Bedeviled Angel

by Annette Miller

  ****

  Misty hurried down to Jack’s room and opened the door quietly, only to find him sitting up and yanking wires and patches off his body. She shook her head.

  “You shouldn’t do that, you know,” she said.

  “I’m sick of lying in bed,” he said, not stopping until the last wire lay on the floor. “Besides, I feel better.”

  Misty folded her arms, giving him a stern look. “You’ve had internal injuries.”

  He stood on wobbly legs. “So, what’s your point?”

  She hurried over to him and slipped his arm around her shoulders while he steadied himself. “My point, Mr. Macho, is that even indestructible cyborgs need to heal. I don’t want you ending up destructible because you’re too stubborn to listen.”

  He took a few steps. “This junk I’m carrying around is older, experimental systems. They need to be kept active or they seize.”

  She sighed dramatically. “I suppose since you have rapid healing, you’ll be all right.” She helped him walk around the room a couple of times. “A couple of days ago, you were throwing up blood and now you’re walking.”

  He winked. “I’m full of surprises.”

  She let her gaze roam over his body. “I know. I love your surprises.”

  He held her tighter, not wanting to let her go. “Maybe later, I’ll give you another one.” He straightened up. “Right now, though, I need a shower and pants.”

  Misty ran her hand over his chest. “How about a sponge bath and I’ll consider the pants?”

  He lightly traced an X over her heart, smiling when she shivered. “Promise?”

  “Anything you want to hear,” she whispered.

  He smiled. “Right now, I think I need a practical shower.”

  She elbowed his ribs. “Killjoy.”

  Thirty minutes later, Jack came out, rubbing his hair and wearing a pair of Cap’s sweat pants. Misty watched him pull his hair back and decided watching him was better than anything on TV.

  “Stopwatch wants you back in the medical ward until she checks you out,” Misty said. “She just wants to make sure there’re no complications.”

  Jack nodded. “Tonight, I want to be with you.”

  “You will,” Misty said.

  They opened the door to Jack’s room, and Rena was stretched out on the bed. “Greetings, fellow heroes,” she said.

  “Must you always make yourself at home on my furniture?” Jack asked.

  Rena swung her legs over the side of the bed and stood. “Technically, this really isn’t your bed, so I’m allowed.”

  Misty rolled her eyes. “Rena, don’t aggravate the man.”

  The red-head shrugged. “I’m so unloved.” She walked over to the couple and tossed a small package at Jack. “Here. I got what you wanted and I don’t even get a thank you.”

  She was almost out the door when Jack grabbed her and kissed her. “Thanks.” He turned to Misty. “Surprising the resident telepath? Priceless.”

  Misty burst out laughing. Rena’s face said it all.

  Rena punched Jack on the arm. “You’re welcome. Just remember what I said earlier. Paybacks are a bitch.”

  They watched Rena leave, and Jack couldn’t wait to see Misty’s expression when she learned what he asked Rena to pick up.

  He led her over to his bed and they sat. Jack took a deep breath.

  He turned to Misty, surprised to see his hands shaking a little. Nerves? No, it had to be from moving around. He took another deep breath and opened the box.

  “Misty, I know I’ve already asked you, but will you marry me?”

  Misty looked at the ring in the small black box and Jack held his breath waiting. He thought it fit her temperament and personality better than the traditional sort of ring. This was the shape of a flower with diamonds for petals and emeralds for leaves, with a blue star sapphire in the center.

  She gazed up at Jack, tears in her eyes. “I’ll say it a million times if you like,” she whispered. “I’ll marry you wherever and whenever you want.”

  She threw her arms around his neck, kissing him with a slow simmering passion that steadily rose. She sighed when his arms pulled her closer, and they fell back on the bed. Jack pulled Misty on top of him, groaning softly when she straddled him. She leaned forward, her breasts gently brushing his chest, and he slid his hands up to caress her skin under her shirt.

  “I’ve missed the feel of you too much recently,” he whispered.

