The next morning on July 5th, the city of Rome was humming like a hornet's nest someone had kicked open. News outlets, blogs, streamers, gossip feeds, everyone was ranting about the Lone Nomad. My fights on the CATF in Nairobi had gone viral.
They said I defeated ten Pente Category Combat Fluxers in under three minutes.
I could have done it in one if the rules didn't forbid the use of any Flux except the Combat Flux. And yet, even when I had to stick to the rules, they still dropped like flies. They thought I was struggling. Cute.
Now, there I was, sitting behind Norphie, my palms kneading the soles of his feet.
Norphie is not exactly your average person. The Flux in his body messed with gender consistency. He is androgynous. But if he focused, he could maintain one form for a few days. Right now, though, he was fully embracing the masculine look with messy blond hair, a sharp jawline, and the kind of grin that made you want to punch him and laugh with him at the same time.
In short, he is a femboy.
He let out a relaxed sigh as I pressed my thumb into the arch of his foot.
"Damn, Phaser, you've got magic hands. You sure you're not a massage therapist?"
"Not unless the therapy involves breaking bones. You've been walking around like a nervous bride lately. It's your own fault."
He chuckled. "Oh, right, my fault. You ruined my fifty-six-million-dollar party, and it's my fault?"
I smirked and pressed harder. "You're still hung up on that? Come on, it was a brilliant debut for the Null Handmaidens. Explosions, chaos, you couldn't script it better."
He lifted his head slightly to glare at me. "It's illegal to own Corrosion Bombs, Phaser."
"Minor detail. Besides, I had it under control. You didn't die, did you?"
He groaned. "That's not the point. You turned my luxury gala into a terrorist movie trailer. And then you had the gall to introduce your little cult of sexy assassins to the world in the middle of it."
"Oi. Have some respect for my girls. And if I remember correctly, you signed off on that plan after I told you the benefits. The Handmaidens can sneak into facilities that even drones can't detect. They can collect data, map interiors, and disappear before security even realizes it. They're basically walking espionage ghosts."
He made a noise halfway between a sigh and a groan. "If it wasn't for that, I wouldn't have agreed to this insanity."
"Yet here we are. You're getting a foot massage, and I'm getting blamed for being efficient."
"Efficient. Sure. You're the Lone Nomad trending in half of Europe, the leader of the Null Handmaidens, and supposedly lying in critical condition after heroically saving the Empress. I should probably ask which one of those you're actually taking seriously."
"None. I just let the rumors handle it."
"The Empress doesn't think it's a rumor. She's planning on visiting you, by the way."
I paused mid-massage. "You're joking."
He sat up slightly, looking at me with a scoff.
"Do I look like I'm joking? She's coming to congratulate you for 'saving her life' back at the explosion. You know, that little performance you orchestrated."
I rubbed my forehead. The last thing I want is the Empress to be interested in me, considering she's an Outer.
"That performance was for dramatic effect. The Null Handmaidens needed an unforgettable debut. And it worked, didn't it? Everyone's talking about them now."
"Yeah. Everyone's also talking about the mysterious explosion that almost killed the Empress. She's lucky she thinks it was an assassination attempt and not our improvised stunt. So when she arrives, are you planning to fake being on your deathbed or what?"
"When exactly is she coming?"
"I bought you some time. Maybe until August. But she's already organizing herself and the security of the city, so you might want to prep your act. Play the humble hero or something."
"Perfect. I'll start practicing my fainting technique."
He laughed. "You're unbelievable."
"I've been told worse, trust me."
He stretched, letting out a long sigh.
"Anyway, I'll be leaving soon."
"Leaving? Where to?"
"London. My wife's there. She's been crying nonstop, thinking I abandoned her. Can you imagine? She thinks I died in the explosion. And this is the second time this kind of thing has happened. The first was back in Manhattan, remember?"
Right. I forgot about that. The House of Erdict did that and thankfully, it wasn't known to the world her. Norphie pointed at me with a cold stare.
"So yeah, I think I owe her an apology. I can't just vanish every time you blow something up."
"Fair," I said, continuing to press his feet. "But you're going have to tell her something. You can't exactly say, 'Hey honey, sorry, I was busy faking my injury in Rome and wasting my million dollar party for sexy assassins to reveal themselves to the world.'"
He grinned. "I'll improvise. I'm good at that."
"Clearly."
He leaned back, closing his eyes again.
"You can use my villa while I'm gone. Rome's too noisy for me anyway. You'll like it. Oh, and try not to blow it up, okay?"
"No promises."
He cracked an eye open at me.
"Phaser."
"I'm kidding. Mostly."
He sighed and waved a lazy hand.
"Good. Then keep massaging. I'm not leaving until my feet stop feeling like I walked through a volcano."
I smirked, pressing down harder. Honestly, I don't mind doing this. I'm being sponsored by a billionaire and he'll be giving my team missions and payments so it's not exactly a loss.
"You realize you're basically a billionaire and I'm your unpaid massage therapist right now, right?"
"Think of it as repayment for letting you use my villa. Now hurry up. I've got a flight to catch at noon, and I want to be properly fixed before I see my wife. She's going to break me either way, so I might as well go in relaxed."
"Romantic," I said dryly.
He laughed again, and for a moment, I actually enjoyed the peace. Norphie is the same despite being man or woman and honestly, he's a good friend. He's more monstrous than he looks and smart too. When I asked him about this, he tied any loose ends. He helped the Handmaidens leave Geneva and come to Rome even though the Fast Travel Building was temporarily closed.
Now I had more than a five million dollar villa with bodyguards, servants and money for the entire summer. Who knew having a billionaire for a friend has so many benefits?