Chapter 27: Chapter 15 part 2

(Jeryn Hogarth)

Grand Hyatt Hotel
New York
February 5th, 1997
11:00 AM

Jeri arrived in the suite that was reserved for her and her mysterious client, someone who has been really stubborn in contacting her. She found it strange that they harassed her instead of a lawyer with more experience, but the suitcase with twenty thousands dollars inside it just to meet this mysterious and persistent person was too much money to refuse.

She was in the Grand Hyatt Hotel, waiting in one of those private meeting rooms linked to a luxurious suite. Drink and food were provided and the rooms were paid for the day. This impressed Jeri already and a sign that she was seeing someone with a lot of money. With all her time with Wendell Rand, she has been used to that kind of luxury, but since his death she had to become more frugal with her lifestyle.

The room she was waiting in was richly decorated and had that Greek Mediterranean atmosphere, features like columns, the arched ceilings with exposed beams, open and well lit windows; wrought iron in furnishings. Plus white stucco walls, stone-tiled floors, mosaic tiles everywhere, with a lot of white and blue color surrounding Jeri.

The room’s deep ocean blue door opened and the first thing Jeri saw was a tall black haired and well built man in a suit and black shades that wouldn’t be out of place on a government agent, she quickly eyed him and saw that he had a concealed weapon under his black armani suit. He took a small flat rectangle from his pocket and a blue light strobed in the entire room and when Jeri’s sight cleared she saw a three dimensional image rise from the flat rectangle. The man looked at Jeri, then dismissed her entirely to open the door again.

*Typical bodyguard.* Jeri thought with disdain, but she understood that he was doing his job.

“The room is secure.” The deep baritone tone of the bodyguard rumbled in the room, surprising Jeri.

Entered a tall beautiful woman with blonde hair with green dyed ends and blue eyes, she wore a dress with a turtleneck, a black open woolen coat, tights and thigh high boots. Jeri disapproved of the dye job she had done to her hair but clients had their eccentricities… However all her assumptions were dashed when the blonde haired woman let another person enter, this time another woman with red hair, she had aviator sunglasses so Jeri couldn’t see her eyes, she was of medium height and wore a something akin to a ash black jumpsuit with a deep v-neck and long pants, but was really stylish, it looked soft and stretchy from a glance. All of this was covered by an open light brown floor length long coat that swept as the young woman walked toward Jeri.

“Ah, Miss Hogarth.” Her voice was young, but somewhat in the low range of female voices. She sounded genuinely happy to see Jeri.

Jeri stood up from her chair and when the young woman stood before her, she held her hand to her. “You have me at a disadvantage, Miss…?”

The redhead shook her hand firmly. “Grey, Jean Grey.” Her smile was radiant as she introduced herself.

Jeri smiled back amiably. “I like how you made your little entrance, was it to confuse me?” But it belied the tone in her voice that she wasn’t impressed by the manipulation.

The redhead's expression turned from a smile to a grin, an unrepentant one. “A bit, I wanted to see how you reacted to my associate’s appearance. You seem to give a lot of importance to image.” Jean frowned at the lawyer.

Jeri nodded sharply. “As you should, it is important to present yourself well.” She straightened her pantsuit as she pressed on that point.

Jean Grey took off her sunglasses with an elegant movement; her eyes were a vibrant green, almost like a gemstone. She stared up and down at Jeri and looked thoughtful for a moment before saying, “Mhm, you are right. There’s power in cultivating your own image.... Oh where are my manners? Please take a seat.”

Jeri turned and went to sit back on her blue chair; Jean mimicked her, put herself at ease then threaded her fingers together as she looked Jeri in the eyes. “Like I was saying… Power and image are such interesting concepts. But we seem to have different ways of thinking about it. And this difference between you and me, dear Miss Hogarth, is the distinction between the source of our perceived power. You seem to attribute power on the symbols the other displays - clean colours, good hairstyle, rich fabrics, elegant posture. Me, I do not care if anyone is looking at my clothes or how rich I am, my own power is conveyed through my own purpose. I focus on wielding power.”

The redhead leaned forward, she was not smiling anymore. Jeri understood that this young woman was rather cynical and pragmatic, highly opportunistic as well; also her instincts were telling her that Jean Grey was downright ruthless, willing to go to whatever means to get what she wants.

“You must be used to others dressing as if they beg for power to be attributed to them by the observer, thus those people themselves lack power. An interesting take on this though is that sometimes we can present ourselves in a particular way to mask power, to appear unthreatening to the observer. Appear unthreatening and you can get much closer. That is a different kind of power and not one to be underestimated.”

Jeri saw the two people who came with Jean Grey smile behind her as she explained her views. They seemed to like the young woman's moxie and were used to her frankness. They wouldn't react this way if they worked for someone they didn't like.

Experienced as she was, Jeri recognized that this young woman may have had lessons on how to present herself, she didn't recognize her brand of clothing and saw no visible logo on them and she came to the conclusion that she must have made them herself or had them made by a third party. “Interesting point of view. I am curious, Miss Grey. But are you a fashion designer of some sort?”

Jean tilted her head, then laughed a bit. "Maybe in another life. But no, I specialize in a number of fields such as biotechnology, genetics, computer engineering, and other such things."

It was strange to Jerry to see that a woman could be so accomplished but that she had never heard of her before. "You look rather young for…"

Jean raises her index in warning. "Again, image… but to answer your question; yes I'm proficient in each discipline I quoted, but I have yet to start college, it's in the cards after this summer. I will certainly obtain the certifications needed."

Jeri frowned. "Why are we here, Miss Grey?"

"I'm... in need of a Professional Attorney who specializes in business law and I was assured that you were the best." Jean confessed, and to Jeri she looked less confident here. A sign that the young woman didn't like to show that she wasn’t the trusting sort with complete strangers, if she could do her own thing she would have done so.

The dark haired lawyer made a neutral smile. "I am flattered."

"The reason I need your services is because I'm about to create a number of companies and a laboratory that will focus on discovering new fields and technologies and market products derived from those. And my aunt referred you to me because you worked with Wendell Rand and have stayed loyal to him till this day… I want the same dedication from you.” Jean Grey looked deeply into Jeri’s eyes, as if she was testing her.

Leaning back, Jeri said,  “That’s not a lot to ask, I am always down to give my all when I do business.”

She was the executor of the Rand family, since Harold Meachum declared them dead in an accident in Tibet. Jeri was looking for other members of the family on whom she could foist the fortune and the half of the company Rand-Meachum incorporated stocks onto. As a matter of fact she was being assailed by Harold's attempt to buy out the stocks that are under her and others control to be the sole owner of the company.

The meeting then devolved into picking Jeri’s mind about how to create a corporation on US soil, about regulations, taxes and the red tape to wade through after you established said corporation. Jeri poured herself some alcohol into a crystal glass and began explaining things. “If you want to open a business in the US, Miss Grey, especially a large scale business that specialize in the fields you quoted me, you’ll need federal approval for the fields of research you plan to pursue. You’ll need to apply for licences on the federal level, get certifications as well.”

Jean nodded, paying attention. The Lawyer took a swig of wine and then said with a little laugh, “Then it becomes more complicated.”

“How so?” Jean was underage so she served herself a bit of root beer. So far the redhead listened attentively to Jeri, her gaze never leaving the lawyer’s. It was intense for Jeri who was used to such things but she didn’t take it badly.

“Which state do you want to operate in?” Jeri casually asked, she took another sip.

“New York.” Jean said without hesitation.

Jeri nodded, everyone wanted to be close to the big city. The mayor or governor often offered big incentives to businesses to open in the state, it brought the number of people employed up. It looked good if they had further political agenda, like becoming a senator or aiming for the white house. Or to simply siphon the taxes money.

The black haired woman put her glass on the table and leaned forward. “I ask you, because for each state you want to operate out of or sell your products in, you’ll need licencing and approvals, find the location of your HQ and pass zoning, submit to federal and state inspections and standards, then you have local laws, etc as well for whatever township or city you’re operating out of which is another round of taxation and regulation.”

Jeri looked at Jean and saw her eyes swim, she was getting overwhelmed by this explanation. “That’s not all.”

The lawyer took pleasure in watching the young woman’s eyes widen in surprise. There was a bit of frustration in her tone. “There’s more?!”

*Really? She thought that everything would be easy?* Jeri told herself with a disapproving expression on her face. She took a handkerchief in white silk with silver trim and dabbed it on her lips after taking another bit of wine. “I’m afraid that yes, now… let’s speak about what you might not like.” The lawyer said tactfully.

“Huh. Okay, please continue.” Jean crossed her arms and waited for Jery to start again.

Jeri saw the blonde woman on one of the sofas hide her mouth behind her hand to not laugh. The Bodyguard stayed stoic as ever and kept looking at the door and the windows.

Jeri poured herself more wine, and she looked at the brand and gave an appreciative hum. It was  LIMNIONA wine from Thessaly. No wonder the wine was this savorous, Jeri could feel the sun on her tongue. Jean Grey was paying top dollars for this meeting with her, so Jeri gave the young woman her money’s worth. “At each level there are people exploiting the situation more often than not to line their own pockets in addition to the chunks of revenue and possible roadblocks, political and commercial espionage or sabotage from competing interest groups, etc…”

Jean Grey paled at that, she seemed genuine about wanting to build her lab or tech company, but reality was grimmer than she must have thought. “I don’t want to have to deal with any of that, Miss Hogarth. Can’t I foist all this on someone I trust?”

