Supervillains 2 Chapter 25 (Patreon)

I flew back to the Bureau with Melody in tow. "Everything okay?" I asked; she felt tense.

"Yes? No?" She frowned, unsure of herself. "I thought I had gotten stronger when you boosted my power... but..." She trailed off.

I tried to help fill in the words. "With Libertech's research and now Monster Fruit circulating, the goal post has moved again. A grade is no longer at the top of the charts. Before Stella, we could count the S grade supers in the city on one hand."

Melody nodded. "I guess that's it. Part of me thought becoming an A grade super would solve everything, ya know?" She frowned. "Never mind. I'm talking to someone who is a grade of his own."

I chuckled. "Sorry. But I understand, I think. It's human to be competitive and to want to climb up to the top to the more exclusive clubs. I still experience it, just not with powers."

Just because I was one of, if not the most powerful super didn't mean I wasn't human.

"Yeah. Then today, I thought for sure I could handle the situation. But you still had to intervene." Melody was being too harsh on herself.

"There were four of them, and they teleported in. Three of them had taken Monster Fruit." I tried to help her, but it wasn't working.

Melody looked up at me inside the bubble of light. "That didn't stop you."

"I don't think it's realistic to expect yourself to be as strong as me." I ran my fingers through her hair. "Besides, where would be the fun if I couldn't come save you?"

Melody softened a little, giving me a sweet smile in return. "Maybe then we could keep you in the bedroom and the kitchen." She winced as soon as she said it. "That came out wrong."

Even if it came out as horribly sexist, I understood what she meant. "You want to be the woman in the relationship and be able to handle yourself." Then it hit me. "You still feel poorly about Libertech and being kidnapped."

I didn't need to have a telepathic connection to Melody to realize I'd hit the nail on the head.

Women had taken a more leading role as the ratios had grown and women held more super powers. They were supposed to be the strong one in the relationship, and twice now I had bailed her out of sticky situations.

It was needling at her pride as a woman for me to keep helping so much. I really didn’t know how to help her with that, so I let the silence linger for a moment, seeing if she wanted to talk anymore.

When she didn’t, I offered up a new subject. "So, how's the modeling going?"

Melody blew out a heavy breath. "Okay. I'm getting a few offers, nothing big, though. My agent told me I was... forgettable."

"Ooof. What a fucking idiot. You are Pulsar." I injected as much excitement as I could, knowing that she needed it.

"She called me 'just another blonde bombshell.'" She hefted her chest. "I look great, but her suggestions were to really put a unique spin on myself to rise above the rest of the pretty heroes. Or doing something stupid."

There was something she wasn't telling me. "And? What did she suggest?"

"First off, I'd never do it. But she wanted me to use you to make a scandal. Cheat on the new Deputy Director of the BSH. You are newsworthy; cheating on you would place my face on the front page. Remember, this was her asinine idea. I yelled at her for even suggesting it."

Even the thought made me a little angry.

"I'm sorry, Miles. I shouldn't have even told you about it. Consider my agent fired and I'll find another." Melody clung to me, staring up into my eyes. "Please don't be angry."

Shaking off the small funk that the idea had stirred in me, I smiled. "You refuted it. People say stupid things. Just know that Stella might kill you if you do something like that."

Melody shuddered. "She fucking would."

I would too. This agent of hers needs to disappear. Mona popped up in my head.

"Careful. Mona is pissed just thinking about it. Your modeling career is yours. I won't butt my head into it." Though if the agent ever convinced her to do something so stupid, she might just disappear, and I wouldn't even have to lift a finger. "I did warn you before I told you that my secret made this permanent. You don't regret that, do you?"

Melody started waving her hands wildly. "Absolutely not. Don't even joke about that. I'm team Miles just as hard as Stella, I'm just..."

"You can say you are more stable. It's the truth."

Hey,Mona interjected.

It's true and I accept all the crazy bits for what they are. That's part of all of this, accepting those too, I replied.

There was a mulling in the back of my head as Mona went through that idea like a file cabinet, picking it apart and seeing where it connected deeper into my memories.

"It isn't that you are all unstable,” Melody said, tapping her lips. “Just that you aren’t hiding yourselves. Normal people bury all their crazy deep down inside.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Do you have some crazy I need to see?”

Melody tossed her hair and gave me bedroom eyes. “We could have a little fun up here above the city before work if you wanted. I kind of like the idea of being outside.”

I checked the time. It wouldn’t kill us to be a little late. Smiling, I moved closer to her in the air.

***

Melody's hair was still messy, and Mona was in her suit watching me with a smile as we got to the Bureau later than originally planned.

"Already suited up?" I asked Mona. Normally, they wore workout wear for the gym.

"I'm on call, so I’m training in my suit today."

