The Mississippi lapped up against the side of the ferry as it made its way across the river, carrying a few passengers to the other side. It was a rather calm Saturday morning, hot of course but also clear with not a sign of rain in sight. Having grown up in this place all of her life, Velia was used to the ferry rides across the river and simply sat back in one of the rows of plastic seats situated at the front of the vessel. Amusingly, her companion for the afternoon couldn't get enough of looking over the side at the glittering waters.

Three weeks had brought three more dates with this being the third. Instead of a restaurant Alatha had invited her to an aquarium. Not exactly her idea of romantic but it seemed a way to spend a day at least. Velia stared up at the sky overhead as the small white clouds passed by, smiling contently. If there was one good thing that came of this it at least seemed like it kept her more villainous companion busy and away from crime. Well... at least crimes that she knew of.

Her eyes turned towards her companion as the taller woman walked back towards her, sitting down next to her. "Aren't you the least bit worried about law enforcement trying to take you in? We're strutting around in broad daylight after all." Velia remarked.

The immediate answer she got was Alatha placing her hands behind her head and propping her feet up on the back of the empty seat in front of her. She was wearing the same metal heeled boots she did when fighting, paired with jeans and a t-shirt. Really the villainess could not have looked more at ease if she tried. A smirk was on her lips as she regarded the size changer with a rather amused expression.

"In case you hadn't noticed the law isn't exactly equipped to handle someone like me. They might make token efforts to bring me in, but they have bigger fish to fry." She said with a shrug.

"They'd have better luck if I helped them, you know."

Alatha lifted a brow. "Oh? Would you?"

Velia hummed as she thought over that. "Probably not. If you set fire to the ferry or the aquarium then, yeah I might step in."

The villainess chuckled. "Awww, and here I was wondering what fried shark tasted like."

A laugh was torn from the size changer's lips at that. She supposed the point was fair that the police had more important things to worry about. The woman next to her was destructive but she didn't go out of her way to murder folks for the hell of it. There were villains, however, that most certainly did. After a short about of time the ferry reached the other side and the pair stepped off, heading in the direction of the aquarium.

Fingers entwined with her own as they walked side by side, the closeness Velia now possessed with the other woman causing her stomach to knot. The touch of her bare hand against her own brought with it the unnatural warmth of the pyrokinetic. She was always warm to the touch, her powers keeping her body heat well above the norm. Of course they received some odd looks, they were in the South after all, but she paid no mind to them. Long had it been since she had come to terms with her affections being considered... odd.

They made their way towards the building situated near the harbor and Velia opted to pay for their admission. Most of Alatha's funds were, by her own admission, from less than legal sources after all. Something that she still was not quite comfortable with. That conversation had certainly been rather heated. The infuriating response she had gotten from the villainess was that money was money, didn't matter where it came from. Little moments like that reminded her that the woman at her side was a criminal.

Once inside Alatha let out a low whistle. "Nice place. ...Which way to the sharks?"

Velia rolled her eyes. "What is it with you and sharks?"

"They're big, not many things screw with them, and make short work of smaller fish." She said, swelling out her chest in pride.

Velia turned her eyes skyward as though pondering something. "Hmm... 'Alatha Dalal was a large woman who smelled of fish, she also had difficulty finding romantic partners.' Sound about what image you were trying to project?"

Alatha's left out a long breath and frowned at the size changer. "That hurts, Lia. That's hurtful."

The younger woman hummed in pleasure for having knocked the pyrokinetic off of her high horse and started through the halls of the aquarium. Her partner seemed to brush off the teasing as indeed there were a number of sharks to take up her attention in some of the tanks. They were scary things really and the heroine was glad for the thick glass between her and them. They had jagged teeth, dead black eyes, and swam with a predatory purpose. In a way she could see similarities to Alatha, but in others she seemed just the opposite of them.

They were cold and vicious things, patrolling the waters of their tanks like wolves of the sea. There was nothing warm about them, efficient certainly but nothing warm. In the times where Velia had fought her, Alatha almost seemed to get off on the passion of battle. She was wild, untamable, and almost seemed half crazed when one crossed blows with her. If Velia were to compare her to anything it would be some kind of natural disaster. Of course, the villainess would probably take that as a compliment.

Pushing comparisons from her mind the blonde occupied her time watching the schooling fish. They were often smaller but their choreographed movements were dazzling to her. Smaller fish were far more interesting to her. Surviving in such a cruel world at that size when there were plenty of things looking to eat them was impressive. She smiled as a clown fish hid away when she peered closer at the tank. The shy orange and white fish seemed to stare out at her warily, perhaps fearing something so big. She could sympathize with the poor thing and thus drew her head back and started towards a cylinder shaped tank with some shrimp in it.

