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Diosa – Chapter 7: Benefactor

Written by XionZeros :: [Thursday, 18 May 2023 18:54] Last updated by :: [Thursday, 18 May 2023 22:15]

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Chapter Seven: “Benefactor”

The last thing Ximena Vega could remember was being struck down by the Greek goddess known as Cytherea, who was formerly known as Aphrodite before her fall from grace. Cytherea hit her so hard and so fast that it was sensory overload for her divine form. Ximena Vega is no stranger to beatings, mind you. She faced her share of being on the receiving end of beatings from bullies throughout her young life. She knew what pain felt like. She knew what it felt like to have your ass kicked. What Cytherea unleashed upon her felt like it attacked even her very life essence itself. That was the thing that truly terrified Ximena. Physical pain she thought she could simply endure and walk away from like she always did. Psychological pain could merely be buried within her psyche, but complete and utter defeat at the hands of Cytherea attacked what little confidence Ximena was gaining with herself over her limited mastery of her newfound powers as Diosa.

"I thought I was starting to get a handle of what I was capable of. I defeated the Child of Venus. I was able to purify that maligned beast. I stopped Pris without having to resort to killing her. Yet despite all of that, I couldn't measure up when it mattered most," Ximena began as she chided herself internally.

Blow after blow from Cytherea brought sparks before Diosa's eyes, blurring her vision until everything went black. Diosa felt her divine energy flow out of her, rendering her mortal body defenseless. The last thing Ximena Vega could process as she lost consciousness was a single thought that weighed heavily on her mind:

"I failed."

In reality, her body, along with Oshun and Priscilla/Oya were all collected by Majestuosa in separate compressed space confinement cards for captivity for delivery to Helena Dumond. For Ximena Vega, Oshun, and Priscilla/Oya, time is perceived differently. Their physical forms may be frozen in time while they are in captivity within the confinement cards, but their minds are still active. It is here on the astral plane where Ximena Vega finds herself before waking up face-to-face with Majestuosa.

"I dropped the ball... I couldn't save Priscilla..."

Another voice echoes into Ximena's mind.

"No, my dear Ximena... I failed you. I didn't prepare you enough for a fight like this..."

Ximena asks the empty void, "Oshun...? Is that you?"

"Yes, child." Oshun spoke again this time audibly. “I vastly underestimated what dangers I was throwing you headfirst into. Your grandmother was right… I have no right putting this heavy burden onto your shoulders.”

Ximena cut her off.

“In all due respect, Oshun, save it. I chose to follow Pris to that nightclub and ignore every red flag that something was clearly wrong with my best friend. I walked right into that trap and now look where we wind up thanks to my poor decision-making. I should have just stayed home.”

Oshun asks, “Do you really think that you would have simply stayed home and not followed Priscilla when given that opportunity, especially after we had exhausted any other leads we had up to that point?”

Ximena replied, “No, but…”

“It’s in your nature to want to help others out, Ximena. It’s why you desired the means to protect your best friend from the Nemesis. It’s why you wanted to help Hanney despite her being the most formidable opponent you had faced mere minutes prior. You weren’t going to allow your friend and mine to slip through your fingers again. That is why I should carry the blame for any of your shortcomings… I see now that I haven’t taught you enough to properly prepare you for what is yet to come.”

Ximena asks quizzically, “What is yet to come? I’m not following you, Oshun. What do you mean?”

“I’ve had my suspicions but Cytherea’s presence confirms it. Zeus and his pantheon of gods are living among humanity - in plain sight no less. When humanity grew to rely on their advancements in technology and science, they stopped looking towards the hierarchy of gods to guide and shepard them throughout their lives like sheep. Without that seemingly endless amounts of life energy that the gods feed off of by their worshippers, the entire divine hierarchy began to collapse as the gods quickly turned upon their own kind to maintain their place in their coveted seats of power over humanity. The Greek pantheon staged a coup that bled into all corners of the divine hierarchy, causing a war that almost completely wiped our kind off the plane of existence, thus leaving the Greek pantheon unchallenged to manipulate humanity as they see fit to their own benefit. There are few of us left, with other deities remaining as shadows of their former selves as they live on through their descendants after integrating and mating with mankind. Then there are a select few, like Oya, who are preserved by sharing their power by inhabiting a symbiosis with a mortal.

Although she is deranged and her better qualities have been warped throughout the centuries, I am positive that you fought the genuine Cytherea. That was no descendant nor a pretender. When I was educating you about your powers, I never accounted for you facing one of Zeus’ children and I apologize. I thought that once the Nemesis was vanquished, we didn’t have to worry about his children coming after you since you were never one of Annunaki.”

Ximena adds, “Even if you did, the result would have been the same, Oshun. I’m failing to see how that knowledge would have made even the slightest difference in the outcome.”

“Remember what I told you about the ‘instinct’? It’s what you felt took control of your body when you fought the Nemesis.”

“Yes, that feeling as if I was in control of my body but at the same time I wasn’t, as if I was on auto-pilot. I haven't felt it come over me at all since that first time.”

Oshun informs her, “All of the Greek pantheon have mastered invoking that instinct to use the full extent of their divine powers at any given moment. Without it, you will always be facing their kind at a disadvantage.”

Ximena asked, “So what’s the secret to utilizing this instinct then? And why haven’t I been able to invoke that power again since I defeated Nemesis?”

Oshun replied, “Unfortunately, there’s no simple trick to mastering it. I hate to tell you this, Ximena, but as long as you lack self-worth, you will never be able to level the playing field with a deity.”

“Wait, so this comes down to me merely believing in myself? That seems a little harsh and oddly specific.”

“It’s not just that. That’s just the first step. Divine beings have immortal lives and they lack the mortal concepts and trivialities that fester in your minds from day to day. In battle, their mind and body exist as one, oftentimes their bodies do what they desire before their minds even comprehend it. It’s a higher plane of thinking where your divine self reaches a state where your entire body acts and reacts without being tied to emotions or any thought processes to defend or deliver attacks. That doesn’t mean acting recklessly with abandon either.”

“That sounds incredible, but do you think I could even master something like that?”

“You’ve already shown signs of at least being able to reign yourself in after your instinct had first manifested. You have seen what an out of control instinct has done to both Oya and Priscilla along with Hanney. It could completely consume your sense of individually and control your body independently for a lengthy period of time. If your willpower is too weak, then that instinct will control your body permanently. I don’t tell you this to scare you, Ximena. I tell you this for your own protection. Cytherea handed you your first defeat, but I implore you to not succumb into despair. That is an easy gateway for the instinct to take hold of your body as a fight-or-flight response in your divine form. The last thing I would want for you is to see you completely lose sight of who you are and become consumed with power.

I hate to say it, but in terms of your divine heritage, I fear that I’ve thrown you into the deep end of the pool, so to speak. Your mastery over these powers aren’t going to get any easier from here.”

Ximena laughed at her current situation to hide her nervousness as the gravity of this situation dawns on her, “Is anything in life ever easy though? You’re wrong on one thing though. The situation wouldn’t have been any different even if I had mastered this instinct you keep referring to. I’ve only been Diosa for barely a week now. Cytherea has had thousands of years of experience to master her abilities while I’m barely scratching the surface. I hate to admit it but Cytherea made Diosa feel as small and insignificant as I have my entire life. I thought having these powers would make me special, but that only goes so far, huh?”

Oshun adds, “Child, don’t be so hard on yourself. You’ve been thrust into a world not meant for your kind. You don’t have to be special to do what’s right. That’s why I entrusted you with this power; I saw what was in your heart. I gave you the means to save our friends and I want to continue helping you anyway that I can. This fight isn’t over, not by a long shot.”

“I appreciate that, Oshun. I really do, but there’s not a day that goes by that I don’t think about what it would be like if our roles were reversed. I was the one with Nemesis’ curse and Priscilla was the one with this power. I’m positive that she would’ve resolved this matter by now…”

Oshun remarks, “Your friend has a ferocity of warrior, yes, as that’s what drew Oya to bond with her, but I don’t see this adventure going any differently. She would have to endure her own trials and tribulations with coming to terms with wielding this divine power. You remind me so much of myself when I would often compare myself with Oya when we were training to take seats as part of the Annunaki. I was never going to be anywhere as the formidable warrior that Oya was, but kept at it anyway. If I didn’t try to follow her lead and example, I wouldn’t have the tools at my disposal to make our final stand against the Nemesis. That was a terrifying foe that was more powerful and a much more skilled warrior than Oya. We were both outclassed. It wasn’t experience that allowed us to survive that ordeal. When our backs were against the wall, we didn’t hold anything back.”

Ximena almost shouts back at Oshun, “You don’t think I know that already!!?? I gave Cytherea everything that I had that night. Everything and then some, yet I still lost. I was ready to lay my life on the line if it came to that too. At the end of the day, none of it was enough.”

Ximena’s voice lowered almost to a whisper, “I wasn’t enough…”

At that moment, the dark, empty void that they were conversing in instantly illuminated into a bright white space where Ximena (now Diosa) and Oshun stood face-to-face. Oshun stepped forward and embraced Diosa with a hug.

“You’re always enough, Ximena. Never forget that,” said Oshun before releasing her embrace and slowly backing away from Diosa.

To Ximena’s surprise as she looked at her mentor, Oshun wasn’t wearing her normal elegant garb and headdress. Instead, she was dressed like a typical African tribal warrior, even down to the warpaint decorated over her face.

Oshun continued, “The best thing I can do for you right now while we have some time in this space is to share what I know with you as one of the Annunaki’s warriors. It’s not much, but I think you will find some use in this knowledge.”

