Daughter, Lover, Superheroine Ch. 12

"I wouldn't take it personally if I were you. I expect it's to do with your well-known criminal associations. It would seem she has developed quite the aversion to that sort of thing."

Ashley wrinkled her nose. "Didn't she get her start with us because she tried some demon-summoning? She hardly strikes me as the prudish law-and-order type."

"Well, that's hardly surprising, really. It's precisely because her reckless foray into the darker side of things directly endangered Battleborn on an earlier occasion. I surmise that instilled in her a certain reflexive distaste for actions that smack of, shall we say, flexible morality," Mercedes said. "She asked Sigil specifically for alternative methods of summoning demons. She was quite prepared to give it up entirely if it transpired that the conventional methods were her only option. Happily, Sigil was able to assist."

"Well, looks like she did find an alternative." Ashley's lips quirked. "And how."

"One can hardly blame her for responding so positively to the carnal appeal of those two women, in particular," Mercedes murmured. "I don't believe I've ever heard of another pair quite like them in the entire city. Or country."

"I've encountered plenty. You forget where I spend most of my time."

"Yes, well, cases of domestic abuse and traumatic forced incest don't quite come in the same category as Barbara and Cindy Beck, now do they?"

"You've got a point there. This is my first time meeting them, but I've got to say... they seem emotionally healthy.Very healthy. That's really quite astonishing in and of itself."

"You don't say."

"But of course... we'll need to talk about theother astounding thing, soon. Did you see what was on her forehead, with your aura vision?"

"I could hardly help seeing it."

"So itis what I think it is."

"Quite."

"Wow. When're they going to notice?"

"When it wants to be noticed. It's an Incarnate Shard, Ashley, bestowed by the Well. It chooses when and how it'll show itself."

"Oh! Oh, whoop, there it goes. Look. It's fallen off her forehead and into her palm."

"I see that, yes."

"They're looking at it now. They don't seem to know what it is. Debbie's shaking her head, poor girl, of course she hasn't got a clue."

"My vision is functional and unimpaired, and your running commentary is quite unnecessary."

"They're holding it up. It's shifting. It's changing shape. Wow. We sure don't see that kind of thing every day!"

"Indeed we do not. I don't believe I've ever personally seen the Well take Notice of a potential new Incarnate." Mercedes's voice dropped. "Well, fancy that. Even if nothing comes of it in the end, this incident by itself is one for the annals. Remarkable."

"Is that... a medallion of some sort?"

"Can't quite make it out."

"It's transmogrified into some sort of gold disc with a strap. Geez, the strap's red, white and blue. Is Cindy patriotic or something? It looks like some kind of prize medal, like for the Olympics."

"Good heavens."

"Well, here they come. What do we do, Mercedes? Are they ready for this? Areweready for this?"

"We should... take stock, back at the Club. Let's fob them off with something. Prevaricate. We need to consult with the others before we tell these Heroines more than we should."

"Agreed. I'll follow your lead."

**

Finally, they were back at the base. Cindy palmed open the main doors, and they filed in, Cindy leading the way, Barbara behind, and Debbie feeling wedged in between... but in a good way.

The senior Midnighters had excused themselves, electing to return as swiftly as possible to the Club so that the artifact could be secured once again - or at least, be as secured as it ever could be, considering how often their Club got raided by hostiles. Debbie had chosen, however, to stay with the Heroines for a while longer. Mercedes and Ashley had been completely unsurprised by her choice - in fact, they had behaved as if they'd fully expected it, which made Debbie terribly self-conscious. Was she always so transparent to those around her?

She'd had to go into the nearest apparel shop and buy some suitable garments for Cindy and Barbara, at least so they could take the tram back to Atlas Park without flouting any laws of public decency. She hadn't minded one bit, and it hadn't been difficult for her to pick out the right sizes. With the amount of time she'd seen their bodies in the nude, it was actually pretty easy to size them just off the top of her head. She hoped they didn't mind the outfits she'd picked out for them.

Cindy was now sporting a loose white camisole that showed off her arms, shoulders and chest to good effect, and revealed her belly button, A simple pair of jeans and some sporty sneakers completed her ensemble.Hoop earrings would look so good on her, though her earlobes don't seem to be pierced...

