Totally Spies Porn Story: Movie of Love 2

(Obligatory Story Code: f/f/f).

_11:55 P.M. — The Louvre_

“Attention, evil villain compatriots! It appears that we have a goody-goody
*spy* in our midst! Let’s show her what we do to party-crashers, shall
we?”

Great. Just great.

All Sam had wanted to do was save France. That was it. That wasn’t too
much to ask, was it?

But no. Now here she was, trapped by some kind of stupid metallic arm,
controlled by a man who had one of the most cliched supervillain laughs
ever. For someone who called himself “Doctor Unscrupulous”, that just
didn’t seem to fit.

The darned thing was holding her so tight that she couldn’t even get to her
gadgets. And the worst part? Its grip was *still tightening*. If this
kept up for much longer, she’d be crushed into so much fine paste.

Was this her fate? After fighting and thwarting the plans of umpteen-
thousand would-be world dictators, would she finally meet her end by
someone who, for all intents and purposes, didn’t even know what he was
doing?

“Eat concentrated light, you sicko!”

Perhaps not.

That voice she recognized. She was saved!

Sam looked up, and quickly darted her head to the side just before a
lipstick laser beam fired, burning through the arm like a hot knife through
butter. With the arm severed, it fell off easily, and Sam was free for
Clover to swoop down, pick her up, and fly the both of them away using her
backpack.

“Welcome to Air Clover! Please keep your arms and legs in their correct
positions for the duration of the trip, and thank you for flying with us.
Whoo!”

“Clover! Thank you *so* much! Now, can I go back down there and sock him
one? Please?” Sam said through clenched teeth.

“Let me get this straight. You want to, like, go back down there with all
the freaky guys in costumes? No way. Been there, done that, got the
brainscans to prove it, *not* doing it again.”

“You got samples too? Great! We’re going to need all the help we can get.
But we’re still going to have to go back down there.”

Clover let go of Sam to allow her to use her own backpack. The two doubled
back and flew over the museum. “Why?”

“See that museum? Those people down there are threatening to blow it up.”

“*What*?”

Sam nodded. “Yep. Which means we’ve got to get in somehow. Clover, it’s
time to do what we do best.”

Clover grinned. “Spy time?”

“You betcha! Listen up. I’ve got a plan for getting us in there.”

————

“The *back door*, Sam? Yeah, *real* spy-like,” Clover said, rolling her
eyes. “Ooh, I feel *so* much like Secret Agent Clover right now…”

“Hey, you want original, or do you want effective?” Sam said as she gently
closed the Louvre’s back door behind them. “Besides, the alarms were
already shut off.” She put on her Heat-Sensor 6000s and initiated their
scanning mode. “Hmm. That’s strange.”

“Uh, Sam, I’ve been trying to stop people who think they’re superheroes
from falling to their deaths, and I just had to save you from a bunch of
nobodies who all think they can take over the world with their
amaaaaaaaaaazing make-believe powers. Right now, nothing strikes me as
strange.”

“I don’t know, this might change your tune,” Sam said, still fiddling with
her glasses as if something might be wrong with them.

Clover sighed. “Okay, now I’m curious. What’s up?”

“Get this. I’m… not detecting any concentrated heat signatures. Not
even faint concentrated ones. If someone has control of a bomb, it means
there’d be a remote detonator. I should at least be detecting a small
electrical device put in an uncommon place. But I’m getting nothing.”

“Say what?” Clover put on her own glasses and did the same thing. “…wow,
you’re right,” she said, wandering around. “Well, maybe they put it near a
common place, or under the building, or near another appliance, or…”

Sam noticed Clover’s trailing off, and rushed to the room where she was
just then. “Or what?”

“…or maybe they put it right in front of us,” Clover said, pointing to
the large box in front of them that contained the word “BOMB!” emblazoned
on its side, in bright festive letters. “And before you ask, I’m not
picking up any heat on it, either.”

Sam took her glasses off. “All right, Clover, we’ve got to do this just
right. Approach the bomb *very slowly*. I’ll call Jer-“

“Wait, wait, wait, hold on. Like, why do I have to approach the bomb? Why
can’t *you* approach the bomb while *I* call Jerry?”

Sam took out her Com-Powder and pushed the button for their commander.
“Clover, we don’t have time for this!”

“Yes, we do! If that thing blows up, I am *not* going to be held
responsible!” Clover crossed her arms and looked to the side. “Hmph.”

Sam sighed and rolled her eyes. “Clover, as close as we are, if this thing
blows up, we’ll both be *dead*.”

“…oh. Yeah, good point. Fine, call Jerry. I’ll–hey, wait a sec. Do
you hear that?” Clover crept closer to the mysterious box. “Sounds
like… ticking! Sam, I think they’re on to us!”

“Ticking? This is the digital age! What bombs *tick* anymore?”

“Apparently these are old-fashioned supervillains! Sammie, what are we
going to do? I’m too young to have my beautiful self splattered all over
the walls! I never got to see Pa–wait, no, we’re here right now. I’ve
never kissed a b–wait, no, I’ve done that too. Okay, fine, well, I’ve
never had s–” She looked over at Sam, and the two shared a brief smiling
blush. “…*fine*! Look, I’m just still too young to die, okay?”

“There’s no choice. We’re going to have to disarm this thing,” Sam said,
stepping next to the cardboard box. “I’m going to open it up and see what
we’ve got here. Let’s hope I don’t trigger anything by doing so.”

“O-Okay. I’m right behind you…”

“Thanks. Here goes.”

Sam ripped the tape open, and lifted one flap… then the other… there
didn’t seem to be any intruding wires taped to the flaps that could set the
device off, which gave her hope. Third flap… and finally.

She looked inside.

…

…

“…I’m gonna get those guys,” Sam said darkly.

“What, what is it? Lemme see…” Clover peered inside as well. “It’s… a
clock.”

Sure enough, inside the box was an old-fashioned alarm clock, ticking away.
No explosives, no timer mechanism, and a scan of the clock with the Com-
Powder showed that its innards had not been tampered with in any way. In
fact, it’d been bought six hours ago at an antique shop.

“It’s a clock,” Clover repeated. “It’s… it’s a *clock*? Wait until I
get my *hands* on those guys! What is this, some sick game of Let’s
Pretend? Why, those little-“

“Actually,” Sam said, “I think you might be on to something with that.”

“Huh?”

“Those people jumping off of the Eiffel Tower. Those people outside
threatening to blow up this place. Think about it. They’re all role-
playing. For them, simply acting like heroes or villains is enough. Doing
it *right* doesn’t really enter into it. They just go with what they know.
Which is good news for us. Whoever put this together–whether or not it
was that ‘Doctor Unscrupulous’ guy–wasn’t exactly bomb squad material.”

“Excellent deduction, Sam,” said Jerry.

Clover jumped two feet in the air. Sam would have, too, if she hadn’t
remembered at the last second that she’d called Jerry and just forgotten
about it. “Oh, cool, so I don’t have to say it all over again. Also,
we’ve got some brainscan samples for you. Don’t we, Clover?”

“Yeah… yeah, sure,” Clover said, gasping for breath. “I hate when stuff
like this happens…”

“Good. Send them to me. Thanks to Clover’s help, the situation at the
Tower’s been contained, and I’ve just told the authorities that the bomb
here was a dud. They’ll have everything well in hand. Good work, Spies.”

“Hey, no problem, Jer, it’s what I’m here for,” Clover said with a
flourish. “So, what about Alex?”

“I haven’t heard from her yet, actually. My guess is she’s still
investigating.”

“You sure it was a good idea to send her there alone?” Sam asked with
concern.

“I have just as much faith in Alex as I do in all of my agents,” said
Jerry. “Though I do hope she managed to figure *something* out by now.
Tell you what. Since you’re done here, report back to WOOHP, and I’ll
brief you during the trip on whatever I find. A jet will arrive to pick
you up shortly.”

* * *

_7:32 P.M. — Beverly Hills Precinct_

Her ninja master sensei, Yotsuma, would have been proud.

That is, if she’d ever *had* a sensei, who’d been ninja, and had gone by
that name. The truth was, Alex was self-taught, and WOOHP-refined. Still,
it was nice to dream.

At the moment, Alex was skulking through the ventilation systems of the
police station, and using her Com-Powder, where the schematics of the
building could be seen on on the screen, to guide her way to the people who
had been taken into custody earlier that afternoon.

Ninjas, *those* people weren’t.

Why do all of this when, in theory, she was fully able to simply walk right
in and bluff her way into the more confidential parts of the station?

Simple.

She was *bored*.

Plus, while she’d never tell this to anyone in her *life*, watching people
from the concealment of the shadows–much like a ninja–always gave her a
bit of a thrill.

Success! She’d found them. They were all dozing off in one of the holding
cells.

Hah! Some ninjas–they’d given up already.

She heard a very frantic voice call out just then.

“Out of my way! I’ve got to see my baby!”

Then another.

“Ma’am, your ‘baby’ is seventeen years old. Believe me, she knew what she
was doing.”

Alex looked through a nearby grating, and saw what had to be an irate
mother, being held back by two police officers.

“I don’t understand!” the mother was saying. “She went out this morning to
see a movie! That was it! There’s no way she could have held up that
supermarket!” She then got a look at the cell. “Jennifer! What are you
doing in there?

The girl in the cell tilted her head, and narrowed her eyes upon looking at
the distraught woman. “…who are you?” she asked in a low voice.

The woman scoffed. “Jennifer, this is your mother. You’ve got some
explaining to do-“

“There is no Jennifer, and I have no mother,” said the teenager. “I am
Shibana, queen of all American kunoichi… and when I am released from this
prison, revenge shall be exacted upon all of you!” she finished, with bared
teeth and a loud, proclaiming voice.

The mother promptly fainted.

All right, then. It would seem that Alex finally had her first clue.

Good.

Now to get out of this shaft. Her neck was starting to crick.

* * *

_9:08 P.M. — High In The Sky_

In the cabin of the WOOHP jet, the two elder spies were sharing their
findings.

“Well, Jer, another day, another country saved from peril. Is there
anything we can’t do?” Clover said with a grin. “So have your lab techie
guys analyzed, uh, what we analyzed, yet?”

“They’re working on it right now, actually,” Jerry said. “But there is
something interesting that we found out. According to assorted friends and
relatives of those tourists, they all had one thing in common.”

“What’s that, Jerry?” Sam asked.

“They’d all gone to the local movie theaters just hours before.”

“Really? What’d they see?” asked Clover. “Maybe if we find that out…”

“They were asked that too, but sadly, the answer differed with the parties
involved. Still, it’s something to go on. Maybe.”

Clover scratched her head in thought. “Think we should swing back by
France and check those theaters out?”

Jerry shook his head, and ignored Clover’s subsequent look of dismay. “Not
necessary. As it is, the situation’s getting worse here in the States.
We’ve now had reports of clerical workers and data entry specialists
marching into their bosses’ offices and telling them off like nothing
else.”

Sam nodded her head slowly. “Hmm. A universal fantasy of the cubicle
drone, forever repressed in the name of job security.”

“Indeed, Sam. At any rate, you’ll have plenty of subjects to work with
when you get back here. I’m going to check on Alex, she’s due for having
found something out by now.”

“All right, Jerry. Keep us posted.”

“I will, Sam. Enjoy your flight.”

With that, the image of their suited commander vanished from Sam’s Com-
Powder screen, and she put it away. “You know, this makes me a little
uneasy,” she said.

“Really? Why’s that?”

“Well, let’s say movies did have something to do with this. Clover, *we*
went to see a movie today. And then, we… with us… and Alex….
y’know…”

It took Clover a few seconds to realize what Sam was getting that, but once
she did…

“Oh…”

Even though she understood, however, she shook her head in defiance.

“…n-no way! Everyone else we’ve seen so far has gone, like, completely
insane. We haven’t dressed up in crazy costumes or tried to hold up stores
or national landmarks, have we? All we did was find out that… well…
that we have feelings for each other. How out of the ordinary could that
be…?” Clover asked nobody in particular.

It *had* all been a bit on the sudden side, though.

The thought nagged at the back of Clover’s mind, but she pushed it down,
down, as far as it could go. Her concentration for doing this, however,
was soon broken as she saw and felt a pair of arms encircle her hips, and
gently pull her close.

“Clover, you have no idea how much I want you to be right,” Sam said,
looking into her best friend’s eyes.

“I think I do, at least a little,” Clover replied. “Because I *know* I’m
right.”

After those words, their breathing slowed, their lips drew closer, and soon
enough, Sam and Clover were experiencing their first kiss at 30,000 feet.

Clover mentally noted that Sam indeed tasted the same whether she was at
this height or at ground level.

That was just fine with her.

* * *

_9:01 P.M. — Beverly Hills Cinemaplex_

“Come in, Jerry. This is Alex.”

Jerry’s face appeared on the Com-Powder’s screen. “Alex, I was just about
to call you. Have you found any leads? Hopefully they’ll coincide with
what we’ve been able to scrounge up.”

