Find a crowd (and get some important info on the way).

"So," Caroline asked curiously as they made their way toward the food court, "how far does your ability extend? Could you take things from everyone in the mall? Or even the whole city?"

Lisa shrugged. "It's very taboo in my family. I received a little information about it when it first manifested but after that we never, ever discussed it. I think it only works on things I can see or hear. I could manipulate anyone around here, but not in the parking lot or on the other side of the mall."

Caroline stared blankly at her and Lisa realized that she was thinking. After a moment, she seemed to make a decision. "Let's go to the theater."

"You wanna watch a movie?" Lisa asked with a grin before remembering that jokes were now pointless with her roommate.

"I want a captive audience. I'd like to try a few things." Caroline left it at that, knowing that Lisa wouldn't bother pressing her for details.

Lisa's grin vanishes and she spoke softly. "You know, I should warn you... there's a reason my family is so uptight about this. Well, a lot of reasons, but one in particular is that there are people who know about people like me. People who object to people like me."

Caroline raised an eyebrow and Lisa continued. "I don't know much about them, but I know that if they find any evidence whatsoever that someone's been doing what I can do, they act swiftly and brutally. They don't think powers like this should exist, but there's an understanding that they will leave us alone as long as we abstain completely from using our powers. If they find any evidence that we've been using them, they'll come for us. Quickly."

"What sort of evidence do they expect to find?" Caroline asked tonelessly.

"I think with people like me, sometimes we get sloppy. For instance, there's now a group of people with changed faces, bodies, and eye colors. There's a woman who's ass is now smaller. Anomalies like that can add up and if someone picks up the thread it means we're in serious danger."

"Why didn't you tell me any of this before?" Caroline asked impassively.

"Well, like I said, I almost never think about my ability. It's so risky and scary to me that I basically forget I have it. I just messed up last night when we were both blackout drunk and I used it and now it seems-"

"We're here," Caroline interrupted. "I'm glad you told me about this when you did. I still want to experiment, but we'll be sure to be more careful."

They approached the box office and bought tickets for the next showtime. The bored ticket-taker waved them through and soon they were standing outside of a packed theater.