This story is a bit wordy and fairly long, so if you are looking for immediate gratification, you might want to look elsewhere.
The following story is a work of fiction. Any resemblance between these character and events and any real person or events is strictly coincidental . . . and pretty darn impressive seeing as it is a science fiction story. Do not reproduce or copy this story without the consent of the author.
In my magical, mixed-up world, characters don't worry about STDs or unwanted pregnancies except occasionally as a plot device. The author encourages the practice of safe (and hopefully satisfying) sex.
While this is a science-fiction story, it may at different points contain sexual behavior that might fall into other categories. You can rest assured however that there will be NO depictions of Non-Consent, Mind Control, or Incest for any purpose other than as plot devices, and certainly not for sexual arousal. Anything else is fair game.
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Jenna awoke with a throbbing pain in her head and a crick in her neck that was going to make her life difficult. 'But I'm still alive,' she thought. 'I shouldn't be, but I am.' She steadied her breathing and kept her eyes closed, listening for any sign of life. The world outside her sight was deathly quiet except for the hum of an overhead light sources.
She could feel hard, smooth ground beneath her, and she had been stripped of all her weapons and armor. The only thing she had on was her body stocking, which did not do much by way of protection, and left little to the imagination. Feeling nothing else, she ever-so-slowly inhaled through her nose. 'There it is again,' she thought. She opened her eyes, and she saw the gorgeous redheaded woman perched on top of a chair, staring down at her.
"See," the woman said to someone out of Jenna's visible range, "I told you she wouldn't be out long."
"Damn it, why didn' ya tie her up at least?"
Jenna recognized that voice as belonging to the stocky blond woman who had "screamed" her into a wall.
"I would hardly be a good host if I went tying up my guests, now would I? At least not until they ask nicely."
"Why do I even bother?" Anabella shot back.
"Don't ask me."
Jenna noticed that her would-be captor was not looking directly at her anymore. A quickly glance around showed that she was in a pristine white room with mirror shields along all four walls and a single door in one corner.
"The door has a high-yield mag lock," the redhead said without changing the direction of her gaze, "and you're not breaking through the glass." Finally she looked back down at Jenna. "And you will not win if you try and fight your way out. It is not our intention to hurt you, so instigating more violence is not necessary. What's your name?"
Jenna just stared. She had no official identity anywhere. The name on deed to her home was a fake, and only the Fool and Nigel even knew her real first name. 'Give them no information,' she told herself. 'Eventually, they'll realize that you're missing.'
The woman looked briefly annoyed, but that transitioned quickly over to amusement again. "Playing hard to get? I do LOVE a good challenge."
"Nessa, we ain't got time to be playin' with her. You-know-who hit the station about thirty minutes ago, and he's not lookin' to play nice."
"But play nice he will," Nessa said. "Because we have the only known game piece. And now, oh silent one . . . okay, give me a name or I'll make one up. Hmm, how about Cupcake? Or Sweet Cheeks? Maybe Hot Stuff?"
Jenna did not rise to the bait. She just kept her breathing steady and her stare cold and formal.
Again, the look of amusement on Nessa's face faded and she became deadly serious. "Listen, you can play it cool as long as you want, but you're not leaving here until I get all the information I need. I'd rather you just tell me because, if you don't, I'll rip it right out of your brain. I seriously doubt you would survive the process in full control of your faculties." Nessa detected a hint of a chin-thrust from the other woman. She intended to remain defiant.
"Just get to it," Anabella said. You know that Garon is gonna be here a'fore the night is out, and he ain't gonna take his sweet time."
Nessa ignored her friend for a moment. "Young woman, you have no idea what you and your weird commando buddies have stumbled into. I've been keeping an eye on you for a while and, believe it or not, I don't give a damn if you keep doing whatever it is you're trying to accomplish. The whole vampire schtick has got to stop though."
The fight came back to Jenna in a flash, including this woman saying that there were actual vampires. Her mouth quirked in spite of herself.
