Siren

3 The Decision

At this time in the evening everything was closing down, The trains were crowded with people going home but the air was relaxed. The sun was below the horizon but the western sky still blazed like the clouds were on fire. Maybe that wash of colour could wash her day away. Gertrude exited the train and sauntered to the complex where her favorite gym was. There were others that were closer but this one was her favourite. The size meant they had lots of equipment to choose from and that it was crowded enough for her to stay anonymous.

After checking in with her badge she made her way straight to the boxing room and found only one other person there. Around the corner the weights and treadmills had lines of people around them but she had found simple boxing and training with her own bodyweight had served her much better. She threw her backpack into the corner and stretched and warmed up for a few minutes before laying into the punching bag with everything she had.

The day replayed in her mind in excruciating detail. Her failure at the obstacle course, her fight and exposure at the bank, her embarrassing encounter with Craig, her talk with her mother. If only they were as easy to take her frustration out on. She punched until her arms ached. She kicked until her legs cramped. She beat the tar out of the bag until she couldn't breathe. Her aching body felt good compared to her heart which ached with a pain that she knew wouldn't go away. She couldn't just sleep on it and expect it to heal. What was she going to do?

She fell onto the punching bag and collapsed in a fit of sobs. Tears streamed down her face and she punched the puddle they made on the floor.

"Excuse me miss?"

Her eyes snapped open and alert in a spike of adrenaline she thought she had exhausted. She had forgotten she wasn't alone.

"Miss, are you alright?" Peering down at her was a tall man with auburn hair and a sturdy frame. He was close to her age but still had a boyish look about him in spite of having twenty centimeters on her.

"I'm fine, sorry." Gertrude jumped to her feet so fast she felt light headed. She tried to wipe the snot and tears from her face but only managed to smear it around with her gloves.

"Right, as long as you're okay," the man said.

Gertrude nodded and sniffed, feeling a flush rise to her cheeks. Maybe it actually would be permanent this time.

The man hesitated, turned away, then turned back. "I know it isn't any of my business, but why are you so upset?"

"Nothing nothing," Gertrude answered, then punched the bag once more for good measure. "Just one of those days," she said through grit teeth.

"Must have been one hell of a day," the man said and shifted his weight.

"You have no idea." Gertrude shook her head and looked at the man closely for the first time. He had freckles on his nose and cheeks. "I failed my test for the fourth time, I embarrassed myself in front of the world, I got called out by my friends, and caught by my mother, so yeah, a bad day."

The man shifted uncomfortably, no doubt trying to extricate himself.

"Go on, you don't want to listen to my sob story. I'll be fine."

"No, I don't," he started, then backtracked. "That is, I don't want to go. I've seen you here before and I... Well... If you are willing to talk I'm willing to listen."

That was not what Gertrude had expected. Usually it was an awful pickup line or an invitation to dinner, or a lewd comment of things they could do if she had absolutely no self respect or standards, not this. She couldn't remember the last time anyone had offered to listen to her. Tears sprang to her eyes and she tried to shake them away. "Yes," she sputtered. "I mean, thank you so much, I could really use a good talk. What's your name?"

"Oh, well I don't really like it much," he answered with a wince.

"I don't like my name much either," she answered and smiled genuinely for the first time that day. A moment passed where she looked into his eyes and could swear that they understood each other, then chaos erupted as a group of ten teenage boys rushed in to start bouncing off the walls. He muttered something she couldn't discern, then stepped away. A part of her wanted to follow him, but she too went and got her backpack from the corner and retreated to find solitude.

She walked to the track and then went back but the boxing room still had children bouncing off the walls and he wasn't there. Not that she was looking for him, she didn't even know his name. She didn't see him outside or at the train station but that could have been because it was dark. She hardly even thought of him as the train sped along the tracks. As it pulled into the next stop and the doors opened, shouts came from the platform outside.

