Damsel: No More, page 8
part #1 of Damsel Series
She was kind of horny, after all. It wasn’t a huge thing, but she could use the contact, if nothing else.
When they got to the right room, her leading, since it was her place, the other woman took a deep breath.
“This bathroom is bigger than my living room. Literally. So, now, um... Sweetie, let’s get these clothes off and scrub me down? I didn’t want to seem wimpy, but this crud I have all over me kind of itches.”
Hannah did her own stripping which had her looked at, closely. The other woman winced.
“The bruising there is pretty bad. The Red Trio did that?”
Looking down she saw a few patches in various places that were in various stages of healing.
“Most of the bad ones. A few are from me falling down earlier. I wasn’t even drunk, just clumsy, I guess. Here, let me get the water going?”
Unlike her, Veronica was untouched, as far as bruising went. She did have to strip off the very flimsy outfit that was under the rest of her clothing. Looking at it, she grinned.
“I know, it’s nearly a waste. It changes color with me. It makes it harder to take my picture. At least with a digital camera. Even when it’s under my clothing. I just show up as a blur. Plus, this way I’m not flashing teen boys on the street every time I change.”
“I’d wondered. That’s kind of cool. I should get something like that. Except people would notice if their pictures of me didn’t come out right. Not that I’m famous really. I was on a reality television show a few times, about a year and a half ago. My friend Kate was on that.”
That, interestingly, got a nod.
“Cool. So, my new celebrity friend, help me out here? This is what you always do with your evenings, right? Rub strange people in interesting places?”
Hannah tilted her head then, because that wasn’t truly wrong, and after opening the shower door again, nodded. A bit of steamy water vapor was rising, as they stepped into the hand laid tile stall. A thing big enough for half a dozen people to shower at the same time.
Four of the water spigots had been turned on, to hit them from each direction. That put them off to one side of the thing, of course. There was no use in turning them all on, even to get fire suppressing chemicals off of a person.
They washed then, with Veronica clearly getting into parts of it. She arched her back rather cutely as it was being scrubbed, as if that might just tickle, and when it was Hannah’s turn, she did that right back. There was nothing more than that though, just soap and the use of a wash cloth and a sponge, since the chemicals were, honestly, a bit sticky.
Climbing out, after their important stranger bonding time, they each toweled themselves off, and Hannah streaked to her bedroom, to find other clothing, the track suit going into the hamper by the door in the bathroom. She had those kinds of things sent out to be cleaned. They picked up once a week, and would return things three days later. Cleaned, on hangers and placed directly back into her closet or drawers.
She dressed casually, in loose pants, tan ones made of cotton, and a loose light blue sweater. The gun holster was clipped, more securely now, to the inside of her trouser’s waist, and the giant folding knife was in her right-hand pocket. She’d forgotten to take the blade with her into the shower, so grimaced about it. She was supposed to be armed, all the time, now.
The firearm had stayed within ten feet of her, at least. Veronica had noticed it, but didn’t so much as blink at the idea of her having something like that. Probably because she was bullet proof. It sounded like that at least.
When she came out the other woman had her long black hair pulled back into a ponytail, with a bit of blue ribbon around it. Where that had come from, Hannah didn’t know. A pocket, probably. If you had long hair it made sense to make sure you could get it out of the way, at need.
Her pixie cut worked for that just as well. Plus, her hair was nearly dry again already. Veronica was going to be damp for hours, at the very least.
The other woman settled on the sofa, and then looked around.
“So, this is nice. You were going to tell me the secret of your success?”
She really hadn’t been, but the conversation had come up in her life before, many times, so she nodded. It was better to just say the needed words and not leave anyone in the dark. In the long run at least.
“Hannah de Peyser. Heir to one of the largest family fortunes in the world. Well, one of the heirs. I have a brother and a half-sister as well. They, for some reason, are never kidnapped at all. It’s happened to me... four times. I figure it’s being short, to be honest. That, and the fact that both of them are clearly more intelligent than I am, so don’t get themselves into trouble all the time.”
There was a slow nod then, but no widening of the eyes at the news that she had access to money.
“That’s probably part of it. When you pick a target for that sort of operation, going after the person you think is the least dangerous is going to make sense. Still, that’s a bit intense. Being kidnapped like that when the others aren’t.”
Hannah shrugged, settled into the cushions of the cream-colored sofa. It was soft enough to be pleasant, even on her bruises. Not that she didn’t need to shift around a little bit, to get comfortable.
“Part of it is probably me, really. My half-sister travels with bodyguards, constantly. My brother... Well, he’s invisible.” She grinned and shook her head. “Not in a superpowered way. I mean, he changed his name, got a degree in science and is living in a different state. We meet up, once every few years, so I know he’s alive, but he won’t even tell us where he is. He’s younger than me, too. By three years. So, you know, I get to have that one pointed out at the family dinners. That he’s successful and useful. When are you going to get married and have kids? That’s what I get to hear, mainly.” That one mainly came from her step-mother. She was, due to that, closer to her dad.
Then, the woman was her step-mom, and they’d never actually been close.
