by Jamie Hawke
She frowned, but then laughed. “As if any of these girls could stand up to me.”
“Is that so?” Threed said, turning to her. “Maybe you and I take the first round instead?”
“Fuck that,” Navani interjected. “I’m all worked up now.”
“Seconded,” I said. “We don’t want anyone in the ring who wants to hurt someone else. Not here, not like this. Also, stop fucking embarrassing us, we have company.”
The Blue Lady gave me a nod. “Remember who the real enemy is.”
It took a second, but Threed backed down and turned to face Navani.
“Just to be clear, I’m not mad exactly… but that princess comment is going to cost you.” Navani stepped forward and held out her fist.
Threed bumped fists with her and then the two started circling each other, each looking hot as fuck and just as intimidating. Navani had a more graceful, cat-like style to her movement, while Threed bounced around like a boxer looking for an opening. She was the first to attack, coming in with a fake left jab and following up with a kick to Navani’s thigh. Her style was very similar to kickboxing and the Marine Corps martial arts, so I was soon able to figure out how she would attack and, at times, where she’d strike.
Navani, however, was more of mystery. Her style reminded me a bit of kung-fu, but there was something more unique about it, more rigid and fluid at the same time. It reminded me of a ballet dancer kicking ass, and was quite entertaining to watch. When the next leg kick came at her, she was ready and moved in to hip-check Threed and throw her to the ground. She moved for a joint lock but Threed was fast and rolled out of it before lunging for a takedown. With her arms taking out the knees and her shoulder in Navani’s hips, she lifted her and then brought her down hard. Navani made a wheezing sound and I thought she was done, but two seconds later Threed was yelping and tapping out.
We all moved to see that Navani had her in a reverse armbar with an elbow in her neck, and cheered for the winner. My enthusiasm was only halfway there, however, as I gave Navani a worried look—did it really make sense for her to be sparring if she was pregnant? She saw me and gave me a grin before tapping her belly. It was hard, and I had to assume she’d added a layer of defense in her suit.
“If I’d been allowed to call on my replicas, that never would’ve happened,” Threed said, rubbing her elbow as she stood and accepted defeat.
“True. And what if someday you can’t call on your powers?” Navani countered. “Gotta be ready for that.”
“There’s only two places I know of where that’s the case. The first, Drew’s brother blew up, supposedly, and the second…” Her eyes stared off into the distance, and she whispered, “Abaddon.”
“Bullshit,” Sakurai said. “Not real.”
“Urban legend,” Navani agreed.
Threed stared at them with horror. “Tell that to my sister, you dicks.”
“Your sister went to a planet where they’ve managed to shut off all powers, where it rains acid… where some are kept in insane asylum prisons, others running amok and killing each other for viewership? I don’t think so.”
“Fuck you, it’s true!” Threed turned on Navani, nostrils flaring.
My own heart was racing, because this was hitting a bit too close to home. “Hold on. Abaddon, you mean the prison planet?” Everyone turned to me, and Threed gave a slight nod. I shook my head in confusion. “It’s real enough. I’ve seen it… on the black channels back home. Television, kinda, and it’s in the Milky Way. How do you know about it?”
“Holy shit,” Navani exclaimed. “That… that could make sense.”
“What could?”
“Lots of supers have gone off looking for Abaddon,” Threed explained. “But only one’s returned to tell the story, to tell us what little we know.”
“So he claimed,” Navani argued. “But he was as crazy as they come. Big guy with horns and fire as part of his powers, right?”
“Drakonis,” Threed said.
“That’s right. And when he went on a killing spree claiming he was the god of Abaddon, they threw him on that ship Drew’s brother blew up. So now he’s dead, and nobody will ever know the truth of it.”
“Except that Drew just told us he knows about Abaddon.”
“How?” Navani turned on me, completely ignoring the rest of our crew as they sat nearby, watching. “Tell us how you know about it, and how the hell you think this Drakonis guy could’ve found it?”
