Amaranthine- Horny Heroes

CHAPTER  4

A woman's voice floated through the doors.

"Come in, my office is always unlocked."

Sucking a deep breath in, Cait pushed the door open. Inside was a large but not ostentatious office, plenty of light and windows but few furnishings save for an enormous desk with two chairs in front of it. That being said, the room could have been done up like a circus funhouse and Cait would barely have noticed, as the woman at the desk demanded all her attention. 

She was, almost literally, stunning. To the point that once Cait's head started working again she wondered if it was an Altered ability. Director Swan leaned back on the front of her desk, tight black pantyhose covering a shapely pair of legs she kept crossed in front of her. Her skirt hugged her hips tight enough that Cait could make out the toned muscle beneath it. Cait thought she was probably aiming for senator with the outfit, but by virtue her insane body had hit just to the left in the realm of Nailin' Palin. The top two buttons of her shirt were undone, revealing a generous swath of the pale skin of her breasts, held up and together by the heroic efforts of a bra that stayed just out of sight. Caits gaze was content to linger there until an annoyed cough and swallow brought her eyes up the director's long graceful neck to her face. 

Even with her brows furrowed in annoyance, Director Swan could have brought comfort to any number of boys on the warfront had she decided to be a pinup model. Her jet black hair was done up in a complicated bun, with two strands falling down to either side of her face. Cait fixated on her full red lips, and the beauty mark that marked her pale, perfect skin just above them on her right side. 

Those lips curled up as the woman snapped her fingers, literally snapping Cait out of a lust induced trace. Cait immediately blushed, panicked, looked down to see she was visibly making like a middle school boy called in front of the class, and blushed harder when she realized there was nothing she could do about it. Finally, she looked up to meet the beauty's eyes. Her brow was still furrowed, but there was a glimmer of amusement shining within. 

"Now that I have your attention," She had a hint of a chuckle in her voice, which was low and husky, but commanding, like a phone-sex operator had switched careers to become a CEO. "Allow me to officially welcome you to the Blank Park AEGIS Installation, and into the ranks of the Altered." 

She raised herself off the desk, and walked towards the pair. Cait was very unused to the feeling of being hunted, but the woman's stride was smooth and deliberate, like a jungle cat on the prowl. Cait had almost been taken back in by the hypnotic sway of her hips, when she reached them, and held out a hand to her. 

"Director Elizabeth Swan." 

Cait took the hand and shook, and the Director turned and extended the same courtesy to Mr. Fein, who hesitantly reached up a tentacle. Director Swan took it in both hands and shook like she was meeting an old friend. Cait noticed her new friend go still for a second, his mass flattening out and somehow giving the impression of squinting. Then his tentacles exploded in a flurry of motion and he gurgled excitedly. He turned to Cait and started pointing all his tentacles out towards the courtyard, then splaying them out like wings. Cait looked from him, to the director, then it all clicked in her head. 

"You're Black Swan!" Cait's mind flashed back to the second statue in the courtyard, a woman crouched low in a ready poise under the burly raised arms of the Iowa Cub. The director's face broke into a genuine smile. 

"I always wonder how long it will take new blood to make the connection between the girl in that statue and me." Director Swan said, walking back behind the desk, sitting and indicating the two of them should take the chairs opposite. "Swan is in the name after all, I'm not exactly hiding much." 

"Well, I mean, most people think Black Swan is dead." Cait said, taking her seat. "You haven't gone out in costume in years." 

"She is, that version of her at least." The director looked wistfully towards the courtyard. "Oftentimes, Guardians like myself will realize that our abilities allow us to do much more good in a support role than in field work, especially once age catches up to us. Plus, I wouldn't fit into that old costume." 

Maybe, but damn would I love to see you try, Cait thought, but kept herself from actively flirting with the Director of the agency that would decide her fate before she even introduced herself. 

"If you say so, Director. I'm Cait Smith. My buddy here can't talk, but up until the reception desk I'd been calling him BREAST MAN, all caps, on account of the hat." 

The director smirked at that, turning her attention to Mr. Fein. 

"Nick Fein," She said, opening a file on her desk. "Age 35, no family to speak of, driver for the Atlas Gravel Company, and now a brand new altered." 

Nick Fein huh? Good to put a real name to the… face? 

Nick wiggled happily at being recognized, but then suddenly stopped. He wrenched his toothy maw into a grimace, then shook himself left and right. He pointed a tentacle at his hat, then at Cait. For her part, Cait was confused. He'd been a perfect gentleman so far, and while Cait knew she had great tits, it seemed an odd thing to point out to the AEGIS director. Not that she particularly minded if Director Swan appreciated them.

