“You show me yours, I’ll show you mine,” Death Girl said, and she stepped over to the table, up onto a chair, eyebrow arched.

  I nodded, helping her up to the table. She did it for me, grabbing my boxers and pulling, so that I was out for the room to see.

  They cheered, and when I spun around to look at Death Girl, I wasn’t sure whether to laugh or apologize when my dick slid across her leg.

  Her leg. I glanced down in realization that it hadn’t been the black metal of her suit, and then followed that leg up to see that she was indeed her human self again, fully nude, dancing sensually less than a foot away from me. Behind her, Ria was smiling wide, watching as she retrieved the dress.

  “Whoa,” I said to Death Girl.

  She nodded. “Whoa feels about right.”

  The other ladies were laughing and doing their dance thing but all I could think about was this beauty in front of me. Her hair downstairs was ginger like above, wavy, not trimmed in the slightest but wild in a sexy, she didn’t give a fuck sort of way.

  And her breasts. Nothing big, but not small either. Perky little nipples that I would’ve loved to suck on. My eyes rose to her face and I stared at her lip for a moment, wanting to nibble on it, but then met her eyes and felt ashamed. All this time I’d been taking in her body while we danced, she’d been staring at my eyes. I had no way of knowing, except that she was staring so intently, it felt true.

  “This is…” she started.

  “Amazing?” I offered.

  She nodded, and accepted my embrace as I pulled her close, my cock pressed between us, firmly against her hip. Her breasts met my chest, and then she looked up at me. “I was going to say too much.”

  “Oh.” I let go, taking a step back to apologize, but apparently that was a step too far. Air moved around me and it took about as long as the fall did to realize I was going over, slamming into the floor, and lying there groaning.

  She was the first at my side, the others right behind, so that when I opened my eyes, still groaning, there were five nude women leaning over me.

  “I could get used to this,” I said, and laughed.

  “What the fuck?” Bubblegum said. “Did you seriously just fall off of that table? Tell me you jumped.”

  “He fell,” Death Girl said

  “Poor baby,” Meher added, and as they were all huddled over me, a hand groped, finding me, and I realized I was still hard.

  Meher and Bubblegum shared a mischievous look, and then Gloria glanced back and I realized what was happening.

  “I see,” Ria added when she caught on, and started running her hands over my chest.

  “How’s our patient, nurse? All better?” Meher asked.

  Bubblegum laughed. “I’ll tell you after I get a sample, doctor.

  Death Girl, however stood up, returning to her metal shape, and started walking off.

  “Are you okay?” Ria asked before I got the chance.

  Death Girl paused, looked back at us, and said, “In case the invasion comes. I’ll be on the lookout.”

  I started to get up, but Meher pushed me down again, pressing her body to mine and smothering me with kisses.

  The sound of closing doors pulled me to my senses, and I held up a hand. “Ladies… I hate that I’m saying this but, maybe this can wait?”

  “What?” Bubblegum sounded genuinely confused, hands running up and down my legs.

  “She’s part of the team,” I said, gesturing to the door. “Don’t you think—I mean, shouldn’t I check on her?”

  The others looked at me as if they couldn’t believe I was saying to stop. Hell, I was hating myself for it already, but not as much as I’d hate myself if I let any one of these ladies walk away without making sure they were doing okay.

  “If it were any of you…?” I said, and that did it.

  “Hurry back, or there won’t be any left for you,” Meher said, then turned to Ria. “Didn’t we do just do this? How often, or how strong, is that pheromone power of yours?”

  Ria laughed as Bubblegum buried her face in her crotch. “As far as I’m concerned, the perfect amount.”

  I couldn’t argue with that, as I jogged over to the door.

  20

  It was only when I’d reached the bowling alley door that I realized I had left my clothes back by the orgy of women. Still, I pushed it open, glancing out.

  “Boo,” a voice said and I startled before turning to see Death Girl, standing inside the doorway.

