The after image of the notification lingered in Warren’s eyes as his brain tried to process its alarming message. It sounded like the Earth had been attacked by a sprawling galactic empire. And if humans wanted to survive, they had to defeat the invaders.

  If he was going to throw the aliens out of his town, he needed to learn to use his combat deck. But the thought of using it while one of the cards had the likeness of Kassandra turned his stomach slightly. Did anything remain of his friend? And if it did, what sort of existence would she have trapped in a deck of cards?

  But regardless of how he felt about his friend, he couldn’t put off using his combat deck forever. He needed to learn how to control it. He turned his focus toward the deck icon in his vision and thought about activating it.

  A second later, two cards appeared, hovering in front of him. One was the Nocturne card, while the other was the Blade of Deimos. As the cards appeared, another prompt overlaid his vision. Much of it was empty—he assumed it filled up when he was battling an opponent—but on the left, he could see a display with a single shining blue orb.

  That must be my energy.

  Thankfully, both of his cards only cost one energy. He chose the Blade of Deimos first. The card disappeared from his view, and a sword materialized in his grip as if by magic. He’d half expected the weapon to feel ephemeral, like it wasn’t real. But the leather grip felt solid in his hand.

  Warren took a few swings with the blade before sliding it through his belt. He couldn’t try out its ability right now, so he’d have to wait until he faced a real opponent. As he’d cast the card, the glowing sphere in his vision had drained, and now it was a empty circle.

  He waited impatiently as his energy slowly refilled, the entire process taking about two minutes. Once his energy was full again, he took a deep breath and then selected the Nocturne card.

  A cloud of darkness swirled in front of him, and a woman in a latex catsuit burst out. She landed lithely on the floor, with one hand touching the ground in a heroic pose. Her head snapped up, and her eyes darted around the room. As Kassandra’s unmistakable deep blue eyes locked with his own, they widened slightly.

  “Warren…” she breathed. “Where am I?”

  “Is that you, Kassandra?” He took a step forward. Had the aliens somehow preserved his friend while harvesting her soul? Was she still inside of her new avatar?

  “Who else would I be?” She gave a nervous little laugh before her expression turned serious. “What happened to the aliens?”

  “What do you remember?”

  Her brow descended slightly. “I remember fighting them in your dad’s cabin…” she trailed off. “After that... I don’t know. It’s all fragmented and jumbled up in my mind. What happened to me?”

  “It’s a long story,” he replied, unsure of where to begin. If she didn’t remember her death, should he even tell her? Though he supposed her transformation into a card might be hard to explain otherwise.

  Before he could continue, Kassandra gasped as she glanced down at her outfit. The latex strained against her firm breasts, leaving her hard nipples in stark relief. The rest of the catsuit left nothing to the imagination and clung to her toned body in a provocative manner.

  “What. Am. I. Wearing!” she gasped, adding emphasis to each word. Her face reddened, and she lifted both hands to cover her chest. “Did you change me while I was unconscious?”

  “What? No!” Warren shook his head. “Like I said, it’s a long story.”

  “Start talking!” She pointed at the blankets on the cot behind him. “Do you mind? I feel like I’m naked over here.”

  Warren turned around and fetched one of the thin blankets from his dad’s old cot. He averted his gaze as he walked back to Kassandra.

  She snatched it from his hand before wrapping it around her shoulders. Once she was covered, she took a deep breath. “Something bad happened to me, didn’t it?” She cocked her head to the side, a few loose strands of dark hair falling over her face. “I keep seeing flashes of a battle. But it’s like I’m watching a movie or something.”

  “I don’t know how to say this…” he trailed off and scrubbed a hand through his hair. “One of the aliens had a lance. He… well, you died.”

  “I died?” she whispered as the color drained from her face. “Wait, if I died, how am I still here?”

  “After you fell, I killed an alien wearing golden armor,” he replied. “Then I received a prompt about becoming a squire for our faction.” When her face scrunched up with confusion, he quickly added, “We’re part of the Terran faction.”

