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Chapter-16- Beauty and the Beast

December 26, 8:30pm local New Atlantis ...

The city was quiet. Most of the life-pods were long gone; only twelve remained.

The remaining defense forces throughout New Atlantis had been pushed down to the Underground City; all elevator usage to New Atlantis was shut down. The streets were filled with a tangible sort of silence.

Meanwhile, those who came from the surface - the invading force of supernaturals, mythological or otherwise, were at a state of rest in apartments throughout the uptown sector.

Within one of the many abandoned apartments, Karla was teasing her husband. She wore a tiara that James Parker found yesterday in Falcon's vault. However, the tiara, made of precious metal and expensive jewels, had no worth as an Esoteric Community artifact.

She wore it in her thick canary locks to amuse herself. "You miss your little princess don't you?"

"It's been a long time since I've called you 'little princess,' Karla. You're supposed to be my queen, after all."

She grinned at his response. Her eyes lowered and lifted, drinking in his masculine figure. "Well, maybe just tonight I can be little princess again."

It had been so long apart; she wanted to know his touch again. Deep down, she was disappointed with herself. She concluded her reasoning for letting Eric 'off the hook' so easily was because she felt she deserved it all.

But when he touched her, she cast all her unspoken over-analyzing thoughts to the wind. He wanted to be with her and she wanted her husband back - the man who treated her decently the first twenty-three years of their marriage.

She told herself that it was her fault. She told herself that Eric's attitude was mere deflecting at the thought of Elvena's assumed death. She came up with every excuse in the world as to why it was a good idea to accept him back into her life.

"God, I've missed your touch," she cooed to him.

And what a touch it was; Eric Loupe's caress was feverish and electrifying. He was firm and his actions made her feel more than simply wanted. She felt desired.

The relish and gusto he displayed in divesting her blouse made her shiver with excitement. She loved him before... but now... now she adored him. Karla broke the kiss and teasingly said, "How badly do you want your wife? Show me how badly you need me, Eric."

Her explosive words caused his heart to quicken. He got up on his knees and pulled her skirt down her legs. He jerked them over her feet then he threw the wadded up fabric to the floor. "I can't wait to be your husband again," he replied while reaching for her panties.

Karla arched her back, reached beneath herself and unlatched her bra. She lifted her legs to help Eric remove the lower portion of her underwear, then both pieces were thrown to the floor.

Just to tease him, she rolled to the left to keep him from moving atop of her. She wanted to make it more difficult. "Can you still handle me as your wife?"

Eric firmly placed his hands on her hips to try and get her on her backside again.

Karla wiggled, keeping her knees tightly shut while grinning at him. Her nipples were perky and taut, and her chest was firm with arousal. She reached her arms up to undo the tiara but Eric took her by the wrist.

He grinned at her. "I don't just want you as my wife ... I need you to be my wife." He forced her wrists to the pillow, pinning them to either side of her head. "You can leave the 'hat' on," he added, in regards to the tiara.

She looked up at him, vaguely recalling that line as a lyric from a song by Joe Cocker. "Are you flirting with me?" She lifted a knee, pushing it against his tummy while pulling her wrists from his grip. Karla lifted her head, mock-nipping at his lower lip. "Do you want me?"

Eric lost his grip on her left wrist. He tried to recapture the writhing succubus, murmuring, "I want every inch of you," he said with promise in his voice.

Karla rolled onto her side beneath him, using her shoulder to put distance between their bodies in playful way. "You've got to try harder than that," she told him in a sultry voice. "Think you can handle it?"

She blocked his advances with her free arm. She rolled her body weight onto her other side to help separate her wrist from Eric's hand. The trick worked and she was free of his grip.

"Do I?" Eric's grin widened with a hint of challenge. "I'm going to give you _several_good reasons why you should stay married to me."

"Oh do tell," she replied.

"You once said you would rather me show you than tell you."

"Good, you're learning. I guess you can be trained - I like that." She lifted her elbow, pushing it against his chest. "No powers. You don't use yours this time, and I won't use mine." Karla winked deviously, adding, "Come and get it."

"With pleasure." Eric placed a hand on her back and shoved her over until she was face down on the mattress.

The gorgeous succubus swooned, taken aback by his power and strength. He moved atop of her from behind, placing his hands atop of hers. He interlocked his fingers with her own, grinding his hips against the backside of her thighs.

She could feel his cock brushing against her rump and she wiggled to see if she could get away - not that she wanted to, but because she was feeling playful and frisky.

Karla glanced over her shoulder and said, "Now that you have me, what are you going to do with me?" She felt one of his knees trying to push its way between her legs but she kept her thighs tightly together with a bright grin. "Close but no cigar, Mr. Clinton."

"That joke is as old as I am," he teased.

"Heh heh, yeah. But if I was your secretary, tell me what you'd do to me, hmm?"

"What wouldn't I do to you? The Oval Office would be our play room."

His warm breath against the back of her ear caused a shiver to race down her spine.

"Now, less joking and more moaning."

"Make me." Karla pushed her rump up and pulled her legs in, tucking them into a fetal position. Once she was on her knees, she arched her back, trying to lift him from the bed so that she could better shove him off.

Eric understood by her tone and her body language that she was only playing 'hard to get'. He interlaced his fingers into the strands of her hair and pulled her head back.

She was forced to look up.

He leaned down and brushed his lips against hers.

Karla spoke against her husband's mouth. "I'm not quite sure you'll be able to handle me, sweetheart." She reared up to the best of her ability but Eric used his knees to pin her ankles together. It kept her from being able to roll out from beneath him.

She felt the bulge of his cock against her thighs again - her body ached to feel him inside; she wanted nothing more at that moment in time.

Loupe released her hair, wrapping one hand around her torso. He cupped her breast firmly, keeping his back flush to hers.

His other hand moved down, tickling his fingers over the top of her slit. His nimble fingertips danced over the flesh of her sex, directly above the hood of her clit.

Her mind raced. She waited for the next devious promise to come from his mouth.

His lips brushed the back of her ear. "I'm going to make you beg for more," he promised.

"Mm, don't make threats you can't keep. I _won't_beg this time, baby."

Eric pinched one of her nipples then began to knead it. "You will tonight. I won't stop until I hear you say 'please'. And you have to say it like you mean it."

She clenched her teeth together and shook her head defiantly. "Never," she breathed through her teeth. Conversely, she moved her rump from left to right as if to tease him even more.

