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Superia #4: Fire and Earth pt. 3

by Sigma

Our story so far: Dr. Eugene Evers has revealed himself to be the creator of the mutants plaguing Delta City. Superia, Blaze, and Thorn pursued the doctor only for him to escape while they fought his creations. Agent Fox then arrived on the scene to help the girls continue their chase. What will they learn about the doctor and his intentions when they get to his hideout?

VI

“Where are all your soldiers?” Blaze yelled over the sound of helicopter rotors as the helicopter flew over the watery expanse of Delta City Bay.

“Cleaning up downtown,” Fox answered. “I came by myself because I got some intel on Evers. Thought it might come in handy,” she picked up a small satchel and tossed it to Thorn, who opened it to find several folders, all with the same documents inside. She gave one to Superia and another to Blaze. The documents were dossiers on Dr. Eugene Evers, an expert in biology with a specialty in genetics.

He worked in senior roles at a number of top pharmaceutical companies all over the world and was connected to a series of incidents involving rampant mutation throughout the Midwestern US. Sentinel deployed field operatives and stopped him, but Evers was thought to have died in a lab explosion five years ago and so his file was closed until now.

“Wait a second…” Superia fixated on a certain highlighted section on a certain page. “This guy created Compound X?”

“Uh huh…” Fox admitted. “He did some work for the government on occasion. That was one of his projects. He’s got some kind of backing to make this better version of it.”

“From who?” Blaze asked.

“That’s what I want to find out,” Fox answered. “It’s only a hunch, but I’m betting it’s the same people who directed Striker to the facility that he stole the X from all those months back.”

“Shit…” Superia said. “...Hey, where is Striker? What did you guys do with him after we beat him up?”

 “He’s in The Tomb,” Fox answered.

“The what?” Superia asked.

She looked at both Blaze and Thorn, who had suddenly both gone pale. “What’s with you two?”

“T...that place is real?” Thorn asked.

“Mhmm,” Fox nodded while checking the ammo in her gun.

Blaze turned to Superia. “The Tomb is a maximum security prison for people with superpowers. 24 hour lockdown, no daylight, no contact with the outside world. Mantis told us about it once, but we thought she was just trying to scare us…”

“As long as you girls behave, you’ll never see the inside of it,” Fox smiled.

“What? I did six months in Nevada. They just put a collar on me and threw me in with everyone else,” Superia said.

“That was just an assault charge, Naomi. I read your case file. Frankly, that asshole deserved it, but that redneck judge thought otherwise, I guess. Anyway, places like The Tomb are for the worst of the worst,” Fox told them.

“Places?” Blaze said. “There’s more than one?”

“Cindy, dear, Superhumans have been known to world governments since governments existed. You really think we don’t have a way to keep you all in check? It doesn’t just stop when you get tested for genetic mutation as a teen, you know.”

The heroines all got quiet.

“Aphrodites, Altered, magic users, aliens, dimensional travelers, we’ve seem them all and had to put a few away. Lucky for us, upright citizens like you exist to help us, right?”

“So, what, Sentinel knows who we all are?” Superia asked.

“Yeah,” Fox answered. “Girls, look, you’re all basically living weapons. If enough of you got together and decided to be less than heroic, you could do some serious damage and we can’t have that. So just behave and everyone’s happy, okay? Auntie Fox won’t have to put any of you in timeout.”

Superia glanced at her teammates and then looked at Fox. “Hey, you Sentinel guys know anything about someone named Scarlet?”

Blaze and Thorn glanced at each other and then at her. Fox simply shook her head. “It’s probably in the database, but I don’t personally know the name, sorry.”

Blaze and Thorn kept quiet while Superia closed her folder and put it back. “Well, if our asses ever get locked up, I’m selling you two for cigarettes,” she said while leaning back in her seat. “Where are we going?”

“There’s an abandoned research platform in the bay,” Fox explained. “It was used to study sea life until the project funding dried up and the company that owned it just left it there. It’s the only structure in the path Evers could have taken, so that’s where he’s gotta be operating from. The minute we touch down, be ready for more mutants. We don’t have a blueprint of the platform, so we’ll be going in blind. We have to assume that, in addition to mutants, Evers may have traps set up. Hell, he may even have rigged the place to blow up.”

“Jesus, you’re making this sound less and less fun,” Superia said.

Fox only smiled. “You all can swim, right?”

“This one always seems to have trouble around water,” Superia smirked and elbowed Thorn. “You have a life jacket packed away in this thing?”

