Ultrahuman 01 - Ugly Read online

  ‘Don’t you try to save my pride,’ June said, grinning. ‘With that body I’d be on catwalks in Milan and Paris. I’d… Well, maybe too much breast for catwalks. Maybe. I think they might overlook it. You need acting lessons. Yes, we get you in front of some casting agents and…’

  ‘June, I don’t want to stay like this. It’s not me. I’m not…’ Penny waved a hand at the image in the mirror. ‘I’m not this.’

  ‘So, all this time you’ve said you were ugly and everyone ignored you, you actually liked it?’

  ‘Well…’

  ‘If you want to change back, change back. Oh! Can you change back?’

  ‘I don’t know,’ Penny mumbled.

  ‘Well, you can fly. What else?’

  ‘I don’t know that either. Uh, oh, I can see in the dark. There’s no colours, but I can see in the pitch black. That’s it so far. I’ve only been like this for a couple of hours.’

  ‘Oh, yeah. I mean… How would we find out? I mean, how do other Ultras find out what they can do?’

  ‘There are a couple of government programmes for testing, if you want to go into the police or FBI. The Army has one too. I guess everyone else does it by trial and error.’

  ‘So… if someone shoots you and you don’t end up dead, then you’re bulletproof.’

  ‘Basically. It’s not exactly a great way to proceed.’

  June ran a hand down Penny’s arm. ‘Your skin hasn’t changed. You always had good skin. I don’t want to see anyone put holes in it.’

  ‘No, that wouldn’t be my preference, but…’

  ‘But what?’

  ‘My parents.’

  ‘Oh.’ June’s parents were alive and well, and living in Atlanta. Her father was a lawyer, mostly family law. It did not pay as well as criminal cases, but he said he was happier. Penny was an orphan. Her parents had died when they happened to be in a bank in Red Bank which got robbed by an Ultra. One of the bank’s guards had pulled a gun, and the robber had demolished that entire side of the building. They had had to use DNA to identify Penny’s mother and they had buried an empty coffin. Her father was buried in a closed casket because there was not that much left of him after the explosion.

  Penny, of course, did not hate Ultrahumans because of it. She hated that one man, Thermite, and was maybe a little more vehement in denouncing Ultra criminals than most. There were a few fan clubs devoted to some of the less violent, and more attractive, villains. Penny thought the people who joined them were sick. She was equally forceful about standing up for the Ultras who fought crime. She thought they performed a valuable service.

  ‘You think you’ve got some kind of duty to use this, if you can?’ June asked.

  ‘Maybe.’ Penny gave a little shrug. ‘If I’m stuck like this I’ll almost have to. I mean, I’ll have to go to the police and sort out new paperwork. I don’t exactly look like my driver’s licence anymore.’

