Rena Fic 2

        Rena pressed herself against the rubble as another fireball flew by, wincing as she saw the writhing mass of flames slam into the Quiky-Mart behind her.  “But that’s where I get my ice cream,” she whimpered, cursing yet another aspect of this hero business.

        “Your cover bonus can only protect you for so long, Rena!  Soon I shall have your delicious experience,” her opponent crowed, his neckbeard flaring in triumph.

        “I thought chaotic-neutral meant, you know, neutral.  Not evil,” Rena called back, ducking as a swarm of meteors pounded into the slab of concrete that she was hiding behind.

        “You fool!  I, the Chaotic-Neutral Wizard am unbounded by such petty concepts as good or evil!  I have ultimate freedom and will do whatever I want.  I will not be railroaded by society, no matter how many NPC’s get hurt,” he replied, flipping through his enormous spellbook before grinning at something he had found, “And now you shall fall, paladin of justice!”

        What a way to die, she thought as she watched him begin to chant in a decidedly menacing manner, killed by a guy who couldn’t even develop a character with actual motivations.  Just as she was about to pull her hood over her head, curl up in the fetal position, and accept her inevitable doom, she heard a familiar voice cry out, “How dare you try to kill my greatest rival!  Only I get to have that pleasure.”

        Rena never realized how comforting someone threatening to kill you at a later date could be.  Cautiously poking her head above her beloved cover, she caught sight of the Monster Maestro swooping in and landing before the portly Wizard with an elegant flourish of her wings.  Rena felt a small surge of jealousy as her nemesis stood on a pile of rubble, the sun backlighting her dramatically.  Once the cooking lessons were over, she’d really have to ask about posing properly.  “Perfect,” said the Wizard, stroking his neckbeard with malicious glee, “Now I can add character complexity by defeating evil, then going over there to finish off that hero.  I might even be granted an extra level from the glory of this victory!”

        Just as Bridget was about to respond, he whipped up a hand and a massive cone of ice launched towards Rena’s unlikely savior.  She reacted instantaneously.  A portal popped into existence in front of her, depositing a massive turtle whose shell protected her from the blast.  Rena’s spine tingled as Bridget’s laughter echoed amongst the rubble.  It matched her sister’s entirely too much for comfort. “Too cowardly to properly fight me I see,” the villainess said with a haughty smile, fire already forming in her hands, “I think I’m going to enjoy thrashing you within an inch of your life.  Phoenix Fire!”

        With that, the Monster Maestro launched two balls at flame at her opponent, and Rena couldn’t deny how satisfying it was to see the Wizard catch them both in the back as he tried to flee into the rubble.  “No fair!  I didn’t have any spells prepared yet!” the portly villain screeched as he flailed around trying to put out the fire.

        “I thought you didn’t believe in ‘fairness’, only absolute freedom,” Bridget replied with a nasty smile, strange green energy swirling around her hands, “So much for being chaotic.  King Kong’s Fists!”

        Her arms suddenly grew massive muscles with a thick mat of wiry black hair as she approached the Wizard, who was busy fumbling through his spellbook before hastily reciting some guttural syllables and drawing a circle around himself.  The air around him distorted and became almost solid, the light bending and refracting in bizarre ways, and the Chaotic-Neutral Wizard became a fuzzy and indistinct blur.  It was kind of like looking through the warped glass in her old dorm room’s window, Rena noted in fascination as she shifted position in the rubble to get a better view of the action. Bridget smiled as she drew closer to the shield, calling out, “Hiding behind your spells already?  Oh well, it’ll make the anticipation of getting my hands on you all the better.”

        Rena could faintly hear some panicked chanting coming from inside the bubble as the Monster Maestro began to pound on it mercilessly, though she was mostly focused on the bizarre sight of a woman punching with arms that were almost large enough to drag on the ground.  Clouds of concrete dust blew from the ground around the shield with every one of her punches, each blow driving the bubble deeper into the ground, the shield itself wavering and writhing under the assault.

        Just as it Bridget swung both her arms upward to deliver an overhand smash that Rena was sure to finally collapse the shield, it suddenly disappeared with a pop, which caused the villainess to stagger as she pulled back her blow in confusion.  This split second of hesitation was all that the Wizard needed.  “Color spray,” he roared, and a massive fountain of eye-wateringly bright colors engulfed his opponent.

        The Monster Maestor flew back from the force of the blow, spinning wildly through the air before managing to grow her wings and stabilize herself.  “Not a bad trick, I have to give you that,“ she said as she rubbed at her eyes.

