Electric Candy

"So, this is what you're calling home nowadays?" Jebediah asked as he strolled into the center of the hideout. "Very homey, I see."

"It's off the books, and I've got a rotation of three different conglomerates paying the utilities," Court said as he plunked down in front of his rig.

Rena stood by the kitchen island and looked around. She slowly nodded.

"While a bit slapdash, it does show some style," she conceded. She opened the cupboards, blinking at the Tupperware filled with cookies that occupied nearly all the space. "Is Lucy stress baking?"

"I don't know. We bought a lot of flour, sugar and ultra expensive vanilla, though," Court responded absently as his rig booted up.

Jebediah shook his head at Rena as she took one of the Tupperware down and popped it open. The fragrance of chocolate chip cookies floated out. It even made Court pause.

"When did we get chocolate chips?" He asked as he turned around.

Jebediah grinned.

"So, hanging with Dawnie and Don, are we?" Jebediah reached around Rena and snagged a cookie. "She must have been practicing! Give me another!"

"No! Mine! Find your own container," Rena responded, dancing out of reach, hand flailing at Jebediah's.

"Stingy! So stingy! Didn't I get you that limited edition Horace necklace last month?" Jebediah complained as he scanned the cupboards.

"And that was last month. This month does not entitle you to my cookies!" Rena paused, chewing thoughtfully. "That did not come out the way it sounded in my head," she finally said.

Court chuckled as he swiveled back to his rig. The absence of anyone in the hideout bothered him more than he wanted to admit. His quick scan of the hideout's defenses showed that they had all left as a group, San hefting some sort of equipment in a giant gym bag. There was no sign of them returning.

"Want me to let her out?" Jebediah asked, leaning over Court's shoulder.

"You still have her? I'd have thought you'd taken her apart and recycled bits by now," Court said.

"Me? Hurt my precious Trolli?" Jebediah staggered back a few steps, hand clasping over his heart.

"You still named her after candy? Dude, is that even legal?" Court rolled his eyes.

"You're just missing the sublimeness of my naming sense. The fantastical awesomeness that is the picking of Trolli's name. The absolute perfection that is, of course, my Trolli!" Jebediah said, arms wide as he swung around in a circle.

Rena perched on one of the sofas, munching her cookies. She was slowly shaking her head back and forth. Court glanced at her, only to receive a shrug in response.

"But can she find them?" Court asked.

"Of course, she can!" Jebediah reached into his satchel and pulled out a tiny glassy cylinder.

Inside the cylinder, a tiny creature slept. It looked to be made of pure electricity. Currently, it was using a tiny bit of rock as a pillow.

"Trolli? Trolli, my dearest love," Jebediah coaxed. This time both Court and Rena rolled their eyes. "I have a job for you."

The tiny creature slowly sat up and stretched out its arms. It yawned, showing a patch of yellow against its whitish-blue form. Then it stood up, squeaking.

"I hate to say it, but Trolli is too cute," Rena muttered, looking away.

Jebediah opened the cylinder, and Trolli flew out to perch on his shoulder. She looked around the room, spotting Rena. In a flash, she was standing in front of Rena, squeaking.

"Oh, alright," Rena said, carefully pulling a chocolate chip out of one of the cookies. She handed it to Trolli. It was nearly the size of her head. "I still don't know how or where she puts it," Rena remarked as Trolli devoured the chocolate before flitting back to Jebediah.

"Trolli, we need you to find Lucy," Court said to the little sprite.

Trolli blinked jet black eyes before nodding. With another flash of lightning, she flew into Court's rig. The monitors suddenly started flashing a variety of scenes that became faster and faster until they were nearly incomprehensible.

Suddenly, it stopped. The screen showed a dark cavern. In the cavern were a variety of items and distinctly marked off areas. In one of the areas, Lucy and the rest were lolling in little crystalline cages. Then the feed abruptly ended.

Trolli fled from the rig, squeaking indignantly. She perched on Jebediah's shoulder, still squeaking and waving a tiny fist towards Court's rig.

"Well, do we know where that was?" Rena asked, closing her Tupperware.

Both Court and Jebediah were staring at the blank screen.

"Did I see what I just thought I saw?" Court asked Jebediah.

"If it was about what I just saw, then I think it was what we thought it was," Jebediah said.

They turned to look at Trolli who'd fled to Rena's side, jumping up and down as she begged for cookies. They huddled up.

"Did she really do what we think she did?" Court asked.

"The question is really: how did she do what we think she did." Jebediah couldn't resist and ran a hand through his hair, messing it up.

"That is a really good question. Of course, the other side is does HE know that she did what we think she did." Court swallowed hard. "I don't need to be put back in a cage."

"None of us want to be put back in a cage, no matter how cushy," Jebediah agreed. "And, of course, the next question is just where is this rumored place anyways?"

"Now, that's probably something that would get you killed," Court said with a shudder. "Do you know just how many maniacs are looking for that place?"

They both straightened up.

"So, what do we do now?" Court said. He threw his hands in the air. "I have no desire to figure out where that place is, but Lucy's there!"

"Calm down. As you said, Lucy's there. Plus Aarti, Don, Dawnie and San," Jebediah ruffled his hair again. "Between all of them, they'll think of something."

"Still, just how powerful is Trolli? Is it still the original?" Court asked.

"Well, she was injured, but she's the original. Woke up a couple months ago," Jebediah grinned. "Keeping her hidden was a blast, I tell you!"

Rena shook her head, feeding crumbs to Trolli while the boys devolved into a technical discussion.