Amy's Trepidation, Joe's Panic

NOTE: This story takes place in the Sex Mage World setting, a mere month after Sex Magic first begins to appear.

PART ONE

Joe frowned as he skimmed the first article that popped up on his web browser's "Headlines!" feature. "More and more women continue to awaken to strange Powers over the body and mind. Some appear to be using their powers to lend aid to others, but more than a few are using their powers for selfish gain. This past week, we have gotten reports of several dozen robberies occurring, from muggings on the street to yesterdays cleaning out of the vault of the Tri-National Bank. The women use their powers to incapacitate their victims and steal from them while defenseless, or they use their powers to influence their victims into giving them anything they desire. While some powered women are volunteering their time and efforts to stopping these rogues, it does not appear to be enough. The powers allow these women to perform their criminal acts almost spontaneously and without warning, and with more becoming empowered every day, who knows when the next one will strike, or from where?"

Joe stopped reading, closed the page, and shook his head. "Jesus," he said. "What is with these women?"

Amy, sitting at the couch, glanced up at Joe and frowned. "What women?"

"Well, all these women using their powers to steal and rape people," said Joe. "What is wrong with them? Really?"

Amy said, with a shrug, "Not all women are demure, polite little housewives."

"Well, I know that, but come on," said Joe. He swiveled in his computer chair, and made a gesture towards the screen. "I know the media isn't allowed to come out and say it, but we're talking about some kind of freaky sex power thing. There's just something inherently wrong about it."

Amy shrugged. "You do realize that's just a handful of women using their powers for criminal ends, right? They say other women with similar powers are working to stop them."

"That's just the more outrageous ones the media are focusing on," said Joe. "I have to wonder about all the stuff that isn't being reported. You know, the women who actually have enough common sense to not try outright robbing a bank in broad daylight because they're on a power trip. You know, the stuff the media doesn't catch."

"Like what?"

"Like, I dunno, a woman using those powers to extort money from a rich guy or to make their husbands into their house slaves. I mean, women have always had that kind of advantage over men. They can make men stupid through seduction or playing innocent; and most guys just fall right into it. But these women, the kinds of Powers that they've been developing, I mean... cripes, at least before a man could keep from falling for a woman's tricks if he just kept a cool head and didn't let himself get suckered, but this..." He again waved at the computer.

"That does seem pretty scary," said Amy softly.

Joe shook his head again. "I mean, it'd be one thing if men were also getting these powers. Then at least it might be fair."

Amy's brow furrowed. "So... it would be fair for men to get powers so they could start raping women back?"

Joe blinked. "What? NO! I mean, so they could defend themselves, you know, be more on even ground."

"I dunno," said Amy. "I think, for the most part, women are better at taking care of others then men. Women in general have more compassion. Obviously, there's some bad seeds, but if it had to be one gender or the other, well, I'd rather the women get the power. With men, there would be a lot more abuse."

Joe looked at Amy incredulously. "Wow, that's pretty sexist. You saying men don't have honor and decency?"

Amy sighed. "Well, excuse me, but I'm just speaking from experience. I got hit on a decent amount in college. Some guys would back off, but others would be pushy as hell. And some would take any decline as me being a total bitch. Can you imagine, some guy comes up to me and he's got some kind of sex powers, and all he has to do is look at me, and the next thing I know, I'm sucking him off in the backseat of his car, no matter how much I don't want to? You have any idea how often that sort of thing would occur?"

"And you're saying these women aren't doing the same thing?"

"Look, I'm not defending them at all. I'm just saying if it was men getting these powers, those kinds of problems would be a thousand times more rampant."

"Gee. Thanks a bunch." Joe turned away, a scowl on his face.

Amy frowned. "I'm sorry, that was insensitive of me." She stood up and gave Joe a hug from behind his chair. After a moment, he let out a breath and leaned back into her a bit.

"It's just scary to think about," said Joe.

"I can imagine," said Amy. She paused for a second, then slowly said, "Still, it could be fun. I mean, what more could a guy want than a woman who can get them off just by thinking about it?"

Joe let out a small laugh. "Well, I dunno," he mused. "I think a lot of men would prefer to actually have sex with their girlfriends."

