Suddenly we could move again, but then a girl appeared, grabbing them, pulling them through the walls. I charged, seizing her, and then froze in shock—it was the injured girl, Reina. A traitor! How many more students had been plants, waiting to betray Supralines for this purpose?

  Even as I held her, she started to phase through the wall, leaving one supervillain on the floor, one that I now saw had red hair. Anone!

  I felt myself being pulled through the wall with Reina, but quickly let go of her and pulled back. I didn’t want her to keep going and then leave me stranded in rock. Then I turned on Anone, grabbed her, and demanded, “Where? Where are they going?”

  “You’re too late,” a familiar voice said, and then my sister stepped out of the darkness. The walls all around started rumbling, stones breaking free, parts of the roof collapsing. Malina held out a hand, a look of hope in her eyes. “Join me, Charm. Now.”

  I wanted to blow a charm at her to change all this but couldn’t think of which one to use. My muscles tensed. I wanted to leap and take her down, to put a stop to this, but I felt a force that held me in place, had me handicapped.

  The look of betrayal in Malina’s eyes showed she understood my answer. “So be it,” she said then stepped back, locking arms with the phasing Supralines traitor. They disappeared as the rest of the place started to cave in on us.

  As they vanished, the power that’d been holding us at bay left too. Harp gripped us tight and Laurel said, “Cover your ears!” I did, and Harp’s wings wrapped around us too, I supposed to create a sort of sound barrier. That didn’t fully work, and the pain hit.

  Her wings spread. There was a path cleared for us, one that she managed, half-running and half-flying, to pull us up and along, getting us out of that trap of a dungeon as it continued to collapse around us.

  What surrounded us above was chaos. The group with my sister—including, I now saw, Trance, Ice, Silencer, and others I recognized—were battling with supers left and right, making for a spot in the center where one of their ships had lowered to, ramp open. Other ships were holding a perimeter above it, with supers putting out shields and protective barriers so that even the Citadel ship wasn’t able to take it out, yet. Though, as we ran, I saw parts of the enemy shields falling apart, shattering into blue glass that faded when it hit the ground.

  In the midst of the enemy, I saw a sight that I’d been curious about before, but now dreaded. Silencer held out his hand, finger sliding toward the red stone on his wrist, but his eyes moved to me and he froze.

  “You can still stop this,” I shouted, but even before he could react a guard slammed into him with a sword, piercing his thigh. The super pulled back and the sword vanished, reappearing in the guard’s hand for another strike.

  The strike never came, however, because Silencer’s hand went back to the bracelet, finger on the stone. A wave of flames erupted from him as he transformed into a man of fire and brimstone, three times his old height. One swipe of his new hand took out the guard, and then he turned, plowing through students, professors, and more guards alike.

  Hadrian—apparently the one who’d emerged from the Citadel ship—came to meet him, but before he could intervene a shadow fell over the land. The supervillain my old friends had freed came crashing down, chains erupting from his hands. No, not just chains, I realized as the ends of them tore into Hadrian, spinning and ripping flesh, expanding and shooting out bursts of liquid metal that hardened and formed more barbs that caught on his skin. Meanwhile, Silencer continued his rampage with more ripping and tearing, and blood spurting.

  More supers kept coming, kept getting pushed back, and again the enemy power that made me immobile hit and I couldn’t move. I tried pushing with all my might, screaming, blowing charms of every sort. The result was my mind feeling pulled in every direction at once, the world around me spinning with colors and lights, until I didn’t know what was real and what was fake anymore.

  Only one image showed itself, and that was this new supervillain, a mask of pure white over his face. He spun with more chains shooting out, holding up an arm and building a level of metal carapace out of it like a shield, more forming on his back as attacks attempted to hit him.

  Fuck me, I could see why the enemy wanted him freed.

  Only, it was clear he didn’t care who he struck. Ice and the others were steering clear, but many of the supervillains fell under his attacks along with the heroes. He was a force of nature, chaos in its truest form—and that’s when I put it together. I’d heard of a supervillain gone mad, one who’d been so evil, the location of his prison had been kept secret.

  Or at least they’d tried.

  Now he was free. This was the supervillain they called Chaos. He brought down hell upon us all, and I was helpless to do a damn thing.

  “Get him out of here!” Malina shouted. Anone and the others moved for Chaos, using their combined powers to subdue him and get him to the ship. We couldn’t let that happen.

  We charged, fighting our way to them. Malina glanced back, wearing a look of surprise at the sight of me, then smiled. She grabbed the phaser and nodded my way, and the phaser took hold of a tall boy with black eyes appearing next to her—and suddenly there they were, right next to me, Prancer too. They seized hold of me while still clinging to the phaser, and then we were gone, off the battlefield. I staggered, looking around to see that we were in one of the nearby towers, able to look down on the fighting below, but separated from it.

  “Stop this!” I shouted, seeing that the enemy almost had Chaos on the ship. Hadrian was having a hard time against Silencer in his current state, but other Elders were making their way to him, pushing the enemy back. It was clear we’d win, but at what cost?

