The city was still as the dark figure scoured into the R.H. Kane building's penthouse suite. She was perched upon a ledge which could easily end in death if she fell, so she remained cautious. Long reddish brown hair fell over her shoulder as she moved her head to watch the women inside travel room to room.
She had been perched on the ledge for nearly an hour, in hopes that she could get more information on the girls she saw in her vision - the blue-haired one especially. A variety of techie specialties like microphones and video recorders clung to her as she attempted to learn more. She hadn't heard much of anything, other than mention of the same vision she experienced, and a possible word on "saving the world."
The girls inside looked like they were winding down and readying themselves for bed. She wasn't getting any sleep tonight - she was going to hunt down more girls herself.
Before she turned to go, a chill rolled down her spine, and she felt something darker than the night creep up behind her. She wound up her arm to throw a punch, and with a swift turn she aimed to land it on whatever was behind her, but an arm caught hers first. An older, bald man stared into her eyes with his own golden ones, almost looking into her soul. His grin widened as he held her squirming body and hurriedly shoved a towel in her face. While every cell in her body fought to stay awake, the chemicals took over and she drifted into unconsciousness.
The morning sunlight kissed the walls inside of Kate's penthouse and draped over Aqua like a warm blanket. The couch was exceptionally comfortable, although with the kink in her neck she realized she should have taken up Kate's offer to share the bed.
Aqua smelled a fresh brew of bold coffee and decided rather hesitantly to open her eyes. She peaked through her squinted vision and saw Kate in only a t-shirt and underwear, and her face immediately grew red while inappropriate thoughts followed. Kate was too busy pouring an excessive amount of cream into her coffee to realize Aqua was awake. That was until Aqua attempted to pull her body up from the couch, and crashed back down onto the coffee table, which left shards of broken glass strewn among the floor.
"Oh, shit!" Aqua yelped as she lay in the middle of the damage. Kate quickly dropped her cup and rushed to Aqua's side.
"Whoa, hard night?" Kate joked.
"Good night, hard morning," Aqua laughed back. Kate held out her hand for Aqua to take, and she obliged. They brought Aqua back to her feet and examined the cuts she obtained. They didn't appear to be as deep as they should have been. Aqua noticed Kate eye her arm questioningly and chimed in.
"Super slayer strength comes with super slayer skin, too," she assured.
"Right, I almost forgot I had a super-hero in my midst."
"I'm the one staying in Gotham's swanky Kane building with the neighborhood vigilante," Aqua beamed. "Besides, I'm still going to need some bandages, I'm not injury free here!"
Kate dashed to the bathroom in search of her first-aid kit. Aqua took a look at the damage around her and couldn't help but feel embarrassed. 'First time at a girl's place in years and I break her table… go figure,' she thought to herself. Kate was already back with the first aid kit before Aqua had time for another thought.
Both of the women sat on the couch, glass still scattered at their feet, and Kate began to wrap a bandage around Aqua's forearm where most of the cuts occurred.
"You said there's supposed to be another slayer here, right?" Kate asked.
"According to King -"
"Mickey!" Kate said in an attempt to finish Aqua's sentence to prove that she had paid attention to the entirety of her story last night. Aqua nodded back to her and continued.
"He gave me the list of cities. Of course, he also gave the disclaimer that there's no guarantee a slayer would still be there, but still…" she trailed off, lost in thought.
"If the King sent you here, then we better start our hunt, right?" Kate asked as she finished patching up Aqua's new arm band.
"I don't even know where we would start," Aqua replied with slight frustration in her voice.
"I know someone who could help. She's got lots of weird techie shit that might be able to aid us, we've just gotta jet over there quick. You in?"
"Of course," Aqua smiled, "I'm gonna need some toothpaste though."
