Chapter Ten
One hour before "Nigga Night."
Some music played in the background, and it was a radio station with some soft, classical sounds from the eighties. A hint of cologne permeated throughout the atmosphere, and James relaxed in the tub, ruminating about life as the Guardian. The scented candle in the back-room set the mood for the night. It was one of those nice smelling candles from the Big Box store down the street from his penthouse.
The atmosphere for the night was exactly the way he wanted it, and then out of nowhere, Maggie showed up at his front door. She pouted for a moment because her bosses made her drop the case against Rachel Ballard. She sat on his sofa, and he stood in front of her in his speedo and dripping wet muscular body.
"Damn," she said with a smile. She looked directly at his bulge, but he didn't make anything of it. Shoot. Let me hop in your tub?"
"Okay," he said, "You have a bathing suit?"
"It's in the trunk of my car," she said as she ran out of the apartment.
Maggie set the mood for the night with her pouty lips, complaints about her job, and bellicose relationship with Alex. When he saw her in the living room in her two piece, he became aroused almost immediately. He hopped into the warm tub, and when Maggie entered his little sanctuary from the noise of the city, she discussed about all the cops killed the previous day; it weighed heavy on her soul because she knew many of the dead. She took a swig of her whiskey, and James watched her as she leaned back in the tub.
"I can't resist a good hot tub," she said with a smile. Looking at her cellphone, she shook her head in disbelief, and then said, "Everything is crazy, James. Alex isn't returning my calls."
"Yeah. Those Danver girls are experts in cold-shouldering folks."
James and Maggie sat quietly for a moment in his nice, four man whirlpool while he drank an Apple Martini and she enjoyed some straight whiskey. He noticed she enjoyed the hard liquor, and he didn't mind as long as she didn't throw up in his tub. He purchased the hot tub a day earlier as a gift to himself for putting Kara behind him. With all the excitement for the last couple of days, he didn't think about her at all. James thought the tub was fit for a king, and it had all the whirlpool action to soothe his aching muscles. Maggie lay across from him, her head propped against the back, a bottle of whiskey clutched in her right hand, and she lamented over losing the Ballard case. She took a swig, and then said, "Ahem," but the sharp lineaments of her face demonstrated her mood, and it wasn't a pleasant one.
"Alex is still acting funky over me telling Kara to grow up," she said as she slurred her speech. "It's like the world stops for her."
"Don't wait too long to make amends," he said, "Time apart can be a detriment to your relationship."
The calm wind didn't make a sound, and the steam from the tub stripped her hair of life, and her laughter and sadness only fueled his passion for her. The heat from the pool stressed her firm figure, and brought out her raw beauty. The top part of her bathing suit didn't conceal the excitement of her nipples, and just the outline of her teats excited him. When she asked him to hang in his tub, he didn't think twice because he didn't have the slightest attraction to her, but now that she sat across from him, and because of the steam obscuring his vision, and because Kara's rejection made him feel a certain way, he just wanted to feel something genuine.
Her two piece, crimson bikini fit nicely, and she pulled back her wet hair into the perfect ponytail, and it brightened her tanned face. She continued staring at Kara's apartment, and shook her head in disbelief. "Why, why, why, James? Can't believe your balcony stares right into Kara's apartment," she said with a grimace. "It gives the wrong impression, dude."
"My relationship with Kara took nearly a year to form," he said with a smirk. "When we finally kissed, I had already put down rent for six months on this pad." He smiled for a moment, and then said, "I'm over her."
She smirked. "We'll see." She took a swig of her whiskey, and then said, "You know, my bosses not only ordered me to leave Rachel alone, but they threatened me with suspension if I didn't?" She shook her head in anger, and then said, "I don't know what's going on in that whole area of town. Little Africa is like another planet."
"I'm just glad that monster, Karen Nater, didn't hurt you," he said with a serious look on his face. "There aren't any leads on her whereabouts." He grimaced for a moment, and then said, "I'm thinking some outside agencies are involved in this. She fought like the perfect weapon."
She leaned back in the whirl pool, and looked up at the night sky. "We're dealing with superhuman species on the daily now, and meta-humans are creeping on the scene by the hundreds. My fear is Supergirl or Superman turning on us. We need a government registry for these metas."
"I don't think they'd do that, Maggie," he said in their defense. "I've known Superman for a number of years now."