Gertrude put her hands to the glass to peer out and saw a group surrounding someone on the ground who was not going to be happy when they were done. Gertrude wanted to run and help, but it wasn't her job. She had no business enforcing the laws. That had been made abundantly clear to her, but she couldn't let someone get beat to death either. She rushed to the door but it was already closing. She had hesitated too long. The platform retreated as she sped away and the group remained, beating and kicking the unfortunate victim on the ground. Gertrude watched them until they were out of sight then pulled her phone from her pocket and dialed the police station. As it rang she felt a twang of sadness that she hadn't even had to look up the number.

"Yes, I'd like to report an assault in progress," she said to the clerk who answered. "At the Broadmeadows train station. South line." The normal questions followed and Gertrude started to feel sick at her answers. "No, I can't see them. Yes, I am still on the train. No, I don't know how bad it is." She was shaking with frustration by the time she ended the call and got off at her stop. She could have done something. It wouldn't have been hard. The second she stepped out there and said something the group would have scattered. Gertrude put her hands in her pockets to help calm her nerves and walked home as fast as her feet could carry her.

There was nothing she could have done. It wasn't her job. There were too many of them. The victim is probably just fine. Line after line of justification ran through her mind but she knew all of them were false. The simple truth was that she had been too weak to do anything. Every emotion from the day swirled in her like a bubbling cauldron. It was too much to contain. She began to run. She had to get home and get to sleep before anything else could happen.

When she walked inside Samantha and Craig were cuddled on the couch watching a movie. She walked by them and shut herself in her room. "Hey Gerty, you alright?" Samantha asked as she passed but she didn't answer. Gertrude didn't even turn on the light, she stripped out of her clothes and fell into her bed. She was so tired, tired of all the things she couldn't do. Couldn't join the police. Couldn't be who she wanted to be. Couldn't be what her mother wanted. Couldn't do anything without being gawked at and objectified. She couldn't even help someone who needed her at a train station.

Pulling out her phone she looked up the evening news and sure enough there was a story about her, complete with a picture of her with her top half blurred out. "Nude Woman Stops Bank Robber" read the headline. At least they had the decency to blur out her face and unmentionables. At the top of the page a new story appeared. "Father of Two Beat to Death at Train Station" she turned off her screen.

She couldn't do all of those things, but she could do something. Someone need not have died today. Two children could have still had a father. The law, her mother, the nameless faces that jeered, who were they to tell her what she could or couldn't do?

Gertrude listened to the muted voices of Samantha and Craig as they said good night and waited until the door closed and only Samantha's footsteps remained. She went out and found her flatmate yawning by her bedroom door. "I want to do it," Gertrude said.

Samantha raised an eyebrow at her before she realized what Gertrude was agreeing to. "What? Really?"

Gertrude nodded. "You're right I can't just let myself be pushed off to the side. I won't be still and watch."

Samantha squealed softly and jumped up and down. "I've been thinking about it all night. I think tomorrow I'm calling in a sickie."

Gertrude couldn't help but smile at Sammy's enthusiasm. "Alright, what do we have to do?"

Sammy rushed into her room and came out with the phaser. "Let's get some old clothes so that we can do some tests."

Gertrude winced, already knowing she was going to regret this. With a sigh she changed into some of her worn out clothes that she hadn't thrown out yet. "Don't even need to make this one disappear," she said, showing off a big hole in the inner thigh of the pants.

"People pay good money for clothes like that," Sammy countered while she pinned the phaser onto the waistband. "Okay, that should do it." She stepped back and did a circle around Gertrude. "Okay, give us a high kick."

"In these jeans?" Gertrude asked. "I guess they're already trashed." She lifted her leg and kicked out right as Samantha activated the phaser. The constriction of the pants vanished and Gertrude carried through with her kick, then looked down at her bare legs. The phaser fell to the ground and Gertrude felt a bit too much of a breeze. "You got my knickers too!" she squeezed her legs together and rushed for her dresser. Gertrude was red as a beet root and Samantha's eyes were wide as Getrude pulled on fresh underwear.

"Sorry, the pulse caught you a little stronger than I thought. Let me take it down a notch." She blew a long breath out her mouth and began to fiddle with the phaser. Gertrude retrieved some shorts that, though not worn out, she wouldn't be too sad to lose. "This time on your sleeve," Samantha said and tucked the device near Gertrude's wrist. "This is made for things much larger, I bet I could weave a smaller one right into the fabric. You wouldn't even know it was there."

