Double Trouble

[CanaryCry]

'Soarin' Sonny' had been growing in popularity for a year or so now, ever since Sonia had tried out the persona doing little hovering tricks and flips on YouTube and TikTok at the beginning. Her usual cheery, friendly nature had attracted people to her quickly, and the moments that she was 'real' with her fans about not always feeling peppy and honest about what things were easy or hard had only endeared her to them more fully. Performances, livestreams, dance tutorials, and even Get Ready With Me videos had kept her fans going, even though it was a lot of work. Lately she and Reed had been stepping it up, adding in more pyrotechnics and more tricks, having Sonia float over the audience dropping 'fairy dust' in the form of biodegradable confetti as she went, and had even hinted at beginning to pluck people from the audience to fly up in the air with her. Now, though, they were trying their hand at night shows, where the glow from Sonia's powers would let onlookers spot her in the dark as the show began.

"Almost ready? It's cold up here!"

Reed twitched at Sonia's voice, almost having forgotten he was wearing an earpiece with her on the phone since she'd been silent for the past few minutes while he helped organize the setup. It was always a quick thing, her pop-up shows, something blasted on social media just a few hours before it was supposed to happen, and sometimes not even that long. Occasionally she had scheduled performances so more could show up and see her, but she always told him that having everything happen fast and unexpected kept people wanting more, her more dedicated fans constantly refreshing feeds to make sure they didn't miss anything. Taking advantage of people wasn't something Sonia liked, but keeping attention on social media was a fickle thing.

"On schedule," he murmured back as he checked on the speakers again, and glanced around to be sure the lighting around them would work well enough, even though they'd decided it would weeks ago. "Remember not to go too high or we'll lose sight of you."

"You worry too much!" She teased, with a smile he could hear. "If I drift too far, it'll just be a glowstick show, that's all."

He rolled his eyes and just did a final sound check with Chase, someone they hired to handle technical problems like large speakers for an outdoor space rather often. Besides him, it was just Reed, Sonia, and Claire, a neighbor and friend that often came to help hand Sonia props or direct fans when they got to be involved. Everything was set, so when they were sure it was time, he did a final check on said props to be sure each had a tiny flame ready and waiting, hovering at the back of his attention, and got the phone and gimble they used for livestreams ready.

"All right," he said finally, careful to wait until he was done speaking to start the live feed, "When you're ready."

"Coming in!"

There was already a small crowd milling about in the open courtyard, the lights of an average metropolis and all the nearby buildings adequate enough for them to see by, and a round of eager cheers went up when the bright blue rings of Sonia's powers appeared in the sky atop one of the nearest buildings, ten stories up. Reed watched as she walked out, mostly a silhouette without enough light to illuminate much detail, her arms held out at her sides and wobbling along as if she were walking a tightrope that wasn't actually there. The wobble turned into a flail, and then a sudden drop that had the crowds gasping, and Reed counted seconds in his head as he trailed the camera slowly down after her. It was all a part of the act, Sonia slowing as she got near to the ground, just close enough to snag two batons out of Claire's outstretched hands, then shooting back up still upside down like she was attached to a bungee cord. Right as she started to rise, perfectly on queue, Chase started the music, and Reed ignited the small embers on the ends of the batons into full on flames that trailed behind her on her twisting ascent.

The cheering after that would've made Reed flinch if he hadn't gotten so used to it.

"Helllooo, lovelies!" Sonia's bright and cheery laugh came through the speakers over the music as she rose higher and higher, twirling a baton in each hand with no fear of the flames. So long as they belonged to Reed, she never had to worry about getting burned. "Who's ready to fly with me tonight!"

The screaming was not something Reed had ever enjoyed, but at least it meant her fans were still hooked. So long as Sonia was paying their rent, he supposed he couldn't complain. He just had to man the camera, and pay attention for the moment she would swoop down for the hoops Claire would hold up so he could ignite them as well. In the meantime, Sonia would be doing the much harder work of flying, singing, and interacting with fans.

 

[IceQueen]

Rosie had seen the text the second it came out and was dragging Taku out of the house after her. That was how one surprisingly put together young woman and a dude who looked like he'd rolled out of bed ended up riding the train together and appearing in a courtyard at night. Rosie looked amazing, as usual, in shorts and a t shirt, while Taku hadn't even been able to get dressed and was still in his loungewear.

And then they waited.

"Jesus Rosie, its cold as balls out here." Taku groaned, his arms crossed over his chest. She was wearing short shorts and didn't seem to notice at all.

