2013.07.03 - Two Twisty Terrifics

The week leading up to Independence Day has been warm and muggy, bringing out some of the worst behaviors in the more restless of the city's citizens. Even in the midst of the teeming metropolis, kids get their hands on firecrackers, and it's been hard to tell lately what's dangerous gunfire or harmless shenanigans. The sticky heat has also made tempers shorter than normal. Still, in the midst of the chaos, there is always something good if you just look for it. Ayla's mission today is to find something good. She's decided to explore a new part of the city, having heard of the 'Academic Acropolis' of Morningside Heights. No one would be able to peg the young woman as one of the 'gifted' around town. Instead of her uniform she's wearing denim shorts, a red, white and blue striped tank top, and her sockless feet sport red sneakers. The only thing that would give her away, and that only to a keen eye, is the Legion ring that always encircles the ring finger of her right hand. That hand raises, raking carelessly through short red hair, as Ayla pauses on the sidewalk and looks around.

Vance Astrovik had been working one of his endless odd jobs, this time picking up unpurchased newspapers from the stands for shipment back, only to find a few junior high kids shoving fireworks in the window. He's surrounded by a baby blue glow of energy as he contains the explosion in a bubble. He's clad in a Carmelo Anthony New York Knicks jersey, along with shorts and high-top shoes, his Brooklyn accent coming through as it rarely does as he yells after the would-be vandals, "Ya little mooks! You're lucky you didn't burn somebody, or I'd be on you like...like...ah, hell, I can't think of a good metaphor now, but it'd be right on your ass, I guarantee ya that!" he yells, telekinetically tossing the spent fireworks in a dumpster as he turns suddenly, only to almost walk right into the red-haired girl. He shoots his hands up quickly, making sure his hands don't hit anything in delicate, "Whoa, whoa! 'scuse me, sorry, I was...uh, distracted."

The yelling had gotten Ayla's attention, close as it is, the glow of energy kept it. Since matters seemed to be well in hand, she makes no effort to step forward, instead just observing. She's quick enough in taking a step back as Vance does an about face, helping to avoid an embarrassing situation, considering the 'just enough' contrast in their heights that would have resulted in... well, the obvious. But she looks amused, blue eyes dancing, the dimples showing prominently with her grin. "I heard someone say 'white on rice', although I'm not sure if that's accurate?" The statement turns into more of a question.

Vance Astrovik runs a hand through his floppy bangs, grinning as he takes in the girl more directly. Cute, no doubt about it, and she clearly had to see him show off his mutant talent without freaking out, so 'not a bigot', which is certainly another plus in her favor. "Uh, yeah, yeah, that's the ticket. I dunno, is white really on rice, though? Rice isn't, like, painted or anything. At least, I hope it isn't. Um, sorry, yeah, I just...the little jerks kind of got me riled up. Bennie here," he says, gesturing towards a very wrinkly man behind a newsstand, who appears to be asleep with a girlie magazine laid out on his chest, "...despite current appearances...is a good guy, and they shouldn't be trying to light him on fire just because it's the fourth of July. Not exactly a patriotic display, y'know?"

Ayla's smile doesn't falter as Vance contemplates rice for a moment, and she offers into the line of thought, "I'm more familiar with brown rice." The gesture turns her attention toward Bennie, then she looks the way that the wayward youths had scampered. "I could get them back for you, if you'd like?" She's got her ring, flying would be easy enough to catch up to them, and she's always powered up. A few strategic zaps work wonders in corralling little thugs. Her attention returns to Vance, and she's ready to set out if that's what he would like.

Vance Astrovik arches an eyebrow, "You could, huh? Well..." he says, looking back at Bennie, "Truth be told, I'd rather just let the old man sleep. I put a good scare into 'em anyway. Some people find, um, mutants kind of scary around here, and I gave them the whole glowy eye treatment there, so I think they'll behave themselves. They're still just kids," he says. "I'm kind of curious how you would've caught them, though. You a track star?" he grins, gesturing towards the sneakers.

