by Kory Shen
"Him?" HumiliT asked.
Gary, HumiliT's uncle, personal assistant, and the only non-alpha who knew of her double life, nodded with a frown. "I'm afraid so."
HumiliT marched past a group waiting for the elevators, the sound of her heels echoing throughout the lobby. She walked straight towards a black doorway in the rear of the lobby and waited a second as the biometric scanner finished its job. The door slid to the side without a sound, and HumiliT stepped inside.
Gary hurried after her but waited outside the entrance. "I'll be up the other way," he said, peering inside.
"Did he say why he's here?" HumiliT asked.
Sire had only visited HumiliT at Triumph Towers once before when he had recruited her. She was surprised that Gary remembered his name, but her uncle was fastidious about everything. It was why she hired him.
"No, not one word. He appeared in your office and has been simply waiting."
HumiliT, of course, knew exactly why Sire was here, but she wanted any advantage possible. Meeting here had put her on the defensive from the start. She didn't like that.
"Thank you, Gary. I'll see you later."
As soon as the door slid shut, HumiliT removed her heels and clutched them in one hand. With her free hand, she raised her business skirt higher to give herself the full range of leg motion. She then reached out to a small indentation on the side of the metal shaft and started climbing.
Several seconds later, HumiliT was standing at the top of the shaft on the fifty-fifth floor. A black door similar to the one on the ground floor awaited her. She paused another second for the biometrics to clear.
Sire was standing in her office, his face partially invisible and body obscured by the blue shimmer of a defensive shield. He watched silently as HumiliT smoothed her skirt and put her heels back on.
"I hope no one but Gary saw you?" HumiliT said with some irritation. Showing up uninvited into their other world was a breach of an unspoken rule among the alphas.
Sire dismissed her implied complaint with the wave of a hand. "Where is he?"
"Somewhere safe. I had to make sure no one else was following us first."
"Then why did you not bring him to me?"
HumiliT walked over to her desk and sat in her chair, forcing Sire to swivel to face her. She calmed herself with slow, even breathing. She had thought over Sire's question many times in the past week.
"Because I want to negotiate," HumiliT said.
"Negotiate?" Sire asked. "You desire a reward? I already offered one."
"No, that's not enough. You made me appear weak in front of the others last time. Why?"
"I only desire the strongest alphas. I have no room for weakness."
"You don't think I'm the strongest?" HumiliT's voice rose in anger.
"No. I am." HumiliT couldn't see his face behind the shielding and invisibility veil. She still felt his stare, though.
HumiliT shrugged. "You know what I mean."
"Your body may be strong, but I sense weakness in your mind. Insecurity. Is that not why we are having this discussion? Tell me, then. Where is he?"
There was no backing out. "I'll deliver him to you, but I want something in return."
Sire didn't respond immediately. "I could take him myself," Sire said.
"But you didn't. Were you afraid of Godmother?"
Sire leapt forward to strike her.
HumiliT instantly rose to her feet, catching Sire's outstretched fist in her own hand. The force of Sire's strike would have killed an ordinary man. Hell, it was probably enough to punch through a bank vault.
She held onto Sire's fist without flinching as it burst into flames, crackled with electrical arcs, and finally turned ice cold.
"I fear no one. Do not test me." Sire grunted and pulled his fist back. "What do you desire in return for Alan Star?"
HumiliT glanced at her hand, rubbing her fingers and thumb together. She had barely felt Sire's attacks, but they would have had a considerable cost on her viral load. "Freedom," she said.
"You already have power, and the freedom that comes with that power. What more do you want?"
"No, I want true freedom. We still come at you beck and call, even if it's not often. The overseas operations, too. They're increasing in frequency. I want to be my own alpha, answering to no one."
"Impossible!" Sire roared. "I granted the three of you a measure of independence. But do not forget. I am your alpha prime."
"Otherwise, Alan Star dies." There, she had said it. There was no going back.
Sire broke out into a lusty laugh. "How do you know I don't want him dead?"
