by Dante Steel
“Hey.” He shut the door and hesitated, standing there. “It’s my fault you got hurt,” he admitted.
“How do you figure?” She turned around, walked over to the bed, and sat on the edge.
When she patted beside her, he obliged and sat there, staring at the floor. “I put a forcefield around Smaug. I was hoping to contain his lightning. When I saw your fireball, I tried to make it so the fireball could go through. I must’ve failed. I shouldn’t have risked taking it down completely. Maybe a blast of fire that big would have—”
“No, Gary.”
“—injured him at the very least,” he continued as if she hadn’t interrupted. “So, you see, it’s my—”
Her soft hand covered his mouth. “No. That blast was different from anything I ever sent. I was connected to it. I felt the fire. It touched him, but then he withdrew it away. Into him maybe or just banished it.”
She lowered her hand and held it palm up. Fire appeared above her hand. When she closed her fist, the fire vanished.
“You’re sure?” he asked, incredulous.
Nicoletta nodded. "I felt a slight resistance. That must've been your forcefield. I did hit him, but maybe I shouldn't have even bothered. I was filled with so much anger and hatred at the sight of him that I didn't think. I just reacted."
“So did Olivia.”
“She shouldn’t have had to do that. She risked so much for me. If her avatar had died enough times to have been reduced back to the beginning… And now she’s not even playing. I feel terrible.”
“Don’t feel terrible. Get mad.”
"And if I get mad, I bet you would then say, ‘Don't get mad. Get even.'"
“Damn straight.”
“So, what’s our next step?” Nicoletta asked.
“Same as before,” Gary said grimly. “We have to become superheroes.”
It took a few days, but between Yuna and Haru, they were able to move Loki to a different location. Gary was happy to not have to deal with the Japanese man and left the communication up to Yuna. While he understood and sympathized with Nicoletta concerning her frustration with Yuna, Gary still placed the blame on Haru rather than Yuna. She was here, in the game, doing her best. Haru was in the real world doing who knew what.
When they were ready to set out, Gary stuck with Nicoletta. It bothered him something fierce that they were missing Olivia.
“She’ll return. We’ll make it safe for her to return,” Nicoletta said as his powers lifted them into the air.
“Oh, I don’t doubt that, but how will she know when to come back?” he asked.
Nicoletta stiffened.
“Have Yuna tell Haru,” he assumed was what her reaction meant.
“I guess so,” she grumbled.
“I don’t want him anywhere near Olivia.”
“I don’t blame you.”
Yuna was supposed to lead the way, but she and Elena remained on the ground. During the night, Gary had heard some howls. The werewolves were still hunting them. If any were in the area, and they caught their scent, it would not spell well for the team.
“What’s the holdup?” Nicoletta complained.
Thankfully, they were too high up for the others to hear, but Gary did descend. That landing was awkward, and they basically dropped the last few feet. Strange. Normally, he had better control.
Trying not to be worried, he asked, “Is something wrong? Did we forget anything?”
Elena’s face was a little pale, Yuna’s even more so.
“What is it?” Nicoletta asked.
Elena rolled up her sleeves. “Touch,” she said.
Nicoletta did as instructed and furrowed her brows. “That’s flesh.”
"Not metal," Yuna said grimly. "As for me, I cannot fly. Nicoletta, do you still have your fire?"
“Of course I do,” Nicoletta snapped.
“Can you show us?” Elena asked. “I hope you can.”
Nicoletta rolled her eyes. “We don’t have time for this.” She glanced at Gary.
He swallowed hard and nodded.
She sighed. Her fire appeared, but it was weak and pathetic. Some smoke sputtered, and then, some water appeared for just a second.
“What in the world?” Nicoletta asked. She muttered something in Spanish.
“What powers do you have?” Gary asked Yuna.
“I have air, fire, and earth yet, but when I try to use one, a different one is used.” Yuna shook her head and sighed wearily.
“Try yours, Gary,” Elena urged.
