The Bad Apples

"Fucking webslinger, get your crotch outa my face or I'll tear it apart!"

Komodo was baring his fangs at Spinner. Spinner was, as always, hanging down from a beam, his crotch directly in front of Komodo's nose. And he had a boner. Nice. Leaning against the bar, I watched the action.

"Come on, big boy, we all know you want this bone," Spinner taunted, swinging back & forth.

"Yeah, we know he wants to give Spinner a bj," Technomancer murmured in my ear. Stroking my throat, he whispered, "When am I gonna get mine?"

Komodo: "You think I want that thing? Ha! Pussy is what I want, not a pixie stick!"

I leaned back against him & murmured back, "When you get tits."

Spinner: "Yah, you wish I had a tiny dick; you'd suck it & pretend it was all no homo, bro."

"Cruel; it's cruel to deny the erotic chi flowing between us." His hands hovered before my breasts, caressing. I felt the energy & bit back a noise before moving away.

Komodo shoved forward, snapping. Spinner zipped to the ceiling so fast I was amazed he didn't hit it ass-first. Komodo leaped, snarling. I ducked behind the bar with Technomancer, who pinned me to him, erection against my butt.

I have no idea what would've happened if the doors hadn't peeled open & slammed to the floor.

"Komodo! Spinner! Sebya!" roared out a voice that shook us to the bone. The guys dropped to the floor & knelt before our leader, fists on chests & heads cast down.

"Hey, boss," Technomancer said with a half-smirk, pulling us up. "As usual, excellent timing. Sky Dancer was terrified."

I elbowed him. "Yeah? So who ducked faster there, bright boy, me or you?"

"Do I really have to pull the Voice on you two?" Metallurgy looked weary, his blue eyes cold. We looked at each other, then went & knelt before him, losing cool points but appeasing the boss. Our linked pinkies told each other it didn't count.

He shook his head, knowing us all too well. "I called you four to a meeting for one reason."

"Cause we're the best?" Spinner asked, pulling back his mask to look especially cute.

"Because your four are the most troublesome superheroes I've met! Spinner, with your cocky attitude," Spinner snickered, "your big mouth & your complete incapacity to think your actions through! It's like you're perpetually riding a bicycle down Embarcadero Drive, balancing a load of pin-pulled grenades in the basket while you wave to & flirt with the crowds!"

Spinner turned green & looked away.

Metallurgy, dissatisfied, turned to Komodo. "When you called yourself Komodo, I worried you'd be a villain. No. You're pure chaos. Good, bad, who cares? You honor the innocent, good. But who the yebat' told you it was open season on villains? We capture them & help humans contain them; that is our job! When we turn in a body with its intestines missing, they worry. The more we scare them, the more likely they'll pull the Contract & use the Powers Clause as an excuse to eliminate us!"

Komodo bowed so far, he was on his face. "I beg pardon, sir. If I must commit seppuku, give the command. I am yours to control."

Ew. A little too sub-to-Dom, there; why not go over & kiss his ass til your lips are chapped?

Metallurgy's fine nostrils twitched, once, & those lines formed around his mouth. I ducked.

But he went for Technomancer. I guess it was the snickering. "You arrogant, womanizing drunk, what are you laughing about? The only reason you stick around, I think, is because you have a hard-on for 75% of the women in the group!"

"That's not true. I have eyes for only one woman." He rubbed my ass & avoided my smack.

"I cry b.s.!" Spinner yelled. "I saw him coming on to Miss Olympia the other day, & she was quite interested in losing her virginity to him!"

"Spinner! I will put you in the Cage!"

See Spinner; see Spinner flat on the ground, trying to not crawl over & lick boots.

"And you!" he raged at me. "I can see why these three behave badly; what's your excuse? You're worth more than these three bozos combined. With your intellect, self-control & imagination, you are cosmic. Instead you mouth off, goof around, barely participate & when you do, you go overboard. We did not need a tornado in Times Square! Yes, I know you repaired the damage. But you can't repair the traumatized people. Learn to think before you act!"

I shut my mouth. He did have a point. That was an impulse I still regretted.

"So, what can we do to right our wrongs?" Technomancer asked, holding me close.

Metallurgy looked over us. "I want to say I should put you under Miss Olympia's special care, but Techno ruined that. I'd say Soldier, but putting four chaotics under a lawful good is inviting disaster. No, I think I need to take the four of you out on a mission. Personally."

We all blanched, having heard the story from other chaotic-oriented superheroes. "Sir, we really don't need that much supervision..." I began.

