A pretty good superhero base located on the outskirts of the city.

Zip was showing Luna around the building.

"...so we set up a room for you there," said the dog.  "It's kind of sparse, I know.  But I think Flare would love to go shopping with you.  She's been talking nonstop about how exciting it is to have you here.  Over there is our gym area.  Colt's there a lot.  I think White Hat got him in the habit of nonstop training.  And we've got a library and research area over there, which is 90% digital.  Anything else you need?"
This message was last edited by the player at 20:33, Sun 19 Feb 2023.

"Do you live here as well?" Luna asked.

"Sometimes," said Zip.  "I like to get out, spend time around different places, spend time at my old place once in a while... Most of the time, it's mostly going to be you and Flare.  Although I'm starting to wonder if one of these days she's just going to move in with Colt."

"Oh? Why would she do that?" Luna asked.

Zip stopped and stared.

"...Okay, is this a thing where you don't know about people being attracted to each other?" he said.  "I get if you didn't notice it with her and him; you haven't spent much downtime together.  They aren't doing anything official yet, as far as I can tell, but it's mostly a matter of time."

"Ah, I hadn't realized they were engaged," Luna said.

"Oh, they aren't," said Zip.  "Like I said, nothing official.  Why?  Got your eye on one of 'em?"

"Oh, sorry, um, it's how the cult raised me," Luna said. "Hiding all the darkness by making it Colt called 'a fifties sitcom'."

"Ah," said the dog.  "Well, you might be able to change things up around here.  It ought to be interesting, either way..."

"So, um, I'm sorry if this is an awkward question, but can I pet you?" Luna asked.

Zip stared at her for a long moment.

"...fine," he sighed.  "But be sure to get behind the ears."

Luna did as she was told.

He clearly enjoyed this a great deal, and showed no sign whatsoever of any willingness to stop being petted.

Luna kept petting him.

"How did you get the superspeed and ability to speak?"

"Crazy villain was trying an experiment to transfer animal powers into his kid," Zip said.  "I feel bad for that poor kid.  And most of the animals.  I guess he misswired the whole thing."

"Ah. That is certainly more normal," Luna said.

"More normal than what?" said Zip, leaning hard into the scratching.

"Than me. Being the daughter of a demon lord," Luna said.

"I always knew something was up with those fifties sitcoms," said Zip.  "But seriously, I bet most people would say you were more normal than me.  Don't sweat it."

"Thank you, but I haven't really interacted with anyone outside the cult," Luna said. "Until you all saved me."

"Might want to get out more," he said, but there was suddenly an alarm sounding!

"What is that?" Luna asked.

"It means something big is going down," said Zip.  "Something dangerous.  We're all getting called out for it."

He went to a monitor-- it showed laser blasts shooting down from the sky!  That was bad enough, but they'd hit some buildings in an industrial park, and something was emerging from them-- four giant, shifting creations of strange chemicals that were rampaging, destroying buildings as they went!

"Oh no! We'd better go help!" Luna said.

"That's the plan," said Zip.  "Do you have transportation?"

"I can fly and teleport," Luna said.

"And can you find that place?" Zip asked.

"I'm sure I can," Luna said. "I'll see you there."

She stepped into a dark corner and teleported there.

Back at the clubhouse, Flare continued to attempt to drag Colt and Luna towards the showers, unconcerned with the details of the situation.  Perhaps fortunately, with two hands dragging them, she wasn't able to strip as yet.

"I-I can't do this!" Luna said, struggling now.

"What's wrong?" said Flare, but she did stop.

"Uh, Flare," said Colt, "we talked about the nudity thing.  Remember?"

"I-I can't do anything like this!" Luna said.

"...anything like... which, exactly?" Flare asked, clearly confused.

"...Bathing with all three of us, for one," Colt suggested, with a sigh.  "I assume she can bathe on her own.  Right, Luna?"

"Yes! I can do that!" Luna said.

"I don't really understand," said Flare.  "But I will respect your shyness.  Colt, do you want to--"

Colt was still blushing.  "That's not... Flare, can we talk about it later?"

"All right," sighed Flare.  She looked sad.

"It would be fine if it were me and you," Luna said to Flare.

