ONE
“Just a simple stake out, you said! Oh, this should be wrapped up in five minutes, you said! Why did you have to jinx it?!” Shockwave glared at his teammates. All around them, a swarm of robots continued to pour from every nook and cranny of the warehouse, where what was supposed to be a simple drug sale bust had evolved into a superhero versus robot cluster fuck. And not the fun kind.
Max Out rolled his eyes as he socked another robot hard enough to knock the five behind it aside like bowling pins. “Says the guy who jumped the gun and decided he couldn’t wait two more minutes for everyone to get into position.” With a burst of super speed, he dismantled a dozen more.
“How was I supposed to know this place was a storage facility for the Robot Master’s old clunkers?” Shockwave held out his hands and fired a wide beam of pure force to plow through another wave of robots. The humanoid machines struggled to get back up, apparently heedless of the fact that half their bodies were currently bent out of shape, and a few were missing limbs. Like zombies, they continued to march toward the superheroes in their midst with no care to their own safety; their broken and worn-down parts protested this activity with loud, metallic shrieks and sparks, but the robots heedlessly advanced forward.
“This is getting us no where,” said Growl, his weretiger form looming over his teammates as he hurled two more robots into the oncoming horde. The three men backed up forming a circle as the robots made an ever-tightening ring around them.
“Agreed,” said Max Out. He scanned the horde to see where the thinnest part appeared to be. Then he shifted his internal energies to “max out” his durability. “Growl! Pick me up and start charging that way! Shockwave, follow in our wake and keep the path from closing up!”
Growl complied, and picked up Max Out, using his body as a battering ram to smash through the robots. Shockwave was right behind him, using his force blasts to keep the robots from reaching and grabbing them as they passed. Within a few moments, the trio had made it to the edge of the horde, and continued straight ahead, smashing through the warehouse wall and into the dark streets.
Outside, several large shipping containers were stacked up in the lot. Max-Out realigned his energies to grant himself moderate super strength, picked up several of the containers, and slammed them against the hole in the wall. The clanking of metal fists sounded against the metal wall, but the makeshift blockade held.
As Shockwave and Growl caught their breaths, Max Out said, “I’m going to try to catch up to the truck. You two make sure none of those things get out.” With that, he took off at sonic speeds to race after their escaped quarry.
He got three blocks before he saw the truck already stopped, the driver and movers sprawled out on the street. As he came up to the vehicle, still idling where it stood, a lithe young woman stepped out from the front of it. “Tsk-tsk, boys,” Zero-G said. “How’d you let a bunch of mooks like these get away?”
“Shockwave jumped the gun and decided he would try to take the dealers and their buyers right off. He ended up knocking over a crate on the far wall with his first shot. Turned out that whole warehouse was a storage facility for some of the Robot Master’s outdated robot soldiers, and Shockwave’s stray shot triggered some kind of activation protocol.”
Zero-G looked down the street, an eyebrow raised. She caught glints of metal in the moonlight as a few of the robots came around the sides of the warehouse down the street to try and attack their quarry. Shockwave and Growl were currently smashing them apart easily enough, until the whole swarm had the bright idea to circle around and come out several of the other exits. Soon, the two were swamped again. Max Out and Zero-G were about to run over to help, when suddenly, lightning bolts lashed out from above, striking the robots and creating a domino effect of electrocution; electrical arcs leaped from robot to robot, frying them all in one fell swoop.
“Friggin’ show off,” muttered Max as Dynamo floated down to the ground, making a show of dusting his hands off.
“There, there,” said Zero-G, patting Max on the shoulder. “Now, I’ll tie up these guys, how about you see what they were hauling? Might give us a clue as to their source.” She set about using zip ties to bind the unconscious men’s hands behind their backs and using her gravity power to shift them over to the sidewalk.
Max leaped up onto the truck bed, where two pallets worth of metal cases were strapped down. He was joined by Dynamo, who landed on the truck bed next to him. “Real mess you guys made, huh?” said the electrokinetic with a cocky smirk, jerking a thumb back towards the warehouse. Max Out just glowered at him.
“Jesus, I said I was sorry,” grumbled Shockwave as he and Growl joined the group.
“Well, at least that’s one more stash of loose tech we don’t have to worry about,” said Max. “Now, let’s see what this stash consists of.” He fiddled with the combination lock on one of the cases for a moment, then sighed and simply ripped the top off. He and Dynamo’s eyes both widened at what they saw. Dynamo held out a hand and ran an arc of electricity between his fingers to better illuminate the contents of the case and make sure they were seeing what they thought they were seeing.
“So, what is it?” said Growl, returning to his smaller near-human form, which still stood an impressive seven feet tall. “Coke? Meth? That new super steroid stuff?”
Max picked up a small silvery egg shaped device, bagged with a small remote. He glanced at the others. Then he pressed a button on the remote, and the silvery egg started vibrating in the bag.
“What the hell?” said Shockwave, looking confused.
“Is that what I think it is?” said Zero-G, cocking an eyebrow again.
Max turned the device off and sifted through the case. He pulled out a couple other vibrating devices that were a lot less vague as to their purpose.
“Oh, gross!” said Shockwave, looking away as Max tossed a sizable dildo towards Zero-G.
“Holy crap, really?” she said, catching the dildo one-handed and looking the thing over. It was a simple, flesh colored dildo, perfectly shaped like a thick, veiny penis. A shifting lever on the bottom set it to vibrate at various speeds. “Ha! Really?” She tossed the dildo back to Max, who set it back in the case. Setting the case aside, he ripped the top off of another one. This time, he came up with a handful of various sized rings, some of which were connected together by a leather strap to form a harness.
“Wow,” said Dynamo. “I thought this was a drug bust. You’re telling me we stopped a bunch of guys from selling sex toys?”
“Man, what is with these people?” said Shockwave.
“I think the more pertinent question is, why are sex toys being sold black market style like this? I mean, none of this stuff is illegal. Unless it was stolen, but come on.” Dynamo picked up a simple metal cock ring. “A whole set of these are like, what, ten bucks at the shop?”
“Maybe they got the wrong cargo and didn’t realize it?” said Shockwave.
“I kind of doubt the guys running this show wouldn’t actually check the cargo before shipping it off,” said Zero-G. She paused. “Maybe they’re modified?”
“Like how?” said Max. “What kind of modifications to a sex toy could make it illegal?” He started sifting though the case deeper. “Unless there’s something hidden in this stuff and this is just the cover.”
“Well, we should just let the cops deal with, I guess,” said Dynamo. “This is more small time than we thought.”
“Small time? I think I’m insulted.” The five heroes whirled around, looking this way and that. The voice had come from seemingly no where. There was a sudden rush of wind, and a bolt of sickening green light flashed in the middle of the street a dozen feet away. A moment later, a gaunt, pale figure in a ragged cloak, leaning heavily on a crooked staff, glowered at them with glowing red eyes. “Stupid kids. No respect, I tell you.”
Growl growled low, his form shifting back to his full hybrid form, stepping menacingly towards the man. “Voodoo Master,” he snarled. “Didn’t know you were such a dirty old man. Let me guess, the toys are rigged with some kind of spell? People suddenly fall under your thrall after using them?”
“You would be surprised at how vulnerable sex makes people. Heck, even I hadn’t considered it, until I heard about the Epsilon team’s little run in with that nude tart, what was her name… Feel Girl?” He waved dismissively. “Peh. What kind of a name is that for a villain, anyway?”
“This coming from the guy who calls himself Voodoo Master,” said Dynamo, raising a hand towards him, lightning crackling along his fingers.
“My name is perfectly acceptable for what I am! A Master of Voodoo! And you idiots are not going to screw up my plans this time!” He raised one fist and shook it menacingly at the five heroes. A moment later, he was blasted with a bolt of lightning that knocked him clean onto his ass.
“You know, you could have totally avoided this if you just hadn’t shown up and tried to grab some glory for yourself,” said Dynamo. He floated down towards the old man, who was coughing as he struggled back to his feet.
“Careful,” warned Growl. “He’s not the idiot he seems.”
Dynamo rolled his eyes. “Oh, come on, he may be a warlock or whatever, but he’s an old geezer. Just don’t give him time to cast anything, and he’s not a threat.”
Max Out zoomed over to Voodoo Master just as he was about to raise his hands. With a quick swipe, he knocked the staff out of the villain’s hand, and had his arms locked behind his back in a pair of zip-tie cuffs. Another moment later, and Max had ripped a strip of cloth from Voodoo Master’s robe and gagged him with it. “Let’s just get this taken care of,” he said, tapping the small comlink hooked to his ear. “I’ll call in Mist. We’ll need her magic to analyze the toys and properly dispose them.”
Suddenly, the ground began to glow beneath them, lines of red energy forming on the ground into a large magic circle design. “Ha! Stupid fools!” the voice of Voodoo Master called out, despite the man being gagged. “You think I wouldn’t learn from my past mistakes? That isn’t me!” The bound version of the old man suddenly disintegrated into a pile of bones and ash, nothing more than a false body animated from afar. “See you all in hell!”
Max had just enough time to shift his speed and grab his teammates as the circle suddenly opened wide. A powerful wind began to suck the team into the hole, and it was enough that, with his strength reduced, Max’s grip was not strong enough, and his teammates were pulled from his grasp. At the last second, he was able to shift his power to super strength and grab onto the truck for support. With one final lunge, he managed to grab Shockwave and hurl him away from the circle.
However, as he did, the suction of the wind caught up with him, and the truck was dragged in with him. As the cargo of sex toys hit the edge of the circle, there was a massive arc of mystical energy, the magic in the toys reacting to the dimensional shifting magics of the portal. Max, Zero-G, Dynamo, and Growl were sucked inside, along with the truck and its contents. A moment later, the portal shut.
