Supers - Ex Heroes 6

by Jamie Hawke

  Charm, meanwhile, leaped to meet the closest demon to her, while I sent a blast of electricity at one of the others and then traveled in the floor to push-kick a third. The fourth lunged for Andromida, but I went dragon and bit its head off—being very careful not to swallow.

  The door opened and I spun, expecting more enemies, but it was Harp, apparently having gotten here fast by flying. Shouts from the rear her told me Twitch wasn’t far behind, as she loudly gave orders. Darnell charged down next to me, ending one of the other demons with a stomp to the head, and Andromida was able to resume to her attack on Asterisk.

  “Wait!” I shouted, and when she glanced back, added, “if we all attack together—”

  Andromida waved her hand. “Not necessary. I have a plan.”

  Before she could reach the enemy, though, Harp had her go at it. An ear-piercing scream caused those closest to her to collapse, me to stumble back in a state of vertigo, and Andromida to fall to her hands and knees.

  Asterisk merely laughed, flashed forward in a burst of light, and pressed her mouth to Harp’s in a sort of return scream-meets-kiss. Harp fell to the floor on her side, eyes rolling up in her head, and it was all I could do to steal life from one of the half-dead supers and give her healing.

  Andromida was up again, unsteady for a step but then darting toward her target. How she intended to take down anyone who could so easily turn her powers against herself was beyond me, but I did what I could, taking down two more supers as she went. Shots from Rand above took down another who had been leaping for Andromida, and then Letha was down with us, setting an ice super on fire. His powers didn’t quench it.

  We turned to see Andromida grab the bitch by the hair on top of her head, then slam her face into her knee. Oh, shit, she was going cat fight ‘au naturel’ on Asterisk! It was the only way to fight that made sense, I realized, guessing that the guards had likely been there to deal with normal-style attacks of this nature.

  They weren’t there now though, and it was clear that Asterisk could’ve benefited from their help. Blood seeping from her nose, she looked up in confusion and received claws across the face that connected with one of her eyes, and then an uppercut that sent her onto her ass. The supervillain tried to scramble back but Andromida was too fast, grabbing her arm and twisting it, sending her face-down on the ground where metal still jutted out, and then stomped on the back of the woman’s head.

  A brief scream was cut off by a sickening gushing and crunch. Just like that, no powers at all, Asterisk was dead.

  Whatever supers were still left in the room had already stopped fighting, and now were either trying to flee or were going down on their knees with heads bowed. I knelt, too, but to check on Harp. She looked at me with life in her eyes and nodded to let me know she was fine. Still, I helped her up as a gentleman should.

  Letha stood hunched over, staring out over the corpses and the battered walls. Rumbling coursed underfoot. I wasn’t sure whether we should be running or standing there as we were, but she seemed to have something in mind. She stood tall, then stumbled toward the steps, before making her way up.

  The rest of us stood there, waiting and watching. When she reached the top, she said, “Comms to fleet. Comms to all allies.”

  A few seconds passed, then a voice said, “Confirmed. Comms to all parties are open.”

  “Thank you,” Letha said, then looked down at us, and nodded. “To all parties, this is Letha of the Planet Kill show, but you might know me better as Relae Mershett. This day, my sister led you astray. Or maybe you led yourselves. Either way, I have taken command, as is my right. This is my ship. My fleet. If you serve under it, any moves to carry out previous orders will be a capital offense. And moves against Earth, the Paradise Planets, or anywhere else I consider in the alliance will be a capital offense. You answer to me, now.”

  “She’s badass,” Charm whispered, and I nodded, completely agreeing.

  “As of this moment, we are at war with those you might have called allies before I took my sister’s life. You will turn on these alien invaders, see them expunged from our system, or killed. This is an order. Oh, and also—it’s good to be back, and I look forward to meeting each of you individually as I assume command in the days following this war.”

  She waved a hand and the comms cut off. The display showed a moment’s hesitation before ships started turning on their alien counterparts and firing, and some on this ship entered and went to one knee, swearing allegiance to their new leader. Their queen, returned.