  “You impress me, sister,” Malina said. “Do you have what it takes to end this, though? To end me?” She stepped forward, arms spread, and Prancer tossed me a knife. “Go ahead, end it. Show us you have what it takes.”

  “Fuck you,” I said, but didn’t reach for the blade. This was my sister—how could I?

  They’d achieved their objective and freed this monster, all because I’d been too weak. She was my sister, sure, but she’d clearly chosen her path. I should’ve been able to strike out, to take her down. But even then, as her cronies held me down… even if I’d wanted to strike her, I knew I couldn’t.

  She glared. “You’re better than this. Better than Supralines. Join us.”

  “Never.”

  “Maybe not today, but it will happen.” Malina’s nostrils flared, looking at me with disgust, and she nodded. Standing next to her was Prancer and their new friend, the tall boy with eyes of all black. “Nilim, I want you to make her join us.”

  “On it,” Nilim said, and he knelt in front of me, black eyes seeming to penetrate my soul. “Join us. Embrace the yearning within, embrace who you are.”

  I glared, at first starting to feel his calling. But my mind was already in such a clusterfuck, there was no way his powers would be able to handle the maze of insanity up there. So I smiled, blew out a red charm, and said, “How about you come over to me, big boy?”

  The effect was laughable, with him suddenly dropping to his knees, taking my hand in his, and sobbing. “I’m—I’m so sorry. How could I ever have thought to—”

  BAM! Something hit him hard from behind, dropping him unconscious.

  “Worthless piece of shit,” my sister said, standing over me, pointing. “Join us now, sis, or die.”

  “Here’s my counteroffer.” I smiled, realizing my red charm was working on me, filling me with love for each of them. An odd sensation, after watching what they’d just done. “You and I take off, run into the wood and find those ships, escape back to the guild and live as a family again. No judging after today, no talk of this ever happening.”

  Even as I said the words I knew she could never accept the offer, and I doubted I could really go along with it. After all, the way I thought about good and evil had changed greatly in the short time I’d been on Junos. There might have been a time when such death and destruction could’ve been seen as an act that had nothing to do with me. A time when I could’ve turned a cold shoulder to it all and pretended it simply hadn’t happened.

  Not anymore.

  So it came as a relief when she laughed, kicked me across the face, and then knelt with the blade from earlier in her hand, preparing to shove it into my throat.

  I would’ve let her, too, but realized at that moment I was able to move. My tail shot out first, hitting her in the face and then I had the blade, turning it back on her and plunging it into her flesh.

  Then bursts of light were filling the room as superheroes arrived to fight, to save me, and the supervillains from her side were pulling her out of there, sending up shields and counter-skills in defense.

  Before I could fully get a grasp of what was happening they were gone, the only sign of my sister the trail of blood that led to a solid wall. Outside, explosions and shouting yanked at our attention. I ran to the window to see the enemy ship escaping, others falling in massive plumes of smoke as they all sacrificed themselves for that one ship, for that one supervillain.

  I wasn’t sure if we’d won or lost that day, but at least, for the moment, it was over.

  28

  Harp was at my side. I turned to see she and Laurel were there in the room with me, several others I’d come to recognize from Supralines as well. All students, including Trell and Olena. They smiled, but their smiles were full of worry for the days to come.

  We made our way back down to the aftermath of the battle below, watching as many of the Citadel ships took off in pursuit of the enemy. Maybe they’d catch them, but it wasn’t likely. The enemy’s plan had been too carefully thought out and put in place exactly as they’d wanted it. They didn’t care about losses, as long as they had their prize.

  Many of the enemy were held by guards or others, and at the moment were being placed in bonds. They were talking about next-level prisons with more security. Times were changing, and the supervillains were making big moves. It was time to strike back, to be ready for what was to come.

  The only professor I saw still standing was Lamb. She approached Ice, near where Reina knelt with the other prisoners.

  “At least we know how you were injured now, don’t we?” Lamb said to Reina. At my inquisitive look, she explained, “Reina had apparently been phasing down in the prisons. Looking for weaknesses—but must’ve been caught in one of the barriers. She’s lucky it didn’t cut her clean in half.”

  Reina snarled, spittle flying as she said, “I’m too fucking fast for that. For all of you!”

  “And yet, you were caught.” Lamb winked my way, then turned to Ice and shook her head. “Metallica. How did I not see it was you before?”

  Ice, or apparently, she was called Metallica, stared up at her with wild eyes.

  “I don’t understand,” I said.

  “One of many moles, placed here to betray us,” Lamb offered a weary smile.

  “Ice?” I asked.

  Metallica glared at me, shaking her head. “Only what I let you fools call me when I was there.”

  “She’s been living a double life for some time,” Lamb said. “As has, apparently, your sister and many others none of us were aware of.”

  “But… professor.” I ran a hand over my face, realizing how covered with grime and dust I was. “How do you know this?”

  “People misunderstood my desire to work for the Citadel. I was already with the Citadel, but here on a protection detail, to ensure Chaos never escaped. I failed.”

  “And what does that mean for you?”

  She turned to see Hadrian approaching, glowing, healing. A catlike superheroine was supporting him, wearing similar dark robes arrayed with gold.

