Daughter, Lover, Superheroine Ch. 08

[This story is set in Paragon City, taken from the former MMO game City of Heroes. All place names, hero names and registered trademarks belong to their rightful legal owners and are not intended as copyright infringement in any way. This work is purely meant as a piece of entertainment, and not for commercial purposes in any way, shape or form.]

[The precursor to this series is entitled "Mom the Superheroine".]

[Though there are incestuous elements between a mother and her consenting adult daughter here, this story is really about the personal journey of two superheroines.]

[I am grateful to my girlfriend Ashley for providing me with so much valuable insight and input, to make up for my shortcomings. <3]

They both subsided, glowering at each other.

"Now sit down! And tell me just what happened out there!"

"Mom, you should've seen her. She was out of control! She was recklessly violent, and put a lot of people in harm's way. And she... she was sadistic, the way she treated those Freakshow! I was telling her that's not how we do things here, but she refused to listen! And... and she..." Cindy swallowed, and went on. "She said I was too weak to, to keep you safe and she wanted to do it better than I could..."

Tight-lipped, Barbara turned to Vicky. "Did you say that? Why would you say such a thing?"

Instead of answering immediately, Vicky stood up and turned away, looking down at the floor. Cindy meanwhile wrapped her arms around Barbara possessively. Barbara put an arm around Cindy's waist, and kissed her cheeks, but waited patiently for Vicky to reply.

At last, Vicky turned around, and stood with hands firmly planted on her hips.

"Do you know what kind of world Praetoria is, Mother? Cindy?

"It is a paradise. Nobody has to slog for a living. All basic necessities are provided, from birth, all the way to death. If anyone does any work, it's because they want to -- and our cultural achievements are far beyond what this world can achieve, because of all the time and energy we can channel into those pursuits. Praetor Berry's Clockwork automatons do all the menial labor that ever needs to be done, and the Powers Division works tirelessly with the police to keep everyone safe from the few malcontents that dare to show their faces from time to time.

"Compared to that, Paragon City is a primitive village, or at best a medieval township. I go out in this neighborhood you call home, and I see people who are actually homeless. Homeless! This is a society that lets people sleep out on the streets without even a roof over their heads! Some people are incredibly wealthy, but others have to go without. There are pharmaceutical products that some people need to stay alive -- in Praetoria, they'd have it, without question, but here people die because they don't have enough money! And despite all this, the Heroes here fly all around the city and talk about 'justice'!

"But your world has a Marcus Cole, too, with all his awesome power, and there are those who are powerful enough to help him shape the world into whatever he wants. So why don't they? Why are things the way they are?

"I'll tell you why. It's because the Heroes here, like Cindy, just aren't willing to do what needs to be done to truly make the world a better place. Our Emperor isn't like that, and neither are his Praetors -- they act with courage, and conviction, and take decisive action, just as Emperor Cole had to, to save humanity from the Hamidon and forge a better world from the ashes of the old broken one.

"And so, the world he shaped is one I wish my mother... my Barbara... had lived to see -- a world without want, a world with safety for all who obey the law, a world where artists and scientists can do whatever work they want without worrying about where their next meal will come from...

"Mother... I want you to see that world. I want you to live in that world, with me.

"When you told me about how much you'd suffered... I have no words to describe the rage I felt on your behalf. Nobody should ever have the power to do such horrible things to you. Nobody.

"And in my world... with me beside you... nobody will."

She stretched out her hand. "Come with me, Mother! Come away from this wretched dystopia. Come with me! Be... be my mother!"

Barbara sat, astonished and dumbfounded. Cindy had shot to her feet, and stood, trembling with agitation.

"If you want my Mom... you'll have to go through me first, Conqueress! You won't take her from me!"

"You know you aren't strong enough to stop me, Battleborn! I'm better for her -- and I'm better than you!"

Caught in the middle of dueling daughters! Barbara knew Cindy was her very own flesh and blood -- but Vicky was, in a strange way, her daughter from another world! Surely, she couldn't turn her back on her own daughter, born of her own womb, pushed out of her own body -- but Vicky burned with the fire of her conviction, and Barbara was drawn to her flame, too.

"What should I do?" Barbara thought anxiously, as she watched her daughters begin to square off. "What should I do?"