Diosa nodded before formally bowing to Oshun. She grew giddy with excitement as she stood poised and ready for the lesson at hand. She never had the honor of seeing Oshun in any sort of fighting form until now.

➤➤➤➤➤

Zabrina, Ericka, and Imani Receive Their Parting Gifts

The shuttle bus from Elysium Bay General Hospital pulls up to the sorority house at Elysium Bay University. The college students began exiting the vehicle. When it came time for Ericka, Imani, and Zabrina to be the last to leave, the driver stood up out of her seat and blocked the three girls’ exit.

She calmly stated, “Miss Dumond wanted me to give you these trinkets as a gift. She wanted me to let you know that they would provide some ‘protection’ against any further threats if you decide to accept them.”

Ericka and Imani excitedly grab two of the three jewelry boxes that the driver held out in front of them in her hands. Zabrina is more reluctant than the others, looking at the remaining box before glancing back up at the driver.

Zabrina narrows her eyes, “What’s the catch? Is this her way of sweetening the deal so that we don’t tell anyone what really happened or a bribe so that our parents don’t press any charges on the alleged security detail that was supposed to be on the beachfront? I wasn’t born yesterday, y’know.”

The driver shook her head and slowly rolled up her sleeve to brandish a similar accessory, just not as elegant as what was being presented to Zabrina.

“Miss Dumond merely wishes to extend courtesies to those that she lends a helping hand to. There’s no strings attached.”

Ericka and Imani called out to Zabrina, “It’s free stuff from Helena Dumond, Bree! Even if you don’t even wear it, we’re going to be the envy of the rest of the student body!”

Zabrina scoffed at their urging and took the box before exiting the shuttle. She made sure to have the last word, “If this junk turns my arm green, Dumond can bet her ass that my parents will sue her for everything that she’s worth.”

The driver merely laughed at Zabrina’s remark as she sat back down into her seat and ran her fingers through her salt and pepper colored hair.

Once off the bus, Zabrina led her two cohorts back to the sorority house.

Erika spoke up first, “So what’s the first order of business today, Bree?”

Zabrina responded, “Like everyone else that they are questioning about that incident, we have the week off from classes, but still we’re still responsible for keeping up with our coursework. Don’t blame me if you slack off and let your grades slip this close to finals. You two can entertain yourselves. I just want to unwind in my room without having to tolerate any more dribble for a few hours.”

Imani chimes in, “Don’t forget that admissions requested our sorority to show that foreign exchange student around this week whenever she arrives. She’s allegedly a big deal for the university since her country is allowing her to get a higher education here.”

Zabrina perked an eyebrow at Imani’s words, “A big deal huh? I doubt she’s bigger than me, but I’ll excuse that blasphemy coming out of your mouth for the time being, especially after the brain damage you suffered after all. It could have had some prolonged effects and lapsed judgment on your behalf.”

Ericka adds, “You don’t remember reading the memo before the break? Her name is Lillian Moore and she’s the next in line to rule the country of Concordia.”

Zabrina shrugged, “Vaguely. I don’t mind showing Your Highness around campus though as long as she understands the pecking order around here. By the way, I don’t want to see either of you brandishing Dumond’s little gifts here around campus until I have these things appraised. I won’t allow my sorority sisters to be seen around campus wearing cheap junk or gaudy fashion.”

Both Imani and Ericka nod in agreement.

“How about we meet back at my dorm room this evening after Imani’s track meet? I’ll order a few pizzas and unwind with a chick flick? It’s the least I can do after everything we’ve gone through lately.”

Ericka claps excitedly, “You’re the best, Bree! You always know how to bring the team together.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. Tell me something I don’t already know,” Zabrina smirks back at her.

Zabrina waved the two girls off after arriving at their rooms in the sorority house. With the rest of their sorority sisters off to class, the house was mostly empty, save for the maintenance and cleaning crew members specifically hired to keep the house up to par.

Zabrina left her luggage in the lobby for one of her many assistants to bring it up to her room and climbed the stairs with her handbag thrown over her shoulder. Her parents had this wing of the sorority house built specifically for her and her specifications to provide her the utmost privacy from the rest of the students sharing the house with her.

The two bodyguards standing at the top of the stairs immediately step aside at the sight of her and let her through without question. Zabrina wasted no time entering her bedroom and dropping her handbag into her nightstand. She plopped down onto her bed and glanced back at her bag with Helena Dumond’s gift sticking out. She reluctantly reached over and snatched it out of her bag. Unlike Ericka and Imani, she never bothered to remove the decorative bow on the box.

“What does she think we are, like we’re twelve or something? Ugh… I should’ve trashed this thing the moment I laid eyes on it…” she muttered to herself.

Zabrina motioned to pitch it into the nearby trash bin by her vanity mirror, only to stop to look at the box again.

“Y’know… I should at least take a look at this junk she called herself giving away as a gift before I toss it in the trash,” she thought.

She carefully untied the bow and put it aside before slowly opening the box. Zabrina was a little surprised at what was within this container. There was a golden bangle, decorated with several gemstones and diamonds. Zabrina held the box up closer to her face and she could see some sort of ancient texts engraved into the metal.

“Interesting…” she said aloud as she continued to stare at the bangle. Her gaze was fixated on the artifact, leaving Zabrina in a dissociative and idle stupor. Her free hand instinctively began to reach towards the bangle as if it had a mind of its own as if some outside force was compelling her to do so. Her fingertips were about to make contact with the artifact until her mobile phone rang from within her purse. Zabrina shook her head as she was snapped out of her frozen stupor. She immediately closed the box and reached to answer her phone.

“Hello? Lillian’s already here? No, I don’t mind showing her around tonight… No need to apologize for disturbing me. You have perfect timing actually. I just happened to need some fresh air anyway. I’ll head down to the Student Life building now and meet with you all in a few minutes. Bye.”

Zabrina swung her feet off of the bed and glanced down at the time display illuminating on her phone. It read 1:27PM.

“That’s impossible,” she thought. “How did I lose nearly two hours of time when we got back here before noon?”

Her eyes drift slowly back at the box containing the bangle briefly. She shook her head again and grabbed her handbag from the nightstand and exited the room. There wasn’t time to dwell on this. She had other business to take care of.

➤➤➤➤➤

Training Session

THUD!!!

For the seventeenth consecutive time, Diosa’s body slams onto the ground of this secluded corner of the mindscape that is known as the Astral Plane. This training session has not gone as thrillingly as the young woman born as Ximena Vega had initially thought.

“Again,” states Oshun as she circles around Diosa’s body. Multiple copies of herself are left in her wake with each step.

“As you can see, my other selves here are perfect copies of me. There’s no illusion, no tricks. We will continue this exercise to train you to trust your body to act on its own instead of relying on your impulses and dwelling too much into your thoughts.”

Diosa cuts her off, “Yeah, yeah, yeah. I get it. Don’t think. Just do it, like the Nike slogan. I’ve seen the commercials.”

“In that case, let’s spice things up a bit,” Oshun smiled.

All of Oshun’s copies attack Diosa all at once from the front. Diosa stood ready to defend only to have her arms bound back by those coming from the rear. Diosa quickly realized that she let her guard down. As her adversaries closed in from the front, Diosa struggled against her captors and managed to free herself with a judo hip toss (ogoshi) to one of them. Those coming from the front back away slightly as Diosa floored another from the rear with a spinning back fist. The resulting shockwave from the blow knocked the others back enough to give Diosa some breathing room. She charged right into the crowd gathered in front of her with a shoulder tackle, knocking them all down like dominos. She then stood up slowly, only to be struck from behind with a bolt of energy dispeling from the hand of one of the Oshun copies. Diosa could feel the heat from the blow through her armor. It was obvious that Oshun wasn’t going easy on her in the least. The kid gloves were clearly off.

Through clenched teeth and bated breaths, Diosa pivots around and blocks the next bolt with her arms crossed in a stance that would make Wonder Woman beam with pride. The other copies join in and rain more energy bolts at Diosa. Diosa stands her ground, but the searing heat accumulating from each bolt that she guards again is heating up her armor to the point that it begins to melt at the point of contact and burns her flesh underneath. Diosa winces in pain with one eye closed, knowing that she has to do something… anything. Diosa yells a mighty roar in defiance, refusing to fail again as she uncrosses her arms with a surprising amount of force that stops the incoming bolts mid-air briefly. That instant was all that she needed. Diosa darted forward through the field of bolts like a shot out of a cannon and through the crowd laid in front of her. The resulting shockwave in her wave sent Oshun’s clones flying throughout the air.

Diosa stood panting as the hot, melting portions of her armor ran down her arms and dripped off her fingers. She raised a hand up to the air and blocked an incoming kick from one of the remaining copies. Diosa spun Oshun’s copy around, wrapped her arms around the copy’s waist, and elevated her overhead with a German Suplex. Oshun’s copy went limp on the ground after her head, neck, and shoulders made contact with the ground from the earth shaking force inflicted upon her. Diosa didn’t even have time to pat herself on the back before she was struck in the face with a soccer ball kick that sent her tumbling across the horizon for several miles. Diosa dug her hands into the ground to slow her momentum before she could get her bearings on what had transpired. Her eyes dart around to her surroundings, trying to get a bead on where the next attack would come next. It’s too late. Diosa felt her hair being pulled back as she was forcefully brought back to her feet. A blow to her exposed midriff came swiftly after that, stealing all of the oxygen from her lungs from the sheer force of the impact. Diosa drops down on all fours, gasping for air. That motion merely left her in the perfect position for what followed next. Oshun came from behind with her foot planted firmly at the base of Diosa’s skull and drove the young demigoddess face-first into the ground with a superpowered curb stomp.

