by Ally Miller
Chapter 9
Michael’s body was cold when the last of the ice melted away and searched his body for anything that could have been a fatal wound. He didn’t look harmed, but she had seen his face when the enemy was holding onto him and she prayed that she wasn’t going to discover the truth about herself just to have it snatched away again.
“Please,” she whispered as she leaned down and kissed him. “Please come back to me. You spent your whole life saving me and now I want to say that I saved you.”
Several painful seconds passed before he gasped for breath and his eyes fluttered open. Rory practically sobbed tears of joy to see that he was alive.
“You did it,” he said with a weak smile, body shivering since he was damp from being encased in ice. “I knew one day we’d finally be able to seal them away for good.”
“They’re really gone?” Rory wasn’t sure if she could believe it.
Michael nodded. “I’ve had that feeling in my bones for hundreds of years. It’s not here. It’s nowhere to be found.”
Rory hugged him so tightly she thought she might break him. “You need to warm up. Come back to my place. It’s not far.” She probably should have been embarrassed for him to see how meagerly she lived but right now she was just so happy that he was alive that she didn’t care. She ushered him the few block to her building and up the stairs.
She wrapped him in every blanket she owned and made him hot chocolate on the very small range she had in her studio apartment. She hadn’t been here for almost three days and didn’t really miss it. It might have been hers, but it never had that charm she had wanted because she was too busy trying to make ends meet. Michael still looked around in interest and she wondered if her interests and personality were different in every lifetime. It must have been, because so much time separated one version of herself from the next.
“You are very quiet,” she said as she handed him a steaming mug.
“I... I think something's happened to me,” he answered honestly.
Rory looked at him concerned, She began to touch his arms and shoulders seeing if she missed a wound on them that wasn’t there before. “Where are you hurt?”
“It’s not like that,” he tried to explain, “Before tonight I could feel your presence whether you were two feet in front of me or a whole continent apart. Now you stand before me and I feel nothing. Obviously, we are both alive and well. I just... I just can’t explain it.”
Rory thought of what it could be, of why he could be feeling that way. “Could it be that now that I’ve sealed them away for good that there is no longer a need for you to be ageless. You don’t need to constantly know where I am because the enemy is defeated?”
“Maybe,” Michael considered. “All I know is that I’m never letting you go again. Come live with me and I’m still going to be good about my promise of letting you go to college.”
“We can figure that out tomorrow,” she assured. “It’s late and I want to be as close to you as I can.”
She had Michael lie down on the bed and she gingerly touched his body until she reached a part of his body that was not harmed by their run in with the Dark Society. Rory was determined to make him as comfortable as possible. She carefully wrapped her hand around him and began to stroke him up and down until he shut his eyes and seemed to relax.
Rory thought about the lifetimes where they had been together for years and years. Would this be one of those times that she’d have his children. Would this be their final lifetime together? She tried not to dwell on it. She thought about how they were lucky to be alive and all that matter now was pleasing her beloved.
When he began to squirm at her touch, she knew that it was time to move on to the next step. She kissed him tenderly before she straddled his body, lowering herself onto his manhood, not realizing how much she had wanted it until he was buried to the hilt. His eyes flicked open, taking in the sight of her above him, and the smile that crossed his lips made her want to laugh. She was going to enjoy having this power over him, she could tell.
She rode him, trying to switch up her tempo that so that he wouldn’t know what to expect and in the process was starting to feel so good herself that she was groaning with pleasure. If you had asked her a week ago if she had liked making love on top she would have told you she hated it and yet here she was about to lose herself because she was trying so hard to please Michael.
“You’re trying to kill me!” he moaned and Rory smiled because she knew that he was close too.
They came together and it was a euphoric feeling as she spasmed while he came inside of her. It should have freaked her out but after all the lifetimes they had spent together, there was no one that she trusted more. Rory lay on top of his chest and knew that she would never be in this room again. Where Michael went, she would be sure to follow. Whatever she did, he would be there to support her because that was all they’d ever known and she wouldn’t want it any other way.
Chapter 10
“Crime seems to have gone down slightly in the metropolitan area,” the anchor from channel five news reported several weeks later. “No longer are witnesses reporting sights of monsters or berserk people. Don’t worry though, it seems that the masked man who has saved the people of New York countless times is still around. He was spotted as recently as last night.”
His pretty co-anchor added, “That’s right! Not only was this masked man with his trench coat spotted but there were sightings of him with a lady also wearing a mask. It seems that we have our very own justice league here in New York City.”
