Rachel had just taken a deep breath to argue, but at Lilith’s statement, the words caught in her throat, and as she glanced at Gina, she saw the surprise on her friend’s face. Looking into Lilith’s eyes, it took a moment for Rachel to realize that the woman was telling the truth. Beyond the beautiful color, Rachel could see an immense, bone-deep loneliness in Lilith’s eyes, as well as something else she couldn’t quite identify. It was something strange, but not bad.
Considering a long moment, Rachel had to wonder how it would feel to not be able to remember having a meal together with other people. Most days she shared a lunch or dinner at the HQ, or at the school, and it’d been similar for most of her life. Oh, there’d been a few times when it was rare, but she couldn’t recall a single week in her life where she’d been that alone. The idea of being in her late twenties, and of always being alone like that… the horror of it slowly dawned on Rachel, and she swallowed hard as pity welled up within her.
“That’s definitely worth celebrating,” Rachel spoke softly, glancing at Gina and nodding. “In fact, I can’t think of anything better.”
“I think I see why you like her,” Rachel told Gina as they pulled into her friend’s driveway. Putting the car into park, she sat back and considered a moment. “I didn’t expect her to be quite that… kind, for lack of a better term. She’s guarded, though, and doesn’t say much about her childhood. She also has some odd mannerisms, in my opinion, though being raised by an AI could do that.”
“She’s definitely reticent about her past, at least about going into detail on it,” Gina agreed, shaking her head. “You’ve gotten almost as much out of her as I have. I do get the impression she’s never been close to anyone before, though, and if her parents were heroes or villains, it could explain a lot. Still, she’s also coming over to discuss that commission on Wednesday.”
“Yes, she is. She has a very odd air about her… though I’m a little worried that she’s coming here, I don’t think she’s dangerous. I will be putting a drone on surveillance here, though. The team seems to agree that she isn’t dangerous, since they pulled the drone off her house.” Rachel hesitated, then stretched. “What do you think, should we invite her out for dinner a few times? I still feel bad that she managed to end up paying for both of us. We’re better off than our cover would indicate.”
“I don’t think we had much of a chance to pay the bill, not with how determined she was. I have to wonder about her reflexes, with how quickly she grabbed the bill. Most supers have a bit of a physical boost, so it isn’t too unexpected.” Gina giggled at the memory, and Rachel just gave her a level look as she continued. “I do think we should invite her on occasion, and not just because I think she’s pretty.”
“No one should be as alone as she obviously was,” Rachel replied softly. “I honestly didn’t believe it for a few seconds, but I don’t think anyone could fake the look in her eyes.”
Gina’s eyes darkened as she sighed and nodded. “Agreed. I didn’t, either. Do you want to come over on Wednesday, when she’s here for the commission?”
“I think that might be a bit too obvious, despite us being friends, Gina. We don’t want to make her suspicious of how much time we spend together. I’m a little surprised you’re inviting her over before Thanksgiving, though,” Rachel demurred, shaking her head. “Still, I don’t object to meeting you in the evening. I could bring the stuff to make spaghetti, if you want.”
“That sounds great! I’ll be going to my dad’s for Thanksgiving, though, so you know where I’ll be then. I do feel a little bad letting Lilith be alone for the holiday, but she’s lived this long without much company, so she should be fine,” Gina replied, then leaned over to give Rachel a one-armed hug. “You be safe, though. Don’t let anyone get the drop on you. One of us is more than enough.”
“I don’t plan to let that happen. You be careful too, though,” Rachel replied, prompting a laugh from her friend as she got out of the car.
Only once Gina was inside with the door locked did Rachel pull out of the driveway and head home. She was a little frustrated that it looked like there were the beginnings of a relationship between Gina and Lilith, but she had no intention of getting in the way, no matter how jealous she was.
Chapter 14
Monday, November 25th, 2030
Lilith’s Condo, San Francisco
Lilith didn’t know what she should do, and she mulled it over as she sat back on her couch and stared out at the skyline. The moonless night sky was beautiful, and she found it easy to lose herself in it as she considered her life.