"Sometimes a scare is all it takes," Ayla says agreeably. When Vance mentions glowy eyes the young Winathian peers at him intently, looking for a sign of that glow. "Your eyes are very nice, but they don't seem to be glowing," she says frankly. But she knows that they might not glow all the time. It's still fun to poke a little, and she can't resist the urge. There's a soft laugh as she shakes her head to the inquiry. "No, I'm not a very fast runner. And flying is faster anyway." While she's learned a bit about keeping her abilities under wraps, it's pretty apparent that Vance would understand even to her.

Vance Astrovik hooks his thumbs at the waistband of his shorts, adopting the traditional pose of relaxed chick-talking, familiar to all New Yorkers of his age range. At the compliment, he grins, "Yours aren't bad either...and the glowing is kind of an on-demand thing, when I use my powers..." he says. When you mention flying, though, he definitely perks up, "Oh yeah? Well, I got news for ya: I can do that, too." he says, and she gets to see those glowy eyes for herself as his brown eyes radiate baby blue energy that folds over him in a field, lifting him a foot or so off the ground. Vance Astrovik says, "I showed you mine..."

It might not have been thought that those dimples could deepen any further, but they do as Vance's eyes glow and the energy wraps around him. "Well so you can. And there's the glowy eyes." Ayla's head tilts as she regards Vance, floating off the ground. "Maybe sometime," she says with a smirk, her feet staying planted on the sidewalk. But the blue energy is a little bit more than she can resist, and one hand lifts, fingertips nearing but not touching the field around the young man. "Is this... electricity?" It looks nothing like what she herself can generate, so there's the potential that it could hurt her if it's anything but simple electricity. And it would be rude to touch it and absorb it, if it is.

The field bubbles out a bit until it touches against Ayla's fingers, responding to Vance's prompting. The field itself is cool to the touch, but firm and unyielding...that is, until he lets Ayla's fingers dip into it, the tactile grip of his TK field actually almost literally holding her hand, cupping the fingers and palm with his mind, "Psychic energy, I guess. Never put it under the microscope or anything, but I think that's a real thing. I generate it with my mind, anyway, and I've never been able to use it to power an appliance," he grins. "I guess I'll believe you about the flying thing. You seem trustworthy to me, but, then, I always was a sucker for a pretty face."

Ayla's smile fades into a look of wonder as the field meets her questing fingertips. She presses lightly to the surface, then her hand pushes forward as Vance allows it, the coolness enveloping her skin. Her fingers flex, feeling the light resistance that brings to mind a cool hand touching her own. She allows a soft pulse of energy to flow from her hand, which would feel like a tingle against another's skin. "Can you feel anything with it?" she asks, looking to Vance's face. His grin draws her own back out and she reassures him, "I'm very trustworthy. Have to be, to be in the Legion. And... thank you." The thanks comes with a touch of shyness, blue eyes dropping from his brown to settle again on her own hand and the baby blue glow.

Vance Astrovik smiles as he lets the energy flow over her fingers, fluid and solid at the same time, "In a way. It's not like real touching, it's more like an awareness. It doesn't hurt to get hit in it, though, which is probably the point...but you have to have some tactile...hey, wait, did you say Legion?" he says, his grin broadening, "I'm trying to join the Legion, actually! I'm supposed to have a try out soon, but I keep...well, I work a lot of odd jobs and stuff, so my schedule's kind of a nightmare, but Lightning Lad said he'd get it set up. It's just as well, though, I still can't settle on a costume or even a codename really..."

For a few more moments, Ayla lets her hand remain in contact with Vance's energy, before she slowly draws back. It's not an unpleasant sensation, rather like a soft stroke over her skin, until she finally breaks contact. There's light surprise on her face as he mentions his desire to become a Legionnaire, and she nods her head. "If Lightning Lad says he will, then it will happen. He's trustworthy as well." That might be one of the nicest things she's ever said aloud about her twin, but she doesn't rush to reveal their connection. "Have you been by the Headquarters, then?"

Vance Astrovik re-absorbs his psychic energy, the glow dimming as he slowly sinks back down until his feet are properly on the ground. "Just the once, when I met him. Superman was there, too, which was kind of...wow..." he says. He made something of a putz out of himself, actually, fanboying at Superman as if he were Justin Bieber and Vance was a twelve year old girl, only with less hearts drawn in notebooks...well, mostly less hearts. "It was pretty amazing. I got the tour and everything. I hope I can get through it..." he says, "So, you're in the Legion, mystery girl...oh, yeah, um, nice to meet you! Vance Astrovik," he says, offering hi hand properly.

