Ryden thought he had the whole being a mutant thing figured out. Or at least, he thought he comfortable with it. But as time wore on, he felt himself resenting his powers, and the problems they created. After being controlled by some super mutants, and then getting caught in the middle of a robbery, combined with his usual property damage, his bank account was suffering, and frankly, his emotions were as well. It didn't matter what he said,  it always ended the same. Kaboom, pop, crackle, snap. And grumpy people.

Even his boss was starting to question him at this point. It was hard to explain some of the accidents he was causing, and frankly, he wasn't sure how long he could keep up appearances. His mutation wasn't getting better, and unless he found an adapted assistant or something, he might have to kiss his writing career goodbye.

Sulking, he drifted into a coffee shop and fiddled with his notebook. Some days, it wasn't even worth trying to talk. He wrote out his order and held it up to the barista, paid, then found the last open seat to sit, wondering if he should care so much. Other mutants did what they wanted. They caused damage, had fun with it, and it didn't seem as stressful. Maybe being the good guy wasn't the best thing. He picked up a paper and tried to tune out the other patrons as the coffee shop grew more crowded.
    

The problem with being a single mom was that when junior needed something, there was only one person to go take care of it. Morning, noon, and night. True, it was easier now as he got older and more self-sufficient, but that didn't mean that Ghost wasn't in need of some caffeine.

Maya felt a stab of guilt as she walked into a more popular coffee venue. Her store severed a decent cup of coffee, but she wasn't there right now. She could lie to herself that she was scouting out the competition, but it just wasn't the case. She needed a moment to not be on her feet.

She realized her mistake quickly after she received her order. A more popular coffee venue in New York had limited seating.

There were a few options if she wanted to intrude. There was a seat at a table of three women and a man that was sulking. She liked her odds with one person rather than three.

"Excuse me." Maya dipped her head politely to the brown-haired male, a sort-of bow. He seemed nicely dressed and didn't scream homicidal maniac. "Would you mind if I sit here?" She smoothed her dress skirt and blouse with nervous fingers and stood waiting for a reply.

Ryden was considering whether his coffee was cool enough to drink when a voice shattered his concentration. Looking up, he glanced at the woman, then shrugged lightly and motioned to the seat. Maybe it would have been more polite to invite her to sit verbally, but he was fairly certain an exploding coffee cup would counteract that thoughtfulness.

Taking a sip, he tried not to flinch. Apparently, the answer to the coffee question was no.

Well. It wasn't a no.

Maya set her cup and saucer down on the table, smoothed her skirt to the back of her thighs, and took a perch at the edge of the chair that her table-mate had indicated.

This wasn't so bad. She took her hot cup in both hands and cradled it to her face to get a good whiff of the white chocolate curl that was melting into the brew. Someone bumped her chair. Maya scooted forward to avoid that, now sitting more fully in her seat since her pal hadn't shoo-ed her away, and tried again to enjoy the peace.

> "Excuse me, do you have a napkin?"

Maya counted to three in her head before she opened her eyes again. Her buddy didn't seem inclined to answer. Maya handed the stranger her only napkin. "Of course. Here." She'd better not spill.

Now, before anything else could interrupt her, Maya started weaving the floes of air around them into the thin, invisible membrane that Zephyr had taught her. Two fragile membranes and then a vacuum between them. The seal formed and made her ears pop from the pressure change.

There. Perfect silence.

She hadn't really considered her table-mate's feelings when she did it. She'd simply included him in her personal bubble for fear that he would move and pop that fragile peace.

Maya sipped her hot coffee.

Ryden felt guilty for not talking. He considered at least saying hi or something polite to his new table mate, but reminded himself that would invite conversation. Conversations were trouble, and he couldn't afford more trouble. He flipped open his notebook, and didn't pay attention as someone asked for a napkin. However, he couldn't quite ignore the sudden silence.

This time, he looked up in surprise. "Did you do that?" He remarked. His voice caused a spoon on the table to give a sudden rattle, but something felt odd about it. When he spoke, he could usually feel objects his voice wanted to attach to, but those objects felt strangely minimal right now.

> "Did you do that?"

She felt those four words far more than she typically did. And apparently so did the spoon in front of her. The aeromancer spared a hand from her cup to stop the spoon from jingling against the table.

It was like a weird ripple. If she were incorporeal, she was sure that she could follow those words directly in their path.

Maya did have the grace to look embarrassed. "I can dismiss it if you like. I was just... irritated." He was a mutant. He should understand. When she could make her life a bit better with what she could do, she did. Simple as that.

"My name's Maya. I can manipulate air." She wouldn't be so forward if she weren't in her bubble with another mutant. No one outside would be hearing their conversation.

As Maya introduced herself and spoke her power, Ryden's surprise drifted towards curiosity. He wasn't upset with the silence, but he was, if nothing else, intrigued. In his world, sound was becoming somewhat of a nuisance. Anyone who could control it deserved praise in his book.

"Controlling air... sounds more useful than my power," Ryden remarked. He kept his voice down, and made sure to space his words carefully, and the vibrations shifted from the spoon to the metal napkin holder in the center of the table. It at least had the weight to prevent it from bouncing quite as forcefully, but the metal did seem to sway slightly in an unnatural manner.

"I'm Ryden. Resonance." He shrugged, his expression somewhere between exhausted and bored. He was tired of fighting his powers, and the drain it was causing made even his interest in the other woman's power's lapse for a moment. The conversation made him nervous though. The last thing he wanted was to make anything shatter at their table. Metal had a way of causing injuries when it broke.