        The portly villain smiled at the compliment and said, “Just wait until you see my next one then, you brute.”

        He continued the chanting that Rena had heard through the shield as Bridget tried to get her eyes working after the blast of intense light, then cast a few small figurines on the ground.  Rena watched in wonder as the carved wood pieces rattled and jumped under the influence of the Wizard’s chanting before explosively growing into a pack of twenty, maybe thirty wolves.

        “Okay, really scared now, oh god, now a wolf is going to eat me,” Rena whimpered into the doorframe that she was hiding behind, before looking up confusedly as she heard Bridget laugh.

        “Cute, very cute,” the Monster Maestro said as she looked over the pack of snarling wolves, mockingly clapping as she settled to the ground and pulled her wings into herself, “Now let me show you a real summoning.”

        “I call forth Hati, of the Fenrir Wolves!” she called out, and two massive, yellow eyes suddenly appeared behind her.

        Rena’s shaking grew worse as the monstrous beast stepped out of the portal that Bridget had opened, a wolf as big as a school bus.  Her mind all but gave up as the enormous wolf began to growl, a sound that was felt more than heard, and exposed its foot-long teeth in a snarl.  The Wizard and his creatures fared little better than Rena, the pack fled the moment Hati had begun to growl, while their summoner looked like he was about to shit himself in fear.  After a few seconds of utter shock, his demeanor changed, and a look of triumph flitted over his face.  “I was saving this one for a special occasion, but I suppose I’ll just have to waste it on you,” he sneered, slowly pulling a scroll from his fanny pack, “I cast Mythic Enlarge Person!”

        His limbs suddenly contorted in sickening ways, and the stench of unwashed bodies and Cheetos filled the battlefield.  Rena flinched away, gagging from both the sight as well as the smell, and by the time she looked back, the portly villain was almost as tall as one of the wrecked apartment buildings around them.  She quickly glanced at Bridget, ready to flee if the villainess decided that discretion was the better part of valor.  Surprisingly, she was calmly mounting Hati.  The wolf set off towards the Wizard at a dead sprint while the Monster Maestro balanced on his back.  The Wizard grinned at this challenge and strode towards the pair, each foot sending tremors through the ruined city block, his hands reaching out to grab the pair.  Hati skidded to a stop just before the giant villain could grab hold of him, launching Bridget directly at the Wizard’s face.  “Attack his weak point for massive damage,” she called out, “CRAB CLAW!”

        Silence descended as the Chaotic-Neutral Wizard’s neckbeard slowly drifted to the ground.  The enormous claw that Bridgette had used to cut through the matted hair shrunk back into her normal hand, while her usual set of wings brought her safely to the ground.  She looked on with a triumphant smile as the Chaotic-Neutral Wizard quickly shrunk to his former size.  Quivering with rage, he gathered his spellbook and ran, screaming over his shoulder, “Curse you, attacking the very source of my power!  I will have my vengeance you coward!”

        Bridget watched him haughtily until he disappeared down a city street, the wind dramatically tousling her hair and setting her costume fluttering (which, Rena noted with an enormous blush, also showed off her really cute butt).  She then turned and faced Rena’s hiding spot and called, “Now that I’ve defeated that weakling, you can have a fight befitting your powers.  Come and face me Rena!”

        The hero reluctantly rose from her crouch behind the concrete block and walked towards her nemesis, sheepishly saying, “Could I just give you a raincheck on that fight?  I’ve had too many fireballs flung at me, I kinda just want to lay down for a bit and not deal with the entire hero thing.

        Bridget’s face twisted in disappointment and her posture noticeably slumped, which made Rena quickly say, “I mean, thank you so much for rescuing me, that guy was really creepy and I really didn’t want to die from a ball of acid or something like that.  I totally owe you dinner or something.”

        This only seemed to make things worse, as Bridget sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose, replying, “Damn it Rena, you really know how to kill the mood.”

        “Um, sorry about that,” the redhead mumbled, trying desperately to avoid thinking about the implications in the villain’s statement, “But I have to go home now.  Kitty hasn’t been fed yet, and I’m pretty tired, so…”

        Desperately trying to hide the blush that was forming and eager to just get home, Rena tried to slip around the villainess, but Bridget caught her on the shoulder as she was passing.  “Actually, I have a few questions that I wanted to ask you,” Bridget said in an entirely too casual way, “You know, about what is going on between you and my sister.”

