February 7th, 2:12 PM
Journey Shopping Center, Poseidonis
”...I honestly haven’t really gone shopping like this before,” Karen muttered, rubbing her arm in apprehension.
”I grew up around Mal, who isn’t exactly the biggest fashionista, and before that I couldn’t really afford to shop in a place like this.”Ophelia ran her hands over the racks of dresses, sliding through them with a surprising speed, dismissing each one almost instantly. Occasionally the cut or fabric of one would catch her eye and she would hold it up to Karen's body, seeming to consider it for a moment, before throwing back on the rack.
”I know what you mean…” she said absentmindedly, holding a dress against Karen's shoulders.
” I mean, I can assume, of course.” she corrected herself as she put the dress back on the rack.
”Consider me your guide through the tumultuous yet wonderful world of fashion and department stores.” Ophelia had spent her recent years trying to erase any trace of her old self. Most days she rarely gave her past a thought. She’d become adept at changing the subject and changing her clothes alike. There were moments though, when she let her guard down, that slivers of the past would slip through the cracks, and her smile might falter for a moment. But those were only moments, and she’d been rather successful, so far, at keeping questions both from within and without, at bay.
”Thanks, I appreciate it,” said Karen, smiling. She was glad that at least one of her roommates had taken a liking to her—Hannah seemed to be rather skittish and out of place here, and while she wanted to reach out to her, it didn’t seem easy for the timid girl to make friends.
Honestly, though, who was she to talk? Right now her cheeks were positively glowing red as Ophelia continuously presented her with ever more racy outfits. She had never been one to push the whole “sex appeal” angle—though that hadn’t slowed Lady Arcana’s fanbase down
at all. Or Clare, but
nothing slowed her down.
Ophelia held up a black minidress with long sleeves and a flared skirt.
”So you and Malcolm kinda grew up together?” she asked, stopping to consider this dress longer than the others.
”Yeah, pretty much,” said Karen, eying the dress with an apprehensive smile.
”I mean, we had a lot in common, having grown up in the streets.”Karen never really minded discussing her past, with one key exception, of course. She wasn’t ashamed of where she’d come from. There was nothing to be ashamed of—while
The Wedge had its bad reputation, it was full of hard working people who all dreamed of a better life, somewhere deep down.
Ophelia paused for a moment.
”I didn't know that. Both of you? I can imagine how close you two might be.” she said.
Karen nodded.
”Yeah, though Mal honestly had it worse than I did.””Well…” she said slowly,
“you're both wonderful from what I’ve seen, so I'm glad you are the people you are, however you came to be.”She thrust the dress she’d been holding into Karen's hands.
”You have to try this one on. I bet your body will work wonders for it!” Karen glanced down at the dress that had been forcibly shoved into her hands. A chill ran up her spine at the length—or lack thereof—of the dress. What would her mother have thought if she saw her wearing this now? What would Zoey think? ...Well, she already knew the answer to that one..
Swallowing the lump in her throat, Karen turned to disappear in the nearby dressing room. This department store was probably the place that most resembled the surface, even more so than their dorm rooms. There were plenty of non-Atlanteans here, and so she didn’t feel quite so out of place.
Still, the fact that she was about to step out wearing
this left her struggling not to break out in a cold sweat. The fact that this was merely a prelude to wearing it at a party of all things was a thought she was still desperately trying to shove to the back of her mind.
Taking a deep breath, Karen pushed opened the door and stepped forward to be judged by Ophelia.
”So, um...how do I look?”Ophelia looked up from her cellphone and raised an eyebrow, visibly impressed.
”Um. Fucking amazing? God, Karen, you’re giving me a new understanding of the term ‘lady wood’. It’s perfect.” Karen scratched her cheek in embarrassment, staring off into the distance in the likely-futile hope that she wouldn’t look quite so flustered. She could feel the air against her exposed legs in a way that had never really been an issue as Lady Arcana.
”Um...thanks. I, uh...wonder how much it costs?”Between everything that had happened with Mal earlier, and her own apprehensiveness at trying on such revealing outfits, she had completely forgotten to consider if she even had enough money on her to buy something like this.
Ophelia almost laughed, she’d forgotten that some people actually paid for things. It should be easy enough to steal without Karen or the store noticing. Not that she didn’t have enough money to pay for it if she wanted to, which might have been more simple, but where was the fun in that?