Shockwave, using force blasts to cushion his fall, then propel himself back towards his teammates, watched them get taken away. He whirled as he heard a cackling up high, and saw Voodoo Master laughing maniacally from the roof of the building. Shockwave propelled himself straight at the old man, blasting him straight to the ground. He kept up the pressure, forcing the old man prone onto the roof, increasing the force until it felt like an elephant was stepping on him. Voodoo Master cried out in pain, and gasped, feebly trying to pick himself up, but unable to fight the crushing pressure.
“Bring them back!” Shockwave shouted with a venomous tone.
“F-f-fuck you…” gasped Voodoo Master. Shockwave increased the force, and Voodoo Master let out a ragged scream as he felt his ribs threaten to crack.
“Bring them back,” said Shockwave once more. “Now!”
“No!” hissed Voodoo Master.
Shockwave increased the pressure some more, and there was a sickening crunch as one of Voodoo Master’s ribs did finally snap. “I can do this all night, you maniac,” he said. “Rest assured we will get them back eventually, one way or another, but if you don’t want to die right now, you will bring them back. Immediately.”
Voodoo Master glared at Shockwave, but his eyes beginning to show a tinge of fear. Shockwave increased the pressure, and another of his ribs buckled. “Fine!” he said, after another ragged scream. “Fine just… just let me focus…” He raised his hands and hissed out a spell. Shockwave kept him pinned, but went to the edge of the building and watched as the magic circle flared up again and opened the ground wide. The circle stayed open for about ten seconds, but nothing came through, save a gust of wind blowing outwards.
Shockwave leaped back at Voodoo Master, his face a mask of anger. “Don’t play games with me, old man! Bring them back now!”
“I-I-I tried!” he said. “I don’t know what…” His eyes widened. “The, the cursed toys… their magic must have reacted… with the portal… changed the destination! I… I have no idea where they could have gone!”
Shockwave’s eyes widened in shock, then narrowed once more in anger. He closed his fist and thrust it forward, sending a concentrated blast of force at the old man’s head, driving it hard into the ground. He was knocked out cold. Shockwave watched him carefully nonetheless as he signaled for back-up.
TWO
Zero-G, or “Ziggy” as her friends called her, moaned softly as she slowly roused. She heard a steady beeping sound and she followed that noise to full consciousness. She then realized she could hear someone breathing heavily, a woman to be precise. The way she gasped softly, Ziggy wondered if someone had left a porno on the TV.
The she remembered. The stakeout, the bust, then the attack by Voodoo Master. Her eyes snapped open and she lurched awake. She was in a hospital ward, her bed one of three in a row along the wall, separated by curtains. To her immediate right, she could see the silhouette of a woman slightly slouched on a chair, rocking a bit back and forth. The breathing sounds were coming from her.
Ziggy slid her legs over the side, pulling out a couple IVs, the heart monitor pad, and an air tube connected to her nose. Yanking the curtain back, she saw Growl in human form, laying on another bed. Sitting in a chair next to him, was a young woman in a nurse’s uniform. She had one hand resting on Growl’s chest. Her other hand, however, was between her legs, and Ziggy’s eyes widened as she saw the woman had her skirt hiked up to hips, and was wearing no panties. She glanced up at Growl, and this time noticed the rather sizeable erection bulging his sheets.
“What the fuck are you doing?” yelled Ziggy.
The nurse, who was apparently so into her pleasure she hadn’t noticed the drawing of the curtain, jerked so fiercely, she nearly fell off the chair. Clutching her chest and gasping in surprise, the woman immediately got to her feet. “Holy shit, you scared the hell out of me!” she said. She then took a full look at Ziggy and realized she who she was. She grabbed Ziggy’s with her dry hand, and said, excitedly, “Oh, my god, one of you is finally awake!” She buzzed the pager on Growl’s bed. “Hey, the woman’s up!” She turned back to Ziggy and said, “How do you feel? Does it hurt anywhere? Nauseous?” She motioned to the bed. “Sit back down, we need to check you over.”
“Pull your skirt down and wash your hands, and then we can talk,” said Ziggy, arms crossed.
The woman glanced at her slick fingers and grinned. “Best part of the job, but it does make a mess, doesn’t it?” She left, going over to a sink in the corner of the large room. Another woman came in, this one with an ID labeling her a doctor.
“Hello there, I’m Dr. Delora,” she said. “You’ve met Nurse Megan here.” She motioned to the nurse, who waved back. “How are you feeling?”
“I’m fine,” said Ziggy. She paused. “Little hungry, I guess. Now, if you don’t mind, let me ask you a few questions first: where are we, how are my friends, and why the hell was she masturbating over my friend’s unconscious body?” She pointed an accusing finger at Nurse Megan.
Dr. Delora frowned. “You’re in the town of Sanrio , California
“Like what?” said Ziggy. “And what do you mean, healing magics?”
“Well, you know how the Sex Magic can heal a person during sex, sort of as an automatic protection method to prevent injury during wild sessions? We use that technique to help heal our patients, when we feel it’s needed. As we said, we could not find what was ailing you, so we simply gave you all regular doses of Sex Magic healing. It’s a common enough practice around these parts, but I understand if you’re from a more conservative state—”
“Sex Magic?” said Ziggy, a quizzical look on her face. “What’s that?”
Dr. Delora and Nurse Megan both blinked, shared a glance, and then looked at Ziggy like she was some strange sort of alien. “What do you mean?” said Megan.
Ziggy scratched her head. “I’m not sure how to make the question plainer. What’s Sex Magic?”
Dr. Delora opened her mouth to say something, when there was a scream from the room across the hall. Immediately, the three of them dashed over to the room. The two women blinked in surprise once more, seeing Ziggy spring into action so quickly. They pushed the door open, and Ziggy’s jaw dropped.
There on another bed was Dynamo, completely naked, with a gorgeous redhead nurse straddling him. The scream had come from her, and she had many more coming. Dynamo was thrusting into her deeply, apparently no worse for wear. However, he glanced over and saw Ziggy and the other two staring and jumped, pausing. The woman atop him shuddered violently in orgasm, moaning loudly, and collapsed on top of him.
“Holy fuck…” she gasped. “H-holy fuck…!”
“Andrea! What have we told you about casually screwing the patients?” said Dr. Delora.
The redhead looked up at her, dreamily. “I couldn’t help it, doc,” she said huskily. “And holy crap, I dunno how he did it, but it felt like a had an electric stimulator touching every hot spot in my body!”
“Natural talent, babe!” said Dynamo, giving Ziggy a wink.
Ziggy shook her head and sighed. “Can’t take you anywhere, I swear.”
“Hey, apparently these ladies think a handjob helps heal you,” said Dynamo with a shrug. “I was just seeing if I could get healed faster with something more.”
Nurse Andrea climbed off of him, shaking like a leaf, and sitting heavily on the chair. The sheets, and Dynamo’s lower half, were heavily soaked in her juices. Dr. Delora pinched the bridge of her nose as she closed her eyes. “Andrea… you’re not supposed to touch the patients, you touch yourself when administering the healing. This is the fifth time this month…”
“I’m really sorry, Doctor,” she said, getting her breath back. “I just couldn’t resist! He was just so cute and… well… you should give it a try, Doc! I’d swear he has Magic of his own!”
“Well, it ain’t magic, but—” Dynamo held up two fingers, and caused a series of electrical arc to rise between them in a slow crawl, “—I like to think it’s just as impressive.” His cocky grin faded slightly, however, and Ziggy turned, curious to see what made his face fall. The three women were staring at him in utter shock.
“How… how are you…?” said Dr. Delora. She glanced at Ziggy, then back at Dynamo. “How did you do that?”
“I’m a mutant,” said Dynamo, hopping off the bed and getting to his feet, not the slightest bit embarrassed about being buck naked in front of the women. “Or so I’ve been told.” He shrugged. “Doesn’t really matter I guess.”
“That’s amazing,” said Nurse Megan. “No man has ever manifested such power!” She turned to the doctor. “Should we… should we call the cops?”
“Hey, woah, it’s alright ladies,” said Dynamo, slipping on a robe. “I didn’t mean to cause any problems. Miss… uh… what was your name?”
“Andrea,” said the redhead looking up at him in wonder.
“Yeah, Miss Andrea’s perfectly fine,” said Dynamo. “I have total control over my powers, even when I’m fucking. Ain’t that right, Ziggy?” He flashed her a grin.
Ziggy glowered at him. “We did it one time. One! Get over it!”
“Hey, I’m just trying to give them assurances,” he said, blanching. “Chill out, babe.”
“Hey,” came a voice from the door. The women turned and jumped as they saw Growl looming in the doorway. He had returned to his near-human form, looking rather like a catboy, human, but with his tail, tiger ears, claws and fangs showing, as well as cat-like eyes. “Where are we?”
“Growl, stay in human form,” said Ziggy. “They’re getting freaked out by our powers.”
Growl glanced at the women, who were visibly intimidated by him. He made a small grunt, and shifted down to full human, losing half a foot in height and some muscle bulk in the process. Only his orange and black-striped hair indicated his true nature in that form. “My apologies,” he said, with a respectful bow to the women. “So, may I ask where we are?”
“Hospital in California
Growl cocked a thumb behind him, and Max-Out stepped into the room. “Any one else hungry? I could eat a horse.” He turned to the doctor. “You said California
They looked to the women, who continued to stare at them, now more fascinated than stunned. Dr Delora realized they were waiting for her to answer, and she cleared her throat. “Uh, no, there aren’t any in this town. Look, I don’t know what’s going on here, but I think we need to resolve a few things right now. Who are you?” She pointed to Growl and Dynamo, “How is it you men have these strange abilities?” She pointed at Ziggy. “And how is that you don’t know what Sex Magic is?”
“What the heck is Sex Magic?” said Growl.
“I dunno, but it sounds like my kind of magic,” said Dynamo. He winked at Nurse Andrea, who blushed.