Watching as the blue glow fades, Ayla can't help but look a little more amused at the 'wow'. While she may not refer to the Man of Steel as Clarkie, like Garth, she doesn't experience the whole 'OMG it's Superman!' thing, either. She's in a comfortable middle place with the arguably most well known superhero of them all. "I bet you won't have any trouble with it," she says easily. His hand is met with her own, a bit warmer than most by virtue of her relationship with electricity. "I'm Ayla. It's nice to meet you, Vance."

Vance Astrovik grins, "Eh, I'm not quite ready to be cocky yet. I'm doing pretty well with my powers, but I'm still kind of a novice at the superhero game. I'm not taking it lightly, though. I think I'll pass, too, but I don't think it'll be easy," he says. Vance has dreamed of being a superhero for most of his life, and isn't about to miss out on the opportunity, once he gets it. "Ayla? That's pretty. I don't think I've heard that before..."

There's a glance in the direction the long-gone little hoodlums took, and then Ayla's eyes are back on Vance, holding levelly. "I think, just from what I've seen, that you shouldn't worry. I mean, part of the whole thing is simply the willingness to help others. That's more important even than the ability. Some have ability, and no willingness, so it's just.... kind of wasted." Her shoulders shrug. "You have both, clearly." Her hands disappear behind her, fingers twining together behind her back as she stands easily. "I think Vance is a nice name, too. I don't think my name is very common here on Earth in this time."

Vance Astrovik laughs, "Oh yeah, I almost forgot...you're probably from the future. well, definitely are, based on what you just said," he says. "Don't worry, I won't ask you a bunch of 'rube from the past' questions or try to figure out how to win the lottery or bet on baseball. I do hope the Mets manage to get in the series again sometime in my lifetime, but I'm not holding my breath," he chuckles. More seriously, he adds, "I do have a willingness to help. And I'll keep doing it, whether I make the team or not. But it would be nice to have help and people to learn from."

"It's always nice to have a team behind you for support. Moral and physical," Ayla adds. "As for the 'rube from the past', it's likely I'm more a rube from the future." She pauses, considering for a second. "You'd probably be more help to me than I could be to you, as far as that goes." Her gaze drifts, taking in the surroundings. "It's.... odd. Adjusting to here. Different customs, some language barriers." For a moment it can be clearly read on her face that she misses her home, but by the time her attention refocuses on Vance, that's hidden once more beneath her smile. "I think we could use more like you on the team, to help us fit into this world."

Vance Astrovik nods, "I never really thought about it that way. You always imagine the future is where everything's sort of figured out, but, yeah...if you sent me back a thousand years into the past, I don't know how well I'd do. Actually, I'd probably end up getting burned at the stake, so, yeah, New York's at least not that..." He doesn't push about the wistfulness. He's barely ever left New York, so he can imagine how homesick someone must be leaving their own time, perhaps even their whole planet. "I'd be happy to help out. I'll be your slang dictionary and pop culture guru...unless it's about country music. Then I have no idea."

Ayla laughs and nods her head, "I've heard a bit of that music. It doesn't really speak to me. I like music you can dance to without clompy boots." Yeah, she's gotten that much out of it. "I've been enjoying trying different food, as well. I like that people have food in carts that you can find while you're walking around. And if you just stand there a couple minutes, you can kind of figure out what people seem to favor. Makes it easier to find something new to try." With the offer of help on the table so willingly, Ayla studies Vance a bit more closely than she has so far. "I'll be sure to mention to Lightning Lad how helpful you're willing to be. Everyone will be grateful, I'm sure."

Vance Astrovik smiles, gesturing down the street, "There's a pretzel cart just down the way. I like jalapeno cheese with mine, although mustard isn't bad either, if you want a little kick..." he says, "C"mon, I'll get you one, on me." he says. There is, indeed, a cart just down the way, a big bearded man standing under a sign that says, "Twisty's Pretzels: OH YEAH!". Vance walks along, "I'd appreciate that, although I doubt helping people know how to download mp3s or helping them figure out how to use stamps is exactly how I hpe to make the team," he grins.