Alex sighed. “Actually, not much. I got to check out the ‘ninjas’ that
held up the supermarket, but it was almost a bust. In fact, I only found
out one thing that might even be of any use.”

Jerry’s eyebrows crinkled in confusion. “Only one thing? Even working
alone, Alex, that’s not quite like you. Are you all right? What’s been
going on over there?”

“Hey!” Alex said defensively. “One thing was all I *could* get! Do you
know what I’ve had to go through in the last few hours? I had to stop a
man from actually taking candy from a baby. I’ve seen no less than three
food fights break out at three different burger joints! Not to mention
this one incident over at the arcade…”

—

_6:28 P.M. — Beverly Hills Gameapalooza_

The arcade was a bustling metropolis of punches, kicks, crashes, yells, and
screams. It was to be expected: the newest fighting game craze had just
been released, and everyone was dying to get their turn. In fact, the
arcade was enjoying one of its busiest days ever, what with it being the
final weekend before the school year.

Then, in an unforeseen instant, it happened.

Every single machine powered down simultaneously.

Sounds of anger and disappointment could be heard among the players, and
eventually, someone noticed that there was a middle-aged woman with unkempt
red hear and wearing a large coat (which seemed to be hiding something)
standing next to the circuit breaker box.

“Every day… I can’t stand it…” the woman said.

“Hey, lady,” said one of the players. “You want to tell us why you turned
off all our games?”

The woman “hmph”ed in response. “Every day… you *uncultured heathens*
waste away your lives in front of flashing screens, and joysticks, and
buttons. Why, back in my day, do you know what we had?”

“Cave paintings?” one of the kids said, eliciting laughter from the crowd.

“Oh, very witty. Got that from *television*, I bet. Another blight upon
the world! So many ways people entertain themselves these days… but
nobody ever comes to the *library* anymore. Nobody likes to *read*
anymore. Nobody likes to pick up a good book. Well, I’m here to change all
that.”

“Hey, I know you!” said another gamer. “Yeah, you’re the librarian! Are
you feeling okay?”

“Your friendly neighborhood librarian is no more!” said the woman. “There
is now only… *Clara the Bookmistress*!” she exclaimed, throwing off her
jacket to reveal her specialized modus operandi, the Literature Launcher.
“And if you won’t take it upon yourselves to improve your minds, then I’ll
do it for you! Literature Launcher… FIRE!”

Some people had actually wondered what the Literature Launcher was. They
found out seconds later when hardcover editions of “A Tale of Two Cities”,
“A Christmas Carol”, and “The Odyssey” flew at them at high speeds.

This was about the point where Alex, flying by, noticed the commotion and
officially came into the picture. As she went inside, a random book nicked
her on the shoulder.

This… annoyed her.

The arcade-goers ducked for cover as the mad librarian cackled… madly.
“Taste it! Taste the power of millions of written words! Oh, it’s been my
*dream* for so long to be able to do this! And this is only the beginning!
By the time I’m done, the entire world will be text-based once more!”

Say what?

Not if Alex had anything to say about it. Yet another fruitcake to add to
the ones she’d already seen today. Time to put a stop to things.

First up: distraction. The flying books had to stop. “Hey, Queen of the
Smiling Similes!” she yelled, waving her arms. “Over here!”

Clara turned toward the junior spy. “You dare defend them?”

“Normally, I wouldn’t care what goes on in here, but you’re hurting
innocent people! You could kill someone, shooting books like that! Heck,
how do you manage to carry that load on your back?” Alex asked, pointing to
the pack on Clara’s back which held the Launcher’s “ammunition”.

Clara ignored the question. “It makes no difference at this point. Mental
death is worse than physical death. These people will thank me someday!
And if you’re not with me, then you’re against me! Take this!” she said,
firing a large-print edition of “The Catcher in the Rye” at the nimble
brunette, who used said nimbleness to dodge.

“Whoa! You know, I always hated that book when they made me read it for
school.” Alex sprang into action–dodging, in succession, “1984”, “Animal
Farm”, and the Diary of Anne Frank, as she flew through the air–took out
her bottle of STANK, and made her mark directly at Clara’s nose.

The stunning perfume took effect immediately, and Clara collapsed into
Alex’s waiting arms. After lowering her to the floor, Alex rocketed away.
She wasn’t about to answer any questions for the crowd.

Another crisis averted. Thank goodness.

When she found out who was behind this, whoever it was would be *so* dead.

—

_9:07 P.M. — Beverly Hills Cinemaplex_

“Yeah, that was *real* fun,” Alex finished. “The point is, it’s been
complete and utter chaos all day! Don’t think I haven’t been busy!”

“All right, Alex, all right, I get the point,” Jerry said, now mentally
exhausted. “I never doubted you. So, what *did* you find out?”

“Huh? Oh, right. Those ninjas who held up the market, they all went to
see a movie beforehand. So did Clara the Bookmistress. I checked out the
library after that, and her coworkers told me the whole story.”

“Which movie?”

“Oh, um… I didn’t find that out. Whoops.” Alex laughed sheepishly.

Jerry sighed. “I suppose we should be lucky that the one piece of
information you did manage to gather was the most important.”

Now Alex was surprised. “Really?”

“Yes. So far, everyone who’s become, erm, ‘not themselves’, went to see a
movie just hours prior. In fact, there have been zero cases to the
contrary. There’s full reason to believe that cinematics are indeed behind
this. However, in what way, we have yet to find out. Good job, Alex. The
others should be arriving soon. Keep me posted with any more findings.”

“Will do. I’m actually at our local theater right now because…” Alex
trailed off, suddenly remembering something. “…actually, Jerry… there
is one more thing.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah.” Alex could feel herself fighting to get the words out. “Sam and
Clover… they… they went to see a movie this morning too. I didn’t
think that had anything to do with it, but after we all got back, they…
um…”

Darn it. The further in the sentence Alex got, the harder it became for
her to finish. Besides, what would Jerry think? As much as he trusted
them, as much as he was a father figure to them sometimes (and a psychotic
nutcase at others)… she still wasn’t too sure what she thought about the
whole thing herself.

“What happened, Alex? And you say they went to see a movie?”

Alex nodded. “Yeah, they did. Some new romance movie that opened up today
in Beverly Hills. ‘Wire-Crossed Lovebirds.’ Heck, half the city went to
see it. But when we all got back, they-“

An object whizzed through the air at that moment, striking the Com-Powder
in Alex’s hand and forcing her to drop it. “Ow! Hey, what’s the big
idea?”

She then heard an all-too-familiar voice echo throughout the empty theater.

“Well, well, isn’t this nice? I’ve always wanted to do this, you know.
Look at Alex the super-spy. You and your friends think you’re just
*soooooooo* perfect. Well, this is where that train stops, missy! Prepare
to get your butt kicked by one of your own!”

Still not quite believing, Alex turned towards the source of the voice,
just to make sure the face matched it.

Yep. It did.

Alex sighed. Today was just *not* her day.

* * *

_10:08 P.M. — Somewhere Over The Atlantic_

“Oh… ooh, Sammie… m-more… please…”

Clover threw her head back, her breaths coming in short pants as Sam rained
light kisses everywhere she could on Clover’s neck and throat, gradually
working her way down. The blond girl’s spy-suit was already unzipped and
bunched down around her waist, and Clover was doing her best to have Sam
follow in kind.

If only Sam wasn’t so damned *good* at what she did. It distracted Clover
to no end.

“Shhh, Clover. Don’t talk,” Sam whispered, still nuzzling Clover’s neck
with her lips, and stroking Clover’s inner thighs with one hand. “For now,
just feel…”

Sam pressed her body closer to her friend’s, her sharp mind quickly cycling
through options as to how she could most efficiently cause her friend to
test the alleged soundproofing abilties of this plane’s cabin-

-when, at that moment, her Com-Powder rang.

Clover opened her eyes, and sighed. “Do… do we *have* to answer that?”
she asked, her voice pleading to the contrary.

Sam had almost said “no”, but in the end, she took hers out of her pocket
and answered it. “Hello?”

“Girls,” said Jerry on the other end, “some things have come up that
require your urgent attention.”

A forlorn Clover re-zipped her spy suit and initiated the three-way
function on her Com-Powder, allowing her to join in on the conversation
without any of that annoying head-knocking. “What’s up, Jer?”

“I’ve lost contact with Alex in the middle of a communication with her, and
despite numerous attempts to call back, she’s not answering. Her Com-
Powder is still functioning, however, and we’re tracking its signal now.
She’s in your movie theater in Beverly Hills. Instructions have been given
to the pilots to take you there. Find out what’s going on.”

“Wow, tres uncool,” Clover said. “I hope she’s all right.”

“Me too,” said Sam. “We’ll get right on it. What’s the other thing?”

Jerry’s face scrunched a bit. “Yes, well, before we’d gotten cut off, Alex
told me that the two of you went to see a movie this morning. Is she
correct?”

The uneasy silence that followed was anough for Jerry, who then sighed. “I
won’t ask why you witheld this information from me, but-“

“-we didn’t think it mattered because nothing bad happened to us
afterward,” Clover blurted out.

Jerry narrowed his eyes. “Nothing? Nothing at all?”

Clover faltered. “Um… well…”

“Samantha, Clover, consider this a direct order from your commander. Take
out your Differential Brainwave Analyzers and scan youselves right away.”

“But-“

“*Now*, Clover. The safety of my agents comes before anything else.
You’re no good to the world if you’ve been compromised.”

* * *

_9:09 P.M. — Beverly Hills Cinemaplex_

Alex *still* couldn’t believe it.

Standing but a few yards away from her was someone she knew all too well.
Long black hair, a malevolent grin, and an ensemble made completely out of
purple. As usual.

However, instead of the usual blouse-and-dress combo, this person had
somehow found a way to get her hands on a purple replica of her WOOHP
outfit.

“*Mandy*?” Alex cried out in disbelief. “Okay, I’ve gone through some
crazy stuff today, but this is the last straw. You *don’t* work for our
outfit, so get rid of yours!”

Mandy’s grin became even darker at that statement. “Why, Alex, I didn’t
think you’d ever want to get to know me *that* well…”

Alex recoiled. “*What*?”

Honestly, did *everyone* turn into a wanna-be pervert today? Was there
some sort of memo she’d missed? “Y-you know what I mean! What’s the big
idea, dressing like me? And, uh… what makes you think I’m any sort of
spy?” she asked with a nervous laugh.

“Well, first off, since you just *told* me five seconds ago,” Mandy shot
back. “And second, because my commander knows all about you and your two
friends. At least, all we *need* to know.”

“Commander? What, your father? Mandy, I don’t care how rich your family
is, if he’s behind all of this, we’ll have to bring him in-“

Mandy laughed. “No, no, not Daddy… someone who has big plans for the
three of you. *Very* big plans, ones that I jumped at the chance to help
out with. And don’t call me ‘Mandy’! You don’t deserve the familiarity.”

The brunette took a strange-looking device out of one of her pockets, and
pointed it at Alex. Even though they were some distance away, Alex found
herself shrinking back as she saw sparks of electricity emanate from it.

“From now on,” Mandy proclaimed, “you will address me as… *Midnight*
Mandy! And the sooner I beat you three at your own game, the better. I
always was better than you, you know. This is where I prove it!”

“Not on your life, Man-“

“It’s *Midnight*!”

Alex was interrupted by finding out exactly what Mandy’s strange device
did. Seconds later, she was cartwheeling away from bolts of electricity
that were being fired upon her.

Great. Just great.

If she’d known the world was going to turn completely upside down today,
she’d have put on an extra coat of nail polish, at least.

* * *

With stereo sighs, the two girls subjected themselves to scans. “All
right, Jerry. Submitted for your analysis,” Sam said after a half-minute.

“Thank you. Would you like to know the reason I’m so worried?” Jerry
asked.

“Yeah, that would, like, really help,” Clover replied.

“The brainwave scans that we’ve already checked out all have one thing in
common. A certain part of the mind that is normally constantly operational
is being suppressed. By isolating thought frequencies, we’ve determined
that it’s the part of the logical mind reserved for rational thought.
Specifically, judgment. Inhibition. Conscience.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, back up. Are you saying that whoever ends up going to a
movie ends up, like, not having a *conscience* anymore?” Clover asked with
wonder.

“Not quite, but you’re as close as we are. It *would* explain all the
crimes. We still don’t know exactly what’s happening, but we’re getting
there. As it is, only the creator of this method would be able to tell us
for sure.”

“Maybe that’s who Alex ran up against,” Sam suggested.

“I hate to say it, but if that’s the case,” said Jerry, “then she may just
be in over her head.”

* * *

This fight was seriously taking much longer than Alex would have liked.

The problem was, simply, that as much as she would have liked to, Alex
couldn’t really *fight*. Not Mandy, anyway. She was technically an
innocent, caught up in all the madness.

Like it or not, Mandy wasn’t quite herself at the moment–therefore Alex
felt she had to go easy on her assailant, whether or not she actually had a
physical advantage over her.