The doctor seemed at a loss for moment, until the pager announced she was needed in another ward. “Damn it. Okay, Megan, Andrea, stick with them. Don’t let them go anywhere until this is sorted out.” She left in a hurry.
“Okay,” said Nurse Megan. “Everyone back to their beds! We should at least give you all a check up.”
“Well, I’m in tip-top shape, thanks to your little T-L-C,” said Dynamo. “But seriously, we can’t stick around. We need to get back to base.”
Max nodded, turning to the Nurse. “Where are our belongings?”
“You can pick them up when you leave, but you can’t leave yet,” said Nurse Andrea, finally getting to her feet. “We need to check you over, and, well, we can’t let this appearance of powers in men go undocumented. So, come on, everyone back to their beds.” She paused and glanced at Dynamo. “Well, I guess you can join them in the other room, since you’re all a group, apparently.”
“Madame, with all due respect, we have our own medical facilities at our base,” said Growl. “We need to get back and make our reports.”
Nurse Megan frowned. “And I say you need to stay put.”
Max sighed. “If this is about the insurance and any co-payments, just hand me my wallet, and we’ll get it settled.”
“That’s not it,” said Megan. “Now, get back to bed. I mean it.”
“Pffft,” said Dynamo, already walking to the door. “Or you’ll what?” Nurse Megan’s face became stern, and Dynamo suddenly doubled over, grasping at his crotch. “Uf! What the hell?” He tried to move forward, but he doubled over again, as if something was holding him back. Particularly as if something was grabbing him by the balls, everyone realized. “Hey, what the hell?”
“Interrupted you before you got a chance to cum with Andrea, huh? Pity for you, but it certainly makes it easier to reign you in.” Megan couldn’t help but look a little smug.
“What the fuck are you doing?!” yelled Dynamo. He winced as whatever had him tightened its grip.
“Why are men so belligerent?” asked Megan. “You’d think in four decades, they’d have learned better.”
“I guess having weird powers makes them cocky?” said Andrea. “Now, come on, all of you, back to your room, let’s not make a scene of this.”
“Let go of me!” said Dynamo, whirling on Megan. Electricity crackled along his fingertips, and he pointed his hand at her. Megan jumped back, jaw dropping, her hands going up in a defensive posture. The grip holding Dynamo by his balls let go, and he stood up straight. “What the fuck was that?”
“What happened?” said Growl. “It looks like something…”
“She was grabbin’ me by the balls!” said Dynamo. “If you were telekinetic, why’d you have to grab me there?”
“Calm down,” said Ziggy. She reached out and touched his arm, ignoring the slight shock. Dynamo scowled, but complied, lowering his arm, and letting the energy dissipate. She turned to Megan. “Well? Did you do that?”
Megan nodded slowly. “It’s… it’s the Sex Magic. I’m sorry, but I was just trying to keep you from leaving.”
“Sex Magic,” repeated Ziggy. “You never told me what that is.”
“How can you not know?” said Andrea. “What, have you been living in a cave the past forty years?”
The four teammates traded glances. Max finally held up a hand, and said, “Alright, let’s compromise. We’ll stick around long enough for you to give us a check up, but in exchange, you’ll bring our belongings to us, and explain what Sex Magic is.” Before the two nurses could protest, he added, “Just humor, please. Pretend that we indeed have been living in a cave.”
Nurse Megan nodded, and she motioned them all to the other room, telling Andrea to fetch their things. Once everyone was settled in, sitting on the beds, Megan sat on one of the chairs. “Okay, well, again, I don’t see how you could not know, unless, I dunno, someone’s playing a trick on you. I guess that could be possible. But basically, Sex Magic allows women to control sexual energies, which are generated by sex and arousal. It lets us do all sorts of things, like we can grab men, and willing women, by their genitals. We can also do things to their bodies and minds. Granted, everything depends on sex to function and the effects mostly revolve around sex, but, for example, we can use the energies to heal the body. The Magic automatically creates this sort of healing aura, and if you’re practiced like me, you can direct that healing energy more specifically.” She motioned to Growl. “That’s why I was masturbating next to him earlier.”
Growl blinked and looked a bit uncomfortable. Nurse Megan smiled. “And, for another example, I can now see all of you thinking about me masturbating.”
“Wow,” said Dynamo. “I dunno if that’s impressive, awesome, or scary.”
“In my experience, most people tend to enjoy it, even if they say they don’t,” said Nurse Megan. “A man’s brain has a very hard time disagreeing with his cock.” She winked at Ziggy. “Am I right?”
“I’d advise you to keep your magic to yourself,” said Ziggy.
Megan frowned. “Well, if you say so, I guess.”
“Do, all the staff here have Sex Magic?” said Max.
“Of course,” said Megan. “Well, all the female staff. Not the men, obviously.”
“Why obviously?” said Max.
“Uh, because, well, all women have Sex Magic?” Megan shook her head. “Seriously, where are you guys from? You didn’t just escape some purist colony cut off from the world have you? I thought none of those existed anymore. Least not in America
“I’m not sure at the moment,” said Max. Nurse Andrea came back with a couple sacks of their clothes, and a few pieces of their equipment, including their comlinks. “Thank you,” said Max, pulling out a comlink first. He stuck it to his ear, tapped it, and said, “This is Max-Out of Team Sigma, calling all Centurion frequencies. Anyone picking up?”
The others donned their comlinks, and waited. There was no response, not even a static. They checked to see that they were functioning properly, and it did appear that way. They tried a few more times as they got dressed, donning their Centurion uniforms, but still nothing.
“Well, that’s disheartening,” said Growl.
“Um, can I ask something?” said Nurse Andrea. “What’s a Centurion?”
The teammates shared another glance. Then, collectively, they all sighed. Dynamo raised his hand. “Calling it right now: alternate universe.”
“You think so?” said Ziggy. “Might be a shared illusion.”
“Voodoo Master’s spell was definitely a portal,” said Growl. “I’m certain he was being literal when he said he’d see us in Hell. But instead of there, we ended up in another reality.”
“I accidentally knocked the truck and those sex toys into the circle,” said Max. “Maybe something in them reacted with the portal.”
“What the hell are you guys talking about?” said Nurse Andrea.
“Ma’am, we need to know, where did those hikers find us?” said Ziggy.
“In the desert, but they didn’t say where, specifically,” said Megan.
“Are there any superheroes on this planet?” said Dynamo.
The two women looked at him like he was crazy. “What, like, you mean like in the comics?” said Andrea.
“I guess not,” said Dynamo. “What about sorcerers? Does your world have portal technology? Are there aliens? Demons? Angels?”
“I think… I think you better call in Dr. Delora,” said Megan to Andrea. “These people are delusional.”
“I’ll call more than that,” said Andrea, heading to the phone.
Dynamo got up and reached out to grab her. Suddenly, he keeled over again as something yanked him by his groin to the ground. “Stay put!” said Andrea, as she and Megan backed up to the door.
“Goddamnit, stop yanking on my balls!” said Dynamo, glaring at them.
“Stay put! All of you!” said Megan, and Max and Growl suddenly found themselves getting yanked down as well. Ziggy braced herself for a similar tug, wondering what she was going to be grabbed by, but nothing happened to her. “You!” Megan pointed. “Don’t go anywhere, either!” They left quickly, calling for the doctor, and for someone to call the police.
THREE
Ziggy turned to the others. “Come on, guys, we need to book it.” The three men tried to stand, but found that they couldn’t. Ziggy noticed with a start that they were also sporting erections. “Come on, guys, now’s not the time to be having perverted thoughts. We need to go!”
“I’m trying!” said Dynamo. “But somethings… damn it, it’s like there’s something rooting me to the floor by my nuts!” He let out a shaky breath. “And I can’t help the hard-on! I just… man, that redhead was a screamer… had such great tits…”
Ziggy walked up and slapped him across the face. “Snap out of it, horn-dog!”
“I don’t think he can help it,” said Max. “I can’t get thoughts of Rain out of my head.” Ziggy blinked. Rain was Max’s lover on the team. “I think it’s the Sex Magic. They’re making us think these thoughts…”
Growl was starting to pant a little as he strained against the grip holding him down by the balls. He had shifted back to near-human form, and his cock tented his pants lewdly. “God, it’s like the more I try and fight it, the tighter it holds.” He strained to pull upwards, but yelped once it became too much. Even shifting forms to enhance his strength and durability didn’t help, it seemed. Growl sagged to the floor. He looked up at Ziggy. “Are you not effected?”
Ziggy shook her head. “No, it doesn’t seem like it,” she said. “Why not? Maybe they think I’m not a threat?”
Max tried to think for a moment, though it was getting harder as flashbacks of every dirty deed he’d done with Rain, and a couple girlfriends prior, threatened to overtake his senses. “They said it effects men and ‘willing women.’ If the magic only works for women, maybe other women are immune unless they want to be effected?”
“Lucky me,” said Ziggy. She heard several rapid footsteps coming for the door, and she stood resolutely between it and her teammates.
Dr. Delora came in, looking a bit frazzled, but composing herself. She held up a hand. “Now, just remain calm, we’re not going to hurt you.”
“Let my teammates go,” said Ziggy.
“I’m afraid I can’t do that, Miss,” said Delora. “The police will be here soon. We can’t release these men until they have appraised the situation. Fortunately, their powers do not protect them from our Sex Magic, so we can keep them from being a danger, but…”
Dynamo raised his arm, charging an electric blast. “Let us go, you fucking bitch!”
Dr. Delora narrowed her eyes at him, and Dynamo suddenly stiffened. He began to shake and let out a ragged gasp, the electricity fizzling out around his arm as he fell back and began to groan. His hips bucked into the air, and he shuddered.
“What are you doing?” said Ziggy. “Stop it!”
“I’ve locked him in a powerful sexual fantasy,” said Delora. “He won’t get out of it until the cops come and decide what to do with him.” She turned and coolly addressed the other men. “Now, don’t give us any trouble, or I’ll do the same to you.” She paused. “Although you’d probably prefer that, wouldn’t you? Shall I put you under as well?”
