TW: mentions of cheating

The next morning, all the team members found themselves in the living room, facing Miss Maia, who stood before them with her arms crossed like a stern mother, ready to make final recommendations.

"Do not separate yourself from the group. Now that you are dressed like this, they should not recognize you, if you separate, you make yourselves more vulnerable. If you get lost, use your earpiece and our secret code. Do not accept strange offers from strangers, do not get into cars under any circumstances, and do not drink or eat anything offered by anyone not in the group."

"With all due respect, Miss Maia, we weren't born yesterday. These are all pretty obvious rules." Rain commented with an amused chuckle.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that with these kids from the past."

"These are rules that existed in our time as well. They are all common sense. Chill." Fresh nodded with a bored sigh.

"Well, can we at least buy some food? Otherwise, what good is the money you gave us?" Jake protested, obviously disappointed.

"Packaged food, yes. Fresh food - keep your eyes on whoever is preparing it for you. Don't get distracted. You never know. I don't want to lose another team member or have to rescue some of you from a kidnapper."

"We will be careful, Miss Maia. I promise I'll keep the children safe." Ted adjusted the scuba mask over his face with a confused look. "Won't I attract too much attention with this? They'll think I'm crazy, walking around like this in the middle of a metropolis."

"No one will notice, people here wear even stranger things. In your time, you were very strict about clothing, but in modern times, everyone wears what they want without any problems." Miss Maia carefully observed the clothes of the team members to make sure they hid their identities well enough. "Good. I think you can go. I'll see you tonight, okay?"

"See you later! Byeee! Thanks!" Several people replied together, creating a salad of voices as they closed the door behind them.

~

"Okie dokie, guys! I've made a plan for the day, so we can do some sightseeing and have some fun at the same time! No boring museums, fun assured!" Rain was full of enthusiasm as she explained her ideas to the rest of the group as they sat side by side, facing each other, in a wide train car that floated through the air, speeding through the intricate rails of the neon metropolis.

In spite of the kids' expectations, that train was spotlessly clean and completely free of the strange individuals one would normally encounter on a subway. There was plenty of legroom and the padded seats were wide and comfortable, much like the first class of a train of their day if not better. King couldn't help but notice how strange it was to have found seats all close together, having never seen any means of transportation so large as to travel accommodated on seats arranged in rows of five positioned across from each other.

"Museums are not boring, it depends on the subject." protested Frank, who seemed strangely uncomfortable. He sat with his legs and arms crossed and looked around constantly, watching passengers board and leave the train. Even Bruno did not look particularly happy, he kept biting his nails nervously and keeping his gaze fixed on a spot in front of him. He kept his noise-canceling headphones hanging around his neck, not wanting to put them on immediately so as not to be completely cut off from the conversation.

"Pff..." Jake couldn't hold back a chuckle that mischievously escaped his tight lips as he kept his eyes on Frank.

"What are you laughing at?" The man asked calmly, staring back at Jake.

"I'm sorry, Frank. I'm not used to seeing you in that mask. It's not ugly, but it's very funny. You're not as scary as usual. You look like some kind of cosplayer." The boy shook his head in amusement, his comment made the rest of the group laugh.

"It's true, it's amazing how the mask changes a person's face so much!" Fresh exclaimed.

"No shit, Fresh? I mean, I guess that's the point of masks." Tricky playfully teased her friend.

"You look like a cute little tiger to hug." Rain giggled at Frank in a tone somewhere between mockery and seriousness.

"I'll refrain from personal comments, I will just keep in mind that I achieved my goal with this mask. The important thing is that it hides my true identity." Frank replied with a sigh. He actually felt a little strange with a completely different mask than usual, as if he had been forced to wear an outfit that was nice but completely outside his usual style.

"I hope you at least like it." Bruno commented with a nervous chuckle, trying to imitate the playful mood of the group, even though the last thing he felt like doing at the moment was laughing.

"You did a good job, Bruno. I mean it." Frank nodded. "It's very comfortable and, as I said, it serves its purpose."

"Thank you." Bruno rested his elbow on the window and sighed, turning his gaze to the houses flying by outside the window.

"Are you okay, Bruno?" Rain asked him, looking worried. They could sense that something was wrong.

