Chapter 4C

No one said a word until we were back downstairs on the sofa. Everyone had been untied and the ropes lay in a pile on the coffee table with Bubba's shiv and the nipple clamps. Brute sat at my feet, my faithful protector. Sara brought us all sodas. I knew there were questions that would be asked. I hoped I could count on Bud and Jim to help deflect some of them. They knew enough to understand how some of the trick was done. Neeka had lots of practice at keeping her mouth shut, so it was going to be Lori and Sara who would be doing the asking.

"Sam?" Sara said, to start. I tried to imagine what question she would ask.

"Thank you," she said. "You saved my life. Hell, you probably saved all our lives."

Lori said, "That was the greatest thing I have ever seen. You beat the crap out of them. I thought they would kill you, but you beat them." She got up and went over to the chrome-plated dumbbell I had hit Leon with. She looked at it and then tried to pick it up. She could barely move it. Jim went over and picked it up with two hands and put it back in the rack with the others.

"It says it weighs 40 pounds," Lori said in an awed tone. "And you threw it at him. You hit him hard enough to break his ribs. I heard them snap."

"You kicked Bubba's balls into the next county. He went down like a big sack of oranges falling off the produce truck," she went on. "But the most impressive thing, the thing that I still can't believe, even though I watched you do it, was hanging upside down from your nipples and getting yourself off that hook. Aren't you hurt? They don't even look bruised, just a little red."

Neeka reached over and touched my nipples. I had not bothered to dress again and neither had Neeka. I was sure that she would when I did. She was just being her usual silent, supportive self. Neeka stroked my breasts and asked, "Are you sure you're all right? Is there anything I can do for you?"

I smiled, "Kiss them and make them better?" She did, without hesitation. She kissed both my nipples very gently and very tenderly. I felt a warm feeling starting in my pussy. Neeka and I had some unfinished business.

"Hysterical strength," Jim suggested "Under great stress, people can do amazing things. Perform great feats of strength, endure great amounts of pain." I wanted to kiss him, but it would have given away the show. He had come up with a plausible explanation and I decided to get behind it.

"That must be it," I said. "I was just so damn mad that I lost control. I didn't know what I was doing."

"Bullshit," Lori said. "I was sitting right beside Jim when you primed him to open the door when you were ready. You knew what you were going to do. You planned it. You got them away from us long enough for this... this... beautiful monster to come in and scare them off. Why did you let them go? That's what doesn't make sense to me."

I sighed. Lori wasn't going to be put off with stories about mothers picking up cars to save their babies, but I could answer the question as she asked it. I said, "If we had called the cops and had them arrested here, the cops would have called our parents. What would your mother have thought? What would Mrs. Morgan think? What would mine... what would Mrs. Reynolds have thought? Put yourself in their places. Being called by the cops and told their children had been attacked by a couple of escaped convicts? Especially Mrs. Reynolds and Mrs. Morgan being only a couple of houses away while their children were being raped and sodomized. I could not put them through that. No mother should have to live with that."

"I didn't get raped," Neeka said. "You got free too quick. I missed being sodomized, too... damn it." Everyone burst out laughing at that. It was the first time I had heard Neeka make a joke. I hugged her really hard. She had been the brave one. She had put her faith in me to save her.

Lori wasn't going to let it go. "But he cut you. I saw him cut your throat. How did you..." Her sister whacked her with an elbow and gave her the dirtiest look I have ever seen anyone use on a relative.

"Right," Lori said, "it doesn't matter. If you don't want to talk about it, that's cool. But there is one thing that I have to say. It's just that Sara is right. Stop smirking, Sara. It had to happen eventually. She said you saved us, and she's right. We owe you our lives. If you don't want us to talk about it, I can get behind that. If my mother knew what happened, she would never let us out of her sight again. We'd be prisoners, just like those two assholes. So you saved us twice. You kept your head and you saved us. You're my Hero. Or is it Heroine?"

"Hey, I'm not a Hero," I said. "I just could not let anything happen to my friends."

Lori got up and came over to sit next to me. She put her arm around me and leaned over and kissed me. "In that case," she said, "I am very glad to be your friend. Because God help your enemies!"

I closed my eyes for a moment and put my hand over the hollow of my left shoulder. When I opened them I turned to Lori and said, "Do you like my tattoo?" I took my hand away from my shoulder and Lori looked at the small pink heart. Inside the heart, in script, it said "Lori". She smiled and looked me in the eyes.

"Thank you," she said in a whisper. "I know that wasn't there before." Her eyes went wide, but she kept her voice low. "So that's how..." She stopped. "Don't worry. Your secret is safe with me."

"Is there any of that pizza left?" I asked. "I'm suddenly very hungry."

