#i don't even know what it means but apparently this land? is stout

[front-facing-pokemon]

[phantomdoofer]

Bulldozer

WHAM

The other boy went flying as Peppino quickly pulled up from his charge. As he landed, Peppino blanched. Oh Mio Dio, I think I killed him!

Peppino quickly ran up to him and crouched. "Julio! Julio, are you OK?"

Julio's eyes were a little crossed. "Madre de dios, Pep, was that you or did a truck show up?" He tried to sit up, his eyes wobbled, and he flopped back down.

Peppino was in a panic. "I didn't-a mean to hit you that-a hard! I'm-a so sorry!" He did a little dance on the spot, trying to decide whether to stay there or go get help.

All the other kids were standing around, looking stunned. "Damn, Pep, I never saw you run like that," another one, an ogre named Rico, said. "You just sorta... took off. You had this wild look in your eyes!"

Peppino looked around, and the other kids nodded and muttered. Oh no, he thought, are they going to run me off now? Peppino had never had many friends, but playing street football was one of the few things they all enjoyed together. They'd been doing it since they were very small, and Peppino, while a bit clumsy, was stout, and was always an early pick. Now he was sure they would be terrified of him.

Finally Julio stood up. "Ay, amigo, did either of your parents have any powers? My Papi said sometimes they don't turn up until we hit puberty."

Peppino thought about it. I know Mama is very strong. Did Papa have some sort of power? "I... don't-a know," he said. "I'll have-a to ask."

Julio patted Peppino on the back. "Don't worry about it, amigo. Just, uh, don't try to run at me so fast next time, eh? Come on, it's getting dark, let's finish this game up!"

~~~~

Peppino opened the door to their apartment, looking pensive. He'd almost ran someone over a couple of times as the game went on - he would just suddenly accelerate. This time he'd managed to stop, at least, but eventually he'd benched himself, afraid he'd actually hurt someone.

Margherita looked up at him. "There you are, ragazzo! Come, dinner is ready, and I know a boy your age is always hungry." She smiled slyly. "You'll be a man soon enough, my little polpetta." She pinched his cheek.

He flinched away, but he smiled. "Ay, Mama, fermare!" He sat down.

As they ate, Peppino turned the question he had over in his mind, trying different angles. "Mama... something-a happened today. Something... odd."

"Oh? What's that?" Margherita responded.

"While I was-a playing football, I suddenly started going very fast. Faster than I've-a ever gone. And the others said I looked... scary." Peppino shook a little. "The other-a kids described something... like a monster."

Margherita stopped eating, and put her own fork down. She looked at her plate. "So, it finally appeared, eh? When it didn't show when you were little, I thought perhaps it had died out, or gone dormant." She stood and walked over, putting a hand on his shoulder. "I should have known the blood of the Spaghettis would show itself."

Peppino looked her in the eyes. "Mama... what are-a you talking about? The blood of-a the Spaghettis? What... what am I?"

"What you are, is special," she said. "I know you know a lot of people have small powers - telekinesis, extra-toughness, and so on. And you know I can be as strong as I want to be." She walked around him. "When it happened... you said you moved quickly. That was your Papa's blood showing. The power of the Spaghettis is speed. Speed far past what normal people can reach."

Peppino was stunned. "I... I have-a powers?"

Margherita sat back down. "Apparently, ragazzo. And probably more powers than that. You might have inherited mine, too." She rubbed her chin. "Most of the time, only one power shows itself. But sometimes, they both appear, or even combine to make something new." She chuckled. "If mine and your Papa's both got passed... we may have to nickname you "Bulldozer."

Peppino blushed. "M-Mama..."

She laughed again, and reached over to pat his hand. "It's OK, Peppino. You're not a monster. Many people in the world have powers. You just have a stronger one. Tomorrow, mention to your teacher what happened. There are classes you can take to help you learn to control your powers."

"R-really?" Peppino stammered. That made him feel much better. "I was afraid I was going to have-a to tiptoe for the rest of my life."

Margherita shook her head. "You'll learn, ragazzo. You're a Spaghetti. There's more to that than being excellent cooks." She pointed her fork at him. "But if anything else happens, say, a sudden, unusual burst of strength when you get angry, let me know. That's my power showing itself. I can show you how to deal with that one. And try to control your temper. If that power get out of control, it can kill. Easily."

Peppino gulped and looked at his hands. "S-sì, Mama. I will."

Later, laying in bed, Peppino thought about what she had said. Papa's power was speed. And I've got it. He stretched out his hands, then clenched them into fists. And maybe Mama's strength, too. He thought about his own clumsiness. I have to be very careful.

