Who: Regina and Ben What: Date! Where: Granny's When: July 7th Warning: None
Wearing a cute summer dress, Regina showed up to the date looking like herself but a little more dolled up thanks to her sister. Her naturally curly hair had been straightened and she had some make up on her face. Eve had insisted on her putting some on so she agreed because she hated telling people, especially family, no. The only thing she controlled was her dress and shoes because she had to stick to what she was comfortable with, not what Eve tried to make her wear ( which was SO not her ). She got there first and choose a booth in the back for privacy and she sat facing the door so she could watch for him to come in. When he did, she raised a hand and waved at him with a smile on her face.
Ben didn't have much yet. When he had first arrived on Galador, he was wearing the came combat ready clothes that he had been wearing for weeks without a shower. The war had ended, and the humans had won, but he didn't have a chance to really breathe before being transported to another world. He wasn't placed with a family, but a new wardrobe was provided for him. He found the nicest outfit he had, khakis and a polo shirt, and got a little advice from a few of the girls at the group home before deciding that he was the ready to go out to see Regina. When he arrived at the diner, he walked inside and saw Regina in the back, waving to him. He smiled and walked over to her. "Hi, I hope that I didn't leave you waiting too long."
"No I haven't been waiting long" Regina told him with a smile and a shake of her head. He was pretty cute in person, she couldn't deny that. It made her glad that he was the only person that replied to her sister's ad. "Did my sister say what my name was? Because if she didn't, I'm Regina. I usually go by that or Gina. I go by Spidergirl too when I'm suited up and Sunshine by my teammates. It's one of nickanmes that I didn't have a choice but to accept" She told him with a small laugh, not even realizing she was rambling about just her name.
He did his best to hold back a small laugh as he sat down, careful not to lean back all the way. "I'm guessing that's not an ironic nickname. Are they just jealous that you're always so cheery?" He let out a sharp breath, "I mostly go by Ben, but I got used to a lot of people calling me a Freak back home." He frowned a little, "I just kept telling myself that it was because they didn't understand. I used to be extremely weak."
"I think that's why they gave me the name" She told him with a laugh. Her cherry mood and the look on her face instantly changed when he talked about becoming a freak. It took all that was in her not to get up and sit beside him to give him support. She had to remember that this was a first date and that she didn't know him well enough to do that yet. "I'm sorry that happened to you. But ... you said used to, right? What happened?" She asked, hoping there was a happy ending to the story.
Ben took a deep breath, "I'm sure you've heard of alien invasions. Or heck, there probably has been attempts here. Back home we had one. In the beginning, a lot of people were killed, and a bunch of kids, like myself, were abducted. They put this living harness on my back that began burrowing it's way into my spine. It made us all slaves, doing random tasks for them as parts of their bigger objective."
She nodded her head to say that yes, she'd heard of them and dealing with them. Upon hearing he was a slave, her hands came up to cover her mouth as she gasped. She couldn't believe what she was hearing and that this boy had gone through all of that. All she could do was sit there with wide eyes. "Are you okay?" She asked after he was finished.
He turned to face his back to her and lifted his shirt up, revealing a series of small, cylindrical metal looking objects protruding from his spine. The ends lit up like an LED Christmas light, sensing her powers, but began to dim once more, seeing as how he was completely calm. "I got over the slave stuff," he dropped his shirt back down and turned to face her once more. "As long as these things stay in my body, I'm stronger and faster than the average human. Among a few other things that may really only only apply to the aliens from my world."
Regina leaned over the table to see what he was showing her, fascinated by it and what was telling her. "Wow!" Was all she could say as she sat back, staring at him in awe. That was the most interesting and heart breaking story of how someone got turned into a superhuman that she had ever heard. "We should see if you're stronger and faster than me" She told him suddenly with a grin. Why not have some fun with this?
Ben shrugged with a smirk, confident in his abilities. "Couldn't hurt to have a friendly contest. I never really got to simply showcase anything for fun, seeing as how the war had just ended before I came here."
"Well now is your chance to do it after we eat! We should really order" She told him with a small laugh grabbing the menu so she could look over it. Right now she completely forgot what was on it because she was distracted by the cute boy she was with.
He laughed, nodding as he looked over the menu. "I've always wanted to go to a quaint little diner like this. Hopefully, it will remind me of my mom's cooking."
"Next time we must go to the Crashdown Cafe. It's quaint too but with a fun alien theme!" She exclaimed with a smile as she looked at him over the top of the menu before she went back to reading it. Yes, she was already planning a next time. Whether it was a date or just them hanging out was up in the air but she would be fine with either.
Ben nodded with a grin, "I want to explore all of the things in this new world and it sounds like you know where all of the fun places are."
"I'll tell you a little secret" She said as she put down the menu. Leaning in, she looked from side to side then she looked back to him. "I'm from the future" She told him in a whisper with a grin.
"Like... the future here, or just further ahead in time than I am? Because this is already the future to me. At least a little any way," he shrugged.
