Electra

Erin held on a moment longer herself before stepping back to let Trevor get his things. "I'll go get my coat and meet you in the common room?" she suggested. Giving him a quick kiss, she headed out and back to her own room. In less than five minutes, she was down in the common room with her jacket and knapsack, having changed into clothes more suitable for working in garage. "Oliver demanded his dinner early," she commented wryly, "I don't think he trusts me to not get sidetracked when I go out."

"It does give one a sort of flea's-eye view," Stesha agreed with a laugh. "It's easy to lose all sense of scale after you've been in here a little while. But just wait till we get down to the main chamber. I think we're almost there." Their downward journey began to level out, even as the buzzing noise increased to ever-louder and more echoing levels. "Make sure to be polite!" Stesha called to Jack over the din. "You're going to meet the queen, and that's a very big deal here!"

"That just means you're a cheap date," Erin teased, pulling away just enough to look him in the eye. She brushed a lock of shaggy black hair behind his ear. "Staying in sounds good to me. If we don't go out, we're less likely to run into bank robbers or supervillains or alien invaders anyway," she pointed out, only half-joking. They'd both been in the hero business long enough to understand the dangers of trying to have a social life as a superhero. Just to be on the safe side, Erin brushed her knuckles over the wood surface of Trevor's desk.

"We're too young not to look forward to birthdays," Erin pointed out, the smile audible in her voice. "And you made mine so awesome, I'm glad I could do something nice for yours. I didn't make a lot of other plans," she admitted. "Like for dinner or anything like that. But I freed up the whole evening, so if you want to go out and do something we can, or we can go over to your place and hang out in the garage, maybe."

"ZZING HER A ZZONG," Beeatriz suggested, sounding like she was fed up with the whole thing. "MAYBE ZZHE WILL BE IMPREZZED WIZZ YOUR ZZWEET NOIZZEZZ. NOW WE GO LOWER." She swooped into a downward-tilting passageway and headed deeper into the hive. The further down they went, the busier things became. Whole caverns were already encrusted with wax deposits, carefully being shaped into giant hexagons by teams of bees. The process didn't seem entirely efficient, for all they were working hard. "OUR POPULAZZION HERE IZ ZZMALL," Beeatriz explained to the visitors as they went. "OUR ZZMALLER COUZZINZZ HAVE MANY THOUZZANDZZ OF WORKERZZ IN THE HIVE. BUT THEY ALZZO DO NOT LIVE LONG OR LEARN THINGZZ AZ WE DO. WE WILL GET BEETTER QUICKLY."

"Six of one, half dozen of the other at this point," Stesha told him in reply to the comment about home away from home. "I do a lot at my apartment still, it's where I can take my long hot showers and use the internet freely, bake and put things in the freezer. All sorts of things that are much harder to do here. But we sleep here most nights, and I like to come here to relax." She gave him his coffee, then settled down in her recliner with a bottle of orange juice. "And I can make calls from here, and check my messages. If you leave me a voicemail, I'll get it within a few hours, at most. Derrick insists I keep an interdimensional commlink here in case there's a medical emergency, but I don't like to use it." She unwrapped a muffin thoughtfully, studying her companion. "You seem to have something on your mind, Carson," she said gently, inviting him to open up in his own time and way.

"Ah, wonderful, everyone's already here," Miss A observed as they walked in, giving a smile to the occupants. "Commander Harrison, this is my associate Dragonfly, and Protectron, a consultant to our group. And this is my assistant Sharl," she added, with another nod to the teenager. "Please have a seat and make yourself comfortable. The security protocols are already in place, and everyone here knows how to keep confidences, so you should feel safe to speak as freely as necessary." She took a seat herself at the round table, ignoring for the moment the plate of refreshments.

"You're not going to have a body like the Centurion's, Erin told him, sizing him up and dismissing that possibility with a glance, "but cardio and weight training will do good things for any hero. You'll have gym class, obviously, but you have to put in dedicated training if you want to be good. I do thirty or forty hours a week outside of classes these days, just to maintain. If you want, I'll work with you at the gym sometime, give you some pointers. Mr. Archer, the gym teacher, he's the biggest jerk on the faculty. I'd steer clear as much as you can."

"I love you too," she murmured in return, putting her arms around his waist and leaning her head against his shoulder as she moved along with him to the imaginary music. "You make sense to me," she said after a few moments. "You don't, you know, throw how you feel about everything right out for everybody to see, but it's still there. And I understand because a lot of times it ends up being how I would feel too. We understand each other, I think, and that's not something either of us gets much of." She chuckled, the feel of it resonating from her chest to his. "I mean, nobody else would give me infrared goggles for my birthday and stargazing for Valentines and know it would be exactly right. That's something special, too."

