Becoming Monsters: In the Mirror Ch. 20

This is still a story of the Becoming Monsters Universe by Ai Loves, setting used with permission. All canonical and mechanical errors are my own. The yarrb is the creation of FelisRandomis, used with permission.

In addition, a big THANK YOU to the denizens of the Becoming Monsters Discord, for being random forum users here. Especially AiLovesToGrow herself, as QueenEve

---

Chapter 20: Beyond Your Grasp

The woman rescued by Whitney and Lucy was tall and statuesque. She had deeply tanned skin, blonde hair that looked like it may or may not be bleached, lots of fit muscle, bat-like wings, and generously sized assets. She looked like a model, or actress. Maybe an influencer. Someone who showed off her body frequently and lived by doing so. By her side were two whips, and a frankly ridiculous amount of coinage in all denominations. I do mean all, I saw the glitter and glint of a Crystal Coin among the others. Amber got to it rapidly. Whitney carried her like she weighed next to nothing, dashing towards the ER.

The bystander victims... varied. A few were superficially wounded. A couple had broken bones, gunshot wounds, or significant burns. One, a young man with dark skin in a now-ruined business suit, was unconscious and badly injured. Emily was seeing to him directly, without magical care he might not last until the rapidly-approaching paramedics could help. I waved them off of myself. I'd live. Triage order meant that the civilians on the ground needed attention more than I did.

Inevitably, police showed up, backed by SWAT. Had Shield Against Shadows not been in immediate response range, they would have been woefully late. Hundreds might have died, instead of a couple of dozen injuries. This time, they didn't come out with weapons drawn. The senior paramedic on site, dealing with something bordering a mass casualty situation, had a great many choice words for them. Some few of those words might not have to be censored if the exchange ever aired on prime time television. Might. It was an amazing thing to watch, and given that I saw one of the Twins' drones in the vicinity, I figured I would be doing so again.

And again. And again...

None of the officers on site were Office of Public Protection accredited. Sergeant Mann was nowhere to be seen. I made a few statements and referred them to the livestream I rightfully assumed had been happening. The adrenaline started to run out about then, I felt my stomach rumble. I reached into my Extradimensional Space and pulled out a protein bar, sat down on some steps...

... and woke up in a hospital room. One glance out the window told me the sun was now beginning to set. Three to five hours out? Couldn't find a clock to be sure, and my watch was missing from my wrist. I could breathe, though. I gradually became aware of a stunning variety of brand new pains. My ribs felt like each had been individually shattered into fifty pieces. My shield arm, too, was simply refusing to obey my orders. I could see that it was still there, though. That was good. My back, neck, and hips were all sore, my feet screaming at me, but those were normal kinds of things. Almost welcome. What wasn't was the amazing variety of burns I was dealing with, covering much of my chest and back.

That was even WITH Mirror Shield mitigating them. It was horrifying to think what might have been if I had not had it. Or... you know what, best to not think of that just now. Critically Injured, freshly out of the hospital, dude leads guild in the nastiest monster fight Seattle had ever seen, without hesitation or a moment of self-preservation. How was I alive, again?

"Status," my voice sounded froggy, but I've been worse. Heck, I've been worse this week. HP was at 20%, SP at 5%. Yup, that tracked. Mana, after hours of regeneration, was also at 20%. That was expected. I was also at 94% progress to my next level. Also made sense.

I heard a sound to my right. Movement. With an effort, I looked at the other bed in the double room. Huh, I could move my head consciously. Definitely an improvement over the last couple of fights. In the other bed was the woman from the center of the pyre, her Demonic Aura shimmering with power. Her eyes were open, and looking right back at me. "Where... am I?" Her voice was rough with pain, a lower alto. She had a faint accent. British, maybe Aussie? Hard to tell.

"Wasn't expecting this conversation for another twelve hours. Welcome to Central Cascadia Hospital, in a room that looks like they dropped us in to clear the ER. I'm Jay, leader of the rescue team."

"Rescue team? All I remember is passing out at the job on a slow Monday evening, then I was here. I have to get out of here as fast as I can, I can't afford to miss more work." She actually seemed more scared of that than the fact that she had just woken up in a hospital.

