by Wyatt Kane
“It’s okay,” he said, turning his head as far as he could toward her. “We’re still alive. We’re safe.”
“It is not okay!” Tempest shot back, her voice right in Ty’s ear. “We walked into a trap, and you could have been killed!”
The way she said the last sounded almost like a sob, and Ty knew she was right. He could have been killed, very easily. His shield hadn’t been able to protect him. But maybe he could tweak it somehow so it dispersed heat....
He was already starting to think of possible adjustments he could make, at least partly to block out the burning in his shoulder and leg, when the device on his wrist pinged an alert.
It was Dinah. Ty gritted his teeth against the ongoing pain and answered.
“Ty, Tempest,” the deerkin said, her voice and expression a picture of worry. “I caught fragments of chatter. What happened? Are you alright?”
“Do we look alright to you?” Tempest said in Ty’s ear, her fury clear in every syllable.
“I got injured,” Ty said, doing his best not to let how much he hurt show in his voice.
“What? Did something get through your shield?” Dinah asked, her concern growing into wide-eyed alarm.
“Yeah,” Ty admitted. “And it hurt. But I’m okay.”
Ty could see Dinah had a million questions, but before she could ask, Tempest spoke again. “Look, just get the med bay ready by the time we get back, okay?”
Dinah nodded. “Will do. Get here as soon as you can,” she said, and the hologram winked out.
◆◆◆
Tempest put on a burst of speed and didn’t slow down again until the penthouse that she and Dinah called home came into view. Perched on top of an abandoned building, the mansion looked like it had been somehow plucked from a simpler, more dignified time, to create an oasis of serenity in the middle of the seething metropolis that was the city of New Lincoln.
Only the faint blue glow of the shield protecting it broke the old-world illusion. After Bain raided the place to kidnap Dinah, Ty had updated its security, making it as safe as his inventions would allow.
Like she normally did, Tempest touched down on the bridge overlooking the koi pond. Ty hit the remote in his pocket and the shield flickered off, then Tempest helped him to the massive, glass doors and inside. Once there, he reactivated the shield, promising himself again that he would automate the process someday.
Dinah was waiting for them in the entryway. Even though Ty had seen her only a couple of hours earlier, the sight of her was enough to make him forget his pain for a moment. In any beauty pageant that ever existed, only Tempest could match her, although they were both very different. Only if modifications had been disallowed would anyone else have had a chance. As a deerkin, Dinah had the legs, antlers, and tail of a deer, and a delicate, beautiful skin-mottling to match.
Ty had seen such splice jobs all his life, but seldom done to Dinah’s level of perfection. She was exquisite.
She was also looking at him with undisguised anxiety, her dark eyes heavy with concern. “How bad is it?” she asked, moving with unconscious grace to Ty’s other side and wrapping a warm arm around him.
Tempest could have carried Ty to the med bay all by herself, but didn’t object to Dinah’s assistance. “I’d say second, more likely third-degree burns. Is the med bot—”
“Ready and waiting,” Dinah assured her. “What about you? Are you hurt?”
Tempest tried for a smile. “You know me. I’m always okay.”
Dinah tactfully didn’t say anything else as she and Tempest helped Ty further into the mansion.
Even though he had effectively been living with the women for several days by then, he was yet to explore the mansion in its entirety. When Dinah had been abducted, he’d helped Tempest search, and had investigated more when he’d installed his shield. But the mansion was like a labyrinth, and there were still many nooks and corners he’d never seen.
The med bay was tucked in behind the kitchen, at the end of a short corridor Ty had never noticed before. Judging by the extensive shelving built into the walls, it may have once been a pantry. Now shelves that might have housed vegetables and spices were lined with a wide assortment of bandages, ointments and creams. There was a large monitor taking up most of one wall and a couple of elegant dining chairs that looked out of place.
But it was the plain, rectangular surgery bed covered by a blindingly white sheet that dominated the center of the room. That, and a small robot suspended above that reminded Ty of the fabricator in the Architect’s workshop.
