He pushed his way out the door and began walking the familiar streets. It was early morning and the temperatures had finally begun to rise after the freezing night. The roads were filled with rush hour traffic as the normals went to work and made the city spin with action.
‘I need more friends?’
He scoffed, earning him a few looks from the people nearby.
‘I have friends. There’s Devon, Imani, kinda Victor, maybe not boss, not Hannah, um. Damn, she was right.’
He stopped in place as someone new came to mind.
“Kelly!”
He internally chastised himself for forgetting the friendly face. The only person he could truly call a friend before he got his life back together. He ignored the odd looks and rushed in the washhouse’s direction.
The glass doors were covered in advertisements for group exercise and various businesses from years in the past. A relic of the times but something the employees had never felt the need to take down. It was just another example of this place's permanence in the city.
Sean pushed through the doors and looked to the front desk. Standing in all of her glory, Kelly was going through a stack of papers with a dedication that Sean wished he could emulate.
The bell rang out seconds later and she turned her head up to see who had just entered. Her face lit up like a dog seeing their owner after years apart.
“Sean! It’s been a while! I was getting worried. It’s not very often you don’t come by to at least say hello.” She beckoned him closer to the desk with rapid hand movements.
“Yeah, I’ve been a little busy recently. Got myself a job making some real money for the first time in a while and been hanging out with a few of my new friends.”
Her smile expanded into a crescent moon. The sheer joy was almost blinding.
“That is fantastic news. I knew you would be able to do something once you got back on your feet. What’s the job?” He hesitated to say, fearful of what she might think of his occupation.
“Um, it’s like being a guard for this building I work at.” His hands fidgeted at his sides.
“What’s the place called.” Her incessant interest made it hard to deny her the truth.
“It’s a club, Les Gros. It’s down near Fairmount.”
She looked to the air with a quizzical expression, digesting the information.
“Fairmount…Fairmount…I’ve heard of that…. Oh! That’s that rough street, isn’t it? The one with all of the clubs. Oh! You’re a bouncer! That is awesome. I bet the hours are rough and the people-yikes.” She spoke increasingly fast as the pieces fell into place. “So, are you enjoying it?”
He paused for a moment, digesting all of the stuff she just said before answering.
“Um, yeah?” He thought back to almost getting pulled to pieces by another powered, getting entangled with Hannah, and the most recent kidnapping and almost incarceration. “It could always be worse. The people are nice and the money is really good.”
She sat in the rolling chair she had pushed aside earlier. The seat sank with age as her full weight slammed down on it.
“Huh. Sean Chambley got a job as a bouncer.” She looked towards him with her glittering eyes. “That is just so awesome.”
He felt like the weight of the world fell from his shoulders at that moment.
“Thanks. I’m currently moving from motel to motel. I’ll probably be looking for an apartment soon enough.”
She blasted off her chair in excitement.
“You know you are going to have to invite me to your place whenever you get it. Oh, and your coworkers too. Have a whole get-together. Invite everyone you know. I’d love to meet some new people.” Her features were so animated as she made his plans for him that all he could do was nod along.
“I have some friends I want for you to meet too. I would love to be able to invite them. Make sure you stop by and let me know when it’s gonna happen. Just give me a week's notice.”
He reached into his pocket and took the new phone out.
“It would be easier If I could just text you about it.” As he sat it on the table, her small hands swiped it up like it was the most precious gem.
“Ohhh you got a new phone. Way better than mine.”
He watched her flip through the screen before quickly putting her details into the contacts list. His face heated with embarrassment as the whole list totaled a mere five names.
“And there.” She handed the phone back.
A line of laughing crying faces popped up in a bubble under Kelly’s name.
“Now I have your number too.”
He nodded as she grabbed the conversation by the horns and led him along.
“We just got approval from the Union to open the new gym they funded. They are offering guided exercises upstairs. You should totally get in on it. Bunch of single girls up there too.” Her brow danced as her meaning sank into the young man before her.
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The door behind him rang as another person walked in. She nodded her head towards the stairs and moved to talk with the newest customer.
He walked up to the next floor with his phone gripped in his hand. His heart fluttered with excitement at everything that just happened. The doors opened and closed as he passed through like the world was answering to his whims.
Everything was perfect at that moment. He was at peace. Something he had been struggling with for months and that simple conversation made him feel like the sun was shining in on him once more.
“Ah, the final arrival. I was really hoping we could even the class out more but a bit of diversity is always better than none.” The oddly familiar voice shocked him from his pleasant thoughts.
His eyes searched for the source. A room of eyes stared back at him. Dozens of women ranging from eighteen to their mid fifties stood tall with their gazes fixed on him. His heart froze.
‘What did I walk into?’
His mind flitted through a variety of possibilities. None of them made sense. He could have sworn he had followed the signs for the group exercise, but where had he ended up?
“Come on man, up to the front. The heaviest weights are near me.”
The voice called out once more and Sean moved ahead without thinking. The weight of all of the stares sent him into a spiraling state of confusion.
“Take these two kettlebells. Shouldn’t be too heavy for you. Might get a little sweaty with all those layers, but it is a bathhouse first and foremost, so it won’t be too bad.”
The thick flannel that covered him was already starting to get warm.
Sean turned to the speaker. His mind blanked. He recognized him immediately. The man stood tall and proud with a stylistic blue tracksuit with much the same pattern that his professional garments were adorned with. It fit him incredibly well, like every thread was meant to show off his muscular tone and limber build.