"If you know the number, you'd best call in. Hospital won't charge a victim of a monster attack, but neither will they release you tonight." I looked at the door, a shimmer of Aura was showing. A split second later, two knocks, and it opened. Emily, in her Human form in full hospital scrubs, came in. "Nurse Johnson, I thought you worked in the Curse Annex." I was grinning. So did she.

"Okay, if you can wisecrack you're better off than I feared." She glanced at the monitors I was attached to, then walked around to my right side. Out of her pocket, into my hand, came a protein bar. It was even opened. "You dropped this, earlier."

"Thanks." I saved the rest of my comments, given that I was busy chewing.

"And for our other guest today. We weren't expecting you to be awake so soon."

"You're the second person to tell me that in the last three minutes. What's going on? Why am I in a mixed-gender room?" She was looking irritated, more than afraid. That was good.

Emily looked back at me. "You haven't told her yet?"

I shook my head and swallowed. "We both just woke up. That briefing takes more than five minutes."

Emily sighed. "You're right. Do you want to do this, or should I?"

"You should. Considering what it could involve, it'll sound better."

The girl was looking at us suspiciously. "Why does the nurse sound like the patient is in charge?"

Emily laughed, then looked at her clipboard. "That is why the explanation is going to take a while. Paige, I am Nurse Emily Johnson, and I work here at the hospital. That is secondary for now, though, the man to your left is Jeremiah Kithkin, Guild Leader for Shield Against Shadows. I am a member of that Guild, and earlier this afternoon we fought off a major demonic incursion. About 200 feet from where you are laying right now, actually, if you look out the window you can see the battle site. We rescued you from it."

"Wait, the Jeremiah Kithkin? Dude going viral for chasing a monster across Seattle?" She looked at me again, appreciative. "Thought you'd be... scarier. Bigger. Anyone who can make a Glasya run for dear life should be three meters tall and breathe fire."

"Used to breathe fire, traded that one out for the Flame Rays you saw."

She looked out the window. Though my angle precluded me seeing exactly what was going on at this moment, I had enough of an impression of the events from the first time that it was not necessarily. She breathed, scared. "What the heck did all of you fight off?"

"A Balar."

The first sign off her reaction came from the monitors she was hooked up to, her heart rate spiking sharply and her other indicators going wild. Her body temperature rose twenty degrees in seconds. Across her skin, cracks appeared, looking like they were filled with magma. "But... but..."

I expended some of my precious Hunger reserves to project calm. We could not afford for her to panic. "We have done this before. Four times. You were a victim of a curse, a really nasty one, that forced you into a monstrous form of yourself. My team is tired, and took some lumps, but we're alive. Obviously, mission successful. Honestly, everyone we have done this for has decided to join up, but that's optional."

She thankfully regained some composure, and I could ease off on the psychic pressure. The magma hid once more. "I was serious about needing to work, though. I'm on the edge of not being able to make my share of rent, and it doesn't matter how good a dancer I am. Boss will let me go if I miss my scheduled days."

"I may be able to offer an alternative, if you let me Scan you." The feeling was back. This woman, Paige, needed to be on the team. It was urgent. "I don't know what you are capable of as yourself, but from what I've seen of you I am more than slightly sure you can contribute. What's your Class and Level?"

"Dancer, Strength build. Level ten."

Wait, what? Level ten? As in, the one I'm almost, but not quite, up to now? "Oh, we could definitely use a Delver of your experience if you're willing to join. A hybrid Striker/Support would be perfect."

"I'm not a Delver."

Huh? Not a Delver, carrying twin whips with a definite build, at level ten? "Um, okay, I wasn't expecting that response."

"As you might have noticed, I am a Balar. We're rare. Every yahoo, bigot, and self-righteous moron within ten kilometers has been trying to take it out on me for the last five years. Ends up with a lot of fighting. It adds up quickly, you know?"

Oh. Yeah, I could sympathize. Still, having to fight so much that you pushed that far? It was mind-boggling, she must have not had a day of peace in years. "Then I'll change up the offer a hair. We will teach you how to do what we do in a team, get you your license, and give you a place to stay as long as you're comfortable in close quarters. In exchange, you join up with us, and we protect you. I am a Guild Leader, with everything that entails. In defense of my team, I can and have thrown down against odds stacked sharply against me. You will find people here who share your story, or stories like it."

