Red Light Hero

by Kory Shen

  Violet headed back to her laboratory. She wanted to get her blood tested immediately. She had tested positive after the second session, but she wanted to make sure that the third session had boosted her viral levels, as she predicted.

  Of the other subjects, only three had shown positive viral signatures. None of them, including herself, had exhibited any signs of alpha powers, though. The viral loads in the other three subjects were slowly decreasing over time, wasting away unused.

  It was a practical problem that she hadn't anticipated. Even if she had a new alpha power, how would she know what that power was, or how to use it? It wasn't as if powers came with instruction manuals.

  Violet pricked her thumb with the blood sampler and waited for the capillary tube to fill. She mixed her blood with a vial of testing reagents, then left it with the technician in charge of the blood analysis.

  She regretted being snappy with Alan. He didn't know what was going on. She blamed the headache that seemed to accompany the alphavirus infection. A fever wasn't surprising. Didn't the alphas monitor their temperature to gauge viral loads? Violet sighed. She preferred the theoretical side. Figuring out engineering specifics didn't seem as elegant or exciting as solving a fundamental piece of science. How did they deal with the headaches? Their bodies probably adapted to the constant fevers after a while.

  Violet sat down at her computer desk with a sigh. Damn, she regretted leaving Alan's place early. She should have taken a nap on his bed.

  A purple rectangular box, roughly the size of a bed, appeared next to her on top of a table covered with her research materials. Equipment and notes crashed to the ground as the box smothered the surface of the table.

  Violet jumped up and screamed.

  Then, she stopped screaming. The purple box vanished.

  She reached out with her hand and tried to make the purple box reappear. Nothing happened.

  "Come on, this has to be it. Come on, come on."

  Violet thought about the purple box. Another solid rectangular box, exactly like the first one, appeared in front of her. It sent more equipment crashing to the floor. Glass vials shattered, and colored liquids spilled over the ground. Violet didn't care.

  She had done it. She had created her first alpha. Herself.

  An hour later, Violet burst into Godmother's office.

  The guards on duty didn't bat an eye as she walked up to Godmother uninvited.

  "I did it!" Violet blurted out. "I did it!" She trembled with excitement as she spoke.

  Godmother replied in a calm voice. "Show me."

  Violet pictured a purple sphere the size of a basketball. It appeared in the air above Godmother's desk, then fell, bouncing off the desk and onto the floor.

  The guards lunged forward at the sudden appearance of the purple ball, but Godmother waved them away.

  Violet erased the purple sphere from her mind, and it vanished.

  She repeated the trick with a small cube, then a cylinder.

  Godmother nodded. "Very good. Is that all you can do?"

  "All I can do?" Violet asked, unsure what Godmother meant. "Isn't this amazing? I can create a solid mental construction of arbitrary size."

  "What are the size limits? What are the complexity limits? How long do the objects last?" Godmother asked.

  Violet nodded. "I've been testing different properties. The objects seem to last indefinitely, at least while my viral load is high enough. A one-meter cube seems to be my volume limit. I've created objects within objects, and linked chains, to give you an idea of complexity. I haven't had time for further tests yet."

  "Good, good. Now I want you to weaponize it."

  "Weaponize?"

  "You knew that was the point of this whole project," Godmother said.

  Violet shrugged. "Of course. I'm just not familiar with weapons and combat."

  Godmother's eyes sparkled. "But I am. Here, I'll teach you. Can you make a knife?"

  CHAPTER 12

  Three more days passed. An uneasy, listless mood took hold of Alan. For a time, he forgot about the outside world. A brief news story about some techno-nerd threatening D.C. reminded him of the alphas, but he had trouble caring about the situation, or anything, for that matter.

  Alan was reaching his limit. More flawless beauties passed through his bed every day, but his appetite for sex grew weaker and weaker.

  Alan shook his head at the irony. Beating his sex addiction by going cold turkey had never worked. That was what had led him to Cover Girl in the first place. The key had been to drown himself in sex until he couldn't stand it anymore.

