Shackles Ch. 14

At least, that was the big-picture goal. In practical terms, she was cautious, level-headed, and remarkably sane, which meant that she mostly operated on a modest scale and made a good partner for someone like Trinity. The two of them hailed from different parts of the city, but both had gotten their start in the criminal underworld at about the same time, and so had ended up crossing paths. Neither was too much of an egomaniac to consider teaming up, and so they'd ended up forming an on-again, off-again kind of partnership, whenever one of them was planning something that could prove mutually beneficial. In this instance, it was completely straightforward: Ramona kept Trinity's money safe, and she got a small cut.

The two of them also fucked sometimes, because hey, why not?

That part of their relationship was even more on-again, off-again, though. They weren't all that compatible; Trinity's switchy moods were infrequent, and Ramona was one hundred percent organic top, with no added submissiveness.

When those switchy moods did hit, though? Ramona was as obnoxiously cocky as she was irresistibly skilled.

Ramona was also trans, something that she advertised openly and proudly with some of her many tattoos. She liked to say it was the source of all her strength; her powers had first manifested in response to taking HRT. Apparently, the introduction of feminizing hormones into her system had triggered some kind of latent gene, and caused her to start producing incredibly potent, mind-warping pheromones.

Her and Trinity being proud servants of the gay agenda had helped them get to know each other, and was one source of their closeness. However, it was also the source of one of their oldest in-jokes. After making her villain debut, Ramona had been dubbed 'Pheramona' by the press, a moniker annoyingly close to her actual name. She'd tried re-branding herself, but with no luck; apparently, once the media decided what they wanted to call you, it was far harder to shake than any deadname.

Trinity never, ever got tired of giving her shit for it.

Affectionately, of course. Trinity would never have knowingly or intentionally said anything to piss Ramona off. Partly, that was because her powers could be a little temperamental - if you caught her in a bad mood, she could easily fill an entire office block with enough pheromones to have everyone working there drooling over her. But mostly, it was because Ramona had had her back more than once, and that counted for a lot, when you were a villain. People you could trust even a little were hard to come by, and when you found them, you'd be a fool not to value them properly.

Which was why, when she heard Ramona pick up the phone, Trinity's heart sank in the knowledge that she was going to have to betray her.

"Hey, Ramona," Trinity said, forced by Radiance to sound like her usual, breezy, untroubled self. "Where are you? I need to come by and pick up the goods."