Betsy Visits River City.
CHAPTER 47
Billie arrived after everything was settled. It was Vicky who talked to her as Faeryfaye was discussing the forthcoming events with Ffanci.
“Is everything settled here?” she asked.
“Yes,” answered Vicky, morosely. “It hasn’t finished, but nothing’s going to change for the next few hours. Why? What’s up?”
“It’s Joystick. He’s in serious pain,” Faeryfaye turned and looked at her at this revelation. “Is there anything you can do, or do we take him to hospital and try to deal with him there?”
“I’ll check him now,” said Faeryfaye. They both returned to the surface and Faeryfaye checked him over. He was lying stiff as a board on the field, sweating profusely. His eyes were glassy and he was unresponsive to questions. Faeryfaye placed her hands on his face as if she was checking his temperature. She looked up at Billie.
“He’s absorbed the monster’s power and his body can’t deal with it. It needs to be drained as soon as possible. Your hospital can’t do that, I’ll have to.” She rose and looked around, searching for something. Billie didn’t know what.
“What are you looking for?”
“Something to drain the power and transmit it into the ground, where it belongs now.”
Faeryfaye’s eyes latched onto the broom and her eyes lit up.
“Or, maybe, we can drain it somewhere else.”
Billie still didn’t understand.
“Billie, can you get me some butter? From grass fed semi wild cattle?”
“Probably,” she answered. “Let me guess. You want it urgently.”
“Well, the faster we get it the sooner Joystick is cured. I think we should treat it as urgent, don’t you, Billie?”
Faeryfaye was a bit sarky at the moment. This was not like her normally, but she had been through a lot she wasn’t used to. Billie had also been through a lot and didn’t appreciate this.
“Of course he deserves the best. Don’t be so sarcastic.” She stared at Faeryfaye as she said this.
Faeryfaye stared at Billie before replying. “I’m sorry Billie. I’m a bit frayed at the moment. But it’s still urgent.”
Billie looked daggers at Faeryfaye, nodded and walked off to the stores she had had supplied. Looking around and seeing no one watching her, she picked up a facemask, turned on the air supply, changed her shoes to the flat walking boots included in her neuroweave wardrobe and wriggled her nose. Time stopped and she needn’t hide anything now. Placing the tank across her back, the big, awkward, heavy tank, she started to walk back to River City. She didn’t know where she obtained this ability and assumed it was through some function of passing through time abnormally. Time wasn’t actually stopped, she had been told by the professor, just slowed down drastically. So drastically she couldn’t actually breath and had to carry her own air supply, which was attuned to her alone through the neuroweave technology. Also, she had to be able to have her ‘time field’ completely envelop whatever it was she was carrying for it to behave properly for her. Unfortunately, she couldn’t just sit in a car and have it work. As you may guess, she was just repeating the words she heard when she asked how it all worked. She didn’t know. She just knew it worked.
She walked to River City, found the butter, left the money in the till and walked back. She was used to this by now, but was still tired. She was also getting worried about the size of her thighs. She was never so fit though.
Removing the mask and tank, she reverted back to normal time and normal shoes, walked over to Faeryfaye and handed her the butter.
Faeryfaye looked at it in amazement.
“How did you… Oh, never mind. Thank you. Now I have to hurry.” She took the butter, picked up the portable cauldron and ran off into the woods. Billie looked at her retreating back with dismay. She should never have done that. She took pains not to reveal what she could do in general and now she’s shown this woman exactly what she can do. She could only hope Faeryfaye would keep her confidence.
A smell assaulted her senses just before Betsy, still blood coated under her blood soaked clothes, tapped her on the shoulder and she span round.
“You should be in bed,” she said. “In fact, you look awful. Why are you up?”
Betsy’s stomach growled. “Sorry about that. You’ll have to get used to it. I’m not allowed food until after the op. Why’s Faeryfaye gone into the woods?”
“I don’t know. She just ‘requests’ things and doesn’t say why she wants them.” She paused and took hold of herself. “I’m sorry. I guess I’m tired.”
Betsy smiled and her stomach growled again. They both ignored the stomach. “You and me both, pet. She’s like that, but she does know what she’s doing. And yes, it’s highly annoying. Believe me, I know. I find people who know exactly what they’re doing to be, well, intimidating. Don’t you?”
Billie stared directly into Betsy’s brown eyes. “You find that too?”
“Yes. Can you tell me anything?”
