The Enhancer series Box Set

by Wyatt Kane

  “Because I’m not usually attracted to women,” she blurted. “I don’t know. I thought you might be able to help.

  Finally, Ty understood. Tempest and Dinah had explained everything to him when he’d first put on his device. But Lilith had been kept in a box, and the only other device wearer she knew had been Bain.

  Ty couldn’t help it. He let out a laugh even though he knew it was the wrong thing to do. Lilith had opened up to him, or at least started to, and now he was laughing at her. Her expression hardened into a frown and he was afraid she would blink out of existence. But before she did, Ty raised his hands up in surrender.

  “No, look, I’m not laughing at you. It’s more that—I don’t know, I guess I just hadn’t thought about what it would be like for you. Listen, why don’t you sit down, and I’ll try to explain.”

  28: Skill Check

  As Lilith sat on one of the stools at the workbench, Ty took a moment to study the perfection of her features. In his mind, she was a match for both Tempest and Dinah.

  Then he started to speak. “Dinah is something special, isn’t she?” he said.

  It was like she didn’t want to admit it, but Lilith nodded. “And Tempest, too,” she began, then blushed deeply again and looked away.

  “Yeah, her too,” Ty agreed. He thought about saying that Lilith herself was equally beautiful, but thought it might scare her off. Instead, he just told her what he knew.

  “These devices we wear have a number of peculiar effects. They bring out our hidden potential. Strengths and skills, but more than that as well. Before I put mine on, I was maybe five, six inches shorter, and had the physique of a bean pole.” He shrugged. “Combine that with dead-end job, a lack of confidence, and acne, and I wasn’t exactly anyone’s idea of a catch.”

  “But you—" Lilith started again, but once more she stopped speaking and said nothing.

  Ty agreed anyway. “Yes. I’m much better now. And the same has happened to Dinah, and Tempest. And maybe you as well. I don’t know.”

  Lilith nodded, but seemed unwilling to trust her speech. She said nothing.

  “But that’s just the physical things that have changed. When these devices are on, they also seem to awaken a certain attraction among us. Not for anyone, but between those who share an alignment. Like, I’ve never been more attracted to anyone than I am to Dinah and Tempest. And they have said much the same back to me.”

  “So it’s the device that’s causing all this?” Lilith asked.

  Again, her cheeks were tinged slightly pink, and Ty couldn’t help but think she might have more than just Dinah and Tempest on her mind.

  “Yes and no,” Ty said. “The device just brings out what’s already there. You might think you’ve never been attracted to women before, but what if you just hadn’t met the right one?”

  The demon woman nodded, looking thoughtful. “Alignment?” she asked.

  “Yeah.” Ty said. “Think of it as the source of all your actions. Like, I’m neutral good. It means I’ll typically try to do the right thing, and I’ll obey the law, but I won’t get hung up on it if the law doesn’t make any sense. Like if Dinah or Tempest was in trouble and I needed to get to them fast, I don’t think I bother stopping for traffic lights. You know? Dinah and Tempest are the same as me. Bain—he would be evil of some sort. Probably neutral or lawful, because he’s too controlled to be chaotic.”

  Lilith’s brow was furrowed in puzzlement. “So, what would I be?”

  “Well,” Ty said with a grin. “You’re attracted to Dinah. And she’s attracted to you.” Again, Ty could have said more, but he didn’t want to push Lilith away. “I’d guess that means you’re on our side of the alignment table. Because none of us has any attraction to Bain whatsoever.”

  Lilith made a face. “Yeah, me neither,” she said.

  “But you can see, if you like. It’s written on your character page. You can bring it up on your display.

  Ty didn’t need to show her how. The demon woman had obviously found it before. In no time at all, her character sheet displayed in holographic form above her device.

  Just as she said, she had a single skill, and the strength was listed as ‘2’. Ty couldn’t imagine what she would be like if she were to level up.

  Additionally, he could see that her strength, durability, and healing were all a match for his own and then some, not including the buff from her skill.

  It made her seriously formidable. With the buff, she was on a par with Tempest itself.

