Revelation (M/F) (F/M) - A sequel to Devastation

[Bandit666]

Short but delight it’s always such a pleasure to read the next chapter and I’ve got to admit it’s bound (pun intended) to simply get better and better @wolfman

[wolfman]

This Chapter is the quiet before the Storm. And maybe a new experience for Mia, as she says herself: Someone is watching her back. She is not alone anymore.

Very true, this is new for Mia. She has always acted alone and now faced with a bad situation has decided to trust someone. New ground for her. New ground for Dean who is haunted by past failures.

Dean has some interesting stuff up his sleeve.

Not a very long chapter, but that is okay, it is not always needed.

Dean has some...... interesting toys.

It is a shorter chapter than normal and I considered expanding it, but it didn't feel right. Happier with this length.

Counter-parts like Dean and Mia could be the perfect match. Mia would be too much to handle for even a super man. If Dean holds himself together during this rescue, he could show himself as worthy of Mia. Great work, Grandmaaster.

Mia is an ultracompetent supersoldier who can heal fast and control gravity through self conditioning. Dean is a driven enginner who has effrctively worked on his project for five years with few days off. She is seeking to right a wrong and protect three innocent girls, he is seeking redemption for past failures and wants to save his sisters.

Sounds like the start of a buddy cop movie.

Short but delight it’s always such a pleasure to read the next chapter and I’ve got to admit it’s bound (pun intended) to simply get better and better @wolfman

All puns are welcome. By all means strap in for the next installment. There may be an air of suspense in parts. But have no fear, I eill not be flogging a dead horse, there will be something new for everyone

[wolfman]

Dean watches as Mia circles around the camp, with a mix of sure-footed confidence and caution. “Wow.”, he exclaims under his breath in admiration of her skill.

“Hold.” He says softly, “When you cross between the next two trees, you will be in line of sight of the western watchtower.”

Mia uses her Arrester to rise up and use the canopy to cover her presence, “Copy that.”

“If you float for twenty metres, at a height of four metres and drop down into the gully, you will be able to proceed to within a few metres of the back door unseen.” Dean whispers, softly.

“Roger that.” Mia says with a smile, and proceeds as advised. She thinks to herself, “Actually, this is kind of nice. I can focus on approach, with him keeping me safe.”

She scans the building for her own satisfaction as much as anything else, “Yeah, I could fly straight through the upper windows, but that will doubtless trigger a full lock down bring the whole base to life. I have a better way. I think.”

Dean monitors the surveillance stream looking for anything out of place, thinking, “Whatever her plan is, I hope it works.”

Thinking of all the times his sisters have been in action and he was the one at home, he smiles to himself, “They are at home and don’t even know I am in the field.”

Mia types and sends a message using her neural interface, “I am going in.”

“I am with you and you are clear to proceed.” Dean replies watching her slip from the gully and into an out of the way door, on the office buildings ground floor.

Mia activated the sound cancelling on her Arrester before entering the building and slips silently into the main kitchen of the site, “By my reckoning, it will be at least an hour or so before anyone enters to start breakfast.” She thinks, keeping low and approaching the back wall, dropping a small block.

With elegant grace, she passes the large hobs and ovens turning on the gas and letting it flow, before slipping out of the back door once more to hide in the gully, “Once the gas is detected, they will evacuate, before entering to resolve it. I will have a window to get to the top floor unimpeded.”



One hour and ten minutes later

Tony stumbles bleary eyed into the kitchen after only a few hours sleep. He reaches for the light switch and yawns.

Instantly he is fully alert and pulls his hand back. He turns on the spot and runs shouting “GAS!” at the top of his lungs.

A moment later, an alarm blares, splitting the calm of the night. Dean watches, nodding in admiration, “Elegantly done.” He counts the people leaving the building and confirms the headcount remaining.

“Mia, evacuation appears to have peaked, there are two left in the control room, plus the girls and one other on top floor.” He messages, keeping one eye on the camp residents.

“On the move.” She replies, “Keep your eyes open.”

Dean smiles, watching as she re-enters the building and rapidly traverses the ground floor and enter the stairwell.

Using her Arrester, Mia floats up to the first floor and lands silently. She uses the Sheaths life vision, to see where those who remain are located and kicks in the door, Incapacitator in hand.

The two remaining analysts barely have time to look up, before they are paralysed. Mia doesn’t break her stride, crossing the floor and entering the elevator.

The doors close behind her and she watches the life signals from the penthouse, realising that the lift isn’t moving and begins clawing at the lift doors, which refuse to budge, despite her massive strength.

Dean feels a cold sweat slick the back of his neck, watching a team of soldiers with heavy weapons return to the building, “Soldiers inbound. Ten men, loaded for bear, you need to move, now.” He says, keying his comms, panicked.

Mia closed her eyes and shakes her head, calmly saying, “Its a trap. I am locked in.”

“No. Shit. Tell me, what can I do?” Dean says in a desperate tone. “There are a dozen more entering the building.”

Mia exhales slowly, knowing the only thing she can say is, “Plan B, get help. Get out of here. Use the soft spot, we set as our backup exfil point and proceed to Babylon City, you will be able to call the Family, it will be faster than going to Haven Central by about two hours.” She takes a deep breath, “You’ve got this, see you in a few hours.”

Distracted by her message, Dean doesn’t notice the units converging on his position. He jumps back as a line of gunfire rips past him on the left, followed by the shouts of the soldiers who fired them.

He dons his helmet and takes off, weaving through the trees, desperate to get away. Trees splinter all around him from the gunfire in his wake.



Mia sees the soldiers life signs of the soldiers outside the door and lets out a slow breath, deciding to put the Incapacitator away and pull a knife, “They cannot get their hands on this weapon.” She thinks.

The doors begin to open and she braces herself. She leaps forward, inverting the gravity plane in the room, forcing the men to fall onto the ceiling.

The confused men, scramble to the feet, as Mia crashes into the closest man, slashing his throat and leaping to the next, returning gravity to normal. She stabs her target through the heart, as he hits the ground.

Focused, she twists like ticker tape in the breeze, inverting and twisting gravity to her whims slashing and stabbing as she goes, knowing her luck is finite. Mia lands with her thighs on one soldiers shoulders, and inverts gravity, flinging him out of a window, with a thrust of her hips.

Landing, she slashes right, slicing the carotid artery of a thick set soldier, them stabs left piecing the heart of another.

Try as she might, the enemy just keeps coming.

Ever ready, she turns to leap again as the air is rent asunder by machine gun fire, hitting her stomach and chest, glancing harmlessly off, thanks to the Arrester.

There is no damage done, however she is distracted. From the chaos, a soldier approaches with a pole. On one end is a loop of steel cable, which he loops over her head and around her neck, pulling it tight.

Even before she can reach up to try to loosen it and pull it off, another two loops are slipped into place. Mia tries to yank on the ropes and poles, finding several soldiers holding each device and keeping her in place.

The Arresters are optimised to stop rapid exertion of force, however a slow application of force is ignored. As the pressure on Mia’s neck from the cables increases, she grapples at the throat, trying to loosen the cables, “The Sheath is good but it won’t stop me being choked out. Even with the Incapacitator, there are too many of them.” She thinks as more soldiers loop cables around her neck.

With her knees buckling under her and her vision filling with black dots, she tries to swallow, “They cannot get their hands on this tech.” She places the Sheath and Arrester in a dimensional pocket with a flourish.

“Their comms indicated air transport was due at midday. Dean should be able to get the family here by about eleven. With luck, getting me will make them drop their guard.” Mia thinks, before blacking out, thankfully unable to feel the boots and clubs of the soldiers seeking vengeance for their fallen comrades.




Mia wakes sharply, pulling at her arms and legs. She soon realises that she is upright and pinned in place, naked. Steel chains bite deeply into her skin, pulling her arms and legs apart in a perverse star jump, that leaves her hanging about a foot off the ground.

