Yep. We're at cruising altitude alright. It's still so loud up here. Glad I brought the extra Valium.
"In that case Pegasus, I'll have an iced double shot latte, and the more you want to show off your foam-game the better."
She's clearly delighted by the drink, which arrives with an immaculate capital Ψ
But though she amuses herself by scootching the foam around into different shapes for a while, Kylie doesn't actually drink her coffee.
"The only problem is, in a flight this fast there's really no time to watch that movie you didn't bother to see in theatres."
Well, we can't watch a movie, but that doesn't mean we can't entertain ourselves. Holly smiles while she says. She draws out her laptop, and a microphone, as well as three Bluetooth speakers.
Anyone up for karyoke? I'll go first. Holly says. she was a trained singer, thanks to her work on the show, so she wasn't worried about embarrassing herself
"Alright! Show us how it's done!"
At the touch on her mind, Mattie looks over at Kylie quizzically. "Sure, I will. she replies mentally. Leaning back, she kicks her shoes off on to the floor and gets ready for the trip.
"Looking forward to this!" she says, "this is the first time i've flown. Well, on a plane, anyway."
Holly presses a few keys. You know, I almost got to be on broadway, back when they were doing another run of Grease. But they'd already cast Sandy, and no one thought I could play Rizzo. what do you guys think. she says, before starting a rendition of Worse things I could do.
Kayla claps at Holly’s performance enthusiastically, before saying ”Alright, hold up...” she says before Holly can sit down, holding her up to go again as she kicks off her sandals and goes to the keyboard and punches some keys. ”Kylie, Mattie, Gallowglass...get up here girls!” she says as the beginning of Spice Girls “If You Wanna Be My Lover” starts up...
__________
She does her best Posh Spice - Her own vocal past tends far more towards showtunes (her Talent), but she gives her all at Pop too.
As she collapses back into her seat, dress suddenly twitching back into place, Kylie suddenly sits bolt upright. A look that screams 'I just had the best idea' flashes across her face and suddenly Mattie's seatbelt unfastens, and she starts floating around in something that approximates a classic Stalwart pose. "Flying on a plane!"
Mattie reluctantly lets herself to be pulled up to sing with the others. Her voice isn't great, but she starts to get into it just as she suddenly feels her feet lift off the floor. "What the,... Kylie what the hell?"
She puts her down right away, gently, but immediately.
"Sorry, sorry. I got carried away." Her eyes flick around the room at everyone's expression, before she gives a guilty smile and takes a large gulp of her coffee.
"Hey, Kayla, where's the restroom? There's no lighted signs."
Kayla laughs hard at Mattie’s sudden flustered flight at Kylie’s hands. She doesn’t recover quickly, and can only point towards the back of the plane as she flops back onto a couch to recover.
She throws her legs onto Rory’s lap, and takes a toe and tickles his ribs as she says ”Your up, big guy. You gonna sing us something?”
"...Are all flights like this one? Seems kind of extravagant..." Shin comments, wondering what was up with Kylie. He glances out the window, wondering if he'd be fast enough to follow the plane as he flew regularly. But his conversation about wind resistance stopped from experimenting when he wasn't wearing protective layers.
He gets out of his seat, walking around and exploring, before pointing out what he finds to be the bathroom on the plane. "It's here, Kylie. Feeling airsick?" He asked her. He was surprised that he didn't feel it. He was expecting discomfort from flying so high in the air. But he supposed that Holly's impromptu session of singing helped relief the tension quite a bit.
"Hey, Isaiah," He speaks to the alien drone, "I was thinking of taking Rory out for a fishing trip later. Do you want to join us, just the guys?"
Kylie's cheeks pinken, "Shin, I'm not going to tell you why I need the bathroom."
Once she got in there she just started running the water, giving herself several good telekinetic scoops of cold water to the face.
You're doing fine. Just take a little time out. When you go out have some more caffeine, sing some Wicked.
