Dark Earth: The Prophecy - 7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7: Venting Frustration

The afternoon was an interesting one to say the least. I decided to accept Natalia’s offer. The VR software for long staff improved my skills tremendously. Immediately afterwards, some rogues attacked a residential neighborhood in northern Centropolis. Cristobel and I led a small team to take them out. We chose Brian, Calista, and Dennis for the mission. Six evoloid rogues were on the scene. Their powers were wind manipulation, superhuman strength, canine feral, sonic wave, cryokinesis, and full body elasticity.

We hid ourselves and watched them for a moment. That’s how we figured out their powers. They were attacking humans, so we made our move. “I want them all dead,” I said. “Calista, you take the cryokinetic. Cristobel, you take the loud mouth. Dennis, Stretchy is yours. Brian, we’ll take on the other three together. Let’s go.”

Brian used his invisibility to cloak us both and I flew us closer to our opponents. Brian asked me to drop him just above Windy. He dropkicked her from the air. Since I was now exposed, I electrified my staff and attacked Wolfy. The strong woman kicked me, launching me toward a building. I used telekinesis to prevent the impact. Brian dispatched Windy, by breaking her neck. I flew over to the strong woman and punched her with my electrified fist. Brian wasn’t doing too well with Wolfy so I empowered my staff with laser energy and knocked his head from his shoulders, leaving the Destructa, the strong woman, as the last one. (I didn’t want Wofly’s powers, because the idea of being half man, half wolf wasn’t at all appealing.) Brian cloaked himself, and managed to trip her. Somehow, she found him, and kicked him towards the sky. I used my telekinesis, to allow a soft landing. I decided to put her under mind control, noticing that Dennis was having a hard time with Stretchy. I commanded her to rip off Stretchy’s arm to free Dennis. I attacked Stretchy’s mind, causing him severe pain. The attack climaxed with a lethal dose of electricity, produced within his own brain that caused his head to explode. Cristobel had dispatched Shriek with a nightmare ball, so she was suffering a slow and painful death.

Frosty the Bitch was the last remaining rogue. “I will help Calista,” I said. “Calista, let’s double team her.” I knocked Frosty back with telekinesis as Calista created her water and ice monster. I touched the monster with my hand, electrifying it. The monster sprayed a electrified water at her, electrocuting her to death. “That was fucking sweet. Let’s go.” I teleported the six of us back home. Note: I didn’t actually know the rogues’ names. I made them all up.

“How did it go?” Adriana asked me.

“They’re all dead,” I confirmed. I told her everything about the battle. Occasionally, she asked one of the others questions about the fight, and they answered. “I decided not to collect any new powers. I did, however, absorb an extra dose of super-human strength.”

“Julian, you exhibited good leadership. You matched them all up just as I would have, except for matching Dennis against the ‘Stretchy’ as you called him. Calista was evenly matched with the cryokinetic, but you could have switched Dennis and Calista for an even better match. Dennis could have easily dodged ‘Frosty’s’ attacks. Elastics are weak against someone like Calista. You saved Dennis though. There’s no harm done. Simon will teach you a lot on our assaults. Still, you are a good leader. The rest of you did a fine job as well. Julian, I want you and Cristobel to continue studying strengths and weaknesses of evoloids for future battles. Julian, you also need to talk to Simon in the conference room. He’s going over some scenarios and he wants your input. Cristobel come with me.”

“Where are we going?” Cristobel asked. I knew Adriana’s intentions. Either Cristobel was playing dumb, or he hadn’t yet fully understood the attraction powers.

“Adriana, in all due respect, we need to prepare for the assault tonight.”

“Well, I think Simon wants…”

“I have a level of autonomy with this particular issue. This is my first day back. I want to focus my attention on Cristobel tonight after the assault.”

“My parents want the two of you to invite one of the women to your bed tonight. Natalia replaced the two single beds with a king sized bed. In fact, all the bedrooms have them now. The large bedroom at the end of the hall has two of them. Natalia also made some rearrangements in the upper level. We need room for 14 now.”