It had been so incredibly relaxing to eat with Gina and Rachel. Or, if she were being honest, Warden and Morgan. It’d been so tempting to tell them she knew who they were, and she’d nearly told them at the end of the night. The problem was that if she did, it might strain the faint hints of a friendship that she thought was forming between them. A friendship seemed possible, and more than that, if her own burgeoning feelings were an indicator. The connections she’d felt to both women were growing stronger, and it was almost as if she’d known them before they ever met. But that didn’t make it easy, and Lilith let out a soft sigh.
“Nothing about other people is easy, Circe, is it? You tried to warn me as best as you could, you poor, foolish machine,” Lilith murmured softly, staring the sky and the brilliant stars above her. “Not that I’m any better. I should be avoiding them at all costs, not associating with them.”
Pulling out her phone, Lilith opened the browser and the bookmarks, finding the one she’d put in a few days ago. The page had a notice from the federal government of the United States, offering a million dollars for information leading to the capture of Shadowmind’s last biological weapon, or ten million for her capture.
Staring at it for a long moment, Lilith finally shook her head and closed her eyes as she laid backward, unable to settle her mind as she whispered. “I’m just a fool.”
Tuesday, November 26th, 2030
Ocean Shield Headquarters, San Francisco
“What the hell is going on, anyway?” Galvanic Action growled, looking at the map of the region beside Ocean Spirit.
“What do you mean?” the team leader asked, looking at him curiously. “It’s actually been pretty quiet aside from the raid on the research lab, you know.”
The electronic map had been updated with dozens of icons that showed the different types and locations of different crimes, rescues, or encounters with villains over the last few months. While the number of crimes wasn’t bad in comparison to normal, the variety would likely be dizzying to those who hadn’t spent a lot of time learning to read it.
“That’s exactly what the problem is!” Galvanic Action retorted in frustration. “We’ve got Black Harbinger, Blue Impulse, Dreamer, Ebon Dragon, Heavy Metal, Megawatt, and Pyroclasm IV in the area, yet it’s been quiet. Aside from a handful of raids, they’ve kept a low profile, and other than Dreamer and Harbinger, they’re all class A villains. Dreamer might be class B, but Harbinger is class S! What in god’s name brought all of them here? This isn’t Paragon City!”
“That’s the question, isn’t it? We know Harbinger isn’t working with the others, since they stole Omega Code’s shipment,” Ocean Spirit agreed, shaking her head. “The problem is that we have far too little information to work with. Other than the attack on Warden, we’ve seen almost nothing lately.”
“Exactly, that’s what worries me. I wish we could get LANCE to move one of their response teams out this way,” Galvanic groused, pacing back and forth. “This feels like the calm before a storm, and I’m afraid we’re going to need them.”
“Unfortunately, they’re a little occupied with Death Valley at the moment, otherwise I think they’d be happy to help out,” Spirit told him, shrugging helplessly. “I did ask, but they’re keeping a response team near Paragon City since there’re rumors of Destruction Corps in the area, too. If we could get solid information, they’d probably change their deployment, but
everything’s rumors and supposition right now.”
“I guess I can understand that, but it doesn’t make me any happier,” Galvanic admitted, looking up to meet her eyes in worry. “I just hope we don’t have to deal with Harbinger or Pyroclasm without Warden, not with how incredibly ruthless they are. I’m not just saying that because Harbinger put me in the hospital for three days, either. This has me on edge, Spirit.”
“I know, and I’m not any happier.” Ocean Spirit gave him a gentle, helpless smile as she looked at the board herself. “I hope she gets better quickly myself. Like you said, something is up, and we can only try to prepare for it.”
Chapter 15
Wednesday, November 27th, 2030
Warden’s Home, Oakland
Gina opened the door and smiled as she saw Lilith, her voice filled with amusement. “Ah, there you are, Lilith! I was beginning to wonder if you were going to make it.”