It was the strangest shrimp she had ever seen. Having grown up where she had she was quite familiar with shrimp, usually the kind that lined her plate, but this one barely looked like one. It was vibrant and colorful with strange little eyes that peered around in an alien manner. There were two little bludgeoning appendages on it. The first thing that jumped to mind when looking at it was 'peacock' rather than 'shrimp'.

"Mantis Shrimp. Interesting little things."

Velia turned to look at Alatha who was regarding the shrimp in the tank. "Those little things that look like clubs can accelerate with the force of a bullet. It can also have twelve photoreceptors in their eyes as opposed to the three humans have. The largest ones can shatter aquarium glass." The pyrokinetic informed.

Velia blinked, which drew a frown from Alatha. "What?"

A smirk crossed the blonde's face. "I didn't realize you were such a nerd."

A roll of the woman's eyes and some muttered Arabic was Alatha's immediate response. "It's called being informed."

"Whatever, nerd."

Velia was more than a little amused at how worked up the little jab got her. She was actually slightly impressed. Of all the people she had expected fish facts from it was not Alatha. She could only imagine what she knew about the more dangerous types of fish. Outwardly she hummed and walked to another tank with her somewhat flustered date following soon after. The size changer did not jab at her again however when she started stating facts about certain shark species.

The trip to the aquarium actually was turning out to be somewhat informative. She also noticed that taller woman was not shy about asking some of the staff questions about fish she didn't know about. It was oddly endearing to see the hardened villainess interested by such a thing. Maybe she missed her calling in life. She could have studied such things. The thought of the woman in a white lab coat looking over specimen samples was oddly enticing. Instead she burned down buildings and took what she wanted.

They arrived at the area devoted solely to sharks and Velia noted an increase in wide eyed kids clinging closely to their mothers. Some made faces at the uncaring animals as they passed by. It was here that Alatha seemed to enjoy herself quite a bit, peering at the passing animals. She looked rather childlike in her wonder. Of course, a few mothers happened to recognize the notorious woman and were rather speedy at pushing their kids along. The villainess didn't seem to mind.

It was perhaps due to the lack of people in the area that Alatha felt comfortable asking: "So, are you a masochist by chance?"

Velia blinked before a deep flush came over her pale cheeks. "Wh-what!?"

"Do you get off on pain?" She clarified.

Well that didn't seem like it came out of nowhere. Velia looked around to make certain there was no one else nearby to hear this and drew in close, lowering her voice to a harsh whisper. "Where the fuck did that come from?" She demanded.

Alatha shrugged. "I noticed when we fight you get this kind of aroused look on your face. Usually after I hit you. Hence, the question. I'm just curious. Nothing wrong with you being one, Lia. Don't be so uptight."

If it were at all possible Velia was certain she was going to pass out from embarrassment. She had not been expecting to have this kind of talk with her... girlfriend in an aquarium of all places. Really she hadn't been sure when she'd bring up the subject of her little quirks. Sex was not something she was conservative about and certainly the subject had entered her mind a few times on their dates, but it might have been nice to be eased into the conversations.

"I... I do enjoy a bit of pain yes. Its just- just that it's not exactly normal to enjoy that kind of pleasure." Velia managed to get out.

"L-listen, I don't expect anything but normal sex when, you know, you want to try it out. If you do that is! Not saying you want to sleep with me o-or anything." She managed to get out.

Technically masochism was just a single part of her rather... exotic tastes. Not even the strangest really. Alatha took her hand and forced her to look up into her dark eyes.

"Hey, it's not my first rodeo. In case you hadn't guessed I tend to enjoy fighting a bit myself, though its less pain and more causing it. I also certainly wouldn't mind more sex if you are up for it, like I said, no need to be chaste with me." Alatha said seriously.

"How about this, I'll give you piece of paper. During lunch you can put down whatever you want on it, whatever you might want to try in the bedroom. Then we can see about trying something. How about it?" The woman suggested.

Velia actually blinked at the suggestion and swallowed hard. Whatever she wanted to try? That was a pretty wide gate the villainess was opening. It was a relief, however, that Alatha was open to possibly moving to more physical intimacy. She wasn't sure why she hadn't broached the subject earlier honestly. She had certainly wanted to but the timing just hadn't been right. Maybe it was that hesitation that had prompted her girlfriend's questioning. Alatha was certainly not blind after all.

