[ WP ] Superhero gets powers in a timed cycle . Never knows what powers he is going to get .

`` Are you okay up there?'' 
 
 I did n't say anything. I do n't think I could. It was the sheer volume of his voice that roused me though. 
 
 `` I said,'Are you okay up there?' You took one hell of a hit, son!'' the man belly laughed - he could't help it given the spectacle - and there was a lot of belly with which to laugh. His hunting hat wobbled as he did so, its ear flaps rustling in their own silent mirth. 
 
 Unfortunately, his accent was almost completely impenetrable. This was going to be a be tricky, I realised. Opening my eyes for the first time, I found that they stung quite badly. It was probably the blood. Wiping the viscous, dark red liquid from my brow was agony for both my face and chosen hand, a rather unfortunate combination. Nevertheless, I was able to clear my vision, and took a quick glance around, craning a sore neck to-and-fro. 
 
 It could have been worse, was my initial assessment. Six inches to my right was the sharpest rock I had ever seen; it jutted out viciously, like a canine tooth in an underbite. I had barely missed head butting it. Right underneath me, however, was that rocks younger brother - doing a damned good impression of its sibling as it nestled my wounded cranium in a very un-accommodating manner. 
 
 I could move my head, which was a good sign. I would worry about the rest of my body in a second. Then I would sort out my timing, unless I'd broken my watch on the way down. Right now, there were other things to deal with. This man being one. 
 
 `` You plain just fell out of the sky! Were you flying?'' 
 
 My eyes were fixed to the hazy blue sky now, where I had been not two minutes ago - soaring like an eagle. I replied in my most composed manner, `` Yes. Yes, I was.'' 
 
 My voice was weak and translucent, it left my body like oil leaking from a rusty bucket. I did n't lose my power of flight and gain super-vocal chords, it would seem. 
 
 `` Gosh. How?'' 
 
 I sighed and all the air in my lungs screamed as it came out. `` It… would take a while to explain. Let's just say that I ca n't anymore, and wo n't be able to for some time.'' 
 
 I peeled my legs away from the scree and dirt upon which they led. Moving my left one - the one that hurt less - counter-clockwise a few degrees, it was n't long until I found my foot dangling into nothingness. I realised then that I resided on the lip of a cliffside, probably no longer or wider than my own body. To either side of me was another sheer drop, or worse. In that sense, I was intensely lucky to have landed here. 
 
 `` Now son, I would n't go squirming around up there. You'll do yourself more harm than good. Do n't want you falling again.'' 
 
 I ignored this advice, something I have decided I am quite good at. With maximum effort, I rolled onto my belly, wiping my bloodied cheeks across the floor of the overhang. I peered down, and saw a further forty-foot drop into the seemingly soft canopy of the forest floor. Would that have been better or worse? 
 
 I saw the orange hat, and matching orange flak jacket that ungenerously covered the enormous man below me. Our eyes met. He was surprisingly far away, and not speaking all too loudly. 
 
 We regarded each other a while. 
 
 `` Your stockings are ripped,'' he said after some deliberation. 
 
 `` They're tights,'' I replied, running my tongue along my bloodied gums. `` Tights.'' 
 
 `` Yessir. Look, I ca n't get you down myself, but I got ta truck parked back at the main road. I could go find someone…'' 
 
 `` No, no,'' I said curtly, bringing my entire chin over the edge and letting my swollen head hang a little in the afternoon breeze. It whistled piercingly, like a kettle. `` I'll be fine in a minute. It's just a momentary lapse. I do n't think anything's broken.'' 
 
 That was a lie, the last bit was anyway. The momentary lapse was very possibly true. I mean, who knew what I would get next? Hopefully super healing - just long enough to fix all the loose teeth in my head. Super speed, to rush home with what remained of my dignity intact. Maybe teleportation, so I could go back to bed. Time-travel? These were all good options. 
 
 But when would they come? And more, importantly - when would they leave? Before I rushed out of the lab, before I grabbed my home-made uniform, salivating over the prospect of my future heroics, I should have listened closer to that damned doctor when he was talking about the side-effects of his damned serum. I was too brash. 
 
 Or maybe I should have made my first attempt at saving the world somewhere a little closer to home, so I would n't be flying for hours over god knows where. Or not flying, as the case may be. 
 
 My eyes were glazed over. The man was still looking at me, head cocked to the side like a curious rodent. 
 
 `` Hell of a hit though,'' he seemed pretty proud of that profound statement. Was he yelling it at me? `` Hell of a hit. Listen, I'll go back to my truck and radio something in. It'll be dark soon and you'll catch a chill in your stock… tights.'' 
 
 He did n't wait. He turned around on the spot and lumbered into the forest, an orange wisp that was gone before I could protest. I turned back around, ignoring all of the painful sensations shooting up and down my spine, and lay on my back again. 
 
 The birds soared high above, dancing around and mocking my broken frame in equal measure. Their wings flapped and slapped together loudly, sarcastic applause from an avian audience. 
 
 The forest and sky were alive with noise, it was deafening now. As the sun rounded the top of the cliff and passed beyond my view, I could hear every leaf in the forest moving, and every animal scurrying. The wind howled in my ears now, though it was nothing more than a light breeze. 
 
 And even though the man had disappeared some minutes ago, I could still hear his heavy footsteps receding into the bushes. My flight was gone, but my new super-hearing had just come into full effect.
