Return Favor
a
Trust Machines story
by
clancy688
Attention: This story contains extremely brutal violence. You have been warned!
Stone-faced, Kyle watched as the blood- and gore-splattered beast scurried by, its many feet-claws pushing its segmented, armored body forward at a leisurely pace, pulling lazily its large, scissor-like tail behind. It was deliberately going that slowly, in the fight before it had shown the true speed it was actually capable off. This wasn't its exit either, normally, it was supposed to leave the arena through the opposite exit. That it wasn't doing this was speaking volumes.
He'd descended from the designer's viewing area down to the arena the moment the fight had been declared over, a futile gesture, of course, but there was nothing else he could have done either.
As it passed him, its forward half with the first seven pairs of legs reared up, its four mouth claws twitching. The centipede's four eyes focused evilly upon him, and then its maw opened, spitting something at him.
The thing hit him in a rain of saliva and blood, and for a moment, Kyle's mind went blank with fury. He wanted to pounce on the beast, rip all its legs off, let it suffer the same way it had made his friend suffer, but in the last moment, he managed to throttle himself. Attacking a beast which was at least five times his weight with bare hand was an excellent ripe for pain and bodily disaster. Especially, when the beast in question knew exactly that his current body was a venned body, slightly different of his original. Any injuries, even death, would be undone once the transformation's time was over.
The last thing he wanted to do was to give it the excuse to rip him to shreds exactly like it had done with Skyler. Therefore he simply swallowed the deliberate insult. Although both of them knew that the real insult was the lack of injuries on its body. It was splattered in blood, more red than grey, its natural color. And none of it belonged to the beast.
Contemptuous it snarled as Kyle didn't react to the bait, then it turned its head, going down on all legs again, ignoring him and scurrying off to its team-mate.
With a hateful stare, Kyle watched on as Jarvis greeted his friend, giving an ugly grin in his direction. Then both of them, Jarvis, the designer, and his friend Garrett, currently in the body of the giant centipede, disappeared in direction of the Venn Machine.
Only after both of them were gone, Kyle allowed himself to watch at the thing Garrett had spit at him. It looked a little bit like part of a snake, a long, tube-like shape with a set of fanged jaws at its front end. But this wasn't part of a snake, it was part of his friend's Skyler's current body.
Both of them were enthusiastic film fans, often spending the weekends at each other's condos, watching tons of movies. A couple of weeks before, both had been drawn into Monster Wars by a friend, and they'd been fascinated by it almost immediately.
Shortly thereafter, they'd decided to enter the arena themselves. Kyle had actually been a little bit perturbed about fighting to the death in a monster's shape, but Skyler had been more intrigued, so they'd registered with Kyle as designer and Skyler as fighter.
They'd long pondered about the kind of monster they wanted to use during their first fight and finally, they'd decided upon the Xenomorph, Hollywood's version of the perfect biological weapon. It had been a pain in the ass to design the critter, but after what had felt like at least 500 voice commands to the Venn Machine, Kyle had finally had gotten a shape in a bubble floating before him which came fairly close to the Hollywood Xenomorph. One could still see clearly the differences, but it incorporated all the major design features - its green, insect-like body structure, the long, bladed tail, the clawed limbs, the elongated, curved head devoid of any visible sensual organs and, of course, the inner jaws.
The luck of draw had given them a veteran team as opponents for their first fight. So they had expected that it would become very hard. They had not expected that their Xenomorph design would be completely ineffectual against the creature they were up against. And they had even less expected that their opponent would have a vicious streak as wide as Chesapeake Bay.
After Skyler's first attacks had bounced off Garrett's armor like rubber balls off a tank, Kyle had expected him to end the fight quickly. Only that he hadn't. Not even close. He'd started a cruel game of cat and mouse with Skyler, tearing one of his limbs off and then slowly pursuing him through the arena until he was getting bored and amused himself again by taking off another one. As Skyler had run out of limbs, Garrett had substituted with other parts of his body, disemboweling him and crushing his face, but at the same time being very careful of not damaging any deliberately vital. And his sadistic friend had cheered him on from outside the arena all the way.
It must had taken at least fifteen minutes until there'd been nothing left to ravage at Skyler's body, only then Garrett had allowed his victim to die. By tearing the bloody ruin of a still living being apart.
Kyle looked into the arena where the clean-up crew was already doing its work. They were dumping shredded bits of his friend into the box like garbage in a dumpster and his jaw's muscles clamped hard together, but he couldn't fault them. After all, the biggest pieces of Skyler's body the sadistic asshole Garrett had left were the size of a backpack.
But Kyle swore himself there and then that he would make those two pay for what they'd done. He would return the favor with a vengeance.
**************************************
Moodily, Skyler sipped his iced tea while Kyle eyed his friend. "Are you alright?" he asked concerned and got a withering stare as response.
They were currently residing in Monster War's 'Scorpion Bar'. Actually, the bar had no name, it was officially the 'refreshment area', but one didn't have to be overly creative to realize where its inofficial name had come from. One view at the two very cute (above their waists), and also very creepy (below their waists) Scorpion Girls serving as waitresses was enough.
"If I'm alright?" Skyler retorted. "I've been summarily been dismantled half an hour ago, my limbs having been amputated one after the other, and then, among other things, my guts have been pulled out slowly and eaten in front of my face. Besides this little fiasco, no, I'm fine, thank you very much!"
Kyle winced as his friend's scathing tone reflected.
"Okay, sorry, not your fault." Skyler said now, a little bit calmer. "I don't have any emotional scars, I think, if that's what you're asking. But it wasn't pretty and I absolutely don't have to experience this a second time. Thank god you had asked other teams about monster transformations first and they told you to replace pain by tingles. If this ordeal would've actually hurt you'd probably seeing me in a way worse state now..."
"But you see, I'm feeling kind of responsible." Kyle answered gloomily. "It was my design which had proven itself to be ineffectual. If I'd been a little more creative..."
"Oh, hush!" Skyler said. "That's bullshit and you know it. Both of us wanted to have a Hollywood-style Xenomorph. We both didn't consider that what Hollywood claims to be an effective fighter doesn't have to be an effective fighter in the real world. We did a mistake, we learned of this mistake, we will adapt and move on. For the next time, we know better."
"For the next time?" Kyle asked wide-eyed. "You're meaning you still want to...?"
Skyler shrugged. "Well, yes. Look, we've just become the laughingstock of Monster War's. That not how I want to quit this. I want to show them that your monster designs and my fighting style are not ineffectual, therefore... what's wrong?" he cocked an eyebrow as Kyle's suddenly dark face registered, focusing something behind their table.
