135 After party

After the long ceremony, Hera went back to her friends. Helena was sitting on a chair with a satisfied expression. Alex and Bonnie listened to the speech in silence, but Mark was doing something on his tablet while Blue had dozed off and was now sleeping on Alex's shoulders. Hera chuckled at the sight and woke her friend up.

"Blue, Bluuuee, time to wake up," she said in a soft voice.

"But I'm already in makeup," Blue mumbled as she awoke, "What happened? Is it starting?"

"It just ended. We were lucky you didn't start snoring," Bonnie said.

"I don't snore!" Blue turned around to face her.

"Yeah, you do. But only when you drink," Hera, being the one who shared a room with the controller for a while, knew her sleeping habits.

"So, what now? Can the real party get started?" Mark asked, putting away his tablet.

"What party?" Hera looked at him with a puzzled expression.

The group smiled, "You just got a silver card, sweetie. You think we are going to let that pass by?" Helena said.

They dragged Hera downstairs and left the guild. In front of the building, waiting for them, was a black limo. Quinn was leaning against it wearing an open back, light blue dress. She rushed towards Hera as soon as the group arrived and gave her a big hug.

"Congratulations! I'm so glad you're ok," tears were forming in Quinn's eyes.

"Thanks, Quinn. I'm ok," Hera let go of the hug after a moment and saw Quinn's mascara starting to run, "What's wrong? Are you hurt?"

"Of course not. I'm just terrified. Lena told me how banged up you were. You guys might be used to this, but I'm not," her voice was trembling.

Helena walked towards Quinn and gave her a hug, pulling Hera to join her, "I'm sorry. Sometimes I forget how hard that can be for civilians. I'll be more careful when talking about these things next time."

Quinn shoved her head between the two, "You better. Or I'm posting all the pictures I have of you."

Helena chuckled, "Deal."

Bonnie and the rest were watching the scene. It felt like an intimate moment, and they still had no idea who the woman in the blue dress was. She turned to the side and saw Blue's and Mark's expression.

"Do you two need help to close your jaws?" Bonnie stared at them.

"I'm about to turn into a wolf cartoon, gimme a minute," Mark replied.

Blue didn't even acknowledge the commentary. It was the first time she had seen someone so beautiful.

"I think we lost her," Alex said while looking at her friend.

A few moments later, Hera turned around and introduced Quinn to the group," These are Alex, Mark, Blue, and Bonnie. They are part of my class and my current party."

"It's a pleasure to meet you all. Sorry for this scene. These two made me very worried the past few weeks," Quinn greeted the group while trying to fix up her running makeup.

"Don't worry, we understand. Hera had a similar reaction when Helena went missing," Alex said.

"Hey! I wasn't crying," Hera protested.

"Yes, you were," Blue and Bonnie replied together.

Hera tried to come up with a reply, but her mind was a blank. She turned to Quinn, "Anyway, where are we going?" looking at the limo, Hera started to turn pale, "Oh no. Please don't tell me we have to change?"

"Don't worry. I'm the only one who dressed up. After all, I'm the only civilian in the group. I need to work more to stand out," Quinn replied while playing with her dress.

"Oh, please. Like you need an excuse to dress up," Helena rolled her eyes.

"Shush, This is not about me," Quinn grabbed Hera's hand, pulling her to the limo, "Now let's go."

"Go where?" Hera asked, but no one replied.

###################################

A man in a suit opened the door to a large office on the top floor of the building. In the middle of the office, there was a single desk with a stack of paper on one side and a bald man with ebony skin sitting on the other side, rubbing his eyes. The vast skyline of the country's biggest city could be seen behind him through a glass wall.

"Excuse me, sir. The latest report just arrived," the man said while walking towards the desk.

"Have you read it?"

The man stopped walking. He knew his boss enough to recognize his annoyed voice. "Yes, I have, sir."

"Summarize it for me, please. I'm tired of translating that scientist's jargon."

The man gulped. His words might seem polite, but he knew that it wasn't a request. Yet, he barely understood what the report said. The language was complicated, and most of it talked about things that were previously agreed upon or sent to someone. He had no idea how to explain it.

"Yes, of course. The report said that..." he started fumbling through the pages, "after extensive testing, they increased the control group as presented by team A. The results from lab 4 were underwhelming, but they led to a breakthrough in lab 2. Team F reports that the first batch shows promising results, and in the coming months, they will be able to confirm if their system works," the man explained while looking at the file, trying to make sense of all the data. As he raised his eyes, he was met with the cold stare of his boss.

"Is that all?"

He fumbled through the pages, making sure he didn't forget anything, "Team F also requested an increase of 15% on their emergency fund. There were more complications than expected with the development."

"Very well, leave the report. And you can go."

"Yes, sir," he placed the report on the side of the desk, not to disturb the rest of the paperwork, and headed to the door.

"Turner."

The man froze and turned around slowly. His boss was staring at the paperwork in front of him.

"I hope you can improve your presentation skills. If not, we might need to discuss a change in your career at this company."

Turner felt his palms sweating. He could only pray that the report didn't get wet, "I'm sorry, sir. I will do better next time."

"Very well. There won't be a third."

The bald man waited for his assistant to leave before pressing a button under his desk. It locked the doors and triggered a soundproof barrier around the room. He got up from his chair and looked to the view. There was a number already dialed on his phone. All it needed was for him to press a button. Staring out of the window, he enjoyed the skyline for a moment before completing the call.

"Isn't it a bit late for a call, Morgan?" the voice on the other side asked.

