Sweet Venom Arc

"The videos do not do her justice, Salem. I am in awe."

"Indeed they do not..." Salem's voice drifted away as his shell's optics locked onto the Molten Mistress' regal form. She was currently surrounded by admirers who had come from far and wide, ORG top list clients who had no doubt paid top dollar just to be in the same room as her. Her presence was unmistakable and completely dominating. She towered above everyone, her dreadlocks bounced and curled with her every movement, alight with dancing flames. Her dress was immaculate, black and daring and dangerous, clinging tightly enough to her body to show those tort, powerful muscles and more... obscene details, such as the enormous bulge that ran down the length of her thigh. Although they were technically concealed, there was little left to doubt in the room's collective mind, and the thin black fabric gave enough creative tapestry to leave people ever more hungry.

Just an hour ago, the Molten Mistress had been giving Salem an absolute earful. And now she was here, gorgeously dressed and flaunting her talents like butter wouldn't melt.

The entire hall was enthralled. It was as if a goddess had strolled into the room. Her aura demanded worship, and his patrons were close to granting it...

They were in one of the sweeping, grand halls within Sunset Rook's Diamond Plaza, reserved for only the most exclusive events. Glittering prismatic tiles spanned the length of the room, which was easily the size of two football fields. The walls were lined with glamorous seating pods with on-tap drinks of every variety, and food was just a flick of the hand away.

"Where did you say you found her again?"

Salem's company was a sharply dressed, well spoken marble fox. His suit was deliberately darker than his fur to help accent the few colours present in his natural palette, except for his red tie, which matched his eyes. He too was lost in Moltezz's presence but was trying to stay clear of her, keeping to the far side of the ballroom with Salem's stand in.

"Just outside of the DA borders on a derelict dreadnought. I dare say she was about two days away from being hunted down and nuked to hell and back. What a waste that would have been."

"That would've been tragic." The fox agreed. "For all of us."

"Indeed. She drove a hard bargain too, but... ahem, assets like these can afford to push for such bandwidth."

Salem's not-so-sly comment smuggled a devious grin onto the fox's face.

"How's her numbers doing?"

"Magnificently." Salem announced proudly, his words accompanied by a brief roar of flame from Moltezz's palm, the heat billowing through the room. It was almost as though she had heard him. "She appears to have skipped the shy millions and gone straight into the strong billions. I expect by the end of the year, she'll join the hall of a trillion famous."

"I know my clients are desperate for more." The fox murmured, taking a sip from his champagne glass. "God, I can't stop looking at her. She's just..."

"Incredible." Salem finished the fox's sentence. "I didn't think this type of woman would have such a wide appeal, but she appears to have struck a chord with the masses... or perhaps, started a fire?"

"Psh, puns do not suit you, Salem. Tell me you've had a chance with her yourself?"

"I have not." Salem replied shortly, the disappointment in his voice palpable despite his best efforts to conceal it.

"What?!" The fox visibly recoiled in shock. "That's... What's the situation here? That's not like you at all. You always, always get your hands on the latest product."

"I've not been physically present in the system for some time due to pre-arranged commitments. Besides, she... she only has eyes for one man."

The fox paused as Salem's frame jolted slightly on the spot. He'd revealed more than he'd intended.

"You... want more than something physical with her...?"

"It's not right to get involved in that way with such valuable assets."

"Right..." The fox's voice dropped low and he leaned in close. "But since when has that ever stopped us?"

"... Good point. Still. She's impossible to convince and only does what she wants. And she has never expressed a shred of interest in me."

"Hardly a surprise, Salem. Do I need to spell it out? It's because you haven't shown your face yet! You've already waltzed into her life once and... left a lasting impression. Do it again, but this time, actually show up. Hiding behind your suits will do anything but impress her. Besides, a woman of that magnitude, I doubt just one man will do."

"Hmm. Thanks, Milo. I appreciate the advice." Salem's subtle nod of thought came through his shell's posture.

"Don't mention it. Just promise to keep me in the loop. I want to be the first to hear about the immunity project. I need time with her too, or failing that, that sizzlingly hot bunny gal with the green eyes."

"Hah. Of course. You're not the only one waiting on that development." Both of their eyes fell upon the horde of fans flocking around the Molten Mistress. "Not by a long shot."

