H.E.R.O. - Horde (6 page)

I didn't even get around to calling Psystar on Tuesday.  I meant to, but the burn marks across my torso had me in a depressed mood.  I'd never get a modeling gig with stab wounds, horribly bruised skin, burned skin and whatnot.  I seriously questioned the value of being a super hero.  The idea behind being one was to get press coverage to try and help my modeling career.  Several of the fights lately didn't even have the news involved, and with the injuries I took, I wasn't sure if I'd have wanted to be seen afterward anyway.

Then there was my costume - the boots were in good shape, but my mini-dress was totaled by the laser thingies.  Somehow, my panties had escaped destruction - that was something, I supposed.

Wednesday morning I got up and the burns were gone.  My shoulder felt great, as did my thigh.  I studied myself in the mirror for a while, looking for any scars, but everything had healed up.

I cranked the stereo and danced around the house for a while before taking a shower and getting ready for the remainder of the morning.

I noticed that I had a message on my cell phone.  My agent asked if I would stop by in the afternoon about a job she had available.  That made my morning, I felt like I was dancing on air.

I dressed in my costume boots, but put on a different dress.  I was about to call Dr. Turnquist, but realized I didn't have her number to see if I could come in.  The last time they didn't open the door without calling her.

I called up Black Tiger instead.

He answered, "Hey Diva."

"Hi, Black Tiger!  How are you this morning?"

"I'm doing great, how about you?"

"Everything's healed!  So I'm finally doing great!"

"No more leg pain or burns?"

"Nope!  I need to get a new costume, though.  Do you have Dr. Turnquist's number, or would you like to go with?"

"Sure, I'd love to hang with you for a bit.  You want me to call them?"

"Yeah.  How about I pick you up at your place?"

"Works for me.  I'll be waiting."

"Awesome!"

I put on makeup and some jewelry and made sure my hair looked good.  I still thought it was strange that it had changed to bluish purple in color.  I debated dying it, but it matched my costume for now.

Thinking about Black Tiger reminded me about Psystar.  I grabbed my phone and sent her a text asking if she would have time to meet for lunch.

Then I left the house, leapt up into the air and shifted my mental flight gears.  Soaring into the sky was fun, the day was pleasant, only somewhat cloudy, and it felt good to feel pretty again.  I couldn't wait to get my mini-dress replaced though.

It only took me a few minutes to fly to Black Tiger's house.  I saw him in the driveway as I flew down and landed hard, as usual.  It didn't hurt or bother me any more, so I didn't mind the bounce.

He grinned at me as I walked up to him and hugged him.

He said, "I'm glad to see you up and about again.  I was worried when you collapsed after the pirate fight."

"Yeah, that sucked.  I feel a lot better now.  How about you, everything in one piece?"

I looked him up and down.  His costume was clean and undamaged ... and tight on him as usual.

He said, "I got a hold of Dr. Turnquist, she said to come over, her guard will buzz us in when we're in front of the door."

"Great.  You ready?"

"Are you going to fly us, or take my motorcycle?"

"I'll fly us.  No traffic that way."

I had a momentary flash of the other night, when Psystar stepped up to him and pressed up against him before she'd planned to fly them to the alien ship.

I wasn't about to be outdone by her in his mind, so I stepped up to him with a sly grin on my face and pressed up against him as she had.  His eyebrows were hidden by his facemask, but his eyes widened and he grinned in return.  He couldn't help but glance down as my chest pressed against him - I certainly had her beat in that department.

I realized one odd difference between how I held him and how she had.  She was about nine inches shorter than he was, so she had to look up at him.  With the heels on my boots, I was about three inches taller than he was.

I grinned as I slid my arms around him and leaped into the air.  Something stood out to me as we flew - he wasn't even remotely as squishy as a normal guy was.  Psystar's friend, Kell - his arms felt a lot like marshmallows - or perhaps more like cotton to me.  Black Tiger's didn't feel hard, but he was at least fairly solid.  Not quite like his friend Lance - or Spartan - however.  That man had some rock hard muscles.

