A Lesson in Practicality

The Search

"Roman, come on, can you just get on with it? We've been waiting forever."

"Be patient, Virgil. Roman hasn't eaten properly all day since he was running around." Patton placed a glass of juice on the table. "Let him get a quick bite in first."

"Yeah." Roman took a swig of the juice and went back to his sandwich. "Thanks, Patton. Time traveling while trying not to screw up anything is very tiring."

"We aren't even sure anything would have happened," Logan spoke up from his seat at the table. "It's all speculation."

"I'd rather not risk messing with things," Virgil muttered. "Guess I can thank you for waiting around, Roman. Even if you did freak me out."

Roman stayed quiet as he continued to eat, finally slowing down and taking another sip before sighing. "Okay, I'm good for now. What do you want to know?"

"Um, hello? The other one of us running around town?" Virgil waved his arms around. "How could you forget?"

"Just want to know where to start." Roman cleared his throat. "I mean, he was kind of cute, not my type but I can see us totally being friends-"

"Roman!"

"What?" Roman looked over at Virgil and shrugged. "I didn't get his name or anything, I kind of just ran into him."

Virgil rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Are you serious--how did you run into him?"

Roman gestured to himself. "With my body, of course."

"Ohh, you actually ran into him!" Patton giggled happily. "That makes sense!"

"Yes, well, I was just walking around, trying to avoid normal places you guys usually go. No jobs or parks or anything like that. I'm walking down the street and we suddenly bumped into each other!"

"Are you sure it was him?" Logan questioned. "None of us know what he looks like and I wasn't there to confirm anything."

Roman groaned and ran a hand down his face. "Just let me finish my story, okay? No more questions." He looked around and everyone silently nodded. "Thank you! Anyway, I bump into him and accidentally shock him when I do. So, of course, I have to go 'there seems to be a spark between us. I must be your Prince Charming' which he laughs at of course-"

"Roman..." Virgil groaned out, gritting his teeth. "Enough, just get to the point!"

"Fine, ruining my story." He shifted in his seat. "Anyway, I finally let go and the guy looks down and his hands are doing the thing, you know?" Roman holds up a hand and small blue sparks connect to each finger lighting up the room. "Like this! He looked kind of panicked and he ran off after that."

"You didn't chase after him?" Virgil asked. "You run into the guy and just... let him go?"

"Finding him again should not be an issue, it never really was." Logan began to ponder. "However, the problem arises that this may not be the same person. The one we were looking for had powers similar to my own."

"So, Roman has someone like him too?" Patton spoke up. "Does that mean we all have someone just like us?"

"Maybe," Roman asked, picking up his sandwich once more. "I didn't really stop him and ask if he remembered anyone named Logan, but I figured if there was only one more person in the city like us than it would have gone differently."

"This is all still speculation." Logan sighed. "The only way to truly know is to go and ask him. We just have to think of a way to not scare him again!"