“Exactement! We drag him to the beach, so he’s in only a swimsuit in front of a crowd of people, and he’ll smarten up when he realises how exposed and emasculated he feels,” Augusta explained. 

Vivian quietly sipped her coffee as she leaned back in the booth of the coffee shop. She felt quite confident Augusta’s plan wouldn’t work out at all as the stuck up blonde expected. Of course Vivian couldn’t deny she wanted to see Svetlana in a swimsuit. She’d seen the results of the alien training regimen Svetlana had been put through before being zapped, and was very interested in how those muscles looked now.

“A beach trip sounds nice to me, but it's Canada Day this weekend. The place is going to be packed,” she said.

“Wait, already?” Thisbe muttered, pulling out her phone to check the day. “It's so easy to lose track of time…”

“Magnifique!” Augusta replied, ignoring Thisbe’s comment. “More people means more discomfort. A guarantee to snap him out of it.”

Plynx looked frazzled, but gave a nod. “It makes sense. Hopefully it will get Kevin-dearest back to us.”

“So, who’s driving?” Vivian asked.

“Driving?” Augusta replied, tilting her head.

“There’s not exactly a train over to Port Dover,” Vivian explained. “Someone has to drive.”

Plynx pulled out her little alien phone, pulling out a map. “That is on the other big lake? Why would we go to the other lake when Hammer City is already on a big lake? There is a beach here as well.”

“Steel Mills. Along with other industries. The water around here isn’t… great for swimming,” Vivian replied. 

Plynx and Augusta both nodded slowly.

“I know how to drive,” Thisbe said, pulling out her wallet and digging through it. “But, um… my licence expired in… uh… oh. 1994. I didn’t realise it had been quite that long.”

Vivian blinked, turning to the small vampire girl. That was a good two years before Vivian was even born…

“Fine. I will get a chauffeur to drive us,” Augusta muttered. 

---

Svetlana felt giddy when Plynx told her they were going to go to the beach for Canada Day. She’d dragged Cartridge off to the mall again before work the next day as she hunted for a cute bikini. Cartridge, while not invited on the beach trip, was also caught up in the excitement of buying something so feminine. 

“Vivian, Plynx, Augusta, Thisbe, O’tmyil, and you all in cute swimsuits… almost makes me wish I was going too,” the redhead said while hunting for something in her size.

“I think Geordi would be disappointed to hear you’re debating skipping your date,” Svetlana replied, ignoring the weird feeling that came with being included as a subject of Cartridge’s ogling fantasies now.

“I only said almost. I wouldn’t miss my date with them for something so simple. Now that I am, with all modesty, a babe and worthy of them,” Cartridge replied. “I’ll never know what she saw in me before, though.”

Svetlana gave a nod, not disclosing the ‘likelihood of sufficient libido’ comment Geordi had told her all those months ago. It didn’t seem like a very flattering or romantic reason to return someone’s interest. A valid one, maybe, but not a romantic one.

Like her own interests in Augusta, which existed for similar reasons…

Svetlana decided to postpone thinking about that and focus on hunting for a cute bikini. Or… two piece? Were all two pieces bikinis? She pulled out her phone to hunt for an answer. She was certain a woman in her mid-twenties was supposed to know that. 

The answer seemed to be yes. She nodded, filled with the vigor of having learned something new.

“How’s the hunting going then, girls?”

Svetlana half jumped as she turned, surprised to see Vivian standing a couple metres away. Perhaps more surprising was the fact O’tmyil was accompanying her. Very closely. 

“I informed Miss Wong of your plans for before your workday, and she became curious,” O’tmyil explained.

What she didn’t explain was what she and Vivian had been doing meeting up. O’tmyil rarely left the apartment on her own, and even more rarely met up with any of the other fiancées. She was allowed to go wherever, of course, but she seemed uninterested.

“I figured you two might need a little help,” Vivian added. “And both of us were curious what sort of swimsuits you two would choose.”

Svetlana and Cartridge nodded, both glad for the help.

“I probably need more help,” Cartridge said, raising her hand slightly. “What are the rules for swimwear if I want to keep up a butch look?”

Vivian blinked. “You… you’re trying to be butch? I thought you were just aiming for tomboyish?”

