Action Pack 13: Stealth Level Disclaimer: The characters, settings, etc. contained within this story all belong to paetrasslave and may not be used in other media without express permission. Why anyone would want to, she's not sure. This story is sexual in nature with many preferences and depictions on display that will probably offend many people. Anyone under 18 or possessed of an easily offended mindset should leave now. For everyone else, that's probably all the reason you need to stay. ------- Synopsis: Jein embarks on her first mission for the crown, and thins quickly get out of hand. "Sis! Where are you?!" The bedroom door swung open and a hulking, shadowy form stood in the frame. "Who's calling me?" The little boy paused for a second, then pointed over the side of his bed. "There's monsters under my bed!" "Well, can't have that, can we?" the shape in the door answered, then took two long strides to the foot of the bed, grabbed it with two beefy hands and hoisted the entire bed, occupant and all, five feet off the floor. "See, Shan? No monsters. Again." He laughed as she set the bed back down, and was joined by his brother a second later. "My turn tomorrow." "Sure, Ragan. Now get to sleep, or mom's gonna pop your little heads off." "Night, Shana," the boys said in unison. "Night, boys." Quietly, she returned to the hall and started making her way to her own bedroom on the other side of the farmhouse. She blinked her bleary eyes a few times, but then stopped as she passed a window looking out onto the family's fields. For a second, Shana thought she'd seen a spotlight aimed toward the sky flick on and back off. No, surely not. Maybe she'd stood a little too close to the back of the tractor while her dad gave the motor a test fire that afternoon. Then the light flashed out in the fields again, for a split-second longer this time. A few seconds later, another flash followed. "Damn it," she muttered and rubbed the back of her hand across her eyes. Who could be out there at that time of night, and what stupid prank were they pulling? It was the third time that month already some idiot had snuck onto their land to pull some kind of dumb joke. That she knew about. First those boys trying to spray paint the house, then the fool who'd ambushed her mother to profess his undying love...unaware of her father standing not twenty feet away. For a moment she imagined Jein out there with a flashlight, trying to get her attention and come out for a private rendezvous. But no, even she wasn't that crass. Was she? Shana hissed in irritation and laced up her boots. Whoever was out there, she was going to pound them three feet into the ground unless they had a damned good explanation for being on her family's property in the middle of the night with a spotlight. As she slipped into the fields she saw the light flash again, and was sure she could find it between the rows now. The light flashed once more as she got close, and Shana was sure that her parents would be right behind her. Again, she wondered if it could be Jein trying to talk to her in private, and the aggravation of this intruder doubled. "All right!" she hollered as she stepped into the row where the light was coming from. "Who are you and what in the hell do you think you're--" The person standing next to the dark spotlight in her family's field wasn't Jein Devyre. And the two who snuck up from behind and pinned her arms behind her back were no welcoming committee. ---------- Slowly the dark fibers crept up to cover her skin, at such a pace she thought for sure they must've been doing it on purpose. They seemed to move even slower as they finished climbing her belly and started to weave together across her breasts. "Clarice, can we seriously not speed this up?" Jein finally sighed in exasperation. "Perfection can't be rushed, mistress." A heavy knocking nearly made Jein jump. "Are you and your clothes almost ready to go? We've got a briefing, in case you've forgotten." "Nice getting to work with you too," Jein snapped back. It felt like dozens of tiny hands were gathering up her hair and holding it down as her outfit continued weaving itself together over her head and forming into a hood-mask that left her mouth exposed. It was pure black just like the rest of the close-fitting outfit Clarice had become for her, but with a light utility belt and rows of small pouches running down the legs. What she was expected to put in there, maybe this vaunted briefing would tell her. Oh, and high heels on her boots. Of course. "Hurry up!!" "Shit, I'm coming! Jeez!" Jein rolled her eyes and threw open the door of the tiny bathroom she'd slipped into to change. She barely missed the source of the irritated voice, who was a tall, wiry man in a skintight blue uniform with an emblem of a sharp-toothed, angry-looking fish on the chest. He had a sharp nose and narrow face that reminded Jein of a shark (and come to think of it, the insignia on his uniform...). One thing she'd never seen a shark do was scowl as well as he could. "I'm ready, Mangler!" she snapped. "See?? I'm ready!" "Hrmph! It's about time. Honestly, how can you women spend so much fucking time in the bathroom??" Without waiting for an answer he started off down the hall toward what Jein had been told was the briefing room. His walk was mildly disturbing, but Jein couldn't look away. As he moved his arms and legs seemed to bend subtly in places Jein's sure as hell didn't. His steps seemed too long, his neck craned a little too far to the side, almost a full 180 sometimes when he was glaring over