Super Babes 2: A Superhero LitRPG Adventure Page 15

  "Whatever do you mean?"

  A tear ran down her cheek as Nora said, "I mean that I love you, Hawk. I've always loved you. I wanted to tell you a thousand times, especially after you broke up with the Captain, but I-I was afraid."

  She blinked, and more tears trickled down her cheeks. "I was afraid that the world wouldn't accept me, that Captain Alpha wouldn't accept me, but my greatest fear is that you would find out who and what I was, and-and you wouldn't be able to accept me either. When I was in the armor, I could be the strong and powerful man you deserved, but now--"

  She looked down at herself. "Now I'm just this frail little girl. A useless woman who tried to live up to her parents and failed them when it counted most. And failed you. I don't deserve to be the Night Watchman. And I don't deserve you, Hawk."

  Heavenly Hawk leaned closer to her with a growing smile and kissed Nora. Nora seemed frozen in place for a moment before she reached up to wrap her arms around Hawk's waist and kissed her back.

  "Awww," Alley Cat moaned, "that's so fucking sweet."

  Heavenly Hawk finally leaned back and stroked Nora's cheek with a finger. "Darling, I love you, too. I sort of figured nothing would happen between us, because you didn't reach out to me or trust me. And I don't care if you're a man or a woman, and it doesn't matter if you never put on the armor again. Just let's give the two of us a chance, all right?"

  Nora's large eyes grew even wider. "Y-you mean, you still want me? Ev-even after all this? What I've done, who I am?"

  "Nora, I want to get to know you. The real you. As far as I'm concerned, this is just the beginning. If you want me."

  Nora's face broke into a smile for the first time. "I-I do. I really do."

  "Then it's settled." Heavenly Hawk took her hand. "Stay here or come with us. Either way, as long as you're here and will let me in, we'll sit down, have a cuppa, and talk it over. All right?"

  Nora nodded quickly. "Okay."

  She looked quickly at Paragon. "Is-is that okay?"

  Paragon shrugged. "Sure. Hawk lets me see other people, so I don't mind letting her see you."

  He searched his feelings and found it really was true. Maybe it was because Nora was a woman, but he didn't mind the thought of Heavenly Hawk and the Night Watchman dating. Heavenly Hawk and Night Watchman had known each other longer than they knew him. If anything, he was the one in the way.

  In fact, he thought it was kind of hot. He couldn't help the fleeting thought of being with Nora as well, but he forced himself not to get too ahead of himself.

  "Right." Heavenly Hawk looked at Paragon with a huge smile. "Let's do this."

  She took off, and Alley Cat climbed into Paragon's arms for him to fly away as well. The wind whipped his hair as he looked down at Nora, and she and the mansion shrank away. Nora never moved from the grassy lawn until she faded from sight.

  Paragon tried to think of a plan as they flew to the museum. He didn't know if Gunslinger and Goo Girl would be there, but he assumed they would. He had beaten the two villains before, but only because the club had collapsed and stopped the fight. If the fight had continued, he might not have succeeded.

  Still, he had done okay. Goo Girl had fallen apart when she was hit by Electronica's lightning, so they could use that again. Gunslinger was just a guy with guns, and with Heavenly Hawk and Alley Cat, they could outnumber him.

  He and his team flew over Eros City, banking around to come to the Eros City museum. The stately building had pillars in front like a Greek temple, and a marble staircase leading to the entrance. A large banner stretched across the top of the entrance read, "Rock and Roll: Rare Minerals From Around the World."

  Paragon landed on the stairs, let Alley Cat climb down to the ground, and walked with her up the front doors into the museum's lobby. It stretched before them, a spacious hall filled with rare artwork and treasures. A line of people filed into the museum as the doors opened. Paragon stepped into line so he could walk up to the front entrance with Heavenly Hawk and Electronica following close behind.

  The woman behind the front desk looked up at him with wide eyes. "Uh, can I help you?"

  He leaned closer. "Hi, we have reason to believe that Aphrodisia is coming to get a rare crystal, aphroditium. Can we talk to your head of security?"

  The woman pulled a walkie-talkie out of her desk, and said, "Uh, Frye? There's a group of, uh, superheroes here to see you."

