Feel the sultry cool -sweat- (open)

[Padmaja Shamir]

Perhaps one of Padmaja’s favorite things to do was dance-all kinds of dance, traditional, ballroom, and especially club. She was often told how well she did it, too. But perhaps the crown of her reasons to love the social sport, it gave her a great advantage when using her powers. Dancing, especially in the clubs, included touching, often sensual, and with 3 minutes a song, plenty of time to seep through memories. To use her power was almost like an entertainment to her, it provided a rush, and a subtle end to her curiosity. She loved to know things about people, secret things that they did not know she knew. It gave her a sense of power over them, and that’s what she wanted, power.

Whatever her motivations were, she stood, leaning her back against the bar, a martini glass half full of green clear liquid dangled in her right hand, as her left arm was folded across her abdomen. Hair was elegantly pulled up into a wavy pony; the dress she wore was a clingy red number, which accentuated her hourglass form sumptuously. Her heels was a perfect match to the dress; as if she would have it any other way, and her lip color was a slightly muted shade. Her blue-grey eyes glancing around the dance floor, looking for her next worthy dance partner, for she ruled the dance floor. When she danced, it was hers, and there often was a small bubble upon her and her partner. When she approached a man with which to dance, he didn’t dare deny her.

She sipped on her appletini idly, looking out from over the rim. There was a man in a black button down shirt- and oh his buttons were down more than half way- or there was a pretty blond closer to the speakers. Padmaja crossed her ankles, wondering which of these two lucky men she would choose for her next dance. Usually after one dance, they wanted to monopolize her, so she should choose wisely…

[Penny Stone]

Her grandmother had gone through the 'you need to find a man' speech, again this week. It seemed that since her brother had been in a coma for over a month, the old woman had already written him off as dead. Penny would not lose faith in him. He would get better, and Penny wouldn't find a guy. Ever. The more she learned about someone, they more she creeped the person out because she never forgot a single detail. It unnerved guys, and she generally had no patience for that.

But, tonight, she had gotten out of the house and away from her grandmother, because she'd be damned if she was going to give in to the old woman just because she had practically raised her, that bitch. She knew she had gotten on her grandmother's nerves as she had pulled on this clingy black skirted, white topped dress that didn't go down past the middle of her thighs. Because all of her years of martial arts, that girl had some sexy legs, and she thoroughly enjoyed showing them off. Her high heels weren't as tall as per clubs, but she didn't really care. She didn't like hobbling in heels and her butt looked good flat-footed.

She was welcomed into the club because she had the right amount of eyeshadow on and the right amount of cleavage showing. She moved her way around the room, her eyes picking things up here and there. One man had a tan line around his ring finger. Removed wedding ring = scumbag. Avoid. She skirted around one guy thinking he was all the rage with his shirt not buttoned up completely. He smelled of sex and baby powder. Had sex with a prostitute? Maybe it was a stripper...or a baby... whatever way, she wasn't going to let him near her.

She decided to just make her way over to the bar, and after being sandwiched between a woman and her dance partner, she made it to the bar. She ruffled her main of wonderful black hair and ordered herself a Cosmopolitan. She removed her debit card from it's special place in between her breast and slide it across the counter to pay for it. She got the card back and her drink as well. She leaned against the bar and looked down at the faces around her. She still didn't know anyone here, despite joining the local baddies because of those stupid meta-haters. She noticed one woman that was dressed to kill was eyeballing the married man and the guy that may or may not pay for sex.

She moved towards her, because she was a good Sumaritan and didn't want this girl getting any STDs or hurting a beautiful bond between wife and whore. Or maybe she just wanted in on some drama. She wasn't really sure, nor did she care in the slightest. "He is half dressed because he had sex with a stripper. I'd leave him. And the blondy? He's married." Penny took a happy little drink from her glass, eyeballing the lime rind, and then lifted her gaze back to the woman with a smile.

[Padmaja Shamir]

Padmaja had just about made up her mind, Mr. Buttons seemed like he knew how to move just a bit better than Blondie. Perhaps Buttons could keep up with her a bit better. It was one thing to show off, but it was quite another to show up her partner. It simply did not look good, for either one of them really. She wouldn't waste her precious time on a chump or looking badly at all. In fact, she was about to move ahead and ask Buttons for a dance when she saw movement out of the corner of her eye.

