As Trinity and Radiance walked towards the meeting spot Pheramona had given them, Trinity hunched over until her back ached, and wrapped herself up tight inside her jacket. She wanted to make herself small; so small that no one would be able to see her. Not the people, not the birds, not the insects. No-one. Nothing. She'd never wanted to disappear so bad, but Radiance's enchanted shackle around her wrist was a constant, heavy reminder that she couldn't. Each awful step she took was outside of her control.
It was a mercy, then, that there were so few people around. It was getting late, and they were in one of several of the large, abandoned, disused industrial districts in the outer ring of Future City. Sometimes, tourists opined that it was strange for such a prosperous city to tolerate such wasteful use of space. Little did they know, dereliction was simply part of Future City's great wheel of prosperity.
A neighborhood would find its blood flow inextricably cut off, its infrastructure allowed to fall into ruin as jobs and money dried up. Then, once people started to leave and the price of the land collapsed, a locust swarm of property developers would descend, devouring every last structure and replacing them with blocks and blocks of near-identical high-rise apartment blocks, each one safe and comfortable and eco-friendly - and with twice the rent of whatever had been there before.
There was a reason Trinity was so determined to get the hell out of there.
The directions Pheramona, the supervillain holding Trinity's loot for her, had provided led to an abandoned-looking warehouse on a street of other, equally abandoned-looking buildings. It was the kind of place that city planners hated, but Trinity loved. There were so many signs of life if you knew where to look. Grass breaking through the asphalt. Fresh graffiti on the walls. Lots of broken bottles, none of them too old; the mark of a recent party.
Trinity hated that it was all about to be buried underneath ten thousand tons of glass and plastic and gleaming steel.
"Where's your friend?" Radiance asked quietly as they stepped inside.
Trinity grimaced. Clearly, Radiance wasn't even going to give her a chance to brood properly. "She'll be around here somewhere," she replied.
Unfortunately for Trinity, Radiance had given her some very, very clear and extensive instructions. She couldn't not be helpful.
"She might have taken the money and ran," Radiance said. "Seems likely, for your kind of people."
Trinity rolled her eyes. "She's not like that. Ramona's reliable."
She wanted to say a whole lot more than just that, but again, Radiance's commands tied her hands.
Trinity had to act natural.
She had to help Radiance as much as she possibly could.
She had to avoid giving anything whatsoever away about what was going on.
And she had to follow the plan.
Unlike Trinity, Radiance didn't seem at home at all in their derelict surroundings. She was dressed inconspicuously enough, in nondescript civilian clothing, but an six-plus foot tall, blond, muscular amazon inevitably stuck out anywhere she went. Until she'd heard the plan, Trinity had been sure Pheramona would bolt as soon as she saw her. The two of them had to go together, of course - that was the only true limitation of Radiance's chain, as far as Trinity could see. They had to be literally joined at the hip, or else Trinity would be off her leash and free to bolt.
It really, really sucked that Radiance was smarter than she looked. In Trinity's opinion, it wasn't fair at all. Clever plans should be for people without wings and huge biceps.
"Hey there," came a familiar voice, from above them. "It's about time. I wasn't sure if you were gonna show up or not. I'd been waiting days for you to call."
Trinity glanced up, but saw nothing more than a blur as Ramona Isley, better known to the world as Pheramona, vaulted down from a gantry and landed before her.
Pheramona looked like she always did: like she was ready to raise hell. Unlike Trinity, she didn't believe in being inconspicuous. She wanted everyone to know she didn't care what anyone thought, least of all cops or superheroes. She was wearing a sports bra, and over it, a sleeveless battle jacket covered in patches and pins advertising all kinds of rebellious and subversive causes - a transgender symbol, a raised fist, the letters 'ACAB'. Her skin was just as colorful; both her arms bore sleeve tattoos that wove together a multitude of slogans and symbols in a dizzying kaleidoscope of artistry. Even her face wasn't completely free of ink. The only part of her body that wasn't so adorned were her abs; instead, those were gleaming with sweat. Pheramona liked to run hot. Odds were, she'd been doing push-ups whilst waiting for Trinity to arrive.
The barest hint of her scent in the air was enough to make Trinity shiver. She'd seen exactly what Pheramona's powers could do to someone if she really let loose. Her mind-warping pheromones would have your brain dripping out of your pussy before you knew what was happening.
Rounding off her look was a pair of loose-fitting pants, some heavy boots, some spectacularly dyed hair, and an amused smirk. Once she and Trinity had taken a moment to look at each other, she moved in to clasp a friendly hand on Trinity's shoulder.
"I'm glad you made it out clean," Pheramona said. "I was worried the pigs got you."
"No shot," Trinity replied easily, clasping Pheramona's shoulder in turn.
It should have felt good, seeing a friendly face for a change. A face that wasn't Radiance's. A smile that wasn't mocking or superior.
It didn't.
With each and every moment that passed, Trinity was finding it harder and harder to keep herself from throwing up. Only Radiance's ironclad commands kept her bile down. Being this friendly and familiar with Pheramona felt wrong. It wasn't her choice. Even though she wasn't trying to fight Radiance's mind control, she could feel the strings attached all over her body, pulling her arms up to wave and tugging the corners of her mouth into a smile.
She was like a doll. A perfect little performing doll.
And Radiance was going to make her betray one of the few people in the world who'd ever had her back.
Oblivious to her inner turmoil, Pheramona nodded towards Radiance. "Who's your friend?"
She's Radiance, and she's here for you. That was what Trinity wanted to say. Instead, she was forced the repeat the lines Radiance had fed her.
"Just someone I picked up on the way," Trinity answered, her tone betraying nothing of her deception. "If you're gonna be handing me cash, I figure it's gonna be a couple of big briefcases or something. Why make my own arms ache if I can use hers?"
By way of illustration, she raised her hand and let a few purple sparks fly between her fingertips.
Pheramona laughed. "Well, it's a little more than that, so you picked a good one for it," she commented. "She looks as strong as a bull. Big as one, too. Where'd you find yourself a stud like this?"
As she spoke, she started pacing around Radiance in slow, languid circles, like a big cat stalking her prey. Radiance remained staring forwards, bolt upright, like a soldier at attention. She wasn't much of an actress, in Trinity's estimation, but it was a passable enough impression of someone under heavy mind control.
"On her way back from the gym," Trinity replied. "Where else?"