*Typical young adults, wanting all the benefits and none of the work.* Jeri rolled her eyes.

Jeri advised Jean to get a trusted accountant, she told her, “You need someone to help you set up your ‘chart of accounts’ and review your numbers periodically, prepare all of your necessary federal, state and local tax returns.”

Sighing, Jean Grey uncrossed her arms and with rising irritation said, “I hate it already.”

Jeri could understand, some people were averse to politics or doing their taxes; and Jean Grey felt like a wrecking ball where the finesse of a scalpel might be needed in that kind of activity. She looked rather impatient and to the lawyer it meant that the redhead was in dear need of counsel.

“So, Miss Hogarth we covered how to make a company and that I need an accountant but... please tell me why are business attorneys like you so needed?” Jean asked.

*Oh, here comes the easy part of this meeting.* Suddenly, the lawyer was all smiles, the girl needed a reality check and Jeri felt obligated to give it to her.

Jeri said with a patronizing smile, “Any good business attorney will provide you with vital assistance in almost every aspect of your future business, from basic zoning compliance and copyright and trademark advice to formal business incorporation and lawsuits and liability.”

Jeri looked at the blonde woman and saw her take a notebook from her coat and write in it. The lawyer appreciated that the woman was taking the initiative to take notes for her partner, what she’s been teaching the girl was counsel that was expensive to get.

“I can follow that, sounds like basic important stuff, but what else? Is there some kind of trap that I need to not fall into?” Jean was frowning, her hands were flat on the table and she looked circumspectly at Jeri.

The lawyer took her glass in hand and for the last time drank all of its content. She couldn’t allow herself to have more alcohol, she still had work to do after this consultation. “Darling, first general rules about dealing with lawyers: If you are being sued, it's too late. Most small businesses put off hiring a lawyer until the sheriff is standing at the door serving them with a summons.”

Jean nodded. “So… The time to hook up with a good business lawyer is before you are sued? Better having one than not having hired one and you find yourself in trouble. Reminds me of the stuff my father says to me: Always be prepared.”

Jeri pointed her finger and laughed. “You got it, lemme continue.” Cough. “Where was I? Ah, yes! Once you have been served with a summons and complaint, it's too late--the problem has already occurred, and it's just a question of how much you will have to pay (in court costs, attorneys' fees, settlements and other expenses) to get the problem resolved.”

The atmosphere got heavier, as Jeri finished telling the redhead this. Her eyes became murderous just at the mention of being taken to court. “Oh, I get the idea.”

The blonde woman stood up from her seat and walked to the young woman and when she reached her began to massage her shoulders. “Jeanie, please calm down, no one sued you yet.” The blonde said in a soothing tone.

The air lightened and Jeri breathed easier.

“Fine.” Jean said with a sigh.

There was something supernatural going on in here, Jeri knew that some extraordinary people existed. But this was the first time that she had met someone who could elicit so much threat. The lawyer then looked at the blonde and asked her, “Is this normal with her?”

The blonde nervously chuckled. “Pretty much, she doesn’t suffer idiots, they suffer instead.”

Jeri nodded in acquiescence, Jean’s philosophy was similar to here. With a thin lipped smile, the lawyer looked at Jean. “I like you Miss Grey.”

The neutral expression of the young woman turned into a sunny and open smile. “It’s somehow becoming mutual."

*That girl must be breaking hearts left and right…* Jeri thought, *Jean Grey has beauty and smarts, but those qualities together often attract the sharks who will want to turn this young woman into a trophy to possess. I hope she's ready for that kind of attention from the elite.*

The blonde woman, now sure that the redhead was calm, returned on the sofa and prepared herself to continue writing notes. 

“Anyway… moving on. America's judicial system is a lot like a Roach Motel--it's easy to get into court, but very difficult to get out once you've been ‘trapped.’ Most lawyers agree that while nobody likes to pay attorneys' fees for anything, heck, nobody likes paying or dealing with lawyers, period, but... the fee a lawyer will charge to keep you out of trouble is only a small fraction of the fee a lawyer will charge to get you out of trouble once it's happened. That’s why you need your own law firm at your beck and call, Miss Grey.” Jeri finished with her lesson, the lawyer was sure that she touched upon the most salient points that interested the young woman.

Jean turned to the blonde and snapped, “Chimera take notes!”

“Yes, way ahead of you, Jeanie!” The blonde woman, Chimera shouted back.

The redhead turned back toward Jeri and looked thoughtful. “So many people will profit out of my hard earned work without doing anything while being simple pencil pushers. It pisses me off,  Miss Hogarth.”

It was the sad reality of doing business in the US. “Ah, my dear, the only way to avoid all the red tape is to be your own country, and operate your business out of it.”

Jean's head perked up, a smile bloomed on her face as she looked at Jeri. “You might be right, Miss Hogarth… I see.” A cunning glint was into the redhead eyes.

The bodyguard looking over them, became somewhat more tense and the blonde on the sofa looked downright shocked.

“Oh fuck.” Chimera exclaimed as she heard that.

Jeri didn't understand why Chimera seemed to panic at her joke. She shrugged, those people didn't have a good sense of humor it seemed. The lawyer looked at her watch, it was time to get back to work. She looked Jean into the eyes and asked, “Is there anything more that I can do for you?”

The young woman still looked as if she had something on her mind and answered absently, “No, Miss Hogarth. This has been enlightening and worth the twenty thousand dollars I spent on you.”

They exchanged further niceties and Jeri gave Jean one of her cards that she took out from her handbag. They said their goodbyes and Jeri exited the suite. It had been a nice moment away from the drudgery of her office and Jeri hoped that Jean Grey would call on her again for further counsel.

She walked toward the elevator and thought about how she would rebuff Meachum's attempt to take control yet again.

# # #

(???)

 

Manhattan
Hell’s Kitchen
01:54 AM

 

She didn’t like what she was seeing… At first she had expected the building she was watching to be one of the many drug dens that are everywhere and well concealed in Manhattan. But what she didn’t expect was the Vampire nest she found. It had all started with her routine patrol, that was well away from the Queen's. The Spider-gang was looking for her, they wanted to stop her, to bring her to justice. Strange, meting out justice was what she was doing, just like her partner had shown and taught her. 

The building was near that part of Hell’s Kitchen with all the disused buildings, the police didn't patrol here, because people started to disappear here. Even the Daredevil avoided the place. But not her, she wanted to know what the deal was with that part of Gotham West. At night there were no homeless people, no drug pushers or hookers on the streets.

Noticing the coming and going in a certain area that a certain number of luxury cars drove to, our self-proclaimed dark heroine had followed them to the tall five story brick gothic style building. There were lights at night so it was occupied, strangely it has a parking garage. She asked herself what was with all those big bad criminals and their basement fetish?

Under photonic camouflage, the dark heroine observed them; this place was some kind of private club that everyone below middle-class level of living avoided like the plague. Our heroine then had to start a round of questioning; she started with the homeless, they said mum when she confronted them. They often called her a demon after she left them alone.

Gliding in the air and through the shadow between the building had become rather second nature; anonymity and stealth were a matter of life and death, the mystique of her own budding legend and intransigeance to violent crime and any sort of trafficking has made her some serious enemies. She deployed her drones and sent them down through the ventilation system.

From her utility belt she fetched the controller with integrated screen before pointing her arm to the neighboring building, a grapnel launched from her red gauntlet and hit one of the stone gargoyles, pulling her to the roof. She landed noiselessly on the gravel covered roof and began immediately to watch the videofeed that the drone showed her, the multispectral vision was on, and she could see inside the air duct. It wasn’t well cared for and in dear need of cleaning or replacement.

The drone was silent and looked like a big black spider. A real one, it was decided that it would be easier for reconnaissance and intelligence gathering. For another two hours she made the little drone use its boosted microphone to record conversation and record what was happening in the building. Everything was fine, it was the usual drug lab implemented at the highest floor with an upscale ventilation system. Lab supplies and a shit tons of… that couldn't be right.

In big fat rectangular devices that looked just like the liquid nitrogen biological freezers people were storing plastic bags filled with red liquid. The heroine asked herself if this was an illegal blood bank or something more nefarious like an operation to chop people into parts and harvest organs.

The answers presented themselves when the drone discovered an additional basement under the one declared in the schematics of the building. She had no other choices but to deploy another three drones to cover the surface and underground installations. What she found further reinforced her style of meting out justice. In the basement there was a... human farm.

People were held up in crucifixion on metal crosses and having their blood harvested from them. All those people looked emaciated and anorexic. It was jarring, and terrible; would human beings treat each other like this? All notion of those responsible being humans completely disappeared from the heroine’s mind when she saw one of the human beings taken down from the cross; a woman, blonde and with blue eyes. She would have been pretty if she didn’t look like death and almost out of liquid in her body; then one of the people opened his mouth, sharp fangs visible and bit her.

