What it Takes Pt. 05

And one day they would.

*

"We have gathered here, as a community to witness this. The moment where the greatest promise is made. The one that we all must uphold. Before our eyes and the eyes of the Outsider will these two make the bond that will never be broken... should they wish to stay whole."

James was not there in person, but he was watching. He liked to watch these moments. The living room of Sophie's mansion had been re-arranged to allow for the proceeding. There was no grandeur about it, no over-indulgence in decoration or anything of sorts. Everyone was in their usual clothes... save for the couple who were being put on the spot.

Tradition dictated they do this naked and without any sort of embellishment. No make-up, no excessive outfits or such... some did not even bathe before it. The point was for these to be as they were before each other every day. All the flaws in sight for the other to fix. Not a grand moment of beauty to tempt the other into the proceeding, to showcase just how beautiful their partner could be after a literal day of arrangements... but for them to be as they will be seen for the rest of their life. If one can't take their lover like that, they can't take them at all.

"Now, if anyone sees a reason for these two to not do this... any misgivings, any indiscretions to reveal, any issues they might still have or all that might not lead to the promise meaning nothing... do speak up."

Jack had the girls practically hit on him constantly, tempting him to show such reasons. But unlike women that might be outraged at rejection, at their defeat by another woman... they were glad to see him go no further than some casual fun. It almost looked like one of the girls was about to wrench something out of him until the gesture revealed itself to be sheer sweetness. And Eva always got a bigger share of whatever he was giving around.

Smiles all around. No one could think of anything even as they scrutinized it thoroughly. Mark was thinking if he was going to have something similar with his alien girlfriend. The dick did not bother him... he actually had a kink for it... and neither did the impossibility of children. They could always adopt.

"Well, looks like no issues. Neither do I see any. So, go and make your promises."

Being naked in front of a bunch of people and expected to speak might be a nightmare. They were not supposed to prepare a speech, but give it on the spot. And it came naturally.

"Been thinking a lot back to that evening we met... how I could have screwed up a thousand things. And how I could do it a million times as we went on. Sure is thrilling to have a lover like you, but... I forget all of the other stuff so often. What you do, what you've become, where you're from. Just the girl I wake up with to her hair being all over the place. The one I like to see sleeping just a bit more to have that content smile on your face. And I want... to make that smile stay even when you're awake. Because despite your fine tits, amazing head game and that pussy I just love to be back in so often... I want to see that smile and make it stay there."

He had to be encouraged to be so honest. Can't hold back here. The girls were getting outright emotional. Might need some thorough cooldown so the event after could go well.

"There's probably a ton of guys out there that by some standard or other are... better. Smarter, more handsome, more something or other. I don't give a fuck about them. Or at least not as much as you. Times when you can be an idiot, emotional and a mess I have to clean up. Times when you look like a filthy pervert with no damn ability to care for yourself or keep a clean apartment. Fuck, I could go on." She gave a snort that was halfway to a sob. "And yet I see all that and just want to fix you right up. Remind you to take a shower more than once a week or get that damn beard trimmed, get something other than delivery or... remember that you've got something going. Someone's gonna do it... and since I'm surrounded by a shit ton of idiot girls who won't put the work into you... I'm gonna do that. Because once I'm done you can be so damn good."

That was slightly embarrassing to have the guy practically put down by her... then show she was there with him even at this time. Sometimes these things feel like they go into an argument. Leading to this moment to show that even all that stuff won't stop them. Guys could get emotional just from seeing that dedication. That there is wife material. No laughs... even if smiles were barely kept closed. Sophie looked to be holding it in much more than the others. Not just laughter... but tears. It was quite beautiful to see. Her voice needed great composure to not crack.

"Then, by our collective power of community you two... are now married. Bonded forever, to always go back to each other. So shall it be." A pause to let this sink in. "You may celebrate as husband and wife."

No conservative kiss filled with dignity... that was for prudes. The girl reached out to just drag him into a deep make-out with tears going down her face. While nothing really changed... so much did. Now it was a promise. One to not break... one to rely on... to work for to her dying day. Their embrace was desperate, but one to give way for others to show their pride for the couple... mostly with tears. Weddings can be damn emotional.