Just a few weeks ago, any other of these people would be the person. A high-flying CEO, a terra-corp chairholder, a merc company commander, a family business inheritor. They were the ones in charge, and they the ones adored, listened to and respected. But now? The Mistress commanded everything, everyone. It wasn't supposed to have been like this, mind you. Moltezz had been a last minute invite to the ORG social event, somewhere where she could network her products and get the Rewritten's name more known. After all, the stronger their brand was, the better.

But that had changed the second she entered the room.

This wasn't the Rewritten competing for marketspace, she'd already won that battle. This was the room, competing for her.

Even though the Mistress was known not to give compliments, nor even to be respectful of the attention she was given. She was outright dismissive of most, brushing off small talk and turning away from light conversation. She favoured directness. And strength.

She maintained a careful balance. Overeagerness was punished with a scathing glance. Direct, but not desperate. Forward, but not aggressive. Few had managed the balance, but those who had were rewarded with the Mistress' attention and a smile, much to the jealousy of everyone else. But they were learning how to play the Mistress' game.

But just as the room was beginning to melt, a commanding, sultry voice called out from behind the crowd, addressing Moltezz directly.

"This is pathetic. Salem's new toy thinks she owns the place. I'm just about done with you."

A tall demoness was standing at the back of the hall, leaning against the wall with her arms folded. She had a distinctly human, highly attractive face with a pair of tall black horns protruding from her temples. Her skin was a faded magenta, her face heavily made up with long, defining jet-black mascara and eyeshadow. Her white hair was pulled into a stylish long braid, tousled over her shoulder, contrasting boldly with her form-fitting sable dress and heels. Her smouldering plum eyes stared at Moltezz furiously. Normally she would have been the tallest in the room, with a slender but curvy frame that placed her comfortably into strider height, but the Molten Mistress towered above even her, as she did most people.

"Oh?" Moltezz raised an eyebrow, the room falling into a nervous hush as space cleared between the two dominatrixes. "What's this? The madam of yesterday feeling the heat already?"

"Yes I damn well am! It's like a sauna in here!" The demoness retorted, fanning her face. "All because of your stupid fire psyonics. I have products to embellish and your blimp of a figure is swanning around the room like you own the place."

"I do own the place." Moltezz smiled, glancing around at the crowd gathered around her. "Look around you."

The demoness rolled her eyes and pushed herself off the wall, strutting over to Moltezz without so much as a hint of fear or intimidation.

"Please. I've survived bigger gimmicks than you. But most have the sense not to piss off the one with the horns on their very first meeting."

"Gimmick?" Moltezz chuckled, resting one of her clawed hands across her chest. "Interesting way to describe your superior. What does that make you? The great-value mistress? The budget dominatrix for those with tight pursestrings?"

"I see you're uneducated as well. Expected. You've got more breast than brain." The demoness' eyes sharpened, her stare intensifying.

"And yet, more of both than you." Moltezz snickered, with the slightest, condescending cock of her head.

"Enough." The demoness retorted, flicking her arms out to her sides. Her flourish was followed by a bright flash of lilac light and a bright pair of translucent butterfly wings shimmered into existence behind her. Her clothes, eyes and figure twinkled with the same mesmerising hue, battling with the dancing flames opposite her. "I am Daedalust. And you will show me some respect."

The display seemed to halt Moltezz in her tracks, and the demoness tilted her head in the same fashion as the Mistress had prior.

"Ahh. Now you're paying attention." Daedalust smirked. "Rude, entitled women like you only stop when someone makes you stop. How about you show some decorum?"

Moltezz's eyes narrowed as the demoness continued her speech with a judgemental flick of her hair.

"You're bathing in the attention like a pig in mud. It's primitive behaviour and unbecoming of someone of your supposed calibre - ERK."

The demoness was forcibly choked out of her sentence as Moltezz spat directly into her mouth, a glob of saliva landing straight on the demoness' tongue. Before she could react, the Controller had snatched her by the mouth, pinching her cheeks between her claws and lowering herself so she was eye level with her competition.

"Swallow."

The demoness froze. She tried to force the spit out, but the tight pinching of her lips made only a defeated, undignified dribble possible. Her gaze met with the Molten Mistress', and a flush of heat rippled through her body. Her pride called out for any number of retaliations, but in that moment, there was only one thing that her body would let her do...

