Part 7

Kurt and Aries continued to talk as the night went on. It seemed both of them were glad they had found someone with cares beyond business and money. Mrs. Hain continued to listen patiently, especially when one of Alpha City One’s leaders of business tried to steer the conversation back to something about the world of finance. Diana had grown quieter as well. Her date was obviously enjoying himself more now and her look of cold amusement was very similar to Mrs. Hain’s.

The boys’ fun was interrupted by the lights growing dim; a signal that the events of the evening were about to take place. A spotlight was shown on a podium, which was flanked by a series of tables the staff had been bringing out during the meal. A very important looking male falcon in a fine tux walked up smiling and spoke into the microphone.

“Good evening everyone. We are all here to raise awareness and support for the many charitable organizations that do so much for our beloved city. Tonight, we will be hearing from those organizations and asking you as the movers and shakers of Alpha City One to look into your hearts… and wallets,” he paused for a short polite laughter from the crowd, “and make your city a better place for everyone who lives here. Thank you.”

There was some applause and shaking of hands. Mrs. Hain leaned over to inform Aries that the falcon gentleman was Alexander Typhon, the president of Alpha Charities Enterprises or ACE for short and that his non-profit company was mostly in charge of this entire function. What followed was a seemingly endless stream of speeches from every charity organization in the city asking for money and painting a pitiful picture of why their plight was so dire indeed. After a time, Aries leaned over to whisper in Mrs Hain’s ear.

“This is starting to make me feel depressed in a way. I had no idea Alpha One had so many problems.”

“That’s the idea. Guilt is one of the ways charities do business. Don’t feel bad. Shortly they will begin asking for donations from the various millionaires and businesses. Then they will hand out awards for those that contribute vast amount and ask them to come up on stage to say a few words. You will see some strutting and boasting then I assure you.”

Aries was pretty sure he did not want to stick around for that and used this as a good opportunity to use the restroom. He excused himself and tried to slip out as quietly as a person of his height and size could. With some effort and the help of one of the kitchen staff, he made it to the guest bathroom. It was a huge room with lavish fixtures and all manner of ornamentation. He noted it odd how there was one of the staff members standing by the sinks with an assortment of odds and ends beside him. Aries noted how the man smiled at him and said hello but made no motion to finish washing his hands or use the facilities. He just stood there like it was his job to watch whoever came in. This unnerving experience continued even after Aries came out of the stall and began washing his hands. The man, actually a young badger with a wide smile, offered him a towel, a breath mint, a spray of cologne and all manner of other things. Aries politely accepted but eventually had to ask.

“I’m sorry, but are you in here just to make sure people don’t take all the free stuff? The badger smiled and gave a modest laugh as if Aries had made a joke of some kind.

“Ha, ha. Good one, sir,” was all the response he got.

Weird. Aries thought as he pushed open the door to the hallway. It was quite empty right now as this was really the most important part of the evening to everyone but him. He rounded the door to make his way back to the party but someone was standing in his way.

I was Diana. She had apparently been waiting for him outside the bathroom door and looked very pleased to see him. She stood with one hand on her hip and the other playing with her necklace and stroking her chest. Her eyes stared sultrily at him and her smile was slight but unmistakable. Aries eyes bulged just a bit as he wondered what was going on.

“Hello, Aries. I’ve been wanting to talk to you all night. Please forgive me for following you out,” She said as she moved in a little closer. “I wanted to say that I think it is wonderful the work you are doing with New Dawn for the city. You must live an amazing life fighting villains and saving people’s lives.”

“Yeah, I have a hard time believing it when I think about it. Best job I’ve ever had though!”

“So, there are a lot of people on the Zodiac team with you. Are you seeing any of them personally?” Aries searched his mind for what she might mean by the word personally. It really took him a lot longer than it should have.

“Oh! Personally. No, not like dating or anything,” He did a quick rundown of his female teammates to think about the possibility of such a thing. They were all very attractive but he never found himself really pulled to any of them. Aquarius was more like a mentor to him, Capricorn was too young and more like a little sister, Scorpio scared him, he was pretty sure there was still something going on between Sagittarius and Gemini, Virgo was cute but they didn’t seem to have anything in common and then there was Taurus. Taurus! He had to admit that he could not take his eyes off of her since the first time she walked in the building. It wasn’t just that Taurus’ costume was more revealing than anyone else or she was gifted as far as bra size went. No, the bovine beauty known as Taurus just kind of appealed to him and he could listen to her babble on for hours about silly things while the rest of the team groaned and grumbled. Still, he had not made any kind of mood. Taurus was well known in Alpha City for her looks and had done more photo sessions and public appearances than any other member. Honestly, Aries did not feel good enough for her to pursue her romantically.

The touch of someone’s hand on his chest brought the giant ram back from his daydream. Dinah had closed in and was looking up at him with her perfect oryx gazelle features to stare at him with eyes that had been on countless magazine covers. Aries could feel her warmth at this distance but was more alarmed than excited.

“Perhaps we could see each other sometime? I would like that very much.”

“What about Kurt? You two are the most popular couple in Alpha City right?”

Diana smiled up at him as she continued to trace her fingers over his chest. “Just because we are the most popular couple does not mean we are the happiest couple. I think our romance is starting to fade honestly,” She paused and smiled wider. “But I think you and I would be fabulous together. We could be the super couple! Super model and super hero, what do you think?”

It seemed like a very long period of time passed as Aries pondered her idea. No doubt on the planet that Dinah was smoking hot in every way. She was fantastically well shaped and rather exotic as well. Not to mention being a fairly tall woman which Aries always appreciated. Still, something did not seem right to him. He wondered if it was just the forwardness that put him at unease but decided that perhaps this is how the more cultural elite do things.

A commotion from the main conference room halted their conversation. There was an enormous crashing sound and screams of shock and alarm from the guests. Something huge was walking around in there now and each footfall sounded like a thunderclap. It was obvious to anyone that some disaster had occurred at tonight’s charity dinner.

Oh, thank God! Aries thought as he raced to the disturbance.

End Part 7