This picks up, as you would expect, after Electrum Volume 1. If you haven’t read that, you’ll want to do that before continuing on.
Electrum Volume 2: Roadside Justice
The road is a very faithful companion. As long as I follow its lead, it takes me where I need to go. I need to be sure to watch out for signs, but that’s no different than holding a friend’s hand. Being in complete control of my destiny is an amazing feeling. I’m heading to California, but what happens between now and then is in no one’s hands but my own. Even getting there is my choice, and I can take my time or I can drive until I’m about to pass out.
A part of me feels excited for the sole reason that this is what Sarah did. Sure, when she was eighteen she only went from Coredelia to Midas, but then after she lost her powers she went cross-country and back for a year. It almost fees like I’m carrying on a family tradition.
It’s been two days since I left. Things have gone well so far. This is going to take a lot longer than I thought. Driving isn’t a bad thing, I enjoy it, but it is also very exhausting. I need to get used to doing it for so long all at once. I’m sure the last leg will go by in a flash.
Maybe I should take it a little slower and do some sightseeing. Right now, the only interesting sights are the road and the occasional car. My hope was to run into some trouble on the way so I can get some much needed experience. So far everything has been peaceful. That shouldn’t disappoint me. I want to be a heroine to make it peaceful, right? I want to make the world a better place, not worse just so I can have a little fun.
In all fairness, it would not be very hard for things to be better than just traveling. Traveling would be better too if I had a pair of shades to stop the bugs from bouncing off my eyes.
I must have been too busy staring at the road, because I could have sworn it was noon just half an hour ago. Time seems to disagree, because the sun is gone and the sky is full of dimly glowing stars. Driving at night is perfectly doable, but I don’t like it. Driving a bike isn’t like driving a car, but the fear of falling asleep to wake up sideways to learn that my metal can be dented is not something that sounds especially appealing.
Sometimes I think that my spacing out is divinely controlled. If I’d waited any longer to realize how late it was, I would have missed the roadside motel.
The small parking lot is nearly full. Normally this wouldn’t be a bad sign, but every car is the same make, model, and paintjob. Each car has a set of tinted windows. The only things that don’t match are the plates, and they’re all only a number off. I think not feeling a little paranoid about this situation would be an indication of brain damage.
At least the parking lot isn’t entirely full. There’s still some hope I could wind up with a place to sleep here tonight if this isn’t the ominous sign I think it is. If it is, I’m going to get that sleep . . . I’ll just be earning it first.
Crossing my fingers, mostly that there won’t be any trouble, I head to the office. Before I even open the door a woman’s voice rings out loudly through the cheap wood. “Look, I’m out! I don’t know how many times I have to tell you this, but I’m just not interested in taking heat for you anymore! Sooner or later they’ll trace your little gang back to me. I ain’t done nothin’ besides give you a place to crash, but you didn’t used to be hitting things this big, or hurting people. What you pulled off to get the money for the new wheels – it just ain’t right damn it! We’re through!”
Damn am I glad Sarah taught me about walking slowly to allow for more time to eavesdrop.
“It’s only natural for business to expand, ‘chelle. That’s how things go. I’ve got more mouths to feed than I used to. We had to kick it up a notch. Robbing small joints, people, it just isn’t where the cash is. Jewelry stores? Now that’s some serious coinage right there. Now, a jewelry store owner isn’t going to part with his wares easy.” Another woman’s voice follows the first, and the sound of a safety clicking off follows close behind.
“Damn it! You’re going to shoot me?! I’ve never done anything to get in the way of you, or the gang! I wasn’t planning on starting now – I just want out!” Chelle’s voice again. She sounds like she believes the second woman will shoot. I don’t want to burst in too quickly, but I grip the handle.
A long pause can be more unsettling than a gunshot, and that’s coming from a girl who took a bullet to the chest. The pause is broken by a laugh, the second woman’s laugh. “No, I ain’t gonna shoot you. Not yet. I’m going to leave you here to your own . . . devices . . . and talk with the girls. Think of it as time to reconsider. You can have a bigger cut, but knowing what you know, being our hideout long as you’ve been, we really can’t wait for you to feel like squealin’.”