“I thought I was supposed…”

“I have a few directives of my own, Julian. They also want Cristobel and I to have relations on a daily basis. The same goes for you and Simon.”

“Adriana, you can start with that tomorrow. Remember that Simon and I are in command of this assault,” I grumbled.

“Julian, I was joking. Apparently, you know what I was thinking. I cannot hide any sexual thoughts from you anymore. I’ll leave him alone for this evening. They wanted you to have one of the women with you, but you two need some time alone. You and I can sort that out with the council later.”

I went into the conference room. Simon was looking through files and taking some notes. “There you are!” he said. “Let’s talk about the security room. We expect about five guards in there. They’re a powerful group. How many do you want to take into the security room?”

“I think I will take three of the soldiers with weapons and Dennis into the security room. Have you talked to Collin about his opinion?”

“No, I haven’t.”

I pressed my comlink. “Collin, we need you in the conference room,” I said.

“I’ll be right there,” he replied. A minute later the door slid open and Collin walked into the room. “Sorry for the delay. I was in the training room sparring with Steven. What can I do for you?”

“Simon was asking me who I wanted to take into the security room. I told him I wanted to take Dennis and three of the armed soldiers. Do you agree?”

“That should be more than enough to take out the guards,” he replied. “Are you going to have a weapon?”

“I’m going to ask Natalia about that. I would like to use my long staff if I can.”

“I’ve heard what you can do with that. Perhaps you can take one armed soldier instead of three,” Simon added. “But you’re the one going into the security room. It’s your call.”

“I want to take out the guards as quickly as possible. There may also be more than five. I want to make sure we have all of them covered.”

Collin agreed with me. “I think the remaining soldiers should maintain a perimeter outside of the compound. If anyone escapes, they’ll be dispatched immediately.”

“Collin, that’s exactly what I was thinking,” Simon agreed. “Now, let’s talk about Queen Bitch. She is a mind controller with some nasty psionic blasts. She’s likely to be the last one we encounter. Julian, I think you and I will handle her personally. Do you think we need any support?”

“Well, the two hybrids will likely be together. Are we allowed to bring the reservists into combat at our discretion?”

“Adriana told me she wasn’t going to stand around and let us take all the glory. Cristobel probably feels the same way. Adriana asked if the reservists were required to be on standby. Oracle said that it was only a suggestion.”

“I would like Calista in there as well as either Adriana or Cristobel,” I replied. “Those hybrids are extremely dangerous.”

“I agree whole-heartedly. Water attacks will quell the pyrokinetic. Then you can rip out her heart with telekinesis. I want Cristobel with us for the battle against the hybrids as well. Adriana will fill in if one of us is injured in the fight. You can use your telepathy to tell her if we need her.”

“We also need a healer. Are any of the soldiers healers?”

“Calista and Gabby’s brother Alex is a healer.” Simon pressed his comlink.

“Natalia, have you and Nikita talked to the general yet?”

“I stepped away, but Nikita is talking to him now,” she replied.

“Ask him to include Alex Donavon. We need a healer.”

“Simon, we’d already decided to do so. We’re one step ahead of you.”

“If you have any trouble, contact the council.”

“We already thought of that too. Besides, my brother is on the council. It won’t be a problem.”

“Thank you, Natalia. Oh, Natalia, we want Dennis and Julian to have weapons. They’re going into the security room. We also need three of your soldiers. We would like the other two and the hand-to-hand soldiers to create a perimeter outside.”

“Great minds think alike, Simon. We’re a well-oiled machine. I want Julian to wield a long staff. And Simon, Natalia and I want to be close by when you take on the hybrids. Alex can be with us as well. We want them to be the last two. Everyone else can take care of the donor clones in the domed area behind the compound.”

“Don’t forget the NVGs, Natalia.”

“I won’t, Simon.” Simon turned off his comlink.

“What did she mean by donors?”

“Julian, this particular rogue group has male vampires. I know most vampires are on our side, but those two hybrids sired some men as their pets. Therefore, they need to feed them. They have an illegal cloning operation.”