        Rena skidded to a stop in utter panic as she realized where this was heading.  “Not a thing!  Um, friends, we really like to hang out, that kind of stuff!” she said rapidly, trying to find some kind of excuse that would allow her to wiggle out of this.

        “You’ve got the worst poker face, you know that?” Bridget said with a smirk, and she opened a portal and reached in.

        She pulled out a small capsule that made Rena feel a sinking sense of dread.  “Is that what I think it is,” she asked with an almost weary resignation.

        “Yup, knockout pellet.  Can’t have you know where my secret hideout is when I take you in for questioning,” Bridget said, her smirk growing.

        Rena managed to make it five feet before the pellet hit and darkness descended.

 

        Rena’s eyes opened blearily, though it took her mind a few seconds to catch up and remind her that she was kidnapped.  She stirred, her aching back desperate for a stretch, when she felt metal bite into the skin around her wrists and ankles.  Strangely, the first emotion she felt was mild irritation rather than panic. It seemed completely logical that she was handcuffed to a chair in a dark room after being kidnapped by a woman who had threatened her with bodily harm.  Adding ‘review career decisions’ to her mental to-do list, she pulled herself upright (or as best she could, anyway), and said tentatively into the darkness, “Um, Bridget?  Are you there?”

        Her voice trailed off uncertainly, and the flat silence that hung in the air did little to calm her rising panic.  After a few seconds spent trying not to whimper, the wall in front of her exploded into light.  Closing her eyes against the sudden assault did little good, the harsh light was visible through her eyelids, so she tried a time honored technique instead.  Complaining.  “Whyyyyy-,” she whined, squirming in her chair as she tried to escape the evil lamps.

        Her efforts were cut short as Bridget growled from behind the lights, “Quit struggling Rena.  I’ve got questions, and you –will- answer them.”

        “Can’t we do this over coffee instead-“

        Bridget, deep into her Monster Maestro persona, spoke over Rena’s weak objections, “Why is Monster Master so obsessed with you lately?  She’s been spending so much time stalking you that she’s passed up fights against heroes.”

        Knowing that the question was coming didn’t make the sudden flash of fear any worse, Rena thought as she remembered Cynthia’s threats.  “She uh, wants to find out my weaknesses?” she said, the excuse sounding weak even to her ears.

        Rena couldn’t see Bridget’s expression over the intense lamps, but the doubt in her voice was so obvious it was a bit painful as she replied.  “Did you really think I’d believe that?  I’ve got a report here from a few weeks ago,” her voice paused and was replaced with the rustling of paper, “Ah, here it is.  You were coming home from eating dinner when the Monster Master ambushed you.  She did not use any fatal attacks, only chasing you around for a bit and maybe getting in a few bites.  The incident ended in, and I’m quoting here, ‘…the Monster Master constricting Rena, but it really just looked like cuddling.’”

        Awkward silence descended as Rena tried to come up with an excuse that could possibly explain –that- incident, a matter which was not made easier by the familiar blush creeping onto her cheeks.  “Um, she was trying to see how strong I was, then let me go because I was too weak for a fair fight?” she offered meekly.

        More papers shuffled, then her captor replied, “If she views you as such an enemy, why have you two met no friendly terms no less than fifteen times within the past month?  One of which involved an evening shopping followed by a movie, then dinner at a French restaurant?”

        Oh god, she had heard about the dinner date, Rena thought desperately.  “She also really likes me as a friend,” she said lamely.

        If Bridget knew about that date, then she had to know about the ‘incident’, Rena though dejectedly.  Her worst fears were confirmed when Bridget spoke again, “Just friends?  I have a news article here describing another one of your run-ins with Monster Master.  On the night that you and I were supposed to have dinner together, she attacked you on the way to my apartment.  There’s no record of how the fight went, but the article says that you were found the next morning wrapped in silk and suspended from a massive spider’s web.  When you were cut out of the webbing that was wrapped around you, it was found, and I’m quoting again, “That the hero Rena was found wearing only her underwear.”

        “She wanted to make sure I didn’t escape,” Rena whispered, the blush at last making its way to her ears and neck.

        The silence that followed was more damning than anything Bridgette could stay.  Rena squirmed under the immense pressure of the villains’s unsaid question, her mind warring between the very real fear of Cynthia and the urge to just tell the truth.  After a few agonizing seconds of indecision, something inside her snapped, and she shot upright in her chair.  “She didn’t want me to make it to the dinner, she thought I was trying to make a move on you.  She stole my clothes to make sure that I wouldn’t try to escape”, Rena said, the words pouring out of her mouth in a panicked torrent, “She’s been stalking me and flirting with me to make sure that I won’t kiss you or anything”.

