Thanks glad you enjoyed it.

Looks like u/pokerfakes thought the same as you. The prompt seems to have reminded them of megamind too.

Not an intentional reference. I'm sure I've watched Darkwing Duck as a kid. I don't remember it. I imagine Terror-dactyl was just as frightening.

I'm glad you enjoyed it

I haven't seen megamind, if it was the same it was pure coincidence.

Ok. Not the same image I had in my head. I'll go back and reread it in her voice. 😄

That last line was unexpected and hilarious.

It's a weird thing to have in my auto complete options. 😆

Thanks. I had fun with this prompt.

You sense them in the shadows long before you see them.

"Hello Percival. How are are you today?"

"Perci...what!? I am TERROR-DACTYL! Terror of the night!"

"Oh Terry dear. Sorry I was expecting someone else You're early. Can I just finish my dinner? Join me I have more than enough."

"Was the rest for Percival?"

What was that tone? Jealousy?

Mildly amused, you avoid telling Terror-dactyl that Percival is your neighbour. Or more specifically, your neighbour's cat you were minding. Percival doesn't like you much and lurks in the shadow.

"We have no time for dinner. Come with me now, don't make me hurt you." Terror-dactyl points their freeze ray at you. Hesitating he smells the air.

"Is that Beef Wellington?..." Then very quietly "It's my favourite."

"No" Terror-dactyl continued "Fenik will be here soon. We must away"

"You're worried about my br....my hero Fenik"

You dont know why you're still covering, this is the 11th time Terror-dactyl has kidnapped you. Surely he knows the connection between you and Fenik. Otherwise why would he choose you every time.

Sigh

"Fenik isn't coming today. He's busy with a volcano on a remote island. Saving the locals."

Conveniently timed with your brother’s honeymoon, with his lovely new spouse Jay. Also known as Glacio.

Their teams had spread word about a fake volcano eruption, and how Glacio and Fenik were saving the day. So that Jay and Frederick could honeymoon in peace.

You sit down at the table and slice into the Beef Wellington.

"Fenik will return to save you anyway." Terror-dactyl said deflated.

"Nah, he said 10 was enough times. Next time I could rescue myself. I could, you know, rescue myself. Supposing of course I want to be rescued"

He looks at you perplexed.

"Powers are genetic. My brother didn't get them all."

You pinch your fingers on the unlit candle wick, removing your hand to show the now lit candle.

"Hero work never appealed to me, I let Fenik deal with that. Now last time we met, you said you'd teach me chess."

Waiter water warthog

Only the prompt as given.

You read enough books and enough prompts, likely something subconsciously sticks

That one made me laugh.

Thanks.

The prompt was good fun.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. If you don't "buy the art" for the full price, it might be your eyes they take for payment of "the art"

I sat in my new black dress, my husband had bought for me to wear tonight. I felt both under and over dressed at the same time. It was just a family dinner, but I could never be as elegant, as the supermodel beauties his brothers had married, or have the natural confidence of his sisters. I could just be me.

"That's what I love about you baby, you're you. You're unique."

Instead of the formal dining area, where we had our usual Sunday dinners, we turned into the ballroom. Antonio's already huge family of 9, plus partners, had grown 10 fold.

"I thought it was just family tonight." I whispered

"It is. The full, extended family."

"Oh of course."

"This is Uncle Tommy" he said, as a large man grabbed my hand pulling me close and kissing my cheeks. I searched my memory for a fact about him.

"You have the Tommy gun tattoos on your arms right? As in Tommy's guns. Very fitting. I look forward to seeing them in action in the summer Tommy."

Tommy smiled and moved off to greet someone else.

"And this is Uncle Saul"

"Oh yes, Sawing Saul? Are you the carpenter?"

Before he could answer, I corrected myself. Bone saw Saul, of course he was the butcher.

"That would be Harry the Hammer. Who works with Charlie the Coffin maker. Very talented, he should train a new apprentice. It's a dying skill." I laughed at my little joke. Coffin maker, dying skill.

