The Jefferson Ballroom of the Grand Plaza buzzed with conversation as the assembled reporters and photographers waited for the guests of honor to arrive and start the press conference.

“...Dr. Plasmicus thinks they’re clones, and the Baroness’s next move is going to be offering them on the black market as sex slaves....”

“...finally got the general manager to agree that it was legitimate work-related, so the IT department turned off the porn filter, and somehow that messed up the Internet connection for the whole office....”

“...spent a whole week tracking down an adult actress who could have passed for her, but there’s no way she could have done the acrobatics in that video....”

The buzz of conversation died down as a few of the crowd noticed something overhead, and others noticed them looking up and did likewise, until everyone was watching two figures swinging down on ropes. They landed at the edge of the stage and used their momentum to carry them into somersaults that put them behind the lectern and its cluster of microphones.

They were unmistakably Vindiatrix and Shield Lass. Their moves were even more spectacular, and more impossible for any body-double imitators, than the ones in the video from the SpandexGirlsex website. There was a buzz of whispered conversation in the audience as the duo stood in front of them, watching and waiting.

Finally, Vindiatrix raised her hand for attention. The room quickly quieted to the point where the heroine had to raise her voice only a bit to be heard.

“I’m sure you’ll have plenty of questions besides the obvious ones, but let’s get those out of the way first.”

The two moved closer together, each throwing an arm around the other’s shoulder.

“Yes, we’re a lesbian couple.” The two women turned toward each other, leaning into a tight embrace and kiss as the audience reacted with a mix of surprise and puzzlement and excitement.

As the duo finally pulled apart, a curtain behind them parted. It revealed a giant poster advertising Intimate Initiation.

“And, yes, it’s actually us in this video.”

There was a split-second of silence as this statement sank in, and then everyone seemed to be shouting at once. The heroines ignored them for a moment, letting the photographers get pictures of them striking poses that mirrored the poster.

Finally, the crowd settled down. Vinidatrix and Shield Lass stepped up to the microphones.

“Questions?” Vindiatrix pointed toward a woman in the front row.

“Until just now, you’ve never revealed anything about your private lives. Why now?”

Shield Lass spoke up first. “I wanted people to know me as a crimefighter. I thought talking about my personal life would be a distraction.”

Vindiatrix nodded. “That’s part of it. Also, I’ve only recently understood the full truth about myself.”

“Meaning that you’re a lesbian?” the reporter asked.

“Yes.”

There was a momentary lull before Vindiatrix called on a stern-faced man near the back of the room.

In an indignant tone, he asked. “Are you actually appearing in and even promoting a pornographic movie?”

“I already told you that yes, we’re the stars of Intimate Initiation,” Vindiatrix replied in a tone that suggested mild annoyance at having to repeat herself.

The followup question was even more indignant, “Why would you, two heroines that our children look up to as moral examples, do such a thing?”

“Because when we received Baroness Blackleather’s invitation and gave it real thought rather than rejecting it out of hand, we realized she was right.”

Shield Lass chimed in before the sudden background chatter got too loud. “I’ve been in love with Vindiatrix as long as we’ve been working together. I thought I didn’t let it show, but the Baroness knew.”

“I didn’t even start to realize I was gay until the Baroness got me seriously thinking about it,” Vindiatrix added.

The earlier questioner tried to get their attention again, but Vindiatrix pointedly ignored him and picked out another reporter to ask the next question.

“Does this mean that you are now on good terms with Baroness Blackleather? After all your attempts to shut down her operations?”

Vindiatrix looked abashed. “Yes. Apparently despite all our conflicts and misunderstandings, she got to know us better than we knew ourselves and decided to extend a helping hand.”

“You said ‘misunderstandings’. Are you saying that the Baroness isn’t really a criminal?”

