Out Bat-ter Angels
(I work at a hospital. Every week, we host an event where volunteers come in and entertain some of the sick children. On this particular day, most of the volunteers are dressed up as superheroes.)
Superman: “Who wants me to see if I can pull a penny out of their nose?”
Child #1: *in a wheelchair* “Me! Me!”
Superman: *doing his magic trick* “I’m afraid I can’t. All I could find were all these quarters!”
(Superman magically pulls out a quarter and gives it to [Child #1]. A few minutes later, [Child #1] returns.)
Child #1: “Superman! Superman! I bought candy with the money you found! This one’s for you.”
(At this point, one of two volunteers dressed as Spider-man speaks up.)
Spider-man #1: “Where’d he get that candy?”
Child #2: “There’s a vending machine in the hallway.”
Spider-man #1: “They let you buy candy? That’s not healthy.”
Spider-man #2: “I’m sure the nurses here are aware of what the kids eat.”
Child #2: “It’s true. They’re really strict.”
Spider-man #1: “It’s just not healthy…”
(Meanwhile, Superman is continuing his trick.)
Superman: “…and another one in the left ear, and another one in the right ear. Wait! I haven’t checked your nose for quarters yet.”
Child #3: *after Superman’s finished* “What kind of candy do you want, Superman?”
Superman: “Don’t worry about me, kid. I’m Superman! Superman can make candy with his mind.”
Child #3: “Nuh uh! I saw the movie!”
Superman: “Oh, yeah? Watch this!”
(He closes his eyes and concentrations hard, then pretends to catch something out of the air.)
Superman: “Ah-ha! Chocolate!”
Spider-man #1: “Don’t give her that. They get too much sugar.”
Nurse: “It’s fine, sir.”
Spider-man #1: “No!”
(All of a sudden, Spider-man #1 grabs the chocolate from Superman, throws it on the floor, and stomps on it. He’s clearly out of control and scaring the children.)
Spider-man #1: “Food like that will just keep you sick! They just want you to stay here and keep buying their s****y candy to keep you sick so they can get your money! They just—”
(At that moment, a man dressed as Batman appears with his cape wrapped around him. Surprised, Spider-man #1 begins stuttering.)
Spider-man #1: “Uh… what do you want?”
Batman: *in a deep voice* “I want this hospital to be a place of hope. I want these children to enjoy their lives. I want the forces of darkness forever beaten.”
(He drops the cloak, revealing the police uniform underneath it.)
Batman: *cuffs Spider-man #1* “I want justice!”
(The children all cheer, relieved. A month later, one of the children who has been in the hospital for a very long time is getting ready to leave. When someone asks him what his favorite memory of the volunteer nights was, he says…)
Child: “When crazy Spider-man went crazy and Batman took off his costume and he was an actually real hero and made crazy Spider-man go away!”
This story is part of the Superman roundup.