“I’ll see you then, and…” Gina paused as Morgan’s words processed, and she exclaimed, “Wait, in my hair? Crap!”
As she bolted for the bathroom to try to wash the paint out, Gina heard Morgan laughing behind her.
“Later, Gina! Be careful tomorrow, you hear? I don’t want to hear anything about you getting abducted by Lilith,” Morgan teased.
Gina snorted, shaking her head as she replied, “I could only wish. Bye!”
The door closed and locked behind Morgan, and Gina went back to washing her hair. Only once it was clean did she go back to her painting and try to recapture the spark of inspiration that had fueled the painting earlier. It took several minutes, but then Gina sighed, smiling as she picked up her brush and got back to work. Something told her that this painting, which she’d started on a whim, would be one of her best yet.
Chapter 12
Saturday, November 23rd, 2030
Alleyway, Oakland
“Yo, look at that broad!” Jack murmured, abruptly elbowing Albert in the side. Swearing at the impact, Albert nearly dropped his phone before looking up, scowling at his friend.
“Don’t hit me when I’m busy! I almost dropped my phone and… oh, shit. Yeah, she’s… impressive. What’s she doing in our neighborhood?” Albert asked, gawking at the woman strolling down the back alleys.
Lilith looked far too wealthy to be walking through the neighborhood, which simply made her stand out even more than her power normally would manage. Albert drew in a deep breath as he drank in the sight of her. Lilith was wearing a black skirt, crimson blouse, and carefully arranged hair. The woman was utterly stunning, and Albert never would have expected to see her outside of television, yet there she was, walking through his neighborhood.
Martin nodded and smiled, the scars on his face seeming to twist as he suggested, “Hey, what d’ya think we take her on a… tour of our turf? She’s already here, isn’t she?”
“Sounds like a plan to me! Let’s get ahead of her!” Albert agreed, standing up and trotting down a side alley. He knew exactly where to cut her off, too.
As she headed toward the art gallery to pick up her paintings, Lilith reflected that perhaps her choice of route this time hadn’t been the best. She’d decided to take some back streets to try to avoid being accosted by too many random people this time, but that had led her to an area that she realized wasn’t a good neighborhood. She was dressed much nicer this time, which made her stand out even more than she already would have, and the attention she was getting even now was enough to have her on alert. Still, she tried not to let it show.
Humming softly to herself, Lilith kept a close eye out for trouble. The neighborhood was fairly dark, with numerous street lights having guttered out, but that didn’t inhibit her vision much, not with some of the changes that had been engineered into her eyes. They shone almost like a cat’s in the night, and she could see almost as clearly as in daylight.
With a good hour until the gallery closed, Lilith had plenty of time to get there, so she continued her measured pace, considering her own mood. She was looking forward to seeing Gina again, far more than she had expected to when she’d left the gallery two nights prior. Lilith almost felt excited, an emotion she hadn’t felt since she’d realized she was about to be able to leave the hideout where she’d been training. It was that same training that alerted her to the danger before the ambush occurred.
The sound of shoes scuffing came from around a corner ahead of Lilith, and she caught the faint, distinctive sound of a knife leaving its sheath. Lilith’s mind cleared of extraneous thoughts at the sounds, and her breathing steadied slightly. She’d been expecting an ambush ever since she’d seen a group of thugs off to the side a few minutes earlier. A small part of her had actually been looking forward to a chance to test her skills. The moment the man turned the corner and lunged toward her, Lilith was ready to act.
“Keep your mouth shut, you dumb—” the man began, his voice deep and angry, but Lilith ignored his words, focusing instead on the knife in his hand. At the confirmation that she wouldn’t be over-reacting, she simply moved.
Adrenaline flooded her body and the world seemed to slow down, though it was actually Lilith’s mind jumping into high gear. The man in the lead and his two companions seemed to be moving at a glacial pace, and it felt like she had all the time in the world to react. Deflecting his hands calmly, Lilith twisted the knife from the man’s hands and smiled as she spun to deliver a kick to the man’s head.
