Red Light Hero

by Kory Shen

  Alan's shoulders slumped. Was this what Godmother wanted? To turn him into a murderous weapon, just like the other alphas?

  "You okay?" John had walked up behind him. "I know this isn't a good time, but I need you to see the company's medical officer. Liability and all, you know."

  Alan gave John an incredulous look. He turned and walked away.

  John called after him. "Or why don't you take the next few days off? That's a good idea, too. Alan? Alan?"

  Alan ignored him and kept walking.

  * * *

  Back in his room, Alan scrolled through local job boards on his phone. Someone like him without any credentials or references couldn't find much work here, let alone a job that would pay two grand within a few days. He had tried emailing a few job postings, but he never heard anything back.

  Alan put his phone down in disgust. So what were his options?

  Run back to Godmother with his tail between his legs. Alan could do that. He wasn't above admitting defeat, especially if it meant no more innocent people would be hurt. But that was the issue. What would Godmother do with him? How did he know she wouldn't end up hurting even more people with his cooperation?

  The other option was to hunt down Tommy and kill him. Even if Alan was fine with killing someone, he had no clue how to even find the man. Killing someone? Christ. Alan buried his face in his hands. How could he even think about that? He didn't know whether this was what Godmother wanted or not. It didn't matter. If he went down this road, it was a defeat, the worst kind Alan could imagine.

  What did that leave, then? He had to hustle up two thousand dollars in the next two days. But how? He looked at the phone in his hands. He knew the answer, but he didn't want to admit it.

  Ever since the incident with Betty and Tommy, he hadn't slept with any women other than the one time with Violet. While he had rarely paid for sex online, he knew it was a bustling industry. Here, in The Strip where everything and anything was allowed, business had to be booming. There was no way he would take on any male clients, but there had to be a rich old milf out there willing to pay something for him, right? Some overworked executive woman or a neglected powerbroker's wife? Fuck, was he fantasizing about this now?

  Three selfies later, Alan had posted his first adult classified advertisement. This was different from working for Godmother, he told himself. It was the difference between a freelancer and a business owner. He was the one making the decisions now, the one in charge of his body and business.

  Alan left to get an early dinner. It was five o'clock in the evening, and he figured it would take a few hours to get at least one response. He was wrong.

  His inbox was flooded with tens of messages every hour…from men.

  "The hell?" He checked his advertisement. He had posted in the correct section and clearly stated that his services were for women.

  It didn't matter. Over the next several hours, Alan received message after message from men, often accompanied by unsolicited pictures of their male body parts.

  No thanks. Alan closed the latest email. He was getting desperate. It was eleven o'clock at night. He had two days to make two grand, but most escort business took place at night. He really had one night left, or rather, closer to four or five hours. How late did people party in The Strip anyway?

  Midnight came and went. Today was the last day. Alan checked his email inbox frantically, reloading it repeatedly. Fuck! Was it this hard for male escorts to make money?

  He couldn't let Godmother win. He had to find a way to deal with Tommy without becoming a criminal accomplice or a killer. He had to.

  As one in the morning rolled around, Alan's desperate and weary mind came up with a final, last-ditch attempt. It was insane, dangerous, and the best idea he could think of. He resisted.

  At two in the morning, Alan gave up. He would have to try his last idea, even if it was reckless. It was better to risk his life than others', wasn't it?

  Alan typed his final advertisement. There was no text, only a title consisting of seven words.

  $2000 to fuck an alpha. Real superpowers.

  A minute after he posted, his phone's inbox exploded with messages. He tried to click on a random message to open it, but the email server crashed.

  CHAPTER 21

  "Oh no, he didn't." Violet stared at the message on her phone. Her room was still dark. The high priority message had woken her up seconds before.

  "Yes, he did," Godmother said as she burst into her quarters. Violet's jaw dropped.

  "That…that's your REAPR suit! Shit, holy shit." Outbursts like this were rare for Violet, but this wasn't an ordinary situation. Violet had heard rumors about the REAPR suit, but everyone thought Godmother had retired it permanently.