"I'm on it," Jim said and ran up to the kitchen to warm me up a couple of pieces.

"Also, my breasts are sore again. Could someone please kiss them some more?"

Neeka and Lori bent to the task with a will. I leaned back and luxuriated in the sensation. It looked like the Heroine business had some nice benefits.

Later, after everyone had taken a turn soothing my poor nipples, and those not so occupied had amused themselves however they chose, we turned on the TV in time to catch the news. The lead story was about two prison work farm escapees who had been recaptured after the truck they had stolen had broken down in a residential part of town. Both men had been severely injured and were being treated in the prison hospital. One had four broken ribs and a collapsed lung and the other had unspecified groin injuries. Both were expected to recover after a long convalescence.

The men told authorities that they had been attacked by a gang of 20 outlaw bikers who beat them senseless and left them for dead. Law enforcement agencies are on the lookout for the gang and bulletins have been issued, but since no such biker gang had been seen in the area, the authorities were not confident of a quick resolution of this unusual case. A large quantity of blood on the clothes of one of the men had been determined through laboratory tests to belong to a Caucasian female between the ages of 13 and 19. It was believed that the escapees had murdered a girl, but no body had yet been found.

"Uh, oh." I said. "Better get dressed. We're going to have company if Mrs. Reynolds or Mrs. Morgan heard that. And get rid of that junk on the table."

Bud grabbed the ropes, clamps and knife and threw them into the drawer with the rest of the clothesline.

We had no sooner got our clothes back on than the phone rang. I picked up the extension on the desk. It was Mrs. Henderson, calling to check on Lori and Sara. I handed her the phone and listened to Lori's side of the conversation.

"We're fine, mom. No, we haven't seen any bikers. No, we're all quite safe here, really. The Reynolds' have a huge watchdog that is quite capable of scaring off anyone who might try to break in. He's right here in the room with us. Yes, all the doors are locked. Mom? Believe me, we are safer here than we would be at home. Thank you for worrying. Yes, we'll call you tomorrow when we're on the way home. I love you, too. Bye."

"How is she taking it?" I asked Lori.

"She's concerned. She's not freaked. I don't think she's buying the biker gang angle. It's the 'murdered girl' thing that has her rattled. We should have stripped them before we threw them out. The blood could be traced."

"Not unless they get something to match it to. I don't think they will go through the neighborhood collecting blood samples. 'Murdered girl' means a body somewhere. When one doesn't turn up and no one is reported missing, I think the whole thing will blow over in a day or two. As for stripping them, we would be stuck with two prison uniforms and no good explanation as to how we got them. It wasn't worth the risk."

Mrs. Reynolds and an attractive red-haired woman I took to be Mrs. Morgan practically ran down the stairs into the family room. Lori retreated back to the couch where she and her sister sat snuggled between Jim and Bud. Something did not look right for a second. I looked again. It wasn't Lori and Sara between Jim and Bud, it was Lori and Sara between Bud and Jim. I wondered when the swap had come about.

Mrs. Morgan ran straight to Neeka and almost knocked her off her feet in a big hug.

"Oh darling, thank goodness you're safe! I was so worried when we saw the news."

Neeka managed to get enough space to breathe. "Mom! I'm fine. We're all fine. Those bikers never came near here. We never even heard a motorcycle. Did you?"

"No. We didn't hear a thing. When we heard that those men were captured only a block from here, we got... we came right over to check on you all."

After hearing her misspeak, I looked Mrs. Morgan over carefully. Her skirt was bunched in the back over her hastily-tucked-in blouse and she had missed a button on the side. I wanted to smile, but I didn't dare.

"Mom, I want to introduce you to Samantha. Sam, this is my mother." Mrs. Morgan was a few inches shorter than her daughter and only a little taller than me. She looked at me with keen interest. If I was right about her open relationship with her daughter, she had already heard enough to make her curious about her daughter's new friend. Now I could let out the smile I had been suppressing. Mrs. Morgan reached out a hand, but I ignored it and walked right into a hug. I held her tight for a while and kissed her cheek.

"I'm very happy to meet you." I said. "Neeka and I have become best friends in record time. I feel that I already know you through her." I lowered my voice so only the three of us could hear and said, "I'm sorry you had to get out of bed to come over this time of night."

"Oh that's all right. We were..." She trailed off and looked at me with a half-smile on her lips. The look on her face, said 'busted'.

I smiled devilishly at her and went to kiss her cheek again, but instead I stuck my nose behind her jaw and kissed her neck. I was rewarded by feeling her shiver in my arms. I let go of her and a second later she let go of me, too. I had the feeling that she really wanted to kiss me, but there were too many people around. I could see where Neeka got her shyness as well as her uninhibited sexual appetites. It was an odd combination.

