Check out Chapter One if you want this to make any sense. Even then, it still doesn't make much sense, but it's been damn fun writing. Thanks for all the kind words. I'll keep at this story-line if you guys are digging it.
*****
It took Penny almost two weeks to fashion a mask from various fabrics, creating a form-fitting hood that wrapped her head and snapped tightly, with the pull of a loop in the back. Her auburn hair swooped out from the back and sides. Penny thought it looked good against the pink and black color-scheme of the mask. Too bad she couldn't make a costume to match, she thought.
Antwon, Penny's blind roommate, had been keeping tabs on the police band ever since the bridge rescue adventure. Several times he'd rushed into Penny's room, begging her to go help with some small crisis, but Penny refused until she had fashioned a mask that was safe from exposing her identity.
"No way am I going to risk people seeing me," Penny would say. "I almost had a panic attack at that bridge. I could have performed much better if I hadn't had to cover my face the whole time."
Antwon was well aware of Penny's hangups, so he wasn't surprised by her modesty (in fact, her powers were derived from that), but he really wished she'd hurry up and finish the outfit already. Antwon, every bit as nerdy as his roommate, was excited at the opportunity of being a sidekick to a superhero. Not very many blind people led such exciting lives. Hell, not even able-bodied people did.
Not since the bridge collapse had Penny gotten naked in front of Antwon (or anyone for that matter). Convinced she would only have the courage to do it with a mask on, Penny focused all her free time on this project. Now, here she was, finally testing it out.
"It's ready," said Penny, nervously stepping out from her room, into the living area she and Antwon shared. He had been chatting online with some friends.
"Yes! Finally!" Antwon disconnected from his group chat and turned to face Penny, though being blind, that meant just staring in her general direction.
Penny was nervous, almost as nervous as the very first time she stood naked in front of him. She instinctively wanted to cover, but realized it was silly to do so. Penny awkwardly made her way to the couch and stood near it. Like before, she began to feel a strength building inside her. Her vision seemed sharper, more focused. Her other senses seemed more sensitive, too. Penny, wanting to break her nervousness, decided to describe her outfit to her roommate.
"The mask is black and gold, Antwon. It fits snug, so there's no risk of the eye-holes getting displaced. It would take a great amount of effort to pull this off." Penny was proud of her work. She felt it covered her face and identity well.
"I'm just so glad you're finished with it," said Antwon. "Are you finally ready to save the world?"
"Yeah, I guess," she giggled back.
"You know, Penny... you could just as easily use your powers for evil."
"What? Like rob a bank? Don't think I haven't thought about it."
"You have?" asked Antwon.
"About as much as you have. It's just not in our nature to do. Fun to think about, but that's as far as it goes."
"Yeah, we're too nice for evil, huh?"
"I guess."
"So what now? Wait around until something comes across the police band? Let this be your first official night?" Antwon was rubbing his hands together, smiling. He so badly wanted to get started.
Penny hadn't planned on staying naked in front of Antwon all night, but considering he was blind, she decided there wasn't much reason to protest. Maybe it would help her get used to the idea of being naked in front of people, she thought.
As they settled in for the evening, sitting next to each other on the couch, Antwon began passing along ideas he had for Penny, from how to maintain their secrecy, to communicating anonymously with authorities, maybe even the media. At some point, he paused.
"Tell me again, Penny. What do you look like?"
"You know what I look like."
Antwon was perhaps more familiar with Penny's face than anyone else in her life. She'd allowed him to "feel" her face several times in their years together, so that he could snap a mental picture of what she looked like. Scientists would be shocked at how accurately Antwon could "see" people using this method. However, he really didn't know what Penny looked like physically, apart from her face.
"Penny, when I read books, I paint an image in my head. For instance, I know what Superman looks like. Tall, solid frame. Red boots, over a skin-tight, blue costume, with a red and white 'S' on his chest. Chiseled chin. Short, but lush, dark hair. I can see him in my mind, the way you see him on the pages of the comic books. Blind people need descriptions, not images."
"Yes, I know that," said Penny. Antwon was a fan of comics like her, but he especially enjoyed the comic-book novels, where the more descriptive passages allowed him to "see" the action in his mind.
"Well? Describe your costume and your body to me!" shouted Antwon, tired of beating around the bush.
"You know it's just a mask. And my... my body?" squeaked Penny. "Why... what... does that matter?"
"Of course it matters what you look like. You're the world's first super-hero, Penny. This is history! Describe the mask in detail first."
"Well, it's form-fitting and wraps around my head, like I said. Here, why don't you feel?"
Penny allowed Antwon to raised his fingers to her face, while she was careful to not allow any risk of her body brushing up against his. Antwon smiled as her moved the tips of his fingers across the mask, over her cheeks and brow, then down to her lips and chin.
"So you say pink and black?" Antwon asked, as he continued to touch her face.
"Yes, pink eye-holes. Kind of has the pattern of a bandit's mask. Raccoon mask, if you know..."
"I know what you mean."
"Then the rest surrounding it is black. There's plenty of room for my nose and eyes, as you can see... well, feel." Penny closed her eyes as Antwon's hands brushed across them, proving her point.
"Wow, that fabric is like glued to your skin. You say it pulls from the back?"
"Yeah, that loop there," said Penny. Antwon's hands were behind her head, feeling up and down the back of the mask, and touching the hair coming out near the bottom.