Electra

Erin pressed thumb and forefinger to her temples for a moment, hiding her face as she absorbed this new information. "I could call in some favors, try and get something freed up, but every piece of equipment is needed right now. The whole state is devastated, half of New York, all through the seaboard, they need every bit of help they can get." She looked levelly at Clara and Argent, her voice tight as she asked, "The distortion is strange, but is it enough to hang any real hope on? What are the realistic odds that a child running into that combat could possibly have survived?" "There's always hope..." Clara began, then stopped, shook her head. "But you're right. I don't know what the distortion means, but it's clear she was running right into the blast zone, and there's no sign of her coming out." She choked a little bit. "I would send the results to Dr. Atom, but with him gone... I don't know what we can do."

Stesha eased back, keeping a comforting hand on Taylor's shoulder. "There are a lot of people who would go a long way to save you," she promised her. "Not just because they're heroes, but because we're your friends. And we know you would do the same thing for us. We have to watch out for each other, whatever the danger is." She hesitated for a minute, weighing whether to ask the question or to let it go. Finally she spit it out, despite her own discomfort. "I know you said he did other bad things to you. Was there anything you feel like you need to talk to somebody about? Maybe not to me, but to a counselor, someone like that?" Stesha couldn't quite come out and ask, did he rape you?, but it was a concern that needed addressing.

Stesha sighed a little at that, then set down her tea and slid across the couch to give Taylor a hug. She really seemed like she could use one. "I'm glad he was there for you," she finally allowed, doing her best not to sound begrudging. "I'm glad you're going to be okay. You shouldn't blame yourself for any of this, it wasn't your fault some crazy attacked you in your room. But we'll go and do those lessons with Ace, and next time someone tries to jump you, you'll have a whole other arsenal to fight back with."

"It's my mom's recipe," Stesha told Taylor, ignoring Jack as he made himself scarce. "I played with it a little, making the leaves a little more potent before I dried them, and I'm pretty happy with it so far. I think I'll make some chamomile now, though. It'll settle both our nerves." She fiddled around in the kitchen for a few minutes, reheating the water and making new cups of tea. It was obvious Jack had just moved into this place, it didn't look like he'd ever used the kitchen at all. She did have to wonder what kind of paranoid freak locked his refrigerator, no matter what he was keeping in there. Evidence of what? She didn't spend any longer in the kitchen than she had to. Carrying the cups back into the living room, she passed one to Taylor and sat down on the other side of the couch, picking up the little solitaire game. "So how are you feeling, besides physically?" she asked gently.

Stesha laughed, wrinkling her nose. "Eww, Derrick, not like that," she protested, giving him a light punch in the arm. "Though if any of my brothers were around, they'd already have done their best to intimidate you, just from force of habit, I think. Which is another really good advantage to dating a superhero, now that I think about it," she added brightly. "There's no possible way they could worry you, no matter what they try and pull. I mean, if they meet you eventually, which might happen, at, you know, Christmastime or something, sometime in the future." It was her turn to be flustered now, wondering if she was introducing the specter of family meeting way too early.

"It's okay," Stesha said again, a little more firmly this time. "I'll stay till Jack gets back, then go home. I can always call Derrick, if he's not out of the universe or something he can come over for the evening. But you're right, it's silly to be too worried tonight, more like jumping at shadows than anything else." She rummaged through her knapsack, though she didn't seem to be looking for anything in particular. "How are you feeling?" she asked Taylor. "Do you need to lay down for awhile?"

She was back in a couple of minutes, the shorts and blue t-shirt she was wearing at least less distracting than what she'd had on earlier. Picking up a flashlight of her own, she took his arm and headed away from the camp with him, turning off the lights there as they went. With those lights turned off, their flashlights and the twin moons and stars provided all the illumination in the entire world. As they walked, she told him about the beach trips she'd taken with her family when she was younger, mostly to lakes up in Wisconsin, but with one memorable excursion to Florida as well. It sounded like a very rowdy time, with six closely spaced children and one large van to carry them all in. She seemed to have a special love-hate relationship with her older brothers, who'd been protective to the point of smothering, and at the same time enjoyed teasing her half to death themselves. "It's funny to be so far away," she told him, "not here, but back on Earth. I miss everyone like crazy, but at the same time, I never could've done all the things I've done this summer if I were still near them. I would never have had the guts to get out on my own and try all these new things. It's like I'm finally getting a chance to be an adult, and I like it."