“So, does that mean we’re capturing the clones for our own vampires?”

“That’s quite perceptive of you, Julian,” Simon said with a smile. “You don’t have a problem with the idea, do you?”

“As long as the vampires don’t feel about normal humans, I can accept it. I figured that’s why we sometimes capture EAS clones.”

“That’s precisely why we capture them.”

“Then again, that’s difficult when you’re around. You kill them all.” We all laughed at Simon’s humor.

“Do we have anything else to cover?” I asked.

“No, I think we have it all covered. When Natalia and Nikita are ready, we’ll go to the larger conference room on the lowest level. Adriana and Cristobel will be late. They’re going to talk to Cassidy, Max, and the other remaining members of Alpha Team about what they’ll be doing during our assault. I think they want to wait a few days before conducting the second assault. They also want us to contribute to the planning. We’re all going to be a part of the planning, even when we’re not a part of the assault.”

“Why haven’t we consulted Adriana and Cristobel for this one?” I asked.

“Their computers are uploading the contents of this meeting as we go along. They will tell us at the meeting if she thinks we should make any changes. Tomorrow morning we will start the initial planning for the second and third assaults. We haven’t decided which group to eliminate first. The army will be taking out some of the compounds as well. We’ll be meeting with them as consultants for those assaults. Additionally, the army may want one or two of the Protectors for those missions as well. That’s why we’re going to have at least three to five days between assaults. Julian, you and Cristobel are likely candidates. You will probably not be in a leadership capacity for those missions.”

Natalia walked into the conference room. “We’re ready for the meeting. We’ve selected all of the army personnel for the assault.”

“Collin, find the rest of our team. I’ll upload the information to the storage device,” Simon ordered. “Julian, let Adriana know that this conference room will be ready. We’ll all meet at the elevator in ten.”

I had no idea where to find Adriana. I used telepathy to search for her. She was actually in the bedroom I shared with Cristobel. They were making out on the bed. I walked up to the door where I received a retinal scan. The door opened and just as I suspected they were on the bed. “What the fuck do you two think you’re doing? We’re preparing for the assault. The conference room here will be available soon.” I walked away not saying a word. I walked towards the elevator. Calista walked up beside me.

“You look like you’re pissed off,” she observed. “What happened?”

“I don’t want to talk about it. Hey, would you like to spend some time together tonight after the assault?”

“Does that mean you want to have me for the night?” she asked.

“I think that can be arranged,” I replied before giving her a gentle kiss on the lips. “You wanted me, now you can have me.”

“Your new power has changed you. I like the change. Are we going to use my room or yours?” she asked.

“I think mine will do nicely,” I replied.

“Will Cristobel be there?”

“Let’s just say he’s in the doghouse. He won’t be needing our room tonight.”

“So does that mean you’re using me?”

“No, I’ve been thinking that we need some bonding time. Getting back at him for the display with him and Adriana in our room is just icing on the cake.”

“You wanted to push everyone else aside for today, didn’t you?”

“More or less, but plans change.”

“I think I’d like to join the two of you tonight,” Simon interrupted. “I’ve kind of been listening to your conversation. I think they’re taking this a little too far. I wanted Adriana to myself tonight as well. I’ll make sure Cristobel knows to stay out of your room tonight. It’s safe to say the engagement is off. I think that’s what they wanted anyway. I just can’t figure out how they got what they wanted.”

“Well, I have my suspicion that it was Lady Valentine. She’s actually here.” I could sense her presence. I wasn’t sure why she was there, but I suspected part of the plan was driving a wedge between Adriana and Simon.

“You can sense her?” Calista asked.

“Yes, I can. It’s a mix between the attraction power and my telepathic abilities. I knew that Adriana and Cristobel were in the bedroom as soon as I left the conference room.”

“What are you three gossiping about,” Collin asked.

“Mind your own business, Collin,” I snapped. I walked into the elevator. “Let’s go.” When we reached the bottom floor, the elevator door opened. I walked out and noticed Natalia standing across the hallway. “The rest of you should go the conference room. I need to talk to Natalia.”

