Hawk and Dove

"We have a mole."

"We have a mole."

"Come on, let me try it," said Dan, holding out his hands.

Carrie clutched her mug tighter, shaking her head. "I don't trust you, Daniel," she said quietly.

"Do you want hot tea or not?" Dan said, gesturing for her to give him the mug.

Carrie, who had been complaining about her lukewarm cup of tea, handed it over with a frown. Dan cupped the mug in his hands and concentrated on the liquid. He imagined the heat he constantly felt under his skin moving and pooling in his hands. He concentrated on the coldness of Carrie's tea. Then, his grin grew as the tea started to steam and even bubble in his hands.

"Ha!" he looked up at his friend, "I told you I could do it!"

"Well, don't burn it!" said Carrie, though she was also smiling.

Phil squeezed his arm. "Way to go, Dan, that's a real improvement."

"Yeah," said Chris from across the lunch table, "He's been here for two weeks and he's better than you are after nine months."

Phil shrugged. "I wish I could argue," he said.

"Phil's been getting better too," Dan jumped in, "Just yesterday he iced over an entire wall on purpose. And it wasn't just frost, the thing was frozen."

He blushed. "Well, Dan melted it right away," he added.

"And then we were stuck with a huge puddle of water, but you know, it was still cool."

Chris held in a laugh as he bit into his muffin. The rest of the table caught onto the pun, trying to hold in their laughter as well, and Dan rubbed his temple in annoyance. "Shut up, all of you," he muttered, "I'm excited, alright?"

Dan's excitement had been growing and growing since he started working with The Cause. Ever since that first evening with Jenna in the bomb shelter room -which is basically a square room made of cinderblocks and steel rods- Dan's control and even the use of his powers have been improving quite a bit. Phil has also been getting so much better in the same amount of time. It didn't take long for Jenna to figure out that Dan and Phil were right- their powers complement each other so well that even being in the same room makes it easier for the both of them.

Phil keeps Dan from overheating. Dan keeps Phil from frosting over. It's a good system. Jenna and Alfie are thrilled. They're glad they have powers like Dan and Phil's on their side, and they're glad they got to them before Dr. Hurley brainwashed them. At least that's what Carrie says, who doesn't have a problem expressing her opinions about The School's administration.

"Can you make your own corporeal flame yet? Like hold one in your hand?" Zoe asked from her place at Dan's elbow.

He shook his head. "I don't know if I'll ever be able to," he replied, "Shutter Shock says that I might not be capable." He still felt so strange using Cause nicknames outside of the old gym. He knew that was their purpose, and he was catching on, but he felt so strange.

"Well, she can do it," said Carrie, "Her powers are similar to yours and Phil's, just with electricity. She can produce a visible bolt of lightning if she wants to."

Luke Cutforth plopped into the seat next to Chris then, with Emma on his heels. "What's this about lightning?" he asked.

This is the part when Dan starts to sweat a little. People overhear them talking about The Cause all the time, and everyone except for he and Phil (shocker) seem to be able to cover it up well. He always worries that one of these days he'll be interrogated and blow the whole thing.