BeeFFs (IC)

[Gizmo]

Between his various responsibilities, the swashbuckler known as Jack of all Blades didn't get much time for social calls, but in this case it was a sense of responsibility that had him picking up a phone and dialing the number he'd been given to contact Fleur de Joie, the recently married Stesha Lumins. "Hey, Sprouts, it's Jack." After a beat it occurred to him to elaborate, "The, ah, the Jack with the swords and the obnoxious nicknames, yeah."

[Electra]

"Oh, hello, Jack!" Stesha was up to her elbows in flowers, like usual lately. The most romantic time of the year was also one of the busiest for her industry. Ever since her colleagues had learned about her double life, they'd been supportive of the time she needed for hero work, but she had to make some sacrifices in return. Spending a couple evenings a week working at home wasn't that big a deal, at least not right now, and it ensured the shop had the freshest flowers in town. In June, all of that was going to change, and she wasn't sure what exactly she was going to do then. But she had time to figure that out still. "What can I do for you?"

[Gizmo]

"Well, you remember those massive, fire-breathing bees you found a place for a while back?" Given the hectic nature of life in their circles, it was a legitimate question; the oversized insects might not have even been the most interesting thing the plant controller had dealt with that week. "When you get a chance, I was kinda hoping to check in on them. See how they're doing." Beeatriz and her two companions had taken a bit of a beating at the hands of Jack and one of Claremont Academy's students before things had gotten sorted out, and the fencer still felt that he owed it to the unlikely creatures to make sure their new home was acceptable.

[Electra]

"Of course I do," Stesha said with a chuckle, "I see them several times a week still. Beeatriz is a good friend of mine. They're all doing very well, I was able to reunite the colony and they all have a good home on the world I'm rehabbing. I'd be happy to show you around and let you get reacquainted. When is a good time for you?" She kept busy while she spoke, cutting flowers and tying bouquets, the work so automatic now that she hardly had to think about it.

[Gizmo]

"Good to hear," Jack told her sincerely. "Pretty much whenever. I'm just about wrapped up here." Lowering the cellphone for a moment, the fencer gave the extension cables tied around the trio of groaning, semi-conscious hardware thieves a final tug before using his grapple to disappear onto a nearby rooftop as police sirens sounded in the distance. Jogging high above the street in the direction of the brownstone apartments, he raised the phone back to his ear. "If you're in the middle of something, doesn't have to be this second."

[Electra]

"Oh, let's see, we have another hour or so before sunset, and a bit more than that where there are fewer buildings," Stesha mused, glancing towards the wide front window of her apartment. "The bees should be coming in for the evening, so now's a pretty good time." She set aside her unfinished bouquet into a work vase primed with treated water, then brushed the pollen off her hands. "I'll have to give you a ride, so I might as well meet you. Where's a convenient place for you?"

[Gizmo]

"Ah, right, the tree teleporting thing," Jack noted largely to himself, making a small sound of understanding. Leaping across an alleyway, his royal blue greatcoat flaring out behind him, the fencer considered. "If you want to swing by the brownstone's backyard, that'd work," he suggested as he hit the next rooftop over in a run. "Where the pixie had her birthday party." The fence around the lawn behind the apartment building was tall enough to afford some privacy and after a couple of memorable incidents, there was an unspoken understanding with their neighbours not too pay close attention to the going-ons there.

[Electra]

"Sounds perfect, I'll meet you there in a few minutes." Stesha tidied up her work area enough to leave it for an hour or two, then bundled up. It was always nice to get a chance to socialize, and she hadn't spoken to Jack of all Blades in ages, for all she'd worked with his younger sister. The flowers could wait. She had to put on Derrick's old black winter coat to bundle up these days, rather than any of her own much more attractive jackets, but at least it was warm! When she'd put on coat, hat, mittens, scarf and boots, she popped over to the Interceptors HQ, stepping out of a knot in the tree trunk that momentarily yawned wide enough to produce an entire person.

[Gizmo]

A few moments later, there was a light sound of impact from above before Jack acrobatically cleared the distance between the brownstone's roof and the ground, landing lightly near Stesha and the tree. "Man, that really is a neat trick you got there," the swashbuckler noted as he rose from a slight crouch, pausing as he got a better look at the plant controller. "Oh snap, you are totally preggers!" he exclaimed with a broad grin and a clap. "I swear, nobody tells me anything. Congrats, Sprouts! You and the space ranger know if it's a boy or girl yet?"