Loupe's right hand continued to press against her tight thighs, trying to worm his fingers further down, nearer to her clit.

She squirmed beneath him, her face against the pillow. However, the wriggling was all for show.

Eric felt something moist against his dick. He withdrew his right hand, reached down between their bodies, and guided the tip of his cock to rub against her tightly clenched pussy lips.

She tried to move her hips away but he kept her still. She whined into the pillow to prevent herself from giving in. Karla wanted to keep teasing him but she was so keyed up that she wanted to beg for him to take her.

Eric's right index finger slid into her, causing her body to tense up. He withdrew the digit then shoved it back within her tight confines, helping to lubricate those already-dew-drenched petals of pink.

She continued to struggle but it was a rather half-hearted attempt because she wanted him inside so badly.

Two fingers slid into her.

He opened his fingers, stretching her luscious carnation lips apart. Eric brought his cock up until the tip met the palm of his hand. Carefully, he guided the pulsing tip to her slick aching confines.

With a single, hard, powerful thrust, her husband's throbbing girth sank all the way into her body from behind. His fingertips eased free and he gripped her hip to keep her steady.

She writhed again, rather wildly as if attempting to dislodge him, but in truth she felt complete.

He drew back then stuffed her again with another hard plunge. His right hand moved around her waist and his fingers returned to the moist folds of her silken sex.

She gritted her teeth and clung to the delicious cock buried within her velvet treasure box.

While tight, her wet petal-soft walls caressed and coated every inch of her husband's throbbing dick, from the tip to the hilt.

Karla continued to buck and bear down to better please him. She thrust herself back towards him. Together, they found a rhythm and Eric began to piston that pulsing prick into her eager body.

His fingers found the engorged nub of her clitoris. He started in semi-circles and changed to a vertical stroke. His fingers became slick, lubricated by the dripping juices of her lush, hot entrance, from each time she bucked her hips, which caused his fingers to explore her silky slit.

She pushed her face into the pillow to prohibit herself from crying out in pleasure - one last act of defiance. The rest of her body was already prisoner to every deeply penetrating push.

Loupe's body tensed up. He railed her passionately, his balls slapped against the backside of her thighs and she could feel his heart racing in his chest, thumping against her back.

Eric continued to pound her tight little hole, creating a delightful cacophony of sexual squishing sounds.

With every thrust, he stretched her lips apart, drew back, and plowed into her again with the very same result.

Karla groaned long and loud. She loved being rutted, and she hungered for his release if only to hear him moan.

He growled softly into her ear from behind. "Where's that begging, love?"

"I don't beg," she replied. In a rather commanding voice, she said, "Fuck me hard."

He found her words to be intoxicating and addictive - she could tell by the sound of his shuddering gasp.

Eric pumped his hips, slamming her aching body. His tip flared up, deep within, causing that bulbous mushroom head to stretch her inner walls to perfection.

Her quivering chamber increased in tightness. She whined against the pillow, cumming hard on his cock.

He continued to ride her from tip to hilt, grinding against her cervix at the end of every push.

She clawed at the sheets, wild with need. She lifted her head just enough to say, "Don't you dare stop!"

Karla's pussy became slicker from the hard release, making it easier for Eric to claim her. She arched her back to aid with angle and bit the pillow tightly. Her moans and cries were muffled by the fluffy white sham.

He was relentless, apparently doing his best to hold back his release.

She had him so wound up that she just knew it had to be difficult not to cum just yet. Eric clenched his eyes and continued to fuck her hard, just the way she asked for it.

The two lovers were impassioned by one another, overtaken by visceral urges and animal instincts.

With every thrust and shove of his hips, Eric's cock swelled until he was fully engorged. Loupe rammed into her rhythmically and his balls continued to smack against the backside of her milky thighs.

Again, she cried out into the pillow, trying to stifle the noise - he would have to earn such a treat to the ears.

Eric Loupe was up to the challenge. His hands went to her shoulders, holding her firmly while he plowed into her.

She writhed again, even wilder than before.

By now he could tell from the way she moved that she was climaxing again, becoming impossibly wet. The tightness rescinded but it was too late... a gush of frothy honey rushed into her body, painting her inner walls with pearly seed.

But Eric didn't stop.

Instead, he continued to slam his hips against hers, cramming her hot little chamber full of pulsing cock. A mixture of their release dribbled down her thighs.

"God I'm a hot mess by now," she panted.

Eric didn't answer. He was too riled up to stop, much to her surprise.

She tried to clinch his cock within those folds but she was soaked inside and out and the spasms of pleasure made it difficult to bear down.

Her eyes widened, she released the pillow and lifted her head as if in shock.

Her train of thought became derailed as instincts took over. The sensation of his hot liquid inside of her was incredible.

Again she came; Karla experienced a powerful tightness in her gut. She felt herself explode in moisture. Her jaw dropped, her eyes widened, and she shouted in relief and sexual satisfaction right from the diaphragm.

He didn't stop. "Beg me, Karla. Beg your husband for every drop. Beg me to fill you again ... beg me to make you cum until you can't feel your legs. Do it."

"N-no!"

"Say please," he ordered then closed his teeth over her ear but not hard enough to hurt her.

"Nghh! I'm cumming again," she cried instead.

"Do you want me to fill you again?"

"Yes," she panted in a breathless way. "Yes, cum in me again, Eric. I want it!"

"How bad?" he murmured, still holding the tip of her ear captive.

"More than anything! I'll do anything, Eric, fill me!"

Eric offered a teasing bite at her neck and she gasped. His hips never stopped, hilting himself within her after each thrust. "Say please!"

Karla drew in a deep breath then, at the top of her lungs, she shouted, "PLEASE ERIC! PLEASE CUM IN ME! PLEASE!"

Regardless of the fact that he'd recently cum, her latest release caused her inner muscles to cling to his cock again.

Those aching frothy folds milked his manhood and the sensation was fantastic for both.

Eric took her by the hips firmly, withdrew to the tip, and rammed into her all the way.

Every inch pushed into her body and she reacted wildly, pulling part of the sheet from the mattress so that she could hold it in her fist.

Her body flailed about beneath him. Her mind was like jelly, now reacting in the most feral way.

Eric groaned long and loud.

Meanwhile, Karla lost herself in the throes of ecstasy and unbridled sensational passion and pleasure.