"No, you do. Trust me. We will begin with some test situations. I want Komodo with Sky Dancer; Spinner with Technomancer. In an hour, we'll switch out, & again in an hour after that. Good? Good," he said before we could talk. "I'm going to be at the bar. Shielded. Go!"

*

Komodo studied me carefully, eyes narrowing. I looked right back into his eyes, amused how he was my size but with three times the bulk. He was prettier, too, with his fine features & narrow lips. I must admit I'd been a pain when I met him, peeking at his fangs, asking to see his claws. I was only being friendly & curious, but he'd taken to avoiding me ever since.

Now he was stuck working with me. Turning aside, he hawked up and spit a loogie that was like green & smoking-sizzling-floor-dissolving ich. Ew. I bet being bitten by him was exactly like being bitten by his namesake dragon. Before I could turn away, a yellow, cracked, exceedingly sharp fang was at my nose. "Behave. Don't destroy the practice room."

"Erm, yes, sir!" I said. "Pretend I'm an innocent so you won't accidentally kill me."

He looked me up & down with that disgusted look. "Babe, you are an innocent. That's why Techno circles you like a shark. Grow up, or I will be babysitting you."

Um. What??

Confused, I followed him into a training room, which was now a coffeehouse full of men. Pretty men, butchy men, hunky men, men in uniform, geeks, transvestites, bears, you name it. Most of them looked past me, zeroing right onto Komodo. "Eh, you...you go first," he said, ducking behind me. "We gotta ask the bartender if anyone odd came in. You like talking."

Right, sure, chicken. I marched up & leaned against the bar. "Hi! Can I have a triple-whipped chocolate coffee sprinkled with almonds?"

"Not even trying to be butch?" the bartender inquired. "Thought with your swagger you liked the ladies. Does the wimp behind you need anything?"

Now, to tease, or be nice? Damnit, I'd lose points if I teased. "Get him a Guinness Stout, as dark & harsh as you can get it. He likes it rough."

Gah! Why did I put it that way? Now the dudes in leather were on point; one came up & bought Komodo's Guinness before taking him away. Oh well.

"Anything else you need?"

"Sure, why not? You get a lot of interesting characters here? I mean, other than K-Ken?"

"His name is Ken?!" The bartender looked appalled.

"Short for Kentaro," I winged. Seeing the lustful look, I added. "Bet you have some real strange ones coming by."

"Oh, tell me about it. Just the other day, this guy came in wearing pinstripe pants, an old-timey coat & an ascot. Tell me, who wears an ascot??"

"Uh, no one with any fashion sense."

"Exactly! Want a scone? It could be on the house." He leaned forward, looking at my breasts. "Not all of us are only for the man meat."

Uh...oops? I stood back, ready to make an excuse, but Komodo came back, threw me over his shoulder, nabbed my drink, & left. I sipped it as we went down the street & told him who we were seeking.

"Great. That baka? How am I going to keep you safe?" he growled.

"I can handle it. A little fire down below..."

"If I can't rip his jugular out, what makes you think you can burn his family jewels?"

Oh, uh, good point. "Lead on."

And he did. Using his heightened senses, he soon found the, uh, baka, in a jewelry shop, picking out only rubies. With me still over his shoulder, he wrangled with the dude. When the baddie licked my cheek, I dumped my coffee remains over his head & Komodo swung to deliver one solid punch.

Once the baddie was out, the simulation ended. Metallurgy marched forth, grinning. "Take a break. Hang out. Go to the city. I've got what I needed to know." He left.

Komodo & I looked at each other, confused. What was that all about? Before I could ask what he thought, he set me down & was out, going full speed. Fine. I decided to go out & have a real chocolate coffee. Holo-food always left me hungrier.

*

The other tests were just as easy, and mysterious. In each one I took, I found bonds growing.

Spinner when he got all science & dropped the jokes, was brilliant, with a clear eye for all the variables he needed to figure when he jumped, climbed & swung; together, we wrapped up our test mission in record time, surprising Metallurgy to raising an eyebrow. After the test, Spinner & I went out for Tibetan & talked engineering, atmospheric studies & math to 2 a.m. He dropped the joking about being all for women, & actually asked me what it was like to be attracted to the same sex.

I already knew Technomancer was brilliant with all things military, piloting, space & building machines, but I had no idea how quick he could be when he wasn't putting the moves on me. I stopped teasing him pretty quick, & started looking at him in a new light. Yeah, he wasn't a woman, but his form, sleek blond hair & 20's style sure did make him stand out. Something in my heart gave a pang, & I was so confused that he had to rescue me from the flying fireballs. When he did so without lechery, just genuine concern, I knew I was sinking fast.