"Stop being a wimp, it's not that bad. Here, have a glowstick." Rosie produced her glowstick from seemingly nowhere, but based on how warm it was Taku didn't want to think about where she stored them. Attaching the plastic thing to his wrist Taku tucked his hands back into the pocket of his sweatshirt as they waited.

"This is ridiculous"

"No its not, you're just being a grump. This is research ok? Research."

"Last time I checked, Rosie, you couldn't fly."

"Well I can't, but you could boost me. I've seen you use your blast to jump high before."

"Rosie, no. First off, you know how I feel about using my powers like that, second off, no one would be able to hear you over the bangs. People would think it was a gunfight and scatter."

Rosie looked disappointed as she stuck out her bottom lip to pout but the appearance of those signature blue rings had her lighting up like a Christmas tree. Taku could swear she actually glowed a little bit when this happened and that if she concentrated she could probably make herself glitter, but now wasn't the time. Rosie was too busy screaming her ears off and Taku pulled up his hood to try and muffle the sound a little bit.

While Sonia took on some sparklers Rosie stuck out her tongue and started to move her hands.

"Rose, no-" Taku tried to warn her. Using their powers in public was dangerous.

"Oh shush, I am just giving her some better light. She deserves it!" Rosie exclaimed, concentrating on getting the lights focused on Sonny.

"Oh boy." Taku mumbled, mentally getting ready to run the two of them out of there as soon as they caught on.

 

[CanaryCry]

Reed was watching Sonia move about through the screen of a phone, so at first the change in lighting struck him as just something to do with the camera adjusting it's focus, but after a pause in which Sonia mostly stayed still he took a second to look around with a little frown. A glance over at Chase got him a shrug, so it wasn't just his eyes, but he had no answers - Claire was too busy watching for her cues to pay any attention to them or a sudden increase in brightness. It wasn't hurting anything, Reed thought, and it had helped the livestream look better, and he had too many other things to focus on besides. He would figure out which lights he hadn't been informed of later if he had time.

It was always tricky, managing both the camera and the next cue for Sonia diving down for more props, but he managed as they usually did. Claire was good for handing them off, familiar enough now to not be startled by Reed's fire, and he made sure to douse the batons and only light the hoops when Sonia had them in the air. It made them visible in the dark and added a layer of apparent danger to the show as she tossed them here and there, making them float for brief pauses at a time to go twisting and turning through them. If anyone asked, she and Reed usually implied that her inadequate, fingerless gloves protected her well enough, and that she had practice holding only the parts of the hoops that weren't on fire. It wasn't as if Reed's abilities were truly a secret, but it was more impressive to keep up the mystery.

Sonia, as friendly and outgoing as she was, was always pretty good at catering to a crowd. Even after the show was done, she would flit around either in the air or on her own two feet, signing papers and taking photos as requested, and speaking happily to the fans that attended whether they had rushed to see her or just happened to be passing by. Her affection for people was genuine, and obvious, which had done a lot in endearing her to the people that watched her shows or followed her on many different platforms online. Little ones were always her favorite, and half the reason she dressed up in sparkly outfits and splattered her face with colors she called 'fairy makeup' and Reed called 'city fair face painting' - she would always argue it was more tasteful than that, and he just didn't know anything about makeup. She was probably right.

After the show was finished, while he and the others started the breakdown of their small setup, Sonia swung by to say goodnight to the livestream, then hurried over to where the crowd had gathered on the outer rims of the courtyard where they had the best views to say hello and thank everyone for coming, hoping they'd had some fun. She signed one or two autographs, took a moment to pose like Tinkerbell next to a little girl, and took some stickers she'd been keeping in a secure pocket on the side of her shorts to hand out to those that wanted them. They were different designs of herself with bird or fairy wings, in different outfits, and really meant to be purchased from the small e-shop she and Reed had gotten set up, but she could often be seen handing out small things like it at shows.

When she spotted a couple of people in the crowd with glowsticks, she gave them a big, amused grin and pointed at her own wrist. "Trying to show me up with your fancy colors, huh? I should incorporate those into the show some day!" Glowsticks always came in so many colors, but alas, her abilities did not include willful color changes.

Despite feeling a bit worn out from the performance, she gave them a warm and friendly little laugh and held out her last two stickers for them to take. "Thanks for coming!"

Reed wandered over just as she was handing them off, giving the people she was speaking to a little nod in way of greeting and nudging her gently with a jacket in his hand. "Put this on before you freeze."

Sonia only smiled, taking it from him to pull on. "Who knew it would get so cold tonight! I need to choose my outfits better."

