For a while, it was cool to be a superhero. They were all over tv, fending off one disaster or another. It was they golden age of heroes, and kids were pretending that they too could save the world. Not wanting to be left out, Mike became ‘Magic Kid’ complete with black top hat and two-colored cape. He did tricks to amaze and astonish, and most of the time they came out right. There was that unfortunate incident with the frogs in Ms. Bailey’s class, but it was only a week’s worth of detention so it was still worth it.

Then, as all fads do, it waned and now it was cool to be a Card Duelist, complete with cute animal sidekick. Mike put his costume back in the closet and Magic Kid officially retired, much to the relief of his teachers. In memory, his science teacher kept one of the frogs, safely ensconced in a terrarium at the back of her classroom.

Years later, when a demonic rift opened in the middle of the school parking lot, Ms. Bailey only had to glance at the red and black frog with glowing yellow eyes to know who to call.