Becoming Monsters is the creation and property of Ai Loves, setting used with permission.

  Gooey once again shows up from Stay In Vegas, idea from Moonwing.

  Reina Ruddertail is in fact my wife’s character. Everyone say hi!

  —

  Chapter 23: Equal and Opposite Reaction

  “I gave you plenty of chances to solve this. You didn’t, and it put at least one student life at risk.”

  “We are working on it.”

  “No, you aren’t. You, along with at least two others you could call directly about it, could have stopped this evening from happening. You didn’t want to solve it because Bradley is a statistical outlier, he makes the school look good.”

  “I do not like your tone, professor. What exactly are you trying to say?”

  “I’m saying that you have set a direct problem in front of me, and I am going to solve it now. My way.”

  “Bradley… and his Order Leader, for that matter… are not exactly the types to respond to a talk. You, on the other hand, are not the type to punch a lesson into someone.”

  “Those two statements are true. Thankfully, they are not the entirety of the statement. Knowing him, you have about twelve hours before Bradley does something even more stupid than before. Maybe eighteen. When he does, I will be there with the solution on hand. If you don’t want to see that, you have until then to stop it.”

  The st thing Dean Hightower saw as the visitor left the office was the tip of the man’s tail.

  ***

  Todd opened his eyes. He was in a very comfortable bed with a very comfortable Succubus in his arms. It had to be in his dreams, his dormitory bed was not nearly this big or this soft. May’s boobs, pressed against his chest as they cuddled, were exactly as big and soft as usual. “You know, we’ve been doing this every night for a bit, and I’m still not quite used to how ‘in your dreams’ is way more literal for you.”

  May startled slightly. “Uh, that’s new.”

  “What do you mean by that?” Todd was genuinely puzzled. “I just said we’ve been doing this nightly for a bit.”

  “I didn’t actually activate it this time. Just slipped on in.” She had a look of focus on her face, wracking her brain for any piece of knowledge which could tell her why that was.

  “If you don’t know why, then I guess we just need to add it to the pile of research we need to do. Tomorrow, after exams. No use stressing about it right now.”

  May looked him in the eyes. “Since when are you the one to say not to stress about something?”

  “I just had a near-death experience a couple of hours ago. If there is a tank beled ‘stress’ somewhere in my brain, it is plenty full right now. I don’t even pn to walk over to the cssroom section, tonight I just need to rest.”

  “You’re in Literature and World History tomorrow, right? Want me to ask you some questions about what I remember from st year?”

  “That sounds fun, actually.” Todd smiled. “Go right ahead.”

  And so she did.

  ***

  “Good freaking GRIEF, what the heck level of detail is that man expecting of us?” Tiny the Gargoyle was the one griping, at right about 10:30 the following morning. He, along with Todd and Corey, were leaving World History’s initial pcement exam.

  It had not been a gentle handling, and at least twice Todd knew he’d not have even heard of the names involved if not for the rather pyful quizzing May had given him overnight. It didn’t matter how good his memory was, if he’d never seen anything about someone he couldn’t even begin to answer questions about them. There was a lot he knew he had exactly a 25% chance of having gotten right, due to there only being four choices avaible. Idly, Todd wondered if his steadily-climbing Luck score would help with that. Or maybe it already had, given that May had in fact helped him study st night. It didn’t help that everything felt too real this morning. Like all of his senses and his control over himself were over-tuned for some reason. “Like I was telling the dies yesterday, I don’t think they were testing us for our level. They were testing two and three levels up to see if we could pass it, making us earn that free progress.”

  Corey ughed harshly, though it was hard to tell if it was his mood or just his vocal cords. “Free. Sure. Call it that, the way we are earning that is harder than just doing it the normal way by far.”

  “Okay, maybe ‘free’ was the wrong word.” Todd shrugged. “Maybe ‘fast’ is the better one. Either way, the next step is going to be lunch. Don’t know about you two but I’m both starving and I’ve got a Literature exam in two hours.”

  Tiny facepalmed, a process somewhat louder than if either of his friends had done so. “Urgh, you had to remind me that I wasn’t done today. Okay. You’re right, let’s eat. Just gd these are done for now after today.”