He put his feet against the headboard to stabilize himself, hunched over his wife.

Karla shouted again, so perfectly mounted from behind.

Eric stuffed her to the limit, placing his knees against either side of her hips. Not in many years had she experienced such perfection. Her walls felt raw and ached from friction; she loved every second and every inch.

"Please, baby, please cum in me! Please, fuck me, Eric!" She didn't even realize what she was saying. Her conscious mind was mush and her body was afire with instinct.

An intense orgasm caused her breath to catch. Karla screeched in absolute pleasure, flailing about beneath the master of her body.

She submitted to him, begging for more and swearing herself to him. He became the ruler of her body and, unable to think clearly, she began chanting the word, "Please" over and over.

She reached down between her thighs and cupped his balls, cradling them in her palm. She coaxed the plump orbs with her touch, trying to help him to achieve one more release.

Eric was on autopilot. At the back of his head, he subconsciously felt her walls lock down around him again.

She reached a record-breaking orgasm and her legs pushed apart, opening her kneeling stance.

His jaw dropped and he called out in pleasure. A thick, gooey rope of cream jetted into her body. He felt his cock milked by her pulsing folds of aching flesh.

They reached climax together, feeding off the other's powerful orgasm.

Eric's legs buckled and he slumped. The weight of his body caused her to drop to the mattress in silence.

She panted through clenched teeth but was otherwise unresponsive.

Loupe struggled to control his breathing, his manhood still throbbing within her voluptuous, lithe temple.

His heart pounded and his limbs felt weak. He whispered against her ear, "I love you."

No response - the unconscious succubus lay on her belly with his chest against her back.

Eric lifted his head and peered over her shoulder. He saw her eyes half-lidded and her face was relaxed. She appeared to gaze straight through him, unresponsive. "Did ... you faint?" he asked but she remained silent.

He thrust forward once more and, somehow, it jolted Karla awake with a gasp.

With extreme urgency, she reached a hand back to his hip and dug her nails into his skin. She gasped air in through her teeth with a hiss. "Don't move!"

Alarmed, Eric froze atop of her. "Are you okay?"

She nodded weakly. "That was amazing."

"What's wrong?" he whispered.

"...Very sensitive. Just ... don't move. Relax for a minute." Her mind was clearing up, finally. She quirked her brows, perceiving the reason for his concern. "Did ... did I pass out?"

"I think so."

"Wow," she said, halfway chuckling with disbelief. She blinked twice. Her face reddened brightly with a rush of blood to her cheeks. "Did, uh ... did I really, uh..." Karla licked her lips. "I begged you, didn't I?"

"Just like our first time together."

She swallowed and her chuckle turned somewhat nervous. "That's..." She wanted to say 'awkward' but it wasn't because she trusted this side of herself to the man she loved. "That's hot. I don't even really recall saying it. I blanked out for a moment there. I can't even move." A smile began to spread across her face.

Despite the sweat that mattered her hair to her forehead and cheeks, and despite all the gooey cream dribbling down her legs, and the burn of muscles she'd never knew existed, she also felt a deep relaxation and the aftermath of physical exhaustion.

"You okay, little princess?"

She chuckled breathlessly. "I don't even want to move. I feel _so_good."

"Are you thirsty?" he whispered.

"I'm parched," she replied. "But I don't want to move yet. I think I could probably sleep the rest of the night."

"You? Sleep after sex?"

"So long as it doesn't require moving, I'm all about it."

He smiled softly and said, "I love you."

Her soft smile broadened significantly. She realized the bed sheets were still balled up in one of her hands.

Karla released the fabric and saw that there was a slight rip in the sheets. She glanced at her nails and grinned impishly, seeing that none of them were broken. "You better not hurt me again, I'm just..."

Eric wrapped his arms around her. "Promise me you'll stand by my side forever. Karla, your battlefield is my battlefield. We're a team until death due we part. I promise."

"Say it again."

Eric grinned. "I promise."

She cooed gentle sounds of pleasure to him. In a soft tone, she added, "That's hot. Now I see why you like hearing me say 'please'. Say it again."

"I promise," he murmured, then softly chanted the words, "I promise, I promise, I promise," in a teasing way as if to remind her of how she'd repeated the word, 'please' earlier.

His words caused her to laugh. "Eric!" She swatted at his hip unable to move much more than that. "Hush, you!"

"Even _I_lost count of your orgasms, hon."

"Oh geeeeze," she buried her face into the pillow again. After a moment, she peered back at him from out of the corner of her eye.

In a soft voice, half-muffled by the pillow, she added, "Be nice to me. Tell me you love me and tell me how much you missed me when I left Paris."

He brushed his lips against her ear again. "I love you, I adore you and living without you was like breathing through a straw for a year. Even though I got used to it after a while, having you back was the most amazing deep breath of fresh air I ever experienced. I love you."

Karla was not only impressed, but she was taken by his sincerity. A feminine giggle slipped free, "I really don't know what to say." She tilted her head a bit more, looking back at him. "If you stay just like this ... you'll make a _lovely_husband."

A brilliant smile illuminated his face. He pushed smarmy, sweat-laden locks of hair away from his eyes. "How about that drink, now?"

He leaned down and buried his nose into her neck. She squealed, ticklish from her body being overly sensitive at the moment.

The succubus squirmed beneath him then shuddered with another soft groan. Her arms tensed up and she drew in a jagged breath through her nose.

"Are you okay?"

She nodded quickly and exhaled through her teeth. "I, uh ... add one more to the list." She saw confusion on his face then grinned impishly. "I came again from wiggling about just now..."

"I like knowing I did a good job."

She took on a dreamy expression. "That last one was unexpected and very nice." Her head returned to the pillow, lying on her left cheek. "I think I could really use that drink now."

Loupe chuckled in a good-natured way then, gently, eased from her body.

He saw her flinch but also saw that she looked quite satisfied. Seeing her this way inflated his masculine ego tremendously. "I'll be right back. By all means, I'd prefer if you stay right here in my bed. I want to wake up besides you."

She rolled onto her side and grinned at him. "Eric, for once you're saying all the right words." She paused, grinned, and then added, "Okay. We'll sleep in the same bedroom tonight."

X

X

Nicky's ankles crisscrossed over Reno's back. Her hands clenched the blankets, creating little fabric dunes of bunched up material.

Their bodies crashed together like waves that lapped at a shoreline.

