Mighty Girl
By M.C.



An 18 year-old boy describes what it's like when he discovers his girlfriend
has superhuman strength.

Hi, my name is Mike. I'm an 18 year-old senior in high school who just
discovered an amazing thing about my girlfriend Alice. But before I get into
all of the details, I think a bit of background information is necessary:

I grew up and live in the relatively modest beach town of Oceanside,
California - one of the many Southern California beach towns located along the
Pacific coast between Los Angeles and San Diego. It was basically a nice,
quiet town to grow up in until a few years ago when a bunch of really 'bad
elements' began to move in, and then things began to get worse; much worse.
Drug use among students, which had been relatively rare up until then, began
to skyrocket. And because buying illicit drugs requires large amounts of money
(which most of the students can't afford) the crime rate increased
substantially, completely overwhelming our local police department's ability
to deal effectively with the problem. The situation got so bad that the
community was on the verge of giving up all hope - and then an amazing thing
happened.

From seemingly out of nowhere, a girl, believed to be a teenager according to
people who've actually seen her (and believed to be around my age), emerged
and literally saved the day. But because she always wears a mask and won't
reveal to anybody who she is, nobody seems to know anything about who she is
and how she acquired her amazing abilities; like her superhuman strength and a
body that seems to be impervious to bullets. When she was asked by someone
whom she saved from a fire what her name was, she simply smiled and said, you
can call me 'Mighty Girl'," and then she was off.

Because she keeps her true identity a secret, this mysterious girl has become
the subject of a great deal of speculation in our school as well as all of
Oceanside. Who was this amazing 'wonder girl' who can singlehandedly wipe out
an entire drug cartel?

Who can run down a getaway car escaping from a bank robbery at one hundred
miles an hour - force it to stop and then beat up all the bank robbers while
the bullets from their guns simply bounce off her? Rescue six children from a
burning building, without seeming to be bothered by the flames? In my high
school we all wondered, is she one of us? She seems to be around our age. Does
she go to our school?"

It was my 18th birthday and Alice (my girlfriend who I've known since she
moved next door to me ten years ago) and I were enjoying a nice day at the
beach on a nice, warm, Saturday afternoon. Did you see what Mighty Girl did
the other day Alice?" I asked her.

"No Mike. What did she do?"

"She singlehandedly wiped out the largest drug smuggling organization
operating in all of Southern California. When the police arrived at their
hideout, they found twenty large, tough men all lying battered and unconscious
on the floor."

"Oh really. What else did they find?"

"Over twenty million dollars' worth of illegal narcotics that was probably
earmarked for students; probably many from our school. And that's not all."

"What else did they find?"

"Dozens of bullets lying on the floor next to the battered men. And each one
was bent, as if it had hit an object much harder." Perhaps, if I had been
paying more attention, I would have noticed the smirk on Alice's' face when
she replied, well maybe she's bulletproof Mike, just like Supergirl."

"But Supergirl is just a comic book character, like Wonder Woman. They're not
really real Alice. But this Mighty Girl seems like she's the real deal."

Alice gave me a very strange smile before responding, are you really sure
about that Mike? I mean are you really sure that there's a girl with
superhuman strength walking around among us? A girl with a body so strong that
bullets not only bounce off her, but are bent in the process? A girl who can
run down the getaway car of bank robbers racing at over a hundred miles an
hour, grab it from behind forcing it to stop and then giggling while they were
shooting at her before beating them all up?" (Mighty Girl supposedly did that
a month ago).

"Well yes Alice, all of the evidence seems to point in that direction. But why
does she hide her identity from everyone? I mean if she's so powerful, then
why doesn't she just come out and tell everyone who she is?"

"Well, maybe it's because she has taken down so many drug dealers, bank
robbers, vicious gang members and other criminals that she doesn't want to
endanger her friends and those that she loves by revealing who she really is
(Alice reached over and gently squeezed my hand when she said this). I mean if
she's really responsible for putting a lot of bad and dangerous people behind
bars Mike, then wouldn't it be better if people didn't know who she really
was? Maybe their friends can't hurt this Mighty Girl herself, but they can
certainly threaten those that she loves and cares about." (I had to admit that
Alice did have a point here; but I also wondered why she was going to such
lengths to explain Mighty Girl's actions. I mean it's not like Alice actually
knows Mighty Girl; is it?).