For Barbara, Debbie had chosen a simple but elegant off-shoulder foldover top in purple. Debbie admitted to herself that she probably had a thing for shoulders, which was good, because their shoulders seemed to go on for miles. So broad, so thick, so strong... A comfortable knee-length floral skirt, mostly in matching purple, went along with some practical flats to complement Barbara's top.

What Barbara needed, Debbie decided, was a pair of flower earrings - roses would be perfect. Then a necklace, to emphasize that beautiful bustline, also with a rose pendant in keeping with the theme. And for the gemstone, nothing too overstated - perhaps rose quartz... yes, that would be perfect for a wonderful mother like Barbara...

Cindy did a half-pirouette in the hallway, spreading her arms. "Home at last!" she exclaimed. "It sure has been a long day!"

Barbara made a small noise of agreement. She came up behind Debbie and put a hand lightly on the small of Debbie's back. The touch was somehow electric; at any rate, it sent a pleasant tingle up Debbie's spine. But Debbie made herself hold still instead of flinching. She looked up at the older woman and returned Barbara's warm smile.

"I do like these new clothes you got us!" Cindy said, pausing by an inactive monitor in the hallway to use it as a makeshift mirror. "You've got really good fashion sense. We can keep them, right?"

"Of course! Definitely! Please don't worry about it, consider them gifts from..."from me..."from the Midnight Club."

"Sure," Cindy chuckled acquiescence. Her hand went to the back pocket of her jeans, and she frowned. "Hey... that medal. Did I drop it?"

"It's not there?" Barbara asked.

Cindy patted her pockets. "It's not. Oh dear. Did you see..."

"We would've seen it, dear, if you'd dropped it."

"Well, it's disappeared, somehow. Strange!"

"Yes, very curious," Barbara agreed, frowning slightly.

The three of them had looked curiously at the object in Cindy's palm on the beach, a while ago. They had been hugging and embracing each other, mother and daughter. Debbie had been standing to the side, flushed with awkwardness, her salacious secret perforce revealed and laid bare before the women who were the targets of her prurient attentions. She had hardly known what to do or say.

Then they had turned to her, and made as if to speak, but that was when Barbara noticed something glimmering on Cindy's forehead, more like a faint impression of an object than an actual tangible thing. It had fallen into Cindy's hand, like a shard of translucent porcelain.

Then, before their very eyes, it had changed shape and become a bright, shiny gold medal, like a prize given out to champion athletes at sports events. And on the burnished metal disc surface, there had been an unforgettable design etched clearly in relief: Cindy and Barbara, depicted from the waist up, and thoroughly bare-chested, each with an arm around the other's shoulders, and flexing their free arms. Even the bright smiles on their faces could be clearly seen.

This had thoroughly boggled their minds. What was this thing, and why was it here, and why did it look the way it did? It was perhaps the most spectacularly beautiful - and completely appropriate - design Debbie had ever seen. She herself could not possibly improve on it. It was the very essence of the redoubtable mother-daughter pair. It seemed to make a statement, that together Cindy and Barbara were strong and sexy champions - to which Debbie, in her heart, could only reply, "Of course!"

Mercedes and Ashley had been no help at all, affecting total ignorance. Debbie knew them well enough by then that she had not been deceived by their flimsy façade. They knew something, but were holding back. She had resolved that she would have to quiz them about the medal when she met them again... but now it seemed to have vanished into thin air.

Barbara was right. There was no way Debbie in particular could have missed it if the medal had fallen out of Cindy's back pocket. She had been ogling Cindy's posterior, as well as the rest of her body, and that of her mother's too, the whole time. She'd have caught it.

"Well, let's forget about it," Cindy decided. "All this magic stuff makes my head spin. Mercedes was right about me, I guess - I'm just a musclehead at heart. Just give me something to punch or wrestle, and I'll do it. I'll leave all the rest to the experts." She grinned.

Barbara laughed indulgently, shaking her head. "We're so glad you decided to come back with us, Debbie. Please, will you stay for dinner?"

"Yes, Debbie, please do," Cindy gushed, taking hold of Debbie's slim hands.

"I... I..."She's so close, oh Goddess, she's right in front of me, I could drown in those eyes forever..."I'd love to. Thank you very much for your hospitality."Her grip is so strong, yet so gentle... it's like she's perfected her "normal person" strength levels. I feel safe with her.

