Chapter 21
Winter was possibly Jenny's favorite time of year. Especially on a sunny day like this, when the fat snowflakes drifting through the air and piling into fluffy-looking snowbanks along the roads served to cushion the few sounds of traffic to the point where it seemed like the entire town had come to a standstill. The snow also muffled the sounds of feminine laughter emanating from inside Mezmer's, Jenny's favorite hangout.
Inside, Jenny was catching up with Misty over a bite to eat and a drink, and both young ladies were enjoying themselves immensely. Misty was one of the few girls Jenny felt she could really relate to, both as a fellow superhero and teenager. Now that she was back from an extended trip away from Tremorton, Misty was excited to hear all the juicy gossip from her friend Jenny, but she had never expected things would get this interesting in her absence.
"I sure wish I'd been around when Vexus attacked you. I'd have whupped her so hard she'd be begging to be disassembled." Misty said, angered that her friend had been so grievously hurt.
Jenny laid a hand on Misty's to calm her down, saying "that's sweet, but I'm doing ok. After Sheldon did a little cosmetic remodeling, you can hardly even tell I was stabbed."
Jenny's pregnant belly did indeed look next to perfect, the bulky metal "bandages" that her mother had riveted onto her now replaced by micro-sealer the same colour as her skin's typical paint-job. "And, so far, so good. The baby was originally due to be born in about 3 weeks from now, so it's looking like maybe the damage wasn't as bad as my mom thought. I might just make it to the full term without anything going wrong."
Sipping her cup of tea, Misty grumbled a little but didn't say anything. Jenny had always been the more optimistic of the two, more willing to look on the bright side of things. But before Misty could continue down that line of conversation, Jenny decided to switch the topic.
"So where have you been all this time? I haven't seen you since mid-summer." she asked, then took a drink from her can of oil as Misty answered.
"Well, originally I was just taking a trip around some of the nearby star-systems, check out any worlds that needed saving, maybe go visit my home planet for the fall fertility festivals... those are some wild parties, let me tell you... but then I received a distress signal when I entered Cluster territory."
Jenny gulped hard, nearly choking on her drink, but didn't say anything about the role she played in that conflict either. Misty raised an eyebrow suspiciously, but continued with her story. "So I investigated, and did what I could to help. First it was just on Cluster Prime, but then a couple of months back it spilled over onto the other Cluster planets, and it was just all so out of control... well, luckily my old teammates Squish and Orion showed up to lend a hand."
"Is everything alright now?" asked Jenny. Misty sighed wearily at the memory of all her hard work.
"Partly. The "old money" on the inner planets is funding Brutus' bid for power, and there's a growing cult on a few of the rim worlds that worship something called "Armagedroid". Fortunately, two of the larger factions have merged, and it's looking like public opinion is swaying in their favor." Misty explained.
Jenny tried to keep from blushing or looking guilty, attempting to deflect suspicion with "Really... I had no idea..." Misty went right on with her explanation, either not perceiving or not caring about Jenny's shift in body language.
"Yeah, the rest of the royal family's heirs joined together, Vega, the younger sister is working out an alliance with the older sister, Nexus. From the sounds of it, Vega is going to continue to rule as the Cluster's regent, while Nexus and her beau become a figurehead King and Queen, ensuring that the royal bloodline continues. Once they're officially married, everyone's expecting the Cluster citizens will rally behind them and the rest will be cake." Misty leaned forward, unable to contain her excitement. "And since I helped their peacekeeping effort, I get an invitation to the wedding! Can you imagine? A real-life princess of an interstellar empire is getting married to her true love... "
Jenny and Misty both sighed dreamily, getting starry-eyed.
"Just like a fairy-tale..." Jenny agreed, far off.
"So, that's what brought me to town, I get to take a "+1" and I figured we needed to spend some quality girl-time together. But..." Misty trailed off, and Jenny knew what she was indicating.
"...I've got a bun in my oven." Jenny finished for her. The ding! Of an egg-timer sounded from inside Jenny's head, and her chest split open to extrude a freshly-baked cinnamon roll, which Misty accepted with a giggle. Her chest returning to it's usual shape, Jenny added, "Plus, I'm pregnant."
"I'm really sorry I can't go with, but with the condition I'm in I need to stay in Tremorton in case I go into labor." Jenny apologized, frowning.
Misty shrugged it off, "Well, maybe I'll see what Brad's up to then. He'd look good in a tux... mmm..." she thought out loud, getting a sly look.
Shaking her head, Jenny corrected her friend. "I'm not positive, but I think Brad's, errm, spoken for. He's been seen around town with Tiffany Crust a lot lately. From the looks of things I'd say they're pretty serious."
Seeing Jenny unhappy, Misty offered a little advice. "Brad's a good guy... I'm sure he wants to make up just as much as you do, he's just letting his pride get the better of him. It's how men are. They're kinda dumb that way. If you take the first step to apologize, I'm sure he'll want to forgive and forget too."
A hopeful look crossed Jenny's features, and she asked "You really think so? Brad and I have been avoiding each other for so long... I'd feel really stupid if I went to apologize and he didn't want to be friends anymore. What if he hasn't forgiven me for... you know..." Jenny blushed, ashamed of her prior actions.
Misty just waved the thought aside, stating firmly "If he's with another girl now then I'd bet he probably isn't still sensitive about it. I find that if you've broken up with a guy, what he's really angry about is that his ex-girlfriend managed to hook up with a new guy before he could hook up with a new girl. Now that you're both in new relationships, he won't feel inferior. Like I said, it's all a pride thing."
Jenny felt Misty might be oversimplifying things a bit, but then again she did know a lot more about dating than Jenny did. Making a mental note of it, Jenny decided that she would go talk to Brad and get things patched up, just as soon as she finished her visit with Misty.
Her spirits perked up by her friend's pep talk, Jenny finished her drink and crunched the tin can flat with one hand, noticing that Misty had finished her meal as well.
"Wanna swing by my place and listen to some music? I've got a great collection of techno..." Jenny suggested, but Misty declined.
"I really am just in town today, the wedding is coming soon and it's not a short trip back. I think I'm just gonna take a quick spin around Tremorton to pick up a few things before I go."
Misty embraced her friend, careful not to put pressure on Jenny's sensitive abdomen. "It was good to see you again. I'll bring back a ton of pictures and tell you all about it, k Jen?"
"You'd better." answered Jenny, exiting the malt-shop and waving goodbye to Misty as the ninja girl took to the air. Jenny turned to head the Brad's house, the pleasant snowy day almost making her glad she'd been forced to walk, her flight systems shut down for the remainder of her pregnancy.
So lost was she in her own thoughts that she failed to see a second figure take off after Misty, darting from the shadows to tail the teen superhero from a safe distance.
After picking up a suitable dress for the wedding, and a gift for the bride and groom (though Misty had to wonder what she could get them that they didn't already have, being royalty. But it was the thought that counts.) Misty was about ready to leave Earth and get started on her journey. A shame about Brad though, Misty had figured he'd eventually hook up with someone nice, but it still left her dateless for the event. Misty supposed she'd ask Orion to be her chaperon, though she hoped he didn't take it to mean she was interested in him. Orion was attractive in his own way, but Misty would never-
From below, in the streets of Tremorton, Misty heard a cry for help. Something about the voice sounded familiar to her, though she couldn't quite place it. "Looks like it's time to do the superhero thing..." Misty said reluctantly.
Streaking down from the sky leaving a faint pinkish contrail behind her, Misty investigated the source of the scream. "Hello? I've come to help... where are you?" Misty called out, the increasingly heavy snowfall obscuring her vision.
"Over here..." came a weak voice, leading Misty in the right direction.
There, Misty spotted her, a girl was trapped under a snowbank, with everything below her waist submerged. It didn't look heavy enough to actually pin the girl, but... wait a sec, Misty knew her! That was Brit Crust, one of the high-schoolers that had tormented Jenny and herself during Misty'd brief enrollment at Tremorton high.
"Ninja-girl, it's you!" called Brit, her voice shaking from the cold. Though she still held a faint grudge, Misty bit it back and reached down to take Brit by the arm, effortlessly lifting the girl out from under the snow drift. Something wasn't adding up here.
"Brit, what were you doing in the snow... wh... are you wearing a bikini?!"
Brit just grinned evilly, and grabbed Misty by the wrist. Misty tried to shake her off, but Brit's grip was strong... entirely too strong for any normal teenage girl.
Her martial arts training kicking in Misty performed a lightning-fast side kick, hitting Brit in a nerve cluster in her elbow, releasing Misty's arm. Now with both arms free and Brit still clearly hostile, Misty unleashed a flurry of blows against Brit's upper body. Nothing strong enough to kill, but each strike normally enough to incapacitate a typical human. Brit reeled, snarling in pain or frustration, while Misty assumed a fighting stance and took stock of the situation.
