“Well, the last thing we need is for a mad bull to be running around the city,” Blooming Orchid agreed. “Give me a minute to clean up and I’ll check you over.”
He nodded unhappily, and Blooming Orchid headed over to wash her hands and get to work. She was really looking forward to her vacation.
Chapter 5
Sunday, December 22nd, 2030
Lilith’s Condo, San Francisco
“And… there we go. Last screw in place,” Lilith said, nodding happily as she stood up straight again, stretching slightly.
“To think that I thought you had a screw loose,” Gina replied, and smirked as Lilith stuck her tongue out at her.
“That was entirely uncalled for,” Lilith said, closing the door of the wardrobe to make sure that it would open and close smoothly, then frowned as she noticed the alignment was slightly off. Opening the door, she started adjusting the screws in the hinge that controlled the door’s alignment. “Why do you think I’m crazy, anyway?”
“You have the money to purchase all this furniture at once, yet you refuse to consider hiring the people to assemble it for you,” Gina replied, shaking her head. “Why?”
“In part, it’s because I like building things. I think it’s interesting. The other part is that I don’t know that I’d trust a random crew of contractors in the condo,” Lilith replied, shrugging slightly as she decided the alignment was correct and closed the door. “I—”
As she turned her head, she was interrupted as Gina leaned in and firmly kissed her, startling Lilith enough that she fumbled the screwdriver. Catching herself against the wardrobe as the tool clattered to the floor, Lilith blushed as she melted into the firm, passionate kiss. Gina pressed against Lilith intently, and it took several long moments before Gina broke away, blushing slightly as she did so, her breathing slightly hard.
“What was that all about?” Lilith asked after a moment, adjusting her feet so she could wrap her arms around Gina without falling over.
“I wanted to kiss you. Do I need another reason to interrupt?” Gina asked, blushing a little more. “I mean, it didn’t seem like what you were saying was very important.”
“I suppose it might not have been very important… though in some ways it was,” Lilith replied, her emotions a confused tangle, but she smiled warmly as she leaned in to kiss Gina’s cheek. “That being said… no, you don’t need a better reason. You just startled me.”
“That makes sense, I guess. When’s Rachel going to be here, again?” Gina asked, frowning thoughtfully.
“She said she’d be here at about two… why do you ask?” Lilith asked, her heartbeat quickening slightly.
“Drat. I’d hoped she’d be a little longer, but that barely gives us time to finish getting the room put together, doesn’t it?” Gina asked, looking disappointed as she leaned into Lilith more.
“I’ve been the one putting things together, Gina,” Lilith pointed out gently. “You’ve mostly been watching.”
“That’s because I’d have been in the way!” Gina protested, glancing around the room. “I mean, it’s a fairly big bedroom, but you’ve got a lot of things in here!”
She wasn’t wrong, Lilith reflected. The bedroom was large enough to be comfortable, but with the boxes for the nightstands, wardrobe, bed frame, and vanity, it’d filled a lot of the floor space, let alone the mattress and box spring which were still in the hallway.
“I suppose so. But you could always try to help if you want. Or you could work on your paintings while I assemble the furniture,” Lilith suggested, shrugging. “I don’t mind either way, you know that.”
“True enough. While I’d like to help, I normally got my dad to help me put things together growing up. I don’t think I’d be much use,” Gina admitted, looking around the room and frowning. “Maybe I should go paint for a bit…”
“Are you nervous about going to see your father? He knows what happened to you, doesn’t he?” Lilith asked in concern, growing worried. “I know you were hesitant about inviting me to meet him over Christmas, so if you don’t want me to go with you, I’m okay with it.”
“Oh, no, no… that isn’t it at all. Yes, I’m nervous about you meeting him, but that isn’t it. I’m a little scared that he might overreact to the physical changes even if he knows about them in advance, but…” Gina paused, then sighed, shrugging as she pulled away. “I don’t know what it is that has me all anxious, Lilith. No, that’s not true. I’m afraid that someone will find out that you were created by Shadowmind before we figure out some way to get that damned death sentence off your head. The problem is that I don’t know who we can talk to about it, not without giving everything away!”
