The Ladies of Victory #1: The Influence of Social Media
Chapter 2
by TheStork
Chloe's day had started fairly normal, the first of a dozen alarms
blaring her awake even as she instinctively silenced it. The second
alarm broke through the fog of sleep though as she yawned and
stretching, Chloe began to go about getting ready for her day… although,
there was always optimizing Minerva’s learning algorithm to do. Before
she could get that thought started, alarm number 3 blared to life to
remind her that she definitely had class today and to not get
distracted.
She was never a chronic oversleeper, if anything she was fairly
successful at being punctual. The plentiful alarm system she had setup
was to keep her from hyperfocusing on any of the dozen problems she
could be working on and keep her focused on getting to the coffee pot
and getting some caffeine to bring her back to somewhat normal. With
some coffee in her, she’s a bit more ready to concentrate on getting
ready for the day, a daydream of how Dollmaker had modified the
Technovile tech in the shower interrupted by yet more beeping alarms.
Regardless, taking care of future problems was going to have to wait for
her to finish class today before they could be worked on.
After getting dressed in some jeans and a casual T-shirt before
flinging her bag over her shoulder and exiting her apartment, it took
her being halfway to her first class before she began to think something
was up. Rapid Rivers University wasn't too far from the Florida Keys and
was certainly close enough to the beach that on any day, it wasn't too
uncommon to see everyone showing a bit of skin but something was… off.
She couldn't pin down exactly what it was but as she walked to her first
class of the day she couldn't remember the student body being as… chesty
as it was right now, or willing to show it off.
It wasn't just her own confusion that was setting off the beginning
of alarm bells, as most of the male student body (and a non-zero amount
of the girls) were appreciative of the scenery but she wasn't the only
one thinking something was different. No, some of the guys she had
noticed on her normal morning route looked as bewildered as she felt
considering the rather forward and friendly nature of some of the girls
this early.
Feeling one and one click together to make two, Chloe quickly pulls
out her phone to send a quick message and to click onto the PicUp app
and find the profile Minerva had mentioned last night. Letting Jen know
that something was off on campus, she tried to find something more to go
on, but the only real change Chloe could notice was that Kathryn
preferred going by Kitty now.
Considering she was a bimbo to begin with, that wasn't too crazy
right? Chloe didn’t notice that her quick inspection of Kitty's PicUp
account was turning into a deep dive, scrolling and clicking on every
half-naked, exposed and slutty picture, eyes searching for something off
from what was normal. Minerva hadn't had anything new to add this
morning, but Chloe felt there was something she was missing as her
fingers scrolled and clicked over each picture, drinking in every inch
of the horny bimbo's lifestyle.
Her focus on trying to find some sign of Bimbette meant she was
unaware her own changes as her obsession grew, Chloe not noticing her
comfortable jeans and shirt transforming mid-walk, a skin-tight pair of
capris taking shape as her shirt's hem climbed, the comfortable crop top
encasing a modest pair of breasts larger than the ones she had walked
out of her apartment with. If it wasn't for how engaging Kitty's profile
was, Chloe might have noticed her own breath growing a bit ragged as the
constant feed of the bimbo was starting to turn her on, her free hand
starting to inch towards enjoying those feelings before another alarm
blared to life.
Turning it off and cursing at losing track of time, Chloe realized
she was about to be late to her first class, not that she needed the
education but she tried to be punctual and respectful of the teachers
whenever she could. She was about to store her phone back for the run to
class but she found herself drifting towards her own profile… Having
spent the time exploring Kitty's social media she realized how bare her
own was; barely updated since her own high school graduation.
Naturally, her own apathy towards it meant next to no one was
following her outside of a few friends and her own family and that…
didn’t feel good. She didn't normally think that way, but Chloe couldn't
help but be annoyed at it. She knew she was cute… and hell, she knew how
to make an impression when she wanted to.