Rory watched the news from the huge television in her and Michael’s living room. It still seemed weird to call the lavish penthouse her own, but he had assured her that it was her home. Rory still couldn’t believe the strange road that fate had thrown her down and neither did her parents. When she told them she’d met the billionaire while out for a run, they didn’t believe her until Michael got on the phone and told them himself. It was a much more believable story than being the chosen savior of Earth and her alien companion.
Michael had gone back to working in the office building below the penthouse and Rory had gone back to being his assistant. Most of the time, she helped him decide how many charitable events were too many to attend and helped him fix his superhero costume if it got ripped or torn. Lately the job description had changed to joining him stop robbers, vandals and assaults. The news had caught wind of it and now they were running with this whole justice league thing. She thought of her old co-worker, Max, and wondered what his theories were this time.
She was now a week into her semester at Columbia University and although it was harder than she imagined, she was so happy to be there at all. She hadn’t declared her major yet, but she was almost certain that she was going to choose counseling. In fact if there was a way that she could help girls like her get on their feet when they ran to New York to chase their dreams, she would do it in a heartbeat. By the time she graduated, she would figure out a way to help young people find a job and have hope after the city inevitably kicked their asses. She knew that Michael would be there to help. It would be a charitable donation he was most interested in.
Their hunch about Michael no longer being ageless had also been correct. They were visited by one of his kind shortly after the Dark Society from Nebula Six had been vanquished. “You were one of our best soldiers,” he told Michael. “This version of yourself will be the final version of yourself.”
Michael clasped Rory’s hand tightly. “It will be good to slow down,” he said brightly. “I’ve finally got everything I need.
So Rory’s life became a strange routine. She’d wake up and go to her classes, she’d come home and have dinner with the love of her life and then he’d share his memories of their past lives. Of the people they were and family they’d had. Rory would stare in wonder when she would look up her previous life’s offspring and they were real tangible people. She almost felt sad because she had all these strains of fa
mily that were all completely unaware that their parents, grandparents and so forth had been reborn again. Even if she reached out those that were still alive, would they believe her?
“We will have a family again,” Michael told her on a day that she cried as she realized one of her former children had lived just blocks from her old apartment. “I’m sure of it, and this time you will get to watch them grow without the threat of the enemy hanging over your head.”
“I’m sorry that I’m so emotional about all of this it’s just so strange,” Rory replied. “I spent the last five years of my life thinking that I was utterly alone and here I am a mother already. If I had known that maybe I would have stopped feeling sorry for myself.”
It was at that moment that Michael asked her, “Do you want to see something amazing?” Before she could say no, he was taking her by jet back to England and guiding her to a place that was bustling town. He guided her to a spot in the middle of the town. It reminded her of an old village the way all the shops were all surrounding a small town square. “This. This right here is where I met you for the very first time all those many years ago.”
At that moment, Rory could feel it too. They had a history that so many other people would die for. She had more children and grandchildren than most. Michael had brought so much into her life that it made fighting the enemy worth it.
So as she listened to the television call her and her beloved New York’s Justice League, she couldn’t get mad. It was like Michael had said. Earth was a simple unaware planet. They had no idea how many sacrifices she and Michael had to make to protect it. How many times they were separated and found each other again. Now they were finally free.
She grabbed her backpack and headed to the elevator. When she got to the eleventh floor the doors opened and he stood beside her.
“Off to school?” he asked.
She nodded, “I’ll be in sociology until three.”
Michael leaned over and kissed her hair. “I’ll be waiting for you.” He reminded.
“I know. You keep on changing the world.”
He smiled at her warmly. “You as well.”
The elevator opened on the lobby floor and the pair went their separate ways. Michael went to speak with receptionist about greeting a new client when he arrived later in the day and the other went out the door and into the sun to wait for the bus. She wondered if her true identity was now as obvious as Michael’s had been that day and if people asked who she was what she would tell them.
“I am the savior of Earth.” She would tell them triumphantly. “I am a hero.” Then she shook her head as the bus arrived and she climbed on. This world was already too obsessed with superheroes and comic books, and she didn’t know if they could handle the truth. After all, the truth was often worse than fiction.
THE END
Bonus 24 of 30
NBA Super Star
Description
James had one shot at making it with the NBA Wild Cats. He was excited about having his chance. Though there were quite a few men who were trying out for the same team he wasn’t sure he was going to make it. When his brother comes in right before his name is called he has more faith than ever, hoping to have a big celebration after he makes the team. He doesn’t know what’s in store for him when he leaves it up to Anthony to plan out his celebration. It’s a celebration of a life time!
Chapter 1
James was a tall, handsome man with sandy brown hair and light brown eyes. He was twenty-three and trying out for one of the biggest sports in the United States. He was trying out for the NBA, he could imagine it now being on television just knowing that his friends and family would be seeing him. He was going to be a sports star just like he had always dreamed he would since he was little.
