[NOTE: This is NOT a reflection of the author's actual beliefs, this is a fantasy written within the bounds of fiction. It is also partly inspired by a certain TV series, but it is not using the characters from that story]
Her muscles were screaming as she pushed herself to add another ten reps to her usual routine. Let nobody say that Celeste Lambert was a woman who accepted limitations.
The 32-year-old finished the last of her morning exercise, dressed down in just a sports bra and shorts. It was one of the many benefits of having her own private gym that she could dress down and work on herself. Plus, she didn't have to worry about people's reactions to any new bruises or scrapes across her body.
As Halestorm raged in her ears, Celeste sensed that she was nearing a wall. 'Finish with the song,' she thought as she gritted her teeth and tried to ignore the burning sensation in her arms. She'd recently bought a new set of weights to push herself, and she clearly needed more time to get used to it.
As she worked out, she stared forward, straight into the mirror. Whenever she worked out, Celeste always reached a level of consciousness where she swore that she was looking at a stranger rather than herself. She could never figure out why, but if she looked long enough, she was almost taken aback at how she seemed to step outside of herself, seeing herself as other people must surely see her. She never talked about it with anyone, but those moments helped her stay focused on who she wanted to be and what she wanted to achieve.
As always, Celeste found herself looking at a young woman at her physical peak; she was taller than average, and while she was not burly or bulky, nobody could deny her fitness. Nobody even needed to see her arms or legs to recognise how toned she was. She imagined many people who looked at her would bypass her muscles, however, to focus on her ass or her pronounced bust, but Celeste had never been a pushover; if someone gave her trouble, she made them regret it.
Finally, the song ended, and she paused to look at herself a little longer. Her brown hair, shorn down almost to a buzz cut, was darker than usual, and her skin shone under the lights.
She struggled to slow her breathing as she dropped her weights on the matted floor and picked up her water bottle. By the time her personal assistant entered the gym, the bottle was drained.
"Just a reminder, Ms. Lambert," Alicia called out, "You've got a meeting with Olivia Saunder at 3 PM."
"Thank you," Celeste said curtly; it wasn't Alicia's intrusion which irritated her, nor the person she was supposed to meet; Celeste greatly admired Olivia as a worthy choice for District Attorney; unlike the previous DA, Olivia shared Celeste's concerns over Jeremy Akers.
Jeremy Akers. Just thinking of him made Celeste inconsolably angry, sore as she was from her workout. He had been one of her parents' closest business associates for the last five years of her parents' tragically short lives.
Celeste had just graduated high school when her parents' deaths left her as the sole beneficiary of the Lambert fortune, property, companies, and shares. Despite her youth, Celeste had immediately moved to cut ties with Jeremy in a very bitter spat which had turned fuelled public gossip for months, and had very nearly led to Celeste losing her position with accusations and lawsuits. She had won out, but that wasn't enough for her. Jeremy had always been an amoral and ambitious man, and even the huge setback of losing the Lamberts as partners hadn't been enough to ruin him; he'd bounced back with alarming speed and Celeste was sure that his means weren't legal in the slightest. While society seemed content to treat him as a figure of admiration for his strong business acumen and his shallow jabs at philanthropy, Celeste wasn't fooled. She had heard enough stories about the atmosphere within Jeremy's businesses, noticed enough discrepancies in the past records and accounts of her parents' companies, and most damning of all, had spent enough time with him personally to notice the way he looked at her.
Celeste tried to get Jeremy out of her mind as she showered, got dressed, and went downstairs into the limousine waiting to take her downtown into the city which her family's mansion overlooked.
By the time Celeste walked into the DA's office, she was in a much better mood, largely due to seeing Olivia again. It always amused Celeste how determinedly professional Olivia was concerning her job as DA. For one thing, if anyone in the building happened to look as the youngest and richest CEO in the city shook hands with the District Attorney, one would never guess that they had been in a relationship since college.
Of course, Celeste had been careful to wear something which was socially tasteful, but still showed off her figure. She was proud of her body, and she enjoyed the effect she had on Olivia, especially when she tried so hard to be professional, even refusing to have sex with Celeste in her office.
