Author's note: The first hints of Taylor-plot appear here and, unfortunately, I don't know how I can make Taylor-related stuff funny (at least not this early on, while her life is still suffering). However, I'm going to do my best as she gradually enters the picture to keep any angst to an absolute minimum because angst is just not the point of this story. Anyway, have a little chapter.
*****
The next morning, I received my first weekly survival points.
Spoiler: Quest Update
Repeatable Quest: Get off, not offed.
Primary Objective: Be alive by Sunday morning.
Reward: +1 Stat Point, +1 Skill Point
Which brought me to 2 Stat Points and 4 Skill Points unspent, and seeing as how if anyone asked about my powers growing again I could honestly say that I'd gotten some of my natural growth over time, I decided to spend them. I put a point each in Mind and Magic for starters (Magic because it seemed like nearly everything I did was hugely dependent on my mana pool, and Mind because having just met Panacea, it probably wouldn't be too much longer before I met Glory Girl and I wanted to start seriously upping my resistance to potential mind-rape) After that, I put one point each into Heal, Overheal, and Vitality (because getting closer to a Wolverine-like healing factor would be great for my plan of Not Dying).
For my last Skill Point, I decided to take a chance and buy one of the Mana Shield upgrades.
Spoiler: Mana Shield Enhancement-Air
Skill Level: 1
Description: Passively enhances Mana Shield. Mana Shield now reduces kinetic energy from harmful winds (breathable air and otherwise), reduces the air pressure (including frictional), and filters breathable poisons and pathogens (will not provide additional breathable air).
Magnitude: 100 * [Mana Shield Enhancement-Air level] Newtons per square meter air pressure reduction. Currently: 100 N/m^2
Synergistic Effect Description: If all 6 (1 hidden) Mana Shield Enhancement skills are purchased, Mana Shield gets +100% kinetic energy reduction for each level in the lowest-leveled Mana Shield Enhancement Skill. Currently: +0%
Unlocks: Mana Shield Enhancement-Void
I was glad I did. Never have to worry about breathing in poison or nasty diseases as long as my Mana Shield was up? That was huge; it countered Fog's power and a bunch of the nasty crap that Bonesaw could do, and if there were a fire, smoke inhalation wouldn't be as much of a problem (although I could still suffocate). The air pressure reduction was sweet too; it'd probably be huge once I was able to fly (and let's be honest, there HAD to be a way for me to fly). Also, that synergy bonus would make a big difference, eventually.
It was starting to get complicated, though. Soon, I'd need to start a spreadsheet to figure out the best way to spend my points.
Anyway, that was that. I moved on to my next order of business, which was to write and mail a letter.
Dear Miss Taylor Hebert,
Over the past year and a half--from a little before you started High School--you've been subjected to near-constant abuse from your classmates. The authority figures in your life have been largely absent, negligent, or cowardly, with a few even acting in ways that seem to actively facilitate the bullying.
I would like to help.
After all that you've been isolated and that your trust has been aggressively betrayed in the past months, I wouldn't expect that you're feeling very willing to trust anyone right now, much less a stranger sending you a cryptic letter; but just as I know some things about you and your situation, I also know some things about them and their situations. I can provide context for all of it. I know why E and S became such close friends, why they are the way they are, and why E decided to make it her mission to betray you so thoroughly. Note that I have explanations for them, but not excuses. I don't believe there are excuses for what they've done, just as I don't believe that you're obligated to forgive them or anyone else involved. I do, however, believe that you deserve those explanations should you wish to hear them and I further believe that you should have a say in what will be done.
If you're interested in learning more (and there is more, even beyond what I've hinted at here), send a PM to ThrowawayFhqwhgads on PHO, and I will answer what questions I can. I will send no other letters to you at this address.
Lastly, for what it's worth, I apologize for the cloak and dagger nonsense. I have reasons for it, but I imagine it's frustrating. Sorry.
Click to expand...
It'd turned out to be pretty easy to figure out Taylor's home address; a search online for Daniel Hebert had led me to find his resume, which in turn had had the Heberts' home address. Thus, the letter. Honestly, I was pretty unsure on what would come of it. I'd done my best to try and be as nonthreatening and understanding as I could be, but even if I hadn't been sending a shady, anonymous, 'I KNOW THINGS' letter, Taylor would still be suspicious as fuck. Regardless, the letter should arrive within the next few days and either it'd work and I'd have my first point of contact, or I'd have to go back to the drawing board.
In the meantime, I figured I'd see if anyone wanted to play ping pong.
The thing with being a full-time Protectorate Hero is that no one, save maybe Armsmaster, is their job 24/7. Heroes have plenty of downtime where they aren't patrolling, fighting baddies, or training. Of course, official policy is to encourage activities for us that promote our fitness and eye-hand coordination, and that's why the Rig has a dedicated ping pong room. I was also, without question, the worst player in the local Protectorate (incidentally, Miss Militia's power could turn into a ping pong paddle, and she was amazing with it. Velocity and Assault, however, were banned from using their powers when playing unless they were playing each other, because they'd be just about completely unbeatable otherwise).
Before being cloned into the Wormverse, I was actually a halfway decent player, and you'd think that my Body points would give me quite an edge. They probably would, too, eventually, but by my first Sunday on Earth Bet I hadn't gotten used to my new Strength enough to use it well with a paddle. Consequently I sucked, but Dauntless was still down to wreck me for a few games.
"You look tired, Squiggs," he said to me between points, "Mouse Protector wear you out, yesterday?"
"Yeah, but not the way you're thinking. You see..."
***FLASHBACK TO 3:12AM***
~Here I come to save the daaay...~
~Here I come to save the daaay...~
~Here I come to save the daaay...~
~Beep~
"...mmph."
~Here I come to save the daaay...~
~Here I come to save the daaay...~
~Here...~
"Hullo?"
"HIGH-PEEN! Did ya miss me?"
I should've listened to Armsmaster...
"...I was sleeping. Why are you calling me now? And, how could I miss you already? I just fucked your ass twice today."
"Yesterday, actually."
"...within the past twenty-four hours, I fucked you a few times."
"Yup! About that. The butt stuff was really hot. Top-notch fun."
"Mmhmm."
"But, constructive criticism here, using a condom with my pussy? Less hot."
"...OK..."
"So anyway, I was thinking that we should make up for that. Only thing hotter than a barely legal teenager filling my ass up with cum? A barely legal teenager knocking me up. Fucking a baby into me."
"...feeling a little objectified by the way you're saying that...but counterpoint. No."
"No, It's not hot?"
"...no, fine, it's super hot. I'm just not ready to be a father at this point in my life."
"Oh, is that all? Yeah, me neither. I'm fucking crazy; I'd be a terrible mother. I was thinking I'd just have an abortion after you knocked me up."
"..."
"High-Peen?"
"You know, I've never been against abortions in principle, but I'm...just...ugh. It doesn't seem fucking nuts to you...to plan beforehand to have an abortion...before you deliberately get knocked up? Not even a little?"
"It's not as nuts as it is hot."
"Yeah, no. Not gonna knock you up."
"Please?"
"No."
"Well...what about...if I had the baby and gave it to some couple to adopt? Oh my god, that'd be even hotter...you could fuck me when I have a big, pregnant tummy. Fuck. I'm getting wet. What are you wearing?"
"...boxer-briefs..."
"Oh! Nice." I heard a buzzing sound in the background. She continued in a huskier voice. "So...Baby...if Mama found a nice couple to adopt...would Baby fuck Mama's pussy full of cum and knock her up? And..." she was breathing heavily on the line by this point "...and keep fucking Mama's fat, baby-bellied body full of cum?"
"OK, fine. Yeah. I'm down."
"HNNNGGGG...!"
"...but I'm gonna go back to sleep now."
"MMMmmm...sweet dreams, Baby..." ~Beep~
Unfortunately, I couldn't get back to sleep right away because I had to take care of myself in the bathroom.
