There was once a young girl named Erica who has always dreamt of becoming a superhero. She may get her wish, but it doesn't mean she'll like it...

--

"Erica, it's time for your dinner!" Her mother called from the kitchen.

"Okay, coming!"

Erica was in her room, listening to music. She went downstairs to the kitchen, and received her "dinner".

"Um, what is this?"

"It's vegetable soup, of course!" Her mother explained. "I crushed them so you wouldn't hurt your teeth."

It looks like baby food... Erica thought, before trying the soup. "Augh!" It tastes like baby food, too!

"If you want more, just ask! I made a lot so you wouldn't get hungry!"

Oh, goodie...

"Goodness! I have to go feed Steve now!" Her mother said before leaving the room in a hurry.

"I'll just go for a walk..." Erica walked out the door, leaving her bowl unfinished.

--

Erica sighed, while roaming through a park. "Jeez, when will mom stop treating me like a baby?"

"CAWWW!!!" All of a sudden, a giant bird came out of nowhere and swooped down at Erica.

"W-where'd the heck did that thing come from?!" She said, after barely dodging the behemoth bird. "And what is it anyway?"

"CAAAW!!!" The bird swooped down once again and grabbed Erica with its beak.

"Ow! Let go of me!" Erica screamed, while flailing about.

All of a sudden (again), a flying caped man (also from nowhere) swooped down and punched the bird, making it let go of Erica.

"Ahhh! I'm falling!" Erica yelled, falling.

"Take this, bird! Soarman PAWNCH!!!" He punched the bird so hard it turned into a speck in the sky.

"Ahhh! I'm still falling!"

Soarman caught Erica just in time. "Are you alright, young lady?"

"Thank you, sir..." She said, catching her breath. "A-are you a superhero?"

"You are correct." He replied, placing her back on the ground. "I am Soarman, hero of the skies!"

"Soarman? ...ow!" Erica started to wince in pain.

"What's wrong? Did the bird bite you?"

"Yeah, my back hurts a lot..."

"Hm... That must mean..."

"What does that mean?" She asked, with a terrified expression appearing on her face.

"You now have bird powers!"

"... Huh?"

"It seems I have no choice. I'll have to teach you how to use your wings!"

"Wings?! What wi-... OW!!!" Wings suddenly suddenly sprouted from her back.

"... Those wings."

"That hurt..." Erica tried touching her wings, but it only made it hurt even more.

"Don't worry, the pain should go away soon."

"OH NO!!!" Erica cried, starting to sob.

"W-what's wrong?!" Soarman asked, startled by her sudden exclamation.

"My favorite shirt... *sniff* I-it's ruined!"

"I-I see..."

"Hey, wait a sec... I have wings now! Actual wings!" She said happily, forgetting about her back pain and torn shirt. "Now I can be a superhero!"

"I suppose so..." Soarman replied, not as cheerful as Erica was. "But you still have to learn how to use them first."

"How do I do that, exactly? Are you going to teach me?"

"Follow me."

--

Soarman takes Erica to a nearby cliff.

"I don't remember this cliff being here before..." Erica said to herself.

"This is where your first lesson will take place."

"What am I supposed to do?"

"Jump off the cliff."

"W-what?! That's crazy!"

"Remember when that bird grabbed you? Your inner wings responded and sprouted from your back."

"Inner wings? What does that mean?" Didn't that bird give me these?

"If you jump from a high place, like this cliff, your wings should respond again. Probably."

"Probably!?"

"There's nothing to worry about. All birds must do this someday."

"But I'm not a bird!"

"You have wings like a bird's."

"B-but..." Erica looked down at the ground below the cliff. "This is really high up..."

"Just trust me, okay?"

"Fine, but you'd better save me again if I can't do it."

"Sure, whatever..."

"O-okay, here goes..." I hope this doesn't kill me...

Erica closed her eyes, and jumped off the cliff.

"AAAH!!! Why did I do this?! I'm sooo stupid!"

"Believe in yourself!" Soarman said to her, flying next to her. "Believe in your wings!"

Believe in... my wings? Erica calmed down, and let out her wings. Soon enough, she was flying.

"Hey, I'm flying! I'm actually flying!" She exclaimed, soaring through the air with ease. "This is fun! And pretty easy, too!"

"See, I told you!" Soarman told her. "You're already flying like a pro!"

"How do I land?"

"That's easy! Just stop flapping your wings."

"Yeah, I kinda figured that..."

"Fly closer to the ground, then aim your feet downward."