Her heart pounded in her torso, overcome by blissful pleasure. Her mate's lips returned to her neck. She lifted her head to grant him access. Sensual nibbles turned into passionate suckling.

She closed her eyes.

Having her legs up allowed for a sensation of incredible depth. She swooned, nearing her third release of the early, evening. Nicky's hair fanned out around her head and her lower lip trembled.

His chest was flush against hers, his hands cupped firmly at either side of her rump. Every thrust of his body against hers was perfection.

Nicky opened her eyes and lifted her head somewhat. She gazed down at their entwined bodies, and brought her left hand up to cup the backside of his head. Her hand slid to his cheek; she saw her diamond ring sparkle in the lamplight.

Nicky guided his lips to hers and opened her mouth until she could taste his tongue tip.

She sensed his love and his adoration for her. She felt wanted but it was different this time. She felt whole. She also enjoyed Reno's passion, desire and the incredible excitement he displayed from this joining.

The look on his face excited her. His firm touch brought their love making up to the next level.

A shudder rippled over her form, causing her thighs to quiver and her body to shake. Nicky broke the kiss and cried out against his lips.

Pleasure overwhelmed her small frame. She bore down tightly, coating his girth with the slick juices of another release.

She gasped sharply, not from pain but from surprise and satisfaction. Nicky needed nothing more than to feel a connection.

She needed to feel like he belonged with her.

Reno sank completely within her; she clenched her mate from tip to hilt, completed by all of him. With his arms around her and him inside of her, Nicky's pleasure was absolute.

The man to whom she'd given her virginity so many years back was amazing. Armed with the new ability to hear the unheard, see the unseen and feel the previously unfelt, Nicky was able to appreciate how well they connected physically. Yet she couldn't remember sex ever being this good with him in the past.

Her voice intensified, surprising herself and ringing in her own ears.

Her pleasure was the result of a swell of intense physical sensations welling up in her chest.

The emotional connection complimented the physical joining - it all culminated in something she'd never felt before this love making session. This was the first time, after all, that she experienced an orgasm with her new ability.

Again, Reno kissed her. She felt helpless in his arms, so completely drained by the intensity of his want, his touch and his need. It was never like this before.

Sex was always fun, but now it had the added bonus of her hyper perceptive sensory overload. Thankfully she wasn't the ticklish type. Every touch was pure pleasure.

Nevada's hands explored her body, trailing over her torso. He occasionally cupped her bosom, kneading her sensitive perky breasts with a firm touch. His other hand moved to her hip, then continued down.

She felt his palms firmly caress her upper thigh. His hand disappeared beneath her, gripping her backside. His outstretched fingers felt so large, covering nearly every inch of her rump.

Nicky's eyes rolled up in her head. She was practically panting from the joining.

He broke the kiss and whispered against her lips, "I forgot how we can be together, Nicky." Before she could answer, he took her breath away with another sumptuous kiss.

His fingers roamed her body as if laying claim to everything that he could touch.

For the first time that she could remember, she felt incredibly submissive to her partner.

Reno had his way with her and somehow made her want a little more.

She couldn't understand if it was her new ability, of the fact he was now more experienced. She enjoyed his learned touch, and did her best not to imagine what he was like with anyone else.

He stuffed her deeply; she was satisfied and content, but nothing was more powerful than the new ability to perceive an emotion from her lover.

Her left hand traced his spine until her fingers met her feet, which were crisscrossed at the small of his back.

Another release - she was temporarily insane, caught up with the throes of ecstasy.

Her arms snaked beneath his and turned upwards at the elbows, clinging to his shoulder blades. She broke the kiss and placed her chin against his shoulder, gasping for air.

A fresh shudder raced down her back, feeling his lips move to her neck. "I'm cumming so hard," she whined into his ear. "I've lost count," she added breathlessly. Her body tensed up again, her eyes pinched shut, and in a sultry tone she groaned through her clenched teeth.

Just as the sensations began to wind down, Reno whispered, "I missed this with you." For some reason that sent her over the edge again, spiraling into the overlapping waves of rapture and other indescribable jolts of pleasure.

With her endorphins so elevated, she felt almost delirious. "If ... if no time passed," she panted, "then that means I'm still ovulating. It was blue-dot week."

"Good," Reno said. "I'm not going to stop until we've made good on that." His voice was full of command and promise.

Part of her wondered if she could last much longer while the other half of her mind wondered why Reno had never made love to her in this way before now. Or was it her new ability that made it so enjoyable?

She pushed her hands down, beneath her crisscrossed ankles and gripped at his masculine backside, pulling him to herself.

Her guiding touch aided in how well he drove into her body again and again. She sang out in pleasure once more; her body tensed so tightly that it pushed him over the metaphorical edge.

Reno cried out, exclaiming his pleasure. It pleased her to hear him. It pleased her to know she was able to totally and completely satisfy her man.

Her man ... Was this really love making? Or was this laying a claim to her possession? She couldn't be sure, but right now she didn't care. She just wanted to reconnect after experiencing a lonely death.

A sensation of frothy hot liquid flooded her from within, corked by the thickness of his girth.

The joining was intimate beyond words or thoughts.

She rocked her hips upwards to better stimulate their bodies in an attempt to milk him of every drop he could offer.

Nicky felt her heart racing in her chest - it was the oddest sensation to feel the thumping in her ribcage. Her hips gyrated and her thighs quivered uncontrollably from the blissful force of his ardent lovemaking.

Nicky lay with her betrothed in a passionate embrace, undulating, much like the sea far over their heads. And he, above her like the sky, moved over every inch of her, forever. Their bodies met at the horizon. They writhed as one, lost in the bliss of their unity.

Both began to calm. After a while they fell asleep in one another's arms, snuggly locked together like pieces to a puzzle.

X

X

Hours later...

Faux sunlight created shadows , which stretched across the street. Nicky, wearing sweatpants and a t-shirt, stood outside alone. Reno was still asleep but she needed to stretch.

She wanted to go for a jog but didn't want to risk being separated from the group. She didn't know where everyone else was staying, and she didn't yet feel safe leaving the immediate area.

A door opened on the apartment complex across the street. Nicky's doppelgänger emerged from the door, wearing a form-fitting dress. It was skimpy and looked fantastic on her body, yet it was extremely un-classy.

The clone had high heel shoes slung over her shoulder. She walked in bare feet down the steps to the sidewalk.

