(Day of the Switch)
Location: Vivian's Apartment Building, San Francisco, California, on Earth
"Stop being so stubborn, Ally. Let me check out Viv's place first and make sure nothing's wrong." Ben was at Vivian's apartment door, worried someone was searching for Ally in this world like they were searching for Vivian in hers.
Ally noticed how Ben looked at her and realized she had been lost in thought. "I thank you for the carriage ride and the tea and sweets. But I can take care of myself. I will call you if I need food or a ride somewhere."
"We've been over this. I am not your servant, Ally. And you can't defend yourself here. You don't have magic in our world."
Ally had not yet told Ben that she retained some of her magic in this world. More each time, it seemed to her. She wasn't as diverse nor efficient as she was on Aethelgard, but there was so much untapped energy to draw in that even small magical acts could be difficult to control. Ally recalled the sensation of pulling the hotspot fires into her body at the fire scene. Maybe… I do?
"Besides, I have the keys you left back at the station." Ben continued as he jingled a keychain with a green frog face in front of her eyes. He opened the door cautiously and stared. "Ally, we're going to grab some things you might need and go to my place."
"You are overreacting," Ally declared as she pushed past Ben. "She has …become quite messy."
"This isn't messy, Ally. Someone came here while she was on duty and did this." Ben's concern in his voice made Ally wary, as well. "Here. We already have her overnight bag from the station. Is there anything else you might need?"
Ally thought about the things she enjoyed the last time they Switched. "I need whatever is in the cold closet." She pointed at the refrigerator.
Ben looked down at the floor, closed his eyes, and sighed. "Mine has even more stuff in it. Let's go."
Ben grabbed Ally's hand firmly and pulled her behind him, wanting nothing more than to put miles between them and this apartment. The distance between her steps was wider than dignified for a ward of the royal family, yet she had to admit moving around in Vivian's body felt remarkably easy.
I should get Vivian to exercise for me more often. It appears to have significant benefits.
Ally and Ben returned to the car, the heavy doors locking with a solid, reassuring thud. Ally immediately began to inspect her surroundings, poking at the soft leather seats and running her fingers over the smooth plastic of the doors.
"Ally, please," Ben sighed as he started the engine. "Do not touch anything. Just put this on." He pulled the nylon seatbelt across her chest and clicked it into place.
Ally frowned at the restraint, pulling at the strap. "This harness is completely unnecessary. Do I look like a beast of burden?"
"It keeps you from flying through the glass if we crash," Ben muttered, his anxiety still running high.
He reached out and tapped a sequence on a sleek, glowing panel on his dashboard. A strange, rhythmic ringing sound filled the cabin, followed by a sharp click.
Suddenly, Ben engaged in a conversation with a voice emanating from the very air inside his carriage. "Mike, sorry to call so late," Ben said, keeping his eyes on the traffic.
"Don't worry about it, Ben," the disembodied voice boomed, clear and resonant, bouncing off the glass and upholstery. "You sound tense. What's wrong?"
"I need a massive favor. Someone broke into Vivian's apartment. They completely destroyed the place. We just walked in on the aftermath."
"Is Viv okay? Did you call the police?" Mike's voice shifted to a serious, focused tone.
"She is fine. We are safe," Ben replied, glancing at Ally. "I want to keep the police out of it for now. I need you to go over there before building management gets involved. See if there is any indication who did this. It could have been a random burglary, but with Viv's arson investigations, it's better to be sure."
While Ben spoke, Ally listened to the new disembodied voice with mild fascination. She had ridden in Ben's vehicle during past Switches, but this particular feature was new. Her stoic face remained perfectly blank, yet a mischievous spark lit her eyes. She wanted to see what else the glowing panel could summon.
She reached out and pressed a glowing circular button.
Instantly, a blast of loud, progressive metal music exploded from the speakers, drowning out the phone call.
"Hold on, Mike!" Ben yelled over the noise. His thumb scrambled across the steering wheel controls, violently jabbing the mute button. The phone call's audio cut out entirely.
Ben quickly twisted the volume knob back to zero to kill the music and shot her an exasperated glare. "Ally, I am begging you. Stop pushing buttons."
Ally withdrew her hand, leaning back with a perfectly deadpan expression. "I was merely testing the limits of your carriage's enchantments. That musician you keep trapped in there is entirely too loud."
Ben vigorously rubbed the back of his neck, a stress headache blooming behind his eyes. He definitely could not let Mike hear any of that. "There are no musicians trapped in here. It is just my… you know what? Nevermind. Just try not to touch anything until I'm done with the call."
He took a deep, steadying breath, schooling his features into something resembling calm, and reached out to tap the unmute icon on the screen. "Sorry about that, Mike. Are you still there?"
"Yeah," Mike chuckled through the speakers. "Hit the wrong button?"
"Something like that," Ben sighed, profoundly relieved. "Do you think you could head over there? I'll swing by my office right now and leave the spare apartment key with the front desk for you."
"Sure thing, Ben. You know how to reach me if you need anything else."
The call ended with a soft beep.
Ally nodded in response to the interaction. "Your communication channeling is highly efficient. However, conversing with the ceiling makes you look quite foolish."
Ben let out a stressed, breathy chuckle, keeping his eyes on the road. "It is called Bluetooth, Ally. It connects my phone to the car."
Ally tilted her head, thoroughly unimpressed. "A blue tooth. Sounds like the nickname of a warlord with bad hygiene. Your world's naming conventions are as ridiculous as your garments."
Ben swore he saw the faintest trace of a smirk touch her lips.
Ben pulled into the parking garage below his firm's offices. The concrete walls and fluorescent lights felt oppressive. He debated bringing Ally inside versus securing her in the locked car, but he knew she'd do something he'd have to explain to his coworkers later.
"I will be incredibly quick—ten minutes at the most. Please stay inside the car, Ally."
"I am a fully capable adult, Friend Ben."
Ben nodded slowly and anxiously. He then steeled himself.
I'll be in and out in seconds. I can't think that nothing will happen because that is a flag that it will.
With one last head nod and a "Right," he practically fell out of the car and rushed to the elevator. No, it takes too long. Stairs it is.
With as much urgency he could muster, he expertly ran the stairs (Thanks, Viv, for making me go to the gym with you), dodged around all coworkers like he was running a football into an end zone, tossed the keys at his legal aide and asked him to give them to Mike, bobbed and weaved while politely greeting everyone and answering questions, made a hasty exit, got to the stairwell, hopped the railing where he could skip steps, and finally returned to the parking garage.
The whole task took just under 10 minutes, as promised. Feeling accomplished, if not a bit sweaty and out of breath, Ben reached the car and hopped into the driver's seat. He buckled his seatbelt and looked over at Ally—who was not there.
"Shit. I just knew it." As he lowered his head onto the steering wheel in defeat, he muttered, "Viv is going to kill me. And I don't even know where to start looking."