MIA flexes experimentally a few times. “Shit. I am stretched too taut to apply any leverage on these chain.” Glancing up and down, she grimaces a little, “The ends appear bolted to the buildings steelwork. They didn’t want to take any chances.”

She feels the cuts and bruises from a hundred or more boots closing and her body start to recover from lack of oxygen.

However it is not the realisation that she has been captured, nor her own bloodied and bound body that fills her with horror. It is the sight of the girls she came here to rescue.

Each of them is clad in a tank top and shorts, tightly bound to a pole, by leather straps around their waists, stomachs and under each arm, pinning their backs immovably to their respective posts. Their wrists and elbows have been ruthlessly strapped behind them and a two inch wide strap forces their mouths open, pinning their heads to their respective poles.

Her heart sinks seeing their legs bound with more straps at their ankles and above and below their bent knees. With a thin wire from their knee bindings to a wire noose at their necks pulled tight forcing them to hold their knees at a right angle to their bodies, lest the wire bite into their necks and strangle them. The exhausted and desperate look in their eyes a clue, as to how long they have been here.

Mia remembers this torture and the hell she felt, for the many hours she was kept like this and sees the pain she felt, reflected in the pitiful eyes of the girls.

Then her gaze falls on Cassandra and her blood turns to ice, “Let them go. I swear, I will rip your black heart out of your chest and feed it to you, Cassandra.”

Cassandra sighs, “I have missed you too darling.”

“Fuck you.” Mia spits, angrily.

Cassandra smiles darkly, “Soon, darling. But first, why don’t you bring out the gear you got from Atlantis for me?”

“No way, you fucking psycho.” Mia says, her voice full of venom.

Cassandra makes a show of sighing and moves next to the nearest girl to her. She removes the strap from her mouth and speaks softly, “Hello, sweetie. This is Mia, she is going to be joining you and your sisters. Why don’t you introduce yourself?”

The young woman flexes her jaw and looks at Mia with pleading eyes, “M-My name is Rebecca. I am from the Eisland.” She says in a slightly Central European accent, before turning to Cassandra, “Please. Why are you doing this?”

Mia can only watch helplessly as her former tormentor, slips an arm behind the girls neck. “Let them go.” She says through gritted teeth.

“Now why would I do that? They brought you back to me.” Cassandra coos, softly. When Mia looks confused for a moment, until her nemesis continues, “I used them to draw you in. They were my bait for you and now you are mine again.”

The girl tries to pull away from Cassandra, to no avail, “Please, let me go. I’m a nobody.” She begs.

“Hush now, you beautiful child, that is not true. You are a talented dancer and a star of the stage.” Cassandra coos, softly stroking the girls hair, before turning to Mia, mouthing, “I want that tech.”

Mia closes her eyes and sees armies of Cassandra’s soldiers in Arresters and Sheaths cutting a swathe across the realms and defiantly shakes her head.

Cassandra nods, locking eyes with Mia. “Why don’t you tell Mia about your dancing? She would love to hear how good you are.”

Rebecca’s lip quivers, “I have been doing ballet since I was four. With an empty look in her eyes, she continues, her heart breaking. “On my tenth birthday, I passed my Advanced Two grading, with distinction and have danced professionally since I was fourteen. The company that owns me encourage it, as it is a unique trained ability that increases the value that they can charge for me.”

Cassandra hugs the girl, with an arctic smile, “You should be so proud.”, before turning back to Mia, darkly hissing, “The tech, if you please.”

Mia knows what is coming and knows there is only one way to stop it, “Fine.” She says defeated, dropping her Arrester and Sheath from dimensional pockets.

Cassandra picks up the items and smiles, “Thank you, dear.” Mia watches her fold the clothing and place it neatly on a table then return.

“That wasn’t so bad was it?” Cassandra coos, softly.

“Fuck you. Let these girls go. You have what you wanted.” Mia says, in a low threatening voice.

Cassandra sighs and slowly wanders over to Rebecca and strokes her cheek, “I have indeed.” Mia watches as her foes expression hardens, “However, you did make me wait.”

Mia shakes her head, her eyes pleading, “Please. She did nothing, it was me, don’t punish her.”

Cassandra looks Mia in the eye coldly, “Don’t ever beg, we are the Pax, we are better than that.” She hisses, refitting the strap in the girls mouth, before wrapping a wire noose around Rebecca’s ankles and pulling it tight, looping it back up through a ring in the floor and using the end to secure her big toes together, drawing a cry of pain from the young woman, as her feet are pulled down hard.

Rebecca sobs, feeling her legs pulled down, unable to lift them for fear of the wire slicing deeper into her Achilles tendons, or sever her toes, unable to lower them for fear of strangling herself.

Mia looks at Rebecca seeing her pain, the pale and malnourished girl to her right, is nigh catatonic and the girl on her right, hasn’t stopped sobbing since Mia arrived, “So far so good. The girls are ok overall and whilst I am out of the fight, for now, I have eyes on. Given these chains, Plan A may not be possible. Dean is well on his way out of here, to bring the family in.” She pictures his face and smiles, “Dean, it is all on you now.”

Mia decides to keep up the pretence and thrashes against her restraints her face red with fury, “You fucking witch. I will end you.”

Cassandra storms over to Mia and forces a muzzle onto her face that covers everything under her eyes, with a large rubber plug that fills her mouth. “Enough. You won’t end anything. From now on, you will stay locked up twenty four, seven. In a lonely dark room and be fed through a tube. Every day, I will cut off your arms, here.” She strokes just below the elbow. “ And your legs here and here.” She whispers stroking, her prisoners legs above the thigh and mid shin. “By my calculations, that will give enough material to grow six clones a day and then allow you to fully recover in twenty four hours.” She licks Mia’s cheek, leaning in close to whisper, “But first, I will remove the part of your brain responsible for free will and perform a ritual that will stop it ever growing back, then you and your clones will be my slaves, forever bound to do my bidding.”

Mia shakes her head furiously, hot tears of anger streaming down her cheeks, trying to push the plug out of her mouth. “You bitch, I will rip your fucking heart out.” She screams, the gag turning her words into a tirade of growls and snarls.

Cassandra laughs gently, returning to Mia’s side and whispering in her ear, “You will become the first in a long line of warrior-slave clones, and they will be my Generals. I will clone the parts of your brain with your combat training and give them to these girls. As they grew up in the realms, they already have physiques matching Kim and her sister after the PCS overdose. One less thing to worry about, they just need conditioning.” Cassandra licks the tears from Mia’s face, “You came to save them, however your presence here, condemns them to a lifetime of service and bloodshed alongside your own.”

Mia glares at her, with the fires of hell in her eyes. Cassandra coos, “Good, keep the rage. My army of your clones will be the scourge of the realms.”

She grins malevolently, “First we will retake Felix Prime and then all the realms will fall.” She places a kiss on her prisoners cheek, then turns heading for a side table, with a waiting bottle of wine, “I know it’s early, but we should celebrate.”

While her back is turned, Mia makes eye contact with Rebecca and winks. Rebecca and the others feel their legs get subtly lighter as Mia reduces the effects of gravity on them.

Rebecca makes sure Cassandra is looking the other way, before giving a look of relief that can only mean, “Thank you.”

Cassandra smiles cruelly at Mia, then hisses in her ear once more, “Don’t get too comfortable, we will be leaving in about an hour and going somewhere, where no one will never find you.”

Mia’s heart drops, “There is no way Dean can get the family and bring them here that fast.” She pulls at her chains, unable to get any leverage or progress towards freedom, then looks at the crying and panicked girls bound before her, seeing a vision of them leading her clones into battle, “This was her plan all along, and I walked right into it. What have I done?”