"I don't really understand what the difference is," said Flare, "but let's go!"

...and she was now dragging Luna off to the showers without Colt.

Luna let her. This was mostly okay.

Flare... did really apparently intend to shower together, but her intentions appeared to be just... friendly.  If a little bit more touchy-feely than Luna was used to.

That was mostly okay. Luna just bared with it.

"You have smooth skin," Flare observed.  "I think it is more attractive than the seams my access zones leave, for all that I am intended to be approximately anatomically correct.  You are lucky!"

"Thank you?" Luna said, hoping this would be over soon.

Luckily it was.  Flare continued to be cheerful and helpful and complimentary, although often in EXTREMELY EMBARRASSING ways.

Luna quickly got dressed and stumbled out, still deep red.

"Oh, uh, hey," said Colt.  Still blushing and not looking, despite the fact that everyone was decent.

"Flare is very energetic," Luna said.

"Yeah, she is that, isn't she?" said Colt.  "...takes some getting used to, let me tell you."

"I understand you two are dating," Luna said.

"Well... I'm not entirely sure, to be honest," said Colt.  "I wouldn't really describe it that way, exactly?  But it could turn into that?  Flare's kind of confusing sometimes."

"Right, okay, I clearly have no idea what is going on," Luna said.

"That kind of makes two of us," said Colt.  "She's very affectionate with me, likes hanging around me all the time, but she also reacts to you in just about the same way.  We've gone on things that might be dates, but I'm still not sure.  And I'm not sure how to talk about it with her."

"Why not just ask her?" Luna asked.

"...I'm trying to figure it all out," said Colt.  "It doesn't sound like a bad idea exactly, but I'm not sure if it actually would be a relationship or not."

"Maybe explain to her how one works?" Luna said.

"That's probably not a bad idea," said Colt.  "...but I'm not even sure what would happen if I did.  I guess it's worth a shot?"

"I think you should try," Luna said.

"Well, maybe," said Colt.  "I guess I could try?  Things are kind of complicated, but... I'll try, I guess."

"She doesn't seem the type to hold a grudge," Luna said.

"I just don't know if she really grasps different degrees of 'Liking' someone," Colt said.  "...do you have any suggestions?"

"I don't, I've never done anything like this," Luna said.

"Well, I guess we'll just have to hope for the best?" said Colt.  He still looked unsure.

"You must be in a bad way if you're asking advice from me," Luna said.

Colt laughed at that.

"Probably," he said.  "Getting raised by White Hat isn't exactly living a normal life, you know."

"And I was in a cult that tried to keep me ignorant of as many things they could," Luna said.

"I guess we're just gonna have to improvise," sighed Colt.

"What are we talking about?" Flare asked, brightly, floating in to the room.

"Uh, not too much," Luna said.

Flare cocked her head, smiling cheerfully.

"Are you sure?" she asked.  "You will not embarrass me if you tell me, I promise!"

Luna looked over at Colt.

"Okay, so... I know that you've said that you like me a lot," said Colt.

"I do!" said Flare.  "I like you very much!  Perhaps soon it will be love!"

"Uh, all right," said Colt, blushing.  "So does that mean--"

"And I like Luna very much, too!" Flare continued.  "You are all very important to me, and I want to keep you all very close to me!"

"But, um, do you know about the different ways you can like someone?" Luna asked.

Flare was now very very close to Luna, looking her right in the eyes and smiling.

"No!" she said, eagerly. "Please, tell me!  I love to learn and try new things!"

Luna took a step back and blushed.

"Well...uh...there is liking someone romantically, right?"

Flare blinked.

"How is that different from other ways?" she asked.  "What is different in the feeling?"

"I'm not really sure," Luna said.

"Uh, feeling a more romantic attraction to someone means, uh, in part, wanting to do, you know, more, uh... physical things with them.  Like kissing and touching and stuff.  You know," Colt offered.

Flare looked to Luna for confirmation.

"That is what I understand," Luna said.

"But I am also told that this is not the same thing, precisely, as 'love,'" said Flare.  "Is that correct?"

"it's close," Luna said.

Flare cocked her head again.

"What's the difference?" she asked.

"It can lead to love from what I understand," Luna said.