Her grin was sardonic. It did not reflect in her eyes, a change from the expressiveness her face had. "I somehow doubt that. I never told you what else went into it. Scan me if you want, for all the good it will do you."

"You say that. One second." My headache wasn't exactly easy to ignore, but I pushed through it to pull her Status up. Paige Evans, Balar. She hadn't been kidding about her Class and Level, it was wild. Suspicions confirmed, though, her Demonic Hunger was showing Pride. Ability was... Double Team? What could that even be? It sounded like a coordination ability, but she had been quite clear that she had been going this alone. Still, she was very strong, nearly as much so as Whitney. The rest was fuzzy, still hashed from what she was recovering from.

"Alright. Never heard of Double Team before, but you're clean of the debuff I was looking for. Pride feeding, you need, what, perfectionism?"

She looked back at me with wide eyes. "Adoration. Worship. When someone looks at me with strong emotion, admiring me, I sip from them. I have to be the best at everything I do, Jay, or I starve."

"That, Paige, is easy enough from what I've seen. You're at full Hunger from what I can tell, so you can feel free to contemplate this overnight. You have until we're discharged, which won't be until at least tomorrow. If you choose to join me, I will come help you when you need to explain it to any bosses you have. Guild Leader might not be an official title outside of the Delvers, but it carries some weight."

Emily nodded. "He'll do it, too. I've watched him go to lengths I've rarely seen husbands go to for their wives, just for his guild members." She looked at both of our monitors one last time. "Alright, I've been here longer than I can easily account for. Jay, I'll let the others know you're alright and try to get you your go bag. They won't be able to visit today, the hospital has closed that off for anything other than End Of Life until the attack investigation can clear. I only got here because I work here."

"Got it. I'll... try to rest." I raised my hands at her look. Well, my right one, anyway. My left was still not obeying me. "Even I'm not eager to go another round right now!"

"You know, I think I actually believe you. Rest well. Dinner will be here in about 45 minutes." She left. Paige was quiet. Contemplative. She didn't turn on her TV screen, didn't fidget. Nothing. Just... lost inside of her own head. I tried to turn on my own screen, but six channels in a row were showing the same thing. Me. Well, my Guild, fighting a horror out of nightmare. I recognized the angle, this was a recording from one of the Twins, carefully curated. I got to see the moment that terrible whip seized me, got to witness the overlay vaguely showing the massive Thaumic blast I sent forward, the thing going down. Someone had dug up our old insignia, too, a blazing white shield, outlined with gold with our motto written across it in the same color, against a field of black. I shut it off. The memories were entirely too raw, the pain still quite physical. My body didn't need the reminders of the punishment it had received. Might want to order actual badges again, though, now that people were going to recognize us.

Dinner was dinner. After Gloria's brand of cooking genius, hospital food was a significantly further step down than usual. At least there was a lot. Paige ate mechanically, seemingly still lost in thought. Not too long thereafter, Emily did manage to swing by with my pack. Just like last time, my phone, a baton, a change of clothes, some emergency food. My watch, too, though I wouldn't be putting it on until my IV was out. Unlike last time, it also had my shield glove. I wasn't exactly overfull on mana, but I dropped about half of what I had into it. Just in case.

The sun fully set, the summer having kept it awake much longer than usual. I typed replies as fast as my thumbs could go, starting with my wife and the rest of the family. Seemingly a million people asking if that was me on TV. Seemingly a million replies of "yep." I messaged back and forth a bit with the Twins on the update, and emphasized that if anyone tried to mob the hospital because I was there I'd probably light them on fire myself. It apparently made a good tag line. I was tired again, and absent any further conversation I fell asleep.

It was still dark when my eyes snapped open. The light of the full moon shone in through the window. Both my arms were responding to commands now, which was good. I was tied to the bed somehow, which was bad. I could feel the warm wetness of a mouth on my cock, which was good. I couldn't see who it was, which was bad. I looked to my right, Paige's bed was empty. I heard a bit of a throaty sound from between my legs, and could feel the mouth come off of me. It was replaced by a pair of soft yet firm breasts, the sensation delightful. "I was wondering if you'd wake up, Jay. I owe you, and men only ever want one thing from me. Consider yourself lucky, not just anyone gets this treatment."

