The autumn wind was cool and brisk, but not oppressively so, as it streaked through the city. It was still early enough in the fall that some people were able to wear their spring or summer wardrobe instead of the traditional, heavier fall garments. I had chosen a contrast of the two, having electing to wear black jeans, a midnight blue shirt with the sleeves rolled up, and my long, black trench coat of supple leather. I suppose the pair of Beretta 96G Elite IA with twenty-five round extended magazine in twin shoulder holsters an the Beretta 9000S Type F I kept in a small of the back holster could also be thought of as accessories, but I was never one to keep up on fashion trends. I’d always had that problem, ever since I was a kid. Once I had found a look I liked, the current one coincidently, I stuck with it and fuck whoever had a problem with it. I’d said as much to people who had razed me on my clothing before and that usually ended up with a few broken bones, a lot of blood, and the need to have a cigarette. Do I need to actually say I didn’t have any of the aforementioned bones broken? No, I didn’t think so.
Of course, even if I did break a bone, and believe me I have broken many of them in my time, it would be healed in about an hour and back to full strength. “How?” You may ask. It’s simple really: I’m immortal. No I’m not one of those goddamn Highlander wannabes that run around swinging at each other with swords and trying to lop each other’s head off. In fact, I’m the only one of my kind on the whole planet, and believe me I’ve looked for others. There is no mysterious “Game”, no “Holy Ground”, no “There can be only one” bullshit, just me, living my “life”, and never dying. Of course, I’ve never head my head chopped off my neck or been burned to ashes, so I’m not sure if that would kill me, but I’m not about to test the theory. I just sort of take it as gospel that if I lost my head or there was nothing left of me but ashes I would be as dead as any mortal.
Yeah, there have been a million books and movies and the like about people who are immortal, and almost every one of them moans and whines about how lonely it can be and how they see loved ones grow old and die while they live on. Folks, it’s a crock of shit. By this rationale, every person on the planet should be feeling that way since everyone has loved ones that grow old and die before their eyes. It’s a natural part of the natural order of things. I just managed to give it the finger, that’s all. Yes, I’ve seen loved ones grow old and die while I remained eternally twenty-five years old, and yes I was sad when they were gone, but I moved the fuck on. All feeling sorry for yourself does is waste time, even though I had all the time I wanted. Oh, and no, I’m not going to tell you just how old I am. Suffice to say I know for a fact that dragons did exist back in the medieval age and they are some seriously tough bastards to kill, though there are a few of them that are some good guys and gals.
Oh, does that shock you? Yes, strange and magical shit does exist in this world and it is around you all the time without even realizing it. That bum you see begging for money could very well be a mage down on his luck. The hottie strutting her stuff for the whole world in the dance clubs, good chance she’s a vampire. Just about everything you’ve read in books exists in some form or another. This includes those ever popular, sometimes nauseatingly so, superheroes and heroines. And just like people, they can either be your friend or a real motherfucker.
I suppose this brings us full circle back to me and why I was standing on the top of the Sears Tower in the heart of downtown Chicago. Chicago has been my stomping grounds for the last fifty years, but I’ve been all over. A long while back, when I saw a rogue group of supernaturals wipe out an entire village of people just because it was amusing, I decided I didn’t really like those kinds of folks and took it upon myself to take care of them. I probably would have had a problem if Arthur hadn’t been nice enough to lend me Excalibur for the job, but it kick started me in my current career. I suppose most people would call me a superhero or vigilante, but I just think of myself as a guy just trying to make the world a decent place for people to live. Speaking of which, mental note: hop the next flight to Iraq and take care of tweedle-dee and tweedle-dum (A.K.A Saddam and Osama).
But enough of the colorful background of my life and the world we live in. Let me get back to telling you about a brief flash in my life where I encountered someone I truly loved. I had come down from the Sears Tower via a grapple line shot into one of the smaller buildings nearby using one of Batman’s little toys I had picked up in my last encounter with him. The word on the street was a small vampire gang operating out of the Back of the Yards Saloon on McDowell and working with some woman that was affectionately known as the Palos Park Madame. Apparently, according to my sources inside Chicago PD and my street snitches, these people were having girls do “modeling shows” in the bar which covered for a drug and prostitution ring. This in and of itself wasn’t so unusual with Chicago, vampire influence excluded of course, but the real problem lay in the fact that these assholes sometimes brought in unsuspecting girls who were just trying to get into the genuine modeling business. Imagine their surprise when they find out what was really happening. Normally, this wasn’t my kind of deal and for the most part I would leave it to the cops to handle, but I had a real problem with people taking advantage of innocent girls like this. The vampire factor sort of gave me the excuse I was looking for to step in and do something about it.
I moved along the streets just like every other person and didn’t attract very much attention as I maneuvered through the city to my set destination. I could have driven, but downtown traffic is a royal pain in the ass and I was anticipating quite a bit of collateral damage and didn’t want to have to put my wheels in the shop, again. Repairing a 2002 Trans Am with every option in the book and a few that aren’t can get real expensive real fast. Besides, it gave me a good opportunity to scout out the target before I moved in.
The Back of the Yards Saloon was a pretty non-descript hole in the wall on McDowell, I suppose that was why it did so well with it’s particular business, no one would think twice about looking at it and no respectable person would cater to it. The first problem I ran into was how to get in when I knew they would want to check me for weapons. The small skylight I saw on the roof solved the issue and I hopped roofs from the building next door. Crouching down at the skylight, I looked down into the bar. It’s interior matched the exterior, pretty low class atmosphere including the clientele. The one saving grace was the various women that circulated throughout the club. Every single one of them was a knockout and every single one was wearing lingerie of some form or another. Modeling my ass. A few sat on the odd lap and giggled with the owner of said lap for a while before either moving on or taking the man into the back room. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out what was happening back there. The perfect collection of low-class sewer scum waiting for the storm to wash it all clean.
All but one. She was young, probably barely out of her teens and that was being generous. Brunette hair hung just passed her shoulders and framed an innocent face with the biggest green eyes I’d seen in a while. Apparently the Madame had decided virginal white would suit her best since she was decked out in a lacy bra and panty set with white stockings and garters, all of which were covered, and I use that term very loosely, by a skimpy little negligee. She was looking around nervously as she tried to mince sexily through the bar on her four inch white heels and obviously quite unsure about her presence there. As I watched, one man took hold of her wrist and pulled her into his lap before saying something he obviously found funny but damn near terrified the girl. In a heartbeat I knew it was one of the vampires I was hunting. No, I don’t have some mystical ability to know when someone is a vampire, but after dealing with them for several hundred years you sort of get a knack for sensing these things.
When he stood up to take her into the back room and she fought to free herself from his grip, I knew it was time to make my move. Standing, I drew the Beretta’s from their holsters and punched my foot through the glass of the skylight and turned it into shards. Even before the people in the bar began to look up, I was dropping through the opening and opening fire, sending streams of bullets into several of the men as the laser sights in the grips of the pistols whipped around the smoky atmosphere like swirling red sabers. Oh yeah, did I mention my 96G Elite IA’s had been modified for burst-fire? The men flew back as the .40 Black Talon slugs ripped into them and tore apart their flesh. By the time I hit the ground in a crouch, five men lay on their backs with blood and gore pouring from their chests. Almost immediately, the men leapt to their feet, their wounds already beginning to stitch closed. Vampires can be such a pain in the ass with that healing of theirs. For a moment, there was absolute silence in the bar before one of the women screamed. After that, there was nothing but chaos. People were running everywhere to try and escape, creating a mass panic. The only ones that didn’t lose their cool were me and the five vampires. They all bared their fangs as their eyes bled to solid red spheres before the attack came. But I had been ready for that and rolled out of the way before they ever reached me. Coming up on one knee, I sent a double burst into one of them that ripped through the back of his throat. With nothing to support his head, it lolled and fell to the ground as the last scraps of flesh gave way with a wet tear. He didn’t get back up. Vampires may claim to be immortal, but do enough damage to them and they bleed out and die. I elected to take the faster route with this one and just take his head off. Even the immortal can’t live without a head attached to their neck.