Before our conversation went any further we heard screams coming from the
shore and an urgent warning from the lifeguard. SHARKS! Everybody get out of
the water immediately!" I ran up to the edge of the water to see what was
going on " and froze in horror. For there, not two hundred yards out from the
shore, were several large fins fast approaching a group of children swimming
in the water! What can we do?

But then an amazing thing happened. Before the large predators reached the
helpless children, the water became very turbulent; and a few seconds later
blood could clearly be seen in the water. A few seconds after that, the body
of a large great white shark floated to the surface " dead! He was followed a
few seconds later by another shark, just as large and just as dead. Then the
water became calm and all the spectators that had gathered together at the
shore let out a collective gasp as a third monstrous shark " larger than the
other two - floated to the surface. Three huge great white sharks had just
been killed in less than a minute! What could possibly have done this? Could
it have been the elusive Mighty Girl? I looked around for Alice but couldn't
find her.

A few minutes later, when I returned to our beach towel, Alice was waiting for
me.

"Boy those kids sure were lucky, weren't they Mike? What do you suppose
happened?"

If I had been a little bit more observant I might have noticed that Alice was
wet now, even though we hadn't been in the water for quite some time.

"Something - or someone - killed all three of those sharks just before they
reached the children. It must have been Mighty Girl. I mean who else could
have done that?"

"WOW! Mighty Girl. Did anybody actually see her fighting the sharks?"

"Apparently not Alice. She must have swam underneath the water the whole way,
killed the three giant sharks and then swam back to shore somewhere. But
nobody seems to have actually seen her."

"Boy, she must really be something then; isn't she?"

I sat down next to Alice on the sand. Yes, she sure is. I'd really like to
meet her some day."

"Hmmm, and what would you say to her if you did ever did meet Mike?"

"I'd thank her for all the wonderful things she's done; like just now for
instance. She singlehandedly wiped out all the drug dealers in town and thanks
to her the crime rate in Oceanside is the lowest it's ever been. And do you
remember that fire on First Street and Main last year Alice?"

"Yes I do. Who could forget that?" For some reason Alice started to giggle
now.

"When she went into that burning building to rescue those six children trapped
inside.

The flames probably couldn't hurt her, but the children might have been
severely burned if she had tried to take them down the stairs. So Mighty Girl
led them up to the rooftop, grabbed a child in each arm and leaped at least
twenty feet over to the roof of the next building. Then she returned two more
times to save the other four.

And just as she jumped with the last two, the building completely collapsed."

"Yes, that Mighty Girl sure is something; isn't she? Tee, hee, hee."

"What's so funny Alice?"

My girlfriend reached over and playfully pinched my cheek. Oh nothing Mike.
Perhaps I'll tell you someday. Come, let's go get something to eat. I'm
famished.

And don't forget, it's your 18th birthday and I want to treat you to a nice
lunch."

Several Hours Later that Afternoon

Alice and I were walking hand-in-hand along the shore when we came upon the
three large corpses of the great white sharks that Mighty Girl had killed
earlier that day.

They had been dragged out of the water and were now being studied by several
marine biologists from the Scripts Oceanography Institute which is located in
La Jolla, a little bit south of Oceanside. They ranged in size from twelve to
sixteen feet in length. What on earth happened to them?" Alice casually asked
one of the scientists.

"I'll be damned if I know miss," he replied. In over twenty years of studying
the ocean I've never seen anything like this. In fact none of us have. All
three of these giant sharks have had their jaws literally smashed in by some
powerful force."

"Gee, what could that have possibly been?"