They were currently residing in Monster War's 'Scorpion Bar'. Actually, the bar had no name, it was officially the 'refreshment area', but one didn't have to be overly creative to realize where its inofficial name had come from. One view at the two very cute (above their waists), and also very creepy (below their waists) Scorpion Girls serving as waitresses was enough.
"If I'm alright?" Skyler retorted. "I've been summarily been dismantled half an hour ago, my limbs having been amputated one after the other, and then, among other things, my guts have been pulled out slowly and eaten in front of my face. Besides this little fiasco, no, I'm fine, thank you very much!"
Kyle winced as his friend's scathing tone reflected.
"Okay, sorry, not your fault." Skyler said now, a little bit calmer. "I don't have any emotional scars, I think, if that's what you're asking. But it wasn't pretty and I absolutely don't have to experience this a second time. Thank god you had asked other teams about monster transformations first and they told you to replace pain by tingles. If this ordeal would've actually hurt you'd probably seeing me in a way worse state now..."
"But you see, I'm feeling kind of responsible." Kyle answered gloomily. "It was my design which had proven itself to be ineffectual. If I'd been a little more creative..."
"Oh, hush!" Skyler said. "That's bullshit and you know it. Both of us wanted to have a Hollywood-style Xenomorph. We both didn't consider that what Hollywood claims to be an effective fighter doesn't have to be an effective fighter in the real world. We did a mistake, we learned of this mistake, we will adapt and move on. For the next time, we know better."
"For the next time?" Kyle asked wide-eyed. "You're meaning you still want to...?"
Skyler shrugged. "Well, yes. Look, we've just become the laughingstock of Monster War's. That not how I want to quit this. I want to show them that your monster designs and my fighting style are not ineffectual, therefore... what's wrong?" he cocked an eyebrow as Kyle's suddenly dark face registered, focusing something behind their table.
**************************************
"I think that fight before was way over the top." Nathan said to Salvatore disgusted, eyeing the viewing areas' plexiglass armor which, despite the clean-up crews' efforts, was still splattered in shades of crimson. "If you can call this butchery a 'fight'". If I'd had my way, those two sadistic fuckers would've been dumped out months ago but your father didn't want to lose a 'spectacular team'."
He took a long sip of his Whiskey, trying to wash down the nausea which seemed to be hovering in his mouth since the fight. He wasn't successful. Fighting in monster bodies was one thing. And acting a little bit cruel added to the show's appeal. But torturing helpless victims simply for the fun of it, even if each and every injury was totally reversible, was something entirely else.
"I tell you something-" he said now glowering, "-enough is enough. Such a fight will not happen again, and when Garrett and Jarvis show such tremendous sadism the next time, they're out and I then don't the fuck care what your father is saying!"
The last words had been nearly a shout and conciliating Salvatore raised his hands.
"Easy, Nathan." he said soothingly. "I'm with you here. I don't want to see such shit either. The next time they are slowly torturing an opponent to death they're gone. Is this alright with you?"
Thanking, Nathan nodded his head.
Thank god there's one offspring of this family who has inherited his father's brains! he thought now. Salvatore has probably taken all the intelligence which had been slated for his no-good siblings. That would at least explain their stupidity. I hope the day never comes when they want to meddle with their fathers business...!
He shuddered at the thought, but then, Salvatore raised an eyebrow.
"I think we can tell Garrett and Jarvis tell what we think of their fighting style right here and now." he said and pointed towards another table where Garrett and Jarvis were speaking with two other young men. Although the conversation didn't seem to be cheerfully, and Nathan could see the mocking grin on Garrett's and Jarvis' face, and the flushing anger on the other two men's faces.
"Uh, oh." he said calmly and Salvatore cocked his head.
"What's wrong?"
"I think those two are the team which's just been demolished in the arena by those two sadists." he sighed. "This will not end well. I think I'll better call Jorge and then go over there to make sure that nothing goes out of hand..."
He took a long sip of his Whiskey, trying to wash down the nausea which seemed to be hovering in his mouth since the fight. He wasn't successful. Fighting in monster bodies was one thing. And acting a little bit cruel added to the show's appeal. But torturing helpless victims simply for the fun of it, even if each and every injury was totally reversible, was something entirely else.
"I tell you something-" he said now glowering, "-enough is enough. Such a fight will not happen again, and when Garrett and Jarvis show such tremendous sadism the next time, they're out and I then don't the fuck care what your father is saying!"
The last words had been nearly a shout and conciliating Salvatore raised his hands.
"Easy, Nathan." he said soothingly. "I'm with you here. I don't want to see such shit either. The next time they are slowly torturing an opponent to death they're gone. Is this alright with you?"
Thanking, Nathan nodded his head.
Thank god there's one offspring of this family who has inherited his father's brains! he thought now. Salvatore has probably taken all the intelligence which had been slated for his no-good siblings. That would at least explain their stupidity. I hope the day never comes when they want to meddle with their fathers business...!
He shuddered at the thought, but then, Salvatore raised an eyebrow.
"I think we can tell Garrett and Jarvis tell what we think of their fighting style right here and now." he said and pointed towards another table where Garrett and Jarvis were speaking with two other young men. Although the conversation didn't seem to be cheerfully, and Nathan could see the mocking grin on Garrett's and Jarvis' face, and the flushing anger on the other two men's faces.
"Uh, oh." he said calmly and Salvatore cocked his head.
"What's wrong?"
"I think those two are the team which's just been demolished in the arena by those two sadists." he sighed. "This will not end well. I think I'll better call Jorge and then go over there to make sure that nothing goes out of hand..."
**************************************
"...your shitty excuse for a Xenomorph wouldn't have won against my girlfriend's Chihuahua!" Garrett taunted now and Kyle's face changed into a dark shade of red.
"But I have to say, it has been fun taking you apart." he continued, grinning viciously. "If I ever need a sandbag to grind my claws on I'll come back to you. Can I please have your phone number?"
Skyler basically exploded out of his seat. "You damn asshole! Today's Xenomorph was maybe not up to the task, but I promise you, the next time I'm a Xenomorph, an improved version, and we face off, I'll squish you like the little bug you are!"
"Really?" Jarvis asked now with an ugly voice. "I say your Xenomorph won't ever be on par to play in the Major League, no matter how much you 'improve' him. Go home to your mummies and cry, that's where you belong!"
Kyle was one inch away of polishing the arrogant ass his ugly sneer out of the face as a hand went down on his shoulder soothingly.
"Don't let us do something stupid now, okay?" the stranger said and glowered at Jarvis and Garrett.
"We only told the truth!" Garrett sneered. "Those two amateurs won't ever be able to compete with us, not if they insist on using their shitty Xenomorph design!"
