The briefing room was filled with what Nicole had jokingly referred to as the usual suspects. Angel Squad was there of course, as was Colonel Roberts and Hannah. There were a few other people I didn’t really know too, including a stocky black man who stood in the back even though there were still seats available. This was Captain Brooks, the man who was usually in charge of deployed mission operations. And there was even a gruff looking guy with gray hair who was the 1st DSU’s first sergeant…whatever that meant.

Dr. Merrit went to the front of the briefing room and stood next to a large monitor. Without so much as a ‘ladies and gentlemen’ to begin, he stated, “This briefing relates to mission 35749256, which occurred two days ago.” A picture of the rat demon’s body appeared on the monitor. “As per standard mission parameters, the demon subject was terminated on site.”

“I think we all know that much,” Dani announced with a look of boredom. “So why are we all here now?”

“If you will refrain from interrupting, angel subject three,” Dr. Merrit said, giving Dani a flat look, “I will explain.”

Dani scowled in annoyance and Nicole put a hand on hers to help calm her down. However, Dani continued to silently glare at the doctor while Rebecca gave him a quickly dirty look before looking away.

“Per the after action reports,” Dr. Merrit continued. “Angel Squad approached an identified warehouse where they located the demon subject within. There was a brief conflict and the demon subject was terminated.” The image on the monitor changed and it show showed the slimy green football that the demon had been holding. “Afterwards, an anomalous object was discovered in the demon’s possession.”

“Get to the point,” someone muttered, though I couldn’t identify the source.

“I have examined the object and have determined it is an egg,” Dr. Merrit stated. Everyone suddenly went silent at that. “Specifically, a demon egg.”

“That’s impossible,” someone blurted out. This time I was able to determine the source as being Mike.

Dr. Merrit didn’t seem to notice the interruption and continued, “A fetal demon was contained within and all indications are that if we had not aborted the egg, it would most likely have been able to hatch successfully.”

There were gasps of shock and then whispering all around the room as we absorbed what this meant. Until now, the only way for demons to be created was for a normal human to become infected with the harkon virus.

“This is the first known case of demon reproduction,” Dr. Merrit said. “Until now, it was believed that their mutant physiology and hostile natures would prohibit the possibility.”

“At least we killed the mother,” Dani said grimly.

Dr. Merrit looked at her and said, “You are incorrect. The demon subject that you terminated was male and an autopsy confirmed that he would not have had the capability of laying eggs.”

I felt a cold knot form in my stomach at that. “It had a mate…”

“That is the most likely explanation, angel subject four,” Dr. Merrit responded.

At that point, Colonel Roberts stood up and went to the front of the briefing room. “At this point, there has been no sign of either another demon in the area or a nest. The CDC and local police are searching the area and will notify us the moment they find anything.”

“At least a baby demon shouldn’t be much of a threat,” Captain Brooks commented, though his expression was grim and I wasn’t sure he actually believed that.

“The fetal demon and embryotic fluid both contained the harkon virus,” Dr. Merrit responded. “Even if not an immediate physical threat, it would undoubtedly act as a carrier and spread the infection.”

“I wouldn’t count on it remaining harmless for long either,” Colonel Roberts said, slowly looking around the room. “In fact, it might even be more dangerous because it would be less likely to actually kill any victims, and more attack survivors mean a greater chance for new demons. That’s why finding the mother and any nest is considered a priority.”

The briefing continued like this for another twenty minutes, not giving any new information, just going on about what the ramifications could be if demons were now reproducing on their own. The idea was scary, but there was nothing we could do at the moment. When the briefing ended, everyone left with something new to worry about.

As we left the building, Nicole exclaimed, “Demon babies… That is just so wrong…”

Rebecca nodded at that, then paused to rub her temples and let out a sigh. “I think I need to burn off some stress.”

“Ditto,” Dani said while Nicole and I nodded in silent agreement.

We went to the obstacle course and began running through it at a leisurely pace. Our goal today wasn’t training but to give Rebecca a chance to burn off stress the way she did best, by moving. The rest of us were along partly for moral support and partly because we didn’t really have anything better to do at the moment.

I wasn’t into running the way Rebecca was, but I was learning to appreciate physical activity as a way to take my mind off of other problems. The idea of demons having babies was troublesome, but I was still more concerned by my poor performance from two days ago. My sisters had assured me that even experienced soldiers sometimes froze when they came face to face with a demon for the first time, but that didn’t really make me feel better.

Once we were done running through our obstacle course, Rebecca began going through the other course. This was the first time I’d gone through the normal course, but it was only half as long and the obstacles were much smaller and easier. After going through the difficult course so many times, this one almost felt like taking a stroll through a child’s playground. Still, it was nice to do something different at least.

About halfway through the course, we encountered a group of soldiers who were running through it as well. “Hey guys,” Nicole called out cheerfully as she scrambled up one of the obstacles and outpaced them. “Bye guys…” She giggled at that, obviously enjoying herself.

“Hey Pete,” Dani called out as she went past. “Don’t forget our poker game… Hopefully, this time it won’t get cancelled.”

“Just don’t forget to bring lots of cash,” Pete called back.

