His Name Is Legion

by Michael Todd

  Katie sighed and looked at her and then around. “Of course. I think I’ve done this long enough to…”

  She pursed her lips and walked down the alley to the other end of the complex and counted up. “All right, fine. I had the wrong side. Sorry. Anyway, he is right up there. There are lights on in the place. We should fly up and just go for it.”

  Pandora nodded. “Right, then. Let’s go.”

  They stood there awkwardly for a moment and then spread their wings, shooting straight up the side of the building. As they came over the fire escape, Katie grabbed the metal rail above her head and punched with her legs, breaking through the glass window. She landed on one knee and looked back as Pandora stared at her, opening the window frame easily and stepping through. Katie shrugged, standing up and brushing the glass off her sleeves.

  They heard laughter coming from the other room and carefully made their way to the door. Apparently, whatever was going on in there had masked the sounds of their arrival. Pandora pressed her ear against it, listening closely. Katie waved a hand at her. “Watch out. No reason to wait.”

  Pandora stood up and put her finger up. “I really might wait if I were…”

  Katie kicked the door off the hinges. Pandora finished, “You.”

  Storming into the room, Katie stopped and turned, covering her eyes. Xian was standing up on the bed, a long silvery wig on and two prostitutes lying on their backs with their mouths open. Pandora walked in and turned her head to the side. “I never understood asses if they weren’t taken care of. They are like wide and flat, and there’s just so much wrong with it.”

  The girls gasped and grabbed the blankets, scooting back to the head of the bed. Xian furrowed his brow and turned around quickly, holding a Fruit by the Foot and letting it unroll as he stared at them. “Who…what…who are you?”

  Katie swallowed hard, trying not to look. “First, you two girls get the hell out of here. Secondly, uh, put on your boxers or something.”

  Pandora just stood there laughing wildly. The girls got up and grabbed their things, holding them to their chests and running out of the apartment. Xian stepped down to the floor, dropping the fruit snack and covering his junk. Pandora laughed even harder. “Oh, don’t flatter yourself—you only need one hand. And your wig? It’s…kind of…”

  Pandora was making the motions with her hands to help him move it a couple of inches around. Katie threw out her hands. “Enough of this.” She grabbed a pair of shorts off the dresser and threw them at him. “Just put these on.”

  He looked at them for a moment and then at Katie. “But these are—”

  Katie had her back to him. “Just put them on, goddamn it!”

  She could hear him struggling. When he stopped, she turned around, staring at him in a pair of very small jean shorts that didn’t button and only zipped half of the way up. Pandora was wheezing, she was laughing so hard. Katie groaned and pulled her sword from its sheath, walking forward and pressing the tip to the side of his neck.

  He gasped. “What do you want?”

  Katie narrowed her eyes. “Give us the last copy of the program you used to track the Leviathan. And if you fuck me over, we will come back and make sure you never have the ability to fuck a prostitute again.”

  Pandora giggled and leaned forward. “She’ll cut your dick off.”

  Xian’s eyes grew wide, and he hurried over to the dresser and pulled it away from the wall. Reaching behind it, he ripped the flash drive off the back and tossed it to Katie. She held it up and then looked up at him. “Good. And put some fucking clothes on.”

  25

  Angie paced in her apartment, chewing on her fingernails. Her eyes darted around, and she could hear her heart beating in her head. A knock on the door made her jump, and she ran over, flinging it open. Juntto stood on the other side, currently the size of a normal human. He was holding a bunch of hand-picked flowers, with a single crystal one in the center.

  Grinning from ear to ear, Angie ran forward and wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tightly. Juntto pulled back and kissed her forehead. “I am an Earthman.”

  Angie giggled and raised an eyebrow. “From what I heard, you’re the King of Earth.”

  Juntto nodded, puffing out his chest. “Yes, I suppose I am. But see, the thing is, it just wasn’t right. So I gave it all up for you.”