What followed was an absolute blur of a party. Praises, small gifts... sometimes embarrassing ones, so much sex that one might assume the drinks were dosed with aphrodisiacs, plenty of food cooked by the other girls with just subtle hints on how Eva could pick it up... maybe she was crap at it, but this was one of the best ways to show care. The two might only dress in some bathrobes to keep the chill out, though by the end of the night, only Sophie was the one to still keep her clothes, but she sure enjoyed seeing the others go at it. There was plenty of activity of that nature between the two lovers and someone else, but that was a sort of final test to see if they go back to each other... and they did. Six times during the event. And four once they finally got away.

Nobody was in any state to go to work tomorrow, but the morning afterparty had its own value... even if it was held close to noon. The parents of neither couple was present... Eva's because they were a bit far away and Jack's would no doubt ruin the occasion. Each would get a visit after to announce the fact. For the boy, it was also to announce her... since he had forgotten to even mention the girl to his parents. It was amazing to see her tear into both of them for not noticing. They did not like that criticism, but eventually it might make them reassess their relationship. And maybe one day they could know the truth.

And then they just went back home and right at what they were doing... as they should.

*

Watching the world from the top of a skyscraper sure looks cool, but movies never let you know how WINDY it can be up there. Eva had to put up a shield to hear her own thoughts. Still, it was her own little getaway from things, a place to think and consider what to do. To keep straight, she had to see the proper uses of her power. Thankfully, the conditions up here made for a very unpopular spot either for smoking or private conversation.

Normally one might need some special access to be on this rooftop, lean on this half-wall of steel and glass to get in the view so many wish to have. She just opened a hole in space to slip up here. There were thoughts of bringing her boyfriend... as in husband... around to have moments in such a place. Not a great one for several reasons. But she found other good spots.

Since distance no longer meant so much, she had gone around to the other communities to see what they might need. Anything they can't deal with, anything they need to sink into... or if she could act as a very quick ride around if people craved a burger from Solaria or a visit to some other place and did not want an entire trip over there for it. And she started to like it... where there's a need, there's fortune to be made, and she was not rigging the market. A bit of compensation was recommended just so others don't abuse her generosity.

There was always the temptation and need for violence... law enforcement that still expected submission and absolute obedience or else they'd throw around words like "obstruction" and "resisting arrest". New policies were trying to take care of that, but there would always be someone to push back, declare some spot sanctuary for the "proper rights of people" and then quickly turn into a worse hellhole. And she liked to deal with those that escalated things.

A great man said a while ago that with great power comes great responsibility. He was close to the mark. Eva was just another with means but that did not give her POWER. That came from responsibility... from doing the work every day. From saving people from the hands of robbers, rapists and egomaniac cops. And from those things rose trust, and from trust came assistance... and from assistance came change. The old "power" was merely violence... "suicides" of people who unveil conspiracies, "justified" wars against those to disagree with who should control a resource or indirect means of taxation on those to not fall in line. And they were so surprised at times when people fought back.

"Is it my turn to brood above the city?"

The words came from behind the girl to see the figure she had become thoroughly acquainted with.

"Hey, plenty of room up here. Look what I managed to make!"

Her hands came aside to showcase the item. On the surface, it was just a leather coat for her to wear... but if one looked close they could see... that thing came from nowhere. She made it... permanently. And it was quite good.

"Got your own cape, eh?" The man walked forward to lean on the barrier between them and a long fall. "You know, we once had an honest to god superhero slip into the Empire."

"Thought that might be a lot more momentous. How come I didn't hear about it?"

"Well, she showed up... asked about what criminals there are to stop, told her that there's barely any because security is good and so am I... then she said that at least the place is good to engage in some rather outrageous things... and she seemed upset when I told her that people there fuck openly and freely. So she asked to leave in under thirty minutes. Curious."

"Sounds like an attention-seeking woman. Oh, look at me... I'm your hero, I'm doing all these forbidden things! Good thing she left. No good from her being there."