[Electra]

Stesha laughed, regarding the energy controller warmly. "Totally," she agreed, putting a hand to her abdomen. "It's a girl, and we're due in June. We're both very excited, though I have no idea what kind of a playpen we might end up needing for her, if she ends up with either of our powers! We haven't really made any announcements, I figure people will eventually notice. I just don't want it to get in the way of my work anymore than necessary. There's so much to do!" She extended a mittened hand to him. "Ready to go?"

[Gizmo]

"Unbelievable..." Jack murmured to himself, shaking his head slightly. Looking back up to Stesha, he apologizes, "Sorry we couldn't make it out to the wedding. Jill really wanted to go, but with her studying and the hospital and everything else, she couldn't swing the time off. Lynn said it was a beautiful ceremony." The swashbuckler gave the tree the plant controller had stepped out of a wary look, but took her hand anyway. "Lead on."

[Electra]

"Oh, that's totally fine," Stesha assured him. "We missed having you there, but I understand. It's the problem with distance weddings, but on the other hand, not a single supervillain!" She laughed and teleported them. For a moment the world was full of green light and the smell of pine needles. When that cleared, they were standing in the fading light of evening in a vast meadow, dotted here and there by flowers the size of houses. They were alive and vibrant even in February, their fragrances perfuming the cold air. Directly in front of them loomed a massive earthen structure, easily twenty stories tall and the length of a city block. It was dotted here and there with garage-size openings, from which massive bees were flying in and out. "Welcome to Beedom City," Stesha quipped.

[Gizmo]

"Ouch," Jack groaned approvingly at the pun, taking a few steps forward as he took in the massive hive. "Dios. Couldn't have had one of these back home, that's for sure." Turning about to watch one of the giant bees fly overhead he grinned reflexively, raising his voice a little over the background sound of thrumming wings. "Almost forgot how freaking huge these guys were. Wow. They're not all fire-breathers, right?"

[Electra]

"No, the vast majority of them don't breathe fire, that was apparently a genetic drift issue somewhere along the line. The Beekeeper wasn't happy about it, so he tossed the "defective" ones out of the colony just before his attack on Freedom City. The three you referred to me stuck together for safety, and I tracked down and rescued two more with Beeatriz and Henr-bee's help. The rest are all, ah, normal. More or less." She laughed at the absurdity of that statement, then raised her arms and began waving them to try and catch the attention of one of the bees high overhead. "They're lucky you found them before they starved to death! Bees this size need a lot of food, especially the fire-breathing variety."

[Gizmo]

"Jerk," Jack opined flatly as Stesha described The Beekeeper's harsh treatment of the dragon bees. He offered a the pregnant woman a chagrined shrug. "Well, 'found' in the sense I had a super strong teenager throw me at them like a lawn dart, but I'm glad it worked out." He scratched the light stubble on his chin with one finger, considering. "Makes sense, though. I get crazy hungry when I really use my powers. Dynamo's metabolism's not even funny."

[Electra]

"The only one who eats more is Beelisima, the Queen, and she's half-again as large," Stesha agreed. "Oh look, there's Beeatriz, and I think that's Curl-bee with her!" It was hard to say how she was picking them out, all the bees looking pretty much the same, but Stesha stuck two fingers in her mouth and whistled piercingly. It was enough to get the attention of the bees high overhead, and the pair began spiraling downward, the faintest scent of sulfur carried on the wind ahead of them.

[Gizmo]

"Uh, wow," Jack commented, a little taken aback. "Big lady." Watching the pair of enormous bees fly toward them, the energy manipulator was again struck by their sheer visual absurdity, followed quickly by the memory of the significant thrashing they'd managed to deliver in his previous altercation with them. "So... they're not, y'know... upset with me or anything, right?" he asked Stesha innocently.

[Electra]

"Not that I know of," Stesha replied, not sounding as entirely certain as might have been comforting. "They don't really talk much about life on Prime anymore, actually. Their lives are here now, and here is where they focus, especially the workers. Some of the boys miss television and talk about things like that, but then, they don't have much to do..." She waved again as the bees came in for a landing.

"GREETINGZZ, FLEUR DE ZZHOIE!" the larger one buzzed, waving antennae in her direction. "AND TO YOUR GUEZZT ALZZO! WHAT BRINGZZ YOU TO OUR HIVEZZZ?"

"Hello, Beeatrizz!" Stesha called to the speaker bee, then waved to the other as well. "Hello, Curl-bee! Jack of all Blades and I came out to say hello! He wanted..."

