Author: AnonyMPC

Title: Relatively Powered #9: "Playing By The Rules"

Summary: Two wannabe superheroes, a brother and sister, powered by incest! Tabby's got a new love, and it's making things very difficult for her.

Keywords: mf, inc, cons, superhero, scfi, ff, fg, mc

****
Previously, in Relatively Powered: Alex and Tabby are two not-so-ordinary teen siblings. Not only are they in witness protection because supervillains want their dad, but they've also been becoming far closer than siblings should be... sexually close. But when they discover that acts of unprotected incest give them superpowers, their whole lives change.

Tabby's been struggling with her recent revelation that her feelings for her brother are turning more romantic, and things have been tense with her brother until she sorted it out... but just as she thought she knew what she was doing, she was taken aside by a fellow female student, and fell instantly in love...

### Relatively Powered by AnonyMPC (mf, inc, cons, superhero, scfi)

#### #9: "Playing By The Rules" (Additional Story Code: ff*, fg, mc)

(*indicates that the code applies due to the bodies and apparent ages of the people involved and, since this is a superhero series which might eventually include elements like body-swapping or shape-shifting, and already includes many people who's aging has been halted, does not necessarily reflect the actual minds or level of experience)

"You've got a secret."

"What?" It was my sister, Sally, and I glanced up for a moment to see her looking at me with that look... her eyes sort of squinting, like she was trying to see right through me or read my mind, but her lips, those were curled up into a smug smile, like she already knew exactly what was up.

She was right... I had a secret. But she had no idea what it was. If she did, we'd already be moving to a new town. It was the protocol, any time anybody knew we were in hiding, we had to leave, lest the people who are after my Dad find us, come after us, like they did before. And someone definitely knew about that situation, even our real names. I should have announced that the second I got in the car, but I couldn't. My secret was mine to bear alone.

"You've got a secret," she repeated. "I can tell. Something's up." That was my fault, I guess. Ever since I got into the car, my face had been firmly on my feet. I just couldn't bear to look anybody in the eye for more than a second or two. I was glad Alex was staying at school late... I didn't think I could bear it if he was there. When I didn't answer, she pressed on, "Did something happen with Thane?"

"Who's Thane?" Roger Boyd, one of the two agents tasked with getting us safely to and from school, asked. He turned in his seat to look back at us, and his eyes were all lit up as though, despite being an adult with a real job, what he secretly craved was to be in on high school gossip.

"Nobody," I said, I buried my head in my hand. "Thane's the farthest thing from my mind." At least I could tell the truth about that.

Roger looked away, maybe disappointed, maybe not, but I didn't care. My sister wouldn't let it go so easily. "If it's not Thane, it's somebody else. Something's up. And you're not telling me, and that's not fair. We're sisters. We're supposed to tell each other everything. That's how it works." But it wasn't, and hadn't been for a long time. I already had secrets from her... and I'm sure she had some from me, although less dramatic ones.

Her ploy was cheap manipulation, that wouldn't have worked on any of my secrets, and especially not in a car with the Boyds. It was probably intended more to make me feel bad than it was to make me tell her. And in that, it worked. I really wished I could tell her. It was the biggest thing to happen to me since I got super powers. And it affected her, too, affected all of us. But I couldn't. So I said, simply, "There's nothing to say..."

There was a lot to say. We were in danger. I'd screwed up and the family was almost certainly going to have to move again... and that was the best-case scenario, if we were really, really lucky. But I wasn't lucky. I was in love, which was far worse.

It's not like I didn't want to tell my sister everything, not just about the danger, but also about the new love in my life. But I couldn't breathe a word about it... sometimes love needs secrecy...

***

Falling in love can be terrifying. I thought I knew that already. I thought I had the most terrifying kind of love there was... the impossible kind, romantic love for my brother Alex. It was new, and I didn't know where it was going or even if he might return it, but it still scared the hell out of me, especially since our relationship was so messed up. I don't mean we were dysfunctional or anything... if anything, we were too functional, we fit together perfectly, and we were already having sex. Complicating the issue was that we were Powered, at least we were after committing acts of incest, and had begun a secret career as superheroes. If Alex was just some ordinary, unrelated but unattainable boy, I might not be able to control the feelings, but I could control the situation, and just avoid him until the feelings went away. Certainly avoid having sex with him. But unless we were willing to give up being heroes, I knew Alex and I would continue fucking almost every night.

So that was scary. But I was starting to think I could deal with it.

Then I fell in love again. This time, with a girl. A girl I barely knew, only knew at all for a few weeks and hadn't talked to much before that day, the day she took me to an abandoned class room, kissed me, and went down on me.

And I fell immediately in love with her. Totally, head-over-heels.

It wasn't just sex, although she turned me on like no girl ever had before. Before Sapphire, I considered myself totally, 100% straight. So her setting my heart afire with a kiss, and then turning my knees to jelly with her tongue in my most sensitive area, that scared me a little... but not nearly as much as the thing she said after I told her I'd do anything for her. "Good. Then let's talk about why the government is protecting your family..."

I could barely believe she said it, so my first reaction was to say, "What?"

"Your family. You're under government protection, right?" I hesitated, and she planted three soft kisses on my outer labia. "If you love me, you won't lie to me."

"Yes," I blurted out. "We are."

"What I don't know is why. I guess that information is need-to-know, and none of my friends, so far, do. So what makes your family so special?" she asked. "Tell me. Why are there eyes out for you?"

"We're in witness protection," I said. I wanted to keep the secret, but at the same time I was filled with the urge to spill everything to a new love. I was technically lying, since we weren't witnesses, but it wasn't a lie of maliciousness... we just often called it that, among ourselves, like you might call it a Hot Dog even though there's no actual dog in it.

"For?" she asked, drawing out the word impatiently.

I tried to take a few seconds to figure out the best way to word it, not to lie, but maybe not reveal everything. That thought went out the window when she ran her tongue up the side of my slit, making me shiver and gasp. The words just rushed out, the first thing to come to mind, "I don't know exactly. Some organized crime group wants my dad."

"What does he do?"

"He works for the government. He's a scientist, working on top secret projects." And his daughter just spilled those top secrets to a classmate. I felt so ashamed. "I don't know exactly what. Weapons, I figure. Things to deal with the Powered." It was my private theory about how our own powers developed, that something Dad was involved with, a project to Empower people, somehow infected me and my brother. I bit my tongue before I could say that. I loved Sapphire, but I still wanted some secrets. If I could.

"Interesting! Do you at least know what group is after them?" I shook my head. "Pity. Perhaps we'll have to go seduce your mother and see if she knows. Would you like that?" I shook my head again rapidly. That just seemed... insane. "No? But you'd do it if I asked, right?" She licked me again, and this time all I could do was gasp and nod.

"But they watch her more than they do us," I said.

"You do have a point Kathryn... or what is your real name?"

Another secret that I was absolutely not to tell anybody. But she asked, and the truth spilled out of my lips without my even giving it a second thought. "Tabby. Tabitha Carey."

"Tabby. I like that. It sounds like the name of a cat, and if there's one thing I like, it's pussy." She buried her mouth in mine, wriggling it around like it was a fish caught in a net, and it just felt incredible. "I'm torn, Tabby," she said when she pulled away. "Feds crawling all over this place was not what we wanted... this was supposed to be a nice, simple job. So it might be more profitable to just cut out of this life and sell you and your family out." That filled me with a cold horror, and I'm not sure what scared me more, the thought of being sold out, or the thought that Sapphire would send me away. "I know, you want to be near me, but if it works out best for me, you won't mind if I sell you to crooks. But on the other hand, there's at least a fifty-fifty chance whoever's after your family would also like me dead... so I may just hold on to you, at least until we're done what we need to do here. Then maybe I can have it all." That relieved me, but only a little. "I know I can trust you to not to do anything that would reveal any of my secrets, right? Even to your family?"

The words tumbled out of me. "Of course, Sapphire... I wouldn't want you to get in trouble. I... love you." I'm no dummy. By this time I'd caught on that my feeling of love for her was unnatural... she had to be some kind of Powered, probably a Spore Kid, and she was somehow messing with my mind. I also didn't care. I loved her, and even if I was forced to do so, that was all that mattered. If I was forced to be tired, I'd slow down. If I was forced to be in love, I'd act like somebody in love, put herself before me. What other choice do I have? It's not like love is any more logical when you're forced into it by brain chemicals, for all we try to dress it up with romantic language.

Right then, I figured, if she forced me to fall in love with her, it was a good thing, because otherwise I'd never feel this way, and that would be bad... sometimes love isn't all good, sometimes it's awkward and sometimes it hurts like hell, but there's always a core of pleasure in it, the feelings that somebody you love is nearby is exciting and when they want to be with you too, it's heaven.

And that's leaving aside the sex, which should never be left out... she was worshipping my pussy, in a way nobody ever had, even Alex. He's eaten me out, but it was always like it was just a chore to get what he wants... sex in exchange, or a different set of super powers. And even if what he wants was just to make me happy, as I sometimes thought it was, the act itself, licking me down there was doing about me a favor. It was a whole different sensation with Sapphire, it was like she wanted to, that she loved my pussy and wanted to kiss it, even if she got nothing else out of the deal. Maybe she even mind-controlled me just so she could have the pleasure of eating me... that thought sent a pleasant tremor all through me... that would be the epitome of being truly desired. Pure, distilled desire is the hottest thing I've ever experienced... feeling it was like being on a drug enhancing my every sensation... every deep French kiss of my hole, every nibble of her lips along my pink insides, every lash and thrust of her tongue grazing against my clit, all doubled because it was somebody I loved, and doubled again because I could feel how much she wanted me.

Before long she brought me to the point where I didn't care that I was in a classroom, that somebody could walk in on us at any time, I didn't care that I just blew the second biggest secret in my family, I didn't care about anything except the vibrating feeling spreading throughout my body...

...and she stopped. Where her expert tongue had been diligently wiggling inside me, she stopped and once again gave me a tender kiss on the side of my mound. "You're mine, right?"

"Yes," I said, using all the breath that was left in my body, which wasn't much.

"Body and soul?" I whimpered in the affirmative, more at her breath on me than anything else, although the whimper continued as she licked slowly, almost painfully slowly along my slit and then disappeared again "Until I say otherwise...?"

I gulped in some air and said "Yes."

"Let's make sure you remember that..." And her tongue returned to its frenzied action again. And this time I was so keyed up that I couldn't help but buck my hips at her and everything seemed to be about to twitch, and I let out a noise that seemed impossibly loud before I bit down on my lip and felt the orgasm flow over me.

She stopped licking while I climaxed and just watched me like I was some work of art, and that might have made me blush if my face wasn't already red from what had just happened. My breaths slowed, and I looked down at her, her beautiful crooked smile, and watched her come to her feet. "Okay, now your turn..." she said, and before she even lifted her dress, I was down on my knees. I'd never done anything actually sexual with a girl before, but I was ready to start, to try and make her feel even a fraction of what I had, I'd have done anything.

I knew that when I made her cum, I might give her super powers and blow the other secret I'd been trying to keep... and it didn't matter. I won't say I didn't care, because I did, but Sapphire asked me to return the favor, and I wanted nothing more than to please her.

***

Just thinking about that, and what came after, made me flush red, which wasn't winning me any credibility with my sister. "Nothing to say. Right." I love my sister, but I'm pretty sure she stopped being consistently adorable the moment she figured out how to use sarcasm. "You're all red because you have nothing to say. Nope, nothing happened."

I couldn't take it any more. "God, will you just shut up?" She did, but the hint of a snarl flashed on her face like she was going to say something, but decided at the last moment it wasn't worth it, and just stared out the window instead.