The #girlsofRRU tag Kitty had been using recently came to her mind
unbidden, and Chloe found herself taking a quick selfie before she had
to scramble to make it to class, a bubbling feeling coming to the
forefront as she posted the cute picture of herself, happy she took the
extra time this morning to make sure her hair and makeup were good
before adding the cute top and fitness leggings she wore to show off her
legs. She was about to take more pictures considering how good she
looked but another alarm rang again and, cursing silently under her
breath, she hurried to her first class, hoping that nothing crazy would
interrupt her day when she was already feeling a bit out of it…
_______________________________________________________________________
Jennifer Powers was enjoying a quiet day off in her downtown
penthouse suite when her phone vibrated. The youngest daughter of the
famous Miracle Man and Miracle Woman, Jen's life of heroism was more the
result of it being the family business than any wants of her own. For
awhile it was enough too, and being a member of the 'Miracle Family'
afforded her luxuries like this penthouse apartment at the top of one of
the most expensive buildings in Rapid Rivers (a luxury she'd probably
have long since discarded if the shower wasn't to die for) and an
allowance that would put her lifestyle on-par with their heiress heroine
teammate Magdalena if she so desired.
She also had her parents to thank for her powers, a set of super
strength, flight, and durability shared among them and her older twin
brother and sister. She could also thank them for the same statuesque
frame, dark brown hair, brilliant blue eyes, high cheekbones, full lips,
and perfectly proportioned figure packed into 6 feet of supermodel
beauty. All of this of course leading to 'Miracle Maiden' being every
bit as popular and famous as the rest of her family… for better or
worse.
There were complications behind the scenes, of course 'America's
Super Family' had to look perfect to their adoring public, and the
cult-like following her parents had encouraged and cultivated meant
keeping anything that could threaten that image buried. It also meant
that every corner of Jen's life, from her costume to what she could say
at events to who her friends were allowed to be, was curated for her to
be America's Sweetheart… right up until the moment she snapped.
Leaving home to go solo was sold to the media as just "teenagers
being teenagers," but her relationship with her parents was nearing a
point where Jen was going to do a lot worse than leaving NYC. Between
having no agency in anything she did, to her parents still having plenty
of that 1930s mentality that they grew up with, flying off to do her own
thing was worth any risk.
She was also a bit shocked that they let her, but her brother Jason
let slip that they fully expected her to fail spectacularly and come
sobbing back home, especially considering she came to Rapid Rivers of
all places… and they were almost right. A few years ago, Rapid Rivers
was victim to one of the worst supervillain attacks that had ever
happened in the US, not because of the damage caused but because of how
close the villain had come to winning.
No one knew much about Technovile, the sinister tech-genius who
brainwashed over half the city and the local American Hero Project (AHP)
chapter, but he left his mark in his first and only big battle. In
addition to running the AHP, Jen's parents belonged to a group of heroes
known as the Gallant Four at the time, the four greatest heroes the
world had ever known. Starting with Miracle Man and Woman, there was
also Nike; a former WW2 archaeologist turned Goddess of Victory known as
much for her heroics and unbreakable will as her genuine and gentle
nature (and also the Ladies of Victory technical founder and namesake),
and Kartikeya; the mysterious and suave British-Indian man who more than
earned the title of as “The Most Powerful Telepath in the World''.
Any threat said world had ever come under since they allied had been
defeated, but Technovile's machines and own mysterious talents took what
should have been a routine supervillain fight into a near-disaster. Her
mother had ended up brainwashed fairly quickly, and was her father's
equal in every way as she began to mercilessly attack him. Kartikeya
couldn't break past whatever shields Technovile had on himself, and he
was spending the majority of his energy keeping the brainwashed
civilians from joining in the fray and attempting to untangle whatever
enslavement Technovile had them under. That left Nike to fight off the
combined forces of the brainwashed superheroes and even some brainwashed
villains in an effort to reach and stop Technovile.