The robot was as white and shiny as only modern plastic could be, with a square head and a squat body. The ‘eyes’ looked like camera lenses and its hands would have made Edward Scissorhands proud, with ten needle point fingers that were decidedly surgical – and a little scary.
Dinah noticed Ty looking at it. “Hippocrates bot, integrated with a medical database. Top of the line,” she said. Then she gave a wry smile. “We call him Gregory. He’s a house med bot. Now stand still.”
Ty did as she asked and tried not to wince.
Without another word, Dinah and Tempest systematically stripped him of all his clothes and tech. Once upon a time, being undressed by two gorgeous women would have been a dream come true. Right then, all he cared about was the pain.
When his shirt came off, Dinah murmured under her breath, and Tempest started to curse again. Same when they took off his pants and could see the damage done to his leg. But it was when Dinah tried to pull the adhesive projector disc from his shoulder blade that he gritted his teeth.
“Gently,” he managed, aware that sweat was beading on his forehead.
Tempest tried to help, but Dinah stopped her. “His skin’s too damaged. And look, the disc is melted into his flesh. We’ll get Gregory to do it. Ty, can you get up on the bed?”
Awkwardly, Ty did so, lying on his front on the cool sheet with his head to one side.
“Gregory, let’s start with a diagnosis,” the deerkin said.
The way he was lying meant he couldn’t see the med bot spark into life. Nor could he see it maneuver about on the retractable arm that connected it to the surgical bed. But he could hear its servos whirr as it moved about, and felt the first, feather-light touch of its needle-fingers starting to probe.
“Scan complete,” it said after only a moment, its voice surprisingly deep and melodious. “Diagnosis: extensive third-degree burns over the right scapula and back right calf,” the robot declared. “Assorted partially-healed bruising covering approximately seventeen percent of patient. Foreign body at scapula injury.”
“Treatment?” Dinah asked.
“Advised surgical treatment: remove foreign body. Non-surgical: apply analgesic, clean and disinfect burned areas, antiseptic cream, Dura-Dermis to aid healing, bandages, then bed rest.”
Ty listened to the med bot’s words as patiently as possible, but really, all he wanted was for it to begin. Especially that ‘analgesic’ part. Fortunately, Dinah was of a similar mind.
“Commence treatment,” she said.
Almost at once, Ty heard a hissing noise as Gregory sprayed first the burn on Ty’s leg, then the one on his shoulder with something that at felt downright icy, but which quickly faded into a pleasant coolness. Moments later, the pain from Ty’s burns faded into nothing.
7: Restoring Health
Ty let out a sigh of purest relief. In his previous life, he’d burnt himself a few times with a careless soldering iron or hot stove. But that was nothing compared to the raging agony in his leg and shoulder. To suddenly be almost entirely free of that pain was akin to bliss, and Ty’s whole body relaxed.
“Analgesic applied. Commencing foreign object removal,” said Gregory.
“Nice and gentle,” Dinah said.
“Understood,” the robot replied, and Ty learned that the analgesic somehow managed to take the pain away without making his burns entirely numb. He felt the delicate brush of thin steel on his skin in the dam
aged area. Then the needles carefully slid around the edge of the disc and his skin suddenly felt cool air as the disc came off.
“Foreign object removal protocol complete,” Gregory declared. “Recommend disposal of removed foreign object.”
“Let’s not be hasty,” Dinah said, holding out a hand to the machine. “I’ll take that, thank you.” The robot handed it over.
“Cleaning affected areas,” Gregory said. “Request antiseptic hand towel.”
Dinah took her cue. Ty was facing her as he lay on the bed, and saw the deerkin gather not just the hand towel from the shelves, but also various creams and a roll of bandages off the shelves. She placed each item on a stainless-steel surgical tray attached to the Gregory’s extendable arm.
At the same time, Tempest started pacing back and forth on Ty’s other side. He couldn’t see her, but sensed her anger with every step she took.
The med bot took the towel and gently dabbed it against Ty’s back. Once again, Ty heard a hissing noise and felt something on his skin. This time, it felt slightly warm.
