Feeling a sudden pressure to represent the entirety of the west coast of the United States of America, Mason threw out a million excuses at once.

“I always preferred watching sport to playing, it’s been a while since I shot- I’ve not been in shape for a while… I was always more of a soccer guy, y’know?”

He laughed at himself, going quiet as Claire went to take her shot. He was curious to find out whether Claire’s skill level matched her enthusiasm. After she’d so viciously mocked his own attempt, Mason could safely assume that she wasn’t a stranger to the sport. He watched, first in hopeful silence, then awestruck glee, as the ball sailed through the air and dropped neatly through the hoop without so much as a rattle. Claire looked pleased, smiling into space somewhere to his right, and Mason whooped appreciatively.

“You don’t need to act so cool about it, LeBronosaurus Rex,” Mason chided. “What a shot! Own it!”

He strode across the court towards the ball, extended in Claire’s pale arms with a subtle air of majesty not usually afforded to abandoned basketballs in a quiet suburban park. “Challenge accepted!”

Claire then made a promise to go easy on him and Mason was about to crack into hearty, falsely mocking laughter when he recognised with a jolt how playful Claire had become. Her smile had stretched wide enough to let out a few pretty giggles and, though she self-consciously retracted it a moment later, Mason caught himself admiring the expression.

He smiled broadly back, wishing he could encourage it back into existence, but he knew that Claire would never be able to pick up on such cues until he could learn to control his power. Mason pushed at the field on his skin but it remained firmly, stubbornly in place. Still invisible.

“I’ll make you regret that promise,” he lied boldly.

Then he snatched the ball once more and bounced it back to a comfortable distance from the hoop, wondering idly whether or not Claire could see it each time it left his hands.

“Ready?”

He launched the ball, this time watching with satisfaction as it clattered against the backboard before sliding around the rim and dropping through the net. It wasn’t pretty – and honestly, it was probably one of the better shots Mason was likely to make this evening – but it was successful and he celebrated with the equivalent passion of making a winning shot on the buzzer.

Meandering their way through the quiet neighbourhood that his parents had made their home, Mason was actually feeling the most relaxed and happy that he could remember not just in weeks, but in months. Claire was blossoming into an absolute delight of a conversation partner and Mason was beginning to understand why he was feeling particularly connected to her – at the end of the day, they were surprisingly similar souls.

“Not a converted Giants fan then?” he teased during their Chicago discussion.

Once everything was a little more settled – their powers figured out, their ambitious new lifestyles figured out, their post-accident living situations figured out – Mason would have to beg Claire to take him on a tour of Chicago. Specifically all the major sporting grounds, but he’d be happy to explore the more cultural aspects that he was sure the art student enjoyed. She obviously knew what she was talking about when it came to art.

He watched in amusement as Claire excitedly pursued an abandoned ball in the grass, her playfulness contrasting a little with the black clothing, studs and piercings that the girl was sporting. Although, as he thought about it, maybe her appearance was playful. It was definitely an alternative style but she obviously had fun with it, brightening the gloom of an all-black ensemble.

Mason crossed the road and stood before her, watching as she gave the ball a few test bounces.

“I’ve always been pretty solidly average,” he admitted, grinning. “So don’t pull out any pro trick shots because I won’t be able to follow, however-!”

Using his invisibility to his advantage, Mason snatched at the ball and dribbled it deftly away from her to the other side of the court. He couldn’t tell if the ball was visible or not – he guessed it was so long as it was out of his hands – but the area wasn’t very well lit so his invisible-man shenanigans were probably safe to enjoy.

“As you can see, I have other tricks up my sleeve.”

He bounced the ball in a slow, taunting manner before throwing it towards the hoop. The distance from where he was standing was ridiculous and he wasn’t remotely surprised when the ball clashed against the backboard and spun off in a completely different direction.

Mason rubbed the back of his neck. “I uh, didn’t claim to know how to use them…”

It had been bizarre to stand back and let Claire introduce himself to his parents, especially when they stared straight through him in an effort to look for their son. It hurt more than he’d thought it would – there was no sudden smile lighting in his mom’s eyes, no broad beam from Annie, just confused, searching expressions. Then the expressions had shifted as Claire explained the situation a little further. Not sad, but definitely concerned, and Mason had watched as they joined hands to give each other a reassuring squeeze.