She stood there, in the same relaxed position, her blue-grey eyes still on the dance floor as the woman spoke to her. She lifted the martini glass to her lips and let the cool liquid roll past her tongue. The bartender was getting better. Last week when she was in there he made it much too strong. This was nearly perfect. Nearly. He was a kid fresh out of bar tending school, and had believed stronger was better, according to her little brush with his hand as he handed her the drink.

After hearing Penny's warnings, she gave a low chuckle and tore her gaze away. Padmaja placed her drink on the bar and then looked at the girl. She was pretty, very pretty, and had damn nice legs. After giving her a subtle look over, she smiled a bit, "You must be new around here? Or at least to this bar?"

She tucked a stray lock of hair that had fallen to behind her ear, "I only come here to dance. None of these idiots are worth anymore time than that. You only found the most blatant of losers, believe me, there are sneakier ones... You only have to know how to uncover their charade..." Padmaja smiled slowly and looked out to the floor again.

She cleared her throat and turned back to Penny, "But I suppose the appropriate thing to say now, is "thank you," so, thanks. Not many would have the guts to warn another woman." Lord knew Padmaja wouldn't. She might even get a kick out of seeing a girl try to hook up with a sleezebag.

"I'm Padmaja," She said, but she didn't offer her hand, "Might I know the name of my fair rescuer?"

[Penny Stone]

By the way the woman leaned against the bar, Penny could surmise that she thought of herself as one of the hottest things in this place. Penny never really chalked herself up on any one elses standards, and she never really thought herself in the 'prettier than her' or 'hotter than those' kind of way. She thought about it in a more powerful way. She could kick the ass of anyone in here, and not mess her hair up, and that was just great with her. She looked back at the woman as she took a slow pull of her drink. Vodka was just great and all, but the lime was something she would have a problem with. She chose not to give the woman the information she asked about, if she was new here or to this bar. That didn't really matter.

She tried not to let her displeasure show on her face, but there really was too much lime in it. After her swallow she put the drink down on the bar until further notice, her eyes glanced at the two different bartenders. She had been serviced by the younger one. She wouldn't make the same mistake twice. The little tidbit was placed in her large memory bank, keyword 'lime' and 'vodka'. She would remember such a decision when those two words were thought or spoken, and only then.

That was how her nifty power worked. She didn't remember everything she ever say ever, all the time. She could lock it away in mental filing cabinets, and by using mnemonic devices, she could recall what she wanted with the use of her key words. "Of that I have no doubt." Everyone was a loser in Penny's eyes, because they were either human, or a 'loser' by the normal sexual standards. Penny would never in a million years get with a human man. Quite honestly, this chick didn't give her the reaction she had been expecting, and while this was all fine and dandy, she had a feeling she knew this chick from somewhere. Thought she never met her. She would have remembered her instantly, if that was the case, because she locked away names and faces in their own filing cabinet, the eyes were the mnemonic devices there.

So her name was Padmaja. In a blink of her eye she recalled hearing that name tossed around back at 'headquarters' as a new recruit. Penny took a small drink and set it back at the bar. So she was also MSAD. That was interesting. Though it would remain to be seen if the woman knew about Penny's involvement with that. "Penny." She said with a small, almost friendly smile. If they were going to be more or less living together, Penny should try to get on some sort of friendly ground with her. Padmaja wouldn't be in the organization if her power wasn't useful, so whatever it was, Penny would like to remain on the observing side, instead of the experiencing side of it. Just as well, there were a lot more (rather sexy looking) males than female. And as much as Penny enjoyed the company of man, their constant topics bored her and if she was going to be living in a harem of other adults, she would at least like to spend that time with a woman.

"Let's see here," she said more to herself, but for the both of them really, as she looked around. Her eyes caught onto the man she was sandwiched between for a moment, just looking him over. She caught little details here and there, and with the female he was dancing with. "That man over there is gay, and doesn't know how to tell his girlfriend." She said with a small nod, then stored that information in her brain under 'completely useless.'