HumiliT frowned. Had she misread the situation? Cover Girl had shared her suspicions that the man was unique among the alphas. Did Cover Girl lie? It was too late. Once the gambit started, the only way was forward, to victory or death.
"Then you'll thank me by tomorrow," HumiliT said.
Sire laughed again. "My little beta. To think you were the weakest one."
HumiliT bristled at his words, but she kept quiet.
"Yet out of all my betas, you are the first to challenge me. Tell me, what do you wish for? Once you have your precious freedom."
"To be the greatest alpha. The greatest hero." What other goal was there? That was always her goal — to be the best, in first place, the winner. Whether as Tricia Triumph or HumiliT, she had the same desire. She knew she couldn't beat Sire in a pure head-to-head battle. She could still prove to the public that she was the best alpha. "I can't do that without my freedom."
"Is my yoke so difficult and my burden so heavy?" Sire shook his head. "Your request is denied."
HumiliT tensed. Was this it? Would he destroy her as he had done to Hotshot and the ones before?
"However, your boldness deserves a reward. Bring me Alan Star, and I will grant you one year of your precious freedom."
"I'll need time to consider the deal."
Sire's body flared bright with blue light. "You have one day to bring me Alan Star. Do not push me further, beta." He vanished.
She checked the time. Her threat to Sire hadn't been idle. She'd have to hurry back to her hideout before her beta circle took matters into their own hands.
* * *
Four men surrounded Alan in the small room. Two of the men wore protective headphones, similar to the ones used by airport runway staff.
"Why are Whip and me looking like Mickey Mouse, again?" the man with a steroid-ridden physique asked.
Alan eyed the alpha wearily. That was Nail, then? The strongman?
"Because we got a screamer here," a bald man said.
A clean-cut blonde man replied. "Nail can't hear you, Pain. The headphones?"
Nail tried to remove the headphones, but the blonde man appeared next to him instantly, stopping him. That had to be Whip. The second speaker was Pain. The last wiry man had to be Flex.
Flex took his headphones off. "This is ridiculous. I doubt it works, either."
"Come on, put it back on," Whip said.
"Make me," Flex replied.
Nail took his headphones off. "I'm with Flex. I ain't wearing these."
Whip shrugged. "Suit yourself. Don't blame me if your brains turn to mush."
"You're not wearing them," Nail said.
"I can take care of myself," Whip rolled his eyes. He turned to Alan. "Listen, if you hurt any of these bozos, I'm going to tear your balls off. Got that?"
Alan looked around at HumiliT's beta circle. "I don't want to hurt you. I just want to go."
"You can't," Whip said. "Not until she gets back."
"Are you in charge here?" Alan said.
The others looked at Whip. "No, she's in charge."
"This is boring," Pain said. "I want to see what he's made of."
Whip shook his head in a blur. "No, that's not a good—"
"Yeah, let's see what he can do," Nail said. Flex nodded in agreement.
"Uh, yeah, that's a bad idea, like he said." Alan looked around franticall
y for any escape path. Unfortunately, the small room had only one door, and four alphas stood between him and the exit.
"HumiliT has plans for him. We shouldn't rough him up," Whip said. He shrugged his shoulders. "Too much."
"Yeah!" Pain exclaimed as he rushed forward.
Before he knew what was happening, Pain had kneed Alan in the groin. Alan collapsed at the hollow pain in his lower body. He started to cry out, but Pain clamped a hand over his mouth.
"For you fuckers. Can't take any chances," Pain said.
Alan bit down hard on the fingers over his mouth, but it was like biting into granite. Shit, now his teeth hurt, too.
"He doesn't seem that tough," someone said. "Why does she want him anyways?"
"I don't know. She made it sound like she was going to…replace us."
"No way."
"What the fuck's Whip talking about?"
Alan had trouble concentrating on the voices, but the last one had been Pain, who was still holding him. Pain threw him against the wall.
"Ouch—" Alan began.
A flurry of quick strikes pummeled his stomach, knocking the air out of him, and then his neck, making him gag.