  She ran her finger down his cheek. “I missed you, too. We have right now, you know. I think people will leave us alone for a few minutes.”

  Jack smiled at her. “Are you sure? It could be embarrassing.”

  She pressed herself closer to him, smiling when she felt his immediate reaction. “Let’s get embarrassed.”

  She eased his pants down his legs then stood, marveling at the sight of him. She ran a hand across his thigh, just stopping from the heart of him. She moved her hand up across his stomach, deliberately ignoring the part throbbing for her touch.

  “You’re going to drive me crazy,” he gasped as she pressed light kisses across his midsection.

  Misty looked up at him. “I know.”

  She moved away and slowly peeled off her clothes, giving him a coy smile as he watched her, and then she held her hand out and went willingly when he tugged her down next to him.

  “My turn,” he whispered before claiming her right breast with his mouth. As his hand moved closer to the part of her his touch missed so much, he nudged her thighs apart, and she opened them, giving him all the access he wanted.

  She dug her fingers into his hair, and he skimmed over her sensitive center before rubbing her gently. Her breath came out in short gasps. And her hands moved to his shoulders, tightly clinging to him. Then he covered her mouth with his, capturing her cry as her passion took her flying.

  He knelt between her legs, smiling as his gaze roamed over her. Her body still quivered, and he touched her one more time, smiling as she melted into his touch.

  “I’ve missed touching you,” he murmured. He made himself slowly enter her, savoring the feel of her wrapped around him. “And I’ve really missed feeling you around me.”

  Misty grinned at him. “You’ll never be without me again. You know that, right?”

  He filled her completely and kissed her. “I know.”

  ****

  Stopwatch checked his natural eye and nodded, making a notation on his medical chart. She ran a scanner over his cybernetic parts and pronounced no damage. She looked at his vital signs and frowned.

  “Your heart rate’s up, and so is your temperature and blood pressure. Any problems?”

  Jack winked at Misty. “I feel fine.”

  Stopwatch turned and looked at Misty standing off to the side. “Are your vitals up, too?”

  Misty just smiled and looked around the room.

  “If you can do what I think you’ve just done, I feel comfortable letting you move to Misty’s room.” She pointed at him with the pencil. “Don’t overdo it for a few days.”

  Jack winked. “You got it, doc.”

  Stopwatch just smiled and shook her head. “We’ve got minors here. Just be discreet.”

  Jack gave her a hurt look. “I’m the very soul of discretion.”

  Misty choked out a laugh, trying to maintain a respectful silence. Finally unable to contain it, she just gave in. “Yeah, right, discretion.”

  Jack frowned at Misty when Stopwatch walked over to her. “That means you too, Miss Angel.”

  Misty opened her eyes wide. “You mean I can’t jump him in the hallway?”

  Stopwatch chuckled. “Get out of my medical ward. You’re both taking up too much space.”

  Misty led Jack down to her room and shut the door behind them. “Okay. We made it here without corrupting any of the kids. What now?”

  Jack pulled her into his arms. “Let’s see how healed I really am.”

  “We just did,” she murmured. “Are you sure
you’re up to it?”

  He pulled her tightly against him, and she felt how much he was up to it. She nibbled his jaw as her hands worked their way inside the waistband of his pants. She smiled as she felt his muscles tense under her hands.

  “I think we can handle another session.”

  They stripped out of their clothes, and Misty made Jack lay down on her bed. “Stopwatch said for you not to overdo it.” She straddled him, slowly easing herself down. “This time, I’ll do all the work.”

  ****

  Jack held her close, wishing everything was behind them and he wouldn’t have to leave her. Rena’s voice kept coming back to him, telling him to stop waiting and do something.

  “I want us to get married as soon as possible,” he said, pulling her tighter to him.

  Misty sat up and gazed at him. “Why? You know something I don’t?”

  He traced her jaw. “No. I just want everything to be done before we go in to break the Council.”

  “A small wedding will upset my friends,” she said, closing her eyes to revel in his touch.

  “We’ll have a big one when we win,” he said. “For now, I just want to legalize everything.”

