“Don’t you hate every second of your existence? You’re clinging onto that power to mask the stink of your incompetence. How pathetic!”

Leland sighed, failing to ignore the words that had plagued his mind since the encounter with the suicidal alien. The feeling of humiliation was devastating. Maybe the words hurt so much because they were true. Maybe because, deep down, he knew exactly the answer to the question, which only plunged him deeper into a pit of guilt and shame.

As Leland sat on the edge of the bed, orange lasers erupted from his eyes, scorching his right arm. He didn’t flinch or wince, the burn healed within seconds, and after reading a single paragraph from a novel, he repeated the process. Again, and again, and again.

He called it the scorch technique. The idea came to him a few hours after the duel when he found himself having beat his fluency reading record by five whole seconds which equated to two extra paragraphs. Immediately, he came to one simple conclusion: putting his body under stress and forcing it to rely on his superpowers to survive, had increased his stamina with the abilities.

It was a wild hypothesis, and Leland wasn’t exactly an advocate for self-harm, but he didn’t see any downsides. No scars were left over from the healing process and, most importantly, the data couldn’t be ignored.

Buzz, buzz. Buzz, buzz.

Leland grabbed his phone. Maggie was trying to video call him. He declined it and texted her instead.

Leland: Why the hell are you trying to video call me? We agreed on regular calls.

Maggie: Sorry, I didn’t see that in the contract. Sorry, Leland, sir, boss, sir.

Leland: ….

Maggie: hahaha. Why are you so uptight, buddy? Let me see your face.

Leland: No, what you did is a violation. A social crime. I keep saying… You need to give me a heads up.

Maggie video called him again. Leland picked up this time.

“You’re a problem, you know that?” Maggie said, clearly on the verge of laughter.

“W-what?”

“How’s your day going?”

“B-brilliant,” Leland said. “Fantastic. I-incredible.”

“Sarcasm?” Maggie frowned. She seemed genuinely concerned.

“I’m fine…”

“How’s the speaking practice? Talk to any strangers lately?”

Leland winced. He was hoping she would forget about it. “N-no.”

“Still? What’s the hold up?”

“I d-don’t… I’m not ready yet. Thanks for holding me accountable, but I don’t want to talk about it.”

There was an awkward silence. Maggie looked down, eyes slightly squinted, seemingly deep in thought.

“L-listen,” Leland continued. “I’ve g-got nothing to talk about, so I’m going to sleep. Take care. N-nice seeing you.”

“Hold up, future doctor Leland. You forgot… it’s my birthday.”

“H-h-happy birthday!” Leland blurted, as if saying the words quickly helped the situation.

“I told you several times,” Maggie said.

“You d-did. I’m sorry. H-how’s it been?”

“It’s 6 AM for me, remember? But to answer your question, it hasn’t started so well since a friend forgot my birthday.”

Leland covered his face with a hand. “Ah, I-I’m sorry.”

“No, it’s fine,” Maggie said. “It happens.”

“N-no, it’s not fine. I’ll think of a quick present for you.”

Maggie’s eyes lit up. “Oh, really? You’ll teleport me to a beautiful location!? That’s a great idea. That’s crazy because I was thinking the same. Thank you, thank you, thank you.”

Leland stared, blank-faced. “Y-you’ve been thinking about this for a long time, haven’t you?”

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

“Possibly,” Maggie said, rubbing her palms together, feral excitement in her eyes. “You forgot my birthday so you don’t have a choice. I don’t want to hear any excuses! You don’t use your superpowers for anything!”

“W-well actually—”

“So here’s the plan. First, we go to Kyoto, Japan, and check out the cherry blossoms. Then, you fly me across the Atlantic Ocean. Don’t drop me or I’ll kill you. Then, I’ve always wanted to see the pyramids. And then… hm… let me think.”

Leland burst into laughter.

Maggie frowned. “Why are you laughing? I’m serious.”

“You’re t-trying to squeeze a m-mini holiday out of me! I should be charging you.”

“So you’ll do it?”

Leland thought for a moment. He hadn’t even entertained the idea of travelling to other countries using his abilities. “I c-can try. I just f-finished practice so I don’t think we can do all of what you said. L-let’s do the cherry blossom thing.”

Maggie’s face lit up. “Oh my god, I’m so excited.” She continued to ramble on while Leland fought an urge to fall asleep.

“I-I’ll teleport to your location now. Take a picture of w-wherever you are and I’ll try to go there. M-make sure you’re alone!”

“Alright!”