“It’s about Joystick. Apparently he absorbed too much power from that pixie monster and Faeryfaye is going to get rid of it. So she asked me for some specific butter. I gave it to her and now she’s gone off into the woods.”
Betsy looked puzzled until she got it.
“Oh,” she said. “She’s going to remove all that energy Joystick absorbed and transfer it to the broom. That way we’ll be able to fly back home and replace it without having to recharge the bloody thing. I’ve been putting off how we can do that in time. She needs herbs and stuff from the wood to make it work. That’s where she’s gone now. To get them.”
Billie said, “How will she transfer the energy?”
“It’s best you don’t know that. Please let us keep some secrets. I rather suspect Robbie has reams of information and data points about us now and you’ll all spend a long time analysing it. I don’t like that. We’re supposed to be secret, so let us keep some secrets, please.”
Billie looked on with exasperation.
“OK,” she finally said.
“Good. Now will you please do me a favour?”
Billie looked wary.
“What do you want?”
“If it’s not too much trouble, I have a list.” She handed it to Billie.
Billie stared at the list.
“Are you serious?”
Betsy had the grace to look embarrassed.
“Yes. They are important. It’s something Faeryfaye forgot and she’ll want them urgently when the time comes, and the time will come suddenly and soon. She won’t have time then.”
“Now you’re the one speaking in riddles. Why can’t anyone just explain?”
Betsy took her in her arms and gave her a cuddle while gently switching off Billie’s nasal receptors, just for a little while. It wasn’t invasion of privacy. She was helping her and she would have agreed if she’d known, wouldn’t she?
“I’m sorry, but I can’t. Let’s just say both Faeryfaye and I have used up a lot of magick energy in too short a time doing this and that means we both had to artificially create the energy. Consequently, there are consequences for us. Those consequences will happen, but don’t worry, they’re not lethal, just painful and, well, embarrassing. Those,” she pointed to the list, “will help a lot.” She looked Billie in the eyes. “Please,” she said.
Billie relented and nodded. Walking over to her supply, she verified she had enough air left, hated the fact that a rebreather, apparently, wouldn’t work for her because it was so limited, donned the face mask and wiggled her nose in preparation for doing that eight plus mile walk all over again. This always gave her serious jet lag.
She presented Betsy with the two sets of assorted butt plugs of various sizes and a few gallons of lube withing a couple of minutes of her asking for them..
Betsy’s eyes widened.
“I see why you’re the leader, or one of them,” she said. “You’re amazing. Thank you so much.” She gave Billie a kiss, which started to develop into something more because Billie learnt how to ignore the smell, or, at least, she thought she did, when Faeryfaye interrupted.
“What are you doing out of bed?” she asked of Betsy, ignoring the kiss. Betsy always found someone whenever Faeryfaye looked. Betsy had seen far too many James Bond movies.
Betsy didn’t answer. She just gave her half the goods Billie had brought. Faeryfaye looked at them and realisation dawned. Her cheeks turned bright red.
“Thanks, Betsy,” she mumbled.
“Not me. Thank Billie here. She’s a wonder.”
Faeryfaye turned to Billie.
“Thank you, Billie. I’m sorry if I was abrupt with you before. I should never be that abrupt.”
Billie smiled. “You’re welcome, and don’t worry. I do know you’re trying to help.” Her mischief levels were now at the level of the ache in her legs. “Do you want help in restraining Betsy here? I’m sure Robbie will be willing.”
“Hey, what the fuck…”
But Faeryfaye, unsmiling, interrupted Betsy.
“No thank you, Billie. Betsy and I have to do something urgent in the woods very soon. In fact, just after I take care of Joystick. I’d better get on that right now.” And off she went to prepare her ingredients after reminding Betsy not to eat or drink. Betsy’s stomach answered for her.
Soon, Betsy and Billie watched Faeryfaye carry Joystick into the woods with her broom and the potion she had concocted in the cauldron. Billie was again conscious of the smell so she had, surreptitiously, positioned herself upwind of Betsy. Betsy wondered how Billie had regained her sense of smell again before realising it was Faeryfaye who did it. She was always trying to spoil Betsy’s fun. It wasn’t immoral if they agreed was it? Even if they would’ve agreed if they’d known? Twenty minutes later there was a loud scream from deep inside the woods, then nothing. The personnel left were spooked, but Betsy assured them that all was well. And indeed, soon after, Faeryfaye and Joystick walked back out. The broom was floating alongside Faeryfaye and Joystick was walking a bit bow legged, but the stupid smile on his face informed everyone there he would be fine. In fact, all he needed right now was a long sleep and a few days’ recuperation. He would get more than that as he was brought up to speed with the modern world. Both Betsy and Billie thought that would take no time at all.