Percepti was standing before him like a reaper here to take his soul. The full weight of the situation bore down on him.
‘What the fuck is doing on.’
“That makes him our last member for today. As many of you might know, my hero name is Percepti. With my recent fight leaving me raggedy on the streets, I needed some physical therapy to get back into form. My body might be healed by the support heroes, but the mind-body connection isn’t.”
He reached down to the kettlebells at his side and hefted them up like they weighed as much as a can of soda. Sean wasn’t going to be tricked. They very clearly said one hundred and twenty pounds on the side.
“You all should grab them with your four digits around the one side and your thumb around the other in a claw grip like this.”
He lifted the kettlebell into the air at a slow pace to make sure everyone had proper technique.
Sean turned to look at the workout equipment on either side of him. The women nearby had already grabbed them and lifted them to the sides of their hips.
He hefted the weights up and noticed the difference between his weight, the heroes, and women around him. There was a clear discrepancy. His were fifteen to twenty pounds more than everyone else but the main man himself.
That came along with another clear oddity.
'I'm the only man here besides the hero himself. Was it meant to be a female only class?'
"I think I'm at the wrong..." He stopped as the hero corrected a woman's technique. The metal near his feet would definitely look more fit for a muscular man than any of his fellow attendees. A few stares reminded him he was the last one to grab the equipment.
The ensuing exercise was beyond exhausting.
Halfway through, he had sweated through his shirt and began to develop a nice puddle near his feet. The women around him looked far more relaxed. A small amount of sweat slid down their brows like they were doing a light jog.
The hero was the least exhausted of them all. Despite the ludicrous difference in weight, Sean still found it hard to believe he was so soundlessly outmatched. The difference between a professional hero and a normal powered was a night and day.
“And we can call it there. Excellent job everyone. Coach Heisendog will be coming back over Friday, but I have to thank all of you for spending your time here with me and getting a sweat in. Some more than others.”
He turned to look at Sean with a light grin on his face. The surrounding women laughed like it was the funniest joke they had ever heard. The smile fell away quickly into his resting face. A few of the women walked over to the door while the others watched the hero like vultures around fresh roadkill.
Sean was stuck to the ground heaving in exhaustion. The sweet feeling of effort running down his face and burning within his muscles let him know in advance that tomorrow was going to be filled with regret and exhaustion, but it was far too late to care.
“Are you alright? I think you might need some water.” The familiar voice shocked him from his silent stewing.
He wiped the sweat from his eyes and looked up at the hero that was bent down before him.
“Yeah...I’m good. Just need to grab something to drink.” He went to stand only to wobble as the blood rushed from his head.
Percepti grabbed his arm, refusing to let him fall. A murmur erupted from the crowd that sounded a lot like curses of envy from Sean's compromised position.
“Woah there. Let me walk you to the water fountain.”
The muscular man dragged him along to the exit and stood him in front of the oasis. Sean dipped his head down and felt the cold water hit his tongue and splash up to his face.
“Don’t drown yourself.” The hero giggled to himself as a few random people gawked passing by.
“Thanks. I wasn’t expecting to get so thoroughly drained. The receptionist said I should check the class out…so I did.” He was still trying to calm his breath as the hero patted his shoulder for comfort.
“Well, I am glad you decided to stop by. I don’t know who leaked it, but all of the available women around the city learned about me popping in and decided to mob the class.”
“I thought something was weird.” He turned to look at the horde of women acting like they weren’t staring through the glass walls at the superhero.
“Yeah. It was meant to be a surprise for anyone who showed up but all the spots got swiped so I made sure to save a few for people who actually wanted to come for the class and not me.”
Sean nodded along.
“Oh well. I am just glad anyone came once they saw the evil stares pointed their way.” Percepti took a large sigh. "I am glad you put your everything into the exercise. The others asked for light weights so they wouldn’t struggle. Not gonna get very fit if they don’t push themselves.” The man turned to Sean who was purposefully avoiding eye contact.
“I’m Percepti. Usually, I would be going after villains and the like, but I heard there was a class open, and the Union was sponsoring, so I thought it would be cool to show myself to the people instead of mourning in some dark room…. You are?”
He saw a large, calloused hand reach out, looking for a handshake that Sean really didn’t want to give.
“Uh, my name is Sean. Nice to meet you.” He flashed the hero a smile and leaned back down for some more water.
“Likewise. If you stick to working out like you did in there, then you are going to be set for life. Have a good one and stay fit.”
He turned from Sean and headed down one of the many new halls of the Union sponsored gym. Shouts of displeasure and annoyance filled the room to his side.
He quickly decided that it would be infinitely better to get out of there now rather than wait for the angry horde to burst out and devour him alive. He waved his way past Kelly and ran into the street, trying his best to gain as much distance from the hero as he could.
He had a few grand in his pocket and a few days before work started up again.
The sidewalk had grown empty as the early morning rush ended and the cars still stuck in traffic slowly crawled out of the mire that the streets became. As he turned the corner along one of the familiar roads, he noticed the storm drain cover shift slightly before being pushed open with agonizing difficulty. A pair of dirty hands grabbed either side of the hole and pulled the person into the light.
“Come on! Get up there!” The oddly familiar voice shouted from the manhole.