As Myth hands over The Gambler to the authorities, Solaria thanks them for their help before heading back over to the other two women. She stands beside Myth and asks ”Everybody alright?”
"Thanks, babe. I'll be alright. Never got ehammied by my own whammy before. It ain't pleasant. And you do something like that to yourself every time you use your magic? Damn, girl. You're tougher than I gave you credit for."
"I'm really not that tough," Gypsy replies, her face reddening. She looks up as Sierra gives her a nice distraction. "I'm ok," she says, but she points not so subtly at Peyton.
"Some of us might need a little bit of a rest, though."
Peyton smirks behind her mask. "Me? Nah, I could do this all day!" she brags. "I'm feeling much better now. What's next, boss? Did the big guy find anything useful about those Darkstar creeps?"
”He hasn’t mentioned anything yet,” Solaria replies.
”I think we should call it a day on heroing unless something crops up demanding our assistance. Especially with one close call already,” she adds. ”I need to go update the crews as to where to finalize the acquisition for the base and blueprint review.”
"I am sorry Payload." Myth says. "I did not mean to make you sad. I did learn a new saying recently though - 'kiss it better'." He suits actions to words, swooping into Payload and tipping her chin up with a surprisingly gentle hand.
He then applies a deep kiss!
Solaria’s eyes go wide at Myth’s brazen lip-lock. She gives an awkward glance to Gypsy as she takes a step away from the other two and closer to the magic user.
Gypsy returns Sierra's look and accompanies it with a finger in her mouth miming a gag.
Payload is likewise surprised as Myth plucks her up off of the bench, but she closes her eyes and melts into the handsome being's arms as their lips meet. She lets out a little moan of pleasure, kissing him back, their tongues briefly meeting.
When Myth finally pulls back, Payload is flushed, her pupils dilated. "That is a good saying," she says. "You're a fast learner." She runs her hands along his muscled chest.
"As a point of clarification?" Gypsy says, raising her hand once the snogging is completed. "If there's anything wrong with me, kissing won't improve the situation. So I'd like to option out of any future potential locking of lips. There's no need of the kissing of Gypsy. Just to be clear."
She looks at Sierra and frowns.
"That wasn't awkward, was it? It felt a little awkward, but I'm not always the best judge when lips mashing against other lips are concerned. Not that I'm against it in general, but as stated before regarding hands, personal boundaries should be discussed in advance."
"As a point of clarification?" Gypsy says, raising her hand once the snogging is completed. "If there's anything wrong with me, kissing won't improve the situation. So I'd like to option out of any future potential locking of lips. There's no need of the kissing of Gypsy. Just to be clear."
Myth follows the conversation but is clearly confused. "How should I say hello to you then?" He asks. "Payload said that kissing is the appropriate way. The, what do you call them, the people who like you? Fans? seem to like it too. Have I been doing something wrong? I do not wish to upset you Gypsy."
His honesty is palpable - or perhaps he always glows like that, it's hard to tell.
Solaria gives a stern look to Payload. ”You don’t just go around kissing people, Myth! Typically you should greet someone with a handshake.”
Sierra looks back to Gypsy. ”Yeah. Definitely awkward.”
Payload snickers. ”You girls are just jealous. I know it!” She pats Myth’s arm. ”Maybe just ask for permission first, big guy. And if they say no, then a handshake will suffice.”
"Thank you." Myth says politely to Solaria. "That is very helpful." He offers her his hand, and then pulls her into a hug.
He then turns to Gypsy and folds his hands together before offering her an odd bow.
"My apologies to you as well Gypsy. If there is anything I can do to make up for this, please inform me."
Solaria’s eyes widen as Myth pulls her in for a hug! She uncomfortably reaches up and pats him on the back. ”You’re…welcome, big guy. Okay…that’s good enough,” she stammers before pulling away and out of his grasp.
Gypsy tenses up slightly and her eyes widen a bit as Myth bows to her. "Uh, the 'no kissing' part is plenty, thank you. No kissing, yep. We're good."
"I must offer you something." Myth says firmly. "Perhaps this will suffice."