I walked down the hall with Natalia. “What do you need, hon?” she asked.

“I need your influence, Natalia. Lady Valentine is here stirring up trouble. I assume your brother is behind it. Can you put a stop to it?”

“Yes, I can. I’ve told him that I don’t like her. I saw her in the large bedroom making out with Collin and Steven earlier. What is she doing?”

“She’s pushing Adriana towards Cristobel a little more than necessary. I think the council wants to break Adriana and Simon up. I think they want a rift between Cristobel and me as well.”

“I’ll put a stop to it. My brother doesn’t like getting on my bad side. Last time I nearly ripped him limb from limb. Adriana is my niece as well. I’m the only real mother figure she’s ever had. Alfonso and his wife have been too busy to pay her much attention over the years. That’s why I decided to come with her to Centropolis. We should get to the conference room.”

When we arrived in the much larger conference room, Simon was seated at the left end of the table. I took a seat close to him. Nikita was on the other end of the long table. Natalia sat as close to her as she could. Ten soldiers were on the other side of the table. Dennis actually moved when I sat down close to Simon. He was to my immediate right. Calista sat on the other side of him. Collin occupied the seat to her right.

“All right,” Simon started. “Tonight we’re conducting an assault on a rogue compound 10 miles west of Centropolis. They call themselves The Bitch Club. Two powerful hybrids called Queen Bitch and Firecracker lead the gang. They’ll likely let the rest of the women and the male vampires take us on before they make their last stand. Julian, aka Heartbreaker is 2nd in command for this operation. He will be teleporting a group, including 3 of the weapon soldiers and Rabid Strike.”

Nikita interrupted, “Simon, some of these soldiers may be unfamiliar with our codenames.”

“Okay, I’ll tell them,” Simon replied. “Raise your hands as I mention your names. My codename is Infierno. Once again, Julian is Heartbreaker. Dennis is Rapid Strike. Calista is Hydrafreeze. Collin is Venomite. Adriana will be here shortly. Her codename is Haze. Cristobel will be with her. His codename is Nightmare. Nikita is Rouge. Natalia is Diabla. Natalia, I need to know who will be joining Heartbreaker and Rapid Strike in the security room.”

“I’m sending Sergeant Alex Donavon, Private 1st Class Daniel Murphy, and Private 1st Class Marina Cordova,” Nikita replied, turning her head towards the three. “The three of you will answer to Heartbreaker while you’re in the security room. Once you reach the main floor, you will help continue alongside them, until I signal you to join the rest of us on the outside perimeter. We want to kill anyone who escapes. Everyone, including the Protectors will have UV ray guns. There will be no exceptions. There are vampires. The UV guns will not be very effective against the hybrids.” Adriana and Cristobel entered the room and took seats to the left of Natalia.

Simon started speaking again. “Once the evoloids and vampires are eliminated, we’ll concurrently take out the two hybrids and preparing the clones in the dome behind the compound for transport. Hydrafreeze, Heartbreaker, Nightmare, and I will be taking on the hybrids while Diabla, Haze, Rouge, and Sergeant Donavon stand at the door in case we need back up. The rest of you will be attending to the clones. We’re taking the Caporila for this mission. We need a large assault vehicle capable of driving on rough terrain as well as flight. The Caporila also has a cloaking device. We leave in 15 minutes.”

I donned my special suit, complete with a facemask (with a broken heart on the back.) The rest of my suit was black. It was brand new. Natalia conjured it for me as a present. About 10 minutes later, we boarded the Caporila, which was already stocked with necessary equipment. Captain Stenson was the pilot, and Adriana was his co-pilot. They fired up the vehicle, which was actually not as loud as I expected. The bay doors opened, and the Caporila slowly exited the hangar. We launched at full speed on the underground highway. Natalia activated a portal and the vehicle drove through it. As soon as we cleared the portal, Captain Stenson started the ascent. Two minutes later, the craft landed, and we disembarked. I saw a tall force field wall ahead. We took positions at a convenient mound about 30 feet from the wall. My team members were behind me.

