A Picnic at Liberty Park (IC)

[Cyroa]

Dark Star sighed, continuing up after the crazy man. The man was almost comical in his delusions. If it wasn't for the fact of those swarms of bees, Dark Star would almost think the man harmless. "Sir, please stop. I do not want to injure you." He reached out once more, grabbing the man. "Now stop resisting darn it! You're perfectly safe and the police will take good care of you." And hopefully you'll get some good therapy too.

[Avenger Assembled]

The Bee-Keeper struggled unsuccessfully a few times, his armor buzzing and clicking, but finally slumped in Dark Star's grip just as they reached ground level. "Fine," he muttered. "But I want to talk to my lawyer now. I know my rights. You do still respect the Constitution, don't you?" he asked Dark Star with the haughty disdain of a king imprisoned by a troublesome peasant.

[Electra]

Stesha hurried over as they returned to the ground. "Fleur called the police," she told Dark Star as she approached. "They're going to pick him up again. Ah, Fleur says that you should try and take those weapons off his costume. He could hurt somebody with them, or try and use them to get out of jail. He already escaped once this month." She gave the Beekeeper a look of intense dislike.

[Cyroa]

Dark Star nodded, glad the man stopped resisting. "That is the foundation for government in this country. But I must apologize and correct you on a certain misunderstanding. It doesn't currently apply as I am not an officer of the law. Nor does it handle the specifics of legal matters. However, I am certain the police will be happily to help and listen to you opinions on the matter. Once we get there." The man securely in his grip, Dark Star flashed back to the ground.

He looked to Stesha and nodded. "I'll deliver him to the police momentarily." With a couple precise twists and pulls with his telekinetics, Dark Star had relieved the BeeKeeper of his toys, leaving him in the undergarment of the armor. He looked at Bee-Kepper, still held tightly. "Now, I don't know what your problem is, but threatening innocent people is unacceptable. I thought you might like a chance to apologize before I take you to the proper authorities. Accepting the things you've done wrong is the first step to being a better person, you know." He looked at the man patiently. Keeping the man in a grip that could rend vehicles to pieces while practically demanding an apology from a man in little more than his underwear might seem a bit rough and extreme, but the man DID ruin their date.

[Avenger Assembled]

The Bee-Keeper glowered at Stesha before saying dismissively, "Are you going to make 'friends' with _every_ superhero in town? Last time I try seeking you out without friends, I tell you what."

And with that, the Bee-Keeper looked at Dark Star as if he'd grown a third head. "Apologize? For pursuing my arch-nemesis? Alien, you clearly have mistaken the caliber of man you are dealing with. I am no petty thug chasing down a mark for their wallet. I am a super-villian in pursuit of my greatest opponent! My only regret is that I live in an age where madmen such as yourself can crush the weak and helpless bee and be lauded for your brutality by the foolish unwashed masses! And now, by thunder, I demand you arrest me." He eyed Dark Star closely and added challengingly. "Unless you'd prefer...to finish the job?"

[Electra]

"At least petty thugs sometimes get the wallet," Stesha snapped, giving the armor a little kick with her toes. "You can't even pick on someone your own size, or without your stupid Tinkertoy armor. And you've got no right to talk about your stupid bees, after what you did to that poor tree! Maybe this time you'll stay in jail where you belong, and not go out menacing people! Why can't you just get a real job?" She was still hugging herself, but now she at least looked more pissed than panicked.

[Cyroa]

Dark Star shook his head. "Making friends is what civilized humans do. A wonderful trait of humanity really. And maybe I suggest you stop trying to seek her out. Eventually, this will end badly for you. But I'll leave you to your delusions. You can demand nothing. And apparently you are slow witted or hard of hearing. I'm not going to arrest you. I'll finish this in a moment when more important matters than you are resolved." He turned away from the captured man, ignoring him and putting him out of his thoughts for the most part.

He turned back to Stesha, as he let used a little bit of telekinesis to flip through the armor, making sure there was nothing in there or perhaps some identification. "Ma'am, if you'll wait right here, the police might want to take a statement from you. Once I finish, I'll return with word. Will you be alright 'till then?"

[Electra]

"I'll be all right, sir," Stesha told him, hamming it up a little. She was all but fluttering her eyelashes at Dark Star, the picture of a rescued bystander all of a sudden. "I'll make sure that no one comes and takes this horrible mess of instruments for evil purposes. And you can tell the police I'll be happy to testify against this villain whenever they'd like!" She gave the Beekeeper another glare, and the armor another little kick, for good measure.