"Yeah," Nessa said, noticing the reaction, "there are such things as vampires. I happen to be one," she continued, showing a brief flash of extended fang. "As a rule, we try and stay under everyone's radar, but you and yours are reminding people that we exist, and that's bad for our collective health."
She stood up and vanished into a puff of red mist, which floated around the room. It swirled around Jenna's body, sweeping over her face with it's cool red molecules.
'It's blood,' Jenna realized. 'This mist is made of blood.'
The red substance coalesced back into the familiar woman that it had been created from. "Believe me now?"
'A holographic illusion,' Jenna thought. 'But I could feel it . . . no holograph can pull that off.'
"For thousands of years, the human race has ignored us because it was more convenient to their peace of mind to do so. Now you people, whoever the hell you are, are managing to undo that." Nessa was becoming frustrated. Usually, she got some kind of reaction when she threatened someone, but this woman was giving her nothing.
"I wish you had been willing to talk," Nessa said. "It would have hurt a lot less." She lunged.
Jenna had been waiting for the woman to come close. She pushed up with her legs, sending the redhead flying overhead. The woman landed on her feet, but she was smiling again. She liked the competition.
"If you don't start talking, there's going to be a nasty fight," the woman said. "I'm not the only one who was tapped to end this charade of yours. If you don't listen to me, there's other people who will just start killing and let the morgue sort it all out. I'd be happy if no one died."
Jenna knew she would not win this fight. Her opponent knew too much about her, and she knew nothing about the opponent. And she had seen power that Jenna had not even known existed before.
"You're serious," she said at last, her voice flat as a pond on a windless day. "You really think you're a vampire."
"Baby, I KNOW what I am. I've seen nations rise and fall in my lifetime. You should realize by now that this isn't an illusion."
"She a vampire too?" Jenna asked, nodding her head at the woman in the corner.
"Watch yer tongue!" the woman in question yelled.
"No, Anabella isn't a vampire. She's a banshee."
"Yeah, right. And the other guy? A werewolf? Bogeyman?"
"Avery? He's my chauffeur. Methinks that you're not taking me particularly seriously. That needs to change."
"If you say so."
"I saw you throw that man out of the bank window, and I've seen your people operate. You're the only face I've seen, so I followed you. I suspect the man you had dinner with . . . the dangerous looking one, not the blind date . . . I suspect he's one too. Probably the one who was with you that night. You've got to be military. Avery recognized your fighting style and some of your gear. I peg you as some weird special forces group, though you've hit the government too. You use the vampire gimmick to scare people, like telling bad stories to children to let them know what will happen if they misbehave."
Jenna's breath remained steady, but her mind was racing. This woman was far too close.
"Please, give me a name, even if you have to make it up. I need something to call you besides 'hey you.' I could always go back and check the credit logs from the restaurant and narrow it down --"
"Jenna," Jenna said. As long as she did not give away a last name, she figured it would be safe. It was not an uncommon first name those days.
"Jenna, I'm Nessa McGowan. You've already met Anabella and Avery. I need you to set up a meeting with your boss."
"My boss?"
"Unless you are the boss. Are you?"
Jenna stared at Nessa.
"I'll take that as a 'no.' Listen, the silent treatment is getting old. What's it going to take to convince you to take this seriously?"
"Stop calling yourself a vampire?"
Nessa raised an eyebrow. "I would say the same for you."
'Okay,' Jenna thought, 'point for her.'
"Right, besides turning into mist and the ability to fly without mechanical assistance --"
"I haven't seen you fly," Jenna said. "Just her." She pointed at Anabella.
Nessa rolled her eyes, then she jumped up in the air and stayed there. "Some people call it graceful," she said, spinning in mid-air. "I call flight the art of throwing yourself at the ground and missing."
"Yeah, that joke is still funny," Anabella grumbled.
Jenna was staring intently, looking for grav-tech in her boots or possibly for wires. Nessa caught her staring.
"Oh good grief," the redhead said, then started stripping off her clothes while still floating in the air.
"Can you please stay clothed for just a little while?" Anabella said, trying not to smile. Nessa and the concept of shame existed completely independently of each other.