Frowning, I checked my tablet. As I swiped through it, I noticed Kim had put her on call. "Let me know if you get a call in. I want to keep track."

I will, my fated.

She reminded me that we were never disconnected.

"Until then, I'll be helping Stella with weights. Now that Melody is here, we might actually get her to work out." Mona rolled her eyes.

I smirked. "She hates exercising."

"For a woman as strong as she is, it is quite odd. Either way, we'll get to work, and I'll see you this afternoon." She kissed the side of my cheek before patting it.

Doing my best not to react, I could feel the slightest bit of self-satisfaction from her from kissing me. It still revolved around me, but the satisfaction had originated with her. I gave her a genuine smile, excited by the progress.

I turned away, leaving them to work out while I did some work. I turned, heading to the analysts, but I was stopped by Doctor Wells as she stepped out of the elevator. Her eyes lit up as she saw me.

"Miles, feeling okay?" She dug into her lab coat pockets and pulled out a long syringe.

"I was until I saw that." It was a huge needle.

"Oh, it's for other things, but I can take a blood sample. I want to see how it compares to last night. We don't know if the change is instant or if it continues to change the body for a few days." Doctor Wells put the syringe in her mouth and started rolling up my sleeve, and growled her words around it. "Don't worry, I'm a pro at this."

Sighing, I just looked away as the doctor pricked me with the overly large syringe and drew her sample.

"Good?"

"Yes, I'll send you a questionnaire on your tablet. We need to keep a close eye on you." She seemed happy, capping the syringe and skipping back down to her lab.

I tried to remind myself that she was the sanest of the mad scientists down there. Kim’s feelings for them made more sense now. I wondered how many blood samples she'd given before.

But it was by far worth it. I still didn’t know what would have happened if I hadn’t used her help and administered it myself. We certainly wouldn’t have been ready for the cardiac arrest.

And I had to admit that a part of me was excited about the increased range I’d demonstrated earlier. It had been far easier than when I had tried that sort of distance before.

I was tempted to try the Monster Fruit. A fifty percent chance my power would be boosted once again was tempting. I’d be able to take out titans on my own and end the threats they brought to the city. I might even be able to take out the Fenris Wolf. It wasn't named after the world-ending wolf for fun.So far, it had only hit two cities on record, both of which didn't exist anymore.

Entering The Spine broke me out of those thoughts and onto something more pressing.

Beatrix sat with her hair primped once again, but she was pointedly busy at her terminal rather than her normal vigilant self. I was glad to sneak past her at the moment while she was busy.

I’d overcomplicated things when I’d flirted with her to keep her from digging into the super group that I’d disappeared. It had been a spur-of-the-moment decision, but I had no intention of pursuing her at that moment. I didn’t know much about her, and she was smart. If she dug too much or ended up with open questions, she could puzzle out my secret.

I wandered over to my analyst group. The three girls were being diligent as Ben slumped over his keyboard, looking like he was dying.

"Is everything okay with him?"

"He's recharging. I'll make sure he's ready to go by this afternoon's patrol." Mary swiveled in her chair. "How is it going, Deputy Director? We are working on building out the second team for Victor."

"Just Miles is fine. And I didn't ask for that." Focusing on the second thing, she said.

"Victor was eager and came by with the request. I was going to have you approve it after we made up the team." Rachel turned in her chair, butting into the conversation as well.

Something clicked in the back of my mind as the three of them watched me. All of them were low-grade supers. They probably knew exactly how the Monster Fruit Group felt.

"Two things." I held up a hand. "One, I want an update on Emma. Two, I need you guys to keep an eye out for disgruntled communications among the city towards the BSH and the politicians." I stuck up a finger for each.

Rachel nodded, her fox ears flopping. "Can do. We need a reason for the surveillance warrant, though."

"The Monster Fruit Gang wants to sow discord in the city. To track them, if we start to see where the biggest unrest is settled, we may be able to narrow it down," I explained.

She nodded, jotting it down on the computer.

"As for Emma." Kate took over. "She's actually— wait— she's on a camera right now."

Kate tapped a few things on her computer, and Emma appeared on the screen. She was wearing a baseball hat, trying to look inconspicuous. But she was currently looking up at a residential building.

That brief moment was enough to ping a facial recognition program.

"Where is that?" I urged. "Is it live?"

Already reaching out with my power, I waited until I got those answers.

"As live as you are going to get here," Mary said. "That's New Liberty, just across the street from Olympia park."

"And that part is surrounded by nice high rises," I grumbled even as my power was already stretching across the city.

While watching the live feed, I traced the crowd and found her. I didn't stop her or even exert any force, but it was enough to keep track of her.

"Since you said that she would be casing places, that makes sense," Rachel continued. "Oh, and we've made progress on Ramon."

