He's in luck, he just makes it and has more help than he thought

The quartet shot through the sky, flying at maximum speed at Aires' behest. He couldn't remember being so worried since his initial infection and establishing himself as the top dog in the ensuing chaos. Now, with the Lady threatening to strip away everything he had gained and do who knew what to his girls, he felt the fear of loss and the determination to keep holding on.

"Master, we're getting closer to their flank. What are we going to do?" came Zoe's voice from where the curvy woman was flying, still carrying her sister.

"Keep going, we should be high enough that they won't be able to intercept us. We're not fighting; we go straight to Aphrodite."

"We aren't going to attack them? We might catch them by surprise," Evelith asked.

"No, they know where we are or at least where we're coming from. I'm sure Olympus already has a plan in place if we did anyways. Better to all be together and strike out from a place of solidarity," Aires said. He had already thought the same thing, but was far more warry of Olympus and the Lady than before. They had not only proved that they were cunning and capable of mounting a more significant resistance than Hermes, but also a flaw in Aires' own psyche, something he needed to address before he did anything else.

He was even more glad of his plan when he saw just how massive the army to fight him was. The four of them flew for minutes on end over rows of troop transports, weapons stashes, barracks, artillery, aircraft, tanks, and any other kind of military equipment he could imagine. The vaguely futuristic sheen that a lot of it had matched that of what Jason and his strike team had carried, and Aires wondered what exactly the weapons could do when unleashed. He figured he'd find out. He also kept an eye out for any sort of command area or somewhere high-ranking officials would be, but couldn't pick anything out with how fast they were flying.

The extensive army finally stopped as they approached a city encircled by towering plants twice the height of a house, their lines ending about a mile away. Encouraged at seeing their destination and the warm feeling of Aphrodite's soul reaching out to his, Aires pushed out one last burst of speed and zipped across the boundary, aiming directly towards where he could sense his wife and love.

Tucking his wings and plummeting to the ground, he dropped out of the sky with the wind shrieking around him. The ground came up fast and he slammed into it, shattering the pavement like it was made of eggshells. He rose completely unharmed and tossed Kayla to the side. The brunette barely responded as she rolled over the ground, her focus remaining fixed on her hungry and aching slit as she futilely masturbated, trying to get off.

Aires didn't care about her anymore though; his eyes were solely focused on the vision of radiance that was walking towards him. Aphrodite could only be described as that, her glowing blonde hair tumbling around her face and shoulders like waves of white gold, a crown of flowers resting in her locks. Her face was beautiful, her skin lustrous, and her breasts full and firm, wrapped in loose, cream cloth that showed their size. But what truly drew his eyes and love was the large bulge of pregnancy that stretched Aphrodite's abdomen, round, protruding, and gorgeous. The goddess was looking down at her belly, eyes full of love, before they locked with his, joy, peace, and adoration pouring from them.

Aires didn't know whether to laugh, cry, fall on his knees, or rush forward to kiss and fuck his wife until they couldn't move. Frozen in indecision, he watched as she slowly walked to him, her hands reaching up to cup his face as she gazed at him with bottomless love.

Left speechless, he did the only thing he could think to do. One hand carefully wrapped around her back as the other came to rest on her belly. He leaned down and locked her in a scorching kiss before she could say anything, and for a minute the only sounds that came from them were pleased little whimpers and groans. It was only when he stepped closer to her to close the gap between them and bumped into her protruding belly that they came back to themselves and reluctantly broke apart.

"You're beautiful, Julia," Aires whispered, spellbound and enraptured. He leaned down to kiss her again, but Aphrodite's hand stopped his lips.

"You know I don't like being called that," the pregnant queen reminded her lover, tapping his nose before lowering her hand.

"And you still won't tell me why."

"I just prefer Julie, what's wrong with that?"

"It's only one letter's difference. An 'E' instead of an 'A'."

"Then it should be easy to use Julie, shouldn't it?" Aires didn't have an answer for that; he at least knew when he wasn't going to win. "Though if it's that big a deal, Cecilia and some of the girls have taken to calling me A, so you can have your letter if you really want, Aiden."

Aires thought a moment before responding. "This is definitely a trap no matter how I answer, so let's change the subject. Who's Cecilia?"