This was easier said than done when said assailant was using her trust fund
to her advantage. Where had she gotten all of these gadgets from? So far
she’d been attacked with electrical bolts, shot at with high-velocity
super-adhesive, and now she was dodging some sort of gizmo that shot out
ropes made out of a polymer that even her laser lipstick wasn’t able to cut
through.

“Will you just give up already?” said Midnight Mandy as she fired again.
“Seriously, it’ll be easier, and stuff!”

Alex backflipped away from the ensaring mechanism. “Even if giving up
didn’t mean my life getting put in danger–the heck I’m going to lose to
someone like you!”

“Oooooh! So help me, you little–we’ll see who loses!”

Now in the clear, Alex reached inside her jetpack backpack for something to
turn the tide. Looked like she would have to knock Mandy out as well.
However, just as she’d found the perfume bottle, she felt something coil
around her waist.

Blast. That stupid rope thingy. She started to shake it off.

“Oh, no you don’t!” Mandy then put her electrical device to the rope. It
didn’t conduct current all that well, but it did just enough for it to
travel along the rope’s length, and give Alex one hell of a stunning shock.
The yellow-clad spy soon sank to the ground with a tired groan, and blacked
out.

Mandy could hardly believe her eyes. She’d done it. She’d actually done
it. She’d shown one of Clover’s crazy friends what for, once and for all!
Mandy could barely contain her glee as she took out her own communicator
and pressed one of its buttons.

“Man–er, Midnight?” the voice came from the other end. “What have you to
report?”

“I’ve just captured that spy girl that’s been snooping around the city,”
Mandy said with a cocky edge in her voice. “She’s out cold.”

“One of your ‘former friends’?”

“Oh, yes, sir.”

“So you bested her at her own game. Doesn’t that feel wonderful?”

“Oh, *yes*, sir,” Mandy repeated, in a raspier voice than before. “Thank
you so much again for giving me the courage…”

“You always had the courage, Mandy. I merely brought it to the surface.
Now, can you find her communicator?”

Mandy looked around, and found it still on the ground where it’d dropped to
earlier. “Got it.”

“Good. Place it back on her person, and bring her back with you to
headquarters.”

Mandy looked perplexed at this. “But… her friends, they’ll-“

“They’ll come looking for her, and find us. Yes. Don’t worry. You
handled one aptly; you’ll handle the others–and at headquarters, you’ll
have my help. Besides, much like a good film, a good plan must have a
fitting climax. We can’t have one without inviting guests.”

* * *

“We’re too late!”

A half hour after Alex had been driven away by Midnight Mandy, Sam and
Clover arrived on the mildly scorched scene. “Looks like there was a
struggle of some kind here,” Sam observed.

“No kidding! When I find out who did whatever to Alex, I am *so* going
to-“

“You and me both, Clover. But we’ll have to move fast so we don’t lose the
trail. I’ll look for clues upstairs, you check down here.”

“Okay.”

About a minute after the two had separated, Clover’s Com-Powder rang.
“Jerry?” she answered–until she saw the face on the screen, almost
concealed, but just recognizable enough. “Wait… Alex? Alex! Oh, my
gosh, are you okay?”

“Clover?” Alex’s whispery voice could barely be heard through the speaker,
due to the din of a… car engine? “Thank goodness! Listen, I’m in the
back of Mandy’s convertible. She thinks I’m out cold, so-“

“You’re in the *backseat of Mandy’s car*?” Clover made a face. “Ewwwww!
Get outta there! Who knows what *that* thing’s seen…”

“Clover! Mandy’s had her brain messed with too! She thinks she’s one of
us! A spy! She used some weird electrical… *thingie* on me!”

“…no way! That’d explain the scorch marks! Hang on, I’m going to
finally try out this four-way calling thing I had the lab boys install on
my Com-Powder last week. Then we can all talk.”

Alex blinked. “…they didn’t install four-way on my Com-Powder.”

“*You* didn’t give them the Hair Flip And Smile,” Clover said with a wink,
and the push of a button.

Alex sighed. “Figures. But I can’t talk long. Look, I’m gonna play
possum and go where Mandy’s taking me. Then maybe I can get to the bottom
of all this. Follow my tracking signal, okay?”

“But Alex-“

“Don’t worry! I’ll be fine.” Alex smiled a bit. “After all, my backup’s
on its way, right? See you soon.”

“Alex, wait!”

The communication was cut.

—

Clover rushed to Sam, who was in the film booth at the moment. “Sam, Alex
just called and she’s in Mandy’s car, and Mandy thinks she’s, like, some
sort of super spy or something, which she must be now because she managed
to capture Alex and she’s taking her to the bad guy’s hideout right now!”
Clover paused. “I think.”

Sam nodded. “Thought something like that might have happened. Which is
why I’m up here.”

“Really? How’d you figure all that out?”

“Well, I had a hunch. Think about it, Clover,” Sam said. “We went to see
‘Wire-Crossed Lovebirds.’ So did Mandy. Everyone else who’s been ‘not
themselves’ went to see a movie too. Recognize this place? This is the
theater Mandy rented so she could see the movie by herself.”

“Hmph. Serves her right,” Clover said.

Sam sighed. “Clover, now is *not* the time. Anyway, I’ve been looking at
the film reel.” Sam held her Com-Powder close, allowing its scanning
capabilities to take hold. “There’s some sort of… substance on it. Not
only can I not figure out what it is, but… it keeps moving through the
film, almost as if it’s a part of it.”

“Whoa. Like it’s alive, or something?”

Sam shuddered. “Let’s hope not. Also, it’s impossible to see with the
naked eye. No wonder it got past so many people.” She opened up a line to
their commander. “Jerry, I think we’ve found something.”

“So have I,” replied Jerry. “Alex’s Com-Powder signal has finally stopped
moving.”

Clover perked up upon hearing that. “Really? Where?”

A map appeared on Sam’s Com-Powder screen seconds later, showing a set of
interscections, and a blinking dot to the side of all of them to indicate
where Alex–or at least her signal–was. “Here.”

Clover looked at it. “Whoa. You know, that, like, almost looks familiar
to me, but I can’t quite remember…”

“I know where that is!” said Sam.

“Where?”

“Remember when we came to Beverly Hills High School in freshman year? We
were all excited because we were the first to try out the brand new school
building, and not have to use the one at the edge of town. Half the
commute time, clean water fountains…”

Clover shrugged. “Uh, not really. School is school. I don’t usually
consider it much to get excited about.”

Sam rolled her eyes. “Okay, maybe it was just me. But this place on the
map is the *old* Beverly Hills High School. It’s been abandoned, but…”
Sam pressed some keys. “They’ve still kept power running to that place for
some reason. Guess the city still had plans for it. Or maybe they just
forgot to turn it off.”

“Think that’s where we’ll find our supervillain?”

“More like I *hope* that’s where we’ll find our supervillain. Because if
this lead turns up cold, I’m fresh out of ideas.” She submitted the scan
of the movie film to Jerry, and stood up. “Clover… let’s go find Alex.”

Clover stood up as well. “Music to my ears.”

* * *

_11:12 P.M. — Old Beverly Hills High School_

“Hey, sleepyhead. Wake up.”

“Huh? Wha…”

Alex opened her eyes and automatically recoiled at the sight. Mandy was
right in her face, wearing her usual spiteful smile, and carring a large
metal plate with several confectionaries laid on it.

“Welcome back, Alex,” Mandy said. “Are you hungry? Fruit? Crackers?
Cheeses?”

On reflex (she *was* hungry) Alex reached for them, and found that she
*couldn’t*. That was when she realized she was tied up in a chair, and
remembered that Mandy was working on the wrong side of things. “Kind of
hard for me to enjoy these without the use of my hands, don’t you think?”
Alex retorted.

Mandy ‘hmph’ed. “If it were up to me, you’d be on your knees, telling me
how great I am. But the boss has other ideas. And he wants you tied up
like that. If you want, I can hand-feed these to you…”

Alex made a face. “No thanks. And who’s ‘the boss?'” she asked, looking
around. She was in an awfully drab room… wait, there was a chalkboard at
one end. Was she in a *classroom*?

“That, my captive beauty… would be me.”

Alex then noticed a television screen at the far end of the room, powered
on. It now showed the face of a young man not too much older than her, with
fair skin and straight, black unkempt hair. Had he been a little more
coordinated, he’d actually have been one heck of a cutie… to someone who
*didn’t* know him.

But with one look, Alex realized that she *did* know him.

No. Way.

Alex recognized him instantly–and just as quickly wished she hadn’t.

“It’s… it’s *you*,” Alex said, hardly able to believe her eyes. “I can’t
believe it. I thought you’d… okay, time out. Before we go on with this,
there’s one thing I want to know.”

The young man onscreen looked confused. “What would that be?”

Alex looked directly at the face of her former crush–the very same boy who
used to work at the local supermarket, that she’d been secretly watching
for over a month before he’d disappeared.

“Um… what’s your name?” she said, feeling some sort of unseen weight
being lifted off her shoulders at that moment.

The boy looked even more flustered now, obviously not prepared for anything
like this. “Oh. Well, um… it’s Jeremy. Jeremy Anderson. How come you
wanted to know that?”

“Well, um…” Alex looked to the side and blushed. “I… sort of… used
to have a crush on you. Back when you used to work at the Shop N’ Save,
about a year ago…”

Jeremy was quiet for a few seconds, no doubt running things through his
mind–then he tensed upon realization. “Waaaaait a minute. I remember,
sometimes, out of the corner of my eye, I would keep thinking I’d seen a
young girl looking at me, either through a window, or from another aisle…
but every time I would actually *look* in that direction, she’d be gone.
And she looked a lot… like… *you*!” he said, leaning forward.

Alex’s face went even redder. “…yeah. That was me. See, I never really
could get the nerve to actually *talk* to you, so I’d just watch you, and
stuff. I know, I know, it was probably the worst thing I could do, but at
the time, I just- “

Onscreen, Jeremy threw up his hands. “I can’t believe this! I wasn’t
going crazy after all! All this time, I just had a very cute stalker!”

Alex didn’t think it was possible to be both flattered and disturbed at the
same time, but she was managing it quite well right now. “Uh… yeah.
Look, I’m really sorry about all of this…” She wasn’t sure if he’d heard
her apology, though, because he was laughing just a little too hard.
“What’s so funny?”

“Don’t you see?” Jeremy said. “This is exactly why I’m here now, and doing
what I’m doing now. Because of people like you. And because of problems
like mine.”

“What?”

“‘Alex’, was it? Have you looked around this world lately? People denying
their inner thoughts, their deepest wishes, holding back what they really
want to say, keeping themselves from doing what they really want to do in
life. And why? They’re afraid. Afraid of some yet-unseen consequence,
be it trivial or significant. This is a world ruled by fear. But thanks
to me, it won’t be that way for much longer!

“I was a chemistry major in college while I was attending it. But I also
had a huge interest in what makes people tick. How they think. Why they
do what they do, or why they restrain themselves. Extensive research into
brain chemistry, human physiology, and hormones enabled me to engineer my
own versions of several substances that can affect human thought. Truth
serums, hypnotic drinks, that sort of thing. But eventually, my abilities
surpassed even those things. Getting the test subjects was easy–you’d be
surprised how many people actually respond to those offers where you get
paid fifty bucks to test a new experimental drink, or drug… or,
eventuallly, to watch video footage and give one’s opinion…”

“…not knowing that within that footage lies some sort of trap,” Alex
finished.

“Correct! I used to have a side job at a film distributor as well, and
still had a few connections inside it. I had to set my master plan in
motion; putting something in water supplies wasn’t exactly a great idea, so
I created a special substance able to bond with photoreel film, and fixed
things up with my patsy pals to give me one night alone with a few first-
run movie shipments. After all, film and television are consumed by the
public almost as much as water these days. The rest, as they say, is
history.”

“…wow. You know, you’re one of the harder-working supervillains I’ve run
across,” Alex said in awe.

“Thank you. I must admit, it’s not easy when you’re just starting out at
this gig, especially when you don’t have much money, or a revenge plot, or
anything. I’m surprised I got this far with this little resistance. I
couldn’t even afford a security system for this place.”

Alex nodded again, determined to get as much information as possible, and
to stall as long as she could until her friends arrived. Lucky the poor
guy was long-winded, and seemed to have a soft spot for her. One could
only guess how long either of those would last, however. “There’s one
thing I don’t quite get. If this isn’t for some sort of revenge… why…
why do all of this?”

Jeremy sighed. “That’s actually the simple part. I merely wanted to
answer the greatest question of our time.”

“‘Why does basic black never go out of style?'” Alex guessed.

“…okay, *one* of the greatest questions of our time. You know, I’m
actually one of the last people anyone would expect to become a
supervillain. I grew up as one of the nicest people anyone could ever
know. But you know what they say about ‘nice guys’, don’t they?”

“They finish last?”