his shoulder at her. Which had been happening a lot over the one day they'd known each other. The floating mask of Clarice's avatar appeared above Jein's shoulder. "What's with him?" she whispered to her wearer. "You turn him down for a date or something?" "Naw. He's pissed because he thinks he got demoted to working with this outfit." "Did he?" "It's not really that simple, Clarice." Mangler eyed them over his shoulder. "Would you stop talking to your clothes and get your mind on business?" he snarled. "Gods, listen to the shit I'm saying with you around!" The hall got darker and darker the further they went. A minute later they were standing in complete darkness. Suddenly an image flashed into existence in front of them. It was a face as tall as Jein was, the face of the man who'd given her the option of being there or being in prison. Liberator. Or Agent L, as he went by these days. "Report in," he commanded. "Mangler, present," said Jein's companion. "Mist, present," a feminine voice seconded. "Queen of Blades, present," Jein said. Agent L nodded after the final part of the roll call. "Glad everyone could make it," he said, and either didn't hear or chose to ignore the indignant "hmph" Mangler let out beside Jein. "Very recently we believe we've identified more members of the group that assembled the Black Icon not far outside the city walls. I don't have to tell you the Queen isn't happy with them getting inside in the first place, let alone that they're probably about to try again. "We've located an area where they've been detected coming and going. You three are going to get inside, find out what they're planning, and report back without being detected. We'll take it from there. Transport's waiting for in bay A-29. "And Mangler, I know you aren't happy about being moved from Alpha, but don't forget the queendom's counting on you. Agent L, out." Then the image disappeared. "Really pulling out all the stops on this one, aren't they?" Mangler grumbled as the lights came back on, and revealed they were in a circular room with another person, who had the face of a leopard and a matching tail peeking out in back, but with a soft blue color to her coat. She was a felkin, or cat-person. Like the coonkin she found herself hanging out with more and more often. Neither Jein or this Mist person answered Mangler, and the elevator ride to the hangar and the boarding of their plane were shrouded in the same uncomfortable silence. Was this really the best team L could find? It seemed like a pretty important mission they were being handed, and Jein hadn't met either of her teammates before showing up at the base that night. Ah, teammates. What a strange word it seemed now that she was actually on an official team. She'd known about Legion Alpha, a wing of the Free Territories' army for superhuman operatives. But there was also a Legion Beta, it turned out, which was reserved for missions where a big, obvious presence wasn't called for. And that, evidently, was a group where L thought he could put someone with her abilities to the best use. "I'll be in the cockpit," Mangler announced as soon as they caught sight of the small but sleek black jet. "I'll let you know if anything important comes up." He did indeed slip right through the cabin and through the cockpit door as soon as they were inside, sighing with relief just before the door clicked shut behind him. Jein let out a sigh of her own, one of disgust. "Glad he's running the show, huh?" she asked, but Mist said nothing and merely strapped herself in to one of the seats. Before she did likewise, Jein flipped open a compartment on the wall she'd been told to look for. Inside were a wicked selection of knives, short swords and other gear. She set about sliding them into the collection of sheaths and holsters she'd made sure to have Clarice provide her with before they'd attended the briefing, and then an antigravity harness over her chest. Mist looked up as Jein stowed her weapons with speed and precision, then after Jein finished and strapped herself in too. The plane shook to life, then silent launched itself into the night sky. There was a feeling of butterflies in Jein's gut as they flew. She'd survived a couple adventures already, but the latest ones had just been dropped in her lap with no time to think, just react. The only other time she'd gone marching into danger before this, she'd known what to expect. Even though she'd fought these...people already, though, there hadn't been anything like them in Action Pack. And they were at least as bad as anything that had been, with how they were able to get their hands on something as bad as the Black Icon. What else did they have lined up? "Drop in two minutes," an automated message announced. "Sounds like it's time. You ready?" Jein asked. Mist didn't even look up at her. The jet cruised lower, then slowed ever so slightly as they neared their point of departure. Mangler was the first to jump, anything to get the mission over faster and away from them, probably. Jein was next, and gulped just before she hurled herself into the sky. She'd practiced this, of course, but skydiving on Akton wasn't much like it was on Earth. She fell, counted fifteen and then threw the switches on the harness. There was a jolt centered on her shoulders and then her harsh freefall slowed to a gentle drift. Her legs felt jarred up into her for a second as she made contact with the ground but went into a half-stumbling run to work off the moment of her fall. As she crashed through the row of wheat, she hoped nobody was