"I actually don't have a passport. Technically, I think I'm an illegal alien. Doesn't seem to bother anyone, though. Oh and I can give you those measurements pretty easy. What kind of plans were you thinking later? Just saying 'plans' isn't very helpful for decision making."
Isaiah was buisily working on preparations for the trip. He'd need to pack up the Mana distillery, and he could also modify a couple of the bots to keep up with some of the upgrade work while he was away. And keep an eye on the place. Still, his communicator was one if anyone wanted to talk to him, and he was totally listening in through the communicators of the rest of the team (unless they seemed like they wanted privacy.)
Shin had changed from his costume, sweaty as it had been, to something borrowed from Rory's wardrobe, in board shorts and a tank top that was loose fitting on his smaller frame. He cleared his throat to get her attention and to make sure she knew he was there.
"I need to stop with upsetting you it seems," He admits, walking around to the opposite side of the tub and dipping his feet into it. He rubs his eyes, lifting his visor to do so - it was easier to just wear the eyesight correcting gear than his regular glasses.
"I'm sorry if I angered you, Prae. I get that you're only trying to do what's best for the team here. But I know that leaving the city while my granddaughter is under arrest is going to make me feel guilty. There's no way around that. But I'll still go along with your plan. It'll be good for everyone. Especially for you. Once again, I'm sorry for being a jerk to you. Can you forgive me?"
"Don't worry, I'll get you sorted with a passport. Speaking of which, how do you like the last name Peary? And they can really be any plans: Dinner, a movie, packing, mah jong, macrame, doesn't matter. I just need something to be able to be running late for. "
Kayla raises her head at the cough, and seeing Shin, she sighed and just leaned her head back against the hot tub. "What?" she says cooly.
As Shin mutters his own apology, Kayla raises her head and studies him as he speaks. Eventually, feeling awkward being the only one in the hot tub with more than one person present, she lifts herself out of the water and sits on the edge across from Shin. Possibly to his surprise, she is wearing a one piece swimsuit made more for aquatic streamline and speed swimming and not a bikini. Even so, it is probably a good bit more revealing than the swimsuits ladies wore in his time.
"I was trying to say I was sorry earlier, Shin," she mutters. "I admit, I'm not that good at the whole interaction thing. Being cloistered up in the Tower like a fairy tale princess kinda caused my social skills to take a hit. Anyway, you know I'm going to be feeling guilty too, right? It's not just you. My great grammie...the wife of the...original Praetorian..." she adds, glancing up at him from the water, knowing about the history of the original Praetorian and Dusk, "is laying in HHH right now, on life support. She's probably not gonna make it. But I'm sixteen, and there's nothing I can do about that. Being here or there isn't going to help anything related to her condition, but it can help us as a team. We're only kids once, Shin. We should be allowed to be kids before the opportunity passes us by. At least, that's what my mom told my dad in a fight they had one night..."
She swirls the water around with the toes on her right foot during a pause in the conversation. "I don't want us to keep fighting, Shin. But it's hard, ya know? I mean, I can't imagine what my parents would think, me being on a team with the same person who ended THE Praetorian's career. But we have to try to make this work, for the sake of the team, and for you. Right?" she asks.
"I guess that's a difference of our times. I haven't been a child since I was old enough to work and enter prep school," Shin tells her. "That was years ago. Honestly, I thought being a superhero would mean less responsibility. Boy was I wrong," He admitted, splashing some water.
Her swimsuit was actually better in his opinion than what she normally wore. Least she wasn't showing off her midriff like some pulp novel pin up.
"I'm sorry about your great-grandmother. I dont know how that must feel for you. Mostly because I never knew my grandparents. I dont want to fight anymore either. But I seem to run into so many misunderstandings," He groans. "Holly thinks I'm a pig, partially for walking in on Mattie in the bathroom by accident. Mattie who apparently had a crush on me and I don't know how to let her down. And your boyfriend looks about a step away from turning me into a popsicle. If it wasn't for Kylie I might have just left."