“Please, Sasha . . . Just . . . have a heart . . .” Chelle sounds desperate. I don’t blame her. Lucky for her she’s got a metal-coated guardian angel tonight. Fate seems to be on her side.
Sasha just laughs and steps towards the door. Crap, that means towards me. For a little touch of style I click my heels together and fly up to perch on the roof. My whole body glows like an electrum firefly, but only for a moment before I’m crouched and watching the door open.
It’s not a perfect spurt of flight, a little clumsy and the landing is almost loud enough to be hard to put off as the sound of a shifting foundation, but it’ll do. I just need more practice.
The female gangster steps out, closing the door behind her. She laughs a little more as her gun disappears into her jacket. With just a glance I can say I’m envious of the gun. She’s a knockout, at least figuratively. Even in the very boring getup, black slacks, and a black top under a black jacket, it’s impossible to miss those curves. Her short black hair is styled just enough to look feminine yet dangerous. She’s wearing just the right amount of makeup to look like she isn’t wearing any at all.
Why do the beautiful ones have to go bad? Oh well. It makes my job more fun. My first thought is to pounce her right now and shine away any thoughts of murder, but her goons have to be waiting for something to go wrong, so I wait for her to disappear into one of the rooms.
As soon as she’s out of sight I jump down, grinning at how fun it feels to jump from a roof without even a hint of pain. First thing on my to-do list has to be getting Chelle out of harm’s way. Then I can take out the bad gals.
I open up the door, and I’m greeted with an almost silent scream. Quietly as I can, I step in, and close the door behind me. “Relax . . . I’m not here to hurt you. My name is Electrum, and I was just passing through. I overheard that you two were having a little trouble . . . You need to get out of here. Is there a back exit? I’ll escort you, then deal with—“
“—Nuh-uh! Look, I don’t know who you think you are, but I ain’t ever heard of you before.” Chelle is pretty, even if she could stand to use a little less slang. Blonde (or strawberry blonde for all I know thanks to my metal eyes) hair, a pretty face, and a body I definitely wouldn’t shove out of bed, or let out of bed without a fight. “You should just get out of here. It’s a wonder that Sasha’s gang didn’t hear you pull in and fill you with holes. They were smart enough to let you not get involved. You want a room, fine. Otherwise, get out.”
If anything can ruin a woman’s looks almost instantly, it’s a bad attitude. When I first came in, she was afraid. Now, she just looks snotty. Mom always told me not having a rep was going to bite me in the ass for awhile and it looks like she was right.
Sighing, I slowly look around the office. It’s not big really, though I can tell behind the counter is a door for what I assume is Chelle’s room. The foyer is just large enough for a big family to stand while getting a key. Chelle is on my side of the counter. A million options occur to me all at once. Since I imagine we’re low on time, I don’t really have the luxury of weighing them all.
“Fine. Gimme a key.” Right now the other side of that counter is a lot safer than this side. It’s a lot harder to shoot someone you can’t see.
Chelle snorts and makes her way back behind the counter. I follow, and lean against the counter. Thankfully even weighing as much as I do I don’t have to be careful not to break it. I’m not sure why, but my instincts have always been good enough to stop me from causing property damage. “Pay by the night, check out is at noon, that’ll be-mph!”
Before her dismissive voice can finish telling me just how overpriced a room would be, I’ve dived over the counter, cupped the back of her neck, and pulled her in for a very firm and very bright kiss. I’m not sure Mom would approve of this, but I need to keep this woman safe, and if she won’t listen to me, well . . .
Her words may have been dismissive, but her voice isn’t in her first quivering moan. Her eyes don’t melt closed like eyes usually do in a kiss. This isn’t that kind of kiss, yet.
In her eyes I can see my light shining its way into her mind and telling it to close early. Her body shudders, every muscle clenching as she moans against my lips. I can see her hands clenching into fists at her sides before slackening as her body begins to melt towards mine. Her lips still kiss me back, my energy still holding them against mine, but even that feels weaker.