***END FLASHBACK***
"...so in summary, Mouse Protector is pretty crazy."
"Shit." said Dauntless. "The abortion stuff? That's pretty out there."
"Yep."
~Pip-pop. Pop. Pip. Pop. Pip.~
"So... Kill, marry, fuck. Bonesaw, Siberian, Crawler."
Dauntless whiffed his shot. "Oh, fuck you, dude. Not cool."
"I gotta win somehow. But you didn't answer."
"Fuck that, I lost the point. YOU answer it."
"Alright. Marry Bonesaw, because I technically don't have to consummate the marriage, so I don't have to be a pedophile. Now, the hard part. Siberian could be sexy, but I'd fucking die. Crawler's disgusting, but my wife Bonesaw is a biotinker, so she could maybe give me something to not die from Crawler. Plus, if I killed the Siberian I'd be a fucking legend. So fuck Crawler and kill the Siberian."
"You'd still have to fuck Crawler, though."
"Yeah, it's kind of lose-lose."
~Pip-pop. Pop. Pip...~
It was then that Assault came into the room. "I got next game?"
"Sure, dude," replied Dauntless. "Hey Ethan. Fuck, marry, kill. Bonesaw, Siberian, Crawler."
I whiffed my shot while laughing at Assault's face. Damnit.
*****
Spoiler: end of chapter Character Sheet
Sidney "Squiggs" Quigley
MP: 120/120
Status: Healthy
Stats
Body: 3
Mind: 3
Magic: 6
Available Points: 0
Current Skills:
Spoiler: Heal
Spoiler: Vitality
Spoiler: Heal Enhancement-Overheal
Spoiler: Strike
Spoiler: Mana Shield
Spoiler: Mana Shield Enhancement-Air
Spoiler: Mana Bolt
Spoiler: Enhanced Perception
Spoiler: Quick Thinking
Unlocked Skills:
Crush (Requirements not met: Body-4, Strike-2)
Mana Shield Enhancement-Water
Mana Shield Enhancement-Earth
Mana Shield Enhancement-Fire
Mana Shield Enhancement-Void (Requirements not met: All Elemental Mana Shield Enhancements)
Mana Bolt Alternate Mode-Stun
Mana Bolt Alternate Mode-Beam
Mana Bolt Alternate Mode-Pierce
Mana Bolt Alternate Mode-Explode
Sphere of Awareness (Requirements not met: Mind-4, Enhanced Perception-2)
Unreadable (Requirements not met: Mind-5, Quick Thinking-2)
Available Points: 0
Perks:
Spoiler: Bitch
Spoiler: Mouse Protector
Current Quests:
Spoiler: A King for the Queen of Escalation
Spoiler: The Lay of the Land
Spoiler: Honestly, She Should Be Doing It For Herself
Spoiler: They Can Call Me Daddy
Spoiler: Get off, not offed
Author's note: Sorry that this chapter's rather short; an important part of it sets up the next one which I plan on making longer. The next chapter will also involve someone new! See if you can guess who it will be before you read this one!
***Monday***
"Hyperion. Have a seat."
"Thank you, Madam Director...and might I say, you're looking ferocious this morning."
Spoiler: Quest Update
Quest Unlocked: Stop Digging!
Objective: Finish this conversation without ruining your relationship with Director Piggot.
Details: You're in a hole. Will you climb out or keep digging?
Success: 1 Skill Point
Failure: Ruining your relationship with Piggot probably won't make being a Protectorate Hero any easier, now will it?
Her expression, which had been mildly distracted, snapped into sharp focus as she regarded me for a long few seconds. Uh oh. "What was that?"
"Flirting, Director Piggot. Ma'am." I did my best not to squirm.
"Yes. I understood that part. Let me ask a different question: why did you try to flirt with me?"
"Uh... honestly? It just sort of seemed like a fun idea at the time. I mean, I don't want to flirt with any other women here, parahuman or not--that is, unless they initiate, I guess--because I worry that they might think they're obligated to go along with it or something and if things escalate with a woman who's afraid to say 'no' to me, then that goes in a dark direction and I don't wanna be a rapist... sorry, I'm babbling a little. Basically, if I'm gonna flirt with anyone, here, it should be with you, Director, because I figure you won't have a problem shooting me down."
She stared at me for a few seconds without blinking.
Oh, the hell with it. I do better with honesty anyway. "Also...I was maybe trying to butter you up a little. See, I've been growing my healing power a lot since we've met, and now it's at the point where I can heal--very slowly, mind you, but I can heal--things like missing limbs, brain damage, and organ failure. I don't know all the specifics, but I can see that you're sometimes a little jaundiced, which makes me think either liver or kidney problems. Whatever it is, I could probably treat it with maybe a week's worth of dedicated healing. And, uh, much quicker than that after I boost my power more."
"You...want to get on my good side...so that I'll let you heal me?" Piggot ground out in disbelief.
"Basically, yeah. I mean, you're a PRT Director, and I'm sure New Wave would be happy to have Panacea heal you if you asked, so... the fact that you haven't means there's a reason for it. Maybe you don't want to give them the good PR, but then again maybe you're just not too keen on giving a depressed, traumatized teenager that kind of access to your body which, OK, I can get that."
"...so flirting with me and getting on my good side is your way of...what, persuading me that you're mentally stable enough to be trusted with healing me?"
"Yeeessss. Yeah, that's about right...though it sounds kind of stupid when you put it that way."
"...and you want to heal me...so that you can bear the thought of fucking me?" She delivered that question without audibly changing her tone, but there was danger in those words and I involuntarily stiffened my posture.
I took a deep breath and exhaled evenly before answering. I was frazzled, but if I was being honest with myself, this had been coming ever since my interview. There was no way she didn't know that I'd said I could get a boost from her, and I would've bet anything that she knew what else I'd said. Might as well face this head-on. "OK. So. Honestly? The thought had occurred to me. But! Healed or not, I won't try to seduce you if I don't think you're interested in being seduced. If I heal you, and nothing happens between us, that's still a win in my book for enlightened self-interest if nothing else, because then I don't have to worry as much about you being sidelined due to health issues and a boorish, trigger-happy nut like Tagg taking over. I'm interested in healing you even if we never have sex."
She leaned back in her chair as she regarded me, and for a moment I worried that she'd ask me how exactly I knew that Tagg was a boorish, trigger-happy nut, but she said nothing, never changing her expression. Her silence loomed over me.
Breaking the quiet, with a hopeful smile I asked "So...Yea or nay on the flirting?"
For a few moments more, she said nothing. At last, with a faint sigh, her expression softened and she let out a brief chuckle. "Brat," she grumbled, "just don't overdo it."
"Yes, Ma'am!" I replied with relieved enthusiasm.
"Good. Now, to finally get to the reason I asked you into my office in the first place." She began drily. "In your last meeting with Armsmaster, you mentioned three particular women. Zoe Barnes, Regina Hess, and Abigail Clements."
"Yes, that's right."
"The PRT does not have extensive files on either Zoe Barnes or Abigail Clements, although that may change over the coming weeks as your words have made them... persons of interest of a sort. Regina Hess, however, is someone with whom we are well acquainted. But you already knew that, didn't you?"
I shrugged while giving her an innocent smile.
"...regardless. After having her sign a relevant NDA, she now knows of the existence of a Protectorate Hero whose powers can grow under rather unique conditions. Shall I take it that you would be willing to explore those conditions with Ms. Regina Hess?"
"You know, If I weren't still flustered from our earlier conversation, I'm sure I'd come up with some kind of flirty innuendo. I've got nothing right now, though. Yes, I'm willing."
"Good. Make sure you've got something nice to wear, because you won't be meeting Ms. Hess in the testing facility. In her own words, she didn't 'want to feel like a whore,' so instead you'll be taking Ms. Hess out for dinner and dancing tomorrow evening. Do you know how to dance, Hyperion?"