  ‘Sleep on it,’ June suggested. ‘Maybe things will look different in the morning.’

  ~~~

  In the morning, things looked exactly the same. Penny was not taking it with her usual stoicism.

  ‘This is terrible!’ she moaned as she sat in the lounge with her knees pulled up to her chin. ‘None of my clothes fit. I had to sleep naked! I’ve got nothing to wear, and I can’t go out to buy anything, because I haven’t got anything to wear!’

  June was not used to being the one keeping a level head, but Penny had been there to keep her steady all the times there had been bumps in her modelling career, so she was going to be there for Penny now. Besides, she had an Ultra in her front room. She handed over a mug of coffee and schooled her features into what she hoped was a calm and practical expression.

  ‘Well, we’re the same height now. You’re a little narrower in the hips. My clothes should fit you, maybe with a belt. Shoes might be a problem, but I have a couple of pairs of sneakers which should be okay.’

  Penny looked up at her with a slightly pleading expression. ‘Really? What about a bra? I mean, I barely needed one before, and now…’

  ‘You don’t look like you need one now either,’ June replied with a hint of envy, ‘and you certainly don’t need one to slob around the apartment. I’ll get you a T-shirt and some jeans.’ She walked off to her room, flashing Penny an encouraging smile.

  ‘Thanks, June,’ Penny called after her. ‘You’re being really great about this.’

  ‘You’re my friend, Pen. You’re still my friend, even if you don’t look the same.’

  ‘I’m not sure. I feel… different. Not just the body, I feel kind of… kind of flighty. My mind’s going nineteen to the dozen. I want to do something. I don’t know what, just anything. I feel a bit weird. You know, not needing glasses is weird too. I keep wanting to adjust them.’

  June emerged from her room carrying a bundle of clothes. ‘Put these on, maybe that’ll make you feel more like you.’

  Penny rummaged through until she found a pair of lacy boy-shorts, grimaced, and pulled them on. They felt a little loose, but the main problem was that all of Penny’s underwear, even her two B-cup bras, was sensible, and cotton. June did not have anything in her underwear drawer Penny considered sensible aside from a couple of sports bras. The jeans looked worn, but they were supposed to look like that. They were not as tight in the thigh as they were when June wore them, and the waistband was looser, and they looked a tiny bit short in the leg. June carefully adjusted all her clothes to a perfect fit, so Penny figured her legs were a little longer than June’s. The top was a tight, black, cropped T-shirt; Penny looked down at her bare midriff and then up at June, her eyes narrowing.

  ‘What?! It’s a shame to cover it all up.’ June grinned. ‘I admit it’s better you’re dressed. It’s certainly less distracting.’

  Penny grinned back. ‘Still not into girls. Sorry.’

  ‘Too much to hope for, I guess. Drink your coffee.’

  With at least some of her skin covered up, Penny did feel a little less hyper, and the warm brew felt nice going down. She still felt like she should be doing something, but there was not quite so much urgency, likely because she was warmer.

  ‘If you were going to, y’know, go out and fight crime,’ June said, ‘how would you go about that?’

  ‘To do it properly… There’s a police registration procedure. The more you’re willing to tell them, the more semi-official you are. But I think I should learn to fight first. I mean, Dad made me do a little judo, but that’s just sport fighting really.’

  ‘Okay… The Knights. One of them runs some sort of dojo a few blocks from here. Maybe he can help you.’

  ‘It’s a plan. I think we’ll wait for the New Year. And to find out whether I’m going to change back. I mean, if I turn back into the ugly duckling then there’s no point.’

  ‘You were never ugly,’ June snapped.

  ‘Yeah. I was.’

  ‘Would you accept “unconventionally beautiful?”’

  Penny laughed; she had a beautiful, throaty laugh. ‘No.’

  25th December.

  June was giggling. She was giggling because she had bought Penny a new, loose-weave, fluffy sweater which had been a little risqué at the time, being quite short, and was now practically indecent. The rule was, if you got clothes, you put them on and, to be fair to June, she had not known Penny’s flesh would be showing through the fluffy wool.

  ‘It’s not funny, you know,’ Penny stated.

  ‘It’s a bit funny,’ June countered.

  ‘No it’s… Okay, it’s a bit funny. But what if I’m really stuck like this?’

  ‘Then we make the best of it. You’re gorgeous, especially in a tight sweater.’

  ‘Ha ha.’

  ‘So we put you in front of some agents, get a set done, you can quit that stupid job and get something that pays real money.’

  ‘I can’t be a model! If you put me on a catwalk I’ll trip over my own feet!’

  ‘Sure?’ June replied, her eyebr
ows rising. ‘You haven’t tripped, or dropped anything, or stubbed your toe on the furniture, or… Well, anyway, you haven’t done a single klutzy thing since you came back Friday night.’ She poked a finger at Penny’s chest. ‘You are elegant.’

  ‘I’ve never been elegant in my life.’

  ‘You’ve never been five-eleven either.’

  ‘Shouldn’t that make me more ungainly?’

  ‘Well it hasn’t, live with it. I’m telling you, you could make a fortune.’

  ‘Sure… right… Here, open this one.’ Penny picked up a wrapped package and tossed it to June. They were kneeling on the floor in the lounge, so when June fumbled it, the cylindrical present rolled straight under the sofa. ‘Now who’s the klutz,’ Penny said, giggling.

  June started reaching under the sofa to try to find her present. ‘Have you considered the possibility that you can’t throw?’

  ‘No, I’m elegant, remember? Can’t you find it?’

  ‘I found it, but I can’t get more than a fingertip to it…’

  Penny got to her feet, walked to the side of the sofa, and lifted. ‘There,’ she said. June just sat there, looking up at her. ‘What?’

  ‘Pen…’ June nodded at the couch.

  ‘What?’

  ‘Since when could you lift the sofa?’

  ‘Oh. I just… I didn’t think about it. I just wanted your present out of there.’

  June pulled her present clear of the sofa and Penny lowered the furniture back into place. ‘So,’ June said as she started to tear open the paper, ‘you’re strong too.’

  Penny sat back down, frowning. ‘Apparently I’m stronger, and that was easy, but we don’t know how strong.’

  ‘Yeah, but that should be easy to find out. We can just go to a gym and we can see how much you can lift.’ She pulled a bottle of perfume from the cardboard tube and smiled. ‘This stuff is expensive. You shouldn’t have.’

  ‘One extravagant present is allowed,’ Penny replied. ‘It’s in the housemate rulebook.’

  ‘There’s a rulebook?’

  ‘You don’t have a copy? I’ll get you one for next Christmas.’