watching and evaluating her entrance. Right as she formed those thoughts, Mangler grabbed her and pulled her into a crouch beside him. He didn't point out what was going on, just stared silently ahead, and Jein did the same, flicking on her night vision. In front of them was a large area of flattened crops, and lying in it was a twelve-foot humanoid shape. Around it were standing a group of brawny, wire-haired orcs armed with rods with sizzling blue tips. "Mrs. Wolch?" Jein muttered. Mangler hissed at her for making noise, but none of the orcs turned their way. Her stomach clenched like a giant's fist. If the Wolchs' farm was where the enemy had been located, then... Oh, no. No no no no. A royal agent had to be able to keep their head in the game. That was the first thing she'd been told on the first day of training. Yet she had to fight down every impulse in her body to avoid springing out, tackling the nearest orc to the ground and demanding answers. With an unexpected strength, the orcs gathered up the giantess's form and started to carry her away. Jein settled one hand on the haft of a dagger in case she was spotted and moved to follow the orcs, but after walking ten feet there was a loud hum for a split-second and then they had vanished into thin air. Jein blinked and thumped her goggles, but while the area of flattened wheat was still there the orcs and their captive were gone. "Damn it, where did they go?" Jein snarled. "Are you trying to give us away?" Mangler snarled right after her, but slightly more quietly. "Did you not just see that?" Jein demanded. "No wonder they pulled you off Legion Alpha if you can't even tell a bunch of people disappeared right in front of your stupid face!" He glared back. "Of course I saw it. But instead of screaming our lungs out we should find out where they went, how they disappeared, and if any of their allies are around who might try to attack us while we're looking for answers." So saying he started to stalk in a circle around the clearing looking for any signs of the enemy. Having the abrasive Mangler put her in place like that, Jein felt her anger deflate. "Look, I'm sorry. It's just...I think I know where we are. And who that was." In the next second Mangler was looming over her. "What?! You've got a personal connection to this mission and L assigned you anyway??" "Now who's yelling? Besides, did they put together a file on every single damn person you ever knew when they hired you?" Although as she thought about it her connection to the Wolchs did seem like something they should've known about, what with who'd been sent to keep an eye on her while she was on Earth. On the other hand, that was why she was in a hurry... "What's that?" Mostly covered by the trampled wheat was the corner of a rectangular metal plate. As Jein drew one of her swords and dragged it on the ground to trace the plate's borders she could feel a hum of power coming from it. Probably because they didn't know they'd been seen... "Looks like we found how they're coming and going," Mist suddenly spoke up. "This probably ends up right in the middle of their hideout..." Mangler nodded. "But there's no other option. You've been trained for this kind of thing. If we aren't spotted as soon as we arrive, find cover immediately." "Let's go," Jein said and stepped toward the plate. Mangler grabbed her by the shoulder before her foot had even hit the ground and whirled her around. "I'll go first, rookie." "Whatever gets this going faster," was Jein's reply. He scowled at her, but brushed past and stepped onto the plate. There was a powerful but quiet hum as there'd been before, and Mangler vanished. Mist didn't look too eager to be next, but that was fine by Jein, who stepped onto the plate. She could hear the hum, then everything seemed to ripple in front of her eyes for a few seconds before the colors became brighter and formed into solid shapes again. She was in a small alcove looking out onto a hallway with curved gray walls. A giant foot was just disappearing down a corner, but had to duck into a corner of the alcove to hide as a pair of thick, warty creatures walked by dragging their knuckles on the floor. Not because of the way they walked, but simply because their arms were so long it would've taken a deliberate effort not to let them touch the ground. They had long hooked noses and glinting black eyes, completing the unsettling effect. Trolls. She'd been hoping to have a bit more field experience before tackling something as strong as trolls. What kind of game was this, she caught herself thinking. A minute later the sounds of the troll's shuffling receded out of earshot, but when she dared to peer out of the alcove there was no sign of Mrs. Wolch or her captors, or even of Mangler. Had they gotten him too? A flutter of doubt formed in Jein's stomach but she fought it down; the first thing she'd been told upon being inducted into Legion Beta was that the quickest way to lose a fight was to lose your head. Besides, she'd taken on these people before with much less readiness and weaponry at her disposal, right? Yes, with someone watching her back and salvation waiting for a door to be opened... Another hum filled the air, and then Mist was standing in the middle of the alcove. Jein ducked back inside and grabbed her as the sound of footsteps approached again. To her relief Mist didn't squirm, or make a noise of protest. There was the hiss of a mechanical door opening, and the hallway was silent again. "Where's Mangler?" Mist whispered at once. "No idea. I hope they didn't get