  “Dammit,” I said, putting a hand to my chest to calm my heart. “You scared me.”

  “I have that effect on people.”

  She was in her metal and skull form, adding extra meaning to my statement, a meaning which I hadn’t intended.

  “About that,” I said, gesturing over to the little orgy still going on.

  She shook her head. “I get it. Trust me, I do. It’s a lot to process, and… I’m more of a monogamy type, to be honest.” She went to the doorway again, staring out. “You do realize your cock’s still sticking up while you talk to me, right?”

  “I—damn, sorry. It’s just that you ran off, and I thought we were having a moment.”

  “So you came over to see if I wanted a good fuck before the fight, is that it?” She turned back on me, still the skull, the glow intensifying. “Is that right, Drake? You want to fuck me now? Like this?”

  I took a step back, having clearly offended her without realizing what I’d done wrong. Instead of walking away or trying to back pedal, though, I went for the honest approach.

  “What would any guy do in my shoes?” I asked. “I mean, of course there’s that primal instinct in me, that physical side that finds you intriguing… and yes, even, odd as it may seem, when I can see your skull. Clearly this is a different world we’re living in than before, but… did I come over to fuck you?” I glanced down, realizing how much my body spoke to that assumption, but shook my head. “No, I didn’t. I came to ensure you were okay. To check on you, nothing more.”

  She considered what I’d said, then looked back at the sky. “I want to tell you more about who I am. Would that be okay?”

  “Of course,” I replied, stepping up next to her. “That’s why I’m here, to know you.”

  She laughed, nodded, and then began to tell me more of her story.

  DEATH GIRL III

  Before the big C came along, I was like anyone else, you know? Happy in general, pissed that my job took up so much of my time, but glad to be able to pay the bills. I would drive around coordinating events, sometimes concerts, which was the most fun. Had a boyfriend for a bit, but you don’t want to hear about him. Real asshole, who was there for the fun, enjoyed one too many drinks way too often, and basically bailed when we found out I was sick.

  There was a time, before that, when I really started to think he might be the one. A time when I sort of stopped hanging out with my friends, didn’t even make much time for family. I was swept away by life, right? Only to find out soon that none of what I thought mattered, and that I’d pushed aside the really important parts of my life.

  Maybe I would’ve felt differently if I’d ended up marrying that dick, had kids and grown old. Who knows? Maybe I should’ve stopped blaming my job and made time for my family—no, not maybe. I definitely should have. If he’d been worth keeping around, he would’ve been there to make sure I did.

  That right there should’ve been the first sign.

  Anyway, he’s gone, right? I’m in a hospital bed and it’s like two weeks after I first found out I was dying, fast… A life lesson that you should always get yourself checked, because if we’d found it sooner, my chances would’ve been much better. So yeah, dying fast.

  In comes my dad, this old Irishman, you know the type—droopy cheeks that were entirely too red for his pale face, always smiling. Or maybe always smiling when he saw me? Not for a second did he cry, or even let on that he was losing a daughter. He came in, sat next to me, and started telling me about everything going on in his life lately, asking me about how my job had been, and then told me a story about the cutest dog he’d found and was watching until they could locate the owner.

  “Where’s mom?” I asked.

  He put a hand on mine, and said, “She’ll be here soon, honey.”

  Not once did he show sorrow, and that was exactly what I’d needed that day. A reminder of the joy we brought each other. Not pity, not the bullshit I’d expected, like him feeling sorry for himself for losing a daughter. Of course, I knew he was going through that, and of course it was a fucked up situation. But at the moment, I needed to feel alive, even if I soon wouldn’t be.

  So it was such a contrast when my mom showed up a good five minutes after he left, arriving with some man that she left out in the hallway. She’d left my dad, apparently, and he hadn’t even hinted at the fact, other than that brief hand touch as he had explained that she would be along soon. That’s all. He so wanted me to feel what it was like to be there with him, to be living life—and maybe needed that for himself, too—that he put his personal issues aside.