"Yes. Yes. I'm fine. Sorry, I'm just a bit nervous. I get anxious about things that are out of my routine, even if they're pleasant. Especially if I've never seen these places before or if I don't really know what we're going to do, you know? I have to prepare myself mentally first."

"Why so serious, Bruno? C'mon stop being a mood killer!" Jake laughed, trying in vain to play it down. "Just enjoy the day! I was going crazy in that flat all day! So boring!"

Instead, he had the effect of irritating Bruno even more. "Jake, it's not that I don't like going out. It's just that I feel uncomfortable going to a place I don't know. I'll get over it when we get there. I don't do it on purpose." Instead of looking at Jake, he glanced sideways at Yutani, who was wrapped around Jake like an octopus. For some reason, the adoring look she gave the punk kid bothered him. Since they had left, she had only eyes for him.

"Then I'll show you some pictures of the place if you think it will help." Rain replied gently and handed him their phone. "First, we're going to take a tour of the town. We'll do some shopping and also go to an electronics store so you can see something you like as well. Then we will go to the amusement park in the rich area."

The idea of going to an electronics store seemed to calm Bruno down a bit, and he nodded, already looking forward to the idea of finding some useful parts to complete some of the inventions that had been put on hold.

"There's also a souvenir shop, now that I think about it. They have model airplanes, too." Rain added with a smile.

"Really?" Bruno exclaimed with a broad grin. His mood seemed to have almost brightened by now. Of course, if it weren't for the irritating attitude of his friend, who didn't even bother to talk to him now that she had a boyfriend... but Bruno tried not to think about it, not wanting to completely ruin his whole day.

"Interesting program!" King commented cheerfully, excited to do something fun with his friends after so many dark days filled with worry and fear.

Ted simply nodded, his mind elsewhere. He crossed his arms and sighed.

Lucy smiled at him and handed him a note. The inspector read it with a serious expression on his face before smiling and shaking his head.

"Thank you, Lucy. You are very kind. Yes, I know I shouldn't worry, but I can't help feeling like a fool with this damn diving mask."

"Come on, maybe they even have an aquarium here." Jake teased him, smiling proudly as his friends laughed at the joke.

"Well, it's not like you're dressed much better than me. Jake, you have a strange concept of hiding your identity, since you clearly think that all you need to do is add a pair of sunglasses to change your face. Same with your friend Beatrice, but at least she had the good sense to change her pants." He then pointed at King. "He's dressed like it's Halloween, in that absurd vampire outfit," he then switched to Fresh. "He looks like a 70's hippy, that awful tank top looks like a Christmas tree." He looked at Yutani, "She went from a bug suit to a frog suit."

"It's not a frog! It's a harlequin toad!" Yutani protested, frowning. "There's a big difference."

"The only decent outfit is Lucy's."

"You're just saying that because she didn't make fun of you!"

"No, I'm saying it because I've always been a big fan of steampunk. I love it as a style."

"I think it's beautiful, but she looks even better dressed as a goth," Tricky said with a flirtatious smile, winking at Lucy. "Too bad Miss Maia passed on that option." Lucy blushed slightly and giggled, writing quickly in her notebook:

{Thank you both!}

"Whatever, even Bruno only uses his... virtual reality headset to hide his face! And he's not even wearing it right now! Rain doesn't even wear a costume, that's not right!" Jake crossed his arms.

"Bruno has never been on a mission himself, they don't know what his face looks like. As for me, I don't need to disguise myself because I'm a damn clown myself." Rain laughed heartily at his own joke. "The dyed hair is there and I even texted my ex back. I have everything I need to be a joke."

"Oh no, him again? Are you serious?" Bruno put his hand over his eyes and rubbed them in frustration. "But can't you see he's just messing with you?"

"I know...I know..." Rain looked away from Bruno, giggling awkwardly and rubbing the hair at the back of her head. "I just keep hoping he'll change."

"No, now you definitely need to spill the tea." Tricky leaned forward and grinned. "Because I've been through it myself with an ex-girlfriend of mine, and I know what it's like. Let me help you and let me mind your business. I'm curious."

Rain seemed to relax, but still hid their mouth behind their hand, as if they were ashamed to say the words coming out of their mouth. "Well... let's say he cheated on me... but he apologized and promised not to do it again..."

"Oh! Ouch!" exclaimed Fresh instinctively, now caught up in the gossip. "Damn!"

