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Welcome to Olympus City, where super-powers, physics-defying tech, and unearthly creatures are all possible now. Human nature, however, remains unchanged.
No one is born a perfect superhero, but a few strive to live up to the ideal anyway.
Part 1
Alyssa discovered a new reason to dread the workday: repeat patients. But it was not the patients’ fault.
It’s that rude hygienist again, the day’s first patient thought as Alyssa called her name.
The next patient had a similar reaction. The mean one. Damn.
By the third patient, it had become a pattern. Her? Ugh. She did a good job with the whitening, though.
They each greeted her politely and uttered not a single word of complaint throughout the cleaning. A couple of them even acknowledged her skill with the dental instruments, noticing how their gums weren’t at all sore afterward. They did not acknowledge this out loud, but Alyssa heard the performance reviews in their heads: high marks for her work, glowing appreciation for her efficiency, and a fat red F for her personality. Those first impressions lingered.
Alyssa attempted some friendly conversation with the first patient, if only to prove that she wasn’t the same person she had been six months ago. The patient, a retired and very old-school teacher, played along with the effort but wasn’t buying it for a second.
Someone must have given her a talking-to, the patient thought.
There was some truth to that. The last time Alyssa spoke with Dr. Reynolds—as Dr. Reynolds, not his other identity—he advised her to schmooze with patients, build a rapport with the people she was serving. She had thought she was polite enough to everyone, but she wasn’t paying enough attention. The evenings preoccupied her days. She spent those days counting down the minutes until she could disappear into the trench coat of the Silver Stranger and leave the dentist office and everything else behind. She had a world to save, after all.
But saving the world took the form of lying to her best friend, teaming up with a supervillain, and presuming to know what was best for everyone else. The Silver Stranger was both hero and villain in different ways, which in hindsight rounded down to villain. Alyssa came to her senses in the end. But eventual redemption didn’t change the fact that she had succumbed to foolishness and arrogance. It had happened. She could never excise that period from her life. It was a scar that would remain until her dying day, a scar that patients would poke in six-month intervals.
Yesterday, her dental chair hosted several new patients, and it was a merciful break. Her schedule even had a rare gap, an empty slot right before lunch. It wasn’t even a last-minute cancellation. No one was ever scheduled for that time. She wasn’t sure whose mistake that was. The office manager didn’t know what had happened either, but Alyssa didn’t mind.
No gaps today, however. Instead, she faced a parade of repeats from her time as the Silver Stranger.
Her three-forty appointment was another second-timer, back for a routine six-month checkup. Alyssa poked her head into the lobby and, bracing herself for critical thoughts, summoned one Nelli Hughes.
—will be so great—oh, they’re ready for me.
Nelli had a vacant look as she rose from her seat. This young woman, a toothpick skinnier than even Alyssa, muttered “Hello” with only the faintest glimmer of recognition.
Was she this scrawny last time? Alyssa thought. Doesn’t look healthy.
“Nice to see you again,” Alyssa said, escorting Nelli down the hall. “Good news is we did your X-rays last time, so you’re off the hook there.”
When Alyssa took those X-rays, she was contemplating which rooftop she would teleport to after work.
“Okay,” Nelli said, though she had hardly heard a word. Will this day be done already so I can see Zebulon?
Her boyfriend’s got a weird name. Alyssa assumed Zebulon was a boyfriend, but Nelli’s thoughts lacked the usual hallmarks of romantic affection. No warmth, not even lust. Only a desperate hunger.
As they situated themselves in the examination room, Alyssa asked, “Any dental complaints or medical updates we should know about?” It was the clinical equivalent of How’s it been going for the past half a year? What’s new?
Nelli mumbled that her teeth felt fine.
“Any new medications?”
Nelli started to think of something but dismissed the thought. “Nothing.”
“You sure?”
“Yes.” Zebulon is all the medicine I need.
There was a decent chance this was none of Alyssa’s business. But she had lived in Olympus City long enough to know better. Some situations had the potential to become everyone’s business eventually.
While Alyssa cleaned her teeth, she skipped the small talk and learned everything Nelli knew about this Zebulon guy.
*****
The workday ended with a new patient, thereby freeing Alyssa from her biannual time loop. Soon, she was free from work altogether. Her boyfriend, however, would not be free for a few more hours. Fortunately, he worked in the same strip mall, only a few doors down at Olympian MMA.
A class was in progress. Students were paired off—one holding pads as the other punched and kicked those pads. Ford strolled around the mat, assessing everyone’s technique and offering words of encouragement. From the other side of the window Alyssa caught his eye and waved, thereby enlarging his smile. His thoughts brightened her mind.
Ford knew nothing of Alyssa’s telepathy. She had often considered telling him. He likely could have handled it. The man had nothing to hide, unlike the vast majority of the population.
Alyssa scanned the mat, listening for a certain keyword.
Why do I do this to myself? one guy thought, a tall but baby-faced white belt who was huffing and puffing more than most. Never going to get good at this. I’ll feel better after I see Zebulon.
Alyssa cast her mind farther out, expanding her telepathic radius to encompass a few blocks. She heard a handful of other people obsessing about their next appointment with Zebulon. One man hated having to wait a few whole days to see him again.
How have I never heard of this guy before? Alyssa thought, right before arriving at the obvious answer—she hadn’t been paying enough attention.
She wished she could walk away and forget all about it, just alert one of the actual superheroes and move on with her life. Unfortunately, Miranda was still in Meadowville visiting family. Ken needed more time to recover from his wounds. Carey was out altogether, and Dr. Reynolds was still missing. No one was available.
Except me.
"The Silver Stranger was both hero and villain in different ways, which in hindsight rounded down to villain." - what a great line! 😄
Though I definitely missed something - which book/story was this in, if I may ask?
And, oooh, intriguing start to this Zebulon mystery! 😱