I went to a diner with Julia and Keran today, because we were all getting fucking bored with that cramped friggin hideout we've been staying in. Keran was initially hesitant, but Julia convinced her that they'd all be safe because I'm a fucking badass and no one's gonna fuck with me.

"So, what's your deal?" I asked.

"What do you mean?" Keran asked.

"Why's Sal serious about your safety?" I asked. "Do those Emissary punks have beef with you too?"

"Well, no," she said. "I don't know anything about them. Or their boss."

"So why's he so damn protective of you?" I asked.

"Sal's pretty protective of all his employees," Julia said.

"Oh, please," I said. "There's gotta be more to it than that."

"It's complicated," Keran replied.

"Does it have something to do with your super powers?" I asked.

Julia almost choked on a bite of her eggs while Keran awkwardly glanced out the window.

"I don't know what you're talking about," she said.

"Justin says you can sprout strings from your fingers," I said.

She stared down at her plate nervously.

"He noticed those...?" she asked.

"Not the most impressive power I've seen," I said. "But I bet you've got more tricks up your sleeve, right?"

"I'm... uh... not supposed to use them," she said. "Not around other people, anyway."

"You let Justin catch  glimpse of them," I said.

"I didn't think Sal would send some rando to wake me up!" she said defensively. "And I was tired! I just figured he wouldn't remember or not notice..."

"No such luck," I said. "So what else can you do?"

"Sal says I need to keep my gifts secret," she said. "He says I'm special. My powers are rarer than rare."

"And now I wish I was eating steak," I said, glaring angrily at my scrambled eggs, which I pushed over to Julia. "Finish these for me! I'm mad at them..."

"Okay..." Julia said.

"Come on," I said to Keran. "Show me something."

"I shouldn't," she insisted.

"No one's looking at us right now," Julia said. "It'll be fine."

After a minute of hesitation, Keran stuck a butter knife into her glass of orange juice and took a deep breath. I felt the air around us grow a bit colder as her glass fogged up and her juice solidified into a chuck of ice. She twisted the knife a bit and pulled the frozen orange juice out of the glass.

"Ta-da," she said timidly. "Instant popsicle."

"It's still not steak," I said, making sure to sound as disappointed as possible.

"Sorry," Keran said.

"Ciel's just kidding," Julia said. "That's pretty neat."

"So Sal doesn't want you using your powers, huh?" I asked.

"He says they're dangerous," she replied.

"So why not learn to use them?" I asked. "You might even be able to fight with them if you train enough."

"I don't know," she said. "I think Sal would get pretty mad at me."

"Fuck Sal," I said. "He's in another dimension, what the fuck is he gonna do about it?"

"She's got a point," Julia said. "Ciel and I could help you train."

"It'll be fun," I said. "I doubt you'll even need Sal's protection when we get done with you."

"I guess...," Keran muttered. "Maybe... it couldn't hurt..."

"There you go!" I said. "Now let's ditch this place and go find somewhere that serves steak."

So we paid our tab and made our way out of the diner. On our way out, I noticed this guy sitting in a booth a ways away from us, eating a strawberry sundae. Now, normally, this wouldn't be so odd. Except he had a sheathed longsword leaning on the bench beside him. Who the fuck brings a sword into a diner, and why did no one bother to do anything about it. He caught me staring at him, and he gave me this cocky little wink. I glared at him for a few seconds before leaving. Fucking weirdo...