  But none of that was what Ty was looking for.

  “There,” he said. “Lawful good.”

  Lilith nodded. “Sounds right,” she said. “I’ve always tried to do the right thing. Not that it helped much in the past,” she finished.

  With a flash of insight, Ty felt he understood her much better than before. The tone of sadness in her voice spoke volumes. Not only had Lilith perennially struggled to do the right thing without seeing any benefit from it, but she had been forced to act against her essential nature just to survive.

  No wonder she was hesitant about joining their team.

  But it was interesting on another level as well. Ty’s alignment matched that of both Dinah and Tempest, and likely all the original device wearers as well. He thought the Architect might have used alignment as part of his selection criteria.

  Ty had thought the attraction between him and the girls was a side effect of their shared alignment. But Lilith was different. Still good, still on the right side of the ledger, but at a fundamental level, she was in a different category from them. Yet the attraction remained.

  Perhaps the relationship between attraction and alignment wasn’t that simple.

  “So, that’s why,” Lilith said. But again, she didn’t finish her thought out loud. She bit her lip instead, as if thinking things through.

  “So that’s why you are attracted to Dinah,” Ty finished the demon woman’s thought for her. Lilith nodded. “And Tempest,” Ty said. Lilith hesitated, but nodded again.

  “Not that it matters,” she said. “I don’t think she likes me that much. Although, I can’t really blame her for that, can I?”

  Ty smiled. “I wouldn’t be so sure about that. Give her some time. You might be surprised.”

  Lilith didn’t say anything. This time, Ty decided he would push it. “And me,” he said, finishing the thought completely.

  At first, Lilith just blushed and wouldn’t meet his eye. Then, slowly, she did look at him. Openly, without artifice. Once more, Ty was struck by her beauty. The perfection of her modifications was one thing, but her face was another. If Dinah had an elfin look and Tempest that of a movie star, then Lilith, with her large, green eyes, could have been an angel, despite the horns and cloven hooves of exactly the opposite. She was immaculate. Beyond compare, and in that moment, Ty felt the same undeniable attraction he felt for Tempest and Dinah.

  It was magnetic, compelling, and Ty didn’t stop to think. He leaned forward and kissed her, reveling in the yielding softness of her lips.

  Then he shook himself and sat back.

  He saw that Lilith’s eyes were closed and she’d leaned forward on her stool. Her eyes flicked open, and she sat back with an expression that mixed confusion with surprise. “I didn’t mean for that to happen,” she confessed, blushing again.

  Ty just grinned.

  The demon woman seemed flustered. “What about Dinah? And Tempest?” She frowned, apparently uncertain. “Wait, you were in bed with Dinah. Are you with Tempest as well?” she asked.

  Ty nodded. “I told you, the attraction works in every direction. And I don’t think either of them would mind that we kissed.” Then he reconsidered. “Well, Tempest might. It’s hard to say really. But Dinah wouldn’t mind at all.” He grinned again. “Except that she would want to be invited as well.”

  It seemed to be too much for Lilith. She blushed even harder, looked at Ty as if trying to work it all out, started to say something, then stopped. Ty unders
tood. He still wasn’t entirely sure he understood how it all worked.

  “How?” Lilith said, then shook her head. All at once, she stood up with the stool between her and Ty. “Sorry,” she said. “I shouldn’t … I’ve got to go.”

  Ty knew she was about to teleport out of the workshop. It seemed that he had indeed pushed her too hard, too quickly. But there was something he needed to say before she did

  “Wait, before you go, there is something you need to know.”

  It was enough to make Lilith hesitate.

  “All this,” Ty said. “Us, me, Dinah and Tempest, that’s just a bonus. I don’t know if either Tempest or Dinah have said anything directly, but from my perspective, you would be more than welcome to join us. In the team, I mean.” Then he smiled again. “And the other thing, but that’s not what I mean. We need you. The city of New Lincoln needs you. And your alignment, who you are, it seems like you really like to help people.

