Another Saturday morning dawned in the city. She sat in the window gazing out and felt as tired as the old city looked. She closed her eyes for a moment and imagined she was back on her world, but the crunch of metal followed by shouting caught her attention.
The shouting came from below as two angry men were near blows. Annoyed, she blinked twice, and there was silence. She descended to the street, smiling at the figures now frozen in place. Approaching one of the men arguing, his face contorted in mid-shout, she placed a hand on his forehead and listened his thoughts. She repeated the process for everyone on the street, then sat next to a man playing checkers, his hand in mid-motion as he reached for a piece and considered what she had heard.
Making them disappear was a thought. It would bring the peace and quiet she craved, but it wouldn’t solve the problems. Her powers on this planet were extortionary, but one of the few things she couldn’t do was get herself back home or get the inhabitants of this strange planet to behave. Each time she reported to the Solar Collective, she hated making excuses for the planet. She didn’t care if they lived or died. However, she had her orders—get this planet under control. So, back to the two men in the street who had been fighting.
Gesturing her hands toward the mangled cars that had collided moments before, they separated. She touched the metal with her fingertips, and the twisted metal straightened, glass returning to the headlamps, paint chips merging as if never broken.
She returned to her seat on the windowsill and blinked three times. Clocks worldwide reverted to seconds before the crash. She blinked again and watched as one driver swerved to avoid the other car.
Crisis averted. The anger level on the planet lowered just a bit. It was a start, but there was a long way to go. She resumed staring out the window.
The shouting came from below as two angry men were near blows. Annoyed, she blinked twice, and there was silence. She descended to the street, smiling at the figures now frozen in place. Approaching one of the men arguing, his face contorted in mid-shout, she placed a hand on his forehead and listened his thoughts. She repeated the process for everyone on the street, then sat next to a man playing checkers, his hand in mid-motion as he reached for a piece and considered what she had heard.
Making them disappear was a thought. It would bring the peace and quiet she craved, but it wouldn’t solve the problems. Her powers on this planet were extortionary, but one of the few things she couldn’t do was get herself back home or get the inhabitants of this strange planet to behave. Each time she reported to the Solar Collective, she hated making excuses for the planet. She didn’t care if they lived or died. However, she had her orders—get this planet under control. So, back to the two men in the street who had been fighting.
Gesturing her hands toward the mangled cars that had collided moments before, they separated. She touched the metal with her fingertips, and the twisted metal straightened, glass returning to the headlamps, paint chips merging as if never broken.
She returned to her seat on the windowsill and blinked three times. Clocks worldwide reverted to seconds before the crash. She blinked again and watched as one driver swerved to avoid the other car.
Crisis averted. The anger level on the planet lowered just a bit. It was a start, but there was a long way to go. She resumed staring out the window.
