by H D Forth
There were an additional three doors on the bottom floor. One I couldn’t determine, but probably a bathroom, one that led upstairs and the front door, leading to the elevator and stairwell.
Except for one corner, there wasn't any other furniture in the building. This area was almost completely clutter free. It held a long table, long enough for someone even bigger than me to lie on. On that table sat the laptop that I had connected with. I could already tell it had started a diagnostics. The table was pushed slightly out from the wall. There was also an air vacuum, located above the table. Next to the table on the floor, was a rather large pack.
Judging from the screwdrivers and stuff that stuck out of it, it would appear to be Kani’s tool bag. Kani helped me onto the table.
“What happened?” She asked. Her look flickered from concern at me to interest down at the laptop.
"Someone got lucky." I groaned. The pain was blazing just as hot as before. The Nerve Module didn't seem to realize that I already knew that I had been hurt. I didn't know what to do about it. I couldn't just disconnect from it. I wasn't sure I would be able to make the connection with my lenses again, as tired as I was.
Kani looked over the diagnostics on her laptop. "Well it looks like, the two that hit your hip reflected off and away from you, but the last one seems to still be inside your…" she glanced down at the laptop. "Window Cleaner. And the loose fluid is in danger of causing havoc with your internal electronics."
I looked down at myself. I was just starting to see blue liquid dribbling from my body. "I thought that was mostly waterproof!" I growled at her in clenched teeth.
She flinched, before visibly steeling herself. She ran a few leather straps over my chest, securing me firmly to the table. That made me a little nervous. I didn't like being restrained, I didn't like being unable to move freely, not being able to take a full breath.
I tried to calm myself, but every second that Kani had me strapped down was hell. It couldn't have taken more than 10 minutes before she had the tank sealed up and was really to weld me back together.
That was about the time when Val arrived. Together they held me together and welded me shut. Then Val forced my hip back into something resembling the original shape, mostly using weight and leverage. Then another 15-20 minutes of Kani dinging away on my hip with her hammer before it was close enough.
"You current frame is made from an aluminum composite. This," Kani held up a small bucket with a brush in it. "Will make sure that the metal doesn't break due to repeated deforming. So long as it doesn't happen too often, then this will work just fine to fix it."
Then she brushed the stuff on my hip. To get a proper coating, she had drawn the skin far enough away to reveal the bottom of my ribcage and the top my leg frame. The liquid was thick and oozed very little.
"Ew," Kani mumbled when she pulled the thick layer of artificial skin out of the way. "I really got to speed up my work on something less…" She waved a good 5 centimeters thick skin back and forth. "Disgusting." Within ten minutes of applying it, the liquid started to bubble and vapor rose from it. Kani pulled the air extractor down over my hip.
"Now I need you to rest for the next 6 hours, at least." She told me sternly. Then she freed me from my wretched bonds. 2 minutes later I was out like a light.
Chapter Fifty-Eight
Once the police apprehended the car thief, they assigned me a registration number. This would be the number they would use to recognize me. When Heroes had first started appearing after the first big showdown, there had been more than a few conflicts between law enforcement and vigilantes. Until the Heroes Guild was established and they came up with a system.
The Heroes Guild was responsible for all vigilante activity that was being committed. Meaning all property damage would fall on their shoulders to pay. They would be responsible for contacting the various vigilantes and talk to them about joining the Guild, or rejecting them. If they didn't join, they were now responsible for themselves and the Guild could no longer be held responsible, then the police would need to know the vigilante’s actual identity.
For now I was still uncontacted, though it wasn't uncommon for the Guild to wait a few months to see how a potential Hero prospect worked in the field, before they contacted the vigilante. It wasn’t like they didn't have enough money. Most of the big Heroes currently made more than most movie stars, and they only took home half of all profits from sale of merchandise and toys.
At least that’s what the Internet had told me, and the Internet never lies to anyone. It also told me that.
Oncer the police let me go, I called Kani and Val. I told them about my condition and that I would need some work done. Between the attack against the car, and the last wound, I was feeling pretty exhausted and tired.
I ran into one of the still dark alley, making sure that no one was around. Then I pulled my shirt and pants off, replacing them with a pair of pants and shirt I had hidden away in my trash bag leg holster. There was something awkward about being half naked in an alley, but when someone’s shot you three times in the gut you tend to forget about the small parts.
Feeling was a little wonky at times with the nerve core. I could almost always detect a featherlight brush, whenever Val was teasing me, but I had trouble feeling exactly where the pain was in my guts without looking. All I could feel was a blazing line of diminishing fire, running from the middle to right over my stomach. When I looked down I could see the three bullet holes.
Two of them showed off some pretty deformed skeleton. I was bullet resistant, not proof. I bullet wouldn't do as much damage to me as a to a human, but the two shots had deformed my hip frame. That combined with the deformation caused by the burst of power and I was forced to be limping around, unable to move my leg properly.