  Paragon looked around as they waited. He remembered coming to the museum on field trips when he was in junior high, but hadn't been back since. He could see the gallery with art treasures including two Grecian statues of a nude man and woman, some abstract oil paintings that looked like Picassos, and a lifelike painting of a woman from the Renaissance period. By the light of a skylight overhead, he also saw a huge Tyrannosaurus Rex fossil skeleton, and a model of a blue whale hanging from the ceiling. He didn't see any crystals, though.

  A man in a blue uniform finally came striding up to the entrance, and broke into a smile as he held out a hand. "Paragon, this is a surprise. I like what you've been doing for the city."

  Paragon shook his hand as the man in blue nodded at Heavenly Hawk. "Hawk, nice to see you again."

  She smiled and shook his hand. "You too, Mister Frye. I wish we could talk in better circumstances."

  Frye rolled his eyes. "Well, we knew what we were getting into opening in Eros City. Seems like every week some supervillain tries to steal something in here. What is it this time?"

  Paragon nodded to the lobby. "We think Aphrodisia is going to steal your supply of aphroditium. Can we take a look at it?"

  "Sure, come along." Frye headed into the museum.

  Paragon reached for cash, but the woman behind the counter smiled and waved him off. "No charge."

  "Thanks." Paragon dropped the money in the donation box anyway and followed.

  They walked through the lobby and into the main hall of the museum. Their footsteps echoed off the vaulted ceiling, along with the gasps and conversation of the other patrons of the museum. Some of them wore suits and fancy dresses while admiring fine art. Others wore T-shirts and jeans while cooing over the dinosaur skeletons. Paragon got plenty of looks while he walked in, including from a group of young women in one corner who cheered, and he waved to them.

  Frye led them to a section with a sign "Rare Minerals From Around the World," and held out his hand to a chunk of pink crystal. "There it is. You really think she's gonna make a pass at it?"

  Paragon nodded. "I do. We think she needs it for a plan to boost her power. She likes to use misdirection so I'm guessing she won't just walk through the front door. We need to make sure all the entrances are covered. How many other security guards do you have?"

  "Five." Frye smiled as he pointed. "Right over there."

  Paragon looked in the corner behind him.

  Four naked men piled on a thin brunette, two pounding her from behind, one thrusting into her mouth, and one groping her hanging breasts. Their blue security uniforms lay in a pile next to them.

  "Oh, shit," Alley Cat yelled.

  Paragon turned around to see Frye lunging at him with a baton. The baton broke over his arm and he just knocked the guard aside, but he knew it was already too late. Aphrodisia had beaten them to the museum.

  He didn't feel anything, but could see the effect Aphrodisia had on everyone else in the museum. Men and women began to fan themselves, kiss each other, and tear at each others' clothes. Some men and women rubbed themselves over the ancient Greek statues, groping the marble breasts and penis. A circle of men and women around Heavenly Hawk, Alley Cat, and Electronica began to shuffle towards them, eyes burning with desire.

  "She's here." Heavenly Hawk took a step towards Paragon. "But the vaccine is working. I don't feel anything."

  "Great." Paragon took a step back. "But we're not out of the woods yet."

  A gunshot rang out, and Paragon felt something hit his eye. The bullet just bounced off, but it made him clutch his face and yel
l, "Sniper!"

  He looked up to see Gunslinger looking down from the whale model on the ceiling above him. Gunslinger aimed a rifle at him, lining up his next shot.

  NEW MISSION: DEFEAT GUNSLINGER

  REWARD: 1,000 XP

  This was Paragon's chance to take him down.

  Paragon jumped up to grab the whale's jaw and his Strength power snapped the cables, sending the whale tumbling to the floor. Before it hit the ground, Gunslinger leaped off, dropped his rifle, switched to pistols, and fired rounds at Paragon and the other girls before he landed on the back of the T-Rex skeleton. The whale shattered on the floor as Gunslinger slid down the skeleton's spine to the ground, rolled, and fired shots from behind a jewelry display. His bullets flew across the museum, smashing sculptures and tearing holes in walls.