Oshun steps off of Diosa’s skull and states, “Better.”

Diosa coughs as she struggles to get back up, “Hey, at least it’s progress…”

“I’m ready to continue if you are, Ximena.”

Diosa held up a finger to hold her off, “Wait, I have a question for you first. If you were this powerful all along, then why haven’t you lifted a single finger to help me all of this time?”

Oshun stood with her back to Diosa as she responded, “On the mortal plane, I’m not at my full strength like I am here. On the Astral Plane, my divine self has no limitations, but since I have extinguished most of the physical manifestation of my life force on the mortal plane, I can’t exert my full power without threatening my existence altogether. If Cytherea didn’t place me under that binding spell, I would have gladly stood by your side in that battle. She clearly knew that she would have had her hands full if she had to deal with both of us, so she planned accordingly.”

Diosa shook her head, “I appreciate that sentiment, but what about against the Nemesis or the Child of Venus!!?? Why did you feed me to the sharks? Answer me, Oshun.”

Oshun spun around slowly to look Diosa in the eyes, “You deserve to know the truth of the matter. I…”

➤➤➤➤➤

Majestuosa and Diosa’s Choice Words

Diosa blinked and her vision blurred, only to find herself standing face-to-face with the woman that she recognized from being in Cytherea’s nightclub. Ximena looked around confused as she stood in her normal unpowered state. The physical pain, along with the accompanying bruises raking through her body served as a reminder to Ximena of her loss at the hands of Cytherea, along with the embarrassment of standing nude in front of this woman. Ximena's face reddened as she immediately used her arm and hands in a feeble attempt to preserve her modesty.

Majestuosa was quick to attack her mind, taking care to remind the young woman what had just transpired as Majestuosa continued to appear in her costumed attire from the night before to everyone in this room. Unfortunately for Ximena, the only person she saw in this room right now was just Majestuosa standing in front of her and nothing else.

She spoke to Ximena aloud, “You should be thanking me, Pequeñita. Without me, you would be just another one of Cytherea’s mindless slaves, just like your crazy little amiga… What was her name again? Oh yes, your precious Priscilla Lennox!”

The mere mention of Priscilla's name lit a fire within Ximena, despite how hurt and tired she was from being thrashed royally by Cytherea a few hours ago. Majestuosa took her taunting even further by fishing Priscilla’s confinement card out of her front between her generous cleavage and waving it in front of Ximena’s cell.

All hope isn’t lost. I still have a chance to bring her back home! I just have to bust out of here and take this bitch down!” she thought as her eyes illuminated with the golden divine energy that accompanies her transformation that leaves her mortality behind for something grander.

Fire. That's the best way Ximena Vega can describe the process that her body undergoes to transform itself from plain to extraordinary. Liquid fire ran through her veins to fuel this metamorphosis, drowning Ximena's senses through an overwhelming amount of pain and pleasure. This time there was more pain accompanying the change, given the state of her bruised and beaten body following her defeat at the hands of Cytherea, but that was to be expected.

Ximena felt her face become flush with this heat; it was one part arousal that accompanied this transformation of her body along with the sensation of her skin blemishes and acne fading away until her flesh was flawless in its complexion. The heat in her face dissipated a bit after Ximena's cheekbones rose and her nose softened, giving her a more striking and sultry appearance combined with her sharpened and wider eyes and smaller, yet distinct nose. These changes to her skin weren't limited to her face, as it extended to the rest of her body from head to toe. Ximena blinked her eyes and saw longer eyelashes accompanying the changes to her eyes, which didn't require her eyeglasses with her improved divine eyesight. She bit down on her bottom lip briefly as she felt the heat fueling this change in her body focus on the top of her head while simultaneously adding to the amount of arousal building in her sex. Her short hair gained length and tickled her shoulders while gaining volume and salon-worthy sheen to add to its lusciousness. She licked her now larger, more seductive lips at the sight of the longer locks of raven black hair falling in front of her field of vision.

In a vain attempt to prevent herself from stimulating herself further by plunging her fingers into moist sex, Ximena removes her right hand that was attempting to cover midsection while she was previously dead set on preserving her modesty. She held that hand out in front of her and watched the skin covering them gain the same flawless complexion that came over her face. Her fingers grew longer while remaining sensual and feminine. Her short stubby nails grew out from her fingertips and gained a French manicure-like sheen after reaching a reasonable length. The longer this transformation petered out, the more numbed to the pain of her battleworn body Ximena became as it slowly healed and repaired bones and sinew before improving her body into something much more than human. Ximena felt her limbs stretching outward, starting from her legs slowly adding more height followed by her spine elongating to support this change. Her arms followed suit by adding additional length while the burning sensation all over her body caused Ximena to wince in pain slightly as if she was feeling the aftermath of an intense workout.

A now smiling Ximena Vega knew that was far from the case as she then looked down to her left arm that was draped over her chest and watched it bulk up with muscle, leaving her previously weak and stringy limbs as a distant memory. She felt that same liquid heat running through each limb as it swelled with not just added muscle, but with the divine strength coursing through each limb that she had come to recognize with her empowered self. She watched her arms grow in size as they gained muscle and bulk, yet retained female curves. Her arms never grew to extreme sizes, only maintaining a lithe appearance of a seasoned fitness model instead of the size of a female bodybuilder as if to deceive anyone who would dare to underestimate this budding demigoddess. Ximena flexed her free arm and smiled at the sight of the baseball-size swell of muscle on her enhanced bicep.

At this point, Ximena found it was hard to ignore her blossoming bust pushing against her left arm that was draped over her chest. She watched her budding breasts emerge from the barren ebony desert that was her lackadaisical chest mere moments before. She removed her left arm and instinctively thrust her chest outwards while arching her enlarging and elongating back that was simultaneously adding more musculature and size to her enhanced form. She cupped the two mounds in her hands and felt the added weight of the growing carmel-colored orbs on her chest. She exhaled dreamily, expecting their size to diminish but her new bust grew larger still, before settling just shy of a DD cup. Ximena felt her hardened dark brown nipples and areolas capping the tips of her newly grown large breast in the palms of her hands and nearly lost it right there in orgasmic bliss from their added sensitivity. The larger breasts didn’t look out of place on Ximena’s transforming body. Instead, it complimented and added to the hourglass shape that she was gaining throughout this process. First from her broader shoulders and wider back to her larger breast that were framed by the stronger yet lithe arms, those curves sucked in proportionately to her widening hips and washboard abs. The transforming Ximena displays an incredible amount of restraint as she removed a hand from her bust and ran it over her changing abdomen, feeling it change from sponge to rock as she could feel the indentions of added muscle underneath her changing flesh. Ripples of muscle could be seen from the surface of her now fit abdominal muscles.

She subconsciously rocked her hips as the heat fueling this transformation in her body collected in her midsection and aroused her further, causing Ximena to squeeze her thickening thighs together both in rapture and anticipation. Her hips made two violent jerks to the side as her waist molded into an hourglass figure. Ximena felt her glutes harden then inflate pleasantly until she obtained a heart-shaped posture to crown the top of her shapely, toned thighs. Ximena could feel her bare legs stretching upwards longer with her thighs beginning to touch each other as they grew firmer and thicker with muscle, much like her arms moments prior. She instinctively stood on her tiptoes as her calves thickened with added muscle before her enhanced calves and feet slowly floated off the ground. Her feet would go through a similar process as her hands. While her now dainty feet did not gain any significant changes other than their added size in proportion to her newfound state and added musculature while retaining its femininity, her toenails didn’t gain additional length similar to her fingernails, they would gain a similar French manicure-like sheen and a clearer complexion to her flawless skin.

With her transformed naked body floating in the air, Ximena threw her arms out to her sides and scrunched her face as she felt her entire body heating up once more as she perspired from head to toe. Ximena Vega found herself feeling feverishly aroused even further as her entire body went through one final surge of growth and enhancements, firming and toning her frame while adding one more final surge of growth to her larger breasts to perfectly balance her newfound figure to perfection. That searing heat finally reached a crescendo and the dam burst as if it were hit by a tidal wave, signaled by the scream escaping Ximena’s lips. The sweat on her body quickly evaporated as quickly as it appeared as her entire body was covered in blinding white light.

In a blinding flash of light, Ximena Vega had transformed from her meak and ordinary body into her fully armored divine form of Diosa and charged directly at Majestuosa with a punch directed right at her head. Majestuosa stood her ground with her arms folded, watching Diosa’s fist impact the wall of her energized prison instead.

While Diosa was left looking around confused, Majestuosa looked back at Helena Dumond and asked, “I think that more than qualifies for a demonstration, am I correct?”

Majestuosa released the veil on Diosa’s mind and revealed the surroundings to her while Helena Dumond walks up to the wall of the cell. She smiles at Diosa and says, “You and I have a lot to talk about, young lady.”

Helena Dumond turned back to Majestuosa and said, “You will have your payment in full after I confirm that these other captives are the genuine articles that you’ve described to me. Keep an eye on our guest while my scientists and I cross examine these other two bounties that you brought me.”

Bliss and Bless look at each other and ask in unison, “Is it wise to leave her alone with the girl?”

Helena shot them a glance filled with disgust.

“You dare question my decisions?”

“No ma’am, we just thought…”

“That’s where you’re both wrong. I don’t pay any of you to think. I pay you to follow orders. Majestuosa isn’t going to do anything that will threaten the completion of our contract. Plus, I doubt she wants any unsavory feedback to follow her back to the Underw0rld, so I know she will be on her best behavior. Come, this won’t take long. I rather keep these three separated as a safety precaution anyway.”