"The problem is, he did it again. He blamed me the second time, though. He said I didn't pay enough attention to him and that I was out of shape and didn't shave enough." Meanwhile, the bright red of her cheeks kept company with the bright turquoise of her short hair.

"What a piece of shit!" Yutani shook her head, obviously disgusted. "I hope you dumped him after that, right? You shouldn't have forgiven him even after the first time, in my opinion."

"Well ... I was so much in love ... so I tried to go along with what he told me. I really thought it was my fault that he cheated on me. But by the third time ... I couldn't stand all his lies and comments anymore and I left him for good."

"Finally!" Tricky rejoiced, clapping her hands.

"What about you? What happened to you, Tricky?"

"I was in a similar situation to yours, my bitchy ex cheated on me and then tried to play it smart by saying it was my fault for looking at her phone without her permission. She said I should have trusted her. It pissed me off so much, I left her." Tricky sighed slowly, keeping her gaze fixated on on her own hands. "But then, like a fool, I tried to contact her again to clear things up and make up. She attacked me verbally, convinced that she was the victim after all. She did not even apologize to me. She even threatened to tell my mother about our relationship. So I blocked her. You should do the same, Rain."

"But it's different for me ... he keeps writing to me even though I block him, he even sent me handwritten letters when he knew where I lived ... he always did. When we were together, he treated me badly, he was distant and cruel. As soon as I threatened to leave him, he would shower me with excuses, gifts, promises that were never kept. He became like a different person, you know? He would even send me love songs, which he never did when we were together. Every time I fell for his lies. I thought he could change, that he just needed someone to understand and love him."

She sighed deeply, suddenly letting go of the mask of happiness that was way too often on her face. "Now that I've left him, he won't stop writing me that he's sorry, that he'd do anything to get back together and that he has realised his mistakes. I want to forgive him..."

"You should have more respect for yourself." She was suddenly interrupted by Frank, who, although he always had a quiet tone, seemed genuinely interested in the matter. "You have to understand that you don't have the power to fix anyone. It's always only their responsibility."

"I know, you're right. I've told myself that a thousand times, but I miss him so much, I still love him, and I answered him for the first time in months, he's been trying to contact me every day... maybe he really cares."

"Do you not really understand that he is manipulating you? He is playing this tug-of-war to keep you dependent on him. He doesn't love you. He never loved you." Bruno replied brutally.

"... Maybe he did love me, in his own way," Rain said with a sudden edge in her voice. She seemed to be on the verge of tears. "I know I should have been harder on him, but we met at a delicate time of my life, I wasn't doing well, I had a depressive crisis... He helped me so much to get better... my moor was under my feet."

"If anything, you had your self-esteem under your feet." Bruno added, despite Rain's desperate expression.

"Come on Bruno, that's enough." Yutani whispered with a clearly worried expression on her face. She had never seen Rain so sad; they were always ready to laugh and joke, and it seemed almost impossible that they could cry.

"I'm not going to stop, because I can't stand seeing Rain feel so bad every time because of that bastard." Bruno replied dryly. "It's been going on for months. They text him back and he ghosts them. Every time Rain feels bad about it. Periodically I tell them the same things and every time they say yes, you're right. Then, they get fooled again. I'm sick of this shit."

"Hey! So you're a big softie after all! You care about me!" Rain quickly wiped away her tears and smiled broadly as she hugged Bruno. "You're right, I should listen to you more! Sowwyy!"

Bruno seemed uncomfortable with the sudden hug, but said nothing. He sighed and patted Rain's back. "Of course I care about you, I didn't think there was any need to specify that."

Ted, meanwhile, had isolated himself from the conversation, not particularly interested in that teenage drama. He had been silent the whole way, lost in his thoughts. But, at one point, he asked what the name of the stop was where they were supposed to get off.

"OH! Oops! You guys are going to hate me." Rain laughed awkwardly as he looked at the board with the next stop written on it. "That was the previous stop. I got distracted, sorry."

"Oh no, what do we do now?" said King in a worried tone.

"Not too bad. Let's get off at the next stop and walk a little, it won't hurt." They stood up vigorously, as if they had completely wiped the sadness from their face. Ignoring the annoyed comments of their friends, Rain eagerly headed for the door. "Get ready to get off the train before we miss this stop too!"