Xander vol.1 Transmutation (14 page)

She grimaced, crossing her
arms and glancing to the side, catching the watchful eye of an
employee. They shared eye contact for a brief moment, before Nora
looked away, back at the wigs, and picked up the blonde
one.

She gripped the blonde wig
firmly, studying the artificial hair. The blonde locks reminded her
of Sarah’s. Her eyes lowered to the crown of the piece as her thumb
stroked against it. Her face contorted in reminiscence of her
friend and her untimely demise. And she couldn’t help but feel some
guilt towards it. Towards losing her. The memory of her
transmutation failure flooded her thoughts, making her cringe. She
threw the wig back onto the counter, sighing with
distaste.

Glancing back towards the
employee, she saw that she was no longer looking in her direction,
but off to the side. Unable to help being curious, Nora followed
the woman’s gaze, and was shocked at what she saw. Back in the
men’s section of the shop, Xander was removing his clothing, in
order to try on others. His torso, lean and muscular, was bare as
he looked around once again at his selection from which to choose
from.

Her eyes widened as her
body spazzed, making a mad dash back over to him. Arms flailing,
Nora nearly leapt into him, trying to get his attention. Xander
stumbled to the side, looking back at Nora in question. Her face,
flushed, was scrunched in disbelief as she smacked his bare
arm.

“
What
are you doing?!” she scowled.

Xander raised his arm to
defend himself, his brows pulling together in confusion and
annoyance. He easily blocked her next hit, taking a step away from
her. She frowned, taking her wrist and lowering it away from
him.

“
What? You told me to
–“

“
I didn’t tell you to
strip!” Nora squawked, trying to avert her eyes from his body while
covering him from the customers’. “Put your shirt back
on!”

Xander gently swatted at
Nora’s attempts to cover him again as he scoffed.

“
And how do you expect me
to see if anything fits? On top of my own clothing?”

“
There are fitting
rooms!”

“
I waited an entire minute
and no one has come to escort me. So I took liberty of my
own.”

“
Escort?” Nora groaned,
her shoulders slumping in aggravation. “You’re not a prince here,
Xander.”

Xander frowned, hearing
his royalty in question.

“
Wrong. Upon visiting
Kiran, I am no less of a prince than I am in the walls of my own
castle,” Xander pointed out, and then set the shirt he was holding
down with a shake of his head. “And regardless of my status. What
are the workers here being paid for, if not to escort and assist
their patrons?”

Nora put her hands up
frantically, hearing his tone rise in distress. She urged him to
remain quiet with her body language.

“
Okay,
okay
,” she shushed. “I’ll take you.
Just get what you were going to try on and follow me.”

********

It had been nearly two
hours since Jared had fallen unconscious in Maverick’s living room.
Loni had since made three trips from the apartment to their ship,
bringing back everything that belonged to either Saphora or Hydra
in the process. She had stayed afterwards, despite her better
judgment, to tend to the boy, and make sure he didn’t go blabbing
about what he saw. She’d already been scolded once about wondering
around as a lioness, and once was enough. She wanted to make sure
it stayed that way.

She stood behind the
island counter with her elbow perched, and her chin resting in the
palm of her hand. She watched Jared’s slight movements with
impatience, waiting for something to trigger his consciousness.
Finally, growing tired of waiting, she reached over, grabbing one
of the ceramic mugs that had been left on the counter, and threw it
against the wall, as if it were nothing.

Jared sprang awake, his
eyes immediately darting about and searching for the commotion that
woke him. But his eyes stopped upon seeing Loni. As did his
flailing. They stared each other down, Jared a bit more delicately
as his eyes trailed lower, before being cut off by the horizon of
the countertop, preventing him from going any further.

“
Awake finally?” Loni
asked, causing Jared’s blue eyes to snap back up at Loni’s golden
ones.

Dumbfounded, he found
himself at a loss for words for a moment, until his brain caught up
with him. He glanced around, as the memory prior to his unconscious
kicked in. He searched for the lion that had caused his fall,
almost frantically. Loni frowned, recognizing the panic.

“
Looking for something?”
she interjected.

Again, Jared looked up,
noticing her presence. But before Jared could spazz about the
sighting of the lioness, and urge her to call animal control and
see what the security in the building had seen, he was once again
caught up in the sight of her. This time, he was now fully aware
and realizing that she was standing in Maverick’s apartment with
him, and that he did not know who she was. Jared’s posture
straightened as he adjusted his clothing, suddenly feeling the need
to.

“
Hi,” he breathed. Loni
arched a brow. Not getting a response, Jared continued. “Who are
you?”

“
Who are
you
?” Loni countered,
not at all feeling obligated to reveal her identity. But he
answered right away, to her surprise.

“
Jared. I’m a friend of
Maverick’s. Are you?”

Loni scowled, her face
scrunching up in distaste.

“
Certainly not,” she spat,
standing straight behind the counter and setting her hands down
against it. Jared’s brows pinched together in confusion.

“
Then …” he stood a little
straighter. “Who
are
you? Are you robbing the apartment?” he asked with sudden
skepticism, feeling defensive of Maverick even though he still felt
angry with him. Loni frowned, rolling her eyes.

“
Don’t be
ridiculous.”

“
Then who are you?” Jared
demanded. Loni’s eyes narrowed at his tone.

“
You’d be wise not to
raise your voice at a Guardian,” she warned. “I am
Loni.”

“
Guard – What? If you
don’t know Maverick, then –“

“
I’m an acquaintance of
Saphora’s. And I’m here gathering things she’s left
behind.”

Jared’s eyes widened at
the mentioning. He took steps towards her, making her raise her
level of awareness.

“
That girl?” he exclaimed.
“Where is she? Does she have Maverick? What has she done with
him?”