They were going to have to look into getting something that would cover more of her skin but still leave her signature colors exposed if they were going to do more night shows before summer time. Reed would only get upset with her if she insisted it was okay to be cold for a while.

 

[IceQueen]

Rosie kept her lighting on Sonny for the whole performance, moving the lighting to make sure her body was sparkling in just the right way. Taku could only groan at how happy she was with her work once Sonny came down to earth for the end of the show. The rings of fire had lit up the sky as did the sparklers but if Taku was honest Rosie's lighting did a good job of keeping the flitty performer in sight of the audience and prevented her from disappearing into the sky.

"Good job." Taku begrudgingly replied as the show ended and the lighting went back to normal. Rosie looked pleased with herself. She'd given one of her favorite performers a hand and they hadn't even known. She still took in the praise.

"Oh shush Taku. It was nothin'. Just giving her a little bit of a hand." Rosie smiled up at the sky. "I can only hope I get a crowd like this someday."

Rosie's shows weren't as impressive visually but musically Taku thought they were a step above something like this. Granted he was the one that made the music for Rosie so he was a tad biased. All he wanted was for Rosie to be able to sparkle like he knew she could. Perhaps one day soon the crowd would catch on and she could become someone even more beloved than Sonny.

That was only a pipe dream though.

When Sonny pointed out their glowsticks, one of which was still hanging off Taku's wrist, the pair looked stunned. While Taku quickly settled back into his bemused grumpy lump Rosie started to squeal and jump up and down.

"Did you see that? She smiled, at me!"

"She smiled at both of us dummy." Taku remined her, but she didn't seem to care. Her eyes were too busy sparkling at the sight. Glancing down at the sticker he'd been handed Taku turned it over and briefly wondered to himself if he should procure some merchandise for Rosie's shows. It would help boost their sales and make it so their buget wasn't so tight sometimes.

That was a thought for later though.

Rosie gave an enthusiastic wave to Sonny as she took the jacket from her tall dark and handsome friend and Taku grabbed his friend by the arm and started dragging her away. "Come on. Let's go home, I'm exhausted."

Rosie pouted. "Oh come on. We came all the way out here, why not get some milkshakes!"

"Milkshakes? Rosie, it's like 40 degrees outside, its freezing. Now would not be a good time for milkshakes, you'll get a brain freeze."

"I know it's cold, Taki. I just feel like having a cold treat."

Groaning Taku shook his head. "Just don't come crying to me when your head hurts." He mumbled, tugging out his wallet and looking up the closest place that served milkshakes.

 

[CanaryCry]

Sonia smiled and waved to the crowd as things were disassembled, wishing them a goodnight until it was finally time for her to pack up and start moving. As much as she didn't think she would ever get used to people fawning over her like a real celebrity, it was always nice to see them happy at the end.

"I'm starving," she complained once they were sure Chase and Claire had all the equipment and props loaded up, wrapping her arms around one of Reed's for warmth on their way back to where their own vehicle was parked. "Can we get dinner on the way home?"

Reed raised an eyebrow at her, making a vague gesture towards her face. "You want to walk inside somewhere with your face half blue?"

"You can go in for me!" She insisted, pouting, but broke into a little laugh a moment later. "It'll be fine! I'm sure they've seen weirder things late at night." At least her costume was covered up under a hoodie and a pair of slightly baggy black cargo pants she'd brought specifically for hiding once the show was done.

For a moment he thought to protest again, but up ahead of them there was a crash as a man with his hood pulled up came careening out of a liquor store, frantically closing a backpack full of something Reed couldn't see. A bottle fell to the ground with a crash as he turned back to wave something Reed was pretty sure was a gun back at the doorway, shouting something indistinct even as an alarm started going off from inside. It was only a moment later that he tossed the weapon and leaped straight up onto a two story building and starting fleeing across rooftops bound by bound.

"No." He said firmly, without even looking at her. "No. Come on. We were supposed to actually sleep tonight."

She only pulled in his arm harder, dragging him faster down the street. "The police'll never catch him up there!" She hissed, trying to keep her voice down despite there not being anyone else outside. "Come on, if we don't hurry he'll get away!"

He rolled his eyes finally and just pulled her down a side street to drop his backpack and pull out just a couple of black dust masks for the two of them. As much as they had expected to just go home tonight, it was the best they had to cover their faces in the moment, and it left her blue eye makeup exposed, but in the dark he hoped it wouldn't matter.