"No, not so much."
"Then I suppose you'll have to rely on your flirting." She gave me just a hint of a smile. "I imagine you'll do fine if you're...ferocious enough."
Spoiler: Quest Update
Quest Completed: Stop Digging!
Primary Objective (Complete!): Finish this conversation without ruining your relationship with Director Piggot.
Hidden Objective (Complete!): Keep digging and somehow get yourself out of the hole anyway.
Primary Reward: 1 Skill Point
Hidden Reward: 1 Stat Point, 1 Skill Point
*****
Spoiler: end of chapter Character Sheet
Author's note pre-note: weirdest thing. I hit the edit button and MY ENTIRE POST DISAPPEARED. Thankfully I'd saved most of the draft, but that sucked. Anyway, sorry about the technical difficulty.
Author's note: This chapter was a lot harder for me than some of the others. As it's a slightly longer one and I don't have an editor, please let me know if you find any obvious mistakes or typos and I'll try to correct them.
*****
***Wednesday, early evening***
Waiting just outside the restaurant--a Spanish joint called 'Tapas' with occasional live music and Latin dancing some evenings--was a handsome, middle-aged, black woman. Having clearly put effort into her appearance for the evening, she was wearing light make-up, high-heels, and a sweater and ankle-length skirt combination that didn't show all that much of her richly dark skin, but still made her plump, curvy figure obvious. She was rather tall (in her heels, she was nearly eye-level with me) and curvy, with her broad hips, slightly rounded belly, and prominent bust (nearly, but not quite, as busty as Mouse Protector had been). You couldn't call her a classical stunner, as she had noticeable worry lines she'd not quite managed to hide behind make-up indicating that she likely didn't get as much sleep as she needed, but she had a pleasant enough face nonetheless.
When I'd been eighteen the first time, I'd probably have been too embarrassed to admit to anyone that I could be attracted to a woman on the thicker side of curvy. More life experience tends to lead to fewer shits given, though, and for my second time being eighteen I was completely unashamed to say that I found Ms. Hess sexy.
What I found more attractive about her than anything, though, was the how she visibly brightened when I first made eye contact. Her eyes held my gaze and widened slightly at the sight of me, highlighting an expression of surprised, almost disbelieving attraction. In my past life I'd only ever gotten that reaction a rare few times (mostly with significantly older women), but damned if it didn't get my blood pumping.
"Regina?" I asked, giving her my best attempt at a charming smile with a hint of smolder.
"You're Sidney? Call me Gina, please," she replied, pleased surprise still clear on her face.
"Sure, Gina. Shall we?" Still bemused, she took my offered arm and we went inside to get a table. "I'm guessing I'm not what you expected?" I opened with a small smile.
"I gotta say, I don't know what I expected," she admitted. She paused to fix me with another look. "You know, they told me you'd be young, but wow. Don't bullshit me, if not for your 'situation', would you even give an old lady like me a second look?"
"You're not old," I casually replied.
She raised an eyebrow before responding drily "Honey, I'm pushing forty."
"You're not old," I reiterated, meeting her eyes with a barely-suppressed smirk, "because I'm not attracted to old women."
For a few seconds she said nothing and kept a straight face before her lips shifted into a slow smile and she dropped her eyes briefly. "Alright. That wasn't bad. You gonna be that smooth all night?"
"All night? I can only hope." I replied with a cheeky grin.
"Stop it, you," she said, fanning herself playfully. "You'll make me blush. You use those lines on pretty white girls, too, or just chubby black ladies?"
"I object to that last question."
"Oh yeah?"
"Yeah, I object to the implication that chubby black ladies can't be pretty."
She threw her head back and cackled. "Oh, Honey. Seven out of ten! Layin' it on a little think, you know?" She smiled at me with just a bit of heat behind it. "...but don't you stop on my account."
...and so the evening went. I flirted shamelessly whenever I could, and she thrilled in the attention and flirted back. When the flirting stalled, I kept the conversation on her and her life, while avoiding dangerous topics such as my history and Sophia. Somehow, we managed to keep the conversation going smoothly enough that we never even got up to dance (rather to my relief).
There was just one minor hiccup during the date. We'd just paid the check and Gina had excused herself to the bathroom. As I idly sipped my water, I felt a tap on my shoulder and I turned in my chair to see a blonde woman with a buzz-cut and a dancing dress staring intensely at me with a toothy half smile.
She had a lot of scars. Not just the sexy, rugged kind like that one vertical one over one eye that you sometimes see in movies (although she actually did have one of those), but scars criss-crossing just about every part of her visible skin--forearms, calves, face--culminating in one particularly large, nasty-looking one on her throat.
Crap.
I tensed. Her eyes and smile tightened a little, but she only held up a notepad and pen and offered them out to me. Gingerly, I took them and read.
How much?
I uncomprehendingly blinked once before the slow realization hit me. I was a wholesome-looking, relatively attractive young man on a date with a nicely dressed, very obviously much older woman.
Spoiler: Quest Update
Repeatable Quest Unlocked: How You Gonna Pay The Rent, Boy?
Objective: Have sex with a partner willing to pay you for the privilege and then get paid for it.
Details: Join the proud ranks of the world's oldest profession and be a ho!
Reward: 1 Stat Point, 1 Skill Point
I allowed myself to relax a little and glanced back at the scarred woman. Paying a different sort of attention now that I wasn't so scared out of my mind I noticed a hint of hopefulness in her strained smile.
"Just you?"
She nodded quickly and my thoughts raced. It was a bad idea. I knew it was a really bad idea.
...but I was going to do it anyway. What the hell should I charge? Shit. Gina could be back at any minute. Think fast!
"...can you give me a way to contact you? I'd rather not negotiate prices while I'm currently on a date." I gave her my very best smoldering eye-contact. "I like to give any woman I date my..." I drew out the next word "...undivided...attention."
Her cheeks pinked and she nodded hastily, gesturing for the notepad. A moment later, she tore off a piece of paper and thrust it at me.
Melody / swiftestgrasshopper555 on PHO
"Thank you, Melody," I said, pocketing the paper, "I'll be in touch."
She practically skipped away. Before Gina returned to the table I reflected that it was a pretty big coincidence that our date for the evening, arranged through the PRT, just happened to be at a restaurant frequented by Cricket of all people... but my ruminations about how clearly someone back at the PRT needed an asskicking would have to wait; Gina was coming back and she deserved my attention. Her face was lit with a sultry confidence that she'd not had at the start of the night.
"I'm ready to go. Walk me home, Sidney?" she asked with a suggestive smile.
We walked the few blocks back to her apartment building arm in arm, her leaning lightly into me ("It's cold in January," she'd murmured). When at last we arrived, she said "I had a lovely evening, Sidney. But...my children won't be home tonight, and it gets a little lonely when it's quiet...would you like to come in for some coffee and keep me company?"
"I'd love to," I replied.
A few minutes later, we hadn't started the coffee.
We were embracing, her lips against mine. I opened my mouth and tasted the after-dinner mint on her breath as I lightly pushed my tongue into her mouth. She kicked off her shoes and I reached down to start pulling her sweater up before she stopped me.
"Sorry, I...I'd rather have the lights off and...let me use the bathroom first?"
"Of course," I replied. She hurried to her bathroom and I hastily disrobed, taking a moment to pull a three-pack of condoms from my pocket and placing it on a nearby night-stand before crawling into her bed.
After a minute the lights clicked off. By the time my eyes adjusted, she already under the covers next to me. "It's cold tonight," she murmured.
"Can I warm you up?"
She laughed softly. "Please." I felt her fingers wrap around my cock. I rapidly started hardening as she gently stroked me. "Just... please don't be bothered if...if I can't cum. I sometimes have trouble cumming my first time with someone new..."