Nicky's sharp eyes caught every detail. Her clone's skirt hem was rumpled, partially exposing the swell of her upper left thigh in the back. Her hair was a mess, her makeup was smeared and faded.

Nicky crossed the street and approached the clone. "You. Yeah, you."

Nichole glanced over at Nicky and grimaced. "What?"

"I thought you were living with my niece, nephew and future brother-in-law?"

"Yeah, so?"

Nicky smirked. "So what's with the 'walk of shame,' huh?"

"None of your business."

Nicky confronted her head-on. She lowered her gaze slowly, then lifted her eyes, taking in every last detail she could see with her newly augmented perception ability.

"Why are you bothering me?"

"You're covered in werewolf fur. Black on the outside of the dress, just like the monster guy from yesterday. But you weren't wearing this dress last time I saw you, so..." Nicky changed her tone, adding, "Brown and grey strands are at the collar and sleeves. Now, I seem to recall that wolf-monster guy saying that you changed into one of those things when around him."

"Don't get in my face like this," said Nichole.

Nicky crossed her arms over her chest. "You went to see him didn't you? You wore that dress and those heels and you went to see that furry wolf creature. Then you took the dress off, and it didn't go back on until you were shedding brown and grey fur. Am I right?"

Nichole turned to the right, trying to go around Nicky.

Nicky sidestepped, putting herself directly in front of her doppelgänger. "Where are you going?"

"Really? You're really going to get in my face?"

"Maybe I am."

"It's none of your business."

Nicky narrowed her gaze. "You listen to me, you cheap imitation knock-off - I was told that you're in a relationship with Fox, Topaz and Vincent. Now, having said that, I would like to add that I'm completely offended that you're dating the twins because you're genetically related to them. But no one else has a problem with it..."

"Exactly," Nichole snapped. "No one else has a problem with it. So leave me alone."

"But, see, you're slumming with wolf-man. So you just cheated on my brother's kids. You cheated on Reno's brother. That offends me a whole lot more than whatever poor life choices you made so far. They're family, and you went behind their backs and fucked some dog creature?"

"Do you even know Rufus?"

"Nope. But I'm starting to think he's a pig."

"Well don't judge him unless you know him. He's not a pig. He was my first. I went to comfort him after I found out he lost his girlfriend."

"You're not very convincing - he still sounds like a pig for sleeping with you."

Nichole glowered at Nicky. "Don't you dare judge him. He said 'no' until the third glass of bourbon. I know him better than you, and I knew he needed to be held."

"So you turned into one of those freaky things and shagged him, huh?"

Nichole made a fist with her right hand. "Back off, bitch. Just because you look like me doesn't mean you know what it's like to be me."

"Bitch, huh? You still cheated on my family. I should punch you in the face for that."

"I'd really like to see you try," said Nichole. "I was the enforcer for this city. For years I made everyone afraid of me. I would break you in half, you no-power bully bitch."

"Maybe I am being a bully," said Nicky with a shrug of indifference. "But you still cheated on my family. You're still a slut. Of all the bad things Falcon did, he gave you great genes and you're soiling them by sleeping with three people ... yet that somehow wasn't enough for you - you decide to cheat on everyone by fucking some animal monster guy."

"First off," said Nichole, "Rufus isn't some 'animal monster,' so learn some respect or I'll be the one to teach it to you."

"Do they even know you were here fucking that guy?"

Nichole clenched her other hand into a second fist. "I don't want to hurt you, but you're pushing it. What the hell is your problem with me?"

"You're the bitch that attacked Reno."

"That was twenty-six years ago. I didn't know any better. Falcon made me, and he gave me these powers."

"How does that even work?" Nicky said, taking another step closer to Nichole to unnerve the twin. "You're alive for less than a year, you have the maturity of an adult with no life experience or social skills, and you go around acting like a bitch to Reno."

"Look, twins are basically genetic copies. We should be sisters, not enemies."

Nicky scoffed. "I would slap my sister upside her head like a proper sibling. Nobody hurts my niece and nephew. Especially not some cheating sl'ore like you."

"Excuse me?" Nichole reached up and shoved Nicky back. "Watch your mouth. I swear to God I will put you flat on your back."

"I'd love to see you try."

Nichole held her hands out. She changed the molecular composition of the air above her palms, causing it to ignite. The end result was simulated flames that flickered about like small campfires above each hand. "You _sure_you want to see me try?"

"Yeah." Nicky glanced at a nearby car parked on the curb. It didn't have wheels, but it was good cover. Her eyes zeroed in on a white canister clipped to the frame bar between the windshield and passenger window. A fire extinguisher.

"Don't try calling my bluff. I don't make them. I will seriously..."

Nicky caught her clone off guard with a quick jab to the woman's nose. She snatched one of the high heels from Her surprised clone, drew her foot up, and kicked Nichole to the ground.

Nicky ran towards the car and used the borrowed shoe to try and break the glass. It didn't work. Nicky grimaced. She threw the shoe back at Nichole, sriking the clone in her face,

Nicky jumped up and struck the side window with both feet. She dropped to the street, quickly got back up, fueled by adrenaline, and grabbed the little white canister.

Stunned, Nichole sat up and rubbed her face. She got to her feet and ignited her hands again. "That's it!" Nichole turned to her right, just in time to be covered with the gush of the extinguishing fluid.

Nichole looked down at her hands, slimed with the white goo from the shoulders down. She coughed a bit and lifted her gaze...

...Nicky leapt from the hood of the automobile, burying her right heel in Nichole's forehead.

The clone flew back, struck the bricks, and bounced to the sidewalk with a groan. Nichole rubbed the side of her head and coughed again.

Nicky gave a downward tug at her sweatpants to keep them from riding up her thighs. She looked around, distracted by the odd sound of silence coming from throughout the city.

"You bitch," Nichole muttered. She got to her feet and pushed her hair out of her face. Nichole reached for the earrings in her ear and discarded them to the pavement.

Nicky's attention returned to her doppelgänger. She focused on the woman and started to strafe slowly, circling her opponent. "Look, you deserved the punch in the face. Far as I'm concerned, this fight is over. I'm done. You just needed to know your place. Now, you're going to go home and tell Fox and Topaz that you fucked up. They'll be upset, but it's up to them how to handle your inability to be faithful."

"Funny how you judge me when Reno was fucking that succubus slut."

