“I’ve never backed down from a fight, and don’t plan on starting now,” Gloria added.

  “Same.” Bubblegum stood tall, the petite little waitress stripper looking so much not the fighter, but the look in her eyes telling me otherwise.

  Meher stood there, looking at Death Girl, and nodded. “Nothing could take me away from the rest of you at this point. I’m having too much fun, and if it means following you to hell? So be it.”

  “And I came here for a reason,” Death Girl said. “Hell? I don’t even know if I can die, but if it’s possible and I end up there, something’s wrong with all of this. Point being, I’m in, but fuck hell—I’m not going there.”

  “I think you’re missing the point,” Gloria said with a chuckle.

  Death Girl nodded her skull. “I make my own points.”

  “Okay…”

  “Great, we’re all in to the end,” Ria said, eyes still on the sky. “The others won’t be far behind, now. Anything you all want to do one last time before it’s on? Bucket list, they call it, right?”

  “Bowling?” Meher said, and when we looked at her in confusion, she smiled shyly. “I’ve always heard about it, but never tried.”

  “Oh, in that case…” Bubblegum looked around, smiling wide. “I want to shoot a cannon at a building—you know, one of those all glass buildings.”

  “I think they’re just a bunch of windows,” I said, frowning. “Like, the window would break, but the whole building wouldn’t come down.”

  She turned to me, frowned, and flipped me off. “I don’t try to destroy your dreams. Don’t yank away mine. What is yours, anyway?”

  Grinning around at them all, I laughed. “I’m pretty sure I’m living it.”

  “Fucking pervert.”

  “Some of those things we could actually do,” Gloria said, glancing at the door. “And I’d really rather get the hell out of here, let someone else clean up the bodies. I can make some calls later.”

  “You have a body clean up person?” I asked.

  Gloria laughed. “No, of course not. But I have body guards—they must know those kind of people, right?”

  “I… don’t know.”

  “Either way, since it won’t matter where we are when the attack comes, let’s have some fun.” Ria held the Per-Neter in place, moved one hand around it until the gold light reappeared again, then released so that it floated, then she waved both hands in circles until it vanished, the light disappearing with it. “Personally, I’ve seen images of something called a Frappuccino in the minds of some people I ran into, and I’d love to try one of those.”

  I laughed. “You’re in for a sugar high, if nothing else.”

  She beamed, clearly not having a clue what I meant, but ready for it.

  “All right,” I said, waving them to follow back to the Humvee. “Let’s go get our bowling on, a Frappuccino, and… anything else?”

  Death Girl hesitated, looked around, then said meekly. “Dancing.”

  “What?” I asked.

  She sighed. “I’ve always wanted to… go dancing.”

  I had no idea where that could happen around here, or if we’d even have time, but said, “We’ll do our best,” and opened the door to let them through first.

  19

  If you’ve never gone bowling with a famous ninja gladiator, an ex-succubus alien, a stripper employee, and a hot neighbor named Meher, you’re missing out. We even got Death Girl in there, after Gloria bankrolled us, renting out the whole place and telling the teenager behind the counter to take a hike.

  As Gloria explained after everyone else was gone, this was perfect. Not just for having fun, but part of the city was built above a section of an old military base. Through the basement of the town hall—a couple of blocks over—we’d have access to the tunnels, and be able to hunker down in there, if it got to that.

  But for now, it was fun time. Maybe we were looking for a release after the intensity of fighting our first batch of supervillains. A way to have fun and remind ourselves we were human, after all. Well, most of us, anyway. Whatever it was, bowling did the trick.

  And it was all made better each time Ria bent over to roll her ball, a reminder that she had on no panties beneath that dress.

  “Like what you see?” she asked, sitting next to me after a good show.

  “Always,” I said, and was surprised when she kissed me on the cheek. “What was that for?”

  “For fun.”

  A simple answer. I liked it. The downside of renting out the place was we’d had the chef leave too, but that was fine because it left the kitchen open for me to have a go at.