“That’s right. And where does this most apply? Relationships. Whenever I
liked a girl, there were only two outcomes. Either I always froze up when
trying to approach her… or worse: the girl I liked wouldn’t give me the
time of day, but was all too happy to hang around the arm of the aggressive
*idiot* who I always knew would end up doing her more harm than good.”
Jeremy shook a fist in frustration, as if remembering specific instances of
this as he talked about it. “Oh, but this goes both ways, too. Guys are
just as guilty of this as girls, you know. Everoyne’s just so…
*superficial*.”

Alex nodded, though she was loath to admit it, and was also wishing right
now that *Clover* was sitting here, listening to this speech instead of
her.

“So, I got to thinking–wouldn’t it be most wonderful if I knew why this
even happened at all… and if I could stop it? It’d make the world a much
better place! Well, in the end, I never was able to pinpoint why this
phenomenon happened… but I *was* able to pinpoint what part of the brain
was responsible, and design something to hold it back.

“When anyone watches any of the films I’ve tampered with, they will soon
find their inhibitions melting away, little by little, until they find
themselves liberated. Suddenly, the world becomes a whole new place, rife
with possibilities for fun, excitement, and enlightenment! People can
finally say and do things they always wanted to do, but were too afraid to,
for whatever reason!”

“In other words, you’re the reason the whole city’s gone crazy!” Alex said.

“Crazy? You could say they’re more sane than they ever have been in their
lives!”

Alex shook her head. “Not if you saw what I saw out there. My two
friends saw one of the movies you messed with, you know. After that, they
also… changed. I don’t know how you did it, but I’ll stop you myself if
it comes to that!”

“Not tied up and with your toys on the other side of the room, you won’t.
And whatever your two friends did, know this: it wasn’t anything they
didn’t secretly think of doing beforehand. My movie substance doesn’t
promote mind control. If anything, it’s mind *enhancement*. It creates no
new suggestions, but simply makes sure that people don’t stop themselves
from *being* themselves. So, hey. The next time you see your two friends,
congratulate them. They deserve it. They’ve become part of my grand
project–not to take over the world, but to *free* it!”

At that moment, Alex knew she’d just learned more than she’d bargained for.

Sam and Clover? They’d always… felt this way about her?

For the first time since she’d gotten here, Alex felt somewhat out of touch
with reality, and out of control of the situation.

She was wondering just how to handle all of this, when the door exploded
inward, and the very two people she’d been thinking about burst inside.

—

“Sam! Clover! You guys found me!” Alex said. “Boy, that was fast.”

“Yeah, no kidding, we’re just as shocked as you,” Clover said, snapping
Alex’s ropes free with her laser lipstick. “Okay, is this the building
where the bad guy’s holed up?”

Alex nodded. “Yup.”

Clover pointed at the television. “Is that him on the screen now?”

Alex nodded again. “Yup.”

“Can he hear us?”

“Yup.”

“Right now?”

“Yup.”

“This very second?”

“Yup.”

“Good.” Clover turned to face the screen, cupped her hands around her
mouth, and yelled out, “HEY! VILLAIN GUY! YOUR SECURITY SYSTEM SUCKS!”

“I KNOW!” Jeremy yelled back. “I’M A POOR COLLEGE STUDENT!”

Clover actually looked contrite upon hearing this. “…oh. Sorry.”

Jeremy shrugged. “No problem. I get that a lot anyway. I was able to
spring for a few things, though…”

Suddenly, where the door had been, a thick plate of steel lowered itself
over the opening, shutting the room tight.

“What the…” Sam ran over to Mandy, who’d pretty much just been sitting
there, obediently, the entire time. “Mandy! How do we open this thing?”

Mandy laughed. “You’re asking me to betray my commander? Sammie, you of
all people should know that a good spy just doesn’t do that.”

“Um, Earth to Mandy–your ‘commander’ just locked you in here along with
us.”

Mandy’s eyes went wide. “*What*?”

“It’s true, it’s true,” said the voice through the screen. “Mandy, I’m
afraid that your services will no longer be required. See, the way I
figure it, pretty soon, the world will be too caught up in their own
desires to care about just what’s causing it… especially when I make
another run or two to film companies and television stations with my
special concoction. And as for you four? No windows in here–which means
no incoming source of air. So pretty soon, you won’t be a problem either.”

Sam looked around. “Whoever this guy is,” Sam said in alarm, “he’s
absolutely right.”

“‘This guy?'” said Jeremy. “Oh, how crass. Well, since I’m doing this
villain schtick, I may as well go the whole ‘hog. From now on–and this
includes you, Alex–you may refer to me as ‘Mogul’. I think it’s fitting.”

Clover looked at Alex. “He knows you?”

Alex sighed. “Long story.”

“Well, you’ve got about a half hour,” Mogul said, “to tell it before the
four of you run out of air. But you know, I think you deserve a much more
interesting time than that…” Mogul snapped his fingers. “Hey, I know!
Why don’t you watch a movie to pass the time? A shame I won’t be the one
to break in my brand new experimental entertainment system… but at least
it’ll get put to good use! Hahahahaha!”

The feed on the television was, mercifully, cut. A projector opened out
from each one of the walls, and seconds later, they were watching a clip
from the movie that had started this whole mess in the first place…
projected on all four walls of the room.

“‘Wire-Crossed Lovebirds!’ Mandy said excitedly. “Thank goodness! I
didn’t get to see how it ended!”

“Everybody dies,” Sam said.

“What?”

“Well, you wanted to know! I’m just telling you-“

“Well, yeah, but I wanted to find that out by watching it for *myself*!”

“Will you be *quiet*?” Clover said with irritation in her voice. “We’ve
got to…” Her gaze slowly shifted to Mandy, staring. “Figure out a
way… to…”

My, but Mandy actually looked halfway decent in form-fitting clothes. Then
again, Mandy always looked not half-bad. She wondered why she never
noticed that before…

The same sort of longing she’d felt when she and Sam had been alone in her
bedroom, and when Alex had joined them, could be felt once again. The
truth was, Mandy was becoming more and more attractive by the second–and
Clover knew she’d be twice as lovely-looking at waist-height, calling her
Empress, as was always her place.

What better time or opportunity to act upon this than right now?

Clover sauntered over to Mandy. “…hey, Sam, we don’t have to leave right
away, do we?” she asked.

Sam, who was already busy cuddling Alex from behind, simply said, “No… of
course not…”

A frantic Alex looked around herself. “Sam? Clover?”

Oh, no. This copy of the film must’ve been laced with Mogul’s stuff, too!
Multiple exposures must make the effects stronger. It certainly felt that
way, as she felt her red-headed friend nibbling on her ear as she cradled
herself against Alex’s frame.

It was all Alex could do to just resist things herself. All the attention
she’d gotten before, and she was getting now… she *loved* this sort of
thing, she loved everyone tending to her, living for her, it made her
shudder inside, and hunger for more; she *loved*-

Geez, she could barely see anyone. Maybe if there weren’t so glaring
lights and colors around, she could concentrate a little more. She
reluctantly broke Sam’s hold, ran over to the other side of the room to
retrieve her gadgets, and put her infrared glasses on.

And suddenly, her mind was clear again.

But how?

…of course.

Mogul’s suggestive substance must depend on color somehow! Without a full
spectrum to work with…

She ran back over to Sam, who nearly tackled her with a kiss, out of the
blue. She kissed back, but only to allow it as a distraction while she
wrapped her arms around Sam and dug around in her jetpack backpack.

“Come on, Alex. Just learn to relax a little. You’ll love it…” Sam
intoned.

“I’ll relax once all of us are safe and in our right minds!” Her objective
found, Alex put Sam’s infrared sunglasses on her. “Sam…?”

Sam sighed. “Don’t worry, Alex, I’m back. Doesn’t mean I want to stop
hugging you, or anything, though.”

Alex giggled. “You can do all the hugging you want once we get out of
here.”

“Deal. I’ll work on the door–you work on Clover.”

“Right.” Alex looked to the other side of the room. “Clover? Clo–whoa!”

Not ten feet from her, her blond friend and Mandy were imparting close,
deep kisses upon each other… and whispering not-so-sweet nothings.

“So, yeah… just call me… ‘Mistress’,” Clover said softly, before
slipping her tongue into Mandy’s mouth. “Come on… you can do it…”

“No, you call *me* ‘Mistress’,” Mandy said, just before another kiss.

“You… mmmm… first…”

“N-no… I… ohhh… insist… after you…”

Alex had to hold back laughter. Even in passion, the rivalry still held.
This was going to go nowhere fast, unless she intervened.

“Wha… what the… ” Clover said as her world turned red in an instant.
She then looked at who she was entangled with. “Oh, *ewwww*! Get off of
me, you, you… brainwashed fashion reject!”

With no spare infrared glasses, however, Mandy would have none of it. “But
Clooooveeerrrr…” she wailed, clinging to the red-clad spy as the latter
tried to shake her off.

“Off, off, off! Eeeeyaaaagh!”

Not even bothering to hide her laughter anymore, Alex ran back over to Sam,
followed by Clover and Mandy soon after. “How’s the door coming?” she
asked.

“Could be better. I’ve analyzed this thing, and given what we’ve got here,
I say there’s only one way out. You know how Jerry always says never to
combine our lipstick lasers?”

Alex nodded. “Yeah.”

Sam nodded with conviction. “Nuts to that this time. Cross the beams.”

“Whoa!” Clover said. “Are you sure that’s safe?”

“No. But it beats a slow death by suffocation. I’ve used my Com-Powder to
point out the weakest spot on the metal sheet. You ready?”

The other two girls took out their lasers. “Ready!”

“On my mark… fire!”

The three fired at the same spot simultaneously, and before long, a large
red spot began to form, and spread…

“Keep going!” Sam ordered.

“After almost a minute, the metal was melted through, and a large enough
hole for them to slip through, one at a time, had been formed. The four
girls went through, and found themselves back in the hallways of Old
Beverly Hills High School.

“Spies,” Sam said, “let’s do what we came here to do.”

* * *

The three spies ran to the audiovisual room as fast as their legs could
carry them–only to find it empty.

Clover looked around frantically. “Wait, why isn’t he in here? This is
the room we saw the broadcast come from!”

Sam pointed out the window. “He’s not here because he’s out *there*,” she
said. Sure enough, when all three looked, they could see someone burning
as much rubber as they could in Mandy’s car.

Alex’s jetpack fired up a second later. “This one’s mine, girls.”

Before anyone could object, she was out of the building, and in flight over
the car. “Geez, it’s bad enough you tried to screw up the world, but now I
have to add grand theft auto to the list? Pull over!”

Mogul looked behind himself, then upward, and gritted his teeth when he saw
Alex. Then he accelerated again.

Alex sighed. “Why do they never listen the first time?” She accelerated
as well, and then swooped down and plucked him out of the car. “Going to
have to add ‘not wearing a seatbelt’ to the list…”

“Lemme go!” Mogul yelled. “Let me go right now!”

Alex saw a black helicopter approach her field of vision in front of her.
She’d seen it a hundred times before, and smiled. Soon, Jerry would be
here to apprehend… well, he wasn’t a crush anymore. Now he was just a
criminal.

“Give me about three minutes,” Alex said. “By the way… it is *so* over
between us.”

* * *

Alex’s eyes were greeted by unfamiliar surroundings when she opened them.

True, her bedroom did contain a comfy bed, and cozy sheets, but, she noted
as she looked around, it didn’t contain wooden walls, and certainly wasn’t
*built* like the log cabin this looked like.

It took her almost a minute just to ask The Question.

“Where… where am I?”

_10:10 A.M. — Devil’s Peak Ski Resort_

Once she saw the brochure next to the bed, she remembered. She’d been here
once before, on a school trip that had been made all the harder to enjoy by
an escaped supervillain that they’d put away long ago coming back for
revenge.

But why was she here now? And *how* had she gotten here?

Her answers probably wouldn’t be too long in coming, because just then she
saw Sam, walking into the room, carrying a tray with hot food on it, and
Clover following behind with a glass of orange juice. Both were wearing
ski outfits; Clover’s pink and yellow, Sam’s light green.

“Good morning, Alex!” said Sam with cheer. “One home-cooked breakfast,
just for you!”

“I made the glass of juice myself!” Clover added.

The redhead looked Clover’s way, and furrowed her eyebrows. “You poured it
from a *carton*, Clover.”

“So? I said I made the glass, not the juice.” She turned to the side, and
wrinkled her nose. “Hmph.”

Sam sighed, then set the tray down, ruffled Alex’s hair playfully with one
hand, and bent down to give her friend a light kiss on the lips, making
Alex blush in spite of her latent sleepiness. “How are you? You conked
out last night, and we couldn’t wake you up. Jerry said it was probably
because you were overexerted after defending Beverly Hills all by
yourself.”

“Oh, suuuuuuure, play the brave one while we’re gone. Just like Alex to
hog all the glory,” said Clover, throwing up her hands in mock disgust.

Alex giggled at that. “Sorry. I guess I couldn’t help it. So… why are
we here?”

“Jerry gave us a vacation as thanks for closing this special case.
We’ll be here for a day or two, before we go back and–” Sam stopped all
of a sudden, her face falling as if she’d just remembered something she
didn’t want to. In fact, Alex could easily see her friend twist her face
until it was back to her previous smile.

