Flame

Part 2 of 5

Not for those under 18 (or whatever the legal age for this sort of stuff is in your area). If you’re not that old, Boo! Go away now. If you are offended by graphic descriptions of sexual activities, especially non-consensual ones, then don’t read this.  All characters and situations are fictional.

Copyright 2023 greyscribbler@yahoo.com

Archived on the Read Only Mind web site by permission of the author. This story may be downloaded for personal archiving as long as this notice is retained.

“Did you sleep well?” Anna asked Hailey the next morning.

“Uh, yeah,” the red-haired heroine replied. She did feel refreshed, despite everything that had happened the day before. She’d slept like a log. Even if there was an odd memory of a dream. Noises? Lights? Movement? She couldn’t remember what it had been. It didn’t matter.

After rising from her bed and slipping out of her casual sleepwear, Hailey pulled some fresh underwear from her suitcase.

“Anything you want cleaned you can just leave out,” Anna informed her. “That includes your uniform. You did bring a spare, didn’t you?”

Of course I did.

“Where do I leave my washing?” she asked instead.

“There’s a basket in the bathroom. Just leave anything in there.”

“Right,” Hailey nodded. “Oh, while I think of it, you do have cameras in the room here, don’t you?”

“Yes,” Anna replied. “One near the screen, another across from it. If I need to, I can observe the entire room. That doesn’t bother you, does it Flame?”

Hailey considered the question for a moment. “No,” she almost surprised herself by answering. “No, it doesn’t.” She realised that the AI would have been able to see her as she slept. And as she was now, completely naked. It didn’t matter. It was just a machine.

Dismissing the thought, Hailey readied herself for the day.

“Lots to do today,” Lightning quipped after Hailey instructed Anna to open her door a few minutes later. “After breakfast we can start on the training regime Anna has worked out for you. Try out the exercise machines. And then, after lunch, we have a surprise. Just as well you’re here for a week.”

What? Hailey’s brow creased in confusion. No. I. Wasn’t I here just for one night? Frowning, she looked to where her suitcase lay. The one she took on extended trips. There was an image, just for a moment, of her overnight bag sitting there. But it was her suitcase. She could see the dent in it that some careless baggage handler had left after her holiday to Hawaii. But.

There was something almost like a sound from her earpiece.

Everything was all right. Her overnight bag had never been there. She’d brought her suitcase. She was here for a week.

“Oh yes, a week, that’s right. Although I don’t know if I’ll last if the training is anything like yesterday.” Of course she needed a week. That’s what she’d agreed to. If she was going to understand everything the Combine had to offer her, she needed to take her time.

After breakfast, Hailey started on the training routine that Anna had devised. Not just hand-to-hand, but working on her fine control of her powers.

“Sorry,” Hailey offered after another of her blasts dissipated against the wall. It had completely fried the target drone she was aiming at.

“Hey, you’re getting better,” Lightning smiled, her toe nudging the charred remains. “It’s not just ash this time. Remember what I said, you need to be thinking about where the fire is coming from within you, not just the target you’re aiming at. If you don’t control your draw, you’ll pull too much.”

“Right,” Hailey nodded, readying herself to try again, her lips a thin line.

“It’s fine,” Lightning reassured her. “You’ll get there.” The blue-haired heroine glanced at a readout. “Once we have your fine control sorted I do want to check your upper range. I don’t think you’d be able to take a Dorwinian battlecruiser, but their frigates might be worried.”

“Even if you’re right, I won’t be able to do anything like that if I can’t get up there,” Hailey pointed out. Flying was still just a distant dream.

“One thing at a time,” Lightning chided her. “Flying, for supes like us anyway, is about internal control of your power. So we need to get that right first.”

Half a dozen tests later, Hailey did think that she was making some progress. The last drone was at least still in a recognisable shape.

“Hand-to-hand next,” Lightning informed her. “Then we’ll try the exercise machines.”

The hand-to-hand training was just as tortuous as the day before, Anna taking the lead this time.

“Your basic training is sound,” the AI declared. “But it was designed for a normal human. You’re not. You need to stop thinking like one.”

“I am still human!” Hailey protested. From where she sat on the ground, the training droid having landed her there again, she certainly felt all too human.

