He takes her arm through his and then they head for the elevator.
***
Sex as a woman is a lot less effort, at least this first time. All Elise has to do is get naked and lie on her back. She’s no stranger to having a man’s penis inside her, though usually she’s down on all fours when it happens. It’s nice to be able to look up at him and kiss him while he’s in the midst of the act.
As he jackhammers away on her, she feels a mix of pain and pleasure. She’s heard it said how a woman’s first time can be painful; she supposes this is her first time. She hadn’t really thought of herself as a virgin before for obvious reasons, but she supposes she is. This thought prompts her to giggle.
“What’s so funny?” he asks, probably concerned she’s laughing at him.
“You’re deflowering a virgin, do you know that?”
He pauses to stare at her. “You’re kidding,” he says. “Right? No way a girl like you is a virgin.”
“A girl like me? What’s that supposed to mean? You think I’m easy?”
“No! I mean a girl so beautiful—”
“I know what you mean. Get off me!” She doesn’t want to shove him back while he’s still inside her. At this point she wouldn’t mind if his dick snaps off, but it would be disgusting to have to fish it out of her.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said it like that.”
“You’re damned right. Now get off me. You can go finish the job in the bathroom.”
“Now listen, this is my room. You can’t go ordering me around.”
“You can get off of me or I can snap it off and we’ll have two women in the room. Got it?” He stares at her for a moment, trying to gauge if she means it. Then he pulls his cock out of her. She pulls the covers up over her breasts while he staggers off to the bathroom.
While she gets dressed, she hears him mutter, “Goddamned bar floozy.”
She charges into the bathroom, hitting him in the side with the door. He stumbles into the shower, where he squats down to protect his privates. “I am not a floozy!”
“Well you sure fooled me, darling.”
“You took advantage of me!”
“You went along with it easy enough.”
“Only because I was vulnerable. And you drugged me.”
“Drugged you?”
“All those glasses of wine you bought me. You wanted to get me drunk!”
“You were gulping them down like a fish.”
“A fish? I’ll show you a fish!” She steps into the shower and turns on the water. He cries out as a jet of water hits him.
“What the hell are you doing?”
“You want to screw a fish? Fine!” she shrieks. As the water runs over her neck, her gills open up. The webbing on her fingers and toes unfurls. His eyes widen with terror. Before he can make any move to escape, she throws herself at him and kisses him.
Before she understands what’s happening, she’s splayed on the floor of the shower, water running over her while he reenters her. It seems odd since she was so angry with him only a minute ago. Now she wants nothing more than for him to ravage her and then for the two of them to cuddle on the bed for a little while.
Instead of lying back, this time she kisses his chest and claws at his back, often at the same time. She can feel a surge building up within her as he continues to thrust. She lets out first a small moan and then a longer one. Then she screams as the surge finally dissipates in a frenzied burst of pleasure. A few moments later she feels something warm shoot inside her—his seed. He groans and then pulls out of her to lie next to her in the shower.
“That was amazing,” he says. He runs a hand along her gills. “Are these real?”
“Of course they are.” She smiles at him. “I’m a mermaid.”
“From Pacifica?”
“That’s right. You ever made it with a Pacifican girl before?”
“Hell no.”
“You want to again?”
“Hell yeah,” he says with a smile.
“But let’s wait until after dinner. I’m starved,” she says. She runs a hand through his hair. “Maybe later we can sneak into the pool and I can really show you some things.”
“I can’t wait.”
Chapter 15
Three minutes after the press conference, Allison is back in the lab. She could have made it in a sixth of that time if not for the slowness of the security computers at Grant Laboratories. Plus there had been the few seconds needed to change out of her uniform, into her civilian clothes.
The lab they’ve given her isn’t much bigger than the closet in her new apartment. She has a computer, a chair, and a Bunsen burner that doesn’t work. Anything else she needs, she’ll have to find a lab not in use to borrow from.
Her first day on the job, Dr. Lavie made it clear she was lucky to have any lab at all. “The military refuses to say anything about this research of yours. Care to shed any light on the subject, Dr. Sable?” The way he said “Doctor” made it clear he didn’t think much of her credentials.
“I’m afraid I can’t,” she said. “It’s Top Secret. I wouldn’t want to get you in trouble.”
“I suppose that’s a good idea.” He opened the door and said, “This is where you’ll be working. Let me know if you need anything.”
He left after that, the door slamming on his way out. The cold reception doesn’t come as a surprise, not after the way the military strong-armed him into letting her take up some of his precious space. She’s sure it chafes even more that she’s a woman.
Her lab coat hangs from the back of the door. She puts it on and then takes a pair of wire-framed glasses out of a pocket. The glasses have fake lenses; she picked them up from a drugstore to make her appear a little more grown up and professional.
She logs into the computer and then sighs. She has no idea what she’s doing here. There wasn’t much recovered from the device the Feminazi used on them. She has no idea what kind of energy it was that had caused this to happen.
With no other leads, she had taken samples of her own blood. She looks over them again, comparing them to samples taken from when she was still a man. It’s the same type and from what she can tell there aren’t any anomalies that would account for the change. Dr. Harken had already told her this much back at the base, but she wanted to confirm it.