  Timothy and Stephanie left the barracks and walked into the courtyard of the base. The wind was low, the sun was shining, and it didn’t seem very cold with the sun shining. Timothy gave Stephanie his arm, and she smiled as they walked toward the airstrip.

  Stephanie leaned her head on his shoulder for a moment. “I really hope that one day we get to have a summer vacation. Last year I hoped it would be this one, and most likely this year I will hope it will come next year.”

  Timothy smiled. “I’ll tell you what. If we can’t jet off into the sunset this year, we’ll pick a room in the barracks and create a vacation spot. Then we can go from room to room taking pictures and having drinks. I think we could probably hit up every major city in the world in an afternoon.”

  Stephanie laughed. “Man, that sounds freaking spectacular, but at least one of the rooms needs to be a beach. It will probably stay a beach all year, too, because who wants to vacuum the sand up?”

  Timothy scowled. “Fine, but it’s off-limits to the Triplets of Terror. I don’t want to find their grossness buried in the sand a year later.”

  Stephanie nodded. “It’s a deal.” They walked up to the airstrip and watched as the jet made its way toward them. “I’m really glad they were able to recover the last copy of the program. It will be nice to be done with this. And the guys get to come home safely. That is really the biggest thing.”

  Timothy nodded. “Yes, girl. It was nice and quiet the first day, and after that, I was starting to think I would go nuts. Where were the idiots making fart jokes and blowing fruit up?”

  They stood back as the plane touched down and came to a stop at the end of the strip. Several soldiers pushed the stairs up to the side door, and they waited for it to open. When it finally did, Eddie jumped out, stretching his arms wide. “Ah, back to our wonderful, fantastic home. Oh look, you came to wish me a happy arrival!”

  Timothy’s nostrils flared, and he whispered to Stephanie, “I take it back. Can we put them back on the plane?”

  Stephanie giggled. Calvin came out the door, carrying Sean in his arms. Sean waved at them from above, and Turner grunted as he carried the wheelchair out behind them. They made their way down, then Brock carried his luggage and Sean’s to the bottom. Stephanie and Timothy hurried up, giving the guys hugs and welcoming them back.

  From above, someone loudly cleared his throat. Stephanie glanced up, then put her hands to her mouth. Korbin was standing there with a smirk. “Surprise.!”

  He hurried down the steps and Stephanie jumped into his arms, wrapping her legs around his waist and cupping his face in her hands. “You are such a jerk.”

  He chuckled. “That wasn’t quite the hello I was expecting, but I love you too.”

  They kissed, and she hugged him tightly before jumping down. He patted his jacket and reached inside, pulling out a brown sack and gently opening it. “I brought someone with me. Her name is Jasmine Sambac.”

  Stephanie raised an eyebrow. “If you pull a small person out of that bag, we are going to have a talk.”

  He smiled as he pulled the plant out, beautiful and vibrant. “This is the Grand Duke Supreme, a very rare but amazing plant for our garden area. I have wanted to get you one since I first saw you. Radiant and mysterious, but once rooted, it is strong and loyal.”

  Stephanie was surprised and held it gently in her hands with tears in her eyes. “It’s beautiful. And that was beautiful. For such a hard-ass, you can sometimes be the sweetest man ever. My sweetest man ever.”

  She leaned forward and kissed him, making sure to protect the tree. Looking at it, she laughed through her tears. “I haven’t the faint
est clue how to plant or take care of this tree. Will it grow out here in the desert?”

  Korbin shrugged. “I’m sure it will, with the right additions. But I’m here with you, so I promise that I will help you with it.”

  Behind them, the guys walked toward the barracks, trying to give them some privacy. Brock walked alone in the front, pulling out his phone and texting Katie to let her know he had arrived back at the barracks safely. Eddie and Turner raced toward the door like a couple of children, and Timothy brought up the rear, pushing Sean inside.

  Sean pointed at the elevators. “You can drop me in there, and I’ll go back to my hole.”