"Sonia, your face-"

"We'll be in the air anyway, let's go!" She insisted, grabbing him by the wrist and making him float so she could pull him along with her through the air. It wasn't his favorite way to travel, but it was going to be the only way they would catch up.

 

[IceQueen]

Despite not wanting to get milkshakes Taku had to admit that the tiny shop in the back alley they'd found had pretty good milkshakes. Rosie, the abomination that she was, was currently dipping her fries into a chocolate shake like it was the best combination to ever grace the earth.

"I still can't understand why you think that tastes good. Doesn't it just make your fries soggy?"

Rosie, who was mid chew, finished her bite before responding. "It's the mixture of salty fries and sweet shake. The potato is more of an after flavor, it's mainly about the salty sweet combination. You should try it."

Watching in horror as Rosie dipped another fry in her shake Taku shook his head.

"Not in a million years, Rose."

The two of them were still quietly chatting over their shakes and fries, and almost done to boot, when something landed outside with a large crash. Spotting a person who had clearly just fallen off the building staggering to his feet Taku glanced at Rosie who was already packing away her phone.

"Rose...."

"Taku, we need to help."

"Rosie, it's dangerous. I have told you so many times I don't like fighting for a reason."

Rosie gave him a look. "I know you don't, but if we don't who the hell is going to keep these psychos from going crazy all the time? We have to do something."

Groaning Taku reached deeper into his pocket for a face mask and tossed it at Rosie. He pulled his own on, staring her down.

"You owe me for tonight Rose." He stated, slapping cash down on the counter. "Keep the change!!" He yelled back as the two of them exited the store.

Rosie was a few steps ahead of him but Taku didn't take long to catch up. Keeping his ears open for any sudden movements Taku spotted the man prepping for another jump. "Rosie, now!"

With a decisive flick of the wrist Rosie directed the light from a nearby lamp to shine off the building the man was going to jump. It clearly startled him enough that he stumbled away from the building and headed in a different direction.

"He looks drunk." Rosie called over their breaths. She was, somehow, still steady even though they were running. Probably a result from practice. Still the two of them were rapidly gaining on the man. "I'll go right, you keep behind him." Taku demanded, darting down an alley to the right. The chase continued through the streets, Rosie running after the clearly drunk man who was fully aware he was being chased. The curses and other objects being hurled back at her were easily dodged. It seemed like he could keep going forever, but soon enough she could see Taku's plan.

Taku, who had taken a shortcut, was now in front of the man, standing at the ready.

"HA! You can't catch me, bitch-" The belligerent drunk man's words were cut off by a loud grunt and a bang. Taku, who had put himself in front of the man, delivered a quick and concussive blast to his stomach, causing the man to drop to the floor in agonizing pain. Rosie, who was now out of breath from sprinting, jogged up to Taku and put her hands on her knees.

"You could have... told me you... were going to cut him off... God, my ears hurt." Rosie mumbled, rubbing her ears. Taku, who had one foot on the back of the man he'd just taken down, crossed his arms.

"If you had given me time to get dressed I would have had our actual masks and earplugs so your hearing wouldn't hurt. It'll fade."

"I know it will, but my ears are still ringing."

 

[CanaryCry]

"I can't believe you dropped him!"

"I'm sorry! I didn't expect to run out of steam so quick - and he's been jumping that high anyway, he's fine! Look at him, he's running already!"

"You almost dropped me! I told you we should've just gone home!" Reed ran a hand down his face, heaving a sigh. "Look, just get us to the ground and I'll run after him, all right?"

Reassured by his not giving up, Sonia steeled herself for another quick flight, taking his hand and floating them as quickly and carefully to the ground as she could before her ability exhausted her again. After doing a whole show and not eating dinner, she was running out of the energy needed to keep herself - and others - in the air. It was exhausting.

Reed had already resigned himself to having to see this chase through and took off running ahead of her, but as the drunken robber pulled ahead of him he was surprised to see two more bodies giving chase. For a moment, he thought he was going to have to deal with more than one criminal, but as they split up started to think they were on his side. The sound that made him cringe and cover his ears had him slowing, and as he rounded the corner he was prepared to turn and head back the way he'd come in case it was something dangerous. It hadn't sounded like another gun.

For an awkwardly long moment, Reed only stood still, looking at the two people wearing hoods and face masks as he was, trying to decide what to do next. He'd never encountered other vigilantes like this before, and he still didn't know what the sound was, so he was still wary. It was Sonia, finally, who broke the silence, catching up and nearly running into Reed from behind as she came around the corner and found him at a dead stop.

