The group looked around in a frenzy for an open spot in the diner.
The room was packed to the brim with people and no open spots were in sight.
Ivory fidgets with her coat zipper and mumbles, "Shit. Shit."
The young woman could feel the stares of the crowd around her. The eyes felt as though they would slowly ensnare her in a trap. A trap just like the environment that would suffocate her alive.
Faye tapped Ivory on the shoulder causing her to turn to face her in an instant.
Faye points toward the front, "Me, you, and Abigail can sit in the open booth closest to the bar. The rest of the gang can sit in the back."
Ivory nods, "Sounds good…"
Hudson mumbles to himself while turning to walk towards the back, "Why can't we sit in the front?"
Lilith jabs him in the ribs to shut him up while Rui chuckles at his friend's pain.
Faye, Abigail, and Ivory walked to the front of the diner locating an open maroon booth for three.
Ivory and Abigail decided to sit on the right side of the booth while Faye sat on the left.
The eerily quiet diner bustled with noise once again after the group found their seats. The eyes drifted away from the late guests and many continued their previous conversations.
Abigail leans back against the booth and closes her eyes, "These booths are comfy. Aren't they Ivory?"
Ivory leans back with a smile spreading on her face, "The booth isn't too bad."
Faye takes out a brown mechanical cigar.
She pushes a red button on the right side of the device with her pointer finger to cut the cap of the cigar and light it. A bright shade of orange shined from the tip of the cigar as the older woman took a drag from it.
The older woman wouldn't even make eye contact with Ivory or Abigail at that moment. She was focused on something else entirely toward the front of the room with a strange intensity on her face.
Faye holds the smoke in her mouth and blows it out forcefully.
The smoke travels to the end of the room and lingers near two people having a conversation at the bar. The smoke was personified with its ability to wait and take its time to avoid suspicion before slowly wrapping around the two barstools.
The two young women start coughing from the fading smoke in their booth.
Abigail says, "Put that away Faye or at least blow it in a different direction."
Ivory coughs, "Yeah Faye, turn it off."
Faye presses the red button again and the cap of the cigar reappears. She places the device back into her pocket.
Faye leans in close and winks, "Look over there and do me a favor. Try to listen in on what those two are saying at the bar."
Ivory follows the smoke trail with her eyes and notices how smoke seemed to be wrapped around both of the chairs without disappearing.
The cigar-like device seemed to be more than what it presented itself to be.
Ivory tries to move her head closer out of the booth to listen in but winces with the other loud conversations around her. The two would be almost impossible to hear from this distance under normal circumstances.
Faye rummages through her pocket and takes out her cigar once more.
She imitates the sign of a phone with her thumb and pinky, "Hold it close to your ear."
Ivory takes the cigar and places it close to her ear while Abigail leans close to her.
The cigar acted similarly to what wireless headphones were like before the readjustment period.
People would need to place the device close to their ears to hear the sounds imitated from it and others in public wouldn't be able to hear the sounds made from it.
There was an old man with brown skin, a stubble, and a white cowboy hat that sat across from an old woman with olive skin and a black dress on.
Ivory squinted at the older woman and said in a hushed tone, "Wait was that Lyra?"
Faye shrugs, "Just take a listen."
The two young women listened in on the conversation intently.
Lyra says, "Sam… You can't blame people with the mutation for what happened."
Sam smiles arrogantly, wiping alcohol off his face, "I can and I will. You lot with the mutation are all that is wrong with this underground city."
Lyra sighs, "I… You have no evidence to prove that."
Sam puts his head down on the table, "Don't gaslight me. I know what I saw. Ice? That at least counts as a partial mutation."
Lyra smiles sadly, "It's hard to see someone that's lost themselves like this. Especially considering who you were..."
Lyra's eyes glisten, "I hope you wake up soon Sam."
Sam's head rises from the table just enough to make eye contact with her, "I hate you."