  Timothy smiled and pushed him down to the dungeon door, stopping and pulling a keycard from his pocket. Handing it down to Sean, he smiled widely. Sean carefully took the card and looked at Timothy in confusion. “What is this? I’m not allowed in there.”

  Timothy waved his hands. “Girl, that is so last week. Get in the present, I am tired of living in the past. You’ve got your clearance back, so come on. You have a lot of annoying to make up for.”

  Sean slid the card down, and Timothy pushed open the door. He started to wheel inside, then stopped and looked up at Timothy. “Thanks, buddy.”

  Katie and Pandora were shown into the general’s office. Pandora glanced over her shoulder at the assistant from before, giving him a death glare. He put his hands in front of him and crossed them over his junk, turning his head in the other direction. The secretary closed the door behind them and the general stood up, clapping his hands.

  Katie chuckled, and Pandora took a bow. They sat down in the chairs in front of his desk, and he joined them, smiling. “Thank you, ladies. Thank you for always coming through. I don’t know why I fear anything when you are on the case.”

  Katie shook her head. “Because, angel blood or not, we are still part-human, and all humans fail and make mistakes from time to time.”

  Brushwood nodded. “Nonetheless, thank you for dealing with Legion and the army of frost giants. They would have been a very scary threat to this world. I thought nothing would be worse than the demons, but life continues to show us that nothing is absolute.”

  Katie took a deep breath, her shoulders moving up and then back down again. “Really, we couldn’t have done it without Juntto. He was a different frost giant when he was dealing with everything. He never lost his temper, and made all the right choices.”

  The general seemed pleased. “I’ll have to make sure to give Juntto a medal or something like that. A big thank you.”

  Pandora put her arm up enthusiastically. “You could give him a medal shaped like a giant blue d…”

  “Pandora, don’t,” Katie interrupted.

  Pandora furrowed her brow. “What? I was just going to say…” She giggled. “Okay, I was going to say ‘dick.’”

  The general laughed and shook his head. “Now, of course, I would never ask you here without having your next mission ready for you to consider.”

  Katie smirked. “I know. Okay, what it is?”

  Brushwood leaned forward, tapping his fingers on the desk. “It’s a special mission this time. The appearance of Legion, though terrible, made me realize just how much of a threat having these Leviathans out there can be, especially when discovered by the wrong hands. Now, although they went about it badly, those people had a good thought in mind: to destroy it. But the next time, we might not have a positive outcome. Ultimately, I would like the two of you to find the last Leviathan.”

  Katie looked at Pandora, whose face had gone serious. “The Unnamed Leviathan. He is the only one left—a terror so great that everything in the universe could be destroyed in the blink of an eye. It is the ticking time bomb of Earth. Left here long ago, buried or trapped, but we have no idea where to look.”

  The general listened to her, fear bubbling in his stomach. “I know it is dangerous, as is everything else I ask of you. But if this Leviathan is as fearsome as you say it is, I would rather have the two of you find it than anyone else on Earth. I know I can trust you to do the right thing.”

  Katie and Pandora paused, looking at each other. They didn’t need to say a word to know what the other was thinking. This mission could mean their deaths, but at the same time, it could be the one that saved the world—or ended it, depending on the outcome.

  Katie nodded at the general. “For whatever reason, I was given these gifts, and my life has become something that means more than just one life. So, yes, I accept.”

  Pandora clicked her tongue, as she always did when she got nervous. “I’ve done enough bad things in my life that saying no would put me in a hole deeper than the one I am already in. For the first time in my life, I have a purpose. I accept too.”

  The general sighed in relief. “Thank you. I know I ask more of you than anyone should.”

  Katie shrugged. “The Leviathans are a pain in the ass. They have been for a very long time. They have been used as weapons by the demons, and when they aren’t being used in that capacity, humans have accidentally woken them and set us on a course of possible death and destruction. I suppose it’s better to find the last one, the Unnamed, before he pops up and surprises us. That is not the kind of surprise I would like to get.”

  Pandora shook her head. “Yeah, me either—especially now that I am half a person and half not, only the person side does me no good. I would like people to remember me, for fuck’s sake.”

