Good news... at first

Emily screwed her eyes shut and prayed as the light hit her. She’d changed behind a screen again into the poncho that they’d promised would work better than the first batch. She crossed an arm over her breasts, and with her other hand grabbed the bottom of the poncho to keep it pulled down as low as it would go, swallowing.

There was a flash of light, then another, then another… Nervously, Emily opened one eye. Still there.

Not that she relaxed, as multiple more flashes of light hit her.

Until eventually the machine Teddy was using went quiet. Emily bit her lip, fidgeting a little, bare legs rubbing against each other.

“Oh, wow,” Teddy said. “I’m a genius.”

Emily hesitated.

“Does that mean…” Emily said.

“That’s every setting,” Teddy said. “It works. None of the clothes-targeting superpowers or tech are going to do anything to that.”

Emily stared. Then cheered. Then squealed as she instantly regretted jumping in the air, the base of her poncho ascending as far as her bellybutton before she hastily pushed it back down.

“How many do you have?” Jackie said.

“Couple, thought we’d need to test a few,” Teddy said.

“Dibs!” Emily said quickly. Then she thought of the naked superheroine still out on the balcony. “So, hey, can I get one in green?”

*

It was the third day of nudity season. Emily had managed to go the last day in just her Wonder Woman outfit, but now she had a whole new wardrobe. Admittedly it was a bit plasticky, but it would be staying on, so she’d count that as a victory.

She’d laid it out on her bed; she’d picked up one of the prototype Strip-No-More (name subject to change) outfits, a plain set of shirt and pants, and gladly put it on.

It was something of a relief to not have to worry about ending up naked.

And then Green Fury flew threw her window. Emily jumped. The heroine stopped in the middle of the room, looking around, oddly self-conscious despite the fact she was fully dressed. She too had an iteration of Wayne Security’s new clothes, in her distinctive shade of green.

It was a good thing most apartments had windows that opened wide enough to admit heroes. You never knew when you’d need one.

“Hi?” Emily said.

“Hi,” Green Fury said. She smiled awkwardly. “This is a bit…”

“Did something happen?” Emily said.

“I got a call from the League,” Green Fury said. “An actual Justice League I mean, not one of the small time ones.”

“Oh wow, really?” Emily said. “I’m happy for you! You did always want that.”

She beamed. She knew how Green Fury had always wanted the recognition of one of the bigger-name heroes, this was definitely a good step.

Though why did she look so conflicted about it?

“See, here’s the thing,” Green Fury said. “I think it’s because of you.”

“It is?” Emily said. Her eyes widened. “Did they like that I inspired these outfits?”

“They, er… know you were the driving **** behind them,” Green Fury said.

“So they’re pleased?” Emily said. “Oh wow, that’s…”

“Not… pleased exactly,” Green Fury said.

Emily hesitated.

“But the superheroines,” Emily said uncertainly. “Surely now they won’t have to worry about…”

Green Fury gave a sudden, barked laugh.

“You have seen what most of them wear casually, right?” she said. “Any woman that’s in this business for more than a year is either pretty comfortable with being exposed, or really dedicated. They never really minded it.”

“You were hiding,” Emily said. Green Fury flushed.

“I’m dedicated,” she said. “They’re… Wonder Woman was pretty pissed actually, she loved this time of year. And she wasn’t a huge fan of you wearing Sexy Wonder Woman 131.”

Emily flushed.

“But they’re… heroes,” Emily said slowly.

“Oh please don’t fall for the glamor,” Green Fury said. “All the big names… honestly Big Blue was pretty neutral, he’s even more of a boy scout than you’d think, but the others were… less so. Batman insisted it was just tactics, a lot of his villainesses stop hurting people and stay in for a few weeks, but the rest are kind of unhappy they lose the free show.”

“Oh,” Emily said.

She blinked. Okay, maybe she should have expected that certain people would have seen an upside to nudity season – Van had taken a bit of persuading, but at the end of the day he could be convinced of anything if there were enough dollar signs. But others…

Still, she’d expected the heroes to be on her side. At least the heroines.

“So why did they talk to you?” Emily said nervously.

“The League offered me a place, just in International but it’s a start,” Green Fury said. “But, er, they wanted me to strip you.”

Emily stared.

“Your suits are immune to the dedicated powers, but they’re not exactly fireproof,” she said, lightning up her hand. “They thought it was… fitting if, rather than everyone getting stripped for the season, you’d end up naked, er, full time.”

Emily squeaked. Green Fury at least looked a little self-conscious about what she was saying.

So in response for stopping women worldwide from being stripped, they’d assigned a superhero for the express purpose of keeping her naked indefinitely. There went her hope that she’d put an end to her exposure.

Green Fury hesitated, hand still alight.

“No hard feelings,” Green Fury said. “But you know how important getting into the League is to me…”