I made the mistake of looking towards the front of the car myself, and saw the Boyds looking back at me... well, Mark was driving, so he just spared a glance in the mirror, but Roger looked back, right in my eyes. What had happened was bad enough, without THEM thinking there was a guy in my life that I was all worked up over, which I was sure was what they were thinking. I was all but certain that word would filter back to my parents, and I'd be getting a conversation I dreaded for a while now. No, not the "sex talk"... I got that when we still lived in Crash City. But I knew the score... we were in witness protection. We might have to leave at any moment, cut all ties, in a flash. So, it only made sense... no boyfriends. I might risk letting something slip, or even if not, if we had to move, it'd be so much more painful. They'd never outright said it, but that's just because they didn't think it needed to be said, and there was nobody that I had eyes on. And I wasn't even looking for love... I mean, how could I have a relationship with someone with that hanging over us? Me constantly having to lie? But I still didn't want to have my parents sit me down and explain it to me, to make it a rule.

And now that I actually was in love, and knew I was going to defy any rule they set if it meant being with Sapphire, I wanted it even less. Or at least most of me did. There was a part of me that wanted them to find out about Sapphire, too, to stop whatever she was doing. People would probably say that was the original Tabby in there, somewhere deep inside, crying out for freedom, but really, it's not as simple as there being a split personality or anything like feeling like a helpless passenger in my own body, there was just a huge jumble of feelings that went everywhich way. If I were to be honest, part of me wanted them to find out about Sapphire just so responsibility would fall off my shoulders... maybe Sapphire would make me run away with her, maybe my parents would move us all again to get away from her, as long as I didn't have to decide, I wouldn't have to personally disappoint anybody I loved. I just knew that I wouldn't reveal her myself, because she asked me not to, and letting her down would be worse than anything.

Focusing on Sapphire helped me get through the rest of the ride home... not on her beauty, or what she'd done for me, but silly things like imagining us going to prom together, or getting married. I knew neither were going to happen, that I loved her far more than she loved me, and that was okay... but indulging in fantasy still comforts you even when you know it's impossible, despite the sharp pang that adds to things.

At home, I retreated immediately up to my room, and closed my door to give my sister the message that she was not welcome to follow me and pester me more about imaginary boyfriends. I don't know if she got that message, but at least she didn't bother me for long enough that I eventually started to wonder if I'd been too mean to her, as silly as that is.

But right after getting there, I was mad at her, and the only thing on my mind was the predicament I was in and the whirlwind of feelings and impulses that didn't make any sense... or at least some of which didn't make any sense. The fear, that made sense. The love... well, it made as much sense as it ever did, which isn't much. What I found really unsettling were the barriers in my mind, set up by the rules Sapphire gave me. I couldn't tell my family. It wasn't JUST that I was in love and didn't want to make Sapphire unhappy... though, that was true. That was why I didn't tell anybody about her, I knew it would make her upset. But there were also things she told me not to do, things I could have done anyway and lied about and be confident that she would never know. I've lied to people I've loved before. I usually felt guilty about it, but sometimes lying is easier, especially if what they don't know won't hurt them. It's not like I lied about cheating or anything big. So some of Sapphire's rules, I think I could have, or would have, disobeyed, even if it was real love, but when I tried, or even came close, that was when it was like my body refused to comply. It was at these times, and only these times, that I felt like I was actually being controlled, and even then, it was like a sudden, paralyzing certainty that I would be making the wrong move.

The first time I really noticed that was in my room, when I decided that I should try to look up Sapphire, learn more about her... she probably wasn't using her real name, but there could still be a listing for her based on her powers. But then I thought that there may be a trigger for people who search for mind controlling spore kids, that would cause her to be discovered. That would count as "doing something that would reveal her secrets," and I couldn't do that, even if it seemed innocent. It was probably a crazy fear, like being worried that someone might die when they came home a little later than expected, but I guess love'll do that, too. I talked myself around it, in my head, decided that there really wouldn't be any harm, and yet I just... couldn't.
The best I could do was browse sites of villainous spore kids, hoping to find more details on my new love. Of course, you know how it is on those sites, you find interesting links that distract you... I couldn't help but read some of the stories of heroes who were temporarily mind-controlled (or who claimed that to excuse criminal behavior, cause I'm sure that's happened too), and that ate up so much time that, before I knew it, I was being called down for dinner.

Worst dinner ever, and I was the only one who knew it. Almost everyone I cared about, except one person, was there, and as much as I wanted to tell them that a supervillain knew who we were (if that's what she was... I also told myself she probably had her reasons), I couldn't say a word of warning. All I could do was stare down at the disgusting pork chop I wouldn't touch and the peas and rice that I took bites of, mostly as something else to do to keep from having to talk rather than from any real appetite.

Luckily, Sally did most of the talking at the table. That's how it usually went when we did eat together (which we did a lot more since moving)... Mom or Dad would ask questions, and Alex and I, we'd answer what was asked, but not usually have much to say beyond the first sentence or two. Sally, on the other hand, could talk at length with only a little prompting, so unless one of us had something we really wanted to talk about, or there was some big news story or something, she'd usually dominate with tales of funny or interesting things that happened at her middle school. Dad sometimes broke in with a stupid joke, though often even when he was at home, he had his mind on some problem from work and only half-listened while he thought about it. And sometimes, if Alex and I sat next to each other, we'd have a little side conversation... nothing wild, but just to pass the time, until Sally got annoyed that she wasn't the center of attention and demanded we listen to her story.

This time, my sister had no competition. Alex answered about the work he had to do for his group homework assignment, the one that made him stay late, in just a few syllables, and even though Mom tried to pry more out of him, asking if he was becoming friendly with the guys he was working with, he just gave that shrug that always annoyed her. Me, she left alone almost entirely. She knows when I don't want to talk.

I guess it might have been obvious then to everyone, with me not looking anybody in the eye. I didn't want to look at Mom or Dad, because I'd betrayed them... betrayed everyone, really. And of course, if I made eye contact with Sally, she might break out of her self-absorption and remember I had a secret that she could pester me about. And Alex, well, he might have been oblivious, but I knew he was going to eventually give me that look, that "Are we going to be heroes tonight?" look, and I still hadn't thought of what to tell him. So instead, I sat there, just staring at the meal, wondering why I just couldn't force myself to eat the pork chop. I wasn't especially hungry, but I wanted to try, just to have something to do, yet I couldn't even move.

Somehow, I got through dinner, skipped desert (even though by then I was starting to get hungry, I had to pretend I wasn't), and slipped upstairs and back into my room at the first opportunity, claiming homework. I didn't have to face Alex for a while. Although I knew the conversation was coming, I didn't think it would come until after Mom and Dad went to bed, and, if I was lucky, I wouldn't have to handle it face to face.

I didn't do homework, though. I buried my head in my pillow for a while, trying to find a way through this impossible mess, but I couldn't find one. I'd lost all control of my life. It was all in Sapphire's hands, now. I was just a prisoner of love. And as ridiculous as it sounds, as much as I didn't like that feeling, a part of me glowed inside at how romantic that sounded.

Trying to find a solution seemed pointless, what seemed more reasonable was trying to figure out a way to accept things, to remind myself of the new rules I had to live by, and focus on what I could do within them...

***

As I ate Sapphire out, she asked me more questions about my family and the people watching us. How many agents I thought were guarding us, whether my Mom works. I answered them in between licks of her delicious wetness. I'd never eaten pussy before, but she tasted great... and I don't think it was just love talking either, there was a definite sweetness underlying everything, like a hint of citrus, and none of the slightly sweaty flavor Alex sometimes gets on his genitals.

"Is there anything else you think I should know?" That was an open-ended question, and that might be what saved me from blowing all my family's secrets. Because, somewhere I knew that she would want to know that I had super powers, that so did my brother. But did I think she should know about it? I shook my head and made a noise in the folds of her perfect pussy. No, because it would hurt Alex, and I still did love him. You can love two people at the same time. And if I wouldn't tell her secrets to Alex because I loved her, then it should work in reverse, right?

If it was just me, I might have told her. If she asked me directly, I might have told her. But in the ambiguity, I was able to keep my brother's secrets, and also my own.

Of course, if I made her cum, the information about our powers might all come out anyway. We didn't know for sure, but there was a possibility that, when we caused somebody else to get an orgasm, through physical contact, we also gave them powers. It was, so far, an open question. And I wanted to make her cum. The thought of trying to pull away, even to keep my secret, broke my heart.

So I had mixed feelings when she pushed my head away and said, "God, you're really not good at this, are you?" Shame crept up my cheeks and I felt humiliated, rejected, worthless, but at the same time, partly I was relieved that she didn't let me finish. "You can practice on one of the other girls. When you get really good at it, maybe I'll let you try on me."

So it was danger postponed, not avoided. "Other girls?" I asked.

She looked up and away from me, smiled, and made a waving motion, and I turned my head in time to see the door open. Embarrassed, I scampered backwards, and only the fear of hurting Alex kept me from teleporting away from the moment where I seemed to be inevitably caught kneeling, shirt off, pants down, and me wet-faced and blushing between the legs of a girl with her underwear around her ankles. Instead, I just blushed what must have been an even deeper red, taking a second to notice the handful of people entering the room was not an approaching class, but just a small handful of girls. Which was embarrassing enough... girls talk, after all. "It's okay," Sapphire said in a soothing voice, and pulled me to my feet beside her, putting one arm around me like we were old friends, not even bothering pull her underwear up. I couldn't be the same way, and reaching down awkwardly with one hand to tug up my panties and pants, though I only got those up to mid-thigh. "There's nothing to be ashamed of, you weren't doing anything they haven't." I finally managed to look up, and realized I knew all of them... they were girls known to be in Sapphire's growing 'circle'. All except one, a girl who wouldn't even look me in the eyes... it was Eva. Alex's classmate, and sort of my friend too.
"Now," Sapphire said, letting me go, and giving me the time and space to pull my pants all the way up, "we're going to have to make a few changes to your lifestyle, now that you're one of my girls. " I still only had my bra on up top, no longer embarrassed for some reasons but still worried that somebody ELSE could walk in and see me like that. My shirt was on one of the other desks, but while Sapphire was talking I didn't feel right about going for it. She wanted my attention on her, and how could I disappoint her. "If you really love me, you're going to stop eating meat."

"What? Why?" I enjoyed meat... but I also knew that I could give it up for somebody I love. That didn't mean I didn't hope to talk her out of it.

"Because meat is murder. Besides, it's bad for your skin, makes you fat, makes you needlessly aggressive, they pump it full of way too many hormones, and, if that wasn't bad enough, it makes you taste bad. And I want all my girls to taste good. It's a body purity thing. You're mine, now, body and soul. You should want to do this for me."

"I do," I said, and then swallowed a lump of saliva in my throat and corrected myself. "I will."

"Good. Also, you're mine now, so that means I don't want with any guys. Girls are fine, of course, you need the practice, but no sex with a guy until I say it's okay. If you've got a boyfriend or something, you can still fool around with him a little to get yourself worked up, but keep his dick out of you. Maybe tell him you're reclaiming your virginity."

"She doesn't have a boyfriend," Eva said.

"Is that right?" she asked me. Alex wasn't a boyfriend, even though there were times I wished maybe he would be, so I nodded without guilt. But he did count as an 'or something,' didn't he? Did that mean I could still fool around with him? I didn't ask, and Sapphire continued, "Well, in that case, I want you to masturbate. At least a half hour a day."

"Okay, but why?" I asked, and then regretted it. I knew even then that the more specific she got, the harder it would be to find wiggle room out of her instructions. I had to play by her rules, but the fewer rules there were, the better. Masturbating? That was easy enough. I haven't masturbated very much anyway since we discovered that it drains our powers. Well, it was a little more specific than that, although I hadn't explained this to my brother. If I came while touching my pussy or my clit with my finger, I lost any powers I had. But if I came from a toy, or a pen or something, well, I just came, and I kept my powers if I had any. And I wanted to keep my powers. As it stood, I could teleport, at least for another day or so, depending on how much I used it, even with her request that I masturbate, as long as she didn't tell me to use my fingers. That's why I didn't want to ask. A part of me wondered if she somehow knew, and that she told me to masturbate just to make sure I wouldn't get Powered, and that's why I regretted asking... if she told me that was the reason, I didn't think it would matter if she told me to use my fingers or not, I'd make sure I wasn't Powered.