Svetlana and Cartridge glanced at each other.

“Isn’t a tomboyish lesbian butch?” Svetlana asked.

“Ehh… there’s definitely some overlap, but they generally mean different things,” Vivian explained. “Butch is generally rather more masc.”

Both new girls nodded. They had so much to learn.

“Also, you don’t have to follow any set aesthetic to a tee. You can mix and match,” Vivian added.

Both girls nodded again, before diving into the store’s selection with newfound enthusiasm. Svetlana stuck to her pre-existing love of dark colours, grabbing a black bikini with an open chest and a high neck, somewhat similar to her new favourite shirt. She was quite happy to model it for Vivian and O’tmyil, who both approved. She noticed her two girlfriends were continuing to stay very close to each other the whole time, and began to wonder if Vivian was starting to act on the proposal over dinner.

Cartridge found herself a white top piece that offered enough support, and was thrilled to see it came with a pink and blue striped bottom. 

Both girls made their purchases, and were ready to head out of the store, when a swimsuit caught O’tmyil’s eye. She pulled the silver one piece off the rack, turning it over to get a good look. She then shimmered, and her current outfit was replaced with a replication of the swimsuit in her arms.

“What do you think? Is it ‘me’?” she asked.

“Oooh, yes,” Svetlana replied.

“Quite nice,” Vivan added, with a grin.

O’tmyil smiled and put the actual swimsuit back before following the others out the door. Svetlana was about to mention that she might get stares, wandering around the mall in a swimsuit, when an employee rushed over.

“Excuse me, miss?” the young woman said.

O’tmyil turned to her. “Yes?”

“You, uh… you didn’t pay for that swimsuit,” the girl said.

O’tmyil stared at her. “I am not sure I understand?”

Vivian raised a finger to interject. Her motion, coupled with her height, seemed to spook the poor sales attendant. “That’s not your stock. She’s a—well, basically a hologram and can change her looks.”

“Oh! You think I am stealing!” O’tmyil replied, before waving her hand and returning to her previous dress. “Apologies.”

The sales girl blinked, confused as the four women left.

Considering how much she’d dropped on clothing in the last week, Svetlana quietly wished she had O’tmyil’s ability to simply change outfits as an extension of herself.

---

Svetlana blinked a few times, trying to fight a yawn. She wasn’t used to being awake at noon. But the other girls wanted to visit the beach while the sun was still up and the crowds were present. So she was putting up with it while waiting for everyone to meet up outside her apartment building. O’tmyil was there already, of course, quietly accessing an online database on provincial road laws, in case she found herself having to drive.

Cartridge was sitting on the bench, looking significantly more miserable. Svetlana had accidentally woken her up when making breakfast. The toaster had caught fire (mildly) and set off the smoke detector. Apparently one of the Mynx girls had stuck an entire sandwich in there, and some of the toppings had fallen off…

They’d put out the fire, but now Cartridge was awake and figured it would be polite to see Svetlana off. 

Vivian was the first to arrive, leaning in to give Svetlana a kiss on the cheek. Then, to Svetlana’s surprise, she also gave O’tmyil one. So those two had been on a date when they met at the mall. She’d been wondering if she’d read too much into things.

Plynx arrived next, before Svetlana could make any comments. She was carrying a massive backpack with a large towel strapped to the top like a sleeping bag, a family sized umbrella wedged between her back and the backpack, as well as a cooler in her hands.

“What’s in the. um, everything?” Svetlana asked.

“Supplies?” Plynx replied, turning to point the backpack at the others. “Flippers, snorkels, sunscreen, a life jacket, a collapsible oar, an infla—”

“We’re not going into the bush, you know,” Vivian replied.

Plynx tilted her head in confusion.

“Port Dover is a town. You can buy things,” Svetlana replied.

Plynx blushed as her ears fell. “Oh…”

“I appreciate the umbrella though,” a voice said from behind her.

Plynx stepped to the side as she turned around, letting everyone see Thisbe. The vampire girl had long clothes on and a parasol held over her head. All the same, the humans in the group were filled with panic at seeing her out in the sun. 

“Won’t you burst into flames under direct sunlight!?” Cartridge blurted.

Plynx’s eyes widened with fear when she heard. O’tmyil looked concerned as well, though less frightened.

