The two women stared at each other, scowling. They were as different from each other as night and day. Nor did they get along well, their feuds going back centuries. Mostly they tried to stay out of each other's way, but sometimes that didn't work.

Like now.

"Leave them alone!" The blonde wailed, her big blue eyes sad and filled with compassion. She truly was beautiful; some might even say the perfect woman. Thick blonde curls fell to the center of her back, some of it cascading over her shoulders. The pink gossamer gown she wore, which reached all the way down to the golden slippers on her feet, did little to hide the fact she only wore a skimpy bikini under it. She knew she had a great figure and loved to show it off. There was even a thigh high slit on the gown to better reveal her long legs. Now she stood with her bare arms crossed over her bosom.

"No! Why should I?" The woman in black leather snarled, her lips twisting up into a sneer. "I'm just having a little fun anyway."

"And I'm telling you to leave them alone! I went through lots of trouble to get those two together and you're going to spoil it!" The blonde wailed.

"Oh, like you're a real genius!" The black haired women rolled her eyes. "You're the airhead you always been. You got two men in love with the same women. Some Goddess of Love you are!"

The blonde's mouth dropped open. "That was an accident!"

"You can't stop me anyway." Raising her heeled black boot, Discord slammed it into the blonde's stomach. She laughed as Aphrodite tumbled to the hard floor, landing on her back with an oof. "Stay out of my way or you'll be sorry!"

"I'm going to tell Father on you!" Aphrodite threatened from her spot on the floor.

"Zeus?" Discord laughed. "He's little more than a pathetic mortal these days, hiding from Hera. But go run to Daddy. If you can find him!"

The Goddess of Love picked herself up from the floor, one hand to her stomach. Then she teleported out, pink rose petals twirling in the air where she had been.

"Hmmph!" Smiling, Discord walked over to a huge gray stone throne and seated herself, her arms resting on the wide armrests. She flicked her hand and a swirling vortex appeared in the air before her. Slowly an image formed in the vortex. It showed Elliot in his office, talking on the phone. Discord could hear everything he said. "How predictable."

Picking up a bowl of popcorn, Discord settled down to watch the drama unfold.

*****

As the day went on, Catherine grew more frazzled. She had spent a good portion of her lunch hour shaving her legs. And her feet. If the hair just kept growing back, she didn't know what she would do. So far it seemed to be limited to her legs and feet, but what if it spread? What would she do then?

She started to seriously consider that she had caught something from Vincent. Maybe it was because of their Bond they shared, that empathic connection. That could possibly explain why no one else living Below had ever contracted it from him.

Would she end up looking like him?

The thought sent a shiver down her spine. She knew what that would do to Vincent. It would rake him with immense guilt. She wanted so strongly to believe that it wasn't true, yet what other explanation could there be? She hadn't gone anywhere except Below, to work and the other usual places. She hadn't been out of the country or eaten any strange foods. No, the only thing that had happened was that scratch.

Then the phone rang.

It had been Elliot, of course. She had been dreading he would call since she had re-shaved her legs at noon. The image of his blood on her nails just wouldn't go away and she had worried she might have infected him. His panicked voice on the phone confirmed it, even though he hadn't mentioned it. Elliot was too smart to do that, for anyone could be listening. The last thing he needed was some scandal in the news. So they had set up an appointment for late in the day, after almost everyone had left the building.

Now Catherine stood outside his office door, trying to think how she would explain this to him. How to explain it without mentioning Vincent or the world Below? She couldn't break her oath of secrecy to Father. Too much was at stake. Not only Vincent's life, but all the others that relied on the tunnels as a haven from the too tough world Above. Perhaps she could stall him, tell him to take tomorrow off while she took this problem to Father? But what could Father do? Sure, he was a doctor but this was obviously something totally new. She couldn't expect him to have a cure she could carry to Elliot. Yet she had to tell the millionaire something.

Taking a deep breath, Catherine opened the door and stepped into Elliot's office. She paused in the doorway, the oblong of light brightening the dark office. Why were all the lights off? "Elliot?"

"Cathy? Oh, I'm so glad you came. Please come in and close the door." His voice came from somewhere in the office.

Catherine's pulse sped up. Elliot was acting like Vincent now, hiding in shadows! Her worry increased and the room seemed to grow too hot. How fast had the infection affected Elliot? Perhaps it worked faster on men since they were more hairy to start with? "Elliot, why are you sitting in the dark?"

"Please, Cathy. Just do as I say." The voice replied.