He flushes a bit. "So I'm going to share a secret, okay? Because...well, I'm fond of Kylie. Really fond of her. I think maybe I want to ask her to go steady. But I'm afraid of breaking her heart if I become just like Dusk. Do you think that's possible?"
She smiles at his comment about the times. "Yeah, I guess it's a big difference. But, you've got to stop holding us to standards you grew up in. Things are different now."
Kayla blushes at Shin calling Rory her boyfriend. "I...we...we're not really...I don't know what we are. I don't know...a lot of things..." she says as she turns her blushed cheeks towards the water and continues to swirl it around with her legs.
Her heart starts beating fast when he confesses his crush on Kylie. "Really? You and Kylie? Does...does she know?"
Kayla steps back down into the water and moves to be beside Shin, but she stays in the water for now. She turns and rests her arms on the side of the hot tub beside his right leg. "Can I...make just a small, teency weency, suggestion?"
She looks him in the eyes, and puts a reassuring hand on his knee, "You should just try and live your life as if you never knew you could become Dusk. You are putting yourself through so much stress trying not to become him. I think you will ultimately become ten times the man he is, but you have got to loosen up and not let the fear of becoming him control you," A smirk paints itself on her face as she adds, a high pitch gravel to her voice, "Fear leads to Anger, Anger leads to Hate, Hate leads to Suffering. That is the path of the Dusk Side," before giggling.
-Hey. I know you've been busy with stuff at home. But we are planning a trip for a week. Would love it if you could go!
Rory heads to the kitchen still humming he grabs a spoon from a drawer and a yogurt from the fridge, ”Hmm, hey Holly, can you grab me a trash bag, I’m gonna start cleaning out the fridge before we leave, I’ve made that mistake before and it wasn’t pretty. So this trip is probably in your wheel house, jet setting and private beaches and such.” Rory pulls three cartons of milk from the fridge the last on feels like it has cottage cheese in it, he shudders at the thought.
"Should've said," Mattie grins, "That whole metabolism thing. It also makes my reflexes quicker. The Shield always says that, if you're up against someone who's stronger, quicker, a better fighter, whatever, the key is to out think them. You know, look for weaknesses to exploit. Take advantage of the fact that they won't see you as a real threat. Wanna try again? Ok."
Without waiting, she steps forward feinting to the left but striking forward with her right knee. Kayla manages to twist out of the way at the last moment though, pulling Mattie's leg forward, grabbing her pigtail and using it to tip the younger girl off balance onto her back with Kayla on top. Mattie grimaces as they get back up and ready themselves again. "Yeah, like that. My turn to get overconfident I guess."
Isaiah shrugged mentally. "Peary's fine as any other. It's not like I'm using my real name here anyway. And if you don't much care what the plan is, I could use a hand shifting a couple tons of equipment from my room to Inquiry. It's packing, of a sort."
Now that they are even in the score, one fall each, it seemed only fair to have a tie breaker.
As Kayla readied herself again, she studied Mattie’s posture and foot placement, before leaping into the air with a lunging kick! Mattie easily steps aside, and retaliates with a superman punch! Kayla grabs her arm and spins around with a fist, stopping it inches from the younger girl’s face. She almost says “Gotcha!” But then realizes that Mattie’s other hand is on her throat!
Breathing heavy, she smiles and says ”Okay. Okay. We’ll call it a draw.”
She sits down on the bench to catch her breath, and grabs a towel to wipe the sweat of her neck and shoulders. ”So...you and Shin, huh? After the...fuss you made over me just kissing Rory, I’m surprised you are seeing someone on the team...”
"Draw?" Mattie replies, panting heavily. "Yep, that seems fair." Joining Kayla on the bench, she grabs her bottle of water and starts to drink, her sips turning into splutters as the other girl asks her about Shin.
What,.. ? Shin? No, well, its complicated." she says, sitting next to Kayla. "He was just about to ask me out I think. It was kind've sweat actually. But, no, he's, umm, " she pauses, "..not really my type. I was just letting him down easy when everyone burst in and interrupted."