The two men were already looking rather strained not to just whip their cocks out and start stroking off right there. The arousal was plain on their face, but now that they understood what they were up against, they were able to steel themselves somewhat from the effects. However, the invisible ball grip still had them pinned. “That won’t be necessary,” said Max.
“Good,” said Delora. She turned to Ziggy. “As for you, stay put, and don’t cause any trouble, or we will have to discipline your friends.”
“You’re so caught up in the fact that they have powers,” said Ziggy. She smirked and raised her hand. “I guess it never occurred to you that I had my own?”
“Well, you clearly don’t have Sex Magic yet, young lady,” said Delora.
“Who said anything about Sex Magic?” Ziggy snapped her fingers and suddenly, the doctor and two nurses dropped straight to the ground, as if they had suddenly had a tremendous weight dropped onto them. “My power is over gravity.”
The three women struggled to get to their feet, but they now weighed three times as much as they had previously. Aside from merely being heavier, the strain affected every part of their body, straining muscles and organs, making the flow of blood sluggish. It wasn’t a lethal effect yet, but this was only the beginning of what Ziggy could do. She began to slowly increase the effect. “Now, release them,” she said.
Dr. Delora struggled harder, drawing sexual energy from the men to try and make herself stronger, but Ziggy increased the gravity beyond what she could compensate for. Finally Delora choked out, “Okay, okay!” A few moments, later, Max and Growl were able to get to their feet, and Dynamo stopped writhing, laying gasping on the floor.
Max grabbed Dynamo and handed him to Growl. “Let’s go before they can latch onto us again.” Max looked down through the window to make sure no one was below, then smashed it open with his fists, breaking off the jagged edges. Ziggy jumped out the window, and set up an anti-gravity field to levitate herself and her teammates. They took off, heading for a nearby spread of trees a few blocks away. As they left, she released her hold on the three women, who had passed out on the floor.
Ziggy landed them in the tree tops, on the edge of a small park, and the four of them crouched within the canopy. Growl set Dynamo down to lean against the trunk, holding him in place with one hand.
“You sure that was a smart move?” said Growl. “Now they’re going to be looking for us.”
“Would you rather they be looking for us, or have us already in lockdown?” said Ziggy. “They already thought we were some kind of threat. And we aren’t going to make it home if we let ourselves get taken away and poked and prodded to satisfy these people’s curiosity. Besides, it’s pretty clear you guys can’t fight them.”
“Hey, they caught us off guard,” said Growl. “Now that we know what we’re up against—”
“Sure,” said Ziggy. “Explain that to your cock.” She pointed at Growl’s lower half, and Growl glanced down, noticing he still had a massive hard-on. He blushed slightly and shifted himself so it wasn’t so obvious.
Dynamo suddenly groaned, finally coming too. He blinked several times as he awoke and rubbed his eyes. “Jesus,” he said. “That was… wow…” He looked down at himself, “I’m amazed I didn’t jizz my pants!”
“Must have been one hell of a dream,” said Growl.
“Man, tell me about it,” said Dynamo. “Now I know what’s like to be the dildo in a lesbian threesome video.”
Growl’s lip twitched into a slight smirk. “Okay,” he said. “I admit, that makes me a little jealous.”
“Focus, guys,” said Max, as sirens suddenly picked up in the distance. “Okay, we need to find a better hiding spot. I’ll max out my speed, take a look around. You guys stay put.” He paused. “And try not to think any arousing thoughts. If they can draw power from that, it stands to reason they can detect us.” So saying, Max dropped to the ground, and took off, traveling at speeds no human eye could follow. A few minutes later, he was back, holding a small, flat device. “There’s a run down hotel no longer in use a couple miles away. Looks clear for the moment, we can regroup there. I also picked up this from a computer store.” He raised the device, which was revealed to be a tablet computer.
“Did you pay for that?” said Growl.
“No,” said Max. “If it’s any consolation, it was the cheapest model. We need more information, and right now, I’m not sure we can trust asking anybody in person.” He motioned to them all. “Especially as that we’re dressed up right now.” They all nodded, noting the black and gold, form-hugging outfits that marked them as members of the Centurions’ Sigma Team.
“Alright, everyone brace yourselves,” said Max. The three did, and in a blink, Max had snatched them up. Moments later, all four were inside a dusty, dark motel room, lit up primarily by sunlight escaping through the cracks in the boards that cover the busted out windows. The place smelled of stale urine and old booze.
“Ugh, Christ, really?” said Ziggy, pinching her nose.
“Only place I could find that was private, yet also close to a wi-fi hub,” said Max. He pointed to the window. “Coffee place across the street.” He handed the device to Dynamo. “Here, charge this up.”
Dynamo nodded and touched the tip of his pinky to the plug in for the power cord. After a few moments, he was able to turn it on, even as he kept charging it. After taking a few more moments to set up the device, they finally got access to the internet, and started searching around. What they found was not very encouraging.
True to the nurse’s word, it did indeed appear as though Sex Magic was a global phenomenon on this world, with only women able to use it. Numerous blogs and online encyclopedias went into detail about the powers, how it gave them the ability to control the erotic thoughts and actions of men, manipulating their minds and bodies in a sexual context.
However, aside from the Sex Magic, there seemed to be nothing fantastic or supernatural about the world at all. No superheroes or villains, sorcerers, mad scientists, giant mutant monsters, homicidal robots, etc. All things considered, Sex Magic aside, this world was as mundane as could be.
They all sat back on the creaky old beds. “Well, this sucks,” said Ziggy. “So, what the heck are we supposed to do?”
Max shook his head. “We were able to get here, even if only by accident. So it should be possible to get back. However, if they don’t have any sort of magic other than the Sex Magic, and they don’t have technology advanced enough.” He waved his hand dismissively. “We’re just going to have to wait for the others to bring us back.”
“Hey, Ziggy,” said Growl, looking at the tablet again. “How old are you again?”
“Twenty-four. Why?”
Growl cleared his throat a bit and blushed a little. “Well, it says here that Sex Magic activates in women between the ages of 19 and 23. Any woman older than that is able to get it. So…”
Ziggy shrugged. “I’m not from this universe, though.”
“Well, that’s just it,” said Growl. “No one’s really sure where it came from, but they were able to figure out how it spreads. Apparently, all you have to do is be around other Sex Mages for a few minutes, and you sort of contract the power.” He scrolled down the screen some more. “They did a series of experiments with the last few women to get it, narrowed it down to something like you only had to be within fifty feet of another woman for twenty minutes or so.” He looked up at Ziggy. “We were in that hospital long enough for sure. You feel any different?”
Ziggy paused. She looked at the men thoughtfully, glancing between the three of them. They looked back expectantly. Ziggy shrugged. “Not really,” she said. “I mean, I don’t sense anything like those blogs said I should. If you’re thinking any dirty thoughts, I can’t see them.”
“Well, that’s a relief,” said Dynamo with a laugh. “Otherwise, you’d probably be slapping me right now.”
Ziggy frowned. “Very funny.” She turned to Max. “If we’re going to be stuck here for a while, we need to stay hidden as best as possible. We’ll need new clothes and we should probably leave the city.”
“On the other hand, we might want to stay close to where we appeared,” said Growl. “Some residue of the magic could still be there, keeping a link between our worlds. More than likely, that’s where any of the others may appear if they show up.”
Max nodded. “I’m afraid Growl may be right. Still, new clothes wouldn’t hurt.” He paused. “Guess I’ll have to steal some more. No cash in my wallet, and our credit cards aren’t going to work. Everyone give me your sizes.” Once he had a good idea of what he should look for, he took off like a shot once more, so fast it didn’t even appear as though he’d opened and closed the door.
The other three sat in silence for a bit, Growl still browsing the internet on the tablet, Dynamo looking from the side. Ziggy sat across from them, trying to mull things over. She noticed Dynamo fidgeting, however, and the two men’s erections had returned in full force. “Calm down, guys,” said Ziggy. “You’re going to draw attention to us if any women are walking by.”
“I doubt they’d know it was us, specifically,” said Growl.
“Yeah, they might just think a couple teens broke in here to have sex or something,” said Dynamo. He swallowed as he read something on the screen, and Ziggy saw the bulge in his shorts flex. “Oh, wow,” he said. “These powers sound hot!” He suddenly stood up, and glanced over to the bathroom. He stepped up to it, frowning at its filthy condition, but sighed and said. “Okay, I’ve been fucked twice today, and I still haven’t shot off, so I’m going to take care of that, or I’m never gunna get this stuff out of my head.” He looked to Ziggy. “What do ya say? Wanna help me out?”
“Help yourself out, pervert,” said Ziggy.
FOUR
They waited a few more minutes. Growl was getting antsy himself, and Ziggy was pretty sure he’d be visiting the bathroom after Dynamo. She glanced to the bathroom as the two heard a low moan. Rolling her eyes, she cupped her hand to the side of her mouth. “What’s taking so long in there?” she said. “We don’t have time for you to be romancing yourself.” There was another low moan, and she frowned. She went up to the door and knocked. “Dynamo?”
She knocked again, and the latch came loose, allowing the door to swing open. She jumped when she saw him. He was standing, stiff as a board, stock still with his hands at his sides. His pants were at his ankles and his cock was sticking straight up and out, jerking and dripping pre-cum. His head was swung back, face contorted in pleasure, eyes rolled upwards and mouth agape.
“Shit! Dynamo!” She snapped her fingers in front of him, then slapped him on the cheek. Neither had an effect. She stepped out, and said, “Growl, watch—” she stopped when she saw Growl was now frozen as well, though still in a sitting position. His cock flexed mightily in his pants and his eyes took on a dreamy, far away look. Ziggy ran to the window and peered through the cracks in the boards. There, across the street, were two black vans with no windows. Standing next to the vans were four women, all blonds, dressed in suits and sunglasses, appearing like Secret Service Agents. They stood facing the hotel, hands in pockets or arms crossed. They each had a sidearm holstered at the hip.
