Nyte's Point of View
Coach Murphy had really been riding her ass lately! The season opener was in a week, and the old bitch was micromanaging the team into a military unit, not a football organization.
Shit, woman, we're just playing some team from Lewisville, not invading Iraq. Cut me some slack!
It wasn't as if she was playing badly; just the opposite. Nyte was putting the ball exactly where it needed to go, hitting their receivers with precision. The offensive line had also really started jelling as a unit. Her blocking was solid, better than junior year, even. Becca fit in just fine. In fact, she might be their top performer. Maybe the next time a coach came to her house on a recruiting pitch, she'd drop Becca's name. Rich would like that. Goddess, seeing how strong Rice family genes were, had Nyte thinking positively inappropriate thoughts.
I wonder what our kids will look like. It was actually kind of a crap shoot. Nyte looked just like her mom, and her dad had red hair and kind, tired eyes. She missed him a lot. Rich lost his mom earlier this year, but Nyte had seen pictures. Karen Rice was big and blonde; meanwhile, her future father-in-law was a petite Mexican man...who was now dating Nyte's mom.
Goddess, what a mess that could turn out to be, but Mom was running for mayor, and she needed somebody on her arm at charity events and campaign fundraisers, or so Esther claimed. Nyte snorted derisively. Mommy dearest let her pussy do the thinking for her. They'd had a real serious conversation about what would happen if her indiscretions ended up hurting Rich. So far, it looked like they understood one another.
It would be weird as hell if two generations ended up married, but so what? Nobody would care once she got to the NFL.
All of this, of course, was really just a roundabout way of thinking about her boyfriend: Nyte's favorite subject. He'd even worn makeup a few times lately. Don't get her wrong, she liked the natural look, but he was so hot when he embraced his masculine side. The contrast was exquisite.
Nyte paused at the threshold of their new headquarters, yes, you heard that right, Stinger actually sprung for something nice and new for once. When she entered, the footfalls of her heavy boots spread faint echoes across the complex. Immediately, she noticed the difference. Gone was the smell of life, even the sickly sweet rot of dying and mutated life. No, within there was only oil and a faint whiff of burnt metal, as if somebody had been soldering something.
"Hola, Nyte."
Oh, this was going to be even worse than Azure. Rich's cousin had swapped out her fleshy parts for cybernetic ones. She heard the whirring of servos and click-clacking of metallic feet as Scorpion Queen Nethys approached.
Nyte sighed. "Hello, Nethys. Guess you're here to replace Kleia?"
Nethys nodded, and the robotic scorpion tail protruding from her rear nodded along with her. "Just so. We must, of course, discuss the safety of my primo Ricardo. He is in your keeping for the most part, yes?"
Yeah, Nethys just loved the gratuitous Spanish. Rich told her it was a form of bullying. His cousin had been "flexing" her ability to speak the language on him and Rebecca since they were children. "You're welcome to eat lunch with us. Rich has his little boyfriends, Beni and Bryce, sitting with him now. Our table used to be a taco fest; now it's a lot more lively. As for classes, either Becca or I is always nearby to protect him."
Nethys' scorpion tail twitched in interest. "Yes, dear Rebeca," she used the Spanish pronunciation of the name, "has become quite reliable. Rich is a good cook, you know."
"I know," Nyte agreed proudly. What other girl could say her boyfriend packed her a delicious homemade lunch every school day? That's how boys get the ring.
"Have you considered extending an invitation to my prima? She is more than physically qualified."
"Absolutely not!" Nyte hissed. "You know how caring Rich is, how hurt he was when his mother died. We absolutely can't risk Becca getting hurt. Let her stay out of this!" Her tone was urgent, almost desperate. There was nothing she wanted more than to keep the double life she lived as separate as possible.
One of Nethys' eyes was cybernetic. Within the metal, a red dot flashed. Nyte didn't know what to make of the gesture. "Very well." They remained silent for a minute, but Nethys' scorpion tail kept flicking and fidgeting as if she wanted to ask something.
"What?" Nyte demanded.
For the first time, she saw Nethys looking a little unsure of herself. "What do you suppose happened to my predecessor?" she asked quietly.
Nyte didn't suppose anything. Kleia had disappeared. Nobody was told why. "Maybe she was summoned back to New Mexico? Our operations over there are expanding. Texas is peripheral."
"Then why is Jellyfish Hitler herself here personally?" Nethys asked a painfully logical question.
"I dunno, the Apathy Engine?" Nyte said lamely. Whatever that was...
