Movie Night [IC]

[Raveled]

Jessica moved up the stairs quickly, her breath coming in quick puffs as her long legs took the stairs two at a time. The stairwell let out on a narrow hallway going in tow directions, with doors bearing a number each. The heroine moved down them quickly, counting off under her breath. When she got to the right number she opened the door -- there wasn't even a latch, just a closely-fitted door -- and stepped inside the projection booth. There weren't any employees in here -- most of the movies were probably run digitally, from a central console somewhere -- but the movie itself was still playing on the big screen, images of samurai making impossible, wire-assisted leaps playing over the hero and the villain as they boxed among the seats. Jessica turned to the projector itself. It was a simple enough model, secured to a big table by six wing-nut screws. The heroine set to work undoing them.

[Lone Star]

The Cultist screamed "Enough!" and fired off another color ray. This one, however, was composed of red, oranges and yellows, and swirled towards KC. And it missed completely. KC easily sidestepped the offensive colors, and fired off a blast of otherworldly fire. The Cultist whirled his cloak and drifted to the side. "Your extradimensional powers are no match for my mastery of zhe arts of magic!" KC sighed. "Yeah yeah. Not like I haven't heard that one a million times..."

[Raveled]

Jessica hefted the projector off the table, gripping it with both arms. This sucker was heavier than she expected, but after a little effort she got it balanced on the lip of the window showing the theater proper. There was a little plastic window there, with a catch. Jessica opened it and stuck the lens of the projector out, distorting the view of the movie on the screen but holding the window ajar. She put two fingers to her lips and let out a harsh, piercing whistle. When the accented villain glanced up, Jessica let him have the full glare of the projector straight into his face.

[Lone Star]

KC took advantage of Jessica's distraction, and let him have the full force of his mystic fire. The blast hit The Cultist full on and he fell to the ground, taking out a few rows of chairs. KC flew down, and heaved The Cultist on his feet. He made sure he was totally knocked out, and then threw him on the floor unceremoniously. He looked up in the projection booth, and gave Jessica a thumbs-up.

[Raveled]

Jessica beamed down at Blake and heaved the projector back onto the table, leaving thing at an angle to the window and with Samurai Warriors 3 still playing. She slipped out the projection booth and hurried down the stairs, emerging a bit sweaty and flushed with pride at her own quick thinking. She jogged back down the hall just as Kid Cthulhu was emerging from the theater, turning sideways to get his wings through. She met his gaze and pumped her fist in the air, then brought her hand up and gave the other hero a high-five. "That went down pretty well," she said, perhaps a bit too loudly. After a moment she wrinkled her nose, sniffing at the air. "Do they sell fish at the concession stand? I didn't see any."

[Lone Star]

KC high-fived her, and held up his index finger, indicating for her to give him a minute. The police arrived, and KC told them he had other places he needed to be. and he managed to avoid getting interviewed on the spot. He went behind the back of the theater, and deactivated his squid form. As he walked towards the front of the theater, the cops were bringing The Cultist into the back of a police van, The Cultist swearing vengeance on Kid Cthulhu if it was the last thing he would do. He saw Jessica waiting for him at the front of the theater, and he snuck up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. "Miss me? That was brilliant, by the way."

[Raveled]

Jessica well understood the need for privacy and waited patiently until Blake reappeared. She jumped a bit as someone hugged her from behind, then relaxed as she heard Blake's voice. She still stepped forwards and entangled herself from his arms, though; it was cool having a boyfriend, but she wasn't sure just how far she wanted to go with all the touching just yet. She smiled at him nevertheless. "Nah. If it hadn't been for you, that guy could've taken the whole place apart." She took hold of his hand and pulled him along, walking slowly across the front of the multiplex. "It kinda sucks, having to use a suit. I'd give just about anything to be like you. Just snap my fingers and woosh, I've got powers."

[Lone Star]

"Sorry 'bout that." he said, noticing her brushing his hands off. "But to be honest, you've really got something whenever the chips are down. I mean, if my powers were ever taken away, I'd be totally screwed. But you're brilliant, Jessica. That was some really fantastic improvisation. Hell...I'd switch powers with you anyday. And you can take my squid form too." he said, grinning at her. He looked up at the sky. It was starting to edge towards evening, and a pleasant breeze ruffled their hair. "Would you be up for a little walk? It's so nice out."

[Raveled]

Jessica turned her arm, checking her watch. The movie was supposed to be a little over an hour and a half long and they obviously weren't going to be able to see it now. Not that she had anyone checking in on her -- her parents were probably on different coasts at the moment -- but Grandpa would lecture her if she was out too late. "Sure," she said, angling away from the entrance of the theater. "Really, though. How'd you get your powers? Is it a mutant thing?"

[Lone Star]

KC walked next to her, and decided not to hold her hand. If she wanted to, she would, but he didn't want to make her uncomfortable. "Let's just say-" Blake said, looking at her. "Magic can be a very dangerous thing in inexperienced hands. And I was fortunate." He smiled up at her. "What about you? Were you always born as bright as you are?"

[Raveled]

The wind picked up as the pair moved away from the movie theater, so Jessica took Blake's arm in both hands and moved closer to him, until both of them had to walk slowly to avoid tripping each other up. "As early as I can remember, yes. My grandpa was really smart, too, and so are my parents. Even if they don't really do the whole 'hard science' thing." She made a face at that -- her disdain for anything not founded on math was pretty apparent. "But yeah, I've always been bright. When I was six, I took apart the TV remote and rewired it to work on the kitchen." She smiled wickedly, turning her face to Blake. "My dad was so surprised when he tried to watch CNN and ended up spraying protein shake all over the kitchen ceiling." She took a deep breath, lost in her memories for a moment, then asked him, "So what do you do when you're not saving damsels in distress?"

