Later that night, despite his reluctance, Leland didn’t dance in his bedroom. He desperately wanted to let off some steam and alleviate stress, but most of his limbs ached, which he assumed was a side effect of his newfound superpowers.
After doing chores and some light biology revision, Leland lay in bed and stared at the ceiling. He thought about Mark’s accident. Staress was right after all. He did have superpowers, and they seemed to be very powerful. In fact, they appeared to be downright broken and overpowered. If he had been a character in a video game, the developers would have significantly weakened or toned him down.
Leland smirked, aware that he was getting ahead of himself. He didn't know the limits of his powers or the exact rules that governed them. Though curious about such boundaries, his mind wandered to a hypothesis he considered more important, one so important that on the way home it had given him goosebumps: Could mastering his superpowers lead to complete fluency in speech?
As if reaching for an invisible object, Leland stretched a throbbing arm into the air. Even though it was only for a moment, he had bypassed the barrier that had stood in his way countless times. There was a way to speak fluently, and he had seen the evidence. His superpowers were the key. They had to be.
“O-okay,” Leland said. “T-time to p-practice.”
Buzz, buzz.
He reached for his phone. Maggie had messaged him. He had completely forgotten about their conversation.
Maggie: Stop ignoring me, please.
Leland: Sorry. Busy day. How was yours?
Maggie: No, no, no, no, no. We’re not going to do that.
Leland: Hm?
Maggie: Okay, so if you’ve scrolled up just a tiny bit you’ll see a ton of messages I’ve sent you. In order to retain my sanity and give you a lifeline, I’m going to assume you forgot about them and didn’t ignore them.
Leland had ignored them. There were twenty almost identical messages asking him why it wasn’t okay for them to call each other.
Leland: Listen, I had a horrible day. Do you remember that friend, Mark, I was telling you about? Well, he got into an accident and it shook me up.
Maggie: :/ no! Is he okay? Is he in the hospital?
Leland: Nah. Luckily, he’s fine.
Maggie: Okay. Now onto the question you’re avoiding… why can’t we call each other?
Leland: I’m a shy boy. I’d prefer to communicate like this. It’s not a big deal.
Maggie: Okay. That’s fine. I figured maybe if you heard my voice you would feel more inclined to trust me and that I’m not a dude and that I’m not conspiring to assassinate you. Is there something you’re not telling me? You’ve never come across as the shy type to me!
Leland: Yeah but that’s online.
Maggie: Your online personality is different to your real-life personality?
Leland: No… it’s virtually the same.
Maggie: So you’re not shy?
Leland: It’s complicated! This conversation is stupid. Why do you care about this so much?
Maggie: Because now that I think about it, you never want to voice chat when we play online games… You don’t like speaking? Why?
Leland groaned. She was onto him.
Leland: I can’t even speak properly. I have a stutter. Are you happy now?
Maggie: Oh. Is that it? Come on. Hop on Discord you silly goose. Let’s talk!
Leland: You don’t understand. It’s an uncomfortable experience. I hate it. I hate it with a passion. More than face-to-face interactions.
For several minutes, there was no response and a wave of shame washed over Leland. He wished he hadn’t told her the truth. She probably thought he was a loser.
Maggie: Alright. Thanks for letting me know.
Leland: ???
Maggie: What?
Leland: I don’t know. I thought you would have blocked me or something.
Maggie: WHY WOULD I DO THAT?
Leland: I don’t know.
Maggie: We don’t need to talk online if you don’t want to. I get it. Everyone has preferences.
Leland: Thanks for understanding. I’m honestly surprised. I didn’t expect this.
Maggie: Well, you found the courage to open up to me. Some might say you… trusted me. Checkmate. Hehehehe.
Leland: You’ve lost so many times in chess that you’re trying to make a win out of conversations. It’s sad to see.
Maggie: CHECKMATE. CHECKMATE. HE TRUSTS ME. HE OPENED UP ABOUT HIS INSECURITIES. HAHAHAHA.
Leland: Yeah, and that’s the only checkmate you’ll ever get so you better cherish it
Maggie: I most certainly will. Oooh, this feels wonderful! I feel so powerful now and it’s already gone while typing. What a shame.
Leland: lmao
Maggie: Okay so hypothetically…
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
Leland: Boooooo.
Maggie: :( I haven’t even said anything yet!
Leland: Your ideas, theories and suggestions generally suck but go on.
Maggie: Well, you said you prefer face-to-face interactions, right?
Leland: Yes. I don’t like where you’re going with this.
Maggie: Let’s just video call. You could see me. I could see you. It would be like meeting for the first time.
Leland: They’re two completely different things. They can’t be compared. It’s not the same.
Maggie: I know. But they’re similar. Do you have a problem with it?
Leland: Hmmmmm.
Maggie: ?
Leland: Hmmmmmmmmmm.
Maggie: ????
Leland: I wouldn’t mind doing it though I don’t see the point. Be warned. There’s a chance it will be awkward because I’m not good at pushing a conversation.
Maggie: You live in the negative, you know that?
Leland: I know. Call whenever you’re ready.
Leland stared at his text and waited. Panic spiked out of nowhere but before he could bail, his phone rang. He let out a deep breath and cracked his knuckles.
Calm down. You got this! There’s nothing to fear! Don’t be silly!
Who am I kidding? I’m doomed! I’m going to—
“Hello?”
Leland blankly stared at the face on his phone, blinking slightly more than usual.
“There you are! You look exactly how I thought you would look! This isn’t awkward, see?”
Leland remained silent but smiled in response to Maggie's strong Australian accent, filled with heaps of energy. He found himself drawn to the long, ginger hair resting on her shoulders, and somehow, in her virtual presence, his anxiety lessened.