"What's happened to you Brit? Is this some kinda weird prank again? I thought we stopped all that when I got expelled."
Brit issued a short, mocking laugh. The punch Misty had delivered to her solar plexus should have been enough to make Brit choke on her own vomit... this wasn't making any sense.
As she watched her opponent, Misty noticed that the snowflakes falling onto Brit's shoulders and back were instantly melting. And evaporating, creating a faint waft of steam around Brit like a halo of smoke.
Then, faster then she ever thought possible, Brit was upon her again. With Brit's hand around her throat, Misty was lifted into the air, struggling for breath.
Only, Brit wasn't Brit Crust anymore. In front of Misty's astonished eyes, Brit changed: her body warped, metal segments emerging from her body, locking into place with each other, forming a protective carapace. The hand at Misty's neck changed too, sprouting claws that pressed increasingly harder into her flesh, drawing blood. Misty's eyes bulged in horror as she beheld the thing that Brit Crust had become.
No no no, her mind pleaded, don't get distracted. Your jugular vein is almost severed. Shift to mist form. Gather intelligence. Figure out a plan.
With a moment of effort Misty's body dissolved in Brit's grasp, dispersing into her pinkish mist form. The threat of strangulation averted, Misty went on the offensive, enveloping Brit in her mist body in order to peer into Brit's mind, and seek a clue as to what was going on.
Her mind, suffice it to say, was like nothing Misty had encountered before. The twisting logic, the broken memories, the sharp emotions that existed for no discernible reason. And then there was something else, lurking in the background, something dark that struck out like an assassin.
"Ahhn!" Misty cried in pain, her mind stunned from the brief contact like an electrical shock to the brain.
Opening her eyes with a groan, Misty wondered if she had actually blacked out for a second or two. As she fully regained her senses Misty spun around to examine her surroundings, finding the world looked warped, as though she were looking through curved glass.
Wait a second... she was looking through glass!
A monstrous hand reached down for her, lifting her glass prison into the air. Misty saw Brit's smirking face, laughing at her. "There we are, neatly vacuum-sealed into a simple mason jar. I hope you'll be comfortable. All my old pets liked this jar well enough. Except that I always seemed to forget to poke air holes in the lid... oh well. Sorry for the wait, but I haven't yet figured out a way to kill a cloud yet, so I'll just have to keep you incapacitated until I finish my business with Jenny. I don't want to have any interruptions from you, or any of her other friends."
Misty's gaseous body swirled angrily inside the jar, but was unable to even form words without air to breathe.
Brit held the jar up to the light, looking at it with curiosity. "Hmm, I wonder if your gas form needs to eat? Well, I guess we'll find out, won't we?"
Laughing, Brit tossed the jar into a nearby snowbank. Misty was utterly trapped, compressed far to tightly inside the glass jar to reform anything solid, all she could do was watch as the villainess sauntered off, then sprouted wings and took to the air.
The softly falling snowflakes dropped, one by one, on top of Misty's glass prison. As her panic mounted higher and higher, so did the growing pile of snow. Finally the last beam of light was cut off as the jar was completely buried, and with it went any hope Misty had of being found before spring.
In the sky, Brit smiled and said to herself "One down..."
Taking a brief pause to steady her processors, Jenny hesitated in front of Brad's house, too nervous to press the doorbell. Before she could muster up the courage to depress the buzzer, an exuberant "Hi Jenny!" from behind made her start so suddenly she almost fell over.
"Tuck!" she called back, turning around and seeing the small neighbor boy running up to her in his winter snowsuit, something small and pinkish clutched under one arm.
"You coming over to see Brad?" Tuck asked, to which Jenny nodded, not volunteering any additional information.
"He's not in right now." Tuck explained, "He's going out tonight, on a date." he said the last word with distaste, sticking out his tongue at the idea that any boy would want to spend time with the opposite sex.
Despite her hesitancy moments earlier Jenny was still intent on speaking with Brad as soon as possible, and given that the sun hadn't even set yet, held out hope that she might have a chance to talk to him before he and Tiff went out.
"Thanks Tuck, I'll just drop by the Crusts' house to see if he's still there." she said, turning to leave.
Before she could take two steps, Tuck seemed to remember what he was holding under his arm and called out. "Waitasec Jenny, don't you wanna see what I found?"
Figuring it would only take a few seconds, Jenny shrugged and turned back to look at the jar that Tuck was holding in both hands.
"I found it in the snow when I was having a snowball fight near school today. Look inside, I think it's a genie! I just need to figure out how to get the cork to open..." Tuck rambled excitedly. Jenny peered into the glass of what seemed to be an ordinary mason jar, and took note of the swirling, faintly incandescent pink smoke contained within.
"Well I don't think it's a Genie..." Jenny said with a sardonic smile, "But it is weird looking. You should probably let my mom take a look at it before you open it. Just drop by my house tomorrow morning before school, ok?"
"Awwww..." Tuck groaned impatiently, but Jenny's stern look made him reluctantly agree to her terms. After all, Jenny had plenty of experience with cosmic weirdness and knowing Tremorton, the contents of the jar were just as likely to be some deadly space germ as they were to be a magical wish-granting spirit.
"Oh alright Jenny, I promise I won't open it until tomorrow..." Tuck sighed, trusting in Jenny's wisdom on the matter. She was pleased he hadn't put up any fight about it either, because Jenny didn't want to waste any time in locating Brad. Wishing Tuck a quick goodbye, Jenny took off towards Tiff Crust's house, hoping to catch them before they headed out on their date.
Tuck, on the other hand, turned and stepped into his house, closing the front door behind him. His mysterious jar cradled carefully in his arms, Tuck made a beeline for his bedroom. He had promised Jenny not to open the jar yet, but that didn't stop him from fantasizing about all the cool things he could wish for once he did open it.
Oblivious to the rest of the household, Tuck closed his bedroom door and sat on his bed, staring into the hypnotic smoky contents of his prize. Just think... he could wish for a million dollars, or a race car, or superpowers, or, or, or he could wish to be taller then Brad! Tuck giggled to himself at the idea of it, the expression on Brad's face when suddenly he was the "little brother".
His laughter stopped abruptly when he caught a brief glimpse of... were those eyes, forming in the pink mist inside the bottle? Eyes and... a face? Peering closer and closer, Tuck's imagined that he could almost hear a voice whispering to him. A throaty, feminine voice, pleading for him to release her.
A sudden crash from out in the hall made Tuck jump, and in an instant the vision in the bottle vanished. Slipping his treasure under his pillow for safekeeping, Tuck got up and stepped out of his bedroom to investigate the noise. At first, nothing seemed out of place, save for the complete lack of noise in the house; Tuck couldn't hear his mother cooking supper, or his father watching television or moving about the house or anything. Just silence.
Tuck was halfway down the staircase when he first caught a partial view of the kitchen. And the large pool of blood smeared across the floor.
With an involuntary gasp of shock, Tuck stumbled backwards and fell on his rear on the stairs, the wood creaking at his impact. Someone was in the house, some burglar or monster or terrorist or something, Tuck's fear-panicked mind realized.
Freezing up, Tuck held his breath in an attempt to remain completely silent and motionless, hoping that he hadn't been heard. As he sat, unable to run, he saw the cause of the bloodstained kitchen come sauntering into view.
The fear-filled boy vaguely recognized her as Brittany Crust, Jenny's nemesis in the social arena at Tremorton high. But she looked nothing like Tuck remembered her as. Her entire body was merged with sophisticated looking technology, armor and robotics. What remained of her human body was scantily clad, a dark black two-piece bikini showing off her trim midriff and shapely thighs. As Tuck watched, his limbs refusing to respond to his commands to run, Brit raised her metallic hands to her lips and eagerly popped her index finger into her mouth.
With loving care, the twisted Crust cousin diligently cleaned the still-warm blood from her fingers, licking and sucking each elongated claw to a shining polish.
When the last digit was cleaned Brit's eyes shifted suddenly and focused directly on Tuck, letting him know that she'd been aware of his presence but had purposely taken her time, perhaps only to heighten the boy's fear. Brit grinned, revealing her formerly crooked British teeth corrected and enhanced by silvery metal fangs.
"Boo!" she snapped, jolting Tuck free of his stupor. Screaming, he bolted up the stairs towards his room.
Just as Tuck grabbed hold of the doorknob, Brit's claw slapped down against the door, easily overcoming the boy's strength and preventing the door from being opened. Trapped, Tuck turned to face his tormentor, his teeth chattering audibly. Smirking like a cat toying with its food, Brit leaned down to bring her face to Tuck's eye level.