It turns out the reason was something else, something that seemed more personal, romantic, sensual. "Because I want you always to be revved up for me," she said in a voice that felt almost like a purr, and she leaned forward to say it in my ear, just above a whisper, still loud enough that the other girls there could hear.

I felt like I would melt right there. I could go back to masturbating just to make her happy, and I could use a hairbrush or something. "Okay," I said.

"And one more thing. This is a big one." I waited, resisting the urge to rock back and forth on my heels as I sometimes did when the suspense of waiting for something was just too high. Part of me wanted it to be something big that I could prove my love to her. The reason for her last request might have been sensual, but this one seemed downright kinky. "You're not allowed to cum. I don't care how turned on you are, how close you get, but you will not cum until I tell you to. Understand?"

No, I didn't understand... at least, I didn't understand the why. But I also knew that wasn't what she was asking. She was asking me if I understood the instruction, and I did, so I gave her a nod. But if I HAD to masturbate for half an hour, that was a tall order. "But how can I..."

"I have faith in you, Tabby-Cat. You won't cum because I tell you not to. Your love alone will ensure it."

"It's true," one of the other girls said. It was June, in her short blue skirt and tight white top. She was one of my first friends since I moved here, although I'd felt us drifting apart... now I knew why. I wasn't sure it wouldn't continue, either... how can you be friends with someone knowing they're also involved with your true love. Maybe even seeing it... I pictured walking into a room and seeing June from behind, her long black hair all I could see of her head, as she rammed her face into Sapphire's glorious pussy, being the one to make her moan, and a wave of jealousy came over me. "We all do it," she said, and it took me a second to remember she was talking about holding back their orgasms, out of love.

All of them? My heart sank as I felt immediately less special. But of course, it made sense. All of them had "reclaimed their virginity," all of them had become vegetarian. We were all being molded into her idea of a perfect girlfriend, like a harem.

And I still loved that it was happening to me, even if I wanted to be the only one.

I didn't want to have to hear about the others, but Sapphire had brought them to meet me for a reason, so the least I could do was listen. "Yeah, I'm horny all the time," said Maggie, one of the girls who still dressed pretty conservatively, at least compared to the others. With her wholesome look and cute short blonde hair, it was hard to imagine her ever using that word, but then I didn't know her too well. "I keep think it's impossible to get more turned on without popping, but... I do."

"See, that's how I like my girls," Sapphire said, and pulled Maggie in for a long french kiss. Maggie actually shuddered in pleasure, like she was having a mini-orgasm right then, but it only lasted for a second. "Constantly turned on, oozing with sexual energy."

But unable to go over the top. I couldn't help but smile there... if none of these girls could cum, my secret would be safe, even if I practiced on them. No orgasms mean no powers. There really was a kind of sexual energy... I wondered if maybe Sapphire's powers were powered like mine.

She caught my smile, but misinterpreted it. "Well, I'm glad you're not the jealous type." I was, actually, that thought with June proved it, but I was so relieved that I could keep my secret, it was like it took my brain a second to remember that the girl I loved had just kissed somebody else in front of me. The anger started to build up when she pointed it out, until she said, "I don't want you to be jealous."

It was almost like a light switch. After that, the feeling was there, but it was like the metaphorical green-eyed monster in my head had been thrown into a sack. I could still hear it struggling somewhere down there, but it was restrained, subdued, and when Sapphire pulled me in to her embrace with Maggie, my desire to please her outweighed any other concern and I kissed Sapphire, then Maggie, using tongue both times, the latter a weird but sensual experience, since I barely knew her. Maggie's fingers slipped in under my pants, still loose because I hadn't buttoned or zipped up fully, and trailed in between the crack of my ass, a little more intimate than a kiss, and I admit, I was turned on by her too. I remembered Sapphire's instruction, that I practice on other girls, and I could see this going somewhere. I didn't really have feelings for Maggie, beyond the sexual, but that was enough right then.

Sapphire did say I should practice, and a threesome seemed like a great way to practice.

But it was not to be. "You can't hang out after school, can you?" Sapphire asked.

"Somebody comes to pick them up right after the bell. Unless she's got a good excuse, her parents will wonder," Eva said, after clearing her throat to get Sapphire's attention. I wondered how she knew. Did Sapphire tell her about my parents and the government protection? Or had she just noticed what a tight leash we were kept under, and that's what she was referring to? I decided it must be the latter, I knew she had some kind of crush on Alex, and it would make sense that she noticed that we always got a ride even if she didn't know why.

"I could make up something," I volunteered. "Some sort of project. If you wanted to be together."

"No, it's better nobody suspects anything," Sapphire said. "We're still at a very early stage and I don't want to take any risks if I don't have to. Besides, I wasn't asking for me. I'm meeting with my brother anyway. In fact, I'd better get far away from here before the halls start filling up." She pulled up her thong underwear and made sure her dress covered everything, then wiped her face with a moist towelette provided by one of the girls, and within seconds she looked like the perfectly innocent girl. "I can't afford to get caught doing anything that might get me arrested." She stressed the word "I" in that last sentence, like it didn't matter if any of US got caught.

I certainly didn't want to get caught, and have to live with the embarrassment, much less the potential legal problems. I mean, it's rare that somebody gets arrested for underage sex, but they do make an example out of people sometimes, especially when it happens on school grounds. And more than anything else, it's mortifying to have everybody know. I wanted to get out of there too, leave with Sapphire even... after all, if she was going to see her brother, wouldn't that be nice? I only vaguely remembered that she had one because the two showed up at the same time... it never mattered to me before, but now I wanted to meet her whole family. Mostly, though, I just wanted to spend more time with her.

But she didn't give me a choice in that, either. "But don't worry, I'll meet you before school tomorrow, okay? Come find me." I nodded quickly. "And in the meantime... Maggie, why don't you stay here and teach 'Kat' how I like to be touched." I might have imagined the stress on my name, but at least she was keeping my secret. She'd called me Tabby-Cat before, but that could be written off as a term of endearment. Alex has done the same thing, although I try to discourage people following his lead. I didn't have the heart to say anything to her about it, though. "Take a few minutes, at least. The rest of you, with me."

Once they were gone, I looked at Maggie, feeling that green-eyed monster in my head start to kick up again as I realized that Maggie must be really good for Sapphire to choose her to teach me, she must really know how Sapphire likes it. But then I remembered she didn't want me to be jealous, so I took a deep breath and smiled uncertainly and tried to look at it like I was in class for a subject I was really excited about. "So, teach me..."

***

The memory of that scene was starting to get me turned on all over again. Of course, I wasn't thinking of Maggie, when I remembered the feel of her fingers and, eventually, tongue, I mentally superimposed Sapphire on that memory, which brought me back to the memories of when she actually was eating me out, like a loop, and each loop kicking up my horniness another notch. And then I remembered that I needed to masturbate for a half an hour. I might as well get started. If I started right then, I thought, maybe I'd do an hour, or more, show her how committed I was to doing what she wanted. I always was an overachiever.

I like to set the mood when I masturbate. I mean, like anybody else, sometimes I just got the urge to do it quickly after dark, but normally I liked to put a bit more effort into it, especially since I discovered I was Powered and it became a rarer thing. And since this time I was doing it for Sapphire, I wanted to make sure it was at least a little bit special. So I put some music on... two types, really. I played some of my "studying music", loud enough to send the message "don't bother me, I'm working" and cover up any noises I might accidentally make, and then through earbuds I set up a short playlist of songs that were more meaningful or romantic. "I Kissed a Girl" was one of them, though I had to download it specifically, since it never made such an impression on me before. "Touch Me", was another... I know it's a girl's voice but the lyrics were pretty ambiguous about whether it was a guy or a girl anyway, so I already had it and just had to pretend it was Sapphire singing to me.

Normally I liked to dress up in something hotter, too, just to feel sexy. Not naked, I usually only did that if I was in the shower or bath, but something that I think looks good on me or feels nice against my skin, like my lacy black underwear or just one of Alex's long t-shirts. One time I did it in my costume, which was a risk but if I was afraid of a little risk, I wouldn't be a superhero in the first place. This time, I didn't bother changing into anything else. I was still wearing the panties I had on when Sapphire pulled them down and ate me out, and that felt unbelievably sexy, and so I just pulled my pants down to my thigh, put my earbuds in, and got started, my mind flashing back on those moments so hard that my teleportation sense started to kick in, a 3D map of that classroom sparking into my brain, and if I wasn't careful, I could slip over the edge into actually being there.

Instead, I tried to focus less on the memory and more on the sensations, as my fingers dug in to my pussy with a speed that might have been painful in other circumstances. But not only was I as wet as hell down there, I had some measure of super-durability. I not only could afford to be more vigorous, it almost felt necessary. I wasn't allowed to cum, and from the way the other restrictions she gave me had felt, I had the feeling that Sapphire was right, that it didn't matter how hard I tried, I just wouldn't. So the only thing that made sense was to go all out, that if I couldn't get the release, at least I could get the most pleasure out of the build-up.
And I was. I was getting really, really into it.

Too into it, I guess.

I opened my eyes and saw my little sister staring at me with a big smirk on her face.

When I cloistered myself in my room, I was sure I locked that door... I have a distinct memory of it. I wanted to be left alone, so I locked it. I'm still not 100% sure what happened. I probably forgot on the way back from a bathroom trip, so wrapped up in my depressed moping that I spaced out and didn't lock up again. Or maybe I turned the lock but it just didn't click. For a second, I even considered that maybe my sister had teleportation powers too, but she just didn't need sex to activate them. The door was, after all, closed behind her.

But that was just because she closed it. It was the door closing that, even though I didn't consciously hear it, caused me to open my eyes. My sister may be quiet, but there's that ever-so-slight rush of air when a door closes or somebody moves around, it's part of what gives you the feeling you're being watched.

"What are you doing here?" I snapped, slipping my underwear up and forcing a scowl on my face. I was angry, but more embarrassed than anything else. It could have been worse... imagine Dad walking in on me doing that? But, outside of Dad, Sally was probably the worst case scenario, at least assuming I wasn't wearing my costume. Mom would have shut the door and never said a word. Dad probably would have too, but I think he would have stared in shock for a while and never be able to look me in the eye again. And Alex, well, he would have said something stupid, or funny, or both, and I might have been a bit embarrassed over being caught, but it's not like he hasn't seen me doing it before.

Sally though, she's never caught me doing it. At least, I don't think she has. I remember one time we shared a room in one of the motel safehouses we lived in while our new identities were being set up, and I did it under the covers, and it certainly seemed like she was giving me little smirks throughout the day and I was so paranoid it was because she knew what I was doing, but if she did, she never said anything. That alone made me suspect that I was just being crazy. Anyway, she'd certainly never walked in on me like this.

I was pissed at her intrusion, but I took some small satisfaction at the fact that I'd finally rendered her speechless, at least for the twenty seconds or so after I asked the question as she seemed to, just for a little while, feel guilty for catching me in the middle of something so personal, or maybe because I was so angry at her. Then she must have decided she didn't care, because that godawful smug look appeared on her face again. "So, let me guess. You're lying here NOT thinking about Thane?"

She infuriated me so much sometimes. I reached behind me for a pillow and threw it at her, but she ducked it and came back with the same smirk. "Get out!"

"Look, I'm sorry, okay?" she said, the smirk finally starting to fade. That was unusual, her apologizing. "I didn't mean to barge in on you. I just wanted to talk."

"Yeah, well, I'm not really in a talking mood right now."

"Obviously." I must have glared at her, because she said, "Sorry, sorry." But of course, she didn't leave. "I'm just surprised you, you know... do that."

I gave her a grimace, then tried to hide it. I did not really want to have this conversation, but I also didn't want to give her a complex about masturbation being shameful or anything. And I always wanted the kind of relationship with my little sister where she could talk about anything with me, no matter how embarrassing. I just always pictured her being the one embarrassed. So even though I just wanted to get her out of my room and get back to fulfilling Sapphire's orders, I took a breath and answered calmly. "It's perfectly natural and healthy," I said. I was sure she'd heard this before... she was right around the age where they start pushing masturbation pretty hard in Health class, and warn kids about the dangers of spore kids pretending to be peers and taking advantage of their natural urges.