        She paused for a few seconds, panting heavily, before she realized the consequences of this revelation.  “And she told me not to tell you so now she’s going to kill meeeee-,” she whined.

        The floodlights suddenly snapped off, causing Rena to blink in confusion as her eyes tried to adjust, but she could hazily make out Bridgette storming towards her.  She tried to cower lower in the chair as the villain towered over her and fiercely growled, “What was that about wanting to kiss me?”

        “But aren’t you worried about the entire ‘your sister is going to kill me’ part,” she asked plaintively before Bridgette spoke over her.

        “Stop trying to change the subject,” she snapped, giving Rena a terrifying glare, “I want a straight answer.  Is Cynthia right?  Do you want to be with me?”

        Hearing it said so plainly made it worse somehow, Rena thought dazedly.  The utter embarrassment was too much, simply looking Bridgette in the eyes caused her face to burn, so she dropped her eyes awkwardly to the floor and shrank into her chair.  A few tense seconds passed before Rena finally managed to get her mouth to start working again.  “I...guess I wouldn’t mind that?” she said waveringly, already wanting to cram the words back into her mouth.

        The manic energy that had animated Bridgette seemed to rush out of her in a weary sigh, and she slowly leaned up and pinched the bridge of her nose.  “You wouldn’t mind, huh?” she asked quietly.

        Rena simply nodded, not trusting her voice at this point, and kept her eyes firmly focused on the ground.  She started in surprise as she felt Bridgette circle around behind her, the surprise turning into confusion as she heard a click and felt the handcuffs slip from her wrists.  Bridgette stood quickly, her motions growing more agitated as she circled around and faced Rena.  “Just go,” she said sharply, then seemed to calm herself with a visible effort before continuing more gently, “I’ve just got a lot to think about, okay?”

        Rena hesitated, not sure whether she wanted to flee or to try to somehow explain herself, but Bridgette’s pensive expression made her decide that discretion was the better part of valour this time.  She stood and made her way to the door, opening and closing the portal carefully as she made her way out so as to not disturb the villain.  The area outside the interrogation room was too dark to pick out anything clearly, though Rena had to be careful in picking her way through items scattered on the floor as she made her way towards what she assumed was the door that led outside.  She paused before opening it, realizing that she had no idea where the hell Bridgette had taken her, and debated turning back and asking for directions back to her apartment.  The debate was quite short, as even thinking about talking to Bridgette at this point brought the blush back with a vengeance, so she decided to just take her chances with a taxi.  

        She stepped out onto a rather seedy looking street and decided that getting the hell out of here quickly was her best bet.  Choosing a direction at random, she set off at a quick walk looking for a yellow savior.  It took a few terrifying blocks, but she finally caught sight of a cab and flagged it down before it could pass.  She opened the door and collapsed into the back seat with almost giddy excitement, sending a thankful prayer towards whoever was listening as the kindly looking driver turned and asked, “Where to, miss?”

        She rattled off her address and the taxi was soon on its way, leaving Rena with only her thoughts to occupy her as they made their way through traffic.  Rena wasn’t sure if this entire hero thing was rubbing off on her, but she was actually worried more about how Bridgette would react than visions of Cynthia’s revenge.

       

        Rena tossed the empty tub of ice cream out of her blanket fort and settled back down to watch whatever soap opera was on at the moment.  It really didn’t matter what was happening, or whose evil twin slept with the brooding guy’s ex, as long as it kept her mind from panicking about what she had done.  The only problem was that the panic hadn’t subsided in two days, and she really hadn’t wandered that far from the safety of her couch.

        She was deciding the merits of an expedition to acquire some chips when her tablet started beeping.   It wasn’t unexpected, it had been two days since she had done anything hero-y after all, but a lump of lead settled in her belly as she slowly untangled herself from her blanket and reached for the communicator.  It had to be either Bridgette or Cynthia, and she wasn’t really sure which one was going to be worse.  She scrolled quickly through the report, lots of talk of neighborhoods being razed to the ground, skyscraper windows blown out, the works, before stopping dead at the last sentence.  ‘The Monster Maestro has offered an ultimatum:  either Rena meets her in the abandoned Carlyle factory at 7 PM, or her rampage continues.’