"Good girl." With her point made, Moltezz let the demoness go and stood to her full height again. "See? Was that so hard? Second place isn't so bad, is it?"

The other patrons began to back away. Daedalust said nothing, her eye twitching. Hands squeezed around champagne glasses nervously as shoes squeaked against the shining floor tiles, offering the two powerhouses as much room as they dared afford.

"You are... unbelievable." Daedalust finally spat, her lips curling in fury, showing a peak of her vampire fangs. Psyonic energy rippled over her skin, and the room shuddered. "I ought to reduce you to nothing but slag, but I'll have more fun breaking you into a mindless cuck!"

"I can't wait for you to try." Moltezz grinned tauntingly, rolling flames engulfing her arms. "Give me everything you've got."

One half of the room was alight with great, rolling flames, the other with crystalline lilac shimmers, drowning everything near their core in their glow. But as the psyonic displays intensified, Kay-Ex surged between the pair, throwing out her arms.

"Ladies! Please, you're damaging the floor!"

But the mistresses refused to disengage, staring at one-another in a beyond heated contest of will.

"Back off, alien!" The demoness growled, her voice distorted.

"You first, demon. It's only right you get a chance at first place, even if it is first to surrender."

The demoness raised her hands into the air, her psyonics intensifying further. Kay-Ex's chassis began to crack, the metal paint peeling off like wood shavings. The patrons around them backed away further as the sheer brightness became too painful to look at.

"I will not be humiliated by a newcomer on their debut!" Daedalust snarled as electrical crackles zapped between her limbs and wings.

"That ship has already sailed, demon. Every word that leaves your tongue has me all over it." The flames enveloping the Mistress suddenly absorbed into her skin then, a bright shimmering hue just beneath the surface. A vibrant, amber outline encompassed her entire body, and she a dark silhouette at its core.

"ENOUGH!" Kay-Ex shouted. A pair of nozzles unfolded from each of her forearms, pointed at both psykers. "You're putting our guests in danger and this display has gone too far!"

A jet of nulliphine blasted both of them straight in the face, sending Daedalust stumbling backwards, coughing loudly as her psyonics waned. But the damage had already been done to the room, tiles curled and buckled around her, blackened, peeling and scorched, much like Kay-Ex's chassis. On the other side of the room however, Moltezz stood completely unaffected, her body a dark shadow surrounded by her solar lining. The flooring under her was, surprisingly, relatively unscathed. She strolled forward towards Daedalust, brushing Kay-Ex out of the way as the bot attempted to spray her down with more nulliphine, but the orange gas swirled around her and burst into flames, fizzling out into nothing.

"You're an impressive subject, Daedalust. I admire your tenacity." Moltezz smiled, holding a hand towards her face. The demoness retreated backwards, coughing violently, her eyes briefly full of fear as her psyonics continued to flicker and fail.

A burst of flame roared from Moltezz's palm, engulfing Daedalust's head. The entire room erupted into hysteria for a brief moment as fear and confusion took hold, mostly from the demoness herself. But she appeared unscathed when the flames flickered out, her psyonics resolidified, and her wings reformed. The sticky orange dust blasted over her mouth was gone, allowing her to breathe clearly once again.

"Please. If we're going to show down, I mustn't have you hindered by such foul... trickery." Moltezz's face strunched in disgust before she refocused her attention back on Daedalust. The demoness slowly got back to her feet, watching Moltezz closely as the Molten Mistress offered her a hand. "I want to see you at your best." Her amused eyes flickered with a hint of suggestion, her grin softening ever so slightly.

Rolling flames blanketed the entire ceiling, setting off the sprinklers. sowing more chaos across the hall as the hiss and fizzle of water surrounded them. The panic was brief however; not a single drop of water hit the floor. Steam billowed and rose, the ceiling now a smokey orange backdrop for the Molten Mistress. With Daedalust's wings and lilac psyonics crackling around her, she was a beautiful splash of colour in the Mistress's display. A storming sunset...

Daedalust stared her up and down, her shoulders relaxing as a smile broke through her furious veneer.