You're doing fine.
"Uh...Yeah, sorry," He replied with a blush back. Definitely not the time to ask her out.
He wandered back for a bit, glancing around the cabin and frowning as he kept looking back at the bathroom. After a few minutes, his worry got the better of him, knocking on the door again.
"You all right in there? It's been a while..."
Yeah, something was definitely up with Psyche. But she wasn't going to talk about it until they landed, at least.
"I'd be fine with that. Haven't had too much chance to examine the local sea life yet. Maybe I should have asked those aquatic people about it..."
How long have I been in here?
"Yeah, I just-" she opened the door, towel in hand, and makeup in disarray.
"I don't fly well, sorry. I'll be out once I've straightened up"
**
A couple minutes later she rejoins the group, makeup returned to its usual perfection, but she still gives a guilty look at Mattie as she takes her seat.
Okay, c'mon Prae, do you want to be Raoul or Christine? Holly says as the others fail to step up.
"Phantom?! Come on something by a Stephen!"
Kayla giggles at Holly and says ”Christine!” as she swings her legs off of Rory and joins Holly on the microphone again.
As the pair started looking for their next song, Pegasus’ voice comes over the intercom and says ”We will be landing in five minutes. Please take your seats and engage your seatbelts.”
__________
The side ramp lowers and extends, revealing to the group a picturesque island getaway. There are several smaller cabins arrayed around a large central communal living area, nestled within a tropical woodland at the base of a single mountain reaching up into the sky. All around the palm trees and fronds are smooth, white sandy beaches with crystal blue water gently lapping at their edges. Some rocks just off shore provide promise to good snorkeling as well as fishing. A single boat dock reaches out into the water with a deep sea fishing boat anchored beside it.
As the group exits the plane onto the lone square of concrete on the island, several wait staff approach to take their bags as Pegasus powers down. ”Miss Taylor, welcome back. Your Uncle contacted us and everything is arranged for you and your guests stay,” a man says as he takes her things.
”Thank you so much, Carlos! Everyone, meet Carlos! He is the man in charge of the staff here, so if you need anything, he can make it happen!”
She then stretches her arms art and spins around in the hot Caribbean sun, a huge smile on her face as she leans back with her eyes closed, trying to soak it all in.
”Alright, whose ready for the beach? Or should we get breakfast first?”
Shin feels completely out of place as they step out onto a private resort, complete with staff and all the fixings. He knew that Prae was rich, but this seemed ridiculous even to him that they'd have employed so many people to work at a resort they'd only use for a week. But he enjoyed the warm sun on his skin, and the fishing boat looked inviting to him. Still, he was still a guy, and the idea of his young female teammates showing off did appeal to him.
"Beach sounds great. I'll get dressed for it. Do we each get our own cabin, or is it one for boys, one for girls?" He asked.
”There’s four bungalows. Each has a bedroom and some living areas. The main house has a master suite and another bedroom too. So we have six beds to divvy up,” Kayla says she kicking off her sandals as she steps out onto the sand. She slips her shirt up over her head and wiggles out of her shorts, letting the clothes fall where they may and revealing the white bikini she had on underneath.
She walks a few paces towards a line of beach chairs across the sandbar before looking back at the group and saying, ”Well? Ya’ll coming?”
So, two groups will have to share a bed? I'm game, so long as it isn't Shin or Rory next to me. Holly says
She changes into a yellow and pink bikini, a relic from "Behind the Mask" and goes to join Praetoria at the beach.
she looks around at the beach and says. I have an idea, as shards surge forth from the sunny sky to form a shimmering dock, and diving board.
Kylie grins broadly as her dress slips itself off, revealing her own bikini, a securely tied number in royal blue. "See Shin, you gotta plan ahead."
Thinking about sharing a cabin with Rory?
After a moment when Kayla didn't reply or get embarrassed, Kylie realized she hadn't heard her.
Man, that flight was really fast...
