I also frowned. “Which will take time, and time is something we have little to spare.” I turned to Lola. “If we leave them here, they’ll be safe, and we can come back for them once it’s all over.”
“No!” she barked, her voice bouncing off the walls and cutting me to the quick. “I’m not leaving him. Not now. Not after all we’ve been through to find him.”
“But—”
She gripped her hands into fists. “Creature, no. I’m sorry, but I can’t leave him.” And then she unclenched. “Besides, I have another idea.”
“But nothing can cure them,” I told her. “Nothing but salt.”
She shook her head. “Before.”
“Before what?” asked VaVa.
Lola looked from her to her husband and then to me. “Before we discovered that we were Superqueens.”
VaVa smiled. “Ooh, Superqueens. Now that I like the sound of.”
“Figures,” said I. “And what makes you think our powers will work on them?” I asked her.
“They will,” she replied, now staring deeply into her husband’s eyes. “They have to.”
And so, like Blondella had done to me, I willed my radiation to tamp down his. I pushed with all my might, energy pouring from me and into him. It was like using a controlled fire to contain a wild one. “Help me, Lola,” I grunted.
She nodded and appeared to concentrate. “Pushing,” she said, and a moment later added, “I can feel it now, Creature. Can feel your radiation advancing. Can feel his receding.” She glanced my way. “Push harder!”
My entire body was tensing now as I poured and poured my energy into him, until it looked like he was fairly glowing.
And then, suddenly . . .
“Lola,” he said, the word just barely a whisper, but piercing the silence just the same.
“Ricky,” I sighed.
“Lester,” she managed to squeak out. “You came back to me.”
The slightest of grins worked its way up his face. “You would have killed me if I hadn’t.”
She laughed, which was so much easier to do than cry. “Horse is way out of the barn on that one, hon.”
“Hell,” said VaVa, “the barn burnt to the ground ages ago.”
I grinned and turned to Dara. “Now your turn, my love.”
Lola walked behind me and put her hand on my shoulder. “Ready.”
“Set.”
“Go already,” said VaVa. “There’s still a power-hungry rabid zombie bitch to take care of.”
I shrugged. “You forgot disco-ball smooshed, but, okay, good enough.” And so yet again I bubbled up and over, and Lola bubbled up and over, and me and her bubbled together, pouring our very essence into Dara, working as a united front.
“Fuck,” my lover groaned, soon enough. Then she blinked, once, twice. “Oops, didn’t know there was a lady present. Didn’t know anyone was present, present company included, namely me.” She smiled and reached her hand out to mine. “What took you so long? And since when can you do whatever it is you just did.”
VaVa sighed. “Long story. Can we go now, though, please? Before Blondella blows the island sky high and us along with it.”
“Wait,” barked Lester cum Ricky. “I just need to do something first.”
We all turned to him as he turned to Lola.
He grinned. She grinned. And, since it was fairly contagious by then, we all grinned. “How was your show?” he asked, his hand on her hips, their faces mere millimeters apart.
She chuckled. “Longest standing ovation in show biz history, my love.”
Their lips at long last met, eyelids fluttering as they melted into another, Dara’s hand in mine, her head resting on my shoulder. “So that’s Lola Fontaine, huh?” he said as the kiss went on and on. “She’s even prettier in, um, person.”
“The Lola Fontaine,” I amended. “And, yes. Does everyone know who she is but me?”
“She’s won a Tony, sweetie.”
And with that, the kiss was broken. “Two,” she uttered. “Two Tonys.”
Again VaVa sighed. “What’s a Tony?” And then she held her hand up. “Never mind. Let’s just go, please.”
I turned to Dara and then to Ricky. “Blondella is on the island. The islanders are behind her and against us. She has explosives hidden and plans to blow this place to kingdom come.”
Lola raised a finger. “And we smashed her with a disco ball.”
But before we could elucidate further, VaVa was already headed out. “Yada, yada, long story, right. Now we’re all caught up. Move!”
I shrugged. Lola shrugged. The four of us followed. “Someone forgot her anti-bitch medication this morning,” Dara whispered in my ear.
“Oh, I took it,” grumbled VaVa, apparently hearing what had been said. “You should see me when I don’t.”
“Or, better yet,” whispered Lola, “not.”
And then we were outside again. VaVa looked at us and wisely thought to ask, “So then, how long before these two revert back without some handy-dandy salt inside of them.”
I froze. “Good question.” I turned to Dara. “Well?”
She turned to Ricky. “Well?”
And he turned to VaVa. “Best guess?”
Poor girl. She clearly wasn’t pleased with any of this or any of us. “Humor me.”