  “You’re spoiling him,” Bubblegum said, eyeing me pointedly and then going for her ball. “Give him pussy whenever he wants it, the bossman will get bored of it.”

  “Then what, go looking for something else?” Meher asked. “I can help if it’s a little ass, but if it’s dick you turn to…”

  “First of all, no, not my style,” I said. “No offense, I’m sure I get why you all like the D, but it isn’t for me. And as for your ass being little, yeah…”

  She laughed and shook her ass at me as she prepared to bowl, then stepped forward and released. Gutter ball. She pouted, but didn’t really seem to care. In the grand scheme of things, what did it matter if she got zero pins or a strike?

  Still, when she hit five on her next roll, she jumped up and down, ecstatic.

  “Seriously though, maybe you all are a tad oversexed,” Death Girl noted, standing tall, always the sentinel. “Even with Ria’s pheromone power, I can’t imagine your bodies can keep that pace up for long.”

  Ria turned to her, a smile at the edge of her lips. “Try taking on your flesh form and finding out, first hand.”

  Death Girl stared back, giving her head a slow shake.

  Letting it go as simply as that, Ria glanced up at the scoreboard. “Contra, you’re up. Let’s see what you’re working with.”

  I hit two pins, then three, and shrugged it off.

  “Eh, better in the sack,” Gloria said with a chuckle. “Let me show you how a pro does it.”

  None of us were surprised when she hit a strike, but I started to realize all the fighting and fucking was making me damn hungry. I offered to find us some food, and headed off to the kitchen. It wasn’t the cleanest spot in the world, and nothing fancy. I thought it would’ve been nice to have been able to offer these ladies a nice meal from the diner, but made do with what we had.

  “You get lost?” Bubblegum asked, stopping at the doorway to lean against it, watching me as I looked around, confused.

  “Not exactly the diner, is it?”

  She chuckled. “Hey, I stayed out of that kitchen as much as I possibly could. Best not to show up for a lap dance later that night smelling like French-fry grease and French dips.”

  “What do you have against the French?”

  “Nothing.” She walked over to me, pressing her lips to mine and swirling her tongue around in my mouth. Pulling back, she added, “See? French kissing. Love it.”

  “Me too,” I said, cocking my head, hand going to her waist.

  She eyed it, then smiled at me. “This is how we are now, huh? Like, a real couple or something?”

  “Couple?” I raised and eyebrow.

  “Ah, right. What do you call a couple when it’s a few? Are we real few now? Doesn’t quite roll off the tongue.”

  I laughed, shrugged, and then pulled her back for another kiss. Damn, she tasted great. “So, what do you say we figure out some sort of feast for this amazing few of ours?”

  “Right.” Her hand went to my crotch, found my cock, and gave it a playful squeeze. “This ought to fill them up.”

  I grinned, shook my head. “You know what I mean.”

  “Sure, boss. Anything you say.” She turned, eyeing the area by the sodas, and skipped over.

  “What’ya got?” I asked.

  “Only the best food this side of the diner.” She moved aside, gesturing like a television show host to a pump with nacho cheese. Not the most high class, but damn I loved me some of those ghetto nachos.

  “You know,” she said, taking some of the cheese form the pump, licking it off her finger suggestively. “I really did fantasize from you sometimes. At the diner, or on my way to the club. Sometimes, when I was giving a guy a lapdance, I’d imagine it was you.”

  “I think that’s sweet…?”

  She nodded. “It is. But, there’s more. It wasn’t just sexual. Honestly, I’d be dancing there, wondering what it would be like to lounge around your house with you, the two of us in our underwear and nothing else. Maybe watching a movie, maybe doing nothing but simply talking.”

  “This is the stuff you thought about while dancing naked for starngers?”

  Her eyes narrowed as she seemed to be deciding whether that was an insult or not, but then was over it. “I shouldn’t be telling you this. Going to make your head even bigger than it is. And trust me, that’s a damn big head you’ve got there. Both of ‘em.”

