Dee laid passed out, bottle of vodka on the table, lukewarm can of pineapple juice sitting next to it with 2 of its drained and fallen brethren. Clutch patted Dee’s pockets, gathering both the keys to the tunnel entrance lock and the keycard to the arcade she took out a card scanner and began scanning everything, license, ID, keycard, she carefully placed it all back in its place, carefully prying open Dee’s eyelid for a retinal scan, and then taking several pictures of her, from bust to head, panning around her for a 180 set.

She took fingerprints, a hair sample, and then loaded up her bag, heaving Dee over her shoulder and heading back. She sped up slightly as she passed the sex room, trying not to hear anything if she could help it. She quietly made her way through the Entrance to Vinn’s home and tried to sneak past Jack as he sat on the couch watching the game.

“There you are.” He yawned.

“Yea…here we are.” She sighed. Still carrying Dee.

“I wondered where Dee was. I assume she’s just drunk by your casual manner.”

“I snuck into the mansion to get booze and she followed me. Apparently, Dee has a bit of a problem.” Clutch admitted.

“Look, I’m not gonna tell Vinn. I’m not the police or your father, I just like to know people are for safety reasons. I don’t like unaccounted people. Next time, just say you’re heading to the mansion for a while, okay?” he asked.

“Cool." She said, shuffling around the corner and plopping Dee on her makeshift guest bed before dropping off her spy gear in her room, under lock and passcode.

“Mind if I watch the game?” she asked.

“Hellhounds are getting their asses wrecked, 2 to 12. Crowbar’s dead broke his neck in the first half.”

“Awe Damnit, I liked Crowbar. Well, I guess that’s that. So you’re just alone here, rockin the couch solo?”

“Yep.”

“Do you, um, know where everyone went?” she asked.

“Yea, I’m aware. I am fully aware, and whatever Dee said was going on, at least half of it is bullshit.”

“What about the other 40-50 percent? You don’t seem thrilled about it.”

“Look, it’s complicated and not what you think. It’s a medical situation I can’t fully explain. We don’t exactly have a medical lab down here, and for safety reasons the only place to properly restrain someone is the creepy sex dungeon. I’m not thrilled about that part. One thing you need to learn about Dee, is that she thinks she knows everything and she always assumes everyone is cheating on everyone, and the sad irony of that is that she’s the only one in this house who actually does that. She has infidelity on the brain, not everything that happens behind closed doors is sexual."

Vinn stared up at the ceiling as Vicki’s ass shifted about a foot from his face, the sound of sucking echoing in the dark as she straddled his arm. Nicole stared with a combination look of awkwardness and confusion about how she felt.

“Ya good, Vinn?” Nicole asked, holding the emergency eppi-pen in one hand and the emergency shock remote in the other.

“Oh yea, fantastic. I could do this all day.”

“I’m really sorry if I start smiling, it doesn’t hurt, does it?” she asked as Vicki’s fangs locked into his wrist.

“Little tingly mostly, definitely getting the venom high, that helps. Definitely not jazzed about the restraint setup, we need to do that better. This angle sucks.”

“I thought that was the point.” Nicole smirked. “I’m sorry, I don’t know why I’m like this, it was just right there, and you set it up.”

“No no, I get it. Okay, that’s starting to get intense. Yep, there’s the…go ahead and get that smaller adrenaline shot ready.

“You gonna black out?”

“Not clear, very fuzzy, okay, hit me.” He nodded. “Do the little shot.” She jabbed his other arm and gave him a fairly stout dose of 1mg Epinephrine.

“Any better?”

“WHOOo, that’s significant. I’m alive. I’m awake. That’s a feeling." He said, lifting his head up a little and looking right at Vicki’s ass.

“Cant get away from it, can ya buddy?” Nicole smirked.

“Not my fault.” He reminded.

“Want me to distract you?”

“Not with Vicki like…right next to my lap, I don’t.” the wrist monitor on his other wrist began making a beeping sound.

“Okay, get her off.” He said.

“That’s what she said.” Nicole muttered, tugging Vicki’s shoulder. She tugged again. “Vicki, that’s enough, you need to stop. Last warning.” She said turning the dial to 3 and giving the remote a light tap. She jumped and suddenly her eyes dilated, sitting up and slumping against Vinn’s hip, her mouth as red as her hair and panting slightly.

“Can you make that any less…” Vinn asked carefully. “Suggestive?” he squinted as she looked at him, back arched and chest out, hair flipped and looking like she was having a very good time.

“I need another minute.” She panted.

“No you don’t.” Nicole said, That’s the target amount and I gave him the booster Eppi already.

“I feel very tingly.” Vinn slurred, one eye wandering ever so slightly.

“Then we have a problem.” Vicki said, “It’s not quite enough. I’m still thirsty.”