"W... wh... what do you want from me?" Tuck asked, his voice shaking.
"Hrmmm... nothing much..." Brit purred, taking time to slowly roll each individual word off her tongue, gently tracing the tip of one razor-edged finger under her prey's chin as she spoke. "I just need some information. Your parents... they weren't very helpful."
Brit's gaze held a subtle menace, reinforced by the pain she was carefully inflicting on the boy's sensitive flesh. "I'm looking for your older brother. Do you know where he is... Tucker?"
A squeak came from Tuck's throat, before he gulped to regain his voice. "Brad's gone over to his girlfriend's house... they're having some kinda anniversary or something... I think..." he answered timidly, unsure.
Flashing him a hungry, toothy smile, Brit pressed herself closer to Tuck, cutting off any possible avenue of retreat and putting herself intimately into his personal space. Her voice dropped to a threatening growl, Brit intoned "You wouldn't lie to me, would you Tuck?"
His only response was a frightened whimper, Brit's claws clutching his body and ready to stab into delicate parts of his anatomy at a moment's notice.
"Because I'm on a tight schedule tonight, but I still have time to punish you if you're dishonest with me. And you do look like a tasty little snack..." Brit's grin appeared again, accompanied by a quick appearance of her vibrantly pink tongue, snaking out to caress one of her extended upper canines like a lioness preparing for the kill.
The talons at Tuck's collar twitched in readiness, but it was the hand at his belt buckle that worried him more.
Eyes welling up with moisture, Tuck managed a forced "...please..." before his voice collapsed again. Brit's smile widened, taking on an insane twist to it.
Crossing her legs and nervously fiddling with her hair-foils, Jenny anxiously waited in front of the main entrance of the Crust manor. She'd already rung the doorbell, so it was too late to back out now. Well, maybe she could run for the bushes, if she sprinted now, she might be able to-
"Hello...? Oh, it's you." said Tiff Crust with a note of hostility in her voice as she answered the door, seeing Jenny there. Tiff had never really liked Jenny, ever since Jenny's first day attending Tremorton high school, and the long string of pranks and maliciousness that the girls had shown each other had only deepened the sentiment. The feeling was mutual, as well. Jenny had worried she might have to get past this obstacle, but she wouldn't be able to rest until things were set right with Brad, so she'd go through Tiff if she had to.
"Hey Tiff. Is Brad over tonight?" Jenny asked politely, forcing a friendly smile.
Tiff was unimpressed, frowning at Jenny. "Yeah, he is. We're watching a movie in mah room... it's kinda private. So, if ya don't mind..." Tiff moved to shut the door, until Jenny sprang forward and held it open with one hand, buying her a second chance to plead her case.
"I don't mean to intrude, Tiff, but I really need to talk to Brad. It'll only take a minute, really!"
Tiff bared her teeth, becoming angry. "Yah can wait until tomorrow then!" Tiff barked, straining harder to shove the door shut but failing against Jenny's servo-powered strength. Seeing how strongly Tiff wanted her to leave, Jenny suspected she had an idea why Tiff didn't want her around. Brad and herself had been a fairly hot item before the break up, and Tiff probably felt threatened by Jenny making a reappearance in Brad's life.
But that wasn't the case at all; Jenny was happy with Sheldon, and though it was kind of a bitter pill to swallow, she was happy Brad had found Tiff as well. "Please Tiff... you know Brad and I haven't been talking since we broke up. I just want to be friends with him again. That's all."
"Well..." Tiff sighed, slightly swayed by the sincerity in Jenny's voice. She did know that Brad and Jenny had been experiencing a cold spot in their friendship since their breakup. A breakup that she had helped happen.
That little fact had been gnawing at Tiff's conscience every time one of Brad's anecdotes featured Jenny in a prominent role, and his tone would get a distant, wistful quality to it. He didn't talk about it much, perhaps because of the role Tiff had played in the breakup, but Tiff knew that Brad missed Jenny's friendship too. And if it was important for Brad's happiness, well... Tiff supposed she could let the robot win this one.
Grudgingly, she released her grip on the door and allowed Jenny into her house.
"Ok, but keep it short. I'll go get him for you." Tiff said, turning to climb the stairs to the second floor. Pausing a few steps up, Tiff turned back to Jenny and added "By the way... the photos that Brit showed you, of her with Brad?"
Jenny frowned at the memory, but nodded.
"Well... ya shouldn't be mad at Brad fr' that. He was sorta forced into it, kinda. I was there, and it was just part'a Brit's plan."
Jenny smiled, immensely relieved. She had still been grappling with how to resolve that conflict with Brad, and this info would make things much easier. She was about to thank Tiff when Tiff interrupted her; "Save it. This don't make us friends or nuthin'." before turning and ascending the stairs, calling out for her boyfriend.
A short minute later, Brad emerged onto the front step where Jenny was waiting for him, and Tiff returned to her bedroom upstairs.
"Hey Jen." Brad opened, unsure exactly how to proceed. It was clear that they both had the same thing on their minds, but neither knew what to say first. "...How's the baby?"
Jenny smiled and patted her swollen belly, responding "Kicking like a jackhammer. And keeping me up half the night doing it, too."
Brad smiled back, Jenny's familiar sense of humor putting him right at ease, as it always did. He took a seat beside her, and with a small nod of permission from Jenny, placed his hand on her belly to feel for a kick from the baby.
"I've missed you." Jenny said, her voice tender and heartfelt. She placed a hand over his, her strong, cold skin contrasting his soft, warm flesh. Brad looked Jenny in the eye, and with a sigh he agreed. He had to fight the urge to lean in to kiss her, an urge born largely out of habit, and Brad could see in her eyes that Jenny was straining against the same compulsion. It was so easy to fall right back into their old patterns of behavior, except-
Except that there was undeniable proof of Jenny's indiscretion right under his palm.
Following his eyes downward, Jenny offered "It didn't have anything to do with you." by way of explanation.
It was the truth. When she had slept with Sheldon, it was a moment of passion, of desire both carnal and emotional, and she believed... true love. But none of it was to hurt Brad, that was the last thing she wanted. One night of succumbing to temptation had rapidly snowballed into lie upon lie, until the entire situation blew up in Jenny's face.
Brad didn't seem satisfied however.
"Well... why didn't it? Didn't you think of me at all when you were with him?" Brad demanded, raising his voice. In a quieter tone, he added "...You broke my heart Jenny..."
The guilt tore at her but Jenny held herself together, needing to make things right between them again.
"I did think about you. I did. I decided that you and I would have been broken up soon enough anyway, so it wouldn't really hurt anything if I got together with Sheldon. I know it was impatient and immature and stupid, but... am I wrong? Did you really think our relationship was going all that great?"
Brad started, then replied "Well I did. It was textbook dating. I was the slightly more experienced older guy, you were the cute, slightly naive girl next door. What more could I ask for?"
"How about death-defying adventure and thrilling superheroics?" Jenny responded, digging deeper into Brad's motivation. Brad had nothing to counter that with... he did love action, and had never made any secret about it. Jenny nudged him, "Come on... don't tell me that wasn't at least part of the appeal for you. Dating a teenage robot has certain perks, and for you that was definitely one of them."
"Yeah." Brad admitted, heaving a heavy sigh. Even before he and Jenny had become an item, he would sometimes find himself hanging out with her in hopes that he'd become part of the excitement that was her life. But he'd always felt like a sidekick, like he was just tagging along for the ride... dating Jenny meant he was a permanent fixture in her life, that they were truly equals who could participate equally in the adventure.
And it had worked, for a little while. But when he was busy saving the day, Jenny had turned to a boy that loved Jenny... really loved her... for who she was inside. Brad had to agree... as much as he enjoyed dating Jenny, Sheldon was a better match for her.
"That still doesn't make it right, though." he commented, folding his arms over his chest in a stubborn posture.
Jenny frowned, once again feeling ashamed of her actions. "I know what I did was wrong..." she admitted, choosing her words carefully, "and I'm deeply sorry. For the pain I caused you. And the strain it put on our friendship. And the humiliation Brit Crust added didn't help either. But most of all... I'm sorry because I can't stand the thought of you not being my friend any more."
"Mom raises me as best as she can, but you're the one who I learn about real life from."
Jenny blushed, and Brad held his breath, straining to hear her as she lowered her voice.
"You're my role model Brad. My Hero."
Feeling the walls around his heart collapsing, Brad leaned Jenny into his arms, cradling her affectionately. Hearing Jenny's words, Brad found he simply couldn't feel angry towards Jenny any more... they were too close for that.
