Disclaimer:
This work is fiction. The work is presented under fair protection where applicable.
Feedback will be read, processed, and if it’s a flame it will be given the finger, then I will burst into hysterical laughter. Constructive feedback, be it criticism or praise, will be read, processed, given a smile, and filed away. To contact me, please send an email to socom.seal@(SPAM)yahoo.com. Remove (SPAM) for a valid email.
You should not read this if you are not of legal age where you reside. This work can contain rape, BDSM, cannibalism, and probably anything else my sick, twisted mind can come up with.
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Prologue
<Vindicator Complex>
The helicopter turned, dipping in before flaring back and coming in for a landing with a completely unnecessary maneuver. “…and we thank you for flying Kami Air.” A cheerful voice was saying over the intercom. “Please remember, you chuck it, you clean it.”
The side door opened to release a superhero, the man retching but managing to make it to a nearby trashcan before letting go of his lunch. A woman more sedately followed, shooting the cockpit a glare before waving at who was waiting for them. “Hey, I.C.”
The woman waved back. “Hey yourself, Star.” She smoothed her frost-tipped hair. “Gary couldn’t handle Camilla’s flying, hm?”
“She’s a demon!” The man pulled himself up to reveal his own demonically twisted face. “Up, down, left, left, back down…”
“Oh please.” The rotors had stopped spinning and the cockpit door opened to reveal a fetching blonde woman. “You just can’t stomach flying when you’re not the one in control.” She pointed at the harness across his chest. “You do the same damn thing to whoever is unlucky enough to get in that thing.”
“Not intentionally!”
I.C. interjected before the argument could start. “Gargoyle, you’re needed in the command room. Star, you’re going to be joining up with the hoppers. There’s been trouble in the outer circles.”
Gargoyle staggered off while Star looked annoyed. “Seriously? They can’t handle themselves? Why am I always stuck on babysitting duty.”
“Because you’re the space cop, and they’re the space mercs.”
“Fine.” Star rolled her arms before gesturing, her body phasing into a dark substance that radiated pinpricks of starlight. “Starry Night is away.”
I.C. barely flinched when the air around her sucked into the sudden vacuum that marked Star’s disappearance. “And what’s my bitch duty?” She looked up to see Camilla watching her, one hand on her hip. “Am I in trouble for giving Gary hell?”
“No, you’re not.” I.C. replied. “Nothing for you. However, Ace has been lurking around your workshop all day.”
“What does that jackass want now.” Camilla growled. “I swear, if he tries to get in my pants again he’s going to get his night with me. He just won’t be on the giving end.”
A shadow of a smile crossed I.C.’s face. “Knowing him, he might not mind that.”
“Of course he would.” Camilla grumbled. “Are we still under a no-power warning?”
I.C. laughed. “No, that situation is resolved. Go on, girlfriend. Jet.”
“Thank the maker.” Camilla breathed and whistled. A moment later the helicopter jumped when pieces of metal shot from the cargo compartment, revealing themselves as pieces of armor that quickly covered Camilla’s body until only her head was left exposed.
“I’m going to be working on my slippoint devices.” Camilla said as the helmet zipped through the air before gently laying itself over her face. Her words were muffled for a moment before the speakers cut on as the back fastened itself over her hair, leaving her locks to fly free. “Do you know if Kit is around?”
“K-Kitty is on patrol.” I.C. replied. “But I’m sure you’ll do fine without her.”
“It’s just nice to have the original for comparison.” Camilla replied. “Ah well. What’s that thing Star did? Oh, right.” She struck a goofy pose. “Metal Maiden, awayyyy!”
I.C. was laughing as she flew off.
“Good afternoon, Mistress.”
“And good afternoon to you too, ODIN.” Camilla Von Harrisburg, aka the Metal Maiden, replied. “Show me my workshop cameras.”
Her digital feed blinked before a small window opened. “It appears you have a visitor, Mistress.”
Camilla stared at the man leaning against the wall next to her door. “Yea, I.C. warned me. Fucking Ace.”
“Shall I scare him off, Mistress?”
“No, I’ll see what he wants.” Camilla zipped down an entrance, pulling up and dropping to her workshop floor with a loud clang of metal on metal. “ODIN, go ahead and unlock my doors.”
The man looked up when Camilla stepped out. “Ah ha! Cammy, my dear. I wasn’t aware you had returned.”
“No, you’ve been waiting for me all day, haven’t you?” Camilla growled. “What do you want, Ace?”
“Why there’s a wonderful play this evening and-“
Ace grunted, shooting across the hallway. Camilla slowly withdrew her fist, staring at the sprawled figure. “Go to hell, Ace. The answer’s the same every time. No.” She waited. “That kind of a punch has never knocked you down before, Ace. Get up.” She blinked when the man didn’t move. “Oh, damnit.”
Eventually Ace groaned, slowly opening his eyes. He chuckled weakly at what he saw. “Game’s up?”
