The elevator was still broken.
Leonard Hofstadter sighed as he adjusted the grocery bags in his arms. "One day," he said, "this building is going to collapse under the weight of irony."
Sheldon Cooper stopped on the second landing. "Incorrect. The building will collapse due to structural fatigue caused by repeated elevator shaft fires. Irony implies intent."
Penny jogged up behind them. "Guys, why does it smell like… expensive soap?"
Leonard blinked. "What?"
They reached the fourth floor.
And then they saw the door.
Apartment 4B—Penny's old place—had a new lock. Matte black. No scratches. No fingerprints.
Sheldon froze.
"That lock," he said carefully, "is not commercially available."
The door opened.
You stepped out.
Not dramatically. Not slowly.
Just… naturally.
Six foot nine, relaxed posture, eyes like polished gold—not glowing, not supernatural, just unsettlingly aware. You wore simple clothes. Clean. Tailored. Nothing loud.
The hallway felt smaller.
Penny forgot how to breathe for half a second.
Leonard swallowed. "Hi."
You nodded. "Evening."
Your voice was calm. Neutral. Educated without arrogance.
Sheldon adjusted his glasses. "You are new."
"Yes."
"You are tall."
"Yes."
"You have disrupted the statistical normalcy of this hallway."
You considered that. "That wasn't intentional."
That was when Sheldon realized something deeply uncomfortable.
You weren't trying to impress anyone.
"Welcome to the building," Leonard said, forcing a smile. "I'm Leonard, this is Sheldon, and—"
"Penny," you said, turning to her.
She blinked. "Have we met?"
"No."
"…Then how did you—"
"You look like a Penny."
Sheldon's eye twitched.
"I will need to conduct a background check," Sheldon said flatly.
"You're welcome to try."
Something in your tone—not threatening, not dismissive—made Sheldon hesitate.
That night, Sheldon wrote in his notebook:
Unknown variable introduced. Potentially destabilizing. Observe closely.
Across the hall, you closed your door, summoned the card for half a second—just to confirm it was still there—and let it disappear again.
You didn't smile.
You hadn't come to conquer anything.
You'd come because sometimes, even infinite power needs…connection