"I wouldn't either, but the political climate in the world is changing," she said with a scowl on her face. "With the forming of the United States of Africa, I believe we're going to hit a huge depression. Everybody will be clawing for their position in the new world."
"I can't see it," he said. He took a drink of his Apple Martini, and then said, "The UN will bring Africa under control."
Maggie position her bra for a moment, and then looked up at the night sky. She smiled, and then looked over at him. "Tell me something, James?" She asked. She looked up at him with drunk eyes, and a half smile.
"What?" He asked.
"Be truthful," she said calmly. "Superman came to Earth nearly eighty years ago, right?"
"It's true," he said with a serious look on his face. He didn't talk about Superman's past too much. "He ages slowly."
"But. But Lois Lane died in nineteen-eighty-three of kidney cancer and Lucy died in nineteen ninety-six. I looked them up."
James hopped out of the water, and walked on the balcony in just his speedo.
"Damn! You're ripped like nobody's business," Maggie said. "You're like a model."
"Thanks," he said with a sheepish smile on his face. "I don't talk about what happened with Lois." He looked over at her for a moment, and his countenance changed. "Yes. Lois, Lucy and her father are all clones because Superman demanded it."
"But why?" She asked with a grimace.
"I don't know the whole story," he said, "But Cadmus promised him they'd save his wife from kidney cancer if Superman gave them his seed, but she died before they had a chance to save her."
"So they cloned her?" She asked.
"Yes," he said, "But the clones are flawed. They have a lifespan of five years. They're hoping Rachel can fixed the flaw in the clones." He lay back on the ledge of the hot tub, and she sat right below him. "Maybe he's the reason your command wants you to leave Rachel be. Extending the life of clones would allow for an army of Supermen."
"Perhaps," she said. She bit her bottom lip lightly, and then said, "I don't think that'd a be a good thing."
James played with Maggie's ponytail, and pushed some of Maggie's loose hair over her right ear, and she turned quickly to give him a good look. Looking him directly in the face, she just stared at him for a moment, and he expected her to go on one of her rants, but she didn't. She didn't say anything at first, but James gently touched her hair one more time, and she pushed his hand away from her face. She absconded to the other side of the tub, and shook her head in disbelief when she saw he was fully erect. "You're drunk, James," she said softly. "I see you're excited too, but I'm with Alex."
"I didn't mean anything by it," he said. He could feel his man business pushing against his speedo, and he thought his lust for her was actually the alcohol. He had known her for a few months now, and didn't realize he had hidden feelings for her.
"James, don't mess up what I got with Alex, okay?" She said with a grimace.
"I was just moving the hair out of your face," he said smilingly. "It didn't mean anything."
"Oh my, god. You were hitting on me," she said, "Just admit it. Your phallus is sticking straight up in the air over there."
He slid back into the warm water, and laughed. "That's what you call hitting on you?" He smirked. "Ahem." He pulled her by the legs, grabbed her butt cheeks, and pulled her into him, and kissed her gently on the lips. He then let her fall into the water, and said, "Just so we're clear, I consider that hitting on you."
She grimaced, and then said, "You're a dog, James. I should have known you'd want me to attend to your man meat."
"Well. I've made the first move," he said, "What happens next really depends on you."
"I can't, James," she said with a grimace. "I've been working on a relationship with Alex for months, and I'm not willing to jeopardize that." She sat back for a moment, and then said, "I think I'm in a relationship with Alex, but she's not calling me back or texting."
"I won't persist," he said, "It's been awhile since I've felt genuine warmth from the opposite sex. It's up to you."
"I do care about you," she said, "I want you to find a good girl, but it just can't be me. At least until I have some clarity." She raised up out of the water, sat on the ledge, and then said, "Maybe I should go!"
"No," he said, "You're drunk.' He scooted over to her, and then said, "You can sleep on my bed, and I'll take the couch."
Moments later…
James walked into the apartment, looked back at Maggie to see if she was looking at him, and she was with a smile on her face. He felt like he was in a good place, but he didn't want to over do it. Quickly, he changed out of his speedo, and placed on some boxer shorts, a muscle shirt, and a touch of cologne, and then he sat on the balcony while Maggie continued to drink in the tub. He felt the boxers gave his phallus more support as he lusted after the notable, resident lesbian. He had hoped his phallus would soften, and the lust he felt for Maggie would dissipate, but he still desired her. All he could think about was propping her up on his bed, ramming it in, and slapping her tight little behind. He had visioned her riding him a thousand times, and only thirty minutes past since she entered his apartment. He lay back on his recliner, looked out over the city, and all the lights went out at once. The hot tub's jets stopped, and the entire city darkened.
