by Wyatt Kane
As she’d done before, Dinah took her place in the middle of the room and gestured at the screen. The alert opened to display lines of code that made no immediate sense to Ty, but which apparently Dinah could read like a book.
She nodded. “Yep,” she said. “It’s another message. Looks like it’s encoded the same way as before. Give me a second. I worked up an algorithm to unpack it, just in case….” The deerkin trailed off as she brought up the program.
Moments later, she let out an exclamation. “Ha! It is the same.” Dinah glanced at Ty, Tempest and Lilith, who looked simultaneously bewildered by what was going on and wildly impressed. “Are you ready?”
She didn’t wait for an answer, but instead gestured one more time. Instantly, the screen filled with images that were shocking in nature.
The Master’s earlier message had been a coherent warning and threat, challenging Ty, Tempest and Dinah to prevent his attack at the Scare Kingdom amusement park.
This time, it was different. This time, it was an expression of rage and hate. Instead of displaying a single image of an intended target, the screens were flooded with scenes of death and destruction. Ruined landscapes, broken buildings, the aftermath of earthquakes and hurricanes were just the beginning. The images flickered and changed to show scenes of death, both animals and human, interspersed with the most gruesome images of disease and decay.
To Ty, it was awful to look at. He wanted to turn away, and would have done so if the screens hadn’t surrounded them. Nor was he the only one. Each of the women wore expressions mirroring how he felt.
They recoiled in disgust and revulsion. Lilith’s expression even included aspects of pain.
Yet the images were just one part of the Master’s message. There was noise as well, a cacophony of harsh, grating sounds, like fingernails on a blackboard, rusty metal being torn, a wailing shriek that may have been human but which just as easily could have been an animal in distress.
All of this was a backdrop to the message itself. The Master’s eerie, metallic voice rang out through the noise like a clarion bell filled with hate. It was louder than any of them expected, and Ty’s first instinct was to cover his ears.
“Volume!” Dinah shouted. “Down to 20 percent!”
At once, the worst of the insanity faded and the Master’s words became clear.
“You think you have beaten me?” the Master said. “That your success at the park means anything at all? That the lab you robbed and the devices you stole will hurt me and my plans? These are no more than splinters, minor inconveniences that mean nothing to me! I have other labs, other sources for making devices. And they are just the beginning! When I am through, there will be people with powers beyond anything you can imagine. There will be gods walking among us, and I will be one of them! And there is nothing you can do to stop it!”
As the Master spoke, the images became increasingly violent, showing scenes of people being tortured and shot. As the villain paused, either to gather his thoughts or summon further bile, the images changed to those of explosions, death on a greater scale. Far beyond what Hollywood might show, Ty knew in his heart that the explosions were real.
“Know this, you who pretend to be heroes,” the Master continued. “I have let you live so far only to see if you can become something greater than what you appear to be. In that, you have been disappointing. You have shown yourselves to be incapable of the vision required to enact real change. You fight to preserve a broken system. And you have interfered with my plans.” The Master’s voice rose to a crescendo. “I will no longer accept this behavior! You will not interfere with my plans again!”
The Master’s last words echoed throughout the room, and the message ended as abruptly as it began.
The screens went blank. Ty felt battered. Like he’d just weathered a storm made of bile and spite. The impact of the Master’s message was visceral and profound, and he could see that the others were equally shaken.
Except Tempest, perhaps, whose response was to match the Master’s anger with her own. She simmered and glared as the others recovered.
Dinah drew a deep breath. “Does he think we took his devices?” she asked.
“So it would seem,” Tempest replied.
“And this message – it’s a declaration of war, is it not?” the deerkin said.
Tempest and Ty both nodded. The message had left Ty’s skull throbbing. It was another irritation to go with the aches of his wounds. “It looks like it,” he said. “Although, wasn’t he already an adversary?”
Dinah looked thoughtful. “He made it sound as if he was holding back.”