  “Oh right, that makes total sense,” she said sarcastically. She then took a deep breath, her heavy chest heaving enticingly underneath the blanket. “That still doesn’t explain why I’m not dead.” She waved a hand at herself. “Or why I’m wearing fetish gear?”

  “It’s not fetish gear,” he replied. “You’re a superhuman.”

  “I… have superpowers?” For the first time since she’d been summoned, there was a hint of excitement in her eyes.

  “I think so?” He grimaced. “There’s still so much I don’t know. After I was granted the combat deck, I had to choose a theme from Earth’s mythology. The one I chose was superhumans. There were a few other options, but I had no idea what any of them were. I thought since I read comic books as a kid, I’d have a better understanding of this option. As soon as I chose my deck, my wristband started to harvest souls.”

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  “Souls?” she yelped. “That thing sucked up my soul like it was a Ghostbuster? Wait, does that mean souls are real?”

  “I wondered the same thing. But the aliens may view souls as something completely different than us.” He held up his wristband. “Unfortunately, this thing doesn’t come with an instruction manual and it doesn’t explain much of what is going on. It might be a while before I can give you any answers.”

  She pressed her plump lips together. “So, what’s the plan?”

  Warren shrugged. “Take out the other alien factions, reclaim the Sayers Mills, and save everyone?”

  Kassandra gave him a weak smile. “That sounds like a good plan, but you might need to flesh it out a bit. For example, do you have any idea how to deal with the enemy ships?”

  “You’re the one with superpowers,” he returned her smile. “Shouldn’t you take them out? I’m just a guy with a deck of cards.”

  She laughed, some of her color returning. “I don’t feel very superpowered at the moment. Unless my power is to wear inappropriate clothing in front of people.”

  “I’ll work on getting you a new outfit,” he said. “Though I’m not sure how much I can personalize the cards. Maybe there’s something like cosmetic options similar to what you find in games?”

  Kassandra stretched out her arms as she inspected her outfit. “I think I can live with this for now. It beats being… you know.”

  Warren could tell she was putting a brave face on for him. He’d seen it often enough in the hospital, working as a doctor after someone received bad news. In the span of a day, Kassandra had endured an alien invasion, her own death, and then being transformed into a card. He needed to get her mind off of things.

  He pointed at his backpack on the floor. “I was about to cook some dinner. Are you hungry?”

  “Not really.” Kassandra brushed back a strand of her dark hair. “But I wouldn’t mind eating. What gourmet options do you have for me to choose from?”

  Leaning down, he flipped open the flap on his backpack. From inside, he pulled out a few cans. “I have tomato soup, baked beans, and a whole chicken in a can.” He paused after reading the last label. “Anything called chicken in a can probably doesn’t taste very good.”

  “I’m not risking the chicken in the can,” she replied, mirroring his own thoughts. “I guess I’ll try the soup.”

  Warren glanced around the room in search of something to cook on. His dad had practically lived in the woodshop. There must be a hot plate or a camp stove around here somewhere. After rummaging around for a few minutes, he finally found a hot plate and a beat-up old pot.

  He plugged in the hot plate and watched as the light on the front flickered on. It was a miracle the electricity was still on, but when it finally failed, there was a generator located in a shed out back. However, he wanted to save the fuel to power the well. Without water, they would be in serious trouble.

  With the hotplate warming up, he turned his attention to the soup. He frowned as he realized he didn’t have a can opener. Instead of jogging back to the house, he pulled out the Blade of Deimos from his belt.

  “What is that thing?” Kassandra exclaimed. She strode over to him, her shapely hips swaying with each step. “I leave you alone for a few minutes and you find some supernatural sword? You really don’t ever change, do you?”

  He glanced down at the weapon to see a star burning in the center of the blade. “I don’t seem to recall ever stumbling across a weapon like this before.”

