This is the continuation of the storyline from Chapter 30: Epilogue of The Fusion Ultimatum.
Sunday, 22nd May, 2016
That night
Glenview
Dave and I sat cuddled up together on the couch in the living room.
One of our favourite movies was just about to start when Stephanie came into the room from the direction of the stairs. She walked directly towards us and then she pushed herself in between Dave and me. She pulled her legs up and cuddled into Dave – her favourite place. Then she began to cry.
I looked over at Dave who just shrugged.
"You okay?" I asked.
"You two are the most special people that I have in this world. You've taken in a broken girl who had lost her parents, her brother, and her mentor. You then turned her into somebody with both a purpose and a future. You both give your love without any thought of return. What you did for Miranda was beautiful and I can never repay either of you for your love and kindness. All I can do in return is to try and be a good daughter to you both plus a good sister to the two nightmares upstairs."
I hugged Stephanie tightly and then dried her tears.
"You're a lovely girl, Steph. You deserve to have a nice life after all the crap that you've endured. My life was not good until Dave arrived and with him by my side, life has got so much better. I am very happy to be able to pass on some of that happiness to somebody else."
Stephanie looked up at me and smiled.
"Thanks, Mum."
We were disturbed by a yell from the door.
"She's in here!"
Danny waited for his sister and then they both ran and jumped onto the couch. Anne-Marie took up her place on the other side of Dave and Danny squirmed in next to me. The movie began at that moment.
"What are we watching?" Danny asked.
"A sci-fi movie," Dave replied.
"Is it scary?" Anne-Marie wondered.
"Not really," I chipped in.
"What's it called?" Stephanie wanted to know.
"Aliens..." I replied with an enormous grin.
Monday, 23rd May
Evening
Lincolnwood
I was not one to leave people unrewarded.
With a small amount of pre-planning, I made a surprise visit to the hackers of Synthesis. Naturally, they had no idea that I was about to make my entrance that Monday night. Battle Guy was with me, as was Hal – she insisted on coming. Murphy and Fellowes arrived a minute or two before we did so as not to worry Mr and Mrs Dade. Mind you, who wouldn't be worried about a blood-thirsty vigilante paying a visit to their home.
"Good evening," I offered as I entered the house.
"Welcome, err, Hit Girl."
It was a normal Monday evening for us all.
The five of us were happily pounding away on our laptops when the door to my bedroom opened. I expected it to be Mom. It was a female alright, but...
"Holy fuck!" I spat out as I saw who now stood in my bedroom.
Each of the three masked individuals wore an almost identical dark grey uniform. The female to the left wore a silver oak leaf on her collar. The man on the right, a silver eagle. The woman in the centre had a single silver star on her collar. Her mask was trimmed in purple – she was Hit Girl. The other female, her mask trimmed in a pale blue, was slim and I had no idea who she was. The man wore a mask trimmed in dark blue and I knew that he would be Battle Guy.
"Are you, Hal?" Jesse asked in awe as he ran his eyes over the unknown female.
"Yes, I am Hal."
I saw the lower jaws of Peter and Laurence almost hit the floor at that proclamation. I knew exactly what the three of them got up to in bed each night and who was in their minds while they did it – ewww!
..._...
"You must be Libby Dade, the leader of this rabble," Hit Girl enquired and I nodded. "And the rest of you must be Synthesis."
"We are!" the others almost yelled.
"Thank you all for your assistance. While I was a little surprised to find that Fusion had a team of hackers, I was very pleased with what you all accomplished."
"We're just glad we could help," Kate offered meekly.
I could not believe that we were talking with the famous Hit Girl, right there in my fucking bedroom!
They all seemed genuine enough – young, but I could not hold that against any of them!
The bedroom was large and nicely decorated. My eyes locked onto one poster.
"Oh for..." I growled as I took in the six-foot by four-foot, glossy poster that showed yours truly in France, the middle finger of my left hand raised. I had to admit, it was an awesome poster and actually better than the SOMF one. "Marker!"
A black marker pen was instantly thrust at me and I went over to the poster and I signed it: Hit Girl. The grins from the kids were very rewarding.
"Can we get one of those posters," Hal asked.
