"How comes you're not as gassed up as I am?" Alisha slurs and thinks for the 80th time that this was a shit idea.
"Noticed that didya?" Nathan scowls, "I dunno whether it's related to how fast I heal now or if something went wrong after that shifty bloke gave me back my power but it takes massive amounts of booze and drugs to get me even halfway there."
They've gone shot for shot since arriving at the party and had she known this bit of info she definitely would have slowed down.
After shit went south with Nikki and they all decided to get their powers back - things… changed. Suddenly they all wanted to make a difference, and yeah she did too – they all felt bad. But some days when she didn't want to get the fuck out of bed and go to some secret bullshit meeting she's quick to recognize that all the people they save won't bring her back. But Curtis would flip his shit if she said that out loud so she just shuts up about it. They quietly rounded up a few others well and have started some sort of league and yeah it's not the best pay – she still has to keep a 'day job' – but in the past year or so it's really become something like a family. Plus the odd high profile government gig gets a few extra pounds in her pockets.
But then there are times like this, scary times.
Curtis and Simon lost contact on a mission over 48hrs ago and Kelly (who is in charge when Simon is gone) sent her and Nate on recon.
Fuck when did she start talkin' like Rambo?
This was the last place Ashby in surveillance had eyes on them, well that's what Nate said before they left, she wasn't expecting some fancy estate with what looked like some risqué, private party. Getting in was tricky since there's a list at the front but she briefly took all the lights down in the place and they slipped over the walls and dashed in before any one even noticed. Her new power kind of rocks.
"What about you?" He's watching her like a timebomb.
"What about me?"
"Is it really safe for you to be drinking? Are ya going to just shoot lightning out your face and kill everyone in here – well except me – if you get out of control?"
She rolls her eyes. "No you wanker, I'll maybe blow a few bulbs that's all."
"What is it with you and blowing?" He cries out like the bitch that he is when she punches him.
"I've searched all the rooms yeah? Found nothing… and this bird you're chattin up she don't know anything, what's next?"
"Actually she mentioned something downstairs but said we'd need a password. Fancy pulling it out of her for me?"
Her other power? Also rocks – oh yeah with all that money like she was only going to get one.
Power of persuasion, finally; a good reason to touch strangers.
She finally takes a better look at the object of Nathan's torturous brand of affection and is surprised to realize how pretty she actually is up close. Maybe it's the alcohol but she's a bit friskier tonight than usual, she traces her finger slowly down the inside of the other girl's elbow and leans over to whisper making sure to brush her lips against the shell of her ear.
Nathan laughs lowly and shakes his head before chugging his beer, a vain attempt at getting drunk when really at least one of them should be sober – moron.
"Hey Babe, be a lamb and tell us what the password for the exciting party is yeah?"
The girl's face immediately fills with a serene smile and she leans into Alisha's body, "Sirocco. Are you coming? You should, I'm going."
"What's your name darling?" Alisha knows that he can't hear them but she's very aware of Nathan's eyes on their movements.
"Cherry."
"Yum." She winks and puts her hand in the girl's red hair.
She gets a few more tidbits from Cherry (time place directions) and she and Nathan decide to switch locales in case the girl starts to get all confused. She allows Nathan to continue drinking but declining herself when he offers her anything.
"What you don't think I'll be able to take care of you?"
Somewhere along the line she's stopped insisting they aren't friends, maybe it's the time that he spent away from the group after they all got their powers back. She doesn't know where he and Marnie went only that when he came back he was somewhat more subdued – still a retard – but a calmer retard. He moved in with her and Simon which she originally gave her boyfriend hell about, not caring one bit about that whole 'homeless' excuse.
Simon had managed to get a day job working for a security firm in their computer department, so since her job was the night shift at one of the nearby petrol fill-ups this meant that when she woke up there was a 5 hr period that she shared with Nate. They'd gone grocery shopping one day, well she had to go and he was "too bored to stay at the loft." She had grudgingly agreed and braced herself for him to annoy and provoke her the entire way but instead he asked her some stuff about her job and even offered drive them there choosing to smoke his ciggie and listen to her for the course of the drive.
When they got the shopping mart she was sure he'd be messin' with her but he instead turned his mischief elsewhere, switching people's items when they weren't looking. Making trades like tampons for pregnancy tests, fucked up but hilarious shit like that. She'd been laughing within minutes and he had all the while been dashing items off the list (and into the trolley) she'd tacked to the handle bars when they passed them.
"You're actually helping me?" She'd stopped right in the middle of the aisle and he'd looked over his shoulder with a confused 'duh' look on his face.