“Sonofabitch.” Vinn muttered.

“Vinn,” Nicole said, looking nervous. “It’s up to you. I got 2 more booster shots.”

“So basically either we finish this, or we did this for nothing and we still have the problem delayed for later."

“I’m so sorry.” Vicki said breathlessly, almost snarling under her breath and still panting in a borderline sensual manner, teeth out and eyes red.

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

“UUUUUUugh, shit… on a stick.” He grumbled. “Fine, Switch positions, this face to ass thing is not gonna work.”

“Staring at my ass?” she smirked.

“Don’t… why are both of you smiling at this?”

“You’re not enjoying this just a little bit?” Vicki said, wiping her mouth. “Cute vampire ass on display and euphoric drugs?”

“Vinn we can stop or move on, it’s up to you but if you’re gonna go for it, you might as well kick back and enjoy it. You have my permission to not feel guilty about enjoying this.”

“Screw it, we’ve been here before, minus the safety and supervision already. Vinn the dairy cow, ready for duty.” He sighed. “Well, give me the stupid shot before the good shit wears off, and I change my mind.”

The doors to the weight room opened and Jack strolled in, noticing Vinn on the floor, face up, looking deep in thought, bandage on his wrist and eyes still off color.

“So…” Jack said.

“Be super neat if you didn’t.” Vinn muttered.

“I’m not asking for details, neither of us wanna talk about. All I wanna know is A: is she medically good, and B: are you medically good?”

“Yea medically everyone’s great. She’s topped off, and I’m high as shit, vitals perfectly acceptable. How’d your day, bro?”

“Just wanted to say thanks.” Jack awkwardly said.

“Kinda wish you didn’t.”

“Nobody is upset.” Jack added.

“Weeeel, someone might be just a little bit upset, a little bit of a mix of emotions. How was the game?”

“Hounds got destroyed, 1 fatality. You didn’t miss much.”

“Bummer. So game night tomorrow, that still happening I assume?”

“Oh absolutely, laptops charged, ElvenForge 6, player setup at 5, pizzas, beer.”

“Cool.” Vinn said, still snow-angel position on the concrete floor. “Cool cool, good stuff. Looking forward to it.

Dee paced around her room, putting up laundry and everything that was de-slimed. She was glad to be back in her home and her room with her own things again. Her phone buzzed with the doorbell jingle.

“What the hell?” she asked, heading downstairs to the basement to check and see who was visiting. She opened the door to the tunnels and Zeph was standing there with a rose and a big grin.

“HEY Dee! Great news. Tunnels are opening back up. The snails did their job perfectly…aside from invading about 12 homes and mom having to pay off people to stay silent about the snail invasion. But other than that they wiped the bugs out. They’re opening the tunnels and clubs back up, one at a time, with inspections and cleanup. Plus, you are officially invited to Mom’s house."

“Zeph, I don’t know how to say this but, your mom scares the shit out of me."

“Kinda sounds like you did know how to say it. I know, this should help you to see her fun side. She’s cooking dinner and for some reason she said I could bring a plus one.”

“Which means she wants me over there because of course you’d invite me as your plus one. That’s just a sneaky way of getting me there. If anything, it makes me MORE suspicious and scared of her.”

“Yea, that’s a good point. Anyway, it’s at 8pm, so if you don’t wanna go I need to know ASAP so I can get a hooker to go with me. I don’t wanna go alone and look like a tool. I’ll just pay a bitch to say we’re friends.”

“No you won’t, I’m going with you. I’m not having you rent a hoe and disappoint her. She’ll know she’s a hooker anyway, you don’t have friends.”

Dee I get this weird feeling when I talk about hooking up or getting hookers that you feel jealous. We still doing the open relationship thing?”

“Yes, of course.” she blurted

“Cool, so when are we gonna do the relationship thing then?” he asked. She looked stunned and had no answer.

“What does that even mean?”

“Well you practically threw yourself at me when you had a boyfriend, who was, to be fair, a piece of shit, deserved. But then I save your life, no pressure, and we start dating, but then you avoid me and we don’t really do anything. I’m just trying to figure out if I’m stupid and missing something, or if humans are just weird, or if I’m getting played here, or what. So what’s the deal? Open relationship, without the relationship, and you’re clearly jealous when I even suggest going out with someone else.”

“You wanna know why? I’m scared shitless.”

“Of what?”

“You…kinda. You saved my life, and you haven’t once held that over my head like a bargaining chip, so either you’re a nice guy or saving that and most men are assholes. Secondly, you’re Osirian. I watched you shred through armed guards like tissue paper without a scratch. You’re alarmingly overpowered, and aren’t you radioactive? I saw your mom fight my 900 pound ex-boyfriend, who frankly was big enough to eat me, and she made him look like a bitch. Just batted him around like a cat with a toy. You’re THAT species, and half her.”