”Oh,” Kayla says. Well good. Hope it stings a bit. she thinks to herself momentarily before immediately regretting it.
”Well, take it easy on him...he’s touchy,” she says, still aggravated about Shin from earlier.
"Yes that's perfect, thank you!"
***
She followed the rules and used her hand to open the door when she got home. She fudged slightly by not bothering to do more than mime her key, but eh, close enough.
"Mom? It's me, Kylie. I'm gonna be going on a trip with the team, and I need to pick up a few things..."
She knew her mom was home, but it was polite to act like her mind's eye was closed. Especially with the woman who'd spent so much time helping her learn to pretend; it showed the effort hadn't gone to waste.
Her mom hit the foyer like a hurricane.
What a surprise this was, Kylie hardly ever visited, so she really wasn't prepared. She seemed to be so busy with this new team, so it was good that they could already take a week off right in the middle of whatever crisis was going on with Shard. Some people could think that that could make Kylie seem like she didn't take heroing seriously, but she was sure no one was thinking that.
At least her grades were keeping up, though of course grades weren't everything, and she never seemed to bring anyone home. Was she dating, why wasn't she dating, if she wasn't dating now when she had time to jet off to who knows where, how was she going to manage it when she acted like what she was doing was important, but of course what she was doing was important, and it made sense that Kayla and Holly, who she'd always liked, would get asked more questions, but why were they having the little redhead answer so many when Kylie'd spent so much time and money, well not her money of course, on all that training for those pageants that she never seemed to compete in anymore?
Expedited passports and a couple without all the normal documents, well of course, it's only money, and it's not like she had to work for it so why worry, and yes he still did superhero specials. Lord knew superheroes always let things fall through the cracks, so it was lucky that other people were responsible.
She couldn't stay for dinner, had to go already? Well who's Isaiah, bring him over, where's his temple, he'll convert.
***
In a moment of quiet she'd gone upstairs to her room for her passport. Her real one, not the one that said Rachel Katz, still in the bugout bag she'd been given when she turned 14.
***
Moving boxes was very relaxing.
Rory stood in the doorway to the gym watching Mattie and Kayla get after it, then called his sister over during a break in the action to apologize. "I know I said sorry earlier but I wanted to give you a more thorough one. I am sorry I barged in and for blowing my stack, I shouldn't have done that. I told you I would would try to treat you like a teammate and not just my baby sister, and I am trying but it's hard. I just feel like I need to fill the hole left by mom and dad, with Shield pushing me to try and be a leader, I guess I tend to fall into an authoritarian roll sometimes and that's been a issues between her and I... sorry that's not relevant, anyways I am sorry and I want you to know that I am trying to treat you like an equal, even if I fail sometimes." Rory hugs his sister and returned to leaning in the doorway.
Praetoria watches as Rory apologizes to his sister with a smile, taking the moment to catch her breath. When the two girls finish and have their chat, she looks to him in the doorway and says with a smirk, ”What about you? You want a turn?”
"That's OK." Mattie replies, returning Rory's hug. "But you gotta make sure you don't do it again. The room's not just mine anymore. You don't want to do a 'Shin' and walk in on someone getting changed or something. And, just so you know, there's nothing between him and me. At least, I'm not into him anyway. But, even if I was, its up to me, not you. I've tried to be better about you and Kayla, and you have let me do what I want too. I mean, i'm not that much younger than her. Its my birthday in a few weeks and I'll be the same age as her. If its ok for you guys to date, then its ok for me to date too.. You can't keep treating me like a kid. I'm not twelve anymore."
"Only if you promise to stop dropping your left hand when you throw that right handed hay-maker," Rory says with a wink, he takes off his hoodie and tank-top and hangs them on a hook by the door and takes the mat. Rory normally relied on his ice powers when out in superhero mode, almost appearing heavy and flatfooted, but here in the gym his foot work seemed quick as a snake and light as a feather. They nod to each other and before Praetoria can blink Rory has shot on a single leg and the were heading to the floor.