"Like hell!" Skyler retorted hotly. "You'll see how our new Xenomorph design will mop the floor with your centipede. You'll see! Wanna try it out? Or are you too scared to face us again now that we know what we're up against?"
"I'd love to!" Garrett spat. He looked at the newcomer. "You're one of the bosses here, so what do you say? Let me and this retard duel again, and I'll show him where he belongs to!"
Now Salvatore began to grin mischievously. "So you don't think they'll have a chance?" he asked with a mysterious twinkle, and despite the feeling that he was a fly heading exactly into a spider's web, Nathan answered truthfully.
"Not the chance of a snowflake in hell." he said gruffly and Salvatore stroked his chin.
"That's what you think? Well, I obviously think different. Therefore I have a splendid idea. Let's do a bet."
"A bet?" Nathan ogled at Salvatore. He'd apparently crashed into the spider's web heads-on.
"Yes." Salvatore confirmed juicily. "I say those two will beat Garrett and Jarvis tomorrow. You say they won't. Whoever wins gets to use the Venn Machine on the loser with a one-week-setting. Or do you want to, I don't know,-" he artistically elongated his last words "-chicken out?"
Nathan was speechless. "I never chicken out. Ever!" he barked. "Okay, you get your bet. I say those two won't make it."
"Deal." Salvatore said, shaking his hand. "So about the nature of our wagers... what do you want to change me into when I lose?"
"Hmm..." Nathan stroked his chin. "You still remember your oldest brother's stag party? I'm sick of only having to deal with guys, no offense, you're a great guy, but sometimes I'm just wishing that there'd be more contact with female business partners at my job."
Salvatore nodded. "So you want Salvatora back for a week? All right."
"But she has to be dressed sexily! Not offensive, not slutty, but sexily."
"Absolutely. A skirt suit and pantyhose? That's all right with me."
"No, stockings and garters. And, of course, high heels."
"Four inch-stilettos, at least, business style." Salvatore acknowledged. "When in Rome... anything else?"
Nathan glowered. "No, that's all. So what do you want to change me into in the unlikely, even impossible, case of Garrett's and Jarvis' demise?"
"I think I have just the right thing in mind..."
He sketched out his proposal and Nathan gulped, but nonetheless offered Salvatore his hand. "We have a deal."
"We do!" Salvatore endorsed and took it.
"Now if you'll excuse me? I have still things to do!" Nathan said harshly and disappeared. Amused, Salvatore watched him go. Then he turned towards Kyle and Skyler who had been witnesses to the entire exchange.
"And you two gentlemen..." he said pleasantly. "...better go and improve your Xenomorph. I'd really like to see Nathan lose his bet..."
Kyle and Skyler swallowed as they realized the unspoken command.
"But I have to say, it has been fun taking you apart." he continued, grinning viciously. "If I ever need a sandbag to grind my claws on I'll come back to you. Can I please have your phone number?"
Skyler basically exploded out of his seat. "You damn asshole! Today's Xenomorph was maybe not up to the task, but I promise you, the next time I'm a Xenomorph, an improved version, and we face off, I'll squish you like the little bug you are!"
"Really?" Jarvis asked now with an ugly voice. "I say your Xenomorph won't ever be on par to play in the Major League, no matter how much you 'improve' him. Go home to your mummies and cry, that's where you belong!"
Kyle was one inch away of polishing the arrogant ass his ugly sneer out of the face as a hand went down on his shoulder soothingly.
"Don't let us do something stupid now, okay?" the stranger said and glowered at Jarvis and Garrett.
"We only told the truth!" Garrett sneered. "Those two amateurs won't ever be able to compete with us, not if they insist on using their shitty Xenomorph design!"
"Like hell!" Skyler retorted hotly. "You'll see how our new Xenomorph design will mop the floor with your centipede. You'll see! Wanna try it out? Or are you too scared to face us again now that we know what we're up against?"
"I'd love to!" Garrett spat. He looked at the newcomer. "You're one of the bosses here, so what do you say? Let me and this retard duel again, and I'll show him where he belongs to!"
**************************************
This was getting out of hand, Nathan realized.
"Nobody's doing any rematch!" he responded to the challenge. "And I strongly urge all of you-"
"A rematch? The same centipede against an improved Xenomorph? That sounds interesting." a voice behind him interrupted and Nathan whirled around to look at Salvatore who was standing behind him, looking thoughtfully.
"The hell they'll do!" Nathan snorted. "They just will get their asses kicked like the first time. Maybe not so hard but Garrett and Jarvis will still be mopping the floor with them!"
That response had been prompted by his fore-brain, without going through his assessment centers first. It had just been muttered a little bit too hasty and Nathan grimaced as he saw both first-timers flash in an angry shade of red again.
Shit. Not the most diplomatic thing I could have said, even when it's the truth. he chided himself, but then Salvatore spoke again.
"Really?" he asked. "Will they?" he looked at both new-timers again.
"You two, what are your names?"
Slowly, the bigger one answered. "I'm Kyle, the designer and that's Skyler." By now, Jorge had arrived and was shooing away onlookers who had been attracted by the the commotion.
"Kyle and Skyler..." Salvatore mused. "Do you really think you can beat those two with an improved Xenomorph? Not a new creature, but an improved one?"
Kyle and Skyler looked at each other and then nodded.
"I'm positively sure of this!" Skyler said stiffly. "Now that I know what's waiting for me and what we have done wrong when designing my previous Xenomorph body, we know what to change to shred him to pieces-" he pointed at Garrett "-like he shredded me today!"
To Nathan's horror, Salvatore nodded. "Okay, that's enough for me. You'll get your rematch. Skyler here has to film the improvement process with his phone's camera when he's inside the Venn Machine, therefore you two will have assurance that he really just improved the Xenomorph. Is that okay for you?"
"Of course!" Jarvis sneered. "Just wait, amateurs. Tomorrow I'll show you that I've been merciful today!"
Salvatore coughed slightly. "Oh, just one thing. Me and my colleague here-" he pointed at Nathan "-don't want to see such a senseless butchery like today again. There's no problem in tearing your opponent apart, even playing a little bit with them when they are helpless. But we absolutely don't want to descend it into such an orgy of torture like today."
He looked both teams in the eyes.
"Do all of you get this?"
Clearly disappointed, Garrett and Jarvis nodded and Kyle and Skyler acknowledged as well.
"Good." Salvatore said. "Then I think we have cleared everything. The first fight tomorrow will be yours, Gentlemen."
"You're lucky he's protecting your sorry ass!" Garrett sneered at Skyler as he left with his friend. "I'll spend the entire night thinking about the most vicious killing strokes possible!"
"Damn asshole..." Skyler muttered under his breath and Nathan was inclined to say the same. Albeit directed at another person.
