Maria and Amera were sitting at the dining table, discussing themselves over breakfast. They listed all the things that were different off the top of their heads, except for their age and looks.
"I went to Cambridge on a scholarship. I studied biogenetics, biological chemistry and bio-kinetics. I graduated summa cum laude, which I'm pretty happy with." Amera explained, and Maria smiled at her.
"Yeah, I wanted to study biology, but I was offered a scholarship in PR from Von Doom Industries. So now here I am, PRO of Von Doom Industries, always beautifying the screw-ups." Maria joked, and Amera couldn't help but laugh with her. They sat for a few more minutes, discussing other things that weren't too serious. Maria looked down at her watch and pushed herself away from the table, smiling at Amera.
"Well, I have to go to work now, I'll see you later." Maria nodded, and started walking towards the elevator.
"Have a nice day!" Amera called after her, and Maria nodded to her in thanks. Amera got up from the dining table and sat down in the lounge, switching on the television and watching the morning news. She heard footsteps approaching and then saw Johnny appear beside her, smiling down at her. Amera looked up at him, and nodded at him to speak.
"So what are you planning on doing for the rest of the day?" Johnny asked.
"Not much, really." Amera smiled.
"I was planning on going out for the day. Want to join me?" Johnny smiled at Amera, and she sat back and thought about it for a second.
"Sure, I'd like that. I rarely get any days off." Amera nodded and got up from the couch. He smiled at her and they headed to the elevator. They didn't stop on the garage floor as Amera expected, but instead they headed out to the street and caught a cab. Johnny leant forward and spoke to the cab driver.
"Central Park, please."
They sat in silence for the drive through to Central Park; Amera guessed that they were both too afraid to say anything in case the cab driver caught onto anything. They got out of the cab, and Amera immediately started talking again.
"So what job do you have that allows such lenient work hours?" She asked, and Johnny hooked his thumbs onto the edge of his jean pockets.
"I'm a drone pilot at Von Doom Industries. I don't work a steady 9 to 5, but I work really long hours when there's something going on." He explained to her, leading her down a path of Central Park. Amera looked around and noticed the setting seemed familiar; but she couldn't be really sure if it was just because she had walked through Central Park so many times before.
"Hey Johnny, where are we going?" Amera asked, and he carried on leading her.
"My favourite spot in the park. I come here every now and again to relax and do some…thinking." He finished awkwardly, and glanced at Amera sideways. He then spotted a bench and smiled, before walking over to it and sitting down. Amera stood back, looking around the park before sitting down next to him. People barely noticed Amera, and if they did, they didn't stop to talk. It was quite refreshing to her not to be bothered so much. Amera turned to Johnny and he was smiling to himself, looking out over the baseball diamonds through the trees.
"So, why this bench? Any particular reason?" Amera asked, and Johnny shrugged casually.
"I like watching the people go by…" Johnny left his sentence hanging, and looked over at her.
"Why do you ask? Come here often on your planet?" He asked her. Amera sat back, thinking whether or not she should answer, given the past with him and Maria. He carried on eyeing her until she answered.
"Yeah, good memories right here…" Amera answered, not being too specific while she patted the bench. Johnny frowned at her, knowing that wasn't the entire story.
"Ok, I find it weird that you picked this very bench in the park…" She stammered out eventually.
"Why do you say that?" He smiled at her.
"Johnny and I…he proposed to me on this bench. The one on my planet is a bit charred, but I remember it."
Johnny laughed; awkwardly and half-heartedly and looked away from her, staring into the space between the trees.
"Looks like us Johnny's might not be so different after all…" He sighed, wringing his fingers into one another before looking down at his hands. His shoulders dropped, and he went quiet for a while before looking up again at the baseball diamonds.
"Why…do you say you and the other Johnny are so similar?" Amera asked quietly, hoping not to stir up too many negative emotions. Johnny sat back again, holding his head up, but still looking at the field across from them.
"A few months before Maria and I split, I was…thinking about…proposing to her. Right here, actually. I was even stupid enough to buy a ring…" Johnny sighed, and his usually persistent smile dropped from his face. Amera's mouth automatically snapped open; her heart broke at the thought of what Johnny had prepared for and didn't have a chance to do.
"Did…did Maria ever know?" Amera asked, and he shrugged.
"It wouldn't have mattered anyway. She and Reed had already met and made up their minds…" Johnny sighed, and swallowed hard.
"I'm sorry…that things went the way they did." She muttered out almost uselessly.
"Some things can't be helped, Amera."
Amera knew she should immediately drop the subject of the two of them, and distract him with something else.
"Stand up." Amera ordered him while standing up onto her own feet. He complied quickly, although looking slightly perplexed.
"Are you willing to fly? And I'm not talking planes either."
"What do you mean…?" He stuttered out quickly, but soon enough he was floating. Amera smiled to herself as she saw his astonished expression, looking at the ground mere feet below him. Amera flamed up, burning off her everyday clothes to reveal her Fantastic suit underneath. Johnny was still looking at her, waiting for an explanation.
"There's a lot of water in the human body…it's easy to make someone fly." Amera smiled, lifting off the ground slowly and taking Johnny along for a joyride.