“Yeah, sure, laugh it up sandwich gravel enjoyer.” Lily shot back, eyes narrowing as she defended her honor from the uncultured time traveler. Her gaze softened almost immediately as the soft crescent of Lark’s smile lit up her night. A moment of silence passed between them, that awkward moment that Lily was hoping to avoid.
She decided to fill the space with sandwich instead, chewing thoughtfully as she mulled over her next words. She couldn’t help but let out a little laugh of surprise when she saw the state of decay that Lark’s sub had reached. It was rapidly approaching open-faced territory, and some could even argue that it was on the verge of becoming a bread bowl that only contained meat and cheese.
Unfortunately for Lily, this little laugh caused her to inhale, and she had yet to learn how to summon a spectral pair of bread-breathing lungs. She coughed and hacked for a moment before taking a careful sip of cider to try and ease the pain in her throat. After a few shaky breaths to ensure that any crumbs had been dislodged, she gave Lark a shaky grin.
“Didn’t think I’d be talking about my ex today, but hey, stranger things have happened.” Lily settled back, her eyes moving towards the skies as she mentally flipped through the years. “There was a girl I was dating at the time, Kira. She had a power to, she could make things glow neon. Not much of a power, and I felt like she was a little jealous, so I wanted to do something more for her.” Lily tried to hurry through this part of the story. Talking about an ex in front of Lark felt wrong, like she was advertising someone who had weighed Lily and found her wanting.
“There was this group of metas, whose leader could grant people powers or augment them if they were already present. They talked about giving power to the people, making ordinary people into heroes.” It was hard to hide the notes of admiration and awe that crept into her voice, even all this time after they’d left her behind. “They had a recruiting event where they took control of a train and convinced people to join. I knew this was my chance to prove myself, to earn a spot for Kira and for me in this organization. So I fought my way to the front.”
Lily remembered that fight vividly. Running through the cars, trading blows with her soon-to-be mentors, sparing her final opponent, showing mercy to one who would eventually show her none.
“I got what I wanted. Kira and I were brought into the Lotus. Both of our powers got amplified. Her pretty lights became deadly lasers, and I was suddenly able to start manifesting limbs instead of just weapons. I could use them to strike harder, block from new angles, or multiply my own strength and agility.” Lily wondered if she could even handle going back to how she was, if her new powers had become spectral muscle memory, how much weaker she’d feel if it was taken away.
“I trained. Kira and I saw each other less and less, as we were better suited for different tasks.” Or at least that’s what they were told. Perhaps the Lotus had been trying to separate them the whole time, severing any bond that was not exclusively theirs.
“Everything was fine, even had a handful of missions. They all succeeded, and I enjoyed the work. Then came Vegas, and everything went shitty.” Lily went to take another swig of cider and realized her bottle was empty. She grabbed another, popping the top off and gesturing to Lark to see if they wanted another.