~~~~

The coach clicked a stopwatch. "All right, Spaghetti, that's it!"

Peppino skidded to a stop, stumbling just a little. "What was-a my time?"

The coach shook their head. "One minute, forty-five seconds. Twice as fast as when we started." He tapped his board. "You keep this up, Peppino, and you'll be doing a mile in under a minute by the time you're fifteen!"

Peppino stretched. "Want me to do it again? I'm not-a tired." Before the coach could respond, Peppino took off. He felt better than he ever had. More confident. Knowing he had something of his Papa, something unique, made him happy. I'll make you proud, Papa!

The coach shook his head, and wrote a note to the football coach. If you can talk this kid into playing, it'll practically be cheating! Not only is he insanely fast, he's incredibly tough. Peppino's only problem was a reluctance to tackle other kids. Don't blame him for that, though. As fast and tough as he is, if he went full blast, he'd kill somebody! The coach yelled. "Peppino! PEPPINO! Slow down!"

Peppino turned his head, and tripped. Oh crap! He tumbled towards the wall...

Right before the impact, the coach saw some sort of field form around the boy.

The impact shook the whole room.

The coach turned white. "Oh God... Peppino! Peppino, are you all right??"

Peppino stood up from the pile of broken bricks around him, dusty and dizzy. "I think... I'm OK..." then he saw the vaguely Peppino-shaped hole in the wall. "OH MIO DIO! I'M SORRY!"

The coach stepped through, and checked Peppino over. "Not a scratch on you. You're tough, kid, but no one's THAT tough. Something else just happened."

Peppino shook. "I'm-a sorry, Coach. I should have-a been paying attention."

The coach shook his head and smiled. "Not the first time, won't be the last. Tell you what, though. It's two years before they'll let you try out for football. Let's work more on your normal speed and strength, and let the superpowers lie for a while. Otherwise the other guy could end up a smear. Once we've got a good base, we can work on bringing that in."

Peppino nodded. "All right, coach. I won't-a give up!" He slammed his fist into his other hand. I'll learn to control this! I swear, Papa, Mama!

~~~~

Four years later...

Peppino slammed into his opponent, knocking them to the ground. The quarterback charged though the opening, gaining several yards before he was taken down. Peppino walked over and helped him up. "You good, Julio?" Peppino said.

Julio grinned at him. "Thought that ogre had me. Thanks, Dozer."

Peppino grinned at the nickname his teammates had given him. While still nervous off the field, on the field, something else took over, and he was a menace to anyone who stood against him. "That's my blood showing, ragazzo," his Mama had said, "We love a good fight! Just don't let it get away from you!"

Suddenly the ogre from the other team barrelled up and shoved him. "Hey, fat boy! Keep it up and I'mma knock you on yer ass so you don't get up!"

Peppino stuck his chest out, slapped it with both hands, them held them out to the sides. While still a bit fat, he'd put on a lot of muscle while training. "Bring it on! I'll knock-a that shitty excuse for a mustache off your-a face!"

The ogre's purple skin turned more red, and he started spewing a stream of vile curses towards Peppino. Peppino just laughed and went back to the huddle as the refs pushed the ogre back towards his side.

Julio looked at him in the huddle. "Watch that guy, Dozer, ogres can get real nasty."

Peppino just grinned. "So-a can I, Julio. So what's the plan?"

Julio looked at Peppino. As kids, he'd been cautious and fearful all the time. But these days, on the field, he showed a different side - a confident, arrogant, almost maniacal one. Kinda scary, honestly. Julio shook his head. But Peppino was very good at keeping people off of him when he was like this. Just count your blessings and be glad he's on your side!

As they lined up, Peppino looked at the ogre, who'd squared up right across from him. The ogre grinned, and tapped his fist against his chin. Coming for you. Peppino growled. Not getting past me today, stronzo.

As the ball was hiked, the ogre suddenly swelled up, like he suddenly gained a lot of mass, and charged - not at Julio, like Peppino expected, but right at him. He lowered his head and speared him right in the face. Peppino's helmet went flying. Immediately the ogre headbutted him, and he felt - and heard - his nose crunch sickeningly.

Peppino had never been hit so hard. He landed flat of his back, blowing all the air out of him. Instantly the ogre was on top of him, pounding anywhere he could reach - arms, body, head. Peppino held his arms up to protect his face, and the ogre immediately pummeled his ribs. He gasped as he felt two sharp pops in his sides.

One of the referees tried to pull the ogre off, and he backhanded the poor ref so hard they went flying. The ogre's own teammates tried to prize him off, but he just swatted them away, too.

Peppino was helpless. This guy's gonna kill me!

Suddenly he felt something explode inside him - rage beyond anything he'd ever felt. His mind seemed to light on fire.

Peppino's eyes went demented.

Peppino shoved the ogre off of him - the ogre went flying several feet into the air, landing on his back. Peppino couldn't feel the pain anymore. The ogre stood up and charged him, eyes full of murder. Peppino stood and waited.

WHAM

Peppino uppercutted the ogre's helmet off. He staggered.

WHAM

A solid haymaker on the right side of the ogre's face. Blood spurted.

BOOM

The second haymaker sent the ogre spinning into the air. Peppino saw several teeth go flying, a spiral of blood flying out of his mouth. The ogre landed on his back, jaw swollen, obviously unconscious.

Peppino stood in a primal stance, panting and clenching his fists. Blood ran down his face from his broken nose. His eyes bulged. "Ecco cosa meriti, pezzo di merda!" He spat blood from his mouth on the ground.

Then the berserker rage died. Peppino realized what he'd done.

"Oh Mio Dio, I-AGH!" He grabbed his ribs and collapsed. The pain was excruciating.

Through the fog of pain he heard voices.

Peppino? Peppino! Are you OK, amigo?

Stand back! There's no telling what's broken!

What about the other guy? Did you see him go flying? His neck might be broke!

Peppino's head was swimming. His vision was blurring, and he knew he was about to pass out.

Then everything went dark.

