2.17 – Uncertainty

Leona flew around, but it wasn’t as joyful as usual. She simply couldn’t enjoy the sun falling on her feathers or the wind blowing through her hair. After setting a course for home, she went into autopilot, so to speak.

She was shaken from her torpor by the sudden vibration of her phone alerting her to her arrival over her home. Not pulling it out immediately, she circled down to the copse quickly. When she reverted her form, Leona began to bawl but still maintained enough composure to work her way home. Barely hopping over the wall, she crossed the yard and went into the condo.

Quinn was walking from the kitchen back to her room, wearing shorts and a tank. She nearly dropped her soda when she saw how red Leona’s face was. Before she could reach her sister to comfort her, Leona dropped to the ground a few paces inside, sobbing softly.

The image of Sarah being hauled away by the police was still playing on repeat in her mind. Reliving the moment when Sarah protected her made her cry even harder. Thinking about how the officer had treated her, cuffing Sarah like that, enraged Leona.

“Oh… shit…” Quinn gasped and firmly pulled Leona up and over to the living room’s couch. She pulled Leona’s head into her lap and started stroking her hair, rubbing her back. She held Leona as she cried for a long fifteen minutes.

When the tears subsided, Quinn took a deep breath. “Do you want something to drink? Your throat’s probably a bit raw after a good cry like that...” She continued to pet her hair as Leona continued to weep softly, shaking her head negatively. Her sister continued to hold her. “Okay, sis, you just let it all out. You know I live to drink in the lamentations of pretty women,” she half-heartedly quipped.

After a long time of being held, Leona gradually started to explain what happened with Sarah, the mistake she’d made. She particularly railed at the police out in Junker, how horrible they were, and how bad the camp seemed to be. She cursed the restaurant staff who sold them out. She could have avoided all the unpleasant events if only she’d returned Sarah to the compound. And then she spoke about Black Angel, that she was still appearing in visions, all to tempt her to let the villain do bad things with her powers, or worse, to do them for her, which meant surrendering.

“I don’t want that! No matter how horrible this situation is, no matter how much I hate her parents for doing this to her!” Leona wailed, clinging to Quinn, her eyes red and her sniffling uncontrollable.

“Well, maybe you should’ve told them you were an Angel and God was pissed off at them,” Quinn said, “...but you’re too good a girl for that,” she whispered and just held her sister. “Still, it sounds like she’s at least okay physically for now... She stuck by Aurora on the strength of your friendship with her, right?”

“And look, don’t worry about Black Angel or whomever. You tell her I’ll kick her butt into next week if she doesn’t keep away from you. As far as everything else goes, like Mom says, maybe all you can do is have faith in Sarah, yeah?”

Quinn held Leona closely but gently. “You just let me know when you need me to let you go, okay?”

“All that came of this was I got her into trouble. All my dreams were destroyed by that server guy… and I think I over-tipped. I spent everything I had. Those awful boonie junk cops! Ugh, I probably got a bad mark on my superhero record now too. Stuff like that doesn’t happen in the comics I love.” Leona sniffled. “The world is so messed up and complicated. They… they even said I should stay out of their airspace.” Leona pouted, crossing her arms.

Quinn pulled her arms open and started to tickle her mercilessly. “I know it’s way complicated!” Quinn said as her nails flitted up and down Leona’s sides and across her belly.

Leona scowled and pouted at first but eventually was forced to laugh and squirm. She didn’t want to laugh. It was coercion! But it worked.

After recovering from the tickle assault and the day overall, Leona couldn’t help but get incredulous. “Lamentations of pretty women? What are you? Quinn-on the Barbarian? I guess you always know how to cheer people up, sis.” Leona laughed and hugged Quinn. Her mischievous sister was probably referring to her superhero form, but it still boosted her self-confidence a little.

Done raining down tickles, Quinn got up. “Okay, let me fix you something to eat while you relax, okay?” She gave Leona’s hair one last pet before shooing her off.

