AWS: Hawaiian Vacation

[Abel Cross]

This is a fiction written by both max and I, and takes place about 2 months into our 6 month break

It was Abel's nature to plan ahead,  usually a dozen steps or so.   He limited himself to only a few for this, because of who his plans involved, and why this was so important.   It was the Day before Valentine's Day, and he wanted to make this one special for both Kia and himself.   To that end, he'd booked them a Private bungalow, now that money simply wasn't a concern.   His abilities came in handy for that part, and looking to the future, money never really would be a problem, for any of them really, so long as they worked to move forward together.

The bungalow he'd gotten was larger than any home he'd ever dreamed of living in but it offered something precious to justify the price tag, it was very private.  With their ability to fly, it would be ideal.   He'd already cleared his schedule, and had Kia do the same, all he'd tell her was that he had a big surprise, and that she simply needed to meet him by the lake at 2.   He had already made arrangements with James,  One of the Young Keys he'd scouted out personally.   James had the benefit of being well traveled, being a miliary brat, and he could keep a secret, which was also valueable.   The sixteen year old nova Emerged from behind the tree, and smiled, giving a little wave to Abel, who was standing there, waiting.  

"I want to thank you for doing this James, it's not some big world saving mission, this is just personal, for me."  

The younger Key looked to him and gave him an easy smile.   "It's cool, you told me what you were doing, and if I can help you two out so much the better.  We're friends, it's what we do for each other.   You've helped me understand my powers, and helped me get better at them.   I'm just returning a favor.   Besides, this is a pretty easy one.   I lived in Hawaii for a couple years as a kid you know."
 
Kia arrived at the lake a little early and found a nice spot to just sit and look out over it. Abel's mysterious invitation was kind of exciting, but like most things these days she felt some conflict over it. He was a nice guy, brave and steadfast and determined, but there was always a kind of distance he held himself at.  He'd say words that seemed loving, but there was always a kind of...rehearsed quality to them? It was hard to quantify. She just felt sometimes that maybe his powers and the intimacy they forced on him were causing him to build walls to compensate or something.

But then again, maybe it was just her. Lately she'd just been getting...tired of this whole thing. Shelly and the military and...maybe even the Irregulars, a little. They were friends, and good ones, but...was this all there was? She could go anywhere, do just about anything. What was she ignoring to stay here? And it wasn't like the world NEEDED them anymore, mostly. The invasion was long gone. There were other Keys, and meeting them would probably be fun too, but...that wasn't exactly a full time job.

A vacation, Kia thought, would be nice. Maybe a long one. What good was it to have powers if you only ever really got to explore them when you were fighting? But then, was that selfish of her? What about power and responsibility? After Sara, and then Jaunt...

That thought was a real cloud over her thoughts. Devin. The worst part was that in spite of all evidence, Kia still didn't think it was real. Devin had always been a voice of reason. A loud, caustic voice sure, but he had called Sara out over and over when she'd started to go too far. And now he'd gone way past where she'd been. Out of literally nowhere. It felt off. But maybe she was just thinking wishfully.

More and more Kia was starting to feel like the whole thing was just kind of bullshit. All of it. Part of her just wanted to wade out into the ocean and sink into it and live a different life entirely, putting all these troubles out of her mind.

With a shake of her head, Kia roused herself from her thoughts and looked around. Abel should be here any moment, if he wasn't already. There was no concern that he wouldn't know where to meet her...he'd sense her if he was anywhere nearby.

Abel saw Kia and smiled.  She had a habit of arriving early, and he could always tell when she was around.  Still he and James made their way to her.  "Hey Kia, are you ready to go?"   

She looked up at him with a smile, and noticed the other Key somewhat behind him.   Memories flashed, this was James Harrison, a Key Abel had recruited early on, who had the ability to open stable gates between two locations.  The younger key seemed to have something on his mind, but at the same time, he had an easy smile.  "Good to see you again."

"Where are we going?"

"That's part of the surprise.  If you're ready, James would you please?"   The younger Key opened a portal, one she couldn't see through, and Abel nodded, and reached out for Kia's hand.  "Come with me Kia, I've got something special planned."  As She took his hand, They walked together through the portal, which closed behind them.    Exiting on the other side, They were in the front yard of a large bungalow with an ocean view.  The aroma of the sea, of the coconut on the breeze, all of it was so familiar.  

Abel was obviously pleased with himself, and he looked to her.  Tomorrow is Valentine's Day, I wanted to do something truly special for you Kia.   I know you've not been home since moving to Montana, and well, I thought it'd be nice to take you there.  I know you loved it here from your memories, and for Valentine's Day, I thought it'd be nice if we could make new memories here together."

"I want to experience this place you love so much first hand, and I can think of no one I'd rather have with me than you.  For the next week at least, it's just you and me, in our own little slice of paradise."

Kia was taken completely off guard by the revelation. She'd met the Key, but hadn't really put two and two together. Hell even when Devin had been with them she hadn't bothered him to send her to Hawaii. It was just a memory now, almost like a story someone else had told her. Seeing the beach again, smelling the scent that could only be in one place, meaning one thing, it all came rushing back to her.