"Our daughter," Aphrodite said casually, her words making Aires suspicious and his eyes darting down to her stretched belly.

"I think I'm missing something here," he said, earning a laugh from his queen.

"Adoptive daughter, don't worry. Cecilia, come here," Aphrodite called, and a supremely curvy redhead sauntered towards him, wide hips swaying back and forth.

"Hey, Daddy," she crooned, pressing her nearly bare chest to his and looking at him with seductive eyes. "I hear you've got a cock to die for, want to show me?"

'She's a Divine like us. I thought it was a good idea at the time, but...we need to talk about it,' Aphrodite said to Aires mentally, who nodded subtly in response. Cecilia was too busy putting the moved on the three women who had come with Aires to notice anyways. Evelith was dismissive and Kayla was still busy trying to masturbate, but Zoe seemed intrigued and responsive. If Aphrodite's uneasiness was justified, that was something to be careful of.

"Business before pleasure, I'm afraid," Aires said, stepping away from the slutty redhead. "Have you called for Grace and Rebecca yet?" he asked his wife.

"No, I'm not as talented with that as you are. The strain difference makes it harder too. And...I was excited to see you," the goddess finished with a little blush that nearly made Aires' heart burst.

"Master? Can I have a hug while you summon them?" a bashful cat girl asked from behind Aphrodite, her tail waving nervously. Aires smiled and stretched his arms out, and Vivian immediately launched into a crushing hug with a frantic tail and deep purring. Aires had plenty of time to summon his angel and nightstalker in between the nuzzling, light licking, and not so subtle grinding.

"There's something else too," Aphrodite said once Rebecca and Grace were on their ways and Vivian had been convinced to let Aires go.

"Other than the army outside?" Aires asked sarcastically. From the glare Aphrodite gave him, it wasn't appreciated.

"Yes. There's someone outside the wall. Other than the army," she said quickly before anyone could interject. "He seemed normal, but...too normal. He was coming right this way."

"...I don't follow. How is that an issue?"

"He was infected, but...didn't seem like it. He wasn't like you and me. He...was wearing clothes. Plain, ordinary, normal clothes."

"Where is he now?" Aires asked, finally picking up on what had Aphrodite so uneasy.

"Just outside the wall. North-northwest." They were on the east side, the same direction Hermes had come from.

"We'd better get across town quick then. Whoever he is, he knows we're here and I think he's going to want to talk."

At Aphrodite's urging, a small hole opened in the plant wall, just enough for two people to step through. Those two were the god and goddess themselves, and no one else. They didn't go far though, and were still well within range of help if they needed it. Aires still thought Aphrodite was too exposed, especially with her swollen belly, but she wouldn't take no for an answer. So he had decided he would just eradicate the approaching man at the first sign of aggression.

He was ready for it too, his tan, muscular body wrapped in impossibly fine silks he had practiced making for just this purpose. His dark red hair flowed around him like a typhoon of crimson, complemented by gold ornaments that decorated his torso. He liked to think he looked good, and judging from the appreciative and hungry looks his lover was giving him, he wasn't far off.

Both he and Aphrodite watched carefully as the unknown man walked towards them. He genuinely didn't look like much: good build, dark hair, handsome face, neat clothes. All in all, normal. But in their new sex-oriented, clothing-supremely-optional world, normalcy was downright unnerving.

"So you're the one who was rooting around in my head a while ago?" he asked as soon as he was in speaking distance.

"That depends on what you mean," Aires returned, waiting for the man to show his hand.

"I mean when you popped a bunch of your own people. Or I assume that's what it was, since I saw you in my head and then a bunch of people exploding or going brain-dead." The man's voice stayed the same, friendly and amicable, but reserved and cautious as well. "Seems an odd thing to do to your own...whatever they are."

"They're my subjects, for lack of a better term, and I was ending threats. I won't tolerate having people trying to fight me with the gifts I've given them."

"So they were all Alphas? And you are the origin, like I thought. Well, I suppose thanks are in order then. If I hadn't been infected by one of your extremely hot subjects, I'd still be a fat lazy weeb in their basement. I like this much better."

