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WHO: Rikki Chadwick & YOU
WHERE: Cape Canaveral, Heropa, and around Jeopardy
WHEN: Mid-September
WHAT: At home (closed to other residents of Jeopardy 001), at work, around Heropa, and at the beach.
WARNINGS: TBD?

JEOPARDY #001; Closed to flatmates

She's made a decent amount of money in the past couple of weekends taking a page out of Marco's book and appearing at birthday parties for rich little girls, but if she's honest, it's been miserable. Rikki thought that she could get by without feeling that revulsion of being the center of attention if there was a big enough price tag on it but, as it turns out, she'd been wrong.

Rather than continuing to book herself in an attempt to get out of the stupid mascot job or pestering Peter for another go at the sunken treasure scheme she'd come up with when he's got more important things, likely, on his mind, she's decided to try something else.

That said, Rikki's bedroom door is wide open because it's just easier than having to open and close it over and over every time she goes back to the kitchen for another glass of water. Her roommates might hear her cursing softly to herself, usually after the sound of breaking glass. But if they were to poke their heads in, they would see her with one hand up, slightly curled in on itself and wiggling back and forth as a blob of water forms itself in the air into various shapes.

The part where it gets a little hairy is when she attempts to quickly switch gears by setting that shaped water into glass. Sometimes she manages it and she can catch the piece before it falls, but it doesn't look as good as it had before she'd set it. Sometimes, she misses and it smashes to the floor, glittering the flooring with ever more broken pieces of glass that she hasn't picked up yet; she'll do it when she's sure she's done making more of a mess. Other times, still, she can't quite set it and the water just falls to the floor with a little splash.

Needless to say, she's growing frustrated as she surrounds herself with an increasing number of misshapen glass figurines of blobby looking dolphins and half-formed other animals. She'll get the hang of it, dammit. Just...apparently not yet.

JEOPARDY; H2GLO Bottled Water

Does she look ridiculous in her work "uniform" — ie, the mermaid costume this mermaid has to wear to work because one cannot walk with a fin? If you ask her, yes. She looks completely ridiculous and it doesn't even look like a mermaid at all. But then she really can't complain because all she has to do is force smiles and hand out bottles of water all day.

She's altered the uniform a little to include long white gloves because on her first day, she'd looked and felt even more ridiculous when she'd had to use wads of napkins to pick up the bottles with condensation growing on them to avoid turning into a mermaid and falling over.

Rikki offers the patron a small smile and holds out one of the bottles. The smile is clearly fake, as it falls well short of her eyes and she looks like she'd rather be literally anywhere but there, but she's trying. In her own way. "Stay hydrated!" she chirps with false enthusiasm and it's all she can do not to roll her eyes.

When her shift is over, Rikki clocks out, peels off the gloves, and steps out of the awkward heels she's grateful she doesn't actually have to try to walk in while she's working because she's certain she'd break her neck. Off comes the red wig just after the gloves as she exits the store. She really ought to consider bringing a bag next time, so that she can just change into her own clothes before taking the walk of shame back home. Christ, why is she just now thinking of that...?

HEROPA/CAPE CANAVERAL; local businesses or public transit on the way to the beach

For someone who lives in Jeopardy, Nevada, Rikki spends an awful lot of her free time in Heropa and Cape Canaveral, Florida. What can she say? Being a mermaid in a landlocked state is unpleasant. She's even considered trying to learn to drive, in spite of not wanting to learn on the "wrong" side of the road. Instead, she's gotten herself a pass so that she can come and go from the Portal to the beach outside the town without having to bother Ben for a ride or exchange a favour to Rupert for a closer Portal all the time.

Checking her watch and seeing she's got a bit of time, Rikki makes a stop at a smoothie bar a few blocks from where she'll get on the next commuter to Cape Canaveral. She passes the time between arrival and the commuter schedule pretty often in this little shop because it feels a little like Rikki's, fka JuiceNet back home.

Once it's time, she'll hop on the transit and make her way to the beach where she'll wander to what looks like the least congested part of the area, head bowed and hair down in an attempt to obscure her from being recognized by locals, where she'll settle to catch a tan — unsuccessfully — before heading into the water where, once she's in, by the time she dives into the closest wave, onlookers may catch sight of a golden tail before she disappears briefly beneath the surface and being careful to come up only as far as her shoulders in an attempt to hide the tail from anyone who might've been swimming nearby and missed it. She likes her privacy, but it's tough to enjoy swimming at night when she can't see quite as well.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Conner has done similar things before. Well, not quite those, but still. Seeing her actions, following, watching for a little while, he nods, thinking he understands. To him, it looks like power exercises, trying to get better at something. That was a pain for him when he was younger and especially as his powers expanded and grew.

