Paragons 3

by Gideon Mills

  She entered the shower and took the soap and lathered up her body. I couldn’t take my eyes off her. “You okay?”

  Fleur was not a weak woman by any stretch of the imagination, but right now she appeared vulnerable to me. “I’m fine.”

  “Fleur.”

  She looked up at me. The water running over the two of us. The soap washing off her body. Her pale skin shining in the water. And her eyes so passionate and yet so scared.

  “I wanted to hurt him,” she said. “To kill him, but then I didn’t.”

  “I know.” It had to be hard to be face-to-face with her father. The man that raised her, but turned on her. He was one of the worst fathers around, but that didn’t change anything for the innermost part of Fleur.

  “Why?”

  “He’s your dad,” I said. “No matter how much of a monster he is, he’s still your dad. He might not be the best person, but he’s your blood. It’s okay to hesitate. To not want to kill him.”

  “He’s done so much wrong in the world.”

  It was true that many of the bad things that had happened since I arrived could be tied to both him and my mother.

  “We will capture him,” I said. “Make him pay, and in time you might be able to help him see the error of his ways.”

  “I hope so.”

  “The video will be the start,” I said. “We can do it all.”

  She smiled up at me and then rested her head on my chest. I hugged her. Her large breasts pressed against me and caused me to get hard.

  Fleur giggled. “Is that all you think about?”

  “Not all,” I said. “But a lot.”

  She knelt down in the shower and took my growing penis into her mouth. Her tongue worked magic on my cock. The intensity of the blowjob caused me to come much sooner than I wanted to. Thankfully, I could do that more than once.

  Exiting the shower, I took her to my bed and laid her down. I didn’t care that we were both dripping wet. I caressed her body and kissed her from her feet to her lips. Then back down.

  Every inch of her body was mine, and I wanted to touch it. Feel it under my hands, under my lips.

  My cock was hard and ready for her.

  “Fuck me,” Fleur moaned.

  She didn’t have to ask me twice. I slid up her body and entered her moist pussy. My penis slid in and filled up her pussy as we made love.

  My throbbing cock thrust deeper and deeper into her. Filling her with me. As we made love Fleur moaned my name over and over.

  I lost track of the times we came.

  43

  A Call from Mako

  A short time later, after another shower, I changed my clothes and went out to the main area of the building. Fleur had beat me back there and was already with Lola.

  “About time,” Lola said. “I thought the two of you were going to make me do this all alone.”

  “I would never,” I said.

  “Haha,” Fleur said. “You are the better one at this stuff, but I try to help.”

  “You two,” Lola said. “I hope you had fun and saved some for me.”

  “Always.” There was no doubt that I could again, and for her. She was just a dazzling at Fleur. Just in a different way, with her glasses, and hot for teacher look.

  Lola had made progress on the huge pile of stuff we’d brought back, mostly by separating all the disks into a pile. This was going to take a long time.

  The three of us went to work and made several piles. CDs in one. VHS in another, and one for the weapons. One for the paperwork.

  I had no idea what most of this was.

  An hour into it, the base phone rang, and Lola jumped up. “Mako,” she said.

  “Cover this up,” Fleur said.

  In the corner were several tarps, and I used them to cover the piles. Most of it would be off the camera that was used for the calls, but better safe than sorry.

  Lola answered the call. “Mako.”

  “I see the team is there,” Mako answered. “I’m sorry for the delay.”

  The last time we had talked he had a mole to deal with, and I hoped he’d fixed it.

  “Did you figure it out?” I asked.

  The two looked at me with displeasure. Sometimes my lack of beating around the bush annoyed them. But I saw no point in wasting anyone’s time. We had a lot to do and figure out.

  Sure, we had more people on our side, and the latest news was saying the government was now split and might be taking back the laws. That was great news.

  “I found the person,” Mako said.

  “And?”

  Again, both glared at me. I shrugged, not caring at the moment. What I wanted to know was if he found out and fixed it. Then he could help us deal with Fenrir.

  “My personal assistant,” Mako said. “She leaked our meeting to Fenrir. Trust me when I say she is no longer an issue.”

  “Good,” I said.

  Now he could help us hide from Fenrir and maybe defeat him. Right now, Fenrir was ahead in the technology game. That had to be fixed.

  “When can we meet?” Lola asked. She was licking her chops to get ahold of the stuff that Mako promised last time.

  “Tomorrow,” Mako said. “But I’ll come to you with the tech. We only have enough for your team.”

  That was fine and all we needed.

  “Perfect,” Fleur said.

  We set up a time and place to meet. Lola was a little disappointed about not going to the Epps building again.

  That evening, near the time that Central Park closed for the night, we stood in a place where we’d been once before. One of our several meetings with people, but this time it was dark. The air was crisp this late at night, and not many people around. Almost all of the people had already left the park, as it was nearly one in the morning.