  A different voice came from behind them. “Hey, Todd! Wait up!” The three turned to find Gooey the Gss Slime running up. Well, as much as he could run, anyway. “So! Uh, wild night st night, huh? Wanted to give you your pay out for the bet from the other day, but rules were that I couldn’t and then we kind of got distracted.”

  Todd grinned at the rambling tone. “You know, as reasons for deys go, those are some of the better ones. How’s your girlfriend? She looked like she wasn’t exactly enjoying things st night.”

  “Sienna is fine, don’t worry. Just not used to that kind of sp, you know? The whole thing really got her going, too, she…” Gooey seemed to realize he was about to overshare. “Uh, she didn’t mind. Actually, speaking of girlfriends. Yours, how is she doing?”

  “May’s good. Had a long talk with her, it helped.”

  Gooey looked at the other two. “Uh, kind of awkward, but can I ask you something? Privately?”

  Corey shrugged. “No skin off my beak, as long as Todd’s good with it.”

  “Yes, I’m good with it, but your beak doesn’t have skin.” Todd grinned, the opportunity for jokes too good to pass up.

  The corners of Corey’s mouth, at the edges of that beak, quirked upwards. “So I shall lose none of it. Tiny, you coming?”

  “Sure. Don’t forget to feed yourself, Todd.” The two turned and left.

  There weren’t any other students close by. A couple in the distance seemed to notice who they were and choose a different route. Gooey either didn’t notice or didn’t care. “So… May… is that a nickname? I think I recognize her.”

  “Nickname? Uh, I never asked. That’s what she introduced herself as.”

  The Gss Slime’s expression was very difficult to read, mostly due to the fact that he was transparent so the individual features were hard to make out. “Do me a favor? If her name is Maya del Oro, tell her Heath says hi.”

  “Uh, sure.” If he wasn’t being so earnest, it would have come off as creepy. “Thanks again, both for the bet and the help yesterday. What was that thing you charged?”

  “Oh, that. Null Ray, my main attack. I did some Delver work back in Vegas, that’s how I’d handle major threats.”

  “Don’t bme you for charging it, then. Bradley looked like he really wanted me dead by the end of all of that.”

  “Todd, I need you to understand that it wasn’t just appearances. I’ve seen that look before, on the back streets of home. If he catches you alone in a dark alleyway, you’re not walking out of it. Now, I gotta go get Hush. You take care, okay?”

  “Will do, and you too.” The two went in different directions. Todd found his friends at the cafeteria. Ghata, Song, and Jem were chatting with Tiny, Corey, and Chester when he walked up. The seven of them commiserated as they ate, trading tips and warnings or reviewing fsh cards and phone notes. Eventually, arms went off on a couple of their phones, and the seven also went off in their own separate directions. Todd walked with the three dies over to Literature, feeling significantly safer in the fact that he was not alone. Still, no incidents decided to happen on the way.

  Not that it was all that comforting to the four of them when they got to their Literature exam. It was not any kinder than any of the others had been. This time around, even Todd mostly figured that he wasn’t getting to skip any csses on the topic. He could be thankful, though, that as a math major there would be a limited number of literature csses in his future.

  When he turned in his test, the teacher’s assistant asked him to leave the exam room. He was less sanguine about that part, especially since he was the first one done. It was with both relief and trepidation that he found he was not actually alone when he stepped into the hallway. Standing outside of the cssroom doing some kind of standing stretching was a Fox Beastkin, colored bck with glowing blue markings tracing over much of her body. “Megan, I was not expecting to see you here.”

  “It was deemed worth the disruption to my training. Timothy wanted to talk to you again, please follow me. He is close.” She immediately started walking down the hallway, clearly expecting him to follow.

  Todd debated following her, but the thought of standing in the hallway or walking out alone convinced him that he might want to at least go hear him out. He had to take off at a bit of a trot to catch up, especially when Megan opened a door to go up some stairs instead of leaving the building. Two flights of them, at the exact same (and rather swift) pace she had been moving down the hallway.

