It had been too long since the last time Jenn was at Grindhouse. The cafe still smelled of coffee and wood polish like always, but they'd changed the menu. They were serving holiday-themed drinks now. If she'd known that, she would've told Dev to order her a holiday spice latte instead of her usual cinnamon-sprinkled one. There was even an unfamiliar barista behind the counter.
Actually, it was probably for the better that her introduction to the new hire wouldn't be today. Jenn was still clutching an injured arm - not to mention the fact that she'd been punched in the face under an hour ago. A black eye didn't make for a great first impression.
Jenn's eyes swept the café lobby, even though she already knew where to find Dev. During the day, the bay windows let in a lot of light, but at night, the low light gave it a cosier atmosphere. The front of the café was still pretty well-lit, industrial lighting fixtures hanging low over the velvet-upholstered furniture. But Jenn and Dev had always preferred the back booths. They were much more private - and, as they'd found out on one occasion, almost entirely soundproof. Good thing, considering what Jenn was about to divulge.
Although he was thoroughly absorbed by his textbook, Dev seemed to feel the weight of Jenn's gaze on him. He looked up, grinning when their eyes met, and patted the spot next to him. It was only when Jenn got closer that the look fell from his face.
"Is everything...alright?" Dev asked, warily eyeing Jenn as she joined him in the booth.
"I did something, erm, not particularly bright," Jenn confessed, wincing at her friend. When Dev gestured for her to go on, she let out a sigh. "Remember when you asked me what I planned on doing with my abilities?"
She didn't need to say anything more. Dev's jaw dropped and he almost looked angry. "Jenn. Tell me you didn't."
Well, there wasn't really a point in denying it. Besides, half of the story was written across her face. So Jenn told him the rest of it, from the idea that had sparked her evening jog to getting his call moments ago. She was careful choosing her words, particularly in reference to any superhuman feats. As she spoke, Dev's brows knitted tighter and tighter together. By the time she was done, she was afraid she'd just given him permanent forehead lines.
"So let's see it, then," Dev said, his voice low and even. It was the first thing he said after a rather long pause and Jenn briefly wondered if she missed some context. Dev rolled his eyes and held out a hand. "Your arm. You said this Mick guy got you with a knife. What kind of friend would I be if I didn't at least give you first aid?"
Despite the apparent anger in his tone, it didn't change what he'd said. Jenn could feel herself smiling as she let him take her arm. While Dev rooted around in his rucksack - "You're so lucky I keep a kit on me, you know that?" - Jenn peeled her fingers off her arm for the first time since getting the injury.
The slash in her sleeve was still there, along with a thin smear of crimson underneath. When Jenn looked down at her hand, she found a similar stripe of dried blood across her palm. Dev cleaned her hand off first before taking the medical wipe to the injury itself. Jenn tensed in anticipation of the isopropyl burn, but nothing came.
"Erm...wasn't expecting that," Dev spoke, bringing Jenn's attention back to him. She followed the path of his gaze from his confused face to her arm.
Well, alright then. Jenn hadn't been expecting that either. Between the blood and the hole in her sweats, there was no denying she'd been cut by something. However, there wasn't any open skin, or even a scab. If anything, it looked like the incident had happened a week ago. All that remained of the injury was the thin, pinkish line of a nearly-healed cut.
"That's absolutely fascinating," Dev mumbled under his breath, seeming to forget his audience for a moment. When Jenn gave a hum, Dev suddenly straightened. "Huh, looks like I was right about your metabolism being off the charts."
"How so?" Jenn replied.
"Well, a large part of metabolism involves the creation of new cells. Or rather, generating the energy necessary for mitosis. Regardless-" Dev stopped short, catching himself mid-ramble. "You said you needed to generate your own energy at one point? I think you might've kickstarted your metabolism when you did."
Jenn blinked. "So you're telling me I have some kind of healing ability too?" Dev only shrugged. "You know...not bothered by that one."