"Oh, god, remind me to do more cardio from now on," she panted, leaning with her hands on her knees for a moment to catch her breath. "Why'd he stop? Oh!"

People. People were why he'd stopped.

"We saw where he came from," Reed said finally, shifting over a step to try and keep her behind him in case either of these people were dangerous. "I can take him back. . . The cops'll show up soon." It was best they hurry him back to the liquor store and then make themselves scarce.

 

[IceQueen]

Rosie and Taku were standing there, both trying to catch their breath, when a voice from behind had both parties whirling to face them. Standing there were two familiar faces, ones that Taku recognized instantly but Rosie needed a second to process. When she did her eyes grew wide like saucers as she stared the people down.

"Sonny?" Rosie questioned, cocking her head to the side as if she was confused. "Why are you here? Shouldn't you have headed home?"

Taku, who was more on the defensive, took a step forward but kept an eye on the unconscious man that he'd knocked out. "Nice try. Who's to say you aren't buddies with this guy." Taku stated, jabbing a finger at the guy on the pavement. "And you want us to just hand him over? Fat chance."

Rosie glanced at Taku and then at Sonny and her companion. She wanted to scold Taku for being an asshole, but he was right. They could be working with this unknown stranger that Taku had just taken out and risking someone like him getting away was a bad idea. "Wouldn't it just be better till the police are close then book it? You already made a bang." Rosie pointed out, glancing between the two parties. "Taku, you can hear them from a good distance away so we should have enough time to run before they get here."

 

[CanaryCry]

Sonia's eyes popped open wide and she looked over the two people in front of them in a new light. "Glow stick buddies!" She realized, finally, something a bit incredulous and more than a bit nervous in her voice. "I, uh . . . just wanted to get dinner?"

Reed did his best to ignore her, focus staying firmly on the guy in front of him, as he seemed the most willing to cause problems. There was nothing they could do now about the fact that the girl recognized her. "You gonna carry him back and get caught?" He challenged, eyebrow raised. After a pause to assess, he finally just held his hand up in front of him and lit a very small flame in his palm - an example, not a threat. "If I was on his side, I would've lit this place up and run off with him already."

Sonia was shaking her head, easing around him a little since she'd been spotted and there was no denying the stage makeup visible above her mask even in the dark. "I should be able to get him back to the store he robbed before they get here. Then they won't have to come looking for him."

She was relatively certain if she rested for a moment she would be able to manage the flight back with just him, and Reed could follow on foot, then they could double back for his backpack and pose as regular people again. But if this standoff took any longer they were going to start running out of time.

 

[IceQueen]

Rosie flinched as they were found out. Taku groaned as he face palmed a little bit. "Good job, Rose, now we're busted." Taku hissed. When the man stepped forward and showed a flame Taku narrowed his gaze but forced himself to settle down. "Alright, fine. You can take him." Taku insisted, throwing his hands up. "If I don't have to deal with him its better for me. I just can't have some asshat getting away with being a douche with no repercussions, ya know?"

Rosie looked a bit anxious as she looked between Taku and Sonny. "Soooooo.... Are we going to meet up later to talk about this or...." Rosie mentioned, looking around awkwardly. "I mean the whole you being a vigilante who's got a pyro friend." She stated, pointing towards the dude who had lit a flame in his palm. "Or are we just going to pretend this never happened and never speak of this again."

"There's a fat chance you won't slip up, Rose." Taku grumbled, rolling his eyes. "Considering you are so nuts about her performances you won't shut up about them I will never heard the end of this."

"I told you, it's research." Rosie snapped, glaring at her friend before waiting for a reply. They didn't have much longer before shit went sideways and all five of them were caught.

 

[CanaryCry]

Reed found himself frowning a little behind his mask, wondering just how badly this was going to go for them. Being found out wasn't exactly ideal, and the fact that the girl was a blab risk was only making it worse. With the way Sonia's shows had taken off in the last year or so, they couldn't afford to be outed now.

"That depends," he said slowly, warily, even as he doused the flame in his hand. "Are you going to expose us if we don't talk about it?"

"Oh, lighten up!" Sonia smacked him on the shoulder, rolling her eyes, and stepped forward a little more to look him in the face. "Look, we're all here, we're all the same kind of stupid - we should work together, not against each other!"

Reed was shaking his head at her. "We can't have it getting out that you're playing hero in your off time."

"They won't tell!" She insisted, turning to look at the others with a smile hidden behind her mask. "Right?"

She came over to grab the man on the floor by the arm, taking a deep breath before going through the effort of making him float a few feet off the ground. "We gotta get this guy back before those sirens get any closer and I don't have my phone - DM me on Twitter later and we'll talk!"