"Is it the necessary step to achieving love?" Flare asked.

"I don't know? Probably...," Luna said.

"Are you interested in experiencing love, in a general way?" Flare asked... both of them?

"I don't know? Everything has been happening very fast," Luna said.

"I like you both very much," said Flare.  "I think there may develop love.  I know that I wish great happiness for both of you, and hope that I can help you find it, however is needed to do so."

"B-both?" Luna asked.

"What is wrong with both?" said Flare.

"C-can you be in a relationship with two people at once?" Luna asked.

"What do you mean, 'be in a relationship'?" Flare asked.

"You know...dating. Boyfriend and girlfriend? Girlfriends now? Maybe?" Luna said.

"I'm not quite sure what that would entail?" said Flare.  "It does sound fun, though.  Is it like being friends, but more so?"

"Uhh...," Luna looked over at Colt.

"Uh, kind of," said Colt.  "But it can get much more, uh, physically intimate?  Does that sound right, Luna?"

"Yes, that is what I have heard," Luna said.

"I could be in a relationship like that with both of you," said Flare.  "Thank you for asking!  It sounds wonderful!"

Luna blinked.

"Me too?"

"Why not?" said Flare.  "I would like us all to be very good friends, and a relationship among all of us would make us happier, wouldn't it?"

Luna looked at Colt to see how he was reacting.

Colt was bright red, looking everywhere but at either girl, and too flustered to speak.

"I guess...sure...I'm willing to try it," Luna said.

"That's wonderful!" said Flare, drawing them both into a hug.  "I was worried about being inadequate in a relationship, but with two, it should be much easier!"

Luna looked over at Colt.

Colt's eyes were covered.  He clearly wasn't sure where to even look.

"...I... I guess... that's all right?" he said.  "But, uh... I don't really... know what I'm doing, exactly?  So can we go slow?"

"Yes, that sounds good," Luna said.

Flare seemed incredibly happy, while Colt was blushing.

Naturally, this was when an alert came in through the Clubhouse's system.

"Wow, that is loud," Luna said.

"...It's a message from White Hat, but it's alert priority," said Colt.  "Something bad must be going down."

"Let's go see what it is," Anna said.

"Well, howdy there, kids," said the White Hat.  "I'm sorry that I can't be there to deal with this one, but you'd better be ready-- there's something happening down near the bay, under the water.  We're not sure what it is, but be ready to deal with it.  It's moving towards the land, and you've probably got about three hours to get ready."

"Maybe we should head there right away," Luna said.

"I'd like to get at least some gear ready," said Colt.  "We might have to go underwater."

"Okay, do you need some help?" Luna asked.

"Not a bad idea," said Colt.  "Sure, thanks."

Luna smiled and went with him.

He apparently had a spare set of underwater breathing gear-- advanced stuff, too.

"Flare doesn't need this stuff, of course," he said.  "Uh, if it comes up, I can help fit it to you."
This message was last edited by the player at 05:49, Sun 19 Mar 2023.

"Thank you. I've never done anything like this before," Luna said. "What about our dog friend?"

"Zip's got his own tricks," said Colt.  "I don't quite get how it works, but breathing isn't a problem for him."

"That's good," Luna said.

"Yep," said Colt.  "Every time I think I know everything Zip can do, he shows us a new trick.  Guess he's not an old dog."

Luna giggled at the joke.

"Okay," said Colt.  "Uh, you're going to make sure that whatever you're wearing can handle the sea water.  And maybe is comfortable to swim in."

"I don't know if I have anything like that," Luna said.

"...Well, we can fake it for now," said Colt.  "Do you at least have something you don't mind getting wet?"

"I suppose I do," Luna said. "A 'T-shirt' and some pants."

"All right," said Colt.  "That'll do for now.  Later on, we're gonna get you a real costume.  Something more practical for messy fights."

"As long as it's more modest," Luna said.

"Something that covers all your skin is reasonable," said Colt.  "You don't really want loose fabric, though.  That can be dangerous."

"Okay," Luna said. She didn't know much about costumes, but it was good Colt knew.

"I guess that'll have to do for now, though," said Colt.  "Ready?"

"Yes, let's do it!" Luna said.