Whatever was a mother to do?

"Stop it! Both of you, please!" she cried. She stepped in between them and kept them apart, with a hand on each of their heaving chests.

They obeyed, glowering at each other.

Barbara took a deep breath. "Vicky... I don't know what happened out there, but if you lost control and got too violent, Cindy was right to try and stop you. Maybe the law is enforced differently where you come from. Maybe there's a lot we don't understand about how your world works. But one thing we have to know is that our strength can't be used to hurt people too much. We can't sink to the level of those we have to fight!"

"That's how she taught me, Vicky!" Cindy agreed, nodding her head firmly. "And if you think that makes me weak, like you said, you're wrong -- and I'd be more than glad to show you just how wrong you are!"

"Mother deserves to see for herself what my world is like -- it'll change her mind, and she'll understand that you're too soft on evil!" Vicky shot back. "She's good, and kind -- she would be, in any universe -- and that is why she needs to be protected with true strength! No wavering, no hesitating, no fatal vacillation at a crucial moment. You can't give her that, Cindy. But I can.

She stepped closer, and so did Cindy, so that they both stood almost chest to chest.

"She belongs with me. I'm stronger and I can protect her better," Vicky said, chin tilted up arrogantly.

"She's mine, always has been and always will be. And we protect each other just fine," Cindy replied, jaw clenched tightly.

But Barbara put her hands on their shoulders. "Girls... please... listen to me. Vicky, you can't ask me to go back with you to your dimension. I don't belong there. My place is here. And... and your mother would have been very, very proud of you, I know. You're powerful, and strong, and marvelously accomplished. If I were her... I would be so, so proud. But..."

She laid a hand on Vicky's cheek. "Cindy is my daughter, not you," she said, as tenderly as she could. "My place is always by her side. She... she's the child I carried in me, the baby girl I gave birth to, the girl I brought up, the young woman who... who's become my lover. There's a place for you here, if you want -- but you can't ask me to abandon her. That's out of the question."

Vicky stood silent, eyes slightly downcast. Barbara became very conscious of their nakedness, and the intimacy they had been sharing just a few minutes ago. Now she felt a small flitter of guilt that hadn't been there before -- Cindy had explicitly agreed to share with Vicky, after all, but that was before this rift between them had appeared.

She wanted this rift to heal. She wanted them to coexist harmoniously, as sisters -- Vicky needed guidance, she could see that now. She never had anyone except an authoritarian god-figure to look up to. That couldn't have been healthy. This was a chance for Barbara to fill the void left by the unfortunate demise of her Praetorian counterpart, in Vicky's life. Living with them could very possibly soften some of Vicky's rough, jagged edges.

But for that to continue... Cindy had to agree to it as well.

Her daughter was now stripping off her costume, though. She had a grim look in her eyes.

"Vicky and I have a score to settle, Mom," she said angrily. "She doesn't seem to think I'm her equal in power. Well, how about we settle it, one on one, woman to woman, sister? Let's see who's really the stronger one." She kicked off her boots and stood, proudly naked, with balled fists on her hips.

"I accept your challenge!" Vicky answered swiftly. "I've been wanting to do this with you, from the very first moment, sister! My way has made me superior. It's time you acknowledged it once and for all!"

"No! Don't fight!" Barbara pleaded, once again interposing herself between the two of them. "I don't want you both hurting each other!"

They both subsided slightly, but Cindy said, "We're not going to brawl, Mom, but I want her to feel for herself how strong I am, how strong you've made me! If she calls me weak... she's saying you brought me up to be weak, and I'm not letting that slide!"

"I can understand why Mother doesn't want you to get hurt," Vicky said, with a slight sneer. "We won't fight, Mother. But we'll have it out, right here, right now, which of us is the stronger woman... the stronger daughter! If she loses, Mother, which she will, it's no reflection on you of course... it's simply that I'm better than her!"

They glared at each other steadily.

"Mom can referee," Cindy said. "She'll be fair."

"Naturally. She'll have no choice but to raise my arm, when I've beaten you," Vicky said, smiling confidently.

"We'll see about that."

This was what they had been talking about, just before they went out to stop the bank robbery... but the overtones had been so different then, less fraught. Where before it would have been playfully kinky, now it would be much more intense -- both girls now had something to prove.

