obviously

[anatural]

WHO: Korra and Hei
WHAT: Korra and Hei wake up trapped in separate rooms in a testing facility. (NSFW)

[Deep within the Aperture facilities is a division which everyone knows about yet aren't really sure exists. It's run by a fork of the GLaDOS AI known as the "G-spot."

The nature of its testing imperative should be obvious.

What isn't obvious to Korra when she wakes up is why she's here. Also where she is. And why her vagina feels exposed even though she's wearing weird metal underwear under her regular clothes.

G-spot is still repairing her audio systems after GLaDOS' little fiasco.]

Hello? Hello?! [Korra is sorely tempted to start throwing her bending around and kick up a storm, but she doesn't want to waste her energy until her captor shows his face. (Obviously she doesn't realize her captor is a computer. She also doesn't realize that one of the walls is a one-way window, allowing whoever's in the other room to see her without her seeing them.)]

Comments

[mortemscintilla]

Same.

[ Except not really. The day it happened had been pretty typical, in the way that typical, for a while there, had come to mean non-problematic. He'd been tracking a mark through the brightly-colored maze of stalls in Ameyoko, short for Ameya-Yokochō, Candy Alley, out in Tokyo. An ordinary summer day -- which in this case meant swelteringly warm. Listening to Huang's gruff instructions on his earpiece, he'd paused, an unnoticed pebble in the heavy pedestrian river, to buy a cup of iced watermelon juice from a rheumy-eyed vendor. Eyeing the target, he'd spotted him heading towards the public bathroom, and he'd planned to follow, kill him in passing with a choice electric shock, let any witnesses think he'd died of a sudden fatal stroke. ]

[ Maybe he would have. If Hei had been there. ]

[ Shaking it off, he focuses on the matter at hand. He can feel the girl's tension ratcheting up notch after painful notch; her nails are white where they dig into her arms. Determined not to be affected by that same creeping panic, he contemplates what this latest experiment is about. Except he doesn't need to. Judging by the swapped sex-parts, it's sickeningly clear what their captors are after. ]

[ That doesn't mean they'll get it. ]

[ Flatly, ]

You understand you've [ we've ] been abducted by someone interested in sexual experimentation, right?

[anatural]

[Korra barks a harsh, bitter laugh.]

Oh believe me, I'm aware. I just -- [She doesn't even want to go into the violation she just endured.] We're naked. Their intentions are pretty obvious.

[Sex. This is so not even remotely in the realm of how she planned to have sex for the first time. Okay, no, she never really thought about her first time, but in all her fantasies, it's been intimate. Passionate. Sometimes silly. Not cold and detached, with a stranger she didn't choose and bizarre rearrangements of body parts.]

So. How're we going to do this? [Since she can't muscle her way out of here, her plan is to play along until they reach whoever's in charge. But she's open to alternatives.]

[mortemscintilla]

[ Hei's gut is a faint twist of guilt, but he ignores it. Part of him is surprised she's suggesting sex at all -- especially in light of everything that's happened. She wouldn't be half so blithe, he imagines, if she knew he was the one oh-so-subtly molesting her from the neighboring cell. ]

[ It's better if she doesn't find out. ]

We're not doing anything.

[ He says it with deliberate stolidity, letting the stone of his words sink into the air, feeling invisible ripples of doubt within his chest, and not caring. Being in this cell -- dick-less, ball-less and nude -- reminds him of how little control he has over anything, least of all his body. He instinctively doesn't want to trust any aspect of the experiment. Though it is a mistake to trust anything here -- the girl, the rearranged cocks and cunts, the implication that he'll be released if he's cooperative. ]

[ Out loud, ]

If their intentions are so obvious ... did it occur to you this might be a controlled test on breeding?

[ Meyer & Hilton were notorious for it. The Syndicate too, kept its share of Contractor breeding-stock; a convenient supply of baby-fresh, ready-made soldiers. Who was to say this "Aperture" was any different? ]

[anatural]

...huh?

[No, that didn't occur to her at all, because she's not a fucked up lunatic. She doesn't even understand what her experience thus far would have to do with breeding in the first place. It's all been about the experience of sex, not the utility of it.]

