by P. S. Power
"Only under my clothes. Invite me in and then turn the lights off." Everyplace in the building had cameras on all the time. Microphones too. They could have taken a shower together, but she didn't want to be naked with the guy. It was bad enough that she'd have to whisper in his ear.
"OK. Do you want to be on top then?"
She nearly pushed him, but took his hand instead, knowing that he wouldn't know it had happened. Den wasn't a high responder when it came to contact with her. She tapped the light switch which made the whole place black and took note of where the bed was to the left of the door before it went dark. Then she half dragged him to it, chuckling as she did.
"That's the only way it really works. You'll have to get yourself ready though, since you won't be able to feel me. It takes most of the fun out of it for the guys. Works for me though."
Then as if she really meant it at all, she pushed him onto the bed and straddled him, using her weight to pin him into place. After a few seconds she spoke softly into the side of his face, her lips on his skin. He did smell nice. Like spices. Cinnamon and pumpkin pie.
"Don't get crazy here. Marcia told me that you were the one to see about kicking Robert's ass?"
There was a soft sigh and a huff.
"Should of known... Hot inviso girl comes to my room, and I get nothing. Well, you heard right. I was just going to go out tomorrow and handle it. Screwing Karen is a bit like someone taking advantage of a handicapped woman, or a kid. She can't say no, and he's her fucking boss. Of course she went along with it. I half expected Yi to kick his behind for it, but he just broke up with her, without blaming her at all, which is better than I would have done, and started dating what's-her-name from the coffee place in town. Mary."
"Good, I'm in too. What time do we meet?" She'd intended to do it herself, but it never hurt to have a back-up plan. Denis was probably thinking much the same thing, since he actually told her.
"Six-thirty, right after dinner. He normally goes back to his office. There are a few of us going. I was planning to make it a picnic, but that was thought to be a little over the top." He shifted under her a bit, then laughed. "So, seriously, alone in the dark... Not even a handjob?"
Penny froze for a second, and then shrugged. Why not? they were both adults and it wasn't like he was ugly or anything. It took a second, but she worked herself around and pulled his sweats down, she couldn't see anything, but after a few seconds found him with her hand and started stroking a bit. He did stiffen, with enough work.
"How's that?" She nearly laughed, but there was nothing from him but heavy breathing for a bit.
"Not too bad. I can just barely feel it. I don't think I can actually get off this way. I don't suppose you could use your mouth?"
She could of course, and did, for a bit, but knew it wouldn't help. He really couldn't feel it at all. Just like most men. After a bit she turned the light on and giggled.
"Do it yourself. I like to watch." It was about half of what she really could do, so it was true enough. The only difference this time was that she could call out instructions and he actually followed along. Penny let her hands stroke under his shirt as he did it, and then dodged back when he finished. It was interesting, and only a bit embarrassing. After all, he hadn't been watching her, had he?
"Well, that was fun. Next time I expect a bit more though." She didn't add what that would be, since she didn't have a clue, but she did take him in her hand and stroke him again for a bit. That got more of a reaction at least and he pulled away, feeling too sensitive.
Then she left, without bothering to say goodbye. The interesting part would be seeing if he could even remember having done it the next day, or if he thought it was all a dream? Even if he remembered, he might also think about the fact that he had a girlfriend, or at least a regular booty call, and that she actually provided discernable friction, unlike Penny. The only thing she could provide a guy like him was novelty and now that they'd done it, she didn't think he'd need too many return engagements to understand that it didn't get a lot better than that. Not with her.
The event left her feeling a little out of sorts, and dirty. Not that they'd done anything wrong, but it wasn't her normal way. Sex was a thing that she did, and that the other party didn't really know about. There was something wrong with it when the guy had the chance of being aware of it, wasn't there? Naughty.
Real.
Penny decided to get to bed herself, even though it was still before eleven. She could have watched television, but other than the news, nothing sounded all that interesting at the moment. She was a bit horny, and left unsatisfied, but didn't bother fixing that, letting herself suffer a bit, just turning the light off instead.
It took a while for her to drift off and the pounding on her door made sleep all but impossible when it happened. She didn't know who it might be, suspecting that it would be Brian, or maybe Denis, looking for round two, but it was actually a bigger surprise than either of those two. Mark stood there, looking at her directly, even though he couldn't see her. Not in real time. He could when he went into his stasis thing though, and he'd probably dropped into and out of it to as soon as the door opened. It wasn't like it took extra time for him after all.
"Hi Penny. Alan Brown and Glen Gillis both asked if you'd be in on the meeting today? They want to go over your idea for the play. Breakfast meeting at seven in the restaurant. Are you in?" He didn't wait for her to say hello or anything, but smiled a bit driftily. He had to stay relaxed to stop his power from working. Not just laid back either, but intensely and profoundly controlled, all the time. Like a true meditative master.
"What? Sure. I can do that. If there aren't going to be too many people there?" It felt weak, but what the hell was she supposed to do? She'd only gotten through dinner the night before because almost no one could remember she was there after a few minutes.
Mark patted her on the arm. It nearly made her jump, since he got it exactly right. He didn't do things like that often, but it was always nice when he did, since she knew that he wasn't really able to see her while it happened. Still, it meant he cared enough to try.