She turned and wrapped her arms around Abel to give him a fierce hug, unable to give the complex soup of emotions filling her up the right words.

Abel's arms encircled Kia and held her tightly.   He didn't say anything for a good while, content to just let her enjoy the moment.    Eventually, she pulled back from him, and he smiled gesturing to the almost palatial bungalow he'd rented for them.  "Why don't we go take a little tour of our home away from home,  I've only ever seen pictures, and then we can see about going to town for food, and extra clothing and what not for our stay?"

With a nod, Kia agreed, and hand in hand they went inside,  With Abel having already arranged for the key and such.   The interior was all wood paneling, from the floors to the roof,with no carpets anywhere.   There was a large pool, complete with a hottub and spa, a sitting room overlooking the Ocean with a full wall bay window,  A large gameroom and Den with a 70 inch television, and 4 huge bedrooms, each with a Queen or King size bed, fully appointed with big comfortable chairs pillows and the works.  The Kitchen was spotless and had the essential tools and appliances needed to make nearly any dish.   Buying a Condo like this would be in the multiple millions of dollars.   

Abel had truly spared no expense, and he was only just getting started.   Still, he didn't want to really plan too far ahead.   This was THEIR trip together, and beyond what he'd done, he wanted the rest to be done together.   After the tour of the condo, he smiled.  "So what do you think Kia?   Do you like it?"

"I like you," she replied, and hugged him again.

In truth, the condo was really nice, but almost goofily over the top. She'd have been just as happy, maybe even happier, with a little beachside cabin or something small and intimate. Why four bedrooms when it was just the two of them? Why a pool when you were near the beach? Why have a game room when... But Kia knew that this was Abel's way of showing affection...like a cat bringing back a mouse it had killed. He was trying to tell her that she was worth all this. For a telepath, Abel still seemed to have trouble really understanding people sometimes though. The irony was kind of adorbs.

Releasing Abel, Kia stepped back and said with a smile, "I have another idea. Before we go into town and do boring things, lets do what we actually came here for. I'm going to get my suit on," she jiggled her overnight bag at him, "and I'll see you on the beach?"

"Indeed, on the beach."   Abel nodded, having his own overnight bag, and went to change.  His swim trunks were black with red stripes down the sides, and fit him well.  He had a small waterproof pouch that held his keys and essentials, including a phone, though he wasn't planning on answering it.   Still, he believed in being prepared.  He had a white t-shirt on, with the Autobot symbol emblazoned on the front.   It was favorite of his for swimming, though he went shirtless more often now.   Still he knew she would be stunning, and he sighed.   Here he was, waiting on Kia to come down to their own private little beach.  If someone had told him his life would be like this three years ago, he'd have laughed and called them an outright liar.

When Kia emerged she had on a loose, oversized white T-shirt with some slightly faded cartoon character on the front of it waving. Her bare legs gave the tantalizing impression she might not be wearing anything underneath, but Abel's sharp eyes could make out the shadowy shape of a bikini through the fabric. Somewhere in the condo she'd found a flower she'd liked; a pinwheel of pink and yellow petals, and she'd woven its stem through her hair to wear it. She didn't have Sean's exaggerated statuesque body, or even Lilly's sculpted athleticism, but she was every inch the super-cute high school cheerleader that she'd started out as.

Well, sometimes at least.

"Hiiiiiiiiiiiiii!" she called as she trotted down, barefoot, and looped her arms around Abel's shoulders to give him a hug. He could sense in her mind the quick reflexive effort...an unconscious flinch that stopped her from accidentally crushing him. Was she even aware of how hard she had to work to 'stay herself?'

"We should make a fire on the beach tonight and cook stuff on it and just stay there all night," Kia suggested as she took hold of Abel's hand and led him away from the condo towards the beach.

 Abel was completely enthralled.  This was pretty much his mental image of Kia, the cute young woman, with a little mischief, and an infectious carefree smile.   He allowed her to guide him along, smiling the entire way.   "If that's what you want to do Kia, that's what we will do."

He imagined a night alone on the beach with Kia, and his smile grew even bigger.   They'd not gotten to be alone together for a good while now, and even then they still had to worry about others.  This time, it was just them, and he wondered if she was thinking some of the things going through his mind.   A part of him wanted to know, and another wanted to keep going as they were, with her able to surprise him.   In the end, the latter won out, because to date all her surprises had been good ones.

The 'home away from home', like most expensive ones, had a small area of private beach associated with it so there wasn't anyone else around when they got down to it. Kia peeled off the shirt to show her red and orange striped bikini and quite a bit of dark tan skin, and dove into the water right away.

For a little while they just splashed in the water...then Kia wanted to surf for awhile, and then she called out that she was going to do some diving and suggested Abel maybe start getting lunch out. It was another half hour or so before she came back out of the water, pulling her long, straight black hair back and favoring Abel with a bright smile as she came over to lie down on her stomach on one of the blankets he'd laid out.

With a contented sigh, Kia just closed her eyes for a moment and basked in the relentless beating of the tropical sun. There were things to talk about, but first she wanted to enjoy this a bit longer.