The other four spun and raced at me from all sides even as the fifth one fell lifeless to the ground. Only countless hours of training and real life experience saved me from some serious pain as two sets of sharpened claws that used to be fingernails came at me from two different sides. With the speed at which these vamps move, any normal human, even the most elite of soldiers, would be dead in a heartbeat. Falling back, I whipped out my guns to the sides and emptied them right into the two bloodsucker’s faces. It might not be enough to kill them but they would need a few moments to recover. I solved the problem of the other two by snapping out my feet and crushing their balls with my boot heels. Immortal, yes…immune to a swift kick in the balls, fuck no. the two dropped like rocks as they clutched at their healing groins, I leapt to my feet and dropped the clips from the empty pistols. Tucking one under my arm, I slapped in a fresh clip before repeating the process with the other. By that time, the four suckers had recovered and were preparing to make their next attack. As I snapped the slides forward on the Elites, I started to spin towards one that I planned to give a little facial surgery, street style.
Well that never happened as I saw a red and blue shape flash down through the skylight and barrel right into my target, driving him through the wall. For a moment, the four of us were dumbfounded, but that lasted only a split second for me. Like I said, I’d seen a lot of really weird shit and to let it affect me to the point of motionlessness could prove deadly. So while the three vamps were looking at the hole in the wall that used to be their friend I spin and snapped a hook kick across the face of one before emptying half of the clips into the faces of the other two. The three bodies hit the ground at the same time but only one got back up. Considering the other two had nothing but red pulp left for heads I didn’t blame them for wanting to get a little permanent shuteye. I was getting ready to turn and finish the last vamp off when I heard a voice from behind me.
“Surrender yourselves now!”
With the vamp now gawking at whoever was behind me, I shifted to the side so I could see who this new player was while keeping the vamp in my field of vision. I’ll tell you, what I saw, nearly stopped me dead in my tracks.
The only word that seemed to fit for her was Goddess. At five foot-six, she was only three inches shorter than me, but her presence seemed to make her ten feet tall. Hair of spun gold tumbled halfway down her back and framed the most innocent face you had ever seen with blue eyes that were so expressive they were like reading a book of the person’s soul and lips that just begged to be kissed. Somehow, and I decided at that moment I would find out how, she had managed to pour a body consisting of nothing but some of the sexiest damn curves I had ever known into the tightest of tunics and miniskirt. Of course, the moment I noticed that, I also noted the fact that the calf-high heeled boots were red, her long, shapely legs led up to the skirt and matching cape of red, the tunic was blue, and a big-assed S in red and yellow was pushed out and slightly distorted on her chest by her ample breasts.
Supergirl. I had heard of her but never had the pleasure of making her acquaintance. By every account I had heard, she was Superman’s cousin and possessed every power he did at damn near his level. I had never really dealt with him either. I tended to try and stay away from the superheroes that could turn a mountain into a bunch of rubble since I really only had the strength and speed of just a bit more than a regular human. Which, of course, begged the question: what the fuck was she doing in Chicago dealing with low-level trash like this? I didn’t have long to ponder this query as she looked right at me in that ever-famous “power stance” with her hands on her hips and ordered, “Put down your weapons, now!”
I couldn’t help but smile. “Yeah, that’ll happen.” I saw her eyes glow red for a second before I detected the pistols warming up in my hands, with a muttered curse, I pivoted so that stream of heat took me in the shoulder instead of the guns. Yeah, I could take out the vamp without the guns, but dammitt I liked my Elite’s! I saw Supergirl’s eyes widen and her heat vision cut off as I hissed at the two small charred holes in my shoulder.
“Are you insane!” she cried, “I could have burned you alive!”
I shrugged with a slight wince before one of the guns snapped up. A little red dot formed on the tip of her cute little button nose before the Elite barked. I knew the rounds wouldn’t even scratch her, but I was counting on her reaction as she stumbled back and rubbed at her eyes, temporarily blinded by the friction and burst of light the gunpowder and impact created. Without missing a beat, I spun and shoved the barrels of both guns under the vampire’s chin and pulled the triggers, giving the ceiling a new paint job of red and gray. As the body slumped to the floor, I turned back to Supergirl and began to reload when I saw her fist rushing in to meet my face. The impact of the punch threw me into the wall, making me lose my grip on the guns as I slumped to the ground. Somewhere in the back of my head I was glad she hadn’t used her full strength because that may very well have taken my head off. Even still, it was more than enough to have me shaking my head to clear my vision and ward off the concussion that was telling me it was time for bed.
When I could finally see straight, Supergirl was a few steps away from me and back in that “power stance”, glaring down at me. As I slowly struggled to my feet, trying to get my muscles to remember how to work, she stated simply, “You are under arrest.” This blonde bimbo had busted in on my party, nearly melted my guns, almost cut off my arm with that heat vision, knocked me damn near into next week, and now she was going to try and put me in jail. Enough was enough.
“Fuck you bitch!” I snarled as I drove a fist right up under her chin. Well damned if I wasn’t surprised if she went flying and crashed through one of the tables that was still in one piece. Rolling to her hands and knees, she shook her head to clear it like I had done moments before as I looked at my fist like an idiot. Then, it hit me. In my research, I had discovered that Superman and Supergirl were both vulnerable to magick. It affected them as if they had no powers at all. Judging by the effect my punch had on her, I had to assume that because of what I was, I was almost literally a being of magick. Translation, I touch her in any way and she would react as any normal human would. This had potential.
Walking across the nearly destroyed bar, I placed my foot on her back between her shoulder blades and pressed her down on her belly before crouching down beside her head. She moaned , squirming a bit under my foot as she looked up at me with those big blue eyes. “Look kid,” I said to her as though we were having a normal conversation, “I know you’re just trying to protect the world and everything, but I really hate it when someone butts in on my territory. Especially when I’m trying to do a job here. So what you’re going to do is go back Metropolis or Gotham or L.A or wherever it is your stomping grounds are these days and let me take care of my city. Okay?”
She flipped her hair from her eyes with a toss of her head and glared up at me. “No, you are a murderer. You killed those men right in front of me!”
I sighed, finally seeing what her issue was. How could she have all these super powers and still be so naïve? Standing up, I helped her to her feet before going and collecting my guns and holstering them. “Murder? How can you murder someone who is already dead?” She took a step towards me like she was going to start up her attack again when I stabbed a finger towards her. “No! Don’t even think about trying that bullshit again when you have no fucking clue what you just stepped in.”
“What are you talking about?” She looked at me, completely dumbfounded.
Reaching down, I grabbed the one decapitated head that was still fully intact by the hair and held it up in front of her eyes. I swear, she turned about three shades of green and thought she would yak everywhere when those dead eyes looked into hers. “Look at the teeth.” I said simply.
I guess her curiosity got the better of her gag reflex and she looked closely at the two fanged canines of the head before blinking at me in surprise. “Is this-“
“Vampire,” I finished for her, “They were running a prostitution and drug ring out of this place with a woman that lives in Palos Park. Unfortunately, she got away since you decided to stick your nose in here before I could get to her. Now I’m going to have to spend another five months tracking down her next operation, thanks a lot.”
Supergirl stepped back, looking appropriately embarrassed. “I…I had no idea,” she stammered.
With a sigh, I took a cigarette from the pack in the breast pocket of my shirt and lit up. “I know you didn’t kid, but you do know that not every good guy wears a funny costume, right?” She nodded meekly and looked away, and I swear I thought she was about to start crying like a little kid. Taking a drag from the cigarette, I blew out a cloud of smoke before walking over to her and putting a hand on her shoulder. “Listen, you’ve got good intentions, but let me handle my town. I appreciate some help now and then but not at the expense of washing the job in the process.”
“I’m sorry,” she whispered.
“It’s all right, no real big harm done. But I need to get going.” I heard the sounds of police sirens approaching quickly and didn’t really want to stick around and answer a whole bunch of questions that would probably end up with me in a 5x8 cell.
Apparently Supergirl had heard them too, probably long before I had. “But, aren’t you going to wait for the authorities?”