"Every ability has its drawbacks." Maya tried to keep her face neutral, but she had a horrible poker face. It felt good to be complimented on her abilities. She worked very, very hard to maintain perfect control. And yet it was her ability that was slowly making her lose her corporeality and the feeling in her limbs.

She sipped at her coffee some more and puzzled over what this man's exact ability could be. Metal... wobbling? Maybe like heat waves or vibration or something? His slow cadence gave her time to speculate.

> "I'm Ryden. Resonance."

Resonance... "It's nice to meet you, Mr. Ryden." Again, Maya dipped her head. What the heck did that mean? "Uhm. What exactly is it that you mean when you say "resonance"? Like the depth of sound from a violin? Or...?" And how did that make metallic objects boogie?

She knew that she was exposing her ignorance, but if she could help this man, even for a short while, she would like to. She just didn't know how.

The question was not an easy one for Ryden to answer. Oh, he could explain it, but without breaking something? That was another thing entirely. He thought over it, and felt like he was trying to squash his powers into a twitter feed.

"It causes vibrations in metal or glass." Pause. Swallow. The holder stilled and he continued. "Think opera singer and a wine glass." The spoon gave a violent jiggle. He bit his tongue. It was like talking in a mine field. "Sorry," He sighed. "No off switch." He explained. He took a sip of his coffee. At least that had cooled to a reasonable temperature now.

Between his words and the show that their table's utensils put on, Maya was starting to get the picture.

"Okay then. Would you mind if I asked some yes or no questions?" That was a yes or no so, good start so far.

Someone brushed dangerously close to their bubble. The air from their passing made Maya and Ryden's tenuous vacuum undulate. Maya probably looked like a crazy person, but she turned to look at the troublesome area. It took an effort of concentration to maintain their peaceful silence. She wasn't ready to give it up just yet. She made it smooth and still before turning back to Ryden.

"You cause vibrations only in metal and glass? Not... people, right? You said there's no off switch, but can you direct it at all?" She always waited for an answer between questions, but she was curios. "Do you sing?" Well, he did mention Opera.

Yes or no. Ryden could handle that. He watched as she focused on something off to the side, wondering momentarily what she was doing. Then he figured it was just something with the air and let it go. Inquiring wouldn't fall into the yes or no category.

"Yes." Only a faint buzz. The word left a little tickle in his mouth.

Vibrating people? "No." Thank goodness. Being able to direct it? "Yes." Then the singing question hit and Ryden couldn't stop the laugh that bubbled out, which latched onto the spoon and left a little crack in it. Opps. "No. Not when I can help it." There was an episode out of some painful singalong when he had his mind controled, but that involved a story that would take too many words.

She made him smile. That was absolutely the first time she'd seen it and it earned him a return smile. Okay then. So no Opera.

"Only metal and glass." Maya sat back in her chair and stewed on that for a moment. The crack in the spoon made it clear just how potent his power could be. At least she knew that he wasn't a direct hazard to people. "It doesn't sound so bad, but thinking about your abilities in New York..." Well, she let him know by her facial expression that she was really, really sorry.

Okay. She sat forward in her chair again. One more yes or no. "If you could see it... uhm, your ability in action, I mean. If you could see it, do you think that would help you learn to control it?" It was clear that she wanted to help, but was floundering on the exact "how."

Her question was a bit hard to answer, and it was evident by the furrow that appeared on his brow. After some silence, he finally shook his head. "It feels like it has to go somewhere." He explained carefully. He bit his lip and leaned back in the chair, trying to think of how to put it into words.

After a few seconds of considering, he pulled his notebook closer and started scribbling, holding up a hand so his companion didn't think he was ignoring her. Pushing it back towards her, it read:

When I talk, I feel my voice. I can convince it to go to one object or another if I concentrate, but I can't take back my powers anymore than I can take back the sounds. Even trying to direct it sometimes makes my head hurt. My voice and my powers feel tangled, and one can't seem to carry without bringing the other. He wasn't sure if that made sense, but it was the best description he could manage. He shrugged his shoulders and sipped his coffee.

So seeing where it goes wasn't the problem. He could direct it, after all. Maya visibly deflated while her companion scribbled on his notepad.

Once he showed her his paragraph, that sparked a new idea for Maya. "Okay. What about this. I could try to catch your words and change the frequency... well, that isn't a permanent solution." Also, that would take considerable concentration on her part to catch a sound and change its properties. She'd done it before, but the point of helping was to get this guy a solution that would allow him to speak. If she was doing all that work, she was probably going to miss the most important part of his words: the content.

"I'm so sorry. I think the best I can offer you is something like this." Maya motioned to the invisible bubble around them, their silent sanctuary. "If you went outside and sat in the grass or something, you could have a normal conversation at least." Or a song. Or he could scream in frustration for all she cared.

Maya deflated again. "I wish there was more I could do."

Ryden considered her suggestion, and and wondered if it was feasible or not. It was hard to criticize trying to catch words when his own powers were already odd in nature. She could control air, but could she get sound to cooperate, especially where his powers were concerned? In some ways, he imaging his powers as a little yappy dog that was not to be kept from it's dog bowl. Maybe he was big enough to distract it.

"It might work..." He mused, and then nodded in agreement as she realized how temporary such an arrangement would be. He smiled despite the lack of progress. "Hard to find enough grass in this city. Metal is everywhere." He shrugged as if it wasn't such a big deal, but it did annoy him from time to time. Such as today.

"This isn't so bad..." He decided after a moment though. At least no one else was bothered by his powers this way. With her ability the field his powers could destroy in was lessened, which was at least a start. "At least no broken coffee pots." He smirked ruefully.