Gary didn’t want to, but he complied. He felt his telekinesis, and he was able to produce the twin bands of blue circles, but he couldn’t do much else. Would he even still be able to fly? He was too scared to try.
“This is Smaug’s doing, isn’t it?” Nicoletta demanded.
Yuna nodded glumly. "That is my hypothesis, yes. He has moved on from tampering the game to tampering with us, and he is hindering our abilities."
“Do you mean to say you could’ve suppressed his abilities all along?”
“Me? Oh, no, I could not do that in here, not even with my equipment.”
Nicoletta waved her hand. “Haru. Could he have?”
“Oh, well, I suppose he could have tried. He may have tried. Honestly, with how intelligent Samuel August is, I would not be surprised that if Haru had attempted to do so, that Samuel would have picked up the technique and then used it against us.”
“All this means that we have to defeat Loki and become superheroes. Maybe that will help to turn things back to normal,” Gary said, wishing to believe he wasn’t just giving them all false hope.
The amount of concentration required to fly seemed to be five times harder than before. With having to fly them all, he couldn’t say anything. Yuna had to direct him, and he did his best. That was all he could do. They bumped into trees and the roof of a building. At least he didn’t drop anyone.
Eventually, they headed toward a tall mountain to the northwest. An ivory building with columns holding up the roof greeted them.
“Here?” Gary asked, breathlessly.
“Here,” Yuna confirmed.
They all landed, and Gary fell on his ass while the girls all managed to remain upright.
Jumping to his feet, Gary called, “Yo, Loki! I heard you’re a real horse’s ass! Is that true?”
"Who told you this?" a deep voice with a slight accent Gary couldn't place asked from behind them.
Gary whirled around, but no one was there. “Oh, this one guy. A real tool. Goes by the name Smaug. He told me he’s better than you.”
“Better than me at what?” This time, the voice sounded amused. Again, it seemed to come from behind them, but once more, no one stood there.
“Everything. I told you, that guy’s full of himself.”
“And you think telling me that your enemy has insulted me will get me to vanquish him for you?”
“Nah. I just thought you would like to know. That guy is into some freaking shit, though. Heard he had a thing for horses.” When Loki didn’t respond, Gary continued, “For mares in particular. I mean, who does that? That’s not for me. Not at all. I prefer my ladies to be human, you know?”
Without warning, a tall figure in green and wearing a cloak stood before Gary. He was almost as tall as Gary but somehow seemed taller because he was that intimidating.
“Have you ever been told you talk too much?” Loki asked.
“Maybe once or twice,” Gary admitted. “I just like to go at it from time to time. Say what’s on my mind and go with it.”
The moment Loki had appeared, the girls moved to encircle him. Nicoletta blasted him with water that barely drenched his boots. Yuna’s powers seemed to do nothing at all. As for Elena, she darted forward to land a punch when Loki, without turning his head to see her approach from his left side, blocked the blow, pivoted, and slammed his fist into her jaw. Elena staggered back, recovered, and the two traded and parried blows.
Gary tried to use his powers, to hold Loki in
place so they could rain down attacks on him, but Gary couldn’t even get those twin circles to appear. Whatever Smaug had done to them was getting worse.
A flash of silver appeared in Yuna’s hands. Gary nodded. It might be best to forgo their powers and use only weapons against the trickster.
While Yuna slowly approached, Gary took off toward Loki at a dead run. He threw a dagger square at Loki’s back.
The trickster accepted a blow to his head from Elena as he turned sideways. A golden scepter with a massive opal at the top appeared in his hands, and he knocked the dagger out of the way without looking.
Gary was really starting to hate the guy. Plus, he missed Olivia. She would’ve made some comment right about now about how hot Loki was, flirting with him in an effort to get close.
Nicoletta picked up Gary’s dagger. Water swirled from her hand around the blade. Her frown had Gary wondering if she hadn’t intended to release water.
Loki held out his scepter and lifted into the air. “Puny mortals,” he said in a chilling tone that made Gary shiver, “you will all bow before me. Kneel!”
A force pressed down on Gary, suppressing his breathing and trying to force him to one knee. Nicoletta, Elena, and Yuna all struggled, but Gary complied.
