Who Will Save Supergirl?

Superheroes.



The very word conjures a thousand images to mind; visions of strong, idealised versions of ourselves selflessly doing good and saving others. They are often created as a blank slate: possessing only superficial physical attributes so that we, the reader, can insert ourselves in their place. They are just as outlandish as they are empty.



Real people are not like this. Real people have attributes; they are tall, they are short. They are smart or foolhardy, strong or weak, brave or cowardly.



Real people do not always manage to save the day.



A short story originally published as part of The Powers That Be anthology, a collection of short stories about superheroes dedicated to the Sickle Cell Clinic at Riley Hospital for Children at IU Health.