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Stories need to have a main character in order to be interesting and it just so happens that there was a boy who was perfect for the role. Let's call him James. James Newman.

James wasn't particularly special. He lived a normal life on a small planet called Earth. He had friends. He had a brother. He had a loving family. And on his 15th birthday, things changed a lot.

The day began like any other. He slept through two alarms, missed the bus, and had to walk to school. Through the freezing cold of winter. And because it was laundry day, he was wearing shorts and a T-shirt.

When he got to school, the chill had already begun to set in and James was shivering violently. The sky was gray with clouds and the snow had was falling in light, fluffy piles on the ground. James joined the massive crowd of kids all walking in and he nipped over to the chemistry lab where he returned some borrowed chemicals he had used for some experiments at home. Mr. Daniels hadn't really said that he could take the supplies, but James technically returned them so... he still got detention anyways. Because as Mr. Daniels reminded James again, "Students are not allowed to take science materials home, especially when those materials could cause explosions or set things on fire. Yes, even if that student is my favorite and he really needs hydrochloric acid for an experiment that is really cool and important."

And then Mr. Daniels asked what the experiment was actually for, and James went on to explain how he was trying to create a different kind of gelatin that could change from a solid to a liquid and do other cool things. And so James got to his first period class 20 minutes late.

School was boring. At least to James, there were only a small number of classes that were actually worth going to. Things like science and math were interesting and fun to play around with. English, however, had absolutely no use in the world and history was plain stupid.

Anyway, James intensely disliked most subjects except for science and math. Primarily Chemistry, with its study of different elements and formulas. He loved to experiment to try and create new things and, because James was very smart and a little reckless, most of his experiments had a tendency to explode. Or catch fire. Or at the very worst turn the large lab table he worked on in the basement to ash.

That was how James met Mr. Daniels, the chemistry teacher at Trails High, and also a former experimental chemist who had worked on secret projects he couldn't really talk about. Mr. Daniels had left his room to collect some papers from the office and had returned to find a freshman arms-deep in a locked cabinet containing phosphorus, acids, and magnesium. And a couple other things that Mr. Daniels had borrowed from the local university for a demonstration. He immediately had rushed into the room, but to his surprise the student was more curious about what the chemicals did, rather than the impending danger of a detention or suspension. So, like any teacher that who found a student ready to learn in their class, Mr. Daniels carefully explained the properties and uses of each substance in the cabinet, then gave James detention. And then invited him back into his classroom at the end of the next day. By the end of the year, James had completed courses in Chemistry and AP Chemistry and was working with Mr. Daniels on special projects. The teacher had to admit, even though James had quite a rash line of thinking and often got into trouble, he did have a knack for the science.

Right now James was working on his own experiments in his basement lab he had set up himself. He was attempting to create a sort of gelatin that could transform between a liquid and a solid at will. He wasn't really sure what the purpose of this project was, but he was pretty sure it would be really fun to have as a sort of superpower.

See, as hilarious as this sounds, James has had the goal of becoming a sort of superhero for the longest time. Back when he was young, about the age of 10 or 11, he witnessed a robbery of his favorite toy store. The thief had ended up shooting the store owner, Mr. Pantucket, while James was hiding beneath a shelf several isles over.

The experience was utterly terrifying and even though Mr. Pantucket survived, James always felt like he could have done more.

As James got older, he began to discover the whole world was not the paradise he thought it was as a little boy. Frustrated reading the news and not being able to do anything, James developed a deep interest in comic books, where the heroes always saved the day, and so forth. He was always fascinated by those in the adventures, good or evil, who did fantastic things with the powers of science at their disposal. And so, several years later and with a great deal more knowledge under his belt, 15 year old James was still trying to figure out a way to become like those in his old comic books, at least just a little.

Sure people laughed at him. And those who knew him definitely thought he was a little screwy in the head, at least a little. But it wasn't until James destroyed the entire state science competition that he met Synthia. They got off talking, as kids do, and when she asked why he loved science so much and James explained the whole superheroes thing, he got a massive amount of laughter, along with a prompt invitation to the next week's comic-con. And it turned out that Sylvia had another friend named Michael, and as can be imagined, instant friends.

"Hey James," Michael called out as he raced across the large grassy field between the school and the road. "Wait up!"

He arrived panting, because Michael wasn't exactly in shape. His idea of sports were the digital kinds. Enjoyed with a nice workout eating chips and salsa with a side of graphic novels.

James turned to face him. "Yeah? What's up?"

"Are doing anything this weekend? For your birthday? I had this great idea to go to that new place out by the mall..."

"Yeah I know, but it will have to wait until next weekend."

Michael's eyebrows rose. "What are you talking about? You've been talking about going since forever."

"You're right, but I recently found out that my Uncle Radcliff would be coming to town."

"Is he cool?"

James shrugged. "I guess, but it does suck that we won't be able to hang out with Sylvia until next week. I'll talk to you guys on Monday about plans, k?"

"No problem. Hope your Uncle at least tries to make your birthday interesting."

At this point the boys had reached the woods located between the school and James' house. Michael stopped to talk a little longer about the newest comic book or something before they split, but James was a bit distracted. He had started to remember something a little important, something that he really should remember, but just couldn't. And then it smacked him in the face.

"HOLY CRAP!"

"What?" said Michael, jumping back when James suddenly bolted down the street. "What's wrong?"

"I LEFT MY BENSON BURNER ON!"

"At least your parents made the basement fireproof?"

"BUT IT'S NOT EXPLOSION-PROOF!"

And James went bolting into the woods, taking the fastest shortcut to his house he could think of. And thus ended a most normal day in the life of a 15 year old.