Tekgrrl (32 page)

I nodded. “We have to be ready. I understand. But he’s been contacting me, warning me that they’re coming. Why?”

“I think he wants you to know who he is. I think he wants to see you.”

“Does he think I won’t try to stop him because…” I couldn’t bring myself to say the words. He wasn’t my child. Not really. He was a scientific by-product of experiments done in a lab, grown in a tube by creatures who had violated me. His birth wasn’t brought on by the usual style of rape, but it had been rape nonetheless. “Because of what he is?”

“The Vyqang have no care for the females that spawn them,” Dyvinsher said. “Had we not taken back you and Anyoska, you would have been disposed of without a thought.”

“So, why?”

“I think he is curious. He is part human, and human curiosity is great. Your race is technologically backward, but you managed to interact with us—and with the Vyqang.”

“Well, as we say on Earth, curiosity killed the cat.”

“In this case, I hope so. And that cat is a Vyqang.” Dyvinsher studied me. “We will stop them, Man-dei. Are you a strong enough warrior to face them?”

“I’ll do what I can,” I vowed, feeling the weight of those words. “We all will.”

But…could I help kill a thing that had grown from a part of me?

I thought of all of my friends in the EHJ, of tiny little Emily who was going to—I had to believe—grow up to save the world from certain destruction. I thought of my parents. And mostly I thought of Paul and the future we could have together.

Yes, if it came down to it, I would choose to save all of them. I could be just as cold as the Vyqang.

“Come back with us, Dyvinsher,” I heard myself saying. “My team leaders will want to make a plan with you.”

The senator looked startled. “We were going to have talks with them as well.”

“He said he wanted to help
my
people,” I said. “The last I checked, we aren’t welcome with yours.”

“Th-that was a mistake,” Simon’s father stuttered. “My son was bitter about his rejection from your team; I know that now. We made a mistake.”

“Don’t worry, Senator,” I said. “We’ll save the world as per usual. But we’ll take any help that is genuinely offered—unlike others, who are glory hounds and poor sports.” I turned back to Luke and my foster brother. “Let’s go.”

Hours later, we were back home. Our real home, not Fantazia’s pocket dimension. It seemed as if several months had passed since we left, even though it had only been weeks. I wandered the halls of the Elite Hands of Justice, thinking. Simon had graciously offered to drop all false charges. He had also been gracious enough to offer us a place on the American Agents team. Paul and Wesley had graciously told him to go to hell. But we were no longer outlaws. We were back home. Just in time to prep for the battle against my evil offspring.

We’d gone over the plan several times, and each time, part of my mind had paid rapt attention. The other part was numb, cut off, distant.

Since the leader of the Vyqang wanted to meet me so much, he was going to. I was going to be the distraction, the bait to draw him out. I would give him the chance to leave. If he didn’t, everyone was waiting to destroy him. My foster brother’s people would fight his minions in space. The Elite Hands of Justice would fight any that came Earthside. The military had nuclear weapons they were willing to bring to bear. I hoped it wouldn’t come to any of that, but I remembered the only way the Vyqang were stopped before was destruction.

I surveyed a different destruction: my lab, totally incinerated when we had our fight with Simon. As I sorted through the debris, making piles of trash and of other things I could probably repair, I sighed. Dyvinsher, whose own ships were in orbit around the Earth as our first line of defense, had estimated that the Vyqang would arrive any day. It didn’t matter. It could be one day or one month from now; I was still ill equipped to deal with this painful reminder of my past who wanted to enslave my planet.

I heard the sound of a door swishing open behind me and turned to see Paul. “Hi,” he said.

“Hey.” I motioned to the pile. “Just sorting some stuff out.”

“I can see that.” He stood with his hands in his pockets. “Feels weird to be back here, doesn’t it?”

I nodded. “Yeah.”

He looked over my pile. “Anything salvageable?”

“A few pieces here and there.” I felt like we were having this conversation on multiple layers. “What’s up?”

“I just wanted to check on you. You were really quiet all through the meeting.”

“There’s just a lot to process.”

“I understand.”

