Meeting for a coffee

[Griffalo]

Raindance stood outside the small coffee shop he'd arranged to meet Velocity at. Today he was just plain old Mark Cooper, wearing his civilian clothes. Plain black pants and a powder blue Oxford shirt, he checked his watch again for the third time in two minutes.

 

He took a brief glance at the sky so as not to seem too preoccupied, but of course he knew what he'd seen. He'd given the weather a nudge a few minutes ago, ensuring that it would at least remain dry and mild.

 

He was on the lookout for Velocity and suddenly realised that he'd never seen her out of her uniform. That thought made him blush instantly, even though he knew what he'd intended. He hoped he hadn't overdressed. Or underdressed. He checked his watch. One minute since he last checked...

[Thevshi]

One would think one of the fastest people alive would never be late for anything. But today Megan was not Velocity, at least not in her costume. So she was left to the mercy of traffic as she sat in the back of the town car she had called to take her from North Bay to Riverside to meet Raindance for coffee.

 

Megan was still slightly unsure about meeting him outside of costume. While he did not wear a mask, she did, in order to better maintain a secret identity. But she did know she could trust him, after all, they had worked together a few times and relied upon each other to watch the other's back. In fact, he had protected her when one of the giant jack-in-the-box toys they had fought a few days ago had dazed her for a few moments.

 

So today she was not wearing the skin tight yellow costume (with checkered racing stripes) and the mirrored goggles that helped serve as part of a mask. Though, the expensive dark blue designer jeans she was wearing were about as tight as her costume, and her red cashmere sweater was hardly loose fitting either. Only the white down jacket she was wearing was in any way bulky, and even that was cut to be form fitting.

 

She rather doubted Raindance would easily recognize her, particularly given the fact in costume she wore a brunette wig, that stuck through the back of the part of the mask that covered the back of her head in a ponytail. Today her naturally blonde hair was held back by a few carefully placed barrettes in order to keep it out of her face, but still be somewhat casual.

 

The town car finally pulled up at the block where the coffee shop they were meeting at was located. Telling the driver she would call when she needed the car again, Megan climbed out of the back and started looking down the street for the coffee shop. It was a bit warmer than had been predicted, making her wonder slightly if Raindance might have something to do with that. At that thought, she spotted him standing out in front of the coffee shop.

 

Smiling slightly, she started down the street in his direction, looking out the corner of her eye to see if he might take note of her or stay focused on trying to spot a brunette.

[Griffalo]

Raindance noticed her at the last second, having already come to the realisation that she could look like almost anything, and had been frantically scanning anyone who looked female and approximately the right height. It was her face that clinched it, but he still looked a little taken aback at her appearance.

 

"Oh, hi! You made it! Hope you had a good journey!" There was a note of bright optimism in his voice that betrayed a hint of nervousness.

 

"You want to get straight to it? Er, coffee?" His unintentional blunder made him blush furiously, and the skies darkened momentarily as the sun passed behind a stray cloud that a critical observer would have sworn appeared out of nowhere.

[Thevshi]

"Hi." Megan replied, her voicing sounding a bit different than it did as Velocity (as she was not talking quite as fast as she did in costume), as she gave a reassuring smile. "It wasn't too bad. Hope you haven't been waiting too long."

 

She kept the smile in place as he blushed at his statement that could easily be taken the wrong way. "Sure, coffee sounds great." She said, taking his arm in the hopes that might calm him a bit. As she stood next to him, she said, in a bit quieter voice. "My name's Megan by the way."

[Griffalo]

He smiles, grateful that he hadn't blown the whole thing with that blunder.

 

"No, not been waiting long at all. You're right on time." His smile widened when she took his arm.

 

"My name's Mark. So... pretty crazy few months, huh? Talk about a rocky start. Hope you're recovered after the whole..." He waved his hand, hoping that would encompass the incident of her being hit by some freakish toy.

[Thevshi]

"It wasn't all that bad." Megan replied with a shrug at the reference to her injury on their last mission. "I'm a cheerleader in school, and despite what people think, bumps and bruises are not uncommon."

 

They made their way inside and to the line to order coffee. Megan let go of Mark's arm, but still stood next to him as they talked.

[Griffalo]

"Oh, a cheerleader? That must be pretty cool. I've seen Bring It On, there's a lot more to it than most people think." He smiled at the Barista, indicating he'd like a latte with some hazelnut syrup, then looked at Megan to see what she'd like.

 

Once they'd been served, he located a table away from the main press of customers and sat down.

 

"So how did you learn to control your powers? Did you go to Claremont like me?"

[Thevshi]

"I certainly enjoy it" Megan replied. When they reached the front of the line, she ordered a lowfat peppermint mocha.

 

After they had taken a seat, she shook her head at Mark's question. "No, it has mainly been trial and error for me."