He steps over to a small pile of sand, blown off the beach, and cups it between his hands. The hands start to glow and the sand melts into liquid. Myth rolls it around his palms into a small ball and then pokes his finger into it briefly. There is a bright flash of light and Myth whips his finger out of the orb and starts juggling it.
By the time he stops he is holding a glass bead about the size of a marble. Inside it is a glowing mote of light, like a fragment of the sun caught inside the glass. Despite the light inside it the orb is quite cool and he offers it to Gypsy with a smile.
"It is a dark world sometimes." He says, "With this you will always have a light of your own. To remind you of your friends."
Solaria shifts her suit back to her normal clothes. ”Gypsy, I was gonna go take care of a few things. You wanna ride with me?” she asked.
Gypsy tears her attention away from the glowing stone Myth has gifted her with. "Uh, ok. As long as Peyton returns that car, I can come with you." She looks around at the gathered audience. "How, uh, are we going? Should I call an Uber?"
Sierra replies ”I can give you a lift over to my car,” with a smile.
With transportation arranged, soon the two girls are situated in Sierra's car and moving about the city.
"Do you think Peyton and this new guy are going to become an 'Item'?" she asks, framing the word in finger quotes. "Not that I'm saying that romance is a bad thing, but statistically, it's bucking a trend in the super-heroes' world that we've suddenly found ourselves."
She gazes out at the passing traffic. "And I'm not against romance in general, but I've always pictured it less ... muscle-y and more curvy."
Realizing that she's said that last part out loud, she turns suddenly to her friend - her eyes wide. "Or not at all. No need for romance for me. Just forget I said anything."
Sierra smirks at Gypsy’s nervousness. ”Gyps, you know I know, right? About your digging girls?” she replies as she hits the turn signal of her Tesla to change lanes. ”You don’t have to be so anxious about it around me, okay?”
"No, not anxious at all. Not me," Gypsy says in a voice that's not dripping with nervousness at all. "It doesn't really matter, though. I'm not really the type that either girls or boys are attracted to."
Her attention is drawn by her phone and her fingers dance over the screen as she replies to, yet another, text from her sister with the girl's newest piece of attached art. "Do you think I'm being 'stuffy and conservative', by not wearing a costume?" she asks. "Moon thinks so and won't let it go. She keeps sending me her ideas on what to wear, but I think I would be embarrassed to wear one of her creations in my bathroom at home. I can't imagine what it would be like to wear it out in public."
She holds up her phone towards Sierra, displaying the most recent offering under discussion. It looks like a cross between work-out clothes and a sexy witch Halloween costume.
”Oh hush, girl!” Sierra says to counter Gypsy’s self-deprecation. ”I bet we could download Infini-Date and have you three dates from both boys and girls before the day was out!”
Sierra gives Gypsy’s phone a glance. ”You…wanna go suit shopping with me? I can hook you up with the designer my family uses! He is still frustrated he didn’t get to make mine!”
Ignoring the subject of the dating app, Gypsy frowns. "So that's a 'yes' on the 'stuffy and conservative', then," she says. "Fine, if it'll shut Moon up, then maybe we should find me a suit. Please, no lycra, though. I don't really want anything riding up my ... riding up where it shouldn't be. And no capes."
”I didn’t say that!” Sierra counters. ”So don’t put words in my mouth please. I just know how Moon is and how she can push your buttons. So let me and Enzo come up with something for you! I promise I won’t make it too gaudy or show too much skin!”
"Fine, I'll let you pick out the suit. But just so you know, I absolutely refuse to wear something like this," she says before holding up her phone again, showing a different design of Moon's that for some reason leaves her entire top half bare. "My mother would have a stroke if she even saw some of Moon's suggestions."
Sierra smiles broadly before hitting a voice dial button on her steering wheel and says ”Call Enzo.”
She makes the arrangements, the man bumping all other appointments to work Sierra in.
They arrive at the studio and Sierra introduces Gypsy to the man, who is quite flamboyant and overly friendly. He gets some measurements and then steps over to a work bench, before coming up with several designs, which he manages to create in a blur, obviously some sort of super ability of his own!
”Here you go, Darling! Go try them each on and let us have a look!”
