Children of a Lesser God

Chapter 279: Operation Begin

Despite Ruby's inital threat... she didn't carry it out for a number of reasons.

Most of those reasons being Laz.

Had he not been there, she probably would have done exactly what she said and much more. But for the sake of his journey, she decided to step back, if only slightly.

While Ruby didn't shove her boot exactly where she said she was going to, that didn't stop her from quickly vanishing from sight, appearing behind Jennia, grabbing her hair and kicking her in the ass. The force of the blow was so immense, Jennia felt her entire lower body go out from under her as her body crashed to the floor on her back. Then, before she could even move, a boot was pressed down on her neck, causing her to be unable to move or barely even breath.

Ruby just looked down on her, but interestingly, there was no anger or even disgust on her face. Ruby might have let her emotions get to her briefly thanks to a certain someone, but she quickly regained control. This girl on the floor underneath her was basically an ignorant sheep that wandered into a den of wolves thinking that she too was a wolf. Ruby didn't think ignorance was an excuse, but for her man, she could take a step back.

That step back being a step off Jennia's neck.

Ruby leaned down, fixing her dress as she did so. She had some black shorts on under the dress, but it was a self conscious thing.

"Now then. Where we are going, your mouth is going to be as useless as these huge tits," Ruby said, poking Jennia's chest.

"Maybe in a controlled environment, you could score a few hits on a decent opponent, but in a real fight, you won't even see it coming. And where we are going, it's kill or be killed. And you won't even see the strike that takes your life. So never lower you guard. And if by some fucked up bit of luck you actually get out of this alive, work on those flabby arms and legs of yours. Your only hindering your own potential by not working to your fullest."

With that last bit of advice, Ruby walked over to where Laz was standing. He didn't really have an expression on his face, but he had been feeling pissed that someone would insult Ruby like that.

Seeing Laz in a bit of a foul mood, Ruby just stood right in front of his, wrapped her arms around his head and kissed him, tongue and all. It went on for a good minute until Malene, fake coughing, caused them to stop. In response, Ruby stuck out her tongue at Malene who did the same back. Laz couldn't help but chuckle at how cute they liked to be sometimes.

While Laz was amused, Aaron and Cal where horrified and even Jennia had forgotten to get up. For her, it was a bit better since she was only horrified by how fast and dangerous Ruby was. Even now, after having been knocked down, she couldn't figure out how Ruby had gotten behind her. Jennia had always done well in Aaron's training sessions and there was barely anyone here, at least among the Vodun, who could challenge her. But now, this girl she had never met before, was able to take her out as easy as that. Part of her was pissed, but the part of her that respected strength was amazed.

The ones who took Jennia's lost the hardest was Aaron and Madam Cal. And what they took hard wasn't Jennia being beaten since that was a given. It was that Ruby didn't kill her, not that they wanted to see that happen. They had planned to jump in the moment they detected killing intent, even if they had to beg Laz to intervene. What they thought would happen was that Jennia would figure out who Ruby was and back off since they had informed all of their members about certain people that you didn't want to go against. But it seems like Jennia didn't get the message.

Strangely, at no point did Ruby seem like she was going to kill the mouthy girl. And in fact, she looked pretty harmless while flirting with Laz. They had already been amazed by Laz's relationship with Malene, but this was almost more than they could handle. Ruby's reputation was something that had been proven time and time again. She didn't take shit from anyone. She wasn't what one would call a hot head, but Ruby did have a tendency to over react.

Luckily, the leader of Blood Moon could control her and she was respectful of the leader of Black Rose. If not for those two people, Ruby's body count would have been a lot higher.

But now, this girl who would return even the hint of aggression with an ass beating to show her dominance, was acting like a kitten in front of Laz. Aaron was almost tempted to ask how he did it, but with his wife standing next to him, he quickly realized there were less painful ways to die.

"Well then... um... I guess now would be a good time to arrange some sparring... does anyone want to volunteer?" Aaron cleared his throat to get everyone's attention and asked.

The responses were lacking after having seen Ruby rip apart one of the strongest people in the room.

Seeing this, Laz took a step up.

"Dwayne, come on over," Laz said.

"No way in hell bro," Dwayne responded back..

"I'm not going to hurt you," Laz said, not knowing whether to laugh or cry at his attitude.

"I ain't worried about you. I'm worried about..." Dwayne trailed off after seeing Malene and Ruby look at him as though wondering just what he was going to call them.

"... those fine ladies of yours..."

"Right. Ok. Look. These two won't be fighting any of you. Neither will I. You all can fight with each other and get some tips and pointers from both of them. Most of you have had training depending on which group you belong to, but these ladies can help you with using your abilities to the fullest. I will be helping out as well. This will be very different than just regular fist fighting," Laz said. He didn't know the girl's wanted to do this until the ride over when they mentioned they would help with it.

"Ruby Snake and Spirit Girl giving tips?"

"That's fucking awesome."

"I want Spirit Girl to evaluate me. I wonder what she will think about my spiritual abilities?"

"Fuck that. A few tips from the Ruby Snake on how to kill quickly is what I am after."

The people in the crowd who did know who Ruby and Malene were spoke to each other almost immediately, causing them to be question by those who didn't know. Of those that didn't recognize the faces, they all knew the names however and quickly understood.

This included Jennia who now looked amazingly pale as she tried her best to not look at Ruby.

Laz was actually the one most in the dark about the two of them.

"Ruby Snake and Spirit Girl? Really? The fuck kind of superhero names are those? And when did we start giving out super hero names?" Laz asked, looking from side to side while both girls fought back a smile.

"We didn't come up with them."

"Yeah, Kennedy was especially pissed when that was what we started being called. But how the hell do you hide things like that these days?"