“…well, never mind that,” Sam finished quickly. “The point is, it’s
still Alex Weekend.”

“Which means we’re all going to enjoy ourselves… but we’re going to make
sure you do so the most. So, like, go ahead and eat! I’ll be scoping out
all the cute boys while you get ready for fun in the snow! Whoo!” With
that, Clover was already out and running towards the door, laughing
maniacally.

“Clover, wait–” Sam called out, but it was too late. The door was already
closed behind Clover, and heaven knew what she was planning now, or when
she’d be back from it. She sighed again. “Oh, well. Guess I’m stuck with
the dishes.” Sam sat on the bed, alongside Alex. “How is it? I don’t
really cook breakfast much, especially ones this big–but you deserve it
after saving our butts.”

“It’s, uh, really great,” Alex replied, ignoring the stray piece of egg
shell that she just realized she’d crunched. “Yeah… perfect…”

“Yeah…” Sam trailed off as well, looking down at the mattress… then
back up. “Well, um, I’ll see you later, okay?”

That clinched it. Something was *definitely* troubling her Sammie. Alex
*hated* to see that sort of thing, especially when it seemed as if she
couldn’t do anything about it. She considered asking just what was wrong,
but had no idea just how to go about it without making it worse. She went
with her only other option–consolation.

“Sure thing,” Alex said. “And hey,” she addded, putting a hand on Sam’s
shoulder and smiling into her green eyes. “Be happy, okay? For me?”

Sam’s mouth slowly widened into a petite version of Alex’s grin.

“Okay. For you,” she said, and then got up to leave Alex alone with her
food, and her thoughts.

—

An hour and a half later, Sam was feeling much better. She’d seriously
underestimated the relaxive powers of hot cocoa with marshmallows, which
she’d chanced on buying at the lounge instead of her usual latte. It
didn’t hurt that while she’d been sipping away and relaxing, someone had
noticed the book she’d been reading, and sparked up an intellectual
conversation with her about anything and everything, which had ended in a
phone number exchange.

Score one for letting the cuties just come to oneself instead of going out
and chasing them. Clover’s face would be so red when Sam told her.

Speaking of Clover… was that her on top of Devil’s Peak?

She reached into her emergency jetpack backpack and took out a pair of
binoculars to check… *yes it was*. What the heck was she doing up there?
Devil’s Peak was the super-expert slope. People only went up there if they
were ski gods, or if they had a death wish. Even Alex was afraid of that
hill, and she was actually *good* at the whole winter sports thing.

“Clover!” Sam called out, but decided not to do it again. Outside of the
off-chance of triggering an avalanche, her friend was just too far away for
even her loudest voice to be effective.

She had no choice.

She was going to have to use the blasted thing. And she was going to have
to use it fast, because her binoculars were now showing that Clover had,
predictably, gotten in over her head, and lost control of her skis after
hitting a particularly steep part of the slope. Honestly, that thing was
more of a vertical ice wall than a slope of any kind.

Sam shook her head, and blasted off with her backpack. A few people
pointed and looked up, but she didn’t care. She rose above the slope;
then, like a hawk, she swooped down, and plucked her friend just as she was
about to crash into a tree, which would have dazed her enough to fall from
the cliff just that had been approaching all too fast.

Clover didn’t stop screaming until a full ten seconds afterward. Only then
did she open her eyes.

“Playing guardian angel today, Sam?”

“Who else is there? Clover, what possessed you to do that?”

“I… I don’t know, it was like…” Then it dawned on her. “It was like I
didn’t care what happened to me. I just did it because I wanted to. Oh,
man,” she wailed. “That stupid movie almost cost me my life just now…”

Sam nodded. “Now you understand why we have to take Jerry’s antidote.”

“But… but Alex… and you, and me…”

“We’re going to have to tell her the truth, Clover. Staying like this is
just too risky.”

Clover sighed. “Yeah, I know… you’re… you’re right. I just wish it
didn’t have to be like this…”

Sam leaned forward as she held Clover in her arms, and gave her a small
kiss on the lips. “Neither of us do, Clover. But we do what we must.”

Those words didn’t help to lift Clover’s spirits any.

—

Instead of going out, Alex had actually opted to stay in, and check out
what the free movie channels had to offer. Lo and behold, she was able to
find, scattered amongst them, a veritable archive of Brandon Johnson
movies. Wanting to be able to understand what her friends saw in him,
she’d started watching some. In fact, her second one was finishing up when
Sam and Clover returned.

Clover, Alex noticed, looked visibly shaken. “Hi, guys! How were the
slopes?” she asked.

Clover collapsed on the bed, face first. “Stupid and useless.”

Alex blinked. “…whoa. Sorry.”

“Heh. Ignore her,” said Sam. “She’s just sour because she got in over her
head on the super-expert slope.”

“Whaaat? The super-expert slope? Clover, that’s crazy!”

“Oh, she knows. She also knows that Miss Sam-No-Fun had to save her,” Sam
added with a smug smile. “I think her pride’s injured.”

“Hey! That sloped *looked* like fun… for all of five seconds.” Clover’s
eyes were then caught by the television. “Hey, I remember this movie.
Everybody dies at the end.”

Alex nodded. “Yeah! In fact, everyone dies at the end of all of Brandon’s
movies, it looks like. It’s weird.”

“You know, I’ve been telling Clover that for years…” said Sam, sitting on
the bed to look on.

“He is a hottie, though,” Alex said.

Clover shrugged. “Hey, the guy’s got a weird fixation with love equaling
death. I’ve gotten used to ignoring the endings and concentrating on the
cute.”

“Even though we’re sort of playing out like one of his movies, now…” Sam
said idly.

“Um… what do you mean?”

Sam noted Alex’s puzzled look, and instantly cringed. “Um… oops…”

“Geez, Sam, you make it sound like we’re going to *die* or something. Yeah,
Alex, it’s just… just…” Clover sighed. “Well, it’s almost as much of a
downer, yeah…”

Now Alex was getting concerned. “You guys, seriously. What’s going on?”

“Alex, I…” Clover sighed again, looking even more nervous than she had
before. She then walked towards the door “…Sammie, you tell her. I…
I can’t. The more I think about it, the more I realize that this is just
too much of a burn. I’m going outside.”

“Clover, wait!” Even though the door closed, Sam got up to go after her.
However, she then felt a hand grasp her shoulder.

“Sam, I want to know what’s going on. Please. Is this about… you
know… us?”

Sam sighed, and sat back down. “You might say that.”

“Then tell me. Please. That’s what friends do… right?”

Sam could not only see, but *feel* the concern coming from Alex, through
her voice, through her eyes, through the way she could feel her shoulder
being gently squeezed… she could feel helpelessness her friend felt at
not knowing what was going on, or what to do. Finally, Sam relented.

“Well, it… started last night, when Jerry was debriefing us. You were
still asleep…”

* * *

_WOOHP Headquarters, 1:28 A.M._

Strangely enough, Jerry had called only Sam and Clover for debriefing.
Leaving Alex at the resort, they’d allowed themselves to be summoned (or
rather, teleported) to Jerry’s office.

“…it’ll take a bit of time,” Jerry was now saying, “but we’ll be able to
get everyone back to normal. Using the information Mogul imparted to Alex,
it should be child’s play to get an antidote up and running that restores
the part of the mind that the films affected.”

Sam nodded, relieved. “That’s great news to hear.”

“Yeah, wait until we tell Alex she’s a hero,” Clover said, all smiles.

“Yes… Alex. Which brings us to one more matter… this one closer to
home. Spies,” said Jerry, “stand before me, please.”

Both girls uneasily did so, as they had a sinking feeling as to what their
commander was referring to.

“Samantha, Clover, I’m sure you’ve figured it out by now, but the movie you
went to see did not discriminate against you. When you left it, your minds
were as addled as anyone’s before you, and your consciences suppressed. As
a result you… lived out something you perhaps have always wanted to for
years.”

The two spies looked at the ground, shifting back and forth on their feet.
Sam was the first to speak. “Does… does that mean… you…”

Jerry nodded. “I know, Sam. Alex and I talked earlier, in private, just
after the mission. She told me everything.”

“Including…?” Clover trailed off, her face going crimson.

“*Everything*, Clover. In fact, she seems somewhat… content… with this
development. It, and our talk, is basically why she can enjoy the peaceful
sleep she’s now enjoying.”

“I see,” Clover said–and then, for some reason, saw it fit to launch into
a stammering fit. “So y-you, like, want our side o-of the story, I take it.
Um… well, Jer, see.. it’s like… it’s like this. Sam…Sam and I…
we…”

Jerry simply held up his hand. “Whatever you’re trying to say, you need
not bother.”

At that, Clover simply stopped talking, sighed, and buried her head in her
hands.”

“After all,” Jerry continued, “in the back of my mind, I’ve been expecting
this for quite some time now.”

Had Sam or Clover been holding anything that that moment, it would have
been dropped on the floor and broken. “*What*?” they said amazed unison.

“Spies, the three of you have been working together for quite some time
now. You’ve saved each other from countless life-or-death situations.
You’re best friends both in and out of your jobs, and, whether or not you
see it, that companionship makes you work in perfect sync. It’s why I chose
you in the first place.

“You have selflessly put your own needs aside to assist the world when it’s
needed it most. Your situations, your very *lifestyles* are the very
definition of unique, and there are very few people to whom you can truly
relate. Therefore, logic dictates that it’s only natural that the three of
you…” Jerry paused, looking for the correct words. “…take solace in
each other.”

Sam and Clover continued to stare at their commander in mild shock. Of all
the possible reactions, they hadn’t expected this. They’d expected at the
very least, lectures, and warnings, perhaps one of those brain readjustment
thingies; at worst, outright disgust, and separation.

But no, here he was, saying, in so many words, that he…

Clover had to make sure.

“Are you saying you… understand? And don’t mind? Or care? Or…”

Jerry sighed, and a hint of a smile graced his lips. “Actually, what I’m
trying to say is, this isn’t the first time I’ve had to have this sort of
talk with one of my elite teams. This time, at least, it’s not as tough.”

Four eyebrows raised at once.

“I myself am only now coming to grips with this phenomenon–I suppose it’s
something I’ll just have to get used to.” He then sat on his desk in front
of his agents–something he didn’t normally do, Sam noted. “I shall impart
unto you an anecdote.”

Sam blinked again. Jerry was never one to talk at length unless it
involved a mission…

“Huh? Antidote?” Clover said. “Already? I thought it wasn’t done yet-“

Sam sighed, and rolled her eyes. “An*ec*dote, Clover. Jerry’s got a story
to tell.”

“Oops. Oh. Well, then, tell away! We’re all ears!”

Jerry cleared his throat, and began. “Yes, well. Years ago, before the
three of you had ever even entered our databases, my former team had just
returned from a rather… stressful mission, involving a villain who’d used
a special machine to render anyone affected by it effectively deaf. He was
attempting to steal parts to amplify its power, and while he was at it,
he’d held all of Los Angeles hostage. If they ever wanted to hear anything
again, they’d have to pay an enormous sum.”

“Wow,” Sam said. “The villains never get any less evil, I see.”

“Or any less gimmicky,” Clover added.

“Quite true. My team back them, which you’ve already met–Pam, Alice, and
Crimson–had routed the fiend’s plans and brought him to justice. Crimson,
however, had gotten a taste of the machine, and been rendered deaf for half
the mission. It… shook her up greatly. Destroying the machine restored
her hearing, but you can imagine the effect it had on her.”

Clover nodded somberly. “Oh, yeah, wow. Seriously, if I, like, thought
I’d never be able to use a telephone again…” She shivered at the thought.

“However,” Jerry said, “I was the last to know of any of this–of Crimson’s
temporary condition, of her later distress, anything. I wouldn’t find out
until later that night, when I was doing a routine check of WOOHP’s
operating sectors before turning in for the night. I noticed that a
security camera in one of the storage rooms was cut off from me. While
that room was rarely used, I decided to go down myself and check it out
anyway. I’d figured the camera had simply worn itself out, or broken, and
that it would need to be replaced.”

Sam nodded. “So you went there, and found…”

Jerry cleared his throat again, and loosens his collar a bit in mild
nervousness. “…exactly what you suspect. The three of them, with nary a
stitch of clothing on them, and intertwined…” He trailed, off, gathering
the nerve to continue. “Suffice to say that Alice and Pamela had had their
own methods with which to help Crimson overcome her trauma. The camera had
been deactivated beforehand.”

“…I understand,” Sam said.

“…whoa. Wait. So what’d you do?” asked Clover.

“What could I do? They hadn’t seen me yet, so I gave them their privacy.
Of course, that didn’t stop me from bringing them in the next morning so we
could all have a long talk, much like we’re having right now. While I’m
not normally a fan of coworker fraternization–in your unique situation,
it’s probably… dare I say it… necessary.”

