A New Beginning

"SARAH!!" A few people near the door noticed the tall pale Amazon walk in, and a few of the patrons came over, looking to strike up a conversation.

"Hey, gang. This here's my friend, Dana- she's a guest here, so keep an eye on her for me, would you?" A few smiles and more than a few nods, as Sarah turned and walked to the bar, scooping a huge mug from behind it and pouring almost a full gallon of some kind of dark liquid into it.

"All right you drunken bunch! The bar is officially open!" Sarah boomed out from behind the dark polished onyx counter. A chorused shout came from all over the room, and people ambled towards the bar, collecting drinks as Sarah poured them. The gawky young man and dancer from earlier were among them. The busty girl came over to Dana, the strained straps of her bra creaking with every step.

"Hey, I saw you come in with Sarah. If she's watching out for you, you're definitely in good hands." She smiled at the young man next to her. "Almost all the regulars here know her, so they'll be here for you." A big, calloused, dark hand landed on Dana's shoulder.

"Moira, are you going to try and keep Sarah's friend from meeting everyone?" A voice came from above and behind her. A tall black man, probably just as strong as Sarah, was standing there in jeans and gray shirt.

"Sam! What makes you think I'd o that?" She said sweetly.

"Because no matter who comes in that door, you try and hypnotize them with those breasts of yours, kid."

"And there's something wrong with that?"

"Just keep your priorities straight, my dear."

"No problem, Sam!" She smiled and spun quickly, her top somehow staying intact as she walked, the young man at her side, towards a door at the back of the establishment.

"Who was that?" Dana asked the man with the hand on her shoulder.

"That, Dana, was Moira. Talented girl, beautiful, sexy, hornier than anyone I know, and with a heart of gold. She's like Sarah is- I trust you know Sarah's secret?"

Dana nodded.

"And so am I, as well as a few of the customers. You need any help, just yell. Someone will come running."

"Sam?"

"Yes?"

"Who's Eddie?" The big man smiled, and pointed over to a card table, where a small ratty little man was dealing cards. He looked like the most crooked men alive, and though his smile was imperfect to look at, the feeling behind it was honestly genuine.

"Him?" She squeaked incredulously.

"Yes, That's Eddie. Everyone underestimates him, unless they know him, in which case they stay clear of anything that'll tick him off. There's no kinder man in the world." Dana blinked.

"There's more to this place than meets the eyes, Dana."

"So I see."

"Oi! Dana!" Sarah called from behind the bar. "C'mon over here!"

Dana walked over to the bar, and settled herself in one of the chairs there. Sarah passed her a bottle of soda.

"How do you like this place, Dana?"

"It's... it's... it's incredible!"

"Glad you like it. Take a look up on stage- I think you'll get an eye-opener."

Dana turned to face the stage.

Dancing was a slightly older Asian woman, still thin, though not a total knockout. Dressed in a filmy silk dress, she sashayed around the stage. It wasn't erotic, or sexual, it was simply beauty. Yet the men, and even the women, were all watching. Most men would have turned away due to the lack of skin, or shape to her skin, but everyone watched.

"That's Gwen. She's a wonderful woman- everyone here knows her, and she enjoys dancing for us all, yet we all know- she herself included- know that she's hardly the right body for an erotic dance. So she employs beauty instead. Everyone loves her- it's hard not to."

There was a simple, perfect beauty about the woman. She was elegant.

All too soon, it seemed, she was gathering her dress and stepping off the stage. A few of the guys at the bar spoke up.

"Hey! Sarah! Go on up there!" Sarah actually blushed.

"Naaah, I look awful."

The guys simply started chanting her name, grinning boyishly at her.

"Sarah! Sarah! Sarah! Sarah! Sarah!"

"Oh, all right. Has everyone else left?" They all looked around. 4:00 and the only people there were the employees and the regulars.

"Yeah, no one who doesn't know." Sarah sighed.

"All right, all right! I'll do it. But Sammy, YOU have to go first."

"Me?!"

"Yes, you!"

"Why?"

"So I can go and get myself ready."

"And I don't get time to?"

"Nope!"

"Who'll be security?"

"The regulars, Sam! Hello, use your brain- these guys know better than to act up, and if anyone does, Eddie'll KO the sucker."

"All right."

"Good!" Sarah beamed at Sam, and walked to the back room. Dana looked at Sam in confusion.

"But... you're a guy!" Sam smirked.

"Fliers, like Sarah, and myself, can be either gender, Dana. I'll be female up there." Dana just gaped as her brain tried to absorb this information.

Sam was gone once she looked up at the stage.