[Padmaja Shamir]

She looked at the other woman as an odd expression passed over Penny's face, almost a mix of determination and distaste. She caught Penny look at the bartenders, and Padmaja smiled slowly, realizing what had happened. At first she wondered if this look was some kind of judgement of Padmaja, but now she knew it was the drink. She chuckled darkly, "Don't be too hard on the boy. He's new. If you think that's bad, I shudder to think what you would have gotten last week..."

She turned her gaze to the dance floor, though Penny really had her attentions. She noticed the other woman didn't eagerly volunteer information like most people in these places. Perhaps she wasn't naive as Padmaja had originally thought. Still, she didn't recognize Penny, not really. She had been in the MSAD for ten years now, but she was busy doing errands for Gabe, intelligence sort of things. She was often too busy to pay attention to most of the people involved in the underground society, and hadn't hung around the main areas of the mansion as she had when she was pining for Gabe years ago. When she finally said her name, Penny, she repeated it softly to herself. It wasn't a common name, and it did seem to ring a bell, but all she could come up with at the moment was "Penny Lane," so she put it from her mind.

At her next words, almost as an effort of comradery, Padmaja followed her gaze, and watched the couple for a while. She chuckled, "Good eye, Penny, I daresay you are right..." Though it took the fun out of walking past him and invading his memories secretively, like an expert burglar defying a good security system. Still, if this Penny was making an effort, Padmaja could. Besides, if the woman was as intriguing as she was pretty, it would be worth the effort. Maybe she could use her, maybe there was a secret to uncover...

[Penny Stone]

Penny made another disapproving face towards the bartender and back at Padmaja. "Men." She scoffed as that offered any and all explanation to his insubordination. She'd like to get the boy fired for his inability to mix a drink to its proper increments but she took another drink of it anyway. She let it slid down her throat and let out a little sigh afterwords, the vodka almost burning, along with the lime. She folded her arms across her chest as the woman repeated her name to her chest for a moment and she cast her eyes over to her again.

She had only been in the secret club for a little over two months, and while that was hardly any time at all compared to other people, her ability led her to get more information and experience than one would have when joining at the same time as she had. She hardly left the place, either because Gabe didn't trust her completely yet, or he appreciated her wanting to stay close to her still hospitalized brother. She knew him, and it definitely wasn't the latter. That, was fine with her, as long as she got to hurt some meta-humans sometime.

She resisted the urge to reply, 'of course I am right.' Because she really didn't want the woman thinking she was so high on her horse. Yet, with picking up details like that was something was rather good at. She could remember different sorts of sleuthing techniques by using her recalling system for when she needed them, and when she no longer needed them she could just 'forget' about looking at ever single detail. She glanced over at the other woman for a moment before she went back looking out at the dancing crowd. She could pick each person apart, but that was more like work. She was here to have fun (and to rub her youth into her grandmother's face with a completely irresponsible hookup). She grinned faintly and looked back at Padmaja. "How long have you been working with Gabe?" She asked, as if it was common knowledge that she was a member, because at least with Penny, it was.

[Padmaja Shamir]

She smiled a bit, and lifted the martini glass to her lips once again and taking a sip. She let the apple and alcohol flavors brush against her tongue, strong and sweet. Next time, of course, she would get a cosmopolitan. As she started to muse about it, she glanced through the crowd. One poor girl looked- or at least danced like- she was pretty smashed. Must be one of those Long Island Ice Tea girls... Padmaja couldn't remember ever getting quite drunk. It was a loss of power, and it was an uncomfortable thought to Padmaja. How could she allow herself to loose control like that? She always carefully guarded herself, making sure she never gave away her secrets, verbally or with body language. And it's not that she didn't appreciate a good time, power and memories were just too important to her...

