“C-checkmate,” Leland said.

“How?” Maggie yelled over the phone. “What did you do? How did you do?”

“You know what I did.” Leland yawned. “Look at the board. Trace your steps back.”

There was a brief silence, and Leland could hear the gears churning in her head. “Fuck,” she said finally. “Come on. Again. I’m almost there.”

She wasn’t there, but Leland didn’t want to argue.

“Nah, I’ve got to go.”

“Is it the thing?”

“Yeah…”

“Good luck saving the world, friend,” Maggie said cheerfully.

“I don’t e-even think it’s like that. Psyche’s handling the m-meteors with the portals in the sky. I think Staress wants to teach me or something.”

Admittedly, Leland didn’t believe a word coming out of his mouth. He envisioned the worst and was absolutely terrified. It didn’t matter how many superpowers he had. He had still never been in a real fight before.

Leland reluctantly got out of bed and activated his super suit. He teleported on the street he had been told to go and immediately, he heard Staress’ voice.

“Save meeeeeee!” She yelled.

“Flight.” Leland rose upwards, and before he could raise his arms to catch Staress, she slammed into him, squeezing the life out of him with a big hug.

“Thanks for saving me,” she said. “You’re my hero.”

Leland’s face reddened under the mask as he slowly lowered in altitude. “Can’t… b-b-breathe.”

“That’s not true. You’re talking to me, aren’t you?”

They hit the ground, and Staress let go of him, smiling warmly. “You look great in that super suit. You’re the real deal!”

Leland didn’t know how to respond to the compliment, so he pointed to a noticeable bruise on her ankle. “Do you want me to heal that for you?”

Staress shook her head, frowning slightly. “No, that’s a waste. We’re going to have some fun tonight.”

Now it was Leland’s turn to frown. “What? Isn’t there a w-world ending threat?”

“No, no, no,” Staress said. “That’s all sorted out. Nothing to worry about.”

Leland gave her a sceptical stare. “R-really? What a-about all those portals in the sky?”

“That’s the job being taken care of! Now, l-listen up, Lee. I’m going to the recording studio. I know you’re impatiently waiting for my next project. If you’re up for it, you can tag along.”

“A-a-are you sure?”

“Yeah. It’s the least I can do after you saved me.”

Leland thought for a moment. “I can’t b-believe I’m saying this, but can you help me with something e-else instead?”

“Your stutter?” Staress said.

“Yeah. I w-was wondering if you maybe k-knew how I could get rid of it.”

“I know how.”

“How?”

Staress brought out a cracked phone out of her pocket and showed him a photo of a building. “Teleport me here, and I’ll show you.”

“Is this just a p-ploy for me to take you w-where you want to go?”

“Partially…”

“I-i’m going home, bye.”

“Wait, wait!” Staress pleaded, grabbing his arm. “This is legit.”

Leland sighed, pretending to think it over. “Fine, but you have to—”

“Play you a song?” Staress guessed. “I got you.”

----------------------------------------

Leland had never been in a recording studio before. He stood next to the producer and marvelled at his surroundings, staring at the mixing console’s numerous buttons.

“W-what is she doing?” Leland asked, pointing at Staress in the recording room.

The producer looked up with a bored expression. He yawned. “She’s shadowboxing.”

Leland yawned, too, rubbing his eyes. The producer was right. She surely was shadowboxing. Staress bobbed and weaved, dodging with every jab thrown. Leland knew nothing about boxing, but even he could tell her technique was impeccable. The swift and vicious combinations reminded him of the short clips he’d seen of Mike Tyson in his prime.

“B-b-but why is she doing that?”

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The producer shrugged. “I don’t know. She has all kinds of weird rituals before recording. Playing with a yo-yo, press-ups, dancing, you name it. It’s pretty cool, right?”

“I g-guess,” Leland said.

A wave of doubt suddenly hit him. Could Staress really help him with his stutter? He had researched every possible strategy to no success, spending countless hours online and even tried practicing with a speech therapist.

“I’m ready, Reggie,” Staress said.

A cool beat blasted from the speakers, and Leland’s eyes immediately lit up. It was a boom bap beat characterized by its heavy use of kick and snare drums. The rhythm was chilled, soulful and perfect to rap to.

Staress sung an angelic chorus, and temporarily, Leland forgot about all his worries as he focused on the performance.

“Today is a good day because I’m living my life

Drink in my hand, eating my ramen.

With my boy Lee, we’ saving the world

One song at a time, we’ blasting off in space.”

Leland laughed. Questionable lyrics aside, the hook was incredibly catchy. He didn’t understand why Staress used his name, of all people. Why him? Surely, there were better people.

She began to rap a verse which followed a similar style and told a short story about her rise to the top as a successful entertainer. Her flow stood out more than anything else. Staress didn’t rap fast, but in such a complex and unorthodox way that it kept Leland mesmerised, eager for every bar. She was freestyling, but countless words rhymed, sometimes in ways that Leland didn’t even think was possible.

