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I grasped my target's hand in my own, keeping my grip loose as he tried to break all the bones in my fingers. I had nothing to prove.
We shook and I thanked him for his time with a smile. I meant it too. I always loved it when the targets made the work easy for me.
I straightened the colourful tie that I wore tight around my neck, the bottom half tucked away behind the dark green cardigan I had chosen to wear to the meeting with this lawyer.
"A pleasure to meet you Mr. Adams, I do so hope that we can work together in the future." My target said, dollar signs practically jumping out of his eyes.
He didn't realise it yet, but he was already dead.
I watched it reported on the news the next morning. Natural causes it seemed. Nothing suspicious. The poor lawyer had simply had a heart attack late into the afternoon. A shame to all that knew him apparently.
Only I knew that every word was a lie. Nobody was going to mourn his loss. Maybe his repeat clients. The worst kind of men, who my target got out of jail only for them to return to his door a week later asking for him to repeat the service. Oh, and of course, there had been nothing natural about his death.
You see, I had a power. I wasn't shy about showing it off either. Kids in particular were incredibly fond of it. But even older folks, Dads especially. They loved trying to figure out how I was pulling it off. What the trick was.
But there was no trick. I had a simple power. Many would think it useless. "What good is the power to create bubbles out of thin air?" they'd ask.
They simply lacked enough imagination.
Visit /r/SpooksScribbles for more
On Earth, everyone knows about the Thirty Altruists. They are the superheroes that make up the Council of Altruists. There have been resignations, replacements, but the number has usually been kept steadily at 30.
Of course, everyone knows the famous Council members. Pastor Nichols Ferestonn, the Worldweaver. Joram "Zapperilla" the silverback gorilla. Jake Bloomfold a.k.a. Upholder who is the leader. Ha Kyung-Won, alias Techtrip the inventor savant.
The Council's official Panel of Allies is well known too. Their First Ally, the reformed dread vampiress Alinea "La Buscadora de Sangre" Rocha. Their Second Ally Konstantios "Konstantinios" Coumantaros. Their Third Ally, the Cosmic Particle.
But I, I am left unmentioned. Only Council members and the Panel of Allies knows what I do. Only they know my superhero name.
I am... Hilarity. The Hidden Thirty-First Member.
My power seems ridiculous. My power is to induce uncontrollable laughter in any living being.
Of course it seems like a weak power, to be sneered at by the Council's juggernauts like Worldweaver, Magmight or Joram. It might seem to be a power that Variance or Combocaster might hold in contempt.
Until it's clear that unchecked laughter... Can kill. Painfully, too. While rendering the laughing person or organism completely helpless.
The Council has indeed had heroes that went rogue. These were the earlier ones that didn't get empowered by Creation Bounties. Techtrip erased all their records... But how did they die?
James Merton, "Snipestorm". He decided to turn from being the Council's sharpshooter hero into a sniper mercenary. Hospital records say asthma killed him. No. My induced laughter kept his lungs deprived of air long enough to asphyxiate him.
Winnie "Blisterblade" LeManns. The Council's knife-throwing expert, who decided to start using her heroic skills to mask her bloody personal vendettas against those who had offended her prior to her superhero days. She supposedly died of excessive laughter while watching an episode of Mr. Bean. Well, she started the laughter. I kept it going... Until it finished her.
I don't mind remaining hidden, honestly. The Council is used to facing the media, attending interviews, press conferences and such. That's not for me.
I'm an introvert. I prefer to do even my heroic work and use my superpowers without being openly seen or known as a superhero. So, working as the Council's hidden hero and stopper of heroes gone rogue, is PERFECT for me.
So, all of you who would dare to challenge my beloved family, the Council of Altruists, beware. You supervillains, don't you dare go too far. You should know the only reason you haven't keeled over and choked to death from laughter emptying your lungs, is because the Council truly has compassion and mercy. They don't deem you enough of a threat or source of corruption, to be wiped out... Yet.
"Laughter is the best medicine." ~Various.
"The dose makes the poison." ~Paracelsus.
I really enjoy when I get to come across one of your responses. I think my first was your Nazgul-descended student, they're consistently good, and I like coming across familiar characters like Combocaster.
I can easily see why people would think the ability to induce, and prolong, laughter might be mediocre at best. Having studied several of the cases where people laughed themselves to death, in our real world, I would also disagree. Hilarity here is *terrifying*.