The second man’s eyes went huge, and she saw one of his hands go behind his back. Landing gracefully, she stepped forward past the falling body of the first man. His hand emerged a moment later, a chunky black pistol in it. The sight caused her amusement to vanish, and without pause she hit him in the gut. As the man doubled over she struck him in the chin, and the cracking of his teeth was loud enough to hear. The man’s eyes rolled back in his head as he lost consciousness, and she spun to the last man.
By the time she turned to the last thug, the man had only begun to move, and she grabbed him harshly by the throat, raising him off the ground effortlessly. He paled, his hands raised to grab her hand, gasping out. “Oh, fuck me!”
“I don’t think so,” Lilith replied calmly, the world seeming to speed up again as she smiled pleasantly at him. “Now, then, you’re going to apologize to me. Then you’re going to gather your friends and leave… aren’t you? Or do I need to be rude?”
“N-no, ma’am,” the man stuttered, shaking his head as much as he could as he croaked out, “S-sorry for keeping you.”
“Good.” Lilith gave him a cold look as she smiled, then dropped him. The man’s legs gave way beneath him, sending him sprawling onto the ground. Walking away from the thugs without a backward glance, Lilith began humming again as her pulse slowed.
“What the hell, she was a freak?” the man muttered unsteadily, just loud enough for Lilith’s enhanced hearing to catch. From the way he talked, she was certain that he wasn’t going to be coming after her, and that was all that she really cared about. In the meantime, she pulled out a small package of wet wipes from her purse to clean her hands.
Saturday, November 23rd, 2030
Irkshire Art Gallery, Oakland
Looking around, Gina was stunned. She’d never had so many guests before at one of her art exhibitions, not even the first time Lilith had visited. At first she’d thought that there must be a mistake, but after recognizing at least five people from the other night, she realized they weren’t here for her artwork at all. Instead, they were likely here in the hopes of meeting Lilith. That suspicion had grown to certainty after she’d started packing up the paintings for their purchasers or to be taken home, and almost none of the guests had shown any sign of leaving.
Still, Gina had to admit that some of the guests were nice enough. One man, named Adam Kirby, had been friendly, and he was both handsome and entertaining so far. The man was maybe in his mid-thirties, and was fit, with a full head of dark hair and a thin mustache. Most days she would’ve found his flirtations and warm brown eyes distracting, but today she just couldn’t seem to concentrate on him. Instead, Gina found her gaze frequently wandering to the door, wondering when Lilith was going to show up. It wouldn’t make sense for her to pay for the paintings, then never pick them up.
“I can’t imagine why you’ve never sold these paintings before. You’re an incredibly skilled painter, Gina,” Adam complimented her, looking over the pair of paintings that he’d purchased again. He gave her a wide smile. “I just find it hard to believe.”
“While I appreciate the compliment, Mr. Kirby, those are hardly among my best pieces, and I haven’t gotten that much attention before. There are many excellent artists who never manage to break out into the public eye, so I’m quite happy to have been as successful as I have been,” Gina replied with a gentle smile, trying to be polite but professional. “I hope to keep improving, of course, and get more recognition, but in the meantime I ne
ed to keep painting. After all, who doesn’t hope to be highly recognized for their work?”
“True enough! I still think you’re underrating yourself, but I’ll cede to your greater experience,” Adam replied, smiling even more. He was just starting to speak again when the door opened and Gina glanced over, then paused, transfixed by the sight of Lilith. It took a moment before Adam followed her gaze and stopped speaking.
Lilith looked even more stunning than she had the other night, dressed up as she was in nicer clothing, and Gina felt her cheeks warm as Lilith looked at her and smiled broadly. Everyone in the room had to be looking at Lilith, and as she started over, Adam closed his mouth for a moment, then whispered, “Good god… who’s she?”
“Lilith, it’s wonderful to see you again!” Gina exclaimed, ignoring the man and stepping forward to greet the other woman. She was startled by the warmth rushing through her, but she smiled broadly as she continued. “As late as it was getting, I was starting to worry that you wouldn’t make it in time.”