[Avenger Assembled]

The Bee-Keeper turned up his nose at Dark Star, preferring to concentrate on the noisome Stesha. "I'll have you know that this armor is the product of months of work in my secret laboratory! Only my mad genius could possibly have produced so maleficent a creation!" The Bee-Keeper looked more than a little put-out at the insults to his scientific creations. "As for the police, perhaps you can see that they put me in a jail where I belong, instead of once again in that wretched asylum! Not that any cell could restrain the genius of...the Bee-Keeper!"

[Cyroa]

Dark Star nodded at Stesha, resisting the urge to smile, not that anyone could see it anyway. He ignored the moron in his underwear. He looked around to make sure no one was too close, floating a step back from Stesha.

Then, in a blur Dark Star accelerated himself and his tethered captive upwards and over to the police station. While 0 to several times the speed of sound might not be difficult for him, he doubted his unwilling passenger had had a lot of reason to travel that fast. He came to a rest at the station and took care of the normal procedures of turning in a deranged villain.

After giving his statement and helping the officers there, Dark Star flashed back to the park, concealed this time. He didn't want anyone to connect Dark Star to Stesha. A remote possibility but her private life was not something he was willing to take a gamble on. He looked around to make sure no one was looking before extending his field to include Stesha and the remains of their picnic, which allowed her to see him as well now.

"Stesha?"

[Electra]

Stesha was sitting on the blanket and waiting for him, her arms wrapped around her calves and her chin on her knees. She'd poured herself another glass of wine, but hadn't touched it yet. The armor was nowhere in sight. Dark Star's sudden reappearance startled her for a moment, till she saw it was him and relaxed. Since nobody else was looking their way, she assumed he had some kind of invisibility thing going.

"Hey," she replied with a small smile. "Nice job there. I can't believe he tracked me down again. I was sure he'd at least do jail time for breaking into the shop last month." It was strange not being able to see Derrick's face, she decided. Looking into a black, head-shaped void, even one with the same voice, was a little bit unsettling, as was knowing that if she reached out, there wouldn't be anything there to touch. "Thanks for taking him down for me. I'm glad not to have another batch of bee stings."

[Cyroa]

He floated over to her, coming to rest sitting in front of her. "Are you alright? I can heal those bites if they are bothering you." He shrugged. "It wasn't difficult; he did not wish to see reason which is always disappointing. At least I didn't have to hurt him to subdue him, that's something." He chuckled. "You seemed to be doing rather well actually. You had him contained in far shorter time than it took me."

He studied her, having never seen her with his gravitic senses. They definitely lacked something when compared to his normal sight. "I'm sorry. Our date seems to have come to a sudden end. I was rather annoyed at his appearance honestly. I was really enjoying myself."

[Electra]

She shook her head, reaching for her wineglass as she studied him. "They don't hurt," she told him honestly, "and waiting in the sun has almost gotten rid of them anyway. I could've just kicked him when he showed up, except I'd probably have just broken my foot." Stesha paused a moment and sipped her wine, watching him. "I guess you can't change back for awhile, now that you're like this?" she asked. "You never even got to finish your cupcake."

[Cyroa]

He nodded, glad she wasn't hurt. "Well, at least you didn't break your foot," he said with a light chuckle. "I think encasing him a tree was quiet sufficient. He certainly seemed rather cross with you. Wasn't this the fellow you told me about? He attacked you in your shop or something?"

His shoulders slumped a little. "No, I'm like this for a while now unfortunately. It takes me several hours to try and reign the power in, restraining it. I'm sorry. I've been trying to control it but without a lot of success." He looked at the cupcake, disappointed. Not so much the food, but that it represented the end of the date as well as the proximity and touch head had been enjoying with her.

[Electra]

Stesha sighed, putting aside her glass. At least he wasn't like Dalkaresh, with the eyeballs poking out the back of his head and the weirdly echoey voice... he was more like a person-shaped absence of light, as though someone had taken shears and cut a gingerbread man out of reality. Not actively disturbing, but weird. Certainly not as pleasant as before, though at least it wasn't permanent. "Maybe... maybe we could do something else for a few hours?" she suggested, trying to make the best of it. "If you don't have to go off and do other things while this is fading. Maybe watch a really long movie or something? I've got some DVDs at my apartment." This sort of anticlimax wasn't exactly the finale she'd hoped for to their third date. She wished she'd kicked the Beekeeper instead of his uniform when she'd had the chance.

[Cyroa]

Dark Star flicked one finger, lifting the various pieces of their picnic back up and repacked the basket within a few moments.

