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Sorry for the long absence. Complications with my tooth removal and eight stitches delayed everything. I'm also getting my second Covid shot tomorrow.

When the elevator doors opened, I saw two faces with similar expressions. Both of them looked worried and apologetic. I walked right over to them and gave them a big smile.

“It was only three clean breaks, easily set.” I held up my hand. “I'll be fine and the cast can come off in a couple of days.”

“Connor, I'm so sorry.” Karen said, her eyes downcast.

“What for?” I asked with a tilt of my head, as if I was a dog and couldn't understand what she was saying.

Karen looked slightly surprised. “I... well, I... I crushed your hand.”

“No, you didn't. I'd be in a lot of pain and it would take a lot longer to recover if you did.” I said and pointed to the broken fingers. “Check it out. The stress fractures are already healing.”

Karen blinked her eyes for a moment, as if she couldn't believe what I just said. “I'm not sure what you're asking me to do.”

It was my turn to blink my eyes. “Um... I thought you had x-ray vision.”

Karen chuckled. “Whatever gave you that idea?”

“But...” I stopped myself before I said something ridiculous, like she was my cousin once removed. “Can I ask you what your powers are?”

Rachel looked both pleased and exasperated. “Connor, you can flirt on your own time. We have work to do.”

I sighed. “I'm restricted from using super speed, since I'm too used to using my right hand to grab things.”

“Medical recommendation?” Rachel asked and I nodded. “Then your duties will be reduced to a regular assistant. I just hope you're ready for the sheer normalcy.”

I rolled my eyes at her and Karen chuckled.

“I'm still assigning you to Karen to help. Gather up the hero reports from yesterday and sort them. You know the filing system now and can help Karen with anything she needs when you're done.”

“Yes, ma'am.” I said and saluted with my cast covered hand before I could stop myself. The dull thunk as it hit my forehead made the two women laugh.

“Now I understand the healer's point.” Rachel said and smiled at Karen. “He's all yours for the rest of the morning.”

“Thank you.” Karen said and nodded at me. “Let's get to work.”

I nodded back and followed her to Amanda's office. We worked for several hours and when it was time for a fifteen minute break, I took the reports to the storage room and filed them appropriately. The door of the room closed and I heard the click of the lock.

“We only have ten minutes.” Rachel said, almost in a purr. “My temple needs some worshipping.”

“Yes, goddess.” I said and knelt for her.

Rachel beamed a smile at me as she pulled up her skirt and then straddled my face.

*

I worked for Karen for the rest of the morning, getting her coffee when she wanted it, necessary forms, filed paperwork, and even answered the phone when she was on another line with important clients. All in all, it was a very productive morning.

“Thank you, Connor. You've been a big help this morning.” Karen said when lunchtime arrived.

“Rachel was right. Normalcy sucks.” I said and she laughed, which was why I said it.

“Would you like to have lunch together?” Karen asked as her eyes went to my cast. “As an apology.”

“I need to check with Rachel to see if she needs me for anything.” I said. “I'll be right back.”

Karen nodded and I went to Rachel's office.

“Karen asked me to lunch as an apology.” I said. “Should I say no and that I'm eating you... I mean, eating with you?”

Rachel grinned at me. “I've got to check and see if Amanda's awake enough for the afternoon. If she is, Karen will be doing your job.”

I raised my eyebrows and she laughed.

“You know what I meant.”

I smiled crookedly. “Okay. I'll see you the day after tomorrow.”

Rachel nodded and I went back to Amanda's office.

“She said she's going to check on Amanda, so I'll be happy to accept your invitation.” I said and Karen smiled as she stood.

“The private dining area is on the floor above the cafeteria.” Karen said and we left the office to go to the elevator. We rode it down to the right floor and entered a very nicely decorated room with several other people dressed in suits and skirts. “An agency this large needs quite a few people to run it and to look after the finances and things.”

“I'm sure just the payroll alone would justify a department by itself.” I commented as I sat her down at a fancy table, then sat myself across from her.

Karen had a happy smile on her face. “Do you always do that?”

“Do what?” I asked and looked at the menu.

“You sat me down like we're on a date.” Karen said, clearly amused.

“Oh, my god! We're not?” I fake gasped and she laughed softly. “I feel so used!”

Karen had to cover her mouth to stop her laugh from getting too loud.