  At the top, she took two more turns and stopped at a door. Once she verified that Todd was near, she knocked twice. From inside, a low woman’s voice answered “one moment.” Perhaps thirty seconds ter, the door opened. Just inside was the bck Tiger. She looked over her shoulder and nodded, then let Todd in. They left him alone with Tim.

  “I will say I didn’t take you for the type to go around making the big dogs mad, but I guess I should have figured.” Tim began with no preamble, sitting at a random desk in the cssroom.

  Todd stayed standing. “I’ll note for the record it wasn’t my idea.” He sniffed a bit, a very particur and familiar scent in the air. Sex. Tim had been screwing the Tigress, probably as they walked up.

  “Nobody ever says it is. Still, you seem to be doing well. Better than when we met yesterday, even.” Tim smiled very slightly, feeling his observation was likely important.

  It didn’t seem that way to Todd, but then he noticed something. He really was doing better. He’d been feeling like things were a bit too sharp, a bit too responsive all day. It might not actually be a problem. Maybe it was Reflected Glow, but he didn’t know for sure yet. “If you say so. I’d rather not repeat st night any time soon. I don’t always have more than a dozen friends and allies on hand to jump in and intervene.”

  “Too true. So, have you made any progress on my request?”

  “Tim, no offense, but since we st spoke I’ve been dealing with both exams and near-death experiences. I didn’t even stop studying while I was asleep.”

  Tim canted his head slightly to the left. “You don’t seem the type to let that stop you. Your reputation is that you’re always gathering data. Was I incorrect?”

  Todd looked up at the ceiling. “No, you’re right. So far I’ve eliminated two potential Css Ability sources here on Campus. One wouldn’t work with your dominated servants, the other I’m not sure exists here. Only one I know would work for you, potions, but you said that would still be prohibitively expensive. But you didn’t ask me to tell you what doesn’t work.”

  “Too true. Still, worth checking. Do you have any exams left this week?” Tim’s tone was perfectly genial, and combined with the fact that he was still sitting rather politely at a school desk made Todd feel strangely like he was being interviewed.

  “Nah, I’m done. Megan found me right after my st one for today, and I don’t have any one-a-week csses this semester. You knew that already, though.”

  Another quirk of Tim’s head. “What makes you say that?”

  “She knew where to find me, and when, and so did the Rabbit yesterday. That means either you know my schedule or they do, which means you do either way. You’re hiring me for my brain, please don’t insult my intelligence.”

  Tim ughed, a strangely even and level kind of chuckle. “You are right, of course. That is all I wanted to talk about, though. Do you have any questions for me?”

  “I don’t.”

  “Excellent. Do me a favor and tell the dies they can come back in on the way out?”

  Todd didn’t really want to stick around and argue the point, so he just took the opportunity and left. Megan and the Tiger were not far away, at the top of the stairs, going through what looked like a slow and careful fight with each other. What the purpose was, Todd didn’t know, but when he let them know they could go back both did immediately and without hesitation. He was alone. Time to get moving. The conversation had him really wondering about a lot. Down some stairs, out the door, and headed to the nearest significant popution of students. The quad, where things would be more public. Nobody was close by at the moment, but maybe he’d be more covered once he got there.

  First things first. Status screen. If Reflected Glow was working, he should be able to see it in his Ten when he looked… and there it was. His Luck had been 18 after he put a point into it the day before. It was 19 now. Whatever else was true, he was in fact doing better in a statistical sense. He just hadn’t put two and two together since he’d fallen asleep with May right after they’d shared in each other’s bodies. Wake up, exam, lunch, exam? No wonder he hadn’t taken stock. That was good, though, he’d need to figure out all of the mechanics but it would be a good edge to have.

  And it’s not like you’ve gone 24 hours without sex since coming here, have you?

  There was a fp of wings overhead, a student was trying to get somewhere. Todd was occupied in thought and didn’t look up, but the answer became apparent rapidly. There was a crash like a meteor had struck the Earth, and he found himself sent sprawling into the grass by the force of the wind at the point of impact. The first thing he felt as he struggled to stand was the heat. Like someone had brought out a rocket-powered space heater and left it on full bst just a few feet away. That could only mean one person, and Todd turned to look as he regained his footing.

