Chapter 18
"Some party," Flash grumbled as he emptied a half-empty bowl of chips back into the bag.
"Hey, don't be hard on yourself, it wasn't your fault," John assured him. It was clean-up time, and for some reason that task had dragged in himself and Shayera. Not that he minded - in fact, the pair often seemed to find themselves with Flash at the end of the day. It was just that a tuxedo wasn't exactly the proper gear for this sort of thing. "Nobody could have known who'd show up."
"I was thinking more of the wrathful looks I got from Batman," Flash said, shuddering.
"What was that all about, anyway?"
"Trust me, you don't want to know."
"Trust you? Maybe just this once," GL said, grinning.
"Hey, harsh, GL." Flash glanced at him. "You do realize that if you get the last of the salsa on that, you're going to lose the deposit?"
John lifted one hand. His ring flashed, and he was surrounded by a green light.
"That'll work," Flash said.
"So what's the deal with you and Raven?" John asked. He looked over his shoulder. Shayera and Raven were talking in another part of the room. "I realize you were going to bring that Starfire woman, but does this mean you've moved on?"
Flash paused. "That's not an easy question, actually."
"Why not?"
"I had a nice time with her tonight."
"And?"
Flash sighed. "And she's afraid of strong emotions. She's been raised to believe that if she becomes too emotional about something, she'll be vulnerable to an attack by her demon father."
Green Lantern nodded. "That would explain why she's always so subdued."
"Yeah, although I think it's in her personality to be quiet anyway," Flash suggested. "Anyway, I like Raven a lot. But I've only just started thinking of her as a romantic interest. Before we were just friends. And I haven't had the opportunity to explore anything with Koriand'r. Add to all that the possibility that Raven will never open her heart to anyone, AND the fact that they're best friends . . ."
"Point taken," GL said quietly. He noticed that Flash hadn't made any sort of comparison between the tall, well-endowed Starfire and the more petite Raven. Maybe the speedster was maturing.
"Plus, you know, Koriand'r does have that killer bod," Flash added.
John sighed. "So you're not sure which to pursue?"
Flash rubbed the back of his neck. "I guess not."
"Well, considering all the angst Shayera and I went through figuring out our feelings for each other, I feel for you," John said. "You might want to start by finding out what the ladies think of you, though. Don't go setting your cap for a girl who's not interested."
"I'm not even sure if Raven would admit to any feelings," Flash said. "She's honest about a lot of things, but not always when it comes to her emotions."
"Kind of makes you wonder what our dates are talking about now, huh?"
"I set the security cameras to record their conversation," Flash replied calmly. "I'm going to listen later."
John's eyes popped. "You're invading MY girlfriend's privacy?!"
Flash broke out a grin. "Relax, John, I'm kidding."
"Oh. Ha ha."
"Speaking of your significant other, you know, if you in a tux means Hawkgirl's always going to dress like that, I say you should change your costume."
"Double ha ha," John said, folding his arms.
Hawkgirl glanced back at the men. "I wonder what they're talking about."
Raven looked doubtfully at her. "I can get a sense of their mood, if you like, but I can't actually read their minds."
Hawkgirl blinked. "What? Oh, no, I wasn't asking if you could find out. I was just making an observation."
"Oh," Raven said.
"Sorry about tonight," Hawkgirl added. "We're not usually that aggressive with guests."
"It was a bit of a headache," Raven admitted. "As an empath who is sensitive to other people's strong feelings, I was picking up on a lot of emotional tension in the room - Batman's tension, Diana's anger, Audrey's fear . . ."
"Fear? What was she afraid of?"
Raven clammed up. "I shouldn't say," she said quietly.
"All right," Hawkgirl said, resolving to ask Diana about it. "Other than that, did you enjoy yourself?"
"Yes," Raven said, sounding almost surprised. "Did you?"
Hawkgirl nodded. "I think if we can just get the guest list ahead of time, these functions might actually be a good thing in the future. Still, I bet the night would have ended relatively quickly, no matter what. Tomorrow is a big day, after all."
Raven nodded.
"So are you and Flash just friends?" Hawkgirl continued.
"Just friends?" Raven repeated.
"Well, I'd heard a rumor that he had invited your friend Koriand'r originally."
"Oh, yes, he did. After she was injured by Luminus . . ."
Hawkgirl saw the shorter woman's eyes darken, and she knew it wasn't a trick of the lighting. "You won't become like your father, Raven."
Raven blinked. "No? I hope you are right, Hawkgirl. Anyway, Koriand'r suggested we go together instead."