"Is this the furthest you've ever been from home?" she inquired without opening her eyes.
"With the exception of going into space, yes it is.  I'd never left Montana before the night of the Dance."   he smiled, looking at her.  he had made a lunch of their favorite sandwiches, soft drinks, and water.  It was simple fare, and later for Supper, he'd go with a traditional barbecue, which he'd thought was always best for that meal.   

"I know, I'm boring.  I didn't really know life outside Montana save through the internet before all of this, and now, here we are, Able to go where ever we wish to go, and do anything we wish to do.   I've been a Key for almost three years now Kia, and it still seems to run the full gamut of emotions.  Joy and Terror, Exhilaration and anxiety, Hope, and Despair, I am, we all are, so  much more than the powers we possess, and we have so much potential left to unlock.   It's that unknown that makes it all truly exciting."

He didn't mention the threat loomed over them, he didn't want to bring things down.   "I will say, there's no place on earth i'd rather be than where I am now, here with you."

Kia laughed gently and reached out to touch Abel's cheek with affection.

"How did we get from 'have you been away from home before' to 'gamut of emotion?'," she asked, that mirth still twinkling in her deep, dark eyes. "You don't have to talk to me like someone's taking notes for your biography. Just...relax and have a regular conversation."

"Like...okay, this must be your first time to the ocean then. Maybe we can go diving sometime, or...we could rent a boat and go to some of the little islands? Is there anything you want to do while we're here?"
"All of the above."   came his immediate answer.  "I want to go to the state parks of course, and see everything there is to see.  i'd even like to try surfing.  I'm the total tourist here, I'd like to try it all, all the things people come to Hawaii to do."   He gave her a sly smile  "and anything else you can show me.  Like I said I want to see this place as you do.  We may not do it all in one go, but then, we really don't have to."

He chuckled softly.   "So long as we have fun together, that's what this whole trip is really for."  He breathed in the sea air and sighed, it was hard to just relax, and he wondered when that had really become so difficult.   It was true, he could be doing a hundred other things, but that all fell away to the one desire he had.  "Do we really need a boat to go though?  You can swim or fly there, and so can I."

"That," replied Kia primly, "is missing the point. We can do some flying around later, but boating is fun too."

She gave Abel a curious look.

"You can't really breathe underwater, right? We'll need to get you some breathing gear. And...we have a map, right? I didn't really see where this is as we came in. And we'll need wetsuits and boards if we're going surfing..."

Kia beamed and got up to her feet.

"Lots of stuff to do!"

Abel shrugged and chuckled   "We can go by boat, I was just pointing out we had other options too.  Abel nodded as he addressed the other question she'd asked.  "I can breathe underwater just fine actually.   My body adapts to the environment around me.  I've done limited testing, but I should be fine anywhere around here.  Though, I've not actually  managed to fly underwater, still restricted to regular swimming there."

"Still we'll need to get all kinds of stuff, and I'm prepared for that too."  It was true he could simply make anything the actually needed, but at the same time he would rather benefit the local economy by actually purchasing or renting what they needed.  "If you're talking about a fold out paper map, no, I don't have one of those, but we do have waterproof phones with GPS and mapping apps."   

"I did rent us a Jeep for driving around the Island, that we will need to go pick up, but it isn't actually all that far from here."

"Huh, okay. No breathing gear then. Really? I seriously didn't know you could do that."

Kia shook her head and took hold of Abel's arm to tug him...gently...towards the house. "Okay, lets go get the Jeep!"

Half an hour later they were driving along one of the winding coastal roads that threaded between towering palm trees, with the black cone of a long-dormant volcano rising up to the east. Kia was absorbed completely in the environment, soaking it up through her open window with a huge grin on her face. Sometimes she poked her head out so her long dark hair would catch the wind and stream out behind her like a comet's tail. Once she stood up on the seat so she could lift her arms over her head and shout...even knowing she wouldn't be hurt by a faceplant into the asphalt didn't quite erase the concern Abel felt.

Then they were at one of the hilariously overpriced local shops, getting the big paper map that Kia insisted on getting, and some camping style stuff...and then just as Abel was getting into it, she ushered him back to the Jeep and gave him directions while consulting the map. This led them inland a bit, into one of the smaller towns where Kia quickly pointed out other shops to go to. Smaller, locally-owned places, with loads of colorful clothes that Kia eagerly purchased, and different foods and ingredients that she also snapped up.

From there it was to yet another beach, after another consult of the map. This one was less sandy, more rocky, with the intense green grass and trees coming up quite close to the water's edge in some places. Kia unfurled a cover made from some kind of woven plant fiber over a flattish rock and set out some food.

"From here we can see the sun set better," she said, motioning Abel to a spot beside her.

Abel had allowed Kia to lead him around, paying for whatever they needed, seeing some things he thought looked good and buying them too, generally he just enjoyed being with Kia.  Now, with Kia beckoning him to a blanket by the ocean, he smiled and and strolled over to where she was, taking a seat beside her.

What he did next he could tell surprised her, as he leaned in and kissed her, not caring if anyone actually saw them.   When he finally pulled away from her his smile spoke of his own happiness, and he held her gaze.  "Is that all you wanted to come out here to do, to watch our first Hawaiian sunset together?"

