CHAPTER TWO

THE PROPOSAL

Fortress was ready to go to sleep. What was it about award ceremonies that made them so tiring? Other than the fact he was bored, he didn't want to be there. Sliding the keycard to his room, he delicately pushed down on the handle, careful not to accidentally break it off. Having to call the hotel front desk to have the door repaired would just put off his well earned rest.

Which was not going to happen soon. Instincts honed over a century career of meeting danger alerted him to the uninvited presence in his room as soon as he opened the door. Sighing internally, Fortress stepped inside and closed the door. Hopefully, he could resolve this without causing structural damage. Whoever it was did not immediately attack. That was a good sign. He flipped on the light and studied the motionless intruders, a man and a woman.

The man was lean and tall, easily topping Fortress' own average height. The intruder was dressed in light body armor painted a matte blue so deep it looked black except where the light directly glinted off the edges. A belt with multiple pouches encircled his waist anand several coiled leashes hung from one side and a goggled black mask hung from the other. One thick leash was wrapped tightly around the man's hand leading down to a woman crouching at his side, chewing on a...was that a flattened stuffed skunk?

The woman crouched oddly, weight evenly distributed on fingertips and toes. She wore leather pants and a thick leather halter. Heavy black leather bands circled her neck, ankles, wrists and waist, each with four evenly spaced thick metal rings. Blond hair flowed loose down her back as her blue gaze roamed the room, bored.

Fortress frowned beneath his signature army green mask, gloved hands coiling into fists...just in case talking wasn't on the table. Neither of the intruders had aggressive poses, in fact, they seemed more ready to head back out the window next to them than attack. Well, someone needed to break the silence. "Why are you in my room?"

The man put a hand on the woman's head as he answered, "I need your help."

Fortress couldn't suppress an amused smile. "Not the best way to ask for it, showing up in my hotel room unannounced."

The man shrugged, "You didn't have a social secretary I could call," His tone suddenly shifted from sarcastic to desperate, "And I had to speak to you."

"Why me specifically?"

"You and your team had a reputation for charity, for helping people out."

Fortress snorted softly. "There have to be better ways of asking for a handout."

The man's head jerked to the side, face reddening. His voice was tight when he replied. "If there was, I wouldn't be here."

A low sound called attention back to the woman, her eyes were narrowing until the man stroked her head, reassuring her in a tightly controlled voice. "No, LIE, be still, play with your toy."

The man was obviously still tightly wound but the woman dropped the toy and began to playfully bat it back and forth. More curious than wary, Fortress sat down in a nearby chair. "OK, how about you explain who are and why you're here."

The man shifted his weight to one foot then the other, glanced down at his watch and cursed slightly. "OK, got to do this kind of fast. Pretty sure you can guess what I usually do isn't completely legal."

Fortress nodded, "Yes, you seem familiar with being where you shouldn't be...and avoiding giving your name."

Light brown eyes rolled upwards before the man reluctantly answered. "I'm Carter and this is LIE?"

"LIE?" Fortress felt the mask adjust as he raised an eyebrow.

"Lifeform Integration Experiment." Carter held up a hand. "Just hold the questions for a minute, OK? There really isn't much time before-Anyway, part of what I do leads me into nasty little labs that are big on experiments, not so big on human rights. I found LIE in one of the labs. She was in a glass cage and looked like this. I figured at best she was some lab guy's toy and, at worst, the next experiment. Either way, I needed to get her out because the lab was about to accidentally explode."

"Accidentally?"

Carter shrugged then glanced down. Fortress followed his gaze to where the woman, LIE, was pulling against the leash's restraint, trying to reach the toy she had batted out of her own reach. Carter stepped to the side and kicked it back to the growling woman before looking back up at Fortress. "Yeah, one of the researchers apparently left his space heater too close to another's experiments with flammable bioengineered organs."

"Flammable organs that can cause an explosion?"

Carter nodded, the disgusted sneer on his face transferring easily to his voice, "Part of a project to replicate the flame based powers of a 14-year-old boy in order to produce appropriate minions for Inferno. It's the latest thing in supervillain fashion accessories."

"The boy?" Fortress felt sick, sure he already knew the answer. When would the world learn? Weren't the Nazis enough of a lesson?