"A few. The people from my show, Brian, Alan and Glen. I know that's a lot for you."
It was, but she rolled her eyes, trying to think of a good way out that wasn't basically whining about it being too hard. Poor little her, having to deal with friendly people, most of whom she worked with all the time. Boo-freaking-hoo. That got her to smile at least. It was something to consider, trying not to give in to her first mode too much.
"All right. I'm in. But I might end up just sitting there, not saying anything. I hate this crap." She grinned, knowing that he probably wouldn't catch it at all. "First mode garbage I mean, not television show stuff. That's actually kind of fun."
After a few seconds she felt his warm hand on her arm again, holding her. On purpose. He still couldn't feel it, she didn't think, but it was meant to be there. She blushed, she thought, her face going warm.
"That's the spirit. I'll see you there then. It's what right now... five till? You have whole minutes to get ready."
He vanished himself then, moving so fast that not even the quickest man in the world could have caught him. It wasn't actually super-speed, just stopping time in some strange fashion that made no sense to her. Or really to any of the scientists at the base. Then, neither did being as invisible as she was. Just because it clearly worked, that was no reason to imagine people would really understand it. They didn't know how gravity really functioned either, but few bothered to claim it wasn't real.
She was going to be late, she knew, but managed to be there only fifteen minutes after Mark had started pounding, with her teeth brushed, hair combed enough that it wouldn't tangle, and showered for comfort. No one else would care, but it made a difference to her. Well, Brian might. He'd never mentioned her having body odor of course, but then, she didn't let that develop, did she?
She almost took the stairs, but didn't want to accidently be knocked
down and stepped on again. That had been Lauren from Team Two, who was so huge and strong she hadn't even realized she'd done it at the time. Penny had never bothered to tell her either, even though she could now. What could the woman have done about it? The broken leg had healed and now she knew to be even more careful. Having a giant armored woman feeling like she couldn't move at all, just in case Penny was around, wouldn't help anyone. Instead she kept to the elevator and watched the track behind her while she ran in the gym, like a hawk. She still nearly got hit once or twice a week, but that just kept her on her toes, right?
Before she could get into the room, she saw Brian run out into the golden carpeted hallway, dashing just past her, his face looking hard and eyes filled with fear, jumping at the last second before he went away. Taking the place of someone that was about to die. Most of the time that was the case at least. That was his power. He took other people's spots for them. Then he fought and saved them from whatever it was that was about to end their lives. It was, she figured, the world's suckiest power.
Even having no power at all would be better.
Even her ability was better in a fight. Brian was a better fighter than she was, sure, and could kick her butt so easily it wasn't even a real thing to him when they sparred, but most people couldn't find her at all, if they even realized they were in a fight. He was pretty much just a guy physically. One that was back less than five seconds later, turning to her and smiling.
"A gentleman that was about to make a mistake, it seems. I always like these things best when I don't have to kill anyone." He actually smiled, but didn't explain what had happened. He seldom did anymore. He also didn't run off to report it either. That was the first thing he did in most cases. "Crepes for breakfast I think. Warren made them. You know Warren, right?"
She laughed, then made herself slap him on the back lightly. It wasn't that she didn't want to touch him, she kind of wanted to do a lot more than that, but she didn't want to send the wrong signals either. That was hard, since she didn't know what signals she wanted to give her friend. He took that one well enough though and didn't react to it at all.
"I do know him. We've even shared a bed, which he knows about and everything. Nothing that will have Carl kicking my butt, you know, at the hotel in Miami?" Actually there had been a little bit of touching that Warren didn't know about that might have had his boyfriend up at arms, but that didn't need to be discussed. The guy was hot and slept in very little clothing, so was fair game.
"Oh? Cool. Anyway, he's doing that part for us. Mark is doing lunch later and Denis, Scott and Kerry are taking dinner tonight. I think they're trying to impress Alan."
That made sense. He had his own cooking show, but was also a mover and shaker at the Food Network. Plus, he was a decent cook, so it made sense that they might want to show off a bit.
They chatted while they ate, the chocolate crepes being very good, but not really enough food for her. No one else complained though, so she didn't either, just taking a bit of food from everyone else around her. Brian smiled, but didn't explain what was happening and no one seemed to wonder why they were missing things from their plates. They just assumed they'd eaten it, most likely.
It was Glen Gillis that turned things to real business.
"We need to integrate the food part to the classic play. How do you think we should do this?" He actually seemed to be speaking to her, even though he was looking at the wrong place slightly. It was closer than most people got, so she didn't correct him. Brian didn't either, and he normally did.
"I... you know, why don't we put it around various meals? There are three or four in it right? Then do a pop up with the various things being eaten? Traditional dishes and fancy variation? That's your idea, Glen, but I think it has a certain charm to it." Her voice was stronger than normal, since she wasn't thinking about anything but the sudden question. "Plus, that way I'll get all these wonderful suck up points that I can redeem later to get the songs I like included. Or maybe just to exclude the 'Twelve Days of Christmas'. That thing bites. Christmas is one day, not twelve and it promotes slavery. Eight maids a-milking, seven Lords a singing, six men on a chain-gang breaking rocks... really the whole thing should be banned."
