The Secrets of the Superhero's Ring

By Steve Frederick

Eleven-year-old Kyle Alexander is a scrawny fifth-grade boy who is afraid of heights, and fights and flights. He's also very clumsy. He's bullied at school where he and his best friend, Carlos, are the new kids. But he becomes Chicago's newest superhero, thanks to a magic ring he found in a specially-mark

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lucrative Careers, LLC
• Release date: Apr 22, 2022
• ISBN: 9781732385382

Book preview

THE CITY’S SUPERHEROES

Cockroach – He was an ordinary, though clumsy, 11-year-old boy. Then one day, his mom brought home a specially-marked box of corn flakes. This box was part of Scrunchy Cereal Company’s Breakfast of Superheroes promotion. Inside each box was a toy copy of a magic ring. That ring had once belonged to Marfando, the dead brother of great superhero, Captain Nightmare. But somehow, the real ring found its way into that box Kyle’s mom had brought home. Once he put it on his finger, it wouldn’t come off, no matter how hard he tugged and pulled. So far, he learned the ring has a mischievous personality and that speaking sweet words to it gives him power to fly quickly across the city. But the ring has much greater powers, yet to be discovered.

Secret Identity: Kyle Alexander, a fifth-grade boy who is afraid of heights and flights and fights.

Captain Nightmare – The Captain, who was born on the planet Pluto, is the strongest and fastest of Chicago’s superheroes. He is a crook’s worst nightmare. His sizzling speed leaves jet planes far behind. He’s stronger than 20 tigers, and his growling voice strikes fear into the hearts of evildoers. His powers come from a magic ring with a sparkling red stone.

Secret Identity: Homer Burns, construction worker

Caveman – Thousands of years ago, an early human ran into a cave to escape a hungry beast. He soon became lost in the immense cave and wandered in darkness for days. At last, he saw a glimmer of light and found a way out. It was a passageway that led to the future. He emerged to find a world in which that beast was extinct, but cars, buildings, and people were everywhere. He uses caveman weapons to frighten and capture criminals.

Secret Identity: None; he’s just Caveman.

Lady Raven—While growing up on a farm, Jackie Black found an injured baby raven that had fallen from its nest. She took the bird home and cared for her, and soon, the raven became her best friend. That raven would often sit on her shoulder as she did chores. One day, when the army tested a secret weapon at a nearby base, a blast of heat and strange chemicals joined her body with her raven. She can now change into either a large bird with the head of a woman, or a full-sized woman with giant black wings.

Secret Identity: Jackie Black, a brilliant engineer who creates crime-fighting devices.

The Shailen (pronounced Shay-len) Warrior – She was an outstanding police officer until a cowardly crook shot her in the back. When doctors said she’d never walk again, she became more determined than ever to bring criminals to justice. She refused to take a job working at a desk, but wondered how she could possibly continue to fight crime. Lady Raven came to her assistance. She gathered her engineer friends, and together, they created a wheelchair with amazing powers. Shailen Warrior took her name from a courageous boy named Shailen, who she had met while in the hospital.

Secret Identity: Crystal Wong, disabled ex-police officer

TreeMan – After unknowingly eating radioactive acorns near a nuclear power plant, tree power surged through his body and transformed him into TreeMan. He can quickly change into a tree of whatever size or type he wants. He can be a tree with arms and legs when he needs to move around. He can also disguise himself as a tree to blend into the landscape. TreeMan is the leader of the superheroes.

Secret Identity: Jorge Madera, furniture store owner

Barracuda – While on an ocean cruise, Dick Mobee fell overboard and was swallowed by a giant whale, along with many fish and sea creatures. Soon after, when a fishing boat caught the whale, the crew was astounded to find a man living inside that whale’s belly. Mobee was never the same after his rescue. The whale had partly digested him along with the fish, and his body now had strange connections to the other sea creatures. He found he had great strength and had become a speedy swimmer. When needed, he can add part of a sea creature to his own body. The deadly jaws of a shark, a whale’s powerful tail, and the painful spines of a sea urchin are just a few of the weapons he’s used to fight crime. But when he’s on dry land, he’s just an ordinary man. That’s unfortunate, since most crimes are committed on dry land.

Secret Identity: Dick Mobee, trainer at an aquarium in Chicago

The Days That Change Your Life

Certain days change your life forever. They smash your old life to bits, and all the king’s horses and all the king’s men can’t put it back together again.

Many of these life-changing days are quite unexpected.

BAM!

You receive many letters summoning you to a school of witchcraft and wizardry.

ZWAP!

A radioactive spider drops from the ceiling and bites you.

KABOOM!

The planet you live on explodes just after your parents load you into a rocket ship and blast you into space.

A boy named Kyle Alexander recently had one of those quite unexpected days (that story is told in the book called Breakfast of Superheroes). His mother surprised him by bringing home a specially-marked box of corn flakes. The box was supposed to contain a toy copy of the magic ring that once belonged to Marfando, the deceased brother of the superhero named Captain Nightmare.

But the ring inside the box Kyle’s mother bought wasn’t a toy—and it wouldn’t come off Kyle’s finger.

Chapter 1

The Evening News

It was the dead of night. Downtown Chicago was quiet and nearly deserted when the roar of an engine shattered the silence. A black van sped east across Michigan Avenue. It crashed through the majestic arched glass doorway of the Markiss Neemun store, sending glass flying in all directions. The van’s doors burst open and four figures dressed in furry bear costumes leaped out. The Grizzly Bear Gang was striking again.

The tall, broad-shouldered driver barked orders as the gang fanned out, clutching large trash bags. They stuffed shoes, purses, jewelry, dresses, and suits into the bags and tossed them into the back of the van. In a few short minutes, the van was crammed full of bags of overpriced merchandise.

They slammed shut the van’s back doors and jumped back into their seats – except for the driver. He turned to face the security camera, removed the head and gloves of his grizzly bear costume, and gestured at the camera. Then, reaching inside his bear outfit, he pulled out a handful of glittery dust and tossed it into the air. The other Grizzlies motioned impatiently for him to get back in the van and drive. Finally, he too leaped into his seat, slammed the door, and hit the gas. With a squeal of tires, the van turned around and smashed what was left of the doorway on the way out. It sped south and disappeared minutes before police arrived on the scene.

When the evening news came on, 11-year-old Kyle Alexander was in bed with a nasty cold. His blond hair was damp with sweat. His tall, skinny body hurt all over as he coughed up yet another wad of green yuck from his lungs. After disposing of the disgusting tissue in the overflowing wastebasket, he flopped back on his pillow, exhausted. His sheepdog, Parker, who had been by the side of his bed all day, licked his hand.

This was his third day in bed since he, dressed as the superhero now known as Cockroach, had come face to face with the dangerous criminal, Rocky the Rat. Rocky and his gang were now locked up in the Big Muddy Water Correctional Facility.

Cockroach had gotten credit for catching these crooks, but he hadn’t really done it. He’d also been blamed for flooding the streets and cutting the power to a number of houses in the neighborhood. He hadn’t done that either. He HAD gotten lost on the way home, and flying around soaking wet on a chilly night had brought on