Clic

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This takes place right after part four.

Iron Heart: Part 2

The woman was stunning to look upon. While Brenda was the closest thing to perfection that I had ever seen, Bennu made her look plain by comparison. There was a light that fell upon her and illuminated her hair like a scarlet pillar that fell nearly to her ankles. The silk that hid her body was almost transparent. The overlapping layers were the only thing that hid the details that were teasingly hinted at everywhere.

"Here we go again," mom moaned.

"I don't know what you're talking about," I said and everyone laughed, even Bennu.

"But I don't understand, you're not the one from my dreams," Bennu said suddenly. "I don't understand." She turned to face the old man. "You said the first young man to arrive would be the one I would fall in love with. But he looks nothing like him, what madness is this?"

"His arrival was unforeseen goddess," the old man said.

"I fear your prophecy is in ashes master," she replied.

"Perhaps, but now you must make a choice, either you can wait or take what is offered here and now."

"He is handsome enough, but I feel it would be a betrayal to the 'other'."

"I am right here," I said a little miffed.

"Of course you are young master," Bennu said. "But you are not he whom I have dreamt of."

"Follow your heart goddess," I said. She narrowed her eyes and smiled wickedly.

"I will, now if you will excuse me," she said as she turned and left.

"Follow her you fool," the old man hissed at me.

I got up and did as the old man advised. Bennu walked up to the very top of the pyramid. We passed several pairs of guards along the way, but I didn't engage her until we reached the top.

"You are a bold one," she said in a soft voice.

"And you are the most gorgeous woman I have ever seen and I fear will ever lay eyes on."

"Fear, what is there to fear young master," she asked.

"That in my life I will never meet another as lovely as you," I said.

"You are right to fear then," Bennu said with a chuckle.

"You mock me lady," I said moving behind her.

"Be thou careful lest you be burnt," she warned. I turned her to face me and leaned in close.

"Then burn me," I said before I kissed her.

Burn me she did, her kisses were hot and fierce. When he finally broke to catch our collective breath she was shaking and I was panting. She had kindled a hunger in me that was white hot and only an intimate embrace could quench it. Bennu placed her hands on my shoulders and held me at bay, then shook her head.

"I can't, as much as I want to, it would be wrong," she moaned.

"I respect that, I don't like it, but I won't force you to do something you are unwilling to do."

"Don't say unwilling, just unable," Bennu whispered.

"I better go before I cross a line," I told her. She took my hand and pressed something cold and hard into the palm of my hand.

"Take this as a token of my desire; it is singularly unique, like my hunger for you."

"Thank you goddess," I said and felt the tears streak my cheeks as I turned and walked away.

I tightened my first around her gift as I walked down the spiral ramp that led to the ground floor. Then I headed outside to cool off. I walked down to the village and found a spring fed pool. Only then did I open my hand to view her gift.

"Oh my god," I said seeing the flawless red stone. It was cut in a teardrop fashion and its flawless facets glittered under the moonlight.

'Touch it to your brow,' the Witness murmured in my thoughts.

'What is it?'

'It is the Phoenix Stone,' the voice replied. 'Older than this galaxy and possesses a hidden power if you can riddle it out.' I touched the stone to my forehead and felt the jolt of energy as it fused to my skull. There was no pain but when I let go it remained where it was. I felt all the fatigue in me leave and a new kind of energy filled me up completely.

'Whoa,' I said.

'Indeed, she has never parted with that most sacred of objects, ever.'

'Why me,' I asked.

'Who knows, perhaps she sees in you a hidden destiny. Or it might represent her desire to be with you. Fear not, it will hide itself the way the mask remains hidden. I saw that deep in your thoughts.'

'That was far from the surface, speaking of surface...' I said as I stripped down and dove into the pool. I swam down to the bottom of the pool and drank in the chill of the water. Oh I still wanted to be with Bennu but at least now it was under control. Distance and temperature helped keep my hormones in check. Suddenly I heard someone else dive into the pool. I looked up from the bottom and saw a very feminine silhouette against the moonlight. I kicked up and swam beneath her at a discreet distance, whoever she was. I guessed from her prehensile tail that she was a Bastet, but which one I wondered. She swam several laps and then moved to the center of the pool and began treading water. That hunger woke up with fierceness and she was the target of my desire. I grabbed her by the ankle and yanked her under. Then she was in my arms and I was kissing her as we bobbed up to the surface. She fought me up until our lips touched then she stopped and became complacent in my arms. Our heads broke the surface and she took in a deep breath, opened her eyes and smiled at me.

