by Simon Archer
“Keep your hands to yourself, or I’ll cut them off,” I snarled. I was back on my feet, though it was difficult to keep steady with the winds so strong against me. I might have had immense super strength, but I wasn’t any heavier than I normally was.
Fulgurite cooed in answer to my threat, running a hand along her body again. “Ooh, you talk dirty just like he does.”
Remembering Kara’s gadget, I pressed the button for the heat ray, and it hit the villainess dead on in the chest. At first, the red force field from before flickered in protest and tried to protect her from harm. However, Kara’s heat ray was stronger, and it pierced through the shield after a struggle. Fulgurite reeled backward with a shocked expression, a dark burn marring the cloth of her uniform where my father’s symbol used to be.
I was glad to know I’d done some kind of damage because her lips were bloody when she rose to her feet once again. Around us, I felt the storm falter slightly, and the wind died down a notch. She wiped her lips with the back of her wrist and chuckled like I was an amusing puppy and not one of the best students at Valcav.
“My lord really believes you’re going to join the cause,” she huffed. “I’d be careful not to let him down.”
“Stop it,” I shot back. “This isn’t about him. It has nothing to do with him!”
“Oh really? Why don’t you tell him that, then?” She hummed knowingly as she looked me up and down with an amused little smile on her face that I longed to punch off her. Then she held out her hand to reveal the same glowing cube from her initial entrance.
An instant later, my father’s holographic face appeared above it just like earlier. For a moment, I almost couldn’t see his crazy. Instead, he smiled at me lovingly.
“Junior, my boy! How is the battle going?” Lord Inferno cried in his over the top voice. “I have to say, I’m quite impressed with you. I always knew you’d beat my record.” His eyes sparkled with pride. “Is everything else going okay? I heard you had some troubles, and you know what I always say. ‘Nothing solves troubles like dipping someone in boiling hot magma!’ Do you need me to send you some magma—”
His image suddenly vanished when Fulgurite was awkwardly frozen. With a furious expression, she sat down in the sand and stared off at some unknown target. Confused, I stepped backward again, wary that it was some kind of trick. I nearly jumped out of my skin when Triton rested a calm hand on my shoulder.
He said from behind me, “Thank you for helping, Nick. It is time for you to go.”
“I can help,” I said, desperate not to leave it there. Fulgurite wasn’t my father, but she was known to be in his company, and that was enough for me. It was personal because she’d made it personal. “Let me help. I can—”
“Go help the others clear the beach and get the civilians to safety,” he said, and his tone brooked no argument. On the horizon, several ships coming in from my father’s island sailed into view.
Fulgurite had reinforcements.
“Got it,” I said after only a moment of struggle. “I’ll get them to safety, sir.”
With a glare at Fulgurite, I forced myself to turn my back on her. The other heroes were here: Amazoness, Mindbender, and Judgement, the latter of whom had his arms crossed and glared at me like he knew this was my fault. To be fair, the hologram of my father’s face had been evidence enough.
Ignoring him, I zipped up the beach using my super speed and joined Andie and Aylin. Aylin had recovered from her earlier attack and was carrying a small girl toward a screaming mother.
“Help us get them off the beach, Nick. Kara and Eric went to tend to some of the wounded.” Andie gestured toward a small crowd of children.
“Will do!” I joined her in saving the children, a task that went a lot faster with the three of us working together. We’d just gotten all of them to safety when a loud boom cracked in the air, and a huge explosion erupted where Triton and the others had been. The ships had docked with the beach, and now several waves of Inferno reinforcements were attacking the place.
I longed to help them, but there were still innocents trying to flee the chaos. Using super speed, I snatched one man who nearly ate a bullet, and three others too close to the fighting itself.
Still, it was obvious that the heroes were going to push my father’s forces back. As I carried a man with a broken arm toward Kara and Eric, I wondered if he had planned this whole thing from the beginning. He had to have known that the heroes would come to stop Fulgurite.
