Strong & Silent

Chapter 2

"Date"

Steven Stronghold was extremely nervous.

For the first time since he had powered up only a few months ago, he was actually worried about making a good first impression. So far he had been coasting on who his father was and his natural charm and charisma to carry him through his first few weeks at Sky High, but now he was facing something totally different.

He really wanted her to like him.

This was not something normal for him. He knew he was already liked by virtually all the other kids, and had made a few real friends. As for the girls, he could have his choice of any he wanted.

But there was only one he truly wanted, and she was one he felt he had to prove himself to.

It was a challenge, but like his dad had told him he would be facing a lot of challenges in his future, and he couldn't back down from any of them. This is one challenge he was actually looking forward to.

He had put on his dark blue suit, the one he hadn't worn since…the funeral.

Had it been just a few months ago too? Steven couldn't help but stop and think about it. He still missed Theodore so much, and probably always would. Though his little brother had been only two years younger than him, Steven still thought of him as his best friend as well.

But he couldn't think about that now. The suit was the only nice set of clothes he had that fit him. After he had powered up none of his other suits could fit him, and he had made due with the triple extra large men's clothes his mom had been able to find for him. He hadn't really cared much about his appearance after Ted had died, but now he wanted to look good for his date. He was sure Ted would understand and approve.

His parents were both glad he was finally going out again as well. Despite all the good-natured enthusiasm he displayed at school there were still weekend days when Steven would just sit in his room and they would worry about him. He still blamed himself for what had happened.

Now he was in the back seat of the car as his dad drove him to the address he had given. Up front Samuel Stronghold looked like a typical American dad, complete with horn-rimmed glasses used for his disguise. His hair was graying around the edges, but he could still prove to any villain that Major Victory was not a hero to be trifled with.

"Well," his dad said as they pulled up to the modest little house, "here we are Steven. Now, remember what your mother and I told you and everything will be great."

"Yeah Dad," Steven said, rolling his eyes as he got out of the car which raised up three inches higher on its axles with his extra weight out of it, "I remember."

Steven walked up to the front door; so nervous he was sure he would throw up at the least provocation even though he hadn't been able to eat all day. That was quite an accomplishment considering he usually started the day with three boxes of cereal, two gallons of milk, a dozen eggs, a loaf of toast with a jar of peanut butter and anything else he could eat. That usually held him until lunch…if he was lucky.

He rang the doorbell, and the door opened to reveal a tall, ethereal looking woman with almost glowing black hair dressed in a modest housedress that was dark blue in color. She smiled at Steven, and he was sure where his date had gotten her looks.

"Welcome Steven," she said as she stepped aside to allow him in, "I'm Mrs. Crane. I'm sorry my husband isn't here to meet you as well, but he's working late at the lab with some of the other scientists. Come in and sit down…my daughter will be ready in a moment."

Steven nodded his head in compliance, still afraid to open his mouth lest his stomach make a break for daylight. He entered to find a nice living room with spare though comfortable furniture, but what really caught his attention were the walls. Nearly every one of them was covered with bookshelves, each jammed full of books of all kinds in neat, orderly rows. It almost looked like a library.

"As you can see we like to read," smiled Mrs. Crane, "we encouraged it in our little Rebecca, and she did not disappoint in the least."

Rebecca Crane. So that was the name of his beautiful "Silence".

"I understand that you are the son of Major Victory," she said, bringing Steven out of his thoughts.

"Yeah…I mean yes ma'am," said Steven, trying hard to remember his manners as his mother had told him. She wanted him to be a perfect gentleman on this date, and he was determined not to disappoint her.

"I never got the chance to meet him "back in the day"," said Mrs. Crane, "even though I was the sidekick to Emerald Fire."

"You're the Ebony Shade?" said Steven, his attention now fully upon his date's mother.

"Guilty as charged," she smiled in response, "I was her sidekick until we both agreed it was time to settle down with the men we loved and raise families. She lives out in Hawaii now with her husband and their son Kamaya. He's about your age…should be going to Sky High West now."

Steven was impressed. Though he had grown up around his dad's old friends and teammates and their kids he was still a big super hero fan at heart and loved a chance to meet new ones. But he was here for another reason, and everything else in the world vanished when she came into the room.

