Page 33 of Seductive Architect
Yes, I should be focused on the battle raging below on the bridge. Solaris was one of those angry villains who would do anything to get attention. She wanted to cause mayhem because she felt the world deserved to burn. No punintended. Kiki would want me to cultivate my non-work relationships.
I could multitask.
Orion: The slime or the arcade?
As I spoke, the suit translated my words into a text and sent it along. With that out of the way, I suppose I should take a moment and beat the snot out of the bad guy. Tiny missiles popped off the jetpack, flying toward Solaris. Her skin had turned the color of molten lava, and even her hair danced like it was made of fire.
She threw up her hands, flashing a bright orange. The missiles detonated before they reached her, just as I hoped. The green gas spread along the bridge, providing cover as I dropped from the sky. I skipped the superhero landing and sprinted toward the villainess.
Hudson: Maybe a little of both?
I slid under a spray of fire from Solaris. Metal scraped on concrete as I narrowly dodged a stream of gooey magma. When I came to a stop, I held up both palms, firing repulsors.They broke through her last-minute shield of lava, sending her rolling along the asphalt. I shot up, hoping she would stay down. I could hope, but they never made it that easy.
Orion: Video games in bed? I could live with that.
Not only could I live with that, but I had also described my perfect date. It’d be worth pulling my NovaStation out of the drawer if it meant spending a lazy day in bed with Hudson.
Drew appeared at my side, fists clenched as if he were ready to box with our villain. “Are you sexting while we work?”
“Are video games similar to Netflix and chill?” asked Wyatt.
I turned to see Drew tapping his ear. Dammit. I thought I had configured my suit to cut out comms while I responded to my texts. I’d never hear the end of this. It was bad enough that they knew I had a man in my life, but flirting while fighting a bad guy? When Janet found out?—
Hudson: You just want me naked. Again.
“Oh!” Drew said. “Again?”
Solaris had permission to kill me. Burn me alive. Anything to get away from my team’s curiosity.
“Does this mean Earth friend has been nasty?”
“Done the nasty. You’re getting better.” Drew crossed his arms, turning to me. Today, he had turned his suit red and blue, going with the popular trend amongst heroes. “Well?”
“Look!” Solaris had layered a minivan in lava. The roof had all but dissolved while the children inside screamed. “Guess we have to get back to work.”
“This isn’t over,” Drew said. Normally, the kindest guy on the team, his sessions with Kiki had made him assertive. “Mr. Supreme, will you save the day?”
The smoke had nearly cleared, and we had yet to defeat the bad guy. If we were being clocked, we wouldn’t be faring well amongst the superhero community. A leaderboard? I filed that thought away for a future update of the HeroApp™.
“Drew, I need cover.”
The mechanics of the suit whirred as I charged forward. I didn’t need a reflection to know he altered the colors of my suit, matching my surroundings, so I all but vanished. My jetpack fired, launching me forward. With an uppercut, I smashed into Solaris, sending her flipping backward.
As fast as she smashed into a bus, her powers flared. Fire abilities weren’t all that unique. Every third or fourthvillain we faced had some sort of ability to control fire. After the last one burned down a factory, I came prepared.
A missile popped into the air before locking on the heat signature. It struck her in the middle of the chest. “Really? That’s all you’ve got? Toy rockets?”
“Damn. Have some patience.”
The center of her torso dimmed, the molten fire smothered under fire suppressant. Imighthave liberated the technology from Synergy and added a few minor tweaks with Connie’s help. It continued spreading along her skin, and no matter how hard she swatted, there was no stopping it. A second later, she turned into a statue, encased in her own cooled magma.
“That’s how it’s done,” Drew shouted.
I cut the communications.
Orion: How about tonight?
Wyatt fell from the sky, hovering a few inches above the street. I couldn’t figure out how, but even without wind, his cape fluttered as if there were a gentle breeze.
