The Make-A-Wish Foundation has been granting the wishes of terminally ill children for quite some time now, except that most of their wishes are to go to Disney World or meet a celebrity. But not Erik Martin. Erik Martin, who suffers from liver cancer wants to be a superhero, and he even has an alter ego and an outfit all picked out should the need for a superhero ever arise. Well, last Thursday the occasion arose (albeit staged) and Erik Martin hopped into a phone booth, transformed into Electron Boy and sprang into action, according to the Seattle Times.
With the help of his friendly neighborhood Spider-Man, Electron Boy went looking for the evil Dr. Dark and Blackout Boy, who had imprisoned the Seattle Sounders soccer team in their locker room before a big game. Upon reaching the field, another local superhero, Lightning Lad, and a crowd of frantic onlookers directed the do-gooders to the locker room that Electron Boy proceeded to blast open with his Lightning Rod.
Alas, the evil-doers had moved on to their next dastardly plan, trapping people in the uppermost part of Seattle's Space Needle. But Electron Boy was on the case. With an escort of 20 police motorcycles, Erik and family took a white limo to the landmark where Dr. Dark and Blackout Boy were brought down by the 13-year-old superhero, riding high on adrenaline. The baddies asked, "How can we thank you for saving our souls?" while being handcuffed and tucked into a police cruiser.
The charade lasted only a few hours but was more than enough to turn an ordinary Thursday into the best day of a dying boy's life. Erik, who rarely has the energy to even make it to school, was "over the moon" according to his mother:
"He hasn't had this much energy in a long time. They called it the power of the wish, and they're right."
The story is a touching one and a great thing to read about at the start of what would usually be a crumby work day. Hopefully this uplifting story has added a little light to your life. Keep an eye out for someone scooping up the movie rights to this, even if it's just the Lifetime Movie Network. It's probably going to happen.