"WE HAVE ZZEEEN THIZZ ONE BEEFORE!" Beeatriz interrupted. "HE IZZ THE ONE WHO ZZTABBED HENR-BEE in FREEDOM ZZITY, ZZHE ONE WHO MADE UZZ ZZURRENDER!" It was hard to tell whether there was anger or not in that massive booming bee voice.

[Gizmo]

"Heeey, chica," Jack greeted with a wave, somewhat belatedly rethinking his rather limited plan. Of course, not taking the time to think things through was what had started the fight with the giant dragon bees back home in the first place. "Figured I ought to check in, see how you guys were settling in, since I got you sent out here and all." The fencer gestured to the massive hive. "Looking pretty good, I gotta say."

[Electra]

The bees' heads turned,and Jack suddenly found himself the focus of four massive multifaceted eyes, shining in the light like slabs of polished onyx. "JACK OF ALL BLADEZZ," Beeatriz addressed him. "WE OWE YOU OUR THANKZZ. MOZZT ZZQUIZZHY BIPEDZZ WOULD NOT ZZHOW KINDNEZZ TO UZZ AFTER FIGHTING UZZ. YOU ZZPARED OUR LIVEZZ, AND ZZENT FLEUR TO HELP US. YOU ARE A BEENEFACTOR TO OUR KIND" Curl-bee nodded ponderously, his antennae waving.

[Gizmo]

Jack visibly relaxed at Beeatriz' greeting, shoulders loosening as he grinned up at the bees. "Hey, the pre-team-up misunderstanding fight is just business as usual between super-folk, relative squishiness aside," he laughed good-naturedly. Maybe it simply came from hanging out with artificial intelligences and zombies and dimensional travelers and assorted aliens, but the swashbuckler had a hard time treating anything that could carry a conversation differently than he would a human. "I'm just glad things worked out so well. Got your giant hive, got your giant flowers, pretty swank."

[Electra]

"THE ZZUPERHERO BIPEDZZ HELP UZZ!" Curl-bee interjected, his antennae waving animatedly. "THE ONE CALLED GAIANITE GIVEZZ UZZ THIZZ HIVE THAT IZZ WARM AND HAZZ ROOM TO MAKE THE BABY BEEZZ! LOTZZ OF THEM!" He was obviously very pleased by this prospect. "BUT HE SAYZZ NO ZZWIMMING POOLZZ FULL OF ZZHAAM...ZZHAAMPAGNE, BEECAUZZE THAT HAZZ NO CLAZZ. EVEN THOUGH TELEVIZZION ZZAYZZ ZZO." That was a disappointment he seemed sure the other male would share.

[Gizmo]

It took Jack a couple beats to parse Curl-bee's rapid dialogue, but once he did he gave the massive bee a reassuring shrug. "I hear ya, man, but Gai's got a point. Those things are a pain to maintain." The swordsman also wasn't sure if bees could actually swim, but that seeming impolite to bring up. Tossing a subtle, knowing look Beeatriz way, he noted, "And baby bees are a big responsibility, brother. You can't go all swinging bachelor pad if you're gonna set a good example, amirite?"

[Electra]

The bee swept one massive leg in a way that was clearly meant to be dismissive, but caused a breeze that nearly unseated Jack's wig. "RAIZZING LITTLE BEES IS FOR WORKERZZ, NOT DRONEZZ," Curl-bee told Jack. "WE MAKE THE BABIEZZ, THAT IZZ OUR JOB! AND BECAUZZ OF MAZZTER, WE DO NOT LOOZZ OUR PARTZZ AFTERWARDZZ AND DO NOT DIE. SCORE!" He did a little dance that looked like a semi truck shimmying in an earthquake.

"THE BEEKEEPER IZZ NOT MAZZTER TO US!" Beeatriz reminded her companion disapprovingly. "HE IZZ NOT OUR BOZZ NOW! WE RULE OURZZELVEZZ, THANKZZ TO ZZTEZZA AND THIZZ BIPED."

[Gizmo]

Reaching up to hold his bandanna mask and inconspicuous wig in place against the sudden gust, Jack watched the gigantic good times dance with competing feelings of stunned bemusement and mirth. "That's, uh, that's definitely a bonus, Curl, but Trix is right. You don't owe that guy a thing," he insisted, his expression sober. "Freedom - and beedom - means making your own decisions and making responsibility for them." He wasn't really sure how a genetically-mandated monarchy fit into that, but the sentiment remained true.