"True, but if she's just not in the mood, she can still give him a hell of a time, right?" said Amy. "Or if he's away on a trip, she can blow him over the phone. Literally, not just as a phone sex thing." She smirked. "You have to admit that sounds pretty cool, huh?" Despite himself, Joe reacted to the idea. She could hear in her mind a low hum as his penis became semi-hard. She caught a fantasy of his blooming in his head, of her blowing him a kiss from across the room and him suddenly feeling like he was being sucked. Amy smiled at this, though Joe didn't see it.

"I suppose that would be neat," said Joe. Then he frowned again. "Still, even that's pretty unfair."

Amy's smile faded and she chewed her lip, trying to think of something more encouraging to say. Before she could think of something, Joe stood and stretched, Amy pulling back from him. "Well, I need to go meet with Hank and get started on hauling that stuff." He smirked and kissed Amy. "You still got that lunch date with your friends?"

Amy nodded. "Yeah, I might be late getting back, so feel free to hang out for a while."

"Will do," said Joe. "Love ya." He gave her a kiss and headed towards the door.

"Love ya," said Amy. She sighed and grabbed her keys.

PART TWO

"You should totally let him know," said Megan. "And then really take advantage of it! I've been doing all sorts of things to my boyfriend."

Amy frowned. "Like what? You aren't torturing him into being your sex slave, are you?"

"What? No! Well, maybe a little." Megan giggled. "Aw, I just tease him some, you know, make some extended foreplay. He always starts pleading and whining and begging when we go on for too long, but I make it up to him. I give him orgasms he never even imagined were possible. Now he worships the ground I walk on."

"Before my man cums, I make sure he gets me off just the way I like," said Joan, with a wink and a sly grin.

Amy chewed her lip and glanced between her two friends. "It's just, he seems so genuinely freaked out by this whole Sex Magic thing. If I let him know I had these powers, he... I'm afraid of what he'd do."

"If he really loves you, he'll understand," said Megan. She broke out into a wide grin. "And then when you actually give him a test drive of your abilities, he'll love you even more!" She and Joan shared a giggle.

"I'm being serious!" said Amy.

The two stifled their laughs and gave Amy a sobering look. Joan said, "Amy, listen. There is nothing to be ashamed of having these abilities. Even if you never use them (which would be a real shame), there's no use hiding them. In fact, that may freak him out even more when he finds out. He'll probably get the wrong idea."

"When, huh?" said Amy.

Megan leaned forward. "We don't know if this is a temporary thing or what, but the media isn't admitting what most of us already do know: this is happening to all of us. At the rate this thing is spreading, every woman on Earth is going to have powers like us in barely half a year, tops. When they finally come out and just admit it, do you really think Joe is going to believe you're the only female on the planet without powers?"

"We don't know that stuff for certain," said Amy.

Megan just shook her head. "Total denial." She swept her hand across the restaurant. "I guarantee you, every woman in this building has powers." She smirked. "Here. I'll prove it. The most basic ability we have is sensing when a man is excited, right?"

"Um... yeah?" said Amy.

"Okay, then. Wait for it." Megan closed her eyes and seemed to concentrate. After a moment, Amy started to sense a very faint hum, her own power's way of perceiving a man's sexual excitement. At first, she only heard one, then there were several. She traced the hums to the kitchen area. The hums got louder. She didn't have to see or hear any evidence of what was going on. Going by the humming, she knew instinctively that several men in the kitchen were experiencing a strong state of arousal, and their cocks were now fully hard.

"Quick," said Megan, "Before someone stops me, look around you."

Amy did so. From their position at one of the side booths, Amy could see almost the entire dining area and the three dozen or so people seated therein. She saw that almost every woman in the restaurant was turning their heads to the kitchen; the few that weren't were very clearly trying to avoid doing so, but still glanced in that direction.

Amy was about to tell Megan to stop, when suddenly, a woman on the other side of the restaurant stood up and yelled, "Whoever the fuck is doing that, knock that shit off right now! What the hell is wrong with you?" Before the woman could finish her sentence, the humming stopped instantly like someone pulling the cord on a radio. Megan flinched as it happened; evidently, several women at once had used their power to block hers and the rebound of energy hit Megan unexpectedly. Megan hunkered down in her seat somewhat, as if to avoid being spotted. Such was not her luck. Moments later, the restaurant manager showed up, with a waitresses at his side.

