Chapter Text
Priyanka Maheswaran was a busy woman. That was to be expected, she was a hospital physician, after all. Late shifts and on-calls at all hours meant frequent absences. Her husband’s equally busy schedule as a security guard meant their daughter would be left alone for hours at a time, especially now with school ending for the year. This worried the doctor a great deal. It was a relief, then, when Connie came home from a day at the beach full of excitement about a new friend.
“So what’s her name?”
“Steven. He’s a boy.”
“Oh…”
“It’s nothing like that! He’s nice. His family lives by the ocean. Near that huge statue.”
“Oh, I always wondered about that statue. I hope you’re staying away from it, though. If Beach City isn’t running tours to it, it might not be safe.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll be fine. You don’t mind, though, if I visit him? He seems…lonely. But nice, though.”
“So what did you do on your first date?”
“Mom! It wasn’t a date! We just met on the beach. Took a walk und…by the ocean. Talked to another friend of his by the pier. Went to Funland…that sort of thing.”
“Sounds like a date to me…alright, I’ll stop teasing. If you say he was a gentleman, then I don’t see why you can’t visit. I’m glad you’re making friends. I was worried you’d be bored this summer. There’s only so many violin and tennis classes you can take, after all.”
In another universe, this would be the end of it for now. Priyanka would be grateful that someone was looking after her daughter during the day. After all, this Steven must have parents of his own to keep him out of trouble. She wouldn’t actually meet those parents for months, but would be assured by her daughter that they were a typical nuclear family, responsible and ordinary. Not oh, for example, a group of alien refugees thousands of years old and battling horrific monsters on a daily basis.
In another universe, Doug would read a newspaper article about the ocean briefly disappearing and returning, and wonder if Connie noticed since she was in Beach City at the time. No, she would be playing with her friend, and there’s no way he could be involved.
In another universe, Connie’s parents wouldn’t see her coming home with the occasional scrape or bruise, or perhaps attribute them to a particularly vigorous tennis match, because it’s not like she would be training with a sword or something.
In another universe, Dr. Maheswaran would be called in one night to examine a patient, and attribute his lack of heartbeat to a faulty stethoscope. The patient would attack her and she would be saved by Steven’s magic and Connie’s swordsmanship.
In another universe, the Maheswarans loved their daughter dearly, but they were very busy, and, to tell the truth, sometimes not very…observant.
This is not that universe.
“Connie…? What happened to your glasses?”