him," Jein replied. "I'll go find him. You take a look around for that big friend of yours." Mist said, and sighed. There was a strange hissing and the pressure of Mist's body beside Jein's lessened. A wisp of white smoke floated up from her hood and drifted down the hall. Her empty clothes slipped into a pile at Jein's feet. Looked like she was on her own after all. Jein darted down the hall where she'd seen them take Shana's mother, looking for any opening large enough for her to fit through. A giantess wasn't an especially easy thing to hide, the thought occurred. But as the corridor sloped further and further down and the number of doors doubled in her count, and the doors themselves doubled in size, her self-assurance deflated. Only three times did she have to find a shadow to disappear into as she wound deeper and deeper into the complex. She listened at doors and when no one was around, dared to open some to see what was inside. Only to find empty closets and a single-bed dormitory in the other cases. Which weren't even in use; there was just a bare mattress on a bed in a sterile-smelling compartment. After more than twenty minutes of this fruitless search, Jein almost sighed loudly in irritation. She was about ready to give up. It was like being forced to stop and grind before being able to progress. She'd been able to find satisfaction in working out to get stronger, but she was used to quick results thanks to the games that had supposedly been getting her ready for action once she got back to Akton. Frankly, she was bored. But that wasn't how it worked, even if she'd hoped it might be. All right, she thought, next guards I see I'll follow and see if they lead me to anything important. After a few more empty halls she came across a pair of gaunt-faced, dark-skinned elves with shocking white hair. They were talking to a particularly hulking orc, but then broke off the conversation and walked off in a different direction than the orc. Staying even farther back than she thought necessary, she followed as they walked down a hall with fewer lights than the others, and larger and heavier-looking doors. They stopped in front of one, and one elf whispered to the other, then both of them laughed. One tapped the door which ground open, and from within Jein heard a hollow banging noise, like someone pounding on thick glass. She slipped the short sword she was the handiest with from its holster and approached the door. It slid silently into the wall and Jein readied herself for anything, but she saw almost made her drop her sword in surprise. It looked like she'd found her way into some kind of detention center. In one wall was a row of small cells with diodes built into the floor in front of them, perhaps laser bars or something similar. In the back was a hallway leading off somewhere, but on the other side of the room from the cells, however, were a row of transparent tubes, each almost ten feet high. Most of them were empty, but toward the back was one filled with a dark green fluid, and it held an occupant, who was pounding on the tube without effect. And despite the distance, despite the distortion of the fluid, there could be no mistaking the prisoner's identity. Looking tired, her form inadequately covered by the remains of a battle-torn nightgown, was all six feet eleven inches of Shana Wolch. Her eyes were half-closed and each beat against the side of the tube seemed more feeble than the last, but there was a quiet relief on Shana's face as she spotted Jein that easily signified she recognized an intruder. Why else would she come skulking into the room wearing a mask, after all. For a minute Jein couldn't do anything but stare, though. Obviously, she'd always known Shana was a big girl, as in like a linebacker. More like Superman than supermodel, but fortunately Shana hadn't heard that thought. But as the water wafted that nightgown, with those long and toned arms and legs on display, and a piece of cloth flapping up and down on one side to show a hint of sideboob... ...it was only when the pounding on the tube picked up tempo, fueled by annoyance, that Jein realized what she'd been doing. Desperately avoiding Shana's eyes and sure she could see the blush through the mask, Jein looked over at the elves, who didn't turn around even with Shana's increased pounding for freedom. "Keep banging, girl," one taunted. "The sedatives are strong enough for that mother of yours." Jein palmed the hilt of a dagger and crept closer to the two elves. Shana had gone back to looking at her captors, her expression still defiant. Then without warning Jein launched herself at the closer elf and impaled him through the throat with her dagger. Before the other one could defend himself Jein pounced on him next and held her sword under his chin. "Open that tube," she commanded. "Ha!" he laughed in her face. "You think I fear death? Go ahead, human, kill me. You'll only be hastening our victory." Same cult member crap as before. Jein looked him in the eye, and his bravado didn't waver. She whipped the dagger out of his companion's corpse and in one neat slice chopped off his thumb. He screamed. Jein raised her dagger again. "Let's try this again." "You can go BURN, bitch! When we're finished--" he started to say, then cut himself off suddenly. "Finished what??" Jein demanded. The elf bit his lip and turned his head away. Her dagger flashed in front of his eyes, and with his un-mutilated hand the elf desperately reached out and stabbed buttons in front of Shana's tube. There was a loud gurgle and the liquid