“It is what it is. There’s a reason that I have a safe room in the condo, complete with an emergency teleportation pack.” Lilith replied, shrugging and keeping her tone far calmer than she actually felt. “I’m not going to claim that it doesn’t worry me at times, but it usually isn’t at the forefront of my mind.”
“I guess so.” Gina said, biting her lip, then looking up curiously. “You have a safe room? Where?”
“It’s the closet across the hall.” Lilith explained, nodding to the door in question. “It looks like a normal walk-in closet, but if you have to ever use it, just go inside and say, ‘Situation F, Emergency Lockdown.’”
“Right, I suppose that’s part of why you didn’t want contractors poking around the house?” Gina said, looking at the door curiously.
“That’s part of it, yes. Now, which do you want to do? The furniture won’t assemble itself! There’s no circuitry, for one thing,” Lilith said, grinning as Gina snorted in amusement.
“Self-assembling furniture… I thought I saw something about a company marketing that,” Gina replied, seeming a little more upbeat than she had been. “I think I’ll go paint a bit. Maybe I can get closer to finishing the picture of Morgan.”
“That sounds like a good idea. I’m still paying you for it when it’s done. We do have an agreement,” Lilith reminded Gina.
“Maybe once you agree to let me pay rent,” Gina retorted, but left before Lilith could reply.
Lilith laughed under her breath, smiling as she leaned down to pick up the screwdriver, murmuring, “At least I’m not lonely anymore. Now then…”
Assembling the furniture wasn’t too difficult. The schematics were far easier to follow than the ones she used with her tech company so it was a simple matter of time and finding the parts. First, she put in the accessories to make the wardrobe usable, then started on the bed. It wasn’t terribly complex, but the bed was bulky and left quite a bit of packaging behind.
By the time Lilith finished with all the furniture, it was almost time for Rachel to arrive so she quickly dragged the packaging into the next room. Hopefully she could at least get the bed made before Rachel arrived.
Lilith was in the middle of putting the sheets onto the bed when she heard the front door unlock and open. Then Rachel’s voice rang out. “Hello! Who wants a prime rib sandwich?”
“Hello, Rachel! Just give me a minute; I’m finishing up with something!” Lilith replied loudly, grinning as she began moving more quickly and added, “Gina’s painting, so who knows if she heard you or not?”
“I don’t lose track of my surroundings that much, usually!” Gina responded a moment later, and Lilith could hear Rachel’s laughter. Despite none of them being able to see each other, Lilith couldn’t help her smile, amused that their presence helped her mood so much.
Rachel appeared in the doorway and looked around curiously, wearing a gray turtleneck and jeans that looked distinctly more casual than her usual clothing. “What’s this? I seem to recall this room being empty a few days ago.”
“Yes, it was,” Lilith replied, glancing at Rachel and grinning as she added, “I asked Gina if I should set up a guest bedroom for you when you were napping in her bed the other day, and she thought it was a good idea. Assuming you don’t want to borrow one of our beds, that is.�
�
“Oh, I…” Rachel paused, flushing slightly as she gathered herself, then retorted more spiritedly, “You really shouldn’t tease me this much, Lilith! I’m still trying to get used to this idea that you and Gina came up with, you know? I’m flattered that you set up a bedroom for me, though. It’s very sweet; thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” Lilith replied softly, folding down the sheets and stepping toward the other woman. Rachel didn’t resist when she gave the smaller woman a gentle hug, murmuring softly, “I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable. I just… I’m trying to figure this out. Please tell me if I’m doing something wrong?”
“I’m not too uncomfortable, it’s just…” Rachel wrapped her arms around Lilith and gave her a hug, sighing as she continued. “I spent years hiding my crush on Gina. I was so certain that it was a bad idea to confess to her, Lilith. I’m not sure what came over me when I told Gina about my feelings, so that has me on edge. I just… I’m confused, really. Now that I did admit it, I don’t know what to do, especially with you involved as well. I’m sorry.”