Majestuosa shot an annoyed glance at Helena Dumond and her two assistants. She has been trying to read their thoughts and emotions from the moment this meeting transpired but it’s been like staring into the dark when she peered into their minds. She surmised that either they have some sort of mental conditioning and training to protect their minds from telepaths and psychics or have some powers of their own that prevent her from doing so. If it were the latter, Majestuosa would have encountered it already given how well versed she has been in dealing with other entities and oddities in her line of work, so she quickly dismissed that theory.

Diosa delivered punch after punch to the energized walls to her cell. Her efforts proved fruitless. She watched Helena, Bliss and Bless all follow the scientists out of the room as they wheel the containment cells that will soon house the captured Oshun and Priscilla Lennox/Oya into the adjacent room.

Once the chamber doors close behind them, Majestuosa walks up to Diosa’s cell and wastes no time exchanging pleasantries - if it could be referred to as that.

“You should know that your idea to try frying the barrier with a blast of energy won’t work either, but hey, what do I know?” she shrugged after reading Diosa’s thoughts.

Diosa ignored Majestuosa and channeled her powers into a blast of divine energy that erupted from her hands aimed at the barrier. The barrier glowed vibrantly and illuminated the room upon impact with Diosa’s blast, only to strengthen after absorbing the energy directed towards it.

So it absorbs both kinetic energy exerted towards it physically and energy directly fed into it. Maybe I could overload it like a non-conductible? Then again, Dumond’s scientists would have accounted for that with a feedback loop to disperse any and all energy evenly throughout the barrier,” Diosa pondered internally.

Majestuosa interrupts her thoughts,“I hate to intrude, but you’re just wasting your time. I have to give Dumond credit for this prison she’s cooked up for individuals like you. It’s almost as if she knew specifically how to trap one of your kind. I suppose that’s a mystery for another day as I don’t have any interest in that at the moment nor do I have a client who would be more than inclined to pay for that type of information. What I am interested in at the moment is about you. I feel like I know all about you and your friends like we have known each other for years after probing your minds for the information that I needed for my own purposes, but I would rather give you the chance to speak for yourself since we have this quality time to spend with each other… Ximena.”

Diosa sighed heavily, "You should be able to tell me the answer to that question if you're as powerful a telepath that you say you are."

Majestuosa narrowed her eyes and said, "Watch your tone with me, pequeñita. Just humor my request and enlighten me with your answer, then maybe I can talk the warden into lowering your sentence. Were you born with these powers?"

Diosa rolled her eyes at Majestuosa’s joke at her expense.

"For the record, I never asked for these powers. I only wanted to save my best friend - nothing more, nothing less... Not to mention, power corrupts people. Couldn't you see that all over everything Cytherea touches?"

Majestuosa would then rip the band-aid clean off.

"That same power defeated you while Cytherea didn’t even break a sweat. Now look at your current predicament, you're trapped here like a rat in a cage - all because you're weak and refuse to take full advantage of the vast power at your fingertips..."

Diosa wasn’t impressed, "And be like you... a lapdog to the highest bidder? No thanks."

At that moment, Taurus could see the blatant disrespect from Diosa was making Majestuosa seethe with anger.

Diosa noticed this and opted to keep pushing her buttons as she clearly hit a nerve.

"Wait, Majestuosa? I remember you now from the Lucha Libre Promociones del Legado television show. You're that salsa dancer who became a luchadora after a fluke win over Pedro Pentagon when he put his money up against anyone and foolishly put it up against you as a joke. I remember you being brought in hoping to imitate Mister Majestuoso when you couldn't even hold a candle to him in the wrestling ring. I was shocked like everyone else when they revealed that you were actually his daughter no less. That company continued to push you to the moon only for it to not mean a damn thing when no one liked you. It’s pretty sad when you have his genes and none of his talent. Figures that you would dress up like that and resort to being a Saturday morning cartoon supervillain to get by for your day job when wrestling definitely wasn’t cutting it."

Diosa could barely get those last few words out before she found herself being lifted off the floor telekinetically by Majestuosa. Majestuosa held her in the air with one hand while using the other to slowly squeeze her throat in a similar manner by applying pressure around her neck.

Majestuosa smiled while she held Diosa suspended in the air, leaving her to choke on her own breath. "You WILL learn to respect me, pequeñita."

Diosa smiles while she still manages to utter between gasps of air, "Ohhh... did I hit a nerve?"

Taurus tugged at Majestuosa’s arm as the color began to leave Diosa’s face.

“I don’t want to be the buzzkill who ruins your fun here but I have to remind you that we won’t get paid if you kill her. Just tape her goddamn mouth shut or something.”

Majestuosa said nothing at Taurus’ warning. She flung him across the room violently with a wave of telekinetic force, allowing Diosa to get a moment to regain her breath.

Diosa decides to get one more blow in, metaphorically twisting the knife in the process.

"So much for continuing daddy’s legacy..."

To the surprise of both Taurus, who is sliding down the opposite wall unscathed and Diosa, who is still suspended in the air, they witness something odd transpire as Majestuosa stands before them, frozen in place. A lone tear runs down Majestuosa’s face. She immediately drops Diosa and turns away from her to hide her face from showing any signs of vulnerability. Taurus silently watched in awe. As long as he has come to know Majestuosa, she took pride in never showing any vulnerabilities or weaknesses in her demeanor. This was a rare display for her. For him, this was the equivalent of seeing a unicorn or Bigfoot in reality.

Inside Majestuosa’s head, her own thoughts began to betray her, “Daddy, I’ll never spit on your legacy - ever. I’m sorry that I haven’t been able to aspire to win those fans over genuinely like you could without tampering with their minds. I-I-I just wanted to see you smile when they cheered my name like they would always do for you when you stepped through that curtain… It wasn’t my fault that they saw me as a cheap imitation and a pretender to your legacy… That’s why I came to America, in hopes of making it on my own without having to stand in your shadow… or anyone else’s for that matter.”

Majestuosa finds her voice and struggles to steel herself, "You're wrong. Everything I do... have done... and will continue doing until the day I draw my last breath is to honor my family's legacy... not that you could ever understand that."

Diosa coughed violently as she caught her breath. "I'm guessing that you've had these massive expectations to excel and make your parents proud ever since you were a little girl, despite being so different from everyone else growing up."

Majestuosa looked over her shoulder back at Diosa, "How did you..."

“You’ve seen my thoughts and memories. Sure, I didn’t grow up as the sole offspring of this powerful family in Mexico, but being the sole Afro-Latina kid in our neighborhood had its own share of hurdles to navigate - and I am still dealing with this today. I never fit in with the black kids and didn’t fit in with the Latinos either. Being a bookworm and an overall geek didn’t do me any favors either. I didn’t whine or complain not once to my parents, no matter how many times I got beaten up or bullied growing up. None of that mattered. I just wanted to make them proud of me. Can’t you see? I have felt that same burden on my shoulders too. I study hard and it never feels like enough despite my parents saying otherwise, but deep down I know they want me to go beyond what they have done in life. My mother wants me to have a successful career like her, but I don’t want to ignore my passion to be an artist either. I don't want all of their sacrifices to be in vain, so I’ve taken on a double major in college. Sure, I won’t have much of a social life, but I’m making the most of this opportunity.” Diosa smiled as she added, “I can still see Mom’s smile as clear as day from that day when I told her that I was beginning to study in the healthcare field.”

Majestuosa closed her eyes briefly as she reminisced about her own past. "Those smiles are forever etched into your heart. I would spend countless hours training in and out of a ring with my father, learning not just to wrestle but how to take care of myself in a fight. Then when my body would tire, my mother would train my mind to keep it sharp and acute with knowledge. After my powers manifested, she would force me everyday to push my powers to their limits... Their faith in me never waivered, even when I was ready to give up on myself. To both of them, I'm their legacy made flesh… I’m not only their sole heir to their empire, but inheritor of their powers as well. It’s up to me to continue mi familia’s bloodline."

Diosa catches her breath, "That is one hell of a heavy burden of responsibility to devote your life to fulfilling. Maybe I was wrong about you..."

Majestuosa smiled with her back still to her, "Don't confuse my moment of weakness for any shortcoming that you can exploit, pequeñita. We're nothing alike... If we were, you would see why I think it's so absurd to me that you are denying your right to use that divine power running through your veins to take everything you want and actually have fun with your life. Instead, you’re so content with being ordinary."

Diosa shook her head, "And here I thought we were finally starting to see eye to eye amiga, but you still don't understand. I want to honor my family's legacy too but I don't want an instant win cheat code. Where's the fun in that? You're a wrestler so you should be able to get where I'm coming from... Did you really feel like a success in the ring when everyone was bending over backwards to make you look good while you didn't put in any work at all? I liked you more on that television show when you fought from the bottom like a true underdog and worked your way up to the top instead of looking for the easy way out."

Majestuosa clenched her fist again, slowly choking the air out of Diosa's lungs as she spun back around to face her. She spat back at her, "I didn't have a goddamn choice!! I wanted to wrestle as myself and learn outside of my father's shadow, build a name for myself. Then and only then I would earn his mask and his legacy. Instead, I was propelled to the top right from the start, leaving me feeling empty like I didn't earn anything by my own talents. With my powers, I could easily sense what everyone in the locker rooms and every arena thought too. I vowed that I would pave my own path and show everyone that my parents' legacy was in the right hands. Unlike you, I'm not afraid to use my powers to get ahead and to give me an edge in accomplishing that goal."

Diosa interjects, “Can’t you see that you’re repeating the same mistake of your wrestling career?? Using your powers to exploit people is just the same as that free ride to the top made your career take a nosedive in the first place.”