Kayla was glad her back was turned to the group, as she blushed heavily at Holly’s comment. She just kept walking to the beach and stretched out on a chair.
When Holly makes a diving board with her powers, Kayla rolls her head to her and says ”Now THAT will be fun later!”
Isaiah "changes" into a swimming suit, or something approximating one. The design is a bit odd, and the shifting process brings a bit of attention the fact that Isaiah's 'clothes' are the same thing as his 'skin'.
"I can handle myself, if people don't want to be crowded. A week recharging in Inquiry's cabin won't do me any harm. And I doubt the cabins have compatible outlets..."
Mattie watches for a moment as the other girls strip down to their bikinis and then slips off to a change room, soon emerging with a towel draped over her shoulders. She pauses briefly before taking a deep breath and letting the towel off her shoulders to reveal short grey board shorts and a red bikini top and walking forward to join the rest of the group.
As everyone settles in and starts having fun and relaxing for an hour or so, Kayla gets up and says, ”I’m...gonna take a walk,” before heading off along the beach to the north.
"...buh."
That was the only thing that he could actually say at the moment, staring at all of the girls in their swimwear. Even Mattie seemed unembarrassed with a top that was more revealing than pulp fiction pin ups. Heat rose up in him until the tips of his ears were pink as he stood by looking overwhelmed by such exposure.
"...I'll be in my bunk - er, bungalow," He stammered, going quickly to change into the swimming trunks that Rory had gotten him. The same purple of his regular hero costume as well. He came out, feeling a little awkward still but trying to adapt. It was a different time, he supposed that more people were comfortable with their bodies these days. He just had to adapt to it.
After about an hour of dunking his head under the cool clear seawater, he figured he should try to do this the way Kayla envisioned and make nice with people. The only person though that he hadn't reconciled yet with was Holly, who was enjoying leaping off of her created diving perch. He went up to it a couple of times, leaping off and practicing halting his fall with his powers, floating above the water in his vantablack field, before going over to Holly on shore.
"...Am I still a sexist if I say that you look good?" He asks without malice. More a joke to break the ice.
He catches up with Kylie, not having heard from her at all. Which seemed strange, since she usually was always in his head at times. He tried to not stare too much at her rather attractive figure and focus on her face - easier than he thought, seeing how he liked her eyes.
"So...I was thinking. You want to maybe join me tomorrow for a picnic? I'll make some lunch pails to take with us and we can find a nice spot inland..." He just went for it. She obvious already knew what was going to happen, so there was no reason to hold back with her at all.
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"Careful what you wish for darlin'" Rory stands and whispers something to Pegasus then the music starts...
In a snobby aristocratic voice...
I'm upper, upper class high society
God's gift to ballroom notoriety
And I always fill my ballroom
The event is never small
All the social papers say I've got the biggest balls of all
I've got big balls
I've got big balls
And they're such big balls
Dirty big balls
And he's got big balls,
And she's got big balls,
But we've got the biggest balls of them all!
And my balls are always bouncing
My ballroom always full
And everybody comes and comes again
If your name is on the guest list
No one can take you higher
Everybody says I've got great balls of fire!
I've got big balls
I've got big balls
And they're such big balls
Dirty big balls
And he's got big balls,
And she's got big balls,
But we've got the biggest balls of them all!
Some balls are held for charity
And some for fancy dress
But when they're held for pleasure,
They're the balls that I like best.
And my balls are always bouncing,
To the left and to the right.
It's my belief that my big balls should be held every night.
I've got big balls
I've got big balls
And they're such big balls
Dirty big balls
And he's got big balls,
And she's got big balls,
But we've got the biggest balls of them all!
And I'm just itching to tell you about them
Oh, we have such wonderful fun
Seafood cocktail
Crabs
Crayfish
She really wanted to cheer Mattie on. But she wasn't quite stoned enough to think that Mattie would appreciate that if it were out loud...