After a few moments, when she doesn't have anything in the air at the moment, he knocks.

"Hey, roomie. How's it going?"

She has been cursing sometimes, and that isn't great, but hopefully, things are improving? He genuinely thinks she is nice and pretty, and he is hoping she won't end up in a slump.

As another piece drops and shatters on the floor, Rikki opens her mouth to hiss out another swear, but the sound of another voice pulls her attention away from her most recent failure. She'll get there. It's going to take practice.

Besides, in her defense, Cleo and Bella had said they'd worked together to make the mermaid figurine for her birthday and Rikki is trying to do it by herself, which is going to make it more difficult just by the lack of ability to have one person holding the form in place in the air while she solidifies it. She's just maybe going to have to find a way to make up for that couple of seconds. Maybe she could freeze it faster than she can turn it to glass?

"Oh, hey Conner," she replies with a sheepish sort of smile. "Not very well, honestly..." she confesses, gesturing to the broken glass and puddles of water on the floor with a little frown as she looks back at her mess and sighs. "My friends were able to form water into a mermaid figurine and then turn that into glass for my birthday a couple of years ago, but I can't quite manage it on my own without someone to hold the water in place. Dunno if I'll ever get it, but now's as good a time for a break as any," she says, another sigh escaping her as she looks back at him and then smiles again. "What're you up to today, then? I didn't realize anyone was still home or I'd have shut my door so as not to bother anyone...sorry about that, mate..."

He gives a wave, then listens, nodding. It reminds him of his early days, learning to control everything.

"Ah, so, I could maybe help? I can hold things up?" He wiggled a finger, and reached out with his telekinesis, and some of the water rose, in a bouncy blob, to wiggle in front of her.

He was hesitant in asking as he was never sure if he should offer, or if he should just sympathize. Where was the line? How did you person? That was a question he was still asking all these years later.

"I was just reading and watching stupid internet videos. Today is a day off for me."

Her eyebrows lift a little when Conner offers to help. The last thing she expects is for him to actually be able to do it, so when he makes a little blob of water lift from the glass, Rikki pauses. Maybe he actually can help.

"Ooh! Brilliant! Let me try something?" she asks, hopeful. Eventually, she's going to need to learn to do it without help if she wants to sell figurines and keep all the profit, but this is a good start because it'll give her a chance to concentrate on perfecting the forms first and maybe speed up the process of the solidification. "I like doing that sometimes, too. Watching stupid internet videos. Usually of animals. What kind were you watching?" she asks.

Rikki moves her hand a little, forming that blob of water into the smooth shape of a dolphin. It's lacking details, but it's something. Then, she lets her hand drop away to see if it'll stay in that shape when he holds it up.

"Sure." he waves at her to go ahead. He just wants to help and he grins when she actually seems okay with it. he nods.

At her words, he chuckles."Today? Some weird show where artists draw things in other art styles, like characters and creatures, but drawn in different ways. it was kind of cool."

He nods as he cocks his head, watching her, then eyes going wide. He nods. "That is cool!" He keeps it held up and crosses his fingers, hoping it stays. He likes the idea of talent art, and he starts thinking to himself to try to figure out if he can do anything like that.

Edited 2019-09-15 20:25 (UTC)

"Yeah? That sounds interesting..." she replies thoughtfully. Rikki makes a mental note to look into that sort of thing when she's on whatever passes for Youtube here next.

In spite of herself, Rikki can feel a little blush creeping into her cheeks as she forms the dolphin in response to his compliment. "Thanks..." she says sheepishly. When she lets go, Conner is able to keep it up and, for the most part, the integrity of the piece isn't lost until her hand falls away completely. "I think this might actually work..." she murmurs hopefully.

Rikki raises her hand and reforms the blob of water into a dolphin again and when she switches gears to solidify it, she doesn't have to worry about it falling with Conner's help, so she manages it with no trouble. Plucking the glass dolphin from mid-air, Rikki huffs a surprised laugh and looks over at Conner excitedly.

"We did it!" she chirps, holding the piece out to him. "Look at that!"

"I liked it. It was a little... low brain, for a low brain hour, you know?" He chuckles, then nods as he holds the water up, eyes growing wide as she works it.

"Wow!" he says as she finishes, and he lets her take it without a doubt, nodding.

"We did! You did amazing! How long have you been doing that?"

He is grinning ear to ear and bouncing almost, on tiptoes. "You could make a living off of those!"

Rikki's cheeks burn a hotter, brighter pink at the compliment, especially after he asks how long she's been doing it because the answer isn't very long at all.

