It was a perfect day to be at the theme park. The skies were crystal clear, the breeze was cool, and the air smelled of sugary delights. Crystal and her husband Dennis had been enjoying the visit immensely so far, having got there early enough to ride some of their favorite attractions before the lines got too long. Dennis loved fast roller coasters, having the wind blow through his hair and the quick upward launches made him feel like he was young again.

Crystal loved the slower rides, floating on gentle water while a story unfolds around you. But both of them agreed and enjoyed the attractions together, and loved the expensive yet delicious treats even more. And this day had been even more special than most because only a handful of people had recognized Dennis and bothered him for a photo. Usually in a public setting, Dennis couldn't go two minutes without being hounded by fans and haters, even if he was wearing his red sunglasses. He'd been out of the public eye for over fifteen years, but that didn't stop hordes of people from harassing his everyday life.

Crystal told Dennis to wait on the secluded bench while she went to grab them some birthday cake flavored Churros. Her mouth watered as the heavenly smells wafted into her nostrils as she waited for her turn to order. But before she had the chance to purchase, someone behind her tapped her on the shoulder and asked, “Has he ever taken you to the clouds?”

Crystal turned around instantly, her face chiseled stone of misery. She found a man in his mid-thirties standing behind her, looking like a giddy music fan meeting a rockstar after a concert. “I’m so sorry to bother you, ma’am. But I’m just obsessed with your husband! Pleeeeassseee tell me he’s taken you up in the sky, I’d love-” the man said, cut off by Crystal’s hand going up in a stopping motion.

“What’s your name, dude?” Crystal said with the most monotone, uninterested voice imaginable.

“I’m Chris, they call me-”

“That’s enough, Chris, thank you. Now, Chris… You need to leave my husband and I alone today. It is a special day for us, and we just want to relax and enjoy it together. We have said all we will say on the subject of his past. He is out of the game. Thanks for understanding,” Crystal said flatly, clearly a well rehearsed line of dialogue she had used many times before.

She turned back around to get herself a well deserved snack, but Chris persisted. “Look ma’am, I get it. You don’t want to be bothered. But I’m not like the others… I’m genuinely the biggest Sparkleshine Man fan around. Everything in my life… I live for Sparkleshine Man, lady. Please, please just tell me if he’s ever used his powers with you. Has he flown you around? Used his diamond-” Crystal didn’t let him finish before turning around and raising her hand once again.

“I was pretty kind to you before, Chris. I put up a pretty reasonable boundary, and you just blew right through it, didn’t you? Another word out of your mouth, and I’ll taze you. Yeah. I will taze you right here in the amusement park. And the security will be on my side. So now, as your last warning… Leave my husband and I alone today,” Crystal said, turning around in a single spin on her right heel.

Her blood was boiling. If this idiot even blinked at her the wrong way, she was going to lose her composure. “Next in line, please,” the dullard Churro salesman moaned.

She brought Dennis over his treat, and they dipped their churros into the six-dollar not-included vanilla sprinkle frosting cup. She kissed him on the nose. “Hey honey, unfortunately we’ve got a live one. A guy named Chris, must have been a teenager when you retired. I threatened to taze the poor guy, but I don’t think he’s going to leave us alone,” She said, taking another dip into the rapidly disappearing frosting cup.

Dennis mulled it over for a bit, and looked towards the guy she pointed at. “Dang, I’m so sorry honey. He looks familiar, I wonder if we’ve dealt with him before,” he said demurredly.

They finished their treats, and headed towards the next attraction. Ride after ride, they kept seeing Chris in the distance. He never made a move, but they were uneasy that he’d try to somehow worm his way into their conversation, or make a scene if they didn’t appease his adorations.

Next on their list was the Turbo Drop ride, a three hundred foot tall open air elevator that would take you up, make you wait, and then drop you at extreme speeds. But when they reached the entrance, an employee was turning people away. “Look folks, we are sorry, but the ride is currently broken down. Unfortunately one of the carriages is stuck at the top, and it looks like the fire department isn’t going to be here to fix it for a few more hours. Hopefully we get it-” the employee was cut off by a loud metal screeching sound.

Everyone looked up at the Turbo Drop and saw the carriage bending forwards off of the track, holding on by a thread. People began screaming and running around, although it wasn’t affecting them in the slightest. A portly teenager got on all fours and galloped quickly, squealing and swiping at the legs of running guests. A radio blurted from the employee's belt, “No word from fire. Police are en route. We don’t have any lifts on site that can reach that height.”

Dennis looked at Crystal, and she shook her head. “You don’t have to do anything. You’ll only make it worse. Let's go find another ride, the police will save them,” she said gently and kindly, putting her arm on his back and guiding him away. When they were crossing a bridge over a man-made lake, three police helicopters passed overhead and began circling the Turbo Drop. One carefully launched a hook at the carriage, but instead of securing it, a louder, terrible metal screech rang out through the amusement park, and the carriage fell forward more, being held by only one chain.

“This is your chance, Sparkleshine Man.”