“Same species, different generation. Dee, can I tell you something kinda embarrassing?” he asked.

“Screw it. Why not?”

“Little different answer than I expected, but okay. Man this is a vibe killer, WHoof, here it goes. This is a training body.” He sighed, looking ashamed.

“Wh-?” Dee shrugged back. “What the hell does that even mean?”

“I’m 38.”

“I know.”

“Osirians don’t age and mature like humans do. 38 is basically like 20 on your world. I’m not even mature for that. When Osirians have kids, they come off an assembly line. We’re like born 12. Fully walking talking, teenage intelligence, language basics, the starting package for a functional being, and as we develop into individuals, we upgrade from child bodies to adult bodies, but we’re evaluated based on maturity before we get full-fledged badass forms. It’s like a learner's permit. But instead of a car, you get a body. I’m running on training wheels because I’m a fuck-up and I can’t pass graduation yet. I'm the old guy who gets held back so he's like 20 and still in school. You’re basically dating a 20-year-old dropout too dumb to get a GED in life. I got a training reactor core, my body is dialed down to bullshit mode because they don’t trust me not to do something stupid. The night I went to rescue you, mom let me run a battle chassis. I’m back on training wheels. Right now I can’t throw a car or claw through concrete, there’s no radiation because I’m cranking like no power. Kinda thought I’d earn some options after the rescue, but mom says I’m not ready. It’s very emasculating.”

“So you can’t breathe fire and bench press a house, or take gunfire like it’s nothing right now?”

“Oh, I’m still armored as shit, that’s defensive. But no superman bus throwing or breathing fire. I can do this.” He said, making his eyes glow. “Pretty bullshit hu?”

“No that’s great.” She smiled.

“So…I’m basically a neutered Osirian with no balls, and you’re thrilled?”

“You don’t mean that literally, right?”

“No I have actual balls, just metaphorically neutered.”

“Then yes, I’m thrilled. I don’t want to date a guy who has to be careful not to break me in half, I don’t wanna date…no offense, but whatever the fuck monster Gizzy showed us in the pit that night. That was horrifying.”

“Oh don’t worry, you don’t get an elder body till you turn 600, so by the time I even get the option of one of those, you’ll be super dead and gone."

“Oh…that’s morbid and disturbing, but also slightly comforting.”

“And I’m not some Delmarian brute who can't control his own strength, I can dial that shit back however I want. Check it out, set to ten percent.” He said, hauling off and punching the brick wall with a thud. No marks on the wall. “Everything I had, not a mark on the wall. I could set to 1 percent, and you could beat me arm wrestling, set it back to full blast…” he said with eye flickering green. He threw the same punch at the wall, ringing out with a hefty thud, and wiping crumbs off his hand where the impact took chips off the brick. “We just dial it to whatever we want. We’re biomech. Like meaty robots.”

“I can't even imagine ever being a meat robot. Speaking of meat…what about the…bits.” She said, waving a finger at his crotch.

“Adjustable, upgradable, custom.”

“Okay, you sold me on this thing. We’re officially dating. So why does Gizzy act like an overpowered beast from hell?” she asked.

“Eh, Mom’s old. The older generations were sorta overkill. Cultural thing. They gotta prove they can still rule and keep their enemies terrified. It’s a warlord thing. Fuckin Boomers, ya know? Old military dogs and their spiky collars. But don’t tell people I’m still on bitch-mode. I gotta keep the reputation up. It’s embarrassing.”

“I’m pretty good at keeping secrets.”

"...are you? Are you tho?" he squinted.

Clutch finished uploading all of Dee’s security scans and passcodes as the laptop printed off a swipe card with a hologram of Dee’s retina, fully scanable, saving the files. She finished encoding her laptop, applying her ear rings with the built-in microphone, and then put on a nice dress for dinner.

Nicole sat in her Nicole room with Vinn sitting cross-legged in front of her, both avoiding eye contact.

“Got weird, didn’t it?”

“Yep.” she nodded.

“Ya thought it was gonna be sexy, just felt wrong watching, hu?”

“Yea, it kinda did. I see why Jack stayed behind and watched the game. I kinda wish I could have watched the game with Jack.”

“You don’t even like sports.”

“I know.” she nodded.

“Well it’s gotta happen, or we have problems, so… who’s gonna supervise?”

“Oh Jack is not gonna like it. Dee’s useless. If we ask Zeph he’s just gonna tell everyone and make suck jokes.” Nicole sighed.

“Oh absolutely. Gizzy would record it and take scans like some experiment, and then we got sexual tension and lab rat vibes with a creepy mad scientist getting way too into both aspects.” Vinn reminded. “You think it’s safe unsupervised?”

“I hope so.”

“I’ll talk to Vicki.”