"Master Osborn," Isix said. "What a surprise."

"Isix," I asked and she nodded.

"Shall we continue," she asked as she wrapped her legs around my waist.

"You're not upset," I asked as she wiggled her ass against my hardness. "I'll take that as an invitation."

"Please do young master," she moaned. Without using our hands I managed to slide into her slowly and we both moaned as we renewed our kiss. I wondered if Bennu had sent her to me as a kind of consolation. It didn't matter, she was here and I needed her badly.

"UNNN UNNNN UNNNN, master's hardness is deep inside of me," Isix moaned into my ear. "Take me on the land, make me yours." I nodded and we drifted to the edge of the pool and then without disentangling ourselves I managed to get my feet beneath me. Each step was a mixture of ecstasy and agony. Then a tree presented itself and I pressed her back against it, once she was in place I began thrusting up into her. I felt her nails rake my back and her tail wrap around my left leg. The tree was shaking as I hammered her hard and fast. Suddenly Isix howled as she came with little warning at all. I never relented as I continued to fuck her. A second orgasm hit her thirty seconds later and a third one minute after that. I was well on my way to my first climax when she noticed me swelling up inside of her.

"Fuck me young master," she growled. "I want to feel you cum inside of me."

"Almost... almost... oh my fucking god," I howled as I came inside of her. Isix's nails dug into my flesh and drew blood as I sprayed her insides. I ground my hips against her then kissed her again. That's how things went for the next hour or so. I lost track after my fifth orgasm and her fifteenth. We finally and sadly ran out of steam, but man what a ride!

"I love you," Isix whispered. "Take me with you."

"You are in lust," I said. "You wouldn't be happy out there. You would stand out and I couldn't have that."

"Young master is kind, but Osirins can alter their appearance to fit into native populations."

"So you can appear human then," I asked.

"Yes, just like you master," she said.

"What makes you think I am not human?"

"You taste like one of the Great Old Ones," she purred and licked her lips seductively.

"How would you even know that," I asked.

"Your party is the first humans in centuries. But that doesn't mean you are the only visitors to this island." She said and her logic was undeniable.

"What is the difference," I asked. "...Between the Old Ones and the Great Old Ones?"

"The old ones are humanoid whose blood line stems from star visitors. The Great Old Ones are higher beings that came to the earth hundreds of millions of years ago. They dwell beneath the seas and to this day hide in the quiet places upon the earth."

'She is right Master,' Arianna added herself to the conversation. 'Your DNA has been completely replaced by XNA.'

'What does that even mean...? Oh... I am no longer a carbon based life form I am now silicon based.' I began to ask when the answer filled my mind. 'Great, just fucking great...'

"You look sad young master," Isix said frowning. "Was it something I said?"

"No, I just realized what I am."

"And this upsets you, you were raised by humans, I see why you are sad."

"Yeah, and I have two children on the way. Will they be like me or be human I wonder?"

"Only time will tell," Isix said softly. "Either way, you will love them completely."

Isix and I dressed and returned to the Black Pyramid. My mother and sister were both smiling from ear to ear. Sis winked at me and raised her glass to our return. The old man didn't miss our arrival and locked eyes with Isix and he smiled and nodded to her. She gave me a hug and kissed my cheek. I took this as the old man giving her his blessing on leaving with me. Funny thing nonverbal communication, it can be complex as sign language or as simple as a single kiss. Isix gathered her few belongings when I mentioned that we would be leaving. As I waited I felt the kiss of the Phoenix Stone upon my brow, it was as if Bennu were telling me goodbye in her own unique fashion. I just hoped I proved worthy of her gift. Hell, after all the burdens / gifts laid at my feet I wondered why and if my inhuman lineage had anything to do with it all. Perhaps it was just coincidence but deep down I think I knew better. Isix reappeared from below with her silk bag of clothes and jewelry.