~~~~

Peppino slowly clawed back to consciousness. Ay, my head! Feels like there's someone pounding it with a sledgehammer!

He carefully opened his eyes. His Mama was standing beside him. Looks like I'm in the emergency room.

Margherita gently patted his forehead. "Ah, ragazzo, I was afraid something like this would happen."

Peppino turned his head and immediately regretted it - his head swam alarmingly. "Agh," he said, clutching his skull.

She held his head down. "Don't turn your head, Pino, you have a bad concussion, your nose is broken, and two broken ribs. After fighting that ogre, you're lucky you didn't puncture a lung." She sighed.

Peppino looked at her. "Mama, was-a that... your power? It felt like... something-a exploded in my head. And then I was just..."

"Angry? More furious than you've ever felt?" She said. "Sì, that's my power, all right. The power to gain extraordinary strength... through rage and hate." She looked grave. "Oh, my poor sweet boy. I so hoped you hadn't inherited that terrible curse."

"The... the ogre I was fighting? What-a happened to him?" Please let me not have killed him.

She looked sad, but patted his arm. "It looked worse than it was, thankfully. Three teeth knocked out, several shattered, a concussion, and some bruises. Apparently he has a muscle-bulking power. The extra padding saved his life - those blows would have snapped his neck otherwise."

Peppino blew a breath out. Only luck kept me from being a murderer today.

Margherita patted his arm again. "When you've healed, we'll work on you learning to control this." She gently hugged him. It hurt his ribs, but he wrapped an arm around her. When did she get so small?

He heard her quietly sobbing. "Mama?"

"I'm sorry, Pino. Sorry for everything. For not having your Papa around. For cursing you with this. For not giving you a better life." She cried into his side.

His heart broke. "Mama, no, fermare. You've always helped me. I... I don't blame you for anything. Not even this." He tried to sit up, but the pain made him think twice. "Please, please Mama, don't cry." He started tearing up himself.

Finally, she looked up. Her eyes were swollen, and her face was still screwed up into a mask of sorrow. He wasn't used to seeing her so... vulnerable. "I will help you control this, Peppino. I swear it."

"I know you will." He paused. "Will I-a need to quit football?"

She sniffed and wiped her nose. "No, if it makes you happy, you should stay. I know you have friends there. But... always, always you must take care. Promise me," she said.

"I promise."