Black Omen Issue Ch. 02

(Author's note: 2020 was rough and kept me working overtime. Sorry it took so long. I told myself I'd use an editor this time around, alas it did not happen. Maybe next time.)

It had been 38 hours now without sleep. 38 hours since she had woken up screaming and shaking again from her second lurid dream. She dreaded the thought of having to live through her next humiliating nightmare. She knew it wasn't that now. A nightmare. No, two nights back to back meant something real. It had been too real, like the last one. Too many details to be some twisted lewd dream. A new aspect of her precognition gift taking form. An omen. It had to be some sort of advanced warning or survival instinct kicking in. And that scared her more than anything else.

Vivian had been a wreck the first morning. It was a miracle she even made it to class earlier in the day. She felt like she was sitting on death row, watching the clock slowly tick away her last days of freedom. She couldn't concentrate, especially when her professor droned on and on about economic impact of something or other. Her ultimate end playing out in lurid detail the past two nights was still fresh in her mind and very distracting. The mighty Mamba brought low and turned into a sexual plaything for her tormentor. Thoroughly used and fucked in front of Omega. Humiliated and forced to come on her master's cock so easily. It was enough to make her sick to her stomach. Even more so when she found her panties damp after class.

But fear was also one hell of a motivator. Steeling her nerves she pushed the fear and humiliation down deep and set herself to task, determined to master her own destiny and take down who ever the hell this bastard Simon was. Moving forward was the only thing she could do now and it made her feel more in control as she set about locating her new nemesis. She let her self smile briefly. A nemesis. Well that's something a real superhero would have she thought. Welcome to the big leagues she told herself with a sigh as she picked and stared at her pre-made cafeteria salad. She had lost her appetite.

Vivian spent the rest of the day trying to remember every detail of her vision for clues. Trying to piece together any evidence as to who this Simon was. Ultimately it had been a waste of time. His features had always been hidden in murky shadows. Her mind unable or refusing to register the face of her tormentor in detail. She didn't know what that meant. She could clearly see Omega's face and she never had anyone's face hidden from her in any of her other visions. Another puzzle of her powers she would have to solve at a later date. She'd see his face behind bars soon enough she told herself.

Vivian may not know who she was looking for, but at least she knew where he was. Well, at least she thought she did until she tried to dig up some intel by calling up the casino and asking to be connected to the penthouse suite. The bubbly receptionist had told her it was currently available and able to be reserved for the next few months. She did her best trying to sell Vivian on making reservations and tempting her with various packaged deals and show tickets before Vivian just hung up on her. It dawned on her that she didn't even know how much time she had left. Tomorrow? A week? Years? Either way, she couldn't afford to wait and find out.

Her only other clue was his name. Simon. Probably an alias for his gift. If he was truly claiming the city bit by bit from the shadows like her vision had implied, then certainly some of the underworld's more informed players would have heard of him. A new gifted crime boss wouldn't go unnoticed for long in this city and she doubted there was little honor among the thieves of Porthaven. The rats would probably be happy to get rid of another mouth nibbling on their cheese. The Black Mamba decided a shakedown was in order and luckily for Vivian she knew just the rat to squeeze.

Johnny "The Vulture" Stevens was one of those crooks that somehow always seemed to weasel his way into practically every underhanded deal or job around Porthaven yet never seemed to get his hand caught in the cookie jar. One of those too smart for his own good middleman hoods that thought they were slicker than they really were, except in Johnny's case he actual was. No matter how many times his name popped up in criminal cases the police never could seem to catch him in the act with the other criminals or with any illicit goods on him. And the few times he had been arrested, he always seemed to be out on the streets the next day and his charges dropped or dismissed. A few of Porthaven's thugs claim he was a rat and possible informant, but they could never prove it, despite this he had a stellar reputation among the crooks and gangs of Porthaven. The streets had nicknamed him The Vulture because he seemed to always get a slice of the pie while never actually doing any of the work. He mainly fenced stolen goods and sold information on lucrative scores to other would be criminals out of one of the VIP rooms of a strip club called the "The Neon Garter".