With each question, he
grew closer, and with each step, Loni grew more wary. She held back
the urge to growl at him as she took a slight step back. She
slammed her hand down on the counter, somewhat startling Jared
enough to stop his advances. Her lips were in a firm line, warning
him of his abrasive actions. There was a moment of silence among
them.

Before Loni could tell him
of his tone and approach, there were footsteps at the door. Unheard
by Jared, but not to Loni’s supreme hearing. Her eyes glanced
towards the door just as the suited officer kicked it in, startling
Jared and making him trip backwards again. This time sparing the
back of his head. His arm caught himself on the armrest of the
sofa, helping him get back to his feet as officer after officer
swarmed into the apartment.

“
Whoa!” Jared shouted,
raising his hands defensively.

But before he could fully
get to his feet, there were men upon him, pushing him onto his
chest on the floor and pulling his wrists behind his back. Loni
watched with a scowl, her eyes snapping back to the men approaching
her. They didn’t say a word as they approached, swiftly surrounding
her. But her expression remained calm as she silently counted the
numbers of her ambush.

They stood around her and
the counter, all standing still for several moments before one,
directly in front of her, made a move. He lunged at her, and Loni
immediately responded, her speed considerably greater than his. The
palm of her left hand connected with the underside of his jaw,
practically knocking him off his feet and dropping him onto the
floor.

The man to Loni’s right
followed the assault, moving towards her. Her eyes snapped to him,
her right hand following them and hooking around the back of his
head. Her hand sticking to the smooth surface of his helmet, as she
passed momentum through him. Within the instant, the man’s head
made contact with the counter, cracking its surface. Some of the
broken pieces fell to the floor with the man as he landed on his
fellow officer.

“
Whoa,” Jared grunted as
he watched from his held position on the floor. Captured by awe at
her skilled combat.

Before the majority of the
other officers could react fully, Loni spun around, her elbow
connecting with the collarbone of the man behind her, making him
grunt and stumble back into another officer. Loni followed up with
a kick to his stomach as the man behind him tried to steady them
both. They both fell to the floor as Loni leapt onto the counter,
eying the rest of them. They took several wary steps back as their
commanding officer stepped through the doorway. Their eyes met, and
Agent Borges’ narrowed.

“
Taze her,” he
ordered.

The man closest to Loni
nodded as he reached for his tazer. Loni glanced over at him, not
at all concerned as he aimed it at her and fired. The clips made
contact with her skin, sending the jolting shock through her
nerves. It tickled her, making her squint and smile. She reached
for it, shocking the man as she ripped the clips from her skin,
looking back at Borges.

“
You call
that
electricity?” Loni
mocked.

Borges grimaced as he
silently gestured to the woman beside him. She nodded, reaching
back outside the apartment and dragging a large gun back into the
room, barely able to hold it. Loni’s eyes widened at the familiar
technology, her body tensing in instinctive preparation. She raised
her hand defensively, while Jared cried out in disbelief as they
aimed the gun at Loni.

“
W-Hey! What are you
–“

Jared shouted as the gun
went off, knocking Loni clear off the counter and into the men
behind her. She winced and growled as they caught her, immediately
moving to restrain her while she was wounded. Jared’s motivation to
struggle against his restraints was suddenly reanimated when seeing
them capture Loni.

“
What the – Are you crazy?
You trying to
kill
her? Who are you people?!” he yelled at Borges, whose
expression had remained the same. He glanced at Jared, who somewhat
stilled when meeting his eyes.

“
You walked into the wrong
place at the wrong time, kid,” he huffed, turning around and
walking out of the apartment into the hallway. “Bag
‘em.”

********

Each time Xander stepped
out of the fitting room, Nora became more embarrassed with the
outfit that he’d come up with. He stepped out, smile wide, as he
showcased his latest fashion statement. Which was a neon lime green
muscle shirt, brick red capris, and a navy blue cardigan that
looked to be a size too small. There were a few giggles from the
girls who had gathered to watch his changing process. Nora rubbed
the bridge of her nose in embarrassment as her head
lowered.

“
What do you think?” he
beamed, slowly turning so that Nora could fully appreciate the
creation.

Nora winced, thinking of
the appropriate response to give him without upsetting the
self-proclaimed prince. But she hesitated, once again, a moment too
long, tipping Xander off to her silent opinion. He frowned,
stopping his twirl.

“
Now
what is it?” he complained. “I’ve added colour, just like you
instructed.”

Xander’s previous outfit
had made him look like something out of the dark ages. All he
needed was some excessive eyeliner and painted nails. So Nora
skillfully suggested that he add some more colour into his next
outfit. But she hadn’t expected him to come out looking like a
circus addition.

“
I know – and they’re all
good colours,” she assured. “It just … It might be a little too
much.”

Xander huffed, crossing
his arms. He was growing frustrated. This was now his sixth attempt
at putting together an outfit that was pleasing Nora, and he was
beginning to think that it was impossible to do just
that.

“
Well what do you suggest
I do? I’ve done this six times now. And each time you’ve told me
something different. I’m growing tired of this.”

Nora sighed, rolling her
eyes as she raised her hands, gesturing for him to calm
down.

“
Let me pick out the
clothing.”

Xander scoffed.

“
Don’t be ridiculous. A
simpleton? Picking out clothing for a –“

Nora cut him off, standing
from her seated position on the carpeted floor. Xander placed a
foot behind him as she stepped towards him. He raised a brow,
waiting for her to strike him. But instead, she merely maintained
threatening eye contact. Which proved to be more unnerving than if
she had actually hit him. His other brow raised, feeling the
unsettling aura of an angered woman. He raised his hands, taking a
step away as he averted his eyes.