[Lone Star]

He was impressed. Such talent at such only six years of age! "Gotta say, Jessica. That's amazing. Bet you didn't have any trouble with high school chem."He smiled as she held his arm. "Well...I do patrolling a lot. Sometimes when crime isn't keeping me busy, I'll go for walks like this. I've walked across Freedom City before. There are so many sights to see outside of just the big shopping malls and the big city. There are parks along the coast that give the loveliest view of the ocean. I love to go down there and make sketches." KC breathed in the cool air and sighed. "So I guess you make inventions in your spare time? I'd love to see them."

[Raveled]

Jessica shrugged with one shoulder, pressing the other against Blake's arm. "You've seen where most of my work goes," she said, "into the suit. I'm always messing round with it, always tweaking it. Like, last month? I figured out a way to use some excess radiation from the flight system to make it stealthy, like a jet or something -- it wouldn't show up on radar. But then I got to thinking about how often I use something like that -- hint, never -- and I reallocated the system resources." She fell quiet, enjoying the sensation of walking along slowly. After a minute she spoke up again, saying, "You'll have to take me to one of those parks, so we can see the view."

[Lone Star]

"Of course we can. So I have to ask- would you be up for a second date?" he said. He put his hand over hers, in an attempt to warm her up. It's times like these that I should start carrying around a jacket... thought Blake to himself.

[Raveled]

Jessica grabbed Blake's hand and draped it over her shoulder, snuggling in closer. It really was getting cold, and she was too thin to hold much body heat. "Yeah. I... I had a good time, Blake. I mean, minus the supervillain trying to... I dunno, blow up the movie or something. And even that was fun, in its own way."

[Lone Star]

"Haha yes it was! That guy's a real clown. Hope he stay behind bars for a little longer this time. When are you free next? I'm free most weekends." Blake shivered. "Crap, it's getting pretty cold. Want to duck into a bookstore or something? It should be nice and warm in there." Blake said as he nodded to the Borders ahead.

[Raveled]

Jessica thought briefly about inviting Blake back to her garden condo -- well, her parent's garden condo technically, but since they were never in it was basically hers. After all, she had Samurai Warriors I & II on DVD -- but she decided against it. Not on a first date, at least. She squirmed a bit under his grasp, warming up slightly, goosebumps covering her skin more at the realization that she was walking arm in arm with a boy, with her boyfriend. "No," she said, her voice quiet. "I'm actually pretty good right now. Unless you want a coffee or something."

[Lone Star]

"You're practically shivering. I insist. Besides, coffee is good for the soul, or so I like to think." He took his arm off of her shoulder as they approached the bookstore, and he held the door open for her. "Distressed damsels first." he said with a wink.

[Raveled]

Jessica stuck her tongue out, but she was smiling when she did so. She stepped into the bookstore and had to admit that the warmer air felt good on her bare arms. Taking Blake's hand, she made a beeline for the cafe. She ordered a latte from the barrista, in the largest size they had, and dug a credit card out of her wallet while Blake was looking over the menu. She tapped her Visa on the plastic counter top. "I'm getting this one," she said. "You got the movies and the food. I'm getting the caffine."

[Lone Star]

Blake smiled at her, and stuck his tongue out too. "Fair enough." he turned to the barrista. "Medium java shake, please." He smiled at her. "Thanks, Jessica. Always good to have caffeine. So what else do you do for fun?"

[Raveled]

Jessica paid for the drinks and followed Blake over to one of the high tables. "I like doing science. You know, fooling around in the lab, building whatever, maybe coding a bit. And I like playing video games. I love Bioware's stuff, and Take2." She giggled. "I guess it's kind of out of character, that a, well, someone like me would enjoy riding around a city and ramming into cop cars in a video game, but it's just mindless fun, ya know?" She sipped at her drink, feeling the piping hot liquid spread down her gullet, the heat moving through her limbs. "So how about you? You said you draw pictures?"

[Lone Star]

He slurped on his shake. "Well, art's kind of been what I've done for years. My parents were artists, and I guess it kind of rubbed off on me. I like to draw nature, and sometimes people. I've been doing some sketches of the Centurion lately. Other than that, I play keyboards. I'll sometimes go out on the streets and play for tips. It's not really for the money, I really just enjoy public performance." He stopped talking for a moment, and listened to a smooth jazz version of a Santana song play over the speakers in the store. "So how long have you been a...public servant?"

[Raveled]

Jessica smiled at his euphemism. "Not quite a year. It's just... Well, it's kind of complicated. Suffice it to say I wanted to do good with my intellect and this is how I do it. Once I graduate I'll probably go into the family business, but I expect I'll still be doing this. So, when you say you're drawing Centurion, do you mean the Sentry statue, or are you finding old pictures of the man himself?" She sipped at her drink, grinning. "And when are you going to sketch me?"

[Lone Star]

"I find pictures of him in old books, mostly. And Google." He chuckled at her request. "Well, most girls find it creepy when guys draw pictures of them. But next time we go out, I'll bring my sketchbook and draw some pictures of you. I would never refuse a request to draw such a pretty face." he said with a sly wink.

[Raveled]

Jessica felt herself blushing again and sipped at her drink to hide it. "So, um. Is that what you're studying right now? At Claremont? Art?" She wasn't quite sure how she'd feel about having an artist as a boyfriend. She usually didn't have much respect for anything that wasn't based on math, but Blake was a funny, decent guy. Could be worse, she thought to herself. He could be working at Taco Bell and playing in a band.