She smiled at Karen.
”Don’t worry your pretty little head over it, sweetie. Just go change back. I’ll take care of it for you, then we should grab a bite to eat after! My treat.” ”Right, okay,” said Karen, returning to the dressing room. Apparently, Ophelia had planned on paying for it the entire time. That was quite nice of her, though she always felt guilty when others bought things for her. Zoey had been the exception, mostly, since she was one of the wealthiest Billionaires on Earth.
”Hand me the dress over the door once you get out of it and I’ll go pay for it! I’m starving!” Ophelia said, walking over to lean against the dressing room door.
Neatly folding the dress after removing it, Karen handed it over to Ophelia as requested. Now once more wearing her old clothes, she immediately felt more secure stepping out of the dressing room. Ophelia was now over by the counter, apparently having already paid for the dress—she had just received a bag from the lady at the register.
As soon as Ophelia had touched the dress it was gone, vanished into her ‘Closet’. Walking over to the register and asking for a bag was only a courtesy, for sweet, innocent Karen’s sake. She turned around to see Karen walking out towards her, smiling, she closed the distance between them.
”What are you in the mood for? I wonder if we can get italian down here. I bet the shrimp fettuccine would be amazing.” She said, hooking her arm around Karen’s elbow as the headed out the door.
Karen blinked, glancing down at the arm that was now entwined with her own. Something was going on here—weren’t they going to that party? To investigate the drugs those guys were handing out? Then again, the party wasn’t till ten that night. She supposed they had to do
something to pass the time until then.
Besides, ever since Mal had taken her out for Atlantean cuisine, she had become rather addicted to it. Although she felt a little strange with this deviation in their plans, there was just no way she could pass up an opportunity to stuff her face with some of Poseidonis’ finest delicacies. Did that make her a glutton, she wondered?
”They do something amazing to the lobster down here, I can’t even describe it!” said Karen, remembering the seafood (by the far the most common type of restaurant here) she and Mal had tried.
Ophelia hadn’t taken Karen out with the intention of making it a date, at least not consciously, but she couldn’t deny that their time together lent itself very easily to a date-like structure. Of course, Karen was a smokeshow, so it was easy enough to feel attracted to her, but she could also sense that the other girl seemed rather inexperienced and a little awkward when confronted with even hints of anything romantic or sexual. This was something Ophelia found adorable, but she didn’t want to make her feel uncomfortable, so she decided to keep her advances on the safe side.
Then again, Ophelia’s ‘safe’ could mean something very different to most other people.
”Name the place and we’re there, darling,” she said, giving Karen her most charming smile.
3:02 PM
Flipper Grill, Poseidonis”You should definitely try the Snow Crab,” said Karen, having already set her menu on the table. She herself would be getting the cape lobster, her favorite so far.
”You’ve been down here for a couple of weeks—haven’t you tried any seafood yet?”The booths at the restaurant were quite comfortable and plush, and the aroma of grilled shrimp, lobster, and crab permeated the air. It was guaranteed to wet your appetite even if you weren’t particularly hungry before.
Ophelia had barely opened her menu before Karen made her suggestion, and at that, promptly shut it.
”Snow crab it is then!” She set her menu down on the table then leaned her chin on the back of her hand, elbow on the menu.
”I’ve been out a few times, but I’ve never been to Atlantis before, so I haven’t been to a place like this before. You’ve been to the city before, right?” Karen resisted the urge to correct her—the city was called
Poseidonis, it was the civilization that was called Atlantis.
”Several times with Mal, yes. He took me around to all the best restaurants while I was getting used to being—”Karen paused. She’d almost said a little too much, again. That was getting embarrassing.
”...Used to being so far underwater. It was really hard on me at first,” said Karen, smiling awkwardly.
Ophelia caught the pause, noticing Karen’s hesitation but not giving it too much thought. She took a sip of her water from the straw, leaving behind a red lipstick stain on the clear plastic.
”Then you’ll have to be my guide,” she said, winking.
”We’ll take turns taking each other out on the town and wining and dining.” Karen chewed on the side of her lip for a moment, now feeling quite certain that Ophelia considered them to be on a date. Now that she thought about it, it kind of made sense—back at their dorm, she’d mentioned “owing her a dance”. It made Karen feel just a little guilty, as she had mainly agreed to accompany her in order to get to the bottom of this weird college drug ring that was apparently going on.