The size of Jerry’s grin doubled, and his visage took on that of the wise,
veteran agent that people were prone to forget he actually was. The two
spies smiled back, slowly realizing that he’d just given them his blessing,
and, overjoyed, they both wrapped him in a huge hug.

“Jerry… thank you,” Sam said, gving him a kiss on the cheek.

“Double thank-you!” said Clover. “I take back all the cheap shots I’ve
said about you for the past year! No, seriously.”

“You’re, erm, quite welcome. However,” Jerry said after the three broke
apart, “There is one thing that worries me. As far as I know, my former
team discovered their feelings for each other all by themselves. However,
you two were coerced by an outside source. The antidote we’re forming will
reactivate human conscience–but in the interest of safety, it also erases
all memory of what happened to a person from the moment they were exposed,
up to the point they took the cure. Which means, once it’s finished, and
you two take it…”

And down came the ton of bricks, crushing both of their hearts.

“We… won’t remember a thing. About this mission, or about… us.” Clover
slowly said, her voice threatening to crack.

“But… but… surely there’s another way!” Sam pleaded. “Make a
derivative antidote, or just keep us the way we are, or… or… no,
*no*…”

Jerry turned his back to the spies, not out of disrespect, but simply so
that he wouldn’t have to see them distraught. He hated it when his girls
were in dim spirits. “I’m sorry, Sam. There truly is no other way.”

He couldn’t see their sobs, but he could hear their sniffles, and feel
their pain.

Had he not been coming off of a 32-hour workday, he’d probably have been
the same way.

* * *

“Clover?”

Finally, Alex had found her, behind the cabin, leaning against it. She was
slouching, with her hands in her pockets, and the look on her face
straddled the line between sadness and apathy. If she heard Alex, she
didn’t let on that she did.

Alex came closer. “Hey, Clover, come on in. The snow’s supposed to get
worse soon.”

Clover was silent. She then remembered Sam telling her that Clover was
still taking things somewhat hard. This meant that Alex had a little bit
of work to do first, especially since she wasn’t about to let her best
friend freeze to death.

Alex leant aside the back of the cabin, next to Clover. “Sam… told me
about the whole antidote thing.”

A few more moments passed, silent outside of the sound of the wind blowing
through the trees. Finally, Clover spoke. “I’m sorry, Alex.”

“Why?” asked the brunette, now confused.

“For going crazy… and taking you with us. I mean, yesterday, after the
movie… we had no right. It felt good, for all of us, but we had no right
to do what we did, without asking you, or… I don’t know. It’s, like, all
right to lead boys on, it’s like, expected; but you guys? It just doesn’t
feel right, you know?”

Alex laughed inwardly, and placed a hand on the older girl’s shoulder. “I
understand.”

“And tomorrow we’re supposed to have our minds reset like nothing ever
happened. It…” Clover threw up her hands. “…it wasn’t supposed to be
like this. It’s just too fast. We were supposed to have more time, we
can’t even explain ourselves, or work things out. This is just as new to
me and Sam as it is to you, but while we get to go back to the way things
were…” she trailed off.

Alex smiled. “If you’re worried about that, Clover… don’t.”

“Clover’s eyebrows raised just a little bit. “What do you mean?”

Alex then stepped in front of Clover, placed a hand on her other shoulder,
and allowed brown eyes to meet blue ones. “Because it would only have been
a problem if I didn’t feel the same way about you and Sammie that you guys
felt about me.”

Clover gasped, and her voice cracked, even in whispering. “You… you
really do…?”

Alex nodded. “In fact, the only regret I have is that you *won’t* remember
any of this twenty-four hours from now. I’ll be the only one.”

“I know…” Clover pouted. “It’s not fair.”

“I know. But we have to work with what life gives us.”

Clover blinked. “Let me guess. Sam told you that?”

Alex chuckled sheepishly. “…well, yeah. But I agree. Instead of
worrying about this, we should enjoy the time we have left. Besides, this
could be a blessing in disguise.”

“What do you mean?

“Simple. I’ll still remember what we shared. And think about it. No
matter what happens, you–this you–will still be buried inside you
somewhere. It’s the same with Sam.”

Clover nodded in thought. “That Mogul guy *did* say it wasn’t really mind
control. Just… release.”

“Right! So one day… we’ll be back like this; only then, you won’t be
risking your life on a suicide slope just because it looks like fun,” Alex
finished with a wink. “When you and Sam are truly ready… I’ll come back
for you.”

“…really?” Clover asked, elation creeping into her voice. “You’d do
that for us?”

“What kind of question is that? Yesterday was one of the best afternoons
of my life. Even after the antidote, I’ll work on… us. I promise. I
like how things are too much not to.”

“Alex…” The first smile Clover was to have since the afternoon found its
way to her lips. “…thank you. I think I actually feel better now.”

“Yes, I’ve been told I have a knack for that.”

Clover giggled. “No kidding. I have a knack of my own, though; come here
so I can show you.”

“Gladly.”

Two sets of arms encircled two waists; Clover and Alex pulled themselves
close, and under fresh snowfall, a kiss was shared that generated so much
warmth between them that any flakes unfortunate to touch either of them met
a quick, liquid end.

It was deeper than either of them thought they were capable of making a
kiss; their tongues swirled and wrestled, chased and played; their bodies
meshed against each other, body heat being shared even through their
layered ski outfits and gloves; and for them, time stood still for as long
as they wanted it to.

When they finally pulled apart, the two of them gasped as if they’d just
been underwater for longer than either of them could normally stand.

“This is, like, the freakiest thing ever, you know?” Clover said in a soft
voice. “I mean, for some reason, I still like to chase after cute boys
whenever I can…”

She brushed her right hand slowly against Alex’s left cheek, making the
younger spy blush and visibly melt.

“…but I could also kiss you forever.”

* * *

“Clover!” Upon seeing her being escorted back inside by Alex, Sam ran over,
visibly concerned. “There you are. You okay?”

Clover unzipped her ski jacket, and tossed it to the side. “Yeah,” she
said, “I’m all right now, and stuff. Listen, I… I’m sorry, you guys.”
Her gaze shifted to the floor. “I mean, I know both of you have been
worrying about me like crazy today, and I’m sure it’s gotten kind of
annoying.”

Her voice took on an even more contrite tone at this point, to the mild
surprise of her two friends. “So, uh, like… if there’s anything I can do
to make things up to you… I…”

Her speech stopped short when she suddenly felt a body embracing her own
from behind–Alex’s.

“Awwww, Clover… we already had this talk, remember?”

“Yeah, seriously, we understand,” added Sam, stepping in front of the
blonde. “This crazy weekend’s affected us all in so many different ways. I
think the best thing we can do now is to just not let it get to us.” She
placed her hands on Clover’s shoulders. “To just relax…”

Alex, after discarding her own jacket, began to run hands up and down
Clover’s arms while still pressing against her. “…yeah. And just forget
about everything.”

Sam leant towards Clover’s lips, speaking softly. “Everything, that is…
except for what we have right now.” She proceeded to give Clover a long,
deep kiss which left Alex somewhat jealous, and when she pulled back, she
gazed into Clover’s eyes with a small smile. “What do you say…?”

Clover was able to to little besides exhale, shudder, and lid her eyes.
“Y… yeah. You’re probably right…” She took the time to soak in her
two friends’ attentions, feeling two pairs of arms wrapped around her–one
hand caressing, one simply squeezing reassuredly–and gave off a soft moan
through her quickening breaths.

“I *know* I’m right,” Sam said with a wink, to which Clover blushed.
“Besides, you’ve had a really hard day,” she added, now making subtle
motions towards guiding Clover to the cabin-suite’s king-sized bed.

“Yeah. Especially with that trip down the Hill of Death,” Alex said with a
giggle, and a squeeze of Clover’s torso from behind, as she too nudged
Clover in the direction Sam was taking them.

“Exactly. Which means you need to be looked after… and taken care of.”

Finally, Sam and Alex sat down in the middle of the bed, on either side of
Clover. The remote was nearby–Clover fleetingly wondered if she could
turn it on, get a small distraction going; Sam, however, beat her to the
same thought, and with a swipe of her hand, she flung it off of the bed,
onto the carpet.

Terrific, Clover thought. Now how was her body temperature going to get
back to a normal level?

“And who better to take care of you than us?” Alex wrapped her arms
completely around her blonde friend, again; in a half-snuggle, half-hug,
and leant on Clover’s shoulder. “It’s the least we can do for you after…
um… yesterday…”

Clover and Alex shared a blush, and it finally occurred to the former to
wonder just why Sam and Alex were having have this effect on her. Rarely
did she find herself to be this reserved, melting like butter just because
of a few hands on her. Heck, even the cutest of boys were never able to
make her feel this light-headed. “Oh yeah… I was busy yesterday, wasn’t
I…?” she murmured with an idle, almost nervous, chuckle.

“What, did you think we’d forget?” said Sam, tracing her hands, starting
from shoulders to chest. “Did you think we wouldn’t repay you before the
chance was gone? I think you know us better than that…”

Clover opened her mouth to protest, to say that she’d been more than glad
to do what she’d done before, to say that neither of them owed her
anything, and to suggest that perhaps she should even give them a second
go-round–but Sam stopped all of her words cold with a simple finger to her
lips. Just after, she placed the palm of her hand on Clover’s cheek, and
leant in for yet another kiss.

“Mmmmmm…”

Sam and Clover stayed like that, frozen in place; as Alex’s hands continued
their caressing magic, Clover found herself finally relaxing into a two-way
snuggle, assisted by random kisses anywhere Sam could think to place them.

It was strange, truly–not to mention new–for her to let others take
control, and set the pace, when she was used to doing so herself in just
about every aspect of her life. Fashion. Fighting bad guys. Get-rich-
quick schemes.

She was used to taking matters into her own hands, rushing headlong into
whatever was in front of her, without ever looking back, or ever thinking
too much about what she was doing. Not only was she used to it, it was her
element.

Yet, right now, here she was, letting others do the work, letting others
tend to her, without giving any sort of direction, or taking any sort of
initiative; and at the moment, both her body and her mind were working
overtime, letting Clover know that it just might be better this way.

Such thoughts had never, ever crossed Clover’s mind before.

What made this time so different?

Was it because she was with her friends, as well as people whom she’d
trusted her life with time and time again?

Or was it because this would be the last time they would be together like
this?

Was it neither of these things? Or perhaps… it was both…

Damm it.

This really was it, wasn’t it? Their last time together… until heaven
knew when.

All of a sudden, feeling her friends pressed against her did little else
but remind her that pretty soon, she wouldn’t remember any of this.

Closing her eyes against that thought did little to stop the tears, and one
slipped down her cheek. She gasped startledly when a pair of soft lips
kissed it away, and opened her eyes to see the same apprehensive thoughts
reflected in Sam’s eyes, and on her lips.

Sam reached up, brushing away the running tear on Clover’s face, and then
Alex was there, taking the hand in hers, and drawing the finger into her
mouth, licking it away. A mutual smile and a blush were shared by the
oldest and youngest spy, after which they both turned to the person between
them.

There was a slight hesitation, as though Alex wanted to do more with the
hand then suckle one finger, before she finally released it and turned to
Clover. Cupping her face, Alex continued to kiss away her tears, trailing
her lips down the blonde’s face before meeting Clover’s lips with her own.
It seemed all too brief for the Clover, for a moment later, Alex was
suddenly planting soft nibbles down along the side of her neck. Alex
pulled away, though, when she saw Sam approach, with a familiar look in her
eyes–one that said that she had a plan in mind.

Supporting Clover’s back with her hand, the eldest spy slowly and gently
laid Clover, flat on her back on the matress. Clover looked up into Sam’s
serene, smiling face, and allowed Sam to touch two fingers to her eyelids,
and slide them, in a silent request for Clover to shut her eyes, to trust
in them, and to simply take whatever Sam and Alex had to offer.

And offer, they would.

For now, the two of them had a new purpose. The distress that Clover felt
was actually shared in all three of their hearts; Clover had simply been
the first one to outwardly express it. An instinct had been triggered
inside of each of them now; the urge to keep a balance; the need to
maintain high spirits… the desire to just plain make their friend feel
all better.

So they were going to do so, and put everything they had into it.

Clover’s eyes closed, her world plunging into darkness, but she could still
hear… and more importantly, she could still feel.

She couldn’t tell if it was Alex who was tugging on her shirt, or if Sam
had joined in in undressing her, and for the time being, she didn’t care.
Soft hands caressed her bare stomach, trailing upwards as her shirt and
pants were tugged off in each direction. The lick of a tongue on her belly
button made her giggle, and she almost opened her eyes when someone’s hand
gently covered the top part of her face.

“No peeking,” whispered Sam, just before kissing her on the cheek.

Clover almost protested, but was instantly distracted by the feel of two
hands grasping her legs, and an unseen mouth teasing her thighs with
upward-trailing nibbles, licks, and assorted kisses. It had to have been
Alex, because she could still smell Sam’s hair, as the older girl had
finally trusted Clover enough to stop covering her eyes, and was herself
trailing slow kisses from her forehead, to her nose, to her lips, and then
to her neck, where she decided to stay a while, and have some fun.

