She entered the space, and a city under siege was in front of her. The team members that stepped out of the grouping made her happy and irritated all at the same time.
Hron stepped up. “Researcher Zera, we need your assistance in locating a missing person.” He showed her a familiar image.
“You have got to be fucking kidding me.”
Naima frowned. “We do not joke about rescuing personnel. Torun has fallen somewhere in this mess, and we need to find him.”
“Right. Well, we need to find the rubble that appeared at the moment that com contact was lost. Do you have a record of the collapses?”
Hron smiled. “We do. It is narrowed down to these three.”
“Which was closest to non-combatants and which was in a combat area?”
The combat area was in red. “He’s in there.”
They snorted and said, “If that is your choice.”
They ran off into the rubble and found the spot where Torun was likely covered.
She looked to Naima. “I am running a little heavy. Can you help me?”
Naima blinked and nodded. “You want to be at your best when you try the next move.”
They found a spot without cameras or scanners, and Susa was gently set on the ground before Zera looked at the pile. “I am going in. I would step back a bit. This could get messy.”
Astel smiled. “I think I said that recently.”
She flipped him the finger and walked up to the pile. Hron asked, “What are you going to do?”
“Hop.”
She sank through the stone and found the prone body under the rubble. She slid into him and felt a chuckle in his psyche as she pulled his body around her and then used his strength to punch their way out of the rubble.
She staggered out of the pile and looked at Hron before she slowly fell out of Torun’s body. She landed on her hands and knees, cutting her palm before she was able to get back to Susa’s body. She staggered into her, overgrew her, and then forced herself to her feet.
Hron wrapped Torun’s arm around his shoulders and asked, “You okay?”
“I am fine.”
Astel frowned. “You are bleeding.”
She looked down and huffed. “It’s fine. I will heal.”
Naima frowned, and they started hiking back to the starting point. The team was upset.
“Don’t worry. I give hand jobs with my right, not my left.”
Three sets of angry eyes glared at her, and one pair looked at her through slitted lids.
She shrugged, and they returned to the entryway with their missing man. Applause broke out, and Torun straightened and walked up to her.
She looked at him with exhausted eyes. “Did you have fun pulling the building down on yourself?”
He grinned. “Like bubbles in a bubble bath. You used to like those.”
“That was when I had a life outside studying and work. When I had you.” She swayed.
Torun caught her. “Easy. You have passed with flying colours. You need to rest.”
“I can’t. Susa just got called for her exam, and I need to be there for her.” She chuckled. “You are going to be here all day?”
“Yeah.”
“I will see you later.” She pressed her forehead to his.
He whispered, “Take some of my strength.”
“No. It would be noticed. She’s supposed to be sickly, and this is the last thing that I can do for her.”
“Fine. Do it for Susara then come and find me.”
She nodded and headed out of the warehouse. She exited, walked into a group of trees, and became Susa for the final time.
She straightened her shoulders and fluffed her hair out, stalking toward the warehouse and keeping steel in her spine. She signed in and stepped through the doorway. Her team came to her, and she smiled politely. “Zurad, Menfall, Tiyak. Pleased to meet you.”
“Ah, the Suit Bait.” Zurad sneered.
She sighed. “Ah, the flying twit.”
Tiyak chuckled.
“We have to engage an attacker. You are coming with us.”
Zurad grabbed her, and Menfall grabbed Tiyak. Together, they all rose high, and Zurad huffed and tried to keep himself up. He was carrying close to three hundred pounds of female, and he had not been counting on it.
They landed on a roof and faced the crackling energy of Torun. She didn’t roll her eyes.
“What do I need to do?”
Tiyak leaned close to her. “Convince him to surrender.”
Aw. Shit. “How about he just beats you a little? I am pretty sure that I can do that.”
Torun grinned. “Come on, little kitten. You can do this. Use that activation of yours.”
She growled at him and walked forward, using the allure that Susara had in her body and projecting it. She walked forward, step by step, and Torun’s expression grew less focused. She used her hypersonic frequency. “Come on, you are feeling nice and relaxed. Everyone around you is friendly. All you want to do is go and have a beer with the guys and watch a game. If you surrender, I will set you up with my sister. Zera’s tall. Pretty hot. Likes being tied up and controlled during sex. You like control, don’t you? You want to hold her down and do all kinds of things to her. Maybe tie her up, maybe a light whipping. If you ask, she would give in. She loves to give in. She loves you. All you have to do is surrender so I can pass this test and Zera can be happy.”
His knees wobbled. He whispered on the same frequency. “How long can I have with her?”
“Two days. She will give you two entire days of your choosing two weeks from now, and if you are busy, she will bump anyone off the schedule to get you in. Sound fair?”
She kept herself on slow approach, and when she was close enough, she moved slowly and slid her hands up his chest, pulling his head down to hers. Their kiss was intense, but his eyes widened. “Venom?”
“I can’t just be a pretty face.”
He thudded to his knees.
She turned to the team. “That is going to hold him for