"Not all of us are available in person, that's correct," Miss A told the officer with a confident smile, "but even a skeleton crew here gets you finer minds than you'll find in most any think tank. And thanks to the wonders of modern technology, the rest of our number are available for consultation if that should become necessary." She presented Harrison with her visitor's badge and led the way to the elevator, nodding at Sharl to follow. "I understand that this is a matter of both urgency and some delicacy, so I've arranged for a secured briefing room on the tenth floor. It should have all the resources we'll need to get started on the problem."

Erin closed her fingers around his, looking both pleased and relieved that her gift had gone over so well. "She did a really good job, better than I even pictured it," she told Trevor, glancing over towards the painting. "I think she really got into it, looking up old photographs and stuff for references so she'd get it all exactly right." She stepped in closer, putting her other hand on Trevor's shoulder. "I think it's really neat, really special the way you took on your grandpa's legacy like that. I figure it's like, even if he doesn't go out on patrol, he's still sort of there with you when you go out and do hero work."

Erin had obviously wrapped the present herself, in an operation that appeared to have required most of a roll of wrapping paper and the better part of a roll of scotch tape. It quickly became obvious that the present was a large picture in a cleanly elegant frame of dark wood. Under the glass was a painting that looked to be done in india ink and acrylics, stark black and white, and with the clean lines of a master comic artist. The painting depicted the skyline of Freedom City at night, the distinctive outline of Pyramid Plaza a clear signpost in the background despite a fall of steady rain. In the foreground, standing in shadow yet clearly defined against the darkness, the original Midnight stood, the long cloak he wore as a member of the Liberty League blown by an unseen wind, fedora tipped down against the rain as he surveyed the streets below. Next to him, the new Midnight stood with his own coat snug against his body, and a single silver gleam shining off his utility belt. He followed his mentor's gaze, the two of them keeping watch together over the city that was theirs. In the bottom right corner, nearly obscured by the frame, was a small loopy signature, "Martha Lucas." "I commissioned it," Erin said after a moment of silence, for once unable to keep her peace. "It usually takes longer, but she helped me out, because, you know."

"I don't scare easy," Erin pointed out with a grin, repressing the urge to say something nasty about Trevor's thoughtless and self-centered parents. Those were old wounds, and while the things she wanted to say might be true, they were still Trevor's parents, for better or worse. "I brought you a present," she said instead, hefting the package she'd brought. It was close to three feet long and about two feet wide, but only a couple of inches deep, a big, flat present wrapped in blue "Happy Birthday!" paper. "I didn't know what you need, so I got you something I hope you think is cool. If, you know, it doesn't work for you, I can get you something else."

Erin smiled back, shifting the present to one side so she could lean in and give him a kiss. "Happy birthday," she told him. "I'm sorry I didn't see you earlier, but Archer hauled me out for a five am training exercise. He's realized he doesn't get to have his hooks in me that much longer, I think. You have a good day so far?" The look he'd worn when he'd opened the door spoke of stress and unhappiness, but she didn't want to pry too quickly.

The door seemed to swing open of its own accord, a rich smell wafting out that told Carson he was right on time. Even though it was made from living plants, the little cottage was winter-cozy, comfortably warm and with golden light spilling from the lamps that dotted the single main room. She'd made improvements since the last time he was here, added a few pieces of artwork, a small television with a DVD player in the corner, and, oddly enough, a rather sophisticated looking communications array that sat incongruously on a maple side table. "How do you take your coffee?" Stesha asked from the kitchenette, where she was just pouring coffee into a tall brown mug. A plate of muffins already sat on the coffee table between the couch and the recliners that made up her sitting area.

He was left to his solitude for only a few moments before there was a knock on the door. Outside, Erin fidgeted with nerves, holding onto her parcel with one hand while using the other to knock. It was a windy day outside, and the large, flat wrapped package had wanted to behave like a kite, which had made the trip across the city with it a bit of a hazard, Now she was here, though, and with time left to second-guess whether or not Trevor would like it. What did you get the guy who could buy anything he wanted, especially when your own funds were limited? He hadn't really given her a lot of hints about what he wanted, so in the end, she'd had to go with her best idea and hope it worked out. She herself though it had turned out pretty well, but there was no accounting for taste. And if he didn't like it... well, she would figure something out. Erin didn't have Trevor's knack for plans and contingencies, she just had to roll with situations as they developed. But he'd liked the Valentines card, and this was a lot better than that.