Whip lifted his head up and wagged his finger. "No loud noises from you."
He couldn't even talk if he wasn't careful with Whip around.
"How's he supposed to replace us?" someone said.
Whip shook his head. "I don't know. Maybe it was bullshit. I heard her talking with Cover Girl."
"This piece of shit?" A pair of hands lifted Alan by his shirt. It was Nail. Alan struggled, his limbs flailing in the air. "I can break him right now."
Nail lowered himself to one knee in a backbreaker pose, then threw Alan downward.
Shit! Alan projected a large red rectangle behind himself at the last moment. Instead of shattering his spine, Alan and his makeshift shield bounced off Nail's knee. Alan slammed face first into the floor, hard.
Flex glided over to Alan. "Damn it, Nail, slow down." Flex placed his fingers on Alan's neck to check his pulse. "We can't play with him if he's dead." He grabbed Alan's head by the hair, lifted it, and smashed it into the ground.
For a moment, Alan couldn't see. A wet stickiness covered his face, and he tasted the steely flavor of blood in his mouth.
"What the hell was that red thing he did? Is that his power? I thought he was a screamer." Was that Pain talking?
Alan pushed himself up to a crouching position. He wiped his face with his hands. "Please, please, stop. Aren't you guys supposed to be heroes?"
The reply was two quick jabs to his stomach. Alan bent over in pain, coughing.
"Of course, we're heroes, you dumbfuck," Flex said.
"Sure can't tell," Alan muttered.
"What was that?" Someone punched his face.
These alphas were psychopaths. Worse, they seemed to consider him some kind of personal threat to their beta circle. Were they going to kill him?
Alan refrained from using any more of his alpha powers. He didn't want to escalate the situation by attacking, but with the way things were going, he was afraid he wouldn't be able to hold back much longer. But what if he hurt them? Even if he stopped one of them, there would be three others to deal with. They were trained professionals. He was…an online reputation manager.
Nail picked him up by the armpits like a baby, lifting him into the air. "Can't I break a few bones? Maybe I'll pop a rib or two."
The pain in Alan's sides intensified. He had no idea how close to his skin he could project an object, but he had to stop Nail. A rigid red shirt like a piece of armor appeared around his midsection.
"Fuck!" Nail let go of Alan. Blood dripped from his hands. "The fucker tore the skin off my hands! Oh, I'm going to really kill you now."
"Knock it off, Nail," a woman's voice said. HumiliT stepped into the room.
Nail froze. "Aw. But look what he did." Nail held up his bloody hands.
"I've done worse to you in bed," HumiliT said. "Everyone, leave."
Some of the others grumbled, but all of them quickly emptied the room.
"They rough you up much?" HumiliT asked.
"What do you think?" Alan replied. "Look at me. What kind of fucking heroes are you people?"
HumiliT pinned Alan against the wall with one hand around his neck. "Watch your tone with me. Understand?"
"Okay. I got it," Alan gasped.
HumiliT released him. Alan massaged his sore neck. "So what now? Are you taking me to Sire like you said?"
The small blonde regarded him carefully. "No."
"Then…?" She was still staring at him.
"I'm trying to decide whether I should fuck you or kill you."
CHAPTER 23
"There's still no word from Cover Girl," Violet said. She paced back and forth in Godmother's office. She couldn't focus on her research with everything that had happened earlier in the morning.
Godmother wore her usual nondescript clothes, having shed her REAPR suit. Where did she keep it, anyway? And how much maintenance did it need? She had seen Godmother exhibit alpha-like powers, but she wasn't an alpha. Somehow, that suit replicated the biological effect of the alphavirus, but Godmother had deflected all of Violet's questions. When Violet had persisted, Godmother had, for one of the only times Violet could remember, given her a direct order. Shut up and forget the suit.
"We should have never trusted one of them. Make that two of them." Violet spun and continued pacing in the other direction.
"I'm as anxious as you for an update, but let's give them some time," Godmother said. "You practicing your catwalk won't speed up the process."
Violet stopped pacing. "Do you think they'll be back? The others?"
