Electra

"Well, keep your eyes open next time the city gets into real trouble, and I'm sure you'll find some. Or they'll find you," Stesha corrected with a small smile on her face. "Freedom City has plenty of them." She tucked away the notepad for later and finished her juice. "You should take some of these cookies with you," she offered. "I've been baking nonstop for a month, possibly because having the oven on makes the kitchen so nice and warm."

"That depends on what you want the muscle to do." Miss A replied, getting off the bench and setting aside her lab coat. Underneath she wore a one-piece deep blue bodysuit that looked like it had come from the costume room of a sci-fi medical drama. It should've looked ridiculous, but the perfect body underneath and the perfect confidence with which she wore it made it work. "If you're at all familiar with the field, you probably already know about Dr. Yoshida's bioresponsive mesh. I use that for some everyday applications, but I've found that though it has the advantage of cheap availability, it doesn't have the strength, versatility, or endurance I'm looking for. This becomes especially evident in the fine-motor skills. I've had to improvise my own techniques." She led him over to a machine where a pair of prosthetic arms was mounted to a testing rig. The hands were currently occupied in peeling the skin off green grapes, the fingers careful and sensitive enough not to crush a single one as they worked. Miss input a series of commands on a control console, so quickly it was almost impossible to follow. The prosthetic hands set aside their fruit-related task and picked up a solid steel rod instead. With the same careful thoroughness, they pinched the solid metal rod into a flat metal plate, with no sign of effort. "You can see the difference from the mesh," she said dryly. "My technique is, of course, confidential and proprietary, I'm afraid." She laid a finger alongside her nose with a slight smile. "But if you're in the market for something, we may be able to come to an arrangement."

Miss A finally looked up from her work at the question, blinking her own eyes a few times to clear them. "Secondary nerve overload isn't a problem as long as you've properly insulated the pathways with high-density nanofiber. The subject's own mind is able to parse and dismiss the negligible amount of false data caused by the echoing effect. Are you the one I'm supposed to be showing around?" she asked suddenly. She closed her eyes for a moment, then opened them again with a practiced smile. "Let me start over again with my manners in place. I'm Miss Americana, and it's a pleasure to meet you." She tugged off a static-free lab glove and offered him a perfectly manicured hand.

Miss Americana had chosen an open floor plan for her lab area, a single large room two stories tall and covering nearly the length and width of the building. It looked like a cross between a laboratory, a department store warehouse, and a house of horrors. Mannequins lined the walls, in various stages of disassembly and repair, and there seemed to be body parts everywhere. Not real ones, but ones that looked real until one looked inside to see the circuitry and wires. A few lab technicians were at work on various projects, but the pair of visitors had to keep walking to find the mastermind herself in the center of her hive. Even buried in work, with her lab coat spattered in coolant and her hair tousled, Miss Americana made a stunning figure as she perched on a stool at the center of her busy little world. She was peering into a microscope and using a set of waldoes to make tiny, tiny adjustments to a prosthetic human eye, held in place by a dummy head on her worktable. The sight was macabre, but she was still glorious to look at.

"What, he's here now?" Miss Americana's dulcet voice came through the speakers, sounding a bit put out. "All right, all right, not like we're doing science here or anything. Should I come to one of the conference rooms, or does he actually want to see the lab?" Upstairs, Miss A rolled her shoulders, a gesture that did nothing for the nagging soreness that had nothing to do with the body she currently wore. The unexpected call had brought her out of the project she'd been immersed in all day and made her aware of the time. She was overdue for lunch and a bathroom break, both of which looked like they'd be hard to come by anytime soon.

"WE WILL BEE HAPPY TO ZZHOW YOU OUR HOME, JACK OF BLADEZZ," Beeatriz said graciously. The two bees descended so they were actually standing on those deceptively fragile-looking legs. "Climb on board," Stesha invited with a smile. She'd been standing by, ready to intervene if diplomacy had seemed necessary, but the reintroduction had gone very well. Since there was no way she was climbing up the fuzzy 12-foot wall of Beeatriz's flank even at the best of times, a quick assist from a vine boosted her up to the worker bee's broad back. 'This is the best way to go in the tunnels without having to worry about getting clobbered by someone flying too fast."

The Wanders are fine, even if they fail the save, Evasion 2 means half damage, which is beneath their impervious. Let's just hope the universe is as tough!

Wander was more than ready to attack the frightening paragon who'd attacked them, but she needed to know exactly what they were up against. She wasn't going to decapitate her team because she waded into a fight without knowing the score. When her counterpart and Midnight took him down in two hits, though, she wasn't about to complain. There were a lot more baddies to fight... including one she'd been itching to meet in a showdown. "CT, Sage, get to cover!" she commanded, then ran along walkway for a few steps, hit the railing with her hands, and vaulted off it as though it were a set of uneven bars. As she shot through the air, she executed a perfect sequence of flips and twists designed to capture the eye and distract the attention of anyone she was coming up against. It nearly worked, too. The Tiger barely had the presence of mind to mount a defense before she was on him, smashing him in the midsection with her baton!

