Secret Origin Part 1

My name is David Rice, and this is the story of how I became a hero. In order to make sense of it, you need to know the context of events that transpired before. Though trust me when I say, getting through all that wasn't easy.

The first time it happened was around three years ago in Ann Arbor. I was seventeen at the time and doing the typical routine of high school.

Right now was the last period of the day; another session with Mr Bowker. Today he was presenting a lecture on the moon, accompanied by showing the surface of it on a projector. I sat four desks away from him as he continued his presentation. I was a bit of a loner, short in stature and possessing a distinct lack of self confidence.

Though that doesn't mean I'm hated by others, it's just that I'm not very noticeable. Another face in the crowd is what I am.

Sitting in front and to the right of me was Millie Harris. She and I had known each other since grade school. She's also a year older than me.

As Mr Bowker continued on with the lesson, Mille and I began to exchange brief glances at each other, before focusing our attention back to the board. Most of the people in school liked her for being a fresh-faced beauty, me personally I'd like her for being my only friend.

Immediately after, the bell rang and everyone was on leave for today. Mille was the first one heading out the door, and then I saw another guy in a Huron Rats River sweater wrap his left arm around her shoulders.

That's Mark Kobold, my competition, he's everything I'm not. Cool, confident, and also the resident show off. That's why he's dating Millie and the most I can do is help her study.

I'm mostly not phased by it, as it is expected for people like me to not get the girl. But I would appreciate it if he toned down the "show off" attitude. Honestly it feels like he does it just to rub it in my face.

"David." I turned to Mr Bowker, he motions me to his desk. He sips on his coffee mug that reads "…AND THE GEEK SHALL INHERIT THE EARTH".

"Got another riddle for you,"he says. It's basically another one of his pep talks just to make me feel not bummed out. "You're in a room with three monkeys. One has a banana, one has a stick, one has nothing. Which primate is the smartest?"

"Me, I'm a primate too." I responded.

Mr Bowker gives a knowing nod, and looks back towards Mark and Millie. I looked back too, and they were already out into the hallway with Mark of course planting a kiss on her cheek.

"We all are, never forget that. Don't worry, you'll get your day in the sun."

"You think?" I asked.

"Guaranteed, now move along before I get anymore Obi-Wan on you." he says with a slight smile.

"Right, later Mr Bowker."I headed out of the room.

I kept his words in mind, and truth be told they are a bit reassuring. One could probably guess that he learnt that from when he was in his high school years.

As I passed through the crowded hallway I spotted Millie standing by her locker gathering her coat and scarf.

"Hi Millie." I casually greeted as I approached her. "Oh, hey David,"she replied. I glanced at the side of her locker door, it contained a couple photos of various landmarks of Europe.

"You've got a lot of cities there." I pointed out.

"Well, starting next week, I'm planning to see them all, especially Rome."

It's true, for spring break she and her family are spending a vacation together in Europe. The kind of thing I never would've had the money for. Or the guts. Still what I wouldn't give to leave Ann Arbor and have a vacation for once.

"Well, hope you have fun." I said to her, "Thanks, see you later."She smiled as she finished gathering up her bag, closing her locker, and walking away.

Despite her being accepted into the popularity club, she's still willing to give a nobody like me the time of day. Though she may not be my girlfriend, I'm happy for her just being a normal friend.

I then checked into my locker and took out a small hand sized box along with another item gift wrapped in newspaper.

Outside everyone was standing around waiting for the buses. I walked around and spotted Millie chatting with her friends. "Millie!"I called out.

She approached me whilst straightening her hair a bit. I reached into my pocket and pulled out the small box.

"Since your birthday is coming up this Friday, I'd thought I'd give you this before your trip." I said as I passed the small box to her.

"Oh, you really didn't have to do this David."

"Well consider this an early birthday present, plus I know you'll like it."

She opened the box and took out a small golden trinket.

"The Eiffel Tower." she said in awe. I felt pleased by her response.

