Twenty minutes ago I felt fine. But once I walked into the locker room I began to have trouble breathing. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my chest. What was going on? I’m 12 years old. That’s way too young to be having a heart attack.

After undergoing a series of tests it was determined that I would need open heart surgery. I was terrified but my parents reassured me that my surgeon was one of the best. Dr. Chu was a friendly, soft spoken man who tried his best to put my mind at ease. Everything he said made perfect sense but I was still super nervous about the surgery.

Everyone in the operating room was very nice and I appreciated it. But in mere moments they were going to put me under and take my heart out of my chest. It sounded like something out of a comic book. I was talking to one of the nurses when I quickly fell asleep. I assumed the surgery was complete but when I opened my eyes nobody was there.

I was in agonizing pain but I had to find out what was happening. A strange mist filled the hallways of the hospital that made start to cough uncontrollably. Where is everybody? 

I screamed “Hello!” but received no response. A couple of minutes later I could hear a group of men shouting to one another. I didn’t have a good feeling about them so I tried to run only to trip over some unconscious hospital staffers.

The group of men patrolling the hallway were called The Red Bat Posse. They were armed with baseball bats as they went from room to room looking for staff and patients. I became overwhelmed with intense chest pain as I limped down the hall. After a few steps I realized that it was a dead end. Desperate to escape I leapt up through the ceiling. How did that happen?

“Shh! Did you hear that?” one of the men called out.

“Nothing here. All clear” another man replied.

“Welcome to The Kingdom of Watusi Mr. John Papa! Finally our saviour has arrived!” yelled out a regal looking man.

“What’s going on?” I asked as I took in the incredible surroundings. Somehow I had ended up in an amazing African Kingdom.

“You have been chosen to become the next Black Tiger, protector of Watusi. I am The Crown Prince Sha’qon. This is my sister Tallah.  She will be giving you direction once you’ve been fitted for your tiger armour.”

“Alright. Wait, armour? What armour?”

“Watusi was recently betrayed by two of our own noblemen. They were bribed by a disgraced former biochemist named Dr. Giorgio Bamberra. He accidentally created a toxic gas that could disable or paralyze something as big as a rhinoceros. The noblemen gave him access to one our precious minerals called Rambamunite. It is also the only known antidote for the poisonous clouds. Your hospital was the first to be attacked. He wants to be paid millions of dollars in exchange for the antidote.” Sha’quon explained.

“Okay. Wait….what?” I babbled.

“But why me?” I mumbled.

“Uh, well, during your heart surgery they might have accidentally replaced it with a tiger’s heart” Sha’quon said.

“Say what?” I exclaimed.

“It’s not just that. We saw how brave you were as you prepared for major surgery” Tallah added.

“Your body armour is ready. Your mission is to stop Dr. Bamberra and to save everyone at the hospital. Oh, and be ready for The Red Bat Posse. They’re Bamberra’s private army. They ruthless and very dangerous” Sha’quon warned.

When I put the body armour on I felt an immediate jolt of lightning pumping throughout my body. I had it all, power, speed, agility, and heightened senses. Sha’quon put me through some intense training exercises that I easily completed. This whole thing was so bizarre. None of it made any sense but who cares?  I looked cool.

“Ready to return you to the hospital in 3….2….1….” Tallah began to count down in my headset. 

I crashed through the ceiling landing right in the middle of a group of bat-wielding posse members.

“You got two of them on your right!” Tallah shouted. I quickly dispatched them with the powerful swipes of a tiger. 

I felt like an unleashed jungle cat as I took down an army of powerful enemies. I had no chest pain. I wasn’t out of breath. I was feeling so good that I decided to do a series of backflips. 

“We get it John, you’re awesome” Tallah joked. “Now head upstairs to the laboratory. That’s where you’ll find Dr. Bamberra.”