Thorn glared at her while Blaze suppressed a laugh.

“Probably a child’s size,” Superia continued.

Thorn turned to her fully now. Her shoulders tightened and she narrowed her eyes, then like a snake she started to lunge at Superia, only to be stopped by Blaze and pulled back.

“All right, all right,” Blaze said with her arms around Thorn’s waist to hold her back. “Naomi, leave Becky alone.” 

“All right, I’ll stop. Geez,” Superia held her hands up. Thorn calmed down and folded her arms, muttering something under her breath.

***

The helicopter hovered a few feet above the topmost level of the research platform, a rusting hulk crashed by waves. There wasn’t enough space for the helicopter to land, so once the four women were on the surface it took off and stayed in the air above the platform.

“Anyone see a door?” Fox asked.

They looked around, finding nothing until Superia looked down. “Hey! Got a hatch over here.” She gripped the handle and pulled, but it was stuck. Superia then nodded, flexed her fingers and gave the metal hatch a punch hard enough to buckle it. Then she pulled the handle again and the hatch came off its hinges. Superia looked at the broken door, shrugged and cast it into the sea.

“You shouldn’t litter in the ocean…” Thorn said before going down the hatch.

“She’s right. The whales live there,” Fox said before following her.

Blaze looked down the hatch and then knelt next to Superia. “I once got fucked by a mutant octopus. Fuck the ocean,” she said before going down.

Superia shook her head. “I’m not fighting a goddamn octopus…” She then followed the others.

At the bottom of the ladder was a series of catwalks and stairways that led deeper into the platform. Fox looked around to get her bearings and then took the lead. “We should make our way toward the center. It’d be the main control room for a place like this.” She then raised her rifle and moved ahead and the others followed behind her.  

“What kinda research did they do here?” Blaze asked, looking around the platform, which seemed to be  slowly degrading around them.

“Tracking schools of dolphins and other ocean life that made the bay home,” Fox told her.

“Pod,” Thorn said.

“Hmm?”

“A group of dolphins is called a pod.” 

“Right, that.”

“Did you learn that at the zoo, too?” Superia said.

“We didn’t have dolphins…”

“Why not? I thought people liked dolphins.”

“...Have you never heard of an aquarium?”

“Are you from New York?” Fox interrupted. “I hear a New York accent. Was it the Brooklyn zoo?”

“Queens Zoo,” Thorn answered proudly. “Grew up right there in Forest Hills.”

“Huh…” Fox said. “It’s funny, Veronica...er...Mantis...is the only one on your team who is actually from Delta City.”

“Wait, where are you from?” Superia asked Blaze.

“LA. It’s how I got into acting. You?”

“Iowa,” Superia answered. “Where’s Delphi from?”

“DC,” Thorn and Blaze both answered.

“You all came from all over our great country to defend this fine city,” Fox smiled. They were moving through the levels, so far encountering no other signs of life as they went. “Life’s funny that way, I guess.”

“So where are you from?” Thorn asked Fox.

Fox glanced back at her, started to answer, and then paused and continued looking ahead. “We’re almost at the center of the platform, ladies. Eyes up.”

They descended down a staircase that led to a catwalk suspended over a large pool of seawater at the bottom level. Fox peered over and down at the pool. “That’s where they’d launch submersibles from. That pool goes right into the bay.”

She led them to a metal door that led to what looked like some kind of control room. She kept her gun raised and tested the handle when the door burst out and Fox flew back, yelling in surprise and dropping her weapon.

“Shit!” Superia said, catching Fox when she flew into her and sliding back.

Dr. Eugene Evers stood in the doorway, a man of average height and build with a slight paunch in his belly. He adjusted the glasses on his face and smiled. “Good afternoon, ladies. I was wondering when you’d get here.”

“How the hell did he throw her back like that?” Blaze asked.

“A wonderful question, my lovely little ginger,” Evers said before picking up Fox’s gun. “You see, I perfected the formula for Compound X mark 2. Longer lasting and more potent than the original, no mutation and not transmittable like the test version. I’ve rid the formula of the pesky Aphrodite weaknesses, as well.”  With a flex of his wiry arms, he snapped Fox’s gun in two and tossed the halves aside. “I had to abandon my warehouse where my test subjects were thanks to you all, but no matter. I’ve injected myself with the only sample and the formula is up here,” he said, tapping his head. “Neither you super bimbos, government cronies, or those leeches at Panopticon are getting your hands on it.”