But Kayla clearly needed a little help, and she couldn't give Rory a telepathic nudge. And that hadn't worked when they were dancing anyways.
So she gave him a telekinetic shove forward when Kayla asked.
A light one.
Kind of light.
Shin and Holly had already hit the water, but one more thing she wasn't stoned enough to think was a good idea was swimming.
So she turned to Mattie and Isaiah, "Well? Should we find a likely looking patch of sand to stretch out on?"
Of course, Shin. That sounds nice.
...Just us?"
"Yeah. Just us. If that's all right with you." His heart skipped a beat looking at her, a blush coming on his face along with a rather happy smile.
"So...yeah. I'll start preparing things for that," He told her, a menu of choices to cook popping up in his head as he heads to the main hall to check the pantry and fridge for things he could use. There was one last thing that he had to deal with first before the date.
He goes off to find Mattie, needing to clear this up and not feel guilty for leading her on. "Hey, Mattie? Can we talk for a bit? I think that...well, there's something I need to make clear with you. I don't think it can wait any longer."
Isaiah considered the situation before responding. "Hmm... that wouldn't really do anything for me.... Are you alright Psyche? You seem a bit out of it. If you don't want to talk about it you don't have to, but hiding your weaknesses from your teammates just means we won't be able to help when you have a breakdown."
"Anything wrong? I would think you wouldn't want to wander off on your own after that last affair. I can provide some covert escorting if you want."
Kayla jumps with a start when the communicator goes off in her ear.
Totally forgot that was there! They really are quite comfortable...
”Yes...yes...I’m fine...I just needed to go see something...ummm, would you like to join me?”
When Isaiah catches up to her, he finds her half-sitting/half-lying down on her hip, her legs stretched out to the side and leaning on her right arm, looking at a collection of rocks tucked away from the coast. Tears roll down her cheeks, and she turns to him as he approaches and she smiles and says ”Hey. Sorry. I just,” she stammers as she wipes her eyes, ”I just needed to be with them a minute...”
There, on the side of one of the rocks, are four names carved into the side:
Daniel
Rebecca
Kayla
Shane
Wait, can they all tell?
She beckoned Mattie and Isaiah in closer and, sucking in her lips, admitted, "I'm ferschnicket."
She giggled a little with the excitement of telling a clearly, well hidden secret, and explained more in a whisper.
"I had an Ativan before we met up, but when I found out how fast the flight was going to be, I took a Valium too so it would kick in faster. Well, a dose or two, too. Otherwise flying that high and that fast down the eastern seaboard? I'd be dragging my mind through millions of people; I'd barely have time to disconnect from one city before the next million would hit me in the face! I don't take these for fun, normally just one before a long flight. I'm not chronically anxious or anything - Right now I'm Really not anxious - it's just that anti-seizure meds can fuzz out my telepathy.
"But the flight was over so fast and I'm still sooo high!"
Rory was out swimming when Kayla headed north, he headed in when he saw Isaiah walking in the same direction. Rory follows the trail and catches up with them on the way back, "Everything okay?
Mattie smiles at Kylie. "OK. Do you need any sunscreen? I don't burn, so I'm OK. Don't tan either, which is a bit more annoying. Wouldn't be so bad if I wasn't so pale to begin with."
Mattie looks up when Shin approaches and nods. "Umm,.. yeah." she says, suddenly nervous. She lets Shin help her to her feet, brushes some sand from her legs. "OK, um, somewhere over there?" she says, gesturing towards a not-too-distant dune.
Together, they walk over and out of sight.
Mattie sits down and pats the sand next to her.
"Ferschnicket?" she asks, letting Kylie explain further. Ativan and valium? Do you do that every time you fly? You must be out of it! No wonder you're acting so weird."
Kayla sees Rory coming and blushes. ”Yeah, I just...here, come with me, I wanna show you,” she says as she reaches out and takes his hand as she turns and walks back north. She leads Rory to the same rock she had been at with Isaiah.