"Doss our telepathic teammate know that I have a crush on her?" He asks back to her rhetorically, with a hint of teasing. "I'm sure she does. I think that maybe I should see about...taking her on a date on the island, since we're going."
He looks a little lost about Prae's quote. "Did you make that up, or is that from something you've read?" He shrugged, standing up, only his feet wet. "I'm going to go start packing. Isaiah can probably make me a decent swimsuit, don't want to borrow Rory's stuff all the time. Thanks for supporting me. If you need to talk, you know where I sleep."
After that, he headed upstairs to pack, figuring that he might as well go along with all of Kayla's hopes for team reconciliation.
Kayla feels Rory grab her by the thigh and the pair start to go backwards into the mat. But takedowns like this, her father had trained her against. She kicks around with her free leg and uses the leverage to flip up on top of Rory, wriggling her leg free in the process. Once on top, she pins his left hand beneath her knee, and wrenches his right up in an arm lock.
”And you might want to not Telegraph your takedowns so much, Frostbite!”
”It’s...from a movie. We have got to get you caught up. Movie Night Tuesdays from here on out,” she says in reply.
When he says he’s going to have Isaiah make him some clothes, she says ”Nuh uh. Enough with that. He’s a robot, not a tailor. Come on,” as she takes his hand and leads him back to the common area.
”Hey guys! I’m taking Shin to Praetor Plaza to get some real clothes. Anyone else want to pick some stuff up? Remember,” she says holding up the card, ”It’s on me.”
It probably occurs to Psyche that nobody on the team has seen the inside of Isaiah's room since he moved in. It's pretty obvious that he's remodeled rather extensively, normal furniture nowhere to be seen. The closet is empty, except for a few cords and sockets that probably weren't in the wall before. A large collection of enigmatic, metallic crates are on the floor; two or three tons worth of alien equipment, packed up for moving. A couple of large canisters of glowing blue liquid are leaned against one wall. Whisper-thin filaments of some kind of strange metal or pseudo-plastic spiderweb across the walls, floor and ceiling, their purpose inscrutable. A good sized metal hatch covers a corner of the floor. Isaiah stands near one of the larger crates, a third of the fuel canisters hefted on one shoulder.
"Don't really want to leave this stuff behind and unattended. Any particular reason you needed an excuse to come back here? Not that I'm complaining about having help shifting all of this."
"Ah, I needed there to be somewhere I had to be, or I would've been steadily guilted into not going on the vacation. Also going to temple more often, which admittedly would be a low bar to clear. I love my mom more than anyone in the world, but an exit strategy is important."
"Oh, can you lock your desired layout in your forebrain or whatever the part of your mind that I can scan is?"
Rory slips his left arm free and escapes out the back door using his right arm, trailing between her legs to flip her over, he is surprised when she lands on her feet instead of her back, with both of them back on their feet he just winks and blows a kiss.
Kayla smiles at Rory, lunging at him again! She feigns a strike, and when he moves to block, she instead grabs the blocking arm and twists it around behind his back, moving behind him and putting her mouth near his ear. ”What’s the matter, can’t keep up?” she says teasingly.
Mattie smiles as her brother and Kayla take positions to spar, watching for a moment before slipping quietly out and making her way to the showers.
"I'll come" Mattie says, "I'm getting a haircut. I'm not going to have you use that trick on me again. Shield always said that long hair could be a problem in close combat, and I think you underlined that for me this morning.
Kayla and anyone else who wants to go discreetly slip out of the base, making their way to a secluded spot for the team to climb into Holly’s limo. They head to Praetor Plaza and park in the VIP parking area so as to allow them to enter the shopping area without harassment by paparazzi, who were strictly forbidden within the tower proper.
While some tourists snapped pictures of Kayla, Holly, and Psyche, it served as enough of a distraction to let the others shop at their leisure. Kayla tries to convince Mattie not to cut her hair, as it is so pretty, but doesn’t push the issue too much as it is ultimately her choice.