Now what?
For lack of anything better, she goes through the files on Dr. Roboto and other pieces of technology he’s used. She should really ask Robin to help her with this; Robin has a lot more experience in searching through computer records. She could run to Redoubt City in about twenty seconds. The only problem will be getting into the mansion as Rob always kept the place rigged with all sorts of booby traps, some probably deadlier than Roboto’s.
Will Robin even want to help her? The way she was unceremoniously dumped from the team, she might not be anxious to do them any favors. But if this favor could make her a man again, then she would have to see the reason in that, wouldn’t she?
The alarm on Allison’s watch beeps. It’s not a signal from Major Dalton. This is the less ominous alarm for Jenny getting out of day care. Allison had set it before any of this madness. She doesn’t have the heart to change it.
She turns off the alarm and then gets dressed in her costume. Robin probably has everything the military has on Roboto already. If anything, she has more than the military. That will simplify things since she doesn’t have any pockets on this suit and anything she carries in her hand is likely to melt or get torn to shreds.
As she starts out, she thinks of the alarm again. The day care is just two seconds away at top speed. She might be able to get there before Sally shows up. Just one little peek at her daughter won’t hurt anything, will it?
She stops and then changes direction. It takes two-point-two seconds to get there. It’s probably these heels; she’s still cautious with them. When she co
mes to a stop, she’s in front of the day care. She arrives in time to see Sally walk away with Jenny’s hand in hers.
Stalking isn’t the kind of job for Velocity Gal. For one it requires moving slowly and for the other it’s difficult in a silver-and-blue suit. This is the kind of job better suited to Allison Sable.
Velocity Gal ducks behind the day care to change again. It’s easy enough for her to get back on Sally and Jenny’s trail. As she does, Allison asks herself what she’s doing. Is she really stalking her own family? She’s never felt like such a creep in her life. She ought to get back on her way to see Robin, or even go back to the lab. If Major Dalton found out, she would be really upset. So what? It’s her wife and daughter; she has every right to see them if she wants.
They don’t go straight home. Sally takes Jenny to the neighborhood park instead. As soon as they’re through the fence, Jenny tears away from her mother to the slide. Watching her, Allison wonders if Jenny will someday have superspeed like her father. It’s a question she’s considered before, but she’s never had the courage to do the necessary tests.
Sally sits on a bench with a couple other moms. She digs into her purse for a cell phone. Who’s she calling? Someone from her new job? A friend? Or maybe she already has a new boyfriend. Maybe she’s had one since before her husband “died.”
Allison tries to calm herself down. She finds a seat on another bench where she can inconspicuously watch Jenny play. The good thing about her current appearance is any casual observer will think she’s another mom, not a crazy stalker.
She watches Jenny zip down the slide. She squeals with delight as she reaches the bottom. As soon as she touches down, she heads back for the ladder. There are three other kids in front of her. Jenny climbs the ladder a bit at a time as each kid goes down. When it’s her turn, she stops at the top. “Mommy, look at me!” she shouts.
Sally continues typing on her phone, seemingly oblivious. Jenny waves furiously at her, so furiously that she stumbles. Allison is on her feet before she knows it. She needs less than half a second to reach the side of the slide. She plants herself there with arms extended. Jenny falls into her waiting arms.
“It’s all right,” Allison says. “I got you.”
Jenny looks Allison in the eye for a moment. Is there a sign of recognition? Then she begins to scream her head off. Allison’s body goes numb as she sets Jenny on the ground. The little girl runs to Sally, screaming and sobbing.
It would be easy enough for Allison to run away, but there are people looking at her now. She hurries away at a brisk pace for a normal person. Her face burns with embarrassment. How could she be so stupid? Of course Jenny wouldn’t recognize her. To Jenny, Allison was another stranger.
“Hey!” Sally shouts. Allison walks faster. “Hey you!”
Allison can hear Jenny’s sobs a moment before she feels a hand touch her shoulder. “Excuse me, ma’am,” Sally says.
Allison finally turns around. She looks down at the ground so Sally can’t get a good look at her face. For added insurance she shakes her hair forward. “Is something wrong?”
“My daughter says you caught her. Is that true?”
“Yes. She was falling.”
“Well, thank you very much. We were lucky you were in the right place at the right time.”
“You’re welcome.”
“Jenny, tell this nice lady thank you.”
“No.”
“Jenny—”
Jenny barely turns away from her mother’s shoulder. “Tank you.”
“You’re welcome, sweetheart,” Allison says. “I should be going now.”
“Oh, all right. Thank you again.” Sally holds out one hand for Allison to shake. She wants to use that hand to pull Sally into an embrace, but she knows she can’t. She’s made herself too conspicuous already.
So she shakes the hand and nods slightly before she hurries away. Once she figures she’s a safe distance away, she returns to the day care to pick up her costume. Then she sets out for Redoubt City.
***
As expected, Robin doesn’t exactly roll out the red carpet for her. Allison has to wait at the gate until Jasper unlocks it for her. The old man greets her at the door. “This is unexpected,” he says.
