Re: [Capital: Gwen & Flash]
It wasn't even an act, when she kissed him back all surprised and kind of stupid-dazed. Though, she understood that it probably looked good. Romance, or the perception of being a couple, made people seem totally less harmless. She wasn't entirely sure what the psychological reasoning was behind that, but it totally seemed valid, and she let Flash lead, her hand in his, as they went into the small space at the back of the tent.
The items on the table in front of them were blocked from view of the world beyond. In fact, a flap pretty much hit Gwen's butt and obscured everything from view. Hidden, as they were, in the bowels of the Second City, it was a pretty good bet that they could get killed and no one would even notice. But Gwen wasn't worried about that, and maybe she was way too confident in Flash (and Reaper), but she wasn't worried.
The vendors looked at each other, and Gwen took note. Then, the younger of the two (one stayed behind to mind the front), placed four items in front of them. The problem was that the two main items (the one that opened portal and the one that was a time machine) weren't included in the four items displayed. They tucked the two machines below the table, and they began talking about the four things left on display.
Two were colorful bottles, and the vendor offered to sample them and let them see the results. The other two items, which they claimed were the portal machine and time machine, were actually unimpressive and holographic. But Gwen was super interested in the items under the table, because those had looked entirely functional, at least from her perspective. But, playacting the dumb blonde, she tipped her chin up toward Flash. "I want to see the time machine. I could totally go back to high school and see your girlfriends, the ones you won't tell me about." She redirected her attention immediately to the vendor, who was willing to oblige.
Amazingly, the time machine whirred to life, and it projected a perfectly convincing image on the back wall of the tent. It was the same wall, brand new, when Second City was still aboveground. People even walked through the image. It was super, super well done, but no less a fraud.