  Mako arrived right on time, and with him was one other person. Who carried a briefcase that was handcuffed to his right arm. I had never actually seen that done in person and found it almost comical. That would stop someone like me or many of the other Paragons from taking it. It might, big might, stop a man in Fenrir’s employ. Though I highly doubted that, since they would just kill the man and take it.

  “Mako,” I said.

  Fleur was next to me, and so was Lola. I wished that we had more people. In the brief time that Athena and Felicity were with us, I had grown accustomed to having more people. Without them, I felt empty.

  “Ares,” he said. “White Angel, Guardian.”

  “You have the masking devices?”

  He nodded. “I do,” he said. “We have four of them; in this case are three.”

  “Who’s the fourth for?” I asked.

  The man twisted on his feet. “For the reason that I’m working for you. My daughter.”

  Lola narrowed her eyes next to me. I was probably the only person who could see her clearly. Any of us clearly. This part of the park wasn’t lit up very well.

  “I found no mention of children,” Lola said.

  Mako chuckled. “Then my team has done its job.”

  “She’s a Paragon?” Lola asked.

  “She is. Not a powerful one like Ares, or White Angel. The lowest level one can be."

  That made her very vulnerable to Fenrir and the humans that were out attacking any Paragons they saw. There would be a good chance she’d end up in the prisons that Fenrir had been building across the country, or dead.

  I had wondered why he wanted to help us, and now I understood. As much as it was about equality, it was personal for him, just like it was for us.

  “Where is your daughter?” I asked. “In the city?”

  “Not now. She had been at the academy, but I pulled her out.”

  “That might have been the safest place for her,” Fleur said. “No one knows where that is, that hasn’t attended.”

  “I know,” Mako said. “But if Fenrir did find it . . .”

  “Couldn’t your brother tell him?” I asked.

  “No,” Fleur said. “He didn’t
actually go. He failed the test to get in. Mako’s daughter must be smart and driven to get in.”

  It surprised me that Fleur’s brother hadn’t made the cut. He had that ‘I’m an overachiever and can do anything’ look.

  “You forgot to mention that your brother was beyond obsessed with Harvard and didn’t really try.”

  Now that made a lot of sense.

  44

  The Video

  For once, a clandestine meeting went well for us. I had been beginning to wonder if that was ever going to happen. Technically, it wasn’t the first one. Our adventure out to see the influencer and Stan went well.

  It just felt like whenever we met with a person that was actively trying to help us, we ended up in an ambush.

  This time we had what we needed, and were making progress.

  “Tomorrow,” Lola said. “Or today, however you want to look at it.”

  We had just gotten back, and it was late. Even I wasn’t used to being up this late. In the movies, and comics, many of the heroes patrolled at night, but that hadn’t been what our team had done.

  Lola continued. “The Senate is going to vote. Our plan with the social media is working. I found the one video that Stan mentioned as well. We can post that online, and email Fenrir tomorrow as well.”

  “When did you find it?” Fleur asked.

  “Just before we left.”

  “Put it up,” Fleur said. “I want to see this.”

  I was sure that we all did since this was Fleur’s grandmother. A person that helped shape Fenrir, and in a way Fleur.

  Lola went over to her workstation, and a few minutes later, a video was playing on the screen that we used most for TV and the like.

  At first it was nothing but snow, then a woman came into focus. She was a spitting image of Fleur. The same red hair, and angular face with narrow lips. Her green eyes shimmered. The eyes were alike too. She was the woman that Fleur inherited her beauty from.

  “She looks just like you,” Lola said.

  Fleur nodded. “She does. I’ve seen her pictures before. My brother used to tease me about being so much like her.”

  “Both of you are strong, powerful, and beautiful,” I said.

  Fleur smiled at me. “Thank you.”

  “Fabian,” her grandmother said. “I know you are mad. Hate what I’ve become. Hate how the world has changed. I have no regrets. This is me. This is what you and I dreamed of. What we knew would happen. The next step is here, and I’m proud to be part of it.”

  “Even if you are going to die?” a familiar voice asked. Stan was the man behind the camera, and it was nice to hear him speak.

  “My death,” she said. “Is no one's fault but my own. I was trying to understand this. Testing on myself. No regrets. I’m a scientist, and I wanted to understand. Paragons, as we are calling them, are pure. Simple and human. That much I’ve learned.”

  “What about your son?”

  “I will miss dear Fenrir and the chance to see his children, but I know that he will be a great man and help usher in a period of love and peace with Paragons and humans.”

  I couldn’t take my eyes off Fleur. The rest of the video was in one ear and out the other, but Fleur watched intently. Tears streaked down her face.

  “She is a strong and smart lady,” Lola said once the video was over.

  “Post it to the world,” Fleur said. “And to my father. It might not help, but then again, it might. Even if it sways the Senate and the people.”

  Any help it could give us was needed.

  The three of us went to bed that night completely drained, but hopeful of the future.

  45

  A New Hope

  The next day was a flurry of activity. Lola released the video as soon as we woke up, and it was all over the news. The media had no choice but to run with it.

  There was no doubt that the people made it loud and clear that they too wanted peace between Paragons and humans.