Camilla was standing nearby and quickly turned. “You’re a fucking idiot, Micca. You know full well how much I hate that smug ‘peak human performance’ asshole.”
Ace’s body shifted to reveal a much smaller man. “I wasn’t expecting you to punch me with your armor still on.”
“And you’re damn lucky I still held back. Ace can take that. You can’t.” She moved the robotic doctor to allow the shapeshifter to get to his feet. “What’s up.”
Micca gingerly rubbed at his side. “Honestly just wanted to catch up with you. You’ve been gone on missions all week.”
“Well, as long as you can stay out of the way, sure.” Camilla turned back to the device she was tinkering. “How about you? Been getting bored all cooped up on base?”
“After the blue goo incident, my forms are growing more and more wild. So no, not exactly boring. Tedious. Stale. Always in medical or in containment.” Micca sighed. “It’s crap like this that really makes me envy the heroes like you. No powers to worry about, just your brains or your skill pushing you up.” He watched her maneuver a component into place. “Or in your case, both.”
“Sure, but I can make devices for anyone.” Camilla raised the device, fixing it to the gutted gauntlet next to her. “I can’t turn into whatever I can imagine.”
“I guess. Upsides and downsides.” Camilla felt Micca step closer to her. “I’d call this an upside, though.”
She glanced back and blushed. “Really? That’s how you’re going to play this?”
Her twin smiled back. “Well?”
“Go fuck yourself, Micca.”
Micca grinned. “Gladly.”
Camilla whooped when Micca swept her off her feet. “Hey hey hey watch the- SHIT!” She barely managed to catch the gauntlet before it could fall, skittering it back onto the table before Micca could fully pull her away. “Damnit, that’s important!” She breathed out when she felt… something begin to creep under her shirt. “Oh dear.”
“It has been almost a week since I’ve had you with me.” Micca breathed in her ear. “Do you have any idea how hard it is to ignore some of the others? Especially when some of them, like Angel, basically walk around nude in the first place?” Micca dropped her onto her bed. “And don’t get me started on the boys. For some reason it’s perfectly fine for them to be in nothing but a tiny piece of underwear to pretend that they’re decent. They’re not.”
“Darling, I’ve always said you can be with whoever you like.” Camilla moaned when Micca snaked their appendages up her body. “You know I’ve had sex with some of the other girls myself.”
“Yes, but for me it would be too easy.” Micca murmured. “I can be whatever they want me to be, Cammy. The perfect woman. The perfect man. A mixture of both, or neither. I can be anything. But for you, I’m me.”
Camilla tenderly kissed Micca’s mouth. “I know, love.”
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The darkness of the workshop was only broken by small lights blinking throughout the room. And then one small spark.
The gauntlet still lay where it had fallen, one of the wires jostled loose by the impact. It sparked again, the blue light illuminating where a small patch of insulation had worn away. Another spark and there was a bang as the entire assembly sprang to life.
Camilla bolted upright when she heard the noise. “ODIN?”
The male voice echoed through her bedroom. “Disturbance in your workshop, Mistress. Bringing power online now.” There was a pause. “Strange. Power is not functioning normally. Investigating.”
“Don’t bother. Suit me, now.” Camilla dashed through the doorway, her armor affixing itself to her body. “Location?”
“Unknown. Lights are non functional.”
“Good thing I can see in the…” Camilla trailed off as she rounded the corner. The gauntlet was vibrating, the air around it flickering on and off with blue light. “Oh, hell. ODIN, cut power to my entire workshop, NOW!”
“Controls are unresponsive, Mistress.”
“Then I’ll cut it myself.” Camilla snarled, whirling and raising her hand to fire an energy pulse at the fuse box.
Before she could the gauntlet jumped, blasts of energy painting the walls around it. Camilla was forced to dive to the ground before one took her head off and she cowered as it continued to fire. “ODIN, that’s the experimental slippoint generator. You need to go outside my workshop and cut power to this building. Hell, cut power to the entire FACILITY if you have to.”
“Overlord is blocking my attempts.”
“Then EXPLAIN!” Camilla screamed. “I’VE GOT A RUNAWAY EXPERIMENT AND IT COULD-“
The entire room lit up as the guantlet’s energy found a path. The prototype portal mechanism flared with energy, the crackling blue light arcing across the frame. For a moment Camilla was entranced by the light before she felt the all too familiar suck of vacuum.
“SHIT!” The pull immediately threw her off her feet and started to drag her in before she managed to fire her boosters to fight the increasing pressure. “ODIN, cut the power, NOW!”
“I’m trying Mis---ss.” ODIN’s communications were broken apart by static. “In----fe---str----.”
“Transfer all control to my suit.” Camilla barked. “Contingency Gamma. Onboard primary, activate.”
The only response she got was a burst of static.
Suddenly she felt the pull multiply and she was thrown back. She braced for impact, screaming when the energy contacted her suit and began pumping through her body. All systems began to go haywire until she could only squeeze her eyes shut and pray that it would end.
And finally, mercifully, it did.