"We're all fine, really." I assured her. "You have nothing to worry about. I won't let anything happen to Neeka."

While Mrs. Morgan was wondering how I could guarantee her daughter's safety, I noticed that Mrs. Reynolds had finished making sure that her boys were undamaged and was looking around the room. I saw her smile when she saw that the stacks of towels she had left us had been used. I made a mental not to thank her for that bit of thoughtfulness. I saw her bend over and pick something up from under the table at the far end of the couch. I hoped it wasn't a stray slice of pizza or empty drink cup. We had tried to be neat about taking food into the plushly carpeted room. My heart jumped into my throat when I saw that it was the garden shears with a piece of the cotton clothesline still stuck in the jaws.

Mrs. Reynolds looked at the shears for a second. Then she opened them and pulled the bit of rope out. She carried them over to the drawer where they had been for the last couple of weeks since she had brought them into the room. She pulled out the drawer and saw Bud's hurried concealment of the cut rope, the clamps, and the little homemade knife. She dropped the shears into the drawer and pushed it shut. When she turned around her face was a mask of wonder and terror. She looked again at Bud and Jim, who were sitting on the couch with the Henderson's, then she turned toward me and walked stiffly over to stand next to me and the Morgan's. Mrs. Morgan was telling Neeka how glad she was that she was OK for the third time.

Mrs. Reynolds fixed me with a steely look and said, "Sam, can I speak with you a moment?" Without waiting for an answer, she took my arm and led me down to the other end of the room, next to the drawer where she found the evidence.

"Is there something you would like to share with me?" she asked in a low controlled voice.

"Are you sure you want to know? This might be one of those times when you would really rather not."

"Oh my God." She leaned on the cabinet for support. "Give me the short version. Then I'll let you know if I want to hear the rest."

"OK. Two bad men forced their way in and I beat the crap out of them."

She laughed. She put her hand over her mouth and she started to have a bad case of the giggles. The rest of the people in the room looked over at the sound. I smiled back like I had just told her a joke to relieve the tension.

When she had control again, she wiped her eyes and said, "The news report said twenty bikers."

"A slight exaggeration. I haven't been on a bike since I was 10. That one had playing cards in the spokes."

"And the murdered girl's blood?"

"Will match my DNA perfectly if they ever get a sample for comparison."

"Oh no! I really didn't want to hear that."

"Told ya."

"This is going to sound dumb, but are you all right?"

"I'm fine. Take me out for a steak dinner tomorrow and I'll be perfect."

"No one was hurt? No one else, I mean."

"Not even bruised. Neeka came the closest, but she thinks of it as a missed opportunity to do something kinky. That girl's character runs very deep. Is her mother the same way?"

"No, I think that's from her father. She gets her looks and her shyness and her thirst for adventure from her mother. He father is the business-oriented realist who can deal with crises with a steady hand." She took a deep breath. She was starting to relax.

"The two men," she said. "One had his ribs crushed and the other sounds like he's not going to be swimming in the gene pool anymore."

"Yes?"

"Why are they still alive?"

I looked dead straight into her eyes and spoke in as low a voice as I could manage, "If they had hurt any of my family or my friends, they would never have walked out the door. You would have had to replace the carpet to get rid of them. As it was, I just wanted them out of here."

"You let them leave?"

"I tossed their sorry asses out the front door and threatened to send Brute after them if they didn't turn themselves in to the law."

"But Brute wouldn't hurt a fly! He's just a big teddy bear."

I raised an eyebrow. "That dog is a slavering demon straight from the fiery pit of Hades if he thinks a member of this household is in danger. You underestimate him. I put them down, he convinced them to leave."

"Hmmm. I'm under no illusions as to which member of the household he thought he was protecting. You have yourself a dog."

"And he has me. We made a pretty good team. Jim showed some grace under fire too. In fact, everybody behaved reasonably well. Except Sara Henderson. But she won't be opening any more doors to strangers anytime soon."

"Ah! I wondered about that. OK, that's all I need to know. We can save the grisly parts for some other time. And I'll buy you that steak dinner. Hell, I'll buy you a steak dinner every day of your life. You saved everyone I love. You..." She stopped short and looked at me with that 'don't know you' look that I was seeing so much of lately. "Do you remember when I said you weren't a superhero, that you were an angel?"

"Uh hunh."

"I was wrong. Angels don't kick butt. You must be a superhero."

"Superheroine, thank you. We've already had that debate."

"Uh oh. Sounds like somebody's secret identity is blown."

"It was unavoidable. Jim tried to explain it away, but the Henderson's saw too much."

"What about Monique?"

