There was always something eerie about being in a theater by yourself. It was a place meant for people to be, a place of life and activity. Being in it when it lacked that was like looking at a frame without a painting in it. It just seemed empty, devoid of purpose.

Max loved it. He worked at the Marks Theater from time to time running their lights when they had shows. It didn't pay well and it was a lot of work but he enjoyed it and since his parents had cut him off he needed the money. There was some musician coming in the following night. The manager had left the facility open and Max had stayed late taxed with the job of rigging and setting the lights up.

Ordinarily the job would be a daunting, monotonous task of climbing ladders and hooking cables. For Max it was easy. He let his powers aid him. He would float from fixture to fixture weightlessly, hooking in cables or changing color gels. It turned the job into a quick and easy process.

He finished hooking up a set of LED lights and floated out over the audience, hovering about ten feet above the tops of the chairs. He pulled out the small tablet that controlled the light program from his fanny pack and ran a test on the lights.

Light and color flooded the stage as the presets ran through. Yellows flashed where a drummer would be, followed by strobe lights. Lazers shot out over where the crowd would be. Max smiled as he watched. It was a silent concert performed by a ghost band. The lights told a story all on their own.

"Sucess!" He cried, doing a little flip in the air and pumping his fist up and down in triumph.

The lights continued there dance as Max heard the creak of the theater doors behind him.

"Hello?" He asked in panic, suspended in midair for all to see.

It was a cold day when Juliette left her house. Cold and bitter, with a strong wind that simply refused to cut her any slack. It went clean through her thin jacket and raised the hairs on her arm. It was still another ten blocks to her apartment, and she didn't feel like braving the bitter winds without some decent energy. She had to get somewhere that would have a sufficient amount.

Technically, she wasn't stealing, she reasoned. People used energy all the time. They left the lights on, their computers on, really, everyone did it. She was just using it for a different purpose. Besides, big companies could swing the electricity bill a lot better than she could.

As she walked down the street, she glanced at the stores around her that might be of use.

A clothing store: dim lighting and too many people. A coffee shop: again, overcrowded with dim lights. A theatre: yes, that was the ticket. Bright lights and unused during the daytime. Or so she thought.

Juliette pushed open the huge double doors and crept silently into the vast area. It was rather eerie when it was empty. The ticket booth seemed to watch her as she stepped towards the stage entrance. She took a deep breath and ignored the weird feeling in her gut.

As she opened the squeaky door, she stopped suddenly, her face going pale. She heard a voice. There was someone else there.

She turned to see a teenage boy suspended in midair. Alright, not what she was expecting. He didn't look like he was on any wires, so it had to be a mutation, she decided.

He called out a greeting. She clamped her eyes shut in defeat, her face scrunching up. She had to respond; he was already aware of her presence.

"Uh- hello?" Juliette called back warily. She stepped into the light so that he could see her better. "Are... Are you alright?."

Max felt like there was an anchor sitting in the pit of his stomach. He heard a girl's voice call out a response. He had been caught with his pants down. Normally Max kept his mutation hidden, preferring to let people know him for who he was before finding out what he was. He spun in mid air and looked down at the girl.

She was gorgeous. Being an artist Max was usually very in tune with his emotions, a side effect of this was he was prone to infatuation rather easily. The girl looked a few years older then him, her dark curly hair framed her face beautifully.

He was suddenly aware of the fact that he was wearing old work clothes. He knew he looked stupid, hovering in midair wearing sweatpants and a sleeveless shirt with a fanny pack. The girl looked at him in confusion, but Max saw no malice in her eyes, so if she thought he was a freak for being a mutant she was hiding it well.

He glides over to her and landed a few feet off.

"Oh hello. Alright? Yeah I'm Max. Mr Marks hires me to do the-" Max began, his voice somewhat jumpy.

The tablet he was holding fumbled out of his hand. He bent over and grabbed it before it could hit the ground. Behind him the lights started flashing, starting one of the preprogrammed runs he had made.

"Lights sometime." He concluded gesturing towards the stage.

"I didn't know anyone was supposed to be using the space today, sorry. I was getting this place ready for a concert tomorrow. Can I help you with something? Also maybe we could keep what you saw from Mr. Marks." He rambled.

A small, logical part of his brain finally kicked in and shouted in his brain,"stop talking you idiot."

He nervously laughed. Mr Marks was a nice guy, but he was not a tolerant one. If he found out that Max was a mutant Max could kiss these theater gigs goodbye. Without these jobs he'd have no income and he'd have to go crawling back to his parents with his tail in between his legs.