”We hadn’t been here in a few years. Back before I got my powers. This was one of the last really good memories I have of them just being them. Not Ultra-Star and the Praetorian. Just...mom and dad. After my powers developed, it was ‘Train. Train. Train’ all the time.”
She sighs and looks over at him, ”I feel so, so bad about not being able to help them...but I think I may have to accept that it’s beyond my control. I just...I just want to be a normal kid for a while, without all these worries, ya know?”
That might be the best power ever
"That might be the best power ever!
And hey," She gestured down her body, "Don't knock pale skin. And you're not like spooky vampire pale, you're just pretty pale."
"But you seriously don't have to worry about tanlines? I feel like I walk outside with my Kylie-glasses on and I'm a raccoon in five minutes." She giggled, without snorting at all. She definitely didn't snort.
"I'm the one who'll need to find a private beach later."
"And ferschnicket, you know, wasted. I normally just have an Ativan to take the edge off if I fly cross-country, but there are so many people on the coast! But I'm not acting weird, you're weird. You're the one who had a secret bikini!
"I mean, I'm guessing you have the other half on under there - it's weird not knowing!"
"Mattie...you were the first person on the team who stood up for me when the rest of the Alliance wanted to lock me down. You saw that I wasn't just a copy of one of their nemeses, and for that I"m always going to be grateful to you. But...look, I need to you know that things can't happen between us like that. I know you'll make some guy pretty happy someday - and it's not that I don't think you're attractive in your own way! But there's someone else, and I'd be a total jerk if I didn't just make sure you understood that I like you, but I don't fancy you."
He took in a deep breath after his spiel, waiting for her reaction. Hoping it didn't amount to her erupting into an inferno.
He figured they could fly there together. He had Kylie hold the lunch pails he'd gotten prepared the night before, left to cool in the fridge. He'd had plenty of things to cook from Kayla's household stores and felt that she'd be pleasantly surprised.
He'd scouted that morning, finding a cliff face that had a nice view at the top, with a set of palm trees creating more than enough shade as well. He'd already laid out a large blanket in the area to mark it, bright yellow so they couldn't miss it as they landed. He was wearing a button up shirt and bow tie, reminding Kylie of how he'd come out during their first meeting, confused and scared. He'd combed his hair properly as well, settling down and taking in the view.
"I'll admit that this island is nice. Wish that I could have talked to Hoshiko before we left, but she's still under quarantine. Even Whippoorwill can't get me to see her, but she's been passing messages between us," He tells her as he unpacks the lunch. Steamed rice with sweet pickled plums in the center, some tasty fresh salad greens with a ginger based dressing, omlette sliced into easy to pick up bite sized pieces, even some mini meatballs to add to it. He opened up a thermos with hot green tea inside, pouring some for the both of them.
"So...this is...uh...I'm sorry. This is my first date and I just hope you like everything," Shin admitted.
"Well I'm keeping the bottom half secret anyway," she laughs, "I'd have to be as high as you to have the guts to lose the shorts. Well, maybe at a private beach." she blushes.
She was more than a little surprised as the food Kept Coming out out of the lunchpails"Look at all this! No wonder I barely saw you yesterday."
She turned to him with a warm smile, "Thank you Shin. It's really lovely. And you cooked all this?! Very nice." A tingle of pins and needles teased at his mind, "But just so you know, I've heard about those 40's girls. A cute boy walks by with a nice smile and a paying job, and Bam! First they're going steady, and then a week later - married." The smile remained, but the prickling stopped, "There's no first date That good."
She started with the salad and some tea, an appreciative hum buzzing in his mind, but telepathy's greatest boon was very helpful. She could eat and talk without being gross.
"I have to admit though, as first dates go, it's certainly an improvement on mine. I had the same idea, a nice picnic in the woods, but my execution was... flawed.