  “But it isn’t all fun and games. You already know how dangerous it can be. And it’s getting worse. It used to be that Tempest was the strongest one of us. Now there’s this Steam guy, and Massive. And you. We don’t know how bad it could get. It’s dangerous, but that isn’t going to stop us. We—Dinah, Tempest, and me— we’re still going to do all we can to help.” Lilith was already nodding before Ty finished. “If you really want to help, you would be welcome.”

  “I understand,” she said. “I’ll do what I can. You’ve been good to me, despite the things I did to you. And I want to help. It’s just—I don’t want to hurt anyone either,” she said.

  Ty didn’t have any answer to this. The deaths he had caused since putting on his device were no longer in the single digits.

  And perhaps that was why the Architect had gone for the alignment he had. Could a lawful good person be a superhero? Sure, there were examples in the comics where they could. But this was real life. Would Lilith be able to help them and remained true to who she was?

  Only time would tell.

  Surprisingly, Lilith offered Ty another of her quiet smiles. “I have to admit, benefits of joining you guys are appealing,” she said. Then she shook her head. “But I really must be going. Say goodbye to Dinah for me. And Tempest.”

  With that, the demon popped out of existence, leaving behind only a faint odor of ozone, and a smile on Ty’s lips.

  29: Unexpected Delight

  Ty stayed in the workshop for some time, trying to get his brain to work on the problem. In the end, he started to wonder if the tasks he’d set for himself were beyond him. The healing nanites in particular seemed too complex for him to deal with. As for being able to stand up to Massive and Steam, while he had come up with a few ideas, he had nothing concrete.

  What could defeat Steam? Ice, maybe? Could he somehow tweak his energy shield so it acted like a freezer of some kind? As for Massive, all he could think of was to increase the power of his shield cannons.

  He could do that easily enough simply by adding more power converters. But at what cost? He could conceal the ones he already carried fairly easily. They weren’t particularly bulky or heavy. But if he tried to carry twice as many, he wouldn’t be able to walk around in public without getting funny looks from passers-by.

  Unless he put them all in a backpack? Maybe as a temporary measure, that would help. But he didn’t want to have to carry a backpack everywhere either.

  It was a conundrum.

  In the end, he put the questions aside and started working instead on his pet project. He wanted to learn how to fly.

  But even that wasn’t simple. There were all sorts of aerodynamic calculations he had to account for, as well as angular momentum, direction control, and other considerations. Tempest was able to just fly in whatever direction she chose, but Ty needed to program the calculations into his shield.

  He figured it was best to start simply, and within a matter of hours, he was confident that he could perform a low, vertical glide. It would be leaping across maybe 50 yards. Not true flight, not exactly, but it was a good start.

  He would have to be satisfied with that, for now.

  With a sigh that mixed equal parts frustration and satisfaction, Ty decided to call it a day and headed back upstairs.

  ◆◆◆

  He found both Tempest and Dinah in the kitchen, and was relieved to see that the blonde superhero seemed back to her usual self. Without Lilith there, Tempest seemed happy as she aided the deerkin. Ty didn’t know what they were making, but the air was heavy with the odor of fish, as well as a number of spices Ty knew he wouldn’t be able to name.

  “Hey,” Ty said in greeting. “I thought you were restricted to bedrest.”

  The blonde made a rude noise. “I’m perfectly fine,” she said. “And bed is for sleeping. And,” she said, smiling broadly, “maybe a few other things. Neither of which I was engaged in. Look, the bruise is nearly gone.”

  Ty saw she was right, and once more envied her capacity to heal. The wounds on his shoulder and leg were starting to itch abominably, and the skin on his face and fingers had started to tingle despite the cream Dinah had applied. No doubt he would lose some of it over the next couple of days as the dead cells flaked away.

  But Tempest’s bruise was almost gone. He could just make out a yellowy smudge at her temple.

  “She isn’t a good patient,” Dinah added with a grin. “Never does what the doctor orders. But still, I can’t complain. I’m glad of the company.”

  Ty could see she was telling the truth. It seemed that they were back to normal. Whether they had answered the question of Lilith, Ty didn’t know, nor did he ask.