"Later," I said distractedly as I tried to keep track of Emma. "I'll be back later. There's something I need to do."

Thanking them, I hurried out and blew straight past Beatrix, even when she turned to talk to me.

"Sorry, gotta run," I apologized and blew out of The Spine and the Bureau before heading around the corner to the Chinese restaurant in the alley. Then I shot up into the sky as I bent the light around me.

I was still tracking Emma as I shot off through the city towards New Liberty.

The New Liberty area butted up against the art district, which was a fun and lively place with a bit more earthiness to it. It also made it the perfect place for the rich to come enjoy the arts. New Liberty was filled with parks and skyrises packed to the brim with luxury apartments.

As I tracked Emma, I soon was next to one of the parks.

Floating up above the crowd, I spotted Emma as she turned away from the high-priced apartments and stuffed her hands in her jacket pockets as she went around the side.

It was obvious to me that she was more than just casing the place. She was about to break in. Knowing how she always liked to sneak up on me, I decided to turn the tables.

I landed behind her silently as she walked up to a maintenance entrance of the building. She strode up, and as casually as was possible, she flipped a set of lock picks out of her jacket pockets.

She still hadn't noticed me as she stuck them in and got to work.

Her physical superpower gave her a number of superhuman strengths that aligned with the strengths of cats. Somewhere amid the reflexes and balance, she was a wonder with lockpicks.

Deciding to have some fun with her, I used a little kinetic force to keep the door locked even as she continued to work with it.

After the third attempt where she thought she had it, she swore and stepped back, looking like she was about to do something stupid. It was then that she saw me out of the corner of her eyes.

Emma spun into a crouch as the diamonds on her neck sparkled for just a second and rippled out along her skin.

"Shit. Miles." She stood up, holding her chest and walking over to me. "You startled me."

I stayed there, leaning against the other wall of the alley as she came up and ran her hands along my chest. It always worked out better if I let Emma come to me.

"Come to have some fun with me?" She kissed my neck, and I leaned back as she trailed along my jaw and up to nibble on my ear.

"I have to know the game in order to play," I teased back, running my hands along her.

Emma grinned. "I knew you couldn't have gone completely good. You just needed me to come back. Well, now I am, and I'll take good care of you." She ran her hand along my cheek.

"Oh, like you did that serum?" I raised an eyebrow.

She snorted. "You didn't even lock the case. I thought you were offering it to me."

"Uh, huh," I chuckled. "Already took my dose. Have you taken yours?"

"Of course." Her eyes seemed to sparkle, and I found myself questioning if I’d made it up or if it had been the sparkles on the diamond necklace she was wearing.

"But we are playing for a big amethyst." She sized it with her fingers.

I frowned. "Why would you need to teleport that far?"

She paused before sighing. "I want to steal Monster Fruit from the source. Never trust a drug dealer."

"Monster Fruit is bad news, Emma. Half the time, people who take it turn into huge masses of cancer. Or worse, they end up as a monster," I tried to warn her.

Emma reached up and rubbed the two cat ears that stuck out of her red hair. "I'm already a monster."

Grabbing her hand, I pulled it to her side and stared down into her eyes. "No. You aren't."

She smiled. "Weren't the roles reversed last time we met? You were so messed up, calling yourself a monster. How have the nightmares been going?" Emma knew me like nobody else.

"Better. I live with a few girls, and they help keep me grounded." I continued holding onto her and peering into her green eyes.

"Good. You need to stay grounded." Her eyes dipped down to my lips, and she leaned forward.

I accepted the kiss, my mind swirling as memories flooded back. I couldn’t help myself. The two of us were so painfully drawn to each other. Both of us were messed up, and in a time of darkness, we'd used each other for support.

I had thought that, when she had gone off to prison, our passion would dwindle, but every time I saw her, it rekindled itself into a raging forest fire.

Pushing her up against the wall, I let my hands roam down to her hips. "Fuck. Emma."

"I know, honey. I need it too." She dragged her nails along the back of my neck as she feverishly kissed along my jaw. "It’s been too long."

"Going to steal something from me and run away again?" I groaned as she licked my ear.

"Or you can steal away with me," she whispered, dragging her hips along my body.

The maintenance door slammed open, and a woman dressed for office work sneered at the two of us. "Get a room."

I put a wedge in the door to prevent it from closing all the way. "How about we have some fun, then we do an old tradition and I take you back to my place after."

Lachesis' words rang in my mind as I said it, my plan solidifying. I'd steal something with her, and maybe after, I could talk some sense into her.

"Of course, darling," she purred. "I do love that tradition." Emma turned and wrapped my arms around her torso as she ground her rear into me. "But maybe we should make this quick. I don't know if I can wait."

The way she rocked against me had my erection threatening to rip out of my pants and into danger I wasn’t sure I was ready for.