“It’s good to see you as well, Gina. I’m afraid I ran into a few delays along the trip, and not having a car has made things a little more interesting,” Lilith replied, her eyes flicking over Adam and everyone else in the gallery before ignoring all of them and focusing entirely on Gina. “I’d actually buy a car, but with the way traffic is in the city, I think it’d be far more trouble than it’s worth. Especially considering what downtown is like.”
“Really? I didn’t think it was quite that bad, though I suppose downtown is something of a nightmare.” Gina shook her head in amusement. “Not having a car would make things more difficult, I admit. How’d you get here?”
“Downtown is terrible. If it weren’t for the offices being there, I likely would’ve moved elsewhere,” Lilith told Gina, her eyes sparkling with amusement. “In the end, I took the subway and walked the rest of the way. It takes a little longer, but it’s much less stressful. Either way… it does look like you ended up selling most of your paintings in the end, doesn’t it?”
“That’s a bit of a trip. As for the paintings, not quite as many sold as it looks like, but a good deal more than I expected did,” Gina explained, pulling out Lilith’s paintings and gently setting them on the counter. “Your payments cleared already, so you’re more than welcome to take them. I hope you enjoy looking at them.”
Just as Lilith was reaching for the paintings, a man walked up and cleared his throat. “Pardon me, Ms. Carpenter, I was wondering if you’d be interested—”
“No, I’m not interested,” Lilith interrupted, not even bothering to look at the man as she carefully went through the paintings. Her voice was perfectly calm and polite, but Gina couldn’t help but smile at how mercilessly she retorted. “I have no interest whatsoever in attending some soiree or another with you, going out to have a drink, getting to know one another, or any of the other myriad reasons that you came up with to approach me. Go away.”
“That… but… fine!” the man began protesting, flushing almost purple. At Lilith’s scathing look he huffed loudly and shook his head, storming out of the gallery as a couple of the others in the room stared, obviously stunned.
Looking at Gina wryly, Lilith shook her head and spoke softly, her voice now mild. “This is why I don’t tend to go out much, I’m afraid. I have one superpower, to my knowledge, and it’s… frustrating. I attract the attention of everyone in the area, and it’s impossible for me to turn off.”
“Really?” Adam interrupted, his voice surprised. As the two women looked at him, he shrugged and explained, “I’ve never heard of a power like that before, is why I ask.”
“Unfortunately, it exists. I looked things up, and there are several other people with the same power, but all of them can control it,” Lilith explained with a sigh. “My power doesn’t care how people respond to me. It simply causes to people to notice me. My one visit to a movie theater ended when everyone was focusing on me instead of the movie, which was irritating and frustrating.”
“Wait, it’s that bad? That would be horrible!” Gina exclaimed, her eyes going wide as she thought about what Lilith was saying. While she’d seen the summary of the power in Lilith’s file, she’d never realized the full extent of it. It had to be frustrating, and Gina frowned after a moment, then asked, “If you don’t mind me prying, when did you develop your power? Most people don’t get theirs until puberty, but I’ve heard there are exceptions.”
“I have no idea, if I’m being honest. I might have had it since birth, but there’s no way to be certain,” Lilith replied absently, pulling out a pair of fabric bags and several soft cloth towels, wrapping the paintings as she spoke. “I was raised in an AI-run compound, entirely on my own. Since machines aren’t affected by my power, and none of the systems were actually full AIs, I have no way of knowing.”
“That’s horrible!” Adam interjected, seeming honestly outraged. As Gina tried to decide how to respond, he continued, “How could your parents leave you to be raised like that?”
“Primarily because they had no real choice in the matter,” Lilith replied, a definite sharpness to her voice, and Gina saw the irritation in her eyes. The other woman bagged her pictures and glared at a man who’d just approached her, an economist that Gina recognized. Her voice was harsh as her gaze seemed to pin the man in place. “No. Go away, now.”