“I think this entire invasion was just to rescue Fulgurite after she tested me.” I swept my hands out at the invasion as the retreat began.
“I think you might be right,” Eric said as he took the injured man from me. “There’s only one battlemech, and he always brings a dozen of those when he expects Triton to be there...”
Eric was right. This group was way too small to be an invasion force, especially with it being so close to Valcav, and as I looked around, I realized Fulgurite had already escaped. Only mindless drones remained, and they were only putting up enough resistance to keep the heroes focused on them.
“Nick, can you help me over here?” Andie called, and as I turned toward her, I saw the problem. “I can’t lift this thing on my own.”
“Yeah,” I said as I zipped over to her and lifted the hotdog stand with ease so the woman trapped underneath could escape.
“Thank you!” she cried and hugged me. “I thought I was a goner.”
“I wouldn’t let that happen,” I said as I dropped the hotdog stand down again. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to get to the others.”
“Good luck!” she called as I raced away to save more lives.
After another hour of hard rescue work, we were back at Valcav. We had secured the beach, and the four of us happy with a job well done. I sat in a chair, trying to recover from the power use. Andie was draped on me with her chin resting on my shoulder.
“That was my first hero duty,” she said proudly. “We saved a lot of people today.”
“I just wish I could have helped more,” I argued.
“You did help more, Nick,” she countered. “The others were focused on the fighting. If it wasn’t for us securing that beach, it’s possible innocents could have died in the crossfire.”
I acknowledged her point with a kiss to her cheek.
“You’re a dork and really stupid for attacking Fulgurite alone, but you’re my dork.” Andie’s smile was bright as sunshine. “I’m glad you’re okay.”
I smiled, sat up, and stretched my arms a bit, accidentally dislodging Andie in the process. Eric, Aylin, and Kara were busy with one of Kara’s inventions. I’d given her the shield back earlier with a note of thanks, and she’d smiled in response before turning it back into a phone. The three were debating what gadgets might be useful in the future. Eric suggested a shield to protect Kara herself, and Aylin suggested some sort of focus to help Eric concentrate his powers better.
I was proud of them. They hadn’t panicked on the beach. No, they’d gone straight into hero mode and protected the lives around them.
Andie noticed the expression and smiled at me. She kissed me full on the lips and slid into my lap. With an intake of breath, I felt the rush of endorphins sail up and down my spine. The kiss grew heated, and I cupped her face to bring it deeper.
It was the clearing of Eric’s throat that brought us back to the surface, and we parted, panting, staring deep into each other’s eyes.
“You guys want us to go away, or...?”
I snorted and shook my head. Looking at Andie, I asked, “You ready to show me that painting yet?”
She grinned, her face flush with need. “I believe so.”
Chapter 15
“Are you ready to go?” I asked as Andie opened the door to her room, and instead of responding, she leapt into my arms. The next few moments were a hot rush of hands, lips, and fingers in her hair. It was hard to keep track of where we were going, let alone the surprised noises of various peo
ple caught in the crossfire.
As we left the academy, I’m pretty sure we knocked into Adelaide, but instead of getting mad, I heard a Southern croon of exasperation and something about having a safe night out on the town. When we met the chill of the night, we finally parted to stare at each other. Andie’s eyes had darkened to an inky abyss that pulled me in and was in no mood to let me go again.
It took a long moment of breathing before I could speak, even then, it came out as an unintelligible string of gibberish. Andie laughed, and my fingers twitched the need to touch her, to pull more of that sound out into the world. She was such a loving, carefree soul, and deserved a lot more than what life had dealt her. It made me brave, to know that she took what she wanted when she wanted it and didn’t stress about the bigger things.
I wanted her. I didn’t stress about what that meant and where we were going.
I took her hand, pulled her close, and asked, “How about a race to your apartment?”
