The Adventures of Destiny Girl, Chapter 2 - the Date

The Adventures of Destiny Girl
Chapter 2 - The Date

Destiny Girl arrived at the hospital just moments after the alarm sounded and found two of Madame Mechanica’s copper-clad henchmen handcuffed to a railing, the police surrounding them, weapons drawn. Destiny Girl liked Madame Mechanica - sure she was a super villain bent on world domination, but she was a WOMAN, and to Destiny Girl that meant something...

“Thank god you’re here, Destiny Girl!” said a tall, lean officer as soon as she arrived.

“What’s the situation Officer Reynolds?” asked Destiny girl, hovering there, scanning the area for other threats.

“These two were caught leaving by a back exit, they planted a bomb somewhere, but we have no idea where, and we have no idea when it will go off.”

“Did you ask them??” she said, looking at him with narrowed eyes. She was going to be late for her date, for THIS?

“Ask them? They’re... “

“They are Madame Mechanica’s mostly mechanical minions... god I wish I hadn’t just said that... Anyway, as long as their memory hasn’t been wiped, the location of the bomb will be right...”

Destiny Girl pulled open a brass and copper panel on the chestplate of one of the minions and revealed a control panel with a small screen and several knobs and switches. She turned the knobs and switches until the screen lit up with a dim glow and she was able to rewind the video feed. The police were amazed when she froze the screen image on a pair of hands placing a device full of tubes and wires under a propane tank in the lower level of the hospital.

“That’s amazing, Desitny Girl - we never knew - “ Destiny Girl cut him off and, in a flash, sped to the basement and ripped the bomb out from under the propane tank. She looked at the digital readout and saw it ticking down - 6, 5, 4...

“Oh crap.” she said, blasting out of the hospital at near super-sonic speeds and throwing the bomb at the last possible moment. The explosion threw her back, dazing her and blowing off one of her boots, which she didn’t notice.

“Are you OK Destiny Girl?” Officer Reynolds said as he ran over to where she hovered.

“I’m fine, officer, just a little closer then I like to be to a thermonic blast.” replied Destiny Girl, shaking her head. She saw several officers looking at her legs (something she was acutely aware of in her ‘normal’ life) and realized her boot had fallen off. She shrugged and picked it up.

“Is everyone OK?” she asked, slipping the boot on in one lightning quick motion.

“Everyone is fine, Destiny girl.” Officer Reynolds said, then awkwardly added “Thanks to you.”

“Just doing my job, officer.” Destiny girl said through partially gritted teeth and a forced smile. She waved to the crowd and sped off.

Danielle looked at the clock as she flew into her apartment. “Six minutes, as long as she’s not …” the doorbell rang. “...early. Crap!”

She looked around and caught a reflection of herself in the hall mirror - her hair looked like... well, her hair looked like she had just been blown up by a thermonic explosion. And she was still in her Destiny Girl costume. Perfect.

“Just a minute!” she called out, then using super speed, she undressed, soaked her hair in the shower, wrapped a soft towel around her head, then another around her body, then sat in her wheelchair. She arranged he limp legs as she wheeled to the door. The whole operation had taken just over thirty seconds.

Sheila’s eyes shot open as Danielle opened the door wearing only a towel, and her cheeks immediately turned pink.

“Well I suddenly feel very overdressed.” she said with a nervous giggle.

“Oh, sorry Sheila - took a little longer than I had planned in the shower.” Danielle said warmly. “It can take a little longer sometimes, I’m sure you understand.” she said as she indicated her paralyzed legs.

“Oh no, I understand, it’s fine, really Danielle. You can get dressed, I’ll wait, unless...”

“Unless I want help?” Danielle said, a little too seductively. ‘Try not to scare her off, Danielle..’ she chided herself.

“No, no, I was going to say if you wanted me to come back later, not...”

“It’s OK, I was just teasing Sheila.”

“Oh, oh ok, sorry...” Sheila said, and she looked genuinely disappointed.

“Don’t worry about it, and don’t be so nervous! It’s just my sense of humor. Maybe you can help me get undressed later.” she said with a wink and wheeled into her bedroom.

“What should I wear?” Danielle called from the bedroom, pulling off the towels and spraying on some perfume. While she could dress herself in the blink of an eye, she knew that would be... suspicious, to say the least. Not to mention, she had a feeling Sheila actually liked the fact that she had difficulty doing things, due to her legs. It was a strange thought, but not an unwelcome one. After all, she lived with her ‘limitations’ by choice, didn’t she...

“Stockings.” came Sheilas reply, the smallest of quivers in her voice as she said it.

“And what else?” Danielle asked.

“Nothing.” came the reply from the living room, more confident this time, playful. Sheila was loosening up. This could be a fun night after all.