“Fuck!” said Ziggy. She turned to grab the men, but jumped when she saw that they were stripping themselves naked. Once fully nude, they marched like puppets towards the door. “Wait!” said Ziggy. “You can’t go out there! Damn it, wake up!” She went silent as Growl’s arm suddenly flew out and back handed her across the room. Ziggy whipped up gravity fields just in time to blunt the blow and lessen her impact on the floor, but was still sent flying. By the time she got to her feet, the two men were outside, marching towards the vans.
One of the women opened the side door of the van and motioned the two entranced men to enter. Another pulled out a bullhorn and spoke into it. “Centurion! Come out with your hands up. Any attempt to use your powers or resist us in any other way, and your men will suffer the consequences.”
Ziggy chewed her lip in thought. She was tempted to smash through the ceiling and start lifting huge chunks of the hotel to try and scare the shit out of them, but she realized she couldn’t do anything fast enough to stop them from using their powers further on her teammates. Still, Max was out there, somewhere. If he would just get back…
The other van’s door slid open, and one of the other women beckoned. Max came out, stark naked, his cock hard as a rock. However, his face was a stony mask of defiance. He was doing his best to fight their control, but even if he could resist their mental assault, he could not stop them from control his body directly.
“Come on out, Zero-G,” he said, in a flat, forced tone. “They got us.”
The woman with the bullhorn said, “We are unsure how your powers work, exactly, but with the men, anyway, it seems their abilities are based on their physiology. Because of this, we can shut off their access to their powers, or at least keep them from using their powers offensively. We have locked them down so that even if you do break them free, they will stay entranced until we release them. Now, come out and surrender.”
Ziggy sighed dejectedly. This was exactly the sort of situation the Centurions had formed for; no matter how screwed you were, there was almost always someone to call for back-up. But in this universe, there was only the four of them. She guessed that she could run for it, try to find some way, any way, to contact home and get reinforcements. But in a world like this, she didn’t have the first clue where to start.
One of the women pulled a gun, and pointed it as Max’s head. “Last chance. We really only need one of you alive for questioning. We can just autopsy the others.”
“Damn it,” said Ziggy. With that, she walked outside, hands in the air.
The woman put away the bullhorn and said, “Thank you.” She produced a set of hand cuffs and put them on Ziggy. “Now, get inside.” She motioned to the van Max had exited. Ziggy climbed in, Max following behind her. He gave her a strained look, but she returned a reassuring smile and a pat on the shoulder. Max closed his eyes and nodded slightly, then seemed to concentrate on keeping his cool. Ziggy couldn’t help but glance at his twitching cock and winced at how hard it was. She couldn’t imagine what they were making him feel at the moment.
The women were silent as they drove for nearly an hour, exiting the town and eventually coming to a fenced in facility in the middle of the desert. From the look, it appeared to be a small military outpost, a single large with a parking lot, next to a hanger and airstrip. Several jeeps and cars, as well as two helicopters and a jet were in view.
The vans came to a stop, and the women led them out. Ziggy was led by the arm, but the men marched behind them in perfect step, synchronized by the magic control their captors had over them. They entered the building and went down several grey hallways, passing by men and women in military uniform. Most ignored the couple, though several of the women glanced at the male teammates, as if curious at what they sensed in them. They reached a series of holding cells, simple three walled rooms with iron bars for the fourth wall. Each of them was set into a separate cell, and left there.
Ziggy tried to talk to the others, but it was no good. Growl, Max Out, and Dynamo were all but comatose, locked in heavily erotic dreams, their prone bodies twitching, able only to gasp and moan as they were lost in the women’s spells. Half an hour later, however, a smartly dressed female officer came by, glancing briefly at the men, before stepping up to Ziggy’s cell.
“Zero-G, I believe they called you,” said the woman. “I am Commander Devray, head of this facility. You have been temporarily sequestered here, until our superiors can decide what to do with you.”
“Should I bother asking what the charge is?”
“Possible public endangerment,” said Devray. We understand you used your powers to attack several medical staff, as well as steal, and break into a condemned facility. However,” she motioned to Max Out, “when the agents caught this one, it was because he slowed down his super speed long enough to save some people from getting injured by an out of control car. Even stopped the car barehanded. Also, from the nurse’s descriptions, once we could get a statement from them, it seemed you were acting out of a sense of self defense. So, I am inclined to believe you do not intend harm.”
“So why are we imprisoned?” said Ziggy.
“As I said, possible public endangerment. Not the least of which would be the sensationalism of a proven case of men gaining powers.”
“Why is that such a threat?”
Devray paused. “The world has already had to adjust to one massive power shift in the last forty years. We’re just finally ironing things out. We don’t need something else stirring the pot.”
“I assure you, our powers aren’t contagious, like yours. Where we come from, hundreds of people have superhuman powers, due to a wide variety of sources.”
Devray pauses. “All the more reason to be cautious, in case more of you appear.” She walked down to another cell, and Ziggy watched her go. She snapped her fingers, and two unformed men appeared, opening his cell. “He seems to be the most pliable. We shall question him first.” The two men gave a “yes, ma’am,” and Ziggy watched them escort Dynamo out of his cell.
Ziggy sat back down on the lower bunk of the cell, and tried to devise some plan of escape. Alas, nothing came to her that wouldn’t just compromise their situation further. For now, it seemed, she would have to pray that these soldiers would be merciful, and that torture was still illegal in this version of the world.
FIVE
Two days had gone by since their capture, and they had been moved to another cell, this one larger, and big enough to accommodate all of them. All three of the men had been taken in for questioning multiple times, and all three looked haggard and exhausted. Although no longer entranced, their cocks remained hard and their testicles quite swollen. It seemed the women were using some form of orgasm denial torture to make them more compliant and easy to keep horny and under control.
By now, the soldiers had all the information they could wring from the men that they found relevant. They knew that they were members of a large superhero team called the Centurions, that they were from some alternate reality resembling a “comic book universe” as they put it, and that they had come here by accident. It was anyone’s guess how much of this they actually believed. While the presence of Sex Magic certainly made the people of this world less skeptical about the supernatural, accepting a universe where aliens, witches, dinosaurs, robots, and all manner of other fantastical creatures was too surreal for most of them to accept.
Despite all this, Devray still had her orders, apparently, to keep them under lock down. She claimed to be trying to straighten things out, but so far, they were still being treated like prisoners. They were at least permitted to use a lounge room under heavy guard, but otherwise, could not leave the facility, and were escorted at all times. Each of the men had at least one woman assigned to them at all times, while Ziggy had at least two soldiers, male or female, ready to pull their guns on her if she acted out.
Now it was the second night, and as they all slept in their bunks, the men restlessly turning about as they tried to ignore the aches between their legs, Ziggy started to notice a ringing in her ears. She tried clenching her jaw, then rubbing her ears, but the sound persisted. She sighed, and said, “Can you guys hear that?”
Dynamo looked up from the bunk beneath her. “Hear what?”
“I dunno, like a… there’s like this ringing… more like a hum…” she glanced around the room. As she tried to focus on the humming, the clearer it became, and she realized she wasn’t actually hearing it with her ears, but rather with her mind, so to speak. There was that same sensation she felt when a psychic was speaking to her with telepathy, a sort of very mild prickling effect across her psyche. It was difficult to put in words, but she could definitely “hear” a humming with her “mind’s ear” as it were, like someone tapping a psychic tuning fork. No, wait, make that three tuning forks. Now that she listened ever more closely, she could hear three distinct hums overlapping each other.
“Ziggy? What is it?” said Max. He’d had his back to her, but as he turned, one of the hums got a little louder, and Ziggy found her eyes drawn to him. Almost instinctively, her eyes were drawn to his crotch, where his hard cock poked up beneath his blanket.
Her eyes widened in shock. “Oh, my god,” she said.
“What, what is it?” said Dynamo more insistently.
“I think I’m getting them!” said Ziggy. “That humming noise is coming from your cocks!”
The men all traded a glance, and looked at her in surprise. Ziggy jumped down off the top bunk and looked back and forth between the three men, who were all looking at her intently. “Holy shit, yeah,” she said. She unerring pointed directly at Dynamo and Growl’s cocks, even as she locked her eyes onto Max’s. “Wow, this is so weird!”
“You’ve got the Sex Magic?!” said Dynamo. He leaped off the bed and grabbed Ziggy by the shoulders. “Then what are you waiting for?! Undo their hold on us, and let’s get the hell out of here!”
“I…” Ziggy tried to think this through, concentrating on the hums, but she realized she had no idea what to do. “I don’t think I can. I mean, I don’t know how! I can sense you guys, but I can’t, like, figure out what I’m sensing.”
Max, who was now sitting up, said, “Take your time. I’m sure you don’t just know everything right off with these abilities.”
Suddenly, the lights came on, and Devray appeared in the doorway with two armed women. “Step out of the cell, Zero-G.”
Dynamo moved to get between them, but Devray waved her hand, and he found himself pushed back by her magic, and pinned against the wall. His cock lurched and he gasped, and the hum tripled in volume almost instantly in Ziggy’s head. She winced. “Stop it!” she said, lifting her hand and pointing it at Devray. The soldiers raised their guns, but a flick of Ziggy’s finger sent the weapons flying to the ceiling, where they stuck like glue. Before she could do anything else, however, Growl dropped down from his bunk, shifted to his half-tiger form, and grabbed Ziggy in a tight bear hug, pinning her arms back. Ziggy felt his cock pulse against her backside, and the hum from him increased as well.
“Sorry, Ziggy,” he said with snarl. “I can’t… fight it…”
Ziggy dropped her arms, and said, “Fine, I surrender.”
“Excellent,” said Devray. “Now, come along.”