When all is said and done, she turns to the others who joined her and asks...”So...anyone wanna come up? See my place? I guess now that the secret is out, I don’t have any reason not to have friends over...”
"You're cutting your hair? But it's so cute!" Dismay that might have been hidden by her voice is plain in Mattie's mind. "How short are you planning on going? Couldn't you just tie it back or wear a cowl or something?
"Sorry, of course it's your hair; I was just surprised."
She was especially surprised by how much she was bothered by the idea...
***
"That'd be really great, Kayla. I've always wanted to see the inside of the tower."
Mattie looks unsure as the other girls try to convince her not to get a haircut. "You don't think it makes me look like a kid?" she asks. "I was thinking maybe something a bit shorter would look more,... grown up? Ok, I'll think about it."
"Yeah, I'd love to see inside too." she answers Kayla. "I've never been anywhere this fancy."
"Standing hammerlock, really? I hope you get your strength back, anyway enjoy the ride." Rory had managed to slide his hand into the waist band of his shorts to reduce the pressure on his shoulder, then launched into a forward roll trapping one of Kayla’s legs between his. Kayla released the arm to avoid a face full of mat and rolled to her feet. Rory rolled to his butt and patted the space beside him. Feel better?
Rory joined the shopping expedition because the girls playing dress up with Shin was too good to pass up. It did not disappoint.
At some point during the shopping trip Rory disappeares then reappears with unmarked shopping bags. He will only identify the contents as "stuff, things, and nunya."
When invited up stairs Rory gives pause, "Umm who all is up there....?
”Better...no...no not yet...” she says as she slips a hand behind Rory’s head and pulls him into a make out session on the sparring mat.
”As far as I know, no one. My brother is staying with my Uncle with all this going on...so it feels a bit empty. There are some aunts and uncles and cousins who drop in from time to time when not on assignment, but they stay on the guest floors usually,” she says as she looks to the floor.
She leads them through the plaza past a couple of security check points before they reach a private elevator. She pushes the PH button and crosses her arms patiently while the elevator makes the long climb.
When the doors open, the group is hit with the definition of Halcyon luxury. The finest furniture, decorations, and electronics present. She walks in and says ”Welcome to my house. Anyone want anything, feel free to help yourselves, kitchen is over there,”she says pointing its direction. ”I’m gonna go gather some of my things for the trip.”
She then turns down a hall and to her room and begins putting clothes and swim suits into a suitcase. Eventually, she just sits on the edge of her bed for a minute, lost in thought.
"...I look ridiculous."
That's what Shin said as he looked at himself in the mirror of the clothing boutique. He'd have been comfortable with some decent button up shirts, suspenders and slacks to go with them for casual wear. But apparently the girls had other ideas. Hence why he was currently wearing some grossly pink and shiny shirt with jeans that were so skinny he felt they could tear at the seams.
"This is a hard pass for me," He vetoed, going to change out of them in into a more sensible outfit. Suspenders and a white shirt with decent fitting slacks to go along with it all. At least the underwear was an improvement. He came out and posed briefly for their benefit. "This is what I'm getting. Maybe some of a couple different colors."
As Praetoria invited them all to her place, part of him just wanted to go back to base. But he supposed that he was trying to make nice with her now. "Let's go then. I suppose there's worse things you could do than to invite your predecessor's arch-enemy into your family home," He pointed out.
Inside her home, he was even more uncomfortable. He was never a fan of people who lived apart from the world like this, who had their money to separate themselves from the chaff below. At least Praetoria had good intentions, but he still thought of her as perhaps more spoiled than Holly compared to the rest of the group.
"I don't understand rich people," He finally says. "I lived with my siblings and parents in a two bedroom apartment in Eastside. This one room could have fit my entire home inside of it," He mentions. "I'm pretty sure the whole team could bunk here instead of Blockbuster's bunker if needed."