When I break the kiss, she slumps against the counter with a lazy moan. Her mind is wide open, and her eyes are melted half shut. She looks a lot cuter like this, enough to make me wish I could spend a little private time with her.
“Chelle?” I whisper into her ear while sliding some hair from her face. Her hair is so wavy and soft.
“Mmmmm . . . so bright . . . s-s-sizzles . . .”
Her voice sends a shudder down my spine, and I have to bite my lip to stop myself from telling her to strip and present herself to me. My inner monster is waking up, and I have to remind myself that its time to play hasn’t even started yet. It can behave a little longer. “That’s right, Chelle . . . I want you to do a little favor for me, do you think you can do that . . .?”
“Mmmm . . . anything you want. Feels so good ‘n hard to think.”
Her words slur together in just the right way to make my thighs clench. Damn it, dark side. I’m supposed to be tempted, not thrilled. “Good girl . . . for right now, I just want you to go and lay down in the back . . . just lay down and . . . think about whatever makes you happiest. Something simple, something pleasant . . . just enjoy yourself. I’ll be back in just a little while. Don’t let anything, no matter how loud, disturb you. Everything’ll be just fine.”
She moans out a very slurred “yes” with more ‘s’s than I can count and all I can think of is that I can see appeal in the word Obedience as a name. She disappears behind the door, and I jump the counter to pull it closed.
I can’t get the image of her lost, hazy eyes out of my mind, but at least now she’ll be a little safer. Just as I start to climb back over the counter, the door opens. Shit. That wasn’t very much time at all.
“The girls and I decided that keeping you around is just a liability. We’ve got history but- oh fuck me!” Before I can get to the other side of the counter, Sasha is already back out the door and yelling at the top of her lungs. “That bitch Chelle’s got super backup! A shiny one, too! We’re gonna need to waste ‘em both!”
Great. This is what I get for wanting something exciting.
Outside the office, the rooms are positioned to the left and the right in two parallel rows. Even if they were all just talking, I can’t hope for them all to be on one side. Lucky me, they’re packing conventional firearms.
I take a step out the front door, wincing as the first bullet comes from the left and crunches up against my shoulder. It doesn’t really hurt, and it definitely doesn’t knock me over like the last one, but it does put a hole in my jacket. Frowning, I slide off my jacket and let it fall to the ground. The green top underneath isn’t very threatening, but I’d like to think it’s flattering – as if that really matters at the moment. “That’s my favorite jacket.”
A shot comes from the right and crushes against my cheek before falling harmlessly to the ground. It stings a little, but in the same way that nerf moving fast enough can sting. It doesn’t really hurt.
“Is that really all that you’ve got? Handguns?” The closet room to the left, where the first shot came from is slightly ajar. My bet is that’s where most of the girls, and Sasha are cooped up. So, I run to the closest room to the right and tear open that door instead. Three shots greet me at once, two to the chest, making a matching pair of holes in my shirt, and the third hits my shoulder. Another two shots bounce off of my forehead a moment later. Five women stand back from the doorway, hands full of guns, shaking from a lot more than the weight.
This is really not their lucky night.
Another shot fires, but this time crashes against my thumb as I grab two of their guns and squeeze their barrels shut. “One thing I just love about guns is the way their triggers are metallic. You know metal is conductive, right?” I might not be able to shoot a spark like my mother can, but even though my powers aren’t exactly electrical, well . . . their moans as their hands clench tightly is another reminder that my powers still obey conductivity.
My current stops, and the women fall to heir knees as the other three start firing again. I’d be a bit more fancy, but if something keeps working you don’t stop. I grab another two guns, thankful that they’re staying so bunched up, and grin as another two women fall from spark overdose.
Three brunettes and a blonde are sprawled out on the floor with a fifth standing far back in a corner. She’s smart, but that’s not going to keep her from joining her friends on the floor. I kick off using a trick my mother taught me to move quicker by flying an inch over the ground and push her shoulders back against the wall. She drops the gun, and stares into my eyes.