“Ah. I wish I could say that I understand, but I really don’t,” Lilith replied softly, pulling away from Rachel and shrugging slightly as she stepped out of the room and headed toward the kitchen. “I don’t have the… grasp of time that you do, I think. In some ways, we’re just barely coming up on my first birthday, but I truly don’t think that’s a fair summation of what’s made me who I am either. I was ‘born’ fully mature, even if emotionally things are a little different.”
“I think you’re right, there. You don’t act like someone young… but you also don’t act like most people would expect you to. You’re simply yourself,” Rachel replied, shrugging as she walked alongside Lilith. “Are you looking forward to meeting Gina’s dad?”
There were a couple of bags sitting on the kitchen counter and Lilith gave them a curious look before glancing at Rachel, smiling thinly as she confessed softly. “If I’m being perfectly honest? I’m completely terrified.”
Rachel laughed, opening one of the cloth bags and starting to pull out the ingredients for their meal as Gina came into the room, wiping off her hands on her jeans to dry them. She had a curious look on her face, though.
“What was so funny, Rachel?” Gina asked, glancing between the two of them.
“Nothing really; just something Lilith said,” Rachel replied, grinning as she asked. “Mind setting the table, Gina? I saw a salad in the fridge, Lilith. Was that for dinner too?”
“I didn’t put it together specifically for dinner, but yes. I just wanted to have a salad available if we wanted one,” Lilith told her, smiling slightly. “I figure having a salad on hand for dinners just made sense.”
“It does make things easier,” Gina agreed, opening the cupboard and starting to get the dishes to set the table. “Steak sandwiches, huh? Why those?”
“Because they’re warm, and I don’t recall Lilith having tried them before this,” Rachel explained, glancing at Lilith curiously. “Have you?”
“No, not yet,” Lilith agreed, shrugging as she added. “I’m looking forward to seeing what the food is like, though. New experiences are interesting.”
“Good.” Rachel said, nodding in satisfaction as she smiled broadly. “Now, let’s see about getting dinner on the road, then we can play a game and relax.”
“No games this time,” Gina interjected, grinning as she added, “Rachel cheats.”
“I do not cheat! I use the rules to my advantage. Ruthlessly,” Rachel retorted with a glower.
“Which is why we’re not gaming when we should be relaxing,” Gina said. “No games.”
“Fine… I’ll find a cooperative one for next time,” Rachel said, sighing heavily. “In that case, we can eat and then watch a movie and relax.”
“That sounds good to me,” Lilith said, amused at their antics.
Much later that evening, Lilith found herself tired but happy. While the movie that the two had chosen didn’t make much sense to her, it had been moderately amusing to watch. The sheer ridiculousness of the situations portrayed, especially having seen superpowers in use, was somewhat amusing, and she had to wonder if the sword fight was even slightly realistic. The food had been good, though, and the company was wonderful.
Still, the moment when Rachel slowly slumped over into Lilith’s side was startling. Lilith blinked in bemusement at her, but it simply looked like Rachel had drifted off as the end credits slowly rolled across the screen. Pausing for a moment, Lilith debated on what to do, then opened her mouth to wake Rachel.
“No, no… let her sleep, Lilith,” Gina hissed softly, catching Lilith’s attention as she smiled broadly. “She doesn’t act like this often. Rachel doesn’t usually relax with other people around, not enough to sleep.”
Lilith pursed her lips, glancing down at Rachel, her head against Lilith’s shoulder, and carefully shifted her left arm to wrap around the other woman. Gina got up and slipped out of the room quietly, returning with a blanket that she offered to Lilith. With a bit of effort, they got it around Rachel without waking her, as well as over Lilith. Glancing up at Gina, Lilith asked softly, “Now what?”
“Just… stay with her for a while. She’ll wake up eventually,” Gina whispered in return. “I’ll leave the two of you alone for now.”
Lilith watched Gina pad off to her bedroom in bemusement, then looked at Rachel again. After a moment of nervousness, she gently kissed the top of Rachel’s head, murmuring, “Sleep well, Rachel.”
It was hard to see from the angle she was looking from, but it looked like Rachel’s lips slowly curved upward in a smile.
