Maria and Eduarda - Chapter 3

Maria and Eduarda chapter 3

• I’m here. - Maria said, closing the door behind her.
• Hey. Did you get the thing? - Duda asked, getting up from the couch.
• Yeah, I got the thing. - Maria said, tossing her a bag of Doritos.
• Nhum! - Duda said, grabbing them and sitting back to eat and watch The Boys.

Maria chuckled and went to the kitchen to store the rest of the groceries. It was lucky that her late abusive professor had an apartment in Italy. They probably didn’t have more than a couple of days there, but no one would have any reason to search for them in Europe, in a flat that no one knew they had access to. Being able to run across the Atlantic in minutes and jump to the 21st floor instantly was definitely a perk from their new, incredible muscles.

• Dho yu t’was shomethin we thook? - Duda asked, her face full of Doritos.
• What?
• This! - Duda said, flexing her skinny arm into a sudden explosion of muscles, completely obliterating the sleeve of her hoodie as her peak grew to over 4ft tall and almost that much width. - These AWESOME powers. Do you think it was something like that Compound V from the show?
• Well, I don’t know yet. - Maria said, looking at the tv. There was a superfast race between two of the characters, where the blue one won. - But we’ll find out once the rumours die down a bit.
• Yeah… Ok. - Duda said, stuffing herself with more Doritos. - That was kinda wack compared to us, huh? - She asked, nodding at the scene.
• Well… Maybe they could’ve gone faster. - Maria said, grabbing a coke.
• Yeah… but so could we. Did you run as fast as you could?
• No, not really. You?
• Pffff… Not even close. - Maria said, burping. - I was just keeping up with you.
• Really? - Maria said, amused. - Well, maybe some other time we have a little race.
• Sure! Sounds fun.

They both chuckled and watched some more. The scene showed one of the female characters injecting something on her leg, and suddenly changed to her squating a bunch of weights and yelling. Maria and Eduarda both stopped, looked at each other, and started laughing.

• God… What is that, a few hundred kilograms? - Duda asked, still laughing. - Oh my God, why is that so funny?
• I KNOW! - Maria said, her sides aching from how hard she laughed.

After a few moments, both girls calmed down, crying a bit.

• Oh, God… I was not expecting that. - Maria said, wiping her tears.
• Yeah… I mean, shit: we could lift more than that with a finger!
• True. I think a few hundred tons is still not enough to even make me pump. - Maria said, getting a bit aroused just by thinking about it.
• Really? How do you know?
• Oh… Well… - Maria said, a bit uneasy.
• Wait… Is there something you’re not telling me? - Duda said, inquisitive. She was never good with numbers, but she was always pretty good at reading people. - Is it how you discovered your powers?
• Kinda… I might have… sorta… Lifted a small mansion off the ground?
• YOU WHAT??? - Duda said, smiling amidst her shock.
• And also thrown it into space. - Maria said, a bit proud and a bit shy.
• … Wow - Maria said, chuckling nervously. - Uh… Wow. You’re… wow.
• You ok?
• I… The craziest part about it is that I believe you. You know?
• I know. - Maria said, chuckling.
• Wow… was it hard? Did it feel heavy?
• I wasn’t really trying… I kinda just aimed to throw it into the sea. Miscalculated.
• WOW, the genius Maria Coelho miscalculated? That I find hard to believe. - They both giggled a bit. Then Duda turned somber again - But wait… Why did you do that?
• Oh… I was… 

Maria struggled to find words. She didn’t want to admit what she had done, even though it was to a rapist, but also she REALLY liked how good and powerful it felt to do all she had done to him. And, even more secretly, she loved how her sister looked at her in admiration as she told her she had sent a house flying.

• Ok, look… - Maria said, turning a bit towards her sister. - I was… There was this teacher...

As Maria told the events of the night, Duda went from surprised to disgusted, excited, amazed and shocked in various points, but kept silent. Maria kept only a few details off the story, but she couldn’t hide how good it felt to break him with her bare hands, and then she dwelled a bit longer than expected describing how it felt to lift his mansion from the ground.

