Tree of Wishes

Big Hero Trilogy: An Arthur Perspective

I've always been a fan of superhero comics. As a kid, I was always eager to buy the latest issue from the shop down the street, and my mom would often nag me if I didn't organize my mountains of comic books once in a while. I still buy plenty of them as an adult with them all neatly stacked in a library's worth of shelves down in the basement. Even if modern technology lets you read comics online these days, there's no beating the thrill of turning the page to see what happens next. I tried to make my own video series under the name 'Arthur the Comic Nerd' where I showed them off to get people interested, but people only seemed to care if said comic was adapted into a film. Those people are really missing out on some deep and compelling storylines that can't be fit into a two-hour block.

Changing the subject, let's talk about superhero origins. As I'm sure you know, a hero can gain their powers anywhere from being born with it to finding an ancient artifact to being bitten by a radioactive arachnid. Then there's the heroes that have their powers given to them. Out of every fantastical, non-technological origin I can think of, it's the one that can most likely happen in the real world, and this was confirmed when I found out there's a tree that does exactly that. The catch is you have to hand it something you love in exchange, and that'll determine your power.

That's where I was stuck. Obviously, there was no way I was going to turn down such an amazing opportunity, but I had no idea what I was going to offer to the tree. The first thing that came to mind was one of my favorite comics, yet there was a chance I'd get something lame like bending paper with my mind. I needed to get a better idea of what to expect, so I confronted the man in charge directly.

"There isn't an accurate method of predicting what powers you'll obtain," the man in green robes said. "It's all for the tree to decide."

"Can you at least tell me what a few people got as an example?" I asked. "It might give me some ideas."

"That I can do."

He then pulled out the booklet hiding in his robes and flipped through it. There was also a guy with a horn who had been listening in on our conversation, and his jaw dropped when he saw the man agree to show me.

"The hell?!" the guy said in disbelief. "You're just gonna give it to him that easily?"

"It was never meant to be confidential," the man replied. If he were in a comic book, he'd be the wise sage who taught people how to control their new powers. At least that's the kind of vibe I got from him. A second later, he pointed to some names at the end of a page. "Dave Newman, Renee Jones, and Howard Phoenix. Talk to those people and you'll have your answer."

He then turned the booklet towards me so I could write it down for myself, and I could see that next to those names were their powers. David got super strength (classic), Renee got super speed (another classic), and Howard got psychokinesis (very cool). It didn't mention what they gave up, so I was basically being told to find out for myself. I could deal with that.

As I was typing this all on my phone, the guy with the horn groaned and said, "Are you gonna make me help this nerd?" I knew why he would call me that. My black t-shirt had my favorite comic convention's logo on it, I was a little overweight, and my orange beard grew down to my neck. Some might think I'm a stereotype, but I do keep myself clean and trim on a regular basis. Plus, I don't waste my time getting offended on the internet. I passed that phase ages ago.

"Be nice, Eddie," the man said. "Consider it a commission from me since I'll be covering the charges."

"Oh, thanks! That'll save me from living off ramen for the rest of the month," I said with a laugh to make it seem like I was joking when I was totally serious. I did not have the budget for intel with my part-time job at the comic store.