Rose needed a break from all the Ultraviolence business. She loved the fight, but it was clear that she needed to fulfill some promises in order to make her soul right. As 80s Night approached, Jackie was working out. Rose kept in touch with her new friend of sorts, Dante. She gave him his number. Surprisingly, he's rather reserved. He keeps things simple. For now. She doesn't really know how to tell him she's gay. It was never brought up. How can one reveal their lesbian identity without sounding like an asshole. Her feelings about men never changed, but she tolerated Dante. He was funny. She just hoped he took the news well when it's time for the confessional. If not, no surprise there.
WNY had a meeting one biting November evening. As the last of the leaves fell, WNY held their HQ in Brooklyn, on the second floor of a former biker clubhouse. Despite the cleanup, the sleaze could still be felt. The markings of old stripper poles, tire marks from bikes and cars. But WNY made it their home, replacing the old shit and making it theirs, as much as possible. The meeting place, with its comforting colors of royal blue carpeting and birch wood walls, had a circle of chairs, with Marloe at the top. Rose followed the crowd as the people filed in and sat down. Marloe gave Rose a knowing glance and smile before starting. "Hello ladies, welcome to another Women of New York meeting. If this is your first time here I am Marloe, nice to meet you all. Make yourselves known if you're new."
A few women gave awkward waves at each other. Rose only did when Marloe's eyes went her way. She continued. "We start this meeting with some bad news, unfortunately." She looked over to the woman on her right, a smaller woman who began to cry as soon as that was heard. The other lady, large and built like a tank, walked over to hand her comrade some tissues. "Ema, could you maybe tell us what happened? Get it off your chest, maybe."
Ema, holding off sobbing too hard, sniffed as she began to spill her guts. "Well… Fuck, I told them! I told the police that he'd do something to her, goddamn it!" Ema broke, crying out as the rest of the women moved closer to comfort her. Rose, not exactly the comforting type, stayed behind to look at them. Community. Trust. Something somewhat foreign to Rose. In the span of a week she went from just her and Tiffany to a deranged vigilante and an ex fuck boy. She trusted Jackie. Dante, maybe on a good day. But the women here made Rose feel a warm sensation when she saw the instant reaction to show her she wasn't alone. If only more people did that in New York.
As the meeting wrapped up, Rose shuffled her way to see Marloe, the first time in the flesh. She turned and went to hug Rose, something that made her stomach flutter like no other. She hugged back. They disengaged as the muscular lady from earlier walked up to them. Marloe began to introduce her. "Oh, Rose, this is Liz. You've never seen her on the webcam, but she's my best friend."
Liz rolled her eyes with a smirk. "Elizabeth," she corrected with a thick German accent. "She plays with me a lot, as you can tell."
Marloe laughed a bit. "Sure, sure. Lucky I didn't call you Lizzie. Anyways, this is Rose, Liz. She's been helping WNY a lot with the internet stuff. You know I wouldn't know a damn thing about how the web works."
Rose made a small wave at Elizabeth. "Hello, it's nice to meet you."
"Likewise," Elizabeth said. Rose could get a proper look at her. She was massive. At least 5'10" at the shortest. Her muscles were subtle but toned. It was clear she could fuck anyone up. Her brown hair was braided into a crown style. The face was weathered and chiseled, with green eyes overseeing it all.
Shifting focus, Rose felt curious about the meeting. "Hey, Marloe, what happened earlier? Ema was her name, right?"
Marloe's face grimaced into something sad, attempting to tell what happened. "Well… Ema had a friend. Ren. The two were being stalked, I believe? Some guy. What was his name?"
"Teruya Isao," Elizabeth answered.
"Yeah, him. Teruya really liked Ren. He'd stalk her, harass her. Apparently he's some gang member so he had his friends harass her too. We all went to the police. They didn't take us seriously. And well… We were right. He killed her. The police didn't have enough evidence to arrest him so he's still free."
Rose looked down, angry and annoyed. She could see why Jackie does what he does. And she's going to use his abilities correctly too. "That really sucks. I'm so sorry."
"It's not too surprising," Marloe said with a shrug. "They never see our struggle until we're dead. That's why WNY exists. We protect the girls who need it. At least, we try." She leaned against a table, shaking her head. "It's unfortunate. Can't do much from here."
Rose knew what to do. "I'm sure something will come along. I have to go, it was nice seeing you in person."
"Don't make this a one time thing, Rose. Come to the next meeting."
Rose would never say no to Marloe. "Of course." She came home at night, seeing Jackie at his usual smoking spot next to the window. "Jackie?"
He turned his head. "Hm?"
"Do me a favor? I have someone who could use a little violence."