For a second Ayla frowns, her head turning as Vance gestures. PreTzel. Great. She's probably going to hear it for a while when Garth realizes that she had gotten the name of the tasty treat wrong. A quick, resigned sigh and she puts thoughts of the inevitable out of her head. She opens her mouth, about to tell Vance she's already tried, and liked, the hot pretzels, but she stops before the words come, and changes them to, "That sounds fun." She paces the taller young man easily, being not that much shorter than him. "Oh, Garth would never make it that easy," she assures with a laugh.

Twisty's is a special kind of pretzel. The dough is hand-made every day by by former professional wrestler Johnny "Twisty" O'Hannigan, the big-bearded and beefy man behind the counter. THey are deluxe and super-thick, the flavorful dough coated with a light sprinkling of salt. Twisty also judges amateur wrestling, and Vance met him in that capacity when he was captain of his high school team. "Twisty!" Vance calls out, "Hey, it's the Marvel Boy! How you doin', Astro? Oooo, an' ya brought a ladyfriend, huh? Here, have two Twisty Terrifics, on da house," the big man says, presenting a pair of matched classic-style giant pretzels, except on a stick, "Take advantage of da condiment station, we got everything ya could want." Vance tries to subtly hint to Twisty that he should ix-nay on the adyfriend-lay, but the big man is oblivious, as usual. "That's okay. I believe in earning things, not just having them handed to me. After all, if I got in too easy, how would you know you could trust me to have your back in a bad situation?"

Being referred to as a ladyfriend doesn't seem to phase Ayla, and she smiles brightly at the friendly entrepreneur. "That's very kind of you, thank you," she says, reaching to accept one of the skewered treats. One brow quirks at Vance, and she can't resist parroting him from earlier in their conversation. "You look trustworthy to me." She shifts her gaze immediately to the mentioned condiment station. "Which one is your favorite, Vance?"

Vance Astrovik makes a playful face with his eyebrows at the trustworthy comment, taking his steamy pretzel and using it as a pointer to gesture with, little flakes of salt falling off occasionally as he points, "Well, it all depends on what you like. Some people like cream cheese frosting, sweet to go with the salty. Some like mustard, of which he has brown, yellow and honey, all of which have their different points. I, as I mentioned earlier, rather favor the jalapeno cheese option, which he has in both the yellow and white varieties...I make a mixture..." he says, drizzling his pretzel in both gooey cheeses.

Ayla regards the different toppings as Vance mentions them, trying to make up her mind what to try. The cart she first tried pretzels from wasn't this nicely decked out, and she had it plain. Unable to make up her mind, she begins to methodically paint parts of her pretzel with each of the possible toppings. They're kept apart, so she can taste each and make an educated judgment of which she likes best. It's more of a painstaking process than it really ought to be, but she's nothing if not precise.

Vance Astrovik smiles as he watches the systematic drizzling of flavorings, leaning back against the edge of the cart and just enjoying his in its natural, cheese-drowned state. He snags a few napkins, laying some on the condiment bar for Ayla's usage while taking good advantage of his own, wiping some of the spicy goodness from his mouth, "Twisty! My good man! All American Coca Cola for me, and the soda of her choice for the lady!" he grins. Admittedly, this is about the best meal he can afford, between tuition, books, rent, electricity and other bills. Being cut off by your family sucks.

Ayla glances up in mid-drizzle, smiling back at Vance. "You missed a spot," she informs him lightly. "Umm... Coca Cola will be fine for me, as well." Finally, she gets done adding the last touch of honey mustard, and her creation is ready for sampling. She pauses, deciding where to start, and takes a bite from the section with the white cheese that Vance favors. Her attempt at being delicate falls a little short as she ends up with cheese smeared on her lips, but she laughs, covering her mouth with one hand. "That's good," she manages around the bite. "A little spicy."