The Black Mamba had on two separate occasions tailed contraband back to the club before snatching her prey from the back parking lot before they could off load their goods. She had gotten Johnny's name out of one of the thugs on a past encounter and called in an anonymous tip to have the club raided by the police. Unfortunately they had once again come up short on anything they could pin on Johnny and she had been itching to have another crack at him. She wouldn't let him slip through the cracks tonight.

A cool breeze rustled through the leaves of the tall of line of trees running along the bank of the Green river that cut through the outskirts of Porthaven's industrial district. The Black Mamba sat crouched watching among the darkened foliage of the trees. Midnight cloaked the darkened street save for the flickering street light and soft humming glow of of the strip club's pink neon sign. Busy night she thought, as she scanned the parking lot of cars for signs of trouble. She sighed, tucking her small hand scope back into her pouch. This would be the first time she set foot in the club. First time she set foot into any strip club for that matter and she didn't know what to expect. Drunk men and scantily clad girls would be a good guess even without her precognition abilities. Vivian hadn't had a vision to guide her approach on this, but she told herself that was a probably a good thing because it meant there was no real danger to worry about.

"Ok, Vee. Lets do this." she psyched herself up before letting herself fall backwards into the shadows of the darkened trees, only to step out from behind the shadow of truck parked near the rear of the lot. She quickly and quietly darted to the rear entrance. Finding the door locked, she made quick work with her lock picks before slipping inside undetected.

Or would have, had she not walked directly into the backstage changing room the erotic dancers used.

"Ha! That's a great outfit! They're gonna eat that up. Black Cobra right?" a perky redhead giggled as she clipped the tops of her neon green thigh highs to her matching garter belt and stepped into her g-string. It barely covered her her pussy and the mesh was thin enough to make out the thin crimson landing strip and puffy lips of her sex as it hugged against her smooth skin.

"Um... Mamba actually." Vee replied nonchalantly scanning the room for any dangers or signs of where the VIP rooms may be located. She couldn't find either, just the backdoor she came through, an open bathroom and a single hallway leading back towards the electronic music and neon glow of the what she could only guess was the main stage.

"Well I've never seen any of the girls in a Black Mamba costume but the Omni-Girl costume always gets the crowd going. You new here?" she said as she threw her long hair up into a pony tail and pulled a matching neon green half cup push up bra on.

"Uh.. yeah, tonight's my first night." she replied deciding to play it covertly for now.

"Well it's about time we got some new blood here. I'm Jenn and Desi is on stage right now. Nice ta meetcha!" she said sticking out her hand eagerly in friendship.

"Vi..uh... Violet." Vivian replied awkwardly before taking her hand of the scantily clad stripper. She seemed friendly enough she thought, and chastised herself for thinking a stripper would be otherwise.

"Well listen hon, I'm already late and should have been serving drinks like 10 minutes ago, but I'll catch up with you later tonight. Ok? Nice meeting you!" Jenn chirped before turning back to snatch a neon choker from her locker. Her freshly shined neon heels clicked against the hard floor in quick succession as she quickly trotted down the hallway, her giggling in tow.

"Hey, wait! I think I was supposed to meet the boss in the VIP room to sign some paperwork before my shift. Mind telling me where it is?" Vivian called as she chased down the hall after the girl.

Jenn paused briefly spinning on her stiletto heels and turned around to face her. Cocking her head to the side in curiosity.

"VIP? He normally does all the paperwork in his office?" she said raising an eyebrow in suspicion.

"Uh, that's what he said." Vivian nervously bluffed feeling like she had already blown her cover 30 seconds in.

The perky redhead quickly strutted up to Vivian and placed both hands on her shoulders and stared at her with a very serious expression.

"Listen, don't let him talk you into doing something you don't want to just because he's the boss. You got to be smart in this line of work girl! It's easy for them to think they own you, but you got to know the rules around here and make sure they are not taking advantage you. I was spreading my legs for him every other night before Desi told me I was supposed to be charging him for it like everyone else in the VIP room. After I confronted him he backed down and said he would only take the mandated blow jobs and would even tip me as long as I didn't tell Desi about it. He didn't want to have to start tipping her too." she beamed.