"The hell was that supposed to be?" he snarled at Salvatore who was only looking back. "Those two-" he briefly looked at the Xenomorph team "-no offense, guys, will be having their asses handed to them tomorrow and you know it!"
"Nobody's doing any rematch!" he responded to the challenge. "And I strongly urge all of you-"
"A rematch? The same centipede against an improved Xenomorph? That sounds interesting." a voice behind him interrupted and Nathan whirled around to look at Salvatore who was standing behind him, looking thoughtfully.
"The hell they'll do!" Nathan snorted. "They just will get their asses kicked like the first time. Maybe not so hard but Garrett and Jarvis will still be mopping the floor with them!"
That response had been prompted by his fore-brain, without going through his assessment centers first. It had just been muttered a little bit too hasty and Nathan grimaced as he saw both first-timers flash in an angry shade of red again.
Shit. Not the most diplomatic thing I could have said, even when it's the truth. he chided himself, but then Salvatore spoke again.
"Really?" he asked. "Will they?" he looked at both new-timers again.
"You two, what are your names?"
Slowly, the bigger one answered. "I'm Kyle, the designer and that's Skyler." By now, Jorge had arrived and was shooing away onlookers who had been attracted by the the commotion.
"Kyle and Skyler..." Salvatore mused. "Do you really think you can beat those two with an improved Xenomorph? Not a new creature, but an improved one?"
Kyle and Skyler looked at each other and then nodded.
"I'm positively sure of this!" Skyler said stiffly. "Now that I know what's waiting for me and what we have done wrong when designing my previous Xenomorph body, we know what to change to shred him to pieces-" he pointed at Garrett "-like he shredded me today!"
To Nathan's horror, Salvatore nodded. "Okay, that's enough for me. You'll get your rematch. Skyler here has to film the improvement process with his phone's camera when he's inside the Venn Machine, therefore you two will have assurance that he really just improved the Xenomorph. Is that okay for you?"
"Of course!" Jarvis sneered. "Just wait, amateurs. Tomorrow I'll show you that I've been merciful today!"
Salvatore coughed slightly. "Oh, just one thing. Me and my colleague here-" he pointed at Nathan "-don't want to see such a senseless butchery like today again. There's no problem in tearing your opponent apart, even playing a little bit with them when they are helpless. But we absolutely don't want to descend it into such an orgy of torture like today."
He looked both teams in the eyes.
"Do all of you get this?"
Clearly disappointed, Garrett and Jarvis nodded and Kyle and Skyler acknowledged as well.
"Good." Salvatore said. "Then I think we have cleared everything. The first fight tomorrow will be yours, Gentlemen."
"You're lucky he's protecting your sorry ass!" Garrett sneered at Skyler as he left with his friend. "I'll spend the entire night thinking about the most vicious killing strokes possible!"
"Damn asshole..." Skyler muttered under his breath and Nathan was inclined to say the same. Albeit directed at another person.
"The hell was that supposed to be?" he snarled at Salvatore who was only looking back. "Those two-" he briefly looked at the Xenomorph team "-no offense, guys, will be having their asses handed to them tomorrow and you know it!"
Now Salvatore began to grin mischievously. "So you don't think they'll have a chance?" he asked with a mysterious twinkle, and despite the feeling that he was a fly heading exactly into a spider's web, Nathan answered truthfully.
"Not the chance of a snowflake in hell." he said gruffly and Salvatore stroked his chin.
"That's what you think? Well, I obviously think different. Therefore I have a splendid idea. Let's do a bet."
"A bet?" Nathan ogled at Salvatore. He'd apparently crashed into the spider's web heads-on.
"Yes." Salvatore confirmed juicily. "I say those two will beat Garrett and Jarvis tomorrow. You say they won't. Whoever wins gets to use the Venn Machine on the loser with a one-week-setting. Or do you want to, I don't know,-" he artistically elongated his last words "-chicken out?"
Nathan was speechless. "I never chicken out. Ever!" he barked. "Okay, you get your bet. I say those two won't make it."
"Deal." Salvatore said, shaking his hand. "So about the nature of our wagers... what do you want to change me into when I lose?"
"Hmm..." Nathan stroked his chin. "You still remember your oldest brother's stag party? I'm sick of only having to deal with guys, no offense, you're a great guy, but sometimes I'm just wishing that there'd be more contact with female business partners at my job."
Salvatore nodded. "So you want Salvatora back for a week? All right."
"But she has to be dressed sexily! Not offensive, not slutty, but sexily."
"Absolutely. A skirt suit and pantyhose? That's all right with me."
"No, stockings and garters. And, of course, high heels."
"Four inch-stilettos, at least, business style." Salvatore acknowledged. "When in Rome... anything else?"
Nathan glowered. "No, that's all. So what do you want to change me into in the unlikely, even impossible, case of Garrett's and Jarvis' demise?"
"I think I have just the right thing in mind..."
He sketched out his proposal and Nathan gulped, but nonetheless offered Salvatore his hand. "We have a deal."
"We do!" Salvatore endorsed and took it.
"Now if you'll excuse me? I have still things to do!" Nathan said harshly and disappeared. Amused, Salvatore watched him go. Then he turned towards Kyle and Skyler who had been witnesses to the entire exchange.
"And you two gentlemen..." he said pleasantly. "...better go and improve your Xenomorph. I'd really like to see Nathan lose his bet..."
Kyle and Skyler swallowed as they realized the unspoken command.
**************************************
"So I better think we start brainstorming on our new design now!" Skyler said and Kyle nodded. Nathan and Salvatore, the two men who had arranged the rematch, gave them the creeps.
Salvatore had been dressed in an expensive, tailored silk-suit, his hair coiffured neatly, without a single hair breaking ranks. And his aura had practically screamed "mafia" at them. His friend, Nathan, on the other side, had worn jeans, boots and a thick leather jacket, with a dark-black beard framing his angular face. Had Salvatore looked like he'd just come from a mafia film's set, Nathan had made the impression of said mafia family's properly trained and utterly lethal muscle.
So it was understandable that none of them wanted to make the apparent mafia boss in this vicinity mad at them for making him losing a bet which would require him to become a sexy woman for a week.
Kyle sighed now. "Okay... I think we start with the obvious." he said and took out his tablet PC. "You'll tell me all the faults in the design you discovered during your fight and I'll note them. Then we can think about how we have to alter the Xenomorph to overcome this flaws."
"That's gonna be a long list." Skyler warned him and glumly, Kyle nodded.
Skyler closed his eyes to think. "Okay... I guess the first problem was the ineffectiveness of my weapons. My hand's and feet's talons may have looked dangerous from a human point of view, but against Garrett's exoskeleton they'd been not more than toothpicks."