Simon whispered into my ear. “Close your eyes. Use your mind to find the security room.” I did as he instructed. My mind’s eye took me over the fence and into the sub level at the bottom of the compound. A corridor led straight ahead. My mind took me through the last door on the right. I saw seven guards. Two of them were at a desk, monitoring the security system while the rest were standing guard at various positions around the room. Knowing where to go, I opened my eyes.

“I want all of you to touch my back. I’ll teleport us into the room. Be ready for action as soon as we’re there. DO NOT close your eyes while we teleport.” I felt four hands on my back so I teleported us into the security room. Rabid Strike immediately launched into fast mode and gave the two guards at the desk a couple of super fast kicks, launching them into the wall behind them. I electrified my staff and continued the assault on the two guards as the others focused on the other guards throughout the room. I knocked the first vampire in the head, then followed up with a hard jab into his heart. The electricity filled his heart, causing it to explode in his chest. The other guard jumped into the air and prepared to kick me, but I raised my left hand to the air and repelled him with telekinesis. I grabbed the UV ray gun and fried his ass. I turned my attention to the other guards, but they were already dispatched. “Good work, soldiers!” I said. I turned my attention to the desk, noticing that it housed the security system. I put away my staff, and fired laser beams at the desk, destroying it on contact. I pressed my comlink and said, “Is the force field down, Infierno?”

“Yes, it is. Good work.”

“There may be more on this sub-level. Let’s take them out.” I punched the sliding door into oblivion. Rapid Strike exited the room in super fast mode. He took several guards out in the hallway. Another guard opened the door across the hallway. I sent her a heavy dose of lightning for her trouble. Her head exploded right off of her shoulders. I sensed more evoloids in the room, so I used my mind control to cause them to fight amongst themselves. Alex used his powers to wound them all one by one. I saw one of the women grab her chest. Another lost a leg. The final three lost their arms. I decided to play angel of mercy. I empowered my staff with laser energy and sliced them all into tiny pieces. They were all electrokinetic clones. I absorbed all of their orbs for a serious upgrade. I went back into the hallway, noticing that all of the rogues had been dispatched.

The others were waiting by the stairs. I flew by them and up the stairs. Then, I punched through the door. There were dozens of vampires and evoloid clones in this massive room. The rest of the Protectors were engaged in battle. I empowered my staff with a mixture of electricity and laser energy, destroying as many targets as I possibly could. All was well until an evoloid with a powerful sonic scream knocked me into a wall. My head was pounding. I noticed her screaming at Adriana, knocking her into another wall. I used the screamer’s distraction to invade her mind. She fell to her knees. I flew over to the position and ripped off her head, absorbing her orb. I used my new power to knock five vampires into the edge of a staircase. I took out my UV ray gun and shot them all. The room was completely clear.

The next thing I knew, the two hybrid bitches stood in front of me with about five vampires behind them. Queen Bitch shot me with a psionic blast, catapulting me into Dennis and Simon. “Change of plans. We’re all taking them on,” Adriana said. Nikita, Natalia, and the remaining soldiers stormed into the room in record time. I stood up. One of male vampires lunged over to me in an attempt to feed. I stopped him with telekinesis, ripping out his heart with the same power. I sent his body into Queen Bitch. I used my new supersonic scream to send Firecracker and the remaining vampires into the wall behind them. Queen bitch was still on the floor, but she quickly threw the vampire corpse to the side and got back up. Nikita shot her with a green orb. The attack didn’t have much effect as Queen Bitch shot her with a psionic blast, sending her into the wall. Dennis launched into action, with a series of rapid punches and kicks, but she simply knocked him back with her vampire strength.

