Where the Past Comes Alive

[Avenger Assembled]

Jack continued flirting with Stesha as they headed over to the small movie theater, talking warmly to her in the Lexus and taking a little while to enjoy the lovely curve of her neck as they went. Her powers didn't seem very overwhelming; her metahuman abilities apparently didn't give her the knowledge to know his true nature. He wondered what she'd taste like, even as he felt a little guilty for wondering that. She was his friend; they wouldn't do anything together that they all wouldn't thoroughly enjoy. He wasn't a monster...at least, not a monster like that. He paid for their tickets there again, after checking if Stesha wanted to see the 1930s version of The Mummy or a more recent French art film about bees.

[Electra]

Stesha chose the movie about bees, mainly because she was interested to see how even a hardworking insect could carry a ninety-minute film that wasn't a cartoon. Well, that and the fact that she wasn't in the mood for any scary movies this evening, after the workout her heart had gotten earlier. She was sorely tempted by the delicious buttered-popcorn smell wafting from the concession stand, but virtuously abstained. It wasn't good for her, and it would get her fingers all greasy, which just wasn't attractive. Later, she promised herself, when she got home, she would make some popcorn in the microwave. The film about bees turned out to be very sparsely attended, with just a scattering of couples spread out through the dark theatre. "Where do you think we should sit?" she asked. "Closer, or further back?"

[Avenger Assembled]

"Further back," suggested Jack, who joined her in a cozy row relatively far back in the newly-built, antique-styled theater. The film was subtitled, which helped his education a lot, though it did mean he missed much of the so-inspiring story of the bee struggling hard to make it for herself in a hive overrun by enemies who lay all around her. After all, like any good man on a date, he was enjoying his date as much as he was the movie itself. They were sitting in a darkened corner indeed, the gargoyle overhead providing lovely concealment except to someone who could see well in the dark. But Stesha didn't seem to mind. He liked that about her.

[Electra]

The movie was a lot more boring than Stesha had thought it would be, but she was paying at least as much attention to the man sitting next to her as to the film anyway. She leaned in towards him just a bit as the movie went on, which was about as daring as she was going to get without further encouragement, superhero or not. But making out in a movie theatre was, after all, a time-honored way to liven up a bad movie date.

[Avenger Assembled]

Jack and Stesha took full advantage of the darkness to enjoy a lovely little makeout session. Jack rather enjoyed the delay to intimacy, something his personal life usually didn't allow, and was glad he'd fed earlier that evening. But as lovely as her scent and taste was something was missing, and it was his teeth in her neck. But doing that here was going to be difficult, at least until he could do certain other deeds. She wasn't drunk, certainly, nor was she that distracted. He decided to concentrate on leaning in and exerted himself just a little as his teeth hit her neck...

[Electra]

Stesha chuckled very softly as he ran his lips down her jaw and along her throat, a little color in her cheeks as she wondered how far down he was planning on taking that kiss. The chuckle turned to a soft sigh as he settled in at the sensitive hollow of her collarbone, even as she wondered what to do next. It felt good, sort of really good, but a little weird, like he was sucking gently on her neck. Not that that was bad, necessarily, but she was wearing a sundress, and she didn't really want a hickey on a work night. She shifted in her seat a little, wondering if she should nudge him away, or if that would break the mood.

[Avenger Assembled]

Jack coughed as he came up, sucking hard to keep the blood down. What...was that?! It had been like biting down on a plant and human at the same time, the combination of tastes a bizarre and vaguely unsettling one. He recovered as quickly as he could, acting as if he'd swallowed a bug rather than something else. "Oh, sorry, sorry..." he laughed. "Guess I killed the mood there." No more feeding on meta-humans! Why am I so awkward with the women I actually like?

[Electra]

Stesha startled when he jerked away, her hand automatically going to her own neck as she looked at him. "Is something wrong?" she whispered uncertainly, trying to remember if she'd gotten some chemicals on herself during the day, or put on bug repellant, or anything nasty like that. For the life of her, she couldn't think of anything. But it wasn't hard to tell, even past the stirrings of a vague headache, that something had repulsed him. "I might have gotten some algoflash splashed on myself earlier, but it's not poisonous or anything," she tried to assure him.

[Avenger Assembled]

"No, no, it's okay..." said Jack reassuringly. She hadn't tasted bad, really, just a little odd. He sucked his teeth, then gave her a wry smile. "My bad. I think there was a fly flying around here or something; it had nothing to do with you." He reached down and squeezed her hand. "You're fine. And so am I." He turned and looked back at the movie, not pulling away but a bit less intimate than he'd been earlier. He had a lot of things to sort out yet.

[Electra]

Stesha crossed her legs and smoothed her skirt down over them, then folded her hands in her lap and watched the movie. Every now and then she glanced sidelong at Jack, but couldn't figure out what on earth had actually happened. Maybe she just had bad tasting skin. She'd never really thought to check, even if she could lick her own neck. The bizarre mental picture that conjured was enough to cheer her up a little bit, and the movie at least started getting kind of interesting when all the bees took off to find a new hive and started swarming through the middle of a little village. It still wasn't enthralling or anything, but she'd seen more boring documentaries. It was enough to give her an excuse to keep her eyes mostly on the screen.