“Why would he do that?” Ty asked, worrying anew at the ominous thought.
It was Tempest who answered. “I don’t know, but it’s consistent,” she said with a frown. “He’s been careful to keep us alive, even when he took our devices. Before that, we didn’t know they could be removed.”
“It didn’t stop Bain from killing Zach, though,” Dinah said quietly.
There was a brief silence as they all pondered the question.
Lilith had said little until then, but at that point she spoke up. “Um, maybe I should go,” she said.
Ty glanced at the demon woman and saw her beautiful face creased with worry.
“Not if you don’t want to,” Dinah said. “We’re all in this together.” The way she said it suggested she was already thinking of Lilith as part of the team, as was Ty himself. But that assumption apparently didn’t sit well with Tempest.
“Are we?” the blonde superhero asked, one eyebrow raised.
Dinah favored her with an expression of sadness. “The Master knows about the three of us,” she said. “He also knows that Lilith is no longer under his control. Do you think his message isn’t for her as much as it is for us?”
It was a fair point, but Lilith, at least, hadn’t considered the possibility until Dinah said it out loud. She brought a hand up to cover her mouth in a gesture of surprise.
Yet her resolve remained. “Yes, I must go. I need to check on my father.”
Dinah nodded, accepting the demon woman’s concern. “I understand. Would you like me to walk you out?”
At this, Lilith conjured a smile. “No need,” she said, and teleported away, leaving nothing but a popping sound and a lingering odor of ozone behind.
Ty looked at Tempest and Dinah. “Now what do we do?” he asked. “How do we defend ourselves against the Master?” He was worried. He’d never had anyone declare war on him before.
But Tempest just shrugged. “We’re not in any immediate danger,” she said. “If we were, he wouldn’t have bothered sending this message. And your shield is still active. Not that it matters to Lilith at all.” She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Nor can we bring the fight to him. We don’t know where he is, or even who he is. So, I’m heading to my room. You two can do whatever you like.”
With that, she turned and left the room.
Ty turned to Dinah, who wore a disappointed expression. He wasn’t quite sure that Tempest’s disappearance had anything to do with what they were talking about.
“What was that about?” he asked Dinah.
13: Taking Control
Despite his question, Ty wasn’t naïve. He understood Tempest was upset by Dinah’s flirting with Lilith. He was asking a deeper question than that. He wanted to know the rules of how it all worked.
Had Dinah crossed a line, or was something more going on?
Dinah smiled. “Unless I miss my guess, it looks like our Tempest might be feeling a little insecure.” Ty couldn’t help but stare at her. Tempest, insecure? The thought didn’t compute. But before he could voice his uncertainty, Dinah continued. “Why don’t you go talk to her?” she said. “Spend some time with her. Show her how beautiful she is.”
Ty frowned. “Wouldn’t it be better if you –” he began, but Dinah shook her head.
“I don’t think she would appreciate that,” she said. “And anyway, I w
ant to see if I can find out any more about the Master. Maybe he made a mistake that will let me track him down.”
Ty wasn’t satisfied. “But if it was your flirting with Lilith that upset her –”
“I’ve known her for a long time,” Dinah said. “Tempest is immensely strong, and not just physically. But she’s still human, just like you and me. If I go to her, her walls will be up. But you? She has no defense against you at all.”
Even a couple of weeks ago, Ty would have been astonished to learn that anyone could be defenseless against him. But now, he was becoming comfortable with his new reality.
“I know the feeling,” he said, returning the deerkin’s grin.
Dinah’s cheeks started to flush. She drew a deep breath and let it out, and one hand went to her breast. “My, my,” she said. “You’ve come a long way in such a short time. You’d best get out of here before I change my mind and keep you all to myself.”
Ty grinned even more broadly. Instead of doing as the deerkin asked, he gathered her up and kissed her soundly on the lips. When he let her go, he saw that her eyes were closed.
“Are you sure?” he said.