While hesitant at first, Gypsy warms up to the man and becomes more involved in the design process than she had expected she would.
To her satisfaction, the final produce only leaves a portion of her upper arms and lower face exposed. It leaves very little of her body shape to the imagination, however, and she has to work up her courage to model it for Enzo and Sierra. Composed of a light gray material with emphasizing darker stripes on her lower legs and arms.
"This is what I was worried about," she says, attempting to tug at the material composing the rear without bringing attention to it. "The suit is trying to get to third base without even buying me dinner first."
There's a suggestion of a skirt composed of a darker gray material as well, but it really is only a suggestion.
"And what are these for?" she asks, pointing to a very stretchable material that extends from her sides to the underside of her arms. If she extends her arms out from her sides, they almost form wings. But the material is much too thin and light for any functional use. "Can't we get rid of these?"
"It is part of the look," Enzo replies, reaching out to adjust the fall of the material. "And if you remove it, you might as well just start all over."
"Fine," she says. "So we keep the wings/not wings. How does it look?" She strikes an exaggeratedly heroic pose for Sierra's benefit.
Sierra had held her hands over her mouth as Gypsy modeled the suit. ”Gypsy, girl, you look amazing! Enzo! If I didn’t conjure my own suit, I swear you’d - “
Enzo throws up a hand. ”Stop reminding me of the tragedy!” he retorts.
Gypsy hands Sierra her phone. "Could you take a couple of pictures?" she asks. "Then maybe Moon will be happy and pick something else to bug me about."
Once the required photos have been sent off and the costume removed and stowed in Gypsy's bag, and Enzo thanked properly, the girls head off. "How about dinner?" Gypsy suggests.
As Gypsy and Solaria head off, Peyton links her arm with Myth's. "Come on, big guy, let's take a walk."
The pair stroll through one of Bay City's larger parks, enjoying the summer breeze and warmth of the evening. "Sorry about lashing out at you before," Peyton says after a while. "I didn't mean to hurt your feelings. I can be a little prickly sometimes. But I like you. A lot. So I don't want you to get the wrong impression about me. So...you forgive me?"
"Of course!" Myth replies, recovering some of his good cheer. "I know I do not understand all of your human customs. Things are very different for me, so I make mistakes. But I am not angry with you. Cannot be angry with a little fireball like you. You are like... solar flare. Dangerous, but very pretty to look at!"
Peyton giggles. "You've got a way with words, big guy. So... you think I'm hot like fire, but do you think I'm cool? That's a human expression that means awesome!"
"You are definitely 'cool'." Myth agrees with a disarming grin that makes his face light up. "I would like to be as cool as you."
As the pair continue to wander through the park, Myth broaches a new subject.
"Payload, will you tell me about Gypsy? She seems... quiet, and I would like to know my teammates better."
Payload shrugs. "Gypsy? Yeah, she's boring," she says. "Aside from the immense magical power that she can barely control, at least. She's cute enough, but she's got a stick up her butt about lots of things. You'd be better off keeping your focus on somebody cool like me, if you wanna be cool, too!"
With Solaria deciding to build the team’s base on the site of the SouthSide Sunrise Galleria Mall, the Summers Foundation has seized on the opportunity for a publicity event! Citizens of Bay City and members of the media have gathered on the site of the ruined mall to catch a glimpse of the Solar Squad as they make the official announcement of their new base and the construction crews break ground on the project.
The four of you are backstage as a small army of hairdressers, makeup artists, and wardrobe coordinators swarm around you, getting you ready to meet your adoring public!
What do you do?
Delivery of materials for the new base was already rapidly underway. When you have the pull of the US government as well as the Summers Foundation, things tend to move quickly. Especially when a good portion of the construction was being handled by other supers themselves. It would likely only take a few more days before the whole base was at least functional!
Sierra sat in the make up chair, remaining still with practiced ease. She didn’t need to worry about wardrobe, since her super suit was always manifested on her perfectly, but hair and make up were always necessary for televised events.
”So, who here has done a press conference before? Obviously Myth hasn’t, but what about you two?” she asks with her eyes closed as an attendant works on her make up.
