Comic Book Day

Saturday mornings are special for kids. No school, cartoons, and worlds of imagination. But add comic books and superheroes to a Saturday, and they take on a whole new level of awesome.

Bent Wookie comics had lines of excited kids streaming in and out of the doors and onto the sidewalks all morning and into the afternoon. But now, when it was ten minutes to closing, the store was empty except for the superheroes who had been making kid’s whole lives for the entire day.

The bell above the doors jingled, and an undersized boy of maybe eight dressed in worn jeans and a thread-bare Captain America T-shirt came inside followed by two grownups.

The superheroes took them to be the boy's parents. The man was tall, out of shape, and angry looking. The woman stared at her feet, and when she did glance up, she met the superhero’s gazes with sad defeated eyes before turning them nervously to the man.

Noticing his likeness on the boy’s t-shirt, Captain America stepped forward and kneeled down in front of the boy before saying.

“Hi, I’m just a kid from Brooklyn. Where are you from?” Behind the boy, the man scoffed. Tilting his head toward the man, Captain America spoke again. “Is this your dad?” Still looking down, the boy said in a quiet voice.

"Stepdad." Captain America waited for more. After a moment, the boy, still staring at the floor, said in barely a whisper.

"The price of freedom is high-"

"That's it, I ain't got time for this fairies and magic crap." The stepdad spit out cutting the boy off. "I got work on Monday, and I already spent last week breaking my ass. They ain't real Tommy. You get that through your thick head." The boy’s mom wrung her hands and flinched with every one of the stepdad's words. Then, the stepdad added. "Let's go, Mabel, before I get my temperature up."

Holding the boy in place, Captain America spoke in a voice only the boy would hear, "We are real." Standing, he addressed the stepdad.

"Hold on for a minute." Then, turning to Thanos, he said. "This guy doesn't think we're real." The stepdad looked from Thanos to Captain America before saying.

"You boys about to F around and find out." Chuckling, Thanos said.

"Atomic wedgie?" Turning back to the boy, Captain America asked.

"Do you like atomic wedgies?" The boy nodded in confirmation. "Alright, Atomic wedgie it is then." The stepdad raised his fists and the boy’s mom stepped back.

It was over before it began. Ending with Thanos holding the stepdad in the air by his tighty whiteys. Captain America stood amidst the screeches and sounds the stepdad was making and walked toward him already talking as he approached.

"Be nice. Or we'll find you, and Thanos will hold you up by something else."

Then, smiling at the boy, he asked. "How long should we dangle him?"

The boy answered. "I can do this all day."