Firecracker was back, and she attempted shooting me with a fireball. I quickly rolled out of the way. Calista quenched her with a large ball of water. I took advantage and used telekinesis to rip out her heart, as planned. After absorbing the orb, Simon and I both blasted Queen Bitch with a series of fireballs as Collin spit acid at her. I used my supersonic scream to knock her into the staircase behind her. Cristobel shot her with a nightmare ball immediately after. I flew over to her lifeless body. I inflamed her body with her old partner’s powers. In a mirror of her said partner’s fate, I used telekinesis to remove her heart. I collected my prize and felt the extent of her powers. I felt more powerful than ever. “May you rot in hell you crazy bitch. I’ll see you there in 480 years or so. Sergeant, I think some of us need healing. I certainly do. Everyone who needs healing stays in here. The rest of you go to the dome behind the compound.”

“I think Nikita needs help first,” Alex replied. I turned and noticed that the psionic blast had sent her into a sharp object that barely missed her heart. She was unconscious. Apparently, even hybrids can be severely injured.

“Okay, Sergeant. Once she’s healed, she’ll need to feed,” Natalia said flatly. “You can’t heal the lost blood.” Alex began the process of healing the beautiful redhead. About a minute later, she opened her eyes. Natalia picked up her lover and headed to the door.

Alex turned to Adriana as she had a broken arm and a broken leg. Cristobel walked up behind me. “You’ve lost some blood, Julian. I’m sorry about earlier.”

“I don’t want to talk about it right now,” I snapped. After Alex finished healing Adriana, Simon wrapped his arms around her, hugging her tightly.

“Simon, I’m sorry. I don’t know what came over me. Wait until I get my hands on Julia. I’m going to kill that fucking bitch.”

“You’ll have to wait in line,” I retorted. “May I work her over? I’m immune to her powers. I think Natalia can smooth things over with the council.”

“Be my guest, Julian. She is going to pay dearly for this and so are my parents. We might just take the fuck over. I have an absorber and a dream maker on my side. They don’t stand a chance!”

“Honey, relax. They’ll get the message when Natalia sends Lady Valentine’s lifeless corpse through a portal into their bedroom.” Simon certainly had murderous intentions.

“No, we’re not going to kill her,” I said. “She’ll need a healer desperately, though.”

Once we returned home, all of the protectors, including myself, marched towards the elevator. Once aboard, Adriana spoke. “I bet they’ll be making out in the living quarters. Julian, you seem angry enough. Send everyone to the bedrooms. I know you’ll enjoy torturing Julia. I don’t care if my parents ordered this, she’s going to pay. Carculius should have stopped it. We’ll deal with all of them tomorrow. Our conference for future assaults is on hold indefinitely.” We reached our living quarters. Adriana was correct.

“All of you go to your bedrooms RIGHT NOW!” I yelled. “Julia, we’re going to have a little talk.” The rest of the crew darted out of the room quickly. Since she didn’t have my capacity for mind attacks, I took full advantage. She screamed out in pain. I gave her a psionic blast, launching her into the wall on the left side of the room. I hit her several with my staff until she was left in a bloody mess.

Natalia joined me. She picked her up by the throat. “You tell my brother I’ll see him in the morning, bitch.” With her free hand, she opened a portal and threw Lady Valentine through it.

“Simon and I will deal with the others,” Adriana said. “The rest of you can hit the showers.”

Calista walked over to me. “I think Cristobel feels really guilty for what happened. We can have fun some other night. You two need to reconcile. He loves you, Julian. I have a feeling he’ll do plenty of groveling.”

“I’ll give it a try. He’s not completely innocent, you know. He is mostly immune from the influence. Lady Valentine had no right to do what she did, but he knew what I wanted. I wanted him to be all mine tonight.”

“I think the council will back off after they see what you did to Lady Valentine. They know what absorbers can do. They won’t kick you off the team. You’re too valuable. They can’t defeat the Dark Knights without you or Cristobel.” I gave her a hug and thanked her for the pep talk.

“Let’s go take a shower. I’ll scrub your back to make Cristobel jealous. We’ll teleport.” I teleported us into the shower area. Collin, Cristobel, Nikita, and Natalia were all showering. I helped Calista out her clothes, and she returned the favor. We walked into a shower stall, and the water turned itself on. I grabbed a washcloth and poured body wash onto it. I reached around her and started scrubbing her perky breasts while I kissed her neck. I continued scrubbing her petite body, focusing on her abdomen. I didn’t stop kissing her neck. I felt a presence behind me. It was Cristobel. I turned my head and looked at him. He wasn’t happy.