"The ground...?" Erica looked down at the ground, then froze up. "S-so high..."

All of a sudden, her wings stopped flapping.

"W-wha..." Erica started falling again. "AAHHHH!!!"

Soarman put his hand on his forehead. "She still has a lot to learn..."

--

Somehow, I managed to calm down and control my wings at the last second. Erica thought to herself. My heart is still racing, though...

"Alright, time for the next lesson." Soarman exclaimed, hands on his hips.

"I almost died, y'know!"

"Nonsense, you did great."

"R-really?" She blushed. "Aw, shucks..."

"See that horse field over there?" He asked her, ignoring her comment.

"Yeah, what about it?"

"This horse here is from that field." Soarman said, with a baby horse next to him.

"Huh? Where did y-..."

"You must ride this horse."

"But it's just a newborn! And what does this have to do with my training?!"

"N-neigh..." The horse said weakly.

"It'll improve your flying abilities."

"How the heck will i-..."

"Just try it, okay?"

"F-fine..." Baby horse, if you die, he's the one you want to haunt.

Erica sits down on the horse's back.

"NEEIIGGHHH!!!" The horse cried out, falling flat on the ground.

"Hey, don't kill it!" Soarman told her. "Why are even sitting on that poor baby horse anyway?!"

"You asked me to!" Erica replied angrily. "Remember?!"

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"N-neigh..." The poor horse said weakly.

"Oh, sorry." Erica got up off the horse. "Sorry if I broke your spine or something."

"No offense, but I think you need to diet."

"Hey!"

"I'm serious. Birds don't normally brake horses' backs when they sit on them."

"For the last time, I'm not a bird! I'm a person!"

"What kind of person has wings?"

I give up... Erica sighed. "I'm tired. I'm going home."

"Alright. We'll train some more tomorrow."

"By the way, how do I hide my wings? I'm not sure I want my mom to see them..."

"Use your shirt, I guess."

"But it's ripped!"

"Oh well. You figure it out." Soarman started to fly. "Later." He told her before flying away.

"Wait!" Erica shouted at the air. "Now what do I do?!"

--

After a while, Erica thought of something and went home.

"Erica, where did you go?!" Her mom asked her worriedly. "You're only a year old; you can't wander off by yourself."

"Mom, I'm 13. I can take care of myself."

"Oh my! What happened to the front of your shirt?" Her mother asked her, ignoring Erica's last statement. "It's all torn!"

"I, uh..." Erica started to say, looking at the shirt she flipped around. "... fell down the stairs?"

"Bad girl! How many times have I told you not to play near there! It's dangerous!"

"Sorry..."

"Now get in your highchair so I can feed you these mashed bananas."

Erica sat in a normal chair. Good thing I convinced mom that this is a highchair...

"Now eat up!" Her mother takes a spoonful and brings it toward Erica's mouth. "Say 'ah'!"

Not more mashed food... Erica opened her mouth and ate it anyway. At least I like bananas.

"Now eat the rest yourself while I go feed Steve." Her mom said, walking over to a cage.

Poor Steve...

"Erica, help me..." An unfamiliar voice said to her.

What was that?

"Oh darn, I ran out of cow feed." Her mom said suddenly. "I'll have to use the rabbit feed in the shed, then." She left for the shed outside.

"Phew, I'm saved..." The unfamiliar voice said again. Erica realized that time that it was Steve.

What's in this food? I coulda swore I just heard him talk...

"Oh sweet Erica, you must understand my pain, right? If only you could understand me; I would ask you to free me from this horrible prison..."

Erica got up and walked up to the cage. "Do you want me to get you out of there, Steve?"

"Oh yes, please!"

"Alright, but first... Tell me how you're talking."

"Wait, you can understand me?!" Steve gasped in surprise. "Only fellow birds are supposed to understand turkeys!"

It must be part of my bird powers! Erica opened the cage for Steve.

"Yes, I'm finally free!" Steve exclaimed, flapping out of the cage. "FREEDOM!!!"

"I'm glad you're finally happy for once."

"I'll visit you when your crazy mother isn't around! Bye!" Steve flaps away.

"Bye..." She waved, then saw her mom coming back. I should probably go up to my room now...

Erica went to her room, then lied down on her bed.

"Well, today sure was a weird day. I wonder if I'll ever see that Soarman guy again. He was kind of weird though..." Then again it's not that normal here, either...

Erica sighed.

--

Meanwhile, with Erica's mom...

"Steve? Where did you go? Steve? Steve! STEEEVE!!!"

End of Chapter 1