  A wave of a hand motioned us up, and Charm and I walked up the stairs with Rand and Darnell.

  “The tide of the war turns here,” she said. “Thank you. I never could have gotten to this point without your help.”

  “And after?” I asked.

  “You’ve defeated Asterisk—we’ll take it from here. When it’s done, I’ll be making big changes, trust me.”

  “At which point, we return to the Citadel,” Twitch said, and I turned to see that she had joined us. “Come, defenses were down so we boarded. There’s still a fight out there.”

  “Not one we can’t handle,” Letha nodded to Andromida, who had just taken the last stair. “Thank you.”

  “All I did was for me,” Andromida replied.

  “None the less.”

  I cocked my head, noticing the last piece of her revenge hadn’t altered the blue skin as I’d expected it to. Something for us to discuss on the way out of here.

  “Let’s get to it, then,” I said. Before leaving, I gave Letha a hug and wished her luck. We were one step closer to winning this thing, and had the right person in the right place.

  5

  We charged back to our ship, shooting out of there. Enemy ships were going down or breaking apart all around us. Letha had turned her fleet around, opening fire first on any of her ships who didn’t immediately switch sides with her, and then on the alien invaders.

  As we pulled away, watching ships fall in the distance, Twitch said, “The Citadel—who knows what it has faced during this time.”

  “Ooh, you mean,” Charm turned to look at me. “It’s almost time for Breaker to become an Elder!”

  “Actually, I guess so,” I replied.

  “FUCK! I can’t wait. It’s going to be sooo much fun.”

  Harp, oddly, looked pale. I went over to her, checking her eyes. “You okay?”

  “Yeah, I just… need some rest.” She walked off, posture bent, and Laurel went after her.

  “What’s going on?” Shimmer asked, concerned.

  As Charm started after them, she explained, “Some weird attack thing Asterisk pulled.”

  The door closed behind them and I frowned. “I healed her, but I guess she’s still shook up over it.”

  “Healing like that can’t take care of mental shock,” Gale said, shaking her head. “The line of work we’re in… Speaking of which, when do we get paid?”

  Shimmer let out a laugh at that. “We get paid in lives saved.”

  “And I’m pretty sure the Citadel will hook us up,” Gale admitted. At my frown, she held up her hands. “I don’t mean in credits or anything like money, but… you know. If you’re an Elder, and we’re with you, I don’t think we’ll be left wanting.”

  “True,” Twitch said, nodding along. “Might even help out Charm with getting that red dress.”

  “You didn’t see?” I said, beaming. “She has one—grabbed it on our way off Earth.”

  “I saw,” Twitch said, but looked doubtful. “It’s going to need some help.”

  “True, but… any of you could wear tatters and still be gorgeous.”

  “Corny,” Gale called out, leaning back in her chair, but she gave me a wink.

  “To be clear,” Twitch said, looking at us, but mostly at Andromida, “Asterisk is gone?”

  Andromida took a heavy breath. “Yes.”

  “And that was the last of them?”

  “To my knowledge.”

  “Ah, I see.” Twi
tch stood, walking over to her, then nudging me. “So, why’s her skin still blue?”

  “Huh.” Andromida looked at her arms, then hands, moving her fingers as if that might change the color.

  “I can try Heavenly Light,” I said, turning from Twitch to address Andromida. “I mean, do you want me to try?”

  “Sure?”

  She didn’t sound very committed, but I gave it a try. Golden light sprinkled over her body. A shiver ran over her, and for a moment her eyes appeared semi-orgasmic. When it was done, though, she was as blue as ever.

  “Maybe it’s the new me.” She shrugged.

  I cocked my head, grinned, and said, “Good.”

  “Good?”

  “I think it’s hot.”

  For a moment she held my gaze, and leaned in to kiss me, tenderly, lips lingering and barely touching as she pulled back. Then she had a hand on my chest, staring into my eyes again, and said, “Thank you.”