Lyra shakes her head and stands up, "You're just drunk. Don't do anything stupid, alright?"
Sam slurs his speech, "I… I guess."
The smoke instantly disappears before Lyra seems to notice.
Lyra makes eye contact with Ivory across the room and waves politely. Ivory waves back and quickly looks away.
The older woman raises an eyebrow before walking away towards Icarus.
As Ivory was going to turn back to face Faye. A certain individual stood out from the rest sitting at the bar close to where Faye was. The creature wore a brown cloak paired with a grey mask.
The cloaked figure turned their head toward Ivory and their eyes held a hint of familiarity. Who exactly were they?
The cloaked figure quickly looked away and the scene almost mimicked what had just happened a minute ago in reverse.
Faye holds out her hand, "Mind passing my cigar back Ivory?"
Ivory nods, handing it back absentmindedly, "Yeah. Yeah, here you go."
Faye says, "Wait, is something the matter? Did what you hear shock you that much?"
Ivory shakes her head, "That person over there in the cloak. Who are they?"
Faye takes a look, "There's no one over there."
Ivory takes a second glance toward where the cloaked figure was and it appears that they vanished out of thin air.
Ivory says, "Huh… I guess maybe I was in a bit of shock."
Abigail says with apprehension, "You sure it was just that?"
Ivory pats her shoulder, "Yeah everything is fine. Don't worry so much about me."
The two young women release a sigh at the same time, returning back to the present.
Ivory leans back on the booth, "Why did you even want us to listen to that mess?"
Abigail says with a frown, "Haven't we all known someone staring down an empty bottle in these times… Not really uncommon."
Faye yawns, "Isn't it interesting? The speed at which our world interacts with the laws of cause and effect."
Ivory shakes her head, "Elaborate."
Faye sighs, "Fine. The law of cause and effect states for every action there would be a reaction. Any outcome would need certain conditions to create it."
Ivory says, "But in our world these laws have changed slightly. Cause and effect with conditions relating to breaking an object will always result in rematerialization."
Faye says, "Exactly."
Abigail places her pointer fingers to massage her head, "How is any of this related?"
Faye rolls her open palms in the air, "The fight with the twins and you freezing them is our cause. The effect is public approval going up for councilor J and hatred developing for sunburn users with the mutation."
Faye clenches her fist, "In the past, prejudice would not immediately begin due to an event like this. In the present, public approval in itself is enhancing the speed of cause and effect and due to the existence of rematerialization."
Ivory smirks, "Basically cause and effect relationships happen faster in our world than in the past."
Faye claps her hands, "Exactly."
Abigail rolls her eyes, "Just say that then."
Ivory scrunches her eyebrows, "You're just high, Faye. If anything I should be focusing on feeling guilty for all of this happening. It is my fault after all."
Faye yawns, "Yes and no. If it makes you feel better. I think this would've happened sooner or later."
At that moment a loud noise started to echo throughout the room. The sound was similar to a metallic object striking a glass cup.
The sound reminded Ivory of the makeshift drumset Linda had used during the Bliss concert.
This sound even though it was similar wasn't nearly as satisfying to hear.
The voices around Ivory hushed down to barely a whisper as she began to pinpoint the noise radiating from the front of the room.
Everyone slowly turned their heads to the front of the room where Icarus stood, hunched over, banging a black spoon onto a glass cup filled with whiskey.
The audience stood still unable to look away from their host.
The faceless with a smiley face mask repeatedly struck the glass cup with more force as time went on.
Tick. Tick. Crash.
The glass cup shattered in Icarus's hands after rematerializing almost instantly. Whiskey drenched his hands, illuminated in the orange led lights of the bar looking most similar to blood.
Icarus chuckles, staring at his hand, "Oh how clumsy of me. I can't even properly hold a glass these days."
Icarus stares back toward the crowd, "Enough small talk. I believe it's about time we discuss the future of this city."