”Sure, just remember: I don’t drink!” Karen reminded her. That was probably weird for a college kid, but she had her reasons.
Ophelia’s jaw dropped.
“You don’t drink? Why not? What do you even do for fun?”Ophelia realized, when she took the time to, that she might have the beginnings of a mild alcohol problem herself. But it wasn’t a real issue, at least, no one would think it was because she was young and pretty and charismatic, and not old and decrepit and nasty. She was never told she should slow down, or take a break, she was handed another drink instead. There was a part of her that almost felt sad, but that was only a part, and it was only almost.
”Oh, you know...eating good food. Sparring with Mal. Just...seeing the sights? Lots of things, I guess,” said Karen, shrugging. She had always managed to find ways of amusing herself, perhaps because her free time could often be sparse. When you were a superhero, you didn’t tend to waste time stressing over what you
couldn’t do.
Besides, nobody wanted to see what a drunk Lady Arcana looked like, right? The very idea of the property damage that would result from
that was enough to chill her blood.
Ophelia shrugged.
”You’ll have at least one drink with me though? Even just a glass of wine?”Karen quirked her brow at the other girl, but offered her a sympathetic smile.
”I guess one drink wouldn’t hurt—but that’s it, alright?”
10:33 PM
Club BluIt was loud.
Louder than almost any other place Karen had ever been before—and she’d fought her way through alien battlefields. The flashing lights were honestly making her a little nauseous. It made her wonder how Ophelia found this fun.
She was wearing her new dress, and so was feeling quite awkward. Whether or not anyone was staring at her, however, was a bit of a mystery because of the disorienting environment she now found herself in. She could already see some very suspicious clouds of smoke drifting overhead, which certainly added to the unique
atmosphere of the place.
Karen had also remembered that she didn’t really know how to dance, either. Not club-style, at least. As of now she was basically just doing “The Sheperd”, for a lack of any better dance moves.
Ophelia looked like she couldn’t be more in her element. After an hour or so spent getting ready, she’d finally decided on a Saint Laurent black
minidress with one huge ruffled sleeve. The shoes on her feet, her earrings, and necklace were all gold with pearl detailing, and somehow, despite the extravagance of her outfit, she couldn’t have seemed more comfortable. Around her flocked other club-goers, who all seemed to know her, or at least want to.
Ophelia pulled Karen to her side, introducing her to the people around her without using any of their names. This was probably because she didn’t actually know any of them. Also probably because the music was so loud even if she had known them Karen probably wouldn’t have heard them.
“The gentlemen in the suit, the Dior suit, not the Dolce and Gabbana, invited us up to his VIP booth,” she shouted over the music.
One of the people around the girls handed Ophelia two glasses of something pink, and presumably alcoholic. Ophelia handed one glass to Karen, and held the other up for a toast before bringing it to her lips.
“Let’s go!” she said, pulling Karen away from the crowd and towards a glass spiral staircase in pursuit of the man.
While Karen toasted Ophelia, she wasn’t about to take a drink of that janky-looking pepto bismol. She didn’t see it being poured, and so there was no telling what they might’ve slipped into it. Still, she didn’t want to be rude by pouring it out—she might be able to test a sample of it in a bit.
”Some kinda grain alcohol mixed with milk. Not from a cow, either.” A familiar voice helpfully whispered into Karen’s ear
”Probably not what we’re after.””I’ll warn you, I only know how to do dorky K-Pop dancing,” said Karen, glancing around at the other clubbers.
Ophelia laughed as they climbed the stairs.
”Oh, we aren’t dancing, the VIP area is mainly for bottle service and whatnot.”The VIP area was only a little quieter than the main floor, and played music a bit more tame. There was a separate bar area, and many different seating areas with plush couches and low tables. On one side there was a glass wall that overlooked the lower level’s dance floor.
They walked over to one of the seating areas closer to the glass wall. Ophelia sat them down in the center of the couch. Three other men took up the other chairs, two on the opposite couch and one on the chair. One of the men on the couch began pouring drinks for the group from a bottle out of the bucket of ice at the center of the table. The man on the chair lit a cigarette for himself, but handed it to Ophelia as she held out her hand for it.