  More than eight feet of ebon darkness stood there, wings spread wide. The powerful form of Bradley the Greater Demon was there. “Going out alone was stupid of you, Todd. Now you don’t have any of your buddies around to stop me. I think it’s time to finish our little chat.”

  “The number of people wanting little chats with me today is astounding, Bradley. I still do not want a fight. May is her own woman, and she can make her own decisions about who she wants to be with.”

  “That person just doesn’t get to be you.” Bradley looked around. There were a couple of people in line of sight, but they were distant. Coming this way, but distant. “Looks like we get a couple minutes. Plenty.” Two steps in, and Todd leapt to the side to dodge one enormous fist. Nobody was more surprised than him when he succeeded, but that couldn’t st.

  Bradley’s body was too big to turn around quickly, but he didn’t have to. One enormous wing fpped outward and delivered a stunning sp to the shocked nerd trying to not die. It was enough to send him sprawling again. Before he could regain his feet, Bradley delivered a kick straight to his left ribs, tumbling Todd over on the grass. “Pathetic. You barely got one dodge in you and now you’re a rag doll.”

  The pain in his chest was incredible in both its sharpness and variety, but Todd felt like he could stand. The kick had sent him flying rather than caving in his ribcage. That meant he was alive, but it wasn’t all that much consotion as he coughed. “That’s… you got me. Two good hits.” He coughed again, the muscles around his lungs feeling like they were on fire. “We can be done. You got yours.”

  “You wish, twerp. You can still stand, so I’m not done with you.” The giant Demon stood tall over the small, skinny nerd in front of him.

  Todd couldn’t respond, desperately looking for any way out. Thankfully, from behind Bradley came a baritone voice. “Oh, I think you are.”

  The demon turned. Behind him were not one but two figures. One was the speaker. Standing at a hair over five and a half feet, his b coat, gsses and whiskers straight, was Professor Otterly. Beside him was another Otter Beastkin, her fur a lighter tan color. She wore a bck hoodie despite the midafternoon sun, gsses, and well-worn jeans. Her hair was in a blue headscarf. She spoke, quietly. “Is this who you were talking about?”

  “Yes. Bradley Smithson, a student here. And as you can see, a problem.” His expression and voice were absolutely level, as if giving a particurly boring lecture.

  The demon growled. “We aren’t in your cssroom, Professor. Don’t interfere.”

  “I am quite aware of where we are, Bradley. Now, I would like to introduce my wife, Reina. She will be helping me give you a bit of… let’s call it tutoring this afternoon. Love, if you would please get ready, we will begin shortly.”

  Reina pulled on a pair of gloves then pulled off her hoodie, and underneath she was in a white athletic top. More importantly, though, Todd could see the tracery of glowing blue tattoos that had been hidden. He recognized them instantly. The marks of a Mesmer’s power.

  Wait, is Professor Otterly controlling her? No, that’s not right. He’s a Teacher not a Mesmer. Then what is going on…

  Bradley had turned fully towards the duo. “Teach me a lesson? Me? Back off or you’re going to be short a wife, little man.”

  “Ah, there it is. Alright, there are two components to this bit of instruction.” Professor Otterly was in full lecture mode. “The first is legalities. See, intervention to rescue a student from bullying can be an odd gray area. You, however, decided to threaten her life, so it no longer is. Now, for the second part.”

  Reina had taken a martial artist’s fighting stance, and another detail became apparent. One that Todd hadn’t noticed while distracted by the magic and the pageantry… and the bruises. The hoodie had been hiding much more than tattoo lines, she was athletic and fit to the point that it seemed her trim muscles were cut from marble. The view sted only a few moments before she dashed forward. Bradley was caught entirely off guard, and a half-second ter her right fist came forward in a perfectly straight punch that brought it precisely to Bradley’s sor plexus.

  From Bradley’s reaction, the contact had not been a mere warning shot. His breath explosively left his lungs, his wings fring out for bance. He gasped for air as Reina lightly hopped backwards, halfway to her husband. Otterly kept talking. “There are some fascinating applications of Race and Css sciences at py right now. You see, my wife does not like her Css’s propensity for dominating others, and chose to build her choices to focus inward. She is in complete control of herself right now, much more than I could hope to exert over my own body. Or you over yours.” Bradley had regained his feet and brought his fists up in a boxer’s guard. He leaned in, but as his coiled muscles began to unleash the professor called out “number two!”

