Welcome to Storytime with Dad!  Today we will be reading The Awesome Web Boy.

In the city of Brightvale, cars zipped down the streets and children laughed on the playgrounds, not knowing that high above them swung their secret protector - Awesome Web Boy!

By day, his name was Eli Carson, a ten-year-old who loved science experiments, peanut butter sandwiches, and helping his Aunt Becky in their tiny apartment above the bakery. But one stormy night, when Eli was trying to build a robotic bug for the school science fair, lightning struck the power line outside his window. It zapped his little spider-shaped robot - and ZAAAP! - the spark jumped straight into his homemade gloves covered in sticky thread. The next morning, Eli discovered he could shoot web strands from his hands that stretched and held strong as steel. He could swing from lampposts, climb walls, and even catch falling pigeons in midair. After a few crashes into laundry lines and one very surprised neighbor, he decided he'd better use his powers for good. That's when Awesome Web Boy was born.

Everything in Brightvale was peaceful until one blustery afternoon when the city's power flickered and the air filled with a strange humming sound. From the top of the grand radio tower came a booming voice.
"Citizens of Brightvale! I am Dr. Voltage - and I will make this city perfect once and for all!"

Everyone gasped and looked up. There, standing on a metal platform crackling with electricity, was a woman in a bright silver coat, her goggles glowing blue. Sparks danced from her gloves as she raised her hands to the sky. "Your power grid is weak! Your machines are sloppy! Your whole city runs on old ideas! But I will rebuild it - smarter, stronger, brighter - even if I have to tear it down first!"

Down below, streetlights flickered out, traffic signals went wild, and the big ferris wheel at the park started spinning on its own. People screamed and ran for cover.
"Sounds like a job for Awesome Web Boy," Eli said, slipping on his mask.

With a THWIP! and a WHOOSH! he launched himself off his rooftop and swung toward the tower. Lightning split the air, but Eli was fast, darting through the storm like a bright streak of red and blue. "Dr. Voltage!" he shouted. "You can't just destroy the city! People live here!"
She turned, her eyes flashing behind her goggles. "You're just a child. You don't understand progress! Once I reboot the city, it will run like a perfect machine. No more mistakes. No more mess. Just order."

Another blast of electricity surged toward him. Eli flipped and fired a web, catching a flagpole and swinging away just in time. "The city isn't supposed to be perfect," he said. "It's supposed to be home!"

But Dr. Voltage wasn't listening. Sparks rained down as she fired again and again, knocking out transformers and blacking out whole streets. Awesome Web Boy tried to web her equipment, but his web-shooters started to sizzle. The electricity made them glitch. That was his weakness - his webs shorted out when they got too close to power. He swung behind a billboard and checked the damage. The little lights on his gloves were flickering. "Oh no," he muttered. "If I can't shoot webs, I can't swing!"

Dr. Voltage laughed. "See? You can't stop progress! You can't stop me!" She began charging a giant lightning cannon at the top of the tower, ready to unleash it across the city.

Eli's heart pounded. He felt scared - really scared. But then he remembered what Aunt Becky always told him: "Courage doesn't mean you're never afraid, Eli. It means you care enough to keep going even when you are." He took a deep breath and looked around. If his webs couldn't handle electricity, maybe something else could. Then he spotted the big metal clock tower downtown - strong, grounded, and old enough to be completely electric-free.

"Perfect," he whispered.

He ran across the rooftops, climbed the tower, and waited for just the right moment. When Dr. Voltage aimed her lightning cannon, Eli shouted, "Hey! You forgot to test your math!"

She turned toward him, furious. "What...?"

The lightning bolt shot straight at him - but Eli leapt away at the last second, letting it strike the metal spire of the clock tower. The power rebounded down the building and arced right back toward her. The overload fried her control gloves and sent sparks flying from her jetpack.

She shrieked as her machine sputtered and spun her around like a firework. Eli jumped, thwipped one last web and wrapped her in a cocoon of sticky silver threads. The lightning faded, the cannon died, and the sky slowly turned blue again.

Down below, the lights of Brightvale flickered back on one by one. People came out of buildings, cheering and waving. Dr. Voltage glared at him as the police carried her away. "You fool," she hissed. "You don't understand - I could have made this place perfect!"
Eli smiled under his mask. "Maybe. But perfect isn't the same as good."

That night, back home on his rooftop, Eli ate a peanut butter sandwich and looked out at the twinkling city lights. He thought about Dr. Voltage and her plan - how she thought she was helping, but forgot that people mattered more than systems. He thought about how scared he'd been, and how he'd pushed through anyway. He smiled, stretched his arms, and whispered, "Even heroes get scared. But that's what makes us real."

He looked up at the stars, the city safe once more, and said softly,

"Awesome Web Boy - signing off... until next time."

The end.

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Oh my goodness, that was a fun story to make! I'm impressed by Eli and his ability to keep moving forward even when he was scared. Eli's Aunt Becky is so right, isn't she? We all have feelings, good feelings, hard feelings - the feelings themselves will always be there, washing over us like waves. But we, are in control of what we do while we feel those feelings. Eli kept going forward, which is really cool to me. He showed us that we can be afraid of something, and keep going anyways. Sometimes, that's what it takes to save a city.

A huge thanks though, to my listener Ansel. I heard you liked the Amazing Speedy Flash - a lot of listeners like that story, but you wanted to hear another superhero story and something similar to Spider Man! I get it, Spider Man is pretty cool, he's also one of my favorite super heroes, so I hope you liked this story about Awesome Web Boy. Your dad also helped me come up with the name, so thank you both for being listeners and for the kind message.

So, we know that Awesome Web Boy was afraid, have you ever been afraid of something but had to push through anyways? Share your story with me at hello@storytimewithdad.com! I would love to hear from you. On my website you can also get fun Storytime with Dad gear! I have stickers, my very own coloring book, and other cools things for you. Take peek, and I hope you'll stop by!  

But mostly, keep sending me more story ideas and being the world's greatest listeners.

Thank you for listening and I'll see you again next time.