I took a lazy route to the costume shop.  I wasn't in an extreme hurry, and I enjoyed being up close with Black Tiger.  I often felt my eyes drawn from the city to his green eyes.  They were narrow like a cat's eye in the bright daylight.  At one point, I thought he was going to kiss me before something down in the city distracted him.

I debated just flying around for a while longer to see if he'd finally kiss me, but I figured I could tempt him at the costume shop.  He didn't stand a chance against me, I was sure of it.

I flew down to the front of the costume shop building.  We landed with the usual thump and bounce. 
I really need to figure out how to do a softer landing.  Psystar can touch down without even seeing any bounce of skin on her at all.  Oh no, I hope Black Tiger doesn't think I'm clumsy or something....

He said, "You know, I'm amazed that you can do that in heels."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I figured you'd twist your ankle or something at some point."

"Oh.  No, I've found that if I don't want my ankle to turn or bend, it just doesn't.  I'm super duper strong now."

"I can tell.  You feel sculpted, it's awesome."  He ran his fingertips across my right shoulder and down over my biceps.

I figured that would turn him off, but if anything he seemed appreciative.  That made no sense to me - being slim was beautiful, not all muscle-y on women.  I shook my head and turned toward the door.

I asked, "Shall we?"

"Sure."

We walked up to the door - it buzzed when we were close.  We went in.

The receptionist said, "Room 302."

I said, "Thanks."

The woman was large - probably as tall as I was, but she was bulkier, and her muscles were definitely larger than mine.  Ugh, I sure as hell didn't want to be a security guard somewhere; that would be boring.

We walked up the stairs.  I let him lead just for the view.  The door to room 302 buzzed and opened just before we reached it as well.  I waved at the little security camera nearby.

Her waiting room hadn't changed - it still had the same oversized chairs.  They were comfortable looking but looked like they were made to handle a lot of weight as well.

Dr. Turnquist walked in.  She was tall, had curly blonde hair and gray eyes.  She had a slim build and wore stylish clothing, as she had the prior time I'd seen her.

She said, "You mentioned you needed a replacement costume?"  She was looking at Black Tiger.

"Diva does.  Her dress was pretty much destroyed in a fight the other night."

"Ah, I'm sorry to hear that.  You need just the dress part, Diva?"

I nodded, "Yes please."

"Hmm, considering the material quantity and only partial costume, I can do that for $2,000."

I sighed and shrugged, "I need the costume I guess.  Thank goodness for credit cards."

Black Tiger looked at me, "You've been involved in a variety of events, you don't have funds from that?"

"I don't know - how would I find out?"

He took out his phone and showed me where to look it up. 
Oh yeah, Captain McCain showed me something like that when I first signed up.  I should have paid more attention to him....

He said, "It'll ask for your PIN code that you got from Captain McCain."

I pulled out my phone and quickly brought up the account page.  "Oh.  Yeah.  Holy man!  Okay, I can afford this and go shopping, I guess!"

I hadn't expected to see thousands of dollars in my account.

Dr. Turnquist smiled and led us back into her workroom.  It still had the three-pillar device we stood in for sizing, her computer and the worktable with tools.

Black Tiger said, "You want me to wait out here?"

I smiled, "Nah, come on in."

I walked in; he followed while Dr. Turnquist moved over to the computer.  I pulled off the dress and tossed it to Black Tiger.  Then I walked into the pillar thing and stood for her.  I winked at Black Tiger, who stood there grinning like a schoolboy as he watched me.

Dr. Turnquist turned from the computer and looked at me.

She said, "Oh, I'm sorry.  I should have mentioned - I have your costume saved in the system, you don't need to be re-scanned unless your dimensions have changed...."

I giggled, "Oops.  Didn't realize.  No, everything ought to be the same...."

I walked back over to Black Tiger, who couldn't take his eyes off me.  I grinned and took my dress back from him, but merely held it in front of my chest.

I walked over by the Doctor as she pulled up my costume on her system.  Sure enough, it was the same as what she'd made the last Friday.

She looked over at me, "Exact same thing, correct?  Mini-dress only?"

"Yes please."