Even surprised, it only took Kia a second to melt into the kiss, leaning against Abel until he broke away. She then snuggled up against his side.

"Just the first thing," she said contentedly. "We have time."

Then Kia smiled and glanced sidelong at Abel.

"Why? What did you come out here to do?"

Abel just smiled and held her hand as she leaned against him, cuddled up against his side.   After a little while, he seemed to have gathered his nerve.   "I want you Kia, I have for awhile, I just didn't really have the courage to say it."  

he looked down at her and held her gaze.  "It was easy to ask you to the dance, we were just friends, but ever since we started dating, I've been afraid I'd screw things up, push to fast, or just mess up, Kia."

He gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze, and kissed her nose.   "I want to do more than just tell you that I love you Kia, I want to show you."

"Awwww," Kia cooed, and grabbed Abel into a big hug that almost forced the air from his lungs. She kissed him back, then settled in alongside him.

"Thanks for bringing us here," she said softly.

Together they sat after that, watching the sky turn from blue to pink to orange to yellow, and the sun burned as red and huge as Krypton's before starting to slip under the waves on the horizon. They shared the picnic meal, but had to pick up their things and move back as the tide changed. Then Kia wanted to go swimming, and painted herself with streaks of bio luminescence that glimmered electric blue and green and pink, giving a distinct impression of her form and movement even when she herself was hard to see in the deepening dark.

You're welcome Kia."

Abel  finished the packing and then followed her into the warm Hawaiian waters, their things moved safely away.   That reaction hadn't been what he expected, but he hid it it expertly.  "I envy you that power sometimes Kia, you can be anyone or anything you wish at a thought."   his lips curled into a smile.  "It's pretty awesome, just how effortless it seems to be for you."  

She'd easily outswim him, but it wasn't a competition.  Instead he planned to do the best he could and enjoy the time together.

They got dried off and back into the car under the spectacular sky full of stars. With such a late lunch Kia just set up some snacks to nibble on while they watched whatever was on Netflix. When Abel started agonizing over what to watch, Kia just laughed and suggested he pick something at random. It turned out that she never had much intention of actually watching it.

--

Late nights make for late mornings, and Abel awoke to the smell of eggs and...burned bread. After a minute or two to get his bearings, the unmistakable scent of bacon frying spurred him to action. The condo's main bedroom was kind of a mess. Clothes were scattered around on the floor, and the treadmill had actually been knocked over at one point. Nothing was broken, thankfully. Even with the considerable income at his disposal, Abel wasn't eager to lose the deposit for this place.

On realizing his overnight bag was still out in the living room, Abel settled on a bathrobe to leave the bedroom in. The condo's living room, dining area and kitchen were mostly open to each other, with the kitchen and dining area just a sort of half-level up, separated by a railing. He could see Kia puttering around up there, and the smells of breakfast...and burned bread...were a stronger here. He could hear the bacon sizzling too.

Kia had an oversized pink T-shirt on...her favored 'pajama' apparel. Normally someone might want something over their legs when cooking, but she could take a bath in boiling grease if the desire took her to do so, so...maybe not so surprising. She had a pair of slippers on too...the same fluffy white that the condo-provided robe had been. So that's where they'd gotten off to.

She turned around and gave Abel one of those dazzling smiles before turning back to the stove to push bacon around aimlessly. The food smelled good. Kia wasn't really much of a cook, but it didn't take a lot of skill to just scramble eggs and make basic bacon. Making toast now...well...she'd gotten it on the second try by the look of the plates she was setting up.

"Go sit," Abel's girlfriend commanded, pointing at the little round table off to the side of the kitchen. "Almost ready."

He did so without complaint or comment, still untangling himself from whatever dreams and memories lingered from the previous night. They were closely twined together today...it was a little hard to be sure what had been real. Abel was pretty confident in his memory up until they'd gotten to the bedroom and the lights had gone out. After that...

...well, it hadn't been bad at least.

Humming happily, Kia brought the plates over. Heaped with scrambled eggs that were topped with strips of bacon, with several slabs of toast layered with different flavors of jam. A breakfast noteable not so much for its pedestrian composition as for the sheer quantity of stuff she'd used. They'd have to hit the store again at this rate.

"You know," she said as she took her own seat across from Abel, "It's kind of funny. I don't think I really need to eat anymore, you know? Like, it's fun and I like to do it...but I don't really get hungry. But there's just something really, I don't know...centering about just having food together, don't you think?"

Kia lifted her hand and turned it this way and that, staring at it musingly. "It's so weird how much things can change, but you still sort of convince yourself nothing really has."

Abel nodded with a smile.  "I don't need to eat either, but I find it comforting, same as sleep if we're being totally honest. "  The previous night was amazing, and one of the few times he couldn't remember.   

He had taken his seat and began to eat, even as they continued to speak.  He didn't like for fancy foods, but he loved all the ones she'd made for this breakfast.   "You did a good job cooking all this, you know.   It tastes great, and good food is always made better by good company."

"Much has changed, but so much is still the same too. The human brain is remarkably adept at accepting changes, especially if they're incremental.  Argueably the changes for the Irregulars weren't, but I don't think we're really the best standard to measure against.   Newer Keys like James and Maria are a better benchmark.   I think part of why Lily uses her ability to shut off her powers more than the rest of us is to remain grounded and remember what it is to simply be a normal human."  