"Oh, I know it is," she said, in a tone that suggested she thought of herself as an expert on this topic. "It's just... it's you."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

She shrugged. "I never would have thought you needed to do that."

"What is THAT supposed to mean?" Now I was legitimately worried, like maybe she was hinting that she knew that me and Alex had a thing.

But she had a frustrated whine in her voice as she said, "I don't know!" that seemed too genuine, like she really didn't, that it was just one of those feelings you get about people that somehow become facts in your head, even though there's no evidence for them. And it sort of made sense to me that she never thought of me doing that just like I'd never think of, say, Mom doing it, even when I knew what it was. "Everyone does it," I told her, even though I knew it was probably a lie. Some of my friends, back in Crash City, in the kind of deep heart-to-hearts you only get at sleepovers or truth or dare games, said they didn't. Sure, they could have been lying, but some seemed ashamed at NOT doing it, like there was something wrong with them for not being turned on and needing release.

Sally also looked ashamed. "I don't."

"Well, you're young," I said. "Girls start at different ages."

"How old were you?"

"I don't know, your age I guess." Younger if you counted playing with the shower spray without actually touching yourself, which I did for a long time.

"I don't know," she said, speaking as though I'd asked why she doesn't, which I did not. "Sometimes I kind of want to, but..." She shrugged then, and made a face, and I thought it was going to be another one of those times where she doesn't finish her sentence, but after a second's thought, she did. "You know, what if I screwed it up and hurt myself or something, and then I'd have to tell somebody, and it would be so embarrassing."

"You're not going to hurt yourself," I told her. Well, not badly, probably. I mean, you could graze a sensitive part the wrong way with a nail, or if you tried to use something too big too early, I guess you could hurt yourself a little. But it's really unlikely to hurt yourself seriously enough that that would be a concern.

"I guess," she said. "I probably should. I just would feel better if I had somebody to try it with, you know, like a buddy system. I'm a lot braver when other people are around."

It was pretty obvious by then what she was doing, what she was hoping to get me to suggest. The problem was, I wasn't sure that she wasn't trying to manipulate me into making that suggestion with the truth, because I had already noticed that about my sister. Give her an audience and she'll do almost anything, but if she was all alone... I remember a couple times I'd forgotten my keys and knocked on the door, and she wouldn't answer it or even peek out the peephole, for fear it was somebody trying to break in and they'd know she was in there, until I started yelling and she realized it was me. And she can't even watch a scary movie without dragging me or Alex along.

Actually, that wasn't the real problem.

The real problem was that I was still under the sway of, and suffering the consequences of, Sapphire's commands. Because I'd been masturbating for maybe twenty minutes, with no release, and I was still pretty damn horny. I mean, the shame and anger of getting caught by little sister knocked my arousal level down a notch or two but... it was still pretty high... and it was like there was an urgent alert screen in my head reminding me that I still needed to masturbate for a little longer to make Sapphire happy. And, worse, the thought that danced through my head, that, now that I was into girls, shouldn't I take any chance I get to see one naked? Sapphire had told me to get more practice, right?

So I swallowed, and I made the offer I knew my sister was fishing for, "Do you want to like, do it with me? I'll show you how?"

"Really?" She beamed at me so happily that I almost became suspicious and backed out. It just didn't seem natural.

"You can't ever tell anybody," I said, feeling like I was in some bad sexual abuse drama, because that was the kind of thing the creepy guy says. But then, I told myself, I wasn't actually going to touch her. I wouldn't admit that even thinking that, that I wasn't going to, made me flush with an extra burst of excitement at the thought that maybe I was lying to myself.

"Doy. Of course," she said.

"Lock the door." She stepped backwards, pushed against it to make sure it was closed, and then turned the locking knob until it clicked. I slid over to make room for her beside me.

She was wearing what she'd lately changed into outside of school at least when she wasn't on her period, a pair of tight pastel colored felt shorts (pink, this time) and a short t-shirt. For bed she'd usually change into a longer t-shirt and just wear underwear underneath, but it was still a little early for that.

I had second thoughts as she looked over to me, beside me, ready to start, a feeling that I was doing something bad, but I'd already committed, told her I would, so I took a breath. "Well, there's not really much to it," I said, and pulled my pants down. She did with the same with her shorts and underwear, much more boldly.

I'd seen her naked before, of course... we're girls, that's not really a big deal, we change together sometimes. But this was the first time I saw her when I was firmly bisexual, and that added a little bit of... spice to the event. Not as much as you might think, it wasn't like I was drooling or anything, but when I looked her over it was like I was using new eyes. She really was cute, even if she didn't have much of a body yet, there was a sort of innocent sultry beauty to it. And her private parts... well, they looked almost like mine, except somehow more perfect, less pink stuff poking out, her clit wasn't really as prominent as mine was, almost hidden inside the fold, tucked away. I slid my hand down my belly and over my outer labia, squeezing them together as I did. "You just rub yourself, you know..."

She copied my movement almost exactly, although her fingers seemed so much tinier than my own and she was much less wet at the outset, and a part of me worried that maybe she wasn't, biologically, ready.

"So you think of someone, right? When you do it?"

"If you want," I said.

"Yeah, but who do you think about?"

I scowled at her. "We are not having this conversation." Even if I could tell her the truth, or even if the truth were more innocent, a celebrity or something... I wasn't going to. This was weird enough as it was without letting my sister peep into my fantasies, too.

"Fine," she muttered, and went back to rubbing herself, and I worked on myself, getting a little fancy, trying to show her the different ways to do it but as often as not she wasn't actually looking at me doing it, she was just content to be doing it her own way, with me beside her.

I wished I could be the same way, just stare up at the ceiling while we both did it in the same room... let her look, if she wanted to, to learn, but I didn't need to look at her... except, I did, I was curious about her, how she did it, what it looked like... did it plump up like mine did after a while, get a little red?

I tried to only give it passing glances, but after a few of those I noticed she'd been stuck on the same movements... almost pinching her lips together repeatedly, like they were a mouth she was trying to open and close, and occasionally drawing one finger along the slit line. Maybe that was what worked best for her... every girl's a little different, you know, but she asked me to show her how, and if I was going to help her, the only thing I could really offer was to demonstrate the different ways that I like and then she could experiment on her own. later "You can change it up, too, for variety. Try a little circular motion."

"Like this?" She swept her hand from side to side as she moved up and down, but it wasn't quite what I did, nor was there much force behind it... it was more like she was halfheartedly dusting. Again, I could have left her like that, but... I can't explain it, it just looked so good and soft, and more importantly, she was doing it so obviously wrong, that the words burst out of me.

"No, more pressure, like this..." and instead of just demonstrating on myself, my hand went to hers, and I began to rub. And it was soft, and warm, and even a little bit wet, although not as much as I usually got, and that mostly centered inside... and I felt inside, too, with my two middle fingertips I dug in, while my the outer parts of my hand commenced a roughly circular massage of her labia and mound area. I was doing so gently, of course, and not deep, aware that my super strength might hurt her, but it was still more forceful than she was doing, and at that first moment, she let out a surprised gasp, at the contact, at my boldness, or at both, and she twitched for a moment.

Just when I was worried that I might have traumatized her, her hands fell away, and her legs spread further apart, like she was inviting me, giving me more room to play with her, anyway I wanted. She may have been surprised, but she adjusted awfully quick and just ran with it.

She adjusted better than me. I didn't stop, then, I kept going, kept staring, and even brought my own left hand up so I could rub myself while I rubbed my little sister, but it was like I was outside of my body watching a movie of myself, unable to control the action. And I didn't even have the excuse that this was an explicit order. Inside, I was turned on, still, but conflicted, asking myself, "Oh, god, what am I doing?" and then a chorus of other me-voices, answering myself, "Just practicing like Sapphire wanted..." and "It's so hot though..." and "It's no worse than what I've done with Alex." That one followed up with, "This is who I am, the real me, a dirty slut... when I get horny enough... I don't care what's right or wrong, I just get what I want."

I didn't know if that was true, sometimes I wished it was, sometimes I prayed it wasn't. But that voice, that part of me... it had a point... that's exactly how it happened with my brother. Sure, he pursued me, but every step of the way, even when I was sure it was a bad idea, I let him because I got horny enough...

***

I was almost at that peak... breathing heavily, heart racing, a little sick, and it seemed like my boobs were heaving with every movement... this low-level euphoria spreading through my body, coupled with a feeling that I was, maybe, about to actually die. The latter seemed to win out, but finally I reached the front door, put my hands on my knees, and exhaled.

People always talked about the runner's high, where everything seems easy and you're just on top of the world, and I wanted it to be true, but for me, it never seemed to get much better than that peak... some good feelings that were overwhelmed by the exhaustion. If I ran beyond when I was feeling that peak, I didn't get a feeling of profound bliss, I'd just start to feel like collapsing, and not in the good way. To me, the runner's high was a big tease.

I ran for more practical reasons. I was convinced I was getting flabby and ugly. This was before I had a Powered metabolism, and maybe it was all in my head, a function of hormones... sometimes I looked at myself in the mirror and felt pretty good. At others, I was this wretched hag nobody could love. When we still lived in Crash City, I had friends I could rely on to talk me out of those moods, reassure me I wasn't getting fat, but here in Ohio... I had friends, but none I could trust at that level. If I confessed my insecurities, I was worried they'd use it against me, either right away with one of those calculated backhanded compliments like "No, you look totally healthy, guys like a little bit to squeeze," or stored up for later. And even if they gave me an honest compliment, I couldn't trust that it wasn't just being polite.

The only thing to do was try my best to keep up my standards until I felt better about myself. I was off-and-on obsessive about it, sometimes going to the gym with Mom and jogging on my own time, at others lazing around and eating junk food. This was one of my "on" times. Besides, I'd already done my homework for the weekend, so I had the time to get a good run in.

I grabbed my water bottle from my belt-pack and took a swig while I gave a nod to the car that I imagined had been watching, like I was telling him he could relax, I was done. I didn't like them being there, but I could acknowledge the security team was in a tough spot. They couldn't follow me on my jog without being mistaken for a perv, so all they could do was keep careful track of how long I'd been gone in case something happened. I wasn't even 100% sure anyone was watching me, the surveillance wasn't as high as it was when we first moved, but we hadn't completely relaxed and we still needed to get escorted to and from school, so I assumed someone was.

Inside, I was ready for a shower, and I could feel that the house was almost empty. Not in the way I can peek at the whole place at once, now, when I have my spatial sense, but in that subliminal way you notice the lack of the usual level of sound. Sure, Mom might have still been up in the master bedroom and somebody could have been having a Saturday morning nap, but I just had a feeling that nobody was home. Seconds later I changed that to "only one person." It was Alex, coming up from his basement room, wearing a steel blue tank-top and black and grey shorts that ended at the knee.

He looked me over, gave me a half-smile, and I knew he only came up to see who'd come home. "Mom and Sally went out," he said.

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah, Sally dragged her to get some new shoes for a somebody's birthday party of something?" For a second I was disappointed they didn't wait for me to come back and invite me along with them... I enjoyed a girl's shopping day too. But then I caught a glint in Alex's eye as he added. "And Dad's still at work." One of his annoying Saturday shifts, but for once I didn't mind.

"So it's just us."

"Looks that way. So if you wanted to, I don't know, do something..."

It was like we were talking in code, because both of us knew what we were really saying. Because lately those rare times it was just us, and occasionally even when there were others home, we'd been doing things, touching each other, rubbing each other through clothes, flashing. Maybe that was part of the reason I was so keen on my weight lately, that I wanted to look good for him, though I never could have admitted it then, even to myself.

What I couldn't deny (at least, not to myself, although I tried to play it cool with my brother) was how much I was enjoying this little game, how excited it made me, even thinking about it when I was all alone. My heart had just calmed down from the run, but now it was jolted into motion again just at the thought of what we might do today. I still told myself it wasn't about him, about Alex, and that's what made it okay... it was all about sensation, but a sensation I craved. That's why I kept setting limits... because I was afraid how far I might fall chasing that sensation, but it was a huge rush bumping right up against those limits and sometimes pushing past one and discovering it wasn't so bad after all. And it was so rare to get times like this, when we had the house to ourselves that... well, I wanted it too.