She walked into another room, came back with the material and quickly began designing the dress.  It was amazing to watch her work.  She was so fast at it, and then seeing the way she used her own special power to do the gradient color from blue to purple was amazing.  I was about to suggest that she get a job in fashion until I realized that she pretty much
was
in fashion, simply highly specialized.

When she finished I said, "Wow, you're really good at this."

She smiled, "Thank you.  I have years of fine-tuning my art.  How is the phone and ID pocket in the leg working out for you?"

"Great, it even survived some giant mutant dog monsters attacking that leg."

"Excellent!  How about you, Black Tiger?  Is your costume and belt working well for you?"

"It works perfect.  I might change the color scheme at some point, though."

"Are you finding people thinking you aren't a hero?"

"Sometimes."

"You might want to consult with an artist about costume ideas.  It's helped other heroes."

"Good idea - thanks."

She held out the finished dress to me.  I tossed the one in my hand to Black Tiger and winked at him before taking it from her.  The new one felt just like the old one.

I grinned, slid the new one over my head and wiggled into it.  The doctor motioned toward a large mirror as I looked up from it.

I said, "Thanks!"  I walked over and checked myself out in the mirror.  The dress looked great.  It showed nearly my entire thigh above the tall boots, and just a hint of my bottom when I looked at it from behind.  Much of my bust and back were bare, as were the shoulders and arms.

I caught Black Tiger checking me out in the mirror and grinned again.

Dr. Turnquist asked, "What is your H.E.R.O. phone's number, Diva?"

I pulled it out and gave it to her.  She typed something on her computer and in a moment, my phone beeped with a message.  She had sent me her contact information.

I looked at her, "Thank you."

"Should you need another costume part made, feel free to call or send me a message specifying which pieces need to be crafted.  I can make them ahead of time for you to pick up if you wish."

"That’s great - thanks again."

"Is there anything else I can do, then?"

"No, I just needed this - I think a lot of guys would have loved to see me keep the old costume."

Black Tiger snorted.  "Yeah, there wasn't much left after the laser turret got you."

Dr. Turnquist shook her head at him.

She said, "Well then, have a good day - both of you."

Black Tiger thanked her, as did I, and we left her office.

I waved at the receptionist - or guard woman - on the way out.  The day was just getting better.  I had my costume back, my skin was healed, I had a meeting about a modeling gig, money was in the bank, and I got to fly with Black Tiger back to his place.  Overall, it was a one-hundred percent change in mood from the day before.

Once outside I grinned slyly again and moved up against him.  I slid my arm around him and ran it down his back.

He said, "You know, I'm beginning to think you are maneuvering to get me against you, lovely lady."

"And if I am?"

He shrugged, "I dunno, I was just thinking that."

"You ready?"

"Aye."

I leaped up in the air a short distance - enough to shift up my flight gear and take flight.  I loved the way he looked at my hair blowing in the wind, and kept looking into my eyes as I flew.  Unlike Psystar, I could fly sideways while standing straight up if I wanted.  It made it almost like an intimate dance when I slowly changed the direction we flew at.

Not like I was worried about hitting something up here.  We were in the air, and not in the central part of the city with all the skyscrapers, so flying backwards worked fine for me.

I took my time flying back to his place.  He seemed just shy enough not to kiss me himself, so at one point while we stared into each other’s eyes I leaned forward and kissed him.

He seemed hesitant, but lost that when I got into the kiss.  I used my free hand to move his down below the dress in back.  I let my hands roam on his costume, although I almost dropped him once when I forgot to hold him against me with at least one arm.

Our intimate time was ruined when my phone rang.

I sighed, "Maybe I should drop the phone...."

He said, "It's way too expensive, besides, it could be the aliens again - we need to find them."

I slid the phone out and looked - it was Psystar.  I rolled my eyes - she had horrible timing.

I answered, "Hello?"

She said, "Hiya Diva.  It's Psystar.  You wanted to do lunch?"

"Yeah, I'd love to.  When are you available?"

"I kind of have to now.  Class just got out, but I have another at 1 P.M., so I need to go now.  Would you be okay with a couple of big fans joining us?"