“Unfortunately, the bus hit some particularly bad traffic, which slowed me down. My apologies for the wait,” Lilith apologized, smiling in return as she looked her host over. Unlike the previous times they’d met, Gina wasn’t wearing terribly elaborate clothing, instead clothed in a simple t-shirt and jeans. Glancing over the woman’s house, she added, “I must say, you also have a lovely home, Gina.”
“It isn’t a problem, Lilith, I just worried you might have gotten lost or something,” Gina assured her, smiling as she stepped out of the way. “Come on in. I have a few pieces out to show you, and a lot of my digital work on a laptop.”
“Thank you, Gina,” Lilith replied gratefully, taking a careful step inside and looking around, privately thankful that she hadn’t dressed up and had gone with her usual jeans and blouse.
In many ways, the living room amused Lilith in how it mirrored what she’d learned most looked like, and how in other ways it had small anachronisms to it. A coat stand by the door had both a coat and umbrella hanging from it, while a shoe rack held a half-dozen pairs of shoes, some of them nicer than others. A small sofa sat near a coffee table, and a half-dozen paintings were arranged artfully around the front room, taking up the pair of chairs that formed the other seating in the room, while a laptop sat on the coffee table.
“So, how about you take a look at some of the paintings first? Then we can discuss what it is you want,” Gina offered, gesturing to the sofa.
Nodding, Lilith hung her purse from the coat rack and took a seat, amused that the paintings had been perfectly placed to be viewed from the sofa. None of them had been on display at the gallery, she noticed quickly. There was something else she couldn’t quite put her finger on, either… like they weren’t quite as polished as the others had been. Still, most of them were of heroes, and Lilith’s gaze paused at a particular picture. The painting was of a city with a younger heroine in a bright blue outfit leaving afterimages as she raced through the city, electricity sparking on the ground behind her, with similar lightning crackling over a pair of pistols she held. The way her face was framed by electric blue highlights contrasted with her dark hair to make her stand out still more.
Blinking at the picture, Lilith pointed to it and asked, “Who’s this picture of? I’m afraid I don’t know the heroine in it.”
“Oh, that’s Spark, a member of the Sentinels over in Paragon City,” Gina explained, grinning. “She’s incredibly fast and generates electricity from what I’ve heard, which she supposedly uses to power her pistols. She’s actually really popular, so I’m surprised you’ve never heard of her before.”
“Ah, well, I’ve heard of Archon, at least? But I’m afraid she’s the only member of their team I know about,” Lilith admitted, feeling a little embarrassed. “I suppose I need to do some more research. Every time I think I know enough to feel educated enough to get by, I find out something else that’s common knowledge.”
“Don’t worry about it. Nobody can keep track of every hero out there, let alone every villain!” Gina replied, taking a seat next to Lilith, her cheeks coloring. “I know a lot, but only really those who come up on this continent. I’d be hard-pressed to name more than a dozen foreign heroes.”
“I suppose so, I just… I sometimes take it as something of a personal failing, I suppose,” Lilith admitted, relaxing a little more at Gina’s proximity. Somehow Gina’s company was just more comfortable than she’d expected, but she nodded at the laptop. “So what sort of pictures do you have on here?”
“I mostly have fantasy artwork on the computer, as I find it harder to paint physically for some reason. I also have some personal projects on here, but… oops.” Gina began speaking, showing her a picture of a fantasy landscape with a floating castle in the background, but blushed at the next picture and quickly skipped past it. From the brief glimpse she’d had, Lilith thought that it was the notorious villainess Black Emerald kissing Vindicator, a tall, handsome hero who tended to travel to trouble-spots. “Sorry, I didn’t think that picture was in this folder. Anyway, why don’t you take a look through and see what there is that you like?”
“I can do that, Gina. I should add that I didn’t mind the picture, though the subject matter isn’t quite my preference.” Lilith laughed, smiling as she began to go through the pictures, her voice lowering to a soft murmur. “Now, Archon and Destiny, for instance? That would be a very different matter for me.”