“This is a great start to my day,” Maggie continued. “And you look good! Am I how you expected?”
Leland nodded, hesitated, then gave a thumbs-up.
“I’m going to need words,” Maggie said sternly.
“I a-answered your question,” Leland snapped. “Y-you sound and… l-look how I expected.”
“You have a nice voice.”
“I w-wish I could say the same.”
“I change my mind. You sound like you sip tea for a living.”
Leland grinned, expecting the quick retort. “I’m kidding, it’s fine. A-a-ccents always sound strange to those foreign to it.”
“Indeed they are.”
“I’m sorry by the w-way. About m-my speech. I’m trying to i-improve it b-but…” Leland maintained eye contact, doing his best to ignore the shame and frustration.
Maggie shook her head. “Never apologise about that. You look tired. Go to sleep.”
----------------------------------------
Leland sat alone in the school library. He stared at a maths question but his mind wandered to a much more complex problem—how to trigger his superpowers.
It was 17:13. Usually, Leland would breeze through a few assignments before heading home, but today he refused to leave his seat or be productive. Since the morning, he had attempted many times to use his powers. He'd tried combining direct commands with motion gestures, tensing his muscles, and speaking in a lower voice, all of which failed miserably.
Leland scrunched his eyebrows.
Before the powers were triggered, he was in an emotional state. Did that have something to do with it? Or maybe it was conviction? Maybe he just needed to pretend he knew what he was doing and then…
“Charge your phone. It’s on two percent.”
Leland jolted. The sound came from his coat pocket. He took out his phone to see Staress filling up his screen. She sat inside a limousine, raising her sunglasses.
“H-h-how?” Leland stammered.
Staress tutted. “Obviously, it’s been severely hacked. Now charge it.”
Leland rummaged in his backpack with one arm. “You knew Mark was in danger! Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I gave you a hint and you saved him with your powers didn’t you?” Her voice altered to an accurate male British accent. “No worries. It’s all good, mate.”
“Yes worries! All is not good! He didn’t deserve to go through that.”
"Stop complaining. That boy doesn't even remember what happened. Now, where was I? Oh, right. In seven minutes, the Earth is going to be blown into fragments by a laser beam. Think of a balloon popping but more explosive and cataclysmic. Don't drop your phone."
Leland clenched the device just as it began to slip from his grip, his heart racing. The contrast between the content of Staress’ words and the calmness of her voice gave him whiplash.
“Still there? Great. As I was saying, we’re dead unless you save the day. All you gotta do is use your superpowers like you did yesterday. Freeze time and all is golden. Then I need you to go outside your school, where I’ll be standing in a really cool pose. Unfreeze me with your powers but do not touch me! I repeat. Do not touch me.”
“I-I w-wouldn’t touch you if you were frozen,” Leland said. He could sense her sceptical stare. “Okay, I would’ve p-poked your face a few times… r-respectively. W-why are you so relaxed about this?”
“Not sure. A small dose of nihilism and plot armour, maybe? Regardless, we had a good run. Everything comes to an end, eventually.”
“That’s grim.”
“Sorry. I’ll be more uplifting. I’m calm because I believe in my best fan.”
Leland raised both eyebrows. “R-really? I’m your best fan?”
“Honestly, no. But good luck.”
“W-w-wait! I-i don’t know how to use my powers.”
Staress yawned. “Then figure it out. Or we’re dead. I believe in you.”
The call ended. Automatically, the clock app on his phone opened and a six-minute countdown began.
Leland leaned back in his chair and took a deep breath. Never meet your idols. He picked up a pen and tossed it in the air.
“F-f-freeze.”
He repeated the action a few more times, then winced after glancing at the timer. Five minutes left. Part of him wanted to believe Staress was lying but, clearly, she wasn’t. The woman had already proven her abilities. It was time to accept reality and...
Save the world?
He never thought such words would cross his mind unironically. Thinking about it sounded ludicrous.
Just focus!
Leland took another deep breath and picked up the pen once more. Four minutes left. He didn’t move or speak. There wasn’t enough time for trial and error. Like a game of chess, it was his turn, he was against the clock, and he could only make one move.
What’s different? What’s the core trigger?
Emotion? Danger? Conviction? Confidence? Passion? Heart? Coincidence?
No.
Leland’s heart thumped. It was a special tingling sensation that felt like power in its purest form.
Two minutes left.
Leland closed his eyes and imagined the feeling, searching deep within, fists clenched.
“We’re closing up now. You need to leave.”
It was a security guard. He ignored the words as a tiny tugging sensation condensed and expanded in his chest. He detected a foreign entity that could only be found by looking for it, almost like a secret organ.
“Hello? The school is closed now. Are you sleeping? Wake up.”
His footsteps trodded on the carpet.
Leland’s fists unclenched. The energy source wasn’t just in his chest. It was everywhere. Nanoparticles, smaller than the hemoglobin in his red blood cells, flooded through every muscle tissue, waiting to be activated.
“I’m sorry, kid. This isn’t funny. You need to leave.”
A mysterious door opened slightly, a crack in his mind. Almost immediately, a mysterious opposing force slammed it shut, but the small gap was enough. His body tingled, then burned.
“I won’t ask again. Leave now or I’ll have to force you out.”
Leland opened his eyes and tossed the pen forward.
“Stop time.”
The security guard froze, his large hand merely inches away from grabbing Leland’s shoulders. The pen was stuck in the air mid-spiral, right in the centre of the school library.
Leland looked at the timer on his phone. Three seconds left.
“I-i-I’m alive! W-we’re all alive!” He sunk in his chair, letting out a sigh of relief, then slowly raised his head, remembering he had simply delayed the laser beam attack.
“Or n-not.”