 

[IceQueen]

Rosie shook her head. "Oh no, we weren't planning on telling anyone, right Taku?" Rosie questioned as she shot her friend a look.

Taku shrugged. "Not my secret to tell, so it's none of my business." Taku stated. "The biggest issue is that if she doesn't talk about it to someone she will keep bugging me about it and it will likely be overheard by someone you would rather not, so having someone to talk it out with would be the saftest option."

Rosie looked a little sheepish at how predictable her talking was but she shook it off when Taku started to drag her away. "I'll send you a DM then!" Rosie stated, waiving to the pair as Taku dragged Rosie off into the distance. Taking off his hood and removing his face mask he took Rosie's from her as well and started to walk calmly once they were far enough away from the scene.

"I can't believe that just happened." Rosie mumbled, looking a little stunned as she walked. Taku sighed.

"I can't believe you got us into so much trouble."

After a ride home on the train and a gentle scolding from Taku, who went back to bed, Rosie mulled over what to send as a DM. It was almost midnight by the time she decided and sent a message.

"Hey, it's the glowstick pal, or one of them. Taku doesn't use twitter much. It was nice to see we weren't the only crime fighters in the city."

 

[CanaryCry]

Reed wasn't sure about the tenuous alliance they struck up, but he didn't have time to fight how easily Sonia tended to trust people. Instead, he turned and followed along after her as she quickly flew the man back, having to assist her in hurrying away after when using her abilities so much left her without enough energy to run. They made it away just in time before the police arrived, got his backpack before it was stolen, and headed home. As tired as she was, she didn't even manage to eat before passing out.

By the time Sonia rolled out of bed and dragged herself out of her bedroom in the morning, Reed was already up and making breakfast. That was usually the way for the two of them - despite being much peppier than he was, Sonia was also rather slow to wake, whereas Reed possessed the wherewithal to set an alarm and then just get up when it went off, instead of hitting snooze and trying to sleep again like most people. She had teased him about it before, but she was always grateful to him for being gracious and not only making her something to eat whenever he made his own breakfast, but making sure there was coffee for her even though he didn't drink it himself.

Settled at the kitchen bar, halfway through breakfast, she finally remembered to check her Twitter DMs in the middle of checking the rest of her social media accounts. Glowstick pals! She sent back, smiling a little to herself and typing in her phone number for the other girl to use. Sorry I didn't have time to give you my actual number before we ran off! Here, you can text me here. You can call me Sonia, and my friend is Reed. Are you busy later? We should meet up! Other than practicing and filming a short dance routine later on, she had most of the day to rest.

 

[IceQueen]

Rosie was disappointed when nothing came in the first half an hour. After an hour she fell asleep, phone still in hand as she snoozed away in her messy pile of sheets that was a bed. She'd sent her message from the Rose twitter account but at this point did it matter? They were going to group up and fight crime together!

Taku was not thrilled.

As usual Taku was the first to rise come sun up. He turned off his alarm and stretched his limbs, enjoying the peacefulness that early morning brought. It was the only time of day where the noises of the universe didn't bother him, in fact they soothed his frayed nerves and made starting his day a little easier. Sometimes he'd have to wear headphone or earplugs to Rosie's stages just to keep him from feeling overloaded and going off.

His power was a blessing and a curse.

Breakfast was something simple, eggs and bacon. He had some frozen waffles for Rosie since she was always a sugar fiend in the morning. It was a wonder the poor girl didn't get fat (it was probably all the practice). Rosie got up around 10, usual for her, and lumbered into the kitchen in her pajamas (sometimes during the summer Taku could swear it looked like she wasn't wearing pants with how baggy the shirt was) When her body slumped into the island counter Taku set the warm plate of chocolate chip waffles in front of her.

"No reply yet?" He asked, only receiving a grunt in return. Silently Taku added eggs and bacon to her plate before going to dish up his own.

"Why did you add eggs?"

"Because you need protein. I let you have basically pure sugar with butter and sugar on top for breakfast, don't push it with leaving out the protein."

Rosie grumbled to herself as she picked up her fork and started to put butter on her waffles. Rosie was halfway through the first waffle when her phone dinged. The sound of clattering silverware shook through Taku's ears as Rosie picked up her phone at lightining speed.

He didn't even need to ask what it was, her body language told him everything.

Rosie took the number and saved it in her phone as Sonia before texting the girl her response.

