"So, that's how everything stands. The Domina, the other me, is heading some way too powerful conspiracy. You, Aureus, Alyssa, and I seem to be the only people who know that anything is going on. That's probably not true, but we're the only people I know on our side." Sighing I reach down and grab up the soda I've been drinking and stare at Pandora. "I probably can't answer any questions, but I can try."

Pandora just stares into my eyes and I have no clue what's going through her mind. The purplest part of her hair drapes in front of her eyes, and the rest hangs messily over her shoulders and down her back. She's so gorgeous, in a feral, young, and uncomplicated sort of way. "What . . . the . . . ?"

Olivia and I break into laughter and Pandora glares before I manage to make myself stop. With a soft sigh I smile and finish off the rest of the can. I would love it if I didn't think she had a point.

In all honesty, this is very fucked up, and not in the regular sort of way. This isn't just twisted or demented morals. There is an alternative me creating a conspiracy involving who knows what. The Domina actually thinks that she has some plan to make the entire world surrender it's will to her. I want to call it impossible, but if she's gone this far then it has to be possible.

"She can't answer that one." Olivia sips at her own can and then leans towards Pandora to mess up her hair. She couldn't be a better match for me if she tried. Plus, she's not evil. That's a plus.

"I admit, it's not the best situation in the world, but we do have an edge. When I first encountered the Slut Squad they had uniforms that were capable of deflecting the sparks I used to have, and that The Domina still does. Having a set made for all three of us wasn't something I thought of, but, at least it gives us one member The Domina can't easily coerce." Telling Pandora that I was Silver Girl was oddly easy, but not as hard as I thought it would be.

Alyssa still doesn't know, but I don't believe she's anywhere near safe. Her additional information was helpful, but . . . If The Domina knew I was going to be at that auction house, then she would know how to find my informant unless that's a place we diverge.

No part of me believes that I'm still going to become her. We've drifted and changed too much. I won't let that happen. Even if I have to lose myself, I won't let myself become her.

With a huff Pandora rolls her eyes and then crosses her arms. She looks upset and I really don't blame her. Pan isn't some hero away from home like Aureus. Where she's from she's the queen of the underground and a mother to a mess of orphans. If this plan is global then it affects her children too, but if it's not . . . "That might be good for you, but what about us? If she comes for us, those little lights will fry us like . . . like . . ."

"Like quesadillas?" Olivia giggles after she says it, and Pandora just narrows her eyes, bares her fangs, and hisses. "Sorry, sorry! Come on, didn't you ever watch the super friends? Sorry, it was a bad joke, I'll admit. Just . . . you know . . . you do throw in random Spanish."

"That's because I'm Mexican, you puta!" She almost looks upset enough to punch Olivia, but restrains herself. "I'm not some stupid stereotype! Chingada . . . pinche cabrón!"

Groaning out I stand up to get directly between them. Squabbling like this is supposed to happen on the other side of the good and evil line. The ones trying to save the world should not be torn apart by in fighting unless one of them actually did something wrong. Then again, Olivia is being a little bit insensitive.

She reminds me so much of a younger me. I used to be that way, too naive and silly to realize when I was being stupid or cruel. "Come on, please, Pandora, Olivia . . . We need to work together on this. Olivia, stop treating Pan like a Hanna-Barbera throwback . . . Pan, if you're going to bite anyone, wait awhile and you can gnaw on the scientist downstairs for an hour or two. If you don't mind losing your head to a drink, that is."

Who knows what kind of effect Savor's blood might have on Pandora's body. I've resisted asking Pandora about which vampire myths are true for a very good reason. If The Domina is able to somehow probe into my mind I don't want her using that against Pan.

"Sorry, Pandora. I just like getting into the fictional role of super heroine a little too much. Sometimes I let it carry me away." Olivia holds out her hand and slowly the golden sheen spreads over it.

"Okay Olivia." Pandora grabs her hand and the shake is a firm and stiff one, but it gets the point across. If we can't stay civil for one conversation then I may as well take my chances going in there alone even knowing just how stupid that would be. Aureus had defenses against the onslaught of Mourning Frost and Ember. Savor's suit for me might hold up against sparks but I have no clue what its heat or cold tolerances are.

One thing is for sure though - it'll be a lot warmer than a leotard.

Sighing I plop back into my seat and stare up at the ceiling. This is damned tricky enough without the fact that we truly are out numbered and out gunned. I could try to get a hold of Jade but by now she's likely been compromised. My list of old friends doesn't go on that terribly long.

