Barcode: Legend of Apollo (44 page)

“Sure. I use my legs to do most of the feeling.” She blushes and then asks, “Could you kiss one? That would be the best moment of my life.”

I notice Michelle sending energy to her legs to activate them. To stop her, I shout, “Don’t turn them on. That could kill you right now.” That’s one problem, but I really don’t want her to sense Spencer’s dead body a few floors up.

“Oh. Even angels get scared when you’re about to die, huh?” Then she mocks me, “
Don’t turn them on!
”

As I reach towards her arms with the butcher knife, Antonio says, “What are you doing?”

“Cutting. Wanna try? Oh. No arms. Well, back to business it is,” I tease before bending down again.

“No idiot. I
can
cut them. Let me use the nanobots to reduce the blood loss.”

“Actually, I was going to use Shiva’s tuning to seal the wound as it cut, but nanobots sound less horrific.” A few thousand fly over her arms, and right before they cut I yell, “Wait!”

“What?”

“If they can cut, can they stitch?”

“Stitch what?”

“As you’ve noticed, I’ve got some skills with MIBS and can shift the blood. If they cut it fast enough, we can preserve the nerves and connect Hannah’s arms.” Turning to Michelle I say, “Her boobs might be two cups bigger. I can add those too if you want some enhancements.”

Michelle huffs, “I thought you loved me for who I am.”

“How’d you know I loved you?” I say, laughing.

“Oh. A girl knows,” she winks.

Antonio combines several nanobots to strike me in the rib. “Ouch.”

“Will you two stop flirting so we can save her life? We can’t combine her arms because they have god codes on them. Two hosts can’t live in one body.”

“Hey sweetheart.”

Michelle giggles, “Yes baby?”

“Would you mind me risking your life for a bit of experimentation?”

“I might die either way, right?”

“Right.”

“Let’s get this puppy on the road then,” she says with her voice sounding more powerful. Finally, her strength is returning. Her vital signs still seem low. If I cut her arms off, the additional trauma may send her into hypovolemic shock.

Antonio has the bots nudge me, “You don’t seem too sure.”

“Not at all,” I say before walking over to Hannah’s body one last time and chopping off her arms at the shoulder.

Michelle gestures to Antonio to pay attention to her, but he’s too busy being distracted with my barbaric methods. Eventually she shouts, “Hey hologram.”

“Antonio.”

“Yeah. Spanish accent guy. Why doesn’t that bother me?”

“It seems you’re being drugged by his blood.”

Michelle turns her head towards me as I bring the arms back. “But it didn’t bother me when I felt Spencer die either. Am I turning evil or something?” I’m stopped dead in my tracks wondering if she knows I killed him. Michelle, on the other hand, tries making a demonic laugh. “It doesn’t suit me.”

“You’re too sweet,” I say while resting the arms on each of her sides. “A bit crazy, but sweet.”

“We’re getting married one day cutie pie. Just you wait,” she says, shifting uncomfortably on the table. Suddenly, her vitals fall and she nearly flatlines.

I grab a fist full of nanobots and force them into my ear. “It’s not that I don’t trust you Antonio, but I don’t. I’ll control them from here.”

“How’d you know that would work? How do you know all of this?”

“Come on guy, you can access any street light, computer, or electronic device to hear recorded information on whatever you’d like. You’re very well aware that I killed you. Let’s stop asking stupid questions and I’ll begin the surgery.”

Michelle pouts again, “Wait. Angel guy. You killed the cute hologram? You can’t touch me until you apologize.”

“You’re dying. Plus, I don’t want to.”

“I don’t care. Apologize!”

Turning around, I say, “I’m sorry for killing you and my friends in the arena. I knew you were just hunting for Helios, but I couldn’t let you live.”

“That’s better,” Michelle says with a big smile. “Be gentle. Kay?”

I nod and Antonio speaks directly into my mind through the nanobots.

Why’d you turn against them?

It was my rights of passage as a warrior into the Payne family. To be a soldier in our family, you have to destroy an army. Though they pretend they’re innocent, my family’s no better than Helios. I didn't want to do it, but after Carmen said a few offensive things, I killed her like I did Spencer. Once she was dead, there was nothing stopping me from turning against the arena. I made myself into a monster in order to complete the task. It was like watching someone rip my own heart out, but it didn’t hurt.

