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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
Terrific Hall was always cold. Too much open space, too few people to warm it. And only one right now.
Alyssa slumped in a chair at the triangular table, shivering within her silver trench coat. But at least she had that much, and it was indeed a nice coat. In a different set of circumstances she might have purchased it for normal use.
Not the fedora, though, which sat before her on the table. That had joined the ensemble purely for image. She wasn’t even sure why she brought it along now, as she wasn’t planning on going out as the Silver Stranger. She had come here only to share information with Miranda and Ken, information she had sketched on the piece of computer paper lying next to the hat. The instant she returned home last night, she drew the map of universes she had pulled from Zebulon’s mind. Such important intel deserved better than fallible human memory. It also deserved better than her mediocre drawing skills. In any case, the team finally had a halfway-decent shot of finding Reynolds, Luna, and Pinkney.
Team? No, we’re not a team, and I’m not on it.
The skylight window opened and Ken dropped through, the ruby A of his costume immediately drawing Alyssa’s eye. He slipped into the chair at his usual side of the table.
“Nice to see you in the trench coat,” he said.
“Nice to see your face.”
He remained self-conscious about the scar, and all the more so as he realized Alyssa was probably overhearing the self-consciousness.
“You never told me about your meeting with Pete Peterson.”
Alyssa had meant to distract him from his self-consciousness, but the effort backfired.
Ken shifted in his seat, scratching whatever irritant plagued his neck. “I accepted his offer earlier today. They want me doing product endorsements.”
“I’m sorry.” She heard in his mind that the apology was warranted.
“It should only be for a little while.” He had almost convinced himself of this, but the hope failed to counteract the dread. It reminded Alyssa of her earliest days at Apollo Family Dentistry. “But what did you want to talk about? Or should we wait for Miranda?”
Alyssa wasn’t even sure if Miranda was back in town yet. She figured she’d better go ahead and fill Ken in on her encounter with Zebulon and his private universe. But then hesitation struck as Alyssa realized she didn’t want to explain that whole thing twice. Memories of Zebulon’s artificial bliss were already worming deeper into her skull, attempting to seduce her anew, memories she could relive at any time.
She decided to just start talking, if only to shut her brain up. She got as far as opening her mouth when a commotion rang through her mind, a great rush of terror.
The thoughts tumbled in from multiple sources, rapid-fire: What’s that? Is that a—? Where’d he come from? Can’t be … What’s he want? Are those antennae? … Oh, fu—
“We’ve got a problem,” Alyssa said.
*****
“What are you looking at?”
Charlotte twisted around in the booth and gazed out the front window, where Miranda kept glancing throughout their meal.
“Nothing,” Miranda said. “I think jet lag is playing tricks on my eyes, but it’s nothing.”
Nothing she was looking for, at any rate. Miranda had selected the Deli of Demeter because it wasn’t far from where the Green Shadow had slipped into her vision. She made sure she grabbed the window-facing seat, but the window displayed only a normal residential area. No evidence of Dame Disaster, at least not outside of Miranda’s paranoia.
Charlotte responded with a gently teasing grin. “Jet lag after a wedding reception is asking for trouble.”
“It really is.”
Miranda neglected to mention that she played the role of jet in this particular lag, but she did tell Charlotte all about the wedding and her visit home. Ultra Woman never needed to make an appearance, so there was nothing to conceal on that front. It was nice to discuss normal matters with a normal friend, though she did need to be on her way soon to discuss less normal matters with Alyssa and Ken. Miranda was surprised that Alyssa wanted to meet at Terrific Hall, but the setting would be appropriate. Miranda had a present for her, and she couldn’t wait to see her face upon receiving it. Of course, there was the possibility that Alyssa already knew.
So what if she does? She still deserves it.
Their sandwiches long since finished, Miranda mentioned that she should get going, and they both realized they had lost track of time. The conversation had flowed freely as always, even with Miranda’s divided focus, and it continued as they exited the restaurant and proceeded down the busy sidewalk. It faltered only when they passed Olympus City Memorial Park, where fifteen names on an obsidian obelisk pulled Miranda’s eye and slowed her pace. The monument drew other eyes as well; it reminded all passersby just how fragile their world had become.
“Miranda?” Charlotte said. “You okay?”
“Sorry, I am just asleep on my feet here.” Miranda laughed it off and shook her head, stealing one more glance at the park, noticing that a shadow now darkened the grass.
A shadow. Miranda’s heart raced as her chest tightened.
“Do not be alarmed by my appearance! I mean you no harm.”
The voice rang out from above, the tone serene despite the booming volume. Pedestrians stopped and looked up. Traffic screeched to a halt. A few cars bumped into each other.
A blue-skinned man descended from the sky and hovered directly above the monument. He raised all three of his hands in a calming gesture, the extra arm being situated on his lower right side. The antennae also came in three, forming a triangle on his bald head. Only two eyes, though, both a sunny yellow, complementing his warm smile.
Miranda braced herself for the worst, but so far, this man hadn’t done anything more than surprise people. He was floating while looking strange. Hardly a crime. But the strange look did raise some questions.
“What is he, some kind of alien?” Charlotte said, leaning toward her.
He certainly looked like one. Miranda hadn’t seen any evidence of extraterrestrial life when she had ventured out into space. But she hadn’t ventured that far out, and she had other concerns on her mind at the time, such as returning home before she asphyxiated.