Thisbe, however, giggled. “No, no. Now, if a pale redhead like yourself is a vampire, that is an honest concern, but I have melanin. I just need to apply some good sunscreen and I can handle a bit of sunshine.”

Svetlana and Vivian both let out sighs of relief. Cartridge, for her part, paled (further) at that. 

Any further conversation was interrupted by the arrival of an obnoxiously large stretch luxury car. It pulled up beside them, and the rearmost window lowered, revealing Augusta. 

“Apologies that we are late. This city has too many one way streets,” she muttered. 

“I’m amazed this boat fit around half the corners,” Svetlana replied.

“I do not want to think about the carbon footprint on that thing,” Vivian added.

“Father paid to reforest large parts of Spain and Italy. It’s fine,” Augusta replied, brushing the concern away.

---

The ride over to the lake had been quiet. Svetlana and Thisbe had both fallen asleep. That had left Vivian sitting awkwardly between Plynx and Augusta, hoping the two princesses didn’t start fighting. 

Thankfully, Plynx had been distracted by watching the countryside roll by. She’d rarely left the city, so didn’t have much familiarity with what Earth’s rural regions were like. She was deeply fascinated by the cows and horses they passed. Augusta had nearly made some sarcastic remarks, but Vivian had headed those off with a glare and a quiet reminder that Augusta would probably be as surprised and confused by farm animals on Plynx’s world.

O’tmyil had sat up with the chauffeur. The dividing window kept Vivian from hearing what they talked about, but she somewhat wished she’d been smart enough to sit up there instead with how much more relaxed things seemed up there.

It had taken a little poking to wake Svetlana up when they arrived, but her warm brown eyes filled with energy as soon as she properly woke up.

“Remember, you’ll be changing with us,” Vivian said, as they started to walk towards the public changerooms not far from the beach.

“Changing… oh, no. I don’t need a change room,” Svetlana replied, before unzipping her dress to reveal she was already wearing her bikini beneath it. 

“Ooh,” Vivian whispered, liking the boldness.

And the view. Sure, she’d seen a good amount at the mall, when Svetlana had been shopping, but she wasn’t going to complain about seeing more of her girlfriend again.

Apart from O’tmyil, the other three had become visibly frazzled. There was a bit of panic in Plynx and Augusta’s eyes as they seemed to realise their plan might be backfiring. Thisbe, meanwhile, seemed to be processing some things about her sexuality.

“I still think you should have added a cape,” O’tmyil said.

“That would make swimming awkward, and it wouldn't have ever fit under the dress,” Svetlana countered.

O’tmyil made a face of reluctant acceptance, while the others began to recover from their initial shock. 

“You-Fujikawa wear lots of black,” Mynx said, causing everyone to jump.

“Wha—didn’t you go back to bed!?” Svetlana asked.

“D’ou… where did you come from!?” Augusta added.

“I-we were in the trunk,” Mynx replied simply, as Vivian realised they were already wearing a cute modest one piece swimsuit. 

After the shock wore off, they left Mynx with Svetlana and O’tmyil to grab ice cream next door while the others popped into the public changeroom. Augusta made various amusing faces at the mild wear visible on the building, as she always did when forced to use ‘commoner’ resources. Plynx handled it with more dignity, at least until about halfway through changing, when her hair started to stick up like an angry cat’s. Which made sense, as she was, sort of, a cat.

“What is with the staring!?” she hissed at the other women who were in the changing area with the ragtag group.

The various women stepped back, fear in their eyes. Vivian took a moment to realise what was happening, but then placed a reassuring hand on Plynx’s shoulder. 

“They’ve probably never seen an Issiod’rian before,” she said.

Plynx turned to her with confusion. “People-strangers in Hammer City do not stare?”

“That’s Hammer City,” Vivian replied with a shrug.

“It’s a notoriously strange place,” Thisbe added with a shrug as she lathered up a rather significant quantity of sunscreen. “A witch friend of mine says it has something to do with ley lines.”

Vivian took a moment to process that, having just considered the surrounding cities boring, rather than Hammer City especially unusual. 

“Mhm, so it means people just accept things there,” Vivian added.She just hoped Svetlana, Mynx, and O’tmyil weren’t getting too many stares outside.