"I forgive you." he said bluntly, and noticed Jenny smile out of the corner of his eye, and felt her return his hug.
"Just one thing though..." he asked Jenny playfully, "That was the only reason you got with Sheldon, right? I wasn't a bad boyfriend or anything?"
Smiling widely, Jenny squeezed Brad in another hug. "You were a great boyfriend." she answered, and Brad returned the hug as well. "But, " she added, "You're a better best-friend." and emphasized her feelings with a warm kiss on Brad's cheek.
Jenny giggled involuntarily, simply from the happy mood coursing through her. Brad had forgiven her, and all was well.
"And for the record, you're great in bed too." she said with a wink.
Brad gave her a sly grin, "They say you never forget your first time."
"They're right. I've got a few dozen revealing jpeg's of you in my memory that I'll be saving for future reference." Jenny shot back.
"Thanks for coming by Jenny, I'm glad everything is cool between us again. I gotta get back though, tonight is date night with Tiff and I don't wanna keep her waiting too long."
Jenny and Brad said their farewells, and Brad headed back inside. Jenny breathed a long sigh of relief before heading home. Tonight had definitely been a positive one. Throughout the day she had felt like some foreboding shadow had been following her around, just on her heels. But now the weight was lifted, and Jenny felt as though nothing could defeat the good mood she was in.
Meanwhile, Tiff waited for Brad in her bedroom, watching the last scenes of their movie of the night with limited interest. Her mind was otherwise occupied, thanks to the surprise visit from Jenny. It was annoying to have her personal time with Brad interrupted, especially by her oft-foe Jenny, but she was grateful to have a few minutes alone with her thoughts.
She reasoned that she should be worried about Jenny's reappearance in Brad's life... but she wasn't.
Which was weird. Tiff was no stranger to boyfriends that came with baggage or unresolved relationships, and typically her confrontational nature would latch onto something like this and end the relationship, fast. But something about this time was different, something about Brad. Tiff's eyes narrowed in concentration, resting her chin against her hand as she thought over the possibilities.
Over the past month, Tiff had gotten to know Brad inside and out. It would've been difficult not to; with Brit missing Tiff had little control over the usual social circles at school, and Brad being on the outs with Jenny cut him off from two of his best friends. With no one their own age to socialize with but each other, Brad had taken every opportunity to spend time with Tiff.
And really, Tiff wouldn't have had it any other way. Spending time with Brad was fun in ways completely lacking in Tiff's previous fast-paced, seedy lifestyle. Things with him were wholesome. They traded stories from their past, went out on dates, shared secrets and hopes for the future. She had even told him about her childhood desire to someday be a police officer, something she hadn't even told her cousin (particularly because, in some of the circles of people Brit brought them in contact with, the police were decidedly uncool).
Returning to the bedroom, Brad smiled at Tiff and settled onto the bed beside her. Tiff casually welcomed Brad back, failing to ask about his talk with Jenny moments before. She didn't want to seem nosy, and figured what had just occurred was probably a fairly personal matter.
He had always given her the same courtesy, after all. He was such a gentleman. He was polite, gave Tiff her space when she asked for it, and even defended her against Vexus during the party at Prima's. Tiff leaned against her boyfriend and wrapped her arm over his chest. Ever since that night, Tiff found Brad's presence made her feel safer.
Thoughts of the party inevitably brought Tiff's mind back to Brit. Despite all that had happened, Tiff still felt close to her cousin, who had been her best friend for so much of her life.
After the party, Tiff had been told about the terrible things Brit had done. The situation was definitely dire. But Tiff still held out hope that Brit might recover. After Brit's remaining sanity snapped during Prima's party, Brad had helped Tiff search for her missing cousin. More importantly, he did so without alerting the authorities or spilling the beans to Brit's parents. Since it had been her humiliation at the hands of Jenny that had sparked this whole thing, Tiff felt it was best for Brit's mind if the whole incident had as little publicity as possible. Thankfully, Skyway Patrol were mired in their usual bureaucracy, and Brit was normally at home so rarely that a few small lies were all it had taken to keep Brit's parents in the dark.
And the whole time, Brad had been the one Tiff could confide her fears in. Tiff realized that she trusted him. She knew nothing had happened between him and Jenny just now because she couldn't believe that Brad would do anything that would hurt her like that.
That was not something she had ever been able to say before, even of her best friend Brit. An idea crept into Tiff's mind... something she had been turning over in her thoughts for a while now, but hadn't seriously considered really. But why not? It's not like Brad was like her previous boyfriends in any other regard either.
If she and Brad eventually did break up, she concluded that she'd have more regrets if she didn't go for it then if she did. Smiling to herself, Tiff nuzzled her face against Brad's shoulder affectionately.
"Well hello..." Brad said playfully, feigning surprise at Tiff's amorous advances. Not too surprised though.
As was often the case, Tiff's aunt and uncle were out of town on business, leaving Brit and Tiff to their own devices... only, Brit had been missing since the start of November, so the house was really just Tiff and Brad's private love nest for the time being.
Playing through their standard progression of teases and flirting touches, Brad's arms encircled Tiff and she responded by resting her hands on his chest, while peppering his neck and collar with light kisses. Allowing her tongue to snake up over his jaw and into his ear, Tiff heard Brad practically purr with pleasure. She was good at this, tiny licks and nibbles expertly arousing her boyfriend to a fever pitch.
Still, as experienced as she was, she would be the one venturing into unexplored territory tonight. The thought scared her a little, but made her excited too, and before she knew it her hands were fiddling with Brad's belt buckle, eager to get to the next stage in their lovemaking. Brad seemed a little surprised at how forward she was being, his breathing heavy from her skilled ministrations.
"I take it you're up for round two already?" he asked with his usual attempt at slyness, which Tiff answered with her usual husky laugh.
"Not jus' yet..." she said with a hungry grin, " ...but soon."
Tiff batted her lashes at Brad and pulled him bodily on top of her as she reclined on her bed. The next few minutes were a blur of kisses and gropes, love bites and rapidly discarded clothing. Brad was rearing to go, Tiff could tell by the way he was already weakly thrusting against her hip, but she had to make him wait a little bit longer.
Tonight would be special... and she didn't want it to zoom past like so many of her other firsts.
"Darlin'," Tiff breathed, her heart thumping loudly in her chest and her urges threatening to overwhelm her, "I wanna do sumthin' different tonight." Brad just listened, smiling down at her with his bright, honest face. Tiff was so deeply in love with that baby-face of his. "I want'cha ta pop mah cherry."
Brad's expression instantly turned to one of concern. He fully realized the implications of what Tiff wanted, how much effort she had invested in saving herself. She stroked a hand against his cheek to reassure him. "I'm sure." she answered his unspoken question, "Trust me."
All doubt faded from Brad's face, replaced with redoubled enthusiasm. Before he could get any further however, Tiff quickly added "But first, you're gonna haveta test th' water wit somethin' a bit smaller."
Brad pretended to be shocked, "My lady, I wouldn't dream of anything else!" he protested with a flourish, knowing what Tiff was hinting at. A timid kiss on the back of Tiff's palm lead to another a few inches up her wrist, and another on her inner elbow, and soon enough Brad was leading a trail of kisses all over Tiff's nude body. Up past her shoulders lead to a brief detour around her neck, then flowed down over her breasts with plentiful licks topping each stiffening nipple.
Kisses were purposely left on Tiff's ticklish sides and belly, then across her wide hips to the lightly furred treasure nestled at her center. Tiff giggled at the teasing pecks, and moaned softly at the first serious touch of Brad's tongue against her inflamed sex. Her legs spread wider involuntarily, inviting him closer, but Brad knew to take his time. Practice had taught him just how Tiff liked to be eaten out, and the best orgasms had to be worked for.
Each hot fold of flesh received its share of attention in turn, Tiffs inner labia spreading of their own accord the more aroused she became. By now her pussy was literally dripping a combination of Brad's saliva and her own nectar down her thighs and ass, and her clit, which Brad had thus far deftly avoided any major contact with, was fully erect and begging for attention. Tiff felt Brad's tongue probe one last time into her virgin love tunnel (a last goodbye to her hymen, Tiff wondered?) before moving in for the kill.
The first brush of Brad's tongue against Tiff's clitty hit her like a thunderbolt up her spine, but it didn't stop there. Back and forth, the flat of Brad's tongue massaged over her engorged pearl, rapidly bringing Tiff to the brink of release. She ground her hips up against Brad's mouth, smearing her frothing pussy juices against his lips and chin, but he would always pull away just before her climax came and left her teetering on the edge of release.