Nicky remained unfazed. "He told me about it. He thought I was dead. He and she were in mourning. Guess what? Eric and I came back from the dead, and now both Reno and Karla are happy."

"The succubus is still a sleeze-ball. Your man probably has crabs."

"You're an idiot who needs to think of an original name. What about you? Are you happy? If not, you need to walk away from that relationship."

"My relationships are none of your business," Nichole snapped.

"You're right, but when my brother's kids are involved, I make it my business. I grew up with those two. I was like an older sister to them, because we were so close in age. I babysat them when their mother died of cancer."

"She didn't die," Nichole muttered. "You see? You're talking about shit you don't understand. You should butt out of everyone's business. Go away. Wait for Reno. I'll tell Vincent to have him call you when this is all over."

"Oh, I know she didn't die. Reno told me after I woke up. But at the time, I was there for them when John had to reintegrate them back into being a family again. So you're the one who doesn't know her own ass from a hole in the ground."

"God, I guess now I know where my bitchy genes came from."

Nicky offered her hand forward. "Now, this fight is over. Don't let it go to your head. This was a lesson of humility."

Nichole swatted Nicky's hand away. "Don't touch me."

"What the hell is your problem?"

Nichole glowered in reply. "You think you're hot shit because you got the first hit?"

"Uh, last I checked you just got humiliated. This is the part where you become humbled."

Nichole tensed up.

Nicky felt uncomfortable. She couldn't breathe. She tried to suck in fresh oxygen but couldn't. She reached for her throat and stumbled back.

Nichole grinned. "You're the one who needs the lesson in humility, you bitch. You bullied me, now I'm going to show you how it feels. You haven't seen Fox and Topaz in twenty-seven years. They don't need you to hold their hands anymore. They probably never did, seeing as how strong they are."

Nicky staggered until her back met the side of the car with the broken passenger window. She slid down the front quarter panel and dropped to the curb. Her lips turned blue from lack of oxygen. She struggled to remain calm so as not to burn up what little oxygen was left in her bloodstream at this point.

Nichole bent at the waist, leaning over Nicky. In a taunting voice, she said, "For your information, our relationship transcends what I did with Rufus. I used to be the bully of this city. Now I see where I got it. You are the one who needs to sit down and shut up."

Nicky's adrenaline spiked. She looked around at the world. She couldn't tell if it was out of focus or if things were too sharp. She heard a pounding. There was two separate rhythms, both of which were thumping loudly in her ears.

Nichole brought her own hands to either side of her head and covered her ears, but the thumping didn't stop for her either.

Nicky slumped to her side, against the front of the hover car, trying to take a breath but couldn't. Every smell was overpowering.

Nicky smelled the sweat of her clone, the smell of automobile lubricants in the steering column and doorframe, and even the scent of oxygen in the air. It burned her nose, but it was torture - she sniffed the air in, yet she couldn't feel her lungs fill with air.

Nicky experienced pain in her chest. She brought a hand up to where a knife once jutted from her heart. There was no blade this time. She pushed her fingers against her ribs but felt nothing.

Meanwhile, Nichole pushed her hands over her ears and clenched her eyes. "What the hell are you doing to me?!" she shouted in a hoarse voice.

Nicky felt herself blacking out but it was peaceful and painless, unlike the last time she experienced her encroaching death.

The clone dropped to her knees and curled into a fetal position. "Stop! Stop it!" She clenched her eyes shut and covered her ears with her arms over her head. "Stop! What is that smell?!"

Air filtered into Nicky's lungs. Fresh air. It was wonderful yet she still felt too lightheaded to move. The world faded back into focus and clarity resumed. She felt high from the rush of oxygen.

Nicky looked across the sidewalk to Nichole, who appeared to be in immense pain. She got to her feet and stumbled. Nicky recovered after the second step and put her hands out to steady herself. She approached her doppelgänger and took the woman by the hair. "What's wrong with you?"

"It's too loud and everything is too bright and intense and..."

"...What?"

"The smells burn my nose," she sulked. "I can't see again. It's worse than when I was blinded..."

Realization struck Nicky. Somehow, her clone was manifesting the ability that Nicky discovered seconds before Rick Peterson buried a knife in her heart.

Nicky pulled Nichole's head up by her hair. "You can't control it?"

"Stop shouting," Nichole muttered in a soft, pleading voice.

"Oh, I'm not shouting. But your head is probably pounding right now. I went through this last night, after I laid down and slept a few hours in Reno's arms. Sucks doesn't it?"

"Stop yelling!"

Nicky guided Nichole's face into the side of the car door. "Here, let me help you sleep it off." Nicky drew her clone's head back and slammed it into the car door a second time. "You tried to kill me with your powers, huh? That was pretty slick. I don't know how you did it, but I won't be fooled again."

Again, Nicky slammed Nichole's face against the side of the car door, cracking the fiberglass panel. "Daddy always told me and my brother if you don't win a fight in the first ten seconds, it's going to be a hell of a lot harder to win." Again, Nicky planted Nichole's face into the car door. "You should have finished me off while you had the chance."

Nichole's hair gave out and she fell away from Nicky's hands with clumps missing from her scalp. Nichole rolled away, dazed and still suffering the effects of seeing every little detail, hearing the pounding of her own heart, and the burn of her nose. She could smell every scent in the vicinity but the smells were overpowering.

Nicky lifted her foot and stomped on Nichole's head, driving the clone's face into the curb. "I was taken away from Reno!" Nicky brought her foot down again. "I was stabbed to death!" A third time. "I missed Fara giving birth! I missed the twins growing up! I had my name and my face stolen!"

Nichole laid on the curb. Every time she lifted her head, it was shoved back down into the pavement. She lay there, sobbing.

"If you want my goddamn power, you can_have it_. It's a curse, isn't it? Well, maybe next time you'll take that punch in the nose with more dignity. Maybe next time you'll shake the hand that's offered and stop fighting when the fight is over!" Nicky shouted the last word.

Nichole cringed, but was in too much pain to reach up and cover her ears. Her head throbbed between the sound, the broken nose, the busted lip, and overpowering metallic taste of salt on her tongue. She couldn't be sure but she thought she might have bit her tongue tip at one point, too.

Nicky used her foot and shoved Nichole over. The clone rolled onto her side. She half flopped on her back. Nichole's eyes glistened with tears and redness around the irises.