inside started to drain. "Thanks," Jein smiled, then smacked his head against the wall, knocking him out cold. She dragged the two elves behind a corner, but turned and stared as Shana's tube finished emptying itself, and Shana's massive arms didn't strain at all as she forced the lid off. "Are you okay??" Jein asked, "I was looking to see if they hurt you, that's all, but--" Which was a total lie, she'd looking at the way Shana's ragged nightgown had been clinging to her chest. Shana cut her off with a shake of her head. Shana gave her a strange look, but nodded. "It's okay. Hey, thanks, lady. For getting me out of there." Jein could've melted right there. "Hey, uh...no problem! It was you banging on the glass that helped me find you." "I'm surprised you guys got here so fast. I felt like they doped me in there, but I couldn't have been in there more than an hour or two." "Um, I'm actually here to find out why these guys were showing up in your field. The queen's nervous, apparently," Jein said, her mouth running like a faucet. "I just...saw you were in trouble and I had to help out." "Well, thanks. I'd had to stay in there much longer and I probably would've fallen asleep. Gods, who knows what they would've done if I did? I sleep like a log as it is." Shana said with a grateful little smile. Jein would go to her grave wondering how her head didn't explode off her shoulders from that little expression. "I know..." Jein heard someone mutter and what seemed like an hour later recognized it as her own voice. Shana cocked her head. "What do you know?" "That you're a heavy sleeper." Shana held up an arm in front of herself and recoiled. "And how in the seven hells do you know that?" Without thinking at all, Jein whipped back her mask. "Hi, Shana." "Oh...gods! Jein, are you freaking stalking me?!" Shana slumped against one of the empty tubes and rubbed at her forehead. "No, of course you aren't...are you?" "I saw my friend trapped in a God damned tube," Jein almost yelled but was able to remember they were in unfriendly territory and managed to keep her voice down. "I had to come help." "Your friend?" "I know I haven't seen you much since we got back, but are things really that different now that I have boobs? Hell, you knew I was really a girl all those years, didn't you?" "You weren't looking at me like a friend that other night." "Then what was I looking at you like?" Jein asked, forgetting about anything but the chance to get some answers. "Why did you run away when you saw me? And what were you doing there? I checked, that place never has guy dancers." "Would you fucking listen to yourself??" Shana shook her head. "Then maybe you can tell me what I'm doing wrong, Shana. Obviously I'm just fucking up no matter what I try." Shana glared back and looked like she was about to snap back, but then the two of them heard the door slide open and a pair of very surprised-looking orcs entered the room. At the same time, Jein and Shana both lunged for one. Jein jabbed her dagger into her opponent's throat while Shana grabbed the other by his throat and crushed his windpipe. The bodies had just barely touched the floor when Jein took Shana by the wrist and tried to lead her away. "Excuse me? What do you think you're doing?" Shana demanded. "Getting you out of here," Jein said. She slipped her mask on her with her other hand, then tugged on Shana's wrist with both as Shana dug in her heels. "I'm supposed to be finding out what these guys are doing. And...technically you're a civilian." Shook her head in annoyance and raised her arm, lifting Jein a foot off the floor. "Forget it." "Now who's being difficult?" Jein asked as she dangled. "You're not...I mean...these guys just showed up on my farm like they own the place. I'm not just walking away from that," Shana replied. Jein sighed, even as she thought back to them just seeing off two monsters together and felt strangely intoxicated. "Look, Shana, this is supposed to be a stealth mission, and you're kind of, well, huge." "HELP!! QUEEN!!" someone screamed out in the hall. Jein ran back out, in the direction she thought she'd heard the scream come from, and after a few turns she could hear a chorus of angered yelling. She rounded another corner to see Mist, running down the corridor pursued by a mob of orcs and a few burly humans wielding those rods with the crackling blue tips. And she was wearing nothing but her fur and held her thin arms over her chest as she ran... "So much for stealth," Jein mumbled, armed herself with a sword in each hand and ran. As she got closer the girl's body started to turn transparent, then into a cloud of white smoke just before Jein was about to run into her. Of course, who else would it have been? Her sword sliced into the side of the closest attacker, one of the humans, before she spun and lopped off the arm of an orc beside him before the creature could hit Jein with the sparking rod it held. She jumped back to dodge another orc as he swung his weapon at her torso, then rolled forward as he swung it at her head and stabbed him in the chest with both blades. As she was locked in combat with the members of this nameless cult again, though, Jein was noticing that ability of hers to spot openings hadn't kicked in once when she'd fought them now or the last time. But there would be time to dwell on it if she won. Another of the humans reached out far with the rod in his hand, trying to touch one of Jein's swords, but she dropped the sword as quickly as she could. Meeting no resistance where he'd been expecting it, his lunge