“Oh, great Loki,” Gary said as Yuna, still refusing to bow, slid to his side to block Loki’s view and shoved her dagger into Gary’s hand. “I wish I was a stallion, and you your mare, and—”
“Silence!” Loki thundered.
“—we could create another multi-legged horse. Not eight legs. Not a horse-spider type thing. No, a horse with—”
“I demand your silence!” Loki lifted his staff.
Immediately, Gary rose into the air, straight and tall. A tight, invisible band of constriction wrapped around him, binding him, preventing Gary from moving. He couldn’t even breathe.
“As for the rest of you, kneel before me or else I will kill your friend.” Loki glowered at them.
Yuna bowed but did not kneel. Elena jerked to her knees as if against her will. Nicoletta began to laugh.
“Do you think I jest?” Loki boomed.
“I think you can go ahead and kill him,” Nicoletta said. “What do we care? He said he loved us, but he’s in love with you. Seriously? He wants to be a stallion? Why not just fuck you as a man? He’s as messed up as you are. Pretending to be a mare and laying with a horse. That’s twisted, man.”
“I am not a man. I am a god, and—”
“I will worship you,” Gary said.
“You threw a dagger at my back,” Loki snapped. “Do you mistake me for a fool?”
“I knew you would never accept my love!” Gary shouted. “Allow me to prove myself.”
Loki considered him critically and then nodded. "You may. Kill the women."
“With pleasure.”
The trickster released the binds constricting Gary, and he lowered gently to the ground, landing on his feet.
"A kiss before I fight them?" Gary asked. "And may you release your hold on them so that they may have a sporting chance if it pleases you?"
“Why?”
“Why a kiss? For luck, of course. Or why give them a chance? So that the fight for your honor will be more, ah, suspenseful for you to witness.”
Loki lowered himself, his feet hovering inches above the ground. His body was close to Gary’s but too high up.
“No kiss without completing your task,” he admonished.
Gary lowered his head as if to nod. While he could not use his power against Loki, Gary had just flown here, and he was able to fly now. He rose, kissed Loki on the cheek anyhow, and stabbed him in the gut with Yuna’s dagger.
Loki jerked back and lifted his scepter, but Gary kicked the wound, stabbed Loki’s throat, and then sliced his fingers gripping the scepter. Another kick, this time to that hand, and Gary began to fall. His powers were too erratic.
The scepter clanked against the ground. Gary fell on his ass. Loki's hands were at his throat, slick with blood. As the trickster wasn't high up, Elena grabbed his legs and forced him down, and they stabbed him with more weapons, kicked him, punched him until eventually, he stopped moving.
But no words appeared granting them the distinction of superheroes.
Nicoletta noticed Gary’s hesitation. She pointed to the scepter.
Gary whirled around. The scepter glowed the same blue as Gary’s power as it floated in the air.
He grabbed it, but the scepter continued its slow ascension.
Elena waved him off, seized the scepter, and grunted as she forced it back down and then slammed it against the ground. The scepter broke in half, but the opal, now glowing even brighter, bounced twice before being stomped by Elena’s heel. A wave of blue light spanned out from the opal, and raw energy struck Gary. He shook his head, dazed, and lifted his arm.
The twin circles were back. Could he dare to hope Smaug’s manipulation over their powers had been corrected?
Congratulations, superheroes!
About time. Gary grinned at the others, but the victory felt hollow. Only by his channeling Olivia had they been able to best Loki. She would die laughing when she heard Gary had wanted to be a stallion to his mare.
Would you like to change your name?
Yes. Now, instead of Vampire Hunter, Gary was Shifter Hunter. Werewolf Hunter might’ve rolled off the tongue easier. Considering that the foe they killed to become superheroes in the first place wasn’t a werewolf, that title just didn’t fit.
Are you ready to pick your team?
Gary ignored that. He wasn’t ready. Olivia wasn’t there, and she wasn’t yet a superhero in this issue. Until everything was back to rights, he would be a superhero without a team.
