Reed and Sue: Surfing USA

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Sneaking out of the mansion in the morning Sue runs into Reed and he invites himself along.

Early morning, a time of peace an serenity, a time of profound danger for the worm and of joyful feasting for the early bird. It was also a time when, if you were very sneaky and managed to manipulate both your work and social calendar's very carefully, you could find a breath of free time of up to 1/2 a day when you absolutely had nothing to do. Well not quite nothing, Sue admitted as she sneaked through the mansion halls, an impressive feat until you took into account the surfboard and backpack she was carrying while still making her way almost silently towards the door.

The blonde had managed to convince both her father and her grandmother tha she was too busy to take on any appointments at this time, while never having to resort to lying to eaither of them, the last thing she wanted was to get stopped by a teammate and asked for help with a case. There was nothing in the lab docket right now that couldn't wait a day or two longer. Besides it had been more than a week since she last managed to make it out to the ocean, and she was going to make it this morning, come hell or high water.

Early morning was Reed's favourite time of the day. The peace and quiet and solitude...it didn't get better than this. Although he did appreciate the free rent situation at the mansion, there were too many people, and the labs felt full at times. His tea in one hand, he sat on the stoop of the front door, happily going over last night's equations when he saw Sue, surfboard in hand. "You surf?," he blurted out, not even bothering to say good morning. "There's surfing in New York? How does that work?"

Sue started guiltily, almost dropping her board before she spotted Reed sitting on the porch. "There's surfing everywhere," she informed him with a smile ,"you know those surfers, bunch of layabouts who'll do anything to get into the water." she told him with a self deprecating smile, "there are a couple of beaches near the city. They're nothing on the north shore, but they do to keep my toes in the water.. "In this weather though," Sue held up a wetsuit, "better to opt for comfort than looks. Although," she gave the sky a disgruntled look, "with the weather like this I'm not sure how much longer Ill be able to manage to get out there so," the blonde grinned, "I figured I might as well make the most of it and sneak the morning off work. But that's our little secret you know." she informed Reed with a laugh.

Reed liked the idea that he shared a secret with Sue. Frankly, he liked sharing anything with her. "I can drive you," he blurted out. And then upon realizing he'd already started talking, he figured he might as well continue. "I'm awake anyways, and that'd be fun, right? I mean, I don't know the first thing about surfing, nor do I think I've ever actually been to the ocean. Well. I have been, but not to enjoy it, more because it was part of an ecological study that I was consulting on regarding cosmic radiation and the refraction properties of marine garbage. It was very fascinating but I don't think we got any definitive information, although not for a lack of trying. It's amazing the amount of garbage that just floats out there on the ocean, and we don't do anything about it. In fact, there are people who live on islands made entirely out of trash. They are the very definition of homeless, being that for generations they've never even had something resembling a home. Just a floating pile of refuse." He paused, confused for a second because he'd lost track of what he was talking about. This conversation was reminding him that he had meant to read the follow up research paper that he was unfortunately not a part of. "Oh! Right. I can drive you."

"Reed Richards, are you offering to come play hookey from work with me?" Sue teased with a laugh, "That's not really the kind of thing you should be telling your boss you know, although I think taking you to see the ocean might be more of a public servce. How come you've never been? It's not that far away and it's the source of all life. If nothing else it gives you a greater appreciation of the natural world and the immensity of science. That's the experience that all scientist should have at lest once, if only to let them understand the consequences of their actions. Which is a roundabout way of saying that that would awesome. I can drive there, but coming back I'm normally too tired to drive."

With a grin, Reed got up off the stoop and looked around for where to put his tea cup. Deciding he could just take it with him, he motioned to the garage. "My car is in there. It's fairly reliable actually, considering it's age, but if you don't want to use it. I'll understand." It wasn't that it was THAT old....but he had had it referred to as an 'antique' before. Just because something hit the 25 year mark did not imply it was an antique. "I've, of course, made a few modifications, but it's still got a purpose to it."


"You're starting to scare me Reed, please please tell me you're not riding around in Herbie...although now I think about it a living car would be pretty cool." "Sue gve him a long look, "Or are you one of those car enthusiasts who has a old school corvette or something hidden away in there?" To be fair Reed probably had a old reliable and steady car he didn't need to think about, but the guessing game was fun...and maybe Sue could build herself a Herbie.