“It’s a kind of reality TV show, a spin off from the Planet Kill series,” I explained. “Might seem kind of strange to you, but some weird, twisted people love it back on Earth. The how, I imagine, would be the same way you found me. Portals, or gateways.”
“Except that Hadrian has to make the gates and he…” She stopped, blinked, and then continued, “I can’t believe it. Actually, yes, that makes sense. Create a larger place, not just a prison ship, but a whole planet that takes away their powers and is outside of our system. Genius.”
“And it’s not just a prison planet,” I pointed out. “I mean, it is, but it’s a chance at redemption. They have it set up just like that Planet Kill show I told you about, only more challenging, and some of it is set up to really deal with the insane. Anyway, redemption—the contestants can earn their way to Planet Kill, and from there it’s even possible to fight your way up to living among the elites on the paradise planets. Of course, chances of survival are lower than low. Nobody from Abaddon has ever made it that far.”
“Likely by construct,” Threed said, nodding. “Thing is, they supposedly don’t just block your powers, I’ve heard they tear them out of you… Similar to what the Nihilists are doing, maybe?”
“Shit. You think they’re connected?” I asked.
“There’s a damn good chance they are,” Threed said. “Or at least, someone’s sharing technology. That’s a good starting point.”
“Wait, then how did this Drakonis return with his powers?” I asked.
“Escaped before it could be done to him, before they could finish the procedure on him. Escaped and tried to take others with him, to save them, I’ve heard. But they caught him and made him suffer for it.”
“You all… you’re full of shit, right?” the Blue Lady said, staring at us all with wide eyes.
“What do you mean?” Navani asked.
The Blue Lady’s hands started shaking, so she held them together to stop it. “All of this, my quest… I thought it could never end. They told me the main woman who did this, one they call Astrisk—though others call her many names—they said she was gone to this Abaddon that no one could find. Some thought it was an actual afterlife. I started to believe it would be impossible to find her, until now.”
“And who the fuck are we chasing right now?” I asked.
The Blue Lady looked at me, eyes still wide with the surprise of this newest reveal, and she smiled a wicked smile. “Her lover, the man who stood at her side as she destroyed us all.”
“Well… fuck.” I ran a hand over my head, taking this in. “So you’re actually a lot closer than you realized.”
“If you can find a way to get me there, yes, I just might be.”
I turned to Navani, who said, “There’s a way, but it won’t be easy.”
“Why’s that?” the Blue Lady asked.
“Because the one with the powers, the one we’re counting on to create a portal when this whole prophesy comes to fruition...” Navani glanced around at us, hesitant, then said, “he’s missing, and the portals he created to grab the new supers like Drew and his brother were temporary. A one-time thing.”
“Missing?” the Blue Lady asked.
She nodded. “Hadrian. I’ve explained to Drew before that the Elder responsible for gateways is gone, his essence only able to fulfill a final mission to take down the enemy once and for all.”
“The prophesy shit,” the Blue Lady said. “I’m familiar.”
“But…” Navani took a breath, bit her lip and then nodded
as if convincing herself. “I hate to give you false hope, but when Drew crossed over to the Nihilist world before, he saw Lamb, a super who had sacrificed herself in a very similar way to Hadrian.”
“And you think there’s a way to find them?”
“It’s part of why we’re helping you on this mission,” I admitted. “We’re hoping that pursuing the Nihilists into their world will help us find Lamb, and now, maybe some others.”
“I really don’t understand,” Threed said, shaking her head. “But… are we done here? No more sparring then?”
“Actually,” the Blue Lady said, standing and cracking her neck, “I’m finding a lot of tension suddenly working its way into me, and would love a release. Game?”
Threed rotated her elbow, hesitantly.
“I’ll give it a go,” Sakurai said, hopping up and grinning. “All of this talk bored the hell out of me, so I gotta get my blood flowing again.”
Navani laughed, shaking her head, and nodded me over. When I got to her, we sat and watched the two move in to spar.