Mattie's eyes go wide when they're ushered into the vast penthouse apartment. "OMG! This place is huge. Our whole trailer would fit in just the kitchen." she says as she moves from room to room, checking out everything. "Hell, I think it would have fit in just the bathroom!"
"That's what it's designed for, Shin. It's not just a home, it's the center of a team. The only reason it feels empty and unused right now is because of the half-dozen people who were living or working here just a couple of months ago. So you want to lighten up? You've been in a bad mood since we left."
Despite her words though, she wasn't particularly enthralled with the tower either.
I always wished I'd been able to visit her home back when we were in school together. But now... it's a memorial to people I don't know.
Still, morale was the name of the day, so she smiled along as they took the tour, tapping into Mattie's enthusiasm for a secondhand thrill.
***
She was surprised, as she looked at Mattie's idea, how much of a difference the haircut made. Of course, part of that was probably the way it changed her self-image. Kylie still thought the pigtails were cute, but... "I suppose if you want to look older it would certainly do that."
I wasn't...I'm trying my best to get along. I want to feel like the kid Prae thinks we all are still and enjoy myself on the vacation she's planning. I'm just uncomfortable around so much obvious wealth. No wonder a version of myself went and lived in an old lighthouse for decades, He thinks to Psyche as he wanders around. Eventually he finds an area that light up as he walks in. A cascading waterfall light up at one end makes this pool area unique, long enough for someone to get in quite a few laps.
He decides that he might as well try practicing, and perhaps showing off, his new flight technique. He lets it happen naturally, encasing himself in that oblong shell of vantablack, floating over the water that doesn't even stir with a ripple from his passage. It's certainly a unique way to travel. He wonders how fast he could move like this. Probably not as fast as Praetoria or Scorch, but he could keep up with Psyche more that likely.
Have you ever tried to time your speed flying? He thinks to Psyche. I'm curious who is faster of the lot of us.
"You picked that trick up fast. How did Whippoorwill even know how it worked?
"Oh, I don't really know how fast I can fly. There's a point where it takes too much energy to keep myself safe at a speed for it to be worth it, but... well, last time I really needed to get somewhere fast I just moved my mind there first and rebuilt my body around it." The ghost of a smile flickered across her face, "Probably not the sort of thing I should do to win a race."
Kayla finishes gathering her things for the trip, and comes out talking on her cell phone. ”-promise we will be careful. Uncle...I need this. And mom and dad explicitly said this is what it was for. Yes. Yes I know. Okay...you will!?!? Oh thanks Uncle Gus! We will be here promptly at eight! Yeah, I’d like for us to land about mid morning to get the most out of our time. Thanks so much. Love you too.”
She sets her bags down and hangs up and looks to the others. ”Alright, we’re all set. Uncle Judge said he’d talk to the Alliance and let them know and smooth things over! Let’s go back to base and finish getting ready!”
___________
Kayla stands sleepily on the roof with the rest of the team, wearing a loose t-shirt, daisy-duke shorts, and some flip flops. It was seven forty five in the morning, and she had been excitedly rushing everyone to be here early, but was now showing her own sleepiness.
”It should be here any minute...” she says with a yawn.
A few minutes later, there is the sound of a loud wind whipping up, and everyone’s hair and clothes start fluttering wildly! Then, out of nowhere, a large black airship seems to materialize out of nowhere! On its side is the Praetorian Shield. It does a vertical landing, held aloft by some sort of golden energy. The moment the ship settles, a side panel folds out and down into a gentle ramp.
”Here we go! All aboard the Pegasus!”
"Just stack them neatly near Inquiry. It'll take care of the rest. And be careful not to drop the fuel canisters. Don't want one of those to spring a leak."
Isaiah took advantage of the preparation time to modify a couple of the bots for autonomous upgrade work. They wouldn't be able to handle fancy stuff, but the wiring here really needed to be redone, preferably while nobody was around to trip on all the wires. He also installed a commnode inside a maintenance space, so that he could keep in contact with the base and keep an eye on it.