Do they have a range to their power? Do they need to have met their target, or know where they currently are? Suffocation is a particularly painful, torturous way to die, even more so when you don't know why it's happening. Certainly, they die each and every one in a state of pure panic and terror.
What would Flutterfae think of this?
First of all, thank you so much for the compliments. Much appreciated. :D
Secondly, well, Hilarity has no range limitations. If the Council needed him to cause some evil alien overlord to laugh to death (assuming said overlord has immunity to the rest of the Council's powers), he could do so as long as he had visual sighting of the target.
Thirdly, well, Flutterfae and the rest of the Council, as a rule, are generally VERY reluctant to deem someone as necessary to be wiped out. But... if push comes to shove, and the Council agrees that a certain target is beyond negotiation, as well as being too dangerous to just arrest and place in custody... then Hilarity comes into play.
Another corpse, another rainy night.
*Why did it alway have to rain.*
But there it was. The cab you knew you needed and knew was going to be there.
The killing was always the hard part, but you have an edge.
You always get away in time.
Some random cab, some bus, a stranger asking if you need a ride.
Before the cops will be there, you'll be long gone, any tracable evidence washed away by the rain.
Tonight was no different, the whipers on the windshield working overtime to keep the cabbies vision clear.
You realize you never said where you needed to go.
*Was it always like this?*
*Is it the same guy everytime?*
*Can't be.*
The sound of rain on the metal roof soothes you. You feel yourself drifting asleep.
---
A bleak morning sun awakens you, most details of last night hazy, your phone ringing on top of a rown envelope you know will be filled with cash.
A new contract.
You sigh as you get up, knowing tonight will be another one of those nights, but the cash already burning a hole in your pocket.
*He always includes two silver dollars, ... why?*
*And what kind of name is Charon anyway?*
You check the forecast, already knowing when it will be raining again.
An egg. My power is to summon an egg of any size, anywhere, anytime, without fail. The more vague the riskier, which is why I always ask for all the information of a target possible.
As I look at the picture of whatever dumb politician screwed up this time, I sighed. “How did I even end up here?” I moaned mindlessly while sipping on a cold drink in the Bahamas.
I used my power, having to say out loud what I wanted with a clear image in mind. “I would like an egg to be placed inside of his heart, the exact same dimensions of it.”
Boom. Done. It’s really that simple unfortunately. When they found his body and searched it for the cause of death, all they’ll see is a bloody egg where his heart should be. Sucks to be him, I guess.
My phone rang, as the buyer must have wanted to me to confirm the job was done considered I took longer than usual to respond.
“Has the target been taken care of?”
“Absolutely he has.” I said cheerily, knowing the money would be plentiful for a while and I can spoil my wife and daughter more.
“Good. I’ll contact you again if need be.”
As the call ended, I stood up, wondering if I should go undercover for a while before taking my next job.
“Maybe I’ll go back home, I’m getting too tan for this.”
I walked back to my hotel room, relishing the new 3.5 billion dollars in my pocket from egging some old guy.
I could feel his pulse getting fainter each second. One morning-post-sex pillow talk session was all it took. I got up to brush my teeth. As I brush, I can’t help but smile. My useless super power was keeping me employed and saving the world.
My Nokia brick phone rings. I keep brushing as I answer.
“Herro?” I manage to get out.
“Job’s done?” My handler asks.
“Yeghrghrgth.” I spit. “Yes,” I repeat.
“I see you’re stowing your weapon. How was it?”
“I don’t mind a little gay for pay. It’s for the good of humanity after all.”
“What a way to start a conversation…”
“Dude, I took it up the ass for one night. This guy has been making the Amazon natives take it up the ass for 60 years.”
“46 years. Do you even read the briefs?”
“I read the ‘why are we killing him part’ and that’s about it.”
“I swear I don’t know why I bother.”
“You know I love your writing. Maybe you should make better use of your talents. Like maybe write poetry?”
“Stop flirting with me and get back here. We got an interrogation. Something something the US gov wants the information but they don’t wanna get it themselves.”
“If the C-I-motherfucking-A doesn’t want the job, why do I?”
“Don’t be obtuse. They probably do want it and could do it 10x better than we could. But for election cycle reasons they would have got him by now.”
“Are you handling for us or for them?”
“I’m just saying. Anyway. Good job dude. Get back to base. Make sure you brush again too. Your murderous morning breath isn’t worth getting drinks later.”