He gave her a strange look. "A Herbie?" Sue always had to make the strangest references. He'd blame it on their age difference, but he knew it was more of a social difference. "No, it's just a chevy cavalier. Nothing with a name, at least." Reed pointed to the burgundy car -- station wagon really -- parked in the corner of the garage. "Functional and practical. Gets amazing mileage, and of course, is completely rebuilt."

Sue put on a mock disappointed face, "you mean you didn't invent an AI to put it in your car so that it can drive itself and you don't have to worry about that? It would make people much more productive in the mornings," Sue gave Reed a grin, "plus you could always install rocket boosters on a car. I've always wanted to try that but my one attempt was far less than successful. I'm not sure my dad has quite forgiven me for that." Sue looked over Reed's car with a critical eye. "You know, you could fit a lot of surfboards and gear in the back of that car," she allowed."

"When you are bounced around from home to home, having a portable storage is almost non-negotiable," he said plainly, pushing the trunk button on his keys. He then lifted it up, and reached a hand out to Sue. "I'm afraid the only modifications on this are purely practical. The engines have been tweaked so that they use gasoline more efficiently, the emissions are less, and it's quite possibly the smoothest ride you'll ever have. Why I would have rocket boosters is beyond me. I'm in no rush to get anywhere -- after all, time is simply a construct created by society and really only came fully into play during the industrial revolution. The circadian rhythms we have now are false, and are out of tune with our own genetic predispositions."

"If this is a round about way of saying I should let you come into work whenever you want to and not expect you to be in the lab at 9am then you have a totally different thing coming mister." Sue pointed out with a wry look, "This is a case of nurture trumping nature I'm afraid, in order for an advanced society to exist it requires it's disparate elements, us, to be able to work together in a structured way and more important plan and schedule.. In order to get an advanced project complete you need to be able to tell people when to meet to work on it and how long they've got. Besides, the sad fact is that if you were allowed to do what you want at this point you'd still wake up around the same time since your brain has become so trained that it overrides any genetic pre-disposition to a different pattern." The blonde passed Reed the board she had been carrying and grinned at him, "Besides, who wouldn't want to turn their car into the Knightrider?"

"Do you realize how many times a day you reference pop media culture?," Reed said, genuinely curious. "In this conversation alone, I can count two and only because I didn't understand them but had a vague idea that it was something to do with the media. Tell me, Ms. Storm, did you watch a lot of television growing up?"

"Umm, I didn't think I used them much more than anyone else did, do I?" Sue questions, "I mean I guess I watched some, mostly it was on in the background while I read, it's amazing what you can pick up through osmosis and the internet these days." The blonde gave Reed a long look, "Besides, if you think about it scientifically, it makes sense to at least have some understanding of pop culture from a strictly societal point of view. Humanity is a pack animal, we don't do that well playing the lone wolf, we never have."

Reed paused, and in a quiet, hesitant voice, he replied: "But I am. You're my first real friend, Sue."

"I..." Sue opened and closed her mouth very deliberately, the last thing she wanted to do was a goldfish impression, "You really mean that don't you Reed, you've never had a real friend before? And you'd better make that the first of many now that you're here," even if she had to drag him around and introduce him to the rest of the mansion one by one. "Although you'd better remember that when to comes to your nobel acceptance speech, I expect the longest section in your thanks," she teased gently.

At that, he gave a real grin. "You're on. In fact, you can even be my date. I won't be able to afford a nice outfit for you, but everyone will be able to see how amazing you are anyways."

"It's a date," Sue confirmed with a grin, "I think I can manage the outfit, though I guess I shouldn't go to flashy, after all I wouldn't want to take away from the star of the show. Besides, you know what those old scientists are like, I'd be much safer fading into the background of the event."

"I don't think there's any way you could ever fade into the background," Reed said honestly. "You're a shining star, Sue. Brighter than any supernova."

"Ahh Reed, thank you, that's beautiful," Sue flashed him a smile, "Although, a supernova might burn brightly, but it burns out really quickly destroying everything around it before ending up as a black hole or neutron star," she teased,

He paused. "I ..did not think that metaphor through enough. How about we just get to the beach?"

Sue smiled at him, "That sounds like a great idea," now all she had to do was figure out how to get Reed into the water.