[mortemscintilla]

[ In Hei's profession, experience for experience's sake is worth nothing. Everything is a means to an end. The idea that he and this strange girl have been plucked out of their lives as breeding stock is demeaning, a sign that their abductors don't care about their accomplishments or individuality -- but it is also perfectly plausible, given the world he belongs to, the dehumanizing superstructure of his existence. ]

[ From the honest confusion shaping the girl's face, it's clear it hasn't occurred to her. Why would it? She's not a Contractor -- or, from the looks of it, anyone remotely affiliated with the Syndicate. ]

[ (So why is she here? And what is the secret to those supernatural abilities of hers?) ]

[ Quietly, half-musing, half-dismissive, ]

I guess ... they'd go about it differently if they wanted breeding-stock. [ Reluctantly, he drags his gaze from her face, and regards the pale dangling penis between her legs. ] No sense in swapping parts, either. Unless it's to prevent assault or injury.

[ That, at least, makes sense. In the previous cell, they'd been threatened with oxygen deprivation the moment they'd gotten too rough with each other's bits. ]

[anatural]

This whole place is an assault. [Her words come out snarky but surprisingly light, as though the fact of violation is known without really being felt. Compartmentalization has kicked in, leaving her reasonably calm and clear-headed. (There's still a knee-jerk instinct to cover her crotch when he looks at it, even though it's his penis.)]

If you have any bright ideas for getting out of here, I'm all ears. Otherwise, let's just get this over with. [At some point they'll have to interact with an actual scientist -- someone she can beat up to get something done. Korra wants to get to that point as soon as possible.

More importantly, the air feels a little thin in this room... Not dangerously so, but enough to make her a little light-headed, as well as a reminder of that threat behave or suffocate. She doesn't want to die naked wearing a strange man's penis.]

[mortemscintilla]

[ Hei doesn't answer her. For the life of him, he can't figure out why she's so amenable to fucking with swapped body-parts. There is no guarantee that if they comply, their circumstances will improve. It's just as likely the tests could escalate, an unfurling carousel of the freakish and bizarre and the just plain crazy. ]

[ But what other choice is there? The cell is impenetrable. The air seems to be dissipating, the warning hanging in the emptiness like a foul stench. Have sex or die. He can't decide whether to be pissed or resigned to the knowledge. Teeth gritted, he focuses on trying to relax his tense muscles, lower his heart-rate and keep the lines of his face from knotting into a glower that telegraphs the extent of his disgust. ]

[ He doesn't speak to the girl. He simply darts a hand out -- fast as a striking snake -- to poke at the penis (his penis) hanging between her thighs. A test, to see whether the tactile elements, the sensory baseline, is his own body or hers. ]

[anatural]

[Geez, Hei, give a warrior some warning, would you? Korra reacts instinctively to protect herself (having no way of knowing that he only wants to touch his junk); she uses her air bending to upset his balance as she spins out of reach in one graceful movement.]

What was that!?! We're supposed to be in this together!

[It's bad enough they're in a situation that requires they assault each other.

On the up side, while Hei didn't get to touch his dick, the movement from the air bending should be enough to prove to him that it's still connected to his brain, if not the rest of his body.]

[mortemscintilla]

[ He's startled by the wind-blast -- but only for a split-second. Whirling through the air, unbalanced by the momentum, he's lands on his feet; neat, almost catlike. This girl is no Contractor, But she's got impressive -- and mystifying -- abilities, ones she's clearly been trained to use in combat. Who is she? More importantly, who does she work for? ]

[ Hei would ask. But the stirrings of motion draw his focus to the swinging penis between her legs, reassuring him that it's still wired to his head. Meaning their sex-parts were swapped as a possible safety measure, so one test subject doesn't force themself on the other. Practical -- if the goal is purely sexual, rather than reproductive. ]

[ Could that be all they're after? Clinical consummations, clinical climaxes. It is surreal. Like the plot for a sci-fi porno. ]

[ He mirrors her movements by instinct, the graceful spin of her body making him turn with her, like teeth in one cog turning another. But his energies are neutral, non-threatening; he raises both hands, palm up, in a gesture of truce. (She doesn't know how much damage he can do with just his hands. Or how fast.) ]

[ Flatly, ]

I'm making sure it's connected to my brain. [ A beat, then: ] You'll have to endure considerable contact -- if you're willing to do this.