I smirked and headed for the back door. “I like my guns darlin, and cops tend to frown upon citizens who carry around automatic weapons. See you around.” And before she could say another word, I ducked out the back and took off down the alley. Yeah, there was a chance Supergirl might come after me, but I doubted it. Do-gooders like her usually stuck around for the police and I was going to bet after being whipped like a red-headed stepchild she wouldn’t mention me being there and doing most of the damage. Even if she did, it would be a pretty easy thing to just switch to a new identity for a while, I had about twenty of them stacked up and hidden away. Still, even as I let the night suck me up in its embrace, I couldn’t help but hope a little that she would come after me. Not to fight, I just didn’t like beating up on the good guys. For some reason, when I thought of that girl, I pictured candlelight, wine, and her in a low-cut evening gown.
God I must be getting soft in my old age.
The nice thing about Chicago is how most of it has been ripped up and rebuilt over the last one hundred years. People often forget about whole sections that have just been built over. Case in point with my current home. A long while back just after Prohibition, I had found that a couple of bootleggers had created a whole living area complete with distillery in the sewers beneath Holy Name Cathedral. Apparently these boozehounds had to abandon it when Federal officers started to crack down and just forgot about it. After dumping the distillery, I found that the space they had was pretty much equal to the size of a warehouse apartment. It suited my needs perfectly and after living there for about fifty years I had the place outfitted perfectly. Phone lines had been routed down into it as well as cable tv and a DSL line for my top of the line Alienware Area 51 Extreme desktop and laptop computers. Along with every other modern convenience, I was pretty well set. So, there I sat on my comfortable sofa, a beer in one hand, and a pair of furry heads in my lap as we watched CSI on my plasma tv. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention the two timber wolves that lived with me. I’d found them on a brief excursion I had in Alaska when their mother had been killed as pups and decided to take them in. contrary to popular belief, wolves are not human hunters and have damn near the same disposition as your typical house dog. The only difference is you can never get them to lose the wild instincts, which is why they don’t make good house pets. The only reason these two, whom I called Fire and Ice, were calm enough to live with me is because I had nursed them nearly from birth and they had bonded with me as a parental figure. Any scientist will tell you that when a wolf establishes a pack mentality with a human they will fiercely protect that human. Same concept here.
So, there I was, enjoying a quiet evening with my pups and the tube when the show flashed off and an emergency news report came onto the screen. “Dammitt!” I snapped, “Just when it’s going good some asshole decides to get crazy with a hunting rifle.” I sighed and got myself set to change the channel to cut off the desk reporter who was talking about some attack downtown when the images changed to show a very familiar person in a fight for her life. I felt my eyes widen as I watched Supergirl desperately trying to stave off attacks from three individuals in black robes with very familiar symbols stitched into them in red. Mages, and members of the Diatote clan if I didn’t miss my guess. These guys got power from pleasure and ecstasy through their magic, which made them a pain in the ass when they hit raves. Sitting forward, I watched as one threw out some kind of glowing streamer that whipped around Supergirl and pinned her arms to her sides just before she was slammed into the roof she was flying over by the mage tugging on the streamer like it was a lasso. Though there was no sound, the zoomed-in filming showed her mouth open in a moan as the three magi converged on her and used more of those streamers to bind her ankles and gag her into silence. Though I couldn’t see her moan anymore, her eyes were so wide that I knew she was screaming in terror under that gag. Even as I was getting to my feet, the three magi lifted their arms and disappeared in a flash of light, leaving nothing but a few wisps of smoke in their wake.
The reporter kept babbling on about the story even as I pulled on my coat and yanked open my weapons vault, grabbing my Elite’s and 9000S.
It took a couple of inquiries and more than one gruesome threat of torture, but I was able to locate where the Diatote clan was operating out of in Chicago. I have to say, it was a pretty ingenious place that they had picked. Good or bad, magick still operated primarily on natural principles, utilizing the earth itself as a power source. If you were going to operate in Chicago, the Botanical Gardens in Navy Pier were as good a place as any. That was where I had tracked the Diatote kids to and that was where I crouched, on the top of the giant bio-dome sphere that dominated the primary building at Navy Pier. Below, in the darkened garden lit only by a central fire and a few torches here and there, I watched as the three magi I had seen on the television carried Supergirl in on a pole. Her back was pressed tightly against it and she couldn’t pull from it. That was largely because her wrists were crossed and tightly bound behind the pole, her booted ankles were lashed together against it, and her thighs, waist, belly, and chest were also firmly tied to the wood as well, all by those magickal streamers. Do I need to remind everyone that Supergirl is powerless against Magick? No, didn’t think so. Chances are, her screaming would have shattered all that lovely glass I was crouched on, but her gag was still firmly in place from her earlier battle. Even still, her wide eyes spoke volumes for how terrified she was as she struggled and squirmed desperately on the pole as she was carted in like a pit on a spit.
When she reached the central fire, a change in the shadows revealed the stone altar beside it that was complete with four sets of chains in gunmetal black. Those by themselves wouldn’t seem special if they didn’t pulse with red, magickal energy. A quick look with my tiny monocular allowed me to read the shapes and symbols carved into the altar. It was an ancient language known only to magi, but it was a language I knew. Based on the archaic text in the stone, the Diatote’s looked like they were going to try to somehow transfer Supergirl’s powers into themselves, thereby leaving her a normal human and turning themselves into a group of super-magi. Not only would this make them damn near unstoppable by magickal and mutagentic heroes alike, but it would mean they could do it to others and expand upon their collection of powers. It was a power play that could very well overturn the balance between light and dark. This was not a good thing.
Sliding down the side of the dome, I quickly picked the lock on the outer door and slipped inside, keeping in the shadows and hiding in the dense foliage of the gardens so I could observe and bide my time before acting. With fifteen magi around, a frontal assault would have been useless. They would be able to pop off several spells before I had finished dropping two of them. So I had to look for my opening and just be patient. The nice thing about being immortal was I had a lot of patience.
There was nothing I could do as Supergirl was carried over to the altar and the pole was slid from behind her, leaving her standing bound and struggling. Two of the magi held her by her shoulders to keep her from falling as a third opened and prepared the shackles on the altar. I had to give these Diatote boys credit, when they unbound Supergirl, they kept one loop of the streamer tied around each wrist and ankle as well as kept a good hold on the streamer itself. This ensured the terrified girl would remain powerless and under their physical control as she was thrown kicking and (gagged) screaming onto the altar. It took three of them to hold her legs down as her boots were removed since even a woman of normal strength can still fight like a wildcat. A few moments of fighting against her flailing limbs and her wrists and ankles were firmly shackled and the streamers removed. That left the super heroine firmly held down on the granite with her wrists shackled over her head. I heard the sound of groaning metal as a crank at the side of the altar was turned and the chains attached to the shackles retracted, tightening her bondage so she was stretched to the limit, the muscles in her arms quivering with the strain and her toes pointing down. I watched her try to struggle but all she could do was make tiny little movements against the chains. She threw her head back and forth, screaming frantically for help through her gag, but all I heard were terrified whimpers come from her. Those startling blue eyes screamed louder than her voice anyway as she sought out some kind of help from anywhere and anyone. The Diatote ignored her struggles as they all circled around her, one central mage stepping closer than the others with a wicked looking Kris knife in his hands, the blade wave looking like a snake on the hunt. One look at the knife and I could tell this wasn’t some store bought pig-sticker. The red glow coming from it meant that it had been crafted from a very rare magickal metal and had been imbued with the magickal energies of every member of this clan. Shit! When the spell was completed, they wouldn’t just leave her mortal, they would leave her very mortally dead!
All at once, the entire clan began a low chant in a language that maybe five people in the world knew, including me. It was a plea to one of the greater demons of legend to grant them their wish and give them the strength of their enemy, a.k.a Supergirl. The spell wasn’t very long and within a minute I saw the knife begin to raise in preparation to pierce into Supergirl’s heart. She looked at the knife and screamed in horror. My time was out and I had to act.
