The Alliance discussion

"Very true," Lark said, smiling.

Simon nodded. "So. Since Lark's not flooding any deserts . . ." He glanced around, in search of a new topic. "What kinds of things do you usually do around here? Besides listen to music?"

Lark spun her earbud around. "We practice fighting. Most of us are bookworms, too." She nodded towards her book. "We do pranks sometimes. Mess around, talk."

"Bookworms," Jenna muttered. "I don't have anything against them, but why can't I meet someone decent, other than Simon, who isn't one?"

"Cade likes video games more," Lark said. "But if he loses, watch out."

"I can do video games." Jenna smirked. "Why, what's he do if he loses?"

"Gets really angry." She shuddered. "And it's never pleasant to be around him when he's angry. He also tends to prank the person who beat him and generally make them miserable."

"Pfffff." Jenna snorted. "Angry supers? Yeah, ok, that's not fun. But if he pranks me, I prank him back."

"And before long we'll all be blown to bits because of your feud," Lark grumbled.

Jenna snorted. "I don't blow things up. That's Simon's job."

"Yeah, but Cade does," Lark said, sighing. "He doesn't care much for innocent bystanders."

Jenna shrugged. "Talk to him about it, not me, then."

Lark grinned. "Well, you haven't beaten him yet, so I don't have to talk to either of you. ;)

"True." Jenna stretched. "So who's beaten him before that you know he gets mad, and how is the house still standing if he blows things up?"

"He doesn't blow things up if you don't retaliate," Lark pointed out. "We had some frogs hopping around here for a few weeks, but that wasn't so bad. Dustin beat him in Mario Kart. Once. Never again."

"If he doesn't want people retaliating, he shouldn't prank them in the first place." Jenna huffed.

Lark grinned. "He's not the most thoughtful person. And he sees retaliation as an attempt to outdo him." She shrugged. "He's competitive."

"So's Jenna," Simon said, before Jenna could speak. He grimaced. "If and when this happens, do you think Tucker would mind if I camped outside on the grounds until it blows over?"

Lark grinned. "He'll probably kick them outside to fight it out. Or have Tarelle take them to a safe place where they can blow things up to their hearts' content."

"I say again," Jenna muttered, "I don't blow things up!"

Simon nodded slowly. "That would work."

"Tarelle would probably keep an eye on them," Lark added. "If this place was going to explode, I would so want to be her."

Simon nodded. "Hard to get hurt when you're incorporeal, yeah." He tapped Jenna's head. "Jenna'd probably make out all right. Not much can get through her force fields. I might be able to use the wind for protection- you know, work up my own personal tornado around me as a shield or something- but it would only protect from debris, nothing else."

Lark smiled. "I might be able to make an ice shield for protection, but I don't know. It might not last well."

Simon nodded. "Ice is pretty fragile, though I guess it depends how thick it is."

"I'd be more worried about the heat. I could make it plenty thick," Lark said.

"That would be a problem . . ." Simon drummed his fingers thoughtfully on the chair. "Wind breaks heat up fairly well. If we worked together, we'd actually have a fairly good chance of survival."

Lark smiled. "We would. I wonder if Dustin would be able to stop an explosion..."

"Good question." Simon glanced around. "We could ask. Dustin!"

Dustin slid over. "Hey, what's up?"

Simon crossed his arms on the chair back, ceasing his drumming. "Question for you: could you stop an explosion with your powers?"

Dustin tilted his head to the side. "It depends on how the explosion started. If it was a fire-and-gas type explosion, probably. Otherwise, I could only direct everything away from us."

"Hmm." Simon quickly glanced towards Cade. "So whatever kind of explosion Cade creates . . . probably not?"

"Probably not," Dustin confirmed, grinning.

"Too bad." Simon shrugged. "We'll just have to hope he doesn't decide to blow stuff up."

Lark grinned. "Or that he waits until he's far away from us."

((Note to self: Stop making your characters grin! It makes them sound like idiots!!! *facepalm*))

((Haha, I have the same problem.))

"That works too." Simon stretched. "I feel like doing something."