Padma came hurrying into the common room as we materialized. "I was watching your battle on my television screen. Wizzit was showing me." She gave a small cry and hurried to Mike's side. "You are hurt!"
"It's nothing," Mike said with his easy smile. "I've had worse. Wizzit will fix me up right as rain. Won't you, Wizzit?"
Wizzit's voice piped up, "I will initiate healing comas on Red, Orange, and Green in ten minutes. That should give you enough time to get ready for a long night's sleep."
Padma looked puzzled. "Only Red, Orange, and Green? Why not Trev-, er, I mean Indigo?"
"It's simple, love," Mike said. "Trevor's not hurt." He jerked his chin toward Green. "Trina, this is Padma Reddy. Padma, this is Katarina Balakleets; we all call her Trina. Go ahead and un-blur yourself, Trina, and meet our newest Prime Violet."
It was only then that I realized that Trina was still obscured by green haze. "I . . . will un-blur in a few minutes." She sounded flustered. I could make a guess as to why, because the same thing had happened to me once.
Mike evidently had the same idea as I did. "Wizzit," he said, his grin growing broader, "I'll give you a hundred dollars if you turn off Trina's force shield right now."
Padma gasped. I chuckled. "Cool it, loverboy," I said. "Give the lady a chance to grab herself a robe."
Trina was heading for the hallway to the girl's wing as quickly as she could. "I will return in a moment," she said.
Padma was staring at Trina's retreating form, completely bewildered. "I do not understand . . ."
"We had to call in Trina in a hurry," I explained. "We . . . probably caught her at an inconvenient time."
Padma's face still showed her puzzlement. Mike laughed. "Trevor's being too diplomatic, love. The thing is, underneath that little bit of green mist, Trina's not got a stitch of clothing on."
Padma's eyes got wide, and she covered her mouth to suppress a giggle. "Oh my! I did not realize. That would be embarrassing!"
"It happens to everybody sooner or later." That was Shelley, coming out from the kitchen with a sandwich and a glass of orange juice. She had undone her ponytail, and her dark blonde hair cascaded in a tangle across her shoulders. "Better eat up, Mike. You took quite a beating out there."
"In a minute. I want to wait until Trina gets back."
Trina reappeared only seconds later, unblurred and wearing a soft, dark robe. Her pale-blonde hair was still pinned into a bun, although a number of strands had managed to escape, and her face was very prettily made up. "I was at a party," she said. "The dress I was wearing was not suitable for fighting in, so I had to get rid of it." She sighed. "It was a pity, too. Such a nice dress."
She turned to Mike and gave him a playful frown. "You," she said, poking him in the chest, "have bad manners." Then she turned her back to Mike and gave me a brilliant smile. "But you, Trevor, are a gentleman, and so you shall receive a gentleman's reward." With that, she opened the front of her robe wide.
Now, Trina's got a pretty spectacular figure, and she was giving me a pretty spectacular view of it. No, she wasn't completely naked. More PG than R-rated, in fact, since all the, ah, relevant parts were clothed in gauzy wisps of lingerie. Still, it was quite an eyeful, and I mouthed a silent "Wow!" of appreciation.
She abruptly closed her robe. "You are a nice boy," she said, patting my cheek. "Maybe you can come to a party with me sometime." Then she winked at me. "And who knows? Maybe I will be persuaded to get rid of my dress then, too."
I gulped. Have I mentioned that Trina likes to flirt?
Chapter 10