Branch Danger

Intro

     "Now... as you can all see... I have before me two normal panes of glass," A scientist named Carl said, showing off two large panes of glass. "Oooo," the audience said in awe.

     "Hey, daddy!" a young boy yelled, running into the room with a skateboard. "I learned a new trick! Watch!"
"Not now, Sky," Carl whispered, leaning down to his son, as he remained smiling at his audience. "Daddy's busy being a scientist right now."
"But, daddy... I..."
"Go skateboard out in the hall. Ok?"

     Sky sighed, looking away sadly at his father's request.

     "Yes, daddy," he said softly, turning to leave the room, his ears drooping in sadness.

     His father never payed any attention to him. He just wanted to impress him... but he wouldn't even give him the chance...

     Carl watched his son leave, and then looked back at his audience.

     "Sorry about my son... his mom is sick, so I had no choice but to bring him to work with me," Carl apologized. "Now... observe this first pane of glass."

     Without warning, he pulled a baseball bat out of his hair, smashing the glass into a million tiny little pieces, causing the audience to jump back a bit, startled.

     "I broke it," Carl said, stating the obvious, as he smiled.
"We can see that, genius," a member of the audience said, rolling his eyes. "Not exactly a scientific breakthrough."

     "But watch..." Carl continued, pushing the other pane of glass over to a machine that sat dormant in a corner. "I move this identical pane of glass here into my trans-molecular densitizer, which I invented, and..." He hit a switch on the machine before continuing. "I engage the power..."

     A laser beam shot out of the machine, striking the glass.

     "Ohhh..." the audience murmured.
"And now..." Carl continued, grabbing the baseball bat again, and whacking the second pane of glass.

     The bat hit the glass hard, but instead of shattering it, the bat bounced back with a loud clang.

     "Oooooo..." the audience murmured, amazed by this incredible demonstration.

     "The glass is now indestructible," Carl announced, smiling at the crowd, who applauded him.

     "Thank you. Thank you," Carl thanked, taking a bow. "Stop... stop... don't stop."

     The applause grew louder, screams of excitement entering the area.

     "Now... let's all leave my incredibly dangerous invention, unsupervised and alone in this room, and then go discuss it in the next room."
"Good idea!" one of the audience members shouted in excitement, before everyone left the room together.

     "Daddy! Hey, daddy!" Sky shouted, riding into the room on his skate board. He was wobbling around, struggling to keep his balance, as he rolled quickly towards his father's machine.

     "Hey, daddy! Whoa! Whoa!"

     The little boy crashed into the machine, accidentally turning it on, the laser shooting out and zapping him.

     "D... da... ddy!" Sky screamed out in terror, electricity surging through his body as he continued to get zapped.

     Carl walked into the room, gasping as he saw what was happening.

     "Oh my gosh! Sky!"

     He quickly ran to the machine, Sky yelping out in pain, as the laser continued to zap the young boy.

     "Sky!" Carl yelled, quickly pulling the lever to shut the machine off.

     Once the laser released him, Sky stumbled forewords, Carl catching him, before he could fall.

     "Son! Are you all right?" Carl asked, checking his son for injuries.

     Sky shook his head, as it trying to rid himself of his dizziness, and then looked at his father.

     "Y... yeah. I think I'm ok..."
"Oh, thank god! When I saw you there being bombarded with the proton beams, I... wait... wait just a minute..."

     He quickly, grabbed a scanner, running it over his son, as it beeped rapidly.

     "Oh god... oh god..." he mumbled to himself.
"What? What is it dad?" Sky asked, concerned by his father's behavior.

     Carl looked up at him, his eyes wide, suddenly whacking him hard with the baseball bat.

     "Ow!" Sky yelped.
"Did that hurt?" Carl asked, looking intently at his son.
"Well, yeah!" Sky yelled, rubbing his head. "You just whacked me in the head with a metal bat!"

     The pain in his head suddenly went away.

     "Wait... it doesn't hurt anymore..." Sky informed his father. "I'm ok!"
"No scratches? No bump? No throbbing?" Carl asked, checking him for injuries again. "Sky! Do you know what this means?"
"Now I get to whack you in the head?" Sky asked with a smile.

     Carl shook his head, placing his hands on his son's shoulders, as he looked him in the eyes.

     "It means you are very special now, and when you grow up, you could be..."