"It's for a charm bracelet, I figured you could start one. You can keep adding more, all the different places you'll be seeing." I shrugged as she placed the charm in her coat pocket.

"Oh I almost forgot, there's also this. I picked it up at a yard sale in Plymouth."I reached into my bag and handed her the gift in the newspaper. She unwrapped it and was now holding a small replica of the Eiffel Tower again only inside an old snow globe.

"Yeah it's a little dinged up and it's missing a few steps but…"

"I love it." she instantly replied.

"You do?"

"I do, thanks David." Again, her compliment pleased me.

" Yeah well, what are friends for?" I lightly chuckled. This day couldn't be any more perfect, until…

"Holy crap Rice-Bowl!" To my dismay I heard Mark's voice, and immediately saw him come up between me and Millie. He then eyed the snow globe

"Hey what's this, Christmas come early this year?" He then snatched it from Millie. Being the stuck up show off that he is, he started playing keep away from Millie's grasp. "Mark stop, please give it back." she pleaded, but he kept on going with the childish act. I felt unease, but I still tried to stand up for both of us. "Mark give it back to her."but he ignored me.

"Holy crap, look what Davy got Millie. You guys like the Eiffel Tower?!"he proclaimed to the rest of the crowd, humiliating both me and Millie even further. "Man look if you shake this thing hard enough you can hear the Eiffel Tower move I swear to god. Hey, who wants to give it a shake?!"

Millie then got serious."Hey Mark that's enough alright. Stop it, just give it back, please?" She held a firm grip on his arm just to get her point across. Fortunately he complied, and settled down as she let go of him. He brushed her off and made a hand-over gesture with the snow globe towards me. "Alright, sorry. Here." He said reluctantly.

I walked over to him, and was about to get a hold of the globe, when Mark did the most unthinkable thing anyone has ever done.

He pulled the globe away from my grasp, and chucked it over, where it landed onto the frozen surface of the Huron River. Both me and Millie could only stare out in disbelief.

"Sorry buddy, guess I don't know my strength."Mark says casually, with a hint of sarcasm.

Of all the dickish actions people like Mark have ever performed, this takes the cake. I planned to confront Mark, but Millie beat me to it as she smacked him in the arm. Even she agreed that was an unbelievably dickish move, as they both started arguing.

"Damn it Mark, why do you have to be such an asshole?"

"What, I was just playing around."

"It wasn't funny,"she said with sheer annoyance.

"They thought it was pretty funny."Mark replied with a scoff, gesturing to the crowd, clearly not caring of what he just did.

I stared out towards the river, the snow globe was still intact and laying on the ice. Spring thaw was yet to come, so the ice didn't look too thin to melt anytime soon. Plus it was only a couple feet away at least, I'm pretty sure I could be quick enough to grab it in time.

I walked out to where the ground and river meet, and gingerly placed my foot to test the icy surface. It seemed thick enough to walk in, and then I started carefully walking out, one step at a time.

"David, don't go out there, it's not safe!"I heard Millie call out. "Stop, it's not worth it, just come back please?!"

"Come on Rice-Bowl don't be stupid!"Mark also called out.

I walked for about fifteen feet when I finally got close to the snow globe, and with a small triumphant grin I picked up.

"It's all good, see?!" I called out to Millie. It was a little far but I could see the nervous but slightly relieved smile on her face. "Great, now come back!"she called.

As I took my first step back, I felt a crack and in an instant the entire icy area I was standing suddenly caved in, and I found myself submerged in the icy water. I panicked frantically, trying to reach the light of the broken surface I fell in, but apparently the river's current was much stronger under the ice. It didn't help that I was too cold and weak to swim much further. I could only glimpse the silhouette of what I thought was Millie down on her knees on the surface. I tried to beat the underside of the ice, but the current kept dragging me further away, until I couldn't see her anymore. I closed my eyes in sheer hopeless despair, waiting for the end. And then it happened.