Just as the knife had reached its height of its journey over the mage’s head, my Elite’s came out of their holsters and twin beams of crimson lanced through the smoke-filled air, one painting the mage’s hand where he held the knife and the other vanishing into the shadows of his hood. There was a split second where a few of the magi noticed something amiss before I pulled the triggers. The burst-fire gunshots roared out in the still air like the very demon they were calling upon. A split-second later, a pair of hands and a head vanished into a spray of blood and brain matter and the knife clattered harmless onto the alter beside Supergirl’s outwardly thrust and straining breast. In the next half a second, a cry of alarm went up as all the magi spun towards me. When the body actually hit the ground, I was already on the move, strafing along the outskirts of the small encampment and dumping off rounds as fast as I could as various spells were hurled at me. I was just barely able to dodge a fireball here, an energy blast there, and the tentacles of a rather large vine tree that had suddenly come alive. Unfortunately, because of this, most of my shots went wide and just impacted into the gardens beyond, but a few struck home and either dropped or wounded a few of the magi.
When the slides on the guns locked back and clicked empty, I thumbed the slides forward and holstered them. There was no way I was going to get the chance to reload either of them and still remain standing, much less breathing. Even if the attack didn’t wipe me off the face of the planet, I would still need at least an hour to recover from any injury that would “kill” me, and I didn’t have the luxury of waiting that long. I only had one option left.
Dropping my coat at my feet, I slapped my hands against the intricately drawn tattoos of swords on my upper arms. A heartbeat later, the tattoos vanished and two beams of crimson energy leapt from my hands. To the observer, it looked like I held a pair of lightsabers from Star Wars, only without that metal handle the blades came out of. In reality, the “swords” were solid beams of magickal energy. A long while back, when magick was at its peak strength, I saved a magi from being slain by a pretty nasty demon. As a gesture of his thanks, he gave to me these weapons that would reside as the tattoos on my upper arms until I activated them. The swords would slice through anything, and I mean anything, but they only lasted for about an hour before they had to revert to tattoo form and replenish their magickal energies for a couple of hours. I tried not to use them as much as possible so I wouldn’t rely upon them all the time, but I didn’t have a choice at this point.
As a new barrage of assault spells began, I dove in, slicing through the first pair of magi I came upon. I left them neatly severed in half as I dove out of the way of a blast of magickal energy that ate up the ground I had been at moments before. Pivoting, I threw one of the blades as another mage lifted his hands in preparation for something, probably a spell to turn me into a charred husk. The crimson blade whirled through the air and cleaved right through the mage’s chest before boomeranging back into my waiting hand. As the mage fell into two pieces, I snapped the blades across in a diagonal cut, striking a bolt of energy heading my way and dissipating it before it was able to impact with my chest. Unfortunately, I wasn’t fast enough to avoid the hail of thorns that came screaming from the palms of a Diatote mage. My entire left side felt like it was on fire as I was stitched from calf to chest and thrown to the side with the impact. Damn that hurt! Rolling to my feet, I did a quick body check and saw that there were only three magi left out of the whole clan, and they were at a distance where I wouldn’t be able to get at them with the swords before they all had unleashed something at me. Supergirl was still chained on the altar behind them and she was straining with every bit of strength against the chains while screaming behind the gag. “Shit!” I hissed under my breath.
Before I could come up with some brilliant idea of how to win this fight, all three of them spoke a magickal word and three really big energy spikes shot out of their hands, fast. I knew I wouldn’t be able to dodge all of them and I wouldn’t be able to get them with my swords, so I did the only thing I could. I dropped backwards and slashed out, eliminating two of the spikes just before the third slammed into my chest and drove me hard into the ground, trapping me there. I collapsed one of the swords back into tattoo form as I reached over to try and yank the damn thing out, but my hand went right through it. The magick was attuned to the caster and only he could touch it. Great.
The magi ran over to me as I lay there bleeding rather heavily from my shoulder and trying to get my breath back. One stomped a foot down on the wrist attached to the hand holding the remaining active sword and I heard some bones snap just before I growled in pain. The sword vanished back into tattoo form since my hand could no longer hold it, a safety precaution I had asked for when I first got them. The other two stood over me and pointed a finger at my head, their hands glowing with energy. This was the part where they fired a couple of blasts of energy into me head and vaporized it, ending this lovely tale of mine.
Well, it would have been if I didn’t yank the 9000S from my small of the back holster and drill a bullet into each one’s head before shoving the barrel into the mouth of the third one. As the bodies fell to the ground, I looked into the terrified eyes of the remaining mage and smiled cruelly. “Kids these days, no respect.”
With the magi dead, the energy spike vanished and I was able to get up and walk away from the three bodies, collect my coat, and head over to where Supergirl lay, pleased that I only had a slight limp despite the river of blood coming from my shoulder wound. She watched me approach her with both trepidation and relief in her eyes. I’m sure she was wondering if I would just take over where these bastards left off or help her out of this predicament. Holstering my 9000S, I activated the energy sword in my working hand and slashed through the chains holding her captive just before the blade collapsed back into tattoo form. Damn, I hadn’t realized this had been going on for an hour. The shackles themselves were still locked around her wrists and ankles, which rendered her powerless, but she was able to move freely, and she wasted no time in tearing the gag from her mouth and gasping for breath. “Th-thank you,” she gasped, walking unsteadily over to where her boots where and pulling them on.
“Yeah,” I said breathlessly, “No problem, can you walk?”
She nodded, moving to me and slipping an arm around me to help me walk before we started off. She didn’t ask where we were going, she just trusted me to get us to a safe place. I was glad of that, I didn’t want to waste time and energy in arguing with her about it because I knew I would bleed to death real soon. With my guidance, we made it to one of the secret openings that led to my sewer lair. Me and the Ninja Turtles, good kids if you ask me. When we made it down the ladder into the sewers….okay so I fell the whole distance and ended up on my face in the shallow water, but I was starting to see triple so back off…..we started down the passageway that led to my home. After a few minutes, I knew I wasn’t going to make it so I whispered to Supergirl in a rough voice, “Just go down this path a hundred feet, make a left, and my place is right there.”
Before she could ask me any questions, the darkness swallowed me up and I played my millionth poker game with the Grim Reaper.
I woke up to the sounds of snarling and snapping teeth. When I slowly opened my eyes, I saw Supergirl backed up into a corner of my home with my wolves standing in front of her, hackles up and teeth bared to sink into that lovely flesh of hers. Her eyes were wide open and her hands were forward as though to ward them off, but she and the wolves knew there was noting she could do and she was terrified. Standing up, I brushed myself off and called out, “Fire, Ice, leave the poor girl alone.” The wolves both looked back at me before loping over and tackling me to the ground, bathing me in puppy kisses. I laughed and shoved them both off me, giving the cursory scratch behind the ears before standing up again. “Now you be nice to her, she’s our guest.”
Walking over to where Supergirl sat huddled in the corner, I offered my hand to her. She didn’t move as her eyes flickered between me and the wolves standing behind me, now panting like a couple of happy campers. “Will they…?”
I shook my head. “Nah, they just wanted to make sure you didn’t hurt me while I recovered.”
Very slowly, she took my hand and let me draw her to her feet before leading her over to the couch where she sat down, looking like a frightened school girl. “I checked your pulse before they attacked me, you were dead.” Her voice was a little breathless, like she had just seen someone come back from….okay, I’m not making that dumb reference.
I nodded, going to the refrigerator and taking out a couple bottles of beer, popping the tops and handing her one. “I was, I’m not anymore.” I didn’t see any need to tell her about my immortality and my look kept from asking about it. Collapsing lazily into a stuffed chair, I took a swallow of the beer as she sipped from hers.
“I still don’t have my powers back,” she said quietly.
“I know, I need to contact someone to get the shackles off you, I don’t have the tools to do it. You’ll have to stay here for a couple of days if there’s no objection.”
She shook her head, that blonde mane swirling about her like a silken cloud. “No, no, you saved my life, I trust you.” I nodded and took another swallow of beer before lighting a cigarette. “What is your name?”
“Priest, Ashe Priest.” Amusingly enough, it was my actual name, or at least the very first one I ever had that could be pronounced in words instead of grunts and gestures.
