Greer sighed as they came back from the store. She'd have to wait until next week to slip her share of the food bill. Blake was nicer about that. "I appreciate the ice cream Luce. The car just, just ... caught on fire! Thank goodness no one was near it, not even other cars."

Luce had seen the thing. It looked fairly dead. By the time he had gotten there it was mostly just the frame left and the local firefighters had finished putting out the flames. Sato had started talking to a tow truck to have it removed so Greer wouldn’t get the cost. Greer didn’t get to hear the talk Luce and Sato had but it was a bit firm and she had heard the phrase ‘you owe me’.

Luce nodded in agreement as he reached into the top cabinet for the bowls. Yep, they had bowls just for situations like this. "I know, it was crazy.... though still not the weirdest thing I've seen." He pulls out two of the quart size bowls and start scooping ice cream into them.

"I really hope Dr Holmes didn't pay much for that car. I feel bad about it. I knew I should have insisted on waiting but I was just hoping I could make it last a little longer." She put away the other items and looked. ".....dang those are some big fancy bowls...." She looked to Luce. He didn’t look particularly happy at the moment. "Oh no... You and Dr. Holmes aren't fighting are you? Did he say something when you picked me up and not him? I could have waited if it was going to cause a problem!"

He put both bowls on the table and motioned for Greer to take a seat while he grabbed the toppings. He sighed before denying her statement. This was already going to be hard as it was. "No, we're not fighting or anything. He just asked me for a favor and.... I didn't really want to do it. But relationships are about compromise, so I agreed but that doesn't make it easier for me."

She sat down. "Ok, go ahead and spill it, Luce. I'm here for ya. What's up?" She looked at him, ready for all the complaints. Sure she hadn’t dated in a while, but she could help him through any venting.

Luce sat across from her and removed his glasses to rub at his eyes. When he was done, he didn’t put them back on. Instead, he looked Greer right in the eyes. "Alright, we need to have a talk, and you are not allowed to leave or freak out until we are done. Do I make myself clear? You must stay calm and don't leave. Asking questions is fine as long as you don't interrupt too much." His eyes gained an enchanting glow as he spoke, returned to normal when he takes a breath.

"Ok I guess." Greer mentally realized she couldn't make herself stand up. She was going to get some water and now she wasn't able to. It looked like awkward shifting in her seat instead.. She knew she should be freaking out by this but she wasn't. "What is going on...?"

Luce looked a bit sad as he spoke. "I told Shi-shi I didn't want to use my powers, he knows I hate using them.... But he was all like 'she'll freak out and your powers are the only thing that'll keep her calm. You have to be the one to tell her.' Sometimes I hate when he makes sense..."

She looked at Luce. "Tell me what? Freak out about what?"

He took a deep breath. After these, what… four weeks of living together? Luce knew how she’d react. She was so happy Sato had been investigating and was going to prove everything wrong. With it sounding like she had been kicked out because of her powers as well? He almost wondered if she could break free if she was upset enough. "Shi-shi finished his research. The assessment was correct, you really do have powers."

Part of her wanted to start screaming and yelling and throwing the ice cream in his face. Instead she started calmly eating it. It was melting after all. "I thought Dr Holmes said the assessment was lazy work?"

He did his best to remember everything Shi-shi said, it was quite a list. "It was.... But it wasn't incorrect..... just lazy in everything that came after. Welcome to the club, officially."

There were so many questions she wanted to ask. She felt guilt trying to creep in as she took a bite of the ice cream. "Doesn't that mean I caused harm for everyone? That everyone was right about what I did to them?"

Luce started eating his ice cream. "Nope. That was just others blaming you for their bad luck..... It was mostly ignorant people blowing things out of proportion."

Emotionally she wasn't freaking out. Mentally she was replaying everything in her mind. "How can he be sure? How can anyone be sure? How can we be sure my luck isn't manipulating you now?" Greer wanted to scream the question and cry and run out but couldn't. Instead the questions were asked with a strange calm as she kept eating her ice cream.

"You're still blaming yourself, aren't you? You're thinking 'how can they know it's not my fault? how can they be sure my powers aren't just manipulating facts to seem that way?'"