Silence…rather, Rebecca, was wearing a lovely dark blue dress similar in color to her mother's but the design was totally different. Her black hair had been done in a new style and she had the slightest trace of makeup around her eyes and her lips were a light red in color. She held her head slightly down, either still shy or maybe embarrassed about how she felt she must look.

Steven stood up instantly, never taking his eyes off her. She was even more enchanting now than when he first laid eyes on her, and that was saying something.

"Hi…I mean hello, Rebecca," Steven stammered out. He was nearly tongue tied, and his stomach was doing a gymnastics routine that would have easily won the gold at the Olympics.

She started for a moment, surprised Steven knew her real name and then realized that her mother must have told him.

"Hello Steven," she barely whispered, "you look…very handsome."

"Thanks…I mean thank you," replied Steven, nervous sweat breaking out on his brow, "so do you. I mean not handsome…you look beautiful…really beautiful."

Rebecca slightly blushed at that. She had never been on a date, much less complimented by a boy before, and Steven's words came from his heart. She was already light headed and the date had not even begun yet.

"I trust you'll have her back home at a decent time," said Mrs. Crane, knowing full well that her daughter could take full care of herself even if Steven' didn't behave. But Steven would behave, nothing less would be expected from the son of Major Victory.

"Yes ma'am," said Steven, hating to take his attention away from Rebecca, even to answer her mother, "we'll be back by ten o'clock. My dad is driving us to the movie, and the moment it's over he'll bring us back."

"That sound fine," said Mrs. Crane, "so you two better get going while the night is still young. Have a good time."

With that Steven bid Mrs. Crane a good evening, and opened the door for Rebecca, waiting for her to leave first. He then escorted her to the car, where his father was waiting with a smile on his face.

"Hello," said Samuel, "you must be Rebecca, Steven's date."

"Hello, Mr. Stronghold," whispered Rebecca, "it's an honor to meet you."

"The honor is all mine," smiled Samuel, "anyone who can get Steven's attention and hold it like you have has got to be someone he must be really interested in…and now I can see why."

Steven blushed at that, embarrassed by what his dad had said. Was he trying to blow things for him with Rebecca already? He was so scared he never bothered to wonder how his dad had known Silence's real name; he relaxed though, when she lightly giggled and he scrambled to get her door open so she could get into the car. He climbed in on the other side as well, again embarrassed when the car once again sank down on its axles from his great weight, even though it was solid super-dense muscle.

It was a short drive to the theater, and once there Steven jumped out so that he could open the door for Rebecca. He glanced over quickly to see the approving nod from his dad, and offered Rebecca his hand to help her out of the car like a gentleman would. She accepted his hand, and he found he didn't want to let it go even after she was out of the car until he forced himself to do so.

"Alright kids," said Samuel, "just call me when the movie is over and I'll be happy to drive Rebecca home. Have a good time."

With that he left, and Steven and Rebecca stood in front of the theater for several moments, each afraid to speak first.

"Lady's choice," Steven finally said, "just like I promised."

"I don't go out to the movies very often,' said Rebecca, "I wouldn't presume to choose something."

"Anything you choose is fine with me," said Steven. As far as he was concerned, she was all he wanted to look at anyway.

They made their way to a set of seats in the middle of the theater with Steven leading the way. It was rather a tight fit for him because of his size, but he wanted to have the best seats for him and his date. He was also carrying the popcorn and drinks he had bought to share with her. He was surprised to learn she had never drank soda before, and instead opted for plain ice water while he had gotten a Coca-cola big enough to bathe a small dog in. When he found the perfect seats he let her sit first, noticing how nervous she looked. He hadn't thought that maybe she wouldn't like crowds, and was thinking about moving again when the movie started.

She had chosen something far from what he would have, but he was willing to sit through the endless talking and total lack of action or laughs to be near her. In fact he paid more attention to her than to the movie, and was surprised when it was over. It was then he noticed that he had actually put one of his thick arms across the back of her seat and she was resting her head against him. He felt like he had just awakened from a dream, and the movie had actually been boring enough to put him to sleep, but he was sure he was awake.