"What are you going to do with the assassin," I asked the old man thinking of Brenda suddenly.

"I will return her to the Gray Council and let them meter out punishment. Though I doubt it could be any harsher than what you have already laid upon her."

"I didn't kill her," I said as if reassuring myself.

"No, you did far worse; you removed the only light she has ever known."

"I had no choice," I said and turned to leave.

"No you didn't, don't blame yourself for another's actions Master Osborn." He said and I left without another word. The four of us walked down to the shore, there Arianna's craft stood untouched in the four days since we arrived. We climbed on board and it lifted silently and without any hint of motion from the beach. The A.I. took over and made a direct course for the Iron Heart facility.

It didn't take long to arrive at the converted oil rig. The oil drilling machinery was long gone and in its place were several large buildings that made up the manufacturing hub for the facility. We landed on the only pad delegated to air borne traffic. The door slid silently open and we exited eager to take the grand tour. Arianna directed me to the nearest building, what appeared to be corrugated steel was in fact some sort of steel alloy that was closer to surgical steel than the more common alloy. Inside was a flurry of activity as robots were being assembled. They appeared to be some sort of spider-like design and armed with various tools.

'These are the construction units,' Arianna explained and I passed on to the other three. 'They are designed to build, assemble and in some cases disassemble structures that have proven unnecessary.' The next building was a blast furnace where scrap material was melted down and poured into individual ingots for processing either here on the surface or below in the underwater facility itself. The various metals were iron, steel, palladium, gold, silver, platinum and rarest of all iridium. The ingots were stamped and carried off by worker bots to the nearby marina where a submersible was awaiting us. Arianna knew we were far too eager to see the surface in its entirety when the gem of the sea awaited us below. We took our spots in the submarine and watched as the hull closed up and we slowly descended into the dark depths of the Atlantic Ocean.

The glittering dome was easy to spot as we sunk deeper and deeper. The entire structure was lit from within and shone brightly in the shadowy depths. On the equator of the thing was what appeared to be a docking station. We made a direct course for the equator and within a few minutes were docking. The hatch opened and the interior of the sub was illuminated by the brilliant LED lights from within Iron Heart. It was a small city of robotic life forms. Size, shape and tools determined their function. There were hundreds of them and they were all either working or heading for a work location within the sphere. Just like an office building the sphere was sectioned off to keep its needs and function easier for me to keep straight. We took an elevator to the top of the sphere and looked up and out onto the ocean and its myriad types of life.

'Is Master pleased with my work,' Arianna asked me.

'Master is completely blown away,' I said. 'What are you working on?'

'Many different projects, but the most interesting one is the anti-gravity probes. I took the design from the other A.I.'s. They will be able to collect data and retrieve the written word from nearly any location.'

'Excellent, just don't get caught,' I said. 'Can you build one that can actually remove or take samples or objects?'

'Of course Master, a little tweaking and I could have one ready in a day or two.'

'Do it,' I said. 'I want to investigate this Ghost Web. I want to gather up artifacts and learn about this Gray Council.'

'Understood Master, I won't fail you.'

We spent hours looking at the various labs, furnaces and shops that filled the one quarter of the sphere that was occupied. I could only imagine what happened in a year or so when the entire thing was finished. Now I just had to decide what course of action to take and what purpose my resources would be put to. Even now tons of ideas were percolating to the surface of my mind.

"What do you think," I asked my mom and she just looked at me and shook her head.

"Think, how the hell did you build this?" Fiona asked. "I mean, how can you possibly afford all of this?"

"I was afraid you'd ask that particular question. Arianna found funds for a secret government op that wasn't being used, so..."

"YOU STOLE THE MONEY," mom roared. "...How much Steven?"

"A lot," I said ashamed now.

"How much," she repeated unwilling to let it go.

"Forty billion," I said. Mom and Fiona went pale while Isix just watched the exchange with a small smile on her face.

"If the money wasn't being used, there is no harm..." Isix began but mom cut her off.