“Last one is a naughty boy,” she smirked. She pulled back from me and gestured the path into town. “You remember where it is?”
“Been thinking about nothing else since last time, so yeah.”
“Alright, then. Three...” She pretended to count by looking at her watch, and then spat out in a rush, “—twoonego!”
She laughed again and dashed off ahead of me, using the elasticity of her body to perform a fancy front flip. Such a show-off. I made up the distance with a roll, then vaulted over a banister. She very nearly crashed into a young female student carrying a big pile of books, and contorted her body out of the way with a wave and a “Gotta go, sorry!”
I granted the young woman an apologetic look as I passed by and then ruined it with a wolf-whistled to Andie. Her backside was quite astonishing as she dashed down the streets slightly ahead of me.
“Eyes up here, Nick! I’ve got standards!”
I chuckled and dodged another innocent caught in the middle of our race. “Do you now?”
Andie performed another front flip and then contorted her body into a barrel as she rolled down the street. It wasn’t until she straightened back into her normal form that she called back, “More than you!”
That was probably true. I had been taken by Andie’s charm the first day we met, and that had hardly changed since. With a laugh, I shook my head as we both asked into an alley and headed deeper into the Stacks. By the time we made it to the apartment building, she and I were tied. She shoved me as she entered the front door, giggling like a total loon.
I snorted and followed behind her, rolling my eyes as she cheated her way up the stairs by stretching up the flight of them and then pulling herself over the top like a big rubber band, effectively skipping the entire set. It didn’t take me long to meet her at the top, but it was clear that she’d won.
She leaned her elbow on the apartment door and pretended to be disappointed. Tsking with her tongue, she said, “Looks like someone’s a naughty boy.”
“Is that so?” I asked as I snatched her by the waist and shoved her up against the door. Her body pressed into mine as I kissed her hard and deep. Her soft mewl of approval was like a drug that sailed up and down my spine, and I shivered with the need of her.
She wasn’t content to let me lead, though, and flipped us around, so she was the one pressing me into the door instead. As long as I got to touch her, I didn’t actually mind. I started tugging at the waistband of her pants, and she chuckled as she peeled my fingers away. She set my hands on her hips instead.
“Painting first. I’ve got plans.”
It was my turn to groan, but she kissed me hard and blindly fiddled with the front door until we spilled into her apartment. We both tripped over the coffee table and then staggered into the canvas room where the painting she’d started the last time I was here was on full display.
There was a stunned silence while my brain slowly rebooted itself. Then I blinked, looked at her, then stared at the painting again. My sleeping face and the lines of my body were painted in vivid strokes of gold. It had been given loving, near-photographic detail... but instead of sheets, I slept in a bed of fire. The fire was more impressionist, prone to violent strokes of the brush that danced and twisted with no real sense of direction. The flames curled around my sleeping form, licked at my fingers, and burned along the back of my neck. There were no scars, and my expression was peaceful. I seemed content with it.
I’d never been content with fire, not since I was a boy.
“Fire,” I said and cleared my throat. “Interesting choice.”
Andie’s expression faltered a little into worry that she’d done wrong, and I immediately shook my head, smiling to reassure her.
“No, no, I love it.” I gestured at the painting. “Really, it’s gorgeous. I’m honored. No one’s ever painted me before...”
“... but?”
“I... I just don’t understand the fire.”
“Stop that. It’s not about your dad.” Andie tsked and tugged me further into the room. She passed by the canvas and sat us both on the sofa. “When you power up, you burn hot and bright. You’re... you’re very warm.” She gestured vaguely as she struggled to explain. “Aylin’s nickname is pretty accurate. You do glow, in a way. You’re like this flame I can’t help but look at.”
“You’re the one who glows,” I said as I found her hand and twined her fingers in mine. I didn’t see what she saw because what she saw, I saw in her.
“You sure that isn’t just your own warmth reflected back at you?” She arched a brow at me.