Anyway. Tests. Easy. Meaning of tests, obscure. Metallurgy deemed us ready & briefed us about our real mission: we had to kidnap a minion of the Queen of Hearts & find out how the QoH managed to charm politicians, scientists & military figures into leaking secrets, betraying the country, & trying to kill high-ranking figures? I mean, she was a smoking babe, but being a ten didn't automatically give her control over others, especially with gay men & straight women.

We left that afternoon to scan the area around the Nightmare House, where all the self-titled Regents lived & played. We didn't know much about them, except how 7 of 8 looked, & that they had way more power, money & influence than owners of a nightclub should have. I'd never even seen the club looked like until we walked down the one city street I avoided, & came to a cul-de-sac. Before it stood an exact copy of Versailles, in shades of indigo, cobalt, mulberry & violet-blue with liberal gold decorations. "Want," I said to Technomancer, pointing.

"Whatever you ask me is yours, baby," he said, squeezing me close.

I pressed a kiss on his cheek, then turned into a raven & flew to check out the roof & the gardens. Who owned this much land in the city? They even had forested land & a huge swatch of frikking beach on the Atlantic. I wanted to cry. Compared to this, my house looked outright dowdy.

Komodo dropped down from a higher branch; Spinner landed on the other side. "How in the uṛāna an̄jīra did they get this sort of land?"

"Flying fig?" Komodo asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You speak Hindi?" Spinner asked in return.

I giggled.

Bad move. I was nabbed & pulled out of the tree, & handed to the Queen of Hearts before I even had time to react.

As the hunter sprang back into the trees silently, I was made to look at the QoH. Her sugar-sparkly pink lips pouted oh-so sweetly, & I felt heat rising in my loins. "Please return to human form," she whispered gently, brushing fingertips over the top of my head. "I want to see the boy behind the bird.

The heat burned, but with that sweet ache that tells me I'm aroused. I couldn't get enough of her candy colors; toffee hair, lime candy eyes, cotton candy dress with cinnamon hearts, & oh those long legs clad in sheer vanilla stockings.

I turned back to my human form.

"Delicious!" she cried. "You are such a tiny doll, but with huge breasts & hips." She ran her hands over me, teasing me gently. "Ooh, I love it. I love you. If Dart hadn't seen you in the owl tree, I would never have known you were here. No crows ever perch in that tree! And you're bisexual. Oh, this will be fun."

Turning my back to her front, she had a dagger at my neck before I could taunt her for mistaking a raven for a crow, or, you know, blow her across the lawn with a called-up wind.

"Come out, boys, or I will kill the bitch," she sang out.

Great. I'd just screwed up my test mission. The boys would be ragging me for months on being such a girl.

*

Spinner & Komodo jumped down first, going back to back. Technomancer came surging in, clearly fighting Metallurgy's power. The power of magnetism pulling at Technomancer's suit of armor was the only thing keeping him back from racing over, saving me & killing the Queen. But Metallurgy was clearly using a great percentage of his power; he was sweating liberally.

She looked at the men, nose quirking, then sniffed me. "Not one of you has been to bed with this bitch?" she asked, wonderingly. "Undo your blouse, sweetheart," she said to me.

Burning in humiliation, I did so.

"Look at those sweet, ripe peaches. Surely one of you wants to handle them."

Spinner & Komodo stepped forward protectively.

QoH looked at them & smirked. "Not the fags, the..."

I wheeled around & smacked her.

She tore my blouse & bra off. "Now ask the teacher to suck on your tits."

I turned, trembling. Asking Metallurgy to handle my breasts was like asking my grandfather; I began to shake really badly, "Nnnn....mmmm...brrrreaaa...."

"Say it!" she screamed, using a nail to cut my cheek.

"Ow, suck my-no nonono-breasts, Mmmmm...Techno!"

QoH stroked my breasts, pinching my nipples. "Tasty, tasty little cherries. I'd bet she touches them up with flavored lip gloss. Go on, old man, try a taste."

"You're asking me to molest my child!" he yelled, face red.

"She is not your child. Your genetics are completely different. You are Russian, Norse & Mongolian. She is French, Dutch, Welsh & Cherokee. And your scent clearly tells me you lust for this little doll. Go on. You know you can't resist."

She was working him; I could see it in how his eyes glazed. A new fire sparked, as he shook his head & came to me. Pulling me up with tk, he pushed my breasts together & began playfully nipping, nuzzling, licking, before he took both of my nipples in his mouth & sucked hard.