Welp, there goes that Skill Point. Shit, no, that's an asshole thought. Stop it. "That's fine. Don't feel pressured on my account, but let me know if at any point it doesn't feel good, OK?"
"It'll feel good. Make love to me, Sidney?" She let go of my cock. I reached over to the night-stand and she spoke again. "You can wear one if you want to, but I haven't missed a pill in years." I decided to let the condoms be.
I moved to position myself above her. She spread her legs wide, her breath hitching as my cock teased the warm wetness at her entrance. "Ohhh, Sidney..." she moaned as I pushed into her, her slick walls caressing my cock as I bottomed out in a single slow, smooth stroke. I bent forward on top of her and her breasts mashed up against my chest as I kissed her. She moaned into my mouth and reached up to run her fingers through my hair as our tongues wrestled again.
I released her mouth to kiss at her neck as I started to slowly thrust. "That feels so nice, Sidney..." she whispered into my ear as she tousled my hair with one hand and rubbed my back with the other, and for a long few minutes we just made love in that position; her massaging my scalp and back as I stroked my cock into her warm wetness. I nuzzled and breathed into her neck as she murmured "Oh, Sidney... Sidney..." again and again into my ear.
Eventually I started pushing myself up and she moved her hands to my chest. In the dark, I could see her run her eyes down my chest. "So pretty..." she whispered to herself before her eyes returned to mine. "You wanna come for me, Honey?" she asked with a naughty grin. For a moment, I felt her wet cunt pulse tightly on my cock. My eyes widened in surprise as she said, a little smugly, "kegels."
I restarted thrusting into her and she started moaning my name again, her hands running over my sides and through my chest hair. "I wanna come inside you, Gina," I grunted, and I felt her clench-pulse on my cock again. I started thrusting faster as I felt myself getting closer. "I'm gonna fill you up!" I growled.
"Yes, Sidney! Pretty white boy! Fill me up!" she gasped out as I slammed into her, my balls tightening up and then I was pulsing, cumming into her as deeply as I could.
Moments later, I found myself regaining my wherewithal as I lay atop her; feeling her calming heartbeat against my chest as she played with my hair. "That felt so nice..."
"Mmmm..." I responded, really enjoying how touchy she was in my afterglow. For a few minutes, we just reveled in that.
"Sidney..." she began, breaking the silence, "did you want to stay the night?"
"Sure, if you'd like me to."
"Would you? It's just... I do have work tomorrow so you'd have to be up early... is that OK?"
"That's fine...um. Do you have a spare toothbrush?"
She chuckled, then gave a little gasp as my softening cock fell out of her.
Spoiler: Quest Update
Repeatable Quest: The Lay of the Land
Primary Objective: Fuck a parahuman or a plot-relevant normal.
Sub-Quest Completed: Got It On With Sophia's Mom (Who's Got It Goin' On)
Primary Reward: 1 Stat Point, 1 Skill Point
Regina Hess-Specific Additional Reward: 1 Skill Point
Bonus Reward (Emotional Dr Feelgood): +1 Skill Point
Spoiler: Quest Update
Quest: They Can Call Me Daddy.
Objective (1): Fuck Zoe Barnes.
Objective (2): Fuck Regina Hess. (COMPLETED!)
Objective (3): Fuck Abigail Clements.
Individual Reward: +2 Stat Points, +2 Skill Points
Completion Bonus: +6 Stat Point, +6 Skill Points, (hidden)
***Later that night***
I gradually awoke to the feeling of Gina's hand gently running over my chest.
"Sidney?"
"Mm...?"
"Wanna make love again?"
"Yeah."
***Thursday Morning***
Gina was already up and showering when I awoke. I stood up and stretched. When I picked up my phone to check the time, I saw that I'd missed a number of messages the previous night.
[CMP] High Peen! I want your peeeen!
[CMP] High Peen? You there
[CMP] Hey
[CMP] Hey
[CMP] HEEEYYYYY
[CMP] Want a job? I've got an open position you for you to fill
[CMP] Im talking about fucking
[CMP] Hey are u alright? Ur not answering
[CMP] Just gonna pop over and check on you (tagged ur phone)
[CMP] Oh shit sorry! Hang a tie on your phone next time or something
[CMP] Also, black chick? Niiiice
[CMP] Let me know if shed ever do a 3way
[CMP] Cougar Mouse is down with the swirl
[CMP] Nawmsayin
[CMP] Wait is that racist to say
[CMP] NM just gimme deets l8r
[CMP] Mama needs her jilling off material
Once again, I had somewhat mixed feelings about my decision to give Mouse Protector my phone number. "Fucking..." I began murmuring under my breath.
It was right then that the bedroom door slammed open and an athletic-looking, black teenage girl stormed into to the room shouting "MOM! WHERE'S THE..." and halted, staring at me. I quickly covered my dick with my phone.
For a moment both of us stared at each other, with neither of us saying anything. Finally, I spoke up.
"Sooo... Your mom's nice?"
*****
Spoiler: end of chapter Character Sheet
Secondary author's note: it's my intention that different characters' sex scenes are unique and show distinctive personalities. I hope I'm succeeding in that. If you read through the smut, I'm more than happy to read feedback. I've mentioned before that I'm still pretty new to writing sex scenes, and the feedback really does help.
Author's Note: I finished this draft pretty late and it may be a little rough, but I wanted to submit it now and edit it if necessary later. I'll take another look/do more proofreading in the morning. I apologize for any rough patches. On a more fun note, I wrote most of this on V-Day, so there's just a little more mushy stuff. What can you do?
*****
"Who the fuck are you?" growled out Sophia, her white-knuckled fists obliterating a pair of invisible stress balls.
"Sidney. People often call me 'Sid', or 'Squiggs'. I think Gina prefers the full 'Sidney', though. I went on a date with her last night, and it went pretty well." I said, smiling beatifically.
It was probably my imagination, but I could've sworn I heard her teeth grinding.
I followed up with "Do you think you could leave the room, or at least turn around? I'd like to get dressed, and flashing my junk feels particularly inappropriate under the circumstances. You know, since... well, I'm obviously not your father, but..." I gave her a deliberately pensive expression. "...Is there a word for this? ...Whatever, not important. You get the idea." I finished with a gentle smile.
It turns out that Sophia Hess has a vein in her forehead that sometimes throbs very visibly, particularly when she clenches her jaw. For a second, I was wondering if maybe I'd pushed a little too far, but finally, she spun around to storm out of the room, mumbling "Motherfucker..." (I failed to completely suppress a giggle) as she slammed the door.
A minute or three later, I'd thrown my clothes back on and left the bedroom to find Gina (who was looking rather fetching wrapped up in a big floofy bath towel) and Sophia in a heated argument.
"Girl, I did not stop being a human being when I became a mother and you do not get to dictate how I spend my rare nights off! And what are you even doing home anyway? Why didn't Mr. Barnes drive you to school with Emma?"
"Forgot something here, doesn't matter. Is that guy even legal?!"
"Are you sayin' I can't get with a pretty white boy like that unless I'm takin' advantage?"
"I don't know! Does he charge by the hour?!"
Gina had just seemed annoyed before, but that comment had clearly infuriated her. The argument was starting to turn ugly and I, perhaps ill-advisedly, decided to intervene.
"As the guy in question..." I began, and they both turned to me, their faces frozen in intensity. "...firstly, I am not a prostitute," yet "and even if I were, I wouldn't charge Gina a dime. Secondly, Gina? I kinda like it when you call me 'pretty'. It feels really nice. Thirdly, I was thinking maybe I'd buy you some breakfast. What do you say, Pretty Lady?" I smiled at Gina with all the goofy charm I could bring to bear.