They’d all gone inside before the awkward attempts to hug him began, arms comically out-stretched until they collided with him, and then suddenly everything was fine. They made all the right soothing noises, all the affirmations he’d needed to hear, and Mason knew that there should have never been a reason to doubt coming here.

It had been a little embarrassing to explain that no, Claire was not his girlfriend, but it was great to see his parents accept her with open arms and rather tearfully thank her for going through the trouble of bringing Mason down.

“You can have the guest room,” Annie had insisted, thereby dumping Mason on the sofa bed (which was fine, it was super comfy). His mom had then run around to tidy up the room and make it more presentable. Clearly she had higher standards for guests than she did family. She even lit a couple of scented candles. Luxury!

Claire seemed grateful, flattered even, and Mason was glad to see that she hadn’t retreated back into her shell in the face of his rather enthusiastic parents.

“It wasn’t so bad,” he said, grinning lightly as he joined in with the unpacking. He was mostly doing it to be helpful, of course, but he would be lying if it wasn’t partly an exercise in making Claire think her clothes were floating across the room.

“And hey, would I ever use my powers for such a thing?”

He held the clothing aloft, a teasing smirk firmly in place. It was a fun power, once you forgot about the more isolating aspects of it. You just had to get creative with it.

“How are you feeling, Picture Book?” he asked suddenly, feeling a little like the focus had been too much on him lately. “Not too tired from the trip? We should go exploring – it’s real nice around here.”

This trip was a getaway for the both of them and Mason was determined to help Claire feel even a little of the happiness that returning to his mothers had brought him.

While Persephone made her way back to make sure Claire was aware of the situation unfolding, Mason plunged ahead down the alleyway. It was amazing how much confidence he felt as he strode towards the street at the other end, his invisibility gifting him a buoyant sense of invincibility that he wasn’t really entitled to. It was probably best that he hadn’t developed a skill set along the lines of Claire or Alice’s abilities – the whole practically-impervious-to-damage thing would have gone straight to his head.

He’d just caught the faintest flicker of a few silhouettes coming into his line of sight when his attention was violently torn in the other direction. He whipped around to watch as Persephone beat a hasty retreat towards them, panic in her eyes, and he had to stop himself from shouting ineffective words of warning as he watched Claire – poor Claire – duck down in the driver’s seat while another gunshot rang out.

He couldn’t shout. It would give him away.

Mason backed up against a wall and watched in horror as two rather unfriendly looking groups of people appeared at either end of the alley, blocking them in. They were outnumbered and totally unprepared for this kind of situation – they’d only even briefly discussed what they’d do if they managed to get cornered in a dead end, and in this scenario both ends were full of threats.

Dom acted first, targeting an armed guy who seemed to have led his particular group’s charge, and there was a precious, suspenseful moment where nobody seemed to know what to do next in which Mason crept his way closer to the nearest group – fighting every instinct to duck and hide.

In one swift, fluid movement Mason pulled a broken piece of brick from the dirty floor of the alleyway and smashed it as hard as he could into the nearest man’s chin. It made an unpleasant, crunching kind of sound and the man toppled backwards into the path of the other guys behind him. Mason took the opportunity to grab the crowbar that was now being held rather loosely in the shocked thug’s right hand and felt it slip under his shroud of invisibility as he stepped back with it.

Meanwhile Alice had managed to blast her way into a building – the only doorway available to them – and Mason watched as the others began to follow her inside. Persephone had thrown something at the group furthest from Mason which left them clawing at their eyes, stumbling forwards but temporarily distracted from their close pursuit of the group. Mason turned back to face the group on his side of the alleyway, swinging the crowbar wildly at a couple of men who were attempting to chase after Alice and the others. It connected with the side of the first guy’s face but really hit hard on the second. He dropped to his knees, eyes wide with a mixture of pain and confusion, leaving Mason fighting irrational guilt.

