ic Midnight Express (IC)

[Gizmo]

Trevor made an amiable but neutral sound in response. To be honest, he didn't really trust any device he hadn't worked on personally. An unopened gadget or machine was like Schrödinger box; anything could be going on inside there. Besides, with all the high tech equipment in his arsenal, it seemed prudent to have a more straightforward option available. After his outburst over coffee preparation, however, the last thing he wanted was to seem even more the snob.

He recalled Erin mentioning Archer during their first meeting, when she'd show him the Doom Room training simulator. Regardless of the veracity of the more fanciful rumours surrounding their mutual animosity, Trevor found the auburn haired girl's ill concealed disparaging attitude toward the teacher to be in stark contrast to the optimistic cheer of many of the student's he'd met so far at Claremont. If he was being completely honest, the lanky youth would have to admit that he actually preferred it to the latter.

"Surprised you bother with the bat," he mentioned offhandedly.

[Electra]

Erin shrugged. "It keeps me from hurting anybody too badly," she explained, putting it back in the holster. "It's got some kind of dampeners in it that spreads out impacts, so there's never too much force in any one spot. Even if I get really worked up in a fight, the bat keeps me from knocking anybody's head off by accident." She smiled ruefully. "They really discourage that here. Anyway, it gives me better reach, too, and I can use it for vaults and stuff. I've been working on that one from the action movies, where you plant your staff and swing around on it with both hands, kicking everybody who gets close. Haven't got that one quite yet, though. Anyway, I have to take the bat when I'm out patrolling or training outside the Doom Room, otherwise I'd get in real trouble."

[Gizmo]

"Hnn." Trevor took a sip of his coffee as he considered Erin's explanation. The dark haired teen felt vaguely out of his weight class amongst many of Claremont's students. His metahuman powers weren't nearly as impressive as those held by many of his new peers, and making effective use of them took considerable forethought. Some people might have been intimidated by that, but part of Trevor relished the challenge. Doubt that he'd be able to overcome those limitations to reach the more experienced students' level never entered his mind.

"Must be tough, having to hold back," he observed, setting his cup back down on the table. His training had taught him to make maximum use out of every advantage; having to consciously limit oneself struck him as unbelievably frustrating. "Should run more simulations, give you a chance to cut loose," he offered. The technology behind the Doom Room continued to intrigue him, and if getting another chance to see it in action meant spending more time with Erin, well, he supposed he just have to tough it out.

[Electra]

"I've probably logged a thousand hours in there already," Erin said, a little ruefully. "Though it's not so much to cut loose as to learn control. I guess it's like learning to ride a unicycle after you've been riding a bike your whole life. The basic concept is the same, but you have to retrain all your reflexes. Once Archer gets a feel for you, he'll start tailoring simulations to hit you where you're weak, so you work on it over and over again." She set down her cup and leaned back. "That the part that sucks. The fun part is doing team exercises and practicing together, getting to show off what you're good at."

[Gizmo]

"Oh, that's no problem," Trevor said lightly, leaning back in the booth and placing his arms along the top of his seat. "Don't have any weak spots." His utter deadpan made it tough to tell if he was joking or not right away, but compared to the intensity in his eyes when he spoke about his reasons for following in his grandfather's footsteps, there was little question. Quirky sense of humour aside, Trevor raked a hand through his hair self consciously. "The other guys seem pretty confident. Competitive. Not sure I can pull it off."

[Electra]

"Some of them are," Erin agreed. "But I think the better they are, the less competitive. I guess it has to do with knowing your own power. Mark and Mike, they're not really the type to be serious about competition, especially Mark. But they're both really powerful. Eddie's more the competitor type, but he's a lot of flash and show, and not as much substance. Chris is just goofy most of the time, but he can sometimes come through in a pinch. I think maybe some of what you see is the superhero act though, from all of us. You sort of have to develop this, I dunno, this aura of competence if you want people to take you seriously. If you're out doing hero work and the civilians see you're getting scared, they could panic.

"Anyway," she continued, stacking the creamer cups into a little pyramid on the table, "you'll be able to hack it just fine. It's not that big a deal if you have to dog it at first, everybody has to learn a whole bunch of new skills when they first come here."

[Gizmo]

Trevor murmured in agreement as he leaned forward again to pick up his cup. "Mmm. Not much point in a school if they didn't," he observed laconically. Since starting at Claremont, he'd made a point of stepping up his various studies. He'd noticed that several of the students relied heavily on their superhuman abilities, both in combat situations and everyday life. If there was anything he'd learned from his grandfather, however, it was that being able to read a situation, bind a wound or demoralize and opponent could be worth all the laser beam eyes in the world. Nor was he terribly concerned with public relations. "Try not to let civilians see me at all. Don't do well with children. Glowing eyes," he explained.