“My name is Kara.”
“Nice to meet you Kara.”
She nodded back to me and then gulped down three quarters of her beer. “What were they going to do to me back there?”
I shrugged and stood, walking over to my desktop and logging onto my email. I needed to let some of my magi contacts know what the Diatote’s had tried today so they could be on the lookout for it elsewhere. “They were going to steal your powers and kill you afterwards.”
I heard her gasp as I typed out the quick message and sent it through the Internet. “You sound as though this is an everyday occurrence.”
I logged off and turned around with a shrug, taking another swallow of beer. I saw Kara had already finished hers off. “Darlin, with as much shit as I’ve seen it’s almost become that way. Want another beer?”
She nodded. “Yes please.” I went to the fridge and got her another beer as she asked. “I suppose I should have listened to you from before.” When I looked over my shoulder with a questioning look she said, “About not getting involved in things I don’t know about. If you hadn’t come along I would have been dead.”
I shrugged again and handed her the open beer. “Probably, but I’m sure one of your super-friends was probably already en route over to help you out. You guys stick together and I’ll bet Batman’s going over the scene right now for clues as to where you are.”
“Then they should be here soon. If Batman can’t locate me my cousin will just use his vision to find this place.”
I smiled and shook my head, draining the rest of my beer and tossing it in the incinerator I had installed. “Unless he can see through lead that is stretched out for two miles, I doubt it. And, I didn’t leave any evidence as to where we were headed. They aren’t going to find this place.”
Kara’s eyes widened. “Then, I’m a prisoner here?” Already she was looking for an escape route.
I laughed and shook my head. “Nah, but I don’t want a bunch of super-powered busybodies exposing my home to the entire world.”
Apparently she didn’t believe me because she dropped her beer and sprinted for the door of my home. Unfortunately, she only had the speed of a human girl and I was a lot faster. Grabbing her by the wrist, I spun her around and pressed her against the wall by her shoulders, pinning her there. “Do you not understand perfect English? I said you aren’t a prisoner here and I am not having my home exposed to everyone.”
She only shook her head and scratched at me with her fingernails, creating a few small lines of blood in my cheek before I threw her to the ground on her belly and yanked her hands behind her back. “Fine, you want to play this game, we can play it. Ice, tape.”
Ice trotted over to a toolbox set into the corner of the room and nudged open the lid with his snout before closing his teeth lightly around a large roll of duct tape. Turning about, he trotted over to me and deposited the tape in my awaiting hand while the other held her delicate wrists imprisoned at the small of her back. I’d trained my wolves well. Tearing the corner off the roll with teeth, I wrapped up her crossed wrists with ten turns of the industrial strength tape, over the magickal bands robbing her of her powers, before switching directions and wrapping several turns up between her bound wrists, thereby ensuring she couldn’t wiggle them free. Just to be safe, I taped her fingers together so she couldn’t pick or tear at the tape either. Yes, I’ve tied up more than one person in my day. Letting go of her wrists, I let her struggle against the binding as I turned and pulled off her boots, leaving her feet in just the magickal shackle bands. Crossing her ankles, I wrapped them up just as I had her wrists, including bringing the tape up between her ankles. Once she was adequately bound, I drew her up on her knees and stood before her, folding my arms and watching her struggle helplessly for a time before she looked up at me with defeated eyes. “You lied,” she whispered in a betrayed voice.
I sighed and rolled my eyes before leaning down so we were eye to eye. “No, I didn’t. The problem is, you just don’t seem to understand what it means to want to keep a place secret. If I let you just run off like that you would have brought the whole goddamn city down on my head.”
Jerking her head back, she looked to the ceiling and screamed, “Help! Someone help me!”
Instantly, I slapped my hand over her mouth. “Will you shut up? I already have a headache and you’re just making it worse.” She only mumbled behind my hand and tried to shake her head free of my grip. With a sigh, I looked around and spied the small rubber ball I sometimes used to play fetch with the wolves sitting on the low table beside me …yes they do play fetch. Snatching it up, I took my hand from her mouth only long enough to stuff the ball into her mouth so it settled behind her teeth. For a second, I could tell by the look in her eyes that she was thinking she was going to be sucking on wolf drool, but I had just washed the thing that morning so it was perfectly clean. Hey, I’m not a total asshole. She screamed again, but I was happy to hear the sound was greatly muffled, though still too loud for my tastes. Using the tape, I layered fives strips over her mouth and lips. When that was done, her screams had been reduced to quiet whimpers. Nodding with satisfaction, I went and put the tape back in the toolbox. When I turned around I couldn’t help but laugh. Fire and Ice were laying down next to Kara and licking her face happily. Apparently, the wolves thought her struggling and rolling around on the floor “Mmmmmpphhh”ing was some sort of game. She only squealed louder when she was set upon with wet tongues lapping at her face.
Strolling back over, I lightly shoved the wolves away, which had then trotting over to their food bowls and feasting upon the large hunks of meat that rested in them. Crouching down next to Kara, I brushed a few locks of her hair aside and looked into her wide blue eyes. “You probably think I’m an asshole now huh? Probably waiting for the traditional: I an’t ever had me a super bitch before.”
She nodded. “Mmmmpphhh! MMmmph!”
“Well I hate to disappoint you, but I’m not going to do that. I didn’t tie you up just to rape you girl, I did it to keep you from doing something stupid and getting either of us hurt. When you finally calm down enough to be rational I’ll see about untying you. In the meantime…” I examined her collar where her cape attached to it. For a minute, I thought maybe the cape was just a part of the tunic, but then I caught sight of the tiny seam that could easily be looked over. I tried to pull it free but it was like the damn thing was welded to the tunic. Leaning over, I looked into Kara’s eyes when I spoke. “I want to take off your cape so if you do freak out and start rolling around you don’t get strangled.” Tears were running down her cheeks by now, but she nodded and the cape just fell off the collar. I blinked for a second since I hadn’t touched it, but then realized what had happened. “It comes off at a mental command, huh?” She nodded before turning her face into her shoulder to weep quietly. Folding up the cape, I set it on the couch before tipping her chin up so I could look into those gorgeous eyes again. I swear I could just gaze into those beauties all day. “Kara, listen to me.” She sniffled and her tears still flowed, but I could tell she was indeed listening. “You are perfectly safe with me, I won’t hurt you in the slightest. Do you believe me?”
At first, I didn’t expect her to. After all, I had just tied her up, gagged her, and fundamentally made her a prisoner. Imagine my surprise when she nodded despite her chest heaving with her muffled sobs. Tenderly, I leaned over and kisses away some of her tears before kissing her forehead. “Would you like to lay down somewhere more comfortable?” She nodded again and I lifted her into my arms, surprised at how light she was. At a guess, I would say she could only have weighed 105, 110 at the very most. I had always been under the impression Kryptonian physiology was much denser than a humans, but apparently that theory was out the window. Holding her close (and she actually cuddled against me), I carried her into the adjoining bedroom and laid her down on the nice big king-sized bed. Brushing back her hair, I plumped a pillow behind her head before telling her, “I need to start looking for my contact to get those shackles off you, are you going to be all right for a couple of hours?” Her eyes widened a bit when I mentioned I would be leaving and she whimpered in fear. “Don’t worry, Fire and Ice will be here and they should be able to keep you company and protect you from anything that comes down here.” Whistling, the two wolves trotted in and promptly hopped onto the bed, laying down on either side of Kara and curling up. Fire actually laid his head on Kara’s belly while Ice comfortingly licked her cheek. I could tell from the way her shoulders shook Kara was giggling at the licking. “I’ll be back soon, okay?” Now that she had her two protectors, she nodded before turning to nuzzle her face in Ice’s scruff. Moving out of the bedroom, I reloaded the Elites before heading topside.
I know what you’re thinking, why didn’t I just untie her since she seemed to have calmed down. Because when I had looked into her eyes, it wasn’t just for simple eye contact. I could tell by the dilation and fluctuation of her pupils that she would still bolt if she had the chance. Better safe than sorry in my book.
It was a book that had saved my ass more than once.