Anna paused for a moment, cocking her head to one side. Hailey wondered whether the computations behind the holographic image were really taking that long or whether it was just for effect.

“I’m sorry,” the AI apologised. “I think I misspoke. You are human. I am aware of those extreme movements that try to label superheroes as something else. But physically you are capable of superhuman feats.”

“I don’t have superhuman reflexes or anything like that,” Hailey protested.

“Agreed,” Anna acknowledged. “But like almost all superheroes you have vastly superior recovery and healing. That is useful in more situations than recuperation after combat. You can use them during combat, both in taking what is thrown at you and in demanding more from your body than a normal human could give. Longer, more intense combos, for example. Blocking manoeuvres that a normal human couldn’t risk, but you can, given your high level of damage resistance. We’ll work on all that. And other things.”

Hailey didn’t get a chance to wonder what the AI meant by the last comment as the droid came at her again.

“I’m beat,” Hailey sighed as Lightning led her through more of the white corridors towards the exercise room.

“You can’t expect to see improvement after just one session,” the blue-haired heroine chided her. “These things take time. But I think in even one week you’ll see something. So, what do you think?”

Hailey pulled up short, barely registering Lightning’s wave of an arm as she took in the room. A vast field of exercise machines lay before her. And not just typical machines. Each of them had a bank of controls and monitors, the whole place looking like a high-tech research room.

“Given the range of our powers and capabilities,” Lightning informed her, moving from machine to machine and adjusting a few settings, “we need to be able to calibrate our workouts. And the machines need to be able to stand up to it. You should see Bluestreak on the treadmill.” The blue-haired hero indicated a bulky machine that looked to be more designed for a car than a person.

Hailey could only imagine how fast the machine would have to go to keep up with the speedster.

“Anna has suggested that you start on the exercise bike,” Lightning announced, indicating a machine that might have had a bicycle at its core. “Stamina work and it will let us get a baseline on you.”

“Okay,” Hailey responded, hauling herself up into the seat and settling her feet in the pedals. The seat seemed a little larger than a normal bike’s seat but she was sure there was a reason for that.

She forgot her worries as she picked up speed. It felt good. Just sitting there. Pedalling. Not worrying about anything. Not thinking. Just enjoying the exercise. Was there music playing in the room? Or was it some sound from her comms piece? It didn’t matter. And the…

A moan escaped Hailey’s lips.

A pleasant warmth was seeping out from her centre. More than that, the warmth turning into hot, needy, desire. A sensation playing at her crotch. The seat couldn’t be vibrating. That was impossible. There wouldn’t be any point to that. But there it was. A definite buzzing. Against her pussy. That wasn’t right. However good it felt.

Hailey frowned, slowing her pedalling.

“Is everything all right?” Lightning called.

No Hailey thought. No, everything wasn’t all right. There was something wrong with machine.

Lightning was saying something else. But Hailey couldn’t make out what it was. Was there something coming from the comms piece? A sound?

Something was definitely wrong. She wasn’t feeling that delicious vibration any more. She wanted to feel it. Needed it.

Her feet started circling again, round and round, picking up the pace. And as she did, the vibration returned. Hailey didn’t worry if it was wrong, some sound telling her she shouldn’t care. Just enjoy it. She pedalled harder and harder, her reward an ever increasing vibration, pleasure flooding her. She could have risen from the seat, used that to go faster. But then she would have lost that contact, that wonderful, wonderful vibration, that was pushing her closer and closer. Her nipples were so hard now. She just had to go a little bit faster. Just a little more.

Hailey moaned again, shaking, as her orgasm swept over her. But it wasn’t enough. Something told her that it wasn’t enough. She needed more. She didn’t stop until after a second and a third orgasm.

“That’s great,” Lightning exclaimed as Hailey dismounted unsteadily, the blue- haired heroine peering at the readouts. “Anna will definitely be able to work with that. Now let’s try another.”

“Oh,” Hailey gasped. “Ah, right.”

Something was wrong. The machine… The machine had. She had. It shouldn’t have done that. She shouldn’t have just let herself get lost in a sexual haze.

Hailey stood there, swaying gently. There might have been sounds coming from her comms. Pouring into her ear. She wasn’t sure. It was so nice just to stand there, basking in the afterglow.