If I knew whatever had happened to Silhouette after Chronos, I'd try and hunt her down. Her shadow abilities would be beyond helpful against the project, and she was able to easily dodge away from my sparks before when I first tried to recruit her all that time ago. She wouldn't likely be too happy to see me, but I think she would listen to reason. Maybe.

Olivia stands up and grabs my empty can with a smile before dunking them both into a trash bin right beside her seat. A part of me twitches, but I hold back jumping down her throat. "So, what's our latest information, plan, whatever? We have more than just this, right?"

"We actually do." Having information and not being led around by incidents happening right in front of me is becoming a nice and familiar feeling. Smiling I stand up and step over to a nearby desk to grab up a half full manila folder. "Alyssa managed to get close to one of the coordinators finishing up the very last of the construction. Apparently her hacking skills are a little more than I could have hoped for. In here, are the plans for the actual Argentum Project. I don't think I need to tell you how humanitarian it is."

I don't tell them that the files were obtained by actually hacking into their system from one of their own computers. Alyssa took way too big of a risk. If she'd been compromised then The Domina would have a dossier on us.

With a flick of my wrist I toss the folder down onto the coffee table. Every revelation is burned into my mind, and it all makes such perfect sense in a way I can't stand.

The planning, the overall philosophy, the meticulous fallback plans, all of it feels like something I would decide on if I had the same goals and resources. That is to say, if I had the goal of converting the entire world into a playpen and the resources of an oil tycoon. How she managed to get the funds doesn't bother me as much as the goal.

Olivia almost grabs up the folder, but after stopping herself she instead hands it over to Pandora who opens it up and begins to read over the pages. Her eye movements make me think she's probably just skimming and frankly there is a lot to skim.

As soon as I brought Pandora back last night I was able to get the information from Alyssa. I slept but it felt weird to wake up with the sun already almost about to go down. My eyes keep closing on their own and I keep hiding my yawns behind a hand thoughtfully placed over my mouth. There don't seem to be any flaws to the plan. It felt like reading a work of fiction but I know it's true.

"It can't be too bad, right?" Olivia forces herself to smile, but Pandora's increasingly angry expression isn't helping her sound very helpful. "After all, the Project has only been around for . . . well not that damned long. Maybe a year? You can't build a space station capable of really taking over the world in a year. You'd need robots building it."

Pandora growls and throws down the folder. It falls down open, but the pages luckily don't scatter. "This puta did! Some . . . Melinda Borais, made a bunch of people into robots. People who would really be able to build a thing like this turned into fucking tools for some crazy woman's mad plan!"

The page it falls open to is one that I remember very well. It's the description of the duties to be performed by the head of the robotics team. Her name sounds innocent enough and so does her team. Melinda Borais to the public is a pioneer in the field of robotics. She excels in complex software training advanced AI and in software that assists humans in pattern recognition and memory.

Of course, the page from the real Argentum Project tells us that Melinda Borais is just a cheap alias for one of my absolute favorite villains - Mind Bore. Her duties include enhancing all of the workers to be more efficient, able to work longer, and amongst other mental conditioning a strong unwavering loyalty to the success of The Project. With a legion of robotized electricians, construction workers, and every other staff member they could imagine, the project only took this long because the plans were more grandiose than they promised the public.

Olivia stares at the page and the longer she does the bigger her eyes bulge out. "How the hell could they get away with a plan like that?! Wouldn't someone notice something like that happening? Doesn't that violate like a thousand labor and human rights laws?"

"Who's going to turn them in huh?" Pandora scowls and crosses her arms over her chest. It's an impressive sight and it leads to so many wrong thoughts that involve a golden Olivia and a Pandora with very spread legs. "If la policia comes after them, they can just turn them into some kind of obedient cyborg too! If the families of the workers got upset, I'm sure they had a plan for that too in there!"

"They did. And there were several plans prepared for police interference, military interference . . . with a project of this scale I'm sure they were watched like hawks, but even still I bet they didn't need to actually use most of those plans." Sighing I wrap my arms around myself before frowning. This really is awful.

Pandora keeps reading, but a lot faster. Mourning Frost, better known to the public as Priscilla Snow is in charge of the advances in power consumption. To the public, this means work on the solar power collectors and continued research on energy sources and energy consumption.

Of course, her ability to create complex structures of ice allows her to create the perfect focusing crystal for The Domina to channel her abilities . . .

Ember, or Chandra Beran, is in charge of World Security. This means to the public, that long range ballistics weapons will be made useless by destroying them mid air. To the project, this means that no one will be able to reach the station, or even attempt to attack it, without those attempts being easily thrashed aside. The Argentum Array (as the notes constantly refer to it) is as much a weapon as it is a castle floating in Earth's orbit.