Nethys' tail shrugged. Could a tail shrug? "I suppose."
This time, they really had nothing else to say. Stinger Soldiers filed in and got into formation, standing at parade rest and waiting for the big woman to get the party started.
With no warning, the lights flicked on, and Nyte saw just how different things were now.
Gone were the living walls dripping slime. Everything was slick and modern, even high-tech. Computer consoles, screens displaying data, and what looked like an automated assembly line filled her view. Their new headquarters looked like a fancy factory.
"Fufufu, welcome to our new lair, my brave soldiers! Stinger Sieg!"
"STINGER SIEG!" the whole assembly echoed their leader's battle cry.
Jellyfish Hitler walked by them all, nodding approvingly, while her stooge Hamburger Satan trailed behind. "My lady, what are your orders?" old Satan simpered.
"Fufufu, patience, my dear Hamburger Satan. The third of my Four Demonic Queens has arrived! Scorpion Queen Nethys! Come forth!"
There was a faint whining sound as Nethys' cybernetic body roared to life, and she walked forward with unnatural, predatory grace, too smooth for a machine, but too exact for an animal. She knelt down. "My lady."
"Arise, my faithful Demonic Queen! What have you brought me?"
Nethys stood up and produced a small object that looked like a remote control. At the push of a button, a blocky robot that looked like a golem knight walked in. It brandished a broom that was double-sided in the same way Darth Maul's lightsaber was, a brush on both ends. The broom had a hinge in the middle that allowed the robot to wield it like a three-section staff from a kung fu movie. It spun the broom once with a flourish, and even standing far away, Nyte still felt the displaced air.
Nethys smiled. "Meet my newest creation: Janitor Robot Tribroom!"
***
The Principal's Point of View
Their janitor quit again! These god damned kids and their messes...
Plano Liberty Union High's embattled principal always had staffing issues. First of all, their school was huge. Just keeping the buildings in some kind of functional state took a small army, and the little monsters that attended did not make it easy! One of the janitors had come in, looked at the disastrous state of one of the girls' bathrooms, and quit on the spot!
That call from the robo-cleaner company had been timely indeed. Their "triboom" model was scheduled to be delivered today.
***
Since Julie liked it so much, Rich committed to wearing makeup at least one day a week, maybe more. That required inviting Beni over several more times to teach him. While the cute boy was around anyway, Rich decided to pick his brain for fashion advice. Today, he was wearing a somewhat daring pink shirt along with some tight corduroy pants. With a full face of makeup, it was pretty much his reverse world "crossing the Rubicon" moment. There he was, wearing an outfit he wouldn't be caught dead in in his first life, and feeling like he looked good doing it.
"You look beautiful," Julie said fondly. Their hands automatically found one another in the crowded hallway on the walk to lunch.
Rich glanced around, suddenly conscious of all those eyes on him. By the standards of this world, he was "hot" now. Girls looked at him with desire, and boys with envy. Stinger hadn't made a move in nearly a month. He'd been able to enjoy the last bit of summer and their first week of school in relative peace. Had his battle with Azure put a stop to their operations in Plano? Somehow, Richard doubted it.
One of Julie's football player friends brought their lunch. The meals Rich prepared for himself, Julie, Becca, and now Yesenia, were stored in a fridge in the locker room. Their group settled in at the usual table with Beni and Bryce joining them after buying their food.
Julie sat next to him, naturally, and their thighs touched under the table. Yesenia had a different lunch period, which was a small mercy. The mockery he got at home was enough.
"It's nice being a minion," Beni said, setting down his tray across from Rich.
"You're not my minion, Beni," Rich said tiredly.
"Oh, no, no, I am!" Beni gestured animatedly with his hands. "You don't know you're own power, Richy boy! Anything you touch turns to gold! As the boy who taught you how to dress and wear makeup, I'm ten times more popular than I used to be!"
Julie loomed over him. "I really like the way you look." She sent Beni a grateful smile.
Well, if Julie liked it... "Fine, but you're not my minion. You're my friend."
"Can I be your minion?" Bryce asked timidly.
"...okay," Rich agreed. Who could say know to those chubby cheeks?
"Traitor!" Beni pointed at Rich. "Becca, defend my honor!"
His sister looked shocked at being addressed. "I, uh, what?"
Oh, geez, so Beni was her type! Rich was about to switch to wingman mode when a girl walking to the adjacent table in the cafeteria slipped and fell, sending her lunch tray into the air. The food landed on the ground with a splat.
