Protecting the exile

That night, X’ara slept on a mattress on the floor in MJ’s room. MJ & Kori had offered her the bed for herself, but the Tamaranean exile refused, insisting she didn’t want to impose. Still, the couple couldn’t help but notice the woman’s fear and anxiety, and offered this sleeping arrangement as an alternative, clearly sensing she was not OK sleeping alone, despite her claims that she was.

Because of this, MJ & Kori weren’t able to enjoy their usual nightly hedonistic activities, which usually went on for hours. And, for possibly the first time in their relationship, the couple wore something to bed, with both women clad in t-shirts and panties – usually, something like this would have frustrated the two lovers to no end, but both women were too worried about their new friend to care right now.

MJ sighed sadly as she watched X’ara sleep. “Look at her, Kori... she’s not doing very well. Usually, you know what I’d be thinking of doing to a woman that pretty... but right now, all I wanna do is hold her and tell her everything’s going to be OK.”

“I feel the same way,” Kori agreed, also looking at their guest with compassion. “I sense her fear, and I listen to her stories of how she was treated, and I feel a great sadness. Especially knowing she lost everything at the hands of my sister, much like I did.”

“Were you scared? When you came to Earth?” MJ asked.

“I was... but I also thought that whatever awaited me here could not possibly be worse than what I endured at the hands of the Citadel and Komand’r. As it turned out, my time here on Earth has been the happiest of my life,” Kori said, placing her hand on MJ’s, “Especially since meeting you.”

MJ blushed deeply and smiled. “I – uh, wow,” she stammered, “Keep up the flattery and you’re gonna make me cry.”

“It’s true,” Kori continued. “And I wish to help X’ara find that same happiness.”

MJ looked at Kori and gave her an encouraging smile. “I’m sure you will, babe. You helped me find it, after all.”

“Awwwwwww, that’s so sweet. I feel like my teeth are all gonna rot out of my head now,” Gwen’s voice echoed from outside MJ’s bedroom window as she opened it.

“Shut up, Gwen,” MJ groaned, throwing a pillow at the Gwen as she entered through the window. “And it’s really rude to enter without knocking. You do what we’re usually doing in here, right?”

“Well, when I saw you two wearing clothes -- you might wanna invest in some blinds, by the way -- I figured it’d be OK... oh shit, I see you’ve got company,” Gwen said, lowering her voice to a whisper. “I take it she’s the one you texted me about?”

“Yeah, this is X’ara,” confirmed MJ. “We should probably move this conversation somewhere we won’t wake her up...”

The trio moved the conversation to the hallway, careful not to disturb the sleeping woman. “So what’re you doing here?” MJ asked Gwen.

“I just had a run-in with our new Goblin pal,” Gwen answered. “I was swinging through town, minding my own business, when this douchebag with a glider barrages this shitty little apartment building with pumpkin bombs.”

“...Where was this apartment?” Kori asked, worry in her voice. She looked at MJ and knew she shared the same hunch.

“It was in East Harlem,” Gwen said, raising an eyebrow and looking at X’ara. “Wait, were they targeting her...?”

“They must have been. Was he trying to kill her?” MJ wondered as she felt a sense of dread.”

“No... it was a warning shot. The Goblin said so himself and then yelled out ‘I won’t miss next time’ before flying away. I chased him for like twenty blocks – got some good shots in – but the bastard got away.”

“So he just flew off? He didn’t even check to see if she was home?” Kori asked.

“Well, I was firing webbing at him at the time,” Gwen pointed out. “And the Green Goblin wasn’t one for rational thinking when he was angry. The new guy’s probably the same way. Whatever the case may be, he’ll be back there, I’m sure.”

“Or he’ll send someone... either way, we know what he’ll do next,” Kori reasoned. “We should inform Emily as soon as we can.”

“On it,” MJ said, pulling out her phone and sending a text to the agency manager. Moments later, she got a text back.

“Understood. Meet with me tomorrow. Bring X’ara. We’ll discuss things then.”