Her eyes flicked open again and she laughed. She pushed him away. “Of course I’m not sure! But go, Tempest needs you more. And anyway, Gremlin will keep me company.” She quirked an eyebrow. “And if that’s not enough, I can look after myself for one evening. Now go!”
Ty couldn’t help but laugh. Thinking that he was indeed the luckiest person in the world, he left to find Tempest.
◆◆◆
The blonde superhero was in the first place Ty looked. She was in the large, slightly austere, masculine-seeming bedroom that used to belong to her father. Ty poked his head in through the open door and saw her sitting on the bed with an expression that was almost a grimace on her face.
Gently, he knocked on the door frame.
She looked up at the sound. “What do you want?” she asked, her voice flat and unwelcoming.
Tempest Flaire was far stronger than Ty. Without his technology, she was faster, tougher, and infinitely more capable than he was. In an arm-wrestling competition, she would have crushed his hand and broken his arm at the elbow without even trying. Only the villain Bain, as far as Ty knew, could come close to her sheer physical capabilities.
Perhaps, if her strength and speed and combat abilities were all he knew of her, he would have been afraid of her.
But she was far more than that. In the time he’d known her, Ty understood Tempest to be fiercely loyal, as devoted to the memory of her father as she was to her ongoing mission of helping people in need. Nor was it just her father to whom she was attached so deeply. She still grieved for Zach. And Dinah had said Tempest had no defense against Ty.
The stunning blonde was heroic but private, having only recently been truly outed as the superhero she had been for so long. Yet, when Ty asked, she had shown herself in front of Badger, launching into the sky in an unequivocal display of power.
The words had yet to be said, but Ty knew she loved him as much as he did her.
He gave her a smile and stepped into her room without asking. When he’d left Dinah, he’d thought to talk with Tempest. No more than that. To find out from her why Dinah’s flirting had upset her.
Instead, without saying a word, he moved in close and kissed her.
The blonde superhero seemed surprised. But, after a moment, she wrapped her arms around him and held him tight.
There wasn’t any need for words. Somehow, between one moment and the next, Tempest was standing as well, and they quickly shrugged out of their clothes. As he had done many times before, Ty paused to admire Tempest’s perfection. She was beauty personified, from her delicate feet to her shapely hips, over the flatness of her belly and her perfect, peach-tipped breasts. Models in magazines only looked as good once the professional retouchers had finished their job.
If all else had been denied him, Ty would have been happy to simply stare, drinking in her perfection. That this was just the start was akin to a dream he’d never dared imagine coming true.
He wasn’t the only one to take a moment to admire. Tempest seemed to enjoy looking at him just as much as he enjoyed looking at her, with a single caveat.
“Your wounds,” Tempest said, her expression concerned. “Will you be okay?”
In answer, Ty let out a laugh and reached for the blonde superhero again. He picked her up, marveling that such a powerhouse could be housed in so delicate a frame, and threw her down on the bed. The analgesic Dinah had applied was doing its job. Ty knew his injuries were there, but could barely feel them.
It was Tempest’s turn to laugh. Ty landed on top of her and immediately started kissing her neck at the same time as he fondled a breast. It seemed that whatever Tempest felt over Lilith and Dinah, she had put it inside at least for the moment.
“Ooh, Ty!” she said, almost teasing. “It isn’t like you to be so direct!” she said. Ty kissed her on her cheek first her left cheek then her right. Then he paused.
“Is that a problem?” he asked.
Tempest reached out and grabbed him by his hair, kissing him soundly on the mouth. “Mmmmm, no. Not at all. Me likey,” she said, already sounding a little breathless.
It was all the invitation Ty needed. Knowing that there was little he could do that would hurt her, he let out an animal roar and did his level best to make Tempest happy.
Always before, it had been Tempest who took the lead in their lovemaking. She was strong and passionate, and knew what she wanted. And Ty was usually more than happy to let her do so. But this time, it was different. This time, it was Ty who initiated, Ty who held the blonde woman down (even though she could have thrown him off in a heartbeat), it was Ty who let his animal loose.