“Let them go, first,” said Ziggy. Devray snapped her fingers, and Growl and Dynamo dropped back, released from her magic. However, they were unable to follow as Devray led Ziggy away. When they were gone, she said, “I guess you’ve been waiting for me to manifest powers this whole time?”
“Actually, we’ve detained you for several reasons,” said Devray. “But yes, that was one of them.”
“And the others?”
“Now that you have the powers,” said Devray. “We can make use of you.”
Ziggy blinked. “What do you mean?”
Devray led her to an office, where more armed guards, all female, were waiting. Devray motioned Ziggy to sit down. “As I said, this world has only recently stabilized from social and political upheaval due to the appearance of Sex Magic. America
Devray looked Ziggy firmly in the eye. “We believe your claim that you are from another world, despite how it may sound to the general public. The reason for this is that many of the terrorists have connections to cults that have formed since the appearance of Sex Magic. Some believe that the magic comes from gods or demons or some other kind of entity from outside our universe. It seems preposterous, but you say you are from a world where these things are commonplace.”
“Well, I don’t about commonplace,” said Ziggy. “But yes, our world has such things. Just a year ago, we fought off an invading force of—”
Devray held her hand up, silencing her. “My point is, there are people out there attempting to make contact with such creatures. And it turns out they are actually real. You and your people have experience battling these creatures. If they could possibly come here, then we need you to help us fight them.”
Ziggy’s brow creased. “You’re kidding, right? You want to strong arm us into becoming some kind of task force for a threat that so far has never even actually shown its face?”
Devray shrugged. “That is what my superiors desire. You may be the first hard evidence since the Sex Magic itself of things from beyond this world, but in my experience, when it rains, it pours. The Sex Magic first appeared on the East Coast of the United States
“You think we’re some kind of advance party?” said Ziggy. “Really?”
“I honestly don’t know what to think,” said Devray. “Given what we’ve seen in your teammates’ minds, I have no reason to believe you four are here to cause us harm. But if a being from your world can simply tear open a portal from there to here, even if the first incident was an accident, how long before he discovers how to reconnect the link? How long before the creatures of your world start pouring into here, a world that isn’t protected by a massive team of superheroes?” Devray leaned forward, her face sincere. “Please, Zero-G. You may be right, perhaps we are overreacting. But you’re teammate, Dynamo, said it himself, that it’ll just be a matter of time before the Centurions back on your world find a way here to rescue you. Once that door is opened again, can you guarantee it’ll stay closed after you step through?”
Ziggy chewed her lip in thought. “You have a point, ma’am,” said Ziggy. “But I assure you, torturing my teammates with sex is not the best way to get my cooperation.” She stood. “Our other teammates will be coming for us. It’s only a matter of time. And when they do, we’re going to leave you behind to deal with your own messes.” Ziggy stood. “Now, take me back to my teammates.”
“Well, that does not seem very heroic of you,” said Devray.
“It’s not heroism if it’s forced.” Ziggy turned her back on Devray and started to walk away.
“Then let me ask you this: would a hero go back to her world, knowing she could very well wreck it just by returning?”
Ziggy paused and turned back. “What’s that supposed to—?” she said. Then she paused and her eyes widened slightly in realization. “Oh, no,” she said.
Devray nodded. “You have the Sex Magic now. You go back to your world and every woman on the planet you come into contact with will gain it as well. First your female teammates, then every woman you save, and all the female villains you’ll fight. At least, the human women will gain the magic, but who knows, we’ve never had the opportunity to see if it works on other sapient creatures. The point is, unless you decide to retire from heroism and live in total isolation for the rest of your life, you’re dooming your world to the same sort of radical social upheaval ours underwent. However, imagine the number of malignant forces in your world that would take advantage of such turmoil. Even a team as large and as powerful as yours may find yourselves quickly overwhelmed, dealing with both the Sex Magic and your rogue’s gallery.”
Ziggy looked to the floor, looking dour. Devray walked up to her and put a hand on her shoulder. “So, what will it be? Live in a cave in your own world, sealed off from everyone else, or stay here, where we can give you a new life, with a renewed purpose? Suffice to say that even if it’s years before anything else does show up, though I’m doubtful of that, there are always other good causes you could fight for in the meantime.”
“And my teammates?” said Ziggy, looking Devray in the eyes.
“Should your team come to rescue you, they can be sent back, without a risk of it spreading. Men can’t pass on Sex Magic, even if they’ve been soaking in it for months.”
Ziggy frowned. “I’ll give it some thought,” she said. Devray let her go, and allowed her to be escorted back.
SIX
Another week had gone by, and the team was finally released, set up in a small hotel on the outskirts of town. They were still escorted by two chaperones in casual dress, but otherwise, were free to wander around. The men had finally be permitted to cum, but much to their chagrin, only after they had been made to kneel and prostrate themselves before Devray and her fellow soldiers. Ziggy had been allowed to watch, but not interfere. She frowned deeply as she saw all three of them swear allegiance to Devray, teasing them with her powers until they were shaking and could barely draw breath. Dynamo and Growl had been in tears and nearly babbling, with only Max Out managing to keep himself under enough control that he didn’t break down into a blubbering idiot.
Ziggy could tell, despite her steely hard expression, that Devray was enjoying this. There was a gleam in her eye that Ziggy had seen in countless enemies they had faced, the gleam that showed them getting off on an act of sadism or control. However, eventually, the men had been made to cum, spewing their semen in long arcs across the floor. Devray at least spared them the humiliation of making them lick it off the floor.
Now, the group was just settling into their accommodations, Growl and Dynamo in one room, Max and Ziggy in another. For now, however, they were gathered in Max and Ziggy’s room, with their two female chaperones in the other, giving them the illusion of privacy.
“Seems like an odd thing to say, but it’s a relief to be wearing clothes again,” said Growl.
“Tell me about it,” said Dynamo. “I dunno if I can look at women the same again.”
“Maybe it’ll teach you to reign in your libido from now on,” said Growl.
Dynamo glowered. “Whatever.”
“So, are you guys okay?” said Ziggy. “I mean, really okay?”
“We’ll live,” said Max. “What about you? What are you going to do?”
Ziggy shrugged. “I’m going to go back home with you guys, duh.”
Growl cocked a thumb at the wall, reminding them they weren’t alone. “You really think that’s a good idea?”
Ziggy frowned. “I’ll… I’ll figure something out.”
They sat in silence for a while. Then, Max stood up. “Okay, then,” he said. “Growl, let’s you and I see if we can find where we popped up at. That’s still our best lead for getting home.”
“You really think they’ll let us?” said Growl.
Max went to the door. “No harm in just looking around,” he said.
“Alright, let’s go,” said Dynamo.
“No,” said Max. “You two stay here.”
“What for?” said Ziggy.
“I figured you might want to practice your new powers,” said Max.
Ziggy cocked a thumb at Dynamo. “What, with him?”
Dynamo raised his hands up. “Look, I know this is going to sound crazy coming from me, but I am completely sexed out.”
“You two have at least already had sex together, so I imagine that gives you a start,” said Max. He nodded suggestively towards the wall. “And anyway, you never know when they might come in handy.”
Understanding donned on the two’s faces, as Max and Growl left the room, going next door to inform one of their guards. After a few moments of discussion, the idea was apparently okayed, and one guard left with the two men, leaving the other to watch over Ziggy and Dynamo.
Ziggy turned to him, frowning. “We don’t really have to,” she said.
Dynamo shrugged and disrobed. “May as well. Besides,” he winked. “I always knew I’d get you back in the sack someday.” He yelped as Ziggy used a gravity field to pull him back and pin him to the bed.
She pulled up a chair and sat on the bed next to him. “This doesn’t count,” said Ziggy.
“Come on, you gotta be so cold about it?” said Dynamo.
“You want to know why I didn’t sleep with you a second time?” she said.
“Because you were so damned smug about it,” said Ziggy. She started to undress, and she heard the hum of Dynamo’s libido start to rise. His cock twitched to life, becoming erect as she revealed herself to him, despite his claim that he was sexed out. Memories of that night with her flared up in his head, and she realized this was the first time he’d seen her naked since then, despite her seeing him naked for the past week.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” said Dynamo. Ziggy climbed over him, holding her body over him as she stared at him. She seemed to look through him as she watched the erotic memories in his mind. In his mind, she was writhing and screaming in sheer ecstasy as he drove his cock into her, electrical arcs crackling over both of them as he stimulated her with his powers even as he fucked her. His control over his energies had been perfect, and yes, he had been the best damned lay she’d ever had.
But the fact that he bragged about it to everyone on their team, then people on other sub-teams pretty much ruined it for her. She realized she’d been just another of his conquests, lord knows what number on the list. It wasn’t that she had been holding out for him, or that she was bothered over being just one of many partners. It was the damned ego he’d put behind it. She could see clearly in his head now, that he genuinely believed he’d ruined her for all other men, and he was damned proud of the fact. Even if that was pretty much true, she didn’t need to have it rubbed in her face.
“Well, come on, then, we going to do it or what?” he said.
She smirked. “I think I need to build up some more energy first,” she said. She scooted up until her pussy was hovering over his face. She smiled a bit as he swallowed nervously, not expecting her to be so bold. “Well, come on then,” she teased, as she lowered herself to his mouth. Soon, she was moaning in pleasure as his tongue probed her sex; even without being able to use his electrical stimulation trick, he was quite skilled. As he pleasured her, she could hear the hum of his cock get louder, and feel his arousal building. She reached into his mind with her new powers and touched the section where his excitement bloomed. Mentally, she fanned that flame of arousal, and before she knew it, he was squirming beneath her, moaning as he felt a desire to be inside her that was more intense that he’d ever felt. Soon, he was gasping for her to fuck him in between licks. But she made him go on for quite a while before she finally granted him that gift.