You could easily, and when I first knew about it did, pass the Leather Rose and not even know it was there. The entrance was nothing more than a regular door to what looked like an apartment building with the words The Leather Rose painted onto the window beside it. The inside, however, was a different story. The main floor consisted primarily of a shop. Everything could be found there from hardware to books to videos. Of course, we weren’t talking hardware here in the traditional sense of hammers and nails here. See, the Leather Rose was the premier BDSM shop and club in Chicago. This image was further solidified by the three different floors of the club that had various kinds of bondage and BDSM equipment for use of the patrons. Masters, Mistresses, slaves, submissives, human animals, just about every facet was explored in this place and the employees did everything possible to ensure a safe environment for all concerned. Anyone got out of line and they were thrown into the back alley bruised and bloody. The fact that it was one of maybe three of those kinds of places sort of helped them establish that reputation. Any “alternative lifestyle” enthusiast could find whatever their little sadomasochistic heart desired. Leather bondage cuffs lined an entire table, ball gags dangled from display racks, whips took up an entire damn wall. They even had full blown outfits for sale if you could afford the inflated price tags.
I wasn’t here to shop though. Aside from being a BDSM store and club, the Leather Rose was the stomping ground for the contact I needed to get in touch with to help Kara. As I prowled through the club, my senses were assaulted by flesh at all sides and the screams accompanying the hiss of whips sailing through the air. If this wasn’t a place where consensual pain was being inflicted, I would have burned it to the ground a long time ago. A mild inquiry with the bartender got me pointed in the right direction and I made way for the basement.
The basement itself was pretty mild compared to the rest of the club. Oh sure it still had the required bondage horse or St. Andrews Cross, but otherwise it was a pretty nondescript basement with several comfortable couches. Couches which, currently, were occupied by seven gorgeous women dressed in nothing but lacy little bras and thong panties of varying colors. Some sat on the couch with their legs crossed, some lounged like lazy jungle cats, some knelt on the floor at the feet of the one man present in the room. He was a rather average fellow, but looks can be deceiving. Under that wiry frame was power-packed muscle combined with a dexterity that made him the best in the business. He held the leashes that led to collars on two of the girls knelt at his feet, who were currently binding a third girl’s wrists and ankles with padded leather cuffs. The girl was struggling weakly as her wrists were confined behind her back and her ankles chained together, but the look in her eyes only spoke of lust and rapture at the bondage she was confined in. Raphael Decosta, Chicago’s best known Dominant and thief extraordinaire was having himself a fun-filled, or should that be flesh-filled, night. When he saw me approach, he grinned wide. “Ashe, my old friend, how are you? Come to sample one of my delights?” Old Raphael prided himself on having only the finest slave flesh in all of Chicago.
“Not tonight Raph, I’m here on business.” He seemed a little disappointed, but I honestly didn’t care. “I’ve got a girl who got some magickal shackles locked on her and I need those magic fingers of yours to get them off.”
Raphael just grinned. “Did you get out of hand again Ashe?” The obvious joke didn’t amuse me, simply because I never got out of hand…ever.
“This is pretty serious Raph, the girl was so scared I had to tie her up and gag
her.” Fortunately, Raphael knew not to mess with me too much when I was serious because his own jovial expression faded.
“Do I wish to know whom I will be upsetting by doing this?”
I shrugged, pulling out a cigarette and lighting up. “Only if you’re worried about dead men.”
“That does not encourage me Ashe, even the dead can kill you.”
I couldn’t help but chuckle. “Not with lead replacing their brains. It was a bunch from the Diatote clan.”
“Ah!” Raphael laughed, “Those wonderful fellows, I often see them in here utilizing the facilities. So they were going to harm this little bird?”
I nodded. “Power theft and murder afterwards.”
The thief’s lips thinned. “I greatly disapprove of murder.” I didn’t ask about the power theft issue. “I believe I can assist you my friend, do you wish my services immediately?”
“Absolutely, how much?”
He waved that question away. “After what you did for my dear Kaitlyn, it is only fair I repay you.” Kaitlyn was the red-haired beauty in soft pink lingerie curled up with her head in his lap as content as a kitten. She was his prized pet and got snatched a while back by some white slavers from the Middle East. I got her back and eradicated the kidnappers, nothing fancy. But Raphael was quite thankful for what I had done. “Shall we go?”
I nodded and started for the stairs. Raphael told his pets to mind their manners while he was gone and put Kaitlyn in charge during his absence. The two of us then moved back out into the night.
When we arrived at my home, Fire and Ice greeted us with happy panting, indicating that all was well. If there had been trouble or there was already trouble, the two would excited and ready to go on a hunt. After giving them a scratch behind the ears, I led Raphael to the bedroom, and showed him the “little bird” that needed his help. Well good old Raph stopped right in his tracks and just stared in shock for several minutes at the bound and gagged girl lying on my bed. When he was finally able to find his voice, he stammered out, “Is…is that who I think it is?”
I nodded and walked over to the bound Kara, who had fallen asleep and had curled up against the pillow. Leaning down, I kissed her on the forehead and whispered, “Kara, Kara wake up.” She moaned softly, the sound barely penetrating the gag, and her eyes fluttered open to look at me blearily for several moments before the sleep cleared out of her vision. Blinking a few times, she uttered a soft “Mmmpphh?” of inquiry before looking over to Raphael. Her eyes immediately went wide with fear and she squirmed back against the headboard with a whimper. “Shhhh,” I soothed, “It’s okay, he’s going to try and get the shackles off. Are you calm enough for me to untie you?” She looked up at me and, although I could still tell she was scared, she nodded. I looked into her eyes and confirmed that she was indeed much calmer and would keep from running when she was unbound. Snapping open my automatic knife, I sliced through the tape on her wrists and ankles and pulled the tape free with only a small wince of pain from her. Duct tape hurts coming off no matter how gentle you are. Once her wrists and ankles were free, save for the shackle bands, I peeled the tape from her mouth and plucked out the rubber ball. She gasped a few times before croaking out, “Thank you.”
I smiled and nodded. “I’ll get you a drink of water while Raph works on those shackles.” She nodded and I went to the kitchen as Raphael laid out his lock picking tools. By the time I had returned with the water, Raphael was already working with the lock on the left ankle shackle, his eyes narrowed in concentration as he diligently worked the picks against the tumblers contained within. I had just reached the side of the bed when I heard him hiss and snatch his hands back. “What is it?” I asked with immediate concern. His response was to hold up the picks he had been using and nothing else was needed for explanation. The ends of both picks had been melted like he had shoved them into lava. “What that fuck? How they hell did that happened?”
Raphael sighed and packed his kit up. “The magicks used to create this lock are unlike most other magickal locks. This one is designed so that only one key can open it and will do this,” he held the damaged picks up for a visual aid, like he needed it. “This is well beyond the scope of my abilities.”
Kara sat up them, hugging a pillow to her chest. “And most likely one of those that kidnapped me was the one that had the key,” she said, vocalizing all of our thoughts at the moment.
“Shit!” I snapped, handing Kara the water and looking at Raphael, “I know you’re going to tell me that you know someone who can break through the magick on these.”
Raphael only shrugged. “I am afraid I do not my friend, not with something of this caliber.”
Shaking my head, I sighed and leaned against the wall, lighting a cigarette. “That leaves us with only one recourse.” Both of them looked at me curiously. “The Diatotes put them on her, they can get them off.”
Light exploded all around us as the music pounded in our ears and seemed to make the ground shake. Everywhere you looked there were writhing bodies that seemed like they were trying to make love to the music. It was chaos contained by a thread by a singular point, and that point was the music itself. The rave was one of the biggest of the year and was being held in one of the warehouses down on the far end of Navy Pier. Yes, I caught the “coincidence” about Navy Pier right away. Chances were, the remaining Diatote members had put this little fiesta together to try and utilize the magickal energies given off by ecstasy to do something big. In the back of my mind, I wondered if the other mage clans and sects knew about their plans for a power play and how interested they would be to find out.
