𝘏𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘓𝘰𝘷𝘦 ~ 𝘚𝘭𝘰𝘢𝘯𝘦 𝘏𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘴

~ 𝘾𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙏𝙚𝙣: 𝙍𝙪𝙣! ~

While breakfast at the Sparrow Academy was usually a cheerful and conversational environment, Sloane kept quiet as she recited her plan to warn Astrid over and over again. It may have taken hours to carefully plan this out, but she hoped the execution of it wouldn't be nearly as difficult. She dressed herself in a long white half-shirt and ripped jeans, enough for the moderately warm and cold afternoon. Phase one of her plan was to sneak out via her balcony, and with her defying gravity abilities, she wouldn't have to dangle herself over a dumpster and let go in hopes of falling on top of the odor-filled bags.

She glanced to the windows that looked out into the alleyway, praying that nobody was in the rooms and able to blow her cover. With the gentle breeze of the April day, her hands began to glow white as she hovered above the concrete platform, slowly rising one or two feet above it. With years of practice, she no longer needed to close her eyes and desperately concentrate. It all just naturally came to her, and with one single movement, she could move however she wanted without worrying about her powers fading.

"What in the world are you doing?!" A voice shouted. Sloane gasped, turning around to see Ben leaning halfway out her window squinting. "Just practicing my fear of using powers from a great height," Sloane quickly made up the excuse. Eighty percent of the time, Ben could easily call bullshit and confront people when they were lying, but his only response was to roll his eyes and mutter under his breath. Another passing breeze prevented Sloane from hearing him clearly, but she did hear him call her a pansy.

"What was that?" She questioned, her tennis shoes firmly landing back on the balcony. "I said it's weird you have a fear of heights when you can float as high as you want," Ben responded. "Well, I have a certain limit to how high I can be before I start to feel nervous," Sloane explained. "You would too if you had my powers," Ben scoffed at her last statement. "I'm not scared of anything," He stated. That's not true. Everyone's scared of something. 

Sloane crawled back inside her bedroom and sat as Ben eyed her suspiciously. The room filled with unsettling silence, and his piercing gaze only made the gravity girl worry. "There's a reason as to why you're in my room, so you might as well just spit it out," Sloane said. "I need you to suit up. We're heading to the Hotel Obsidian to meet with the Umbrellas," Ben explained. Sloane tried to hide her worry with a nod. "Why are we meeting with them?" She questioned, though she knew full well what his true plans were. "They agreed to give back Marcus in exchange for the briefcase they left here,"

What's so special about a briefcase? Sloane wondered as Astrid never brought it up to her. "Apparently, they used it to time travel back home. But obviously, it failed," Ben answered. His response sent chills down Sloane's spine; it was almost like he read her mind. "Anyway, we're leaving in ten minutes. Don't keep me and the others waiting," The Squid Boy warned. When he left the room, Sloane dashed to her closet to grab her skintight burgundy and black suit. Not because Ben's threatening tone scared her, but because the image of Astrid being hurt at his hands flashed before her eyes.

There was no way Sloane could travel all the way across the city to the hotel to warn her and be back before the Sparrows left. I guess I'll have to mouth her the warning during the confrontation. She internally sighed, pulling on her boots. Though Grace meant well while designing the suits, Sloane couldn't help but wish it wasn't so tightly wrapped around her body. The first few times she wore it, she could feel her feet dragging behind her every time she tried to run. Even though she wore that suit for as long as she could remember, she could never break into it.