Nicky leaned over the other woman but refrained from spitting on her. "I'm not going to kill you. I'm not going to do that to Fox and Topaz. You actually mean something to my niece and nephew, as well as my future brother-in-law, so ... lay there, lick your wounds, and suck it up."

The clone said nothing.

Nicky smirked. "And next time we see each other, I don't want to hear you run your mouth. But if you come after me, be prepared because guess what? Reno has a power too."

Nichole remained silent, staring off into space to avoid eye contact with Nicky.

Nicky smirked. "Would you believe it? He can throw lightning bolts. If you come after me, he'll fry your ass. It'll be really hard to spread your legs when your butt's burned off."

Nichole wanted to roll her eyes but everything hurt. She wanted to say she already knew about Reno's lightning, but she couldn't open her mouth.

She laid there, waiting for Nicky to leave. She remained silent and motionless, wishing she still had the ability to heal.

"You had to show off, and set your hands on fire. You had to try and suffocate me with that bullshit air trick."

Nichole sighed through the corner of her mouth, unable to breathe through her broken nose. If Falcon really was dead, as per the rumors that were going around the camps, then Nichole would have to heal the old fashion way forever. She silently thanked God that she didn't lose her sight again.

Nicky reached down and took hold of Nichole's dress. She pulled, sitting the clone up until Nichole was leaning against the door panel of the hover car.

The panel adjacent to Nichole's head had a hole where the fiberglass panel shattered from being battered with a forehead a moment prior.

Nicky took a deep breath and sighed, glad to be able to breathe. "I didn't want to fight you. I wanted to hit you in the mouth for cheating on my family with that ... whatever he is. That werewolf guy. Jesus Christ," Nicky complained, "incest wasn't a cringe-worthy enough fetish? You had to try bestiality, too? Do me a favor, change your name and get cosmetic surgery. You'll need it now. I don't want you looking like me anymore. God, you're a cheat, a slut, a dog fucker, and you like sleeping with blood relatives. You must really have zero respect for yourself."

Nichole lifted her left hand and gestured with her middle finger.

Nicky snorted with amusement. She lifted her own left hand and showed her clone the diamond ring on her finger.

"You," Nichole took a breath, then continued speaking. "Are a heartless bitch."

"Or maybe I'm just protective of my family. You know, judging the way you've been acting, maybe you're just a soulless bitch. Huh, I wonder if clones even have souls. Look, I did not want to fight you. Not like that. You should have killed me."

"I wouldn't..." Nichole drew in a shallow breath. "I wouldn't have killed the twins' aunt. I was defending..." she took another breath and said, "...defending myself. You're a psycho."

"A punch in the mouth for cheating on my family isn't psychotic. A psychopath isn't ruled by their emotions - they're ruled by their lack of emotions. Sort of like when you somehow thought it was okay to choke the air from my lungs."

"Shh, too loud," Nichole murmured. "Shh. You won, just go away."

"Then don't steal my ability. Maybe you are a Parker - you're one hell of a thief. You stole my face, my name, my life, and now you even took my ability."

"I can't help it. Most of them I have ... I stole because I had an addiction. I couldn't help it at first. It took years to learn how to control my action. I'm sober for six months, now."

Nicky rubbed sweat from her forehead. "I had an addiction once. I felt overwhelmed by my family name and their money. I turned to drugs for a while but I beat it. I took control of my life and I went to work for the DEA so I could stop other people from being addicted to drugs."

"I don't want your power. Just ... go away."

Nicky sighed. The woman had a bloody face, red eyes, and one of her earrings was stuck in her foot. Nicky knelt down and carefully pulled the earring from her twin's foot. "Can I get you anything? A bottle of water or something?"

"You can go away."

"Look, I'm trying to..."

"Shh, please." Nichole drew in another short breath. "I only have your power because you're near. It's temporary. Please, if you go away, so will your power. Just ... go away. You win okay?"

Nicky rubbed the bump on the back of her head where she'd hit her own head earlier. "Look, let me get you back to the twins, or at least get you some water or..."

"Just ... go ... away. Topaz suggested I work things out with Rufus so that I could get over him. She said I should get it out of my system. I didn't fucking cheat. It was their idea, because they saw how fucked up in the fucking head I am. I gave my virginity to him because I thought I was trying to get information from him. I was an idiot, okay?"

Nicky frowned.

Nichole continued. "And for your information, I had fucking sex with Rufus in his human form. I woke up as a werewolf by accident because I borrowed his ability. The fucking black hairs are from laying the dress on the floor. The goddamn brown and fucking grey hairs are from when I shed the fur and changed back. Then I pulled the dress on and left. You're too nosey. I'm_glad_ I met you so I learn how not to act. I don't want to be anything like you."

Nicky huffed with indignation. "Lady, you are me, but you never lived my life, so you'll never understand me. Where are the twins staying? I'll send one of them to come get you."

"I'm fine. I'll walk home. I just need a minute. Please, just go away. Your stupid power makes my head hurt worse."

Nicky sighed. "Fine. Sit there and sulk. You make sure you tell the twins the truth. I hit you for fucking Rufus. You went off the deep end and tried to use fire, and then you tried to choke me to death. You tell them that I defended _my_self. I'll deal with whatever repercussions - it wouldn't be the first time I've had an argument with family members. That's what a family is - people that love and accept you even after you disagree on an issue."

"Go away," Nichole said, raising her voice on the last word. "You're making my head hurt! Just go away!"

Nicky threw her hands up in the air. "Fine then." She pointed at the ground. "Mind yourself, there's broken glass two feet away from where your hand is..."

"Please!"

Nicky walked back towards the apartment she'd been sharing with Reno overnight.

Nichole began sobbing. It hurt her eyes and her head, but the pain lessened as Nicky got further away. Finally, the pounding in her ears concluded. The over saturation of color and brightness stopped. The disgusting taste of blood became tolerable.

Nichole sighed in a semblance of relief. She looked up towards the window where Rufus was probably still asleep. However, a woman stood over Nichole, startling her. She squinted. "Who are you?"

The woman lowered to one knee and traced her thumb over Nichole's cheek. "It's a shame - all those abilities and you didn't use them effectively."

Nichole tilted her head, gently pressing her hand into the woman's soft touch. "I couldn't kill her. She means too much to my friends and loved ones."

"I see she spared you, as well."