"You're saying that you need bigger talons?"
"Much bigger." Skyler snorted. "We're not talking about talons anymore, but instead about scythes. Everything less would be futile."
Kyle noted something on his tablet. "What about your other weapons? You still had your bladed tail and your inner jaws, didn't you? Now that I think about it, the blade alone is the size of a longsword, why couldn't you use this?"
"Simple." Skyler said bitterly. "We didn't consider the laws of motion."
Kyle blinked. "Excuse me?"
"It's what I said. You probably designed the Xenomorph to be fast and agile, didn't you?"
As Kyle confirmed this, Skyler continued. "Well, and there's the big problem. You made my body lightweight. My inner jaws were barely half a pound of weight. The entire tail was probably less than ten pounds, and nearly nothing of this concentrated in the tip. Of course, it was wickedly sharp. There'd have been no problem at all to behead a normal human. But now throw an arrow of that weight at the biological equivalent of an APC's ceramic armor. What do you think will happen?"
Kyle's eyes became wide. "Of course! It will simply bounce off! Exactly what had happened in your fight."
Skyler nodded. "Yeah. I simply had nowhere near enough kinetic energy stored in every tail- or inner jaws-strike to penetrate Garrett's chitin. Of course-" he threw his hands up "-I could have gone for his legs. Those are probably not armored, he has to move them after all. But there was a shitload of them and I only got the idea after he'd already ripped of my tail."
Kyle looked at his notes in intent speculation. "So what you need is more penetrating and driving power. I think we can do this. So... anything else?"
"Yeah. I'm long not finished. The next problem was my body's point of balance. Hollywood designed the Xenomorph to be a lethal danger at a human head's height, so that's what we did, too. But that's bullshit. First of all, my point of balance was way too high. It was frustratingly easy for Garrett to bring me out of balance. Additionally, all of my weapons, talons, tail, inner jaws, were designed to be effective at a human head's level as well. But as you probably had noticed, Garrett, in his centipede form, was mostly scurrying at below knee-level. I was mainly hitting air while he was happily chewing my legs off."
"You want a Xenomorph then which has a low point of balance?"
"Yes." Skyler huffed. "In fact, I don't want to be a bipedal Xenomorph anymore. To easy to bring down. After having seen Garrett, I would even say that four legs are not enough. Take one of the four off and you're still fucked."
Dutifully Kyle noted all those points. "Okay, weapons, balance. What else?"
"My senses were a problem." Skyler said and Kyle cocked his eyebrow.
"Your senses? But I designed the Xenomorph with a sophisticated, biological sensor suite. Your senses should have been superior to anything he had."
"Yes, they were." Kyle acknowledged. "You did design my carapace with thousands of tiny pores instead of eyes and ears, each of them sampling scents, sounds and radiation. That worked. The problem was, it worked too well."
He grimaced. "Sound and smell was good, that was why I could still track Garrett. But sight was overkill. You designed my pores to sample every kind of radiation. And that's what they did. I not only saw visible light but also UV and infrared. And more. X-Ray. Gamma-Ray. Microwave. Even Radio."
He shook his head. "You have to imagine this like a room which has been splattered with dozens upon dozens of different paint buckets. It's incredibly colorful and detailed, but all in all it's such a thick mush that you can't filter out anything useful. I was seeing every damn mobile phone which went active, for example! The gallery looked like some kind of crazy disco with dozens of strobe lights!"
"Okay, okay, I get it." Kyle interrupted his friend's torrent of words. "Let me think... um... what about your echolocation sense?"
Skyler's face was blank. "Echolocation sense?"
"Wait, didn't you have an echolocation sense? Did I forget to add it?"
Skyler looked thoughtful. "I most certainly didn't have one. Although such a sense might have helped, yes..."
Kyle added 'echolocation sense' to his notes and highlighted the words in bold. Actually, a new Xenomorph was already taking shape in his head. And this one would make a different impression than the last.
"Are there any more-"
Both friends didn't realize that Salvatore was watching them from the VIP-area, grinning broadly.
Salvatore had been dressed in an expensive, tailored silk-suit, his hair coiffured neatly, without a single hair breaking ranks. And his aura had practically screamed "mafia" at them. His friend, Nathan, on the other side, had worn jeans, boots and a thick leather jacket, with a dark-black beard framing his angular face. Had Salvatore looked like he'd just come from a mafia film's set, Nathan had made the impression of said mafia family's properly trained and utterly lethal muscle.
So it was understandable that none of them wanted to make the apparent mafia boss in this vicinity mad at them for making him losing a bet which would require him to become a sexy woman for a week.
Kyle sighed now. "Okay... I think we start with the obvious." he said and took out his tablet PC. "You'll tell me all the faults in the design you discovered during your fight and I'll note them. Then we can think about how we have to alter the Xenomorph to overcome this flaws."
"That's gonna be a long list." Skyler warned him and glumly, Kyle nodded.
Skyler closed his eyes to think. "Okay... I guess the first problem was the ineffectiveness of my weapons. My hand's and feet's talons may have looked dangerous from a human point of view, but against Garrett's exoskeleton they'd been not more than toothpicks."
"You're saying that you need bigger talons?"
"Much bigger." Skyler snorted. "We're not talking about talons anymore, but instead about scythes. Everything less would be futile."
Kyle noted something on his tablet. "What about your other weapons? You still had your bladed tail and your inner jaws, didn't you? Now that I think about it, the blade alone is the size of a longsword, why couldn't you use this?"
"Simple." Skyler said bitterly. "We didn't consider the laws of motion."
Kyle blinked. "Excuse me?"
"It's what I said. You probably designed the Xenomorph to be fast and agile, didn't you?"
As Kyle confirmed this, Skyler continued. "Well, and there's the big problem. You made my body lightweight. My inner jaws were barely half a pound of weight. The entire tail was probably less than ten pounds, and nearly nothing of this concentrated in the tip. Of course, it was wickedly sharp. There'd have been no problem at all to behead a normal human. But now throw an arrow of that weight at the biological equivalent of an APC's ceramic armor. What do you think will happen?"
Kyle's eyes became wide. "Of course! It will simply bounce off! Exactly what had happened in your fight."
Skyler nodded. "Yeah. I simply had nowhere near enough kinetic energy stored in every tail- or inner jaws-strike to penetrate Garrett's chitin. Of course-" he threw his hands up "-I could have gone for his legs. Those are probably not armored, he has to move them after all. But there was a shitload of them and I only got the idea after he'd already ripped of my tail."
Kyle looked at his notes in intent speculation. "So what you need is more penetrating and driving power. I think we can do this. So... anything else?"