“I am not one of you,” the three-armed man said, “but I have lived among you for many months in an effort to assess your planetary situation. My home world is unpronounceable to your human tongue, but you may call me Benevos. I am, from your perspective, an alien.”
A collective gasp filled the street, immediately followed by abundant speculative murmuring. Miranda neither gasped nor murmured. She attempted to fathom the level of technology needed to get here from another solar system, or even simply the nearest planet. The fathoming failed.
Pedestrians and drivers alike whipped out their cell phones to film the historic occasion. The reveal of an alien visitor was undeniably historic, at least as historic as Fantastic Man’s debut. Likely more.
“Oh God, I was just joking,” Charlotte said, wide eyes absorbing the scene, filtering none of it through any phone. “But he’s—he really is a …”
An alien, Miranda thought. A super-alien. Can I stop a super-alien? Do I even need to? This could change everything.
The implications swirled within her mind, too many implications to sort through on a moment’s notice.
The alien seemed friendly. The smile was pure sunshine. Miranda couldn’t condemn anyone for having antennae, blue skin, and a surplus appendage. She resolved to hear him out before taking action.
“I belong to a race that may seem mighty by your standards, but we consider one trait the mightiest of all, and that is charity.” He addressed the crowd like he was speaking to children and introducing new vocabulary words. “My superiors want to help your world, which has such potential. They have sent me to analyze your civilization, develop recommendations, and implement initial improvements.”
An alliance with aliens. Charitable aliens. Miranda considered the potential benefits. Her imagination seized the possibilities and galloped away with them. New technology, new ideas, new culture. New help against Dame Disaster. She wanted this to be a positive development for humanity. But that last phrase echoed ominously in her head: “implement initial improvements.”
Implement what and how?
“I present myself not to your leaders, but directly to you, the people, who will spread this message to your fellows, who will in turn spread it further. My recommendations are based on four pillars: Environment. Education. Productivity. Peace. To begin, your species is far too careless with your planet.” His lowest arm indicated the cars below. “I must confess to some concern over your willingness to scar your atmosphere in the interest of basic transportation. Do you truly need to go so far? Additionally, the education system contains numerous inequities from region to region, but even the strongest schools need to be more robust and focused. Then there is the matter of how much time the typical human wastes in a day. I am not referring to your sleep cycle, which is an innate biological weakness you can’t be held responsible for. Rather, by confining your workdays to a mere eight hours, squandering your weekends, and limiting your incentive structure to financial gain, you are missing countless opportunities to strengthen your communities. And stronger communities lead to a stronger planet.”
Reactions were becoming mixed. Some faces twisted in skepticism and apprehension while others nodded along approvingly. But everyone continued to listen. As did Miranda.
“Most alarming of all,” Benevos said, striking the tone of a stern but kind schoolmaster, “is your people’s capacity for violence, on scales ranging from interpersonal to international. My people evolved beyond the lust for war eons ago. Learn from our mistakes, and we will help you accelerate your own evolution.”
Accelerate our evolution? Accelerate into what? Miranda hoped that was simply a poor choice of words. Miscommunication was bound to happen across an interplanetary language barrier. But that persistent smile, the forced kindness, the syrupy delivery—it was all just so phony. Phoniness, she feared, was a universal language.
While Miranda analyzed his speech, Benevos’s antennae flashed a hot scarlet and shot down a tight beam. It struck near a police cruiser.
She panicked. Dread twisted her gut. Too slow. Already too late. I should’ve …
The police officer dropped his melted gun as he jumped back, startled, perhaps mildly burned, but otherwise unharmed. Miranda breathed.
“Weapons are neither productive nor peaceful.” The smiling alien wagged a finger as he landed before the officer. “And vehicles that rely on such toxic fuel sources are the epitome of counterproductive.”
All three arms became a blur of motion as Benevos attacked the cruiser, reducing it to wreckage in seconds.
Charlotte leaned down and whispered, “You’ve got Ken’s number, right?”
Miranda was already formulating an excuse to slip away. That one worked. “Yeah. Don’t want the alien to see me call, though, so I’ll just …”
“Go,” Charlotte said, maneuvering to shield her from view.
Miranda appreciated the gesture, however unnecessary it was. She had no intention of letting an alien mess with Charlotte or anyone else. She just hoped she didn’t embarrass the human race in the process.
An alien. I’m about to talk to an alien. It felt surreal even by her usual standards.
Miranda ducked into an alley and hopped to the roof of an apartment building, which neighbored the memorial park on its other side. She tried not to think too much about the possibility of adding any names to the monument. Tried and failed. She switched into costume and stashed her belongings under a crevice in a corner. Her gift to Alyssa was among those belongings. She hated leaving it unattended. But the watch wouldn’t work for anyone but Alyssa. It couldn’t even tell time, so any thief was sure to be disappointed.
Now properly attired in emerald and scarlet, Miranda took to the sky, swerved around, then dove back down, reminding herself to be nice and give the strange visitor the benefit of the doubt. Avoid punching if at all possible. Respect his personal space.
That was the intent, anyway. The instant she stopped, his smiling blue face was suddenly inches before her, those warm eyes gazing directly into her own.
“I was hoping we’d meet, Ultra Woman. I’ve been eager to learn why you haven’t done more for these people.”
Oooh, another exciting start! 😄
I don't know if I've ever said this - but I love how your stories are (for the large part) enjoyable and understandable even if I haven't finished reading The Flying Woman and the other two books yet!
Reminds me of catching a DCAU episode! 😄
Also, Deli of Demeter is quite apt! 😆