  ~~~

  Penny was half-stretched out on the sofa, her eyes on the screen in front of her where True Powers was playing. June had bought her the boxed set of the entire first three seasons and they had put it on for want of something better to watch live. They were already into season two and ex-porn star Madeleine Joy was busy hamming it up in a nearly transparent white gown as the White Priestess. The producers had decided that T&A got good ratings. It was late and almost all the channels were running sappy Christmas films. Given Penny’s current condition, this seemed like an appropriate choice anyway.

  June was lying with her head on Penny’s hip, hence Penny’s semi-reclined position. On a periodic basis the brunette would move to take a drink of wine, but otherwise she seemed happy to lie there and watch a programme she had seen at least twice before. They were both at least half-cut. This was their third bottle of wine and Penny was pretty sure it would have to be the last given that her vision was starting to swim.

  That might have been why the, rather nice, stroking sensation on her stomach took a while to impinge upon her senses. Her eyes drifted closed for a second or two, maybe longer. It felt nice. What was it? A hand, yes? Fingers absently trailing over…

  She stiffened. ‘June…?’

  ‘Mm-uh-huh?’

  ‘Uh… still not into girls.’

  ‘I know you’re oh shit!’ June jerked upright, her hand slipping out from under Penny’s sweater. A second later, the tall brunette was sitting at the far end of the sofa looking horrified. ‘I’m sorry! I wasn’t thinking. I must be drunker than I thought. I’d never…’

  Penny swung her legs around and sat up. ‘Hey, it’s okay. Nothing happened. It was kind of nice, just…’

  ‘You’re not into girls. I’m sorry. I was comfortable and you’re gorgeous, and… it’s been a while…’

  Penny giggled; she could not really help herself. ‘Sorry. It’s been longer for me. I wish I could help.’

  ‘God, so do I!’ June burst into a fit of giggles. When they subsided she added, ‘Maybe I should go to bed.’

  ‘Aww, don’t let that spoil it. We’re almost at the end of season two.’ Penny shuffled down the sofa and looped an arm around June’s waist. ‘Just friends hugging, okay?’

  June nodded quickly and put her arm around Penny’s shoulders. ‘I can manage that.’

  ‘Have some more wine. It’s Christmas, we should have a hangover tomorrow.’

  ‘Oh… I think that’s already a given.’

  26th December.

  ‘You don’t even have a headache,’ June moaned.

  ‘I do,’ Penny replied as she busied herself with making breakfast, ‘I just don’t seem to be too bothered by it.’

  ‘I guess we can add a high pain threshold to the list then. I think my brain has collapsed into a black hole.’

  ‘That seems exceptionally unlikely, given you aren’t sucking the rest of the world into a singularity.’

  ‘You’re using long words,’ June moaned, ‘like “you” for example.’

  Penny giggled. ‘I’ll try to keep it to monosyllables. Maybe we should go out for a walk after breakfast. Y’know? Get some fresh air.’

  ‘You think you should? Go out, I mean. If someone sees you with me…’

  Penny handed over a mug of coffee. ‘Yeah… I had thought of that. We should go somewhere where they don’t know us. North Beach. We can walk along the sand.’

  ‘How are we going to get there, exactly?’