Neither of them said anything for a moment and I worried for a moment I'd made things worse until Gina started snickering. I started chuckling too, and we laughed harder and harder when Sophia couldn't seem to figure out which of us to glare at. Eventually, she settled on me before grabbing her book-bag and storming out with a half-shouted "...MAKE ME SICK!"
Part of me had to wonder if I was going to regret that, but the larger part of me just felt schadenfreude about Sophia's discomfort. Who was she to say that her mom couldn't have a good night once in a while, anyway? Fuck Sophia. ...No, don't fuck Sophia. Let her go fuck herself. Yeah, that sounds better.
"So... breakfast?" I asked, once we'd calmed back down.
"I appreciate the offer, Honey, but I'll be late if I take it. Walk me to work after I get changed?"
"Of course. Shame we don't have more time... I like thinking that you're not wearing anything under that towel."
She playfully slapped my shoulder and smiled. "All pretty white boys as dirty as you?"
I smirked. "Only when we're inspired."
She shook her head as she headed back to the bedroom. "...the hell are you only eighteen..."
It was a few minutes later and once again we were arm in arm as we walked along the street and Gina wasn't shy about leaning into me affectionately. "You know..." she began, "...last night means I don't have to worry about next month's rent."
"Sounds like a good deal," I replied idly.
"An amazing deal, yeah. But, you know, before I met you, or even saw you, I told myself that if you didn't treat me right, there'd be no sex. Even if it meant givin' up that money. I can do a lot to make ends meet, you know, but I've only got so much self-respect to lose. I gotta hold onto as much of that as I can."
"I get that. It's important to have lines you won't cross."
"That's it exactly. So... thanks, Sidney. For not making it a hard choice. For makin' an old lady like me feel sexy, and puttin' on that charm and makin' me feel worth it."
"Hey." I turned my head to hers and kissed her quickly. "I already told you that you're not old."
"Mmm. Thanks for the reminder."
"So... up to you, and no pressure, but I wouldn't mind taking you on another date, sometime."
"Did...did you not get the...boost? From last night?"
"Oh no, I got it. I'm asking anyway."
She was quiet for a long moment before letting out a sigh. "I don't know, Sidney. You're eighteen, and I'm turning forty this year... and I'm betting you're not looking for a long-term, monogamous thing anyway. Especially not since they need you to do your thing before the next big disaster, right?"
"They do, yeah."
"It's just that...time I spend running around with young guy like you is time I'm not spending trying to find a husband to settle down and grow old with. You're a sweetheart, Sidney, and I love that you asked, but... I don't know."
"...Guess I can understand that. Well...you have my number, right? Maybe just give me a call if you ever feel like taking a night off...?"
"...maybe. I guess it wouldn't hurt. We'll see, but don't get your hopes up." She looked down at herself and let out a single laugh. "Look at me. I'm tellin' you not to get your hopes up."
The conversation trailed off for a bit as we walked, and I took the opportunity to spend a few points. The other day I'd put together a spreadsheet to figure out how I ought to distribute points between Heal and Overheal, and I'd found that splitting them fairly evenly tended to give me the best on-the-whole numbers for the Overheal buff, so I spent five Skill Points to bring both of them up to 6. I then spent 2 Stat Points to bring Magic up to 8, and left the remaining 2 Stat and 2 Skill Points until I could sit down and give them more thought.
After a few more blocks, she let go of my arm and turned to face me. "Here's my stop."
I leaned in to give her a kiss, which she returned. "Want a present?" I asked.
"A present?"
"Last night boosted my healing power. It's still not super strong, and I don't know if you need it or not, but if you'd like I could use it on you."
Her eyes grew wide. "It won't give you away?"
"It's not flashy. Interested?"
"Are you kiddin'? Of course! Please." 15 seconds, she spoke again. "When are you...?"
"Already did. How do you feel?"
"Pretty good, I guess? Actually, hey. My knee doesn't hurt!"
"Glad to...!" I began, before she cut me off as she nearly tackled me in her embrace and kissed me fiercely.
I goggled at her breathlessly when she finally released me, grinning devilishly. "Honey, you needed a proper goodbye after all that! Now go on, I've got work and I bet you do, too."
Thus we parted ways, and I continued walking through the city, with just a bit of bounce in my step. Unfortunately, my good mood was broken before I walked more than a few blocks.
"You shouldn't be wasting your time with trash like that!" A rough, male, yet surprisingly high-pitched voice called out from behind me. I turned about to see three men approaching, swaggering their way up to me. Two of them had shaved heads.
With a thought, I activated my Mana Shield. Playing dumb, I raised an eyebrow and pointed at myself questioningly.
"Yeah, talkin' to you." Said the largest of them in that same, oddly high voice. "Maybe you like the dark meat. Fine. Man's gotta get his dick wet, I get it. But walking out in the open like that? Public displays of affection with a nigger? Sets a bad example."
Oh shit. "Hey, uh, let's not be hasty!" I held up my hands, backing away slowly.
The big man in the lead wasn't slowing, though, and almost before I knew it, he'd charged forward, swinging a fist at my face. I jerked instinctively, desperately trying to evade the hit, but it still landed on my chin...
...and barely moved me at all.
"MY HAND!!" the thug shrieked, to my and his companions' shock. So that's what Mana Shield does with the kinetic energy. Lost 20 mana from that hit, too. It was then that I snapped out of my stupor. Lunging forward, I threw a punch at the shrieking large man's jaw, empowered it with a Strike, and...
*CRACK* he flopped to the ground in a stiff, fencer's pose. Crap. That might have been overkill.
Spoiler: Quest Update
Repeatable Quest: Who Left All These Knocked-Out Mooks Just Lying Here?
Objective: When fighting, kill, knock out, or otherwise incapacitate (Completions + 1) hostile, unpowered humans.
Details: Each successful completion increases the number of require beaten mooks for successive completions by 1.
Reward: 1 Stat Point, 1 Skill Point
Completions: 1
No time. I rush forward at the next-closest thug, Striking him in the abdomen with a punch, already turning to the last as the second folds over on himself, retching, and the third is putting his hands up as I throw another Strike-empowered punch at him that he somehow catches in his hand and his wrist hyper-extends with an audible *SNAP*. His eyes are wide and he lets out a cry before I hit him twice in the gut, his guard comes down and I finish him off with a last punch to the jaw.
Spoiler: Quest Update
Repeatable Quest:Who Left All These Knocked-Out Mooks Just Lying Here?
Objective: When fighting, kill, knock out, or otherwise incapacitate (Completions + 1) hostile, unpowered humans.
Details: Each successful completion increases the number of require beaten mooks for successive completions by 1.
Reward: 1 Stat Point, 1 Skill Point
Completions: 2
I stared down at the thugs, two of them out cold (the biggest one hadn't been a very handsome guy in the few seconds I'd been paying attention, but damn had a Strike-empowered punch done bad, bad things to the shape of his jaw) and the third loudly emptying his stomach. I reached into my pocket for my phone with shaking hands and I thought: How the hell was that so easy?
*****
Spoiler: end of chapter Character Sheet
Author's note: as with some other updates, it may need a little proofreading/editing, which I plan on taking care of tomorrow morning. I hope it's entertaining 
*****
On reflection, I had to admit that there were some very nice parts to having joined the Protectorate. Notably, that I could call the PRT and ask them nicely, pretty please, if they would help me out just a little after I had maybe, quite possibly, compromised my civilian identity after beating the snot out of the three racist thugs who'd decided to assault me in broad daylight.
I didn't know that I'd been outed for sure, of course, and maybe potential witnesses and the thugs themselves could rationalize that I was just a guy who could take a hit and punch like Mike Tyson, but I'd figured that it was probably best to call up the PRT and get some expert help on the problem. I also asked for a ride back to HQ, which they were only to happy to provide under the circumstances.