"Erm, a couple of weeks?" she asks more than says, having the grace to look a little sheepish as she holds the figurine out to him in offering. He helped her make it, after all. She can make more.

The idea of making a living off it is exactly why she's been in here trying so hard and getting so frustrated. So Rikki wrinkles her nose a little. "I was sort of hoping so, but I can't exactly make a living off it if I can't do it on my own," she points out. "Do you mind helping with another few? Maybe if I don't have to worry about keeping the object in the air, I can practice my speed switching from shaping to solidifying and then eventually I will be able to do it myself...?"

"Really? Cool!" He smiles warmly, nodding. That is impressive to him. He can do a little ore sculpting, but only because he has been practicing for years. He takes the figuring for a moment, examining it down to the atoms and nods, handing it back.

"This is really good. In time, I bet you can make even more awesome things." He grins wider, wanting to encourage her and cheer her on.

"I don't mind at all. I'm glad to help." And it didn't hurt that she was hot. But he was trying to be friendly, not hit on her, so he kept his eyes firmly on her face.

"As I said, I've got nothing better to do, so rock on." He nods to her, willing to help out how he can.

"Take it," Rikki persists, just in case he'd thought she'd just been holding it out to show him her handiwork. "It's the first successful one I've done and only managed it because you helped. You take it. Call it a trophy for teamwork," she says with a little smirk.

With his encouragement and her bolstered self-esteem surrounding the skill, Rikki uses her powers, mimicking Cleo's old hand movements to draw another blob of water out of the glass and into the air. This time, she wants to try something a little bit harder, so she works a little slower and it takes a little longer, but she shapes it into a dog, sitting with its head held high.

"Okay, hold it..." she requests, face screwed up with concentration. As quickly as she can, she switches gears and solidifies the thing into a delicate glass figure. She plucks that one out of mid-air as well, turning it over in her hands. It's a bit bigger than the dolphin and certainly a bit heavier, but it doesn't look half bad. She wouldn't pay for it if she saw it in a store because it's not great, but the general gist is there. "Cool..."

Rikki looks up at Conner and smiles brightly. "Thanks for your help," she says. His eyes are so nice and she can't help thinking Cleo and Bella would be drooling over him by now. Christ, she might be a little, as well, if she's not careful, because most importantly, Conner's nice to be around. He's just a nice guy. She keeps finding herself wondering what the catch is; there must be one, right?

Conner flushes and smiles at her. "Thank you!" he gently sets it down beside him and nods to her. "I love it. " He grins at her as she speaks, then stands tall and cups his hands to concentrate his powers as he holds the water for her, watching her work, wondering at her skill.

His eyes are wide and full of wonder, and admiration, as she works. It makes him grin as she makes this, and inspires him, somehow, to get back to his own art ideas. "You're getting better and better!" His eyes dance with joy at her creations, and nods at her.

She seems dedicated, nice, and kind, and hot. How was she even paying attention to him? He flushes as he nods to her again, feeling bouncy. He loves teamwork.

"I bet you'll be making awesome masterpieces in no time."

"Well, they're not turning out too terribly when I've got someone to keep them steady while I switch," Rikki agrees half-heartedly. She does give him a sincere smile, though, because she appreciates that he's willing to take the time to help her learn her own abilities.

Speaking of which, "What all can you do? Is there more besides this?" she asks, looking over at him as she casually pulls another blob of water from the glass and lets it hover in the air for a few seconds before she turns her attention back to it to try to form it. Rikki decides to go with something simpler this time, shaping it into a plain little fish. It's more important to worry about the switch from liquid to glass while she's got the help keeping the water suspended in air. She can worry more about the shapes later, once she's been able to switch it without Conner's help and without it falling and shattering on the floor.

"I dunno about masterpieces in no time. First I have to be able to do simple things without your help," she points out with a laugh, turning the piece to glass and plucking it from the air to set down beside herself after looking it over. Their integrity is staying in place and she assumes that's Conner's doing less than her own speed. Hopefully she won't need his help forever.

"I'm sure you will master it, and wont need any help at all, in no time." Conner really means his words as he nods. She seems to be improving every moment he is watching. It's both impressive and startling. He has no idea how she does that, but it's cool!

"Oh, ah, well, I have a few other powers. Uhm, a whole package suite of them, really, I suppose. I tend to not talk too much about them, because... it feels like bragging a little." His cheeks are red as he admits it. He is finding himself getting along with her and enjoying his time here and he doesn't want to ruin that.

Her work, and her creation, makes him smile. It makes him feel like he is part of something to be helping her, and like he is making a new friend. Even if she is a very cute friend.