"Is that the only reason you came?" Shayera asked. "Because your friend said to go? Or is there something - more between you and Flash?"
"There is nothing more," Raven instantly replied in a monotone.
Hawkgirl leaned back, surprised. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to suggest - "
"It's all right," Raven murmured. "I cannot feel for him. It is too dangerous."
"Isn't being alone dangerous as well?"
Raven shrugged. "At least if I am alone, I cannot hurt anyone."
Hawkgirl didn't really know how to respond to that.
"But," Raven added reluctantly, "I 'felt' him. I never sensed that he wished he was with Koriand'r instead of me. This was - pleasant."
"Pleasant?" Hawkgirl asked, smiling.
Raven's cheeks actually became red. "Still," she pointed out, giving a shake of the head, "this was supposed to be Koriand'r night. They will go out together next time, and I will be happy for my dearest friend having what I cannot."
Hawkgirl only nodded. She'd have to compare notes with John later. Maybe there was something the two could do about this.
Koriand'r didn't know what the Earth term for an alcohol-induced headache was, but she cursed it softly all the same. She also cursed the wine, which was evidently stronger than it looked.
She whimpered as she lay on the floor. As nice as Mercy's carpeting was, it wasn't nearly as comfortable as her bed, and Koriand'r carefully sat up, holding a hand to her head. She looked first to her right and saw two bottles, both empty. She wondered how much of their former contents had gone down her throat.
She realized her robe had fallen down around her waist, and she shivered from the chill as she shrugged it back on. She glanced to her left, scratching absently at her shoulder as she realized something was touching her thigh.
Mercy was snoring on the floor next to her, her face still red. Their legs were touching. The corporate executive was also stark naked from the waist up.
Koriand'r blinked. What exactly had happened last night? Her memory remained stubbornly opaque.
The lighting was dim, but gradually she realized that there was a discoloration on Mercy's right breast. And it didn't look like a bruise, or not exactly. In fact, it looked like -
Shocked, Koriand'r's eyes flew toward her own shoulder. Below the collarbone was a matching discoloration.
Suddenly her memories returned with a force equal to her headache.
There had been a fight over the wine! Mercy had been positively hellacious, while Koriand'r hadn't wanted to hurt her. That being said, Mercy was inebriated, and Koriand'r was not. Mercy had found herself on her back, the Tamaranean straddling her shoulders with her knees.
Then Mercy had told her . . .
"Oh, no," Koriand'r realized.
Mercy would probably not appreciate being awakened, since her headache would undoubtedly be even worse than her own. But they needed to talk. Gently Koriand'r put her fingers on Mercy's shoulders to wake her.
The sensation of feeling Mercy's bare skin summoned startling images of a shared passion, and Koriand'r's cheeks flushed. She ruthlessly pushed them aside, however. There were other things to discuss first. "Mercy," she whispered as she shook the other woman.
Although the first coherent word out of Mercy's mouth was "Bitch", Koriand'r was willing to accept this as progress, since it had been preceded by a good deal of whimpering and slurring. But then, Mercy had begun drinking well before Koriand'r had.
"What - is - the - big - idea?" Mercy finally asked, glaring at Koriand'r.
"We need to talk, and that's not going to happen with you passed out on the floor."
Mercy's eyes looked left and right. Apparently moving her head would have been too painful. "What happened last night?" she asked, a trifle more subdued.
Koriand'r sighed. "You drank a lot. Later I joined you."
"Does your alien physiology prevent you from getting hangovers?"
"Is that the word for it? No, I have a 'hangover' as well."
"Good. Serves you right for waking me up."
Koriand'r frowned at her. "I apologize, but I felt we should further discuss what you told me last night."
"And that was?"
Evidently temporary memory loss, like the pounding in her head, was a symptom of overindulging for both species as well. "About how you hired Luminus to stage a pretend attempt on your life?"
Mercy's eyes widened. She tried to sit up, but the headache was too severe and she dropped back again. "I said - oh, shit."
"Yes," Koriand'r agreed.
There was no talking for a moment. "Help me up?" Mercy finally asked.
Koriand'r silently took her hands and pulled her up so that she was able to recline on the couch. Mercy lay back gently and didn't speak for a few seconds. Then she opened one eye. "Why did I take my shirt off?" she asked, bewildered.
"We have more important things to - "
Mercy carefully raised her head again and looked down at herself. "That doesn't look like a bruise," she said slowly.
"Could we focus on what you did?"