Kate led Aqua on foot into the inner city of Gotham. Aqua had never been to a city like this before. The smell, for one thing, felt as though it burnt her nostril hair. Sewage and waste overtook the city as if it were natural to be included in the oxygen one breathes. Buildings reached so far into the sky that they disappeared in the clouds. Faces of all kinds whizzed by her own, emotions plastered so clearly for the world to see, and while most seemed to be in a rush, Aqua could pick out the few who were excited, worried, happy, and everything in between. They comforted her own emotions, which she could hardly get a grip on since finding out she was meant to save the world.
As if it came out of the clouds, a horrific monster made it's presence known in the direction the girls ran in. Aqua stopped dead in her tracks and put her arm out to stop Kate from going any further. She recognized this face, this was a monster from her vision. She hadn't seen one in the flesh before, and it frightened her even more so than it did before. It's demonic face was wrinkled and included a huge set of sharp, yellow fangs.
This time, the monster was not alone. It was accompanied by something just as frightening. The frame of the new figure looked human, but the carvings across its eyes showed a different truth. A long, black robe encompassed the monster and it raised it's knife as it dashed towards both of the women.
Aqua grabbed Kate's wrist and pulled her to the side of a skyscraper before he could catch up.
"Kate, can you take on Mr. No Eyes?"
"On it. You got the vamp?" Kate replied. Aqua nodded to her and readied herself to attack.
Kate charged first, and ran towards the new monster in a fury. Her leg swung around quickly, and she smashed her foe directly in the rib cage with her heel, which caused him to fall backwards, although not quite losing his footing. He tried to regain balance while he pulled his sharp dagger to aim, and he moved swiftly towards her.
Aqua ran toward her opponent as he took stance in front of her, legs steady and arms open wide, with thick, sharp nails stretching out at the end of each hand. Before her approach, she held her arm out towards his body, keychain in hand. As she jumped to him, she aimed her keychain at his neck and with a flash, whipped out her favorite keyblade, Destiny's Embrace, and watched it stab through the monster's neck. His head flew off abruptly, and Aqua opened her mouth in surprise as his body turned to dust before her eyes. Her lungs filled with the dust of the monster's remains, and just as she started to laugh at the absurdity of her situation, she looked to Kate who seemed to be losing the battle with her monster.
The no-eyed foe aimed his knife at Kate's left forearm and dragged it across as crimson blood dripped to the ground. She tried to throw another punch, but her arm was too weak so she resorted to her foot again. Before she could get in a solid kick, Aqua rushed to her side, keyblade in hand. Aqua began swinging her blade ferociously, and it landed right in the middle of the monster's chest. He let out a large grunt before falling to the ground. Aqua helped Kate up from the ground as she clutched at her bloody arm.
Their feet hit the pavement quickly, smashing down one foot after another. The wind slapped Aqua's face and although it wasn't the cold air she had prepared for, it felt sharp nonetheless. Kate stopped a few feet ahead to catch her breath. Aqua caught up, although she could have surpassed Kate a mile back.
"Where the hell did those guys come from? I didn't even see them pop out!" Aqua blurted.
"I've never… seen any vampires… like that before," Kate choked out between breaths.
"I have," Aqua announced. "Those were the monsters from my vision." A look of shock fell across Kate's face.
"They're the ones taking out your slayer sisters?" she questioned.
"Yep," Aqua replied. "There's got to be one here, otherwise they wouldn't have come around."
"We've got to get to Barb's!" and with that, Kate took off running. Aqua followed her in a gallop.
"Who's Barb?" Aqua cried out.
"A friend," Kate replied.
They reached a small, run down building on the outskirts of the city. It looked to Aqua like this would be the residence of a struggling artist. Homeless men sat outside, buried in layers and radiating a smell stronger than the one Aqua smelled throughout the city, or maybe this is where that smell came from. As the women walked into the entrance, one of the men howled out as though he were seducing a mate in the wild. Both women scoffed as they ascended up the stairs.
Once they reached the third floor, they exited the stairwell and hurried towards apartment number 6. Kate knocked on the door, at first at a normal volume. After a few more knocks and a few "Barb!" shouts, she began to pound louder. After moments passed with no luck, Kate pressed her head on the door to listen.
