Lynx: A Callie Torres Story

2

Jada heard a massive thud on the back porch of her apartment. Looking nervously out the window, she moved towards the back door and flipped the light on.

It was Lynx.

"Are you okay?" Jada asked as she opened the door and came outside.

Lynx moved slowly and flipped herself onto her back. "Just a hard fall," she whispered under her breath.

"Let me help you," Jada said as she reached out to grab Lynx's hand. To her surprise, Lynx let her take it and pull her to her feet.

"I can pay for the damage," Lynx said as she reached into on of her pockets for her wallet.

The porch was completely destroyed. Flower pots were smashed and broken as well as Jada's glass table shattered. Jada watched her flip through her wallet and saw some interesting things. A few hundred dollar bills, her S.H.I.E.L.D. pass, and some sort of LGBTQ+ pin.

Lynx handed Jada $500. "Woah I don't need that," Jada stammered.

"It's the least I can do for crash landing on your porch," Lynx responded. "Keep it."

Lynx took a step to leave by jumping over the rail but almost went down again. "Shit."

"Callie are you okay?" a voice asked coming from Lynx's ear.

"I'm good Natasha," Lynx responded. "A little banged up but I'm okay."

So that's Lynx's real name, Jada though to herself.

Her right foot was hurt badly. And as Lynx tried to take another step on it, she caught herself on the edge of broken glass shards of the table she had fallen through. Jada stepped in and put the superhero's arm over her shoulder and helped her walk inside the apartment.

"I might need a pickup," Lynx admitted into her earpiece. Jada couldn't make out what was said on the other side but Lynx laughed and said, "Okay Romanoff, you got me there. Just send someone for me whenever you can."

Jada slowly helped Lynx onto her couch. "Thank you."

"Thank you for saving my life yesterday," Jada replied with a smile, "since you left before I could say it."

She could see Lynx smile under her mask. "I try not to stick around too long. I don't want the world knowing who I am."

"Why?" Jada asked as she placed a pillow under Lynx's injured foot for elevation.

"You should see the shrine they have for Captain Rodgers in D.C." she answered. "He can't go anywhere not in uniform without being recognized. Most of them can't." Lynx unbuckled her belt and set it on the floor beside her.

Jada walked around the couch and into the kitchen behind it. She grabbed two bottles of water out of the fridge and took them back over. She watched Lynx drink the water right through her mask.

"Are you going to trust me?"

Lynx looked at her then slowly put her hands to her ears. Jada heard a quiet popping sound before Lynx began to pull the mask over her face. Lynx couldn't have been much older than Jada, if at all. She had very dark brown hair in a braid that tumbled out of the mask to complement her dark brown eyes and beautiful face. She dropped the mask onto the floor beside her. "My name is Calliope Torres. And I'm Lynx."

Jada was stunned at how beautiful she was. "I trust you to keep this a secret," Lynx said.

"Absolutely, I won't tell anyone."

With the mask off, Lynx drank her water a lot easier and faster then she had with it on. "You're hot," Jada muttered without realizing she had been thinking out loud. Her face went red and she pulled her knees up on the chair she had been sitting on and hid behind them.

"Thank you," Lynx responded with a smile. "I'm assuming you're..." she made the gesture and Jada nodded.

"I am too," she said quietly. "Never had a chance to stick one out though with being Lynx and all that."

"I got stood up on a date yesterday," Jada said. "That's why I was at the mall."

"See, things like this make me want to date men, then you see how shitty men are, and then I find myself fascinating over women again."

"You're telling me."

Lynx nodded and attempted to stand up. Jada again found herself on the move, this time actually catching Lynx. "Easy there Lynx."

Her arms were wrapped around the beautiful superhero and Jada found herself relaxing while holding Lynx upright. Lynx was a few inches taller than herself, and Jada could feel her muscular body move underneath her hands. She helped Lynx back onto the couch, nearly falling on her when Lynx's leg gave out.

As Jada stood up, Lynx smiled up at her. "Please, call me Callie."