  And I don’t know, maybe that’s how I want to be in life, right? I was about to die, but I laid back, trying to pretend to listen to everything my mom was going on about as she made excuses about why she’d left my dad. All I could think about was how I could change the world if given another chance. How I could make a difference.

  How funny that my chance came in the form of a metal body and glowing skull.

  Still, it was a chance, and when the supers from the Citadel in the Oram system showed up, I accepted. Every time I fight, I try not to think about the bullshit, about the killing, or about all the sorrow caused by the fact that I couldn’t be everywhere at once, that I couldn’t stop all the bad things from happening. Only some.

  It’s those some that matter, and those people who we can affect who will forever remember it.

  Funny thing is, I never once thought back about the asshole who left me, not until now. And only now to think how he failed in so many ways compared to you, and that… that means a lot to me.

  “So…” Death Girl said, returning back to her naked, flesh self again. “You really didn’t come here to fuck me?”

  I gulped, but held her gaze. “That’s right.”

  “Then put that meat popsicle away,” she said, and actually laughed. “It’s damn distracting.”

  I chuckled, nodded, and then ran off to find my clothes. Halfway there, Death Girl cursed, then shouted out, “Hey, everyone, we have company.”

  Bringing my jog to a pause, I stood there, hesitating, and then realized she was staring up at the sky. Shit. I grabbed my clothes, sprinting back to her as I started to throw my shirt on first, then my boxers. At her side, I looked out at the sky as I did up my pants, and at first only saw clouds, dark gray like it might rain.

  Then I saw the first of the ships come by, darting across the sky, followed by a second. Large, black, and followed by many more.

  “It’s starting,” I said, turning to see the other ladies, coming up behind me in various states of undress and unease. None of that mattered though, because sex was, as insane as it was to consider, the last thing on our minds.

  The invasion was here, which meant we were going into attack mode.

  21

  As the others dressed, Ria had me turn on the bowling alley’s televisions and tune into the news, so that we could see what was happening. When the first explosions started in Europe, then some in the states, she turned to us, worried, and said, “He’ll be here soon.”

  Gloria, I couldn’t help but notice, was staring with wide eyes, hand trembling slightly. I stepped close to her, hesitant. “You… okay?”

  She grunted in response.

  “I’ll take that as a ‘Yes, but sure could use some of that tequila right now.’ No?”

  This time, a slight smile showed. “I’m not much of a drinker, honestly. Especially when I’m about to be put to the test.”

  “Hey, this?” He flipped off the screen. “A bunch of aliens and whatever? Fuck ‘em. It’s just another show, just another set of contestants you need to defeat if you want the title.”

  “Yeah?”

  “Yes. We go out there, we compete, we win.” I grinned, actually feeling the confidence of my own bullshit. “Simple as pie.”

  “Key lime, or lemon meringue?” She laughed. “Damn, it’s been a long time since I had pie…” Gesturing at her body, she added, “You don’t look like this by eating pie. Or… nachos or chilly cheese fries either, for that matter.”

  “Lemon meringue,” I said. “But same here—not to be in shape, or not as much as you, anyway. More that I wouldn’t know where to start. I sure as hell aren’t going to eat what we serve at the diner, because there’s no way it could compare with Aunt Evelynn’s.”

  “Thanksgiving with the family?” She waited for my nod, then said, “Same here. Only mine was Aunt Trudy.”

  We watched the screen for a moment, more ships arriving, the other ladies giving us our moment or maybe too wrapped up in watching to care about our pie talk.

  “Listen, Gloria?”

  She glanced over, waiting, all reservations about me now gone from her gaze.

  “For what it’s worth, I’m glad you’re on the team.”

  “Because you’ve always wanted to fuck someone who can beat you at arm wrestling?” She held up her hands to stop me form answering. “Kidding, kidding. Me too. And… thanks.”

  I held her gaze a moment longer, but when part of Cairo exploded and the ladies gasped, our attention returned to the invasion.