[Caesar73]

What a Chapter .... gripping, touching and intense! It seems Cassandra has won - and Mia is in deadly Peril. But there is still Dean ..... What a brillant tension building @wolfman !

[wolfman]

Things have been a bit calm so far, so I thought it might be good to shake things up a bit.

The situation looks bleak for everyone. Is there hope for the girls or Mia? Will Mia accept her fate? Will Dean be able to shrug of the yolk of his past and redeem himself? Will Cassandra succeed in her plan to create a mindless army of supersoldiers?

Answers and more questions will surely follow.

[GreyLord]

What a Chapter .... gripping, touching and intense! It seems Cassandra has won - and Mia is in deadly Peril. But there is still Dean ..... What a brillant tension building @wolfman !

Indeed, Mia is in big trouble. But if Cassandra makes a mistake, Mia will capitalize on it.

[wolfman]

@Bandit666 @Caesar73 @GreyLord @slackywacky

Dean lands and leans against a tree. With a flourish, he removes his helmet wiping the tears from his eyes, “There is no way that they are catching me now.” He thinks, pulling an ice cold bottle of water from a dimensional pocket and taking a swig, then emptying the bottle over his head.

He catches his breath, watching the shimmer from the soft spot and trying to picture his route the other side to a site where he can contact Atlantis. He thinks of Mia and smiles, “We are coming love, two and a half hours, three tops. Please just hold on.”

He takes a moment catching his breath, and his attention wanders to three fast moving dots on the surveillance feed, making his heart sink, when he zeroes in on them. “That looks like three heavy lift helicopters. There is nothing else out here, they must be heading to the camp.”

He takes a moment and calculates how long it will take to summon help and for it to arrive, against how long it will take the helicopters to arrive and leave again, “Fuck. The choppers are twenty minutes out and even if it takes an hour to load them, they will be long gone before I can get anyone here. There is just no way, I will get back with help before they leave.”

“We failed.” He thinks, rearing his head back, when the image of his sister being taken flashes in his mind and roars in anger and frustration.

“I couldn’t stop what happened to Ali. God knows, I might not be able to stop the Hell that Mia and my new sisters are facing. But fuck me, I am gonna try.” He thinks, defying his instincts.

Turning his back on the soft spot, He begins to pull items from his dimensional pockets with calm focus, “I am not a soldier.” He lays down a bulky Sheath, “I am not super powered.” He boots up six Tech units. “I am not a magical powerhouse.” He silently commands the Techs and orbiting Tacnet drones, to activate their assault configurations. “However, I do have a ton of untested experimental gear and nothing to lose.”

Dean looks at the Tech units and nods, observing their human-like stances, their Alchemy treated spider-silk sinews rippling, beneath custom sheaths as they move, “They look ready.” He catches himself, “They have been ready for months and Corven would sign them off if you weren’t such a fucking coward.” He gives the override for lethal force and sets every drone and unit to live fire mode.

Removing his normal Sheath, the air feels electric against his skin, picking up the pure white custom Sheath. Pulling on the heavy protection, he shudders, “If this goes wrong it will crush me, but it might give me the edge I need.”

A few minutes later, Dean rises to his feet and activates the muscle augmentation system based on the new muscles for the Tech units. He breathes out slowly feeling the artificial muscles, mimicking his own and adding power to his movements. “That was a bit worrying.”

He watches the suits Capacitors charge and nods, “All systems go, so far.” He checks the suits functions for a moment and relaxes, “It works, it all works.” He thinks, sealing the suit and taking to the air. “This is not the test I had intended, but it will have to do.”

With a ragged breath, he issues the command he is most scared of, “Activate auto injector. Flow state solution, plus nominal PCS dosage. Monitor biorhythms for signs of distress and adjust dosages as appropriate.”

He gasps, feeling himself enter a perfect flow state and the path he must take comes into sharp focus.

Dean takes another deep breath, “OK here goes hell.” He activates a capacitor fitted to the suit. It dumps almost a million volts, which the suits arresters release as a kinetic pulse on a flat plane, flattening trees in a ten metre radius. “Feels odd doing that outside of the lab.”

He takes a slow deep breath and feels calmer than he ever has before, he gently strokes the Gold patch on his left collarbone, “Only one thing left to test.”



Cassandra smiles cruelly at Mia, leaning in close, “I am going to the bathroom to freshen up for our journey. When I get back, I will prepare you for transportation.”

Mia growls angrily into her gag, shaking her head furiously. She watches her tormentor walk slowly away, hearing her icy laughter follow her.

Mia flexes her arm, feeling the chain holding her arms aloft, hold fast. “Brute force will not work here. But applied focused force might.”

Twisting her hands, to explore their range of movement, she manages to take hold of a link of the chain binding her right arm. “Lucky for me, that the chain has just been wound around me and not twisted or cinched.”

The angle isn’t great, however she gets a decent grip in between her thumb and forefinger. Beads of sweat, begin to form on her brow. Her forearm burns from the effort and she bites down hard on the plug in her mouth to cope with the pain.

Her breathing slows, as the pressure she exerts increases. Such is her focus that she barely notices Cassandra’s return from the shower, casually carrying a gallon of yoghurt and a hose pipe, “Time to clean the pipes, darling. First you, then the girls. Then we have some fun.” She says maliciously.

The shock and flash of anger filling her heart at the threat against the girls, is like a super charger for Mia and the link snaps, letting the chain unravel.

All colour drains from Cassandra’s face, seeing her prisoner pull her right arm free, then with better leverage and a sharp tug on the chain holding her left arm, it unravels.

Cassandra turns and runs for the door, screaming for help. “No, you don’t.” Mia thinks, reaching down and snapping the locks of the chains on her legs and step clear of them.

She grabs one of the chains and swings it twice before hurling it. Cassandra flies forward when the mass of metal slams between her shoulder blades.

Mia decreases her personal gravity and leaps forward to take flight, then massively increases it, before landing on her foes back, crushing her rib cage. Taking half a step forward, she twists her foot, snapping Cassandra’s neck. “I should have done that a long time ago.” Ripping off her gag, she spits on her nemesis. “That’s what you get.”

The lift door opens with a soft ping allowing half a dozen guards to step into the room and spread out.

Mia is aware of the girls behind her and to the left, diving right. The guards see the mangled body of their employer and raise their weapons, taking aim at the fast moving woman, rapidly closing on them.

With a heave, Mia leaps, twisting mid air, to kick off of the wall, landing before the closest guard. She steps forward, she places a hand on the stock of the rifle pushing down and her other on the barrel pushing up.

The guard freezes, as Mia spins the rifle into her own hands and squeezes the trigger.

He jerks on the spot, like a hellish marionette, when the burst hits him in the chest. Before he falls to the floor, Mia double taps two more of the guards to the chest and rolls right.

The remaining men, fire at the spot she once occupied, chasing ghosts. By the time, they realise that she has moved, one more falls and the last two turn too late to avoid the rounds heading their way.

Mia grabs a knife from the closest man and sprints across the room, flipping a metal table and shoving it in front of her. She lays it on its side and uses the knife to sever the wires connecting the girls knees to their necks and Rebecca’s feet to the floor.

Conscious that the lift is on the move, she slices through Rebecca’s bindings freeing her. The girl, collapses to the floor, unable to stand. Mia sees the pain in the young woman’s eyes and lacerations to her ankles and feet, understanding that the pain of the moment is nothing compared to the loss of a dream.

Racing against the clock she cuts the bonds of the other girls, “Hide behind the table and don’t move.” Rebecca nods, the malnourished girl silently stares ahead and the girl who has been crying looks up at her in wide eyed wonder and nods fervently.

Mia winks at the girls and leaps over the table to greet the new arrivals as the lift pings and the doors open with a quiet hum. “The lift limits their numbers, but, really limits our options for getting off this floor.” She thinks, putting down two of the men, with surgical gunfire and somersaulting right.