Payload has kept her mask on as the peons pamper her, but she is loving all the attention. She has requested some of the handsomer men to rub oil on her body so that her abs glisten under the camera lights, but whether they will actually fulfill that request remains to be seen.
”This is my first time, but I am more than ready for my close-up! It’s about time the world gets to see me for the star that I am!” she proclaims.
One of the make up artists replies ”Yes, we usually wait for body oil for the last, so it holds up for as much of the event as possible, Miss,” he replies.
At Payload’s pomp, Sierra rolls her eyes beneath her closed eyelids. ”Just remember, this event isn’t about any of us as an individual, but on the team and the outreach functions this base will be able to provide the community.”
Myth stands off to one side, with three women surrounding him. Despite the huge array of pads and brushes they mostly seem to be admiring his skin tone and musculature rather than actually applying any make-up.
"What are all these powders?" He asks, still smiling. "I have never seen so many colours! Even in the heart of the sun they don't have this array of such things."
He sends a pleading look over the women's head, silently begging for any of his team-mates to come and save him.
Gypsy has been spending part of the morning tugging again at her suit as it attempts to venture into places that clothing aught not. "I've never done anything like this," she says as she takes her turn in the chair. The hood portion of her costume has been pulled back, exposing the entirety of her face and the makeup artist is grumbling to himself as he attempts to cover her freckles.
"I was in a school play in the fourth grade, but they didn't put makeup on us and the only people that watched were our parents. I played broccoli."
Peyton and Sierra notice that the girl is wearing a skin-colored unitard underneath her costume.
Noticing the fan-girl group that Myth is already attracting, Gypsy holds up a hand to pause the gentleman that's currently working on her. She gets up from her chair and approaches the trio of ladies fawning over the extraterrestrial. She gestures at two of them with an exaggerated shooing motion. "You! Scoot! Go take a cold shower or something. He's not that good looking." She pushes a finger into Myth's face. "You! Sit!" Turning to the remaining woman, she gestures at the handsome man now sitting in the chair. "You! Be a professional. Makeup!"
Turning back to her chair she rolls her eyes. "He's not that good looking," she repeats to herself before sitting back down.
Solaria giggles at Gypsy taking control of the amateur make up artists. There were always a few who ended up being nothing more than glorified fans than professionals. She’ll get the hang of it eventually.
”Just…try and be yourself, but professional,” Solaria adds. ”Pretend you are trying to make a good impression on a significant others parents.”
Myth keeps his smile on but rather than sit he swoops in to plant a brief kiss on Gypsy's cheek. Then he does as he's told and sits. Oddly he folds his legs up, opens both hands and closes his eyes. As he does so two balls of light emerge from thin air and hover above his palms.
"Is it important to impress parents?" He asks. "We... do not consider such things where I am from."
Gypsy's eyes widen and she stumbles a half step back. She sputters for just a moment, her face reddening before she holds up a finger again and waves it threateningly at Myth.
"You need to work on your ... language is a thing! Kissing is ... No means no! Just because you're handsome and ... and ... doesn't mean ... Arghhhh!!!" She stomps her foot and returns to her seat in a huff. "And don't you forget it!"
Myth gives Gypsy a curious look and then returns his attention to Solaria, who he expects is most likely to answer his question.
”Yes. It is,” Solaria says without opening her eyes. ”You should want them to respect you, if you truly care about their child.”
”Yes. It is,” Solaria says without opening her eyes. ”You should want them to respect you, if you truly care about their child.”
"It would make even more of an impact if when someone says don't do something, then don't do it!" Gypsy mutters as her technician resumes working on her face.
Soon enough, the crew deems you presentable. The emcee of the event warms up the crowd a bit, then says, "And now, here they are! People of Bay City, I give to you the Solar Squad!"
The crowd begins to cheer and applaud as you take the stage!
Myth really doesn't understand what he should be doing right now...
As Solaria takes the lead in addressing the crowd, Payload spends her time posing in ways to best show off her oiled-up body. She waves and winks at people in the crowd, but most of them just mutter and shake their heads.
Scowling behind her mask, she steps back beside Myth. "Yeah, well, f!%~ them, too. Don't they know awesome when it's standing right in front of them?"