“That would… be a very interesting picture, though I’m not sure I’d want to display it publicly. I wouldn’t want to start rumors,” Gina replied, blushing deeply at the reply. Smiling, she sat back as Lilith went through the pictures, and eventually asked, “So, what are you liking so far?”
“Well, let’s see. This pose is very nice…” Lilith began, explaining what she liked about a few pieces, pointing them out as she went. Eventually she stopped, considering for a long moment, then smiled and turned to look at Gina.
Gina turned toward Lilith at almost the exact same time, and the two of them froze, Gina’s breath catching as she stared into Lilith’s eyes, their noses almost touching. Surprised in her own right, Lilith opened her mouth, then shut it and firmly stepped on the sudden urge to lean forward and kiss Gina.
Instead she took a deep breath and smiled. “I think I know what I’d like, actually.”
“Uh, right. What was that, Lilith?” Gina asked, turning her head away and blushing again, shifting in her seat. Lilith thought Gina liked her, but she just couldn’t be certain, and for once she wished she’d gone through a few more training programs with Circe.
“Well, a few weeks ago I had an interesting encounter, which led to a meeting with Morgan Le Fay,” Lilith explained, only barely hiding her amusement as Gina twitched in surprise. She continued her explanation as she pretended not to have noticed anything. “When I met her, I thought her outfit was a bit… overly ornate? I’ve noticed that a lot of heroes are incredibly flamboyant, though.”
“I think I can see that. You’re right about the outfits of most heroes, and most villains. They seem to want to be distinctive,” Gina spoke after a moment, looking at Lilith and asking, “So, you really met her in person? What was she like?”
“I did, and she was very… formal, I suppose? I didn’t see her for long, I might add. A few minutes, and she wasn’t focused on me,” Lilith told Gina, wondering for a moment if she should just tell the artist what she knew, but chickened out. She went back to a regal depiction of an elven queen in a white dress. “Anyway, I was wondering, could you create a painting of Morgan, but instead in an outfit like this one? I like the simple, formal dress, and the mask could be simplified as well. I was thinking a black and purple dress, of course, not changing it to white. In addition, maybe some gold jewelry, and have her use black lipstick. What do you think?”
“I think I’d be willing to do that. You’re thinking sort of an evil Galadriel look, then?” Gina asked, picking up a notepad to write down the details, but Lilith didn’t miss the woman’s sidelong look at her.
“That sounds like a fair description to me,�
�� Lilith agreed, laughing softly. “I just feel that the ‘evil queen’ fits her namesake, and that she’d be really beautiful in the outfit.”
“Very true! I’ll need a few more details before I can get started, but it sounds like fun,” Gina said, then paused at Lilith’s look. “Or did you have something else you wanted to go over?”
“I did have a couple of other ideas, but I think those will have to wait, though we can discuss them now. Assuming we’re both satisfied after the first is done, I have about three more pictures I’d like made…” Lilith began explaining, smiling at Gina’s obvious surprise and embarrassment.
“So, since everything looks like it was put away properly, the house looks rather clean, and you’re both grinning and looking stunned, I take it that things went well?” Rachel asked, setting down the supplies she’d brought on the counter. Gina watched her friend look over the dishes thoughtfully and smiled, shaking her head in amusement. Since Gina had the pasta and dishes, all her friend had brought with were the ingredients for the sauce, garlic bread, and salad, but Rachel could be incredibly particular.
“It went really well,” Gina replied, her smile turning to a grin as she added, “I also found out that Lilith’s a lesbian.”
Rachel almost dropped the pan she’d picked up, barely catching it before it hit the floor. Setting it carefully on the stovetop, Rachel turned to face Gina, putting her hands on her hips. “How in the world did that even come up? You’ve always been the one that told me to take things slow, and I sincerely doubt she’d just randomly volunteer the information.”
“I don’t think she would have, but when it’s relevant to the discussion… well, I forgot which folder my picture of Black Emerald and Vindicator was in, and she got a solid look at it before I flipped past it,” Gina admitted, blushing at the memory.
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