"NO HARM, he stole from the government, someone is going to notice." She said. I didn't say anything, what was the point, mom was just going to holler some more. So while mom ranted about the government raining down all matter of hell we continued our tour. The very center of the structure held the power plant and it was huge but gave off neither heat nor any vibration that I could feel. Arianna said it was an exact copy of Uncle Carl's dark energy converter. Since dark energy was everywhere but didn't interact the way normal energy did it required converting to be able to be used. The conversion process produced far more energy than was required to run the converter, an eternal surplus of usable power. This along with twenty or so other labs where Arianna was overseeing the research on Uncle Carl's projects she had sent home with me. I wonder how Carl would react to so large a facility. Would she like it, or more likely freak the hell out over so large a building and so many projects on the open burner.

Suddenly I was thinking about Brenda and her betrayal. She had tried to kill me over some overzealous loyalty to this mysterious Gray Council. It still stung that I had been manipulated by the she bitch. My anger rose up and I decided on a very proactive course of action. I would find and confront this Gray Council. My mom noticed the change in my demeanor and her rant ended abruptly.

"Steven?" She asked.

"I am not a victim. I am going to find those bastards and push back!" I said.

"Steve, are you sure about this," Fiona asked. She didn't need to ask which bastards I was talking about.

"Positive," I said.

"How can I help Master Steven," Isix asked.

"Find them, I plan on hunting them down," I said.

"Easy, they hang out at HIPS, it's a nightclub located in the town of Arkham."

"Hips, that's a strange name for a club," Mom said.

"It stands for Hiding in Plain Sight," Isix said.

HIPS:

The outside of the club was unimpressive but I thought that was probably the intention. The only hint there was anything there was the long line of people and the bouncer letting people in. I took up my spot in line with Isix by my side. We waited patiently until it was our turn to go in. Mom and Fiona wanted to go, but Isix told them that was impossible, they were human after all. They would never be allowed inside. After half an hour or so we finally reached the head of the line, the bouncer looked at Isix and just nodded but for me he produced a three by five card with a mathematical formulae on it. I glanced at the equation and the answer was there in my head.

"45," I said after a moment's hesitation.

"Welcome to HIPS," he said with a fanged smile.

"Thanks," I replied and moved passed him.

The inside of the club was luxurious, bright and decorated in the style of Ancient Egypt. The music was loud but not nearly as loud as I expected it to be. The interior was home to a dozen or more non-human species that were mingling, dancing and sitting at tables and booths around the edge of the dance floor. We went to the bar and I ordered a soda, while I was there I noticed that no money was exchanging hands. I got Isix's attention and she leaned close and told me that the club was a social club and supported by the elders of each non-human clan. The bartender handed me my soda and smile revealing her feeding fangs.

"You're new," she said.

"I just heard about this place," I said.

"Welcome to HIPS, if you need anything come to me and I'll take care of you. So what clan do you belong to?"

"The Great Old Ones," I said and she went pale. "What's wrong?"

"That's going to tip the power balance around here," she said in my ear. "Walk cautiously young Master."

"Thanks, I'll remember you and your warning," I said and she smile brilliantly.

Isix and I mingled and even dance before the man in the black suit arrived and told me that my presence was required in one of the private rooms. Isix came alert and told him that she was my bodyguard. He told her she could stand outside the door but only I could enter the room. I touched her shoulder and we followed the man to room twelve. I kissed her cheek and opened the door. The space behind was pitch black and I closed the door and let my eyes adjust to the lack of light. Directly in front of me was a second door, it was like a kind of airlock that kept any sort of light from entering the room. I opened the second door and stepped inside closing the door behind me. The room was furnished with leather high back chairs that formed a semicircle around the fireplace.

'Come in Master Osborn,' the voice said in my head. 'Have a seat please.'

'Thanks,' I said and sat in the closest chair. Then I watched something detach itself from the shadows above the hearth. It was a kind of liquid movement that poured itself down the front of the fireplace onto the floor. Then it crept its way in my direction and stopped at my feet.

'I am here to offer you the backing of the Formless,' it said. I say it because the mental voice possessed no specific gender that I could determine.