Stesha got a 12 on her first roll, but since she really doesn't want to entirely whiff, she's spending a hero point. That goes much better, and she rolls a 24.

It seemed to take Stesha a minute to nerve herself up enough to actually throw a punch. She really didn't want to miss, not when he was standing right there a foot away and she would look like a total moron, but at the same time, she didn't want to throw a punch at anybody, much less at a friend. But he was a hero, she rationalized, and had years and years of training, and nothing she did was actually going to hurt him. Blowing out a breath, she drew her arm back and imagined he was one of her big brothers back in high school, and aimed a punch straight for his stomach.

She chuckled, putting a hand on his cheek and kissing him back. "I think I'll probably be too sore if we go back to bed before the sun comes up," she admitted, "so a nice little walk is probably about the right speed. Just let me go put some actual clothes on." She headed back to the tent, her outfit nicely translucent under the lights he'd strung up.

Stesha mimicked the stance from the sidelines, setting her feet and raising her guard like Taylor was doing. It felt kind of weird, like posing for a picture. "How do you know when to start doing the footing and hands thing?" she asked Ace. "You want to do it before the fight starts, right, but doesn't this make it look like you're looking for a fight?" She didn't look like much of a fight at the moment, really, but the basic stance was almost right.

"That's nice," she decided. "At least we're both in the same boat, even if we don't know where it's headed. We can enjoy the trip together. And just because something happens fast doesn't mean that it's not right. Maybe it just means that we're lucky." The butterflies that had been jumping in her stomach dissipated, leaving her even more relaxed than before. "You know, I wonder if we could find some of those fuzzballs if we went out looking tonight. Maybe it would be easier when they're sleeping."

"Wait, retired?" Erin blurted out. She was less concerned with the evidence that Zoe could obviously move very fast than with the idea that Duncan Summers, who seemed to be in fine health, would be retired a few universes over. And hearing stories from over the years about him, and that computer thing... "What kind of alternate universe are you from?"

Erin was caught off-guard for a moment, having forgotten that she'd probably be called upon to make introductions, at least. She was still trying to figure out what Zoe had meant by the sheep suit comments, and whether she should feel complimented or insulted. Straightening up in the automatic reflex that Summers tended to inspire in her, she said "Um, yes sir. This is Zoe..." She trailed off when she couldn't remember Zoe's last name, or if she'd given one. "She found us when we were out at the library today. We ran into Mystic Force and Ne- ah, Tech Kid trying to hack the library computers, and she helped us out." Fair was fair, and it had been nice to see someone fetch that jerk a solid beating. "She says she's from Claremont in an alternate universe, and she got blown to this one on accident. We said she ought to talk to you first."

"I'd like that very much," she told him, closing her eyes and moving along with his body and the music. "I've really enjoyed everything we've done together, and I would like to do more. Here, or back on Earth, or anywhere." With her eyes closed and everything else so far away, it seemed easier to indulge in a little honesty. "I know we haven't known each other very long, and neither of us probably know exactly where we're going, but I've never felt about anyone the way you make me feel." Her lips curved as she opened her eyes to look at him. "And I know that sounds corny, but I can't help it."

"Who's gonna see?" she asked with a laugh. "The little fuzzballs? They'll be too busy envying that you have legs at all." Stesha didn't have any great dance moves either, but none really seemed to be needed. She put her head on his shoulder as they swayed to the music, the fuzzy sounds of the speaker blending in with the noises of nighttime birds and insects and the sound of the sea. "I wish we didn't have to go back tomorrow," she murmured wistfully, after a little while. "Everything's been so perfect."

Stesha remained safely on the sidelines, hopping around on one foot with the other drawn up to her butt in a stretching style right out of high school P.E. It really seemed like a much better idea to watch Taylor and Ace take each other on and stay out of the way than to actually stand up there herself and try not to lose what small amount of dignity she'd have left by the time she finished stretching. And it would be much more fun to watch those two grapple, that was for sure.