Once the song was over, Leland was no longer tired. Rhythm and poetry were a perfect match. He smiled and clapped. “That was awesome. Is this g-going to be on the a-album?”

Staress snorted. “I don’t know. What do you think?”

Leland hesitated. He was surprised she asked for his opinion. She seemed to always be so confident and certain in everything, but perhaps that wasn’t the case.

“I l-like it a lot, but you s-should probably change some of the l-lyrics,” Leland said.

“Ooh, which ones?”

“ M-my name for instance. You could replace me with someone better.”

“What are you talking about? You’re cool! It’s a bar! I thought you would love a good shout out.”

“Y-yeah, b-but…” Leland looked down. “We’re not saving the w-world. Y-you might be, but I-i’m not!”

“Oh my god!” Staress wailed. “They’re just lyrics. Hypotheticals. We’re not really going to— well… you and Cadell might be…”

“N-no, you and Cadell will be h-handling that. The adults n-n-need to take up t-that responsibility. I’m a v-vulnerable, innocent teenager.”

“Vulnerable?” Staress stormed up to the window and pointed. “You have superpowers. Actual good ones. You could save the world if you wanted to. I know you could.”

Leland jolted at the S word. He looked at the producer, who didn’t seem to care for some reason.

“That’s it, I’m releasing this song with more lyrics about you saving the world on the deluxe version of the album out of spite.”

Leland stared at her blankly. “I-i’m not c-complaining. I can’t wait for the f-full version.”

Staress sighed. “Well, that backfired. Alright, let’s cure your stutter.” She made a lazy gesture, motioning him to come forward.

Leland entered the recording studio. He scratched his head, frowning. “H-how?”

“Promise me you’ll do what I say?”

“I p-promise.”

Staress took a seat in front of a piano and began playing.

Immediately, Leland knew the song. It was Lean on Me by Bill Withers.

“Sometimes in our lives, we all have pain

We all have sorrow

But if we are wise

We know that there’s always tomorrow (Sing with me Lee!)

Lean on me when you’re not strong

And I’ll be your friend…”

As much as Leland loved the song, he felt a strong urge to push Staress off the chair. But reluctantly, he joined in.

“I’ll help you carry on

For it won’t be long

‘Til I’m gonna need

Somebody to lean on”

“That’s it!” Staress said, smiling. She sang the second verse, and then they sang the chorus together again. During the bridge section, Leland found himself grinning. Somehow, he managed to sing the lyrics to the third verse and while singing the outro, he finally realised something…

He wasn’t stuttering.

While singing, he wasn’t stuttering. In retrospect, that had always been the case but he had never really counted it flawless speech.

“You're welcome,” Staress said.

“That d-doesn’t count,” Leland said. “I’m not g-going to be singing while speaking to everybody. That would be weird and draining.”

“So is using your superpowers and speaking in that deep ass voice.” Staress grabbed Leland’s shoulder and shook it gently. “Listen, Lee. You’re overthinking all of this. Think less and act. Remember: courage doesn’t exist without fear! Face the obstacle head on!”

“O-okay…” Leland said quietly. “B-but I feel h-helpless. Fear can be so paralysing, you know?”

“Mhm,” Staress nodded.

“I w-wish I could talk to new people c-confidently and fluently. I wish I could talk the way I p-picture it in my m-mind. It’s so frustrating.”

“I believe you can do it.”

Leland raised an eyebrow. “Do you k-know this for a fact? Is that your powers speaking?”

“Oh no. I don’t know that part of your future. This is good old-fashioned belief in a friend. Personally, I don’t see an issue with the stutter, but if it’s bothering you that much, I know you have a good chance in defeating it because you can literally defy the laws of physics and reality!”

They laughed.

“Have you done it recently?” Staress asked. “The time freeze?”

“I tried, but it didn’t work,” Leland said. “Some powers seem to be a one time thing.”

“Interesting,” Staress said. “Have you tried invincibility yet?”

“N-no.” Leland’s eyes squinted. He sensed an incoming horrible experience. “Why do you ask?”

“Curiosity,” Staress said. She smiled sweetly and, of course, Leland didn’t trust it.

“On the timetable y-you sent me, it says I have a special event next Wednesday. W-what’s that all about?”

Staress’ smile faltered slightly. “You have a great voice, by the way. Much better than I expected it to be.”

“R-really?”

“Yes, yes. Rough around the edges but—”

“Wait, answer the q-question!”

“What makes the special event special is the mystery behind it. I can’t tell you, sorry. My lips are sealed.”

A purple portal suddenly appeared between them.

“Now would you look at that, it’s past your bedtime, and you still haven’t prepared for your quiz on metabolic diseases tomorrow. Shame on you.”

“Oh shit.”

“Don’t worry, it’s easy. The answer to question four is the Kreb’s Cycle.”

“O-out of all the things, w-why is that the thing you know?”

“I don’t know, Lee,” Staress said solemnly. “I don’t know why I know. I just know, you know?”

“Um… n-no?”