“And if I actually came out there wearing nothing but a pair of stockings?” Danielle teased.

“I don’t think we’d ever get to dinner..” came Sheila’s honest reply.

“Well I’m hungry, so this will have to do.” said Danielle a minute later as she wheeled into the living room, wearing stockings and a short teal dress that really didn’t cover much when she was seated. Her lap belt was fastened and Danielle knew that the teal dressed made the lap belt - not to mention her wheelchair - particularly pronounced, which she knew Sheila would appreciate.

“So, you mentioned something about dinner?” Danielle said as Shelia stared at her un-apologetically. “And you can put your tongue back in your mouth. Until later, anyway.”

Sheila snapped out if it, embarrassed. “Sorry, I’ve never..”

“It’s OK, I invited you, I knew what I was getting into. At least I hope I know what I’m getting into. So, dinner?”

“Well, there’s a really good little Italian place right down by -”

“Rigatoni’s, right?” Danielle said, trying not to frown to much.

“What, you don’t like it?” Sheila asked, concerned.

“I’ve never tried it. I can’t get in.” Danielle said. “Too many stairs, it’s that little downstairs dining room.”

Sheila put her hand to her mouth. “I didn’t even think of that, I’m really sorry.”

“It happens all the time, most people don’t think of it. I know I didn’t think of it at all until...”
“Danielle, do you mind of I ask - “

“I was waiting for it.” Danielle said. “I’m a little surprised you didn’t ask earlier, the be honest. It’s nothing out of the ordinary, nothing thrilling. I was fourteen, I was riding my bike, and a tanker truck blew a tire, flipped over. I got hit, I blacked out, I woke up in a hospital room in a back and neck brace and couldn’t feel anything below my stomach. I honestly don’t remember that much.”

Danielle remembered a lot more than she admitted, of course. That lone, unmarked tanker truck was carrying an experimental substance that sprayed out from the ruptured tank and soaked her as she lay in the road, barely conscious. She never found out what it was or where it came from, but after a few weeks in the hospital, coming to terms with waking up a paraplegic, she started to notice things, strange things. And then there was the time she woke up on the ceiling...

“It was just a terrible accident.” she finished, pulling her train of thought back to the present. “And this is the result.” she indicated her legs and wheelchair. “Anything else you wanted to ask?”

“Have you always been gay?” Sheila asked, speaking quickly and obviously embarrassed.

“Well, um...” The question took her by surprise and Danielle thought about it for a minute. “I guess... well, I don’t think I was ‘anything’ until after my accident. Since then, I guess I’m more ‘trisexual’ “

“Tirsexual?” Sheila asked, confused.

“Sure - I’ll try anything once...” Danielle said with a flirtatious wink. “Being a teenager and paralyzed, it’s not like I had many options. Girls were just more.. accepting. Things grew from there. How about you?”

“I still remember the day. Freshman year of high school, I opened a teen magazine, saw a girl dressed in a bra and panties as some kind of advertisement, and realized I found her really sexy. Then I spent the rest of high school trying to make sure nobody ever found out.”

“How’d that work out?” Danielle asked.

“Dated a cheerleader senior year.” Sheila said with a smile. “Parents tried to be cool about it, but thought it was a ‘phase’ I would grow out of.”

Danielle wheeled close. “And the wheelchair thing?”

Sheila blushed a little. “I don’t really know... I can’t tell you the day and date when it started, or what triggered it. I just slowly realized that I was attracted to women in wheelchairs... more attracted than ‘regular’ women, anyway. I hope that doesn’t bother you.”

Danielle laughed, a light, lyrical giggle. “Bother me? I’m a paraplegic lesbian, anything that gets me closer to a good night kiss is OK with me.

Sheila leaned down and kissed Danielle on the lips, running her fingers through Danielle’s soft hair. Danielle returned the kiss and caressed Sheila’s cheek. The women remained kissing for what felt like a thousand heartbeats, then Sheila slowly pulled away.

“I didn’t want to wait until the end of the date.” Shelia admitted, her cheeks flushed.

“Neither did I.” Danielle replied, smiling. Now, what did we say about dinner?”

“I think we were talking about ordering pizza and opening a bottle of wine, weren’t we?” Sheila said, sitting in the plush couch. Danielle smiled, then parked her wheelchair and slid onto the couch beside her in a smooth transfer, lifting each limp leg in both hands and sliding it as close to Sheila as she could. Danielle winked and, thought Sheila’s cheeks burned red, she put a hand gently on Danielle’s stocking-clad thigh. Danielle could hear Sheila’s heartbeat quicken. She smiled.