  “It wasn’t her fault,” Hadrian said, stopping at our side. “We all failed this day.” He looked at me, long and hard. “But there’s something you can do to change all this.”

  “Me?”

  He nodded. “I’ve seen a vision, spoken to Xin about it… but didn’t know what it meant until I saw you here today. Here’s what you will believe after this day, sister,” Hadrian said. “So that when they ask you, it will seem to be the truth. They might have mind readers, supers who wouldn’t be fooled by a lie, or by lying thoughts. But this will fool them.”

  “What are you suggesting?” Lamb asked, looking at him with worry.

  “The enemy is pulling together an army. They will strike at the most heavily-guarded prison we have, in time. We must be ready for that moment—I’ve seen only bits of this vision, not enough to know all the details. But the Seer showed me, and what the Seer shows will come to be, in some sense. I would ask that you, Charm, go undercover for us, be ready… and do your part so that when this happens, the enemy does not win.”

  “I—I don’t understand,” I admitted.

  “But you will, in time.”

  I glanced over to Harp and Laurel, back at the buildings of the Supralines academy… everything I’d be leaving behind. “This… doing what you ask… Would it make me a superhero?”

  He smiled, nodded. “It’s a great sacrifice, one that will make all the difference.”

  “Then I accept.”

  “It’s not going to be easy. I’m aware of your prank. Here’s what you’ll believe happened after that—the man with the ward came after you, attacking the academy. You’ll believe he was part of the dark circles, a key member. You’ll believe he attacked Supralines, that he shouted your name as he killed most of the teachers, the people you’ve seen here today. You’ll believe you were caught, that the Citadel had you arrested as a partner, a part of this attack. Not fully responsible, but an accomplice.”

  “This is bullshit,” Lamb said. “You can’t—”

  “It must be so,” Hadrian interrupted. “I’ve already seen it, her and a team, a team that will make all the difference.”

  I stood tall, scared, but honored to be in a spot to serve the Citadel.

  “We’ll give you more to this story,” Hadrian said. “After you say your farewells. And when you return, when you’ve played your part in all this, I assure you the Citadel will not forget what you’ve done for us.”

  “I’ll say goodbye to my friends, first,” I said. It wasn’t a request. If I was going to do this, to spend who knows how long blaming myself and believing much of this had been my fault, I’d at least have my farewell.

  “Understood,” Hadrian replied, and gestured for Lamb and the others to let us be, while he started making plans with them for the next steps. They knew bigger attacks were coming in our galaxy and had to prepare for them.

  My first step was an uneasy one. I still hadn’t quite grasped what I was sacrificing but knew it would be a lot. I was giving it all up, including my time with Laurel and Harp, to go do this. In part it was to atone for my past. In part it was to finally be a true superhero.

  They walked with me in silence for a bit, having heard my talk with Hadrian. It wasn’t until we were clear of the school, back in that spot under the tree where we’d shared each other’s company before the breakout of Chaos, that we all moved toward each other. I took Harp in one arm, Laurel in the other, so that the three of us shared an embrace.

  “This… this is insanity,” Laurel said. “They can’t ask this of you.”

  “They can… and I’m ready,” I replied, then turned to Harp to see the look in her eyes. I didn’t need Laurel to translate her thoughts. It was enough to know she cared for me, that she’d miss me.

  “Graduate from this place, become great superheroes,” I said. “That way, when this is all over and I’ve proven myself, it’ll be easy to find you.”

  “Will you even remember us?” Laurel asked. “I mean, with this mind thing Hadrian intends for you?”

  “I don’t know,” I admitted. “And honestly… it’d be easier not to. But when we’re reunited, I guarantee it’ll all come back. I’ll make sure they set it up that way.”

  “Fuck,” Laurel said, then nodded to Harp. “Her thought, not my words.”

  I laughed. “Thank you…” My hands moved over their backs, holding them close. “Thank you for what we’ve shared here, together.”

  They nodded. I turned to Laurel first, kissing her long and passionately, then to Harp and did the same with her.

  When I pulled away, I lowered my arms, walking back to Hadrian and my fate, leaving them there, together.

  I didn’t want them there with me when it happened. I wanted their last memory of me until we met again to be that kiss. Whether my sister had survived or not was a mystery, along with what the enemy would be up to next. What I did know was that when they came, I’d be waiting.

  And I’d be the best damn superhero ever.

  THE END

  About the Author

  Jamie Hawke

  After working on Marvel properties and traveling the world, Jamie Hawke decided to settle down and write fun, quirky, and sexy pulp science fiction and superhero books. Are they all harem? Oh yeah. Oh yeahhhh.

  It all started when Jamie was eleven, creating nude superhero comics with his best friend. What perverts! But hey, they were fun and provided good fodder for jokes up into their adult years. Now the stories have evolved, but they capture that same level of fun. Hopefully you will enjoy them as much as the author loved writing them!

  Author Ramblings

  So… Charm’s solo book! A bit of a prequel, in a sense, and setting up everything that comes later in a bit of a strange way, huh? What did you think?

  Join us at the Harem Gamelit group on Facebook to let me know and discuss! Just give spoiler warnings if needed.