Crystal and Dennis whipped their heads around and saw Chris standing there, with a backpack in his hand. Crystal grabbed for the taser, but Dennis held her back. Chris smiled at that. “Sparkleshine, come on, this is your comeback! Those people up there? They need you. They need you bad. You gonna let them drop? I don’t think so. I’ve even got your suit!” Chris said, his voice radiating pure ecstasy.

Dennis stood silently, an intense look of contemplation behind his rose-tinted sunglasses. Crystal looked stunned, and tried to shake him out of it. “Honey. Abso. Lutely. Not. You are retired. You can’t do this.”

Dennis finally looked up towards Chris, his teeth chattering. “I- I- I- I can’t. Why, why do you believe in me? I hurt so many- I never intended. I am not a hero anymore. I shouldn’t even be allowed to walk free, I- I can’t do this.”

“Sparkleshine Man, you are a hero. To me, to millions. We know you didn’t do it on purpose. And quitting was your worst mistake. Now is your chance, your biggest moment. Make your comeback. Put on the suit, and save some lives,” Chris said very seriously, tossing a purple and pink bundle of fabric towards Dennis.

“You can’t,” Crystal said in a sorrowful whisper.

Dennis paused for a moment, then looked towards her. “I must.”

With a snap of his finger, his old hero suit appeared on him, no change of clothes necessary. The purple spandex fit him like a glove, a diamond clasp held his iconic pink cape around his shoulders. He saluted Chris, and gave him a bright white smile before shooting off into the sky. Crystal fell to her knees, too shell shocked to cry. She looked towards Chris, who wasn’t even watching the action. He was walking towards the exit, a shining “LM” on the back of his shirt. She wanted to scream at him, but didn’t have the strength.

Meanwhile, Sparkleshine Man flew toward the Turbo Drop, a small trail of glimmering pixie dust left in his wake. He hadn’t felt this alive in years, he hadn’t used his powers a single time in fifteen years. That restraint was hard at first, but after he and Crystal had settled down, it became easier and easier. Beautiful vortexes of swirling light began opening beside him as he flew, and the crowds below began to cheer as they realized what was happening.

A brass band that was usually just a low-tier sideshow at the park was met with thunderous applause as they began playing Sparkleshine Man’s old theme song, made popular in the nineties from his spinoff cartoon. The sound brought tears to his eyes, and he was filled with nostalgia as he increased his speed, the trail of glittering dust extending even further behind him.

As he flew faster, more colorful vortexes began to open, and they were growing larger. He was blissfully ignoring this, entransed by the cheers, music, and power that he was feeling. But before he made it to the tower, the vortexes began messing with the gravity below, and things started to rumble under the theme park’s floor. The man-made lake began violently sending waves crashing, and waterspouts began to form, ripping the helicopters out of the air and crashing them into other rides.

People began grabbing onto benches, umbrellas, anything they could get their hands on to stop the pull into the sky. The vortexes began humming loud growling noises, almost excitedly eating up things that were flying into them. The world was a rain of popcorn, pretzels, churros, ice cream… Every item of food that was so desperately yearned for at the theme park began flying into the air, causing mass chaos as rides began to break and more people were lifted into the sky. When the snacks began entering the swirling vortexes, Sparkleshine Man began gaining weight rapidly. Within seconds, his stomach was pressing against his utility belt, taught with indulgent snacks.

The band had stopped playing by then, desperately gripping the stage as their instruments were ripped from their hands, slicing through the gazebo they played under. Sparkleshine Man stopped flying, and grabbed his head as he roared in pain, his belly looking like an hourglass as the utility belt began squeezing the life out of him. Finally, the belt buckle snapped, and flew at supersonic speeds towards the turbo tower, breaking the sound barrier in the process. It not only knocked the carriage full of people off of the tower, but it exploded the entire ride, causing a chain reaction through all of the electrical panels in the park, each ride exploding into massive bursts of fire and sending wreckage flying.

Sparkleshine Man must have weighed over six-hundred pounds now, and his only course of action was to stop using his powers immediately. He didn’t even want to float down to safety, any extension of these powers would only cause further destruction. So he just turned the powers off, as they had been for the last fifteen years. And he fell, crashing down towards the theme park. He bellyflopped into the man made lake, and the slap could be heard for thirty miles in every direction, windows shattering in distant towns.

When he awoke, days later, he was in a reinforced concrete and steel cell. He looked down and saw his enormous stomach drooping off the bed, nearly brushing the floor. An interrogator sat in a panic room forty feet away, and spoke over a speaker. “Well Dennis, you really did it this time. Couldn’t stay sober from those powers, could you? Your wife has left you, the theme park is holding you liable for every dime of damage, and the families are outside with torches and pitchforks, demanding your execution. You caused a lot of misery, and I’m loving it. How are you feeling?”

Dennis looked completely gone, no light in his eyes. “Chris, is that you?” Dennis asked.

Laughter came from the speakers as Dennis’s mind became a puddle of toothpaste.