        Rereading the sentence didn’t make it sound any better, and Rena felt the panic that she had been suppressing bubbling to the surface.  Still, she thought with a sudden, sick clarity, she was going to get murdered by either one of the Monster sisters at some point, she might as well prevent some chaos while going to her inevitable doom.  She rose stiffly from her fabric fortress and headed to her room, quickly picking out her ‘nicest’ clothing which was really a somewhat formfitting shirt, a pair of jeans with no holes in them, and her hoodie.  She might as well look respectable for her funeral, she though with a hopeless smile.

        So armed and armored, she set off at a quick walk towards the Carlyle factory, an old brick monstrosity that had been slowly crumbling for decades.  She vaguely remembered where it was from her years in high school, it had always been a popular hangout for any activity that teenagers didn’t want their parents seeing, which only made Rena more nervous.  After an all too short walk, she stood in front of the imposing structure.  She checked her tablet, hoping for any reason to delay the inevitable, but it said that she had all of eight minutes before Bridgette’s deadline passed.  

        Giving one last, longing look at the city, she slipped through one of the many broken windows and made her way cautiously inside.  Her nose wrinkled as she walked through what appeared to be a maze of offices, the stench of countless generations of illicit alcohol and drugs wafting from every corner of the place, and the omnipresent broken glass made going difficult.  After what seemed an eternity of waiting for the Monster Maestro to appear around every corner, Rena finally stepped out into a fairly open space.  The rusted machinery and conveyer belts made her guess that she had made it to the factory floor, and she took a second to appreciate the haunting beauty of the place when it was lit by the setting sun.  The fading light hid the details of the old equipment, making the structures almost appear to be strange animals, or possibly a forest full of twisted plants.

        “Glad you could make it, Rena,” Bridgette whispered into her ear.

        Rena shot upright in terror and spun around, but the villain was already gone, and the many shadows meant that the redhead couldn’t be sure where she had run to.

“You wanted to see me?” Rena asked hesitantly.

“Of course.  Any chance to defeat my greatest nemesis,” Bridgette called back, her voice seeming to come from multiple directions as the sound bounced off of walls and machinery, “And I did say that I would make our next fight memorable.”

Rena’s mind churned over what Bridgette had said as she snuck into the cover of a giant stamping machine.  The villain didn’t sound angry, she didn’t mention punishing Rena for wanting to be with her, and the ‘greatest nemesis’ line seemed almost…playful?  Still, she crouched the moment that Bridgette’s began speaking again, trying her best to track the sound and figure out where the magic user was.  Hope was dangerous after all, especially when dealing with any of this hero stuff.

“After all, you did give me a raincheck for a fight after I saved your ass.  I thought I would call in the favor early,” Bridgette said teasingly, her voice seeming to move and shift as she spoke.

“Why did you attack the city then,” Rena asked, trying to keep Bridgette talking so that she could find where the villain was.

Bridgette’s laughter echoed through the factory.  “I had to draw you out somehow, didn’t I?  I knew that you would go into hiding after our chat,” she said, her voice decidedly shifting into the cadence of the Monster Maestro, “And by the way.  Phoenix Fire!”

        Rena instinctively ducked, but the ball of flame flew into some conveyer belts that were a good distance behind her.  Her eyes finally widened in understanding.  This wasn’t meant to be deadly or dangerous, this was just for fun.  She decided to try a small experiment.  Slowly poking her head out of cover, she called out, “I, um, would never pass up a chance to halt your evil?”

It didn’t really sound heroic at all to her ears, more like a kid forced to read something for a play, but Bridgette’s laughter was soon echoing through the machines again, “Good!  It would reflect poorly on me if my nemesis was so weak that she just gave up!”

Another machine, this one closer, detonated in a rather impressive explosion.  Rena huddled behind her stamping machine while the shrapnel pinged off of it, then snuck towards a bin full of rusty tools.  She was pretty sure that Bridgette wanted her to move around at this point and do something, an idea that was quickly confirmed when a fireball slammed into her previous hiding spot.  “Your aim is as terrible as your crimes!” she said a bit more enthusiastically, finally getting into hang of this bantering business.

She flattened herself in terror as a fireball passed just above the bin she was hiding behind.  “Really, Rena?  I was just making sure that you didn’t die too quickly.  I have to have to make sure that I have some fun with this, after all,” came the haughty reply.