SEVEN
Max Out and Growl came to a small outcropping in the rocky desert, which a vaguely defined path cut along. According to the soldiers, they had narrowed the spot of their appearance down to this area. Growl was allowed to shift into his tiger form and he sniffed along the ground.
“It’s been over a week,” said Max. “You really think you’ll detect something?”
“No rain, not much wind,” he said. “Yeah, I’m catching our scents here, along with a bit of ozone.” He shifted back to human form. “This is it, alright.”
“Great,” said Max. “So, now what?”
“I dunno,” said Growl. “I mean, what can we do? None of us are mages and we don’t have any tech to so much as catch a warp frequency. Any sort of tear or weakening of the barriers is probably healed up by now.”
“Tech, huh?” said Max. He pulled his comlink out of his pocket. Digging a small hole with his finger, he put it inside, and covered it. He looked back to Growl and shrugged. “Maybe they’ll detect it.”
The soldier who was with them came up and said, “You do know, I’m going to report everything you do, correct? In the interest of keeping anything else dangerous from showing up, I can’t let you leave something that would encourage an opening of any more portals or the like. I was only allowed to let you come here so that we could confirm it was closed.”
“You would deny us even a slim chance to get home, then?” said Max.
“I’m sorry, but I have my orders,” she said.
Max frowned, but dug the device back up. However, as his back was turned to the woman, he winked at Growl. Growl do not react, but understood. As Max pulled the small earpiece from the ground and held it out for the soldier to see, Growl slipped his own comlink from his pocket, then slipped it beneath the waistband of his pants. As he stepped over to Max the comlink dropped down his pants leg, and into the hole Max had dug up, just as he set his foot down next to it. The soldier, distracted by Max’s showing of his own device, didn’t notice this.
“Well, at least now we know,” said Max. “Guess we should head back.” The three trudged back to the car, Growl winking at Max when the soldier’s back was turned. He put the earpiece back into his ear, after he dusted it off. His eyes widened slightly and he glanced to Growl.
Growl looked at him quizzically, and Max handed him the piece. Growl held it up to his ear, and then he, too, widened his eyes. The soldier glanced back at them, and the two barely managed to return their faces to the stern and slightly gloomy look they’d had before. Frowning, the soldier turned back to lead them to the van, and the two men smiled.
Coming through the earpiece was a faint hiss of static.
***
Dynamo was gasping and shaking, his body shivering as Ziggy very slowly slid up and down his cock. She was adapting to the power with remarkable speed, all things considered. She supposed that already being able to control gravity gave her some insight on how to manipulate energy in general. She was amazed at how quickly this was coming to her. In the two hours they had been fooling around, and finally fucking, Ziggy had been able to trace the energy patterns through his body and shape them to her will. She could even sense when he was about to cum, and force back the energies that allowed this, denying him release. Dynamo begged her not to torment him that way, but she wanted him to pump out as much energy as he could. The more energy he produced, the easier she could see and sense what she was doing.
“Just a bit longer, okay?” she said. “Please hold on, just a bit longer. I think… I think I’m getting close…”
“Close to what?” gasped Dynamo. He was still pinned down, but now, Ziggy was holding him with the magic, rather than her gravity powers. She assured him several times it was only to keep him from hurting himself, and so that she could practice.
Ziggy kissed him, the first time since they had started. Dynamo was surprised by this, and Ziggy lingered the kiss, trying to reassure him that she wasn’t trying to hurt him. She withdrew after a few more moments, leaving Dynamo breathless. “Close to seeing… how your body works…” her own breathing became heavy as the sexual energies flooded her own senses, and it became a Herculean task not to just speed up and fuck him senseless. She clutched him tightly as she shivered through what had to be her fifth or sixth orgasm already. Once it passed, she resumed her slow ride, and watched his body closely.
“Oh, fuck… please… whatever you’re doing… please hurry!” Dynamo was shuddering, his expression pained. The orgasm he had been permitted back at the base had not been enough to truly relieve him fully, and now this slow, sensual torture was quickly building hip back up the unbearable levels of tension and frustration he had been the past week.
“Almost there,” she gasped into his ear. “I think I see… yes… YES!” She could see it, the map of his body, his whole nervous system as it was lit up with sexual energy. And there, along his spine, was a crackle of energy, writhing like a caged serpent trying to break free. She held Dynamo in his state of extreme arousal, memorizing the map of his body, seeing the paths to reach that lightning bolt bottled inside. She could even see where the magic had formed a barrier, preventing the electricity from escaping. This was how they had sealed off his powers. Ziggy realized if she could just pull away the cage—
She caught herself in time. If she tried to remove it, the guard next door to them would figure out what she was doing, and her doubtlessly far superior skill with the Sex Magic would halt her attempts to re-empower her teammate. However, if they could get a free moment, Ziggy was certain he could undo the restraint. For now though, she had tortured Dynamo enough. She reached within him, and pulled back a different sort of restraint. Seconds later, he erupted inside her, cumming so hard Ziggy was overwhelmed, and throw into another orgasm herself.
The climax lasted almost a solid minute, the energies of their release looping together in the sexual haze, until finally, the loop snapped, and the two collapsed onto the bed. Released from his bonds, Dynamo clutched Ziggy to her, and she curled up into his arms, resting her head on his chest.
“Holy fuck,” he gasped. “I think you’ve just ruined me for all other women.”
Ziggy blinked in surprise and looked up him. He offered a faint grin. She returned the grin and the two suddenly laughed, holding each other as they came down from their sexual high.
EIGHT
When Max and Growl returned, they sat together in the same room once again, and talked. They debated over how to live their lives in this world, since it appeared they weren’t going back home any time soon. As they considered out loud, the possibility of simply joining the army group, and going along with their plans to become champions for this world, they passed a pen and paper around the room, writing notes to one another. They had determined that the women were only capable of reading the men’s sexual thoughts, at least for now, so any other topics would be safe from detection.
“We’re getting a signal through the comlinks from where we first arrived,” wrote Max. “If one of us can get back there, we might be able to break through to the other side and least get a message back home.”
“Which of us goes?” wrote Growl. “They won’t let any of us leave without a guard, and they’ll know if any of us try to leave.”
“Not me,” wrote Ziggy. “If you guys don’t mind holding out for a little while, I can take off in the middle of the night and be back by morning, if you can draw me a map.”
“We’ll just have to bear whatever they do to us,” wrote Max. He handed the map to Growl, who quickly sketched the map, and scribbled out directions, as best he could. Ziggy looked them over, and nodded. An hour later, the guards were swapped out for two more women. When they went to sleep that night, each guard stayed in a room, watching them directly. Ziggy sighed in annoyance at this, but waited for a while nonetheless, pretending to sleep. Finally, having waited long enough, Ziggy concentrated, and very carefully used her gravity powers to reach into the woman’s guts and tug on her bowels. The woman shifted uncomfortably, and Ziggy tried it again. Muttering a curse, the woman jumped up and went into the bathroom.
She kept the door open, but Ziggy tugged a bit more insistently, and the woman barely had time to get her pants off and fall back on the toilet before she messed herself. For at least a few moments, the call of nature had her full attention. Ziggy slipped silently out from under the covers, used another fine tuned gravity field to unlock the deadbolt, and was out the door and in the air in a matter of moments. She knew any moment now, the woman would discover her absence, alert her partner, and would more than likely lock the boys down for some more questioning. However, in the dark of the night, with her mostly black uniform, no one was going to spot her, especially when she was traveling with the speed of a fighter jet.
That said, looking for the location in the dark ate up much more time than she had anticipated. However, she was able to finally narrow down the search as he comlink picked up some static. She slowed her flight and maneuvered around until it got to its strongest point, then dropped to the ground. She saw where Growl’s comlink was half-buried in the dirt, and kick some more dirt over it to make sure it stayed hidden.
Ziggy listened intently for a moment, but could detect nothing but static. She tapped the comlink in her ear and said, loudly, “Hello! Can anyone hear me? This is Zero-G of Team Sigma, come in!”
For a moment, she heard nothing. Then, suddenly, a voice, almost too faint to hear broke through the static. “Zer… inally… searching for…”
“I can barely hear you!” she shouted. “Who is this?”
There was static for a moment, then the voice returned. “Name… act of Epsi… use gravi… signal.”
“What? I still can’t—”
“Use… avity… boost signal!” shouted the voice.
Ziggy paused. Use her gravity powers? How was she supposed to do that? She thought for a moment, however. Gravity could be used to warp space; in fact, she had once used her powers to boost the teleportation ability of another teammate once. But her teammate had done most of the work, she had simply created a gravity field, and stopped when she was told. Still, it couldn’t hurt to try. Ziggy raised her hands and create a small field the size of a beachball. Within, it, she created a condensed gravity field, compressing everything within the sphere into a tight point. A wind began to kick up as the gravity sucked in air within the field, causing a vacuum effect which caused more air to get sucked in from beyond the field. Ziggy picked up Growl’s comlink from the ground and tossed it into the sphere, where it snapped straight to the center, then floating within. Suddenly, the static became much louder in her ear. But now, when the voice spoke, it started to blot out the static. Ziggy increased the strength of the gravity field, careful to keep the comlink from crushing itself, and as she did so, the signal cleared up.
“Hello? Hello hello hello? Are you there, Zero-G?” A little distorted, but the voice was clear enough and uninterrupted.
“Oh, wow, it worked!” said Ziggy. She was so happy, she jumped into the air. “Hi! It’s me, Ziggy! I mean, Zero-G! Who is this?”
“This is Tact of Epsilon Team,” said the man’s voice. “I’m speaking to you through a dimensional tuning receiver I whipped together, which allows me to— oh, who cares how it works, the point is, we’ve gotten through! Where are you guys?”
“Some kind of alternate Earth,” said Ziggy. “Listen, don’t send anyone human or even near-human here. The women on this planet have some kind of magical powers, it lets them dominate men’s bodies and minds, but it’s also contagious, so if you send another woman here, they might catch it, too.”