Juliette's stomach sunk and her face grew very warm. She didn't need help with anything. No, she wasn't even supposed to be there. Technically, she was trespassing. She didn't know how to respond. Oh yeah, I just snuck in this building to steal some electricity because I thought no one was here. Yes, excellent plan.

Although, she considered, the boy didn't seem like he would be all that judgmental. She had, after all, caught him using his mutation and he seemed a bit flustered by it all. Perhaps he would even see it from her perspective.

After a few indecisive moments that likely left her looking downright stupid, she decided to go the safe route. It was better to wait to reveal herself until she had a little more insight into the boy's character. After all, she didn't need him calling his boss on her.

"Uh- I'm just looking for someone. I don't think they're here, though. I'll just go," Juliette told him in a sort of dismissive tone, hoping that he wouldn't look further into it.

"If you need any help with the lights, though, I can give you a hand," she said suddenly. It seemed to come from nowhere - even she wasn't expecting to say it. As soon as it came out of her mouth, she regretted it. She wasn't even supposed to be there. It was too late to take it back, though. She was simply stuck looking at him rather awkwardly.

She seemed embarrassed. Why she would seem that way after Max was the one who just got caught floating in the air stupidly he didn't understand. She didn't seem at all nervous about him being a mutant, in fact she acted more like he had just caught her in the middle of something.

She told him she was looking for someone and for a moment Max was about to offer to help her. It was cut short when instead she offered to help him with the lights. He froze for a second.

"Why would she offer to hang out here and help if she was looking for someone?" He asked himself.

"Dude. Hot girl is offering to chill with you who cares?" The other part of his brain countered.

"But I don't want to inconvenience her." He thought back at himself.

"Inconvenience her? You haven't had a date since you moved here. Get your head in the game." His mental counterpart protested.

"Yeah, actually that be great if you aren't to busy," He said aloud," I still have to focus and cycle the lights through."

He handed the tablet out for her to take.

"If you'll go on stage and stand on the center x. I'll adjust the lights. Hit 1-3 on the program. The lower number are all the presets we don't have to mess with those. I'll go get a ladder." He ezplained.

For a moment he actually almost went and got the ladder, but the cat was already out of the bag, no need to make his job harder. Instead he nullified gravity around himself and floated a foot up in the air, hovering on the spot.

"Actually on second thought we probably don't need the ladder." He said nervously.

He floated back up towards the stage, up towards the first light on its rack high above the stage.

"I didn't catch your name by the way." He said, trying to keep a conversation going to avert any awkwardness.

Juliette nodded as he accepted her help. She was stuck with her choice now. Carefully, she climbed on stage and stood on the centre X with the table the boy had given her. He seemed nice, although perhaps a little jumpy.

She chuckled softly as he made an awkward joke about his mutation. She was glad that he felt comfortable enough to use it around her. She almost considered rethinking her decision to hide hers from him. Almost.

Although, she thought, she might not be able to hide it from too much longer. It seemed like he was going to move the lights on to her, and at that point it would be very difficult to hide. Especially with lights that intense. At least she would achieve her goal for going in at the first place, though. She would finally get a decent amount of energy.

"Juliette," she supplied as she shifted her weight awkwardly between her legs, waiting for something to happen.

"And yours?" She asked him as she watched him float around. His mutation was definitely interesting. Telekinesis, maybe? Or perhaps something to do with weight? She would have to ask him when things were less... Awkward.

She went on to the stage and stood. Max felt bad, out of the two jobs being the person standing on stage was the duller of the two positions. On the other hand it saved him the hassle of finding something else to use to test for shadows. She told him her name and he smiled. Juliette. It was a nice name.

"I'm Max." He said, fiddling with the focus ring on the lamp.

He looked back down at her, she was placed just right. He'd just turn on the lamp, make sure it was focused right and move on to number two. He flipped the switch on the side of the 10,000 watt lamp. It was primed to go on.

"So how long you lived in New York? I moved her about a month ago still getting used to the city " He supplied.

She was giving him a look, probably trying to figure out how he was floating. He got that alot with his power, people thought he was telekinetic or could fly. The best part was when he made something else float and messed with them.

"Okay. Hit the slider next to the #1 on the tablet and bring it all the way up." He told her, waiting to see where the dark spots would be.

Juliette nodded, putting off answering his question for a few moments as she followed his instructions. The lights raised as her fingers slid up the little tablet, and the light moved in front of her.

She let out a relieved sigh as the light fell on her. It was incredibly bright, exactly what she was looking for. Artificial light never felt quite as good as natural light, but it had been so overcast over the past few weeks that she couldn't care less. It was incredible. She probably looked like a complete idiot as a smile spread across her face.