"Anything you want, Hal..." Jesse Dade fawned and I saw his sister roll her eyes in exasperation.
"Battle Guy?" I prompted.
Battle Guy dived out of the room for a moment.
I was enjoying the attention from the boys. I had had no idea that I had a fan base of any kind. It was a little bit creepy, but all in all . . . I loved it! Battle Guy returned with five large boxes in his arms. He gently placed them on the floor at the foot of Libby's bed. Each of the laptops had cost well over $3,000 and were among the best that money could buy. All five of the geeks just stared at the laptops as they instantly recognised the high-end electronics.
"Awesome..." Libby Dade whispered as she picked up one of the boxed laptops and she seemed to be in a daze as she sat back down on her bed.
"We customised them a bit – but I'm sure you guys can do the rest..." I said as they all began to open their new equipment.
"Holy crap!" Jesse breathed. "It's got everything!"
"They're bullet resistant too," I advised them. "Kevlar in the lid, carbon fibre case..."
Next, we handed out a Sony Z5 Android phone to each of them. Battle Guy demonstrated how to call for help if required.
"You guys are now a part of Fusion. That means you get our protection. Over time, we might let you in on more of our secrets, but for now, if you need us, you know where to find us," Hit Girl advised the enthralled kids. "I hope that I do not have to go into any detail concerning secrecy..."
"No way – our lips are sealed," Libby responded instantly. "Right, guys...?"
"Definitely."
"Of course."
"Goes without saying."
"That would be awesomely stupid!"
"Remember," Hit Girl growled. "You hack me..."
"We know," Kate muttered. "You'll eviscerate us and eat our guts in a sandwich."
"Actually, I prefer a good barbeque," the arch-vigilante laughed.
"God!" Hit Girl moaned as we climbed back into Hound. "Teenage geeks are so annoying!"
"According to Kick-Ass, you used to be pretty annoying, too," Battle Guy pointed out as he started the SUV.
"I was not!" Hit Girl replied defensively. "Well . . . maybe a little."
"Shadow used to find me really annoying at times," I admitted.
"Geeks like to be annoying," Battle Guy acknowledged.
"Don't I know it!" Hit Girl chuckled.
A few days later
Saturday, 28th May
Early afternoon
Glen View
It was party time again and not a minute too soon...
Everybody was exhausted and we needed to unwind. I decided to open the party up not just Fusion but for many of our friends too. Literally tonnes of food and drink had been delivered from an outside caterer. Most of the kids had arrived and they were upstairs changing for the pool. Dave was on patrol up there to ensure that the girls stayed in Stephanie's bedroom and the boys stayed in Danny's bedroom while they changed.
The first down the stairs was Chloe with her best friends, Abby, Avery, and Riley – Chloe had gone with a surprisingly discrete, one-piece swimsuit – maybe she remembered what Stephanie had done it her, back in London – as had Riley and Abby, but Avery had worn a daring two-piece bikini that did not actually cover very much at all. They were quickly followed by a younger group of giggling girls in the form of Megan with her best friend Nikki, Stephanie, Anne-Marie, Lauren with her sister Lizzie, and Stephanie's friends: Katherine and Alison. Another group followed which consisted of Joshua with his best friends, Mike and Ethan. Then came Kyle and Tommy, followed by Curtis with his best friends, Jake and Zach. Finally, there was Saoirse, Morgan, Cameron Fellowes, Brad Murphy and Stephanie's other friends, Craig and Jackson.
As if twenty-six teens and pre-teens was not enough, we also had the adults: Hailee, Mathilda, Marty and Kim with Matty, Marcus and Paige, Abby's mother Vera, Emily, the mother of Lauren and Lizzie, Tony and Shannon, and of course, Isaac Swanson. We were also joined by Fellowes and Murphy with their wives.
I was very nervous as I walked over to the side of the pool where the two boys stood talking.
The one on the right saw me as I approached and he whispered something to the other boy who blushed as his friend swam away.
"Hi, Brad."
"Hi, Lauren – you okay?"
"Yes, thanks..."
"Nice, err, costume..."
I felt my face getting very hot and my nervousness increased. Brad had really helped me get past the people who had seen me as tainted by what I had gone through. Brad had been there for me, even when I had burst into tears . . . and he had let me cry on his shoulder. Brad also had a very nice . . . body – did I just think that?