I heard what sounded like a high pitched whining noise mixed in with the rushing splashing water. Then I felt contact with a smooth surface, and everything sounded normal again. I coughed up a whole lot of water and opened my eyes. To my surprise, I saw tons of wet books scattered on a carpet floor, alongside dozens of other books still stacked on long shelves. On the far end of the aisle I spotted a poster that had the words "ESCAPE TO YOUR LOCAL LIBRARY - OPEN A WORLD OF WONDER" with the picture of bespectacled badger amidst a pile of books. I picked up a book on the wet floor and the stamp inside the cover read "Property of Ann Arbor Public Library". I then looked at my right hand, surprisingly I still held the snow globe I gave to Millie, and thankfully it didn't appear to have sustained any damage.

I got up and walked quickly out of the aisle, still shivering from my recent chilling dive, I tried not to make eye contact with the surprised staff members and patrons. As I made my way past the front desk, I thought about what happened to me back there. I've read about people having seizures, losing time, things like trauma or induced amnesia. Maybe I had some kind of tumor, maybe I was just going insane, whatever had happened to me, was the strangest moment of my life.

A while later I took a ride home via the public bus. I stepped out and walked past a swath of low income tract houses till I reached mine at the end of the neighborhood, a two story unassuming ranch style home. Despite the exterior being a little shabby in appearance, it's still a neat place to live in, the only downside is the person who's living there. And the rusty pickup in the driveway pretty much confirms it; Dad was home.

He'd never been the best of fathers, but after Mom left when I was five, he proceeded to make life worse for me. I sighed as I made my way to the front door and opened it. Inside was mostly quiet, with the exception of the sound of the tv playing in the living room. I walked into the living room and found Dad parked on the sofa, all brooding. He had in his hand what looked like his second bottle of beer, with the first sitting on a small table beside the arm rest. He then gave a slight glance at me whilst still keeping an eye on the tv. "Where the hell have you been?"

I really couldn't offer a logical explanation, but what would he care, he'd think I was crazy anyway. "I was…on the other side of town."

"What were you doing there?"Dad asked again.

I stammered slightly"I…I don't know."That was the only answer I had in mind. I made my way to the stairs, but clearly Dad wasn't finished yet as he got up, and walked towards me. "Really, is that all you got? You know when I want an answer, I expect it to be a lot more than 'I don't know."He grabbed my shoulder firmly, and his eyes trailed down to my wet clothes."Hey, what happened to you?"

I sighed as I shrugged off his grip"Just some stupid kids at school." I simply replied, as he gestured down to the floor. "Jesus, it's always something with you, isn't it? I mean look at this, your tracking crap all over the damn carpet!"

It was pointless arguing back, so I ignored his petty rant, and kept moving up the stairs. Still he called out to me "You listening to me, Davy? You'd better clean this up when you come back down here, or else it's another beating on your ass!"

Despite his words triggering a desire in me to come back down and beat his ass, I kept my composure. Knowing that he's stronger than me.

After I set my bag in my room, I immediately hit the shower. As I let the warm water run down my whole body, I felt a whole sense of comforting serenity. Like all my problems were washed away.

After I cleaned myself up, and mopped the light trail of snow and mud from the floor, I got two plates of leftover meatloaf from the oven. I placed the other plate in front of Dad, who was slouched on the table opposite me, with a cigarette in hand. All was silent as I took a few bites out of my meatloaf, and occasionally pushed it around with my fork a little. I stared back at Dad, who still hadn't said a word. As much as I preferred the silence, it was apparently too quiet. So I decided to make small talk. "How was work?"

"It sucked."he replied "I got laid off again." I glanced up at him concerned.

"Don't give me that look,"he said almost accusingly.

"What?"

"I know what you're thinking."

"I wasn't thinking anything, Dad."

"Sure you were. You're thinking your old man's a loser. You're thinking 'Why can't he hold onto a job?'Isn't that right?"