"It's good to have something that makes you feel centered, something you can enjoy doing."   he chuckled softly.  "You know, I could probably build a real Gundam at this point, but I content myself with assembling model kits.   it was a hobby of mine for years, and man they were hard to come by at home, but I'd get them online.  Now I can buy whatever I want, do what I want, but I still just keep with my one little hobby."

After a few more bites, he continued.  "That all said, we're more the outliers I think than the norm.  Most other Keys still need to do all the basic functions of life, especially eating.  We seem to burn calories faster than most anything else."

"I used to be hungry all the time," Kia said softly, still gazing at her hand. "Like, all the time. And then it just sort of faded away. And now that I think about it, there's a lot of other things too...things that just faded away, without me even realizing it. Like skin moisturizer and hair conditioner and makeup and..."

She put her hand back on the table.

"I wonder if eventually having just two arms will fade away. Or one head. Maybe someday I'll just change completely, every second, to do whatever I'm doing the easiest way it can be done. Without even thinking about it."

"I don't even know if that would be a bad thing, you know? It'd be weird, and I can't really imagine how it'd work, but...would it be bad?"

"That could depend on alot of things, really.  I think so long as you maintain a human outlook on things, you likely won't eschew a human form, especially so long as you have concern for what others think."

"Given that people are now seeing the sort of monsters that were fought, and all, I don't see humanity as a whole accepting a hero without a humanoid body."

"That's something I actually wanted to talk about.   I've seen every Alien we've fought, and while I know some of the forms you've taken borrow elements of them, Some of the forms you've taken were terrifying.   In a situation where we were alongside the military, given some of your forms, I'd be surprised if soldiers didn't panic and forget you were on their side, especially if they saw you spawn your smaller minions.  Where do you get the ideas for these forms?"  It was a question he'd asked himself for some time.  "And yes, more than once, you sorta freaked me out too."

He shrugged.  "I'm not saying it's bad, but I just wonder why you always take forms that look like some lovecraftian horror, and not something like a griffin, dragon, or other creature from mythology, or the natural world.   The forms you take are like amalgamations of a dozen different things, and because they're so different, the common person is generally going to be terrified of you when you're in them."

Kia looked a little embarrassed as Abel went on about the forms she'd taken. Once she looked like she wanted to interrupt, but she contained herself until he finished.

"I don't TRY to look like that," she answered quickly. "It's not like...I don't imagine what I want to be and then turn into it. That's not how it works. It's more like, I focus on what I need. Like, I need to FLY, or I need to FIGHT, or I need to MOVE FAST. And then it kind of just happens."

She sighed and rested her chin in her hand. "When it's little things, it's a bit easier to control. Like if I just want to reach across the room, I can sort of focus on if I want my arm to grow or if I want to grow something new to reach across with, or whatever. Sometimes I can focus on specific things I need, like a tail or long arms or the ability to smell really well...but mostly it's just this powerful feeling. I need to be different so I can do THIS."

Kia pounded a fist very gently on the table.

"And then my body just sort of...changes so I can. I think it looks weird like that because it's borrowing from a LOT of different things. I can sort of feel DNA now, and I've spent some time just...floating in my own. Just laying down and..." she trailed off uncertainly. "It's hard to describe. It's old. We're OLD. And everything's in chunks and pieces and nothing really fits together except the bits we're already using, but I can feel all the other bits too. Things we don't use anymore, like gills and claws and hair all over...it's like a jigsaw puzzle where you can build a picture of all kinds of animals with all the pieces, but then we just use a tiny bit of the pieces to only build a picture of us."

"I can just go in and pull all the other pieces out. And I've added more since we started. All those alien creatures we fight?" Kia nods. "They're in me now too. It's not really DNA, but it's close enough I could sort of work it out. I use it a lot because it's, um...better? Than a lot of the other stuff? The aliens are all artificial I think, so they're designed to be really strong and tough."

She shrugged and ate a piece of bacon.

"I don't want to scare people, but I don't know if I can make myself look cute and harmless when I need to be super-strong and indestructible. That's not really how the pieces work."

With that Kia looked back at Abel worriedly. "What should I do?"

He reached over and took her hand in his reassuringly.  "Kia, I wasn't saying that to upset you.   From what you just told me, your power is one of the most amazing things I've seen.  You can access all the traits of our supposed junk DNA, and that's amazing in its own right.  We're the culmination of billions of years of evolution  and you have access to every trait we have ever developed that was passed on. You can incorporate new traits, and copy them, even from non-terran species.   Your biology is uniquely and supremely adaptable, more so than any other living thing I'd wager.   If you want some help, well I'm more than willing to do so.   You sort of pick the traits you want, but what If I tried to help you create mental templates for the forms, things that get the all the benefits, but also have a less cobbled together and more aesthetically pleasing look?"

"I know you're not taking them to scare anyone, that's not the sort of person you are.   You're wonderful and amazing, and I'm not just saying that because we're dating.  With everything that's happened to us, all the things we've done, you're still you, you still smile, and brighten our days."  He finished off his eggs and smiled, having saved a few pieces of bacon for last.