“That’s exactly what I’m saying. You can look up for yourselves how many times she’s been accused of something illegal. None of the accusations ever amounted to anything in the end. While I’m on the subject, I’d like to publicly apologize to Baroness Blackleather for treating her like a criminal without any solid evidence. I should have known better; I know from personal experience what it’s like to be falsely accused of crimes.”

As she made that statement, she locked eyes with the publisher of the Daily Trumpet, who had gotten himself a front-row seat. Almost everyone else was looking at him, some nervously, some with ill-concealed schadenfreude. He himself looked like he was only staying in his seat because it would be more humiliating to leave.

“The Baroness didn’t commit any of the crimes she’s been accused of, any more than my partner and I sabotaged the Zetatron Project last year. That’s my final word on the subject.”

“What about the fact that she’s running a pornography operation?”

“What about it?” Shield Lass asked. “It’s legal. We’re consenting adults. The customers are consenting adults.”

“Don’t you think that you’re corrupting the nation’s moral fiber?”

“Obviously not, or we wouldn’t be doing it.” Vindiatrix’s tone suggested that she thought the questioner should have figured that out for herself.

The brush-off didn’t dissuade her from immediately following up. “People look up to you. Don’t you feel that you have a responsibility to maintain that?”

“We are maintaining that.” Vindiatrix declared. “People look up to us because we stop criminals. We’re going to continue doing that, just the same as we’ve been doing. People look up to us because we uphold the law. Well, we’re upholding the laws that say we have a right to perform in pornographic videos, and consenting adults have the right to watch them. If people have a problem with that, I think that reflects the way people have been brainwashed by society.”

-----

Meanwhile, the three heroes at ParaPatrol headquarters watched the press conference, trying to make sense of the Trusty Twosome’s increasingly outrageous statements and actions.

“They’re the ones who’ve been brainwashed!” Ethrienne snapped as she paused the program and turned toward her colleagues.

“Do you know this for a fact? I thought you had to be much closer to the subject to perform a mind scan,” the Palladium Paladin replied.

“I don’t need to do a mind scan! It’s obvious! I can’t believe those idiot reporters aren’t pointing it out!”

“The reporters have a responsibility to limit themselves to reporting the facts.” Somehow, Palladium Paladin made that sound like a declaration of truth rather than an expression of his occasional naiveté. “The facts do not prove any sort of mind control.”

Ethrienne took a long slow breath, as she often did when their team leader was being particularly stolid. “What about the fact that they suddenly turned into a couple of porn starlets?!”

“That is rather unusual, I agree.” Both of his teammates rolled their eyes. The Paladin continued on obliviously. “The fact is that no known form of mind control can produce such drastic shifts in behavior and attitudes without obvious side effects.”

“Then she’s using an unknown form of mind control!” Ethrienne threw up her hands in exasperation. “Look, we need to find those two, stop them from embarrassing themselves any more than they already have, and figure out what happened to them and how to fix it!”

The Palladium Paladin gave her his best concerned look. He was concerned in his own way, Ethrienne knew, even if her powers couldn’t sense what went on in his cybernetic brain. The problem was that “his own way” tended to be relentlessly logical, frustrating his human teammates even as they admitted that his viewpoint was generally more reasonable than theirs.

Crimson Crag had sat back listening to his colleagues. Now, he finally joined the discussion. “Even if you’re right, I’m not sure we can stop those two from doing what they want to do, or think they want to do, or whatever it is.”

The team leader nodded, “That is a valid point. Vindiatrix and Shield Lass’s history suggests that, in a confrontation, they are likely to prevail even when outnumbered three to two by superpowered opponents.”

“Are you saying there’s nothing we can do about this?” Ethrienne asked.

Shaking his head, the Paladin responded, “I cannot justify the use of force against fellow heroes without evidence. Surely you understand my position.”

Much to her annoyance, she did understand. It would be so much easier if she could dismiss the argument as a glitch in the Palladium Paladin’s artificial intelligence. Unfortunately, she couldn’t. She had to admit that he was making a reasonable argument.