  Bradley charged forward, his own right fist coming down at Reina’s head. What it struck was the ground as she smoothly spun out of the way. Her tail struck Bradley across the face as she stepped forward alongside the extended arm, but her left leg shed out in a vicious side kick. The target this time was his elbow. With a sickening crunch, the joint inverted. Bradley screamed, a sound of pain instead of rage this time, and Reina hopped out of his reach once more.

  A crowd had started to gather, but more students came running, flying or teleporting as fast as their various means of movement would allow. The corner of Otterly’s mouth quirked up in a suppressed smirk. His eyes began to glow slightly as he consciously invoked his own powers. “I have long since given up on teaching you with words, Bradley. No, this lesson has to be a bit more direct. You see, a combination of the Beastkin body’s tendency to respond well to training, her own rather thorough control of herself, and my own instruction meant that her conditioning program could be significantly more effective than usual. Come on, Bradley, I thought you were supposed to be the big, bad, Greater Demon Brawler here! You’re up against a housewife! She uses her Mesmer abilities to keep up with three children and homemaking most days, not to beat up students for their lunch money!”

  The Greater Demon turned towards the professor, not caring about his actual challenger. With a wordless roar he lunged forward, left arm extended forward and wings propelling him. He made it nearly halfway there before Reina seemed to fly forward, aiming another kick at the joint where his right wing connected to his back. It, too, gave way with another sickening crunch. “My husband is talking. You will not interrupt.”

  “Thank you, love. Now, to finish the lesson.” He was looking at the greater Demon spyed out on the ground, writhing in pain as two of his six extremities had been reduced to clusters of bone splinters and torn muscle instead of functional appendages. “By all rights you should be dominating this fight, Bradley. You are equal level, twice her size, of a much more powerful Race and much more dedicated combatant Css. But you aren’t. You have spent three years being the biggest and nastiest customer on the block and learned NOTHING. I know your tricks, and taught them to her, like I am teaching them to this entire crowd right now. You are nothing, Bradley, and now that’s public knowledge.”

  Todd tore his eyes away from the proceedings and looked around. They were very much not alone. More people were gathered now than had been when the Greater Demon had gotten into his fight with Lucas. All of them were receiving this bonus lesson straight from the Otter’s mouth. If a fight like this had happened in a back alleyway, there would have been rumors. Now, those rumors would be backed by cold, hard facts. Facts indelibly written into the minds of several hundred observers. There was a flicker, a fsh, and the four in the circle were no longer there alone. Two more had joined them. One was a silver and gray Protogen. Lucas, sabers already out and ready. The other was a seven-foot winged man, half shining white and half onyx bck. It was this tter who spoke. “Professor Otterly, I did not expect this.”

  “You should have, Mr. Deleon,” the instructor returned. “I did, after all, and you should have known him better than I. I’m afraid your own grade for leadership and discipline is taking a bit of a hit today, but I have hopefully rectified the situation.”

  Michael Deleon, Nephilim and Order Leader of Alpha Omega, looked at the form of the demon on the ground. “You realize the consequences for things like this. You’re a professor, not a secret agent.”

  “I’m aware. Most likely, I will be on a leave of absence for a while. Hopefully paid, but I do have some savings for the alternative.” Professor Otterly’s tone carried not the slightest tinge of regret. He turned to look at the student he had intervened to save. “Todd. I don’t know how long I’ll be out, but do me a favor and continue the extra assignments I gave you. They will be due once I get back.” He turned back to the Nephilim. “Have your people either transport Bradley to the hospital or call an ambunce, but this matter is settled one way or the other. Do not let me hear of reprisals against the victims. Reina?”

  The tan Otter’s tattoos had faded, she had put her hoodie back on and removed the gloves. “Yes, love?”

  “I need to go to the main administrative building for this one. Care to come with me?”

  “Sure thing.”

  The two turned and walked off, the crowd parting to let them through before beginning to disperse.