  Penny grinned at her. June did not entirely like that grin.

  ~~~

  The landing was not exactly perfect, but Penny managed to get down without dumping June, or herself, in the sand. June was giggling like an idiot the whole time. The giggling had been a little maniacal at various points in the flight, but Penny had had no trouble carrying her friend.

  ‘I need to work on the landings a little,’ Penny said as she set June down. ‘I’m not sure those heels are really suitable for sand.’

  ‘I like heels,’ June replied. ‘Where are we anyway?’

  ‘Uh, well, North Beach. Meadow Lane is over the rise. I figured it should be quiet here. How’s your head?’

  June giggled again. ‘Cold.’

  ‘Come on, we can walk it off.’

  They set off down the beach together, and it took about a hundred yards before June stopped and pulled her shoes off.

  ‘Don’t say anything,’ June said.

  ‘You’ll get cold feet,’ Penny replied.

  ‘It’ll be even warmer when we get home then.’ June started off again, Penny keeping pace easily, which was a novel experience. ‘This was a good idea,’ June added. ‘I do feel better, and we hardly ever do stuff together. Outside the apartment anyway.’

  ‘I suppose we don’t. I’ve always thought that was why we work, as housemates. I mean, we’re different. We don’t step on each other’s toes. We have different interests. The biggest thing we share is the office.’

  ‘And that’s mostly bitching about the people there.’

  There was a giggle. ‘I don’t bitch.’

  ‘No. No you don’t. You should, but you don’t. If you are stuck like that, I bet you get promoted inside of a week.’

  ‘That’s before you get me on a catwalk?’

  ‘I was thinking more like glamour. We’ll get you in swimsuits, on Sports Illustrated.’

  Penny felt her cheeks heating. ‘I am not going to have my pictures taken half-naked.’

  ‘Why not? You’re a goddess. I’m not talking Playboy here.’

  ‘I’m not used to… to showing my body off. I’ve never had much of one to show off and just because I have doesn’t mean I’m going to suddenly have the desire to. You’ve been planning your career since… High School?’

  ‘Senior year,’ June agreed. ‘I wasn’t always a show-off, y�
�know? I was a straight-A student. I didn’t have a boyfriend until after my SATs. Didn’t sleep with anyone until I moved here.’

  ‘Really?’

  ‘Uh-huh. I wasn’t, like, saving myself or anything. I was busy. What about you?’

  Penny’s cheeks felt suddenly a lot hotter, despite the chill air. ‘I, uh… Well, I was seventeen and Daniel McClusky said he wanted to… I couldn’t believe it…’

  ‘Didn’t go well?’ June’s tone was sympathetic.

  ‘Total disaster. He was after another girl the next day. Sean was the first guy I’ve dated since, and look how well that’s gone.’

  ‘You could have any man you want now.’

  ‘I don’t think this has happened to me so that I can finally have satisfying sex, June.’

  ‘Huh. You could enjoy the fringe benefits though.’ They both giggled, and then June added, ‘You’re talking like this wasn’t just some sort of weird accident.’

  ‘I don’t think it was. I feel like… like I’m supposed to do something. It doesn’t just feel like I want to do something, it feels like I need to.’

  ‘Y-you think it’s affected your mind?’

  Penny thought about it. She could hear the concern in June’s voice, and wanted to reassure her, but she also did not want to lie. ‘It has. I said I felt different. I feel like… like I should be doing something. Anything! I want to know things. I guess I’ve always wanted to know stuff, that’s why I watch documentaries. This is like that, but more, except I don’t want to sit still. I want to be out there, finding stuff out, and fixing it.’

  ‘Oh. Well that doesn’t sound too bad.’

  ‘I’m not going to go super-villain on you.’

  ‘Didn’t think you would. Okay, then we should do something.’

  ‘Like what?’

  ‘First step: shopping.’

  ‘Shopping?’ Penny asked, raising an eyebrow.

  ‘Yeah, if we’re going to go to a club for New Year, you’ll need something sexy to wear.’

  Penny gave a short laugh. ‘Me? In a club?’ There was a tiny pause and then she added, ‘Okay.’

  31st December.

  The weird thing, as far as Penny was concerned, was that she did not feel uncomfortable in the dress they had eventually bought for her. It was tight and short, and sparkling red except for the mesh sides, and the halter top which crossed over her chest was giving her rather more cleavage than she was used to. It exposed far too much flesh for her normal comfort zone, but she was more uncomfortable about not being uncomfortable than she was about the outfit.