Dr Seattle Opens His Heart by Winston Turnage (Lightspeed #162, November 2023) is a short, two page fragment about a cruel and arbitrary superhero called Dr Seattle. We learn about the thousand faces people see when they look at him, his damaged body, and how he deals ruthlessly with a terrorist incident at an internet company building (“Detonate it”).
A notion, not a story.
* (Mediocre). 650 words. Story link (available 23rd November).
The Burning Girl by Carrie Vaughn
The Burning Girl by Carrie Vaughn (Beneath Ceaseless Skies #340, 7th October 2021) opens with three knights arriving at an abbey, and a teenage girl called Joan being brought before them:
[One] of the nuns ran back to the hall and returned with an unlit candle, one of the big beeswax ones used to light the chapel sanctuary. I knew what this meant: these knights had demanded a demonstration. At the sight of that candle, I nearly cried. I did not understand, did not want to understand, but I knew what was happening.
Ursula held the candle to me. “You must show Sir Gilbert what you are.”
“Mother Abbess, you said that I must never—”
“That doesn’t matter.”
“But you said that I would be damned—”
“Joan! If you do not do this for Sir Gilbert, the Norman army will destroy the abbey and all of us with it. Please.”
Mother Ursula did not have to beg for anything, particularly not from a low-born novice placed here out of charity and fear. A scrawny, awkward novice, coifed and shrouded in threadbare gray and carrying the Devil’s spark. But she begged now.
I held the candle before me where the Normans could see it. Its weight was potential; the wick beckoned. Already the spark rose up under my skin. Mother Ursula could not put a candle in my hand and expect I would do nothing.
I touched the wick. The candle lit, a tongue of fire flaring and settling.
“Mon Dieu.” This was whispered by the wiry, chestnut-haired man standing to Sir Gilbert’s right. The nuns made the sign of the cross.
Sir Gilbert smiled.
Joan leaves with the Sir Gilbert and the other two and, when they get back to his camp, she sees that he has gathered several other paranormals into his company: Ann (who was one of the two “knights” with Gilbert) can split the ground; Isabelle can control the weather; Ibrahim can talk to the birds; and Felix can run very quickly. The next day they travel to see William (the Conqueror) and, when Joan is presented to him, she spectacularly demonstrates her powers by setting a nearby haycart ablaze. This leads to William giving Gilbert and the paranormals the task of taking the city of York.
The last section of the story details the battle at York and (spoiler) their eventual victory. Then, afterwards, William’s men attempt to kill Gilbert and the others because of the threat they pose. However, after the group fight off the attack, Gilbert goes to see William and gets a reprieve and land in Wessex.
This is a readable enough piece but it is essentially the Norman Conquest redone with superheroes, and, like most superhero tales, the story has a number of overfamiliar elements: (a) misfits bond with other misfits; (b) there is lots of fighting; and (c) there is little sense of peril for the reader as it seems fairly obvious that the group’s powers will deliver them to safety. And, when that fails, William can always change his mind at the end of the story.
Not a bad piece, but it is somewhat formulaic and consequently a little uninvolving.
** (Average). 10,650 words. Story link.
Burn or the Episodic Life of Sam Wells as a Super by A. T. Greenblatt
Burn or the Episodic Life of Sam Wells as a Super by A. T. Greenblatt (Uncanny #34. May-June 2020) opens with the would be “Super” (superhero) of the story, an accountant called Sam Wells (who has some ability to produce fire, although not always in a controlled fashion), interviewing to join his local “Super Team”. Most of the assembled superheroes seems unimpressed or uninterested in him:
“I would really be grateful if I could join you,” Sam says, clasping his hands behind his back to stop them from shaking.
Twenty-four pairs of eyes turn to look at him again. But this time they aren’t empty stares. This time, they are filled with heartache and grief and despair.
“Okay,” says the man in gray, “I’ll go get the papers you need to sign.” He drops his gaze and in an afterthought adds, “Congratulations.”
And just like that, Sam’s a member of the Super Team.
The hours of standing in front of the mirror, practicing control, paid off. Except there are no introductions or chocolate cake. No smiles or welcomes.
“I’m so sorry,” the woman in magenta tells him before heading to the exit.
Twenty-four pairs of eyes have found something else to look at. Twenty-four pairs of feet shuffle out. And soon all that’s left in the room are twenty-four empty chairs and Sam.
Watch Sam burn.
This uninspiring beginning to Sam’s superhero career takes another nose-dive when he finds out from Miranda, the Supers’ Office Manager, that they have hired him to be their accountant. However, over time, and with the help of Miranda, he learns to control his talent and slowly integrates into the team. After further complications (e.g., he is refused service in a shop because of what he is, then Lance, the team precognitive, warns him that he shouldn’t stay with the team), he becomes the hero of the piece (spoiler) when he rushes into their burning headquarters after it has been set alight by an arsonist. After this Sam learns to accept what he is and how his life has worked out.
I’m not really interested in superhero stories (especially movies, which are usually endless and violent power fantasies), but this is a reasonably well-done variation on the trope—and one which views super powers (especially only partially controllable ones) as a curse or disability more than a boon. And, of course, the story still manages to squeeze in a couple of scenes where the Team use their superpowers!
*** (Good). 10,200 words. Story link.