She can’t know what I did to her friends, but their moans weren’t in pain. Their breathing is a lot more audible, so they aren’t dead. Her eyes scream that she knows what’s coming but she isn’t sure whether to beg for it or beg for me to stop. Her eyes are crystal blue, beautiful crystal blue.
I don’t let her keep that uncertainty long. My nose brushes against hers as I whisper softly against her lips. “Don’t worry . . . it doesn’t hurt.” She tries to scream, but I cover her lips with mine. Then she screams, grinding her whole body against mine as I overload her mind with pleasure and sweet electric light.
When I pull back, her body begins to melt limply to the floor, and I grab her before she can fall. The last thing I want to happen is for the one woman with the sense not to shoot winding up with a concussion on her way down.
I set her down next to the rest of her friends and make sure they won’t be getting up with just a little bright kiss between each of their eyes, and then head back out the door.
Nothing greets me, no sight of person or gunshot, and I’m almost a little disappointed. I already need to steal one of these crooks’ tops. I‘ve lost track of how many bullets I’ve taken. Goddess, that is one hell of a thrill. I don’t even need to care about taking a bullet or twenty. Brushing myself off, I start to head across the parking lot for that still not-quite-closed door.
Beside the door, the window breaks and what looks like a double barrel shotgun sticks out to greet me. Smart. I might not know a lot about guns, but I know that if a handgun didn’t dent me, that sure as hell won’t. “You’ll want to reconsider, Sasha! If you just surrender peacefully this’ll go a lot better!”
Oh I pray she doesn’t want to surrender. This will be so much less fun if she wants to surrender. This will be so much less fulfilling if she’s suddenly gotten smart. Please, don’t let me be so unlucky.
“Reconsider this!” Well, if my top wasn’t ruined before, it is now. It was a shotgun, and not a very impressive one. A bunch of little holes in my shirt is not something I’m particularly worried about. Narrowing my eyes, I move a little quicker to the door. She fires again, and this time I laugh. I don’t know why. Maybe she can’t give up without a fight? I can respect that. I’d be more likely to believe she’s hoping against hope that I’m getting winded.
I throw open the door and sigh. No such luck for Sasha. I’m not even breaking a sweat. Another four girls and Sasha are there to greet me behind door number two, but one of the four anonymous goons is busy scurrying away from her useless shotgun. “Okay, I’ve reconsidered. I don’t think you still have the option of just giving up. We’re going to have to do this the hard way.”
A brunette behind Sasha frowns and runs straight for me. Smirking, I raise an eyebrow and stay perfectly still. She’s fast, and definitely has a fighter’s physique. All of the women are wearing the same outfit, but on her it looks a little more dangerous.
She looks a lot less dangerous with her eyes quivering as her knuckles connect with my jaw. She lets out a sharp whine of pain, but it’s quickly eclipsed by a whimper. It quickly fades, and she falls to the ground very gracefully with a quivering groan. Some people don’t learn very quickly, but in her case I think that’s an understatement.
“What the fuck is this metal bitch made of?!” Another brunette levels her gun at me, and I groan at the repetition. It’s a submachine gun from the look of it, the fanciest thing they’ve thrown at me yet, but still not especially impressive. She wastes the clip on me in no time at all. My shirt is officially in tatters. All of their artillery at once might have hurt a little, but they aren’t coordinated. Why they were split up, I have no clue. Maybe the girls on the other side are only junior members. I don’t really care.
“Metal. You know, the same thing these bullets are made of.” I brush myself off again, feeling the slightest bit of a draft due to only wearing rags from the waist up, and grab a couple crushed balls of lead. “Lead isn’t very conductive, or I could try something fun. Oh well.” I drop the bullets, and tear the gun out of the woman’s hand.
I’ve never been very good at balloon animals. An SMG isn’t really a lot to work with, but I guess making one look like a knot is still fairly impressive. I’ll need to do something fancier with the shotgun.