"You'll get there, I am sure of it. I think it just takes time, that's all." He nods again.

Smiling a little, Rikki feels her cheeks reddening again and she wrinkles her nose. "Well, at least one of us is confident," she quips. For now, her pieces are lacking in detail. They're basic shapes that are definitely distinguishable but they're clear — eventually, she'd like to add food coloring, which is why she'd brought it in, but she hasn't gotten there yet — and they lack any real depth. Until she can do it without his help, she probably won't worry too much about that bit.

"I've got a long way to go before I can say I've mastered it, though," she adds. Her eyebrows lift a little with interest when he tries to verbally wave away the question about his powers. "I don't think it's bragging," she counters. "But if you don't want to talk about it, that's all right."

The smile he gives her is warm and confident, and without doubt.

"I know. but you will get there." He is confident and he grins. he can see her trying and improving, and he thinks she will do well.

He shrugs. "I don't mind with you. I like talking to you." He nods and thinks. "So, I have telekinesis, as well as Superhuman strength, speed, toughness, and endurance, enhanced senses, heat vision, x-ray vision, and super-breath." he squints, then nods.

"I think that's everything."

It's actually nice to have someone telling her that she can do something and sounding like he truly believes it. Rikki ignores the pang of nostalgia that it gives her, thinking back on the times when Zane wasn't such a jerk; before he cheated and when she believed him when he said she could do anything. "Well, I hope you're right."

She listens as he lists off his abilities. "Flying," she reminds him, "which you still owe me a trip," she adds helpfully, smirking as she draws up another blob of water. It wobbles a little in the air as she hesitates, trying to decide how to shape it this time.

"...and I like talking to you, too," she says a little more quietly. "I'm glad you're here. It's fun spending time with you," she tells him.

Conner nods, then nods, snapping his fingers. "Right. I keep forgetting that. Mostly, because, I think, I think of it as part of my TK. But yes, and I do!"

he smiled wider to her. "Anytime you want to. Anywhere you want to." he gently cups the blob as she draws it up, supporting her in this as much by power as by intent.

"Its fun hanging out with you, too." His smile is instantaneous, and he hopes she knows he means it. She is someone he could see being a friend with for a long time.

"Your TK?" she asks, curious. Rikki shapes the water blob into a little heart because it's simple and quick and she actually manages to solidify it with little to no effort this time. She'll chalk that up to the fact that it's such a simple shape and not give herself too much credit. It's much too soon into practice for her to think that was just a sudden and vast improvement.

She did it that way, though, because he's said anytime and anywhere and Rikki plucks the little heart out of the air, setting it down and turning to him. "Anywhere?" she asks, lifting an eyebrow. "What if I said let's go to...I dunno...France, right now, for a glass of Champagne from Champagne? You could do that?" she asks, a playful challenge in her voice. It isn't so much that she doesn't believe him as she thinks he's been a little loose with his requirements and she's testing that.

He chuckles. "Oh, sorry. My telekinesis. Shorthanding it out loud." He smiles ruefully. Oops. He usually didn't do that. But he is mostly concentrating on holding up the blob and watching in wonder as she shapes it. That is so cool!

His cheeks flush and he grins. "Okay." Conner holds out his hand to her. "I should probably have qualified that, but eh, I am ready. Are you?" He smirks at her, eyes dancing, and grin growing wider.

"Want to go see the world?"

She breathes out a silent, "ah," of understanding when Conner explains what he means. "That's brilliant," she says, grinning. Telekinesis. It'd be like being able to do with everything what she can do with water.

Conner just...agrees with her and holds his hand out and Rikki blinks, a little taken aback at first. It takes her a second to register that he's actually agreeing to do it. Right now. "Oh wow," she laughs, her face burning and going pink. It sounds surreal but he actually means it and curiosity gets the best of her.

Rikki takes his hand, grinning. "Well, with an invitation like that..." she says playfully. "Yeah, Conner. Show me the world. Don't drop me. I meant that bit before," she adds with a smirk.

Conner grins at her reaction, and he nods, his heart pounding and fully ready to do this. Her taking his hand makes him smile.

"I won't. But first, we need to get outside."

He leads the way out, and then pulls her closer, not quite holding her in his arms. She will feel, then, a sensation like touches run over her as his telekinesis closes around her and lifts, ever so slightly, giving her a feeling as if she is still standing on the ground, but hovering in air.

"Still okay for this?" He is smiling, looking into her eyes, loving this idea.