Chapter 6
Tuesday, December 24th, 2030
San Francisco International Airport, San Francisco
Blooming Orchid tried to relax in the hard seat, but it was difficult to manage. The flight to Maui was fairly crowded, and as one of the few fully public heroes of Ocean Shield, people had noticed her presence quite quickly. She’d had a flurry of requests for her autograph, dozens of questions, and three requests for a date before she’d asked for a little privacy before the flight. It’d still taken some time for them to back off, but eventually she’d been given a tiny bit of privacy.
The privacy was mostly an illusion, she knew, but at least boarding would begin soon. She’d paid for a seat in first class so it would be harder for people to gawk and hover over her. It wouldn’t be perfect, but the resort she was going to was small and private, which was what she wanted.
She looked up as the desk attendant started boarding, waiting for her group to be called. Blooming Orchid wasn’t exactly a frequent flyer, after all, and wasn’t expecting special treatment. At last, her turn came up and she got in line, pulling her luggage behind her. At least being a public hero meant that the airline didn’t give her a hard time about her sword.
“Hello, I hope you have a pleasant flight, ma’am!” the man attending the ticket reader told her, smiling as she handed over her ID and he scanned her ticket. A moment later, he nodded and handed it back happily.
“As do I. Thank you,” Blooming Orchid replied politely and headed in to find her seat and settle in for the flight. She was going to be getting to the resort late, but that just meant she’d wake up on Christmas day in Hawaii. That would be quite pleasant, she imagined.
Unlike the rest of those heroes who were patrolling, she thought, suppressing a grin, then murmuring, “Well, Crimson Bull wanted to be back on duty.”
Downtown Alley, San Leandro
“Quit dodging, you slippery little runt!” Crimson Bull bellowed as the frustrating villain slipped out of his grasp just before he could get his hands on the man. All he managed to grab was the villain’s afterimage.
“Hey, I may not be terribly powerful but I’m not stupid!” Speed Burst replied, the small man looking back at Crimson Bull in disbelief. “If I let you catch me, I’ll be lucky if I manage to get away with a few broken bones! Maybe if it was Blooming Orchid, Ocean S
pirit, or someone like that I’d give up, but you? You?”
“Shut the hell up!” Crimson Bull raged, spinning around and picking up a nearby trash can to hurl at the minor villain. “What’re you doing, stealing from a toy store on Christmas Eve, anyway? Have you no respect for holidays?”
“Why the hell would I take time off just because it’s a holiday?” Speed Burst retorted, dodging to the left this time, so fast that he left brief afterimages in his wake. “You don’t, after all!”
Crimson Bull snarled again, incredibly frustrated and fuming, wondering where Black Comet was when he needed him. It’d been a bad month so far. What’d he’d give for a proper fight instead.
Dr. Johnson’s Lair, Santa Cruz
“We have confirmation as to where Blooming Orchid will be staying in Maui.” Eve said, sitting down with Maureen and Pauline again as she pulled up a map of the island and zoomed in on a small resort. “She’s staying under her mundane name, Claire Zhang, so it wasn’t hard to find her once we penetrated the resort’s systems. As you can see, it’s small and private, which will make our task easier.”
“Easier doesn’t necessarily mean easy,” Maureen replied, frowning as she looked at the layout of the resort. Eve knew that while she still wasn’t happy with the job, she wasn’t trying to sabotage it. Instead, Maureen was doing everything she could think of to make it safer for her sister. As that meant making their chances of success improve, Eve saw no reason to object to the woman’s frequent interruptions. “She’s still a potent super, after all… all-around strong, fast, and tough, and with a sword that can cut through damn near anything. You’ve already said that you can jam the emergency signal she’ll try to send, but what about sounds? If we don’t take her down perfectly, and that’s unlikely to happen after the attack on Warden, she’s probably going to fight, and other people in the resort will hear that. My powers are pretty good, but I can’t modify that many memories, not unless we took the entire resort captive so I could change them one at a time. That just doesn’t seem reasonable if we’re trying to keep this quiet.”
Down with the Queen Page 6