  The one exception was Violet. Something about her clinical detachment called out to Alan like a challenge. No woman had failed to respond to him in bed, and it was an insult to his personal dignity. Besides, she had to be faking her disinterest. He saw the flush on her cheeks, felt the sudden tightness when he slid in and out, heard the quick short breaths that escaped her self-control. It was a game they played, and he was determined to win.

  The next time Violet came to his room, he tried something different. She slipped out of her clothes wordlessly and assumed her position on her hands and knees. Instead of giving her the usual five-minute treatment, he slowed to a stop after only a minute.

  "Sorry, my thigh just cramped up."

  Violet looked behind, a concerned expression on her face. "It's the schedule, isn't it? I'll look into slowing things down."

  "What?" Alan blinked. "You've said that before? Do you work here?"

  Violet hesitated. "No. Nevermind. Want to try a different position?"

  "Sure, how about you go on top for a change? You know, for variety."

  Alan was already lying backwards on the bed, his manhood flying high like a flag pole. Violet turned around and eyed him for a second longer than necessary. Alan grinned, then quickly changed to a frown. He rubbed his right thigh.

  "Yeah, my thigh. It's killing me. Could you?" He made a rocking motion with his other hand.

  "I suppose." Violet straddled Alan and lowered herself onto him. Alan lifted his hips to adjust the angle and go deeper. She gave a small gasp as Alan filled her. Light, slow sucking sounds turned into fast, wet slapping as Violet found her rhythm.

  Alan reached up to caress her breasts, twirling his fingers around her hard nipples. Violet gave a soft moan as he pinched one nipple firmly between his fingers. He smiled to himself. She wasn't going to fake her boredom this time.

  He continued playing with her right breast while his left hand crept down her stomach, his thumb searching lower and deeper as she rode him. Violet closed her eyes and moaned again, tightening around Alan.

  There it was. The crack in Violet's facade. He had done it. He had won their game. His self-congratulatory musing came to an abrupt end.

  "I need something bigger," Violet panted. She rolled off Alan.

  In her hand was a thick purple foot-long rod. Where had that come from?

  Ignoring Alan, she reached down and inserted the tip of the rod into herself. She pumped the object in and out while fingering herself, oblivious to everything around her.

  Alan's mouth fell open at the scene before him. The smooth rod changed shape to take on a bumpy, contoured outline. Violet's breathing became ragged and violent. Her face flushed red, and her knees pulled up towards her chest. Her pumping and fingering reached a furious crescendo accompanied by a final cry. Violet's hands fell to the side while she lay on the bed, her chest heaving up and down.

  Alan blinked. The purple toy was gone.

  "Shit!" Alan jumped off the bed. He pointed at Violet. "You're an alpha! Fuck! You're an alpha!"

  He stopped. A month ago, this would have been a fantasy come true. After the attempts on his life and a week of whoring for Godmother, though, the allure of alpha sex, or any sex, had faded. Plus, if he understood the situation correctly, he had just been pushed aside for a magic dildo.

  It couldn't have been a coincidence that he had fucked two alphas in the last month.r />
  "What's going on?" Alan asked.

  Violet had recovered from her ecstasy. She got off the bed and dressed herself in a matter-of-fact manner.

  "I'm sorry. I have to go," Violet said.

  Alan, still naked, blocked Violet's path. "No. Tell me. What's going on? I didn't even cum in you like I always do."

  Violet looked at Alan as if weighing a decision. "I have to go," she repeated.

  She moved to walk around Alan but he held out his arm to make her stop. Before he could touch her, purple bands wrapped around his wrists and forced them together behind his back. Another set of purple bands bound his ankles, tripping him.

  Alan fell to his knees in front of Violet. Violet gazed at his naked bound form before taking a deep breath and stepping past him. She left the room and the bonds vanished.

  Alan rubbed his wrists and ankles. What was this bullshit?

  "Scottie!" he called. He had a message for Godmother.

  He was done playing the fool.

  * * *

  Violet bit her lip nervously as she sat opposite Godmother.

  "It can't be helped. It would have happened eventually," Godmother said.

  "What if the subject refuses to participate?" Violet asked.