There was nothing wrong. She looked forward to using the machine again.

The exercise bike wasn’t the only machine that gave her a delicious buzz.

And a few orgasms.

After lunch, Lightning took her to a different part of the base “More training later,” the other heroine told her. “But Anna needs some time to process your results from the morning. So it’s time for your surprise.”

Hailey’s head was fogged. A delicious, soft, sexy fog. She barely remembered lunch. Maybe that was because of all the energy she’d expended. Or maybe it was because all the times she’d cum in the exercise room. That couldn’t be right, could it? Something about cumming and cumming on the exercise machines bothered her, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on it.

There was a faint whisper from her comms piece.

Whatever it was, she wasn’t going to worry about it. So she’d orgasmed a few times. Orgasms were fun. She liked orgasms. It was just an extra reward for her efforts.

“What do you think?” Lightning asked, indicating a featureless mannequin that stood in the middle of the room. The mannequin was dressed, if you could call it that, in a sleeveless red outfit. It was more revealing than some one-piece bathing suits Hailey owned. Far more revealing, the crotch line cut high and a daring V plummeting past where the wearer’s navel would be. Hailey wasn’t sure how much breast it would reveal. But it was a lot. The only things that set it apart from a swimsuit were the domino mask and the thigh high boots the mannequin wore.

“Er,” Hailey managed. “It’s a bit…”

“I know it’s a change from your current uniform but Anna thinks you’ll feel more comfortable in it.”

Comfortable? The only place Hailey could imagine feeling comfortable in something like the outfit was the beach. And she wasn’t even sure about that. She couldn’t remember ever showing that much skin since she’d last worn a bikini. Even her bikinis covered more of her breasts than this. She was certain she’d fall out.

“I couldn’t,” she protested.

“How do you know until you try?” Lightning pointed out.

Somehow, despite Hailey’s misgivings, that made sense. “I suppose. I could try it later. In my room?”

“Why wait?” the other heroine smiled persuasively. “If you try it on now, it will be easier. Anna can make any adjustments before it’s delivered.”

“I don’t make mistakes,” the AI chimed in huffily. “Have I ever made a mistake with your uniform?”

“Just saying,” the blue-haired heroine shrugged innocently.

“She makes your uniform?” Hailey asked, glancing at Lightning’s revealing outfit.

“She does. Tailored to each of us. Appropriate materials, individual designs.”

The designs weren’t that individual. She hadn’t thought about it, but when she’d seen all the heroines gathered for meals it was obvious how revealing their uniforms were. Except for Martial, the steely heroine’s uniform similar to Hailey’s head-to-toe covering. She wasn’t even sure what colour Martial’s hair was. Apparently there were whole internet communities devoted to that question.

Hailey knew she was avoiding the problem. Which was what to do with the uniform she’d been presented with. It was almost ridiculously revealing. Scandalously so. Although not much more, if at all, than Lightning’s, apart from the blue-haired heroine’s long sleeves. So maybe she could try the new uniform on. But here? Now? That didn’t…

There was a sound in her ears.

“I’ll turn my back,” Lightning smiled. Lightning had been smiling a lot. It was a friendly smile. Hailey didn’t want to disappoint her.

After Lightning turned around, Hailey stripped out of her uniform. She knew that Anna would be able to see her. There had to be cameras in here, as elsewhere in the base. But Anna had already seen her naked. So that didn’t matter. It didn’t matter that she had to take her bra off, the plunging neckline of the new uniform making the undergarment impractical.

“There’s a new pair of panties with it as well,” Anna informed her as Hailey reached for the new outfit.

That made sense. The pair she was wearing would have stuck out with the high cut on the red outfit. She’d need a thong if she was going to wear anything under it. Was that what Anna had meant? It probably was.

Confirmation came as Hailey found a thong adorning the mannequin after she removed the uniform from its display.

Just as well I shaved this morning. Hailey mused as she slipped the thong on. Er. She hadn’t remembered doing that until just now. But how she could have forgotten it? And why had she done it? She could remember so clearly now. Sitting on the edge of that enormous bath. Lathering her pussy hair. And then shaving it all off. Stroke after stroke until her crotch was as bare and smooth as a babe’s. Hailey frowned, the expression flickering across her features. She’d never done that before. Never wanted to. But she’d done it that morning.