Vance Astrovik smiles and nods, "Spicey's kind of the point, yup. I like it with the salty," he says, taking a long drag from his straw, closing his eyes as he just savors the soda on his palette, "You missed a bit," he says, holding up a napkin and offering to strategically wipe the stray dollop of cheese, "The point, actually, is whatever you like. Street food is comfort food, it's about eating something excessive and delicious and totally bad for you. I will have to do, like, thirty laps in the pool tomorrow to make up for this, but, eh, so what?"

In a demonstration of just how trustworthy she judges Vance to be, Ayla drops her hand and pushes her head forward, offering her face to the swipe of the napkin. "I like it. And this one is sweet?" A point indicated the cream cheese frosting, but she barely waits for his reply before her next bite is taken from that bit. She's lucky in that she burns off calories pretty quickly, and can even expend them in the form of a charge, although that's the exact same thing that will drain her energy if she uses too powerful or prolonged a blast. And at his comment of having to do extra laps to make up for it, her eyes sweep over him, tip to toe and back again. As her eyes come back to his face they only linger a moment before they drop, and she immediately comments, "I like the sweet one with the salt."

Vance Astrovik keeps his own ogling very much more discreet (and it's so much easier to do with those big, reflective windows on the building behind Ayla, letting him do his checking out with having to actually directly look at the girl in question). He wipes her mouth with a careful flick of his wrist, grinning, "I like that on occasion, too. He makes dessert pretzels, too, with cinnamon and sugar in place of the salt, and it's amazing with those. Truth is, in New York City, you can probably find just about anything you want to eat, it's just a matter of imagination. BUt if it can be put on a stick and sold to feed hungry people? It's out there."

Ayla isn't a very accomplished ogler, unfortunately. Most of her time was spent learning how to fight boys, not appreciate them, in Mekt's quest to make her a suitable replacement in the Legion for himself. Dating was NOT a priority. Training and trying to figure out what happened to Garth were. Attraction, while inevitable in a blossoming girl, was never really an issue. And she realizes her shortcomings, in the strangeness of the discomfort that looking back up at Vance's face brought. So she safely keeps her eyes on her pretzel for a while. A section with yellow mustard is the next experiment, again with a lack of daintiness, but with growing enthusiasm. "They're all good... how can you choose a favorite?" she muses.

Vance Astrovik is much more self-assured. While he seemed like a nervous schoolboy when he met the Legion, Vance is actually a fairly self-confident and together young man. It was just the overwhelming exposure to his dream (and to the unexpected presence of Superman) that made him seem so very nervous. He grins as he watches Ayla eat with metaphorical relish (and not literal relish - definitely not pretzel-appropriate). She's a cute girl, although he knows his mother would never approve. Future or not, Ayla's definitely a shiksa. "Up to you. I just kinda went with flavors I knew I liked, but, y'know, you don't have as much background in that sort of thing. Did you guys eat, like, space food in the future? All freeze dried and stuff? Or was it just alien cuisine?" he says, giving in to a little curiosity.

As a result of her tasting a bit of each topping in turn, Ayla's nibbled around the edges of her pretzel in a rather unorthodox way. Choosing to return to the white cheese, still not looking up at Vance again, she replies, "Some things were dried. Mostly it was just.... different." It's a little difficult to express fully, and Garth is so much better at explaining things than she is. Running at the mouth just comes naturally to her twin. She glances up, regarding Vance for a moment through a fringe of lashes, before her eyes dart away again.

Vance Astrovik finishes off his pretzel with a hefty dose of cheese, rinsing it down quickly with another shot of coke. He doesn't say anything for a minute, mostly because he's doing math in his head. He's got rent and electricity for the month. Cellphone's due, but he could push that back for a few weeks, he could handle the late fee when it came around. Fly to jobs instead of using the subway as much, which risks getting caught as much but at least saves. Plus, he's got that check coming from the catering job in Staten Island, being a waiter at that wedding...yeah, he's got a little bit of extra cash, "Sooooooooo, um..." he says, flicking his straw around idly, 'I mean, as long as I'm showing you, like, different kind of modern foods, maybe I could do it sometime in an, uh, actual restaurant. Like, on an evening...maybe even see a movie. If you're not busy saving the world, of course."