An orb of dark energy, crackling with black light (the real thing, not the puny stuff given off by those 'black lights' that party stores sell) appeared onstage, and when it faded, a slender black woman was onstage, dressed in gray and black silk gauze scarves. Tiny pinpricks of the same black energy whirled around her as she began to dance. Not an erotic dance, an actual dance, beautiful, as she moved and undulated her body to some unheard music. She was more along the lines of the average human woman than the other girl who had been onstage earlier, Moira. It was beautiful, and hypnotizing to watch.

"Ladies and gentlemen, Samantha, controller of the void!" Samantha bowed and hopped off the stage, walking over to Dana.

"See? Piece of cake! Hey, Sarah's about ready. Keep your eyes on the stage."

"And now, ladies and gentlemen- The seductress of the storm, controller of clouds, she who laughs with lightning and is ravishing in rain, our very own bartender, Sarah Whitmore, the mistress of the tempest!" Everyone cheered and clapped. A tiny gray cloud formed onstage, and began to grow, lightning crackling within it, tiny feeble sparks, mere children to the real thing, the cloud grew larger and darker, and when it was big enough to hold Sarah, the lights in the club dimmed to a very low light, and there was a rumble of thunder. The clouds began to dissipate as something moved within them.

Wearing nothing but gray plumes of storm cloud, Sarah danced onto the stage. Curved lines of metal flowed up and down her body, lightning crackling along them, every long strand of silver-white hair was charged with the electrical energy Sarah seemed to embody. More sparks glowed and danced in her eyes as she moved, and a slight breeze started up, moving the clouds away from her body, revealing every inch of skin. Dana gazed in wonder at this beauty of femininity, when her eyes were caught by something. Sarah's waist was genderless- no sexual organs. Her breasts were still perched proud and round on her chest, moving in rippling, hypnotic movements, but aside from her body shape and breasts, she was neither male nor female. That said, she was still dancing erotically, occasionally teasing the audience with a touch here and there. Sam put her hand on Dana's shoulder.

"Don't be too surprised by that- she prefers to go female-genderless most of the time - say's it feels right for her. Most fliers have a form they prefer to be- I like being male, hence my 'Sam' form."

"She was all female around me, though."

"Because she was keeping up the appearance of being human, though she never does a very good job of that- gets found out too often."

Sarah had worked her way along the stage and was now in front of Dana and Sam. She grinned at Dana, winking and undulating her body, almost within arm's reach of Dana.

She was beautiful. Her breasts seemed, if possible, even bigger than before, and her white skin almost glowed, the metal strips on her body adding to the appeal. A pair of wings, made entirely of soft, rainbow electrical light, extended from her back, her eyes glowing brighter with energy.

"Dana, you asked to see me as I truly am. Now you have."

Dana nodded slowly, amazed.

"Ah, you must be Dana." Dana turned, hearing the voice in her ears and in her head at the same time. An ordinary man- one of the police officers Dana had seen when she walked in- was sitting at a table nearby, and he beckoned Dana over.

"Nice to meet you."

"Did you just speak in my head?!"

"Yeah." He nodded. "Sarah asked me to come here today so I could get a look at the damage that was done to you last night."

"That's all?"

"I need to have some reason for putting a man in jail, and that means evidence. In this case, you."

"I have to go to the police station?"

"No, that won't be necessary."

"What'll happen to my father?"

"What do you want to happen?"

"I'd like him to be the way he was before he lost his job. I don't know that that'll happen, so I'll settle for him never taking custody of me again- and my never seeing him again."

"Fair enough. I can do that."

"How'd you speak in my head like that?"

"Take a guess."

"You're like Sarah and Sam, too?"

"Mmm-hmm. It's my specialty. I can help get Sarah to be your legal guardian, if you like."

"I think that's best, all things considered."

"Consider it done."

"How come you actually look... normal? Sam and Sarah could take on a boxer or wrestler and win without breaking a sweat, and Sarah's skin tone doesn't help with her blending in." The man chuckled.

"Because I'm half human. I can't change my gender, and I have a little magic, but more or less, I'm Joe Average."

"I see." He smiled.

"I'm David, by the way. Go ahead and watch Sarah- she doesn't dance very often."

Sarah was dancing with Moira on stage now, and between the two of them, the sexual tension in the room was nigh unbearable seeing both of them dance, occasionally touch one another was almost too much to resist.

"So go up there, Dana. Moira will watch if you go up there."

"I-I've got almost nothing compared to those two, though!"

"No, you've got Sarah's love and attention, and that means more to her than the sexiest or bustiest partner on the planet. Go on up- you can stay dressed if you want to."