The ride itself was a nice chance to both cool down from my adrenaline high and spend a few points. The first thing I did was bring up my Magic to an even 10 and, building on some earlier thoughts about the importance of avoiding mindrape, finished off my Stat points by raising Mind to 5. Reflecting on how I'd fucked up by letting myself get caught off guard, I decided to put a point into Enhanced Perception and further buy Sphere of Awareness...
Spoiler: Sphere of Awareness
Skill Level: 1
Description: When active, the user will maintain a mental picture of the space in a sphere centered on the user's head. Granularity and accuracy of this picture will depend on the acuity of the user's senses. Line of sight is irrelevant to the sphere. Automatically deactivates when mana reaches 0.
Range: [Sphere of Awareness level] * (1 + [Mind level]/10). Currently: 1.5 meters.
Cost: 20 mana per [Mind level] seconds. Currently: 20 mana per 5 seconds.
Unlocks: Telekinesis, Clarity
...which was along the lines of what I'd expected from the name. Like Quick Thinking, it was expensive, but it definitely looked like something that would eventually be a core skill. Also, there was no way Telekinesis wouldn't be awesome and I was definitely going to get it at an early opportunity. However, if Unreadable was anything along the lines of a defense against precogs, it was important to know sooner rather than later, so I put a point into Quick Thinking and then into Unreadable.
Spoiler: Unreadable
Skill Level: 1
Description: Passive. Precognitive, pericognitive, and postcognitive powers have more difficulty/require more resources to effectively model you.
Magnitude: 100% * [Unreadable level] more difficulty/resources required. Currently: 100%
Unlocks: False Reading, Mana Shield Enhancement-Psionic
That sounded interesting. At low levels it likely wouldn't make a difference against the Simurgh, but I could see it giving thinkers like Tattletale some nasty headaches. If the freshly-unlocked False Reading did what I thought it would, it'd be particularly nasty against precogs. High priority.
I screwed around a little with Sphere of Awareness for the rest of the ride, finding that it was disorienting as hell--I'd definitely need some practice--and that it stacked with Enhanced Perception--rather like putting it into high definition, acoustics and smells included. Not wanting to blow through my mana supply outside of a safer place like the rig, though, I mostly just twiddled my thumbs until we'd made it back to the HQ. From there I stopped in to the cafeteria for some breakfast and waited for someone to debrief me.
***
"Hyperion," began Director Piggot, "I was informed that Ms. Hess called in earlier to let us know that she'd had 'a lovely evening'. Shall I take it that your healing power has progressed further?"
"Yup! Next serious test you put me through, I should show a substantial improvement. Case in point, if you asked me right now, I'm pretty sure I could have you healed up to peak health before we finished."
"...I'll take it into consideration. Moving on. How did you get into a fight?"
"Long story short, I walked with Gina..."
"Gina, that's Regina Hess?"
"Yeah, sorry. I walked Ms. Hess to her workplace, this morning. We did some light-to-moderate PDA along the way, and after we'd parted ways, three skinhead-looking fellows approached me and made their displeasure known that I'd been so publicly affectionate with a black woman. I briefly attempted to deescalate the situation, but the biggest guy threw a punch before I could get more than two sentences out."
"The fight itself?"
"It...it was easy, Ma'am. I didn't use any of my flashy powers, but I had my shield up, and the first guy broke his hand when he punched my face. I knocked him out with a single punch afterward, probably breaking his jaw. The other two guys weren't any tougher. Honestly, I'm a little freaked out about it."
"Freaked out, how?"
"Well... I might have mentioned at some point that the last time I'd been in a fight, I was six years old. Schoolyard thing, I lost pretty badly. Being tough...dangerous, I guess, isn't how I really think about myself, you know? But just this morning I took on three thugs at once--big guys, too--like it was nothing. They didn't have a chance against me. That's...pretty neat, I guess, and maybe I should feel like a badass, but mostly I just feel weird about it. I'm just a...a moderately decent-looking guy with some experience in the bedroom. But now I'm really dangerous, too. So...I'm sort of having trouble processing that. How...have you ever felt that way?"
"I've never had powers," she responded drily. "Also, 'moderately decent-looking' is perhaps a touch modest."
I paused as my train of thought derailed and saw the corners of her mouth turn up in the ghost of a smug smirk. "Madam Director!" I said in an airy, almost-falsetto. "I'll have you know that it'll take far more flattery than that before you'll have my innocence!"
She barked a single, subdued laugh. "Consider me chastened. Feel any better?"
"Yeah, actually. Much more in my wheelhouse. Thanks. I might need to do more freaking out later, but I can always talk to one of the staff psychologists, I suppose."
She nodded seriously. "I generally encourage that of everyone who sees combat. Parahumans in particular."
"Oh, for sure. Mental health's important. Last thing you want is for someone with superpowers going off the reservation."
She raised an eyebrow.
"Hey, I'm self-aware enough to know that applies to me, too. But yeah, powers are scary enough without adding barely-addressed crazy to the mix."
"I won't deny I'm sympathetic to that point, but I think we're getting a little off-track."
"Oh, right. Relevant details about last night and this morning?"
"Please."
"Just one big one, I think. Soooo...on the date, a woman who I think was Cricket in her civilian identity approached me when Ms. Hess was in the bathroom."
Piggot stiffened and leaned forward with a piercing look. "Describe her." She commanded.
"Blonde buzzcut, wiry, athletic build, scars covering her exposed skin (with one really big on on her throat), didn't say a word, communicated with a notepad and pen. She gave me a PHO contact, along with the name 'Melody'."
"She tried to recruit you? Had she identified you as a parahuman?"
"Er...I really don't think so. I think she was just lonely."
"...Lonely." She repeated flatly.
"See, the first thing she asked me was 'how much?' and she was blushing a little bit, and then I thought about how I looked, as a very young man on a date with a much older woman and put 2 and 2 together..." Director Piggot was giving me an incredulous look. "...long story short, is there any way I could whore myself out to Cricket, and slash or villains like Cricket, without getting in a boatload of trouble?"
For a few seconds she stared at me, squinting just a little. "Hyperion," she began slowly, "I'm going to try and forget that you just asked me, an official of a law-enforcement agency, explicitly and in no uncertain terms about whether you could engage in prostitution, a practice that is quite illegal in our state--and most states, in fact--while you yourself are, as a member of the Protectorate, a law-enforcement officer under that very same agency's umbrella. Now. Would you care to ask a different question, one that actually has a chance in hell of receiving an affirmative response?"
I held up my hands quickly. "Ah, yeah, my bad, sorry. Still a little off my game, I guess. How about... Is there a technically-legal way that we could exploit a villain's misapprehension that I am a prostitute to further my power growth?"
She sighed in resignation. "I suppose that'll have to do. We'll see about finding a way to make it work. Now, speaking of villains, your fight this morning means that you'll need to have your public debut sooner than we'd planned. At this point, there's a non-negligible chance that the Empire has the idea that someone who looks like you might be a parahuman. In the worst-case scenario, one where they discover that eighteen-year-old Sidney Quigley is this parahuman, you'll be safest in your civilian identity when it's clear that you're not an independent to be conscripted, but a Protectorate Hero with all the backing that entails. In the short term, of course, this means you'll be having a number of meetings with Image in the next few days."
Ugh. Never was a fan of playing dress-up. "Nothing for it, I guess."
"Indeed. One last order of business before I let you go; we've been able to look into one of the women you'd mentioned, Zoe Barnes? Unfortunately for our purposes, she is married and doesn't seem to have any history of adulterous behavior. Her husband, Alan, however, does."
"...Hoo boy."
"Quite. It seems that Alan Barnes, a divorce lawyer is good standing, is a man who has a great deal of trouble remaining faithful to his wife. One secretary, two paralegals at his firm, the principal at his daughter's high school...and those are only the ones we've discovered in less than a week of digging."
"So, wait...Are you suggesting that we release evidence of Alan's cheating to her...and that I should try to swoop in on Mrs. Barnes and seduce her when she's feeling vulnerable and emotionally devastated from her marriage falling apart? Because that feels like a really shitty thing to do."