I control the nanobots to remove Michelle’s arms, and she flatlines. I add Hannah’s arms as quickly as possible. It takes five minutes. Michelle’s had no heartbeat that entire time, but I continue talking to her as though she were alive.

“So here’s the deal cutie. I’m going to need your heart to start beating again. One, because Spencer would never forgive me if I let you die. Two, because you’re the second most beautiful girl I ever met. And I know Spencer still thought Hannah was cuter, but I got a thing for Asians.”

“She’s dead!” Antonio shouts, “Just give it up.”

“Loss of data and death are two different things. If she were dead, her data would vanish to be reborn again. Now, you should wonder, when someone
dies
why does their barcode stay for so long? They’re not dead, just waiting for someone to save them.”

“That means you could’ve saved Hannah!”

“I still can.”

I place my hand on Michelle’s stomach and use Shiva to tune the new blood and body parts with her organs. I even mend her pigmentation to make sure Hannah’s long arms match Michelle’s complexion. Michelle bucks so violently, she nearly throws me off.

With the most alluring face, she reaches up and holds onto my neck. If she’d known I killed Spencer, she would give me the death I deserve.

“You saved me after all,” Michelle asserts with a powerful voice.

“Sort of,” I say leaning closer to her face. “I still have to combine your codes.” I command the nanobots to outline Hannah and Michelle’s barcodes, which will soon solely belong to Michelle. The bots apply a glue to perfectly align with their tattoos.

“Hey Antonio,” I say as the little bugs finish. “I can also combine their memories because of the barcodes. I can even MMIBS their bodies. The outcome will be the strongest, sexiest goddess in the world with double-layered skin and organs, kind of like how Helios combined in the womb with his twin. Should I do it? She’d be one of the only people that could stand up to the tyrant in an all-out fight and possibly the sexiest woman alive.”

Tears finally swell in Michelle’s eyes. There’s the girl I know. She painfully awaits his response.

“Why are you asking me?”

“I hate playing god all the time. I need to put the pressure on someone else.” Antonio doesn’t respond. I continue pushing, “If I don’t do something soon, she’ll die.” Michelle tightly holds onto the surgery table.

“No. Don’t.”

“Why not?”

“Hannah’s…” Antonio nervously stares at the ground while stuttering, “Hannah’s already had her second shot and didn’t use it to the fullest. Michelle deserves a chance to make the best of her life on her own, without her thoughts and emotions competing against each other.”

“Exactly,” I say while cutting my thumb and painting my blood over her tattoos.

“Wait, you had already made your mind up?”

Turning around, I kiss Michelle’s legs before painting them. She joyfully taps my butt.

“Yup, but she needed to hear someone tell her why she deserves to live. Especially after this.”

Softly, she says, “Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me, just kill me when you get the strength.” She tries moving her arms, but I hold them down. “I don’t want you to spread the blood or your new tattoos won’t be as cute.”

“What did you do?”

“I would’ve done this for Hannah if I knew about the ability then, but once upon a time, a wolf-fox bit me in the woods. I spanked him and made him my pet. After a few weeks of training, I looked closely enough and noticed a barcode on his nose where my blood spilled. I went a little overboard and covered him with it, but he’s a hunting monster now and I love him. Anyway, Cerberus taught me that my blood can make tattoos. Right now, I’m creating new codes that will sync together. Athena and Atalanta’s data strength will continue running through your veins, but they’ll be powered by something better than current science. ”

“What’s that?”

“Me.”

Michelle laughs and says, “You really don’t believe in heaven or The Writer?”

“No,” I say while purposely forming tears. I bend over her face and say, “Heaven and hell exist only on Earth. The Writer’s supposed to be this all-knowing god that cares for us, but look at yourself. If he loved you, this wouldn’t happen. Gods are myths created by cowards too afraid to blame their mistakes and failures on themselves.”

“Even though you’re so morbid, I’m in love with your face. Oh. And those gorgeous eyes.” She seems spooked, “Are those barcodes?”

Her heart skips several notes as I press my nose against hers, and our lips connect. She tries to close her eyes, but they’re too mesmerized. After a few seconds, a few tears fall gently into her eyes.