Those thoughts were but a whisper drowned out by the roar pressing in from all around us. That, and the scantily clad form clinging tightly against my side holding my arm in a death grip. For probably the fiftieth time tonight, I looked over at Kara to make sure she was all right. She had insisted before that she was, but one look at her and you could tell she was scared, real scared. It didn’t really have to do with the clothes, though she had reddened brightly when we had bought them. We had stopped by an all night clothing store on the way over after I found the rave on a web search and a few inquiries. Her costume was cute and all, but it was lousy for undercover work, so I suggested a change of wardrobe. Since we couldn’t get rid of the bands on her wrists and ankles, I decided to try and expand on a theme. With Raphael’s help, we were able to put together an outfit for Kara that was able to utilize the pre-existing bondage connotation and warp it into a rave style. Her uniform was replaced it with a tight black belly shirt that nearly came to the underside of her breasts while making the magnificent bosom and cleavage almost excessively prominent. The matching tight black miniskirt came to a few inches above the knee but had a split in the side that came up high on her thigh and showed almost the entire shapely leg; shapely legs that ended up capped in four inch black high heels with a dainty strap buckled about the ankle. To complete the outfit, Raphael had selected from his personal stock an inch wide collar of black, glossy leather. In fact, you would probably mistake it for a choker from a distance until you drew close and saw the black ring set into the front. There was no mistaking what it was then. Kara was supremely embarrassed by the outfit, but demurred in the end after some convincing on my part. I may not be up on my personal wardrobe, but I saw what other people wore and this was as close to rave fashion as we could get. Apparently it had worked because no one really gave either of us a second glance. I had gone with my basic black jeans and a very dark green skirt with my trench coat. More than likely people would just think I was an ecstasy dealer, which suited me fine.
Finding anyone from the Diatote clan in this mess would probably be next to impossible, but we were pretty much out of options as to what else to do, so we had to try. Guiding Kara through the club, she gasped when one boy reached over and pinched her behind through her skirt. The boy was sent scurrying with one look from me. “We should find a quiet corner and do some looking around.” I yelled in Kara’s ear over the din. She nodded and we pushed through the crowd to a large, carpeted space along one wall that was unofficially reserved for those taking a break from the dancing, making out, or just getting high. We sat down in a corner and Kara tucked her feet beside her, trying in vain to pull her skirt down when it rode up on her thighs. To alleviate her embarrassment, I tucked the side of my trench coat around her so the long tail would cover her legs completely. To the casual observer, we looked like any other couple snuggling together in-between dances. Fortunately, the music was considerably faded in the resting area so we could talk without needing to yell in each other’s ear.
“Do you see anything?” Kara asked in a nervous voice.
I shook my head and scanned along the interior of the warehouse, trying to pick up anything. It was next to impossible with the varying lights and mass of people all pushing against one another. Then I saw it. It was only a brief flash of black, but I caught the red, stitched symbols as it slipped through a back door. “Got ‘em.” I whispered in her ear and drew us both to stand. “Stay close,” I murmured in her ear as we started back in the fold.
We had just about reached the edge of the dancers when I felt Kara suddenly yanked off my arm. Spinning around, I was already reaching for one of my Elite’s when a fist impacted my face, sending me sliding across the floor. I shook my head and sat up just in time to see two men in black robes holding Kara’s arms and legs as they bundled her out the back door. One of them had his hand clamped over her mouth to keep her screams, which would have been drowned out anyway, from sounding to any partygoers. All in all, it had taken maybe a handful of seconds for them to initiate the attack and get her out of there. Very professional, very aggravating . With Kara out of the picture, that left me with four bodyguard types looking rather anxious to be breaking several of my bones. Slowly getting to my feet, I brushed off my coat and cracked my neck. “You got my coat dirty.”
They only smiled before charging at me. One pulled a knife as he went and stabbed out, aiming for my heart. I pivoted slightly and caught his wrist before it came close, grinding down on the pressure point there that made the hand go limp while keeping my other hand wrapped around his so he still held onto the knife. Driving my free hand into the inside of his elbow, I buckled the joint and used the momentum to slam the blade deep into his chest with his own hand.
I ducked to avoid the fist that sailed towards my head even as the body started to fall. My arm shot up and knocked the striking arm aside as my other fist drove hard into his throat. He stumbled back and tried to get his windpipe to open back up even as I spun and shot out my foot in a hook kick that caught bodyguard three across the face and spun him to the floor. That only left number four, who was yanking a pistol from the small of his back.
The gun had barely cleared the holster before I was on him, one hand locking on the wrist that held the gun while the other had an Elite jammed into the underside of his chin where it met the throat. “Do you want to live?” I asked him simply. He nodded as best he could with a gun barrel keeping him rather still. “Where are the taking her?”
“Next…next warehouse over,” he stammered.
“Thank you.” I drilled a knee right into his balls before bringing the butt of the Elite down on the base of his skull when he keeled over from the knee. He hit the ground like a ton of bricks as I ducked out the back exit.
The Diatote were so confident that no one would know what they were doing that perimeter security was at a minimum, only two armed guards. I took care of them easy enough and dumped them in the lake to be found by Chicago PD in the morning with snapped necks. From there, getting inside was as simple as opening the door. I kept to the shadows as I snaked along the interior perimeter of the warehouse until I came to a large, open area. In that area, I thought I was seeing déjà vu.
A large fire was set in the middle of the floor with an altar identical to the one from the Botanical Gardens was beside the fire with Kara strapped down to it. It looked like new chains had been welded onto the shackle cuffs locked on her wrists and ankles, but I was betting magick had something to do with it. She struggled desperately against the chains and screamed into the large ballgag that had been strapped tightly around her mouth, but the four individuals surrounding her just ignored her as they chanted quietly. The spell was fundamentally the same, only they had put a new spin on it. Instead of using numbers of people, they utilized only four to represent the four elements: Earth, Air, Fire, and Water. A fifth man stepped into the circle from the shadows, holding a Kris knife that looked exactly like the one earlier, with a difference. This Kris knife was probably three times as big in the blade as the one from the gardens. For a second, I didn’t understand why a fifth would be involved until it hit me. In addition to the four elements that make up everything, including magick, there was one other element that completed it: Chaos. Well, that explained the fifth man.
As he stopped at Kara’s head, she looked up at him and screamed again at the sight of the knife, thrashing desperately against the chains. Her cries were ignored as the chanting grew louder and louder until it seemed to fill the air. To couple the words, there was a definite tingle in the air that could only mean a seriously high level of magick was being invoked. These guys wanted to be sure this was done right, and I didn’t have any time left for stealth.
Breaking from the shadows, I raced across the floor and darted right passed one of the magi, leaping just as the knife started its lethal decline towards Kara’s heart. Praying to whatever Gods or Goddesses were listening at that given moment, I reached out with my hand towards the knife as it drew closer to its target. Time seemed to slow down as the blade came closer and closer to my hand while the same applied for Kara’s heart. At that moment, I knew I hadn’t been fast enough and Kara would die.
There was one small detail I hadn’t counted on. It was that very detail that probably spared the beautiful blonde. I surprised the mage, and that made him pause for a breath of a split second. That tiny, miniscule portion of time was just enough for my hand to hit his wrist and divert the blow. When the rest of me followed suit, it further altered the knife’s trajectory so it went back towards Kara’s head and wide towards the edges of the altar. It didn’t clear it, though, instead it struck against Kara’s left wrist, sending a shower of sparks into the air as both me and the mage went down in a rolling heap. I managed a quick jab into the mage’s stomach before rolling to my feet, my Elite’s already leaving their holsters. As I started to rise from my crouch, I noticed two things: one, the magi were all preparing to start hurling combative spells against me and two, Kara’s left wrist was free and the shackle was laying open on the Altar.