Olivia reads along, and her face doesn't look any better, or at least she doesn't seem to be feeling any better about the situation. Frankly, I don't blame her one bit. We can stop this, but it is horrifically worrying that such a thing could get this far.

I want to just cuddle close to her and pretend it doesn't exist as I fall asleep, but that's not the right thing to do. I have to face this. I did this, even if it's not me. She did this. She's not me . . .

Am I even me anymore?

"We're not even halfway done with all of these papers. Do you really want us to read all about how the evil version of you from the future is planning to take over the world in her past, which is becoming our present?" Frowning, my gorgeous petite companion stands up and walks a little ways away before turning her back to us.

"Yeah, Sarah. You better not have hauled me all of the way here from Dolores just to read how fucked we are." Pandora just glares at the paper and starts to squirm her fingertips letting them light on fire one at a time.

Shaking my head I smile and flip to the end of the packet for the final days and their flight plans. "No, Olivia, Pandora . . . Don't give up hope yet. It's a long shot, but I have a plan. When Alyssa sent all of this over to me, I stayed up . . . a long time. When you went to bed Olivia, I didn't stay up for just an hour and you know that. All of the project heads are going to be on the Array tomorrow. Later tonight, a shuttle is going to be ferrying up the very last of the supplies on what the program describes as the Spear of Enlightenment."

"Alyssa wasn't able to get all of the information I wish she could have on it, but there's enough in there to tell us that this spear, whatever it really is, is the whole reason for the Array. If we can stow away on that shuttle, we can sabotage the spear . . ." I grin and look to Pandora.

Pandora slowly grins, and as she does she flashes the sensual curves of her shining fangs. She nods and I can see the passion rise up in her eyes as she does. It's the same feeling she gave off when she thought that I was threatening her familia. She was wrong but I can hardly blame her. If someone walked in and gave Olivia some Blue Dreams I would be more than a fair amount upset.

Those papers aren't precise, but somehow the Spear is going to make the whole world surrender. Turning these papers over to the authorities won't change the world. Making the paper's information inconsequential will.

When I look at Olivia her eyes look hopeful again, and admiring. We've only known each other for a matter of days and I can feel she trusts me even more now than she did when she first met me. What actually surprises me is that I've actually started to trust her too. She doesn't obey any compulsions to not betray me, and I trust her implicitly. She's just too pure not to.

In a slow process that almost looks like a slow waterfall of gold, Olivia's eyes turn gold and she grins too. Her grin isn't the devious grin Pandora has. It's a more selfless grin that radiates warmth.

Pandora might be able to ignite, but Olivia is the warm center of the room.

At least, until I remember that this isn't some sappy love story and I need to focus on the here and now. Next time that I'm going to save the world from a space station project spearheaded by my evil self from an alternate future I'll be sure to get more sleep the day before.

"The facility is well guarded, but we can slip in and from there . . . Pandora, your flames and my specialized equipment should be able to get us onto that shuttle. If we can make our trespassing light and not overly disturbing, and find a safe place to wait for our guests while maybe figuring out how to ruin their plans in the process . . . Well, that's all she wrote before the heroines ride off into the sunset." For being a plan that feels formed way too quickly I'm very satisfied with it.

"That's a lot easier said than done, Sarah. I might be a super, and a vampire, but I can't turn us all invisible or anything like that. We can bust our way through, but if we do, they'll know about it." Pandora doesn't sound especially disappointed in that fact. It's more than she can tell I would be.

With a nod I pick the folder up and fold it before setting it back over where I was keeping it before. "True. It's not going to be easy. But . . . I have all of the right things to set up a distraction, just enough to be able to get us in . . . If you can get us over the perimeter defenses. When you slammed my head into my bike you weren't just jumping fancy. I didn't bug you about the specifics before, but unless I'm wrong you can fly. Just hoist us over and I think we can pull it off."

Plans conceived desperately or out of need like this always seem to work out the best. I'm not waiting for them to make their move. I'm about to finally make mine.

My purple haired vampire grins a little more and nods approvingly. "Won't be easy with the added weight, but I can pull it off . . . As long as I don't have to keep the two of you in the air too damn long. Olivia might be tiny but she's not weightless, and you're . . . just too tall."

We burst into spontaneous nervous laughter. We all wish this could go better, easier, something . . . but this is how it is. I wish that the papers on The Domina's and Amethyst's duties had been sent over but Alyssa took a big enough risk as it was. Their duties must be mainly based around the Spear and that would make them a lot more important to keep hidden.