Majestuosa smirked, "That’s where you’re wrong. The difference being was that while I could have used my powers in my wrestling career, I didn’t. I was like you back then, I never did anything for any sort of advantage and played by the rules like a good girl. I allowed the system to dictate my fate and control where my career went. Where did that get me? Nowhere, that’s what. I had enough. Once I started using my powers for my own benefit, everyone else became my puppets and pawns. It's not like I need divine powers to make fools and peasants willingly want to please me anyway. I will never understand you. You have been bestowed with the power of the gods themselves, yet you don’t aspire to do anything with it. My family had to scratch and claw for everything that we have. We use our powers to not only protect ourselves, but to take everything we want - by force. No one will ever respect you until you show dominance.”

Diosa shook her head, “I beg to differ. You’re crazy if you think that you’re the only one who has something to protect. The only thing that you’re doing is merely instilling fear into people. Respect has to be earned. Treating everyone around you like insects as if they are lower life forms isn’t any way to earn any respect. That’s an easy way to ensure that you have a lot of enemies in my eyes. Eventually you’re going to run out of bugs to step on and find yourself on the receiving end of that treatment. And in case you didn’t get the memo, you can’t control everything and everyone…”

Majestuosa smirks as she flung Diosa into the back of her cell with a wave of telekinetic force directed to her. Diosa couldn’t move as she found herself pinned to the wall while Majestuosa taunted her.

“It looks like we have a difference of opinion then. As far as I’m concerned, I’ll never be an insect with the tools at my disposal. Furthermore, I won’t have a pequeñita like you talking high and mighty to me as if you have any leg up in this situation. You’re the one squirming like the worm that you are, stuck in her cage, while I’m free as a bird. This world has plenty of insects to squash and I’ll never run out of those to step on to get what I want. And even if they try to fight back, they always bend to my whims at the end of the day. I am simply… undeniable.”

Diosa remarks, “No wonder you and Cytherea get along so well. You both have the same mindset of a psychopath.”

Just as Majestuosa was about to retaliate for Diosa’s unsavory remark, Helena returns with Bliss and Bless at her side to see Diosa pinned to her cell wall by Majestuosa.

“That’s enough, Majestuosa. I think you’ve made your point. Besides, I don’t want my specimen any more damaged than she was when you brought her here.”

Majestuosa shrugs, “As you wish, Miss Dumond.”

She releases her telekinetic grip on Diosa, causing her to suddenly drop to the floor with a rather loud thud. Majestuosa sauntered back towards the cell and pointed towards the surveillance camera in the corner of the room.

“I just thought you should know that everything was recorded in this room since you arrived here. So don’t try any funny stuff or you might find your little secret exposed to the world, Ximena.”

She adds one final taunt telepathically in Diosa’s mind, “Don’t think for one second that we’re done here either. You owe me for saving the lives of you and your friends from Cytherea, so I’m going to collect on that debt sooner than later. Just do me a favor and stay alive until then. I’m not your babysitter.”

Diosa replied, “Thank you for that… I’m grateful. I definitely owe you our lives, but just know that I refuse to do anything illegal to repay that debt.”

Majestuosa smiled, “I know you’re a goody-two-shoes, so it won’t be that.”

Helena looks up from her tablet and remarks, “I’m in a generous mood today, Majestuosa. I’m increasing your payment to fifty million. You’ve outdone yourself with these specimens that you’ve brought me. Is that fee to your liking?”

Majestuosa grins like a cheshire cat from ear to ear. “Splendid, actually. Now when am I going to get paid for these services? I don’t have all day, y’know.”

Helena responds in a catty manner, “Keep your shirt, Majestuosa. Or don’t for your boy toy over there can drool all over my polished floors. I want to talk to the girl first - privately - first. Bliss… Bless… Show our guests to the waiting room. I won’t be long with this.”

Bliss and Bless look at each other in unison, confused while at the same time curious to why their boss would want to speak to their captive without anyone else in the room.

➤➤➤➤➤

She Steps Out of the Shadows

Upstairs in Helena Dumond’s office, Majestuosa’s unknown passenger is sitting at her desk, accessing Helena’s private files as she watches the live surveillance feed from one monitor while hacking into her personal computer on the other. This mysterious woman hasn’t dropped her illusionary spell, so to the normal eye, nothing would be amiss if someone entered the room right now.

She tapped on her earpiece to reach her point of contact.

The voice on the other end of the receiver answered, “Yes, Kanashimi? Please tell me you didn’t kill anyone and leave a trail of corpses lying around.”

She responded, “I’m in Dumond’s personal files. Fortunately, I was able to get inside her office undetected. I have only a short window before she comes back, so what do you need?”

“I would prefer a copy of her entire private directory, but I understand that would require far much more time than you have right now without conflict. Plus, knowing her security countermeasures, she would render those files inert after being made aware that someone accessed her private terminal.”

Kanashimi read some of the filenames out loud, “Annual Security Report… Annual Budget Report… Project Dino Crisis… Children of Venus… Trans-Dimensional Gateway Research and Development… Extraterrestrial Physiology… The Divine… ”

“Should’ve known that she would have something on Project Dino Crisis… those scientists worked for her initially and her research and development team provided the prehistoric DNA to get that project rolling…”

Kanashimi grew impatient, “Focus, sir. I don’t have time to dwell in her office for very long. I don’t think her business with Majestuosa is going to keep her occupied for long.”

“Copy the files on the Gateway and the alien physiology. Those could prove fruitful in the near future. I would love to know what’s in that Divine folder but I don’t want to push our luck. Like you said, time is of the essence here.”

Kanashimi’s fingers swifty ran over the keyboard with rapid keystrokes. She plugged in an external drive and began copying the files. She calmly states, “The download has commenced. ETA 25 minutes for files this size.”

“Alright. Take care of that and get out of there. I don’t want you taking any unnecessary risks…”

“Sir, you might want me to take some additional ‘risks’. I’m patching in a visual to the current surveillance feed in Dumond’s research labs. She has some rather interesting captives that were brought in. I believe these were the individuals that Majestuosa was paid to bring in. According to this, all of the files on that project are on a different terminal altogether.”

“Interesting. So they aren’t any known targets by the Jaegers either. Their hunter network has no records of anyone nor anything fitting the descriptions of these individuals. I think I’m going to sortie a team to provide you some extra time to confirm what we’re seeing in there. I doubt they will make it past her security detail on the lower levels, but it would be enough to distract Dumond for a bit and buy you a little more time to find out what’s going on in there.”

Kanashimi looked back at the other monitor, “The download is at 27%. The extra time would be much appreciated. My only concern is the possibility of Dumond taking some hostility at the Sentry Corps ‘breathing down her neck’ at her place of business. Some bad PR is the last thing that we need right now.”

“I’ll worry about that. I just don’t want you getting caught.”

Kanashimi interrupts her employer, “In all due respect, you make it sound like I’m one of your rank amateurs in basic training. I’ve been doing this line of work long before I came after your life, remember? And tell your team to stay out of my way. I might have to make a mess of things on my way out, but not before I kill their surveillance system.”

Her eyes drift back to the live surveillance feed. “I’m going to have to cut our communications feed for the unforeseeable future until I exit the building. It looks like they are beginning to wrap things up and heading this way.”

“Your distraction should be there shortly. Logging off this channel. Give ‘em hell, Kanashimi. In the event of an emergency, partial files are better than no files at all.”

“Yes sir. Don’t expect anything less.”

Kanashimi continued watching the surveillance feed intently while monitoring the progress on the file download.

➤➤➤➤➤

Helena and Diosa’s “Friendly Chat”

Helena looks sternly at Bliss and Bless’ hesitance to take action as she repeats herself, “Did I stutter? I said that I want to speak to the girl in private. Give me the room… NOW.”

Bliss and Bless look at each other nervously before nodding reluctantly and responding in unison, “Yes, ma’am.” They turn back to Majestuosa and Taurus, who happens to be dusting himself off from the floor, to address them. “Please follow us.”

Majestuosa follows their lead out of the room, but not before fixating and looking at Diosa eye-to-eye. Taurus saw where this was heading and opted to prevent this fire from starting again between these two women. He rested a hand on her shoulder, urging Majestuosa to depart.

After Majestuosa and Taurus are escorted out of the room by Bliss and Bless, Helena Dumond walks up to the cell. She paces back and forth as she studies Diosa’s form from head to toe while comparing notes to her data feed displayed on her tablet. The amount of silence between them is increasingly uncomfortable for Diosa until Helena finally speaks up.

“For the record, everything is recorded in this building as a safety precaution, especially in dealings with individuals like Majestuosa, who could mindwipe everyone in here with her powers and disappear without a trace that she was ever here. I will admit that your transformation earlier is well worth studying more than using it for petty blackmail, Ximena. If you force my hand, however, I would hate to have to resort to those means.”

Diosa interrupts, “If you expose me then I would bring you down with me and inform the world about what you’re really doing here.”

Helena laughs, “If you’re so smart, then tell me what am I really doing here? As if the Sentry Corps, Tan Industries, and the Jupiter Foundation don’t have their own brand of dirty little secrets and skeletons in their closets. It’s funny that you really think that the press and media outlets would believe you over me? I’m much more well versed in dealing with the cancel culture on a regular basis than a mere college student.”

Diosa glared at her silently as Helena added one more taunt.

“Whether you believe it or not, I’m not here to be your enemy, Ximena. I merely want some answers.”

Helena then paced back and forth studying Diosa’s form while skimming through analysis data that is being fed automatically to her tablet.