The light coming from the lamp visibly dimmed while her skin seemed to glow. It transferred easily from the appliance into her body, recharging it and filling her with a settling warmth.

After a moment or two, Juliette cleared her throat, thinking that she had likely freaked Max out. People were usually creeped out when they saw her absorb energy. She usually preferred to do it in private, but in this case, she didn't have much of a choice.

"A few months," Juliette told him to answer his previous question. She avoided eye contact, feeling as though the situation was already uncomfortable enough as it was. "I was thinking of clearing out, though. It's a little too cold and rainy here for my liking."

Max had expected there to be some harsh shadows, he had expected to have to move the lamp a bit to get a better angle. What he hadn't expected was for Juliette to start glowing. The light from the lamp was dimmer then it should have been, and at first Max thought it was a power issue. As he watched he saw Juliette start to glow. She was radiant, and not just in the "she's a knockout" category.

No wonder she had been so calm about him being a mutant, she was one herself. He had no idea what she could do but he felt a smile break across him face. Max heard her answer him, keeping her eyes from meeting his. He floated down and landed on the stage in front of her.

"You are beautful." He said before he could stop himself.

Instantly he felt like smacking himself in the face. What the hell was that man? Way to freak her out. Not wanting to let the awkwardness solidify he instead decided to just push through.

"Well, this plan isn't gonna work, so you're probably gonna have to be the one to move the lights. Otherwise I'm never gonna know how it really looks." He said with a grin.

He paced the floor of the stage for a moment before continuing.

"It take too long to have you climb up there, so we will just have to do this instead." He said.

He reached for the tablet and touched the girl's hand. With a small push of will he extended a field of nearly zero gravity around her. It let her float and keep her weightless.

"I'll be the light model, you fly up there for me." He said smiling.

"Oh- um-" Juliette got very flustered and she felt her face grow very warm, and not just from the lights. It wasn't the first time she had ever been told that, but he seemed to be very sincere. She was very grateful that he hadn't been put off by her mutation.

Instead of bringing up the comment and making things even more awkward, she decided to simply let it slide as he had. "Yes, I think that would be a better plan. I'm not that much help, sorry."

She heard him say something, but was too distracted by the fact that she was suddenly floating to register it. She felt her body lift in the air and it was accompanied by an incredible weightless feeling.

Juliette let out a small squeak as she floated towards the lights. Carefully, she steered herself toward where Max had been. She settled her nerves and looked at him, trying not to let on how unsettling the whole experience had been.

"So, how do I work this?" She asked him, having next to no experience with lighting other than her mutation. She didn't typically focus on where the light landed, more on how she could use it.

Max let out a small sigh of relief. Juliette didn't seem to pay his awkward remark much attention, and he was grateful for it. She took to the air with more grace than Max had expected. Usually weightlessness made people clumsy and they freaked out, Juliette rose up to the light easily. In hindsight Max realizes he probably should have given her some warning but he had been to flustered to think properly.

She asked for instruction and he obliged.

"Okay. There is a lever on each side that control the shutters. They determine what shape the light comes out as." He began.

He turned on the light she was floating next to. A circle of light shone down on him.

"This one is a circle, which is fine. There's a knob on the side of the light. Moving it effects the focus of the light. Turn it left and the light gets softer turn it right and the light gets sharper." He continued.

He pulled up the next two lights, which were positioned one behind him and one on the other side of the stage.

"These three lights are the general lighting for the lead singer who will be standing here. Lights two and three look okay, but the one you are at is a little softer then the others and the radius of the light it's putting off is smaller. Light generally combines pretty well but since that light isn't putting out as much focused light as the other two it's making these bad shadows on my face and torso." He continued, gesturing towards the dark splotches on him.

He might not be the best at small talk but Max knew lighting and theater. Talking about his craft was boosting his confidence and he felt more and more comfortable as he went.

"Move the shutters so the circle covers my whole body, and turn the knob right until the shadows fade," He said, "Oh also my power works in 3 minutes bursts so you will feel it starting to wear off in a bit. Just come down and I'll give you another boost when that happens."

He stood there letting the light wash over him and waited. His curiosity was still peaked from her display a moment ago.

"So glowing? Do you have any other surprises for me while we are doing this?" He said.

Juliette concentrated as he listed off instructions, trying to remember everything he had told her. It was a little confusing, mostly because she knew nothing of the subject matter. She did her best to follow his instructions and smiled a little as the light covered his body and the shadows faded away.

