I'm just moving some sidestories over from one place to the other. This is gonna be where the side chapters are gonna be uploaded from now on.


When Ceres got a call from her teammate, she suspected something was wrong. The panic in Kylie's voice made her jump from her lab table and run into the car the Plumbers had lent her. Ceres then drove like a madwoman to Kylie's location. Where was that, exactly?

A fucking mall.

There was something weird about all this. Normally, Kylie would've called one of her moms, or her brother. Ceres was, at best, the fourth emergency contact on Kylie's phone. The two of them didn't interact much outside of work, so for Ceres to get a call at all was strange.

Kylie was the only other girl in Zeta Squad, and she and Ceres were very different in every way; Kylie was short and stout, while Ceres was tall and muscular. Kylie's gas generation ability was made for defense and support, while Ceres' blue flames were an entirely offensive force. Kylie was also chatty and social, while Ceres kept to herself. (In time she'd open up, but for now she had to appear professional-ish). But aside from that, they got along pretty well.

Still didn't answer why Kylie called Ceres of all people for help.

But, being the team mom she was, she just knew Kylie needed some help.

Ceres roamed through the mall, taking in the cavernous halls and brightly-colored store interiors. She'd only been to this mall a few times, mainly to accompany Rook and Ben for a 'crash course' on Earth culture. She pulled out her phone and scrolled to Kylie's contact in her text messages. Their messages to one and other were fairly rare, nearly all of them professional and formal.

Ceres: Hey, where are you?
Kylie: 1st floor bathroom nearby guess and gap 4th stall

Ceres sighed and made her way down to the first floor. While it sucked not having context, she still wanted to make sure Kylie was okay.

Plus, if someone had hurt Kylie in any way, Ceres was going to personally punch them in the face.

A lot. Sending them to the hospital was mandatory.

"Kylie?" Ceres said, walking into the bathroom. She heard some quiet stirring in the fourth stall, prompting her to walk over. Ceres knocked on the door twice, and the stall opened just enough to see Kylie's distressed face. The poor thing looked relieved to see Ceres.

"Hey," Kylie said, her voice quivering. "Uh...can you...take me home?"

Ceres paused for a moment, then shrugged. "Alright," she sighed, and the two walked out of the bathroom. Kylie was especially demure, hiding behind Ceres' back as the two walked back to her car in silence.

Usually Kylie was a bright, skilled jokester, whose specific set of skills helped the crew out tremendously on missions. Not to mention she was always open with her personal experiences and often formulated plans for the group to hang out when they had time. It was unnerving to see her so quiet and shy.

Ceres had an inkling about what happened. When Zeta Squad got done with training for the day, Kylie had mentioned she was going to go downtown with her friends. Ceres figured her friends either embarrassed her, or ditched her, or something else that made the poor girl so upset.

Kylie quickly got in the back of Ceres' car. Ceres got behind the steering wheel, but didn't start up the car just yet.

"So," Ceres began, using the rearview mirror to look at Kylie. "What happened?"

She didn't say anything.

"Kylie. I'm just trying to help you," Ceres said, concerned. "You can talk to me."

She stayed silent.

"Well, hopefully one of your moms can sort this mess out." Ceres gave a dejected sigh and reached for her key fob.

That got Kylie talking. "You can't tell them!" she blurted out.

Ceres adjusted her rearview mirror so it better faced Kylie. "And why can't I do that?"

"I...I don't want them to worry about me, ok?" she huffed. "They've got a lot of stuff going on and I don't want to get in the mix."

"Then what happened with your friends?" Ceres asked, raising an eyebrow.

"...I lied," Kylie admitted. "I wasn't out with friends. I was by myself."

Ceres gave her a questioning look. "Why be so vocal about a lie, Kylie?"

"Well, I'm not really lying," she said, voice small. "Most of my friends are online. I don't have many in real life ones. I just lie to make my parents worry less about me. They've got a lot on their plate already."

"What about Weiss? Isn't she a real life friend?" Ceres pointed out.

Kylie looked away. "I don't want to bother her. She's busy."

"I see." Ceres started up the car. "Wanna get something to eat?"

"...I guess," Kylie said, avoiding eye contact.

-

Ceres had, admittedly, not been to many restaurants on Earth. Archimedean meals heavily used different herbs and spices for complex flavors, and Earth food couldn't always compare. And nothing on the restaurant menu sounded appealing or was just really greasy. But hey, might as well order the same thing as Kylie. She looked like she knew what she was doing.

The two girls sat in silence for a few minutes. Kylie looked like she was still a mess. Ceres stirred her soda with her straw and waited.

"I'm sorry for lying," Kylie said eventually, setting down her drink.

"You have nothing to apologize for," Ceres told her, crossing her arms on the table and leaning into them.

"...I just have all these anxieties, you know? It's weird to explain, but it's almost like if I don't see a person regularly, I feel like I kinda have to re-learn that person, or win them over again." Kylie sighed and slumped in her booth. "It's been a big fear I've had ever since Weiss and I started talking less and less. I really don't want us to drift apart."

"I get it," Ceres reassured her. "Just...next time, if you want to go out, call me. I'd be happy to come along."

Kylie's face lit up. "R-really?"

"Yeah, I've been meaning to get to know all of you better," Ceres told her honestly. "...and I still need to learn my way around this town."

Kylie grinned. "I'd be happy to help out with that."

Ceres smiled back. "I'm glad to hear that."

Just then, the food came. Kylie and Ceres stared down at what appeared to be Coney Island's 'Shrodinger's Chicken Fingers'; it was simultaneously soggy and not soggy.

"...we should've gone to Burger Shack," Ceres grumbled.

"We really should have," Kylie agreed.