Her heart sinks seeing the lift doors close knowing more are en route, “I need to block the lift and get breathing space.” She thinks squeezing off more bursts to send the remaining men sprawling.

Dropping the weapon and claiming another, she prepares for the doors to open again.



In the control room less than ten minutes later, all eyes are on the penthouse. “She is armed and set up. As soon as the door opens, she is primed to act. She has chewed up half a dozen fire teams without breaking a sweat” Targos says, to himself.

For a moment, everyone watches the helicopters on approach, just cresting the horizon. “You may have to wait a little to get your passengers.” Targos, thinks, seeing another team chewed up by Mia. He bellows across the control room, “Lock the elevator down. Keep her contained instead of feeding a meat grinder.”

He picks up the radio to speak to the pilots as a massive BOOM shatters every window on the site and leaving several people bleeding from their ears.



In the penthouse, Rebecca and the crying girl have their eyes squeezed shut and feeling that they are OK, slowly opens them. The malnourished girl is slouched next to them, the sunlight glitters in her hair, lending an almost ethereal glow to her.

The girls eyes flutter and she slumps forward, showing the patchwork of glass, stuck into her back. Rebecca screams at the sight of blood.

Mia leaps across the room and frowns seeing the girls back. “Rebecca, can you help me and er?”

“Eve.” The formerly crying girl says, her face a mask of admiration and wonder, seeing several bullet holes closing.

“Thank you Eve. I’m Mia.” She says, “Can you go to the bathroom and grab some towels? Be careful of the glass.”

She looks gravely down at the injured girl and dons a pair of jeans and a tank top with a flourish. Cautiously she begins pulling glass fragments from the young woman’s back. “Looks a lot worse than it is.” She says, softly, “Do you know her name?”

Rebecca nods, “Olivia, but she prefers Liv.’ Another round of explosions rattles around the camp, making her ducking involuntarily. “What is going on out there?” she asks, frightened.

“No idea.” She says softly, without taking her focus from Liv, “Right now, the camp guards are busy with who knows what and we have moments to regroup.”

Eve returns, picking her way through the glass and kneels next to Mia, with towels in her outstretched hands, with a hopeful look in her eyes, “Are these alright?”

Mia takes a towel and begins to clean Liv’s back, “Thank you Eve, they are perfect. This looks much worse than it actually is. There are no big shards, but quite a few much smaller pieces. I am guessing that the concussion from the blast knocked her out.” She pauses and turns to Rebecca, “Can you keep wiping the blood from her back for a moment, while I keep working.”

Rebecca nods, “Yes ma'am.” Taking a towel and dabbing the girls back.

Rebecca gently wipes her sisters back clearing the blood, only then does Mia notice an old ragged wound on her shoulder, surrounded with a ring of dead flesh. She keeps her emotions in check, thinking, “That is an Annunakin bite and looking at the decay around it, I would guess it is years old. What has this girl been through?”

Eve watches fascinated, “My tribe would never believe this.”

Mia composes herself and gently applies consistent pressure easing the glass out of Liv’s back, “Believe what, love?”

“That I would be here with my celestial twins and one is a survivor of the Demonkin.” Eve says with utter sincerity.



Dean swoops low, surveying the camp, “Helicopters down. All ground vehicles out of commission.” He thinks, sending new commands to the Tacnet drones and Tech units.

The drones bank sharply, each launching two missiles, before pulling back to altitude. The munitions fly straight and true, turning the camps communications antenna and radar array to twisted metal and blasting the primary and secondary generators into the history books.

“They are blind and cannot call for help. Power generation is done for, but some lights are on, so maybe back-up batteries somewhere.” Dean thinks, sending the command to suppress the site.

The Tech Units swoop down and patrol the now deserted walkways that run between and around the buildings with deadly blades, ignoring the small arms fire directed at them from the rooftop of the barracks.

At range the Techs are deadly, but up close they are terrifying. Their tall, imposing frames gleaming black, contrasting with their glittering blades, speckled with crimson as they decimate all in their path.

Dean slams down into the centre of the barracks rooftop and triggers a capacitor, with a general spread. The pulse of kinetic force radiates out from him, taking the men off of their feet and slamming them into the wall around the roof edge, with a few sorry souls tumbling to their deaths below.

“Here goes.” He thinks tapping the Gold patch on his collar, walking calmly forward.

To the men around him, it appears that the imposing seven plus feet tall hulk in pure white becomes a blur, too fast for the eye to follow.

From Dean’s perspective, he is moving normally, in a slow motion world, as the effects of the time dilation ward on his suit manifest.

For every second the men on the roof experience, Dean experiences sixty. By the time the first body hits the ground, Dean has disarmed and shattered the last. By the time the last hits the ground, he is already inside the building.

The hapless guards, barely have time to register the foe in their midst before they begin to fall.

“This is mental.” Dean thinks, smashing the jaw of a thick set Arabian man, “Between the Sheath, Arrester and the speed, I am untouchable. In the hands of trained soldiers, this would be everything I predicted and more.”

He steps into a corridor where, guards pour out of their dormitory. Triggering the suits Capacitors, to release focused force, the men slam into the wall at the far end in a broken heap. “That works so well and sped up like this, they charge so quickly.”

Finishing the clearing of the floor, he looks up, his life sense detector showing the situation in the Operations penthouse, “Shit.”



Mia looks at Eve askance, “What do you mean?” She asks confused and surprised.

“Ever since I learned the Sight, I have felt a connection I could never explain. The elders said I had celestial twins. I didnt know what that meant until today.” Eve explains, with a smile.

Mia opens her mouth to speak and hears the lift pings again, “We will talk about this later.” She says vaulting over the table, ducking and weaving through the heavy weapons fire.

She kicks a chair at one soldier, striking him hard in the chest and weaves left. Filling her right hand with the grip of an assault rifle.

Unleashing a burst, she catches one man in the chest and the north wall implodes.



Dean fires his suits capacitors and blasts a hole in the wall, well away from Mia and the other girls. He taps the patch on his suit and the world around him slows down.

Mia stares confused, seeing a white blur sweep around the guards with unfathomable speed, disarming them and casting their remains to the four winds.

When the guards are down and the blur stops moving, she raises her rifle, thinking, “I don’t know if I will be able to hit them, but I have to do what I can to protect the girls.”

Dean taps the patch again and time returns to normal. Seeing Mia pointing a rifle at him, he raises his right hand before him and uses his left to remove his helmet and put it into a dimensional pocket, sheepishly, “Steady on, love. It’s me.”

Mia lowers the weapon and snorts a laugh, “Dean? What the hell?”

Dean rubs his neck at the base of his skull, giving her an embarrassed look, “Yeah, I saw the helicopters on their way here and knew I wouldn’t be able to get the family in time.”

Mia feels her lip trembling, “You came back for us.”

He nods, with a sigh, “I couldn’t bear the thought of you being hurt...” He smiles, “I’m glad you are alright. Erm, all of you.”

“It got a little hairy, but we’re all good. A few cuts and bruises on the girls, but they are OK.” Mia says, nodding back towards the table.

Gunfire continues to rattle outside sporadically, drawing Mia’s curiosity, “You alone?”

“Kind of. Brought more than just Arresters and Sheaths from home.” Dean confesses, with a cheeky smile.

“That information may have been useful earlier.” Mia says, giving him a playful wink, “If you are cool, can you help me get the girls dressed and work out how we are getting out of here?”

“Sure thing. Lead the way.” Dean says feeling nervous.

Rebecca and Eve smile up at them, while Liv stirs on the floor. Mia smiles down at them and holds out a hand to Dean, “This is your older brother, Dean. Dean this is Rebecca, Eve and Liv.”

