Mik Murdoch Boy Superhero: Mik Murdoch

By Michell Plested

Mik Murdoch is just a regular, everyday kid...until he decides it is his destiny to become a superhero. But, just how does one become a superhero anyway? Mik doesn't have any of the normal things that would fulfill his dream; he doesn't have special powers, nor billions of dollars or technology. He isn't even the world's greatest detective. It shouldn't be all that hard though, should it? People get super powers in the comic books all the time. So Mik tries everything he can think of to get powers. Radioactive bugs, super powered armour, even putting on a cape so he can fly. Will he get super powers? Are there villains to battle? Does his small town of Cranberry Flats even need a superhero? So many questions. The biggest on of all? Is the world ready for Mik Murdoch, Boy Superhero?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Evil Alter Ego Press
• Release date: Jun 1, 2016
• ISBN: 9780994726681

Michell Plested

Michell Plested has been reading science fiction and fantasy since he was six years old, and writing for almost as long. He is an author, blogger, and podcaster living in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. he writes in multiple genres, spending most of his time with science fiction, fantasy, and YA adventure.He is the host of the writing podcast Get Published, (a 2009 Parsec Finalist) and the science fiction comedy podcast GalaxyBillies, which has been called 'Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy meets Beverley Hillbillies' by his listeners.

Book preview

Mik Murdoch,

Boy Superhero

Michell Plested

EVIL ALTER EGO PRESS

www.evilalteregopress.wordpress.com

Evil Alter Ego Press

www.evilalteregopress.wordpress.com

Published by Evil Alter Ego Press, 869 Citadel Drive NW, Calgary, AB T3G 4B8, Canada

Mik Murdoch, Boy Superhero, Copyright © 2012 by Michell Plested.

Edited by Robert Runté.

Cover by Jeff Minkevics, copyright © 2012 by Jeff Minkevics.

Interior design and layout by Michell Plested.

Originally Published by Five Rivers Publishing, 2012.

All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the publisher of the book.

Publisher’s note: This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Print version set in Cambria; titles in Cambria, byline in Cambria.

Published in Canada

Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication

Plested, Michell, 1968-, author

Mik Murdoch, Boy Superhero / Michell Plested.

Electronic monograph issued in EPUB and print format.

ISBN 978-0-9947266-6-7 (pbk.).

ISBN 978-0-9947266-8-1 (epub).

For my friends and family who listened,

For Kelly, Lorina and Robert who believed,

And most especially for Jo Anne, Deanna and Kyle,

Who always stood by me.

Contents

Chapter 1 - Spider-Man 1

Chapter 2 - The Veterinarian 14

Chapter 3 - From Bad to Worse 29

Chapter 4 - Krypto 44

Chapter 5 - Iron Man 54

Chapter 6 - The Clancys 61

Chapter 7 - Glowing Monster 73

Chapter 8 - Sidekick Lost 81

Chapter 9 - Rescue 92

Chapter 10 - Silly String 101

Chapter 11 - The Battle 112

Chapter 12 - Research 120

Chapter 13 - Discovery 131

Chapter 14 - Exploring 136

Chapter 15 - The Cave of Wonders 154

Chapter 16 - Patrick 173

Chapter 17 - Miss Purdy Returns 190

Chapter 18 - Baseball 195

Chapter 19 - Halloween Plans 200

Chapter 20 - Testing the Plan 208

Chapter 21 - Trick or Treat 213

Chapter 22 - The Surprise 223

Chapter 23 - The Dream 230

About the Author 234

Books by EAEP 236

Chapter 1

Spider-Man

WELCOME TO CRANBERRY Flats, population 3,500. At least, that’s what the sign outside town says. Actually, there are 3,493 people, 96 dogs, 371 cats and a whole bunch of cows, horses and chickens. I know because I checked.

My name is Mik Murdoch. I’m nine years old and I’ve been in Cranberry Flats all my life. I live in a big old two-story white house on the edge of town. We have a big cow pasture in the back and I have my own secret hideout in the middle of it. That would be the tree house dad and I built when I was six. Only now it has all these cool modifications I’ve put in: weapons, secret passages and a few other little secrets I don’t want to talk about.

Cranberry Flats just happens to be the greatest town in the world. It’s got a theatre, an ice-cream parlour, a hamburger stand, a 7-11, and lots more. Oh yeah, and it is under my protection.

You see, I’m a Superhero. It’s my job to make sure that nothing bad happens here. If it does, I’m the one who’s going to solve the problem and make it go away.

Like any good comic book hero, I’ve got an alter ego. I’ve kept the secret pretty well hidden to protect my mom and dad. Sometimes my alter ego has protected me too. Usually when that’s happened, it was from Mom and Dad.

I really decided to become a superhero when Spider-Man came to the theatre in town. Dad took me to see the movie on a warm Saturday near the end of May. Mom didn’t come because she said, I want a bit of quiet time without you boys under my feet. Personally, I think she stayed home because Dad had been bugging her.

Dad had a faraway look in his eyes when we left the theatre. It sure would be something to have powers like Spider-Man, he said. I’d always be able to help out my family and my town when they needed me.