"You are..." The demoness started, but quickly found herself lost for words. Her mouth hung open in the silence, and for a moment, she looked just as enchanted as everyone else. Finally she let out a shy giggle, and with a shake of her head, accepted Moltezz's hand.

A pleasant, warm breeze swept the hall as Daedalust's wings embraced Moltezz, wrapping around the two of them.

The room echoed with the thunderous rumble of applause from the audience as the pair disappeared in a flash of lilac light. As quickly as it had started, the entire display ceased. The only remnant of their encounter was the smouldering, blackened tiles where they had stood. Written in the ash was the demoness' signature, her name sprinkled with several love hearts...

A renewed sense of awe stole the room's affection. At the back, Salem and Milo both applauded, both utterly captivated.

"Like I said... she's just... amazing." Milo nodded, biting his lip as his imagination ran wild. "I only wish I could see what they're getting up to."

"Indeed. It's just a shame that they're no longer here." Salem uttered the last words with a significant undertone of frustration. He pointed straight at Kay-Ex and beckoned her over with a single, curling finger.

**Sunset Rook - Salvadore Plaza**

Anxiety gripped at both Bubblegum's and Plum's stomachs as the doors ahead of them rolled open. They were dressed modestly by their usual standards, with Bubblegum opting for a hoodie and jeans, and Plum a long summer dress. Their hands shyly felt for the other's, and gently linked as they stepped inside.

"What if we don't recognise her?" Plum asked quietly, her voice slipping away from her.

"No chance. Those eyes will stay with me forever."

Ahead of them was an open, classy space in Sunset Rook's working Salvadore Plaza, reserved for mid to high ranking agents to get on with whatever tasks they had assigned whilst visiting the station. It wasn't too dissimilar to Barru X, featuring an open dining area with plenty of shops and services, only sporting a substantially higher budget to splash out of expensive décor. Several comfortably-lit booths ran across the length of the far wall, along with a string of free-to-use market stalls for food. All in all, it was a generous, comfortable, inviting space which, currently, was rather quiet.

Their eyes landed on one of the booths, where a single elven woman was sitting, her back so stiff and upright against the leather cushion that it almost looked painful. Both their hearts rammed into their throats as they saw that emerald-sapphire sparkle of her eyes, even at this distance. She was flanked by two ORG enforcers, currently standing motionless at each side of the pod.

"You were right, that is absolutely her." Plum whispered, squeezing Bubblegum's hand tighter.

"Shall we?" Bubblegum replied, puffing her chest out.

She had always been a pretty woman, dressed in a devilishly sharp black and white suit, her short black hair slicked over to one side in a stylish emo fringe. She still wore her trademark necklace, a single silver coin on a dainty matching chain, where both sides were heads. Several layers of make-up adorned her pretty face, but it didn't look cakey or heavy; rather the opposite, it enhanced her eyes, easily the captivating feature on her. It appeared she'd changed her look just slightly since the pair had last seen her, as her make-up regime now featured faux black freckles dotted over her cheeks and under her eyes... those large, sharp, all-seeing eyes, swirling with a mixture of emerald green and sapphire hues, with all the glimmer expected of a gemstone. She glanced up as they approached, watching them with a serious but otherwise blank expression.

A goth elf pixie bitch... You haven't changed one bit, have you, Morista?

The warden of their past. Slim in figure and six feet tall, her appearance was flawless, as it always had been. They'd never known a single hair to be out of place on her, even when they'd been forced to watch her beating or electrocuting someone. Her confusion only seemed to intensify as Bubblegum and Plum sat down opposite her.

"I.... I didn't order czarites. Has there been a mix-up?"

"No." Bubblegum replied coldly, folding her arms defensively in front of her.

"We're here for your apology." Plum said, her voice as smooth and silky as always.

"Ohhhh! You must be..." The elf paused, threading her fingers together in front of her. Her quiet carried an air of expectation rather than thought.

"Plum and Bubblegum...?" Bubblegum raised an eyebrow, looking for any hint of recognition within the elf. But her eyes remained cold.

"Plum and Bubblegum!" Morista snapped her fingers. "Sorry, it seems obvious now you said it, can see why you picked them. You do look very different from the last time I saw you both. Much bigger. Much more impressive."

The elf took a few seconds to eye up both the Controllers, taking in their every detail, before drumming her fingers across the table and relaxing back against the bench.