Chapter Text
Rushing headlong into things was going to get Rumi into trouble one day.
And not in an "oh shucks, I opened the wrong door" kind of trouble either.
This was the kind of trouble that could get her killed.
To be fair, she didn't seek out to create trouble, or get into trouble on purpose. In fact, she very much preferred to just do her own thing, take care of her plants, maybe watch a movie with her roommate. You know, typical young adult things.
"Hurry up Rumi, we're going to be late!"
"Zo, we're half an hour early. I don't even think the Daily Planet's even open this early," Rumi explained, looking at her roommate's infectious enthusiasm fondly.
Zoey rolled her eyes good-naturedly as they waited for the signal to turn white so they could cross. "That may be, but we only have one chance to make a good first impression, and I don't want it to be because we're late on the first day of the job!"
Rumi could see the logic in that but, "We're two blocks away, and again, half an hour early. There's literally no way we could be late."
That would be true, if not for the stolen truck careening down the road straight at them carrying millions of dollars.
They began to cross the road none the wiser, until they heard the screams before they caught sight of the truck. In a split second, Rumi was pulling Zoey to safety in a nearby alleyway, before flying off and getting changed.
The number one reason Rumi got into trouble more than she would like? Her superhero activities.
She flew down to the truck that was still speeding down the boulevard, and pulled up next to the driver's window. "Morning fellas! I think you're going a little bit over the speed limit, any chance you could slow down?"
The robber who was driving let out a shrill yelp when he spotted her, swerving the truck, while the one in the passenger's seat scrambled backwards, uttering "What the fuck!"
Rumi sighed, of course they wouldn't just do it. So, she flew a little bit faster to end up in front of the truck, and splayed her hands on the hood. "Seriously? If you're running late for work, the proper solution is to leave earlier, and not-" here, Rumi pressed down, metal crunching under her fingertips as her boots came into contact with the asphalt, "speeding!"
The ground crumbled underneath her feet as she provided pressure to brake the truck. They continued to move forward a bit, but eventually, her strength outpowered the truck's engine, and they came to a grinding halt.
And good thing too, because the thieves had tried to see if swerving would shake Rumi away, but they had instead just made them nearly crash into a shop.
As Rumi breathed a sigh of relief and took a step back, she nearly stumbled into someone. A very pretty someone that had just stepped out of the shop. She was dressed smartly, with gold-rimmed glasses and her red-pink hair neatly tied in two ponytails.
For all intents and purposes, Rumi was a powerhouse. Peak physical shape, burgeoning powers beyond compare, and an intellect that could resolve issues in a matter of minutes. But she was completely incapable of stringing a proper sentence together when it came to a pretty girl.
Which was why, instead of asking the woman in front of her "are you okay? Did you get hurt?" or quipping, "I'm sorry, just trying to stop the bad guys!", she blurted, "Are you sorry for hurting the bad guys?"
The woman, for her part, just looked at Rumi as if the freshly brewed cup of coffee in her hand wasn't enough to give her the strength she needed to answer that.
Mercifully, Rumi was spared from more awkwardness as the driver fruitlessly tried to escape. He didn't even manage to stumble out of the truck's cab before Rumi was on him.
The other guy had been knocked out, and once Rumi was assured that he was still breathing, she tied the robber with some jumper cables she found, and left him in the driver's seat. The incoming cops could take care of the rest. She had to get back to Zoey!
She made it back into the alleyway, and noticed that Zoey was preoccupied, her camera out, snapping pictures of the situation.
"Hey, what'd I miss?" Rumi innocently asked as she came to her roommate's side, adjusting her glasses.
"There you are! Were you taking a nap?" Zoey asked, not taking her eyes from the viewfinder. "You missed all the action!"
Rumi chuckled awkwardly. "Oh, I was calling the cops."
"Good call, they're just arriving now," Zoey said, as if they wouldn't have come if Rumi hadn't called them.
Glancing at her phone, Rumi noted with a pang that they only had five more minutes before they had to show up at the Daily Planet, and their two blocks had turned into two blocks of destroyed concrete, other debris, and partially also a crime scene. "Hey Zoey? Look at the time."
"Shit, we have to go!" Zoey exclaimed, shoving her camera back into her bag and taking Rumi's hand. "Gaja, gaja!"
They made it into the elevators with two minutes to spare, and they breathed a sigh of relief. No awkwardness for them.
Until a hand shot forward to stop the doors from closing. The doors opened again, and Rumi's heart dropped. It was the lady from the coffee shop!
It's okay, Rumi tried to assure herself. She was now wearing glasses, and when Rumi was in her suit, her purple hair was more slicked back, and half her face was covered in these glowing patterns. There was no way this woman was going to be able to connect the dots!
She looked between Rumi and Zoey before asking, "Going up?"
And oh, her voice was doing things to Rumi's heart.
"Yep!" Zoey grinned, clearly more composed than Rumi.
As the doors finally closed, and the elevator began to rise, Zoey noted that the new woman hadn't pressed any button. "Oh! Are you going to the Daily Planet too?"
"Yep. First day?" The woman asked, turning to look at Zoey.
"It is! I'm a photographer intern, and my friend Rumi here's gonna intern as a journalist!"
The woman hummed. And then she glanced back at Rumi. "Is your friend okay? I don't think she's blinked at all."
Zoey giggled, and reached up to wrap her arm around Rumi's neck. "Oh she's fine! Probably first day jitters just caught up with her, plus she gets really nervous when she first meets people."
Rumi flashed what was hopefully a disarming smile towards the pink-haired woman. Judging by her raised eyebrow, Rumi had only managed a pained grimace.
Unfortunately for Rumi, Zoey was still prattling on. "I mean, the first time I met Rumi, she just looked at me and said that I smelled weirdly."
Okay, in Rumi's defense, Zoey had been wearing a really nice perfume, and Rumi had been meaning to ask her about it, but froze halfway, and just said "You smell."
Because of course, Zoey was also on the list of Rumi's silly crushes on cute girls. She was at the very top. And this woman, who Rumi would soon learn was named Mira, was about to tie with Zoey.
Wasn't that just dandy?