"Yeah. One of Falcon's people murdered her and she remembered it vividly. When I fought back, she must have ... relived it or something. She went nuts and manifested something I couldn't handle."

"What else can you do?"

"Who are you?"

The woman brought her other hand up and gently cupped Nichole's face. "I'm one of the goddesses from the Celestial Realm. I'm here to help. What other powers do you have?"

"I have quite a few. I can levitate and project myself into a target. I can manipulate molecules to create fire or..." she took a breath before continuing. "I can also take the oxygen from someone's lungs. I can turn metal to sludge or freeze the water in the air, creating a block of ice. I took it from a boy named Johann. It's taken years to perfect it."

"You have so many powers, surely you have ones you didn't use on your twin."

Nichole nodded. She reached behind herself and lifted the car she was leaning against. "I can also slow time to a crawl. With a bit more practice, I'm told I'll be able to stop it all together." Nichole grimaced. "I should have used that on Reno's fiancée. Dammit. I wasn't thinking straight."

"Falcon gave you these abilities?"

"No, he gave me the power to steal abilities that are genetically compatible. I can borrow most abilities temporarily. If I'm around the person long enough, I develop it with empathy. But to take something quickly, I have to kill them. Again, it only works," she paused, taking another breath through her mouth due to having a broken nose, "when I'm compatible with them genetically."

"So your power is to steal powers, like Falcon?"

"Yes."

The goddess moved closer to Nichole. "I've always wanted strength. I'm tired of being limited by the frailness of my feminine limbs. I've always wanted to change the properties of matter around me. But, most of all, I've always wanted to control time like Raul."

"Who is Raul?"

"It doesn't matter."

"I think I've met a Raul ... or maybe Vincent mentioned him. Does he speak Spanish?"

The female deity gently rubbed her thumbs over Nicky's cheeks. "Shh, it doesn't matter."

"It might. He could teach me how to better control it."

"You've taken a serious blow to the head," said the goddess. "You have a concussion."

"Can you borrow powers as well?"

"I haven't tried yet. It was recently bestowed upon me to take powers. You are the first I have found with abilities, Nichole." The deity reached her left hand down, beneath the car that Nichole leaned against. She tensed her arm and lifted. The car eased off the pavement. "Mm, apparently it works."

"Can you heal injuries? Because I'm able to breathe through my nose, now. I might be taking your healing ability."

He goddess shook her head. She put her left hand back on Nichole's face. "It takes a while to heal. Human weapons pass through me with minimal damage because I'm slightly out of phase with this world. I suppose, with enough injury, I could become incapacitated to a volley of fire involving the human bullet. However, blunt trauma is a far different story, and I seem to be immune to such."

"I wish I could heal again. I lost that ability. I'm not sure how."

"Perhaps you stole a temporary ability. Perhaps your empathy to take abilities slowly can also fade when you're not around the original host for a long time."

"I thought it was because of the nuclear detonation. The flash, or maybe the radiation, I don't know."

"Do you regret working for Falcon?"

"Yes," Nichole said with a sigh. "I'm told he is dead, now. The Spaniard stopped time and Reno did something that would cause Aris to choke to death."

The deity nodded. "So that's how it happened. Whatever the object was, Falcon swallowed it. However, you should know that he's still alive."

Nichole's eyes widened. "I have to tell the others so we can kill him."

The goddess nodded slowly. "I see. And if I'm the one who kills him, I may be able to take some of his abilities?"

"Yes. That would be one way to take them. Look, there's something I need to tell you. It's easy to become addicted to new powers."

"Mm, I see. Well, I want more abilities." The goddess rubbed her thumbs over Nichole's cheeks again, caressing either side of her face. "I've always wanted to regenerate a wound. I'll have to find that one. But I've always wanted to stop time, as well."

"Falcon doesn't have that one."

"I know." The deity offered a smile. "But you do." She used her newly borrowed power of strength and jerked Nichole's head from left to right, breaking her spinal cord.

Nichole's eyes fluttered rapidly with confusion, unable to feel the rest of her body anymore. She opened her mouth but sound didn't come out.

The celestial woman leaned forward and kissed Nichole's forehead. "You were always a broken girl, Nichole. It wasn't your fault, but switching sides ... well, that was just unacceptable. I'm told you once used your abilities on the twins, but now your love of them has weakened you. You've changed a great deal; you're pathetic."

Tears filled Nichole's eyes.

The goddess used her thumbs to clear Nichole's blood red gaze. "Conner Parker is here. He's the piece we've been waiting for. Topaz and her baby are no longer necessary. When I kill them, you will be reunited. I'll send all your friends to be with you."

The blond deity stepped back and clutched at her throat. "You would ... try to choke me?" She gasped for air and staggered.

Nichole felt herself beginning to die. She wondered if it felt anything like what her twin went through. She felt sadness. She felt incomplete, wanting to know what Topaz's child would be like, and wanting to know Vincent's arms just one more time.

Nichole felt guilt about attacking Nicky and, long before that, attacking Reno. She felt sadness for sleeping with Rufus only to die just outside of his building. She felt like she was hurting him by dying like Ulfey had done.

But she was a fighter. If she was going to die, she was going to take this woman with her.

"Do you know who ... I am?" The deity gasped for fresh breath. "I am Loki's wife! I am Sigyn!"

Nichole couldn't reply. Everything began to fade. Her mind shut down, deprived of the ability to breathe. She tried to suck in air but she felt nothing and she couldn't move.

She narrowed her eyes, turning the oxygen in Sigyn's lungs to water. Drowning ... that seemed an unpleasant way to die.

Sigyn flailed about, spitting up gobs of water. She stumbled over the white fire extinguisher on the sidewalk. Sigyn picked it up and smashed in Nichole's head with it, using all her newly acquired strength.

For Nichole, the sadness stopped rather abruptly.

Sigyn knelt, pushing her knees into her ribs. She expelled water painfully from her mouth to the point she was coughing and dry-heaving.

She crawled on all fours to the end of the building. She moved into a narrow gap between the two buildings, trying to flee the scene to the best of her ability.

The drowning deity imaged the water in her chest turning into breathable air. It changed and she gasped for fresh air, panting softly.

The water was gone. She got to her feet and looked for a place to hide.

Sigyn knew she was cut off from returning to the Underground City where Falcon and Loki were trapped. She also knew she was the only one who could rescue them. All she had to do, first, was find a quiet place to recuperate.