It doesn't actually occur to Rikki how intimately she's going to be trusting Conner until they're outside and she's not actually on solid ground anymore. Reflexively, her arms snap up to circle around him to hold on. A part of her is exhilarated at the idea. Another part is...thrillingly terrified.

Adrenaline is pumping through her, her heart racing with anticipation and excitement and anxiety, but she swallows and nods, tearing her eyes off the ground a little ways below her feet to look up at him.

"As ready as I'm ever going to be, mate," she laughs nervously, giving him a small smile. "You've done this before, right? With someone coming along for the ride?"

He hugs her, and nods, smiling, eyes warm. "It's going to be okay, and yes, I have; many, many times." And he sends them upward, slowly rising over the city so that it spreads out like a flower below them. He wants to reassure her, to help this be a fun thing for her.

"Look. This is my world."

Conner grins as he turns them, so she can see as much as she wants, his mind reaching out to find, mentally, where France is, and plot a course, even as he nods to her. "When we fly, I will want you to look at me, not the ground below, because we will be moving very fast."

It's hard to explain how it feels to be up here with him. There's a familiar uncomfortable rush of fear, like when she'd been tied up on that kidnapper's boat and it had caught fire while her friends were trying to rescue her, but there's also a familiar thrill like the first time she ever hit her top speed swimming as a mermaid.

Rikki's breath catches as she looks out over the view. Conner's world, he'd called it. "Oh, wow..." she breathes, awestruck. If she's clinging tightly, it's reflexive and not at all conscious. What she can see right now it's breathtaking in a way that's completely different than the deep of the ocean had been.

She looks back at Conner again when he speaks and she nods a little. "I imagine that might make me feel sick, so I like your idea plenty. You won't hear an argument from me on that."

Her eyes move back out to look down and around again. "Christ, why do you ever come back to put your feet on the ground? I never would..." she laughs.

"Because I'm half-human, and because, well, the ground does have some things going for it." And if his glance lingers on her for just a moment, it is awkward and his cheeks are red. Gods, he is a silly.

Floating higher, his telekinesis warms the air and keeps the wind at bay, the city below becoming smaller and smaller. "Ready to really fly?" He reaches out to tap her nose, grinning. He wants her to have fun, and he wants to enjoy this with her.

Why not, after all? This is what powers were for. His heart pounds as he plots the course and thinks about hanging with her in a whole new country. This is going to be fun!

Laughing a little, Rikki looks back at him a moment later, missing that lingering glance, but grinning back at him. "Does it? With a view like this, I'm having a hard time thinking of many myself," she confesses.

Her nose wrinkles and she laughs again, rolling her eyes playfully when he taps her nose. "Let's do it," she says, sounding determined. That's mostly an air she's putting on to convince herself that this isn't half-terrifying. She's willing herself to focus on the fact that it's also half-incredible and it'll be the coolest thing she's ever done. It'll probably be the coolest thing she'll ever do. She can't miss that by worrying about falling. She feels secure, it's just that the looking down is...well. It's doing what looking down does.

"Ready when you are," she says, wetting her lips and then worrying a little at her bottom lip with her teeth in anxious anticipation. "Champagne, here we come!"

"I'm lucky. I have good eyesight. And... here we go."

Conner grins at her, then nods, and concentrates. With a suddenness, they are moving, with no sensation of moving, but they are moving at many, many, many times the speed of sound, shooting through the sky faster than the eye can see.

"Just hold on to me, and look at me. We'll be there before you know it." His voice is gentle, and confident, and he grins with a sureness he feels to his bones.

She is in his care, and he will not let her down. Literally. Below them, ground, then water, speeds by. Boats and planes are passed as if they are standing still, and he grins as he lets himself truly take them fast.

They are warm, and secure, and his mind is holding on to her even as his arms do.

It is but mere moments before they are slowing again, back to a more normal pace, and now they are moving along, at but a slow pace, and arcing downward a little. "Now approaching Champagne, France, home of lovely flavors of champagne..."

The jolt of the sudden uptick in speed has her gripping at him reflexively for a few seconds, her eyes squeezing shut for a few seconds because a part of her is afraid that being able to see the speed at which they're moving will make her sick or feel like she's falling when she isn't.

His voice has her opening her eyes again to look at him, though. It might be the gentle tone or the confidence in it, but it calms her enough to return his smile without it being false or entirely too nervous. Instead, she huffs out a soft laugh of awestruck incredulity. "I'm flying. Well, you're flying but..I'm flying. I'm flying right now. And I thought being a mermaid was the most amazing thing that could ever happen to me."