As well as maintaining a very toned body, Celeste was also curvy, to the point that she could not, much to her frustration, choose to simply not wear a bra in public without drawing too much attention.
"I brought the files you requested," Celeste said as she sat down in the expensive chair which she herself had donated to the DA's office the year before. She took the bulky folder and slid it across Olivia's desk, "I had my accountants organise it for you."
"Good," Olivia replied, carefully examining the first few pages, "There's got to be something here which we can use against him."
Celeste shrugged, "Maybe. I gave it a read and I didn't see anything clear-cut. He was too smart for that."
"You don't always know what to look for," Olivia said absent-mindedly as she continued to read. It was a completely true statement, of course; Celeste herself would have said the same thing, but something about Olivia's tone caused Celeste to speak again.
"There's something else. A new deal happening down at the southern harbour."
This, Celeste noted with more smugness than she'd ever admit, caused Olivia to stop what she was doing and look up again. There was a mix of frustration and concern in her eyes, "I asked you to keep your head down during this investigation."
"And I said I'd think about it," Celeste retorted.
Outside of her personal staff, Olivia was the only person that Celeste trusted with her biggest secret. As often as she could, she spent part of her nights roaming the streets as the being whom the city newspapers had dubbed 'Lady Shadow'.
Even before her parents' deaths, Celeste had been planning to take a personal role in cleaning up her city's less-than-stellar reputation and crime levels. She had designed a costume for herself, produced it in the greatest secrecy, and used it to help her fight against the crime syndicates and corruption wherever she could confront it.
It hadn't taken long for Lady Shadow to catch the attention of the Internet, and social media was soon rife with videos and pictures of Lady Shadow in action. Most looked down on her as a vigilante who needed to be caught, and the police were ironically far more eager to have Lady Shadow arrested than any of the criminals that she targeted.
All of this fuelled Celeste further; bringing down Jeremy Akers was only the beginning; she'd bring down everyone else who was who made the world a worse place. For her part, Olivia had always been too discreet to point out that many of those targets also happened to be the same people who tried to soil Celeste's reputation and her parents' legacy.
"You can't keep doing this!" Olivia declared, "Can you imagine the damage you're risking with this stunt?"
Celeste coolly raised an eyebrow, "You're not going to say I'm risking my life anymore?"
"As if that ever persuades you," Olivia said sourly, "Maybe you might reconsider if you think of how many times you've worked with my office? It's not just your reputation at stake!"
"There's nothing to hide," Celeste retorted.
"You're smarter than that," Olivia's voice was scathing now, "If someone finds out who you are, then that means I lose my job, all my cases get thrown out of court, and Jeremy Akers wins."
Celeste stood up, glaring down at Olivia, "He's already winning, in case you hadn't noticed! Every day that he's not in a jail cell is another day he's won! I've waited long enough. It's about time Lady Shadow tries her luck."
Olivia's eyes widened for a moment, and she looked around to make sure nobody was in earshot.
"Oh give it a rest," Celeste sighed, "You came to me for your court case, and I gave you the files you requested. I'm cooperating with the authorities, that's all! And even if they find out about us," here she couldn't help smiling mischievously, 'that doesn't mean you're going to lose your job."
Olivia leaned back in her chair. She had never been able to get used to Celeste's stubbornness and her dominance, but while such dominance was an absolute thrill to experience in bed, Olivia found herself unable to change Celeste's mind.
"When is this deal? Where are you going to be?" Olivia asked, though she knew it was useless to ask.
Celeste gave a small snort of laughter and made for the door while puckering her lips in a silent kiss. As always, Olivia refused to acknowledge the gesture and simply walked her girlfriend out of her office.
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The dank air over the lake filled Jeremy Akers' lungs, even as he stepped out of the car and casually strolled over to the one street lamp on the block which was still lit. Around him strode three bodyguards, all of them former military-turned-mercenaries. They were all carrying concealed guns, but Jeremy didn't expect those to be necessary.
