Special Number 3

She kept on running, faster and faster, fast enough to see the colors all around melt into one another and compressing Space as they did so. To her eyes, it created the illusion that she was now traversing an undulating tunnel, following the mysterious beacons despite the fact she only got fleeting glimpses of them when she had already left them behind. As she approached the end of her journey, the impression of the heaving passageway lost consistency and the sunlight hit her face again. With a well-timed jump, she literally flew above the myriad of police cars and officers and found her way into an air duct that was easy enough to open.

As if it were an aquatic slide, she allowed her body to enjoy the ride into the deepest bowels of the financial institution, "that loan facilitator and mortgage hunter" as Clare used to say, only using her gloved hands to control the speed of descent when she heard the voices of the bank robbers a few metres below her position. Using the heel of her left boot, she slowly removed the nearest ventilation grate and saw one of the perpetrators drinking water like there was no tomorrow.

"The real action begins now. I hope you're ready."

"Trust me, I am."

"Then go get them, girl!"

She contorted her legs and waist to allow for a better entry angle and dropped down to the primary stage of the crime scene.

* * *

"Hmmm... guys..." Ryan began mumbling. "I... I think we have company."

"What on Earth are you talking about?" complained Conor, visibly aggravated at having his thoughts disturbed once again.

"Oh, I'm pretty sure he's referring to me!" replied Rose as she appeared in the center of the group of hostages, to everyone's surprise.

"What the...? Kieran's voice faltered at the sight of the green-clad woman whose curves were impossible to describe.

"I thought Halloween was still a few months away..." mocked Conor who didn't seem impressed by her sensuality at all. The machine gun he was carrying was directly aimed at her head. "Who are you and how did you enter this building?"

"I'm not going to bother with names for now, but I got in the same way those cops outside will the moment they decide it's time to end this little charade of yours. Of course, I plan on having everything solved before that happens, so..."

"You're here to stop us?" the mocking tone continued to be evident. "That's funny because I only see three guns in this room and none of them is in your hands."

"Oh, spare me... who needs those toys, anyway? Guns are so... overrated!" she replied. "I honestly don't know why, when they're always jamming at the most inappropriate of hours and some models can't even maintain their molecular structure intact when I do this..." she snapped her fingers, producing a bright flash of light that spread out in one hundred concentric circles, lighting up the whole division like a Christmas tree.

No one understood the meaning of it all until the strangest thing began to happen. One by one, the O'Malley brothers watched the impossible phenomenon of having their weapons start to dissolve in their hands as if they were made of soap. Their hands almost instantly got covered with a gooey black substance that, not only was extremely unpleasant to feel, but also to smell.

"What sorcery is this?" Ryan freaked out as the water he had already swallowed came rushing up his throat and he vomited where he stood.

Rose jumped away from the circle of hostages and touched the forehead of the middle brother with her right index finger.

"I'm not sure if sorcery is the right word, see? I just imagined your guns becoming soft and useless and everything happened the way I wanted to. I'm still getting the hang of this thing, but I think that's pretty much the gist of it, silly little wannabe bank robber!"

"But that... that's... impossible!"

"And yet, it came to be! Isn't that interesting? Let's try this again, shall we? I wonder what will happen if I start thinking about hard and heavy things..." Rose snapped her fingers once again.

Ryan stopped breathing for a second or two, his eyes unable to hide the sudden discomfort he was now feeling. At the same time, both Kieran and Conor were experiencing the same embarrassing situation that involved heavily swollen protuberances with two big weights dangling on the sides, trying to cut a massive hole right through their pants.

"I'm flattered you're putting together such a spectacle for me, boys," Rose giggled and took a curtsy bow. All of the hostages had the same flabbergasted expression on their faces, and some of them were starting to drool as the waves of power reverberated and hit them, too.

"Un...be...lie...vable," Conor muttered whilst being dragged into the cold, marble floor by the additional thirty pounds he had gained underneath. The three of them fell flat simultaneously, the entirety of their bodies acquiring a temporary rock-like second layer of skin that kept them completely restrained, unable to move a muscle.