Kids laughed cruelly, but at Rich's frown, most of them shut up. "Let's help her clean up, Julie."
"Sure, I can share some of my lunch with her. You always make too much, anyway."
They were about to get up when a robot of all things walked into the cafeteria. "MESS DETECTED! MESS DETECTED!" it said in a mechanical voice.
What the heck? Since when did 2005 have cleaning robots? They didn't even have little Roombas yet! While Rich pondered the absurdity of the situation, the robot detached its double broom into two parts and swung it like a sledgehammer.
"Get down!"
Julie tackled Rich to the floor and pinned him underneath her body.
The impact of the broom strike shook the whole cafeteria like an earthquake. Stinger was back! Rich tried to squirm out from underneath his girlfriend, but she was heavy and much stronger than he was. He felt a sudden sensation of being weightless and realized Julie was carrying him princess style (prince style) and rushing him out of danger.
Flattered at his safety being prioritized, it was a moment before he remembered his duty. This was a job for Future Hero! Rich extricated his right arm from Julie's grip and raised his ring to the heavens:
"From a future dark
To a post not set,
Stinger hasn't won just yet,
With Pureheart Power, a noble mission,
Come forth! Future Hero! Henshin!"
Poor Julie's eyes glazed over, and her jaw went slack as she dropped him to the ground. With not a moment to lose, Rich rushed back into the cafeteria.
"PROPER WASTE DISPOSAL PROCEDURES HAVE NOT BEEN FOLLOWED!" The robot had an awful, high-pitched voice like a Dalek. "SPREADERS OF WASTE MUST BE DESTROYED! DESTROYED!"
The attitude of a Dalek, too, Rich thought.
It brought down the double-handled broom on a lunch table, collapsing it and sending food everywhere.
"Hey, aren't you making an even bigger mess?" Future Hero taunted.
"PURITY! PURITY! PURITY MUST BE CLEANSED!" The janitor robot forgot what it was doing before and started pursuing Future Hero. It was waving its broom so aggressively that Rich couldn't get close.
Remember an old trick he used once, Future Hero picked up an apple that had rolled near his feet. Charging it with Pureheart Power, Rich threw it at the robot. "Future Fastball!"
But the robot was fast too, swinging the broom like a bat and hitting his future fastball into a wall, where it exploded like a hand grenade, leaving a hole behind.
I need to lead the robot away from all these civilians!
Rich ran through the hole in the wall, and the janitor robot gave chase.
Once they were outside, Rich ripped a street sign out of the ground to use as an improvised staff. "See? Two can play at that game!"
Their two weapons clashed, but even though the robot's broom looked like it was made out of wood, it was stronger than the metal pole, bending it easily. Still, the tangle was enough for Rich to get a few licks in, nailing the janitor robot's metal head with a few punches and chops once he was inside the reach of the broom.
After one punch too many, the metal menace choked up on the broom and bashed Future Hero over the head with it, sending him stumbling.
Knowing the battle was going against him, Rich summoned Future Roller and hopped in. The janitor robot followed, running at a speed its bulky body shouldn't have been capable of, chasing Future Hero all the way to a nearby quarry.
"Okay, Future Roller! Let's launch a two-pronged attack!" Rich hopped out, and the purple truck circled around, preparing to run the robot over, but the janitor robot was waiting. With a mighty swing, it smashed its broom into the grill of Future Roller. But one end of the broom snapped off!
"Now's my chance!"
Future Hero rushed in and grabbed the broom. Poor Future Roller was withdrawing; Rich could swear he heard it yelp like a kicked puppy.
Now in close proximity, Future Hero and the janitor robot were locked in a fatal tug of war.
"UNHAND THE TRIBROOM! PURITY MUST BE CLEANSED!"
"I think not, you foul fiend!"
While they struggled, Rich got an idea for a new special move. Channeling Pureheart Power into his helmet, he lurched forward. "Future Headbutt!" Like a hammer driving a nail, their heads connected with punishing force, but the robot got the worst of it.
It dropped its broom and stumbled backward. "UNCLEAN...UNCLEAN...PURITY..."
Pure energy lanced through the robot with purple tendrils, setting off a chain reaction that ended in an explosion that shook the quarry.
Rich was relieved to see no human was left behind. It really was just a robot.
With a little coaxing, he was able to get back in Future Roller. "Come on, old boy, hopefully we'll have time to finish our lunch. AP calculus is hungry work."