"Get up, get up! They're following us!" – Mary in her costume hovered over me.
"That was close.
"Yeah. I was so worried about you! It's strange that we can't hear any trucks.
"Why did you think we were being followed?
"Another drone, I saw it when it flew closer.
"Let's try to hide over there," I pointed to the ruins of a skyscraper.
We ran down the empty street, Mary sprinted a hundred metres ahead of me, and that saved me. When the shells fell from the sky, they exploded in front of her, and only the wind reached me. Mary fell down next to me. She was alive, but she struggled to get to her feet.
"They've landed cataphracts. The big guns can fire at coordinates from a drone. We can't escape.
"There must be a way!
"No. They'll follow us to the end of the island until they kill us. Run, Peter, they don't need you. I'll try to sell my life for a higher price.
"Yeah? How far can I run before someone else with the right of way wants to eat me? No way, Mary Jane Watson, I won't let you die so stupidly!
The new volley of shells was completely stuck in the shell of the shopping centre, but it wouldn't last long.
"Is there really nowhere to hide?
"I've never been in such a tight spot. The cataphracts won't let me get close, and they won't let me leave.
"We can go underground.
"It's worse down there! The monsters in the sewers will kill us much faster, and I won't be able to take any of my enemies with me.
"I think it's worth the risk.
"No! There's one more place. An anomaly on the outskirts of this area.
"An anomaly? What's there?
"No one knows. A field of grey dust, and behind it lives a ghost that kills anyone who disturbs it.
"Everyone?
"It's possible. People are really afraid to disturb the ghost. Fisk's fighters are braver than mercenaries, but even they won't go there.
"Well, all we have to do is get there and defeat the ghost. Piece of cake!
***
The ghost's lair looked very lively and bright: four suburban houses with lawns and trees. But its abnormality was undeniable, because the rest of the area was destroyed, as if someone had deliberately demolished every house and covered the lawns with dust.
"Exhausted from the journey, I was completely worn out, and I asked the forester for shelter for the night...
"What?" Mary asked in surprise.
"It's an old Russian song about a man who goes into a stranger's house and is fed to the wolves.
"There! Did you see?" she pointed to one of the windows.
"Yes, it's surprising that the window isn't broken.
"There was a girl there!
"A ghost?
"No, she looked normal.
"Shall we go and say hello?
"How can you be so indifferent, Peter?
"It's not indifference, I just don't get hysterical for no reason. It's safer here than anywhere else I've been today.
The wind blew, and a slender, petite girl appeared on the road. Long black hair almost completely hid her face, and she was dressed in a white hoodie. The girl made sure we were looking at her and scattered.
"Fuck it!" Mary turned around and started walking back.
"Mary!" I grabbed her by the shoulder.
"Did you see that? Did you see?
"Mary, you sound like a character from a cheap horror film!
"So are you!
"Then tell me what characters in cheap horror films do when they come to an unfamiliar and dangerous place?
"Well, if you put it that way..." She hugged me.
The door of the nearest house was locked, but while Mary was checking the handle, the lock broke. Inside, it was cosy and clean — not a speck of dust. I headed into the next room and found myself in the kitchen. Finally, I could wash off all the dirt from my falls! I didn't even think that there shouldn't be any water in the tap, I just turned it on. Surprisingly, clean warm water ran out. Mary hesitated a little, but still came closer to the benefits of civilisation. At that moment, I felt something...
It was as if I had been hearing a constant monotonous sound all this time but hadn't noticed it. It had become familiar and unnoticeable, but now it had changed dramatically. And I realised that I was actually familiar with two tones of this noise. The moment Mary overcame her fear, I heard both of them. Of course, the method of information transmission had nothing to do with sound, it was just easier to think of it as sound. Could I "hear" her fear? It seemed like that was the tone I had been hearing from her for the last half hour, ever since she had decided to go into the ghost's lair. And the second tone? I looked at her and the feeling intensified. It was definitely a desire for sex. It took me a few seconds to realise all this, and Mary reached for the water herself, since I was holding her back and not washing her.
I cupped my hands and started to scoop up water, but suddenly the tap hissed and sand poured out! I splashed everything out and jumped back, but the stream of sand had already filled the sink. Hands appeared from it, a head with long black hair, shoulders in a white robe... The creature climbed halfway out of the sink and was already reaching for us.
And I heard the same noise as from Mary, only in different proportions and... a different colour? It's hard to tell. However, one thing is certain: the girl from the sink is not dangerous. She is very scared and a little agitated. I reached out my hand in response and took a step forward so that her crooked fingers would rest in my palm. The figure crumbled into sand on the floor, but it was in no hurry to disappear. I rummaged in the cupboard and found a baking tin.
"Mary, have you ever eaten otherworldly muffins?" I asked, pouring the remains of the ghost into the pan.
"No...
"Okay, let them sit for a while, I don't want them too hot!" I laid the muffins on the countertop like sandcastles in a sandbox.
"Peter, let's get out of here...
"Okay.