“I can see that your choice in attire, specifically your armor has some ancient influences, but it’s obvious that you haven’t been around that long given how awkwardly you move in that form. Tell me the truth, Ximena Vega, how did you obtain this power?”

Helena taps a button on her tablet, dispelling the barrier on Diosa’s containment cell.

“I think that should make things a little more civil between us. You’re not a criminal after all. Otherwise, this meeting would have gone a lot differently for both of us.”

Diosa found herself momentarily surprised at Helena’s actions. She waved a hand towards the cell’s wall just to verify that it was truly gone and stepped forward to stand in front of Helena Dumond face-to-face. Diosa couldn’t deny that this woman’s mere presence, poise, and confidence was immensely intimidating, despite the fact that she could look her in the eye on the same eye level in her current enhanced form and added height in her high-heeled boots.

Despite the fact that she has been in captivity for a while now in this unknown locale, this is the first time that Diosa got a really good look at Helena Dumond. She had first heard of this woman from news articles that she read online for her coursework that Helena was in her early 50s, but she could easily pass for late 20s or early 30s given her youthful energy and physique if one were to overlook her white-blondish hair. “And what a physique on this cougaress of a woman,” thought Diosa. The simple white blouse and accompanying black dress pants fit Helena like a glove and accented every curve on her shapely, athletic body. Diosa could even see signs of Helena’s musculature as she stood in front of her reading off of her tablet. Diosa quickly deduced that this woman isn’t any way enhanced by the same divine process that gave herself and the Children of Venus bodies that women strive to obtain for their entire lives with strict dieting and exercise regimes. It was quite the opposite really as Diosa couldn’t sense any sort of aegis from Helena, thus dispelling any assumptions that she could be another member of the Greek pantheon of gods that she has been running into as of late. Diosa breathed a sigh of relief at that realization, but found herself unable to stop her eyes from continuing to study Helena Dumond’s form. Diosa’s cheeks reddened slightly as she found herself admiring the amount of dedication, mental fortitude, and willpower that one such as Helena Dumond has to possess to obtain the appearance of peak human athleticism, health, and beauty (at least by human standards) bestowed in front of her.

Helena Dumond was used to people being either starstruck or simply in awe of her presence whenever she entered a room. She enjoyed having this effect on all people, regardless of gender or sexual preference. Her face did not communicate any emotion towards Diosa, but internally, she was growing impatient with the girl’s silence. She took the opportunity to verbalize as much.

“Come now. Out with it. I have been courteous enough of a host to release you from your cage to stretch your legs. On top of that, I’m the one that you have to thank for covering up all of your activities since that mess happened at my resort. I don’t think your family and friends don’t want that type of press and media attention on them, do you? The least you can do for me is answer my questions.”

Diosa hesitated briefly before speaking up herself, “Thank you for everything. The truth of the matter is that I have only had these powers for roughly a week. I don’t even completely understand why it happened or how it happened at all. I wanted to protect my best friend from the Nemesis and suddenly I gained the means to do so. Oshun said that lent me some of her power, but by no means it was meant to do all of this to me.”

Helena filled in the blanks, “Oshun is the orisha that was brought here with you. And this Nemesis was the Godslayer that Oshun mentioned. I spoke with her in the other laboratory briefly but she suggested that I speak to you. She is as confused about what you are and what happened to you as you are.”

Diosa thought back to her session of training with Oshun and they were cut off from each other before Oshun could confess something to Ximena. Whatever that was troubled Diosa at this moment as she pondered what could Oshun have been hesitant to let her know about?

Helena asks with her gaze and posture unwavering, “So you were given these powers by Oshun somehow and you used them to protect your friend from this Nemesis, am I correct?”

“Yes,” Diosa slowly replied as she escaped the labyrinth of her racing thoughts for the moment.

Helena continues tapping away at her tablet before addressing Diosa again, “When my clean-up crew arrived at the beach where you two fought, we didn’t find a corpse. Could you tell me what happened so I could finish piecing this mystery together?”

“When I took this form the first time, I easily defeated the Nemesis. It was strange… It was me but at the same time, it felt like I wasn’t in control… It was as if I was on auto-pilot with my body having a life of its own.”

Helena tapped a manicured finger on her chin, “Ahh, yes. The ‘instinct’ took you over as well. So you’re no different than my Children of Venus in that regard…”

At the mention of the Children of Venus, Diosa clenched her fists and demanded, “I’m nothing like your pawns! Why are you taking advantage of these women against their will?”

Helena laughed, “Really? Do you think you’re in any position to accuse me of exploiting someone when you’ve killed the Nemesis with your own hands and subdued one of my Children of Venus who was merely doing her job? I don’t have any cold blood on my hands. For the record, every single one of my Children of Venus serves me willingly.”

Diosa shook her head, “Stop twisting things. I was merely defending myself in both situations. It couldn’t be helped. I’ve seen how those artifacts that the Children of Venus wear warp their hosts’ way of thinking and transform those innocent women into your obedient servants.”

Helena corrected her, “If you’re referring to the Venus that you defeated, she was a unique case. She was never meant to find that artifact in her time period in the first place. That was an unfortunate accident. By the time my other Venuses had recruited her, her instinct had already taken over her body. She had been wearing the artifact for so long that her divine self had no idea who or what she was without it. I wasn’t going to rob her of that power she had obtained for herself, so I offered her a purpose with my other Children of Venus.”

Diosa stood in silence, processing this information that Helena had enlightened her with.

Helena adds, “Whoever that woman was in her past life wanted and craved more out of her life and that divine artifact gave it to her - incomparable beauty and unimaginable power at her fingertips. She couldn’t have acquired any fraction of that from her old life. Once you strip that away from her and what does she have left?”

Diosa snaps back, “She has her free will. What’s the point of all of that when she’s not even in control of herself?”

Helena shrugs, “There’s always going to be an ‘adjustment’ period with those artifacts. The host has to learn to assert their will or that ‘instinct’ will dominate their host as the primary persona. Unfortunately, it can’t be helped when the host is a weak-minded individual. Fortunately for you, it doesn’t seem like you have that problem at all. You’re freely able to transform back and forth at will - without even wearing one of the artifacts no less. What is even more marvelous about you is that on a scientific level you’re not showing any readings by these machines that you’re any different than the Venuses’ own physiology. But I know that has to be a mistake. You’re clearly different from them - a lot different, especially to say that you survived a thrashing from Cytherea herself no less.”

Images flashed in Diosa’s mind’s eye as she relived how easily Cytherea defeated her.

She looked down at the floor, ashamed of herself as she immersed herself into her own thoughts, “I had to do something… So many lives were on the line and not just Pris’. Having all of this power means nothing if I couldn’t even protect my best friend…”

Helena Dumond saw that Diosa was once again detached from their conversation, distracted in a sense and opted to bring things back on track until the entire building shook violently. The rumbling didn’t stop as a massive hammer burst through the adjacent wall. Helena steps back cautiously and carefully as she watches the wall of her facility being torn through like tissue paper by this primitive weapon. Diosa immediately puts her body in front of Helena as Diosa covers her own mouth from the dust and shields her eyes from the flying debris and surveys the scene playing out in front of her. Once the flying debris stopped and dust dispersed, the wielder of this weapon stuck his head through the sizable hole it created.

Both Diosa and Helena took a moment to study whoever or whatever this unwelcome visitor was. Whatever it was, this massive creature that burst into Heaven Enterprises’ laboratory clearly wasn’t human. Diosa estimated that this creature stood roughly around 10 feet tall and had to be something of otherworldly origins, given his scaled flesh and fangs filling his mouth. Diosa then quickly deduced that his armor symbolized that he was some sort of ancient warrior from wherever he originated from.

She joked to Helena, “Were you late for a Dungeons and Dragons campaign that you didn’t tell anyone about?”

“This isn’t the time for jokes. I have no idea what that thing is doing here.” snaps Helena. She tapped her Bluetooth earpiece to communicate to Bliss and Bless, “Get a security detail up here ASAP. We have a pest that needs to be exterminated off of the premises immediately.”

Diosa looks annoyed, “Hold off on that. I deal with your unwanted house guest. You just stand back and get out of the way. This is between me and Shrek.”

Diosa then steps forward and greets the hulking warrior ogre the only way that she knows how.

“Hey big and ugly, I think you got your directions mixed up. The Lord of the Rings reboot is filming three blocks downtown, but I think they’ve hit their limit on extras.”

The ogre didn’t take too kindly to Diosa’s attempts at comedy and swiftly swatted her away with a swipe of his hammer. The blow sent her flying through the heavy steel double doors at the back of the room and through the several connecting rooms and corridors behind them.

Helena sighed heavily and shook head as she muttered to herself, “It’s so hard to find good help these days, I swear.”

The ogre slowly approached her and said, “Helena Dumond… My Master grows impatient… Time is running out for you and your vizier…”

Helena looks confused as the creature throws a small pendant onto the ground at her feet. She picked it up and raised a trembling hand to her face for closer inspection. She instantly recognizes it and demands answers from this creature, “What the hell have you done with Nina!”

The ogre spoke again, “You have six hours to relinquish payment to my Master as per your contract. Otherwise, my Master has instructed me to return with your vizier’s corpse.”

Helena whips a handgun that she kept discreetly tucked away on her person and fires several shots at the creature in a fit of rage, “You and your boss are making a very costly mistake by threatening me. TELL ME WHERE THE HELL IS SHE!!”

The ogre spoke, “You know my Master’s terms. Abide by them or suffer his wrath, but if you wish to die now, I would be happy to answer that request and simply take your corpse to my Master as payment.”