The girls look up at him, seeing him in a suit that makes him almost seven feet tall with the build of a body builder, “Whoa, are you like a Demigod?” Rebecca asks, in awe.

“Nah, just a guy who wants to be the best big brother ever.” Dean says, switching to his regular Sheath with a flourish.

“You are Mana touched.” Eve gasps, “You can do magic.”

Dean winks, “So can you, but you probably know that already.”

“That is mad. I am here with my Celestial twins, being rescued by a Mana touched Demigod and an unstoppable warrior woman. My tribe would never have believed it.” Eve says with a sad look in her eyes.

Dean crouches next to her and smiles gently, recognising the same look on the girls face, that Ali had, when their grandparents passed. He places a hand on her shoulder and looks her in the eye, “It’s OK to feel. If you close yourself off from all of your feelings, you are protected from the bad, but then the good never shines.”

Rebecca lunges forward and hugs him tightly, unable to control her tears once again, Dean rubs her hair and whispers, “It’s OK, let it out. Hold nothing back.”

Mia looks away, hiding the tear that escapes, “That was beautiful.” She thinks, before composing herself and turning to Liv.



Mia looks at the young woman’s back and winces slightly, “It will hurt for a bit but you are going to be alright.” She says softly, slicing her palm and watches it fill with blood before, it heals. She dabs her blood on Liv’s back. “It will feel warm for a minute and then should stop hurting, love.”

Rebecca watches with a mixture of fascination and horror, “What are you doing?” she asks, barely above a whisper.

“Watch closely.” Mia says with a smile.

The young woman gasps as the wounds slowly knit back together. “How?” she asks, awestruck.

“There is something in my blood that helps me heal fast and it works like a balm on the wounds of others.” Mia explains, gently.

“That is so cool.” Rebecca says, before tearing her eyes away and looking wide eyed at Mia, “Could it help my legs?”

Mia smiles, warmly, “Let’s find out, Rebecca.”

She nods and smiles, “Cool.” She pauses for a moment, “Can you call me Beki? I am only Rebecca when my owners discipline me.”

“Beki it is.” Mia says, dabbing some of her blood on the girls damaged ankles and toes.



Liv screams like a bean sidhe, nerves once dead, fired back into painful life.

Everyone present looks on concerned as she screams and spasms on the floor. Dean moves everyone and everything back out of reach and waits for the screams to subside.

He leans over her with a concerned look on his face, “We need to get her out of here.” He says to no one in particular.

Mia places a hand on his shoulder, “Can you hold things down here, while I get some wheels?”

“Oh please.” Dean takes a few steps back and activates his Capacitors. A blast of force goes straight up, lancing through the roof, then with a flourish, Dean’s Raptor appears. “No wheels, but the ride is covered. Shall we get outta here?”

Mia laughs out loud for what seems like the first time in her life, “I think this may also qualify as information that would have been useful earlier.”

The rear of the Raptor opens up and out and Dean gently lifts Liv and lays her on the padded bench to the right of the pilots seat, taking a blanket from under it and tucking her in.

Mia helps Eve and Rebecca into their Sheaths adjusting their fit and making sure that they are OK. “Not enough time to teach them to fly.” She thinks, hearing the lift start to move.

She smiles at the girls and winks, before leaping to her feet and sprinting to the lift doors as they open. “Look after the girls Dean.” She says solemnly, pushing the men back into the lift and pressing the down button.

Dean looks around just quickly enough to see the lift doors shut and hear the first shots. “Ladies, get in here, we gotta move.” He shouts, already knowing what he will do.

[Caesar73]

You have me left searching for fitting Words to describe your writing many Times. This Chapter is no exception. You write Action Sequences so well. How Dean musters his strength and acts is incredible. Cassandra got what she deserved. No Pity here. How Dean gets the Hero of this Chapter is wonderfully written.

[slackywacky]

Would it not be nice to have a Mia in real life? Although she might be very busy.
Great (and long, as you almost always do) chapter. Thank you.

[wolfman]

You have me left searching for fitting Words to describe your writing many Times. This Chapter is no exception. You write Action Sequences so well. How Dean musters his strength and acts is incredible. Cassandra got what she deserved. No Pity here. How Dean gets the Hero of this Chapter is wonderfully written.

I see Dean as an everyman. A regulat guy with the chance to do the right thing and like yhe contrast between him and Mia in this chapter.

He has a sense of wonder as his inventions work even better than he had hope and she proves as resourceful as ever, freeing herself, killing Cassandra and protecting the girls.

Would it not be nice to have a Mia in real life? Although she might be very busy.
Great (and long, as you almost always do) chapter. Thank you.

Everyone needa a gorgeous, highly skilled assassin/soldier watching their back. But she also showed her softer side with the girls.

As for a longer chapter, if you sre going to show up and read, might as well stay a while

[slackywacky]

As for a longer chapter, if you sre going to show up and read, might as well stay a while

True, very true.

[GreyLord]

@Caesar73 and @slackywacky have already said everything that needs to be said, @wolfman. I can only add, thank you.

[wolfman]

The lift door closes and Mia slams her fist into the cheek of the man before her. Then sharply draws her elbow back to smash the nose of the man behind her, with a crunch.

A stocky man on her right takes an elbow to the solar plexus followed up by a backhand to his nose. Narrowly avoiding a knife to the throat, she jerks left, delivering a rabbit punch to her aggressors Adam’s apple. His eyes bulge and he flops against the lift’s back wall, clawing at his throat.

She swings to her right with a right backhand and her target raises his forearms to protect his face. At the last minute she pulls back on the strike and her left lashes out like a cobra, snatching his sidearm from the holster.

The sound of the weapon in the close confines of the lift is deafening. However, when it clatters to the floor empty, only one person has a ringing in her ears.



“Strap in.” Dean shouts, preparing for flight.

Eve looks at him pleading, “We can’t leave Mia.”

“We’re not.” He says, resolute, noting that Eve and Beki are inside, he closes the rear door of the Raptor and commands the craft to lift sharply, “I am getting you to a safe distance and I’m then going back for her.” He says, the words coming from a confident and sure part of himself, he didn’t know existed before.

He gives Beki and Eve a bottle of water and a bar of chocolate each and leaves some for Liv, “Chill for a bit and if Liv wakes, give her some water. I wont be long.”

In an instant, he is in his heavy armour and drops from a hatch on the left of the craft, which seals behind him.

“He is such a bad ass.” Eve whispers, earning a, “True.” From Beki.



The lift doors open, revealing a black interior, to all who would look. Mia thinks of the girls and says a silent prayer, before raising her weapons.

In each hand, an assault rifles spews death before her, cutting several men to pieces. Wherever she turns, a stream of hot lead paves the way, cutting down camp guards left and right.

A lone guard steps from behind the blindside of the elevator and opens fire, striking hard in her right shoulder. Pitching forward she drops one of the rifles and rolls to draw a bead on the man, putting him down before getting shot again from the right.

“Should have put the sheath back on.” She thinks gritting her teeth, while she rolls left to cut her foe down, “All they can offer me is bullets. Nothing else matters, if the girls get away.”



“Hang on love. I am coming.” Dean thinks, seeing the guards move to surround Mia.

Dean reads the charge on his Capacitors and surges down, smashing though the top floor, to land on the second floor, before Mia. He crouches putting his arms around her, before she can react and triggers all of his capacitors.

The wave of force radiates around them, sending a dozen soldiers, end over end out of the windows.

Dean has a quick look around before he speaks, “Thanks for buying us some time. But it’s time to get out of here.”

Mia gives a crooked smile, thinking, “Damn. He came back for me, again.”

Dean holds her close. They streak skywards through the hole in the ceiling and roof, leaving chaos behind, letting the Tech units and Tacnet drones clean up the site.



The rear door of the Raptor opens with a hiss and Dean carries Mia inside. He removes his helmet, with a flourish and for the barest moment, catches a wisp of her scent. Awkwardly, he sets her down and closes the rear door of the small craft.

