The driver, a somewhat handsome man in his mid-twenties with a close-trimmed black beard, returned my smiles as he rolled down the passenger window. "Hey, there," he said, his brown eyes widening a tad as Tabitha met them with her own. He quickly gave my bodies a once-over, arching an eyebrow slightly. "Where are you ladies headed?"

"Just into Brockton," Tabitha replied while Acacia nodded. My outer power flowed through his car and into his clothes and the contents of his pockets, revealing to me the expected wallet and phone, along with what felt like a pocket knife. Some part of me was mildly disappointed to not find a gun anywhere on him or in the car, but the rest of me was relieved. "I'm Tabitha, by the way," she continued, before putting an arm around my other body's shoulders. "And this cutie is my sister, Acacia." I had Acacia blush lightly.

"Nice to meet the both of you," he said, seeming to relax slightly. "I'm headed for Brockton Heights, is that fine?"

"Yeah," Tabitha replied as I did an admirable job of concealing the fact that I had no clue what he was referring to, if I do say so myself. I assumed it was a neighborhood, possibly in the vicinity of Captain's Hill. "That'll be fine."

"Well, hop in!" he said, and I did so, Tabitha in the front seat and Acacia in the back. "The name's Jacob, by the way," he added, holding out a hand to shake Tabitha's.

I froze for a moment in sudden panic as the knife in his pocket took on a more sinister connotation, before mentally shaking my head. This couldn't be Jack Slash, that'd just be too contrived to be believable. Besides, this Jacob was a little darker than the vague mental image I had of Jack.

Thanks to my newly enhanced speed of thought, and the fact that I'd let Acacia do much of the freezing, hopefully he hadn't noticed my hesitation. Still smiling, Tabitha took his hand in a grip with a firmness matching his own, and we shook, before he reached back to do the same with my other body. And with that, we were off.

It wasn't long, though, before I found my selves gritting my teeth in discomfort as the speed of my field's propagation was outstripped by that of the car. With my field continuously trying to expand into the road, and those parts getting sheared off and left behind, I was starting to feel a headache from behind all my eyes. In an effort to make it stop, I focused through Acacia to rein it in, to compress it within the car until it finally stopped trying to expand. Naturally, having the field concentrated in the car gave me a metaphorical eyeful of its composition, in greater detail than I'd been getting before. Every moving part, every structural component, every wire and tube and patch of metal fatigue made itself known. Maybe I could repay Jacob for letting me hitch a ride by doing some minor repairs? I might not be a mechanic, exactly, but mending the obvious wear and tear shouldn't be—

"So." Tabitha jumped slightly in surprise as Jacob's voice cut through my concentration. "What's your story? Why were the two of you looking for a ride out here, with no bags or anything? If you don't mind me asking, that is."

"Oh. It's, um…" I let Tabitha's gaze drop to her lap as I tried to think of how I should answer. I could lie, maybe, make up a story. If I did, it'd be best to not include too many details, of course, but could I come up with something sufficiently convincing? And on the other hand…

Tabitha glanced at Jacob out of the corner of her eye. His expression had turned a little more concerned than it had been.

On the other hand, I could tell him the truth, or at least a version of it. I could share enough details for him to possibly offer to take me to the PRT for help. They had Case 53s in their ranks, so they had to have precedent for how to help people get added to the system and all that jazz. Just thinking about it, I wasn't really looking to become a hero, but I was sure I could work something out. Hopefully.

"... You don't have to answer if it's too personal," Jacob said, sympathy in his tone.

"N-no, no, it's not like that." Tabitha sighed. "Look, last night, I went to sleep at home, in my bed." I paused as he frowned. "In Texas."

That got him to glance at Tabitha with raised eyebrows, before returning his eyes to the road. "Well, now. That's quite a ways from here."

"Where is 'here', by the way? When we woke up on a rock in the forest there, we had a note that said we were near Brockton Bay, but I can't say I know precisely what state it's in."

"New Hampshire."

"Huh." Not entirely unexpected, but still.

"You… seem to be taking it well," Jacob said, and I could detect a nervous undercurrent in his tone.

Tabitha sighed. "I... we did our share of panicking earlier, and panicking more won't help us at all, y'know?"

"I think I understand," He said, nodding slowly. "Do either of you remember anything else about it?"

My bodies shook their heads, and I made sure they weren't doing so in synch. "Not a thing."

Jacob hummed thoughtfully. "Well, it sounds like you ran afoul of some cape bullshit."

And now it's time to make stuff up. "Cape?" Tabitha asked as I schooled her features into mild confusion.

He glanced at Tabitha with a slight frown. "You know, parahumans? People with powers?"

I silently thanked my inner power for giving me such good conscious control over my expressions as I shifted my bodies' faces to show nervous uncertainty. "That… that's a thing?" Acacia asked.

"Wait, seriously?" Jacob paused for a moment. "... Does 'Earth Bet' mean anything to you?"

Oh, like you wouldn't believe, I thought. Aloud, with a faint tremor in her voice that was more real than I'd expected, Tabitha said, "I… I think we're a little further from home than I thought we were…" She took a deep, and slightly shaky, breath. Acacia placed a hand on her shoulder, and she reached up to cover it with one of her own.

The three of us rode in awkward silence for a few minutes, passing into Brockton Bay city limits as we did. Eventually, Jacob broke the silence. "Sounds like the two of you need a place to stay for the night."

I had my bodies look at him with cautiously hopeful looks in their eyes. "Um," Tabitha stated ever-so-eloquently. "I mean, we don't want to intrude, but if you're offering…?"

He chuckled. "It's fine. Besides, if my sister learned I hadn't helped you when you needed it, she'd never let me hear the end of it." A fond smile graced his features.

My bodies let out soft sighs of relief. "Even so, thank you," Tabitha said, with all the honest gratitude I had within me. I suppose my good fortune hadn't dried up yet.