• It’s like… I felt my muscles grow a bit. I looked at my biceps and I saw this huge vein on top… And the striations, I could, like, feel them… Like my arms were alive for the first time… Like I was. Like… It was as if I was awakened after a long, long sleep. And I felt this rush of pure POWER, you know? Like I was… anyway.

After she was done, Duda just sat there, fiddling with one of the pillows. She seemed torn about something.

• Are you.. ok? - Maria asked, uneasy. She wished she was as good as Duda at reading people.
• Yeah, I… - Duda stopped a bit and sighed. - I kinda know how you feel.
• You do? Well, I mean… - Maria stumbled, trying to calm her thoughts. She had been sure that Duda would think her a monster for what she had done. - Of course you do! You flicked a super heavy load through 3 building, I mean--
• No, not because of that… Because… - She looked really hesitant.
• You know you can trust me, right? - Maria said, taking one of her sister’s hands. Duda smiled a bit.
• I know… I know. - She sighed. - You know what I said? About me just leaving the gym after what happened?
• Yes. What about it? - Maria said, caressing her sister’s hand as to calm her a bit.
• Well… I didn’t. I was… I dunno. I think I went crazy. - Duda said, torn. - I mean, I knew what had just happened was impossible, but also, I knew that it had happened. And I would be blamed. So I… I knew there could be no witnesses.

Both girls sat in silence. Duda felt as if her gut would implode from pure fear. Maria was surely gonna think she was a monster now.

• Did you… you know…
• I killed them. - Duda said, anguished. - All 5 of them. But I let the receptionist go. I couldn’t harm her. But the guys… I…
• Hey, it’s okay… - Maria scooched over and nestled her sister’s head on her chest. She made her boobs grow a tad to make her chest more comfortable without even noticing. - It’s okay.
• I… Maria, the worst part is… I kinda liked it. - Duda said, tears in her eyes. - It felt…
• Good? - Maria asked, her heart racing a bit.
• Yes. - Duda put her hands around her sister’s waist and hugged her. - Please don’t hate me.
• Oh, sis… - Maria said, smiling softly. - I couldn’t hate you when you tossed Mr. Moustache into the toilet… - They chuckled as they remembered Maria’s cat racing out of the bathroom, soaked. - Nothing could make me hate you after that.
• I guess… But I killed people.
• Me too. And to be honest… I liked it a bit too.
• But it’s wrong!
• I know… - Maria said, struggling with her own previous morality. - But also, they were going to harm us. We merely defended ourselves. Because we should, and because we could. We can do so much now… - Maria said, lost in a train of thought. - We are sort of… superior.
• I... I get it. - Duda said, looking at her sister. - Like in the show. - She nodded at the tv. - We’re something more.
• Yes. We are. - Maria said, wiping the tears from her sister’s face. - And you know what? Would you feel bad about killing a rat, or a mosquito? Of course not. They could try to harm you, even if now they couldn’t. And I, for one, would never let them live another minute for that.
• I know… I love you, sis. Thanks for not hating me. - Duda said, chuckling.
• I love you too, Duda. - Maria said, smiling, but with a small knot in the back of her throat.

Duda knew what that meant, even though Maria didn’t really mean it. She put one hand on Maria’s cheek and caressed her, smiling faintly. Maria felt tense, but smiled a bit too. She felt an urge to lean in, but resisted as much as she could.

They kept hugging a few more minutes in silence. Both thinking about what the other had said.

• So… what now? - Duda asked, calmly. - We can stay here a while, but I guess someone is bound to come here once they realize your teacher is missing.
• They probably already know about it. - Maria said, sounding a bit worried. - Which is why tomorrow we have to find out our limits.
• What do you mean?
• I mean we have to test what we can do. We need to find out what our weaknesses are, and what actually are the limits of our new strength.
• Ok, so what’s the plan? - Duda asked, sounding a bit eager to start.
• Well… let’s sleep today and we’ll figure most of it out tomorrow. Ok? - Maria said

Duda smiled and laid her head on her sister’s chest once more.

• Okay.