"What I'm worried about is getting my clothes back," Gertrude said.

"We've been working on that," Samantha said while putting the finishing touches on the phaser's placement. What we need is something stationary that can act as an anchor for the disapparated material. Sort of a place for it to stay close to so that it can reappear in the right place." She looked at Gertrude's bracelet. "Something like this would do."

"Can we anchor it now then?" Gertrude asked, the color finally beginning to drain from her face.

"Sure," Samantha undid the clasp on the bracelet and held it up to the phaser. Gertrude held her arm out patiently until Samantha finished then put the butterfly charm back on her wrist. "That should work well for your shirt, but we will need something else if we want your pants to appear on you instead of next to you. Let's test this." Samantha activated the phaser and in a rush of cool air Gertrude was exposed. She quickly ran her hands down her body and was relieved that only her shirt was gone, her bra was still in place.

"It worked," Gertrude said and burst into a grin, then she noticed Samantha's eyes tracing the shape of her body. "Sammy!"

"Sorry, I'm just excited. I never get to actually do the experiments at work and well... The experiments at work are not nearly this interesting."

Gertrude swatted her friend and Sammy squealed.

"I shouldn't have to apologize for complimenting you," Samantha said as she ran away.

"You have a boyfriend," Gertrude said. "You can compliment me without ogling me." Gertrude blushed but the corner of her lips rose. In a way, it was nice to be seen as desirable even if it was with a friend who was turning out to be a little perverted. "Fine, get your fill," Gertrude said and flung her arms wide. The next moment she felt something wrap around her ribs and constrict then tear with a loud rip. Her left sleeve was in place as was a bit around her waist but it seemed the shirt had appeared with the neck going under her arm. She was left with one breast and arm in her shirt with the rest of it hanging in tatters.

Samantha was immediately business again. "That will need some adjusting too, but did you notice that the phaser was able to disappear with your shirt this time?" Sammy grinned. "That means the anchor worked not only for what was disapparated, but for the phaser itself.

"Next let's try it with something that covers your whole body, like coveralls."

Gertrude smiled and over the next eight hours was repeatedly stripped and exposed, but the clothes mostly came back whole. She would have to go shopping again if she wanted to actually be able to have enough clothes to be able to wash them and still have anything to wear. As the sun rose Gertrude blinked, realizing that they had been going all night.

Sammy yawned. "Definitely a sickie." She collapsed onto the couch. "Let's sleep for a few hours, then make you a Super Suit."

Gertrude nodded and was barely into her own room when she collapsed on the bed and slept until after noon.

The sun was still high when Gertrude and Sammantha entered the thrift store. "You sure I can't just buy you something?" Sammy asked. "This is your super suit we are talking about. Maybe it shouldn't be second hand."

"I can't afford it," Gertrude moaned. "And I can't ask my mother for any more money either. Oh, balls, my mother. She told me I had to get a job." Gertrude grit her teeth.

"That would help with rent. Not that I'm complaining. This hero thing was kind of my idea."

"It's okay," Gertrude said. "We can get a few things here and I can stitch them together."

"You know how to sew?" Samantha asked.

"My mum wasn't always rich, you know," Gertrude smiled. "In a lot of ways we were happier before she was so successful." Gertrude pulled out a red leather jacket. "I had to sew and mend my own clothes, but that was back before she forgot about dad."

"You mean I could have had you mending my clothes for all of these months?" Samantha said in horror. "But you didn't tell me." She pulled a teal outfit from the rack and held it up to Gertrude. "I like this color on you and... Red leather, really?"

"What? If I'm going to be some kind of super hero I may as well have some flair."

Samantha shook her head and smiled. "You get to work on this while I stop and grab a couple things from work."

Gertrude took the items to the checkout and caught Samantha before she walked away. "Won't they realize you're not sick if you show up?"

Samantha dropped her head and pouted her lip. "I don't want to leave so much work undone. Can I take it home to work on?"

Gertrude's jaw dropped. "You little con artist. How many times have you done that to me?"

"Never to you Gerty," Sammy said and grinned as she left the store.