  He didn’t have to. “Did Lilith find you in the end?” Dinah asked.

  At the demon woman’s name, Tempest’s smile lost a little of its depth. But it didn’t fade completely.

  “She did. But she had to go. She asked me to pass on her goodbyes.”

  The deerkin nodded. “Oh, well,” she said. “I guess we can’t expect to take over all her time, now could we?”

  “Did she give any indication as to what her plans were?” Tempest asked.

  Ty shook his head. “Not really. She’s willing, but still uncertain. If she hadn’t been forced to do so, she wouldn’t have wanted to play any part in the Master’s earlier game.”

  Both Dinah and Tempest accepted this, but kept their thoughts to themselves.

  Ty decided to change the subject. He inhaled deeply and asked, “What’s cooking?”

  Dinah beamed at him. “We figured that with everything that has happened over the past few days, it was time to take a break from it all. Pretend the bad guys don’t exist, and everything is right in the world. Tempest suggested we go on a date, and just have a good time for the evening. What do you think?” she asked

  “A date?” Ty responded. “What, just the two of you?” He didn’t know what he thought about that. Sure, they could do what they wished, but he would have liked to be part of it too.

  “Of course not, silly!” Tempest said. “You as well!”

  Dinah laughed out loud.

  “Oh,” Ty said. Yet he was still confused. “But then, what’s all this?” he asked, gesturing at the activity in the kitchen.

  “We thought we’d have the date here,” Dinah said.

  Ty thought about his financial situation. “That sounds fantastic!” he said. “What can I do to help?”

  Tempest grinned at him. “Your timing is just about perfect. We’re just about ready to serve the first course.”

  The first course was a small salady-type thing they had already plated onto three separate plates. Yet this was like not a boring, shriveled lettuce and careless tomato affair like the Concubine Club might serve if anyone asked. Instead, it was a riot of different colors and textures that had Ty salivating.

  He could recognize only a few of the ingredients. Fancy lettuce and sprouts of different kinds, and a smattering of chopped cherry tomatoes. But there were other things he couldn’t guess at. Perhaps a
soft cheese? Something purple? The whole had been drizzled with a dressing that, to Ty’s senses anyway, seemed spicy, and even as Ty watched, the deerkin added a sprinkling of pepper from a grinder.

  “Grab a plate,” Dinah said. “The table’s all set.

  Tempest and Ty both did as the deerkin asked, but Dinah herself took a moment to check the oven before doing the same.

  “Where to?” Ty asked. He was thinking the formal dining room, but wouldn’t have objected to the more intimate den.

  “The conservatory,” Dinah said.

  “The what?” Ty asked.

  Dinah raised an eyebrow. “You haven’t seen the conservatory yet?”

  At the question, Ty realized he had. Every time he and Tempest landed on the bridge over the koi pond, he’d seen the large, glass-and-ironwork enclosure full of green that jutted out from the side of the mansion. He’d just never thought about it until then, and had yet to see it from the inside.

  “No time like the present,” he said.

  The three of them made their way to one of the most stunning parts of the mansion yet.

  ‘Conservatory’ might not have been the best word to describe it. It was too small a word for a structure so huge. As large as a school hall and then some, it was a match for the tropical house of the New Lincoln botanical gardens.

  And not just in size. It had the humidity as well, and overwhelming sense of green. It was like someone had planted a forest, complete with full-sized banana trees, winding vines, and a wide assortment of broad-leafed, smaller plants that were no less spectacular in their own way. Everywhere Ty looked, there was a hidden pocket of color, with orchids and bird of paradise flowers competing for his attention. Somewhere within the forest depths, Ty could hear water, and he wouldn’t have been surprised to hear chittering monkeys or brightly colored parrots calling in the distance.

  “Wow,” he managed.

  “Are you going to stand there all day? Because I want to eat!” Tempest said from beside him.

  Ty laughed, realizing he had been standing in place for some seconds with his mouth open. The blonde superhero’s words were enough to bring him back to the present, and it was only then that he saw the small table right in front of him, in a clear patch before the forest truly began.