“Okay, we’ll figure something out,” said Tact. “Keep your comlink, active and the signal boosted so I can trace the signal. Our mages are already preparing a portal. This could take a minute, but get ready to leap through.”
“Wait, I need to get the others!” said Ziggy.
“They’re not with you?” said Tact.
“I had to leave them where they were,” said Ziggy. “They’ve been captured! You need to send someone here who can help me bust them out, someone who’s not human.”
There was a pause and she could hear some discussion going on. However, just then, there was a flash of light, and before she react quickly enough to catch it, she saw a small metal object rocketing straight towards her. She managed to whip up a gravity field that diverted the object into the air at the last second. Unfortunately, this sent it straight into the comlink floating above her, and the impact sent it flying. A moment later, the object exploded, knocking Ziggy to the ground. Only the gravity field prevented what she now knew was a rocket propelled grenade from shredding her body with shrapnel. The concussive force still stunned her, however.
As she stumbled back to her feet, trying desperately to shake herself back into focus, she was blinded by the glare of several sets of headlights as soldiers in jeeps suddenly surrounded her. Ziggy cursed. She’d been so caught up in the communication, she hadn’t been paying attention to who might be approaching.
As several soldiers aimed their guns at Ziggy, Commander Devray stepped forward, and behind her, Max-Out, Growl, and Dynamo stood, naked, hard, and clearly enthralled, behind her. Ziggy winced as the arousal hum nearly deafened her in her dazed state. “Nice dodge,” said Devray. “I had truly hoped to avoid having to kill you, but you remain an uncontrollable element.” She cocked her thumb at the men. “Whatever’s coming here now, I’m going to have these men kill it. Before that, though…” She snapped her fingers, and Dynamo, groaning in protest, but unable to stop himself, raised his arm towards Ziggy. Lightning was gathering along his arm.
Ziggy cursed, and slapped her hand on the ground, creating a reverse gravity field that knocked everyone off their feet. Dynamo’s lightning bolt went flying. Ziggy then increased the gravity, tripling it, and pinning everyone to the ground, including her teammates. Several of the soldiers bones cracked as they landed, including Devray’s leg. She screamed, and Ziggy could feel her hold over the men slacken. Siezing her chance, Ziggy lunged forward with her new Sex Magic powers and reached into Dynamo’s body. She quickly located the magical shackles that held his powers back, as well as the psychic strings that directed his movements. With a might yank, she severed them. Dynamo gasped as he was suddenly freed. Ziggy cried out as she suddenly felt a dozen minds reach in and try to resume control.
“Dynamo! Hit them now!”
Collapsing to the ground as he reeled from the assault, he unleashed multiple electrical arcs at once, striking everything and everyone around him. Max and Growl were durable enough that it didn’t do much damage, however, any of the soldiers who were hit writhed in agony and passed out.
Unfortunately, Devray remained untouched by the lightning, and she was able to shove Ziggy’s mind out of Dynamo’s, resuming control of the man. She forced him to blast Ziggy, which in turn forced Ziggy to release the crushing gravity field. Devray forced herself onto her good leg, and drew her gun. “Die you alien bitch!” she yelled.
Ziggy, paralyzed and in too much pain to focus either of her powers, closed her eyes and waited for the inevitable. Instead, she was greeted with a thunderous explosion. She opened her eyes to see a swirling disk of energy open up in the sky. From it descended a vaguely humanoid form, but one composed of solid darkness, so black it stood out boldly even against the night sky. The thing loomed over the small battlefield, and Devray felt the color drain from her face. She raised her gun and unloaded the clip into the creature. The bullets passed through it like air. There was an impression that the creature smirked, and it lashed out with a massive hand. Despite the bullets passing through it a moment ago, the hand connected solidly with Devray, sending her flying backwards, smashing through the windshield of one of the jeeps.
Dynamo collapsed onto the ground, unconscious, as his puppeteer lost her control of him. Ziggy, starting to finally get some feeling back in her body, struggled to stay conscious herself as she looked up at the figure. “Wh-who…” she gasped.
The figure loomed over her. “I am Onyx of the Alpha Team. I have come to take you home.” He reached for her, and his darkness enveloped her. She didn’t fight it.
NINE
Ziggy awoke inside the medical ward of Sigma Base. She gave a sigh of relief as she took in the familiar surroundings. She gathered her bearings for a moment, then got up off the bed. She was about to leave the ward, when a wall of darkness rose up in front of the door. She jumped back, but the wall began to shrink down, forming into a vaguely humanoid shape. She recognized Onyx.
“They told me to keep you isolated,” he said. “Something about contageous magic.”
Ziggy frowned, suddenly remembering. “Yeah, you’re right,” she said, returning to the bed, and sitting on the edge. “I can’t be around other women.” She glanced to Onyx. She reached out with her new senses, and couldn’t detect anything. “Forgive me for asking, but what are you, exactly?”
“I am the Great Living Shadow,” he said. “You requested someone not human and genderless. I fit the description and happened to be available.”
Ziggy nodded. “I think I vaguely remember you now,” she said. “There was some fight with the crazy wizard, and like four teams of us had to get together to battle him.” She paused and let out a small laugh. “Wow. I really am back, aren’t I? You know, the whole time we were gone, I didn’t let myself give it much thought, but we could have really been stuck there.”
“At least you didn’t end up in Hell,” said Onyx. “I’ve been there. Not a nice place, even for a Greater Elemental.”
“I’ll take your word for it,” said Ziggy.
A moment later, there was a knock on the door. Onyx stepped aside, and Dynamo came in, along with a woman dressed in blue robes. The woman was Mist, her team’s Mage. Ziggy leaped up and backed away from her, holding her hands up. “Get out of here! You’ll catch it!”
Mist chuckled. “Don’t worry,” she said. “I’m mystically shielded. I’ve analyzed the magic after cleansing the men from its influence. I believe I can fix the contagion problem.”
“Really?” said Ziggy.
Dynamo nodded. “Yeah, she fixed us up pretty good, even cleared out a bunch of hidden little hypnotic triggers and commands they had secretly planted in us. Did you know they had a little back-up plan that involved having us try to blow up our own base if we ever got back? Unbelievable.”
Mist nodded. “They were quite thorough in how they subjugated these boys. It’s quite amazing such women were so skilled with nuances of the magic, and yet could not master the most basic element of how to simply reign in the magic.”
Ziggy looked at her quizzically. “How do you mean?”
Mist continued, “I have some familiarity with this sort of mystical empowerment. You’ve basically just been ‘irradiated’ with a certain type of magical energy. For some reason, the way the energy works, you as a woman are able to manipulate it. However, you don’t know how to reign in the power, and it just radiates out from you. I imagine that is the case with the women of that world; despite mastering the manipulation of the energy, it would seem none of them has yet figured out how to fully contain it. By now, from what the other told me of that world, they must all just bathe in the energy constantly. It’s no wonder the power spread everywhere.” She shook her head. “Such is the risk of untrained mages.”
“So, I guess, all you have to do is draw out the energy?” said Ziggy.
“Yes,” said Mist. “Or, if you wish, I can perform a ritual that will seal the magic within you, keeping it contained. It will allow you to keep all of the powers, but you will not be able to spread it to other women. Unless, perhaps, you choose to. However, I will help train you to fully master the power.”
Ziggy’s eyes widened. “Really?”
“Yes,” said Mist. “That is, if you truly want to keep the power. It certainly has its benefits. I can think of many harrowing situations where it might come in handy.” Mist smiled slightly. “Plus, I imagine that for personal use, it would be quite fun.”
Ziggy paused, glancing over at Dynamo, who suddenly looked a little nervous. She remembered him in the hotel room, shuddering beneath her, begging her for release. She realized with a sudden start that thinking back on that scene caused a slight warmth to blossom in her sex. She found herself musing that scene repeating itself in her bedroom, watching that cocky grin of his fade to a look of pure desire for her.
Dynamo noticed her watching him, and he smiled at her, blushing slightly. Ziggy could see in his mind the exact same scene pop into his head, remembering with some embarrassment how much he’d lost his cool. And yet, as he remembered, Ziggy could see a spark of arousal flare up in his mind, to both of their surprises.
Ziggy smiled slyly as she turned back to Mist. “You know what? I think I’ll take that second option.”
END
Well played. After reading the title I assumed there was going to be a new villian with sex mage abilities in the Centurion storyline. However you took it in the exact opposite direction and managed to pull them into their world. In so you've intensionally established a premiss for a multiverse that builds a foundation for the Deathmen storyline. And I'm going to assume since you kept pointing back to timelines, you took a page out of Stan Lee's playbook and setup for 60 years to pass between the first recorded sighting of a mutant to the next impact emergence of one. Seems fitting seeing that you took the time to thoroughly explain that the magic contagion was fast acting due to it's mystical nature, that could be easily fixed. While like in the orginal X-men stories, it took that 60 year span for genetic phenotypes to synch up to create mutant masses. Or maybe you pointed out them not being forced to "clean up the mess" to illustrate that the women of the SMW would have access to the neccessary material to create a mutant male over time. Lastely, I'm not sure if this was intentional or just inadvertent, but you once again pointed out how skewed things are on SM world when even super powered men don't stand a chance there or when faced with emanate threat to their world, they chose to continue to subjate their only male hope verse working together with them. Oh, well. Solid chapter for both continums.
ReplyDeleteNever knew that about the X-Men, actually, so that's just a coincidence. I thought the first confirmed mutant was En Saba Nur, whose been around since ancient Egypt? As for the skewed power, the entire premise of the SMW is the power imbalance. In this case, though, the reason they could still dominant even the men of the Centurions is, the men simply didn't have the right powersets to resist. Had Onyx or any of the male mages been with the group from the beginning, the Sex Mages would have been fairly powerless against them.
ReplyDeleteI stand corrected. Congrats.
ReplyDelete