“Vampire.”

Magically reanimated human corpses which are inhabited by the spirits of the deceased person and who closely resemble the living human they were before their transformation. They feed and survive on the blood of the living, most notably humans. They are parasites who are able to transform other humans into more of their kind.

The heroine realized that she wasn’t prepared to tackle this, she needed to prepare, she needed to research their weaknesses, who the building belonged to as well. She couldn’t let such injustice and act go on. She recalled all but one drone which would be left in the ventilation system to gather intelligence. She left as stealthily as she came, swearing to save those people and eradicate this nest.

 

# # #

 

The next night...

 

She had to wait for a night to prepare everything; her partner was definitely knowledgeable about them as well, as she had informed the heroine of their weaknesses. Ironically, fanged people feeding on blood seemed to be allergic to sunlight. Sunlight, a vampire's greatest weakness. It was theorized that due to their altered metabolism that vampires were unable to withstand direct sunlight. Sunlight seemed to cause a strong vampire’s skin to decay quickly, dehydrating it completely and turning the recently turned vampire to powder or even cause them to explode. It was hard to describe from seeing her partner’s memories.

Vampires are adverse to religious symbols as well, but it depended if the deity was one that was believed in at the time of the vampire's original death. So she wouldn’t be able to use this weakness reliably, New York was a melting pot of culture and religion; Buddhism, Islam, Christianity and other minor religion were practiced in the city.

Another weakness she wasn’t clear on was about the native soil. Typically, vampires cannot travel more than 160 km from their land of birth, unless they bring at least one pound of their native soil wherever they choose to sleep during the day. The heroine’s partner doesn’t know what happens to a vampire who does not do this remains unknown, but given the instances that a vampire has slept without being around soil from their native land suggests that this is not a lethal weakness.

Silver was another deadly weakness that the heroine planned to exploit, she had a mystical sword plated with the stuff; this soft chemical element is highly harmful for vampires. Researching vampires has yielded different results in how the heroine was about to confront the monsters, thanks to her partner she had come up with a multi-purpose grenade and a bigger device that would be able to clear the nest if it was targeted well. The garlic spray was another innovation that would serve to weaken vampires to bind them in case she’d need to restrain one.

The last weapon she came up with was a plasma thrower, a prototype that her partner had half completed, whose only defect was that it only fired with an area of effect like a cone. The heroine wished it could be fired in a focused arc. Explosives loaded with silver dust were going to be her parting gift to avoid the place being repopulated by Vampires again. When she felt that she was ready for action, she directly went to the surroundings of the vampire’s farm.

An army of drones surrounded it, reconnaissance models and the less known from everyone: the attack drones loaded with silver bullets. They were programmed to seek and destroy while in stealth. The spider-gang was otherwise occupied with the Kingpin’s men in the Queens, so the heroine knew that she wouldn’t be bothered by them before she was done.

From the sky, she jumped from her vehicle, her cape flared into the form of batwings as dark as the night and she glided to the roof of the target building. She landed on the gravel soundlessly thanks to her special boots. There was a guard on top of the building in a foldable chair, in warm clothes and a rifle in his hands. He didn’t even turn his head when she landed; a curved and single-edged blade with a circular guard and a long grip to accommodate two hands appeared in the heroine’s hand.

She didn’t walk as much as she moved like the wind and decapitated the guard’s head that fell with crunching noise on the roof’s gravel. The heroine looked as the body gradually turned to ash, leaving the clothes completely empty and crumpled on the ground. She nodded, this corresponded with the information she had. From this encounter she gathered that the Vampires were still sensitive to the cold.

The katana blade disappeared from her hands and next, she turned to the access door. She checked if it was open by turning the door’s handle. The door clanged open, but right at this moment, the heroine went invisible with her optical camouflage, then commanded some of her armed and reconnaissance drones to enter.

The drones were first because she didn’t want to be taken by surprise and she had no idea on how to fight vampires and if their powers were as strong as her partner thought.

 

# # #

(Sharov Isaak Nikolayevich)

 

Vampire farm Alpha II
Hell’s Kitchen
Gotham West
Second basement
00:25 AM

For two centuries, Sharov climbed the ranks and bided his time and he was finally free from the tethers of his masters in Europe. The Day-walker had killed them all and was looking to destroy Lord Dracula, allowing non-pureblood like him to have more control on his fate. He hoped that Blade succeeded, Dracula was a bore, drunk on his own power and believing the hype of his own reputation. 

Sharov was in his office, overseeing the farm from the window he had mounted inside to be able to see his children and recently turned vampires work or being taught the ropes; some still lost control and fed on the upright cows on the crosses. He was a tall looking vampire with white hair and blue eyes, he straightened his tie and smoothed out his black suit. Smiling confidently. 

Everything was going fine when suddenly the light in the basement flickered and then died.

As his eyes adapted to the penumbra, Sharov shouted loudly, “Someone go check the breaker box!”

The new minted master vampire didn’t like this situation, it slowed down the activity of the farm, he had vampires to feed and business to get to. Blood was a currency to his race and he intended to be as rich as Deacon Frost had been before his dastardly plan with the blood god got him killed. 

A recently turned black haired teenager in winter coat and jeans who was the closest to the office heard the order and shouted back, “Yes master!”

Sharov nodded, young Vampires were always enthusiastic to serve, they wanted their master or significant other to shower them with attention and what they thought was love but was in fact a product of the corrupting steps from change. The young vampire moved tentatively, still unsure of himself even though he could see into the dark, a leftover from his mortal days.

The young vampire walked to the breaker box when he stopped and turned abruptly as if to run but… “Aaah!!” with a flash of violet light he was decapitated and turned to dust.

Something was moving unseen in the darkness and started killing all the young vampires.

“What the-”

“Argh!”

“M-monster!”

Sharov hissed. *What the hell is happening?* The master quickly took his shotgun from under his desk, and started to swiftly load ammunition into it. The place had gone completely silent, and it shouldn’t be! Where were the laughing young vampire or his assistants? Sharov strained his hearing to listen to anything that might give him more information. He hoped as well that it was just some human hunter trying to destroy his nest, if it was Blade, the Day-Walker… he would rather flee.

He wasn’t a coward, but there were forces that couldn’t be fought. It wasn’t surprising that the two centuries old vampire fled when a flash of violet light missed him, threatening to cut his neck. 

Boom! From afar, Sharov witnessed a flash of explosion silver in color and heard the cry of his people coughing and dying. The Farm was being attacked by an organized enemy, the crosses were being put down on the ground and the human cow disappeared in flashes of blue light. The Russian vampire cursed, and turned tail by opening the escape door in his office. The armored door closed with a metallic sound and then the vampire found himself looking at a lot of red glowing eyes. He was sprayed with something, he smelled something familiar. “Garlic?” Already he was weakening; but he wouldn’t let this hamper him. Sharov quickly turned into wolf form and took his shotgun in his muzzle and fled. That scared him, the enemies had found his escape route as if they had planned this from the get go; even though he had been careful about who entered the farm. Sharov took the stairs to get out of the basement. 

Sharov ended up before the stairwell that would lead him to freedom but... he stopped moving when he noticed a sound eerily similar to those propellers from an helicopter but the device being lifted was surely of shorter size. Then he saw it, the vampire watched as something clearly manmade descended the stairs by flying over them. It was circular in design and  obviously flew with propellers, and there were some kind of ventral turret with a cannon targeting him.

Listening to his instinct, Sharov jumped back as the machine shot at him. It missed, but the Russian decided to flee, at great speed he climbed the stairs in a zigzagging pattern and avoided each of the shots, but one grazed him and grunted in pain. A recognizable one… *Silver?!*

As he fled, Sharov understood that it was hunters after all. It seemed that one of them had more funding than usual. The Russian growled, he needed to live! He needed to live to make the one attacking his nest pay! 

Ratatatatatata! Multiple echoes of weapon firing could be heard throughout the building. Someone was killing everyone, he expected to see the form of those hunting him but beyond those strange flying machines, he saw no one. Sharov was almost out of the stairwell, he felt hope even though he was abandoning his children and assistant. He didn’t look to save anyone, only the stupidest tried to fight this invisible enemy who was dispatching them. There was someone at the top of the stairs, Sharov turned back into his humanoid form and smoothly pointed his shotgun at them but when he blinked he saw nothing; only the flickering emergency lights in the stairs.

Something rolled toward Sharov, rebounding on the steps; it was a black metal ball with white glowing lines on its surface. There were holes with some kind of crystal inside, watching it, Sharov didn't even feel when the device exploded with a purple flash of UV light filling the entire room.

 

# # #

(???)

 

Top of the building

She looked at the badly charred vampire sitting on the folding chair of the vampire guard she had killed first. The Vampire before her could shift into a canine form and was particularly resilient to UV grenades. He was fast and seemed to be the important one in the farm, after all he had his own way of egress while the heroine was busy killing all the vampires in the building. She knew that some had escaped, but she knew some would get back and she would leave a little present for them.