  He let his hand drift down to the valley between her breasts and then over them. He smiled when her body immediately responded to his touch. He let it go lower and watched her face.

  “We’ll win,” she whispered. “Because now you owe me.”

  His hands roamed her body. “How about if I pay you back some of it right about now?” he asked.

  Her arms went around his neck, and she pulled him closer until their lips were a breath apart. “Deal,” she said before closing the tiny gap that separated them.

  Chapter Thirty

  Jack took Misty’s hand while Cap led them to the workout room, where a priest stood talking to other members of the Challengers. The priest appeared to be in his mid-thirties, and his light brown hair was disheveled. Dust covered his clothes, and he had gauze wrapped around his left hand. A five o’clock shadow darkened his cheeks, but his green eyes were bright and kind.

  “I contacted a local priest whose parish isn’t far from here,” Cap said. “He’s going to perform your ceremony.”

  Jack looked suspiciously at the captain. “Does he know who we are?”

  “He has many ties to the paranormal community. He can keep our secret safe.”

  Jack glanced at Misty then back at the priest. “He’s the first one I’ve seen who needs a shave.”

  Cap grinned. “He’s not a typical man of the cloth. He and his friend just finished banishing some low level demons and he hasn’t had a chance to get cleaned up. He came as soon as I called him.”

  Misty stood beside Jack, Rena took her place to Misty’s left, and Cap stood to Jack’s right. The rest of the Challengers’ team stood witnessing while the priest performed the brief ceremony.

  As Misty kissed her new husband, she thought of the future. Would they be able to have the large wedding they talked about? Or would her fears be realized? Would he be locked away from her forever? She held him a little tighter, smiling slightly when he squeezed her before stepping back. She gazed at his face, not used to seeing him without the eye-patch and not looking like an angry storm was about to be unleashed.

  After completing the ceremony, Cap walked the priest to the door, and Rena turned to Misty. “So Jack’s going to go through this again, except on a larger scale, when this is over?”

  Misty turned to her. “Will you stop reading my thoughts?”

  Rena shook her head. “Not until I’m sure he won’t screw this up a second time.”

  “He won’t.” Misty turned to see her new husband walk to the control panel and program in a workout session. She blushed as she thought about their recent “workouts.” She was ready for another one right then.

  “Oh, please, stop,” Rena said. “I do not need to know any of this.”

  Misty grinned. “Then stop peeking.”

  “Turn down the libido or I may not have any choice except to jump him myself,” Rena said. “Remember, I’ve got a power glitch. And I can appreciate the man now.”

  Misty just smiled and walked away, leaving Rena to follow her. The two Angels turned at the door and watched Jack start a workout routine. Misty had appreciated him from the first day they’d met.

  ****

  The next day, Jack rolled his shoulders as he faced off with Cap and several other members of the Challengers. He glanced behind him, noting the spot where the strongman of the Challengers’ team stood. The girl who had brought him his breakfast when he was still laid up stood behind Cap and to his left. A buzzer sounded and Cap feinted to the right. Jack followed him, not falling for the diversionary tactic.

  “That’s the oldest trick in the book, Cap,” Jack said, throwing up his arm to block the punch coming at him. He dropped and took out the hero with a leg sweep, rolling out of the grasp of the big guy. He came up near the girl, barely ducking as she fired a sparkling blast of violet energy.

  The Challengers strongman charged up behind him, grabbing him in a bone-crushing hug as he pinned Jack’s arms to his sides while lifting him off the floor. Instead of struggling to free himself, he fired a small missile from his gauntlet into the big man’s foot. “It’s a good thing you’re damn near indestructible. Otherwise, I’d have had to do something a lot more painful,” Jack said.

  The large man dropped him, and Cap’s shield clipped his breastplate to bounce up and glance off his forehead. “Give up, my friend,” Cap called.

  Jack grabbed the shield, giving the captain a wicked grin as he wiped at the blood starting to run down his cheek. He tapped his head where the shield cut him open. “Metal skull, Cap. Not going down.”