Gertrude shook her head and paid for the clothes. Twenty two dollars for a jacket, a shirt, and two pairs of trousers. She needed to go to thrift stores more often.

When she got home she got to work ripping the seams and getting pieces of cloth to stitch back together. By the time she had got an idea of what she wanted Samantha was back.

"Hey, how'd it go?" Gertrude asked as Samantha threw her purse onto the counter.

"Good, I got everything we need." She brandished a bag in triumph. "They even offered to let me have a few days off to 'get feeling better'." Samantha laughed.

"You are scary devious, you know that?" Gertrude said, finally seeing a hint of how manipulative Samantha could be.

"So, what have you got?" Sammy asked, settling on a chair next to where Gertrude sewed at the table. Gertrude held up her work of art to be admired.

"I'm trying to make long sleeves and legs. I think I want gloves and boots too."

"More of a show when it disappears," Samantha laughed.

Gertrude blushed but didn't respond. "I'm done with the sleeves if you think you can start on them."

Samantha took the cloth and retrieved some circuitry from her bag. It may as well have been magic to Gertrude. She had no idea how electricity worked, not to mention atomic phase waves or whatever. Sammy put on some music while they worked. It was newer tech pop stuff that Gertrude wasn't particularly fond of but she could handle it if Samantha liked it. A few hours later she finished the last stitch and handed the completed piece to Samantha.

"How much longer," she asked.

Samantha pursed her lips. "Just a few minutes I just have to do the piece you gave me then tie them together so that their power sources are in harmonic range."

Yep. Magic.

Gertrude watched Samantha finish her new outfit and smiled at the finished product. "Okay, go try it on," Sammy said, handing Gertrude the bundle of cloth and pushing her into her room. "Remember, the suit is linked to your bracelet so if you aren't wearing it then the suit won't function. Also, keep the bracelet on the same wrist or your suit might reappear backward."

"Thanks for the warning," Gertrude said as she sloughed off her clothes and pulled the suit on. It fit snug and she knew she still had some of her sewing skills even if this had been the first time she had to use them in years. She emerged a minute later in the suit and spun around for Samantha.

"How does it look?"

"Awesome," Sammy grinned. "Like a hero from the comics. You will need a mask though."

"That's only if it works," Gertrude said. "How do I activate it?"

"I have the controls here," Samantha said. "If this works then I will install them onto your bracelet. It is really very simple. Each button controls a different part of clothing and I can break it down into whatever sections you want. For now it is: sleeves, legs, top, bottom." She pointed at each button in turn then handed the control to Gertrude.

"Okay, let's start with the sleeves." Gertrude pressed the button and watched her arms, but the sleeves stayed in place. "What happened?"

"Gerty, did you not wear panties underneath?" Samantha giggled.

Gertrude looked down and, sure enough, her most intimate area was open for display. She quickly punched the button again only she must have got the controller flipped around because instead of getting some modesty back her sleeves disappeared along with enough of the neckline to show more cleavage than she liked. "Sammy!" Gertrude cried out and stuffed the controller into her flatmate's hands then tried unsuccessfully to cover all her exposed parts.

"Don't worry, I got you," Samantha said and a moment later her bottoms reappeared. "I really thought you would wear underwear, at least for the test." Samanth tried and failed to suppress a grin.

"I did!" Gertrude huffed.

Samantha's eyebrows quirked up then she slipped a finger in Gertrude's waistband and pulled her pants out to look inside. "I don't see them anywhere."

Gertrude pushed Samantha's hand away and smoothed down her waistband. "Your device disintegrated them!"

"I guess disintegrated isn't a bad word for that," Samantha mused, "but they should have reintegrated when I pushed the button." Samantha opened the outside door and there were Gertrude's panties draped over the railing. "Found them."

Gertrude swiped them away, her face as bright pink as the fabric.

"I think I just have to fine tune the range on the disruptor, but you should consider going commando, it was very effective."

Gertrude turned with a furrowed brow, then her expression melted and she began to laugh. "I suppose that is the plan, isn't it?" She covered her face with her hands. "How am I going to do this, Sammy?"

"The same way you do everything," Samantha answered. "With fire and determination."