Wind whipped through my hair as I looked out at the sunset over the bay. Salt stung my nose and the breeze made goosebumps spread over my bare arms, but between the relaxing sound of the waves, the breathtaking sparkle of sunlight across the water, and the warmth of the woman standing next to me, there was no place I’d rather be. Anxiety churned in my gut as I thought about what I was about to do. The odds of her saying no were miniscule, but still. It was nerve-wracking nonetheless.

“Maddie?” I asked in a voice similar to mine, but not quite the same.

“Hm?” The woman next to me looked over with a questioning glance. It was the one Father told me to stay away from. She looked younger, though. Her hair was longer, tied into a ponytail over her shoulder. Madeline.

I took a deep breath and turned to her, reaching into my pocket. Madeline’s eyes widened as I got down on one knee and pulled out the box, opening it to reveal the ring inside. This was it. The moment of truth.

“Madeline Holmes, will you marry me?”

For a long moment, everything was silent. Madeline stared down at me, eyes wide as dinner plates and mouth hanging open. Then, she started laughing. Dread seeped through my body.

“Oh, man. What are the odds, huh?” She reached into her pocket and pulled out a box of her own. Inside was another ring; inset with a sparkling red jewel. “I was just about to ask you the same thing.”

The dread crumbled to dust and pure elation took its place. I leapt up and wrapped my arms around Madeline’s neck, laughter bubbling up from within me. Madeline picked me up and spun me around, holding me close. I couldn’t believe my luck. It was actually happening!

We stopped spinning and I settled back on the ground, still holding on to Madeline’s neck. She smiled, bending down until our foreheads were touching.

“How could I ever say no to you?”

She leaned in and pressed her mouth to mine, and I knew everything would turn out alright.

—

Her tongue streaked across my neck and I shivered, a moan escaping from my throat. Light from the full moon streamed in from the window, illuminating the scene of our bodies tangled together in the bedsheets. I could do nothing but hold on for dear life as Madeline’s fingers traced down my belly, through my pubic hair, and slipped between the folds of my outer labia. The sensation was instant and intense, especially when combined with the softness of her mouth on my throat.

Her touch travelled down to my vaginal opening, rubbing teasingly over the outside of the hole before moving back up, sliding two fingers on either side of my clitoris and squeezing, very gently. I jerked, letting out a gasp. Madeline smiled against my skin.

“So sensitive…”

“Sh- shut up… Like you weren’t a wh-whiny mess when I fingered you.”

Madeline paused and leaned up on an elbow. The moonlight framing her face made her look ethereal. She grinned.

“Well, if you’re gonna be like that I guess I’ll-”

She began pulling her hand away. Immediately, I squeezed my legs shut and grabbed her wrist, trapping it there.

“If you stop now I swear to god I’ll set your hair on fire.”

Madeline laughed. Her gaze held so much love that it was hard to breathe. “If you say so.”

She leaned back down and her lips touched mine again, her tongue sneaking into my mouth. I groaned, shifting my hips up as her fingers started moving again.

Things became a blur after that point. Between the intoxicating feeling of Madeline’s body on top of mine and the unimaginable pleasure she was conjuring between my legs, the finer details started to seem unimportant. Something was building at the base of my spine, and it seemed like Madeline could sense it. The movements of her fingers became focused; pumping in and out at a steadier rhythm, pressing and sliding in all the right places to make me squirm and keen.

Madeline’s teeth sunk into the skin of my neck, and a jolt of pleasurable pain shot through my system. That was what did it. That incredible thing that was building finally reached its peak and spilled over, sending waves of electricity through my body. Heat flushed under my skin and I cried out as all of my muscles tensed up from the sheer ecstasy coursing inside of me. It was amazing. It was the best thing I’d ever felt. It-

—

I opened my eyes, doused in cold sweat and breathing heavily. The room was dark, illuminated only by the dim light above the mirror. I must have forgotten to turn it off before going to sleep. The hum of the ventilation system rang loud in my ears. My head was throbbing, and my entire body tingled with the remnants of the dream, coalescing in the same spot that dream-Madeline had been touching, right between my legs. What the hell just happened?