  The sleek technoarmor cut a menacing silhouette against the weak light from Violet's phone screen. Godmother held a helmet under her arm and rested a hand on the sword at her waist.

  "The wolves are coming," Godmother said. "I need you and Shadowplay to be ready, but stay out of sight. There's no need to reveal your presence unless necessary." She put a finger thoughtfully to her lips. "Did you ever decide on a call sign?"

  In the darkness, Violet blushed. "Toybox. I know it's silly."

  Godmother regarded Violet for a moment, then nodded. "It suits you, the real you. He's been a good influence, hasn't he?"

  Violet didn't reply to that. The way that Godmother saw through her was disconcerting, even at the best of times. This wasn't a time for girl talk, though.

  She stood up and changed into her combat suit. It was a thin, flexible material mainly for modesty. Her real combat suit was inside her.

  "I'm ready. Let's go."

  * * *

  Cover Girl stared at the words appearing in the middle of her phone's black background. Found him. The words disappeared. That had to be Stalker.

  There was a loud commotion from the hallway outside her room. Maiden and the others were getting ready to leave.

  "We'll tail Electrophile, then terminate him once we've confirmed his location." Maiden saw Cover Girl looking on. "And you. You stay here." She turned to the others. "On me, now."

  Idol, Pearl, and Escort took hold of Maiden's arms. The four women disappeared.

  Cover Girl ran towards Electrophile's section of the Institute, changed her mind, and ran towards the adjacent hangar. She arrived as Electrophile and his beta circle were in the middle of boarding their transport.

  She had instinctively turned invisible, but Electrophile jerked his head sharply at her approach. She skidded to a stop as the ground in front of her erupted into a deadly wall of electricity.

  Electrophile wagged his finger in her direction. "No stowaways." The electricity fizzled away.

  Cover Girl dropped her invisibility. "Electrophile. Please. Let me come."

  Electrophile laughed. "You know, Maiden and I don't always see eye to eye, but I have to agree with her. Nothing's worse than a beta that betrays her prime."

  Stalker gave her a quick look of sympathy before hiding her face. There was nothing she could do to help, either. Cover Girl could only watch as the others got into the vehicle and departed.

  Her own prime had scorned her. Electrophile had disrupted her plans. She had one last option.

  * * *

  Alan snuck a furtive glance up and down the dark street as he got out of the taxi. It was nearly seven in the morning. After several hours of unresponsive servers and returned emails, Alan had finally managed to connect with an interested client named Susan Kay. She had claimed to be a businesswoman on a trip to The Strip. He was supposed to meet her in the lobby of the glitzy Golden Spire Resorts.

  The eighty-floor cylindrical hotel loomed ahead of him several blocks further down the street. The iconic landmark was on the edge of The Strip, and Alan had splurged on a taxi, telling the cab driver to drop him off a discreet distance from the building. He wanted to approach on foot, as if that felt safer.

  Susan hadn't sent a photo of herself but
had assured him that she was "average-looking". Ordinarily, this would be exactly the type of situation that would excite Alan — an illicit meeting with a complete stranger, the possibility of disappointment or pleasure still hanging over him. His lack of sleep and desperation, however, dulled any sense of thrill.

  He was one block away from his destination when he spotted a lone figure standing between him and the hotel. Ever since he had left Cover Girl, Alan had familiarized himself with all the publicly known alphas, piecing together a profile of each one. He recognized the man in the dark blue outfit with gold highlights as Electrophile.

  While the public adored Electrophile as one of the greatest national heroes, Alan was wary of any and all alphas. He had seen their true nature. Alan stopped.

  "Alan Star," Electrophile said.

  "Electrophile," Alan said.

  A mask hid the man's face, but his exposed mouth twisted into a smile. He bowed. "Do you know why I'm here?"

  "To kill me?" Alan ventured. He turned to his side and bent his knees, his fists raised.

  The alpha before him chuckled. "Oh please. You wouldn't last a second if I wanted you dead. No, Sire's asked to see you."