Making Cynthia her half-sister. Her biological mother had, literally, grabbed a bunch of money and run off with another man. Leaving her and Nathaniel to be raised by her father and then, after a few years, her step-mother. Karen wasn’t a monster or anything, though she clearly didn’t approve of how Hannah lived her life.
Instead of chatting about family drama, she shrugged.
“So, you were telling me the secrets of all the super people? I... Honestly didn’t know all of that. I mean, Wisp... I didn’t get a name there, but I think it’s probably the same person. Teleports? He wears all blue with a solid mask?”
That got a nod.
The woman smirked then.
“Yeah. That, pretending to be a dude, is a trick. She fills out the costume with telekinesis, constantly. We were on a mission once, taking down a fairly small-time prostitution ring, sex slaves, not just hard-working women getting by and needed to get inside under cover. I ended up having to do it, since she won’t remove the mask. She had to explain and show me the rest of the trick, so I’d believe her. It just made a lot more sense for a man to be a client than a woman. Plus, I look like this, so, if I want to get some, it normally happens. Not with her, though. She claims to be straight.” That got a shrug. “Which, I mean, that’s a thing. It could be that she didn’t want to remove the mask, of course. A lot of people in this game are like that. Not all of them. I mean, there are some people who I don’t want to know about me, like the police. The trick there is that they can’t really prove it’s me, doing anything. Really, most people look at me and don’t think that I’d bother helping anyone else, based on my looks. Well, you get that one, I bet.”
That got a blink, then slowly, a grin.
“No shit, right? If I say thanks to a waitress people act as if it’s some huge sacrifice on my part. Part of that is just the money. The rest... well, I don’t look like you, do I?”
That got a nod.
“The bruises aren’t helping with that. Under that... You’re attractive. That’s a blessing and a curse in life. You probably don’t notice it. I normally don’t, personally and I was forced to be something unusual that way. It’s just my life now. I remember being a kid, I was a bit ugly, to start with and people really did treat me differently. Then, well, I was changed. I looked sixteen when I was twelve and the island was filled with half human, half animals, so... You know, rape was a thing, even if they didn’t think of it that way. More than once I ended up doing a cat man because one of the other girls was in heat. By the way, short pokey hairs that point the wrong way... I cannot recommend it, if you have a choice.”
Shuddering a bit, not meaning to, Hannah let her eyes go big.
“That’s horrible. I hadn’t... From the sound if it, I sort of figured that, you know, your father might have...”
“Been a child abuser? Oh, fuck yeah. It took me years to understand that what I grew up with wasn’t normal, in a lot of ways. I... Look, I don’t tell people this a lot, but one of the changes he made in me was to boost my libido. I was pretty much forced into being a nympho, starting at about nine and a half. I didn’t know any better. Or different. I say it was rape, because I was too young, but...”
That made enough sense that Hannah cleared her throat, sternly.
“That’s because it was. We have rules that way for a reason. Using super science to force a woman, or girl, into wanting to do things is still rape. I don’t know if that would hold up in court, but morally... Yeah. I mean, the same is true if it was done to a man or boy, I’m not trying to say it isn’t, but... If they take your choices away, then it’s evil.”
She thought so, anyway.
Veronica sighed.
“Yeah. So, I’m more than a little messed up from that kind of thing. I try to make up for it by helping people when I can. Which, in the main, I suck at. I mean, look at today? I was ready to wade in and start fighting with a man spreading fire all over the place. He’d been focused on one building and doing that would have gotten him to throw things all over the place. You got that, calling for the water like you did. Then the actual professionals saved my bacon out there. Sure, I took him down, but it was about ten seconds from being a major conflagration, because I didn’t know what to do about it.” She shook her head then, and smirked.
“So... Do you like Chinese food? I know a place near here that can deliver?”
Hannah grinned at the words, and nodded.
“That sounds fun. I need to get with some other people, so... We might need to have food for more than two?”
That got a sigh, and a slightly downcast look, like it wasn’t her real plan for the rest of the night. Then, she’d flat out told Hannah that she was pretty much a nympho. That could mean that she had other ideas. Things which would work a lot better if a certain heiress wasn’t covered in bruises, she had to think.
Still, she simply texted Katie, who had managed to leave a few messages, earlier in the day. That got a response, which she read out loud.
“Coming over then. Be right there. Order egg rolls.”
Veronica, with her own phone out, did that, getting what sounded like way too much food for even three people. She knew the address already, which left Hannah feeling a little out of sorts. After all, if she went all sketchy stalker on her, there would be no way for her to escape. Then, nodding to herself a bit, she decided not to worry about it.
After all, Veronica was a little weird, but didn’t seem evil or anything. Besides, she was clearly already stalking Lashondra. That might not be healthy, but if it was just innocent fan worship, then it probably wasn’t that big of a deal.
Kate, who was always on time, making it a point of pride, was known at the front door. That meant she was let in, after a call came up for Hannah to okay it. The woman was there often enough that it didn’t take much longer than it would have for Han to do the same thing. Then, Kate had her fingerprint and retina scan on record there, and was keyed to be let in, using just that.