  “Where do we begin?” I asked, looking up as even larger ships kept appearing in the sky. “We can’t exactly fly up there and just start taking them on.”

  “No,” Ria admitted. “But we know they’ll come for the Per-Neter, and that they’ll be bringing a substantial force this time.”

  “A ship?” I asked.

  She nodded. “That’s my thought. From there, we do what we can.”

  We watched as more ships flew by, then turned back to the news to see the military retaliating and a news anchor talk about how Space Fleet Marines were inbound from the outer realms, promising to do their part. Would it be soon enough, though? Maybe if we did our job right, and the Earth military could at least try to hold off the enemy.

  Even as that thought hit me, though, the first wave of Earth ships was blown away by what looked like solar blasts, too bright for the screen to show. It was only seconds between the blast and the arrival of the first ship outside of the bowling alley.

  “They won’t want to simply obliterate me,” Ria explained, waving everyone into position. “Because that would mean they’d lose their precious Per-Neter. So stick close, fight at my side, and the most they can do is to send their troops against us.”

  “Our best bet is the old base,” Gloria said.

  Ria nodded, turning to me.

  For some reason, I led the way. It wasn’t that I was the strongest there. Definitely not. Did the equipment between my legs give me license to lead? Of course not. But maybe the side of me that had managed a diner somehow equated that with managing a team of rising super heroes against an invasion. The idea was laughable, I now know, but at the time I was waving them all out, telling them to move it, fast, and I charged toward the town hall.

  And something about taking leadership causes others to listen… until you realize you have no idea where you’re going, as was my case.

  “Gloria, which way?” I shouted, head swiveling as I looked for signs of the town hall.

  “Third building to our right, and back one street,” she hissed at my side. “Keep it up, you’re doing great.”

  I grinned, thankful for the save, and motioned everyone on.

  Two ships landed back by the bowling alley as we turned a corner. That told me their tracking system had a delayed effect, or they hadn’t been able to course correct as we ran. If we stayed on the move down here, they wouldn’t be able to know exactly where we were. More ships appeared overhead, though, and the ones that had landed while we were still at the bowling alley had finally let out, their cargo of supers charging into the streets as two spotted us.

  “Keep moving,” I shouted, and turned toward the building I now saw clearly to be the town hall. There were tourist signs around it, indicating the history of the base from the Great Wars. People had gathered in the streets to stare at the ships overhead, some screaming and running or hiding. A car careened past, nearly hitting me. Another plowed into Gloria, but crumpled and stopped, while she was only knocked sideways a bit. I had to admit slight jealousy—why hadn’t Ria given me that power? I’d have to have a talk with her about it at some point.

  Shots hit from the pursuing supers and the nearby cops turned on them, not even noticing us, even with our unillusioned ex-succubus and Death Girl. Good thing, too, because I wasn’t about to put up with their shit. We charged inside, made a right to go past a little museum with a miniature of the city, and found the roped off entrance to the old base.

  “Hey, you can’t go in there,” a guard with a crazy afro said, glancing up from a holo-screen tv that was floating in front of him.

  He started to stand, but Gloria stepped forward. The arch in his eyebrow showed instant recognition.

  “Listen, Mr….?” she started.

  “Mitchell,” he said, then indicated his nametag with the straw of the large slurpy I now noticed him holding. “Er, Elliot.”

  “Listen, Mitchell,” she said, clapping him on the shoulder. “We’re going down there.”

  “You are?” He was enthralled, and it was kind of cool to see Gloria using her celebrity status and friendly nature instead of her sexuality to achieve this result.

  Then she added, “Because there’s a fucking alien invasion going on outside, so… maybe you should stop watching that ninja shit and walk outside. Better yet, run, hide… get out of Dodge until this is over. Got it?”

  He blinked, clearly confused, and swiped his screen to show the news. The slurpy dropped from his hands, splashing over Gloria’s pants, as he said, “Oh shit.”