"So we were out at Surprise Lake Camp, and I couldn't cook. Still not great at that by the way, but I can boil water and get takeout like a master. But then? The best I could do was getting a couple bowls of leftover stew from the camp fridge, and I didn't even think to heat them up. I hadn't scouted out a nice shady spot like you, so after the third spot still had too many rocks to spread out a blanket, I just took the first one we saw.
"It was only the first week, and we didn't really know the area, which is to say that I guess if we hadn't hit it off so quickly, at least one of us would have realized that we were right in the middle of this Huge patch of Poison Ivy!"
A mini meatball bounced off his forehead, despite his straight face. "Oh, Ha Ha very funny. You're just going to laugh at poor 13-year old Kylie? Well, joke's on you. I was pretty enough that Naomi went on the second date anyways."
***
A look of grave concern came over Kylie's face. "Oh no. Mattie! Your face is getting a sunburn! She couldn't keep up the expression, and she flopped onto her towel with a giggle, "We both need sunscreen, fast!"
"Oh man. Wow, this is just perfect," He huffs out, wiping his eye under his glasses. "Now I don't feel bad for asking Kylie out. I'm happy that it all worked out," He tells her happily. "You're like a sister to me. That's how I feel about you. So you can let Rory know he's got no worries with me. Or that I plan to steal Prae from under his nose," He jokes.
He's quite pleased that she's enjoying all of the food he prepared for this excursion. He's also happy to listen to her story about her first date. He was surprised first of all to hear that it was something she'd planned out. Obviously the guy was someone she really fancied.
It ended in some amusement for him as he snickered in his head, but was surprised by the meatball that bounced off his forehead, leaving a greasy sauce stain that he was quick to wipe off. There was a brief moment of confusion though as she named her date. Huh. You know, back in my time, only Jewish girls were named Naomi. It's pretty strange how that can change over...a few decades...
There's a moment of clarity and realization and sudden shame and embarrassment and anger all hitting him at the same time. A jumble of thoughts as he processed it over. It was with effort that he pushed through the gut negative. ...I wish that you'd told me sooner that you were a lesbian. I feel like a fool. But I can understand you hiding it from me. It's okay, I know that you must think I'm against gays coming from my time, but I'm better than that. Heck, I'm pretty sure the aunties rooming together in my old building were lesbians, but they always treated me and my siblings fairly.
Her mind's voice is very calm. Honestly, he'd taken it a lot better than she'd expected, "Shin. I like boys too.
"I want the chance to get to know you better, but I wanted you to know that about me first. And... I thought you'd feel less like I was keeping it a secret if I mentioned it like it was no big deal, but it really just hadn't come up.
"Seriously, I wouldn't be here on this date if I didn't like you." She popped a plum into her mouth with smiling eyes. "After all, I didn't know you could cook like this before.
"Oh, and not that it matters, but I think Naomi was named after her mom's mom, the Japanese side, not the Jewish side."
Mattie grins. "Yeah. No offences, but you're um, not my type." she says. Her smile becomes a bit fixed, however, when he mentions asking Kylie out. "You asked Kylie out? Thats,... great. What did she say?"
Mattie knees down next to Kylie, a nervous smile on her face. "You need some on your back? I can help if you like?" she shoots a look at Isaiah and then over at Shin and Holly in the water.
pleasesayyes,pleasesayyes,pleasesayyes
Did any of that change how he felt about her?
That question was the clarity he needed to sweep away all of the other irrelevant ones. He still wanted to know - maybe it was one of those rare conditions, or was it more commonplace than that? But he knew that he liked her, like spending time with her - he wanted to be by her side.
So it came to a surprise to himself when without thinking about it, he kissed her. No thought necessary as he tasted the bittersweetness of the pickled plum she'd eaten, just happiness to be in her company.
It's confusing, but what matters is what I feel about you. I feel like I want to make delicious food for you again. So I can steal the taste from you, He thought to her.
Jewish-Japanese, huh? I guess that's more common around these parts than I'd expect.