A sound slithered from her comms piece.

And just as well she had. It was so much better that way. It made her feel so good. So sexy. That it meant she could wear the thong and her new uniform was just a bonus.

Her new uniform.

Hailey paused, eyes fixed on the material in her hands. There was so little of it. Could she? Would she? Doubt plagued her. Why did she need a new uniform? This wasn’t her. She didn’t need something like this.

“I don’t know,” she muttered. She glanced up at Lightning, but the blue-haired heroine had her back to her, wasn’t saying anything. Perhaps she hadn’t heard Hailey’s words. Hailey went to repeat what she’d said, louder. But something stopped her. Was it a sound in her ears? It didn’t matter. Her eyes were now fixed on the figure in front of her. Lightning’s uniform clung to the blue-haired heroine’s body like a second skin, every curve revealed. The lines of it shot diagonally across Lightning’s rear, so much of her butt cheeks revealed.

Just like Hailey’s would be if she put the new uniform on.

Lightning did it. Lightning was so famous.

Surely if she did it, Hailey could do it too? Hailey could see the sense in that. Although whether it was a thought she had or a sound she heard, she wasn’t sure.

It didn’t matter.

What would it hurt to try it on?

Almost without thinking, Hailey found herself slipping into the new uniform.

“Want to see what it looks like?” Anna asked.

“Um, sure?” Hailey replied. Might as well see how bad it is.

One of the panels of the wall morphed into a mirror, her image reflected there. Hailey simply stared at the mirror. It looked so different. So strange. So much of her skin revealed. It was cut so high. So much of her breasts revealed. She couldn’t wear this. She wouldn’t.

Something whispered from her comms piece.

It was different, sure. But maybe change was good. And it was no worse than what most other heroines wore. And it did feel good, the way the outfit clung to her like a second skin. Almost like it was sticking to her. There was no chance of her falling out, not with the way the material was plastered to her skin. So what if it looked a little sexy? She was powerful. Why not flaunt it just a little? She twisted left and right. She felt free, in a way she never had in her old uniform. The boots had a bit of a heel, but nothing too high, Just enough. The mask would still protect her identity. She almost laughed at how she’d worried about having a hood that covered most of her head. A mask was enough. Experts spent hours arguing over how heroines still couldn’t be identified even when they just wore a simple mask. Maybe it was some strange power they all shared? Whatever, it would be enough. And this way it let her long red hair fall free.

She turned her back to the mirror, glancing over her shoulder to admire her arse.

It looked just Lightning’s. At least, allowing for the different colour of their uniforms.

“Like it?” the other heroine asked.

“I, I do. I love it,” Hailey replied giddily, surprising herself. But it was true. She did love the outfit. She knew it was true. Something told her it was.

“Those boots are for out in the field,” Lightning commented. “But there’s another pair for social occasions.”

“Huh?” Hailey frowned.

“There.” Lightning was indicating a display screen in the room. It showed an image of Hailey in her new outfit. Except in the image the thigh-high boots had stiletto heels, the red-haired heroine guessing they were at least four inches high.

“What?” she exclaimed. “I couldn’t. They’d be.”

“Useless?” Lightning grinned. “In practice, maybe. Well, at least until you can fly,” she added, indicating her own heels. Which matched those in the image. “But as your profile rises, so do your obligations. We have to spend some time doing PR. And believe me, those few extra inches can help when a billionaire or politician tries it on. Easier to look them in the eye than to look up.”

Hailey wasn’t sure it made sense but maybe Lightning had a point. She did have to admit that she saw members of the Combine with the high and mighty of society far more than she encountered them herself.

Hailey promised herself that she would only wear the stilettos when she had to. And never in the field.

Even if a few extra inches could help her overawe criminals as well.

That night, after another round of training against the androids, Hailey readied herself for bed. Her body ached. It didn’t worry her. She was already seeing improvement under Anna’s direction. She wasn’t always ending up on the floor any more.

“You’ll be ready for some matches with other members of the Combine soon,” the AI told her. Unusually for when she was alone, Anna’s holographic image was visible.

“You’ll have to tell them to go easy on me,” Hailey laughed as she peeled off her new uniform. She hadn’t bothered putting her old one back on. She doubted that she ever would. She also didn’t care that she was standing naked expect for her thong in front of the AI. It was just a machine, after all.