I smiled at her and closed the menu. “I think I'll go for something simple and easy to eat.”

Karen's eyes went to my cast again. “Connor, I really am sorry.”

“I know, and it's all right.” I said and she looked skeptical. “Yes, really. In fact, I want to apologize myself. I shouldn't have tried to fight a dominance game against you without knowing how strong you actually were.”

“You thought you were going to win?” Karen asked, a little surprised.

“I have been training pretty hard.” I said and the waitress came over to us.

“Are you ready to order?” The young woman asked with her notepad ready.

“I'm a bit disabled for a day or two and can't handle anything too involved. Would a large platter of french fries smothered in gravy be too much to ask for?” I asked with my best puppy dog face.

The waitress blushed a little and looked at my hand. “I would offer to help if I wasn't working.”

“Aww, thank you.” I said and smiled warmly at her.

The waitress blushed a bit more and wrote my order down. “Miss? What about you?”

“I need a cold water hose and three towels to dry Connor off after he cools down.” Karen said with a straight face, then she laughed at the surprised look on the young woman's face.

“Ha ha.” I said and she kept laughing. “How about the hamburger platter, double up on the patties, and gravy on the fries, too.”

The waitress wrote it down. “Anything to drink?”

“If you've got smoothies, I want a strawberry one and Karen will have a banana one.” I said.

“You got it.” The waitress said and wrote it down. “I'll be back soon.”

“Thank you.” I said and she walked away.

“You're pretty smooth.” Karen said.

I snorted and laughed. “You obviously don't know me very well.”

“Oh? Do tell.” Karen said and I told her some of my disastrous interactions and dates. She was laughing pretty hard by the time our food arrived.

“Thank you very much.” I said to the waitress and she blushed.

“You're welcome.” She said and her eyes went to a piece of paper mostly hidden under the edge of my plate. I smiled at her and she blushed some more before she left.

“That Ming girl is an idiot.” Karen said and I had to agree. “That library thing sounds fun, though.”

I chuckled. “Yeah, thanks to her telling everyone about all of her fantasies, that she never told me she had or that I had apparently participated in, I was pretty much expected to do them for real.”

Karen grinned. “Which you did.”

I grinned back. “Of course! What better way to get back at her than by giving another girl what she wanted?”

Karen laughed. “I bet she was pretty angry.”

“She was livid, according to Saida.” I said and told her about that.

“Now she sounds like a nice girl.” Karen said and took a large bite of hamburger. “Mmm! This double burger is delicious!”

“I knew you'd like it.” I said and used my left hand to use a fork to start eating a small mountain of french fries on my platter. “Saida is a nice girl. She stuck by her friend, even when she knew that friend was wrong.”

Karen swallowed another mouthful of burger before she spoke. “Did you really declare that all of the people at the school were off limits?”

“Yes, that's what I told them.” I said and her eyes widened. “Yeah, that's what they looked like.”

Karen chuckled. “Those poor girls.”

“Maybe.” I said.

“Poor you?” Karen asked and kept eating.

“You don't realize the impact of your words until you say them and see the results.” I said.

We fell into a companionable silence and ate the rest of our food without speaking. When we were done, the waitress came back and asked if we needed anything else.

“How much is...” I started to ask.

“You don't have to pay.” The waitress said. “It's the same as the cafeteria. Everything's covered under the food expenses.”

“Really?” I asked and she nodded. “I knew I should have ordered fifty pounds of lobster and caviar.”

The waitress barked a laugh and shook her finger at me. “No abusing the services, mister!”

“Sure, take all the fun away.” I said and she laughed. I took out some money and handed it to her. “Thanks for the excellent free service.”

The waitress flushed a little red as she accepted the tip. “Thank you, sir.”

“Sir? My name's Connor... or 'Oh, God!' after our date tomorrow night.” I joked and she laughed, then she blushed hard when she realized what I said. “I'll pick you up at eight, Sarah.”

“O-okay.” Sarah said and started gathering up the dishes from the table, her face red.

“And you said you weren't smooth.” Karen commented as we stood and started to walk away from the table.

“It's because I don't have any experience with girls my own age. I don't know how to handle them or their reactions. Women older than me? It's like I can relax and there's no pressure. I can be myself and I don't have to worry about what the rest of the class, or the school, is going to think.”