The humans used in the farm have all been teleported to hospitals one state away for protection, Vampires seemed to prefer big towns, so the heroine sent them all to random Florida county hospitals. The vampire was blind, his eyes had been scorched by the UV light. For reference purpose the heroine began to record the interrogation she was about to perform on the old looking eurasian vampire. 

She activated her artificial voice and punched the vampire. “Wake up.”

The bound man looked sightlessly in the caped heroine’s direction, he sniffed the air like a hound, even though vampires didn’t need to breathe, they could still smell people. *Good to know.*  For a moment nothing was said, only the howl of the cold wind could be heard.

The vampire was the first to break the silence. “Y-you damn hunter! Let me go or…!”

Smack. “Shut up.” The heroine said coldly after punching the vampire, her voice distorting to hide it from recognition.

The Vampire groaned in pain and swore in Russian. His burned skin flaked a bit on the gravel, the heroine knew that she didn’t have a lot of time till the vampire went to ash. 

“Information. Give.” The heroine ordered.

“I won’t say shit to you cow!” There was so much hatred and malice in his tone of voice that it made the heroine tighten her fist and slap him.

“Cow?” She asked, she wasn’t a cow.

Laughing at the confusion of his enemy, the vampire spewed more racial slur that must be vampiric in origin. “You humans, you’re only good to be milked of blood and-”

Smack. She punched his jaw with a lot more power, but she took care of not breaking it. “Information.”

Trying to spit on her, the vampire failed to do that as his body was completely dehydrated, so he resorted to swearing. “Idi na khuy! (Go fuck yourself!)

The vampire laughed as he felt her freeze; it was short lived as the costumed heroine tilted her head. “Hard way.” She retracted her holographic cape and her black and red armor glimmered under the moonlight. From her red utility belt’s pouch she took a hand clamping tool and seized the vampire by the throat.

“Wait, what are you doing?” The Russian vampire  struggled into her grip.

With amusement she simply said, “No more fangs.”

Flinching the vampire struggled even more strongly.“No! No, wait I will speak.”

“Chance you had.” To the heroine it didn’t matter if he talked or not; the vampire had left a computer in his office, the hard drives were already secured and the files in the cabinet were taken as well. “Say: Aaah.”

She made him open his mouth and used the hand clamps to pull on the vampire’s offending canine. With a wet sound she pulled hard. “Nn-naaahhhhhhh!!!!” The vampire screamed.

After the two canines were extracted, the heroine stored her hand clamp and asked with a chilling voice. “Information?” She hoped he refused, that would make her day.

The vampire struggled some more. “Fuck y-ouuuu.”

Taking an inhalator looking device from her belt, the heroine opened the vampire’s mouth. “Garlic to clean your mouth.”

“Aaaaaaah.” Smoke raised from the creature’s mouth, it was fascinating to the heroine, it’s biology was clearly different. She needed to research them more, from her partner she even heard that variants existed in this parasite species.

“You fiickin biatchu.” It swore at her, a little blood spit flew on her cape but it didn’t adhere to it and slid on the material that was clearly not fabric.

The heroine’s cape disappeared momentarily and the drop of blood flew back to the vampire. “Useless you are then.”

A large white rifle-like weapon appeared in her hands; it had a laser sight, a big canister was slotted near the ignition head. It looked vaguely like a flamethrower but was something completely different. Of course the vampire couldn’t see what was happening, but heard the dismissive tone of the woman even through the distorted voice.

“Eh Kakoy? (Eh, what?).”

“Die.” The heroine pushed on the trigger and a jet of green flame like plasma spewed from the weapon in a cone all over the creature. It couldn’t be described, the scream of pain as the parasite was being destroyed completely with the fire for over one minute till nothing but ash remained of it. She stored her plasma thrower and had a thought to just leave... But something stopped her, a premonition; so just to be sure, the heroine chose to dispose of the ashes by using a bag and shoveling them inside. 

She sealed it and called her vehicle to retrieve her, but before this she felt someone coming behind her and crouched and swiped her leg left. A figure with black and white light armor and with a red scarf showing half her face somersault back out of the way, as she landed before the access door in a crouch, the young woman in the spider themed outfit glared at the heroine. “Who are you?” A big ‘S’ at the center of the spider web on her costume's front, revealed her to be Silk, one of the members of Spider-gang.

Cocking her head in confusion, the heroine had deliberately taken a bat costume with an easily recognizable emblem. It was strange that this spider-girl didn’t know who she was; so the heroine manifested her black holographic cloak, let it billow in the wind and said, “I’m the night.”

The girl in spider costume sighed in frustration, rolled her eyes and glared at the black clad heroine. “No, seriously who are you?”

Pointing a clawed finger at her mask, the heroine promptly answered in an amused tone, “I wear a mask. Stupid.”

As her glare intensified, Silk put herself in a combat stance.“Why you… This costume doesn’t even belong to you! How did you steal it?”

The heroine grinned. “Even so, what are you going to do about it?”

Silk lunged at her but the heroine sidestepped her charge and lifted her arm over her head and fired her grapnel that attached to a slot on a flying black and sleek vehicle that had silently arrived overhead of the building. “Don’t have time to entertain you.”

Then she left as the vehicle climbed quickly up and out of the spider girl's grasp.

“No wait, stay here-” Silk started to shoot a webline but it missed the heroine’s boots. 

"Bitch!" The dark haired girl cursed into the sky.

 

# # #

(Cindy Moon)

 

February 7th, 1997
03:57 PM (NY time)
Egypt base

 

Cindy passed the portal with Jean in tow; she was in a bad mood and it showed. Everyone on the base avoided her as she walked in the tunnel; she had her resting bitch face on and looked about to snap. Jean followed her in silence as they walked toward the lab complex. On the way Jean stopped walking and then turned to catch the falling form of a black haired little girl from the air.

"Laura. What did we say the last time?" Jean said in reprimand as she held the little girl in the air with her TK.

Cindy rolled her eyes, those two have been playing cat and mouse each time Jean came back from school, even though it was late night for Laura. Cindy looked at Laura who was wearing a cute solid yellow sundress showing off her shoulders with black leggings, but the spidergirl frowned as she saw that the little girl had no shoes on. *This isn’t  good, Dr Kinney will shout again.*

"No hunting you?" The little girl smiled tauntingly.

She loved to rile up Jean, she knew she could get away with almost anything by batting her eyes and hugging her. A strange development from how they met, at the start she had been shy and submissive with the redhead.

Jean glared at the diminutive girl after placing her delicately on the ground. Cindy looked up, there was an alcove in the tunnel’s ceiling; she asked herself how the little girl climbed the walls and got here. Then she noticed the rending gouges into the rock that looked like claws have been used and understood how Laura kept playing deadly koalas with Jean.

The redhead had noticed too, and she pointed her fingers at the gouges. She didn’t look happy. "And what is this?"

Laura looked a bit subdued, she looked down and said, “A prank.”

Then the little girl smiled and hugged Jean, next looked into her eyes. “Do you want a kiss?"

Cindy was sure that Jean was aware of what Laura was doing, but she chose to let it go and played along. The girl was raised and trained as an assassin to use whatever tool to succeed in her mission, even her cuteness. Jean made her let go of her and crouched to make herself be face to face with Laura and kissed her forehead and it wasn’t a surprise to Cindy to see the girl do the same on the redhead’s cheek. Smooch. "You are lucky that you are cute…"

“I like you too, Jean.” This must be true because Jean hugged her back.

The spider girl was happy that the silent kid had been opening up to them lately, but right now she felt left out. "And what about me, Laura?" Cindy demanded.

Laura sniffed, her nostrils moving a bit. "Dydy, you smell angry, why?"

And just like that, Cindy’s anger abatted; she didn’t feel like she should feel angry anymore. She still wanted to, after all she’s been humiliated by that Batgirl knockoff last night. But when she looked into the clear green eyes of that little deadly koala she spoke to Jean through their link, <Urgh, why is she so cute…>

Jean who caressed Laura’s silky hair sent back, <You know why, she likes to push our buttons.> 

<She’s so manipulative, why don’t you stop her?> Image of Laura on a chair and petting a cat while laughing maniacally came to Cindy's mind and she transmitted it to Jean.

Jean stood up and took Laura’s hand in her, turned to Cindy and continued to speak mentally to her, <It’s how she was trained, but Laura is not an assassin anymore; now she uses her training to get what she wants from people around her. She doesn’t know how to act normally, we need to explain things to her calmly and show her examples of how normal kids are.>

Laura watched between them, their body language suggesting that they were talking silently; she recognized when the two spoke with telepathy and pouted. Cindy came up to the child and mussed up her hair; Laura growled in displeasure. “No, I will have to brush it again!”

Cindy laughed evilly at Laura, looked at Jean and said, <Her mother needs to do it. It’s not our responsibility, Jean.>

<But I am responsible for everyone here, I am the leader.> Jean asserted seriously.

This caused Cindy to turn toward her girlfriend, raise an eyebrow and sarcastically tell her, <Depends on the moments when you act like one, you sure like to give people your administrative work…>

<Hey! That’s called delegation! Yes, delegation.>

Cindy gave Jean a smile that told the redhead that her girlfriend had her numbers and they began to bicker mentally. They stopped walking and kept looking into each other’s eyes, with different expressions switching on their faces.