Dana climbed onto the stage, and after an awkward moment, Moira was gone, and Dana was dancing with Sarah. It was a heady feeling, having this sexual, sensual buxom goddess of a woman dancing with her, because she loved her. Sarah was amazing, executing motions and moves that would leave most women envious, or jealous, or both. She moved with Dana, letting the smaller woman orchestrate the dance, flowing around the girl like a hurricane around the heart of the storm. Lightning danced and flowed around them both, winds ruffling clothes and hair alike, and Sarah ended the dance by embracing Dana in a loving hug, though due to her height, she lifted Dana's feet right off the floor.

Applause resonated off the walls of the club like dynamite going off in a bomb shelter. Sarah somehow dressed in her jeans and t-shirt once more, hopped off the stage, and gently lifted Dana down.

"Have fun?"

"Yeah! That was amazing!" Sarah grinned.

"Glad you liked it." Sarah went back behind the bar, the doors were unlocked and the non-regulars came streaming in to see the stuff the public was allowed to see. Sam, reverted back to his 'bouncer' form, walked over to Dana.

"I suppose I should talk to you about Flier relationships a bit, before you find something out and draw your own conclusions." He sat down at a corner table with a mug of some kind of beer in his hand. Dana sat down with him.

"What do you mean?"

"Fliers don't get married. We're polygamous- most of us, when we're in the mood, have anywhere from six to ten relationships- sexually involved ones- at any one time. Sarah's done her best to limit herself, stay single while she's here, and so forth. She'll do her best to stay true to you, but.." Sam sighed. "Hell, we don't even reproduce the way humans do, Dana. It take two couples to form a child, and even then, the fliers you'll meet here, on this world, will only form the soul of a child when they copulate- the body is made... elsewhere." Dana blinked.

"And?"

"Plus, fliers have mating cycles- once Sarah's hits her, she'll do her best to restrain herself, but sooner or later, she'll have to have sex with SOMEONE, preferably more than one someone. Most of the time, she'll come back here and do that with me, since we're both roughly on the same cycle. Sometimes, she'll hook up with Moira or Catherine."

"So, she's got lots of kids, then?"

"No, Dana. Fliers- the ones who go out into our world and your world- are physically sterile. We only produce the souls. There are designated mothers who gestate the bodies, and once the body's ready to be born, Sarah gives the soul to the mother, and she births the child, and that's that."

"You're confusing me, Sam. Just lay it down plain."

"There are two groups of Fliers- the Parent Caste and the Social Caste. The Parent Caste stays at home, on our world. Any Flier you meet is a Social Caste Flier. They produce souls, the Parents produce the bodies, and when both are ready, the body and soul are united and the Parent Caste fliers raise the child until he or she is ready to go out into the world. As such, we- the fliers you'll meet- do not have children, ever. We can become pregnant, but there is no end result that we see."

"So Sarah will be really horny every once in a while and want to have sex with anything that moves, and if she gets pregnant, there'll be no child that I'll meet."

"Yeah. Plus, the kid won't look like her- she looks the way she does- skin and such- because of her power, the storm. A child of nature magic- trees, plants, and the like- would be green or brown skinned, and would love gardening. Sarah loves storms."

"I think I get it."

"Worried about her?"

"Not much I can do to change it?"

"Nope."

"Then I won't worry."

"Good." Sam smiled. "Head over to the bar and keep Sarah company."

Dana walked over to the bar, wondering what to say. Sarah noticed her coming and then did a double take, looking more closely at Dana. Once the girl was sitting down, Sarah slid her a can of orange soda and smiled slightly- was she nervous?

"So, Sam's told you about us, then?"

"Yeah."

"And... you're okay with this?"

"Not much I can do about it- besides, it could get interesting."

"Interesting?"

"Yeah. You, me, Sam, Moira- things could get interesting." Sarah blinked and then started laughing softly.

"As long as you don't hold it against me, lovely."

"Nah." They smiled at one another.

"Hey, look at the lovebirds!" Mike called out from his table. Sarah leaned back and solidly threw a bottle of beer at the off-duty policeman. The bottle pegged him in the forehead and bounced off; it was a fake, made of foam rubber. The rubber bottle landed on Eddie's card table and he scowled at Sarah.

"Hey, we're playing cards 'ere! Lay off, Sarah!"

"Pah, I wasn't aiming for you, Eddie!" The dealer's response had the bottle nailing Sarah in the teeth and she grinned, the bottle vanishing. Sam chuckled.

"Sarah, we all know your appetite is legendary, but isn't having the beer AND the bottle pushing things a big too far?" Sarah chuckled.

"Pah, laugh it up, Sammy! You eat as much as I do!"

"Not a chance! I stop well short of- Hey!" The beer in Sam's mug vanished. Sarah managed a smug grin.

"Sam, you should never give away a lady's vital stats. Meal size is included in that, you know. I could always tell everyone yours, you know."