Ayla's knee-jerk reaction would be to decline the invitation, because saving the world is the whole point of everything, isn't it? But a mouth full of pretzel gives her a moment to think as she chews and swallows. There is more to life, after all. She licks her lips before answering, then looks up to Vance, her smile curving again. "I think that sounds like fun." Somewhere, Mekt's head just exploded. Well, probably not, but the unexpected thought makes Ayla giggle, and she coughs to try and cover it, then clears her throat. "When would you like to?"

Vance Astrovik considers for a moment, "I'm betting your schedule's way busier than mine..." he says. It's not, almost certainly not, but he's built up enough goodwill that he can call into just about any of his jobs on short notice without getting too much flack. One of the benefits of being a reliable, stand-up guy is that people start to trust you and assume you aren't a lying douchebag when you need to get a little slack that you don't normally ask for. "I think Fridays are somewhat...traditional, when a boy takes out a girl for a dinner and a movie, at least in the 21st century. Things might have changed in the far-flung future, of course. You might have dates on St. Mungus Day or the First of Futuretober," he teases a little bit, "I'll try to pick a movie that isn't about things getting blown up. I suspect we both get enough of that."

Thankfully, the Legionnaires all look out for each other, so when something comes up and someone needs to switch a shift on watch, it's never a problem, there's always someone who will oblige. Without thinking this time, Ayla blurts, "Oh, I don't have dates." Beat. "On any specific day. So... a Friday would be fine." That smooth coverup is given away by the blush that creeps into the young woman's cheeks. Well, that and the fact that it wasn't the least bit smooth. She groans inwardly, knowing how lame that was, wondering if she could talk to Imra before any date so she doesn't make a complete ass of herself. As she takes another bite of pretzel, steadily working at it although slower than Vance, she gives herself a mental shake. Now, when she looks up again, she meets Vance's eyes more easily, nodding. "Whatever you pick will be fine with me."

Vance Astrovik rather likes the way a blush works with Ayla's coloring. He picked up on it on her hesitance, but isn't sure what to make of it. She doesn't date? That seems...odd. Cute girl, super powers, part of a nifty team full of other superpowered folks. Maybe it was cultural. But she said yes, and yes is all he needs, at least for the moment. The rest can be figured out. "Friday it is. Dinner. Movie. Pretty simple. Oh, do you have any allergies I should know about? I don't want to take you somewhere to eat and, like, almost kill you because you have a strange future allergy to pork or curry or Vietnamese Ghost Peppers or something..." He figures he'll try to figure out some sort of ethnic cuisine, which is as close as he can get to fancy on his budget, replacing the expense of a black tie restaurant with the benefits of a learning a foreign culture and enjoying something out of the ordinary. "And, I guess I'll meet up with you at Legion HQ? Probably be easier than trying to give you directions to my apartment..."

The panic that flashes in Ayla's head doesn't show through the easy smile on her lips. This Friday?? It's already Wednesday! Independent of her brain, Ayla's head nods, and she says, "Friday is good. I don't have any allergies that I know of, so I think we're safe." Then it sinks in that he's suggesting HQ. "I can meet you out front," she suggests, already adding to her imposition on Imra the plea to keep Garth away. Her quasi-protective brother is the last thing that needs to interfere with this date. She'd have to hurt him if he pulled anything like he did by telling Booster Gold she wet the bed when she was six (a lie!) and that would be an awful start to her first date. Later she'll have time to go full 12-year-old girl about the whole first date thing. The last bite of her pretzel disappears, and she finally picks up her soda, sipping through the straw. "You have your own apartment?" she asks, when she's washed all the cheese and mustard flavors down.

Vance Astrovik does not, of course, know that the guy who's probably designing his entrance exam is the protective big brother of the girl he just asked out. Not that it would stop him if it did, but it probably would be useful information to have. Vance is headstrong by nature, and would only take it as a challenge (and not even an unfriendly one). He knows he's a good guy, so he's not sure why anyone would object to him as a potential boyfriend, especially since he's pretty sure the whole mutant thing isn't an issue. To the question, he nods, "Yeah. I mean, it's barely an apartment, more like a room with a half kitchen and a quarter bath. I can fit into the shower if I scrunch down and try not to move too much," he laughs. "But, yeah, I'm kind of on my own. I go to the University. Planning to be an astronaut, actually, if I can pass all my classes in between getting into the Legion and all that."