[anatural]

[You could have ASKED. Korra does her best to repress a scowl. Clearly she needs to be the adult in this situation, which means no hurling fireballs at his head no matter how much he deserves it. (Seriously. What kind of idiot makes an unprovoked attack instead of going "Hey, I want to make sure that penis is mine. Can I touch it?")

Her opinion of him doesn't improve any at that condescending addition.]

If "considerable contact" means more surprise attacks, I'm pretty sure you're doing sex wrong. [It's called "foreplay", idiot.]

[mortemscintilla]

It wasn't an attack.

[ As far as he's concerned, he's entitled to handle his own penis. Even if it is dangling from between a stranger's legs. (She's free to do the same with him; he's long ago repressed that cold-water shudder of having his space invaded against his will -- it's sister to that chilling pliancy whores employ when they look with unblinking blankness into the eyes of dangerous customers, persuading them that they're more useful alive and yielding, than strangled and uncooperative.) ]

[ At her remark, I'm pretty sure you're doing sex wrong, his gaze shutters, half-assessing, half-amused. He wonders how much of her feisty bravado is a deliberate suppression of her own anxieties while dealing with him, with the predicament they're in. ]

[ Mildly, ]

Have you done this before?

[ Sex, he means. He hopes she'll answer honestly. This is one of those games you can't bluff your way out of. ]

[anatural]

[Yeah, like he'd react so well to her shooting her hand at him out of nowhere with no indication of her intentions. That would go over REAL well. ]

If you don't want it to look like an attack, try telling me what you're going to do before you actually go and do it.

[However mild his tone, she can't help taking offense at his question. People have used her ignorance and inexperience against her too many times -- Tarrlok and Unalaq especially. They've used their "expertise" to make her think up was down and left was right. She's not going to let this asshole manipulate her into anything because she's a virgin.] What does that even matter? You don't have to be some kind of "sexpert" to know you shouldn't touch people out of nowhere. [Like kissing Mako that first time, although that was a bad idea for a wholly different reason.]

[mortemscintilla]

Fine. I'll ask permission next time.

[ His tone of voice communicates disdain for its own sake, the hard wood of indifference in a man who doesn't care how he gets nailed, so long as the nailing is over and done with. But his body speaks a different language and, deceptively easygoing, he takes a step closer. It's not to intimidate her; just a test to see if she'll balk. ]

[ To his way of thinking, her huffiness delineates the classic fanfare of misunderstood youth. Maybe she's used to being condescended to, put down, or otherwise devalued for her age. Hei knows what that's like; he'd never throw a party for all the tribulations that turned him into the killer, but he's never forgotten what it was like to be treated as weak and worthless, either; an expendable human in a sea of preternatural predators. ]

[ Quieter, ]

No such thing as a 'sexpert.' [ Anyone who purports to be one is lying. Bodies are easy to dismantle or distract -- but they're never predictable. ] I'm asking so I'll know what to expect.

[anatural]

[What. An. Ass. The idea of getting intimate with him is becoming progressively more unpleasant. But whenever Korra thinks about trying to find another way out, she remembers the feeling of suffocating. The idea of enduring that again - no. No way. Having sex with this asshole is preferable to that.

She takes a deep breath, centering herself as best she can.]

I'm pretty new to this. Is that what you needed to know?