Oddly, Director Swan seemed to take a completely different meaning from Nick's actions, as she nodded in sympathy. "I understand. Are you quite certain?" 

Nick hesitated for a second, then moved his maw up and down in a nod. 

"Very well. It's not uncommon to want an entirely new start when Altered, especially with a traumatic transformation like your own. Would you prefer BREAST MAN, or simply Breastman?" The director asked, reminding Cait again that, for AEGIS, the most significant day of her life was just a Thursday. 

BREAST MAN raised two tentacles to an equal height, first pushing one higher, then the other. Director Swan nodded.

"Little column A, little column B? Alright, you can get the details figured out in the paperwork portion of the night. I'll refer to you as Breastman for now, if that's okay?" Breastman nodded excitedly, giving a happy gurgle, and Director Swan smiled warmly. "Breastman. I have to commend you on your adaptability. I have seen Altereds become completely mad from changes far less drastic than yours, and yet you remain charming without even the use of speech. I think you would do very well here, should you choose to remain. Our first stop after general power classification testing will be at our Accessibility lab, and get them started working on whatever you need to thrive in your new environment and body." 

The flesh around Breastman's maw went a darker, almost black shade of purple and Cait realized he was blushing. He reached up and put a tentacle around Cait's broad shoulders, and she patted it sympathetically. 

"She's right buddy. You change into an eldritch horror, get in a truck accident, and your first thought was to rip through that truck, using a completely crazy new body, to save me. I'm not sure if you technically have a heart in there anymore, but if you do, it's the heart of a hero." 

Breastman's blush deepened, and he waved a tentacle in front of his mouth-face in a gesture that universally translated to 'Aw, shucks you guys!'. 

"Now, Breastman, Miss Smith," Director Swan continued, once the emotional moment had passed, taking on a more serious air. "While I would have met with you before you left here regardless, I make sure to get face time with all new Altereds that enter this complex, there is a reason I had you both brought straight to me. 

Director Swan fixed each of them with a stare in turn before continuing leaning in close over her desk. 

"Due to the strength, versatility, and penchant for heroism Mr. Breastman displays in his new form, alongside your shocking durability Miss Smith, I wanted to take the opportunity to pitch the Guardian program to you both." 

Cait took in a sharp breath and held it before letting it out. Breastman did the same, although his breath came out in a surprisingly well formed low whistle. 

"Obviously, you will still need to be assessed, but between you both and I, I have no doubt that your physical attributes alone would be sufficient for entry. We have a dearth of ultra-high durability Altereds, and I can count on one hand those that could have taken the impact you did unscathed, Cait. Breastman, while your form may seem like a curse, I have it on good authority that each one of those tentacles was tearing through the steel innards of a truck like they were tin-foil. We have Guardians enter the program on the basis of having that kind if strength in two arms, let alone-" 

She cut off for a moment, brow furrowing as she tried to count Breastman's tentacles. 

"-ah, as many as you possess. Everything Pete should have told you on pickup is true. Simply being Altered imposes no obligation to AEGIS on you, and many of our resources will be open to you regardless of your decision. However, as a Guardian, you would have access to all of our resources, high class lodging on our beautiful campus, 24/7 support in learning about and developing your powers, as well as carte blanche to use them in order to protect the common good." Director Swan paused and stood up behind her desk, if only so she could lean in closer. Cait doubted the expanse of cleavage this exposed was on accident. She was, after all, trying to entice them. 

"AEGIS needs powerful Guardians." She continued, her voice now a low pleading, whisper. "The world outside our cities' beacons of light is getting no safer. With each Wave, more of the natural world is altered, and it is so rare that it is in ways beneficial to us. More Altered Madmen pop up in our cities or isolated settlements every day. The people powerful and sane enough to stand up to those threats are few, and there are even fewer that can do so and survive. This is why I beg you, as you go through the tests and processes this evening, please consider joining our ranks. This world needs heroes." 

The prowling jungle cat from before was gone. Whereas before Cait had felt hunted, the feeling now was need. Not the need of lust, nor greed, but a need for safety, and for peace. A need that only people with abilities like hers and Breastman's could provide, for everyone. She looked down at her left hand, which roughly an hour ago she had held out as it punched straight into an engine block careening towards her. The hand was still streaked and stained dark with motor oil, but there wasn't even a scratch where there should have been an unidentifiable mash of flesh and bone. Cait balled it into a fist, and locked eyes with Director Swan. 

"With great power comes great responsibility, right?" She said, quoting something her Dad had always quoted from somewhere else. "Let's see how great my power is, but yes. I want to help."