"Yeah, I figured. A true warrior would eagerly enjoy peace." Beat. "You're taking to that whole situation well. Shall we see an armored car soon, a sidekick with an opposite personality or a loyal butler?"

Eva chuckled at the words. She was not quite batman, but an idea did come to her.

"None of that. Cars are obvious and I can do more on foot, even though that song you played fit me quite well. I'd rather not drag others into this... at best some partner who comes up on his own or something. And Jack ain't a butler! But I might make a suit to send a message... this all-covering power armor... maybe go by a title. What do you think about 'The Ranger'? Because people keep having me move around and such."

There was a long pause as the outsider stared at her with a dumbfounded expression. Just before she might take that for a suggestion that it was a terrible idea...

"Well, fuck me solid!" He said with eyes just looking at the girl in awe.

"I can see about that..." She teased.

"It's an expression. Do you want to know what you just fucking did?! Or keep the uncomfortable truths away?"

"Not gonna shy from the truth. What, am I imitating some superhero that you read about?"

"There ain't one like that... at least not as far as I know. But you did just... follow a recipe to the letter. Almost. I just realized that you don't just remind me of someone... you are them!"

"Uh... who are you saying I might be? I'm just me."

For a bit, the man thought to keep this idea to himself. It was a hypothesis, at best supported by circumstantial evidence.

"In another time, in another place... with another face and a disposition for cars... I might have called you Madeline. And looking closer, I could call you several other names."

"Who... is that?"

"Someone who came to visit. And someone I sent off with help to fix her world. But I'm not just saying this because you remind me of her... but because of what someone said to me." There he goes with his dramatic pauses. "That souls are multidimensional and care not for space, time or what iteration of the world they are in."

"Wait, are you saying that... I'm that girl? Just..."

"Like another version. Slight differences or grand ones, but the same spirit inside." Beat. "Think I read a book that claimed a similar idea."

"So, that's why people believe in reincarnation and such? Okay, but I'm me. Don't feel anything of her."

"No, and you don't feel anything for me despite your similarity to another. You remind me of Pam." Beat. "That's my wife if history was forgotten. And I guess that means you and Jack were always going to find each other."

The words hit her like a freight train.

"Are... are you saying...?!"

"Yes, even if he is not the same.... Similar idea. Don't think he'd reach the same place. But world just got a lot smaller, didn't it? Not hundreds of trillions of iterations, just a copy-paste of another."

"Any idea how many? Am I basically hunting the exact same thing over and over? The same versions of this one fucker who won't learn?"

"No idea. A thousand, a million, a billion... I'll look into it at some point when I can notice without such close scrutiny."

Her eyebrows came up in the fresh process of internalizing this. On one side, it might feel like the world never ends and there is always that guy out there.

"So, just a big cycle... forever." She said.

"Nihil novum sub sole." Beat. "Nothing new under the sun. Seems like that applies to PEOPLE as well. Troubling in another implication of us being in some eternal recurrence."

"Eh, you could maybe think of it as a good thing. Once we clean up the place, sounds like we're just gonna have endless lifetimes to enjoy it. Get back with loved ones again... kinda romantic."

"Yes, but I was thinking more about the big picture. What if the big guy started just like me... wanted to make things better and just..."

"Fell. Yeah, I saw that too. Pain kinda has a reason to exist. Make you stronger, make you go away from what harms you. Probably started with good intentions and just fucking... crashed."

There were few worries in the empire. But one might always remain... what if the Outsider fell?

"Don't want to get up there just to fuck it up again... prompting some other guy to start it all over again."

"Nah, that's HIM talking! Scared shitless of you. Yeah, sounds vain of me to say God is afraid of us, but he's fighting all of us every day. And we guys have plenty of stories of creations rising up to destroy their makers. Gonna keep happening if no one learns a lesson." Beat. "And if you do... I'll stop you. Feels like I owe that."

A warm smile from him. It was hard to go alone in this world, on every level there was. But even just another to help make all the difference. People to keep each other straight.

"You'd better."