Kia nodded absently, then let her hand drop back to the table and met Abel's eyes with her own.

"Do you ask yourself why?" she asks. "I mean...okay not exactly why. More like...what should we do? What's this for?" She aimed her fork at Abel and waggled it at him. "Say all the aliens are defeated and Earth is safe and everything is fine. Not that that'll ever happen, but just to talk about."

"What do you do then? What should we do? If it's just us, and our abilities, and the rest of our lives...what do we do?"

"We live and explore all the possibilities that are now open to us."   He looked at her and there was an almost hopeful certainty in his eyes.  "Now, Sean and I are doing all we can to elevate humanity as a whole, providing cheap clean energy, medical advancements, advanced food production.   We want to make life better for everyone.  That's not all though.  There are countless worlds out there, waiting to be explored.    It may seem nerdy, but we have the chance to be so much more than we were before, to do things That are only the dreams of others.   I want to do all that.  I want to see other worlds,   To see what's really out there."

"There is so much here on our own planet that we don't understand, or even know, I want to keep learning, to experience it all Kia."  He looked to her and his eyes softened some.  "I'd prefer to do that all with you, but I can understand if that's not what you want.    It's only fair to ask, what is it you want to do, when the fighting's all done and it's just us, our abilities, and our lives before us?"

It was true he wanted her to go with him, and no matter what, he was ready to make some compromises to make things work.   

"I don't...really know yet," she admits, and looks down to poke at what's left of her eggs. "But I feel like...sometimes I feel like there's something I could do, maybe."

Kia hesitated then, churning words in her head to see which ones she liked.

"I was doing a report last year on biodiversity," she said at last. "And how various things were driving different kinds of plants and animals extinct. And I guess it's part of nature that that happens, but it's also really sad. All those things that'll never be seen again. And maybe they had really good things they could do that just weren't right for when and where they were."

Again she paused. Abel could practically feel her chewing her own thoughts around, like she had the toast. Tasting them thoroughly before trying to express them. She wasn't a fast thinker, but she was methodical.

"I think...I can fix that. I can't save things from going extinct, but I could save their...their traits. Their abilities, Their DNA. I could make them sort of...immortal. As long as I was alive. I feel like that would be a good thing to do. Make sure nothing really goes extinct anymore."

he knew it wasn't the most appropriate time for a joke, but all the same there was one he felt almost pushed to make.   "I'm all for that, except for mosquitoes and fleas, you can let those pests go the way of the dodo, should they ever decide to go that route."

He smiled and finished his plate.  "There's so much life on the planet we know nothing of, it's why there's been a drive for conservation, especially once they found out that plants from the rainforests could contain cures for various diseases.   There are many out there who would see what you want to do as a noble endeavor. "

"So where would you start on such an undertaking, any thoughts to that?"   

Kia shrugs and looks away, thinking.

"I guess...there's places in the world where habitats are being destroyed. The Amazon, or different places in Africa. I'd have to do some research. Find out where things are going extinct the most. Or...or go to zoos or wildlife refuges. Where they keep endangered species safe. Something like that."

She gave Abel a shy smile.

"I haven't really thought through the details yet. It seems like we have plenty of time before this war thing is over."

"We do have time, but having plans for after the war ends is a good thing.  It shows the hope for the future.   It keeps us going, and gives us something to fight for."   He got up to put his dishes in the sink and then reached down to massage her shoulders.  "i've got plenty of reasons to make sure we win the war, and that we're all still around to enjoy it.  That said, I want to see that day with you."   

He leaned down and put his head against hers.  "You're the reason I still have hope you know.  Even with all the questions of what the future holds, Knowing you, having you in my life Kia, makes all the insanity bearable.  Don't take that as me pinning everything on you, just understand that You're the most important person to me.   I want to do everything I can to make both our hopes and dreams come true."
Kia gave Abel a smile and a hug, even as she winced a little inside. She just didn't GET how Abel's mind worked sometimes. Then of course, she realized that there was no point in not mentioning it, since he could probably tell.

"I don't want to be your only hope," she said. "Not because I don't want it 'pinned' on me, but because people need more hope than that in their lives. I mean, I want my dreams to come true too, but I barely even know what my dreams are yet."

She stepped back then so she could see his whole face. Was this it then? Was it time? Her stomach fluttered uneasily at the thought of maybe getting into a fight. But that was just it, wasn't it? He wouldn't fight. He'd NEVER fight. Anything she said, or did, he'd just accept with that grim sort of devotion...taking in any pain or slight or disagreement and revealing nothing of himself in the process.

"Just like I don't feel like I really know you," Kia said, searching his face for a reaction. "In the time we've been going out, I don't know your favorite music or color or what kind of food you like or...or what really bugs you, or..." She spread her hands. "I feel like all I know about you is that you think I'm awesome and that you're super hung up on me. And that's...that's a good start, but I don't know where to go from there."