They quickly agreed on a series of three contests, for best out of three.

First: arm wrestling. And second: mutual body scissors -- they'd be in the 69 position, except with legs wrapped around each other's midriffs instead of heads.

Barbara protested at this -- it was too much like fighting that could cause injury -- but found herself overruled by the both of them, who were adamant, and insisted that they would submit before they got seriously hurt. Looking at the resolve in their eyes, though, Barbara privately doubted that.

"If I think it's going too far, I'm going to call it," she told them. They protested, almost in tandem. "No! That's final," she said, firmly. "If you really are going to do this, I'll decide where the line needs to be drawn. You are not going to hurt each other seriously over this. You hear me?"

There was muttered agreement.

"Yes, Mom."

"Yes, Mother."

It was still odd, Barbara thought, to hear her Cindy's voice doubled, like this -- to have two where before there had always been just one.

And finally, if a winner hadn't emerged by then, they'd come together in the classic trial of strength and muscle, and keep going until one or the other was dominated enough to submit and concede the match. For this final round, they both were again united in intent -- Barbara could not call a winner and stop the match. It had to be decisive. She sighed, and agreed to those terms, knowing it would be in equal measure heartrending and intensely arousing to watch them go at it.

Vicky and Cindy stood toe to toe now, hands on hips and chests thrust out, foreheads pressed together, like fighters before a match. Which, in a sense, they were.

"Just you and me, Vicky," Cindy whispered softly, a smile tugging at the corners of her lips. "Just your muscle, against mine."

"You're going down, Cindy-Two," Vicky replied, smirking a little. "Right in front of our mother, I'm going to take you down, and she'll see that I'm stronger and better."

"You are never taking her away from me."

"I don't have to. You'll step aside yourself, once I've beaten you, because you'll know you should. You want what's best for her, like I do."

Something in Cindy's gaze changed and softened. She put her hands on Vicky's waist. "I know you do. No matter what, I know that's what you want. But you can't take her from me. I'm too strong for you to do that."

Vicky reached out as well and embraced Cindy in the same way. She turned her face then, as if she was going in for a deep kiss. "But I am stronger and better than you. And she'll see that for herself."

"Let's just see about that, then," Cindy said softly.

Their lips were almost touching, as they maintained their tense stand-off.

Then, Cindy scowled and turned away. "You drank Mom's milk," she said accusingly. She'd clearly smelled it on Vicky's breath.

"Yes," Vicky said defensively. "She fed me. You said I could have it. Anyway, you dawdled."

"I was out there, covering up for you with the press...!"

"Well, you've been fed on it for a lifetime! If you think it's unfair we can wait until tomorrow!"

"No! No need. I'll beat you anyway." Cindy turned to Barbara. "But if there's any left...?" she said, hopefully.

Barbara took Cindy into her arms. "Of course there is, my love." But she knew the first press, so to speak, and the lioness's share, had gone to Vicky. She tensed her muscles as hard as she could, while Cindy fed. Her fleshy chest rippled, the muscle beneath helping to express the fortified milk into Cindy's mouth.

But how much would it matter, that Vicky had drunk more? Was it unfair enough to matter?

She moaned softly in bliss, as her daughter drank from her teat. But all too soon, it was over.

Cindy finished and lifted her head, smiling at Barbara. "Thanks, Mom," she said, kissing Barbara on the lips, letting Barbara taste her own milk on her daughter's lips. "This is enough."

But was it? She had only been able to drink a little, compared to how much Vicky had consumed.

Still, she didn't seem willing to back down at all, as she turned back to Vicky and began flexing her muscles in a posedown.

"So we're even, yes? All fair?" Vicky said archly, turning her body to begin flexing and posing as well.

Instead of replying, Cindy cocked her hips and stretched out her arms and legs, putting on the best display of her muscles she could. The two girls strove to outdo each other in this display of strength, grace and sheer sexiness.

Barbara was almost dizzy from arousal. They were both such paragons of physical perfection. She found herself thinking of her absent counterpart and addressing her mentally. If only you could see her now! Your daughter... facing off against mine... both so strong and pretty. You'd be so proud of her.