  Jack threw the shield, knowing Cap would duck and counted on the girl’s inexperience not to avoid being hit. Cap dove at Jack, taking out his legs. Jack rolled out of it, simultaneously pulling his sonic rifle. A quick check to make sure it was on low power, and he fired, stunning Cap, effectively taking him out of the fight.

  He turned, hearing the lumbering man charge him from behind and fired his flash pistol, shutting down the attack. Jack jumped at him, hitting him with a head butt, knocking him over.

  The buzzer sounded again as Captain Starblast shook off the effects of the sonic pulse to look up into a rifle, ending in Jack’s grinning face.

  “I think I’m ready now, Cap,” Jack said, offering his old friend a hand up. He watched as the Challengers members got to their feet.

  Cap nodded. “You didn’t even break a sweat. We can go in any time now.”

  “Mike will be happy to hear that,” Jack said. “He’s anxious to get this whole thing wrapped up.”

  “Jack,” Cap said quietly, holding his hand out. “It’s good to have you back.”

  He stared at Captain Starblast before taking the hero’s hand in a firm grip. “It’s nice to be working with you again. I guess you can stop looking over your shoulder.”

  Cap grinned. “Thanks.” He nodded at the control room. “I think someone was watching you.”

  Jack turned and saw Misty standing there. He waved to her, smiling as she waved back.

  ****

  The next afternoon, Misty looked up as Frailer entered the briefing room. “I need to ask you something before the others get here.”

  Frailer began laying folders in front of the chairs that would soon be occupied. “Ask away. I’ll try to answer anything I can.”

  She stopped, not wanting to ask the question, but needing to know. “What’s going to happen to him when this is over?”

  The commander turned to her. “You’re talking about a complicated case. Let’s say we get the original evidence back and everything goes as planned. I know I can clear Jack of the original charges.”

  He glanced at her. “After that, it’s a crap shoot. It depends on what the evidence shows, and what can be proven. He’s committed some serious crimes, even if it was for the greater good.”
<
br />   Misty sank down in a chair, her legs refusing to hold her up any longer. “You’re still going to help him, right?”

  Frailer smiled and nodded. “Of course. I’ve got a plan in place that I’m discussing with people more powerful than I am. Let’s just take it one day at a time.”

  She sat back and folded her arms, trying to work off an internal chill. Mike seemed confident that everything would work out fine, but would it? She’d feel better if he would just tell her what he had in mind. Things had a way of going in unexpected directions in the hero business, and with this whole ugly situation, it just might take that left turn at Albuquerque.

  Jack walked in the room with Cap leading in his team. Misty’s heart leapt at the sight on him, and she refused to allow despair to rule whatever time they had together. She smiled as he took his place next to her

  “We can go whenever you want,” Jack said.

  “Excellent!” Mike said breaking out in a broad smile. “This time, we’ll have the proper ending to this situation.”

  “I hope you’re right,” Jack murmured. “If we blow it, we’ll never ferret them out.”

  Rena walked in and looked at the assembled heroes. “Let’s see. We have the ULTRA commander, the team leader of the Challengers, and the infamous Jack McClennan. Talk about too many chiefs.” She grinned. “So who’s running this little shindig?”

  They all looked at Jack. “I guess it’s me for right now.”

  “I don’t see Frank and Amy. Where’d they run off to?”

  Jack glanced at her. “They’re on special assignments for me. I’ll fill them in when they get back.” He turned to Mike. “I’m still in contact with my old team. If you want them, I can get them.”

  Mike nodded. “If the Grave Diggers squad knew this was going down and they weren’t in on it, they’d kill me. Bring them on board.”

  Jack smiled. Mike appeared to know his team as well as he did. “I’ll get the word out.”

  “Now, on to the matter at hand.” Mike turned on the projector and showed the floor plans. He pointed to the fifth floor. “This is where the stairs ended, correct?” The heroes nodded. “Then if there’s more to this area, there must a concealed entrance somewhere. Jack, any ideas?”