Some Like it Hot, [Helena]

[Travis Jenkins]

It was too hot outside.

It was too hot, yet Travis Jenkins still wore a toque as he walked through the trails of Central Park, the blue knitted hat pulling down over his ears. He could feel the sweat forming on his forehead and on the strands of hair rubbing against his skin, but he ignored it. Well, he was more blissfully unaware of it, really, since he didn't even realize he was sweating. But if he did know, he'd be disgusted.

New York was in shambles, but it was still his home. He couldn't count the number of times that he had ventures through the Park, watching the people. They weren't watching back, how could they? He grinned as his walk sped to a jog, looking on the grass at the people. There were entire families, home lost in the explosion. Still, they were all smiling. Everybody was smiling. There was something about watching somebody smiling that was oddly sadistic and he couldn't figure out why.

He was invisible, staring at a family sitting on the grass. Their clothes were dirty and they were passing around a pitcher of water, pouring it into glasses. He squinted as he watched them, trying to see if he could make out what they were saying.

The sun shone on his body and he could feel the strength building inside of him. He liked to compare himself to a plant: he needed sunlight to live. He also needed water, but not so much the soil. A kick-ass plant, at the least. One of the kids looked over in his direction, frowning slightly. Travis, despite knowing he was invisible, waved at the confused boy and continued on his walk, staring at his feet. In all, it was a normal walk, the same one he took every day. At least it was until...

smack. He rebounded and hit the ground. His concentration was lost at he faded back into full view, but that was the least of his worries, he didn't know how he fell. Looking up, he tried to make out what it was that caused him to fall. Travis picked himself up and looked around, to see if anybody saw him, when his eyes fell on a girl, who couldn't be older than a teenager. “Err... sorry, did I walk into you?”

The strange thing was, he hadn't felt a collision...

[Helena Mote]

Things changed so quickly. Two years ago, Helena only dreamed of walking around Central Park. She had this vision of herself as a student at NYU, studying at the park, surrounded by her friends. She would be walking this same path with books in her hand, laughing with some friend at her side. And when she bumped into someone in this alternate reality, she would actually bump into them. She would feel it, instead of just hearing the thud of someone in front of her hitting the ground. She would see the person immediately, instead of having them suddenly appear after the jolt of their fall.

Actual reality was a lot less fun. She wasn't in Central Park on vacation or because she had studying to do. No, she was there on business. Her goal: find an evolved human with the surname Jenkins. Apparently, his power involved controlling light and he could reportedly become invisible. Currently monitored by the Company, Jenkins was being hunted by both sides; hence, Helena was sent to New York for the first time.

It was her first time flying solo in her work for the Assembly. Usually, she was forced to stay back with a group, protecting as many people as she could, being forced to push her boundaries. Now was a very dangerous time, however. They couldn't break up any more than absolutely necessary, and their solution had been to send Helena alone. They couldn't afford to lose more than one person, and Helena was the only one who was practically guaranteed to come back unharmed. In two years, they hadn't found a way to hurt her, and was widely considered literally untouchable.

She wandered aimlessly around Central Park, having been told that the boy spent much of his time there. That was a nice place to start, but Central Park was a very large place, and if Jenkins was really invisible, how could she find him? This was what she contemplated as she walked the paths. She wouldn't be able to see him, and even if she did happen to bump into him, she wouldn't know. She wouldn't feel it, and would probably just keep walking.

Helena hadn't even had time to wonder how she was going to convince him to give up his life and come to join forces when she heard it. She hadn't felt anything, and she had been keeping a look out around her, but there was a definite noise. Stopping, she searched for some cause... what was that? Whipping her head around to the ground in front of her, she thought she saw a flicker of something. Slowly but surely, he appeared. The boy whose life she was about to ruin had landed right in front of her. He looked surprisingly young to her, despite knowing from his file that he was in fact years older than her.

“Err... sorry, did I walk into you?”