[mortemscintilla]

[ A nod. He doesn't bother to speak; he has the distinct impression it would piss her off. As it is, she's giving him the full treatment of those baby blue tractor beams she calls eyes. Personally he'd prefer to get everything over and done with -- it's easy to default to a hard fast wham-bam-thank-you, a quick exit strategy rooted in lies and distance. This is what his sexual life has become, since he's lost faith in the idea that there will ever be anything better. Since he's consigned love to the four-letter obscenity it is, because what sane person can afford to be so idiotically mush-brained? ]

[ Still, he knows it's better to progress in tiny increments here. The sheer discomfort of the situation, and of his novice partner-to-be, calls for a measure of patience. ]

[ Keeping his tone matter-of-fact, ]

We'll have to figure out the technicalities. [ Between the swapped parts, the usual alignment of tab A to slot B is going to be clumsier -- messier -- than usual. But they can focus on that later. For now... ]

[ His gaze slews toward her, a soft dark prodding, ]

Is there a particular way you'd prefer things? Some way to get comfortable?

[anatural]

I don't know. Like I said, I'm new to this!

[That was not a fair response, and even Korra can admit it. She takes another breath and this time addresses the ceiling.]

A bed might be nice.

[With a creak, something in the distance opens and a mattress falls to the floor with a heavy thud. G-spot would have sent a full bed, but considering the destruction that happened in the previous testing chamber, that seemed like a bad idea. There's only so much damage they can do with a mattress.

Somehow this is the most demeaning thing of all. Korra scowls, then shakes her head emphatically and throws herself onto it.]

Okay. Let's do this.

[mortemscintilla]

[ There's a blink as the mattress thuds down from the ceiling. Piqued, Hei tries to study the opening -- but it closes almost at once, the surface as slick and seamless as ice. There has to be, he thinks, some kind of passageway, an opening they can't see. If they can reach it -- ]

[ Then the girl -- in the practiced style of a sulky teenager -- throws herself across the mattress. Hei doesn't frown, but it's clear he's unsure how to interpret the gesture. A resigned invitation to get to business? Or simple exhaustion? He chooses to put his money on the latter. ]

[ Cautiously, he edges around the mattress, gaze fixed to the ceiling. Says, in a tone of perfect seriousness. ]

What about condoms or lube?

[ He doubts he'll get a response. But it's worth a shot. ]

1/2

[anatural]

[G-spot is relieved that they don't seem interested in any more destructive behavior. We're here to have fun, people. Sexy, sexy fun.

It rewards their good behavior by raining condoms down on them. A moment later, a box with lube and an assortment of sex toys also drops down.]

[anatural]

[As for Korra... What on earth is ambiguous about "Okay. Let's do this."? Korra rolls her eyes and heaves a sigh, though the gesture only draws her attention to her bared breasts. Her nipples are tight, almost to the point of aching, and she realizes with surprise that there's a warmth deep in her belly. Despite everything — the violation, the fact she doesn't even like this guy — her body is ready for this. Maybe even a little eager.

She decides to blame the fact that this guy looks a little like Mako. Or maybe there are some weird drugs in the air. She doesn't like it, but it will make this whole thing easier if she's aroused.

Since he seems determined to put off the inevitable, Korra decides she needs to take matters into her own hands. Literally. She wraps her hand around the shaft between her legs and begins to stroke.]

[mortemscintilla]

[ He wasn't expecting the wares of a veritable sexshop to rain down on them like manna from peep-show heaven. Carefully, he sifts through the imbroglio of condoms and brightly-packaged lubes, their colors exerting all the fascination of Christmas bells or polka dots, the toys a sticky melange of pink and red and green, in the texture of boiled sweets, or melted jell-o mistakenly left in the dashboard of a car on a hot afternoon. ]

[ After a beat, he reluctantly plucks a handful of golden discs from the embarrassment of riches. The foil-wrapped condoms remind him of chocolate coins that kids get on holidays. Don't spend it all in one place, he distantly remembers his grandmother teasing him, in another life, while his child-fingers eagerly peeled off the gold wrapping. ]

[ The memory dissipates as a chill of nauseous unreality travels down his spine, simultaneous with the hot slide of a palm across his cock -- a combination which, despite his long experience of abnormal physical sensations, he has to admit he's never felt before. With a faint shiver, he glances at the girl. Her hand is wrapped around his shaft. (He notices, in a moment of idle whimsy, how small-boned, how delicate, how startlingly female yet strong it is). Her efforts aren't expert -- not by any means. She reminds him almost of someone playing with a weapon -- one they've never seen before, and aren't quite sure how to handle. ]