  "Sire? He wants to see me?"

  "Yes, you. So what do you say?" Electrophile looked around and raised a fist into the air. A burst of life flashed and dispersed into the air above them. "We'd better hurry before the others arrive."

  "Others?"

  "Oh, for Christ's sake." Electrophile grimaced. "Shocker, keep the teleporters off him. I'll deal with the others."

  A female figure dressed in dark blue appeared near Alan. "On it." A sheathe of electricity wrapped itself around Alan, less than a foot away from his skin. "Don't move," Shocker said. "It shouldn't kill you, but it might leave a mark."

  Alan froze. The bright, crackling arcs of electricity obscured his vision. More shapes appeared around him.

  "I can't reach him!" someone called out.

  There were flashes of electrical discharges all around him. Shapes disappeared and reappeared.

  "He's mine!" a woman screamed.

  There were more shouts and screams. The electrical sheathe around Alan vanished. For a moment, he had a clear view of the ongoing battle on the street.

  He recognized the woman from before, Escort. She blinked and reappeared with her hands around a wiry, muscled woman with dark hair, but the second woman wrenched free instantly and instead punched Escort in the face. Escort reeled backwards and teleported twenty feet away, but the woman had closed the distance, delivered a second punch, and danced away in a fraction of a second. That had to be Streaker, Electrophile's beta.

  Alan had seen Escort's deadly power up close. Were the alphas trying to kill each other? Over him? What was going on?

  On his other side, a pair of women were engaged in a game of superpowered chicken. One woman streamed a torrent of electricity from her hands at the other woman, who responded with her own torrent of bright white orbs of energy. Alan guessed that they were Shocker and Pearl. A new wave of electricity arced towards Pearl from behind, but a new swirl of white orbs appeared to block the rear attack.

  Based on the explosions occurring behind a cluster of buildings to his right, he guessed Electrophile and Maiden were currently caught in their own scuffle. Weren't there other betas? Was Cover Girl here?

  A woman wearing a creepy white mask appeared in front of Alan, several paces away. She aimed a blaster at his midsection.

  "Sayanora." She pulled the trigger, but nothing happened. She whirled, but no one else was nearby. "Stalker!"

  The woman Alan recognized as Idol by process of elimination slid the blaster into her holster and pulled out a smaller handgun. "Jam this." Idol held up the gun and fired three loud shots into Alan's torso.

  The street went silent. Maiden appeared on one side of him. Electrophile zoomed into position on the other. Alphas from both sides stared at Alan in shock.

  A purple shield floated in the air in front of Alan. Three bullets were embedded in its center.

  "The fuck?" Electrophile said to break the silence. "How'd he do that?"

  "Whose power is that?" Maiden asked. "None of us can shape projections like that."

  "It's his own power, you stupid bitch," Electrophile said.

  "I know that, you idiot," Maiden said. "He couldn't have gotten that from Cover Girl. Or any alpha."

  "Perhaps from Sire himself?" a mechanically amplified voice said. "Is that why he wants him?"

  All heads turned to see who had spoken. A female figure dressed in black armor stepped out onto the street. She was holding a familiar-looking sword.

  "Godmother?" he asked.

  The helmeted head pivoted to face him. "No, Alan. Today is a day of taking, not giving. Today, I am the Reaper."

  The alphas erupted into murmurs and curses.

  "Fuck, no way!"

  "It's her!"

  "Shit, shit, shit."

  Godmother shouted. "You dare intrude into my realm and do this?" She pointed at the damaged streets and buildings. "I think you need to remember who I am."

  "Bring it on!" Electrophile said, stepping forward.

  "Electrophile," Stalker said. "It's her. There's no way we can win."

  Sparks flared from Electrophile's fist. "Reaper's been gone for years. This is a fossil."

  "I may be older, but I count, what, eight of you?" Godmother laughed as she brandished her weapon. "Do you know how many alphas I've reaped with this sword?"

  "Your beta's right," Maiden said, backing away. "We can't beat her. But I don't need to for what I want."