What was she supposed to say to that? No, you walked into my mysterious forcefield. Sorry, I didn't see you, invisi-boy. The whole thing was so very surreal. Not so long ago, she'd probably be flirting with the boy on the ground in front of her. Instead, she had to stop herself from reaching down to help him up, remembering that it wouldn't work. She wasn't here to make friends, she was here to try and convince him to come fight the good fight and save the world. She was here to try and convince him to do exactly what she regrets so very much.

"I'm....uhh... I'm Helena," she said, stumbling over her own name. How was she supposed to get him to follow her if she couldn't even tell him her name?

[Travis Jenkins]

If Travis was smart—it could be argued that he was, but he lost on the word 'pieces' during his sixth grade spelling bee—or if he could read minds, odds are he would have run off there and then. Somebody had potentially just seen him returning into visibility and that was definitely not a good thing. Still, the girl didn't seem to be a threat—she seemed nice, to say the least—and didn't let on that she had seen him. He smiled at her, but wrinkled his nose.

There was something strange about her, something he couldn't quite place. Taking a small step back, he looked her over, examining her, trying not to look like a pervert. She was pretty. Lisa Kudrow during Friends pretty. Too bad she couldn't be a day over 17, he thought, or else he might have, at one point in his life, asked her out, or something. “I'm Travis,” he told her cautiously. The girl seemed nice, but looks could be deceiving.

Under most circumstances, he would have continued walking, minding his own business, and only give the girl another moment of thought, probably while he was brushing his teeth. Of course, then she'd have longer hair, suppler lips, bigger breasts, a butt, and any other fantasy that would happen in his sick, sick mind. But he didn't walk away... nay, he couldn't walk away. They had exchanged names, which could only mean that there was now a form of bond, a camaraderie, between them. He didn't even consider the notion of her having a strange forcefield around her that wouldn't allow him move past her. “You live here?” he questioned, shrugging slightly. By here he meant Central Park, which wasn't exactly the nicest thing to ask, it was like questioning whether she had had her home, family, friends, love life, life in general, social life, money, and everything else that made the world go round taken out from under her. “Like... New York?” he corrected shortly after.

[Helena Mote]

Jenkins- it seemed easier to refer to him as Jenkins in her head, and much less personal- took a step back from her. It shouldn't have surprised her, really. She hadn't touched anyone in two years, so the motivation for looking good on the morning had somewhat waned. Plus, with this heat, how could any girl be expected to look good? Her hair was probably slightly frizzy from the humidity and she wouldn't be surprised if she was beginning to sweat. It never occurred to her that he was checking her out, immediately jumping to the conclusion that he was criticizing her.

"I'm Travis."

He sounded very hesitant, which wasn't a fair thing to think after she stuttered, but it couldn't be helped. What did he have to be unsure about? He was an attractive man in a place he knew well, and she was an obviously deficient teenage girl. It was good for her that he was unsure of himself, hesitant, as far as her job was concerned. Helena was supposed to be in charge of the situation, in control. It was something she wasn't used to, and if she was going to be completely honest with herself, something she was terrible at.

She didn't say anything in reply to his name, which she later thought made her seem even more awkward. As it was, it was all Helena could do to keep from saying 'I know' so she figured staying silent was her best option.

"You live here? Like... New York?"

Not even noticing the pause, Helena shook her head and took in a breath, trying to steady herself. It was time to take control and do what she came to do. Smiling, she asnwered. "No, Ohio. I'm afraid I'm just a tourist." Immediately remembering that there weren't many tourists left in New York, she added, "We're a rarity these days, I guess." She chuckled, trying to sound casual, and succeeding although she had little faith. "Now," she smiled, taking in a breath, "do you make it a habit to bump into lonely girls in Central Park, Travis?" Just as he had thought about the implications of what he'd said, Helena hoped that the teasing at the end hadn't taken it a bit too far.