[ But the touch feels good, tentative as it is. He's not aroused, exactly, but his blood is thick with the froth of adrenaline. The sensation is an eerie echo of his days in Heaven's War, that cliched braid of sex and death flickering through his synapses, his body's susceptibility to any remotely soothing sensation nothing more than life reasserting itself. How many times had he and Amber fallen together after a stressful night, the post-battle randiness that made them claw and bite and rut like wolves, desperate to work off the vibrations of bloodlust radiating from their very bones? ]

[ Except he can't do that here. This girl isn't Amber. He ... isn't even the same as back then, a ticking hand-grenade of black-burn heat and raw hatred, wrapped in human skin. His energies have cooled, and his mind has calcified into something stranger, more brittle yet more jagged-edged. ]

[ Slowly -- giving her plenty of warning -- he crawls across the mattress, across her sprawled body. Her skin is flushed, her nipples tight and dark. He isn't sure if it's fear and shame, or a slow-burgeoning arousal. He plans to find out. ]

[ He braces himself over her on one arm, his body a taut curve above hers. Reaches out with the other, smoothing her hair from her face. His hand curves across the peachy heat of her cheek. Slips down, tracing the arc of her neck, the sweep of her clavicle, palm brushing across one breast, but light, almost incidental, as if feeling the texture of her skin. ]

[ His face is smooth, still, but the voice is softened in deliberation, ]

What's your name?

[anatural]

[Korra finds herself tensing as he climbs on top of her. Yes, she said they should just do this and get it over with, but... he's a stranger, and she's in strange territory. She's masturbated. She's indulged in fantasies. She's had giggling conversations with Asami, but she doesn't know what sex is like. She doesn't know how to read his body and predict what his next move will be, the way she can in a fight. She doesn't know what she's doing.

And the way he's touching her has become soft. In the space of a moment, he's gone from unpredictable asshole to the mysterious stranger of her fantasy (only one — the rest of her fantasies are about people she knows. Why go through the effort of inventing someone sexy when you already know so many sexy people?). The mysterious, experienced stranger who becomes her sexual mentor, showing her how to reach new heights of passion and pleasure.]

Korra.

[She's so flustered by their closeness, by how they stepped so neatly into her fantasy, it takes her a moment to remember.] You never told me yours.

[mortemscintilla]

It's Li.

[ Or whatever else she'd like it to be. He's practiced at being a cipher, a blank space for his target to project their illusions on to. It's simpler that way. The essence of attraction is fantasies. Hei excels at spinning those, because lies and constructs are a language every Contractor speaks. He's learnt, with time, to play the consummate psychological acupuncturist, stockpiling weakspots in a cold mental armory. Knowing where to stick the needles -- with the intent to kill, but just as often, with the intent to lull. ]

[ Beneath him, the girl -- Korra -- is still. A tight, flustered stillness, her blushes seeming to curl like steam from her skin and diffuse into the air of the cell. Against his will, he's disquieted -- and charmed. There is something very surreal about this rough-and-tumble unglamorized girl, radiating innocence in a room filled with depravity of the most deceitful kind. Which includes Hei himself. ]

[ That she's a novice is relatively easy to settle his mind about. The other looming issue that twines in and out of it like a dark serpent, is more urgent and unsettling. How does he make things tolerable for someone who's never done this before? Who isn't even a willing participant -- not really? He's done some shitty things in his illustriously brutal career -- but he's never cared to add sex with minors to the pile. Doing so now is like making the cell a stage for disaster, the place where his last illusion about himself will be shattered. ]

[ Except he should be used to that by now. ]

[ Lightly, he skims his fingertips along the gaps between her ribs. Feels the mushy thud of her pulse -- anxiety, but perhaps also a hint of excitement. For a moment, hovering over her, he just -- breathes. A warm inhale-exhale, syncing the rhythm to hers. When he leans in at last, a precise shift of his weight, it's to brush his lips across hers. No other point of contact. It's not romantic, or even salacious. It's soft and close-mouthed, an exploration of boundaries. But languid too, in the way he catches her lower-lip between his teeth, scrapes at the sensitive inside before letting it slide wetly free with a muted pop -- only to repeat the process, again and again. ]