“Suppose I got proof?” Ethrienne paused a moment, thinking about how to best argue her case. “I know it’s stretching the rules a bit, but at least there’s enough suspicion to do a quick mind scan to find out the truth. If I’m wrong, I’ll take full responsibility. They can file a complaint with you; I won’t protest. Hell, they can give me a punch in the nose and I’ll stand there and take it. But I’ve got to find out for sure!”

Palladium Paladin stood stock still as he considered it. “Very well. The situation is unusual enough to bend the usual protocols to that extent. You may proceed, and if you find evidence of mental manipulation we will consider our options from there.”

“I’ll be there to back you up if you need me!” Crimson Crag promised.

“No,” Ethrienne replied. “This has to be strictly my play, my responsibility. I can’t ask you to be involved if I’m wrong.” She held up a hand to cut off his protest. “Besides, this needs to be as low-key as possible. You’d be too conspicuous.”

Reluctantly, Crimson Crag nodded. “Even so, you call me if you get in trouble, and I’ll be there no matter what I have to push out of the way!”

“It’s decided, then,” the team leader said. “Now, there is only the matter of getting close enough to them to perform a mind scan.” He glanced at the television. “In the meantime, we should observe the remainder of the press conference for useful clues.”

The screen unfroze, and even the Paladin’s face showed surprise at what followed.

-----

“You say that society is ‘brainwashed’,” one of the reporters asked. “How do we know that you aren’t brainwashed?”

“Mind control just doesn’t work that way,” Shield Lass answered. “If we were quote ‘brainwashed’ unquote to do something we really didn’t want to do, we’d either snap out of it right away or we’d act like mindless zombies.” She extended her hands stiffly forward and mumbled “Braaaains!” The audience laughed. “Or, if somebody tried to brainwash us into sex-crazed lesbians...” She repeated the pose, this time spreading and flexing her fingers, and mumbled “Booooobs!” That got a louder laugh.

As the last snickers faded, the question was followed up, “So, you’re saying that this rather radical change in your attitudes is purely voluntary?”

Vindiatrix answered that one. “It’s not so much a radical change as a release of feelings that were always under the surface. On some level, we always wanted to discard the inhibitions that were getting in the way of the active healthy sex lives we’re enjoying now.” She reached out to give her partner’s butt a quick squeeze. In response, the younger woman turned and saucily wagged her tongue at her.

The Daily Trumpet’s publisher stood up, the usual bluster back in his posture. “Would you be willing to undergo a psychic scan to verify that?”

Above the sudden uproar of surprised crosstalk, both of the pornstar heroines said “Yes!”

-----

Ethrienne headed for the window. “I’m taking them up on that offer while the reporters are still there!”

“What if it’s a trap?” Crimson Crag objected.

“The Baroness won’t try anything out in the open. I’ll get her to agree to come here to be scanned, with both of you watching.”

“That is a reasonable plan,” the Palladium Paladin said. “Very well; proceed before the opportunity is gone.”

-----

“Any final questions?”

Ethrienne flew in through the skylight. “You said you’d be willing to submit to a psychic scan? I’m here to set up your appointment.”

“All right.” Vindiatrix shrugged offhandedly. “You can do it now, if you like.”

The utter lack of concern in her voice surprised Ethrienne. She paused, staring at the duo on the stage. Neither their expressions nor their surface thoughts indicated any deception.

“Not now,” she finally replied. “If you want me to find out the truth, I’ll need time to do it right. Are you willing to meet me at ParaPatrol headquarters at nine o’clock tonight?”

“We’ll be there.” The statement was as quick and straightforward as if she were agreeing to a dinner date.

“You realize that if I find out that you are being brainwashed, we’ll have to keep you under observation, voluntarily or otherwise, until we figure out how to undo it?”

“Of course.”

“All right, then... nine o’clock!” Ethrienne flew back toward the skylight, feeling a bit weirded out by the heroines’ easy agreement and wondering if she might be mistaken after all.

“We’ll be there!”