Tiff was about to scream out her need to cum, when she looked down at Brad's naked body and spotted his large erect cock. Brad's free hand was slowly stroking himself, precum dribbling from the tip, and Tiff thought it was just about the sexiest sight she'd ever seen.
It also reminded her why she had asked Brad to eat her out to begin with. "Stop... enough of that..." she heaved, short of breath. Brad lifted his face, dripping with her excretions, from Tiff's groin and brought himself up level with her. She kissed him, unafraid of tasting herself on his tongue as it slipped past her lips.
Opening her mouth wider, Tiff pulled Brad's tongue deeper in with her own, even as she pulled his body closer with her and held him tightly with her legs wrapped firmly around his waist. Not to be outdone, Brad was busy at work; his hands fondling and cupping Tiff's plump breasts and his hips grinding his rock-hard erection against the hot flesh of Tiff's spread cunt. The two teens had used this position a few times in the past during earlier sex play, seeking out intimacy without Tiff giving up her vaginal virginity. It worked fairly well; Tiff could stroke her clit up and down the length of Brad's shaft to her heart's content, squeezing his length between her smooth outer pussy lips until his passion spurted forth over her belly and pubic hair.
Tonight, Brad was using the same technique to keep her gasping for breath and conveniently allowing her one last opportunity to change her mind. But Tiff was already certain.
"C'mon Brad... I need ya bad baby..." she cooed, turning her head to the side to allow her lover to suckle at her neck, probably leaving a hickey as she spoke. Between her legs, Tiff felt the tip of Brad's sizable member dip down, finding the puckered, quivering entrance to her soaked womanhood. It gently nudged into her, her lips spreading around the invading cock until it halted at the filmy barrier of her maidenhead. Tiff tensed up, knowing this part would hurt, but nevertheless still gripped Brad tight and murmured "Do it."
The sudden deep plunge of Brad's cock into her body didn't hurt Tiff so much as it simply shocked her. As Brad began a slow, steady rhythm Tiff noticed that she felt very little pain from the tearing of her cherry, instead it mostly just felt slightly cold inside her. And even that was fading quickly, as Brad's cockflesh was warmed by the hot interior of Tiff's vagina and her inner muscles stretched to accommodate their first fucking. Tiff Crust looked up at Brad's face and saw his expression of intense pleasure and exertion.
In a strained voice he groaned "Oh my God Tiff, you're so tight! I can't even get it all the way in yet!"
Vaguely, Tiff felt proud that her body was bringing Brad such lust, but she didn't have much time to contemplate that fact in face of the mounting waves of pleasure she was experiencing emanating from the depths of her body. She had already been on the verge of an orgasm when Brad had stopped eating her out, and she knew it wouldn't take much to bring her right back there again. Every stroke of her lover's rigid tool set off brief sparks of ecstasy inside her, but the lingering pain of her deflowering still held her back from her release.
"F-fuck me Brad! Fuck me hard!" she cried, "I'm almost there! ...jus' don't stop! ...Uhhnngg... uh! uh! uh!"
"Tiff, I'm gonna cum too...!" Brad huffed between breaths, a warning. Tiff didn't care though. She had made her choice, and if Brad was good enough to pop her cherry, then he was good enough for whatever else might happen too.
"Don't stop! please don't!" Tiff begged, her legs flexing with all her strength to pull Brad deep inside her and keep him there. Buried in Tiff up to the root of his cock, Brad held onto his girlfriend's haunches and readied himself for his oncoming orgasm, already feeling his sperm bubbling up from his balls and about to shoot. Tiff felt his muscles tensing and heard his breathing come in quick little gasps, the same as her own, and knew it was too late to pull out even if she'd wanted to.
The first blast of heat into her loins made Tiff shiver with delight, and she ground her cunt up against Brad's throbbing manhood in an effort to collect every drop of his jism. This also added the sensation of grinding her clit against her lover as well as feeling the tickle of Brad's heavy balls come into contact with Tiff's sensitive anal entrance. With her pussy and asshole humming with pleasure, the next spurt of Brad's seed was all that was needed to send Tiff into a screaming orgasm. Every part of her lower anatomy seemed to convulse, squeezing and milking at the thick rod that was giving her such fits of pleasure. Brad's grunts, in time with the gushes of cum issuing from his dick, punctuated Tiff's long, continuous moan. Tiff's head swam, she felt out of breath and dizzy, and suddenly the room went dark.
"Tiff? Baby, are you ok?" asked Brad, concerned.
Shaking her head to orient herself, Tiff realized that she had blacked out from overexertion. "Hmm? Mmm... I'm fine." she assured him in a weak voice, and reached up for him to pull her boyfriend against her in a hot embrace. Tiff cooed to her lover, basking in the pleasant warm afterglow. Brad, for his part, buried his face against Tiff's neck and seemed content to cuddle her as well.
Funny, Tiff never had been much for cuddling before... but then again, Brad was the first boy she'd been with who really fit the role. Time seemed to stretch from a few passing moments into an eden-like eternity...
Until the solitary sound of a slow clapping intruded on her fantasy-like evening.
Looking over Brad's shoulder, beyond her bed and standing by the open bedroom door was Brit, casually applauding. Tiff shrieked, unable to do much more then squirm under Brad's weight.
"What, what is it?" Brad asked in confusion, raising his voice over the sound of Tiff's scream. Alarmed, Brad moved to get up off the bed for fear that he had somehow hurt Tiff, when suddenly he felt a cold metal claw grip him firmly by the back of the neck.
"Oh, don't get up on my account." taunted Brit, hoisting the naked and thrashing Brad bodily into the air over the bed.
Tiff gaped, wondering how such a thing was possible, until she noticed the bizarre implants adorning Brit's body like some kind of armor.
"Brit...?!" gasped Tiff, horrified at the cybernetic monster that her dear cousin had become.
Brit looked over Brad's naked body appraisingly, seemingly unconcerned by his struggles. "So, this is what you betrayed me for?" Brit chided her cousin, "I don't see what the fuss is about. He seems rather unimpressive to me. But then, perhaps I shouldn't judge before I've had a sample, eh?"
In response, Brad launched a swift kick backwards into Brit's stomach, making the psychotic girl lurch and grunt in pain. However, the attack failed to make Brit release her grip, and quickly enough she recovered from the kick and growled her annoyance.
Making sure to use a closed fist to avoid killing him outright, Brit used her free hand to punch Brad across the jaw, knocking him senseless. A second punch followed to Brad's midsection, and another slammed against his belly, each raising nasty looking welts on his skin. Brit's eyes took on a wild look as she pummeled the defenseless boy, slapping and backhanding him across the face again and again, until suddenly Tiff saw the rage drain from Brit's features. As quickly as it had come upon her, Brit's feral viciousness had been replaced with contemptuous humor, and she giggled with amusement as though the thrashing she'd just given Brad was only some minor joke.
Brit casually threw the boy down on the bed next to Tiff, where he landed on his back. Tiff rushed to Brad's aid, but didn't know a thing about first aid, so could only offer the comfort of her presence.
A split second later Brit pounced upon him, straddling his hips and leaning one hand against his chest. Normally Brad would have had no problem pushing Brit aside... she was a slender girl, and Brad was decently athletic... but as hard as he tried, he couldn't even budge Brit's hand pinning him to the mattress. Brit flat out ignored the boy under her, conversing with Tiff as if Brad was an inanimate object.
"So, Tiff, what do you think of my new accessories?" Brit asked in a conversational tone, giving her wings a quick flick to direct Tiff's attention to her new tech. Tiff could only stare in open-mouthed shock, her eyes following Brit's wings to the armored chassis on her back, and to the wires and tubes that extended from it.
Extended into Brit's flesh.
How could her cousin do this to her body? What has she done to her body? Even worse, whatever had happened to Brit's body, there was no doubt left about her mind. At Tiff's lack of response, Brit beamed happily and announced "She's speechless! I knew she'd love it."
"Leave us alone, you psycho!" shouted Brad angrily, still struggling to remove Brit from his lap. Brit's attention instantly swung around to focus on the pinned teen boy under her, directing a harsh glare at him.
"You I have unfinished business with." she declared in a shockingly harsh voice, traces of a mechanical buzz creeping into the back of her throat, "Or have you forgotten that bomb you detonated on my back?"
Brad felt the air stolen from his lungs by Brit's hand pushing down against his ribcage, compressing his lungs until he could barely draw breath.
"No...!" Tiff cried a seeing Brad in pain, but found her voice weaker then she had meant... it came out not as a command as she had intended, but a plea.