  “No,” she replied, her lips curling up into a shockingly sexy smile. “But you always had the craziest stuff happen to you. Like the time you found the gold nugget in the stream? It’s why I liked hanging out with you so much.”

  He chuckled. “I’m pretty sure you hung out with me because my sister and I were the only other kids within 20 miles.”

  Kassandra’s expression fell at the mention of his sister. “Is she…alright? I mean, did she make it over the mountain?” She crossed her arms. “You know, I don’t even know how long I was gone for. Have you been bravely fighting the alien invasion for weeks without me?”

  “It was only a few hours,” he reassured Kassandra. “And I couldn’t follow my sister. If I leave here before defeating the enemy, then apparently the human race gives up all claim to this area. I couldn’t leave everyone in the town to their fate.”

  “I’m sure your sister is fine.” Kassandra stepped closer and placed her hand on his shoulder. “She’s tough and resourceful. If anyone can get over the mountains with all those people, it’s Lisa.”

  “I hope you’re right.” He placed the can of soup on the floor and positioned the blade of his sword against the top. As he pressed down, the weapon sliced through the aluminum like it was made of paper. After a bit of sawing, he was able to squeeze a finger under the lid and flip it back. Then he lifted the can and poured the contents into the pot.

  As the woodshop filled with the pleasant smell of cooking soup, he felt his stomach rumble. He’d only had a light breakfast, and he’d been going all day without food.

  I guess fighting an alien invasion really gives you an appetite.

  While the soup was warming, he brought out a package of crackers from his backpack. He then grabbed a can of meat for good measure. He was pretty sure soup alone wasn’t going to fill him up.

  Kassandra walked over to the cot. She sat down and crossed her long legs, the latex creaking slightly. “How long until I go back?”

  “Go back?” He furrowed his brow. “What do you mean by that?”

  “If I’m some sort of card, then I doubt I’ll stay out permanently.”

  Warren rubbed a hand down his face. He hadn’t even thought of that. He searched his vision until he spotted a little icon in the right corner of his eye. It resembled an hourglass, and the bottom was slowly filling. “Not for a while,” he replied. “It looks like we probably have about 15 minutes together.”

  “Good.” She clasped her hands in front of her. “Because that soup smells divine.”

  He realized he didn’t have any bowls or utensils, so he began another search. In a cupboard above the woodworking tools, he found a vast collection of plastic cutlery and paper plates.

  Leave it to dad to not want to wash the dishes.

  From inside, he pulled out some paper bowls for them to eat from, along with a pair of spoons. He walked back to the warming plate and waited until the soup was steaming. Then he poured out a generous portion for both of them. It wouldn’t be long until food was an issue, but for now, they could eat their fill.

  Warren walked back to Kassandra, who was sitting on the cot. He handed her the bowl before settling down beside her. He took a spoonful and shoveled it into his mouth. The soup was a bit too salty, with way too much garlic, but it still tasted better than anything he’d had in a long time and he knew from the pleased noises from beside him that Kassandra felt the same.

  They ate in silence for a few minutes, though he noticed Kassandra barely consumed any of her food. He couldn’t tell if she didn’t need sustenance, or if she just didn’t have an appetite. If he hadn’t hiked the mountain trail, he probably wouldn’t want to eat either.

  Kassandra leaned back slightly, the blanket around her shoulder parting slightly to show her flat stomach. “So, what’s the real plan?”

  “I’m going to scout the town tomorrow,” he replied between mouthfuls. “I need to figure out a way to level up. Once I’m powerful enough, I’m going to make the aliens regret ever coming to our planet.”

  “That’s a better plan.” She gave him a lopsided grin. “I can’t wait to help you take out every one of those jerks.”

  He started to reply, but as he did, the timer on the side of his vision expired. Beside him, Kassandra opened her mouth in surprise before she disappeared into a storm of light. He was left alone on the cot in his dad’s old woodworking shop.

  A new timer replaced the old one with a much larger hourglass. It would be many hours before he could re-summon Kassandra again. Until then, he would prepare for his mission tomorrow.