Wiping her fingers off on one of the napkins, Ayla finds a sticky spot, and as she listens to Vance she absently sucks a spot of mustard off the side of her thumb. "You must be pretty smart," she observes. There's a pause as she looks at him thoughtfully. "You said you don't even have a code name yet? It seems kind of obvious, don't you think?" To her, at least part of his code name stands out as if it were flashing neon.

Vance Astrovik laughs and ponders, "I dunno...I mean, I've gone back and forth, like, a million times. I don't think I could be a lad. I admit, I thought about a boy, but, I dunno...I mean, what do you think? Is being a lad or a boy, like, demeaning? Shouldn't I be declaring myself a man?" he says, half-serious, a wry grin on his face. His eyes are more serious, though, as this is something he's kind of agonized over and hasn't been able to settle down about...

Ayla can't help but giggle, warning Vance, "Don't say that around Lightning Lad. He might zap you." She does, truly, find this very amusing... not the thought of Vance getting zapped, but the speculation that Garth's name would be anything less than absolutely perfect. "Well, Superman does, so it's not like you'd be breaking any 'rules of naming' or anything." She picks up the name the pretzel vendor called Vance, and tries a few variations. "Astro Lad. Astro Boy. Astro Man."

Vance Astrovik considers, "My only hesitance with Astro is that it's my family name, and it's not exactly common. There are...members of my family who aren't exactly supportive of being related to a mutant, y'know? I'm not sure I need to rile them up anymore." Him, really, as Vance's father is the king and high priest of the asshole bigots, but he doesn't need to get specific. "Astro Boy is a cartoon in Japan, I'm pretty sure anyway. Astro Man sounds like a band..." he grins. "I was thinking about Marvel Boy. It was kind of a high school nickname..." he says, and this time he blushes. He was kind of a big deal in his little high school.

Ayla's eyes soften as Vance mentions some family concerns, and she reaches to pat his shoulder lightly, letting her hand rest a moment. "I'm sorry. It's awful when family isn't there to back you up." She appears to have gotten over her minor problem looking at him directly, because she studies him again, openly, and says softly, "Marvel Boy." Her head tilts, and she's silent for a moment. Then she smiles. "I like it."

Vance Astrovik had been feeling pretty doubtful about Marvel Boy, but the endorsement of the pretty girl with the red hair definitely pushes it a lot higher up the depth chart than it had been before. He doesn't respond directly to the family thing, just kind of shrugging. He doesn't want to lay his angst off, especially not when trying to get his mac on. Unfortunately, he's probably about thirty minutes behind on his newspaper collections at this point, which he'd, frankly, forgotten about in his pretzel-buying and flirting extravaganza, "Marvel Boy...huh. Maybe," he grins, "Unfortunately, I probably have to go back to earning some of that money, so I don't have to buy you, like, another pretzel on Friday. But I'll be there, say, five o'clock? Give us a chance to get to dinner early and not be out until three in the morning because the movie line is so long... Look for me, I'll be the guy with the blue energy field and the brown eyes," he grins.

Now those blue eyes widen, as Ayla realizes she's been keeping Vance from his duties. "Oh, I'm sorry! I shouldn't have kept you," she apologizes hastily. She's not really sorry, but it's the correct thing to say, right? A hair more quietly, she adds, "Another pretzel wouldn't be all that bad." Then she grins, nodding in agreement, "Five sounds great. And I'll remember you, don't worry." Blue glow or not. She hesitates, not sure what proper protocol is for thanking someone for treating to a pretzel, and just settles on, "Thank you for the pretzel." Not original, but it gets the job done. "I'll see you on Friday." She backs away a step, not turning, getting another good look at him.

Vance Astrovik grins, "It was my pleasure. Believe me, I can definitely do better than a pretzel...and, believe me, nothin' to apologize for. I can catch up pretty fast. I've got superpowers, remember?" he grins. His field erupts again, wrapping around him like a second skin, his eyes glowing softly as he lifts off into the air, "See you Friday!" he grins, and then he's off, zipping off into the sky feeling quite a bit lighter-hearted than when he started his day.