This Is Your Captain Crashing

Avalanche Territory

Things were a bit tense in First Class at the moment. And it was because of a certain Psycho Hose Beast, who was still sleeping in her little part of the room. The plane was finally getting ready for takeoff, which Chris' announcement called out to make sure everyone was on board.

But Izzy didn't even react at all when the PA, rather just stretching out so she was taking up two seats, lightly snoring as the entire flying fortress began to move.

In the seats closest to the bar, Eva and Noah looked out the window and watched as the city skyline disappeared below. "Goodbye, New York", the bookworm droned out, "and hello whatever torturous place Chris is taking us to next..."

The Fitness Buff grunted. "As long as it isn't as bad as the Sahara, then we're fine."

Noah hummed in agreement, then stood up. He tried to spot his redhaired friend, but he could only catch the slightest glimpse of her legs from the gap between the chairs. With a sigh, he sat back down.

"Worried about her?" Eva asked in a hushed whisper.

Noah shrugged. "I just would've expected her to try and throw Owen around in a very violent flamingo dance. But she's just... sleeping. Not a shout out of her."

"Yeah, it's... weird." The Raging Bull leaned into the lane, but could only catch a glimpse of Izzy's new boots. "I knew something was up when she showed up to the Gemmies with that new look."

"It's like Izzy was swapped with someone else when she vanished after Action..." The bookworm let the memory of the first Aftermath play in his head, how jarring it was to see two giant robots completely level a good chunk of the movie lot, and the seeing Izzy vanish in a blinding light with a group of people even weirder than themselves.

"Maybe they did something to her...?"

"Whatcha' guys talking about?" Owen asked innocently, sitting across from his two friends with a platter filled with food.

"Izzy, and how she seems... off, this season", Noah explained. "I'm sure you noticed."

"Yeah, we talked about it earlier..." The loveable lug muttered in a hesitant tone. "She said she's just changing. Like Heather and Courtney and Leshawna have. She's going through a lot, so I think we should help her!"

The other two members of Team E-Scope shared a glance. "You don't sound the happiest with that, Lunchbox..."

The season one winner sighed. "It's hard. Izzy is being a different kind of scary I can't explain... Like, it is her, just... She's not all there. And..." He fell silent.

Eva leaned forward a bit. "You don't like her anymore?" That piqued Noah's alarms, and he faced his large friend in worry.

"More like she doesn't like me anymore..." Owen glanced over his shoulder towards where his girlfriend was. "When she kisses me now, there isn't this spark that used to be there. It's like I'm being struck with lightning. But now... there's no spark."

Noah hummed. "I getcha', big guy. Love is a fickle thing, so maybe Izzy is just... stuck. She does still care about you, I know that, but whatever happened to her over the last year got to her bad."

"She hasn't told us what, though", Eva said in frustration. "We're in the dark, so what can we really do to help her?"

"Whatever we can, E", Noah said, leaning forward. "Whatever we can."

Owen frowned slightly, unsure if he really should say anything. He looked down at the plate of food, and let his mind wander to all the times he and Izzy shared in the past. They weren't... They weren't the best couple, were they? The two of them barely did much, because they barely had time together during Action. And while they did chat and hang out over the past year, it only ever felt like they were friends that kissed.