Mary happily ran towards the exit, but I caught up with her in the hall and turned towards the stairs to the second floor.
"The kitchen's not convenient. I think the bedroom's there." I explained my actions.
"You've completely lost your mind!
"Or maybe I'm just seeing things you're used to in a new light. You have a set of rules that allow you to survive, but they also prevent you from seeing opportunities. Come on, just come here.
She came closer, and I hugged her, stroked her hair, kissed her lips, and again felt the fear subside and the desire grow stronger. What I feel are emotions. And they are much more powerful in a ghost than in Mary; she is now on the verge between panic and orgasm. I closed my eyes to listen to her, and when I opened them, the world seemed to have changed. I could see streams of tiny particles in the air, as well as plaster and concrete pressed into the walls. Even the sand in the sink, although the light from there couldn't possibly reach me. Looking closer, I noticed a strange lump in the ventilation.
I grabbed the excited supergirl and ran up the stairs, knocking over a heavy armchair with my little toe on the way. The armchair flew away. It seemed that I didn't get my abilities through touch, but through emotions directed at me, and I could even combine them!
In the bedroom, Mary twisted around, fell, but immediately jumped up and closed the door with a heavy wardrobe, and even blocked the gap under the door with dresses from it. In response, I opened the window to avoid the stuffiness; it was hot outside. I just couldn't tell Mary what I was really planning: she wouldn't believe me, and I couldn't say it out loud because we were being watched.
I laid Mary on the bed and slowly began to undress her. With every button I undid, I kissed the exposed part of her body. I kissed her arms, legs, stomach... When the ghost flew in through the window, I silently pointed to Mary Jane's bra and started on her panties.
Mary lay with her eyes closed, but when she realised that four hands were caressing her, she arched her neck to look over her breasts at the new member of our team. I made a shaking gesture on the newcomer's back, and her clothes fell away, revealing her slender young body. I pulled Mary's panties off and approached the brunette sitting on her stomach. With smooth, gentle movements, I gathered her hanging black hair to reveal the newcomer's face, while at the same time positioning myself at Mary's pussy.
"Is she pretty?" I asked, entering her well-lubricated slit.
"Sooooo beautiful," Mary replied. In her state, anything would have been beautiful to her.
"You don't need to be afraid of each other anymore.
"I'm not afraid," said the Ghost in an unexpectedly low and deep voice.
"Why do you live here alone?"
"Because everyone else is gone," she said, turning her head 180 degrees.
Her face was indeed very beautiful. Her skin was white as chalk. Most likely, it was chalk; her abilities allowed her to control more than just sand. She had large brown eyes and slightly pointed features. Her eyebrows were furrowed, and her mouth was slightly open.
It seemed that if I continued to question her, there would be a fight. And I had no idea how to defeat such a mutant.
Gradually, I gained more control over the Ghost's abilities. It greatly altered the sensation of my own body, and I could see her exposing her most sensitive areas to our touch, wherever we touched her. But then my sensitivity began to decrease significantly, and my body felt like it was turning to stone. Mary, on the other hand, was writhing so much that the legs of the bed had long since given way.
It seemed to me that I could feel a very powerful flow of emotions from both girls in the hallway, but in the bedroom I realised how "loud" they could be. At the same time, only Mary was moaning, and even then only quietly. Copying abilities did not go beyond a certain limit; for example, I could not turn even my own hair into sand, but I could make dust fly off my skin. The ability to see through stone ended a few metres below the ground, which made it very difficult to orientate myself in space. Right now, I was only interested in moving forward and backward, but if the Ghost lives with this all the time, I understand why she behaves so strangely.
Due to my reduced sensitivity and increased strength, I enjoyed the two beauties for a whole hour. Not only was the bed broken in several places and held up only by Ghost's supports, but it was also too narrow for the three of us. Instead of lying down and relaxing, we had to drag ourselves to another house. On the way, I realised that I hadn't eaten anything all day, and my body was condemning me for it. Plus, going down from the second floor and looking at the stairs to the basement can be dangerous. True, I was so energised by Mary that it was the stairs that suffered, but it's still something to keep in mind...
The ghost pointed to her main dwelling, and I headed there. Mary was lying on the bed, happy as a clam, lazily stroking her new friend, but as soon as I crossed the threshold of the other house, its owner immediately fell apart and quickly carried her body closer to mine. After she left, the supports and fastenings lasted for five seconds. The bed collapsed, Mary fell to the floor, and seemed to fall asleep.
From the outside, the Ghost's dwelling was no different from the other three cottages, but inside it was a building adapted for the life of its owner, and only her. No wood was used at all, the floor was covered with an even layer of sand, and there was almost no furniture, only a bed and a table made of pressed sand.
"Do you have any food?" I asked.
Instead of answering, a hole opened in the floor, and I saw a shaft going down to a great depth, beyond my sight. From below, the Ghost lifted a frozen pizza, which she heated in the microwave. I couldn't see the stove until the owner removed the cover. Looking around the walls, I found several more dark spots that the Ghost couldn't see. I couldn't control small particles here either.