"Oh yeah? Get your pale rear over here, bartendress- I challenge you to an arm wrestling match." Sarah smirked.

"Amusing. What're the stakes, Sammy?"

"Loser buys the winner dinner for a week."

"Done! Get your checkbook and take out a loan! I'll milk this for all it's worth."

"Ha! Like you have a chance." Sarah leapt over the bar counter and put her elbow on the table and flexed her hand. Sam's arm snaked out and met hers. Everyone crowded around and Dana sat next to Sarah.

No one was sure when the match had begun, but after a minute or two of neither side neither gaining nor losing, their hands started quivering. Sarah's arm began to falter, slowly moving towards the table. When her knuckles were about an inch away from the wood, she grinned at Sam, and yawned.

"Having fun?"

"Loads. I think you're toast."

"You do that." Her hand began to rise, slowly, inexorably, moving towards victory, and after three more minutes of steady motion, rapped Sam's knuckles to the tabletop.

"Ha! Break out the wallet, Sam! I win!"

"You're going to make me break the bank for this, aren't you, Sarah?"

"Yeah. You'd better take out a mortgage on everything you own, hee hee hee!"

"Hrmph. I don't have to tell everyone about how much you eat- your bragging is doing it all on your own."

"Bah!"

"He's right Sarah." Dana chimed in. "Just from your bragging alone I doubt I'll ever take you out to dinner on my payroll."

"You're right- you'd never get the chance, because I'd be taking you out to dinner every night anyway!"

Cheerful banter filled the bar, and the rest of the night went by swiftly. Closing time came, and everyone filed out into the night. Sarah, Dana, and Sam were the last ones to leave, the clock over the bar reading 2:30. Sarah climbed onto her motorcycle, and Dana climbed on behind her, her arms wrapped around Sarah's waist.

"All set, Dana?"

"Yep!"

Sarah started the engine and took off.

When they arrived home, Dana paused in thought in the doorway.

"Sarah?"

"Yeah?"

"When school closes for the summer, what do you for the summer?" Sarah grinned.

"Racing!"

"Racing?"

"Yep! Street racing!"

"Street racing?"

"Yeah."

"As in the illegal high speed late night races between guys on the street for money?"

"Yup."

"You don't use the motorcycle, do you?"

"Nope! I've got a car that I'm putting together for that."

"Putting together?"

"Yeah- Last summer, some idiot crumpled the front end, and I had to buy a whole new engine for it. THAT was a pain in the ass, and I made the guy who did the damage pay for it. Hee hee hee!"

"Can I see the car?" Sarah chuckled.

"Later, love." Sarah lounged on the couch, yawning.

"Sarah, if you live in an apartment, and you keep your bike on the parking space on the street reserved for you, then where do you KEEP the car?"

"It's at the police impound lot, courtesy of Mike."

"Huh?"

"Don't worry, it's not a problem." Dana cuddled close to Sarah.

"All right." They closed their eyes and slept.

"All right. Would someone tell me why we haven't moved against her yet?"

"We did. The situation necessary to capture her attention was created, and she is romantically interested in the victim, as predicted. The knockout powder we used worked as predicted, but it did not keep her unconscious long enough for us to act. Since she has not changed residences, we believe she has not become aware of us."

The first man spoke again, his voice harsh.

"Fine. So when CAN we move against her?"

"We hope to lure her into a trap, using the victim as bait. Hopefully, this will work."

"Hopefully."

"Yes, sir."

"You don't want to fail me."

"I understand, sir."

"Oh my god."

"Aha. I see you like it?"

"I can't believe I'm saying this about a car- I sound like SUCH a guy, but it is beautiful."

"Glad you approve of my handiwork." Dana giggled.

"As if I'd dare disapprove of it. Is there anything you CAN'T do?"

"Sure. I can't build a time machine, or move cities, or control people's minds, or any number of things."

"You had to take that literally, didn't you?" Dana asked, dryly.

"Of course." Sarah grinned.

The car stood on the lot in front of them, an object of perfection. Big, treadles flat racing tires adorned all four wheels, fragile road-hugging circles of premium rubber. The aluminum body had been laced with titanium, the metal brushed slightly, and then tinted, to match the windows, giving the car a stealth-fighter-ish look. The running lines set along the sides, under the doors and bumpers, and over the raised tail, were reflective silver, streamlining the angular beauty of the car. The rims were also brushed chrome; solid disks rather than spokes. There was no keyhole on either door, and the handles were recessed, barely visible. The mirrors were, oddly enough, missing entirely, and the grille was darkened steel. Just behind the rear wheel wells were two slight curved of metal like a piece of pipe wall, with spokes and machinery set within. The entire car just screamed out that it was a custom job, and was beautiful while doing so. Sarah smiled.