  "He already has," Godmother replied. "I've asked him to join us to air his complaints."

  Violet had skipped seeing Alan today after the incident last night. She checked her temperature band, the kind that the other alpha heroes wore. It read 99.4. Even with her intense practice using her powers, she had plenty of time before she needed to boost her viral load.

  Violet shook her head. Temperature was a crude and inaccurate way of monitoring, but it was simple enough to carry around. She had much better equipment in her laboratory for monitoring her viral load. Maybe she could come up with a more accurate wearable version.

  "Do you want me to talk to him first?" Godmother asked.

  "Oh, no. I'm fine being present for the subject's interview."

  The subject. He's only a subject, Violet kept telling herself. Otherwise, she'd have to admit her guilt in the forced deception. Even worse, she'd have to come to terms with her growing pleasure during each session with Alan. Violet didn't have time for guilty pleasures. She had a science project.

  Alan's guard, Scottie, opened the door to Godmother's office. "He's here," Scottie said.

  Alan strode into the room dressed in athletic shorts and a t-shirt. Violet imagined him for a fraction of a second without the clothes, entangled with her in wild abandon. She banished the thought.

  Alan scowled at Violet. "You." He scowled at Godmother. "And you. Can someone explain what the fuck is going on?"

  Godmother met Alan's angry eyes with a business-like expression. "You were fulfilling your part of the bargain. Now, you're not. Each day you refuse clients will add an extra two days to your end of the bargain."

  "What?" Alan's eyes opened wide. "You can't do that!"

  "Can't I?" Godmother asked in a bored tone.

  "You can't. I'll refuse."

  Godmother didn't say anything.

  "You can't make me."

  Godmother raised an eyebrow. "Is that a challenge?"

  "What are you going to do? Kill me?" Alan looked around the room at the four guards, worry in his eyes. He lowered his voice. "I'm more valuable to you alive."

  Godmother chuckled. "That you are, Alan. But only if you fulfill your end of the bargain."

  "So there is something you want from me," Alan said, "and it's not my boyish charm. You said I wasn't an alpha. Is that true?"

  Violet had to give him some credit. Even if he was a handsome son of a bitch, he wasn't an empty-headed pretty boy, as she had made him out to be.

  "Do you have any alpha powers?" Godmother asked.

  Alan flitted a glance at Violet. "Not that I know of. No, I don't."

  "There you go," Godmother said. "No alpha powers? Not an alpha."

  "I don't believe you." Fear flashed across Alan's face for a moment, then he clenched his jaw. "I won't work for you anymore."

  He was calling Godmother's bluff. Violet held her breath. That never went well. Not in The Strip. Not against Godmother.

  "Let me remind you. We own copious amounts of your DNA and blood. Even if you were an alpha, we wouldn't need you. You would be a mere convenience. Expendable. A toy."

  Alan stared at Godmother. Then his face fell and his shoulders drooped. "I'm not a toy," he whispered.

  Violet winced. Even if most men were complete jerks, this was going too far. She couldn't stay quiet at his misery. "No, you're not. You're an alpha."

  Violet glanced at Godmother, who frowned. She continued anyway. "You made me into an alpha. It was you."

  Alan looked up, his anger returning. "Fuck, I knew it. You were using me because of that?"

  "Alphas refuse to let us study them. Because of you, we're on the verge of a breakthrough—" Violet began.

  "I don't care about your breakthroughs!" Alan roared. "I'm not your guinea pig. I'm a person. Do you get that? Jesus Christ."

  The guards stepped closer to Alan at his outburst. Godmother nodded. "Restrain him." Scottie and another guard seized each of his arms.

  "What the hell?" Alan cried.

  Godmother stood. She had her hand on a sword at her waist. Violet swore. It was that sword.

  "Wait, wait!" Violet yelled, getting in between Godmother and Alan. "We still need him."

  Godmother gave Violet a patient look. "Step aside, Violet. I won't kill him. An angry alpha is a threat, and I'm preparing to defend myself if necessary." She emphasized the last words.