Once back outside the theater, he was about to call his dad to come pick them up when one of his famous impulsive ideas struck him.

"Would you mind if I…" he started to say, and he realized he didn't know how to put it in words. He then shrugged his broad shoulders and scooped her up as she squeaked, startled by his actions. When no one was looking he leaped into the air, carrying her through the night sky as the wind blew through their hair and caressed their faces. He landed nearly a half-mile away from where they started, heading in the direction of her home.

"What do you think you're doing?" said Rachel, still surprised by what had happened.

"I…I thought I'd take you home my way. It's how I usually get around and I wanted to share this with you. I'm sorry if I scared you…I'll put you down."

"No," she said, "no…I was just startled is all. It was…very interesting. You can do it again…if you like."

Steven grinned from ear to ear and enjoyed the thrill that raced through his body at her acceptance. She threw her small arms around his thick neck as best she could and snuggled tight against his massive chest as they again went airborne. Though he had never drank in his life, Steven was sure this must be what it was like to be drunk, only he wasn't drunk on liquor…it was love.

This time they both enjoyed the feel of motion and the rush of air as they nearly flew. When they came down she was startled at how gentle it was as his powerful legs absorbed the impact like giant shock absorbers. She reached up and tried to fix Steven's now severely mussed hair and he exulted in her touch as her fingers ran through his hair.

They stayed there in that spot for an unknown period of time, both enjoying the touch of the other. She felt so safe in his arms and against his chest, like he was a fortress of warm stone protecting her from any harm. Her caress through his hair and across his face sent chills down his spine, and when her fingertips brushed his lips he gently kissed them.

Then she withdrew her hand to again put her arms around his neck as she pulled herself up and started to kiss him on the lips. He was startled that the shy girl would take such a daring action, but he wasn't about to stop her. They then kissed, slowly and gently as the first contact of their lips brought them both up to greater heights of bliss.

Then Steven broke it off. He set Rachel gently down to stand on the ground and took a step back as he tried to calm himself.

"What's wrong," she said, her eyes registering puzzlement and concern, "did I do something wrong? I thought…"

"No," said Steven, "it's not you…it's definitely not you. It's me. I…I can't…"

"Can't what?"

"Can't be too careful," he whispered, "I'm so strong…too strong. I've only been powered up a few months…about three actually. I still don't have total control of it yet…I keep breaking things accidentally. I ripped the knob off the front door the other day hurrying to catch the bus to school…I leaned against a lamp post to fix my shoe and bent if over clear to the ground. I have to be so careful all the time. I don't want to get carried away and accidentally hurt you. That would just kill me."

She looked with even greater admiration upon her young Hercules. Very few of the super strong heroes to be she knew of would be so gentle or concerned with hurting someone when they were intimate with them. It was one aspect of that power she had never thought of before; to treat the world and everything in it as if it were made of paper and glass. For them it was easy to break things, but how hard was it to keep things safe?

She reached out and again caressed his face.

"You don't have to worry about that," she said in her whispering voice, "I can take care of myself. I may look fragile, but my own power will protect me."

"Why," he asked, hope beginning in his heart, "do you generate force fields or something?"

"No," she smiled, "nothing so spectacular. I…I still can't tell you what it is…because you may be afraid of me like everyone else."

"I'd never be scared of you," Steven said, taking her hand and looking into her blue eyes, "but you don't have to tell me if you don't want to. Whenever you're ready…that's good enough for me."

She smiled at that. What had she done to get such a wonderful boy to like her like this? She wished she could come out and tell him her power, but all she could think about was what had happened that first day in power placement…how she had lost control and did what she had done to Coach Ironside. The poor man was alive and healthy, but he had been forced to retire and now lived back in his native Arizona, his spirit crushed. She knew he didn't hate her, but she hated herself enough for that.

"Let's just walk for a while," she said to Steven, "then you can take me "flying" the rest of the way home."

"I wish I could fly," said Steven as he held her hand as gently as possible, "I'd take you into the clouds and…never want to come down."

"Me too," she whispered.

They then walked together into the evening, their thoughts only of each other.

To be continued