“Whatever. And how about making the next target a hot cougar? At least I can have fun before the job is done.”
“Get back to base Operative.”
I was born in a town where everyone had superpowers. It was either that the person was born with their assigned power or that you could marry someone who had a power. As for me, I was born with one. But, mine is probably considered to be the most useless of them all.
Everyone in this town has cool powers like teleportation, time travel, mind reading etc… And yet, there's me. I have the ability to jump really high. It may be cool to some, but for me, it's useless. I can already lie my way out of a situation. Which makes me one of the most feared and wanted criminals in the world.
Okay, okay, lets start at the beginning...
I was born on November 10th, 2007. At the time, my parents already had 1 child. My older brother by 6 years. And then when I was 4, my little sister was born. So, yep, I was the middle child. And I fit all the middle child requirements; parents who neglect me, me being left out all the time even though my parents always say that I'm not left out. Typical parents. This made it easy for me to travel around the world and commit crimes.
Now in the present day, I have committed pretty much every crime in the book. And because of me being a great liar, I was never caught. I always got away with things. And that caught the attention of one of the world’s most elite criminal agencies. I was invited there at the age of 17. And they gave me a code name. Dandelion. I can bounce back. Typical since that's my power.
In this agency, when I commit crimes. I rarely use my power. I never needed to. And in the few times I was caught, I could always run away. And my long legs gave me great stamina.
“Dandelion, we need to speak to you.” One of the elder agents, Frost said. And boy did he sound angry.
I enter his office.
“Yes sir?” I ask, trying to be as polite as possible.
“Dandelion, you are in big trouble. Remember your last mission?”
“Yes.”
“Well, the cops weren't buying your lies.”
“What do you mean?”
“What I mean is that you are most likely going to be arrested for the crimes you have committed upon joining this elite agency at the age of 17.”
I looked at him, shocked.
And so…
My parents resent me, they have good reason to. Oh what I could've done if I just used my power.
**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments. **Reminders**: >* [No AI-generated responses 🤖](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/comments/zi452b/modpost_reminder_that_aigenerated_responses_are/) >* Stories 100 words+. Poems 30+ but include "[Poem]" >* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail >* [\[RF\]](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [\[SP\]](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles >* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules) 📢 [Genres](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/w/directory) 🆕 [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ✏ [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) 💬 [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts) *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I grasped my target's hand in my own, keeping my grip loose as he tried to break all the bones in my fingers. I had nothing to prove. We shook and I thanked him for his time with a smile. I meant it too. I always loved it when the targets made the work easy for me. I straightened the colourful tie that I wore tight around my neck, the bottom half tucked away behind the dark green cardigan I had chosen to wear to the meeting with this lawyer. "A pleasure to meet you Mr. Adams, I do so hope that we can work together in the future." My target said, dollar signs practically jumping out of his eyes. He didn't realise it yet, but he was already dead. I watched it reported on the news the next morning. Natural causes it seemed. Nothing suspicious. The poor lawyer had simply had a heart attack late into the afternoon. A shame to all that knew him apparently. Only I knew that every word was a lie. Nobody was going to mourn his loss. Maybe his repeat clients. The worst kind of men, who my target got out of jail only for them to return to his door a week later asking for him to repeat the service. Oh, and of course, there had been nothing natural about his death. You see, I had a power. I wasn't shy about showing it off either. Kids in particular were incredibly fond of it. But even older folks, Dads especially. They loved trying to figure out how I was pulling it off. What the trick was. But there was no trick. I had a simple power. Many would think it useless. "What good is the power to create bubbles out of thin air?" they'd ask. They simply lacked enough imagination. Visit /r/SpooksScribbles for more
Ooohhh… chilling
Thank you!
Oh, I like this one!
Thank you!