Brit turned her attention back to her cowering cousin, regaining her friendly tone and giving Tiff a warm smile. "So, let's have some girl talk. How was your first real fuck Tiffany? I was wondering when you'd stop being such a prude. Did you make him scream for you?"
Tiff was shaking in mortal fear.
Though the light was dim, she could still recognize the machinery Brit had been fused with. She well remembered Vexus' deadly potency from her close encounter with the alien queen at the Halloween party. Worse, Brit's personality was so erratic... she could lash out and kill them both in seconds if her mood swung at the wrong time.
"Just... take it easy Brit. We can get you some help..." said Tiff in as best of a calm voice as she could manage, and reached out a hand to place reassuringly on Brit's shoulder.
"Don't touch me!" shrieked Brit, slapping Tiff's hand away. "You lost that privilege when you rejected me before. Betrayed our lifelong friendship for... this one." Brit's venomous gaze returned once more to Brad, now focusing on him with much greater intensity.
"I've decided that, seeing as we're so close, we should share our things like good cousins." Brit declared, licking her lips hungrily as her eyes roamed over Brad's naked body, bruised as it was. Casually picking up Brad's wilted member in one hand, Brit could tell she didn't have much chance of resurrecting his lost erection by herself.
"Tiff," she commanded, "come get your boy-toy hard for me."
When Tiff hesitated, Brit glared and added "Do it now, or I'll rip it off and then neither of us will get to play with it!"
Reluctantly Tiff lowered her head to where Brad's and Brit's laps were inches from each other, and took the tip of Brad's member into her mouth. At least this would give her a few seconds to think before Brit had a mood swing and decided the kill them both. Before tonight she never would have thought her cousin could be capable of anything like this but now...
After what she'd just witnessed, she wouldn't put anything past Brit.
If it still was Brit anymore.
In her mouth, Brad's cock was responding mechanically to the stimulation she was giving it as she sucked it clean of their combined cum. Tiff cracked open an eye and saw that Brit's hand had slipped into the side of her swimsuit bottoms, and was busily jilling off as she watched Tiff blowing Brad back to an erection. From this distance Tiff could easily smell the heady scent of Brit's arousal, and she was sure that was probably part of the thrill for Brittany. Remembering Brit's earlier attempt at seducing Tiff, she could only hope that she wouldn't force Tiff to eat her out too.
"Okay, that's enough." barked Brit impatiently, pulling Tiff's head off of Brad's lap and pushing her aside. "He's ready..." muttered Brit, sliding the swimsuit's crotch to one side, exposing her aroused sex.
Purring with anticipation, Brit smirked and said "If he's good enough to take your cherry, I figure he must at least be worth a ride." just before slipping Brad's erection up into her pussy and sinking herself down onto his hips, squealing as she impaled herself with Brad's sizable penis.
"Aahhooohhmmm..." Brit sighed, slowly rocking her hips as she got used to the feeling of Brad's cock sliding in and out of her tight hole.
"You're sick, you... rapist!" accused Brad angrily.
"You need to teach your pet some obedience Tiff. Good boyfriends should be seen, not heard." Brit lectured with a frown. Her hands seized Brad by the neck and applied a light pressure, more than sufficient to silence any further insults from him and keeping him wavering on the edge of unconsciousness as well.
Tiff crawled over beside Brad and grabbed hold of his hand, trying to offer some form of support without angering Brit. Brit clearly hadn't noticed though. Instead she moaned and closed her eyes in pleasure, pumping her hips up and down at an increasing speed, the room falling silent except for Brit's whimpers of pleasure and the wet slapping of her groin against her victim's.
Her captor somewhat distracted, Tiff wracked her brain to think of something, anything, she could do to beat her cousin. Her cousin who now possessed the strength and abilities of Vexus, the physical match of XJ-9, the world's most advanced combat robot.
But... but there had been a time when Tiff had beaten Jenny! It was a long shot...
Tiff's planning was interrupted when Brit returned her attention to her, "I asked you a question Tiff..." Brit reminded her, "...did he scream for you?"
Out of the corner of her eye, Brit saw Tiff shake her head 'no'.
"Well then, let me show you how it's done..." she grinned, raising one taloned hand from Brad's neck.
Brad's scream erupted through the house as the claws of Brit's free hand sunk into the flesh over his heart, neatly slicing through the lightly-haired skin and pushing deeper until they met the resistance of the boy's ribcage.
"Stop it!" screamed Tiff in horror, but Brit ignored her.
With artistic precision, Brit slowly raked the razor tips of her fingers down across Brad's chest, tearing four jagged red wounds across the front of his torso that immediately welled up with blood, then flooded over to spill out across his front and onto the sheets of the bed.
Brad's tortured scream quieted to agonized groans when Brit finished her stroke and withdrew her talons, wiping the blood off on her thigh.
"Ohh, that was fun... he jerks around inside you when you hurt him... you should try it sometime Tiff." Brit purred, admiring her handiwork. Her smile turned to a pout when a realization struck her, remarking "I should've carved my name instead. Now I've ruined the canvas. Oh well." before resuming bouncing herself on Brad's lap, laughing insanely while Tiff watched on with horror.
"Ung, unh, unh, MMMM!" moaned Brit as she satisfied herself on the nearly unconscious Brad. "You know, it's been over a month since the last time I got some dick? I feel like a virgin all over again!" Brit exclaimed, her hips bouncing up and down, forcing the full length of Brad's pole up into her sodden pink slit again and again. Brit caught Tiff looking at her, and she smirked mischievously as she got an idea.
"I've heard that hanged men will ejaculate at the moment of death, from the sudden jolt to their nervous systems when their necks are broken." she said, flexing her hand against Brad's throat. "Do you think it's a myth? I'm curious..." with contemptuous ease, Brit turned Brad's head to the side, gripped firmly, and twisted...
"Stop right now!" Tiff screamed, making Brit pause. Tiff had no authority here... Brit was the one in control. She was stronger, faster... invulnerable. So what did Tiff think she could accomplish? Brit had everything she wanted.
"Please, let Brad go. He needs ta get to a hospital. " Tiff begged, tears in her eyes.
Brit scoffed.
"And why should I do that? The boy humiliated me, collapsed my empire, left me adrift in a featureless void to die. I intend to return the favor." Brit hissed, raising a claw to further rend Brad's flesh.
Grabbing Brit's raised arm, Tiff pleaded "'Cause if ya let 'im go... you can have me."
Brit's expression changed to disbelieving shock. Her features softened, approaching the Brit that Tiff knew. "You mean... it'll be like before...? You'll follow my plans, work together with me... be my...?"
Tiff nodded her consent. "I only want a chance to... say goodbye to Brad." she added sadly, which didn't please Brit at all.
Still, she didn't see the harm.
"I've already cut the phone lines, so don't even think about calling the authorities." Brit warned, but since Tiff didn't seem at all discouraged she relented. After all, Brad would probably just die from blood loss before he could make it next door anyway. But in exchange, she'd have her old companion back to share her imminent victory with.
"Oh... very well." Brit huffed, lifting herself off of the injured teen and giving Tiff some space.
As soon as she was able, Tiff carefully lifted Brad from the bed, wincing at how much blood had spilled all over his chest.
"Tiff, no..." Brad started weakly as he was carried to the bedroom doorway, but Tiff quickly shushed him.
Hugging him gently, Tiff whispered into his ear, "Jus' listen up, and do exactly what I tell ya to, got me?"
"A couple'a years back, me and Brit got ahold of these crystal prom dresses, ok? Only, the crystals were from space or something, and they could let you do whatever you wanted. Like magic or sumpthin'. But they were damn ugly, so Brit locked 'em up in our storage area in the basement... they're in a crate marked "Out Of Style". Fifth row, top shelf, on the left side of the aisle right in front of th' entrance. Just get ahold of dem crystals and picture you'self fixed up, ok? Then ya can come back and up here an rescue me."
Brad looked extremely unhappy with having to leave Tiff at Brit's mercy, but he remembered the crystals Tiff was talking about, and it was a solid plan. Jenny had told him about the thorough thrashing the Crusts gave her using the "Pip Crystals" as she had called them. If such a weapon could easily defeat Jenny, then the cyborg-enhanced Brit would be no problem.
His only challenge now was getting to them before he passed out.
Before she let him go, Tiff grabbed him one more time and kissed his lips with an intensity Brad had never experienced before. "If this don't work... I love you Brad." she said seriously, and pushed him on his way before he could argue.
Now alone with her twisted cousin and subject to whatever whims Brit had in store for her, Tiff turned to face her fate bravely. She still held out hope that Brad might be able to save her... or alert Jenny, or at least get away to safety... she also knew there was a good chance that Brad wouldn't make it in time, and Tiff would have to return to being Brit's lackey.
