Chapter 1: First Move

What is the secret to seduction? People love pretending it is complicated. Confidence, mystery, beauty, timing, chemistry, being funny, being interesting, knowing when to speak and when to shut up. There are probably a thousand books written by people who claim to know the answer, most of them explaining seduction as though it were some mystical art that only a handful of enlightened human beings have ever managed to understand. I disagree. The secret to seduction is the prey. That is where everything begins.

Your target has to be difficult enough to make the hunt worthwhile. Ideally, she should be almost completely unattainable. There should be at least one very good reason why pursuing her is a terrible idea, preferably several, and enough obstacles between the two of you that any reasonable person would look at the situation and immediately decide to find someone else. Reasonable people are boring. At the same time, there has to be something about her that you genuinely want, something that keeps pulling your attention back toward her no matter how much common sense tells you otherwise. And, most importantly, you need something she might eventually want from you. That is the part people forget. Wanting someone is not enough. Anyone can want. Seduction begins when you understand what you can offer that nobody else can.

There are other factors, obviously. You need enough social protection to survive taking risks. You need to understand exactly how far you can push without crossing the line from provocative into pathetic. And you need to be prepared for consequences, potentially very negative consequences. That last part is important. If you are terrified of losing, do not play. And yes, obviously, your target should be someone you find incredibly attractive. But honestly? I consider that secondary. The story is more important.

My name is Mist. I am twenty years old, and today I made my first move on Whitegirl.

She is twenty-one. I have wanted her since the first time I saw her. Not met her. Saw her. There is a difference, because everybody has seen Whitegirl. You cannot really avoid her. Her face is everywhere: news broadcasts, billboards, charity campaigns, AEGIS recruitment posters, interviews, political events, fashion magazines, children’s lunchboxes, airport advertisements, commemorative coins, documentaries, enormous digital screens in Tokyo and New York. She is probably one of the most photographed human beings alive. Maybe the most photographed. And after spending a ridiculous amount of time studying the situation, I have finally decided that I can afford to try.

So, before I explain what happened today, I should probably write down my analysis. If this diary is going to document the operation properly, I might as well be systematic.

Whitegirl is twenty-one years old and absurdly beautiful. Not attractive in the ordinary sense. Not she-looks-good-in-photographs attractive. Beautiful in the irritating, statistically improbable sort of way that makes you briefly hate whoever designed the universe because apparently some people just get everything. And then, on top of that, she is Whitegirl.

She radiates power. You feel it even when she is not doing anything. She can fly. She can lift a car with one hand. She can punch through reinforced concrete. She is fast enough that I have watched recordings of her crossing distances before people nearby had even realized she had moved. There are classified reports concerning the upper limits of her strength, but I have never been able to get access to them. I have tried, obviously. AEGIS apparently considers “How much could Whitegirl theoretically destroy if she became extremely angry?” information that somebody ranked number ten does not need to know. Cowards.

The strange thing is that none of that power is visible in her body. She does not look like a tank. She looks twenty-one because she is twenty-one. Slim, feminine, perfect posture, perfect hair, perfect skin. The kind of body fashion designers probably love because everything seems to sit exactly where it is supposed to. When she is not working and does not have the uniform on, she dresses like somebody’s idea of the perfect daughter. Pretty dresses, soft colors, blouses, expensive coats, nothing too revealing, always tasteful, always polished, always wearing just enough makeup to look flawless while pretending she is barely wearing any.

She is constantly moving from one social function to another: charity events, state dinners, ceremonies, interviews, photo opportunities, public appearances. If AEGIS needs somebody to stand next to a president and make the organization look respectable, they send Whitegirl. If they need somebody to stop a collapsing bridge, they also send Whitegirl. Useful combination.

Her mother seems to be the person who influences her most. That makes sense. Her mother is terrifying. Not in the traditional way. She is perfectly pleasant in interviews, elegant, controlled, smiles beautifully, and is also at least as powerful as her daughter. Possibly more. Nobody seems entirely certain. There is something between the two of them that is difficult to explain from the outside. Whitegirl can ignore advisers, politicians, managers, AEGIS executives and occasionally direct orders without appearing particularly bothered. Her mother says something? She listens. Immediately. It does not look like fear. At least I do not think so. It looks more like that strange absolute connection some mothers and daughters have, except in this particular case both mother and daughter could probably knock down a skyscraper if they sneezed too aggressively.

Anyway, that brings us to the important question: why is Whitegirl unattainable?

Where do I even start?

First, she is one of the most famous women on Earth. She does not exactly need bodyguards. Protecting Whitegirl with ordinary security would be a little like assigning six men with umbrellas to protect the Atlantic Ocean from rain. Security exists to protect everybody else. But she is permanently surrounded by people: AEGIS personnel, press officers, assistants, agents, journalists, photographers, government officials, event organizers, other heroes. You cannot simply walk up to Whitegirl. Getting within fifty meters of her usually means you have already passed multiple security checkpoints, had your identity verified and been given a very good reason for being there.

She is also extremely authoritative. She does not need to raise her voice. She does not need to threaten anybody. People naturally move out of her way. That is useful in emergencies. Less useful when you are trying to flirt with her.

Second problem: as far as anybody knows, she is straight. Very straight. Possibly aggressively straight. Unofficially, she has always been sympathetic toward one of those ultra-conservative political movements that spends a suspicious amount of time talking about traditional families. Her parents are famously religious. Very Christian. Very traditional. So there is a reasonably good chance Whitegirl thinks lesbianism ranges somewhere between unfortunate lifestyle choice and symptom requiring medical attention. I do not actually know. I have never heard her say anything explicitly homophobic, but I am working with probabilities here. Either way, she has never publicly dated a woman, never been photographed kissing one, never hinted at being interested in one. Nothing.

Third problem: she is the strongest girl in the world.

This does not technically make her harder to seduce, but it does make annoying her considerably more exciting.

So yes, Whitegirl is unattainable. Famous beyond comprehension, almost impossible to approach, probably heterosexual, possibly homophobic, raised in an ultra-conservative family, number one superhero in AEGIS, strong enough to fold me into a suitcase if I were not essentially indestructible.

Excellent.

Now, what do I have going for me?