I stomped on the gas pedal of Dad's Camaro to make it go as fast as it could. Dad was always careful to observe the speed limit. You should have seen the papers the time he got a traffic ticket for rolling through a right-hand turn on a red light.

There was a line of traffic stopped ahead, a row of police cars blocking the road in front of them. I pulled over onto the shoulder and sped forward to the front of the line. A cop rushed over and waved his hands for me to stop.

"You can't go into the city," he said as he walked over to my window. "The governor has declared a state of emergency. We can't let anyone in or ---"

He stopped short when he saw what I was wearing.

Although it was a little broad in the shoulders, my father's old costume fit nearly perfectly.

"Where are you going?" A stupefied grin appeared on the officer's face.

I put the car in first.

"I'm going to save the world."

Then I floored it.