  Tender moments like that were few and far between. She was more of the kick ass and ride my dick for fun type, not the kind that I thought would respond like that to compliments. Now that I knew the truth of it, I made a note to try and compliment her much more often.

  The others were watching with pleased smiles, as if they had all been part of the kiss, and in a way, they were. We were a team, so every moment like this counted.

  “For my clarification, are we about to fuck?” Gale asked. “Because there’s still a war going on around us, to a degree. And… I think that’s Sam out there.”

  “What?” I turned to the display, and sure enough Sam was flying through space, not even in the Noraldian! A tiny speck among all the chaos.

  “I’m still down,” Gale said, with a shrug. “To be clear. Just… wanted to know before I get my hopes up.”

  I glanced over, eyes moving down, mind wandering to the thought of her thick thighs against mine as I took her from behind. But no, I had to shake the image off.

  “Sam’s right there,” I said. “I mean… right?”

  Gale stood, hit me in the arm, and laughed. “Of course, Breaker! Fucking with you.” As she passed, she whispered, “Or maybe not, and you just blew your chance.”

  The sensation in my crotch was telling me it was the latter, my little soldier plenty mad at me for it. Twitch gave me a reassuring nod, but Shimmer chuckled.

  “You always take her side,” I said.

  “Oh, there’re sides in this?” Shimmer said. “What, is this… like sides debating over whether we try to work in a quickie before finding out what Sam is up to? In the middle of the war?”

  “I… No, I mean, of course she was joking.”

  “Maybe.” Shimmer laughed, and then the comms beeped.

  “Hail, Breaker and team,” Sam said over comms when she was close enough. “Mind if I catch a ride?”

  Charm walked back in, eyeing the display. “What’d I miss?”

  I pointed, smiled, and replied to Sam. “We thought that was you.”

  “You’re like a damn space angel out there,” Charm said, tails waving in excitement along with one of her hands as she went to the window. “In fact, that’ll be your new superhero name, cool? Shadow Mystic is so…”

  “I like Shadow Mystic,” Sam replied, and then she had docked and was coming through the side doors.

  “Ah, fine,” Charm said with a playful pout. “Whatever.”

  We all turned to see Sam enter, and then Twitch and I were moving toward her, Charm right behind.

  “It’s over,” Sam said. “Droka, and others… dead.”

  “Letha has done her part as well,” I replied. “Going forward, I think anyone trying to attack us is going to have one hell of a time at it. We saw that earlier ship go down, too. I don’t know how you were able to do that while going after Droka, but good job up here. If not for you—”

  “What earlier ship?” Sam asked.

  I’d been certain it had to have been her, not even considering that others might be helping. I pulled up the display to go back to that moment, and then zoomed in. She was right, of course. It wasn’t her, but some other group of oddballs jumping from the ship as it crashed. I was pretty sure I’d seen at least one set of wings there.

  “Looks like we have other friends out there helping,” Twitch said.

  “It’s a good thing, too.” I turned back to Sam. “Letha and her team are going to clean up here, but the main threat has been dealt with.”

  “Mine, too,” Sam replied with a wide grin.

  “We’ll have to hear about it on the way back,” I said, only to be hit with a horrible thought. “Wait, you are coming with us, right? Back to the Citadel, I mean.”

  “I don’t see why not,” Sam said. “But how? The only person I knew who could make jump points was Hadrian.”

  “She doesn’t know,” Twitch said.

  “Know… Oh! He’s there, on the Citadel?”

  Twitch nodded, but Andromida spoke up. “And to be clear, I can do the jump points. To a degree. And I imagine you could too, if you are taught.”

  Sam was staring wide-eyed, likely still focused on the idea that her old friend was alive and well.

  “Let’s go,” Sam said. Soon, we connected with the Noraldian and she went back to her ship for the rest of the journey.

  6

  Now that we had a plan and it didn’t involve riding off into battle anymore, I had to check on Aegriss. Twitch came with me, figuring the two of us had the best hope of doing what we could for her. When we found her, she already looked much better and had just finished disconnecting herself from the machinery.