"Yeah. I'm long not finished. The next problem was my body's point of balance. Hollywood designed the Xenomorph to be a lethal danger at a human head's height, so that's what we did, too. But that's bullshit. First of all, my point of balance was way too high. It was frustratingly easy for Garrett to bring me out of balance. Additionally, all of my weapons, talons, tail, inner jaws, were designed to be effective at a human head's level as well. But as you probably had noticed, Garrett, in his centipede form, was mostly scurrying at below knee-level. I was mainly hitting air while he was happily chewing my legs off."
"You want a Xenomorph then which has a low point of balance?"
"Yes." Skyler huffed. "In fact, I don't want to be a bipedal Xenomorph anymore. To easy to bring down. After having seen Garrett, I would even say that four legs are not enough. Take one of the four off and you're still fucked."
Dutifully Kyle noted all those points. "Okay, weapons, balance. What else?"
"My senses were a problem." Skyler said and Kyle cocked his eyebrow.
"Your senses? But I designed the Xenomorph with a sophisticated, biological sensor suite. Your senses should have been superior to anything he had."
"Yes, they were." Kyle acknowledged. "You did design my carapace with thousands of tiny pores instead of eyes and ears, each of them sampling scents, sounds and radiation. That worked. The problem was, it worked too well."
He grimaced. "Sound and smell was good, that was why I could still track Garrett. But sight was overkill. You designed my pores to sample every kind of radiation. And that's what they did. I not only saw visible light but also UV and infrared. And more. X-Ray. Gamma-Ray. Microwave. Even Radio."
He shook his head. "You have to imagine this like a room which has been splattered with dozens upon dozens of different paint buckets. It's incredibly colorful and detailed, but all in all it's such a thick mush that you can't filter out anything useful. I was seeing every damn mobile phone which went active, for example! The gallery looked like some kind of crazy disco with dozens of strobe lights!"
"Okay, okay, I get it." Kyle interrupted his friend's torrent of words. "Let me think... um... what about your echolocation sense?"
Skyler's face was blank. "Echolocation sense?"
"Wait, didn't you have an echolocation sense? Did I forget to add it?"
Skyler looked thoughtful. "I most certainly didn't have one. Although such a sense might have helped, yes..."
Kyle added 'echolocation sense' to his notes and highlighted the words in bold. Actually, a new Xenomorph was already taking shape in his head. And this one would make a different impression than the last.
"Are there any more-"
Both friends didn't realize that Salvatore was watching them from the VIP-area, grinning broadly.
**************************************
Garrett strode into the arena, diving into the audience's roaring applause. Had he been in his human body, he would've grinned, but so he simply clicked his large outer maxillae in anticipation, his centipede body's mouth parts.
He always savored this moment, basking in the feelings of his strange and powerful body. It was an incredible rush not being in a puny human's body, but instead having the so much mightier body of a giant centipede. Jarvis had designed him many monster bodies, but this was the one he liked the most, with the gigantic pair of mandibles sharp and strong enough to log small trees. With the seventeen pairs of legs, each one ending in a vicious claw. With his long, flexible, armored body. With the giant, scissor-like scythes at the end.
As Garrett entered the arena, he propped his forward half up, letting twelve of his legs twitch ominously, opened his mandibles and maxillae wide and snarled towards the humans.
Satisfied he registered fear of his terrible form in many humans' faces. Good. He loved how they were afraid of him. In such moments he always wondered how it would feel like to stand among them and simply let his body's instincts take over. To tear them apart like the helpless prey they were. To rip their limbs off and see them struggle. To feed on their leaking guts while they were still alive. But sadly, there was no Monster vs Human Wars. Only Monster Wars. Pity. But he had to make due with what was available.
Not that fights against other monsters aren't satisfying in their own right. he thought now, his maw beginning to salivate in anticipation of the coming fight.
His opponent wasn't to be seen yet, so he'd probably been the first monster to be called in the arena. Well, good. So he could watch the nerd enter in his laughable Xenomorph's body, trembling in fear of Garrett's claws.
He was already anticipating the fun the fight would give him. Killing him slowly yesterday had been one of the best experiences he had ever had. Today should become at least as good and he already had a few ideas how he could stall the battle's end a little bit, despite what this sanctimonious asshole Salvatore had said.
Garrett's four eyes flickered towards the other side of the arena as Skyler moved in. But somehow, today his shape was very different to yesterday.
What the hell is that? Garrett thought appalled.
He always savored this moment, basking in the feelings of his strange and powerful body. It was an incredible rush not being in a puny human's body, but instead having the so much mightier body of a giant centipede. Jarvis had designed him many monster bodies, but this was the one he liked the most, with the gigantic pair of mandibles sharp and strong enough to log small trees. With the seventeen pairs of legs, each one ending in a vicious claw. With his long, flexible, armored body. With the giant, scissor-like scythes at the end.
As Garrett entered the arena, he propped his forward half up, letting twelve of his legs twitch ominously, opened his mandibles and maxillae wide and snarled towards the humans.
Satisfied he registered fear of his terrible form in many humans' faces. Good. He loved how they were afraid of him. In such moments he always wondered how it would feel like to stand among them and simply let his body's instincts take over. To tear them apart like the helpless prey they were. To rip their limbs off and see them struggle. To feed on their leaking guts while they were still alive. But sadly, there was no Monster vs Human Wars. Only Monster Wars. Pity. But he had to make due with what was available.
Not that fights against other monsters aren't satisfying in their own right. he thought now, his maw beginning to salivate in anticipation of the coming fight.
His opponent wasn't to be seen yet, so he'd probably been the first monster to be called in the arena. Well, good. So he could watch the nerd enter in his laughable Xenomorph's body, trembling in fear of Garrett's claws.
He was already anticipating the fun the fight would give him. Killing him slowly yesterday had been one of the best experiences he had ever had. Today should become at least as good and he already had a few ideas how he could stall the battle's end a little bit, despite what this sanctimonious asshole Salvatore had said.
Garrett's four eyes flickered towards the other side of the arena as Skyler moved in. But somehow, today his shape was very different to yesterday.
What the hell is that? Garrett thought appalled.
**************************************
Neither too slow nor too fast, Skyler entered the arena. He wanted to make a statement. Thanks to his new echolocation sense, he could make out his opponent clearly. He was still seeing the mushy radiation image, but now it 'looked' as if somebody had taken a Sharpie and sketched out all edges and corners on the image, setting the physical shapes apart from all the radiation he was seeing.
Look, you bastard. I've no fear of you. And today, I can fight back! he thought and felt how his double jaws started to salivate in anticipation of his impending revenge.