"That's more like it!" She giggled one last time. "If I had the time to play with you a little bit longer, I wouldn't hesitate, but there's someone else I got to see so I'm afraid this little session is now officially over. I'm just going to unlock those doors there..." and with a single thought, she did just that... "And when the police come in, you should be able to move again, with no permanent side effects... I think."

She then turned to the hostages, biting her lower lip, seductively.

"As for all of you, I'm terribly sorry you got caught up in all of this but the situation is already resolved, as you can see. Now, you're free to tell the authorities what exactly happened here but, most likely they won't believe in you. I sure I wouldn't if someone told me about a woman wearing a strange green outfit that saved the day thanks to her superpowers, but It's all up to you, okay? Bye."

Rose ended her little victory speech with a warm smile and sprinted across the bank's front doors before anyone could even bat an eyelid.

* * *

After leaving work, Josh Reynolds picked up the first bus that came along and headed towards his apartment for a well-deserved rest. As he got there, he noticed the front door was open but wasn't alarmed at all. Having nothing of interest to steal, he knew no burglar would be stupid to break in and, besides, the lock hadn't been forced in any way, but clearly opened with the only spare key there was in existence.

"Have you come to surprise me today, Rose?" he asked as he pressed the switch to turn on the light. Much to his astonishment, the lamp flickered but refused to illuminate the entrance hall. The same thing happened in the living room, the kitchen and the bathroom. Only his bedroom defied the shroud of darkness with a dozen colorful candles lit by the door and three times that number on the inside.

Josh walked in, somewhat eager to find out why the need for such a moody atmosphere when he saw her lying on his bed, pretty content with herself. He only recognized her because she had her freckled face exposed, as the rest of the body encased in that sultry outfit was totally different from the one he had explored so many times, whilst trying to learn human anatomy in Braille.

He also didn't fail to notice the velvet seat chair that had been placed in the center of the room.

"That seat is for you, lover," she purred, sending a feverish tingle down his spine. He removed his jacket and did what she asked, getting aroused by the game she had prepared for him even though he still didn't know the rules.

"That outfit is really something else! Where did you get it?"

Rose got out of bed like a cat in heat, exhibiting sexually dominant traits that were new in their relationship.

"You know..." she said insinuating her red lips close to his. "I'm not in the mood for questions, Josh! I came here for a little bit of fun..." Out of nowhere, two pairs of furry green cuffs appeared in her left hand.

"What kind of fun are you talking about?" Josh asked, his manhood already beginning to twitch.

"I thought I'd start by giving you that lap dance you've always wanted. However, first I have to make sure you play by the book. Hands behind your back, sweetie! As you know, when it comes to these, you can look, but you can't touch." As he complied, she leaned seductively and made him a captive in his own house. The funny thing is: he never saw the handcuffs disappear from his sight at all but, in a moment he could move his hands and feet and, in the next, they were totally immobilized.

"What's gotten into you, Rose?" he asked, bewildered.

"Shhh... if you ask any more questions, you get no dance and I'll leave you there the rest of the night."

Josh held his tongue as the way she spoke gave no room for doubt. She was dead serious and displeasing her at that precise moment would be a tomfoolery.

"Good boy... now, bring on the music!" she clapped her hands and the bedroom became the birthplace of a conflagration of exotic sounds. Rose swayed her hips from side to side and started playing with her full, taut breasts, the rhythm following her moves and not the other way around.

Soon afterward, she showed him the full lusciousness of her glorious ass, leaning closer and closer to have him smell the fabric and yearn for the chance of planting a kiss in such perfect vision. Her cascading, fiery hair tickled his nose as she executed a backflip over his head and then rubbed herself all over the back of the chair, touching some of his anterior erogenous zones in the process.

Josh tried to look at her, but she moved too fast for him to follow. His neck was still in the middle of the semi-rotation movement and she was already in front of him again, this time, extending one of her legs forward so that the tip of her thigh-high boot stopped one inch away from his pulsating erection. He was already beginning to sweat like a madman, betrayed by the libidinous desires of his second brain and, if she kept on teasing him like that, he was going to... he was going to... God, he wasn't going to be able to hold on much longer!