"2036" She said as she sat back, reaching up to move a piece of hair out of her face. Why did she let Eve talk her into straightening her hair? It was so much easier to manage and not always in her eyes when it was natural. "I haven't even been born yet here. I was actually just at my parents' wedding. I was the flower girl!"
Ben blinked, "got it. Yeah, it was just a few years ago at home. It must be surreal to know your parents at a time before you're even born."
She nodded her head. "It was at first but now I'm used to it. It's actually kind of cool to see it all began for them. They're all in love and so cute together and it makes me so happy" She told him, her statement implying that she had more than just two parents. It was so normal for her that it didn't even register to her what she said sometimes.
"That's so sweet," he smiled. "My dad was a history professor, so everything felt like a lesson. My mom was the loving one. Everything was different after we lost her. My step-mom is okay, but it's not the same."
"Was your favorite lesson that your learned from him?" She wondered, motioning the waitress over to them so they could order. They'd been talking so much that they hadn't done that yet and she was getting hungry! "I'm sorry about your mom" She told him after they did that and the waitress walked awy.
He took a deep breath, thinking over all of his dad's lessons before coming up with an answer. "He didn't like to tell us about war until after we were in the middle of one. He began telling us about strategies used by the underdogs to win battles and it actually helped quite a bit."
Regina leaned her chin on her hand and listened with great interest at the answer she was given. "That's a pretty good thing to know. I would love to hear some of those sometime. Sometimes I get out matched and become the underdog"
Ben frowned a little, "even with your powers? But you're awesome!"
"There are some pretty strong things out there! Some way stronger than me. It's especially difficult when I get double or triple teamed and no one else is around to help" She told him, taking a sip of her drink as they were put down in front of them.
He reached out, placing his hand on hers, "well, next time there is something to fight, I'd like to be out there with you. Having at least one more person couldn't hurt, right?"
Looking down when he put his hand on hers, she was beaming when she looked back up at him. "That would be great! I'd love to have you out there with me" Her team would probably like it too but she didn't think to say that. She was too focused on his hand on hers and his thoughtful offer.
He nodded, "I can pretty handy. Especially in the case of alien invasion."
"You missed the last one! It was crazy" She said before she began telling him all about it as they waited for their food to come.
"That's a shame, I would have loved to have helped. Does it happened often around here?" he tilted his head, not quite remembering that he was still basically holding her hand.
She thought about it for a moment then shook her head. "No, not really but a lot of other weird things happen. The gem does what the gem wants to. You kind of get used to all of it" She replied with a shrug of her shoulders, not realizing he was still holding her hand too.
He nodded, "well, I've lived the past year or so being ready, so I'm sure that won't be changing any time soon."
"We'll be ready together" She told him with a smile and a confident nod of her head. She was convienced now that they would be one great duo when it came to crime fighting and boss battles. She couldn't wait to see them in action together.
"You can probably hook me up with a good training facility of some sort," he said as he thought about preparing for possible battle.
She nodded her head to that. "We train with SHIELD. I can ask next time I'm there if they would take on another person. That'd be crazy not to once they hear about you" She told him with a smile.
"I've never really gotten the chance to find out just what I can do. So now that the war is over and I'm in a new place, I think that it would be a good time to start. Well, probably after I get situated in school, I did miss a couple of years," he shrugged.
"This place is good for a fresh smart" She told him as their food came. Reluctantly she had to pull her hand away so she could eat her burger with two hands. "Do you know what school you'll be attending? I go to Freedomtown High myself. I don't think I need one of the specialized schools"
"I think that's where I'm going," he responded after a moment of thought before he dug into his food. "I'm staying at the Hamilton-Schuyler Home, which is right there in Freedomtown. I was always a good student, so I should just be able to test into at least ninth grade."
She smiled big when he said that was where he would be going. That meant she could see him every day and she was very happy about that. "That's great! I'm going into the tenth. Maybe we can sit with each other at lunch"
"That would be great!" his eyes lit up as he grinned widely, picking up his burger and savoring it. "You know... I haven't been able to really eat like this since you know... before."
She smiled more seeing him smile and she picked up a fry, putting it in her mouth as she listened to him. "Stick with me and you'll eat like a King! I'll take you to all the good places around this planet" She told him with promise in her voice.
Ben nodded, and continued to savor his food. He mostly enjoyed just being around her and they already talked enough to eat in a comfortable silence. He did his best to draw it out, but he still finished rather quickly, not able to help himself.
Regina didn't mind that had finished before her and bopped a little bit to the music that was playing as she ate. "Do you want to go for a walk?" She asked with a smile was she finished her food. She was really enjoying this date and didn't want the night to end yet.
Ben thought for a short moment and nodded, "that sounds like a lot of fun. I like being able to be outside."
"Great!" She exclaimed, leaving some money for the tip as she got up. "Remind me to thank my sister later" She told him with a smile as they walked out after paying.