The whole thing was silly, and I shook my head in answer. I leaned forward to kiss her again, soft and sweet this time. She pressed back a little harder, and her hand fell to the button of my jeans. I let her undo them, breathing heavy when the zipper came down.
“At least you didn’t paint me as an angel,” I huffed. “I’m a lot of things, but pure isn’t one of them.”
She snickered and kitten-licked the tip of my nose. Her hand, as bold as the rest of her, slipped down passed my boxers and curled around the hardness she found there. I couldn’t help but jolt at the sudden attention and fell back down on the sofa. Andie straddled me, her hand still down my pants. I cupped her perfect little breasts and rubbed a thumb over her left nipple. Even through her shirt and bra, they’d stiffened, happy for my touch.
“Angel? Please!” She chuckled. “I believe you lost the race. You’re naughty and all mine to deal with now.”
I tried to formulate some kind of response, and a thought floated into my brain with a string of text about spankings and punishing her transgressions later.
Instead, Andie began to stroke me slow and steady while looking deep into my eyes. Her brown irises were filled with lust, and her blonde hair fell over them while she worked me into a frenzy. She smacked my hand away from her waistband again and then sank in close to nibble on my neck.
I squirmed at all the attention, incredibly turned on with no possible way to return the favor. I cupped the curve of her ass, then groped it roughly. She bit me in warning, only to lick it a moment later in apology.
“Let me take care of you, Nick. Just this once.”
“I’m going to make you beg if you don’t—ah!” Her fingertip swirled at the tip of my erection, while the rest of her hand kept right on stroking. She must have stretched her thumb up to do it, and that silly one-liner from our first day came back to me: I’m stretchy. “Oh god.”
“I’ll beg later if you can make me,” she cooed, batting her lashes as she looked demurely to the floor like some kind of geisha. But then her expression took a turn, and a dark, hungry look combed over me. “But it’s your turn first.”
Within minutes, I was a thing of arousal and need. It overtook all my senses. She bit my neck again and sucked hard enough to leave a mark, all the while stroking at a demanding, steady pace. Instead of letting me crest over, she pulled her hand away just before I came. I admit, I swore in protest.
“Andie, fuck
ing hell—”
“Shh.” She didn’t leave me hanging for long. My pants and boxers were pulled to my knees, and then she dipped down so I could feel her breath on my twitching cock. I thought about begging, then I thought about making her beg later. A cute little kitten lick ran along the underside of my length, and my head tipped back in a loud groan.
“You’re so excitable,” she giggled and licked at my cock again. “Look at this perfect dick. So strong and mighty, just like the rest of you. Needy, too.”
“Andie, for fuck’s sake—”
She swirled her finger on the tip and then blew gently just to watch me twitch. “Mm. Ask nicely, Nick. I don’t appreciate that kind of language.”
With a roll of my eyes, I decided that it was best to play her game for the moment.
“Please,” I sighed, not even bothering to put any heart behind it.
She took the tip of my cock into her mouth and swirled the head with her tongue. I groaned and tried to thrust in deeper, but her hands went to hips and held them still.
This went on for another few agonizing seconds, until I finally cried out, “Alright, alright, please suck m-my—ahh!—-oh god, oh great a-and fucking evil Andrea Baker! Mercy!”
She finally relented and took me hard and fast into her mouth. I thought I was ready for it, but it turns out the elasticity of her body was more than just external. Her tongue twisted and curled around me at impossible lengths when she swallowed me down and seemed to be everywhere at once. I didn’t last much longer under the assault, and I came with a loud cry as I trembled from head to toe.
She didn’t hesitate to drink it all down, her throat taking me completely while she manipulated her mouth in ways no one else could. She continued the torment until I was completely drained and panting on the sofa.
Letting me go with a smack of her lips, she settled back and blushed at my reaction. It was strange how she could go from eager to uncertain in a heartbeat. “So... you approve?”