Rose removed the boot from the proximities of his crotch, only to place the other one instead, producing the same erotic effect. Then, as he licked his lips and tried not to blink to avoid missing any part of the action, she placed her delicate hands on each side of the chair and started a series of increasingly swift pelvic movements, fucking his mind and body by just stirring the air between them. Josh's response was to struggle fervently against the manacles so that he could have her in his arms without delay, yet the fight was doomed to failure right from the start.

Powerless to stop her advances, completely devoid of any longings other than the ones she wanted him to have, his cock exploded in an amalgam of creamy white that left a stain so big it descended from his genital area to the middle of his pants. It was only at this moment she stopped tantalizing him and, with another slap of her supercharged fingers, the cuffs vanished into thin air.

"Oh, Jesus..." that's all he could say... "Jesus, Rose... that was... Oh, Jesus!"

"Jesus was a holy man and I'm feeling anything but holy tonight, pet!" she teased as she slid her tongue inside his right ear.

"No kidding... Holy Mother of... I... have no idea how you pulled that one off, but..."

"You want more, is that it? Because that was only a taste of what I can do, you know?" she asked, exuding mind-bending seduction throughout her every pore.

"I believe you..." he responded, cleaning the drops of sweat from his forehead and arms. After such an exhibition, he was ready to believe in anything that came out of her attractive, wet lips.

"But if you want the full package, you and I have to strike a deal, right here, right now!" she declared firmly, her words hitting him like a stingy whip.

"State your terms, dear!" he replied.

"I'm tired of all our petty discussions, I'm tired of breaking up with you and then starting things again a few months later, I'm tired of us postponing the idea of building a future together. The truth is I know I'm meant to be yours in the same way you're meant to be mine and it's time for us to accept that once and for all. If you don't feel the same way about me, then we might as well go separate ways... permanently!"

He was taken aback by her sincerity. In good honesty, he had had similar thoughts in the past but when things seemed to start to get into gear once more, there was always a pebble or a big boulder getting in the way. The Rose wearing that outfit, though, obviously had the strength of heart and will to crush whatever thing threatened her search for happiness, and her feisty demeanor was exactly what he needed in his life.

"There's no way you're leaving, Rose!" he exclaimed and stole her a kiss. "I'm not letting go of the one who was always there for me since day one. We've had our rough days, and I'm to blame for most of them, but you're right... It's time to end this charade once and for all because I am and will always be madly in love with you! You are indeed mine and I'm yours, always!"

As their lips interlocked, a promise was sealed in every corner of every dimensional plane in a kiss that rewrote the meaning of Eternity. When they were finally able to separate themselves from one another, Josh's mouth was completely dry and ecstasy was more than just a state of mind.

"That's more like it!" she said, smiling from cheek to cheek. "But look... It's almost as if I drained all of your saliva... you poor thing! I bet you're feeling quite thirsty right now, aren't you?" Rose asked, mischievously.

"Yeah, I really am. Could you be a dear and grab me a beer from the fridge?" he asked, only looking for an excuse to see her tight ass in all of its alluringness one more time.

"A beer?" she grinned and looked down at the naughtiest zipper of her emerald fantasy. "Why settle for something so trivial when I have just the right beverage for you, lover boy?" She drove his hand to the Promised Land underneath and allowed him to expose it all. "Oops... I forgot my panties at home..."

Though a first between them, Josh didn't wait for any more directions and knelt before the ultimate shrine of devotion. He loved her, and that meant loving all of her, anytime, anywhere. From that day on, no matter the situation, he would never be thirsty again.

* * *

They ended up spending the night together, exploring all kinds of pleasurable positions and even inventing some new ones. The outfit amplified her energy and resistance, but he was only human and eventually got tired and fell asleep. Before she permitted herself to rest with him, though, she had one final interchange of words with the mysterious voice.