The ultrasonic alert woke Danielle out of a sound sleep - silent alarm triggered at the art museum, shots fired, costumed villains - the usual. Rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, Danielle’s arm brushed against something - Sheila was in bed beside her, snoring gently.

Great. She couldn’t get ONE night off? Not ONE?

Danielle slipped the blankets off silently, then concentrated and rose slowly into the air, trying to disturb the bed as little as possible. She grabbed her Destiny Girl outfit from the secret panel in the ceiling, then headed to the bathroom and, in a lightning fast motion, was dressed and out the bathroom window, streaking towards the art museum, muttering under her breath. It was like the universe had decided she didn’t deserve a normal, healthy relationship for some reason, and it was really frustrating. And she was feeling so good after finally getting laid and -

Destiny Girl stopped dead in midair. Her wheelchair - it was still near the bed, she had flown out of the room. If Sheila woke to find... but she was already hearing the commotion at the museum, she didn’t have time to wait.

She cursed again under her breath and headed to the museum. Hopefully, whatever was going on could be handled quickly... but as she saw the gigantic robotic scorpion that clung vice-like to the side of the building, she feared that wasn’t going to be the case...

Story - The Secret Identity

The Secret Identity By ParaGirl

Originally posted in the Wheelchair Fiction yahoo group

One minute, the bank robbers were standing there pointing automatic weapons at the bank tellers. The next - there was a blur of magenta and gold and the four armed thugs lay in a pile, unconscious, with their weapons bent or broken on the floor.

Everyone looked around and saw the magenta-clad Destiny Girl floating in mid-air, her cape shimmering as she hovered, smiling. Her eyes sparked gold under her magenta and black domino mask.

“Is anyone hurt?” she asked the crowd, who were still in shock at the turn of events. They looked over one another and the bank manager finally stepped forward.

“I - I think we’re OK, Destiny Girl.” he said with a stammer. “They were so fast, We.. We didn’t even have time to hit the silent alarm. How did you know?”

“It’s my job to know, sir.” she said with a flourish, then added “I think the police will be able to handle it from here - I’ve already alerted them, I hear the sirens already. I’m glad nobody got hurt.” and with that, she flew out the open doors and into the midday sky.

Destiny Girl (Whose real name was Danielle) looked around carefully to make sure nobody was looking, then quickly grabbed the duffel bad holding her clothes and changed in a lightning-fast maneuver that most people would have only seen as a blur. She lowered herself into her titanium sport wheelchair and arranged her limp legs, freshened her hair, fastened the nylon padded lap belt, and wheeled out into the midday sun. She wheeled down the sidewalk to the cafe across from the bank, where she had been trying to get her iced mocha latte before she was so rudely interrupted.

“Hey Danielle, you just missed her!” Carlos said behind the counter, already mixing her drink.

“Missed who, Lady GaGa?” Danielle said as she wheeled up to the counter and put her credit card through the machine.

“No, Destiny Girl.” Carlos said, an exasperated smile across his face. Danielle loved to tease him and they constantly bantered back and forth about her. Danielle thought it was cute how in love Carlos was with her super-powered alter-ego, even though he was very openly gay.

“Oh her - what was she doing, making a deposit?” Danielle loved to goad him on.

“Try saving the bank from like a dozen heavily armed bank robbers.” he said, his eyes glassing over as he imaged the daring scene. “I heard one of them had a bazooka, but it didn’t even phase her, she laughed it off.”

Danielle was always amazed at how her exploits grew almost exponentially as people retold them. In less than 15 minutes she had already laughed off a bazooka attack. She smiled up at Carlos.

“I’m sure she was awesome Carlos - almost as awesome as your mocha latte.” She smiled. “So, has Destiny girl ever come in for a coffee?” She chided, pointing at the hand lettered sign in the window saying ‘No Charge for Destiny Girl’.

“No.” He sighed. “But some day I’m sure she will, I just know it!”

“I’m sure she will.” Danielle said. “I hope I’m here to see it.”

Danielle wheeled down the street, managing to avoid ignorant pedestrians paying more attention to their cell phones than the woman in the wheelchair, at the same time sipping her perfect mocha latte. She really could save some money if she took some of these shopkeepers up on their offers - half the businesses in town had put signs up proclaiming ‘No charge for Destiny Girl’ since her debut ten months before, stopping a runaway bus from plunging into the river. She had been tempted, definitely, but that was a slippery slope that, at best, would look like she was endorsing businesses or products and, at worst, could even result in someone recognizing her from the neighborhood.