Kia sighed and looked away, playing unconsciously with a lock of her hair in her right hand as she tried to think of what to say. "It's not even what I know about you, I guess, or what I don't know. I just feel like there's something blocking us. Blocking you."

his was not something he'd expected, after so much, but he saw her point.   The old tried and true "You never asked" was there on the tip of his tongue, and it might be a fair cop.   He did know so much more about her, because he'd had a power he couldn't turn off.  He Knew everything about everyone he'd interacted with prior to the start of all this strangeness, the real trick had been acting like he didn't know for so long.

"Ask me anything you want to know, Kia.  I've got an unfair advantage over everyone I knew before that night at the Cabin.  I know their likes and dislikes, their secrets, everything they feel pride for, everything they're ashamed of.   For going on Three years, I've had to play like I didn't.   That's really not as easy as it sounds.   Counter to that, The only person who knows me, really knows me, is Sean.   We grew up together, two nerds who stuck together through everything."

He smiled.  "I want that to change, as we have.    I want to share myself with you.   I've not read your mind at all while we're here, and I'm not doing so now.   I don't want t just know, I want you to tell me, especially on stuff like this.   You've heard my favorite music before, even seen one or two episodes of my favorite shows.   You never really played video games like Sean and I, but you sat at the table with us for various rpgs, boardgames and the like.   I'm the second smartest Human on the planet, and it might seem petty and juvenile, but I really miss all of that.  Before we were Demigods with fantastic power, when we were all able to just hang out together and relax and have fun, I'd like to still do that, and I lament that we really don't."

That had actually been the first time he'd given voice to that fact to anyone, even As he Alec, and Sean worked on blasters and lightsabers essentially giving in to their nerdom to make them.

""I built a fortress to protect everything I know of others, but I guess I locked myself inside it too."   His smile was still there, and there was an almost mischievous glint in his eye.  "Still you wait until now, after we've been together over six months, to bring all this up?   That does surprise me.   I waited for you to ask me, never thinking I should just show you myself, Proof that even geniuses can be boneheaded at times.   Before I got my powers, I was very much on the outside of everything looking in.  Sure it got better when I got my powers, but I still kept myself apart from everyone but you and the Irregulars, because of what I knew.   Hell if we're being honest, you're the first actual girlfriend I've ever had Kia.  I've gone on dates, but they never worked out because I could see their thoughts."

Kia laughed. "I can see how that would be a problem." Still smiling, she added, "I don't want to...interview you. I just want to get to know you, naturally. Sometimes it just kind of felt like we're always on our first date, when everything is a little awkward and we're more interested in trying to make the other person interested in us than we are in being genuine."

"...but then again, I guess it HAS been a kind of weird thing we have what with the alien invasion and giant monster and Army keeping an eye on us and all."

She shook her hair out then gathered it up to cover her face before parting it with her hands to straighten it all out again.

"So. Today I was thinking we should go low, or go high. We can climb up a mountain, or dive into the ocean. Ooorrr...we could do something else if you wanted?"

""Well I'd say either is fine, provided we go together, but my real preference Is the Ocean.   This is the first time I've seen it and just get to enjoy it you know.   Last time I was near an Ocean I was carrying a plane and worrying about you guys fighting a 300 ft orca monster.   I'm sure we can find many ways enjoy the Ocean far more than that."   He smiled and leaned down to kiss her softly.  "As to "Something else"" he paused teasing almost.  "Later tonight we can curl up together on the couch, watching our favorite movies, or maybe on our little private beach by a fire and see where things take  us as we look at the clear skies."

He chuckled.  "Of course I want to see the various parks, not just on this island but the others too, but I meant it when i said I wanted to see it all the way you do.  I know you love this place, and I'm liking everything I see.   Having someone who knows the Island show me what makes it special lets me feel like abit less of a tourist, and shows me what makes this place so great."

His steel grey eyes spoke of mischief on his mind.  "You know, my parents took their Honeymoon on Oahu.   When I was planning all this, I asked him and he told me about it.  He also said he enjoyed the trip to this island more, as he found it more relaxing."

Kia just laughed at the quip, and took Abel's arm as they went out to get started.

The next couple of days were the kind of lightly weighted times that graced any number of imagur pages or old-timey slide shows. They went diving, with Kia as adroit in the water as a sea otter, and equally playful. They explored the islands, climbing one of the slopes of the volcano, then the quiet beaches tucked away out of sight of tourists, and deeper into the greenery of the interior. Kia showed Abel the little 'house' she'd made once when she was younger, though little was left of it now but a pile of mossy logs and sticks. Abel picked some places to eat, and a movie or two, and nothing by Michael Bay had ever seemed romantic before watching it in a firelit room in Hawaii with a girl snuggled against his side. Even if she was asleep well before it was over.

Finally the day to return rolled around, and Abel asked Kia again about the idea of putting some kind of mental 'template' into her head to help guide her transformations. Though Kia seemed a little uneasy at the prospect, she did agree to give it a try. Thus, Abel found himself staring into his girlfriend's eyes as she did some minor shapechanges, so he could map out where in her mind that information was coming from.

He wasn't prepared for what he found.

Abel had never really done what might be called a 'deep dive' into Kia's mind. Even back when he had trouble controlling what he 'heard' in people, he rarely dug in past surface memories and emotions. With just a little effort he could follow lines of association to memories and predictions...and from there farther still into the foggy recesses of long-term memory, subconscious drives and motivations, and at the heart of the brain the dull thrumming of animal instincts.