"How about you tell me everything that happened earlier tonight?"
Koriand'r pointed to the hickey on her own shoulder.
Mercy gaped at her.
"You said," Koriand'r explained heavily, "that you were afraid Luthor was going to have you killed, and that no one could protect you because the only people you could trust were the people who wouldn't have anything to do with you. So you hired Luminus to convince me that I needed saving." Her eyes softened. "Which is why you felt so guilty when I almost died."
"I had nothing to do with that!" Mercy pleaded. "He was acting on Luthor's orders! He - "
"You mean like the last time?"
Mercy flinched.
Koriand'r sighed. "I do believe you, you know. There was no reason for you to stage a second attempt, certainly not one that almost resulted in your bodyguard's death. You said that Luthor found out the truth, and he was using Luminus to force you to agree to his demands. Which apparently worked, by the way."
"I was willing to get myself killed because of my pride," Mercy said. "I wasn't willing to get someone else killed, though."
"You mentioned that once already," Koriand'r reminded her. "Although it involved a good deal of blubbering. Are you sure you don't remember any of this?"
"No. I guess I had a blackout."
Koriand'r looked mystified. "I do not recall a power outage last night."
"I mean that I don't have memories of last night because of the alcohol," Mercy explained gently. "So why are you still here if I told you the truth? You must have been infuriated. You found out you could have been killed trying to save someone who's no better than the man you were protecting her from."
"You're better than Luthor," Koriand'r said quietly. "I know you don't believe that. I realize you've never - thought very highly of yourself."
Mercy stared. "Excuse me?"
"Well, that was something else you mentioned last night. You think you've never mattered to anyone, and that no matter how good you are at something, you'll always be 'just a stray'. Which, admittedly, is not an expression I'm familiar with, but I get the general idea."
"I - see," Mercy finally replied. "In vino veritas?" She realized Koriand'r wouldn't know what she meant the minute the words left her mouth, and the blank look on the Tamaranean's face proved it. "Er, I meant that alcohol is very good at getting people to do things they'd normally never do, and admit to things they'd never, ever confess to when sober."
"Ah, yes," Koriand'r said. "It is that way on other planets, too. By doing things you'd normally never do, does that include what we did together last night?"
Mercy paled. "Uh, what did we do exactly, Koriand'r?"
Koriand'r knitted her brow. "I do not remember exactly. Obviously we did not - have relations, since neither of us is undressed below the waist. It is equally obvious that we did something, however. I believe I liked it. Whatever it was, anyway."
"You don't seem too freaked out by this."
"First of all, I'm still focused on the fact that you deceived me," Koriand'r replied, and Mercy looked away. "Second, you are an attractive woman, and I have considered you a friend for some time. It's natural for an attraction to develop, especially if 'helped along' by wine."
Mercy chuckled humorlessly. "Most people on this planet would argue there's nothing natural about it."
"Why? On Tamaran, while most relationships were between people of the opposite sex, we strongly believed that people had the right to love who they chose. Tamaraneans generally don't repress our emotions."
"It just - gives a lot of people the creeps. A more detailed explanation would require a three-day seminar."
"Oh. So you're upset because it gives you the 'creeps' that we did something together."
"I'm not upset!" Mercy snapped, then winced. "I'm just surprised."
"You don't have feelings for me?"
"How could you have feelings for me?!" Mercy asked. "Other than hatred and revulsion, anyway."
Koriand'r sighed. "Because as determined as you are to believe that there is no difference between you and Luthor, I see one. Luthor manipulates people to serve his own twisted ends. You manipulated me because you were desperate enough to, and because you thought it was the only way I'd say yes. So . . . I'm not happy about it, but considering I've had very few friends in my life, I don't want to throw away what we have because of it. That's why I forgave you last night - although I was drunk when I did. But I forgive you again today, even when I'm sober."
Mercy was too shocked to say anything.
"Okay," Koriand'r finally continued. "Maybe now we can talk about the other thing. You never mentioned that you were attracted to women."
" . . . Neither did you."
"I'm attracted to both, to be honest. I didn't think it was worth commenting on."
"You're really not from this planet, are you?"
Koriand'r finally smiled. "You just noticed?"
"Oh, that sparkling wit. How could I not be attracted to you?" Mercy stopped. "Honestly, I don't know. My love life has never been very exciting. For years I crushed on Luthor, but that was more of an infatuation than anything else. He has an extremely commanding personality when he chooses. I allowed myself to be swept away - which caused me to do things I might regret today, if I bought into regret."