I knew exactly what he meant. Cranberry Flats is a great place to live and I love it here. I still remember how sad I was when the grain elevators burned down. If Dad or I had had Spider-Man powers, we might have saved it.

The more I thought about my dad’s dream the more I realized I was destined to become a Superhero myself. All I needed was to be bitten by a radioactive bug of some kind.

As soon as I got home, I went looking for my mom. I found her lounging on the living room couch, watching television. Hi, Mom.

Hi, Honey, how was the movie?

It was amazing! Spider-Man’s super powers were so cool. He could climb walls and swing from webs. I stopped talking for a moment and then concluded, I wish I had powers like him.

And what would you do with super powers if you had them? she asked. She led me into the kitchen and sat me down at the table. She opened the fridge while I continued to talk.

Well, I would try to make things better for you and Dad and all of Cranberry Flats.

She poured me a glass of milk. That’s sweet, Honey, but your dad and I don’t really need anything.

I wasn’t going to let that stop me. Well, I could do my chores better for one thing. Spider-Man is really, really strong!

A plate of cookies clunked down on the table in front of me. That would be good. And what kinds of things would you do for Cranberry Flats?

I didn’t need to think about that answer at all. Remember when the Grain Elevators burned down? I could have helped to put out the fire.

Mom looked puzzled. I didn’t know Spider-Man had the power to put out fires.

He doesn’t. But he could have helped with getting water to the fire and stuff, I said. I had a gulp of milk and a cookie.

That’s very noble, Mik. But you know you can do heroic things without having any powers, don’t you?

Like what?

Well, just by helping Dad and me, you are our hero. And whenever you pick up litter or help someone out, you’re being their hero too.

That all sounded good, but I still wanted my own powers. That reminded me why I came into the house to see my mom in the first place.

Mom? Do you have a big jar I could have? One with a lid?

A big jar with a lid? She thought about it for a minute. I think I do. What do you need it for?

I had to tread carefully now. Mom is pretty sharp and I didn’t want her to know all my plans. I want to catch some bugs and put them in it, I said.

Bugs? She looked skeptical. What are you going to do with them?

Luckily, I was ready for the question. I’m collecting them for school.

Then she threw one at me I hadn’t thought of. When do you need them by?

Um, Monday? Of course, they weren’t for school but I didn’t want to wait.

Mom stared at me with piercing blue eyes in that look I think all mothers have. It was the ‘Why are you only asking now?’ look. Why are you only doing it now?

I tried to look remorseful. I guess I forgot.

She smiled. Good thing it’s only Saturday. You finish your milk and I’ll go see what I can find.

It didn’t take her long to find a jar perfect for my needs. She handed it over to me and collected my now empty milk glass and cookie plate. Go collect your bugs, young man!

Thanks, Mom, I said as I walked out the door. You’re the best!

I made my way out into the sunshine and started my search. I found ladybugs, grasshoppers, spiders and ants. There were even a few that I couldn’t name, but that was all right with me. The more the merrier!

I don’t think the bugs were terribly happy to be cooped up in the jar. In fact, a couple bugs ate a couple of the other bugs. I figured that was all right. It just meant that the toughest would survive, giving me better powers.

But how was I going to make them radioactive? And what was radioactive anyway? Since Dad had seen the movie with me, I thought he might know, so I went to find him.

He was out working in the shed in the backyard, humming to himself, when I found him. That was another thing that made me think he’d done something to upset Mom. He always worked in the shed when she was annoyed with him.

Whatcha doing, Dad?

Dad stopped hammering and looked up at me. Hey, Mik. He looked at the board he was working on. "I’m just building a new walking gate for the pasture.

That’s good. I tried to sound cool. Can I ask you a question?

Dad put the hammer down and dusted his hands off on his pants. Sure, Mik. You can ask me anything. You know that.

I hesitated for a moment. It was an odd question. I must have looked nervous because my dad came over and put a hand on my shoulder.

What’s the matter, Mik? Is everything all right? He gently squeezed my shoulder.

Um... oh yeah, everything’s fine. I was just thinking about the movie and there was something I didn’t understand.

Dad smiled. Okay, sport. I’ll do my best to answer, but you’re the comic book expert in this family. He stepped back up to the bench.

Well, I don’t understand what radioactive means. Spider-Man got bitten by a radioactive spider to get his powers.

Dad thought about my question for a minute. Well, Mik, radioactivity is when something gives off radiation.

That didn’t actually help me that much. But what’s radiation? I asked.

That’s a little harder to explain because radiation can be a lot of things, he replied. The stuff that the microwave uses to cook food is radiation. There are even bombs that produce radiation to destroy and kill things.

So radiation can come from a lot of things? I thought about his bomb example. Does it always kill?

No, it doesn’t always kill. In fact, the heat and light from the sun are forms of radiation. Everything on Earth needs those two things to survive.

Oh, okay.

He looked seriously at me. Some radiation is dangerous and some is not. We don’t have any dangerous radiation here, so you don’t need to worry, okay?

