Shackles Ch. 05

That certainly got the domineering superhero's hackles raised. She glanced sharply at Trinity, as if weighing something up. Trinity did her best to look timid and defeated. With Ruby and Casey flanking her on either side, it seemed to work. Radiance turned her attention back to Daisy, and Trinity could sense her stoking a furnace within her. She still looked calm enough, but she was wrapping the chain binding Trinity to her around her wrist to free both of her hands.

Perfect.

"Everyone gets curious, huh?" It was strange to hear Radiance sounding so like her superhero self, after watching her masquerade as a normal person for an evening. "Everyone. How would you know about that?"

Daisy shrugged, an easy, confident smirk on her face. "Experience. Never met someone I couldn't get curious, with a little trying."

"That includes you, then." Radiance's hands flexed.

"No," Daisy corrected. "Not me."

Radiance laughed a little. "Really. And what makes you so different?"

"Who knows?" Daisy shrugged again, and smiled wide enough to show teeth. "But, hey, someone's gotta be the best, right?"

The way Radiance was resting against the bar still made her seem nonchalant, but after how many times they had crossed paths, Trinity had a sense of when something was pissing Radiance off. "And that's you?"

"Yes." Daisy's eyes were unnaturally wide, and blazing with self-assurance.

Again, if anyone else had said it, it would have sounded obnoxious and ridiculous. But Daisy, in her current state of mind, carried it off effortlessly. She made it feel true. Everyone could tell, although it was certainly hitting Trinity differently from the others. To Trinity, it was a weird little power trip by association. Daisy looked magnificent, but only because Trinity had made her that way. She was a magnificent tool, sitting in the palm of the supervillain's hand. She could get used to playing puppet mistress like that.

The only person who seemed entirely unmoved was Radiance, naturally. The superhero just sniffed.

"No," Radiance scoffed. "It really isn't."

Even she, though, couldn't remain completely impassive when Daisy surged forward and kissed her.

It was a hungry, passionate kiss, full of fire and need. Daisy looked like she was trying to devour Radiance, forcing her tongue into the superhero's mouth to try and invade her as deeply as possible at the same time. Even with her superhuman reflexes, Radiance ended up faltering, pulling away awkwardly in instinctive surprise before stopping herself and trying to catch her balance. She ended up yielding far more than she had intended; clearly, Radiance hadn't been expecting Daisy to be quite so insanely bold. Daisy, by contrast, looked energized by her own forwardness, snaking a hand around Radiance's body to trap her against the bar.

"You see?" Daisy whispered teasingly as she broke the kiss, drawing back slowly and biting Radiance's lip a little as she did. "The best."

"D-Daisy... what are you doing?" Radiance faltered. She actually faltered. Trinity could hear it in her voice, and see it in the way her eyes were darting back and forth, confused. Trinity delighted in it. So this was what the great superheroine Radiance was like when things didn't go according to her perfect little plan. When she encountered something she couldn't control.

"What's the matter?" Daisy, by contrast, looked - ironically enough - radiant as she teased Radiance, her success only confirming all the ideas Trinity had already put in her head. "Don't worry, babygirl. It won't hurt. You'll love it."

"What the fuck..." Radiance kept turning to glance sharply at Trinity, gears turning her head as she tried - and failed - to figure out if this was, somehow, her captive's fault. Daisy seized on each lapse in attention, using it as an opportunity to draw closer and further envelop Radiance. Radiance simply didn't have time to think.

When Daisy kissed her again, Radiance was a little more ready for it. But only a little, only enough to pull back before Daisy could slip her tongue past the hero's lips. Daisy merely giggled.

"What are you afraid of, Vi?" she taunted. "Afraid you might like it? Afraid your tough-girl reputation might take a bit of a dive? How cute. I promise I'll make it worth it for you. Let me take the lead, and you won't be afraid of a thing."

Maybe that was the wrong thing to say, or maybe Radiance had simply reached her limit. Either way, though, it seemed to awaken something in her.

"I'm not afraid of anything!" Radiance hissed. "Go fuck yourself, Daisy."

And then Radiance kissed her back, every bit as passionately.

The kiss truly was a duel. Both of them were fighting to set the pace and stay in control, and both of them were fighting to make the other yield to them. Radiance slipped her arms around Daisy's waist, using them to pull her rival into a tight embrace. Daisy was clearly just as eager for it, pressing back against Radiance fervently. They kissed until they ran out of air, and both of them were panting as they drew back. Radiance still looked a touch confused and uncertain, but it was clear that her pride wasn't going to let her take this lying down. Daisy, meanwhile, didn't seem at all discouraged by Radiance's sudden fire. Quite the opposite. This was the fight she'd expected. The fight she'd wanted. The fight she intended to win. Nothing could be more energizing.

And though it all, the chain around Radiance's wrist grew looser.

Trinity shouldn't have been watching her captor. She shouldn't have been paying such close attention to the micro-expressions passing over their faces, or hanging on every honeyed word that dripped from Daisy's lips. None of that mattered. All that really mattered was the golden chain around Trinity's neck. All she had to do was wait for Radiance's attention to slip far enough, and she could slip away before the hero even noticed. It would be easy. A few gentle tugs, and the chain was sure to unravel from Radiance's wrist. All she had to do was wait for the perfect moment. But instead, she was glued to the spot, a single question running through her head.

What if Radiance actually lost?