Isaiah looked over the place, taking note of what it was like. His home was higher technology and more developed, but it could also be utilitarian at times. And it was good to keep track of what the local standards of luxury were.
"Looks pretty nice here. Does feel kind of under-utilized, though. I get the feeling it's built for more people than are here right now."
Rory stops and has a quiet conversation with the limo driver then piles in with everyone else. A few minutes later the limo pulls up outside a small diner that looks like something ripped from Holly’s nightmares. Rory pops the door open, grabs the bags, and exits the vehicle. "Shin, Mattie come on," once they were out Rory turns to the rest of the group, "we’ll walk the rest of the way from here it’s only two or three blocks," and he shuts the door.
The trio sat at a booth with Shin on one side and Mattie and Rory on the other, Mattie on the inside Rory on the outside. "As I promised the other day we are going to get you a real burger done right, secondly I wanted to apologize for earlier, I was out of line and I’m sorry. I also grabbed you some stuff." Rory produced the bags handing them to Shin, they contain board shorts that kinda match the ones he borrowed from Rory and a tank top, "alone style without looking like you were playing in your older brother’s closest," next we’re some jeans, cargo shorts and pants, graphic T-shirts, and polo shirts, "and this is just some more normal clothes, stuff the average teenager would wear." Once the gifts had been taken care of, "So are you two squared away, like do you need me to step away for a second to finish you conversation?"
Kylie showed up the next morning in a strappy sundress, elaborate sandals and a large sunhat. Her hair was immaculate, makeup subtle and carefully applied, but the gooseflesh on her arms showed her regrets in dressing for the destination rather than the trip.
As the plane showed up she showed a little of the tension that had marked her earlier journeys in Inquiry, but, shoving that away, she turned to Kayla.
"Thank you again so much. This will really be a trip to remember."
”I hope so,” Kayla mutters in reply as she walks into the plane. Inside is the picture of air travel luxury. Comfortable seating, refreshments, televisions, private cabins for naps, the works.
”Good Morning, Sentinels,” a computer voice says as they board.
”Good Morning Pegasus! Can you take us to The Retreat?” Kayla answers.
After a brief moment, the voice replies, ”Destination acquired. Travel time: One hour and Forty-Three minutes. Lift off will commence once all passengers are seated and seat belts engaged.”
Kayla turns to the others as she shows away her luggage, ”That’s Pegasus, the autopilo! It’s a very sophisticated AI that is limited to navigation and automation of services on board, like snacks and drinks and such. If y’all need anything just ask her!”
Kayla takes a seat on a couch beside Rory, fastening her seatbelt and putting an earbudin one of her ears as she starts a playlist on her phone.
Kylie's sandals unravel just as she takes a seat on one of the couches; she kicks them off, tucks her feet under herself and floats over a bottle of Evian.
When she thinks no one's looking, a little white tablet floats out of her bag, she palms it, and quickly washes it down with her sparkling water.
"How's her coffee? Someone thought it was very important we get an early start" She says the last with the barest hint of a smile to show that she's teasing.
She didn't, but she made me understand that I can already do it, I just have to stop thinking and do it, He responded to Kylie while practicing. After that, heading back to the base, he was lost in thought until Rory came through with his promise for a real burger. This was what he expected from fast food, a nice diner with a pie under glass, a grill in the back with an experienced cook and a friendly waitress. He ordered a hamburger, medium rare, with fries and mayonnaise to dip them in.
Rory's gesture of buying Shin clothes that were more era appropriate were surprising to him, especially with how they'd butted heads earlier. "Thank you," He says, not wanting to dilute his appreciation for all of his efforts. Maybe Prae had gotten to him.
As he mentions finishing their talk, Shin waves his hand in front of his face. It's been a hell of a day, and he didn't want to ruin all the good will he'd built up by jilting his sister in front of him. "Let's just eat. Training with Whippoorwill left me hungry," He growled in anticipation of real food, happy to dig in when it came. The side on the other hand he practically choked on. "Oh that's awful, that tastes like a gutter! What the heck is in this diet cola?"