"I'd like that. If you don't mind me floating around that long. I understand being like this can make people a little uncomfortable and I don't want you to feel that." Of course, by then it'd be after dark and he wouldn't be able to stay too long or it'd appear like he was presuming too much. But it'd be worth the wait to not end the date like this. Maybe a little more time holding her and a good night kiss. That would be worth it.

[Electra]

"It's part of you too," Stesha pointed out with a little smile. "It's kind of weird now, I admit, but it's not, you know, scary or anything. I wouldn't like it if you got weirded out every time I worked with plants. If you don't mind cutting me a little slack when I forget and put a hand through your arm or something, I'm sure I can get used to it. I think we'll have to travel home you're way, though. If I can't touch you, I don't think I can move you with me." She finished her wine and put away the glass, then folded the blanket and set it on top of the wicker basket.

[Cyroa]

He gave a little chuckle. "I understand. And it's not problem. Have as much as you require. I can't tell you the number of times someone has tried to shake my hand or touch my shoulder or something before realizing I'm not solid." He floated back to his feet, gesturing and causing the basket to float up and over. He took a moment, focusing, and created a rent in space. A small one, as far as wormholes went, but it only had to be big enough for them and go a couple blocks. Looking through, it opened into the entryway of Stesha's home. "Ladies first."

[Electra]

"Wow," Stesha said, looking through the portal. "Now that's door to door service." She put a hand on the basket, more to guide it than to lift it, and stepped fearlessly through the portal, emerging back into her living room. "Now that's a convenient talent," she decided. "Can you just go anywhere you want to by opening a door there? Or just anywhere you've been before?"

[Cyroa]

Dark Star followed her through the portal, letting her direct the basket before letting it settle on the little table once more. Behind him, he let the portal close and dropped his concealing energies.

He nodded a little. "Pretty much yes. Anywhere in the galaxy that I've been, seen or even have a decent idea on. And it can be much larger if necessary. The energy required to create a stable wormhole is significant and I can only do it so many times a day. There also tends to be various problems depending on the pressure and environments at both ends".

He'd never been passed this point in her house, and while he had no desire to intrude on her privacy, his senses let his get a rather detailed layout. He moved over next to her and focused his attention on her. "So, what movie would you like to watch," he asked.

[Electra]

"Depends on what you're in the mood for," she told him, gesturing to a bookcase half full of DVDs, half full of knick-knacks and potted plants. "I don't know about you, but I think I could use a few laughs right about now." Stesha smiled over at him, mentally sliding an image of Derrick into the void in her apartment. "I do have Ghostbusters, if you'd like to see that one again. No one can say it's not a classic."

[Cyroa]

Dark Star chuckled wryly. "Relaxation and laughs always work for me." He nodded, still chuckling a little. Last movie he saw 20 years ago. And still a classic. "That sounds fine to me. If you'll do the honors? Can I get you anything before we start?" He floated over to stand by the couch, waiting patiently and happy just to watch her.

[Electra]

"I'm going to be a terrible host and bring over the picnic basket," Stesha admitted, selecting the DVD from the shelf. All her DVDs were alphabetized, so that made it easy. "But I'll save some for you,' she promised with a smile as she queued up the movie. "When you solidify again, we can have some popcorn and the rest of the cupcakes." She settled in on the couch, leaving space for him to float down onto it if he wanted to, and hit play. Watching Ghostbusters with a living ghost was not an experience she'd ever expected to have, but she decided it was all right. She'd still be counting down the minutes till he managed to pull himself together again, but best not to dwell on that!

[Cyroa]

He stood on the other side of the couch as the movie started. He stood completely immobile for the duration, as he appeared to watch and listen to the movie and Stesha as she quoted along with the movie. Finally the movie came to an end, and he hadn't moved nor had there been any change in his energy form yet. "I take it you've seen that more than a few time hmm?" He looked over at her. "I seem to recall it being longer. I certainly need more time to finish unfortunately."

[Electra]

Stesha had stretched out on the couch a half hour in, when it became obvious that Derrick wasn't going to join her. It was sort of weird seeing him standing there completely motionless for an hour and a half, like a cardboard profile cutout whose colored side was pointed in the other direction, but she did her best to ignore that. "It's an hour and a half," she told him, stretching her arms over her head as the credits rolled. "That's a lot longer time when you're sitting in a theatre and have just had a jumbo pop and the mega-popcorn." Realizing that he wasn't ready to change back to human yet was disappointing, but she decided to make the best of it. "We could watch the sequel too, I guess."