“What the hell is Panopticon?” Fox asked herself.

“Come, my dears...let me give you a demonstration of the power of science,” he then grinned and beckoned. “Step right up. Please, don’t be shy.”

Superia cracked her knuckles and went first. “Look, little man, don’t make this hard on yourself.”

The others gasped when Evers gave Superia a smack with the back of his left hand and sent her tumbling over the rail and to the lowest level where the pool was.

“I’ve got Naomi. Keep him busy!” Fox said before running for the stairs to take her down to the pool level.

Blaze took a fighting stance and flames erupted on her palms. “No sprinkler system here, doctor? Shame.” she smiled.

“Cin...I don’t like this…” Thorn said, stepping behind her and readying her staff.

***

“Ugh...motherfucker…” Superia groaned, pushing herself up on the metal floor around the pool.

“You okay?” Fox asked, running to her side and kneeling next to her.

“He’s gonna feel a lot worse…” Superia promised while looking up. She and Fox both heard shouting and saw bursts of flame. “Let’s get back up there, Fox.”

“Right,” Fox said, helping Superia up. Before they could move, there was a loud scream. Superia cursed and leapt up and when she came back down, she was carrying Thorn in her arms. She set the shaken heroine down and moments later, Blaze followed, tumbling through the air and hitting the ground nearby.

“Oooow….” Blaze groaned. “Naomi…”

“Yeah?”

“Is it too late to call Asa?”

Evers fell and landed a few feet away before standing up and straightening his necktie. “How disappointing….” He pushed his glasses up and eyed the heroines while they regrouped. He stopped at Superia. “You’re one of the ones that defeated Mr. Striker, yes?”

“That’s right.”

“Hmm...and you, my dear, you’re the Altered from Neptune Park,” He pointed to Thorn, who said nothing.

“And of course, the lovely Cindy Callum. I was a fan of Black Pyramid, even if your character’s death was completely uncalled for.”

“I know, right? The director was a total…”

“Cindy!” Superia growled, elbowing her in the ribs.

“Sorry…”

“What do we need to do to put a stop to this, Evers?” Fox stepped forward.

“I want to be left alone, by everyone. Setting my mutants loose was a warning of what will happen if I don’t get that. I will not hand over my research to you or anyone else.”

“A few minutes ago, you mentioned something called Panopticon. What is that? A crime syndicate? A terrorist group?” Fox questioned.

“Fools with delusions of bettering the world, no different than you all.”

“Why don’t you come with me and tell me all about it?”

“So Sentinel can throw me into one of their isolated prisons? Agent, I’ve peeked behind that curtain...I’ve seen how the sausage is made,” he chuckled. “Who is your boss? Is that jackal, Mr. Escher?”

Fox paused.“What’s Director Escher have to do with anything?”

“Ohhh, my sweet child, Mr. Escher has more blood on his hands than you can imagine. I would tell you to be very careful of him in particular. But you won’t survive this encounter, so it won’t matter.”

Fox watched him closely and the other three heroines picked up on her body tensing up as she moved a hand to the sidearm strapped to her thigh. In one quick, fluid motion, she pulled the gun, but Evers moved faster than she could pull the trigger. He ran and slammed an open hand into her chest and Fox spiraled through the air and into the pool that led into the bay.

“Shit!” Superia cried out, unsure whether to go after Fox or fight.

Blaze ignited a pair of fireballs on her hands and threw them, but Evers dodged both. Blaze then made a third one with both hands and threw it, but made it explode just short of hitting the ground so that Evers got caught by the concussive blast. The scientist was thrown back but twisted his body in mid air and landed on his feet. Once he landed, he noted several small seeds at his feet that quickly sprouted into thick, tendril-like plants and snagged his arms and legs.

Thorn commanded the plants, motioning her hands to make them constrict and hold them in place. Evers simply smirked and tore himself free. He shook the plants off and charged at Thorn, who tried to get away until Evers grabbed her and then twisted her arm behind her and wrapped his other arm around her neck.

Blaze and Superia watched him and stayed put.

“Nuh uh, ladies...one wrong twitch, and I snap the little one’s pretty neck,” he warned. He then slid his hand down her narrow chest, cupping her left tit in his palm and chuckling as he squeezed.

“I am going to pluck your eyes out, you old creep…” Thorn swore through clenched teeth. She then jerked and bit back pain when Ever’s yanked on her immobilized arm with enough strength that it felt like he could pull it from the socket if he really wanted.