They're not really up there very long before he lowers their speed and he's announcing that they're approaching their destination. Some part of her wonders absently whether the other countries are also experiencing imPort arrivals and fanaticism. She wonders if they'll be recognized or whether they can just enjoy a quick foray into a foreign country unnoticed. "That was fast," she replies, sounding equal parts surprised and impressed.

"Maybe part of the way back, not a lot, since it is a long way and you could get tired, but part of the way, w can go slower, and I can show you some of the more fun ways to fly around and over things." His smirk is mischievous as he says it. He is not always the nice boy.

"When crossing that much distance, I usually go pretty fast." He tends to go even faster, but he doesn't tell her that. He is enjoying this a lot, and she is making it even more fun, just being her.

"There's a market below, we could stop at, if you like? then we could stroll the rest of the way to a restaurant, one of which is at the end of the market space." He grins.

That mischievous look makes Rikki laugh. It's almost out of place on his face, she thinks, because he seems so...good. Like Lewis. "Only if you think it won't make me sick," she stipulates with a stern look that cracks with a grin a moment after it makes its initial appearance.

"That makes sense," Rikki agrees as she looks down over the sights. "It'd make the trip easier to just get it out of the way. Erm...yeah, sure! D'you speak French?" she asks, lifting an eyebrow as she looks back at him. If neither of them does, this will be interesting.

"Do heights bother you?" He did not want to make her sick. "I have no desire to hurt you." He gently touches her shoulder with one hand, his other arm firmly holding her close.

"And I do, yes."

He slowly brings them down, landing and looking around as he did.

"This way, ma belle dame." He winks at her and steadies her as they land, then nods, taking one hand.

Rikki shrugs a little, uncertain. "I'm not that bothered," she admits. "But you also had me looking at you this whole time," she points out in addition. When they'd been moving, he'd told her to look at him and she assumed it was because he thought she would need a focus point for some reason or another.

If she were afraid of heights, being held close like she is makes her feel more secure, anyway, so she doesn't think it'll be the height that does it to her if anything.

Grinning a little, Rikki looks impressed. "Well, at least one of us does, because I certainly don't," she laughs. "I dunno what you just said, but it sounded nice." She laughs a little and moves with him when he takes her hand. That's a bit more intimate for the sake of being intimate than she's used to and her grip is loose but not disconnected entirely. She doesn't want to lose him in the crowd, but it also feels like a lot, not necessarily because it's Conner, but because she's secretly still smarting a little in the wake of Zane's betrayal.

None of that has anything to do with Conner, though, so she leaves it unsaid.

"Have you been here before?" she asks, "or you just know French because you're especially impressive?"

"Yes, mostly because we were moving so fast the sight would possibly make you sick, anyone really." But he nods, and files that to think on.

As they enter the crowded market, he lets go and waves his hands around. "Welcome to Champagne, and to France." He grins at her, not quite dancing in place. He loves to travel.

At her question, he nods. "I traveled a lot, back home, helping protect people. After a while, you start learning the languages to better help the people you're there to assist." He flushes.

"I only know a few well."

"Yeah, but I dunno if I might still feel that way when you combine height with lower speed. I've no idea," she points out. Maybe it's something they can revisit another time. Her watching how he does it, that is, not him actually doing it. That, she's completely game for doing.

Conner's enthusiasm is contagious and Rikki laughs a little at his presentation of their destination. She can hear people around her speaking in what she presumes is French and the air is crisper here than it is out in the desert. Part of her can hardly believe it, but she's seeing and hearing it with her own eyes and ears. Rikki Chadwick, in France. That's two countries more than she's ever been to before this craziness with the Porters. First America, now France.

"Oh, that makes sense," she intones with a nod. Maybe she should put "Learn a New Language" on the little bucket list that Ben inspired her to make. "I think that's cool," she tells him. "That's a few more than I know, anyway. So, consider me impressed."

Her attention moves away from Conner as she looks around, taking in the sights and sounds. Fashion is different. The people sound different. The sky is a little grayer in France than it had been in Jeopardy today. "Right, we can't leave until I get to have a glass of French wine and try some local delicacy or something," she tells him a moment later when she looks back at him.

"That makes sense." He smiles at her as they look around. He likes this place, and wouldn't mind spending time here, some other time. they have a mission for now.

He nods to her. "Too right! This way!" And he leads the way through the market, waving or saying hello as he walks to a few people.

The restaurant is not too far away, and he nods again. "Do you prefer sweet, or rich, or a combination?" He grins wider as he considers her and the restaurant, and the choices they might have.

As they move through the market, Rikki stays close to Conner. It isn't lost on her the way the women and some of the men look at him and she finds herself smirking a little with amusement. ImPort, fashion model, and generally incredibly good looking guy, that Conner. It's no wonder.