It was funny, a year ago Tiff thought that being at Brit's side was the most enviable position in school. She knew that other girls would have loved to be where she was, even Jenny wanted to be Brit's friend when she first arrived.
But now, after living life on her own, being her own person for the first time she could remember. Now there was nothing she dreaded more then returning to the way things were.
"Alright Brit... whatever ya want, I'll help ya." Tiff said, resigning herself to her fate.
Brit looked at her, trusting hope in her eyes. She seemed so overjoyed at the prospect of having Tiff to herself again. Tiff thought Brit might even cry, or hug her, or both.
"Tiff..." Brit said happily, and Tiff thought that perhaps Brit might calm down enough that she could get her some psychiatric help. Then, right before Tiff's eyes, Brit's expression subtly shifted.
Tiff imagined she could see the conversation occurring inside Brit's head, one part of her psyche arguing against another. Suddenly Brit's eyebrows knitted together in suspicion, her lips peeled back to bare her silvery fangs, and she seemed to have reached some sort of decision.
" ...Prove it." she demanded, the harsh metallic twang returning to her voice.
With a hard shove Brit pushed the naked Tiff backwards onto the bed, and proceeded to peel off her black bikini pieces, leaving her female anatomy bare and sticking out from between the hard metal implants of Vexus' remains.
Downstairs, Brad crashed to the floor, overturning a vase and shattering it on his way down. He had made it to the ground floor and halfway to the entrance to the basement when he momentarily blacked out from low blood pressure and was sent toppling to the ground.
Regaining his senses, Brad planted both hands against the floor, getting them covered in the blood that had spilled from his slashed chest, and hoisted himself to his feet. His vision was blurring and he felt extremely lightheaded, but he knew he had to press on... for Tiff's sake.
He was her only hope.
Leaning his weight against the basement door, Brad forced his eyes to focus so that he could work the doorknob, leaving a bloody hand print on the wooden door. With all the strength he could muster Brad twisted the knob and flung the door open. No longer leaning on the door for support, Brad's equilibrium failed him, and he hurtled down the basement steps completely limp.
Tiff shuddered involuntarily, but forced herself to remain calm. She had to go through the motions of whatever Brit's delusions told her was necessary. Though in her present emotional state, it wasn't easy hiding her revulsion for the other girl.
Hovering over her on hands and knees, Brit studied Tiff with calculating coldness. The darker Crust cousin leaned down, flattening her breasts against Tiff's, breathing in the smaller girl's scent.
"I'm going to make you like me..." Brit intoned, speaking softly.
Tiff felt the cold wetness of Brit's tongue travel up her cheek and down the side of her neck, and she had no choice but to turn her head to the side, allowing her cousin to have her way with her. A sudden change from licking to a bite made Tiff yelp out loud, and Brit pulled her head back to look appreciatively at the bite mark she left of Tiff's shoulder.
Tiff's expression must have betrayed her, because Brit clearly read her look that asked 'what the hell are you doing?'
"... but first I must punish you for betraying me like you did."
As Tiff watched, Brit rummaged through the top drawer of her nightstand, producing her oft-used dildo and shoving it in Tiff's face.
"Suck it. Show me how you serviced that boyfriend of yours." Brit commanded, forcing the tip of the plastic cock into Tiff's mouth.
Tiff did as she was told, halfheartedly blowing the fake penis and making is slick with her saliva. She had some idea that this would not be the only use Brit got out of the dildo, so she decided it would be better to give it some lubrication now while she had the chance. Still, Tiff was determined she could take any "punishment" Brit had in mind... for Brad's sake.
She was his only hope.
As she did so, Brit laid herself down on top of Tiff, forcing her knees apart so that her cousin was spread eagle beneath her.
"Mmmm... that looks very hot Tiffany." purred Brit as she watched, absent-mindedly grinding her sopping pussy against Tiff's spread labia, her erect clitoris seeking out Tiff's hidden one. What could Tiff do? She kissed the tip of the phallus seductively, and squeezed Brit's hips with her thighs, feigning affection.
Lights appeared in Brad's vision, like blinking stars, momentarily blinding him. Where was he? His hands and knees hurt... a glance at the floor showed the trail of blood he'd smeared across the basement floor, from where he landed at the bottom of the steps to where he had regained consciousness some ten yards later.
Delirious, the only thing that drove him onward was his resolve to save Tiff. A coughing fit wracked his body, and he tasted blood in the back of his mouth. Which meant Brit had either made his gums bleed when she punched him in the face, or else she had struck something internal when she pounded him in the chest.
"No!" Brad choked out to no one in particular. He had to keep going. If he focused on his injuries, he'd collapse, and probably die.
And Brit would win.
Throwing himself against the fifth column amongst the endless rows of Brit and Tiff's walk-in-wardrobe archives, Brad craned his neck up and spotted the crate in question; hanging partly off the lip of the shelf, the top already pried off.
Something in the back of his mind told him that this was unusual somehow, but he couldn't focus clearly enough to determine what was wrong about it. He just knew he needed to reach the life-saving Pip crystals held within. Mustering his strength, Brad pulled himself up to his knees, and worked hand over hand to right himself. Just a little further, and he'd be standing, and the crate would be just within reach...
"I'll show you what it's really like to lose your virginity." claimed Brit, the saliva-slicked dildo in her hand.
Though she dreaded what was coming next, Tiff couldn't help but be fascinated as she watched Brit hold the dildo over her pubic area and thin metal bands appeared from either side of Brit's hips. The metal attachments moved with a life of their own and grasped the base of the plastic dick, holding it firmly in place against her crotch and giving her the appearance of having sprouted an eight-inch male erection.
Brit stroked her hand over the shaft, pretending to masturbate her new appendage, and whispered in a husky voice "I'm gonna make you my bitch."
Unable to control her own movements, Tiff struggled to squirm away from Brit, but the cybernetically-enhanced Crust easily grabbed hold of Tiff's wrists and held her in place. In moments, the head of the dildo was wedged between Tiff's splayed pussy lips, and Brit had resumed her place atop Tiff in a missionary position.
Holding onto her sanity any way she could, Tiff muttered under her breath "pleaseBradpleaseBradbeokayplease" again and again, until Brit picked up what she was saying.
"Are you still holding out hope for that loser?" Brit mocked her cousin, smirking. "I don't suppose you sent him to go grab... this?"
Tiff's eyes went wide, as Brit held up one of the crystals from their prom dresses, this one about the size of a carrot.
"Yes... I'm afraid I had the same idea, my dear girl. After I awoke from my recent 'upgrade', I remembered that the power to crush Jenny had been around all along. Strange that I only remembered about the Pip crystals after my surgery."
Brit got a confused look on her face for a moment, as though she were sorting through conflicting memories or emotions.
"Sadly, I'll have to make due with this solitary crystal... the rest seem to have disintegrated during their long stay in our basement. I'm afraid all Bradly will find down there... is dust."
Brit's laughter mixed with Tiff's howl of despair, which became a cry of pain as Brit suddenly pressed forward with her makeshift strap-on and plunged into Tiff's recently deflowered tunnel. All the pain that had been missing from Brad's gentle lovemaking earlier was now brought back as Brit reamed her cousin's pussy, but amazingly it was far from Tiff's mind. All she could think about was Brad.
She had sent him to his death.
He could have tried to get next door, make it to help, have someone call an ambulance. But Brit had second-guessed her plan... Brit had always been the smarter one, why had she even tried?
"I hope it burns you, like it did for me." hissed Brit, pumping her hips against Tiff's groin and grunting with each stroke she made.
Tiff ignored her, tears welling in her eyes and whimpering "Brad..."
His muscles ached as he strained, but Brad wouldn't let himself give up. If he could just grab the edge of the crate, all it would take is a little tug to send the whole crate toppling over, and he could help himself to the crystals.
Just... a little... more..
"Errnnn..." he strained, feeling his fingertips hook the edge. Success! Brad tugged, and felt it start to tip over.
...and the world tipped with it. His equilibrium disappearing again, Brad dropped from the shelf in a heap, landing sprawled out on the cold ground.
"Ohhgg..." he groaned, his entire body in agony. A split second later, the teetering crate came crashing down.
directly onto Brad's prone form.
The wood cracked like tinder, dumping their contents all over the poor boy. Piles of crystal dust, like finely ground shards of glass, poured out onto Brad's chest and worked their way into the ragged claw-marks that still hung open on his chest. The minuscule granules of crystal residue felt like salt in his wounds, and Brad experienced a pain unlike anything he had felt in his short lifetime. Fire seemed to race through his veins, and his chest burned with such intensity that his only option left was to scream until unconsciousness claimed him once more.