"Don't stand on ceremony with us, my dear," Barbara said, hugging her lightly from the side.Her, too. They make me feel like there's no danger of being accidentally crushed, even though they've each got, what, the strength of ten? "After what we've been through, I hope you think of us as friends."

They were so wonderful, Debbie could weep. She felt like running away. Weren't they going to at least comment about her demonesses looking exactly like them? She'd expected to be bombarded with questions... if not outright castigation and outrage... but instead, here she was, being invited to resume her truncated social visit as if there was nothing out of the ordinary!

Well, she reflected, thesewere Heroines, and she was a magician. The extraordinary was supposedly to be commonplace, for people like them.

But that wasn't how she truly felt, which was probably why she somehow seemed to get along with the Becks. They were so down-to-earth, so grounded. They fought criminals who were towering half-metal cybernetic hulks, supervillainesses with mind control powers, neo-Nazis with combat robots and energy weapons, thugs who could shoot fire or frost or lightning out of their fingertips. Yet, at the end of the day, Debbie felt sure that Barbara would be back in the kitchen, whipping up a sumptuous and nutritious dinner for the family, and then she and her daughter would tumble gratefully into bed and nestle under the sheets together...

She mentally shook herself.Debbie! For fuck's sake! Get a fucking grip!

She accepted their offer to go freshen up, and so she found that she had some time to herself alone in the highly modern shower unit. There were settings for the hygienic requirements of various entities that were essentially non-human. Debbie made a face.I suppose these settings don't get used much. She looked around the shower stall as the soap suds swirled around her feet.

Her thoughts turned unwittingly to the usual users of this shower stall. Did they take showers and baths together? They seemed to do just about everything together, so it seemed very likely. A virtually inseparable pair. Debbie closed her eyes, and imagined Cindy and her mother plastered against each other, kissing furiously, hands running slickly over each other's skin, slippery thighs sliding silkily against each other, hands gripping each other's sexy strong biceps...

And yet again, she had to give herself a mental jolt.Debbie, you horny little bitch, she thought miserably. Her squelching pussy was already leaking juices. This was no way to be thinking of her gracious hosts, her personal heroes, herfriends.

But she just couldn't help herself.

There was nothing for it. She would have to come clean, and explain herself to them... and hope they didn't hold it against her.

Sighing dolefully, she stepped out of the shower stall, wrapped a towel about herself, and looked in the full-length wall mirror at her reflection.

She saw what she always did: a thin pale-skinned waif, large eyes, small pert lips, delicate nose and chin. Small bumps for breasts, bony frame. She let the towel fall and pool around her feet. Surprisingly well-defined legs, considering how little exercise she did. Her leg muscles actually moved when she flexed her flanks. Her hair was now a suave handsome undercut, and had reverted to her natural black after she stopped coloring it. Some would call her hips "boyish". Pubic hair a small dark triangle pointing the way down to her pussy with the pierced clitoris - she'd long since had the piercing remove, and the hole was almost fully-healed. Nowthat had been a regrettable experiment.

Debbie sighed again.So silly of you. How could you possibly be their type? They have each other. They are happy in each other. And no way in hell you could ever become a bodybuilder or anything, if you want to be attractive to them. And why would you even do that, huh, Debbie? You've got no fucking game plan, just a stupid fantasy.

Slowly, she dressed herself, wishing she had some of Ashley's incantations to make time go slowly... or just go backwards.

It was time to go face the music.

**

Cindy broke the kiss first, face flushed with delight as she moved back.

Barbara panted happily. It was wonderful catharsis, after what they'd been through, to make out in their bedroom after a shared shower. It was good to clasp Cindy tightly to her bosom, to dig her fingers hard into Cindy's back, to feel the raw physicality of her daughter. It was reassuring. Their making out, a prelude to harder lovemaking slated for later that night, was their way of telling each other strongly:I'm here! I'm here, unharmed! And I love you! Feel how much I love you!

"We'd better go," Cindy giggled breathlessly. "Debbie's probably waiting for us at the dining table already, wondering where we are!"

They seldom had guests over, so there was no established protocol, but common courtesy dictated that they do as Cindy suggested, for mere politeness's sake.

Still, Barbara hesitated. "Darling," she said, "let's talk it over quickly, before we go and meet her. She'll probably want to... get things off her chest."