Overcome with curiosity, I reached down, slipping my hand under the waistband of my pants. Something cold, wet, and slimy had coated the inside of my thighs and drenched my underwear. I frowned, probing further.

“Oh!”

Wow, I was sensitive right now. But… just like the dream, it felt good. Obviously, I’d touched my own genitals before, but it never felt like this. My entire vulva had become slick with fluid, and my clitoris had become erect; a hard, sensitive nub peeking out from under the hood, throbbing in time with my heart beat. Maybe… Maybe I could replicate the feeling from the dream? I swallowed, nerves filling my throat, and put two fingers to it just like Madeline did.

Too much! That was way too much pressure. I was on the right track, but I needed to be more careful. I tried again, much softer this time.

That was it. My muscles relaxed and I let out a sigh as I gently circled my fingers around my clitoris. Everything around me melted away until all that remained was the pleasure between my legs and the memories of that dream in my head; the images fueling my movements. It was all too easy to imagine that I was back in the dream, and that Madeline was the one touching me instead of my own hand. I didn’t even know the woman, but something about it just felt right; like things were settling in where they were meant to be.

The woman in my mind sank her fingers lower and I followed, tracing around the edge of my vaginal opening. In the dream, Madeline’s fingers had slipped in with ease, but I was nervous. I’d never done this before, which meant I needed to be careful. I didn’t want it to turn out like the first time I tried to eat solid food; choking because I was too eager and didn’t chew enough.

Slowly, I slid one finger past the entrance, biting my lip at the feeling of my inner walls parting for it. Once I got it about as deep as I felt comfortable with, I experimented with thrusting it in and out.

“Ngh!”

Wow, that was good. My body craved more; heat spreading under my skin and making me sweat. I swallowed my fear and gently added another finger in. The stretch of my hole burned slightly, but for some reason that made it even better. I shifted over onto my side, curling my body and finally pulling my pants off to allow myself more leeway with my movements, and really got into it.

“O-oh, g-g-god…”

It was incredible. The palm of my hand sat directly on top of my clitoris, providing delicious pressure and friction as I pumped my fingers in and out. I could barely stifle the noises escaping from my throat as every thrust sent a jolt of electricity through me. Drool dripped from my open mouth onto my pillow, but I couldn’t find it within myself to care.

It was building again, just like in the dream, only so much more intense. I squeezed my eyes shut and focused, straining my wrist to move harder and faster to reach that amazing peak again. The rise felt like it would never end, but every time my muscles began to tire, another spike of pleasure would shoot through me and motivate me to keep pushing. Compared to my usual training, this was practically a cakewalk.

If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

Finally, it came. I bit the pillow to stifle my cry as my entire body seized and spasmed, my walls clenching around my still-pumping fingers and my thighs tensing up to an almost painful degree. Warm liquid gushed against my hand, spilling down onto my sheets. It was at least twenty seconds of pure bliss as my vision flickered black and shadows writhed up and down the walls.

I laid there for a good minute afterwards, not moving, just catching my breath and reflecting on what had just happened. I seriously needed to remember how to do that, because wow. I was almost disappointed I hadn’t figured it out earlier. I gently pulled my fingers out, wincing at the slight overstimulation. Unsurprisingly, they were covered in a transparent, viscous fluid that stringed together when I pulled my fingers apart. It smelled tangy.

Curiosity overcame my common sense, and I tentatively gave my fingers a lick. The taste wasn’t as bad as I was expecting. In fact, it was kind of good. Sweet but a little tart. Maybe if I’d been more lost in the heat of the moment, I would have just finished what I’d just started, but now that it was all said and done, I would rather just wash my hands off in the sink.

As I put my pants back on and got up, my mind started to wander. Where did that dream come from? Most of the time, my dreams were nonsensical mish-mashes of things I’d seen throughout the day, disappearing from my mind not long after waking up. It wasn’t uncommon for me to see people I know, especially Father, but something about what I just saw felt… different.