“So what kind of weird chemicals did I just get sprayed on me this time?” he asked, trying not to worry about Tempest’s anger.
“A couple of exotic substances you may have heard of,” Dinah replied. “Purified water and antiseptic soap.”
Despite himself, Ty let out a laugh, and the med bot moved to work on his leg.
Then Tempest’s anger boiled over. “I ought to fly over there right now and rip Rubio apart,” she growled. Ty turned to look at her, and thought she was no more than three seconds away from punching a hole in the nearest wall.
He also thought he understood the source of her rage. “This isn’t your fault, Tempest,” he said, hoping to cool her back down.
“I know it isn’t. That’s why I want to kill the man whose fault it is.” The glare in the blonde superhero’s eyes made Ty very glad he wasn’t Rubio Vecoli.
“If you’re going to be that mad at somebody, be mad at me,” Dinah said quietly. “Information Control, remember? It’s my skill. And yet I couldn’t spot a textbook ambush when it was right in front of me. If I’d done my job, none of this would have happened.” There was more than a hint of regret and disappointment in her voice.
Tempest stopped pacing and looked at Dinah with a torn expression. There was a lot of truth in what the deerkin had said. Yet Tempest’s anger was far from satiated.
A wave of coolness washed over Ty’s shoulder as the med bot applied something soothing.
“How could you have known it was an ambush when you couldn’t see inside the warehouse?” he asked, then continued without waiting for her to reply. “Look at it this way. Maybe we didn’t win today, but we’re still here. There will be other days.”
“They could have killed you, Ty!” Tempest yelled back, her voice filled with anguish.
The med bot seemed to pause in its ministrations at Tempest’s outburst, and Ty finally understood what this was really about.
Zach Kennedy, known as Bolt. The third member of Tempest and Dinah’s team and previous wearer of Ty’s device. From Ty’s perspective, everything good that had come into his life over the last few days could be traced back to Zach’s death at Bain’s hands. He even wore the man’s clothes! Or at least, those few items of Zach’s collection that didn’t include furs, sparkles, or pink.
But for Tempest and Dinah, the man’s death was still a raw and open wound. A telekinetic superhero, Zach had been part of their lives since the start. Of course they grieved for him.
Yet it was more than that as well. Ty had grown very close to Tempest and Dinah. He loved them, although he had yet to admit it out loud. And he had ample reason to believe they loved him back.
They didn’t want to lose him as they’d lost Zach.
Ty smiled. “They could have, but they didn’t,” he said gently. “Thanks to you, I’m still alive. You saved me, Tempest. I’m still here. Lost a little HP, but maybe gained a few experience points in its place. I’ll be fine.”
He could see Tempest was doing her best to hold back tears and was moved. The blonde superhero was the toughest, strongest person he’d ever met, a near-perfect warrior woman who wouldn’t look out of place on Thor’s arm. He’d seen her cry only once before, when Dinah had been taken from them, and even then, her tears may have been an expression of anger more than anything else.
So for her to be so close to crying now reinforced how she felt about him. How she worried about losing him.
Yet even then, she didn’t give into her emotions. As Gregory continued ministering to Ty’s wounds, the blonde superhero cleared her throat.
“You know, Zach’s head was full of quotes from famous people,” she said slowly. “There was one he loved to say all the time, from Oscar Wilde. ‘Experience is the name we give to our mistakes.’” She even managed to smile as she said it.
“I remember how you hated that quote,” Dinah said, her voice gentle and warm.
“Yeah.” She shrugged. “I guess everything changes.”
Both women were silent for a while as Tempest dried her eyes, leaving Ty to listen to the hum of Gregory as the bot continued its ministrations. Finally, it finished what it was doing. The med bot moved over to a bucket in the corner and dropped the towel into it.
“The burn injuries are clean and disinfected,” the robot said. “Proceeding with Dura-Dermis application and bandaging.”
“No thank you, Gregory,” Dinah answered. “Tempest and I can handle that. Prognosis?”