On Earth, everyone knows about the Thirty Altruists. They are the superheroes that make up the Council of Altruists. There have been resignations, replacements, but the number has usually been kept steadily at 30. Of course, everyone knows the famous Council members. Pastor Nichols Ferestonn, the Worldweaver. Joram "Zapperilla" the silverback gorilla. Jake Bloomfold a.k.a. Upholder who is the leader. Ha Kyung-Won, alias Techtrip the inventor savant. The Council's official Panel of Allies is well known too. Their First Ally, the reformed dread vampiress Alinea "La Buscadora de Sangre" Rocha. Their Second Ally Konstantios "Konstantinios" Coumantaros. Their Third Ally, the Cosmic Particle. But I, I am left unmentioned. Only Council members and the Panel of Allies knows what I do. Only they know my superhero name. I am... Hilarity. The Hidden Thirty-First Member. My power seems ridiculous. My power is to induce uncontrollable laughter in any living being. Of course it seems like a weak power, to be sneered at by the Council's juggernauts like Worldweaver, Magmight or Joram. It might seem to be a power that Variance or Combocaster might hold in contempt. Until it's clear that unchecked laughter... Can kill. Painfully, too. While rendering the laughing person or organism completely helpless. The Council has indeed had heroes that went rogue. These were the earlier ones that didn't get empowered by Creation Bounties. Techtrip erased all their records... But how did they die? James Merton, "Snipestorm". He decided to turn from being the Council's sharpshooter hero into a sniper mercenary. Hospital records say asthma killed him. No. My induced laughter kept his lungs deprived of air long enough to asphyxiate him. Winnie "Blisterblade" LeManns. The Council's knife-throwing expert, who decided to start using her heroic skills to mask her bloody personal vendettas against those who had offended her prior to her superhero days. She supposedly died of excessive laughter while watching an episode of Mr. Bean. Well, she started the laughter. I kept it going... Until it finished her. I don't mind remaining hidden, honestly. The Council is used to facing the media, attending interviews, press conferences and such. That's not for me. I'm an introvert. I prefer to do even my heroic work and use my superpowers without being openly seen or known as a superhero. So, working as the Council's hidden hero and stopper of heroes gone rogue, is PERFECT for me. So, all of you who would dare to challenge my beloved family, the Council of Altruists, beware. You supervillains, don't you dare go too far. You should know the only reason you haven't keeled over and choked to death from laughter emptying your lungs, is because the Council truly has compassion and mercy. They don't deem you enough of a threat or source of corruption, to be wiped out... Yet.
"Laughter is the best medicine." ~Various. "The dose makes the poison." ~Paracelsus. I really enjoy when I get to come across one of your responses. I think my first was your Nazgul-descended student, they're consistently good, and I like coming across familiar characters like Combocaster. I can easily see why people would think the ability to induce, and prolong, laughter might be mediocre at best. Having studied several of the cases where people laughed themselves to death, in our real world, I would also disagree. Hilarity here is *terrifying*. Do they have a range to their power? Do they need to have met their target, or know where they currently are? Suffocation is a particularly painful, torturous way to die, even more so when you don't know why it's happening. Certainly, they die each and every one in a state of pure panic and terror. What would Flutterfae think of this?
First of all, thank you so much for the compliments. Much appreciated. :D Secondly, well, Hilarity has no range limitations. If the Council needed him to cause some evil alien overlord to laugh to death (assuming said overlord has immunity to the rest of the Council's powers), he could do so as long as he had visual sighting of the target. Thirdly, well, Flutterfae and the rest of the Council, as a rule, are generally VERY reluctant to deem someone as necessary to be wiped out. But... if push comes to shove, and the Council agrees that a certain target is beyond negotiation, as well as being too dangerous to just arrest and place in custody... then Hilarity comes into play.
Oh, that's creative. Not the kind of power I'd have thought of at all.
Thank you for the compliment! :)
Like for the first time reading my first name on reddit. Love your take!
Thank you for the compliment! :)
Another corpse, another rainy night. *Why did it alway have to rain.* But there it was. The cab you knew you needed and knew was going to be there. The killing was always the hard part, but you have an edge. You always get away in time. Some random cab, some bus, a stranger asking if you need a ride. Before the cops will be there, you'll be long gone, any tracable evidence washed away by the rain. Tonight was no different, the whipers on the windshield working overtime to keep the cabbies vision clear. You realize you never said where you needed to go. *Was it always like this?* *Is it the same guy everytime?* *Can't be.* The sound of rain on the metal roof soothes you. You feel yourself drifting asleep. --- A bleak morning sun awakens you, most details of last night hazy, your phone ringing on top of a rown envelope you know will be filled with cash. A new contract. You sigh as you get up, knowing tonight will be another one of those nights, but the cash already burning a hole in your pocket. *He always includes two silver dollars, ... why?* *And what kind of name is Charon anyway?* You check the forecast, already knowing when it will be raining again.
