Victory-Gal found herself in a pickle. They wanted to know who her husband was, but she didn’t have an elaborate cover story prepared. And if she activated her trigger, there was no telling what she might say or do, or where she might be when she woke from her trance. If Blackwing saw her now, she’d probably be smirking under that full-face mask she always wore and thinking “I told you so.”
Hell, Blackwing would never fall into such a trap, mostly because she had the sense to keep her distance until it was time for fists to fly. If worse came to worse, she’d probably be the final hold-out.
“Well,” she cleared her throat. “I’m sad to say that my husband is away on business, so introductions will have to wait, but uh…”
“Husbands” in this strange community could be men or women? That was an unexpected twist, given the nature of the machinations at play, but maybe if Victory-Gal leaned into it…?
“...she’s quite the woman, let me tell you!”
Jessica, Alice, Vera, and Lyla all seemed to listen intently, oohing at the revelation that Victory-Gal’s husband was a ‘her’.
“What does your husband look like?” Vera asked. The librarian’s gaze seemed to indicate she was already imagining all sorts of possibilities.
“She’s uh…” Well, if her husband wasn’t real, did the source of inspiration matter? “She’s rather petite, with Asian blood, and looks very attractive in a suit!”
Victory-Gal knew full-well she was describing Mazakla. Hopefully the magician wouldn’t be upset by this.
The whole table continued to ooh and ahh.
“And what kind of husband is she?” Lyla asked.
“Oh, she’s lovely and entertaining, but stern when it’s called for,” Victory-Gal said. Abandoning any pretense of making something up on the fly, she began to just describe Mazakala as she best knew her. “As loyal a partner as I could ask for!”
The book club was buying it, from what Victory-Gal could sense. Even Lyla, whom had not escaped suspicion, seemed to believe it.
“And what’s she like, in…” Alice giggled, blushing. “What’s she like when you’re being…saucy?”
“P-Pardon?” Victory-Gal was taken aback by the question.
“Oh, yes!” Jessica pouted as she drawled her question. “What’s yer hubby like in bed, darlin’?”
Caught on the backfoot, Victory-Gal scrambled to recover. She didn’t think book clubs were the sort of place where wives talked about their love lives so openly, but if she had to maintain cover…
“Umm…” Victory-Gal thought fast. “She’s very loving, but commanding.” She took a breath to steady herself, both to maintain her cover, and to avoid working herself up. “And she can make me do anything she wants!”
“Anything?” Vera asked.
Victory-Gal blushed. She was obviously mixing her own personal fetishes into her cover story, but these ladies didn’t need to know that. “She won’t get me hurt, of course, but a snap of her finger, and I’ll play any role she wants.”
“Gracious,” Lyla whistled. “Any role?”
Victory-Gal’s blush deepened. In her deepest fantasies, it didn’t matter what role she was given, so long as she felt that blissful state of hypnosis. Maid, pet, sex doll…it really didn’t matter, because it was the feeling of being put under and commanded that mattered most to her.
Not that these ladies needed to know that of course.
“Oh, I’m very open-minded when I’m alone with my hubby.” Victory-Gal said.
If Mazakala ever heard this conversation, she’d probably kill Victory-Gal, but she was just playing the hand that she was dealt.
*****
Back at the team’s makeshift base of operations, Mazakala sneezed.
Though she remained patient, she hadn’t heard from any of the team in some time. That was to be expected with a loner like Blackwing, of course, and Silver Tiger had the codeword to get out of a jam. Victory-Gal, though? Her plan of using hypnosis as a protective shield to infiltrate was risky, but Mazakala took some responsibility for going through with it.
As time passed, Mazakala remained stationary, meditating to remain focused. She knew full-well that the team was already taking a tactical risk by splitting up, but if things remained as they were, the magician wouldn’t be able to simply remain idle. Yet without a proper lead to follow, she’d likewise be wandering into enemy territory without knowing what to expect.
Sun May 18 10:49:00 2025