[ Ordinarily, he'd forgo kisses altogether. They're too messy, too personal. He wields them primarily as a perfunctory way to keep the other party's mouth occupied. But he's navigating on unstable territory here. He needs to lay a foundation of familiarity -- for the girl, but also for himself -- unless he wants everything to devolve into a shambles of tears and trauma. ]

[anatural]

Nice to meet you. [Her voice is hazy, distracted. She sounds like an idiot. It's hard to think straight with him so close... and then he's kissing her. Korra lets out a little sound of pleasure as she sinks into it, remembering just how much she likes kissing. That was yet another thing Mako never let her do enough. Their busy schedules had meant they didn't get a lot of alone time to begin with, and the time they did get together they usually wasted on talking. Which often meant fighting. They would have fought a lot less if they'd just made out more.

"Li" is a great kisser. She lets him take the lead for awhile, but she's too impatient to let someone else hold the reins for long. Her kisses become increasingly heated.

She can feel the slight pressure of her hand against her pelvis, the sensation of knuckles instead of the pads of her fingers a little disconcerting. Yet it's fascinating as well. She lets go of his dick and slides her hand between his legs, slipping a finger between her folds. Her hips rock up to grind against him, but she can't get the angle right, making her growl in the back of her throat. She shouldn't be as aroused as she is. This is weird. This is wrong. She wants more.]

[mortemscintilla]

[ She's kissed someone before. He can determine that much. Sweet, tentative kisses that struggle up from her hot mouth, and then bloom in slow-unfurling skill. It takes Hei back to a dreamy-dark time when he'd been the novice, too; when kissing another person had been something utterly strange and splendid and not just a matter of mechanical friction. ]

[ Humming, he lets his lips play with hers, until the rhythm blurs from his, to hers, to theirs, his tongue tracing the seam of her lips before coaxing them open, the kiss heavier, hungrier, even as his hands stay planted on either side of her body. Bracketing her, but taking no liberties. ]

[ Yet. ]

[ His cock, a fast-stiffening handful, twitches in protest as she lets go. He feels her slide a hand between his legs, fondling her own sex. The whole arrangement is so strange -- almost grotesque if he thinks about it. From this vantage, his own cock seems foreign, almost invasively intimidating, yet hardly big enough to make anyone lose their moorings. He feels off-balance anyway, and at the same time oversized, the height and breadth of him looming over the soft arabesque of Korra's body. ]

[ Breaking the kiss -- slowly -- he nuzzles the soft spot of her clavicle. Cradles her head in widespread hands, gnawing the killing-point where jaw melts into ear and neck. Her scent is beguiling, almost like animals and murky forests: humidly, luxuriantly aromatic. Hands skimming along her shoulders, measuring the curves of her breasts, he squeezes them together, nuzzling at her cleavage, breathing her in. ]

[ At the same time, he re-angles his hips. He'd almost forgotten about the absence between his own thighs, the dick bobbing at her apex; now his awareness comes trickling back. Carefully, he lines them up so that the underside of his hard shaft rides against the folds of her curly mons. He stirs his hips, first gingerly, then in a rolling cadence, the thick vein on his cock spreading her lips open, grazing her clit as he sinks closer. ]

[ It's a sensation he's always enjoyed. The wet friction, the promise of being hotly enveloped. But right now, it's almost a test. Will she like it? Will she ask him to slow down? ]

[anatural]

[She's breathing heavy. Not panting, but there is a definite need for some extra air. She wants to laugh at how silly he looks, nuzzling her breasts like a kid who doesn't want to get out of bed; at the same time, it feels really good and she doesn't want him to stop.]

Mmph! [Korra slaps her hand over her mouth to cover an undignified squeak as her body abruptly tries to curl in on itself. The rub of his cock against her clit creates a sensation so intense and unexpected, it's almost frightening. Her instincts are to stop and protect herself from this unfamiliar sensation. Except it feels so good. She grabs onto his hair and digs her nails into his scalp. It's hard not to moan.]