“I know what you’re trying to do,” he snapped. “Calista, can you excuse us?” She gave Cristobel the dirtiest look I’d ever seen from her. She walked over to another shower head across the room.

“I was just trying to help her with her shower. Is that a problem?”

“I know I fucked up earlier. You just wanted some revenge. If Simon can forgive Adriana, then why can’t you forget me?”

“That’s easy. Either you used your power or Lady Valentine did. Either way, you knew exactly what was going on, and you knew what I wanted. You knew that I wanted you all to myself tonight, but you had other ideas. As far as I’m concerned, I have nothing more to say to you right now. Just go.” He didn’t leave. Instead he wrapped his arms around me and hugged me. I didn’t resist either. Instinctively, I wrapped my arms around him as well.

“I’m not letting go of you, Julian. You may be mad at me right now, but this is far from over. We’ll work things out. Just let me make it all up to you.”

“Go on back to our room. I’ll be there soon so we can talk,” I replied.

Five minutes later, I dried myself off and wrapped the towel around my waist. I let out a sigh as I walked towards the elevator. When I arrived in the bedroom, Cristobel wasn’t there. Instead, I saw Adriana. “Where’s Cristobel?” I asked. “I told him I’d be in here.”

“Julian, he’s upset right now. He went for a walk.”

“He’s not the only one. I’m still not happy with what I walked in on earlier.”

“It was Lady Valentine’s influence. First, she talked to him. Then, she gave me a little push. I was powerless to stop it.”

“But he didn’t have to listen to her,” I said flatly. “He could have said he would another time. I just wanted him all to myself. If I hadn’t been planning an assault, I would have been in here with him, and Lady Valentine would have been tossed out of here a lot sooner. Instead, you all planned this little rendezvous against my wishes. Now, he’s probably off with someone else.”

“Actually, I know where he’s going. When he’s frustrated, he goes to the arena.”

“What kind of arena is it?” I asked.

“The kind where he can beat the living hell out of somebody,” she replied.

“That sounds like fun. Do we get to kill?”

“No, but there have been some accidents.”

“I want to fight. Maybe, he’ll be my opponent.”

“You don’t mean that.”

“I still want to fight. How do I sign up?”

“I’ll arrange it,” she replied. “Perhaps you can vent some more frustration.”

“It’s going to require some restraint,” I giggled. “I’m used to killing. Do we get money for these fights?”

“You most certainly will,” she said with a sly grin. “Put this on.” She handed me a one-piece outfit. It was like leather, but more flexible. “I’ll turn around. You are my cousin after all.” I discarded the towel and threw it towards the robot. I donned my outfit for the arena. “Are you decent yet?”

“Yes, I am. Should I wear some street clothes over it?”

“That’s a good idea. Don’t forget socks and shoes. It’s perfect, by the way.”

After I finished dressing, Adriana teleported us to the outside of a large underground structure. “Let’s go,” she said. We walked into the arena. I followed Adriana towards a guy standing at a counter with a glass shield in front of it.

“Good evening, Adriana. What can we do for you this evening?”

“I’ve got a new fighter for you, Joe.”

“Well, he looks fit, but some of the fighters would rip him apart.”

“Joe, he’s 6’1. That’s not exactly tiny. Put him up against a vampire. He’ll show you what he’s made of.”

“I don’t know about this, Adriana.”

“Joe, my organization owns this arena. Don’t make me go over your head.”

“Okay, sign here, sir.” I signed my name on the holographic interface. “What name will you be using, Julian?”

“Heartbreaker is just fine,” I said.

“Julian, it’s a good thing I brought your mask. I had Natalia make two of them.” I followed her to our seats. We sat about 30 feet from the cage. I recognized Cristobel’s mask. He was in the ring with a young woman. She had red hair, and she was quite agile. He had her in some kind of hold. She broke free and flipped herself over his back. She punched him in the kidney, sending him into the cage structure. She stood over him. That was a mistake. He hit her with a lightning bolt, sending her flying into the top of the cage. As the cage was not open at the time, she smashed into the ceiling and fell back onto the mat. She struggled for a moment, but produced a white flag and lay it on the mat, forfeiting the match.