[Electra]

Erin thought about that for a minute. "Yeah, I bet not," she conceded. "That's a good reason not to want to be on a super team. Especially one with Mark as the leader." She cracked a rueful smile. "He basically lives for photo ops. Not like he does hero work just for fame or anything, but he basically always expects that there's going to be a reporter around waiting for a picture or a soundbyte afterwards. And he's usually right." She shrugged. "I usually just try to stay in the back of the pictures. With all the superhumanly gorgeous guys around this place, it's not too hard to fade right into the background. Makes getting out like this a whole lot easier." She gestured around. "Now that the team's getting more exposure, it's hard for some of them to go out in public like this, at least without some kind of disguise. Your mask may be scary, but it's convenient."

[Gizmo]

"Huh." Trevor raised an eyebrow in understated surprise. "Thought paparazzi usually picked out the heroines; Raven, Siren." He shook his head slightly. Even having met the various faces of Young Freedom, the lanky youth had trouble believing that Erin had managed to fade into the background. No accounting for taste, he supposed. "Probably selling to preteen girls. Jonas Brothers, Justin Bieber." Trevor's mouth set in a thin line of disdain.

[Electra]

Erin grinned. "I'd say that's a safe bet. The interviewer asked me what it was like to work with all the guys. I didn't really know what to say that wouldn't get me in trouble one way or another, so I think I just mumbled something. Half my answers got cut from the finished piece anyway." She didn't look very bothered by that. "Anyway, it probably doesn't help that half the time when we go out, we're going to Champions, where the superhero fans hang out. I like places like this better. I don't really want a Raven burger or Centurion-size fries. It's Mark's favorite though, so he always suggests it when we all go out somewhere. He even took Alex their on their first date. To each their own, I guess."

[Gizmo]

A light snort signaled Trevor's agreement. "Tacky," he opined, finishing off his second cup of coffee. The over caffeinated youth scratched his chin. "Thought Alex was dating Mike." Trevor had never taken much interest in his old school's ever shifting roil of relationships and break ups, but it seemed only appropriate to at least make some token effort to understand the key events of his new classmates' lives.

[Electra]

"She is now," Erin explained, "but she dated Mark first, for practice, so that when she dated Mike, she'd have some experience. Then when Zoe came along, things got really confused for awhile, and eventually Mike and Mark had a fight over a silly misunderstanding, and then Alex and Mark broke up and Alex and Mike started dating. But it's okay," Erin concluded, "because Alex and Mike were meant to be together all along, and Mark doesn't take that sort of thing very seriously anyway." She shrugged. "It was all sort of weird for a few weeks there, but I think it's settled down now. And now that Mark and Faith are dating, I think that's the end of the whole triangle or whatever it was." Erin, at least, seemed entertained by the drama provided by her classmates, for all she'd obviously edited out some juicy details.

[Gizmo]

Trevor gave Erin a flat, sidelong look. "...'practice'?" he asked, searching for some sign that she was pulling his leg. Finding none, he gave his empty cut a regretful glance and sighed. "Right." He rubbed the ever present dark circles under his eyes. It was going to take some sort of chart to keep track of all of this. The lanky teen was reminded why he'd generally avoided such topics in the past. "Don't really get those two," he murmured, referring to Mark and Faith. The Lucas scion had struck him as little flighty for any relationship, let alone one with someone so apparently needy. Then again, perhaps he was simply judging the pair too harshly, or looking at it too analytically.

[Electra]

Erin waved a hand philosophically. "Well, Alex is in love with Mike, but neither of them had ever dated anybody else, and Mike was too shy to ask her out. So when Mark asked her out, she said yes, because it would be fun and good practice in dating. Mark's dated around quite a bit, so that was a good idea. Mike did the same thing with me, but that was a dumb idea because I had no idea what I was doing either." She hadn't exactly meant to share that information, but Trevor was deceptively easy to talk to. "And I don't know what's going on with him and Faith. I think maybe she's the type who reads Teen Hero magazine, except that she has powers and the opportunity to actually date a superhero."

[Gizmo]

The idea of the physically imposing Mike being stymied by speaking with the diminutive Alex might have been amusing if Trevor hadn't been so easily able to relate. The entire situation seemed awfully convoluted, but presumably it had all made more sense at the time. "Pragmatic," he observed carefully. "I've... gone on dates," he noted with odd emphasis, eyes narrowing slightly as he considered his personal history with a critical detachment, "haven't really dated." Trevor gave a small shrug. "Debutante balls, charity galas. Make an appearance, smile for pictures." His tone wasn't bitter, but had the frosty edge of someone holding their tongue for the sake of politeness.

[Electra]

"Was that part of your training?" Erin asked curiously, "learning how to blend into any situation, stuff like that? I know there are heroes who specialize in that, but aside from you and James, pretty much every hero I know would stick out like a sore thumb at any fancy party." She grinned. "I don't even own a dress."