Whichever way this duel went, Barbara knew she would end up wanting to take Vicky even more into their family, into her arms, into their hearts. Perhaps she would listen to Barbara and allow her attitude to be tempered... or perhaps not. But Barbara knew she had to try.

She knew it was what her absent counterpart would have wanted.

***

As she knelt down on one knee, across the specially-reinforced workout bench from Vicky, Cindy could not help trembling a little with anticipation.

She had wanted to do this, or something like this, ever since Vicky had entered their lives via that portal. Now it was finally happening.

Cindy had come to feel fond of her counterpart. In fact, she had begun wondering if the three of them could try sharing a bed at night, so... Vicky's words out there had stung. Cindy realized she did not want her Praetorian twin to think of her as weak -- not when she had spent her entire life trying to make herself stronger, in every way, for as long as she could remember.

Also, her strength came from Mom -- if she was showing weakness, she would be letting Mom down. She could never let that happen. It was always with thoughts of Mom that she had overcome every challenge she faced so far. No, she wouldn't let anyone call her weak!

Yet, she would not succumb to the way of thinking that Vicky clearly subscribed to. Vicky was steely -- harsh, unforgiving, not very compassionate at all. Barbara hadn't brought her up that way. From watching everything Barbara did, Cindy had learned what womanly, motherly strength was. It was a strength that served, protected, and sacrificed.

Now, as she faced off against her hard-eyed twin, whose physique was the twin of hers in almost every way, and whose powers were a match for her own, she knew it was that strength she was putting up, against whatever strength Vicky had.

When Vicky propped up her right arm on the bench, every muscle tensed in readiness, Cindy followed suit and matched that hard round ball of biceps muscle on Vicky's arm with her own, hooking thumbs with her rival. Their fingers closed on each other's hands with almost sensual slowness. Their forearms bulged, as they tightened their grips. Already the force of their grips was at steel-bending levels. Their grips would only grow tighter, Cindy knew, from here on out.

All this time, their gazes stayed locked. Vicky's tongue flicked out, to catch a tiny drop of Barbara's milk at the outer edge of her lower lip. She smiled slightly.

Cindy felt a flash of irritation, and her eyes narrowed. She could not help feeling ever so slightly aggrieved. She'd been out there, trying to mollify the public after Vicky's violent display, and meanwhile Vicky had stolen a march on her, in a way. Mom's milk was such a potent substance -- and yes, it was true that Cindy herself had practically grown up on it, but... right this moment, would it give Vicky an unfair edge over her?

She put it out of mind, as an ungallant thought. Mom hadn't raised her to complain -- Mom had raised her to compete with her very best foot (or arm) forward, to meet every challenge with the best she had to give!

Barbara reached out, putting her hand on top of theirs, preparing to start them off. They both turned to her and smiled. Regardless of their mutual animosity, they both knew this would thrill and please her. In this, both girls knew they were of one mind and heart.

Mom's hand was trembling slightly, as she looked at each of them in turn. She didn't have to say it -- Cindy knew that her mom was rooting for her.

She would win -- win for Mom!

Barbara released their hands, and they were off.

***

They were all familiar with one another's bodies by now -- every bulge of muscle, every line of striation, every curve of flesh -- thanks to their workouts together.

But the sight before Barbara's eyes was still enough to make her breath catch in her throat. She felt sure these were the most perfectly-formed arms in the world. Her loins clenched as the struggle of bulging round mounds continued, seeming to intensify with each passing moment, until both arms were trembling violently. Her pulse raced as she saw the veins starting to pop out, first on Cindy's arm, then on Vicky's, the blue-grey lines slowly creeping up along the quivering flesh, testament to the sheer amount of power each superheroine was putting forth.

Her heart went out to her daughter, as she saw the strain on Cindy's face, the gritted teeth and flared lips, the tightly-clenched jaw, the scrunched-up face and eyes squeezed almost shut, the sweat trickling down from Cindy's forehead. She wanted her daughter to win, of course - how could she not be in her daughter's corner, in any fight?

But she could not help herself -- she knew full well they were fighting for her favor, in a way, just as they'd been discussing hours ago. And... to be fought over like that... by her daughter and quasi-daughter who loved her, and whom she loved... well... it was terribly, terribly flattering. And arousing. She wriggled slightly, and swallowed.