Heroes.

Villains.

They all take a chance and work to shape the world in their own image.

Although Herman is a whitetail deer, a race not known for its bravery, he nonetheless wishes to make a difference, here, in the epicenter of superhero culture.

Welcome to the first of several new short stories in a superhero universe I call "α to ζ"!

Inspired by a certain mainstream, big-budget, animated anthropomorphic movie from the spring of 2016, I came out of the theater wondering what it would have been like if, instead of cops-n-robbers, there had been costumed vigilantes and villains. Additionally, what if humans were thrown into the mix as just another species of mammalian life? As a lover of superheroics and the moral questions their activities elicit, I knew I had to find out. The answer to that question debuts in the comic book-formatted short story, "Passersby".

I'm offering this first story for free or Pay-What-You-Want here and on Smashwords, respectively. The coming tales will be big, exciting, fun, and exploratory of the world surrounding the alternate-reality city of Otawatapolis: center of meta-natural activity in this parallel Earth. Each will be sold for 99 cents USD with a full compilation of all stories (including a bonus story) available for $5 USD shortly thereafter.

Even if you only download this free PDF, here, please go to my story's Smashwords page to rate and review "Passersby"! It will really help me get the word out about this really fun, new series. Plus: tell your friends!

Finally, if you would like to drop me a kind donation, please do so by buying me a ☕Ko-Fi at https://ko-fi.com/sylvanscott.

Thank you and I really hope you enjoy this new, exciting world that takes us from "A" to "Z" amongst super heroes!

Black and white illustrations by Wom-Bat/L.Frank.

Story and world by me, Sylvan Scott.