His new Xenomorph body was feeling very differently to the one he'd worn yesterday. First of all, it looked as if one had cut a Xenomorph in half at belly height and put its upper torso on a Xenomorph-version of a crocodile, additionally adding legs for good measure.
Kyle had taken his comment regarding sense and nonsense of a bipedal stance to heart and created a Xenomorph which was using a long, squat, armored lower body for movement, like some kind of crazy crocodile-taur with ten short, stubby legs.
He had first been uncertain if he would be able to control that many legs, but Kyle had retorted that Garrett was apparently having no problems with coordinating nearly double that number and it looked as if he had been right. Skyler felt no problems in moving those ten appendages and so he was pushing his body forward now, claws scraping at the concrete.
Those hadn't been the only changes, of course. His 'normal' arms were gone as well, replaced something else. His talons had been ineffectual and since Skyler had wished for scythes, scythes on arms was what he had gotten. Six of them, actually, arranged in three pairs of two alongside his upper body's flanks, their wicked, curved blades sprouting from below his elbows where normally a forearm would've extended.
Skyler stopped in his half of the arena and let his six scythes twitch hungrily. Then he moved his tail and grinned inwardly, as his superior hearing registered the audience's sudden speculation.
His tail was longer than before, and its end was shaped like a cross, with the vertical bar's upper end and both of the horizontal bar's ends sprouting a thick, thorny stinger each. But the crossing point of those bars was encased in a large, bulbous shape, as if he was carrying a giant marble between his stingers.
The 'marble' had been his idea, actually. It was a steel-hard mass of bone and metal, weighing well over 150 pounds. Now he raised the massive weight effortlessly and then let it crash down spike-first onto the concrete. The resulting 'PANG' was deafening and its and bits of concrete flew away on all directions. Slowly he raised his tail again, revealing a deep hole were his stinger had penetrated the hardened floor.
So... he thought complacently while he opened his jaw and extended his hissing inner jaws. The inner jaws they actually hadn't altered, except from adding a little bit of additional mass. But that was fine. After all, Skyler and him still wanted his body to be a Xenomorph's.
Neither too slow nor too fast, Skyler entered the arena. He wanted to make a statement. Thanks to his new echolocation sense, he could make out his opponent clearly. He was still seeing the mushy radiation image, but now it 'looked' as if somebody had taken a Sharpie and sketched out all edges and corners on the image, setting the physical shapes apart from all the radiation he was seeing.
Look, you bastard. I've no fear of you. And today, I can fight back! he thought and felt how his double jaws started to salivate in anticipation of his impending revenge.
His new Xenomorph body was feeling very differently to the one he'd worn yesterday. First of all, it looked as if one had cut a Xenomorph in half at belly height and put its upper torso on a Xenomorph-version of a crocodile, additionally adding legs for good measure.
Kyle had taken his comment regarding sense and nonsense of a bipedal stance to heart and created a Xenomorph which was using a long, squat, armored lower body for movement, like some kind of crazy crocodile-taur with ten short, stubby legs.
He had first been uncertain if he would be able to control that many legs, but Kyle had retorted that Garrett was apparently having no problems with coordinating nearly double that number and it looked as if he had been right. Skyler felt no problems in moving those ten appendages and so he was pushing his body forward now, claws scraping at the concrete.
Those hadn't been the only changes, of course. His 'normal' arms were gone as well, replaced something else. His talons had been ineffectual and since Skyler had wished for scythes, scythes on arms was what he had gotten. Six of them, actually, arranged in three pairs of two alongside his upper body's flanks, their wicked, curved blades sprouting from below his elbows where normally a forearm would've extended.
Skyler stopped in his half of the arena and let his six scythes twitch hungrily. Then he moved his tail and grinned inwardly, as his superior hearing registered the audience's sudden speculation.
His tail was longer than before, and its end was shaped like a cross, with the vertical bar's upper end and both of the horizontal bar's ends sprouting a thick, thorny stinger each. But the crossing point of those bars was encased in a large, bulbous shape, as if he was carrying a giant marble between his stingers.
The 'marble' had been his idea, actually. It was a steel-hard mass of bone and metal, weighing well over 150 pounds. Now he raised the massive weight effortlessly and then let it crash down spike-first onto the concrete. The resulting 'PANG' was deafening and its and bits of concrete flew away on all directions. Slowly he raised his tail again, revealing a deep hole were his stinger had penetrated the hardened floor.
So... he thought complacently while he opened his jaw and extended his hissing inner jaws. The inner jaws they actually hadn't altered, except from adding a little bit of additional mass. But that was fine. After all, Skyler and him still wanted his body to be a Xenomorph's.
...now it's your turn, asshole!
**************************************
"So what do you say now?" Salvatore asked grinning towards Nathan who was staring awestruck in the arena where currently the clean-up crew was busy collecting bits and pieces of what had been a terrifying, giant centipede ten minutes ago.
The fight had been swift, bloody and brutal and the outcome had never been in doubt. Skyler had surprised Garrett (and everyone else) by launching the first strike, jumping forward with a speed nobody had thought he'd be capable off in his low-lying, squat body. Least of all Garrett, who'd simply frozen in shock as Skyler had emerged directly in front of him with no warning at all.
Unfortunately for him, he'd still been in his threatening stance, front body being raised into the air, and therefore the Xenomorph had had absolutely no problem in using his scythes to take several of the centipede's legs with him. And two of his four eyes, using his inner jaws to crack the single soft spot in the centipede's armor.
Of course Garrett hadn't taken this well. Enraged by the humiliation and destruction visited upon him, he'd charged madly and Skyler had simply needed to use his tail and scythes to block Garrett's attacks and, from time to time, taken another piece of his body. After less than two minutes, the Xenomorph had had removed every single of Garrett's many legs so that the centipede had been forced to writhe on the floor like some out of control worm.
From thereon, Skyler had used his weighted tail to cheerfully hammer Garrett's body flat, one segment after the other. It had taken nearly five minutes. Truth to tell, he probably hadn't had any other weapon at his disposal which would've been capable of breaking Garret's armor. And despite his grievous wounds, the centipede had still been a dangerous opponent, trying to wiggle himself towards Skyler in order to use his mandibles on his legs. Still, Skyler hadn't started with Garrett's head, which probably would just have accelerated the whole ordeal a little bit, but instead with his tail. And he'd shown some sort of peculiar perfectionism in making sure that there was not a single square inch of Garrett's body unsquashed in the segment he was currently working on before he moved on to the next.
"I think-" Nathan said, pressing each word out, "-that I have lost a bet."
The fight had been swift, bloody and brutal and the outcome had never been in doubt. Skyler had surprised Garrett (and everyone else) by launching the first strike, jumping forward with a speed nobody had thought he'd be capable off in his low-lying, squat body. Least of all Garrett, who'd simply frozen in shock as Skyler had emerged directly in front of him with no warning at all.