Seeing Eve mop Liv’s brow, Mia takes a look at the stricken girl and whispers to Dean, “She has an old Annunakin bite and I have a feeling that when I treated her with my blood, it kick started her metabolism and is making the toxin spread.”

Dean sits in the pilots chair hanging his head. He looks out of the cockpit window and then pinches the bridge of his nose. Mia touches his arm and he snaps back to himself, “Sorry, we should get out of here.”

“Is everything OK?” Mia asks, gently.

He sighs looking down at Liv, gently stroking her cheek with his finger, “Yeah. All good. Where are we heading?”



Lake Doro, North province, Felix Prime, Dawn

The early morning light flows across the sky, in ribbons of pinks, pale blues and oranges. The quiet air carries the heavy scent of pine, from the deep forests. The water gently laps at the shore, undisturbed by the craft gliding silently over the lake.

Mia points to a spot on the western shore, “Can you land by the flat rock? I have a cabin, set a little past the treeline near there.”

“Yes ma’am.” Dean says thoughtfully, “Good spot. Do you think you could get Eve and Beki sorted and then come back to help me with Liv?”

“Sure?” she says sceptically, “How come you need a hand?”

“Standard practice, when encountering a victim of an Annunakin attack, is to perform a cleansing ritual. Since Niki and Phobos, discovered it could help those with long term injuries, the ritual is taught to all in Atlantis. Even lowly engineers.” Dean explains, “I could use a hand though.”

“Forget that.” Beki says, getting a nod from Eve, “We want to help.”

Dean casts a glance over his shoulder to see the girls, looking wide eyed at him, “Look in the blue drawer, grab me some rubber gloves and a few jars with the lids on.”

“Are you sure about this?” Mia asks, concerned.

“The ritual is safe, but can be quite draining and the more of us there are, lending spiritual support the better.” Dean explains, pulling out a chilled water bottle and taking a swig. “Thinking about it, I think it would be good for them to be involved. Do something positive after the time they have had.”



Liv lays back on an inflatable mattress on the shore of the lake, in the shadow of the flat topped rock. She is dressed in a pair of shorts and a t-shirt from a bag of clothing Mia had gathered before hand. Her face is still and serene, not betraying any of the agonised pain lancing through her bodies.

Beki and Eve kneel either side of her, while Mia kneels at her feet and Dean kneels by her head. Liv looks at peace, despite her flushed complexion.

Dean shakes the nervousness from his hands and takes the first jar, holding it above her heart. Mia watches fascinated, as he begins to chant softly in the old tongue.

The words flow like a river swelled by a storm. Softly spoken, but bearing the weight of the universe, all present feel them resonate within.

Mia gasps, seeing the sealed jar fill with a dark, viscous liquid. Beki stares in wonder at the strangeness of this ritual in a place of such natural beauty. Her gaze falls on Eve, seeing her stare into space, focusing on a spot ten feet above Olivia.

Dean’s eyes roll back and he sets down the jar, picking up another without breaking his rhythm. For him there is nothing else, just Liv and himself, everyone else, both distant and close at the same time.

Mia gasps in wonder, seeing the colours of the scene, burst into vibrant life. The area starts to glow, as Dean sets down the second jar and picks up a third, his body beginning to gently sway, like a frond in a gentle breeze.

Mia gazes at Dean, seeing his eyes rolled back and body swaying and swallows nervously, “He looks so pale. I wish I knew what he was doing so I could help. He said it would only take a few minutes, it’s been over an hour. I wish I could give him my strength.”



However, it lasts longer still and after another twelve jars and four hours, Dean sets down the last jar and nods, “She was infected for a long time.”

He takes several deep breaths and brushes a stray hair away from Liv’s cheek. Mia breaks the recently descended silence, “Is she clear?” she asks nervously.

“Yeah, all clear. The last jar is half full, because there was nothing else to pull from her.” Dean drops the filled and partially filled jars into a dimensional pocket, “Will drop them into a volcano at some point.”

“Are you alright?” Mia asks, seeing colour slowly return to his cheeks.

“A little winded, but OK.” He grins and looks first at Eve then, Beki, “Are you OK, ladies?”

Both nod fervently unable to speak. Dean smiles and nods satisfied, “Good. I just need to...” Dean says, his vision swimming.

Mia leaps forward, catching him, before he hits the ground. She checks his pulse and feels a sense of both relief and trepidation “He’s alive but freezing, I need to get him warmed up or he will die.”

[Caesar73]

So Mia is successful saving Beki. Wonderful entry again. Mia fighting her Way through the Enemies Hords!

[GreyLord]

You never fail to amaze, @wolfman.

[wolfman]

@Caesar73 and @GreyLord

Thank you for your kind words, it was fun to write action scenes again and I really enjoyed the last two chapters. Mia and Dean are a great pairing and balance each other well.

[wolfman]

The bed room is still and quiet, despite spinning at a hundred miles an hour. Dean opens his eyes slowly, unable to see clearly in the darkened room.

As his eyes begin to adjust to the darkness, he closes them and sighs, “Fuck, I can’t believe my drink was spiked at the Royal Wedding. I was tripping my balls off last night. Fuck knows where I am.”

Almost dreamily, he feels a warm pressure on the right side of his chest, then feels the gently breeze of someone’s breath on his collar bone.

“Oh Fuck. What have I done?” He reaches down with his hand and feels the warm soft skin of his bed mate, “Who is this girl?”

His mind races, “I’m naked and have no idea where my clothes are. If I put the lights on she will wake up and.....” Dean stops his train of thought and takes a deep breath, “Grow the fuck up, dickhead, You did, whatever you did, don’t moan about it, don’t complain about it, own it. Take responsibility. You may not have really done the mad shit you hallucinated, however, you can do the right thing now.”

Dean lays back and tries to relax. He closes his eyes, feeling the soft warmth of the woman laying with him. With all of his will, he focuses on staying still, in a desperate bid to prevent his throbbing hard manhood, from brushing against her.

His mind whirls almost like an impenetrable barrier, between him and sleep. With every breath he inhales her scent and feels his heart thumping in his chest. “Shit, if I don’t know where I am, no one else does either.” His mind races, “I don’t think, I can get my Sheath on, without waking her.” Stopping himself, he reconsiders, “To be fair, given how snug the Sheath is and how hard I am right now, if I were to put it on, I would do myself an injury.”

Dean opens his eyes and sees the first light of the day creep into the room, giving the scene a dusky quality. Venturing a glance down, he sees his companions back, “My God, her body looks as good as it smells. She is perfect. How the hell did I end up in bed with a woman this hot?”

Dean breathes out slowly, feeling himself tense, “Oh shit. What if she is a spy and drugged me to get access to the work I have been doing?”

Every scenario plays out in his mind until he lays back resigned, “Stop being a dumbass. Each of the options you have thought of is more plausible than meeting Mia and rescuing sisters you never knew you had and then a tearing through a hostile encampment. Calm down. Wait and see what is going on and work it out from there.”

Dean closes his eyes and feeling drained let’s himself drift. Resting for what may come. “I wish I were the guy, that I was when I was tripping. He was everything I’m not.”



Dean wakes with a start, feeling fingers press on the side of his neck.

Mia gasps slightly, “Hey you’re awake. I was so worried about you.”

Dean looks up at her in shock, taking in the sight of her. Defined cheek bones, full lips, cute little nose, slim figure and perfect breasts that hang down as she looks down at him.

“Mia?” Dumbfounded he speaks softly as much to himself as to her, “Last night was real?”

“Of course it was. You were amazing. The girls haven’t stopped talking about their awesome big brother.” She says holding back.

“They are ok?” he asks, trying to process that his hallucination, was actually real.