I cried out; how did she know my nipples were that sensitive? How did Metallurgy know?!

Looking up at me, he whispered, "I am sorry, my little nebo printsessa. She will not let me repress; I must express my desire for you." Suddenly he was kissing me on the lips, hard, firm, fierce. Tongue in my mouth. His shirt open so our skin met.

"Good, good. Now, you two. Whyever would the Komodo deny the spider? You both have a deadly bite; you are both strong & agile. I imagine your courtship would be like dance, while the sex...ah, the sex would be brutal & honest. Tears, shouts, fists, bites. I want to see you tease each other. Please? For me?"

Spinner & Komodo looked repulsed by her interest, but when they turned to each other, anyone could see the desire burning up from their depths. I got to see the beginning approach, all anger & desire, before Metallurgy was lifting me, lifting my skirt, about to take my panties off.

"No! Stop playing with her! She is not a toy!" Technomancer yelled, fists coming up. "Metallurgy, you even sniff her sacred flower, & I will have to kill you."

That froze our mentor; he put me down rapidly & backed off.

QoH looked between the two men. "Jealousy...maybe more? Kiss & make up; you both desire her, why not share?"

Watching Metallurgy approaching Technomancer with raw hunger, only to see Technomancer's clear repulsion at being wanted by a man, was as painful as watching Spinner & Komodo having to think of me sexually. This was not fair. What was she doing? Using pheromones to...

It was like I hit myself with lightning. I thought fast & blurted out, "Let me go between them, at least. Be kind to men with different orientations."

"Pft, fine. Join them, since you clearly want them both."

I came over & got between them just as Metallurgy was reaching out. In subvocal, I said, "She's using pheromone control. To block her, we need to go past the urges to the feelings beneath. She reduces everything to anatomy; we take it up to the heart."

Komodo understood first & leaned forward to whisper in Spinner's ear, before he began caressing the taller man's neck & crooning in Hindi. It was sweet to see Spinner lifting his mask up to his nose, so the two could explore kissing.

Meanwhile, Metallurgy was stroking Technomancer's sleek hair & murmuring praises of his youth, daring & beauty. "But you don't need to hit on all the women, son. You know you can have whoever you want, but if you go for every woman, your heart gets let in the cold. It's why I never approached any of you romantically; how could I possibly keep all of you in my bed, in my heart? It would hurt you to seduce you, &..." He looked at me sadly.

Technomancer's face tightened, & he inhaled deeply. "Do you want a taste of her sweetness?"

"More than anything else. But I have to find my own lover. I can't tell you to settle down, & not try myself. Maybe I will find a bisexual mf couple. But I will never step in the way."

"Booo-ring," QoH said, studying her nails & yawning. "I want some entertainment. Now. Feelings just put me to sleep."

I looked to Komodo. He tapped his nose, grinned brutally.

In a second, he had Spinner pinned to the ground, suit off, & was mounting him. "Give me fucking lube," he demanded. "I want to take him, not break him."

"Yes! Yes! I get to film the two most suppressed superheroes having sex? Here!" She tossed them some lotion & leaned against a tree.

Imagine how her jaw dropped when they didn't give her brutal. Instead, they looked at each other with tender eyes, & Komodo was gentle with spreading lube in & around Spinner. Oh the aching need in their eyes, & the love finally admitted. They played with each other until both were erect, & Komodo eased himself inside. Watching the slow, swaying dance of their first time with men, & each other, was beautiful.

After their release, they lay together, murmuring in Hindi & Japanese.

"God! God!" QoH was clearly disgusted. She looked at the three of us. "Well?"

"Let the young ones play, & I will act as your sub for a session. Do what you will."

That appealed to her cruelty; she grinned & looked to Technomancer & me. "Well?"

"As you wish, m'lady," Technomancer said.

He turned, then, & focused those beautiful sky blue eyes at me with feeling in them. Feeling so deep it made me stagger & feel my heart crack open & spill out my feelings. When he saw them, Technomancer ran & scooped me up to stare at me with hope in his eyes.

Yes, I admitted with a nod.

For second he stared, as if he couldn't believe it. All his arrogance was gone, revealing nothing but love & a growing delight.

I kissed him, forcing open his lips so I could cup his lower lip in my mouth. My arms around his neck; his around my waist. Against a tree, we kissed & kissed until our lips were chapped.

"Get the fuck off my land! Go!" QoH screamed. "I...I..." She ran off, covering her mouth with both hands, actually sobbing.

"We have it," Metallurgy said, before whisking together enough metal to form a rough carrier.