"Impossible to say. Some people said that a girl that they call Mighty Girl
might have been responsible for this. But personally I find that highly
unlikely, bordering on the absurd in fact. After all, these creatures are the
top predators in the ocean, and just look at the size of them. How could one
single girl have killed all three of them with nothing more than her bare
hands? And nobody actually saw what really happened. No, I'm afraid that that
theory is simply preposterous."

For the second (or third) time that day Alice broke out in giggles. What do
you find so funny about that miss?" the biologist asked.

"Oh nothing sir. Nothing at all." Alice then gently took me by the hand and
said, Come Mike, let's continue our walk, shall we?" And as we were leaving,
my girlfriend called out over her shoulder, I sure hope you guys find out what
happened to these sharks. I'm sure it will be very interesting; tee, hee,
hee."

We walked on for a bit before I finally asked, What's up with you today Alice?
You seem to be in a very giggling mood; even for you." (Alice, if you haven't
already noticed, likes to giggle a lot).

My girlfriend thought for a few moments before replying - as if she was
carefully weighing how to respond. Mike," she finally said," let's go over to
that isolated cove over there where we'll have some privacy. I have something
rather important to tell you." We entered the cove and sat down on a large
rock. Again Alice paused before she said, Mike, you're the best friend that I
ever had. I like you very much; in fact, I may even be in love with you.

Because of that, and in honor of this being your 18th birthday, I'd like to
share a secret with you. But before I do, you'll have to swear never to tell a
single soul about what I'm about to reveal to you. Understand? It's very, VERY
important."

I held up my right hand and said, Alice, I solemnly swear never to tell a
single soul about the secret that you're about to reveal to me; so help me
God."

"Good! Now let's get up from this rock, I have something to show you." After
we rose from the rock, Alice looked around, checking to see if anybody else
was near us. Satisfied that we were completely alone, she smiled and asked,
how much do you think this rock weighs Mike?"

"Hmmm, I'd say something in the neighborhood of five tons Alice. Why do you
ask?"

"Five tons, that seems about right to me. This is why I asked." My girlfriend
put her hands as far underneath the rock as she could and, as I watched in
stunned amazement, began to raise it off the sand. And when she had the rock
standing straight upright she then lifted it completely off the sand and held
it above her head in her outstretched arms. Five tons!

And if that wasn't amazing enough, after making sure that it was balanced
properly, she held it up with just her right hand! Five tons " with one hand!
I was flabbergasted! What's the matter Mikie," Alice giggled when she saw the
expression on my face. You look like you've just seen a ghost; tee, hee, hee."

"Alice. You're (I gulped) you're, you're Mighty Girl!"

"Wow. You're a real Sherlock Holms there aren't you Mikie?" Alice was giggling
non-stop now, all the while holding up the five ton rock above her head with
just one hand! Finally she put it down and placed her hands on her hips. So,
what do you think of your little girlfriend now sweetie pie?"

"You're, you're amazing. Totally awesome!"

"Come honey, let's sit back on this rock again. I think you and I need to have
a little chat.

I guess that there are probably a few questions you'd like to ask me." (This
was an under-statement if ever there was one).

"How? How on Earth did you ever get to be this strong Alice? I mean this rock
weighs at least five tons, and you weren't even exerting yourself. You must be
as strong as fifty men."

Again my girlfriend giggled. Err, more like a hundred men honey." Then she
became serious.

"Unfortunately Mike, I have absolutely no idea how I acquired my 'abilities' -
my strength, speed and invulnerability. You see, those aren't really my true
parents, they're my foster parents. I never actually knew my parents. Before
they retired, my foster parents owned an avocado ranch a little bit east of
here. One morning they heard a loud 'BOOM'. When they went to investigate the
source of the noise, they discovered a crater about twenty feet deep. At the
bottom of the crater were the remains of a spaceship - and me. And although
the spaceship was completely destroyed, I didn't have so much as a single
scratch on me. I have absolutely no idea where I originally came from, who my
natural parents were and why I was sent here. And since my foster parents
didn't have any children of their own, they adopted me."