Godmother arched an eyebrow in reply.
Violet had seen Godmother single-handedly fight two alpha ones and their beta circles to a draw. After realizing that Alan was gone, the alphas had withdrawn. She suspected that Godmother had been holding back.
Violet shook her head. "I can't believe they attacked The Strip in the first place."
"It's his way. With one hand, he bestows the powers of a god. With the other hand, he deprives them of what they want most. He controls them with fear, desperation, jealousy. This is the result."
Godmother was different. She gave you what you desired most. Why wouldn't Alan understand that?
"And you believe HumiliT will see your way?" Violet asked.
"Not my way. Another way. That's all we need."
"I still don't like it, involving more of them. Couldn't you have stopped them from taking Alan? I saw what you could do."
"What do you think?" Godmother returned Violet's questioning look.
Violet stared at Godmother for a moment. Her mouth opened in shock. "You wanted them to capture Alan?"
"You don't understand what Alan is. To you, he's your alpha prime, a power giver. To others, he is a doubt, a virus that will nestle into their minds — the possibility of something else."
"Why would they think that? Most of our tests on his alphavirus failed. We had him under observation for weeks, and we still don't understand what's going on. They've hardly seen him." Violet's forehead creased in confusion. "You know something else, don't you?"
"Perhaps. Why do you think Cover Girl contacted us with the warning last night?" Godmother smiled. "Alan, not his alphavirus, is the real infection. Now we sit back and watch that infection spread."
* * *
Alan stared at HumiliT. She wore a flashy gold uniform that contrasted with her hero name. A bold 'T' was emblazoned across the front.
"You want to what?"
HumiliT gave him a mocking bow. "Don't you like what you see?"
He preferred women with longer hair, but he couldn't deny that the petite woman with trim blonde hair had a stunning figure. "You said fuck or kill me. Maybe I wouldn't mind the first, but the second doesn't sit too well with me."
HumiliT shook her head. "Are you trying to make me kill you? Is that your at
tempt at a pickup line?"
"Woah, hold on. I never did anything to you. Why would you kill me?"
"Less talk, more play. Let's see what you got."
HumiliT walked over and flicked him in the chest with her finger. Alan flew backwards onto the ground.
"Shit," he groaned. "What was that for?"
"Come on. I know you have alpha powers. You pulled that screaming stunt."
Alan wiped dried blood from his mouth. "Fine. You asked for it." He opened his mouth and screamed. And kept screaming.
HumiliT's eyes narrowed slightly, but she didn't seem bothered. Alan stopped.
"Is that all you have?" HumiliT looked disappointed. "Your viral load must be low. How did you get that power anyway? That couldn't have been from your famous fling with Cover Girl."
"You know about that?" Alan asked.
HumiliT rolled her eyes. "Everyone does. What do you think this is all about? Don't you have anything else in you?" HumiliT moved to flick him again.
Alan created a red wall in between him and HumiliT. She paused in front of it.
"That's more interesting." HumiliT changed her hand to a fist and punched hard.
The projected red wall shattered. Alan cried out at a sudden stabbing headache and fell backwards again.
"Disappointing," HumiliT said. "You're supposed to impress me, not spend all your time on your ass."
That was enough. "The hell? You crazy alpha bitch." Alan hadn't tried to hurt anyone with his projection ability, but he remembered what he had done to the first man he had killed. Would it work on HumiliT? He didn't want to kill her. He targeted her right foot instead.
He tried to manifest a small red bar within HumiliT's foot as she stepped towards him. The bar appeared briefly before breaking and falling off her foot.
HumiliT stumbled. "Ow! That one actually hurt!" She looked at her foot. Her footwear was ruined, but the skin was still unbroken. "That's more like it." She grinned and seized Alan.
Alan created more red bars in each of her hands. HumiliT cried out and dropped him. He dodged to the side, but HumiliT was faster. She caught him. This time, Alan created red bars within HumiliT's hands, feet, and torso for good measure.
HumiliT howled in pain. "Shit, that hurts!"