Okay. Thanks, Dad.

Anytime, Mik. Do you have any other questions for me?

Nope, that was it. I held up the jar. I’ve got to get back to my collecting now.

Collecting? You’re collecting bugs now?

For a moment, I almost panicked. Dad’s smart like Mom and I didn’t want him to know my plans too soon. I need them for a school project, I answered. That seemed safe enough.

Yeah, all right. My dad turned back to his work. You have fun, okay?

Sure thing, Dad, I said as I ran out of the shed. He had given me something to think about. So, the microwave oven provided a kind of radiation, did it?

I didn’t want my parents to know that they were about to have a superhero son. It would just cause them to worry or they’d go bragging to their friends and my secret would be out.

I waited until Mom was out of the house to work in the garden before I made my attempt. I crept into the kitchen and placed the jar in the microwave. I was about to start it when I remembered something important.

My parents had both drilled the idea into me that metal should never be put in a microwave oven. It could start a fire, they had both told me over and over again.

I opened the microwave and took the metal lid off the jar. Closing the door, I set the time for five minutes. The insects would need a good dose or they wouldn’t give me my powers properly.

I turned on the microwave and sat down at the table to wait. I pulled out a ratty comic from my back pocket and thumbed through it. I could have watched the bugs in the microwave, I suppose, but Mom always said, A watched pot never boils. I figured that advice probably worked for microwave ovens too.

I was happy to hear the sounds of snapping and popping coming from the microwave. It sounded like I was making popcorn. In the movies that always meant things were working.

An odd smell drifted to my nose, but I didn’t think anything of it. When the microwave dinged I got up to collect my experiment.

A cloud of foul-smelling smoke poured out of the microwave when I popped the door. The kitchen fire alarm started blaring.

There wasn’t a second to lose! I grabbed the jar and made a run for it.

Juggling the jar to keep from either dropping it or burning my hands, I made it out to a spot behind the barn.

The jar was smoky and a bit blackened so I couldn’t quite make out the radioactive bugs that must be inside. It was very exciting. I was about to get my powers!

I almost cried when I poured the burnt bodies of the insects into my hand.

My parents were puzzled by the cause of the fire alarm. They could tell that the smoke had come from the microwave, but not how.

Mik, do you know anything about the fire in the microwave? Mom had asked me.

I answered her with my best wide-eyed innocent look. No, Mother, I don’t know anything about a fire. I was playing out in the field when I heard the alarm.

They had called me right after they heard the alarm. Since I’d come in from the direction of the field, they believed me.

But it also caused some concern in the house. My father (at Mother’s insistence) unplugged and removed the microwave from the kitchen. I think she was worried that it might happen again, but this time when someone was in the house (and worse, maybe asleep). I didn’t have the courage to tell them what really happened.

You might say that lying isn’t true to the Superhero code and you would be right. I can only ask for your understanding; I was only eight at the time and didn’t yet have the grasp of right and wrong like I have today.

I spent the next several weeks keeping quiet to avoid being noticed. By the time I was ready to try again for superpowers, it was summer break from school.

I decided to stay away from radiation. I mean, where could I get an atom bomb anyway?

So I went down to the local library to look up more about superpowers. All right, that’s not entirely true. I actually went to the 7-11 and read through some of their comic books. What better place to learn about gaining superpowers? Right away, I discovered that another way of gaining powers was through different chemicals.

That idea led me back to the smartest guy I know. My dad. He looked at me pretty oddly when he heard my question.

Chemicals? Why do you want to know about chemicals?

I had to think pretty fast. As I said before, Dad is pretty smart. I saw a show about chemicals in the home and how they can be dangerous, I said. I want to collect any unwanted chemicals from our house and take them down to the fire station for safe disposal.

My father never batted an eye (which, looking back is kind of scary... I was only eight at the time).

Well, in that case, he said, you can collect all the used motor oil that’s around here. The fire station probably won’t take it, but Lou’s garage will have a place to put it.

I wasn’t sure I believed him. I mean, Dad likes to kid me sometimes. Used motor oil? Are you sure? That doesn’t sound like a chemical to me.

I’m sure, son, my father said. Think about it this way... when oil burns, it is a chemical reaction, and therefore, oil is a chemical. It stands to reason. He looked closely at me. If you’re trying to make our home a safer place, then removing a fire hazard is a good place to start. That is what you’re trying to do, right?

Yes, Dad. That is what I’m trying to do. Since I didn’t want him to learn the real reason I was looking for chemicals, I could only agree.

And you remember where I said to take it? he asked.

Lou’s garage, I answered. I remember.

Good boy, he said. I think you’ll find the oil in the barn in a bunch of old pails. Use your wagon to take them down to Lou’s. It’ll probably take you a couple of days to get it done. He knelt down in front of me and put his hand on my shoulder. I really appreciate you taking the safety of our family so seriously, son. Thank you. And he did something that didn’t happen very often. He gave me a hug.

What could I say to that? I had no choice but to take the oil from the barn. But, if I could believe what he told me, I might