It’s no more difficult on this side of the lot than the other. They might not be firing, but they’re still close together. I go for the woman by the window first, grabbing her by the waist and pulling her close to feel her body shudder against me before I let her slide down to the floor. Going for a new personal record I pull the remaining three nameless women into a group hug, sizzling up my arms and my waist. They mewl in ecstasy, joining their friends curled up for a light nap.
“Hey . . . Look . . . Chelle can get off easy this time! She’s trustworthy, we’ve seen that for these last couple of years! We can take her word on it. Really!” Sasha sounds a whole lot smarter when she looks scared. She looks a lot sexier, too.
“No dice. You ruined my shirt. I’m a long way from my wardrobe, and I just might need to borrow yours.” That came out a lot differently than I meant it to. That’s rarely a good sign.
Before I can get a word in to correct myself, she tears off her jacket, and throws her shirt at me. Her jacket hits the floor with a hard thud. I grab her shirt out of the air. “Go ahead! Take it! The cars are full of loot . . . teamed up with some girls who work for some big organization, struck it big . . . it’s yours! Cars are yours!”
Sasha is wearing a red bra. Satin. Somehow a lot of her tough-girl persona seems a lot weaker with her breasts that close to bare. “Sorry . . . Not really my thing. I don’t do this for money. See, this is sort of the family business. I do this to stop women like you.”
I step closer, and she whimpers. She actually whimpers and I haven’t even shown her the light. Having this much power over her is a rush. I can taste her sweat in the air. Even above the faint musk hovering off of the other women, I know I can taste her. I don’t even realize I’m licking my lips until I’ve finished. “You . . . you don’t seem the type . . . the do-gooder type, I mean. You’re eyeing me like I eyed the loot.
“Maybe I am.” I know I am, but I don’t need to admit that to her. So what if I get my jollies from this? Soon I’ll get a hold of the police, and find a bed to crash in. A free room for the night is a fair price to pay for a life, I think. “What’s it to you?”
“Well . . . If you want me . . .” I have to admit I did not see this coming. Sasha walks closer, hips moving a little more in a way that screams focused-slutty, and it’s all focused on me. Her eyes hood as she hooks her arms around my neck, slowly pressing her body into mine. “You can have me. I’ve never been with a girl before, but if you let me go . . . I’ll do whatever you want . . . anything . . .”
Once again I’m thankful that metal my body is so sensitive. Feeling her writhe against me, half in temptation and half in lingering fear, is delicious. Her body is so slick with sweat, and it would be so easy to make her slick with something more. She wouldn’t even need to get away at the end. Just a little bit of my light to make sure she didn’t spread around what happened and I could actually accept her offer . . . if I worked that way. Unfortunately for her, I don’t.
I drop her shirt, and wrap my arms around her. I don’t feel like fussing with her bra, so I tear it open and run my fingers along her back. She sighs and relaxes against me. She doesn’t seem so afraid when her eyes look up into mine, lashes fluttering.
Maybe she’s done this before, or she’s planned for it. She definitely has a body for it. It’s hard not to be tempted by her offer, even with my tastes being what they are. Grinning just a little wider Sasha pulls back only enough to slide her bra off, pressing her bare breasts into the tattered remnants of my shirt. Mom definitely wouldn’t approve of this.
At least about this, we’re in agreement. I slide a hand down her back, grasping her ass to pull her close, sliding the other up to her neck as I lean my face closer to hers. Her nipples harden against me, and I have to wonder if it’s the cool metal or if she’s really more interested in women than she let on.
Just before my lips press to hers I turn her head to the side, and whisper softly into her ear. “I’m sorry, Sasha. It’s just not the same if you have a choice in the matter.”
My lips close around her ear, and I let her feel that there’s so much more to me than just a good dose of invulnerability. Taking her is so much different than taking my dust slut or Sylvia. Sasha was going to kill Chelle. Doing this not only satisfies me, it feels like redemption.
Her nipples turn to steel against me, making me moan into her ear. She feels so warm against me, so soft, so . . . entirely at my mercy. “Now Sasha, you understand that you’ll do whatever I want anyway. If I want you to fuck me, you’ll fuck me. If I want you to kneel, you’ll kneel. That’s how this is going to be. Sound about right, my sizzled little sweetie?”