For one, it actually made internal sense. It wasn’t just a slideshow of random events and images; it was a consistent storyline that followed a linear narrative. First, I was at the bay with Madeline, and I asked her to marry me. (Could two girls even get married? I’d heard about it between a man and a woman from people in the facility as well as Father, but no one had mentioned two people of the same gender getting married before. I couldn’t see why it wouldn’t be possible, though. I supposed I would just have to ask Father about it at some point.) Then, it was later at night, and I was with Madeline in bed, and all of that happened.

Another weird thing was how different Madeline looked from how I remembered her appearing during the day. In the dream, her hair was long instead of shaved and shaggy, and her face had a certain roundness to it that it currently lacked, making her appear younger. Usually, in my dreams, people just showed up how I remembered them looking in real life. It just didn’t make sense.

It was when I was washing my hands in the sink that the thought occurred to me. What if it wasn’t just a dream? What if… What if I’d finally remembered something?

For as far back as I could remember; from the moment I woke up and coughed the green out of my lungs, my past had been a blank slate. Father said I lost my memories when I was hurt, and beyond that I never really questioned it. I never wondered who I used to be before waking up in the facility, because it never really felt like it mattered. I was right where I was meant to be, so who cared what I’d done with my life before that? Only now, it seemed like something had finally come back; a lingering vestige of an interaction I had at some point with Madeline. But… What did that mean?

Father always wanted what was best for me, right? He knew what was best for me, and he was always guiding me towards that target, even if it hurt sometimes. But, if that was the case, then how did Madeline fit in? He ordered me to stay away from her. Especially her, over all of the other Union heroes. According to the dream/memory/whatever, though, I’d been close with her at some point. Close enough to ask her to marry me, even. Did something happen between us that Father was trying to protect me from? It was all so damn confusing!

I looked up at the girl in the mirror. I saw her shaved head, the sallow tan of her skin, the dark holes of her black irises and the bags beneath her eyes. I saw the scar cutting across her cheek and onto her nose. That scar was from a training accident. That, and most of the rest of them. There wasn’t a single scar on my body that I couldn’t remember getting. Where were the remnants of the injury that supposedly changed my life forever? What about injuries before that? Was whatever Father used to heal me so strong that it literally erased all of my scars? If that was the case, why had I been forced to bear the remnants of my pain all this time when Father could just heal them away?

I gripped the cold porcelain of the sink, staring hard into the mirror. What was real? Was what I saw really a memory, or was it just some hyper-realistic dream? Why was my body so damn inconsistent? Why couldn’t I remember anything from my past? Why was Father keeping me away from people who might know me? Who…

“Who am I?” I muttered to the girl in the reflection, anxiety clawing at my throat. “Who are you? Are we… Jordyn? Seven? Someone else? I… I- I don’t know…”

Pain shot through my head like someone driving a knife into my temple. Cold fingers of sensation rippled across my brain. Something warm dripped from my nose, and some primal thing inside of me shrank away in fear. I got the horrible feeling that I was being watched. I could feel the eyes all around me, looking in. My entire being screamed in alarm at the threat of a predator; the ancient prey instinct inside of me thrashing uselessly against its bonds. A petrifying self-awareness settled over me, and I knew – I could feel that some powerful, terrifying presence was observing not just me, but the very thoughts inside my head.

I felt those cold fingers pry into my mind, digging through my memories and throwing images of my life up before my eyes. The pain was immense; overwhelming. My knees buckled out from under me. My ears popped, and more warm liquid dribbled from them. I could feel my skull cracking as my brain expanded, pushing against the boundaries of its container. The pressure at the back of my eyes was building. I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that my head was going to explode.

Then, all of a sudden, everything stopped. The pain and the screaming and the vivid memories all ceased to exist in an instant, replaced by the cold tile floor and the hum of the ventilation system. I blinked, trying to process what had just happened as I slowly climbed back to my feet.

There was a girl in the mirror.