She dashed to the kitchen and a few moments later returned with a bowl of canned chicken noodle soup. Leona noticed that the broth was more red than she might normally expect, but paid it no mind. When she tried a bite, however, she realized Quinn had added sriracha sauce to it.

Turned out, spicy chicken soup wasn’t half-bad actually.

Quinn offered a can of sugar-free organic soda to help soothe Leona’s burning tongue. Goonie got the sodas in bulk, so there were always tasty, healthy sodas in the home.

Leona continued to eat, alternating between the soup and soda. Eventually, Quinn had seen enough. “I’m tempted to pour one or the other down your throat.”

Leona smiled at her. “I’m alright, sis. I was only physically beaten up a bit earlier.” She enjoyed the soup even though it was spicy. She repositioned herself on the couch so she’d be sitting against Quinn. The warmth comforted her more. When she was finished, she set the spoon down and lay against her with a sigh. “Thanks, Quinn. I’m sorry to be such a downer right now.”

“Pfft, no problem. Just relax, sis,” Quinn said quietly, gently wrapping her arms around her sister and cuddling her. “If you need anything else, let me know. I’m totally going to use you as an excuse to start slacking.” She chuckled.

Leona smiled up at Quinn quietly. Nature didn’t make sisters like Quinn—only love did.

They sat together, watching television for a while until Goonie came home. Hearing her pull into the parking spot in front of the house, they peeked out the living room window by the sofa. When Goonie came in, she opened the door with a jaunty greeting, “Hello girls, you two have a good day?” she asked with the pep of someone happy to be home.

Spotting Quinn’s face and Leona’s position in her lap, Goonie quieted. “Well, it seems someone’s day was a little less than great.”

Goonie moved over and knelt by the couch, adding herself to the hugging. “Shh,” she said. “Don't say a word, just listen to our hearts beating for you. Lose yourself in that rhythm.”

Leona smiled gratefully, thinking she’d shed all her tears already. Enjoying the warmth of both of them hugging her, however, the dam she’d carefully repaired exploded, and she bawled again. This bout didn’t last as long as before, though.

Soon she was smiling wistfully. The three cuddled, and Goonie took over for Quinn as Chief Cuddle Officer for a little while Quinn went off to grab a quick shower.

“So,” Goonie opened, “Do you want to talk about it? Or do you need someone to remind you of how awesome you are?” She asked Leona with a bright smile.

Leona giggled softly. “All of the above, I guess. Did you check the news while at work today?” Leona asked, letting a little pride show.

“I heard there was a brave superhero who charged into a burning refinery to bring some lousy crooks to justice… that was you?” she asked with a knowing smile.

Leona giggled and hugged her. “Who else?” She smiled up. “And there was this big power armor thing! It was like something right out of my comics… I heard they haven’t started to really make them, and I’d not seen one until today.” She stuck out her tongue.

“It takes something like that to fight me properly! He was kinda scary, but I couldn’t keep my heart from pounding with excitement the whole time!” She giggled. “So that all went pretty well. I really shoulda gone back for that one thug. I’m not totally sure, but I think he was arrested with the rest, though. The room wasn’t totally wrecked.”

“I was a little banged up, or more… drained after that one. Kinda like I was for a moment after collapsing the crane on itself, but a little more this time. Anyways, what wasn’t a success was going to see Sarah. I tried to be as frank with her as I could… and be as honest and good about it as possible.” She proceeded to tell Goonie about the situation.

“But it wasn’t enough… I treated Sarah to dinner, thinking she’d been eating some awful stuff in there. We talked and, no, she doesn’t know my secret identity. I thought it was best to reassure her as Aurora and told her I wasn’t an angel. Even so, I thought it would help give her some hope.

So those cops in Junker are the meanest I’ve met aside from Ruffino. I guess the more north you go, the stranger people get.” Leona’s lips twisted.