“I just came by to ask for some information for my research.”
“Yes, of course. Mistress Robin is downstairs.”
He shows her to the bunker beneath the mansion. The bunker is as large as a floor of the mansion itself in order to contain all of Midnight Spectre’s vehicles and equipment. There’s also a bedroom, a gym, and a fully-stocked kitchen.
Robin is in the gym at the moment, walking on a treadmill at what seems like an extremely slow pace for Velocity Gal. It’s weird to see the former Midnight Spectre dressed in a bright pink tracksuit. She stops the treadmill and then grabs a towel to wipe down her face. “What are you doing here?” she asks.
“I needed to get some information for my research. I figured there’s no one better to ask than you.”
“I’m glad you still remember me,” Robin growls. She throws the towel aside and then hops down from the treadmill. Up close it’s obvious how young she is, just a kid. Allison has to fight back tears as she thinks of Jenny. “You all right?”
“I’ll be fine,” Allison says.
“Jasper could fetch you a cup of tea.”
“No, thank you.”
She follows Robin to the huge computer terminal with its movie theater-sized screen. The chair seems to dwarf Robin as she sits down and begins to punch in commands. “So what are you looking for?”
“I wanted to see what you had on Dr. Roboto. Major Dalton gave me some files, but they’re probably not as complete.”
“You think there’s something in there about what happened to us?”
“It’s worth a look.”
“Yeah, I guess,” Robin mutters. She brings up the same files Dalton had given to Allison. “Nothing in here about any alien devices of the type that bitch used on us.”
“Too bad.”
“So you must have hit a dead end if you’re coming here for this.”
Allison pulls over a stool to sit on. She nods to Robin. “I’ve looked through Dr. Harken’s notes. I’ve run tests on myself. There’s nothing in there to indicate what exactly happened to us. It’s not like anything we’ve ever encountered before.”
Robin nods. She types in a few more commands. “I’ve tried searching for this Feminazi too. It’s a dead end. It’s like she appeared out of thin air. Whoever her and her goons were, they didn’t seem to belong to any known neo-Nazi organizations.”
“Didn’t any of them survive?”
“No. Those my plane didn’t kill took themselves out with cyanide capsules. The old standby.”
Allison looks down glumly at the floor. She runs a hand through her hair as she tries again to hold back tears. She shouldn’t break down in front of Robin, who obviously got it worse than any of them. “What about the weapon? Anything on which alien race might have created it?”
Robin runs her hand over the keyboard. A few images of alien weapons come onto the screen. “Going only from memory, it’s not easy. These are the best guesses, but all of those civilizations died out centuries ago.”
“Maybe there’s a survivor. Like Starla.”
“Even if there were at one point, they aren’t alive now. Roboto wouldn’t have left a loose end like that when he took their technology.”
“I suppose.”
“I’ll do some more digging. After school tomorrow.”
“School?”
“It’s Jasper and that counselor’s brilliant idea. They want me to learn to socialize with other kids or some such shit.”
Allison smiles at the girl. “You were never too social the first time.”
“Thanks. I’ll let you know if I find anything out.”
“Sure.??
? Allison shakes Robin’s slighter hand. “Thanks. And thanks for letting me borrow that phone of yours on the island. I really appreciated it.”
“You’re welcome.” Before Allison can go, Robin adds, “If you need anything else, let me know.”
“I will,” Allison says. She knows the offer is as much for Robin’s benefit as hers. The girl wants to feel useful. Allison can’t blame her for that. It’s terrible to feel so useless, so impotent. “Have fun at school tomorrow.”
“Yeah, right.” Robin waves goodbye and then turns back to her computer.
Allison takes the stairs up to the ground floor of the mansion. Jasper is there waiting for her. “Thank you for that,” he says. “I think it buoyed her spirits.”
“No problem. Are you really sending her to school?”
“The counselor thinks it’s for the best.”
“What about you?”
“I hope it will help her see she has more options than resuming her old life.” The old man sighs. “She’s been like my son—my daughter now, I suppose. I would hate to see her throw her life away foolishly.”
Allison nods as she thinks again of Jenny. The last thing Allison wants is for Jenny to inherit her father’s ability. The last thing she wants is for Jenny to risk her life day in and day out, to risk losing a family of her own, even if it means saving the world.
“I know what you mean.”
Chapter 16
There’s an old adage about crying in your beer, but Starla chooses to cry into her latte instead. She sits in Expresso’s, the coffee shop where she used to go before she went to work as a reporter at the Star, and mourns being fired for the first time. She isn’t sure how she’ll explain to Major Dalton that after all the hard work to get Starla a new identity, she lost her civilian job before lunch.
She tries to tell herself it’s their own fault. She has a degree in journalism, yet they gave her a job as a secretary at a place called TyCorp. “There aren’t many jobs for print reporters anymore,” Dalton had told her when Starla protested.
She could have done the job; it was just her new boss who made it a problem. He happened to be the founder and CEO, the Ty of TyCorp. She came dressed in a red top with a pleated front and a loose pair of blue slacks. She also wore the plastic-framed glasses she had worn as Stan Shaw to conceal her superhero identity.