"Ladies," he said, his face showing barely controlled anger. "Several of my female staff just traced that use Powers to you. We do not tolerate this kind of violation here. We are trying to run a business, and we cannot have you using your powers on our staff, or our patrons for that matter. This is a public, family-friendly restaurant, not a red-light district bar. We're going to have to ask you to leave. Immediately."

"Woah!" said Megan. "Hey, I'm sorry, okay? Really. I was just trying to prove a point to my friend here."

"Well, you very nearly caused one of our chefs to slice his fingers off, and another almost stumbled face first onto the grill. Leave before we call the police and charge you with reckless endangerment."

"Sir, please, I am extremely sorry," Megan said. She smiled brightly. "Please, just calm down. We'll leave, okay? Just please don't call the cops." Amy saw Megan stare intently at the manager, and she immediately reached out to try and stop her from making the situation worse.

The waitress beat her to it, slamming her hand on the table, and leaning right into Megan's face. "Don't even try it!" she hissed. "One of the men back there is my boyfriend, you fucking whore. Get the fuck out of here, or I swear to god, I'm going to find your man and rip his dick off!"

Megan stared opened mouthed at the girl, utterly stunned. Joan, however, grabbed Megan by the shoulder and leaned over to her ear. "Come on, Megan. Let's just go." Megan slowly nodded and the waitress and manager stood aside and let the two women slide out of the booth and make a beeline for the door. Then, they glared at Amy.

Amy, red as a beet, quickly dug into her purse, threw a fifty dollar bill down on the table. It was twelve dollars more than necessary, but she just wanted to get out of there. "I am so, so, so sorry about my friend. I had no idea she was going to do something like that."

Their features softened a bit, but the waitress' tone remained harsh. "Next time, you should stop her as soon as she starts. Tell her she's banned from here. You and your other friend should probably stay away for a while as well." Amy nodded and quickly left.

PART THREE

"Oh my god, can you believe it?" said Megan, who seemed to have regained her composure. "They really kicked us out for that."

"They banned you," said Amy, looking morose. "And they said Joan and I shouldn't go back for a while."

"Wow, overreact much?" said Joan. "I mean, you shouldn't have done that, but that's a bit much, isn't it?"

"People are just afraid," said Megan. "It's our damned Puritan bullshit society. 'Oh, no, you can cuss like a sailor and show people's bodies getting torn limb from limb, but heaven forbid you show a nipple on television!' Shit, can you imagine what's going to happen to this country when every woman does finally awaken to her power? Every time a man has an erection, every woman in a three block radius is gunna 'see' it. They better damn well get fucking used to it."

"Well, I guess you did nearly get people hurt," said Joan. "That's a little bit different."

"I just gave a few guys some boners! If it was that much of a shock to them, then they aren't real men!"

"Oh, for God's sake!" said Amy. "They were working around fire and knives. How did that not occur to you as being dangerous?"

Joan cut off Megan's next retort, saying, "And you heard the waitress, one of those men was her boyfriend. Man, you're lucky none of the other men's significant others were there. That one woman who called you out looked about ready to give you a beat down, and she was just there to have lunch."

Megan took a deep breath and let it out slowly, calming herself. "Okay, fine, you're right. I'm really sorry, I guess I didn't think it through. But serious, I had no idea that was going to cause such a problem." She shook her head. "I'm right though, aren't I? About people being prudes? And how these powers are going to lead to some serious shit if society doesn't get a fucking clue? I mean, okay, I shouldn't have done that, but no one actually got hurt, but, we're still kicked out and banned like we're fucking terrorists or something. I mean, shit, we're not the one's doing bank heists and whatever, right?"

"Yet," said Amy.

"What's that supposed to mean?" said Megan.

"I think this exactly the sort of thing Joe is afraid of," said Amy. "Two months ago, I couldn't imagine you doing something like that, but just out of no where you just casually started tinkering with a bunch of strangers' cocks. How do you think your husband would feel about that if he knew?"