After all without any proof these papers might just sound like a joke or a bad sci-fi novel. Robotized people building a space station to make a madwoman have complete ruler ship over a whole planet . . . Would Jesse approve, or think it was overkill?

"Well . . . I can fly too." Olivia raises up her hand and shakes it a little. "Of course, it means I need to turn into Aureus so a spotlight on me and I'll be shining like a florescent light."

"Then why don't you only turn gold when we're on the other side, to help us land? Getting you two gringos up isn't going to be nearly hard as it'll be to make sure the two of you don't get a pair of broken legs." Pandora grins and I can finally understand how the term gringo could be said affectionately. "All we need to do is get there. Of course, practical Patina over there's only got a bike."

Shaking my head I sigh in a misunderstood sort of way. Maybe I always overestimate myself to even out everyone underestimating me. "Not quite true. By that logic I only have hotel rooms but I think the two of you slept a lot better than that last night."

Both of them stare at me and just blink. I can't really say that I blame them. Both of their faces read as one big "huh?" and it does make perfect sense.

Rolling my eyes I motion all around us. "We're borrowing a criminal's house. We can borrow her car. Once this is all over with we're going to be delivering her to Midas's central precinct anyway. Her car is going to be impounded sooner or later and I think it would be better if it were impounded for the sake of justice. Don't you?"

"Justice?" Olivia rolls her eyes before grinning in her warm little way. "Let's worry about saving the world, then worry about justice. You with me Panny?"

"Don't call me Panny!" Pandora snaps, and I get a feeling it is going to be one very long ride to the launch site.

Smiling I stand up and start to walk over towards the door leading downstairs. "Well, if neither of you mind I'm going to go get my pretty suit and my new toy from Doc Tasty. The two of you get ready for our lovely little soirée. We mustn't be late for this very important date."

Both of them groan, and my grin grows wider as I shut the door behind me. The two of them are so many kinds of adorable. The three of us make a great team, but it's still too bad our first real outing as a team is three against five.

"I can't believe neither of you can drive a car! S-Patina, you have a bike, but you can't drive a car. That makes absolutely no sense." Olivia is in the driver's seat and mumbling to as we drive off to the launch site. "Pandora, you might be a sort of queenpin or something, but it's not like this car is a stick shift or anything. You just put your foot down, and press in the button to . . ."

Pandora just smirks and crosses her arms over her impressive chest. Every time she does that I remember the sweet color they stayed the whole time I was playing with them. It was definitely strange, but an attractive kind of strange. Her body was so firm, and so yielding.

After all of this is over, I might need to trance Olivia again. All I think I would need to do to trance Pandora would be to just slide a finger down her slit. Sex is submission to her pretty mind. Thrusting a finger into her mind would make her cum out all of those hotly unnecessary thoughts so we could get to the important things in life. Things like fucking senseless.

Just cuddling would even be so sweet. Just staying so close, not needing to worry about clothes or sex or anything, just feeling the warmth of each other's bodies . . .

A finger snaps in front of my face a few times and I squeak out of my fantasy. Damn it. I was enjoying that! "Come on, Patina. Stay with us now."

Olivia's voice is almost as pretty as she is. What happened to her uniform, I have no idea. The makeshift one she prepared for the occasion doesn't look half bad. It's pretty simple really, just knee high black boots, a black skirt and a black top that looks like it belongs more on a beach than anywhere else. I don't know the name for it, but it's one of those tops that looks like two twined sashes of fabric that cup her breasts and hoists them up perfectly. She insists it holds them tight enough to be comfortable.

The uniform certainly looks good when her skin is golden.

Pandora may be sitting in the back seat, but that doesn't mean I don't keep looking back to see her. Her uniform is a pair of dark leather pants clinging tight to her ass held up by a black belt with several inlayed amethysts. Her top is a tight black shirt with a low dipping neckline enhanced by amethysts lining her collar. It's finished off by a thick black choker with an amethyst hanging from it almost like a leash hanging from a d-ring.

The arms of her top just naturally blend into the long fingerless black gloves and it's nearly impossible to see where one stops and the other begins. A circle of amethysts around her left wrist forming a gorgeous bracelet are a nice last flash of purple.

One would almost think her name was amethyst. It goes well with her hair though, that might actually be black except for her bangs. It's hard to tell. Her hair is up as always, and she looks wonderful.

My own new uniform is no less delicious though in quite a different way. I still have the same high boots, but the skin tight suit that stretches from my neck to the tips of my toes is a lot different. Most of it is just a dark slick black looking a lot like latex. Every place where light naturally reflects to show curves in suits like this are instead shaded a dark grey both for effect and to reduce the shine.