"I don't even know how old I was, my foster parents just estimated that I was
around four years old. Well, it didn't them long to realize that I was not
exactly what you'd call a 'normal' child. When I started school I was not only
far stronger than all of the other kids, but the teachers too; and I was only
six years old. And nothing seemed to be able to hurt me either.

I was once walking home from school and a bunch of bullies tried to scare me
by threatening to knock me over on their bikes. But I just stood there and let
them crash into me. They all fell down while I hardly felt a thing. It was the
last time they tried to do that to me (smirk). But after I beat up a gang of
older bullies, my foster parents decided to take me out of school and
home-school me until I was older and learned how to control my strength. It
was then that they told me the true story about how they found me. So it
wasn't until high school that I finally got to be around other kids again."

Alice then looked at me, gently squeezed my hand and smiled. In fact Mike,
you, because you lived right next door to me, were the only true friend that I
really ever had in my life.

You were always nice and kind to me, and I will never, EVER forget that. I
guess that's why I fell in love with you in the first place."

"How and why did you decide to call yourself 'Mighty Girl' Alice?"

"Well, you remember a couple of years ago Oceanside was being overrun by drug
gangs and the crime rate was going through the roof? And local law enforcement
seemed to be over-whelmed in their efforts to stop it? Well here I am, a
sixteen year-old girl with all of these amazing abilities. And so I said to
myself, 'shouldn't I be using my unique abilities to help protect my friends
and my community?' So that's when I made the decision to become a sort of
'superheroine'. But since Supergirl, Wonder Woman, Power Girl, Mary Marvel and
many others are probably protected by copywrite laws - and I really didn't
need to deal with any legal hassles - I decided to call myself 'Mighty Girl'
as there didn't seem to be anybody making a claim to that nickname - until now
that is (wink)."

Then Alice became serious again. Look Mike, I have a lot ambivalence about
what I had to do this afternoon by killing those sharks. I mean sharks have
been around for something like 300 million years. They were only doing what
comes natural to them; and I killed them for it. It's the first time I ever
had to kill anything. I know that it was absolutely necessary to save the
lives of the children and that I really had no choice. They had to be
dispatched quickly, so with just a single punch to each of them I smashed in
their jaws. Power like mine has to be controlled and used wisely. I just wish
there would have been another way of handling the situation today."

"You did what you had to do Alice. If you hadn't have killed those sharks,
those children would surely have been eaten alive. I was there. You, and only
you, could have saved them; and you did. You're a hero."

"I guess I am Mike, but I still don't feel good about it." Alice sighed and
put her head on my shoulder and I put my arm around her. We sat there on the
rock in silence for several minutes before I asked, When you put on your mask
and become Mighty Girl, do you notice a psychological transformation in your
personality?"

Alice thought about this for awhile. Yes Mike, I do notice a psychological
change when I don the mask and become Mighty Girl."

"In what way?"

"Well take now for example. Right now I feel that I'm simply Alice, a normal
18 year-old high school girl being hugged by her boyfriend, a boy she loves.
But when I put on my mask and become Mighty Girl, I feel like this
indestructible, unstoppable and invincible fighting machine capable of wiping
out an entire army without so much as getting my hair mussed. So yes, I
definitely do undergo a transformation when I change from being merely Alice
to Mighty Girl."

"What does it feel like when people are shooting bullets at you?"

"Oh it tickles. It feels something like this (Alice took her index finger and
playfully - and fortunately for me lightly - poked me around my chest and
stomach area). Bang! Bang!

Bang! That's what it feels like."

"That's all you feel when you're being hit by dozens of bullets? How can you
have a body so strong and still be sensitive enough to feel this (I reached
over and gently stroked her beautiful face with my finger)."

"I don't know Mikie, I honestly don't know. But I'm just glad that I can,
because it feels so damn good. Come honey, let's go to my home. My parents are
away for the weekend and we'll have the house all to ourselves. It is your
18th birthday after all, so let's celebrate in a way worthy of the occasion.
And besides, I've been wanting to do this for such a long time (wink)." And so
my amazing girlfriend took me by the hand and led me to her home for a
'wonderful' birthday celebration.