Megan paled slightly. "Please... please don't tell him," said Megan. "Seriously, I was just trying to prove a point, I wasn't trying to... to stir up any shit." She smacked herself on the forehead. "Christ. I didn't even think about it like that. Please don't say anything."

"I won't," said Amy. "But do you see my point? If these powers are going to stick around, how long before what you did just becomes the norm? How long before every man has to spend every second of his life worrying about getting molested at any possible moment?"

"Ha," said Megan. "Have you met men? I don't think 'worry' is the word you're looking for."

"I'm totally serious," said Amy.

"I think what you're really asking is how long before you start doing it?" said Joan.

Amy just frowned, not responding to the question. She didn't have to.

PART FOUR

Amy had been back for a while by the time Joe returned, and by that time, she had been able to assuage some of her worries. She smiled and gave Joe a kiss and hugged him, taking in the scent of sweat and wood, as well as a hint of beer on his breath. She felt, and sensed, his cock twinge a bit at her nearness and she gave a slight smile, but it immediately faded as she felt her stomach knot up. God, she wanted to tell him, but after what happened at the restaurant, she was more uncertain than ever how he would react.

Joe showered and came back downstairs, clicking the television on as he sat down in the living room. A few minutes later, Amy's heart nearly leaped to her throat as she heard the words: "In local news today, an incident involving indecent use of Powers occurred at a popular restaurant just a few hours ago. This case is yet another causing concern for public safety and decency." Joe turned the volume up as Amy came into the living room. There on the television was a picture of the restaurant she, Megan, and Joan had been just a couple hours ago.

"The hell?" said Joe. "Hey, isn't that where you guys like to go to lunch?" His eyes were glued to the TV, so he didn't notice Amy's hand go up to her mouth as her jaw dropped slightly.

The anchorman had the usual newscaster's look of practiced concern in both face and tone. "Just a few hours ago today, three female patrons were eating lunch here, when one of them decided to use her abilities to pull a prank on the chefs. While no one appears to be hurt, this has raised some strong concerns over the decency of using one's powers in public, even for a seemingly harmless joke."

The image switched to a view of the waitress who had gotten in Megan's face. "Yeah, this *bleep* decided she it would be funny or something to just reach into the kitchen with her powers and start giving the chefs a *bleep.* *Bleep-bleep-bleep* what gives her the right to *bleep*. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm not usually this much of a potty mouth, but one of the men is my boyfriend and he almost got his fingers slice off because this careless *bleep* thought it'd be funny to play around with *bleep-bleep*."

The image switched to the manager. He appeared to have calmed considerably, but still looked upset. "Yes, it was three of our regulars, usually very nice and polite women, good tippers. I certainly wouldn't have expected that kind of behavior from them, but then, I guess you don't know people as well as you think you do. Of course, it could just be because of the power."

"You think it's these powers that are making them act this way?" said the anchorman.

The manager swallowed nervously, and said, "Well I, I don't really know, no one really knows. That's just speculation, of course. But what I'm saying is, these powers, having this kind of power, maybe its getting to these women's heads. Maybe they're starting to think rules and common decency don't apply to them."

The image switched over to someone else. Amy recognized the woman who had stood up and yelled from the far side of the restaurant. "I mean, we're in there eating! It's a public spot, and we're in their eating and then this woman just thinks it okay to start giving these men— to start that lewd activity. I mean, look, I'm not a prude, okay? I get it, these powers can be fun, but for God's sake, this isn't something you do in the middle of public! Those poor men in there, well, I'm sure some of them were enjoying it, you know how men are—no offense—but a few of them almost got hurt, did they mention that? I just can't believe some women are that brazen. I mean, thank god there were no kids present! We're in there eating, and then, all of a sudden, we can all just sense it, you know, like all of sudden a guy comes up to you while you're eating, takes his pants off and starts waving his—"

"I'm sorry, did you say, 'we all'?"

"Um, yes, I did."

"'We all', who?"

"We women. Us women, whatever."

"Wait, so, you're saying every woman in the restaurant was able to 'sense' what was going on?"

"Um... yes..."

"Every single one of you?"