Laura held on Jean’s red sweater to attract her attention and when she had it, commented, “You two are speaking with your minds again, when can I have a link and speak like that to you too?”

Jean laughed nervously as if something bothered her, she averted her eyes from Laura’s and stared at Cindy with a ‘save me’ expression on her face.

“Maybe when you get bigger.” Cindy said out loud to Laura.

Jean raised an eyebrow at her. <Really? Now, you just gave her permission, you idiot!>

Cindy rolled her eyes at her redhead, patted Laura’s head and smiled at her. Laura’s gaze sharpened as she stared intently at the Cindy.“You mean like you?”

Jean made signs to Cindy to say no, but Cindy didn’t listen and simply nodded at the little girl. “Yes, like me.”

Laura made a wicked smile and her fist tightened on Jean’s sweater. “Then I can smooch Jean on the mouth when I get bigger too?”

You are reading story The Raptor of Life at novel35.com

The two girls looked at Laura, mouth agape. Jean closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose, while Cindy’s brain was rebooting. “Huh.”

“You spy on us, Laura?” Jean's voice became dangerous.

Laura let go of Jean's sweater and crossed her arms. Her eyes focused on the redhead with defiance. “I saw you in the garden, I wasn’t spying. I like to nap in the branches of mister Tree.”

Mister Tree was what Laura called the gigantic sentient tree who had taken over the entire garden and fed from the sun crystal embedded in the walls of the cavern that served as entrance to the main base. Cindy was surprised that they've been caught, they didn't want to be a bad example for Laura. *That was clearly a lie. Damnit, we had fucked in the garden! Did she see us too?*

Jean latched on Cindy’s thought and shook her head when she noticed the spider girl panicking. It caused Cindy to calm down with a sigh.

The redhead looked at Laura. “Okay, I will not punish you for this, it’s our fault.”

“Then I can smooch you too?” Laura tilted her head cutely, going back to take the hem of redhead's sweater. 

Cindy made an 'aww' sound that Jean rewarded her with a scowl. “When you get as big as Cindy and if you are still interested in the next ten years, we will speak about it again, okay?”

The black haired girl was reminded of the day her little brother said that he would marry her when he became bigger. It was cute, but... little kids didn't know what romance was, so Cindy didn't take what Laura was saying seriously. 

Laura smiled and took one of Jean’s hands in hers and tightened her grip on it. “I won’t forget.”

“She’s cute.” Cindy said aloud.

Laura preened at the compliment, one of the things she had learned to appreciate are people doting on her. 

Jean's mental voice was full of frustration. <Yes, cute. Unfortunately, she’s serious.>

That surprised Cindy. <Really?>

With a haunted stare Jean sent telepathically, <Yeah, now, I fear for my chastity.>

Cindy stared at the cute as a button girl, she looked cute and affectionate. Jean had saved her and her mother from being killed and Laura from being enslaved again; a little hero worship wasn't going to hurt the girl.

Shrugging, Cindy jokes, <Jean you have no chastity to speak of, I made sure of it.>

Images of how exactly she popped Jean’s cherry came to Cindy's mind, a lot of tongues and fingers were used, then one of those toys she bought in a specialized store from Japan. Jean’s cheek reddened as she read exactly what Cindy was talking about.

<Speaking of chastity, I got a new fun technique to test…> Jean sent an image of TK constructs in the form of tentacles with male genitals at its ends. Cindy’s breath caught and she felt an excited thrill going down her spine.

They needed to go and test this right away! Cindy was so enthused that she was the first to say, “Come with us Laura, we are going to the lab, we will take you to your mother.”

The black haired little koala smiled with all her teeth. “I know, that’s why I always try to ambus- I mean get to meet you.”

*So she uses us to easily enter the lab to get to her mother.* Cindy thought as the three of them resumed walking into the main tunnel hands in hands. 

<She’s really smart. We gotta speed up the search for a teacher to teach the kids in the base.> Jean showed her a mental list of things that she desired to happen but that with the lack of times she couldn’t do herself. 

Cindy thought that Jean was right, kids with nothing to do were always up to no good as Laura just proved. *Idle hands are the devil’s workshop.*

The three quickly arrived at the lab complex and met in passing with Klaw who was playing saxophone for the ladies in the rest area. Strangely, he was popular with the late twenty and thirty year old women. As they made their way deeper into the lab areas, they stopped in the genetic lab to drop off Laura with her mother and had words with her about how she was too caught up in her work to take care of her daughter and that Jean would lower her work hours in the lab if she continued.

The couple left for Jean’s special lab where they walked directly to the lounge area; Eve was in the room taking advantage of the numerous holographic emitters in the workstation to train herself in projecting animals from the african continent. Jean had told Cindy that EVE trained with animals first to be able to work her way up to humans and create her own avatar.

EVE, despite all the processing power she possessed and that the scientists in the base touted, was still a baby AI. Cindy had discovered that she was often distracted from her task by observing everyone around her. She wasn’t chatty as well, well it depended. *She was awfully fond of asking Jean questions or helping her in the lab.*

Cindy followed Jean to her desk and as her girlfriend booted up her computer she dragged another chair that she placed at Jean’s side. Jean put her hand on the palm scanner at the keyboard’s side as the welcome screen asked her for her biometrics.

[Access Granted.]

Arriving on the desktop part of the computer which had a picture of Cindy and Jean kissing in the background. She put her finger on an icon on the screen that looked like a wardrobe. It loaded for a second, next a platform raised from the ground in the workshop. Metal cases with mannequin covered in different costumes and armors were visible.

The display turned on itself as Jean and Cindy stood up from their chairs and walked to the high-tech wardrobe display until a certain bat costume was in full view. A hard light white cockatoo landed on Cindy’s right shoulder, she ignored it as her confused eyes were focused on the sleek black and red costume.

"But… I met the person who stole your suit, I swear. It looked just like this one." Cindy looked as if the world didn’t make sense to her.

Jean passed an arm on her girlfriend’s shoulders, taking care of not ruffling her hair. She admired her girlfriend's red top and its opened neckline; her friends always came clothed far lighter when they visited the base. She looked at the costume, it was in pristine condition. "It's not stolen, it's here in the lab. I'd know if someone had taken it, beside you and my family no one can enter without my permission."

Cindy frowned, she had been so sure that the costume wouldn’t be here. “Jean, what does that mean?” The spider girl passed her arm around Jean's waist and held on tight.

Frowning, Jean began to speak aloud. “Someone copied my design and I wasn’t even aware of it. The only way it could have happened was while I was renovating my lab space.” She took on a thoughtful expression.

“SHIELD?” Cindy asked, she had never liked those spy bozos; the black haired girl had really liked the decision of erasing any memories of the position of the valley and what was in the base that Jean had taken. They had become a thorn in her side as they blatantly spied on her family. Cindy was still wary of the SHIELD people Jean had poached from the organization and showed it by giving them the cold shoulders.

Jean laughed, reading Cindy’s mind. “No, I checked. Fitz and Simmons, Barbara and Clint are all loyal to me. The only thing SHIELD has of mine is a power armor they keep delaying to give me back.” Jean growled as she said this; it was clear that she was getting annoyed by Fury again.

Cindy glared and in a huff asked, “What about that chick, what’s her name again? The super cold bitch.”

Agent Hill had quit SHIELD after getting disillusioned with them and how they had allowed HYDRA shelter due to Operation Paperclip and seen its consequences. Hill had jumped ship to join Jean’s new organization, she was always efficient, distant and cold with anyone who didn’t have any skill in operation; Cindy was one of those. Their interaction has become chilly as of late.

“Hill? She’s not a turncoat; she’s one of my intelligence gathering people.” Jean defended Hill, the woman who had become rather important in the day to day operations of the nascent intelligence arm of the building Ascendency.

Cindy scowled at the trusting tone Jean had in her voice. “And how sure are you of that?”

“Periodic telepathic scan every six months, it’s in their contracts.” Jean answered instantly and with a chaste kiss on Cindy’s lips.

Cindy crossed her arms and looked impressed. “You don’t fuck around, huh.”

Jean shrugged. “This is life or death, remember? We are doing this to make the world a better place for us and our loved one. Paranoia is healthy.”

Cindy’s arms snaked around Jean’s neck, they were face to face for a while before the redhead initiated a soft kiss. Cindy let her anger and stress bleed out of her as she relaxed when her girlfriend hugged her.

“What are we going to do?” She suddenly asked.

Jean teleported them to the well worn sofa in the lounge, she sat and Cindy sat on the redhead’s laps, leaning against her while Jean had her arms around her middle.

“I will use some of my resources and people to help you find that wannabe Batgirl.” Jean finally deigned to answer, but Cindy knew that the girl she loves was a big thinker when she got all silent.

Then Jean surprised the spider girl with a question of her own. “I want to ask a question though, what did she do last night?”

Cindy’s face clouded as she remembered last night and showed her memories to Jean through their telepathic link. Her looking at the flying drone video feed and how the dark clad heroine was taking care of the man tied on the chair; it was brutal to watch. Cindy showed herself swinging on web-lines attempting to arrive in time. “She was torturing a guy and then… she used some kind of flamethrower on him to burn him to a crisp.”