“Do you ever feel like this team is cursed?” I asked. “Maybe Simon’s right. First Lainey and Wesley are part of some ancient prophecy that might destroy the world and has the Dragon going after Lainey. And now…”

“It wasn’t Lainey’s fault she was targeted by the Dragon. And what’s happening here isn’t your fault. They violated you and stole part of you to make him. You had no control over that. It’s not your responsibility.”

“It’s not my DNA running rampant out there?” I asked.

“Well, not just yours. Something else’s too,” he said. Trying to cheer me up he added, “That’s how it works. You need me to explain Biology 101 to you?”

“But if it wasn’t for me—”

“It would have been someone else who was violated.”

“Then the Vyqang wouldn’t be coming here,” I pointed out.

“But they like to conquer worlds. Murder and rape and ruin, right?” At my nod, Paul continued. “We can stop them, Mindy. Maybe this battle is all that stands in the way of them running rampant and conquering whole galaxies. Your foster brother is here to help
you.
If it had been someone else, maybe the Vyqang would never be stopped.”

I gave him half a smile. “Interesting way of looking at it.”

“I’m a scientist. I look at things in interesting ways.” He gave me a reassuring smile.

Wanting to change the subject, I motioned around us. “Is your lab the same?”

He nodded. “Pretty much. Simon has cost us a lot.”

“We should send him the bill.”

“We should,” he agreed.

“Is everyone else getting settled in?”

“I think everyone’s glad to be back in their own beds,” Paul remarked.

“Except Cyrus, who didn’t live here.”

“Yeah, well, we still need him, so while he’s freelance working for us, he’s living with us,” Paul said. “I’m thinking of turning my lab into a bedroom. Have a cot set up or something.”

“For Cyrus?”

“No, I gave him the spare room I was staying in while Kate and I were splitting up,” Paul said. “And I’m not bunking up with him, so don’t ask. We might kill each other.”

“You’re not staying with me?” I said.

He looked shy. “I wasn’t sure if you’d want me to.”

“Didn’t we already have this conversation?”

“I know you said you were in this for the long haul, but with us coming back home and the Vyqang—”

“Nothing’s changed for me, Paul. Nothing.” Now I was nervous. “Has something changed for you? I understand that you were shaky about kids in the EHJ anyway, and this revelation isn’t helping, I’m sure.”

“You think I don’t like kids or something?”

“You said once that Wesley and Lainey were crazy to have a kid in our environment,” I reminded him. “And now that we see what my DNA mixes into, I can understand if that makes you not want to chance anything.”

He shook his head, frustrated. “Like I said, this Vyqang leader isn’t your fault. And yes, I did say that about Wesley and Lainey, but I also understand why they are crazy enough to do it.” He smiled. “I could see having a child someday…with the right person. If you’re suggesting Emily should have a playmate in the EHJ family.”

For a moment I could see a child with Paul’s smile and my eyes. “Not anytime soon,” I quickly amended. “But someday. Since we’re getting all of our relationship expectations out in the open. Wow,” I realized. “That’s the quickest way to scare off a guy, huh? Talking about future babies.”

“Well, I think a more permanent relationship is called for first.” Paul sounded hesitant, nervous again. But also more than a little hopeful. “Maybe a little bit of paperwork, too. In the form of a license.”

Was he suggesting what I thought? “I’m not opposed to it,” I admitted. I didn’t want to overreact.

He scratched his head. “Are you being serious, or are you just teasing?”

“I’m serious—but remember I’m a cold-blooded scientist. If you’re cool with a little ceremony in front of a judge, just the two of us, then you’ve got yourself a deal.”

His face broke into a bright smile. “You’re completely serious?”

“Yes, I’m completely serious! What do I have to do to prove I’m saying yes to your unasked question? Yes, Paul, if you decide to ask me to marry you, I’ll say yes. If that’s what you’re coyly tap-dancing around.”

“It’s not because you think something bad’s going to happen with this invasion and you won’t have to follow through?” He was teasing; I could tell by the tone of his voice.

“I’ll run out and get the license now, if that’s what you want.” I shook my head. “And I thought Wesley asking Lainey to marry him in an elevator moments before a possible world-ending battle was weird. I think this is probably the weirdest proposal in the history of proposals. But what can you expect from us, right?”

“How about if I phrase it better after we stop the invading aliens? Now, how about a distraction from the craziness of today?” He held out a hand.