Mia beams a smile that could melt a glacier, “They are all doing OK. Beki's legs have recovered enough that she was able to dance last night, before we helped Eve perform a ritual to honour her tribes passing, when she was taken. Even Liv woke up. Turns out that, she was bitten in an Annunakin attack six years ago that killed her family and has been in steadily growing agony since.” She pauses, taking a breath, “I am so sorry, I’m rambling. It is just so good you are awake, you gave us all a scare.”

Dean pulls a water bottle from a dimensional pocket and takes a few swings, “So it wasn’t a trip then.” In his mind he sees a flash of the rooftop and then the office, “It really happened.” He says, with a hint of disbelief.

Mia leans down and gently kisses him on the cheek, “You found me trussed up in your lab and could have done anything to me. Yet you behaved like a gentleman. I gave you my reasons for being there and where most would have just called the guards, you believed me and offered to help.” She subtly swallows, “Then when things went south, you came back for us, then you came back for me. You didn’t just step up, you took charge.”

Whether it is the electric sensation of the kiss, the passion of her words or the scent of her, the effect is unmistakable, he is once again, standing at attention.

Mia feels his manhood brush against her leg and pauses. She blushes, feeling something rise in her she has never felt before. “Dean, you have been nothing but decent to me and honourable to your sisters. You are not like any man I have ever met.” She lays down resting her head on his chest allowing her breasts to press into him. “Every man, I have ever met, wanted something from me. None of them respected me or cared about me. They just took what they wanted.”

Dean feels something inside him, shift, making peace with the fact that the events he thought he imagined were real, “You risked everything to be there for my little sisters and save them from a terrible fate at great risk to yourself. I always hated the weakness that stopped me from preventing Ali being taken, you gave me the chance to face my demons. I will never forget that.”

“If you remember, the plan was, I steam in and if I couldn’t get the girls out, get captured to get them to lower their guard. Then you bring the cavalry. However, you sweeping in and saving the day, was all on you. When I pushed the guards back into the lift, I just wanted you to get the girls out of there. I never imagined, let alone dared hope, you would come back for me.” Mia says, closing her eyes and savouring the sensation of her body against his.

“There was no way I was going to leave you behind.” Dean takes a breath considering why he was so sure, “It was the right thing to do.”

“If I’d known you were such a good guy, I would have come to you sooner.” Mia says softly.

Dean wraps his arm around her and leans down to plant a kiss on her crown, not knowing what to say. Mia lifts her head to speak and their lips meet, for the briefest of moments.



Dean pulls back, scared he has crossed a line and stammers, “I-I’m so sorry.”

Mia stares at him for a moment, her lip quivering, “It’s OK.”

Both of them feel that the moment is passed, as they lay together. Neither speaks or dares to move, until Dean breaks the silence, trying to change the subject, “How long was I out?”

“You have been out for about twenty four hours.” Mia confesses.

“I had no idea, the cleansing would take so much out of me.” Dean says rubbing the back of his neck, “Erm, why am I naked?”

“You were freezing, I needed to raise your body temperature slowly, so I took off your clothes and used my body heat to warm you up.” Mia says, knowing how awkward she sounds.

“You have been with me for the whole time?” He asks, stunned, “Thank you.”

“Ahh, not quite.” She says sheepishly, “Yesterday morning, your temperature was OK and the girls needed me, so I helped get them settled in. I had a room for them but didn’t expect other guests.” She closes her eyes and swallows, “I hope you don’t mind.”

“I woke up in bed with a gorgeous, naked woman. To be honest, I am absolutely outraged.” He says trying to keep a straight face. Mia looks up at him, with a look of horror and Dean’s composure breaks, with a smile and a chuckle.

It takes a moment for Mia to realise he was joking and begins chuckling too. Mia looks at him for a moment, as if seeing him for the first time.

Dean’s eyes widen, as Mia lunges and kisses him full on the lips. Feeling the hotness of her tongue entwined with his, he melts into her arms and returns her kiss with equal passion.

He wraps his arms around her pulling her close. His lips, tenderly caress hers. Even knowing she is one of the physically toughest and strongest people he has ever heard of, he holds her as if she might break at any moment.

She fights it, however cannot stop the tears flowing down her cheeks. Dean realises that she is crying and pulls away. Softly he asks, “Are you alright?”

Mia smiles through tears, “That was the most beautiful thing, I have ever experienced.”

With his heart breaking for her, he pulls her close again and holds her tightly. “Your life must have been horrifying, with everything that you have faced. I wish I could take the pain from your heart and fill it with something better.” He whispers softly, those few words spoken more earnestly than any he has uttered before.

“You are the first man who has been there for me. You have no idea, how much that means to me. You have given me so much, just by coming back for me, I couldn’t ask you to give any more.” Mia whispers, looking away, trying to fight the conditioning that is telling her to pounce on him.

“You don’t have to ask.” Dean says, feeling the gravity of the moment, weigh on him, thinking, “You are so different from every other girl, I have ever met. I don’t know if it’s the afterglow of what we have been through, or something deeper, but, I want to be there for you.”



Mia feels her lip tremble and she sits on the bed, wrapping the blanket around herself.

Dean reaches for her, however she pulls away, rising from the bed to sit by the shuttered window. Shaking fingers pluck a vape from the shelf and she takes a deep lungful of the strong mint vapour.

The brief flare of the vape, casts a glow on her face in the receding gloom of the room, the light and shadow making her seem so vulnerable for a moment to Dean’s eyes.

He crosses the room without a word, to stand behind her and wrap his arms around her shoulders. Setting aside his physical attraction for her, he speaks softly, “I have been put on two weeks leave. I could stay for a little while.”

“You can’t do that.” Mia protests, knowing in her heart that she wants him to stay.

Dean thinks to himself for a moment, before speaking, “Yeah, I can. I can just say that I am going backpacking in the wilds of the realms.” He pauses, feeling his heart race. “I almost believed that all I could be was a dreamer and a researcher. Last night showed me that I can be so much more.” He squeezes her shoulders gently, “I need to be a part of something worthwhile. Something real. Something that matters.” Before Mia can respond, Dean moves around her to look her in the eyes, “You matter.”

Mia’s breath catches in her throat, feeling every word he says in her soul, “What are you saying?” She asks, almost terrified to hear his answer.

As she sits, turned away from him, Dean gently squeezes her shoulders, “I no longer feel like a boy playing with toys. I feel like a man, ready to face the world. I think, I would like to meet the future, shoulder to shoulder with the most amazing woman in the world.” He pauses, deciding what he will do, “I feel a connection to you. If you feel the same, I would like to know what that means.”

Mia closes her eyes and takes a deep lungful of vapour and exhales slowly. Just as Dean open his mouth to speak again, she nervously says, “I would really like that.” She closes her eyes, hoping this is real, “What happens now?”

Dean raises his eyebrows, trying to hide his delight at her saying yes, “Well, I don’t know. I stay for a while, we take things slow, get to know each other properly and see what happens. In the mean time, we can both be here to support the girls.”

Mia sets down her vape and stands to face him. Words spin in her mind, to fast for her to utter them, instead she embraces Dean tightly and rests her head on his shoulder.

The blanket around her starts to drop and Dean takes it, wrapping it around them both, like a warm shield, keeping out the cruel world.

Mia pulls back from the embrace, taking Dean’s hand and leading him back to the bed. He follows her lead and watches as she slips from the blanket and lays back on the bed.



Dean cannot help but stare are her as she lays back on the bed, perfect C cup breasts, the sculpted and toned muscles of her legs and soft skin, stunning in their beauty. However more than the physical he sees her heart, physically strong, but emotionally fragile.

Cautiously he climbs on to the bed and straddles her on his hands and knees. Gently he bends down to place a kiss upon her lips. Not the frenzied kiss that they first shared, a slow gentle kiss that lingers on the lips long after it has gone.

