Alien Proliferation

both obviously up on the medical expertise or Tito wouldn’t have had them with him, and, sadly, just as nice as all the other Dazzlers around. No hating allowed. Always the way.
    They fussed over me and thankfully helped me get dressed while Tito did his horrible array of tests I did my best to ignore. They looked as though they were in their early twenties, but it was hard to tell. As with the other A-Cs, I was fairly sure I’d seen them around before, probably down at the Isolation Level, which was where empaths had to go to regenerate, my personal empath in particular. The less said, or thought, about the isolation chambers the better, at least as far as I was concerned. They’d creeped me out from my first days with Centaurion Division and hadn’t stopped yet.
    Medical horrors were still going on as the com sprang to life. “Sometime Supreme Commander Reynolds is headed down to you, Commander Martini.”
    “Thanks, Gladys. Com off,” I added, just in case. “Tito, really, could you and the girls stop now?”
    “Take your time, Doctor Hernandez,” Chuckie said as he joined us. “I’d rather you approve Kitty for this than cause another issue for her.”
    At the sound of Chuckie’s voice, two small bundles of adorable fur made their presence known. The Poofs had been our parting gifts from the Royal Family of Alpha Four—where all our Earth A-Cs were originally from—at the end of Operation Invasion. They looked like fluffy kittens with no ears, no tails, and black button eyes. They could go Jeff-sized at a moment’s notice.
    They also had hyperspeed or something like it, and they used it to get to Chuckie. Poofikins was mine and Harlie was Jeff’s, though he didn’t like to admit to the ownership. They were on Chuckie’s shoulders, purring up a storm, in an instant.
    Another ball of cuteness appeared out of Chuckie’s pocket and leaped onto my shoulder. Poofs were supposed to be owned by members of the Royal Family only, which, as it so happens, I’d married into. But in the Poofs’ world, if you named it, you owned it, and during Operation Invasion, Chuckie had named his. “Hi, Fluffy. How’s a Poofy-thing doing?” I cooed. I couldn’t help it. I loved the Poofs.
    Chuckie petted Harlie and Poofikins, which made all the purring get louder. “Okay,” he said finally. “Kitty and I need to work.” They all mewled at us, and then, Poof greetings over, all three of them headed back to their Poof Condo, which was really an extra-luxurious cat tree with a whole lot of levels. I wasn’t kidding; I loved the Poofs. They curled up and promptly went to sleep.
    Chuckie turned back to Tito. “Is Kitty okayed to have this meeting?”
    Tito nodded. “She’s fine, just don’t get her riled up.”
    I noted the two Dazzlers eyeing Chuckie, which wasn’t a surprise. Dazzlers preferred brains above all other traits, and the brainier and, therefore, by human standards, geekier and nerdier a guy was, the more they wanted him. Barring him hanging out with Stephen Hawking, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, and their ilk, Chuckie was always going to be the smartest guy in any room. That he was tall, had dirty blond hair, blue eyes, was the rangy and muscled type, and was, frankly, quite handsome for a human, should have made him the Dazzler dude of choice. That he was a multimillionaire twice over should have been a mere cherry on top.
    And yet, I’d never seen one of them throw herself at him, or even hint around that he might be able to get lucky if he even considered the possibility. It was as if there were some sort of Dazzler Free Zone around Chuckie, which I didn’t understand.
    These two looked almost willing to go for it anyway, but then one of them noticed me watching them, nudged the other, and they both busied themselves with repacking Tito’s medical supplies.
    I would have questioned this, but Wayne and William had rejoined us and were discussing video setups and recording with Chuckie, so I figured I’d better take an interest. “Should Tito stay for this?”
    Chuckie shook his head. “No need.”
    Tito shrugged. “You want me to stay anyway, Kitty?”
    Part of me did. Most of me didn’t. The part that did knew Jeff would prefer Tito being around. The part that didn’t wanted some time with Chuckie where I could say, think, and feel whatever I wanted. “No, it’s okay. Wayne and William will be here.”
    Tito nodded his good-byes to me and Chuckie, then he and his Dazzler assistants