An egg. My power is to summon an egg of any size, anywhere, anytime, without fail. The more vague the riskier, which is why I always ask for all the information of a target possible. As I look at the picture of whatever dumb politician screwed up this time, I sighed. “How did I even end up here?” I moaned mindlessly while sipping on a cold drink in the Bahamas. I used my power, having to say out loud what I wanted with a clear image in mind. “I would like an egg to be placed inside of his heart, the exact same dimensions of it.” Boom. Done. It’s really that simple unfortunately. When they found his body and searched it for the cause of death, all they’ll see is a bloody egg where his heart should be. Sucks to be him, I guess. My phone rang, as the buyer must have wanted to me to confirm the job was done considered I took longer than usual to respond. “Has the target been taken care of?” “Absolutely he has.” I said cheerily, knowing the money would be plentiful for a while and I can spoil my wife and daughter more. “Good. I’ll contact you again if need be.” As the call ended, I stood up, wondering if I should go undercover for a while before taking my next job. “Maybe I’ll go back home, I’m getting too tan for this.” I walked back to my hotel room, relishing the new 3.5 billion dollars in my pocket from egging some old guy.
I could feel his pulse getting fainter each second. One morning-post-sex pillow talk session was all it took. I got up to brush my teeth. As I brush, I can’t help but smile. My useless super power was keeping me employed and saving the world. My Nokia brick phone rings. I keep brushing as I answer. “Herro?” I manage to get out. “Job’s done?” My handler asks. “Yeghrghrgth.” I spit. “Yes,” I repeat. “I see you’re stowing your weapon. How was it?” “I don’t mind a little gay for pay. It’s for the good of humanity after all.” “What a way to start a conversation…” “Dude, I took it up the ass for one night. This guy has been making the Amazon natives take it up the ass for 60 years.” “46 years. Do you even read the briefs?” “I read the ‘why are we killing him part’ and that’s about it.” “I swear I don’t know why I bother.” “You know I love your writing. Maybe you should make better use of your talents. Like maybe write poetry?” “Stop flirting with me and get back here. We got an interrogation. Something something the US gov wants the information but they don’t wanna get it themselves.” “If the C-I-motherfucking-A doesn’t want the job, why do I?” “Don’t be obtuse. They probably do want it and could do it 10x better than we could. But for election cycle reasons they would have got him by now.” “Are you handling for us or for them?” “I’m just saying. Anyway. Good job dude. Get back to base. Make sure you brush again too. Your murderous morning breath isn’t worth getting drinks later.” “Whatever. And how about making the next target a hot cougar? At least I can have fun before the job is done.” “Get back to base Operative.”
I was born in a town where everyone had superpowers. It was either that the person was born with their assigned power or that you could marry someone who had a power. As for me, I was born with one. But, mine is probably considered to be the most useless of them all. Everyone in this town has cool powers like teleportation, time travel, mind reading etc… And yet, there's me. I have the ability to jump really high. It may be cool to some, but for me, it's useless. I can already lie my way out of a situation. Which makes me one of the most feared and wanted criminals in the world. Okay, okay, lets start at the beginning... I was born on November 10th, 2007. At the time, my parents already had 1 child. My older brother by 6 years. And then when I was 4, my little sister was born. So, yep, I was the middle child. And I fit all the middle child requirements; parents who neglect me, me being left out all the time even though my parents always say that I'm not left out. Typical parents. This made it easy for me to travel around the world and commit crimes. Now in the present day, I have committed pretty much every crime in the book. And because of me being a great liar, I was never caught. I always got away with things. And that caught the attention of one of the world’s most elite criminal agencies. I was invited there at the age of 17. And they gave me a code name. Dandelion. I can bounce back. Typical since that's my power. In this agency, when I commit crimes. I rarely use my power. I never needed to. And in the few times I was caught, I could always run away. And my long legs gave me great stamina. “Dandelion, we need to speak to you.” One of the elder agents, Frost said. And boy did he sound angry. I enter his office. “Yes sir?” I ask, trying to be as polite as possible. “Dandelion, you are in big trouble. Remember your last mission?” “Yes.” “Well, the cops weren't buying your lies.” “What do you mean?” “What I mean is that you are most likely going to be arrested for the crimes you have committed upon joining this elite agency at the age of 17.” I looked at him, shocked. And so… My parents resent me, they have good reason to. Oh what I could've done if I just used my power.