Making a mental note not to insult her enemy’s powers, Rena sprinted from the hiding spot to a row of barrels.  Another gout of fire slammed into a generator that she had passed, though Rena was able to see the flames spring into life before they were launched.  Finally having an idea of where her foe was, Rena began to creep behind the barrels, trying to angle herself so that she could catch sight of the Monster Maestro.  After a few tense seconds crawling, she heard Bridgette call, “Cowering already?  I thought you would put up a better fight than that!” before another round of explosions rocked the factory, followed by the all too familiar roar of the Eye Beast.

Rena poked her head around the last of the barrels and finally saw a shadowy outline that could only be her nemesis pointing the monster towards a furnace that lay across the factory from her current hiding spot.  She watched while the creepy beast stalked off, racking her brain for a way to end this fight without maiming or tentacles.  Her back straightened as she finally figured it out.  She pulled forth her trusty pocket rock and hefted it in her palm a few times before flinging it at an empty bin that was a good distance away.

She was already running while the rock was in the air, smiling in satisfaction as she saw Bridgette turn away from her and throw a few fireballs at the massive clang it made.  By the time her target had heard her footsteps and turned to face her, Rena was already coming in for the tackle.  She came in low and fairly slow, aiming not to hurt the villain but to just bring her to the ground, and laughed at the surprised squeak that came from Bridgette as she made contact.  They collapsed in an undignified pile, Rena ending up on top and in between her foe’s legs.  Trying not to think too deeply about how comfortable and welcome this position was, Rena lunged for the two wands clasped in Bridgette’s hands.  “I finally have you,” she panted, her body screaming from all the exertion and running around, “Surrender or else!”

The surprised look on Bridgette’s face was quickly replaced by a fierce smile, “Not bad, but you haven’t beaten me yet, hero.”

She suddenly twisted under Rena, throwing her to the floor, and the two were soon engaged in a fight for control over the wands.  Rena tried to get to her knees and drag the wands away, but Bridgette quickly wrapped her legs around the hero’s waist and pulled her tight.  Squirming did no good, the Monster Maestro only pulled her legs tighter and drew Rena’s arms upward.  This left Rena in the completely helpless but not unwelcome position of having her face smashed into Bridgette’s breasts.  The strange intimacy of the moment caught her completely off guard, which caused her to stop struggling, if only for a second.

A second was all the Monster Maestro needed.  She twisted her hips and rolled on top of Rena, pinning her arms above her head.  She stared down at Rena with a slight grin, face flushed from the struggle and panting from the exertion.  Rena couldn’t help but grin back, even though (or maybe because) her enemy had straddled her and left her completely helpless.  She had lost, but it was surprisingly fun.  She had one last card up her sleeve before she gave in, though.  “What now, villain?  You can’t use your wands when you have to use your hands to pin me down,” she said, hoping for a truce.

Bridgette seemed to hesitate for a moment, biting her lip, before murmuring, “I don’t have to use my powers to defeat you.”

Then she kissed Rena.  It was surprisingly gentle, just a light brush of her lips really, but it still made Rena gasp in shock.  She could have sworn that she felt Bridgette smile, then the villain, her nemesis, pressed her lips fully against Rena’s own.  She lost herself in the pure beauty of the sensation, letting her body go limp and welcoming as Bridgette used the full advantage of her position to deepen the kiss.

Rena wasn’t sure how long the entire incident lasted, but she blinked dazedly as Bridgette pulled herself upright, a lazy, victorious smile on her lips.  She plucked the wands out of the redhead’s numb fingers, then slowly stood and sauntered into the shadows.  Rena laid there for a few seconds while her mind tried to work through what the hell had just happened, before calling out, “Wait, where are you going?”

Bridgette paused for a moment, half hidden in the shade of a massive spool of wire, then said, “No need to fight anymore, I’ve already won.  I got exactly what I wanted, hero.”

She finally disappeared into the darkness that was settling over the factory, her laughter filling the space once again.  Rena laid there for a moment, completely shocked, joyful, nervous, and practically every other emotion that she could possibly feel.  She decided that it was nice just to let the jumble of feelings wash over her for a little bit, and shamelessly touched her tingling lips.

It took her addled brain quite a bit to remember that she was in an abandoned factory that was swiftly going dark, but she finally picked herself off the floor and stumbled out of the building.  A small drone waited at the door, check hanging in its pincers.  She dazedly took the check before making her way towards home, relishing the feeling of relief now that she knew Bridgette actually liked her, and then even getting paid for the best kiss of her life.  She shamelessly danced down the street, determined that today was simply the best day ever.  Nothing could go wrong.

She didn’t notice the pair of bright, slitted eyes that opened in an alleyway as she passed.