Evers simply chuckled and squeezed her small tit before inhaling deep. “You are a divine creature, my dear.”

Thorn said nothing. She could feel his rock-hard cock against her ass.

“Let her go!” Blaze said, summoning a towering pillar of flame behind Evers that distracted him.

“Down, shorty!” Superia said before running at Evers. With his grip loosened, Thorn was able to duck just as Superia’s fist came flying at her face and the blow caught Evers square in his jaw and sent him flying back through the flames.

Thorn moved away and got behind her teammates. 

Evers then leapt out of the flames, but Superia was the only one to react fast enough. She rolled out of the way and Evers, his clothes singed, grabbed Blaze and Thorn by their necks. He slammed their heads together and Thorn went limp and then got thrown in the water. Evers then lifted Blaze over his head and brought her back down across his knee. She screamed and the scientist launched her into the water too and both heroines disappeared beneath the waves.

“No! Fuck!” Superia said, running to the pool to rescue them. She yelled when Evers grabbed her by her hair and swung her back, slamming her into the metal floor. A painful shock wracked Superia’s body from the powerful blow, and Evers spun her around and launched her across the room and into the far wall.

She fell to her knees and put her hands out to stay up. Evers leapt across the pool and landed right in front of her. Superia grunted and got to her feet.

“You pudgy little shit...that was one your one fucking shot!” She yelled before nailing him in the jaw with a 3 hit combination that made him back up. She then grabbed the sides of his head and brought her knee up into the center of his face. Evers fell back and Superia made another run for the pool, but the superpowered scientist reached back and grabbed her ankle, pulling her down. He then leapt on her back and grabbed her jaw with one hand while tearing off her makeshift outfit with the other.

“Hmmm...quite the body your Aphrodites have. I think I’ll have fun with you before I kill you,” he laughed and licked the side of her face while playing with her tits. His other hand ran down her back, caressing the ample meat of her ass as his fingers explored her vulnerable pussy lips.

“Fuck off!” Superia screamed, slamming an elbow back and into his face. The powerful hit stunned Evers and he rolled to the side, cursing her. Superia spun on her back and wrapped her powerful legs around his right arm and neck and then grabbed the wrist with both hands.

“You motherfucker. You try to kill my friends and then you want to fuck me?”

Evers growled, trying to get free of her iron grip, but she applied her weight and kept him pinned down. Her powerful, naked thighs flexed as she squeezed, making it hard for him to breathe while she wrenched his arm.

“All that fucking power, but you don’t even know how to actually fight, do you? All you can do is smack people around and throw a few punches?” Superia taunted. “If you actually had some technique, I never would’ve gotten you in this hold. Too bad. You’re about to get a lesson in pain.”

Evers started to say something, but only screamed following a sickening crack before he lost all feeling in his arm.

Superia rolled back and leapt to her feet. Evers got to his knees, trembling in agony as his broken arm hung uselessly at his side. He breathed heavy and watched the Amazonian heroine walk toward him. When he tried to stand, he fell back when she put a boot to his chest and forced him down.

“Don’t go anywhere…” Superia hissed before stomping down on his knee, crushing it.

His scream filled the room and Superia turned and walked away before diving into the pool.

She spent several frantic seconds looking around underwater, the murky conditions making it nearly impossible to see anything. She then nearly jumped out of her skin when a hand grabbed her arm and when she turned around, she saw Fox, who had Thorn by her collar and Blaze by the back of her bikini top. Fox promptly handed Thorn to Superia and directed her to swim back to the surface. Fox’s eyes then went wide and she pointed, but before Superia could turn around, she felt an arm wrap around her neck and pull tight. She couldn’t see him, but she knew it was Evers, and he was dragging her, and Thorn, down into the darkened depths of Delta City Bay.

Superia thrashed, trying to free herself before she ran out of air. They went deeper and the surface began to fade away. Suddenly, a greenish-blue blur in the water swam past her and looped around. She felt Evers’ body jolt and bubbles against her skin as he expelled air from his lungs. His weight loosened off her back and she turned around and immediately began swimming to the surface with Thorn in tow.

When Superia looked down, she saw Evers being dragged down with a spike through his chest by a scaly humanoid with large, black eyes and a fin down its back, and they both vanished into the bay as Superia made her way to the surface.

Superia pulled herself out of the water seconds later and carried Thorn several feet before putting her down. “Come on, Thorn, wake up…” Superia’s voice shook. She looked up and across and saw Fox, dripping wet, kneeling over Blaze.

