~~~ Series Notes ~~~
All of the chapters in this series have been completed. They are submitted to Literotica as a bundle. They should appear at a rate of one per day.
My characters may have biases, attitudes, and beliefs that I do not share. When reading dialogue, please keep in mind who is talking, to whom they are speaking, and whether or not they might be attempting to deceive that person in some way. There is also the chance that they may be ignorant of some fact(s) but believe they know the truth.
Violence/Gore Warning: This story contains multiple descriptions of battles between opposing forces with several fighters using bladed-weapons or deadly projectiles. The bad guys do bad things and the good guys wipe the bad guys out. Death is inevitable; quick/violent death is common. The descriptions are not overly long - but they're fairly graphic.
~~~ Chicago ~~~
My wife and I exited the parking garage and headed down the street - towards the restaurant where we would be celebrating our second anniversary.
I felt a bee-sting on the left side of my chest, and I looked down to see a red stain blossoming from a hole in my shirt. My body tensed as a feeling of mild electric shock arched through my veins and I felt my fingers begin to slip from my wife's. I watched as her eyes widened - and then followed me as I collapsed to the sidewalk.
The gunman grabbed her roughly and pushed her over towards the closest building - several steps away. Once he had her pinned, he slid the weapon into the back of his pants. I watched - from my position on the ground - as the two struggled. He pulled at her clothes, smacked her with the back of his hand, and grappled with her to gain control.
My vision shifted from full-color to grayscale.
I stood to my feet. I was naked. I looked down at the body - my body - lying on the sidewalk. The few people near us on the street were quickly moving away. One or two had their phones out. It wasn't going to do me any good - but maybe they could help my spouse.
I looked back at the attacker and my wife.
I noticed that the attacker's body looked like an old movie that had been colorized. The rest of the world was gray (in tones of black and white) - but he had a bit of color.
My anger flared. Suddenly, I noticed that his brain and heart were outlined in a red glow that I didn't remember seeing before - as if those points were where I should attack.
"Hey, fucker!" I growled, stalking towards the man, clenching my fists.
He turned - still struggling with my wife - and saw me coming. He yelled something - but I was too focused on my intent to kick his ass - and I didn't process his words.
Suddenly, two women appeared - running at me from the corner of the next building. They were wearing spike-covered black leather armor - and holding thin chains. The chains had large daggers or small swords hooked to the end of them. The women's armor consisted of leather tank-tops (to protect chest and ribs) and a gladiator's skirt that ended a span above their knees. They were wearing leather sandals on their feet. Their arms and legs were bare - and free of restrictions - making them agile fighters.
The male attacker turned back to continue struggling with my wife.
The two women came to intercept me.
The weapons they used reminded me of the rope darts that we had played with in my martial arts class. We had used them to strike wooden or glass targets. The glass bottles were the most fun. They made a hell of a racket (and mess) when they exploded.
With two large daggers headed my way (and still being unarmed and naked), my only option was to dodge. Thankfully, once the weapons are thrown, there's not much you can do to redirect them - so I evaded them without too much difficulty.
The woman on the left used her elbow, knee, and foot to whip the blade back towards herself - spinning it around her body and appendages to wind up for her next attack. The woman on the right pulled the chain (and blade) back towards her, coiling the thin chain in her fist so that she could throw her weapon again. I was a lot less worried about that woman. She was either lazy - or didn't know how to properly use her weapon.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the kicker - the woman who used every part of her body - including her sandals (which had a toe-grip, like a mitten) to cast her blade at me - as her dagger shot towards me again.
I sidestepped the dagger once more. The chain - just behind the blade - glowed red. I slashed my hand down on that highlighted spot. That tugged on the chain - and sent the blade to the pavement. The kicker spun and twisted - to bring the dagger back to her - but I'd have a moment's reprieve. I turned to the woman who preferred to throw her blade.
I side-stepped her next throw and the handle of the blade glowed red as it momentarily hung in the space beside me. I grabbed it and pulled, yanking her forward (and off-balance), and causing her to stumble. I intended to try to yank the weapon from her grasp - but the kicker had attacked again - and I had to deal with her attack instead.
I noticed that my wife and the man were still battling. These two fucking bitches were just stalling so that their friend could assault my lover. I growled at them angrily.
I was still holding the thrower's blade in my hand. I stepped back, avoided the kicker's attack, and yanked on the chain that I held. As the thrower tumbled forward, I stepped towards her. She was about to faceplant and threw her hands out to catch herself. I lined up my penalty kick and punted her head straight towards the goal net. I heard a sharp crack, and she went down hard.