  The general started. “Oh yeah, that reminds me. I have something for you, Pandora.”

  He pulled out an envelope and handed it to her. She narrowed her eyes and opened it, pulling out a driver’s license and a Social Security card. She blinked at them for a moment and looked at Katie. “We are apparently related.”

  The general nodded. “I didn’t know your last name, so I gave you Katie’s. Figured you were like sisters anyway. I used her address as well. Made more sense that way.”

  Pandora sniffed. Katie appropriated the documents and looked at them. “Pan, this is awesome. You’re a real person now. You can even open a bank account if you would like to. You can do anything you want now.”

  Pandora nodded, fighting back tears as she looked at Brushwood. “Thank you, General. In all my years on this planet, I have never been considered to be a real person. Now, as an angel and one tough bitch, I can finally say that I am someone. That I am a person too. This is the best gift you could give a girl.”

  The general smiled and reached out, patting her hand. “You deserve it more than anyone. I am proud of you. Both of you.”

  The cab pulled up in front of the downtown bank. It was pouring rain outside, and the streets were a lot emptier than usual. The cab driver was paid, and the passenger door opened. A black and white round-toed heel appeared, splashing in the standing water. A black umbrella popped up out of the top and opened. Standing up straight, Pandora smoothed her tight black dress. It fell down to her calves and had a gold zipper straight up the back.

  She closed the door behind her and walked toward the bank, closing the umbrella after she walked through the doors. The vice president of the bank gave her a small wave and hurried over. “You’re ready to open that account?”

  Pandora nodded, pressing her bright red lips together. “I’ve been ready for thousands of years.”

  He looked at her strangely for a moment and then took her back to his office. She used a check from Katie for all the back wages they’d agreed to pay her up to the moment they threw Legion into the crystal dimension to open the accounts. But she didn’t deposit the entire thing. Instead, she withdrew a pretty large sum and stuffed it into her clutch.

  The VP took her to the door and made sure she was covered all the way out to the cab. She was, in fact, a very big account for him now. She went from there to Krispy Kreme, where everyone asked where Katie was. “She had her own things to take care of. We don’t do everything together all of the time. I called in an order this morning?”

  The girl went back into the back, and
when she walked out, she was carrying several bags. Five, to be exact. Inside each one was two dozen donuts, ten dozen in total. Pandora smiled as she paid the woman, gathering her bags and heading out of the shop. She turned the corner and glanced around before opening a portal. She really didn’t want to cause a scene.

  Smiling, she stepped through the portal and breathed a lungful of fresh air. The portal closed behind her, and she stared up at the beautiful tall buildings, the flying cars soaring overhead, and the animated holographic advertisements spiraling around the different buildings. It was her favorite place to be, although not because of the flying or shining buildings.

  She clutched the handles of her bags in both hands, turning in a circle and looking at all the beautiful people walking down the streets completely naked. Their skin was perfect, their bodies toned, and everyone had pleasant smiles on their faces—tits and dicks bouncing all around her like her best dream ever.

  A guy walked past her, turning his head and smiling at her. There was a gleam in his eye, and she could feel the heat in her belly. She bit her lip and nodded at him, stopping him in his tracks. As he turned back, her eyes flitted down, and she giggled in excitement. He gave her a gleaming white smile. “What is all that there? You’ve been shopping.”

  Pandora puckered her lips and gave him a sexy smirk. “How would you like a long, hot cream-filled donut?”

  He tilted his head to the side. “A what? I’ve never heard of a donut. What do you do with it?”

  Pandora tilted her head back and began to laugh. “Well, there are many things you can do with a donut, but using your imagination and your mouth is probably the best way to go about it.”

  He tapped his finger on his chin, looking as confused as an airheaded puppy. It sent chills up her spine, and she stepped closer. “Would you happen to be free this afternoon?”

  The handsome guy seemed to be hooked on her already. “Actually, I am. Of course, I am pretty sure I could never tell you no.”