“Well, they’re small-town cops. They tend to think they’re really big shits in their little toilet towns,” Goonie said softly, her language a little shocking. In her own way, Auntie was just as anti-authority as Quinn.

“Those types get off on bullying people, and an operation like that camp probably brings big money into the town. They probably grease plenty of palms, I’d bet, including the police too. Why don’t you start really investigating them? It may have started as just to check on Sarah and make sure she was alright, but what if they’re actually doing something wrong?” Goonie smiled sagely and picked up Leona’s chin.

“Anyway, the superheroics can wait. Can you let Auntie Goonie prepare you a filling dinner? How about a nice stuffed chicken breast?” she suggested.

It was then that Quinn re-entered in a bathrobe. “How about some buffalo tenders?” Quinn’s voice lilted as she signaled Leona to start the waterworks again on cue.

Leona shot her a whyfor look. “I like the buffalo chicken idea better.” She smiled, looking at Quinn with a little laugh. She didn’t understand why Quinn wanted her to cry more than she already had… maybe so they could cuddle more on the sofa.

Goonie laughed at her girls’ antics and stood up, putting one hand on her hip and the other on Leona’s head. “You should be struggling to surmount your foes, not looking for chicken handouts,” she said, suppressing an obvious smile. “But, all right, you scrooge. My girls have been having a rough week, so I’ll go get some pale chicken parts marinating.”

Soon after, Leona and Quinn sat before a hearty meal, starting to feel a little better. There were hand-battered tenders coated in spicy buffalo sauce with fresh-cut french fries, cooked in their air fryer, so they weren’t oily. The crispy crunch of each bite sent a pleasant tingle through Leona’s senses, the slight sting of spice making her lips tingle.

It all did so. Leona nommed happily, practically humming as she chewed, relishing the comforting heat of the meal.

When the meal was done, Goonie and Quinn chatted about their less eventful days. Quinn volunteered to do the dishes while Goonie turned her attention back to Leona, “Do you feel a little better? Maybe a bath would finish the day off nicely.”

“I think that’d be wonderful.” Leona smiled, stretching lazily with a satisfied sigh. “I don’t know if I need one though… Do I stink?” She asked with a giggle, sniffing herself in mock concern. “Ah, whatever. You two are the best family I could ever have, Mom, Sis… thank you.”

Quinn walked over and tousled Leona’s hair with her hands still all sudsy. Leona yelped and shrieked as the bubbles trailed down her forehead and into her bangs.

“Well, you certainly need a dunk now. There’s probably a little grease in those suds.” Quinn cackled, rubbing her hands together mischievously.

“Awww, fine… I’ll take a bath. I get the message. I stink!” Leona laughed and jumped up, brushing off the soapy remnants from her skin.

“Well, you’re no spring field at least,” Goonie said, crossing her arms with a smirk, “but you’re not as bad as a sweaty men’s locker room either.” She winked at Leona. “Go ahead and get fresh PJs ready and I’ll get a bubble bath running for you. I’ll make sure it doesn’t overflow, so take your time getting ready in your room.”

And with that, Leona rushed off, giggling as Goonie patted her backside playfully as she ran up to her room.

Leona undressed in her room and giggled, feeling a shiver of anticipation. She was looking forward to the bubble bath. They made her feel extra feminine, the silky foam embracing her skin in warmth. She ran her fingers through her hair, letting it cascade over her shoulders as she stepped in front of her mirror. Her reflection stared back at her, hesitant, hopeful.

She hoped Black Angel never appeared in it again.

Her hands roamed over her arms, down her waist. She examined her body, wondering if she was more feminine these days… if her body was nicer. Had she gotten any prettier? Her fingers hesitated before cupping her breasts. They were rounder, fuller than when she’d last really looked. Maybe it was just her imagination, but…

The door opened suddenly, and Goonie stepped in. “The bath’s going. Are you ready?”

Leona’s face turned red and redder, her hands snapping away as if she’d been caught doing something scandalous. She swallowed hard, willing herself to keep her voice steady.