Chapter Twenty-Six
None of them felt like celebrating. Once they recovered their weapons, Gary and Yuna flew the others away toward a new town that seemed to be inspired by ancient Rome. The brick buildings were erected in a circle around a central hub with two walls, one around that central hub and another around the entire town. Most of the NPCs were dressed in red and gold armor, and they did not walk anywhere. They marched in uniform lines.
“Time to set up a trap,” Gary said. “We need to move on Smaug immediately.”
Yuna shook her head. “I think we need to ensure our powers are back first.”
“It might not be a bad idea to learn what else we can do now that we’re superheroes,” Nicoletta said, focusing on Gary and Elena.
She still had not forgiven Yuna, and Gary worried she never would. Nicoletta tended to be very opinionated, very stubborn, and very passionate. When she felt like someone crossed her, she held a grudge.
So long as they could work as a team to bring down Smaug, that was all that mattered. For the moment at least.
“We can’t take too long,” Gary said. “Let’s—” A yawn cut him off.
Elena smiled wanly. “I suggest we eat, sleep, train, eat, sleep, battle.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Nicoletta said.
“I concur.” Yuna smiled at Nicoletta, who scowled.
Gary was scowling, too. “Two days? That’s too long.”
“We want this to be the last battle,” Elena said. “We need to do it right. Have a trap, yes, but the best trap would be one that uses our new skills because Smaug won’t see what’s coming.”
“Unless he’s watching us,” Gary said stubbornly. “And we shouldn’t be in one place too long. We’ve managed to avoid the werewolves so far, but our luck might not hold out forever.”
“We won’t be here forever,” Yuna assured him.
“Can you guarantee that?” Nicoletta muttered.
Yuna smiled weakly. “We can relocate tomorrow to plan and train and then sleep there before the battle, yes?”
“Yes,” Elena said, and Nicoletta nodded.
“Fine, but let’s see if we have enough energy after eating to test out our new powers before we sleep tonight,” Gary begged. He was too anxious and worried.
The sooner they ended Smaug, the better.
The three girls agreed, and they ate in a large room on sloping couches. The meal lasted course after course with all the meat they could handle—wild boar, lamb, pig, venison, mutton, and hare. Everything had been cut into bite-sized pieces already, and they were given no silverware, so they ate with their fingers. The servants came over and washed their hands throughout the meal, and they drank so much wine Gary thought he would swim away.
The wine might not have been the best of ideas, Gary realized in hindsight as he found himself nodding off for the fifth time. Eventually, he could not fight it any longer, and he succumbed to sleep.
Olivia was there, waiting for him. So were Elena and Nicoletta. He welcomed them in his arms, hugging them. Suddenly, he was buried deep within Olivia. Weren’t they wearing clothes a second ago? Not that it mattered. Olivia was so tight, and Nicoletta and Elena were making out. He reached over to grab Nicoletta’s ass and then began to finger her.
Olivia screamed his name as she orgasmed, and Gary buried his cum deep inside of her. He rolled over onto his back, his hands beneath his head. He could smell Nicoletta on his fingers.
Nicoletta waltzed over. “I do think I said once that I would’ve sucked you if I were in the game,” and she proceeded to do just that.
Gary shut his eyes, getting lost in the pleasures of Nicoletta's hot mouth when he realized a pussy was hovering above his face. Without opening his eyes, he ate her out. It didn't matter who it was. He just wanted to share himself, his body, with all of them. Juices gushed, and he licked it up, his body shuddering as he came again.
He opened his eyes then to see whose pussy he was eating. Yuna. What the hell? But he couldn’t get up. Elena had lowered herself onto his cock and was riding him. How could he still be hard?
Yuna rubbed herself against his mouth, and he felt trapped. The way Elena was moving her hips was too much, and he groaned. What the hell. If the girls were okay with it… He resumed sucking on Yuna’s clit.
They took turns riding him, sucking him, taking his cock in their pussies. In the end, Olivia asked for him to fuck her ass, and he was just about to when he woke up.
