The Cranky Old Gnome

Writing prompt:
There’s a pill out there that gives you godlike powers.

“I don’t understand…so this pill turns you into God?”

“Well, sorta. I mean, you get to be god-like for an hour or so, but it wears off. Look man, you said you wanted to experience something crazy and wild your last night out. This is the cream of the crop right here.”

Travis looked at his friend. Tom and he had been buddies since they were kids and now on the night before Travis was going to get shipped off to the front lines of the Mars wars, Tom had come to give his friend the time of his life. Tom was like that. Wild. Fun. A little crazy. His plans sometimes had a tendency to cause severe headaches, a bit of property damage, and one night they managed to lose an officers’ dog for an hour. As in, the damn dog disappeared. Tom had been fiddling with the base’s new transport system and the dog had followed them in and stepped on the pad. If it wasn’t for Trisha they would have all ended up in the brig.

“Look man, this one here? It will let you fly. This one will let you walk through walls. The purple one gives you super strength. And the green one? Well that one’s my favorite. Lets you see through anything. Like clothing. Catch my drift?”

“I don’t know Tom, the last time I took something you gave me I ended up naked, on top of the barracks screaming for the Mars rebels to come down and fight a real man.”

Tom laughed, “Yeah, that was pretty awesome.” Travis shot him an angry look. “I mean it wasn’t … no, it was awesome.”

Travis stood up and started to walk out.

“Oh don’t be like that ya big baby. Look these don’t have any side effects I promise. You retain all your mental faculties the whole time, and they only last an hour or so. Come on, take the green one, and then take this one that lets you fly. Imagine this, taking Trish out for a flight, and then finally being able to see what she looks like under that uniform, eh?” Tom handed him the pills.

“You promise me that there won’t be side effects?” Travis asked.

“You have my word as a gentleman and a scholar,” Tom said. “There won’t be any side effects–” Travis swallowed the pills. “–hopefully.”