“You didn’t stop her?” Jean asked, surprised that Cindy hadn’t been fast enough.

She nodded, causing Jean to kiss the nape of her neck. “I arrived too late, the drones only spotted her for like five minute when she started and I was in Central Park catching muggers.” Cindy said, looking sheepish.

“I see.” Jean’s hand sneaked under her red top, caressing her lover's abs. Cindy felt butterflies in her stomach as her girlfriend touched her. 

Her panties were starting to get soaked as well. *Me and my redhead fetish, damn Jean, she made me this way.*

Jean must have ignored Cindy’s current thought process. As she fondled the black haired beauty, Jean commented, “She attacks only hardened criminals, do you know what was in the building she was torturing that guy in?”

If there's something Cindy couldn't deny it was that. The wannabe had been taking care of the worst of the worse. She made a decent dent into the crime statistics in New York as well; the little mooks and drug pushers hid from her because of her brutality and her willingness to kill.

It took Cindy a moment to think as her lover was doing wonderful things to her body. “I don’t, Peter had joined me later and went all CSI on the place only to find trace amounts of silver and a lot of ashes all over the floors in the building.”

Jean flinched and stopped groping Cindy and put her at her side one the sofa, looking really serious. “Cindy.”

Cindy only saw this side of Jean when she was spooked by something. She listened attentively. “Don’t go in this part of town anymore and leave that Batgirl wannabe alone, okay?” Jean's tone brokered no arguments. 

Feeling less horny all of a sudden, Cindy glared. She couldn't give up right now, the humiliation from that other woman in a bat suit still burned. Despite all her training, she was handled like a newbie. The young woman gritted her teeth, “Why? I can’t let it go, she has your stuff!”

Jean shrugged. “Then she can keep it if she continues her job fighting vampires.”

Looking at Jean in disbelief, Cindy asked with derision, “Vampires, really?”

The redhead didn't laugh and looked dead serious. “They exist, and your new friend just helped wipe out a nest.”

They looked into each other's eyes for a long moment, Cindy understood that this was one of those things Jean didn't joke about. The redhead showed her memories of a movie she had seen in her previous world called Blade at high speed.

“Are they so terrible?” Cindy asked as she looked at Blade fighting against vampires, the CGI was actually well done. The spider girl didn't find any of the fight impressive compared to her practice bout against Elektra or Regan who were good combatants. 

“They are monsters, irredeemable ones who think that humans are cattle. You see, most people that become vampires quickly find themselves unable to resist the all consuming craving for blood. They quickly degenerate into cruel and animalistic hunters of ordinary human beings, even if these new vampires had been kind and sensitive people in their mortal lives.” Jean's voice got really dark at the end of her tirade and it scared Cindy.

The black haired girl trembled a tiny bit. “Shit.”

The air around them got warmer, Jean's aura lit up orange and red as she called on her power to warm up Cindy's spirit. It was a psychosomatic ability. As she held onto her girlfriend Jean said, “But, you know my love? You are right about something… we must know how she got my tech. I need to patch this hole in my security.”

When Jean reached for the hem of Cindy’s top, the Asian girl understood that her girlfriend wanted to comfort her and make her forget about this entire business. The black haired girl took her top off, with only her comfy push up blue sport bra and her jeans being an obstacle for what was going to happen. Jean took off her own red sweater and showed that she had on nothing but a black sheer through bralette and matching panties. She wiggled her eyebrows at Cindy who giggled as she took off her jeans. The redhead helped her a bit with her TK by lifting her from the sofa; as if she was in zero gravity, Cindy used her prodigious agility to take off her jeans completely.

Jean floated up to her and the two hugged each other and kissed as if their lives depended on it. They made out for a solid thirty minutes before being more daring and groping each other. 

“Hey slower, I’m not going anywhere.” Cindy said between kisses, the redhead tried really hard to take off her knickers.

Jean's only answer was to flare up her telekinetic aura, and Cindy swore that she saw multiple hands springing from her lover before they disappeared. She was right, those constructs mimicking Jean’s hands caught Cindy. They caressed the surface of her skin, and pinched her nipples. Through their telepathic link Jean could feel the pleasure she was giving her girlfriend. Oh so slowly, Jean removed Cindy’s bra and panties.

Cindy smiled in the french kiss she was receiving as she was getting the time of her life; she felt the hands glide on her body, stimulating every erogenous zone. She knew Jean was getting off from this as well as their minds were linked and she felt what Cindy felt. The major ups in having a telepathic girlfriend was that you felt twice the pleasure.

Jean’s fingers reached for the black haired girl’s thighs, caressing them open. The redhead made them land on the sofa which turned into a bed; Cindy landed on it back first, legs spread open in time for Jean to land at the border of the sofa turned bed. She strode on all four, kissing Cindy’s right leg from the ankle to her groin, and began lapping at her girlfriend’s labia, eliciting a moan from her. Her TK hands ripped Cindy’s bra and freed her boobs, which were caught by invisible hands that squeezed them delicately.

Licking and nibbling Cindy’s pussy, Jean penetrated her girlfriend with her tongue; Cindy closed her thighs with Jean’s head locked between them like a vice. Using a bit of her shapeshifting abilities from her fusion with Goldie, the redhead elongated her tongue, reaching deep inside her girl. Jean knew the exact spot that would make Cindy cum. It took one minute but Cindy gave in and came all over Jean’s face. Jean came strongly as well, her panties ruined by their love making.

Cindy’s legs turned to jelly and she went boneless and completely spent on the sofa. Jean took her face from her girlfriend’s nether region, wiped her mouth and began to say, “Hey, you remember that I wanted to test something?”

“Mhm.” Cindy could barely think at all.

Jean caressed Cindy’s legs open again, Cindy looked panicked; she was barely recovering from an intense telepathic double orgasm. She felt that telepathy was unfair, Jean has ruined her for any other lovers she might have had.

“Gimme a number between five and ten.” Jean asked in a teasing tone.

Cindy scowled. “What are you planning?”

More phantom hands fondled and massaged Cindy’s boobs, ass and thighs, making the black haired young woman moan again.

“You’ll see, or… you’ll feel.” Jean said with a noncommittal tone after a giggle.

Cindy thought fast, Jean wouldn’t do anything to hurt her and often when she was adventurous in bed, the spider girl enjoyed the fruit of her imagination. *You only live once.*

“Okay…. Nine?” She chose the safest number she could.

Jean laughed. “A safe number, good.”

Jean grinned and from her aura a tentacle of red light appeared, they stayed visible. One of the tendrils of psionic energy took on a really phallic form… making Cindy’s eyes pop. “T-this can’t fit.”

Jean slipped a finger into Cindy’s wet little tight cunt. “Oh it will.”

Cindy tried to negotiate. “Can’t I use my mouth for this?”

“Nu-huh.” Jean shook her head and smiled devilishly.

Cindy closed her eyes and slid her hands over her thighs, until she reached pussy and parted her vagina’s lips with her fingers. “Do it then.”

“I’m going to fuck you harder than before.” Jean slowly made the phallus approach Cindy’s nether region. It closed in and made contact with Cindy’s folds.

“Do it!” She shouted.

And in one smooth thrust, Jean speared her with the TK construct; it was connected to her body so the redhead felt pleasure as well. Cindy’s back arched and her toes contracted. Jean began to move the tentacles and the feedback she felt from her lover threatened to overwhelm her own body. The redhead threw herself with abandon into the action and used her TK to stimulate both herself and Cindy; a tentacle blossomed from Jean’s Aura, a nine each phallus construct solidified at its end, moved toward her wet entrance and penetrated Jean in one swift move. Jean’s body glued itself to Cindy’s and the two young women began to moan in unison, reaching high notes with their voices. Cindy held onto Jean and kissed her, tongue duelling for a while.

The tentacles began to move in and out of them at a rapid pace, pushing them ever closer to their mutual orgasmic release. 

“Yes, fuck me Jean, fuck me!” Cindy clung to Jean, her legs tightly around the redhead.

“Mine, all mine.” Jean whispered into her girl’s ear. She held onto her black hair and kissed her forcefully.

Cindy moaned into the kiss and when they came up for air, she kept saying variations of, “Yours, take what is yours baby!”

The two of them came at the same time, each feeling their body being filled with something. Jean and Cindy savoured the feeling of having multiple orgasms at the same time. They panted heavily, short of breath. Cindy began to kiss Jean’s neck, she didn’t mind the sweat they were all covered in. Jean moved herself at her girlfriend’s side, and put her head on her toned arm, holding her lover against her. 

Time passed before Cindy asked with her voice husky and full of desire, “Do it again?”

Jean laughed and kissed Cindy’s brow. “Gimme a little time to rest, okay?”

“Okay.” Cindy kissed Jean’s cheek, caressed her flanks and waited for another minute before asking again with a needy tone, “Are you ready yet?” She bit her lower lip as she was filled with desire, this was the first time Jean had fucked her this hard and she wanted some more.

Jean chuckled.  “You’ll be the death of me, Cin.”

Cindy laughed, and pushed herself into a straddling position on Jean, her gaze told the redhead that she wasn’t getting out of this place before she was fully satiated.