No worries. Things are always dicey with trying to avoid the cops and all. Taku's powers make things exceptionally difficult in that department. Anyway, introductions! I'm Rosalie, but everyone calls me Rosie. I go by Rose on twitter. My friend, or pseudo family at this point, is Takumi, or Taku. We should meet up, I could pick your brains about all sorts of different things. Taku never wants to listen to me about choreography or pyrotechnics. He's in it all for the music.

 

[CanaryCry]

Sonia, curious, did take a minute or two while she waited for a response looking through Rosie's twitter account, and was surprised to see that she had a singing act as well. She was going to look at the girl's other social media when the text came in, and made a mental note to look at it all later.

"Oh! You're a singer!" She texted back when a message from a new number came in, saving it quickly so she wouldn't forget. "We'll have so much to talk about! Want to do lunch or dinner later? Reed and I usually leave the day after a show pretty empty for resting."

"We're free for lunch later, right?" She asked out loud, grabbing a few more bites of food between messages.

". . . Why?" Reed glanced over his shoulder where he was washing dishes, instantly suspicious. "Someone trying to schedule an interview already?"

"No, silly," she said with a little laugh, "it was just a show, no one needs to ask questions about that. I want to meet up with Rosie! The girl from last night - she's a singer, too!"

He sighed softly, thinking he couldn't let her go alone even if he didn't really feel like going, and finally nodded for her. "All right, all right. Just don't get your hopes up too high. We don't really know them."

They had lived very different lives growing up, so it was always in his nature to be suspicious, and she was always much more willing to give people a chance. If asked, she would admit freely that it had hurt her more than once, but she was a firm believer that everyone deserved to be treated as if they acted with good intentions. If she had to adjust her thinking later on, then so be it. He supposed he could be grateful for her positive attitude pulling him free of the dark. He had been much more lonely before they'd met.

"Reeds a sourpuss sometimes," she added to her last message, "but don't worry too much, he comes around eventually."

 

[IceQueen]

Rosie smiled as the text came back right away. It seemed she wouldn't have to wait for her texts this time.

Yeah, I am! I really look up to you as a performer since you draw a bigger crowd than me, so that's why we were at the show. I may have helped with the lighting a little bit though. Sorry! ;-;

Rosie really should have asked if she could help but she was just so pumped that she couldn't help it. Now that it was the next morning she was feeling insanely guilty about it. When Rosie saw the second text about Reed she laughed a little bit. The grumpy man that stood next to her didn't seem all that bad to Rosie, more like an overprotective dad. In some ways he reminded her of Taku. The two would probably get along once they both dropped their guard.

Taku is much the same. He's really cynical about everything and is kind of terrible at communicating well. He comes around, eventually, but he can be a bit prickly. Seems we both have friends who are more of a handful!

Rosie grinned at Taku, who was mid chew and stared down his friend.

"Do I have egg on my face?"

"No, just your usual grumpiness."

"Hey"

There was no further rebuttal from Taku causing Rosie to laugh. If all was well maybe she could hook up Taku and Sonie. Taku was basically her brother so he could use more friends to hang around. Better yet a girlfriend would soften him up.

 

[CanaryCry]

Even though she was aware she had a decent sized fan base, having someone say they looked up to her made Sonia want to blush. Reed raised an eyebrow at her expression and the way she pressed a hand over her cheek like she was going to swoon, but didn't question it. She would speak up if he waited long enough.

"Oh, you're so sweet! Thank you! That was you??? \(O.o)/ It drove Reed crazy last night! We thought the venue was hiding lights on us! XD"

Sonia was grinning when she looked at Reed again and got a couple bites of pancake on her fork to prove she wasn't forgetting to eat. "She has powers too! She does something with light, I think, 'cause she said she was the reason our visibility went up."

"That makes more sense," he murmured, taking a sip of orange juice and looking thoughtful. "I didn't see any extra lighting when we inspected the place."

"We should hire her next time!" She insisted with a smile, but it was mostly in jest. If she was a performer, Rosie wouldn't want to just help with lights. Maybe if their styles matched well, they would even sing a song together some day. With that thought in mind, Sonia sent along the address for one of her favorite restaurants. It was a small place, and not incredibly expensive or overly fancy. It was one she and Reed had been going to for a long time, long before anyone knew her face, when they were just starting out as friends and hadn't even become roommates yet.

"If you're free, you want to meet us here for lunch, at 12:30? It's a small place, but the outdoor seating is really pretty."