"Um...Ok, thanks..." Vivian replied slightly dumbfounded from what she had just heard come out of the ditzy girls mouth.

Jenn quickly snapped her face back into a gleefully warm and friendly smile.

"No Prob! Us girls got to stick together. Second door on the right when you go up the stairs by the DJ booth. Remember, be smart! Gotta run!" she said bubbly before pointing down the hallway towards the thumping beat of the music. She quickly made her way back down the hallway before turning off to another corridor to the right.

Vivian followed straight ahead in the direction Jenn had pointed towards avoiding the other turns to the side assuming Jenn had directed her to the DJ booth. The rhythmic beats grew louder in her ears until she found herself pushing through the heavy velvet curtain of what she thought was the DJ booth and into the club interior.

She paused for second to let her eyes adjust to the light. It was larger than she thought on the inside. Numerous tables and booths were placed about the dimly lit room. A mirrored ball hung overhead and reflected the warm glow of the neon lights that accented the various walls and outlined the far fully stocked bar where Jenn was leaning over gathering up drink orders as a rough looking patron rested his palm on her upturned bare ass before she turned around and looked over at Vivian with a quizzical look. Jenn shrugged and pointed to the far side of the room where a raised booth sat in front of a dark staircase, before racing off to the same booth to converse with the swarthy gold chain laden DJ. Jenn turned back to Vivian grinning ear to ear and gave her a double thumbs up.

"Fuck..." Vivian cursed under her breath as she stared out over the sea of thugs and gangbangers seated before her at the edge of the stage. A young impressively endowed blonde was kneeling on a near by table bucking her hips and fondling her full bare breasts as a heavily tattooed Latino leaned forward to slip a few bills down the front of her neon pink thong, pushing the mesh fabric down far enough to expose her slightly less pink slit to the table's patron before releasing the bill and letting the thong snap back in place. Vivian noticed the tell tale brand of the 6^th Street Rollers burned into his bulging bicep as well as the biceps of several other thugs seated at his table just as the scratch of the music needle abruptly ended the song and the spot light snapped up to focus on Porthaven's newest heroine standing on the main stage.

"Hey, hey, hey! Do we have a show for you tonight! We got a gifted in the house, and I know some of you tough guys have seen her on the streets, but you've never seen her under the sheets. Well tonight she's on the prowl for her own black mamba to tame. So brother's get those bills ready and put your hands together for our very own Neon Garter Superslut, Buuuulllaaacckk Maaammmbaaaaa!" the DJ announced before throwing on a new beat drawing the attention of every patron away from the young blonde and on to the surprised Vivian.

Vivian briefly scanned the crowd looking for the Vulture who was sadly not amongst the throng of some of Porthaven's criminal muscle for hire. She recognized a half dozen gangs from their tattoos and flags including two of Dragon's Claws enforcers who were seated in the back near the stairs and had their notorious mono-filament blades resting in the booth beside them. They were all business. Black suit and tie and one of the more reputable and fearsome Yakuza clans in the country.

It was certainly a diverse and motley bunch of thugs and low lifes. Vivian knew that it would certainly be a long drawn out fight if things went sour. The Vulture was either upstairs already or hadn't arrived yet and the whole mission would be worthless endeavor if she spooked him before he arrived. She knew she had to buy some time.

"Damn it." she cursed quietly again from behind her mask and with a heavy sigh as she resigned herself to playing the role of stripper as she started to sway to the beat. She could do this, at least until she could break away and locate her prey. The Black Mamba slowly and seductively tumbled her way to the metal pole embedded in the stage, arching her back as she rolled from movement to movement, twisting and twirling. She tried to let herself get lost in the music, running her hands down over her perky breasts and firm stomach she teased the crowd. She blushed, realizing it was coming easier than she thought it would. She couldn't believe she was doing this as she bent backwards into a handstand before hooking her pale thigh around the pole and swinging and coiling herself up and around cool metal like a snake.