"They had already found a way to replicate the organs. What did they need him taking up space for?" Carter's fingers tightened around the leash until Fortress could see it indenting the black gloves. The man rolled his shoulders as if trying to shake off the memories. "Like I said, I couldn't leave her there so I took her. She was dressed like this with chains and leashes hanging outside the cage. Didn't really take much to figure out there was something odd going on but I didn't have time to check into the files until I got us home. Barely got the files read in time. This is her sedated. Her other form is pure predator. The notes were full of warnings about it and, luckily, the formulas."

"So, you got them mixed just in time?" Fortress nodded sagely.

The lean man shook his head. "No, I don't know chemistry well enough. So, I got a bunch of rope and chains and restrained her just in time. She still almost took off part of my arm. Then, I paid a guy I knew about a lot of money to get me a batch of the sedatives fast."

Fortress looked down at the woman who was currently tossing the toy up in the air trying to catch it with her mouth. "Almost took off some of your arm?"

"Just wait." Carter looked at his watch again and pulled out a hypodermic dart filled with a blue serum. "Thirty seconds at most."

Fortress shrugged and settled himself in.

The woman tossed the toy again with a smile. Catching it in her mouth, she chewed, then stopped with a low growl. Dropping the toy, she rose up onto her fingers and toes, her eyes darkening into black pools. Her skin mottled as her hair no longer flowed but clumped together. Teeth bared, she growled louder, her body coiling to spring when Carter jammed the dart into her shoulder. LIE yanked against the leash, growling up at him in protest before her hair lightened back into blonde, her skin paled and she petted the skunk's fur with a low purr.

Carter looked up at Fortress. "Her name-Lifeform Integration Experiment. They mixed human with...something. I don't know what but it's pure predator and it's deadly. That was barely a taste of her full transformation. I've been trying to work with her, see how well I can get her to function in the world but it's hard. I don't know what her limits might be and when she's fully transformed, all she wants to do is hunt. When she's sedated she's like this. I can't leave her alone. I can't take her on jobs." Carter took a deep breath, his face crimson. "I don't have any money for more sedatives, for the rent, for even groceries. You and your team were known for helping people out with trusts and charity work so…"

"So, you want me to pay you to keep her from killing anyone until she's learned enough to let you go commit industrial espionage?"

Carter's face was so red it was a wonder it didn't catch on fire. Humiliation screamed from his hunched shoulders, tensed muscles.

"Why not just turn her over to me or the governent or some hero team? She would be watched over by people with experience and you'd be free to do what you want with your life?"

The man's hand suddenly tightened and pulled the LIE close until she mewled in protest and discomfort. He immediately looked down and loosened his grip, stroking the top of her head in comfort and apology before answering, "And how do I know I can trust any of you to actually take care of her? What happens when she maims someone because the people watching her were too busy posing with the mayor? Or what happens when the media does some bad press because she doesn't behave right? What do they do with her while they're off saving the world? Cage her, drug her into a coma, take her along and risk accidentally losing track of her? No. I took her out of the lab to protect her and that's what I'm going to do."

Fortress studied Carter, stubbornness, anger and embarrassment radiated from him. This was the absolute last place this man wanted to be. Yet here he was, asking for help to take care of an unasked for burden. No, whatever else he was, Carter was also loyal, determined and took his responsibilities very seriously. LIE was obviously well-cared for. Clean, no bruises, no nervousness. He had even made sure to bring her a toy and had known down to the minute when the sedative would wear off.

What would this man have been if he had chosen a different path? Or...what if the other path was chosen for him? Taking care of LIE had already barred Carter from his current path. What better time to introduce a new path?

Fortress smiled. Oh, this could be fun and the good that could come of it. "I will help you." Carter looked up, cautious hope filling his face. "However, there are conditions."

Hope drained from a disdainful smirk and his, "Of course there is," was quite clear in the quiet room.

"You and LIE are going to enroll in the Paragon Program."

"The school for heroes? Me? You've got to be joking."

Fortress shook his head. "No. I will get you the help you need, serums, a place to work with her, a place to live, all of it but, in return, you're going to pay me back by becoming a hero."

The man snorted but, then, opened a belt pouch and looked inside. It was the pouch Carter had pulled the tranq dart out of earlier. Calculations flashed over his face then his shoulders slowly slumped, defeat written in every unhappy line. "Fine. You win. But, you realize they're never going to let us in."

Fortress smiled. "You leave that to me. Meet me in front of the institute at noon."

Carter shrugged and pulled his mask on, preparing to leave.

Fortress waited until they were halfway out the window before adding, "Don't be late. You don't want me to have to come looking for you." Carter cursed before dropping out of the window, leaving Fortress to smile in satisfaction.

This was going to work out...one way or another.