I took it. “That sounds fabulous.”

“Are you sure you can do this?”

I frowned as we went over the plan again. Logistics might have changed a bit, but we were still solid. “Yes, Paul. I’m fine.” I glanced over at Fantazia. “Are
you
sure you can do this?”

She shrugged. “I’m sure it’ll work out fine.”

I looked at Wesley. “Now I’m not so sure.”

“She’s just being…” Wesley gave Fantazia a dark look. “She’s just being herself. She can do this without any trouble.”

Fantazia snorted. “It’s so easy? You try working a teleportation spell to an alien ship miles above the Earth’s atmosphere, then the subjects mucking around a bit up there and then turning around and transporting back. Oh, wait! You don’t have the power to do that anymore.” She gave him an equally dark look. “So it looks like you should be quiet.”

I looked at my foster brother. “Assuming she can even transport us up there, what guarantee do we have that he won’t just blow us away?”

“None,” interrupted Paul. “Which is why I’ve been working on this all night.” He tossed me a small device that looked like a garage door opener. “It’s a personal shield. I can’t factor in for all of the alien weapons they might throw at you, but it is calibrated to deflect everything I know.”

“And when exactly did you make this?” I turned the device over in my hand, admiring the workmanship.

“After you fell asleep.”

“You didn’t sleep?”

“Sleep is for people that don’t have access to intravenous caffeine drips,” Paul said.

“Thanks, babe,” I replied, leaning in and giving him a kiss.

Toby groaned and looked away. “No making out in the war room.”

“What about the people risking their lives but not sleeping with you?” Fantazia grumbled.

“As long as you’re standing close, the shield should protect you,” Paul said.

Fantazia snorted. “I love how you say
should
.”

“You can cast a shield on yourself,” Paul pointed out. “I’ve seen Lainey and Wesley cast them.”

Fantazia threw up her hands. “Do you people think I have an unlimited supply of magic? Because I don’t!”

“Can you take some of mine?” Lainey asked. “Since I’m staying here with Emily, I don’t need much.”

“You need some,” Wesley pointed out. “No way am I leaving you in the midst of a possible invasion powerless.”

“Not exactly powerless,” Lainey retorted. “And I’m in a pretty heavily guarded fortress.”

“Which the Dragon tore through last time,” Wesley said.

“We’re fighting aliens this time, not magic users.”

Fantazia actually gave Lainey a small smile. “Thanks for offering, Lainey, but I’ll be okay, I’m sure. I’ll just take a very long vacation afterward.”

“Okay. How’s the decoding, Cyrus?” Wesley asked.

“Won’t be able to tell until they get here,” the Virus replied, not looking up from his computer. “But so long as the information our alien friends have provided is remotely correct, with a few minor tweaks I should be able to upload this program to disable their defense systems in a short amount of time.”

“Time that we’ll spend fighting them,” Paul said.

“Better hope it takes effect pretty quick,” Cyrus muttered. “Just like in the movies.”

“Like anything works like it does in the movies,” Luke said.

“That’s why the military is on standby to nuke their alien butts,” Toby said.

“And that’s why we had better hope our plan works,” Paul added. “I don’t know about anyone else, but I get worried anytime anyone mentions the words nuclear and government in the same sentence.”

“I must go prepare my people,” Dyvinsher said. “We are getting reports that the Vyqang are nearing.”

“I’ll relay that to the military,” Wesley said. “They’ll be the next line of defense should the Vyqang punch their way through yours and into the atmosphere.”

“If they do, ready your ground troops,” Dyvinsher said. “They waste no time in transporting down.”

Paul nodded. “Wesley and I will be leading the forces below.”

I hugged Dyvinsher. “Good luck.”

He hugged me back. “To you as well, Man-dei.”

I wrapped my arms around myself as he took a few steps backward and transported himself away. Now we would have to watch as the Kalybri attempted to keep the Vyqang from reaching us. I had a feeling that it would only be a matter of time before a few of the enemy’s ships slipped through and they made their way forward. Once the battle started on the ground, we only had a limited amount of time for our plan to work: Cyrus taking out their defense systems and Fantazia and I trying to take out their leader…or convince him to go away peacefully before the military stepped in.