”What did you say your names were again?” Ophelia asked.
“Hernando, Alejandro, and Alfonso,” the man said, lighting another cigarette, pointing to each of the men as he introduced them.
The second man, Alejandro handed everyone their drinks.
”Oh, thank god, this pink thing I was handed is honestly horrendous,” she said, grabbing the new drink and setting the old one on the glass tabletop.
”I might has well been drinking nail polish remover and perfume. It’s wonderful to meet you all, by the way. Forgive me if we’ve met before, I’m terrible with names! This is my darling… friend, Karen.” Karen glanced around at the three men, doing her best not to crinkle her nose. They were Spaniards, that much was obvious. Perhaps it was partially due to having been raised by a Mexican-American father who
loathed the Spanish, but something about these guys seemed off. She knew that way of thinking wasn’t right, though. Besides, it was probably just their overzealous amount of cologne.
Still, despite her apprehension, she accepted the offer glass—though she still didn’t have any intention of drinking anything they gave her. She was just collecting samples. Leaning in to whisper to Ophelia, she waited until the men were distracted.
”Ophelia, don’t drink any of it, alright?”Ophelia had just taken a rather substantial swig of her drink as Karen whispered this to her.
”Oh, fer…” Came that familiar voice in Karen’s ear once more… followed by a distinctive ‘Whap!’ that could only be generated by some
particularly aggrivated facepalming.
”Well, now it’s too late, and I might as well just finish the drink.” She took another couple swigs and set the glass down all with surprising grace. Ophelia had never been one for caution, she liked the saying ‘fortune favors the brave’. Not because she necessarily believed it, more because it let her act recklessly without feeling like she was being outright reckless. She at least liked to think that if nothing else, it was endearing. One could be as crazy or nonsensical as they liked as long as they were pretty and rich enough. Ophelia was.
Her glass was refilled almost as quickly as she had set it down, and placed back into her hands.
”I’ve already had one, she said with a cute shrug,
”One more couldn’t do much more damage, could it?”Karen’s jaw dropped.
”Yes! Yes it could!” she hissed, her eyes darting over to the guys. They hadn’t glanced back over towards them just yet.
”If sketchiness had a smell, it’d be named Alejandro!”Ophelia didn’t seem to be taking this threat seriously at all. Had she ever? Now that she thought back to their discussion at the dorm, her roomie had never really seemed particularly distressed about the possibility of having been drugged. That was a very strange way for a young girl alone in a strange place to act.
Where did all this carefree confidence come from?
”Karen, sweetie, live a little.”Ophelia took a drink from her new cup, then took a drag off her cigarette.
”Anyway, I’m bored of this place. Let’s see if there’s somewhere that’s a little more fun.” She turned to the men, who were talking amongst themselves.
“Excuse me, gentlemen, this venue really isn’t my cup of tea. Is there anywhere a little more exclusive we could go?” Hernando smiled. “Of course, we were just talking about that. Alejandro here has a friend with a penthouse who’s throwing a party there. We were planning on heading there a little later but we could go now if you’d like.”
”I’m sure we’d love that. Just let me finish my drink.” She said with a smile, raising her glass to him, then to her lips again.
Karen narrowed her eyes at the lot of them for a brief moment, before easing back in her seat and away from Ophelia. Raising a hand to seemingly brush her ear, she whispered,
”They’re about to take us to some sort of penthouse.”
11:17 PM
Rooftop, Across the Street from Club Blu
With a slight grunt, Mal rose from his perch on the far-side of the roof, carefully tip-toeing around the small pile of soda cans and gyro wrappings that had accumulated at his feet in the two hours or so he’d been there before Karen and Ophelia had even arrived as he shook some of the pins and needles from his legs.
He’d never say it out loud, but these long stakeouts weren’t exactly the light of his crime-fighting career.
The fact that he hadn’t worn
this particular get-up in nearly a year and it was riding just a little
uncomfortably in
equally uncomfortable parts of his anatomy wasn’t exactly helping matters either.
All things considered, par for the course for today.
A low growl rattled in his throat as he snapped down his visor. He’d have to fix that tomorrow.
...As well as many…
other things in his life, if today had proved anything.
”Right behind you.”
