Giovanni's storefront had freshly painted crimson wood framing its tall windows, streaky with cleaning residue. Blinking neon text signs shouted brightly from behind the glass as he passed them. A soft jingle and warm, doughy aromas greeted him as he opened the door, the distant sirens melting away. "Welcome to Giovanni's!" a slightly exhausted-looking waitress welcomed as she swept between tables carrying a tray loaded with drinks. Kat waited in a red pleather booth by the window, her expression brightening the moment she spotted him enter.

"That was a nice warm-up," he admitted as he slid into the seat across from her, "But now I'm really ready for some pizza." Even though they had been close friends since middle school, it was rare that they had the chance to eat out together like this. He realized it had been weeks since they had even hung out apart from during school.

"What are you going to get on your half, that weird pineapple blasphemy?" Cyrus held back a smirk as he jabbed at her food choices, occupying his hands by flipping through the menu.

Kat's lips pouted for a moment before she retorted, "That's what I always get! Pineapple-jalapeno-olives. It's so good!" the memory of it left her with a blissful expression.

His nose wrinkled with disgust, "You're a weirdo." His voice took on a teasing lilt in a British accent, "How dare you use such toppings in combination. You're such a disappointment to your people."

"My people have graciously chosen me as their ruler, flaws and all. I believe they'll accept my one vice. What are you getting, Mr. High-and-Mighty?"

"One vice, huh?" he asserted skeptically. "Pepperoni-bacon-ham-sausage-chicken. I'm going all out," as if in delight, his pained stomach squealed. The mouth-watering scents were overwhelming him with impatience.

"I don't think that's enough meat, you should find more to pile on," she advised.

"Kat," his tone was suddenly serious. "If I pass out, please shove pizza into my mouth. I'm SO hungry." As he rotated in his seat to find the server with his pleading eyes, she noticed and rushed over, "Sorry for the wait! What can I get for you?"

They ordered their pizza and drinks from the weary dark-haired waitress, and what felt like the longest fifteen minutes of his life transpired before the monstrous pie arrived, piping hot.

He eagerly took to scalding the roof of his mouth as fast as possible, tilting his head back to expel the bite's blazing heat in puffs, "HOH!"

"You should wait for it to cool a bit..." Kat warned belatedly.

After it scorched down his throat, he wiped a bit of wetness from his eyes, realizing his tongue was numb from the endeavor, "Yup..."

Enduring the amazing wafting scents for a bit longer, he found the wait worthwhile once they were finally able to dig in without getting third-degree burns.

Sweet relief came at last, and it tasted absolutely fantastic. Despite the pizza being almost an arm's length in circumference, his half was demolished in record time.

A few slices in, Kat offered, "You can have that piece if you want," pointing to a slice on the border of their halves.

"But it's contaminated with your weird pineapple combo," he lamented with disappointment.

"Hmph. Well, I don't want it because your bacon is all over it. I'm trying to be a vegetarian."

His head cocked to the side with surprise, "Wait, really? Since when?"

"A couple weeks. I love animals, so I want to help save them."

"That's pretty admirable. I agree with the sentiment, but I couldn't stick to eating like that. But... hear me out now. The bacon is already on the pizza. It's already bought. So you don't have to worry about compromising your principles, because it's right there. And if you don't eat it, it'll go to waste. You don't want to let an animal go to waste, do you?"

"You're tormenting me," she said with her mouth full, eyes widening on the shameful slice.

As the hour crept toward 3pm the place had cleared out, though there were still several other customers chatting at their tables and a TV in the corner with the news on. Bold silvery text suddenly glimmered across the screen as the newscaster narrated, "Breaking News." Cyrus' dark umber eyes flicked to it with interest, "Just ten minutes ago, a criminal escaped from a police van on the way to a high-security prison, causing chaos on Interstate I-87. The following video may be disturbing to some viewers." His attention was locked onto to the screen, heart sinking. Please don't be...

The helicopter's footage followed the van as it drove down the highway with escorting cop cars surrounding it, when suddenly it tilted side-to-side precariously. It swerved, toppling over to skid across interstate lanes while crashing into several cars, causing them to spin out. After a moment the van's back doors dented outward, then flung off their hinges, one door cartwheeling into the windshield of a following cop car, halting it immediately. Brutus burst out from the van, cop cars swerving around to encircle him. Officers hastily opened their doors and hopped out to kneel below them, pistols aimed at the menacing escapee. Brutus launched forward lightning-fast and swung, simultaneously smashing two doors closed on unsuspecting cops. The wet crunch of metal on bones was sickening. Waves of static sizzled through the footage as a seismic shockwave exploded from where Brutus stood, briefly knocking out the camera. The images stabilized, showing the cops shooting rounds at empty air and spinning around in disbelief. He had vanished.

"The man, who is still unidentified, disappeared from the scene. Two officers have been pronounced dead and four pedestrians were brought to the hospital with mild to severe injuries."

"Fuck," Cyrus said under his breath with his jaw clenched, bristling with anger. "...the same man had attacked 26th street earlier along with four other men using heavy assault rifles, but were soon foiled by Levitate." A shaky video recorded from down the street caught the end of his fight with Brutus, finishing with Levitate standing behind the huge figure as he was pinned.

He lowered his voice so only Kat could hear, his downcast eyes unable to meet hers, "It was all under control. It was taken care of."

She bit her lip with concern, hearing the distress he tried hiding in his tone and knowing how upset he would be at himself. As was necessary in public, she spoke about Levitate as an onlooker, "He couldn't have known that would happen. The cops should have been able to handle it, that's their job!" she realized her voice had raised a little too loud, and returned it to a whisper, "He really can't blame himself."

His hardened gaze flicked up to her eyes with resentment for a moment, his stomach churning when he wondered what his dad would say. The confrontation with Brutus played in his head, and anxious nausea swept over him with realization. "That guy let himself lose so he could escape later. He knew he didn't have a chance, so he just waited until he had the opportunity." A lump thickened in his throat, "It's so stupid. ...And I am not looking forward to hearing from my you-know-who."

Kat murmured soothingly, "I think he'll understand if you explain it to him. He's so logical and nice."

"You don't know him like I do," he exhaled with soft defeat. "Whatever. I'll deal with it later." This wasn't the time to talk about it; he couldn't do anything now. Not wanting the news to ruin their lunch, he forced an apologetic smile, "Do you wanna get ice cream?"

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AUTHOR'S NOTE: I hope you enjoyed getting to know Cyrus and Kat this chapter!

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Thanks so much for reading! ❤