James imagined the fans who would want his autograph and the women that he would be dating. He wasn’t going to settle down, wanting to see what kind of women were out there. He was looking for exciting, exotic women that could fill his satisfaction when it came to pleasing him. He hoped that he would come across some women who wouldn’t mind doing what he wanted when he wanted to.
“I wanted to wish you luck on tryouts tonight,” A male’s voice said from behind him.
James smiled, he knew that voice anywhere. It was a step brother from back home, not just any friend but his best friend.
“Hey, I didn’t think anyone who looked familiar would be around.” James turned around, taking his eyes off the large basketball court.
His brother, Anthony, was standing there with a smile of his own on his face. James gave him a big hug and was even happier that someone had taken the time to come and see him on the big night. That night was going to make him or break him.
Anthony was twenty-four with short black hair and dark blue eyes. He was just slightly shorter than James was and more masculine. He had a tanned body from being out in the sun, he was a roofer and that’s how he had stayed in shape for a few years.
“Everything is going to be great, you’ve got the talent,” Anthony told him as they let go of each other.
“I’m not going to lie, I’m a little nervous. I mean who wouldn’t be? It’s the NBA,” James said, looking around and seeing a few more guys coming through the double doors.
“Don’t worry about it, they have nothing on you. The scouts wanted you for a reason, they see a lot of potential in you and they know that you have talent. They’ve seen it at numerous games and that’s why they put you on the list. This is going to be great for you,” Anthony assured him, seeing the worried look in his brother’s eyes.
He didn’t have to ask if he was worried, after the years of knowing each other he just knew. He saw the tension in his brother’s body and the way he stood but he also saw that James kept his head held high.
“There are ten men here for tryouts and they’re only going to pick two. I’m sure whoever doesn’t make it they will be picked up by someone else. I mean that’s how it goes. One team doesn’t take you another team will. Either way I’m going to make it.” James gave him the look that he could do anything he set his mind to.
“You really want to play for this team?” Anthony asked him.
“The Wild Cats have always been a dream of mine, they are my favorite team. If they don’t pick me up I will be grateful to play for any team,” James replied as he nodded his head firmly.
He wasn’t going to be upset or picky when it came to what team he played on. This was the team they had chosen him for and he couldn’t believe it when one of the scouts had come up to him after a college game and told him who they were and what they wanted.
That night had been a big deal for him, he had gone out to dinner with his family and then went out partying with his friends. Celebrating to have the chance to tryout, everyone that he knew was proud of him. Girls that never noticed him in college were asking for his number that night at the bar and he just waved them off. If he wasn’t good enough before everyone found out about his shot at the NBA, then he was going to make them feel as if they weren’t good enough now that they knew his name.
“After you make the team, we are going to go out and party hard. We’re going to party so hard that you’re going to forget what we did and I’m going to have to remind you.” Anthony laughed, thinking about the celebration that was going to take place after making the team.
“I don’t want to party that hard, you really want to do something awesome for me?” James raised his eyebrows at him.
“Sure.” Anthony would do anything for him if he could.
“Find a woman that wouldn’t mind sharing her time and body with us.” James winked at him.
Anthony couldn’t tell if James was kidding around or not. He saw a grin on his face but there was no laughter behind it to let him know that he was just teasing him.
“I already have someone in mind,” Anthony told him, smirking at him. He knew that if James was kidding around he would’ve made a comment about his statement but he made none.
“James Matthews, is there a James Matthews here?” A man with a clipboard was walking towards the men that were already taking the court to practice.
“Here, I’m here!” James called out, going down the bleachers and making his way to the court.
“Fantastic.” The man looked up at him and gave him an encouraging smile.
Anthony looked at the clock it was only two in the afternoon, tryouts didn’t start until eight that evening. He had plenty of time to take off and come back before the tryouts even started.
“I wouldn’t miss it for the world. Are we going to be able to come back in if we leave for a few hours?” James asked, knowing he wasn’t going to stay for eight hours before the tryouts began.
“Yes, you all may leave whenever you want to. Just be here an hour before tryouts. I want all of you to know that this is a closed tryout session. In the past, we’ve had open tryouts but we’ve come to find out that it just takes more attention away from the players. Again, this is a closed tryout session,” the man told the men that were already there.
Anthony and James made eye contact with each other. Anthony was glad that James could take a few hours and hang out, in California there was plenty to do.
Anthony got off the bleachers and waited for James, they walked out together and Anthony grinned at him. By the next day, James’s life was going to change even if he didn’t make the team, James was soon to become a popular man all over the world when it came to basketball fanatics.