Greer nodded a bit. “He can’t just… figure that one right?”

"Satoshi is an expert in research, not so much with people. But when it comes to research, he has methods that even his peers don't fully understand. He didn't explain it to me, but he is 100% sure of you having powers...." Luce looked like he had more to say, but he went quiet as if waiting for something.

She looked at the ice cream taking another bite. "Was that why he brought me here? To test me?"

Luce knew it wouldn’t have been without consent from his viewpoint, but that was another discussion. He knew the other reasons anyway. "He probably suspected, but..... if it was true, Sato knew you would need help accepting it. He probably thought, who better than us to do that, especially me."

Greer looked. "What about my bringing my father's business up? My old job? and why you?"

Lucius sighed, as if about to lift up a heavy weight. "Let me ask you again, knowing now that you have powers, do you blame yourself?"

"Of course I do."

"Then it will eat you up. Blaming yourself for something out of your control..... Most powers are tied to the user's emotions in some way. Be consumed by strong enough feelings and your powers can go haywire...." He seemed to gather up all his courage for his next words. "Did you ever wonder why Blake is the way he is? I did that to him....."

This was getting more uncomfortable now for Greer now. She was worried what she was about to be told.. "What happened?"

He had trouble making eye contact and seemed to focus on the ice cream. "When we were 5, I got mad and yelled at him. My powers had just developed, but we didn't know it at the time. It was just a stupid fight, the kind we had all the time before. I... I told him that I hated him, right to his face. He believed it.... I didn't mean it, but that didn't matter because my persuasion ability convinced him it was true. It was his first panic attack. When Cronos switched with Blake, I forced him to tell me what happened. For twenty years, Blake had a part of him that believed that he wasn't worth loving because five year old me told him that he was hated. I spent all my time trying to undo the damage, but it was never good enough."

Greer looked down. She wanted to cry so bad. Her emotions felt like they were trying to overwhelm the orders, making finding the words even harder. "I.... I don't.. but what if... I called people liars... I...I fought for years to have this undone.... My dad signed the paperwork so fast... they didn't even read...and... I... I don't know how... to stop it.."

He gently put her hands on hers. He wanted to calm her down if he could without the orders, but he was already noticing something. "Your parents only signed that paperwork because some idiot gave them the impression that it meant you were going to get help. The only way to learn to control your powers is on your own or guidance from other power users. Now you have four power users who can help you learn." Luce pulled out a compact mirror. "Now, time for lesson one." He handed over the mirror for Greer to look into.

She took it and looked down, at first she thought it was that weird glare again before she realized it was coming from her own eyes. A faint glow flicking like it's trying to come on.

"Now think of something small that would make you feel better. Well, I guess you already are. Notice how your eyes glow when you're thinking about what you want to happen? That is the most noticeable sign of a power being used. Yours are weaker, but if someone is looking for it.... well, the point is the first thing you have to do is accept that this is a part of who you are. It doesn't make you less of a person. It does not define you. It does not control who you are. You decide those things." He spoke softly and confidently as he held her other hand.

"I'm scared..." She wasn't freaking out still, but it didn't change how she felt. "I... I don't know what to think about..."

Luce made eye contact, not to exert control but offer it. "It's going to be okay. It's okay to be scared, just don't let the fear swallow you. If you believe bad things should happen to you, they will. You understand how to deal with a panic attack, right? When you feel like it's too much.... anything, treat it like you're having a panic attack. Just feeling like you have control of something can help."

Greer then remembered something. "....stuffed robot.... I.... I wish I had that stuffed robot...." She swallowed a bit, wondering if it was too childish. "She's plucky and nice... she wants everyone to get along.... it's my favorite comic..."

The glow was all the way on now. It was trying to twist fate for this. Someone outside just pulled up and was selling some 'fell off the truck' stuff. Luce could hear the sounds of someone selling something outside.

"We can go over anything else you need to know later. Why don't we go get you that stuffed robot.... I'm sure we'll find somewhere selling it cheap now." Luce got up and put the now empty bowls in the sink for later.