She smiled finally. "Okay. That sounds good to me."

Alatha smiled back before rolling her eyes. "Don't be so damn shy all the time. Sex isn't exactly a taboo subject with me."

Velia blushed. "I was just worried I might come off as... pushy."

A snort was her companion's response. "Half of my first dates ended in my bedroom. Compared to those you are the exact opposite of pushy."

So it was that, not an hour later Velia found herself sitting across from Alatha at a seafood place scribbling down a few things in a notebook the villainess had bought from the store. Her fingers were surprisingly steady as she started listing out her more... illicit desires, occasionally taking a bite of her shrimp. The black ink bled over the page and soon enough she found a rhythm as the words just poured out. Her deepest fantasies were listed one after the other in the front page of the notebook, the young woman pausing occasionally to look up at her dining companion.

Bondage was at the top of the list, a few implements of the craft she was okay with following shortly with some she'd rather not deal with also listed. Her limits were clear and also rather short. Beneath that was where her more... size oriented desires were placed. She circled that one a few times. She also added a few things she had never tried before but sounded like they might appeal to her. This whole thing was actually a little therapeutic. It also never crossed her mind that Alatha might try to just take the list and use it to hurt her. If she was going to hurt her, likely she'd punch her.

The writing actually served to be somewhat arousing as she imagined little scenarios that might play out. Supers were fairly durable; as such she wondered how long she could spend under the toes of the woman across from her. Assuming she was amenable to the size play. Her eyes trailed down to her boots, heat pulsing between her legs as she imagined being trapped in the leather prison for hours on end beneath Alatha's feet. Her sole pressing down on her with each step, reminding her just how far below the other woman she was every moment.

It amazed her once again that her former enemy was willing to even consider indulging her fantasies. It seemed almost unreal to be writing down her most illicit thoughts for the woman, to have those dark eyes pick apart the contents of her dreams. Velia rubbed her thighs together, her jeans scratching together slightly which she masked with crossing her legs. She distracted herself from her growing desires by taking another bite of shrimp and washing it down with some water. This was going to be the death of her. At least it would be a pleasurable death.

After a good while she handed the notebook over to Alatha, her hands trembling slightly. The woman gave her an encouraging smile as she flipped open the book. She hummed a little tune under her breath as she read, Velia fidgeting throughout the reading. At times the villainess' brows knitted together, other times she nodded though it was impossible to get a feel for what she was really thinking. To try and conceal her discomfort Velia worked through her half eaten and cold meal.

Alatha eventually looked up to Velia and pointed to one part of the list. "These ones with question marks near them, I assume they are ones you want to try?"

Velia nodded in response. "Hmm... well we could get one out of the way right now if you like. You can let me know if it turns you on or not."

The heroine's eyes widened as she looked around at how many people were in this place. She could not possibly be serious! Exhibitionism was on her hard 'no' section after all. Sure enough Alatha scooted up on her side of the table and drew in very close to her ear, her breath warm upon her skin. Her mouth went dry as she tried to say something in protest, only managing a little croak.

When Alatha whispered her voice was silky and laced with lust. "I want you to take that tongue of yours between my firm tan thighs and make me squeal with pleasure, you pale skinned little bug."

Velia felt red flush her cheeks at heat pooled between her legs. The shifting of her legs was all the answer the pyrokinetic really needed. "Well, looks like a bit of racial dirty talk is a yes. Now we know." She said, drawing back and returning to her side of the table.

The size changer only nodded in response to the rather obvious truth to that statement. She had been raised in a somewhat... racially charged household. Her parents were good people but had some rather inflammatory opinions. Velia didn't hold most opinions like that any longer as she had been exposed to all types in her life, but the upbringing still was embedded in her mind. As such there was an illicit thrill to another added bit of humiliation. Outside of sexual context she'd normally take offense to it, but in this case not so much.

"Anyway, the bondage stuff is par for the course. Nothing too odd there. The, ahem, other stuff is a little less something I'm experienced in. I'd be willing to give it a shot though, especially given your rather... unique set of circumstances to that end." Alatha said, closing the book.

"When do you think we can..." Velia inquired.

"Hmm... not today unfortunately as I have a business arrangement tonight. Maybe next Saturday? Should give me time to come up with a good scene." The villainess suggested.

With an agreement on that the two parted ways there. The rest of the day Velia found her thoughts racing with the possibilities next week might hold. It was a tad difficult to concentrate with the rather illicit and certainly lewd thoughts travelling through her mind. She'd only really explored the very tip of her pleasures once with another; she had a feeling that this new venture would be much more fruitful.