“Is she all right, Fox?!”

“I’m fine…” Blaze groaned, rolling over and holding her back.

Superia checked Thorn’s airways. “Fuck….Becky, don’t you fucking die on me…” She put her hands to Thorn’s chest and compressed lightly several times. “Come on!” Superia said, her tone growing more worried.

Fox and Blaze stood slowly and watched, their eyes wide and jaws agape.

Thorn didn’t move even after a few more chest compressions.

“Bex...Bex, come on, baby…” Blaze said in a whisper, sniffing.

Superia tilted Thorn’s head back, pinched her nosed, inhaled and then put her mouth over Thorn’s and exhaled. She repeated three more times and Thorn jolted, coughing and gagging violently.

“YES!” Blaze screamed and cheered.

Fox simply exhaled and fell to her knees, laughing.

Superia fell back on her ass and sighed, hugging her arms around her knees. Thorn spit out water and turned.

“What the hell happened?”

Superia wiped her eyes and shook her head. “I’m getting you some fucking water wings.”

VII

It was several hours later and the heroines were back at the safehouse. A news report on the television spoke of the mutant attacks throughout the city and how they’d only been stopped by a mysterious group of superpowered women and people in black helicopters and tactical armor. A police officer named Samuels talked about how he saw the super women fight a mutant and that one of the women was former child actress Cindy Callum, and a nurse mentioned a pair of them, one of whom was Cindy Callum, rescuing a stuffed turtle for one of the children in her care.

Another reporter spoke to a Parks Department employee named Jill who talked about a ‘strong, powerful’ woman who saved them from a man-eating plant and wanted the woman to call her if she was watching.

But Becky, Cindy, and Alexis weren’t paying attention. The three of them were busy devouring pizza from the boxes in front of them.

“Mmm, you know...this is the one thing I miss about Queens. Pizza in Delta’s just not as good,” Becky said before taking a big bite of mushroom pizza. She had swapped her costume for a simple tanktop and gym shorts.

“Oh here we go,” Cindy said. Her curvy body was wrapped in clean, white bathrobe. “Every time we get pizza, you go on and on about it not being as good as in New York.”

“Because it isn’t, Cindy! God!”

“What part of Queens?” Alexis asked before picking up a slice of pepperoni.

“Forest Hills,” Becky answered.

“Huh…” Alexis smiled. “I’m from Morris Heights.”

“Oooh, a Bronx girl! Nice. Tell Cindy I’m right about the pizza.” 

“She’s right about the pizza, Cindy.”

“Oh, my god…” Cindy groaned and put her head on the table.

“Hey…” Becky suddenly got serious. “Sorry about the whole...turning you into a mutant thing…”

“Girl, stop. I’ve been living in this city almost eight years now and I’m only surprised something like that took this long. All it took was that crazy-ass Naomi coming into my life.”

“Where is she anyway?” Becky asked. 

“The bosses wanted to talk to her,” Cindy said, her head still down on the table.

***

“Don’t look at me like I’m crazy. It was like the Gill-man!” Naomi told Mantis and Delphi as they sat around the conference table in the meeting room. She wore a pair of tight gym shorts and a black sports bra.

“Gill-man?” Delphi asked.

Superia sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. “Del, you and I are having a serious movie marathon one of these days. Jesus. Where’s Fox? Maybe she saw it.”

“She went back to Sentinel HQ,” Mantis said. “We gave her the data on the antidote we created so they could mass-produce it. She promised to take care of all of the cleanup in exchange.”

“Ugh, look, I know it sounds insane, but that fucker came up, stabbed Evers and took him away. I think I saw him at the park, too. In the lake. Right before I fought Thorn.”

“We don’t doubt you, Naomi,” Delphi told her. “It’s just...there are so many questions…”

“Who are you telling? Someone else was after Evers. He called them Panopticon.”

Mantis glanced to her side and noticed Delphi seemingly gasp at the mention of the name. She then turned back to Naomi. “Is that it?”

“Yeah, that’s it,” Naomi said before getting up. “I’m starving. I hope they didn’t eat all the pizza.” she said before walking out.

“What’s Panopticon?” Mantis asked once the door closed. “You’ve heard that name before.”

“Dark web chatter,” Delphi told her. “I don’t know what it is, exactly. I need to get in touch with my contacts.”

“Still, you’re thinking what I am, aren’t you?” Mantis asked.