Unfortunately for him, he'd still been in his threatening stance, front body being raised into the air, and therefore the Xenomorph had had absolutely no problem in using his scythes to take several of the centipede's legs with him. And two of his four eyes, using his inner jaws to crack the single soft spot in the centipede's armor.
Of course Garrett hadn't taken this well. Enraged by the humiliation and destruction visited upon him, he'd charged madly and Skyler had simply needed to use his tail and scythes to block Garrett's attacks and, from time to time, taken another piece of his body. After less than two minutes, the Xenomorph had had removed every single of Garrett's many legs so that the centipede had been forced to writhe on the floor like some out of control worm.
From thereon, Skyler had used his weighted tail to cheerfully hammer Garrett's body flat, one segment after the other. It had taken nearly five minutes. Truth to tell, he probably hadn't had any other weapon at his disposal which would've been capable of breaking Garret's armor. And despite his grievous wounds, the centipede had still been a dangerous opponent, trying to wiggle himself towards Skyler in order to use his mandibles on his legs. Still, Skyler hadn't started with Garrett's head, which probably would just have accelerated the whole ordeal a little bit, but instead with his tail. And he'd shown some sort of peculiar perfectionism in making sure that there was not a single square inch of Garrett's body unsquashed in the segment he was currently working on before he moved on to the next.
"I think-" Nathan said, pressing each word out, "-that I have lost a bet."
**************************************
"I think you've done well, guys." Salvatore told the Xenomorph team. He'd invited both of them into the VIP-area to share a drink with them. "How you've dealt with Garrett yesterday has been just a teeny tiny bit over the top, but the arrogant, sadistic asshole had it coming manyfold and therefore I'll turn a blind eye on you this this time."
"Thank you." Skyler said, grinning widely. Boy, how he'd enjoyed kicking Garrett's ass! Suddenly, he was feeling freed and was even anticipating his next fight. He looked into his empty glass and grinned even wider, raising his hand.
"You have a wish, Sir?" a petite Scorpion Girl waitress asked who'd been summoned by his gesture. She was totally cute, with red hair tied into a pony tail, its color fitting her arachnid lower body, dainty nose, green eyes and a hint of dimples on her cheeks. She was smiling pleasantly, but it somehow looked a little bit strained.
"I'd like another one of those..." Skyler told her. "Would that be possible... Natty?" he stressed the last word and the girl's jaw muscles clenched.
Skyler suddenly yelped and and looked down startled to where her pincers had grabbed his lower legs. Additionally, her scorpion tail's stinger was hovering inches away from his crotch and Skyler gulped.
Still smiling, the girl bend down to him, whispering.
"As long as I'm working in this form, I'm 'Natasha' for you, you get this?" she demanded in a dangerous tone. "And if you tell anybody who I really am, you'll have to crawl home as a girl! Are we clear?"
Skyler nodded swiftly and Natasha shed another glance to Kyle who was intently staring into his own glass.
"That goes for you as well!" she said. Then she released Skyler's legs, raised herself up, straightened her apron and donned her smile again.
"Is there anything else I can do for you, gentlemen?" she asked friendly and Salvatore, who'd watched the entire exchange with a cat's grin, shook his head.
"No, that will be all. Thank you... Natty."
Natasha threw a malevolent glance at him and then stalked off, her eight scorpion legs making clicking noises on the floor.
Kyle watched her go and then looked at Salvatore.
"Is this wise? I mean, won't she retaliate once she's Nathan again?" he asked, but Salvatore only laughed.
"Oh, no. She might be a little bit angry at me now, but she can appreciate a good joke. And I'm sure she'll have fun. I've observed her over the course of her first shift, and she seemed like she was enjoying herself, even flirting with a couple of customers. As long as she wasn't serving us, that is."
Salvatore took another sip of his glas.
"You know, Nathan is a great, hardworking guy. But that's his problem. He sometimes doesn't know when to power off. At the moment, there's not that much to do in our, um, business, so there won't be any repercussions from him being gone for a week. And this is probably the closest I'll be able to get him to do a little vacation."
He shook his head again, smiling.
"So I really hope that he'll have fun playing the part of our third Scorpion Girl Waitress."
"Thank you." Skyler said, grinning widely. Boy, how he'd enjoyed kicking Garrett's ass! Suddenly, he was feeling freed and was even anticipating his next fight. He looked into his empty glass and grinned even wider, raising his hand.
"You have a wish, Sir?" a petite Scorpion Girl waitress asked who'd been summoned by his gesture. She was totally cute, with red hair tied into a pony tail, its color fitting her arachnid lower body, dainty nose, green eyes and a hint of dimples on her cheeks. She was smiling pleasantly, but it somehow looked a little bit strained.
"I'd like another one of those..." Skyler told her. "Would that be possible... Natty?" he stressed the last word and the girl's jaw muscles clenched.
Skyler suddenly yelped and and looked down startled to where her pincers had grabbed his lower legs. Additionally, her scorpion tail's stinger was hovering inches away from his crotch and Skyler gulped.
Still smiling, the girl bend down to him, whispering.
"As long as I'm working in this form, I'm 'Natasha' for you, you get this?" she demanded in a dangerous tone. "And if you tell anybody who I really am, you'll have to crawl home as a girl! Are we clear?"
Skyler nodded swiftly and Natasha shed another glance to Kyle who was intently staring into his own glass.
"That goes for you as well!" she said. Then she released Skyler's legs, raised herself up, straightened her apron and donned her smile again.
"Is there anything else I can do for you, gentlemen?" she asked friendly and Salvatore, who'd watched the entire exchange with a cat's grin, shook his head.
"No, that will be all. Thank you... Natty."
Natasha threw a malevolent glance at him and then stalked off, her eight scorpion legs making clicking noises on the floor.
Kyle watched her go and then looked at Salvatore.
"Is this wise? I mean, won't she retaliate once she's Nathan again?" he asked, but Salvatore only laughed.
"Oh, no. She might be a little bit angry at me now, but she can appreciate a good joke. And I'm sure she'll have fun. I've observed her over the course of her first shift, and she seemed like she was enjoying herself, even flirting with a couple of customers. As long as she wasn't serving us, that is."
Salvatore took another sip of his glas.
"You know, Nathan is a great, hardworking guy. But that's his problem. He sometimes doesn't know when to power off. At the moment, there's not that much to do in our, um, business, so there won't be any repercussions from him being gone for a week. And this is probably the closest I'll be able to get him to do a little vacation."
He shook his head again, smiling.
"So I really hope that he'll have fun playing the part of our third Scorpion Girl Waitress."