The Tenant - Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Jeff awoke slowly, still entangled in Emiline’s shapely limbs. He struggled to get to his feet, his efforts to extract himself causing her to stir.

“Jeff?” she said groggily, blinking her eyes open. When her eyes found his, however, they quickly fell away, a blush growing over her fair cheeks.

“We need to go,” Jeff said simply, his voice devoid of emotion. “We need to stop her.”

Emiline nodded, rising to walk unsteadily to the bedroom and get dressed. Jeff followed, and the two left the house in silence. Emiline gave a small hop, testing her ability to fly, but she couldn’t. Sorceressa had stolen her powers. Jeff patted her on the back hesitantly, seeing the blonde’s frustrated expression.

“Where do you think she’ll be headed?” Jeff asked her, the answer coming to him even as he voiced the question.

“Astro Ace,” they both said in unison, their eyes meeting in a moment of realization for just the second time since they had both awakened.

“Do you know where…?” Jeff began to ask, his voice growing thick with emotion as he thought of the two of them together once again.

“Yes,” Emiline said simply, her eyes dropping from his a second time. “I’ll drive,” she said woodenly.

Hustling to the car, they jumped inside, Emiline screeching the tires as she slammed the car into reverse. They squealed again as she threw it into drive, stomping on the gas pedal. As the pair raced toward Astro Ace’s home,  Jeff turned on the radio, changing the station to the local news.

“…authorities advise citizens to avoid the downtown area. Astro Ace has confronted a new supervillain in the center of the city and it is likely to become a hazardous zone. Evacuations are ongoing…”

“Did you hear that?” asked Jeff, turning his troubled eyes toward those of his fiancé.

Emiline nodded, her eyes still on the road as she weaved through traffic toward the freeway.

***

When Jeff and Emiline arrived a few minutes later, they saw Sorceressa standing casually on the steps of city hall, Astro Ace looking tense and worried as he stood below her at the base of the stairs, the two exchanging words.

“You never understood. You were too busy trying to show off to your little blonde girlfriend to pay attention to your opponent,” said Sorceressa with a bitter laugh. “And now you’re about to realize just how great a mistake that was.”

Sorceressa waved a hand with a downward flourish, a swirling mist of red energy forming around Astro Ace, slamming him to the ground. The concrete cracked under the power of the blow. When the mist faded from view, the superhero rose to his feet, wiping a splatter of blood from his lower lip.

“I don’t know how you survived our last battle. Or how you disguised your appearance. But it won’t matter. I beat you before, and I’ll beat you again.”

“Lewis! Wait!!” cried Emiline desperately as she and Jeff ran toward the two of them. But it was too late. Astro Ace had already charged the supervillainess.

He barreled toward her at breakneck speed, launching his body into her midsection in a violent tackling motion. She didn’t move, allowing him to plant his shoulder into her belly. He might have been a regular man, and she a bronze statue for all the good his attack did. He glanced off, ricocheting away from her, his muscular body spinning into the building behind her.

A concrete column cracked and broke as Astro Ace crashed into it, the hero rising unsteadily for a second time in as many seconds.

“She has my powers!” Emiline shrieked, this time catching the hero’s attention before his next attack. “And those of a number of other supervillains!”

The superhero’s eyes widened as they found Emiline, taking in her words. He grabbed his injured shoulder for a moment before it began to heal, instantaneous healing one of his many extraordinary powers. He turned toward Sorceressa once again, his eyes regarding her luscious figure as she began to ascend the steps, walking languidly toward him.

“She’s right, Lewis,” the villainess said softly, her use of the hero’s real name dripping with venom. Emiline’s use of Astro Ace’s real name had apparently not gone unnoticed. “I’m stronger than you. I’m faster than you. I’m invulnerable to you. And those are a mere sampling of my powers.”

She rocketed into the sky faster than even Astro Ace’s enhanced eyes could follow, arcing above him before firing downward to smash a knee into his forehead just as her opponent finally managed to look skyward.

Astro Ace was crushed into the concrete plaza before the city building, burying him within a tomb of stony rubble. Sorceressa landed at the crater’s edge, a cruel smile gracing her perfect lips, dark hair billowing in the breeze.

She watched as his broken bones knit back together, his crooked spine straightening. He grimaced as he rose, his healing power correcting the physical damage but apparently doing little to dull the pain.

“I think I’ll enjoy stripping you of that healing ability of yours,” the villainess laughed, her eyes flashing as she looked down on him. “But I think I’ll wait for a bit before I take it from you. I think a little suffering is in order after you took my body from me. You have no idea how aggravating it was to have to wait and build up enough power to control this body.”

Suddenly, Astro Ace burst from the crater, slamming first one fist, then the other into her unprepared body. But even the element of surprise didn’t seem to matter. His fists met warm but rock-hard flesh, bloodying his knuckles but not eliciting so much as a flinch from her. Her fist flashed forward, striking him in the sternum, snapping the bone in the center of his rib cage as if it were a twig. He flew backward, crashing through the glass doors of City Hall, slamming through the walls within.