carried him past Jein and she lopped off his head and most of his arm with it. Four kills in ten seconds. Those combat lessons they were giving her were paying off already. Then suddenly Jein could hear the sizzling of one of those prods right next to her ear, and she braced herself for whatever horrible thing those did to their victims when she heard Shana yell. Jein turned to look and see her childhood friend holding one of the human attackers over her head before body-slamming him into what was left of his friends. She grabbed one of the prods and jammed it into his middle, but all Jein noticed was that as it did Shana's embattled nightgown completely quit on the side nearer Jein, and her breast spilled into plain view, the nipple already stiff. "What the hell are you staring at?!" Shana bellowed. "I didn't mean it!" Jein protested, but limply. A bigger part of her brain than she would've admitted was viewing this as catching up for not seeing the whole thing on their trip back to Akton. Their few enemies who hadn't lost their lives started to retreat. Jein scooped up her second sword and started to chase them down. A second later the hall went dark and Jein flinched before realizing it was only Shana running beside her. Then all of a sudden a door opened on either side of the hall and two trolls who looked a bit like the ones Jein had seen before lurched out and grabbed the two girls. The troll easily curled Jein in his powerful arms, but it was his overpowering stench that threatened to take her out first. He smelled like he lived at the bottom of a sewer, and the Jein was afraid to hold her breath knowing she'd have that horrible reek in her mouth. Her swords rang as they hit the floor. A superior laugh that smelled even worse than the rest of the roll erupted in Jein's face as he tightened his grip. She only had a few seconds of consciousness, she was sure, but if she remembered the trick from "Battle of the Freaks"... She grabbed the hilt of a dagger sticking from her belt, and with all the strength she could still manage, stabbed it into the troll's abdomen. A trickle of thick black blood seeped from the wound and the troll gasped before dropping Jein suddenly, then dropping to its knees. Jein grabbed the dagger's hilt and pushed it in as deep into the troll's bloated belly as she could and jumped back as it screeched and flailed. Yep, trolls were tough, but easy to hurt if you knew where to find their heart... Shana screamed and Jein turned to see how the battle was going, and saw the troll lying on the ground as Sahana rained down blows on it with its own severed arm. The side of its face was caved in already and with the way it desperately scrabbled at the floor it looked mostly like all it wanted was to get away from the crazy giant girl. "Nice work," Jein croaked, her throat suddenly dry. Shana didn't seem to hear Jein, and only kept pounding on her lumpy victim. The other troll reached out for Jein's neck, only for her to duck and ram another blade into its heart beside the first one. It gurgled a mouthful of dark ichor and went down. Her attention was jerked two different ways as Shana finished beating the troll's face in and threw down its arm in disgust, and she felt two very familiar somethings smoosh up against her back. Breasts... "Thankyouthankyouthankyouqueen!" Mist gushed. "You and your friend are amazing!" "Guh!" Jein grunted and felt Shana's withering glare before she even saw it. Had to keep this professional! Again, salvation came from without. The doors the two trolls had attacked from opened again, spitting out another pair of trolls. Then another pair of doors farther up the hall opened and another pair of trolls stepped out. Another pair of doors even farther up opened and another pair of trolls stepped into the hall. Mist shrieked and a glance over her shoulder showed Jein they were being closed in on by two humans with metal rods with tips that crackled with electricity, and another four-set of trolls. She didn't get to dwell on it as the first lumpy troll was on her then, and she ducked low and attacked the vulnerable spot that had taken out her first such enemy. It gurgled and staggered but managed to smack her hard on one side of her head before giving up the ghost. It only took Jein a second to recover, but by then two more of the trolls had boxed her in. She ducked a swing from one and went for the other with her sword, but he swung at her head with a hand big enough to crush it and she was forced to dodge away, making her thrust go in crooked. The troll bellowed but smacked her into its friend with another powerful swipe. It immediately grabbed her in a bear hug and laughed. Jein wasn't sure what was worst, the pain of her ribs creaking, the stink of roadkill on the troll's breath, or the foaming saliva that arced from its mouth and landed on her cheek as it crushed her. Shana managed to knock one of the trolls attacking her on its back with a single punch, then hoisted it over her head and lobbed it into another. Then her body seized up painfully before she could even scream, and she collapsed in front of her floored opponents. Standing over here were two men holding metal rods with tips that sizzled with electricity. Mist had changed back into her namesake and drifted away. Jein wheezed as she took another punched to her abdomen. She struggled as hard as she could, but as much as she might've hoped otherwise, wasn't surprised she wasn't as strong as a troll. The pressure increased and she was about to scream as she was sure her ribs were about to