"And what do you do Elizabeth?" Asked Saul.

"Me, oh a little bit of everything. I'm mostly behind the scenes, administration, logistics, ad hoc duties, etc. I work for a special care facility. That's how I met Antonio. He brought in his uncle Mikey into my facility, tongue cancer, I was told. Do you remember him? His tongue was surgically removed."

I turned to Antonio "I hope they revoked that doctor's medical licence."

I turned back to Saul,

"Absolute hack job. I could have done a better job with my sewing scissors."

"Of course Saul remembers him. They were very close. He won't forget what happened to Mikey." Added Antonio

"Oh and his knee caps. Couldn't walk a step" I continued. I was rambling a little.

"Our doctor's couldn't understand how they had deteriorated so badly. Sporting injury supposedly, but the doctor's said it was like they'd been crushed into powder"

Saul started to sweat. I could understand crowds made me anxious too.

"Oh sorry let's not talk shop. Let's enjoy dinner."

I searched my mind for a change of topic. He probably didn't want to think about his family in such a state. I saw Charlie in the crowd.

"Charlie is doing well for himself. I've sent a lot of business Charlie's way."

Antonio chuckled

"He never knew he could make so much money legitimately, making coffins" Added Antonio. Saul had gone quiet and pale. It was a little warm in here.

"We'll all need one, one day my love. Hopefully not too soon for us. Oh Saul. You have blood on your collar. It looks set, apply glycerine with a cotton ball, to either side of the stain. Rub in circles from the outside to the inside, until it starts to shift. Then wash it in cold water. You learn a lot about cleaning out blood in my line of work"

The sweetest little great granny (and her innocent 5 year old great granddaughter) and a rude rich teenager (future Karen). In a quaint little traditional toy shop, with hand made wooden rocking horses. It's a place that mostly gets tourist trade, especially seasonal Christmas shoppers. The items are all hand crafted and expensive.

I wanted to be cool. I wanted to be part of the in super crowd. I applied to the super league of super heroes. S.L.O.S.H laughed at me when I demonstrated my power. I turned a glass of water into soup. I placed the glass of water inside my bowl, used my power, and presented them with the perfect bowl of potato and leek soup. They laughed.

"Water into soup, I'm soo impressed. Hahahaha. Yeah we have a spot for you... in the cafeteria. Hahaha. Get lost mighty Lunch Lady"

It's like none of them had noticed the glass changed to soup too. I only chose the glass of water because it was the first thing I saw. Maybe it would have been more impressive if I had used the table they sat behind, or one of their chairs.

I gave up on my dreams to a golden member of S.L.O.S.H., but I took their advice to become a lunch lady. Not in their sacred halls, but somewhere I was needed and appreciated. I started up stone soup.

Most assumed the name was in reference to the old children's story; A community coming together to feed everyone. I didn't dispute it. It allowed the charity to raise money for more than just soup. Only I knew that whatever soup I made, in limitess amounts, was actually stone soup. I'd thought about using trash, but I couldn't in good conscience use actual rubbish and waste products to make food.

I was never going to be a superhero in the grand sense, but I was a hero to hundreds each day. That should have been enough.

One day I watched the news. For once they weren't talking about S.L.O.S.H members stopping bank robberies, or a bus load of kids saved from crashing into the river. Today it was a meteorite headed to Earth. No one could stop it, not even Meteorman which was ironic.

"What's on the menu today Rosemary?" Asked my assistant as they wandered in. Clearly they hadn't seen the news.

"The biggest batch of stone soup ever. I'm thinking something cool and refreshing, Gazpacho or chilled cucumber perhaps. I just have to go out and get the ingredients."

I grabbed my largest pot and my testing bowl, before I turned back and said

"It's going to taste out of this world"

Nestled asleep in my arms, so small and innocent, no one could guess at the power you contain.

Thank you for responding to the prompt. It's cool that you took it so far into the future. I wondered myself about illness. Also does the height of fall matter? I think your story was great and stopped just at the right moment. A real cliff hanger....

Anyway, I enjoyed reading it.