Just, not RIGHT then. "Just let me shower," I said. "I'll meet you downstairs in fifteen?"

"Why not shower after?" he suggested.

"I smell," wrinkling my nose imagining what I must smell like to him.

"I don't care," he said.

My heart thumped a little faster at the thought that he wanted it, wanted me, so much that he didn't care how gross I smelled, but I told myself he just was worried somebody would come home if we waited too long. So was I, but I had standards. "I do. It'll be quick."

"You know, I could come in with you, if you wanted..."

Now that was a tempting offer. Too tempting. When we were in that shower, all wet and soapy, and naked, it'd hard to keep from touching each other, pushing past all my limits in one slippery minute, and I wasn't ready to go there. So far, I'd let him see and feel my bare boobs. I'd let him see my pussy but only rub it through clothes. We'd dry-humped, clothes on. We'd masturbated together but not touching. I'd had one glorious orgasm from him rubbing my underwear and came close on several other occasions. And I gave him a handjob that one time that started it all. All of that seemed like plenty, sometimes even terrifyingly too far. It seemed clear to me that the fewer clothes between us, the more steps we might take before we realized what we were doing.

Joining me in the shower, as exciting as it was, was a few steps beyond where I was willing to go. It was the kind of thing you see in romantic movies between lovers, not just kids fooling around and relieving stress, like I told myself we were. "I don't think so," I said simply, trying to act like it was a far more ridiculous suggestion than it felt. "I'll make it quick, I promise."

He shrugged with a half smile, knowing he was beaten, and I went upstairs, did a few simple stretches just so I wouldn't be sore later, then pulled my sports bra off under my shirt (normally I like a litte the support but after a run I just couldn't wait to be rid of it), grabbed a towel and headed for the shower.

I'd intended it to be quick, just business, but I was horny and got carried away. It wasn't just knowing what was coming up, although that was probably most of it. I'm always a little horny after a run, too. Not to mention the daring thought I'd just turned down, of sharing a shower. Once I'd washed away all the sweat, I let myself soak to ease my muscles, and thought about what I should wear when I went to see Alex, and my hand found its way between my legs to play as I did, rubbing, imagining it was his hand being so bold.

I finally decided on the tight black yoga pants over a thong. The stretchy fabric felt almost like being nude, without actually being nude, and if I got really daring, I might pull them off and still have underwear. It had happened before. As long as he didn't touch me anywhere inappropriate, it was okay. And if he did touch me, rub me, even my pussy, through my underwear, that was okay as long as I was thinking of somebody else. It was weird, but it was somehow okay, in my mind, to think about him doing things to me when he wasn't there actually doing them, but when he was, seemed like I needed to imagine somebody else or it felt way too dirty.

The only times it would be okay to think of Alex were if he was just giving me a massage. Maybe that was how it would go, he would give me a luxurious sensuous massage, work his strong hands over my skin, and stray. I could forgive that. After all, I'd rubbed his penis... in fact, maybe I should get daring and demand he finger me in exchange.

Of course, I wouldn't. But it was fun to think about for a few minutes while my own hand made the fantasy more vivid.

Finally I came out of the shower, wrapped a towel around myself, and gathered up my clothes, and headed to my room to change into the outfit I'd selected.

I nearly jumped out of my skin when I realized Alex was waiting outside the bathroom door. "Jesus!" I regained my composure while he gave a self-satisfied smirk, like scaring me was the plan all along. "I told you to wait downstairs."

His head bobbed in acknowledgement. "You also said fifteen minutes. It's been twenty."

"It has not."

"Has so. And I got, like, legitimately worried." He put one hand on his chest, miming fake concern. "Thought maybe you'd slipped and cracked your head open. Seriously, I was about to kick the door down and rescue you."

I let out a snort of amusement. "You know, knocking might have been a better first step."

"Maybe. I guess I was just so worried I wasn't thinking straight."

It was a sweet thought, but I knew the truth. "The only thing you're worried about is somebody else coming home before we get to do anything." Of course, we shared that worry, but I didn't want to be obvious about it.

"That too," he admitted. "Come on, hurry up." He swatted my towel-covered butt lightly with his hand.

"Make me," I said, just to be contrary.

"If you insist." To my surprise, suddenly I was aloft in the air. Alex had literally swept me off my feet and into his arms. In my shock, I may have yelped a little, and also, my grip on the bundle in my hands loosened and something, a pair of shorts I think, fell to the floor. Alex turned like he was going to head back towards the stairs, and then turned around again and walked to my door, and it was like I could read his mind... he wasn't sure he could carry me all the way down to his room, even though he might want to. But at least he didn't say it. Who wants to hear they're too heavy?

It was fun, though, being carried, so I didn't protest much while he did, tossing me on his bed like some kind of caveman expected to service him. Then he hopped on the bed beside me, looking me in the eyes with a goofy smile like he wanted me to make the first move.

I pushed myself off and stood. "I have to change, first," I reminded him.

"You don't HAVE to." He looked me up and down, and his gaze was like a physical thing, a light telekinetic caress. "I have seen it before, remember?" Now it was like he had x-ray vision or something, and I felt a blush creep onto my cheeks. But he did have a point.

"It's probably not a good idea for us to be all the way naked together," I reminded him.

"So, I'll keep my boxers on."

"And your hands to yourself?" I asked, a skeptical tone in my voice. It didn't seem like him.

"If that's what it takes... come on, you look hot, and especially with your hair all wet like that, it's like you're not my sister at all...."

"That's the attitude I'm afraid of," I said, although secretly it thrilled me that he found me attractive, even when I still, deep down, was worried I was fat and ugly. Finally, I thought, fuck it, and pulled at where I tucked my towel under my arm, letting it open, exposing my whole front to him at once, the first time, I think, for that. My brother's eyes seemed to light up and take it all in and... I don't know, I just felt powerful.

"See? What did I just say? You've got a phenomenal body, Tabby."

I loved hearing that. I wanted to compliment his, but it sounded weird coming from me. Instead I said, like I was doing him a favor, "Take off your pants."

He grinned, unzipped, and had them down to knee level in a fraction of a second. And I could see by the way his boxers poked out that he was already hard. Because of me. I watched it twitch and he suddenly said, "Oh, right," as though he'd forgotten something, and put his arms behind his head and laid back. "See, no touching. Not until you say it's okay."

That held a certain appeal to me. We'd done what Alex called a dry hump a couple times (funny name since it sometimes left both of us with wet underwear), but usually it was him on top or from behind, directing the action... the chance to do it myself... well, maybe it was how worked up I got in the shower, I was in the kind of mood where I wanted that more than anything. I let the towel fall completely and walked back to the bed, trying my best to do a sexy saunter with a little swing in my hips. While he stood still, that grin still on his face, I crawled over him, straddling his legs, the monster under his boxers standing up.

Poor Alex, he didn't seem to know whether to look at my chest or my crotch, he was looking back and forth between both. I grabbed his boxers at the tallest point, squeezed gently what I found underneath, thrilled at how wrong this was while still telling myself that I wasn't actually touching him so it wasn't that bad. "You like this?" I asked.

"Hell yeah."

"How about this?" I let go of him and slid forward, forcing his penis up against his belly, though with a few layers of fabric between them. Only one layer was between me and him, though, as I did what once would have been unthinkable, sliding the lips of my pussy along the bulge I felt, extremely conscious of the fact that it was his throbbing manhood underneath. I remembered the time I'd done it briefly, accidentally, once when we were wrestling, but this was deliberate, and so much more intense.

He said something like, "Ohh yeah," and I picked up the pace, sliding back and forth. Yes, one of us being naked did heighten everything, and when it was me, at least I didn't have to worry about messing up my clothes. His, on the other hand, could become a gooey mess any minute, depending on what I did.

I leaned forward, thrusting my breasts towards him, but out of reach. His hands slipped out from under his head, like he was going for a grab, but I caught him by the wrists and held them against the bed. "Not until I say," I said, and kept on rubbing my pussy against the front of his shorts. He nodded, eyes locked with mine for once, and I rubbed against him, feeling a pleasant tingle that was somehow so much better than what I'd done in the shower despite being less frantic.

After a couple minutes, I couldn't take it anymore. I let go of his hands. "You can use your hands now," he said. To my surprise, he didn't go for my breasts, like I thought he would, like I wanted him to... instead, he grabbed me by my hips, or just below, the sides of my ass, and pulled me along him. "That's all you want?" I asked, surprised, but not displeased.

"No, it's not all I want..." he said, stressing the word "all" and baiting me to ask.

I took the bait. "Then what?"

"I want to go inside."

"We can't do that," I said, sliding against him once more. "We agreed."

"I agreed..." he began. He had to pause between words, like he was out of breath, or, more likely, that he thought he might explode if he didn't concentrate just right. "...because that's all you wanted," he said. "But you asked what I want... would you prefer I lied?"

I bit my lip, knowing that I wanted it as much as he did, and in some ways that made me the liar. "We can't," I said again. "That's sex."

I leaned forward on him right as he pulled me, the movement making me slip off his manhood entirely, the boxer bulge wedging in behind me, at the bottom of my butt crack, and I felt like if I pushed back, he was going to go in, fabric and all. "Depends on how we do it," he said.

I wanted to believe him. "What do you mean?"

"Look, I know you're a virgin but..."

"I'm not," I said.

His eyes widened, like he wasn't expecting that. I regretted telling him instantly, expecting a look of disgust, like he was ashamed of me. It never came, just, surprise, and he said, "Well, okay then. But, there's, you know... the butt."

"No," I said, firmly, disappointed that's all he wanted. I leaned forward and lifted my butt, trying to get back into a position where I could easily slide along his shaft, and, to my surprise, I felt a warm wetness on my nipple. He actually kissed it, more of a suck really, but there was definitely a kissing sensation as well. One of my friends back in Crash City mentioned that one time, her boyfriend nibbling on her ear alone made her want to fuck, and at the time, I didn't understand how such a boring act could cause such a big reaction, but now I did. I'd never felt it before, and never quite the same reaction since, but right then, that's how it was. The boldness, the surprising intimacy, the spontaneity made me gasp, as did a sudden swell between my labia, and all of a sudden. I realized then that I wanted him inside me too, enough to let him. I just wanted him to convince me. So I kept talking about it. "We can't have sex," I said. "This is bad enough, when we're not actually touching... imagine if you... went off in me?" I did imagine it, and was more scared by the fact that I didn't recoil in disgust than at what might happen. I was on the pill, after all. It's not perfect, but it's pretty reliable. But if he did, I couldn't tell myself we were just fooling around.

"I have a condom," he said, simply, like it was just one minor detail.

"What?" I stopped moving, looked down at his bulge because I couldn't trust myself to look in his eyes without seeming excited.

"Just saying... then I couldn't shoot inside of you... and there'd still be something between us."

It was what I wanted, a justification, but I was suddenly scared of getting it. It was only a stupid excuse, we'd be having sex by anybody's definition, and that was a huge step. I let the suggestion hang in the air, long enough for him to say, "Forget it, it's a dumb idea."

"No," I said finally, fear that I was about to lose the chance making me bold. "I guess it's not that much worse than what we've already done." That was the thinking that had already excused so much and would excuse more, but I said it uncertainly, like I was still only thinking about it. "I'm just not sure it's a good idea. Even if there's a condom." My eyes snapped up to his. "Wait, it's not one of Mom's, is it?"

"Of course not. I have my own. It's in my wallet, in the jeans pocket. If you want to."

I wondered, did he get it for me, knowing he'd try this? Or was he the type of guy who carried a condom with him at all times, just in case he got lucky? Or maybe he was getting close to some girl at school, and planned to use it with her? Maybe all of this, this was just practice, killing time until he could make that happen. Once it did, what we were doing would have to stop, wouldn't it? It would kind of be like cheating, and even if he wanted to do it, I couldn't let him.