"That's why I came? Hello? Nothing better to do."
"Yeah but you're actually doing it."
He shrugged and kept walking but she'd grabbed his wrist, "What's up with you? You're different."
He'd smiled low and lazy then, "Guess I've died so many times I've started growin' up..."
He'd trailed off a sad look on his face and suddenly she knew then why Marnie and the baby never came up, sensing her realization he hurried to add, "Which is a shock because I thought it would have just made me more reckless!"
"Me too." She joked back softly.
Simon had been pleased that they'd become friends, his girlfriend and best friend and he'd been even more pleased when Nathan didn't dispute that he and 'Barry' were indeed best friends. They'd renovated the loft – put a few walls and corners up – and he never moved out. After a while and the odd job here and there, Simon had told him he should join their league.
Nathan had taken a look up from the magazine he was reading and paused weighing his options; he had seemingly become content to ignore the fact that he had any extra abilities at all. "You might want to rethink the word league mate, sounds mighty poncey."
Then he went back to reading but showed up at the next meeting, sitting next her and rolling his eyes. "I don't want to talk about this on our run tomorrow alright?"
They're downstairs now, and she can see Cherry's head a few paces ahead at a big pair of wooden doors talking to a big fella, looks like a muscular walrus. Her eyes meet Nathan's and she can tell he's thinking the same thing; what is going on here?
"Somehow I don't think we're going to find Barry or your boyfriend down here." She bites her lip at his long standing joke and resists stepping on his foot with her heels.
"So ...what? Do you want to call it? Contact Ashby and get any other leads?" She whispers as she slides her hand into his offered arm to appear cozy to the walrus.
"You know Kels is just going to get on us for not following through with this even if it is a dead end. Let's just get in get out and leave. Check out the moobs on that guy huh?"
She laughs sudden, loud and short before pinching him but adding "He looks like a walrus."
"He really does!" Nathan squeals delighted.
They stop next to him giggling and he looks them over skeptically, "Password." He rumbles out.
"You know what mate? You sound EXACTLY like you look. It's amazing." Nathan chirps and Alisha wails out a laugh, her eyes shut tight.
Walrus bristles, not knowing what exactly is going on, only that it is at his expense and she rushes out 'Sirocco' before he can snap Nathan's neck and blow their cover.
He gruffly opens the door and levels a glare on Nathan as they walk by.
"Well this is…" He trails off once they're inside.
There's just a bunch of people sitting about in a room filled with cushions and beds and lavish couches. Wine and fruits are everywhere and he feels like he just strolled into a Greek painting. He and Alisha make their way over to a corner and sit and wait as she pops a few grapes into her mouth to pass the time he leans over and asks the guy next to them what to expect.
He looks properly mashed but is still enthusiastic, "First time for you two? Oh and you're a couple? If so you're in for a treat!"
Alisha's hazel eyes twinkle from behind the wine glass in front her face and rushes out, "Yep – that's why Cherry invited us!"
"You guys been together long?" He looks them up and down, his eyes lingering longer on Alisha – well on her tits more precisely.
"Ages." She snarks before leaning over and grabbing his crotch for the other man to see. What the buggering fuck? She laughs at him then as he tries to fish the glass of wine out her hand.
The drunk git looks a little put out but seems to have some sort of resolve in him still, Nathan finds this very suspect and leans over to nuzzle behind her ear hoping he takes a hint and leaves. His plan backfires when she hums contentedly, leaning into him all soft and lazy, he eyes her wine glass worriedly and asks for a sip with the intention to hide it from her.
This mission is falling apart fast.
The guy leaves promising to see them (Alisha) later, she turns to him then a bit more sober than he expected but still a bit dangerous around the edges, "What is with you?"
She smiles a lopsided one at him, "I don't know maybe the stress is catching up with me, god! I wasn't expecting this to go here tonight. I was fixing for a fight, then a rescue, then reunion sex. Not anxiety in some underground cult - tipsy and blind. It's bullshit."
"Well if it makes you feel better once we leave you can beat me up while I masturbate." She groans and looks away from him disgusted.
"Alright, alright – twist my arm. I'll beat you up and we can have sex."
"Shut up."
"Alright."
Cherry plops down next to them then, "You two seriously are going to be blown away. Wait until he gets here, it's an amazing feeling – I promise you'll be coming back for more."
"Of course we will…" he says slowly trying to think of how to get more info out of her, "Tell us more, how does it feel?"
"It's like an outer body moment you know? And the harder you fight against it the more wild you get! I've been liberated and I don't ever want to go back."
