“Yeah,” Benjamin agreed. “And if you’ve just got super strength, then you’re better off working for the police. Live longer that way. Pretty much all superheroes either have multiple abilities that make it practical to use them in the field, or else they at least have a really useful noncombatant power.”
“So what about you?” I wondered.
He laughed. “I’m like Lexi. I usually help with recon.”
“With insects,” she commented with a grimace.
“GMO Hornets,” he clarified. “You know what Genetically Modified Pheromone-Adaptive Hornets are, right?”
I tried not to laugh, my amusement leaking into my tone. “Not a clue.”
He grinned, this punk-rock superhero obviously thrilled to talk about his insects. “Scientists originally engineered them so that they could be trained to distribute pollen in areas where the bee population had been decimated. They also are great at killing off the Murder Hornet population as well, often the number one contributor to bee extinction in those areas, which can also help the normal bees recover.” His grin widened. “Anyway, I’ve got several thousand of them that react to my personal pheromones, allowing me to scope out areas with my superpower, since I can sense what they sense, and even attack the enemy in rare instances when it’s necessary.”
“Okay, that’s enough Mr. Bug Guy,” another dude said, walking up. He had brown hair and pale skin, but was wearing brownish-orange contacts. “I’m sure he’d be much more interested to hear about my pets.”
Benjamin rolled his eyes as the other guy stuck out his hand for me to shake.
“I’m Max, pack leader of forty-two Rashix.”
My eyes nearly bugged out of my head, sincerely shocked. The monster he was referring to was a literal science experiment gone wrong, when they tried to genetically engineer a creature that was some mix between a lion and a Komodo dragon. Why in the hell they would do that, I had no clue. Maybe they never anticipated it becoming capable of reproduction.
But the hairless monster was a ruthless predator, being more reptilian than mammalian, and almost impossible to eradicate once it had infested an area.
Shit, he was basically saying he had a horde of theatrical velociraptors at his command, except that these nightmares were scarier and ran on four legs. One bite was enough to kill a person if they didn’t get medical treatment, never mind the fact that if someone got bitten, there probably wouldn’t be enough remains to even have a proper funeral.
Max laughed. “Pretty cool, right? They were created for war, but impossible for most people to control.”
“Yes, yes, very cool,” Lexi agreed sarcastically. “Teasing Benjamin over here about his bugs, when all you want to do is talk about your obsession with lizards.” She looked up at me then, rolling her amethyst eyes. “Get bored of him talking about those ugly things, and then he’ll talk your ear off about all the tricks he’s taught his snakes at home.”
“They can do some pretty cool stuff,” Max said sincerely.
I finally laughed at that. “Does sound interesting,” I offered.
Lexi made an exaggerated effort to look playfully annoyed. “Okay then,” she said emphatically, wrapping her arms around mine and giving me a tug. “Let me introduce you to everyone else here.”
I didn’t think anything of the gesture, but in the corner of my eyes both Benjamin and Max suddenly looked at me like I had three heads popping out of my shoulders. It took me a moment to realize it might be because of how Lexi was holding onto me, or even that she was touching me in the first place.
It seemed as if her allowing me in her personal space was a pretty big deal.
6: Tension
Freya Rosetti
April 10, 2735 – Current Day – Late Morning
Freya stared in disbelief at Lily’s smooth skin on her forearm, still unable to accept that this was really happening. That this was real. She and Lily were in the bedroom, a knife in Freya’s hand, her fingers grasping her best friend’s wrist.
“Freya,” Lily finally whined. “Is it really necessary to keep doing this?”
“That last time really didn’t hurt as much?” Freya asked seriously.
“Well, yeah, of course it hurt.”
“But you were able to tolerate it?” she continued.
Lily took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Yeah, it hurt, but I could handle more.”
Freya nodded, holding up the knife again. “One more time then.” However, rather than harming her friend, she waited – as she’d always done, all her life. She waited for her permission.
Lily took another few breaths before sucking in a deep one and holding it. “Go ahead,” she said through her teeth.
Freya had been very careful previously, but this time she really wanted to know how much Lily could handle. “Okay, just remember to say stop if you want me to stop. If you just say ouch or something, I’ll keep going.”
“I know,” Lily whispered.
Freya pressed the razor-sharp edge to Lily’s smooth pale skin and began putting pressure, digging it deep into her flesh.
“Ouch! Ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch!” Lily hissed, only for her eyes to flutter and her to begin to stumble.
Freya quickly reached out to catch her with her free arm, easing her onto the bed.
“Are you alright?” she asked seriously.
Lily groaned, now lying on her side on the latex sheets, holding up her arm to look at the small amount of blood over a nonexistent cut. “Yeah, I could handle more. I just got dizzy.”
“Then let’s do it one more time, with you laying down.”
“Freya,” Lily whined. “I think I’m really done.”
They were both silent for a few seconds.
The vampiric beauty then sighed heavily and got up, going into the bathroom to rinse off the knife, only to leave it on the counter as she returned to the bedroom. Carefully crawling into bed, she laid down