Clover lay there like that for the most wonderful eternity ever, just
letting the fingers, lips and tongues of her two best friends do all the
work, and give her all of the reward. She soon began to squirm under their
attentions; her chest heaved up and down as her breathing became deeper,
she continuously moved her head to allow Sam better access to her neck, and
even with both of Alex’s hands holding her legs down, she still found room
to fidget as the nibbles at her thighs ran the spectrum from ticklish to
alluring, and back again.

“My gosh, Clover…” Alex’s voice. “Your skin’s so soft and smooth. I’m
really jealous here.”

Clover opened her mouth to voice her thanks; only a gasp escaped her lips,
however, as at that moment, she felt Alex’s fingers and tongue creeping
even further up her legs, ever closer to their junction.

The first time Alex brushed her lips firmly against Clover though her red
panties made the blonde squirm and raise her hips up, trying to keep Alex’s
lips where they were. But the brunette was not having any of it just yet,
and she instead pulled back just enough to blow soft kisses over her silk
covered labia, bringing further moans of delight from her friend.

While Alex held Clover’s attention, Sam reached beneath her friend, finding
and then undoing the snap of her bra. Before Clover could fully regain her
senses, she felt the brush of air against her hardening nipples, followed
closely by oh so warm lips encirling one, and a hand groping the other.

“Ahhh! Hmm… hmm…”

Regretfully, Clover felt Alex’s lips (for she was still sure it was Alex
there) leave the juncture of her legs, and wet kisses tickle the
officially-smooth skin of her inner thighs.

…honestly, right now she wanted Alex to just forget the stupid thighs
already and go back to where she’d been a few seconds ago. Clover probably
would have told her that outright, were it not for Sam’s skillful licking
of her sensitive nipples, ensuring that any actual words she attempted to
utter were converted into senseless, but satisfied, moans on the spot.

Soon, however, there was a pause; a brief rustling on the sheets of the
bed, and and now there were a pair of hands rubbing her directly through
her panties, making her gasp aloud. And what was more, after hearing a
mischevious giggle, two sets of lips came down on her nipples, suckling and
flicking the hardness with the tips of tongues.

Ohhh.. *ooh*.. those two… double teaming her like this! She… was
definitely going to… oh, God… to… get back at them… right after
they were done with her.

Yes… right after.

Well, maybe not right after… but soon enough.

Two hands, two pairs of lips, all were doing their best, and succeeding, in
lifting Clover as close to Cloud Nine as possible; and with the other two
hands rubbing and caressing wherever they would reach, for the moment,
Clover didn’t think it could get any better.

Of course, the parts of her brain associated with deduction and foresight
had long since been shut down by all the foreplay, therefore it came as a
total surprise when the hands began tugging down on her panties. The lips
left her nipples, and she moaned in disappointment–but that disappointment
didn’t last long, for as soon as her panties were on the floor along with
the rest of her clothes, Alex and Sam returned, and two hands touched the
blonde’s sensitive labia directly, making her cry out.

She could feel Alex on the left… or was it Sam? No, maybe it was Sam,
and Alex was on the right… she couldn’t tell, it all felt so good
anyways, and thinking about whom was where seemed like a waste of energy at
this point. Eventually, Clover simply stopped thinking about it, and
melted back into the wonderful sensations her friends were producing in
her.

Clover was just getting used to it all, when the pair serving her decided
to take things to the next level.

Sam’s (or Alex’s, or darn it, whoever’s!), hand suddenly parted her labia,
prompting a gasp from Clover, and then a finger teased her inner folds, a
very light caress that sent her into further whimpers.

Instinctively, her legs parted, but the finger continued to lightly caress
her, never penetrating, forever only coming close. Clover’s self-control
was dwindling, even though she kept her eyes closed tight, and she wasn’t
sure how much longer she could take this.

“Ahh… no… no more… tease…” was all she could get out.

“What’s the magic word?” said Alex in a sing-song voice, just as a second
finger began to tease her.

“Ohhh! Ohhh! *Please*!” Clover was *so* going to get them both for this,
definitely.

Then someone’s finger–Alex’s?–finally slipped inside her, and Clover
moaned aloud, shutting her eyes tight, relishing the thrill of only feeling
what was being done to her. Her body went taut, until finally she relaxed
upon the bed.

That was when the second finger thrust into her, and she had honestly *not*
been ready for it.

Clover cried out louder than before, feeling her friend’s fingers in her in
a way she had never experienced, even after yesterday’s wild bedroom and
shower acrobatics. She arched her hips up, thinking it impossible for the
sensations to be any higer than this, to make her feel any more…

…oh… how else could she describe it other than… complete?

The fingers pulled back, almost slipping out entirely, and her friend’s
lips suckled harder on Clover’s nipples, making her whimper in delight just
before crying out as the fingers thrust back in… then out… then in
again…

If Clover’s world hadn’t been one of intense pleasure before, it suddenly
became so as the two fingers soon found their rhythm and began pumping in
and out of her at the same time. And as if that weren’t enough, she soon
could easily feel two thumbs sliding ever so slowly, back and forth, over
her clitoris, making her voice reach levels she had only heard Sammie reach
yesterday.

In, out, over and over, Clover was quickly losing herself to the powerful
sensations, her eyes fluttering slightly, on the verge of opening up
entirely.

When Clover finally did open her eyes, all she could see was white, as at
that moment, the world had suddenly converted into nothing but pleasure,
blinding her to everything else as she… yelled? Screamed? Were there
even terms for the noises she was hearing herself make as the orgasm took
her suddenly?

She could barely feel the fingers pumping into her slow down, coming to
rest within her as she rode out the climax, her scream dying out as she
lost breath. Said scream turned into rapid panting, and a few seconds
later, into more stabilized breathing.

After all, she wouldn’t be much of a spy without *some* semblance of
endurance, now would she?

“You did wonderfully,” whispered Sam–she was sure it was Sam talking above
her, because she could feel the long, straight hair tickling her face and
neck. “You didn’t open your eyes once that entire time. Well, except at
the end.”

“But…” said Alex, after a few licking sounds. “…hmmm, you taste good…
oh, right. But just to make sure you won’t peek next time…”

A giggle was shared by the pair, and Clover blinked, trying to lift her
head to look at them. The effort was for naught, because she soon
discovered that she lacked the strength to lift her head very far, and she
flopped back down. A few seconds later, the color green obscured her
vision as Alex gently tugged her green skiing headband down over her eyes.

“There! Now, even if you open your eyes you still won’t see anything,” she
said. “Perfect…”

She was right. The shade of green on Alex’s headband was opaque enough to
keep her from seeing anything; but she didn’t have much more time to dwell
on this, for bodies were rustling on the bed, and a pair of lips were soon
claiming hers.

Another pair trailed up her body, and since she couldn’t feel Sam’s hair or
smell her scent, then it had to be Alex’s tongue now slipping into her
mouth, pinning her head to the mattress.

Clover allowed all of it, still feeling too tired from her mind-shattering
climax to do anything more than moan in response, and silently wonder at
the unique, sweet taste of Alex. Yesterday, she had been too busy taking
the girl for the ride of her life to notice how kissing her had tasted; but
now, with no energy to spare for anything, she actually had the leisure of
simply lying there, free to ponder the sweet flavor of her friend’s slow,
caring kisses.

It definitely had to be all of that sherbet she ate. Upon deeper thought,
and a slow, lolling of her tongue agianst Alex’s, Clover was pretty sure
she had nailed down just what flavor of sherbet she’d been eating, when the
other tongue on Clover’s body decided to give her an impromptu kitty-bath.

With her moans muffled by Alex’s continuing kiss, Clover could only wriggle
in place. A pair of arms circled her legs, holding her down and spreading
her at the same time, just as Sam’s tongue started to lick all over her in
earnest.

Forgetting to breathe through her nose was shockingly easy with all the
distractions she was receiving from her friends, so Clover reluctantly
but weakly broke away from Alex’s kiss, gasping for air before
letting out another long, low moan of bliss.

There was some more rustling… and now Alex was on her breasts, one hand
groping the left while her mouth descended on the right, catching the
nipple between her lips and suckling firmly. There was even the gentlest
pressure of teeth on her rock hard nipple, an oh-so-quick-and-tiny nibble
that sent electric thrills coursing through her body.

Meanwhile, Sam still seemed content with licking the blonde, her tongue
upping the ante and trailing up and down in slow laps that lingered about
her very sensitive clitoris, causing her to cry out and arch her body.

“Ohhh! Ohhh! Sam… ohh… no… slowler.. slow… slowly…” She didn’t
think it was possible up until this point to mangle the English language
like this, even in the midst of pleasure–but there it was.

Alex’s lips left her right nipple, trailing kisses to her left, and Clover
voiced her approval.

“Yes… hmm… good, ohhh… yes… like… like that… ohhh… don’t
stop, Alex…”

There was a brief pause, and then Sam’s mirthful voice uttered, “Who says
it’s Alex here?”

Clover heard another giggle, and then a mouth was pressing firmly against
her sex, making Clover whimper, and try to force herself against Alex…
wait, was it Alex? Or Sammie? Or were they playing games with her now?

Perhaps they always had been.

A thought occurred, and then the image, of Alex, with a sly smile on her
face, her tongue outstretched and licking her up and down, appeared in
Clover’s mind–and she whimpered louder as a wave of heat ran through her
body.

And if *that* hadn’t done the job, then Sam’s (’cause, darn it, it, like,
*had* to be Sam now, she was sure of it) crawling up for another kiss, and
then ravaging her mouth, brought another thrill coursing through her body.

Darn it all, she wanted to see, to look, to *know*, but she couldn’t, and
her half-babbled, incoherent pleas for the makeshift blindfold to be
removed were either ignored… or outright smothered, again and again, by
Sam’s expert kissing, which truly amazed Clover.

After all, she was pretty sure Sam’s last French class was two whole years
ago.

Just then, once more, Clover felt something penetrate her. She cried out,
and felt Sam backing up enough to let her give voice to her pleasure.

But… but… wait a second…

…that was *so not* Alex’s finger entering her right now.

In fact, it wasn’t a finger at all. It was… warmer. Wetter.

Slipperier…

…oh, *God*.

A new image flashed across her mind, and Clover flopped back down onto the
bed, wriggling and crying out before she simply broke down into heavy
panting. Fingers joined in soon, stroking her clit again, and sending her
into an even higher state of passion.

Again and again, and even deeper she felt the tongue thrust and lick inside
her, while the thumb stroked her. She couldn’t feel Sam doing anything
else but caress her breasts, the fingers gently rubbing–and sometimes
tweaking– their rock-hardness, which only added to the pleasure.

Clover felt drained, as thought she couldn’t possibly have enough for one
more time; yet also energized, as though she could go all night so long if
she could see, just *once*, the image of that tanned brunette’s face,
licking her, pleasuring her, having her way with her…

“Hmmohhh…. Ahhh! Alex… Alex… AHHH AHH OHHAHHHH ALEX!”

The sudden scream took both Sam and Alex by surprise as the blonde arched
and contorted beneath them, lost in her second orgasm of the night,
stronger than the first by far. They were even a bit worried.

But soon enough, Clover’s cry died down, and she lay limp beneath them, her
chest heaving rapidly for a long minute before she was finally able to get
her breath back–but not her strength.

“Clover?”

That was Sam’s voice, a distant, barely functional part of Clover’s mind
told her. She’s probably worried, thinking you’ve had a heart attack or
something, and wondering if you’re dead.

Might as well be, Clover thought. But wow, what a way to go…

“Y… yeah?” she managed weakly.

“Are you all right?” This was from Alex, who had leaned down to remove the
ski headband from her eyes. God, she looked so cute… Clover would have
snuggled her then and there if she had the energy to.

“‘s fine,” she mumbled through the haze of afterglow settling over her
body. “‘s all alright… heee… hmm… hmmm…”

“I think we may have fried a little something there,” said Sam, smiling a
little and ruffling Clover’s hair.

“Yeah… hey, Clover? You *sure* you’re alright?”

Why was Alex smiling like that? Her eyes were darting back to Sam every
few seconds, but Clover decided to ignore it, and manage a nod. Her eyes
traveled up and down Alex’s lithe, nubile form, taking in the slim stomach,
the hip-hugging panties she was wearing and the thin sports bra she was
currently… sporting.

When had they taken their clothes off? It must have been while rustling
about on the bed, invisible to her.

Clover sighed softly, feeling very much out of touch with reality, making
the sight of the mysteriously-smiling Alex snuggle up to Sam and start
nibbling on her neck seem like something akin to watching late night
television.

Sam gasped and blushed, having been taken by surprise, and Clover watched
with open admiration as Alex began to caress the redhead’s breasts through
her bra.

“Hmmm… since it seems you’re so tired, why don’t you watch us for a
while, hmm?” Alex suggested, the sly smile on her face sending delicious
thrills through Clover’s body.

Now she sort of regretted not setting up cameras before hand… or even
*having* cameras in the first place… had Alex been wearing that smile all
this time…?