She still worried that, some day, Carlos or someone else she had daily dealings with would see her up close as Destiny Girl and would recognize her. She’d just have to rely on her secret identity - and the fact that there were no other heroes (that she knew of, anyway) who were paraplegics. Blind, sure - she knew three off the top of her head. Amputees, too - they always got the high tech bionic augmentations, like ‘Scissorkick’ with his ultra high tech legs and ‘WhipCrack’ with the extend-able whips that came out of his prosthetic hands. She thought she knew a super-villain too, ‘Crimson Claw’, who had his hands replaced with razor-sharp claws of some indestructible space alloy, but she wasn’t completely sure about that one.

Danielle made it to her apartment and wheeled around the back. One of the great ironies of her life - the amazing Destiny Girl, unstoppable by anything but a short flight of stairs at the front door.

Finally in her apartment, she tossed the empty latte cup in the trash and put her bag down, then wheeled to her computer. By day, when she wasn’t busting criminals, she was a blogger and disability rights expert who wrote for several publications, both online and in print. She logged into her latest article, about a new public building that had somehow been built without a ramp, and then took out her notepad with several juicy quotes from the building contractor who had somehow ‘misplaced’ the original plans for the building. He assured her - all the time looking nervously at her wheelchair and wringing his hands - that the building would be fully accessible within two months.

Three hours later and the article was finished and sent to her editor and she was headed for the gym. She packed her gym bag with the basics and wheeled out to meet sheila, her personal trainer.

“Hey Sheila.” she said with a smile, wheeling into the well equipped gym. Sheila smiled that warm, special smile of hers and said hello back.”

“So what are we going to work on today?” Danielle asked, taking a quick swig from her sports bottle.

“Last time we worked the shoulders hard, today we’ll go with biceps and triceps.” she said, setting up a padded bench and taking out some weights.

“I was thinking we could work on my legs.” Danielle teased, wheeling up to the bench. Sheila grabbed her limp legs and helped her transfer onto the weight bench, then strapping her on.

“I think we’d need a private session for that.” Sheila said, without missing a beat, her cheeks turning red. Danielle knew Sheila was a devotee, though the topic had never ‘officially’ come up. She wasn’t ready to talk about it, but Danielle kept hinting. Danielle didn’t identify with ‘lesbian’ or ‘heterosexual’, she just wanted a date, someone who could look beyond the chair and, maybe some day, beyond the secret identity. Another irony of her life, she mused - Destiny Girl could defeat Captain Chaos and his mechanical minions in an afternoon, but Danielle couldn’t land a date with a woman who actually had a fetish for paralyzed legs. She laughed to herself.

“What’s so funny?” Sheila said, helping Danielle with the weights. Danielle had to remember to appear like she was straining a bit with the twenty pound dumbbells.

“Just thinking.” she said with a smile. “I will get you over to my apartment some day.”

“I know you will...” said Sheila, then seemed to make a decision. “How about Friday?”

“How about tonight.” Danielle said without skipping a beat, doing slow measured curls with the weights as she spoke. She had thought about this scene a hundred times, and she knew if she gave Sheila the opportunity to think about it too much, she’s chicken out. She wanted to strike with the fire was still hot, as it were. She realized she had used similar tactics against Baron Nocturna a month before. Her life was really complicated.

“Sure.” Sheila said, her voice a little shaky. “Tonight, seven o’clock.”

“You know where I live?” Danielle asked, suddenly feeling excited and, could it be, nervous? She could fight giant killer robots from Mars without breaking a nail, but a date with a pretty girl had her palms sweating. Complicated life indeed.

For the rest of the workout Danielle talked about dinner plans and Sheila tried to turn the date into a ‘friends getting together’ kind of meetup, but by the end of the session Danielle was teasing Sheila by asking what she wanted for breakfast and Sheila had just given in and said ‘Waffles with a side of you’ with a big pink-cheeked embarrassed grin.

Danielle quickly wheeled into the adapted shower and cleaned up, then headed home to order a dinner delivery and tidy things up for Sheila. She wanted everything to be just perfect, and she decided it would be easiest to close all the blinds tight and use a little ‘super speed’ to clean the place up. It was risky - anyone seeing her floating about the apartment out of her wheelchair would immediately know she was a super - but for this, her first date since the accident, she wanted everything to be perfect.

And that’s when it all went wrong...

“Urgent call for Destiny Girl - there is a bomb in Metro Hospital, we need your help.” came across the special radio frequency that she had set up with local law enforcement. They only used it when it was truly a crisis, and this sounded like a big one, bomb in a hospital was pretty bad. She looked at the clock - 5:55. Just over an hour before Sheila was going to be there.

Danielle sighed and shook her head, then floated out of her wheelchair and changed into her Destiny Girl costume in a flash, then shot out of the apartment headed to Metro Hospital. Just over an hour - it was possible she’d be done by then, but she wouldn't have too much time to clean up. She flew at near supersonic speeds and hoped this would be a quick one...