Sighing, Catherine closed the door, and then flipped on the overhead lights. Bright light flooded the room. She expected to find the millionaire sitting behind his big desk, but found him lying on the sofa he kept in his office. He threw his arm over his eyes, squinting at the sudden light. His hands were dark with black hair, as was his face. The factual structure, she noted, didn't change. He still looked like Elliot, although a very hairy Elliot.

He sat up, taking his arm away as his eyes grew adjusted to the light. "You don't look surprised, Cathy. And I know why. I know your secret now, your big secret."

Catherine gasped, her eyes growing wide. How had Elliot found out about Vincent? It just wasn't possible! "How?"

"Look at me!" Elliot cried, waving his arms about. "You think you can infect me and I wouldn't find out? You're a werewolf, Cathy, and you turned me into one!"

Catherine's jaw dropped, shocked at what Elliot had said. "Elliot, that's not true! I'm not a werewolf and neither are you."

"Then how do you explain this?" Elliot asked as he got to his feet and slowly walked to his desk. Picking up a newspaper, he shoved it at her. "And this? Some woman came to see me today about you. She said you were the one behind those slayings. I didn't want to believe her, but with all this hair and those sharp nails you have ... or should I call them claws? And yes, I have those claws now, too."

"Elliot, I feel terrible. I never meant for anything like this to happen." Catherine knew now how Vincent must feel when he took a life, for unless she could somehow find a cure, she had just destroyed Elliot's life. Unlike most people, the millionaire lived a very public life and was always in the news. Such a sudden change couldn't be kept secret for very long. She would be forced to take him Below, especially if any evidence of Vincent would show up in his blood. The world could have no proof or knowledge of Vincent's existence. "But you have to believe me I'm not a werewolf."

Elliot smiled, his blue eyes twinkling. "Cathy, I'm not angry at you."

"You're not?" asked Catherine, surprised.

"Of course not. You didn't do it on purpose." Elliot explained, still smiling. He moved closer to Catherine, the newspaper forgotten. "And I don't blame you for killing those scumbags, either. No doubt they attacked you and you only defended yourself. Besides, now that your big secret is out in the open, we can talk. And since we're both werewolves now, maybe we should get married and have some pups. What do you say? I mean, that's what werewolves have, isn't it? Pups?"

"No, Elliot. We're not going to get married because we're not werewolves!" Catherine told him, gripping his shoulders. She shook him a bit to get the idea across. The last thing she needed was for him to think he was a werewolf from the movies, invulnerable to everything but silver bullets.

"Oh. Then what are we?" He asked, confused.

"I don't know." Catherine admitted, thinking of Vincent. "But I just caught this thing myself. Someone I know scratched me and I think I may have caught it from him, passing it on to you."

"And what about the woman?" Elliot asked. "The one that was in my office, her hair black as a raven? She looked dangerous, Cathy. Dressed all in black leather with bits of silver. I think she was paid by someone to say things about you. She managed to get in here this morning without any one of my staff seeing her come or go. I don't know how she did it. And she knew about you scratching me, this hair and she said she knew your secret."

Catherine was shocked. How was it possible? Were they being watched? And did the woman know about Vincent? Somehow Catherine thought she did. In fact, she was sure of it.

And what if the woman was the cause of this? That made more sense than the idea of Vincent's uniqueness being contagious. And that, in turn, made her very dangerous.

Suddenly Catherine became aware of how very alone they were, how vulnerable. Around them the building was silent as a grave, everyone else having gone home hours ago. She gripped Elliot's wrist, pulling him towards the door. "We have to go. It's not safe here."

Before Catherine could take two steps, Discord appeared in a red sparkle of lights. Her lips curled upward as she spoke. "You're not going anywhere!"

Catherine and Elliot both gasped. One-second they had been alone, the next second she had been standing in front of them! They moved closer to each other, unsure of what to do.

"Who are you?" Catherine finally asked. Fear swept through her like a tidal wave. She knew it was traveling through the Bond to Vincent, but what could Vincent do against a person who could just appear out of the very air itself?

"I'm the Goddess Discord and you're worst nightmare!" She hissed at them, raising her empty hands. Twin beams of red energy shot out at the startled couple. Within seconds they were both trapped, the red lines of light holding them as securely as bands of steel as the light wrapped around their bodies numerous times. The only thing they could still move were their hands and heads.

"Why are you doing this?" Elliot asked, his curiosity above his fear.

Discord grinned. "I have bigger fish to fry and you're the bait." With that, Discord popped out taking both Catherine and Elliot with her.