It was almost unthinkable. That hadn't been part of the plan. Not really. Daisy was only ever meant to have been a temporary distraction. But now? Now, Trinity had seen Radiance pant and pull back, and had heard her voice turn higher-pitched, just a touch.

Maybe the heroine wasn't so invincible after all.

And if that was true? Trinity had to see it. She just had to. It was like hearing that an eclipse was happening, and that you were right there in its eye. You couldn't not go outside and look up, and watch the sun disappear.

"You know," Radiance panted, after she had caught a little of her breath. "I've wanted to do that for a long time."

"To kiss me?" Daisy was grinning maniacally. "Dreaming of my lips, babygirl?"

Radiance laughed. "I'm not your babygirl. And no. I've been thinking about putting your cocky ass in its place."

"That so?" Daisy licked her lips. "Cause, it feels like I've got your ass exactly where I want it."

Illustrating her point, Daisy shoved Radiance back up against the bar again, and surged forward for another kiss. Radiance made as if to meet her - only to end up throwing her head back in shock as, instead, Daisy snuck a hand up Radiance's top and started groping her perky, shapely tits.

Trinity's eyes were bulging halfway out of her skull. She wished she had popcorn.

Daisy's assault didn't stop there. Instead of putting her lips to Radiance's, she instead moved them to her rival's neck, kissing and biting her there. The furious, strained, animalistic noises that leapt from Radiance's throat made it clear she had caught the hero off-guard again, and maybe, just maybe, touched on a weakness.

"See, lover?" Daisy teased. "Feels good, doesn't it?"

"Not..." Radiance grunted. She seemed unsure what to say. Trinity wondered if she was aware of the fact that, by now, the whole bar was watching. "God! Fuck off."

"Make me," Daisy replied, in a sing-song voice, and kept kissing her.

Trinity kept leaning forward further and further as Radiance squirmed - actually squirmed! - and panted. She couldn't believe this. Fuck, no-one would believe this if she told them. Unless... unless she showed, them, instead. What if she didn't run? What if she got Radiance's hateful collar off, and then used her shimmer to flip the script a little? Sure, it had never worked before, but she had never seen Radiance in such a state before. Maybe Daisy was her skeleton key into Radiance's head. The mere possibility had her rubbing her thighs together with glee. It seemed like more than a possibility, too. It seemed close. It seemed real.

"C'mon, babygirl." Daisy's tone was growing ever-more triumphal, and she was practically twitching with the thrill. "I know you want it. Why not just give in already? You better not wait too long. Or else, maybe I'll have to show your cute little pet here a good time after all. As a warm up, you know?"

"No."

That was it. That was all Radiance needed to say. She sounded like a different woman, full of iron and backbone. There was so much unbreakable sternness packed into that one word that even Daisy had to pause.

And that one little pause was the end of her.

Flexing her superhuman strength, Radiance hefted Daisy in her hands and spun her around, setting her down on the bar. Daisy made a little squealing noise; clearly, she hadn't been ready for this at all. Before she could say or do anything at all, Radiance's hand was slipping between her legs and up under her dress, finding her just as wet as she had been for Trinity earlier.

"Listen," Radiance said calmly, as Daisy dissolved into weak, twitching moans under her skilled fingertips. "Daisy, I don't know why you felt like pulling this kind of crazy stunt. But it's not going to work. Not on me. Not tonight. I have more important things to deal with. So, if you apologize like a good girl, I'll let you pretend this was all some big joke and we can both walk away with our dignity intact. How's that sound?"

Trinity caught glimpses of some of the other dyke bar patrons fanning themselves, impressed. She couldn't blame them. Radiance's raw power and dominance was magnetic. Trinity couldn't look away any more than anyone else could.

It was clear to everyone that the little contest going on between Radiance and Daisy was over. Radiance had ended it. Daisy, though, seemed to have trouble accepting that. "N-no," she whimpered, clearly distressed. "I'm in control!"

Radiance scoffed. "No, you're not."

"I am!" Daisy wailed. "I'm the b-best!"

Radiance's hand went still, and the expression on her face started to turn concerned. "What are you talking about, Daisy? Are you OK?"

"Stronger!" Daisy pleaded, breaking down to the point of incoherence. "Stronger than a-anyone!"

Trinity felt bad. That was a rare thing, but when it hit, it hit. She'd been rough on Daisy, and now, all those ideas she'd hammered home into her psyche were unraveling. It was like being told your parents weren't really your parents, or that the sky looked purple to everyone else. It was destabilizing. Trinity started backing away. She would just have to hope her shackle was loose enough.

"The fuck..." Radiance drew closer to Daisy, and everyone else looked away, embarrassed. Everyone except Trinity. "Daisy, did you take something?"

Daisy couldn't reply.

"It's... this is... wait." A look of dawning comprehension was growing on Radiance's face, and it was making Trinity's heart sink. All too late, she started to back away, Radiance's golden chain unraveling from around the hero's list. "Someone... someone did something to you, didn't they? Someone like..."

Trinity ran.

And immediately, the chain snapped taut around her neck.

The force of it jerked Trinity backwards, sending her crashing to the ground. She didn't try to get up. There was no point. She was mad at Radiance and mad at the pain, but mostly, she was mad at herself. She should have tried to slip away earlier, when Radiance and Daisy were still exchanging saliva. But no! She had to stick around, just so she could rub it in the big shot hero's face. Great going, Shimmer.

A few seconds later, as Trinity contemplated her misery, Radiance appeared, standing over her, a very, very nasty expression on her face.

"You're really, really going to regret that."