  “I… thought about you too.”

  “Yeah?”

  “For sure.” I stood there, staring at her, trying to comprehend all we’d been through, not just since this chaos started, but at the diner, too. “Remember that time the power went out, and I stepped back, tripping over the mop bucket so nasty mop water was everywhere, me covered in it?”

  “You stank.”

  “I did.” Hesitating, I took a breath. “Not sure why I’d done it, but when those lights went out, I was actually taking a step back to where I thought you were…”

  “Why?”

  “I—it’s stupid.”

  “Tell me.”

  “I probably would’ve gotten in trouble, I don’t know. But it was my first instinct, as soon as the power went out, I wanted to hold your hand.”

  “Wow.” She considered me, then laughed. “That time? I barely knew you back then.”

  “I know. It just… felt right.”

  My stomach rumbled, and Bubblegum laughed.

  “You’re sweet, boss. Now let’s get those ladies some food.”

  “Agreed.”

  We went about making the food, and as I was pumping cheese on a second box of chips, Bubblegum gave me a kiss on the cheek, followed by a slap on the ass.

  “More cheese,” she said, going to fill some drink cups.

  Soon we had a tray full of nachos, and then found the chili cheese fries and nuked those up. Nothing that a few Dr. Peppers couldn’t wash down, and for Ria—a lame version of a Frappuccino, but it would have to do.

  They were actually excited about the food, all feeling famished and saying that, while they usually tried to watch what they eat, they deserved it in light of our circumstance. I couldn’t agree more, and after my second soda had to take a piss. I waited for one more shot of Ria, breathing heavy as she bent over and the bottoms of her ass cheeks showed, then I licked my lips and walked off to find the bathroom.

  It was locked, so I had to use the women’s, which surprised me with its cleanliness in a place like this. Finishing, I stood in front of the mirror, looking at the man I’d become. A man who was on his way to becoming a superhero. A man who’d just fucked four women, who was getting more action than he’d ever imagined.

  That moment was the first time I could recall where I truly felt at peace. Even knowing I was about to go up against the universe’s darkest, scariest beings—as far as I knew—none of that mattered. I had purpose, I had… love? Not quite love yet, of course, but damn this was better than any sort of relationship I’d been in. Romeo thought he had it bad after meeting his little young love? Ha. Had he been thrown into this situation, I’m sure he would’ve found some way to ensure everyone stayed alive, and that was my intention here. There was no way in hell I was going to let a single one of these ladies get harmed in the battle to come.

  On the way back from the bathroom, I found the DJ booth and realized this was it. Death Girl’s bucket list item.

  “Meher, can you get the lights?” I asked.

  She ran over and did so, while I familiarized myself with the buttons and old-school screen. A moment later, I had the place dark but with red and blue lights going around in circles, a nice slow dance song playing over the sound system.

  I jogged back over to the team where I found Death Girl, staring at me. “May I have this dance?”

  She looked down at my outstretched hand, then turned away. I thought I’d done something wrong, until I realized she had said something, and Ria was handing her the dress. Death Girl went behind one of the partitions, knelt, and while only her head was visible, she transformed into her frizzy-haired self. A moment later, she was there, wearing the dress and walking toward me.

  I met her halfway. “You look stunning.”

  Her eyes met mine, and only then did I realize they were glistening. “You… you’re sweet. She twirled, displaying the dress. “Couldn’t have you dancing with me in my armored form, or even like this, nude.”

  “Take your time,” Ria said, standing there bare naked. Oddly, she didn’t seem to be joking or sarcastic.

  I held out my hand again. “Shall we?”

  Death Girl took it and the other ladies cheered while we walked over to the center of the room. She put her hands around my shoulders, I put mine around her waist, and our eyes locked.

  “You can’t just stay like this always?” I asked.

  She considered this, then said, “Well, Ria would get cold without the dress.”

  “I doubt it,” I replied with a chuckle.

  “Truth is, I have energy to last a while, but…” She looked down, missing a step.

  “What?”