"Thanks for being there for me Brad – I've never really had the chance to say that..."
"No sweat, Lauren – I was just glad to be able to help..."
Crap! The conversation wasn't going very far, was it?
I edged closer to him and I felt my heart beating harder against my chest. Brad seemed much more nervous than I was if that were actually possible. I tentatively leaned forwards and kissed him on the lips – just once, and very quickly. Brad grinned sheepishly and I struggled not to giggle with embarrassment as I looked around and I found Megan and Stephanie staring back at me. They were both smiling, in a nice way, and they nodded to me before they turned away.
We both stood there, not talking until Brad reached out and he took my hand.
"They make a cute couple," Rachel Murphy commented from the far side of the pool.
"Your son has been a big help to Lauren," Emily Edwards replied.
"Brad can be very sensitive at times. He's not said much but he's really taken by Lauren – to be honest, she's his first real girlfriend. But I've warned him that if he hurts Lauren in any way..."
"Lauren hasn't had a real boyfriend yet; she's barely out of the 'boys, ewww' stage. I'm pleased that she has somebody to talk to and somebody who cares about her, despite..."
"A horrible thing to happen to a girl of any age."
There was a splash beside me as Megan appeared from under the water.
"Hi, lover boy," Megan said to Brad.
I noticed Brad running his eyes over Megan's curvaceous swimsuit-clad body and I scowled as that green-eyed monster reared up inside of me.
"Bradley – your eyes should be on me; not on her..."
Oh, my God, I could not believe that I had just said that!
"Jealous, much!" Megan grinned as she vanished back under the water and then reappeared a few yards away to annoy Chloe.
I had somehow joined an amazing group of people. They all cared for each other and no matter what they were always there when you needed them. They would also give you space when you needed it too.
"Hiya, Brad," my little sister called out. "Lauren's been talking about all week."
"I have not!" I blustered as I glared at Lizzie. "Go find your own boyfriend."
"Lauren's got a boyfriend! Lauren's got a boyfriend!" Lizzie sang as she swam away.
"Sorry about her," I muttered.
"She's not said anything that isn't true," Brad laughed as I felt myself going red again.
"Ladies and gentlemen, plus rabid kids!" Dave called out over all the noise. "Mindy and Megan would like a word."
I stood up and faced everybody as the noise died down and everybody looked over in our direction. Admittedly, the younger males had no problem looking in our direction as Megan stood beside me in just her swimsuit.
"As most of you know, Paige has been lugging something around inside her for the past nine months. Finally, Megan and I have great pleasure in welcoming our little brother to the world... Please raise your glasses to the newest member of our little community: Damon Williams."
Paige raised up the not-yet-a-week-old baby boy and everybody cheered and raised their glasses to the new child. Marcus himself looked very pleased with himself.
"Just one more thing..." I called out. "I kind of said that I would not announce this, but today is also Paige's birthday, so Happy Birthday Mom!"
More cheering erupted as Paige glared at me.
Later that afternoon
The British Sector
The four kids had got bored in the pool, so they had retreated upstairs to chat amongst themselves.
Initially, Lauren had been targeted for some light-hearted teasing about her and Brad, but the conversation had then moved onto what might happen beyond Lauren and Brad just kissing. Stephanie had come up with a few, rather crude, suggestions.
"You seem very well clued up for a ten-year-old, Stephanie..." Lauren commented and Stephanie blushed slightly as she looked around to see that the door to her bedroom was firmly shut.
"Sex education was a key part of Phase 1 training and the basics were taught – I knew what was what by the time I was eight and a half. The idea was that once we became operational as teenagers, we could use sex as a weapon – to compromise people for instance. Well, during Phase 2 they went into a bit more detail about not just basic sexual intercourse, but other sexual positions and methods..."
"Awesome!" Megan grinned.
"By Phase 3, they had moved from theory to practical applications... I picked up a lot, considering that I shared a dormitory with gobby teenagers who liked to talk about what they were doing with their bits when the lights were out... I never witnessed one, but there were live demonstrations by two unfortunate Phase 3 students to show what they had learned and to demonstrate the correct use of their bodies on each other..."