They headed out toward Wharton State Forest, driving as far as the roads went and then hiking through the thickest of the trees and into a reclaimed wildlife area that would've been marshy if the weather hadn't been dry lately, It offered a dry place to spread the blanket, and a wide open view of a sky blanketed with stars, which was the point. Erin didn't say anything about it, but the fact that there were still a fair number of stars faded out by the light pollution of Freedom City and further-away cities was oddly reassuring to her. She'd seen this starscape above Freedom City itself, in less pleasant circumstances, and was happy to sacrifice a few stars for the lights of civilization. Trevor had obviously picked up the picnic dinner from a deli, which made sense given the sort of food he usually kept at home. They ate sandwiches and fruit salad and drank coffee from the thermoses, then stretched out to look up at the sky, Erin's head resting comfortably on Trevor's arm. It wasn't how she'd maybe once envisioned spending her first Valentines Day with a real boyfriend, but that didn't bother her a bit.

"Master stretegist," Erin commented with a smile. She looped her arm around his waist as well and kissed him as they headed towards the door, pausing just to get her windbreaker and hook it over her shoulder. She suspected that as they got closer to graduation, quiet evenings together might be harder and harder to come by. Erin resolved to take full advantage of this one. Well, maybe not full advantage, because it was pretty cold out, but still.

Erin took his hand and stood up, stepping in close to him as she shifted concerns about missions and battles to the back of her mind. "It'll be cold out tonight," she commented, "but I think we'll get along okay. And have a lot more fun than the people trying to go out to dinner tonight. I heard some people talking about their reservations at lunch, and decided I'd rather have week-old caf leftovers. This sounds better."

"Yeah, I carry them along with my uniform now, just in case," Erin told Trevor with an answering half-smile. She didn't catch the look that passed between Trevor and Mark, but was just as glad when Mark decided it was time to move on with his Valentines Day. "Later, Mark," she told him. "Thanks for the candy." She tucked the card and sweets into the top drawer of her dresser, then looked back up at Trevor. "Guess I kind of spoiled the mood there earlier," she commented ruefully.

"I didn't," Erin told Evander, "but this is definitely the easy way to learn. I highly recommend it. Go ahead and relax," she added, returning to her chair. "You need to practice getting comfortable in that position, but you also need to improve your physical condition if you want to be getting into fistfights. Just because you can throw fire and turn stuff into metal doesn't mean you're not in trouble if your arms are too weak to let you block a punch."

Erin stared at him for a moment, looking, despite her best efforts, slightly appalled. "That's... a start," she finally said. "We'll work on the stance." She moved in to stand in front of him, then began physically turning and pulling his arms and shoulders into the proper position. "You're obviously a righty, so right side goes forward, turn your body to present a smaller target and present your strong side. Bend your knees," she told him, giving him a light kick in the back of the shin with her toes to reinforce the command. "Get your weight over the balls of your feet, distributed evenly." Moving around to the side, she turned his head to bring it in line with the new direction his body was facing, then dragged his arm up so his fist was just below his eye level. "Fist up to protect your head, elbows in close. Shoulders back, spine straight, head up. You always look at your opponent, and never lean in towards them!" When she was satisfied, she nodded and took a step back. "Better," she decided. "You'll want to practice that stance awhile before you start trying to actually use it. It should be like breathing."

"We don't have to take her out," Erin pointed out, a little reluctantly. "I'd love to, knowing some of what she's probably done, but it's not our objective. What we need is a way to get in and out without her seeing us, ideally, but especially without her affecting us. You were able to shield me from Medea," she reminded Trevor. "Is there any way you could make or get hold of some more of those for while we're there? Even partial protection would be something, we can't just go in there cold."

"WHAT IZZ CAYZZTE ZZYZZTEM?" Beeatriz asked curiously, looking at Jack even as her antennae tilted back to pay attention to Stesha. "He means the way that worker bees and drones have different duties, that it might seem like one group is more important than the other, or that they have more important jobs," Stesha explained. "You will get along better if you understand that everyones' jobs are very important to the hive." "YEZZ, MAKING THE BABY BEEZZ IZZ IMPORTANT," Beeatriz agreed. "BUT BEECAUZZE ZZOMEBOBEE HAZZ AN IMPORTANT JOB,IT DOEZZ NOT MAKE THEM ZZMART," she pointed out. Stesha looked slightly pained, but gave Jack a one-shouldered shrug. "The drones... do seem to be a little bit, ah, intellectually limited," she admitted with some reluctance. "I CAN DO A DOUBLE LOOP!" Curl-bee interrupted. "WOULD THAT BE ROMANZZ?"

It took Erin a moment to process the scope of what Mark was talking about, but soon she was nodding along as well. "The whole school," she repeated, "that won't be a blow they'll recover from too easily, even with their own Doctor Metropolis, if they have one. Especially if you can get the equipment, the computers, that goddamned white box, all of that while you're doing it. We'd pay back Talos, and it would mean we shouldn't need his help getting in and out." She dug into her candy and unwrapped a roll of Smarties thoughtfully. "That means the main problem is going to be Pathos. I know Alex could take me out, no problem. I don't want her doing what Medea did to me back at the Sanctum."