Wander P is going to use an acrobatic bluff that moves directly into a charge power attack with bat against The Tiger. Skill Mastering the Acrobluff for another DC 28 Save. Charge power attack puts her at +12 to attack, +20 damage, and +13 to defense. Attack is: oh, that's just awful. Spending an HP,the first from Wander P for this thread. Reroll is better, a 30. Assuming the bat is the same from world to world, that tosses autofire into the mix, on top of a DC 35 toughness save.

"WE DO NOT CALL HIM MAZZTER ANYMORE BEECAUZZE HE DOEZZ NOT DEZZERVE IT!" Beeatriz expostulated. "HE CREATED UZZ, AND UZZED UZZ, AND THREW UZZ AWAY AZZ MIZZTAKEZZ! ZZTEZZA AND GAINITE AND VICTORY ZZHOW UZZ HOW TO TREAT FRIENDZZ. YOU WERE KIND TO UZZ WHEN YOU BEEFEATED UZZ. WE HAVE LEARNED MANY THINGZZ ABOUT BEEING FREE CREATUREZZ. HE WAZZ JAILER, NOT MAZZTER, EVEN IF HE MADE YOUR PARTZZ ZZTAY ATTACHED!" she sternly informed Curl-bee. The massive drone just shrugged, an impressive gesture.

"Maybe if we can get away," Erin said to Eve's suggestion, a bit hesitantly. "It's going to be pretty busy with getting ready for graduation and stuff, but at least we don't have to arrange plane travel and all that stuff. Are you sure it would be okay to have us all come visit at once?" She shrugged. "I mean, we kind of have a bad track record of being attacked by supervillains and stuff whenever we try and go anywhere all together, you know?"

The bee swept one massive leg in a way that was clearly meant to be dismissive, but caused a breeze that nearly unseated Jack's wig. "RAIZZING LITTLE BEES IS FOR WORKERZZ, NOT DRONEZZ," Curl-bee told Jack. "WE MAKE THE BABIEZZ, THAT IZZ OUR JOB! AND BECAUZZ OF MAZZTER, WE DO NOT LOOZZ OUR PARTZZ AFTERWARDZZ AND DO NOT DIE. SCORE!" He did a little dance that looked like a semi truck shimmying in an earthquake. "THE BEEKEEPER IZZ NOT MAZZTER TO US!" Beeatriz reminded her companion disapprovingly. "HE IZZ NOT OUR BOZZ NOW! WE RULE OURZZELVEZZ, THANKZZ TO ZZTEZZA AND THIZZ BIPED."

"THE ZZUPERHERO BIPEDZZ HELP UZZ!" Curl-bee interjected, his antennae waving animatedly. "THE ONE CALLED GAIANITE GIVEZZ UZZ THIZZ HIVE THAT IZZ WARM AND HAZZ ROOM TO MAKE THE BABY BEEZZ! LOTZZ OF THEM!" He was obviously very pleased by this prospect. "BUT HE SAYZZ NO ZZWIMMING POOLZZ FULL OF ZZHAAM...ZZHAAMPAGNE, BEECAUZZE THAT HAZZ NO CLAZZ. EVEN THOUGH TELEVIZZION ZZAYZZ ZZO." That was a disappointment he seemed sure the other male would share.

"My cell phone is just fine," Fleur assured him, blithely oblivious to Victory's concerns. "Even if you don't get hold of me right away, I check my messages frequently, even when I'm here. I imagine things will get started, oh, around five thirty or so, so give me a call if you'd like to drop in. In the meantime, why don't I send some fresh bread and some soup home with you? I'll never finish eating all of it myself," she offered, leading the way back into the cottage.

The bees' heads turned,and Jack suddenly found himself the focus of four massive multifaceted eyes, shining in the light like slabs of polished onyx. "JACK OF ALL BLADEZZ," Beeatriz addressed him. "WE OWE YOU OUR THANKZZ. MOZZT ZZQUIZZHY BIPEDZZ WOULD NOT ZZHOW KINDNEZZ TO UZZ AFTER FIGHTING UZZ. YOU ZZPARED OUR LIVEZZ, AND ZZENT FLEUR TO HELP US. YOU ARE A BEENEFACTOR TO OUR KIND" Curl-bee nodded ponderously, his antennae waving.

As the fearsome looking villain rushed down at incredible speeds upon the group of young heroes, neither Wander hesitated for an instant. Moving in unintended concert, they each leapt in front of one of the Cobalt Templars, instinctively shielding the newest and least experienced member of their respective teams. While her counterpart hung back to assess the tactical situation, the Wander who lived on Earth Prime stepped up to confront their attacker. "You want a fight," she spat, "you've got one right here. Leave them alone!" With that, she sprang into the air, turned a double flip and came down behind Totentanz, smashing him around the head and shoulders with her lightning-fast bat!