Shorts and one of those Polo shirts that Rory had gotten him, along with some admittedly comfortable sneakers were what he wore for the trip. He liked how Psyche looked in her sundress, wondering if maybe she would need help with sun lotion later for her pale skin. He hopped into the Pegasus, looking a little nervous, but not as much now he knew he could fly.
"So this island we're going to, it's uninhabited? There's only going to be us?" He was mostly worried about how to make a date with Kylie work here if there wasn't a restaurant or anything else. Maybe he could make a picnic lunch?
He does notice the pill, but doesn't think about it. She probably always has a low level headache all the time from her powers. He'd noticed lately there were side effects of his own powers.
Mattie sits next to Rory, enjoying her burger and grinning internally at Shin's fairly obvious discomfort at the thought of wearing anything too casual. When Rory heads, briefly to the toilets, she leans over and smiles. "Sorry Shin, He's doing his best. I promise."
When Rory offers to 'step away', she glances at Shin. "Ummm, no." she says, suddenly nervous, "That's OK. It might be better if we left it till we've got a bit more time. Maybe we can talk on the weekend?" she asks Shin.
Following her morning training session, Mattie quickly rummages through her cupboard, throwing an eclectic mix of rumpled clothes into her bag. When she joins the others she has her duffel over her shoulder and is wearing a Hawaiian Shirt, decorated with palm trees over a t-shirt and shorts. Stepping onto the plan she grins, dumps her bag on the floor and jumps backwards onto one of the couches with her arms behind her head.
"I could get used to this!"
Kayla snickers. ”You’ll thank me in a hundred and three minutes. And once we are in the air, ask her for something. She’ll give any barista you’ve met a run for their money.”
To Shin, she answers ”It won’t be just us. My family hires out some staff to come on short notice to help with cooking, cleaning, and such. Miguel makes the BEST chimichangas. Oh my god I can’t wait!” she says, flopping her head onto Rory’s shoulder like she fainted just thinking about it.
"Well, coffee aside, once we hit international waters, we'll have to have an appropriate toast." As they're preparing for takeoff, Kylie's smile has drifted a bit broader, and when Mattie hears her thoughts they're quieter than usual.
"Hey, Mattie-Matt, I know it's vacation, but if I get too relaxed, or I start falling asleep on the plane, poke me or give me a hotfoot, okay? I promise I won't be mad."
Isaiah considered the vehicle. "Not bad at all. I'm still rather fond of Inqiury, I may be a bit biased. Its a bit like saying one is rather fond of their own arm as opposed to someone else's, after all."
He took note of Psyche's pill consumption. He wouldn't comment on it right now, but he was beginning to suspect that Psyche really needed to be a bit more open with her own weaknesses. Better to let your teammates know you were hurting or sick than to foster a medicine addiction. He'd have to keep watch for a quiet moment to bring it up.
"Could be interesting... and it would be good to know just how fast each of us can go. I'd bet that me and Inquiry could easily outrun the lot of you in a vacuum, but I have no idea who would win in atmosphere."
”Maybe this week at the island? We could make games of it! Maybe make some fun wagers?” Kayla comments.
"That sounds great! But no one stands a chance at "What Number am I thinking of!" She laughs, "Or armless arm-wrestling!"
"Sorry, just looking forward to the trip."
Once everyone is settled in, Pegasus calls out ”Lift off process initiated. Activating cloaking protocols.”
Outside the ship, the planes exterior panels begin to shimmer, and in a matter of seconds the plane is invisible to the naked eye!
The team feels the plane slowly do a vertical lift off, a sensation much like an elevator moving up quickly, before it says ”Cabin pressurization commencing, motion buffering active.” A moment later, the jet flies off at incredible speed, though the passengers feel little more than a slight rocking sensation before the interior feels as still as if the group were on land.
Seconds later, the ship says, ”Cruising altitude reached. Seatbelts may be disengaged.”