Comet and Stephanie

The Comet returned to where he had parked his car, and transformed back to Chris Donnelly. The steaks were lovingly placed on the front seat, and Chris thought about how Stephanie would enjoy them. She deserved them; she worked so hard, and they so rarely had a chance to treat themselves. Proteus didn't realize just how much it meant to them.

As he drove home, he thought about how he could be contacted without giving away his secret identity. Realistically, it's virtually impossible, he knew. Somehow there will always be a way to trace any cellular phone or pager, so he would have to come up with an acceptable solution. Stephanie would have to be in on it, since his secret protected her as much as himself.

"Maybe we should go out on a date," he mused. "We haven't been out in a while. I bet she'd love to see Star Wars. She never talks about it, but I know she'll enjoy it." The more he thought about it, the better it sounded. It was Friday, and there would be a lineup, but that was no concern; just being at the movies after so many nights with just videos would be a thrill for them both.

When he arrived home, Stephanie was waiting for him. "How did it go?" she asked, after a suitably drawn out welcoming kiss. "Did any super-villains attack?"

He grinned. "No, just the neighbourhood kids. They wanted to see the two-headed Greek lady."

Steph looked puzzled, then laughed. "Oh, they won't leave her alone, will they?" She looked at him curiously; what was he hiding behind his back?

"Flowers?" she asked. "How sweet!"

Chris shook his head. "Something even better." He pulled out the bag. "Ta-dah!"

Steph's eyes widened. "Is that steak? You bought steak? But I just spent a hundred and thiry-"

Chris stopped her. "No, no! It's okay, really. They're leftovers from the barbecue. Proteus brought pre-marinated steaks, and said I could take them home. I guess I drooled over them a bit too obviously."

"Are they good?"

"I'm going to get the recipe off him someday. They'll knock your socks off."

"What are you waiting for then?" she asked. "Let's eat!"

Chris put the steaks in the oven, and they were ready in a few minutes. "I've got another surprise for you," he said as they ate. "We're going somewhere tonight."

"Where?"

"If I told you, it wouldn't be a surprise, would it?"

"I'll still act surprised," she offered.

"Nope. Suffer."

She pouted for a bit, but he knew she was only teasing; she loved to be surprised.

"There's something else," he said after thinking.

"What?" It came out garbled, around a mouthful of steak.

"They want me to give them a number to call me at."

"Who? PRIMUS?"

Chris nodded. "That way they can reach me in emergencies. The problem is that the others all have cell phones or pagers. We've just got an answering machine. That'll really look good, won't it? 'You've reached the home of Chris Donnelly and Stephanie Michaels. If you require the Comet's services, please leave a message and he'll get right back to you.'"

"Well, why don't you get a pager?"

"We can't afford that," he protested. "I'm not working, and raise or not your job just covers expenses. I'm not going to add the cost of a pager just so PRIMUS can have me at their beck and call."

"So what will you do?"

He hesitated. "I was thinking of Kathleen."

"Your sister? But she's just a records clerk."

"I know. She's a records clerk, but she works for PRIMUS. That could be useful. I know she can be trusted with this secret, and it's a way for Maria Chow to contact me. That way, only a few people really know. I don't think she'll make a record of the Comet's secret identity, will she? After all, we're family, right?"

"Well," said Stephanie as she thought. "How will you tell her?"

"I could call her up right now."

"Not a good idea. Who knows who might be listening in on her conversations? Tell her face to face."

"I won't do this if you don't want to," said Chris quickly. "I'm not going to endanger you like that."

"No, it's not that," assured Steph. "You're right, we can't afford a cell phone or pager. Calling me at work isn't a good idea, since Mr. Esteban frowns on staff using the phone on company time, and he might start making nasty inquiries."

"But you're still not sure about this, right?"

Steph got up and sat in Chris' lap, snuggling up to him as she kissed him on the cheek. "I trust you, honey, and I trust your sister. If you want to tell her, that's fine with me. She's a good choice."

Chris smiled at her. "I love you."

"I love you too," she smiled back. "Now, what's this surprise?"

The lineup stretched around the corner. "Are you sure we'll be able to get in?" asked Steph excitedly. "Will there be enough seats?"

"We'll get in if I have to change right here in front of everyone and fly in," he whispered back to her.

"Oh, don't do that," she squealed in mock horror. "That would be cheating! Almost like butting in!"

They waited almost an hour before the ticket booth opened up. The line moved fairly quickly, and they came up to the booth. "Two, please," said Chris. The money was exchanged, and they went into the theater. Posters of Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader were everywhere, as well as a seven-foot mockup of the Millenium Falcon. Stephanie glowed with happiness; she had waited a long time to see this movie, and was enjoying every minute of it.

As they walked away from the booth, Chris heard the ticket booth girl announce that the show was sold out. Turning, he saw that only more three people had made it in.

"That's cutting it close," he said with relief. "I didn't want to wait another two hours for that!"

They went into the packed theater, getting seats in the corner down close to the screen. The angle was pretty bad, but they didn't complain. When the show started, Steph held Chris' hand and kissed him. "That's the nicest surprise I've had since you proposed," she told him.

After the show, they went for some ice cream. "At least I can eat this stuff when I'm me," said Chris as they walked through Golden Gate Park. "I was so embarrassed when Cassie offered ice cream today, and I had to turn it down. Her uncle had some bala...blaka...um, some kind of pastry dessert-"

"Baklava," said Steph.

"That's it," agreed Chris. "It was really good, too. I had to heat it, of course. But I controlled it perfectly. Her uncle said that too much heat would melt it, but I did it just right."

"Good. You're getting really good at handling these powers, aren't you?"

"I'm getting the hang of them, anyway," said Chris. "I'm not as good as I'd like to be, not yet, anyway."

"Well, you'll get better," she promised him. "Just watch and see."

It was a beautiful night in San Francisco, warm despite the time of year. They walked along the pathways of the park, holding hands and enjoying the peace they had together.

PBEM Turns