I gave up on a response. It seems like he'd still give me shit, even if I wasn't arguing with him. I glanced at the nearby clock, it's just after seven.

"What, you can't answer me?" Dad called. I sighed "Just let it go Dad."Then I saw him flick his cigarette across the table, and onto my plate. "Answer the Goddamn question, David!" He raised his voice. Clearly his attitude was one of demanding impatience. I looked at him with pleading eyes. "Dad please. You're drunk, you have to calm down…"

But he didn't listen, as he launched from his chair, spilling his and my plate on the floor, and grabbed me by my shirt. "Don't you start with me, Davy Rice! Don't you dare!" He then angrily shoved me against the wall. Tears then started to flow a little from my eyes. "Please Dad," I begged, but still he slapped me hard across the face, so hard that I fell by my side on the floor. I then heard the whining noise in my ears again, and the voice of Dad, only it was slightly muffled. "It's high time you learn some manners, you little bitch." I got up, with tears stinging my eyes. "Get away from me!" I shouted as I pushed Dad back. He loses his balance slightly, before charging back. I slid back down to the floor, as I tried to shield myself.

It was then the whining noise started to intensify as I closed my eyes, expecting the blows from Dad to hit. But they didn't come, and my hearing was clear again.

I opened my eyes, and found myself in between two long stacks of books. Shocked, I looked around and spotted the poster of the bespectacled badger hanging on the wall at the end of the row. I glanced at my watch; it was six minutes after seven. No time had passed, none. One second I was in my kitchen and the next I was in the Public Library again. Only now it was dark and no one's around; closed around this time. I started towards the end of the aisle, thinking of what just happened to me. There's an old Sherlock Holmes saying "When you have eliminated all which is impossible, then whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth." I just teleported.

Ever since I could remember, the Public Library had been my escape. In a way it made sense, that of all places, I'd wind up where I was most comfortable. So the next question was, having done it twice, could I make it happen again?

I shut my eyes, and focused intensely with every fiber of my being. With a flourish I opened my eyes again, only to discover I hadn't moved; I was still in the library. Dejected, I made my way over to the front entrance, and tried the doors. Unfortunately they were locked; of course, what's not to expect here at this time? I then tried the back entrance, the only other door there was an emergency exit, but it was chained. I pound it in frustration as well as kick it for good measure. If I stayed here for too long, security would mistake me for a thief. I really wanted to get out of here. It was then I felt the strange noise again, and felt it swelling up around me. I then realized that the door was no longer in front of me, and I had fallen down on what felt like a mattress. When I came to, I saw that I had appeared in my room. I recognized the stuff around that is based on emphasis on astronomy; a poster of Armstrong by the moon landing, a photograph of a spiraling galaxy, and a model of the solar system that I made in sixth grade. So apparently I can teleport anywhere, if I just think about a certain place.

Outside the bedroom door, I then heard footsteps coming up the stairs, and Dad's voice calling out. "David, is that you?!"

Panicking, I rushed to the door, shutting it lightly, and applying the chain lock attached to it, all the while Dad's steps were approaching. "David, I know you're in there!"

Once the door was secured, I stepped back and noticed the doorknob rattling, no doubt Dad trying to break in. He then opened it slightly, with the chain keeping it from opening all the way. "David, open the door!"

I clenched both my fists, and for a split second I saw him burst through the door, as my vision saw the surroundings shift. With a whoosh I found myself in between the book stacks and the poster again. It was then I realized that I could make it happen on purpose, or at least under the threat of fear. I just need a little more practice.

I shut my eyes and took a deep breath, focusing on conjuring up the noise. The whooshing noise then came as the world spins around again, and then I found myself standing in the backyard. After steadying myself I looked towards the kitchen window seven feet away from where I stood. I saw Dad in the kitchen, looking puzzled. He then picks up a chair, as well as the two plates he dropped during his temper, places them in the sink. Then he moves to a nearby cabinet and retrieves a bottle of scotch.