Silence.
Aqua noticed a look of worry appear on Kate's face.
"Is your friend usually here now?" she asked.
"Always. She sticks to a schedule and isn't known to stray much from it." She paused to think. "I'm breaking down the door."
"Whoa! We can't just go around breaking doors!" Aqua replied.
"I'll fix it," Kate stated as she moved her entire body into the door in an attempt to break it open. The door barely shook, and aside from that, didn't budge.
"Need help?" Aqua smiled, knowing full well that she would have no problem getting in.
"Please," Kate flashed with a smirk. She moved aside and watched Aqua go for it.
With one swift push, Aqua broke down the door while she kept it in tact, and only breaking off the handle.
"After you," she motioned her arms to the door.
The apartment appeared to be in shambles, which immediately sent Kate into a subdued panic. Normally she would have been much more open about her anxiety, but even in the midst of all of this she was worried about looking ridiculous in front of her new gal pal.
Books were tossed upon the floor, papers were scattered throughout the rooms, and Aqua noticed a black and yellow suit in shreds, pieces dispersed on the floor, bed, and all the way to the bathroom. A laptop was left on, with plenty of windows open in the internet browser. Kate began to look through her things for any sign that she didn't just disappear. Aqua was surprised to see remnants of a cowl similar to Kate's at the foot of the bed.
"Are you guys in a league or something?" Aqua asked.
"Or something," Kate laughed. "We're kind of a part of this fucked up family working together to protect Gotham."
"Wait, she's your sister?" questioned Aqua, this time while pointing at a photo Barbara had on her wall of herself with a young, handsome dark haired man who also seemed to be apart of this 'family.' Kate looked up at the photo and smiled.
"Might as well be, we've been working together for the last few years. The girl drives me crazy, but I love her," Kate said while she continued to search through some of Barbara's notes on her laptop.
"Where do you think she could have gone?" Aqua asked. Kate replied with a shrug of her shoulders and went to the computer, where she was surprised to see a search open with the words 'Sunnydale' entered.
"Hey - Sunnydale, that's where your slayer leader is right? That's where you're trying to go?" Kate asked.
"Yeah, that's where home base is supposed to be."
"Apparently Barbara knew, she's got like eight tabs opened on Sunnydale and plenty of 'vampire' searches to go along with it."
Aqua's eyes grew wide. 'Was Barbara a slayer? Is that why she was searching this?' she thought to herself. Kate noticed Aqua's enlightenment and moved away from the computer and towards Aqua, who hovered at the doorway to the bathroom.
"I know what you're thinking, and if there's any chance Barb is a slayer, there's an even better chance that someone else found out and came here for her." She didn't want to scare Aqua, but she knew there was no way Barbara would have left like this, in a hurry or not.
"We've got to find her," Aqua replied.
"I'm betting they've already got her… and they might be on the same route you are -"
"So we keep hunting for the girls?"
"You ready to leave behind charming old Gotham and move on to the next?" Kate asked.
"No… but yeah."
"Let's go back to my place. We'll take the night off, get my stuff together, and head out tomorrow morning. Sound like a plan?"
"You sure we won't find Barbara here?"
"She's already gone. The only way I have any chance of finding her is with you," Kate replied.
"Then, it sounds like a plan."
Without another word, they raced out of the disastrous apartment, attempted to put the broken handle back on the door, and headed back to Kate's penthouse.
By the time they reached Kate's suite, the bright sun had lowered below the buildings and shadows crept over the city. Inside of her apartment, Kate prepared tea once more for the two to share. Aqua sat relaxed on the couch and watched Kate move nimbly through her kitchen.
"Need some honey, honey?" Kate joked as she walked over to the couch with both mugs in hand.
Aqua felt her face flush. "No thanks," she replied. 'Is she flirting? Should I be flirting back? I want to, I just -'
"How's your arm?" Kate asked before Aqua could finish her thought.
"My arm?" Aqua laughed. "You're the one who got sliced open!"