The thought that this would be my only chance settled it. "Okay, let's do it."

"What? Really?"

I could tell he wasn't expecting it, and when I rolled off him to find his jeans the front of his boxers spring up higher than they had before and there was a dark wet spot that I worried meant he had already shot off, but it was just from him getting excited and leaking. "If there's a condom, we're not really touching," I said, realizing how crazy that sounded but not caring.

I found his wallet, but I had to pass it over to him to find the condom itself, and I stood to the side while I watched him fish it out... and I don't mean the condom. He worked his swollen penis out, not over the waistband as would have been easier, but out through this small flap in his boxers I wasn't even conscious was there. It occurred to me that if the flap had been positioned the right way, I might have been sliding skin on skin already, although I was pretty sure I'd have felt it if that were the case. Still, it seemed like an awful lot of effort to work that rigid thing through the flap for what we were about to do, and I had to ask. "What are you doing?"

"There's less contact this way," he said. "That's what you want, right?"

I couldn't very well go back. "I guess." It actually did work out that way, his testicles stayed beneath the flap, so all that was left was the penis itself, standing proud and tall, the flap keeping it pointed more upward than it might naturally lie when he was on his back. It also glistened at the head, and I wondered what it might be like to put it in my mouth.

Alex opened the condom and I watched as he pinched the tip then rolled it down the shaft with a practiced ease that reminded me, unpleasantly, of Zach, the only boy I'd been with, who also wore a condom. I hadn't thought about it then, but Zach probably had a lot of experience... I wondered if Alex had as well. I figured he'd done it with a few other girls back in Crash City, although we'd never talked about it in detail.

Of course, it didn't really matter. The great thing about Alex, I thought, was that we weren't deceiving ourselves about what this was... or at least that it was about anything more than pleasure. I wouldn't be thinking of fairy-tale notions like our souls connecting or us being in true love like I'd done with Zach. This was just sex, and girls could enjoy that just as well as guys could. Really it was almost like I was just using him as a human sex toy, and I was sure he viewed it the same way.

He was ready. I was ready. I just hoped it went better than last time. "How do you want to do this?" he asked.

That at least showed more considerations of my opinion than Zach did. "How about we stick with me on top?" I suggested, knowing it would be another way to distinguish between the way Zach and I did it. I let Zach take me, take my virginity. I was passive. With Alex, I was active, I was the one choosing the meaningless sex.

"Works for me," Alex said. He lay back more fully, even put his hands behind his head again, and I climbed over him, centering myself on his boxers again, but this time, there was a penis standing up. I grabbed the latex covered base and angled it towards me rubbing it up against my hole. For too long, I guess. "If you don't go down soon I can't promise I'm going to last long," he said, and his face looked like he was gritting his teeth.

I grinned at him, at guys in general, how they were like bombs and any little thing could trigger them. But I was ready, and slowly, slowly, I started to sink into him, feeling him inside me.

My first time hurt at first, because I was a virgin. This time, there was no pain... sometimes the pressure was a little bit unpleasant, but only for a fleeting moment until, it felt, like my insides stretched to fit him. Not just fit him, but fit him perfectly. And then, before I knew it, I was most of the way down, actually having sex, with my own brother.

And it felt good right from the start, every motion, either mine or his, sparked a burst of pleasure, and I started slowly bouncing up and down on him, riding, feeling it building.

I started with my back upright, rigid, but as we kept going, I leaned more into him, hoping he'd do what he did that once, take my nipple into his mouth. I was sure, if he did, it would send me over the top instantly.

He didn't. I didn't even cum, not from the sex. It just felt really good, for the couple minutes before Alex grunted and said, "Oh god... here it comes..."

He twitched beneath me, and I mostly stopped moving, restricting myself to the light bounces generated by flexing and unflexing my butt, because I wanted to try to concentrate on the sensations of what it was like when he went off. Mostly it was twitching, jerking every few seconds. Finally, he started to get soft, and I climbed off him, suddenly filled with paranoid thoughts surrounding what might happened if I stayed. I wanted to, but maybe it would burst, or the condom would slip, and then it might leak out, and I'd be walking around with my own brother's cum inside of me. Maybe I'd missed a pill a couple weeks back and, if so, I might even be ovulating right then... that would explain why I'd been so horny. I kept composed, but inside, my stomach was starting to roil.

When I looked back at Alex, he was had sat up, and held the ring of the condom against his penis. Still holding it, he stood, looking at me a little sheepishly. "Sorry," he said, and I thought he was talking about the potential mess. "I'd have lasted longer if I wasn't so worked up before. Maybe next time." I didn't answer him, the words 'next time' hanging in my head. This was now something we did, at least, it could be, if I let it, and now that I'd done it once, it'd be harder to tell him no, or at least harder to find excuses. The paranoia faded and the horniness returned. "I, uh... better take care of this," he said, and he shuffled for the bathroom. To my annoyance, I heard the sound of a flush soon after. I was no condom expert, but I knew you weren't supposed to flush them.

He returned just to get his jeans and wallet, but now he looked nervous, watching me for signs that I was bothered about what we'd done. The truth was, I wasn't... that would come later, the crushing guilt, but right then, I was just replaying the scene, the sensation, in my head, trying to recapture that feeling. "You okay?" he asked, finally, after he pulled his pants back on. I was still naked.

I swallowed, then nodded. My face felt hot as I tried to think of words to use, to ask him to help get me off, to use his fingers on me, directly even, or maybe even his tongue... I didn't care, right then. Instead, he said, "I better go. Who knows when Dad might get home."

There went that idea. Just like a guy, he's done and he wants to leave. "Right," I said.

"See you later."

I nodded again, forcing a smile and a cheery tone in my voice as I said, "Uh-huh!"

He was gone. I heard him practically running down the stairs, running from the guilt that he had once confessed overcame him after we did stuff, just like it did me, and I felt bad about that, but not bad enough. I slumped with my back against the door spread my legs, and finished myself off before the overwhelming guilt could claim me too.

***

And of course, it didn't stop there, either, that was just the biggest jump. Once you've fucked your brother, even with a condom, making other leaps were easier. Especially when the leaps seemed smaller... I'd already had his penis inside me, so, yeah, why not let him finger me or see what it'd be like to give a blowjob? Sure, I made a big point of telling him that what we'd done was too far, and for a while I resisted going any further than we'd done before that day, and then set firm rules about what could be allowed that left room for loopholes that I could blame Alex for exploiting... but in my heart I knew I was the one who couldn't be trusted not to let them break. Some time after that, again, because of my own horniness, I was talked into letting him put just the tip in without a condom, so long as he pulled out, and, pretty soon after to going all the way without one. That day, the day we finally, directly gave each other a sexual orgasm, was the day we first got Powered.

Oh, shit. I knew I was forgetting something important.

I was still rubbing Sally's feverishly warm privates, and her eyes were closed to slits, reminding me of a cat that was being stroked... she wasn't quite purring, but her breath was shallow. If I kept going, I was going to make her cum... and I didn't know what the result would be. Maybe I'd give her super powers too.

A part of me wanted to, to see, to find out, but a much bigger part knew that would be disastrous, and I pulled my hand away. Maybe I wasn't a slave to my arousal after all. "I think you've got the gist of it," I said. "You should be doing it for yourself."

She let out a disappointed grunt, almost a moan, but almost just that whine-like sound she made whenever I refused to do anything for her. I had the silly thought then that this was the real reason she never learned to masturbate, she was just too lazy to be responsible for her own orgasms. I went back to fingering my own vagina, and had one of those dirty thoughts again, realizing that I had my sister's wetness on my fingers, and now in my pussy, it was like we'd actually had sex in some weird way. But the thought, the action, had lost its power somewhat. Arousal didn't always chase away guilt, it was a battle, and sometimes guilt was stronger and won out. This was one of those times, and most of the pleasure I got was smothered under a blanket of guilt and shame. How could I be such a pervert, preying on my own little sister? Being too horny to resist wasn't an excuse, or at least it shouldn't be. Now I wasn't just an incest freak, I was also possibly a pedo. Maybe I should have been the one to take the name Deviant.

At least my sister didn't seem damaged by it. Well, it was going to be hard to tell if she was damaged, but she didn't seem freaked out. I looked over at her, and she her eyes still closed, but she had started rubbing herself again, two fingers making very slow circles on her clit, not quite the way I'd shown her but also how I usually finished when I was very very close. I was very very close for a while now, even despite the guilt, but I couldn't finish regardless of my feelings, so I didn't bother attacking my most sensitive spot, I just did a vigorous stroke of the slit itself. I still didn't know for sure if Sapphire's instructions to me would stop it from working if I stimulated my button, but it certainly stopped me from risking it.

Sally didn't have Sapphire's orders, and so she was close. She was trembling with that weakness you get when reaching that last little hump of pleasure is more important than anything else. In fact, her outstretched leg kept bumping into mine on my shin, and I deliberately slid further away, just in case contact when she orgasmed might be enough to trigger an Empowering... if that actually did work on anybody other than Alex. But I didn't really stop rubbing myself either, in fact, the guilt had started to recede again. The idea of watching my sister's first orgasm was pushing me even closer to the edge than I knew was possible without going over. Maybe it was because I also felt in tune with her, like as she was almost there, so was I, and if I couldn't actually get off myself, than I could do so vicariously. Or maybe I'm just a dirty girl deep down inside, turned on by the taboo.

And she seemed so close, her hand movements became more erratic, not like she was getting tired, but like she could feel it and wanted to hold off the moment just a little bit longer by slowing down, yet was too turned on to stop completely. And it looked like her slit was starting to tighten, pull in on itself, like mine often seemed to... mine even gave a sympathy-contraction when I saw it. Pretty soon, if she was anything like me, there'd be an instinct, one she could fight, but only if she knew it was coming... so I whispered an urgent warning. "Don't scream," I told her. "Even if you want to. Hold your breath if you have to." I shifted onto my side slightly, so I could snap into action and slap a hand on her mouth if I needed to.

Her eyes slid open just a second, found me, and, in that voice she has that somehow manages to sound offended that you're trying to help, she said, "I know!"

I wrinkled my lip in annoyance, but I didn't say anything, just let her finish. My unasked-for advice did kind of slow her down as it was, and it took another minute of rubbing for her to start her climax, her body arching up like had a mind of its own and wanted to meet the hand halfway, and her butt started twitching, and then she sucked her entire bottom lip into her mouth and bit down as she shook in pleasure, and then let out the breath she'd been holding. All in all, she made barely a sound.

Like a real pro.

I waited for her to catch her breath and open her eyes, and in the meantime pulled up my pants, no longer interested in playing, at least not with her beside me. I was still turned on, but I guess my thirty minutes were up because I didn't like I had left something unfinished like I had the last time Sally made me stop. And now, I just wasn't in the mood, either. When she finally looked at me and smiled, I was not impressed. "So that was your first time?" I asked in a flat voice.

"Yeah. It was incredible."

"So why did you say 'I know' when you suggested you hold your breath?"

A guilty look came across her face then, just for a second, and then it was replaced with amusement. "I, uh... it just seemed like the thing to do?"

She wasn't even trying anymore, and I was so over her selfish manipulative nature. It wasn't news to me that she was willing to make up a story to try and trick me into something against my better judgement, but... I thought we'd had some kind of sisterly bonding moment... sure, a perverted one, but at least a real one, but no, it turns out she was just playing around. It hurt. "Get out."

"Aw, come on, Tabby..."

"Out."

"Okay, I lied, but it was just 'cause..." She stopped for a moment, just the right amount of time before spitting out another earnest-sounding confession that I didn't know if I could believe, "...we never hang out anymore. We used to be like best friends, remember, we used to play that eyes game?" When we were younger I'd sometimes call up pictures of celebrities I had crushes on and zoom in on just their eyes, and she'd try to guess who it was. Sometimes she knew I had a crush on them, sometimes she didn't, so I think it was fun for her because it was a chance to pry into my mind. Of course, it was fun for me, too, even though lately we'd outgrown it, and the reminder of it softened my feelings, just a little.

"We hang out all time."

