Opposites Attract

Even Heroes Need A Hand

Selene went down on her own, leaving John to follow along after he had finished the jobs that he insisted had to be done before he could leave. She knew he was lying to her, knew that he just needed a little time on his own to mentally prepare himself for the coming hours. She didn't blame him and didn't hold it against him, she simply kissed him, told him she loved him and then threatened to come back up and drag him down if he wasn't there in two hours. There was only so much sweetness she could give.

She trusted EOS to dock the elevator safely and not try to kill her, which was a miracle in itself. She and the AI had indeed formed a truce and surprisingly, had become friends. It was true what they say, once you find a common ground, in this case John, you could be friends with anyone if you tried hard enough.

She left the elevator and made her way straight to the kitchen and began raiding the cupboards. She knew that Grandma Tracy wouldn't mind, in fact she liked the company, that and passing off the witches cooking as her own.

There wasn't much to work with, this being near the end of the month when supplies were dwindling, but she did her best.

She dug through the freezer, taking out a few bags of chilli that she'd made previously, dumping them in a pot on the stove to defrost. She then threw some large potatoes in the oven to bake, thinking they would be nicer than rice, along with some pre-rolled and frozen cookie dough balls.

Kayo appeared in the kitchen half an hour after she'd docked and helped her to make a salad and grate some cheese. Then she made sure the drinks fridge was stocked with enough beers to stun a college football team. There was nothing else to do but wait for the boys to arrive home.

Scott was first, his engines having a distinctive sound, a higher pitch than 2's and not as loud. They stopped talking as he docked, knowing their words would be drowned out anyway.

Virgil's crew in 2 followed about 15 minutes behind Scott, the deep bass of her engines vibrating the air as she touched down and slid into her hidey hole in the side of the volcanic mountain rock that made up the middle of the island.

Scott wandered slowly into the kitchen, silently accepting the beer that Kayo handed him.

"Everything go as it should with the authorities?" she wanted to know, probably already planning how she could make life miserable for anyone that dared cause trouble for her adoptive brothers.

"As well as it could, " he acknowledged, glugging back a good half of the bottle. "They knew they were out there, they knew they chose to stay and they know we'd have done everything in our power to try to help them. That's all they asked really."

He sat down on one of the kitchen stools, looking tired and mentally wrung out, not that Selene could blame him.

They didn't really have anything else to say, and small talk seemed trivial and pointless compared to what had happened that day, so she contented herself with stirring the chilli, checking the potatoes and heating up a large pan of milk to make some cocoa for those who might want it.

Alan was next to arrive, and she immediately offered him a hug, wrapping her arms tightly around her little sweetheart until he squirmed to get away. Settling him down with a mug of chocolate and a couple of the now baked cookies.

John's voice cut into the quiet of the kitchen, telling them he'd be at least another half hour, earning him a pointed time reminder from his witch which he ignored.

When Virgil hadn't appeared more than twenty minutes after Alan, she went in search of him, loading up with cookies, a mug of chocolate and a bottle of beer under her arm.

She found him still sitting in 2, though he opened the module hatch to allow her entry when he saw her through the window.

"You OK, mighty meaty?"