“That Naomi’s fish-man is connected to La Femme, Riot, and that man of stone she and Asa fought. Yeah.”

Mantis smirked and got up. “Looks like we may have a rival team in town, Anisa.”

“Don’t sound so happy about it.”

“Oh come on, this is exciting. I wonder just how many of them there are. It’ll be just like the old days when we had to deal with The Collective,” Mantis said before leaving the room.

“You all nearly died fighting The Collective.”

“But we still we won!” Mantis said before leaving.

***

The cavernous halls of a corporate tower somewhere in Delta City echoed with the click-clack of high heels on polished floor. A dark-haired woman in her mid or late 30s with pale skin, tall and full figured, sucked on a lollipop with one hand while carrying a tablet under the arm of her white lab coat with the other. A young Asian woman with her hair tied in a ponytail followed behind her, checking data on her own tablet as the two of them moved through the hallway.

The younger woman glanced up when she heard footsteps ahead and stopped only when her mentor did.

Sloan Adams approached the two of them with a steaming paper cup of tea in her hands and smiled when she saw them. “There you are, Orla,” Sloan said. “I’ve been looking for you.”

“I was finishing up some work,” Orla told her after taking the lollipop out of her mouth. “Sloan, this is Dorothy Quan, one of my interns,” she introduced the younger woman. “Dorothy, this is Sloan Adams, my sister.”

“Hello,” Sloan smiled, extending her free hand.

Dorothy smiled and shook her hand. “Pleased to meet you.”

Sloan studied the young woman, noting that her eyes held an intelligent, sinister gaze and that the smile she wore gave off a hungry, predatory vibe. She then looked down at Dorothy’s thigh, exposed by a slit in her skirt. “That’s a very nice tattoo.”

Dorothy looked down at the body art on her leg, a twisting, multi-color dragon that took up much of her upper leg, and smiled. “Thank you.”

“Orla, may I have a word?” Sloan then asked her sister.

“Anything for my baby sister,” Orla said before turning to her intern. “That’ll be all for today, Dorothy. You can head home.”

Dorothy nodded. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Dr. Adams,” she said before gracefully spinning on her heel and walking back the way they came. Once she was gone, the sisters continued on.

“What’s her story?” Sloan asked.

“She’s my top student, brilliant geneticist and pretty well versed in other areas, too. I want to bring her onto the Panopticon program.”

“Dorothy Quan isn’t her real name, is it?”

“No. I can’t for the life of me find out what it is, though.”

“Then we can’t use her,” Sloan said while taking a sip of her tea. “We only need people we can trust completely. This project is too sensitive.”

“Fair enough,” Orla said.

“Anyway, Lagoon found Evers. He was on the verge of killing one of the Aphrodites, so Lagoon had to execute.”

“Dammit…” Orla groaned.

The two of them reached a metal door where a scanner popped out and read Sloan’s retinal pattern. “Mom and dad’s anniversary is next month. Are we flying home?”

“How many years?” Orla asked.

“Forty.”

“Yeah, we’ll go home. I’ll book it.”

The doors opened and the two of them entered a laboratory complex, sterile and white with equipment and tables neatly spread out. They walked past technicians sitting at terminals. Some studied vast amounts of data on computer screens, others watched footage of the Aphrodite heroines. Sloan led Orla to an observation room where a blue-green, scaly humanoid with a large fin down his back turned away from the window and smiled with teeth like a piranha.

Riot sat in one of the chairs with earbuds in her ears and took them out when the sisters came in.

“Hey bosses,” Lagoon grinned with his sharp teeth.

“Hello, Lagoon,” Sloan acknowledged him. “Well done on dosing Wilson and getting this whole thing started.”

“Thanks, Ms. A. Too bad I wasn’t supposed to capture her. She’s a cutie, that one.” 

“Keep it in your pants, fishboy.” Orla said while she approached the window where the body of Eugene Evers was on a table, being dissected and prodded by robotic arms. “Was killing him really needed?”

“He was choking out one of them bimbos, and we ain’t supposed to kill them yet, right doc?” Lagoon said.

“He said it was that useless cunt-stain Superia,” Riot said. “I’d have taken his head off if he did it. Her ass is mine and mine alone.”

Orla turned and smiled at Riot, who glanced at her and then looked away.