 

# # #

(Laura & Sarah Kinney) 

Dr Kinney's genetic lab

 

Sarah Kinney closed the door to her personal office and closed it with the palm scanner at the side of the entrance. Laura was playing a racing game with a tablet that Jean Grey had given her, some kind of console game that used motion sensors. It was easy for the metahuman little girl to excel at it with her supernatural reflexes.

But it wasn’t the time for touting Laura’s abilities; Sarah clicked her tongue, took the tablet from Laura’s hands and looked at her, pondering something. Laura tilted her head as she watched her mother sit at her side on the sofa in the rest area of her lab. Sarah then smoothed out her lab coat neatly.

"Mother?" Laura called out as her mother turned to her and took her hand in hers.

Sarah's eyes looked serious, so Laura wisely paid attention. "We need to have a talk and I think it is long overdue."

Sarah stayed silent as she composed her thoughts and played with the hands of her young daughter who     waited for her to come to the point. The geneticist sighed. “I've... not been a good mother lately and I'm sorry about that my little one.”

Laura couldn’t accept that statement, her mother was perfect, she was smart, beautiful, and saved her from the Facility and Kimura. She loved her unconditionally. “No that isn’t true, you are the best mother. You made it so that we would be safe, you protected me the best you could in our previous situation. The results of your actions speak for themselves, mother. Now we are protected and in a safe location, away from those who would do us harm. No one here wants to hurt us and everyone loves us, isn't that what is important, mother?”

Sarah watched her daughter after she finished her long tirade. This was the first time she heard her daughter speak for so long; her arguments were sound and logical as well, at least for a seven year old. She had everything she wanted, people who didn’t want to hurt her, and gave her everything she asked, which worried Sarah that she might turn into a spoiled girl.

The geneticist caught her daughter in her arms and kissed her forehead, Laura hugged her mother tightly as she spoke. “You are right, Laura. I did the best I could for us; but now that we aren’t in danger anymore, I need to do more and give you more attention. I've been neglecting your education.”

The little girl became a bit confrontational. “My education? But I’ve been reading everything from the library, and you organize mock tests every two days.” there was a bit of a rebuke in Laura’s voice, she didn't like surprise tests, just like any healthy kid.

“I’m not talking about your academic development, I mean your social education and common sense; you should act more your age. And for this you need more contact with children like you.”

Laura scowled, scrunching her cute face at hearing this. “But they are boring.” There was a whine in her voice.

Sarah chuckled in humor, just like she predicted; Laura was having a disconnect with the children in the base. They were concerned with toys, school, and following their parents while Laura loved exploring or training herself to be the best she could be. *Ah, it’s like that after all.*

“What about Madelyn? Isn’t she your friend?” Sarah found herself asking.

Just like herself, Madelyn Grey was a clone. At the start of their stay in Egypt base, Laura and Madelyn had hit it off and were always up to mischief when no one was looking at them for more than five seconds. Laura was the driving force in this pairing, and Madelyn was a curious young girl who followed Sarah’s daughter like a baby duck. 

Laura crossed her arms and avoided her mother’s knowing gaze. “I like her but… she’s a big baby! She cries after we fight.”

Sarah stiffened at this comment and her voice became more neutral as she asked, “And why do you fight with her?”

It wouldn’t go well if Laura was bullying the poor clone girl. Fortunately, Sarah’s fears were abated by Laura’s next rant. “She moves all wrong when we spar, she’s so stiff!” The geneticist finally understood, Madelyn was playing catchup with how advanced her daughter was, and didn’t appreciate being criticized by her best friend.

Then the situation changed when Laura continued speaking. “Unlike Jean who moves like the wind, her technique is always lethally efficient.” There was a lot of affection and hero worship laced in Laura’s tone. It wasn’t what bothered Sarah, it was how her daughter’s cheek reddened and she linked her hands. The geneticist recognized the sign of a little girl with her first crush.

Sarah was too tired to broach the subject and ask Laura, but she had promised herself to become a better mom after the talk with Jean and Cindy. They had made good points and that Laura seemed a bit too precocious as she spied on them when they kissed.

Laura liked when things were blunt, no word game or double meaning; that’s why Sarah phrased her question like this, “Laura, are you in love with Jean?”

The little girl looked into the verdant eyes of her mother. “Love? Like what she does with Anna and Dydy?” 

“Yes that.” Sarah nodded, putting a hand on her daughter’s shoulder, straightening the strap of her sundress.

The frown on her little face changed to a radiant smile. “Dydy told me I can do the same with her when I get bigger.” The little girl declared with rosy cheeks.

Sarah stood up and shouted. “No, I forbid it! She’s way too old for you!” The geneticist was grateful toward Jean Grey, but the girl led a decadent lifestyle that didn't sit well with Sarah; she already had two girls in her little harem, Barbara; her colleague had even told her that another two were circling around the redhead to join. 

Sarah wanted only the best for Laura, and getting infatuated with Miss Grey seemed like a losing proposition. 

Laura glared at her and waved off her concern. “That’s not a big reason, my biological father is a hundred years old or so, and you made me with him. You are a baby compared to him.”

That floored the geneticist. *How can she compare our two situations? They aren't the same.*

Sarah wanted to get angry. “You-” she almost said something she couldn't take back and decided to forcefully smother her ire. Being angry won't do anything, Laura was stubborn; the only way to dissuade her was to calmly explain something to her.

Sarah sat back, sighed and eyed her daughter while saying, “And here lies the problem, Laura. You are quite ignorant of social mores and… we need to rectify that.”

Around the age of seven, give or take a year, children enter a developmental phase known as the age of reason. ‘The age of reason’ refers to the developmental cognitive, emotional, and moral stage in which children become more capable of rational thought, have internalized a conscience, and have better capacity to control impulses. It’s the time when a child starts to truly grasp the difference between right and wrong, and begins to realize that other people have their own feelings that might not match his or hers. It wasn’t too late for Laura to reach this milestone in her development. The book Sarah had read had advised to go slow and teach patiently.

"How?" Laura asked, she got excited when she discovered that there was something she didn’t know about.

Once again, Sarah cursed those devils in the facility who had treated her little baby like a thing. She was glad Jean Grey had killed them all, well... after she exploded them. There was something that Sarah wanted from her daughter, something that she wanted more than studying those extra-terrestrial samples in the DNA bank in the lab.

Sarah looked into the eyes of her daughter, the same eyes she possessed, her daughter sure looked like her. “First, I want you to call me 'mom.'”

Laura grimaced. “Mom? But I am not a baby…”

The geneticist looked rather hurt when Laura didn’t want to comply. She soldiered on, ashamed that she would resort to blatant manipulation by saying. “Jean calls her mother, mom.”

Laura’s misgivings melted like snow in the sun. “Ah, it’s true! Sorry, I will change how I address you mother- I mean, mom.”

A smile appeared on Sarah’s face as she tussled her daughter’s hair. “It's going to be a fight to teach you, I can see that…”

 

# # #

(Professor Charles Xavier)

 

February 9th, 1997
X-Mansion
09:45 AM

 

Sunday was a slow and perfect time to have a lie-in. But Charles decided against it, so he called the live-in maid. One of his previous students who had a handy power used to be average in everything she did; he had wanted her to aspire to being more than a maid and make a life for herself but Janine was an introverted young woman who didn’t trust other people easily. She was too pretty to let go as well. The willowy blonde arrived, smiling as usual. 

Charles smiled back, happy to see her, they exchanged pleasantries as she took care of him and brought him to the bathroom. In the middle of his ablutions he requested from Janine to be relieved sexually through a handjob that she hesitatingly gave him; after he orgasmed ten minutes later, Charles wiped this from her memory, but not before slapping her bubble butt. Five minute later, the blonde helped clothe him and brought his chair to bring him to the kitchen.

Once that was done and Charles was at his position at the head of the table, he reapplied the field that made the students and teachers ignore Janine and took his newspaper. Janine brought him his coffee and New England breakfast. There seemed to be a recession that was going to happen with so many people dying globally in December. The world had become a darker place, Hydra was revealed to still be active but got taken out by SHIELD internationally, Norman Osborn was dead and the denizens of the Hellfire club were moving more openly.

A lot of his friends in politics were worried about the future and so was he. Charles was bothered by the fact that nothing went well for him lately, Peggy was ignoring him, and he didn’t dare try to contact Erik after the shitshow with Jean Grey. And here was the problem, everything seemed to revolve around this young woman. Charles wasn’t afraid of her anymore, he knew exactly what he was going to take on when she came for him, his informant had told him what kind of entity she had inside her and he couldn’t let her run around anymore. 

He needed to have her under his sway, to neutralize her influence; Charles was still scheming about how he was going to do this when Logan chose this exact moment to appear. Charles put down his newspaper and looked at him; the man looked rather lost and more scruffy than usual, he smelled of alcohol and his hair wasn’t brushed and his eyes were bloodshot as if he had been up all night.

"Chuck." The man said gruffly as a greeting. Logan scratched his hairy abs under his grey polo.

Charles chuckled, he was used to his bad bedside manner, so he didn’t get offended. "What can I do for you my friend?" The professor asked calmly as put down his newspaper.