"I dunno, actually," she confesses. "I haven't ever had wine. I've only ever had wine coolers, and I don't think that's the same thing," she pointed out. "I've only been able to drink legally for a year, mate. I'm no connoisseur. You pick," she suggests.

Hey, whatever it is, even if she doesn't like the taste of it, it really won't matter much. She'll still be drinking French wine while in France and that's the goal. It kind of blows her mind that less than ten minutes ago, she'd been sitting in her room in Jeopardy, Nevada, America forming water into glass figurines and now she's walking through a French market.

"I'll find something, then." He nods, thinking about what it could be, and what she might like. He has not had a lot of champagne, but he has tried a few.

Leading her inside, they soon have a table, and he grins as he orders both the champagne, and two locally made pastries. He does so in French, then switches to English.

"I ordered one of the few kinds I have tried and fresh pastries locally made. Hopefully, they will go well together." he feels a little nervous, but is also hopeful. This is fun!

This feels like the sort of thing she and Zane would've done early in their relationship and she wonders if Conner considers this a date. Rikki doesn't, even though it feels a little like one. She's more interested in getting to know her roommate and taking in this incredible, once in a lifetime opportunity while she's here.

Settled at the table across from him, Rikki goes against her own instincts and lets Conner take the reins ordering all of their food and drinks. She doesn't speak the language and she can't really read the menu because she doesn't speak the language, so it just makes more sense to let him pick so that she can just enjoy the atmosphere and this amazing, spontaneous trip.

As the waiter walks away, Conner switches back to English and she smiles. "I'm sure it'll be fine. I don't have the most refined palate, so I probably won't know the difference, mate. Don't worry." She huffs out softly with a little laugh and looks around a little. "I can't believe I'm here...this is amazing, Conner, thank you. So much."

Conner smiles at her. This is not a date, he knows. He wonders if he is supposed to think it is. She doesn't think it is, does she? He nibbles one lip as he smiles at her, and hopes she knows he wants to be her friend, first. Whatever else may happen, that can happen later. She's hot, but she is also creative and cool. He wants to know her, and learn about her. His life has been full of illusions, and created facts. And he needs... more.

He's been burned by moving into relationships without looking first. He won't do it again. Fun is one thing, but the rest needs time. He nods, listening to her, and glad he brought her here.

Her words make him grin, and he nods to her. "What else are powers good for? I mean, I try to help people, sure, but... if I can't do silly and fun things with friends, why even have these powers?"

He waves a hand and the salt shaker slides across the table to her, doing a little dance as it does.

That answer earns him a small smile and a gentle amused huff from her. It's endearing to know that that's the sort of thing Conner likes to do with his powers. He doesn't strike her as the type that would ever abuse his abilities or hurt people with them. How can he when his idea of a good use of his powers is to fly her to France for lunch and make the salt shaker dance across the table?

"That's a good reason to have them, agreed," she replies with a smirk.

Rikki's never been good at small talk, but she's willing to try, while they're waiting for their food. "So, I dunno anything about you, really..." she confesses. It's probably, in retrospect, not the smartest thing in the world that she's here with him without knowing him and without a passport in case he actually isn't as nice as he appears to be and just leaves her. She doesn't foresee that being an issue so she doesn't feel regret about her decision, but all the same. Not her most intelligent process of decision-making. "Where are you from? Tell me something about yourself."

"I am a little over a thousand and 21-slash-8 years old, though most of that I spent healing from being almost dead. I was created in a lab, genetically engineered originally to be a bad guy, but rebelled and escaped with the help of some other clones. Spent 8 years or so fighting crime and died saving the multiverse. Or so close that no one else could tell..."

He pauses, rubbing his chin, shaking his head.

"My universe is a little crazy, and this is where my story actually gets weird." His smile as he looks at her is sure and calm, and his eyes are serious. Just then, before he could speak,. the champagne arrives, and he sits back to let it be poured, then raises a glass to her.

"To making new friends and learning about them."

That...is not what she'd expected him to say and it likely shows on her expression of surprise. Mostly at his age. The way he phrases it throws her off. Moreover, that he was genetically engineered to be a bad guy. "Right, they did a terrible job making a bad guy," she points out, even though he said that he rebelled. She has a feeling that if the engineers had done a decent job, he wouldn't have wanted to rebel.

She's rapt with attention and leaning forward a little to hear the rest of the story, but then they're interrupted with the champagne and she sits back like he does. Rikki takes up her glass, too, holding it up in the same way. "To making new friends and getting to know one another," she agrees with a small smile before taking a sip. Her eyes shift to make sure that the waiter is gone again and she looks back at Conner.