“Oh, dear Riot…” Orla laughed and approached her. “You don’t run things here. Remember who your ass belongs to.” She traced her finger down Riot’s ample cleavage before grabbing her by her jaw and looking her in the eye. “You stay in line, always, or my dear sister says I can have you for my operating table. I’m always looking to play with a nice, luscious, Aphrodite body,” she squeezed Riot’s tit and bit her lower lip.

Riot looked away from her, her breathing heavy and Orla leaned in and clenched Riot’s earlobe between her teeth.

“Is that fear I taste, Riot?” she whispered. “It’s delicious.”

Riot said nothing. She simply avoided looking at Orla and controlled her breathing.

“You may go, Riot,” Sloan finally said.

Riot quickly pulled away and left the room, quickening her pace when Orla squeezed her ass.

“I think she likes me,” Orla grinned.

“That is so hot…” Lagoon commented.

“You can go too,” Sloan told him, and he left without another word.

After he was gone, Sloan and Orla stood side by side and watched the robots work on Evers’ body.

“I really would have liked him alive. He took that improved formula to his grave, even after we gave him what he needed to make it, the selfish prick.” Orla said. “Maybe I can get something from the genetic material…”

“Indeed…” Sloan nodded. “But,  we were able to sow enough chaos that our enemies had to fight the mutants very publicly. Plus, we’re now positive Sentinel is in play. We’ll need their actual numbers, but this will make their downfall that much sweeter.”

“Don’t forget your promise to me.”

“Yes, you may keep one of the heroines of your choice as a personal pet. I remember,” Sloan said. “Still, we need to move carefully before we actually strike. We only know who some of these women are and I want clear data on the full extent of their abilities before we lay their broken bodies before the people of Delta City. They will see that their heroes can be crushed.”

Orla smiled and hugged her sister before giving her a kiss on the head. “So devious. You’re my favorite person in the world, Sloan. Did I ever tell you that?”

Sloan allowed a slight smile and pat Orla’s hand.

“Dinner tonight? It’s my turn to buy.” Orla said.

“Sure,” Sloan nodded. “Message me when you’ve decided. I’ll be here.”

“Will do,” Orla said, hugging her sister one more time before turning to leave. “See you in a few hours.”

Sloan took a long sip of her tea and continued watching the surgical robots.

Epilogues

“Good evening, Agent Fox,” Director Escher’s voice came in over the radio in Sentinel’s Delta City HQ. “I read your report. Well done all around.”

“Thank you, sir. My only regret is that we weren’t able to take Evers alive.”

“Unfortunate, indeed, but the operation was still a success. You worked with the heroines to contain the mutant outbreak and keep it from overrunning the city. No small task.”

“Sir, do you have any insight on this ‘fish-man’ Naomi said she saw?”

“It could be an alien, it could an Altered. It might even be an Atlantean. We haven’t seen one of those in quite some time. Intel is on it, Agent. I have them looking into this ‘Panopticon’ as well.”

“Yes, sir…” Fox said.

“Is there something else on your mind, Agent?”

“Sir, I...did you know Dr. Evers personally?”

There was a pause before Director Escher cleared his throat. “I did. I first met him as a supervisory field agent many years ago. He served in an advisor role for many operations.”

“What sort of operations, sir…?”

“That’s above your clearance, Agent,” Escher said very plainly. “Much of what we were involved with in those days was Omega-level. Need to know.”

“Understood, sir…” Fox sighed.

“Is everything all right, Agent Fox? Were you damaged in the operation?”

Fox looked over her shoulder at the tech hunched over her. Wires and thick cables snaked from various terminals and into ports all over her naked body. Her synthetic skin had been opened and the tech applied a soldering iron to an open panel on her back, repairing damage her systems had taken during the fight and her submerging in the bay.

“Agent Fox hasn’t sustained any serious damage, sir,” the tech, a man, explained. She was exposed to seawater for an extended period, but anything damaging was filtered out and her systems compensated.  

“Excellent,” Escher said. “Anything new you can tell us about Delphi’s team?”

Fox hesitated. “Delphi had a sample of Compound X that she managed to take during the Striker operation. She used it to create an antidote for the mutations.”

“Hmm. It would seem Ms. Carter doesn’t trust us…”

“No, sir…”

“We’ll need to strengthen our bonds with them if we’re going to operate in Delta City. Continue assisting them in any way you can and continue working with local authorities as well.”

“Should I keep the surveillance bugs in Naomi’s apartment active?”

“Yes,” Escher answered. “Anything else?”

“Have you heard of an Aphrodite named Scarlet, sir?”