She looked like me. Almost identical, even. She had the same eyes, the same nose, the same mouth. Only, her skin was a little darker, unmarked by my training accident scar, and her hair was long; tied back in a ponytail. She was dressed in a costume not too dissimilar to the ones I’d seen Madeline and Vivienne wearing; a skin-tight black patterned material, with red highlights. There was a hole in her chest.

She looked panicked, confused. Her eyes darted around the room, searching for a threat, until she found me. We stared at each other for a long moment. Her mouth moved, but no sound came out. I grabbed the sink, leaning forward. She reached out to me, but her hand stopped when it reached the mirror.

“Are… Are you me?” I asked.

—

I opened my eyes.

The girl had disappeared, along with the mirror and the rest of my room. I recognised the ceiling above me as the one in the medbay. There was an oxygen mask over my mouth, and a heart monitor beeped along rhythmically in the corner. My head was throbbing again, and my throat stung like I’d swallowed a handful of nails. Everything ached.

Father sat at my bedside, leaning over with his eyes closed, mouth hidden behind his steepled hands. A bead of sweat ran down the side of his face. Mr. Sadler stood at the far wall behind him, facing a computer screen.

“Fa… Father…” I coughed.

His eyes shot open and he stood up, bending over me. He looked genuinely worried, which was an expression I didn’t think I’d ever seen on his face before.

“Jordyn! Are you alright? I thought we might have lost you.”

I groaned, realising just how sore I was as more of my body came back online. It felt like I’d been in a fight, and lost badly. “What… What happened?”

He frowned, sitting back down. “You had a seizure. We’re… not entirely sure, but it seems like the Godling might have psychically attacked you. What do you remember?”

I thought back, trying to recall. Everything had become a little hazy. “I… I got out of bed to wash my hands, and then… looked in the mirror, I think? I don’t know…”

Father sighed, rubbing his face. He mumbled something under his breath, but all I could make out was “turn the camera off for ten goddamn minutes…”

“What does… psychically attacked mean?” I asked, my voice croaking weakly.

“You remember what I told you about the Godling? That Its presence is what causes monsters to form so frequently here? Well, it’s not too uncommon for It to deliberately target Its influence at some of the city’s inhabitants, as well. It entertains Itself by peering at their memories and showing them visions of things they desire, often causing great damage to whoever was unlucky enough to be Its target. You’re lucky that we keep an eye on your vitals, or we might not have noticed anything was wrong until it was too late.”

“Speaking of which,” Mr. Sadler chimed in, “Your readings are looking normal now that you’ve stabilised, so there shouldn’t be any permanent damage to worry about. You should still take it easy for a day or two, though.”

Father frowned again. He turned to Mr. Sadler. “It won’t be good for our numbers if she disappears so soon after her deployment. What limits are we talking about here?”

Mr. Sadler looked uneasy. “I… I guess it would be fine if she went out, but she’ll probably be a little unsteady. It might affect her performance if anything big happens.”

Father thought about it. He nodded. “That’s acceptable.”

I zoned out as Father and Mr. Sadler continued their discussion, staring at the ceiling. The memories of what I’d seen standing in front of the mirror were already fading, but the question that had sprung up in my mind still sat right where I’d left it, eating at my thoughts like a parasite.

“Who am I?” I muttered to no one in particular.

Father and Mr. Sadler shared a look. Father leaned closer to me.

“You are Jordyn de Vygon. You are my daughter, and a superhero. That is all you need to worry about.”

The assurance was like a soothing balm on my soul. I was Father’s daughter, and a superhero, and I didn’t need to worry or think about anything else. I closed my eyes and relaxed, a smile spreading across my face.

The question was still there, of course. It hadn’t gone away; I still didn’t know a thing about my past, and my curiosity hadn’t been entirely silenced. But… It was just so easy to forget about all of that when Father reminded me of what was important. Maybe it was just a weird dream after all? If the Godling had been taking an interest in me, then perhaps that was all it was. Why look deeper when an answer sat right in front of me?

Because it’s not the truth.