"It's not very palatable, no. But surely Mrs. Barnes has a right to know what her husband's been up to?"
"I... yeah, no, I'm not opposed to telling her about it. This shouldn't be kept from her. I'd just feel like a real scumbag for taking advantage of her right afterward." I sat silently for a moment. "Is it alright if we table this one for now? At least until I figure out a way to handle it that isn't awful?"
She gave a minute shrug. "As far as the PRT is concerned, as long as your power gets a boost, it doesn't particularly matter from whom, so long as no laws are broken."
"Right. Well, for now, maybe the PRT can look into Abigail Clements, and I'll see about being a gigolo?" She buried her face in her palm. "Sorry. Pretend gigolo."
Director Piggot groaned faintly.
*****
Spoiler: end of chapter Character Sheet
Author's Note: New chapter! As always, if you spot any mistakes please let me know. Also, let me know if the chatlog contained herein is hard to read. I may try doing something with colors if it's a problem. Edit: did something with colors. Hopefully it's easier to read. Edit 2: I think the colors work well with the default-light scheme, but I'm not sure what people use the most. If it's a big problem for most readers, I'm willing to change it again.
*****
[09:51]SomehowStanding95: Are you the one who sent the letter?
[09:53]SomehowStanding95: Hello?
[11:40]ThrowawayFhqwhgads: I'm here.
[11:40]ThrowawayFhqwhgads: Is this TAH?
[11:45]SomehowStanding95: Ye
[11:46]SomehowStanding95: Yes*
[11:47]ThrowawayFhqwhgads: Sorry for the bother, but I need to be completely sure you're TAH.
[11:48]ThrowawayFhqwhgads: I'm going to give you a little quiz. One question, multiple choice. Is that OK?
[11:48]SomehowStanding95: ok
[11:49]ThrowawayFhqwhgads: Choose one of the following-
[11:49]ThrowawayFhqwhgads: (A) The little dog's laugh makes children dance
[11:49]ThrowawayFhqwhgads: (B) The little owl's flute makes bugs dance
[11:49]ThrowawayFhqwhgads: (C) The little cat's fiddle makes fish dance
[11:50]ThrowawayFhqwhgads: (D) The little monkey's drum makes monsters dance
[11:50]SomehowStanding95: B
[11:50]ThrowawayFhqwhgads: (E) The little grasshopper's drum makes raindrops dance
[11:51]SomehowStanding95: Sorry
[11:51]ThrowawayFhqwhgads: No worries, and right you are. Hello, T.
[11:52]ThrowawayFhqwhgads: Sorry if I've freaked you out. It's not my intent.
[11:53]ThrowawayFhqwhgads: I'm willing to answer some questions for you. Some of them I may have to be less explicit in my answers.
[11:53]ThrowawayFhqwhgads: If there are secrets involved, and I don't want any automated PHO algorithms to flag this conversation.
[11:54]ThrowawayFhqwhgads: Some questions I may only be willing to answer in person because I consider them to be too sensitive to be recorded on a server somewhere.
[11:54]ThrowawayFhqwhgads: I will let you know if you ask that sort of question.
[11:55]ThrowawayFhqwhgads: Do you have questions for me?
[11:56]SomehowStanding95: Why did you contact me? What do you get out of this?
[11:57]ThrowawayFhqwhgads: The full answer to that's pretty complicated.
[11:57]ThrowawayFhqwhgads: There are lots of details and context that I'm not willing to answer here.
[11:57]ThrowawayFhqwhgads: An important part of it is I'm here, talking to you, trying to help because I want to feel good about myself.
[11:58]ThrowawayFhqwhgads: You've been shit on from on high for a very long time without being given even the courtesy of an explanation
[11:59]ThrowawayFhqwhgads: I think that if I help you with that in what ways that I can, it'll help me feel like a good person.
[12:01]SomehowStanding95: but that's not the whole story.
[12:01]ThrowawayFhqwhgads: No, it isn't. Out of all the people who've suffered unfairly, I didn't reach out to you at random.
[12:02]SomehowStanding95: and you won't tell me the rest
[12:02]ThrowawayFhqwhgads: Not here, anyway.
[12:03]SomehowStanding95: Does it have to do with the multiple choice answer?
[12:04]ThrowawayFhqwhgads: For your own safety and privacy, please don't say anything on here that could be used against you by any third party who might conceivably get access to this chat log (IT employees of who runs PHO, for instance).
[12:06]SomehowStanding95: Right
[12:06]SomehowStanding95: Thank you.
[12:06]SomehowStanding95: But you know what I'm talking about.
[12:06]ThrowawayFhqwhgads: I believe I do, yes. Do you have another question for me?
[12:08]SomehowStanding95: Can you tell me about E and S?
[12:10]ThrowawayFhqwhgads: Summer of 2009, E and her father are driving through the city.
[12:10]ThrowawayFhqwhgads: At some point, he stops the car because of a dumpster blocking the road.
[12:11]ThrowawayFhqwhgads: ABB gangsters surround the car, pull them out.
[12:11]ThrowawayFhqwhgads: Unbeknownst to them, a local vigilante known for violence and using crossbows is watching.
[12:11]ThrowawayFhqwhgads: One of the gangsters is holding E down with a knife.
[12:12]ThrowawayFhqwhgads: In a bit of sick fun he asks her what part of her face she wants to have mutilated.
[12:12]ThrowawayFhqwhgads: An ear, an eye, her nose, her mouth.
[12:12]ThrowawayFhqwhgads: The crossbow wielding vigilante watches. In her eyes, only those who fight back, survivors in her eyes, are worth saving.
[12:13]ThrowawayFhqwhgads: E starts fighting back, kicking and screaming. The vigilante decides E might be worth saving and gets involved.
[12:13]ThrowawayFhqwhgads: E and her father are saved. E has a new friend, S, who holds a low opinion of anyone who won't fight back.
[12:13]ThrowawayFhqwhgads: E latches on to S. Sees her as strong. Needs to feel strong herself.
[12:14]ThrowawayFhqwhgads: E's former best friend meets up with her. E is reminded of the version of herself before she met S. A version of herself she now sees as weak.
[12:15]ThrowawayFhqwhgads: E begins a campaign of tearing down her former friend, feeling satisfaction and validation from the feeling of subconsciously rejecting her 'weaker' self.
[12:15]ThrowawayFhqwhgads: E has continued this campaign to the present.
[12:18]SomehowStanding95: how do you know this
[12:18]ThrowawayFhqwhgads: I'm not willing to answer that here, sorry.
[12:19]SomehowStanding95: I don't know how I even begin to feel about that story
[12:19]ThrowawayFhqwhgads: There's no wrong way to feel about it, I think. My own feeling is that all of this may explain things, but that it excuses nothing. You are under no obligation to forgive E just because she is sick.
[12:20]SomehowStanding95: I just want her to stop hurting me
[12:21]SomehowStanding95: You didn't say outright but is S why they always get away with it?
[12:21]ThrowawayFhqwhgads: Might be part of it, probably not all of it. I won't be more explicit here.
[12:22]ThrowawayFhqwhgads: Something you should know; E's mother very soon will be learning that E's father, on nights when he's been "working late", has been spending time in motel rooms with a number of other women.
[12:22]ThrowawayFhqwhgads: One of whom is the principal of E's high school.
[12:23]SomehowStanding95: oh my god
[12:23]ThrowawayFhqwhgads: I don't know what the fallout will be, exactly, but E's parents may not be married for much longer, and I could hypothetically see E's father losing his license to practice law given some of the other women involved. Depending on other factors, there may also be a new principal soon. We'll have to see.
[12:24]ThrowawayFhqwhgads: If you get a new principal, they probably won't be sleeping with E's father and thus not overly-incentivized to take E's side in everything.