I shook my head. "Paige, you do not know what you're doing!"

"Is it because you're married? Please, I know you're an Incubus, and I'm a Demoness. There is no way one woman kept up with you. I know you hungered for my body from the moment you laid eyes on me. Everyone does."

Giving her credit, she knew exactly what she was doing. My balls certainly appreciated it. "Trust me, I can't do this until you make your decision. You don't know what it means."

She stopped moving her breasts, I breathed a brief sigh of relief. "Oh, really? I don't see any lack of capability here." she climbed up onto the bed and took me into her hands, pumping my length and licking, teasing me.

"It's..." Okay, wow, she was really good at this. She either loved it, did it very often, or both. Or she was the most talented individual on Earth. "It's a part of the ritual. To join. I can only cum into people already on my team."

Her smile got a bit wicked. "There is no need for excuses, Jay. I know that isn't a thing. Not for real." She climbed up and straddled me, her amazing breasts bouncing free. "Is it some kind of rule you set for yourself?" Slowly, she lowered herself onto me, taking my full length. "You... oh, you're big... you save yourself for your Guildies? For your wife?"

She was riding me, now, squeezing my length with every upward stroke. She felt like silk and warm honey, and a lesser man (or, say, one who was not married to a Succubus) would have given in long before. "P-please. I need you to tell me. Do you agree to join me, my Guild, with all that entails?"

She kept up her merciless pace. "And what if I say no? What if I tell you this is a one-night stand? That this is me thanking you, and you'll never see me again after we leave here?"

Golf. Calculus. Politics. Cold showers. "Then I tell you to get off of me and untie me, and I wait to get home for relief."

"I don't think you have it in you to do that, Jay."

"And you haven't given me a solid answer either way. I think you want to join. You want to be with the kind of people... wow, you're good... who will understand you. Who will protect you."

She was silent for a moment, but kept her steady rhythm up. I was starting to contemplate which of my abilities might let me get her off of me safely. It was hard to think, hard to do anything but feel the incredible sensations flooding over me. I didn't have long. My control was good, and my wife had played this game with me before, but she always won. Paige continued, and when I could focus through the overwhelming pleasure I could see hints of moisture in her eyes.

I realized something then. She was young. The Change had probably taken her in High School, and she had received nothing out of altruism since. She traded on her body, because that is what had worked. When it hadn't, her only solution was to fight. I was presenting something wildly out of context for her. "Can... can you promise me that, Jay? What you said. That you will all have my back?"

"With everything we've got. Nobody in the family fights alone. We protect each other, we help each other, we defy the world if we have to. You've seen the lengths we will go to." It was coming. Only a herculean effort of will was letting me hold myself in abeyance now.

"Then yes. I agree, I will join you!" She began to orgasm, and I released my control. Blast after blast after blast of white-hot pleasure shot up into her, my own orgasm seeming to last forever. Eventually, both ended, and Paige collapsed down onto my chest. "What... what comes next?"

Inside my head, I could see what came next, clearly.

***

Subject: Paige Evans

Class: Dancer

Class Attributes: STR, END, CHA

Primary Ability: Double Team

Do you wish to acquire? Y/N

***

"You might want to be standing for this next part, Paige. It can be a bit of a doozy."

She scrambled back, pulling herself off of me. "What do you mean?"

I Accepted and confirmed the message, dismissing the Status box. "There are other benefits to being on my team, Paige. You are about to learn one of them." The power rushed into her, and empowered her. Her already impressive muscles noticeably firmed, the flat fitness developing into a visible six pack and defined power. Her breasts swelled up, her hips broadened, her features sharpened. She had been hot before. Now, she looked like someone who belonged on the cover of a magazine... one that you had to go to a back room to pick up. She looked at her own hand, unbelieving. She flexed, felt the raw power and grace gifted to her. There was a mirror on the wall. She admired her own incredible nudity, giving me a view of her sculpted behind and muscular back and wings.

"How... Why..."

"I get the same questions every time. You are now a part of a power network with the rest of my ladies, anchored by me. As for why I didn't tell you, well, I didn't want it to influence your decision. I don't want people here for power or fame. We are a family."