Vivian had never been pole dancing before but the movements came almost naturally, her gifted agility moving her lithe sexy form up and down the pole as she twirled and flaunted her shapely legs and round ass to the crowd of hardened criminals. She didn't want to admit it, but she was starting to enjoy herself as she moved her body gracefully over every inch of the dance pole in ways that would impress even a seasoned pole dancer. She began to lose herself once more in her own performance imaging what other strippers did to entice the patrons and she soon found herself grinding her pussy against the hard pole for the entertainment of the crowd as she transitioned from one trick to the next. Vivian thought it was a fairly convincing performance until a faceless goon called out crudely.

"Lets see those gifted tits!"

Vivian found his request doubly difficult for a number of reasons. One, she would fight them all to the death before she actually stripped for a room of ex-cons and two, her costume was hardly stripper approved for easy removal. Thinking quickly she swung around a final time before spreading her thighs wide and dropping to her knees. The material of her uniform held little to the imagination as it hugged against her erect nipples and outlined every inch of her bare sex as she ran her hands up over her thighs seductively. A shiver of excitement ran up her spine as she realized dozens of men were watching her practically expose herself to them. The Mamba waved her finger back in forth towards the direction of the faceless goon as if to say "Naughty", before she tucked into a roll and sprung forward on to the table. She moved her lithe form into another twirl before gesturing her head towards the VIP lounge as if to say "follow me". A slow cartwheel over the shoulders a burly looking 6^th Street Roller brought her feet back on to the floor and she began seductively strutting towards the back stairs, swinging her hips from side to side as if to offer her ass up as additional encouragement to follow her upstairs.

"All right boys give it up for the Violet as the Black Mamba. She looks to be all too eager to get that VIP room warmed up for you lucky high rollers with the courage and cash to follow her up. We're gonna take a quick break and be back in just a few so get that green ready." the DJ announced as Vivian turned to bow before starting up the stairs, only to turn back and run directly into Johnny Stevens as he was heading down the steps.

The two looked at each other in shock for a second before the Vulture brushed his long greasy hair back from his face and his eyes widened in recognition. Seizing the moment Vivian's hand shot out quick as lightning grasping the cheap gaudy suit as the Vulture turned to run back up the stairs and yanked him back past her sending him crashing into the bar.

"What the fuck are all you doing!? Its the fucking Mamba! Get her!" he shouted quickly pushing his way back on to his feet and diving behind the bar.

The club patrons all looked at each other in drunken confusion checking to make sure Johnny wasn't playing some sort of role in the strippers production.

"Why the fuck are you waiting! Fuck! 10 grand to anyone that can break this bitch!" The vulture yelled as he straightened his clothes and pointed at Vivian before pushing and shoving his way past the barkeep towards the exit.

And as if the collective light bulbs of all the patrons turned on at once, violence erupted in mass as the horde of criminals pushed over tables and chairs as they all lurched towards the waiting Mamba. But the Mamba had already had her precognition vision flash by and she was quicker in action sending her fangs through the air and pinning Johnny's suit jacket to the bar top, temporarily restraining him against the lacquered wood.

The Mamba quickly ducked once and then dropped to her knees as two blades flashed through the air above her in quick succession. Leaning back farther, she pressed her back to the floor right as the leaner Dragon's Claw enforcer cleaved the air directly above her once again and pulled two more daggers from their resting place. She knew the next one would be close, her precognition had already determined the outcome but it was still too close for her comfort as the other blade drove down towards her head, Vivian drove one fang into the enforcer's ankle bone and the other up deflecting the mono-filament blade enough so that it sliced through herthe fabric of her mask instead of her face and sank into the floor as it carved her throwing dagger in twain. Vivian snapped her wrist and sent the broken fang directly into the other enforcer's eye causing him to fall back into the booth with a howl. Kicking back up on to her boots she struck the now kneeling Dragon's Claw in the back of the head knocking him out.

The Mamba snatched the mono-filament katana from the floor and with a quick backhanded swing sent it carving the air in a wide arch just as a 6^th Street Roller leveled his pistol at her. The blade cleaved through the top rail of the gun like a hot knife through butter, leaving the thug too shocked to see the Black Mamba's boot from her follow up roundhouse careening towards his temple.