The bullets bounce off the ogre’s stone-like flesh as if they were mere pebbles making contact. Helena quickly realized this tactic was fruitless, so she grabbed her tablet from the floor and hastily punched in a few commands. Four remote sentry cannons emerged from their housings in the ceiling and immediately locked onto the intruder just as Dumond’s platoon of armored soldiers stepped off the elevator.

The squad leader went to Dumond’s side as the other soldiers flanked the ogre from the left and right.

“Are you alright, Miss Dumond? We grabbed our gear and made our way up here as soon as the perimeter breach alarms went off in our barracks.”

“I’m fine for the time being, but I would be a lot better once this thing is dead and the lab boys are examining its corpse, Commander Yamato,” replied Helena as she types away at her tablet.

“Consider it done, ma’am,” he responded.

Dumond engages the sentry cannons’ auto-firing mechanisms from her tablet while the squad leader signals for his team to simultaneously provide suppressing gunfire.

Down the end of the far corridor, Diosa sat up from the floor, shaking her head after she shoves the remains of the steel double doors that she crashed in through off of her body.

She groans aloud, “Did anyone get the license plate of that bus that clearly hit me? Ugh, I’m definitely going to be feeling that one in the morning.”

She shook off the cobwebs in her head and surveyed her surroundings. She found herself in a similar large room that she was imprisoned in earlier. stumbled forward until something caught her attention in the middle of the room. In front of her was the enhanced form of Priscilla Lennox floating in a containment cell similar to the one that Diosa found herself trapped within when she came to.

“Oh my god, it’s Pris! Just give me one second and I’ll bust you right out of there!” Diosa exclaimed. She raised a fist and motioned to punch through the nearby console to release her.

Diosa turned her head to see Oshun floating in the air while sitting Indian-style within her confinement cell across from Priscilla’s.

“Oshun!? Just you wait, I’m going to bust both of you out of here.”

Oshun addresses Diosa, “Ximena, this isn’t the time to be toying around. There are much more pressing matters to attend to.”

Diosa sinks down to her knees in front of Priscilla’s containment cell and pounds her fist into the floor out of frustration. Her hand left cracks in the steel plated floor.

“I’m so sorry, Pris. I could easily bust both of you out of here and leave Helena to clean up whatever mess that she’s got herself into, but I can’t just leave her back there to die. I’m not going to sacrifice her life to save yours. It’s not right. I broke your chains of confinement and servitude to Cytherea only to land you into another prison. This nightmare seems like it’s never going to end.”

Oshun comments on the situation, “Focus on the positives right now, Ximena. We’re still alive… That’s the most important thing, am I correct, Child?”

Diosa slowly nods her head, but looks back at Oshun intently.

Oshun continues, “For the time being, I think it would be highly beneficial for us to stay here. Can’t you see that Miss Dumond actually did us a favor in terms of what to do with them in their current state?”

Diosa perks an eyebrow at the mere mention of Helena Dumond, “I can’t say that I feel comfortable around her to be honest, especially how she hired a criminal to bring us all here no less. Not to mention all of her questions.”

Oshun interjects, “Don’t you think she has a right to know, especially after her company has been covering up our activities for the past week? As long as Priscilla and Oya are in this unique cage, they aren’t a danger to either of us nor do we have to worry about them running amok and causing more mischief due to the Nemesis’ curse…”

Diosa interjects, “But that stasis device is no way to live. You can't seriously think that we should confine them in that thing on a long-term basis.”

“While I admittedly don’t understand all of your human science, I think this is the best course of action for the time being, Ximena. You may not like it, but this buys us more time to find the means to break the Nemesis’ curse,” says Oshun.

Diosa grits her teeth, knowing that Oshun is right - as always in her infinite wisdom. That was one thing that was becoming painfully apparent that was beginning to garner some resentment in terms of her relationship with this deity that she has been following without question to this point. Oshun was always so perfect, so flawless in everything that she did… except for whatever she was going to confess in the Astral Plane.

Diosa walked back towards Oshun’s chamber and asked, “I have to know, what were you going to tell me before we were rudely interrupted in the middle of our training session on the Astral Plane?”

The building shook again, with the source originating from where Helena and her soldiers were fighting off the ogre. Before Oshun could respond, Diosa flew off back into the fight without uttering a word, leaving behind a strong gust of wind in her wake.

Diosa thought to herself as she sped off, “I can wait a little longer - both for Pris’ sake and for my own sanity.”

➤➤➤➤➤

A New Contract?

In the waiting room, Majestuosa was growing impatient as she paced back and forth in the corridor that she was standing in with Taurus. Taurus casually leaned against the wall with his arms folded while Bliss and Bless nervously watched the live surveillance feed from their PDAs.

Majestuosa read their minds like an open book, much like the children who open their presents before their birthdays or Christmas. It seemed that whatever inner conflict they were having at the moment left their minds open to her telepathy where it wasn’t possible previously. Sadly, she couldn’t peer too deep into their somehow “shared” thoughts outside of the topic that they were contemplating currently. Alas, Majestuosa considered it better than nothing given the fact that she couldn’t get nothing out of them previously.

Bliss and Bless panicked, “What is Helena thinking!!?? She can’t possibly deal with that thing on her own. Should we bring in a Venus or two from their current objectives? No, no. That would compromise their current operations and merely complicate things further…”

Majestuosa spoke up, “It seems like your boss has a rat problem that needs exterminating.” She began to file her nails as she casually added, “Y’know… Taurus and I aren’t in any rush to leave since our business hasn’t concluded with your employer, so we would be more than inclined to offer our services to eliminate that pest… for a fee of course.”

Bliss and Bless looked towards each other, clearly unsure of what to do given the current situation. They knew that Helena gave them strict orders not to intervene, but at the same time, they are her two closest confidants - save for none other than Nina Desmonde, Helena’s best friend. They actually feared Nina’s wrath concerning the consequences of Helena’s safety and well-being being at risk than the other way around.

Helena spoke up through their PDAs and replied, “That request is denied. There will be no addendums to our original contract... What the hell…”

The audio cut off to static.

Bliss and Bless both sighed out of frustration and opted to lead Taurus and Majestuosa to Helena Dumond’s office at the end of the corridor.

Inside, Kanashimi watches the progress bar until her download reaches 63% before her acute senses pick up the sound of footsteps. Bliss’ hand reaches for the door knob before it is stopped in motion by Bless grabbing it. Kanashimi carefully watches their approach through the surveillance feed while simultaneously splitting her attention between the live feeds and the download progress bar.

Back outside in the corridor, Bless asks, “Don’t you think that we should go and assist her? What would Nina think if something were to happen to her in our stead? It would be going against her orders but this situation excuses any consequences for disobeying her order.”

Bliss looks conflicted, “Maybe you are right…”

Majestuosa smirks, “The offer still stands, by the way. We could make our own unique arrangement. What Helena doesn’t know won’t kill her. Besides, if you take too long to decide, whatever the hell is making a mess up there will.”

While the pair are contemplating their answer, another transmission patches through the PDA from the front desk.

“Bliss, Bless… We can’t reach the Chairwoman, but there’s some members of the Sentry Corps standing in the lobby that wanted to speak with her and want to know what’s going on up there.”

Bless rolled her eyes, “Talk about rotten timing.”

Bliss adds, “We will be right down. We’ll have some guests with us that I would like you to escort to the recreation wing.”

Majestuosa mused, “Awww, you two are no fun. C’mon, Taurus. It looks like we’re getting that massage parlor visit I promised you after all.”

Majestuosa pauses in the hallway and looks back towards Helena’s office door.

She retreated into her thoughts for a moment, “There it is again… That feeling. It’s just like how it was in the hotel this morning. I don’t sense anything with my powers, but yet I can feel a strong intent to kill from someone or something in the air. Given that thing running amok that Helena’s got her hands full with, it could be coming off of that.”

Taurus broke her stupor with a hand on her shoulder as he asked, “Anything wrong?”

Majestuosa shook her head, “There’s too many overactive minds in this place to pinpoint one thing or person in particular, especially with the rather unique individuals visiting today. You know how much I hate feeling like this. Just don’t let your guard down. Dumond already has her hands full with her own mess to navigate. I don’t want to get caught up in a similar matter before we receive our payment. The sooner we’re out of here, the better. In the meantime, I want that full body massage.”

Taurus nods slowly while Majestuosa gives the surveillance camera in the ceiling on final glance before she strode quickly to catch up with Bliss and Bless down the corridor.

Inside Helena’s office, Kanashimi returned to watching the live feed of the battle intently.

➤➤➤➤➤

The Enemy of My Enemy

The ogre swung his hammer through the onslaught of incoming firepower, running it across the ceiling and completely destroying the automatic firing sentry cannons. The debris drops on a few of the surrounding soldiers who were unable to move out of harm’s way in time, thus dwelling down the remaining manpower left at Commander Yamato and Helena Dumond’s disposal. The remaining soldiers don’t ease up their attack either as they maintain their formation. Helena snatches the bandolier, which was full of grenades, off from around one of the waist of the fallen soldiers next to them and looks to the commander.

“I’m authorizing the use of explosives on this floor. As long as we restrict and confine the battle in this room, then there shouldn’t be any problems.”

“In all due respect, is that wise, ma’am? With all of the experimental materials and volatile substances on this floor, any sort of explosion could wipe out not just this floor but the entire building if we’re not careful,” asked a concerned Commander Yamato.

“I appreciate you wanting to air on caution, but the second that thing stepped into my building unannounced, he had a death wish. I have recently upgraded the safety protocols to this floor, including blast doors and reinforced walls that can confine any and all explosions to a single room once activated. I just haven’t had the chance to update your team’s schematics on the building on that matter.”

