They both do

Gamora turned to Alex: “how much does it cost for a motel room?”

“Probably $100 --”

Gamora turned to the bouncer: “we’ll both do it.”

“We’ll what?” Alex asked.

Again Alex found Gamora moving before she could say or do anything more, this time though Gamora had Alex by the hand and was taking her along for the ride.

The women on the pole was just finishing up.

“Let’s give it up for Lila,” someone over the PA announced. “And uh, looks like we already have someone else to go up on stange…” The PA guy was over in the corner next to a large mix board. He waved over at the bouncer as if to say “who the fuck is this?” The bouncer just shook his head. “Uh ladies, do you have names?”

“Gamora and --”

Alex didn’t want to give her real name, even though probably no one here would ever remember who she was beyond this one moment, at least that was the hope. She instead gave the name that came to her head first: “Hero.”

“Well OK then, let’s give it up for Gamora and Hero!”

Something started to blast over the PA system: sounded like R. Kelly… singing something about oreos or cookies. Alex - sorry Hero now - had never heard it before and Gamora certainly hadn’t.

Gamora fell into the beat with ease. It was almost natural for her to move and to the use the pole. In no time her top was off and her pants were on the slide down. She used the pole as leverage and glided around the stage like some sort of agile ninja. In fact that is what she was falling back on: her combat skills. If you were to have seen her at the previous battle with the Kree and now you would see littler difference. Less cloths and less ****, but the same thing. She had the pole around her legs, then lean back and turn it into a handstand, then flip onto her knees.

The crowd was in love with it. Money was thrown at her in buckets. Two guys got into a tip battle for her: it as funny that she took no notice of it as she spread her legs on the stage and simulated fucking someone. Then she rolled over and pretended to take it doggy style: still she did not notice the two throw more money her way in an effort to get her to come closer.

Hero on the other hand was a little more… well first off she was not an intergalactic trained assassin, she also wasn’t that sexually active, and this was the first time she was stripping in front of people. Yeah there was the one time she was alone and decided “fuck it, let’s have some fun!” and stripped in her room by herself, but no one was watching.

And now everyone was watching her in a flannel shirt, a sports bra, some dickies pants, grannie panties, and hiking boots try to jiggle in a sexy way. The audience found her a bit more funny than sexy, especially compared to Gamora, the now sexiest women in the universe who was practically debasing herself. Well that’s not true. She was in control, it was her sexuality that was on display and Gamora was in charge of it. No one could take that away from her. Hero on the other hand was a bit more like a fish on land: she found herself in an odd wiggle that was both unnatural and ****.

If only there was a way I could convince then that I was better at this, she thought. Actually there was, but we’ll see if she realizes that she could project a better striptease onto the crowd using the mind gem.