Michelle breaks out into laughter and begins moaning passionately. I step off of her body and walk towards the exit.

“What did you just do?” Antonio asks before I leave.

“I gave her an intimate experience known only to the Ancient Egyptians.” Swinging around, I get thrilled knowing I have information that not even Antonio knows. “I studied the remains of the tombs whenever I got bored and would run away from home. Though the pyramids are destroyed, if you know where to go, you can enter the hidden chambers after some serious digging. I found data from the most evolved civilization ever. They would share their tears to reach heaven on Earth. Only very powerful
gods
can do it.”

“What is it?”

“A process when you create a Utopia for each other. Once the tears enter your mate, you both experience an eternity of pleasure within minutes.”

“Are you experiencing that now?”

“All I know is pain.” I bend down on one knee and stare at Antonio’s digital eyes, “You know what the worst pain known to man is?”

“Never knowing pleasure?”

“No. It’s leaving heaven for hell.”

As I walk away, Antonio leaves me with a parting message, “Okodemah, do know what your name means in Aeoy? How can you not believe in heaven and hell?”

Waving and closing the door, I say, “Michelle’s about to leave her eternity in heaven that she spent with me. We were married and enjoyed years of passionate love. There was no pain, only what feels like a thousand lifetimes of pleasure. What do you think she’ll feel when she comes back?”

As I exit, I hear a horrific scream that reminds me of my birth. The entire room rumbles and quakes. The wave of energy pouring from her body is strong enough to short circuit the nanobots. Even the three Antonio tried leaving in my brain. Slowly, I walk to the penthouse, where I’ll finally experience sleep.

Forty Four

Sitting. Twiddling thumbs. Sitting.

Seriously?

How long does it take this guy to get back home and check on his dead son? After waiting for two hours, the elevator opens and Dennis drags his bruised and broken body down the hall. I’ve made sure that the only lights in the penthouse are in the waiting room where I murdered Spencer.

Dennis drags himself into the space and stares at his son as he lies on a coffee table with his arms neatly folded across his chest. I’ve cleaned up the blood and a bit of the dirt. Once that was finished, all I had was waiting. Even Michelle managed to recover from the worst pain she’s ever experienced and make her way back to the room. Currently, she’s packing her things and searching for somewhere to go.

Dennis stares at my face, trying to figure out who I am. Eventually, he looks at my dreadlocks and Shiva. He knows.

“You killed him?” He asks while watching my hand and cheek attitude. It took him so long, I’m not in the mood to answer.

I nod my head and Dennis falls to his knees. He reaches out with his right hand to rub his son’s forehead.

I haven’t even opened my eyes yet. The world’s pretty black and white when they’re closed, but I can still see things for miles. I’d only used them in Tartarus when I needed to fight. That’s when the mask would try stealing my life. Nevertheless, I’ve grown accustomed to keeping them closed.

“I spoke to your father.”

I raise my head. I know they fought and talked for some time, but Dennis couldn’t kill him.

“I’m aware.”

“He said neither of you had anything to do with today.” I make a wavy gesture that suggests we didn’t, but did in our own way. “Why’d you kill my son?”

“Doesn’t matter.”

Dennis punches the ground and the floor nearly caves in. As though he changed the property of the ground, the foundation curves into his fist. Many of the couches slide towards him a bit, even the leather couch I’m sitting on moves.

“It does! Don’t tell me what matters. It matters.”

“I’m not telling.”

Dennis cries openly, “Blake said that Eve deceivingly gave Spencer information that would make you kill him. He guaranteed me that Spencer would already be dead when I’d gotten here.”

I nod. I heard their entire conversation. Most of it took place as I cleaned Spencer’s blood. Shrugging my shoulders, I hint that what he heard doesn’t matter.

Spencer’s dead. Why should he care about the reason?

“He predicted that I wouldn’t have to chase you down. You’d come find me.” Dennis repeats so much of what I already know that I stand up quietly to begin the bout, “Why do you want to fight? You’ve yet to throw the first punch during a match, and suddenly you’re ready to battle me?”

After a minute passes, Dennis stands. He’s aware that I’ve shut down and I want this to end. I only hope he’s as strong as the rumor promotes.