  Throughout the country the people spoke about wanting the heroes back. That they felt safer with them around and needed them. It was amazing, and if the Senate voted to keep Fenrir in power, they would have riots across the country.

  “We are winning,” Lola said.

  I knew that was the case, but it didn’t feel like it. On the surface it did, but deep down I still had some doubts. “I’m going to go for a walk,” I said.

  “You sure that is smart?” Fleur asked.

  “I’m not sure if that device that Mako gave us will work on me, or if they can even track me,” I said. “But I’ll use it.”

  “Okay.” Yet, Fleur didn’t appear happy with it.

  As much as I was happy about this, I needed to see it in person. See the people happy about this. Get out and view it first-hand. That was what I was used to. It was nice to see the news programs shifting their point of view, and the internet. I was a soldier first and foremost. That meant I needed to see the intel. Be on the front lines and fighting.

  Dressing in a t-shirt with yet another character on it, this time a kid with an arrow tattoo on his head, I left the hideout and went to the city. I jogged fast and got a safe distance away before I slowed for the people to see me. I was in the heart of the city in Manhattan. Not that far from the first time we ran into Elric, and he tried to scare us from looking into him and his gang.

  The city was filled with people, and many of them didn’t pay attention to me at all. They were all lost in their lives and moving about with no concern at all. That much hadn’t really changed since I arrived, and I knew that it might never.

  While that was the majority of the people, when I reached Times Square, I saw people carrying signs and shouting. It was all in favor of Paragons.

  “Stop Fenrir!” one shouted.

  Another held a sign that read, “We need our heroes.”

  It was all in support. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. The news hadn’t been wrong, and it made me smile. Humans really were a tough race. Maybe even more so than the Gods. They could adapt and evolve, which was something the Gods just seemed incapable of. Even as I tried to be different, the blood lust in me was hard to fight. More than once I nearly gave in and killed people. I just couldn’t, even if they deserved it.

  “Oh my God,” a person said. “It’s fucking Ares.”

  I turned to see at least a dozen of the pro-Paragon supporters behind me. As I faced them, they all cheered.

  “Ares! Ares!”

  This wasn’t the first time I’ve been cheered and worshipped like this. Yet, it was a first since the big anti-Paragon mess had been going on. It felt different and earned. I loved it.

  More and more joined them. Soon it was a large mob of people chanting my name and cheering me on. I had no idea what they wanted, if anything, from me. I stood there, waving at them. Smiling like a buffoon and trying to make them happy.

  “Thank you,” I said. “We can bring back the heroes.”

  “Yay!”

  Suddenly, in my earpiece that I was wearing, I heard Lola. “You are on the news.”

  I figured that would happen, and hoped it didn’t draw the attention of the anti-Paragon unit.

  “Should I leave?” I whispered.

  “Yes,” Fleur answered. “No doubt that they will be sending the closest unit to you.”

  “Thank you,” I said to the people. “Keep on letting the world know what you want.”

  I leaped into the air and bounded away. Getting over a building in a single leap. Then I sprinted back through the city. Happy and sure that we would be able to take out Fenrir and have our win.

  Though that was still just one step. Hera was the real problem, and she wouldn’t back down.

  46

  The Vote

  Back at the hideout, we were glued to the TV. All of us; even McGarrett and Janet were there watching with us.

  Much of the coverage was the talking heads, no matter what station we turned on. But the Senate was going over all that the President and F
enrir had done.

  It was clear that right now, they felt it was an overreach and had to be fixed.

  As usual, when dealing with politicians, they said a lot of stuff that meant nothing and didn’t need to be spoken. Each one pandering to the others, and pretending that they were the ones with the real power. When it was them working together that actually made power.

  This was one of the many reasons I actively avoided politicians. They wasted time, money, and pretty much everything else. If they would just get to the point, they would have been done much faster.

  “They sure like to hear themselves talk,” Janet said. She had the ever-present glow of a pregnant woman. It made me happy for her and for McGarrett.

  I laughed. “Which ones?”

  “All of them,” she replied. “Even the reporters. It’s like they just love the sound of their voices.”

  “They sure do,” McGarrett said. He leaned over to his wife and kissed her, and placed his hand on her belly. She still wasn’t showing that much. It would take some time for that.

  Seeing them so happy together, and excited for the baby, made me want another one. Though I just wasn’t sure if that was in the cards for me. My kids in the past did great things but awful things too. Being a demigod wasn’t easy, and many had trouble handling it.

  While the main reason for Zeus to stop us from coming to Earth might have been the Paragons, another part of it was our kids. They did a lot of damage over the years. Playing significant roles in all the wars that occurred over the eons.

  They might not have been the ones to start them, but they played a role in them. I won’t even deny it, one of my own kids played a huge role in the American Revolution. As did I for that matter, not that my son knew it.

  No dad of the year award for me. Not that time, since the mother kicked me out and didn’t even let me near the boy. That had made me question if I should have any more, and so far I hadn’t, but I was thinking about it now.