  Before anyone could react, Maiden flickered. She reappeared right next to Alan. He was dead—

  Something knocked Alan forward out of Maiden's reach. He glanced backwards in fright. A swirl of purple blades spun between him and Maiden. Violet had saved him twice now, but where was she? She couldn't project that far. His eyes fell to a drain in the street near him.

  Before he could think further, the others reacted, electricity, bodies, and energy orbs bursting into motion. He lost track of everyone. Was Godmother still there? Would she save him?

  A voice whispered into his ear, but Alan couldn't make out the words over the sounds of fighting. He looked around in confusion. "Violet?"

  This time the bodiless voice screamed. "What? No, run!"

  Violet's original purple shield was gone. Instead, a tunnel of electricity appeared. Electrophile or Shocker was trying to protect him from the teleporters. He ran into the tunnel. He remembered Idol and created a shield of solid red light across his back as he continued.

  "Over here!" Someone was motioning to him from a side street. He recognized the Asian features of the woman.

  The fuck? "Dolly?"

  The woman frowned. "No, Daisy. Get over here."

  Alan had run beyond the electrical aura. He didn't dare slow down to look behind, but he prayed that the others were keeping Maiden and her team busy.

  "Duck!" Daisy screamed.

  Alan dove as a section of the building next to him exploded in a shower of bricks.

  Daisy reached out to grab Alan and shoved him further down the side street. "Go, go!" She pointed.

  Violet was here, now Daisy? Who else was here? Alan didn't have time to think further. He ran.

  He had gone a full block when a black car skidded to a stop in front of him. The passenger's door swung open.

  "Get in, Alan!"

  Alan hurtled into the car. The driver accelerated before he managed to get the door closed. He shut the door and glanced over.

  It was a blonde woman with a pixie cut dressed in jeans and a yellow tank top.

  "Uh, thanks," Alan said. "Do you work for Godmother?"

  "Godmother?" The woman laughed.

  Alan's skin prickled at the sound. Shit. He reached for the door handle, but an iron grip stopped him.

  "Calm down, Alan," the woman said. "I'm not going to hurt you. I'll deliver you to Sire, and that's it."
r />   "Who are you?" Alan asked.

  "You can call me HumiliT."

  The last alpha one. Fuck. What were they going to do to him?

  "The others…tried to kill me. I can't let you take me," Alan said. "I'm so sorry."

  He wasn't a murderer, but he had been one miracle away from being filled with three pieces of lead. This was insane. He had to get away.

  "Oh god, I'm so sorry," Alan repeated, his voice cracking.

  HumiliT raised an eyebrow. "For?"

  Alan closed his eyes and screamed while wrapping himself in a protective red cocoon. He heard HumiliT curse. The car swerved hard and slammed to a violent stop.

  Alan stopped screaming as his body flew through the windshield. He cried in pain as he tumbled across the front of the car. He let the cocoon dissipate and pushed his battered body to its feet.

  Damn that hurt. He hoped he hadn't broken any bones. He gingerly took one step, then another.

  "Where do you think you're going?" The clear voice didn't sound hurt at all. A hand seized his shoulder and spun him around.

  "I didn't know you could do that. I have to admit that tickled," HumiliT said, rubbing her head.

  Alan stared. Was she invulnerable? Could he hurt her with his energy projections?

  HumiliT furrowed her brows. "I don't like that look in your eyes. Let's not?" Her hand moved too quickly for Alan to see.

  The last thing he remembered was a sharp pain in the side of his head.

  CHAPTER 22

  The small blonde woman in a prim, golden business dress walked into the grand entrance of Triumph Tower.

  The security guard nodded politely. "Ms. Triumph."

  The woman had taken five steps on the polished marble floor when a lanky middle-aged man rushed to greet her. "Tricia! Tricia! Mr. S is here. He's waiting in your office," he hissed.

  While her physical appearance didn't change, in that instant, the real estate developer Tricia Triumph morphed into the alpha HumiliT.