Raveled

Jessica smiled brightly. "Yeah, Blake, we're still cool." While they were clearing Blake's stuff out of her truck, she came on his sketchbook. Jessica flipped through it and found the sketch he'd made of her at the park. She held it up so that Blake could see the picture. "Um, Blake? Do... do you mind if I keep this?" She blushed again, red creeping across her cheeks. "It's just, no one's ever drawn a picture of me before. And you make me look so beautiful."

"Girlfriend, right." The disembodied head nodded. "Well, I guess I can give you guys five minutes, but get her out of here, Salazar!" The head receded towards the doorway and disappeared. Jessica was bright red with blush by the time the RA left. She rubbed at her arms, staring at her feet. "Oh, God. Um, listen Blake. Maybe you should just get your stuff from my truck and we should call it a day?"

Jessica put an arm around Blake and held him there, thinking about what he'd told her. His powers were from an other-worldly source, maybe a malevolent one, and he was trying as hard as he could to get rid of them. It was almost the opposite of her situation -- she knew how her suit worked backwards and forwards, and had put a lot of effort into making it work. She couldn't imagine trying to get rid of one's powers, but she had to admit that Blake's situation was scary. "Hey!" Jessica jumped at the voice behind them, interrupting her thoughts. She turned and saw just a head, hanging in front of the door, trailing wisps of smoke or mist back to the doorjamb. The head was glaring at Blake. "Salazar, right? This isn't a co-ed dorm, dude, girls aren't supposed to be in here." The head turned back towards Jessica and scrutinized her carefully. "I haven't seen you around campus before. What's your name?"

Jessica glanced at Blake, her brow furrowed. "You... you don't know where your powers come from?" She didn't know much about magic and the arcane herself, but she assumed that Blake had known enough about it to summon his powers, that they were his own choice and not simply granted by an outside force. To have something like that and not even know where they came from or how they worked was a scary idea. Jessica at least knew exactly how her suit worked.

Jessica blushed at Rift's comment and hung her head as he edged past them. Once she and Blake were alone in the room though, she started thinking that this might be a bad idea. Instead of joining her boyfriend on the bed, she wandered over to his bookshelves, studying the books. "So, um, you're really into this sort of magical stuff? Is it for your art?"

(15:28:00) Ecalsneerg: It's a much overlooked fact that Dr Archeville isn't ugly (15:28:17) Ecalsneerg: He actually wanders around, hatless, with his long hair flowing like an L'Oreal advert (15:28:19) Gizmo: He's the rock star of (15:28:45) Ecalsneerg: "Because I'm vorth it!"

So... Captain Greco, then?

So, each seal that is activated ("released," whatever) increases the power of the AltForm? Why wouldn't the character activate the most powerful version at once?

Jessica was surprised at Blake's boldness, but as his mouth covered her, she pressed her body against his, quickly responding and moving her lips and tongue. She didn't have much experience in kissing and she had never studied technique, but she was enthusiastic. After a long, pleasurable time, she broke off the kiss and pushed Blake away slightly. "We shouldn't do this here," she said, breathless. "We could get caught. We could get in trouble." She kissed him again, deeply. "Show me what your dorm room looks like."

Jessica started breathing more easily once they were above ground again and chucked Blake on the shoulder. "You should pay more attention," she admonished him. "School's important, and if you get thrown out of here what will you do? I don't want to lecture you, but you don't need to do something like that to impress me." She grabbed his arm and pulled him close as they passed between two Gothic buildings. "I like you anyway."

Jessica stepped forward cautiously, eying the metal plate in the ground. She called after him, but he was already slipping inside. She followed him, dropping softly to a metal-lined passageway lit by recessed halogen lights. She stepped close to Blake, touching him on the shoulder and looking both was, worry in her eyes. Jessica leaned in close, her breath hot on his ear. "Blake! Are you sure we should be here?" Getting caught by someone in authority at Claremont Academy promised to be much more dangerous than getting caught making out by the cops in a park.

Jessica leaned into Blake, wrinkling her nose in an attempt to see the end of her own snout. Part of her was focused on simply enjoying the contact, but another part of her was considering what Blake had said. "I don't really go outside," she said. "I like technology. It's what made humans into humans, into the apex species on this planet, you know? Other animals can run fast, but we can make cars; they had big claws, we have guns; they have camouflage and thick pelts, we have infrared cameras and Kevlar." She returned the kiss, planting one in the middle of her boyfriend's forehead. "I want to see the secret place if you're gonna be there," she replied, smiling impishly at him.

Jessica squatted down to be closer to the flowers. She put her nose right in a rosebud and inhaled deeply. Her head was filled with the perfumed scent and she was suddenly light-headed; when she stood, the gardens spun around her for a moment. She leaned on Blake and giggled drunkenly until everything settled, "Oh, wow. Headrush." She turned to Blake and her could see that the tip of her nose had been painted yellow by the flower's pollen. "Is my face all flushed? It feels really warm."