“What about coworkers?” Karen asked.

I chuckled. “I was told several important pieces of information about that and I'm not worried about that anymore, either.”

“So, you've got things all figured out?” Karen asked as I held the door open for her.

“Ha! I wish.” I said and followed her out of the dining room. “It's never as easy or as simple as I assume it is. Rushing into anything could be a mistake. The problem is, being too cautious is also a mistake.”

Karen nodded as we waited for the elevator. “I hear that.”

My cell phone rang and I saw it was from Lois. “Hi, mom!” “It's in? Great! I'm still on lunch break, so I'll come over to get it in a few minutes.” “Uh huh.” “Of course I'll wear it. I'm only going on patrol.”

The elevator opened and we walked over to Rachel's office.

“Okay, thanks. I'll see you soon.” I said and hung up.

“What was that about?” Karen asked.

“My new cape is in.” I said.

“Are you sure that's a good idea? Capes can get in the way.”

I smiled. “They can also be a convenient place for villains to grab you and toss you around.”

“Exactly.” Karen said. “Hi, Rachel. Is Amanda awake yet?”

“Yes; but, she's gone down to the archives for a few hours. Do you feel like staying for the rest of the day?” Rachel asked and Karen nodded. “Great! I'll let Amanda know that she doesn't have to rush.”

“Thanks.” Karen said and gave me a calculating look. “I wouldn't mind more help this afternoon.”

“Ah, sorry. I'm on patrol with the Flaming Sidekicks.” I said.

“Even with the damaged hand?” Karen asked.

“I'll be fine. I just have to remember to not use that hand for anything.” I said and then I felt something. “Uh oh.”

“What is it?” Rachel and Karen asked at the same time.

“I need to use the bathroom.” I said and looked down at my button up pants. The two women did as well, blushed, and looked back at my face. “Yeah, that too.”

Rachel gave an exaggerated sigh as she stood. “All right, a secretary's work is never done.”

“But...” Karen looked from her to me.

“Don't mention this to anyone.” Rachel said and took my hand. “Let's go to your room. If I'm undoing your pants anyway, you might as well change into your costume.”

I raised my eyebrows at her.

“No buttons. It's all pull on.” Rachel said.

“Oh, yeah. Good idea.” I said and she chuckled.

“You've got a bit of time before shift starts, so we need to get you changed as soon as possible.”

“I need to pop over to my mother's office as well. My new cape is in.” I said as we went to the elevator.

“You'll have to show it off if it's as eye-catching as your main suit.” Rachel said as we stepped into the just arrived elevator.

“That's what mom and Mei said.” I responded and the elevator doors shut.

Rachel turned to me and kissed me. “Did you see the look on Karen's face when I offered to help you?”

“It was half disgust and half hopeful.” I said and she nodded.

“Say, do you know anything about why none of the spare rooms are admitting new guests?” Rachel asked me.

“Why do you ask?” I asked in return.

“You were the last one to successfully be given a room. Each one after yours has to be reset to clear it, for some reason.” Rachel said and ran her hands down my chest. “It's a pain in the ass, according to the maintenance guys.”

“I have no idea what's going on.” I said with a completely blank face.

“Oh, for goodness sake! You're a terrible liar!” Rachel said and slapped my chest.

“No, I'm not. I lie very well.” I said, my face just as blank.

Rachel laughed and shook her head. “You ass. What did you do?”

“I cannot confirm that I encoded each and every spare room in the entire building with my biometric handprint.”

Rachel blinked her eyes for several seconds, then started laughing.

“It only took me about ten seconds.” I said and she kept laughing. “I hope it didn't inconvenience you.”

Rachel shook her head again and we stepped out of the elevator onto the floor with my room on it. She led me to my room and opened my door with her own handprint. “Administrator privilege.”

“Ah.” I said and she brought me into my bedroom and helped me undress, then we went to the bathroom for me to take care of business. Luckily, it was only to urinate and she jiggled me appropriately and then wiped it off with a tissue.

Rachel helped me dress in my hero costume and then opened my window for me. “Come back in the front door to meet your patrol team. You should catch them on the way out.”

“Thank you.” I said and pulled her into a hug and kissed her soundly.

“Mmm.” Rachel moaned and sparks roamed over her hands and across our lips.

“See you later.” I said and jumped out the window, waved to her, then flew off.

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