"But this doesn't give you license to make this a regular thing," Dev pointed out.
It was Jenn's turn to roll her eyes. "Well, it certainly won't stop me either." Dev opened his mouth, but before he could protest, Jenn cut back in. "Look, I said I wanted to do something with my power and I think this is it. Back when I stopped us from getting mugged - it felt like...like this is what I'm meant to do. I know it's what I'm meant for."
"Yeah, well, there are plenty of cops for that," Dev argued back.
"Please. Look at how good a job they're doing with our neighborhood. I've had to stop two crimes in just as many months, and that's without even looking too hard," Jenn reasoned, which Dev had no response for. He just looked off, unable to meet Jenn's intense gaze. "Come on, I can't just sit around and not do anything."
"And what if you get hurt, yeah? What happens then?" Dev asked, suddenly rounding on her. The ferocity in his tone was enough to stop her cold. "People carry around a lot worse than pocket knives. We don't know the limits of your healing just yet."
But the number of people she could help vastly outnumbered that, Jenn wanted to say, but she knew that wouldn't go over well with Dev. Instead, she went for, "This was just my first time. In the future I'll get better."
"How do you know that? How can you be sure?" Dev's voice, which had started out so strong, suddenly cracked. He was quick to cut himself off afterwards, but Jenn had still caught it. She opened her mouth, but found she didn't quite know what to say. After taking a moment to compose himself, Dev continued, "I just...I just lost my father, Jenn. I can't lose you too."
There was real vulnerability in Dev's eyes, but he met Jenn's stare anyway. "Aw, Dev," she murmured, reaching out a hand to him. "I don't have any intention to leave you, trust me." She took a deep breath. "But please understand this is something I need to do."
Dev's answering sigh was one of defeat. "Well, it's not like I can stop you, right?"
"Hey," Jenn tried, nudging her friend. "Promise before I do anything stupid in the future that I'll tell you first?"
That at least managed to draw a small chuckle from Dev, but he said nothing afterwards. He stared out over the café, focus somewhere a million days away. "We're gonna need to figure out something you can fight in," he said after a moment. "Something that offers a little more protection than a tracksuit." He turned to Jenn. "You're the buildy-things engineer. Think you can design yourself some sort of Iron Man suit?"
"Throwing lightning around from inside a tin can doesn't sound like the brightest idea," Jenn shook her head. "And neither does limiting my mobility. Besides, where would I even get the money for that?"
"Tony Stark managed to make the first one in a desert," Dev pointed out.
"And he looked like a bloody boiler," Jenn replied. "I'd rather just the tracksuit. At least I'll be mobile." She paused to frown. "I'm more concerned about finding some way to hide my identity. Can't exactly go running around with my face out in the open when there's CCTV everywhere."
"Eh, I might be able to whip up something from that one pair of broken welding goggles," Dev muttered as if considering. "Added bonus, they'll also protect your eyes from any impressive light displays you decide to put on."
And Dev said she was the buildy-things one. That was pretty ingenious. But the best part of it all was watching Dev's eyes light up. Yes, there was the fact that he was excited by the possibilities involved, but it wasn't just that. He believed in her, trusted her to do this. That meant more than anything else he could've said.
"You know, if you do this, you're going to need a codename," Dev said, cutting across Jenn's train of thought. "Something cool like Iron Man or, you know, Captain America."
"Yeah? And what would you go calling yourself if you were in my position?" Jenn laughed.
"Oh, my name's cool enough already," Dev waved her off. "Devraj? It means 'ruler of the gods'. I defy you to beat that."
This time, when Jenn rolled her eyes, it was all in good jest. There was a retort on her mind, but the response died as another thought came to her. She let out a single chuckle, shaking her head. Ruler of the gods, huh?
"Should I be concerned?" Dev asked slowly, with just a dash of sarcasm.
"No. No," Jenn continued to shake her head. Then she turned to Dev, a smile blooming across her face. "I just had an idea..."