Astro Ace whimpered in pain from within, Emiline pulling away from Jeff’s grasp as tears welled in her eyes. She ran toward the villainess as they began to roll down her cheeks.

“Stop this!” she cried desperately, rushing toward the taller, curvier, staggeringly fit woman.

Sorceressa merely gave her a dark smile before jabbing a finger in her direction. A stream of scarlet energy swooped down from the sky, striking Emiline in the chest and throwing her to the ground. This time, the energy didn’t disseminate, remaining on her chest, pinning her to the concrete walkway of the courtyard.

Jeff’s heart leapt into his throat as he watched Emiline’s lips contort in pain. He looked up at Sorceressa, remembering Sasha’s eyes as they shared his moment of pain, turning it into one of quiet pleasure less than an hour ago.

That was it!

He needed to connect with Sasha! He needed to bring her out. He needed her to wrest control of her body back from Sorceressa!

But how?

“Sasha!” He found himself screaming, watching the villainess’ eyes in desperation.

Sorceressa gaped at him in surprise for a moment, before her cruel grin returned. “Really?” she mused, her long legs crossing in a sultry stride as she moved toward Emiline’s writhing form. “Sasha?”

“You think she can do something?” She continued, coming to a stop before the blonde’s pinned body. “You think my pathetic little niece can stop me?”

She reached down, lifting Emiline’s prone form off her feet. “Maybe this will show you just how serious I am, Jeff.”

She pulled Emiline toward her voluptuous chest, turning her body outward, to face Jeff. Red mist formed to either side of Emiline’s head, encircling it like a descending halo. Suddenly, her neck jerked to the side, a sickening crack reverberating through the empty courtyard.

“No!” came an emotional voice from the building above. Astro Ace’s horrified eyes trembled as they watched Sorceressa break his longtime partner’s slender neck. Rage twisting his lips, he launched himself into the sky, landing before the villainess without breaking his purposeful stride.

He swung at her. But her smaller fist lashed out far faster, striking his bicep, cracking the bone beneath. Yelping in pain, the man let his arm limply fly backward, nearly torn from its socket by Soreceressa’s effortless blow. He twisted his body, bringing his other arm around, anger and a swirled of other emotions clearly clouding his judgment. It met with the same result, snapping backward under the force of Sorceressa’s counter strike, the bone within his upper arm cracking in two.

Astro Ace staggered backward, falling before the sensual majesty of Sorceressa’s stunning form. She raised her shapely leg, preparing to bring it down on the hero’s broken body, nothing but contempt in her gorgeous eyes.

Jeff jumped in front of the sexy villainess before she struck, however. Grabbing either side of her face, he kissed her. Hard. Passionately. Channeling every ounce of the fear and horror he was feeling into connecting with Sasha.

When he released the kiss, he stared into her eyes, seeing those of the young teen once again. Giving a hysterical laugh of bitter joy, he hugged her luscious body to his, feeling her sculpted arms return the gesture.

“Sasha, I need you to fight her influence!” He whispered, taking her by the shoulders and as they ended the hug.

“I don’t know if I can!” Sasha said, her eyes growing glassy.

Jeff’s eyes darted frantically about. “That sigil is how she entered you, right? The tattoo?”

“Yes,” she said shakily. “I think so.”

“Can you destroy it?” Jeff asked, his eyes dropping to her chiseled stomach.

Sasha squeezed her eyes shut, the tattoo’s red glow flickering but remaining. She opened them, shaking her head. “I don’t think so.”

Jeff closed his eyes, searching his mind for an idea. Finally, one occurred to him.

“Can you move it?” He said, his eyes gazing into hers intently, manic excitement filling them.

“Move it?”

“Yes. To someone else.”

“I’m… not sure.”

“Try,” said Jeff, swallowing hard. “Move it to me.”

Sasha’s eyes widened, but Jeff’s gaze never wavered.

“Are you sure?”

Jeff, unable to speak, simply nodded, tears glimmering in his eyes.

Sasha closed her eyes a second time, and the tattoo flared, then separated from her bare stomach, floating toward Jeff, searing its pattern into his shirt before embedding itself into his flesh.

He felt a strange presence, sensual and powerful, rising within his consciousness. “Now, Sasha,” he choked out. “You need to kill me!”

“Kill you?” Sasha’s voice quavered, her eyes looking uncertain.

“Yes,” said Jeff with a stiff nod, continuing to feel the presence forming within him. “It’s the only way.”

Sasha leaned toward him, placing her soft hands on either side of Jeff’s cheek. She pressed her quivering lips to his in a parting kiss, then snapped his neck in exactly the same manner as Sorceressa had his fiancé’s.

Sasha watched Jeff’s lifeless body fall to the ground, her expression devoid of emotion. Unspeaking, she stepped over him to haul Astro Ace to his feet. The superhero looked at her questioningly, and she merely smiled.

She pulled his shocked face toward hers, kissing him, a red glow forming inside her perfect cheeks.