Her spell of thought was broken by her next words, so her look of surprise was both from not expecting her to speak, and what she finally did speak. She looked at Penny very carefully now. She could not have figured that out by the same power of Padmaja, since she was very particular about who touched her, and knew Penny had not. How, then, could Penny know? There was only one answer, Penny was from the same organization. At first, she felt a pang of guilt for not knowing the other woman, but then again, being with Gabe and his group for so long, Padmaja was haughty. She didn't have time to deal with Gabe's minions, she didn't have the time to make nice with every thing the boss found and brought home, like those lost little puppies he so loved. Padmaja was important: it was she who brought in the intelligence, kept up on world politics, went to anti-meta rallies around the world, and she had been a loyal and good assistant to Gabe. She took another sip of her appletini.

"I've been with the organization for ten years now," and that was her 'prime marital years gone down the toilet,' according to her mother. Well she had married once, to please them, but never again. If she married, it would be to please her, and despite how her mother nagged at her during their weekly telephone calls. Even half-way around the world, her mother still managed to get under her skin. Funny, how technology could be a double edged sword. She could stay in contact with Gabe when she was all over the world, and yet her mother could get in touch with her in seven easy numbers. Padmaja's blue eyes flashed over Penny, "And yourself?"

[Penny Stone]

She took another small drink from her own glass, though she still disapproved of it. In social and public places such as this, Penny would never become the drunk and stumbling dancing girl on the floor simply because of how vulnerable that girl was. When Penny was drunk, or completely hammered, her memory never blacked out, but it always remained distorted. Thinking back on her inebriated self brought back those vivid memories, so much so it was like she was drunk all over again. It was a big headache....and Penny never liked being out of control of herself. If she was in the privacy of her own bedroom, or some other man's bedroom, she might indulge herself a little more. That was a big might, though.

She saw the woman's surprise on her face and she felt a smirking sense of triumph. She wasn't sure where she got her assumption, but she was pretty sure this woman liked to be on top and in the know-how at all times. Penny also tried to be the fly-on-the-wall and always knew who was surrounding her, but Penny, in all her infinite memory, sometimes forgot her keywords, and also missed important things. She was absolutely sure she knew more about Padmaja, locked away somewhere in the MSAD part of her brain, but her method of remembering wasn't an exact science.

The woman didn't deny it, which led Penny to believe Padmaja might be remembering her from the big house, but Penny definitely didn't remember her face, which meant they had never actually met (or shared a glance in the house), but Penny's residence there hadn't been for more than a few months, if that. She glanced up from her drink when Padmaja asked her offhandedly how long she had been in. "Not very long." Penny was a lurker with the organization. Her job wasn't set in stone and she hadn't traveled in the name of MSAD or Gabe either. He had expressed need for her in the future, but she had yet to find out what that was.

She was on the cusp of discovering a great secret, though. She knew that. "What got you into it?" Penny asked out of honest curiosity. Her brother had been attacked by a bunch of meta-haters and he had yet to waken from the coma they put him in. She had joined MSAD shortly after moving to Pilot ridge for her brother's and her own safety.

[Padmaja Shamir]

She stole another glance at Penny. She didn't like to be taken by surprise, even less being identified with her employer's name, since she was more or less a spy. It made her uncomfortable that she didn't really know Penny, though the mere fact that Penny had not been in the org long, consoled her nerves a bit. Well now, she would never forget!

Her next question made her think back, ten years back. She had gone back to her native India after graduating Hammel. She had saved her father's job and was living well. She had a bright future working for her father, but she wanted more. She wanted to succeed where he had not. She wanted to exceed him, make her own name. She wanted to be more than "Raji's daughter." And she did not want to submit to her parents' will- and that would have meant to marry whom they wished and possibly giving up her career. Gabriel's coming had been like a god-send (no pun intended) for he solved all her problems. She could excel her own way, be far enough away from her mother, but most importantly- he would sweep her away back to America. He was gorgeous, charming, and successful. What was there not to attract her? They had both gone to Hammel, though he was 2 years ahead of her. She had known of his reputation, and he might have known hers. She favored extortion and blackmail as motivators and had even employed them at the Institute.

She could have gone to another city in India, or gone to London, if she wanted to, for she was a resourceful woman, and far from helpless. But there came Gabe, and all other options were nixed in favor of his pretty face. While all her aspirations 10 years ago had failed to make it, she survived, and quite well, actually. But instead of telling Penny all of that, she offered a cool smile, and said, "I liked the job description."