"Last night, you did," Koriand'r pointed out.
Mercy frowned and folded her arms. "Yeah, well, I don't like it." She looked at Koriand'r. "So what do we do now?"
"I'm not sure. I want to talk to Raven about a few things."
The human woman shivered. "She scares me," she admitted. "I'm afraid of what she'd do to me if she found out what I did to you."
"She's my friend, Mercy. She won't hurt you if I ask her not to. And I wouldn't. Although I might be tempted if you persist in this silly idea that you no longer need a bodyguard."
Mercy stared at her. "But I'm paying Luthor off!"
"And that makes you safe? He's an evil man. You need to be protected. While I don't think it took a fake assassination attempt to make me see that, I do see that I want you to live. Which means I should remain near you."
"Fine," Mercy muttered. "Anything to keep the scary shadow girl off my case. What about this other little thing between you and me?"
Koriand'r smiled. "Well, we'll see where that takes us." She reached over and took Mercy's hand. "Last night my heart pointed me in your direction. And a Tamaranean always follows her heart."
Mercy blinked. She wasn't sure how she felt about that. But she smiled anyway.
Because having her hand held DID feel nice.
"What is the meaning of this?" Princess (and for a short time Queen) Audrey demanded as she majestically swept into the office of Kasnia's ambassador to the United States. "I had plans today! I do not see why I needed to be dragged back to our embassy at first light." She kept her tone firm but cool, but inside she was truly upset. This was to be her last full day together with Diana before her return to Kasnia, where their trysts were much harder to keep a secret, and consequently had to be shortened.
"I regret the intrusion into your busy day," Count Popov, a faithful civil servant who had represented his homeland's interests in America for years, replied formally. "After today, however, you may have to get used to them."
"I beg your pardon?"
"Please, daughter, could you be quiet for two minutes?"
Audrey took a step back, shocked. "Father?"
Popov turned his computer monitor around, and King Gustav could be seen on the screen. "Only in spirit, my dear, if you can call a secure transmission via computer a 'spirit'," he said.
"Must I return ahead of schedule, father?" she asked unhappily. "Has something happened?"
"Something has indeed happened," he agreed. "I've appointed the count here as my new prime minister."
She blinked. "But you don't have an old one, father."
"Not since that bastard Savage, anyway. Admittedly, he didn't have the title, but as your fiancée he assumed great responsibility. Which he used abominably, as we can agree."
Audrey froze. "With all due respect to the count, I should think Vandal Savage is a reason NOT to appoint a prime minister," she said, hissing the name.
"Actually, he's the reason we need one now. The parliament is in the hands of the opposition party now, and they've been grown vexing. I can't handle my own duties as King and deal with the politicians at the same time. Popov is a diplomat. Let him handle the demagogues."
"Why not me, father?" she asked, surprising herself.
He chuckled, showing that HE was not surprised. "I appreciate the offer, Audrey, but you must rule some day, and it won't make it any easier if you spend the next few years getting into fights with the parliament. Again, let Popov handle that. Besides, I have something else in mind for you."
"What?" Audrey asked, dreading the response.
"Well, someone has to replace Popov, don't they?"
She gasped.
"After your speech to the UN, I approve of the selection, by the way," Popov murmured.
"That's very nice, Count," Gustav observed. "I desired your approval so greatly."
"Father, I'm not ready!" Audrey finally said, stunned.
"I've seen you work a party. You'll be a hit. As a people that haven't had kings and queens in two centuries, Americans today have no reasons to hate them. They love a good princess, and they'll love you. Besides, you established a good working relationship with them in the wake of the Savage fiasco. And I believe you do have other friends in Washington?" he asked dryly.
Audrey flushed as she fought back tears. Her father knew quite well that Diana had a home in this city. He was giving her the opportunity to go on spending as much time as possible with the woman she loved, and all she had to do was serve her homeland. "Yes, father," she said humbly. "If you think it's a good idea, I will accept."
"Hm. You're so acquiescent when it suits your purpose," Gustav chuckled. "Now, I'm afraid you'll have to cancel any plans you had today, because over the next few days you'll be taking a crash course in how to be an ambassador to the most powerful nation in the world. I trust you'll give it your complete attention? Because I'm sure you'll find ways to amuse yourself when you have a spare minute."
Diana would understand. And maybe now they could plan Audrey's "first chance encounter" with Diana Castle.
"Thank Hera," she murmured.
Bemused, she shook her head. Who had corrupted who again?
To be continued . . .
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