Moments later, Maggie sent Leland a picture of a sidewalk and he teleported to the location. She stood in front of him, eyes beaming. “It worked! I can’t believe this. You teleported. That’s wild! You’re amazing!”

Leland smiled sheepishly, silently astounded at Maggie’s lean yet muscular physique. The unstoppable tennis serves made more sense now. Long ginger hair fell gracefully over the backpack she wore. For some reason, seeing her in person felt like meeting someone new entirely. The full effect of her excitement and joy hit him, and he felt lucky to be in her physical presence.

“I don’t know about that.”

“No, no, don’t be modest. You’re living a fantasy right now. You did the impossible. Now, can you take us here?” Maggie shared a picture on her phone, a path lined with cherry blossom trees, their branches gracefully extending upward.

Leland dropped to the ground.

“Are you okay?” Maggie cried. “We can go back. I don’t mind.”

“No. I’m p-perfectly fine,” Leland lied, breathing heavily. The teleportation had drained more from him than expected, yet he was secretly glad his body was struggling, as it would increase his stamina.

“Just g-give me a few minutes. Then we’ll go. The distance m-must have made it harder.”

Maggie helped Leland up to his feet and they slowly walked down the sidewalk. After a while, he grabbed her shoulder. “A-are you ready?”

“Are you?” Maggie replied, still with a concerned frown.

Leland nodded and suddenly they materialised underneath a canopy of blossoms. A blanket of fallen petals carpeted the ground, contrasting the vibrant grass. Leland immediately slid down the nearest cherry tree, closing his eyes.

Maggie sat next to him. “This is beautiful. Thank you, Leland! Are you still with me?”

Leland smiled slightly. “Happy birthday.”

Maggie slapped his shoulder. “You don’t have to use your powers like that.”

“It’s worth it,” Leland said. “Besides, it’s not as draining as actually using a superpower. Don’t worry about it.”

“I can see the life sucking out of you as you speak.” Maggie opened her mouth to say more, but stopped herself. She removed the backpack, spreading out a blanket and arranging sandwiches.

Leland stuck out his bottom lip and gave a thumbs of approval.

Maggie grinned. “I came prepared. The perfect breakfast. Or a late night snack for you. We have egg and cress sandwiches and pastrami sandwiches and ham and cheese sandwiches. You can’t go wrong with those.”

“No clue what pastrami sandwiches are, but I’m sure they’re delicious.”

Maggie laughed.

During their meal, they mostly ate in silence: Maggie sat cross-legged while Leland stretched out his legs. As Leland ate, he followed the movements of the various species of birds which darted in and out of the branches.

“My first game is tomorrow,” Maggie said. “For the US Open. This may be my first professional grand slam tournament, but I’m going to win. What’s the point in competing if you’re not trying to win? They don’t know what I’m capable of yet. I’ve been training my whole life for this moment.”

Leland turned to look at her face. Her eyes were intense. Something told him she was talking to herself more than she was to him.

“I believe you can do it,” Leland forced out. He had more words of encouragement to give, but he needed to conserve his energy.

Maggie returned his stare and her powerful demeanour withered. She sighed. “Can’t you just speak normally? This whole time I’ve never had any problem with your stutter. Hurting yourself like this is pointless. I hardly notice it most of the time.”

It took several seconds for Leland to absorb the words. He wasn’t sure how he felt until a voice echoed in his head: Aren’t you embarrassed? Don’t you hate every second of your existence?

“W-w-hat do you know about my stutter?”

“Wha–?”

“No, p-please, enlighten me. T-t-tell me what’s so a-amazing a-a-bout looking like an idiot who c-can’t string simple words together?”

“You exaggerate too much,” Maggie said bluntly. “It’s hardly a problem. If anything, it’s quirky. It makes you stand out in a–”

“W-w-what the fuck do you know!” Leland yelled. “You k-know nothing! I can’t believe h-how ignorant and narrow-minded you are!”

Leland’s face heated, almost surprised at his own outburst. Maggie glared back at first, but then tears welled.

“I always thought it was fine. It doesn’t make you look bad.”

“I-i’m…” Leland stopped himself from apologising. “Stop lying. I w-wish everyone would stop lying. E-everyone pities me. E-everybody looks down on me. And even if that’s not true, it w-won’t change how I feel. I’m sick o-of feeling like a joke. U-unless I can g-get rid of this stutter, I can never be at peace.”

“I didn’t understand—”

“No, you didn’t. You never understood.”

Before Maggie could respond, he grabbed her arm, teleported to their previous location and returned to his bedroom within seconds. Then he rushed to block her on all communication channels and fell asleep almost as soon as his head hit the pillow.