“This is all uncharted waters,” Navani said, taking my hand. “I hope you understand that. I hope you all understand that.”
“I’ll do what I can to set expectations where they need to be,” I promised. “But… it is possible, right?”
“I have no idea.”
Letting that sink in, I watched as the Blue Lady wiped the floor with Sakurai, literally. She had her by the hair and was dragging her back and forth, saying, “Get back up! Get back up!”
A second later Sacrada was there, pounding the Blue Lady in the face with a good three-punch combo, and then Sakurai was up again with a couple of kicks.
“Fuck,” Nyoka said, jumping in.
“Do we do something here?” I asked.
Navani simply held up a hand and a couple of force fields appeared between the would-be brawlers. When they all turned on her, she said, “Key word, sparring. Don’t forget who the real enemy is,” and then stood, motioning me to follow.
As we exited, I glanced over my shoulder to see the force fields still there. “Won’t they fade? Then what?”
“They’re grown women, they can figure it out. If they really want to succeed, they’ll need to learn to work together.”
“And if they kill each other first?”
Navani laughed. “Women like them? No, I don’t think so. Some good ass-kicking, yes, but that’ll just bring them closer together in the end. You know, once they get it out of their systems.”
I laughed, following her. “And this Hadrian character?”
“He was a mystery, still is. Used to lead a mysterious group that called themselves the Shadow Corps. That’s what he’s best known for, but lately he served his role in peace keeping, until the Nihilists showed up and began making trouble. Trouble that even he couldn’t handle—which I think was a big blow for him.”
“But if we find him… he’d help us?”
“Us? Yes.” She paused, glancing back. “But help the Blue Lady in her revenge quest? I’m a little less certain on that one.”
I nodded, understanding completely. She was a valuable ally, but allowing oneself to be dragged into someone else’s quest for revenge was almost as stupid as allowing oneself to be lost in your own quest for revenge. At least with the former, you could find a way to walk away… maybe. The latter rarely worked out so well, from my experience.
“For now, stay focused on the mission. We’ll get in there, help her if possible, and see what we can learn about Lamb. Either way, if we can do some damage to the Nihilists along the way, I say we come out ahead.”
“And you… remember our chat about keeping you safe.”
Her hand went to her belly again and she gave me a hopeful smile. “You know I’ll do my best.”
I was overcome with the urge to embrace her and so I did, overwhelmed with feeling the warmth this woman pressed up against me, this woman who might be carrying my child. She seemed surprised, but then leaned into it, allowing a moment of tenderness before we had to get back to our soon to be arrival at the Citadel.
10
Arriving at the Citadel, I began to understand why we had to make such an escape on my previous visit.
The closer we got, the more stars seemed to fade from sight for no apparent reason. Seeing my confusion, Navani explained that the Nihilist fleet was able to attack us, but it was like they were only half in our dimension and half in their own. What we saw was essentially a shadow fleet. The entire place was surrounded, in a sense. It wasn’t like a normal siege or assault, but I could sense it the moment Navani tensed up.
“Can they attack us?” I asked. “And we, them?”
She tilted her head to the side in thought. “They can hit us for sure, but during the invasion we didn’t seem to be able to do much. I think it has something to do with the type of weapon they’re using, perhaps. Or maybe it’s related to their super powers?”
“And we have a plan for getting past them?” Nyoka asked.
“Drew seems to have some sort of connection,” Navani said. “As odd as that might be… I’m thinking we just need to amp him up, see what he can do.”
Threed laughed, while Sacrada gave me an annoyed look, as if this were my idea.
“What’s the problem?” the Blue Lady asked.
“The problem,” Sacrada explained, “is that she’s saying we just flew into enemy territory, but let’s all take a break to fuck Drew’s brains out while blasting him with powers, so that he can…” She turned back to Navani. “Here’s the part that confuses me. What then, send him out into space? None of us has powers like that, do we?”