Immediately, the med bot backed away. “All deceased skin cells have been removed from the affected areas, and there is no sign of infection. With the assistance of Dura-Dermis, recovery time estimated to be between forty-eight and seventy-two hours.”
Ty was surprised at the med bot’s words. He’d heard about Dura-Dermis and knew it could accelerate healing. He just hadn’t realized it would be as effective as that.
Tempest’s reaction was different. She was calmer now, her anger and grief largely having run their course. She gave Ty a rueful look. “If you had a healing factor like mine, it wouldn’t even take that long.”
As soon as she said it, Ty started to wonder what he would have to do to replicate her healing factor. At the same time, he remembered all the hits she had tanked during the fight. “Are you sure you’re okay? You took a lot of blaster fire—” he started.
Tempest’s grin grew broader, and Ty knew she was back to her usual, indomitable self. Without saying a word, she unceremoniously peeled off her skintight suit and stepped out of it.
Ty forgot the med bot, his injuries, everything. It didn’t matter how many times he saw Tempest like this, it took his breath away. She was flawless. The type of perfection Ty had previously thought only existed in the minds of artists paid to airbrush magazine photos.
For long moments, Ty just stared, growing ever more acutely aware of his own nakedness. The merest glimpse of Tempest’s body was enough to raise the interest of a mummified corpse, and when she raised her arms and did a slow pirouette, he suddenly found the way he was lying had become uncomfortable.
Tempest had shown herself off this way before, and up until then it had always resulted in sex. Images of the rock in the lake came to Ty’s mind, and a single glance at her smirk told him Tempest was thinking the same thing. The first time they made love, the blonde superhero had pirouetted in exactly the same way.
Yet her words were at odds with her actions. “See? No damage. I’m perfectly fine,” she said.
Ty could see she was telling the truth. There wasn’t a mark on her. Not a single bruise or scrape to indicate she’d been in a fight. She was durable beyond anything Ty could imagine, although his imagination seemed to be distracted just then.
“Are you done teasing our Ty yet?” Dinah asked, and Ty could hear the grin in her voice. “Because you’ve made him all tense, and that can’t be good for his injuries. Not to mention, if you don’t put your clothes back on, you might end up d
istracting me as well.”
Tempest gave a throaty laugh, and Ty knew she was okay again.
8: Friend Request
Tempest did as Dinah suggested and climbed back into her clothes. Even so, to Ty at least, the air retained a certain sexual tension, and Dinah uttered a sigh that reflected his own disappointment as she started work on his shoulder.
To help take his mind off the image of Tempest’s naked body, Ty turned toward the deerkin. “So, you’ve treated injuries before?”
“I used to have to do this with Zach all the time,” the deerkin explained, still a little sadly. “Not just burns, but cuts and scrapes as well. Broken bones, sometimes. He didn’t have Tempest’s durability, but used his telekinesis as a shield. Sometimes he would overestimate the hits he could take. After the third time, I had this med bay set up.”
“Were you a doctor? Or a nurse?”
Dinah shook her head. “Nothing so grand. Information Control, remember? I just took a basic trauma course and have kept up-to-date ever since.”
As she spoke, she applied a semi-liquid, skin-colored goop to his shoulder. It was cool to the touch, and felt like it was moving under its own volition. The sensation was strange but not entirely unpleasant.
“Dura-Dermis?” he asked.
“Yes. It’s a neutral substrate that bonds with your existing flesh, and it’s designed to stimulate healing. Over time, it becomes part of you. In a week, you’d need a geneticist to tell it isn’t your own skin. A few days later and even that wouldn’t work.” She smiled. “You won’t even have a scar. It’s pretty good stuff.”
Ty had to agree. He’d heard of Dura-Dermis before, but only in passing. It was new and very expensive, and he was extremely grateful that Dinah would use it on him. He wondered how she’d got hold of it, but before he could ask, Tempest moved closer.
“Okay if I bandage his shoulder now?” the blonde woman said.
“Just let me make sure the Dura-Dermis is covering everything it should,” Dinah said. “Then he’s all yours.”