"So the part where your story gets weird?" she prompts him as she takes another sip of her champagne.

He sips his own and smiles, then nods, setting it down.

"Yeah. Okay. Turns out a friend of mine had access to a device that had healed one of the people who I was made from back from dead-mostly dead. He arranged to take my body, and using that, and DNA samples from the people I was cloned from, and started me on the healing." He sighed.

"However, since I was not whole the race of that single person, and very badly hurt, it took a long time to recover... 1000 years, nearly. I spent the time, alternatively dreaming, or being taught things by the devices computers. I woke in the year 3009, and was met by the descendants of the people who had helped me, along with a group of heroes. Turned out they needed my help there."

He shakes his head again, remembering the culture shock at first. It had been weird, but he slowly recovered. Now... he smiles at her.

"Once things calmed down, another friend who had arrived there, and I was sent back in time, back to when I came from. Of course, they aimed well, but didn't quite hit right, so I arrived back in time, 4 years after I had sort of died."

He shrugs, and sits back again, grinning at her.

"After that, I spent my time going between learning to be a farmer, and helping to fight crime." He nods, firmly.

"And that is me... in a short version."

Rikki's enthralled, hanging on practically every word Conner has to say. Everyone has an interesting origin story, if you ask her. Everyone's story is unique, some sad, some exciting, some terrifying. And then there are some, like Conner's, that are just so entirely out there for what she's used to hearing that Rikki feels almost a little more like he's describing the plot of a movie than the story of his life.

Conner's story has everything and she looks awestruck and thoughtful by the time he's finished. "I dunno how you dealt with the culture shock...I dunno if I could've done it myself," she says after a long moment of thought. A thousand years lost? She feels lost in this place with this mobile phone that feels eons ahead of what she'd been using back home and, as far as she can tell, only about a decade has gone by between her home and here. Peter had looked at her like she'd had two heads when she'd asked him to show her how to use the device. Rikki can't even begin to imagine the changes Conner must've seen. Never mind losing everyone he might've known for a while, until he'd traveled back in time. That in and of itself is enough to have been a cool story, never mind the rest.

"You've had quite a life then. I can hardly compete with that with my own story," she says, laughing a little. She can't, honestly, but she doesn't actually think he'd be the type to suggest that she do so, anyway.

Taking a sip of her drink, Rikki looks over as the waiter returns to give them their pastries. Her eyes move back to Conner. "So farmer and fighting crime feel like two ends of a spectrum, yeah? How's that, going and forth between those two mind sets?"

"I think you could have. You seem pretty smart and strong." He barely knows her, but that is how she comes off to him. And he hopes she will find that strength in herself, too. He finds he is glad he spoke this to her, told her his story. It's not something he has completely laid out before, and it was painful in places, but... it was good.

"Thank you. I bet your life is pretty darned awesome, an I would never want to compete. Just share if you like to, and if not, that is okay, too." He wouldn't push her to share more than she wanted to.

"For me, they fit together. I was given a chance to learn about normal life, living with the parents of one of my progenitors, and going to school, and learning, from them, how to farm. So for me, it was... like having a solid base, something to give fighting bad guys context and meaning more than just... because I want to."

He hopes that made sense.

Rikki shakes her head. "I appreciate that, but I dunno. I adjusted all right to this place but the biggest thing I had to adjust to, besides the location itself, was the mobile being more advanced than I'm used to back home. I don't know if I could do a thousand years of adjusting and not go a little crazy, mate, that's pretty impressive," she replies with a shrug, picking up her pastry and taking a bite.

A quiet but intentionally exaggerated moan of approval escapes her as she chews and she grins when she's swallowed the mouthful. "This is so good...now I've been spoilt, I don't know how I'm going to enjoy American or Australian pastries ever again now," she says, only half-joking.

"It's really not much. Other than the mermaid thing, it's a bit boring," she replies. It isn't that she doesn't want to talk to him about her life so much as she does, in fact, think her life is pretty boring and beyond the fact that she's a mermaid, there's really nothing for her to talk about, in her opinion.

At his response about the farming and crime fighting, Rikki gives him an endeared sort of smile, nodding. "That makes sense. Gives you something to want to fight for, really." She lifts a hand to give the waiter a little wave as he passes the table, wanting to get his attention. "Can we get the bill? Erm..."

Rikki pauses and looks to Conner. "Can you ask him for my bill? Only, it's getting a bit late here and I haven't any more money with me, so I'm not ordering more..." It isn't that she's in a rush to leave, but she'd rather they be able to head out when they're ready than realize they're ready and have to wait on paying for their bill.

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