"Someone coined the terms and they stuck. Mostly it's because they don't know our real names and it's probably better that way."

"It's the only thing that kept our dear sister from going on a murder rampage."

"Does Kennedy and Leona have names then?"

"Oh yeah,"

"Yep, although Kennedy is hardly ever seen out and about, there have been a few times."

"And the impact she made on people was astounding."

"So... you're not going to..."

"Nope."

"No way. More fun this way."

Laz realized that the one hard part about being in a relationship with several women was that he would always and forever be outnumbered.

"The price you pay..."

"What?" The girls asked in unison.

"Nothing..."

"Alright. Pair up and the girls and I will be watching. We can only do three matches at a time, but that way we can give our insights on those we are observing," Laz said, taking control. This wasn't something he would normally do, but once again, in the car ride, the girls suggested this. They also assured him they would be backing him up so that he could have the courage to.

Everyone in the room knew Laz for one reason or another, but most people were interested in getting Malene's and Ruby's help. Due to this, the que lines for them were much longer.

Laz didn't mind and everyone got to work.

As the time progressed, Malene and Ruby were able to help individuals with ideas about their abilities and some people even got in line for Laz. What they found was that he was able to help them out just as well as the ladies could.

Everyone benefited immensely from this exchange and new friendships formed among the various groups.

This was exactly what Laz, Aaron and Madam Cal wanted to see. Had Freya been here, Laz was sure she would have approved as well, a fact that her assistant confirmed after she had fought Dwayne under Laz's observation.

As the day progressed, food was brought in at various points as everyone felt far more relaxed. A lot of the people gathered had actually forgotten what it was which brought them here in the first place.

But that wasn't meant to last.

Around five in the evening, Aaron had a few of his guys go and get the suits he had promised and brought them in. Then, hanging up a few blankets for privacy sake, everyone proceeded to change as the mood became somber.

"I'd really like to know where you ended up getting all of these military uniforms from," Laz said, straightening his clothes. They were all field suits and in good condition. Even better was that they were all pretty much the same with a huge selection of sizes so there was extra left to spare.

"With enough money, you can get anything. But this was the easy part. The hard part will be the rune you have to draw," Aaron replied back.

"True." Laz didn't mince words.

"Alright everyone. This is it. Your last chance to back out now. Once we get going on our way, you are locked in no matter what," Laz called out, getting everyone's attention. Laz had to give credit to both Aaron and Freya as their people looked to be the most calm and determined. In contrast, although the people from the council were staying stoned face on the surface, Laz could detect their racing heart beats and stressed breathing.

Laz asked the question, but no one stepped forward. It seemed like even though some were nervous, they were all in.

"Alright. I need groups of ten to stand in front of me," Laz said, ordering them to line up. The total number gathered was around thirty five so there would be a total of three groups plus a few. That wasn't counting Laz or Ruby though.

Laz had to hand it to Ruby. Even in military dress, her beauty stood out.

The first group of ten finally stood in front of Laz, not sure what was happening. Aaron, Madam Cal and Dwayne had been a part of the talks, but for everyone else, this was something new.

Malene was even recording Laz's actions.

Laz circulated his energy and raised his finger, causing the black flame to appear as though his finger was a match. Normally, Laz would start writing in the air as soon as he summoned the flame, but he was trying something new this time. As his energy became more and more dense despite being unable to advance, he noticed that the more concentrated it was, the more he could bring out at one time. In this instance, he was about to use it like ink, so he was making sure there was enough in the pen.

Drawing the almost N shape in the air, Laz mumbled Halgalz to himself while picturing the rune. He didn't need to name it, it just helped him to focus.

As the rune took shape, the air itself seemed to distort as the power of his black flame spread out. Those gathered in front of him couldn't help but step back.

Just as it seemed like Laz would loose control, he waved his hand, causing the rune to split into ten, equal copies that rushed towards their intended targets. Even if they wanted to avoid it, it was too late.

Not that anything bad happened. Instead, the rune merged with the ten people and disappeared. Not only that, but their overall presence seemed to dim and diminished. Even though the ten of them were standing right there, it was hard to spot them unless you looked right at them.

This was what Laz had intended.

"Amazing..."

"Damn..."

"Fucking awesome bro."

They had seen it before, but this showed a level of control that no one had imagined was possible. Perhaps in several years this kind of thing would seem natural. But for all those gathered today, it was a first unlike any other.

"It's like a group buff or something," someone pointed out, causing almost everyone else in the room to nod their head in agreement.

"Excellent baby."

"That's my man."

Only Malene and Ruby really understood what this meant in terms of actual fighting. Since Laz had now proven that 'group buffs' were a thing, they would make sure to do everything possible to use it as well. This was a mindset instilled in them by Kennedy.

'Strength is king.'

As for Laz, it took a bit out of him, but it was pretty small in comparison to his overall energy. Had he done each one separate, it would have taken a lot more energy and a lot of it would have been wasted. He had thought it was like filling a pen with ink, but it more felt like he was just using a stamp.

Before long, all thirty five people along with Ruby and Laz had been stamped with the rune, disrupting their presence.

"From this point on, Laz is the commander of this operation. You either listen to him the first time or I shoot you myself, is that understood?" Ruby yelled out in a voice much like a drill sergeant.

"Yeah,"

"Yep,"

"Got it."

"SHUT THE FUCK UP. WHEN I ASK YOU A QUESTION, YOU SAY 'YES SIR.' IS THAT UNDERSTOOD?"

"YES SIR," everyone yelled back, once again feeling terrified of the Ruby Snake.

"Good," Laz said, looking at everyone's faces. "Move out!"