That got them going, and a short two and a half hours later they had the whole thing sketched out, a loose script on paper and everything. It was nice, since she was included in the whole thing, but no one yelled at her or seemed upset. They did lose track of the fact that she was in the conversation every now and then, but that was to be expected. It was what she did.
Got lost, no matter where she was or who was around.
Being noticed even for a bit was fun, as long as it wasn't too much of a good thing.
Penny was busily leaning in to hear something that Kerry was saying, which was being said in a low tone so that her voice wouldn't carry too much.
"We could put in some naughty elves, maybe..." The girl, who was a little plain and freckled, stopped suddenly, staring at the door.
When Penny turned around Lancaster was standing in the door of the place, looking right at Brian.
"We have a mission. I need Cooper for it. Can you help me locate her?"
That got Alan to raise his hand and pointed with the other.
"I can, chair to the left." He smiled cheerily, which got a nod from the taller man.
"Penny, wheels up in twenty minutes. Hostage situation. Fully armed, and with body armor. You're the primary insertion team."
"I am?"
The tall agent didn't nod or react at all, he just answered as if it were totally normal for him to talk to thin air in public. It was even stranger that no one looked at him funny as he did it. Freaks.
"The hostages are children, we're being brought in by DHS. Agent Galley calling in a favor. Director Moore offered to bring in everyone, but the State Department still has a hard-on for Brian, so we need to do this in a way that won't call too much attention to ourselves."
That pretty much meant her or Mark then, and having a celebrity do the work would probably be a bit conspicuous. So that left Cellophane.
She stood up and patted Alan on the back.
"Bye, everyone. I'll be back as soon as possible. I hope I make it back before you leave, but if not, I expect letters. Lots of them. No fair forgetting, so make a note, or you will." She kissed them both, Alan and Glen, on the cheek, but they didn't know that it had happened. Then she had to leave, since there was only about fifteen minutes left to find her things.
"Darryl, could you get me a vest? I need to grab my toothbrush." Then she ran, hoping that it would be all right.
She hurried the whole time and had to jog to the tarmac out back, since Lancaster hadn't waited for her. That wasn't his way. Or hers now either. She was a professional after all, and really couldn't expect anyone to hold her hand like a school girl. She'd gotten her ready bag and toothbrush, as well as every handgun she owned. She had to assume that the police or DHS would have their own snipers, and probably ones that could do a better job than she would have. They didn't need that kind of help. If she was being called in, the situation was probably different than anything she could easily imagine.
The plane they got on was one of the big transports that had a feeling of military use all over it. They were alone, so it wasn't a great use of funds, which meant the need was pressing, but not so much that they wanted to put her on one of the faster machines.
More, whatever the situation was, it hadn't gotten Proxy to go yet. That meant... She didn't know. His power was all over the place that way. He'd go and fight for the life of a bum on the street one day, and then guard the President the next. She just waited until they were in the air, the engines making it hard to hear anything at all, so she sat close to the big agent, her leg pressing up against his. She still had clothing on, which included the bullet resistant vest that Lancaster had gotten for her. Or at least it did as soon as she saw it on the seat. It was one of the good ones with ceramic inserts too, meant to sto
p heavy ammunition.
"It will take us about an hour to be on the ground, since this is happening in Nevada. Near Carson. Anyway, a school has been taken and is being held for ransom. The men, and possibly women, inside are demanding five hundred million dollars. They have two hundred children being held and might have the place wired with explosives. How they think they're going to get out of there I don't know. Two hours ago they started a countdown. Every hour they're throwing out one of the children, middle school kids, after slitting their throats. We don't have much to go on as far as specifics other than that. Galley requested aid, but the Director feels that we need to go in low-key here. We can use the good press, but the fact is that anything going wrong will probably be blamed on us as well. You're supposed to go in and try to stop this." There was a cold look to his eyes then, and his face went blank, like he did when he was hiding the fact that he was close to being enraged, but didn't want to start spouting off profanity.
Penny just waited, but realized that he wasn't going to go on unless she said something. That was either part of her power, or he really just thought something was horribly wrong with the whole thing and wanted to be prompted into saying what.
"So, I can... do whatever is needed?" It wasn't that she wanted to kill the bastards involved, but if they were executing children she didn't want her hands to be tied either. That could end up with someone opening fire on the hostages, or setting off a bomb. She could avoid being shot, if she was careful, it was hard to hit what you couldn't see after all. Explosives were a bit of a different story, since they didn't care if you were their target or not.
"Technically no. DHS wants you to go in, get the lay of the land and report back. That's the job. We're sending you with a camera, if possible. The reality is though, that if you think you can remove the threat, do it. That will lead to a cluster fuck of epic proportions, but we feel that letting the hostages die while everyone tries to figure this out might not be the best idea ever. Penny... This is bad. I honestly argued against letting you go. If you succeed and save the kids, this will be used against the IPB. If you take too long and another child dies, it will be blamed on us. The very best case scenario is for you to just do what you're told and hope that no one realizes who you work for."