A young man walked up to me. “You’re next,” he said. “Come with me.” He led me down a tunnel. “Take off your street clothes, and put these on. We don’t allow street shoes. You can repay Adriana for these boots later.” I followed his directions. He took my street clothes and led me onward. “Stand here,” he said. I stood on the platform, which slowly raised me to the arena floor. I walked up the stairs to the cage and entered.

“Ladies and gentlemen, we would like to present the challenger. He weighs in at 195 at a height of 6’1. He’s Heaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaartbreaaaaaaaker!” Another man entered the cage. He looked to be about 6’5 of pure muscle. He had red eyes. Immediately, I figured out he was a vampire. “And now ladies and gentlemen, we present one of our fiercest competitors. He weighs in at 255 at a height of 6’5. He’s Blooooooooooooooooooooooodluuuuuuuuuuuuuust!” Instead of a bell, they rang a gong to signal the start of the fight.

He wasted no time. He punched me right in the face, sending me to the ground. He backed off and let me stand up. “You’re mine, bitch,” he growled. He attempted another punch, but I blocked it. He was definitely surprised. I produced a psionic blast and sent him crashing into the cage. He struggled to his feet. I could see the anger in his face. He raised his huge foot into the air, and connected with my jaw, sending me into the other side of the cage. I flew into the air and returned the favor kicking him into his side of the cage. I produced a fireball, and threw it at him with great velocity. I could hear him screaming in pain as his body burned. He fell to the mat, which was flame resistant. The referee called for the gong. “Your winner is Heartbreaker,” the ring announcer proclaimed. I folded my arms and stood facing the crowd. Some were cheering; others were booing. The cage opened, and I walked out.

“Get back on the platform. We’ll lower you back down. You probably know your way back. That was quite impressive.” I took my platform to return to the tunnel. An unexpected visitor ran towards me. Cristobel wrapped his arms around me and kissed me.

“What are you doing, Cristobel?” I snapped. “I’m still mad at you.” He looked lost. I never thought I would see the happiness flee from him so quickly.

“What can I do to make it up to you Julian?” he asked. “I’ll do anything.”

“We need some time apart,” I said flatly. “You’re free to do whatever you want. It’s not going to work out between us, Cristobel. We can still be friends.” He said nothing. He walked away from me. I collect my winnings and teleported back to home.

I walked up to my room. I was surprised when Dennis walked through the door. “It looks like I’m bunking with you tonight.”

“That’s cool,” I said unconvincingly.

“What’s the matter,” he asked. “You look like you’ve lost your best friend. What can I do to help?”

“Dennis, I need a friend.” That was all I could say. Apparently, Dennis didn’t quite understand my meaning. He wrapped his arms around me and started kissing me. I pushed him way. “Dennis, stop. That’s the last thing I want to do right now. I don’t mean that kind of friend.”

“I’m sorry, Julian.” I could sense the sincerity in Dennis’s voice. “I’m a little horny. That’s all.”

I smiled at him. I knew he meant no harm by his actions. I just wasn’t in the mood for sex at the moment. We decided to put on our pajamas and climb into bed. He lay on his side, and I wrapped my arms around him. “I just need someone to hold onto, Dennis. Is that okay?”

“Of course it’s okay,” he replied. “I hope you’ll do the same for me, when I’m sad. That’s what friends are for.” We said nothing more to one another. Instead, we went to sleep. After the day’s action, I just needed to be close to someone. I realized at that moment that Dennis was a good friend and that he will always be there for me.

********************

Cristobel’s Diary January 8, 3007

I have made the biggest mistake of my life. The man I love no longer wants anything to do with me. I have thrown away the love of my life. What am I supposed to do? He hates me now. Julian was the one person who understood me. I am nothing without him. I might as well be dead.