John was enjoying himself on the swing-set when he happened to look up and notice a small crowd gathering in a corner of the playground, over by the slide. Curious, he jumped from the swing and wandered over.
The center of attention seemed to be a small, kind of shrimpy little boy in a blue sweater. Surrounding him were a swarm of mean boys and viscous girls, laughing even as they closed further in on him. One of them reached out and shoved him.
"Come on, Porky Pig! Say 'That's all, Folks!'"
"Yeah, Porky Pig!"
"Say it!"
"Yeah! Say it! 'That's all, Folks!' 'That's all, Folks!'"
Another one reached out and pushed him. They boy put his hands up in a feeble attempt to shield himself. "P-p-p-please, s-s-stop!!"
The kids erupted into a fresh fit of laughter. "Porky Pig! Porky Pig!"
"Say something else, Porky Pig!"
Tears started streaming down the boy's cheeks.
A kid in a green shirt walked up and pushed him into the ground. "Come on, Porky Pig! Say something else!"
"Hey! Leave him alone!"
All eyes focused on John. The green-shirted kid scowled at him. "What's it to you?!"
"I said leave him alone! If you're gonna pick on someone, why don't you at least pick on someone your own size?"
"Are you looking for a fight?" The kid in the green shirt walked up to John and stopped inches in front of him. He clenched his hands into fists.
"Just leave that kid alone." John said.
"Or else what? Are you gonna fight me?" He put a hand against John's chest and shoved him. "Come on, why don't you fight? Are you chicken?" When John said nothing, the green-shirt boy shoved him again. "Chicken!"
Almost like a voice from Heaven intervening, the PA system squealed and began to blare over the playground. "Lucas Miller, please get your things and report to the office. Repeat: Lucas Miller, report to the office. Your mother is here to get you."
The kid in the green shirt grimaced and shoved John one last time. "You got off this time, chicken!" With that, he turned and stomped off toward the school-building.
The other children, deprived of any spectacle, soon wandered off in pursuit of other activities.
That left the boy in the blue sweater who was still sitting in the dirt. He slowly rose, dusted himself off, and scrubbed at his eyes with his sleeve. "Th-th-thanks."
John shrugged. "No problem. What's your name?"
"Doug. W-what's your n-n-name?"
"I'm John."
Doug smiled. "Th-th-thank you, J-J-John. You s-s-s-saved m-me!"
"It's okay, Doug." John grinned. "My Dad always says we're supposed to help people, especially if they're littler than us."
At that precise moment, the bell rang, signaling the end of recess. John turned to his new friend. "Do you want to come over and play at my house after school?"
Doug lit up. "S-s-s-sure!" He thought a moment. "I'll h-have t-t-to ask m-my m-m-m-mom f-f-first..."
"Okay. But if you get permission, I've got a cool new video game we can play. Grave-Robber IV!"
"C-c-cool!"
The two boys ran across the field, lining up with their respective classes. John turned and waved at Doug. "See you after school!"
**********
Years Later
**********
Superman was patrolling the area, looking for signs of trouble, and spotted two masked men trying to relieve a third gentleman of his wallet. Shaking his head, he touched down behind them.
"Hey. Why don't you leave that guy alone?"
The thieves turned around, saw Superman, wet themselves, then screamed and tried to run for it. Unfortunately, they didn't get very far because Superman was holding each of them by the collar.
Their would-be victim stood from where he'd been knocked to the ground and dusted himself off. "Thanks, Superman! I owe you one."
Superman studied the man. He looked so familiar. Could it be----? "What's your name?"
"John Fisher. Why?"
The hero grinned. "I remember you! A long time ago *you* saved *me*."
John blinked. "I did?! Funny, I don't remember ever saving you, Superman."
"D-d-d-does this help you remember?"
John stared at Superman. His jaw dropped. "You----"
The hero winked and took off into the sky with his latest "catch".