When the door opened, she had the Chinese food in her hands, clearly picked up at the desk. It was three large bags full, and seemed slightly heavy, which had the woman, her fellow socialite, grinning. Her makeup was, as always, totally on point and she seemed happy. Even after wincing, looking at Hannah’s face.
“Damn. I should have come over earlier and checked on you. Is...” Veronica walked up then, and took the food, which she’d paid for, making it hers anyway.
“Um, hi! I’m Kate Sinclair.” She didn’t hold a hand out, but smiled at the new person who was suddenly there.
Veronica nodded then.
“Hello! I’m Hannah’s new girlfriend. Veronica Pond. We’ve been dating for... What is it now, honey? Three hours?” She deadpanned the whole thing, for as long as she could, then broke into slightly awkward sounding laughter. Which clearly and truly marked her as being socially adept, of course.
Still, Hannah backed her up.
“More than that by, oh, at least fifteen minutes.”
Then, leading the way, they went to the kitchen, to get plates, so they could eat the food.
Chapter six
There was a strange tension in the air, as the Chinese food, which was decent, for takeout, was consumed. Hannah didn’t have much of it, sticking to things that weren’t fried and mainly had vegetables. Steamed ones, when she could. Veronica simply had a heaping plate of food, with loads of sauces and fried things. Katie had more as well, for some reason.
The woman was taller than Hannah, but also worked out a lot more. She did a bit, but not every day or with a will, like her best friend did. That got her to start nodding.
“Right. I need to start working out each day. I’m in training.”
That got a strange look, if only from Kate.
“You’re going to... Take up marathon running? That doesn’t sound like you really. I mean, you aren’t lazy, but...”
There was a head shake then, since lying about things like that made no sense at all.
“No, it’s for self-defense training. I’m getting tired of having my behind handed to me. You know...” The words got a nod from both women.
They ate for a bit, with Katie finally sighing.
“You can come use my gym for that? It’s a good facility that way and we can set up a plan for you. Dan will do that, I bet.”
That was a man that Hannah had met, a few times. She grinned then.
“Dan, the hunky doctor? That sounds fun. At least until he starts screaming at me and making me work too hard.” She glanced at Veronica, and winked. “Kate’s personal trainer. He puts her through hell, most days. At least it sounds like it to me. I was thinking of, you know, more like walking for an hour a day or something. Stretching.”
The words got her waved at with an egg roll. Kate laughed, for some reason.
“That won’t work. Two hours, five days a week? I’ll let Dan know that you’re coming. When? About... Noon?” That was early for Hannah, which the other girl knew, from long exposure.
Groaning a bit, she nodded.
“I have that free and it really isn’t far from here. Now, I have another problem. One that you two can help me with.”
Veronica giggled then.
“Sex? We can do that, I bet. You’re straight though, right Kate? I mean, you don’t seem to be...”
That got a nod and a bit of a glare, directed at the very hot woman.
“True. Not that I can’t sit here and call out suggestions for you two, if you want to get busy. I’ll grab my camera and we can sell the video online.”
That was a joke, since Katie was actually very against that kind of thing. To a level that she actually had dropped a few of her old friends who had done things like that. Hannah didn’t really care if people wanted to do that. It was crass to profit off of it, but done to gain publicity.
She made a silly face at the others.
“Not that one, believe it or not. I... Remember when I was kidnapped and locked in that box, underground?” That was for her old friend, but oddly, both women nodded. Which was odd.
Kate glared at Veronica again, as if she doubted that the woman understood that at all.
“Yeah. I still have nightmares about that happening to you, so... I remember it.”
“At the time there had been an anonymous tip. Telling the police exactly where I was and how to find me. A telepath, or so they claimed. I found out who it was, yesterday.”
Katie lit up.
“Really? Who?”
“A boy, named Alistair Marks. He’s sixteen, now. Ten when he saved my life. His family owns a failing bakery, so they aren’t doing that well in that regard. I... I mean, I could just send them money, or something like that, but I’m not certain that the parents know about the kid’s powers. If they do, they aren’t profiting off of them, so it could be an issue. I was thinking of making something up, so that I could funnel some cash that way, without it being a big deal. I don’t know how, of course.”
Veronica made a baffled face, but Katie looked away and nodded after a while.
“I see... You could... Start a charity, in the area? Where is it?”
Hannah had to focus, to recall that one.
“Springfield, Illinois. The neighborhood they are in is kind of run down and poor. This last depression is hitting a lot of places hard. I caught the headlines of an article or two on that.” Which was true, if only happening as she cyber stalked Al.
That got a sour expression from Katie.
“I know that one. You could... Start a food bank? Get with some big companies that work in that area, food, I mean, and see if you can get things wholesale, in return for publicity. Then get with the bakery to provide fresh bread, donuts, cake, that kind of thing, each day? It’s not what real food banks do, but it’s the kind of thing that everyone would expect you to think was normal. The thing there is that no one will care much, as long as people without food get to eat. Well, they will, since, you know, donuts.”