 

"I have been invited to attend Claremont. But," this time she looked slightly embarrassed, "my parents don't know about my powers, so wanting to transfer from they private school they have me at to Claremont would raise too many questions. Sides, my powers are not exactly that difficult to get a hang of."

[Griffalo]

Mark nodded understandingly.

 

"I can see why you'd keep it from them. I've told my parents and my mom does nothing but worry. Plus she figures that if I'm out there saving the world, a few extra chores around the house shouldn't tax me." He smiles at that.

 

"You make using your powers look easy, I guess. I'd just worry that I'd crash into something, going so fast. Does that mean you think super-fast too? Does the world just seem like it's going in slow-motion to you?"

[Thevshi]

"Actually, I do." Megan replied with a smile when Mark asked if she was able to think super-fast. "I really would have to in order to compensate for moving so quickly, otherwise I likely would smash into stuff. It also makes studying a breeze, though I can't go full speed, or I'd tear out half the pages in my textbooks."

 

She then shrugged slightly. "Things can seem kinda slow at times, but luckily I can pretty much 'turn off'my speed, otherwise I likely would have gone crazy by this point with things moving so slow."

 

She then focused back on Mark. "So what's it like being able to control the weather?"

[Griffalo]

Mark thinks about the question.

 

"It's... hard to describe, to be honest. I know they say weather is this massively complex system, but I tend to just do it by instinct. The trick is to not control it, to be honest. If I get too distracted then I do it without thinking about it, which is pretty bad if I'm feeling angry or upset. The main thing I learned at Claremont is how to keep concentrating even when things are going to hell all around me." He takes a sip of his coffee.

 

"So how long have you had your powers?"

[Thevshi]

Megan listened as Mark described his powers, nodding in understanding. When he asked how long she had her powers, she shrugged slightly. "Just about three years now. How about you?"

[Griffalo]

He thinks for a moment.

 

"Yeah, probably about the same. Seems a lot longer though." He smiles, looking away nervously.

 

"I think your powers are pretty cool, to be honest."

[Thevshi]

"Thanks." Megan replied with a smile. "Yours seem cool as well. It must be really nice to be able to fly."

 

"So you said you used to go to Claremont, are you in college now?"

[Griffalo]

Mark looks away from her when she asks the question, like he's embarrassed to answer.

 

"Well, I've been thinking about it, but this hero gig seems to take up so much time... I don't know if I'd be cut out for it, to be honest. Do you plan to go?"

[Thevshi]

Megan gave a slight nod as Mark mentioned how being a hero could take up so much time. "Yeah, it does, but only if you let it. After all, we can't be everywhere all the time."

 

She then nodded again as he asked if she planned to go to college. "Yeah I do. If I didn't, there would again be lots of questions from my parents. Besides, I kind of look forward to it."

[Griffalo]

"Well, maybe I can't be..." He smirks at this as he indicates Megan.

 

"I dunno, how do you prioritise your own needs over innocent people's? People always need help, and I'd feel terrible for denying it them. I'd just feel awful if something happened that I could have prevented." He shrugs, dismissing the thought.

"So what are you studying at college?"

[Thevshi]

Megan smiled. "Even I can't be everywhere, and certainly not all the time."

 

She then nodded as he talked about the feeling of need to help people. "Yes, there is a lot of responsibility that comes with having powers. But one way I look at things is that by leading my own life, as much as I can, I am prepared in case something happens, such as if I lose my powers. We cannot feel responsible for every little thing that happens, for that will drive you crazy."

 

When he asked about what she would be studying, she shrugged slightly.  "I don't know yet what I might focus on. It will depend on what draws my interest. Might be economics, might be something else."

[Griffalo]

He nods.

 

"I guess I'd like to study something like environmentalism or meteorology. Obvious choice I know, but it sounds interesting..." He sighs. "Sorry, I'm really wittering here. I do that when I'm nervous."

[Thevshi]

Megan smiled slightly again. "Well, those make sense. After all, it's possible if you use your powers for too long a time, you could cause an imbalance in the world's weather patterns. Who knows what effect that could have."

[Griffalo]

Mark nodded.

 

"Very true. Do you ever wonder if travelling at those speeds is doing damage to you?"

[Thevshi]

"I used to worry about it more." Megan admitted. "But I have learned a bit about superhuman powers from various sources over the years. It is pretty rare for a meta's powers to be harmful to them. But I am mindful of any signs that things might be hurting me."

[Griffalo]

"Good point. High altitudes and extremes of temperature don't bother me, not to mention having lightning arcing through me."

[Thevshi]

"I'm glad I don't have your powers then." Megan replied with a small smile. "Having lighting arc through me all the time would be sure to give me tons of split ends. It's bad enough I am stuffing my hair under that mask and wig all the time."

[Griffalo]

Mark laughs at this.

"Well, my hair's never behaved. Never truly curly or straight, so a bit of static hanging about is the least of my worries."