Jessica strolled across the grassy lawn, happy enough just to walk beside Blake for awhile. Still, her grandpa would expect her back sooner or later, so they should get going. "What's the gardens like," she asked. "Is it some part of the botany department?"

Jessica shivered pleasantly as Blake left a kiss on her neck, snatching at his hand. She interlaced her fingers with his and they headed off towards the buildings. "I can't believe it," she said. "I'm a law-abiding girl for all these years, and then in one day with you I get pushed along by a cop and now I'm trespassing." She laughed, giving Blake a peck on the cheek. "This is exciting."

Jessica parked the vehicle, operating almost on auto-pilot as she mulled over Rift's comment. She stood and stretched, her muscles complaining after sitting for so long. She strolled over to the other side of the truck and smiled at Blake. "Like heck! You're gonna show me all the dirty secrets! I want to see all the steam tunnels and everything." Jessica actually didn't know what sort of stories kids told about their high schools, since she hadn't spent much time in one. She had watched movies, though, and had some idea. She grew serious for a moment. "That is, as long as I'm allowed to be here. You're not going to get in trouble having me here, are you?"

Jessica giggled. "Sure," she said. "I'm a superhuman. I'm Super Normal Gal. You can lose sight of me in a crowd of two." She rolled down the driver's side window and gave Blake roommate -- he'd called him Rift, earlier -- a bright smile. "Thanks for opening the gate," she said, letting the truck roll forward until they were level. "Is there a visitor's parking lot, or can I use Blake's spot, or what?"

Jessica grinned slyly. "Eighty-eight miles an hour, right? You're just trying to make your rich girlfriend pay speeding tickets, aren't you?" She pulled into the Academy's access road, rolling slowly up to the solid-looking, wrought-iron fence at the entrance. It was impressive, especially because they remained impassive and locked closed, barring their path. "Um, Blake? You can get me in here, right?"

Jessica tried hard not to pull a face when Blake mentioned 'arcane stuff.' "Uh, never met anyone named Dead Head. At least, not that I know you, you know?" She turned off Route 6 and onto Route 4. "Um. You do know how to get to the school grounds, right? I mean, you don't just fly in and out, do you?"

Jessica shrugged, passing a minivan and changing lanes again. "A little bit of math, yeah, but I'm not really into stuff like that. I mean, the theoretical stuff is cool and all, but I'm more into engineering and programming. I like to do stuff with my knowledge, you know? Not just sit around saying that in a perfect vacuum I can calculate that blah blah blah." She took her hand off the steering wheel long enough to mime a flapping jaw. "Sitting around and just talking about an issue isn't really my way. I want to out and try things and see what works."

Jessica smiled slyly. "Don't you use Google, Blake? My dad runs Dawes Tech, and Grandpa used to run it back in the day. I usually use their facilities if I need some serious lab space. Besides," she added, "if you were around I probably wouldn't get much work done." She cleared her throat nosily. "So, what classes are you taking this semester?"

Jessica risked glancing over at Blake, a grin on her face. "Nah," she replied. "I'm nothing special, just smart. I mean, the stuff you can do, Blake? Throw fire around and fly and everything else? I'd love to be able to do stuff like that, but all I've got is my armor."

After being thrown out of a park for indecent smoochies in front of assembled and various little ones, Blake Salazar (a.k.a. Kid Cthulhu, our resident elder god) and Jessica Parker (a.k.a. Ironclad, supergenius and superhero in one package) are going up to check out his digs at Claremont Academy! If any students, faculty, or associated hanger-ons want to run into them on their date, feel free to join us.

Jessica smiled over at him and blushed a bit at the thought of herself and Blake in his dorm room, alone. But she still started up the truck and backed out onto the road, eventually finding Route Six and pointing the car south. As they accelerated to highway speed, she rolled the windows up and glanced over at her boyfriend. "So, are all the kids at Claremont superheroes, like yourself?" She'd lived in the city her entire life, but like many residents she had almost no idea what the school was actually about.

Jessica smiled widely. "I don't think kissing in public is illegal," she teased him. "He probably just would've given us a lecture and told us to take it to a room." Her eyes stayed straight forward, on the traffic they were moving through, but a blush spread over her face as she thought about herself and Blake in a private room. One more year, Jessica, she counseled herself. All the sweeter for the wait. Really. Before long they pulled into the Parkers' subdivision and into the drive, Jessica pulling the truck around and to the back where it wouldn't be visible from the street. She shut the engine off and reached over to grab Blake's hand, squeezing it tight. "Um. Do you need me to drive you back to Claremont?" She smiled, showing a sliver of white teeth. "I really wouldn't mind."