It didn’t even bother her how much her nipples peaked.

“At first,” Anna smiled. “But if you do decide to join us, it won’t be long before you’re matching them.

Join us. Hailey frowned. Anna’s comment had just offered a possibility. The Combine weren’t pressuring her. Even at dinner, when a couple of the other heroines had joined her and Lightning, none of them had pushed the issue. And she could see the benefits. Training. Resources. Even a new uniform. I love my new uniform. I want to wear my new uniform. But joining the Combine would be a commitment. She’d have larger responsibilities. She wouldn’t be able to give all her time to her home town. She wasn’t sure she was ready for that.

At least she had a few days before she even had to think about making a decision. Just as well she’d agreed to come here for a week. A few nights to sleep on it.

Hailey pulled her sleepwear from her suitcase. A delicate, frilly, babydoll negligee.

What? Something made her pause, the flimsy lingerie draped over her hands. Where had it come from? For a moment she didn’t recognise it. Had she packed it? Was it what she wore at night? She had an image of something else, comfortable t-shirt and shorts. Wasn’t that what she…?

The thought was blanketed by something that might have been a soft noise in her ear.

Of course she wore lingerie to bed. That’s what she always wore. Sexy, daring, lingerie. Sheer and almost see-through. It was her little reward to herself, for all her hard work as a hero. Something to make her feel good about herself. After putting the garment on, her panties and nipples visible through the flimsy material, Hailey reached for her Domino mask but then drew her hand away, leaving it in place. She preened in front of the mirror, cocking her hips, arching her back, blowing a kiss at her image. It felt good. It felt natural, cupping her breasts, trailing her fingers up her thigh. Like something she often did. The lingerie was delicate, pale red. Not quite the shade of her uniform, but close enough. She was sure, somewhere, there were people who would die to see her as she was now.

Never going to happen, Hailey told herself. Even if the idea was just a little arousing, her nipples tightening further and her pussy moistening. Hands behind her neck, Hailey arched her back again, her taut nubs pushing against the flimsy material, so obvious. After a few more minutes spent posing Hailey smiled and slipped into bed, her mask still on, forgotten.

Sleep didn’t come though. She was still so turned on. She hadn’t realised how much her little performance in front of the mirror had got her motor running.

One hand drifted to a breast, caressing it through the thin, gauzy material of her nightwear.

A moan escaped her lips.

Hailey’s other hand snaked down to her centre, playing across her panties, teasing herself. Her hand grasped her breast, hard. She was wanton, needy. Her centre cried out, hot, pulsing. Eagerly, she pushed her panties aside, her fingers playing across her bare slit. For a moment she imagined what she must look like, what someone would see if they were watching. Not a heroine, but a hot, needy slut, just the mask giving a hint of who she was. A finger slipped inside. She wasn’t just playing with herself. She was displaying herself, her legs spread for that imaginary audience, the idea that someone might be watching her so hot, so arousing.

Something told her that it was, crushing any other thought before it could form.

It felt so good, so naughty, writhing on her bed, open, displayed. Before that imaginary audience, her back arched, her body offered up. Hailey moaned again, one breast slipping free, exposed, her fingers tweaking the nipple, pulling at it, hard, two fingers of the other hand inside her now. Thrusting in and out, so fast. She cried out as she came, back arching so hard, her hairless centre thrust up and out, so wet, offered up, those imaginary eyes fixed on it.

Hailey collapsed back on the bed, need satiated for the moment. She didn’t worry about what she’d just done. Something told her that she shouldn’t. It wasn’t like it was anything unusual She was a powerful, sexy heroine. Getting herself off most nights was just what she did. Why shouldn’t she enjoy herself? Maybe the image of someone watching her, of her on display, was new, but so what? It had been hot. Really, really hot.

And if Anna could see her through her cameras, mask on, lingerie-clad, pleasuring herself, Hailey didn’t care at all.

She also didn’t care about the fragments of a dream, same as the night before, sound and light and a sense of being moved. And, strangely, of being tied down. How could she be moving if she was tied down?

It didn’t matter, she’d slept soundly.

Apart from all the times she’d cum.

(To be continued)