"You did a very good job, today! The bank teller will definitely survive his injuries and no one of the hostages told anything about your little exhibition. The crooks tried to, but they were pretty much the laughing stock of every officer in the scene."

"That's good to know. Thank you."

"I think you're ready."

"Ready for what?"

"That's something you're going to have to ask someone else. I've already done my share of the work."

"I still don't completely understand what you are."

"But I already told you that. I'm the potential every soul carries within... I'm you, Rose! I've always been you, hiding underneath the masks of normalcy."

"Great, so I've been talking to myself this whole time!"

"And was that such a bad thing? You needed to talk to me to understand how this outfit can be important, and now that you have found out more about yourself, I'll keep on living inside your mind, but these small conferences of ours will eventually come to an end."

"That's funny... I think I'm going to miss you whispering in my head!"

"You can't miss yourself but thank you, anyway. Pleasant dreams."

"Good night," Rose muttered before closing her eyes and starting to dream about the family she wanted to have.

* * *

Early in the following morning, she returned to Fantasy Realms, hoping to finally get some real answers to the innumerous questions that were still pirouetting inside her mind. She didn't wait for the store to open but, instead, invited herself in courtesy of her telekinetic abilities. The proprietor - or whatever was posing for him - was already waiting for her, sitting on a stool and smoking a golden pipe.

"Welcome back, Miss Driscoll. I trust you've had plenty of opportunities to test Special Number 3's distinctive characteristics, and have already given up on the idea of trying to return it to me because that's something I'll never accept."

With the outfit on, she could now catch a glimpse of what was hiding beneath the guise of a human being: it was a rainbow silhouette with an energy signature that didn't correspond to anything planet Earth had to offer.

"Before we talk about anything else, I want to know two things: what kind of creature are you and what have you done to the real owner of this place?"

"Hmmm..." He blew a circle of smoke into the air. "The second part of your question is easy to answer: he's right there in the back, in a state of stasis, so to speak. Don't worry, he's perfectly unharmed and will be waking up, soon."

"What about the first part?" Rose asked, her boots tapping the floor.

"That's... trickier. I'm not sure I can even be called a creature in the common use of the term, but I can tell you this: I'm a Master Tailor, the last of my clan actually, and I have the skills to produce special outfits whenever special people and special situations require them."

Rose leaned her head, quizzically.

"You were already here in the store, hiding somewhere when I ordered my original outfit, weren't you? And then you did something to my mind when I came to return Special Number 3..."

"That is correct. I had to confuse you just a little in order for you to accept the gift. It was made specifically for you. Other people can wear it, but the powers within are only unlocked by the connection established to your physical body."

Each new revelation was even more confusing than the one that came before.

"What's so special about me to receive such a valuable present? I'm just a poor girl in a poor city that works in a bar for a living!"

"Your genetic code and certain forces I'm bound to, say otherwise. Heroes appear when they're needed and dangerous games are being played in the rim of the galaxy that will require for them to rise. I wish I could tell you more, but I'm forbidden to do so, and there are some mysteries you'll need to uncover on your own."

"You mentioned you were the last of your clan..." she remarked. "If that's so, then I'm correct in assuming there are others similar to you out there, other Master Tailors?"

He put down the pipe, the human-like eyes becoming darker, but not to the point of exhibiting any kind of menacing influence.

"Yes, and not all of them use their abilities for the sake of righteousness. Some are neutral when it comes to the great resolutions of this Universe and all of its parallels, but others are just plain evil. My outfits bestow many abilities to those who wear them, but if a person tries to use them for completely deviant purposes, they instantly disintegrate. Other outfits made by other Tailors do the same, however, the skills bestowed upon them aren't..." and he suspended the sentence at the awareness that his words had already been perfectly assimilated.

Rose looked at the way the energy before her caused tiny, little ripples of dislocated air and matter to extend in every direction. She touched one of them with her gloved hands, feeling the manifestation of a rift of tremendous power.

"I'll keep the outfit, but that doesn't mean I'm going to be using it from this day forward." She concluded.