The mad scientist needing all that combined might to stall her was
certainly proof that she was one of the most powerful heroes in the
world, but the near constant battle was wearing even her down. The day
seemed lost until a flash of white light enveloped the city, Technovile
finding his machines dismantling before his eyes as his brainwashed
slaves fell to the ground near-simultaneously; and radiating a brilliant
glow, Athena descended from the heavens. An inhumanly beautiful
sculpture of technology and science, her obviously feminine form defined
by a series of bronze and gold swoops and panels, Athena’s eye-catching
appearance caused as much a stir as her sudden entrance and successful
defeat of a supervillain.
Jen's parents were initially suspicious of the gilded, cybernetic
angel but, with Nike’s enthusiastic support, and considering 'she' had
turned the tide and saved the day in a single swoop? It didn't take much
convincing to turn the Gallant Four into the Gallant Five.
Now little more than an unpowered human, Technovile was imprisoned
in an unknown location, so secretive even she didn’t know where he was,
and the Gallant Five had more important things to do than watch over a
single city, leaving Rapid Rivers with an unfortunate super-powered
void. None of the AHP heroes who protected the city before wanted to
return, whether due to the trauma of being under Technovile's control or
not wanting to be left to clean up the mess, and that void was filled
with crime, both normal and super-powered. A few vigilantes tried,
unsuccessfully, to stem the tide, but because their numbers were few and
unorganized, it led to them either hanging up their tights or falling
victim to the super-criminal and criminal elements of Rapid
Rivers.
If it wasn't for Chloe, Jennifer might have been among their number
when she set out to prove herself by coming down here from New York to
make her own way, her very first super-villain fight not exactly going
to plan. It wasn't the last time Chloe had helped her, and Jen had a few
times to return the favor, so when Chloe and surprisingly Nike asked her
if she wanted to join a superhero team in Rapid Rivers, she was happy to
be a part of it.
Considering Nike had no interest in superhero politics and
grandstanding, Jen never got around to figuring out how Chloe convinced
her to start the Ladies of Victory, or letting Chloe pick the team, or
how the two even knew each other in the first place, but considering the
weight Nike's name carried in the superhero community it wasn't hard to
convince her parents to let her leave the AHP. Their only demands were
that she wouldn't play second fiddle to anyone (and much to her
annoyance Chloe agreed having the famous Miracle Maiden as the face and
leader of the team was perfect) and surprisingly to take on
Slingshot.
Nikki Cole was a powerful super-heroine in her own right: speed,
strength, super-invulnerability, and an attitude that was perfect for
Rapid Rivers underneath her professional reputation so she was more than
a welcome addition. It was probably that attitude along with some
behind-the-scenes drama that Jen wasn’t aware of that made her free of
her parents' yoke, but Jen was happy for a friendly and familiar face.
Chloe somehow also convinced Voodoo Queen to leave New Orleans, and
although Anita Marquis was a bit of an icy and reserved young woman, she
was also one of the most powerful sorceresses this side of the
Atlantic.
Flamera and Ninjette made sense as recruits as well, the two
vigilantes having been active in Rapid Rivers at least as long as Jen
had. Keiko was a transplant from Japan whose father was a local, but
Ember's family had lived in Rapid Rivers for years and she was
well-known and loved in part for helping her community… and because
she’s won Sexiest Superheroine in the World two years in a row.
Considering all NuGen supers end up looking gorgeously attractive that
said a lot about how spectacular she was in particular. Where it got
interesting though was where Chloe had chosen to round out the team… and
while Jen couldn't disagree with her logic, and none of the other girls
seemed to mind too much, it had led to some early hiccups.
Tricksterella (or as much as Beatrice Angel hated to admit it, her
father The Trickster) was well known in the super community, and
although her magic was limited in a fight, her ability to connect any
doorways together to teleport was one of the most powerful tools any
super-team could ask for. Similarly, There was no doubt Cassandra Baker
was a powerful telepath, Kartikeya had mentored her himself after all,
but there was a reason Psychometra found herself unable to stick with a
team. Having your powerful telepathy be entirely at the whim of needing
skin-to-skin contact, and EVERYONE knowing that, meant that you were
less useful when a super-villain just had to wear a full bodysuit just
to counter your powers.