Logan sat on the chair at Charles' right, he didn’t even notice the coffee cup being placed on the table before him; all the staff were invisible to the students and teachers in Xavier’s school, the professor didn’t want to burden them with the knowledge that extraordinary youth and adults taught here. It may seem cruel, but he was protecting them from knowing too much.

After taking a swig of warm black coffee, Logan began to speak about what was eating him. “I-I may need some holiday, something has come up.”

Charles intertwined his fingers and rested over his mouth on them. “Is there anything I might help with?”

Logan was a smart man, he was aware of my contacts and the resources Charles could bring to bear. It was advantageous to him to ask Charles for help. “Maybe. It seems that I have a kid out there.”

Considering Logan’s age Charles wasn’t surprised; there were times when he left for weeks on end.  It was even more problematic though, since Logan recovered part of his memories and was able to remember going through world war two. Recently he had met Steve Rogers who was believed dead thanks to Peggy Carter, who was gathering all the veteran from the Howling Commandos that were still alive.

“You’re certain?” Charles couldn’t judge Logan too much, after all he had a lot of children as well; but chose to not recognize them and stayed distant from his students turned mothers who he paid child support to, to keep them secret. He took his responsibility seriously, *Logan forgot most of the things he did, the poor woman must be desperate for help, if she tracked him down.*

Logan took his wallet from his pants backside’s pocket. He opened the leather wallet and took a picture of a beautiful black haired and green eyed woman with an equally cute young girl with similar traits and slid it on the table to the professor. Charles looked at it and told himself that there was no way Logan could bag such a beauty, but he had a tendency to be proven wrong by the women the man had brought back.

“The mother sent me a letter. Here, look.” Wolverine put something else on the table, it was an envelope; Charles took it and inside there was a short letter.

Charles read it two times to understand the events and see any subtle double meaning in it. It was blunt and to the point as if the woman was aware of how to speak with Logan. That rang a warning bell in Charles' mind, the woman, Sarah Kinney knew Logan’s psychological profile and this daughter, she implied that she had the same abilities as him which was kind of intriguing.

The postscript at the end of the letter made him think for a longtime, until he remembered Jean Grey’s first meeting with Logan. She had been flirty and too forward with the man, and Charles remembered that it was her who had helped Doctor Sarah Kinney. Yet again, Jean Grey’s action seemed to affect his group. She had spurned Magneto and was still in the wind; he needed to rein Jean Grey in, the Hellfire club might find her sooner or later and he couldn’t let it happen. 

Charles looked up at Logan. “It seems that we need to contact Miss Grey. ”

Fate seemed to provide when needs must. With this, Charles promised Logan to take care of everything by cutting through the middleman and contacting Jean Grey. Charles was tempted to do it with Cerebro, but the girl might do something drastic to him, a telephone call should be enough. He still had the number of the Grey residence. 

Ten minutes after breakfast, Charles found himself in his office placing the call, a moment later someone answered. 

He was happy to hear a male voice. “Hello?”

“John, is that you? It’s Charles Xavier.” Charles started to speak jovially.

 

# # #

(Chimera)

 

Same day...
Tibet
Himalayas
the K'un-Lun Mountains (崑崙山)
14:45 PM

For once, it wasn’t her piloting the Samson, the light ducted fan craft available in abundance in Egypt base; she was the head of the operation and they had now enough people who knew how to pilot them. Being the sub-boss was easy, all you had to do was prove that you could do everything better than everyone beside Jean and give orders and listen to everyone. *Though that bitch Hill is after my job.*

The woman, Maria Hill, really wanted to take over the one job Chimera had; sure it was hard and thankless because the peons kept seeking her for imbecilic reasons, but she liked being in charge. Managing the farms, security, welcoming the newbies and managing the monkeys in the lab, it was tiring; she was in the process to nominate department heads for the base to lighten her workload, but Hill had to open her mouth to Jean and say that Chimera was straining to keep up. Fortunately, after reassuring Jean that she was okay, nothing came out of it.

To de-stress, Chimera has chosen to take on an important operation, Jean wanted a certain entrepreneur to be found, dead or alive. From the black files Jean had given Chimera’s access to, K'un-Lun is a mystical lost city located in some kind of hammerspace. It is located in one of the longest mountain chains in Asia within the Himalayas; it can only be accessed every ten years.

The mission impossible theme played in Chimera’s mind as she looked on the screen at the glacier, rocks and mountains showing under the Samson craft; the cabin was pressurized and the air inside the vehicle was warm, but they still had gone equipped for cold climate on this operation. Chimera had gone with a five man team, with only two power armor operators.

"Ma'am, the entrance to the Gate of Heaven is under us, we are ready to drop the drones." A soldier wearing the standard issue black and grey modular armor of the Ascendency said. He was a cute black haired afro-american, with a buzz cut, and e-glasses that surely showed him the same HUD that Chimera had access to. 

The personnel roster at the base was full of veteran soldiers who had been indisposed in the past with handicaps or were homeless. Those guys knew how precious the chance they were given was, so they did their best in their jobs.

Chimera clapped with a grin on her face. "Awesome, drop'em."

“Opening drone pods.” The blonde watched as the fourteen hatches of the rectangular module under the Samson deployed. 

“Drones away.” The fourteen scout drones shaped like orbs unfolded their fans and hovered in the air like hummingbirds and scattered to the four winds to cover as much territory as possible. In the cockpit, several flat screens on the dashboard showed the video feed of each drone.

While the drones mapped the area, and looked for the man or his remains, Chimera started her notes on the improved Samson, it was made bigger for troop deployment, and with the streamlined drive system, the maneuverability and lift of the vehicle was raised by forty percent. The armor had not been tested yet, but Chimera doubted that their secondary adamantium reactive armor on the Samson would let through anything, she was more worried about the ducted fan of the Samson. They weren’t as tough as they should be.

It was two hours later when Chimera finished her report. She stared at the Achilles armor operators who were cleaning the shoulder mounted weapons when the same support technician interrupted her. "Ma'am we’ve got him! He’s alive but in a bad way!"

Chimera stood up from her seat and put her tablet away, she began shouting orders, "Deploy the stasis pod. Send in two operators to secure him, get to it!"

The operators stepped into their Achilles armor Mk II, loaded and strapped their gear on, then the door on the left wall of the Samson opened, letting icy wind break the warmness of the climate controlled interior. The operators jumped from the Samson stepping around the door mounted pulse munition capable machine guns; they were prototypes.

[Woohoo!] Shouted the operators.

They fell head first toward the position the stasis pod had landed, an outcropping area along the edges of mountain’s ridges.

Chimera watched carefully as the men landed, looked around them; the drone camera pointed toward a big entrance in a cave, there were statues of two dragons on each side. A golden glow was escaping the mouth of the cave and covered the area in waves of energy. The Armor’s system didn’t find it harmful but the golden energy seemed to suffuse the rocks and the quaint flora around the cave.

*Holy shit! Jean was right… again!* The drone scanned the body of the man who was before the entrance of the cave, he was unconscious and moaning in pain. He looked also like a dried skeleton; Chimera scrunched her face in disgust.

“Bring him back, boys. But be careful, he looks like his bones have turned to powder due to his fall.” Chimera said. She was sure that the man had fallen there.

"Understood." The operator complied, then they deployed a gurney from their kit and put it on the ground near the man and delicately and slowly, they put him on it.

He woke up and screamed in pain, moaning somewhat like a zombie from one of those B movies the girls at the base seemed to like. They transported the man toward the stasis pod which opened itself; the device looked like a coffin with a transparent lid.

"Target secured." The second operator transmitted.

The stasis field kicked in, locking the man in a bubble of suspended time. The Armor operators held onto the pod’s handles on each of its sides and fired their jet packs, they slowly lifted off the outcropping, and ascended toward the Samson. Chimera gave the order to the drone technicians to recall the flying drone scouts to their pods.

The Samson door opened, the operators landed inside, pulling the white, coffin-like, pod inside. Chimera walked toward it as the operators put the stasis pod in the middle of the transport area, and the door closed. The climate control systems quickly got rid of the cold air.

The man had blonde hair, blue eyes and half his face was ruined and showing part of his skull. He looked like a wraith. Chimera put a hand on the transparent lid of the pod. "Well, Mister Rand, I am happy to finally meet you."

She returned to her seat, took her tablet back in her hands and began to write up her report about the success of her mission. Chimera was sure that Hill would blow her gasket at her success, because once again, Chimera was showing why Jean trusted her more. 

The metahuman woman pushed the button of her communicator to transmit to everyone on board the Samson. "Mission accomplished guys! Request a portal for the Adirondack base."

"Ma'am, yes ma'am!!" The men all shouted. 

There was pride in their voice as they realized that they were homebound successful.

---

 

A/N: So yeah the chapters are going to be shorter than the 40k ones I already posted, some friends told me to post more regularly or else my readers will forget what's happening. I will try to not go over 15k words in the next chapters. Chapter 16 of Raptor of life is about to go on Patreon, it's in the editors hands. Anyway, thanks for reading! Reviews and comments would be appreciated.

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