"If we're drawing conclusions, allow me to do the same. You're one of the rogue Alphas, one that I don't control. Which means you are a threat to me and my power. Knowing this, you sought me out, but given your lack of an army, probably not to fight. Which, in turn, likely means you're coming to appeal to me so that I don't hunt you down and grind you into oblivion. Sound about right?"

"Goodness, we're all so smart here, aren't we? Outsmarting each others' outsmarting. Because yeah, that's pretty much it. I'd rather not get turned into cum soup or whatever. But now you're thinking, 'he's alone, exposed, and a threat. I should end him now.' Right?"

"Close enough," Aires said, conceding that he had been thinking something remarkably similar. "And I suppose you have some incredible reason why I shouldn't obliterate you and be done with it?"

"Yeah, see?! It's fun, right?! Now you're anticipating me anticipating you. But which one of us will come out on top? What contingencies do I have if we fight? Is this all a ruse?" the man said, visibly excited for some reason.

"So you're an idiot. Get to your point already."

"...yeah, that's fair. Bit mean though, ouch. Anyways, the grand reason you shouldn't kill me is...because I know things."

"Like that you're an idiot?"

"Among others, yes. Like, for example, how to deal with the Alpha problem you have. Ah, I see you don't believe me," he said at Aires skeptical look. "Go on, check with your mind powers or whatever, I'll wait." The increasingly odd man cartoonishly clasped his hands behind his back and mimed whistling, eyes looking up at the sky. With a glance at Aphrodite to confirm she was watching the man, Aires expanded his consciousness, reaching out to all the Infected he could.

A minute later, his eyes snapped open and bored into the man. "How did you know?" It was like he had said, the number of Alphas he didn't have direct control over was steadily growing. It wasn't quite worrying yet, but it was definitely higher than it had been the first time he had made his purging sweep. And even with the growing number of Infected under his control, he wasn't sure he could manage the power to wipe them all out again.

"You seem like the conquering type, do I have that right? Mass expansion, bit of a superiority complex, at least one pregnant girl to protect. It makes sense, I'd probably do the same. Except I didn't. While you were out reaching as far as you could, I stayed home and did some experimenting. I'd wager I know more about your virus or Contagion or whatever we're calling it these days than anyone else on earth, including the people who designed the thing. So here's the play: you let me join you and I'll tell you what I know. With my knowledge, you'll be unstoppable."

The man's offer hung in the air for a couple seconds before Aires responded. "If you're vast knowledge really is so powerful, why are you giving it away instead of using it for yourself?"

"Yeah, lofty aspirations for sure with you. I guess it's that the whole 'rule the world with all the power in it' shtick...it seems like a lot of work. Like, a lot a lot." The man's expression finally changed at this, becoming one that clearly conveyed **** and disgust. "If you want that, that's cool with me, but I'd much rather not. I'm just here to get laid and have fun. You seemed like the kind of guy who would let me do that, and now having met you, I think it's the right choice. So what do you say? You do the ruling and power and whatever, and I'll sit in the corner having fun and giving you tips, loading screen style."

Aires didn't know exactly what he meant by the last bit, but the meaning was clear. This guy didn't care about the spotlight or anything beyond what his hands could grope. Plus, he seemed rather intelligent, if a bit goofy. If he really knew as much as he alluded to, he would make for an incredible ally. A quick mental conversation with Aphrodite to confirm was all he needed.

"What's your name?"

"Owen, my potential liege, at your service. Except not really, I'm more the giving rather than receiving type when it comes to that."

"Yeah, not an issue. I've only got one rule for you, Owen: don't fuck my girls." The seemingly lackadaisical man waved his concerns away.

"Wasn't going to anyways, I can tell you right now that's not a great idea." Aires filed that statement away to examine later, but ignored it for the moment.

"Fine then, Owen, we have an agreement. You help me and I don't destroy you." The Divine put out his large hand to shake, and Owen's relatively smaller one almost instantly met it.

"Deal, Mr. Boss Man, seems pretty fair to me."

"There's no need for the formalities, you can call me Aires."

"Sure thing, Mr. Boss, whatever you say, Mr. Boss," Owen said without missing a beat, enthusiastically shaking Aires' hand. The flame-haired god pulled his hand away as soon as he could, smiling tenuously.

"This might have been a bad idea," he mumbled, ignoring Aphrodite's giggling as the three of them walked back through the plant wall.