“I have. She was a fairly powerful Aphrodite active in Delta City up until a few years ago, just a rung or two below Star Woman. They often worked together.”

“What happened to her?”

“Unknown. She just vanished one day. She wasn’t someone we felt the need to watch closely, so I can’t say for certain what occurred, but the rumors suggest she and Star Woman had some sort of falling out. Why ask?”

“Her name came up in conversation. Grant had never heard of her, and Callum and Wilson were hesitant to talk about her.”

“Hmm. I see. That might be worth looking into. What’s the dynamic there?”

“They get along just fine, though Grant seems to delight in tormenting Wilson, sort of like an annoying older sibling. It strikes me as coming from a place of affection, because that’s just the kind of person Grant is, though...there was an earlier incident where the two of them were ready to kill each other, so I don’t know. She didn’t hesitate to help Wilson when she needed it, though. Callum tries to keep them in line as best she can.”

“Not an easy task, given their personalities. Very good, Agent Fox. Keep at it. I’ll be in touch.”

Director Escher ended the call and Fox sighed and tapped her fingers on her knee while the tech continued repairing her. “Those girls are all probably sitting around having a laugh right now…” she looked over her shoulder at the tech. “Hey, you wanna gather the troops and go see a movie when we’re all done here? Maybe hit a bar after? I’m just gonna sit in my room and look at porn otherwise.”

“Can we go to the store and get some snacks to sneak in first?”

“What? You think I’m going to buy food at the theater like a sucker? I’m not made of money!” Fox scolded.

“Technically, ma’am, you are. You’ve got just shy of half a billion dollars worth of experimental tech in you.”

“Oh shut up, Peterson. You know what I meant…”

***

“All right, now, before I pass this around, you’re no pussy, right?” Thorn said, holding up a freshly rolled joint. She, Naomi, Cindy, and Alexis were all sitting around the table amid empty pizza boxes and soda cans.

“Stop stalling and let’s do this,” Naomi said.

“I mean it,” Thorn warned her. “This is a special blend I made called Megaton because it will destroy your ass. It’s damn hard to grow and I don’t have a lot of it. I don’t want to waste it on amateur hour.”

“Is that the stuff that made Thera freak out?” Naomi asked.

“No. I wouldn’t give this to a virgin. You’re sure about this?”

“Yes. I am sure.”

“All right, then,” Thorn shrugged. “Cin,” she held it and Cindy raised her index finger, igniting a small flame. Thorn lit the joint, took a pull and then then offered it to Naomi, who followed suit.

“Lex?” Naomi held it out after she was finished.

“Oh no, I’m not feeling 100 percent yet. That’s all you.”

Naomi shrugged and turned to her left. “Cindy?”

“Ehhhh…” Cindy watched for several seconds. “Fine.” She took it and inhaled.

Naomi smiled and slapped her on the shoulder while she handed it back to Thorn. “See? We’re big girls. We’ll be fine.”

***

Several hours later, night settled over the city and Delphi walked out of the conference room to go to the kitchen. She approached the living room and saw Alexis on the couch watching a movie. She noticed Thorn was nowhere to be seen and, on further inspection saw Cindy stretched out on the couch face down, while Naomi lay on the floor, staring at the ceiling.

Alexis looked back. “Hey. Didn’t realize you were still here.”

“What happened to them?” Delphi asked.

“Thorn gave them some top-shelf shit. They said they could handle it. That was a lie,” Alexis grinned and went back to her movie.

“And where is Rebecca?”

“She went home about an hour ago. Said something about her work being done now that she ‘took down the giants’.”

Delphi sighed and hovered over Cindy. “Cindy, are you okay?”

“I can’t feel my soul...” Cindy uttered into the couch cushions. “Adros is laughing at me…”

Delphi walked over to Naomi. “Naomi. You still with me?”

“I can hear colors…” she groaned.

“I’ve seen this before. Rebecca got Lea with this once. They’ll be all right in a few hours,” Delphi concluded before taking a seat next to Alexis. “What are you watching?”

“It’s called Day of the Dinosaurs. Some kind of adventure movie with people being chased by dinos. Just started.”

“Oh, that’s one of Cindy’s!” Delphi said while grabbing a pizza box and finding it empty. She went through the other three, finding some pizza here and there. “Is there any mushroom left?”

“Thorn ate it all,” Alexis told her.

Delphi sighed and sat back, settling for a cold slice of plain cheese while the movie started.

The End