head. I could even feel the impact of each of the heroine's mighty blows.

But then Black Adam snared Power Girl in a band of red arcane energy. Power Girl screamed in pain. I was terrified as I could not imagine anything that could hurt the kryptonian so bad. She fell to the observation deck not twenty feet from where I stood.  Whatever Black Adam did must have weakened him further, because he flew off to nurse his own wounds.

Power Girl tried to get up, but it was very clear that she was severely injured.  I raced to her side, unsure of what I could do but willing to help in any way possible.  She looked up at me, still magnificent but somehow, through the dirt and scrapes, more human.

"I need your help," she said weakly.  My heart nearly stopped. I was a mere human. How could I help the strongest woman on earth?

"Black Adam did something to me.  His magic is somehow reducing me.  If I fight it, I'll die.  If I let it run its course, it will destroy everything I am, leaving me powerless and incoherent.  I have to accelerate the magic through my body. This will also destroy me, but there is a chance to continue on. As I pass, I will leave behind a small red gem.  Take this into your body. Continue the fight."

This was all too much for me to handle. She was offering me everything I ever dreamed of , and the prospect terrified me. "I can't do what you do," I protested. "I'm just a guy. I don't know how to do what you do."

She took my hand in hers. Already I could feel her strength draining.  "My name is Kara Zor-L, and I was a stranger to this universe once. Others helped me make it my home, and I will do everything I can to protect it. Take the gem and continue the fight. Its power can make you stronger than I ever was, but you have to act soon.  Otherwise, my work in this universe will be over."

It was becoming hard for her to speak, and she slumped weakly to the ground. I cradled her head in my lap, anguished that one of my idols appeared to be dying. Could I really accept superpowers? It seemed like such hubris. But, then again, could I really refuse Power Girl's dying wish?

She coughed once, and a tiny red gem flew from her mouth.  It pulsed with energy and I picked it up to examine it more closely. Before I could study it, though, it became clear that life has passed from Kara Zor-L.  Tears filled my eyes and for several long moments, I could not think clearly. The sound of sirens filled my ears.  I knew what I had to do. I lifted the red stone to my mouth and swallowed it in one gulp.

Suddenly, I felt dizzy. I swayed briefly, then collapsed on the body of the superheroine.

I think I was out for less than a minute. When I awoke, everything was different. Not only could I hear the sirens, but I could hear the voices of dozens of emergency responders, all dealing with the damage from the recent fight. I looked up at a cloud, and I could make out individual particles of water vapor, even though the cloud was exactly 5.324 km away (how I knew that, I don't know).  Then, my gaze turned downward, and I realized what had happened.

My old body was gone.  I was now in the body of Power Girl, or that of her successor. An immense canyon of tit-flesh met my gaze, framed by the famous Magic Cleavage Window.  From my current angle, I could not even see my crotch, but a quick inspection with my hands revealed that I was unmistakable female.  Not only had Power Girl's stone given me superpowers, it had somehow turned me into her exact duplicate. (I later learned that I was not an exact copy of the original. My Asian features remained on my face, I was two inches shorter than the original, and my breasts were even larger than the epic rack for which PG was famous. As it turned out, my powers were amplified, too.  But I get ahead of myself...)

I  must have sat there for several minutes, marveling at my new body and at how my new enhanced senses perceived the world. I could focus my sight and hearing on spots miles away, and I learned very quickly that my sense of touch was magnified as well. I always wondered how Kryptonians, who could shatter mountains with their strength, did not destroy mere humans with their slightest touch. Or haw skin that could repel tank shells could even register the touch of another human.  The answer lay in that enhanced sense. I could actually feel the compression of air as my hands moved two inches above my chest. Gently, I touched my exposed skin, and a shudder of pleasure ran down my spine. I then grabbed a nipple through the fabric of my uniform and I nearly fell to my knees in ecstasy. Did all Kryptonians feel this way? It was a wonder that they could leave the house at all to fight crime, I mused.  For the first time, a smile crossed my lips. I had swallowed the gem only with great reluctance. I had been frightened of the responsibility I knew would come with the action. Now that I understood some of the potential rewards, the responsibility did not seem so intimidating.

I was interrupted by a door to the observation deck opening. My hand flew away from my chest at lightspeed. I don't think the firemen who joined me saw anything.  "Power Girl!" one said. "We saw Black Adam fly away.  We feared the worst."

"No...I'm OK," I replied. My words caught for a second as I spoke with a voice that was not my own. I sounded just like the old Kara, I realized.  "I need to get ready to meet him again," I added.  Then I walked to the edge of the building. It is one thing to know you can fly. It is quite another to step off of a nine-hundred foot ledge into nothingness.  Fortunately, my new body had instincts that seemed to take over.  I bobbed down about twenty feet then floated up effortlessly to the level of the observation deck.

"I'm sorry about the mess," I told the firefighters.  "I'll help clean up if I can." Then I shot off to the other end of the city and settled on the roof of a warehouse that overlooked the river.  It was only then that I allowed everything to sink in. For all intents and purposes, the old me was dead.  People would think that I had been killed by my own foolishness in my desire to witness a superhero battle. As far as anyone knew, I was a slightly different Power Girl, with all of the powers and pleasures and responsibilities that came with it.  It was a life I had dreamed of and a life I now fully accepted. I would need help making the adjustment, though, and that meant I would have to contact other heroes who could help me navigate my new life.  I decided to seek out the Justice League.