  Before Paragon could even call for help, the other girls had sprung into action. Alley Cat leaped to the ceiling and hung on with her clawed toes and fingers. Heavenly Hawk flapped her wings to soar through the museum, snatching up people to toss them into the lobby and out of harms' way.

  Seeing priceless exhibits destroyed made him realize he couldn't go wild in here. Paragon could only imagine how much this would cost the museum if they fought inside. He needed to take the fight outside, but first he needed the aphroditium.

  He raced at the crystal, snatched it from its display, and took off through the museum to the exit.

  As he flew towards the doors, green slime oozed down from the ceiling and plastered itself over them. He wasn't surprised to see the slime had Goo Girl's face on it.

  NEW MISSION: DEFEAT GOO GIRL

  REWARD: 1,000 XP

  "Sorry, baby," she yelled. "You're not leaving here with that."

  "Or without it," Gunslinger yelled as he fired again.

  Chapter 18

  PARAGON KNEW staying inside the museum would be a bloodbath. He needed to get out in the open, and that meant getting through Goo Girl. Yet he knew Aphrodisia had to be close by, watching and waiting. She wanted the crystal in his hands, and that could be the bait. If he took her out, that would end it all.

  He spun around and yelled, "Come out, Aphrodisia! Or are you too much of a coward to face me?"

  He heard Aphrodisia's voice echo off the ceiling, coming from somewhere he couldn't see. "Not quite a coward, Paragon. I'm just not stupid. I know you have that killjoy Night Watchman's vaccine against my powers, and I'm assuming your little friends do, too. So I think I'll just let you play with my toys for a while."

  Her voice faded away as the crowd slowly turned towards Paragon, including Frye. The security guards having sex untangled themselves from each other to approach him. Even the woman behind the desk turned to rush at him. The sight of men and women in fancy suits and dresses charging at him seemed surreal.

  Hands grabbed at his arms and legs, pulling on his pants and shirt. Some of the women looked like they wanted him, but the men looked like they wanted to kill him. Paragon swept his arm to knock back the crowd, and they went sprawling onto the floor, but more came running in from other parts of the museum. While he fought with them, another shot rang out, and he knew he had bigger problems.

  Alley Cat dropped down from the ceiling onto Gunslinger, and sliced off the barrels of the guns with her claws. As the pieces of the pistols fell to the floor, Gunslinger flexed his hands and made new ones appear. Alley Cat slashed them as well, and Gunslinger took a step back as he popped more out.

  "I can keep this up all day," Gunslinger yelled.

  "So can I, bitch," Alley Cat snarled.

  Paragon wanted to go help her, but the smooth green wall of Goo Girl's body stretched out into tentacles that wrapped around his neck and yanked him off his feet. He struggled to breathe as she swung him in a circle, smashing through the people that had surrounded him.

  He reached up to grab the slippery tentacles and pull them off, but before he could break their grip, she let go and sent him flying across the museum floor. He skidded on the polished tile to crash into a Grecian statue of a beautiful woman. The statue toppled over.

  As it fell, he gasped and grabbed it at the base to stop it from hitting the ground. They had already done so much damage that he didn't want to cause any more.

  Meanwhile, a pile of sliced weapons gathered on the floor at Gunslinger's feet.

  Goo Girl peeled herself off the front doors and took on a human shape while giggling. "Sorry, baby. No hanky-panky. This time, it's all business."

  Electronica threw a lightning bolt at her.

  The electricity popped over Goo Girl, but she just smiled. "Ha, that won't work again. I mixed myself with rubber so I'm insulated."

  Electronica stared at her, tilted her head to one side, and said, "Affirmative."

  She used her electric shield to block some of the bullets flying instead.

  "Great." Paragon pushed the statue back onto its base and sprinted at Goo Girl. He couldn't let her get away.

  With the crystal in one hand, he swung his other fist at her while she twisted and ducked her body to avoid them easily. He didn't expect to be able to hit her, but wanted to keep her off-balance.

  While he tried to fight her, the museum crowd began closing in again. He felt the hands closing in on him and holding his body.

  Heavenly Hawk landed behind him and swept her wings in circles to knock everyone aside. "Please, everyone, stay back. We don't want anyone to get hurt!"