They made love with wild, unfettered passion, rolling about on the bed as they surrendered to the most basic of natural instincts.
Ty pounded her more roughly than ever before, and Tempest responded by matching his pace and fervor. In far too short a time, they were both gasping and moaning in climax, and Ty learned he’d leveled up in yet another way.
“I’m not done yet,” he growled in her ear. “Turn over.”
Tempest actually giggled. “Yes sir!” she said as she did what he said. Ty entered her once more, and this time it was slower. This time, it took longer to build. This time, their mutual climax lasted twice as long, was twice as satisfying, and left them both breathless.
14: Insecurity
Ty lay on his back next to Tempest on her bed, the sheets tangled around them and their legs still intertwined. He was breathing deeply, as was she, and there was a lingering miasma of sweat and sex in the air.
Ty felt almost deliriously happy. Yet at the same time, he was slightly disappointed that Dinah hadn’t randomly showed up to join them. But perhaps that was for the best. Her presence may have unsettled Tempest and brought the frivolities to a halt.
“Thank you,” Tempest breathed next to him. “I needed that.”
Ty reached for her and pulled her into an embrace. “My pleasure,” he said. He didn’t say anything else even though he wanted to. He was too comfortable, too relaxed, too at peace to want to break the mood. With all the things that had happened over the last few days, he just wanted a moment to enjoy Tempest’s presence without worrying about anything else.
It seemed that Tempest felt the same. She lay in his arms and looked at him, occasionally playing with his hair but otherwise saying and doing nothing at all.
Ty was starting to drift off to sleep when Tempest began talking.
“I don’t know why it upset me so much,” she said quietly.
Instantly, Ty was fully awake once again. “Lilith, you mean?”
The blonde superhero nodded. “Yes. Since we put on these devices, it’s like our need for intimacy has been dialed up to 11. But it’s never been a problem before. I don’t know what it would have been like if it was just me, but with Dinah and me together, it wo
rked out pretty well. We’ve mostly been able to take care of each other. And if someone else caught her eye – Dinah has always been more into women than men – it was always temporary. And she would make sure to invite me as well.” Tempest paused for a moment. “As for me, I’m particular. There haven’t been many who were able to measure up.”
She looked up at Ty, her chin resting on his chest. “Until now, that is,” she said with a grin. “But even with you, even before we knew your alignment, I knew she would find you as attractive as I did. I didn’t think it would be a problem, and it wasn’t.”
Ty was silent for a while. “But Lilith?” he prompted.
Tempest nodded, her expression uncertain. “Yes. Lilith.” For a while, she didn’t say anything more.
“Dinah finds her beautiful,” Ty said delicately.
“Yes. As do you.” Tempest said.
Ty didn’t deny it.
Tempest breathed out a sigh. “And so do I,” she admitted. “It would be hard not to.”
“But you don’t trust her?” Ty asked.
At this, Tempest brow furrowed in uncertainty. “Yes. Or no. Funny thing, I kind of do. Even though the first few times we met, we were trying to kill each other. Or at least put each other out of commission for a while.”
“I trust her,” Ty said. He wasn’t sure it was exactly the right thing to say, but it was the truth. “She only fought us because of the Master.”
Tempest nodded. “I know,” she said.
“Then … why?” Ty asked.
Tempest took a deep breath and rolled onto her back. She wasn’t breaking the intimacy between the two of them, not precisely, but was giving herself the space she needed to speak from the heart.
“It’s because she’s too beautiful. Too perfect.”
Too perfect? Ty didn’t understand. He didn’t say anything, but instead just waited for Tempest to continue.
“I’ve always been the strong one,” she said quietly. “The one who can face any challenge. And I like it that way. I like being capable, knowing that when it comes down to it, there’s no one I can’t face. But Lilith, with her power … I’ve fought her twice, and I don’t know who won.”