"Have you met other people with abilities like yours?
"No. You're the first.
"It's a little more complicated for me. By the way, do you have a pizza knife?
Instead of answering, she ran her finger over the box and cut it in half with a thin stream of sand.
"Wow! I've seen something like that on the internet, but it was done by machines... How can you cut like that?
"Everything," she replied modestly.
"Will you let Mary and me stay with you?
The ghost blushed, and I caught a new vivid emotion. Shame. It seems she understands that her lifestyle has strayed too far from that of humans, and she is ashamed to show it.
"Don't worry, we'll take the little house we broke today. I'll fix everything, and we won't bother you.
-... " She didn't know what to say, and I felt fear and a little desire added to her shame.
"You can come to our place anytime, we're always happy to see you! Especially in bed, you know, you're very beautiful and affectionate. Has anyone ever told you that?
The fear disappeared, and desire pushed shame far away.
"Stay. Mary." Is that Mary Jane Watson?
"Yes. Does the whole world know about her?
"Yes.
"Aren't you afraid of those who will come for her?
"No. I used to live at home, but it was blown up. I couldn't fix it...
That's how I learned what sadness feels like. I was almost sure who blew up her house.
"You've done well here. By the way, what's your name?
"Ghost." – She looked even sadder when she said it.
"No. That's your name. I'm called Peter Parker, although that's not my real name. It's just a bad joke that got a little out of hand. The important thing is to remember who you really are.
"Wendy Baker.
"That's a beautiful name.
I chatted with the silent girl for a while longer; it calmed her down. I also grabbed a few more boxes of frozen pizza for breakfast. I didn't go straight to Mary; I decided to find out what other oddities there were on Wendy's property. Where did the houses get their water and electricity, and were they connected to the sewer system?
To admire the sunset, I jumped onto the water tower in one leap. Wendy was filling it from a spring she had brought to the surface near the tower. Wires ran underground in all directions, coming out of the same hole where the glacier had been. Apparently, it was much deeper than I thought. And Wendy was much smarter than the average person: installing a geothermal generator is no easy task.
I remembered how I had begged Wendy to let us stay. Come to think of it, she wouldn't have turned us away anyway. But I was very surprised by her answer to my question about loneliness: "Because everyone disappeared." The girl has severe psychological trauma. Probably comparable to the horror experienced by a person who died and then woke up in a crazy, cruel world where women rule and instead of law, there is the law of the strongest.
I can help Wendy. And Wendy can help me. She will make me stronger, and I will save her from loneliness. The same goes for Mary Jane. I will inevitably have to face this corporation, "Quinpin Incorporated." Help a supergirl get revenge, and she'll always be there to share her strength and resilience with me.
What kind of nonsense is this?
A futile attempt to pass off wishful thinking as reality. Mary, for example, is not only strong, but also beautiful. So what? She has so many bugs in her head that it's downright dangerous to be around her. Neither strength nor beauty can compensate for that. Or Ghost, the lover of special effects and horror films — what if she's not just into it, but serious about it? What if she really is a maniac — she'll cut off my head while I'm sleeping and keep it in one of those dark voids. And on days when she's in the mood, she'll sit by the fire and pick at the skull?
But the most important thing is Vella Fisk. She wants to take over New York? Let her choke on it! I'm Russian, suitcase-airport-Chelyabinsk... Okay, I went a bit overboard with the choice of place to live, but I don't think Moscow is a "wasteland" right now. It'll be more familiar there.
There's just one "but." I'm a mutant now too. A meta-human or a superhuman. What am I supposed to do where the law rules? Become a superhero? I don't need that. Those who believed in the law died in the warehouse. The law of the strong suits the new me much better!
The sun went down. I could no longer see through the ground, and I started jumping like a normal person. But this time, my borrowed abilities stayed with me much longer. I carefully climbed down as far as I could — Wendy hadn't anticipated that a normal person could climb where they shouldn't — and jumped from a height of about two metres. I went to sleep on the sofa in the hallway. I'll have to find a huge mattress and an extra-strong bed for it.
***
Mary fell asleep early, but I woke up before her anyway. I heated up the pizza and went to wake her up. Love, feed, and never abandon, as Garfield the cat bequeathed. Speaking of cats, I remembered a joke...
I got down on all fours over Mary's head and shouted in her face:
"Mary, get up, you dropped everything!
"What, again?" she replied sleepily.
"Mary, get up, you dropped everything, honestly!
"What did I drop?" she finally woke up!
"The wardrobe, the bedside table, the bed, yourself...
"No, that's not true," Mary replied calmly. She got up and went to the door without getting dressed. On the way, she noticed a plate of breakfast on the bedside table, which had survived yesterday's commotion, and picked it up as she passed. In doing so, she bumped the bedside table with her hip and smashed it against the wall. The last piece of furniture in the room was dead.
"That's it, now everything's gone!" I said through my laughter.
That was how the first day of my new life began. All that remained was to figure out how to keep it and how to achieve something in it...
***
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