  He let her handle the crowds, and Alley Cat continued to fight Gunslinger. She had apparently given up slashing his guns and just leaped from the wall to the floor, staying out of his range and avoiding his shots. Paragon focused on Goo Girl who shot out another tentacle, and this time it latched onto the crystal in his arms.

  She smiled and pulled. "I'll take that."

  Paragon yanked the crystal back, and Goo Girl grunted as her tentacle stayed stuck to it, jerking her forward. He swung a fist at her again, and this one connected since she was in mid-air. Her whole face dented in around his fist, and the impact sent her flying back. The tentacle let go of the crystal, and he charged for the museum doors.

  A gunshot followed by a scream made him turn to see Alley Cat crumpling to the ground, clutching at her side. Gunslinger had managed to hit her, and now turned his guns on Paragon.

  He ignored his bullets as he ran to Alley Cat, and moved her hand to see a bullethole oozing blood. She had been shot in her hip.

  Heavenly Hawk rushed to Alley Cat as well, and pressed her hands to Alley's wounds. Blood stained her white gloves as she yelled, "It looks like the bullet passed through, but she's still losing a lot of blood. We need to get her out of here."

  "No fucking way," Alley Cat snarled through gritted teeth. "I still want a piece o' him."

  He looked at Gunslinger who just had a big grin on his face like he'd just banged Marilyn Monroe instead of putting a bullet in a young woman. Seeing her hurt made Paragon breathe heavier and go almost blind with rage.

  "No," he roared as he charged at Gunslinger.

  The villain yelling, "Yeah, enough with the appetizer. Let's have the main course." He turned his pistols into grenade launchers again.

  Gunslinger fired two grenades, but Paragon was ready for them this time. The grenades moved slower than bullets, so he could avoid them. He dodged to one side to let one blow up the wall next to him while he snatched the second grenade out of the air, and threw it back.

  The grenade exploded at Gunslinger's feet, sending the villain flying back to smash through a glass case, and into an ancient Egyptian vase. He rolled off onto the floor and collapsed while the vase shattered on his head. Paragon knew Gunslinger had relatively high Durability, so he would survive, but was knocked unconscious.

  MISSION COMPLETE

  +1000 XP

  As Paragon turned away, he faced Goo Girl just as she threw her arms out as tentacles again. This time, three of them grabbed Paragon, Heavenly Hawk, and Alley Cat by their necks. She tightened her grip and they all gasped as the life squ
eezed out of them. Alley Cat slashed her claws at the tentacle around her throat, but the slime reformed as quickly as she could cut it away.

  Goo Girl's tentacles formed bubbles at the ends that swallowed up their heads. Paragon and the girls gurgled as her slime covered their mouths and noses, cutting off their air.

  Through the green goo, he could hear Goo Girl's muffled voice say, "Sorry, but Aphrodisia wants me to kill you. Shame to waste such beautiful girls and a major hunk, but I gotta go with what she says."

  Paragon dropped the crystal to grab hold of her slimy arms and rip them off. His fingers had a hard time getting a grip on the oozing, slippery tentacles and she kept making more faster than he could peel them off. He felt and tasted the gunk making its way into his nostrils and down his throat.

  He reached out to Electronica, who just floated and stared at him. He couldn't understand why she just stood there until he remembered earlier when he had to tell her to shoot and protect people. She looked like a woman, but was still a computer program who had no idea how to be a superhero.

  He heard the ping of a nearby elevator. Aphrodisia stepped out of the elevator with her usual coy smile, looking like shades of green through Goo Girl's bubble.

  She strutted over to pick up the lump of crystal on the ground, and tilted her head at Paragon. "Thanks for gift-wrapping it for me, lover. I'll see you very soon."

  She walked out the front door, and Paragon struggled to follow her but he couldn't break free. In fact, the tentacle around his neck and head pressed harder and he fell to his knees as stars clouded his vision. He felt his strength draining along with his oxygen.

  The skylight over the lobby exploded. Glass rained down onto the museum as a huge black shape plunged down. It landed with a loud boom, and it had a human shape as dark as a shadow. Yet when it raised its head, glowing eyes over a soft mouth looked back at Paragon.