"Eh, flesh wound, no biggie," she smiled. "I didn't forget about your graceful coffee table smash."
"It's good," Aqua replied, embarrassed again by her klutzy self. "And yours?"
"It's alright" she said as she cozied into the couch closer to Aqua. "I'm doing better now though," she smirked to Aqua over her mug.
Aqua followed the lines on Kate's face that led to her smiling lips. She had been drawn to Kate since she first saw her, standing over those two men, radiating with experience, leadership and… God she was just so beautiful, Aqua thought.
"Am I gonna have to do all the work here, Aqua?"
"What do you mean?" Aqua asked rather innocently. Of course, she knew what she meant, but she wasn't going to give in to Kate that easily.
"Are you gay?" Kate blurted out.
Aqua began to laugh hysterically, no one had ever asked her so bluntly about her preference. Kate sat back, and her face beamed like a tomato before Aqua realized how terribly her response came out.
"Gay as a rainbow!" she continued to laugh. "Sorry, people don't usually just come out and ask me that. I guess I didn't expect it."
"No, no, you're good, I guess it was rather bold of me."
"I like that though," Aqua replied, "your boldness. You're not afraid to say what you want. I'd love to be that confident."
"You can be!" Kate responded. "Try it now… tell me one thing that's on your mind that you wouldn't have said to me two minutes ago."
Aqua was nervous. She could hardly tell Sora or Riku when she thought a girl was cute, let alone telling the girl herself. But there was a sort of shelter in Kate's eyes, and Aqua felt safe with her.
"I would really like to kiss you," she blurted out. Like a child confessing a crime, she threw her face into a pillow to hide. She couldn't believe she had said that. I mean, sure, Kate seemed pretty into her, but what if she wasn't? What if she was just being nice? What if she treated all the girls -
Without a moment to spare, Kate pulled Aqua's face out of the pillow to reveal a cherry colored face. She held onto her cheeks softly, looked into her eyes, and pulled her in for a kiss. Aqua felt a warm rush fall from her lips to the pit of her stomach. Kate was so soft, and she moved slowly and passionately, with ease.
The two were lost in their own world. Hands fondled, hair grasped, and hips held onto. Kate ran her hands down Aqua's arm and over her bandage. She stopped there, and pulled away from Aqua's lips to look at her covered wound.
"You're not sleeping on the couch tonight," Kate joked.
"I hope not," Aqua replied.
This time, Aqua went in for the next kiss. She held onto Kate's waist and pulled her closer until the two were nearly on top of each other. Kate moved her back on the couch to lay, and Aqua followed on top of her. They continued to kiss, tongues and hearts racing.
Aqua never remembered touching someone like this before. Sure, she had had sex, but there was an emotional connection she and Kate shared that she hadn't experienced with anyone before. Even though they were only sharing a kiss, she felt completely exposed to her. And she wanted to be.
Aqua stayed on top while they continued, and she began to grind her hips on Kate, who bucked her hips upward in response. Aqua let her hands wander down Kate's back and to her bra.
"Wait," Kate said suddenly. She pulled herself up, and Aqua quickly moved off of her and sat back on the couch.
"Are you okay?" Aqua asked in a concerned tone.
"I'm better than okay, actually," Kate laughed. "I'm sorry, I just - I don't want to mess this up."
"Mess what up? Us?"
"Exactly."
Aqua couldn't help but feel a little ridiculous. She just told this girl she wanted her, and now she was being told to slow down.
"I think you're absolutely amazing," Kate continued, "and I want to come with you. I just don't want to ruin you."
"You've got a mighty big head on your shoulders," Aqua replied. "You won't ruin me. But… I get it. You're extraordinary and I just want to be around you."
"Would you hate me if I called it a night?"
"As long as I can sleep in your bed," Aqua said in an attempt not to flirt.
"Come on, let's get comfy," Kate replied. She took Aqua's hand and led her to the bedroom. The girls cozied themselves into Kate's large king sized bed and fell asleep in each other's arms.