  “You sure you’re ready?” I asked anxiously, but scanning her found no issues.

  She nodded. “It would be great to have another arm, but you know.”

  “That may be something the Citadel can help you with,” I replied, hopeful.

  Twitch leaned in and muttered, “Don’t get her hopes up. We don’t know.”

  I nodded, but figured it was always better to have hope than not.

  “It’s not important,” Aegriss said, waving her remaining hand, then making a lewd gesture with it. “One can still do this, eh?”

  We all laughed. It was good to see she hadn’t lost her sense of humor. The laughter faded, and Aegriss sat there, staring at me with affection.

  “I’ll… give you two a moment,” Twitch said, backing up for the door.

  When she was gone, Aegriss stood, uneasily at first, but then got her footing. She stepped toward me and I met her halfway, the two of us embracing, holding each other without a word. It was simple and pure, and everything she wanted to say to me, and I to her, passed through us. I don’t mean like we kind of understood each other, I mean the actual communication passed through like electronic signals, going something like this:

  Me: What would I have done without you?

  Aegriss: Shut up. You… you were so brave. So caring.

  Me: You’re one of the team. Every bit as much as any of the others.

  Aegriss: You mean that?

  Me: Of course.

  Aegriss: There was a moment out there when I thought it would be over. When I was on the ground, having taken a beating, and I thought that was it. I was sure it was over, but I was glad to have sacrificed myself in hopes that you might live. It was perfection.

  Me: And I ruined it?

  Aegriss: You taught me a better definition of perfection. This. Right here.

  She pulled back, eyes staring into mine.

  Aegriss: I love you.

  “And I love you,” I said, feeling the need to say the words out loud.

  Her lips almost attacked me, the way she kissed me with such vigor upon hearing them. When she pulled back, there was hunger in her eyes, but her hand met mine, her lips kissing the ridge of my knuckle, and I knew it wasn’t time to take it further, yet.

  “Are you up for seeing the others?” I asked.

  She considered, then nodded. “I’m missing an arm, but otherwise I feel ready to
take on the world.”

  “You were really something down there, you know that? Shit, you had me worried half to death.”

  “Only half?”

  “It’s a saying. And… Fuck that, there’s no way I would’ve let them get to you. The fact that this even happened…” I stopped, hating myself for a moment, taking all the blame and balling it up, wanting to shout and punch something.

  “Hey,” she said, hand on my face. “Hey. None of it was your fault. We were fighting a war, right? Still are, for all we know.”

  “Think so?” I shrugged. “With Asterisk gone, Muerta prisoner… And now Letha—oh, I didn’t tell you! Letha, she—”

  “I know,” Aegriss said. “Read it from your thoughts.”

  “Shit, you’re reading my mind now?”

  “Only what’s necessary to fill in the blanks. You can shut off our connection whenever you want.”

  “No, it’s… kind of fun.”

  “I’ve been thinking it would be fun to try something else, too. Ready?” She arched an eyebrow, stepped back, hand up, and closed her eyes. Suddenly, it was like I was surrounded by her, ten of her at once, all in various states of undress, all stroking my cock, but on their own as if I had ten cocks. The start of an orgasm hit, and I stepped back, pushing mentally.

  It was gone, my boner raging as my body twitched. Too late. “Dammit, that’s—come on!”

  She grinned wide. “Worked?”

  “Yeah, but now I have to change my boxers. Hope someone did laundry recently.”

  “Oh…”

  I groaned, quickly stripped and ignored the way she was ogling my ass, then tossed my messy boxers in the laundry bin.

  “You didn’t like it?” she asked.

  “It was amazing. But can we save it for when I’m not clothed?”

  “I suppose.”

  She took my hand with her good arm, letting me lead the way to get the sliding door for her. We made our way back toward the group, but stopped by the open doorway where Harp was lying down, hand over her eyes.

  I looked in, glanced back and forth for Laurel or Charm. “You okay?”