"Neeka trusted me with her life after spending two hours in my company. I think my secret is safe with her. Lori and Sara might talk, but I doubt it."

"Well, we were just lucky that you were here, SuperSam."

"All in day's work, ma'am."

She hugged me hard and I felt tears on the back of my neck.

"I may have to quit Cheerleading." I said.

"Whatever for? You love Cheerleading."

"I need to start taking martial arts lessons. Kung Fu or Karate or something. OK?"

Bambi looked like she wanted to tell me not to be silly, that I did not need to know any fighting techniques, but she swallowed whatever comment she was about to make and nodded. Neither of us could say if I would need it in the future, but it was clear to both of us that Cheerleader Fu might come up short in the crunch.

"Do Lori and Sara need a ride home?" She asked, changing the subject.

"Tomorrow. I got Mrs. Henderson to let them stay here tonight. That's OK, isn't it?"

"You got the mother of two girls you barely know to give them to you to play with all night?"

"Well, gee, that's kind of the crass way of putting it; but yes, I suppose that's what I did."

"Where will they sleep?"

"Do you really want to know?"

"Only if I need to get a spare bedroom ready."

"I don't think that will be necessary. Thanks. But I think Jim and Bud have dibs on my new toys for tonight, and Neeka and I have sort of a thing going."

"A thing?"

"It's a very special relationship, OK? She's just wonderful. She can almost read my mind. She... Oh no."

"What's wrong, Sam?"

"Wait. Look over my shoulder. What's Neeka doing?"

"Right now she's standing next to her mother, probably wondering what we're talking about for so long. Why?"

"Watch this."

"Uh oh. I know that sound. It's you trying out another superpower."

I closed my eyes and relaxed. I let my mind clear and thought, "Neeks, please bring me a drink." I opened my eyes.

Bambi said, "Here comes Monique with a glass. Was that what you wanted?"

I nodded. That was why it seemed that Neeka could read my mind. That was why she was willing to put her life on the line. She could hear my thoughts. Neeka came up and handed me the glass. I took a drink and looked at her and thought in words ten feet tall, "I love you." She put her arms around me and kissed me. She kissed real good. I was feeling faint again by the time she let me come up for air.

I don't know if Mrs. Morgan thought she might have to pry us apart or if she just got tired of watching the show from a distance, but she was there when I opened my eyes again.

"Gee!" I said, "You kiss like you have nothing else to do for the rest of your life. You're wonderful."

Bambi asked, "I wonder if it works the other way?"

Mrs. Morgan said, "What? Kissing? Or asking for a drink?"

The silence was deafening. Neither Bambi nor I wanted to consider the implications of that innocent comment, but there it was. I was about to ask Mrs. Morgan something when the question became moot.

"You know, you are the only one to call her Neeks. When she was a baby, just learning to talk, she couldn't say Monique. She called herself Neeka, so that's what Carl and I started calling her." I guess the staring go to be too much. She said, "What? You look like you've seen a ghost."

I asked Bambi, "I don't really see that we have a choice now; do you? She's going to pick something up. And it's going to be a giveaway."

"No," Bambi said, "We have to tell them both. There is no other choice. You won't be able to keep it from Monique anyway. And it wouldn't be fair to ask her to keep it from Fiona. Sorry, Fiona. I know we're talking about you as if you weren't here, but this is serious. We'd rather not ask you to share this with us. I expect it will be something of a burden. There is no reason for Carl to know, though. We'd rather you didn't tell him unless it becomes necessary."

"Tell me what? Tell Carl what? What are we talking about?" Fiona asked.

"Mrs. Morgan," I said. "I want you to tell me what you heard a minute ago when I asked Neeka for a drink. Can you remember exactly?"

"Well, you said, 'Neeks, please bring me a drink.' At least I think that was it."

I nodded to Bambi, "That was it. Word for word."

Bambi said, "We need to investigate this. There are a lot of things that we need to know about this. But first, we have to let Fiona and Neeka know what... well, who... Oh, this is tougher than I thought. Do you want to try?"

Neeka had her arm around me, holding me. I tried to experience the moment to the fullest, in case it was our last. In case she changed her mind about me in the next few minutes. I mustered all the courage that I could and I looked and Neeka and her mother and said, "This is going to sound like I am a raving lunatic, but I want you to bear in mind I can demonstrate everything I am about to tell you, so get a real tight grip on reality, because it's about to change. As best as we can tell from what we know right now, I am an untrained, still developing, 18 year old, 5' 1", 105 pound, blonde, busty superhero, er, superheroine."

I winced, expecting laughter, derision, anything. What I got was a big hug from Neeka, who said, "Yes, I know."

Nothing could have floored me faster than that. I became inarticulate. "Hunh?" I said.