Erin-EZO1 is going to start with an acrobatic bluff for her move action. Gonna start off simple and skill master it for 28. She's then going to launch a power attack against Totentanz with her bat. Oooh, that sucked. Luckily, I am informed that Edge Paragons will spend HP on behalf of someone who looks a lot like his girlfriend! Reroll is a 25! I am betting autofire isn't going to be much of a consideration here, but the power attack makes the toughness DC 35.

"Not that I know of," Stesha replied, not sounding as entirely certain as might have been comforting. "They don't really talk much about life on Prime anymore, actually. Their lives are here now, and here is where they focus, especially the workers. Some of the boys miss television and talk about things like that, but then, they don't have much to do..." She waved again as the bees came in for a landing. "GREETINGZZ, FLEUR DE ZZHOIE!" the larger one buzzed, waving antennae in her direction. "AND TO YOUR GUEZZT ALZZO! WHAT BRINGZZ YOU TO OUR HIVEZZZ?" "Hello, Beeatrizz!" Stesha called to the speaker bee, then waved to the other as well. "Hello, Curl-bee! Jack of all Blades and I came out to say hello! He wanted..." "WE HAVE ZZEEEN THIZZ ONE BEEFORE!" Beeatriz interrupted. "HE IZZ THE ONE WHO ZZTABBED HENR-BEE in FREEDOM ZZITY, ZZHE ONE WHO MADE UZZ ZZURRENDER!" It was hard to tell whether there was anger or not in that massive booming bee voice.

"I don't think gray hair would look good on me," Stesha agreed, "and I have no idea how I would touch up the roots on this stuff..." Taking his hand, she touched the flowers braided into her hair. Suddenly, the world was full of green light and the pungent smell of pine needles. They popped out in what Carson recognized as the civilian enclosure with the great crystal ceiling he'd seen on his last visit, but it was much changed now. Instead of one giant open space, they now stood in some sort of front vestibule, where a wooden door led out through the foliage wall to outside, and a thick curtain of vines blocked the inner passage. "We have to conserve heat," Stesha explained to Corbin, "because the generator is overtaxed as it is. The plants and the crystal roof are surprisingly good insulators, and there's warmth when we get sun as well, but blocking the doors and dividing things into rooms helps as well. If you want, you can take off your coat and I'll tuck it away before we go in," she offered. It was not precisely cozy warm in the building, but it was much warmer than outside.

Stesha sighed theatrically. "I'm sorry, Carson," she said, unable to hide the grin tugging at the corners of her mouth. "I hate to have to admit it to you but... I'm afraid Derrick and I did have sex before we were married. It's shocking, I know." Unable to maintain even that much of a deadpan any longer, she dissolved into a chuckle. "It's a little girl, and we're due in June," she added, to forestall the other inevitable questions. "We're over the moon about it, but I didn't want to make a big deal of it before the wedding and all."

"Oh, it's not a matter of power," Stesha corrected with a laugh. "Dark Star is exceedingly powerful. It's a matter of how much of your time you want to devote to League business, and where you want to serve. Being on the Auxiliary allows both of us to help the League when needed in Freedom City, and to be a point of contact with other League teams, without having to give up our own pet hero jobs or travel too much. Being on the main League means spending most of your time solving problems all over the world, and that's just not the lifestyle we're looking for." She took another cookie. "Do you work alone by choice, or is it simply that you haven't met many other heroes yet?"

Stesha took a few minutes to clean herself up before going to pick up Carson. Afternoon naps were one of life's greatest pleasures for her right now, but they did leave her rumpled and disoriented. She tucked a few more pins in her long green hair to tame the flyaway strands, then slipped on a clean tunic. Being in maternity smocks at twenty-five weeks was depressing, but her mother had just laughed and told her it was the curse of having a short torso. There was nowhere for the baby to grow but out! Since she wasn't expecting to spend much time outside and she couldn't afford to give her coat away, for once she didn't even bother with a coat before popping over to Carson's apartment. "Hello, Carson! Shall we?"

"The only one who eats more is Beelisima, the Queen, and she's half-again as large," Stesha agreed. "Oh look, there's Beeatriz, and I think that's Curl-bee with her!" It was hard to say how she was picking them out, all the bees looking pretty much the same, but Stesha stuck two fingers in her mouth and whistled piercingly. It was enough to get the attention of the bees high overhead, and the pair began spiraling downward, the faintest scent of sulfur carried on the wind ahead of them.

Wander EZO1: 14 Blargh. Wander Paragons: 17. Ugh. Spending one of EZO1's HP for a reroll: 28. Better.

"You seem to have made a remarkable recovery," Miss A agreed, her voice dry. She'd have much preferred to nip off with those drives while the alien was busy, but it seemed unwise to risk getting a relationship with a new species, even a potentially extinct one, off on the wrong foot. "We have scanning equipment on the medical level that will be able to give a more in-depth analysis of your current cellular makeup. If you're feeling up to it, we could probably conduct most of the scans today."