It gives the suit a very interesting look. When Savor first told me that it would be like a second, comfortable skin, I didn't believe her. The suit is a built in support, and it keeps my body feeling taut even when I'm sitting still. It's not uncomfortable. It almost feels like being naked.

It would make me look naked if I hadn't chosen to wear panties. A bra would be unnecessary though, and besides, I like how it looks. They're not perfectly visible as if I was wearing something see through. The material doesn't make my nipples poke through like bullets after thinking about Pandora and Olivia, so it's good enough for me.

Admittedly it does feel very sexy to hear. Rubbing my thighs together is more stimulating than it should be but it only feels yummy and lightly stimulating, not mind blowing. I might need to wear it without any panties one of these days when I have nothing better to do.

The car stops, and the shaking is more what I realize than anything else. When I look out the window I see that we're parked half behind a building not too far from the actual project site.

"If we go any closer it'll be pretty obvious. You'd think a woman like Savor wouldn't get a bright red car, ya know?" Olivia sighs and yanks out the keys before tossing them into the glove box. "Unless you'd rather carry the keys around in your belt Patina?"

I have a feeling that if this goes well or horrifically I won't need the car to be there. Either way I nod and hold out my hand. "Better to be prepared than not prepared." Olivia fishes them out and drops them into my hand. I drop them into a pouch near the back of my belt and get out of the car. My belt still works on this outfit. It actually feels more comfortable since it was already designed to cling to me tightly as it could.

Pandora and Olivia follow me out of the car and I stare off towards the project. I always would have thought things like this needed to be further away from a residential area, but most of this part of town is just factories anyway. Anyone who'll be disturbed by a late night launch would just be woken up during their graveyard shift.

Technology has come a long way. Plus, The Domina must have brought back some information with her. Technology comes a lot farther when it's actually from the future.

"So, the actual like launch pad is on the other side of the base isn't it?" Cover of night is nice, but already we can see the security for the facility. They don't have cliché spotlights moving all through the air, but they may as well. Pandora is right of course.

"It is. And . . . security is tighter than I thought it would be. I was planning on setting up a little explosion of light on the other side of the facility and then hop us over the walled perimeter . . . I'm open to suggestions." Often people who realize they're in command and not really up for the task get upset or worried. I'm just confused. What the hell am I supposed to do now? We can't turn around.

Olivia and Pandora both just stare at me and then shake their heads. "Mierda . . ." Pan mutters as she just stares at the project base. It's surrounded by a large wall that looks concrete, but could be something else just as easily. Either way it looks sturdy, and I don't want to blow a hole in it anyway.

There must be something I have that could get us in there. There has to be some object, one of the too many things I keep in my belt that could get us in . . .

"That's it!" I start to go through all of my pouches to look for that idea that just might save us.

"What's it?" Olivia just stares at me as I keep tearing through my pouches in a near vicious frenzy. "You really should get some organization for that belt if it's that hard to find something. I don't think I've ever heard of a heroine done in by poor belt organization skills. It is very possible though!"

Grinning I hold up a small quartz crystal. "This. It was given to me by a magic using super heroine on the east coast. She said it would only work once and probably only for about fifteen minutes before breaking into a thousand pieces. While it works though, anyone holding my hands and myself . . . we'd all be invisible. I seriously can't believe I forgot I had this. I think it was because for awhile after I got it I wanted to use it each and every time, but I knew that I had to save it for a rainy day . . ."

"Great!" Pandora grins and stares at it, just as Olivia does. "So, how do you turn the thing on?"

Carefully I twirl it around in my hand and then bring it close to my face. "Well, first, the two of you need to hold my hands, which means yes, one of your hands will also be holding the quartz, but that's how it works. Then I just have to think about it working, and pop. We'll still be audible, but it's a real invisible effect, apparently. There are no light ripples, no tachyon particles . . ."

Olivia smirks but Pandora just looks satisfied. Of course, I have no way of knowing if this works. It was a gift. Usually I test everything before I use it for real but this is a one time thing. It's now or never.

"So let's hold hands and then walk over to the base. We'll fly up over the thing, hell, Olivia, you could be Aureus the whole time . . . Then we'll find our way to the shuttle. Once we get there, we'll just find a comfy place to hide inside of it." If we get stopped by anyone . . . we just get some free entertainment.

Pandora's hand grasps my left, and Olivia's grasps around my right including the crystal. For this being our first outing as a group, I think we've done pretty damned well. Soon I guess we'll see if that's good enough.