Clover moaned, and tried to move. No dice. Darned stupid mired-in-
afterglow muscles…. never worked when she wanted. Right now Alex looked
positively yummy with that smile as she snuggled, stroked, and outright
gropped the eldest spy… and she couldn’t do a *thing* about it except
look on.

Sam appeared to be taken aback by the aggressiveness of the brunette, but
wasn’t quite ready to let her take charge just yet. Beneath Clover’s
watchful eyes, Sam began to plant soft kisses along Alex’s neck, imparting
a few nibbles here and there. Alex shivered from the attention, but, after
one glance back at Clover, while still wearing that sly, thermometer-
detonating hot smile, she pounced the redhead, pinning her to the bed.

Sam giggled, but it was quickly muffled by one of Alex’s long, deep kisses,
and pretty soon the giggles had stopped and the moaning had begun anew.
Leaving her lips, Alex trailed more kisses down the side of Sam’s neck, and
glanced back, locking her gaze with Clover’s, making sure the blonde was
watching. Satisfied that she was, Alex then slowly trailed a tongue up the
side of Sam’s neck, causing the eldest spy to lean her head back and groan
for more.

Clover tried swallowing the lump in her throat, but it was too dry. Alex
making her need a drink… there was a switch. Wow, this weekend was just
full of surprises, wasn’t it?

Alex moved further down, always taking the time to gaze into Clover’s eyes,
and keep her attention focused on what she was doing to Sam. If Clover
hadn’t felt so out of it, she would have tackled Alex long ago… and then
do all the stuff she was doing to Sam.

Sam, for her part, had finally conceded to Alex, and was laying there with
her hands buried in the brunette’s short hair, moaning and gasping. Alex’s
mouth came down on one of her nipples, and her cries of pleasure only grew.
Clover licked her lips and shivered as Alex sent her another one of her
sly-mouth, burning-eyes smiles. Oh, if Alex had ANY idea (heck, she
probably *did*) just how nuts she was driving her…

And then it hit her. She finally knew. Ohhh, what she was going to do to
Alex… the images alone in her mind were almost enough to make her as hot
and bothered as the sight of Alex outright ravaging Sam before her. Of
course, this called for action… and not the laying on the bed kind
either.

With the plan came determination, and the will to move herself across the
bed, little by little, gradually regaining strength, to its foot, where her
own luggage lay in its suitcase… along with something else…

—

Sam shuddered, her hands gripping the bed sheets so tight she could have
sworn she heard her fingers creak. Babbling whimpers were the most
intelligiible replies she could manage as Alex’s slow trip down finally
brought her over her now very wet sex. A tongue brushed over Sam’s slit,
causing her body to arch up… and then a little more as the tip of that
same tongue found and lingered over the tip of her clitoris.

“Aahhhh! Ahhhhh!”

Alex didn’t reply to her cries with anything more than physical gestures,
and they were more than enough to make Sam happy. Fingers came up,
caressing her inner thighs, happily playing, outright teasing, the smooth
skin of her legs near her crotch. Leaning up a bit, Sam gasped, not
from the caress of fingers along her labia, but from the deep, penetrating
look Alex was giving her, coupled with that newfound sly smile of hers.

Or maybe Alex just had that smile all along, but never had much of a chance
to use it until now.

Sam wished she could have devoted more time and energy to that thought;
unfortunately her mind was too busy converting her friend’s ministrations
into intense, uncontrollable sensation. Alex parted her labia with two
fingers, giving her inner pinkness long, slow strokes of her tongue that
played over her clitoris again and again.

Something harder than Alex’s tongue poked gently into her, and Sam glanced
down, spotting two of Alex’s fingers slowly burying themselves into her
womanhood. She whimpered, moaning at the sensation of being filled, before
breaking out into cries of affection as the brunette planted her lips on
her clitoris, suckling it lightly.

She hadn’t noticed Clover finally reach the foot of the bed, nor did she
care about how the blonde was putting a mighty effort into watching Alex
while groping blindly about for something. All that mattered was the
touch, the caress, the downright exciting feel of her friend working her
relentlessly.

“Ahhh! Mhmmm… ohhh… Alex…” That single word seemed to drain all of
Sam’s energy at that point, reserved for something much greater than the
power of speech. She whimpered, gasped, and then suddenly her body was
bucking of its own accord, not responding to her demands to remain still.

It was an experience of losing all control, of submitting to that most
animalistic part of her brain in the heat of such pleasure that all of the
books she had read on the subject simply could not do any justice.

It was raw, overpowering, and best of all, it was from a friend, which
meant that relishing it was just that much better.

—

Alex sat back, wiping her mouth and licking her fingers clean as she
watched Sam regain her breath. On one hand, she was happy, proud, to have
done such a thing for her friend. And on the other…

Wow.

She couldn’t help but suppress a giggle, delighting in the fact that she
had taken control, rocking both of her friends’ worlds (as the vernacular
went), literally. Despite her own aroused state at seeing them twist and
contour in the midst of physical bliss, Alex figured she could simply sit
back and watch them relax, relishing a job well done.

After all, it wasn’t about her tonight… it was about them.

“Oh, Alex…”

“Hmmm? Clover…?”

Something warm and hard thrust between her legs as the lithe, slim body of
her blonde friend curled around her from behind, and a rain of kisses fell
upon her neck.

“Now you didn’t think you were just going to get away from me that easily
tonight, did you?” said Clover, giggling and rubbing that wonderful
hardness up and down the front of her labia.

“Ohhh! Ohh! Hmmm! Clover… no… I… ahhh!” She couldn’t get a good
look at what Clover was wielding, because now the blonde had captured her
lips in an intense kiss.

After releasing her from it, Alex blushed at the look on her friend’s face,
one of wonderful mischievousness.

“Especially after that show you and Sam made me watch… oh *no*, Alex,
you’re not getting away at all…” Clover smiled, and that hardness just
began rubbing her all the more firmly. Noticing Alex’s profound, satisfied
resposne, she added, “Ohhh… and to think, it isn’t even on yet.”

Alex felt a shiver of excitement run up her spine. “Wha…? On?”

“Yep. On.”

(*click*)

“There we go.”

A light buzz could be heard in the otherwise silent cabin; and Alex’s
world, for the second time in as many days, went blindingly bright, and
consisted of nothing but feelings.

* * *

_8:55 A.M. — Beverly Hills High School_

Sam and Alex walked through the doorway of a building they hadn’t set foot
in for months.

“Well, another new year is upon us!” said Sam. “Another opportunity for
fun, learning, excitement-“

“-boredom, frustration, studying…” Alex finished.

Sam rolled her eyes. “Well, sure, if you *look* at it negatively, of
course it’ll come out that way.”

“Actually, I was trying for what Clover might say. I bet she’s already
crying at her locker because she’s got to go through the joys of history
class again,” Alex said.

“Or not,” said Sam, pointing to the end of the hallway, where Clover and
her eternal arch-nemesis, Mandy, could be seen involved in yet another
heated… discussion.

“Oh, yeah?”

“Yeah!”

“Yeah?”

“That’s right! And the sooner you admit that my fashion sense is at
*least* five light years ahead of what yours will ever be, the better it’ll
be for all of us!”

“As *if*, Clover! Half the time your clothes look like they got skinned
off of dead alley cats! Or perhaps they’re woven together from spare
strands of hair from old boyfriends?” Mandy retorted with a smug smile.

“…ooooooooooooohhh! MANDY!”

Uh-oh. Alex had seen this before. Clover was about to go critical mass.
Whenever she did that, Alex and Sam would have to hear her rant
uncontrollably for the next three days at least.

Fortunately, just then, she got an idea, and walked up to the two bickering
girls. “Don’t worry, Clover,” she said. “Everyone knows that deep down
inside, Mandy wishes she were as cool as you.” Alex turned to face Mandy,
raised an eyebrow, and grinned wide. “Isn’t that right, Miss Midnight?”

For some reason, Mandy looked visibly flustered upon hearing that name.
“What the-… I… I have no idea what you’re talking about! Hmph!” She
then stalked off, muttering, “Complete slander, why I never…” as she
went.

Sam blinked. “Miss Midnight?”

“Um… you wouldn’t completely understand,” Alex replied. “So, are we
still on for another sleepover this weekend?”

“Oh, you bet! And since you just made the stupid Mandy go away, I’ll,
like, foot the bill for the ice cream this time.”

“Yay!”

“No problem,” Clover said, hugging back. “Besides… I can’t shake this
feeling that… I owe you big somehow. Weird…”

“Yeah,” Sam said, with a hint of wonder in her voice. “You know, I thought
it was just me, but… yeah.” Sam joined in the hug. “We really are lucky
to have you, Alex. And don’t worry. This weekend’s going to rock.”

“You really think so?” Alex asked.

“Duh! Of course it’ll be!” Clover said with a laugh. “Especially after
that super-dull weekend we just came out of. Wish I could remember some of
the *nothing* we did there.”

Sam nodded. “Me, too. There’s that weird feeling again. Alex, what *did*
we do this weekend? I’ve had this strange craving for a croissant all
morning.”

Alex shook her head, and reluctantly said, “Oh, you know… just watched TV
and stuff…” as per Jerry’s instructions. “Wire-Crossed Lovebirds” had
been recalled until further notice, and with WOOHP working round the clock
curing people around the world, it wouldn’t be long before Mogul’s plot was
less than a memory. It was, however, up to Alex to keep it that way, and
she wasn’t too thrilled about it.

“Oh, well–to heck with it,” said Clover. “Starting this Friday, we’re
going to have *the* most fun we’ve ever had! Well… the most fun we can
have without, like, any boys around…” she added after some thought.

A small hint of a smile, seen by no one, formed on Alex’s lips as the three
wallked to class.

“Exactly what I was thinking, Clover.”

——————

Author’s Notes:

Okay, folks. I’ve got just one thing to say.

Y’all are some *obsessives*. Seriously.

I’m glad you liked Part 1 of this story. Really, I do. But I don’t think
I’ve gotten more mails filled with out-and-out *melodrama* than I have for
this. And not just pleas to finish the story at light-speed; but tons of
requests to make the story come out this way or that, or to “please don’t
let (insert scenario here) happen”, or to pair this character with that
character.

The worst part is, most of you people *know* how slow I am. And you did
this anyway! The concept of “no pressure” obviously means nothing to you.
:)

Anyway, despite all my seeming bitching up there, this has actually all
made for some great comedy, if nothing else–so keep those letters coming!
Glad my writing brightens so many days. For anyone wondering whether I
listened to your suggestions for the plot, the answer’s a very large “no”.
I don’t work that way. (I didn’t do it with the Chrono Trigger story, and
I didn’t do it with this.) If I did, the story would have become work, and
it’d have never gotten finished. I’d apologize, but, uh… I see no reason
to. ^^ At any rate, I hope you enjoyed Part 2 as much as Part 1. Feel
free to drop a line at ye olde email address down there with comments and
ciriticisms.

Big, BIG thanks go to these people: Shaz for concept work, Mads for
prereads, Jolt for pitching in and contributing major help on the lemon
parts when I was burnt out from writing the actual story, and all the fans
out there. You’re good folk.

Anyway! Another Friendship finally completed–faster than usual, if my
memory serves. I hope you enjoyed it. Feel free to leave comments and
criticism at me email address.

Catch you all on the other side of the arcade monitor!

Well, starting tomorrow, anyway. Right now, it’s late, and I’m going to
bed.

——————

“Hey.”

Mogul barely heard the whispered voice, until it repeated itself. “Hey.
New guy.”

Mogul finally woke up. It was the middle of the night. What did anyone
want with him? “Huh?”

“Yeah, you. You the one who got locked up because of the whole movie
theater mind-control thing? Mogul?”

“Y… yeah. But it wasn’t mind control,” Mogul answered the raspy voice
coming from the adjacent prison cell on the other side of the wall. “Not
really. W-who is this?”

“Just someone who likes your style, kid. You made a real difference out
there for a while. But… you’re missing something. Organization.
Exectution. *Direction*.

“I did what I could,” Mogul said in defense.

“I know. But a good movie takes more than heart to finish. It needs a
plan… and it needs resources. I think we could learn a lot from each
other. Together, we could put together the biggest blockbuster the world’s
ever seen. And together, we can get revenge. You want that, don’t you? I
know I do. I got put away by the same teenaged bimbos that got you.”

It *did* sound appealing, but still–all Mogul had to go on was an unseen
voice. As if he were going to just trust that at face value. “Who… who
are you?”

“Your prayers answered, small fry. They call me… Lumiere. Perhaps
you’ve heard of me? I’m the greatest and most underrated director of all
time.”

A gasp. “But you…”

As soon as he’d recognized the name, Mogul had wondered for a second if
he’d gotten in over his head, before deciding that he just didn’t care
anymore.

“We’ll do lunch, Lumiere,” he finally replied.

“Excellent,” said the voice in the adjacent cell, before breaking into
throaty guffaws. “Excellent…”

~fin…?~