Dr. Demi was a completely different story from those two heroines,
the beautiful young doctor hadn't been one for very long, as apparently
an experiment with a "Mr. Hyde" style formula had gone terribly wrong
for Dr. Demented, a former nemesis of Nike and very much male mad
scientist, turning him into a curvaceous, goody two-shoes, very female
Demi. No one trusted the story… except Chloe and Nike, and both felt bad
enough for her to give her a home in Rapid Rivers. Demi hadn't done
anything since her transformation to deserve the kind of distrust and
suspicion others had for her, and no one could claim that she wasn’t a
capable doctor and biologist so she could at least serve the team well
in that manner.
The same couldn’t be said for Paris de Bretagne, who was a
stereotypical beautiful, blonde billionaire heiress and airhead, from
the top of her perfectly manicured face to the bottom of her designer
heels. Courtesy of an accident during one of Nike's rare open-digs for
students that she bought her way into, Paris had somehow stumbled upon
the hidden tomb of Mary Magdalene and came out with a shard of the Spear
of Destiny lodged in her chest. Becoming host to a bevy of enviable
super-powers, Paris had dreams of super-popularity and fame, giving
herself the moniker of Magdalena, but found out the hard way she
couldn't buy her way into heroism.
She also didn't know it was more of a charity case when Nike had
offered to let her join the Ladies of Victory on a temporary heroine
license… and the bubbly extroverted bimbo wasted no time in trying to
make friends or dragging the unfortunate Keiko out partying. For better
or worse she was mostly harmless, but her foray into early heroism as
they worked to clean up Rapid Rivers after becoming an official team
hadn't gone as easily as she hoped… or dulled her sparkly optimism at
being a heroine.
It wasn't all that dissimilar to most of the girls' introduction to
Rapid Rivers though. The city definitely attracted a sort of type when
it came to villains. Maybe it was the sun or just the attitude of Rapid
Rivers in general but the bevy of wanna-be brainwashers, mind
controllers, and body manipulators had led to some rather embarrassing
photos and videos that not even Chloe's tech wizardry or Jen’s own
parents efforts to preserve her image could quite quash. The Ladies of
Victory were certainly beloved by the city in the short time-frame
they'd been here, but outside of Rapid Rivers they were getting a rather
lascivious reputation not helped by the fact they were an all-heroine
group.
Perhaps Chloe was onto something though, as most of the other girls
didn't seemed to really care (Voodoo Queen and Ninjette were not as easy
going about it in comparison to Slingshot or Magdalena, but they hadn’t
quit yet) and while some certainly had some reservations about
Psychometra or Demi, they were both uniquely suited to fixing problems
caused by the rogues that came and lived in Rapid Rivers. Such as
Bimbette; a magically warped bimbo whose very presence causes others to
undergo the same changes she was cursed into. Although mostly just
annoying, the woman was responsible for endless strings of robberies
when she spies something she wants… and doesn't care who she has to
transform to get it.
While her powers made her difficult to capture, Voodoo Queen was a
strong enough sorceress to combat Bimbette's aura and arrest her when
necessary… which came far too frequently as the villainess found herself
out on the streets of Rapid Rivers no matter where they seemed to put
her away. Which was why Chloe's text wasn't entirely unexpected, Minerva
had released an automated alert this morning on possible Bimbette
movements and the local university was in the zone. Stretching her long
frame, Jen went to her bedroom to disrobe and prep for today's
adventures as Miracle Maiden, a smile tugging at her face despite her
friend being in possible danger and her own lack of immunity towards the
villainess in question.
She definitely didn't mind the city and its evil-doers, as she was as free as she could get from the shackles of the life her parents wanted for her, while simultaneously forcing them to let her "lead" the team because she couldn't be anything less AND leaving them in fits every time a fight turned sordid showed up on the internet. Chuckling to herself, Jen pings her communicator to open up a line with HQ to let everyone know she wasn’t taking the day off while she gets dressed…