"Not really. You barely tell me anything anymore." She let out a huff. "And lately it seems like you're always wanting to spend time with Alex." She put a little mocking sing-song in her voice at the name, the same way she sometimes did when I had a crush she didn't approve of, and my heart skipped a beat. Did she know? Or suspect? Or was she just jealous of anyone taking my attention out of the time she feels should be devoted to her as my little sister?

"That's just cause we have more in common, since we're at the same school," I said, hoping she bought it. Sure, we're at the same school, we're both secretly superheroes, we both have sex with a sibling.

"Uh-huh." It was a sulk sound, hard to read for sure, but at least it didn't seem quite like she was holding a secret she knew over me. It was probably geared to make me feel like she was the one who had the right to be mad, even though she'd manipulated and lied to me twice.

And, of course, it worked, too. Because I knew I had been spending more time with our brother, and naturally excluding her, too... and that wasn't fair. Especially now that I had a girlfriend that I had to juggle along with everything else. A girlfriend who might take me away to sell me to the organized crime ring that's after dad. "Look... I'll try to spend more time with you if you want. But..."

"Gee, thanks. Don't do me any favors."

This was part of the reason I spent less time with her, you know? It wasn't enough that I did what she want, she'd guilt me anyway unless I seemed to be as enthusiastic as her. And I love her, but sometimes, she was just frustrating! Still, I tried to make my voice sound super-sincere. "No, I want to... just, things are really c... crazy right now." I was going to say complicated. But that's a dangerous word to a sister as nosy as her. "I've got a lot more homework and it's not as easy to keep my GPA as it was last year." Everyone in my family knew I was a perfectionist, so it became a good excuse... because they don't try so hard it's easy for them to overestimate the amount of time it takes to get things done to my satisfaction. I can get an extra hour to myself by pretending I need the extra hour to finish something I did an hour earlier. I guess I've got my manipulative tricks too. Like the one I used next, deflection. "Besides, you made more friends in your first week here than I've ever made. You shouldn't be the one feeling lonely, no matter how busy I am."

"Yeah, but they're not my BEST friend. You are."

Wow, that backfired. I wasn't even sure what to say next. It was awful to say, but I'm not even sure I could say she was my best friend. Once, maybe, and I hoped we would be again, but... as much as I loved her, too often dealing her felt like an annoyance, a chore, just because there was so much I couldn't talk to her about and had to lie about, and a gap in what kind of conversations we could have that were both meaningful and appropriate. It was just a consequence of being a little sister during adolescence. Not to mention that, right then, Sapphire occupied my thoughts more than her, and I hated myself that that was true. And I remembered again that, because of that, I might soon let our whole family be torn apart, and hated myself a little more.

"Wait," I said. It had only been a second, but my hesitation was enough that Sally already knew that I wasn't going to say it back, and so she'd turned for my door, until she paused at my word. I got off my bed and enveloped her in my arms, squeezing her tight. If this was one of the last days of our family, I didn't want to leave anything unsaid. "I love you, you know?"

She squirmed, but just a little. "Yeah, yeah, I know."

"No, really. I'm sorry I've been distant sometimes. I don't want us to drift any more apart, okay?" But you don't always get what you want.

"Okay, okay," she said. "I love you too. Dork." But she was smiling, like the fact that I'd reassured her was almost all she needed. "I'll leave you alone to do homework."

I smiled back at her... it felt like it might shatter at any moment, but it lasted until she left my room, and I collapsed back on my bed and, in tears, punched a pillow so hard my bed shook.

It just wasn't fair, why did the person I love have to tell me she might destroy my family? And why didn't that stop me from loving her? I used to think Juliet from Shakespeare was romantic, willing to give up her entire family for love, but now how I felt how cruel that kind of love could be. And, in the end, the only way she got out of it was death. I actually did think about suicide, for a while, as an escape, but I knew I could never go through with it, so after another good silent cry, I wiped my tears and composed myself, too worried that if they saw I was crying that it would lead to Sapphire. Even if a part of me wanted that, I couldn't let it happen.

I gave a half-hearted good night to the family, shouted from upstairs while I knew they were downstairs, and crawled into bed, but I couldn't sleep, for so many reasons. Firstly, of course, there was that anxiety over the future and still hopelessly trying to think my way out of it, to find some solution I hadn't considered. Secondly, I was still Powered, and sleeping is hard when you're Powered. Third, I was horny, having charged up with no release.

And, of course, there was one more thing. A chore I knew was coming, after everyone else went to bed. Alex was waiting to ask me to come visit him so we could play hero. That wouldn't be happening, but I knew he'd ask, and I dreaded having to deal with it. Every so often I'd use my teleportation sight to check in on him... it wasn't spying, not really, I couldn't really see him... it was more like I could feel his movement, there, in the basement, but it was comforting, somehow. I would have done the same for Sapphire if I knew where she spent her nights, but since I didn't, my brother was the only one worth watching. Not that he did very much. Most of the time he was still, watching TV or playing a game, probably, moving just enough that I could tell he was awake and killing time... but a few times I could tell he was moving back and forth, and I imagined him pacing, uncertainly, maybe even rehearsing how he would ask me, like we were going out on a date. The thought was kind of cute, even if I didn't think it was likely.

I finally got the message on my computer shortly after midnight, thought about pretending I went to bed without seeing it, then sighed and decided it was better to get it over with. I didn't even answer, just teleported down, enjoying the small pleasure of watching him flinch and then pretend he wasn't surprised at all. He was wearing the top part of his costume already, it clinging tight to his body, like he thought that if he was already dressed, I'd be less likely to say 'no.' Or maybe the reason was more practical, I noticed that he'd finally altered his costume, added the horns that he'd talked about once, and it would make sense if he just wanted to try them out, be sure that they were lined up right.

It actually looked pretty good on him, although people might start calling him the Blue Devil, if there wasn't already somebody called that. There probably was, it seemed sort of familiar, but I was no expert.

"So, feel like going out to save the world tonight?"

We'd hardly be saving the world... at best we'd be fighting crime. But I saw his smile turn into a frown the moment I let out a breath, and deepen when I said, "Listen, Alex..."

"Oh, come on, Tabby." He sounded peeved, exasperated by what, from his perspective, looked like me being bipolar. In the past few days I'd gone from giving him the cold shoulder to having a great night out as heroes, and now here I was, making excuses again. "Don't tell me you're mad at me again?"

"It's not you," I said, honestly. "I just... can't, not tonight."

I looked at him, but he didn't seem to be looking at me. It was hard to tell with that mask on. "What's wrong, Tabby?" He didn't seem angry, though, just sad, and I wanted to do what I had with Sally... give him a hug and tell him I loved him.

Of course I didn't. Because somehow if I did that, I'd be saying more with him than I did with my sister, and, even with the situation as precarious as it was, I wasn't ready to say that to him, not out loud, not until I was sure there was no hope. Instead, I used that cheap, familiar lie. "It's just... girl stuff. Maybe in a few days." His mouth formed a soft 'ohh', like he understood, and then settled into a rumpled line, like he was trying not to obviously frown, either at the inconvenience or the natural male disgust at anything to do with menstruation. Probably both... if he hadn't been too grossed out to look it up, he'd surely know that a lot of Powered women don't have periods, or at least, we don't bleed when we do. Like poop, the excess material gets reabsorbed and converted directly into energy to fuel our abilities. And the other issues involved with that monthly visitor just aren't so bad when you're charged up. Besides, really, mine were always light and only a little inconvenient before, anyway... complaining about it just always made a convenient excuse for not doing something.

Still, I didn't want to leave Alex unhappy, particularly since I didn't know what would happen the next day. So I bit my lip, and spoke again. "We can do... other stuff, if you want? If you need to charge up?" I suggested. Sapphire said that if I had to, I could fool around. The fact that I was able to make the offer proved that I thought Alex qualified as an 'or something.'

His eyebrow raised, or at least, it moved under the mask fabric in a way that suggested it did. "Like what?"

"I don't know," I said. "Just not sex, not tonight." Maybe not ever again, but I couldn't tell him that.

"Anal's not sex." He used that half-joking, half-hopeful tone that sometimes made me give into him.

And I might have. I argued immediately, but that was just habit... "Anal's totally sex. That's why it's called Anal Sex. Sex is part of the name."

"It's part of Oral Sex too, and that's not sex." We'd had a similar argument before, and I conceded that point the first time we experimented with that. I might have given up this time, too. Especially because of what was happening, that, probably, soon our lives as we knew them would be over. I couldn't hug him and tell him I loved him. But I could give him my ass to show him that, take him in a way more intimate than ever before, let him push past the one boundary I'd left up against him.
Except, I couldn't. I wanted to, despite my fears about the pain or that he might no longer respect me, that night, in my heart, I was willing to. The problem was, my heart was divided, and Sapphire's orders were strict... I had to keep his dick out of me, and the anxiety of disobeying her made that not an option. I could lick Alex and make him cum without breaking that rule, but anal... whether it counted as sex or not, it was against the rules. "Maybe another time," I said, hating myself for the deception. If it was a deception... who knew what might happen in the future? Maybe I could convince her that if I have to share her, she should have to share me. Or maybe Sapphire would reveal she had an incest kink and force me to have sex with my brother. But it seemed unlikely.

"I guess I could play around with super speed for a day or two..." he said ambivalently.

That wasn't quite what I had in mind. "Or..." He tilted his head, waiting. "There was one other way we haven't tried yet." We'd discussed it, early on... actually there were several options, theoretically speaking. We could try using my feet, but that just seemed weird to me. And there were a host of other things like elbows that Alex had suggested jokingly but I'd never heard of anyone actually doing. But there was one I didn't see the point of, but I found myself thinking about later, it had a strange appeal I couldn't understand. I'd thought about it and decided that I wouldn't bring it up because I didn't want to seem weird, but if he ever asked for it again, I'd give in. He never had, and now... I wanted to give him something. Alex didn't seem to catch on right away to what I meant. "You know." I looked down at my breasts, covered in the thin lavender nightshirt I'd put on before bed, and gave them a little wiggle.

Now he gave an amused smirk, but with a real smile behind it. The tension had mostly dissolved, we weren't uncertain around each other, we were... playing around, again. "You know me, I'm always willing to try new things."

"Okay then. Take off that costume top, though."

He pointed at his head. "What? You don't want to look up at this face? Isn't it like doing a celebrity hero?"

"I'm not exactly as wowed by celebrity as you," I said, and then teased, "And you're not exactly a celebrity." The truth was, I wanted to see him, to be able to look up into his eyes... and seeing his bare chest wasn't bad too. Just because now I liked girls, didn't mean that I liked guys any less.

He took off his top without any further complaint, peeling the CoreWear from his skin and throwing it onto the bottoms, which were lying on his bed. I took my appreciative look at his leanly muscular body while his eyes were still covered, and then looked away like it wasn't anything interesting. He grinned at me, a glint in his eye like he saw right through me, but I knew he was just eager to try the titfucking, so I took off my top while he sat down and pulled his jeans off.
I could tell from the tent in his boxers that he was hard, and although he tells me he can get rock hard whenever he wants when he's Powered, I still took it as a compliment. Not to mention the way his eyes focused on my boobs, like he'd never seen them before. Though this was about to be a new experience with them, so I guess you could forgive him. Even I looked down at them with new eyes, although in my case, I was trying to figure out exactly how it was supposed to work. I'd seen pictures once or twice but it was never really my thing. I was supposed to squeeze my boobs around them, but how exactly did you do that without slipping out? I wasn't sure.

The first step seemed to be kneeling down in front of my brother, and that got me a welcoming spasm from his manhood, like it was greeting me with a bow or curtsey or something, and I had to smile. I sat up on my knees and let it touch me, feeling it's warmth against my skin. That was something I always liked, even if I'd never admit it. Penises fascinated me, ever since I first saw one. At least in person. On a video, they did nothing for me, but when you had one in front of you, it had a remarkable allure that I couldn't entirely explain. It certainly wasn't the look, despite those porn videos where women stare transfixed... that always seemed so fake to me. I was interested, but it was easy to pretend I couldn't care less because they actually were kind of ugly... it wasn't about that. Instead, it was the way they were warm and and slippery and firm yet soft, and it reacted to contact in complicated ways. I think that's why I couldn't resist touching Alex, that first time while we were watching the Core Four movie. It was more tactile than anything else... and I guess symbolic, too, that being that near one was an exciting act of rebellion for the good girl I tried to be.