"Riiiiiight." Alisha says worry poorly hidden in her face.
Cherry catches sight of a woman she seems to know and leans over and whispers in Alisha's ear and Nathan raises an eyebrow when he sees pink kiss her cheeks at whatever the redhead says to her.
As soon as she's gone Alisha turns to him, "We have got to leave now!"
"What's going on?"
"I think they're all going to fuck each other!"
He looks around quickly, "What? Are you sure!"
"Pretty sure yah."
"…d'you reckon they'll let us stay and watch?" What luck!
"Oh for fuck… they probably will expect us to do more than just watch you prick!"
He stares blankly at her suggestive, hinting face, "Geez Leesh I was just kidding about beating you. When did you get so kinky? I think Barry is rubbing off on ya…"
She groans into her hands and then pulls him up and they're heading to the doors they came in – was it something he said?
Just then doors on the other side of the room open and some creepy looking plonker has just walked in with two girls and the goofiest grin on his face. Uh-oh. He can feel Alisha panic and move closer to him and bloody fuck he slips up and actually puts an arm around her waist pulling her against him. No time for that façade now – besides she and Barry are the only two who he lets see that side of him anyway… too late to pretend he can't sober up and care when the situation calls for it. They've got no contact with base and though between the two of them they'd be able to get out with their powers – they're advised constantly not to be flashy. Curtis has been keeping track of others disappearing, he thinks someone has been rounding them up… Nathan hasn't been able to bring up that theory with Alisha since their friends have come up missing.
He starts looking for discarded objects around to room that would make for good morphs in case they have go to out fighting and casually reaches for a small marble vase under the guise of looking at it closer.
Alisha eyes it and then nods silently at him; she's ready when he is.
Garth – no really – his real name! Sits down and starts thanking everyone for coming, especially the new faces, their eyes lock for a second and Nathan grins back falsely.
He speaks softly then and out of the side of his mouth, "Alright we'll just wait for them to start and then sneak out while they're all distracted and randy."
One of the girls starts rubbing Garth's shoulders and he feels some of his resolve slip and strangely something else… weird.
Maybe it's the fact that she once had a power that imposed, maybe she's just more suspicious but she knows that she feels it before Nate. Fuckfuckfuuuuck. She starts to feel relaxation descend on her which makes no sense because she knows all she wants more than oxygen itself in that moment is to get. out. of. that. room.
But the chaise in front her knees looks so comfy and Nathan feels so warm and his fingers just slipped under the band of her tube top and …wait.
"Why are my fingers there?" he asks his voice breaking a bit, his eyes (and only his eyes) looked panicked but even as he asks it she feels his grip clamp down and pull her around to face him. Suddenly she remembers what Cherry said.
"Nathan – calm down or it'll be worse…"
He closes his eyes and rests his forehead against hers. Just breathing.
"This is fucked up." He whignes.
She sighs and rubs her nose against his before looking over her shoulder trying not to yelp when she sees one of the girls slide her hand into Gary? What's his name?'s pants and start to stroke him.
"I know, how do we get out?" he's dragging his lips across her jaw line. Suddenly harder for to breathe…
"No – Alisha this is really fucked up. We're here to rescue your ex and your current boyfriend. I really don't want to be added to your list of conquests."
She feels angry all of a sudden because he might as well have just called her a slag but before she can slap him like she wants she feels the strangest series of sensations. Inside her stomach and head feel like someone has stuck two opposing magnets in either end, it's as though she's being ripped open, then suddenly she's pushed him down on the chaise and climbed on his lap instead.
"Shit." She grinds out then bites his lip.
"You try to hit me?" He pulls down her tube top and she feels mortified…yet horny. Not confusing at all.
"Yeah, really hard."
"I am. Crap. This is so awkward." And then he seals their lips.
Ok so clearly, whatever that guy is feeling the entire room feels. Maybe if they distract him long enough they can make a run for it. Funny how as she's thinking all this, a fine sheen of sweat has broken out on her skin and Nathan's long hands are spread firmly on her arse. Shit he's actually a decent kisser and the line between 'get out now' and 'ahhh give me more' becomes more indistinguishable by the second. The vase rolls off the chaise and she manages to look at it before his finger taps her chin and turns her face back to him. His eyes (panic, resolve, concern) still betray his tongue that runs over his lips before they drop to her own mouth while his other hand fondles one of her tits softly.
"I'm sorry Love." He murmurs before leaning up and devouring her.
"Me too." She whispers then bites down on his neck.
(Oh God me too.)