The two of them had actually become so familiar to the owners of the place that she'd even helped set up the fairy lights and the greenery draped all along the archway and the framing around the outdoor seating. It was much easier to float than to climb a ladder, she'd insisted, and she loved to decorate things like that. Despite growing up with money, meeting and befriending Reed had taught Sonia to really prefer smaller, local establishments rather than anywhere expensive. She had made friends with a lot of people she would never have met without him that way.

 

[IceQueen]

Rosie felt bad as soon as she saw the shocked face. Sighing heavily Rosie let her head fall to the table as she read the question. Taku didn't even dignify her actions with a question, he just kept eating. Eventually Rosie lifted up her head and replied.

Yeah. =.=;; I thought I could help.... Should have asked first but it's kind of hard to ask and talk about being able to do strange things. I gather from yesterdays flame incident and the fact that you can fly that you're just like me and Taku, so I figured it would be a safe bet to apologize for overstepping. We'll see you there at 12:30.

True to her word at 12:30 Rosie had dragged Taku to the small restaurant in the city. It was a relief to both of them that the place looked like a small modest venture rather than something grand. Rosie was never used to the fancy things and ever since he'd been locked up Taku found anything too grand to feel more fake than extravagant.

Having dressed in her best outfit (a white high collar top and high waisted jean shorts) Rosie had forced Taku to put on something other than a sweatshirt. The t shirt hanging off his frame accented with a cross body and a jacket was as close as she could get. Trying not to stare at her own white sneakers Rosie adjusted her light blue jacket and fretted over her apperance.

"Is my ponytail good? I didn't miss a spot right?"

Taku, who looked annoyed, rolled his eyes. "You're fine, so go." He stated, pushing her shoulders towards the door as they entered the small establishment to look for Sonia and Reed.

 

[CanaryCry]

Oops! Sonia thought to herself with a bit of a grimace once Rosie responded. She really hadn't meant to make the other girl feel guilty - the mystery had been kind of funny to her, after a while. She was sure to tell Rosie not to worry, that none of the light had gotten in her eyes very much so everything was fine, and she had nothing to apologize for. It wouldn't have been a huge disaster if she'd been blinded, if she hadn't had her props to work with. Floating up in the air meant nothing but the occasional wiring or signs were usually in her way.

Sonia dressed in her average daily attire for a warm day, in a yellow tank top, denim shorts with embroidered white flowers, and a light pink, translucent cover up on top because Reed insisted her shoulders would sunburn otherwise if they sat outside. To them, the restaurant was nothing very fancy, so she had only very natural makeup on and her hair mostly flowing free. Reed had only dressed in a plain t-shirt and jeans, so Taku had no need of worrying about being underdressed.

When Rosie came through the doors, Sonia was standing at the hostess' counter, talking quietly to her with a friendly smile as she waited for her guests. She spotted them almost the moment they came through the doors and turned to give them a wave.

"Just on time!" She said with a smile, and waved them along with her through the lightly populated dining area. "We got a table on the patio, if that's okay with you guys. It's really nice outside today."

Reed was already sitting at the table, staring idly off into the nearby trees and flowers that lined the walkway just outside the restaurant rather than being glued to his phone, and just raised a hand in way of greeting as she brought them out. The tables were, like the rest of the restaurant, simple but well cared for, and the covering over the light wooden frame that surrounded the outdoor seats left them with diffused light rather than blinding sunlight. They were the only ones sitting outside so far, so everything was quiet.

"Come sit down, sit down," Sonia urged, smiling and friendly, and took her own seat next to Reed. "It's my treat today, so order whatever you'd like. The passion tea is really good." Someone would come get their drink orders once they'd had time to look.

 

[IceQueen]

Rosie smiled and gave a little wave as she saw Sonia at the hostess counter. Clearly she knew the place well. Had she done shows for them or something? Rosie was left with little time to wonder as Sonia guided them towards the patio. Taku followed quietly while Rosie seemed almost jittery. Spotting Reed, the man from before, Rosie suddenly felt even more insecure about her outfit. Was it bad? He didn't even look up from his phone to greet them. Nervously Rosie sat herself across from Sonia while Taku sat next to her. He looked weary of the two companions that sat across the table but Rosie looked excited.

"Really? Are you sure?" Rosie asked. Rosie would order something modest if she wasn't paying, it would be rude to buy a large steak or the most expensive thing on the menu. Taku looked more interested in the food than Reid, while Rosie was trying not to freak out at having lunch with one of the people she admired. "I-I really like your outfit!" She blurted out, her fingers clutching at her jacket.

"You're stuttering Rosie." Taku pointed out bluntly, earning him a sharp elbow to the side.