And for all that I had suddenly come to appreciate girl-girl love, there was something about a hard penis and knowing I had caused it that was incomparable. It was like a piece of dark magic that we both conjured. Sometimes it felt like it was its own beast, separate from Alex, that just happened to connect to him, and it could connect the two of us, if I let it.

I couldn't let it, not this time, at least, not let it go inside me and connect us directly. But I could enjoy the simple sensation of its warmth against my skin, rubbing against my chest, stretching and contracting like a flexing muscle. I let the shaft rub against my nipple, not sure if that was supposed to be part of a tit job or not, but it made me realize my nipples were hard, and not from cold. "So, I'm not sure how this is supposed to work..." I admitted, looking up at Alex, who had a dopey smile on his face.

"I think you just squeeze them together, and I go in between."

Well, of course, I knew that much. I don't even know why I said it. It was like anything physical, really, as much as I might want someone to be able to talk me through it first, you learn best by actually doing.

I pressed them together with his penis sandwiched in between and moved my body up and down. At first it was just weird, but after a few thrusts it started getting hot, too. Physically hot, I mean, from the friction. Alex must have noticed the same thing. "A little lube might help."

"Do you have any?"

"You could always use your mouth?"

Oh, of course. That's probably what he was after all along. From his point of view it made sense, sure, the whole point of this was to try to get an orgasm from a different part of my body and see if it leads to different powers, but... why not enjoy a blowjob too? As long as he didn't finish in my mouth, it should still work... the only problem was, I couldn't use my mouth on him. Actually, I suddenly remembered, I could. I couldn't take it into my mouth without violating Sapphire's rule, but I could lick. That might be good enough for lube, and I wanted to make him happy, especially if this wound up being the last thing we did together.

I lowered myself and extended my tongue, licking up and down along the sides, a little like some of our earlier experiments before I actually let him go in my mouth, except back then I'd usually lick mostly the shaft and avoid the head entirely... now, I licked the head too, enjoying the salty, slightly sweet taste of his precum, which did taste better than his actual cum, but then pulled away and returned him to my bosom.

That was a little better, made the movement smoother and although the friction eventually returned, by that time I'd gotten a good rhythm and it didn't feel as awkward anymore. It didn't feel particularly special, either, from my perspective it was just like I was bouncing up and down while on my knees and with something pressed against my breasts.

It got better when he grabbed my breasts and started directing me himself, not forcefully, but like he was using my whole body to as an aid to jacking off, and kneading my boobs, almost like a massage... it was probably my least favorite of the sexual things we'd done so far, but it had its moments, and occasionally I would dip my chin to my collarbone and give him a little lick or kiss on the head to help get him going.. and pretty soon, Alex said through held breaths. "You know, for this to work, I'm going to have to blow on your face."

He was right. I hadn't thought that far ahead, but it was true. He was in my boobs, pointed right at my face, and he had to stay there while he came. When it went off... If I jerked my head back, it might mostly hit my neck and not my face, but regardless, I was going to be covered in his cum, on the outside, something I'd always avoided before. It had happened, of course, but I didn't like it happening, especially on my face. It was strange that I was more comfortable with him cumming inside of me than there, but it just seemed so degrading.

Normally I'd care about that, but that time... I didn't care... no, more, it seemed somehow extra appropriate, like something I deserved. And despite that, I felt a warm glow in my chest, below the part where I was squeezing my breasts together of course, when I realized that he was telling me, warning me, giving me a chance to back off even though it was what he wanted. That was an act of love, maybe just brotherly love, but it felt incredible. I didn't think Sapphire really loved me... it didn't matter because I loved her. But this, this was a better, more pure kind of love.

I only wished it was enough to disobey my other love's orders.

Instead though, I resolved again to make it a gift, I'd give myself to Alex, submit like I never had before, if he wanted to cum on my face, even if it was gross and degrading, I'd let him, because he loved me enough to ask, and because I probably deserved it anyway. "It's okay," I whispered, and leaned forward to give him a kiss on his penis as we bounced close together. And then, I did it again, but this time "missed" and instead kissed his stomach gently, like I imagined a lover might.

I like to think that triggered it, because seconds later he warned, "I'm gonna blow," and I pulled my mouth away so I didn't accidentally give him super-speed, and kept bouncing, bouncing, the hard rod between by breasts started to twitch, and suddenly something warm and wet hit my chin.

Another made it up to my cheek, and maybe I aimed my face down to catch it. Then I opened my mouth, realizing that the rules might not permit his dick in my mouth, but he could shoot his cum in it from a distance.

Some went in, and I swallowed, and some hit my face, my neck. I was a mess, but that was okay. One of the benefits of teleportation... I could always arrange to be the first one into the shower.

When he was down to just dribbles, I figured it was safe to pull away, and started looking for where Alex kept his own tissues.

"Well," Alex said after he caught his breath. "It did something."

"You're Powered again?" He nodded. "Any idea what?" I'd found the tissues and began wiping my face and neck... I wouldn't be able to get everything, but at least I wouldn't look like some amateur porn star. I'd wanted to be degraded, but there were limits. I wasn't going to walk around with my face covered in cum.

"Well, it's not super-speed," he said, waving his hand in front of his face in a quick, but not superhumanly so, motion. "And it's not flight. It's not the handjob effect, either."
So we were right. It was something completely new. "So go on, try things. Can you... I don't know, read my thoughts?" My heart rate quickened.

"Yeah, you think... I'm totally awesome."

Actually, I was thinking about how, if he could read thoughts, he would find out what happened with Sapphire, and then I frantically thought about how I shouldn't think about Sapphire, and then that if he could read thoughts I'd already screwed up and broken her rules and it wasn't my fault. But he hadn't, because he wasn't freaking out. So I still had to act normal. Normal, right now, was acting annoyed at him not taking things seriously, so I threw the cum-drenched handful of tissues towards him. He flinched, but they didn't even reach him before falling to the ground. "Seriously," I said. "Any ideas?"

I stared at him, not sure whether I was hoping or dreading. "No, seriously... I don't know yet. It still could be anything. And I don't necessarily want to try it right away in case I shoot lightning out of my eyes or something."

"Yeah," I said. "We don't want you burning down the house or anything. Still, there's all sorts of subtle things you could try. Clairvoyance. Psychometry. Maybe you can see the future or something. Even, I don't know, water-bending."

"What we should do," Alex said, "Is suit up, go to some vacant lot in Crash City, and try all sorts of shit."

I frowned. "Not tonight." I didn't know how many long distance multi-person teleports I had left before I ran out of juice, and with Sapphire's rules in play, I couldn't recharge. We might be stuck out there.

That might be a good thing, in some ways. But I couldn't risk it, because Sapphire told me she wanted to see me at school first thing in the morning.

"Okay," Alex said, like he'd realized it was a longshot and didn't want to offend me by pushing too hard. "Maybe in a few days."

"Yeah." Maybe. And maybe Elron might suddenly surrender and convert his whole fleet to Christianity. Maybe Fall Out Boy will get back together. A lot of things maybe could happen.

"Want to hang out, watch a movie or something?"

I did want to, but I knew that sitting there, with him, I wouldn't be able to stop thinking about how everything was about to change, how I was going to destroy their lives, or at least stand by while somebody else did, and I couldn't enjoy the simple fun of a movie... I didn't even deserve it. I deserved to be alone. But I did move forward and gave him a hug, my bare chest pressing against his, my head nestling in his neck like it was natural. He seemed surprised, but I knew he'd probably put it down to mood swings. And really, that made a good excuse. After that first moment where he was awkwardly off-balance, he put his arms around me and held me back, and I tried to memorize every detail of that moment to have it for later, in case it was the last time... unfortunately, our brains don't work like that. Even now I mostly remember how warm he felt.

Finally, after probably too long, I pulled back. "Thanks, but I think I'd rather just be alone. I'm feeling, you know, sort of blah." I waited a second, staring into his eyes, to see if he'd spontaneously developed the ability to detect lies and called me on it, and then realized it wasn't entirely a lie. "We'll do the hero thing again, I promise." Still no reaction, although I didn't know if it counted as a lie if you made a promise you wanted to keep just because you knew you probably wouldn't be able to.

He smiled. "Okay. I hope you feel better."

My return smile felt false, but I backed away, grabbed my shirt, gave him a little wave, and after a swirl of purple light wound up back in my room.

I lay down on my bed, in the dark, hoping, despite still being Powered, that I could drift off to sleep, but my mind kept bouncing. In that long dark, I thought about everyone I loved, family and romantically, about the inevitable changes I knew were coming, and about trivial details I wanted to remember.

I also found myself thinking about Alex's new powers a lot, not just what they might be, but the powers that had come to mind when we were trying to figure it out. Telepathy, psychometry, telling the future, lie detection. I realized then what I was hoping, but couldn't admit to myself... that he would get a power that would let him uncover what was going on, uncover Sapphire's plotting. Every one could lead him down that path... except water-bending, I guess, which I just always thought was cool. And if they did, then maybe, just maybe, he could save our family... I didn't really care if I was saved, I wasn't sure I wanted to be, but I didn't want to drag them down with me.

But even that small hope was, in some way, a betrayal of my new love, which, in a sense, was a source of hope all its own. I could feel that it was no longer quite as unthinkable as it had been earlier in the day, probably because the hours since I had last seen Sapphire, last tasted her, had weakened the effect. Just a little. I still loved her. Breaking her rules directly was still beyond me. I tried to make myself get off the bed, grab my phone, make my fingers tap out the words to tell my brother what had happened, and I got as far as getting my phone, but a rush of shame at what Sapphire would think of me kept me from turning it on. I couldn't betray her outright... I still loved her.

But I could hope that he found out himself, I could hope that her plans were thwarted.

And in that, maybe, there were things I could do. After all, I can't see the future either, or read minds... how could I be sure that saving my family wasn't, in some greater sense, better for Sapphire too? Maybe it's even what she secretly wanted, somebody who loved her enough to stand up to her when she was wrong... and, as long as she didn't tell me not to, I wouldn't be actively betraying her. Whatever I did, it might make her angry, and if it did, I knew I would hate myself for that, but anything I did would lead to somebody I loved getting hurt, so I could, maybe, choose the right people.

I just had to find a way to do it within the rules.

To Be Continued...

The End
Next Time: ???

This story is free to share and distribute so long as no money is charged.

### The Letter Column

In the letter column, I'll usually post mail direct from (volunteering) fans, and answer questions for all.

However, this time, I'm not including any. People did send mail after the last installment, but really the only letter that should be in this edition is from me:

I'm sorry.

I not only left this dangling for more than 2 years since the last installment, but also I left it on a cliffhanger. Worse, this installment doesn't entirely wrap things up, either. I owe you all an explanation, but I don't really have one beyond things you might have already guessed. I haven't had as much time to write as I used to. I wasn't as inspired as I wanted to be, and, when I did, it was mostly spent on other works. And there is one other thing, I discovered that there are some sexual acts and situations that I find hot, but surprisingly difficult to write, and this installment was heavily focused on that. I'm going to try to remember that in the future for my plotting. I can't promise the next part will arrive quickly. All I can say is that I continue to love these characters and this story and I want to continue, and in my head I've got ideas for dozens more adventures. I hope some people out there are willing to stay with me and see how many we can get to.

And if you liked this installment, please provide feedback:

Note: If you want your feedback to be answered within the Letter Column of a future issue for others to read, please include a request to that effect and include a name you'd like to be called by. Your e-mail address, if you provide it, will not be published. This is completely optional, it's just for fun, to give the series a more comic-book vibe, and it will allow me to respond even if you don't want to give an e-mail address. If you don't specifically request this, your mail will be answered privately (again, assuming you provide a reply-address).

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