I concentrated once more, and conjured up the whooshing sound. I then appeared in my bedroom, only this time I didn't hear dad coming up the stairs. I closed the door quietly, and sat down on my bed to relax.

After about an hour and a half, I came out and went downstairs to the living room. There was Dad asleep on the couch, with both shoes and one sock off, with the tv still on. I then felt the anger welling up within me. I thought about all the times Dad had hit me since Mom left. I approached him, and picked up the empty scotch bottle; I considered striking him down with it. I was about to take the first swing, when Dad shifted slightly. His lips moved in a dry stupor, like a baby would. And in an instant, this simple vulnerable action, led me to quell my fury. I sighed and hung my head down, as I felt no hatred towards him anymore, but only pity. As I placed the scotch bottle back on the table, a thought occurred to me. This thing that just happened, this ability that I now possess, it could set me free.

My eyes then spotted Dad's wallet on the table. I went through it, and found at least eighty bucks in nodes of twenties, I picked out half of them. However when I folded the wallet it still felt thick despite half the cash being emptied out. I looked closer and discovered a hidden compartment, covered by a flap with fake stitching. I opened it, and nearly dropped the wallet. It was full of a hundred dollar bills. Quickly and quietly, I took the wallet upstairs to my room, where I counted twenty two crisp hundred dollar bills onto the bed. I then took out notebook paper, cut it down to dollar bill size, and stacked it until it felt as thick as the pile of hundreds. It took at least twenty sheets to match the stiffness of the money, and then I placed it into the wallet to replace the real money, which I kept and tucked in my pocket.

After I placed the wallet back downstairs on the living room table, I went into the garage and took down an old leather suitcase, the one that belonged to Grandpa when he retired. I then gathered some supplies ranging from snacks from the kitchen, to toiletries and spare clothes from my room. As I packed up both my backpack and the suitcase, I picked up a photo from the dresser. It was me and Mom when I was four, together on the docks overlooking Liberty Island. Just staring at that photo has made my decision clear; if she could run away, so could I.

I walked down a few blocks until I came up to Millie's house.

Her house was just like Dad's, only it's naturally appealing.

I used to fantasize about running away and traveling the world with her. But what good would that do, if it was just the two of us? She's already got a good future ahead of her, plus a loving family that cares for unlike me. The best thing I could do for her, is let her live her own life, while I work on making a fresh start.

The house looked mostly dark, save for the one room on the second floor that still shined a little light; Millie's room. I approached near the side, and lightly threw a couple of small pebbles at her window. It was then I saw her face and her quickly rushing out of her room.

When I heard her front door unlocking , I then quickly took out the snow globe I gave and placed it on her old swing set. I then ran and ducked behind a wide thick tree, and turned around slightly. I saw Millie dressed in her red coat, and dark blue boots alongside her pajamas. She then went over to the swings and picked up the snow globe. Immediately a sad but hopeful smile formed on her face, the sight of the globe was enough for her to know that I was still alive.

"David?!" She called out, but I didn't answer. I figured that was all I needed to say goodbye. "David?!"

After a while she immediately went back into the house. I began walking away from my hiding spot, ready to make a move on. I then glanced at Millie's house one last time, and finally muttered the one thing I never had the guts to say to her personally. "I love you Mille."

And there you have it, my first ever chapter of my first story. As you can see I'm using David S.Goyer's original draft of the script. So anything written here can be credited to him, while I add in my own material to make the story flow better. It's mostly a combination between the original script draft and the final film. Though I will be basing the rest of the story through this draft, as it feels like a more complete story than the film.

While I agree the first few minutes were better than the rest of the film, the one flaw is that the pacing is a bit rushed.

Up next you'll get to see the introduction of another character who's in the same situation as David. It's not Griffin by way, though he will eventually appear in this story.

Also keep in mind that this is my first form of writing, so don't be so quick to judge me, ok.