Paradise

[Electra]

"Huh, good for her," Gina mused, flinching slightly as a squirrel rustled the bushes they were passing. "And it's the same guy who came on the space rescue? They were pretty wrapped up in each other then. You should go to whatever they do." She relaxed fractionally as they walked past a large moving truck that combined with a hedge to narrow their world down to the strip of sidewalk for a few yards. "He wants you to teach little kids? That doesn't seem exactly your style," she admitted candidly. 

[Avenger Assembled]

"I agree. The children do not," said Steve, shrugging his massive shoulders. "Whether the Espadas children, or the orphans we rescued on the Moon, or those at Nicholson, they look at me and see something I do not see in myself. Their parents, however, generally have a different vision." He didn't suggest she pay a visit to the school herself - she was already walking on the edge of her patience, in more ways than one. He was silent for a few moments, then admitted himself, his voice rough, "I am worried about Yolanda. She is so proud of her training at her school and with her family, and so eager to show it to me, and I have been so proud of her efforts. Of her discipline, and her bravery. But I look at her and I see a child who knows everything of war and so little of childhood itself. Perhaps things will be better after more years of education here - and more time to move past what came before. She said she has made a new friend among the children."

Edited October 9, 2015 by Avenger Assembled

[Electra]

"Kids can bounce back from a lot of crap if they've got people on their side," Gina opined, fisting her hands tightly as they walked out from behind the truck and rounded another corner. "Yolanda's people take real good care of her, I'm sure, and they aren't going to let anybody break her down or ruin her. That in itself will count for a lot. Anyway, she's still just a little kid. She's got a lot of time left to shake off the old and get involved in kid stuff and teenager stuff. She's not like you and me. She'll be all right," she assured him. 

[Avenger Assembled]

Steve disagreed with Gina's assessment of herself - and himself, to a degree, but he knew that was the stress of the moment talking. This was also not the time to bring up the situation with the DuTemps Building - Gina agreed with his views there enough that she would want to go back to the house and make further plans on that subject, plans he was himself not yet prepared to make. Dealing with emotions, he had learned, required extensive strategizing - and planning for tactical situations was something he understood. He moved the topic away from himself, and away from Gina. "I had another letter from Prometheus this week," he said, thinking back to the young Omegadrone he'd helped mentor, as best he could, in his early time on Earth-Prime. "He says he...he is happy on Kaiju Island. The beasts give him no trouble - and he makes sure they give no trouble to the scientists. I should use Skype to speak with him directly." 

He kept on talking to Gina about his former pupil as they headed up the street, obviously happy that the former drone had found a home free from the human race that would forever fear and hate his armor, his animation to distract her from the view not entirely feigned. "He is even dating one of the young women there. I am delighted he has found such a place in Earth-Prime." 

Edited October 10, 2015 by Avenger Assembled

[Electra]

Gina had her eyes open almost normally by now, which was a big improvement even if all she would look at was the sidewalk under her feet. "Nice to hear he's doing well," she muttered, "Kaiju Island sounds nice this time of year. Very few people. I'm thinking about relocating and telecommuting. Just need a nice big satellite transmitter and a Peapod guy willing to go the extra mile." She grimaced and laced her fingers together tightly in front of her. "I gotta gig next weekend at the Mayor's office, need an escort. I'll get your tux dry-cleaned before we go. You make sure your shoes are polished." This would hardly be Steve's first big social event, he'd perfected the tall and silent type act months ago. 

[Avenger Assembled]

"I will be glad to join you there." They talked the details of the rendezvous; the time they would depart from the house, how long they would likely stay, what interesting people would be attending the occasion. Steve was content to be Miss Americana's man at such events; it was one way for them to socialize together in a setting where only he felt uneasy - and uneasiness among the humans of Earth-Prime was something he had long since learned to embrace. By the time they'd finished working out the logistics of the situation, Steve realized that they had come all the way back to the front steps. "We made it to our home. Excellent." He said no more than that - knowing that Gina would be tired of conversation outside at this point. 

[Electra]

Gina scrambled up the steps with graceless haste, the door opened by an Emerson a bare instant before she would've smacked straight into it. By the time Steve reached the door, Gina was nowhere to be seen, though he could guess where she'd be. The door to her room, the room they shared most nights, was just slamming closed at the end of the hallway, with another Emerson standing silent guard. Metal shutters were sliding down over all the windows in the house, unobtrusive and invisible from the outside behind the blinds, cutting off what little light had been coming in and bathing the living room in darkness and silence. 

[Avenger Assembled]

For his part, Steve sat down on the couch, the specially reinforced springs (reinforced, he remembered, after what had been a far more pleasant day than this) groaning slightly beneath his weight. He didn't press Gina in her sanctum, knowing she would be uninterested in talking to him (or anyone else) for quite some time. One of the Emersons took this opportunity to roll up to his leg and 'look' up at him, red LED lights seeming to lock its gaze on him. "Do you need company?" he asked the robot seriously. The Emersons were sometimes programmed to act like the canines and other domestic species of Earth-Prime, driven by the inner workings of the AI. I have slept out here before. I will sleep out here again. He glanced at the shuttered windows, the glowing red eyes of the Emerson robot the only illumination in the room. "There are worse places than this."