As the man backed off in shock, Lilith turned back to Gina again. The heroine could see flickering frustration and annoyance in the woman’s eyes, yet even so, she smiled at Gina. When she spoke, her voice was soft, almost apologetic. “I’m sorry, Gina. I’d hoped to have some time to speak with you properly today, it’s part of why I tried to show up late. Unfortunately, I hadn’t expected it to be so crowded. As people won’t leave me alone, I’m going to take my leave. Is there anything else I need to take care of, first?”
Suppressing her own feeling of disappointment, Gina nodded and pulled out a few documents, offering a pen. “That’s perfectly fine, Lilith. I do understand. Could you sign this, to show that you’ve received your purchases?”
“I can certainly do that,” Lilith agreed, taking the pen and quickly signing a simple, clear signature. “I’ll likely try to call you sometime in the next week, if you don’t mind. You do take commissions, as I recall?”
“Definitely, as long as you’re talking about the type of paintings I create. I’ll look forward to your call, Lilith.” Gina smiled in return. Even so, she was unhappy the woman was leaving so soon. Like Lilith, she’d been looking forward to a chance to talk a little more as well.
“Ms. Lilith, if you have a moment, I’d like—” Adam spoke up, promptly redirecting Gina’s annoyance to him, as well as prompting a glare from Lilith.
“For the last time, no. My apologies, Gina, but obviously it’s past time for me to go,” Lilith said bluntly, slinging her bags of paintings over a shoulder and briskly walking toward the doors. As she headed for the door, several more people attempted to intercept her, only to be bluntly rebuffed.
“She wasn’t very polite,” Adam huffed, obviously annoyed. Turning to Gina, he asked, “Who is she, anyway?”
“She’s a customer who I find I rather like, Mr. Kirby,” Gina retorted sharply, her voice cooling off as she gathered the papers and filed them. Giving a pointed look, she continued. “If you couldn’t tell, she doesn’t like people swarming around her like sharks, and I can’t say I blame her. Personally, I’ve found her to be quite generous and polite when allowed to approach things on her own terms.”
“I… see.” Adam digested her explanation as a frown grew on his face. “I obviously took the wrong approach, then. I don’t have a chance with her, do I?”
Gina thought back to the look in Lilith’s eyes and smiled slightly, shaking her head. Glancing at Adam, her voice was soft as she replied, “I don’t think you had a chance to begin with. And after that conversation, she’s not the only one you lost a chance at. Good evening, Mr. Kirby.”
Chapter 13
Sunday, November 24th, 2030
Damien R&D, San Francisco
Carlos was a simple man and knew what was important to him, so he’d taken a job that allowed him to get what he wanted. His routine consisted of sleeping through the middle of the day, then getting up to prepare breakfast and play some video games before his night shift as a security guard. The position at Damien R&D paid well, while generally being a quiet, peaceful job, and each morning he stopped at the gym before starting his routine over again. Carlos didn’t have many close friends, and hadn’t found a girlfriend yet, but as a whole he was happy enough. He got to do what he enjoyed and was able to help his parents with what he earned, while still being able to save for the occasional vacation.
That was part of why he was so startled when he came around a corner, just in time to see a seven-foot tall man of gleaming steel throwing a punch at him. Carlos didn’t even have time to protest before the man’s fist hit him in the sternum. Pain radiated through his body as the audible snapping of bones echoed through the hallway, and he went flying into the far wall, more bones breaking as he came to a sudden stop. Spitting blood, Carlos fell to the ground, looking at the ceiling in confusion as his mind tried to catch up with what had just happened.
The man who’d hit him was Heavy Metal, he realized sluggishly, a powerful villain who possessed immense strength and was able to turn his skin into metal. The villain stepped past Carlos with an arrogant sneer, his minimal clothing showing off his muscles as he headed down the hall toward the laboratories. Several others were following the bald villain, Carlos realized, his eyes starting to lose focus, but he could see an Asian man in black and gray, a thin man in blue, and another man in heavy armor. As another person knelt next to Carlos, he realized that one of the group had stopped next to him and he slowly turned his head to face her, choking on his own blood.
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