  Violet turned to face Alan, still standing between him and Godmother.

  "I know it doesn't make it right, but I'm sorry."

  "Talk is cheap," Alan spat back.

  Violet nodded. "Here, watch." Violet held up her hand. A purple sphere appeared, changed into a cube, then into a pyramid. It vanished.

  Alan stared at Violet's demonstration. "What is that?"

  "It's my alpha power. I can create physical projections from my thoughts. But that's not why I showed you this."

  "Violet…" Godmother warned.

  Violet knew the risks, but she had to give Alan something. The truth.

  "You gave me this alpha power," Violet said. "That means you should be able to do something similar."

  Violet jumped back as a red cube the size of a basketball appeared in the air. It fell to the ground with a crash. The guards threw Alan to the ground and began punching him. The red cube disappeared.

  "Stop! Stop!" Violet screamed.

  Godmother pushed Violet aside. "Move," she said to the guards, who stepped away.

  Godmother's dark blade was drawn. She placed the tip on Alan's neck as he lay curled in pain.

  "I've killed countless alphas with this sword," Godmother said. "I'll gladly kill one more."

  "We're good. We're good," Alan wheezed.

  Godmother turned to glare at Violet. "And no more outbursts from you, either. Information is too valuable to waste."

  "We need his cooperation, though," Violet said. "Why can't we work with him?"

  "I'm willing to cooperate," Alan said, still lying on the ground with a sword at his neck.

  Godmother was silent. She sheathed her sword.

  "Take him to an isolation chamber," Godmother said. "I want a full patrol on him 24/7." She looked down at Alan, who was sitting on the floor. "Just remember. We're not keeping you around for your arms and legs. Understand?"

  Alan's face turned white. "Got it."

  Godmother nodded at the guards. "All of you. Go."

  The men brought Alan to his feet and shuffled him away. Violet and Godmother were left alone in the office.

  "Violet, Violet," Godmother said as she returned to her desk. "I thought you were one of us."

  "One of us?" Violet ventured.

  "A criminal. A crook. An immoral drag on society."

  Violet remained standing. She shifted he
r weight. "I've never had a problem with your work, as long as I can do mine."

  Godmother frowned. "The problem is that you're still soft. You bury it away, but at times like this, it comes to the surface. The desire to be good."

  Violet didn't know how to respond. She didn't think about good or bad. She thought about correct and incorrect. Facts and lies. Questions and answers.

  "Are you dissatisfied with the project's progress?" Violet asked.

  "Oh, no," Godmother replied. "On the contrary, I'm quite pleased, and I have no doubt that your future work will be equally stellar."

  "Then, we're good?"

  Godmother's eyes narrowed. Violet immediately knew why. Those were Alan's words.

  "I see you've been infected by more than the alphavirus." Godmother sighed. "It's inevitable. You're going to betray me."

  "I would never do that," Violet said, but she doubted her own words. What was going on with her? Was it a side effect of becoming an alpha?

  "You know, I see you as a daughter. Smart and beautiful. Determined to succeed in a world run by broken men." Godmother smiled. "Don't worry, Violet. I'll forgive you afterward. Do what you must."

  Violet shook her head. "I don't understand."

  "You will. That's why you're the best at what you do."

  CHAPTER 13

  The heavy-duty steel door shut with a clang. The door's locking mechanism turned with the screech of metal on metal.

  Thick concrete walls surrounded Alan. He had a bed and a toilet. There was no mistake. He wasn't an employee. He was a prisoner.

  Alan stood in the middle of his prison cell, his fist clenched. They had used him. Being Godmother's man whore was one thing, but what they had done was far worse. They had treated him like an animal. An experiment.

  Godmother, he understood. It was clear that she was a cold, heartless bitch, the type who would slice off your balls and eat them for dinner.

  Violet, though? She seemed frigid and nerdy, not the ruthless mafia type. Who was she? He had grown somewhat fond of her, even enjoying their little game. She was the only person that he had seen every day, other than Scottie the guard. She was a regular client.

  Except that she wasn't. Alan groaned and sat down on his bed. She was working with Godmother because—