"That sounds creepy," Lauren commented.
..._...
At that point, the door opened and Saoirse slunk in with Morgan.
"Shut the door!" Tommy hissed and Morgan did so before she joined the others on the bed.
"What are you all talking about?" Saoirse asked.
"Sex," Megan stated simply.
"Oh..."
"SD?" Tommy asked.
"Yes, Tommy."
"You were Phase 3, right?"
"Yes, I was – I completed my training..." Saoirse replied as she threw a smirk in Stephanie's direction and not realising the trap that she had just dropped herself into.
"Does that mean that you witnessed one of the live sex demos that Steph just told us about?" Tommy persisted.
Saoirse went bright red and her eyes almost popped out of their sockets. Then she turned on Stephanie.
"Can't you keep your big gob shut?"
"They asked..." Stephanie replied apologetically as she realised her error; she had no desire to humiliate her friend.
"Well?" Megan pushed.
SD grimaced and she rolled her eyes, but her face remained flushed.
"Yes, I was at one of the 'demos' as you called it, Tommy. We all hated them and we dreaded being picked, but by then we were all well used to being naked in front of others, but to engage in a sex act before an audience of our peers was something else entirely!"
..._...
Saoirse hesitated for a moment, but then reluctantly she pushed on.
"A girl was called out – Sarah, I think her name was... She had no choice but to go up on stage where she was immediately ordered to strip – nobody disobeyed direct orders, nobody... The girl was naked within sixty seconds; she just stood there and hoped that she was going to be having sex with a boy – you never knew until the partner was picked. Then it happened; my name was called out!"
"You!" Stephanie blurted out.
Saoirse looked incredibly embarrassed at her revelation but she took a deep breath and responded to Stephanie's exclamation.
"Yes, I, Foxtail have had mad, passionate, lesbian sex, live on stage in front of hundreds – you happy now?"
"Not really; but I'm still listening..." Stephanie replied with an eager smirk.
"I felt so embarrassed as I walked down to the stage..."
"Embarrassed? You?" Megan inquired. "I thought your kind were into that sort of thing..."
Both Stephanie and Saoirse turned on Megan and gave her some very cold glares. Cold enough that Megan actually flinched slightly.
"For your information, Kitty-Kat, I was only thirteen. I had only had proper boobs for a year and just two weeks previously, I had finished off the indignities of my first ever period... It was just my luck for nature to intervene during a shower one afternoon – it was like that scene from Carrie. Only, I knew what was happening to my body; although, some clever bitches hammed it up and threw pads and tampons at me.
"It was not all that uncommon for girls to have their first periods in the shower but they all got laughed at; we were bitches and trained to be that way. Nobody showed you any compassion, so you showed nobody else compassion; everybody just bitched at each other and some poor girl bleeding all over the showers was fair game. Mind you, Stephanie found a very unique solution to that and found another way to dump some blood in the shower!"
..._...
It was Stephanie's turn to blush furiously but Saoirse continued.
"Getting back to the stage: everybody was cheering for us both – most of them were perverts; what teenagers aren't? Sarah was bright red from her hair line right down to her tits, by the time I got on stage. I was immediately ordered to strip, and I did so, without any hesitation. It felt weird removing your bra and knickers in front of hundreds of other teenagers but there I was, naked on stage with another equally naked girl and I was shaking like a leaf. We had sex – so much that I lost track of everything and we both passed out and awoke to find ourselves in our own beds, fast asleep."
"We want details, girl!" Lauren called out which surprised everyone.
Saoirse swore under her breath.
"According to the others who were there that afternoon, we began with foreplay – I could remember that bit 'cause I was feeling humiliated and I was shaking – we kissed and played with each other's tits and also down below . . . as we both became aroused, our nervousness seemed to fall away and we both sunk into our little show. That was when I started to lose track of everything that happened – apparently, Sarah went down on me before I then returned the favour and before we knew it, we had a full 69 on stage... I was so spent afterwards that I couldn't touch my clit for a week!"
"Wow!" Tommy growled as he sat there, his hands down his pants.
"That was awesome!" Stephanie added and Lauren nodded enthusiastically.
"Ewww!" Megan commented with a grimace.
Morgan just sat there with a thoughtful expression on her face.