Cindy looked more serious, and nodded. "Yes, Mom," she agreed.

They were still locked in an embrace, and Cindy ran her hands gently up and down Barbara's lower back as she said, "What do you think she'll want to tell us?"

"She'll be feeling very self-conscious, I think, about what we witnessed."

"Whatdidwe see? My goodness, Mom, I wasn't hallucinating, was I? Was that... were those demon versions of us?"

"Yes, they are, and... I think Debbie was starting to explain it to me earlier, before Mercedes appeared in the medi-bay, but understandably she wasn't sure how to go about it, or maybe she wondered if she ought to say anything." Briefly, Barbara summed up what Debbie had been telling her about tapping into an alternative source of emotional energy.

"That's really nice of that Sigil lady," Cindy said, the corners of her eyes crinkling with pleasure. "I'd hate to think of anyone who had to rely so much on their negative emotions that those emotions manifested physically as demons! But then... that would mean..."

"For some reason, we've become very important to her, I think. And so... her summoned demons took on our forms. Youdid fight off a full-fledged succubus for her sake, darling."

"Well, sure," Cindy chuckled, blushing slightly. "And later, you must've made quite the impression on her too, Mom."

"I suppose so. I barely know her, though, and I've not really done anything for her. You can't imagine how surprised I was," Barbara said dryly, "to see a giant flaming version of myself charge at David Hill to get him out of my way! It really felt as if my fondest wish at that moment had come true right then."

"That slimeball sleazebag," Cindy muttered, leaning closer in and resting her chin on her mother's comfortingly solid shoulder. "Well, you sure showed him."

"Debbie did," Barbara corrected, "and we need to thank her for that properly."

"That's right, Mom."

"She might be embarrassed later. We'll have to make her feel at her ease."

"No problem, Mom. I really like her. Let's make her feel really comfortable with us."

"And if she talks about... well... it's just a guess, your old Mom's not an expert on any of these things, dearest, but I think she's drawing on... sexual fantasies of us, to power her magic," Barbara said solemnly.

Cindy nodded soberly.

"How do you feel about that, my love?"

"Honestly, Mom? She's sweet. A lovely, lovely person. She's made such great strides turning her life around. I'm proud to call her a friend. And... well, nobody can help the way they feel," Cindy said reasonably. "It's not like you and I are really all that secret. Or shameful. Some people do judge, but they don't matter. The people who do matter accept us, accept our relationship. We've always been ok with that. So, Debbie knows we're a pair..." She squeezed her mother's buns for emphasis. "And if that turns her on enough for her to actually make some magic out of it, magic that saved our asses today... especially your tight, sexy ass..."

"Mmhmm."

"Then I say, that's no bad thing. It's fine by me," Cindy concluded firmly. "Her mind is her own. She hasn't done anything wrong to us, or done badly by us. What do you think, Mom?"

"I absolutely agree with you, honey. That's just what I think as well. So... if she confirms that, we'll both tell her it's perfectly fine, and that we give our consent, if it'll help her in her own magical pursuits or whatever. Does that sound right, dearest?"

"Sounds perfect, Mom."

"Also, it might not even be that. This is just idle speculation on our part, and neither of us are magicians," Barbara continued. "I suppose it's also likely that she just draws on strong emotions of gratitude, perhaps, or just friendship."

"Or admiration," Cindy said forthrightly. "But somehow, Mom, I doubt that. Did you see how incrediblylifelike the demonesses were? I think it was quite flattering, the way she thinks my muscle tone looks."

"Not at all, dearest. I think that was very accurate sculpture on Debbie's part." Barbara traced a line down Cindy's side, and Cindy shivered slightly. "She captured your physical perfection so well."

"Yours too."

"I don't think so.Mine was flattering. My physique isn'tthat defined!"

"It is too!"

"You're hopelessly biased. I've gone to fat, and don't I know it. Look, just look at my belly. Feel it."

"The strongest, hardest, sexiest abs in the city. In theworld."

"Hopelessly biased. That's my muffin top you're clutching, honey."

"I'll wrestle you and make you say it, make you say that you've got the strongest, sexiest abs in the world."

"Oh, and you'll do that by crushing them with the strongest, sexiest thighs in the world?"