Erin waited a few moments for everyone to get into position, nervously watching Breakdown climbing into the sky, then nodded to Alex. "All right, tell everybody, go now! Fast as they can, from far away if they can." Even as she spoke, she was vaulting over the fence. She hit the ground running, but went only as far as the nearest garbage can. It was very unpleasant, still full of the day's uncollected trash, but that didn't matter. A quick jerk had it pulled free of its moorings. Orienting herself on the ledge Alex had described, Erin leapt straight into the air, up above most of the other slides. At the apex of her jump, she used a footballesque spiral throw and launched the trash can at the cluster of figures.

Fools rush in, and Erin rushes in on 28.

She laughed at the mental picture. "No legs, either, huh? Too bad! Give 'em another few million years, they'll pick up thumbs, then watch out. They've got an awfully nice world to come up on. And no dinosaurs." They rested in the sun for a little while longer, then took a quick dip to cool off, which resulted in another quick teleport back to camp, and a very late dinner. When the stars were coming out, Stesha dug her battery-powered stereo out of her duffel bag and set it up to play a set of slow music, nice for dancing. She was just wearing her swimsuit coverup, a long, flowy, gauzy thing that was really supposed to have a swimsuit under it, but it was as close to a dress as she was coming on this trip. "We should dance," she told him, turning a circle in the clear space outside the cabana. "It's a perfect night."

"I'm okay," she assured him, her voice still a little hoarse from the coughing. "It just surprised me. I only ever find seashells that big in museums or gift shops, I didn't stop to think someone might still be using that one. I feel rather grateful I'm not sitting here hoping that laying in the sun will help me regrow a fingertip or something really unpleasant." She yawned and stretched, putting her head on his shoulder as the sun dried them both. Her skin was already starting to turn a nice tan color, with just a bit of olive mixed into it. She laughed at his description of the indigenous life forms. "Sounds like a cross between a Tribble and Pac-man," she told him. "I hope we get a chance to see one before we have to go."

Quite a while later, long after sunrise, certainly, and after another shower, they eventually got on with the business of the day. Breakfast consisted mainly of carrot cake, eaten with cold pop and without utensils while once again sitting out on the beach. It was a very good cake, even if part of it got just a little sandy when Stesha tried to feed some to Derrick and they wound up in an entertaining little scuffle on the blanket. Hunger satiated, they tried out the snorkeling gear at last, paddling clumsily around in the shallow blue water and looking at the odd lifeforms growing in the warm freshwater ocean. And if they spent as much time checking each other out as the bottom of the sea, well, no one else had to know. Stesha called it quits after nearly getting bitten by a seashell she tried to pick up and inhaling a half-pint of water through her snorkel from the surprise. Still coughing a little, she waded out of the water and stretched out on a towel on the beach to bake in the sun awhile.

She looped her arms around his neck, her eyes crinkling as she chuckled. "That's a good point," she allowed, even as her heartbeat sped up and her cheeks flushed a little. "They can wait, for later..." Leaving one hand behind his neck, she trailed the other down his chest to the point where hers pressed up against it, then back up. "What do you want to do instead?"

She pressed her forehead to his, their noses nearly brushing as she grinned at him. "I'm not actually very hungry," she admitted. "But let's go back anyway. We'll find something to do. Though at some point, we need to walk back down the beach and find our clothes." Holding onto the blanket with one hand, she touched her fingers to his necklace of flowers and sent them both back to the camp in the blink of an eye. Sitting back on her heels, Stesha waited expectantly to see what he would do, and whether he would seize the initiative for once.

"Nah, I'm good," Stesha told her, looking at the plants and trees all around. "I haven't gotten a chance to wander around campustown lately, I think I'll do some shopping. Give me a call when you talk to Ace, and let me know how things with Damien go." Slinging her knapsack over her shoulder, she tossed away her garbage and headed for the steps leading to the sidewalk. "And don't forget to show your friends the picture!"