Once changed, though I knew I would be early, I started towards the address Val had given us. According to her it was one of her old hideouts, or something to the likes of that. IT would become our new HQ.
Even though I was limping I still didn't want to pay for a taxi. I didn't have a lot of money, and I had blown most of it on the duster. Which I no longer wore, because my partners in heroism didn't like it. I shook my head. Women and their reasonable sense for fashion, and what is and isn't good combat clothes. Just let me wear my cool duster.
Still though, I hadn't returned it. Instead it had gotten special place in my closet for the right moment. I had even fixed where the bullet passed through and into me. I wasn't going to return, not for the world.
I was relieved to see the HQ building coming up. It was a smaller building, only reaching up maybe 20 or 30 floors. According to Val, she had bought the first two floors when she had been flush with cash and the Towers were a new idea.
Val had also inserted private front door into the building. Apparently there had been some extensive remodeling done, when she had bought the two bottom apartments.
I knew this was the place. The TPS (Tower Position System) on the phone told me so, but it wasn’t until Kani’s laptop pinged my body for a connection that I let out a sigh of relief. She was already here. I gladly helped the laptop make the connection. It’s wireless functionality could reach much further than I could with just my mind.
Once I connected, it didn't take more than 5 seconds before the private door swung open and Kani stepped out. I was still a good 20 meters away, but she spotted me quickly.
She looked at me for a moment, confused at y limp. I raised my shirt slightly giving her a look at what had happened. She gasped and helped me into the building. This was the first time I had been inside our Head Quarters to-be. As we walked into the building I noticed that most of the walls in the apartment had been torn down, turning it into a large open space.
I one corner I saw a rusted and pitted sink, that obviously hadn't seen any use in a really long time. Contrary to Valeria’s apartment our new HQ was oddly clean and neat. The only signs of wear was furniture, like the sink that obviously hadn’t been used in a long w
hile. There was no clutter, no miscellaneous items.
Except for one corner, there wasn’t any other furniture in the building. This area was almost completely clutter free. It held a long table, long enough for someone even bigger than me to lie on. On that table sat the laptop that I had connected with. I could already tell it had started a diagnostics. The table was pushed slightly out from the wall. There was also an air vacuum, located above the table. Next to the table on the floor, was rather large pack.
Judging form the screwdrivers and stuff that stuck out of it, it would appear to be Kani’s tool bag. Kani helped me onto the table.
“What happened?” She asked. Her look flickered from concern at me to interest down at the laptop.
“Someone got lucky.” I groaned. The pain was blazing just as hot as before. The Nerve Module didn't seem to realize that I already knew that I had been hurt. I didn't know what to do about it. I couldn't just disconnect from it. I wasn't sure I would be able to make the connection with my lenses again.
Kani looked over the diagnostics on her laptop. “Well it looks like, the two that hit your hip reflected off and away from you, but the last one seems to still be inside your…” she glanced down at the laptop. “Window Cleaner. And the loose fluid is in danger of causing havoc with you internal electronics.”
I looked down at myself. I was just starting to see blue liquid dribbling form my body. “I thought that was mostly water proof!” I growled at her in clenched teeth.
She flinched, before visibly steeling herself. She ran a few leather straps over my chest, securing me firmly to the table. That made me a little nervous. I didn't like being restrained, I didn't like being unable to move freely, not being able to take a full breath.
I tried to calm myself, but every second that Kani had me strapped down was hell. It couldn't have taken more than 10 minutes before she had the tank sealed up and was really to weld me back together.
That was about the time when Val arrived. Together they held me together and welded me shut. Then Val forced my hip back to its mostly original shape, mostly using weight and leverage. Then another 15-20 minutes of Kani dinging away on my hip with her hammer before it was close enough.
“You current frame is made from an aluminum composite. This,” She held up a small bucket with a brush in it. “Will make sure that the metal doesn't break due to repeated deforming. So long as it doesn't happen too often, then this will work just fine to fix it.”
Then she brushed the stuff on my hip. To get a proper coating, she had drawn the skin far enough away to reveal the bottom of my ribcage and the top my leg frame. The liquid was thick and oozed very little.
“Ew,” Kani mumbled, when she pulled the thick layer of artificial skin out of the way. “I really got to speed up my work on something less…” She waved a good 5 centimeters thick skin back and forth. “Disgusting.” Within ten minutes of applying it, the liquid started to bubble and vapor rose from it. Kani pulled the air extractor down over my hip.
“Now I need you to rest for the next 6 hours, at least.” She told me sternly. Then she freed me from my retched bonds. 2 minutes later I was out like a light.