[12:24]ThrowawayFhqwhgads: But it's not guaranteed.
[12:25]SomehowStanding95: and people will stille take the popular girls' side over the ugly loner anyway
[12:26]ThrowawayFhqwhgads: After a year and a half of abuse and isolation, anyone would start to believe themselves ugly. Hard not to let that sort of thing get into your head. But you have a point with the loner part.
[12:26]ThrowawayFhqwhgads: My understanding is that you don't have any reliable allies in school, which makes things harder.
[12:26]ThrowawayFhqwhgads: I might have some pull in some areas outside of school, related to S.
[12:27]SomehowStanding95: that you won't talk about unless I meet you in person
[12:27]ThrowawayFhqwhgads: Correct
[12:27]SomehowStanding95: I don't know if I want to meet up with a stranger from the internet in person
[12:27]ThrowawayFhqwhgads: Good.
[12:28]ThrowawayFhqwhgads: You should be cautious.
[12:28]ThrowawayFhqwhgads: If you decide you do want to meet in person, do it in as safe a way as you can.
[12:28]ThrowawayFhqwhgads: Somewhere public of your choosing, with privacy but with enough nearby foot traffic that you can call for help, people will come running.
[12:29]ThrowawayFhqwhgads: If there's anyone you can trust to back you up, I'd suggest you get them involved, but...
[12:29]SomehowStanding95: but I don't have any friends
[12:30]ThrowawayFhqwhgads: If I were you, and I were seriously considering meeting up with a weirdo who knows too much, I'd try to come up with something that the weirdo probably wouldn't be prepared for in the event they're a creep.
[12:30]ThrowawayFhqwhgads: I need to go for now. I'll likely be checking in either later tonight or early tomorrow if you leave more messages.
[12:30]ThrowawayFhqwhgads: Take care.
I could have kept chatting, of course, but I wanted lunch and my phone was ringing.
~Beep~ "Hey, Mouse."
"High Peen! You got lucky last night!"
"Sure did, but I'm actually about to go get lunch. Still... if you're hungry and don't mind PRT cafeteria food with a mask on, I can share while we eat."
...and a moment later, a petite, round woman in street clothes and a domino mask popped up in front of me. "I could eat." She said simply as I put my phone away.
"Cool." We started walking. "I almost don't recognize you with that much clothing on."
She flashed me her manic leer. "Buy me lunch, and maybe I'll remind you of how I look with my clothing off, Hot Stuff."
"Oh yeah?"
"Just kidding." Her leer faded to a gentle smirk and with a wink she continued, "You don't actually have to buy me lunch." With that, I resolved not to get anything too garlicky. While I kinda doubted that Mouse would care, a little caution never hurts.
We strolled down to the cafeteria, talking and lightly flirting all the while (lightly flirting being relative, of course. It was Mouse, after all). After picking up some food, I led our way to a table where Assault, Battery, and Dauntless were sitting.
"Room for two more?" I opened.
"Sure, join the party. Who's your plus one?" replied Assault.
"Just a humble hero, takin' the gouda fight to the fatcats with each swiss of my sword," she drawled.
"...oh my god, are you Mouse Protector?!" blurted out Battery.
Mouse spun on her on toes, and vanished, before reappearing a moment later wearing her bug-eyed rodent mask. "This'll be a brie-ze!" she declared, before vanishing and reappearing with the domino mask.
"Oh my god, she's Mouse Protector!!" reiterated Battery.
"Looks like Puppy's a fan!" sang out Assault.
"That's an unusual hero name," responded Mouse as we took our seats.
"Oh, that's not, I'm, that is..." she paused and took a breath. "Hi. I'm Battery. This is my husband, Assault. He just likes to call me 'Puppy'. I've seen every episode of your show!"
Mouse smiled good-naturedly. "Any favorites?"
"Oh, easily the finale of season 3, where you took down Baron von Ratsnacker. That's always been my favorite. I can still quote his final monologue..."
Assault gently put his hand on Battery's arm. "So, Mouse Protector. It's nice to meet you! How do you know Hyperion, here?"
Dauntless snorted. "Biblically!" He interjected.
Battery's excited smile had frozen on her face. "...what?"
"That's about right," Mouse replied sanguinely. "I 'assisted' him with testing his powers on Saturday. And by that I mean we had sex a few times."
"...uh," prompted Battery.
"It was a pretty great deal. Hyperion's healing powers got stronger and I got to get banged by a hot, younger guy! Win-win in my book."
"For the record," I broke in, "I enjoyed the banging, too."
"Such a sweet-talker," she gave me a fond pat on the shoulder.
Assault let out an exaggerated cough. "Well. That's just... swell. So... moving on, what brings you 'round these parts today?"
"Oh! Well, I tagged along with Hyperion, here, because I was hoping he'd tell me a little about the black chick he boned last night. Also, maybe we can have a quickie or three?" She glanced at me hopefully.
"I don't see why not." I responded with affected magnanimity.
"...never meet your heroes..." mumbled Battery.
"Wait a second. A black chick?" Assault cut in. "Please tell me it wasn't Shadow Stalker."
"No way. Shadow Stalker?!" exclaimed Battery.
"Who's Shadow Stalker?" asked Mouse.
"One of our Wards." replied Assault.
"Oh! Kinky," said Mouse.
"That was probably a bad idea, dude." Said Dauntless.
"Guys, it wasn't Shadow Stalker." I stated flatly. "It was her mother."
For a moment, no one said anything.
Mouse broke the silence. "Nice!"
"Why am I less weirded out by an eighteen year old guy sleeping with a woman who's nearly forty than with a fifteen year old Ward?" wondered Assault.
"People are weird in general and we're no exceptions? Also, he acts older than his age," said Dauntless.
"Hey, High Peen," started Mouse ("High Peen?" whispered Battery), "does that mean you can get a power boost from fucking our mothers?"
"It depends... but everyone here at the table right now? Probably, yeah."
"OK, sure, but you wouldn't, right? We're older than the Wards. My mom just turned 53; sure you obviously don't have an issue with older women, but that's a bit much, right?" asked Assault with a forced joviality.
"It... depends," I said seriously. "Some women age really gracefully. Like, if a woman keeps active and takes care of herself, doesn't get too much sun, maybe does yoga... I could imagine getting with a woman in her 60s. And, truth be told, I did once sleep with a woman who was 56--older than your mom's 53."
The whole table was quiet again for a few seconds.
"...Battery's mom's much hotter than mine," said Assault.
"Hey!" exclaimed Battery. "My parents are still together!" She turned to me and pointed back at Assault. "His mom's single!"
"Crap... you, you wouldn't be into my mom, buddy. She's not your type!" pleaded Assault.
"You could do my mom." Said Mouse and Dauntless in unison. Assault and Battery quieted as they looked at each other. Dauntless gestured at Mouse to go first.
"My mom's a total pearl-clutching holy-roller," said Mouse with a hint of venom in her voice, "'Sex is sinful! Anal sex is the devil! Fornicators will go to hell!'" she mocked. "Maybe she'd lighten the fuck up with a few good dickings. We... don't have a good relationship."
Spoiler: Quest Update
"Well, my mom's not so bad as that," said Dauntless with a shrug, "She's just been lonely for a long time is all. It'd probably do her some good if she felt wanted."
Spoiler: Quest Update
A few beats into the ensuing silence, Assault softly grumbled "Well, shit. I never expected to feel guilty about not wanting to pimp out my mom."
*****
Spoiler: end of chapter Character Sheet
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Inv1ctus6243, Neilflames, LeafButt and 416 others like this.

premier213Your first time is always over so quickly, isn't it?
Awesome as usual. Great work.
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LotismanI trust you know where the happy button is?
Heal is actually starting to be really useful now. You can heal anything short of death in a maximum of 20 seconds, less even with over heal.
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