It was the knife, the goddamn knife! That was the key to her shackles! I didn’t have much time to congratulate myself for discovering this fact as a blast of magickal energy roared towards me. I dove out of the way, but that was precisely what they wanted me to do. As I rolled across the ground, I felt my coat go up in flames, the heat of the fire searing up my back with surprising alacrity. Shrugging off the coat, I continue to roll just in case my clothing had caught fire as well before coming up to my feet. I made a mental note as I fired off a burst into the mage that had sent the magick blast my way: these guys are smarter than the others. Apparently faster too because the mage was able to dive out of the way and only catch a grazing wound in his leg. Changing tactics, I fired at the one who had roasted my coat, pulling the triggers a second apart of one another. The first burst led the man into a dive to take him away from the rounds, which put him directly in line with the burst from the second gun that ripped apart his chest and out his back. He slumped to the ground even as I fired off a few bursts at the remaining three around the altar, just to get them moving and unable to concentrate to throw the really nasty spells at me. Of course, it didn’t take a lot of conversation to send five arrows of energy streaking at me from the fingertips, which one of the magi did. I hit the ground in a forward roll and came up firing. Well, I came up firing but only managed one burst before both guns clicked empty. One of these days I was going to have to find someone who could give me some kind of ‘clip of unlimited bullets’ or something. Tossing the Elites away, I reached up and slapped my hands against my tattoos. Fortunately, with the loss of my coat, I had easy access to activate the magickal swords which sprung from my hands.
The surprise on the three faces of the magi only gave me the opportunity to move in and attack. I slashed through one and pivoted to skewer a second even as the first fell apart onto the ground. Yanking my sword free, I spun to face the third as he send a nice big fireball at me that would probably easily engulf my entire body. Would have, if I didn’t scissor my blades through it and dissipate the spell before it ever got to me. The mage looked dumbfounded, and continued to look that way when his head was bouncing along the floor like a basketball.
Turning to Kara, I saw her desperately yanking on the chain that still held her right wrist. She probably would have been able to tear it out of the granite no problem except it was magickal, and although her left hand no retained her superhuman strength, she still had a vulnerability to magick. I started towards her and saw her look over at me, relief clear in her eyes and a whimper coming from her gagged mouth. That whimper turned into a scream of terror just before I felt the Kris knife stab down into my shoulder. I howled in pain as my entire left arm went completely numb and the sword collapsed back into the tattoo. I stumbled forward and fell to my knees, the sword collapsing in my right hand as it went up to grab at my pierced shoulder. Blood flowed from my arm in rivers as I looked up to see the mage that had acted as Chaos approach me with the Kris knife. I’d forgotten about him. A rookie mistake, but I was entitled to make one or two every hundred years. This was number two, I won’t tell you about number one.
I tried to summon the strength to get the hell out of the way as that knife came down again, but my muscles were just too damn slow and the knife punched into the left side of my chest. I let out a scream of pain as the knife was yanked out of my chest and I collapsed to the floor, trying to get my punctured lungs to suck in oxygen. My vision had blurred so when I looked up, I saw two images of the mage approaching me with the knife raised for the killing blow. No, I wouldn’t die completely, but that hour recovery time would make it certain that Kara would be killed. I couldn’t let that happen.
The one thing I had working in my favor was that the mage hadn’t actually pierced my heart. That was because what most people didn’t know was the heart was actually located in the center of the chest, not the left side. Why do you think you press on the sternum in CPR? Duh. If he had actually gotten the heart, I would already be out and going through recovery, but as it stood I figured I had five minutes at the most before I was done. That gave me the opportunity I needed.
Reaching over with my right hand, I grabbed my left shoulder right over the tattoo while using my right hand to yank my left arm up. Just as my hand reached the level of his chest, the magickal sword erupted into existence, piercing right through him and exploding out his back in a wash of blood. His eyes went wide and he looked down at the glowing blade as though he couldn’t believe it was there just before he fell back and hit the ground. Letting go of my arm, the blade collapsed inward and reached out to take the Kris knife. My hand was trembling when I did, and that wasn’t a good sign. It meant I was damn close to going under and I needed to free Kara before that happened. Getting to my feet took nearly a minute and staggering over to her took another. The entire time, she was yanking and struggling wildly against the chains that still held her and screaming desperately to me through the gag. When I hit the altar, I fell forward against her belly and needed to take a few moments to catch my breath while she clutched at me, a pleading sound in her gagged voice. It seemed like the knife weighed a hundred pounds as I lifted it and brought the blade down on the right shackle. Almost instantly, the band snapped open and her hands were free. Immediately, she clawed at the buckle on the ballgag and tore it from her mouth. “Ashe!” she gasped, “Ashe don’t die!”
I couldn’t help but chuckle, even though doing that made it feel like my chest turned into an inferno. “Don’t worry about me darlin, I’ll be fine in about an hour,” I tried to bring the knife to the shackles on her ankles but my arms decided to stop working at that point and the knife clattered to the altar. “I think you’ll have to do the rest.”
She nodded and quickly picked up the knife, using it to free her ankles. By that time, I had slid to the floor of the warehouse and was just trying to focus on breathing. Every part of my body hurt with sharp spikes of pain that made me hiss or groan. Just because I couldn’t actually die didn’t mean I enjoyed it when I died temporarily.
A new weight against my back brought my focus back to something besides breathing as Kara pulled me into her lap. She stroked my hair, shushing me softly as I was cradled me against her breasts. Not a bad place to be if you’re about to die I must say. “Do you promise me you won’t die?” she asked in a whisper.
I smiled and winked at her. “Just give me an hour and I’ll be good as new.”
She nodded and smiled, leaning down and kissing my lips before whispering, “I’ll take care of you until then.”
It was the last thing I heard before the world went black and me and the Grim Reaper played our millionth and one game of poker. Maybe I should switch to blackjack.
When I woke up, I was in my own bed. My shirt, boots, and socks had been taken off as well as my weapons, but all of them were draped on a chair by me so I knew they were still there. With a moan from the stiffness in my muscles, I sat up and stretched out the kinks in them before swinging my legs over the edge of the bed and getting to my feet. The tv was droning on mindlessly about some incredible gadget you could get for only $29.95 so I headed there.
I was brought up short by the picturesque image of Kara, back in her costume, and the wolves curled up with each other on the couch, all of them fast asleep. I smiled at how innocent she looked as I switched off the tv and walked over to the trio. Leaning against the back of the couch, I lower my lips to hers in a soft kiss. She moaned softly and her lips parted beneath mine, kissing back timidly as our tongues intertwined with one another for several long minutes. When our lips parted company, she looked up into my eyes with a sleepy smile. “Hi,” she whispered.
“Hi back,” I answered just as quietly, “Did you sleep okay?”
She stretched luxuriously, which made her breasts strain delightfully against her tunic. “Mmmmm yes, Fire and Ice make for great snugglers.”
I chuckled and helped her extradite herself from the two snoozing pups, gathering her into my arms and holding her close. “Thanks for watching out for me.”
She smiled up at me, her eyes sparkling in the candlelight of the room. “Thank you for saving my life, twice. Can I do anything to repay you?”
I grinned and couldn’t help it when I said, “Well, I can think of one thing.”
To my surprise, she smiled right back just before her lips met mine again. This time, her kiss was hot and full of desire as we feasted upon each other, tasting one another in a most intimate fashion. “Done,” she whispered against my lips.
Without even hesitating or asking a question, I scooped her into my arms and carried her into the bedroom, kicking the door shut behind me. It woke up Fire and Ice, but I had more important things ahead of me to think about.
EPOLOGUE
No, I am not going to give you all the nasty little details of our lovemaking. Suffice to say we shared a truly intimate and wonderful experience together that I will remember from now until forever. I even entertained thoughts of the two of us having a relationship, but in the end we both agreed that the duties we had appointed for ourselves just couldn’t be ignored by our personal feelings for each other. So, we ended up staying together for a few days, enjoying the town and each other, and she flew off to continue with her duty of protecting the planet and mine of doing the same on a smaller scale. We saw each other a lot of times after that, usually with me rescuing her from some trap or another, and each time was wonderful. I’m not sure if I have ever known a more perfect woman in all my years on this world, but in the end it didn’t matter, and this ring on my finger is my testament to the world of that fact.
Well, I have to finish this particular tale. Kara’s calling for me in that oh so sweet and sexy voice of hers. Stop by again and I’ll tell you about some of my other little adventures. Right now, I have some…ahem…husbandly duties to tend to. I wonder if she’s wearing her costume this time….?
The End