“Nnn . . . fuckin’ . . . doing something to my miiiiind . . . Mmmmm it feels so fucking good but I . . . Mmmm I don’t play like that.” Damn it. In the mind, not everyone is equal. The same voltage doesn’t make everyone melt as quickly, or as deeply. I’m starting to feel a little cold around the edges.
It’s really too bad that I can’t get my hands on that tech Mom said Chronos had . . .
“Sorry, sweetie, but it is.” As I trace the tip of my finger along the curve of her ear it slowly feeds more and more of those sweet mentally overloading jolts of bliss right into her brain. “You just need a little more electrum education.” Nothing about that line doesn’t make me feel dark, evil, manipulating . . . but it sends such good shudders down my spine. Making her body arch helplessly against me, her lips trembling with erotic gasps, it’s almost enough to push me right over the edge.
She groans as her face scrunches up in stubborn resistance. Either my sparks get weaker as I use them, or she has one hell of a resilient mind. “Nnnn . . .what . . . what are youuuu?!”
Whimpering that out must have taken the last of her, because her body melts limply against mine even before I stop pouring out more mind-melting bliss. She looks so much more attractive melted, almost asleep but so much more responsive as I slide a hand slowly along her bare flesh. “I’m Electrum, a woman, a heroine, and at the moment you are my melted, helpless criminal being brought to justice.”
“Help-lessss . . .” The hiss of her voice is so perfect. She can barely struggle out the sounds. Her whimpers when I twist her nipples sound so exhausted yet eager. “Jus-ticcce . . .” She took so much to melt, but at least the heat of her body makes me feel a little less cold.
The wet heat between her thighs warms me back up. I could pin her down, caress, rub, suckle, nibble, or lick anywhere and everywhere and she would love it. She wouldn’t have a choice . . . but right now that’s not what I want from her. Hooding my eyes, I unzip my jeans and let them fall around my feet before helping my panties join them. “Kneel, Sasha. Kneel and thank your savior with your tongue on her clit.”
Obediently she kneels, and it’s impossible that she hasn’t done this before. I scream at the first touch of her tongue. In no time at all she has me rasping for breath with trembling knees. Her arms are limp at her sides, eyes melting shut—it’s almost like her whole body is shut down besides her tongue.
It’s an amazing feeling. She’s pouring her everything into me, making my everything feel more alive than it ever has before. My voice cracks as the first orgasm shudders through me, and I grasp her hair, pulling her closer.
She doesn’t even stop for a moment. I’m almost tempted to melt out of my metal form to feel her flesh against my normal flesh, but there’s something even more erotic about this. She doesn’t know my name, my real name, not who I am, not even who my mother is. All she knows is that she has to keep flicking her tongue until I tell her to stop—if I tell her to stop. I don’t know if I ever will with how amazing this feels.
I watch her through heavily lidded eyes as she continues to lick and moan. I’ll let her stop, but not yet. I want to savor this, and it’s not like she can say no.
Back on my bike and riding off into the dawn, I feel more rested than I have since I left Midas. Chelle is amazing at cuddling. I was tempted to sleep with Sasha curled up against me, but that seemed like a bad idea and hardly fair to the poor woman who almost got shot. So, after I was satisfied (and came to), I tied up the crooks with their own clothing and spent the night with Chelle to make up for the necessity of sparking her up in the first place.
Lucky for me, Sasha’s black top fits like a charm and my jacket actually looks cooler for the hole. I kept a bullet as a trophy. I also managed to scavenge a pair of shades from one of their jackets.
About now, Chelle should be waking up and calling the police just like I told her. She’ll tell them she barely remembers the night before, besides a metal woman named Electrum taking down the gang that meant to use her motel as a hideout.
That oughta get me a bit of a reputation. Criminals beware, Electrum is watching, and she gets her best orgasms taking you down, even better than with her sister.
With a sigh, I pick up the pace and ride off toward the horizon.