give... ...then there was a horrible snap. The pressure went away, and the warm droplets landing on her didn't foam anymore. The troll slumped off her back, and the one who'd been punching didn't look so sure of himself anymore. Jein turned just enough to see what was going on behind her, and there was Mangler, and at his feet was the troll, its head lolled at an impossible angle. Mangler shot past Jein like a blur and tore into the troll who'd been punching her with those clawed nails of his. The troll quivered and screeched and tried to pound on Mangler's, but Mangler seemed not to even notice and after a second of his furious attack the troll fell unmoving with a satisfying splat. A troll roared behind them, and Jein turned and saw it hadn't been at them. Someone too tall for the hallway, nothing but a dark silhouette blocking out the lights above, had grabbed a troll in either hand and smashed them together. They cried out and tried to claw at the heavy hands holding them only to be smashed together again. Not sensing any more resistance, it dropped them and grabbed at the other two trolls behind Jein, who gaped at each other, suddenly looking in a hurry to be elsewhere. It had to be Shana's mother. Was that were Mangler had been...? Meanwhile, their other enemies gathered around Shana looked up as Mangler got to his feet and launched himself at them. The men raised their crackling rods at Mangler but he dodged between the weapons and slashed one down the back and knocked the other flat with a kick to the chin whose height impressed even Jein. The trolls Shana had been wrestling had just gotten to their feet when Mangler turned and pounced on the nearer one, stabbing his fingers into its chest. Jein scooped up her sword and impaled the other clean through its torso before it could think about attacking Mangler. "Just like I thought," Mangler sighed. "Helpless without me." "Mist? You still there?" Jein called. A cloud of soft white fog drifted down behind her and solidified into a girl again, while Shana shook her head and got up again. Mist hugged Jein again, and her cheeks were bright pink through the fur, blending in adorably with the blue. All at once Jein realized she was thinking of a cat-woman as adorable, and not in the pet-behind-the-ears kind of way. Sure Jeer had cum between her breasts before, but she'd never thought of actually doing...that with him. Oh, boy. What a night this was turning out to be. "Um, can we maybe go back to where we left my clothes?" Mist asked. Shana stood there, powerful arms akimbo, and gaped at Jein in disbelief. "You're hanging around with people who go naked on missions? What the hell have you been up to since you got back??" A sharp throb came from Jein's ribs, and her eyes narrowed. Then the next thing she knew she was shouting back. "What do you even care?! At least I made an effort to meet up again after we got home! You've done nothing but bitch me out tonight, and ran away from me when we finally saw each other again! I've had to get used to...everything! Now you're giving me shit for trying to make a difference with what I was given?? FINE! Who needs you?!" She sighed angrily and started to walk around Shana to the alcove where she'd teleported in. "Come on Mist, let's get you dressed and find Mangler." Shana stared at them as they left, chewing her lip and quivering, but not saying a word. As Jein and Mist left, Jein could hear Mrs. Wolch asking, "That somebody you know, Shana?" "I thought so, mom...," Shana replied. Jein walked faster. Once they'd gotten to the alcove and Mist started dressing, Jein turned her back to wait. Mist pulled up her pants, then paused and asked, "Is...everything okay, Queen?" Jein sighed and ran the edge of a blade over a fingertip and a crimson droplet formed on the tip of her gloved finger. "I said too much already." ------- The cold glare of disdain from Mangler lingered on Jein for a minute as the room went dark, and Agent L's visage appeared to the group. "Well," he said slowly. "I've heard of cleaner missions..." Nobody pointed fingers or started detailing exactly how and when things went off the rails, at least. Some stealth mission it turned out to be, though. Mangler met up with them and they'd made a sweep of the outpost, killing more than a few more of the enemy along the way, but who knew how many more had gotten away to report they'd been found? Worse yet, none of them had turned up much of anything about what the enemy's plans were. And for what? Shana hated her for sure now. It gnawed at her stomach how she'd chewed out her oldest friend, but why? She'd been the one trying to be friendly, to rekindle things after finding out Shana's place of residence, right? There'd been some bumps, but if they were such good friends, couldn't they overcome those? She was justified in her frustration. Right? On top of that, now Shana knew she was some kind of cut-rate superhero on top of that. Oh, and the enemy knew they'd been found out and were definitely going to be more careful about staying out of sight as they did whatever it was they were doing... Shitty. That was a good word for that night. "...however," Agent L went on, "I understand we were able to free some endangered citizens on top of eliminating a few hostiles." He looked straight at Mangler as he said that. "So tonight wasn't a total loss. You'll be hearing from me soon." Then his image disappeared and the lights came back on. As soon as he was sure L couldn't hear him, Mangler growled. "There go my chances to get back into Alpha. Thank you so very