Betsy told Billie to get a message to Vicky and Sonia as she would be unable to do that in the near future.
“Tell them they need to free as many of the remaining heroes as possible and as soon as possible.”
“Can’t they wait?”
“No. Unfortunately a lot of them are dying now and we can’t do anything about them. But there’s still a few who can be revived and Vicky’s the one who can do that, with Sonia’s help, of course. You should offer any personnel you have to spare to Vicky for this. It’s important.”
Billie went immediately to organise this new task. The bimbos offered to help so she used the bimbos as general labour for the heroes’ recovery.
Betsy and Faeryfaye immediately went off into the woods together, each with her half of the booty Billie had kindly brought them. Once inside and out of view of everyone else, Faeryfaye started to separate from Betsy.
“Hey,” said Betsy. “We need herbs and stuff. That’s your department.”
Faeryfaye looked at Betsy.
“Just think of what you want to do then let your mind go blank. That’ll do it.” Faeryfaye walked off out of Betsy’s sight. It took Betsy a couple of minutes to realise what Faeryfaye meant.
‘She’s slipped her lessons into me head,’ she thought to herself angrily. After another couple of minutes, she added, ‘She’s fucking good at it. Nearly as good as I am.’
Later, the people left around the castle continued their tasks. The tasks that nobody knows about when super heroes are a normal part of life—the clean up. Super heroes do a lot of damage, which has to be restored, or, at least, made safe. And that costs. Robbie and Billie were the only heroes there now. They were liaising with the authorities and arguing the cost. The cost of having super heroes defend the city was increasing and someone would have to pay or taxes would rise. And that meant trouble for the politicians, who were onto a very cushy number here, thank you very much. They got the kudos for obtaining and retaining the heroes, but that would quickly prove to be a negative if it affected the citizens’ taxes adversely.
Robbie and Billie were in the middle of one such preliminary discussion, when two loud cries like nothing anyone had ever heard rang out from the woods. The good servants of the city looked nervous until Billie soothed them with the news that that was the end of the clean up operation by their British helpers. The civil servants’ ears immediately pricked up at this.
“Who authorised them?”
“Why didn’t you call for American heroes from another city?”
“Why not from Midas City? They have a surplus and nothing much to do. It’s all small scale local with them, lesbian cults and suchlike. They’re cheap as well.”
“But they’re nowhere as good or as effective as ours,” interrupted Billie.
“What are their rates?” asked an official, ignoring this truth in his political manner.
“You do realise the city is not responsible for their activities?” This one was still worried by the British heroes they had used.
It took a while, but they were eventually assuaged, especially when they saw both Faeryfaye and Betsy walk back from the woods. Betsy especially made a vivid impression because of the blood and the smell. They both walked funny and they didn’t look at each other. Betsy walked by Billie and Robbie and the civil servants around them and just nodded. Billie was horrified at the difference in their demeanours. They both looked like death.
“Where are you going?”
“To the hospital ward. We need sleep. Desperately.”
And off they went, leaving the two local heroes to deal with the boring bits of heroing.
Later, when everyone had left, Robbie spent a lot of time around the marker Billie had inserted into the ground where some of Faeryfaye’s powder had spilt. She eventually located something and gently removed it and placed it into an evidence bag. More searching found some more specks. One time Robbie stood in a wide legged power stance above a speck she found. Suddenly a bright light from between her legs lanced down and vaporised the speck and her pussy camera photographed the resulting image for spectographic analysis. She also noted and measured the depth of the footprints she found there.
Her pussy equipment had always stood Robbie in good stead. At the beginning of her career, when she wasn’t as powerful or as experienced as she was now, she had been overcome a number of times by bad people who had raped her. Her pussy armaments now included an automatic tattoo gun which had proved invaluable in the trials of subsequent rapists and had enhanced her reputation throughout the underworld. After all, no hood, cheap or not, wanted the words, ‘Rapist’, along with a unique serial number, tattooed prominently on his cock and a repeat branded on his bell end by that laser. Even the floozies who hung around such men were put off and this hadn’t gone unnoticed amongst those hoods who were still free of a such cock adornments.