Commander Yamato smirked, “I should’ve known that you and the labrats up here were cooking up something. That’s one thing I love about working for you, Miss Dumond. Well, other than the pay… but you really know how to keep things interesting in this line of work. For now, hang back and leave this to me and the rest of the squadron.”

“You know that I’m never one to stand back on the sidelines. I like to be the life of the party.”

Helena then jumped over the debris that they were hiding behind for cover. She narrowly slides under another wild swing of the ogre’s hammer that swept across the room. Commander Yamato signals to his men to take evasive maneuvers, but the order is too late as the hammer sends several of his soldiers flying from the impact. Helena continues to close the gap between her and the ogre. She flung the bandolier at his arm after the completion of his most recent swing of his hammer, causing it to wrap around his wrist. Unfortunately, what Helena didn’t see coming was his free hand, coming straight at her with a closed fist that hit her squarely in the midsection. Much like the soldiers that he easily swatted away like flies, Helena is thrown back across the room. Commander Yamato threw his body in front of her to prevent Heaven Enterprises’ Chairwoman from colliding into the laboratory’s steel walls.

He frantically asks, “Miss Dumond, are you alright? C’mon speak to me!”

She says nothing but merely drops the pulled pins onto the floor from the several hand grenades that were housed in the bandolier. Commander Yamato and the remaining soldiers steel themselves in preparation for the pending explosion. The ogre reels back from the explosion and actually drops his massive hammer to the ground with another quake that rattles the building. The ogre looks at his singed hand and wrist in annoyance as a result of the pathetic efforts of these humans surrounding him. “The hell with my Master’s orders,” he thought.

He then addressed the entire room, “YOU WILL ALL DIE HERE!”

The ogre then raised his massive fists over his head and brought them down with all of his might down to where Yamato was holding Helena’s body. He closed his eyes, ready to meet his end when a golden blur rushed past him.

When Commander Yamato opened his eyes and looked up, he saw none other than the figure of Diosa holding the ogre’s two fists at bay with her bare hands.

Make one hell of an entrance, check. Save Helena’s ass, double check,” thought Diosa as she analyzed the situation around her.

She smiled back at Commander Yamato as her high-heeled boots slowly sank into the steel-plated floor from the amount of force and weight she was holding overhead was still being exerted against her.

“I got this handled, Soldier Boy. Just keep our leading lady safe and sound.”

Diosa exerted her own strength back towards the ogre, throwing him off balance briefly before speaking directly towards him.

“As for you, I clearly took you lightly the first time. I’m not going to make that mistake again.”

The soldiers are going to get in my way or worse if I leave them scattered around the room like lawn furniture. It’s not going to be easy either. Big and Ugly over there isn’t going to let me just walk them out of here. I have to keep his attention on me.”

The ogre swung at her again, but Diosa dodged his attack with ease. He repeated the motion with other hand and Diosa evaded it again.

Strange, I didn’t notice how slow his attacks were before. He has incredible amounts of power, but he lacks the speed to keep up with me. That gives me an idea.”

Diosa picked up a sizable rock from the debris near the hole that this monstrosity created when he entered the building and threw it at the ogre’s head from behind. The rock left a bruise on the creature’s head, which definitely caused Diosa to gain his ire. He lunged at her with Diosa standing her ground with her back to the hole in the wall. She met his attack head-on with one of her own, connecting with a rising knee lift to the bottom of his jaw. The ogre spat out a vile mixture of his dislodged and broken teeth soaked in his own blood shortly after Diosa made impact. Diosa was quick to sidestep out of the way and threw this creature out of the window with a judo hip toss in one smooth motion.

C’mon, Ximena. You know that won’t keep him down for long, but it should buy me all of the time that I need to help everyone,” Diosa thought.

Diosa put this precious time to use by darting around the room quickly, taking the opportunity to knock the heavy debris off of the fallen soldiers and moving the few that were still alive or conscious to the back of the room with Commander Yamato and Helena Dumond. Those who required further medical attention were left by the wayside and away from the vicinity of where the majority of this skirmish had taken place. Despite being a student in the healthcare field in her normal life as Ximena Vega, Diosa didn’t deem herself adequately equipped to treat nor to examine any of those with major injuries further. Her primary concern was keeping them out of harm’s way and avoiding any further injuries being inflicted onto them. Her time was up anyway as the ogre had climbed back up the side of the building and re-emerged through the hole.

Helena opened her eyes slowly and looked at Diosa as the commander asked, “Who or what is she?”

“Diosa. And at this moment, it’s safe to call her an ally.”

The ogre tried to attack Diosa as she moved around the room at high speed, but he still couldn’t keep up. Time and time again, he found himself punching and smashing down upon thin air as she left an afterimage in her wake. With all of the soldiers’ bodies moved toward the back of the room, Diosa set her attention back onto the ogre, but she wasn’t his target any longer. Instead, the ogre was charging towards the injured soldiers that Diosa moved to the back of the room instead.

He taunted her, “Foolish girl, the only thing you did was gather all of my prey into one place! You can’t save them all!”

The ogre swung his large fist like a wrecking ball towards the closest group of soldiers trying to retreat to safety, but Diosa threw her body in front of them to take the blow straight to the face. The ogre smiled with wicked glee after landing a hit on this annoying pest. Diosa rubbed her bruised cheek and spoke again as the smile drained away from the ogre’s face.

“I beg to differ, monster. Only a coward attacks a wounded opponent who can’t defend themself!”

The ogre galloped on all-fours towards the mass of wounded soldiers on the other end of the room. As he drew closer to his prey, he leapt forward with his hands outstretched and ready to pounce like a lethal predator while Diosa sped off in the opposite direction. Terror filled the soldiers from head to toe when it dawned on them what horrible fate that this ogre had planned for their bitter end. Some fell to their knees, accepting this fate while others closed their eyes. Some made a final plea to whatever higher power or otherworldly deity who they worship for any sort of salvation in their darkest hour that had come onto them firsthand this evening. All hope seemed to be lost, despite the fact that a few soldiers were rallying the remainder of their courage on one more Hail Mary via a barrage of gunfire with their firearms led by Commander Yamato. The rain of bullets rippled off their executioner’s flesh like a morning mist. One by one, the soldiers realized that their attempts were in vain as they ran out of bullets just as swiftly as their remaining courage left their bodies. Commander Yamato swore his life to protecting their chairwoman and he was ready to die to fulfill that order. The fact that he was running out of feasible means to fulfill that mission was a bitter pill to swallow. Yamato came to terms with that realization and threw his assault rifle to the floor. Yamato bent down to pick up Helena, but made the mistake of hesitating to look over his shoulder. The ogre was coming down right on top of them with all of his weight. In the crudest of terms, they were royally fucked. Yamato’s eyes widened in sheer terror as the hair on his arms stood on end.

The building shook again from its entire foundation from the sheer force of the earth-shattering impact. A violent torrent of wind accompanied the impact, which threw some of the soldiers back but not enough to harm them further. Yamato blinked through the incoming gust and when he was able to see properly again, the sight that filled his field of vision shocked him even more. Diosa stood in front of him, clutching the hilt of the ogre’s discarded hammer firmly in her hands while the ogre found himself hauled in midair with his very own hammer planted firmly in his face. To those who were brave enough to stare death in the eye, Diosa’s body appeared in front of the soldiers and Helena as a golden blur that sent the ogre flying out of the building with one hell of a home run swing from the demigoddess. The force of the impact sounded like a salvo going off and launched the ogre throughout the city like a rocket going off through space. The ogre’s body smashed through eight skyscrapers and landed in the middle of the desert several miles away.

Diosa rested the hammer over her shoulder and turned back towards the soldiers with a heavy sigh of relief.

She calmly asks while beaming a comforting smile at the survivors, “Is everyone okay?”

The soldiers looked towards their commander, who was just as confused as they were. Helena Dumond dusted herself off and sat up from the ground so she could address Diosa personally. Diosa then watches Helena Dumond refuse any help from the soldiers and will herself back to her feet, despite Commander Yamato’s concerns.

Helena immediately walked over to Diosa and said, “I don’t say this often, but you’re going to hear this a lot in your line of work, so it’s best that you hear from me first… Thank you.”

Diosa is taken back by Helena’s words. She was merely doing what was the right thing to do. She didn’t set out for any thank you’s for her actions today. Commander Yamato and his soldiers chimed in with a round of applause.

Diosa shook her head, “There’s no need to thank me. I was just giving that jerk his just desserts.”

Helena smiled, “Don’t be modest. You saved a lot of lives here today.”

Diosa tried to see if she could see where the ogre landed in the distance, “Maybe so, but I don’t think those people in those buildings were so lucky. I have to make sure that thing can’t hurt anyone else.”

Helena looked out of the sizable hole in the wall of her building and out towards the city, “Don’t concern yourself with the semantics. I’ll have Heaven Enterprises treat anyone who was harmed as a result of this attack. I have a personal stake in this matter too. I’m going with you to confirm the kill of that thing and I’m not taking no for an answer.”

Diosa silently nodded.

➤➤➤➤➤

Downstairs in the lobby of Heaven Enterprises’ main building where this battle had taken place, the party consisting of Bliss, Bless, Majestuosa, and Taurus stepped off Helena’s private elevator. A panicked secretary runs up to Bliss and Bless and points to the Sentry Corps officers standing in the lobby - notably Pollux accompanied by his two rookie subordinates, Private Cameron Tate and Private Michael Nguyen.

Majestuosa instantly read the minds of the officers and grinned like a Cheshire cat, “Oh this day continues to get more and more interesting…”

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