  “I thought I might save it. For moments like this.” Her eyes met mine again. “It’s corny. We barely know each other, but this… it’s getting to me. Impacting me, you know?”

  “It’s just a dance.”

  She hit me, playfully. “You know it’s so much more than that.”

  Did I? I hadn’t really been sure, but the more I thought about it, the more that made sense. This woman who had been on her death bed, given a second chance but only to go around fighting, looking like… she normally did. It had to be tough. To go from that to a simple, down-to-Earth moment like this? It could be emotional.

  It didn’t come as a surprise when she leaned up and kissed me—a soft, gentle touch of the lips, nothing more.

  I held her gaze a moment, then glanced back at Ria. “Hey…”

  “It wasn’t her,” Death Girl said.

  “Oh, I just assumed…” Looking back at her, I realized that name didn’t really fit in moments like this. “Tell me your real name.”

  Her brow furrowed and she shook her head. “No.”

  “No?”

  “I’m not ready for that. Sorry.”

  I nodded, accepting her need for privacy, and we kept dancing, the others starting to dance, too. But not Gloria. She shook her head and pursed her lips when Meher asked, so instead Meher and Bubblegum danced together while Ria did a sexy, nude dance on top of one of the tables.

  “Any pointers for me?” she asked Bubblegum.

  “Uh-oh, the gauntlet has been laid down,” Meher said, slyly.

  “Gauntlet?” Gloria perked up. “Hell no. If there’s a contest, I’m winning. What is it? I wasn’t paying attention.”

  “Strip show,” Bubblegum said, laughing, and took the table opposite Ria. “And it’s not a contest.”

  “It pretty much is,” Meher said.

  “Then get your ass on a table and do your thing,” Bubblegum countered, starting to strip, eyes on me.

  I gulped as both she and Gloria did so.

  Death Girl saw me looking and shook her head. “What if the invasion comes while you’re doing that?”

  “Then we fight them off like this,” Meher said, throwing her now exposed breasts around. “See how they defend against the mighty breasts of Meher!”

  It wasn’t until then, when she and Bubblegum started cracking up, that I noticed the bottle of tequila they were hiding.

  “Come on,” I said, about to chide them.

  “Only a swig each,” Meher insisted, handing me the bottle. “To calm the nerves.”

  I held up the bottle, then took a swig myself. They had a point. It would help.

  “Get up there,” Death Girl said, and stepped back, smiling. “Go on, before they start to get the impression that strip dances are only for females.”

  “Aren’t they?” I asked.

  She started to lower her dress, pretending to strip, but transforming to her metallic form as the dress fell. Her face faded to the skull.

  “Okay, okay,” I protested, “but only if you let me see that pretty smile.”

  Her face returned somewhat, more and more as the I took a step onto the table, completely as I started to undo my shirt. The other ladies cheered.

  “Like this,” Bubblegum said, totally naked now all but for her panties, teasing the string as she swayed her hips.

  “Go on, like that,” Death Girl said, grinning up at me. The rest were all cheering and mimicking Bubblegum, as into each other as me, it seemed, but Death Girl had her eyes focused on me, and nowhere else.

  “It’s not really fair if you don’t join in,” I said.

  She frowned, shook her head, and motioned for my pants to come down. Maybe it was the one swig of tequila, or maybe I wanted to show her I could be fun. Either way, the pants came off, my bulge very visible as I swayed with my hips.

  With a laugh, she did a little dance, pretending to throw money my way.

  “Now you work down like this,” Bubblegum said, lowering her hips as she pulled at the panties, “to take them off while still looking sexy. And raise that ass…”

  The other ladies did, and there I was, dancing in my undies with four nude women and me in my undies, pitching a major tent, while Death Girl clapped to the music, grinning wide.

  “You missed a step,” Bubblegum said, shooting her panties over at me. They landed at my feet, and all of them—even Death Girl—started chanting, “Strip, strip, strip!”

  “Come on,” I protested, waving them off, about to step down.