[Gizmo]

Trevor tried mightily not to imagine Erin in a series of progressively slinkier dresses, an effort not helped by her blue and gold, formfitting uniform. Adjusting the collar of the jumpsuit he wore under his undone jacket, he cleared his throat to cover his momentary loss for words. "Certain tax bracket, people talk if you don't go. Appearances." Trevor had always had trouble stomaching the shallow vapidity of such events, with their pointless small talk and social maneuvering. Fortunately, most of the upper crust were perfectly happy to carry a conversation entirely on their own, letting the stoic teen simply murmur neutrally at periodic intervals. There was only so often one could pay attention to whispered accusations of outdated fashion statements. Even so, his grandfather had managed to impress upon him the importance of at least one expertly tailored set of formal wear. "Hrm, no dress?" he considered aloud before shaking his head firmly. "Can't have that."

[Electra]

Erin shrugged. "I don't go anywhere, no reason to have one. They're expensive, and either sleeveless, strapless, or way too tight in the arms. Give me a t-shirt and jeans or a uniform any day, something you don't have to wear shorts under if you want to jump or do a flip." The idea drew another laugh from her. "You should try and meet James when you get a chance, the two of you seem to travel in the same circles outside of school, with the fancy parties and the rich families and all. You probably know the Prophets, right?"

[Gizmo]

Trevor crossed his arms with a flat look. "Erin," he deadpanned flatly, "Can't have my friends running about without any formal attire at all. Simply isn't done." The dark haired teen had adopted the slightest hint of a posh accent, noticeable only in comparison to his usual, soft tone. Uncrossing his arms, he spread his hands as though warding off objections. "Might be bargained down to a lady's pantsuit, but frankly I've an obligation to teenage boys everywhere to see you in an evening gown."

There was a brief pause followed by a blink as Trevor replayed what he had just said in his head, eliciting a slight wince. "Sorry," he apologized quietly, a tough of colour passing over his pale skin. There was a reason he generally kept his unusual sense of humour to himself. He'd count himself lucky if the remainder of Erin's cocoa didn't end up splashed across his face. "The Prophets, yes, sure," he attempted to recover.

[Electra]

Erin raised both eyebrows at that, blushing a little herself. She didn't throw the cup at him, though. There seemed to be a compliment in his words, but it was one she felt safer deflecting for the moment. "Frankly I don't think you'd be doing anyone any favors," she admitted finally, grinning. "As anybody who's seen me in a swimsuit can attest, I'm not really cut out for the evening gown competition. Now if you want to do the boys a favor, get Alex to wear a dress that doesn't look like it's been dip-dyed by a crazy Easter Bunny. She's gotten really pretty since her powers started picking up. Not that Mike would let anyone ogle and live," she allowed, raising her mug. "As for me, I don't see myself going to a lot of evening-gown appropriate parties anytime soon."

[Gizmo]

Trevor shrugged awkwardly, making a slight sound of acquiescence. He supposed he'd noticed Alex's attractiveness, but the petite redhead really wasn't his type. Short, he observed privately. Not that there was anything wrong with that but, well, he didn't envy Mike the sheer logistics implied by that relationship.

"Actually have a charity thing, beginning of June," he mentioned. "Not exactly robbery-foiling, but good food, good cause." He snorted lightly as a thought occurred to him. "Could meet the original Midnight, let Mark explode with jealousy."

[Electra]

"Are you asking me to go with you?" Erin asked, cocking her head. Even asking made her feel a little foolish. Trevor was a really nice guy, and she'd had a great time riding with him, but the idea of going to some fancy party with him seemed ludicrous. He was handsome and quite wealthy to boot. She was pretty sure he'd have no more trouble than James did finding an attractive girl who already owned a dress to go with him to any party. Unfortunately, with the question already asked, she couldn't take it back.

[Gizmo]

Trevor reflexively opened his mouth to blurt out a denial, then stopped and considered, brow furrowing slightly. "Yes?" he tried, almost experimentally, sounding more like he was asking a question than answering one. "Have to go anyway; if I brought someone, could avoid dealing with vapid heiress types." The lanky teen shrugged guilelessly. "Rather spend the evening talking with you, anyway." Trevor shrugged once more, self-consciously. "Sorry, not usually so forward." His expression had barely changed from what it had been all night; evidently he really did just consider honesty to be the best policy.

[Electra]

Erin broke eye contact for a moment, looking uncertain. "It might be fun," she finally said, "I've never been to any really fancy parties." She smiled, still seeming a little unsure. "And you're right, Mark would be hilariously jealous about meeting Midnight. And it would be pretty cool on its own," she added. "So it's an evening gown type thing, then?" This seemed like it could very easily turn into a terrible idea, but some reckless part of her wanted to go anyway. And a totally platonic friend-date was still better than getting asked out for practice's sake.

[Gizmo]

"Yeah? I mean, yeah, yes. Yes," Trevor replied with a small cough to cover the quirking corner of his mouth, suppressing the uncharacteristic urge to pump his fist in the air. "It's formal, but that can mean whatever you want it too." Freedom's trust fund crowd tended to favour fairly traditional attire, cultivating the impression of coming from 'old money', but there were always one or two socialites who arrived in something suitably shocking and avant-garde. "Worth going once just to say you did," he assured her. "New experience." The black clad teen stopped talking, afraid that he was over-selling the gala.