Kia's mind was no different. A sort of concentric set of nested 'shells' of consciousness, surrounded by a more nebulous aurora of subconscious drives. It was from that thick soupy mental 'fog' that the impulses for shapeshifting came, Abel could see. Powerful and brilliant, they arrowed out of the gloom and pierced deeply into the rest of her mind...yet they were echoes of something. He learned to distinguish the shape of what Kia sent 'inward,' the trigger for the transformations. Wordless desire, buttressed by raw emotion...she'd had to train herself to think in the 'language' of the deep mind, the subconscious. It was easy to see why finesse was hard, when she couldn't use words to get more specific.

The return signal was...strange though. Vastly more 'powerful' than the triggering mental command was, it broke apart like some kind of MIRV missile and radiated throughout her body and mind, sending thousands, millions of commands across every cell that made her up. Entirely bypassing her conscious control. It was true then, she only had indirect control of her powers. It was as if she was speaking to something else, which then carried out her orders. What was startling was the raw amount of information in the return signal. Genetic information for an entire body's worth of cells. Assembled and communicated in less than a second.

Where was it coming from?

Another lightning bolt rumbled from the obscured depths of Kia's mind, and Abel followed its path down. There had to be a way to make communication easier.

The fog parted, and Abel's telepathic presence felt itself nearly blinded. Nearly blasted out of Kia's mind entirely. Nearly deafened. Nearly burned alive. For a moment, there was no sensory experience that Abel was capable of that wasn't overloaded.

It was a raging star-bright maelstrom. A howling cacophony of inhuman voices. A knot of utter chaos that seemed to extend infinitely in every 'direction' before him, filling his awareness entirely. The 'surface' constantly churned, vomiting up silhouette-shapes of creatures that immediately pounced on one another, tearing each other to shreds, only to melt away and be replaced by a hundred more.

It took time...he couldn't be sure how much...to understand what he was seeing.

When Kia changed shape, it wasn't just muscles and nerves and skin. When she grew wings, she immediately also knew how to fly. When she grew claws, she could fight with all the skill of a creature that had been born with them. Learned experiences weren't genetic, but instincts were.

Here was where they lived. All of them. Waiting to explode out and up and live in Kia for a little while when she called on them.

Dimly, Abel realized that even physically this was something different. He could follow the nerves of it, and they passed not through Kia's brain but into her abdomen in a thick trunkline. They vanished into and through the 'singularity' that simmered inside her, linking her to the dimensional pocket where her biomass was tucked away. It was in there, he saw. The biomass wasn't just sitting pretty, a bunch of undifferentiated stem cells obediently waiting on her brain to call on. A human brain was entirely insufficient to the task of processing information on that scale. There was something...like an organic supercomputer curled up in her otherworldly 'body.' Like another brain, kind of...though of a much more specialized function than the one in her skull. Sort of an immensely powerful sequencing calculator, animated almost entirely by those primordial instincts that lived in the flesh.

This was Kia.

It hit with some force when Abel realized that if one took the sum total of all of Kia's 'brain' functions, that her human consciousness and activity would be a tiny, tiny fraction of it. Most of her 'mind' was this ocean of seething madness. The idea of trying to impose order on it seemed impossible to his eye, at least for now. More, it might actually impair her ability. More and more, it felt to Abel that this kind of formless form was necessary for Kia to be capable of growing anything, at any time, with virtually no thought or planning.

How long would it take her to decide exactly how long to make her wings, how much muscle mass to include, how to thin her bones but strengthen them to reduce weight without losing durability... It was all handled here. Evolution in its brutal, unforgiving glory was constantly playing out...and when she sent that message down here, the form that currently happened to closest match what she wanted was returned. All the planning was done already, all the nuance of form and function mapped out in the endless 'wargame' that played out here. It was, like life itself, brilliant in its elegance.

It was also, by any human standard, utterly insane.

The Truth, was stunning, staggering, and terrifying, when he let himself admit it.   The actual way her powers, her subconscious made her conscious demands of them reality was so primal, and to his highly sophisticated mind, so absurdly simplistic.   Eons of evolutionary traits from countless species, all collected within her core, and she was always out for more at least subconsciously.   All in all, trying to impose order on the processes without impairing her abilities would take a great deal of work, both on his part and hers.   He'd need to help her truly understand how her powers worked, and in such a way as to truly master them, as opposed to relying on the strength of instinct.  He was shocked at the level of mentality in her power, but at the same time, it was all done without her conscious knowledge.

He returned from the mental dive to see Kia looking at him expectantly,  and he just smiled, and took her hands in his.   "Kia, there is so much more to you than anyone could ever imagine, You are truly amazing, and one of a kind."   it was true there was some trepidation on his part, and it would take time for him to collect his thoughts fully, to begin to explain to her what he saw, what he thought it meant and how it all worked, and why a template  could work but at the same time could hamper her abilities too.   In his mind imposing order on chaos was tricky, and prone to a backfire, but if she wanted his help, to go that route, he'd be there every step of the way.  

Underneath it all he did chuckle, The Body and the Mind, working together as One, with that, they'd be an unbeatable combination.