He couldn’t fight off this many dudes, no matter how invisible he was. He needed to escape and regain his only true weapon; the element of surprise.

There was a rickety looking ladder that had rusted considerably but, as a fire escape, was probably sturdier than it looked. Rather than risk colliding with the throng of people trying to get into the warehouse, Mason danced deftly past the group and began pulling himself up the ladder as quickly as possible. If he made it to the roof, he was sure there would be something that he could throw down at their attackers, and maybe Alice would make her way all the way up too eventually. He might even be able to contact Claire once he was up there and make sure she was okay.

No one was on his tail, thankfully. He took a second to breathe. Who were these people? Had the doctor sent them – disappointed in her test subjects? At least they didn’t seem to have powers… then they really wouldn’t have stood a chance.

Stay verrrry still.

Stop breathing so much.

Well – no – keep breathing, just quieter.

I am definitely not an invisible man… This seatbelt is just pulled across because… um… Claire’s weird like that. Yup. Total weirdo. Please don’t sit on me.

Luckily Claire motioned towards the back seat and the stranded biker followed her lead, dumping her backpack before settling herself down happily, immediately leaning back to make herself at home. Mason relaxed a little now that he knew she was behind him and couldn’t see his seat, turning his head to inspect their temporary road trip buddy more thoroughly. She looked tough – her somewhat pouty face set with a worldliness that didn’t quite match her youth. She didn’t seem threatening though, especially once she started joking about that very fact, but Claire understandably kept the conversation to a minimum.

Mason had to remind himself more than once not to resume his karaoke session, satisfying himself with the softest of taps with his feet. He wished he could help himself to some more snacks, but he knew that he couldn’t do it without making noise. He reassured himself with the thought that the next gas station was probably just around the bend, and kept reassuring himself with that thought until they’d finally arrived.

The girl jumped out, singing her goodbyes as she went to seek out a payphone.

He sighed with relief and turned to Claire with a smile. “Well, she seemed ni-”

Mason frowned.

“What’s that face for? She’s gone now, so I can… Oh, wait, she… she noticed me?” He moved around, craning his neck to try and spot the hitch-hiker. No luck. “She definitely said invisible dude, but she didn’t seem, like, weirded out…” He widened his eyes, mirroring Claire. “You reckon she’s one of those powered kids?!? I bet she is!” Mason felt strangely excited. “What are the odds?”

He nodded quickly. “Yup, okay, moving on. Wanna switch things up? I think I spotted a Bowie CD in your collection. My moms love Bowie.”

He couldn’t wait for the tension to melt away again so that Claire could be herself once more. Mason liked having a duet partner, and he got the feeling she was actually enjoying herself on this trip. Maybe it was wishful thinking, or maybe this road trip really was going to do them both some good. Just the small matter of introducing his new condition to his parents first…

Mason gasped, hand drawn to his chest. “A dollar?! Consider that IOU duly noted, ma’am.”

In all seriousness he did feel bad about breaking her stuff. Especially the key – that one must have been a little more annoying than a bent fork.

“Suit yourself, Al,” Mason shrugged. “Guess you’ll have to stick with the totally awesome ‘Paladin’ … for now.”

He indulged in another gaze at the dragon on Claire’s shoulder. It was gorgeous; so magical, reminding him again of just how connected Claire’s power was to her. She was a lot more open with it now, too. When she’d first showed it to them it had been with hesitance and an obvious discomfort to be in the spotlight. Now she was so comfortable that she was even joking about it.

Mason liked to think that he and Alice’s persistent, patient encouragement over the last few days had something to do with that.

He nodded along with Alice’s explanation. It was fairly sufficient, and Claire could always fill in the blanks. He still couldn’t help but quip, “She can grab burning hot pans too, though she’s promised to be more careful about that now.” Mason grinned, remembering the mock-serious handshake that had sealed that one.

Suddenly Persephone’s expression changed. She’d glanced at Alice and suddenly something had shifted on her face. He was both intrigued and a little alarmed. Though she’d made the offer to Alice in quite a casual manner, there was something mystical driving beneath. Maybe there was more to Persephone’s power than just being excessively green-fingered…?