"There isn't a light in the city," Maggie said. She hopped out of the tub, and then said, "I see beautiful lights in Little Africa. Look at that."
The aureate lights illuminated the darkness, and James thought it was more beautiful than the Fortress of Solitude. A crimson and emerald light wove together like lovers under the eerie moon, and raced around the city like the venerable Barry Allen. He saw them crawling through the dark streets of Little Africa, and it wove in and out of every house. The rays of beauty scared, enamored, and excited him because he knew the end of mankind danced in front of his glistening eyes, and a race of super-humans had just been born.
"I haven't ever seen the city this dark," he said. "The lights coming out of Little Africa are ominous." Gently, he placed his hands on her shoulders, and rubbed her softly.
"That feels really good. Relaxing," she said smilingly. She looked up at him, over her right shoulder, and asked, "You have a shirt and shorts I can wear?"
"Yeah," he said. Suddenly, the lights came back on in the city. "We got lights," he said.
When he walked back out of the apartment with the shorts and shirts, he noticed the pool of multicolored lights hovering above Little Africa, and it was like the gods were watching. Flashes of light bounced throughout the entire area, and James hadn't seen anything like it in his life.
"That's beautiful," Maggie said. "Incredible."
James handed the clothes to Maggie, and she ran into the bathroom for a few minutes, and he sat on the couch, turned on the television, and then a public service announcement came on the screen. It warned that a large, radioactive wave swept over Little Africa, and they expected mass casualties, but the medical personnel couldn't enter the area until the radiation subsided. Quickly, he looked out over the city, and saw the fluorescent glow over Little Africa, and he knew what it meant: Nigga Night.
Rachel stood less than sixty inches when she unlawfully entered his apartment, but she had powers beyond anything he had ever imagined. With her mind, she controlled him like he was a puppet, and if she's adroit in science, then she may change the human race to something else. When she stood in his apartment, and said a change was going to come, he didn't believe her because madmen always promised change, but nothing ever did. Before she left, she muttered the residents of Little Africa would be free to live, to enjoy life, and to embrace the world on a whole other level.
After he ruminated, he watched Maggie walk from the bathroom with her wet hair, loose fitting clothes, and drunk, but sexy smile. Gently, she brushed it all out, that auburn hair, and it hung in her face, fighting against its master's desire to tame it, but tamed it she did.
She used that old, antique silver brush of Lucy's, a brush that went back over forty years before Cadmus ever cloned her; and when she sat on the edge of his bed, wearing the baggy shorts, the loose fitting shirt that fought for a place on her left shoulder, and without a support bra, he realized her pleasure came from the chase. With a simple move to the left or to the right, and he quickly realized it didn't matter which way she moved, she exposed her perky breast to him, and as the moments turned into minutes, his eyes peered at her lady parts a thousand times.
"The glow over Little Africa is radioactive," he said in a calm voice. "The first responders can't enter the area because of the radiation."
"Are they thinking mass casualties?" She said with a grimace.
"Don't know," he said. He walked over to the balcony, and then said, "Tomorrow, National City will be fundamentally changed."
Maggie sat back on the bed, and looked through her phone, and then said, "I haven't received a text concerning the glow."
"I'm going to call Snapper," he said. He grabbed the remote control off the nightstand, and Maggie looked up at him with sultry eyes, and the entire situation felt weird because if any other girl lay in his bed with the same look, they'd be swirled together fighting for the ultimate climax.
He turned on the wide-screen television, and a balding man appeared in front of him. "Snapper, who do we have on the radiation problem in Little Africa?" He asked. He tried to focus on the moment, and put on a serious look. He paced the floor, and then said, "Put Trudy, Nathan, Shannon, Mike and Gil on the scene. They're the best on scene reporters."
"I don't know, Olsen. How close to the action do you want them?" Snapper asked with a grimace.
"Only within a safe distance," he said. "The police will give them directions on where they can and can't be."
"Roger that," Snapper said. "I've listened to the police scanner, and all cell service has been cutoff to the area."
"By the radiation or by the city?" James asked.
Snapper smirked, and then let out a devious laugh. "Wake up, Olsen. Amanda! Cadmus! It stinks of all her bullshit."
"I fear you're right, old man. I fear you're right," he said.