Mia lays still her eyes closed, giving a soft sigh, savouring the gentle warmth of the kiss. Dean gently lifts her putting the blanket back on the bed and set her down with all the care he can muster.

“I know this is going to sound weird, but could you..” He pauses, hesitant to ask, “Could you roll onto your front and rest your chin on your hands?”

Mia smiles and nods, rolling over and settling into position. Feeling Dean move down the bed and straddle her hips from behind, she closes her eyes, at once excited and apprehensive about what happens next. “When unchallenged, men will always seek sexual conquest and gratification.” Cassandra’s words, echo in her mind, making her heart sink, beneath a wave of nausea.

Dean closes his eyes for a moment, until he finds what he is looking for, in a dimensional pocket. He pulls it out and opens it up. “Right now, more than anything I would like to do something for you. You have trusted me this far, I will not betray that trust.”

Mia scrunches up her nose, confused. Before she can speak, she feels his oil slicked hands on her shoulders and his thumbs begin the task of unravelling every knot in her muscles.

Dean takes his time, both for her comfort and the density of the muscles he is working with. “This may take a little while, just breath slowly and relax. You brought me back from the brink, now let me take care of you.”

Mia’s eye roll back and her eye lids flutter at the sensation of her muscles being worked this way, “I have never felt anything like this. The massages during conditioning were always brutal, but this is so different.” She thinks, feeling a warmth building in her core that she has never felt before.

Dean closes his eyes and slowly explores the muscles of Mia’s back, finding every knot and release each before moving to the next, “Wow, she carries a lot of tension. I guess it is the same for all with PCS in their system. Good for healing damage to muscles, bones and skin, but not so good at releasing lactic acid.”

A soft moan escapes Mia’s throat as the release of her muscles and the sensation between her legs intensifies with each touch of his fingers.

Dean gasps hearing the moan, “I’m so sorry. Am I hurting you?”

Mia shakes her head and purrs, “Not at all. This feels really nice.”

Dean breathes a sigh of relief and applies a little more oil to his hands. “I am so pleased you are enjoying this.” He says whispering, for fear of shattering the moment. Continuing his ministrations, he thinks, “I have always dreamed of touching a woman like this. I cannot believe I am actually doing it.”

Having finished her shoulders, neck and ribs, he moves to her lower back. He leaves her skin slick with scented oil and massages a line either side of her spines with his thumbs.

Her breath quickens, until he reaches a spot about eight inches below her ribs and slowly works his thumbs on the spot. She holds her breath, feeling the previously slow building sensation between her legs explode within her.

Mia feels both overwhelmed and empowered in the same moment. Forcing herself to breath almost a minute later, she thinks “Oh my God. I didn’t know it could be like this.” With all her will she stops herself from crying tears of joy as her senses explode.

Unaware of what she is feeling, Dean doesn’t stop, thinking, “I hope I am doing this right.” He applies more oil to his hands and hesitates for a moment, before caressing and kneading her buttocks on his tour of her body, before working his way down to her legs.

Mia feels her senses explode again when he begins working on the backs of her knees. Her mind drifts, almost as if sailing on a sea of pleasure. With the continuing sensory onslaught, she cannot connect her thoughts.

By the time he reaches the bottom of her calves, her senses are still overwhelmed. She barely registers him, begin to massage her soles, taking every ounce of tension from her feet before working his way back up to her shoulders.

Dean smiles, seeing her flushed complexion and hearing no complaints, thinking, “I hope she is enjoying this as much as I am. The feel of her oiled body under my hands feels incredible.”

Even outside of this moment, Mia could not vocalise the feelings overwhelming her now. Her whole body feels like a vessel for pleasure, where once it only knew pain.

Mia feels her heart thumping in her chest. No longer an organ for pumping blood, instead transformed. Each beat driving the warmth within it to fill her entire being to the point where it can no longer be contained.

Dean smiles down at her, thinking “That felt amazing, her body is incredible and exploring it this way was beyond my wildest dreams.”

Through a haze of bliss, Mia feels Dean lift one side of the blanket over her and tuck it in the other side, then lift the other side over her and tuck it in. The warm blanket enveloping her body feels like a full body hug in her afterglow.

Dean sees the dreamy smile on her lips and the look of peace on her face and smiles to himself. He gently whispers, “You are amazing and deserve to feel good. It is my honour that you let me help.”

He wipes the oil from his hands and moves up the bed to massage her scalp with his fingers, taking the last tension from her body.

Mia purrs, feeling more relaxed that she ever had in her entire life. “I don’t deserve this.”

Dean smiles gently and places a soft kiss on her shoulder, “You saved a nation. You saved my sisters and you gave me, back to myself. You deserve this and so much more.”

Mia feels her heart swelling and opens her eyes, twisting to look him in the eyes, “I don’t know what to say.”

“You don’t need to say anything.” He says, leaning in and placing a soft kiss on her lips.



Sounds of movement around the house, pull them both from the moment. With the sounds of running water and hushed tones, coming from nearby.

“The girls are up.” Mia says, slowly starting to unwrap herself.

Dean places a hand on her shoulder, “Don’t you dare. Stay and relax for a bit, enjoy the sensation. I can take care of the girls. Take you time and rest.”

Mia thinks about protesting and then lays back, “If you are sure, that would be nice. There is bacon in the cool box and eggs on the counter.”

“No worries, I have got this. Rest for a bit you have earned it.” He says with a lop sided grin and a wink. He climbs off of the bed and after the quickest shower of his life, dons a pair of jeans and t-shirt with a flourish.

Watching him leave Mia thinks, “I had no idea, I could feel like this. I think he is the first man I have ever met, that I could trust without reservation.”

Gently closing the door as he leave Dean thinks, “She is the most amazing woman I have ever met. Is there a chance we could have a future?”

[Caesar73]

Such a tender, soft, Chapter. Two People who realize they are in love with each other. Mia realizing she can feel love. And in Dean she found the first Man in which Presence she can be herself. When Dean wraps a Blanket around them - it is more than keeping them warm.

[wolfman]

1,000,000 views

I never imagined that thia talw would get to a million views. I would like to thank everyone that has taken the time to read and in particulat thank.

@Bandit666 @Caesar73 @GreyLord and @slackywacky

Without your support and kind comments, I would not have made it this far.

THANK YOU ALL, PEACE BE WITH YOU.

[Caesar73]

1,000,000 views

I never imagined that thia talw would get to a million views. I would like to thank everyone that has taken the time to read and in particulat thank.

Congratulations dear Friend. Every View is well deserved. It was an pleasure and an honour to follow you on the Trail of this magnificent Saga.

Keep it coming!

[slackywacky]

1,000,000 views

One of the few stories with that many views. Well deserved. Join the million views club

[GreyLord]

1,000,000 views

I never imagined that thia talw would get to a million views. I would like to thank everyone that has taken the time to read and in particulat thank.

@Bandit666 @Caesar73 @GreyLord and @slackywacky

Without your support and kind comments, I would not have made it this far.

THANK YOU ALL, PEACE BE WITH YOU.

Ah, my friend, not only have you reached a million views, your viewership is accelerating. You will be surprised at how quickly you reach 1,100,000 views.

[bondagefreak]

Congratulations, @wolfman!
Your dedication and efforts are paying off!
The 1 000 000 view count is well deserved!

[Bandit666]

CONGRATULATIONS my friend though it’s your efforts, imagine and skill that’s lead to such an incredible achievement. I doff my hat you and hope to be saying the same when you get to 2 million.

Peace and happiness you all

[wolfman]

@Caesar73 @slackywacky @GreyLord @bondagefreak @Bandit666

Thank you all for your very kind words and taking the time to comments.

This has been a heck of a journey and I look forward to where it next takes me.

Thank you all again. Be well and be lucky.