A couple obstacles later, we encountered an obstacle that had four ropes stretched over a pond like tightropes. There were already two guys there, halfway across the pond when we arrived. Rebecca, Dani, and Nicole all scrambled across the ropes quickly but I decided to try something new. I actually climbed up and tried walking across the rope, seeing if I could use it as a tight rope. However, it wasn’t tight enough for that and swayed back and forth too much. I was about halfway across when I finally fell, though I caught the rope with my hands so didn’t hit the water below.

“Oh shit,” the guy on the next rope over exclaimed as he fell into the water, obviously having been distracted by my antics.

“Show off,” Nicole called back to me with a laugh.

“Bite me,” I exclaimed, then looked down at the soaking wet soldier who was climbing out of the pond. “Sorry about that…”

“Not your fault,” he responded with a grin. “Besides, the show was worth it.”

I quickly scrambled the rest of the way across the rope and then dropped down and chased after my sisters. We finished the rest of the course just a couple minutes later and stopped to take a break back at the starting area. Since this wasn’t a training exercise, I wasn’t sure if we were going to go another round or not.

“So, what now?” I asked Rebecca. “Are we going on to real training?”

“I think we’ll take it easy today,” she told me with a sigh. “I’ve got a few things I need to take care of and I know you guys do too.”

I nodded at that, deciding that if we weren’t going to be doing real training, that I should probably take advantage of the time to catch up on some reading. I’d been talking to one of the nurses in the medical office and she’d lent me a couple medical books that might help improve my skills.

While we were sitting there, the soldiers who’d been running the obstacle course began to come on in. When I saw the one who’d fallen into the pond, I couldn’t help chuckling just a little. I felt a little bad for him but it had been kind of funny. At least he didn’t seem angry about it.

“Now I need a hot shower,” he told his friends, pulling off his wet shirt and revealing his naked torso.

I suddenly found myself watching him with greater interest. His chest and abs were lean and well-muscled, making me immediately jealous since before my change, I would have killed for a body like that. Then it suddenly struck me that what I was feeling wasn’t jealousy…that I was staring at him the same way I used to stare at a girls breasts.

“Oh shit,” I blurted out in shocked realization.

“What’s wrong?” Nicole asked me with a curious look.

I jumped to my feet, tearing my eyes away from that bare-chested soldier and stammering, “Nothing…” I gulped, feeling my heart race as I quickly added, “I’ve got to go…”

I excused myself and then hurried off, wanting to get away from there as fast as I could. I felt overwhelmed with mixed emotions and completely confused. How could I possibly feel that way towards a guy? Before I realized it, I found myself in front of Heaven, a place that I’d come to think of as my home and sanctuary. I hadn’t intentionally meant to come here, but it made sense that this was where I’d go.

Since I didn’t have any specific destination in mind, I went to the back of Heaven and out the other door, into the fenced off area that contained our large patio and swimming pool. It was quiet and peaceful out here, just the kind of place I needed to be alone with my thoughts. However, I quickly realized that I didn’t really want to be alone with my thoughts. Instead, I wanted to be distracted so that I didn’t have to think about this.

Just a couple minutes later, I heard the door open from behind me though I didn’t look to see who it was. Then Dani sat down beside me, silently handing me a bottle of beer. She still didn’t say a word as she took a sip of her own.

“You were staring at Gene,” Dani finally said, though there was no judgment in her voice.

“How…?” I started to ask, embarrassed that she’d noticed

“Because I was staring at him too,” Dani admitted, giving me a wry smile. “And you can bet your ass, so were Rebecca and Nicole.”

I took a long drink of my beer, then said, “This is what you meant about my emotions changing…”

Dani just nodded before responding, “I didn’t want to freak you out too much. I figured, it would probably be easier on you if you had a chance to adjust a bit first.”

“Oh God,” I groaned, closing my eyes. “He was so…” I shuddered at the thought, feeling excited yet repulsed at the same time.

“Hot?” Dani asked with a grin. “Yeah, he definitely is.” She paused for a moment before saying, “I’d do him.”

I nearly choked at that. I gave Dani a look of disbelief but she just shrugged, as though this wasn’t a big deal.

“But you used to be…,” I started

“USED to be,” Dani pointed out. She gestured down at herself and said, “I told you before…that person is gone. My body, DNA, and brain are not only those of a woman…but of a heterosexual woman. My biological drives are aimed at sexual attraction to men…not women. The same thing is true for you and all angels.”

“The idea is…difficult to absorb,” I admitted quietly.

Dani snorted at that. “Tell me about it. I spent six months in denial, trying to convince myself that I was still interested in women, but you can only lie to yourself for so long.” She paused and had a thoughtful look on her face. “We aren’t the only ones… Lisa once told me that she used to be a confirmed lesbian, but after her infection, she lost all interest in women too.”

I stared at Dani for a moment and then let out a sigh. “How can you fight biology?”

Dani hesitated for a moment and then reached out, taking my hand in hers and giving it a comforting squeeze. “You don’t,” she told me with a faint smile. “You just have to accept that this is just part of who you are now. Trust me, it may be odd at first, but you’ll get used to it.”