“Not at all,” Navani replied. “The ship has an amplifier as well. A limited one, but an amplifier. Lamb set it up as a way of magnifying my powers to search for the sisters, but it can be pushed out in other forms, including, possibly, sending out attacks.”
“The solar flares, then?” Sacrada asked.
“It’s the best chance we have.” Navani turned to me. “Are you up for it?”
“Sure, we can—”
“No, I meant are you physically up, like right now, erect. Are you up for it?”
I chuckled, nervously, looking around at the others. “Seriously? No, not yet. And all this…”
“He didn’t have a problem last time,” Threed said to Nyoka at her side.
“So you’ve done this before?” Nyoka asked.
“Not with a spaceship, but Drew gets amped up the more his connection is, and he gets powers from whoever blasts him. Thing is, the more amped up he is—or hyped, as he likes to call it—the longer he can hold the powers, we think.”
Nyoka nodded, eyebrows raised, then stood and headed for the door. “I’ll be outside. Call me when it’s over.”
“Me too,” the Blue Lady said. “I don’t want to interfere with your little freak-a-dink show, but I’m not a part of it.”
Those two left me with Navani, Threed, Sakurai, and Sacrada. I turned to them, anxious, and Sacrada motioned for her sister to leave.
“Seriously?” Sakurai asked. “You do realize what I used to do, and—”
“We’re in a rush,” Sacrada interrupted. “Do you really want your first time with him to be under those circumstances?”
Sakurai hesitated, rolled her eyes, and then left.
“But you’re staying?” Threed asked Sacrada.
“She has to,” Navani stated. “He needs her powers most of all, if this is going to work.”
“And I’m not partaking,” Sacrada stated. “Just… doing the blasting part. The painful sort, I mean.”
My chest had a nervous twitch at the memory of the mixture of pain and pleasure the last time this had happened, just before taking down Goros and his group. I wasn’t exactly sure the pleasure was worth the pain, but if it was the only way to make it through to the Citadel, I guess I didn’t have much of a choice.
Navani turned to me, all business. “We don’t have time to waste. Strip.”
I turned to Sacrada nervously, but she put her hands on her hips and said, “Not something we haven’t seen before, big guy.”
“It doesn’t exactly just respond to my call,” I pointed out. “It needs to be convinced, you could say.”
“By Oram,” Navani said and stepped up to me, putting her arms around my neck. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw her motioning for Threed to join in. “First, you’ll only need Sacrada’s powers this time. Yes, there’ll be pain, but… only one kind. If you need help getting aroused, try to remember that you’re on a spaceship having a threeway while another hot lady watches. Most guys would be cumming in their pants at that thought alone.”
She had a point, one that was already causing movement downstairs.
“We’re sticking to threesome then?” Threed asked, prepared to call upon her replicas.
“Let’s keep it that way this time,” Sacrada said. “Less bodies to get in the way of my shots when the time comes.”
“Good point.”
“Also, I’d prefer to have less flesh to look at, especially when it comes to you.”
“Eat me,” Threed said, glaring at Sacrada.
“As much as that might turn on our boy here,” Sacrada shot back with a nod my way, “sorry, not into you that way.”
Navani cleared her throat. “We don’t have time for this.” She jammed her hand down my pants, pulled out my cock, and took it in both hands as it grew to its full length. “Now we’re talking.”
The other two had gone silent at the sight of this, and in spite of Sacrada’s talk, she was watching with intensity. Threed joined in, pulling off the rest of her clothes and then mine before moving in to take me in her mouth as Navani stripped. Heavy breathing came from Sacrada’s direction, and I glanced over to invite her to join, but she caught my gaze and quickly turned away.
Navani kissed my chest, watching as Threed stroked me while licking my tip, and then Navani joined her, so that the two were taking turns with my balls and cock. We lowered ourselves to the floor and I almost forgot Sacrada was even there as I maneuvered myself into position to go down on Navani while finger banging the hell out of Threed, both of them still doing their magic on me.