[Avenger Assembled]

Jack finished watching the movie with Stesha, feeling oddly guilty for what he'd been doing. Well, he'd paid the price for taking advantage of a friend, hadn't he? If they were friends, anyway. When the movie came to an end they walked out together, but they weren't arm-in-arm anymore. "Well," he said with a small smile, "I don't think I'd ever have gone to see that without you along. But now I can say I did. Maybe there are more to these places than just watching old scary movies." It was quite late out now, the sky above speckled with light pollution and stars.

[Electra]

"It's been a memorable night," she agreed, looking up at the stars with him. "I just wish I didn't have to be at work first thing tomorrow, but flowers wait for no woman." She gave him a little smile, testing the waters. "Maybe we can do this again sometime. I'd like a chance to actually see the museum with you, without having to tear the place up and then take off."

[Avenger Assembled]

"That might be nice," Jack agreed, even as he knew it would be impossible. "I'll tell you what; I'll be the liason when your people come to put the flowers in, right? So we'll have a chance to meet then, and maybe make plans for another night." He was putting off the inevitable, he knew, but he felt less bad about the situation this way. He'd already taken enough from her. "It was a very memorable evening. And I think we'll avoid making it onto the news. Should I...should I look for you there, sometime?"

[Electra]

She laughed as they walked to the car. "I hope not," she said fervently. "At least, not until I get some kind of mask. My parents would die of shock, and then they'd kill me. Four years of college and I'm going into hero work? I wouldn't hear the end of it. What about you?" she asked, trying to keep the conversation normal and nice as they both got in and buckled up.

[Avenger Assembled]

"I'm not the kind of guy who should be in the news," Jack admitted as they started up. "But I'll be out there." He was very glad he hadn't given her his address, or a lot of pertinent information about him. "You should get a domino mask," he told her with a smile, changing the subject a little. "Paint it green like your hair, and call yourself Flower Power."

[Electra]

She gave him a look for that suggestion. "I already have a name picked out," she told him, "I just really haven't had much chance to use it yet. But I will, soon. Why else would people come to Freedom City, if not to make the world a better place?" she asked, echoing their earlier conversation. "Maybe we can even work together again sometime, if things work out that way." She didn't want to presume too much, after the weirdness during the movie and her earlier doubts, but it was a nice thought. "At least we'll be working together this weekend. I'm looking forward to dyeing those flowers, it's always an interesting challenge."

[Avenger Assembled]

"It'll be an interesting weekend, at any rate. And if we do work together, who knows?" Jack contemplated a meeting between Avenger and this woman. God, she'd run screaming in terror. "I think we could have something together. Tell me when we get close to your place," he said as they headed back, "I figure you don't exactly want to go back to the shop." He smiled a little at that. "And I think you're going to be a good hero. You stood up to people in Omegadrone suits, and even if you aren't from Freedom City, that takes some serious cajones. You'll be able to handle the rough element."

[Electra]

"I can't take full credit for that," she said with a slightly embarrassed laugh. "I thought they were just kids, right up until they started shooting. And I couldn't just leave you in the lurch after I dragged you in there, not when I didn't realize that you had powers too. I was already trying to figure out how to get us the hell out of there when you did your jedi mind trick thing." She gave him directions to her house, not a very difficult drive to a nice, if crowded neighborhood and a small apartment building.

"Well, here it is," she said, hesitating as he pulled up in front. "I really had a nice time tonight, even with everything that went wrong."

[Avenger Assembled]

"I did too," said Jack with some truth. "It was very memorable. And at least we got to make our own little contribution to history at the Super Museum." He gave her a wry grin. "I'll see you around, Stesha. Thanks for an evening I won't soon forget." He leaned in for a very quick kiss on the cheek, conscious of the apartment building behind them and the lit windows there. "You have a lovely power," he murmured softly. "Make sure you grow beautiful flowers with it."

[Electra]

Stesha climbed out of the shiny black car and walked to the door, taking out her keys and letting herself into the building. She waited until she was safely inside before letting out a long sigh and dislodging some of the pins and flowers from her hair. Well, he hadn't asked to come up, and he hadn't walked her to the door for a goodnight kiss. After everything else, that seemed like a pretty clear indication. She could nurse the tiny hope that she was wrong, but mostly she suspected that her first instincts had been her best ones. Jack, especially Superhero Jack, was so far out of her league that even going for a tryout had been ridiculous. But he had, she admitted with another sigh as she flipped on the lights and kicked off her sandals, he had definitely been an excellent kisser.

[Avenger Assembled]

Though Jack enjoyed watching the news reports about the mysterious superheroes who had taken out the two thugs who'd hidden inside the Omegadrone armor, the better to rob the museum after closing time, he wound up with mixed feelings about the date. He'd gone out with a lovely woman who practically reeked of life, and he'd taken advantage of her lovely neck the first opportunity he'd gotten. What did that say about him, really? Avenger was on the streets with gusto the next few nights, knocking heads together and taking names, doing his part to make Freedom City a little better. Maybe, Jack thought, that said something better about him. He bought a pot of African violets a couple of days after that. He didn't go back to Stesha's shop.