Page 81 of Breathless Recruiter

Zaster had made a grave error.

I moved until I was resting on all fours. I didn’t have my powers, but I was anything but powerless. If he thought I’d sit on the sidelines while he hurt my boyfriend, he had another thing coming.

“Zaster!” I roared while climbing to my feet. I leaned forward in a charge. He turned, leveling the gun with my head. I pushed his hand upward as his finger squeezed the trigger. BANG. Before he could respond, I smashed my forehead against his nose.

Zaster staggered back. He wasted no time smashing the butt of the gun against my temple. For a second, the room went dark, and I hissed at the pain. I glanced at my hands to see blood. It was the first time I had seen my blood. I didn’t realize how fragile humans were as a species.

He tried aiming the gun again, and I grabbed his wrist. Spinning about, I dragged him over my shoulder, flipping him so his back slammed against the tile.

“You shouldn’t have fucked with my boyfriend.” Somewhere, Janet cheered at my swearing.

I kicked away the power-stealing weapon hard enough it flew through shelves near Dustin. While equipment fell to the floor, Zaster tried again with the smaller gun. Stepping on his wrist, I used my bodyweight to pin him. Zaster let go. “I surrender,” he begged. “You’ve won.”

Victory. I had not only saved my boyfriend, but I stopped a madman from unleashing havoc on the city. I couldn’t wait to sit at the break room table and share my adventure. They’d pat me on the back, and maybe, if I were lucky, we’d have cake.

I kicked the other gun, launching it across the lab. Unarmed, I moved back, letting Zaster roll onto his belly. “You ape, you have no idea what you’ve done.”

“You can explain it on the way to the police station.”

For a moment, he didn’t make a sound. It started barely a whisper. His body heaved as the laughter grew louder. Zaster had moved from evil to mad scientist. He had lost and yet?—

“Imbecile.” He shot upright on his knees, reaching into his jacket. When he pulled out a regular handgun, I stumbled backward. At this range, there was no way he’d miss. I had been willing to die to save Dustin, but dying before he got away meant failure. I only wished?—

BANG.

I threw up my arms, preparing for the inevitable rush of pain. I clenched my eyes shut. The bullet struck just below my left eye, forcing my head to spin to the side. Instinctively, I reached for the wound, hoping to slow the blood. If I died on top of Zaster, maybe Dustin would?—

“Wait.” I poked at my cheek. Nothing. No hole. It had hardly hurt.

“What the hell?”

I turned to see Dustin holding the power-stealing gun, or at least what remained of it. The red glow had faded, and now it was nothing more than tomorrow’s garbage.

“How did you get free?” asked Zaster.

I had the same question until I saw the furry hell beast sitting on his shoulder. I glanced at the bench to see the cage had smashed free when I threw the gun. “Sampson?”

“Told you he’s a smart mouse.” Dustin gave him a rub between the ears.

“Seriously!” Zaster cried. “A lab rat?”

He pulled the trigger two more times. Bullets bounced off my chest. With my powers returned, they tickled. “I was so close,” he whined. “It’s not fair.”

“Do you want the pleasure?” I asked Dustin.

“Nah. This is your save.”

“Thanks.”

Zaster was running. I picked up the robotic arm, giving it a toss in the air for good measure. “Strength is back.” I spun about, whipping the arm across the lab, smashing half a dozen glass walls before it smacked Zaster in the back. He was only a few feet from the exit. Close, but not close enough.

“No more heroics without me,” I said.

I gave him a kiss, and Sampson jumped from his shoulder to mine. I tensed for a moment before he nuzzled against my neck.“You made a friend,” he said with a grin. “You know we’ll have to take him home after this.”

I’m not sure how I felt about sharing my cheese with the rodent. We walked through the lab, broken glass crunching underfoot. When we reached Zaster, he was pinned beneath the arm, flailing, trying to get up.

“What now?” asked Dustin.

---