Chapter Fifty-Nine
I found myself coming to. At some point during my sleep, I must've woken up enough to dim the light receivers in my eyes, because the room was significantly dimmer than when I had gone to sleep, even with the lights on.
I turned up the brightness on my eyes as I lifted the hood over my hip. Tentatively, I slipped off the table and started moving my leg. I had a full range of movement again, no limping or anything.
Then I noticed that even though the light was on in the room, it was empty. Kani’s equipment had been neatly packed together and lay at the end of the table, just above where my head had been.
I shrugged my shoulders and moved my neck looking for the impingements and sore muscles that I knew I wouldn't find. I slipped the skin up over my hip and torso again.
After a few seconds, the skin started sealing tight. A few moments later, the loose skin seemed to fill out with muscle-like tissue in the space between, until I once more looked like a really fit human.
I walked around our new headquarters, curious to explore the building. It was weird knowing that it was technically Val's. It was the opposite of Val's apartment. Where hers was messy and looked to be filled with old stuff and miscellaneous junk that she'd never thrown out. Head Quarters seemed to be completely empty except for the table in the corner and some kitchen gear that had been put onto the counter.
I walked over to the stairs, that should lead to the second floor. I expected it to look like Val had gone in a desperate frenzy to clean the lower floor, by throwing everything upstairs.
It wasn't. It was almost exactly like the downstairs. It opened up to a relatively large room, though this one had a bunch of smaller rooms. The large room was basically empty except for what looked to be a dust-covered carpet. There were two other rooms, connected with this one.
The first room had a newly cleaned and newly repaired toilet. That must’ve been what Kani was working on today. I thought, closing the door.
The next room had a rotten bed frame in it, though there was no bed to fit inside the frame. It also had a small balcony attached to it, that opened out over an alley and showed the magnificent view of the neighboring building's wall.
I heard the door downstairs open and close. Followed by some labored breathing as someone was carrying something substantial around.
When I walked down to the bottom floor, I found Val dragging around a fridge/freezer combination twice the size of her. It was almost comical watching her lift the big thing around. I knew that she could easily lift it, but the labored breathing seemed to come from her failings at trying to look around it.
I held in a snicker as I saw her trying to get the fridge through the door alone. She put down the fridge and looked into the room. Her eyes first fell on the empty table that I had laid on.
“Get off your ass and come help me.” She called out into the room.
"But it was nice watching you work," I complained lightly, as I stepped down the stairs and strode over to her. Together it only took a few moments for us to get the fridge into the kitchen and situated.
Val was wearing gray leggings that hugged her firm ass and thighs. If I were to guess, she probably also had a top on, though my attention was elsewhere.
She bend over, fuddling with the power cable to the fridge. The move highlighted her firm ass, bringing it front and center.
I walked up behind her, grinding my crotch into her as I leaned forwards. I heard her let out a little playfully scandalized gasp.
"What are you doing?" She asked, stressing the ‘are.' I could hear the smile in her voice from where I was grinding against her.
"I'm just trying to help you with some light," I explained helpfully. I dragged my hand over Val's black top. It was black, I can pay attention. Until I reached her shoulder, then I used the flashlight built into my phone to help shine a light on her environs.
“You’re so helpful,” she purred, wiggling her ass back and forth. I let out a groan of pleasure at her movement.
"You're quite welcome," I said, huskily as I leaned down over her. Dominating her smaller frame with my own larger one. She might be almost as tall as me, but I was wider by far. This just made her grind deeper into me and purr even louder.
We stood like that for at least half a minute before she even started trying to connect the fridge again. “Hurry up,” I said into her ear. “There's something I have to check.”
“Oh?” She asked, finally grabbing the power cord. “What’s that?”
"I think there's something wrong with your panties," I said, grabbing her hip and holding her even tighter. "I think they might be leaking."
Not two seconds later I heard the click of the power cord connecting with the outlet. Slowly, oh so ever slow, Val started to stand up. She lifted a hand up behind her and around my neck, turning sligh
tly to look at me.
"I can't have malfunctioning panties. I really hope there's someone who could help me." She said, with a lusty smile.
"That's why I'm here," I replied.
I squatted down onto the ground, slowly slipping from her grasp until I was face to ass with her. I ran my hands up the outside of her thighs until I reached the hem of her leggings. With a slow pull, I brought them down over her magnificent ass.
"I'm going to need you to completely step out of these leggings; otherwise I can't properly determine the potential damage your leaking panties could've caused," I told her mock seriously.
She let out a giggle as she let me remove her pants altogether. I then ran my hands up from her ankles, up over her calves, feeling her muscles tighten slightly in response. Over her hamstrings, letting my thumbs ride on the inside slope of her thighs. She let out a groan as I reached the bottom of her cheeks. She was wearing lacy boy shorts, hiding only the bottom of her ass cheeks.