much, Queen." "Thanks," Jein managed. "Excuse me?" he demanded. "You went to save her, didn't you? The big lady from the field. That was why you weren't there when we followed you in." "Believe what you like, human," Manger replied. So what did that make him...? "Oh, shove it." "What?" Jein repeated herself. "Shove it. I am in NO fucking mood to listen to more of this crap." He didn't snarl or bite her head off verbally like he had been all night. Instead he sneered and chuckled. "See how long YOU'RE here, if that's how you talk to your superiors." "And what makes you so sure you're my superior? Didn't get you get `demoted' to end up here?" Jein retorted, but cupped her forehead and left the room without letting things go any farther. Shitty. Yeah, that was a good word. "Clarice?" Jein asked as she stepped into a bathroom stall for privacy. "Something normal. No slit skirts and high heels tonight." "Is that it, mistress?" her outfit's avatar asked, a note of concern in the words. "I don't feel like being any more specific. I'm tired." The strands of her uniform peeled away from Jein's body, letting her hair fall from its confines and her breasts to pop free, and Jein gave a soft sigh of relief. She was studying her mom's tricks for well-endowed adventurers more than ever, and pulling her action hero bit was getting easier bit by bit. Still, as much as she was getting used to that, it was still something of a relief to get out of the tight outfits Clarice seemed to enjoy being after some rigorous physical activity. But Clarice did as she was told and the mask and cat suit were replaced by a nice, simple purple t-shirt with running shorts and shoes. In her ears were simple brass studs. She stepped out and opened the door, and almost walked right into Mist "Oh, sorry! Kind of in a hurry to leave," Jein apologized, but Mist held up a hand to stop her, which by a complete accident sank into Jein's breast. Mist's face turned red again as she realized what she'd done, but she coughed and looked Jein in the eye. "Thanks, Queen," she said. Jein nodded, but Mist neither moved her hand nor said anything else. From the way she was chewing on her bottom lip it looked like she was struggling to find a way to say what was on her mind. "Is there...something you need?" Jein tried to prompt her. "Do...do you...do you maybe want to go get some breakfast?" Mist managed to ask. Jein blinked at her. "Breakfast? Clarice? Clock." A transparent readout appeared in the ear a few inches from Jein's face, and showed a time of 06:57 AM. "Shit, I had no idea," Jein said and scratched the back of her head. Still she said nothing about Mist's hand resting on her rack. "I guess I wouldn't mind, know any place good around here?" Tentatively Mist's fingers closed a little harder on Jein's chest, which caused her eyes to flick back down to Mist's hand for a second before rising to the readout one last time before it faded. "Know any place good around here?" Jein repeated. "Uh, yeah! Let's, uh...let's go, huh?" Mist stammered. She pulled her hand away as if resisting a magnetic pull, then Jein followed her to one of the many elevators that led to a concealed entrance on the streets. Even after using them to come and go to the base for training for two weeks solid, Jein had no idea how they worked, as none of them seemed to have any correlation between where they let out on either side. Two of them on opposite sides of the same hallway let out on the east and south sides of Zenith. They took the elevator to the east side that let out behind a run-down little street, and Mist led the way to a tiny diner called Rykky's Bread Basket. The intermingled smells of coffee, hash browns and sausage patties wafted out and made Jein's stomach gurgle. She was fishing into her pockets for her wallet when Mist whispered into her ear. "Is it true? That you like other girls?" "What exactly makes you ask that?" whispered Jein, who was sure she hadn't boned any other owner of matched chromosomes since coming to Zenith but her sisters. Mist fidgeted, but looked Jein in the eye and answered. "There may be...reasons someone might've been watching you in combat training. For those reasons...they may have noticed you checking out the female instructors but hardly looking at the male ones." "Maybe you'll tell me who someone is and what reasons they could have...," Jein said. "Maybe. After breakfast." Jein nodded and put her wallet back before anyone saw it and got ideas. "Okay, maybe you can recommend--" "JEIN DEVYRE!!!" There was a roar like thunder a flash of white light, then the ground trembled under their feet but it only took a second to determine it hadn't been caused by whatever create the sound and light. Towering over Mist and Jein was a massive snake-like creature with brown scales and glimmering yellow eyes that gauged her as a head big enough to swallow her whole weaved back and forth. Wrapped around its middle was a metal tube with four long robotic arms, each capped with a sharp metal pincer, extending outward from it. For the second time that day, out in front of it and running for her life was a girl Jein's age in a blue wetsuit-like outfit, frizzy purple hair only getting mussed even more as she ran, and stumbled into Jein's arms. "Daddy, help me! Please!" "...daddy?" Jein asked incredulously. The girl nodded urgently. Then the multi-armed machine swiped, ripping through the front window of Rykky's Bread Basket. Jein grabbed the girl and dove for the ground, Mist ducked where she stood. Forget shitty, this day was just getting insane...