The kicker was attacking once more and I stepped across the downed woman's body and spun to keep from getting stabbed. The woman on the ground was twitching. A red outline on her back told me where to stab to finish her. I stuck the blade all of the way into her body.
I ducked another attack from the kicker, grabbed the handle of the thrower's weapon, and twisted my body - catching the chain on my knee and elbow, spinning, and sending the blade towards the red-outlined eyeball on the other woman. It sank into her skull with a grisly squelching sound that I found to be highly satisfying.
I yanked the blade free, and she collapsed. I turned on the male. He didn't notice that his two companions were out of the action.
I grabbed the chain of my weapon, stretched it between my fists, and advanced on the fucker that was still trying to assault my wife. He didn't notice the chain (or me) until it wrapped around his neck, and I crossed my arms to begin squeezing the garrote tighter.
His filthy hands were still on my wife's throat and blouse. She was still trying to push him away. I squeezed tighter and tighter.
Finally more worried about me than my lover, he released her and grabbed at the chain. I slid my right hand down the thin chain of my new weapon until the handle of the dagger slid into my fist.
Red outlines highlighted his heart and brain as he turned to face me.
I slammed the dagger into the front of his forehead.
The look of surprise on his face did nothing to sate my anger. I released the chain and watched his body fall backwards, onto the sidewalk.
I stared at him until the light in his eyes faded.
My wife had moved. She was kneeling over my corpse. Her body was shuddering. She was sobbing. I could hear her as if she were a great distance away - the sounds muffled - like I was underwater or something.
"Shit!" a woman's voice gasped. "Fuck!"
A pretty blonde woman - colorized like the male and the two female attackers - suddenly appeared. She was holding two short swords in her hands. Her armor was like that of the attackers - only white - where theirs was black.
"You're alive!" she gasped.
I pointed to my body - and my wife.
"I fucking died," I growled.
"Yeah, sorry," she said, "but you're awake now - and that's what's important."
"Awake?" I asked.
"You're a Sleeper," she replied. "You wake up when well ... two ways ... epiphany or mortal death. Obviously, you achieved the second before the first."
"Achieved?" I snarled. "That motherfucker killed me. My wife is mourning over my corpse right now."
"She's just human. It's cool."
"It is *not* cool. We loved each other and now her life is fucked."
"I ... she ... you ..." The woman stammered. She finally paused. "Yeah, sorry. I was never human. I'm a little insensitive I guess."
She gave me a look that was somewhere between a person with a toothache and the pitiful face of someone caught with their hand in the cookie jar.
I uttered a low, sorrowful laugh.
"Yeah, right," I said. "So, what am I, if I'm no longer 'sleeping'?"
"Sleeper Agents build squads and work their way through the battlefield - increasing or improving their units - or fighting to destroy enemy ones."
"Battlefield?"
The woman in white looked around and then held her arms (and hands) out - with the palms turned up.
"This part of Chicago is the battlefield?" I asked.
"Earth," she corrected me.
"The whole fucking planet is the battlefield?"
"Yes," she answered, nodding.
"What am I? Whose side am I on? What groups are fighting? Who is the enemy?"
"Uh ... Angels ..."
I thought about her armor - and what the other three were wearing. The attacker had some kind of black leather armor as well.
"Heaven and Hell? Angels versus Demons? Seriously?!"
The woman nodded.
"Since that fucker killed me and was trying to rape my wife, I'm assuming he's ... they ... they were demons?"
"Yes."
"You said that I'm some kind of squad leader?"
The woman nodded.
"Yes," she said.
"How do I gain ... units ... fighters ... or whatever?"
"By either gathering your own units or suborning enemy ones."
"Explain 'gathering'."
"Find other sleeper agents and recruit them."
"Recruit?"
"Epiphany. You reveal yourself to them and they join with you."
"Join ...?"
"Merging of bodies and spirits. They become one with you and, together, you both get stronger."
"Become one ... like marriage?"
The woman nodded.
"Mostly the part after the ceremony," she said, "if I understand human customs correctly."
"Sexual intercourse?"
"Yes," she said, nodding again.
I looked at her.
"So ... I show them my sexy angel self, they get all horny, we fuck, and I have a new teammate?"
"Yes."
"Why the fuck not?" I asked, rhetorically. "Okay. Suborning?"
The woman pointed to the two dead females.
"Convert enemy units."