"Oohhh... unnggmmm... yesss..." Brit groaned, every thrust of her hips grinding the base of the dildo against her pussy and sending surges of pleasure through her hips. Still, it was a fake cock; Tiff had to believe that the majority of Brit's enjoyment was psychological. She hardly cared.
"Oh my," Brit smiled, seeing tears rolling down Tiff's cheeks. "Are you crying?"
Without hesitation, Brit nuzzled the side of Tiff's face and greedily lapped up Tiff's tears.
"Unngg GOD YES!" Brit moaned, adding "Your pain is delicious... Like sweet wine!"
Tiff felt the strap-on dildo forced deep into her violated pussy, immediately followed by Brit's body spasming and convulsing on top of her. A splash of warm liquid dripping onto Tiff's labia and asshole confirmed it: Brit had just cum.
Just when Tiff thought her ordeal was over, both girls heard Brad's anguished scream filter up from beneath the floor. Brit's face took on an extatic expression when she realized what they were hearing. Her cheeks flushed, Brit gasped "Ohhh Tiff! I'm going to cum again! Hold me tight... here it comes...! Mmpp!"
"Get the Fuck off my Girlfriend!" came an angry shout from the doorway.
The Crust cousins, locked in their carnal embrace, both spun their heads to the bedroom door and were shocked to see Brad Carbunkle standing there. How had he ascended two flights of stairs when they had just heard him in the basement, seconds before? Blood still stained his chest and arms, and his legs seemed shaky, but his eyes burned with a renewed inner fire and his voice echoed with force.
"I won't repeat myself." He growled, taking a step forward and raising a fist.
Angered, Brit pulled herself off of Tiff, her fake cock making a wet slurp as it was removed from Tiff's abused cunt.
"You just ruined what was probably going to be my best orgasm ever." Brit snapped, the slick phallus waving obscenely in front of her. With a hiss Brit lunged forward, claws outstretched... and was met with a solid punch to her face.
"Wha...?" Brit gasped, shaking her head and picking herself up off the ground. Brad's punch hadn't done any real damage, but it had knocked her clear across the room. This wasn't possible.
Scrambling, Brit located her Pip crystal laying on the floor and snatched it up. She looked up at Brad's determined, resolute face, and felt her conviction tremble. How had he returned from death's door like this? Nevertheless, Brit could finish Brad off for good right now, claim her prize, and be off to complete her plan for revenge.
She stalked towards Brad much more cautiously this time, feeling the energy contained within the Pip crystal straining to be released... but no, she would save that for Jenny.
The fact that the rest of the crystals had crumbled into useless dust meant that their energy was finite. Immense, but finite. A memory tugged at the back of her consciousness, reminding her of a similar situation... the Halloween party? ...which reminded her that she would need to conserve every possible advantage for her ensuing battle against Jenny. Her bare claws would be more then enough to kill Brad anyway, even revived as he was.
Her predatory gaze locked on the waiting Brad, Brittany Crust failed to notice that Tiff had crept out of bed, and was stealthily making her way across the room.
"Die, human!" screeched Brit, slashing out at Brad. "You cannot stand against the dread might of the Cluster Queen!"
Brad backed away, retreating before Brit's lightning fast strikes. "What are you talking about Brit?!" he demanded, confused, while somehow managing to remain just out of her arm's reach.
He didn't really understand it himself. He felt rather punch-drunk, like Brit and the rest of the world were moving in slow-motion, just enough for him to anticipate each of her swings before they could connect. His opponent snarled out her frustration at not being able to land a successful attack. "What's happened to you Brit?" Brad pressed, "You're acting completely crazy!"
"I'm not crazy!" Brit snapped, her eyes going wild. "I fused myself to Vexus, so that I can show you all what's really going on! The truth behind Jennifer Wakeman's lies!"
Brit was ranting now, no longer attacking. Maybe, if Brad provoked her further, she could be disoriented enough for... well, he hadn't gotten that far yet, but he was sure he'd think of something.
Brad relaxed his stance, wanting to keep Brit talking instead of fighting. "Vexus was a tyrannical despot from outer space, we're all better off that she's dead!" he stated, intending to lead Brit's thoughts in a particular direction.
For her part, Brit reacted as Brad had hoped she would, "Vexus isn't dead... she lives on, in me!" she blurted, "...and she understood the threat that XJ-9 represented, what I've been telling you all, all along! Her only mistake was underestimating XJ-9's influence on the humans around her. She only understood the situation physically, not socially. But not this time! I understand... I've got a plan. Before I kill her tomorrow I'm going to utterly break her. It will be so sweet to have defeated her physically, mentally, and emotionally."
"...After I finish you off, of course." Brit smiled wickedly, advancing towards Brad.
Damn, Brad thought, she's becoming lucid again. Gotta stall her. Maybe I can get that crystal from her, or-
Brit lunged forward again, surprising Brad and seizing him by the shoulders, pinning him against the wall with her immense strength.
"Ung!" Brad grunted, the wind momentarily knocked from his lungs and his chest wound stinging from the impact. Brit watched him suffer, allowing Brad a few seconds to regain his senses.
"It won't work. You'll never be able to get Jenny's friends to abandon her, no matter what dirty tricks you pull." Brad declared, thinking back to how Jenny and he had just made up earlier that evening.
Brit grinned proudly, her razor sharp teeth making Brad nervous.
"It's a little late for that dear... you two are the last support Wakeman has. I've already buried Misty, rewritten Sheldon's programming, and Tuck, well... poor Tuck..."
"What did you do to my brother?!" Brad screamed, furious. With a surprising burst of strength, Brad pushed back Brit's metal-coated claws.
Pushed back, but did not completely overcome.
"Gnnhg... I don't know how you got so strong..." growled Brit, her strength overshadowing Brad's and inching her blades back towards Brad's neck. "But I suppose I'll just have to live with never knowing..."
"Hey cuz, check 'dis out!" called Tiff, from across the room. Both Brit and Brad's heads turned to see what Tiff was indicating, but all that was there was the bedroom television set turned on with the volume up. Brad didn't understand, but Brit's face registered a look of profound dread.
"No...!" she gasped, but was powerless to stop Tiff from reaching for the cable wire and forcefully tearing it from the wall, plunging the screen of the television into an field of static so loud it seemed angry.
Screeching, Brit ceased her attempts to kill Brad and flung him in the direction of the television instead, though he sailed clear over it and impacted against the wall behind it. Rushing to his side, Tiff checked Brad and found him barely conscious. She needed to get him to a hospital as soon as possible, or she was sure he'd die from all the blood he had lost. Something else caught her eye as well: the wounds on his chest had almost completely scarred over, and the remaining blood that leaked from them seemed to carry an inherent sparkle, or glow...
When she was finally able to pull her gaze away from the strangely luminescent wounds, Tiff saw that Brit had disappeared, an open window the only sign of her exit. Brad coughed, pulling Tiff's attention back to him.
Weakly, he pleaded to her "Tiff... you've gotta warn Jenny. Before Brit gets to her. You're her only chance..." before passing out, from blood loss or head trauma or something worse, his head lolling onto Tiff's shoulder.
Tiff agonized over what to do next. Brad clearly wanted her to go, alert Jenny or Mrs. Wakeman, anyone who might stand a chance of stopping Brit before she ambushed the heroic teen.
But Tiff knew she didn't have any real choice. She loved Brad, and couldn't leave him. Even if he hated her for it when he woke up, she would get him to Tremorton general hospital first.
Jenny came second.
"Coming!" Jenny called out, heading to the front door to answer the doorbell. It was rather late for visitors. The only person she could think of that might call on her at this hour was Sheldon, since he was easily worried about her and Jenny's mother didn't mind him staying over once in a while.
Now that she thought of it, Jenny really would like to spend some time with him. After finally achieving a resolution between herself and Brad, Jenny thought it would be nice to get some attention from her current boyfriend instead of wallowing in the past all day. Opening the door, Jenny was pleased to see the hulking frame of the Silver Shell standing there waiting for her.
"Sheldon, come on in!" she greeted, but received only silence in response.
Her smile faded, and she cautiously asked "Shell?"
Sheldon's face was blank, devoid of emotion or recognition. Lumbering like Frankenstein's monster, he lurched his way into Jenny's house, arms outstretched towards her.
"Sheldon? What's wrong?" Jenny asked again, unnerved.
Silver Shell reached out one massive hand, seizing Jenny by her arm and roughly pulling her towards him. His vision trained on her, the Silver Shell finally spoke, all trace of Sheldon's human inflections gone from his voice: "Target confirmed: XJ-9. Execute function: Terminate."