"Is that alright?" Juliette asked him.

There was a sudden sinking feeling as the affects of Max's mutation wore off. She floated down and looked to him to send her back up. If she wanted to, she could have flown back up herself, but she didn't feel like wasting her newfound energy as soon as she got it. Besides, she didn't want to have to use any more of the theatre's with Max watching.

"Surprises?" Juliette repeated as he asked. She thought for a moment. Yes, there were surprises that came with her mutation, but she wasn't sure if she wanted to give it all away just yet. "Um, yes. I can use the light in a few ways. Mostly party tricks, though. I mean, yours is probably much more useful. Gravity manipulation, is it?"

He saw the lights shift as she changed them. It took her a few moments to get things going but slowly he saw the shadows lighten. Max smiled, she might be a newbie but she got the hang of it pretty quick. With this position taken care of they would only have to do the drummer's and bassist's spots.

"Looks good." He said as she began to float down to him.

She played off his question well, but he could tell she was holding something back. It was to be expected, they had just met after all. Still light based mutations weren't something Max had ever thought of before. His mind started racing, imagining the kind of practical effects you could do on stage with a gift like that.

"Party tricks huh? Somehow I think you aren't giving yourself quite enough credit." He said with a laugh.

She had pegged him as a gravity manipulator, and on the first guess too. Not too shabby.

"Yep. Gravity. I don't know about useful though, learning to control it had some crappy days. You think I wear this God awful fanny pack cause it looks cool? I got tired of all the crap in my pockets floating away when I used my powers." He said laughing at the thought.

He touched her hand and gave her another round of zero Gs to play with. For the drummers spot he slid a white chair over onto the spot, it beat having to crouch there to get the height right.

"It was helpful for dance though. I can do lifts and head spins like there is no tomorrow," He said, pulling up lights four through eight,"You are gonna make the same adjustments on this one, but I'm gonna be over here adjusting the gels on these lamps. Let me know when the chair is in the middle of each of the colored circle."

He floated over to the other side of the stage and moved the fixture. On the ground the green, blue, and yellow lights were all slightly off center of the chair, he kept pushing on all three waiting for her to give him the word.

"So is that friend you were looking for gonna be disappointed that you stood them up?" He said with a devilish grin, poking fun at their earlier uncomfortable exchange

"Great," Juliette breathed a sigh, relieved. "I wasn't all that sure what I was doing. I'm a qualified professional, just not with technology." She added the last sentence with a bit of a chuckle.

"Well, it's sort of cool, I suppose, but it's not really that useful," Juliette shrugged. Perhaps she was being modest, but it was hard not to see it that way when it was useless in her field and there were so many cooler mutations. "It looks cooler than it is. Really, I promise. Plus, it gets sort of frustrating to have to keep searching for energy all the time. Especially when my electricity bill comes."

She laughed at his comment as she floated back up to her position next to the lights. "You dance, then? You should give an example while we test the lights. It would be interested to see a dance with powers. And, it might help to position them better."

"You're good," she told him as the chair hit the centre of the circle.

Her face went red as she was reminded of her poorly constructed lie. "Oh, no, I think he'll survive. Besides, I'm doing useful things here."

So, is this a full-time job or an in between gig?" She asked him curiously as she glanced around the theatre.

"Qualified professional? What do you do exactly?" He asked.

He continued his work as she explained a bit more about her power. She was starting to open up to him a bit more now. He catalogued the info she gave him. Apparently absorbing energy wasn't just something she could do, she made it sound like something she had to do.

Max smiled at her suggestion. Some people would be nervous or apprehensive when called upon to dance right then and there. For Max it was like asking a fish to swim. His mind instantly shuffled through his mental Playlist, selecting a song that would let him utilize a range of styles.

"Sure I'll give you a little show one we finish this set," He grinned, throwing up a finger for pause, "But it's gonna cost ya. I wanna see some of these party tricks you talk about after, and don't worry I don't pay the power bill here you can use all the juice you need."

She told him his lights were good and he floated back down to the stage floor to help her finish the adjustments on the light she was on. She asked him about his work.

"That's one should be good over there too," He told her about the light with a shrug,"The theater manager calls me in to help do stuff like this when shows come into town. It's pretty consistent work but I don't think I could call it full time. Mostly just enough to help me keep the bills paid at my place ya know? I'm one of those guys who dreams of being on the stage but practically ends up just working behind it."

He checked the drummers light set.

"Alright that looks good. If you wanna come down here and take a seat I'll throw a little something together for ya." He said excitedly, "That is if we have a deal?"