"Not for this. The project seems to be going well. I need you to speed up things on your end. It needs to be done by the end of the month."

"Ah, sure. Do you want some coffee while I'm at it? Or maybe I should go to your office and give you a lap dance. Better yet, I can bring some vaseline and you can…"

There was a moment of silence. Morgan watched a plane that was taking off from the airport. Maybe he should pay his associate a visit. Some people needed to be reminded of who placed them where they are now.

"I'm sorry, Morgan. That crossed a line."

"At least you still admit your mistakes, Romeo."

"But still, Morgan.."

Morgan cut him off before the voice on the phone could finish his sentence, "Romeo, I called you as a friend, but after that lack of respect, I would rather continue this discussion as a business partner. Please, refrain from addressing me so casually."

There was another pause, "I'm sorry, Mr. Waaberi."

"No matter. Now, I will say this only once. We need to change our timeline. We will have results that need to be followed up in the next month. I expect that you will be there to protect our interests."

"But sir..." Romeo wanted to protest, but he already had angered Morgan too much.

"If you have a valid concern, speak your mind. This is a partnership. Your thoughts on the matter must be considered," Morgan said.

Romeo knew that those were just empty words. The only thoughts that matter were Morgan's, still. It wasn't the right time, "Mr. Waaberi, sir. This is too soon. We already used the wall to cover one thing. If we put another under it, people might connect the dots."

"That's why we need you in a position where you can scramble the lines that connect to me."

"But, Mr. Waaberi..."

The voice was cut off once more, "Romeo, this is not a request."

There was another moment of silence before the reply came, "I'll get it done, sir."

Morgan hung up the phone. He walked back to his desk and opened the last drawer. Removing the fake bottom, there were a dozen brand new cellphones, all made by his company. He picked one of them and placed it in the charger. Raising the other hand, the phone that he just used to make a call started to float, and then to be crushed by its own gravity, turning into a perfectly smooth and round ball, about the size of a bottle cap. He placed the marble on the top of a small pyramid made of magnets that decorated his desk and went back to his paperwork.

###################################

"Man, I forgot how funny that movie was," Alex said as they left the theater.

"Me too, 'Just a flesh wound,' must be the best line in cinema history," Bonnie laughed.

"I had no idea you could rent an entire movie theater. This was awesome, guys, thanks," Hera before tripping and having to catch herself.

"I had no idea Mai Tais were so gooood. I had like twelve," Mark's voice was slurped, albeit no one was much better.

"I forgot how much I liked popcorn. We need to get some when we are back home," Helena said as she stuffed herself with the leftovers.

"YEAH, Let's get a popcorn machine! What do you think, Blue?" Alex cheered and turned around, "Blue?"

"Where is she?" Hera asked.

"And where is Quinn?" Mark started looking around.

Alex walked back towards the movie theater and suddenly stopped before a small alley. She turned to the group and made a motion for them to stay quiet. They all gathered behind Alex and looked at where she was pointing.

Quinn was pressing Blue against the wall in the alley while the two were in a heavy make-out session. Quinn, who was at least 20 centimeters shorter than Blue, and much less muscular, seemed to be taking the reins, while Blue just looked like a toy in her arms.

"Oh, no. Not again," Helena sighed, "Sorry, guys. I need to stop this, or we are taking a trip to the police station."

Helena walked towards the couple who didn't notice her presence. Using her cellphone flashlight, she flashed both her eyes and made her voice a couple of levels lower. "Stop doing that in the middle of the street, or I'm taking you in."

Quinn quickly let Blue go, "Sorry, officer. We got a bit heated up. It won't happen again."

"Sorry, miss, but you are coming with me. A night in a cell will put out your fire," Helena continued.

Blue didn't understand what was going on. The person holding the light was clearly Helena. She looked back and saw the rest of the group calling her and holding back their laughter. Carefully sneaking out, she joined her friends.

"Please office. It won't happen again, I swear," Quinn begged.

"That's what you said during Mardi gras, New year's eve, and during your teacher's farewell party," Helena broke character in the middle of the sentence, letting a small chuckle escape.

"How do you..." Quinn blocked the light with her hand, "LENA!"

The group started laughing, watching the scene. Even Blue, who was a bit lost, joined in. The two in the alley went back to the group as they walked through the night. After a few moments, Helena and Quinn talked behind the group while Hera pulled Blue to the front.

"Hey, are you sure about this? I mean, you are not too drunk to make decisions are you?" Hera asked.

"Nah, I'm good. I'm more worried about Mark. He's a step away from a blackout."

"Don't change the subject. Are you sure? She is much older than you. You know that?" Hera pressed on the matter.

"I know. And relax, we talked about this. It's going to be just a casual thing."

Alex, who was walking just a few steps behind them, jumped towards and placed one arm around each of them, "Be honest. Is this just because of the Brazilian chick who gave you blue balls?"

Blue let out a sigh, "It's not. But you know what. I deserve to let out some steam. Being this pent up is probably bad for my health."

Hera laughed, "Fine, you are both adults. Just let me say one thing. If you hurt her, the fastest silver cardholder will beat you up."

"Hey! What's with that? I met you first, and you are defending her? I'm a catch! I'm the one you should be worried about," Blue pushed her friend away, laughing.

"Oh, I am, and that's why I'm telling Quinn the exact same thing," Hera spun around and went to the back of the group to talk to Quinn. She had no problems if her friends decided to hook up, but the first one to mess up would have to answer to her.